Strange Hooves

Celestia had been shocked by this revelation, and had responded,

“What do you mean, ‘I may have something to do with his being here.’?”

“Calm down, dear sister. It was an accident, I swear. Remember the Stargazer?”

Celestia thought of the project Stargazer. Using magic, a telescope’s sight could extend greatly. Stargazer was born from the idea that if one of these scopes was powered by a team of unicorns and an alicorn, not even the furthest reaches of the galaxy would be out of sight. The scope works great, and many observations have been made, seeing stars that were once invisible to conventional Magic Telescopes. Luna had been glued to the eye-piece of the telescope a lot lately, and Celestia thinks that she’ll find out why now. Luna continues.

“Well, instead of using the high-power to see tiny, distant stars, I used it to look at the closer ones, to see if there are others like us among them.”

Celestia stifled a giggle. Luna, looking for something ever present in fiction in Equestria?

”I did find something, Tia.”

Celestia is legitimately shocked by this.

“I saw a little green, blue, and white ball in space just like ours.” Luna fought tears, keeping composure as she continues.

“I zoomed in, using near maximum power, and to my surprise, the planet was filled with lizard creatures. These seemed different from our lizards, but then I used a spell that would draw recent light in, instead of the light that’s only now hitting us. To my surprise, I found a totally different planet. Instead of lizards, the planet was crawling with little mammals, just like us, Tia. They’ve built something resembling a civilization, but something was wrong. Big, dark clouds of smoke billowed out from all the major population centers. I zoomed in, at maximum power. I searched for any signs of intelligent life with a simple spell that strained even me and the unicorns. I saw one of them curled up in one of the forests that weren’t burning at the moment.  I saw a fire raging in the distance, and I thought it best to try and save him.”

Celestia stood in shock. This matches exactly with what Mike knows of the planet from her mind-meld. She slowly nods, and Princess Luna continues.

“I thought that I teleported him to safety at one of the remaining cities filled with others, but I never saw him again. I guess I put too much power into the spell, because he was sent here. The telescope is slightly ruined now. We’ll have to fix it, but that’ll take time.”

Luna sees Celestia deep in thought, and asks,

“Not only did you find him, you used a mind-meld spell? Who knows what he knows?”

“I do now know, Luna. Before a crisis gripped the planet, his species was building a civilization greater than ours, Luna. Greater! They had flying machines that broke their speed of sound, and they had these electronics that make ours look like colored rocks. Their engines put our steam engines to shame. I think that this knowledge will greatly benefit us.”

Celestia stopped herself, finding something to be grateful for.

“Their knowledge of themselves was staggering, and the medical field of science was so advanced that they might’ve cured death if they had time. Even I don’t fully understand what exactly caused their disaster.”

Luna ponders for a moment, and then asks a simple question.

“Do you think I could have a chat with him?”

…

“What do you mean, you’ve never heard of fedoras?”

Mike’s statement echoed through the tree library, sending tiny shockwaves through Rarity, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash, and the dragon Spike.

Rarity had visited in hopes of talking to him about fashion. Sure enough, he had inevitably talked about hats, and  Mike is particularly fond of ones called fedoras.  Rarity had heard of these, but these were old fashioned hats.

“I didn’t mean to make you think that Equestria doesn’t have fedoras, dear Mike. They’re not as popular as they once were. You want one of these?”

“That would be pretty cool. What do you think this would cost?”

Rarity recoils at the thought of a potential client which was so… different. She shakes her head and says,

“Consider this a gift for saving Twilight and Fluttershy from those horrible beasts.”

She steps out, leaving Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike alone with Mike.

Twilight eagerly asks Mike something.

“How come nothing like you has ever been seen before? You’re the only one ponykind has ever seen.”

Mike shrugs.

“Guess I traveled further than I could’ve ever imagined, because where I come from, there were no Technicolor talking

ponies.”

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow, and asks

“What’s Technicolor?”

“Well, equines were just a shade of tan or brown where I come from. Not pink, purple, or blue or anything like that.”

“Oh… right. I better get going. See ya, Mike!”

Rainbow Dash characteristically flies out the door, leaving Mike, Twilight, and Spike. Mike glances between the two of them and raises a hand to his chin in deep thought.

“Are you two related somehow?”

Spike and Twilight look at each other very sheepishly, and then they turn back to Mike.

