//------------------------------//
// Reflections 
// Story: It Must be Tuesday 
// by Explodium 
//------------------------------//

	Check it out! I indented everything!

~~

Isaac stood atop one of the large outtake pipes that were discharging purified water into the Potomac River. The sunlight danced off of the mist that was formed, a dazzling array of colors being the end result. He couldn’t help but smirk at the variety of hues; in the wasteland, there was so much brown and grey, the sight of the entire rainbow was a welcome change.

As his eyes scanned across the horizon, he couldn’t help but think about how far the Capital Wasteland had come. It had been two years since he had first stepped through the great door of Vault 101 and into the sunlight. Two years. 

‘It seems like an eternity ago…’ he thought wistfully.

Since the Enclave’s defeat, the Capital Wasteland was slowly forming something that resembled a proper civilization. Better patrolled trade routes ensured that everyone got their clean water, the Brotherhood was strengthened from the influx of technology from the Enclave, the science team at Rivet City had made several breakthroughs resulting in the first large quantities of fresh produce grown in generations, and raider and mutant attacks were down. DC seemed to be on the road to recovery.

He couldn’t help but wonder though. Ever since he had stepped out into the wastes, all he had known was war. If everything went his way, what would his role be in a peaceful wasteland…?

“Paladin Shepard?” a voice called out from behind him, shaking him from his thoughts. He recognized the voice, and ignored it. “Paladin Shepard?” questioned the speaker again, this time more forcefully. There was a slight pause.

“Isaac?”

‘There you go…’ a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he turned towards the speaker to find a very familiar and welcome face standing on the correct side of the railing. “Sarah,” he acknowledged with a nod. Even though she was technically his superior officer, the two of them disregarded formality around each other. Over the years, he had found himself becoming increasingly close to the Brotherhood Sentinel. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“My father is looking for you,” she said promptly.

Isaac cocked his head, “What for?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but it sounded important. I offered to deliver the message myself since someone decided to leave their radio off.” She gave him a playful glare.

He grinned sheepishly, “Sorry… I just needed to think…”

She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Well, you can think on your way to the Citadel.  Get moving soldier!”

One brief, playful salute later, and he vaulted over the railing, falling in line behind the Sentinel. “Yes, ma’am…”

~~~

In the days following what appeared to have been a meteor crashing to the ground, the citizens of Ponyville were left without answers. The Princesses had not issued any decrees declaring a cause for alarm, nopony was brave enough to wander into the Everfree Forest to investigate the crash site, and the rising smoke plume had since dissipated.

So the incident was dealt with in true Ponyvillian fashion: promptly swept under a rug and ignored. The citizens of this small rural community were used to oddities ravaging their town every now and then; be it ravenous pests, dragons, rampaging Ursas, Cerberus, or the local librarian sending the entire town into a chaotic frenzy with a single spell. So many ponies were simply glad that the town wasn’t turned into a wreck, again. Thus everypony was content to put the events of that night behind them and forget about it.

Well, almost everypony.

Like most farmers, the members of the Apple family were known to be early risers, and this morning was no different.  However, instead of waking up to the rooster’s crow or dawn’s first light playing across her face, a distant peal of thunder roused Applejack from her sleep. Tossing and turning at the unexpected noise, her eyes slowly cracked open, and she blinked once as she got used to the dim light. Sliding out of bed, she landed on the nearby rug with a barely audible thud. Slowly trotting over the window, shaking sleep out of her eyes all the while, she put her hooves to the sill and peeked outside. She sighed with dismay. Apart from the usual sight of the countless rows of trees, each filled to the brim with plump, juicy apples of different colors, a thick layer of clouds dominated the sky.

Rainbow and the weather team must have been up early for once. Applejack had nearly forgotten that it was scheduled to rain today; not the ideal conditions in which to work.  Unless she and her brother got started now, they would be shut in for the rest of the day due to the storm. Applejack may be headstrong, but she knew when to fold, there was no point in risking catching something from the cold.

Even so, Applejack figured she might as well get ready for the day. The mare, along with the rest of her family, was the type of pony that once awakened, had no chance of falling right back to sleep, with the exception of the eldest member of the household.  

Stepping away from the window, yawning and rolling the stiffness out of her shoulders all the while , the farmpony crossed her room to the door and nudged it open with her snout, stepping out into the hallway. It was dark. The only light was streaming in through a curtained window at the far end, and the house was quiet, save for her own hoofsteps on the hardwood floor. She was the first one up, she realized as she slowly walked down the hallway towards the bathroom. 

Stepping inside, she blindly fumbled around for the light switch, when she felt something catch on her hoof. The farmpony squinted as the lights turned on with a faint click, illuminating the bathroom, and trotted over to the sink. Nearly two decades of repetition had hammered her morning routine into her psyche so firmly that she could do it while sleep-walking. Brush her teeth and comb her mane, followed by going downstairs for breakfast and then getting to work.

The first two steps went off without a hitch as she stood over the sink. She spat out the remaining toothpaste, put her favorite hairbands in her mane and tail, leaned on the sink and stared into the mirror directly above it. A familiar reflection, her reflection, stared back at her. At first glance, with the same brilliant green eyes and the freckles nestled into her cheeks,  she looked no different than usual. 

But a more observant pony would notice something new.  

Her ear twitched as she eyed the new, small scar located just below her right eye. To anypony else, it may have looked like a small insignificant thing, perhaps acquired a long time ago in a minor accident with farming equipment. But to those who knew how she really got it, it was so much more. Although she and the rest of her friends had avoided discussing it, both amongst themselves or with others, (even Rainbow Dash kept quiet. Amazing, given the speedy pony’s penchant for boasting about her exploits),  the same questions remained on everypony’s mind:

What had happened to the alien, and what were those monsters in the woods? They just didn’t know exactly what to talk about. Although they tried to mimic the majority of the town and put the whole incident behind them, no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't. 

It seemed like it was far longer than a week ago when Twilight and friends came knocking on her door in the middle of the night, one week since she had chased into the woods after her sister.

One week since she had nearly gotten killed.  

Her own wounds had since healed, thanks to Zecora’s medicinal salves, but the scars still remained. Her injuries were worse then she had realized; the zebra seemed to be amazed that she hadn’t bled out considering how deep some of them were.

It chilled her to the bone knowing just how close she had come to dying. The horrific cries of those abominations chilled her dreams. She could still see their faces when she closed her eyes. Standing over her with their faces twisted into monstrous snarls as they cruelly slashed at her hide while she frantically bucked them, desperately trying to protect her dearest sister. Her memory went dark after that incident, but Pinkie and Apple Bloom had mentioned that the alien had injected her with something which revived her and staunched the bleeding. A lump formed in her belly at the thought of what could have happened if the alien wasn’t there. Of how close she was to joining her parents. 

Not only that, but she had another close call with the huge monster that chased them afterward. The one that looked like a horned demon that crawled out of the pits of Tartarus, with claws that could hack a pony to pieces.  The nightmarish image of it charging at her replayed in her mind again, and again. She could practically feel its breath ruffling her hide and smell the fetid odor of death… but the memory that stuck out in her head above all others was how the alien sacrificed himself to save them.  Distracting it so that she and her friends could get away.  

He had personally saved her twice, as well as her sister, and he had gotten terribly wounded for his trouble. It felt like somepony had placed a heavy weight on her back, knowing that somepony who she didn’t even know had thrown himself in harm’s way for her sake. She shuddered as the image of the alien creature lying bloodied and broken by the river in the forest flashed before her eyes. She suddenly felt a whole lot weaker and her limbs started shaking as she leaned heavily on the sink. She clenched her eyes shut and took deep, ragged breaths, her ears lying flat against her head. 

Ah couldn’t even keep mah sister safe… somepony else had to do that too…

The whole incident made her feel weak, ashamed, and useless. The fact that somepony else protected her kin, that somepony else protected her, and that somepony was hurt in the process… she couldn’t help but think that it was her fault. Applejack was always known to her friends as the proud independent type, not one for relying on others for support. Twilight even had to teach her to accept help that one time she tried harvesting the whole orchard on her lonesome. 

Why did somepony get themselves hurt for mah sake? Why couldn’t ah have handled it on mah own?

Minutes trickled by as she remained there in the bathroom, wallowing in her thoughts. Another rumble of thunder brought her back to reality.  Straightening her back and taking a deep breath, she put those dark thoughts aside for now, turned away from the mirror and exited the bathroom. She was so preoccupied with her musings that she didn’t realize that her brother was standing just outside the door, waiting his turn, until she nearly collided with his broad chest. Even though he was the largest stallion she knew, he sure could be quiet. 

Snapping out of her reverie, Applejack’s green eyes met those of her older brother.

The red stallion raised a concerned eyebrow as he looked down at her. Although Big Macintosh had respected his sisters’ privacy, not forcibly prying details from either of them, Applejack knew that her brother could tell that something major had happened that night and that it bothered him. Regardless, the big stallion was happy that both of his beloved sisters had come home to him safe and well. A little battered, but well all the same.

