The Final Element: The Guardian of Equestria

The Fifth Chapter

It took several minutes between Eli and the ponies to work out what exactly had happened, but in the end, Twilight managed to explain to Eli's satisfaction about what cutie marks were, and their importance to the ponies in the world.

He listened intently, asking a few questions here and there for clarification, but for the most part seemed to take in the mysterious markings as something that was simply a part of their culture.

Once the brief lesson on cutie mark lore was over, Twilight informed Eli that he was needed, as was the rest of them, at the town hall for a meeting the Mayor was calling. Eli of course knew that it was unavoidable, yet groaned inwardly at the thought of being confronted with more of the ponies.

“Well, then I reckon we'll meet y'all at the gathering,” said Applejack motioning her head toward the door of the library, and placing a hoof on Rainbow Dash, who still seemed slightly off-put by the recent groping of her flank.

“Yeah, we'll be sure and get some good spots,” Rainbow Dash said, following Applejack's lead. “I don't want to miss the spectacle.”

“Oh, now I don't think it's going to be that bad,” said Twilight reassuringly at Eli as the others made their way outside.

The walk to the town hall was not what Eli was expecting it to be in the least. For one thing, as soon as he exited the library he noticed that the sun was still shining high overhead, and he instinctively brought his watch up to check the time.

The dial read, six thirty-seven.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight inquired, looking over at him as he frowned at his wrist.

“No, not really. I was thinking it sure was bright out to be so late in the day.”

“Well that's because the Princesses haven't set the sun yet,” she said flatly. “Why, is it normally darker now on your world?”

Nodding his head, Eli pondered the time differential between his own earth and this one. He knew there was a serious acceleration, but he didn't know about the manual changing of day into night, and it left him uneasy.

“Has there ever been a time, when they didn't change the day into night, or night into day?” asked Eli resuming his pace. “The Princesses, I mean.”

Twilight thought about it for a few moments. “Not that I can think of. Though Princess Luna did threaten to make the world dark forever once.”

Then as if realizing she had spoken out of turn, Twilight fumbled to explain. “That was a few years ago, and she was a different pony then.”

Eli simply cut Twilight a sharp glance, “I see.”

“Oh, by the way,” said Twilight. “The Mayor wanted to meet with you for a little while before every-pony in town shows up to the assembly. I hope that's alright.”

“Sure. It's probably best that we discuss this meeting.”

After a moment, Eli cleared his throat. “I have a question.”

“Sure. What would you like to know?”

“It's about your name,” Eli said watching Twilight's reaction.

“My name?” she said getting awkward. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“No, it's not that,” Eli assured her. “It's just that, I was wondering why the hors... I mean, the ponies here have such flowery sounding names?”

“Well to be honest, I was sorta curious about your name too,” she said looking over at him.

“Well, it seems to me that all your names are either synonymous with your marks, or what ever it is that you do for a job.”

“Well, that's because ponies place a lot of importance on their names,” she said. “We believe that a name instills a sort of power to the one that gets the name, and it's rare for a pony to be given a name that like you said, doesn't some how define them as an individual later on in life.”

Eli found himself nodding with complete understanding at the explanation. “We humans do something similar, or at least we used to.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Uh-huh. Some names mean things like power or strength,” he said. “But then, some of the more recent names don't seem to mean anything at all.”

“What does your name mean?”

Eli pondered his response for a moment. “I don't really know,” he said. “I do know that I was named after a powerful prophet.”

“Wow, was he like a famous wizard?”

“Not really. He was a servant of God,” said Eli wondering momentarily about pony religion.

“I don't understand,” said Twilight, frowning.

“Well,” said Eli coming to a stop and placing his hands on his hips in thought, “it's like this; some humans believe in a deity we call God, just God; and instead of prophets and servants of God getting power from magic or sorcery, they are bestowed their power and insight by the divine will of God.”

“How many deities are in your world?” Twilight asked.

“Too many,” he said, resuming his walk to the town hall.

“So you have to pick just one to follow?”

“Yeah, it sucks huh,” he said suddenly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation turned.

“Are you a follower of the God whose servant you're named for?”

“Sometimes,” he said, not bothering to look back at her.

~   ~   ~

The meeting with the mayor was without incident, and to Eli's relief, she didn't react untoward about seeing him for what he was at first sight. Though he had been expecting a ton of questions lobbed at him, he was also relieved that the mayor restrained her bombardment.

“I'm going to do everything I can to sooth over the crowd with the answers that Princess Celestia provided,” said Mare. “However, you will of course be expected to answer the ponies' questions, and alleviate their concerns.”