“I guess he’s my little brother.”  Twilight said, rubbing Spike’s head, which causes him to stifle a giggle.

They see Mike’s eyes quiver in remembrance. He said with great emotion,

“I had a little brother once.”

He slumps down into a chair and stares at his boots. Twilight asks,

“I’m so sorry, Mike. Is he gone?”

“Yeah. He turned crazy, so I… killed him.”

Twilight Sparkle and Spike found themselves tearing up.

“I had to. Otherwise, he’d eat me.”

Mike buries his face in his hands, suppressing sobs.  He looks up again, despair dripping from his eyes.

“And my father. He tried to eat me too. Same thing happened with my mother, and my sisters. Ones that I called family…”

Mike looks back at Twilght and Spike, who stood shocked.

“…and friends.”

Mike looks at his boots.

“They all turned into absolute animals. The ones who didn’t, like me… fought back. We didn’t want to die.”

Painful blood-filled memories filled Mike’s eyes and he starts to shake.

“ANNNND THEY’RE COMINGGGNGH—“

He bends forward, holding his hands to his gut while beathing heavily. Cold sweat forms on his brow, and he stares off, remembering.

===+===

Mike was running from everything he knew. Everything he thought he knew. Everyone he thought he knew. What was running after him, however, was the reality of the situation. Kukri in hand, he dispatched those who ran a little close to him. Recognizing faces was heartbreaking because that’s one less person who made it. Despair ruled the day.

===+===

Twilight Sparkle and Spike looked at each other, then back to Mike. He was still leaning forward in the chair, teeth clenched. He spoke slowly.

“I felt betrayed and… and everything. Everyone I knew was either dead, dying, or one of them. Even now, I don’t understand the cause of it. I also don’t understand how I’m here.  The things here don’t exist where I’m from. I don’t understand.”

A letter materializes from Spike with his signature burp. Twilight opens it telekinetically and reads it out loud.

“ Dear Twilight Sparkle,

After some consideration, I have decided that it is best for me to talk to Mike in person regarding his origins and his future here. A carriage has been sent to your location. I look forward to our first meeting.

The Princess of the Night,

Luna.”

Mike raises an eyebrow, having calmed a bit. Twilight Sparkle and Spike calm down, too. Not having to hear the story anymore makes it easier on them. Mike finally speaks again.

“ Guess I gotta pack, huh?”

His eyes lit up in realization.

“My pack’s still at Fluttershy’s!”

Who knows what she’ll find in there?

Mike walks out the door cautiously, and then briskly strides towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

…

Fluttershy calmly takes care of her animals as she always does, having cleaned up the lawn and replaced the window. Things were different around here after Mike arrived. Something… troubling was underfoot. But that might just be Fluttershy’s paranoia. There is a knock on the door. She answers it, and finds Mike. He says,

“Do you still have my pack?”

“Yes, it’s right where you left it.”

Mike tests his newfound ability to levitate the backpack into his hand.

“Thanks. I gotta meet someone called Luna.”

“The Princess?”

“Yeah. See ya.”

“Oohkay.”

Fluttershy remembers the last time Luna was at Ponyville. Fluttershy had long given up her fear of her then, but still…. Mike waits back at Twilight’s library to await the carriage, but by the time he got there, he found the carriage waiting. Going inside, he found Twilight and a couple of ponies with dark armor and bat wings. He seems surprised to see  these, but dismisses the notion that they could be dangerous.  They say,

“Are you Mike?”

Mike responds with,

“The only one that I know of.”

“You’ll need to come with us. Good day, Twilight.”

Mike is escorted to the carriage, and it flies off to Canterlot in the sunset light.

…

Luna paces for what seems to be the thousandth time in the main hall. So many questions dancing in her head as she finally

sees something face to face that she’d been looking at for so long at so far the distance. A guard finally announces the arrival of Mike, so the Princess sits in the throne. After a few minutes of silence, the door opens to admit Mike and some Royal Guards. Mike looks around the spacy room, then looks towards Luna, who was looking at him in curiosity.

I’ve never seen one of them so close up before.

The guard to the right of Mike clears his throat and states,

“Princess Luna, this is Mike Alpha. He was spotted in Ponyville a few days ago. Reports from the Elements state that he has

slain a Hydra and a whole pack of Beogs.”