Realizing that the two of them were having a staring contest, Applejack broke the silence. 

“Mornin’.” 

“Mornin’ AJ,” Big Mac responded, nodding at her as she slipped past him. His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer before he disappeared into the bathroom.

The minutes of the early morning ticked by, and Applejack soon found herself in the kitchen preparing a breakfast of oats and apples for everypony. As she worked, she had the strange feeling that she was being watched. Turning her head, she found her dog Winona sitting patiently by her back legs, staring up at her. Applejack couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t worry, ah haven’t forgotten, ya.”

The dog barked quietly in response. Her brother finished up with his morning routine, came down the stairs, and joined her in the kitchen just as she put their breakfast on the table and filled the dog’s dish.

Eyeing the meal, he murmured a thank you to his sister before taking his place. When Applejack took her seat opposite of him, she realized that they were one sibling short. Applejack’s eyes drifted towards a small, tattered red cape hanging from a peg near the door. The Apples always ate breakfast together. Well, almost always. Granny Smith was a bit of a wildcard if she would join them for breakfast or not, given the elderly pony’s erratic sleep schedule. But the youngest of the family would join them in the wee hours of the morning. Not only did the filly have to get up that morning for school, it being a Tuesday, the youngest Apple also claimed that waking up at the same time as her siblings made her a big pony.

They never started eating until all three siblings were present, and Apple Bloom was conspicuously absent. Applejack glanced at the clouds out the kitchen window and then at the clock hanging on the wall; it was a little before 7:00AM. To pass the time, AJ tried to stir up conversation. “Not the best weather for buckin’. I’d reckon we ought to get started right quick if we want to get anything done before the storm hits.”

“Eeyup.”

Applejack wrinkled her nose at her brother’s response. Before she could form a retort, the farmpony glanced out the kitchen door at the stairs, and listened intently for the light sounds of her little sister upstairs. 

Not a peep.

“She sure is takin’ awhile…” Applejack thought out loud. Biting her lip, the farmpony turned to the stallion. “Was Apple Bloom up and gettin’ ready when you were up there big brother?”

He shook his head, “Nope.”

Applejack bit her lip. What worried her even more than her own well being was that of her sister. The youngest Apple had witnessed things that nopony of that age should have to see. Following the incident, the filly had spent most of her time shut away in her room. Although her legs had been healed, Apple Bloom had been distant, sad, and withdrawn. It was a far cry from the usual happy, energetic, eager filly anxious to go and try out her and her friends’ latest scheme to earn their Cutie Marks.  Even though the filly denied it, Applejack knew that she had been having nightmares.

It broke Applejack’s heart to see her sweet little sister in such a state.

Making her decision, Applejack stepped away from the table. “Ah’m gonna go check on her, you can get eatin’ if you want…” she said as she rounded the table and left the kitchen. Big Mac merely nodded in response.

Trotting up the stairs, Applejack once again found herself in the darkened upstairs hallway. A quick peek showed that the bathroom was both dark and vacant. Turning around, she headed towards her sister’s room.

Settling down on her rear, Applejack knocked on the door twice. The noise reverberating through the silence.

“Apple Bloom? You up yet?” said Applejack.

Applejack swore she could have heard a faint cough respond to her calls. Lifting a puzzled eyebrow, Applejack reached for the knob, opened the door, and poked her head inside.

“Sugarcube? You in here?”

It was dark in her sister’s bedroom. The curtains were drawn shut, and Applejack could barely make out the outline of Apple Bloom’s bed on the far end of the room. A dark, misshapen lump sat upon it. Slowly Applejack stepped inside.

“Come on sis, it’s time to wake up,” Applejack said with a hint of concern in her voice, eying the shape on the bed. “Sugarcube?”

“A-applejack…?” murmured a barely audible voice, though it was easily recognized as the voice of her sister. 

Applejack’s ears perked up. “Apple Bloom? Sumthin’ the matter?” she asked as she found the light switch and flicked it on. The mare winced as the room was flooded with light.

Applejack turned towards the bed. The bright red color of Apple Bloom’s mane stood out against her pillows. It was messy, errant hairs poked out at every imaginable angle.

“What’s wrong sugarcube? Are you feelin’ alright?”  asked Applejack.

Apple Bloom’s head turned weakly towards her. Her golden eyes were half shut and completely devoid of the youthful light that usually filled them. “Ah don’t…ah f-feel…”

Applejack bit her lip  and her eyes widened in alarm. Quickly, she closed the distance between her and the bed. Now standing over her sister, Applejack got a closer look. In addition to a few, barely visible salty streaks - remnants of tears - dark shadows were under the filly’s eyes. Her rich yellow coat had lost its luster, and in all, she didn’t look very well. Apple Bloom was known for occasionally playing sick, but Applejack could spot a lie from a mile away. Her sister was not lying.

“Applejack…”

Wordlessly, Applejack put her hoof to the filly’s head. Apple Bloom felt dangerously hot, even without touching her Applejack could feel the heat radiating off of her body. When she pulled away, the fur around her hoof was drenched with sweat.

“Ah, horseapples…” Applejack swore under her breath. It was bad enough that her dear little sister had been down for the past week, and now she was ill.

In no time at all, Applejack had fetched her big brother, and little Apple Bloom’s bedside was crowded by her family, including Winona. Even Granny Smith had woken up, seemingly sensing her granddaughter’s distress. Big Mac was anxiously pacing back and forth, fear and worry evident in his eyes. Applejack sat next to her grandmother, a hoof to her chin as she nervously eyed her sister. A medium-sized metal pail, retrieved by the sole stallion of the family, sat next to the bed in case of emergencies.

Apple Bloom lay there in her bed. With the lights on, she looked even more pitiful than before. A large ice pack was applied to her forehead and a thermometer was in her mouth. She was running a dangerously high fever, she had a nasty cough, and her face had a slight green tinge to it.

Apple Bloom’s body was racked with coughs. “G-Guess ah’ll h-have to stay home today,” she said weakly as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

“Yes, you need to rest up ‘n get better little’un,” said Granny Smith. Everypony jumped when there was another distant rumble of thunder. Shortly after, there was a distinct sound of something rapping on the window. Gradually, it increased in tempo until it became a rapid pitter-patter as it began raining outside.

Applejack gritted her teeth and nervously twisted her hooves into the hardwood floor, listening to the sound outside. Earth Ponies, her own family in particular, were known for their hardiness and resistance to disease. Applejack couldn’t even remember the last time she or her brother had to take a day off on account of illness. She had never seen Apple Bloom this ill before.

An icy lump formed in her throat as she drew a parallel to another event that had happened to her before. The way Apple Bloom was lying in bed ill, surrounded by her family, was scarily reminiscent of the time her mother had fallen ill years ago.

Apple Bloom was so very young; she still hadn’t learned how to speak at the time. The image of one of the guardponies showing up at the family farm, telling her that her pa had vanished without a trace was forever burned into Applejack’s mind. They couldn’t find hoof nor hair of the stallion, only his hat. She knew that their parents loved each other, as well as her father loving Applejack and her siblings, so abandonment wasn’t likely. 

Nearly two years passed without finding a single shred of evidence before they finally accepted that Mr. Apple was almost  certainly dead. They couldn’t find a body to mourn or bury for the funeral. Being too young at the time to truly understand what had happened, Apple Bloom was confused, constantly asking what was in the box and when daddy was coming home. It tore Applejack’s heart apart.

Big Mac shut himself in his room and cried for what seemed like days.

Mrs. Apple tried to stay strong for her children, but her health had been steadily declining since her husband disappeared, and coming to terms with the fact that he was never coming back only accelerated her deteriorating condition. Less than two weeks after the memorial service she came down with a terrible illness. It had stunned and taken everypony by completely surprise. What most of the folks around Ponyville don’t know is that Big Macintosh had inherited his size and strength from his mother. She was a big mare. 

Although the doctors tried as hard as they could to help her, it was not enough. 

In the present, Applejack’s body shuddered, and she swallowed loudly as the scene of her family gathered around her mother’s bedside played in her mind’s eye. 

It was on a morning very similar to this one. Raindrops relentlessly attacked the window. A tall, thin doctor was speaking to Granny Smith, droning on in a monotonous voice. Applejack’s body quivered, her eyes heavy with tears as she eyed the gaunt figure lying in the bed. Her mother was a mere shadow of what she used to be. 

Big Mac was facing away from the sick mare, his head hung and his bangs obscuring his eyes. He could not hide the sobs as tears streaked freely down his face. After several agonizingly long days, Ma had stopped breathing.
Slowly, the doctor pulled the sheet up, hiding the still form of Mrs. Apple from view.

“I’m sorry,” said the doctor.

