The Everfree could seem completely lacking of any life as it stood still in silence one could deem unnatural. The stars above seemed bleak, and the moon couldn’t be seen through the canopy. The clouds were gathering by themselves, coming together without any aid. For ponies, it was unnatural, freaky, scary. For Wild, it was what he was used to. Weather could only ever be predicted, not controlled.

He walked through the forest, searching and searching. He had to find that place, he had to see what it was now. If it were open, if there was a way through back to the other side from which he came... he needed to close it somehow. Whatever was going on, it had to be stopped before it grew out of any control, before it rose up like a horrible tidal wave and crashed on them all, leaving behind nothing but destruction and death.

He circled the forest, not feeling his steps, not smelling the air, not seeing the surroundings. His place of rebirth, he knew, had to be there, and he just needed to find it. He racked his memory for how it looked, but those early days were now blurry in his mind, unclear and uncertain. Yet, despite his failure to recall what he needed to recall, he would not stop until it was found. There was nothing more important right now than this.

A sudden gust of wind brushed past him, feeling the air with the noise of rustling leaves and creaking wood. The wind seemed to have a smell, and it was of... smoke?

Wild followed the direction where this smell came from, needing to know what it was, having a bad feeling about it. Another gust of wind brought more of it, and he followed it to its source. He was now certain he needed to find it, to learn what it was. He moved hurriedly yet feeling like his hooves stuck to the ground more and more with every step, as if the air became as thick was water. He struggled on, pushing forward even as something pushed back. He needed to know.

The forest opened up before him, revealing the ruins of the Summer Palace. He stopped, gazing fearfully at it. He was brought to it once again, and he wondered, scared, if some other evil had taken its place in those ancient ruins. He stopped there, yet there was no more any force that pushed him onward or backward. His heart was not beating rapidly in his chest.

The earth rumbled, and the forest came alive in a cacophony of sound. Birds flew up into the sky, cawing and squeaking and twitting, escaping the epicenter of it all - the Summer Palace. Insects and snakes and rodents crawled and slithered away, paying Wild no attention as they hurried past him.

A bright flash of blue light shone through earth and stone, coming from deep beneath the palace. The ancient spires broke and fell down, turning to dust as impossible brightness expanded, swallowing the masonry whole. The palace was was crumbling inwards, disappearing into the gaping maw left behind.

Wild could barely see the sky anymore as clouds of dust rose into the air, shining blue in reflection of the searing light. The glow dimmed until there was nothing, and silence reigned after the last bricks fell down. The palace, a monument to a costly and lengthy mistake, was no more, ruins of ruins of ruins, nothing but dust and scattered, barely recognizable pieces of stone that were now little more than rubble. With time, they would be nothing but oddly-shaped rocks.

A sheet of what looked like water was hanging in the air like a curtain, barely touching the ground at the center of where the blue light had come from, the ground underneath smooth like glass. The sheet shivered and wavered in unseen wind. It stretched in a way that water never could, and then...

A figure, a humanoid figure walked out, then another, and then more. Wild recognized them - they were soldiers. Backpacks and vests filled with ammunition, their arms holding rifles, masks and goggles and helmets obscuring any human facial features. There was no camouflage to be seen - the uniform was simply gray and black.

Wild knew what he had to do even as he watched more and more soldiers emerge marching out of the portal. He raised his hand, and in it was a revolver. He aimed, he breathed, and he pulled the trigger.

The sound of his revolver firing was like a cannon in the stillness of the surroundings. The angry red and orange flash of light seemed to illuminate the world, and the smoke from the barrel rose up to the sky.

One figure fell soundlessly, and others marched over it without a care in the world. Wild’s hands shook as he aimed his revolver again, his aim true even as he felt himself become unwound.

It clicked.

Wild pulled the trigger again and again and again.

Click, click, click.

He looked inside - there was only the spent cartridge.

The air was filled with the uniform sound of marching. Soldiers moved forward, uncaring about Wild, as if they didn’t even see him.

Sounds of heavy machinery filled the air as a tank drove through the portal, bricks and pieces of stone crunching under the threads. Even if Wild still had ammo, he couldn’t destroy a tank that way.

A deafening rushing noise exploded into existence, and a jet darted out of the portal, flying over Wild quicker than he could think. He reached out with his magic, knowing what the jet was there for, yet it easily slipped his grip, the sound of its engines fading as the jet flew farther and farther away.

