> It Must be Tuesday
>  by Explodium
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Not of This World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	War, war never changes…  

~

October 23, 2077…a day that would forever be burned into the collective memory of the human race. The day in which nuclear fire scorched the Earth, and the world as we knew it was forever changed.

It was not, however, the end of the world as some predicted. Many of those who survived did so in great underground vaults, their massive doors shielding the inhabitants within from the hellish landscape the American countryside had become: a land dominated by radiation, savages, deranged lunatics, and grotesque mutated beasts.

On August 17, 2277, it was from one of these vaults, Vault 101, that a young man walked through the great steel doors of the only home he had ever known in pursuit of a wayward father, and into the annals of legend. He was known to some as the Wasteland Messiah, to others as a Steel Paladin, but above all, he was known as the Lone Wanderer.

The wasteland was a cruel, inhospitable place, but the Lone Wanderer refused to surrender to the vices that had claimed so many others. Ultimately, he had achieved his father’s dream of providing the waters of life to the entire wasteland, and pushed a menacing shadow of the old world back into the darkness.

He accomplished much in the years to follow, but eventually his travels brought him from sea to shining  sea. In the Mojave, he squared off against the Bull and fought alongside the Bear. Together, the Wanderer and the NCR took the dam that fateful day.

One would expect that the Wanderer’s travels would have eventually ended, but the wasteland is never fair. In the years to come, he endured many hardships, experienced betrayal, camaraderie, and friendship. The Wasteland is a vicious creature, and in the end the Wanderer found himself fighting it alone.

But it would only get worse.

What was supposed to be a simple excursion into the wastes took an unexpected turn. Now, once again held captive by an enemy he had thought he wouldn’t encounter again, he finds himself on a new adventure, completely unaware of where it would take him.

It is said that war never changes. People do, however, through the roads they walk…and this road will take the Lone Wanderer to a place he never thought possible…

~~

White and more white.  That was the easiest way to describe the brightly lit hallway that the Lone Wanderer stood in. Aside from his breathing, the only noise was the sound of a distant generator humming. He was never one for aesthetics, though all of this sterile white was a nice change of pace from the constant dusty brown of the wasteland.

But that was beside the point.

He did not expect to encounter the aliens again. Why they chose to reappear now was beyond him, but that didn’t change the fact that they were once again experimenting on his fellow humans. He had passed several of their labs on his trek through the alien starship; how the unfortunate souls within had their bodies mutilated on operating tables, bloodied tools surrounding their corpses along with several more logs from the aliens’ victims.

How they were begging and pleading with their captors shortly before being dissected.

Just the thought made him quiver with rage. Unacceptable. 

They had experimented on him too; the lingering ache in his midsection was a testament to that. He couldn’t remember their procedure, though he had a feeling it was a good thing he couldn’t if the corpses were any indication. 

The sheer disregard these aliens had for other sapient life lit an angry flame within him as he continued to stride down the hall, catching a glimpse at the wounded planet down below through a porthole. Unlike  most of the sapient life he fought, he had very little remorse for killing these monsters. He had squared off against these creatures before yes, but that was nearly eight years ago.

They haven't changed a bit. 

He would’ve thought they would have been more prepared for him this time around. This made it obvious that they regarded him as little more than a test subject to be experimented on and not a cunning, dangerous animal. 

Their arrogance had cost them dearly.

Using brute force to disable the generator that sealed him within his cell had been simple enough, and  the resulting injuries had healed quickly allowing him to  speedily attack his captors. Extensive cybernetic and genetic modification had rendered the Lone Wanderer far stronger than a standard human. It only became easier for him when he retrieved his modified power armor, and his weapons, which the aliens were kind enough to store in the same storage closet.  Those green-skinned freaks didn’t expect a lowly, primitive human to tear through their numbers and defenses as if they were tissue paper.

As he reached the closed door at the end of the hallway, he stopped and crouched next to it, pulled his modified laser rifle from its spot on his back, and held it at the ready. He ran a gauntleted fist across the activation hologram hovering a short distance away from him, and the door slid open with a quiet hiss. 

The burst of blue blaster fire that rushed through the door as he opened it confirmed his suspicions that there was an ambush lying just beyond it. As he took a quick peek, another burst of blaster fire followed soon after he caught a glimpse of a multi-storied chamber and at least a half dozen of the humanoid green aliens taking cover behind a series of overturned tables.

Hugging his rifle to his chest as he took several deep breaths of filtered air through his helmet, the Wanderer flipped the power switch on his weapon, and it hummed to life.

“Assess!” he said to seemingly no one.

“Twelve contacts. Eight shooters, first six stories, two second story, three drones, one turret,” a lively female voice chirped into his ear. The chipper AI had been his only constant companion even since he had traveled to the Mojave years ago. 

“Drones?” the Wanderer muttered into his helmet as he felt a rising sense of alarm. He glanced down at his left forearm at his grey wrist-bound computer, his trusty Pip-Boy 3000. That device had served him well over the years, and a few modifications made it even more versatile. Tucking his weapon into the crook of his arm, he deftly tapped a few buttons on the device.

Moments later, the power armor clad human shimmered and disappeared from view. He had to be quick, adapting the technology of the stealth suit to work with power armor resulted in a very short-term cloak. He had at most fifteen seconds before he had to let the device recharge. 

His decision was not a moment too soon as a trio of glowing, green, basketball-sized projectiles bounced through the threshold of the door. They exploded mere moments later; their blasts scorching the walls’ pristine white a charred black. 

But by then the Wanderer was already gone.

The cloaked figure could practically feel the automations targeting him as he quickly crossed the length of the chamber, passing the aliens who were cautiously peeking over their makeshift cover. He couldn’t help but sneer at their ugly alien features through his helmet as he passed by. While he was invisible to the aliens’ eyes (the green creatures having foolishly forgone any advanced equipment to make up for that shortcoming)  the drones and the ceiling turret could still pick up the EM signature of his cloak. Fortunately, the drones were still recharging their large cannons. Unfortunately, the turret wasn’t in the same state. The Wanderer bit his lip as the silvery turret fired a blue blast of light at him, missing him by inches.

He heard startled exclamations from the aliens as he started making his way up the stairs at the far end of the room. He gasped in pain as the next shot found its mark. The air around him shimmered as his barriers absorbed the brunt of the impact, but unfortunately, the disturbance was bright enough to draw the attention of the eight aliens in the room. The chamber was lit with blue light as they all blindly fired at the location he was moments ago, but he had already reached the top of the stairs. He bashed the alien nearest him alongside the head with the butt of his rifle, and fired at the neck of the other one. While the second one fell, its head severed by the powerful energy weapon, the Wanderer crouched behind the barrier erected at the top of the stairs. He pulled a knife from a holster at his midsection, and finished off the other alien with a quick stab to the chest just as his cloaking device expended its power supply with a faint buzz.

Without hesitating, the Lone Wanderer pulled a grey, cylindrical item from a satchel at his waist. He took only a moment to admire the faintly glowing blue circuitry before arming and tossing the pulse grenade into the lower level. He allowed a grim smile to come onto his face when the EMP weapon detonated mere moments later. Whether they were made by humans or aliens, any robot blasted by pulse grenades will quickly and effortlessly be reduced to scrap metal.

Holstering his rifle on his back, he withdrew a much larger weapon as he surveyed the damage done. The turret hung limply from its socket while the combat drones smoldered below, sparks shooting out of gaps of their ruined frames. The aliens below wobbled, disoriented and confused, their barriers down.  While the effects a pulse grenade had on organics were minimal, it was by no means a pleasant experience.

It took them a moment to regain their bearings, but by then the Lone Wanderer had already brought his weapon to bear. The six aliens below swiveled around and pointed their weapons at him as his weapon hummed to life. They gazed at him, or more specifically, at the massive, six-barreled behemoth  he was hefting in his power-armored arms, with hate. Several of them took a shot at him, their blasts glancing harmlessly off his barriers as he opened fire.

They never stood a chance.

The Lone Wanderer’s minigun roared, spitting a shower of spent brass all the while as it took out the aliens below. Their hastily assembled battlements quickly became a kill zone as they frantically tried to find something else to hide behind, but they fell quickly under the relentless storm of lead.

The human’s expression was hard as the last one fell. A grim sigh passed through his lips as the minigun went silent once more, steam rising from its barrels. While he hated the aliens, he took no pleasure in this. 

“Contacts, rear!” his AI warned him.

The Wanderer quickly wheeled around, finding a pair of aliens boldly charging at him from a side-chamber. He had no time to spin up his minigun, so instead he found himself dropping the heavy weapon as an alien swung at him with a stun rod. He deftly sidestepped the blow, cutting off its shrill battle cry as he drove a power armored fist into the alien’s neck. As it crumbled to the ground, coughing and spluttering, the other alien aimed a large, long-barreled disintegrator at him. Without a moment’s hesitation, the human reached out and grabbed the barrel of the awkward weapon and wrenched it out of the alien’s grip before it could fire.

Throwing the seized weapon aside, the Wanderer whipped out his sidearm from its holster and quickly leveled his sights on the alien’s head. It died moments later, much of its head terribly scorched from the plasma weapon.

The Wanderer remained alert as the last enemy fell, his heart still pumping, and his stance still loose. “All targets eliminated, good work, best friend,” his AI announced moments later, giving him a reason to relax. 

He frowned as he surveyed all the death that he had wrought. Holding up his sidearm vertically, he examined it as memories washed through his head. He had obtained this pistol the last time he had been abducted by these aliens, a particularly heavy model known as a ‘Novasurge’. He remembered with a flash of how those red-jumpsuit clad aliens had fled in terror as he arrived. Who knows, maybe they aren’t all bad…?

No…

He lowered the weapon and his free hand clenched into a fist. He had seen the experiments, he had seen the mutilation, and he heard their victims’ terrified cries for help. If they were lucky, they were simply killed; if not…the Wanderer could still hear the snarls of those monsters that used to be human in his dreams.

These…monsters deserve no mercy…  he thought darkly as he holstered his sidearm and picked up his dropped minigun. 

His dark thoughts were abruptly cut off as the ship violently lurched. He nearly lost his balance at the sudden disturbance. Hugging his massive weapon to his chest, he leaned against the nearest bulkhead for support.

“What was that…?” he thought out loud moments before the ship lurched again. He squinted as the ship abruptly dimmed and a loud alien voice blasted over the vessel’s PA system. It didn’t sound like the actual aliens speaking, so he assumed that it was automated. 

He yelped as his grip slipped on his minigun and the heavy weapon fell to the metallic floor with a noisy clang. The Wanderer winced as the rocking environment sent him colliding painfully with the railing, only to jerk him back once more, sending him sprawling across his back.