“Applejack?” squeaked a tiny, high-pitched voice. “Big Mac?” Applejack tore her eyes away from the still form hidden beneath the sheets and turned to her tiny, three-year-old sister, now an orphan she realized. Even under the circumstances, she still held an air of youthful innocence and curiosity. “What’s wrong with mama?” She paused, her eyes darting between her siblings. “Why won’t she wake up?” 

Slowly, Big Mac wrapped one of his large forelegs around the form of his tiny filly sister and pulled her close to his body. “Momma’s sleepin’ sugarcube…” he lied, his voice quivering.  “She… s-she’s just tired, is all…”

She was buried  next to her husband, under a large tree on hill set in distant corner of their farm. Pa had always told him that he had fallen in love with their mother under that tree…

“Applejack?” said an older, though still youthful Apple Bloom, snapping her from her memories. Applejack took a deep breath to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape her throat as she once again shoved off dark memories.

“Huh?” said the orange mare, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. It took her a moment to realize that all eyes in the room were currently on her. Granny Smith, Big Mac, and even little Apple Bloom were staring at her, her eyes partially obscured by the too-large ice pack on her head. “Whu-?” she mumbled confusedly.

Apple Bloom tilted her head and pouted her lips. “Why do ya look so sad, Applejack?” she said in a slightly raspy voice. “Are ya…crying?” 

Lifting an eyebrow, Applejack put a hoof to one of her eyes. Sure enough, some moisture had gathered. Wiping it away, Applejack shook her head. “Hm? Nah, just got somethin’ in mah eye…”

Nearby, Big Mac gave her a hard look, obviously not believing her lie. Applejack was never much good at deception. But fortunately, Apple Bloom seemed to buy it at least.

“D-don’t you worry none, ah’m an Apple!” the sick filly said with a bit more fervor, a hint of pride in her voice.
A small smirk crept onto Applejack’s face at her sister’s zeal. When Apple Bloom was acting that way, she didn’t look quite as weak. The farmpony chastised herself internally for being a bit too worrisome. Her sister would be just fine, Applejack wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.

“That you are, young’un,” said Granny Smith. The young filly stirred in her bed as Granny Smith stepped away from the bedside and slowly hobbled towards Apple Bloom’s toy box tucked away in the corner of the room. Moments later she returned with a stuffed bear and tucked it in with her sick granddaughter, pausing briefly to stroke Apple Bloom’s mane. “Now you rest up n’ get yerself well. Yer granny will get ya somethin’ to help you feel better.”

The elderly green pony left the room, leaving the three siblings alone. Applejack stood next to the bed, her forehooves propped up on the edge, while Mac stood nearby, playing the silent sentinel. With the exception of the hypnotic sound of the raindrops splattering against the window, the bedroom was quiet. Applejack listened to its rhythm intently while both eyes were fixated on her sister. The filly’s eyes were closed, and she was snuggled up against the bear that her granny had left for her.

Her sister’s silence was broken with a light cough, and her eyes fluttered open. Before Applejack could say anything, the filly giggled quietly. “Ah just thought… both Scoots and Sweetie are gonna have to go to school in this rain…” another giggle. “…They sure are gonna get wet.” her eyes widened and her gazed darted between both Applejack and Big Mac. “You don’t think there’s… a Cutie Mark for that? Gettin’ wet?”

Applejack suppressed a laugh of her own before shaking her head. Even ill as she was, the little filly couldn’t help but think of Cutie Marks. “Nah, sugarcube. Ah don’t think there’s a Cutie Mark fer that.” She bowed her head slightly. “Ah’ll be sure to let Miss Cheerilee know that yer sick. Don’t want her thinkin’ yer skippin’ school.”
“And mah friends?”

Applejack placed a hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “Ah’ll… be sure to let ‘em know,” a brief pause, “Unless ya wanna wait and tell ‘em yerself.”  She glanced towards her brother. “’Cause no Apple stays sick fer long, right Big Mac?”

“Eeyup.”

Apple Bloom giggled weakly. “Ah’m a big pony, give me a few days an Ah’ll be ri-…” her statement was interrupted with a cough, “…right as rain.”

Applejack nodded once as a feeling of relief passed through her. Her initial worry had dissipated due to her sister’s seemingly cheerful disposition.

The two siblings refused to leave Apple Bloom’s bedside. Soon Granny Smith returned with a steaming bowl of soup perched precariously on her aged back. Applejack breathed deeply at the pleasant scent of the soup. She recognized it instantly; some good old fashion flower and noodle soup. A bellyful of that stuff would make anypony feel better. However, the delicious smell also reminded the farmpony that she hadn’t had her own breakfast yet.

Big Mac helped Granny Smith get the bowl off her back, and gave it to his sister. The little filly slowly began eating it. 

The rain outside continued to pour down from the heavens. Although the storm meant that Applejack would be unable to go bucking today, she and her family now had something, or somepony, much more important to attend to. 
Times like these brought the Apple Family together.

~~

As the rainstorm relentlessly attacked the small window to the storage room turned infirmary, Luna stood there with a heavy heart as their otherworldly visitor had what was unmistakably another nightmare. Although he hadn’t had any more episodes like the one he had the first time he woke up, every time he had slipped back into unconsciousness thereafter his sleep was not peaceful.

Sometimes he talked in his sleep, sometimes he yelled, sometimes he grunted in what sounded like pain, but right now his face was contorted into a grimace, lips pulled back exposing the sharpened canines in his mouth. The Night Princess could only guess just what it was that he was dreaming about.

Even though the entirety of his upper body was covered by both the sheets and bandages, the scarring marring the left side of his face, partially obscured by that shaggy brown mane, did not escape her notice. How he had acquired those scars, she had no idea.

She tapped her chin with her hoof and tilted her head slightly, deep in thought as she settled down onto her haunches. 

Just what have you been through?

Perhaps he had friends on that… vessel? Did they all perish? Did he relive their deaths every time he closed his eyes? But considering the fact that those other monsters that they destroyed with the Elements of Harmony also seemingly came to Equestria in the same way the alien did, she didn’t know what to think.

She was drawn from her thoughts by a quiet chirp from the only other conscious being in the room. Luna swiveled on the spot and made eye contact with the large gold and scarlet phoenix perched on the end of the alien’s bed. It was a recent idea of her sister’s to leave Philomena in the room as company, for both her and the alien. A hint of a smile came to Luna’s lips and she gently ruffled the feathers atop the bird’s head. Her big sister didn’t have a pet phoenix before Luna’s…banishment. The Night Princess found that she liked the bird.

“What do you think Philomena?” Luna said to the bird in question. 

The phoenix cocked her head and chirped in response.

“Yes, he has indeed endured much hardship,” Luna muttered, twisting her hooves into the tile floor with a grinding noise.

With a gasp, the being lying before her was flung back into consciousness. Luna jumped back from the sudden outburst, her gaze flicking over to the alien. His mane was soaked with sweat, his body trembling, and his green eyes still partially obscured by sleep. He blinked once, his bloodshot eyes roaming around the small chamber, wide with what looked like fear. Settling back against the pillow, he blinked again, a relieved sigh passing through his lips as he realized whatever horrors he saw in his sleep remained in his nightmares. Luna swore she could have seen a trace of moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes as he took several deep breaths.

A hopeful smile came to Luna’s face, and she put her hoof on the edge of the bed.

“Are you feeling better?” asked Luna.

He jumped slightly as he seemingly realized that he was not alone in the room, his piercing green gaze settling on her. Luna couldn’t help but feel uneasy under that look. Although they couldn’t communicate, his eyes alone spoke volumes. They purveyed fatigue, resignation, and sorrow. She had no idea how old this creature was, or how he aged compared to an Equestrian pony, but she could only guess. Based on his facial structure, she’d say somewhere between twenty and thirty, but his eyes made him look far, far, older. Elderly ponies had younger eyes.

He relaxed when he seemed to recognize her. In response, Luna nudged a tray with a mushy green paste with a side of flowers towards him. She and the other ponies had tried feeding him, but out of stubbornness, weakness, or inedibility, he refused. However, he drank the water they offered, albeit hesitantly. 

He eyed the offered food, but didn’t make a move for it. He seemed to freeze as he noticed something past the tray. Luna followed his gaze over to the phoenix roosting at the foot of his bed. A brief look of confusion came across his face, and his gaze flicked between the bird and the princess.

Sensing a hint of unease, Luna placed her hoof on the shoulder of the prone alien. “Don’t worry, she won’t bite,” she said gently. He audibly swallowed, but seemed to relax at her touch. Slowly, he reached up with his left hand and gently touched her hoof. 

Her mind kept drifting back to when he had abruptly embraced her following his fit. She could still feel a ghost of the sensation of his dexterous fingers scraping along her jaw, through her mane. The same fingers that were currently gently moving along her hoof. With the exception of her sister, the last time somepony had physically touched her was when that young colt had briefly nuzzled her during her visit on Nightmare Night.

