Between Two Worlds

by Pronche

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure, Human
Length: 38633

Speed of light...we all know that. But if someone reach this speed, instead of transforming his body into a mass of particles, he can, by accident, perform a long journey through a wormhole to another place and in this case...Equestria.

One of the best known theories (E= mc²) says that if a body, made of flesh or something else, exceeds the speed of light, it will turn into energy. But what scientists don't know is that instead of transforming the body into a mass of particles, it can perform long journeys through a instantaneous displacement portal (or wormhole). Ethan Gray try it and finds himself stuck very far from Earth, on a world full of colorful ponies. But getting back on his homeworld will not be easy, especially if he's running out of of time, thanks to an incurable disease that is slowly killing him.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-02 16:41:20 UTC

Chapter 2

Ethan stepped on the gas, pushing the engine at 8000 rpm, and passed the third gear. In response, the engine roared and the car climbed near 90 mph. Everything around him became blurry, colors were mixed together, the sensation of speed and adrenaline spread quickly in his body. He was familiar with those feelings. Street racing was his domain, his world, when he was young…younger than now. A small smile appeared on his face. He had fond memories of that time. But, like everything else, good things have an end.

With time, he learned to survive the hard way. No family, a few friends, nothing else. He called himself a lone wolf. The young man was nothing more than a cold being, logical and devoid of any feeling. Life has taught him that whatever the situation, nobody would be there for him. Ethan could only rely on his purpose, his objective, to stay alive.

But, seriously...a world with talking horses…or ponies, whatever. How stupid it sounded for him. What now? Dragons, magic or even unicorns? Ethan laughed. Whatever was here, he wasn't going to stay much longer than necessary. Not that someone waited for him to go back but...still, he preferred the Earth at this strange planet. He continued to drive for a few minutes when some orange dots appeared on the windshield of his car.

[Analyzing…. Unknown life forms detected. One big and seven little detected. ETOA: one minute]

The view before him zoomed and Ethan saw a pony with orange fur, blond mane and three apples on the flank. His/her opponent was a big creature which looked like a wolf but made of different pieces of wood. The orange pony tried to escape from her/his aggressor but had a hoof struck under a rock. Whatever was this thing, it didn’t look very friendly.

___________

Applejack tried, for the fifth time, to free her hoof but again, it didn’t work. She looked at the timberwolf, without any fear and ready to accept her fate. The wolf was about to bite her in the left side when something grey and red touched his shoulder and exploded. Thick smoke hid the farm pony from the monster. She heard the howl of pain of the creature but nothing else. She coughed and opened her eyes to see a black thing between her and the wolf of wood. The head of the armor turned itself to her.

Applejack thought she saw two eyes behind the red screen but wasn't sure. The grey gun, in his right arm, lowered at the level of her blocked hoof and fired. A white ball escaped from the tip of the weapon and destroyed the rock, leaving her hoof free and unharmed. Finally, the smoke disappeared.

Then, it spoke.

“If you understand me: go to your friends, close your eyes, count to thirty. Then, it will be over.”

She barely nodded, shocked to have been saved by a creature on two legs, and obeyed. He saw the horse ran toward a little group of other ponies. Slowly, Ethan looked again at the big wolf which recovered from the blow and gave him a death glare.

“Good. Let's have some fun.” he said, a faint smile on his lips.

[All systems are online and functional]

[Analyzing….Warning! Unknown creature! To have further information on this being, please fill your database. In this case, the use of the weapons at their maximal capacity is highly recommended]

[Plasma module: activated]

The timberwolf opened his mouth wide, showing his long and sharpened canines, and striked. Ethan raised his left arm, to protect himself from the blow. Seeing this, the creature bite right in the arm. The seconds passed and finally they heard the sound of wood cracking. The timberwolf fangs broke into several pieces. Again, the creature howled in pain. Quickly, the young man raised his pistol and pressed the trigger.

A red ball of energy and heat flew toward its target and finished its course on his chest, leaving a black hole, with marks and some sparks. The wolf grunted from the injury. He tried to hit the human with his paw but the latter dodged with a backflip.

[Warning! Unknown energy source detected around the target! This mysterious energy reduces all types of injuries on him. Only the attacks on the inside could destroy it]

“Oh, you want to play the tough one? I see. Well, a bit of challenge can’t be that bad.”

Without any hesitation, he jumped above the wolf and aimed at his back. The tip of his weapon opened itself in two and the end of a red projectile appeared.

[Missiles: activated]

The red “thing” launched itself and exploded where the cannon aimed. Ethan did this four times, one after another. Then, he gracefully landed on the ground. The wolf made of wood turned around and opened his muzzle, ready to eat or kill his prey. The pilot of the armor used this opportunity to finish the fight. In a matter of seconds, he launched five missiles, right in the mouth of the monster.

Some of the projectiles exploded in the chest and other in the trachea. Finally, the wolf fell on the floor, in tiny bits. Slowly, he lowered his weapon, a faint trail of white smoke escaped from it.

He smiled.

“Rest in pieces.”

Looking at the fallen monster, Ethan put the weapon against his right hips. The magnetic system prevented it to fall from its position. While this, he didn’t hear the sound of hoofsteps, approaching quickly.

“Did he… destroyed it?” asked a female voice, unsure.

Then, he looked up and saw the group of ponies, with many colors. Even one who have each color of the rainbow. The ponies on Earth never had those kind of coat, very strange indeed. Ethan spotted the orange pony, walked toward it and kneeled down, ignoring the glares of the others. She looked at his red visor with her emerald orbs. Her fear of him was obvious.

“Are you injured?” he asked, nicely.

She shook her head.

“Good. He’s gone now. There’s nothing to be afraid now….you're safe.”

Even if she was the brave type, AppleJack feared this red and black thing. True, he saved her life but…he could always hurt her or her friends. She didn't know he saw this in her eyes and smiled, even if he was the only one to know it.

“Do not fear me, I don’t want any harm to you or your friends. I come from somewhere else and I search someone.” repeated the young man, like he said to Big Mac.

The earth pony slowly nodded before asking, hesitantly.

“And who do ya search?”

“The sister of a red stallion that I met not long ago, named Big Macintosh, or something like that.”

Her eyes widened.

“It’s mah brother. Why did he send ya to me?”

“Well, I explained my situation to him and he said that you could maybe help me.”

“But how…—“

“If there's somepony who can help you, it's the Princesses.” interrupted another voice, coming from a lavender unicorn who walked toward them.

Ethan turned his head to origin of the voice. He moved his right hand to his gun, ready to use it.

“A unicorn!? No fucking way!”

Twilight tilted her head on the side, confused.

“Something’s wrong?”

“Yes, well not really…just that I’m not used to see a purple horse with a horn. In fact, unicorns and Pegasus are only fairytales in my world.” he said, nervously.

“Pony. We prefer the term pony than horse. And, where did you come from mister….”

“Gray. Major Ethan Gray. To answer your question, I come from a world called Earth.”

“I see. Are you the only creature who walk on two legs or...?"

"No, there's plenty of us. 9,5 billion, exactly."

She blinked, astonished by his answer. She had a lot of question to ask but it was not the moment to this.

"And what you specie is called?"

"Humans."

"Human", she repeated, before continuing. "Well, you introduced yourself so, it’s our turn to do the same. My name is Twilight Sparkle, protégé of Princess Celestia and librarian of Ponyville.”

“This is Applejack, the mare you saved from the claws of the timberwolf. She work at the Sweet Apple Acres with her brother, which you already met.”

The earth pony extended her right hoof and the human shake it.

“Thanks for savin' me. Ah' could give him a piece of mah mind but….Ah’m glad you kicked his butt."

"No problem, Miss. It was a pleasure to blow his ass."

Strangely, the orange pony blushed.

“Then, is Pinkie Pie. Our….”

Twilight was interrupted in her speech by a pink blur with blue eyes, three balloons on the flank and curly mane, bouncing up and down in front of the newcomer.

“Hi!I’mPinkiePie!InevermeetyoubeforeandIknoweveryponyintown.Youknowwhatthiscallfor?Aparty!Maybewe’llcouldbebestfriendforever!”

Then, she was stopped in her talk by a hoof in her mouth but continued to speak, even if it wasn’t understandable.

“Sorry. Pinkie can be a little too strange and random, even for us so, don’t care about it.”

“O…kay.” whispered Ethan, slowly nodding.

Another mare walked to him. She was the one with the rainbow mane. Her fur was bright cyan and had wings.

“So, you’re an…h-hu…man” she said, with difficulty to say the name of his specie. “I saw how fast you move. We can do a race to see which is the fastest. It could be so awesome! By the way, my name is Rainbow Dash.”

The pilot of the armor felt obligated to smile. Someone who share his love of speed and seemed very tomboyish, very interesting.

“I’m okay with this. Whenever you want.”

Then, a white unicorn with a beautiful purple mane and dark blue eyes presented herself.

“My name is Rarity. Darling, what is the purpose of those clothes? They are very awful and dirty. You should come at the Boutique to see what I can do for you. And like you saved AppleJack life, I make it free for you."

"Thanks Miss Rarity for the offer but I feel obliged to refuse. What I wear is not clothes but an armor. And I don't need it, I have all I need with me."

The white unicorn nodded.

Finally, a yellow pegasus with pink mane, light blue-green eyes and three butterflies in the flank approached him, shyly. She also was a Pegasus.

"H-hi, I-I'm Fluttershy, nice to meet you." she whispered, her mane covered half of her face and looking at the ground. Her voice was so low that he was the only one to hear it, thank to the hearing amplifier of the armor.

Very slowly, Ethan presented his right hand in front of her eyes. Understanding what he wanted, she quickly shook it and stepped back. At the same speed, he stood up. Seeing this, Fluttershy smiled. This 'human' really wanted her to be at ease around him, even if he had to do things in slow motion to not scare her. He was about to speak when a little purple reptile with green eyes and light green spikes on the back appeared in front of him.

“Hello, my name’s Spike.”

Surprised, Ethan jumped back and put a hand on his gun, ready to unsheathe it.

“What the heck are you?”

Spike raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a baby dragon, something’s wrong with it?”

The human calmed down and lowered his right arm.

“No….fuckin…..way. I’m think I become crazy.” he whispered, unsure of what to do. “Sorry, but I’m not accustomed to see someone like you everyday. So, what do we do now?”

“We have to go back to Ponyville to send a letter to Princess Celestia, only her know what we should do.” answered Twilight.

He nodded.

“Okay, where is Ponyville?”

Rainbow Dash pointed toward the east. From where they were, they only saw the outlines of the city.

“So far? And I suppose we have to walk?”

Twilight nodded.

“We can maybe use a teleportation spell but I don’t know what it could do on you.”

“Don’t worry. Go the city the way you want. I'll join you there.”

“Okay, see you later.”

In a matter of seconds, Twilight’s horn glowed and all the ponies vanished. Ethan smiled.

“Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a fast ride.”

Chapter 4

Dear Twilight,

Your last letter left me very curious and intrigued about our 'guest'. I would like you, your friends and him to go to Canterlot. I have to meet him and decide what to do before the rumors about his existence spread around Equestria and the others countries. The truth is that if the rulers of others nations were aware about his presence here, they'll want to see him and maybe, enlist him in their army.

Yours, Princess Celestia.

"So, all we have to do is go in a city, with a lot of ponies, to be judged by someone who doesn’t know anything about me....just perfect!"

"It’s not that bad. In the worst case, the Princess may want you to stay at the castle, for protect your life against any threat.”

Ethan looked at all the books that surrounded him and sighed.

“Yeah, and if she had to make a decision like this, I couldn’t have any grief against her. The security of her subjects is more important than anything else. If something that nobody had ever seen before landed in my country, I would have the same reaction.”

“How can you know something like that?” asked Twilight.

The black helmet moved in her direction.

“Well, I worked with people who were still in a monarchy. I saw them ponder about the good and bad of a law for days and nights before making their decision. Needless to say that some of their people were not very happy but…it’s the life.”

“Interesting, you have to tell me more about you. Rainbow, can you get our friends here? During this time, I’ll help Ethan to found what he need.”

The cyan mare nodded.

“Sure thing, I’ll be back soon.”

Finally, Rainbow Dash walked out of the library, leaving the human, the purple unicorn and the little dragon alone.

“So, what do you seek exactly?”

“A detailed map with all the cities of Equestria and a book containing all the creatures who lives here. If your map can also have the relief, like mountains, lakes, rivers and fields, that would be perfect.”

“You’re lucky because I have all of this here, so no need to go at Canterlot’s royal library.” She said before walking upstairs.

The little alone time was perfect for the young man. It gives him the occasion to observe more precisely his surroundings. He was in a room made of wood, full of books, in a tree house. Every wall was covered with multiple shelves, themselves filled with books. A single vase with a bouquet of flowers throned in the middle of the room, on a table, also covered with books.

He waited for a few minutes, observing his environment.

Twilight came back with the objects, floating behind her.

“It was not easy to found them but, here you go.”

Ethan nodded before saying.

“Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.”

“I-It’s no-nothing, really.” she replied, slightly blushing.

He saw the blush on her cheeks but ignored it. She was not used to compliments, that’s all. Then, he took the map and the book in his arms before deposing them on the table. First, he opened the book. He turned the pages rapidly, like one per second. In less than two minutes, the human closed it. A message appeared on his HUD.

[Database updated. New entries found in the creatures section. Lack of information about ‘magic’. An update of this section is highly recommended]

“Miss Sparkle? I’m sorry to bother you again but…do you also have something about your technology and a summary which explain your ‘magic’?”

She wore a big smile on her face, glad to help him in his quest of knowledge. She secretly hoped that, with her little help, she could learn more about his life. Even a detail. For sure, this human was very mysterious and it was making him more interesting.

"Of course."

Being alone for the second time, the young Gray deployed the map on the table. A faint beam of blue light scanned the map. In less than a minute, a new message makes its appearance on his screen.

[The map of the region has been downloaded and stocked in memory]

"Perfect....I'm sure that will be very useful in a near future." he whispered while giving at the map its original form.

Spike walked to him and asked:

"Do you want something to eat? Or a drink, maybe?"

"No but thanks for asking."

"Okay, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Finally, the purple unicorn was back with two new books. He repeated the operation. Now, the young man had everything he needed to survive by himself in this world.

“So, what do we do n…”

Ethan was unable to finish his sentence, a loud knock, coming from the entrance of the library, echoed in the room. Quickly, Spike trotted to the door and opened it. Rainbow Dash and the others walked inside. Applejack looked at the human but promptly avoided his red screen, a small blush on her cheeks. He saw everything but said nothing and, instead, sighed.

“You explained them the situation, RD?” asked Twilight.

The cyan mare merely nodded.

“Good. We can go now. Spike, stay here, we’ll not be too long.”

“Okay Twilight, have a good trip.”

“Wait. How are we going to Canterlot?”

“We’re taking the train, darling. Why?”

The human looked at the white unicorn.

“I see but…how much time will it take?”

“No more than two hours. May I ask why?”

From behind his helmet, he grinned.

“I have a better way to go there. And we can race at the same time, Miss Dash.” he said, walking outside and looking over his shoulder to see the group following him.

“Awesome! And what is it?”

He stopped in his tracks and made a wide gesture with his arm.

“My car. There enough place for all of us.”

“I’m in! Let’s do this!”

Strangely, the orange earth pony stayed silent. He shrugged.

“Yeah, and after that, we’ll make a welcome party for you!” yelled Pinkie Pie, bouncing around the vehicle.

“No.”

The tone was firm and dry. Hearing this, the pink pony stopped moving and looked at him, surprised and with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“You don’t like parties?”

“When I was young, yes but…not anymore.”

He didn’t wait for a response and opened the passenger door. All the ponies jumped inside and he closed it. Finally, he opened his door and sat in his seat. Ethan pushed the black button which gave life to the Skyline. He lowered his window.

“Can you give me the direction of Canterlot?”

She pointed before them, at northeast.

“Perfect. Is everypony ready?”

“Ya sure that it’s not dangerous?” asked AppleJack.

“I drive for what….twelve years? And I don’t ever have a single accident. I know what I do.”

He looked again at the mare with the rainbow mane.

"Ready?"

"You bet I am!"

"Alright, let's go!"

"See you at Canterlot, after my victory."

He smiled.

"Don't be so sure of yourself." said the human before closing his window.

He pressed the clutch and the first gear before releasing the pedal. He searched for a few moments the song he wanted to hear before it appeared on the LCD screen. He pushed the play button and closed the door. A sentence made its appearance on his screen.

[Song selected: Pacific Coast Highway (Jackson Remix) by Kavinsky]

He raised his left arm and counted to three with his fingers. When his third finger rose, he suddenly stepped on the gas and both competitors were gone. The human pushed the engine at 8000 rpm before passing the second gear. Rainbow was before him, very close to the car but began to get ahead of him.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

His feet pressed the accelerator at its limit. In response, the mechanical monster growled and picked up speed. Quickly, the sensation of speed and adrenaline spread in his body. His eyes meet the panel and he saw that he was near 73 mph. In a fluid and expert motion, he passed the third gear. The pegasus was still ahead of him but the distance between them was gradually reduced. Finally, the two racers were side by side.

Seeing this, the cyan mare speeded up. The air around her became more and more compressed, taking the form of an arrow, it was something that preceded her preferred technique: the Sonic Rainboom. Absolutely not impressed by this, Ethan continued to drive. After a few minutes, they were still side by side. The last notes die down before being replaced by another song. He turned the speaker volume at their maximum power. The whole car trembled because of the 2000W subwoofer.

The pilot of the armor shifted to the sixth gear. He looked at his milestone and saw he was at 186 miles.

“I have 64 mph left, perfect.” He whispered, before looking at his passengers. Rarity, Twilight, AppleJack and Fluttershy faces were green, only Pinkie Pie enjoyed the race. “Are you okay?”

“I think so, but please, end it before we throw up.” responded the purple unicorn.

“Don’t worry, one last sprint and its over.”

Rainbow accelered, leaving a few meters between her and the Skyline.

“I see…so let me play to you the song of my people.”

Ethan shifted back to the fifth gear. The Nissan Skyline growled more loudly than before. The pointer climbed to 9700 rpm before he shifted again to the sixth gear. His index pushed a red button.

[Nitromethane tank: ON]

Then, he put his two hands on the steering wheel. With both of his index, he pushed two little buttons. The response was immediate. The acceleration was sudden and unexpected. His whole body was pressed against his seat. His digital counted showed 243 mph and 8300 rpm.

“Come on….you can do it, for Daddy.”

The element of Loyalty looked behind her and saw the car which quickly caught up with her.

“…Impossible.”

246, 247, 248.

“A little more and it’s done.”

249, 250 mph.

“Yes! I did it!” yelled Ethan, apparent joy in his voice.

The second after, a beautiful and large rainbow ring exploded around Rainbow Dash, leaving her competitor behind. All emotions on his face vanished whe he saw this.

".....the fuck? Did she....just broke the sound barrier? What the hell.....How do you want me to win against....that? Seriously."

Ethan saw he was going to enter the city and quickly slowed his speed. Even at 25 mph, the ponies jumped on the side, afraid and not wanting to finish under his wheels.

Finally, after a few minutes, they arrived in front of the castle, where the cyan Pegasus was wainting for them.

"So? Who's the boss?" she asked, when the human walked outside.

"I admit my defeat, you are."

A smirk, full of pride, grew on her lips.

"Yes, I know I am but you are not bad yourself. Not everypony is able to reach your speed."

"I know. It's the purpose of...—"

“You! Freeze and put your hooves up!” said one of the two guard which walked to the human with a spear.

Only one word left his mouth while he obeyed and slowly raised his hands in the air: “Shit.”

Chapter 5

“Wait! He’s with us!” yelled Twilight, stepping outside of the car, followed by the others.

“Are you sure of that, Miss?”

The purple unicorn nodded before grabbing the letter with her magic and shows it to the guard. Said guard who wore the official uniform: a golden armor with a helmet with the same color. He was a white pegasus with light blue eyes.

He read the letter for a few seconds before looking again at the group.

“It’s okay. You can go inside. The princess should be in the throne room.”

Twilight and her friends passed before Ethan who stayed silent. He followed them very closely, observing his surroundings. The floor was made of stone, covered with white tiles. A red carpet was in the middle of the hallway. At his left were windows, some had large drawing, representing two unicorns with wings. After a few minutes, they stopped in front of two doors, painted in gold. A duo of earth pony, one at each side of the door, watched them coming but said nothing. The pony on the left side on the door opened it and said:

“Princess Celestia is waiting for you.”

They all nodded and stepped inside. A winged unicorn with pure white coat and a colorful mane, almost ethereal was sitting on a large throne, opposite Twilight and her friends. Without a word, they all walked to her and stopped in front of the throne, before bowing, except Ethan.

“At ease, my little ponies. I’m glad to see you came quickly.”

She stopped for a few seconds before clearing her throat and looked at the human.

“I suppose that you are our ‘guest’. Let me present myself, I am Princess Celestia, Goddess of the Sun and co-ruler of Equestria. And you are?”

