Singularity: The Paradox

After Renko passed out, the girls started moving him to the Fluttershy's cottage so she could fix him up, if they brought him to the hospital he could be taken for experimentation. Rarity, Vinyl, and Twilight carried him in their magic.

"If this is what I think it is, Lyra is going to flip out!" Vinyl snickered. Twilight glared at her.

"Now is not the time for jokes!" She half-shouted.

"What an awful outfit! Such bad coloring, the red could be moved to better areas and is completely unneeded!" Rarity rolled her eyes.

Fluttershy's cottage.

Renko had been set in a spare bed Fluttershy had and left to rest while the rest of them met in her living room. "What do you think it is?" Octavia asked.

"Looks like a human from Lyra's favorite show." Vinyl answered. Twilight was writing down some previous observations on a note-pad. "It said something about something called E99. Twilight, do you know what that is?" Vinyl turned to the librarian.

"E99 is the chemical form of our magic, it's a chemical in everything. The dormant magic in Pegasi and Earth ponies is 'living' E99. The usable magic Unicorns use is 'dominant' E99, making it able to be manipulated." Twilight stated, not taking her eyes off the paper. "That's the simple way to put it."

"It said that the E99 levels were off the charts, why would that need acknowledgement? Is it dangerous? ARE WE GOING TO BLOW UP?!" Vinyl looked frantic.

"Girls, shush!" Fluttershy called. "It needs to rest."

"Sorry." Vinyl looked down.

"Everything is fine, E99 or 'magic' levels are stable." Twilight dipped her quill. Fluttershy made her way back to where the rest of them were sitting.

"The poor baby, it was so scratched up and bitten, what could be so mean?" Fluttershy sighed. "I gave it some strong painkillers and bandages, but it won't be awake tonight."

"So...the red spots were...b-blood?" Rarity face grew pale...er.

"Yes." Fluttershy answered quietly hanging her head down.

"Oh...dear." Rarity swallowed heavily.

"I want to know what was in his needle! He had a hole the size of my hoof in his head, and when he injected himself with it it just disappeared!" Twilight wrote down names of medicines with similar effects. "If we could mass-produce it, just think of the possibilities!"

"Twilight, calm down, we need you to pop a gasket." Rainbow chimed.

Other room.

'Am I...alive? How? What were those things I saw? Ponies?' Renko opened his eyes, wincing at the intense colors. 'I must be dead, I mean, I shot myself.' He leaned up and noticed all the bandages. "Oh...my head..."

"Just think of the possibilities!" He heard a feminine voice call out from another room.

"I guess I should go thank my nurse." When he took the blanket off, he noticed something... peculiar. "Where the fuck are my clothes?" He looked around the room, spotting his boxers, at least those are here..." He put them on quickly and opened the door a crack. "Nothing? I could have sworn I heard someone." He got down low and started walking slowly. "Yes! Pants!" He cheered silently as he put them on. "They're...clean?" He checked the holster and his Centurion was there as well.

"Um, Twilight, do you know what this is?" He heard a softer voice ask before something metal was set on the ground. "I found it on the poor thing's arm."

"Oh shit, she has the TMD!" Renko ran out of the room, knocking a door of it's hinges in his rush. He made it to the living room where the ponies sat and yank the TMD out of a purple aura. "Don't touch that. Where is your owner? Miss? You shouldn't leave electronics for your pets to snack on!" He shouted.

"Owner? We aren't slaves!" Rainbow shouted. Renko turned around quickly.

"Who said that?" He said quietly.

"Down here!" Rainbow glared at him. Renko looked down and saw the rainbow maned pony glaring at him. "We don't have owners! Are you a slave driver or something?!"

"T-talking....ponies...And I guess next you'll tell me you have magic and can fly." He sighed. Rainbow got up into the air and Twilight lifted up her paper. "Of course..."

"Lyra is going to freak!" Vinyl snickered again. Renko put the TMD on his arm and checked it for damage, it was fine.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you?" Twilight dipped her quill again.

"Human, now if you don't mind me asking, where the hell am I?" Renko asked the purple pony.

"Where else would you be? Equestria of course." Twilight scribbled something on her paper.

"Well, technically, I should be six feet under. But, I was in Katoraga-12 not even ten minutes ago." Renko looked out of a window, the sun was just starting to rise.

"What do you mean 'six feet under'?" Vinyl asked the shirtless soldier.

"Dead, not living, on the other side, whacked, ended, need anymore terms?" He listed off sarcastically.

"Okay then..." Vinyl scowled at the soldier.

"Do you have a name?" Fluttershy asked in her calm tone.

"Captain Nathaniel Renko." He answered. "Also, where is my shirt?"

"It's washing. There was a lot of blood on it, do you mind if I ask what caused you injuries?" Fluttershy pointed to all the bandages.

"Various...creatures." Renko answered simply. He sighed. "Ffuuucck, what am I going to do? I'm supposed to be dead, and yet I'm sitting in a room with talking ponies. This is just grand..."

"Before we do anything, you need to speak to Princess Celestia." Twilight summoned Spike, who was holding an emerald in his maw.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" Renko jumped back. "IS THAT A FUCKING DRAGON?!?!"