Eli was sure that regardless of what he said, or how he said it, there was going to be a general sense of panic, once the town's ponies learned the terrible truth about their past. Saying as much to the mayor, Eli asked what sort of plan they had for when ever the ponies decided to bolt and go chaotic.

“The truth is, we will have to hope that is not the case,” she said. “We cannot deny them the truth, especially since it will be staring them in the faces. But on the other hoof, there is no denying that they may riot.”

“Oh great,” he said.

“You have to give the ponies here more credit,” said Twilight. “They may be prone to panic and mayhem, but deep down they always see to reason.”

“Yes,” said Mare, “which is precisely why you must be as convincing as possible; make them understand that you are here to shoulder the weight that they themselves cannot carry.”

Eli was standing with his back to a wall in the town hall as he conversed with the Mayor, and while what she said was correct, he felt that the best thing was to let them in on what they needed to know for now, so then what they didn't, would work itself out easier later on, rather than hit then with it all at once.

“Perhaps you're right,” said the Mayor considering what Eli said. “Perhaps they shouldn't be told everything at once. But now or later, the truth will be revealed, and the gravity of the situation will be made known.”

“I understand that Madam Mayor,” said Eli still standing with his back to the wall, with his arms folded, “but I think the idea of total destruction is beyond their grasp at the moment. Sure from what you've told me, they have faced quite a few hardships, and trials, and even some things that could potentially devastate the place. But I'm talking about a force of evil that wants to utterly destroy them. That's not something we can expect them to readily comprehend”

Eli brought his right hand up and snapped his finger. “In as long as it takes to snap my finger, they could go from just upset, to panic stricken, and then how are we going to get them to cooperate?”

The mayor and Twilight were silent, as they took in what he had to say.

“We need the public at large to believe without a doubt that we have everything under control.”

“Do we have everything under control?” asked Mare, looking for a sign on Eli's expression she could take for hope.

“Not in the slightest,” he said. “Not until I know more about what I'm up against.”

“What exactly is your plan then, Guardian?” asked the Mayor giving him a stern look.

“I'll need to conduct a deep reconnaissance into the interior of the forest to determine the strength of the enemy. Once that's been established, and once a layout of the forest's infrastructure is known, then we'll launch a strike at the gateway.” Eli watched her close as he spoke. “If an opportunity presents itself, I'll attempt to close the gate, but only if it presents itself. Once the reconnaissance is over, I'll coordinate a plan of action based on the facts, and we'll go from there.”

“You seem to have done this sort of thing before,” said Twilight chuckling at the mild tension in the air.

Eli smiled a crooked grin, while bringing his hand up to stroke at his face. “You could say that.”

~   ~   ~

In all the years that the town of Ponyville had existed, there have been ample times when the inhabitants found themselves gathered in front of the town hall, whether to hear a speech, or celebrate an event, witness the bestowal of an award, or listen as the Mayor gave long tedious announcements about various mundane things.

This time however, as Eli and Twilight followed Mayor Mare out of the door of the building, there were dozens of the town's ponies gathered to hear and see something that they had never seen before, and as soon as Eli emerged from the interior, he was met with several unified gasps and stares from hundreds of eyes, and a sea of multi-colored four legged ponies.

He did his best to look confident, and though he had done this sort of thing before, he had never done so in the presence of ponies. He knew he was an outsider, he knew that he was an enigma, and an oddity, and the confusion on their expectant faces made him uneasy.

The first order of business that the Mayor addressed, moving to stand behind her small podium, was the letter from Princess Celestia, which she read aloud to the gathered ponies, though taking Eli's advice, and censoring the parts that would not serve any purpose but to cause panic and unrest.

For the most part, the crowd listened intently to the letter, and only occasionally mumbled to themselves, or caught their breath. Otherwise, it appeared that the general state of panic was still slightly abated, until the Mayor motioned with her hoof at Eli, and began her introduction of him, near the last of the letter.

The eyes that focused on Eli as his part to play in the letter was explained, was like being hit with a million laser beams, and he struggled hard to maintain his composure at the growing apprehension beginning to present itself in the faces of the crowd.

He knew good and well that the line between awe and disarray was a fine one, and he hoped that the crowd of gathered ponies wouldn't descend into a rabble of shouts and cries.

"Well, that's about the short and long of it, fillies and gentle-colts," said the Mayor at last putting the letter down on the podium. "You now know everything I know about the strange phenomenon that happened earlier today, and the Princess's plan to handle the danger."

Standing next to her on the platform in front of the town hall was Twilight Sparkle, and Eli, who still wished that he didn't have to say anything, but knew that as the now introduced Guardian of Equestria, he would need to say a few words, to put everyone's minds at ease. Fortunately, Twilight approached the podium next, and began going over the cursory plans for the town-wide excavation.

