• Published 27th Mar 2013
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Contact - Gron



A human landed on Equestria and has to adapt his life. How will he deal with it? What will he find there? Will he make new friends or even more?

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Chapter 6 - Night and Day

Steve groaned as he shifted around in the bed. He had just woken up, but still felt too tired to open his eyes, so he pulled the blanket over his head again to try to get more sleep, when he noticed that something was different. He wasn’t holding the thin cotton blanket he had used over the past two years, but instead a large, soft, silk sheet. He sat up on the mattress, which was so soft he thought he was sitting on a cloud, and looked around.

“Where the hell am I?” he groaned loudly, as if expecting an answer. A small lamp on the nightstand next to him emitted enough light to make out some chairs, desks and wardrobes in the room, but it was too dark to see anything more than their silhouettes. Silvery moonlight was shining in through a large door, leading to a balcony, granting him vision of various towers reaching up from the city below him.

Oh yeah, right… he remembered, as the memories from earlier this day came back to his mind.

He buried his face in his hands and let out another groan.

Argh. Everything was running so well and now this? Instead of making first contact I got kidnapped by some magical pony from another universe. Awesome development.

He lifted his face up from his hands and spotted a small letter next to a tray standing on the nightstand. Curious, he grabbed the letter and started reading.

Dear Steve,

I am deeply sorry about what has happened. Please believe me when I say that it was not my intention that things turned out as they did. Twilight and I are currently working on the portal spell, so we can send you back to your world. Unfortunately we do not know at this point, how long it will take, so you might have to stay in Equestria for a while.

After you passed out, we stationed you in a guest room of the castle, after running a basic medical check, with the little we know about human physiology, to make sure you are not hurt. I hope your room will provide you with an appropriate amount of comfort. I do not know when you will wake up again, but I thought you might be hungry. The tray is magically sealed to keep the food inside fresh. You can break the seal by simply opening the cover. If you need anything else, there are guards outside the door. They are not there to keep you locked inside, you are free to go anywhere you like, but I would like you to stay here at least until tomorrow. I will check up on you in the morning, hoping you will be awake by then.

With sincerest apologies,
Princess Celestia

He read the letter for a few more times before putting it away, anger and bitterness swirling around inside him, the perfect recipe for a headache.

I can’t believe how naive she is, that she honestly thinks that… Argh, I need some fresh air, he thought and looked over to the balcony. But she was right about one thing. I’m kinda hungry. His gaze fell on the tray and the sound of his growling stomach was supporting his thoughts. With only a light breakfast, the thoughts of a full stomach seemed more satisfying for the moment than thinking about his situation.

The cover of the tray was easy to lift up, releasing a faint hiss as the seal broke, revealing the sight of a large salad, as well as some drinks, underneath. There was no meat, but the large amount of nuts still made it a filling and very tasty meal.

After he finished eating, he grabbed one of the remaining drinks, sweet mango juice, and headed towards the balcony. Fresh air blew into his face as he stepped out of the door. It was very warm for being so late in the night. A quick glance at his watch told him it was almost 3 AM.

He leaned against the railing, letting his view roam over the sleeping city. The only ponies awake were a few guards patrolling through the alleys, the street lights reflecting on their golden armours were making them clearly visible from afar. When he was listening closely, he could even hear the sound of their armoured hoofsteps on the roads, the only sounds audible in the otherwise silent city.

Steve spent a while there, just watching the guards on their endless tours through the city, mindlessly sipping on the sweet juice in his hands from time to time. His mind drifted away, focusing on nothing, just watching the whole scenery of the city which lay in front of him.

“Good evening, Steve. It is a pleasure to see thou art awake,” a voice behind him said calmly.

Absorbed in thought, he had shut out most of his surroundings, so even the very calm voice startled him, causing him to turn around quickly to see who had sneaked up on him.

“What do you want?” he harshly replied, annoyed at the sight of Princess Luna standing in front of him. Now in the moonlight, she seemed larger, her coat darker and the stars in her mane were sparkling more.

“We saw thee standing out here, from our room and felt the desire to inform ourselves upon thy condition,” she answered in the same calm manner, either not noticing or ignoring the sharpness in his voice.

“So you were watching me again, huh? Is this even real right now?” he asked, pinching himself in the arm. “Okay, at least it’s not in my dreams again.”

