What You Wish For 3: The Book of Earth Pony

Mike’s head felt like it was spinning as he slowly regained consciousness, his limbs felt like they were on fire. As he regained his vision he realized he had a bag over his head, he could hear the faint breathing of another man in the room. As Mike began to try and get up, he realized he was strapped down, the other person in the room said calmly, “You’re wondering why you have a bag on your head, don’t worry because it’s only to make sure you don’t panic after the initial shock you’re about to go through.”

Mike’s breathing was heavy with fear as he said, “W… what’s going on?”

The man took a short breath before saying, “I have your pistol pointed at your head, the finger on the trigger and ready to pull. Unless you want the last thing that passes through your mind to be a bullet, you’re going to tell me what military you’re in and why you joined the military.”

Mike’s breathing turned to a panicking one as he said, “P-please don’t kill me. My name is Michael Eisenberg; I joined the United Nations Peace Corps as corporal rank Private rank III. I joined because our world doesn’t have enough heroes for our kids to look up to, all they have are rappers and criminals these days.”

Mike could feel a tear coming out, he was truly afraid of getting killed. What surprised him was what he heard next, “Well, so far you’re doing a good job at keeping yourself alive. I’m about to take the bandages off of you, but you have to tell me what your mission is here.”

Mike was quick to respond, he could clearly remember everything from the previous day, “My mission is over, I was originally being sent home to California but something happened and next thing I know I’m God knows where in what seemed like Russia.”

The other voice was low and calm as he said, “You’re far from Russia or home.” Mike could feel the bandages unraveling around his head, the light blinding him for a moment before his eyes could adjust. Once his eyes had grown used to the lighting he looked at the young man in front of him, he had no weapons on him and looked like a nice person. The kid gently brought his hand over Mike’s chest as he said, “You’re lucky to have survived that, you have more broken bones than ones that aren’t broken.”

As soon as Mike heard the word survived he looked at the boy as he said, “Please, tell me someone else survived the crash.”

The man was hesitant at first, he then hung his head low as he said, “I’m sorry, Private, but no one else survived.”

Mike laid his head back on the pillow as he said, “I know there’s a higher force because if there wasn’t then everyone would be alive. I know that God himself has punished me for whatever crime I have done.”

The boy gently brought a wet sponge to the Mike’s head, the water was soothingly warm. As the boy soaked Mike’s head he said gently, “You lost a lot of people didn’t you?”

Mike looked down at the boy as he said in an aggressive tone, “You don’t even know.”

The boy raised an eyebrow as he said, “Ran away from home cause of my depression from my Dad’s death. My mother soon killed herself afterwards when she assumed the worst for me, never made it to her funeral. My best friend came looking for me, turned out to be a psycho and nearly killed me before he died as well. Then I made a friend with someone who had saved my life on several occasions, turns out he was an imposter working for the enemy. Everyone I loved dearly either died on the outside or died on the inside.”

Mike’s expression turned to a slight sympathy, this boy may not have lost as many people as him but he did lose the closest people in his life in the worst ways possible. Mike waited a bit before he slowly said, “Tell me, what is your name?”

The boy damped the sponge in the sink as he said, “The name is Alex, Alex Mulroney. Don’t bother asking where you are because telling you now in your state would send you into cardiac arrest, your heart did take quite a beating and is running off of adrenaline I am feeding you.”

Mike’s look changed to curiosity and disbelief, he wondered how it was possible. Mike laughed a bit as he said, “Oh yeah? How exactly are you feeding me this adrenaline? Magic I assume?”

Alex sat back down in the chair; he inserted a thick piece of wood between Mike’s teeth as he said, “Actually yes. Hold my hand, it will relieve the stress.”

Mike looked down as he said, “Wai wah? Whah hresh?” As soon as Alex’s hand touched his ribcage, he could feel an unbearable amount of pain course through him. His vision began to blur as he looked towards Alex’s hand, he immediately grabbed it and began to feel a soothing warmth course through his veins. He felt the pain immediately disappear as the warmth reached his ribs, he could feel the ribs slowly moving back to place and they tickled him a bit. When Alex lifted his hand from his ribs, his ribs had fully gone back to place. Alex tapped them and gently punched them to prove that they were no longer broken.

Alex slowly pulled the piece of wood out, bite marks sank deep into the piece of wood. Alex put the piece of wood aside as he said, “Yeah, I forgot to tell you I was about to fix your ribs.”

