//------------------------------//
// The Other Five 
// Story: When life gives you ponies . . . make friends. 
// by A T L A S 
//------------------------------//

	It was 10:28 when I woke up. Last night was just...weird. My visitor was up there, sleeping in my bed, while I enjoyed a bed on the guest's room. The weather was cold. My feet were freezing. I stood up, made the bed and flexed my arms. The sound of the bones crushing  felt good. I went out of the room and looked through the giant window located at the front of my apartment. The city that never sleeps. My hands were in my pockets. I yawned and cleaned my eyes. A grey t-shirt, red pajama pants and my white socks were the clothes I was wearing. The sunlight hit my face (a grey sunlight). I could see hundreds of cars racing down in the street,  apartment buildings, skyscrapers and houses decorated the city, most of them were lifeless. An with "lifeless" I mean people that has lost all the hope and happiness in their lives.

"You can't stay like that, you need to change this rags...but..." I gazed at the wooden stairs. My guest could probably still be sleeping. I walked from the dinning to the kitchen, thinking about what happened yesterday (and today), my chin went rough with the cold weather. "Do it now, coward." I walked slowly, upstairs. (Using socks makes your feet silent while walking, fortunately) And waited outside the door. I peeked through the doorknob and tried to spot the yellow horse. She was still sleeping. I opened the door slowly. A soft stride, then, another one. I approached to the shelf with my clothes. First, I took a pair of brown and turquoise tennis shoes, when I was about to grab the right one, it fell to the floor and rolled. I immediately turned around. Her breathing was slow and calmed. I sighed and took the footwear. A pair of light blue jeans and a red t-shirt was my selection. The clothes were cold too. The bed was kinda far from me. "The clothes are in your hands, don't ruin it!"

I tried to leave the room the same way I entered it. The door was right in front of me. Everything was going fine, until the tiptoe of my right feet bent and I fell down to the ground. All the clothes spread over the flooring. I felt something and turned my head to the right. The yellow horse was grabbing the blankets, she trembled with fear. Her cyan eyes were over me. "aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"-She screamed with her acute voice. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed back with a deep voice. I stood up quickly, took my clothing and ran out of the room, closing the door behind me. I fell down again and crawled backwards. I grabbed my knees. "What just happened?!" My breathing was stirred. After some minutes I calmed down and went downstairs. I changed my clothes.

"Congratulations, you just scared her!" I went out of the bathroom with my worn clothes in my right hand. I put them in the bag and walked to the kitchen. The sunlight marked the midday. I was hungry, and sure the little horse too. I took some carrots, canned pineapple slices, an apple and a pear from the refrigerator. After I grabbed a cutting board and a knife from a drawer. The knife cut softly the fruits and the vegetables, the sound of the metal against the cutting board was comfortable. I made the slices quick and perfect. When I finished chopping our "breakfast" I threw the leftovers in the garbage can, washed my hands, took two ceramic plates, distributed the food between the two recipients and put a fork in each one.

I went upstairs and knocked the door (Even knowing that I could scare her, again) before entering the room. An "Eep!" before a hurried trot. I gently opened the door and looked around my habitation. The little animal just disappeared (I knew she was hiding), so I sat down against the cold wall. I took one plate and left the other at the feet of the bed. I barely could see two little cyan eyes behind my bed. 

"I'm sorry if I scared you before, but I promise I'm not going to hurt you, and I will never do. Please accept my apologizes" (I don't know why I was talking to an animal, but I had the need to apologize myself) The eyes stared at me. They look terrified. I tried to calm her down. "I thought you must be hungry, so I brought you some food"  My visitor showed her head over the blanket of my bed. "You got to believe me, I could never hurt you." I touched my heart, made a signal in my lips and extended my hand. "I promise" My guest came out from below the mattress. She looked at the plate. A soft pink hair tuft instantly covered her right eye, she looked very cute. "O-Okay" she said at a very tiny voice. (At this point, a talking animal wasn't a surprise). "Let's go downstairs. We can't eat on the floor" She walked behind me. I felt her fear.

Every step she made sound timid. We moved slowly. When we reached half of the stairs, she stopped. Here eyes inspected the room around her. She was more scared. I couldn't do anything to help her. (In a situation like this, who wouldn't be scared?). We walked a bit more. I put her plate over the table, facing the enormous window. I put mine in front of her, so I could see her. My right hand took the fork and my mouth enjoyed a piece of apple. She started eating too. We occasionally exchanged glances, but only that. A silent meal.

We finished eating. I took the plates and left them in the sink. When I returned she tried to kept the distance. She was totally terrified and didn't feel safe. I knew that feeling. I sat down, next to her and stared at her for a moment. Her pale rose mane covered her face, like trying to hid her.

"Look, I know you are scared, you can't hide that. You don't look like anything from around here, and I understand that you try to hide yourself,  that you are very shy at this moment, that you feel lost, confused or in danger, but is not that way. I don't know where you come from, what's your name, or even, what are you, but I will not hurt you. I would never do. I want you to feel safe. I'm a total stranger to you, but you have to trust me. I will never let anything bad happen to you, ever. You are trying to go back to home, for what I can see... I don't want you to think that I will do something bad to you. I would be there whenever you need me, for any reason, at any cost...I...I would like to help you."

This time, she looked at me different. A sad smile appeared on her face. She hugged me instantly. A tear went down across her face. I just stared at her. I smiled too. In a long time, I've never felt so happy. She had something..."special", something that made me feel alive. I felt like...a father. 

I wiped her tear and we stood up. A truck sounded the horn in the street, making a lot of noise. My guest flew back, scared by the noise. She grabbed my shirt from the back. Her little round head peered over my left shoulder, like trying to identify the cause of the noise. "It's okay, it is just a truck" She looked at me, confused. "Let's go upstairs, to a place more quiet" She went behind me, again, but this time she wasn't longer scared. She trusted me now.

