Pete Powell's Life as a Pony, and Beyond

It was as though nothing had changed. In two thousand years the biggest advancement had been telephones, that was all. And that sent a smile across Pete's face. Clearly the princesses had everything in their hooves. He couldn't count the number of times they had told him how pointless most of the technology his world had developed was, and before long he had believed it. Seeing how much different the world may have been had magic been a thing was startling. There were no cellphones or ipods plugged into ears causing the citizens to drown out their world, no televisions blaring bad programming designed to numb minds, he loved it. Not even the stares of said citizens could put him off his mood, and there were stares. Not a single pony he passed didn't gape for at least a full minute before fleeing in arbitrary fear.

He continued walking down the street, the general flow of traffic going the other way. For the most part that didn't matter, they gave him a rather wide berth. There was one, however, an earth stallion, that had his eyes on the ground, and Pete with his head in the clouds. Their collision was inevitable. Though not a very large incident, it got a very interesting reaction.

“S-sorry, Pete,” the stallion muttered as he walked off, causing a wide smirk to pop up on Pete's face. The human took a moment to register the pony's looks before continuing his walk. On top of that, the little bump had given the human the perfect idea for how to go about reawakening the memories of the others. That stallion didn't know him, he couldn't have. So, that was a simple, natural reaction, and that was how he would find the others. By literal accident. Much in the way Luna had accidentally woke him up, he would do the same for the others.

“And this is the first step,” Pete muttered to himself, “My presence has not gone unnoticed, and it will spread far and wide. No matter who, or what, Celestia has made them, the tale of my return will spread and they will too.”

Chuckling at the ease of his plan, Pete continued wandering, getting his bearings for the city once more. There had been a few minor changes, but for the most part nothing was all that different. It was basically the same street layout as it had been two thousand years prior. Feeling safe in that knowledge, Pete directed his unshod feet towards the Southern wall. Specifically the large, single, stone tower that jutted up from the slums of Canterlot. He walked through the more desolate part of the city with weight, and purpose. Causing the usual ruffians to question attacking the large beast that was walking their streets. When he approached the tower, they held back. When he knocked, they fled.

The door slowly opened a moment later, revealing the face of a mare. White coat, with a very blonde mane, and piercing red eyes. As the mare studied the human through the gap in the door the single visible eye slowly faded to a deep ocean blue. The door closed, then opened fully, though the owner was no longer near. With a lazy smile on his face, Pete walked in. He didn't jump when the door slammed shut behind him, or when the candles lit the way into a small sitting room to the left. His demeanor remained casual as he took a seat and was served tea by unseen forces.

“You're as unflappable as ever,” a slightly annoyed voice said from the other side of the room.

“Of course Mary,” Pete replied, taking a tentative sip of the tea, “Coming back from the dead is, as you said, the ultimate ride. How could your parlor tricks instill fear in me where death itself did nothing?”

The mare from before stepped out from the shadows, “Yes, but you were like this before as well.”

“Death didn't scare me then either.”

“That 'plan' of yours,” she rolled her eyes, taking a seat in front of her guest, “I didn't expect you to go through with it, quite frankly.”

Pete chuckled, “You weren't the only one.”

There was a dreadful pause, a silence filled the air, broken only by the ticking of a clock somewhere nearby. The kind of moment that made the average person tense up, yet Pete remained unphased, almost detached from the moment. All the while the blonde pony watched him, his every move and minute gesture.

“What are you doing here?” she finally asked.

“I need to find out what's gone on these past 2,000 years.”

“And I'm your first choice? I'm flattered.”

Pete set the cup down and looked the mare in the eyes, “I'm certain by now news has gotten to you about what happened in the castle earlier. The princesses are busy, and you're the only other being I know that holds the status of immortal that isn't Discord.”

“And why not Discord?”

“Because I simply can not handle him. He's obnoxious and flighty. I need a history lesson, not a clown.”

“And so you walk right into the lair of a vampony. Throwing all caution to the wind.”

Pete smirked his infamous smile, “I've handled you once before, Mary. Don't think I can't do it again.”

Her eyes locked onto the human's teeth. She studied them, each and every curve, flat, and point. She gave a rather racy exhale each time she glanced at his canines.

“I always wondered about you, and I KNEW I was right.”

“About what?”

“You're an omnivore,” Mary said, her voice slightly awed, “Like me. Teeth for both plants, and flesh.”

Pete laughed, “It's too bad I'm a vegetarian, huh? So how long have you thought this?”

She stood up and turned around, “Since the moment you smiled at me almost 2,000 years ago. You remember it, right? That night in the alley?”

He relaxed, leaning back in his chair, “How could I forget? A string of assaults on upper class ponies, each victim drained of at least 40% of their blood. I had no idea vampirism existed in Equestria at the time. Worse yet, I was still looking for a method of immortality and this presented very interesting data.”

It was Mary's turn to laugh, “Yes, that was all you saw me as for the longest time. A research subject. A rat to be prodded and tested.”

Pete frowned, “What?”

“Oh don't play like that, it was so long ago I don't even care anymore.” Pete waited for her to continue. “Fine. You surely can't tell me you don't remember all the researchers that took samples. All the 'scientists' that ran their 'tests.' Flashing lights, spells, needles, sunlight...”

His smile fell into a mask of stone. “Interesting,” he growled, “I didn't order any of that. If you weren't dealing with me, personally, I didn't have a hoof in it.”

Mary looked at him with a small smile, “Does it bother you that much?”