Mike took in a deep breath and felt no pain, he felt a million times better than before. Mike looked at Alex as he said with curiosity in his eyes, “How the hell did you do that?”

Alex soaked his hands in boiling hot water, the steam rising up out of the sink. Alex pulled his red hands out as he said with a smile on his face, “I thought I told you, it was magic. In fact you guessed it yourself”

Mike began to get annoyed and impatient with the boy, he hated being mocked. Mike just laughed it off gently as he said, “No really, did you plant macrobiotics inside me to reconstruct my bone structure? Did you plant chemicals in my veins through skin contact to create a super healing drug? What was it?”

Alex shrugged as he said, “This is why you’re still tied up; you are refusing to believe in what seems out of the norm. I really did use magic, while one hand was sped up the healing process; the other hand sent a pulse of numbing energy through your body via your nervous system and your veins.”

Mike looked down at his chest as he said, “How is magic possible?”

Alex repeated the process on his limbs; he fixed the legs and arms as quick as he could. Once Alex had finished up he said calmly, “Let me tell you all about it. Magic is an entity that not many humans possess, there are three types of magic: Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Horse. Each one has its own downfalls and perks, but to actually wield your magic you have to be in a state of Zen or zero mind where no thought passes through your head and you are at an emotional balance.”

Mike laughed as he said, “Unicorns, Pegasus, seriously? If this is true, how come I haven’t been able to use any magic?”

Alex watched as Mike’s face changed to astonishment as he hovered a bottle of apple juice to his mouth as he said, “Because thanks to a friend’s scanning, you aren’t a unicorn. You are a Pegasus which would explain why you became a soldier; your fearlessness got you where you are.”

Mike leaned his head back as he smiled, he really didn’t believe all of this. After taking in a deep breath he said, “So when will I be able to go?”

Alex shook his head as he said with a sympathetic look, “Letting you out now with the condition of your heart would definitely kill you. To make sure you stay alive you cannot learn where you are all at once, so I will tell you bit by bit until you have the entire story.”

Mike sighed before slowly saying, “So can you please tell me what country I’m in? Is it Russia? Northern Greenland? Antarctica?”

Alex shook his head as he said while looking over his chest, “It’s none of those, all I’m going to say is that you are nowhere near earth. You are on an alien planet.”

Mike laughed a bit as he said, “Well that doesn’t surprize me, after all we colonized Mars in 2050.”

Alex smiled as he said, “Funny you should mention that, since we are farther away than any human mind can comprehend, time is warped. I was born in 1995, so I wouldn’t know about these things, I’ve been living here for the past while which would explain the time gap between us.”

Mike shook his head as he said, “This shit’s confusing me.”

Alex quickly hushed him and said, “Please don’t use such foul language here, and it’s only gonna get a lot more confusing from here on out.”

Mike looked up at the plain white ceiling, he looked for a window but couldn’t find one. After a couple of seconds of silence he said, “So, what planet am I on? Venus? The moon Titan? Io?”

Alex took a deep breath again before saying slowly, “I guess I can tell you now that I have recreated the cell structure to further reinforce your heart and arteries, you’re in a different universe.”

Mike laughed as he said, “You’re shitting me.”

Alex shook his head as he said, “Look at your watch, time here moves slower, each couple of seconds is a day on earth and a whole day is a year.”

Mike slowly brought up the watch around his wrist, the arms were spinning out of control, hours were going by faster than seconds and the hand was only a blur. Mike began to worry as he said, “I need to get home, I need to get back to my family before they forget.”

Alex wiped his hands off as he said, “No can do, you and your ship were wrecked to shit in that anomaly of science. Putting you through that again will most likely kill you, besides by now your family is accepting your death. Consider this purgatory.”

Mike shook his head as he said, “Hell no, son. I need to get back home, I need to see my family again.”

Alex shrugged as he said, “Fine, go ahead, good luck out there.” Alex used his magic to open the door and undo Mike’s bindings; as soon as he did Mike sprinted out. Mike ran as fast as he could, he felt free. After five seconds of running he realized he had no idea where he was going, and ten seconds later he realized his bones were breaking from running again. Mike fell onto the snowy ground, his legs and arms broken once again. Mike took a look around at his surroundings and could only see snow, the fog was too thick to see past his own nose. He soon felt a warm hand against his back lift him up onto a pair of shoulders as Alex said, “Your bones need time to heal, I can speed up the process, but not heal them altogether.”