"So...what's your name?" The library was designed to be a peaceful and quiet place where the noise from the city could not penetrate into it. I was putting some books back in their place. My visitor was seating on an armchair. "Fluttershy" She smiled so(ooooo) cute! Her real voice was sweet and clear, and I loved it. "Can I ask you something? well, if you want to answer...eh...I mean..." I gazed at her and interrupted the sweet voice with a childish smile. "Don't be afraid of asking me, I'll answer you whatever you want to know" Her smile grew. I felt very very happy. "How did you find me?"

"It was yesterday...well, in fact, today. Today at dawn. It was drizzling, some thunders but nothing to worry abut. I was inside a friend's car..."
"W-what is a "car"?"
"I...I'll explain it later...let me remember...oh, yes!·It was inside the thing. It covered me from the rain. My friend was in a party, with other people..."
"People?"
"I will explain that later, too"
"Oh...okay"
"He was having a great time. The drizzle turned into a rain. A heavy rain. I was in the car, trying to sleep. I closed my eyes for a minute, but a thunder woke me up. I tried to fell asleep again, but I couldn't. Then, in the middle of the rain, I spotted a flashing sparkle, it caught my eye, so I decided to investigate. The sparkle was very far. I entered a "forest" and began to investigate. The light stopped when I approached a cave. I couldn't see anything. Until a thunder hit the ground again and I discovered you. You were lying in the ground. The rain became heavier. I took you back to the car with me, and then here to my apartment. And now we are here."

"Then...I must say thanks" I placed the last book back and turned around. "Why?" I sat down on an armchair, close to her. "Because you saved me...." I shook my head negatively. "That's not the way I could describe it. In my opinion, I just did what it was correct. Nothing more" Fluttershy had a hoof on her chin, like thinking. "...you..." She looked at me. I tried to guess what she was trying to tell me. "Oh! My apologizes! My name is Jay Stevens, , but you can call me Jay!" I smiled. "Because you saved me, Jay" She looked at me, gratefully. "Did you even heard what I said?"  "Huh...what?" I shook my head slowly. I still had a lot of questions in my mind.

"I must ask you something, Fluttershy. What are you, exactly?"
"I'm a pony...a pegasus one. I...I can fly and step on clouds...What are you?"
"I'm a human"
"What is a human?"
"That is kinda complicated to explain...but, what were you doing in the forest?"
"I...I don't remember what we were exactly doing, but once Twilight cast the spell...Twilight?! Rainbow Dash?!"

He went flying out of the room, quickly. She checked my room, and then she flew downstairs. I went behind her. He checked the bathroom, the guest's room, the dinning and the kitchen. "Applejack? Rarity, Pinkie?" Her hooves grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me (I wonder how can she do that). She looked me at the eyes. "In which room are they?" She was very worried. "What do you mean? I only brought you here last night, I didn't saw anybody else with you."

"B-But we were six, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow and me... we were helping Twilight to perform a spell and everything went dark...and...and...I don't remember anything more..." I looked at her. My mind hurt. Too many confusion for a day. "So, you are telling me that there are other 5 like you?" She nodded. "Did you were all together?" She answered affirmatively. I ran to the guest's room and searched in the bag  with my worn clothes. My jeans were there, all wet. A water jet came out from them. I took the car keys (Hank would kill me if he know) from the left pocket and came out of the room.     "I know a place where we can find your friends, but we need to hurry."

We went out of the apartment. I locked the door. The white corridor was all alone. An old carpet covered the floor. "Listen to me, Fluttershy, when we come I need you to stay close to me. Don't talk to other humans, and when somebody gets near to us, don't move. Okay?" She was about to open her mouth to talk  when I heard a noise. "Wait"-I whispered. Nothing. We moved quickly to the right, where the elevator is. She was following me. Our steps were silenced by the antique grey carpet below us. She tried to tell me something, but we just simply hadn't time.

We reached a corner. At the right there were more apartments, and at the left, the elevator. The wall in front of us had a large rectangle-shaped window, where one can saw everything. The sunny and shiny day turned cloudy and gray. It would start to rain again soon."Wait for me here, in the corner. If everything is clear I'll snap, and if it does not, I will get back here, and try to...cover you, okay?" I didn't have a real plan. I walked slowly toward the elevator. I pushed the dirty button in the wall. A little yellow head peered over the corner. I tried to be quiet.

"Ding!" The metallic doors opened. Nobody was there. I snapped. "It's all clear, come here, quickly!" She heard my whispering and came trotting to me. We entered the moving cabin. Ceramic floor decorated it. Three of four yellow bulbs illuminated it. Sax music. The doors closed as I pressed another button.

"What were you trying to tell me?"
"Why can't I talk to other humans?"
A long sigh came out from my lungs.
"Because it's not normal to see talking ponies here in the city. We humans are not used to that. In our society things that are not normal usually don't end well. You will be very, very famous. people would start to freak out about "their new discovery", and they would take you away from me. They will try to find out what you are and...not in a good way. It's...it's kinda hard to explain. Just stay close to me, okay?"
"Okay!"

The elevator stopped, and we shook as it hit the floor. "Here is where the thing gets complicated..." The old doors creaked as they opened. We peered to each side of the narrow corridor. Fortunately, the way out of the building was clear (I guess that the people in the building was dead that day). "Be careful" I walked before her. I checked the street, and it was full of life. Hundreds of persons walking, talking, screaming, singing......cars, motorcycles, trucks, bicycles, buses. Hank's car was right in front of us, but a sea of people obstructed our way. We were standing away from the door, so people couldn't see us.

"Woah, there are...there are a lot of humans out there! How are we going to go with my friends?"
"Do you see that grey thing that uses circular things as "shoes"?"
"Mmmm....yeah"
"That is called a car. It's our transport and the only way we can go with your friends, but...all those people are blocking our way. Let me think of something...I have an idea!"

