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Intro1,702 words
Getting the details1,520 words
Crossing over1,527 words
Breaking the ice2,817 words
Settling in2,835 words
Ponyville (Part 1)4,501 words
Ponyville (Part 2)3,225 words
Getting to work2,818 words
Getting discharged3,393 words
Getting connected2,637 words
Formalities2,773 words
Find that filly!4,674 words
Hearts and minds3,831 words

Ponyville (Part 1)

Dark, motionless and the aroma of coffee. Pretty standard scene for an overworked, bored and grumpy human. Sure enough, there at the desk with his face planted firmly on the keyboard sat Charlie. Out the corner of his eye, he peered over at the clock.

“3:36 am. Been at this for ages now.”

He lifted his head to look up at his screen once more. He had the imprints of the keys from the keyboard on his forehead. He had no idea how much left he had to do. He had already configured the security systems and sent the report of to Peter a good few hours ago. Since then, he had read through dozens of documents detailing the systems built into the facility.

“This is ridiculous. A single man needing to remember all this? I had to re-read the last one twice just so I could remember what it meant! And THIS one doesn’t look any better.” He thought, looking as the mass of text on the screen. “Not to mention that these systems have been modified so extensively by Peter and his team that they don’t even resemble the original versions. Some of these even have small magical modifications. Like he expects me to grasp that right off the bat!”

He looked down into the now empty coffee mug in his hand.

“Between setting up the security systems and using the coffee machine, I can safely say I got the more important jobs done.”

Charlie sat back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling. “I guess I’ll call it quits for tonight. I don’t know what time Rainbow Dash will be arriving, so I best get as much sleep as I can.” He said to himself.

He locked his workstation, stood up and stretched the cracks out of his back. He groggily made his way into the bedroom, changed out of his clothes and got into bed.

“I bet she comes at 6am.” He mumbled, before giving an unsuppressed yawn and falling into a deep sleep.

5 Hours Earlier in Canterlot Castle

“Glad to see you’re feeling better, sister.” Celestia said from across the large table.

“If I had my way, I would not have been in that bed at all. It was only due to your stern suggestion that I conceded rest.” Luna replied from the other end of the table.

Celestia chuckled lightly. “Yes, you always were so stubborn. Still, I’m glad to see you rested. You were just in time to raise the moon as well.”

“Even with your requests, I would not let mere illness prevent me from performing my duties. However, it did stop me from assisting with yours. How did the meeting with the humans go?” Luna asked curiously.

“Very well, actually. It seems my trust Captain Swanson was well placed. He has performed well in his selection of his colleagues. This new one, Charlie, seemed nice. Although I shall be keeping an eye on him.” Celestia replied.

“And the elements? Did they fair well?” Luna asked.

“They were reserved at first. But they opened up to the humans nearer the end.” Celestia replied.

“Understandable, I suppose. Meeting strange aliens for the first time is quite the experience.” Luna sipped at her coffee. “This Charlie, would you like me to watch over his dreams? See if there is anything suspicious afoot?”

“No, not just yet. After all, our first meeting with him went very well and he is not yet accustomed to the ways of our world. I fear that imposing on his dreams may upset him. I trust Twilight and her friends can handle the situation for now. Let’s put our faith in them for the time being.” Celestia replied with a serious expression.

“As you wish, my sister.” Luna said before finishing her coffee.

A few moments passed as the two sat in comfortable silence. Celestia contemplated the potential future. What would the humans do as the two species become closer? How would the other nations of this world take to the arrival of the humans? So far, she had kept the humans operations strictly near the portal. She knew, however, that it would only be a matter of time until the rest of the world hear about the humans. Especially with this operation involving Charlie. She knew that she would need to be as involved as possible when that day came. The last thing she wanted was humans like those generals meeting the egotistical leaders of the Griffin and Minotaur kingdoms without her being present. That would not end well. Still, she had a little more time before that happened.

“Well, I think I shall retire to my chambers. I wish you well, Luna.” Celestia said, rising from her chair.

“You too, my sister. Sleep well.”

9am Ponyville

The library was quiet. Not unusual for a library, even more so at this hour. Technically speaking, it was opening time but nopony ever needed to come here this early. This meant Twilight was usually still in bed after a late night of reading. Spike, her assistant, was awake and taking care of the morning chores. Although only being a small dragon, he was able to take care of pretty much anything Twilight needed doing and he was immensely proud of that. He did, however, mess up from time to time. This morning was no exception.

*CRASH*

“AHH!” Twilight sat bolt upright in her bed. “What in the blue blazes is going on down there?”