“Major Ethan Alexandre Gray. Ex-soldier and writer.” He replied.

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting. So, can you explain how you ended here and what do you want?”

The young Gray sighed.

“It’s not that simple….I was doing an experiment. Back in my world, there is a physical law which said that if a body, made of flesh or something else, exceeds 300 000 kilometers per seconds (the speed of light), it will turn itself into light. Our scientists have found a way to reach and exceed this speed. They condensed a plasma reactor and used it to do it. My car was the carriage and me the pilot. Needless to say that it didn’t go as expected. According to my assumptions, I think that instead of driving at the light of speed, I created a portal which instantly transported me here. Unfortunately, I only had enough energy to do the trip in one way.”

"I suppose that you want our help to go back. Am I right?"

"Yes and no, for the moment I only need time to think about a way to return at home."

A small and strange smile makes its appearance on the ruler face.

"I'm very curious about your specie and your world. Can I, at least, see the pony behind the armor..."

Slowly, Ethan raised his left arm and touched his helmet. In less than a blink of the eye, everypony could see his true face. They all gasped except Celestia. His light grey hair floated in his back and his icy blue eyes met those of the Alicorn. She smirked and narrowed her eyes.

"That's what I thought. I didn't believe that the humans and their destructive nature would also try to come here and corrupt my subjects. Guards, get him!"

"Princess...wait!"

Suddenly, a group of pegasus, unicorns and earth pony entered in room. The young Gray cursed between his teeth. In a swift motion, he grabbed the gun at his right hips with his hand. The helmet reappeared.

[All systems are online and functional]

[Ice module: activated]

[Tranquilizer darts: activated]

"I'm sorry Twilight but they don't leave me much choice."

Then, two rectangular weapons emerged from his shoulders and aimed at the soldiers. Silently, the projectiles left the weapons and ten guards fell on the floor, asleep. The others didn't step back, on the contrary, they sprinted toward their target. Seeing this, Ethan sighed.

He aimed his cannon and pulled the trigger. White balls left the tip of the weapon and hit their hooves, freezing them on the ground. The bearers of the elements of harmony tried to reason the Sun goddess but in vain. After a few seconds of intense fighting, the human was the only one still standing. Quickly, he turned back and pointed his gun at Celestia.

"You are more powerful and dangerous than I give you credit for."

"I only am when I feel threatened.”

"Try that to somepony else."

A growl escaped from Ethan's lips.

"Why? Why are you so hostile against the humans? We didn't do anything wrong against you or your subjects."

"True. But I have eyes and ears everywhere. I see your world, what your specie is capable and I just want to protect my ponies from you. But we'll talk about that later."

Then, her horn began to glow gold and before he could move just one finger, his world went black.

A deep groan escaped his throat when he regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, his face was against the floor, protected by the helmet. His arms and legs were numb from the position in which he was. On the stomach, with one arm under him and the other on his back. Suddenly, he rolled on the side and jumped on his feet. The human was in a room made of black stone with a single barred window. Some rays of light entered, slightly illuminating the room. At the other side was a wooden door.

Ethan walked toward it and pushed it. It didn’t move. Then, he tried to find the handle of the door but nothing.

“Fucking great. I’m struck here because of a crazy Alicorn. How could it be worse?”

He thought for a long moment before he facepalmed.

“How could I be so stupid to not use the missiles to get out of here?” he whispered before steeping back from the wooden door.

He aimed at it and pulled the trigger but nothing left the tip of the cannon.

“….the fuck?”

A series of sentences appeared on his screen.

[Thruster: Offline]

[Tranquilizer dart: Offline]

[Assimilation Module: Offline]

[Shield: Offline]

[Missiles: Offline]

[Ice Module: Offline]

[Plasma Module: Offline]

[Electric Module: Offline]

[All survival systems are online and functional]

“No….you joke?” he thought aloud, looking at the dark grey weapon.

He sighed and lowered his arm.

Looking at his left, Ethan spotted a bed, made of hay and on the ground. Knowing that he couldn’t do anything but wait for the ruler or someone else to come see him, he lay down on it and closed his eyes. Two hours later, the sound of the door opening awoke him. He jumped on his feet and looked at the newcomer. It was Celestia. But the look on her face was completely different. He saw sadness and guilty in her violet eyes. She also had bags under it.

“What do you want….Princess?”

The way he said those words was cold and void of any emotion. She shivered.

“My assumptions about you were false. My student and her friends told me the whole story and…I only could feel sorry for the way I treated you. You are now free. To apologize, ask me anything you want and I’ll do it.”

“How….how could you change your mind so quickly? A few hours ago, you tried to kill me and now…”

“It’s been two days since our first encounter. And to answer your question, I read your mind and saw your past life. I'm sorry for doing it but I had to be certain that you were not a danger.”

His eyes widened.

“You….you” At this moment, he sighed before continuing “Listen, I am angry at you because of the way you reacted but I understand why. I’m dangerous, I don’t deny this fact.” He said, sadly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you think so bad of yourself? I saw the wickedness and bribery of your people and you’re not like them, quite the contrary."

“I don’t care about what you think of me. Anyway, I have one more question. What did you do to my weapons?”

“I know the full extent of your pistol and limited its powers. I trust you when you said that you only want to go back on Earth but I’ll sleep easier if I know that you can’t harm my subjects. Don't worry, I put a spell on you. You can contact me to reactivate your weapons when you'll need it. And when I say 'need', it's only if you are in danger, or somepony else.”

“Yeah but how I defend myself if I’m attacked?”

“Don’t play at this with me…you are completely able to protect yourself without your armor.”

He shrugged.

“Okay. I need two things. The tranquilizer darts and the thrusters.”

“Accorded.”

Her horn glowed gold for a second before regaining her normal color.

[Thruster: Online]

[Tranquilizer dart: Online]

“Now, we can go.”

The human and the Alicorn stepped out of the room and began to walk upstairs. Then, they entered in a corridor leading to the main hallway. When they were there, they took left. Finally, the duo arrived at the front door. With her magic, Celestia opened it. Ethan gasped when he was what was in front of him.

"My car! You destroyed my car!" he yelled.

His Nissan Skyline was a wreck. The roof of the car was dented. All the windows were broken and one of his tires was crooked in a strange way.

"It was polluting the environment, I had to do it."

"Pardon? It worked with solar energy, not fuel! Oh my poor Skyline. Daddy will fix you, I promise." he said, caressing one of the wheels before stood up and pointed a finger at the sun goddess.

"The fact that you want to imprison me is one thing, suppress my powers is another but...destroying my car and reading my memories is something that I don't like at all. I had everything I needed to survive inside of it and you exploded it. One week of food that I can burn. My Skyline was the only way I know to return on Earth and you smashed it like it was a toy! Perfect...just fucking perfect!!!"

The look in her eyes saddened even more. She fought back the need to cry and let her tears flow freely.

"I apologize. If I knew I..."

"It's too late. I don't want to hear it, not now, not ever."

He paused for a few seconds, sighing slowly, before talking again.

"Teleport me and my car at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Tell Twilight and her friends that I thank them for their help. And spread the word that if I see anypony who approach too close from me or my vehicle...I'll feel obligated to get rid of them."

"You wouldn't..."

"I could do it if I feel threatened. One last thing, I don't ever want to see you or anything related to royalty. Am I clear?”

Celestia sighed. She knew she was wrong and only wanted to put this mistake behind them.

"Yes. But there is a chance that our kinds will befriends?"

"After all of that? I wouldn't bet a single dollar on it, especially if you continue to judge a book by its cover."

"....I understand. Have a good trip and stay safe." she said, her horn glowing.

"Yeah, whatever." he replied before disappearing from her sight.

When he reappeared, Ethan saw that he was a few meters away from the dark forest and sighed. From where he was, he could see Apple Sweet Acres and the cottage he admired before the race. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. It was going to be very long before he could return at home.

Chapter 6

“Synthesizer: Ok. Guitar: Ok. Food….good, fortunately. Weapons: Ok. Weed: intact, same for the beers. Laptop: no damages.”

[Damages identified:

Left front wheel distorted.

Oil leak under the engine.

Leak of coolant.

Dents at the level of the exhaust pipe.

Dysfunction of the electronic equipment.

Estimated time of repair: one to two months.]

A loud and heavy sigh escaped from his lips.

“It could have been worse.”

Then, he turned his head towards the Everfree Forest. The forest was thick, the leaves of trees prevented the sunlight to illuminate the area. His instinct screamed that this was a dangerous place.... and his instinct rarely deceived him. Plus, this forest was the home of the timberwolves. One more reason to be cautious.

He growled. If he was disturbed by these monsters then, the repairs will take more time. But, it was better than having these ponies behind his tail, asking questions he doesn’t want to answer. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a few second to make disappear his armor. He pulling out a jack from the trunk of the car and used it to lift its left side.

The young Gray took a box with him and opened it when he lay under the car. Inside of it were all the tools he needed to repair the Skyline. The leaks of oil and coolant were more serious than he thought. There was a crack along the oil supply towards the engine and a hole in the coolant supply. Even some bolts for the plate which was used as engine mount were weakened.

Again, he sighed.

“Why did I sign up for this experiment, seriously? I could have finished my sixth book or make a song but no…instead of this, I accepted to be a subject for those scientists and I ended sent in another world. When Cyril will hear this story…oh boy, I want to be there to see the look on his face.”

“You already know how he’s going to react!” said a voice.

He looked at his left and saw a human, black skin, measuring 6 feet and covered with a black/dark blue armor which resembled that of Ethan but without the cannon.

“Shut up Ian, I don’t need your opinion….fucking tulpa.” he whispered.

“My, my. I never taught you to talk like that young man. It’s Cyril’s fault, again…but I’ll be nearby if you want to talk.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

In one second, the human disappeared. One second, he is here then, poof, nothing.

Ian was his former superior in the army and an old friend. Ian taught him everything he needed to survive in conditions like this. The person who talked to him was just an illusion of his mind, a simple shade of the real Ian, created by his mind to keep him company.

Then, he began to work. First the bolts needed to be reinforced or replaced in the worst cases. He used another jack to support the weight of the engine the time he replaces the defectives parts. This only operation took him not less than two hours. Many drops of sweat ran down his face. His cheeks took a red hue due to the temperature, the position in which he was and the efforts made for the work. His white shirt, sweaty, was sticking against his torso. His throat was dry and his breathing somewhat labored. The tips of his feet were numb, by dint of not moving.

The sound of footstep reached his ears and immediately, the human stopped working. In less than five seconds, he rolled on his right side and jumped on his feet.

Coming from the Everfree Forest and walking towards him, were three timberwolves. Seeing that their prey was aware of their presence, the leader growled dangerously. Ready to fight for his life, Ethan took a defensive stance.

His left foot was behind the right and his hands clenched into a fist. The right hand was positioned in front and close to his face unlike the left. He cast a glance towards the glove box where his Glock 17 was and sighed before looking again at his opponents. His armor was no use in a fight like this one. He highly doubted that the tranquilizer darts had any effect on the creatures made of wood.

The young Gray was about to dash to them but began to violently cough. He put an opened hand against his mouth and the other hand on his chest, where his heart was. A deep pain emerged from his torso and paralyzed the movements in his ribs, preventing him from breathing properly. He stayed in this position for a few seconds before his body allows him to move correctly. It’s was another of his crisis. This one was rather small compared to others, more violent and painful. But, because it was a little crisis, that did not stop the feeling of pain in his upper body, especially in his lungs.

“Stupid disease….why can’t you leave me in peace the last six months of my life and come back the last day?”

Ethan sighed before taking again his defensive stance.

“Come Get Some!”

__________________

Twilight was on her favorite chair, on the library, reading a book about advanced magic. She paused for a few seconds to relax her tired eyes. A sigh escaped from her lips. It had been a week since Ethan’s arrival in Equestria. Things had not changed much but there were a lot of rumors about him. Celestia formalized his presence by an official statement. The only things she said are that he was tall, walked on two legs and was harmless but wanted to stay away from the cities to not create panic among the populace.

Then, nopony had any news from him. Twilight sent a letter to her teacher to know where he actually was. The latter replied, saying that their guest was near the Everfree Forest, repairing his car. And she received the answer yesterday.

A knot formed in her stomach when she thought about him, alone, confronting the dangers of the dark forest. She knew that he was perfectly capable to protect himself, especially after his fight with the giant timberwolf but still…something was wrong.

Finally, she decided to go after him when somepony knocked on the door. The purple unicorn walked toward the wooden door and opened it. In front of her was Vinyl Scratch, the DJ of Ponyville.

“Hello Twilight.”

“Hello Vinyl, what are you doing here?”

The unicorn with blue electric mane and violet goggles smiled awkwardly.

“W-well, I want to know if you knew where…what his name again? Yeah…where Ethan is?” she said before continuing “Because I wanted to show him my DJ equipment and talk music with him.”

“Actually, he is at Everfree Forest. I was about go see him but, you can come.”

An idea popped from her mind when she closed the door of the library, not before telling Spike about her absence. She could see Pinkie, before looking for Ethan, to make him a welcome party. It was a good idea…better, it was a genius idea. They could do it at the library. And if he wanted to know why he had to go in town, she could pretext that she want him to answer some questions and make experiments.

“Follow me Vinyl, we have something to do before looking for him.”

Then, the duo walked toward a building that looked like a gingerbread house and stepped inside. The pink Earth pony stood at the counter, waiting for new customers. She saw the arrival of her friend and waved a hoof.

“Hi Twilight!”

“Hi Pinkie.” responded the unicorn.

“So, what do you need?”

“A party for Ethan, at my house. It is possible?”

A big smile appeared on her face.

“YAY! PARTY! Of course Twilight, give me one hour to give the invitations and put everything in place.”

The purple mare smiled.

“It’s perfect. See you later Pinkie!”

Then, the two mares walked outside. A cool breeze passed through the streets of the city. The sun was low in the orange sky. The shadows stretched, gradually replacing the light. A few stars appeared in the sky, shining like a small light. Without a sound, they took the road which lead to the dark forest. They admired the landscape for a good twenty minutes when suddenly, the DJ broke the silence.

“So, how is he?”

Twilight turned her head toward her.

“How so?”

“I mean, Ethan. How is he?”

“Physically or mentally?”

Vinyl shrugged.

“Both.”

The librarian hesitated for a few moments before answering.

“Physically, he is tall –you already saw this-, long gray mane, icy blue eyes, a little nose, rounded ears” she listed, before continuing, “he is very polite and formal, clever, respectful, very cautious and brave. But also lonely.”

“Why?” asked the musician, raising an eyebrow.

“It was his decision to stay away from us. When you saw him last time, you only saw his armor. There’s somepony inside of it. He knows how powerful and dangerous he is and didn’t want to hurt anypony.”

“I…see.”

Finally, they reached their destination. Not very far from them, was the Skyline, with something under it. Twilight supposed it was Ethan. The duo also heard a song, echoing through the field. The more the two mares approached the vehicle, the more the song was loud. They also heard a voice, his voice.

So here it is (So here it is)

The planets cry

We'll rip the stellar sky

Make way when worlds collide

I know your heart but still will reconcile your mecha love

You hold your thoughts so tall

You think you've got it all

You won't break the armor

I will never surrender

Take a walk

So this is the last stand

So this is your last chance

So this is your last

Finally, the bearer of the Element of Magic and the DJ reached their destination. They sat and patiently waited the end of the song, which came one minute later.

“Hmmmm, Ethan?”

Hearing his name, the young Gray raised his head hastily and knocked it against the coolant tank. He yelped in pain.

“Ow shit! That’s hurt!” he yelled, putting his head between his two hands.

“I’m so sorry Ethan, I didn’t want to surprise you! I apologize.” said Twilight quickly and panicked.

“It’s….nothing. I've had worse. Who is the bastard that decided to put the coolant here, seriously?”

Then, he rolled on the side and sat on the ground, always with a hand on his head. A grunt escaped from his lips. When the purple unicorn saw his state of his clothes, she gasped. His white t-shirt was covered in grass, dirt, sweat and also….blood? She looked at his left arm and saw a white-red bandage in the middle of his forearm.

“Ethan…what happened?”

“Oh….you means this?” he said, pointing at his torso. “Just a lot of work on the car under the warm sun, a few fights with some timberwolves, rolling on the grass to dodge their bites…nothing really important.”

“B-b-but the blood…where it comes from?”

“It’s mine. One of them had the luck to bite me right in the arm. I was over-confident and I paid the price. That’s all. So, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted you to come with at the library and answer some questions….”

“…And, if it was okay with you to see my DJ stuff and talk music.” added Vinyl.

Reluctance could clearly be seen on his face.

“I-I don’t know if it’s a good idea. The library is in the middle of Ponyville and…—“

“Don’t worry, nopony will see you. It will be night-time when we'll arrive.”

“Okay, if you say so.” he said, sighing.

Ethan put all of his tools in the car and closed it before following the duo.

Chapter 7

“So, what type of music do you like?” asked the DJ, curious.

Ethan turned his head toward her.

“Well, I love Electro, Rock, Metal, Trance, Pop, Dubstep and…I think that’s all.”

“Interesting.”

Now, it was Twilight’s turn to ask questions.

“Do you like read books?”

“Yup.”

“Which kind?”

“Heroic-Fantasy, Post-Apocalypse, Sci-Fi, Slice of life too and Romance but not too much.”

“Wow, I never knew that you liked books that much.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on his thin lips.

“In fact, I love read but I also write books.”

“You do?” she asked, surprised and interested.

“Of course. Mainly Sci-Fi. I tried Adventure and Heroic Fantasy but…It’s not that good.”

“And…could I read one of them, if you want.”

“Why not. I have a copy in the Skyline. I could give it to you the next time you want to see me or when we’ll come back at the camp.”

“I’d love that.”

Then, Ethan looked around him. Twilight was right, the sun was at the edge of the horizon, plunging the world into a beautiful twilight, for the next couple of minutes. He smiled at that. He always loved the moment between the day and night. For him, it was one of the best things in the world. He couldn’t explain it but he really loved it.

The trio continued to walk in silence for a few moments, only the sound of the wind, hoofsteps and footsteps broke the lack of noise. He sighed. This world was a treasure. The Earth was too, but in a different way. The grass and the trees were replaced by buildings and skyscrapers. The sky was covered with space ships of various sizes, travelling between the cities of metal. In a way, the technology also has the utility to make beautiful things. Between the two, the human preferred Equestria even if the Earth was his home.

He knew that this planet was as dangerous as his homeworld. His fight with the timberwolves was the proof of it. Looking at his left arm, he slightly smiled. The injury was not really bad, just painful. The only thing that worried him was the risk of infection. Fortunaly, he had everything to treat this kind of wound but still…

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the clearing of a throat. It was coming from Vinyl.

“Something’s wrong Ms Scratch?”

Even with the lack of light, he could see the blush on her cheeks. Geez, with everyone blush when he try to be polite and don’t call them by their name? He pushed that thought aside.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.” he replied. “I'm all ears.”

“The last time, I heard the music coming from your ‘car’ and I wanted to know if you also make music or only listen it.”

“If you really want to know, I’m full of surprise. Yes, I make music. I had fifteen years old when I tried to create my first song and since this I love doing it. Don’t worry I’m not a Mary Sue-like. I have my flaws, like everyone.”

“And how old are you?” interrupted Twilight before correcting her phrase. “I mean, if you’re okay with telling us.”

The man with blue eyes shrugged.

“Actually, I’m twenty-seven. Not too old, not too young. The perfect age.” He replied, laughing.

They passed before the mysterious cottage. Seeing this, Ethan couldn’t help but wondered who was the owner of the house. He decided to ask Twilight.

“Miss Sparkle, who live in this house?”

Her eyes looked where his right index was pointed and smiled.

“It belongs to our friend Fluttershy. She takes care of injured animals. This place is perfect for them. Between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, so they can't be afraid to be too close to us."

“I see.”

Finally, the words were replaced by the silence, again. It was one of Ethan's flaws or, advantages depending from the point of view: His lack of talk. Like Big Mac, he was not the guy who open his mouth to say something useless or silly but only the right words. After a good thirty minutes walk, the little group arrived in front of the library. The lights were turned off. Looking around, the human saw that all the streets were empty and a lot of houses void of any inhabitant. Strange.

Then, Twilight opened the door.

"Spike, we're back!" she yelled, loudly enough to be hear in the whole tree-house.

It was the signal, the beginning of Ethan's doom.

All the light in the library were instantly turned on, revealing a big group of ponies, all yelling "SURPRISE" at the same time. Balloons, food, drinks and confetti were everywhere. A banner with write "Welcome to Ponyville" was suspended by two ties in the walls.

"I half lied." admitted the purple mare "I really wanted to question you but also make this to thank you for what you did for Applejack."

He stayed silent, looking at everything that was in front of him with a mask of detachment. Then, the last thing they expected happened. He cried, but in silence. The whole group saw the tears falling from his eyes and his reddened cheeks before he turned around and walked back to his car. Twilight followed him, clearly wanting to know why he was in this state.