She… liked that hug. It felt good. Idly, her hoof made its way to her face and she gently traced the area along her jaw where the creature had touched her, a hint of a smile coming to her face.

She jumped slightly when the nearby phoenix chirped. Philomena’s head was still cocked, her eyes glimmering knowingly. Her hoof fell away and her gaze met the bird’s. 

Luna jumped as the alien gasped in pain and gripped her hoof more tightly. He blindly pawed at his chest with his free hand. While he seemingly had constant nightmares whilst sleeping, he wasn’t in much better shape when he was awake either. He wasn’t having another episode similar to what he had when first woke up, Luna could tell by just looking at his eyes. He was completely lucid, not having any sort of flashback. The Night Princess was well aware that she should be careful when dealing with the sick alien. It was burned into her mind and everypony present at the time when he had his… episode.

That really scared her.

Both the doctors and herself were still reeling from that incident. She was well aware that ponies that had survived traumatic events sometimes have vivid flashbacks. What exactly was he recalling? Sometimes in private, she would have recollections of the days leading up to her corruption into Nightmare Moon. But she would usually be reduced to sobbing, curled up in a corner, not… agonized screaming.

But at the moment he was in pain; that much was certain. She and the doctors could only assume that it was caused by the magic poisoning. Hopefully, it would lessen over time.

Luna could hear the beeping of the heartbeat monitor accelerate, and his grip tightened further, drawing a gasp of pain from the princess.

Before she could attempt to wrench her hoof out of that vice grip, she heard the rapid clip-clop of somepony approaching. Before long, one of the nurses, a unicorn by the name of Gentle Care, came trotting into the room alongside her.

The nurse sighed as she saw the state of their patient. Turning to Luna, she spoke. “Again?”

Luna winced slightly from the pressure on her hoof. “Again,” she responded with a nod.

The nurse’s horn lit up briefly, pointing it at the pained alien. A faint, barely visible light encompassed the alien’s body, and his violent quivering died down. His grip slackened on Luna’s hoof and his hoof fell limply to the bed. His face relaxed, and his eyes slid closed.

He was still, though Luna was certain his silence wouldn’t last for long.

“Poor dear…” said Gentle Care.

In order to accelerate his recovery, the medical staff had opted to expose him to low levels of magic so he would develop a greater tolerance for it. Unfortunately, it had the tendency to knock him out or render him barely lucid in his current state.

Luna flexed her slightly sore hoof. “Indeed.”

Bowing her head, the nurse turned to the princess. “If you need anything, let one of us know, your highness.”

“I will, thank you.”

The nurse left, leaving the princess alone with their unconscious visitor.

She was assured that he would recover eventually, yes, but what then? Would he remain hidden in Canterlot? Would he allow them to keep him secret without a fuss? The Night Princess released a long, drawn-out sigh. Both she and her sister agreed that keeping him confined permanently was cruel and against their nature. But they also couldn’t allow an extra-equestrial roam unchecked and unsupervised throughout their lands, lest he cause panic, paranoia, and end up sparking outlandish rumors. 

Luna  just wished that she could find out what was wrong, find some way to ease this creatures suffering. This creature had helped her and her subjects. By lending aid in such a way, old traditions dictated that that such an action shouldn’t go unrewarded.  

The Princess knew what it was like to be lonely, and this creature was the only one of his kind in their world. She wanted to make him feel welcome. She wanted to make a friend.  It went without saying, but she really wasn’t very good at making friends.

Though she knew someponies who were.

She was hesitant to request their assistance again however. The last time she had called upon the element bearers, she had almost led them to their doom. Although her sister had calmly reassured her that it wasn’t her fault, she still couldn’t curb the lingering feeling of guilt in her belly. She thought back to when they were by the river, their dirty, tear streaked faces, some of them covered in blood. The ponies were so frightened by the sight of the alien dying, it wouldn't feel right to keep them uninformed.  

Don’t be silly; what’s the worst that could happen?

She was snapped from her thoughts as a distant rumble of thunder rattled the window. Holding her head high, she took a deep breath. Who was she kidding? It wasn’t like the hallways of Canterlot were infested with hordes of nasty monsters. At least she didn’t think they were… though there were enough unused areas in Canterlot Palace for them to hide. 

She glanced at Philomena who was staring at her intently. The phoenix seemed to give her an approving nod, her intelligent eyes gleaming.

Luna cleared her throat. “Well, I think it’s time to go talk to sister.”

~~

Pinkie Pie wasn’t particularly fond of rainy days. While the fillies and colts of Ponyville still have to go to school, everypony else would stay at home, out of the wet and cold. Plus, the Cakes would be mad if she tracked water and mud in the house; she didn’t like making anypony mad. She let out a small sigh of dismay as she sat behind the register at Sugarcube Corner. The lack of sunlight streaming in from outside, coupled with the hypnotic sound of the rain pounding on the windows, clashed with the brightly lit interior of the bakery.

She glanced at the clock; the short hand had just passed eleven.

She was bored. She couldn’t play with the twins and make them smile, as the pair was actually sleeping through the storm, amazingly. This sort of weather was no fun to bake in, cool grey light flowing through the kitchen windows gave the room in question a less than happy atmosphere. The Cakes had relaxed with each other upstairs, given that they had no orders to fill, and nopony was willing to trudge through the rain for a treat. Pinkie had volunteered to run the store solo, in case somepony does show up.

Somepony for ol’ Pinkie Pie to chat with.

Pinkie leaned against the till and a hint of a pout came to her lips, she didn’t like being all alone. She had no parties to plan. Well, technically she had ideas for a ‘Happy Rainy-Day Day’ party, but scrapped it as she realized that she would likely be the only one attending it. Parties were no fun without friends. 

Twilight was probably reading or studying. Pinkie wished she had something to read, as rainy days are good reading settings. Rainbow was probably napping. She probably had to get up real early to start this storm. Fluttershy was probably trying to keep her animals calm due to the thunder. Amazingly the meek pegasus wasn’t afraid of thunder. Rarity wouldn’t voluntarily walk into a rainstorm like this even if you paid her a zillion bits. Applejack…

“Ooh!” squeaked Pinkie as her bushy pink tail involuntarily swished from side to side. She turned around and stared at it.

Her Pinkie Sense had been going off for the past couple of days, and it perplexed even her. Normal minds couldn’t tell the difference between a twitch-a-twitchin’ and swish-a-swishin’ , but Pinkie instinctually knew. 

It meant that somepony she knew needed a hug.

She raised an eyebrow, grasping her tail in her forehooves and staring intently at it as if trying to see if her sense would give her any more clues. There were a few attributes to this particular sense. The length of the swishin’ arc meant how long she knew this somepony, and the frequency meant how close they were. She had gone hopping around town the past couple of days, with the swishes getting no more frequent, meaning that they weren’t in Ponyville.

But Pinkie knew every pony in Ponyville, and someponies elsewhere. But no recent acquaintances came to mind that didn’t live in Ponyville. It made Pinkie Pie all frowny-faced knowing that out there, somepony was in need of hugs but she couldn’t do anything about it.

She was immediately snapped back to reality at the tinkling of the bell above the front door.

Ooh! A visitor! Her frown immediately melted away into a wide grin at the noise, her body quivering in excitement. The sound of the storm outside filled the room as a familiar purple pony carrying an umbrella stepped into the store.

Pinkie’s cheeks protested at the intensity of her grin. “Hi Twilight!” said an enthusiastic Pinkie Pie, snatching a towel from a hook on the wall and happily cantering towards her soggy friend. It was a common courtesy in Equestria to keep a towel near the front entrance in case of a rainstorm. Pinkie resumed her grinning as the studious pony snatched the towel from Pinkie’s mouth with her telekinesis and began to dry herself; setting aside her umbrella in the process and wiping her slightly muddied hooves on the doormat.

“Didn’t expect to see you here today Twilight! I thought you would be hitting the books - though I still wonder why you hit them rather than read them – in this gloomy-woomy weather! I’ve been so bored with nopony to talk to and it makes me so happy that somepony, especially one of my bestest friends, came here to…”

“Pinkie…”

“…perhaps a yummy treat? I guess all that super-smarty pants work worked up quite a taste for sugary goodness! Ooh! Would you like a cupcake? Perhaps a cookie, or some cake?”

Twilight waved her hoof. “No Pinkie…that’s not…what I’m here for,” she said. She was taking deep breaths, as if she had ran the whole way.

Pinkie’s ears drooped and a pout came to her face. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head. “Twilight? Why are you so… panty ?” Her face lit up. “Ooh, did you read something new in your books about running around in the rain? Testing a new spell? Are you-mmpfh!“

She was cut off as a hoof was rammed into her mouth. “Pinkie…” A smile came to the panting unicorn’s face. “…Just give me a moment to catch my breath.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” exclaimed Pinkie the instant the hoof was removed. The pink mare settled down on her haunches. 

A moment passed.