"Baby dragon." Twilight said, writing something on a different piece of paper. "Spike, send it if you please." She held the paper out in front of the little dragon, who swallowed the gem, and he lit it on fire.

"She said send it, not burn it!" Renko eyed the dragon.

"The flames are magic, duh. It gets sent that way." Spike rolled his eyes.

"I didn't know that." Renko sighed. "This place is so weird!"

"How do you think we feel? We were just having fun at our new club and my, very expensive, statue disappears and leaves you, a tall, bipedal monkey who is concerned about his dumb watch." Vinyl explains.

"This is not just a dumb watch! With the amount of E99 everywhere, this 'watch' is the most powerful...tool, yeah, tool ever!" Renko argues.

...

"And I'm not a monkey!" He adds. A bright light fills the room, taking all in it away, all the way to Canterlot, the castle specifically. "What the fuck just happened?"

"Please, do not use such language." A loud, but calm, voice rang. Renko turned to the source and saw

A GIANT FUCKING PRINCESS PONY

"Now, Twilight, why do you need me? It was almost cake-time." The princess pony looked...sad.

"Princess Celestia, this creature claims to be a 'Human', do you know anything about humans?" Twilight asked her mentor.

"Wait before any questions are asked, what are all of your names?" Renko asked the group.

"Rainbow Dash"

"Ah'm Applejack."

"I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Fluttershy."

"Rarity."

"The name is Vinyl Scratch."

"I am known as Octavia Philharmonic."

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Good, now you may ask questions." Renko shut his mouth.

"I have heard of humans, yes, they went extinct when I was just a filly though. Where did you come from, Nathan?" Celestia turned to the still shirtless Captain.

"I don't know, Vinyl said I fell out of her statue, But I was on an island, a burning building specifically, not even thirty minutes ago." Renko explained again.

"What were you doing on that island?" Celestia then asked.

"That's on a need to know basis and you don't need to know." Renko glared at the marble colored Princess.

"I am the ruler of an entire nation, I think I'm entitled to know." Celestia glared back.

"Fine. I was on a mission to check some odd readings." Renko tried to end it there, but Celestia's glare told him she knew there was some more. "When we got near though...our helicopter was knocked from the sky...we crashed...Only me and another soldier named Devlin survived. We...we were separated. I made my way into a large building. After walking around for a bit, everything changed.

An odd blue wave flowed through the building, when it passed, everything was on fire, there was screaming, so much screaming. I started running. People behind glass were trying desperately to break it so they could escape the blaze, I watched them cook before my eyes, their screams were deafening. I tried to help them, I did! But I couldn't some were smashed, some were gored on debris. I kicked open a door and saw a...man." Renko said 'man' as if it were rotten. "A man fall through the floor, I got him out of there, but I heard someone shouting at me, he told me to stop, not to let the man live. I thought him crazy at the time, but he shot at me, he missed and got smashed.

I sat the man down at a bust of another man's head, right before everything changed back, but everything was different. The bust had changed to the man I saved holding something, and things had moved around. I left the building and entered a small town, that's when things get really creepy, I started seeing ghost-like figures. After a while I found Devlin, but not after finding hostiles, tall, lanky creatures, ate flesh and remains. I found Devlin and we moved on, we found a radio tower with lots of ammo and tried to contact base, it was fruitless. Some Russians showed up and opened fire, we tried to hold our ground, but we were quickly overtaken. We fled down a maintenance shaft, Devlin made it farther than I, I was knocked unconscious by the butt of a Russian's rifle.

When I woke up, Devlin was being interrogated by the man I saved in the fire, which I learned, happened over fifty years ago. Devlin tried to be strong, to maintain his cool. His efforts earned him an execution. I would have had the same fate if not for a friend, Katheryn her name was, she and a small group of her partners started firing at the Russians and gave me an oppertunity to escape. I fled into a building, being chased by maybe hundreds of the Russians, all of them shooting at me.

I escaped and learned that the man I saved, his name was Demichev, had quickly risen to power, reducing the entire planet to hard times. After a while I got a device called the TMD, or Time Manipulation Device. I was told to guard it with my life. Many more monster were discovered and killed, along with Russians. I met a Doctor named Barisov, I did various tasks for him, all to try and stop Demichev. In the end, I went back in time and tried to blow up a massive tower, one Demichev was trying to use to keep humanity in slavery and give him unlimited power.

After placing the bomb fifty years ago, I returned, only to find the tower was still standing, Demichev had rebuilt it. He had Barisov on his knees with a gun to his head. After arguing for several minutes, he gave me a choice, kill Barisov and rule with him, kill them both, or...the best choice...kill myself.

I went back to the burning building and saw myself carrying Barisov, I was the one who was shouting in the beginning. I had to shoot myself to stop Demichev from taking over the world. And I did. I died and woke up in Fluttershy's cottage. And now I'm here" Renko took a breath as his story reached it's conclusion. "And that, is why I was in a burning building."

