Roadtrip In Equestria

Chapters

Chapter 1: A perfectly normal day
Chapter 13: Sweet dreams are made of this
Chapter 2 : The strangest dream ever
Chapter 3 : First contact
Chapter 4: Nothing better to do anyway
Chapter 5 : Questions and explanations
Chapter 6 : Tiredness
Chapitre 7 : The real first day
Chapter 8 : This is embarrassing
Chapter 9: Unbelievable
Chapter 10: Meeting with royalty
Chapter 11 : Good but bad news
Chapter 12 : Thanks for everything
Chapter 14: Time out

Chapter 1: A perfectly normal day

Gabriel heaved a sigh as he loosened the last bolt, which he put away with the others in order. He had to tap the cylinder head with a hammer to loosen it, but it eventually came off and he put it on the workbench. He then looked at the engine block, hanging from the chains attached to the hoist, itself fixed to the ceiling. "I'll just have to dismantle the chain, the pistons, the crankshaft and the camshaft", he thought.

He turned off the lights, left the workshop and headed for home. He carefully washed his hands at the kitchen sink and then grabbed his car keys from the counter. "I think I've earned a little break". A smile spread across his face. He then went into his garage, where his faithful steed, his old Ford Fiesta mk2, was resting. He opened the garage door, then got into his car and started up straight away, adjusting the choke. He backed the car outside. He then went back out to close the garage door, got back into his car and drove off.

It was a beautiful August day and past 5pm. It was still hot and Gabriel was driving with the window open, as his Fiesta didn't have air conditioning. He didn't really like the main roads, so he decided to take to the back roads along the fields and forests of Wallonia, and turned on the radio.

He drove a little fast, but not too fast either, enjoying every bend, taking the time to admire the rural landscape he loved so much. As he drove, he thought back to all the times he'd spent with his father restoring this car. Of course, there had been ups and downs, but they hadn't given up and the result was there! He had no regrets whatsoever, and would do it all over again if he had to, that's for sure!

The radio chose this moment to play one of his favourite tunes. Gabriel smiled even more and turned up the volume, then started to sing as he continued to drive. He came to another bend, which he negotiated with ease.

Except that, at the same moment, a blinding white light appeared out of nowhere at the exit of the bend, right in the middle of the curve. Gabriel saw it immediately and shouted to himself "What the fuck?!" as he slammed on the brakes, but the car was going too fast. All 4 wheels locked and the sound of the tyres scraping against the asphalt was the last thing our hero heard before fainting as he reached the light.

The first thing Gabriel felt was his heart racing as he woke up. He put his hand over his heart and breathed deeply until his heart rate dropped. He then slowly opened his eyes, dreading what he was about to see, but to his surprise, he was just sitting in his car, which looked intact and stationary.

He expected to feel a sharp pain at any moment, but he did not. He cautiously ran his hands along his body, thinking he was going to find some kind of injury, but everything seemed to be in place.

He relaxed a little at this and the first rational thought invaded his brain, "What the fuck just happened?". He glanced outside and saw that he was in the middle of a forest, "Probably the one I was driving along 2 seconds ago".

He decided to get out to assess the damage, but to his great astonishment, and relief, his car was brand new. He examined it carefully and there wasn't even a crack, nothing.

He then looked around, searching for the road he'd come upon, but saw nothing but trees and other plants as far as the eye could see. He put his hand to his chin as he considered the situation. "Well, let's see, I was driving along and suddenly there was this light and then BAM! Black screen! And now here I am".

He scratched his head and raised an eyebrow, "OK then, either I've had an accident and a LOT of luck, or... someone's playing a really bad joke on me". Continuing to observe his surroundings, other thoughts came to mind, "Where the hell is this road? I'm not crazy, it should be here! And what was that light? The long-range light of a lorry that's decided to blind me?".

As he asked himself more and more questions and panic began to overcome him, Gabriel also noticed that there was something strange about his surroundings. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was as if he was somewhere he shouldn't be. The trees seemed to be of a different species to those he was used to seeing and the general atmosphere of the place did not inspire confidence.

"Well, don't panic, I'm probably imagining things. The first thing to do is to find out where I am". He reached for his phone to open Google Map, but something was wrong with the connection. "What do you mean no 4g? I was sure I had some left". He realised that the problem wasn't that he'd used up his subscription, but rather that there was simply no signal. "I must be in the middle of nowhere! Well, plan B, looks like I'll have to orientate myself by sight".

He spotted a fairly large tree that looked pretty solid, with long branches sticking out... "Mmmh... Gabriel, I'm not sure that the idea you have in mind is a very good one..."Once at the top of the tree, he confirmed to himself: "Yeah, it definitely wasn't a good idea!" He'd climbed trees before as a kid, but had never been this high!

However, he had to admit that the view from above was pretty good. The road he was on was nowhere in sight, but he could see the end of the forest, with what appeared to be a small country village 2 or 3 kilometres north of his position (thanks to the compass app, at least something that worked). The roofs of the houses looked to be made of thatch, and the houses themselves were in a medieval style. There weren't even any real roads, just dirt paths. "It's strange, I don't remember a village like this in the area. It must be a tourist spot or something".

That wasn't the only thing he'd spotted. Much further on, to the north-east, there was a huge mountain with a waterfall flowing over it. He wasn't really sure at this distance, but it also looked like there was a building built into the side. It looked like a huge white castle with several towers and... golden roofs!? "Ok, so THIS is really weird".

Gabriel climbed down the tree and rubbed off the dirt that had clung to him. "Well then, I guess I'll just head for this village and ask the people there for directions. Maybe I'll even get some networks, who knows". He looked in the direction he was supposed to go and saw a path that seemed to go straight towards the village. "Aha! How did I not see that before?"

He got back into his car and, a little apprehensively, turned the key to start the engine. Fortunately, the car started without a hitch. He shifted into first gear, let go of the clutch pedal and set off down the road towards Ponyville...

Author's Note

And that's it, the first chapter of my first story is done!
Well, I know it's not much, but the rest will come!
I'd like to point out that I write in French and use DeepL to translate, so if you see any mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know!

Chapter 13: Sweet dreams are made of this

Gabriel was sweating as he was about to break his record. He was only a few meters from the goal, when suddenly... he crashed headfirst into the ground. “Damn... “Gabriel sighed as he left the app, having had enough of playing Hill Climb Racing.

After Twilight and Pinkie had left, and now that Gabriel knew he had a reliable way of recharging his phone regularly, he had decided to keep an audiovisual diary of his time in this world. So he filmed himself telling the camera everything that had happened since his first video. Once he'd finished his video, he decided he'd earned a little break and started playing Hill Climb Racing.

The morning passed slowly, and after dinner (which turned out to be no more appetizing than yesterday), Gabriel continued to play offline games on his phone. However, his game-playing was soon interrupted when he heard a knock on the bedroom door. “Er... Come in ?” Gabriel said hesitantly. The door opened to reveal an earth pony Gabriel had never seen before. She had a light brown coat and gray hair and tail. Her mark on her flank represented a scroll wrapped in a blue ribbon, and she looked a little old compared to the other ponies. Another interesting detail was that she wore half-moon glasses.

Before Gabriel could ask anything, Derpy, who was reading a book about Muffins, raised his head and spoke: “Hello Mrs. The Mayor!”

The address seemed slightly surprised, but replied all the same: “Um, hello Derpy, and hello to you Mr. Couset, I presume? I suppose I don't need to introduce myself now?”

“Well... no, not really,” Gabriel coughed, before resuming: ”Good morning to you, Mrs. The Mayor.”

She smiled and said: “Indeed, I am the Mayor of Ponyville. I've come to see you about two things in particular...”

Gabriel's curiosity piqued, he replied: “Really? What's that?”

“Well, first of all, I wanted to give you this "She handed him a piece of cardboard, which Gabriel took, and continued ”Twilight came by this morning to give me your form for access to local citizenship. As you can see, we've taken care of everything!”

Gabriel scanned the identity card, and there was indeed all the info he'd given, including his date of birth, name and species, which he found quite funny but disturbing. “Wow, you were fast...”

The mayor put on a proud face as she replied, “Yes, I know, we're quite efficient...” She picked herself up and continued, “However, all that's missing is your passport photo, which we haven't been able to add yet for obvious reasons. You'll have to come to the town hall as soon as you've recovered to have one taken. By the way, I'm really sorry about your illness, I hope you recover soon...”

Gabriel coughed again before saying, “Thank you so much. Don't worry, it's nothing more than a nasty flu. I'll be fine...”

“Good for you!”

“Yeah... What about the second thing?”

“Ah yes! I just wanted to welcome you all to Ponyville! Normally, I welcome all new residents on their first days here, but I must say... how shall I put this? You're a rather exceptional case...”

Gabriel laughed lightly and said, “Yeah... you could say that. I suppose it must have been quite a panic because of me, wasn't it?”

“Well, yes...” The mayor straightened her glasses before continuing. “... it's true that a lot of pony was... quite worried about you. I must admit, I was pretty scared myself. That's why I asked Twilight and her friends if they could go and see who you were...”

“ You're the one who sent them?” Gabriel asked, frowning.

“Indeed...”

Gabriel, with a weakened movement, turned to the bedside table to drink from his glass of water, then abruptly lay back on his bed before continuing. “Okay... I see. Anyway, I'm sorry for driving like a maniac in the middle of town. I didn't understand what was happening and I wasn't thinking...”

“Oh, don't worry about that, Twilight's already told me all about the circumstances of your arrival. It's me who feels sorry for you, I can't imagine what you're going through...”

“Thank you..., that's kind...”

“What's more, I'm going to organize a speech this afternoon, so that everyone knows who you are and that they don't have to worry about you.”

“You... you'd do that for me?”

“Of course I would! After all, it's my job to help all the pon... er... citizens of Ponyville!” She then looked at a watch out of nowhere, then added: “Now, if you'll excuse me, I've still got other things to attend to. Good-bye and get well soon!” She headed for the door.

“Good-bye and thank you very much!”

“You're welcome, and get well soon too, Derpy!”

“Bye!” Replied the addressed. With that, the mayor stepped through the door and slammed it shut immediately afterwards.

Gabriel was backing away from his work. He'd just finished painting the engine block black. “Beautiful...” he sighed to himself, before shouting, “Dad! Come and have a look!”

A few seconds later, a black pony appeared in the doorway of the workshop and said: “ Wow! You painted that like a pro!”

Gabriel looked at him with raised eyebrows and said, “But... who are you?”

“Huh? What do you mean, who am I? Well, I'm your father !” Answered the strange quadruped while lighting a cigar.

“My father? But you're a talking pony!”

The black pony looked at him with a questioning face, then finally turned and said, “Well, cut the crap, Mom's waiting for us for dinner...” With that he walked away, Gabriel hot on his heels.

“Wait!” He followed him outside to what Gabriel guessed was his house. They went straight into the kitchen, where an orange pony was busy cooking something on the stove.

The pony who claimed to be his father sat down at the table and took out his telephone, which he was strangely good at handling with his hooves, while his so-called mother was still preparing the meal. Gabriel stared at the scene, his eyes transfixed, as he murmured “It's not possible, it's not possible...”

The orange pony raised her head at the sight of her son, asking her husband “”What's wrong with Gaby?“”

“ Nothing, he's just acting,” he replied.

“It's not possible!” Gabriel suddenly had the urge to flee the house. He ran to the front door.

He heard his mother shout, “Where are you going? Dinner's going to be close!” as he passed through the door, but he didn't care. Something was very wrong with this place. He started running as if his life depended on it. In the distance, he could see his neighbor waving at him as he took out the garbage, except it was a pony.

Soon he reached the main road, where he could see cars passing by, but the drivers were all ponies. He crossed the road and came to a playground, where the children of his neighborhood were playing, all transformed into colts and fillies. Ponies, they'd all become fucking ponies!

Suddenly, it began to rain cats and dogs in a matter of seconds, and Gabriel slowed his pace. He finally arrived at a puddle, and it was only at the sight of his reflection that he collapsed to the ground. It was a pony. A fucking brown pony. Tears formed in his eyes as he said aloud to himself. “This is a nightmare, a fucking nightmare...”

“Indeed it is...” Said a soft, feminine voice out of nowhere.

Gabriel sat up suddenly, looking in all directions “What? Who said that?”

“Look up!” said the voice again.

Gabriel looked up to see a dark blue alicorn flapping its wings. A moon-marked alicorn that looked strangely familiar... He stepped back as the creature finally landed on the ground, a small smile on his lips as it spoke again, “Hello, Gabriel.”

The latter simply looked at her with wide eyes, wondering what he could possibly say, before just managing to ask “Who are you?”

“My name is Princess Luna, ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria alongside my sister, Princess Celestia”

Gabriel stared at his moon mark before asking, “You... you're the one who makes the moon rise?”

“Indeed.”

“This... this isn't the first time I've seen you, is it? I've seen you before... but where? I can't remember...”

“Well, for all you know, I've actually met you twice before in your dreams. In fact, I must confess that your reaction last time was not the most pleasant... Fortunately, you seem to be calmer this time...”

“That's right, you were in my dream! Wait a minute, am I in a dream here too ?”

“Well, yes, you are in a dream.”

“So does that mean I haven't become a pony?”

“No, I can confirm that.”

Gabriel laughed as he realized the situation. “It's just a dream, a fucking dream...” Then he bent down to look at his pony body. “But... why am I having a dream like this where I turn into a pony, eh?”

“Well, only you have the answer...”

“What?”

“Deep down, you and you alone decide your dreams. Unconsciously when you don't realize it, and consciously when you know you're dreaming...”

“That's right... I'm having a lucid dream! That means I can do anything I want!” Suddenly he closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could, repeating “I'm a human, I'm a human, I'm a human!” When he opened them again, he could see that he'd regained his normal body. He ran his hands over his entire body as he shouted, “Haha, it fucking worked! I'm a human!”

“See? I told you so!”

"Ooo hold it, what's that on the floor?” Gabriel asked, picking up an AK 47.

Luna looked at the object in astonishment before replying, “Well, I must confess I don't know...”

Gabriel turned to the princess, the weapon in both hands, before saying, still smiling, “Oh, you don't know what it is? Demonstration” He aimed at a right-of-way sign a little further on and began firing. The Kalashnikov began to fire, sending all its bullets into the sign, which soon found itself as full of holes as a sieve. Luna jumped back, surprised by the noise the machine was making. Gabriel soon ran out of bullets and resumed: “Damn! I seem to be out of bullets! Oh, but isn't there a magazine in my pocket?”

He began to rummage frantically in his pocket, but was interrupted by the Princess who approached and said, “Mr. Couset, I understand you're excited about enjoying your dream, but could we have a little chat first?” With that, she conjured up a set of garden furniture, with two chairs and a table, and even two cups of tea. Then she sat down and invited Gabriel to do the same.

The latter dropped his weapon and hesitantly sat down on the second chair, then asked, “How did you do that?”

“Well, as it happens, I too have the power to change certain aspects of this dream...”

“What? Hey, is this your dream or mine? And how come I'm dreaming about you when I've never seen you in real life? I mean, if what I experience when I'm not asleep is real, I mean...”

“Well, you see, I'm not really the work of your dream...”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Mmh... How shall I put it? As Princess of the Night, it is indeed my duty to raise and lower the Moon each day, and to watch over the kingdom at night while my older sister rests. But it's also my duty to visit the dreams of the ponies, especially those with concerns, in order to reassure them, counsel them, you understand?”

Gabriel stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, before saying, “So... you can read people's minds?”

“Well, no, not in their minds. Only in their dreams. It's not the same thing...”

“Yes... but still! Dreams are private! I mean, right now it's fine, there's nothing embarrassing, but if someone has an embarrassing dream, or an erotic one... Will you look at them?”

Luna blushed slightly, not really expecting that kind of question, and replied: “Actually, I try not to get involved in that kind of dream. As I said, I mostly visit the dreams of people with worries or problems in order to help them...”

“Well, okay, okay... And like, so if we see each other in real life, will you be able to tell me that I dreamt we had a chat over tea right after I rafal a sign with a kalash?” The alicorn simply nodded. Gabriel laughed. “Eh well, look at that, a Princess who can visit dreams... Wouldn't you also have a Princess of Love while we're at it?”

“Well...”

“No, never mind, just kidding. Anyway, it's really nice of you to come into my dreams and help me and all that, but honestly, I don't really see what you could do. I mean, I'm stuck on another planet I don't know how many light-years away from home, with no idea how I got here or if I'll ever be able to leave and see my loved ones again. So, no offense, but I don't think giving me some advice is going to make things any better...” Gabriel bent down and picked up a fresh beer from a crate that hadn't been there a moment before and took a few sips before resuming, “The only thing you could do would be to get me home in a snap, but I suppose that's not possible...”

Luna looked sad before replying, “Indeed, I'm very sorry...”

“What was I saying?” Gabriel took another sip from his bottle

“Um... I know this isn't the subject, and forgive my curiosity, but... What are you drinking?”

“Ho, this?” Gabriel says, pointing to the bottle, “It's just a beer. It's, uh, one of the home beverages... ”

“That's curious...”

“Would you like one?” Gabriel asked, holding out another bottle to the Princess.

“Well, yes, why not? I'm curious to see what it tastes like.” She took the bottle in her magical aura and took a sip, then coughed slightly before saying, “Ah yes, I see, it's special... I'm not sure I like it, I think I'll stick to Tea... Sorry...”

Gabriel took the bottle and said, “That's okay, it's always like that the first time, after that you get used to it... I'll drink it for you...”

The two sipped into their respective drinks, unsure of what to say to each other, and an awkward silence ensued. A silence that was soon broken by Luna, who continued: “Maybe you'll think I'm only saying this to comfort you, but... I know how you feel”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow and asked, “Oh yeah? And what exactly am I feeling?”

“You're lost. You find yourself alone in a world you know nothing about and no one and you don't know how to react or what you're going to become, and all you want to do is go home”

“Well... yeah, that's more or less it, actually...”

“You know, I was like you not so long ago...”

“What do you mean?”

Luna looked grave, as if about to reveal a dark secret, then replied, “A thousand years ago, me and my sister ruled Equestria, just like we do today. Except I got carried away with my jealousy. The ponies played and amused themselves during the day, while they were content to sleep at night. One night, I decided not to lower the moon and transformed myself into Nightmare Moon, swearing to plunge the whole of Equestria into darkness. Because of this, my younger sister had to banish me to the Moon”

“To the Moon?” Gabriel exclaimed, stunned by what he heard.

“Yes... and not so long ago, during the Summer Sun Celebration, my evil double, Nightmare Moon, returned for revenge. Fortunately, Twilight and her friends, thanks to the Elements of Harmony, were able to stop and free me”

“Wow, that's uh... I don't know what to say... the Elements of Harmony?”

“Yes, I don't have time to explain in detail. Just know that, when I came back as Princess, I wasn't very well received... I didn't know how to behave and all the inhabitants were afraid of me and avoided me. After being banished for so long, I felt completely lost...”

“Yeah, that sucks... So how did you do ?”

This time, Luna started to smile, and said “I listened to Twilight and her friends' advice. I opened up and showed the townspeople who I really was. And everyone accepted me back and I felt right at home!”

“And... the ones who were scared?”

“Ho... well, it doesn't hurt to be a little scared now and then, does it?” She said, winking at obviously no one in particular.

Gabriel found this strange, but said only “Er, okay...”

“All that to say, even if you feel out of place, you'll still be able to make friends and get your bearings. I'm sure you'll feel right at home too throughout your stay here!”

“Yes, maybe so, but... what worries me most is picturing my loved ones imagining all sorts of scenarios about why I disappeared like that overnight. If only I could send them a letter, or anything, to tell them I'm okay, and that I love them, damn it, I love them...” Gabriel put his hands to his face as he felt tears running down his cheeks.

“I... I'm so sorry. I promise you that me and my sister will do everything we can to get you back as soon as possible...”

“Thank you, thank you...”

“I... I think your dream is coming to an end... don't forget that...” Soon, Gabriel heard only blurred words as his body slowly emerged from its sleepy state. He would soon wake up.

Author's Note

A new chapter at last!
I know this one took a long time to come out, well more than usual. But hey, let's just say I've had other things on my mind lately.
With this chapter I've also finished the first part of my story where Gabriel is “introduced” to the universe. That means the fun is yet to come!
Thanks for your patience and see you next time!

Ho, and happy new year everyone!

Chapter 2 : The strangest dream ever

Gabriel was driving slowly, as his Fiesta was not really suited to off-road driving. He was trying not to pay attention to the strange landscape and decided to turn on the radio to take his mind off things. But of course no station could be picked up. "I must really be in the ass end of nowhere". So he decided to turn off the volume and just listen to the gentle sound of the engine and wheels against the earth.

After a little while, Gabriel finally saw more light and accelerated a little, excited at the idea of leaving this forest. Eventually he reached a small house on his left. This time he could see the details clearly and the first thing that struck him was that the roof was made of grass! Well, at least it looked like it. There were also nesting boxes all over the house and a chicken coop next to it. "It must be an unusual dwelling for people who love birds, that's the only explanation I can think of".

The path that followed looked smoother and more regular than the one he had taken so far and continued across a bridge that overlooked a small river and then split into a crossroads to go left or right. On the right was a clock tower and on the left he could make out a barn and the village a little further on.

He considered knocking on the door, but hesitated before finally deciding it would be better to ask the inhabitants of the village centre. So he crossed the little bridge and turned left.

He continued along the path, which ran alongside 2 rivers on either side. He passed to the right of the barn housing a herd of cows. A little further on, there was a lake on the right, just before a bridge over a larger river, where the 2 smaller rivers seemed to join. He crossed the bridge quietly, thinking to himself "This isn't such a bad place after all".

It wasn't until he got to the other side and reached the main square that he finally saw the residents of this place. He brought the car to a halt, eyes wide open as his brain tried to interpret what he was seeing. In front of him stood not people as such, but... Well, he didn't really know what they were. Little coloured horses? No, not horses... Ponies? Yeah, that was it, ponies. FUCKING MULTICOLOUR PONIES! And there were even some with horns and some with fucking wings! And their faces... Oh my God, their faces... They looked like they were halfway between a human face and a horse's face, but with a HUGE pair of eyes. And all those pairs of eyes were now turned towards him.

Gabriel felt his heart start to beat unusually fast again and his hands began to tremble. He'd been in stressful situations before, like going to school for the first time or taking his driving test, but this was nothing compared to THIS! "Am I in a dream? Or a hallucination? Am I dead and in heaven and are these angels? Is this a simulation ?"All sorts of similar questions raced through his head because, for him, one thing was certain: what he was seeing there couldn't be real... It simply couldn't be possible... For a million obvious reasons!