“Okay, it’s been a moment!”

Twilight looked at her with a perplexed look on her face. “Huh?” She blinked. “Oh! I got a letter from the Princess!”

Pinkie’s eyes continued sparkling. “Ooh! What is it? What is it? Is it an invitation to a super-special party?”

Twilight shook her head, a grin slowly forming on her face. “Nope.”

“Is it a… uhh… I give up,” she shrugged. “What is it? Tell me! Tell me!” The party pony began hopping around Twilight, her hooves clopping lightly on the wood floor.

Twilight glanced around the room, checking for any eavesdroppers. She beckoned the pink pony forward and complied.

Putting her mouth near Pinkie’s ear, Twilight spoke. “He’s all right.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened, then narrowed again. Cocking her head and noticing the apparent secrecy of the topic, she whispered. “Who’s ‘he’?”

Twilight looked around again. “The alien.”

It was as if somepony flicked a switch on in Pinkie Pie’s mind. The alien. Her newest, bestest friend (in her mind anyway), was okay! She remembered being terrified as those monsters had chased her, and then that stranger rushed in a saved her tail. How she leapt from the tree and he oh-so-heroically caught her… in a matter of speaking. Almost immediately the gears of the party planning center of her eccentric brain were set into motion, already coming up with ideas for her long waited ‘Welcome to Equis’ party!

The whole process took about .47 seconds. 

The corners of Pinkie’s mouth gradually began climbing upward, forming an unsettlingly large grin. Twilight nervously backed away at the incredibly creepy spectacle.

“Um… Pinkie?”

Pinkie’s entire body began quivering with excitement. Twilight could feel a lump of dread form in the pit of her stomach. There was a strange tang to the air; the same tang that tended to foretell an impending explosion.

Before the pink pony could make an exuberant exclamation of joy, Twilight seized the initiative and shoved her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth. A cheerful yell was muffled mere moments later.

“Pinkie! Shh!” hissed Twilight.

Pinkie looked at her curiously, her head tilted. She said something, but it was muffled by the hoof in her mouth.

“The Princess asked that we keep a low profile on this issue,” Twilight continued, withdrawing her hoof and making a short sweeping motion. “She doesn’t want anypony panicking. Anyway, the Princess requests that we and the rest of the girls go to Canterlot! She said she has something important for us to do, and a chariot will be arriving in a couple of hours to take us there!” A hint of a smile came to her face. “It is imperative that we inform the rest of our friends…” She paused for a moment, realizing that Pinkie considered that everypony was her friend. “…as in, the ponies that accompanied us into the Everfree one week ago.”

“Ooh! Ooh! Question!” said Pinkie, sticking her hoof in the air like a schoolfilly asking a question in class. 

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Um… yes, Pinkie?”

“Can I bring anything?”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t see why not-“

Pinkie’s grin remained on her face, “Do you think aliens like cupcakes?” 

Twilight’s brow twitched at Pinkie’s ongoing shenanigans, her hoof finding its way to her forehead. “Oh Pinkie…” 

~~

In the throne room of Canterlot Palace stood Princess Celestia as the rain continued falling. It didn’t rain in the capitol much, due to the lack of farmland and the fact that it was built into the side of the mountain, so the pegasai usually didn’t bother. Due to the storm, the usual sunlight that would streak through the large windows was absent, making that high-ceilinged chamber much dimmer than usual. Her pristine white coat seemed to glow nonetheless. She tapped her hooves on the red carpet as she eyed the expressionless-as-ever guards flanking the stairs leading up to the throne.

But on a different note, she was excited. Her student and her friends were coming to visit, a nice change from the usual high-class ponies that tended to frequent the castle.

It had been several hours since Luna had barged in on her and asked her to send a message to her prized student. She couldn’t help but agree with her reasoning. Wanderer , as she came to calling the strange being in her castle thanks to his uncanny resemblance to a creature from old legends, deserved more than being cooped up in the castle completely alone. Besides, knowing her student, she would have loved to partake in such a project.

Some scientist ponies had tried to convince her to give them access to the alien’s technology; to take it apart and figure out how it worked. But Celestia had ultimately denied them. Firstly, it would be unwise to tamper with technology they didn’t understand. And second, it would be far kinder to befriend their otherworldly guest and ask politely, assuming they could find a way to communicate, and that he was capable or willing. She believed that they could handle such a task.  Twilight and her friends were very capable mares with endearing personalities. 

She sighed and glanced at all the entrances to the throne room. Luna was present when she had received a response from Twilight Sparkle, so she knew that she and her friends were coming. They should be arriving any moment. Her dearest sister had agreed to greet the Element Bearers with her, and she was nowhere in sight.

Probably with Wanderer, waiting until the last second like a schoolfilly skiving off their studies , I’d wager…

Luna had been spending almost all of her limited free time in the bowels of the castle with the creature. Though Celestia had found it to be fascinating as well, she couldn’t help but be a little worried. She was certain that Luna had skipped a meal or two, and her ethereal mane had lost some of its shimmer.  However, she thankfully didn’t seem to be blaming herself for putting the Element Bearers in danger anymore, so Celestia could be grateful for that.

But she did waste that cake…

Her ears perked up when she heard activity outside of the doors on the far end of the throne room. She straightened her back and quickly preened out of place feathers. She finished making herself presentable just as she began to make out voices.

The doors opened, revealing a sextet of mares framed in the doorway, along with a familiar baby dragon. Not wanting to wait, Celestia stepped off her throne and moved forward to greet the newcomers, a smile coming to her face. As she approached, she noticed that most of them were carrying saddlebags bulging with different items. She could see several books and blank parchment poking out of Twilight’s, apples in Applejack’s, and Pinkie’s was nearly bursting with… party supplies?

Some things never change, she thought.

The great double doors closed behind them, the sound echoing in the throne room. With her wings, she gestured to her guards, who soon filed out of the chamber; their armored hoof falls fading into the distance. When Twilight’s violet eyes settled on the princess, a wide grin came to her face and she closed the distance to her beloved mentor.

“Princess!” exclaimed Twilight as she came in hoof’s reach, her knees sinking into a bow.

Celestia responded by craning her neck and nuzzling her dear student. “My faithful student, it is very good to see you.” She turned to the purple dragon perched on her back. “And you as well, Spike.”

The Princess hadn’t seen her student’s number one assistant in quite some time; he was looking as healthy as ever. Unlike Twilight, Spike was a lot more relaxed around her. The dragon responded to her acknowledgement by waving one of his stubby claws at her.

“Heya Princess!” said Spike.

Celestia didn’t miss it when Twilight shot him a brief, disproving glare at being so casual. “Um, I brought Spike along, if that’s okay,” she stammered, to which Celestia nodded. “Oh, thank you Princess. As soon as we-“.

“Really Applejack, I daresay that you are worrying too much,” interrupted Rarity. “Your sister will be fine.”

The slightly soggy orange mare glared slightly at the fashonista. “Don’t you have a sister to take care of too?”

“My parents are in town, she is staying at their place of residence,” said Rarity as she bounced several of her impeccably styled curls.

“Oh don’t worry Applejack,” added Fluttershy. “She’s in capable hooves. Your brother can take care of her.”

Applejack bowed her head. “Ah know… it jus… doesn’t feel right with me leavin’ her…”

Celestia shot Twilight a curious look. “Is there something I should know?”

Twilight sighed. “Apple Bloom, that is, Applejack’s sister came down with an illness.”

Celestia nodded with a sympathetic look on her face. “I see.” She glanced at Applejack. “If there is anything I can do to help, you need only to ask.”

“Uh… that’s mighty generous of you Princess, but ah think we’ll manage,” said Applejack, nervously adjusting her hat.

“I understand.”

“Speaking of sisters…” added Twilight, “…wasn’t Princess Luna supposed to be here?” All eyes fell upon her. “I mean, the message was sent on her request. I figured she’d be here to greet us too.”

“Ooh! And alieeeens!” said Pinkie, drawing out the word. “It talked about them too!”

Rainbow instantly snapped to attention at the mention of aliens, fluttering close to the Princess. “Oh! Cool! Can we go see him now?”

Celestia stifled a chuckle. “In time, my little pony, we just-“

She was cut off by an abrupt bang in the throne room as Luna suddenly teleported in. Everypony jumped in surprise at the azure flash as the younger princess appeared next to her sister.

“Sorry I’m late!” Luna exclaimed the moment her magic fizzled out and she opened her eyes. She was greeted with the sight of five disheveled ponies, one cowering pegasus, and an irritated sister. “Um… oops?”

“Ah… Luna…” exclaimed Celestia as she put a single hoof to her forehead. “What did I say about teleporting around the castle when we have guests?”

“We might frighten somepony.” She hung her head. “Um… we apologize.”

“Sometimes I wonder…” muttered Celestia.