"Ethan...please, wait!"

"No." he yelled back, "Leave me alone."

He began to trot and finally, he sprinted. He sprinted like he never did before, leaving a dumbfounded unicorn behind him. Seeing that she couldn't change his mind, she stopped her course. There was nothing else that she could do, and she knew it perfectly. So, Twilight did the only thing to do in a case like this. Explain the situation to her mentor and ask for some advice. Only her knew why the human was acting like this.

She goes back to her house where everypony was waiting for her or their guest. When she stepped inside, she saw the sad look on their face, especially Pinkie Pie. She felt sorry for the pink Earth pony. This party was one of her best and it was stopped because of him. A unique question popped on her mind: Why?

"So?" asked Rainbow.

Twilight meet her rose eyes and sighed.

"I couldn't convince him to go back. I don't why he acted like this. I'm going to send a letter to Princess Celestia."

"Maybe he don't like my parties?"

"I don't think so Pinkie, it could be connected with something else."

Then, the bearer of the element of Magic looked at the DJ.

"I'm sorry Vinyl but it seems that your 'talk' is cancelled."

"Don't worry, I'll have all the time for that. See you later.”

"Ah could go see him and ask him why he fled. Ah can have a better chance than ya."

"No. Actually, he doesn’t trust any of us. He only rely on himself. He won't open himself to you, even if he saved your life."

While she said this, the others guests left the room, only leaving the Mane six and Spike inside. The purple unicorn took a quill and a parchment with her magic and began to write her letter. Forty seconds later, the letter was sent.

"Now, all we have to do is wait for a reply, which shouldn't come before..."

A brown paper, folded in a roll, with a red seal, popped in the air, coming from Spike's stomach. It floated in front of the sender who opened it with her magic.

Dear Twilight,

I understand your distress for Ethan.

But do not worry, I'm going to take care of the situation and reason him.

For the moment, stay calm and don't try to talk to him. His reaction could cause harm to him and you. The same rule applies to your friends.

I'll send you what transpired tomorrow.

Yours, Princess Celestia.

She'd read the letter aloud, so that everypony could hear.

"The princess is right. We can't do anything for him... I have to feed Angel so goodnight."

"Goodnight girls."

The others bearers of the element of Harmony stepped outside of the house. Twilight and Spike were now alone. Too exhausted by the recent events, she walked upside and fell on her bed. The little dragon did the same after turning off the light.

His breathing was fast and short. He had a burden sensation in his legs and a pain in his ribs. Ten minutes have passed since the trap. How could he be so stupid? The proofs were here, in front of him but he didn't saw them. If Twilight really wanted to ask some questions, she would do it before...but not a week after his arrival. Memories of his past flashed before his eyes.

"You can't forever hide from it!" said the false Ian.

He ignored the illusion.

"For one time, in your life, stop running and face your fears!"

"Can you, for once, shut the hell up and let me live my life the way I want?"

Ethan stopped his course. He was in front if his Skyline. He looked back at his false mentor.

"It was not their fault. They don't know. You didn't have to run from their party."

"You don't know how painful it is! When I saw all of them, it reminded the army, the birthdays with the team."

A small smile appeared on the tulpa's face.

"I'm a part of you Ethan. I know what you went through. But still...it’s not because that you're dying that you have to say fuck to everyone and stay in your grotto, like an old teenager no-life."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that but..."

He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, another voice interrupted him.

"Who are thou to hurt the feelings of our subjects?" said a powerful and deep voice.

Looking around him, and precisely toward the origin of the voice, the human raised his eyes to the sky and saw a strange creature, as tall as Celestia, coming to him. He deduced that it was a pony but had wings and a horn. Another Alicorn. Great. The winged unicorn landed not very far from him.

Tall, long horn, dark blue coat, the same for the ethereal mane and tail with some glitter in it and most gorgeous teal eyes he ever see.

"What the heck is that?" he whispered, cautious.

"If I knew, I'll tell you."

The young Gray looked at his left, where the fake-mentor was.

"Shut up."

"By your acts, thou hurt our subjects’ feelings. And for this, thou have to die."

"Oh really? Ok! Time's up, let's do this."

He closed his eyes for a second, feeling the rush of energy from the apparition of the armor on his body. When he opened his icy blue eyes, the black and red helmet covered his head.

[All systems are online and functional]

[Creature detected: known as Nightmare Moon, this being was banished on the moon for a millennia. The levels of magic coming from this corrupted mare are very high, more than those of her half-light, Princess Luna. Her powers can compete with those of her sister, the Princess of the Sun. With your actual arsenal, the escape is highly recommended. A fight with her can leave your armor permanently useless.]

"Shit. I think I need a little help for this one." he thought, before closing his eyes. "Celestia, can you hear me?"

Nothing. Not a sound… absolutely nothing. He cursed. How could he speak to her if her spell didn't work and hell...she didn’t explained how he can contact her. That was bad. He had lived worse than this but the luck was clearly not on his side. An idea came in his mind. A dangerous, life-threatening idea but he was running out of options. The young Gray used the thrusters of his armor to give him the necessary speed to punch her right in the nose. For anyone 'normal', the whole attack was a blur but not for the dark mare. But she was surprised by the sudden movement especially as he didn't gave any sign that he was about to strike. Being the powerful pony that she is, Nightmare Moon stepped aside to dodge the punch.

Quickly, he tried to kick her in the head but only met the wind. Teleportation spell, oh boy, he hated that. She responded with an offensive spell of her own, launching a dark blue fire ball on him. Ethan avoided it and attacked again but failed because of her teleport spell.

"Thou are a great opponent. Even without thy weapons, thou still remain dangerous for those who threaten thy life."

"Wait...how could she know about..."

She laughed, taking another appearance, less tall but still amazing.

"Our prank worked very well, thou didn't suspect anything since the beginning!"

His armor disappeared, leaving him almost harmless.

"Who are you?"

"We are sorry to not present ourselves first, we are Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and Princess Of The Night. Don't need to present thyself, we've heard a lot about thou."

A sigh escaped from his lips and he closed his icy blue eyes for a second.

"Why are you here?"

"She wanted to meet you in person and have a little fun. Lulu always was a good prankster."

"You." he said coldly, turning the upper part of his body toward the voice, only to meet the violet eyes of the Goddess of the Sun. "It seems that I said the things clearly last time or do you need a reminder?"

"Of course not. But the events of this evening left me obliged to intervene."

"I know."

She wanted to change his mind but the harsh words don't work on him. So, she tried by changing the subject of talking.

"How much time do you have before…you know?"

Again, he sighed.

"In the best case, six months. In the worse, any second from now."

"And there's no vaccine?"

"Nope. But I thought that you saw my past?"

"It's true but not all the details."

"I see."

A heavy silence took place between them, for a few seconds before Celestia broke it.

"You have to apologize."

"I don't care."

Her horn glowed for a second and regained her original color.

"You don't have the choice."

That voice. The human narrowed his eyes.

"How can you use Ian's voice against...—"

"That's an order. Any objection, young man?"

A small tear, like a diamond, fell on his right cheek. He  made a 'thumbs down' sign and smiled sadly.

"Of course not, sir."

Her horn glowed gold again.

"Good. I want you in the park of Ponyville tomorrow, at noon, for your speech. Am I clear?"

He nodded.

"Wait! Why the spell didn't work when I tried to talk to you?"

"It worked but I’ve chosen to stay silent, to not blow up her prank."

The second after, in a flash of light, the two sisters were gone. For the third time in less than ten minutes, Ethan sighed.

"Dude, what I go myself into?"

"I don't know but it seems complicated."

"Oh, go fuck yourself Ian. I don't need you right now."

"Okay! See you later!"

Chapter 8

This morning, the awakening was rather difficult for Ethan. Comfortably installed in the conductor seat of his Skyline, the human with grey hair was asleep, slightly snoring and with a bit of drool on the left side of his lips. Around him, everything was so peaceful. No car, no talking people, no sound except for the birds, whistling. The sky was light blue, with a few white clouds and no wind. The beautiful sun, like a big fire, was high in the air, almost at its peak.

Then, an unpleasant sound reached his ears. A knock on the window. Three times. The young Gray rolled on the other side, away from the origin of the sound. A few seconds later, he heard it again.

“Let me sleep.” He growled weakly and still half-asleep.

It knocked again on the turquoise window.

“You really don’t want to let people in peace or what?”

“Ethan, wake up! It’s almost noon!” pleaded Twilight.

Another growl escaped from his throat and he dared to open his eyes. Everything was bright, so bright that he had to close them again while a few tears appeared at their edge. Even with tinted windows, he could feel the warm ray of the sun on his body and warming the cockpit.

“Okay, okay! I’m up!”

He opened the door and did the same for his eyes, slowly. The purple unicorn was in front of him, looking slightly nervous. Behind her stood the white Alicorn, her violet eyes on him. Ethan sighed.

“Can I have, just, one day without you Princess?”

“Alas, no. You know why we are here. We have to hurry up, the citizens are waiting for us.”

“It’s already noon?”

“Yep.” replied Twilight.

He cursed between his teeth.

“Great. Give me a few seconds to drink something.” he extended his right arm to catch a water bottle before opening it and took two sips. “And let my brain wake up and I’m all yours after.”

He stood up and stretched his muscles. Some joints popped. The human yawned and exhaled loudly before blinking a few times. He shook his head to remove the last traces of sleep on his face.

“I’m completely awake now so, we can go.”

“Wait! What about your clothes? They’re dirty.”

“Well, I can replace them but…we’re going to be late so, it can wait.”

Celestia nodded. Her horn began to glow gold and the second after, the trio was not anymore on the field.

When Ethan blinked, he was in front of everypony who have come. A lot of them were surprised, shocked or slightly disgusted when they saw the human. It was totally understandable, for most of the Ponyville’s citizens, they never saw the human but only hear about him. They relaxed when they saw Celestia and all bowed.

“At ease my subjects, there’s no need to bow.”

Some of them hesitated but, in the end, they all complied. Ethan looked at the other two and they nodded. A sigh escaped his lips and began to talk.

"Sorry for the state of my clothes. I could have come in a tuxedo but I prefer to be natural." he lightly chuckled before taking a serious and guilty look. "If I'm here, in front of all of you, it's because I hurt the feelings of some ponies. They know why and how. I emotionally hurt those who were at my welcome party last night. For them, I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I let my emotions took the best of me. I didn't act like a guest would do, I ran away from the party because….because it reminded me of an old part of my life. Don’t expect me to explain me why, it’s not a good idea. But, I would especially apologize to the pony who made this party, Pinkie Pie."

Ethan looked at her, staring into her light blue eyes. He was really sad for screwing up her efforts to make him feel welcomed.

"To be honest, I really feel guilty for what I did. I hope you accept my excuses. If you still have a grief against me, I understand. I know you only wanted to put a smile on that ugly face of mine. But, for the sake of my mind, if I don't want to be haunted by nightmares, I need to know: Will you be my friend?"

The pink earth pony looked at him with a blank face before a big smile makes its appearance on her face.

"Of course, silly. I forgive you, it's what friends are for."

She jumped on the stage and hugged him. Surprised by the move, he couldn't do anything but return the hug. The others ponies cheered and smiled at this. Finally, they broke the hug and he turned his attention towards the mass of ponies.

"I would like to thank all of you for not freaking out when you saw me." A few chuckled could be heard among the ponies when he said this. "And for the warm welcome."

Then, they began to applaud. Celestia walked to him and whispered in his ear:

"And me who'd thought that you'll be shy for the speech, you have your way to make them comfortable."

"To tell you the truth, I hate speak in public like that but, I had to make an effort for them, they worth it."

"I'm glad you see us like that."

"Yeah, them. Not you Princess, I'm still mad at the fact you used my memories against me. You know this is a touchy topic. My mind is a sacred place that I cherish because it contains everything that I am. The day, you’ll understand the fact that I am sentient and intelligent –maybe not as you or you subjects- then maybe, and I say maybe, you could have my trust again."

She sighed.

"Don't you think that I don't feel guilty for that? I know that I didn't have to do it but, I did, for them. I could have convinced you with others arguments. I used your mentor against you because it was the simplest way to let you give them another chance."

The human looked into her violet eyes and saw that she means everything she said. She was right. Despite what she did, she was right. If it was someone else who tried to convince him, he would not listen to them. His old friend Cyril and his mentor were the only people who he listened and trusted with all of his heart. Then, he shooked his head and looked back at the citizens before smiling.

"As much I'll like to stay here, I have some things to do."

"Wait partner, ya don't ya can go like that! There's still a party waiting for ya!" said the hard-worker pony, interrupting him from getting away.

"YAY! Party!"

A blue and pink cannon appeared from the back of Pinkie. She hit it with her hoof and a lot of things escaped from the weapon. Balloons, confetti, tables, food and drinks. Ethan looked at her, dumfounded.

"B-b-but....how?"

"Don't try to understand, it's Pinkie Pie." answered Twilight, at his left side.

"O....kay."

Vinyl walked toward the party pony with a big, grey rectangular thing. Then, she stopped and pushed the red button on it. It deployed itself, revealing six little subwoofers and a big one.

"Vinyl, what is this?" asked the human, pointing at it.

"This? It’s my Bass Cannon!"

The DJ began to do her job, playing an electro song. The speakers vibrated strongly.

"This time, I'm out."

The sun Alicorn and the purple unicorn laughed.

"Don't worry, you'll be used to this with time."

Then, Ethan jumped out of the stage and in the middle of the inhabitants. He hoofshaked a lot of them while trying to memorize their name. Vinyl presented her room-mate to him, a grey Earth pony named Octavia. He remarked that, strangely, most of them were mares. He made a mental note to question Twilight about this. A mint-green Unicorn looked at him strangely and was oddly interested by his hands, whispering things about humans or something like that. He only saw two or three stallions, Big Mac included. The latter walked to him, a stern look on his green eyes, before he hugged the human, giving him some difficulties to breath correctly.

"Thank for savin' mah sister."

The distant attitude of the young Gray melted with that gesture. He liked and respected the big red stallion for being like him and for all the work he does to run the farm.

"If ya need everythin', don't hesitate to ask. Ah'll be more than happy to help ya."

"Nah." He broke the hug and waved a hand. "You don't owe me anything Mr. Macintosh. I'm glad that I was here to help."

He nodded.

"Ya should come at Sweet Apple Acres, to meet the rest of the Apple Family. And just call me Big Mac."

Ethan pondered. It could be rude of him to refuse the invitation but still, he had a lot of work to do. This car is not going to repair itself.

"I'm in. When would you want me to come?"

"Today, a little before the twilight, for dinner. Sounds good?"

"Sure, I'll be on time. See you later, Mac!"

Then, the human walked toward the tables with cakes, cupcakes, pies and drinks.

"Fooooooood!" he drooled, before eating everything which was reaching his hands.

The ponies around looked at him weirdly, before chuckling and began laughing.

“Oh my! Darling, what did you do to your clothes?” said Rarity, walking to him, panicked and interrupting him in his quest to fulfill his stomach.

He swallowed the content of his mouth before talking.

“It’s nothing Ms.Rarity, really.”

She pointed a hoof at a red circle on the lower part of his shirt.

“Nothing? Darling, I hope this is a joke. Look at the dirt, the grass, the sweat and the holes on it. This is THE.WORST.THING.I.EVER.SAW!”

The young Gray rolled his eyes.

“It’s only blood, it can go away if I wash the shirt. No big deal.”

“You must come at the Boutique, I insist. I can’t let you wear that ‘thing’ any longer.”

He remembered her offer and felt obliged to accept it this time. There was no way he could refuse because it could be rude if he did so, like for the evening at Apple Sweet Acres. He smiled and slightly bowed.

“Thank you Ms.Rarity. I appreciate your generosity.”

A blush appeared on her white cheeks.

“It’s nothing.”

Then, she walked off.

"So, what do you think of him, little sister?"

The Princess Of The Night, on the stage, in company of the Sun Goddess, looked at her.

"He seem interesting, we'd like to know him better. Can thou share his memories?"

Celestia shooked his head.

"No, Lulu, it doesn’t work like that. You have to let him open himself to you."

"But Tia, thou screwed up our chances to let him trust us."

"I know, just...give him some time and, I'm sure he'll want to talk to you." answered the white Alicorn, with a confident look on her face.

"We’ll try. And what do thou think of him?"

The older sister sighed.

"He's complex. He doesn’t want to be ruled by his feelings and only use his logic but, behind the wall, he cares about others. He can make you feel that he is cold and distant but it's quite the other way in his heart."

"...How do thou know all of this?"

"Body language my dear sister, body language." replied the white Alicorn.

“And….—“

“I cannot deny the fact that he is attractive but no, I’m not interested by him. At least, not now. So, you can have Ethan but…don’t prank him too often, even if it’s to show your affection. He could become irritable.”

Luna didn’t respond, merely nodding, with her teal eyes always on the human.

He smiled and he was happy. It had been a long time since he was happy. The ponies were very curious and open-minded, they asked him a lot of questions. Some were boring, others weird and sometimes, awkward. The fact that they were curious about his species does not surprise him. It was understandable. The most difficult thing to explain was the fact that he was omnivore and needed meat to survive. It was a part of his eating habit and if he didn’t eat meat, he would die from lack of protein. He made a pact with Fluttershy to have, once in a while, a chicken. Even if she did not like the fact that he eats meat, she understood it. Ethan promised to reduce his consumption but insisted on the fact that he couldn’t become vegetarian.

One hour passed and finally, most of the ponies left the party. The human talked a lot, he talked so much that his mouth was dry and he had to humidify it with everything drinkable he could found. In the end, only stayed the Mane Six and Vinyl. They all worked to clean and stow the material used for the party. Then, he said goodbye at Twilight and her friends before walking back to his temporary camp.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked a voice, interrupting him in his tracks.

He turned his head to the origin of the voice. He saw the white unicorn with her blue electric mane and her violet goggles looking at him, grinning.

“I have to work, why?”

“Don’t you remember that you promised to drop at my house to see my DJ equipment?”

“Uhh…yes.”

“So, you come?”

Ethan sighed. He completely forgot about this. That was bad. First, because he really have to repair the skyline. Second, he had to dinner with the Apple family and third, a bath was necessary if he wanted to be presentable to Big Mac and his family.

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

Chapter 9

The human and the white Unicorn with electric blue mane and violet goggles were in front of a middle-sized house, made of wood, bricks and with four or five windows. There was no external decoration, except for a few flowers around it. The house itself was ordinary. Around them, everything was silent and peaceful, unlike one hour ago, thanks to the party. Some ponies were outside, talking or working.

"Welcome to my home, or my little paradise as I like to call it."

"Not bad, I've seen worse."

She smiled at this.

"Let me show you inside, I think you'll like it."

With her magic, Vinyl opened the wooden door and stepped inside, closely followed by Ethan who closed after him. The inside was completely different from the outside. Food, dishes, musical instruments (like a cello, synthesizer and a piano) were disposed everywhere in the room. He even saw some dust floating in the air, thanks to the sunrays which passed through the windows. There only was one floor.

"Sorry about the mess, it's been a while since the last visitor and I didn't have the time to clean before you come." she apologized, blushing in shame.

He shrugged.

"Meh, my sister's room was in a much bad state than this, like after a storm or a tornado."

"Oh! You have a sister?"

"Yeah, I had. Long story, I'll tell one day."

'If I don't return home before, of course.' he thought, looking absently at the living room.

'There a possibility that you never came back on Earth.' said Ian, interrupting his thoughts.

Ethan looked at the illusion, annoyed.

'Okay, okay. I'll come back later.'

"Anyway, follow me. I have to show you one thing that could interest you."

"Octavia is not here?"

"She had to go just after the party, for a concert in Manehatten."

"I see."

The DJ pushed the Bass Cannon out of her way and began to walk toward the door which was right in front of her. Without any word, he walked right behind the Unicorn. His footsteps against the dark brown floor echoed everywhere in the house. She opened it. Inside was everything needed to make music. DJ table, synth, mic recorder and a panel to add some electro and bass effect for the song.

The human whistled.

"Not bad, absolutely not bad. You have some good material."

"I know. Thanks to my work and the fame I've gained from it, I could afford those expenses."

"You're famous?" he asked, surprised.

"Hell yeah, I'm one of the best DJ in Equestria. I'm known as Dj-Pon3."

He looked at all the material and nodded lightly. Suddenly, he clapped his hands together.

"...I see. I think that you and me can learn a lot from each other so, let's play!"

"I like your way of thinking."

Then, they began to work. Vinyl explained a few details about her instruments. They were a lot like those on Earth except for some little things. Ethan wrote all the compositions that were on his mind for how long he knew and discussed with the DJ about it. She modified a few of them and only gave her opinion on others. They were in the middle of a brainstorming session when the young Gray asked something:

"I wonder...how can you have electricity? I never saw any electrical central."

The white mare stopped what she was doing and explained.

"It's quite simple, we use the heat. Our electrical centrals are a few miles under earth, they're used to convert the heat into electricity and deliver it to the cities. Then, they distribute the energy to the houses with buried cables."