A car passed by at high speed, the abrupt sound of the wheels screeching against the road scared the pony. "Eep!" she jumped backwards and grabbed my right leg. She was trembling. Fear invaded her again. "Fluttershy, we need to cross all those people to reach the car. But I need you to be calm and quiet. It's the only way we can see your friends" She looked upward. Her eyes closed and she sighed. "I...I can't do it. All those people scare me, and I don't feel safe...I can't do it...sorry"

I bent over and looked her at the eyes. "Look, Fluttershy, I know you can be brave. Think about your friends! If we don't get into the car, we won't know where they are, and then you won't be able to go back home. If they are here, and we don't find them soon, they could get hurt. You need to trust yourself" For a moment she stared at the floor, sad. Then, she gazed at me, with a safe look. "Let's do it."

"It's simple, I'm going to walk to the car while I carry you in my arm. You are so colorful and realistic that nobody will think that you are real. You only need to stay quiet and don't move"
"Just like that?"
"Just like that"

Another car made the same sound the last one did. Fluttershy looked a bit scared."I'm here to protect you." We both smiled.

I went outside holding Fluttershy with my right arm, like a plush doll (I'm not gonna lie, she was a bit heavy). People started looking at us. Little and teen girls, some guys and an occasional adult put their eyes on us. "What a loser" A girl said while passing by. A little girl approached to me. "How cute! Where did you got it?" I turned around for a second. "In a shopping mall" I kept walking. A guy blocked my path. "Gosh! That Fluttershy figure! Where did you find it? What about the price? Maybe if I offer you 50, no...100, no... 200, that's it! 200 bucks!" The pony was getting heavier every second. She was slipping slowly. "Sorry, but this exemplar is not for sale, sir" I walked around him. The guy smiled. "Ok, man! But that's a very realistic Fluttershy you got there! What about a "brohoof"? He extended his fist to me. I didn't know how to react. "Sorry man, but I'm late for...something" We were almost there. ALMOST. "Awwwwww....how cute!!! For who it's the doll?" A trio of girls asked me when I was inserting the key into the car's door. "It's for my girlfriend, it's a birthday gift. "Could you let me hold it for a second?" I put Fluttershy soflty on the passenger's seat and turned around. "Sorry girls, but I can't, it's something special and I wouldn't like to broke it or soil it" I turned on the car and began to drive. "It's okay, you can move now, just try to stay down"

"Sorry about that" Both of my hands were on the hand wheel, and my view on the road. Millions and millions of buildings surrounded us. The people always looked the same. Texting in their phones, taking a bus for job, jogging with headphones on their ears, with bags of food on their hand, taking their children by the hand, walking the dog while talking on the phone...nobody looked at each other. Nobody cared about each other, instead, the people avoided other people. In the concrete jungle, every man is at his own.

"Are you okay?" I turned my head for a second. She was grabbing the seat with all her force. She looked terrified (I wasn't driving at a high speed) "I'm.Fine." I stopped the car near a corner and looked at her. "You see that thing next to you? At your right side" She took the security belt with her hooves. "This?" I nodded. "That thing goes over there..." I took the security belt too and buckled her up. "All right, that thing that I put you it's called "security belt", it makes you feel safer when I'm driving" Despite I knew that she didn't get a word of what I said, she nodded and smiled. "How far are my friends?" "They are about half an hour from us"

The yellow pony peered over the closed window to admire the city. Everything was new for her. The sad-looking people, the enormous buildings, the grey sky, the concrete road, the pollution from the cars...that is what society in the metropolis has become. 

"Why that human knew my name?"
"Maybe it's what I talked you about, even when you looked like a doll you have became famous. People usually do that"-I lied. I didn't know the answer.
"What is people?"
"People makes reference to a group of humans"
I turned left in a corner. The semaphore was red. We waited until people and animals crossed the street.
"Why did you stopped the..."
"...the car? Because that light over there is red. In the road, we have rules. One of them is that if the light turn red in that thing you see there, all the cars must stop. And that thing is called a semaphore"
"W-Why?"
"I don't know. I have never wonder why"
I kept driving straight ahead. She looked marveled by all the buildings around us.
"Why are your buildings so high?"
"Simply, so more people can live or work there. The highest buildings are called skyscrapers"
We stopped in another corner. Two dogs crossed the street and sat beneath a tree (that was one of the few remaining on the city).
"Where are the owners of those poor animals ambulating alone here?"
"They don't have owners. They walk the streets looking for some food and a place to rest"
"What? That is so bad! Why the humans let this happen?"
"Because most of us don't have enough money or space to take care of a pet. 99% of the things that you do here need money. Even when you want to get your pay, you have to pay. Do you understand what is money?"
She nodded. Fluttershy had a sad expression on her face.
"But if everyone helped each other maybe they could share their money and take care of those poor animals!"
"That's the problem here. Nobody wants to help each other. In this city every human it's by itself. We don't trust anybody, unless it's our family or friends, but even they can betray us"
"What an awful situation! It doesn't sound good!"
"I know, but we don't choose the world in we live. I really want to do something about it, but..I can't"
"Maybe we could do something about it"
"I don't know. I'm really confused...and stressed too. I'm worried about your friends. If they were with you the night I found you, something bad could have happened to them. Catching a cold, getting sick, being hurt or even..."
The pony had a very worried look on her face, and I just worsened the scene.
"I'm...I'm sure they are fine! Maybe they found shelter inside a cave, or near a tree...we will find them, okay?"

I remembered the way. We were moving over a giant bridge. It connected two different cities. A divided road. To the left, another big and sad city, and to the right, an immense land, filled with hundreds of trees. The road was full of leaves. Autumn has been very windy and rainy. I heard the whisper of the wind hitting the window. The lounge was 1 mile ahead.

"We are almost there" I turned right. The wheels made a comfortable screech while rolling. The car's engine was quiet. My hands felt the vibration of the movement. My right foot stepped harder on the pedal, the car accelerated. The wind swept away the leaves in our path. That beautiful landscape...just....leaves in the wind...