“Pardon?” she replied, confused at his behaviour. “We are not sure we understand what thou mean.”

“What? You sneaked up on me in my dreams already, who knows if you wouldn’t do it again,” he shot back bitterly. The sour taste in his mouth returned as he recalled being told that she had invaded his mind when he was asleep, causing him to grimace.

“But we promised not to, thou said that thou believes us,” she hastily replied, involuntarily stepping back in shock, now seeming to understand his anger.

“Oh, you promised? I’m so terribly sorry to not believe everything you say after your sister kidnapped me!” he yelled the last parts towards the now petrified Luna.

“But… we…,” she stammered.

“And then, after you took me out of my world, your best idea was to go into my dreams, the most private place I have?! What is wrong with you!?” he continued his rant, flinging his hands wildly around, unable to stop himself in his rage.

“But thou said that thou understood…,” she tried to explain, her voice tiny, but he cut her off.

“Of course I did! Do you even comprehend what this meeting meant to humanity? This was the biggest discovery in our whole history and you think I would blow it because some crazy pony decides that my mind is apparently public? NO! I had to play nice, don’t you get it?!”

“But we did not mean to… We… I mean that I did not want to hurt you,” she tried to calm him down, struggling with her words now, her voice shaking with confusion, sadness and despair as she tried to make sense of the situation.

“But you did!” he yelled. “Maybe you had good intentions, maybe not, I don’t care. You screwed up. How in the world could you even think that this stupid plan was a good idea?”

“I don’t even want an answer,” he waved her off as she opened her mouth again. “What is wrong with you, that you think you can just sneak into my mind and then expect that I’ll be totally okay with it? Too much time on the moon? If this is what you do down here you should have stayed there! I’ve had enough of you. You crossed too many lines with that and don’t even realize where you’ve gone wrong. You’re pathetic and I don’t want to talk to you again. Get lost!”

Luna didn’t try to say another word, instead she looked to the ground and her face began to tremble.

Steve didn’t give her another look and turned around, looking over the city again, waiting for Luna to leave.

That should do it, he thought, hoping that she would leave him alone now. Now, he had to clear his mind again from the anger that came up during his rant. He sighed at the thought.

Thanks for that too, Luna, he thought bitterly.

He started watching over the city again, ignoring Luna behind him completely, until a soft sobbing cut through the silence of the night. He turned around to see the large alicorn lying on the ground, her face buried into her forehooves, her whole body shaking softly.

Crap, looks like I overdid it, he thought and couldn’t help but feeling a bit sad at the sight of Luna in front of him, the once powerful alicorn trembling as her wings tried to wrap themselves around her prone form.

He coughed slightly and said, “Look, maybe I was a bit harsh, but…”

“We will leave thou alone,” the princess interrupted him between her sobbing. She lifted herself off the ground, revealing her soaking wet face. A few tears fell to the ground as she unfolded her wings and flew off into the night sky, her sobbing still audible after she was gone.

Damn, I didn’t think she would cry, he thought, looking at the place where Luna laid on the ground a few seconds ago, now marked by a small wet spot from her tears. No, don’t! It was her fault! Don’t even start to feel bad about it. She knew what she was getting into by sneaking into other people’s minds, it’s not my fault she can’t handle the reaction.

With a sigh he turned around again. He didn’t want to think about it right now. He knew he was right about what he said, but it didn’t help him to not feel a bit bad about it. He had enough of the sight of the city right now and didn’t feel like standing anymore, so he just lay down on the rather cold and hard floor and watched the sky. It wasn’t until then that he noticed that it grew darker. The moon and stars looked more distant and they didn’t shine as much as before, their bright glow replaced by only a pale shimmer.

Is her mood affecting the sky? he wondered at the sight of the darker growing night.

He waved off the thought, trying to clear his mind once again, but not for long. Soon he heard noises from inside. Someone was in his room and he had an idea who it would be.

“Where are you?!” Celestia shouted angrily.

Well, that was rather quick, he dryly thought as he stood up and walked back inside the room.

The lights were lit now, granting him clear vision of the room for the first time. It was way larger than it looked after waking up. But he had no eye for the large wooden desks, wardrobes and other furniture that stood around in the perfectly clean room. Nor did he look at the other doors in the room and wonder where they might lead him. His gaze was fixated on the large, white alicorn in the middle on the room, who had just busted through the main door.