It was then that he caught a glimpse of space through the skylight. Aside from the nearly invisible barrier providing an extra layer of protection, he was certain that that sickly red glow hadn’t existed outside the ship previously.

His jaw gaping, he continued to stare at it as he forced himself to his feet, grabbing the railing. He couldn’t be certain, but the glow seemed to be getting brighter.

“Assess…”  he muttered, hoping that his AI might be able to shed some light on the subject.

“No idea! Sorry!” the AI responded mere seconds later.

Well, so much for that…

His breath hitched in his throat as the ship rocked again, but he kept his footing this time. 

Then, everything began vibrating.

He barely noticed it at first, but then it became more and more violent. Soon, his heart was racing and he felt light-headed as the red glow through the skylight became brighter and brighter.

He felt that something bad was about to happen as the light continued to grow until it became painful to look at. His eyes clenched shut as the entire ship trembled.

The humming continued to get louder.

A strange sensation washed over him as he held on for dear life. He recognized it. It was that same sense of finality he had when he was stepping into the irradiated control chamber of Project Purity; the same feeling he had when he was at the mercy of the man in the checkered suit, restrained and half dead.

He felt like he was about to die.

A long slow sigh passed through his lips as he felt tightness in his chest.

The red light turned white.

~

It was at that moment that the strange, alien spacecraft in orbit around the planet known as Earth vanished in a blinding flash of reddish white light.

…and reappeared in similar flash moments later around a different planet, a different dimension…

~~

In the land of Equestria, Princess Luna stood atop her balcony, surveying the moonlit kingdom before her. The night was silent, save for the sounds of nocturnal wildlife, and the scattered chattering of ponies who were still up at this hour in the city below. 

It was nice to know that at least somepony else was enjoying her night, meager as their numbers may be. Even so, the Moon Princess still couldn’t shake the lingering feeling of loneliness as she directed her gaze skyward, towards the millions of stars that twinkled above.

A content sigh passed through her muzzle. Though many things had changed over the last thousand years, the Night Princess still found solace at gazing at the night sky. Her night sky. She allowed a smile to creep onto her lips. Since her return, Luna had witnessed many ponies sharing in her fascination with the stars, staying up well past their normal bedtimes to simply join her in her nightly vigil.

Suddenly a flash caught her eye. Her smile faded as she gazed at it. It was a strange red color, and it was definitely not a star or a comet, or any other object she recognized. She couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of foreboding as her gaze remained fixated on the location the flash was mere moments ago.

Luna closed her eyes and called upon her magic, the horn on her forehead lit up with a silvery glow. She reached her consciousness towards the mystery object. It was a useful skill, being able to reach into the heavens. The Princess mostly used it to create spectacular meteor showers for her little ponies. Her mouth curled into a frown as her magic felt the foreign object. She didn’t recognize it. Celestial objects passed their planet by all the time, be it meteorites, comets, or other bits of space junk. She always recognized those. 

The Night Princess would have fetched her telescope, if not for the fact that it was damaged a couple of days ago in a freak incident involving cheesy poofs and chocolate milk. It was still being repaired.

Luna tapped her chin with her hoof. Perhaps Celestia would let Luna use hers? The Princess trotted back into her bedroom and glanced at the ornate clock that hung on the wall. It was just past midnight. She bit her lip, would her sister still be awake?

She didn’t entertain the thought of accidentally waking her sister; her mind painted colorful pictures of the wrath she would face from a cranky Celestia.

Taking in a deep breath, the midnight blue alicorn cantered out onto her balcony and took to the air.

~~

“Got you,” the Wanderer said menacingly as he bore down on the captain of the alien ship. The alien tried to raise his sidearm against the towering power-armored human, but the Wanderer was too fast. The captain’s pistol was batted out of its grip by the back of the human’s fist, and it soon found the cold barrel of the Wanderer’s sidearm placed firmly against where its heart was. It jerked back with a barely audible cry of pain as the human ended its life. In a strange act of respect, the Wanderer gently lowered his enemy’s body to the ground and crossed its arms across its chest.

Retrieving his dropped minigun from its place nearby, he diligently looked for potential targets that he may have missed. “All targets neutralized,” the AI helpfully informed the Lone Wanderer as he stood on the bridge of the alien vessel.

“…Good.” He muttered as he lowered his weapon. It was the strangest thing. After everything with the shaking and the red glow, nothing seemed to have happened. Well, he could definitely feel that something happened. On top of the usual fatigue from fighting, he now had a nasty headache that he needed to use stimpaks to overcome.  Also, his limbs felt heavy, and his mouth was dry.

Taking an opportunity to booby trap all the exits first (seriously, the results he could get with a lunchbox, a cherry bomb, and a handful of caps was insane),  the human stepped over the fallen aliens as he made his way to the captain’s chair. The seat groaned in protest as the heavy, power-armored man put all his weight onto it, but it didn’t break. Setting down his heavy weapon, his fingers groped for a hidden latch on his neck. A faint hiss filled the air as the helmet came off, revealing the man within.

The bedraggled mess of dark brown hair framed a scarred visage. Although the man within the imposing dark power armor was only twenty-six, all the wear and tear from life in the wasteland made him look years older. The human took a deep breath of unfiltered air as he set the helmet on his lap, massaging his throbbing temples with his right hand as a groan passed through his lips, both from fatigue and the headache.

As his vivid green eyes surveying the death around him, he allowed another sigh to pass through his lips as he rubbed his cybernetic eye, which was virtually indistinguishable from the real one. Taking another long, drawn out breath, he slid his helmet back on, the latches clicking into place followed by a hiss as the helmet sealed itself.

“Well, I guess it’s time to find my way off this thing…” he muttered to himself. On the other ship, he and his companions had found a way to launch a beacon down to Earth that he could teleport to. 

“What time is it?” asked the Wanderer while he rose to his feet and rolled his arms in their sockets, trying to ward off the soreness that lingered there as his helmet’s HUD flickered to life.

“The current time is 12:05AM, Tuesday  May 18th, 2285,” the AI informed him.

The human grunted and rolled his eyes. This little escapade had cost him hours, and he had a schedule to keep up. Something was brewing in the Capital Wasteland and he was certain that it wasn't for the benefit of mankind. Just when he was about to respond, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

Something on the planet below.

Narrowing his eyes, he turned his body towards the large, shielded window at the far end of the bridge. He could have sworn he caught a glimpse of green. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind. The greenest place he had ever seen in the Wasteland was Oasis. Emphasis on was.

Marching down the staircase to the observation deck there, his expression hard, he came to a stop mere feet from the window and peered outside.

He recoiled and a startled gasp at what he witnessed outside.

Though most of the planet below was shrouded under the darkness of night, the slim crescent that was lit by the sun was covered with the definite green of life. Unfamiliar landmasses with swirling white clouds playing across them met his vision. 

The human backed away from the window, his eyes wide with shock at what he had just seen. His heart raced as he stumbled into the nearest bulkhead for support as his mouth felt even dryer than it was before. He licked his lips as a ragged gasp passed out of his mouth, slowly sliding to the floor. He cradled his head with both hands. He had seen Earth from space before, he could recognize the brown, scarred landscapes, the unhealthy oceans, and how the continent once known as Europe seemed to be permanently engulfed in a sickly glow.  

That planet below…that wasn’t Earth. 

How in the…what just…where did… half-finished questions ran through his head repeatedly as the situation became clear to him. Not Earth. Unfamiliar. Was that what that red glow was? Did the alien ship…teleport? Warp? Irrelevant… he thought as he forced himself to his feet as he stared at the planet once more. Whatever the aliens did, he wasn’t in orbit around his home planet anymore.

Beyond the planet was the sun, partially obscured but still brilliant nonetheless, but something about it seemed different. It looked…livelier, brighter, and alight with a healthy gold glow. Was it the aliens’ planet?

He glared. No.

They hold no regard for sapient life. What the hell would they do with plant life? He thought angrily to himself. They would probably strap the trees to operating tables and hack them to pieces for whatever sick science they follow. 

The minutes ticked by as he continued to stare. The sun disappeared behind the planet and the lit portion soon fell into darkness.

The Wanderer took a deep breath and hung his head. Now I suppose I have to find a way back home… he paused. Why? Said a darker portion of his mind, Why would you want to go back to that tortured hellscape?

He bit his lip. Regardless…it is my home…the people of the Wasteland count on me…

“Um…best friend?” his AI chirped, breaking him from his reverie.

“Hm? What?” he said tiredly.

“Incoming contact…BIG contact…” the AI replied.

Instantly, the human snapped to attention and his rifle came from its place on his back. “Assess!” the Wanderer barked.

“One…big alien spaceship, front!”

The Wanderer blinked, “Wha-?” whatever he was about to say was cut off as something up in the bridge began beeping loudly. His pulse quickened as he noticed something off the front of the alien ship. There, silhouetted in the faintly visible aura from the system’s star was a strange black shape. He could make out the blinking lights on the front of it, along with the odd multi-tiered design of the disk-like alien ship.

Looks like they had sent reinforcements.

He snorted with disdain. Just like the last time…

Without a second thought, he dashed back up the stairs to the bridge as whatever instruments up there kept beeping. He slid into the captain’s chair and gawked at all the consoles before him. Fight off alien ship first, and then find way home… he decided.

The dark shape outside gradually grew larger and more detailed. He bit his lip in puzzlement as it continued to approach. Were they coming to retake the ship? Destroy it? Rendezvous with it? Did they even realize that he had taken over the ship? Last time he was in this situation they hadn’t…jumped to different planets. Knowing how well they regarded other sapient life, did they even bother checking to see if the ship that just warped in was still under their control? 

He didn’t put much thought into it as he got up from the chair and stepped over the gunnery controls. If he recalled correctly, the holographic panels in front of the captain’s chair were the firing controls, while the power management and targeting systems were off to the left. It was easy enough to figure out how to use it. Hell, a pre-pubescent girl figured it out on the last ship he was on. The brightly lit icons conveniently had a user-friendly image detailing the function of that button. He trained the ship’s weaponry on the approaching alien vessel using a simple holographic interface, and held his breath. A gnawing feeling of anticipation grew in his belly as the other vessel got closer and closer.

The console beeped, indicating that he had a lock. Diverting the ship’s power to the weaponry, the Wanderer brought his fist down on the fire button. The entire ship rocked and the lights dimmed as the alien vessel’s weaponry fired a devastating azure beam at the other ship. From his place at the bridge, the human could see the beam rip through the hull of the other ship, tearing off its thrusters and causing its lights to dim.

The other ship hadn’t even raised their shields. Somehow, they were completely unaware that a human with the utmost ire towards their race was at the helm of one of their ships. How the hell didn’t they KNOW that!? He thought with incredulity as streaks of blue energy belched out of the severe damage he had wrought.

