Between Two Worlds

At the speed of sound, it took him less than twenty minutes to reach his destination, the field where he lived. His radar showed he was completely alone. The nearest soul was Fluttershy, in her cottage, and the Apple family. Nopony else.  A quick scan of his car showed that Celestia had not lied about the repairs.

[Damages:

Dents at the level of the exhaust pipe.

Dysfunction of the electronic equipment.

Estimated time of repair: Two weeks]

A smile appeared on his small lips and he felt a warm feeling in his chest. Ethan was happy and cheerful. His hopes were returning slowly but surely. He was almost shaking with emotion. Soon, he’ll be back on Earth.

The truth was; he was starting to get a little homesick. It has been almost a month since the last time he set foot in the city he lived, Seattle. But, like any good feeling, this one was ended by a taste of ashes, bitter, which appeared on the tip of his tongue. He perfectly knew this feeling for experiencing it a few times and didn’t like it.

Remorse and questions invaded his mind.

Could he be able to look at himself in the mirror after leaving Equestria and its inhabitants? Especially after denying Applejack and Luna advances? The human didn’t know the answer, at least, not for the moment but he feared to never know it. Yes, his first encounter with the ponies was not under the best circumstances, especially with Celestia, but with time, he learned to appreciate their way of thinking and customs. The recent turn of events surprised him. Love. An old, forbidden feeling he left aside the day his last girlfriend raped him. Since that day, he promised himself to never fall in love again.

But, knowing himself, Ethan knew he couldn’t keep this promise.

Finally, he landed not too far from the ‘mechanical monster’ or Sky’ as he liked to call it. While he walked to the car, the black exoskeleton with the red screen became a blur and disappeared in less than four seconds. The young man with grey hair took his keys in his hand and pushed a button. In reaction, the doors opened.

‘I have to repair the Global Positioning System. If there’s one thing that can help me to take the right direction, it’s the G.P.S.’ he thought, stroking his growing beard. ‘I hope using a flash of lightning as energy source and the geographic coordinates of the Earth would be enough to create a wormhole which leads me to my destination. But there’s still a huge possibility to be transported in another world or dimension.’

Ethan opened the trunk of the Nissan and took his toolbox. His thoughts drifted to his two 'lovers'. He shook his head to stop thinking about them. But Ethan learned with time and personal experience that working was the only thing that could keep him from thinking too much.

One week and one day after…

Celestia was in her personal dining room, eating a vanilla cake, baked by the Cakes this morning, with her cup full of coffee. She was in a good mood today. Everything was fine, except for some small political problems, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

The sound of hooves approaching and somepony opening the door reached her ears. Smiling and raising an eyebrow, the Princess Of The Sun looked at her sister, walking to her chair. With her magic, the youngest sister took a cup of tea and some cupcakes. Without a word, she began to eat. The elder sister was used to this kind of morning. It was useless to talk to Lulu before she ate her breakfast because she never answer, too tired to say anything.

After a few minutes, she put her cup on the table and looked right into her sister’s violet eyes. Luna opened her mouth and spoke: “Tia, we need to talk.”

“It’s about Ethan, isn’t it?”

Luna nodded.

Reluctantly, a sigh escaped her mouth and her little sister took this opportunity to continue.

“We must to find a way to save him, we can’t let him die. He didn’t do anything to suffer like this, he has the right to live and...—“

“I know.” said her sister, interrupting her speech. “I know. And if somepony have to cure him, it’s me. He saved one of my subjects, I owe him. I always can give him a new body by turning him into a pony but…I don’t think he’d like that. I’ll do it if we don’t have any option left.”

The little sister made a little nod.

“I…see. Do you…do you also know about his accident, three years ago?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“An accident? How so?”

“You know, this mare or woman...whatever, when he was in the army…and what followed after, the rape…his rape.”

She nodded.

“Unfortunately, yes. I saw a part of it when I looked in his memories. Poor stallion.”

After that, they stayed silent for several minutes. Celestia closed her eyes and exhaled heavily.

“You really love him?” she asked, slowly opening her eyes.

Her little sister answered in a mere whisper but loudly enough to be heard.