"We are going to make this as unobtrusive as possible for every-pony," she said. "We'll begin the excavations around town and along the river area tomorrow, and we'll divide up into teams of four. The object we are looking for should be identical to this one."

At this point, Twilight gestured with her foreleg in Eli's direction, and he retrieved the key from his back pocket and held it up high for the crowd to observe.

"In addition to looking for the other key, Eli will begin a systematic search of Everfree forest to learn the exact location of the Other World gate, and make plans to close it, before more intruders come through."

Twilight looked over at Eli, and could see that he was strained. Nevertheless, he was going to have to make a statement.

Eli wasn't feeling apprehension because he hated being in front of crowds; he was also anxious, because he just got outed as the next Guardian of Equestria to a bunch of peaceful ponies that had never known war, or global peril; and now their expectation level had just sky rocketed.

It didn't matter that he had been here for less than ten hours, or that the entire world was in grave danger, or that everyone could die, it was now up to him to stop this from happening, and he had no real idea of how he could do that. Despite his promise, and despite the assurances he had made to the two Princesses, he was still only one man.

Walking up to the podium, he glanced out across the crowd of multicolored ponies with expectant face, and squeezed his eyes shut. He  felt a growing laugh of craziness wanting to build in the back of his throat, and swallowed hard to choke it back. Now was definitely not the time for dramatics.

Eli took a moment to gather his initial thoughts, and reasoned that this was no different than the time he was in South America, though he had military support, guns, intel and a whole host of tools at his disposal. Regardless, if he had come this far, he might as well go all the way.

His father was fond of the old saying, in for a penny; in for a pound.

Looking out at the gathered expectant ponies, Eli noticed that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were among them, eagerly watching him as well. Applejack gave him a brief wave, and while it wasn't much, he sought for whatever encouragement the gesture had to offer.

"I know that this uh, must be hard for everyone to understand; and I know that you are being asked to place a lot of faith in not only my ability to resolve this situation, but to ensure that the people, uh, I mean ponies, are safe from any potential threat that may arise as a result of the intruders that have entered through the other world gate.”

Eli paused for a second to look back at Applejack, and saw that she was listening intently, though there was no additional waved of encouragement. “For now it is imperative that everyone maintain a sense of calm, as no concrete information has been learned about the condition of either the gate, or those that have come across. It is my goal to determine the extent of the threat, and only then, take action, whatever that may be, with the full support of Princesses Celestia and Luna, and their Royal Guard.”

“This is not the first time an incident like this has occurred here on your world,” said Eli, finally getting to the part that he was going to have to step carefully on. “Long ago, my father, with the assistance of a select few other humans successfully defeated the intruders, and sealed the gate. I am confident that I can do the same, and knowing now what it is that we are facing, accomplish this in less time, and with less potential loss of life.”

At the mention of life loss, the ponies in the crowd began to mumble amongst themselves. There was no point in sugar coating the fact that what they faced was bad, there was no point in denying them that truth; even if he felt they lacked the common frame of reference to understand about global conquest, he knew that they would understand terror.

“There is no denying that the danger we face is very real,” said Eli, after clearing his throat to resume. “But I assure each of you, that I will do everything in my ability to see this through to the end; what ever that may be.”

There was a moment there while he gazed out at the faces of the crowd, and waited for the inevitable uproar to begin; but like before, there was no surge of overwhelming emotion, no distraught rabble, and no insane force of hysteria that assaulted him full force in the face.

He smiled big, wondering how bad that had gone. The next part was the part he hated the most. "Does anyone have any questions?"

It was like a roar that suddenly swept over him, and he could feel the physical blast of their combined voices all shouting to get a question asked.

"One at a time please," said the Mayor holding up a hoof in an attempt to bring them to some order.

"Um... yeah, you right there," said Eli, pointing toward a tan pony. There was a flash as a pony from somewhere off to his left took his picture.

"How long have you been the Guardian of Equestria?"

"Since about two o'clock this afternoon," he said. Pointing to another pony, "Yes, you Sir."

"What happens if we can't find this second key exactly?"

"We will proceed to use the key we already have, and shut the gate regardless. The second key is nothing more than a fail-safe, in the event something unforeseen happens to the one key."

Another pony had her hoof up, which Eli noticed was heavily bandaged. "Yes you ma'am," he said motioning in her direction.

"So then, what is on the other-side of this gate way anyway?"

Eli, shook his head. "I honestly don't know. Everything I know about what happened before was told to me by my father, and his explanations about the Dark Legion were vague at best."

"So let's suppose that you can't find the other key, and something happens, and you can't use the one you've got... will you be able to protect us from these invaders?"