We parked afar from the lounge. The place was totally alone. From our position we could see the house. Plastic cups, broken bottles, bags of chips, dead cigarettes and other kind of trash was lying around the abandoned (for now) house. The proof of how carefree are the people about the contamination.

We went out of the car. I tried to remember the spot where I started walking, but the only memories I could take back were blurry. I felt confused. Fluttershy and I walked near to the forest. She looked upward to find my eyes. I smiled warmly, but I didn't knew where to look.

"Listen, we are going to enter the "forest". It is very big and one could easily get lost. Stay next to me, okay?" She nodded slowly. The wind felt cold. It froze me to the bones. The sky was getting darker, despite it was 4:00 p.m. An almost nonexistent drizzle began. We entered the forest.

The strokes of the wind were getting stronger. Millions of leaves fell to the ground. Fluttershy was walking aside me. A ray of light illuminated the sky, then the thunder appeared. A loud thunder. Fluttershy grabbed my right leg. "Don't worry, it's just a thunder...". Then, the real rain began.

"Stay close to me! We will find your friends soon!"-I screamed at the top of my lungs. The rain fell violently on us. Leaves hit my face, and now, the ground turned to mud. My tennis shoes were getting dirty and wet. We were lost. The rain getting worse. The pony said something I could barely hear: "I'm cold and scared!". I tried to find a way out there, but all the trees blocked my sight. We were deeper than I thought. "Don't worry! We will find a way!" I saw a flashing sparkle far from us.  I immediately recognized it.

"Did you see that?!"
"What?"
"The sparkle! Did you see it?"
"No..."
"Follow me! I know where your friends can be!"

We run across the storm. Another thunder. The wind picked up some leaves and threw it to us. I turned my head back for a second. Fluttershy hardly tried to run, but she looked tired. I stopped. "Grab my shoulder!" I sprinted through the forest with the pony in my shoulder. We were very wet. She was shivering. The sparkle ceased, but we were very close.

We went out of the forest to find the cave. Fluttershy released my shirt and landed on the ground. I pointed to the cavern. "Your friends must be inside the cave! Here is where I found you!" I felt something rushing to us. But I didn't saw anything. Another thunder. "Let's search inside it!" I turned back. My companion disappeared. Despair instantly grew inside of me.

"Fluterrshy!!!" I entered the forest once again, but she wasn't there. I felt worried. Where could she have gone? "Fluttershy!!!" Another thunder. The rain was unbearable. I started coughing. Shortly after, I ran back to the place where the cave was and entered it. It was very, very dark and deep. A light sparkle got my eye, it came from behind a rock. I got closer. Five necklaces and a tiara, all them were made of gold. They had "gems" on them, with different figures on them, in shape and color. Something flew outside the cave.

I came out from the cavern. "Fluttershy!!!" My throat hurt. My body felt tired, but I needed to find the pony. I couldn't leave her there. A cyan flying line went flying right in front of me. "Fluttershy?" It entered the forest. "Wait!..." I decided to follow the flying thing. The rain did not stop. The sore throat from yesterday still was there. I felt my lungs swelling. 

"Hey! Wait" I ran after it. "It" was very fast. The flying thing turned right and left, zigzagging. I could see rainbow colored "lines" coming out from the thing, like...hairs. "Wait! Please!" It was getting faster. I ran harder. It turned left, I followed.  We entered to a clear path, without trees. My feet hurt. I started coughing "I only want to talk to you!" I kept chasing the blue thing. Its body obstructed my sight. I was about to reach it when it turned left. A tree was right in front of me.

I didn't have enough time to stop, the speed at which I was sprinting did not allowed me to. I crashed with the tree. My head felt an immense pain. The rain still was hitting my face. My eyes couldn't see anything, everything was dark and blurry. I felt the warm blood falling down slowly from my nose. Another thunder. I had a very painful headache. The scene was all blurry.

I closed my eyes and opened , like blinking, but more slowly. Something was pulling my t-shirt, orange extremities carried me away from the tree. Some talk. What were they? I didn't know; but I'm sure that Fluttershy was not there. My ears were ringing. A leaf covered my face. I finally relaxed my body and fell asleep.

Million of words invaded my head. A black scene. Whispers. "Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP. WAKE UP!"


"Please, wake up! Jay...please! It sounded like a familiar voice. My ears were ringing so I couldn't hear very well. Something was pulling my shirt. Hooves. They grabbed with a deep despair.

You should have not stun him, Rainbow!" This voice was unknown for me, it had  a wise and leadership tone. It sounded like a female. "But...he could have hurt me! Didn't you see how he was chasing me?!" This voice sounded a bit rough. It came from a female too. I heard a thunder. A sign of the never ending storm out there.

I began to feel again. My body recognized the ground below it, it was a cold stone. My breathing was calm and silent. My eyes hurt. Both hands were lying on the ground, freezing, and I felt the dry blood in my lips. The sound of the rain made it a very dark scene.

Finally, I decided to open my eyes. Everything was dark and blurry. At the left side there was the entrance of the cave, and at my right, a yellow pony with rose mane grabbing me. I took a long sigh and tried to move. The stone ground was very hard and uncomfortable. I decided to talk.

"Fluttershy?..." My sight was getting clearer. So was doing my hearing. I could hear more voices in the background, all of them talking at the same time. No one heard me. I repeated the same words, but this time, with more effort. "Fluttershy?" The voices stopped. I tried to look around, but my eyes still were seeing a bit blurry.

"J-Jay, you awoke! Thank Celestia!" I regained the sight. The little shy pony hugged me with an immense happiness. Her hooves were cold. I looked at her. Her mane was a little wet and disheveled. The cave was a dark grey color, and the reflect from the sad rain from outside gave it a late autumn look.

"Flutthershy, where have you been? You were behind me, and the next second you were not there! I was so, so worried about you!..." The cutest thing I have ever seen in all my entire life still was hugging me. I could felt her soft and delicate hairs against my cold chest. ".M-Me too...."

