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