As he carried him back into the room, the white walls surrounding them once again, Mike said, “So what am I going to have to do to get back home?”

Alex quickly fitted the bones back into place, with minimal pain, as he said, “It’ll take a few days to prepare for the journey back, we need the ship to be in mint condition for your return to be as epic as possible.”

Mike looked down at the white kid as he said, “And you’re gonna do this on your own?”

Alex snickered as he said, “Did you really think that we were the only two here? Oh I forgot to tell you about the inhabitants, yeah they are all horses.”

Mike blinked a couple of times before saying, “Oh you said horses, I was about to say that it’s no different back home. Seriously though, when will I meet the other people that live here?” (adult joke)

Alex finished up with the bones as he said, “Well, I know one that would be perfect for you.”

Mike began to think of his sister, the only person in his life who he truly called “perfect”. Mike held his head low as he said, “No one will be the same as my sister.”

Alex smiled as he gently tapped his cheek and said, “I’m sure this girl can cheer you up pretty good.” Alex walked up to the door and opened it, he then shouted out, “Come on in Pinkie!”

Mike closed his eyes for a bit, he was beginning to get a headache from all the bad news he had just received, plus the fall he had went through had shaken him up pretty bad. As he rested his eyes, he heard some heavy footsteps entering the room as a slightly cheerful voice said, “Hey, my name is Pinkie Pie.”

Mike slowly turned to see the girl as he said, “What kind of name is…” Mike stared at the pink horse, for a second he thought he was on acid. After blinking a couple of times he said to Alex, “You weren’t kidding.”

Alex was exiting the door as he said, “Remember Pinkie, try and keep calm cause his heart can’t take too much excitement.”

With that Alex put on his coat and exited the room into the snowy blizzard, leaving the pink snow covered pony to talk with the soldier. A few minutes of pure awkwardness had gone by without either of them saying a word, neither of them knew what to say. After a few minutes Pinkie said in a slightly calm voice, “So what’s your name?”

Mike stared at the ceiling as he said, “Michael Eisenberg, and you are?”

Pinkie slowly trotted up to his side as she said, “I’m Pinkie Pie,” She then noticed the expression on his face, she watched as he slowly pulled out a photo of a little female human and said, “who’s that?”

Mike began to tear up as he said, “My sister… the only girl I had in my life I truly cared about.”

Pinkie took a close look at it as she said calmly, “She looks like a wonderful person. I’m so sorry you’re here, I guess you lost a lot of people in your life.”

Mike nodded his head as he said, “Yeah, being in the military you have to expect to lose a few people. You never expect to lose them all though.”

Pinkie rested her head on the bed as she said, “I wish I knew how that felt, I had my poor little heart broken by a big meanie pants.”

Mike sighed before saying in a sad tone, “We both lost something important to us.”

Pinkie nodded her head as she said, “At least I have Alex; he’s the only human I have ever trusted.”

Mike looked down at her as he said, “You can trust me.”

Pinkie looked up as she said with a hopeful smile, “We’ll just see about that.”

Mike patted her on the head as he said, “So is Alex the only other human here aside from me?”

Pinkie shook her head as she said, “Nope, there is one other, but no one is allowed to see her unless it’s an emergency.”

Mike raised an eyebrow as he said, “Why only in case of an emergency?”

Pinkie smiled as she said, “Because she’s a god.”

Mike’s face turned to surprize as he said, “A god? You mean she can control the world?”

Pinkie nodded her head as she said, “Yessiree, her and Alex are responsible for saving the world.”

Mike had a look of awe as he said, “But Alex isn’t even an adult yet.”

Pinkie giggled as she said, “Like I always say, the tastiest candy might not look like it.”

Mike smiled as he said, “That was pretty deep, can I nickname you Pinks?”

Pinkie giggled as she said, “Sure!” She then climbed up onto the bed as she said with glee, “So what do you like to do for fun?”

Mike began to smile brightly as he said, “Well sometimes I like to play some basketball, I like to read a good book indoors, and”

Before mike could finish his sentence Pinkie jumped up and said, “I know where we can get lots of books!”

*****

Alex knocked on the library door as he said, “Ms. Lauren? Ms. Twilight? I need a word with you two.”

The door soon opened up to reveal Lauren, her hair in curlers as well as Twilight’s, Alex stepped into the room and away from the blizzard taking place. After getting the snow off of him Lauren said with a smile, “Hey Alex how’s the survivor?”