“Yes.”

“Good. It’s not I don’t trust you, I only wanted to hear it from your mouth. I suppose he gave you the ‘I-can’t-love-you-because-I’m-dying’ talk, right?”

Again, the blue-winged Unicorn nodded.

“I see. Typical of him.” said Celestia, smirking, more to herself than to Lulu.

"You should go to bed, the bags under your eyes talk for you!"

Then, her horn glowed gold. The second after, Tia left the room, leaving her little sister alone. The Night Goddess decided to call it a day and teleported herself in her chambers for some sleep before raising the night, a few hours later.

A roar echoed through the fields. The sound was loud and slightly high-pitched.

189…

190…

191…

His hand, protect by a black glove, touched the gearbox and he shifted to the fifth gear. In response, the mechanical monster growled and picked up speed. Thirty seconds after, the car braked and stopped itself. Slowly, the driver’s door opened and the human stepped outside. His gray hair floated in the warm wind. His icy blue eyes looked around and saw nothing but only grass and trees.

Slowly, a smile grew on his face.

Finally, after a little more than a month, his plan was a success. He didn't had any difficulties to finish the repairs. Soon, he’ll be back on Earth, his home. All he needed was an energy source and it will be over. It shouldn’t be too complicated to found one that can give the 2.21 gigawatts necessary to activate the plasma energy tank and create the wormhole.  But slowly, his smile transformed into a frown. He would lie by saying that he had not enjoyed his stay in Equestria.

Those ponies were very kind and open-minded, more than his specie could dream of. He was saddened by the fact he maybe couldn't see them ever again. Slowly, he formed a bond with some of them: Big Mac, AJ, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and even Celestia. They were not just some random peoples, they were....his friends.

Another thought, completely different from this one, popped in his mind. If he wanted to represent the humans at the meeting with the griffons, he had to wear good clothes. And Ethan only knows one pony who can help him with that. He chuckled. Now that his car could be used, he didn't need anymore to walk between his camp and Ponyville or Canterlot.

Yeah, driving a car always has its perks.

The grey and blue Nissan slowed down and stopped a few meters from the Carousel Boutique. All the ponies who were around the shop looked at the vehicle strangely. It was not every day that you could see something like this. A glint of lust even appeared in a few mares’ eyes when they saw the driver opening the door and stepping outside. Ignoring them, Ethan closed his door, locked the car and walked to the door of the boutique.

He knocked three times.

"Be there in a moment!" said a voice, the sound of hoofsteps approaching.

A faint blue aura surrounded the door which opened wide, revealing the white unicorn. He could see the surprise in her eyes when she saw him.

"Oh, darling! It's been sometime since the last we had seen you. Applejack told us about your illness. How are you?"

"A little tired but I'm fine, and you?"

She smiled.

"The same for me, I had a lot of work those last weeks. What can I do....wait, come inside, it will be better to talk. I hope you like tea."

The human scratched the back of his head.

"Not much but I can make an effort."

"Such a gentlecolt you are." giggled the designer.

He smiled and winked.

"So, what can I do for you?"

Rarity walked to her kitchen. Ethan followed her and stopped at the frame of the door, his arms crossed and his look serious.

"I need your help. In six days, I have a meeting with the griffons and my currents clothes are not good enough. I'm the ambassador of the humans so, I have to be presentable."

Using her magic, she pulled out all the tools she needed to create the clothes. A wide smile grew on her lips.

“Follow me, I have so much ideas for you. We'll drink our tea later."

He had to play the statue for half an hour while Rarity took his measurements and draw some sketches. Hopefully, Ethan was someone very patient. Finally, the human and the pony talked for a few minutes, drinking their tea at the same time. She told him to come back the day before the meeting and his clothes will be ready at this moment. The young man thanked her and left the Boutique.

A powerful gust of wind passed through the streets, carrying some pieces of paper. One of them was stopped by his boot. Curious, he took it and looked at its contents.

“A singing contest? In two days?” he said aloud, stroking his chin. “Why not after all? It could be fun. All I have to do is to register one hour before it starts…sounds good to me.”