Time is a perception

Earth
2007
March 28th
2.18PM

"Dr Krone, the Alpha suit is ready for testing. Are you ready?"

The head scientist in charge of the quantam program nodded, strapping on the suit accordingly and tightly.

"Indeed I am. Proceed."

"Yes, Doctor." She activated the suit, causing him to disappear. Then, after a few seconds, he reappeared back in the exact same spot that was in a moment ago. She smiled.

"It seems that the test was successful, Doctor. What did you experience?"

He turned around, taking the suit off and grinning to himself. "A multitude of things, miss Daniels. What no doubt seemed like seconds to you was years to me."

She stared in awe, writing everything down in her notebook. "Fascinating, Doctor."

He turned around, walking past her, adjusting his glasses and smirking. "Oh, trust me, it will be."

Accessing info...error....unable to determine location.

"Let me get this straight. You're from an alternate reality. One where a planet called Earth is occupied by your species, known as human beings."

"Correct."

"And you were a scientist who was working to create an invention that would let your people travel through time?"

"Correct again."

"And you took one of the suits that you and your team had helped create, went back in time to an alternate timeline and stopped the man responsible?"

Michael nodded. "Correct yet again."

The pink pony, who he now knew as Princess Cadance, stared at him, reading his face, attempting to see if he was lying. It seemed like he was not. She sighed, holding a hoof to her head.

"Hearing you explain that to me has given me a headache. Surely you can't be telling me the exact truth? To alter time like that...is unheard of."

Michael got up, stretching his arms, putting his helmet back on. He preffered it on now, honestly. He could still speak, of course. It was just more muffled.

"We thought it was impossible, until Dr Krone..." He spat out that name. The name of the man...no, the monster who had put him through hell and caused the entire fiasco in the first place. So many dead thanks to him. Michael hopped that he was rotting in hell. "...proved us wrong. Honestly, I don't understand it fully myself. All I know is that this suit has saved my life."

She stared at the suit in sheer awe, taking it all of its features, trotting around him in a circle. She put a hoof on the side of the suit, wincing at how cold it felt to the touch. "It certainly does look amazing. How does it feel inside?"

He shrugged, doing another weapons check. Can never be too sure. "It is...surprisingly comfy. For what it is. It allows me to be as agile as I would be without the suit, even more so when the suit allows it, while also providing me extreme protection. It also comes equipped with an AI."

Cadance looked at him and raised an eyebrow, sitting back down on the bed. "What is an AI?"

He chuckled, going down on one knee to her height. "It means artifical intelligence. It is a computer chip what can adapt and help keep the suit's user alive. It can offer tactical recommendations in the field, similate neural stimili, monitor the user's vital signs and adrenaline levels, et cetera."

She rubbed her hoof against her head again, trying to make sense out of the situation that was laid out before her. She turned her head to look at the still unconcious Shining Armor, gaining a sad look on her face. "I'm going to take him to the hospital. He's not looking so good. My poor Shining Armor...always so stubborn."

Michael stood up and walked over, looking down at the unconcious pony. "Why was he outside in the snow storm?"

She rubbed Shining's head, him stirring in response but not waking up. He was sweating and bruised. "We'd had reports of a yeti patrolling around the perimiter of the city, outside in the tundra. Yeti's usually are quite dangerous and hostile to anything that comes near them. I didn't want it getting inside somehow and hurting one of my ponies, so Shining went to ward it off. I told him to take some guards, but he didn't listen and he wanted to go by himself. My stupid, adorable husband. So brave, yet so naive."

He walked back over to the floor and sat down, looking at the pair. He sighed, putting his weapons on the floor next to him. "Think he'll be alright? Seems like that Yeti did quite a number on him."

She nodded, smiling slightly, a few tears in her eyes. "Yes, he should be fine. My Shining has had worse. I have used some healing magic on him while we've been talking to slow his heart rate down a bit. But I still think I should take him to the hospital, just to be safe. Do you want to come with me?"

He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. She obviously couldn't see it, his visor being back on and all. "I'm...not sure. You've only just met me a few hours ago and you want me to tag along to the city's hospital? How will the other inhabitants react? I don't exactly look like the most friendly individual with this suit on."

She scoffed, attempting to pick Shining Armor up, only to groan in pain. Michael stood up, rubbing his head in annoyance. He stood up fast, walking over and picking him up. "Don't worry, I got him. Just lead me to the hospital."

She smiled, standing up. "Thank you. I am sorry. My magic is drained from earlier. I don't do well in the tundra. And as for why I want you to come, I would rather introduce you to my ponies sooner rather than later. I don't trust you fully as you don't me, but I have grown up and realised that I should give every living creature a chance, even if it's an unknown one."

His eyebrow still raised behind his visor, he nodded, carrying Shining Armor over to the door. "Right. Let's get this guy to the hospital then, shall we?"

Cadance smiled wider, nodding. "Indeed we shall."

"Woah, look at that skin!"

"It isn't my skin."

"It can talk to?!"

"I'm a he, not an..."

"Why is your skin like that?"

"I've just said that..."

"Enough!"

All of the ponies stared at the booming voice, it coming from the princess herself. They all held their ears as pain rang through them. She sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry about that, my little ponies. But please, one question at a time."

After a while, they all lined up outside the hospital, asking Michael all sorts of questions. As soon as they had arrived at the hosptial, a bunch of ponies had spotted him and Cadance, along with the unconcious Shining Armor. They originally screamed and called for the guards once they saw him, but after a few minutes of explanation by Cadance, they all seemed to settle down a bit. Seemed if the princess thought he was okay, everyone else seemed to.

For now, at least. Could very well change. And fast.

He got through the questions and they eventually all backed off once they realised that Shining needed medical care. Michael and Cadance were currently sat around Shining's bed. Cadance sighed, looking down at him and kissing his cheek softly. "Oh, my Shining Armor. I do love you. So very much."

"Initiating neural stimuli."

Before Michael could even do anything, he saw his partner again. This time, it was when Krone had hit her and planted a bomb in the facility. After seeing this, he bashed his hand on a nearby heart monitor, smashing it. Cadance jumped, looking at him in pure shock. "What was that for?!"

He came to his senses in one swift motion, realising what he'd done. He picked the heart monitor back up from the floor. The screen was now cracked to high hell. He sighed, putting it back on the cart.

"I'm sorry. I was seeing something that I really didn't want to remember."

Cadance tilted her head, an eyebrow raised slightly. "Oh? Care to elaborate?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, not right now. Maybe another time. Anyway, looks like sleeping beauty there is waking up." She looked at him before suddenly hearing a cough, bringing her attention below her.

Shining was waking up.

She smiled and nuzzled him softly, him responding with a nuzzle of his own. "C-Cadance...how are you?"

Cadance kept nuzzling, not wanting this moment to end. "I'm okay, my sweet. How are you feeling?"

He pulled away from the nuzzle, chuckling dryly. "I'll live. So, how have things been in the..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Shining heard something move to his left. He turned his head to see...

He jumped up from the bed, ripping the drip out of one of his forelegs, groaning in pain and hitting his head, knocking him out again. Cadance screamed as she winced, picking him up and running off to call for the nurse. Michael sat there, slightly smirking to himself behind his visor.

"I've had worse reactions."