After a moment's cogitation, still under the questioning and suspicious gazes of the four-legged villagers, he came to this conclusion: "I've got to get out of here... RIGHT NOW!"He didn't know where he was, or how he'd got here, and above all, he didn't know what these creatures were, let alone if they were hostile. So he thought the best solution for the moment was to get the hell out of here.

He had a quick look around and then, deciding that he had no time to turn back, decided to turn into a street on his left. The sudden movement of the vehicle was enough to make the nearest ponies panic and get as far away from the car as possible. He quickly crossed the road and had to turn right, round a strange building that looked like it was made of gingerbread. He arrived at a smaller square which also had its share of ponies. He honked to get them out of the way. This had the desired effect, so much so that he didn't even have to slow down.

He spotted a path to the left which he took immediately and which led him, as he had hoped, towards the village exit. The path crossed another bridge before continuing a block further, but he decided to fork slightly to the left to find himself in a clearing dotted with trees.

Thinking he was more or less out of the woods, he looked in his rear-view mirror, and what he saw made his blood run cold. One of those ponies with wings, a light blue colour and a multicoloured mane and tail had decided to follow him in flight.

"SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT..." He tried to pick up the pace and zigzag to try and lose it, but he was fast enough and was even starting to catch up. "FUCK IT ! How can that thing be so fast with such small wings?"He finally arrived in front of a group of trees too big to go through or around, and, without even having time to grab the gear lever to put it in reverse, the pegasus had reached his level.

Gabriel, now in a state of total panic, stalled the car. In a hasty gesture, he angrily opened the glove compartment and grabbed the spanner inside with both hands. He then turned around, preparing to be attacked.

However, the Pegasus, who actually looked more feminine than masculine, simply looked at him, questioning and suspicious at the same time. Gabriel returned his gaze, a mixture of fear and disbelief in his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, the blue menace decided to head back towards the village.

Gabriel let out a long sigh as he dropped the tool from his hands and placed it on the passenger seat. He covered his head with both arms and laughed nervously. He started laughing and crying at the same time. Then, as if he'd suddenly had a flash of consciousness, he sat up straight and looked in all directions.

But there was nothing in sight except the trees and the village in the distance. He took a deep breath and spoke to himself, saying "OK, everything's fine, everything's fine... Calm down, Gabriel, you need to calm the fuck down!" He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the tears that had formed, "What am I going to do now?"He felt his phone in his pocket and suddenly had the idea of checking it.

He grabbed it and looked, but obviously there was no more signal than earlier, and the phone service seemed to be down. He also checked the time, which now read 6.30pm. After what he'd just been through, he was hardly surprised to see that the sun was at its highest point in the middle of the sky, as if it were midday. "Yet another strange thing to explain".

He massaged his temples as he considered his situation once more "So, to sum up, I'm stuck with God knows where and no idea or directions home, and the only village nearby is populated by alien equine beings who look like they've stepped straight out of another dimension or a cartoon for little girls" He let out another sigh. "And all I've got is a useless phone, my wallet, a canteen full of water and... my car of course. I'm going to have to find a solution quickly because without food and water I'm not going to last long..."

Speaking of water, he allowed himself a sip from his flask to refresh himself, while glancing again in his rear-view mirror. He nearly choked when he saw 6 ponies heading straight for him, including the blue one that had followed him...

Chapter 3 : First contact

Gabriel watched the 6 coloured shapes approach as he wondered what he was going to do. Of course, his first thought was to flee without asking for a second chance, but on the other hand, he wondered if it was really worth it. After all, he still had no idea where he was and running off at random could only lead to him getting even more lost. Besides, if he was going to end up in another village with even more ponies, there was no point. Not to mention the fact that he only had a limited amount of fuel, and he doubted very much whether there was a service station in the area.

What's more, the nearest potential source of food and water was the village where these things come from, so... After a moment's hesitation, Gabriel decided to let them approach to see what they wanted. After all, they didn't seem very aggressive, more curious. What's more, if they wanted to attack him, they would probably have charged in his direction. But they were content to walk (or trot?) towards him. "The blue one had the chance to attack me earlier, but didn't. Was it because she didn't want to? Was it because she needed reinforcements or just because she didn't want to hurt me? I don't know."

The little group was getting closer and closer, and Gabriel decided it was better not to take too many risks. He stayed in his car, ignition on, ready to start the engine at any moment if he felt there was a problem. He also kept the wheel key close to him, you never know...

The 6 ponies (yes, he was pretty sure they were females now) were now at the height of the car and Gabriel could see every detail. There were two with wings, including the one that had followed him in flight (and was still flying, by the way), but there was also a yellow one with pastel pink hair and tail. The latter seemed to want to hide behind the others, for some reason.

There were also two with horns, including a light mauve one with hair and a mauve or dark blue tail? He wasn't sure, but there was also a pink and mauve line, as if added by dye (he was beginning to wonder if they didn't all have dyes, so unnatural were their colours). She seemed to be leading the group. The other was immaculate white with dark purple curly hair and tail. And was it make-up in her eyes ?

Finally there were the two normals (well, you couldn't really say they were normal, but they didn't have wings or horns). One was all pink with even pinker hair and tail (no kidding, it almost hurt his eyes because it was so pink) and she had a huge smile on her face, as if she'd just been told she'd won the Euro million. And, last but not least, an orange pony with blonde hair and tail, which were pulled back into a ponytail. She also had freckles and, to Gabriel's amusement, a cowboy hat.

And, as if that wasn't surreal enough, Gabriel also noticed that they all had symbols on their sides. For example, the mauve one had a pink star tattooed on each side with other smaller white stars accompanying them.

The blue one had a cloud with a multicoloured lightning bolt coming out of it, the pink one had balloons, the orange one had red apples, the white one had three blue diamonds and the yellow one couldn't see its sides because it was hiding, but he assumed it had two tattoos as well.

After a moment's observation, which was beginning to become a little awkward, the purple leader moved a little closer, now less than a metre from the driver's door. All Gabriel's muscles tightened, his hand on the ignition key, ready to react to the slightest suspicious movement.

However, the pony only raised a hoof to her mouth to clear her throat, then moved her lips as if... "Wait a minute... Is she talking now?" After a few seconds, the time it took for his brain to assimilate what had just happened, Gabriel had the reflex to open his window slightly to hear better.

The mare, looking slightly surprised by this gesture, was obviously waiting for a reaction from the human. Gabriel saw this and cleared his throat, then said in a slightly uncertain voice: ‘’Uh... Excuse me?"

‘’Um, I was asking if you understood me, but I suppose you do, so,‘’ she replied.

Gabriel looked at her with bulging eyes. "Oh for God's sake, she's... She's talking! Those... These things can talk!" In fact, this information didn't shock him all that much, given that they seemed to be fairly intelligent. What really shocked him was that she was speaking in HIS language! "I thought these ponies would have their own languages, but she just said a sentence in impeccable French..." he thought.

Suddenly remembering that he had an interlocutor waiting for his reply, he awkwardly spoke again ‘’Uh, yes. Yes, indeed, yes...’

A small smile appeared on the equine's face, clearly pleased that they could understand each other. "Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle, a pupil of Princess Celestia, and these are my friends", she said, pointing to the ponies behind her. "And you, may I ask your name?"

Gabriel, still bewildered by what was happening, replied in an almost robotic voice: "Gabriel. Gabriel Couset".

This time Twilight wore a smile that looked a little forced: ‘"Ah, great... And what exactly are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Gabriel laughed nervously "I have absolutely no idea".

Twilight frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I don't know. I don't know how I got here or why, okay? I don't even know where we are here!"

"You don't know where we are?"Gabriel gave her an incredulous look by way of reply. Twilight sighed, then continued: "Well, we're in Equestria. More precisely, just outside Ponyville."

"Wha... What? Ponyville? Equestria? What's that, a region?"

"Nonsense, it's a country! You've really never heard of Equestria?"

"Er, not really, no’"

"But... Where are you from?"

"Well, the Commune of Tintigny"

"Tintigny?"

"Yeah, you know, in the Province of Luxembourg" Twilight only returned a questioning look. "In the Walloon Region, in Belgium"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I've never heard of such a place"

"Okay, never mind"

An awkward silence began to set in as the 2 were at a loss for words. The silence was broken a few seconds later by the blue one who approached them and asked: “Can I ask a question too?" Gabriel barely had time to answer before she continued: “What exactly are you? Because personally, I've never seen a creature like you before!"

Gabriel froze at this new question. If there was one thing he never thought he'd have to answer in his life, it was this. “Well, I'm human. I think the correct term is Homo sapiens, I mean the scientific term. And what are you supposed to be?”

The small group seemed equally taken aback by the question, and it was Twilight who answered again, “We're ponies. More precisely, I'm a unicorn, as is Rarity here. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasuses. As for Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack, they're what we call land ponies.”

Gabriel didn't have to think too hard to guess which name belonged to which pony. In fact, it seemed he'd guessed right. “Well okay fine, and is this a joke or something?”

Twilight gave a questioning look. “What do you mean?”

Gabriel let out a sigh, then decided to get out of his car because his legs were starting to go numb. What's more, these ponies didn't look very dangerous, if at all. Besides, he was convinced he was in some kind of stupid dream. As he stood in front of the 6 equines, they backed away slightly, not expecting the biped to be so tall. Even he was amazed at how tall he was compared to them. He wasn't particularly tall, but the ponies were barely up to his waist!

“You're doing a hidden camera on me, aren't you? Are you wearing some kind of ultra-sophisticated disguise? Or are you holograms or robots? Is this all just a hyper-realistic simulation? Or I know, I've been drugged with LSD or crack and I'm completely delirious, right? Tell me the truth!”

“Uh... What are you talking about?”

“You know very well what I'm talking about! Please tell me this is a joke, tell me I'm dreaming that and that I'm going to wake up!”

Seeing the questioning looks on the 6 ponies' faces, Gabriel began to panic again, a bead of cold sweat running down his forehead. “No, it's not possible, it's not possible ...” he repeated to himself as if to convince himself. He had to find a rational explanation for what was happening, and now! He started to walk in a random direction, then started to run, repeating the words: “It's not possible, it's not possible!”

He then walked over to the nearest tree, and began to pluck the leaves from it, then examined them as if looking for a trace of scythe. But the leaves seemed very real. He then attacked the tree trunk, ripping off the bark with his bare hands, then examined it too, expecting it to be made of cardboard or something. Except that the bark looked real too. He then set off again, still looking for some kind of explanation, this time scrutinizing his landscape carefully, the trees, the village in the distance, the grass at his feet...

It all looked very real, too real... then he looked up at the sky, and his gaze lingered on the sun. The fucking sun... he could look at it, and his eyes didn't hurt at all. It was this detail that was the last straw. Gabriel knelt on the grass, his gaze still on the sun. He didn't know what to do, what to think. In fact, he didn't even want to think at all, he just wanted it all to stop. He just wanted to pass out again and go home.

His gaze was diverted by the ponies approaching him, obviously concerned by his condition and attitude. He jumped to his feet, and said in a tone that was meant to be dissuasive: “Stay away from me you!”

This time it was the orange, well Apple Jack, who spoke up: “But, we just want to help you...”

“No, you can't help me, you're not real! None of this is real!”

“Listen, sugarcube, I don't know why you think you're in a dream, but I'm sure of one thing: I'm real, and so are my friends!”

“No, that's bullshit! You're in my head! This is all in my head!”

Then he had an idea, and he didn't know why he hadn't had it sooner: he began pinching his forearm as hard as he could. He expected to feel nothing, but immediately felt a sharp pain where he'd pinched himself. “Ow, fuck!”. He then looked the mares straight in the eye as his forearm continued to inform him of the pain. Then he had his wise words: “Oh shit...”

Chapter 4: Nothing better to do anyway

Gabriel had to hold on to a tree to keep from falling, as he realized the impossible truth. “I'm not dreaming, it's all too clear, too precise. I'm thinking too clearly. And I feel pain...” A part of his mind still didn't want to accept what the yet overwhelming evidence announced. “Why? Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”.

It was at this point that Fluttershy decided to finally step out of the shadows and approach the visibly distressed human. “Are you... okay?”

Gabriel, a little taken aback by the question, observed the newcomer. She had a sympathetic look on her face, like her fellows now. “No... No I'm not okay...”

“Why's that?”

“Because... I don't understand what's happening to me! I just... I just want to know why I'm here! And how I'm getting home!”

Fluttershy put her hoof on Gabriel's shoulder, who was about to counter her gesture but recovered, and continued: “Ho... Don't worry, I'm sure Twilight will be able to help you. She's the most magically gifted unicorn I know”.

“Magic !?”

“Yes, isn't it Twilight?”

Twilight, who was watching the scene intently, blushed a little as she replied, “Stop it, Fluttershy, I'm not THAT good.... But I think I might be able to help you, indeed.”

Gabriel looked at the ponies, who seemed to want to help him for some reason. He had to admit too, now that he'd calmed down, that they were kind of cute. He suddenly blamed himself for his behavior a few moments ago. “Look, I'm... I'm really sorry for yelling at you, really, I... I wasn't in my right mind.”

Apple Jack smiled as he replied, “Well, you were in a panic, that's understandable, we don't blame you”

Rarity added: “Yes, the most important thing is that you apologized, dear...”

"Thanks..."

Twilight said: “Well, I suppose the best thing to do now is to go home and send a letter to Princess Celestia to let her know you're coming, she'll surely know better than I what to do.”

“Uhm... Who's that?”

“Don't tell me you don't know who Princess Celestia is?” She asked as if it were a crime.

Rarity intervened: “Darling, this young man obviously comes from a very distant place, it's only natural that he doesn't know...”

“Yes, you're right Rarity, I'll explain you later” The 6 friends set off towards the village, then turned around when they realized he wasn't following them. “You're... coming with us, aren't you?”

Gabriel thought for a moment, then decided he had nothing better to do here anyway. “Uhm... Yes, yes of course! Let me just grab a few things...” He headed for his car and retrieved his phone and wallet, as well as the keys. He hesitated for a moment to follow them in the car, but finally decided it would be better to stay on foot for now. Especially as he didn't want to cause another panic in the village. After locking his Fiesta, he set off with the ponygirls. “I'd be surprised if they knew how to steal a car anyway".

As they walked, Gabriel asked a new question. “I'm really grateful for your help, but... Why do you want to help me?”

Pinkie jumped as she replied, “Because that's what friends do!”

“But, we don't even know each other!”

“Of course we do, this isn't the first time I've seen you!”

“The first time was five minutes ago!”

“See, I told you!”

Gabriel decided to give up. He was both annoyed and amused by the pink pony. He turned his attention back to Twilight. “Uh, tell me, Twilight... Didn't I scare the locals too much earlier?”

“Well, to be honest, yes, a little. Even a lot. That's why we came to see what you were and if you were dangerous...”

Rainbow added: “Yeah, everyone was in a panic, screaming that we were under attack by aliens or something. So when I saw you running away, I chased you to see where you were going!”

“And when you caught up with me? Why didn't you, like, stop me?”

Rainbow suddenly blushed as if she'd just been asked about her period. “Um... It's not because I was scared of you or anything, I could have stopped you if I wanted to! It's just that, you didn't seem very mean, and then... I wanted the others to be there, because... We work as a team... OKAY?!”

“Okaaaaaay... Anyway, I also wanted to apologize for that, I... I reacted a bit like a jerk.”

Twilight smiled “Don't worry, I'm sure they'll understand. The most important thing is that you didn't hurt anyone.”

“Won't they... be too scared when they see me coming?”

“Well... they might be a little surprised, that's true... But if they see you don't mean them any harm, they'll relax.”

“Okay, if you say so...”

They finally crossed the small village and, as expected, all eyes fell on him. He felt like a circus animal for everyone to admire, and he didn't like it one bit. He was beginning to wonder why he hadn't just packed up his car and got the hell out of there. Fortunately, the fact that he was with 6 of them seemed to appease them a little, and they just stared at him quizzically.

Gabriel, for his part, admired the ground, trying to make himself as small as possible. “God, I hope we get there soon...”. Even so, he noticed 3 of what appeared to be children, watching him intently. He wasn't going to lie, they were adorable. He then felt a surge of sympathy and decided to put on his best smile (at least, he was trying )and wave to the trio, to show that he was being kind.

This obviously had the desired effect, as the one in the middle, a yellow with red hair and a ribbon on her head, returned the wave. The other two, an orange one with wings and purple hair, and a white one with a horn and pink/purple hair, continued to stare at him with their bewildered little heads.

After a short walk, they finally arrived in front of a gigantic tree, which had windows and a door built into it. “Here we are!” said Twilight.

“What? This is your house?”

“Well, technically, it's the village library, but it's also where I live.”

“But... You've got to be kidding me!”

“Well, take a look for yourself...” She stepped forward and opened the door, then stepped inside. She turned around, “Are you coming?”.

Gabriel advanced cautiously, and had to bend over to avoid hitting his head as he passed through the door. When he found himself inside, he couldn't believe his eyes. There was indeed a living room, as if the tree had been hollowed out from the inside. Everything, be it shelves, walls or stairs, was carved from wood. And there were books. Lots of books. Probably more than he'd ever seen in his life. “But... yet... the tree is alive, there are still green leaves on it...”

Twilight turned around again, surprised by the human's words. “Uhm... Yes, so what?”

“How... How can this tree still be alive when it's literally hollow inside?” Twilight didn't have time to answer as he continued: “Wait, don't say anything. It's magic, isn't it?”

“Well, it's more or less that, yes” Addressing someone else this time, she shouted, ”Spike! We're home!”

Footsteps echoed up the stairs and a small green and purple shape appeared. “Already? You were able to catch the...” He paused in his sentence when he caught sight of Gabriel, who was also shocked to see him.

Twilight intervened: “Um, Spike, this is Gabriel. He's a human, and he's lost out here. Gabriel, this is Spike, my number one assistant” Gabriel's brain overheated as he tried to make sense of what his eyes were seeing. He looked like a large reptile that had undergone extensive mutations to... Well, to look like a cartoon character...

After a small awkward moment, Spike decided to break the ice. “Well, hi...” he said, holding out his hand to Gabriel.

The latter took it gently to shake it and replied in a small voice, “Nice to meet you...”

“In any case, you could say I would have seen it all...” He turned to see the face of an owl perched 2cm from him. “Houhou!”

Gabriel jumped back 1 meter as if he'd just touched a lit cigar lighter. “HOLY SHIT WHAT'S THAT!”

Twilight replied “Uh..., this is Owlowiscious. My, uh, second assistant number one”.

Gabriel looked at the owl again, then apologized “Ho, uh, sorry, I guess I overreacted a bit. Well, hello, Mr. Owl, uh...”

“Houhou”

“Is that the only thing you know how to say?”

“Houhou”

“Okay, I get it” Gabriel rubbed his temples. He was getting a headache from all the weirdness. “Well, from now on, I'm going to make myself a rule: no more trying to figure out what's going on here!”

Apple Jack then spoke up. “Well, folks, it's not that I'm bored or anything, but I've still got a lot of work waiting for me at the farm.”

Rarity added: “And I've still got some orders to finish by tomorrow”.

“My animals are probably waiting to be fed by now” declared Fluttershy.

As for Rainbow Dash, she said something about having to deal with the weather or something. Everyone seemed to have an excuse to leave, except... “Pinkie Pie, aren't you leaving too?” Twilight asked.

“Oh no, I've finished everything I had to do today! Besides, it's not every day you meet a... What did you say again? Human? That's such a funny word! Human, human, human...”

“Well all right, have it your way. Can I ask you to wait here for a moment while I write my letter? I won't be long. Spike, can you look after our guests until I get there?”

“Uh, sure Twilight!”

“Thanks, see you in a bit!” She climbed the stairs and went into what Gabriel assumed was her office or bedroom. He turned and looked at Pinkie, who had a huge, almost frightening smile on her face. He wasn't sure if he was happy to be locked up with her and that lizard thing.

“Well, looks like it's just the three of us! A pony, a human and a dragon!” Pinkie says.

“A dragon... Okay, why not?” thought Gabriel.

“So...” began Spike, ”would you like something to drink?”

A comforting image took shape in Gabriel's mind. An image in the shape of a glass overflowing with foam. Foam from a sacred golden liquid of malt and hops...

Author's Note

Hello to all my readers!

Thank you so much for all your feedback, I didn't think my story would be so well received!

I'd like to apologize if my chapters are a bit short and take a while to come out. I'm just an amateur writer and I write this after hours, so it can sometimes take time. But as they say, quality is better than quantity!

Also, I'd like to warn you that my chapters may be subject to change, if I realize that this or that could have been written better, or that I could have added that.

Don't worry, I still have chapters in mind, so please be patient and enjoy!

Chapter 5 : Questions and explanations

Although Gabriel would indeed have liked a good beer to relax him after all that stress, he decided to opt for a glass of water, for obvious reasons. Not least because he knew there was no such drink here, and also because he wanted to keep his mind clear for the moment. Pinkie opted for an orange juice, and Spike made himself a hot chocolate.

Gabriel examined his glass carefully, and Spike noticed. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing, it's just... Well, I'm afraid the local water is making me sick.” He remembered his last trip to Germany, which had gone wrong because of this.

“Oh don't worry, it's pure water, filtered and all!”

Gabriel hesitated a moment longer, then finally took a sip, saying to himself, “Never mind!” The water tasted surprisingly good, much better than the water in his gourd.

Pinkie began to speak. “So, how long have you been here?”

“Well since...” Gabriel looked discreetly at his phone, and it said 7pm. Then he glanced at the clock on the wall, which read almost 1pm. Yeah, he was definitely jet-lagged. “...a big hour,” he finally finished.

“So, how do you like Ponyville? It's nice here, don't you think?”

“Well, I mean, I haven't really had time to visit yet.”

“I could show you around, if you like! And then I'll have to organize a party for you too!”

“Wha... what?! What do you mean a party for me?”

“A welcome to Ponyville party! And everyone will be there!”

“Hum... listen that's very kind, but I don't really intend to go on forev...”

“Tell me, what's your favorite cake flavor? Vanilla, strawberry?”

“Uh, chocolate, but...”

“Great! It's easy enough to make! I'll also have to bring confetti, pointy hats, garlands...”