"What happened?" The hug stopped and she walked backwards, near to me. "I brought her here using my magic" The words came out from another part of the cave, the voice who said it, talked before. I slowly turned my head as a purple pony emerged from the dark (I couldn't see so far). She had a deep blue rose-cerise streaked mane. She looked friendly. I smiled to her.

"Hello, you must be Jay" I kept lying on the floor. Like a sick person or a hospital patient. The pony curiously stared at me. "She is my friend"-Said Fluttershy in a sweet and slowly voice. The reflect of the storm on the violet eyes of the purple pony made them bright amazingly.

"How do you know?" My neck made a silent *crack* as I moved it. Fluttershy responded me quietly. "I...I told her...I thought it w-was okay...well, if...you..." I slowly shook my head negatively. She was being shy again. "Don't worry, you did well" She smiled warmly. I looked more closely to the purple pony. An unicorn horn protruded from her forehead, it was from the same color of her coat. "It's very kind what you did, let me tell you. She said you saved her life" I instantly blushed as a smile escaped from the inside. A dumb smile. "I just did what was right" The purple pony gave me an approving look.

"Well she said you are a hero, and that she trusts you· I turned and gazed at Fluttershy. Her cheeks were a light red and a shy and little smile hid under her long pale rose mane. It was getting late, and the cave was getting darker.

"We need to find a place to rest, we three can't stay here..." I talked to both of them. The purple pony answered me.
"Three?"
"Wait...are you saying that there are more ponies around here?" 
"We are six"
"And where are the others?"

The unicorn stepped aside and discovered the background of the cave to my sight. Four more ponies were staring at us, quietly. They all were from different color and constitution:

-An orange pony with a long straight blonde mane (almost touching the ground), she had a red headband nearly at the end of it. A brown cowboy hat kept her head warm. Her green eyes expressed tiredness. She had three red apples at her flank.
-A moderate pink coated pony with a deeper pink curly and tangled mane. Light blue-turquoise was the color of her eyes. Innocent and girly eyes. She looked very, very happy. 3 multicolored balloons decorated her flank.
-An almost transparent white colored pony. She had a deep violet wavy hair and cyan eyes. Both her coat and mane were very shiny. She had an unicorn horn, all white. Three blue diamonds at her flank. She was very worried.
-A cyan pegasus. Her rainbow mane looked awesome, while pale yellow, orange and red covered her forehead, violet, blue and light green (with the last tree colors) were the composition of her tail. A cerise eyes, like berries. A cloud with a tricolor rainbow was located at her flank. She looked brave and decisive, while her eyes hid the real fear and worry that she felt in the inside.

"What about we present each other? I don't even know your names..." The violet unicorn answered me with enthusiasm, a hopeful enthusiasm. "That's a very good idea! Maybe then we can understand all this...Oh, I'm very sorry for not presenting myself, my name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me just Twilight" I stood up and felt all my bones cracking (It felt gooooood). My clothes were a bit wet. I looked down to the pony. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Twilight"

I walked to the group of ponies. Fluttershy slowly walked at my left side, while Twilight trotted enthusiastically and my right. The rest of the ponies stared strangely at me. As we approached to them, they separated from each other, to give us space. We stopped right in front of them and Twilight sat down. They looked curious and happy (with an exception). They didn't treat me like a stranger. The ponies treated me like a friend. And that made me feel happy too. 

I sat down too. Everyone followed us. We were seating in a circular way (like those old american tribes).

"Girls, he is Jay..." Shortly after Twilight began to speak, the pink pony interrupted her. She was funny. "Oh! Oh! Oh! I have a question!" She raised her right hoof. Her broad smile and childish look were lovely. "Yes, Pinkie?" Twilight sounded like an old teacher. "Is he the Jay Fluttershy talked about?" I answered this one. "Yes, I am" Once I finished the sentence the pony jumped around the cavern, happily. She disappeared and appeared over my left shoulder (Seriously, how does she do that?). "Wee! We can now be friends, and we can celebrate it with a party, and we can eat candies, and..." She was teleporting from a place to another in question of seconds. I whispered in Twilight's ear. "Is that normal?" She dropped a short laugh. "Yes, Pinkie will be always like that"

"But, what about we present each other? You know my name, but I don't know yours..." The pink pony smiled at jumped in front of me. She was the first one to talk. "My name is Pinkie Pie!" She kept playing around. The orange pony took off her cowboy hat and looked at me. "Ma'h name is Applejack, sugarcube. If ya'h ever need help with somethin', count with me!" She gave me a trusting smile. I liked her countryside accent. The white unicorn combed her hair with her right hoof. She shook her violet mane dramatically and gave me a friendly look. "My name is Rarity, darling. You were such an angel out there with Fluttershy! I'm glad you're fine!" Her slowly voice expressed happiness. It was way too acute, but not annoying.

The cyan pegasus had her eyes lost in the void. She looked away from us, avoiding the talk. She looked angry, like a little kid. "Rainbow? It's everything all right?"-Twilight asked the rainbow colored mane pony. She just stared silently to the ground. "So... what's your name?" The blue pony didn't turn to respond. "Rainbow Dash"-She buffed. "Come on Rainbow, why are you acting like that?" The situation made me feel uncomfortable.

"Let her be, she is either scared or surprised, but it will pass soon. She needs some time." I whispered to Twilight. She respond me with an "Yeah, you're right" while nodding. I sat back, with my knees almost touching my chin. My muscles relaxed.