“Knew you could do it best friend!” said the AI.

The Wanderer merely smiled at the praise from his ‘best friend’. Not that he got anything BUT praise from the chipper AI anyway.

He was drawn from his thoughts as a nearby device flared to life. A hologram of the opposing captain materialized over what he assumed was some sort of communication console. Unsurprisingly, the alien started babbling in that grating language of its, insulting him or whatever. The Wanderer had no clue, nor did he really care. 

While it was rambling, the Wanderer’s hand drew closer to his holster. His brow twitched as he fingered the pistol’s grip. He pulled his sidearm from its holster and put a plasma bolt into the projector in a fraction of a second. He did not know if the alien captain could see what he was doing from its end, but the expression on its face was priceless nonetheless. The bulb cracked and sparked as the searing green energy shredded its sensitive components. The image of the alien suspended above the device flickered and died away. 

“You talk too much…” he grumbled, sliding his pistol back into its holster.

“Are you okay, best friend?” said his AI.

“Yes,” the Wanderer said, “I am. I am perfectly fine.”

A nervous laugh passed through his mouth as he slumped back into the captain’s chair. That was anticlimactic… he thought wryly, Now…I have to see about a way of getting me back to Earth-

His thoughts were abruptly cut off as a loud klaxon began blaring and an emergency light coming on, bathing the bridge in a red light. His eyes went wide and he shot to his feet, frantically looking around for whatever could be causing that alarm.

What could be-?

His thoughts were cut off as the ship shuddered slightly, and his attention was drawn the front of the ship. The other alien vessel continued to drift ever closer to him. What was about to happen hit him with a pang of dread. 

In inadvertently disabling the alien ship, he had also removed their means of braking or changing direction. He bit his lip as he eyed the fragments of the severed flaming fuselage as it burned up in the planet’s atmosphere. On the other hand, he had no idea how to pilot the vessel he was in; it wasn’t like he’d find instructions in a nearby glove compartment like he did with that vertibird...

No really, there was a manual on how to fly a vertibird stashed the glove compartment of a vehicle he hijacked once.

Both ships were drifting towards each other. In space, there was no air resistance to slow either of them down. His mind quickly put those variables into its calculator and the answer came up to be a big frowny face. 

Newton, you magnificent bastard.  

A resigned sigh passed through his mouth as he slumped into the captain’s chair again. Wordlessly, he tapped a few buttons on the power management console and brought the ship’s shields up to max.

He couldn’t do much else except hope for the best.

~~

Princess Celestia couldn’t sleep. No matter how much she repositioned her body, she just couldn’t find a comfortable position. A distinct feeling unease kept gnawing at the back of her mind, like something bad was about to happen.

Resigning herself to her insomnia with a sigh, she slowly rose to her hooves. Her horn went alight briefly with a golden glow, and soon the lights in her extravagant bedroom flickered on. 

The Sun Princess regarded her chambers with sleepy, half-lidded eyes, from the unlit fireplace, to her tiara and shoes that rested on a stand near the door. The white alicorn sighed when she glanced at the clock. Every day for over a thousand years, she had to get up early. Thankfully, the larder of Canterlot Palace had no shortage of coffee and tea. 

Celestia had a multitude of things to do when she couldn’t sleep. Her gaze flitted over to the bookcase. She looked at the titles lining some of the spines before dismissing them with a shake of her head. No, no reading tonight. On some nights she gorged herself on sweets, the pleasant full feeling allowing her to sleep more easily, but she had no pastries on hoof, she realized with a sigh.

Finally, her violet gaze drifted over to her balcony doors, and the moonlight that was flooding through them. The night sky beyond looked so inviting. Staring into the heavens was always a relaxing experience for her.  Better yet, ever since her sister had been saved she could stare at the night sky without that lingering feeling of regret.

Making up her mind, Celestia crossed her bedroom,  her hooffalls muffled by the carpet. She caught a glimpse of herself as she passed by her mirror. She couldn’t help but chuckle at her appearance. Her mane, normally an ethereal mix of shimmering colors, hung limply about her face, a solid pink, and a few errant strands stuck out here and there; a typical case of royal bedmane. Rolling her eyes, she completed her journey to her balcony door and undid the latch with a faint click. The Sun Princess took a deep, refreshing breath of the cool night air as she stepped out onto her balcony. A hint of a smile came to her face as the fragrance washed over her as her eyes closed with satisfaction.

Her smile melted away as she felt a tingling going down her spine. As if someone was watching her.

It took her a moment to realize that her balcony was occupied already.

“Luna?” Celestia took a random guess.

“Good morning, sister,” the Moon Princess said in response, stepping out from the shadows near the door. 

The elder alicorn turned to her sister, “How long have you been standing out here?” she thought out loud, “…hm…never mind …”

The younger alicorn took note of the elder’s disheveled appearance. “Trouble sleeping, sister? Are you unwell?”

Celestia regarded her younger sister with a smile, “No, Luna, I am feeling well but…yes, sleep…escapes me. I’ve been feeling…troubled,” she walked closer to the Moon Princess. Luna looked up at her, her blue eyes full of curiosity, “Gazing at the night sky has always put my mind at ease.”

Luna let a smile creep onto her lips, “Yes, it is most magnificent, isn’t it?” she said proudly.

Celestia craned her neck and nuzzled her younger sister, “You have a fantastic night, sister,” she poured affection into her words. Ever since Luna had gone to Ponyville on Nightmare Night several months ago, the younger alicorn had a much more cheerful disposition, as well as doing a fine job updating her vocabulary to present standards. Luna had come to realize just how much more active Equestria was past sundown in modern times. Though secretly , Celestia wished that Luna would go out more. Most of the time, she was an even bigger shut-in than her prized pupil was.

“Remember when we used to do this when we were fillies?” asked Luna. The younger princess had trotted over to the edge of the balcony, her forelegs propped up on the railing. “How we would just go outside at night, and just watch the stars, together…” Celestia could hear a hint of longing in her sister’s voice. Trotting to her sister’s side, Celestia draped a single feathery white wing over her dear sister.

“Yes sister, I remember,” replied Celestia. Luna looked up at her with a smile on her face, “We are doing that right now, in fact.”

Luna nodded, “Indeed, we are,” she paused for a moment. She was about to speak up again before a bright light high above caught the attention of both of the Princesses. 

Luna bit her lip. Is that the same mystery object I’ve seen before?

“Luna?” asked Celestia. The Princess ignored her; her gaze remained fixated on the spectacle above. As opposed to the red light from earlier, now narrow flashes of blue flitted about in that small patch of the sky, Luna’s eyes narrowed as she continued staring.

Something was wrong, that light wasn’t natural.

“Sister, perhaps you should close your mouth before you swallow an insect,” said Celestia with an amused smirk. The younger alicorn’s mouth snapped shut and she looked away with a blush, hiding her face in her starry mane. Celestia cocked her head, her violet eyes boring into her sister’s head. “What’s this then? Some new project of yours, sister?” she said good-naturedly, gesturing skyward with a hoof.

Celestia’s smile faded when the younger alicorn shook her head. “That’s the reason I have come to your chamber sister,” Luna glanced up at Celestia, “I am investigating a disturbance in my night sky and…well…I’ve sort of damaged my telescope,” she looked at her sister with pleading eyes, “I was wondering if you would be so kind as to allow me to use yours?”

The Sun Princess’s smile returned, “Of course you can, dearest sister. Why wouldn’t I let you?”

Luna smiled, shrugged and nervously tapped the floor with her hoof as her gaze went skyward again. The blue lights dimmed away and the sky went completely dark once more. Celestia watched as the Moon Princess reached into the heavens with her magic once more.

Luna pursed her lips in puzzlement. Where there had been only one object before, she could now feel many. One of them was the same thing she had felt earlier, while the other objects were of varying sizes and shapes. A couple of the smallest objects were drifting away from the two larger ones, towards the planet. Both Princesses could see it when the lit up in the atmosphere.

Celestia shot an inquisitive look her way, “Sister? What is-?”

“I don’t know,” Luna hissed through gritted teeth. Her focus was on the two larger objects suspended in her night sky. She could feel them drift closer together. They got closer, and closer, and closer before both objects contorted as they collided with each other.

Luna could practically feel it due to her magic coiled around the strange objects. She gasped and slumped heavily against the railing.

“Sister!” Celestia rushed over to the other alicorn and supported her with her forelegs, “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s…something’s…” she coughed. But she didn’t get to finish as the sky abruptly lit up as bright as day.

Both Princesses gasped in pain as they we’re unfortunate enough to be looking directly at what appeared to be  a second sun the moment it appeared in the sky.

Gritting their teeth, both alicorns cast a quick spell to shield their eyes from the dazzling brightness. Both of them were at a loss, neither Princesses had a clue what was going on. The blast was completely noiseless, consequently they could hear the entire city awaken, and distressed cries reached their ears.

“Luna! What happened!?” Celestia gasped. 

“I don’t-…it is getting dimmer!” Luna exclaimed. Sure enough, the imposter sun was rapidly deteriorating, fading away. It grew smaller, and smaller, and dimmer, rapidly turning a red color. The sky looked like it was experiencing a very rapid sunset, forcibly turned from night, to day, and now rapidly turning into a golden color. Soon, the blackness of night returned.

Both princesses remained transfixed at the place the blast was, while the city below continued to stir. The ponies’ startled and frightened exclamations blended into an unintelligible cacophony of sound. The after-image of the second-sun remained burned into their vision, slowly fading away. Celestia licked her lips as she turned to her sister who stood there slack jawed.

Wordlessly, she felt for the strange objects with her magic again. One of the objects was shattered to pieces, while strangely, the other was mostly intact. All the fragments were floating off in different directions,  and soon what looked like meteors to appeared in the night sky. The smaller pieces quickly burned up, but a sense of dread filled Luna’s heart when she realized that the largest fragment kept coming down.

Her eyes went wide and they were locked on to the flaming trail of the mystery entity as it continued to descend, and the stubborn object refused to break apart.

Luna and Celestia shared a glance as they realized what was happening. Without another thought, both Princesses’ horns lit up in tandem as the cast their magic at what appeared to be a shooting star. Their hearts raced when they realized that if they did nothing, the meteor would inevitably crash into the valley, and onto Ponyville.

The damage would be catastrophic.

They grimaced as they seized it with their magic. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they diligently tried to slow the object down, but at this distance and speed, it was more difficult for the Princesses than one would think. 

A look of determination came to both alicorns’ faces when they felt that they object was slowing. But it was still going too fast. In a brief moment of improvisation, Luna jerked her horn off the side. Celestia realized what she was doing and did the same. Both watched as the object’s trajectory curved off to the side abruptly, its path well away from the small town in the valley below.