It was simple. Simple and at the same time, logic. In a way, he was proud of the ponies. Proud because they didn't have to use the nuclear technology unlike his people, six centuries ago. It was an efficient and natural method to have energy.

"Interesting. That explains a lot of things."

Their resumed their brainstorming and after a few hours, they recorded two songs, but without the vocals, for now. Him, worked with the synth and her, the DJ table. Needless to say that they were very happy and exhausted after their session. He looked outside and saw that he only had less than an hour to be ready for the dinner with the Apple family.

“Well, it was a productive and interesting day.”

Vinyl put off her violet goggles and looked at him.

“I agree with you.”

When he looked at her, he was mesmerized by her eyes. Her beautiful, gorgeous, blood red eyes. He completely froze in place, losing himself in the look she was giving him and the small smirk on her lips. Strangely, they perfectly matched with her white fur and her blue mane. He didn’t know how much time they stayed like that, looking into each other eyes. When he broke the contact, he shivered.

‘Oh? Could it be possible that you fall in love?’

Ethan looked at fake-Ian and rolled his eyes. Things were very clear for him, there was no feeling other than friendship for the DJ…or not? Shaking his head, he walked to the wooden door. She accompanied him and even opened it before he could do it. When he turned his head toward her, he smiled.

“I was happy to be in your company this afternoon.” he began, before pausing for a few seconds, thinking about what to say after. “I hope that we could have more music-time together, I like to work with you.”

“I feel the same.”

He nodded.

But before he could do one step, she interrupted him.

“Ethan?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to come with me one night, to perform at a night club?”

Still with his back at her, he pondered.

“Good idea. I never played for anyone, so why not. There’s a beginning to everything.”

“Cool, see you later.”

Then, he waved his hand and walked toward his camp, at a fast pace. His brain worked at his full capacity to answer his questions. Could he really fall in love with a pony? She was not hot and completely brainless, unlike some girls on Earth. But, even that, could he really be in the animal thing? Allowing himself to date one? Kiss one? Love one? The young man was very open-minded, he didn’t care about some things like this that could frighten other people. Still…she was sentient, intelligent, pretty and shared his musical tastes. Again, he shook his head. He was so confused right now. Part of him wanted to say yes and the other was too afraid, thanks to his past experiences and his last girlfriend. Anyway, he had to think about that but now, there was not the time for that. The dinner was more important that a ‘potentially’ crush and he knew it perfectly.

On his way, he waved to the few ponies who were on his road and lightly smiled. They were so innocents, so welcoming. He was glad that they never knew the war and other things like that. The sound of flapping wings cut off his train of thoughts. A sudden wave of pain, coming from his back, sends him on the ground, face first. He growled in pain. He heard an 'eep' and feels a weight off of his back.

"Oops, my bad."

Quickly rolling on the side, he was on a knelled position and instinctively looked at the sound of the voice, obviously female. With a hand on his knife, his eyes met a grey Pegasus with blond mane and a few bubbles as a cutie mark. Her eyes were on the ground, ashamed of her action. He relaxed a little and put his hand away from the weapon.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what went wrong."

The human put a hand on her shoulder, forcing the mare to look up. She had golden eyes but they were a little...off. He smiled.

"No harm done, I'm fine. And you?"

"Y-yeah. I'm ok."

"Good to hear Ms...." he asked, standing up before putting a hand on his mouth and cough.

"Ditzy Doo but everypony call me Derpy. Are you alright?"

He coughed again and looked at his left hand to see a few drop of blood. He nodded.

"It’s nothing. I have to go so, farewell Miss Ditzy."

Then, without another word, he left.

When he arrived at his camp, the sun was low. The sky was light red-orange and accompanied by a dozen clouds. The air was a little windy and cool, transporting the fragrance of fresh flowers and grass. His car was still in the position he left it. He unlocked the doors, opened one of them, took one water bottle and some new clothes. He looked around and saw nopony within a few miles around his position. Ethan put his old clothes away and poured the water on his body. The 'shower' was cold and primitive but he didn't want to pollute the environment with soap and shampoo. The purpose of this washing was only to get rid of the sweat/dirt/blood scent on him, nothing else. A few minutes later, after being dried with a white towel, he was wearing black shoes, a jean with the same color, white shirt, dark blue chemise and a brown leather coat, just like the hero of an old game called Resident Evil 4.

Looking again at the sky, Ethan saw that it was the time to go. He sighed sadly, because he couldn't use his car. It would be so easy and fast to go at Apple Sweet Acres with it but the vehicle was too damaged for a ride, at least, not now. His legs were his only option for the moment.

"I have to go now if I don't want to be late." he said aloud, to no one in particular.

He began his walk. Fortunately, it was much shorter than to go to Ponyville. After a couple of minutes, he was in front of the road which led to the Apple’s house. Trees were everywhere around him, sweet and red apples in their branches. The idea to take one, without permission, never crossed his mind. Sure, he was hungry but not to do something like that. From where he was, he already could smell the food coming from the kitchen. He began drooling. The food at the party was good but with a little too much sugar for him. Arriving at the front door, he knocked three times. A few seconds later, the big red stallion opened it. When he saw who was before him, a smile grew on his face.

“I hate being late.” said Ethan, answering the silent question of Big Mac. “I hope I don’t come too soon.”

“Nope.”

He shook the human hand and stepped on the side, letting him enter. The walls were light beige. A large, circular, orange colored throw rug covered much of the stained hardwood floor. Almost directly ahead of the door was a flight of stairs. Right next to it was a door that led into the barn. On the opposite wall, were a side table and a cabinet table. To the left of the door was small couch with three different shades of pink coloring it. Behind the couch were a lamp and window.

“It’s quite welcoming.”

Big Mac closed behind him and walked toward the table. The dishes were already on it. The human only saw three plates.

"There are only you two who lives here?"

"Nope. There's also Granny Smith, who is on the second floor, sleepin' and our little sister, Applebloom. She's at a sleepover with her friends."

He nodded. Applejack walked out of the kitchen, a small grin appeared on her lips when she saw her savior.

“Ah’m happy to have ya for dinner, partner. It was the least ah can do.”

The young Gray slightly frowned.

“No need to thank me. What else could I do apart saving you? I’ll be damned before I let someone die  if I have the possibility save them.” he replied, calmly explaining his logic. “I don’t want to be rude but could we begin to eat? Truth is, I’m rather hungry.”

“Ya ate a lot at the party, how can you be hungry after that?”

“Between the party and your invitation to pass the evening with you, I worked on a few songs with Vinyl.”

This time, it was Applejack’s turn to frown. The move went unnoticed for the man with icy blue eyes but not for her older brother. The first shrugged.

“Yeah, she’s pretty good at a DJ. Her point of view on my compositions is very interesting. I really needed it because I had a few difficulties with some of them.”

“Ah see.”

Big Mac cleared his throat and smiled before sit on one of the chairs. He gestured Ethan do to the same. The latter complied without a word and put his backside on the dark brown wooden chair. The orange coated pony went to the kitchen and came back a few moments later, the plate with the food on her mouth. Apple pie. A big, hot, sweet and nice apple pie with red apple slices on it. She cut it in three parts and gave one to each. For the human, there was no word to describe what was in front of him. The smell was a mix of apple (obvious, isn’t it?), cinnamon, sugar and honey. His stomach growled when he inhaled the scent.

No word was needed to allow the beginning of the meal. The two ponies plunged their mouths on the food. Seeing this, he sighed and took his part with his two hands. When he put it in his maw, he slowly chewed. He only needed a few seconds to stop eating and began cry. Applejack saw this and looked at him, worried.

“Somethin' wrong, sugarcube?”

He swallowed and continued crying, a shiver fell down his spine.

“N-n-no, it’s…just the BEST thing I ever ate! You really are a good cooker.”

He dried his tears and continued eating. She looked at him, joy and pride in her emerald eyes.

“Thanks. That means a lot, coming from ya. Ah was able to do it, but a little help from Granny was more than welcomed.”

"So, thank her from me."

"Ah'll do it."

They continued to eat in silence. The smile never left Applejack's face and Big Mac grinned. Unfortunately, the comfortable silence was broke by a question.

"Ethan, when we met, ya said that ya were a soldier. Did ya...ever killed?"

He stopped eating. Almost instantly, AJ began to regret asking the question.

"What I did wasn't pretty, but they were bad people and they deserved it. The only thing I regret is that I couldn’t be able to protect my teammates." he said sadly, with a sigh. "I'm not proud of it. It was war, I had to. It was me or them, I choose me."

The pony with orange coat stayed silent.

"I...see." she finally said, lightly shocked.

"I still am the same human who saved you. It's not because I pulled a trigger and ended the lives of hundred people that I have changed. It just the perception you have from me that have become different."

As Celestia said before, his logic was implacable. An awkward silence fell on the room. The trio finished eating. They didn’t wait long before a cough broke the lack of sound. Ethan tried to stood up but fell on the side, his eyes widened. Again, his body betrayed him. He continued coughing, more loudly. With each cough, the pain on his torso became more present and difficult to bear.

It was like an unstoppable and devouring fire that grew in his guts. This almost gave him the need to throw up but only blood left his mouth. The two ponies quickly rushed at his side.

“Are you alright, sugarcube?”

He wanted to tell her that it was not that bad but couldn’t spell any word, his mouth and throat were full of the red liquid. His breathing was labored and short. Despite the pain, he was not afraid. If it was the time so, it is. He waited for months for his moment to pass away. But finally, the intensity of the crisis calmed down.

A sigh escaped his mouth and he closed his eyes. The virus gave him a little more time. The human tried to get up, strangely, and used the table to stay on his two feet.

“What happened? Are ya ok?”

For the first time since the beginning of the dinner, Big Mac talked. His eyes were full of concern and worry. It makes Ethan smile.

“Yeah, I’m alright…for now.”

“How so?”

“You deserve to know the truth. Applejack, I authorize you to tell Twilight and the others about it; but not the rest of Ponyville. Am I clear?”

She nodded.

“Good. To tell you the truth, I’m dying.” He directly began, seeing the surprised and chocked expression on their faces. Even the red stallion, who was not really the emotional type, showed some emotions. “My body was contaminated by an unknown virus, I fell ill when I explored a foreign planet with other people. Scientists and doctors tried to find a way to completely destroy it but only slowed it. The others who were also ill died. The doctors said I only have five or six months, at least. But I can give my final breath by any moment, from now.”

They stayed silent. What could they do? The young Gray used this moment to clear his throat.

“I think I have to go, some work to do tomorrow morning. The meal was very delightful and sorry for the blood on the floor. Good night.”

He walked to the door, opened it, looked back at the two with a small smile, stepped outside and closed the door. The orange pony snapped out of her trance and sprinted after him.

“Ethan! Wait!”

Hearing this, he stopped his walk but didn’t turn around to look at her.

“Ah have something to tell ya.” She said, before thinking about the right words. “Ah've been thinking about it since ya saved me and… Ah think Ah’m in love with ya.”

Chapter 10

Only the sound of the wind against the branches of the trees or the grass could be heard in the orchards. Two minutes have passed since she opened her heart to him and said the words. But for Applejack, the waiting has been far too long. She only wanted something, a sign, like a movement or anything else from him...but he did nothing. Finally, a heavy sigh escaped his tiny lips and broke the awkward silence between them.

He turned his head on the side and looked at her with only his right icy blue eye. His expression was blank, devoid of any emotion, the pony with blonde mane was afraid of that. She feared it because she couldn't know what he was feeling at the moment. The tension around them was heavy, like a weight on their shoulders. A small and sad smile grew on his face. Saying that he saw this moment coming was an understatement. It was as big as a fly in the middle of the nose. In his mind, he secretly hoped that it only was a temporary crush and not real love. If it was the second case…well, it could give him some serious trouble.

"I knew it." he finally said, loud and clear enough to reach her ears. "I knew that you possibly had a crush for me."

"H...how?"

He turned his whole body toward the Element of Honesty.

"I saved your life, it's completely understandable."

She frowned.

"What make ya think that Ah don't really love ya? Ya think it's only a crush?"

Again, he sighed.

"We don’t really know each other. I only opened a part of my past to you, there some things that you could not understand. Besides, it would be vain."

"Why?" she asked, even if he gave the answer, which was obvious, a few minutes ago.

"The virus. Do you really think that I'm going to love someone, give her the hope to have a good life with me if I pass away six months later? No, I can't. I'm too good and honest to do that. So, found somepony who worth it but not me."

She stayed silent. For the second time of the night, he left her speechless. There was no arguing possible. Even if she hated it, he was right.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but I prefer it that way."

Applejack nodded. Her heart ached because of the rude words he said. Her emerald eyes watered because of the emotional pain. There was nothing else that she could do. But, for Pete’s sake, she loved him! He rejected her... but there was something she wanted before letting him go.

"Ah understand but...can ya, at least, make me a favor?"

Smiling, he nodded.

"Kiss me."

Ethan let his mouth closed and stayed silent but complied. He walked to her, lowered at her level and put a hand on her cheek. He began stroking and she blushed furiously. It was cute. His hand was warm and soft, a warm and strange feeling appeared on her stomach, like butterflies. She knew what it was. Continuing smiling, he approached his head and closed his eyes. Applejack did the same. They closed the gap between them.

At first, the feeling of the coat on her lips and having a muzzle against his face was rather strange but he put the thought away, letting himself enjoying the kiss. Something pressed on his teeth. He immediately knew that it was her tongue and allowed it to enter his mouth. She explored every inch of him and he did the same. Applejack moaned when she feel it in her maw. At least, she was enjoying it, he though. What they didn't know is that her older brother was looking at the scene, a stern look on his face.

"Ah hope ya know what ya do, little sis'." he whispered to himself, in a sigh, before walking away from the window.

Finally, they broke the kiss. The human and the pony looked into each other souls. He moved his head to her left ear and whispered:

“I’m sorry it had to end like this, but it’s for the better. One day, when you’ll understand, you’ll thank me.”

He stared into her green eyes, the small smile never left his face. Ethan stood up.

“Goodnight AJ. See you later.”

Then, he walked away, like if nothing happened between them. The Earth pony stayed in this position, looking him fading away in the dark of the night. A soft wind passed in front of her, making her blonde mane move in the direction of the breeze. Her face was still hot from the embarrassment and the kiss.

“’Night, sugar cube.” she murmured, more to herself than to him.

Applejack sighed and entered in her home. The sudden revelation, his reaction and the kiss added to the work in the orchards left her completely tired. She called it a night and jumped in her bed, fast asleep.

At the same moment

Tears fell down his cheeks and the color around his eyes began to change, becoming red, when he turned away from her. It had hurt him to refuse her advances, more than he let her see. He had to be distant and cold. Why he acted like this? His approaching death was a part of it, true. But something else took a part. No, he was not a virgin or something like that, it’s just…he shuddered.

“And me who think it was over….”

The disturbing moments flashed in his mind, making him remember the scene. His breathing was short and difficult. He almost could feel her hand when she approached his private area. When she… mounted him. This thought gave him the need to throw up but he restrained himself.

A scream escaped from his lips and he fell on his knees, his head between his hands. The young Gray closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath. It has been a long time since he was flooded by those painful recollections. Three years passed after the incident so, why now? Why doesn’t she want to get out of his head? Ethan sighed heavily and put the thought away. Awkwardly, he got up. It was not evident for him to keep a good balance. With some difficulties, he walked back to his camp.

For a spring night, the weather was rather cool. No cloud in the night sky, giving the opportunity to the stars to show their brightness and beauty. How could he not be amazed by their magnificence? It was not possible. This and the twilight, when the sun appeared or vanished on the horizon, were his favorite things to admire. The temperature was pleasantly warm, even a little too hot for him, with his leather jacket. After a few minutes, he was at his destination.

Thanks to the full moon, he could clearly see his Skyline. Without a word, he took a key and opened the passenger door. He put his coat in the backseat and took his pack of six beers, not before turning on his radio and lowering the window. The human closed the door and slipped against the car. With the help of his knife, he removed the cap of his drink and drank its contents. He opened a second beer and did the same, in an expert gesture. He was accustomed to this, it was obvious.

Soon, the first notes of a classical song could be heard. Contrary to a lot of his songs, this one had real instruments: guitar, drums and a bass. He smiled at the moment when he recognized which song it was. The lyrics, the way the instruments were played….everything in it corresponded to him. In a way, that described how he was inside.

Sometimes I feel like

I don't have a partner

Sometimes I feel like

My only friend

Is the city I live in

The city of angels

Lonely as I am

Together we cry

Fresh tears, similar to thin transparent diamond, appeared under his blue eyes which became moist, they streamed down his cheeks. His vision blurred gradually but he smirked. As always, even if he doesn’t know why, this music had this effect on him. They were not tears of pain, joy or sorrow…they were just tears. Being in the heartbreak mood, the young man sang, in perfect sync with the singer.

I drive on her streets 'cause

She's my companion

I walk through her hills 'cause

She knows who I am

She sees my good deeds

And she kisses me windy

I never worry

Now that is a lie

He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with emotion. He could feel each note of the guitar, each word, each drum echoing in him. There was no comparison he could use to describe how he felt.

I don't ever want to feel

Like I did that day

Take me to the place I love

Take me all the way

It's hard to believe that

There's nobody out there

It's hard to believe

That I'm all alone

At least I have her love

The city she loves me

Lonely as I am

Together we cry

What he didn’t know is that he was actually observed. The pony who spied him didn’t move or say a word. For the spy, the human looked completely harmless.

Under the bridge downtown

Is where I drew some blood

Under the bridge downtown

I could not get enough

Under the bridge downtown

Forgot about my love

Under the bridge downtown

I gave my life away

He lowered the tone of his voice, finishing the last words of the song and a question, in a whisper:

“Will I stay?”

Ethan opened his eyes and sighed.

“Thou seem sad. Art thou alright?”

Thanks to his reflexes learned from his time in the army, he got up quickly, rolled on the side with one knee against the ground and his right arm pointed to the origin of the sound. The stalker stepped away from the car. With the light produced by the moon, he could clearly see his face…or her face in this case.

“Princess Luna?”

Seeing it was her, the tension left his body and he calmed down, before lowering his right arm.

“I am sorry if I scared you.”

"No, absolutely not. I was just surprised, that's all."

She nodded.

"Why art thou crying?"

The young man dried his cheeks and shook his head.

"It's nothing Miss Luna. Just a little emotional breakdown."

The look on her teal eyes was full of curiosity.

"Want to talk about it?" asked the Princess Of The Night, walking carefully toward him. "I’ll not repeat to anypony what I hear, even my sister. I swear."

Taking his third beer, he put away the cap and drank in three gulps.

"Nope. No need to bother you with that. But I wonder...what are you doing here?"

"The truth is, I was curious about thou. This is the first time I see a strange creature like thou and I wanted to know more."

At this, he laughed. "I see. It's very courageous to come observing a weird and dangerous creature like me."

Luna ignored his sarcasm and sighed. She saw his bottle and asked:

"What is this?"

Seeing where she pointed, he smiled.

"Beer."

"Oh! the first or...."

"The third...I know, it's not very proper from me but I need to drink....need to forget."

She had the courtesy to not ask and let him open his heart. Ethan repeated the process a fourth time and finally, finished the pack. He was on the grass, his eyes lost in the space.

"The stars are so beautiful tonight, I wonder why it's not like that on Earth."

The dark blue coated mare blushed at his comment.

"Thank thou for the compliment. There not a lot of ponies who appreciate my nights like thou."

"Huh?"

He looked at her, confused.

"You made this?"

While asking this, he waved at the sky.

"Of course. I made the night and my sister the day. Thou didn't know it?"

"Nope.”

"How it is in thy world?"

"Gravity. It controls everything. No magic."

Luna looked at him, awestruck. Silently, she stepped toward him and lowered at his level.

"Sooner, thou said that thou needed to forget but, why?"

The human locked his eyes with hers. She could see that even drunk, he could stay serious and professional. A loud sigh escaped his lips.

"Only a few people who I trust with all of my heart know about what I'm going to say. You should feel grateful for going to know why I am like this. If you share this story without my consent, you'll lose my trust. Am I clear?"

She nodded.

"Good. Three years ago, when I was still in the army, I fell in love with a girl. She was intelligent, polite...well, anything a man could ask for. We were together, but the problem was me. I'm not a pressed guy who rushes things. I like to take my time. After a few months, she...made a big mistake. Not being able to wait anymore, she knocked me out, attached me to a bed, waited that I regain consciousness and..." He trembled in apprehension and fear, a few tears reappeared. His breathing was ragged. "....and s-s-she...raped me."

The words echoed in her head. Did she hear right? It was rare for a mare to be raped...but a stallion, almost exceptional (even during spring heat). The emotional trauma has really been very difficult for him. The Night Goddess wanted to show her compassion but a little voice in her head tells her to not do it, for his sake.

"Saying that I know what thou feel is a lie but I understand if you want to stay alone and away from us, mares."

Filled with her understanding and friendship, Ethan couldn't help but smiled at those warm words.

"Thank you a lot Ms Luna, it means a lot for me."