A few guards followed her through the door, but from their confused look on their faces, he figured they had no idea why Celestia was so angry now, or if they even had had seen her this way before.

Her nostrils billowed, her usually calm face changed to an angry expression and her wings were standing straight up, just to intimidate him.

“What have you done?” she shouted at him as she saw him approaching and took a step in his direction. The guards reacted immediately and rushed towards him.

“Halt!” she ordered the guards before they could reach him. “Leave us alone! This is just between us two.”

“As you wish, your Majesty,” one of the guards, a grey pegasus stallion, said and saluted, before he left the room together with the other guards, all sharing worried looks.

Celestia waited until the guards closed the door before she turned towards Steve and continued shouting, “What did you do to my sister?”

Steve tried to not show himself as intimidated by her. He stood in a straight upright position, not backing down a step. With a determined look on his face he looked directly into her eyes and replied, “I just told her what I thought about her ‘visit’ to my dreams.”

“What did you say to make her cry!? Twilight and I could barely understand anything between her sobbing! Nopony ever saw her like this! What did you say?” Celestia yelled and stomped forcefully on the ground with one hoof, letting the interior shake. Steve didn’t show any reaction to her outburst and continued looking into her eyes for the whole time, although his stomach clenched at the small show of power from the alicorn.

“I told her how pathetic she is to think she can just sneak into my head and think I’d be okay with that and that she should have stayed on the moon, if this is what she does down here,” he said, his voice growing louder.

Celestia’s jaws dropped, her eyes stood open. “You did not dare,” she whispered.

“Yes I did, someone had to say it,” he replied calmly with a little grin on his lips.

Celestia lifted herself up in the air, her eyes turning completely white and her whole body began to shine in a white aura.

Oh shit. She’s gonna smite me now, he panicked, but was too afraid to move right now, so he could only stand there and watch quietly.

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO MY SISTER LIKE THAT!” Celestia shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice strong enough to create an airstream that pushed forcefully against Steve.

He needed a few seconds to recover before he could counter, “I will talk to her how I want to. And you blame me for being insensitive? Who was it that banished her in the first place? She’s your own sister and when she felt sad, because no one admired her work, you ignored her and let her become something you could only send to the moon,” he spat at her, fear and anger nipping at him, as Celestia seethed in front of him.

“DO NOT TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND! THE THINGS HAPPENED…” Suddenly Celestia abruptly cut herself off and landed back on the ground, her appearance changed back to normal, except for the angry expression on her face.

“I should not let my anger speak here. You were not there, you do not know what happened back then, beside the stories you heard. Do not think you know better what had to be done back then,” she said, her voice turning down to a normal volume, though anger was still evident.

“So I can’t question you because you don’t want to justify yourself?” he replied sharply.

Celestia sighed, for the first time looking tired. “You can question what I have done but do not overextend my hospitality by assuming things you have no idea about. I can understand your anger but…”

“NO! You can’t understand it! You have absolutely no idea what you did to me!” he cut her off, his voice increasing in volume. “You played with things out of your league and it was just a matter of time until something happened and I have to suffer for the rest of my life because of that!”

“You know that I am working with Twilight on a way to send you back?” she inquired, confused at his outburst. “Did you not read the letter?”

“I did, but even if you find a way to send me back, I’m stranded here! My fuel supplies are completely depleted, so my ship is in no condition to fly. So if you open a portal in space it has to be directly next to the Columbus so that they can pick me up, given that you don’t just fry all the electronics by moving the portal close. So that’s not an option available for me. If you can’t link the portal directly to Earth so that I can simply walk through, there is no way that I will ever leave this planet again! Good luck finding a single planet in the universe! You better have it, because my life depends on it! My chances for ever returning home are almost zero and you didn’t even realize that?!”

Celestia remained silent, so he continued, “And even if you can send me back, you destroyed everything I was working for. I was working my ass off to get where I was, getting the honour to go down into history, for the biggest discovery in our whole existence and then you took this dream and crushed it, destroying everything! And that’s just what you’ve done to me! You ruined our whole mission and I have no idea what happened to the rest of the crew. Do you have any idea how deadly space can be if you have no control over your ship? They could all be dead because of you; you could have just killed ninety one humans and definitely trapped one of them here!” he screamed, causing Celestia to flinch.