Just in time too.

The object sheared the top of a mountain far to the south as it tore into the Everfree, crashing into the trees below. 

They could see and hear the crash all the way from Canterlot, the loud blast shaking the frames of windows, further sending the citizens below into a panic, as a visible plume of fire and dust rose from the distance.

Both Princesses stood stock still for a moment as they could see the beginnings of smoke start to rise into the air deep in the Everfree Forest.

Relieved, Celestia wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. At least they averted a disaster, redirecting the falling star away from Ponyville, but she felt a pang of regret as she eyed the distant Everfree. The old Capital used to be in that region, and all those ancient trees were just killed in a blast of fire.

She hung her head and sighed. Such a waste.

Luna on the other hand, stared at the distant plume with a hard expression on her features. That wasn’t natural, not at all. Luna couldn’t help but feel that something intelligent was at play here. Making up her mind, Luna turned to her sister.

“Sister!” she said firmly, “Fetch the Elements and write to your student!” she brushed past her sister and trotted into the castle.

Cocking an eyebrow, Celestia was close behind. “Do you know what has just transpired?”

Luna hung her head and sighed, “No…but whatever fell into the Everfree is not of this world. Of that I am sure.” They both went silent, “I feel that whatever this is could be a threat to Equestria. I will investigate this personally; the Elements will be a precaution.”

Both Princesses listened to the rapidly growing sound of unease of the Canterlot ponies outside. “I will investigate this disturbance, while our little ponies need you to calm them down,” Luna looked her sister in the eye, “Okay, sister?”

Celestia smiled, “That’s quite alright.”

~~

It was dark.

Debris littered the bridge whilst sparks showered down from exposed wiring in the ceiling. Sensitive instruments were smashed, their intricate components strewn about. Moonlight flowed in through the small gaps in the safety shutters that had lowered over the large front viewport, the stars twinkling invitingly beyond.

And in the midst of it all lay a lone figure, pinned under a fallen metal beam. Like everything else in the severely damaged bridge, he too appeared to be dull and lifeless.

Or so it seemed.

His suit’s auto-doc features, as well as his countless mutations and cybernetic enhancements, was at work repairing the damage to his body. Within minutes, the figure stirred.

It all started with a twitch of the fingers, and then the Lone Wanderer gasped as he was returned to the world of the living. He coughed several times, his throat parched before taking several deep breaths, his eyes clenched shut.

He opened them moments later to see nothing but the interior of his helmet. Absentmindedly running a hand across his face, he frowned when he felt a deep crack on the front of his helmet, the sensitive optics destroyed.

The human fumbled for the emergency latch, and the helmet came off moments later, he wrinkled his nose as the stench of burning electronics hit him. There was no hiss this time, the pneumatic seal was damaged. He tossed the piece of equipment aside. As it was, the helmet was little more than dead weight.

He frowned when he noticed the beam lying across his armored chest. With a grunt, he forced his arms under the heavy metal. The servos in his armor groaned as he shoved the debris aside, dropping it to the ground with a loud crash.

With a groan, he sat up, cupping his aching head in his hands. The Wanderer blinked tiredly as he surveyed the ruined bridge around him. He winced as the pounding in his head intensified.

A grim smile came to his face as his eyes darted from console to console, from bulkhead to bulkhead. Even after everything that had transpired, against all odds, he survived. How that was possible, he had no idea. But whatever had happened, it didn’t matter.

He was still alive.

He winced as he took a quick gander at himself. Sadly, while all of his limbs were still attached, his power armor looked like it had seen better days. Large portions of the plating were missing, exposing the grey bodysuit underneath.

He went silent, his mind running at a thousand miles an hour as he sat there in the darkness. While his survival was fortunate, one specific variable stood out in his mind. The unknown planet he had witnessed through the viewport.

The same planet he had seemingly crash landed on.

A slightly crazed laugh came through his mouth as he fell onto his back, dazed as the gravity of the situation took hold. 

Stranded on the alien planet, no way home… his breathing and pulse quickened.

What the hell am I going to do now?

~~

This is a rewrite, feel free to leave a comment.

Edited by: Gravity's Rainboom, q97randomguy

Original Chapter: Written 2/21/12, Rewrite: 10/17/12, Posted: 12/5/12
	
	
> It Fell From the Sky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It had been like any other night in Ponyville. The streets were empty, many of the ponies had turned in for the night, and Luna’s moon shone down from above with the stars. Crickets continued to chirp their nocturnal song while one by one, the lights in the small rural village went out.

It seemed perfect.

Well, it was, until the peaceful quiet was abruptly shattered by what looked like a second sun appearing briefly in the night sky as a meteor tore overhead. Ponies cried out in terror, foals screamed  for their parents, all of the local critters were thrown into a cacophonic frenzy.

Many of the rudely awoken ponies gathered outside of town hall, trying to glean any information they could from the bedraggled mayor of the town. The mayor did what she could, but her efforts were ultimately in vain.

Some distance from town hall stood a proud, tall tree. However, it wasn’t just any tree. Somepony’s home was carved into the very living wood. Lights shone through multiple windows whilst the tree’s leafy green branches continued to sway in a gentle breeze.

Within the building paced one Miss  Twilight Sparkle,  the personal protégé of Princess Celestia. Unlike most of the other ponies, the mare was still awake when the event happened, busily researching and writing an essay for her dear mentor. The report in question lay forgotten on a nearby podium while the unicorn continued pacing.

The shockwave following the event had rendered her library home a total mess. Books were shaken off of the many shelves in which they were kept, and dumped into disorganized heap on the floor. Twilight winced as she surveyed it, sighing as she settled onto her haunches. If there was a silver lining to this whole disaster it was that tomorrow was reshelving day anyway. 

Twilight’s ears perked up. The whole mess in town square was audible from her home, despite  the windows being closed.

“The horror! THE HORROR!”

Celestia’s mane, those mares are loud. Twilight thought with a hint of amusement. She was still trying to find something, anything on this phenomenon in the wide selection of books available in her library. Twilight’s mind was far too alight with questions to do anything else.

“What could this mean?” the unicorn thought aloud as she headed for the stairs up to her loft. 

What had happened? Why did it happen? It wasn’t some mere meteor, Twilight was certain. She had witnessed meteor showers before. The fact that it happened directly after that mysterious blast was no coincidence. A thousand possible scenarios were running through her mind.

Seriously, what could have caused that? 

Although she had read that the planet had been struck by meteors far before the dawn of recorded history, nowadays Luna (and Celestia during the former’s one thousand year imprisonment)  was responsible for anything regarding the night sky. Meteor showers, auroras, she did them all. Twilight sincerely doubted that Luna would deliberately cause such destruction. She wouldn’t waken half of Equestria with that racket just to get them to see her night.

The night sky became visible through her glass balcony door when the mare reached her loft, and far off in the distance she could see a plume of smoke rising from the forest where the mystery object had struck Equestria. 

At the foot of the bed was a small basket, and within, her baby-dragon assistant Spike was curled up, fast asleep. Twilight couldn’t help but grin at the fact that her #1 assistant had managed to sleep through the whole thing.

She suppressed a giggle as she affectionately tapped the sleeping dragon on the head with her hoof. “Oh Spike, how you manage to sleep at a time like this is beyond me,” she said with a smile on her face.

It faded as the small violet scaled reptile started moaning in his sleep. His face contorted and he quivered slightly.

In her already bedraggled state, Twilight immediately became worried, “S-Spike!” she whispered as her pulse started picking up, “What-?”

“Gurk…UUUURP!” Her words were immediately cut off as the sleeping dragon belched out a narrow stream of green flames, narrowly missing the unicorn by inches. Twilight fell onto her rump with a startled cry as the swirling fire rapidly condensed into a scroll. “Mm…Rarity …” muttered Spike. 

Twilight blinked once as the roll of parchment fell to the ground. The unicorn allowed herself a sheepish laugh, wordlessly berating herself for not recognizing what the dragon was doing. Her horn went aglow as she lifted the bound scroll into the air with her magic.

She undid the seal and unrolled the letter, her eyes going wide as she quickly read the recognizable neat cursive written on it.

My faithful student,

You are likely aware of an event that has recently transpired. Regrettably, as of now, I have no further information for you, although my sister has her suspicions. I would ask that you refrain from taking action at this time.

As I write this letter, Luna is preparing to depart for Ponyville. She has stated her desire to speak with you personally, so expect her to arrive soon.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Twilight lowered the parchment, her expression one of surprise. Princess Luna was coming? Twilight hoped that she had taken her lessons on quiet speaking to heart.

Twilight’s brow perked in curiosity. What could the Night Princess have to speak to her about? If one of the Princesses was getting involved, Twilight could only conclude that it was serious. This new development served to make her even more anxious. Was it Discord again? An even more ancient evil that was sealed long ago? She had so many ideas as to what it could possibly be, and none of them were good.

While she rubbed her eyes, she let a long, drawn out sigh pass through her muzzle. Well, it looks like she was going to have a visitor at this late hour. Twilight glanced over the railing and peered into the library below.

Well,  she thought as she surveyed the mess, walking down the stairs, I guess there is no harm in starting reshelving early …  

A Princess was coming, and Twilight decided she might as well make her home presentable. In addition to having to complete her essay, she had a lot to clean up. She suspected that she needed to take an excursion into her basement as well.

So much to do, so little time. 

As she reached the ground floor, she decided that she should check the basement first, given the fact that her sensitive lab equipment was stored there.

That line of thought was cut off at the sound of somepony’s excited knocking on the door.

Twilight couldn’t help but smirk. She knew exactly who knocked like that.

“It’s open, come in-” she started, but didn’t even get to finish as the front door burst open and the very manifestation of hyperactivity shot into the tree-house in the form of a poofy pink party pony. “…Pinkie!”

With a smirk on her face, Pinkie Pie happily bounced around the table in a loop, as per her usual behavior.  “Twilight Twilight Twilight! Did you see the shooting star earlier? Of course you did! Everypony did? Well you know what? I did too! Isn’t that funny? I was in bed then suddenly my Pinkie Sense woke me up and I was like ‘GAAAASP!’ because my Pinkie Sense almost never goes off at night, but it did, and first my tail went all twitchy, then my knee got all pinchy, and then I looked out the window and it looked like it was daytime. But it wasn’t daytime because the moon isn’t out during the day, that’s just silly. But then I saw the shooting star and then…”

She was abruptly cut off as Twilight thrust a leg into her yapper. Seemingly oblivious to the fact, Pinkie Pie kept blabbering, her words muffled by the hoof.

“Um…Pinkie? Do you think you could keep it down?” she released the energetic mare and gestured up at her loft, “Spike is sleeping.”