Pinkie went on gibbering whatever she had to take for this so-called party to herself, and Gabriel couldn't even follow what she was saying anymore, so much was she spouting off. He noticed that Spike, sitting right next to him, looked just as surprised as he was. He discreetly leaned over and whispered in his ear: “Hey, do you know if she's always this overexcited?”

“Unfortunately yes” Suddenly, a muffled growl interrupted the pink mare's flow of words. “What was that noise?”

Gabriel, a little embarrassed, replied, “Uh, it was my stomach actually. I'm pretty hungry myself.”

“Ah, I've got just the thing for you!"Pinkie, even more enthusiastic than before, pulled out a chocolate cupcake from who knows where and presented it to Gabriel.” It's your favorite flavor, too!”

“Do you... always walk around with a cupcake on you?”

“Pinkie Pie rule number one: always carry a backup cupcake!”

Gabriel delicately grasped the cupcake and, although it all looked very suspicious, he couldn't see why she'd want to poison him now. Still, he had an idea to be on the safe side. Tearing the cupcake in 2, he extended one of the halves to Pinkie. “I always share my cupcakes!” he said, flashing a fake smile.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!"She took the piece of cupcake and wolfed it down in one gulp. “Mmmh, it's true that it's better when you share it! ”

Gabriel watched her do so, raising an eyebrow, then decided to do the same. He stopped chewing for a moment as the taste spread through his mouth. “God, this... this has got to be the best cupcake I've ever eaten in my entire life!” After swallowing it all, Gabriel's stomach growled again, indicating that he still wasn't full. Pinkie immediately noticed it and give him another cupcake, which they shared equally. “Thanks a lot, that should calm my hunger for a while...”

“No problem!”

At the same moment, Twilight came back down with a parchment she was holding... No, wait, literally FLYING beside her in a transparent pink glow. “Here I am again!”

Now that he was paying attention, Gabriel noticed that the pony's horn was glowing with the same gleam “Are you... are you telekinetic right now?”

“Uh yes, why do you look so surprised? It's just a basic magic spell. You look like you've never seen this before!”

“It is!”

“Ho... Anyway, could you send this letter to the Princess, Spike, please?”

“Right away!” He took the piece of paper and... did the last thing Gabriel expected. He burned it with a spit of flame!

Gabriel leapt to his feet and shouted, “But... Why did you do that?!”

“Uh... do what?”

“But that!” he said, pointing to where the letter had stood a few seconds ago.

“Well... I sent the letter, what a question!”

“Are you kidding me right now? I just saw you disintegrate it 2 seconds ago!”

“It's also a form of magic that allows you to send letters very quickly and messages over long distances, for your information...” said Twilight.

Gabriel was about to retort, but remembered the rule he'd set himself earlier, decided to give up and sat back wearily, saying “Okay...”

“Well, while we're waiting for the answer, could I ask you a few questions?”

“Uh, yeah, sure, if you want...”

“So, you said you didn't know how you got here, right?”

“Right.”

“And... you have no recollection of what happened?”

“Well, I remember what happened before, but...”

“Go on, tell! Anything you can remember might help us!”

“Well, all right...”

Gabriel recounted everything, the car ride, the blinding white light, his awakening in the forest, his chase with Rainbow, up to now. Twilight and Spike listened attentively, and even Pinkie seemed to have calmed down to follow the tale.

When he had finished explaining, Twilight looked slightly surprised. “So, to sum up, you're saying that a white light appeared out of nowhere and you fainted when you reached it? ”

“That's more or less it, yes. When I woke up, I thought I'd had a head-on with a truck that had its big lights on, but that can't be it. It happened too suddenly, too fast... I literally saw this light appear out of nowhere!”

“Mmh... That's interesting... I'm no expert on the subject, but it looks like you've gone through some kind of portal...”

“A... a portal!?” Well, on the one hand, that answered a lot of questions. But on the other, it created even more. Why had a portal appeared? Was it accidental, or had someone or something made it appear on purpose? If so, why? Was it intended specifically for him?

Gabriel didn't have time to ask himself any more questions when Spike let out a sort of belch, then a piece of parchment magically emerged from his mouth. Twilight grabbed it with her telekinetic field and began to read it. Gabriel watched her, apprehensive about the answer he was about to receive. When she had finished, he asked, “So... What does it say?”

“Well... The Princess lets you know that she's very eager to meet you and find out more about who you are and where you're from. She advises you to stay in Ponyville for the time being and says she'd be delighted to help you find a way home. She'll drop by tomorrow afternoon to have a word with you. Finally, she sends her regards.”

“Ho... Ok, that's cool but... I still don't know who she is, in fact...”

Twilight looked at him wide-eyed, then struck her head with a hoof as she said. “Ah yes, that's right, I still haven't told you! How could I forget?” She suddenly stood taller than before, looking proud, and said, “Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria, along with her sister Princess Luna! She's been ruling for a thousand years now, and makes the sun rise and set every day!”

Gabriel, who was downing a sip of water at the time, nearly choked for the second time that day. He coughed for a moment to clear the water he'd swallowed wrong, then said, “What did you just say?”

“Uh, that she made the sun rise and set every day?”

“Is that, uh, like an expression or something?”

“No, no, she really does! And her sister makes the moon rise and set every night!”

Gabriel wondered if all this was just a test of patience before his nerves snapped. “Well okay,” he said, massaging his eyes, ”and so you say she's been reigning for a thousand years!?” But how old is she?!”

Twilight froze at this question, then said, uncertain: “Well, I confess I've never dared ask her, but I think she must be at least 1200.”

Gabriel didn't realize what he'd just heard. “Twelve centuries... Twelve fucking centuries!” Gabriel suddenly wondered if all ponies lived that long here. He asked, a little concern in his voice: “And... And what about you? How old are you?”

“Me? I'm 20.”

Gabriel relaxed a little as he heard the answer. “Ha right. And, are you going to live for a thousand years too?”

“What? No! Ponies live an average of a hundred years. Princesses Celestia and Luna are alicorns, very rare types of ponies, who can live much longer. There are only a few in the world.”

Gabriel, half-reassured by Twilight's explanation, murmured to himself, “I'm going crazy here, me...”

“Um, excuse me?”

“I said I'm going crazy!” He finally finished his glass, placed it on the table and sighed.

“I still wonder how you've never heard of the Princesses! They're known the world over and everyone knows they control the sun and the moon! Even if you're from the other side of the planet, you should know about them! Unless...” She stopped in mid-sentence, an expression of semi-terror on her face.

“Unless what?”

“Wait a minute!” She walked over to the shelves and rummaged around for a moment, then pulled out a card and handed it to Gabriel, still with that magical aura. “You said you were from a country called Belgium?”

“Er... yes...”

“Could... could you point it out on this map?”

Gabriel examined the map, his eyes widening as he went over it. “But... what's this map?”

“Well, it's a map of the world!”

“The world? But where is Europe? Where's America? Where's Russia? China? And the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans?”

Twilight stared at her in amazement. “I... have never heard of any of the places you just mentioned...”

“What? Is this a joke? Doesn't that tell you something?” He asked, turning to Spike and Pinkie Pie, who were still present. They both nodded in protest. Gabriel began to bite his lip. He wasn't the type to get angry, but he almost wanted to tell them he'd had enough of their bullshit and wanted a real card. Yet they looked sincere, their expressions too real to be played. Besides, it was hard to want to yell at them.

He then took a deep breath to calm himself and carefully re-examined the map, scrutinizing the names of the places dis. Crystal Empire, Manehattan, Bone Dry Desert, Zebrat, Celestia Sea... All far-fetched names which, he was sure, were invented. Then he turned to Twilight and said, as calmly as possible. “Listen, Twilight, I... I can't locate Belgium on your map, it's wrong OK?”

“But... I don't know what to say, I... I swear it's a real map! Are you sure you looked carefully?”

“Yes, I'm sure I looked carefully! And if it's a real map, then where exactly are we?”

“Here!” said Twilight, pointing to the center of the map with her hoof. Gabriel looked at the place indicated, and saw indeed a small village, with “Ponyville” written next to it. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was what was represented a little further up the map, next to the inscription “Canterlot”. A drawing of a mountain with a waterfall on its side, and a white castle. A white castle with golden roofs... He suddenly remembered the moment, shortly after his awakening, when he had been perched in a tree scanning the horizon. And in the distance, he had seen the same mountain, with the same waterfall, and the same castle that looked exactly like the drawing in front of his eyes.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. A thought he'd denied since he'd been here. A thought he'd tried to keep tucked away in the back of his mind, a thought he didn't even want to touch. But the thought was back with a vengeance, now that the now innumerable pieces of evidence were piling up before him. His hands began to tremble.

Twilight looked at the human with compassion. “Look, I... I'm sorry to have to break it to you like this, but I think...”

“No, don't say it! Don't say it! You can't say that! You can't say that to me!” Gabriel didn't know how to say what he was feeling at that moment. It was as if the world was crumbling at his feet, as if his whole life was a lie. He felt his chin tremble and tears form in his eyes. There, his nerves had finally snapped. He laughed, but not a normal laugh. It was a nervous laugh. At first it was quiet, then it got louder, and finally he collapsed to the ground laughing like a madman out of asylums. The other three looked at him with a mixture of fear, incomprehension and pity.

Pinkie asked, “Have you told him a joke, Twilight?”.

“No...” she replied.

Eventually he calmed down, and tears began to roll down his cheeks. He wiped them away as he gazed up at the ceiling, his eyes devoid of emotion. He rose to his feet, more tears streaming down his cheeks. Tears of sadness and fear. He was terrified.

Twilight placed a hoof on Gabriel's knee in comfort. “I'm so sorry for you, I can't even imagine what you must be going through... I... I promise we'll do whatever it takes to figure out what brought you here, and if there's a way to get you home, we'll find it!” Pinkie Pie then approached and gived him a hug. Normally he'd have found it odd, even embarrassing, but now he didn't care. So he let her. After she'd finished, he felt strangely a little better.

“Thank you, you're really very kind...” “Well, even though I'm in another completely unknown world with no idea how to get home, at least I could have stumbled upon worse than some very friendly ponies who wants to help me...”

Author's Note

For this chapter, I based myself on the fact that ponies live on average as long as humans and that Twilight is 20 years old. This may not be canonically accurate, and if it is I apologize, but I just thought it was simpler that way.

Please bear with me

Chapter 6 : Tiredness

It was now 4 p.m. and Gabriel was getting seriously tired because, after all, it was supposed to be 10 p.m. for him. His crisis having passed, he had spent the last three hours answering Pinkie Pie and Spike's questions about his world, such as “How many are you?” “Are there also humans with horns and wings, like ponies?” or ”Do you also like to party and eat cake?”

He had done his best to answer the sometimes seriously puzzling questions of the two curious beings. Meanwhile, Twilight had been studying the bipedal creatures of Equestria and portal magic in her books, all the while mumbling incomprehensible things. From what Gabriel understood, her research hadn't turned up much.

Pinkie had finally left, saying she had to prepare something. So Gabriel found himself alone with Twilight and her two assistants. “So, from what I understand, I'm not going home anytime soon, am I ?”

Twilight, looking over her book, replied, “I... I'm afraid so. I'm really sorry...”

“You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. But I do have a question, do you know if there's a place I could spend the night, like a hotel or something?”

“Ho, but don't worry! You can sleep at my place, I've got a spare room!”

“What? Uh, are you sure? I mean, we don't know each other that well, I'd understand if you wanted me to...”

“But no no no, there's no problem! Really, there isn't! Besides, you're one of the first humans to come here! I'd be delighted to have you stay with me! It would give me the opportunity to learn more about your species!”

Gabriel, feeling a bit like a laboratory subject now, thanked the pony all the same. “Thanks, that's really nice of you, I don't know what to say.”

“It's nothing.”

“Um, I know you already do a lot for me, but could I ask you one more favor?”

“Um, sure, what is it?”

“Well indeed, I'd like to go and get my car and park it in front of your place, because I don't really like the idea of leaving it in the middle of a meadow at night. And I was wondering if you could come with me, because I'm not really sure which way we came...”

“Ho... uhmm, yes of course! Spike, could you tidy up the mess while I go with Gabriel?” As an answer, Spike merely gave a thumbs-up and closed one eye. “Thanks, you're the best! We'll be right back!”

They went outside and Gabriel took a deep breath. A little fresh air was good for him. They started walking towards where his Ford was parked and he was relieved to see that there were obviously fewer ponies than earlier, although there were still a few. He also noticed that the three fillies, as they should be called, had also disappeared.

He didn't want to admit it, but if he'd asked Twilight to accompany him, it was mainly because he didn't want to wander around this completely unknown world on his own. The walk remained silent, Gabriel contemplating this atypical little village. If it hadn't been for the ponies, we'd have thought we were in a medieval village in his world...

It didn't take long for the duo to reach their goal. Gabriel smiled at the sight of his Fiesta, the only familiar element in such a strange setting. “We're here!” he said, taking out his keys. He opened the passenger door first, and invited Twilight inside.

She was a little surprised. “You want me to get in there?”

“Well, yes, I'm not going to let you walk home, after all!”

“Well, all right, if you insist...” Twilight sat as best she could on the seat, though clearly not suited to her species. She merely curled her hind legs, which made the scene look rather comical.

“Here, you need to put this on too,” he said, fastening her seatbelt.

“What's this?”

“It's a safety belt. It's so that if we have an accident, you don't end up with your head in the windshield.”

“Oh, I see...” Once Twilight had settled in, Gabriel took his turn behind the wheel. He put the key in the ignition, and turned it to light up the dashboard. “Okay, here we go...” He pulled the choke lever all the way out, turned the key once more, and the engine started without a hitch. He then pushed the choke back until the engine revs were around 1000 rpm, engaged first gear, pulled off the handbrake, and they were off.

Twilight, who had been watching the whole ritual intently, was clearly fascinated. “This is incredible! I've never seen such a means of transport before! It's a human invention, isn't it? What kind of magic does it use?”

Gabriel, as he drove cautiously towards the village at a slow pace, answered the question, “You see, it doesn't really use magic actually, if at all.”

“What? But then, how does it work?”

“Well, it's powered by a internal combustion engine”.

“Internal combustion engine? What's that?”

“Well, um... Basically we create little explosions with a mixture of air and gasoline and a spark to set parts in motion and move the car forward”

“Gasoline?”

Gabriel sighed and said, “I'll explain later, okay?”

“Okay...”

As they drove through the village, the inhabitants looked as if they were about to have another panic attack. But they drove slowly and with their windows open, and when the ponies saw Twilight in the car waving to them that all was well, they were reassured. Eventually, they reached the library without too much trouble.

Gabriel parked the car right next to the tree. He then helped Twilight out of the car, and carefully locked the doors again. When they got home, Gabriel found that all the books that had previously been scattered on the table had been put back in their places.

“Thanks again, Spike!” Twilight said as she made the same observation.

“Oh, it's nothing. Good thing Owlowiscious was here to help!”

Gabriel turned his head and saw the owl posing proudly next to one of the impeccably tidy shelves, and he couldn't hold back a smile so atypical was the scene. “Is it me or did he just wink?”

Twilight then flashed Gabriel a big smile. “Well, now that we're back home, could you tell me a little more about these famous thermic engines? I'm really curious to know how they work without magic!”

Gabriel cringed a little at this request, then replied wearily: “I... I'd really like to explain, but I'm a bit exhausted at the moment.”

“What? But it's only 4:30!”

“Yes, I know, but I think I'm jet-lagged from home, and I've got a headache that's formed...”

“Oh I see.... Okay, I understand...” Twilight's ears dropped and she put on a disappointed expression.

“Sorry, maybe another time?”

“Fine by me!” His smile reappeared almost immediately. “Right, well I'll show you your room!”

“Ho, uh wait... Would it be possible to have a bite to eat first?” Her stomach began to grow again.

“Oh, yes! You mustn't have eaten much since you arrived! Follow me!” She followed him into the kitchen. Leaving aside the small size of the furniture, it almost looked like a normal human kitchen. He found it disturbing that there were so many differences but also so many similarities with his world.

“I... don't really know what you're eating, so make yourself at home and take what you like!” said Twilight as she opened the fridge. Gabriel glanced inside. Apart from the absence of meat, it seemed to contain all the food a normal person could eat, including dairy products such as a carton of milk and cheese, some pastries and other desserts, vegetables of all kinds, and a carton of eggs.

But there were other things that caught Gabriel's attention, and they were in the fridge door. “What's that?” he said, pointing to the object of his dismay.

“These? These are gems! Would you like one?”

“You... you eat PRECIOUS GEMS?”

“Me, no, but Spike loves them!”

“Yeah, it's delicious!” said the latter, suddenly appearing behind them. He picked up a ruby and began to eat it as if it were a bun. “Go on, taste it!”

“Uh, no thanks...” “Okay, yet another thing to add to the list of incomprehensible things...” “I think I'll make myself something else...” He picked up two eggs and headed for the stove. “Do you mind if I use the kitchen utensils?”

“But of course” Twilight replied.

Gabriel smiled, took out a bowl and cracked the two eggs into it. Then he mixed them and added a little milk and salt. Once the mixture was homogeneous, he poured it into a frying pan and turned on the stove to cook it. Meanwhile, he took a piece of bread and a knife and began to cut several slices.

Twilight watched her guest do this with great interest, fascinated by the way he used his hands to handle food with ease, rather like Spike. Gabriel, for his part, was wondering how ponies who didn't use telekinesis could handle these utensils without opposable thumbs.

He relaxed a little as he cooked, being busy allowing him to forget for a moment his more than unnerving situation. Finally, after a few more minutes, he proudly held out what he'd concocted on a plate. “There you go!”

Twilight and Spike looked curiously at the contents of the plate. “Uh, what's this?” asked Spike.

“Scrambled egg toast! I used to eat them all the time when I was a kid! Go ahead, have a bite, I've made several!” The three of them sat down at the table and ate until the plate was empty.

“It was a bit special, but not bad. It was actually pretty good. Is this what you humans cook?” Twilight asked.

“Uh, not really, just me.”

“Well, thank you for the meal!”

“No, it's me who thanks you for the food!” He let out a yawn just after he'd finished. “Well, I'll clear the table...”

“No, you've done enough as it is, I'll do it after...”

“I insist, it's the least I can do...”

Twilight finally stood up. “But you're our guest! Come on, I'll show you your room.”

Not having the strength to fight, he let out a simple “All right,” and followed the pony. They climbed the stairs and reached the top. Twilight opened a door into a small, rather comfortable-looking room. There was a desk, a wardrobe and a window to the outside. There was also a bed that looked a little too small for him, but he wasn't going to start complaining. “Thanks, it's perfect.”

“Come on, I've got to show you the bathroom too” He followed her to another room which contained, well like any bathroom, a shower, a toilet and a sink with a mirror. She showed him briefly how the shower worked, which again was eerily similar to the way showers worked at home. She also gave him a washcloth and a toothbrush, then finally said, “Well, I guess that's it. I can see you're tired, so I'll leave you to it. You should get some rest, and tomorrow I'm sure Princess Celestia will be able to tell us more about your... problem.”

“She seems to really trust that Princess. Maybe she's right after all...” “Thank you very much, for all this I... I don't know what I would have done without you, I... It means a lot to me”

Twilight smiles, “I'm glad to hear it. One last thing, if you need anything, I'll be downstairs or in my room there” she said, pointing with her hoof to another door. “Don't hesitate”

“Okay, thanks...”

“Good night, Gabriel !”

“Good night, Twilight...”

With that, she closed the door, finally leaving Gabriel alone again. He turned and looked at the shower for a moment, and couldn't stop smiling. “Oh yeah, a good shower'll do me good” He made sure the door was closed, then put his things on the sink and took off his clothes, which actually consisted of an old black t-shirt, a gray work sweater, a pair of construction pants and safety shoes.

He took a moment to carefully wash his entire body and brush his teeth, all the while still wondering how ponies seemed to have the same habits as humans. He also took a moment to observe himself in the mirror, satisfied to be clean. Then he glanced at his dirty clothes lying on the floor.

“Shit, I can't put this back on now!” He opened the door slightly and looked furtively outside. From what he could see and hear, the dragon and the mare were on the ground floor. He slipped on his one pair of underpants, grabbed his clothes and belongings and ran to his room. Once inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad neither of them had seen him; he didn't want to make the situation any weirder than it already was.

He placed his clothes in a corner and his belongings on the desk, then headed for the window. He took a moment to observe the village outside, the ponies going about their business as if nothing had happened. A world whose mere existence defied all logic, yet of which he was now an integral part. Unpleasant thoughts suddenly occurred to him.

“My parents are probably wondering where I am right now. They must have tried to call me, but of course I couldn't answer. Maybe they've already called the cops... What if... what if I can't come back? What if I stay here forever? No... No, stop thinking that, it's pointless except to drive you crazy. Maybe it's all just a dream, after all... Maybe I really did have an accident and I'm in a coma imagining all this, who knows...”

He closed the curtains and slid as well as he could into this bed designed for ponies rather than humans. “Yeah 'bout that, tomorrow I'd wake up at home, in a hospital bed maybe, but at home...” And with that, he closed his eyes.

Although he was extremely tired, Gabriel couldn't fall asleep. His brain was racing as he asked himself all sorts of questions about this world and what he was going to do if it turned out NOT to be a dream. What's more, the daylight still appearing outside, the too-small bed and the prospect of meeting royalty tomorrow weren't really helping.

He'd been tossing and turning for two hours in search of sleep. So he did something he always did in such cases. A technique of his own to fall asleep faster. He thought of a song he knew, and finally chose the music he listened to in the car.

He began to play the music in his head, his brain gradually forgetting all extraneous thoughts and concentrating on the rhythm and lyrics of the song. The technique soon paid off, as Gabriel relaxed and his heart rate gradually dropped. Tiredness finally got the better of him and he fell into the arms of Morpheus.

Chapitre 7 : The real first day

Gabriel was in his car, driving peacefully with the window open. He was lucky, there wasn't much traffic. Still, it was the hour when everyone was heading home. Having had a hard day's work himself, he was anxious to get home. He turned on the radio and his favorite music was playing at that very moment. He smiled and continued singing.

Suddenly, he saw blue light in his rearview mirror and heard a police siren. “Oh no...” he thought, pulling over as a Belgian police car, a white Audi A4 with the characteristic blue stripes and activated flashing lights, pulled up just behind. A pegasus stepped out, her coat the color of blue and her tail and hair multicolored, dressed in her usual police uniform.

She approached Gabriel's car door, as he thought to himself, “That's all I need...” She knocked three times on the window and Gabriel opened it. “Something's wrong, Mr... Uh... Officer?”