Mike shuffles his feet, and holds his hands behind his back, knowing now that a reputation precedes him. Luna responds,

“Indeed, Captain. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mike. My sister has told me much about you, but I want to learn more from the source.”

Mike returns Luna’s gaze and responds,

“It is also a pleasure to meet you. What do you want to know?”

Mike folds his arms, readying himself for a lengthy interview.

“First off, are these rumors true about your slaying a Hydra and a pack of Beogs?”, Luna asks.

“…Yes, though I do not take pleasure in the acts. It was in self-defense in both cases.” Mike seems defensive, as if he’s being accused of a crime.

“Perfectly alright, Mike. It also said that you defended Twilight from the Hydra, which is commendable. Now, I would like to share some information with you, but the nature of this information is very sensitive.”

The guards, catching on to Luna’s unspoken request, exit the hall and shut the big double doors, which make a loud banging sound when closed. Mike looks back to Luna, waiting for her story. She clears her throat and starts.

“I have been in charge of a project called Stargazer. An advanced telescope was enhanced with magic so that it can see deep into space. The point of it was to chart the skies, and we have done so very effectively. We exerted more power to see faraway stars, but I realized that we could instead use our focus on the nearer stars to see individual planets. That’s when I found yours.”

Mike raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. Luna continues.

“I don’t know what happened. Could you explain this?”

Mike shrugs, arms still folded, and says,

“What happened is nothing short of a disaster. As to how it started, I’m completely stumped.”

Luna takes notes, compiling new information. She looks up from her notebook and asks,

“What kind of disaster?”

Mike responds,

“*Sigh* I give up. It’s a zombie apocalypse, okay? Not only that, humanity itself is split into political factions drawing imaginary lines on a map diving their lands, and their nations. This difference prevented any global action until it was too late. Enemies attacked each other after years of uncertain peace. People starting pointing fingers at each other. Climate Change was blamed. Scientists were blamed. Even Extra-Terrestrials were blamed. While people in their big international chambers were effectively yelling at each other, billions were dying in the street. I barely made it out of my own town alive. I inexplicably found this place, and you know the rest of the story.”

Luna was taking notes all the while, and she looks nervously to the right and to the left, then asks Mike,

“I’ve never told anyone about this, but I’ve seen dozens of big flashes of light in some of the burning cities. They left spots in my eyes for days. These events seem to destroy the city they happen in. Could you explain this phenomenon?”

Mike is stunned when he realizes what these “flashes” are. He stutters,

“N-Nuclear—d-devices?!“

Luna didn’t know what those were. She asks,

“Are those a recent invention?”

“They’ve been around for a while. But those things are basically outlawed to use because of their great and terrible destructive power.”

“This zombie epidemic, could you explain it?”

“Well, I’m not even sure if it is zombies. I keep telling myself that those cannibals are simply insane, and that that insanity is

contagious. I don’t know, I’m not a scientist.”

“Could you tell me about yourself? Maybe you can better explain the scenario that way.”

Mike raises a hand to his chin in deep thought, then clears his throat, and begins.

“At first… I was nothing but an idea. An idea bred of my parents. I would be born, and I would grow up to be a great man who would marry and have kids. Those kids would marry, and the cycle would continue. But when I was born, some problems presented themselves.”

Luna writes notes, intrigued.

“Some physical problems would become a problem later on, especially if untreated. The doctors saw this, though, and were able to minimize the effects of said problems. I was growing up, studying to work in a field of my choosing, which is technology. Then the crisis happened. My family went insane, and I found the strength to kill them before they killed me.”

Mike looks down when he said this, obviously regretting his actions. He continues.

“I found a weapon and lasted through what could be considered the end of civilization. I lasted long enough to flee into the wilderness with what I could grab, or steal. After several weeks in the wilderness, I noticed that several things changed. The geography did not match the map. The animals were much more violent, and I considered trying to go back, but I was utterly lost. Then I found Fluttershy’s cottage, and the rest you know.”

Luna finishes her notes, trying to suppress tears. She finally responds,

“Thanks *sniff* Mike. Thanks for the information. Also, when I found you, in the forest that was burning, I pulled you here to Equestria by accident. I meant to pull you into a safe place occupied by other humans, but… I put too much power into it.”

Mike is stunned by this. Wide-eyed, and with hands to his head, he says,

“ WAIT.

So I’m from space?

Space?

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!“