"Thou are welcome. But why thou call me Miss and not by my title?"

He laughed.

"Simple." he said, touching where her heart was with his index. "I talk to the pony who is inside. Not the royalty."

"But my sister...-"

"She and I didn't have a good beginning so, give me some time to be accustomed to her."

A howl interrupted their moment. With little difficulties, the Major stood up.

"Again? Oh Come on! They never quit or what?"

"Timberwolves?"

"Exactly. Maybe three or four of them, at least." he said, listening to their approaching footstep.

In mere seconds, his black armor appeared.

[All systems are online and functional]

“I need your sister’s help on this one. The missiles should be enough for deal with them.”

“Thou are lucky. My sister allowed me unlocks your weapons if she was not able to do it.” She explained, while her horn glowed in a light blue color.

[Missiles: online]

“Perfect. I know that you are capable to defend yourself but I’ll handle the fight from now. Stay close to the car.”

“Are thou sure?”

He didn’t respond, his opponents were here. Ten… ten timberwolves in front of him, all growling dangerously. He aimed his right arm toward them, a grey cannon covered its back.

“Let’s rock!”

Chapter 12

“You need my help? Care to explain?”

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed. Ethan could clearly see the bags which were under it.

“The others kingdoms know about your existence. They want to meet you, especially the griffons. Actually, I am not in good terms with them and if I refuse their request….they could use it as a pretext to declare us war.”

Her voice sounded neutral. Looking into her light violet eyes, he saw she told the truth. The young man exhaled loudly. Policy and politicians. He always hated it, even on Earth. Those people who were paid to do nothing and give their opinion on things they knew nothing about. They disgusted him. But in this case, it was completely different. Thousands of lives depended on him. After all, the young Gray was the “ambassador” of the humans in Equestria. He had to stay polite and respectful even if the hosts were not.

He raised his chest, using his elbows and arms and thought for a moment. “Okay, I’m in. When we’ll meet them?”

A small smile grew on her face.

“In two weeks. The party will be at the castle, in the Grand Hall.”

“Perfect.” replied the human, trying to get up.

With some difficulties, Ethan pushed back the sheets. His legs were shaking when his feet touched the ground. A large part of his body was still sore and weak from the crisis, even one week after. The more time passed, the more his recovering was becoming difficult. He tried to breath slowly, to calm his nerves. It took him some time but he succeeded in his task.

Celestia didn’t move. She knew that if he needed help, he wouldn't hesitate to tell her. Finally, after a few moments, he was again on his two legs, walking a little strangely. She wished to nopony to be in the same situation than him. One moment after, his body became a blur and the black exoskeleton disappeared, leaving him without any protection. Ethan’s face and body were carved by the lack of physical food and water. He looked pale and the color of his eyes, icy blue, was a little stained. Drops of sweat fell down his forehead.

“So, what happened during my little coma?”

“Nothing really interesting. Lulu was a little panicked when she saw you were still asleep after two days.  She stayed by your side each time she wasn’t on duty. And Applejack doesn’t want to leave but she had, because of her work.”

The man raised an eyebrow “Oh?” The surprise was painted on his face. He never knew the young sister was so caring toward him. An idea popped in his mind: maybe because he confessed her his deepest secret. But, on the other side, Ethan was not surprised by Applejack’s attitude. She loved him; it was natural that she wanted to help him. The Sun Goddess voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

“Would you like to stay with us for breakfast? You look like you need to have something solid in your stomach.”

She was right. One week without anything to eat left him weak and he hated that. He shrugged and lightly smiled.

“Why not? It’s been a moment since I had my last warm breakfast.”

“How so?”

“Well….since I’m here, I only ate my personal stock of Meal, Ready-to-Eat, or simply MRE. The only thing hot I had was my coffee but it didn’t last long.”

The young man with grey hair left aside the fact that he was short of food. He didn’t want to abuse of Celestia’s hospitality. He knew one day his attitude will be his fall but he didn’t care. Without a word, the Alicorn opened the door with her magic and walked out. Quickly, Ethan followed.

“Where are we, exactly?”

She cleared her throat.

“We are in the left wing of the castle, the hospital. All our guards who are injured during their training or patrols are treated here.”

“I see….How old is the castle?”

“Almost two thousand five hundred years. Father ordered its construction at the beginning of his reign, using some powerful spells to prevent the corrosion of the walls by water and the foundations' weakening because of the time’s effects.”

Ethan made a little movement with his head, nodding in approval.

“Very interesting. I’d like to know. Where are you parents now? Are they….” He never had the courage to finish his sentence. He knew it was something that does not concern him. His curiosity got the best of him; the words left his mouth automatically, speaking out loud his thoughts.

Celestia stopped walking and turned her head to him, looking at the human in the eyes, like if she looked directly at his soul. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. He immediately regretted asking this.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…—“

She cut him in his apologies.

“We don’t know where Mother and Father are. We don’t even know if they’re dead or alive. One day, they were with us and the next day, Lulu and I were alone. I was twenty-one and her seventeen at the moment. We were young but Father taught me how to lead my country with love and equality. A few centuries later, I was obliged to banish Luna on the moon. You know what happens after.”

“Yeah. I filled my database with Twilight’s books and read your history. I also know about the Elements and Discord.”       Without a word, they continued their walk. Quickly, they left the hospital. The human and the Alicorn were welcomed by a warmer environment, contrary to the white and cold colors of the infirmary. It took them two minutes to reach their destination. When the winged unicorn opened the large door, a table filled with different kind of food, stood before her. As usual, the dark blue mare sat on her chair, at the right side of the table. She looked at the two and smiled.

"Tia! I wondered where thou were. It's unusual from thou to skip breakfast." said Luna, happily.

"I know little sis' but I wanted to see how our guest's healing progressed. He woke up and I proposed him to eat with us." replied Celestia, walking to her chair, at the left side of the table.

Luna swallowed her mouth's content and nodded. Ethan sat on the third chair, between the two sisters. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Miss Luna, your sister told about your comportment toward me during my time in the hospital and I'd like to thank you for that, even if there was no necessary to stay by my side."

The Princess Of The Night lowered her gaze to her plate and blushed.

"It's nothing. Thou opened thy heart to me, even if thou were not obliged. It was the least I can do."

He stayed silent but nodded. After a few seconds, the two sisters began to talk between them, as if the human was not here. Honestly, he didn't care. All Ethan wanted to do was eat. Pancakes, eggs, fish. Needless to say, it's been a long time since his stomach was that full, not counting the meal with Applejack and her family. The trio continued to talk and after twenty minutes, Celestia had to leave.

She was about to close the door when she stopped her movement and turned her head to him.

“Ethan, during your sleep, I decided to give you a hoof for the repair of your car. There’s no more oil and coolant leak and your left front wheel is no longer distorted. I hope you’re not mad. After all, it’s my fault if your Skyline is in this state. Take this as a proper apology for my recent actions.”

He blinked a few time, rather surprised that angry, even not angry at all. His jaw was slightly open.

“Well…thanks Princess, it helps me a lot. I’ll fix what remain by myself.”

Then, the Sun Goddess nodded and left the dining hall, leaving Luna and the young man alone. They continued to eat in silence. Five minutes after, the mare cleared her throat.

“Dear Ethan, did thou not noticed something about me?”

He raised an eyebrow and looked all over her body. “I’m afraid n….your mane; you have put it in a ponytail.”

She seems to be pleased by the answer. The human could clearly see it in her face.

She smiled. “Yes, I wanted some change and Tia suggested it. You like?”

“Yep, it suits you very well.”

Hearing the compliment, Luna blushed.

“Thank thou.”

In response, Ethan winked.

“I’d like to stay longer but I have to go.” He said, getting up from his chair before bowing and walked to the door.

When he put his hand on the handle, he felt something on his right shoulder and moved his head. His icy blue eyes met the teal color of hers. The young man saw happiness…lust and love? Those emotions were directed to him? He didn’t know. When he saw the proximity of each other’s face, his cheeks became red as a tomato. The Night Goddess quickly closed the gap between them. She was kissing him! Too shocked by the gesture, he let her continue.

Ten seconds after, she broke it. The confusion was written all over his face. Applejack already loved him but…her too? Did Celestia know? If she doesn’t, he’s so fucked up!

“I’m sorry if I acted without much warning but I couldn’t hold it anymore. We barely know each other, I’m aware of that. But after what Tia said about thou, then when I saw thou for the first time at your party and what thou told me a week ago, I fell in love. I’ll understand if thou do not reciprocate my feelings. After all, we’re two different species.”

A heavy sigh escaped from his lips. “I'd like it to be that simple. You have to understand: I’m a dead man. I can’t love somepony for the next four months and die after, leaving her alone and sad. And I can’t betray Applejack, she asked me first. It wouldn’t be fair if I date you after refusing her advances.” Ethan shook his head, sadly.

"Thou...love her?"

"What? N-no, I mean...I...*sigh* I don't know. Personally, I don't care about being in an interspecies relationship. But unfortunately, there’s no solution for my current situation. So, farewell, Miss Luna.”

Then, the human stepped out of the room, walking toward the entrance of the castle, leaving the Princess alone and dumbfounded. Slowly, a smirk appeared on her muzzle. If she or Applejack alone couldn’t win his heart, so, they had to work together. Luckily and contrary to the Earth, Equestria authorized the creation of herds because of the lack of stallions. All Luna needed to do is convince the Element of Honesty to join her, which shouldn’t be very complicated with some good arguments. Her horn glowed blue and the second after, she was not in the building anymore.

Some guards saluted him when he met them on his way. He returned the gesture, slightly surprised. If Celestia wanted him to felt welcomed in the castle, she did a very good job. Ethan even met those who attacked him and apologized. They accepted it without a second thought.

It wasn't very long until he was outside. The sun was high in the light blue sky, almost at its peak, and there was not a single cloud. A cool breeze passed through the streets and stroked his cheeks. The moment after, his exoskeleton reappeared.

[All systems are online and functional]

The jetpack integrated in his armor took life and he began to levitate a few inches above the ground. Ignoring those who had stopped what they were doing to observe him, Ethan suddenly accelerated and disappeared into the sky. A few seconds after, the sound of an explosion echoed around Canterlot. A white circle appeared on the sky, followed by a blank line that moved away from the city.

This was the proof that someone had broken the sound barrier.

*POP*

The Night Princess teleported herself at the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. She walked to the front door and knocked three times with her left front hoof. The door opened, revealing the Earth pony with blonde mane.

"Howdy Princess."

"Good morning Applejack. I hope I don't disturb you?”

The farm pony shook her head.

"Nope, we were about to eat but it can wait. So, why are ya' here?"

"Ethan, he's awake."

Her emerald eyes lit up when she hear this.

"How is he?"

"Don't worry, he's fine. But I'm not here for that. I need your help. Can we talk somewhere more…private?"

"Of course.” She closed the door. “Ya need mah help? Why?"

"I know what you feel for Ethan, it’s the same for me.”

Applejack blinked a few times.

"Ya love him?" she asked, shocked.

Luna nodded.

"I'm afraid so. The poor stallion, without knowing it, had hit right in my heart. At the beginning, I only felt curiosity for him but with time...I fell in love. This is why I wanted to talk with thou."

"Ah see but he refused mah advances."

"I know, he told me and was rather sad about it. I hope we have more chances if we work together than alone. Thou understand my logic?"

Her eyes widened when she began to understand. “Ya want to create a herd with me?” whispered the orange-coated pony, bewildered.

“Yes.”

She sighed, loudly.

“Ah don’t know. Ah mean, ah love him, sure but….—“

“Thou are not sure about sharing him?” Luna laughed. “I understand but do not worry, I’ll treat him well. So, we have a deal?”

Without any hesitation, Applejack shook Luna’s hoof, sealing the agreement between them.

Chapter 13

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.”

Chapter 14

His whole body was trembling from the gravity. One does not simply pull away from the earth attraction and Ethan perfectly knew this. He put more efforts to escape Equis’ gravity. He passed through the clouds like they were nothing. He flew at a speed Rainbow Dash could only dream of. Some parts of his armor began to ice up. Hopefully, it was created to resist at such conditions and temperatures. The black exoskeleton kept him warm, whenever he was. The view he had in front of him began to darken up, the light blue sky was slowly replaced a dark one, full of little stars.

Needless to say, the young man was amazed by this. For him, there was no word to describe what was in front of him or his feelings about it. He only could admire the little dots and the magnificent moon. The white orb was here, away from him and lighted by the sun beams.

No sound, no crazy alicorn, no magic, no party…just him. Alone. It was so calm, so peaceful. When was the last time he felt this comforting loneliness? He didn’t know.

Finally, his body was free from Equis’ attraction. He learned the name of this world when he read one of the books he downloaded from Twilight’s library. This and the history of Equestria were no longer a secret for him. Slowly, a smile grew on his face when he saw where he was.

At his right was the sun, glowing in all its glory and on his left, the moon, which could light up the darkest forest. In the middle of all of this, there was him, between light and darkness.

From his position, Ethan could see Equis and only one word left his mouth to describe it: “Beautiful.”

Very far from Equestria, at the East, was Saddle Arabia, one of the hottest deserts in this world. A wide area of ice, coming from the north, delimited the edge of the Griffon Kingdom. Several mountains stood up, on the South part of Equis. If his database said the truth, those rocks belonged to the dragons.

He stayed in this position, motionless. Only his eyes moved to admire this “second Earth”. There were many similarities between the two worlds, it was obvious to him.

A single thought passed in his mind. He could end his life everything right now if he wanted. All he had to do is disable his armor and die by suffocation or hypothermia because of the low temperature and lack of oxygen. The writer laughed. There was no way he kill himself now. Some ponies still need him, he couldn’t leave them. In a way, the fate of Equestria was on his shoulders. He shook his head to forget the thought.

Curious, Ethan turned on his thrusters and flew towards the moon. He always wanted to walk on it but never had the possibility to do it before. Even with his technology, it took him half an hour to reach it at 15 000 mph. The ground was dusty and full of little grey rocks; he could see some hills at the horizon. The young Gray was surprised to feel some attraction, even if it was weak, but enough to let him walk without any problem. His radar showed he was completely alone on the big piece of rock.

[Analyzing….Oxygen detected]

“What!? There are no plants and the temperature is too low to let them grow, how could it be possible?”

The human slowly recovered from the news. It was technically impossible. This statement broke all the physics laws existing.

[Magic detected. Used to maintain the gravity and make the atmosphere able to keep the oxygen]

"When my detective spell told me I had a visitor on my moon, I never expected it was you."

In a quick motion, Ethan turned back, unsheathed his weapon and aimed at the source of the voice, even if he knew who it was. The Night Goddess was here, in front of him, a small grin plastered on her face. He slightly chuckled and lowered his gun.

"I see. I suppose you put a spell to breathe here?"

The smile never left her lips.

"Good deduction. The moon belongs to me...I am the moon. I can do whenever I want on it. Water? I can. Gravity? I can too. Grow plants and trees? Same."

"Very interesting."

"Indeed. What are you doing here?" she asked, intrigued.

The young man looked away, contemplating the planet.

"Tourism. I was curious."

Luna nodded.

"And are you please with what you see?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised we have more in common than I thought."

The dark blue mare stayed silent. For her, there was no need to talk, everything was in the attitude and the look. It was obvious she liked to be with him, like a dog and his master. And the human knew it too. Finally, she asked the question which plagued her mind for days:

"Why?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, not borrowing to look in her direction.

"Why what?"

"Why are you so distant? I told you I love you but you denied my advances. Don't give again your 'I'm dying' excuse, there's something else and I want to know."

He blinked a few times and sighed, his mood darkened. How? How could she know? How could she see through the iron wall he created around his heart? This fact left him completely speechless. Unfortunately, there was no turning back. He had to open his heart and tell her the truth.

"I'm afraid."

"Of what? Death?"

"Yes."

"Everypony is."

There was another silence between the two.

"I...If I act like a stranger to you and AJ it's because...I don't want to break your hearts. I mean, would you be truly happy if we are together for only four months? Is it really necessary to watch me die in your hooves? I really don't want you to cry for me."

"You are worth it, Ethan. You saved her life, you passed through hard moments in yours and you care a lot for your loved ones. I know this because if it wasn't the case, you'll never say what you just said. You deserve a second chance, never doubt that."

Luna's serious look and her warm words flowed to his heart. A small smile grew on his lips. She was right. It could be the reason why he came to Equestria and not somewhere else.

"Maybe." he whispered, looking again at the beautiful Equis.

They stayed here, side by side, for what seems an eternity even if it was not even an hour.

"There's a singing contest tonight, would you like to go and see me play a song?"

"I'd love to." replied the Princess of the Night.

"I'll ask Applejack if she want to come when I'll be on the ground."

She nodded.

“Ethan?”

“Yes?”

“Can you…” Luna began but stopped in the middle of her sentence, unsure of his answer. “Can you promise me something?”

He looked into her light blue eyes, a little surprised. “Uh…yeah.”

“Can you promise me that if you don’t die, if we find a cure for your illness, you’ll marry me?”

Luna 1 - Ethan 0. The ex-soldier never saw that one coming. The question left him completely shocked and breathless. His brain took a few seconds to recover from the blow. They barely know each other and she wanted already to stay with him for the rest of his life.

“We haven't dated yet, I’m not sure…—“

“Please, do it. You can consider our little talk as our first date.”

He sighed and closed his eyes.

“Fine, I promise.”

She didn’t say a word after that. The next thing he knew, the young man was on the ground, his back against the dirt and a gorgeous mare on his chest. Before he could do anything, she touched the left side of his helmet and makes it disappear. The information of his HUD was right. The oxygen was here, he could feel it in his lungs when he inhaled.

Holding Ethan tightly with her front hooves, she leans slowly into him with a smile. Their hearts were beating quickly from the closeness they shared right now. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she meets him the rest of the way in a kiss. The human played along, melting into the kiss. Surprisingly, like with AJ, it was far from disgusting, quite the contrary. She begged to put her tongue in his mouth. This action makes him smile and he complied. Luna put as much passion she could into the gesture, happy he wants to do the same. The young man slowly stroked her mane and her ribs.

A little moan of pleasure escaped her throat when his fingers reached the base of her wings. If they continued like this, he knew where it could end and didn't want this...not yet. His mind was not ready for something like that, even three years after the accident. Finally, the couple had stop because of the lack of fresh air.

The Night Goddess moved her muzzle to his left ear and licked her lips. "I love you. You're the only one I want my love, nopony else." she whispered, seductively.

"I love you too."

For once, he let his heart speak, not his brain, even if it was involuntary. When he realized his mistake, Ethan knew it was too late to step back. It was now official, he had a girlfriend...or marefriend in this case. Strangely, the human felt happy about this. They continued to make out for a long moment before cuddling and finally deciding to go back on Equestria.

"You don't feel bad about it, do you?"

The writer looked into her loving eyes.

"About what?"

"Spending more time with me than Applejack."

"A little...to tell you the truth, she was the first to kiss me."

Contrary to what he thought, Luna was absolutely not mad or she hide her feelings very well. She even smiled.

"Okay. I have to go back, I need some sleep before the contest and raise the moon."

She teleported herself to the castle and he was left alone on the moon. After a few seconds, he flew back to his camp.

[Thrusters power: 8%]

Even if he couldn't feel it, he knew he just broke the sound barrier, thanks to the HUD which displayed his speed. Just like when he left the atmosphere, his exoskeleton trembled because of the friction with the air and the gravity. This time, a few parts of his armor began to warm up.

*Boom*

Everything was a blur around him. His screen showed he was near 2 100 mph. A long trail of white followed him. Ethan flew above oceans and land, towards the East, towards Equestria.

It didn't take him more than fifteen minutes to reach his destination at this speed. It was the late afternoon when Ethan came to Apple Sweet Acres. He guessed Applejack had stopped bucking the trees for the day and was in the barn or the house.

"Howdy partner."

Well, he was wrong. She was coming back from Ponyville. A smile grew on his lips when he saw the orange coated pony. His black armor disappeared immediately.

"Hey AJ, how are you?"

"Ah'm fine. Whatcha doin' here?"

The young man with grey hair scratched the back of his neck, looking unsure.

"There's a singing contest tonight and...I wondered if...you wanted to come with me. I'm going to be with the others competitors."

"Sure, Ah' don't mind." she replied, grinning.

"Luna will also be there, as a spectator, of course."

The Earth Pony frowned a little.

"No problem."

"Cool, I'll pick you up in...four hours, just before the registrations." he said, before walking away.

Chapter 15

A weak and warm gust of wind passed not too far from the human, making move the grass and flowers.

“Finally, it seems you’re again able to freely show your emotions. And good to know you're not single anymore, congratulation.”

Ethan, naked and with a water bottle above his head, looked at his left and saw the illusion. He could see a wide smirk on the face of his mentor. A sigh escaped his mouth.

“Long time no see, Ian.”

“Indeed. How have you been lately?”

“As usual, some political and dying stuff. Nothing really new.”

He nodded.