“Do you know why I'm arresting you?”

“Uh... not really no...”

“You know it's against the law to listen to music too loudly on public roads?”

“What? Are you kidding me?”

“No one is supposed to ignore the law... right colleague?”

Gabriel watched as another pony appeared out of nowhere. This time she had a dark blue coat and a sapphire-blue mane. She also had a white crescent-moon sign on a black background drawn on its flanks, and looked surprised to be here. But she answered all the same: “Uhm, yes, of course!”

“Right, well, I'm going to have to write you a ticket”

“Oh no, do you really have to?” asked Gabriel.

“The law's the law!”

“Pfff...” As the cop wrote out her ticket, Gabriel looked glumly into the distance. Suddenly, he noticed a MAN truck coming across the road with a whole series of big lights. There was a row below the bumper, one above and one on the roof. “Seriously, what's the point of it having so many headlights?”

Suddenly, all the big lights came on, blinding Gabriel and illuminating the scene far more than necessary. The two policewomen turned to see what was happening. “What's going on?” asked the one with the crescent moon.

“I don't know...” replied the multicolored one.

The truck was speeding up, coming dangerously close to their positions, continuing to blind the trio. “He's completely insane !” cried Gabriel. He wanted to move, to run to avoid the collision, but it was as if his buttocks were glued to his seat. He watched the huge luminous mass approach and reflexively covered his eyes with his arm, before everything went black.

Gabriel rushed awake, his heart beating a hundred miles an hour. He took several deep breaths, realizing it was only a dream. Once he had calmed down, he laughed nervously, speaking to himself as he said: “Ha... What a stupid dream... Getting pulled over by ponies... and hit by a truck...” He laughed again, so stupid. Sometimes dreams really could be meaningless. “Ponies... why would I much more dream of...” He paused in his sentence, his vision having grown accustomed to the darkness. “...ponies?!” he finished, realizing he wasn't in his room.

He immediately wanted to turn on the light, but it took him a while to find the bedside lamp. This one, usually on his right, was now on the left. And of course, it wasn't HIS lamp, and instead of pressing a button, he had to pull a cord.

Once the room was lit, Gabriel felt his hairs bristle as memories of the previous day resurfaced in his brain. “No... No...It's not true...”

His first instinct was to get up and head for the window. Once there, he yanked back the curtains to see what lay before him. Behind the glass still stood the small equestrian village, taunting him with its presence. It had an incredibly different atmosphere at night. He could also see the sky, which was magnificently starry. Without the usual earthly light pollution, every constellation was completely visible.

Tears began to roll down his cheeks. He was both exhilarated by the sight and terrified by the situation. “Why am I still here? Why am I still here? This was all supposed to be a dream. A fucking dream...” His attention returned to the village. For a moment, he thought he saw a dark-blue silhouette peering out from behind a house. But when he blinked, the figure had disappeared.

Gabriel closed the curtains, then went to sit back down on the bed. “Fucking hell, fuck...” He rubbed his face with his hands, then stared into space. He sensed he wasn't about to go back to sleep. His gaze wandered to his clothes lying in a ball in the corner of the room. He then looked at the desk on which lay his car keys, wallet and telephone.

He picked it up and looked at the time. It was currently 9am. A wall clock, however, showed 3 o'clock. “Ah yes that's right, the time difference...” He then went to the settings to change the time to match THAT reality. He then paid attention to the battery, which showed 83%. He was lucky, he hadn't used his smartphone much, so he had quite a bit of battery left. However, he knew for certain that there were no chargers in this world, so he had to ration his battery. He watched the screen for a moment longer, hesitating to turn it off so as not to waste energy unnecessarily, but then he had another idea... If he could film his stay here... Then it would mean he wasn't crazy. It would mean he could go home and have one, no, SEVERAL tangible proofs of what he'd experienced.

He searched among the applications, and finally found the one he was looking for. He opened it and saw his face appear. “Yeah, it works...” His heart began to race again as he pulled on his clothes and went to sit behind the window, so that the village could be seen in the background. He sat down on a chair and took a deep breath, before starting to film.

He began by describing who he was, his name, age, date of birth, where he lived, and what time and date he was doing today. At least, the date he was THOUGHT to be doing today. Then he continued to speak into the camera. “I... I'd like to say first of all that I'm recording this video as evidence. Evidence for whom? Well, for anyone who sees this video, whether by chance or not. Whether you're human... or some other hose. But above all, as proof for myself, proof that what I'm experiencing isn't a hallucination, a dream or whatever. I... I don't even know where to begin so... I think I'll just say what happened, and that'll be a good start...”

Gabriel told everything to the camera, as if it were a shrink he could confide in. He felt as if a weight was being lifted from his body as he spoke. When he reached the point he was at now, he continued. “I know you're going to think I'm bullshitting, but this isn't a joke. Even if I can't believe what's happening to me, it's just the way it is... I... I don't know what to say, it's... Look, I swear what I'm saying is true, okay? It's not a made-up story or a hoax, it's fucking true!” He suddenly stood up and filmed the still-sleeping village. “Look! It's not a human village, it's a pony village! And look at the sky, the moon... It's not the earth moon, it's a fucking equestrian moon!”

He sat back with a sigh. “I'm now addressing my family and friends. If you're seeing this video and I'm still not back, well, I'm doing fine. I hope you are too. The... locals here are very kind and one of them, the purple one called Twilight Sparkle, even offered me a place to sleep for the night. This is... the tree I'm in right now... Yes, I know, a fucking tree...” He wiped his eyes, which were starting to get wet again, then finally said. “I don't know when I'll be back, or even IF I'll be back. But I'm due to meet someone tomorrow who will apparently be able to tell me more about what brought me here... I don't know if I'll be able to make more videos as I only have a limited amount of battery power. If we don't meet again, don't worry about me, I'll be fine, I'll be fine...” He took a last breath and let out a “ Goodbye!” before cutting the video.

He felt dejected, but at the same time relieved to have confided in the camera. He looked at the battery percentage, which was now at 76%. He dried his wet eyes and turned off his phone once and for all. He undressed again and lay back in bed, staring at the ceiling with disinterest, all sorts of existential questions running through his mind. “It's still early, I'd better get some sleep before daybreak” he said to himself in the end.

He pulled his blanket over him and settled back into a position he thought most comfortable. After another moment of cogitation, he finally managed to go back to sleep for the second time that day.

And, a few hours later, he also managed to wake up for the second time. This time, he was awakened gently, not only because he caught the sunlight filtering through the curtains, but also because he was simply no longer tired.

The clock read almost 7 a.m. and Gabriel stared at the room for a moment, before thinking that it would probably be a good idea to get up and do something productive. And then his stomach started acting up again. He struggled to his feet and rubbed his eyes with a grunt, then put on the only clothes he had here.

He pushed open the door to his room and scanned the corridor for a moment. From what he could tell, the inhabitants of this house were already downstairs. He descended the stairs and tried to remember where the kitchen was. It didn't take long for the smell of food to show him the way. He finally found the door and opened it.

Standing on a stool opposite the stove was Spike, cooking pancakes in a frying pan. Twilight was there too, but she didn't look very awake. In fact, she was definitely sleeping on the table.

Spike turned around when he realized that someone else had entered the room. “ Oh, hi Gabriel! Awake already?”

“Hi, you too I see...”

“Yeah, I always get up early to get breakfast ready! And you, why aren't you sleeping?”

“No more tired.”

“Oh... I see. Go on, get settled! The pancakes are almost ready!”

“Okay...” Gabriel sat right across from Twilight, who was still in a deep sleep. She also had dark circles under her eyes. “Um... Is she okay?”

Spike, flipping a pancake, replied distractedly, “Oh yeah, she just stayed up all night because she said she had to find out more information about portals leading to other worlds or something. I told her to go to bed, though, but she just did as she pleased.”

“Does she... do this sort of thing often?”

“Well... Sometimes she can get quickly panicky and out of control when the situation gets out of hand or she doesn't understand something. And she can be a real headcase too. I mean, she's not mean, she's just... Twilight”

“Um... okay, if you say so...”

“There you go, all set!” Spike placed three plates and a stack of pancakes on the table.

“Thanks a lot, I'm starving!” Gabriel said as he began to serve himself.

“Wake up, Twilight, breakfast is ready!” Twilight doesn't react.

“Uh, I don't think she heard you...”

“Hoho, Twilight, it's ready...” Still no response. “TWILIGHT!”

The pony woke up with a start, looking in all directions, crying out “What? What's going on? Is that you, Princess? I wasn't sleeping!”

“Whoa, calm down Twilight, it's me Spike! I made pancakes!”

“Spike? Ho um sorry... And thanks for the pancakes.” She suddenly noticed the human in front of him. “Oh, and hello Gabriel.”

“Hello...” Gabriel said, his mouth full.

Spike and Twilight took turns eating. Twilight used her telekinesis to maneuver the cutlery to cut and eat her pancake. Gabriel watched with interest. He would probably never tire of this spectacle.

Spike had taken out a utensil that looked very much like a pepper shaker, except that he placed sapphires inside instead. He twisted the handle and bluish grains fell onto his pancake. Gabriel was really surprised this time, but he remembered what he'd said yesterday about precious stones, and decided not to ask any questions.

When they'd all finished eating, Gabriel rubbed his belly, satiated. “Wow, thanks again, Spike! That was delicious!”

Twilight added, “Yes, thank you, Spike. That was really...” She let out a huge yawn before continuing. “...really good.”

“It was nothing but a basic recipe. But I'm glad you like it! Well, I think I'll clear your dishes“ Says Spike as he starts picking up the plates.

“Hang on, I'll help you, it's the least I can do!” Gabriel says as he stands up.

“I'll help you...” Twilight yawned again “...too”

Soon Spike found himself washing dishes while Gabriel and Twilight dried off.

“So, uh, Twilight... Did you really not sleep all night or what?” Gabriel asked as he dried a plate.

“Oh yes, but I was up late enough to...” ANOTHER yawn. “...to study portal magic.”

“Look, I... I'm very grateful that you want to know more to help me, but I'm going to start feeling guilty if you pull all-nighters because of me.”

“Don't worry about me, it's nothing to do with you. It's just that...” And a fourth yawn “... I wanted to know more so I could report back to....” She suddenly stopped in her sentence, a look of shock on her face. Then she exclaimed: “Princess Celestia! She's coming today and nothing's ready!”

She suddenly ran off in the direction of the library, Gabriel trying to hold her back. “Wait, where are you going?” He then looked at Spike, who also looked surprised. Spike shrugged.

They both headed for the same library and found Twilight levitating books back and forth. “What are you doing?” Gabriel asked.

“I'm tidying up, that's what! I've got to get everything in order before the Princess arrives! It's a real mess in here!” She replied.

“Calm down, Twilight, she wrote us that she wouldn't be here until 2pm. We've got plenty of time...” Said Spike.

“You don't understand, Spike! I haven't found any relevant information about portals to other dimensions! I thought I'd find some before Princess Celestia arrived so I could explain to her why Gabriel is here!”

“Nobody knows why he got here, and for once, I'd be surprised if you found the answer in a book...”

“Don't be silly, Spike, books always have the answers! You just have to know how to look... like in this book I was reading last night...” She levitated a huge book that looked extremely old. “There, I'd marked the page... so, inter-dimensional portals are very little known and only a few ponies...” And so she continued reading an incomprehensible passage from her book. As she spoke, her eyes gradually closed and her voice diminished in volume, until she fell asleep for good.

Gabriel looked at her, puzzled. “Did she... did she just fall back asleep? Just like that?”

“Yeah, she looks like she really needs some rest. Don't worry, I know what to do in that case!” Spike put a pillow under Twilight's head and covered her with a blanket. “There you go! Well, I've got some dishes to finish!”

They returned to the kitchen, Gabriel chuckling a little at the situation. “That pony really has a problem...” They quickly finished the dishes and Spike began tidying up the mess Twilight had made last night.

“Do you need any help?” asked Gabriel as he saw Spike putting the books back on the shelves.

“Oh no, don't worry, there's not that much of a mess, Twilight also tends to exaggerate things a bit sometimes...”

“Okay, I see... And Owlow... er... well the owl there, he's going to help you I imagine?”

“Well, I think he's gone for a trip, or something...”

“Ha okay...” Gabriel stopped talking, not sure what to say now. “Well... What am I going to do in the meantime? I can't just sit here and do nothing! I've got to find something...” Desperately looking for something to do, Gabriel glanced down at his clothes. He realized that he was literally about to meet a member of this world's royalty, and that he had nothing to wear but the old work clothes he'd been using for days.

As if to confirm his thoughts, Spike reached over to set down a particularly heavy stack of books and sniffed with his nose. “Whoa, Gabriel, not to be mean, but you might want to think about taking a shower...”

“I know. I already took a shower last night, it's my clothes that smell like that.”

“Then maybe you should take them off and wash them”

“I'd love to, but the problem is I don't really have any other clothes to spare, right now...”

Spike looked at him quizzically. “So what?”

“So... I'm not going to walk around naked!”

“Why?”

Gabriel let out a sigh. He'd almost forgotten where he was. “Because... it's not right!”

“All the ponies here walk around naked, and nobody has a problem with that! Even some ponies in town walk around with no clothes on and nobody says anything to them!”

“Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a pony! And there's no way I'm walking around naked, is that clear? Nah, what I need is some new clothes. But then again, I'd bet my life there's no human clothing store here, is there?”

Spike rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, indeed, there are no stores for humans... but I could take you to Rarity's! She's the best seamstress in all of Ponyville! Well, at the same time, she's the only one, but she's still very talented, and she knows how to make bespoke outfits!”

“Rarity? Wait a minute... wasn't that the white unicorn I saw yesterday?”

“Yes! Isn't she gorgeous?” He said, his gaze going blank, looking blissful.

“'Umm...”

Spike shook his head, then snapped back to reality. “Anyway, I'm sure she'll be able to help you!”

“You think so? I mean, she's probably not used to making clothes for... people like me.”

“Well, maybe... but she's already made me a tuxedo! And, you know, we kind of look alike considering that, well, we both walk on two legs, have hands, all that...”

“Yeah... Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway...”

“Yeah! And I could show you where she lives!” Spike said in a much too cheerful tone. He calmed down immediately afterwards and added, “Well, I mean... if you want...”

“Um... Okay, that'd be cool...”

“Yeah, let's do it!”

Spike rushed out the door, and Gabriel had to hurry to follow him, a smile forming on his face. “I don't know if it's just too much imagination, but it looks like Spike's got a thing for this Rarity...”

Author's Note

Hello to all!

I know I said I'd put this story on pause, but I decided to post a chapter anyway as proof that, well, I have NOT given up. Also, I think I'm going to put this story back into “incomplete” mode since I may still post chapters from time to time.

Chapters will probably be longer than before, as you've noticed. But hey, I've still got a series to watch before I finish my story... I've just finished rewatching the first season and I'm about to start on the second...

And, finally, I know I've used the famous cliché of all HIE fanfiction which is “The protagonist goes to Rarity to get clothes”, but hey, what can I say... Gabriel has to have clothes, and I don't see where else he could get them.

I hope you've had a good read and that you'll be patient!

Chapter 8 : This is embarrassing

Gabriel and Spike walked side by side as they both headed for Rarity's store, Spike trying to hide his excitement. As for Gabriel, he felt less embarrassed than last time about the looks he was getting from the other ponies. They seemed to have already got used to his presence. The fact that he'd been seen accompanied by theirs on two previous occasions was probably helping. However, they still seemed to talk over his back when he got a little too close to them, but not enough to understand what they were saying. “Well, it's okay, it looks pretty quiet..."

“Hi folks!” Said the adrenaline-charged voice of someone he recognized....

“Cheers! Hi Pinkie!” Spike replied.

“I take back what I just thought...” thought Gabriel again ”Hi...”

“Gabriel! I was asking myself a question of the utmost importance!” Pinkie Pie said, grabbing Gabriel by both hooves.

The latter, taken by surprise, replied cautiously “Uh... What's that?”

“What's your favorite color?”

“What? Uh, orange, I'd say...”

“Great thanks!” She shouted, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.

“What the... Where did she go? And why does she want to know what's my favorite color?”

Spike shrugged. “Don't look it up, it's Pinkie Pie...”

“Okay...” Gabriel tried not to pay attention to what had just happened and decided instead to observe the pegasuses of all colors flying above them. Some were twirling furiously in the sky. He pointed at them and asked, “What are they doing there?”

Spike, lost in thought, looked in the direction Gabriel was pointing and replied, “They're just clearing the clouds. There was blue sky forecast for this afternoon.”

“WHAT?!” He looked more closely and, indeed, they were literally moving the clouds with their hooves. “But... but... how do they do it? I mean... it's not like the clouds are solid! How can they move them?”

“Well, I heard Twilight say that Pegasus have a special form of magic that allows them to touch the clouds and walk on them, and all that...

Gabriel rubbed his eyes, trying to store the information. “Yeah, sure, it's all explained with magic here...” His poor brain was already overheating.

“Well, here we are! The carousel store!”

One thing was certain: Gabriel hadn't expected this. The store was cylindrical and looked, well as Spike had said, more like a merry-go-round than a real building. What's more, the building's appearance, with its decorative pillars and pony carvings, inspired luxury, which contrasted with the houses he'd seen so far.

Spike didn't wait and rushed to the door to knock, which opened a few seconds later in a light blue aura, revealing the unicorn.

“Ho! Spikey-wikey! You've come to visit me! How nice! ”

Spike suddenly blushed, stammering “Hi Rarity...”

Gabriel stepped cautiously behind Spike, and Rarity spotted him almost immediately. “Well, hello there! Um... Mr Couset, if I remember correctly?”

“Um... Yes, hello Rarity...”

“Please, come in!” Gabriel and Spike stepped into the entrance hall, Gabriel taking good care to wipe his shoes on the doormat. Rarity noticed this and seemed appreciative. “So, what brings you to my store?”

“Well, hum, I know you're probably more used to making clothes for ponies, but... Do you think you'd know how to make clothes for me?”

“Oh, but of course! Enfet, I'd love to, it would be a real challenge worthy of my talent! I mean... Yes!”

“Ha, great, I'm reassured!”

“What's more, you're in luck, I don't have any orders scheduled for today, so I'll be able to devote myself entirely to you!”

“Okay, cool...”

“Anyway, you've come to the right place! Follow me, please...” The trio headed for the workshop, which was filled with mannequins carrying dresses of all kinds and sewing equipment. Rarity pointed to a small pedestal. “Can you stand on that, please?”

“Uh, okay...”

Rarity levitated a tape measure in the same way as Twilight, which continued to shock Gabriel. Then she stopped suddenly, sniffing something, showing a slight expression of disgust. “What on earth is that strange smell?”

Gabriel blushed, guessing she was talking about the obvious stench of his clothes, which really needed a wash. “I'm sorry, I plead guilty, it's my clothes that smell like that. That's why I came, I need new ones absolutely.”

“Yes, I understand perfectly, don't worry. Well, how about you start by taking these off?”

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Can you take off your clothes, please?”

“But... what for??”

“Well, so I can take your measurements, of course!”

“Uh... is that really necessary?”

“Of course! It's the only way I can get accurate measurements!”

“Look, you can just measure over my clothes, it's no big deal if my clothes are slightly too big...”

“But, you understand, I don't like working with false measurements...”

“And I don't like to be naked!”

“But why does it bother you so much?”

“Yeah, that's right, why?” Spike asked as well, suddenly butting into the conversation.

Gabriel looked at the two in turn, then sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Damn, how am I going to explain this to them..." He finally straightened up and said, “Well, you have to understand that where I come from, other humans ALWAYS walk around with clothes on. And being naked is very embarrassing and considered obscene and... it's even against the law, to tell you the truth... That's why it bothers me so much...”

The two now looked at him with dismayed faces, then Rarity spoke again. “Mr. Couset, I understand that you have a culture... different from ours, but... could you just make a little effort? It's just for a moment, and I promise I won't take pictures or anything, if that's what you're worried about...”

Gabriel pondered the unicorn's request for a moment, and finally said to himself that, after all, he could undress for a few minutes, if it was just 3 seconds to take measurements. Besides, it's not like I'm going to get naked in front of a human, it's a unicorn. And she looks perfectly innocent... “Well, okay, you win, I'll do it, but please hurry up!”

Rarity smiled as she replied “I'll be as quick as I can!”

Gabriel then turned to Spike “As for you, go wait in the other room!”

“What? But I...”

“EXECUTION! I don't need anyone else checking me out!”

“OKOK...” Said Spike as he exited the room

“I can't believe I'm going to do this...” Gabriel hissed, taking off his clothes one by one until he was down to his boxers. “Well, let's get it over with...”

“Um, it seems to me that you've forgotten a piece of clothing...”

What?” No way! I'll take anything, but not that!”

“But...”

“I said no! And nothing's going to change my mind, is that clear?”

“All right then, I guess I can do my measurements like this...” Rarity began to float her tape measure around Gabriel's various limbs while noting the measurements in a notebook. Meanwhile she began to make small talk on her own. “I have to admit I'm really curious to know what it's like to live in your world. A place where everyone is OBLIGED to wear clothes... it must be incredible! Seamstresses must really make a good living there...”

Meanwhile, Gabriel was inwardly praying that this would be over soon. It was starting to get really embarrassing when she began to measure his thighs. After what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact only a few minutes, Rarity declared she was done.

“About time!” Gabriel said, hurrying to get dressed.

Spike poked his head through the next door. “It's okay, can I come back?”

“Yeah, yeah, you can come back...”

Rarity observed her notes carefully before saying, “But am I stupid? I didn't even ask you what you wanted to wear! Would you like a beautiful tuxedo encrusted with rubies and diamonds? It would suit you perfectly, I'm sure!”

“Whoa, no, definitely not! I just want simple everyday clothes, okay?”

“But... Are you sure? I mean, you can have simple everyday clothes but still chic! And I swear precious stones will have a superb effect on you...”

“No no, no gems, please...”

Rarity resigned herself, a disappointed look on her face “Very well, I must meet the customer's requirements... So what exactly do you want?”

“Well, it would be nice to have a new pair of pants and a t-shirt...”

“A t-shirt...” Rarity repeated, noting in her notebook.

“And then I'd need a hoodie... you see what this is right?”

“Of course...” she said, continuing to note

“And then, the most important thing would be to have several pairs of socks and boxers.”

Rarity suddenly stopped writing and looked up from her notebook. "Boxers? If you'll excuse me, I'm afraid I don't know what those are...”