Twilight got out of bed and made her way downstairs. She had her suspicions that Spike was in the kitchen. Making her way into the kitchen, sure enough, there was Spike with a pile of pots and pans across the floor. Spike stood in the middle with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Uhh, sorry Twilight. Slipped out of my claw trying to put one in the cupboard and....well.....it sort of brought the rest down too...hehe.” He said rubbing the back of his head.

Twilight sighed. “Oh Spike, if you have too much trouble with putting them in the high cupboards, just leave them on the counter. I can put them away easily with my magic.”

“No! I can do it fine! It’s just....that one was being uncooperative.” He said pointing at one of the pots on the floor.

Twilight walked over to Spike. “I know how seriously you take your work, Spike. Believe me, I appreciate all you do for me but I don’t want you getting hurt because of it. Can you understand?”

“Yeah, I know.” Spike sighed. ”I’ll be more careful. Thanks Twi.”

Twilight gave Spike a hug and helped him put away the mess of pots and pans. The both made some breakfast and sat down at the table together.

“So, how did your meet with the humans go yesterday? You didn’t talk much when you came home last night. You just locked yourself in your room with a load of books.....again.” Spike asked between mouthfuls.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It went very well. The human I’ll be working with is called Charlie. I got to see some of the technology the princess mentioned and, my gosh Spike, you have to see it! It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” Twilight replied excitedly.

“Would I be correct in assuming that’s what you were researching last night?” Spike asked.

“Absolutely! I had to see if we had anything similar. Even just a glint of something that could resemble those machines...but there was nothing.”

Spike finished his orange juice. “Well, I reckon you’ll know those machines inside out within a few months. You will be working with the human after all.”

“That’s right! Oh, I’m so looking forward to this. There’s so much we can learn!” Twilight said before finishing her breakfast. “Speaking of which, where’s Rainbow?”

“You expecting her?” Spike asked.

“Her and Charlie. Although we never agreed a time....stupidly.” She said looking at the clock.

“They’ll turn up. No rush.” Spike said casually.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get all this cleaned up while we wait.”

With that, Twilight and Spike set about cleaning up their breakfast.

Charlie’s Facility

Charlie groaned as he lifted his head up off the pillow and looked over to the alarm clock. He never was a morning person.

“9-ish” He mumbled as he slowly blinked his eyes in a feeble attempt to wake himself.

...

“SHIT!”

He jumped out of bed, opened the blinds and peered out the window. The sun was shining, birds chirping and all seemed normal. More importantly, there wasn’t any sign of an angry Rainbow Dash looking for him.

“Fuck, may have dodged the bullet this time. Gotta shower and get ready, quick.” He said before dashing into his bathroom.

20 minutes later, Charlie emerged out of the bathroom, put on some casual clothes and made his way into the work room. A quick once over the computer systems showed all was well. He opened the from door and went outside, expecting to see a certain cyan pegasus around. However, he saw no sign of her.

“Did I miss her? Surely she’d leave a note or something if so. Although, she seems more the type to just bash on the window until I woke up.” He said, looking around. “Guess I’ll give her some more time. She’ll fly back if she’s already come and gone.”

Charlie made his way back inside for some coffee and light breakfast.

-------------- 40 minutes later ----------------

“Where on earth is she? If I have to eat anymore of this ready-breakfast i’ll-“

Charlie was interrupted by a rapid knocking on the front door. He walked over, pressed the button to open the door and saw Rainbow standing there. Not only that, but she stood there bold as brass. Not a hint of guilt on her face.

“Morning Rainbow, or is it afternoon by now?” Charlie said sarcastically.

“Hey, it’s my day off. That means I get to sleep in a bit. Technically, this is early for my day off!”

“Well to be fair, I overslept a little myself. Although, if I knew you were coming over this late, I would have overslept some more.” Charlie said jokingly.

“Yeah well, ready to go?” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Been ready for about 40 minutes now. Let’s go.”

Charlie and Rainbow made it over to the mountain edge overlooking Ponyville. “You can’t fly can you? You’re gonna have to walk down there.” Rainbow said, pointing over toward a winding path down the mountain side. “Man, that will take you ages! Darn it.”

“Hold that thought.” Charlie said, turning and quickly dashing back. He made his way to the garage building and opened the sliding door.

“I’m sure it mentioned something in one of those manuals I read about- AHA!”
Charlie spotted a large sheet covering a moderately sized object. Grabbing the sheet, he pulled it away revealing what he was looking for.

“A quadbike! Sweet!” He said, smiling.