Pete met her gaze, “I'm going to have a 'chat' with Luna when I get back. I do not condone such activities, and since I was supposed to be the only one studying you...” His hanging silence spoke volumes.

“Even so, the ones that did it are long gone by now.”

The human shook his head, “I don't care. This is about principal. If Celestia or Luna wanted to know something they could have asked me to find out. Instead they subjected you to the kind of experiments I was afraid the humans would have performed on them back in my world. I would have expected them to know better, considering the situation they were once faced with.”

“Don't you think you've done enough?” Mary looked away from her guest, “I'm alive, that's what matters.”

“Bloody Mary, alive?”

She turned back, “You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, a lukewarm corpse with a still heart and the last of your kind.”

“...are you always so blunt?”

Pete crossed his legs and sat back, “I'm merely stating fact. You aren't technically alive, Mary, and haven't been for thousands of years.”

A stifling silence filled the air for several minutes as Mary stared at the human. Finally she built up the courage to ask something that had been plaguing her mind for the last two thousand years.

“Why did you save me, back then? Luna ordered you to kill me, but you didn't. Why?”

“How many kills do you have?”

“Why?”

“Because I don't think you've ever killed. I was the lead investigator and I found zero evidence that you've killed. I went back a very, very long way and nothing you said, nothing you did, pointed to you having ever killed someone. You live a different kind of 'life' that requires you to do things you'd rather not. Why should you be punished for being fooled?”

Pete stood up and approached the pony in front of him. For just a moment Mary was afraid. She had been born in Canterlot long ago and had never left. She was not used to creatures that dwarfed her by comparison, even the princesses filled her with some level of fear, though for slightly different reasons. But then he lowered himself to her eye level.

“You are the last of your kind because of a curse of acceptance. The mare that did this to you tricked you, and you know that. I remember the day I cornered you in the alley just outside this tower. I can remember how helpless you were against me and my power, how easily it would have been to carry out Luna's orders. ...and how you begged me to.”

“... I had already been alone for over a thousand years. Nopony would accept this curse, and I wasn't going to trick another like I had been.”

“I know,” Pete said, soothingly, “Your mate had perished during the Nightmare Moon incident, one of the many creatures of darkness that rallied with their new princess and met destruction at the hands of Celestia's guard. That's why I didn't kill you, you had suffered enough.”

Bloody Mary looked Pete in his eyes, “If only you'd accepted my offer.”

“I thought about it.”

“If I'd known about your true disposition,” she nodded at his sharp canines, “I might have tried harder.”

“It wouldn't have worked,” he winked.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. We'll never know now. What could have been... ...enough of this,” she declared, stepping back, her voice becoming more serious. “It was a nice trip down memory lane, but I suppose it's time to leave the past buried where it is. You came to learn about the last 2,000 years, not reminisce, so let's waste no more time.”

Pete's inquiry was detailed, asking about many laws passed, inventions made, any changes in socially acceptable behavior, and general knowledge about any important figures. By the time he had gotten everything he wanted it was late, the moon hung full over his head as he approached the castle and he could see the guards shaking by the bright light. He walked past them without incident and headed straight for the audience chamber. He found Luna upon the throne listening to a group of aristocrats complain about himself.

Upon hearing the complete list of complaints, the human answered each one individually, in great detail. Unable to think up any more arguments, possibly on account of being scared out of their minds, the gathered ponies fled. With a dark smile, and an equally dark laugh, Pete calmly stepped up the stairs to his Princess.

“Good evening, Captain,” she said, a faint smile on her own lips.

“And good evening to you, Princess. How goes things?”

“My sister will be temporarily indisposed, she's finally in mourning after thousands of years,” she responded to his raised brow.

“I see," considering this, Pete decided not to dig into the royal pair about Mary just yet, "I won't pry any further than that then. I've finished my first rounds, as you can see, and I must say I'm impressed. You've managed to incorporate some things much better than my own world did, and almost nothing has changed.”

Luna smiled, “Well, physically the city is much the same, but the world as a whole is a different story.”

“So I've heard,” he said, momentarily reflecting on his cram session with Mary, “I think I'll retire for the night and start fresh in the library in the afternoon. I've still much to learn, yet again, and it seems like you'll need my help with some things. Especially with Celly out of the picture for a time.”

Luna nodded, “Very well. Get some rest Captain, and I'll thank you for whatever aid you can lend.”

Pete gave a short two finger salute, then proceeded to his room. Over the last two thousand years things had changed in government rather awkwardly. For whatever reason the three races, somehow unsatisfied by having two leaders that physically represented all the races, the wings of a pegasus, magic and horn of a unicorn, and the large size and strength of an earth pony, had chosen their own 'princesses' to represent them. There was still much intermingling and there was a noticeable lack of racism between them, but the whole of Equestria had been rather quietly divided into three parts. One for each race, and a small castle built for each of the princesses along with their own guards. For the most part this was fine, it meant there were more guards per square inch of nation, and it meant that there was a step between the mayor and Celestia/Luna. There was some slight dissension though. Some believed the new three should take over, some believe that Celestia and Luna should take the three out before the former can occur, and some from each side think there should be only one princess of Equestria.

It irritated Pete just a bit. Personally he was fine with these three new princesses, from what he heard they kept things quite civil and did a good job maintaining order. What bothered him was the ponies that felt they needed more power. It was those kinds that pushed towards war, and Pete would have none of that. Even if it killed him again.