“Oopsie! My bad! Widdle Spikey-Wikey needs his sleep!” said Pinkie, before starting up again…in a whisper this time, “…and then I was all like ‘GAAAASP!’ again because I’ve never seen a shooting star that bright or noisy before…”

Twilight facehoofed, but couldn’t suppress a smirk. It was just Pinkie being Pinkie after all. The mare’s eyes drifted to the still open door, when she realized that Pinkie didn’t come alone. A familiar cyan pegasus leaned in the doorframe, looking back at her with drowsy, half-lidded eyes.

Rainbow nodded at Twilight. “Good evening…er…night…whatever,” Rainbow mumbled, her statement punctuated by a yawn.

“Good morning Rainbow,” the unicorn replied. The mare tapped the wooden floor with her hoof as the two continued to stare at each other while Pinkie continued babbling. “Hey, you actually used the door this time,” said Twilight good-naturedly, attempting to make small talk as she began lifting books with her magic and putting them neatly on the shelves.

The mare laughed sheepishly, “Well, sometimes even a pony as awesome as me can’t always make a big entrance,” the pegasus blew a stray strand of hair out of her face, “Pinkie dragged me here,”  she muttered, eying the still yapping earth pony.

“…I had to help the Cakes with the Pound and Pumpkin, because that big boom woke them. I was going to go back to bed, but then my eye got twitchy, which means that I should go see Twilight. And then I told Gummy that I was going out but he didn’t say anything because he’s an alligator and then I left Sugarcube Corner and I went a hoppin’  this way, but then I bumped into Rainbow, and my Pinkie Sense told me I should bring her too and here we are!” when she finally finished, she had a wide, goofy grin plastered on her face.

Twilight was looking at the pink mare with a blank look on her face before finally sighing. How Pinkie was able to keep up such boundless energy, even though it was past midnight, was beyond anypony’s range of comprehension. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

“So whatcha doing?” said Pinkie.

Twilight glanced around her at the large mess in the library before sighing once, “Well, I thought I’d start cleaning up these books before…”

“Cleaning up at one in the morning? Sheesh Twilight! Are you loco in the coco? Super-smart-smarty pantses need their sleep too!”

“Pinkie…you’re up too,” said an exasperated Twilight.

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie said sheepishly, “Well I was sleeping but then my Pinkie sense started a twichin’ and then I…”

“Pinkie,” said Twilight, “I know, you told me already.”

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin before getting an inquisitive look on her face; leaning in closer, she was inspecting Twilight as if she was scrutinizing a patient. “Aw, it looks like someone is all anxious and frowny faced, no wonder why my eye was a twitchin’! I think we need to do something about that,” she started to bounce happily, “And you know what the best way to cheer somepony up is right? A PA-…” 

“Pinkie!” Twilight once again thrust a hoof into the hyper pink mare’s mouth, “Now is not the time. I got to get this mess cleaned up before the Princess shows up and…”

The other mare gasped through Twilight’s hoof, jumping back with her mouth agape.

Immediately, Rainbow’s ears perked up. “Woah!” she raised her hooves, “The Princess is coming here?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, Princess Luna should be arriving-“

“Ooh ooh ooh it’s Luna, not Celestia?” Pinkie exclaimed, “Remember back on Nightmare Night and she came to town and I was all like ‘Aaaah!’ and you were like ‘She’s not going to eat you!’ and then I was like ‘I know!’ and you were all ‘Huh?’ but this isn’t Nightmare Night anymore so I’m not going to be scared because Nightmare Night is the time to be an all-out scaredy-pony…”

Rainbow nudged Twilight on the shoulder, “Twi, do you know what’s going on? I mean, the whole…explosion thing?”

The unicorn sighed and shook her head, “Hopefully, the Princess will clarify a few things.”

“Indeed,” spoke up a new voice.

All three mares’ ears perk up as they looked around for the speaker. Finding nothing, Rainbow immediately became tense, “What? Who’s there!?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she recognized that voice; her gaze shot over to the hot-headed pegasus, “Rainbow! It’s her!” she warned.

“Huh?” Rainbow looked at her with a confused expression.

They felt her presence before they could actually see her. The room instantly seemed to become a tad chillier. Shortly after, Luna appeared in the front doorway. Everypony’s mouth went agape. It wasn’t like she just walked in; she just materialized from the shadows. In the place they were certain that nothing stood before, was Princess Luna in all her glory.

Almost acting on impulse, all three mares sunk into a low bow. None of the mares realized that the Princess had gotten any closer until they heard her breath in to speak.

Oh please don’t use the Royal Canterlot Voice…please don’t use the Royal Canterlot Voice… 

“Rise,” said Luna at a manageable volume. 

Oh thank Celestia… 

All three mares obeyed. Twilight stood and her violet eyes met Luna’s blue ones. Much like her older sister, Luna drew a strange feeling of awe from everypony. The way her indigo coat gleamed in the faint candlelight, the way it reflected off of the crescent moons on her flanks,  and the way her long, starry mane billowed behind her without the aid of wind…she was quite the sight.

“Twilight Sparkle, we…I…greet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine Princess,” said Twilight. 

Luna glanced at the other mare, “Brave Rainbow Dash and lively Pinkie Pie too it would seem.”

“Ooh, ooh, remember me Princess, remember me?” said Pinkie whilst Rainbow Dash seemed to swell with pride.

“Yes, I remember,” said Luna curtly. Twilight watched as the dark alicorn’s eyes swept around the disheveled room. Twilight hoped that she wasn’t judging her housekeeping skills.

Luna brought a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat, “I apologize for this visitation late into the night, but I felt that it was of utmost importance that I speakest to thou.”

“Princess Celestia said that you were coming, but she didn’t say why or what for,” explained Twilight.

“I was observing my night sky and in doing so, I noticed something high above, suspended in the heavens,” said Luna as she began pacing, “I know not what it was, but I do know that this was more than some mere meteor.”

“I thought as much,” said Twilight.

“Well if it wasn’t a meteor, then what was it?” interrupted Rainbow, “Ooh, was it aliens? Because that would be awesome.”

“Even I know not what has transpired,” said Luna, “Which brings us to the purpose of this visit. Tonight, I will be heading into the forest. I would request that you and your friends accompany me.” 

Twilight looked at Luna with a quizzical expression, while Pinkie miraculously remained quiet, “Princess, not that I doubt your judgment, but what could my friends accomplish that you couldn’t on your own?”

Luna sighed, “You and your friends are capable of wielding a magic that has slipped beyond the reach of my sister and I long ago.”

Twilight’s eyes widened with realization, “The Elements?”

Luna smiled and nodded, “With my sister’s permission, I have brought the Elements of Harmony,” she gestured to a saddlebag she was wearing which Twilight hadn’t notice before, “I will not lie, we will be journeying into the unknown. It may be dangerous. I do not wish for you or your friends to put yourselves at risk out of an obligation to me.”

Twilight gaped at the Princess while she pondered the words she had just heard. The last time the Elements were brought out was when Discord had escaped. Could this object that had fallen from the sky be as bad as or even worse than Discord or Nightmare Moon? A chill settled in her gut.

But Twilight wasn’t about to let her fears get in the way of stopping a potential threat to her beloved Equestria.

“You can count me in,” said Twilight, with an air of determination in her voice.

“Me too!” said Rainbow, the mare puffed out her chest.

“Ooh me three!” Pinkie cut it, “I guess this is my why eye was a twitchin’ because remember when I said that…?”

“Yes Pinkie, I do remember,” said Twilight, in the same tone as before. 

Luna nodded, a smile gracing her muzzle, “We…I thank you for your assistance in this matter Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash,  and Pinkie Pie,” said Luna, gratefulness evident in her voice. Her ears perked up at the lingering sound of confused ponies congregating around the town square. “While you are gathering your friends, I will attempt to alleviate this situation,” she tilted her head in the direction of the raised voices, “When you are ready, I will await you at the forest’s edge.” With that, she seamlessly blended back into the shadows, her hoofbeats completely silent.

Predictably, it was Pinkie who broke the silence with an excited squeal.

“We’re gonna have an adventure, Twilight! It will be just like a party except those a whole lot more walking and less games and stuff and maybe it will be more like a camping trip…” a gasp, “We’re going camping! We’ll sit around a campfire and share stories make smores and stay up late! Ooh! I love smores! There so chocolatey and marshmallowy ! But we’re already staying up late so…”

“I wonder why we may need the Elements…” Twilight thought out loud, “Luna sounded worried, could it really be that dangerous?”

Abruptly, Rainbow was in her face, “C’mon Twi! Maybe aliens crash-landed in Equestria!”

The unicorn shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe.” Twilight noted to herself that she didn’t deny the notion of aliens. The very idea that some other life exists out there in the universe was always a fascinating concept even to one as  academic as her. 

“They’re coming to suck out our brains with bendy-straws !” Pinkie’s eyes went wide with horror and her hooves shot to her cheeks.

This elicited an eye roll from the lavender unicorn, “Pinkie,” said Twilight, “Nopony is going to get their brains sucked out, that’s just ridiculous.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get the girls!” Rainbow said excitedly, “We have some aliens to find!”

Twilight smiled and gave a minute nod. “Indeed we do.”

~~

Unlike the remainder of Ponyville, the entirety of the orchard known as Sweet Apple Acres was draped in a pleasant silence. Hundreds, if not thousands of apples glimmered faintly in the radiant moonlight as they hung from their trees.

But the ponies that  lived here were wide awake, and right now, one of them was silently cantering through the vastness of the orchard.

Even in the dark, the mare known as Applejack could instinctively navigate the land on which she lived. From l iving and working on the farm for years, she knew the property like the back of her hoof.

And she was worried.

That mighty ruckus that had lit up the night made her immediately concerned for her sister’s wellbeing and that of her little friends. The whole mess likely had the three young fillies scared.

Ever since her parents had died, it was her unspoken duty of the elder Apple siblings to look after their youngest sister, Apple Bloom. The little filly had coerced her into letting her and her friends have a sleepover. Not just any sleepover, however. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had convinced Applejack to allow them to camp out at their little clubhouse. AJ had protested valiantly against it, but the Crusaders had ensured their victory when all three fillies had simultaneously gave the older mare the CMC special; each filly wore a pouty expression of unadulterated cuteness, powerful enough to sway even the most resolute mind. 

They had succeeded.

Now, Applejack was on her way to check up on her little sister and her friends, as a good sibling should. Her brother, Big Macintosh was preoccupied with calming down the matriarch of the household, Granny Smith. The gentle red stallion had a natural talent for soothing their dear grandmother. The old mare was babbling in a frenzy, raving about how ‘They’ were a coming.  She refused to elaborate further when Applejack pressed for details.