Eli looked up to see the question had come from Rainbow Dash. He had to admit that she was pretty swift on the up-take.

"I don't know," he said as he met her gaze. “I'll go until I have nothing left.”

The crowd was starting to get restless again, and the Mayor knew that  if the questioning wasn't stopped soon, then there would be no end to them; so she stepped up, and announced that there were to be only two more questions.

Eli was very grateful, and pointed to the next pony.

"What is the connection between Everfree forest and this gate?"

He thought hard how to explain, but based on what he knew of his father's fight against the dark legion, and the sealing of the other gate, it was more speculation than anything.

"Everfree Forrest is merely the location of one of the gates on this world."

Motioning for him to lean down, Twilight whispered in his ear. “Everfree Forrest is a place that has strange things happen, the weather there is unnatural, and it operates without the assistance of the ponies,” she said. “They're probably thinking that since the gate is there, then there may be a connection to the abnormal behavior of the region, and the gate.”

“Right,” Eli said, “it makes sense then, that if the spell used to seal the gate was powerful enough, it could have affected the ecology of that area.”

Turning back to the podium, Eli cleared his throat. “It is also believed that the spell used to shut the gate previously may have in-fact caused the permanent change to the region. Though that is simply a theory at this point, and bears no relevance to the mission at hand.”

There were times when Eli wanted to be more forthcoming in his facts than others, and this was certainly one of those moments. He knew that there was one major event that was about to happen, that they surely needed to be aware of, and if he didn't inform them about it, it would potentially be a P.R. nightmare later on.

Taking a couple of quick breaths, Eli waited for the crowd to provide their attention again, and then motioned a hand up. “There is one more piece of information, that you should all be aware of,” he said, as he casually found himself gazing at a spot in the crowd. “Soon, I don't know when... but a major change will come to every single pony in this world.”

Every eye was now glued to his every movement, and all the pony ears were keenly listening to his every word.

Eli didn't shift his gaze next to him, to know that Twilight Sparkle and the Mayor were staring at him with concern. He figured, that if he was going to divulge information, it was going to be at his own discretion, and not mandated from above.

“Before my father arrived here in this world, two thousand years prior, the equine life here were not as you all appear,” Eli said trying his best to choose his words carefully. “At some point, all of you were changed into the unique beings that you are now. I do not have evidence to support this, but it is believed to be directly linked with the events surrounding the other world gate, and the Dark Legion, and if that is the case, then it is highly likely that you will each change again.”

The crowd suddenly began to mumble louder, no doubt fearful of this new bit of information, and deep down Eli regretted having to tell them anything at all, though he knew things would be much worse, if the change happened to them at a critical point in some eventual conflict, and they were all too distraught over their forced evolution.

“It is imperative that we each remain focused on the task ahead of us,“ Eli said, having to raise his voice to be heard above the crowd. “The sooner we can get the gateway closed, the less effect it will have on the indigenous life here, and the least impact it will have on your lives.”

By this point, it was useless to attempt to calm them. Every pony there was scrambling to get ask questions, calling for their Celestia to help them, and some swooning from fright at the very idea that some unknown force was at work in their lives, which they had little to no control over.

Eli stood behind the podium looking down for a moment at his hands, as he allowed them their time to get the shock out of their systems. He hadn't intended to bring them to this, but events were beyond his control, and no doubt afterward he was going to get a stern lecture from either the Mayor, or the Princesses.

In the end, order was never quite restored to the ponies gathered at the hall, and Eli was eventually whisked away from the stage to maintain his safety, should they decide to lunge for him all at once, and throttle him to some sort of action prematurely. He felt sorry for them, and knew that any life was valuable and something to be cherished, he knew that he himself wouldn't settle for sitting idly by, while he watched all of humanity suffer a change, and he couldn't blame them for their fears.

~   ~   ~

Inside the town hall, Eli stood propped with his back once again to the wall with his arms folded across his chest, gazing as Twilight Sparkle and the Mayor paced in front of him. He could feel the Mayor's thought process running through her head.

“I hope you know what you are doing Mister Montgomery,” she eventually said to him. “That was quite the uproar you instigated.”

“It was actually, the lesser of two evils,” Eli said casting his gaze downward. “One crisis at a time, rather than many at once.”

“Well, it looks like every-pony has already gone,” said Spike, from his spot at the window, looking outside.

“I suppose we need to find some place to put you up for the night,” said the Mayor turning to face Twilight as she said it.

Feeling a little heat coming from her neck, Twilight began to awkwardly fidget on her hooves. She was only just becoming comfortable with Eli, and while he and she were two totally different species, it just wouldn't be proper for a male and a single female to share a place to sleep, even for one night.