Time ticked by, and Wild knew, knew it wouldn’t be long. There was nothing he could do now. He failed again, all because he wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t prepared, wasn’t-

An impossibly bright flash of light filled everything around him, and he could feel the searing heat burning everything in its path. The clouds above disappeared one by one, the stars going out with them.

Everything around him was burning, the smell of ash, burning flesh, and smoke clogging his nostrils. He screamed yet there was nothing but silence. From the ground far from him, a cloud rose, forming the shape of a mushroom. He could see and feel the mountain on which Canterlot stood crumble, brittle like glass.

“None of it is real.”

Everything stopped. Wild blinked, then realized... he didn’t blink. This sensation was not true. What he saw was what he didn’t see - his eyes were closed. The sense of touch existed, but it was just a memory.

He was dreaming.

He slumped, then collapsed.

He was dreaming. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t happening.

Steps sounded from behind him, making him turn around. Princess Luna was standing there, a worried expression on her face. She surveyed the surroundings, taking in the flame-wreathed trees, the soldiers and tanks, the portal among the destruction, and the fiery mushroom cloud in the distance.

“It’s not real...” Wild whispered, relief filling him. He then stood up and faced Luna, “But... but it could be.”

“Why?” Luna asked him.

“This,” he gestured at the soldiers, “Is who we are. Humans. I...”

He then proceeded to explain what he heard from the Ghostbusters, how it connected to him, and the way he appeared in this world.

“I...” he swallowed, “I died, and then I was there. And now, I know that... our worlds have a connection.”

He paced, and even this not-motion made his brain work again.

“The song, it is from a movie we humans made. I know it. And now I came through... to this world,” he turned to Luna and looked into her eyes, “There could be more humans. There could be... a portal. I don’t know. It has to be stopped,” his voice rose, “Our worlds shouldn’t be connected, they can’t be, because humans will come here and destroy everything!”

He breathed hard, feeling sweat rolling down his body.

“See what they have? See those tanks? See that... that cloud?” he gestured rapidly, “It is all for killing and destruction. Look, look at how everything burned! Look at... look at what’s left! We have thousands of these bombs, yes, thousands, and all of them can do this, all of them can turn a forest into, into a pile of ash!”

Wild paced again, now not looking at Luna. He needed her to understand.

“What I dream, it could be reality. There’s nothing impossible about it!” he ranted, “Do you want it to happen? Do you want to see ponies die or be enslaved? You can’t let our worlds be connected! You can’t!” his voice broke then, and he had to pause for a second to regain his bearing, “I... what more can I say? I have to find where I was... where I was reborn, and then close that connection, destroy it,” he then turned a pleading look at Luna, “Do you believe me? I am telling the truth! None of this is a lie. Please, just...” he looked down, “Please just believe me.”

Silence reigned for a short while.

“I believe you,” Luna nodded, and some sort of relief washed over Wild, “If this destruction is what humans are capable of, we must be prepared for the possibility.”

“For certainty,” Wild corrected, “You are weaker. You will all be killed. All your resources will be taken!”

“Is there no diplomatic solution?” Luna asked, “I can’t believe all of humans would be willing to destroy us.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s you, Wild.”

Wild blinked in confusion. Him? Did she forget who he was? Did she forget that he liked pain? He was perhaps not as bad as others, but...

“Wild, you are a good person,” Luna insisted, “A good person who was forced into bad situations. If you held those weapons, would you use them to kill us?”

“No!” Wild frantically denied, “Never!”

“And do you think you’re alone in this?” Luna asked, “Among all the humans, do you truly believe you’re the only one who wouldn’t want to see us dead?”

“You don’t understand,” Wild shook his head, “People in power... they don’t care. They will force everyone to fight. Those people, they only care about getting more power. They lie, they kill, they... they destroy everything because they don’t care about anyone!”

“But they’re not everyone.”

“They’re not, but they may as well be,” he snorted derisively, “Only power matters. You don’t have the weapons we do, and so someone would attack you for what you have. They don’t need a reason to justify themselves to anyone - they can just make up a reason. And people would believe it.”

Luna frowned, yet didn’t stop Wild as he spoke further.

“The only thing that matters is power,” he reiterated his point, “If you are stronger, others will bow to you and listen and obey. If you’re of the same power, you can... make an agreement,” he snorted at that, “But if you’re weaker... you will serve or you will die. There’s nothing else. And... and magic, it is powerful, yes, but it won’t - it can’t - save you. We have so many weapons of destruction, of mass destruction. We could kill everyone and still have plenty left. We can destroy everything and still have some left. And I mean everything. This all... greenery? Forests, lakes? It can be destroyed and turned into a desert.”