“I see…and what about your relationships?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh? Did I say something I shouldn’t? Why are you on the defensive? It’s good that you can forget your accident and love someone again. Even if they are not from the same specie as you. You know, I’m not going to judge who you love." explained his friend, before asking. "By the way, you love them, don't you?”

Again, he sighed.

“Yeah, of course I love them. If it wasn't the case, never I would have let Luna kiss me. And you know as me I don't care about interspecie relationships. It’s just….a long time passed since my last girlfriend and….I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes. I can’t rush things but I also can’t do it too slow. Shit, if I knew being in couple was so complicated, I’ll still be single.”

“Nothing is easy in life. You have to earn it.”

The young man with grey hair laughed.

“Thank you Einstein, it was so obvious that I never thought about it!” he said, with sarcasm.

“My boy, you have passed too much time with Anthony, it has rubbed off on you.”

The only answer he had was a middle finger raised followed by the most beautiful sentence in the world: “fuck you”.

“Such vulgarity coming from your mouth Major, I’m disappointed.”

“I know but you’re just an illusion created by my mind because I was alone. I don’t care about what you think or say. Seriously, when will you left me alone?”

The fake-Ian smiled.

“When I’ll esteem you don’t need me anymore.” He answered.

Ethan emptied the bottle and put it in his car. “Good to know, I hope it’s in a near future.” He whispered, while drying his chest with a towel.

“At least, those two ladies will like a package with this length to please them.”

He lowered his gaze to where Ian looked and his eyes widened in shock when the words reached his brain. He blushed, taking the color of a tomato.

“And YOU said I was crude!”

“I didn’t say it clearly but in a more suggestive way.”

“It's the same!”

“No need to yell, I’m only a few feet away from you.”

He turned his head to the left and looked into the dark eyes of his mentor.

“Go fornicate yourself, I don’t want to see your ugly face near me.”

“Okay, see you later!”

"Yeah, whatever."

Tired of dealing with himself, the writer cursed between his teeth and put the clothes he chose for tonight before browsing in his music files to see which song he’ll play. The truth was, Ethan didn’t have the time to search for a good song until now, thanks to the repairs on the Skyline and some other things.

The human with icy blue eyes was not really pleased. After a few minutes, he had at least ten songs he could sing. It was too much. If he had two or three of them, it would not have been a problem for him.

“Still Loving You: okay, Nothing Else Matters: why not….Under The Bridge: already sung. I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing: Make them cry, good idea. Shooting Star: Luna will like it but not Applejack. If Today Was Your Last Day: hmmm….sure. Fall For You: the mares are gonna love this one.”

Fortunately, those songs were the instrumental version. After choosing a few of them, the human, who didn’t like to be bored, decided to disassemble and clean his weapons. The whole operation took him no less than two hours. When he looked outside, he was that the sun was rather low in the sky, which had a red-rose color and accompanied with some clouds.

Without a single word, the human closed the door of his car, turned on the V6 1500HP and began to drive in direction of Apple Sweet Acres. Five minutes. All he needed was five minutes between his camp and the orchards. If he didn’t have his car, the walk would be much longer.

Finally, he slowed down and stopped at the entrance of the orchards. Ethan stopped the engine and opened the door before stepping outside. Not a single apple on the trees...seeing this, he deduced that applebucking season was over, or nearly finished, and the Apple family had to wait next year to collect again the beautiful apples. After walking on the dirt path, the human stopped in front of the red house and knocked three times at the front door.

It opened and a little filly with yellow coat, light orange eyes and red mane looked up at him. Her eyes widened and he could see shock and fear in them. She quickly closed the door before running away and yelling:

"AJ! AJ! There's a monster waitin' at the door!"

The human chuckled to himself.

"Kids, they'll never change...but, I always wanted to make a first impression like this one."

The wooden door opened again. This time, it was Big Mac who was in front of it. Even if the red stallion was shorter than the human, with his five feet, he was still very impressive. His stern look slowly changed into a smile when he saw the young man.

"No monster here, Applebloom."

"Ah'm sure ah saw it! Look! In front of ya!"

Applejack, who was on the right side of little Applebloom laughed.

"He ain't a monster, he's a friend."

"Your sister's right, I am Ethan Gray, writer and ex-soldier. Nice to meet you, young lady." he said, shaking Big Mac's hoof and walking inside.

The little filly slightly blushed and carefully approached him. He knelled down, his smile never left his lips.

"What are ya' mister?"

Ethan scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, technically, I'm a two-legged hairless ape, also known as Homo-sapiens but we like to call ourselves Humans. Does that answer your question?"

She smiled and nodded vigorously.

He turned his head to Applejack who was looking at her little sister, her eyes full of love towards the foal. Strangely, it reminded him his relationship with his own little sister. His smile promptly turned into a blank face, with a hint of sadness in his icy blue eyes while old memories flowed back in his mind.

"Ya ready sugarcube?"

Ethan blinked a few times, shook his head and turned his head towards the nearest window, to see the position of the sun in the sky.

"Yeah...we can go."

"Where are ya goin'?"

"Singing contest."

"Can ah come?"

Applejack shook her head, smiling.

"Nope, ya have to go sleep early tonight, there's school tomorrow."

The young Gray stood up and began to walk to the door, AJ just behind him. The voice of his friend makes him stop in his tracks.

"Ya take care of her."

He turned his head to the big stallion and smiled.

"Don't worry Macky, she'll be fine. You have my word."

The way her big sis’ and the “human" looked at each other intrigued the little Applebloom. The glow in their eyes…she saw it a few times, in town, when a mare and a stallion, or two mares, were dating or kissing. Wait….Applejack and Ethan were….together!? Her light orange eyes widened in realization. How Applejack could love him? Yes, he was someone gentle but a bit frightening at the first look, because of his height, but was it enough?

Needless to say, the cute filly knew she had some interesting things to say at her friends tomorrow.

They walked out of the house, side by side.

"I hope you're not sick of my car." he laughed. "I'll not drive as fast as the last time, of course."

Applejack chuckled. This was one of things she loved from him. He was able make her laugh at his jokes even if it wasn't really funny. Accidently, her emerald eyes fell on his butt and she couldn't help but bit her lower lip. For an alien, he was attractive. No wonder why she fell in love with him. His only flaws were his lack of social interaction and his silence, like Big Mac. Less than a minute later, they arrived at the grey and blue car.

Like a gentleman, the writer opened the passenger door for her. He closed it before walking to his own.

"You want to hear something while we drive to Ponyville?"

"Uhh...sure."

"Okay."

[Song selected: Sunshine by David Guetta ft. Avicci]

[Warning, the level of bass is going to be too damn high!]

"I don't care!"

"What did ya say?"

"Nothing, I talked to my computer."

Hearing this, Applejack raised an eyebrow, confused. "And what a computer is?"

"Let's say it's something which can give you a lot of information about everything, like Twilight's library."

She slowly nodded, understanding what he meant.

Pushing a little black button, Ethan lowered his electrical windows. Now, the ponies outside could hear his music and this is exactly what he wanted to do. The Earth pony chest was vibrating in sync with the subwoofers. In a way, it was a pleasant feeling but with time, it began to give her a little headache.

Like during the drive from his camp to the orchards, this one was also not very long. They reached their destination, in front of the town hall, when the song stopped to play. A lot of ponies were here, some of them waiting in line to participate and the others, just to see the show. Among the competitors, one of them was clearly taller than the others. He had violet and green scales. His eyes were those of a reptile.

Ethan blinked a few times, unsure of what was in front of him. “Spike?” he asked himself, surprised. The more he looked, the more he recognized Twilight’s first assistant. How could he grow so quickly?

Unfortunately, the young man didn’t have the time to read the data he had about dragons. Anyway, it could wait after the contest.

“Ah’m going to wait in the crowd, see ya later.”

It was the moment of truth, the one which decided if they were ready to show their affection in public. The moment was perfect, despite the fact there were other ponies around them, the two lovers were on their own little world, staring into each other's eyes.

Finally, it was him who made the first move, approaching his head to her. The mare with orange coat did the same and closed the gap between them. It was a simple kiss, no tongue of something else, but held all the passion and love they could show. It only lasted ten seconds but was enough to put a smile on their face for a long moment.

Then, Ethan walked to the others "singers" and waited his turn. Not even five minutes later, he was registered. He walked away and waited with the others in the backstage. Some ponies around him had an instrument with them: guitar, bass, violin or even cello. But there were some who only had their voice, like him. Not really, in his case, his instruments were his subwoofers and instrumental songs. All he had to do is sing, hoping it was enough to please the jury.

“Hey Spike! What’s up?”

The drake turned his head to the voice who called him and saw the tall human with grey hair.

“Ethan! Good to see you bro!”

“Me too. So, I suppose you’re here to declare your love for Rarity in front of everypony?”

Spike lightly blushed and made a gesture of denial with his left hand.

“Nah, not anymore.”

The human looked at him, curious.

“How so?”

“It was just a crush and…she already found somepony else.” he answered. “I do it for Twilight. She raised me, it’s the least I can do to thank her.”

Ethan smiled widely, bowed and shook his hand.

“Sir, I must respect the way you think and act. Twilight don’t know how much she’s lucky to have you by her side.”

“Th-thank you.”

He winked and walked to his car. He moved it near where he and the others had to sing. Then, they waited a few minutes before the mayor, an old tan Earth Pony with grey mane and dark blue eyes, began her speech.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, welcome to our fifth Singing Contest. We wish them good luck and may the best win! Our first participant is…Roseluck.”

Another mare, an Earth Pony with pale yellow coat and a rose as her Cutie Mark walked in front of the crowd and began to sing. Ethan liked her despite it was a little off. At the end of the song, the four members of the jury talked together and wrote the final score on a parchment. A lot of ponies passed before it was Ethan’s turn. At the moment the mayor said his name, he took a deep breath and walked in front of the jury. In his way, he looked at Spike, the latter smiled.

The young man with icy blue eyes took a little grey remote from his pocket and pressed one of the buttons. The trunk of his car opened itself, revealing the subwoofers. Looking into the crowd, he saw Applejack and Luna, side by side, the two smiling at him.

It was all he needed to continue, his stress disappearing.

The mic in one hand and the remote in the other, he pushed another button and the song began to play.

[Song selected: Get Lucky (arranged) by George Barnett]

Like the legend of the Phoenix

All ends with beginnings

What keeps the planet spinning, ah

The force from the beginning

We've come too far to give up who we are

So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars

She's up all night 'til the sun

I'm up all night to get some

She's up all night for good fun

I'm up all night to get lucky

We're up all night 'til the sun

We're up all night to get some

We're up all night for good fun

We're up all night to get lucky

The present has no rhythm

Your gift keeps on giving

What is this I'm feeling

If you wanna leave I'm with it

At this moment, the audience began to sing in perfect synch with him. Ethan let the magic of the song do its job and closed his eyes. Like with Under The Bridge, he could feel each note echoing in him and his body trembled a little.

We've come too far to give up who we are

So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars

She's up all night 'til the sun

I'm up all night to get some

She's up all night for good fun

I'm up all night to get lucky

We're up all night 'til the sun

We're up all night to get some

We're up all night for good fun

We're up all night to get lucky

We're up all night to get

We're up all night to get lucky

“Last chorus.” he thought, before putting as much emotion as possible in his voice. He was not anymore a simple singer, or Ethan… he was the song.

We've come too far to give up who we are

So let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars

She's up all night 'til the sun

I'm up all night to get some

She's up all night for good fun

I'm up all night to get lucky

We're up all night 'til the sun

We're up all night to get some

We're up all night for good fun

We're up all night to get lucky

Everypony cheered. They all were clapping their hooves together. Filled with happiness, the human made a wide bow, thanking his public before stepping back to let the next pony sing. Spike walked to him, amazed by his performance.

“Dude, just….wow. How could you sing like that? You have to teach me!”

“Maybe one day Spike, if I’m still alive.”

Some of the others competitors also congratulated him. The arrival of the Night Goddess and Applejack on the backstage surprised the human. The two mares walked to him, a wide smile on their face. He kissed both on the lips.

“It was a beautiful song, sugarcube.”

Luna nodded.

“I agree with Applejack, I really liked it. Maybe you should play it again at our wedding.”

At this moment, she gasped. Unfortunately, she just said what should have be kept as a secret. Applejack widened her eyes, surprised and shocked. She looked at Luna, the look on her face slowly transforming into one of anger.

"What!? Ya want to marry him? Why didn't ya tell me?"

Before the Night Goddess could answer, the orange mare continued her little speech.

“Ya the lead mare of our herd, yah had to ask if Ah’ was okay with this before doin’ anythin’!”

“I know! If you don’t like it, then leave!”

The two mares reached the point of yelling. The poor Ethan was between them, half deaf. Slowly, he began to be annoyed by their childish comportment. This situation was absolutely not good.

“Enough!” he yelled, looking at the two with a blank face.

The tone he used closed their mouth. For Pete’s sake, he was the alpha-male, not just a toy with emotions they could play with. If he had to raise the voice to assume his position, he didn’t have any problem with it. He took some deep breath, trying to stay as calm as possible.

“If you are not capable to agree on something and act as adults, there’s no interest for me to be with you two. Go on like this and you’ll lose me, I hope for your sake you’ll find a solution.”

They never thought Ethan could be angry at them. Usually, he was someone very calm and gentle.

The human walked away, to his car. He opened the door, sat on his seat, closed the door, turned on the engine and left the two mares alone, not caring anymore about the contest. Spike saw everything and was obliged to agree with the human on this one.

Chapter 16

He braked and stopped his light grey and blue Skyline in front of the building.

The Bowl was the only place still open at this hour. In a way, it was completely normal for a bar. The only bar in Ponyville. Rectangular, made of wood, dusty windows, an old wooden door...there were the words which came in Ethan's mind to describe what was in front of him. But, in all honesty, he didn't care about what the building looked like, he was here to drink, nothing else.

Stopping the engine and closing the door of his car, he walked inside.

The musky and sweat smell hit his nose and forced him to frown. The bar was almost empty, except for a few ponies, maybe all half-drunken at the moment he stepped inside. No country/rock/metal music, the only sounds he could hear was the whispers for some groups of two/three ponies between them. The young man even saw a dark pink mare at a table, Berry Punch, but this didn't surprise him. She was one of the biggest customers of this place after all. Walking to a table, without a care for the ponies who watched him enter, the ex-soldier sat on a chair, his back against the wall and the front door in view. He took his black Glock 17 from its holster, on his right thigh and put it on the table. He waited less than a minute before the waiter came to him.

"What can I do for you sir?"

Ethan took something from his pocket and put it on the table. It was a small gem, a ruby precisely.

"Well, I’d like to know if you accept this as payment? To tell you the truth, I don't have any bits."

The Earth Pony with brown eyes and dark red coat nodded vigorously. His cutie mark was a picture of a few alcohols like wine, cider or even whiskey.

"It's more than enough."

Hearing this, the human felt relieved and allowed himself to smile.

"Perfect, I'll take one beer and a double vodka-martini."

"Yes sir. I'll be back soon."

Looking outside, the human sighed as the memories of the argument between the two mares came back in his mind. For Pete's sake, he was twenty-seven years old, not sixteen! He didn't need somepony who decide for him and do things in his back without tell him first. He even began to regret accepting his promise to be Luna's husband. Unfortunately, the young man only knew one thing which could help him forgot all of this, even if it was for the night: drinking.

In all honesty, if the Night Goddess had asked Applejack if she was okay with the wedding, everything could have be fine tonight but no... she decided to play alone. And now, she had to pay the price. The orange pony was also a victim but shouldn't have reacted this way. She was better than that. AJ was a little younger than him and Luna a thousand years older, more or less... but they were old enough to act as adults and not childrens, like after the contest.

Despite his cold attitude towards the others, the ex-mercenary had a good heart...maybe too good and forgiving sometimes. But tonight was not one of those times.

The waiter came back, holding the two drinks in a plate, on his back, before putting them on the table.

"Thanks." said Ethan, drinking the vodka-martini in one-gulp, soon followed by the beer.

The bartender and owner of The Bowl, a white and grey Unicorn, was drying a few glasses at his counter. He turned his head towards the human in curiosity and his eyes widened when he saw what Ethan just did. This creature was really something if he was able to drink at this speed…or maybe crazy. He wondered how much glasses the alien could hold before passing out or throw up.

"Could I have the same thing, please?"

The pony with dark red coat was hesitant, unsure.

"Are you sure?"

Ethan put another gem, an emerald this time, in front of the equine. "Of course" Without a word, he took the small object with his hoof and left the table before coming back, beer and vodka-martini on his hips.

"Is that all?"

“Well…not really. I have to ask you a favor: Give me something to drink until I lay on the floor unconscious or when I’ll throw up. If the payment is not enough, tell me and I'll give you another gem."

Again, the waiter nodded before trotting away.

"I never knew you were a drinker." said a familiar voice.

His brain quickly recognized who it was. Still looking around him and at the entrance, he replied.

"We all have our little dirty secrets Miss Ditzy."

"Why don't you call me Derpy, just like everypony else?"

"I'm not everypony 'Derpy'."

"I figured but still...."

Ethan chuckled. He heard her sat on the chair at his left.

"If you want me to call you by your nickname, I can do it."

Even if she was not in front of him, he knew she was blushing. The human had to suppress a groan of annoyance.

"N-no, it's perfect like this."

The duo stayed silent for a few seconds. There was no need for words. Then, the mailmare broke it.

"Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"You can’t answer a question by another one…today was not a good day, I needed to drink something before coming home."

"I see. Everyo…I mean pony can have a 'bad' day in their life. Even me."

"Really?"

He mentally facepalmed before slightly nodded to confirm her question.

"Yeah, really."

"Fortunately, I left my daughter under the care of a good friend."

His eyes blinked a few times before turning his head towards her.

"You have a daughter?" asked the young man, raising an eyebrow, surprised.

"Yep, she's my little muffin. She's all I have. Dinky Doo is her name."

At this moment, the waiter stopped in front of their table and gave the drinks to the human.

"Could I have something for the young lady? I’ll pay for her." he turned his head to the Pegasus. "What liquor would you like?"

"A glass of bourbon."

"Ah, French drink, good choice."

Derpy looked at him, confused. "French?"

The human waved his right hand. "Forget what I said. But, to simply put it in words, it's an old and strange country, from my world. They like to eat frogs." he explained, a gentle and playful look in his icy blue eyes.

"I see....so, what we were talking about?"

"Your daughter. You said you left her to a friend. Didn't she have a father to look after her?"

The eyes-crossed mare lowered and shook her head, sadly.

"Unfortunately, no. He left me alone when he learned about my pregnancy."

She heard something hit the table with some force, enough to cut her train of thoughts and make move the glasses and its contents. When the grey mare with bubbles as a cutie mark moved her head toward the young man, she saw his eyes, full of anger. His left arm was trembling…heck, his whole body trembled. How could he change his mood so quickly? Was he bipolar? Gentle and wise on one side and angry, mad on the other?

His breathing was fast, really fast but after ten seconds or less, he closed his eyes and it began to slow down.

"I-I'm sorry for my comportment but when I heard this...how could he abandon you, left you alone when you needed him?" He was about to throw up at this moment. "It makes me sick."

A sad smile appeared on her face.

"It's nothing. I survived until now, it's all that matter."

The heavy silence came back and stayed, even when the waiter gave her her drink. After a few minutes, Ditzy asked again.

"What is it?" she said, pointing at the Glock 17 with a hoof.

A sigh escaped his lips.

"A weapon, it belongs to me. It’s like a crossbow but quicker and deadlier."

"Oh, I see." was all she replied before taking a sip of her beer.

Now, the mailmare looked unsure. "Did you ever...killed?"

Again, he sighed.

"I can't say I didn't do it. So, it's clearly a yes. How much? I stopped to count after fifty. I never felt any pleasure in doing this, I was defending my world, nothing else. I prefer peace to war. But I also had some good moments in my life: the friends, the parties, school. It's not like I had a shitty life, bullied by some bastards every day after school because of my weight or something else."

She didn't say anything, the silence was his only response. Not like he cared. Strangely, Ethan felt like a weight disappeared from his chest and his shoulders.

Finally, the grey Pegasus left the human alone after a few more beers. While looking at his half-empty glass, a light laugh escaped his lips.

"Alone... as always. Why am I not surprised?"

The color of his cheeks had taken a red color, just like a tomato, because of the alcohol. He wasn't sure if he could think and walk straight now he had a few drinks in his blood. But if there was one thing the writer promised himself the day he had received his driving license, it was to not drive if he was drunken...because he didn't want to have a car accident and kill someone because of it.

"Don't you think you had enough drinks? In all honesty, the boss doesn’t want to clean the mess if you throw up."

Ethan looked at the waiter.

"Nah, don't worry buddy. I'm human, I'm tougher than you think."

"If you say so. If it happens, don't complain because I warned you."

He nodded.

"Count on me to leave this bar without spitting a single drop of vomit on the floor."

"I hope."

Then, the pony with brown mane walked away to take care of a few customers, leaving again the two-legged creature on his own. Until dawn.