Hopping on, he saw another one of those fingerprint scanners on the handlebar only much smaller. Shrugging to himself, he placed his fingertip over the scanner. Shortly after, it made a small beep and the engine started. “Ho HO! This is gonna be fun!” He grabbed the helmet that was resting over one of the handles, put it on and slowly drove out of the garage.

“What’s going on in there?” Rainbow called over from outside. She then saw Charlie roll out on this strange machine. “Whoa, what’s that?”

Charlie came to a stop just in front of Rainbow. “This’ll get me down there quicker. Fancy a race to the bottom?”

This peaked Rainbow’s attention. “A Race!? Yeah! Oh you’re so going down!”

Charlie laughed from under his helmet. “Alright then.” Charlie pointed his quadbike toward the winding path. ”Ready?”

“Set” Rainbow said, getting into a low stance.

“GO!” Charlie opened up the throttle causing a thick cloud of dust to spew up behind him. He saw Rainbow leap off the mountain side, wings spread wide open. She was heading straight to Ponyville. Charlie raced forward down the path.

“Yeah, she’s obviously gonna win. Still, this is awesome!”

Down the mountain he went, winding down the dirt path. The quadbike was handling beautifully. He had used them many times before, back home on Earth. As he drifted round one of the corners, he could see Ponyville getting closer. The incline of the path started to level out, but Charlie kept up his speed. He raced down the path, leaving a thick cloud of dust behind him. He could see the outskirts of the town approaching. The path he was driving started to line up along the river bank that ran around the outskirts of Ponyville. Ahead of him, Charlie saw a bridge...with a very smug cyan pegasus hovering above.

“There’s the modest victor.”

Charlie reduced his speed and rolled to a stop at the bridge. Rainbow didn’t even look out of breath.

“Now who’s late, hmm? Geez, you took forever!” She said, smirking.

“Pfft, if this thing could fly, I’d give you a run for your money.” Charlie said, turning off the engine and taking off his helmet.

“Yeah yeah. Hey, what are you stopping here for? We’re going into town.” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to bring this thing into town. Might scare the locals.” Charlie said, getting off his quadbike. “I can leave it here. It won’t be going anywhere.”

“Suit yourself. I think it’s pretty cool.”

Charlie and Rainbow crossed the bridge and made their way into town. What Charlie noticed most was how traditional all the buildings looked. They were grand and colourful. They both entered one of the main market streets and Charlie saw many ponies going about their daily routines. Many of them stopped to look over at him. None of them said anything.

“The mayor has told the town that you’ll be around. Although I don’t think anypony here has actually seen a human before.” Rainbow said, hovering above him. “They’ll be a little nervous at first, but they’ll open up once they get to know you.”

All the stares that Charlie was getting from various ponies were making him very uncomfortable. He told himself before coming down to try to smile and appear friendly, but right now he was struggling to do anything even close to that. He kept his gaze to the floor as he walked down the street, following Rainbow’s shadow as she hovered above him.

Eventually, they made it to the library. Charlie peered up and saw the large tree in front of him. “Wait, that’s the library? Where Twilight lives? It’s a tree.”

“Well it’s a library.....made out of a tree. Not all houses here are the same, y’know. Like mine being made of cloud.” Rainbow said, pointing up to the sky.

“I think I’m just gonna have to accept whatever’s thrown in front of me in this world. There’s too much stuff that’s different.” Charlie said, shaking his head slowly.

Rainbow knocked on the door and they both waited. A few seconds later, Spike opened the door.

“Hey Spike! We’re here, is Twili-“ Rainbow trailed off as she noticed both Spike and Charlie staring at each other. “Oh, almost forgot. Spike, this is the human, Charlie. Charlie, this is Twilight’s assistant dragon, Spike.”

“Uhh...hey there” Spike said cautiously.

“D-Dragon?” Charlie asked taking a small step back. “Like, fire-breathing dragon?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Rainbow said, cocking her head to one side.

“I don’t do well with dangerous fire-breathing dragons.” Charlie said nervously.

“Oh relax. Spike’s not dangerous. He’s our friend.”

Charlie stood where he was, staring at the small dragon before him. Spike managed a smile which eased Charlie a tiny bit.

“SPIKE! Who’s at the door? Is it Rainbow?” Twilight called from inside.

“YEAH! AND THE HUMAN TOO!” Spike called back.

Quick hoofsteps could be heard, getting louder as twilight trotted to the door.

“Hey, you’re late!” Twilight said, slightly irritated.

Rainbow sighed. “Yes, I know! But we made it didn’t we? So why don’t we get a move on?”