"It's a pleasure meet you all. But now, how can I help you? You look lost and confused" My voice was hoarse. I was sick.
"We are, Jay. We need answers about everything"-Twilight asked with interest.
"Well, I'm here to help you with your problems. What do you want to know?"
"Where are we?"-The pony asked instantly.
"You are actually in Planet Earth, a world inhabited by us, humans. It's located in the Milky Way Galaxy, third planet in the Solar System" I thought they wouldn't understand about that.
"I have never heard of it. The Equestrian Galaxy must be very far from us" (I didn't expected that)
"Well, at least you know astronomy"
"I have a question!"-Said the childish and playful voice. Pinkie raised her right hoof, again. It reminded me a bit of school.
"Yes Pinkie?"
"What is a human?" Her question was simply unanswerable. No one ever could give you an exact answer to that question.
"Well...that is a very complicated question. There are to many definitions for what is a human. I'm gonna simplify it. A human it's a living being, with the ability to reason, learn and think. Our body it's conformed by a head, torso, arms and legs. That is the most simple concept I can give to you. If you want to learn more about us, you will need to live with other humans, which is not a good idea" I thought she will ask why not. But somepony asked first something else.
"I have another question for you, gentleman. What is this cold and scaring place?"
"We are in Sura's surroundings. This place is a party lounge that people rent. Sura is the metropolis were I reside"
"This world is very confusing!" Pinkie exclaimed while crossing her hooves.
"It is, even for us....Can I ask you something?" I slowly turned my head to Twilight, waiting for an answer.
"Of course, Jay!"-Said the purple pony.
"Where do you come from?"
"We come from Equestria, a place inhabited by ponies like us. We reside in Ponyville" It sounded like a country and city, respectively.
"And why are you here in Earth? What happened?"
"I asked my friends to help me to perform a spell, something went wrong and we ended here, inside a cave. The artifacts we used to get here were intact, but one of us were missing. That one was Fluttershy. We spent all the entire evening looking for her, until Rainbow Dash spotted her in the forest, with "something" strange. We all went out, and located you. I teleported Fluttershy with us, and we got inside the cave. She told us the story, how you saved her last night. We heard something coming inside the cave so we hid. It was searching for something, and it almost took our artifacts. Rainbow Dash flew out of the cave and tried to distract the stranger. It worked. Rainbow Dash returned, saying that she stunned the "thief". When she described it, Fluttershy told us that "the thing" was you. Applejack carried you here. And that is what happened" 
"Yer' a little bit heavy, let me tell you!"-Applejack joked. I began to grew fond of they. 
"Thanks, Applejack, I owe you one"

At that point, everything had sense (sort of). Most of my questions were answered satisfactorily. But I needed to do something about their situation. The first thing of all, was apologizing with Rainbow Dash. If I was going to help them, I needed to gain her trust, or just simply try to be friendly with her.

"I need to apologize to Rainbow Dash. Could I?" Everypony gave me a surprised look. Even I got the attention of the blue pegasus. She turned to me for a second. "Why?"-Twilight asked. I slowly stood up, walked to Rainbow and answered. "For what happened out there"

"Rainbow..." I closed my eyes and sighed before continuing. ":..I'm really sorry for what I did. It's only that I was scared and confused. Maybe you too. But, please, accept my apologies" She gazed at me with the same mistrusting look she put before. "I wasn't scared! You couldn't scare me even with your best efforts..." Outside, a thunder impacted a three. The noise of the collision was very scary. "Aaaah...It's...It's just a thunder" She was trying to hide her true fear. 

I didn't got the negative or affirmative answer that I expected, just a confusing answer. At least, she talked to me. I returned to my position, next to Fluttershy. I sat down. There still were problems to solve.

"Maybe I could help you with your problems, you said you were brought here by your artifacts, could I inspect them?" I got Twilight's attention. She nodded to me. "Of course Jay!" Her horn glowed and a pale violet magic aura surrounded it. The golden tiara and necklaces I saw before levitated above us. They landed at my feet. I took one of them and examined it closely. "I have never seen something like this. But, I don't get it, what is the problem? They look like ordinary gems, nothing atypical" Twilight took the tiara and poked the gem in it. I looked closely to the gem shape and turned to her flank. She had the same figure of the golden accessory. (Not to mention that I didn't look her "flank figure" before)

"That's the problem.They are called the elements of harmony, I remember that when we used them they shone spectacularly and now...they look just like normal gems. They are discharged. The only way to restore their power is using an ancient spell. It's in my library, in Equestria...." She put a sad look. I had to help them. "Maybe there is another way to restore their power, or even another way back! Look, I will help you to find your way back home. I don't care what I have to do, but I will do it. Just...don't lose your hope, okay?" They smiled with a sad melancholy. Even Rainbow Dash. Even her.

"It's getting late. I won't let you stay here in this cold and dark cave. You can stay at my place" Applejack's belly made a  sound, like when one is hungry. Her cheeks went a light red and she smiled. "And you look a bit hungry" "I think that nobody can discuss that. "We really appreciate your help, Jay" It began to feel windy. Leaves swirling out of the cave. My wet clothes were icy. "We need to go now! It's too cold in here!" I was trembling. Rarity turned to the cave's entrance, she pointed to the rain outside. "It is too far from here? I don't think my precious and delicate hooves can handle a long walk across that wet ground out there!" I searched inside my pockets and drew out my cellphone and the car keys. The cellphone was cold, but it still worked. The car keys were intact. I checked my phone. "2 missed call(s)" Hank called me both times. Everybody stared strangely at my device.

"What is that?"-Pinkie asked joyfully. I closed the cellphone (Did you expect a touchscreen phone for a poor student?) and pointed it. "This thing you can see here is called a cellphone. We use it to contact people when they are afar from us, so we can talk with our friends or family, if they have one too, and about what you said, Rarity, this are my car keys. A car is an conveyance, with a ceiling and wheels, totally automatic. Despite my place is a bit far from here, the car can take us there in question of minutes" Applejack had a funny look on her face, like surprised. "And wher' is it?" I slowly scratched my head, thoughtful. "That's the problem. To get in the car we need to go through all those trees, and...the storm"

"That is all? That is no problem for us Jay! I can cast a magic barrier spell that provides us shelter from the rain" That was really useful. They kept amazing me with all that. "You can do that? Awesome!" Twilight blushed. Then, I looked to Fluttershy. All this entire time she remained in silence. Those cyan eyes... She looked at me and smiled. She reminded me of someone...of Brielle.