Ending Mission

It has been one week since Ethan’s hangover and six days after his meeting with the Griffons. Said meeting which ended pretty well, with a dinner in the royal kitchen. The king and the ambassador of the Griffons were more than pleased to learn that Ethan was omnivorous, and by extension, liked meat. The three of them had an interesting talk about the different kinds of meat and their personals tastes. Finally, after a cup of tea with some blueberry muffins, the two brown half-lions/eagles with wings left the Palace, happy.

Needless to say, Celestia was also pleased. Thanks to his presence and the many things he had in common with the griffins, the prospect of being at war had become impossible. In the best case, the human helped to improve the relation between the two species and was proud of that.

Not even two days after the meeting, Luna and Applejack apologized for their attitude at the contest. Their sincere apologies and the look on their eyes when they say it was more than enough for Ethan to accept to talk to them again. After a few researches with the help of Twilight, the young Gray has found an energy source which could help him to go back on Earth: a bolt of lightning. All he needed was a thin metal rod connected to his GPS and to the plasma engine which will create the wormhole. Fortunately, the weather team has planned a big storm for today.

The writer was running in the streets of the city. He already stopped at Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy’s cottage to say goodbye but none of the mares were present. Stopping in front of Golden Oak Library, he saw a parchment pinned against the door.

‘The Library will remain closed for the next days due to a last minute meeting with the Princesses and all the Elements of Harmony. Please come back later.

Twilight Sparkle’

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. It pained him to not be able say goodbye to the mares.

“Too bad I couldn’t see them one last time… but I can’t wait another scheduled storm to go back on Earth. Time is against me.”

Then, he walked back to the field where his car was. It took him a good fifteen minutes to arrive at destination. Being as organized as the Element of Magic, all his belongings were stored on the backseats, thanks to the trunk which was used to have the major part of the plasma engine. Ethan opened the door of the Skyline and sat on the conductor seat before closing the door. The blue/green screen of his media browser lit up itself, showing some information.

[Beginning of the storm in two minutes and forty-one seconds]

Using his right hand, the ex-soldier began to write and memorize the coordinates of the Earth with the virtual keyboard which appeared on the LCD screen.

[The coordinates have been memorized…departure sequence activated. Objective: Planet Earth]

A smile grew on his face.

He turned on the V6 1500HP and began to drive. At first, Ethan made a few sprints to warm up the motor and the tires. At the moment his computer told him it was time, he decided to stop his car a few kilometers away from Ponyville. Looking at the sky, he saw it was covered in dark grey clouds, ready to unleash the electricity they had in them.

Like when he had his race with Rainbow Dash, the human drived at full speed, near 250 mph. It was at this moment he saw a beam of golden light in the sky, coming from his left. He turned his head in this direction and raised an eyebrow. A few more beams followed after the first one. The frequency with which they appeared on the sky was vaguely familiar for the young man. His brain choose this moment to found the answer: it was a S.O.S coming from Canterlot! Twilight and the others had problems or were in danger!

As quickly as his fingers could move, he replaced the coordinates of the Earth by those of Canterlot. Fortunately, one of the clouds chooses this moment to release a bolt of lightning, right on the car. The second after, a black portal opened and engulfed the Nissan inside, making it reach the speed of light.

A very loud detonation echoed in the city which broke the windows of the houses around the white and golden Castle. A black portal appeared from nowhere, the grey and blue Skyline left it. Then, the portal disappeared.

[Warning! The plasma engine had received heavy damages from the travel. It can’t be used anymore]

“Shit!” swore the human, walking out of the car.

[A large amount of unknown creatures have been detected inside and around the castle. Please proceed with extreme caution]

“That’s what I thought.”

Then, Ethan opened the trunk and took two things from it: P90 and Spas-12. Unfortunately, he only had one magazine for the first and nine rounds for the latter. Rushing inside, he saw that most of the guards were on the ground, unconscious or maybe dead. He continued to sprint until he reached the double doors which separated him from the mares. Strangely, his instinct told him they were closed by magic.

The human took something in his hands, it was beige and rectangular with an inscription on it: C4. He put it against the doors before taking a few steps back. One pressure on his phone and it exploded, leaving a hole. Walking inside with the P90 in his hands and raised, he looked around him to finally see the two Princesses, the Mane Six and Spike in front of him, a few meters away and under a golden bubble. And between the human and the ponies were one or two hundred of strange creatures, covered in black shell with holes, big blue eyes, a horn and wings. One of them was as tall as Celestia but he/she had a long blue mane and his/her eyes were different. They looked like those of a reptile or a snake.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” asked the taller creature, female by her voice. “It’s the first time I see something like this. What are you?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

A light laugh escaped her lips.

“Fine. I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings.”

“Major Ethan Gray. Human.”

Strangely, the Queen smiled. The young man didn’t like it at all.

“So, it’s you the strange creature who appeared in Equestria three weeks ago. Interesting, I’m sure I could find something for you to do.”

“Why are you here?” he asked, tightening his grip on his weapon. “What do you want?”

“But, Equestria of course! First, I want this country to feed my childrens and then, conquer the world!”

“Sorry but even if I understand your motives, I can’t let you do this.”

At this moment, he pulled out something from his belt and launched it in the middle of the ‘bug-ponies’ before rushing to the eight mares and one dragon.

“It’s about time you show up Ethan, we need your help!” said Celestia, in a desperate tone. The shield she created around began to break because of the Changelings’ earlier assault.

“The fate of Equestria is in your hands. They’re too powerful, even for me and Luna. Do you understand?”

He perfectly knew what she meant and nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them. Go now!”

The two princesses used the distraction to teleport themselves and the other mares outside the castle. Ethan used the grenade launcher of his P90. The bullet exploded slightly above the front door, sealing himself and the creatures inside. He emptied his magazine on the Changelings who were still blind, thanks to the flash grenade. Then, he threw away the useless gun to take the shotgun in his hands. One detonation, one death. But after nine corpses, he had to do the same thing as with the semi-automatic gun.

At this moment, dozens of changelings entered the throne room.

“Looks like I’ve got more company, let’s have a little fun!”

“You think you can beat us? You’re all alone and nopony can help you. Even Celestia is not strong enough to win against my army!”

Ethan smirked.

“I don’t care. If I can’t defeat all of you, I want to be sure to take as much as possible with me.”

Maybe for the last time of his life, Ethan activated his black and red armor which slowly appeared on his body, finishing by the helmet.

-- A/N: Listen to Guile Theme from Super Street Fighter IV (or FF VI - The decisive battle) for more epicness before reading what's going to happen --

[Check-up...]

[HUD: Enabled]

[Radar: Enabled]

[Thruster: Enabled]

[Tranquilizer dart: Enabled]

[Energy shield: Enabled]

[Assimilation Module: Enabled]

[Missiles: Enabled]

[Ice Module: Enabled]

[Plasma Module: Enabled]

[Electric Module: Enabled]

[Emergency Energy Tank: Waiting]

[All systems are online and functional]

“Let’s finish this!”

Then, the human unsheltered his two guns, one in each hand. The Glock 17 on the left and the energy gun in the other. All the creatures rushed to him. The sound of multiples detonations echoed inside and around the castle. Celestia, Luna and the Mane Six could hear it, even if they were outside the building. Each time it was heard, a changeling died but was quickly replaced by two others.

The young man jumped and rolled on the side, dodging some green magic shots. He pushed a little button on the left side of his Glock 17 and ejected the magazine while firing with his second weapon. The others clips were tied against his left thigh and hip, thanks to a magnet. He moved the gun to it and reloaded.

Thirty-four left, more to go!

One of them charged him. Quickly, he gave it an uppercut, followed by a very powerful kick in the chest. He sent his victim against one of the wall of the room. The others looked at him, very pissed. All this time, the grin never left his face, even if he was the only one to know it, because of his half-opaque red screen.

“There’s no way you can defeat us! Submit or die!” yelled Chrysalis, anger and annoyance in her voice.

He laughed. It was a frank laugh, coming right from the heart.

“There’s one thing you have to know about the humans. We’re the craziest creatures in the universe: if we fight something dangerous, we are stupid enough to prefer die than declare forfeit. Unfortunately, I’m one of them. So, go fuck yourself, you and your minions. Oh….and one more thing: contrary to ponies, humans rarely show mercy to their enemy, even none sometimes.”

“In this case, you’re going to DIE!”

“Ladies first! Come get some!”

Again, the young man with grey hair pulled the trigger of his weapons, hitting his target each time. Changelings fell on the ground, a single bullet right between their big blue eyes.  And those who he couldn’t kill with his guns, Ethan tried to injure them badly, breaking a neck, a wing, a leg or a nose with his legs or elbows. Thanks to the light weight of his exoskeleton, he could move freely, without any restraint and avoid most of the magical blows they sent him. Even if his shield protected him against the projectiles, he didn't want to push his luck too far.

Unfortunately, one of them had the opportunity to kick him behind the right leg, forcing him to kneel down. In a quick move, he put his left hand in his back and fired three rounds. Then, he gave a round-house kick to one of them who tried to stab him in the neck. Some of the 'bug-equines' tried to use his moment of weakness to hit or kill him but only met pieces of metal which flew right on their head or heart.

A single drop of sweat fell down his left cheek. Even if he was a soldier and one of the best, he was only human. Ethan had his limits, like anypony else. But he didn’t care. He knew it was surely his last fight. He was going to die here, and was absolutely not afraid by this fact (or maybe a little). But, whatever could be the cost, Ethan had to take Chrysalis in his fall. The Queen was too dangerous to let her alive.

His second magazine dropped on the floor and, quickly, he reloaded again. Honestly, the writer didn’t know if he could win. He never doubted in his capacities but they were so many. Maybe one thousand…or even more. But he couldn’t give up.

Twenty changelings charged right at him. He aimed and fired.

"Hey Chrysalis! With my balls on your face… I'm sure you'll looks like a turkey."

"How dare you provoke me with such words! You will die when I'll authorize you to do it!"

"Try me."

Then, in perfect sync, all the Changelings present in the throne room charged at him. His eyes widened when he saw how fast they were. Without a single second of hesitation, Ethan activated his thrusters and jumped back to dodge the swarm. He allowed himself to exhale before pulling again the triggers of his guns.

Two of them tried to bit his left leg but he kicked them in the head, sending the duo through a window. Unfortunately, this move was enough to distract him and be used as an opportunity to weaken him. A Changeling flew behind him and restrained his movements.

His mind began to panic at the moment he saw the others catching up. The Major put more energy on his thrusters to harm his foe. The two of them collapsed in the ceiling, making the black bug lose his grip on him.  Finally, all the creatures were on him and the added weight slowly forced the human to land on the red carpet. What worried him next was the level of his energy shield. It lowered quickly, maybe too quickly for him.

There was only one explanation for this: the Changelings were using their magic to feed on his armor energy source! And soon, he’ll be defenseless. Less than two minutes later, which was an eternity for him, all the weapons and equipments he had were disabled. Finally, the dark exoskeleton disappeared. His forehead was covered in sweat, his chest was quickly rising and falling. Ethan was standing with one knee and one foot on the ground. He tried to stood up but couldn’t because of the exhaustion.

Slowly, the bug-ponies made a few steps back to let the human freely took his last breaths. A small smile, which quickly grew into a grin, could be seen on the Queen’s muzzle.

“I was telling the truth when I said you couldn’t win against us but no…. you had to be stubborn and try to save the day.” said the tall Changeling, confidence and pride in her voice while walking to him. “Look at yourself. You may come from another world, have better weapons than us.” At this moment, she stopped a few inches from him and lowered her head at the level of his left ear to whisper the next words. “But in the end, I win. And don’t worry, I’ll take great pleasure to break the minds of the two mares you love before transforming them into broodmares.”

Ethan chooses this moment to lose it. If there was one thing he hated, it was to hear someone…or somepony in this case, threaten his loved one.

The Major plunged a needle where his heart was.

“Emergency systems activated. Emergency Energy Tank activated. Remaining amount of blood: six and a half liters” said a robotic voice, echoing in the room.

He stood up on his legs and directly looked into Chrysalis’ eyes. When she saw the way he looked at her, she couldn’t suppress a shiver. There was a monster behind those eyes. Quickly, he rushed to her, crouched with his left hand forming a fist before jumping to hit her under the chin while turning on himself, delivering a very powerful uppercut  (also named Shoryuken). His first attack was quickly followed by a round-house kick which send his victim against the goldent throne.

Her minions rushed to the human, trying to kill him. A powerful surge of energy surrounded his body and pushed them back. He was again covered by his exoskeleton. Looking around him, Ethan spotted his energy gun, ten meters away from his position.

A sigh escaped his lips.

He couldn’t reach it in time. There was only one thing he could do to save Equestria.

[Self-destruction activated]

Slowly, the different parts of his armor disappeared to from a growing ball in his hands. After ten seconds, his armor was completely compacted into a black sphere with a small screen and a keyboard. He wrote the number: 007 on the screen with the keyboard before pushing the button Enter.

The Queen emerged from under the rumbles and saw the ball. Ethan smirked before launching it at her. The bomb was glued to her chest.

“Payback time, you little bitch. I hope you’ll have a good time in Hell.”

Seeing this, all the bug-ponies rushed to Chrysalis, trying to remove it but it was futile. The young man quickly rushed to the nearest window, hoping to reach it in time. The bomb exploded and Ethan was pushed back by the blast created. He began to fall but, fortunately, his body was covered in gold and teleported just before he could hit the ground.

Ending Theme

He reappeared with his back against the left side of his car. The writer watched the throne room disappear in front of him. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. It was over.

The sound of hoofsteps reached his ears.

"Is Chrysalis dead?" asked the white ruler.

He nodded, not even making the effort to look in her direction.

"The bomb was glued to her torso, it's impossible she could have survived to something like this, even with her magic."

"Thank you. It’s what I needed to hear. Ethan, we, ponies of Equestria, are in your debt. I would be honored to..."

"Oh no ma'am, I prefer to do things my own way."

Celestia laughed.

"You thought I wanted you in our army? No, I'd like to make you an Equestrian citizen."

"I see. Thanks for the offer but I think it's a little too late." replied the young man, before coughing blood.

The white Pegasus with horn smiled sadly.

"Is it time, Ethan?"

He returned her smile, joy in his eyes.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

“Why?”

“My armor has an emergency system which can only be activated at my will. Unfortunately, and thanks to the Changelings, the energy tank was empty so…I needed another energy source to make my suit appear. This source was my blood. I used it to initiate the self-destruct mode and it aggravated the progress of my disease.”

Weakly, the Major put his hand in a pocket, inside his jacket, and took its content before giving it to the ruler. The latter opened the letter with her magic.

"Read it out loud, they have the right to know."

At each word, the tone of his voice weakened.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I…, ‘she could see a few drops of ink on the parchment, seeing that he was searching the right words to write’,...Today, I learned a lot of things. I learned to open my heart and talk freely about what I feel or think. Because if I hide those kinds of things to my friends, I could hurt their feelings. And in the end, I could lose their trust. I already did it in the past and I think I learned my lesson. I already know about friendship and love but here….it’s different. I mean, I know it sounds silly but it was easier to speak with Twilight, her friends, you and Luna than with those I frequented on Earth. I could talk a lot of thing with them more naturally than with the others humans. Maybe in another life I belonged to Equestria, who know?

To be honest, if I wasn’t dying, I would have stayed for the rest of my life with all of you, in Equis. But I wanted to see again my old friends before facing the death. Especially Ian, my mentor, to thank him for everything he did for me. For being the paternal figure I never had. And my best buddy, Anthony, for his crude and dirty jokes...I almost died of laugh a few times because of it. I also use this letter as a testament to give some…gifts to my friends: my books belong to Twilight, I hope she'll like them. My IPod which contain all the songs I have is for Vinyl, Applejack and Luna have my sketchbook and half of my jewels. Rarity can add my spare clothes in her wardrobes. Rainbow Dash will be happy to possess my car. I give the other half of my jewels (which are in the truck of the Skyline) to Fluttershy, she can sell it to have the necessary bits for feeding her animals. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything physical for Spike or even you Celestia but…I forgive you for everything you did.

You have my friendship and a special place in my heart for the rest of eternity. I have one last, silly thing, to write but…Friendship is Magic. It always was and will always be.

I’m sure it's only a goodbye.

Your faithful human and friend, Ethan Alexander Gray

At the end of the letter, the tall white mare was crying. She didn't care anymore about her image as a kind but distant and emotionless ruler. When she lowered her head to him, she saw his smile was still here and his eyes were closed.

"Ethan?" asked Celestia.

No response.

She knew he was not with them anymore. Luna tried to make a step forward but her older sister stopped her, shaking her head. The others ponies who were with them began to look away. Lulu and Applejack were in each other arms, freely crying the death of their lover. Tia walked to them and opened her wings to wrap them in it, as a gesture to comfort them.

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will just be fine." she whispered to her little sister and the orange pony while looking at the magnificent twilight, with the lowering sun and rose-red clouds.

Using her magic, Celestia opened the car and took a white book which was on the passenger seat. It was written: 'Sketchbook' on the cover. Without a word and still using her magic, the Sun Goddess looked at the drawings. Seeing this, the others mares and the drake walked to her side, also watching. Every one of them was on it, caught in their best behavior by his eyes.

Then, a last picture appeared on the sketchbook. It was showing him, wearing his black and red armor with his energy gun in his right hand, his helmet between his arm and right side and his left hand up, at the level of his torso, in a sign of 'thumb up' and with a smile on his face. Something was written under the drawing:

"See you next time!"

Despite their sadness, the Mane Six and the two rulers smiled at this. Even if Ethan said it now belonged to Applejack and Luna, it was for all of them, to keep a part of him in their hearts, as a last gift.

The End.

Chapter 1

"Remember, when you'll be at 88 mph, the module will activate itself, create a hole in the spacetime and the second after, you'll break the speed of light, am I clear?"

The pilot of the car nodded. The scientist could only see the red screen and the eyes behind it. His body was covered by a black and metallic armor.

"Perfect. See you after the experience."

He closed the window of the vehicle and the scientist made a few steps back.

Ten seconds after

[Position: Land of Equestria]

[Local Time: Five in the morning]

*Boom*

The sound echoed in the vast field, void of any tree, lake or any sign of civilization. A white flash followed just after the sound.

*Boom*

*Boom*

The white lights lightened the dark blue sky, void of any cloud. Then, a grey thing appeared from nowhere and stopped its course immediately after its appearance. White smoke escaped from its wheels.

The mysterious and long object had four black tires, was colored in a light shade of grey with two blue striped in the middle. Finally, after a few seconds, the left door opened and a creature, walking on two legs, left the vehicle. A black armor with a red screen on the helmet, covered the body, toe to head. A grey and silver pistol was placed on the upper part of its right leg. It looked around him and sighed. Nothing but grass.

"Looks like a desert but in green and without the heat." commented the male voice, ironically.

[Location: Unknown. Please fulfill the database]

"Maybe activating the speed light system at eighty eight miles per hour messed up because it was too slow? Anyway, where the hell did I ended? This planet has a lot in common with the Earth but it's not in my database... very strange."

The radar on his HUD didn't show any sign of life at three miles around the vehicle. He walked back inside his car to look at the plasma energy tank, on the panel, which was empty. But, the solar energy tank, used to drive the car, was at one-hundred percent of his capacity.

"Great. I'm struck in a new and, surely, dangerous world. At least, I have some food and water to survive for a week. If I'm lucky, there could be a city not very far from here."

He pushed a black button and a few second later, he was rewarded by the soft growl of the V6 1500 HP that reached his ears. He smiled. He turned up the radio and began to drive. The mp3 player selected a random song, it was Pacific Coast Highway by Kavinsky.

The dark blue coat of the night slowly faded away, leaving his place to the first beams of the sun which arise at the horizon. Some stars were still here but, with time, began to disappear. The faint ghost of a smile grew on his lips. The view was just...beautiful. And the electro song was perfectly accorded with the landscape.

He continued to drive for hours, just stopping for drinking or gain a few minutes of sleep. Quickly, the scenery changed. Some trees appeared and even a dirty road. Then, he drived before a big red farm with many field filled with apple trees. He even saw a red stallion with a blondish-orange mane and a green apple cut in two on the flank, bucking a tree.

Quickly, he braked and stopped his vehicle at the entrance of the farm. The two-legged creature left the car and walked to the animal. While this, he looked around him, seeking for the owner or even, any form of intelligent life.

Then, the human shouted: "Excuse-me, is there anyone here?"

He waited for a few seconds before a voice answered him.

"Eeeyup."

"Where are you? I don't see you."

Unfortunately, he looked at his right and his head met two hooves. His body flew a few meters away, landing on the ground. Thanks to his armor, he didn't feel any pain but was a little light-headed by the hit. The human didn't have the time to recover than he felt something heavy on his chest. The red horse looked at him, serious and unhappy.

"What are ya'?"

The words left the mouth of the creature, leaving him dumbfounded and in awe. A horse who can talk! No way! He was surprised by this discovery but his brain regained control of his senses and calmly, he put his hands behind his head.