“I'll ask around, perhaps some of my friends will be able to find a perfect place for Eli to rest tonight mayor,” she said quickly averting any offer of the Tree Library.

“Very well then,” the Mayor said, casting her eyes over Eli a few more times. “We will see if the Guardian of Equestria is everything the Princesses hope that he is. A pleasant evening to you, Mister Montgomery.”

Taking this as a sign to leave, Eli nodded his head toward Mayor Mare. “Mayor,” he said as he opened the door of the Town Hall, and exited with both Twilight Sparkle and Spike in tow.

As soon as Eli stepped outside, he noticed that the shadows on the ground around him were moving. He frowned as he cast his gaze across the town, picking up on the subtle shift of light.

Looking sideways at Twilight, Eli noticed that she was unconcerned with the movement, as was Spike, as they made their way along, paying no mind to what was happening

It wasn't until Eli finally looked up into the sky to pinpoint the shifting of the shadows, that he noticed the sun was moving, and not slowly, it was visibly moving through the sky toward the horizon. It was the single most awe-inspiring thing that Eli believed that he had ever seen in his life. Of all the things he had witnessed, both in his life as a soldier and in the normal world of the common man, this was by far the most spectacular.

At this moment, Eli realized that he was finally seeing for the first time, what it was that made this place so important for the ponies here. He was sure that this was some small part of the bigger picture, that he was only just now beginning to see the depth and scope.

“That was quite the show you guys put on,” came the voice of Rainbow Dash, as she swooped in from the evening sky behind Eli and the others.

Turning quickly to face her, Eli regarded the frowning pony with some amazement as she hovered near him with her front hooves folded across her chest. He was still fascinated by the sight of a flying pegasus, and he imagined that no matter how many times he watched her fly, or saw her use her wings, she would manage to instill a sense of awe every time he watched.

“I can only hope that they don't stay too upset by the news,” he said turning back to watch, as the last of the light faded from the sky and a huge pale-blue moon slowly rose against the now midnight-blue canvas of the night.

“Ah, they'll be fine,” Rainbow Dash said, with a casual shrug. “They've had to endure Twilight's speeches before.”

Eli couldn't help but laugh at the small jab at the purple pony.

“Hey, I'll have you know, that my speeches are both informative, and entertaining,” she said with a hint of uncertainty. “Though they could use some more refinement, I'm sure.”

Once the moon finished its rise into the sky, Eli turned back to see that the others were watching him. “It's really, the most amazing thing I've ever seen,” he said to no one in particular.

“You get used to it,” Dash said, as she landed softly on the ground and gazed back at the sky.

“So, where are we headed now?” asked Eli spreading his arms wide, in a gesture of submission. “Hopefully some place to get food.”

“Well, I still need to figure out where we can put you up for the night,” said Twilight, rubbing at her chin with her fore-hoof. “But, yes, we should all have something to eat, and then we can decide the details after that.”

Spike allowed a small grin to spread across his face, knowing good and well what was to come once they made their way back to the tree library, but seeing as how Eli was new to this world, Spike wasn't going to spoil any surprise that lay in wait for him.

While they walked back through the town, Eli noticed that Twilight was walking slower, and drooping her head down toward the ground ever-so-slightly. He was just about to ask her if something was the matter, when she abruptly broke the silence.

"I'm sorry if this is overwhelming for you," she said. "Who would have thought that we would find ourselves in such a predicament?"

"It's alright," said Eli, matching her quiet tone. "I had my whole life to prepare for this day, and instead just focused on the parts I wanted to believe in, and never considered what it meant to be something more."

“I've been thinking about something,” Rainbow Dash said, walking beside Eli as she matched pace.

“What's that?”

"You said that your father came here two thousand years ago. So does that make you really old or something?” Dash said, frowning. "How exactly does that work?"

"I don't know," said Eli, "it's something about this planet, I'm pretty sure that Ethereal Earth moves faster than my Earth. For me, it's only been about forty years since my father came here."

"By the way Eli," said Spike. "You mentioned a few times now that you were a soldier once before, were you like the royal guards for the Princesses?"

"Soldier, huh?" said Rainbow Dash hovering off the ground to get a closer look at Eli in the dark. "He doesn't look like he can fight much at all. So how about it. Can you really fight, or are you just pretending?"

"Well, it's a long story. But suffice it to say, that my father was pretty unrelenting in turning me into a bad-ass soldier from early on in my youth. Before I resigned my commission with the Army, and went into drafting, I was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Special Forces, and served my final tour in Iraq; my last assignment in Kandahar was part of an anti-insurgency countermeasure."

Shaking her head slightly at the unfamiliar terminology, Rainbow Dash gave Eli a puzzled look. “What does that mean?”