“It's, er... how shall I put it... it's the piece of clothing I didn't want to take off...”

“Oh, I see...”

“It's, um... like a pair of pants but very short and it holds with a kind of flat elastic above and it goes under the clothes...”

“Yes, yes... I think I see... it shouldn't be a problem...”

“Great, thanks... I really need it...”

“What kind of material do you want?”

“Uh, well, you can just take normal tissue and for the pants you'd use denim?”

“Denim? It's not very fashionable these days, but I've probably got a roll left somewhere....”

“Ok great...”

“Last thing, what colors would you like?”

“For colors, uh... Blue pants, obviously... And then the rest you can do in black, that's fine...”

“In black? But come on, that's not very... classy... ”

“White stockings then...”

“Wouldn't you like something more... colorful? Like pink or purple?”

“What? No! Well listen, just make the t-shirt green and the sweater red, and the boxers and socks blue, okay?”

“Okay, and would you like some patterns? Like little hearts or balloons?”

“No, no. Plain colors will be fine."

“But I...”

“I thought you had to meet customer requirements?”

Rarity raised a hoof to retort, then dropped it and said, “Very well, as you wish.... Well, I guess that's all then.”

“Um, just how much is this going to cost me?”

“But it's on the house, of course! That's what friends do, isn't it?”

“What? You can't give me all this for free! That's a lot of work and fabric spent!”

“Don't worry, it's my pleasure...”

“No, but still, even if I admit I don't really have any money right now... I mean, no money in this world... I'll still have to pay you back!”

“Well, that's very kind of you! Don't worry about that, we'll figure it out later! Now, if you'll excuse me, but I don't like to be disturbed while I'm working...”

“Wait, how long do you think it'll take?”

“Well, these are very simple clothes, so... I should be done by noon at the latest...”

“Wow, that's great!”

“Yes, you can come back by then!” She said as she opened the door to leave with her magic.

Spike jumped to his feet and said, “You don't need any help, do you?” Gabriel could have sworn he saw hearts in her eyes.

“That's sweet little Spike, but I'm afraid you can't help me this time...”

“Hooo...” Spike stomped wearily towards the exit.

Gabriel followed him, saying “See you later, and please NO gems...”

“Of course, of course!” Rarity said as she closed the door.

Chapter 9: Unbelievable

Gabriel and Spike had returned to the library and spent the rest of the morning tidying up the mess created last night. When they'd finished, they decided to have a glass of orange juice in the living room while Twilight slept next to them. Gabriel had to admit that she was rather cute when she was asleep, but he kept the thought to himself.

The two were having a rather lively conversation, focusing on the culture of his world, and Gabriel wasn't quite sure why, but they'd ended up talking about superheroes. Spike had even picked up one of his comics and started telling the whole story.

Gabriel didn't understand much of what he was saying, but he pretended to so as not to have to hear any more explanations. The sound of voices finally woke Twilight, who sat up and yawned. Spike noticed and said, “Well, you're finally awake, Twilight! Would you like a glass of orange juice?”

“What the... Why am I on the couch? What time is it?”

“Uh... right now it's 11:30 I think...”

“WHAT?!” Twilight jumped to her feet and started pacing. “Why did you let me sleep? The princess will be here soon and nothing's ready! It's a disaster, it's..."

“Whoa, calm down, Twi! We've all tidied up already, look!”

Twilight stopped suddenly, then looked around before letting out a small, “Ah yes...”

“Yeah, lucky Gabriel was there to help me...”

“You asked Gabriel to help you? Come on, Spike, that's no way to treat a guest...”

“But... I told him I didn't need any help, but he insisted!”

Twilight then turned to Gabriel and said, “Well, that's very kind of you, but you didn't have to...”

“Well, I owe you one, and it was also to reward Spike for taking me to Rarity's.”

“You went to Rarity's? Why?”

“Well, I asked her to make me some new clothes, because I don't really have any spare ones and I'm not too keen on meeting the leader of your country in this state...”

Twilight glanced at the dirty work clothes and nodded, “Yes, maybe that's not such a bad idea. But why didn't you just take those off and wash them?”

Gabriel sighed, then asked Spike, “Will you explain it to her, please?”

“Uh, okay...” Spike turned to Twilight and said, “Well, apparently in his world it's forbidden to walk around without clothes on and it bothers him.”

“Really?” Twilight replied “I find it a strange law...”

“Oh, you find it strange? You know what I find strange?”

“Er... What's that?”

“ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS FUCKING PLACE!” Twilight and Spike looked at him in astonishment, surprised by his sudden irritation. Gabriel resumed apologetically: “Sorry, sorry... I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I... I guess my nerves are a bit frayed at the moment...”

Twilight stepped closer and placed a hoof on Gabriel's shoulder. “It's okay, it can happen to anyone to lose their temper...”

“Yeah, even you, we saw it earlier...”

“Excuse me?!”

“Uh, I mean... Say, Spike, we're gonna have to go!”

“Go where?” Twilight asked.

“To pick up my clothes at Rarity's, of course!”

“Well, this time I'm coming with you!”

“Um, Twilight, maybe you'd better go and get ready for the Princess's arrival,” said Spike, pointing to his tousled mane.

Twilight raised her eyes to look at her hair, then blushed slightly and said: “Uh, yes, maybe you're right, Spike. Well, see you later!”

“Yeah, bye!” Gabriel and Spike said.

“Ho, before you go, maybe we could grab a bite to eat in town before the Princess arrives, what do you think?”

“Oh yeah, that'd be great!” Spike says, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Alright, we'll just go to Café Hay, you know where it is, right?”

“Of course!”

“Great, we'll meet there around half past noon then?”

“Sounds good, see you then!”

“Have fun!”

Gabriel and Spike made their way back to Rarity's, and it seemed even shorter than the last time. At one point Gabriel thought he heard the sound of a 2-stroke engine and looked around for the source of the noise. “Is someone out there riding a moped or what?” Finally, in the distance, he spotted the three fillies he'd seen yesterday, including the one with wings on a kind of scooter towing a small trailer in which the other two were standing. They were all wearing helmets and it was in fact the little pegasus who was pushing the convoy forward and making that noise with her wings. “Holy shit!”

He barely had time to observe them before they were already gone. Gabriel was about to ask Spike what that was all about, but gave up when he saw that he was still lost in thought and probably hadn't seen him. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at their destination.

This time it was Gabriel who knocked on the door. Instead of opening it, Rarity simply shouted “Who is it?”

Gabriel replied, “Uh... It's me Rarity, you told me I could drop by around noon...”

“Mr. Couset! Please come in, it's open.”

Gabriel and Spike entered and headed for the workshop. As they walked, Gabriel said, “You know, you can just call me Gabriel...”

When they returned to the other room, Rarity was just finishing sewing the hoodie. “There you go, just in time!”

Gabriel's eyes widened as he saw what lay on the table. All the clothes he'd asked for were there, including, to his great relief, the boxers.

“Holy cow, I don't know what to say it's... it looks perfect!”

“Well, what are you waiting for to try them on?”

“Uh, yes, of course!” Gabriel grabbed the clothes and went behind a screen to change. When he showed himself again he was proudly brandishing his new clothes. “Honestly, I can't believe how impeccable it looks and it's exactly what I wanted. I couldn't have wished for anything better, thank you very much!”

Rarity looked flattered. “Ho, it was nothing really, but I'm glad you like it!”

“Seriously, you're a lifesaver!”

“You're going to make me blush!"

“Well, how much do I owe you?”

“Come on, darling, I told you it was on the house!”

“Well, can I at least help you with something?”

Rarity raised a hoof to her chin as she pondered, then finally said, “Well, there may indeed be something you could do for me, but we'll talk about that later!”

“Okay, well, I'll have to be going, thanks again!”

“You're welcome!”

“Wait, Rarity... I was wondering...” began Spike.

“What's wrong Spikey-wikey?” Rarity replied, blinking several times.

Spike blushed as he replied “Well, we're going into town for lunch with Twilight and I was wondering if you'd like to come with us...”

“I'd be delighted! It's been a while since I've been to a restaurant, I must say I've been so busy lately with all these orders!” she said dramatically. Gabriel wondered if she wasn't doing it on purpose.

“Great!” Spike replied, jumping up. “Let's go then!” He headed for the door accompanied by Rarity.

“Okay, I'll be right behind you...” Gabriel said before setting off.

They soon arrived at the meeting place, and it seemed to be just a normal terrace café except that the seats were simply haystacks on the ground and the tables looked like giant mushrooms. There was also a sign displaying three-leaf clovers, and Gabriel didn't know what that was supposed to mean or even if it was supposed to mean anything.

Twilight was already waiting for them at one of the tables, well rather at one of the mushrooms, and greeted them when she saw them coming. “Well, hello Rarity! You've decided to join us?”

“Yes, it was Spike who invited me!”

“Well, I'm glad to see you, how are you?”

“Very well thank you and you?”

The two ponies started chatting about things that didn't really interest Gabriel, who was too busy paying attention to the surrounding environment. He couldn't help thinking how surreal this place was. He was having fun observing the surrounding ponies and their special features. For example, he could see a very light yellow earth pony with pink and dark blue curly hair and a candy tattoo sitting a little way off, while opposite her stood a very light blue unicorn with a even more light blue and white mane and an lyre mark, chatting away.

Both seemed to notice him watching them and suddenly looked at him. Gabriel quickly averted his gaze and his attention was caught by the oncoming waiter. This time it was a light yellow stallion with blue hair and a mark of a serving dish. He also wore a sort of white waiter's suit with a red bow tie and was holding a napkin.

“May I take your order?” He asked when he reached the table.

“I'll have the usual, a daffodil and daisy sandwich please” replied Twilight.

“I think I'll have the same, dear” added Rarity.

“And I think I'll go for the hay fries again” said Spike.

The waiter finished noting, then turned to Gabriel, “And you?”

Gabriel, not quite sure what to have, replied hastily, “Um, I think I'll have, well if you have, a ha...” Then he suddenly stopped in his sentence, remembering that he was in a world populated by ponies, and last time he checked, ponies do NOT eat meat. And he didn't really know what it seemed like to slaughter animals and eat them here. He quickly made up for it by saying “uh... Cheese! A cheese sandwich! Please...”

The waiter raised an eyebrow but made no comment, merely noting before continuing, “What about drinks?”

“Well, personally, I'd love some iced tea” Says Rarity.

“I'll have the same” said Spike.

“Me too” Continued Twilight

“Um... Me too...” Finally said Gabriel.

The waiter grinned, then said “All right, I'll be back in a moment” before heading back into the building.

Gabriel wiped his brow, telling himself he'd probably just avoided a disaster. He really had to be careful what he said in the future... Twilight noticed his anxious expression and asked, “Is everything all right? You look a bit stressed...”

“Yes, yes, I'm fine...” Gabriel did his best to look relaxed. “Anyway, I was wondering something, and I know this might sound stupid, but... How should I behave in front of, well, Princess uh... Celestia, right?”

Twilight frowned slightly as she replied “Yes, uh... What exactly do you mean?”

“Well, I mean... well, she's the leader of your country! You certainly don't address her like any other, er... pony... And the last thing I'd like to do is offend her by not knowing how to react...”

Twilight raised a hoof to her chin, thinking. “The ponies have a habit of bowing when Princess Celestia makes her appearance, so... Maybe it would be a good idea if you did too...

“Bow down? Right... And uh, anything else?”

“Then, apart from calling her your majesty, I think that's it...”

“What? Really?”

“Well, yes... As long as you speak to her with respect, I don't see what could go wrong...”

Rarity added: “Oh yes, dear! Princess Celestia is absolutely charming! And she's very understanding!”

“Really?” Gabriel asked, still puzzled.

“Yes!” Spike joined in the discussion. “One time she came to taste at Sugar Cube Corner, and she was about to eat a cupcake, when ALL OF A SUDDEN...” He stood up to accentuate his words. “... Pinkie Pie took it from her hooves and gobbled it up!”

“Are you kidding?”

“No! And you know how the Princess reacted?”

“Er... she locked him up in a dungeon?”

“No! She just giggled!”

“Ah well... ”

Once again, they were interrupted by the waiter who came to bring the requested dishes. Gabriel was impressed by the speed of the service. He watched his cheese sandwich for a moment, making sure it didn't have an end to anything weird inside, but it seemed perfectly normal. He then took a bite, continuing the conversation. “And, actually Twilight, I know you told me yesterday that the Princess was really able to move the sun and stuff, but, like, is that really true? She can move the whole SUN with her... magic?”

Twilight, herself enjoying her meal, rolled her eyes as she replied, “Yes, of course it's true! Why would I lie to you?”

“I don't know, sorry, it's just... well, it just seems so strange, I mean... First of all, it doesn't make sense! It's the earth that revolves around the sun, normally! ”

“What the... What?” Twilight replied, looking genuinely astonished. “What the hell are you talking about?”

”Well... I'm telling the truth! It's logical: the earth revolves around the sun, so logically it's the earth that she should move, this, er... Princess! That is, if she really knows how...”

“Of course she can! And you're talking nonsense! It's the sun that revolves around the earth, just like the moon! Everyone knows that!”

“No, you're the one who's talking nonsense!” Gabriel glanced at the sun in the sky, then his expression went from passably annoyed to livid. “Unless..." He looked at the sun again, straight into his eyes, and as on the first occasion, it hurt his eyes as much as if he were looking at his car's overhead light.

He stood there staring at the sky for several long, awkward seconds, before Twilight resumed: “Uh... Can we ask what you're looking at?”

“Nothing, it's just... the sun...”

“Er... yes?”

“It doesn't hurt my eyes...”

“...and?”

“At home... you can't look at the sun for more than 2 seconds without burning your retina.... Because our sun is enormous! It's I don't know how many thousand times bigger than the earth! But here...” He opened his arms to accompany his words. “...in this world, or dimension, or whatever.... It's the sun that revolves around the earth, so that means it's smaller than the earth, right?”

“Uh, yeah...”

“So that's why it doesn't hurt my eyes! But he's still able to keep us warm and light... And it's controlled by a pony... I just... I still find it hard to believe...”

“And I find it hard to believe anything you tell me! Is your sun really that big? What about your moon? You do have a moon, don't you?”

“Uh, yes, uh... It orbits the earth...”

“So... it's not the same size as your sun?”

“Oh, no! It's much smaller...”

“Ha! Okay... So for this it's like here... And, so, who is it that controls the... movement of your earth and moon back home?”

“Uh... Nobody...”

“What? What do you mean?”

”Ugh... The Earth orbits the sun and the moon orbits the Earth... It's gravity, it's... it's physical. There's nothing magical about it and nobody controls it...”

“It's... very interesting... It's looks like our worlds work very differently!"

“Yeah... But there's also so much similarity, it's... so weird...”

“ Similarities? Like what?”

“Like, I don't know, lots of stuff! The food, the tools you use, the furniture.... We have stuff that's exactly the same at my house!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but what I find most bizarre is that you speak the SAME language as me, I mean.... I'm from another fucking universe and we speak the same language! How is that possible?”

“Well, I admit it's rather strange, indeed. Maybe there's an undetectable translation spell hovering around you, who knows?”

“A... a translation spell?”

“Yes! There are a variety of spells that not only translate lyrics but also texts!”

“Ah yes... it's true that you can do anything with magic here...”

“Not everything... but a lot, yes! Why, don't you humans use magic to make spells?”

“Well, actually... We don't use magic at all...”

Twilight had another shocked expression. “Eh, well maybe not to make spells, but you still use it a little bit unconsciously, like all living beings...”

“Er... not really, no...” This time, it wasn't just Twilight who had a questioning look, but Rarity and Spike, who were interested in the conversation too. “I... I haven't told you yet? I guess I've been a bit off my game lately... Well, in my world, magic... As you know it, anyway, that... Well, it just doesn't exist. I know it must be hard for you to believe, just as it's hard for me to believe that I'm not in a dream, but it's the truth.”

Twilight thought for a moment, just long enough to swallow the information, before saying, “But that's... It's impossible! We can't live without magic! It's essential!”

“Maybe here, but not where I come from. Ho, of course there are many old legends or invented stories that speak of magic. There are even people who claim to be magicians and who impress the public with so-called magic tricks, but everyone knows that it's all fake and that there's no real magic... So there you go, we don't have any magic and that's the way it's always been.”

“But... but you must miss it! How do you people get by?"

“For one thing, we can't miss something we've never had. And to get by, we get along, we invent things. The things you do with your magic, we do with our technology... Well, I suppose...”

“Um, um...” Rarity cleared her throat to speak. “Excuse me for interrupting your fascinating discussion, but it's getting late and we've all finished our meal” she said, pointing with her hoof to the four now empty plates. “We wouldn't want to miss the Princess's arrival, would we?”

Twilight looked at her quizzically. “Would you like to come with us, Rarity?”

She blushed slightly as she asked, “I was wondering if it was possible.... Because, you see, I like Princess Celestia so much, and I'd really like to be able to see her again!” She then turned dramatic again, adding, “Of course, I'd completely understand if you were too busy for me to join you...”

Twilight smiles and says, “No, of course not. I'm sure the Princess will be very happy to see you again!”

“Did you say Princess?” Said suddenly out of nowhere a tomboyish voice that Gabriel recognized well, even if he'd only known it for a short while. He raised his head to see none other than the famous blue pegasus with the multicolored mane that had chased him yesterday and was flying in parked again.

“Well, hello Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here?” Rarity asked as she saw her friend in the air.

“Hi guys!” Rainbow said cheerfully. She then moved closer to Gabriel and her expression changed to a more wary one. “And hello to you, uh... The humare..."

“Uh, it's pronounced human...” Gabriel corrected him, backing away slightly.

“Yeah, whatever...” She then threw herself back higher before continuing. “Well, actually, I happened to be flying above you and I heard you were going to meet the Princess! Is that true? Well, I'm just asking...” it sounded like she was pretending not to be excited.

“Well indeed. I think I kind of forgot to mention it to you and the others. I've been a bit distracted lately...” Twilight replied, blushing.

“At the same time, you're always busy!” Rainbow said, laughing. “But that's okay. Anyway, did you think I could see the Princess with you? In case you need my superb talents, hehe....”

“Well, here's a modest-looking one...” Gabriel thought, looking glumly at the scene.

“Well, the more the merrier, as Pinkie says... I'm sure the Princess will be delighted to see you again!” Twilight says.

“Yeah great!” Rainbow cried out in excitement as she spanked loops in the air, before collecting herself and saying more calmly. “I mean, cool...” Gabriel couldn't contain himself from letting out a chuckle, so absurd was his behavior. This caught the attention of the blue Pegasus, who approached him again, saying. “And you, don't try anything stupid with the Princess, I've got my eye on you...”

Gabriel looked at him, sweating slightly, both amused and still a little worried about Rainbow Dash. Part of him wanted to respond with a sarcastic comment, but he wasn't sure WHAT she was capable of. He imagined himself being lifted a few meters off the ground by this blue menace, only to be released and crushed to the ground. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought and he just decided to reply: “Okay, got it...”

Twilight paid the bill and they all headed for the tree/town library/Twilight's house, where another surprise awaited them. Indeed, Pinkie Pie, as well as the other one with the word “Apple” in its name and the shy yellow one with wings were also there. In fact, now that Gabriel could see it, his 2 “tattoos” if you could call them that, were butterflies in groups of 3. All greeted each other when they met and Twilight asked. “But, what are you all doing here?”

“Well, actually...” Apple Jack began, (now that Gabriel had heard his name again... ) “Pinkie Pie told us that the Princess was supposed to come here to see you, and...”

“WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE PRINCESS!!!” Pinkie interrupted Apple Jack, jumping for joy.

“Ah yes, that's right you knew about it, Pinkie. I'm sorry I didn't tell you girls.... “ Twilight said, turning to Apple Jack and Fluttershy. (He knew her name, too, now).

“It's okay, sugarcube, you were busy... And if we're bothering you, we can go. We'll see the Princess another time...” Apple Jack said with a sympathetic smile.

“Oh, no, you can stay! I'd love to, and I'm sure the Princess would too!”

While the 6 pony friends (and one dragon!) were obviously enjoying their friendships, Gabriel stood slightly aside with his arms crossed. While observing the scene he noticed a strange golden dot in the sky, which seemed to grow larger the longer he looked at it. He pointed to the strange shape and asked the others. “Um... Excuse me for interrupting, but what's that?”

“THE PRINCESS!” they all said in chorus, more out of observation than in response to his question. Gabriel put his hand over his eyes to get a better look at the shape, which was becoming clearer and clearer, and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was in fact an enormous solid-gold chariot pulled by four white pegasus ponies who seemed to be wearing the armor of golden Roman soldiers, with blue manes and all. The carriage had two small wheels at the front and two larger ones at the back with a strange moon-shaped symbol, and there was also a small mauve flag flying above it. But what was most interesting was the one on the cart itself. Gabriel couldn't see her very well at this distance, but she was undoubtedly Princess Celestia. For a second, he wondered how the Pegasus could tow the heavy-looking cart at such speed without it falling off with its contents. But he soon began to worry about something else. It was that the convoy was heading straight for them...

Chapter 10: Meeting with royalty

Gabriel's heart rate would accelerate as the chariot approached the group, until it finally landed on the ground in a cloud of dust. The sound of hooves on the ground and wooden wheels was all he could hear until the vehicle came to a complete stop. What Gabriel guessed to be the Princess dismounted, the first thing he noticed was how tall she was compared to the other ponies he'd seen so far, although she looked about his waist. As Twilight had said, she had both wings and a horn, although the latter was longer and more pointed than Twilight's or Rarity's.

He also noticed that she seemed to be wearing a kind of gold chest-piece with a precious stone inlaid in it, as well as a tiara which she wore on her head, and she had a sun printed on both her sides. But perhaps most impressive was her hair and tail, composed of 4 large colored stripes including 2 shades of blue, pale green and pink. What was odd was that it seemed to float on its own as if in the wind, a bit like a flag. However, there was absolutely no breeze at the moment, so either it was magic or there was a little fan hidden away somewhere.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others bow as the princess approached, and suddenly remembered that it was probably best for him to do the same. Rather clumsily, he got down on his knees to bow, staring at the ground while inwardly praying that he hadn't offended her. If she really was capable of moving an entire planet with her horn alone, he didn't dare imagine what she might do to him if she were angry. So for the time being, he contented himself with remaining in his position, while waiting for the next step.

Then he heard a soft, feminine voice, and he had no trouble guessing who it belonged to. “Twilight Sparkle my dearest pupil! I'm so happy to see you again!”