Applejack sighed as her gaze drifted skyward. What had caused that? Shooting stars don’t light up the sky like that, not in the slightest. As an earth pony, Applejack could recognize something natural when she saw it, and that thing definitely wasn’t natural. The mare groaned as her stare returned to the ground. Like the rest of the town, the orchard was not spared from the sheer power of that shockwave. The  large number of apples shaken from their trees littered the grassy turf. This would set them back. 

She and her brother had a busy day ahead of them. 

Several minutes later, the object of her worries came into view. Nestled in a seemingly unimportant corner of the orchard stood a small structure, the pink and red clubhouse built into one of the trees.  It was well out of the way, so trespassers would be unlikely to stumble across the hangout of young Apple Bloom and her friends unless they knew where to look.

Applejack couldn’t help but smirk at the new observatory that poked out of the top of the tree. That wasn’t there when the mare had bequeathed the old clubhouse to her sister. Apple Bloom had constructed that herself with some help from Big Macintosh. The filly sure knew her way around a hammer and saw.  

As the farmpony walked up the ramp leading to the clubhouse, Applejack couldn’t help but notice that there were no lights shining in the windows. If they were rudely awakened, the mare knew that the Crusaders had at least a lantern with them. Her frown deepened when she put her ear to the door.

There was no noise. No excited chatter or anything .

Did them fillies seriously sleep through that ruckus? Applejack thought as she peered through the heart-shaped opening in the door. In the shadowed interior, Applejack could faintly make out three sleeping bags arranged in a circular pattern, and she relaxed when she noticed that they seemed to be occupied.

Though a mote of concern formed in her gut the longer she continued to stare.

Something seemed…off.. 

Applejack reached for the doorknob, and slowly opened the door. It creaked faintly as it swung open, and the mare stepped inside, doing her best to remain silent.  Never taking her eyes off of the sleeping bags, Applejack closed the door behind her, the faint *click* resonating throughout the small clubhouse.

“Apple Bloom?” the mare whispered as she approached to unmoving shapes beneath the sleeping bags. They did not stir as she got closer. It was then that Applejack noticed that several items were conspicuously absent. The hooks on which the Crusaders hung their capes and saddlebags were vacant, and the lantern Applejack had left for the fillies was gone.

And worst of all, the forms hidden by the sleeping bags were not moving, at all. 

A cold lump formed in Applejack’s stomach as she contemplated the situation. She reached out for the nearest bag, dread filling her heart. The mare was being honest with herself, she much as she wish it weren’t true, she knew what she was going to find. Grabbing the corner of the sleeping bag, slowly, she pulled back the cloth .  

She felt like her heart had stopped.

Where there should have been a slumbering filly was naught but a pillow, cleverly placed as to throw off the casual observer. Frantically, Applejack checked the other two sleeping bags to find them lacking fillies as well. Clenching her teeth as her eyes darted to and fro, an indescribable fear built in her chest.

“Apple Bloom! Where are ya!?” she yelled, as if hoping that the little filly was just hiding. “Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle! Answer me!”

She bit her lip and twisted her hooves into the wooden floor. It didn’t take very long for the pieces to fall into place in her mind. She had a very strong inkling as to where to fillies had disappeared to, and where they were going. Her legs were wobbly as she left the clubhouse, and her gaze locked on to the distant plume of smoke rising far in the distance. 

She just hoped that her suspicions about that mystery object were untrue.

Her heart racing, she jumped down to the ground and sped off back towards the farmhouse at a full gallop.

~~

“Agh…my aching…” the Lone Wanderer thought aloud as he shakily loped about the darkened bridge. It was dead silent, save for the distant unsteady hum of some distant, auxiliary generator that had miraculously survived the crash. While a few of the flickering lights remained intact, the majority were cracked, shattered, and otherwise offline…permanently. A live, still sparking wire dangled down from above, which the injured human had to carefully sidestep to avoid.

Although he survived the crash, it went without saying that he didn’t get through it unscathed. A quick glance at his Pip-Boy displayed a cartoonish figure of a human, the leg and the torso outlined with a dotted line, and the normally smiling figure  was frowning. Corresponding with that picture, the live human wearing the device was walking with a heavy limp, and each breath send a jolt of pain through his chest. 

It shouldn’t last long… he thought hopefully as he walked towards a heap of debris piled near one of the bulkheads. Under most circumstances, he would usually administer a few stimpaks to rapidly heal the damage, though those were in short supply at the moment; in addition, excessive stimpaks tended to make him drowsy, something he couldn’t afford in the current situation. However, with cybernetic enhancements and his mutations, the damage should quickly heal to an acceptable level.

At least I hope so… he thought as he closed the distance between him and a junk pile. He crouched and examined the heap closely. A hint of a pleased smile tugged at his lips when he noticed the corner of a familiar weapon poking out of it.

While his battered armor was sort-of intact, most of his weaponry had gotten separated from his body. He awoke to find himself only with his sidearm and his blade in his possession. With a grunt, he grabbed the end of the minigun and tugged it. It came loose easily, the remaining shifted debris resettled with a loud clatter. 

The Wanderer’s smile faded when he saw the state of the weapon, it was damaged beyond repair. Of the six barrels the weapon possessed, each of them was pointing in a different direction. The motor was missing, and the frame was heavily dented. A dismayed sigh passed from the human’s lips as he dropped the decrepit weapon to the floor.

Great…stranded in an unknown place without a heavy weapon… he thought glumly as he left the minigun’s mutilated remains in his wake. He took a deep breath as he pondered that thought. Unknown place…unfamiliar…alien… he was still having trouble wrapping his head around that fact. A glint of light out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to it to find that the luminosity was coming from beyond the large viewport at the front of the bridge. While safety shutters had closed over the majority of the portholes, this one remained open, jammed by a large piece of metallic debris. Tentatively, the human limped towards it, quivering with apprehension at what he was going to see.

He nearly tripped down the stairs as he was limping; quick reflexes saved him from a nasty fall as he righted himself. When he finally reached his window to the outside world, he gently placed his hand on the damaged glass as he peered out.

Directly below him, he cringed when he saw the destruction caused by his little crash. Trees, perhaps hundreds of them, were  flattened before him like some sort of tree graveyard, blackened and burnt. It was like just any other sight he was used to in the Wasteland, destruction. Scattered fires could be seen glittering in the darkness, their wispy smoke rising in the air. But as the human’s gaze went farther and farther away from the ship, he could feel his breath catch in his throat.

First, there were trees stripped bare of their leaves, and then there was green. Live, green trees. Thanks to cybernetic enhancements in both eyes,   he had no trouble seeing them in the low light. Although there were a few trees scattered along the route to Jacobstown in the Mojave, there was nowhere near as many there.  

This was a forest, an actual forest, with far more trees than he could count. The green treetops extended all the way to the horizon, and beyond them, he could see a distant mountain range dominating the skyline, their high peaks capped with snow. The moon hung high in the sky, its pearly white  surface pockmarked by craters.

The sight alone caused the magnitude of the situation to hit the Wanderer with the subtlety of a rampaging yao guai.  Forest…not wasteland…alien world…not home… the human’s entire body began quivering as the revelation washed over him. He slowly sunk to the floor, his body suddenly feeling much heavier. 

Not home…not home…lost… his heart was racing in his chest as he cradled his pounding head in gauntleted hands. A sense of hopelessness and fear washed over him like he had never felt before. As the situation currently stood, he was stranded on some alien world with no way to get home, where it quickly became apparent that he would likely be stuck here forever. The human took deep heaving breaths while sweat poured down his face. Also, who knew if this planet could even support a human? For all he knew those trees outside could have an arsenic-based biology and the air could be pure methane.

Unlikely, but still.

It felt as if someone had dropped a heavy weight on his heart. He clamped his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. The people of the Wasteland looked to him as a protector, someone to silently watch over them, to keep them safe from harm. He even heard some eccentric individuals refer to him as a Messiah…and they meant it.

Who would help them now that he couldn’t?

His eyes snapped open as he felt a pang of resentment begin form in his mind.

Why should I care? He thought darkly.

Over the years, he had grown weary. Multiple times, he just wanted to find peace, something that just doesn't exist in the wastes.

Many of the friends he made were either dead or scattered, so much had gone wrong, and he had no tolerance for betrayal. The human’s expression darkened as a hint of vindictive anger flared up in his heart. He’d never forget how that skinless rat Roy Philips stabbed him in the back, or how that warmongering bitch Moore screwed him over, despite what he did for NCR. While it did indeed get MPs on his ass, it felt so satisfying to head-butt her. Many of the peaceful agreements the Wanderer had forged between NCR and the other factions of the Mojave were ruined due to that woman’s actions.

Just the thought of it caused some deep-buried rage to bubble up in the Wanderer. With an agitated yell, the human’s fist pulled back and he punched the viewport out of pure frustration. Much to his surprise, the already weakened glass shattered under the impact. He felt a brief jolt of panic as a blast of warm air rushed into the ship and into his face, but he quickly calmed down when he realized he wasn’t choking on it.

He cocked his eyebrow out of intrigue. He could breathe this planet’s atmosphere? That’s awfully coincidental. Without a second thought, he extended a probe from the end of his Pip-Boy and stuck it out the viewport.

“Scanning,” the plucky voice of his AI announced. The human took a deep breath of this new atmosphere and wrinkled his nose; the air was heavy with the scent of burnt wood. Moments later, the device on his wrist beeped, and he brought the display up to eye level. 

What he saw surprised him. The atmosphere was almost completely identical to the one he was familiar with, albeit with slightly heightened carbon dioxide levels, though he assumed that was because of all the burning wood in the clearing below. The Wanderer snorted. What are the odds of-

His thoughts were cut off as the entire ship shuddered. He cursed silently as his stomach lurched, bracing himself in the frame of the viewport all the while. He could hear the sound of some heavy object crash off in the distance. The tremors ended moments later. When nothing happened after a few seconds, the human relaxed.

This place was dangerously unstable. He decided that now would be a good time to find his things and get out, preferably as soon as possible. Slowly, he rose to his feet, grunting as soreness shot through his chest. He shot one more glance out the window as he ascended the stairs. He couldn’t help but wonder: what was he going to find out there? There would be time to discover that later. Though he could adapt to and survive in pretty much any territory, the human felt a pang of anxiety as he realized that he was most likely the only human on this planet. 

~

It didn’t take him long to find his other equipment. Much to his dismay, his rifle had suffered a very similar fate to that of his minigun. The casing was cracked, the laser array was totally destroyed, and the mirrors and lenses that he had painstakingly aligned by hand were shattered. Though, by some stroke of luck, the laser rifle’s power module had remained intact. He had sacrificed many recharger rifles and restful nights in the name of science to develop this particular hardware. Though he had no particular use for it at the moment, he pocketed it anyway, no sense in letting it go to waste.