Alex smiled as he was hanging up his coat, he then turned around and said, “He’s doing fine, I gave him a Pinkie Pie to keep him company. By the way I think your hair looks nicer curled.” Alex then looked over to Twilight as he said, “Your hair is fine straight. Anyways what I came here to talk about is our mission.”

As Alex sat down, Lauren turned towards him and said, “Well I just got settled down, are you sure we need to go after the next book so soon?”

Alex nodded his head, he had a serious look on his face as he said, “Yes, we never know when Shadow will strike again, we also don’t know what she will do next so it would be best if we were prepared for the worst.”

Twilight began to think before saying, “Well which book should we go for next?”

Alex sat down as he said, “I say we should go for the book of Earth Pony, Lauren could really use the ability to remain indestructible without a conscious decision.”

Lauren nodded as she said, “So when should we go?”

Alex looked out the window as he said, “This Friday.”

Twilight dawned a sympathetic look as she said, “But that’s in another three days.”

Alex turned around, his face had no expression of joy as he said, “We’re leaving on Friday, me and Lauren only. These missions are getting too dangerous for you girls, and I don’t want any of you to come home in a box.” Alex looked at the window, the sun was beginning to set for the day. Alex got up and walked towards the door as he said, “Is it snowing in Manehattan?”

Twilight shook her head as she said, “No it is not, why?”

Alex put on his coat as he said, “I need to clear my mind somewhere where it isn’t snowing like crazy.” Alex exited the door and closed it behind him, the sudden gust of cold air making him shiver. Alex kneeled down and, using a surge of magical energy, took off into the dusk sky.

Twilight and Lauren watched as he flew away into the distance, Lauren turned to Twilight as she said, “Do you think something’s wrong with him?”

Twilight shook her head before saying, “Well… he might feel a little reluctant to bond with another human after being stabbed in the back by Kyle.”

The sudden crash of the wall beside them made the girls jump in fear, a gust of cold winter wind blowing in and ruining the room’s warmth. Twilight and Lauren had jumped behind the couch before slowly raising their heads, ready to defend. What they saw both surprized them and did not at the same time, Pinkie Pie with the human survivor in the hospital bed. Pinkie began to lift pieces of the wall back up as she said, “Quick help me patch this up so Mikey doesn’t get cold when he’s reading.” Twilight then grumbled, her brows low over her face as she planted her hoof over her eyes.

*****

Alex sat on the top of a building in the downtown district of Manehattan, he watched the new Royal Equestrian Air Force test out their new flight suits for the non-pegasi. The large turbines at each of their sides propelled them through the air at breakneck speeds, the thick smoke trailing behind them. Alex looked over at a large sign, Lyra was on the front of it with the name of her industry on it, Lyramotive. Alex smiled as he said, “Never thought of you making peacekeeping devices, Lyra old pal. Hope Bon-Bon approves.” As Alex watched the ponies below go about their nightly business, Alex got up and began to walk. He began to use his powers to warp the gravity around him and began to walk down the building. As Alex walked in peace, he heard the sudden noise of a window shattering and alarms blaring. Alex looked in the direction of the noise as he said, “Never expected there would be a crime in Equestria, oh well.” Alex then began to use his powers to jump from building to building, the orange electricity trailing behind him and spreading through the buildings he landed on.

Alex began to approach the source of the alarm, there were royal guards surrounding a Lyramotive store, the unicorns ready to protect. Alex jumped towards the one open spot and landed with a bright flash of orange light. When he got up he approached the most decorated guard there and said, “What seems to be the problem commander Lightwing?”

The Pegasus gave a shrug of his wings as he said, “No idea, Alex, it seems that someone or something wanted a few things from Lyra and had no bits to pay for it. I was originally going to send in some troops but the unicorn’s scans say there’s a large amount of dark magic coming from there.”

Alex nodded his head as he said, “Tell your squads to fall back, dark magic is something I deal with.” Alex then watched as the commander rounded up all the guards and took off, the unicorns teleporting away while the pegasi carried the earth ponies away. Once Alex was alone on the snow covered street he said silently, “Here we go.” Alex cautiously began to walk towards the building when a large explosion knocked him over, startling him and making him freeze with fear. Alex scrambled to get to his feet as he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps, they thumped and they thumped as the ground shook loudly. Alex turned his head towards the source of the shadow to see another human, one that was somehow ten feet tall. Alex got to his feet as he silently said, “What the hell…”

The large human dropped the bags of stuff he was carrying before saying, “Hello… Alex. Remember me?”