“Hello Princess! So am I!”

“And I'm also very happy to see your friends again!”

Gabriel could then hear the 6 ponies greet the princess in return, insisting of course that they were equally happy to see her again. “Well that's all right, I don't seem to have offended her yet..." He continued to admire the cobblestones present an inch from his face, although he was beginning to feel a little less panicked about the situation. However, his panic flared up again when he heard the sound of several hooves coming towards him. He risked a glance upwards, to see the 4 royal legs right in front of him. “And you, you must be the human Twilight told me about in her letter. Mr. Couset, isn't it?"

“Er... Yes, that's right, Your Highness...”

“Just call me Princess Celestia. Or even Celestia if you like...”

“Uh, okay, whatever you want, uh... Princess...”

“Well, I'm glad to see you have excellent manners, but please, you can straighten up now!”

“Okay...” Gabriel struggled to his feet, then rubbed his brand-new clothes to remove the dirt from the floor that had gotten into them. Now standing, he still looked down at his shoes, slightly uneasy at how to react next.

“You have the right to look at me too, I wouldn't blame you...” said the princess, laughing slightly.

Gabriel, now certain that the princess wasn't offended, looked him in the eye. He couldn't say why, but her eyes seemed different from those of the other ponies. They seemed to be filled with infinite wisdom. After a few awkward seconds, he looked away. “ Well then, I'm delighted to meet you, Mr. Couset”, the Princess resumed, smiling and handing him a hoof.

“Does she... want me to shake her hand? Or rather, the hoof?" Gabriel could see the four soldiers, if you could call them that, still attached to the cart, looking as if they were watching his every move. Gabriel swallowed, thinking, “Okay, this is no time to be a jerk...” With a hesitant gesture, he delicately grasped the hoof and made the usual movement. It seemed to have done the trick, to his relief.

Princess Celestia then stepped back slightly and said: “I must confess I was rather curious to see what you would look like when Twilight described you in her letter. Clearly, you didn't look like anything familiar in Equestria, or even beyond. And yet, believe me, I have a profound knowledge of the flora and fauna of our world.”

“You... you're sure? There's no creature here that looks like me?”

“Well... the creature you'd most resemble would be a minotaur, but you still have an enormous amount of difference...”

“You... you have MINOTAURS here?”

“Yes... You know what they are, don't you?"

“Yeah, a mythological creature... Well, where I come from, at least..."

“So, what I thought is true... You are a being from another world! I don't think this has ever happened in our history, and I know it like the back of my hooves!" Princess Celestia looked as enthusiastic as her pupil, which was rare. Gabriel, however, didn't look as excited. He was staring into space, remembering his sad fate. Celestia quickly pulled herself together and added: “I... I'm so sorry for you. I can't imagine what you must be going through right now, and believe, you have my sympathy on this. And I will do everything in my power to understand what has happened to you and how to get you home, you have my word.” She said with a smile that seemed absolutely sincere. Gabriel wondered why he'd been so panicked just before. The leader in front of her looked more sympathetic than Mother Teresa herself. He just hoped it wasn't just a facade.

“Thank you... Thank you so much, really, but... Why?”

The Princess now gave an astonished look. “Why what?”

“Well, why all this kindness? Why do you all want to help me by claiming to be my friends when you don't even know me?" This time he was addressing the whole group. “I mean, I'm from another world, I could be a pony-eating monster and you wouldn't even know it! How can you trust me?”

“I know how to recognize sincerity in my subjects' eyes, and believe me, you don't look like a monster at all. What's more, I think it's in the nature of many ponies to come to the aid of those in need, and I'm sure you would have done the same, for us, wouldn't you?”

Gabriel imagined for a moment if a local pony had appeared in his world. He could see crowds of people milling around to take videos, before the police cordoned off the area. Then a helicopter from some government agency would surely come to evacuate the equine, who would surely end up in Area 51 or something, undergoing dissections and all sorts of horrible things... However, he replied, “Er... Yeah sure, we'd have done the same thing...”

“Shit, it's true she can tell if I'm being sincere or not..." Gabriel said to himself just afterwards, thinking that now he was really screwed. Fortunately, she didn't seem to dwell on the subject, her gaze seemingly lost in the distance for some reason. “Um... Princess?”

“Ho... Uh, forgive me, I was a little distracted. It's just that, I was wondering what this was?” She said, pointing at the object of her curiosity, which was none other than Gabriel's old Ford Fiesta still parked next to Twilight's tree.

Gabriel also glanced at her car, then at the golden carriage, thinking “Of course, they're not used to seeing that here...”

Celestia asked Twilight with a questioning look: “Does this belong to you, Twilight?”

“No,” she replied. “Actually, it's Gabriel's.”

“Yeah, it's my car. You could say it made the trip with me...” Gabriel clarified.

“A... car?” Celestia asked, a curious look on her regal face.

“It's a vehicle... created by humans. It allows you to get around fairly quickly by taking roads.”

“You mean... it's an object from your world?”

“Yes, it is. There are lots of them at home, of all sorts of different models. And besides, the one I've got is an old model, we've got much more modern ones now."

“That's really fascinating... But anyway, back to the point. I'm here for you.” She says in a more serious tone. “Although I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me a little more about this car sometime...” She added in spite of everything.

“Of course!” Gabriel replied, finding it amusing that someone was so interested in his old jalopy.

“Well, I suppose the best way to start would be for you to tell me exactly how you came to be here, if you don't mind.”

“Okay, so actually...” Gabriel began, interrupted by Twilight.

“Excuse me for cutting in like this, Gabriel, but perhaps you'd be more comfortable talking inside?”

“Excellent idea!” Said the Princess

“Would you like to come too?” asked Twilight of her friends.

“Yeah, I'm really curious to hear his story...” replied Apple Jack.

“Me too, dear” added Rarity.

“Why not...” Rainbow said with an air of disinterest.

“Well, I already know it, but it was so good I want to hear it again!” Pinkie Pie added. Fluttershy merely nodded in the affirmative.

So they all headed into the house/treehouse, if you can call it that, with Spike leading the way. The latter took charge of preparing tea for everyone, and soon they were all seated around a table, steaming mugs in hand. Gabriel stood at one end of the table, and the Princess at the other, while the 6 friends stood on either side of the table. Spike had also managed to squeeze in next to Rarity.

Gabriel had to admit that he felt a little nervous about having to talk in front of so many ponies, but it wasn't long before he recounted for the third time since he'd been here, in detail, how he'd come to be here. He left no part forgotten, going from his car ride, to the white light, then to his awakening in the forest, his confusion, the chase, his meeting with the others, etc.... He even recounted how Twilight had welcomed her dear and how Rarity had made her new clothes.

They all listened attentively to his story, until he said, “There, I think I've told you all...” He then took another sip of his tea, which had now cooled down considerably.

Everyone had an indecipherable look on their faces, until the Princess spoke up again, “So... you're saying that you fainted after touching a strange white light that appeared out of nowhere, and when you woke up you were here?””

“In a nutshell, yes. Frankly, even I who lived through the thing find it hard to believe myself, so I'd understand if you found it hard to believe me too...”

“Well, you're sitting in front of me right now, which is already strong evidence. Besides, I don't see why you'd lie to me in your situation, so I believe you.”

“Thank you...”

An awkward silence ensued as no one knew what to say. Twilight finally spoke again: “Actually, Princess, I did a bit of research after I sent you the letter, and I think the light was indeed a momentary portal that opened for some reason, but I confess I haven't really found much about any interdimensional portals in my books, or about humans...”

“It's all right, Twilight, and I think you're right.” Celestia resumed. “A portal would be the most logical explanation. Although it's been a long time since I've heard of one...”

“Is it... is it true?” Gabriel asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"'Sadly, yes. Portals are a very ancient form of magic that allow travel across worlds. According to some legends, only a few rare ponies have managed to create them across our planet, and that was a long time ago. However, there is very little information available about them. To be honest, even I doubted their existence, until you appeared...”

“But, you know if there's a way to make one reappear to take me home, don't you?” Gabriel sweated as he asked the question

“I... I'm not sure of anything yet... I'm really sorry. However, if a portal was able to appear in your home to bring you here, I don't see why the reverse shouldn't be true too.”

Gabriel lowered his gaze, disappointed but still expecting this answer. “I... I understand... Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. You're doing what you can to help me...”

“Yes, and I think it would be a good idea for us to go to the place where you appeared”

“You do? Why?”

“Well, there may be clues to the circumstances that brought you here. Perhaps there are even traces of magic left...”

“Well, if you say so. We've got nothing to lose anyway, have we?”

“Wait...” Fluttershy's voice suddenly rose, “... you mean you want to go to the Everfree Forest?”

“Uh... yeah I guess, why?” Gabriel replied.

“Well, it's not to scare you, but.... There are all sorts of dangerous creatures down there, like manticores, cockatrices, even timber wolves!”

“Wood... Wooden wolves? You mean, wolves that COME from the woods, right?”

Fluttershy shook her head in the negative. Gabriel frowned, trying to imagine what a wolf made of wood might look like, and even if it would know how to move, when Rainbow intervened: “Yeah, well, don't worry. I'll come with you, and I guarantee none of those monsters will dare flinch!”

“Really? You want to come along?” Gabriel asked.

“Come on, darling, we'll all come with you! Although I must admit that the Everfree Forest isn't my favorite place...” said Rarity.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, and it's non-negotiable! We're not going to let you and the Princess get eaten by wolves or turned to stone!” Said Apple Jack.

“Turn into what, you say?”

Apple Jack didn't have time to reply as Pinkie exclaimed, “Yippee, we're going on a walk with friends with the Princess! Isn't that great?” she asked, addressing Celestia.

Celestia smiled at her enthusiasm and said, “I'd be delighted if you'd come with us. And don't worry about those creatures, my guards will be with us to protect us. I'm sure everything will be fine!”

“Well, let's go then!” Twilight said, a hint of excitement in her voice too. “Do you want to come too, Spike?”

“Why not? I'm sick of hanging around here all the time” he then did something Gabriel hadn't expected. He climbed on top of Twilight like a man would a horse, before shouting, “Let's go!” Twilight laughed at his antics.

Soon, the others were laughing too. Even the Princess had given in to a fit of giggles. Gabriel tried to hold back, but couldn't help laughing too. It felt good.

And so they all set off. Gabriel, Princess Celestia and Twilight with Spike in the lead, followed by the rest of the gang, including Rainbow Dash who was flying over the others. There were also the four white Pegasus in armour who had towed the wagon and were now surrounding the group. They really seemed to take their jobs seriously.

Gabriel had to admit that it was funny to see the other ponies move aside and bow to them, even though he knew it wasn't for him. Celestia greeted them with a warm smile. She really seemed to be honest and to care about her citizens. “Not like all those political bastards...” Gabriel thought. At that moment, he felt a slight headache forming, but he just ignored it for the moment.

He took advantage of their walk to ask a few questions. “Excuse me, Princess, but may I ask you a question?”

“Of course, what is it?” She replied.

“Well, earlier when I asked you why you trusted me, you told me that you knew how to see if your subjects were sincere...”

“That was just a figure of speech, you know. But you really do seem like a good person”

“Thanks... but, I meant, you talked about me as if I were one of your subjects...”

“Well, technically you are...”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, given that you've appeared in Equestria and are staying with Twilight for the time being, you're on refugee status and therefore temporarily an Equestrian citizen.”

Gabriel looked at her with wide eyes. “Seriously?”

“Yes, and as Princess my role is to come to the aid of all the citizens of Equestria, whoever they may be”

“Well, that's... that's really generous of you... To help me and all, I mean. Well you must have a lot on your plate, running your country and all, and yet you take the time to come here and help me when you don't even know me."

“It has to be said that your situation is exceptional”

“Yes, that's not wrong!” Gabriel said, chuckling lightly. He could now see the edge of the forest close up. They were about to enter. He recognized the path he'd taken in the opposite direction with his car yesterday, next to that strange green-roofed house. They started into the woods, until Twilight placed a hoof in front of Gabriel and shouted “STOP!”

“WHAT? What's wrong?” Gabriel exclaimed in turn, searching his eyes for the source of danger. Twilight simply pointed to a bed of blue flowers on the ground. “Ba what, they're just flowers?”

“They're not just any flowers! They're a poison joke!" Twilight replied.

“Yes, I know this plant well” continued Celestia ”When we come into contact with it, it plays a nasty trick on us...”

“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked.

“Well, let's just say it has some rather undesirable effects. Believe me, we'd better not try to touch them...” Twilight replied.

“Okay, so you shouldn't touch them with your skin, right?”

“Right!”

“Well, I'll give you a pass then...” Gabriel said, starting to crush some of the flowers with his feet.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing? I told you not to touch them!”

“And, I remind you, I've got shoes! I don't touch them directly! Besides, look, I already mowed some of them down with my car when I drove by yesterday, so I'm going to finish the job and crush those bastards..."

After a few minutes of hard work, accompanied by the slightly worried looks of the others, Gabriel had managed to clear a path for everyone to pass. Everyone thanked him, including Twilight. “Sorry I yelled at you, I was just worried...”

“Don't worry, no offense!”

The group continued on, Gabriel pointing the way. He had no trouble finding his path, as the tire tracks, still fresh from yesterday, were still visible on the ground. When he'd been driving yesterday, he hadn't really paid much attention, but now that he was on foot, he had to admit that this place was pretty scary. What's more, his headache had increased again, and he just hoped it wasn't because of the flowers. The others with him didn't say much, obviously as preoccupied as he was by the intimidation of the place.

Fortunately, they didn't have to walk far to find the place they were looking for. “I think we're here...” said Gabriel.

“Are you sure, Mr. Couset?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Yes. And you can call me Gabriel” He approached the spot he suspected was his place of appearance. “The tire tracks disappear right here, so my car must have appeared right over there!” He said, pointing to the ground.

“I see...” Celestia said. The others also moved closer to get a better look.

“And look, that's the tree I climbed! You can even see a few broken branches...”

“Interesting...” Celestia seemed to be pondering what to do next.

After a minute of somewhat awkward silence, Gabriel asked, “So... what do we do now ?”

“I'm going to cast a recognition spell.”

“A recognition spell?”

“Yes, it allows you to scan the environment and be able to see if any magical activity has taken place recently, and of what type”

“Ok... Well, do it if you like...” The Princess closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Her horn lit up, before a sort of luminous jet came out of it and invaded their entire environment for a brief moment, before fading away a few seconds later. Gabriel regretted not having had his phone with him to film this incredible moment. He also told himself that he hoped his headache would go away soon, and he also began to get a nasty taste in his mouth. “So... did you find anything?” He felt his heart beat faster again and hope rise in him as he dreaded the answer.

The Princess gave him a sad look back, saying: “I'm really sorry, I... I found nothing, I'm afraid... It's as if... all traces of magic have been erased...”

The statement struck Gabriel like a sledgehammer. All his hopes rested on this answer, and had just been shattered. “You... you didn't find anything?” At that moment, his headache returned, but this time accompanied by a slight nausea. He began to stagger and had to lean against a tree.

The Princess tried to reassure him: “But all hope is not lost! I'll get all my best ponies on it, and...”

But Gabriel wasn't listening to her anymore. All that mattered now was the pain drumming in his head, and his growing nausea. He rubbed his hands against his face.

“Is everything all right, Gabriel?” Celestia asked.

“I'm not feeling very well...” He replied in a small voice. A shiver ran down his spine. He also noticed that he was now feeling sore and had to sit on the ground to keep from falling. His vision was blurred and he could hear the other ponies panicking about him, but he couldn't even concentrate on what they were saying because his headache was so bad. And to top it all off, he also now felt like throwing up “What the fuck is happening to me?” was all he managed to think before fainting for the second time this week.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
I just wanted to tell you that for simplicity's sake, the universe of My Little Poy in my story doesn't contain a “portal to the human world” as we can see in the series (Equestria Girl), and Gabriel comes from an alternative world where the MLP franchise doesn't exist.
I hope I've represented Princess Celestia well, as I know many of you love this pony and she has a very specific character.
And last but not least, don't worry (spoiler alert), Gabriel won't turn into a pony or grow horns or anything like that. It's just that, personally, I find it really weird... So here goes
See you next time for a new chapter!

Chapter 11 : Good but bad news

The first thing Gabriel felt when he woke up was a horrible ache running through his body and a nasty taste in his mouth. However, he also noticed that his headache had disappeared, but there was no doubt that he was ill. He could also feel that he was in bed. Could it be possible that...?

He slowly opened his eyes, dreading what he was about to see. He saw that he was in a rather warm-looking room. The ceiling was green, and the walls were covered with blue wallpaper. The floor, meanwhile, was strewn with beige tiles, and there was a large curtain to his left that hid the rest of the room. He was indeed in a bed that was, as in Twilight, a little too small. What's more, his clothes had apparently been removed and he was dressed in a green nightgown, but his underpants had been left on.

He noticed a white pony with light pink hair and tail standing in a corner, tidying up a cupboard. Her mark was a white cross with a red heart inside, accompanied by four small red hearts at each corner. She was also wearing a white hat with the same design on it. “Well... Okay. I must be in a hospital. And her, I'd put my money on that she's a nurse...”

Gabriel sighed. For a moment he had thought he would wake up in his own world. That he'd really had an accident and that all this was just a strange coma dream. But he hadn't. The pony in front of him proved that he was still in the enchanted world of talking ponies.

At that moment he had a strong urge to sneeze, and he couldn't hold back. “Ha... Haaa.... A TCHOUM!”

That was enough for the nurse to turn around and see him. “Ho, you're awake! Hold on, I'll help you...” She handed him a handkerchief, which Gabriel immediately grabbed to dry himself off. Once he'd done that, he wanted to thank her, but all that came out of his mouth was a hoarse sound. His throat was quite sore. The nurse saw him and poured a white liquid from a small brown bottle into a spoon, which she handed to him, saying. “Here, this is syrup for a sore throat. It should give you some relief.”

Gabriel grabbed the spoon and drank the syrup, which tasted quite pleasant. After a few seconds he was able to speak again, saying “Thank you... thank you very much”.

“I'm just doing my job!” The pony replied with a smile, before placing the bottle and spoon on a bedside table next to the bed. “I'll put this here in case you need it again. But don't abuse it, it's not a drink!”

“Yes... yes of course...” Gabriel lay back, trying to soothe his aches and pains. “What the... What happened?”

The nurse thought for a moment before answering, “Well, apparently you fainted in the Everfree Forest and Princess Celestia brought you here with her magic...”

“I... I fainted? For how long?”

“Only a little over an hour...”

“But... why? What happened to me?”

The unsure-looking nurse replied, “Look... I know you must have a lot of questions. I'll go and tell the Doctor that you've woken up, and he'll probably be able to answer them better than I can...”

With that, she turned and left through a door directly opposite. Gabriel rubbed his face to get rid of the gunk in his eyes and noticed that there was also his phone and wallet on the bedside table. He instinctively reached for his phone and wanted to open it, but remembered that he had turned it off completely to save battery power. So he found himself staring at his reflection on the small black screen. Even then, he could see he was white, and it certainly didn't look good.

He put his phone back down when he heard footsteps in the corridor, and saw the nurse returning, accompanied by a pale yellow unicorn, with brown hair and a cardiogram mark. He was also wearing a white coat with a tie. “Hello, Mr. Couset, how are you feeling?”

“Er... Well, I've got aches and pains all over, I've got a sore throat and I'm feeling pretty weak. But otherwise I'm fine...”

“I see, let me see your temperature...” He took out a thermometer and put it to his ear. Gabriel didn't protest. He took it out again and said. “You still have a fever of 40°C. I must admit, I'm not used to treating... What was the name again?”

The nurse whispered a few words in his ear, then he resumed, “Ah yes, humans! But I suppose it's not normal for you to have such a high temperature either...”

Gabriel merely nodded from top to bottom in response, to which the doctor replied, “Well, I guess you'll have to stay here for a little while longer...”

“But... what...” Gabriel had to interrupt his sentence, having to cough several times before resuming, “is happening to me?”

“I'm afraid you've caught the pony flu...”

“The... the pony flu?”

“Yes, it's a fairly common illness, but it was discovered a long time ago. At the time, ponies suffered greatly from this disease, but their immune systems eventually adapted and developed specific antibodies, which were passed on from generation to generation. Today, ponies can still get the disease, but they recover much more quickly... And then, vaccines were invented.” He then picked up an index card and began to read what was written on it, continuing, “You, however, I understand you come from a very distant country, don't you?”

Gabriel laughed lightly, coughing half-heartedly as he replied; “Yes, that's the least we can say...”

“Well, according to our analyses, your body didn't have any of the specific antibodies required to deal with this virus, which infected you just this morning.”

“I...” (coughs) “I caught it this morning? But I didn't have any symptoms this morning!”

“Yes, but that's because the disease hadn't yet developed and was asymptomatic. It then developed very quickly in your body, and you must certainly have caught a slight headache after a while.”

“That was... actually the case, yes”

“Afterwards, you must have had a moment of weakness, and the virus took advantage of this to attack your body. As your body was totally unprepared, that explains why you fainted momentarily, even though it's quite exceptional, I must admit.”

“Alright... I see doctor, thank you for the explanation” Gabriel had to blow his nose before resuming: ”Is it... is it serious?”

The doctor smiled and said, “If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. Your condition has stabilized, and you already seem to be on the right track to recovery, although in your case it may take a little longer...”

“How long?” asked Gabriel before rubbing his face again.

The doctor rubbed his chin and said, “Well... a week, I'd say. Maybe two, until your body gets used to it. I'll also need to prescribe some medication to speed up the process.”

“Okay... thank you doctor, thank you for everything...”

“It's been a pleasure helping you! Now I'll have to leave you to it. I still have other patients to see. Good evening and get well soon! ”

“Thanks again doctor!” Gabriel shouted as best he could as the doctor walked out the door.

The nurse then turned to him and said, “There are some people who'd like to visit you. Do you feel up to receiving them?”

“Er... Yes, yes of course...”

The nurse went out and said, “I'll fetch them...”

Only a few seconds later, the 6 now-familiar ponies entered the room, along with Princess Celestia, and Spike of course. Gabriel barely had time to say a word before he felt a pink embrace around him and a high-pitched voice saying: “Gabriel! I'm so glad you're all right! We were all so worried about you!”

“Uh, it's nice of you to worry about me Pinkie, but I'm still sick right now...”

Pinkie Pie released him, saying, “Yes, I'm really sorry, I hope it's not too serious...”