He groaned again when he took a quick once over of himself. He had spent many nights awake in the laboratories of Big MT to get this armor right. He managed to cram just about every bit of tech he could find into a single suit of power armor with the power of science,  and it was dismaying to see this particular marvel of engineering in such bad shape. Neither his barriers nor cloaking field were functional, though the emblem painted on the shoulder plate remained unscathed. As minor a detail as it was, it was something personal. 

He quickly and silently checked his inventory. Pistol, knife, rations, spare power cells, grenades, both pulse and plasma, canteen…unfortunately empty.  Hopefully he’d find a source of clean water somewhere in the forest.

It looked like he found everything he could scrounge together. But now he faced a much more important dilemma: How exactly was he going to get out of here? The main door to the bridge had sealed when the ship had crashed, and it was unresponsive; the nearby panel was unpowered. He gritted his teeth when something within the ship groaned, echoing loudly.

The human’s keen eyes quickly turned on the room, scanning for anything he could use, his brow furrowed. Now what could I…ah! He felt a pang of curiosity as he eyed a panel protruding slightly from one of the bulkheads. He began to walk towards it briskly.

He abruptly stopped when he felt something crack under his boot.

Eyes darting downward, he lifted his foot, his eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. Quickly, he bent over and scooped up the damaged object and held it at eye level. 

It was his old Brotherhood of Steel holotag. 

Several months after his victory over the Enclave at Adams Air Force Base, he was named an official member of the Brotherhood of Steel, one of the first outsiders to join them . The young human had risen through the ranks quickly, becoming the youngest member ever to reach the rank of Star Paladin at age twenty one.

The holotag was the only thing in the wasteland that had his actual name on it. In becoming the Lone Wanderer, he had essentially shed his identity to become the man that the wasteland needed. The name on the tag served as a reminder that even after all that had happened, he was still human. Just once, he wished that someone would call him by his actual name again. The few who did were either dead or missing. 

But sadly, a long crack was running the length of the tag, and the display no longer worked. The Wanderer sighed sadly as he pocketed the broken object.

“Are you okay, best friend?” asked his AI.

Even she won’t call me by my name… the human thought ruefully. “I’m fine…” he grumbled as he continued his approach the panel he saw earlier. He stopped a few inches from it and cupped a hand to his chin. He ran his other hand across the metallic surface, examining it closely. He traced the edges of the panel with his index finger. He could have sworn he saw one of these before.

Now where did I…ah-ha! The metaphorical light bulb clicked on in his head. This was one of those hatches that lead to the system intended to carry garbage off to the waste disposal. He figured he could use the tunnels to get to where he needed. The human shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. He could still remember the unpleasant trip he had when he absentmindedly walked into one of the trash containers on the first alien ship.

Hopefully, the crushers are offline… the Wanderer thought blithely as he continued to test the panel for weaknesses. He turned back to the bridge; his lips curled upward when he caught sight of a long, thin piece of metallic debris.

Retrieving it, he wedged the end of the beam into the gap between the panel and the wall. Holding the rod firmly and both hands, he gave the beam a mighty shove towards the bulkhead. The metal groaned in protest as the human attempted to pry open the hatch. It came off moments later, clattering to the ground with an ear-splitting clang. Tossing the now unneeded metal rod to the floor, the man peered into the new opening. It was dark, and the only sources  of illumination were dim red lights set into the ceiling every couple of meters. Unsurprisingly, the scent of garbage was thick in the air. Wrinkling his nose, he vaulted over the threshold. Conveniently, there was a set of walkways hugging against the walls. The floor was slanted and a rail, set into a lowered groove, ran down the middle of the passageway. The tunnel extended in both directions, curving out of sight.

The human had found his escape route.

I hope… he thought as he started walking, the tall man disappearing into the shadow.

~~

“Um…I’m not sure that this is such a good idea,” said the small white filly known as Sweetie Belle. 

She and her friends, also known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were trotting along in the Everfree Forest. It was dark, as expected at this time of night. The only source of light was the steady stream of moonlight that managed to poke through the rare gaps in the trees, and the lantern that was being held in the maw of the filly known as Apple Bloom. Aside from the sound of crickets and unseen critters, the only other noise breaking the silence was the rhythmic sound of several pairs of hooves on the earthen ground.

“What? Are you scared?” asked Scootaloo, her wings buzzing excitedly, as she practically skipped along.

The unicorn nervously hoofed at the dirt. “No…well…I mean, we did promise Applejack that we wouldn’t leave the orchard,” her light green eyes swept over both of her friends, specifically Apple Bloom, “Isn’t she going to be mad at us?”

Apple Bloom said something in response, her words made unintelligible by the lantern being held in her mouth. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, “Yeah, but we didn’t Pinkie Promise, did we?” she hopped again, “Besides, that was before…it happened!” said the small orange filly. 

”It,” of course, being the strange meteor that had disrupted their little get-together. After very little deliberation,  the energetic young fillies quietly crept away from the farm, towards the forest. High above the crash site, a plume of smoke hung in the air. Through the dense leaves, it was barely visible. They used it to guide them to their goal. The crash had occurred well out of the way of the normal road that led to Zecora’s place; the fillies hesitated briefly before straying from the path.

Sweetie Belle shook her head, a slight tingle going down her spine when she saw a pair of glimmering eyes peering out at her from the underbrush. She relaxed when they disappeared a moment later, “But, remember what nearly happened the last time we went into the forest alone? If Fluttershy hadn’t been there…” the filly trailed off. The crusaders shared a collective shudder as the image of Twilight Sparkle, petrified by a cockatrice flashed through their young minds.

Scootaloo quickly cut off her doubts, “Ah, don’t worry about it…besides, after the lesson Fluttershy taught that monster, it knows better than to mess with us! Besides, maybe with this we will finally earn our Cutie Marks!” she said with pride. Predictably, every filly present was suddenly moving along with a spring in their trot. “So, what do you think we’re gonna find?” she said, changing the topic.

Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up, “Ohh! Maybe it’s some sort of giant gem! I mean, I’ve never seen a shooting star up close before!” suddenly feeling more cheerful as her mind was drawn away from thinking about what creatures may be lurking about.

“Maybe it is something that nopony has ever seen before! We’ll be famous, and I’ll be just as cool as Rainbow Dash!” She swooned slightly at the thought. “Maybe it was…aliens!” exclaimed Scootaloo with a hop, and Sweetie Belle gasped, “That would be so cool!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, “Mmmmmphmm, dose r’nt rrl…” said the red-maned filly.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, “What was that?”

“Ah thaid…ptooie!” she spat out the lantern, “Ah said you’ve been readin’ too many of them comic books.”

“Oh really?” Scootaloo approached her friend and stood chest-to-chest with her, “What do you think it was?”

The little filly shrugged. 

“Then how do you know it wasn’t aliens?” questioned Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom snorted, “Ah dunno. But whatever it was, it ain’t nat-ur-al,” she said. In fact, the whole forest seemed…off, period. It was subtle, but the further they went into the forest, the quieter and quieter it got. That was far more unsettling than it normal was. There was always some critter lurking about making noise. It felt as if an unnatural blanket of silence fell over the forest.

Just then a chilly breeze decided to blow through the trees. The three crusaders felt lucky that they decided to bring their warm capes with them. Apple Bloom frowned, even something with the air seemed off. As an earth pony, the young filly was well attuned to these sorts of things. She shrugged off the rapidly swelling sense of unease. “Ah don’t know what we’re gonna find…” she whispered, “But ah know we ain’t got a find it standin’ round here.”

The orange filly before her smiled, “Now you’re speaking my language!” she said energetically. “Last one there is moldy hay!” Scootaloo blurted before bolting towards their goal.

“Hey! No fair!” stammered a dejected Apple Bloom as she grabbed the lantern in her mouth and gave chase to her pegasus pal.

“Wait for me!” said Sweetie Belle as she trailed behind her friends. The night was soon filled with the light pitter-patter of little hooves rapidly beating the forest floor as the fillies raced along. It was soon that the trio began to notice something strange. The farther they went, the brighter it got. Shooting a glance skyward, Apple Bloom’s eyes widened in surprise when she noticed that the dense canopy of the forest was getting less and less thick; more moonlight shone through the gaps. It was like back home, how plenty of Apples were shaken from their trees by that awfully loud blast. Fallen leaves crunched beneath their hooves as the galloped, it sounded like they were running around the Whitetail Woods during the autumn months.

The whole impromptu race was brought to a sudden halt when the crash site came into view. The little pegasus skidded to a halt, her hooves stirring up a small cloud of dirt. Not expecting it, Apple Bloom collided with her friend, and Sweetie Belle soon after. The three of them tumbled down a short incline, landing at the bottom in a yelping mass of tangled limbs, hair, capes, and feathers. The lantern tumbled a few feet away with a clang, though thankfully it remained intact.
“Oof! Watch where you’re going!” exclaimed Scootaloo as the fillies awkwardly separated from each other, and scrambled to their hooves.

“Ah’m not the pony who stopped! Why’d you go and do that fer?” Apple Bloom retorted while she tried to shake dirt out of her mane.

“W-what is that?” squeaked the final member of their group. The other fillies turned to her to find her transfixed on the display of sheer destruction before her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo joined Sweetie in her gawking as the scent of burnt woods purveyed their nostrils. Hundreds of trees were flattened and scorched in a clearing hundreds of feet across.

Such destruction was unheard of in Equestria. The three beheld it with a look of both awe and fear, but what really caught their attention was what was in the center. There, at the end of a furrow that it had torn in the ground as it had crashed was the object that they had desperately sought.

“Um…girls,” stammered Apple Bloom, “Ah don’t think that this is just some meteor…”

Scootaloo turned on the spot and looked at her incredulously, “Ya think?”

~~

Luna’s moon shone overhead as a party of four mares passed through the open, welcoming gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Rows and rows of virtually identical apple trees passed them by as they trotted along. So far, Twilight had managed to recruit her friend Rarity for Luna’s task with relatively little fuss, Twilight was surprised when she they came upon the fashonista’s boutique and found the white unicorn to be completely awake and leaving her house.

“Thanks again for agreeing to this on such short notice,” Twilight stated as she threw a glance in the white unicorn’s direction.

The mare returned the gaze, her face and crystal blue eyes framed by her immaculately styled mane. Twilight couldn’t help but be amused that Rarity found the time to do her mane under the current circumstances. “Think nothing of it darling. Besides, I wanted to check up on my sister anyway. Celestia knows the trouble she and her cohorts get themselves into,” she replied with a hint of a smile on her lips, “A lady knows that it is rude to deny her friends and her Princess in their time of need.”