Twilight nodded. “Agreed. Spike, can I leave you here to take care of the Library while I’m gone? I’m going to show Charlie around Ponyville.”

“Sure, no problem.” Spike said, turning back into the library. Twilight closed the door behind him and turned toward the human.

“So, where would you like to go first?” She said, smiling.

“Well, I got to see where you live. How about we go see the others?” Charlie suggested.

“Great idea! Let’s go see Applejack first. She’ll be in the orchard today.” Twilight said.

“If that’s the plan, then I think I’ll head over to Fluttershy’s. Give her some warning beforehand. You know what she’s like.” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.

Twilight nodded. “That’s probably a good idea, Rainbow. We’ll meet you over there.”

With that, Rainbow sped off over the rooftops to Fluttershy’s. Charlie and Twilight departed for Applejack’s.

Charlie had never seen so many apple trees in all his life. Granted, he had never been to an orchard before, but the sight was still amazing none the less.
“This place is huge!” Charlie said, leaning on the fence looking into the orchard. “How are we gonna find Applejack in there!?”

Twilight giggled. “They keep a clipboard on the side of their house over there. It shows which section of the orchard they’re working today. Let’s go see.”

They both made their way over the house and looked at the clipboard hanging by the front door.

“Hmm, looks like she’s working the southern section today. C’mon.” Twilight said, putting the clipboard back on the hook.

They walked in comfortable silence for about 5 minutes. Charlie just looked at the masses of apple trees surrounding him.

“It’s like a massive organized forest. There must be loads of ponies working this orchard.”

Eventually, they found Applejack bucking apples into various buckets surrounding one of the trees.

“Hey Applejack! How’s it going?” Twilight asked as they approached.

“Hey there! Hard at work still. Got a load of trees to harvest today.” She noticed Charlie. “Well hey there, sugar cube. Come to see the apple trees I was telling ya about?”

Charlie nodded. “That’s right. Didn’t quite expect the orchard to be this big though. I haven’t seen anyone else out here working either.”

“It’s just me and Big Mac right now. Sometimes we hire some help when we get behind schedule. Hey, maybe you should try it sometime! Never had a human work this farm before.”

“I think I’d be more of a liability than an asset regarding manual labor.” Charlie chuckled. “Although, I did notice a few trees with apples still on ‘em when we came. The others around it where all harvested, so I can only assume that they were missed.”

“Ah shoot! This gals slipping in her years! Thanks, pardner. I’ll head on back and nab ‘em after I'm finished with this one.” Applejack turned back and bucked the tree trunk, knocking the last of the apples into the buckets.

Charlie got to thinking. “I may not be much help with the harvesting, but I bet I could devise something better than that basic clipboard. Maybe some kind of tablet with a map of the orchard on it? I could somehow tag each tree and as Applejack goes round she can-“

Charlie was brought out of his thoughts by Twilight. “Hey Charlie, you alright?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, what’s up?”

“Applejack just asked you how you’ve been since yesterday.”

Charlie looked over to Applejack, who was casually leaning on the tree expectantly.

“Uhh, well I spent most of last night reading through manuals about my facility. It seems Peter has a cruel sense of humor.” Charlie said.

“Pah, ah’ve always been more of an up and go kinda gal. Why read about it when ya can jus’ go do it?” Applejack said, tilting her hat slightly.
“Trust me Applejack, if I could get away with that, I would. But unfortunately, I’ll be more help to you if I actually know what I’m doing up there. And unfortunately for me, that means a lot more reading.” Charlie said.

Twilight frowned slightly. “I’m starting to think it’s more than manuals that you don’t like to read.”

“Well...err...” Charlie decided to change the subject quickly. “We’re going round visiting the rest of your friends, Applejack. We’ve already met Rainbow. Who would you suggest?”

Applejack took off her hat and wiped her brow. “Well, the closest one to here is Fluttershy. Her cottage is around the other side of the Everfree.”

“Cool. Rainbow should have arrived there by now considering how fast I’ve seen her fly. Thanks Applejack. We’ll let you get back to work.” Charlie said, turning with a wave.

“Take care you two! I’ll see ya later!” Applejack replied back with a wave.

About 15 minutes of walking and chatting later, Charlie and Twilight could see Fluttershy’s cottage in the distance.

“So, she lives with all the animals she takes care of?” Charlie asked.

“That’s right. She’s worked with so many, she’s practically an expert on them.” Twilight replied.

“Any dangerous ones? Since I’m not of this world, it might not be unusual to expect them to be slightly alarmed.” Charlie asked nervously.