“It's okay, it's just the flu apparently...” He looked at the others in the room before asking. “You've all come to visit me? That's... really cool of you, thanks...”

Twilight spoke up, saying “We were all really worried about you! When you fainted in the forest, we did everything we could to get you here!”

“Yes, I'm... I'm really grateful. It was you, Princess, who had carried me, wasn't it?”

“I only did my duty...” She replied. “I'm also glad to hear that you're not in critical condition. I hope you recover quickly.”

Gabriel smiled in return, before saying “Thank you, that's really kind...” He coughed again, then made a much less cheerful face “And... by the way, about the portal, um...”

Celestia also looked slightly mournful as she replied, “I'm... afraid I don't know any more about its origin than you do, I'm really sorry...”

Gabriel lowered his head, saying simply, “Ho...”

“But, while you were away, I was able to contact Canterlot's top magic experts by message. Some of them are already on their way to collect samples from your place of appearance for analysis.”

“Is it... is it true? Are you going to find a way to bring me back?”

“I... I'd be lying to you if I said I was certain... But I seriously think there's a good chance, yes. If we can figure out how the portal that brought you here works, it must surely be possible to recreate one to your world...”

“If you say so...”

“I know all this must be really hard for you to accept. If you need anything, whether it's a listening ear, or anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me.”

“Thank you, you're already doing...” (Another cough) “...so much for me.... If anything, it's me who should be telling you that... I just have one question, if there really is a way to get me home, how long will it take to find it?”

“It's... it's really hard to say. Months, maybe even years? I'm sorry to have to tell you like this....”

Gabriel felt as if he were breaking down. “Years?” Even though he'd expected an answer like that, it still came as a shock.

Celestia placed a hoof on Gabriel's shoulder, while saying, “Perhaps these words won't mean much to you, but.... Never give up hope. Even in the most hopeless situations, there's always a way out...”

Gabriel simply smiled at her, tears forming in his eyes. The Princess took a step back before declaring, “I'm afraid I must return to Canterlot now. I'll let you know as soon as we know more for you. In the meantime, be well!”

“Thank you, to you too...”

The nurse addressed everyone, saying, “Gabriel needs to rest now, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave...”

All the ponies left the room, saying goodbye to Gabriel. He said, “Thank you, thank you... for everything... Goodbye..." waving his hand.

Finally, all that remained was the nurse, who asked, “Is there anything you need?”

“No... no thanks, I'm fine...”

“All right, I'll be off then. If you have any problems, just press the bell above the bed to call me or one of my colleagues”

“Okay, that's fine...” She then left the room and Gabriel was left alone with himself. He tried to control his breathing a few times, repeating to himself that all would be well, before bursting into tears.

He cried for at least a good 5 minutes, before stopping, having run out of tears. He grabbed a few tissues to dry himself, trying to calm down, when he heard a voice say, “Are you all right?”

“Wha... What? Who spoke?” Gabriel asked, rather surprised.

“Uh... it's me! I'm right here!” The voice sounded like it was coming from behind the curtain. Gabriel raised an eyebrow and pulled himself up with all his might to reach for the curtain. When he managed to grab it, he towed it aside with a jerk, revealing what was behind it.

There was another bed, in which was a Pegasus pony Gabriel had never seen before. She was gray, with blond hair and tail, and had a mark composed of several bubbles. She also had her right wing and left leg in a cast. “You... you've been here all this time?”

“Er... yes?” Replied the pegasus. Gabriel looked him in the eye and noticed another rather interesting detail, to say the least. She was squinting. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly, but yes, she was squinting all right.

Gabriel lay back, thinking to himself: “A squinting pony? Well, why shouldn't ponies have disabilities too? They can catch the fucking flu, after all...”

“Is everything all right?” resumed the stranger.

Gabriel turned over in his bed so he could look at her. She seemed genuinely worried about him, like all the other ponies he'd met. “I... I don't think we can say everything's fine, no...”

“Why?”

“Well, I'm stuck in a completely unknown world full of talking ponies and I have no fucking idea if I'm going to be able to go home or see my loved ones again.... And what's more, I'm sick as a dog.”

“Ho..., I see, I'm really sorry for you, it's true that it can't be fun...”

“Thanks...” Gabriel had to cough several times before continuing “And, uh... you, what happened to you?”

The gray pegasus gave an embarrassed look as she replied, “Actually... I had to deliver a package for someone who was quite urgent, and I started flying a little too fast...” She glanced at her broken wing. “I guess I didn't master my landing very well...”

“Oh yeah, shit, I'm sorry, I hope it didn't hurt too much...”

“Actually, it did, quite a bit... But luckily I crashed right in front of Rose, Lily and Daisy, and they took me straight to hospital, and then they put me on some medicine that made me go to sleep and then when I woke up I was in a cast.”

“Okay... I see. When did this happen?”

“Uh... three days ago now.”

“And... it's getting better?” Gabriel asked before coughing again.

“Yes, it's getting better, but the doctor said I'd have to stay in hospital for a few more days... And what's your illness?”

“I've got, er... Pony flu, apparently. The doc says I'll be bedridden for a week or two...”

“Ah yes, the pony flu... I caught it once, and it wasn't much fun... But the syrup they give for coughs is really good!”

Gabriel laughed slightly at her remark, smiling back “Yes... it is.”

The pegasus smiled back and held out his good arm, saying: “By the way, I'm Ditzy Doo. But all my friends call me Derpy!”

Gabriel leaned over once more to shake his hoof. “And I'm Gabriel Couset. But my friends call me Gaby. Nice to meet you.”

“Me too, you seem like a great...” Derpy paused in his sentence, asking instead, “But wait... you're not a pony!”

“I was wondering when you were going to ask me... Indeed I'm not a pony.”

“But... what are you then?”

“Well, a human, quite simply...”

“A human? That's a funny word, human! Like the other word you said earlier... Fuck! What does that mean?”

“Uh, nothing, it's just a human expression...”

“Is that right? I like that word! Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“Stop saying that, please, it sounds weird on you...”

Their conversation was interrupted by another pony entering the room. She was yellow with blue hair, and the same brand as the other nurse. She was pushing a cart with two trays of food. “To the table!”

She set one tray down for Gabriel and another for Derpy. “Ho, uh... thank you...” said Gabriel.

The tray contained just a glass of water, as well as a strange green puree and a reddish-colored jelly. “Here's the medicine you need to take,” said the nurse, dropping several pills onto the tray. “Take them at the same time as your meal. And no fuss, I'll know if you haven't taken one!”

“Yeah... okay, noted” The nurse left with a satisfied look on her face. Gabriel attacked his meal, even though he didn't really have much of an appetite. He had to admit it was far from his favorite meal, but then, it was better than what they served at the hospital he knew.

His room-mate didn't seem to be enjoying the meal either. “Ugh... The food is really the worst thing here! Can't wait to get out of here and eat a good muffin!”

“Yeah, you said it...” Gabriel replied, chewing “Say, I was wondering, since you were here earlier, how come we didn't hear you?”

“Ho...” Derpy was also chewing, “I was actually taking a nap... It was your crying that woke me up... I actually thought you were laughing at first, and I thought we must have told you a good joke, but then I thought it was still a weird laugh, so that's why I asked if you were okay...”

”... I woke you up? I'm sorry...”

“No, it's okay, I sleep too much anyway...”

“Yeah, well, speaking of sleeping, I think I'll be going to bed soon...” Gabriel says as he finishes his glass of water.

“What? But it's not that late...”

“Yeah, I know, but... I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep too well last night, and my illness isn't helping... I'll just wait for the nurse to come back and ask her something...”

The nurse returned a few minutes later to collect the trays, and Gabriel asked, “Um... excuse me, could I have another glass of water please?”

“Um, yes, of course...” The nurse left and returned shortly afterwards with a full glass of water, which she handed to Gabriel.

“Thank you,” he said. He turned to Derpy and said, “I always need a glass of water next to me when I sleep...”

“Ha, okay. Well, good night Gaby, I'm glad I had a chat with you.”

“Yes, me too Derpy. See you tomorrow I guess” And with that, his whole body commanding him, he engulfed himself under his comforter and closed his eyes. Normally, he would still have had trouble sleeping, especially knowing he was going to be here for a while, if not forever. But fatigue and illness got the better of him, and he drifted off to sleep like a rock.

Chapter 12 : Thanks for everything

Gabriel woke up in his hospital bed and immediately sensed that something was wrong. Already, he was no longer ill, which was a good thing in itself, but he had the impression that there was something else going on...

The doctor he'd seen yesterday came into the room and greeted Gabriel, saying, “Good morning, Mr. Couset, how are you today?”

“Hello doctor, well, actually, I'm feeling much better than yesterday. I feel like I'm not sick anymore...”

“Ha ha, yes that's normal! We've found a solution to cure you immediately!”

“What? What do you mean?”

“See for yourself!” Replied the doctor, handing him a mirror. Gabriel looked into it, and couldn't believe his eyes. In the mirror, you could see a pony. A stallion, to be precise, brown in color with even browner hair.

He looked down, trembling, to see that his hands had been replaced by hooves. Fucking hooves! “What have you done to me...” He straightened up to face the doctor again. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME??”

“Whatever was best for you...” Twilight replied, coming out of nowhere behind the doctor.

“But why? Why?”

“Aren't you happy? Not only are you no longer sick, but now you're one of us! You won't feel different anymore! Isn't that great?”

“NO! No it's not great! I never asked for this! So I don't care if I'm sick, but you're going to make me like I was before right now!”

The doctor nodded negatively. “That's not possible, you're one of us now, and you'll be one of us forever...”

“Forever...” Twilight repeated.

“You're completely insane! There's no way I'm staying like this another second!”

“Forever, forever, forever...” This time all 6 pony friends were present, and they were all repeating those same two words over and over again.

“No, no, leave me alone! Get out of my way, you bastard! Fuck you!” As the ponies began to close in on him, Gabriel decided it was time to flee. He bolted out of bed and ran for the exit door. At least, he tried to, not being used to his new body yet.

Once in the corridor, he ran in a random direction. He could hear the ponies behind him. He turned and even saw nurses chasing after him with Twilight and her friends, always repeating, “Forever, forever...”

“Go away, you motherfuckers! Screw you!” Gabriel shouted as he ran. In the distance, he could see an exit door with the word “EXIT” painted in red. He hurried even faster to reach it.

Suddenly, he heard a voice different from the others. A soft, feminine voice, seeming to come from nowhere, saying, “Gabriel, stop, don't worry...”

“What?” Gabriel replied, still running. “Do you think I'm going to stop like that, you damn voice?”

“Please, calm down...”

“No... No I won't calm down! Kiss my ass, you hear me?” Gabriel prepared to wait for the door. Just before he did, he took one last look behind him and noticed, just behind the group of delirious ponies, a strange blue silhouette. It was equine and had a mane that seemed to move on its own. He couldn't say why, but the pony looked familiar. However, he didn't have time to see more, the white light outside blinding him as he passed through the door.

Gabriel woke up in a sweat. He would have liked to scream, but his throat prevented it, and a hoarse sound came from his mouth instead. He ran his hands up and down his body to make sure everything was in order. Yes, his hands. He was still human. “My God, thank you...” He turned on the bedside lamp after calming down a little, a coughing fit beginning to take hold of him. He saw the little bottle of syrup and grabbed it to drink just before the door opened.

A pink pony with freckles entered, which Gabriel had never seen before. She exclaimed, “Is everything all right? I heard a noise coming from here...”

“Uh...” Gabriel cleared his throat “Uh... yes, yes, everything's fine, I just had a nightmare, I'm sorry...”

“A... a nightmare? Are you all right?”

“Yes, yes... don't worry, I'll...” He coughed a little “go back to sleep, I'll be fine...”

“Well... all right then, good night, and avoid making too much noise please...”

“Okay, thanks...” The nurse left and Gabriel lay back in his bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. He was rethinking the nightmare he'd just had. He could still see a pony... and he'd never been so terrified in his life. But that was all over now, it was just a dream, a fucking dream...

He rubbed his face as he heard a voice whisper, “Uh... are you okay Gaby ?”

“Derpy? Don't tell me I woke you up again ?”

“Uh... yes, a little, but it doesn't matter I'm not tired anymore anyway...”

“Sorry, you're going to end up hating me...”

“No, no, it's okay...”

An awkward silence ensued, until Gabriel said, “Right, well, I'm going back to bed then, good night...”

“Good night...”

Gabriel tossed and turned in his bed, seeking sleep in vain. Not only was he thinking about the dream he'd had, but other, even less pleasant thoughts came to mind, such as his relatives who must have been worried sick about him, or the prospect of staying here forever. This went on for a few minutes, before Derpy spoke up again: “Hey, psst, are you asleep ?”

“Mmh... no, not really”

“Me too, I slept all day and now I'm not sleepy at all...”

“Yeah, that sucks...”

“Say, uh... what kind of nightmare did you have?”

“I... Uh... I dreamt that... I became a pony”

“You did?”

“Yeah, it was horrible...”

“But, it's cool to be a pony! No ?”

“What? No, it's not cool! Would you like to...” He coughed again “...turn into a human you?”

“Uh... It depends, would I still have wings?”

“No... Humans don't have wings”

“Well then, no !”

“That's it! I'm human and I want to stay that way!” Gabriel ran his hands over his face, then laughed lightly. “What the fuck am I talking about? How did I get to this?”

“What do you mean?”

Gabriel sighed before continuing, “Barely 2 days ago I was sitting at home, tinkering with my engine, and now I find myself in a hospital in a fucking other dimension, sick as hell, and on top of that I have no idea how to get home AND I can't contact any of my family and friends to let them know...” Gabriel had started to straighten up, but soon lay back down again, his aches and pains getting the better of him again. “And on top of that I'm entrusting all my problems to a Pegasus I barely know, no offense...”

“I... I'm sorry, really...”

“It's okay, you don't have to be sorry, it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. Well, maybe it's somebody's fault, but who? I don't know.”

“That's sad...”

“Yeah... Well, I'll stop complaining. Did you dream of something ?”

“Oh, yes! I dreamt I could fly again ! And I was eating lots of muffins !”

“Oh... That must have been fun...”

“Yes ! It was great !”

“Ok...”

Another silence settled in, the two roommates unsure of what to say to each other. Derpy finally said: “You know what I do when I can't sleep? I read stories! Or I'm told one. Do you know any stories?”

Gabriel pondered, wondering what story he could tell, then an idea occurred to him. “Well, do you by any chance know Fontaine's Fable?”

“Er... no ,?”

“Well... of course you don't. We learned about them when we were kids. Basically, they're little stories about animals that are supposed to teach us something.”

“Sounds great !”

“Yeah, I remember one. Well, I can't remember exactly how it's told, but basically it's about a fox and a crow. Um... you know what it is, right?”

“Of course I do !”

“So, basically we've got a raven perched on a tree holding a cheese in its beak, see? And then a fox comes along and sees the cheese and says to himself, "Hey, I could really go for that cheese", and then he says to the crow, "Oh, you're beautiful, you're strong, etc....". He's flattering him, you know?

“Yes...”

“And then he says “Oh, I'm sure you can sing too well too, won't you sing me a song and see?”. And then the crow, because he's really flattered, opens his beak to sing, and the cheese falls out! And the fox grabs it and runs off !”

"Ho... That's pretty smart !"

“And then, the moral is that when people are too nice to you, it's probably because they want to use you or something, I don't remember...”

“Yeah... that makes sense...”

"Otherwise, I know another one about a cicada and an ant, and basically the ant doesn't stop working while the cicada doesn't do anything, and then...” Gabriel began to summarize the Fable again, when he stopped because he could no longer hear a noise coming from behind the curtain. Discreetly, he lifted the curtain with his hand to discover Derpy sleeping peacefully.

He smiled as he returned to the bottom of his bed. “I thought you weren't tired anymore? Well, I guess I'll just have to do the same...” He closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep. But this time, it was much harder than the last. His brain was racing, wondering what he was going to do if he had to stay here for a long time, or even forever... Or how he'd justify it if he did manage to get home. So, after an hour like that, he set up the level 2 sleep protocol.

Once again, he played his favorite music in his head, but this time he tried to imagine what it would sound like if it were played on the piano. Soon his brain was occupied only with this task, and it was as if all his problems had disappeared. He finally managed to fall back asleep, in a dreamless sleep.

The next morning passed without a hitch. Gabriel awoke calmly, shortly before a nurse arrived and served breakfast (consisting of an omelette and a flower salad, which he set aside). He had also taken his prescribed medication and drunk an apple juice. Derpy had been called away for X-rays, so Gabriel was alone in the room.

Looking for something to do, the temptation had been strong to use his phone to keep himself busy, but without a network he wasn't going to be able to do much. And he didn't want to waste his battery, which he knew would wear out very quickly, just to play Hill Climb Racing. So he just stared at the wall, waiting for something to happen.

The wait was getting long, especially since if there was one thing he couldn't stand in life, it was doing nothing at all. Not to mention the fact that unpleasant thoughts about the future were beginning to resurface. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact only a few minutes, Gabriel saw movement in the corridor, and saw the same pink nurse as last night pushing a cart.

Finally seeing an opportunity to occupy himself a little, he asked, “Uh... Excuse me? What's in that cart?”

“Oh this? Those are books for the patients! Would you like one?”

“Yes, I would! I mean, it would be cool...”

“Look what makes you happy!” She moved the cart forward and Gabriel rummaged through the books, looking for something interesting. He saw a lot of detective novels and other adventure stories, but that wasn't what interested him. If he was going to be here for a while, he might as well learn a little more about the world he was in.

He finally saw a book entitled: “Modern Spellcasting” He took it and asked the nurse: “Uh... This may sound strange, but is this book fiction, or...”

“Uh... No, it's a book about the different magic spells you can cast. It's mostly for unicorns.”

“That... sounds interesting... I'll take it”

“Alright, happy reading!” Said the pony as she left.

“Thanks!” And with that, he began his reading. “Let's see what these ponies can do with their magic...”

After an hour or so of reading, Derpy finally returned from her analyses, and was taken back to bed with her leg still in plaster. Gabriel looked up from his book and said, “Hey, Derpy! How did the tests go?”

“Oh, they went very well! The doctor said they'll be able to take my casts off by the end of the week !”

“Really? That's fast !”

“Yes, that's because the doctor's using a spell to speed up the healing !”

“Yeah, they were talking about that very thing in my book !” Gabriel hold up said book.

“Your book ?” Derpy leaned over to get a better look “Ho, I didn't know you wanted to learn how to cast spells !”

“Oh, no, it's just that I'm curious...” Just then, Gabriel heard a noise, and saw two ponygirls come in, whom Gabriel recognized well: Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. Gabriel smiled at them and said, “Hi here, have you come to visit me ?”

“Hello Gabriel ! I've got some horrible news to tell you !” Pinkie exclaimed.

Gabriel took a much more serious tone and said, “What ? What's the matter ? What's going on ?” He was already imagining the worst-case scenarios in his head...”

“I... I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel your party...”

Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief “Ho... Okay. But, uh, what party ?”

“But... your welcome to Ponyville party ! Well, even welcome to Equestria !”

Gabriel thought, trying to figure out what she was talking about, then remembered what they'd talked about when they first met. “Ah yes, that party... Well, you know, it's no big deal, I mean, I don't blame you...”

“Thank you... But it is very serious ! All ponies are entitled to their own Ponyville welcome party when they move here ! Well, you're not really a pony, but that's okay ! However, as you're ill, I didn't think it was a good idea for you to have a party, as you're supposed to be resting. But I had everything organized ! All that was left was to invite everyone, and...”

“Wow wow, calm down...” Gabriel coughed before continuing “...Pinkie. Listen, it's really nice of you to organize a party for me, but don't worry about it, okay ? At worst we'll have one later, if you want, and if I'm still here...”

Pinkie gave her a tearful look “You... you promise ?”

“Er... yes of course...”

“I swear, I hope I fly, shove a cupcake in my eye !” She said, placing a hoof over his eye.

“Wha... what ?”

“Just repeat the sentence!”

“Mmh... Okay. So, I swear, I hope to fly, and, uh... stick a... a what again ?”

“A cupcake !”

“...a cupcake in my eye !” finished Gabriel, covering one of his eyes with his hand.

“Perfect !”

“Okay...”

Twilight stepped forward, clearing her throat before saying, “Well... now that this is settled, there's something I need to discuss with you, Gabriel”

“Uh, okay, Twilight, what is it ?”

“Well, I got a letter from the Princess, and...”

“...she knows how to get me home ?”

Twilight looked sad and her ears lowered as she replied, “No... not really, sorry...”

“Ho...”

“But she sent this !” She levitated a sheet, which Gabriel grabbed.

“What is it ?” The latter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a declaration form to apply for temporary equestrian citizen status, with the approval of the royal sisters !”

“Ho... Wait, they want to make me a citizen of, uh, Equistra?”

“Equestria !” Twilight corrected him. “And yes, indeed, they want you to be a citizen !”

“But... I don't really know if that's a good idea, I mean, technically, I still have Belgian nationality. Besides, it's not like I planned to live here or anything.”

“I know... but yet you're going to have to...”

Gabriel frowned “What?”

“Well... You heard what the Princess said, the research on the portals might take some time...”

Gabriel lowered his head. “Yeah... And what difference does it make that I'm a, uh, Equestrian ?”

“Well, you'll have a lot of advantages ! If you're registered, you could get financial aid to settle here ! You could find a job or an apartment more easily ! In fact, it would make everything easier !” Twilight came a little closer and said, “The nurses here couldn't even register you in the patient files because they had no information available !”

Gabriel sighed, “Yeah... maybe you're right. Besides, it doesn't cost anything, does it ?”

“Well, just a few Bits to get the papers, but otherwise nothing...”

“Some what ?”

“Bits... that's our currency”

“Ho... ok. Well, I don't know how I'm going to pay, since I don't really have any at the moment...”

“Ho, don't worry, the Princesses said they'd take care of all the costs !”

“Is that... is that true ?”

“Yes, even the hospital bills !”

“But... what's the honor ?”

“Well, given that you came involuntarily via an uncontrolled magical portal, the Princesses have decided to cover part of the costs by way of compensation. Because, you see, part of their job is to constantly monitor the land of Equestria to make sure there are no magical disturbances that could threaten us. Maybe they've missed something and that's why you're here...”

“Well, that's... that's really generous of them, I... I don't know what to say. Could you... could you send them a letter to say I'm grateful ?”

Twilight smiles and replies, “Of course ! In the meantime, would you fill out this form? I'll take it to the town hall for you...”