“It means, me and my team did things so dangerous and secret, that we are forbidden to discuss them with anyone.” He gave her a flat smile. “And we blew lots of shit up.

Arriving at the door of the Library, Twilight observed that Spike was smiling, and rubbing his little claws together. She had a hunch what was coming, but figured it was best to just get it out of the way and let it happen, rather than try and fight it.

"Um, Eli..." she said, pausing briefly, "you might want to brace yourself."

"For what?" he said, just as they walked in through the door of the library.

The lights were off, and Twilight took a deep breath. In her mind, she counted to five, and all at once the lights blazed to life, and multiple voices shouted, "Surprise!" at the top of their lungs.

Whether by instinct, or autonomic reflex, Eli instantly threw his right hand behind him to the small of his back, and in less than a heartbeat, had retrieved his Sig Sauer P226 from its holster, bearing it down ahead of him, just as streamers and confetti fell from the ceiling.

A sizable crowd of ponies were in the middle of the library, and Pinkie Pie and a few others were blowing on noise makers. Behind them was a banner that read "Welcome to Ponyville Eli!"

Instantly aware of what he had done, and what was happening, Eli swiftly placed the gun back in its holster under his jacket, and prayed that no one there witnessed the act. Though considering the amount of confetti falling on him, and the balloons bouncing around, he was relieved that no pony there seemed to realize what it was that he had.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" shouted Pinkie Pie running up to Eli and blowing the noise maker once more. "I bet you weren't expecting this were you?" she said hoping up and down. Eli recognized her as the pony from earlier that bolted away from him as soon as he spoke to her. He wasn't sure if she was hopped up on prescription drugs, or if she was just high on life, but he nevertheless found himself smiling broadly at her overly jubilant personality.

"I can honestly say, that I was not expecting this in the least," he said, meeting the other ponies gazes, and smiles. Among them was Applejack, smiling big behind the noise maker in her teeth.

"I knew as soon as I saw you that I didn't know you, and I know every-pony in Ponyville, and I figured if I didn't know you, it must mean that you were new in town, and that means that I just had to throw you a party, and that was why I was like 'GASP!' and you were like, 'Whoa'!"

All Eli could do was just stare at Pinkie while she recounted her meeting with him in the street, he didn't realize it, but he wore a rather dumb expression on his face while he watched her almost continually bounce.

"Yeah, first I was like 'WHOA!', then I was like 'whoaa', then I was like 'whooooa'," said Eli imitating a line from the movie Finding Nemo, which Pinkie Pie didn't get, but didn't stop her from giggling and slapping a hoof on his shoulder.

“I like you Eli, you're funny.”

Feeling a hoof poking him on his hip, Eli turned to see Rainbow Dash. "Welcome to Ponyville, Guardian of Equestria. It's not official till Pinkie Pie throws someone a party."

"Ooh, ooh, you should try the cake, and the punch, and the cupcakes; oh and don't forget Applejack's fresh baked apple pie, with apples!" said Pinkie bobbing and weaving around Eli like a disturbed wasp, or a boxer practicing in a sparring match.

"Aww shucks, it weren't much, I just threw one of Granny Smith's old recipes together at the last minute," Applejack said looking down, as Eli walked over to the table loaded with desserts and goodies.

Though most of the ponies present had been witness to the events shortly before at the town hall, they seemed more docile and relaxed in this party environment; Eli could still feel their eyes on him, and he could see them whispering amongst themselves as he made his way through them to the table. But he was sure that now that he was mingling among them, the sense alarm and dread was subsiding some-what. He was also extremely glad, that none of them approached him about the change he spoke of.

Eye-balling the table of assorted things, Eli finally gave in to his stomach, which had been doing roller coaster loops for the past hour without anything to eat. And though he didn't really want to pack his hungry stomach with pure sugar and confections, he figured the apple pie would be more filling.

Watching him closely as he hovered over the table, Applejack grabbed a knife with her teeth, and cocked an eyebrow.

“I'll take a piece of that apple pie,” he said, all but drooling on himself as he spoke. His taste buds were working overtime at the thought of it.

Watching her, Eli was fascinated with how dexterous Applejack was at slicing the apple pie, and how easily she put it on a plate for him. "Hope ya like it," she said grinning, then looking away quickly, feigning nonchalance. "It's one of ma favorites."

While most non-magical ponies in Ethereal Earth have learned to manipulate objects and tools with their hooves, it is still required of them to mostly use their mouths and teeth for some basic things.

Over the centuries as their society has progressed, the amount of fine manipulation has also progressed. With great exception being given to the unicorn ponies, that use their magic for details. Many artisans have emerged from the unicorn breed, as have been many ponies in service positions, such as waiters, chefs, secretaries, and even on occasion, public officials.