“Oh I don’t think that will be a problem. Fluttershy’s animals are always very well behaved.” Twilight said with a smile.

They reached Fluttershy’s front gate and already Charlie could see various animals scurrying about the front garden. “On the face of it, they don’t look much different from the ones back home. Odd.”

They made their way up to the front door and Twilight knocked lightly. After a few moments, the door opened slightly revealing two eyes partially hidden behind a pink mane.

“Hello Fluttershy! Charlie and I came for a visit.” Twilight said, smiling.

Charlie smiled as well. “Hey there, Fluttershy. Hope this isn’t a bad time.”

Fluttershy opened the door fully and smiled. “Oh no, it’s fine. Rainbow Dash came by just a few minutes ago and told me you were both coming.”

“Did she not stick around? I said I'd meet her here.” Twilight asked.

“No she didn’t. She said something about catching up on some sleep.” Fluttershy replied.

“It wasn’t even that early!” Charlie thought, casting his mind back to earlier this morning.

“Umm...would you like to come in?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

Twilight and Charlie both nodded and followed Fluttershy inside. Charlie was surprised to see just as many animals scurrying about inside than in the garden. Even the walls were covered in birdhouses and suspended beds for various small creatures. Twilight and Charlie both sat down while Fluttershy went to make some tea.

“I seriously can’t get over how many animals are here, Twilight. There are dozens!” Charlie said before ducking as a small bird flew past his head.

“Yeah she’s got quite the animal magnetism. And from the looks of things, so do you.” She said, gesturing to Charlie’s feet.

Charlie looked down and saw a black and white cat brushing up against his legs. “Oh!”

“I guess you do have a thing for cats.” Twilight giggled.

The cat jumped up and started kneading his thighs. “Yeah, I always did have a soft spot for ‘em.”

Fluttershy came back in from the kitchen with a tray of tea. She spotted the cat on Charlie’s lap.
“Oh, my! Oscar, you’re feeling better?” She set the tea down on the table and went over to see the cat settling down on Charlie’s lap.

“His name is Oscar? He’s nice.” Charlie said, stroking behind one of Oscar’s ears.

“Yes, he’s been a little under the weather for the past week. He hasn’t been very sociable. But he seems to be much better now and has taken very well to you!” Fluttershy said happily.

“There you go, Charlie. Your first friend.” Twilight said, pouring the tea.

“So it seems.” He said, looking down to the resting cat.

--------------------------

Twilight, Fluttershy and Charlie chatted for about an hour. They mostly talked about differences between their worlds. Charlie mentioned how all the animals he’d seen in Fluttershy’s cottage weren’t very different from those back on Earth. This sparked a conversation about the other, more dangerous, types of creatures in Equestria which weren’t seen back home. He was relieved to hear that they usually stay away from civilized areas. Eventually, Twilight and Charlie silently decided it was time to leave.

“So Fluttershy, we’re visiting the rest of your friends today. We’ve already met Rainbow and Applejack. Who do you think would be the best to see next?” Charlie asked.

Fluttershy looked up thoughtfully. “Umm, well I’m not sure what Pinkie is up to today. But I know Rarity is working at her boutique. I would suggest going to see her...umm...if you want to.”

“Then it’s settled.” Twilight said, moving the squirrel that had perched on her head. “Thanks for the tea Fluttershy.”

“Oh it was no problem. Thanks for stopping by.” Fluttershy said, smiling.

Charlie was carefully trying to move Oscar, who had fallen asleep on him. He finally managed to move him onto the sofa without waking him. “It was a pleasure Fluttershy. Please give my regards to Oscar when he wakes up.”

“Oh I will. It was nice to see you again, Charlie. Please come visit again” Fluttershy said, following them to the door.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, I will. Take care!” Charlie said, joining Twilight in a wave as he followed her out the door.

Twilight and Charlie made their way along the path leading back into Ponyville centre. Charlie thought back to their meeting with Fluttershy.

“She seems very timid, but nice as anything. A shame I didn’t get to talk to her much yesterday.”

Twilight spoke up, “I hope Rarity isn’t too busy to see us. Sometimes she gets very into her work.”

“If so, we’ll just try again another time. No biggie.” Charlie said.

He looked up to the sunny sky as they walked. “This place aint so bad.”

Author's Note:

This was meant to be done in a single chapter, but I simply ran out of time. I fly out to Turkey for a holiday/vacation tomorrow morning and I REALLY wanted to get a chapter out before I left. Anyway, I'll be inactive for a week. Maybe I'll come up with some plot twists to use in the future while I'm out there.

Hope you enjoyed!

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