“Okay, thanks...” Gabriel took some time to read the form, to make sure there wasn't anything weird written in tiny letters. Then he filled in the various boxes, indicating his full name, age, sex, etc... Then he also had to indicate which species he belonged to. He therefore assumed that ponies weren't the only intelligent race in this strange world. When he had finished, he simply signed at the bottom of the page. “And that's it, I think...”

“Great ! Well, I'll be off then...”

“Uh, wait, before you go, uh...”

“Yes ?”

“Well, I've been reading this book, there...” Gabriel began, pulling out the book in question.

“Oh, it's Modern Spellcasting ! It's a classic, I've got it in my library ! I must have read it a dozen times !” Twilight interrupts, full of excitement. “ Uh... sorry, you were saying ?”

“Well... I saw that there were electrical spells, and that you could cast them to recharge battery-powered electrical devices... Do you know how to cast one, by any chance?”

“Yes, of course ! Magic is my specialty, after all !” She said proudly. She added shortly afterwards, blushing, “Well, not to brag, of course...”

“Okay, then I'd like to show you this...” Gabriel pulled out his smartphone, specifically a Samsung, and handed it to Twilight, and Pinkie Pie looked over. “I don't think I've shown it to you yet...”

“Well, I saw it in your things when we took you to the hospital. I thought it was a small mirror, but I thought it looked rather strange... then it slipped my mind...”

“Well, it's actually a telephone...” Seeing the questioned and intrigued looks on the 2 ponygirls' faces, Gabriel continued: “It's a human invention that allows you to talk to people at a distance. You can call anyone else who also owns one of these things by typing in a specific phone number, and then you can communicate with them by talking into it...”

“That... sounds incredible ! We definitely have a lot to learn from you !”

“We can communicate with anyone anywhere ?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

“Well yes, as long as that other person also has a phone...” Gabriel replied.

“Does that mean that if I have a phone and my sister Maud, who lives in Rockville, also has a phone, that means I can talk to her remotely ?”

“Well, in theory yes. The only problem is, I've only got one phone, and there's no phone service here, so it won't work...”

“Ho...” Pinkie says, disappointed.

“But we can do lots of other stuff, like look at the time, set alarms, take photos or videos, LOOK at photos or videos, listen to music, play games...”

“So...” Twilight asked “...it's kind of like a computer of sorts, if it doesn't work with magic ?”

“Yes, it is ! It's a little computer ! Do you have any computers here ?”

“Well, I've got a few big computers in my basement, but I've never seen anything like this !”

“Yeah... I guess you must have much less advanced models... Can you get on the Internet with them ?”

“On the what ?”

“Nothing, never mind.... Well I'd turned my smartphone off to save energy, but I'll turn it on to show you how it works...” He pressed the power button for a moment, then the phone vibrated a jolt and the screen lit up, then took a while to boot up. Gabriel then entered his two pin codes and unlocked the screen. The local time was displayed, along with a photo of the moped he had at home in the background.

“This... actually looks a lot more advanced than the computers I own...” Twilight said, her gaze riveted on the screen.

“Do you see that number at the top right of the screen?” Gabriel pointed at it. “It indicates how fully charged my battery is. Right now it's at 72 percent. Normally you recharge it via a charger that you put in here” He pointed to the hole in the underside of the smartphone. “The problem is, I didn't really use one to get here. And anyway, even if I had one I couldn't plug it in, so... I was wondering if there was any way you could magically recharge it or something?”

“Well, I've already managed to recharge a few electrical devices, so... I think I could manage that, yes”

“Okay, well go ahead, if you want, AND be careful, please, I care...”

“No problem...” Gabriel put down the phone, and Twilight closed her eyes to concentrate. Her horn began to light up, and Gabriel wondered if this was really a good idea. Then Twilight sent a beam right at the phone. “I think... this should be good...”

Sweating, Gabriel reached out to grab the phone. He picked it up, turned it on and... the battery was at 100 percent ! “It worked ! That's so cool, thank you so much !" He scrolled through the applications and opened the camera. “It works too, great !”

“It was nothing, it makes me happy !”

“Can you do this as many times as you like ?”

“Well, yes. Not too many times in a row, though”

“So... I could ask you to recharge it every other day, for example ?”

“Yes, no problem ! In exchange, will you let me try it out ?”

“Yes, of course ! Thank you, you don't know how much it means to me !”

“You're welcome ! Well, I've got to go now, see you later !”

“Yes, bye !” Pinkie also says

“Hi ! Thanks again !”

“And hi Derpy, sorry I didn't see you !”

“Yes, goodbye Derpy !” Also says Twilight. “I hope your wing heals quickly !”

“Thank you ! See you next time !” Replied the interested one, making a hoof sign with a smile.

“Wait, Twilight, one last thing before you go...”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Is my car still parked next to your house?”

“Er... yes, why?”

“Would you know how to try and keep an eye on it so no one gets too close? I'm a bit worried about someone damaging it, and I know there's bound to be some curious people who'll go near it...”

“Ho... all right, I'll make sure no one harms it!”

“Okay, thanks a lot. I really appreciate everything you're doing for me, I really do... If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me...”

“Okay, but you should wait until you're better to say that !” said Twilight jokingly.

Gabriel laughed a little as he replied, “Yes, you're right... Well, bye then !"

With that, the two mares left, and Gabriel turned to his phone, a smile on his lips. “So, where do I start?”

Author's Note

Well, I'm glad I finished this chapter !

I tried to spend more time on proofreading to make fewer mistakes and improve my writing quality, I don't know if it shows... :twilightsheepish:

I must admit that I feel I have less and less time to write, between work, school, etc... But I'll always have some time to write, at least I hope so... (Yes, I confide in you like a therapist😅)

I still have too many ideas!

Thanks for reading !

(And also I'm at the season 6 of the show if you wanna know)

Chapter 14: Time out

Gabriel had been in hospital for over a week now, and he was seriously getting fed up. It wasn't that the treatment wasn't good or anything, it was just that spending his days in bed, with aches and pains and a headache, wasn't exactly to his liking.

Indeed, he had spent most of his time in bed, keeping himself occupied as best he could when he wasn't asleep. He had continued to feed his video diary and had played a few games again, but he tried not to use his phone too much either, as Twilight wasn't always around to recharge it.

So he also read a few books, particularly on the various magic spells that can be used in this world. He even spotted a few that might come in handy. He had also read books on flora and fauna, and was surprised to see that there were many intelligent creatures other than ponies: zebras, griffons, minotaurs (as the princess had said), dragons... Even fucking cows could talk!

He also learned that there were a lot of dangerous creatures out there too, and that he'd better watch out if he went for a walk...

In addition to all this, he had also read books about the culture here. That's how he learned about the existence of several celebrations that bear a striking resemblance to human holidays, such as Nightmare Night, which is like Halloween, or Hearts and Hooves Day, which is nothing more than Saint Valentine's Day. But by far the most astonishing was Hearth's Warming, which is celebrated exactly like Christmas, even if the reason for it is completely different!

Of course, he hadn't just stayed in bed. He got up several times, not only to satisfy his needs, but also simply to stretch his legs. He had even ventured down to the ground floor once, his room being on the first floor. But on the advice of the nurses, and his own body, he had quickly settled back into his comforter.

The nurses made sure Gabriel ate properly and took his medication. As for the doctor, he came in from time to time to check on the progress of his illness. Fortunately, Gabriel was feeling better every day, which indicated that the medication was having the desired effect.

He had also been chatting a lot with Derpy, his room-mate, about everything and anything. But Derpy had finally left, after his bandages had been removed. Fortunately, he'd also been visited a few times by what Gabriel could now, he supposed, consider his friends, notably Pinkie Pie and, to his surprise, Rainbow Dash. They had mostly come to ask him questions, but they had also played games. In particular, they'd played a funny game that looked a lot like touch and go, but with other objects.

Anyway, it's all come down to today. Gabriel awoke as usual in his hospital room, to which he was now accustomed. A nurse came to bring him breakfast and his medication. Then, shortly afterwards, he was visited by the doctor, who entered the room and said: “Good morning, Mr. Couset! Sleep well?”

Gabriel replied, after yawning: “Yes, very well, and you?”

“Very well too, thank you. How are you feeling today?”

“Well, frankly, I'm feeling pretty good. I've just got a few more aches and pains and a bit of a cough, but other than that I feel great! I feel like I'm practically cured!”

“That's actually the case...”

“Excuse me?”

“Well...” Resumed the doctor, consulting his chart, “according to our analyses, you are indeed on the bridge of completely eliminating the disease from your system. You should just take your medication for another two or three days and you'll be fine”

“Okay, that's great!”

“And I've got more good news for you, you're going to be able to leave the hospital !”

“Really?!”

“Yes, now that we're sure your condition is stable, we no longer need to keep you under surveillance. So you'll be leaving our facility today”

A huge smile spread across Gabriel's face. A smile he hadn't had in a long time. “You don't know how happy I am, it's... It's great! Thank you so much for everything !”

“You're welcome, I was just doing my job” replied the doctor, also smiling. “I have to admit, it was pretty interesting working on your case. Makes a change from the usual ponies...”

Gabriel laughed, “Yeah, sure...”

“Well, I'll leave you to get ready and leave the premises. You can leave your robe on the coat rack, a nurse will pick it up. Good-bye !”

“Bye!” Gabriel said as the pony walked out the door. He then went into the bathroom, whistling, and took off that awful hospital gown he'd been wearing for days to put on the clothes Rarity had made for him. He had only one thought left in his head: to leave this cursed place. Then he brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face. Afterwards, he went out again and took his wallet with his new identity card, his telephone and hung up the dress as the doctor had told him to.

He then left the room and headed down the corridor towards the stairs. He tried to find his way as best he could. Once he had taken the stairs, he went down to the first floor, and headed for the exit. Just as he was about to leave, a pony at the reception desk said to him: “Excuse me, but where are you going?”

“Well, I'm off. The doctor said I could go out today...”

“Wait a minute, you're Gabriel Couset the human, aren't you?”

“Er, yes...”

The reception pony rummaged through a few files, before saying, “Ah, yes, indeed. You've been cleared for discharge. Can you just sign this paper, please?” She said, holding out a sheet of paper.

Gabriel took it, asking, “Uh, what's this?”

“A simple formality. It's to certify that you have indeed spent a stay here between these two dates.”

“Ha ok...” Gabriel took a Bic from the counter and signed at the bottom of the page, then held the paper back and said, “There you go!”

“Thanks, have a nice day!”

“Likewise!” And with that, he walked through the front door. He took a few steps before stopping and breathing in the fresh air. After spending so much time indoors, getting outside did him a world of good. What's more, the weather was beautiful, with a sunny blue sky. Then he thought about the direction he was going to take. He supposed the first thing to do would be to go to Twilight's house to let her know he was out, but the problem was that he didn't really know which way to go.

He looked in all directions, thinking, until he saw two familiar silhouettes approaching. Gabriel smiled and moved closer, until it was confirmed that they were indeed Twilight and Nurse Redheart.

If he knew the latter's name, it was only because she was the nurse who had looked after him most during his stay. And he had to admit, he'd grown a little attached to her. She was by far the kindest and cutest nurse. Gabriel greeted the duo as he arrived across the street: “Hi Twilight, and hello Redheart! What are you doing here?”

“Well, Redheart came looking for me saying you were going out today, and I was going to come looking for you” Twilight replied.

Gabriel turned to Redheart, asking, “Is it true, you did?”

“Well, yes. From what I understand, you're new here and I figured you'd be lost on your way out. And since I know you know Twilight, I thought it might be a good idea to go and warn her so she can give you a lift...”

“Well... thanks a lot, that's really cool of you!”

“You're welcome, it's my pleasure! Well, bye then!” She said, heading for the hospital.

“Bye and see you next time!”

“See you next time? I hope not!” Said the nurse, laughing.

Gabriel laughed back and said, “Yeah, sure...”

“Well, let's go then,” said Twilight. Then they both set off, walking side by side. “So, how does it feel to finally be out of the hospital?”

“Well, I think it's the first time I've been this happy since I've been here. I totally felt like I was in prison to the end!”

“Well, I'm happy for you! What do you plan to do when we arrive?”

“Well, uh, I don't really know... Say, you haven't heard from the Princess, have you?”

Twilight looked sad and said, “Not really, but I'm sure she and her team are actively looking for ways to help you!”

“Yeah, I'm sure they are...” Gabriel's good mood diminished a little, as he remembered his sad fate.

Twilight tried to comfort him: “Look, I know it's not easy being away from home, in an unfamiliar world, and I'll always be here for you if you need anything. But try to look on the bright side! You've got a whole new world to discover! There's so much to do here, I'm sure you won't be bored for a second during your stay!”

Gabriel smiled at the young unicorn's enthusiasm, and said: “Yeah, I guess you're right, I'll try to enjoy it while I can while I'm here, it'll be better than crying over my fate, I guess... Besides, I don't really have a choice anyway, do I?”

Twilight didn't answer and simply asked, “So... what are you going to do first?”

Gabriel pondered for a moment, before saying “Ho... well, I think I'll go to the town hall first to get my passport photo taken. I've been told to get there as soon as possible, so...”

“OK, then what?”

“Well, I don't know. Explore the city, maybe stop by Rarity's and order some more clothes. I'm going to need them if I'm going to be here long...”

“Well, that's a good start... Here we are!”

Gabriel recognized the tree in which he'd stayed one night, and especially his Fiesta mk2, which hadn't moved since he'd left. He ran over to it and touched it, saying “You're still here! I've missed you...” He examined the car and it didn't seem to have been damaged. Then he turned around and saw Twilight watching him with a funny look on her face. “Yes, I'm talking to my car! You got a problem with that?”

“Uh, no, not at all...”

“Don't worry, I'm just kidding! Anyway, thanks for taking care of it while I was away...”

“Oh, it was nothing... Well, let's go inside, then” Twilight and Gabriel headed inside the library, and Gabriel had to bend down again to get inside. He then saw a familiar person, reading a comic book on the sofa.

“Hey, hi Spike! What's up?” Gabriel asked the interested party.

“Hi Gabriel! Did you finally get out of the hospital?”

“'Nah, I'm still in, see?” Spike then took on a questioning look before Gabriel continued, “I'm pulling your leg, of course I'm out!”

Spike took a slightly amused look as he said, “I see, very funny... Anyway, you seem to be in a good mood!”

“You bet I am! I feel like I've escaped from jail!”

“Well, it's good to see you looking so happy!” Twilight says this time.

“Yeah...”, Gabriel replied, ”but I don't know why I feel like it's not going to last...”

Twilight lightly hoofed him, saying “Ho, stop being so pessimistic, I'm sure you're going to have a great day!”

“If you say so...”

“Besides, you can go up to your room and drop off your stuff, if you like...”

“My stuff? Well, I don't really have any stuff except my wallet and my phone... By the way, could you recharge it, please? I'm almost out of battery here...”

Twilight rolled her eyes, then said, “All right, but check your room anyway, there's a surprise in there.”

“Um... okay, thanks...” Wondering what the surprise might be, Gabriel climbed the stairs, and managed to find his bedroom door. He opened it to discover the room he'd slept in. There was something on the bed. On closer inspection, he realized it was the work clothes he'd worn when he first arrived here, folded in a heap. He remembered that they had left them here before leaving and hadn't seen them since. He examined the clothes in more detail to discover that they had been washed and ironed to perfection. That must have been the surprise.

He smiled as he looked at them, among the few things he'd managed to pack that reminded him of home, with his car and his other belongings. He decided to put them back on, as Rarity's clothes were starting to get dirty. After getting dressed, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was now back in his black and gray work pants, and his black t-shirt topped with his gray sweater. The only thing that hadn't changed was his work shoes, since he hadn't asked for new ones, figuring it might be a bit too complicated to do.

Well, he may not have looked like a tourist, but at least he was clean. Besides, he liked the way he looked and felt comfortable. He came back down with his new clothes. Twilight and Spike noticed him, and Twilight said “Ha, I see you've discovered your surprise!”

Gabriel smiled at her and said, “Yes, it was really nice of you to clean my clothes. Thank you very much, I appreciate it.”

“Ho, you know, you should be thanking Spike instead. He did most of it.”

Gabriel turned to Spike and said, “Well, it looks like you can do a lot of things! Anyway, thanks!”

“That's what it's like when you're assistant number one!” Spike replied with a thumbs-up. Twilight came up behind him and made a throat-clearance indicating displeasure. Spike continued, “Uh, I mean, you're welcome...”

“Okay, well, that's great, I guess I'll just have to go to City Hall now... Could you tell me where that is?”

“City Hall? What for?”

“I need to take a photo for my identity card...”

“Oh, right... Well, when you leave the house, you take a right and keep going all the way to The Sugar Cube Corner, and then...”

“The what?”

“The Sugar Cube Corner! It's a pastry shop, and it looks like a gingerbread house...”

“Oh yeah, I see...”

“After that, you turn left to go past it and keep going straight until you get to the big square. It's the big round building in the center, you can't go wrong!”

“Okay... I think that should do it. Would you mind giving me my phone back, Twilight? ”

“Oh, yes, of course, here it is...”

Twilight levitated the little device, which Gabriel retrieved in mid-air. He could see that it had indeed been fully charged. “Great, thanks! Well, see you later!”

Gabriel started for the door, but Twilight held him back. “Wait! Don't you want me to come with you so you don't get lost?”

“Ho, that's nice, Twilight, but I think you've already done enough for me. I wouldn't want to bother you any more, if you've got things to do...”

Gabriel turned towards the door, but Twilight said, “Wait! Are you sure? I mean, I don't mind...”

“Don't worry, I'm a big boy now. I should be fine. Besides, I think I need some time alone for a while, to clear my head, you know?”

“Ah, yes, I understand...”

“But, hey, I'll see you later, okay?” Gabriel says with a smile

“All right!”

“Well, bye!”

“Bye !” Spike and Twilight replied simultaneously. With that, Gabriel opened the door and stepped outside. He put his hand in front of his eyes to get used to the sun again. After all that time being guided by others and locked up in the hospital, he finally felt free again. He started walking, trying to follow the directions he'd been given. He passed a few ponies on the way, who didn't seem too surprised to see him. He even waved, and they waved back. “The ponies really seem to be used to me, maybe the mayor's 'speech' had something to do with it...”.

At one point he arrived in front of what he assumed was a florist, for the building was adorned with flowers with a sign also displaying flowers. There were also three earth ponies who seemed to be working here. There was a pink pony with green curly hair, marked with two daisies. There was also a pale yellow pony with hair in two shades of red, and a rose mark. The last one was paler pink, with blond hair and three lilies tattooed on her buttocks, and she also had one in her hair. They seemed to be busy tidying up, and hadn't seen him.

Gabriel approached, trying to look as innocent as possible, before greeting the trio with “Well hello, it's a beautiful day today, isn't it?”

The three suddenly turned around, and the one with the rose suddenly shouted, “By Celestia, it's, it's...”

“It's the human!” finished the one with the daisies. The three then proceeded to faint on the floor.

Gabriel, not expecting this reaction, took a closer look at the three. They were still breathing, but just lying on the ground. Then Gabriel looked around, and when he saw that no one had seen the scene, he whistled away as if nothing had happened. “Well, okay, maybe not all the ponies are totally used to me yet...”

Gabriel continued on his way until he arrived in front of the large cylindrical building Gabriel assumed to be the town hall. The building was indeed quite imposing in the middle of the small houses, at least three stories high with a small tower sticking out. Gabriel tried to find the entrance and saw two rather large doors. He pushed them open and stepped inside.

Once inside, he saw a reception desk, and the Mayor he'd met earlier at the hospital completing some files. She straightened up when she heard someone arrive and exclaimed: “Mr. Couset! What a pleasure to have you here! How are you?”

Gabriel smiled and said, “I'm fine, thank you. I've just been discharged from hospital, I'm practically cured! And how are you?”

“Very well, thank you! I'm glad you're feeling better. So, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?”

“Well, I came to have my identity photos taken...”

“Ah yes, the photos, how could I forget? Follow me, I'll show you how it's done...”

Gabriel followed the Mayor into another room, where another pony stood in front of a camera that looked extremely dated. Gabriel stood in front of a blue background and smiled just before the picture was taken. It took a moment for the pony to develop the photo and place it on his ID card, but it didn't take too long. Then Gabriel returned to the reception desk, his new identity card finally complete in hand.

“Well that's perfect, thank you very much!”

“You're welcome, it was a pleasure!”

Just as he was about to leave, Gabriel's eyes were drawn to a stack of papers on one corner of the desk. “Excuse me, but what's this?” He said, pointing to it.

“Oh, these? They're maps of Ponyville. You can have one, they're free. And they'll probably come in handy!”

“Ho, okay, cool...” Gabriel grabs one of the maps before saying, “Well, thanks again, have a good day!”

“Have a nice day too, enjoy our little village!” Says the Mayor before Gabriel walks through the door.

Once outside again, Gabriel took a moment to observe the map. He could see the town hall and where it was located on the map, and Twilight's house further up. The village didn't look extremely large, and he'd probably know it like the back of his hand after spending a few days wandering around here. Then he thought about what he could do next. He hesitated to go to Rarity's to ask for some new clothes, but figured that could wait and explored the village instead.

Then he had an idea. He took out his phone and put it in video mode to film himself. Then he said to the video : “Hello to anyone who sees this video. This is the 'sequel' to my diary about my time here. As you can see, I'm finally out of the hospital, and...” Gabriel began to walk, recounting the events of the last few days. He filmed everything he came across, be it houses, plants or ponies, a bit like a vlog. After a while, he stopped filming and started taking photos of places, and he also took several selfies of himself with the ponies in the foreground.

After walking for almost 45 minutes, Gabriel decided to take a break and sat down on a bench he found. Once seated, he looked at the videos and photos he'd taken, making sure everything was properly recorded. “If that's not evidence, I don't know what is...”

Suddenly, he saw movement in the corner of his eye, to the right. He looked up to see a single bush standing a little further away. Gabriel shrugged and looked at his phone again, but at the same moment the movement resumed. This time, Gabriel stared intently at the bush, frowning. After a moment's observation, he saw the bush moving, as if there was an animal inside.

Gabriel looked around to see if anyone else had seen what he'd seen, but there was no one. He then got up from the bench and slowly approached the bush. As he approached, he saw the bush tremble slightly. He was sure there was something moving in there. Once in front of the bush, Gabriel, shouting “Ahah!”, spread the foliage with both hands, revealing three little fillies, cowering together, trembling with fear. Three fillies Gabriel had seen before.