The next several seconds were spent coaxing the timid butter-colored pegasus back to her hooves. Shakily, they succeeded and Fluttershy shot a nervous glance in the direction of the Moon Princess. Luna gave Fluttershy an apologetic smile, which seemed to work, the mare calmed down.

They stood in silence for a few seconds. “So… uh… aliens?” Rainbow inquired hopefully.

“Well, it depends…” said Celestia, walking towards a side-passage out of the throne room, ushering everypony to follow her with a gesture of her wings.

“Depends? Waddaya mean?” questioned Rainbow.

“Rainbow, you’re speaking to a Princess!” hissed Rarity.

Rainbow glared at the fashionista. Before she could retort, Celestia continued. “If he is awake, it is quite all right. But if he’s not, you are welcome to stay in the castle until he is.” She glanced towards one of the windows. “Not exactly an ideal day for introductions though…”

The group trotted down unfamiliar hallways. They turned and twisted and changed direction more times than they could count. It seemed to get darker and more eerie the further they went. The white walls gave way to roughly hewn corridors. The carpeted floors gave way to stone, their hoofbeats clacked off of it, and an omnipresent damp scent purveyed the air. They hadn’t run across any other ponies, and nopony said a word, save for Rarity commenting about how the moist air was bad for her mane.

Rainbow’s head was spinning with the countless amounts of turns they were taking. Even though she couldn’t see the sky, with her innate flyer’s sense she could tell that they were constantly going down. How much longer would it be? She was getting impatient. How anypony could navigate something like this, completely enclosed off from the sky she was so enamored with, was beyond her.

“Geez, how do you gu- er… Princesses find your way around this place? This is like a maze!” she thought out loud.

“It is an ancient defense mechanism, designed to protect our secrets,” Celestia replied nonchalantly. “Old enchantments, even older than I, purvey these halls. They are designed to guide whoever traverses them to where my sister or I want them to. It is to deter intruders. They will get lost down here until somepony escorts them out.”

“But what if somepony comes in here without ya knowing? Wouldn’t they be… trapped?” asked Applejack.

“Fooorreeever?” interrupted Pinkie Pie. 

“Yes, forever,”  Applejack said nervously, a lump of unease forming in her stomach. The thought of getting trapped in a place like this didn’t sit well with her. Rainbow was having very similar thoughts. Nearby Twilight shifted uncomfortably, her unease unnoticed by everypony.

“Oh no no no!” said Celestia. “I assure you, if somepony enters these halls without our permission, we will know. Whether they had malicious intent or just curiosity, we would never leave anypony trapped in here.” Her eyes strayed over to Twilight, who was pretending to ignore the conversation. “I think Twilight learned that lesson. Right?”

“Wait what?” Rainbow fluttered over to Twilight, “You… oh, that’s rich.”

“I was just a little filly!” Twilight retorted, looking at every part of the hallway except the ponies around her.
After some light-hearted ribbing from her friends at her expense, Twilight was eager to change the subject. “So, what have you learned Princesses? About the… um… alien, I mean,” asked Twilight as they descended another staircase.

Celestia blinked. “Well, he is omnivorous, bipedal, walks upright without the aid of a tail…”

“I wonder how his species manages…” Twilight thought out loud. It occurred to her that she never really saw the alien move much, though Pinkie, AJ, and Rainbow did. She mentally noted to ask them later.

“He did not resist when we took a blood sample, and some tests determined that it contained a high concentration of some sort of unknown, yet apparently harmless bacteria. The suit he was wearing was in two layers, one composed of an unknown, ultra-hard, yet light material and steel, and the other out of some strange elastic substance. We had no idea how to remove it so we had to resort to magic…”

“Oh Twilight! Did he have a zapper or something?” interrupted Spike while Rarity muttered something about ‘that ghastly ensemble’.

Twilight was about to chastise him for his rudeness, before Celestia cut in. “Yes Spike, Wanderer does have a ‘zapper’.”

“And you should have seen it!” butted in Rainbow, “It was awesome!”

“Wanderer?” asked Luna, her expression curious.

“It’s what I’ve taken to calling him,” replied Celestia, her gaze falling on her sister.

“Why ‘Wanderer’, Princess?” asked Twilight.

Celestia turned her attention to her student, “When I first saw him, I couldn’t help but feel that his appearance was familiar,” said Celestia. “A little bit of digging on my part, and I remembered exactly what it was. Our otherworldly guest has an uncanny resemblance to the creatures present in old legends. They went by multiple names, like Visitors, Benefactors, Wanderers… but I felt that Wanderer was the most fitting.” She tilted her head. “Do you know of what legends I speak of?”

Twilight knitted her brow together, rolling the names about her tongue. “Now where did I…” as if a metaphorical light bulb clicked on in her head, her eyes dawned with recognition. “Ooh… I see,” she slowed down slightly, tapping her forehead with her hoof. “Now that you mention it, Princess, I see it too.” 

“What are you talking about Twilight?” asked Rainbow. “What legends?”

Twilight shot the mare a glance. “You know, Helping Hands, Visitors, Starborn, Earthly Paragon…you’ve at least heard of The Gift of Knowledge, right? I know that you are not the most well read, but everypony has heard that story.”

“Ooh…” exclaimed Pinkie, bouncing in place a short time. “I once threw Lyra a party based on those legends. She loves those stories!”

The mares all made a sound of recognition. Rainbow rubbed her head. “Well, now that you mention it…I see what you mean.” She glanced at Pinkie. “I remember that party.”

“So how is the feller Princess?” asked Applejack, changing the subject, her tone concerned. “Last time ah saw him he was hurt bad…” 

Applejack felt a lump form in the pit of her stomach when the Princess’ expressions darkened. “He is… unwell,” Celestia said hesitantly. “While his actual injuries healed at incredible speed, he has severe magic poisoning.” Twilight cringed at that news. “The severity of his condition gives us the impression that his home is completely magicless.”

How does one survive without magic? thought Twilight.

“We’ve been giving him small doses of magic so he could develop a tolerance for it, but it is a slow process,” continued Celestia.

“However, that isn’t even the worst of it,” said Luna, drawing a few curious stares. “His worst ailments are from the type of injuries that don’t leave scars… and he has a great many…” she said glumly. “I have spent much of my time over the past several days with him. I do not know what has befallen him previously, and although I cannot communicate with him, I can tell when somepony is suffering.” She paused. “He’s been having nightmares constantly, he hasn’t been eating the food we have offered him, from what we can tell our guest has severe PTSD.”

“’PTSD’?” asked Applejack.

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” clarified Twilight. “It’s when somepony has something well… traumatic happen to them. Symptoms can include depression, flashbacks, nightmares…”

“Okay, we get it Twilight,” Rainbow cut her off.

“Oh… that poor creature…” said Fluttershy.

“He sounds so… sad…” whispered Pinkie. The thought of somepony being so sick that they couldn’t laugh or smile anymore sent a shiver down her spine. Suddenly, her tail went swish-a-swish again, and it dawned on her. Somepony I met recently… and… she realized who it was that needed a hug from ol’ Pinkie.

“Which brings us to why I asked you to come here,” said Luna, her blue eyes sweeping across the gathered mares (and dragon). “I wish for you all to assist me in aiding his recovery. He needs… friends. I will speak with each of you later to discuss exactly how I wish for assistance, but now…” she shrugged, “I suppose now is a time for gratitude.”

Twilight seized up briefly before bowing her head. “Er… of course! Princess! I would be honored to assist you!” The rest of her friends said something similar.

A hint of a smile came to Luna’s face at their enthusiasm. It calmed her heart to see that despite what they had endured a week ago, they were still cheerful.

“Thank you- ah, we have arrived,” said Luna. The rough, dimly lit hallway opened up into a much more comely chamber. Unlike the corridor, the chamber was composed primarily of the familiar clean, white stone that made up most of the castle, and the room was brightly lit by a magic-powered light set into the ceiling, as opposed to flickering torches. A large red and gold rug dominated the majority of the floor, while several tables lined the walls. Every inch of the surface of the room was impeccably clean, not a spot of dust or dirt anywhere, and the floors were polished to such a shine that everypony could see their reflection in it. The tables were cluttered with medical and lab equipment, stacks of paper, and more than a few empty food wrappers jutted out of a wastebasket stashed in the corner. The only other feature about the room was a door on the opposite end. The air was heavy with a sterile smell, reminiscent of hospitals, tinged with a hint of coffee.

Curiously, Rainbow in particular noticed that there were also a couple of windows as well, the curtains drawn shut and she could hear the faint pitter patter of rain against them. Weren’t they underground?

Two guards flanked the far door while ponies wearing lab coats were hunched over their desks, seemingly oblivious to the new arrivals, too absorbed in their work. Celestia was able to get their attention by gently tapping the ground with her shoed hoof. All eyes were turned upon them before the ponies nearly tumbled to the floor from their seats as they rushed to bow to their Princesses.