So while the idea that Applejack can use a knife to slice pie, and place that slice on a plate is a breakthrough in equine behavior to someone like Eli, it is nothing more than the usual everyday actions of a non-magical pony that must work harder to achieve small goals and desires.

"It looks very filling," said Eli, grabbing the pie and taking a huge bite, while Applejack beamed with delight at his choice of foods.

"So this is the human Guardian of Equestria," came a voice from behind Eli, as he turned to see the pony from the crowd earlier with the bandaged hoof. Only now, not only was her hoof bandaged, but she was in a wheel chair, encrusted with precious stones and gems.

Rarity's mouth sort of slackened in disgust when she saw that Eli was chewing an enormous amount of food in his mouth. "Mm hmm." he mumbled, nodding slightly.

"The names Rarity. I happen to be Ponyville's premiere fashionista and garment designer." She eyed Eli's clothing ensemble, and turned her nose up slightly at the brown leather jacket. Cow hide was so, last decade.

Swallowing his barely chewed bite he said, "Are you alright there Miss Rarity? You look worse off now than when you were at the town meeting."

"Well of course I'm not alright!" she retorted. "This whole Other World gate nonsense has ruined my ability to work!" She threw a bandaged hoof over her forehead and laid back in the wheel chair in a defeated posture.

"At this rate, I'll be a living pin-cushion, what with all the times I've jabbed my delicate hooves trying in vain... VAIN I tell you, to work in this crisis!"

Eli made a sucking noise out of the corner of his mouth as he sucked some of the pie crust from his teeth. "Uh-huh." He nodded.

~   ~   ~

In the top balcony of the library, three small adolescent ponies were huddled together watching the party through the railing.

Gathered around them were all sorts of snacks and goodies they lifted from the party un-noticed, as they wanted to scope out the new human in their midst from relative safety.

"He doesn't look that big to me," said Apple Bloom, laying on her belly peeking through the bars of the railing as Eli conversed with Rarity below.

For those that are less adept at keeping up with long tales and narratives, it should be reiterated that Apple Bloom is the younger sister of Applejack, and Big Macintosh.

Her coat is a soft butter color, and her mane is deep red, like that of a rose. And though she often seems cute and innocent, and wears a bow in her mane is no reason to assume that she isn't capable of making a complete nuisance of herself, given the right time or place. Or the wrong time or place.

Apple Bloom's biggest desire in life, at this point in it anyway, is the pursuit of her cutie mark. To this end almost everything else in life is secondary. Except for when Applejack makes her do dishes, or take a bath, or do her chores, or homework assignments from school. Then once those are completed, the cutie mark adventuring continues.

"Why, I bet Big Macintosh could whoop him in five seconds," she whispered reassuringly to herself. She didn't want to admit it, but she was more than a little fearful of the human.

"As if," Scootaloo said, scoffing as she leaned over close to her punch glass and sipped, "he's a human, those things are like even more legendary than King Lioncolt's holy saddle!"

"Wow," said Sweetie Belle—the third and final member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders—as she got big eyed and scooted closer to get a better look, "that's pretty legendary alright." Nodding her head in feigned comprehension.

It is a common point of fact, that anytime one of the three fillies are seen, then the other two are not far behind. To the extent that they have made of themselves a micro-herd. Seldom separated, and often at ends, the self-proclaimed cutie mark crusaders have become the stuff of fame around Ponyville, notorious as it may be.

The other two members, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo lay on their bellies similarly to Apple Bloom, and while they regarded Eli with apprehension, they didn't seem as fearful. Mostly because of the novelty of his presence.

Loud, and slightly aggressive—true to her pegasus heritage—most definitely a tom-boy, burnt orange coat, and lavender maned, Scootaloo was the exact opposite of her young friend Sweetie Belle; who was mostly quiet, surprisingly adept under pressure, and yet humorously naive.

Has it been mentioned yet, that Sweetie Belle is also the younger sister of Ponyville's premiere fashionista? If not, then that must be addressed, but later on, and at a more appropriate time.

For now, it is enough to simply be aware of the fact that Sweetie Belle is the sister of Rarity, and aside from her purple hair being slightly different shades, shares the same brilliant white coat as her sister, and even a small foal sized unicorn horn to match. Even if their personalities are as different as daylight and dark.

After a few seconds, Scootaloo felt Sweetie Belle tapping her on the tip of her wing. "Psst. Hey Scoots."

"What is it Sweetie Belle?"