"Wow...just wow." Celestia's jaw hung open, along with the rest of the girls. "What did these creatures look like?" She asked. Renko pulled out a small camera and tossed it to her. The images on it sickened her:

ZEK

ZEK KING

MUTANT

PHASE TICK

"There were more hostiles, but I only had time to snap those pictures." Renko simply stated.

"I...I don't know what to say. I mean, I would probably be able to send you back if you were still alive, but you died. You're stuck here. I'm sorry." Celestia tossed the camera back. "I could probably change you into a pony if you want."

"How about no." Renko responded quickly. "If I'm going to stay here, like I have a choice, where would I work? I'd need money to buy a home."

"That's not up to me. I can only hope my little ponies will help you get used to life here in Equestria." Celestia looked at the group of ponies. "Will you accept his friendship?"

"Wait friendship? I didn't agree to th-!"

"Yes, we'll try to help him." Twilight nodded to her mentor. Renko sighed.

"OH! You can work with me!" The pink party pony suggested quickly.

"Ehhh...I'll think about it." Renko looked away from the hyperactive pony, who was saying something about parties and baking. He leaned in close to Twilight "For the love of god, I'll clean toilets if I have to, just don't make me work with her." He whispered.

"It's alright, we'll find something" Twilight whispered back. Another bright flash and they were back in Fluttershy's cottage.

Back in Canterlot

"For my sake, she can never let me have cake-time." Celestia sighed as she levitated a small piece of cake from the kitchen.

And back again

"Mr. Renko, your shirt should be done by now, let me go get it for you." Fluttershy trotted into another room.

"So...what now? Now that I know I'm stuck here, what is there to do?" Renko sighed deeply, accepting defeat.

"I know something we can do..." Vinyl smiled deviously.

"Vinyl! It's his first day here! At least give him time to get used to the idea!" Octavia was red-faced.

"What? What do you mean- OOH! NO! THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEAN'T! I meant go make Lyra freak the buck out!" Vinyl's face was crimson red.

Renko eyed them with a puzzled look, he went wide-eyed before he realized what Octavia meant. Fluttershy returned with the shirt and Renko put it on, basking in that heavenly warm feeling that cloth gets from the dryer. "Why would this 'Lyra' freak the fuck out?" He asked.

"Humans are the main creatures from her favorite TV show, seeing her would probably make her life." Vinyl explained, snickering.

"I could use a good laugh, let's do that. It's not like I have anything else to do." Renko looked at his gloved palms, they were shacking a tiny bit. He stood and walked out with Octavia and Vinyl, leaving the rest of the girls to talk.

Ponyville

Renko was quiet the whole walk, listening to the ponies he passed.

"What is that thing?

It looks so stupid!

I bet I could kick it's ass

So ugly

He sighed deeply, his fists clenched. "Calm down, Nathan, they'll get used to you eventually." Octavia whispered. They went to the back of Lyra and Bonbon's house and briefed Nathan.

"Okay, she might be reading or practicing her lyre. We'll knock on the door and when she opens the door she'll either faint, or have a heart attack." Vinyl snickered.

"You must be a good friend, making one of your friend's dream come true." Renko smiled slightly.

"Oh! And one more thing, when you get the chance, tell her 'We know you fap to us'." Vinyl had to cover her muzzle.

"What does that mean?" He asks.

"You'll find out eventually." Octavia sighed. The quietly walked to the front door and knocked. A pleasant strumming inside stopped and hoof-steps could be heard coming towards the door. Nathan stood off to the side, where he wouldn't immediately be seen.

"Oh, hey Vinyl, hey Octavia." A sweet voice chimed happily.

"Hey, hey Lyra...would you mind reminding me what your life's goal is?" Vinyl asked, perfect pokerface.

"To meet a human, why do you ask?" Lyra looked puzzled. Vinyl waved and Nathan stepped into frame. "EEEEEEEEEEEE" She squealed. "YOU! ARE NATHAN! RENKO! Omygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I am talking to a real life human! How did you get-" Lyra's speech was interrupted by Nathan

"We know you fap to us." He said quietly. Lyra's face turned from one of glee, to one of horror and shame.

"OHMYGOSH I'M SO SORRY! I-I-I-I-I-I DON'T KNOW, I WAS JUST-" Nathan silenced her. 'She seems upset...what should I say...'

"It's alright, I like it." He said unknowingly. Lyra's face changed emotion once more, she got the bedroom eyes.

"OKAY NATHAN YOU HAVE SAID ENOUGH, BYE LYRA WE WILL TALK TO YOU LATER!" Octavia dragged Nathan and Vinyl away. Once they were away from the green unicorn, Nathan turned to Vinyl.

"Vinyl, what the fuck did I just say? Why did she get that look, Vinyl, what the fuck did I just say I liked?" Nathan looked irritated.

"Your stay here is going to be a lot more fun, let's just say that." Vinyl had tears running down her face from laughing.

"I can't shake the feeling like something really, really bad is going to happen." Renko sighed, defeated.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

What will happen? Will Renko be accidentally raped? Will everyone get the wrong idea?

Find out all this and more in chapter three!

Also, the ship has changed.