We stood up and walked to the entrance. I tried to remember the way back to the car. White thunders at the background. The weather felt as cold as the North Pole. My bones felt the freezing atmosphere. I checked the time. 6:37 p.m. The grey sky was turning dark blue. 

"Rarity, could you take the elements while I protect us from the rain?" The white horn of the unicorn shone a pale blue color. The elements lying on the cave's ground went flying over us, again. Finally, we went out.

The magic barrier had a rectangular shape, it was not too big. We were walking silently, forming two rows. At the right row there was Twilight, Rarity and Applejack (from top to bottom), and in the left one Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I leaded the way, between both rows. A thunder impacting. Some leaves flying. The sound of the rain against Twilight's magic barrier was muffled. "What direction?!" Twilight was shouting. The storm was so loud that we had to talk loud to hear each other. "Left!"

Crossing the "forest" was a complicated task. The mud made the ground slippery and we needed to be careful, avoiding a collision with someone else. We needed to stay together, too. That was the only way to remain warm. Keeping the  ponies safe was my duty. We kept walking for a long time.

"Oh oh...this is just what we needed...." A light mist obstructed our sight. Some trees became invisible. We walked more slowly. "At this rhythm we will never get out from here!"-Yelled Rainbow Dash. We hastened the passage. 10 minutes of confusion inside the mist. We almost got lost. The thunders were getting more continuous.

We entered a dense area, the trees were more numerous. The wind blow more aggressively. Another thunder. A short and easy travel became a dramatically hard and long journey. Mother Nature was against us that day.

"How far to go?!" The wind stroke us again. The sound of our foot/hoof-steps on the mud reminded me how much I like jumping on puddles. "A few meters! I'm not sure, but we are close!" I tried to locate the party lounge, but I couldn't saw too much.

A thunder stroke a tree right next to us. Everyone jumped back scared. "AAAAAAAAAAH!"-Rarity screamed with an unbearable acute voice. The elements went flying away, making the same sound a bell does when ringing. They spread all around the area. Twilight's magic barrier disappeared.

"Is everyone fine? Anypony got hurt?" I looked at them. They calmed down and Twilight performed the spell again. "Where are the elements, Rarity?" She looked around with despair. Her eyes grew wide. "I don't know! They went flying around this abrupt storm!" I spotted one and ran to it. I took it and gave it back to Rarity. "We need to find them! I will search them, you will have to wait for me here, okay?!" I was about to sprint into the forest again when somepony shouted at my back.

"No way! I'm not going to stay here, doing nothing! I will search them too!" It was Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus went flying behind me. She had her eyes on me, watching every move I made. She didn't trust me, and I supposed she had the feeling that I was going to stole the elements. Friend or stranger, for good or for bad, she was there, and she was helping me.

I took one element, below a branch. She took one, stuck in the torso of a tree. The rain was getting lighter. The mist was disappearing. I took another one, behind a big rock. I felt how my lungs were getting cold, and how a little pain appeared  in my chest. She took the fifth one, the tiara, that was hanging from a tree branch. There was missing one necklace.

We got deeper in the forest. While I ran, she flew. Occasionally, she turned to see me. We kept our search until we arrived to a clear area, like were the cave was, but this time, there were only trees. A giant tree replaced the cave.

"Here it is!" I pointed at one shiny thing lying over the ground. The last element. It was not too far from us. (I wonder how Rarity's magic could threw them that far). She disappeared in a second. Her speed was incredible. We were so close...we only needed to take it...

A lighting impacted a tree, not the giant one. Rainbow Dash was about to took the element. The tree began to screech. It sounded like cursed. Rainbow Dash was flying to fast to see it. She stopped and took the necklace. The tree was about to fell down. I was running to her.

"Look out! It's going to fall down!" She looked up and stayed there, frozen. True fear could be seen on her face. Her body trembled. The tree made the last "crack" before falling down. I was very, very close.

"Noooo!" I threw my body against her, and pushed the pony out of the scene. The elements fell down to the ground, all of them. The dead tree fell over my legs. I felt an immense pain on my back. Rainbow Dash looked at me, surprised. A tear came down across her face. Her mouth was open. I felt the continuous rain (that now was a light drizzle) hitting my face. It was really difficult to breathe.

"Rainbow Dash..." I was closing my eyes. My body couldn't handle the pain anymore. The feeling of the heavy object holding my tinny legs against the wet ground was unbearable. I extended my arm, asking for help. "Please...Rainbow" She stayed there, looking at me. She didn't move. "Help..." She reacted, but not the way I expected. She took all the elements and flew out there. It broke my heart. And my hopes. She left me there, alone in the forest.

My breathing was getting heavier, my eyelids too. The flow of the blood to the half bottom of my body stopped. I didn't feel anything. It was a horrible feeling. With the force remaining in my arms, I tried to push my body away from the tree (I was lying on my stomach). It was useless. Finally, I felt my entire body freezing. I couldn't do anything. A horrible way to leave this world. But...I didn't hate her...I didn't blame her for what she did. I just accepted my fate, and relaxed my body. Closed my eyes and lie down, calmed. I passed out.

A thunder awoke me. I reacted violently. Rainbow Dash was looking to me. I couldn't feel my body. A purple magic barrier protected us from the drizzle. "Jay! Are you okay?!" I coughed relieved and calmed down. The pegasus had her right hoof over my belly. "I'm so, so, so sorry! Please forgive me if I didn't trust you! You will be fine!..." She hugged me tightly. So tightly that she made my bones crack. "Rainbow...you are choking me..." She released my body and I fell softly to the ground. I looked around me. All the ponies were around me, with a worried look. Rainbow Dash was right in front of me. Fluttershy was right next to me, and the rest of the group looked at me, at he distance. "Is everythin' all right, partner? You look bad" I sighed and looked at Applejack. Her barely open mouth expressed her worry. "Jay, are you hurt?"-Pinkie said with a trembling voice. She put her pink hooves below on her chest and her childish eyes on me. I was about to talk when Rairity interrupted me. "It is all my fault! If I had been brave when the terrific thunder appeared, you wouldn't be in this horrible situation..." Twilight gently silenced Rarity poking her right shoulder (?) and stared at me, warmly. It felt like she was my mother. Weird feeling. "Girls, let him talk. He is trying to tell us something!" I used my arms to lift up my torso and sat down on the grass. I looked at everything around me.