"Who was King Lioncolt?" she whispered.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Now why does Sis insist on talking to him so much?" said Apple Bloom, as she observed Applejack walk over to join in the conversation with Rarity and Eli. "If she ain't careful he might devastate her with his beams of fire from his eyeballs or sumthin."

Shivering slightly, Sweetie Belle tapped Scootaloo on the shoulder again.

"What now Sweetie Belle?"

"Do humans have beams of fire in their eyeballs?"

“How should I know?”

All three of them jumped and shrieked at the sound of Big Macintosh clearing his throat, and turned to see him standing at the top of the stairs with a casually stern look in his eye.

"Maybe instead of hiding up here like scared little fillies, you could go down there are find out fer yerselves if he as fire in his eyeballs."

Standing up to meet Big Macintosh's gaze, they each shuffled their front hooves in turn, and looked down at the floor. “We ain't scared of him,” said Scootaloo defiantly, as she looked back up to face the fire engine red colt, as he looked down on them.

“Is that so?”

Suddenly, with a giggle, Apple Bloom bolted to the left, followed a split second later by Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, who ran in two other directions, each of them squealing and giggling with delight at the thought of running away from big Macintosh.

~   ~   ~

"...and that was how I got us all across the raging river and past that sea serpent. Not that I'm bragging or anything," said Rarity, forcing a laugh while looking away.

"Oh, yeah, far be it from her to brag," Applejack snorted with incredulity, while Eli and Pinkie Pie laughed at the way Rarity glared at them.

The night and the party wore on, and with it Eli felt the weariness from the day settle on him with mass effect, and he began to grow anxious for a place to withdraw to himself. Combat was one thing, pressure under fire was one thing, but then spending an entire day surrounded by anthropomorphic horses was enough to ensure most rational minds a securely padded cell in a clinic for the mentally ill.

It was about the time that Pinkie Pie started the second round of pin the tail on the horse, that Eli took it as an opportunity to slip away out back of the library, and get alone to contemplate the day. On his way out, he passed Twilight looking around in a mild state of confusion and concern.

“Is everything alright?” Eli asked her as he stepped up.

“Well, probably,” she said, still looking this way and that. “I'm trying to find my friend, Fluttershy. She was supposed to be here, and I really wanted her to meet you.”

“Oh, I see,” he said. “What does she look like?”

“She's got a bright yellow coat, and pink mane.”

Looking around, Eli realized that even with that description, he was still somewhat at a loss, considering that every pony at the party was one shade or another of the rainbow, and made identifying one particular color the same as locating a needle in a haystack.

“That really doesn't help me much, is there more to her? What about that cutie mark thing?”

“That's right!” Twilight said. “She has three butterflies for a cutie mark, and she has wings, she's a pegasus.”

Looking around a bit more, Eli finally admitted defeat. “I'm sorry, I don't think she's here.”

“That's too bad. I was really hoping she would muster up her courage to come.” Twilight wore an expression that implied that this sort of occurrence was typical of her friend.

Once outside, Eli was hit with a sudden sense of relief. He felt his shoulder ache, his brain felt frazzled, and try as he might, he had a small section of his conscious that refused to easily accept that this wasn't some sort of dream, or that worse, he was in fact dead.

Looking up at the night sky in Ponyville reminded him of almost any other sky in almost any other country, or foreign land. In the distance Eli could hear the crickets, and the distant shining stars, mingled with the night air had a calming feeling to it.

"Some party ain't it?"

Turning to his left, in the direction of the sound, Eli saw a deep red pony sitting against the outside wall of the tree library chewing on a piece of straw.

"Yeah... it's uh crazy in there," Eli said putting some strained cheerfulness to his tone. "A little too crazy. I need some time to think."

What Eli actually wanted more than anything at the moment, was a drink, a stiff one.

Observing the large male pony, Eli regarded him for a moment, then chanced the question.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find something a little stronger than fruit punch would you?"

The red pony looked in the direction of a two wheeled apple cart, parked next to him. "He'yup," he said. "In the back of Sis's cart there is my bag. I always keep a little something stronger in that."

"Finally. Dude, you are like my personal Jesus!"

Walking over to the cart, Eli fumbled in the bag and brought out a bottle of hard cider with a rope tied around it for easy pony grabbing.

"Aged to perfection," said Macintosh as Eli brought over the bottle.

"You sure you don't mind?" asked Eli.

"Help yerself," he said. "The name's Big Macintosh; but folks around here just call me Big Mack."

Eli Popped the cork, and poured some of the cider into Mack's cup. "I'm Elijah, but uh, you can just call me Eli though."

"Glad to know you Eli," Mack said, gulping down the hard cider.

"Same," said Eli feeling the rush of alcohol in his system. "Damn, this is better than I thought it would be."

Mack chuckled, "Aged to perfection."