“Your majesties!” exclaimed the nearest pony, a unicorn stallion. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in! Had we known you were coming for a visit-”

Celestia silenced him with a wave of her hoof. “At ease doctor, you may rise,” she exclaimed, and everypony did so. She immediately got down to business. “Is the patient awake?”

“Yes, he just woke up,” exclaimed Nurse Gentle Hooves as she walked through the door on the far end of the room, a clipboard suspended in her magic aura. Her eyes drifted onto the entourage of mares (and dragon). “Princess? Are these-“

“Yes, visitors,” she interrupted. “They were all present at his… arrival.” She glanced at the ponies following her. “It was my sister’s idea to bring them here. She felt that our guest needed some company.”

Luna stepped forward. “As well as assisting me with… several tasks.” She paused a moment. “How long has he been awake?”

The nurse tapped her chin. “Only a couple of minutes, he appears to be lucid, and currently not in pain.” She exhaled slowly. “Ah, that poor dear…” she shook her head, before glancing at the Element Bearers (and Spike), she gestured to a few hooks near the passage they came in. “Could you please leave your things here for now?” 

Pinkie was about to protest, how was she supposed to give a proper Pinkie greeting without her party stuff?  Before she could speak, Rainbow cut her off. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” She zipped past them and quickly hung up her saddlebags. “Can we go see the alien now?” she asked, eagerly eyeing the nurse as her friends hung up their bags in a much more orderly manner, with the exception of Pinkie, who nearly dumped the contents of her bag on the floor in her rush. She mostly succeeded except for a few stray bits of confetti and a deflated balloon. Her friends gave her an amused stare.

“Right this way ladies.” Spike gave her a slight glare. She smiled warmly in response, “… and gentledrake.” She beckoned them forward and led them through the door on the far end of the room. As they filed past, whether they were trotting or hopping, they could feel the eyes of the rest of the science ponies on them.

The corridor was narrow, roughly three ponies wide. They passed a couple of doors, one was slightly ajar. Inside, Twilight caught a glimpse of more lab equipment tucked away as they walked by.

The six mares and dragon could feel a hint of excitement in the air as they continued down the hallway. Here they were, finally getting to meet an intelligent life form from another planet, under much less stressful circumstances.

Twilight was excited to finally observe the alien; her keen mind was already brainstorming methods to try. The Princess had mentioned in her note that she wanted Twilight to find a way to bridge the communication gap, and she was more than eager to do so. The baby dragon mounted on her back was quivering with excitement; he was grinning, and he nervously wrung his claws together.

Rainbow could distinctly recall how cool the alien was in the forest, and the idea of hanging out with an alien was enticing. Aliens are awesome. Hopefully there isn’t any blood… She shivered slightly. In hindsight, she wasn’t sure why she was so scared; though she’d never admit she was scared to her friends.

Applejack was feeling anxious. Part of her was afraid of what she was going to see, but she wanted to know for certain if the creature that had helped her and her kin was alright. The thought that somepony was hurt for her sake didn’t sit well with her, and she wasn’t the type of pony to leave a debt unpaid.

Not only was she grateful that he had evidently protected her sister as well, but Rarity was eager to design something fabulous for their otherworldly guest. She was already coming up with designs, and it would be a crime against fabulosity  if a fashionista like herself were to let a special guest walk around in naught but that drab grey and black. Plus, it was so dirty!

Fluttershy was eager to help. Big or small, scary or docile, the meek pegasus veterinarian would never turn away a poor, sick creature in need.

Last but not least, Pinkie Pie was… well... the inner machinations of her mind are, and will always be, incomprehensible to mere mortals and sane ponies.

Regardless of what was going through their minds at the moment, they were pulled from their thoughts as they trotted up to one very specific door at the end of the hallway. A glowing white film covered the entirety of the frame, and within, they could hear the faint beeping of a heartbeat monitor.

They had arrived.

Before the group could take another step, they were abruptly halted as Luna extended a wing, blocking their path.

Twilight looked up at her inquisitively. “Princess?” she asked, tapping the hard stone floor with her hoof.

“Our… guest doesn’t take crowds very well,” said Luna, her face darkening slightly as she vividly recalled what happened the last time they crowded the alien. “I think it would be wise if we were to proceed with the introductions one pony at a time.” Both Celestia and the nurse nodded in agreement

The six mares exchanged glances, but before they could get into a ‘me first!’ debate, Celestia spoke up. “Fluttershy, we think that it would be best if you were to go in first.”

The butter-colored mare recoiled in surprise as all eyes were suddenly on her at the mention of her name; a faint ‘eep!’ passed through her muzzle.

Not hearing a response from her as the pegasus tried to hide her face behind her bangs, Luna crouched so she was at eye-level with Fluttershy. “My sister has told me how you care for of all sorts of creatures, big and small,” she put a hoof to Fluttershy’s chin and gently raised it, “I have heard that you can communicate with animals on a much deeper level.”

“… animals, not aliens…” she  mumbled in response.

Rainbow trotted up to her and placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, “C’mon pal. How hard could it be?” She cupped her hooves to her own cheeks. “Besides… you get to meet an alien… awesome!”

“Fluttershy, darling, don’t be nervous,” reassured Rarity.

As the rest of her friends gave her encouraging words, a feeling of purpose rose up in Fluttershy’s chest. She could do this. She just didn’t expect to be put on the spot.

Confidence Fluttershy, confidence…

Puffing out her chest and putting on as brave a face as she could muster, the pegasus strode towards the shimmering barrier.

~~

The Wanderer sighed as he leaned back onto his pillows. He rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hand as he tried to force the images of his latest nightmare from his mind. He took deep, steady breaths to calm himself while he listened to the rhythmic beeping of the heartbeat monitor. Watching his father die in his dreams again had a tendency to put him in a rough state. What unmistakably sounded like rain relentlessly rattled on the curtained window; it was oddly calming.

It played out strangely at first. He was cutting through the Enclave Troops, fighting them as if he was as at his current full strength. But every time he relived it, no matter how hard he tried he was never able to break the glass interposed between him and his father. The instant he entered the control chamber, he found that he reverted to merely Isaac Shepard, the shy, bookish teen from Vault 101 that he was eight years ago, unable to do anything but watch as history repeated itself in his dreams.

A mirthless laugh passed out his lips as he thought about it. Luckily for him, he really didn’t have many nightmares during his journeys in the wastes. His modus operandi was to push forward in life continuously, and never look back. He couldn’t even remember the last time he just lay down and reflected on the past. Although he knew that it was wise to remember what had happened before, it was dangerous and very unhealthy to dwell on it. The pre-war world, obsessed with the past as they were, was in for a rude awakening when the future had caught up to them. It was an important lesson he, and everyone else had learned.

Let go, begin again.

He had been living in a nightmare for nearly ten years in the wastes. Now that he had nothing better to do than reflect on the past, dark memories began flooding his sleep. Thankfully, he hadn’t had any more vivid flashbacks like he had on his initial awakening, but sometimes he inexplicitly found his body being racked with pain, as if old wounds had reopened; some of them were very, very painful. 

Earlier, he was disappointed to see that his usual company was absent. Although one of the recurring nurses was in the room with him briefly, the dark-blue pony creature that had been present every time so far was nowhere to be seen. 

Despite the people of the wasteland bestowing the title ‘Lone Wanderer’ on Isaac, very rarely was he ever actually truly alone. The many stories that surrounded his exploits rarely ever mentioned the friends he had picked up along the way, which only made it more depressing.

Dogmeat, Charon, Fawkes… other than himself, no one remembered them. No one could remember how the dog never left his side, or how the ghoul had always watched his back, or the supermutant’s deadly skill with his Gatling laser… no one remembered their sacrifices. 

A ragged breath passed through his lips as he reminisced about his companions. He'd lost so many, even his AI companion was gone now. 

Sucking in a breath through gritted teeth, he brushed his sweat-dampened bangs from his eyes. 

Hmph… I need a haircut… he thought flippantly . He sighed as he knew that he had much bigger problems than overly-long hair. The same conflicting feelings that he had in the alien wreckage had remained. On one hand, he was relieved to finally get away from the Wastes.

On the other, he was mortified. So many questions remained unanswered. Why were the aliens in orbit around this planet? What did the ponies have in store for him? But more importantly, who would act as a guardian to the common people now? Isaac wasn’t prideful by any means, but he knew how much of a vital figure he was in the fight to improve the Wasteland. The situation wasn't good.

What am I going to do now…?

A soft chirp roused Isaac from his musings. He glanced at the strange bird that remained perched at the foot of his bed. Even though it wasn’t very chatty, the bird was company.

It was quite a magnificent creature, compared to the limited forms of avian life he was used to anyway. Its vivid gold and scarlet plumage was a far cry from the black of the crows and other carrion feeders that seemed to perpetually circle overhead in the wastes, cawing incessantly as they hoped that he would spontaneously drop dead.  This bird looked smarter as well. Its head cocked, it stared at him with intelligent eyes that seemed to glitter slightly.