"What happened? I'm confused" Rainbow Dash sat on her back hooves, and answered my question. "I...I couldn't move. That tree was about to fell over me. You...you saved me...I was totally paralyzed...You said something, but I was so lost in my thoughts that I couldn't hear you. You asked for help. I took all the elements and flew back to Twilight, asking for help. We came back here, but you were unconscious. Twilight, Applejack and I got you out from the tree. Now you are here...Thank you"

As Rainbow said, the tree was at my feet. I felt the blood flowing again. My right leg hurt, but only that. I stayed on the ground for a long time. My view was lost in the grass. I felt my slow breathing. My body needed to rest. Fluttershy silently got close to me, but I didn't notice. She hugged me, softly. I felt her hooves around my chest. She leaned her head against me. I could feel her warm body on my cold clothes.

"I...I...I was so scared, Jay...I was afraid...of what could happened to you..." I gently surrounded her body with my right arm. It was weak. She closed her eyes and stayed in the same position. "I will never leave you. I made you a promise remember?" I felt my own heartbeats, they were slowly and depressed. The moment when I was alone at my own luck...it makes me feel scared.

"We...we need to continue. We are close to the car. I know it" I stood up and took some air. I drew out the car keys from the pocket and pressed a button. The car's alarm sounded. It could be hear at our left, near to us. "Don't worry. It's just the car's alarm. It will guide us to it (Why didn't I think in that at the first moment?).

We kept our walk. Rairity had all the elements. Twilight protected us from the rain. I felt very tired. I was near a tree when my leg hurt, and when I was about to fell to the ground again, something stopped the fall and grabbed me from the shoulder. It was Rainbow Dash. She gave me a friendly look. I stood up and continued.

"That is a car? How strange!" Twilight had a very curious face. The grey plated car lighted up as I unlocked it. I got near to it, inserted the key and opened all the doors, one by one. They looked in, before entering. Everypony sat on the back seats. When everypony finally decided to enter, I turned it on. They got scared by the noise of the motor working. I only wanted to go back home.

The trip to the city was very peaceful. Luckily, everyone fell asleep before I could enter the city. I didn't have to answer questions. I didn't have to explain anything. I didn't have to wonder about my existence. I just had to drive. They were very, very tired. (In my opinion, the car's movement lulled them, like it did when I was a kid). 

(I'm sorry if details stop here, but I was just too tired to pay attention to anything)	

I quickly parked the car outside the building. The street was kinda quiet. There were not too much people, and at the entrance of the apartment building there wasn't too much activity. I woke up the ponies, (they were one above the other) calling them by their names in the lowest tone possible. They awoke and admired at the giant and illuminated city surrounding them, even Fluttershy. But now I had to carry six ponies across the street. It was going to be a very hard task...

"Wow! This town is enooooooooooooormous! You live here?"
"Yes, Pinkie. My apartment is over there..." I pointed through the window to the high building at our right. I was dying for some sleep.
"...but there is a little problem. We need to go through all this people. And I will need to carry you one by one"
"Why are ya'h tryin' to avoid all that humans like you?"
"They are not like me. They can make you a lot of bad things..." I was falling asleep too. I shook my head and tried to stay awake.
"Just tell me something, where do we need to go?"
"You see that white corridor inside there? Well, that is our destination"
Twilight's horn glowed and in the blink of an eye we all seven were on the corridor. 
"Why didn't you do that in the forest?"
"Because I need to visualize the scene in my mind where I'm teleporting us. In the forest I didn't know where your car was"
"All right...we are almost there..." I yawned and started walking, they followed me to the elevator.

I pressed the button, and the elevator opened. I was so tired that I didn't took the precaution of checking if someone was inside it. Fortunately, nobody was in the elevator (that is what I call a lucky day). We got in and I leaned on a wall. I closed my eyes for a second and opened them at the next. Surprisingly, the elevator already stopped and the doors were open. Twilight poked my left leg.

"It's everything okay, Jay?"
"Yeah, it's only that I feel a bit tired"
"We do too."
"Don't worry, we are almost there..."

We went out of the elevator. I peered over the corridor corner. Mrs. Magdalena was there, at the back of my porch (She is a very old woman, that has been always like an annoying grandma. She is 64 and she is always near my door. She gives my cookies and treats me like a child).

"Twilight, could you teleport us to that door over there?"
"But...there is someone out there!"
"Don't worry, I know how to handle this"
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me."

We appeared right in front of my white porch. I slowly opened the door and everyone quickly entered. The old woman out there did not even notice us. I walked like a zombie. 

(From this point to what is going next, I could barely remember something).

I remember that they were magnified of almost everything there. They asked me questions that I answered with short answers. I entered the kitchen and prepared some food. They ate their dinner and we got prepared to sleep.

"So...I'm going to stay with Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie in what is called the guest room, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash will be staying in your room, but what about you?"
"There is a room, up there in the library. I only will need a blanket..."

Everypony got into their assigned rooms. I entered the bathroom of my library and waited them to fall asleep.

Today has been a long day. I feel very exhausted. I have meet new friends. I feel happy. A light has arrive to my existence. A light that I will need to take care of. There are so many things on my head right now...but there are more important things to think about, like how the guy in the street recognized Fluttershy...I don't know.

I'm going to pay a visit to Hank tomorrow...maybe he could help me with all this situation. (sorry Hank, but I'm just too tired to call you at this hour).

Want a clue about where I'm staying right now? All I have to say is that the armchairs of the library are not too comfortable.

I'm sure tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. Goodnight everyone.