Wild slumped again, and the surroundings faded into nothingness, leaving just him and Princess Luna.

“Please...” he begged quietly, “Please understand. It’s not worth to connect to us. For every... for every stupid song, there are thousands of weapons. For every beautiful thing there is destruction. We humans are... not good. We don’t deserve help after all that we’ve done, all that we’re doing. I... I am lucky that I got here. It is nice here. It is peaceful,” a humorless smile stretched on his face, “Aside from... some painful exceptions. But it’s better here. It’s all... cleaner.”

Wild shook his head, looking down at the ground which remained under him even as everything else disappeared.

“I can’t... explain it all properly,” he admitted, “There’s just... so much. We had two World Wars. I think... sixty million people died in them overall? I don’t remember. I wish I could forget. All this death, and for what? Sixty million people, probably more, just... killed for nothing. And there are still bombs and mines lying somewhere in wait, armed, ready to explode. Over seventy years passed since the last World War, but we’ve learned nothing.”

Wild sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice hoarse. He let the silence fill everything. There was little more he could say, certainly not with how jumbled his mind was right now.

“Wild,” Princess Luna called to him, “None of this is your fault. You can’t be blamed for what others do. I must be honest with you as well - you should not condemn everyone just because many are evil. What about those people who need help? People like you, Wild.”

He winced.

“I...” he said, “I am lucky. I guess... I don’t want to destroy you. But I could want it. Others could want it.”

“Many people have wanted to destroy us over our existence,” Luna said, “Until they act, what they want can be addressed peacefully, redirected elsewhere. War is costly and war is awful - not many want it.”

“We are perfect at war,” Wild shook his head, “Many demand it.”

“But do they know what war is?”

“Yes,” Wild said passionately, “They know. Everyone knows what war is. We are told, constantly, about wars. But it doesn’t stop. It never stops.”

“Wild...” Luna sighed, “I understand where you’re coming from. But... your perspective is biased. I know you believe what you’re saying, and you have reasons, good reasons for it. But I can’t see every human being evil. If our worlds are connected, there must be a reason for it, and maybe that reason is so that we can help each other.”

“We can’t help!” Wild jumped and glared at her, “We can’t! Don’t do it, don’t try to widen the connection! You’ll die!” he yelled, “You don’t understand, princess! If, if you make contact, you won’t be able to stop! They’ll know, everyone will know, and then people will try to, to take advantage of you, to take everything away from you!” he snorted in frustration, “Argh, why can’t I, why can’t I just convince you? What more do you need to understand?” a sob escaped him, to his horror, “I don’t want Equestria to die!”

He broke down into harsh sobs, hiding his head behind his magical hands. He wished he could just explain it all properly, to make Luna understand exactly why trying to contact Earth was an extremely bad idea, but he just couldn’t.

It was all useless. Princess Luna was more powerful than him, more knowledgeable than him, smarter than him. She didn’t need him to figure things out, she didn’t need to even listen to him. Whatever he said, it was just not enough, and it would forever be not enough because he wasn’t enough.

“Wild,” Luna called to him. He made himself turn to face her, “I am not disregarding what you told me. There will be an investigation into it all. You’re saying that there’s a connection point between your world and ours?”

Wild nodded.

“Then we will find it and we will secure it,” Luna nodded, “You are saying humans can be dangerous - we will be prepared for that possibility. We will not be idle. We ponies didn’t manage to build Equestria by ignoring the world and neither will we survive what is to come if we ignore your warning. I can promise you this much - we are not ignoring this.”

“That’s... good,” Wild nodded, “But will it be enough?”

“I do not know,” Luna admitted, “I do not believe there is a way to know. We will do our best to be prepared and hope that it will be enough if it comes to having to defend ourselves.”

“Alright,” Wild nodded again, and some part of him was relieved, “But I need to know. I need to know what you’re doing. We humans are... strong and persistent. We are the only sapient species on our planet, and we are dominating everything. You must be very careful.”

“And we will,” Luna nodded, “But we don’t need to continue discussing it now. You, I believe, need rest. The future will come, yes, and you need your strength to face it, and strength can only be replenished with rest.”

Wild nodded, and then he drifted off to sleep, as difficult as it was after this dream and this conversation. At the very least Luna listened and understood some of what he was trying to say. He hoped it would be enough.

Author's Note

Wild, oh Wild, hate grips your heart tight. Worst of all, he isn't entirely wrong about what he expects from humans.