"Calm down, I come in peace. I don't mean any harm to you or your specie."

"What make ya think ya say the truth?" asked the red stallion, with a southern accent.

A faint sigh escaped from his lips.

"Nothing. As a sign of peace, I'll let you see me without my armor and explain what I am. Okay?"

He didn't wait the answer to close his eyes and let his armor became a blur, just before it disappears, letting his tanned skin feel the outside world. His icy blue eyes met those of the stallion.

"As complex as it sounds, I'm what you can call "thing/being/monster/alien" which is true for the last...or even hairless ape, your choice. But the name of my specie is Human, or Homo-sapiens. It seems I, by pure accident, traveled from my world to yours and I need to find a way to go back. By the way, my name is Ethan."

The animal put a hoof on his chin and was in deep thoughts. Can he really trust this 'creature'? What if he lied and only wanted to hurt him and the others? Almost reluancty, the red stallion decided to give a chance at this "human". A small smile appeared on his face before putting his hoof up.

"Mah name Big Macintosh but ya can call me Big Mac."

The human in the armor took the hoof with his left hand and used it to rise up.

"Thanks."

“Ah think ah can help ya."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“Seriously? Just like that?”

"Eeeyup. Mah sister and her friends know the Princesses."

"You're ruled by royalty?"

Big Mac nodded.

"Interesting, where are they?"

“At the border of the Everfree Forest, ah’ think.”

“Okay but…where is this forest?”

Big Mac sighed and pointed at his left, with his hoof.

“There.”

“I see. Thanks for the help, sir. And farewell…I think.”

"Yea, and Ah'm sorry for hurting ya'!"

Ethan laughed.

"Nah, it's nothing. I'm perfectly fine."

The red stallion smiled and chuckled, looking the human turn around and walk towards a big and grey thing. This guy was, at least, unique. Then, he resumed his work by bucking the nearest tree. At the same moment, the young man was at his car and opened the door. A gust of wind passed through the fields and lifted his long gray hair. His icy blue eyes looked toward the trees a few kilometers away. A small smile appeared on his thin lips before he sat down on the conductor seat and close the door.

Again, the engine came to life and growled.

Whatever he want it or not, it was the beginning of a new adventure for Ethan.

And it's going to be epic...or not.

Chapter 3

“So, what song will I listen?” asked Ethan to himself, walking to his car and opening the door.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and his black armor disappeared in a blur. He sat in the conductor seat and looked at the media browser with LCD screen. He searched in his files and selected song he wanted to hear. It appeared on the screen. He touched the play button and closed the door. The first notes were those of an electric guitar, followed by a synth.

“Ah, Greyhound, one of the best song ever. And one of my first eargasm too.”

The conductor fastened his belt and pressed the black button to give life at his mechanical monster. He passed the first gear and pressed the gas. He quickly climbed at 40 mph before passing the second gear, in a fluid and expert motion. The seconds, and finally the minutes, elapsed slowly.

Finally, his situation was not so precarious. If he has some luck, Ethan could be at home at the end of the day, or the next morning. The inhabitants of this world were fortunately not hostile to his presence, and pretty well accepted him. Even if they were talking ponies. This would have been very difficult for him to have to fight these “cute” creatures. Anyway, the young Gray was not here to become friend with them. He only needed those ponies to go back on Earth, and hoped they knew it. Because, if it wasn’t the case, then, he would feel obliged to clearly explain the situation and he knew they could not took it very well. Especially the orange one. Ethan had to keep an eye on her.

Yes, he saved her life but, he only does it because she was in danger, nothing else. The human didn’t want any misunderstanding between them.

After a few moments, he passed before a beautiful cottage and quickly looked at it. He whistled.

"Not bad... I wonder who is the lucky one which lives here." he whispered before concentrating again on the road.

Ethan decided to drastically reduce his speed, passing from 104 to 30 mph because he was not very far from Ponyville and it would be dangerous to drive in town at this speed. He gradually pressed the break and changed back to the second gear. The city itself was bigger than he thought. It could certainly contain a thousand people, maybe even more.

"Where the heck are they?"

He looked around for a few moments when suddenly, he saw a familiar purple pony, waving a hoof in his direction. Close to her was a big tree. This one had a wooden door, a balcony and some windows with flowers on them. Two words could describe this thing: tree house.

"She lives in a tree house? Why am I not surprised?"

Then, Ethan stopped his vehicle in front of the construction. A sigh escaped his lips. He stopped the engine and muted the mp3 player. Again, he closed his eyes and concentrated to make appear his armor, thanks to his neural implant and an old equation from a time long ago, called E = mc².

He opened the door and stepped out of the car. All the ponies who were in the area looked at him and his vehicle with fear, surprise and curiosity in their eyes. The young man completely understood their reactions. He would have reacted the same way if something new and, maybe dangerous, arrived from nowhere on his planet. Finally, he closed the door and locked the car, just in case.

“Whoa, what the hay is that?” asked Rainbow Dash, turning around the vehicle. Twilight stayed at the entrance of the library but looked curiously at the car.

Ethan smiled.

“This is my car. Her full name is Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R. She was produced in 1999. She has a V6 that gives 1500 horsepower, in the four-wheel drive. She has a manual transmission with six speeds. I can do the 0-60 mph in 3,1 seconds. The basic model is a 2.8 L Twin Turbo RB28Z2 with only 500 hp. With the help of some friends, I completely modified the engine and the power system. She only uses the solar energy to operate. I also have a plasma energy tank, that I used to come here, but it’s empty. At least, I can say that I'm proud of this 'mechanical monster'. All of this for only 1440 kg.”

The two mares looked at him, dumbfounded. Only one word could describe their feelings and Rainbow expressed it:

“Wow.”

Then, she regained her composure.

“This ‘car’ is so awesome! I really want to race it….”

She was interrupted in her talk by Twilight who closed her mouth with her magic.

“Wait Dash, we have most important matters to do before any of this. Spike sent the letter to Princess Celestia. While waiting for her reply, we have to present him to Ponyville.”

“No.” snapped Ethan, before continuing. “I am not going to present myself to anyone. The less I’m around the populace, the better things will be.”

“Why?” asked Twilight, surprised.

“Come on, it’s pretty obvious, no? I’m a human, an alien for your specie. They could freak out if they see me. You know as me that I need to find a way to go back on Earth and you’re the only ones who can help me. Plus, it’s dangerous to stay around me. You saw my abilities to handle a risky situation.”

“I….understand. But are you really sure that you don’t want to go in front of everypony to say that you’re not threatening?”

“Yes…and no. It’s not that simple. First, I don’t like speeches. Not that I’m shy or something but…I don’t need to do it seeing that I only stay as much as necessary…”

The human heard a sound behind him and turned around faster than anypony could blink, aiming his gun at the source of the sound.

_____

Five minutes earlier

Today, Vinyl was outside. This day was her first day off in one week. Her work as a DJ kept her busy, travelling from town to town in the most famous nightclubs of Equestria. And today, it was her turn to fill the fridge in food. She lived in a modest house with her best friend, Octavia, a grey earth pony. Today was a good day. The sun was high in the sky and the temperature was perfect. Vinyl was at the market since a few minutes when she heard a strange sound, like a growl but more deep and far from here.

Quickly, the sound grew louder and something else could be heard. She recognized it. It was music. But not any type of music, it was techno. She distinguished it because of the bass. They were so powerful that the ground trembled.

The white unicorn stopped her shopping and decided to investigate by following the origin of the bass. She stopped herself when she saw a long and strange grey thing stopping itself in front of the library. Then, a strange creature, walking on two legs opened the door. This was the first time she saw something (or somepony) like this. Her curiosity took the best of her and, carefully, walked toward the trio.

Her left front hoof stepped on a dead branch that broke in two. The black thing heard the sound and turned round, only to meet her. During this moment, she saw his eyes. They were full of sadness, experience and wisdom.

_______

Now

His eyes met a white mare, a unicorn precisely, with electric blue mane and a pair of goggles on the head, covering her eyes. The tattoo on her flank was a musical note.

“Ethan, don’t shoot! She’s a friend!”

“What do you want?” he asked, slowly lowering his weapon.

The mare lightly cocked her head on the side and smiled.

“I heard some music and I wanted to know where it comes from.”

“It was me.”

Then, he ignored her and looked at Twilight.

“When will we have a reply from the princess?”

“I don’t know. Today would be perfect.”

The lavender unicorn walked to the white mare and said:

“I’m sorry he pointed his weapon at you Vinyl but he’s new here and still freak out when he sees a pony.”

“How so?”

This time, it was Ethan turn to answer.

“I am not a pony. I came in your world by accident.”

“So, what are you?”

He inhaled deeply, already bored to repeat the same thing.

“My name is Ethan Gray, I’m a human.”

The DJ nodded.

“Well….cool. You should drop by my house someday. I have some songs you could like. Don’t worry if you don’t know where I live, Twilight will show you.”

“Maybe. If I still here tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. See you later!”

Finally, the white unicorn walked back to the market, leaving the human, the librarian and the cyan pegasus alone. The young Gray put his behind against the hood of his car.

“So, what do we do now? I’m bored.” asked Rainbow Dash, sighing.

“I….Ms. Twilight, do you have a book about all the creatures who lives in Equestria and a map of your world?”

“Yes, of course. There’s no need to call me Miss. Calling me by my name is enough. Why do you need them?”

He shook his head.

“No. I only call the people I know by their name. I have to fulfill the database of my armor. If I have meet again some other creature like the timberwolf, it would be better if I know all their advantages and weakness.”

“I see. And what about your friends? Don’t you call them by their name?”

“I don’t have friends... Well, just two or three, not more.”

The two mares looked at him. They were shocked to hear such words. How somepony like him, who saved AppleJack life without any hesitation, could be alone?

“Why?”

He shrugged.

“Long story, I don’t want to talk about it. Plus, you have to gain my trust to have the right to know about something like this.”

“What….aren’t we friends?”

A loud sigh escaped from his lips. This was going to be more complicated than he thought.

“No. Our concepts of friendship are completely different. In my world, to be able to call someone a friend, you have to get know them first. You have to share laughs, tears, pain and other stuffs with them. Hanging out is also a part of it. You can’t go in the street and ask a random person if he want to be your friend because in the general case, this guy will ignore you and shout at you to go annoy someone else, that’s why.”

“Seems complicated.” said Rainbow.

“I know but…it the life, we can’t do anything about it.”

Suddenly, the door of the library opened wide and Spike walked outside, in hurry.

“Twilight! I just received the reply from the Princess!”

Rainbow Dash and Twilight followed the little dragon. Ethan stayed outside for a few moments, before walking in the tree house. All he hoped was to be at home by tomorrow morning.

Chapter 11

When the tip of the red projectile, coming from the grayish weapon, made contact with the muzzle of its target, it exploded. The missile's content touched the timberwolf and wounded it, leaving burns and metal pieces in its body. This action created a reaction which killed the creature, instantly. The others wolves saw this and stepped back, even their leader, which was slightly taller and bigger than them. They knew that their enemy was powerful but not that much. Yes, physically, Ethan looked innocent and harmless. But, it should be a fool to judge a book by its cover. The leader of the pack learned it by experience and saw the fire of determination and the will to survive in his icy blue eyes. He shuddered. Never in his life he had seen so much strength. Hopefully, these qualities were guided by a pure heart, little stained, but pure nonetheless. This opponent was so different from the ponies. His pack had to be careful against him. With one little movement of his head, the assault was launched.

All the wolves made of wood sprinted and jumped to the human. Seeing this, the latter knew what he had to do. They were too close to let him aim correctly and kill some of them. He couldn’t jump over his opponents, it left the Princess defenseless. Yes, he was fast but in the end, he was only human. Even him had flaws. For the moment, protecting the Night Goddess was the top priority, nothing else. His life didn’t matter. Quickly, he head-butted the wolf in front of him and took the others in a bone-crushing hug. The poor victims of his hug yelped in pain. Thanks to his armor, it improved his strength. After a few seconds, the young man released his grip. The creatures fell on the ground, dead. Luna was impressed. In two movements, he killed four of them. He was completely right when he said that he was dangerous. What damages could he do if he used all his fighting knowledge and the full capacity of his exoskeleton? She didn’t want to know. Only her and her sister could be able to restrain him. That’s why Celestia limited his use of his weapons, a wise decision in her opinion.

He was blinded by rage. At the beginning, he only wanted to badly beat up the human for the loss of his brothers and sisters. But now, it was different. They died in front of his eyes, it called for revenge! The leader wanted his blood, wanted to tear off his members and let him die slowly and painfully, at all costs. He looked at the right of the human and saw the Lunar Princess. An idea came to his mind. Here was his weakness. If he was capable to harm her then, the two legged armor will make a mistake. What happened next was in slow motion for all of them. In a signal of his head, he gave the authorization at his subordinates to strike.

Quickly, his cannon took the form of a gun and he aimed. Four missiles left it and finished their course in their targets. Acting instinctively, Ethan looked at his left and saw the last timberwolf, rushing at Luna. In a fluid motion, the young Gray moved the upper part of his body and jumped. His torso made contact with the side of the wolf and interrupted him. The two opponents rolled on the side, each trying to harm the other. Finally, the human pushed back his enemy with his legs and get up. His weapon was a few meters away from him. It’ll be too long to take it back and kill the leader. During this time, he would have all the time he want to trying to hurt the Princess. Knowing that his situation didn’t left him much choice, he took the second option: finish the fight with his bare hands.

Ethan used the same technique which almost worked against Luna…his thrusters. The jetpack integrated in his armor took life and propelled him to his opponent who didn’t saw it coming. A black metallic hand made contact with the creature’s maw, sending him flying away. He crashed against a tree, one branch without any leaf, pierced his chest, where his heart was. After a few seconds, the pieces of his body fell on the grass.

The young man sighed.

“It’s over. Can’t say that I enjoyed it.” he said, concentrating to make his armor disappear.

The moment after, he was again in his clothes. The dark blue mare didn’t say a word, only observed him. How could he think, walk straight and fight after the six beers he drinks? Humans were very interesting and intriguing. Such complexity in a tall and slim body like his. No wonder why Twilight Sparkle was so interested by his specie.

“Are you injured Miss Luna?”

Strangely, she blushed. Why did he always put the word “miss” before her name? Was it a mark of respect? He explained why but for her…it was not enough. Did he do this with every mare he talked? Thanks to her coat, he couldn’t see the red on her cheeks.

“No. I’m fine. And thou?”

Ethan shook his head.

“I’m perfectly okay. Thanks for the help. I could have beaten them without my weapons but… it would have been more difficult.”

“It’s nothing. I'm glad to be useful.” She replied, trying to avoid the awkwardness in her voice.

“Good. Personally, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep after a fight like this one.” said the human, more to himself that to her. “So, continuing to repair the car is the only thing I can do and I’ll gain a few hours or even days if I work fast. But….—”

A violent cough, coming from his lungs, interrupted him in his tracks and his speech. The human felt something against his lips. He put two fingers and stroked it. It was wet and warm. Looking at what he dreaded, his eyes widened. Blood. He raised his head to her. At this moment, Luna saw the fear of dying in his icy blue eyes.

“Stay.*cough*..away from me. It’s not going..*cough*.to be pretty to see.”

The words difficultly left his mouth and each time he coughed, some drops of the red liquid fell on the dirt. He clenched his arms against his ribs, as if he was in pain. The burning sensation in his guts came back. The young man knelled down, his head low. He did his best to stay strong and not let the pain take too much importance. He didn’t want to look weak in front of the Princess. The crisis was as powerful as when he was in the Apple’s house, maybe even more. It didn’t take long for the transparent tears to appear. A loud scream escaped his lips and echoed in the field. Just by hearing this, it gave shivers in Luna’s back. He was in pain, it was obvious. So, why didn’t he do anything to cure it? Or, at least, reduce the pain?

His whole body trembled, exactly the same way when he confessed about his…rape. It was not another mental breakdown, right? Curious, she slowly made a step toward him. He didn’t hear it. She made another, then another, and another. After a few steps, she was in front of him. The Princess Of The Night could clearly see the pain on his face, as well as the whimpers coming from his mouth. Not knowing what to do, she opened her large and long wings and wrapped him with them. His head was now against her chest, he could hear her heartbeat. Along with the whimpers and cry of pain, she hears his sobs. Not two minutes ago, Ethan was in perfect shape and right now, he was broken, weakened from the inside by an incurable disease.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, before throwing up in front of her hooves. What left his mouth was the food he ate at the dinner with large amount of blood.

He pushed her from him and tried to stand up. The illness didn’t give him this opportunity. The Major fell on the floor, yelling in pain. His stomach was on fire, not literally but almost. Not being able to bear the pain any longer, he fainted.

“Ethan!” yelled a voice, coming from Ponyville.

The blue-winged unicorn raised her head to see an orange-coated pony with a hat, running at full speed to her. Luna recognized her as the Element of Honesty, Applejack.

“What in Tartarus is goin’ on?”

She quickly explained to the Earth Pony was happened, except the confession time, of course. Needless to say that Applejack was shocked and slightly panicked. She talked to the Princess about what she knew of the virus.

“Ah think that only Princess Celestia can help him.”

Luna nodded.

“Don’t move. It’ll be quick.”

The second after she say that, they disappeared in a flash and the moment after, they were in Celestia private chambers. The walls were covered in an orange-pink warm color. White tiles were on the ground, covering their hooves from the tar. The latter turned her head on the side, looking at the three intruders, half-asleep. When she saw the human on the floor, blood on his clothes, Celestia knew that something was wrong.

“What happened?”

“He had another crisis, Princess.”

Hearing this, she quickly stepped out of her bed and rushed at his side. Before she could do anything, his exoskeleton reappeared.

“Internal infection detected. Blood toxicity increasing. Please, stay away the subject during the healing.” said a robotic voice, in a monotonous tone.

“Can we do something to help him Tia?”

Her big sister shook her head.

“I’m afraid not. All we can do is waiting.”

The Element of Honesty sighed. A feeling of frustration rose in her. Why him? He saved her life, so why did he have to suffer? Yes, the human was cold, distant from everypony but kind enough to open his heart to those who earned it. Even if the Princess says that there’s nothing she could do to save him, the orange mare wanted to believe that there was a solution.

“I hope you have an explanation to be here, dear Applejack.”

Celestia’s voice snapped her from her thoughts.

“Yes Princess. We invited Ethan for dinner and after it, ah couldn’t sleep. After a few minutes of observing the sky, ah heard a scream. It was his voice, ah recognized it immediately because he had a crisis during the meal.” she half-lied, not wanting to go into details.

“I see. You should go back to your house. Your family will be worried if they don’t see you tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, the hard-worker pony nodded. If it was only for him, she would have stayed but her loved ones needed her. The Sun Goddess horn glowed gold and the moment after, Applejack left.

“You should go back to work Lulu. The doctors will take care of him from now. You’ll see him when I’ll take my shift.”

Without a word, the younger sister walked out of her sister room and closed the door behind her. A sigh escaped her tiny lips. She also, didn’t understand why it happened to him. He did not deserve to suffer. Nopony deserved to be hurt like he was. He had to be saved, despite what Tia said. With that thought in mind, Luna resumed her duty.

Celestia looked at his body, a single tear, coming from her beautiful violet eyes, fell down her muzzle. On her mind, she thought of every solution she had in her hooves but didn't have a lot. She could try to cure him with a spell but highly doubted it had any effect. Another solution, easier to do than the first, came in her brain. If it works, he'll be obliged to stay in this world and never go back on Earth. Yep, he's not going to like it. But first, she needed a crystal. A special kind of crystal. Only Cadance knew how or where find it. Celestia thought it would be a good pretext to give some news.

Ethan opened his eyes slowly, coming from a deep sleep, void of any dream. He felt tired and….old. His muscles were heavy and difficult to move. He yawned loudly, his mouth wide open, and looked at the unfamiliar white ceiling above him. He stared at it for a few moments, not sure where he was, or what was going on. The edges of his field of view were covered by a light red color. He realized that his armor had deployed itself on him. Why? The memories came back. The virus. His armor reappeared because of that, he was sure. He didn’t know where he was but deduced that the best possibility was a hospital.

[Blood toxicity: 69%]

[Estimation of time before total corruption and death: 4 months and half]

“Fuckin’ great” he whispered.

"Good to see you're awake."

Slowly looking at his left, he saw the white winged-unicorn, walking to his bed. Outside, the sun was high in the light blue sky, void of any cloud. He sighed.

"Glad to see you too, Princess. How long?"

"How long what?"

"I was unconscious. How long?"

"One week and half. I'm surprised to see you're still alive. You should be dead after all this time without something to eat or drink."

At this, Ethan smiled and growled.

"I don't have this armor for nothing. It can feed my body for an entire month without any solid food but only a needle with the necessary vitamins."

Celestia remained silent. She observed him. It lasted for a full minute before she broke the silence.

“I need you.” She said, neutrally.

He raised an eyebrow. If Celestia used this tone, emotionless and distant, so, it had to be serious.