He debated on reaching out to it before his hand settled on his chest. A hint of a smile came to his face as he looked back at the bird. Who knows, maybe it was a phoenix?  Unicorns and pegasai seemed to exist here, so why not?

Suddenly, he froze as he could hear the sounds of hoofbeats; someone was coming. As he listened intently. He could tell that there were multiple ponies headed his way, though the noise bled together too much to tell exactly how many. He guessed at least a half-dozen.

I wonder what they’re after… he thought to himself. The ‘unicorns’ would sometimes point their horns at him, which was shortly followed massive exhaustion on his part. Were they coming to knock him out again? Why do they do that? Do they collect samples when he is unconscious?

Soon voices were mixed in with the hoofbeats. A small lump of uncertainty formed in his gut as they inevitably got closer and closer. Suddenly, they stopped. Isaac’s lips parted slightly as his eyes narrowed in confusion. Shortly after, his heart skipped a beat as the hoofbeats resumed, yet it sounded like only one pony was coming.

Soon, a butter-colored pony came trotting into the room. Isaac took in a sharp breath. He recognized her; she was one of the ponies that he had first met in the forest, the one that looked like she was about to jump at her own shadow. It was nice to know that she was safe. Were the others alright as well? She paused briefly as she noticed the bird perched at the foot of his bed, and a warm smile came to her face. As she started to approach, almost immediately his analytical mind quickly tried to gauge the new arrival in his ward. As she cooed softly and nuzzled the bird, the extremely cute sight made him conclude that the only risk the pegasus posed was spontaneous diabeetus . He couldn’t help but smile.

It faltered as his body was racked with coughs. The pegasus’s gaze shot over to him as a surprised ‘eep!’ passed through her mouth. Isaac could tell that the pony was trying to put on a brave face, but it was rapidly faltering as the two of them had an impromptu staring contest. Her large, cyan  eyes were wide, her pupils were dilated, and her legs were quivering slightly.

“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” Isaac said gently in an attempt to diffuse the situation. All it accomplished was to draw a quiet ‘eep!’ from the pony.

From his position, lying down as he was, he couldn’t get a full view of the pony. The bed creaked as he made an effort to sit up against the headboard. In his weakened state it was much harder than it should have been, and consisted of a lot of feeble squirming and grunting. Just then he gasped as a sharp pain shot through his chest.

That got the pegasus’s attention. It seemed that her concern for the well-being of others overrode her fear of him. Isaac’s eyes widened in surprise as the pony nickered softly and slowly walked alongside the bed. The sudden shift from the pony being nearly too scared to move to her current state alarmed the Wanderer, and he couldn’t help but feel weary.

All that uncertainty seemed to instantly wash away as the pony started speaking to him. To his ears, it sounded like little more than incomprehensible cooing, but it made him feel calm, relaxed, and safe. Although they couldn’t understand each other, he was able to get the general gist of what she was saying by merely looking into her expressive cyan eyes.

Don’t be afraid. Everything is going to be okay.

When she was less than an arm’s length away, he tentatively reached out for her. He stopped midway as the pegasus seemed to tense up ever so slightly, and he decided to let her go the rest of the way. Moments later, the pony came slightly closer and nuzzled his hand. He responded by gently stroking the soft fur of her muzzle. An almost inaudible ‘mmm’ sound passed through her smiling lips and she leaned into his ministrations. 

The pony went a step further as she placed a hoof on his chest and gently massaged it, softly speaking all the while. Isaac was taken aback by the shy equine’s sudden forwardness. He lay there awkwardly as the pegasus continued to dote  on him, acting like a mother to a sick child. It was strange though. The more he listened to the sound of her soft voice, the more it was like he could hear words amidst the incomprehension. As one of her hooves found its way to his forehead, brushing his hair aside, she abruptly gasped. Her expression became one of sadness as she continued to stare. It didn’t take Isaac long to realize that she was staring at the scarring on the side of his face. He suppressed a shudder as the pony traced one of the scars with one of her surprisingly soft hooves.

“(Ohhh you poor dear…)” she whimpered.

He snorted. “They’re just scars. They don’t hurt anymore,” Isaac grumbled, “Well, they normally don’t.” He sighed as the pony continued the stroke the sensitive tissue.

“(I know this must be awful but… um…)” 

“Really, sometimes they-“ He trailed off as he realized that he could have sworn that he understood the pony just now. He was utterly perplexed. From what he had seen so far, this world operated on different laws than his own. He realized that skepticism was pointless. Might as well take a leap of faith…

“Wait… can you understand me? At all?”

A warm smile came to her face and she nodded; as it turned out, she could. Isaac was intrigued. While they couldn’t understand each other’s actual words, it was as if they could understand the meaning behind them. He felt increasingly better and cheerful now that he was able to hold an admittedly awkward conversation with someone. With a little help from the pony, he was able to get into a comfortable sitting position. As the minutes passed by, he grilled the pegasus with questions. Where he was, what was wrong with him… Unfortunately, only the basic meanings seemed to get across . From what he was able to gather, he was in a palace somewhere, and he had an illness of some kind. Oh, and they planned to ‘make him all better’.

Well, it was better than nothing.

She then went on to explain that she and her friends were here to visit him. By ‘friends’, apparently that referred to her and the five other adults that he had bumped into in the forest. At least that apparently meant that all of them got home safely. Hm… but what about those children… or would that be foals? Are they safe too?

What’s the worst that could happen? he thought to himself as the pegasus looked at him hopefully with those expressive eyes.

He gave a determined nod, his expression set. It was time to give a proper, ‘hello’.

“Alright, bring ‘em on…”

~~

“Really? Is that it… sir?” Isaac said incredulously to the older man sitting on the far end of a long table in the briefing room of the Citadel. He’d been dragged all the way back to the Citadel for this?

“Is there a problem, Paladin Shepard?” asked Elder Lyons. Unlike his daughter, the elder used the Wanderer’s greater involvement in the Brotherhood as an excuse to go all formal on him.

Apparently, several scouts had sighted a few stray supermutants in the DC Ruins, and they were sending him in to investigate. “It just seems a little… sudden,” said the Wanderer.

“There hasn’t been a supermutant sighting in nearly a year, Paladin,” said the Elder. While the raider attacks had died down admittedly, in part to the fact that the wrongdoers of the Wastes were scared shitless that the Lone Wanderer would swoop down and swiftly send them packing to oblivion, the disappearance of the supermutants was unexplained. Even Big Town, the settlement that was almost perpetually harassed by those lumbering monsters until he stepped in hasn’t seen any. “If this is the sign of something major, I would prefer that it is brought to light now instead of later.”

“I suppose you have a point,” Isaac said begrudgingly. He rose to his feet and saluted. “I’ll get on it immediately, sir.”

He turned and left the older man alone, stepping out into the hallway in the A-Ring. He had nothing he had to retrieve since he carried everything he needed on his person at all times, save for some very specific things; or should say, some bodies. He briskly made his way back to the B-Ring, ignored the awed stares of several knights as he passed them.

He could hear his companions well before he could see them.

“HA HA! I WIN AGAIN!” bellowed a very familiar voice. It took a bit of coercion on his part, but he was able to convince the Brotherhood to set aside a private room for his companions. He stepped inside to see his dog snoozing on the bed, and Charon and Fawkes engaged in a game of chess, the former having just lost. The ghoul crossed his arms with disdain and looked away. The friendly supermutant was the first to notice his presence.

“My friend!” he exclaimed.

“Fawkes, Charon, good to see you both, we need-… gah!” he was cut off as Dogmeat opted to bound clear across the room and give him an unwanted face bath. “That’s enough!” he pried the dog off. “Okay guys, we have a new mission. Get you gear and meet me in the courtyard…” he trailed off, realizing how stupid that command was given that his companions never parted with their stuff. “Never mind, let’s go…”

“Right behind you boss.”

“Yes, LETS!”

~~
(A/N) Took me long enough eh? In case you didn't notice, I gave the 'short snippits' thing I mentioned last chapter a a try, tell me what you think.

Special thanks to this guy and that guy for pre-reading these shenanigans. I bestow upon them internet hugs and internet tummy rubs.

Next chapter I swear that there will be more human-on-pony action. 

Not that kind, weirdo.

Le question time!
1) Has anyone noticed how many LWxCharon fics exist out there? I know he's a cool guy, and I like him as a guy using an infinite ammo shotgunguy ...but as a wuverboy? Personally I find that kinda weird? Wouldn't that cause...chafing? Besides, Fawkes is better.
2) If you could hang out with any Fallout companion, who would you hang out with?
3) You find yourself in a dark room. You see a cheeseburger and a basket of chicken strips. A nearby sign says that taking one will vaporize the other. Which one do you take?

Hopefully the next chapter won't take me another whole freakin' season again...