Alex’s arms began to course with orange energy as he said, “Sorry, I’m not friends with Marvel villains.”

As Alex went to attack, the man grabbed him around the waist, his hand wrapping around completely and lifting him up. Once the man had Alex in the right place the light of the store shined onto his face. Alex was disturbed by the charred face of the man, his decomposing skin around his mouth and the missing piece of skin and muscle around his jaw. The pink and yellow puss oozed out of gaping cracks on his skin as he said, “How about you take a look in the light as I say once more… remember me?”

Alex squirmed to get free but failed no matter what; his powers were only absorbed by his hands. He couldn’t bear to look at the man’s face; it looked like a mask had melted onto it. Alex suddenly stopped struggling as he said with a look of horror, “Kyle…”

Kyle laughed in a deep voice as he said while walking towards a wall, “Yes, it’s your old friend Dark-Castle. Hard to recognize me when have three years of infections on a mask that you melted to my face, you did this to me you putrid shit!” Kyle then slammed Alex into a concrete wall, the impact was great enough to shatter the wall and shake up Alex. Kyle smiled as he grabbed him by the legs and swung his head into the wall again, he smashed his face against the concrete and blood sprayed onto the wall. Kyle then threw Alex to the ground; he was bleeding from the nose mouth and parts of his head. Kyle walked over top of him as he said, “You made me ugly, now I’ll make you a monster.” Kyle brought one of his fists back as far as it would go, Alex could barely stay awake to notice the purple fire around his fist before it smashed into Alex’s face.

Kyle laughed as he looked at the boy, his head stuck into the ground and blood beginning to soak his hair. As Kyle got up he said to himself, “I always get my revenge.” Kyle walked back and grabbed the bags full of things and began to walk away. As he did he pulled out a cellphone as he said into it, “We have the technology, now we wait.”

*****

Mike had been moved into a custom wheelchair made for humans, he was allowed to use his arms but his bowels were still too weak to handle walking without dumping everything. Mike was wheeling down the hallway next to Twilight as he said, “What happened to him, purple unicorn chick?”

Twilight brushed her hair as she said with a concerned look, “Alex was brutally attacked, so far his heart has stopped twice for two minute periods. Fortunately the doctors say he will experience no loss of memory when he wakes up and the facial damages will he fully repaired, and my name is Twilight.”

Mike rolled his eyes as he said, “Sorry, I’m glad he’s going to be fine. I can’t handle another lost man in my life.”

Pinkie lifted her head from inside Mike’s shirt, surprizing both Twilight and Mike as she said with a scared look, “You and me both.”

Twilight looked down at Mike as she said with a sympathetic look, “Get used to it, she will begin appearing in your mirrors as well.” Twilight then opened the door to Alex’s hospital room, his face was covered in bandages and the rest of his body was not. He simply lied there with a yellow Pegasus lying next to him, weeping and crying his name silently.

As Mike approached her, Twilight whispered, “Think about what you are going to say, she’s his girlfriend.”

Mike shook his head as he said, “Dating a horse… whatever.” Mike then slowly wheeled up to her as he said in a quiet voice, “Hey there, girl, he’s gonna be fine.”

The yellow Pegasus did her best to stay calm as she said in a shaking voice, “My name is Fluttershy, and I know he will be okay but I hate to see him like this.”

Mike brought his hand to his neck as he said, “Look, if you’re ever in doubt, touch right here and feel the beat of life.”

Fluttershy gently placed her hoof on Alex’s neck, she could feel the gentle rhythm of his pulse under his bandages. Mike slowly backed up to hear Twilight say, “Look, Mike, this is too dangerous for you, we’re sending you back home as soon as possible.”

Mike spun around in his chair and looked at the lavender unicorn, his face didn’t show any agreement with her as he said, “Forget that, I aint going home knowing he’s gonna look like this on a regular basis. I’m staying to help him, besides Pinkie needs someone to help bake some cupcakes.”

Twilight shook her head as she said with an unsure look, “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself involved in.”

Mike looked at Twilight with his eyebrow raised as he said, “Girl, I was in a war, how bad could this be?”

Fluttershy looked up from Alex as she said, “Bad enough for Alex to wind up dying for the fourth time now.”

Mike gulped as he said, “Damn, that’s bad.”
*****