“So don’t say you can understand me. I don’t want to hear it or any of your other bullshit. You have absolutely no idea what you have done to me, so don’t come here and tell me what I can talk about and what not. My patience is wearing thin as well,” he finished his rant. He moved closer towards Celestia from time to time in his speech and was happy to see that she backed off.

She still let his words sink into her, as she didn’t say a word yet and had a thoughtful look on her face, while Steve looked deep into her eyes, not moving a single muscle in his determined looking face.

“You are… right,” she finally said, her eyes closed and her head tilted towards the ground. “What I did was irresponsible, downright terrible, and I was unaware of how much trouble it caused. If I could do something, anything, to make it undone I would, but I can’t. I am truly sorry.”

“Yeah, I get that, you said it often enough, but it just doesn’t help me,” he replied in a much calmer voice than before. He was still angry at Celestia, and his voice had still a sharp note, but now that he could finally tell her he felt no desire to shout anymore. Also his throat was starting to hurt.

Celestia opened her eyes again to return his look, apparently relieved that he stopped shouting. "Unfortunately that is true. The only thing I can do to help you, besides working on the portal spell to grant you safe way home, is making your stay here as comfortable as possible,” she said.

“Nice start by sneaking into my mind after I got here,” he countered dryly.

“Once again, I am deeply sorry for that, my sister and I did not know that humans have a different level of awareness than us in a dream,” she apologized.

“And you couldn’t wait until you met me in person to ask me what you wanted to know?”

“In retrospect I should have waited. But I wanted to make sure Twilight’s descriptions were accurate and needed to know more about you, so I could predict your reaction to the truth,” she replied after thinking a few seconds about the question.

“And how accurate was your prediction?” he asked sarcastically.

“I think you know,” she replied and sighed. “Was it necessary to be this harsh? If not for the special position you are in right now I would have you arrested,” she continued, a sad tone in her voice.

“If you want to hear an apology, this is not the right time. Maybe I was overreacting a bit, but I won’t say anything about it for now. I need to clear my mind, the status quo has changed and I have a lot to think about now. So unless you want to talk about anything else, there’s the door. Goodbye,” he said and pointed towards the door.

Celestia opened her mouth again, wanting to say something but paused to think. “If you wish, I will leave you alone for now,” she then said after a few seconds. “But this is not over. I will come back to this. If you stay here I demand at least enough respect to not insult other ponies, especially not my sister.” Steve gave her a small nod as an answer, barely listening to what she said, as she headed towards the door. “I hope that you will clear your mind and will think better of us tomorrow. Goodnight,” she said as she opened the door with her magic and stepped outside.

Through the open door he could get a quick glance at the guards, which were standing at attention in front of the door, not showing any sign of emotion this time as Celestia walked past them.

“We’ll see about that,” he whispered to himself as he walked back towards the bed. With a long sigh he fell onto the bed and began staring at the perfectly white ceiling.

Damn, why is this happening to me? I don’t want to stay here forever!

Memories of Earth flashed through his mind. His last weeks back there, when he spent every free hour with his family or friends, promising them all he would return safe and sound and tell them all the stories about what he’d undergone. Seeing the sad looks on their faces, which they were trying to cover with cheers and smiles, again brought a tear to his eye. Saying goodbye to all the people that meant something to him was hard enough but he was always certain to return one day, but now he was unsure of that.

And now my only hope that I will see any of them again, or that they’ll even know what happened to me lies in the hands… err hooves of Celestia, he thought and felt a single tear running down his cheek. I’m screwed.

For the first time he felt completely lost and helpless, and above all else.... alone. The only human in this strange world.

Alone…

He let the word sound through his head and could no longer hold his tears back until he drifted into an uneasy dream.

Author's Note:

And with that the rewritten chapters end for now. I've said it for quite some time that I would rewrite the beginning as it was flawed by awkward descriptions, lack of these, bad grammar and much more. It has been bothering me for quite some time, but now it is finally done.
These things will still occur in the following chapters, but hopefully at a much lesser rate, as I was joined by an editor at this point. Looking back at it now there has changed a lot and I thank all you for reading this story, despite of its state back then.

And of course a very, very big thank you to Tofty, for slaving over these chapters in a record time.