Hovering above them, Rainbow Dash snorted, “Whatever, I just wanna see the aliens,” she grunted as she landed next to Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie giggled, “Be careful what you wish for, Dashie! Before you know it…bendy straws!” she exclaimed, dramatically gesturing with her hooves. “Maybe it will be like a camping trip! We can sit around a campfire and tell spooky stories and make smores!” she blinked, glancing at Twilight, “Hey Twilight, do you think aliens like smores?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Pinkie, Rainbow, we don’t know exactly what we are dealing with here,” she drawled, “Don’t overexcite yourselves.”

Rainbow was about to retort when the mares heard raised voices. In unison, all four pairs of ears perked up.

“Is that Applejack?” Rainbow thought aloud.

The party of four exchange quizzical glances and set down the path to the farmhouse a moment later. A sense of worry began to well up in Twilight’s gut as the voices drew closer. Something was up, she was sure of it.

“Ah can take care of it, Big Mac!” Applejack’s voice echoed in the distance. “Ah need you tah look after Granny Smith! If she realized that they’re missin’…”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to worry. The quartet picked up the pace, and soon after the sight of two familiar earth ponies framed in the light of a lantern came into view.

“Applejack!” shouted Twilight. Both ponies wheeled around and looked at the approaching unicorn with surprise etched on their features. Twilight didn’t miss the worried look in their eyes. “What’s going on?”

“What in tarnation…? Twilight?” Applejack said with confusion as her gaze swept across she and her friends, “What’re you doing round these parts?”

Twilight noticed that the orange mare cringed when her eyes swept over Rarity.

“Princess Luna paid us a visit recently, she needs our help with whatever it was that landed in the forest,” Twilight explained.

The orange mare shuffled on her hooves uncomfortably, “Eh…this thing…is it dangerous?”

“We don’t know, but until proved otherwise we will assume that it is,” replied Twilight. The farmpony paled further, her irises shrinking.

“It’s aliiiiens!” Pinkie Pie chirped, hopping in place. Visible beads of sweat began to form on the orange mare’s forehead.

Twilight cocked her head, “Applejack…? Is something wrong?”

“Who’s missing?” Rarity added, walking up Applejack, “Where’s Sweetie Belle.”

A stray bead of sweat worked its way down the farmpony’s temple as her mouth contorted into a strained smile, though it was more of a grimace. “Ah…well…uh…”

“Oh for the love of…” Rainbow Dash butted in, pressing her muzzle up to the stammering Applejack’s face, “Spill the beans already!”

“The girls have gone missin’!” Applejack blurted out, her eyes darting to and fro.

“Whaaaaaaaat?” Rarity gasped, her eyes going wide. 

“Ah’m sorry Rarity!” said Applejack. “Ah think they’re headin’ for the forest!”

Everypony gasped at that fact, “Into the…for-? Oh…oh dear…  Rarity swayed, her eyes going wide. She was visibly shaking, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “I…I don’t feel so…” pacing a hoof over her face, the mare keeled over backwards. A quick spell from Twilight kept the mare from sullying her pristine white coat.

“How the heck did you lose ‘em!?” questioned Rainbow Dash. Her #1 fan was amongst those fillies.

“Ah don’t know! Ah just went to check on ‘em after that…thing fell and they were gone!” Applejack nearly yelled.

Pinkie Pie hopped over to her orange friend, “Don’t worry Applejack! Maybe they just went to go party with the aliens and…WoooOOOOOoOOOOoOAAaaah…” the mare’s entire pink body was suddenly shaking uncontrollably. A lump formed in the pit of everypony’s stomach as they watched the spectacle.

“Er…Pinkie…” asked Twilight when the party pony’s spasm ended, “Please tell me that wasn’t your Pinkie Sense just now…”

The earth pony did nothing before she nodded once. Everypony cringed. They know what that particular Pinkie Sense symbolized. The doozy, the most dreaded and most unpredictable of all Pinkie Senses.

“Er well…what’s gonna happen?” questioned Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie shrugged, “I dunno, but I know that it’s going to be something that nopony will expect.”

“But does it say where the doozy is?” Applejack said anxiously. The tension in the air was almost palpable as everypony waited for Pinkie’s response.

The party pony furrowed her brow, “Everfree…Forest…”

A cold, hard lump formed in Applejack’s stomach. A doozy in the forest, the same place she was certain her sister was currently running off to. Her knees suddenly felt shaky and weak; her brother seemed to notice and shot her a concerned stare. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She had a sacred, unspoken duty to protect her little sister, the same sister who was probably in terrible danger at the moment. 

Straightening her hat, she threw a glance down the path, a look of determination in her eyes. She knew what she needed to do.

“Alright, I’m with you gals,” she murmured, her voice hard. Her friends shot her a surprised look at her sudden change in demeanor. She knew that every moment she stood around thinking about it, the closer her sister was getting to danger. She turned to her brother, “Like I said before, Granny Smith needs you Big Mac. Don’t you worry; ah’ll bring Apple Bloom back safe and sound.”

Sighing once, the stallion nodded before heading back to the house.

With a little bit of finesse, Applejack hoisted the unconscious Rarity onto her back. She shot a glance at her friends, “Well what are we waitin’ around fer? Let’s get movin’!”

“Woo!  Adventure time adventure time!”  Pinkie Pie said excitedly, before putting her hoof to her chin, “I guess it’s too late to pack the ingredients for smores eh?” 

While the rest of the mares look at Pinkie with dumbfounded looks on her faces, Twilight resorted to slapping her forehead with her hoof, “Ugh…Pinkie Pie…”

“What? They are delicious!” Pinkie’s voice echoed in the air as the now party of five galloped away from the farmhouse.

~~

The Wanderer gasped as another loose floor plate gave way under his boot. He managed to keep his balance as he found solid footing on more stable ground.

His foray down the waste tunnels was brought to an abrupt halt when he found it to be blocked by a destroyed garbage container. However, he did manage to find another hatch, which led to his current situation.

He appeared to be silently stalking down an abandoned cell block. He cursed his poor luck. Creepy tunnels, abandoned hospitals, old, underground facilities, he could tolerate all of those. The man absolutely hated cell blocks, especially if they were dark. He couldn’t help but shake the feeling that there was something hiding in one of those containment cells. Having passed several with both his pistol and knife drawn, so far the only sign of the cells’ past residents consisted of dark stains on the floor.

He didn’t recognize this part of the ship;  the generators beside each of the doors were much larger than the one that had been by his own cell. The human had a sinking feeling that these cells were intended to contain much larger specimens.

A shiver went down his spine, something felt…off. The silence was unnerving. Coupled with the poor lighting, the resultant atmosphere was so tense that it was as if he could cut it with his knife. The slightest noises made him jump and fervently aim into the shadows with his weapon.

A loud crash made him do just that. It was distant ; it sounded like some piece of heavy metallic debris just dislodged and impacted heavily against the floor. That was not the first time it had happened. He wasn’t sure if he was just jumpy, or if it was something he had to be truly worried about. He considered the possibilities.

He had survived the crash, what was to say that he wasn’t the only one?

“Hostiles sighted!” his AI chirped. The Wanderer’s stance went tense, “Just kidding, best friend!”

“Oh ha, ha, ha, very funny,” the Wanderer groaned, wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead. The AI wasn’t making this any easier, “Knock it off, please.”

“Awww, party pooper.” 

He rolled his eyes as he turned the next corner, passing another pair of containment cells. The more he looked, the more he realized something. He had not come across a single carcass, neither alien nor otherwise since he started his trek. Where had all the bodies gone? He could distinctly recall making quite a mess throughout most of the ship. Perhaps they all were ejected out of the ship or…wait, what’s that?

He spotted something peculiar about one of the doorways. He kept his sight on it as he noiselessly crept forward. The metal framing the cell door was dented outward. It wasn’t damaged by the crash; it was pried apart by something very strong. The remains of the barrier generators flanking the doors were even larger. It went without saying that whatever was held in this cell was very big.

Tentatively, the human took a deep breath, and stepped inside. The interior of the cell was wide and spacious under a high, arched ceiling, another sign that the former occupants of this room were large. But what caught his attention was what appeared to be gouges in both the walls and floor. Slowly, the Wanderer crouched down, and examined the nearest mark closely.

His face paled when he realized what he was staring at. They weren’t naturally there, he was sure of it, the way they had been carved in was very reminiscent of a certain wasteland monster; He didn’t like the thought of facing one of those down here under the current circumstances. His gaze wandered over to the mutilated entranceway. The pieces began to fall into place in his mind.

A faint growl penetrated the silence.

The human’s eyes snapped wide open at the noise, sweat beading on his forehead. No! Not now! Soon after, the unmistakable sound of heavy footfalls began echoing down the corridor.

Shit! He cursed inwardly. Attempting to take on one of those creatures in such an enclosed space now would be stupid. His eyes darted around the room he found himself in, before settling on a small hollow next to the door. Silently, he raced over to it as the unseen monster drew closer. Sucking in a deep breath, the Wanderer stepped into the hollow, his back flat against the wall.

His heart raced as the footsteps stopped just outside the door. The human held his breath. He could hear it shift around; it was sniffing at the air. The claws on its feet ground against the metallic floor.

A short while later, the monster turned around, walking back in the direction from whence it came. The Wanderer’s heart raced in his chest while the sound of the footsteps gradually got quieter. Finally, the ship was silent once more. The human let out a drawn out sight of relief, slumping back against the bulkhead.

He was snapped back to attention as another tremor rocked the ship. Quickly and quietly withdrawing from his hiding spot, the human cautiously peered out into the corridor. Much to his relief, he found the coast was clear. Although he didn’t see it with his own eyes, he was certain that a deathclaw was lurking in these halls.

That wasn’t just an overactive figment of my imagination, was it? He thought tentatively, as he continued down the cell block, away from whatever was lurking in its shadowy corridors. He sighed and set aside that hypothesis  for now. Sidestepping a stack of fallen crates, he continued on.

He snapped to attention once more when the human heard a faint tap. He brought the weapon to bear, aiming it into the darkness. Still reeling from earlier, an acute sense of dread washed over the battered man. Finding nothing, the Wanderer relaxed.

It was then that an abomination dropped  out of an air grate directly above him.

The sudden noise caused the Wanderer to yell out in surprise before the abomination tackled him; his stomach lurched as he was thrown to the ground. The man yelled as the monster tried to aggressively claw at his face, he raised his forearms to shield himself. The monster shrieked as its claws raked against the human’s armor. The Wanderer focused on the thing that was pinning him down. It was hard to believe that this thing used to be human, even more so than feral ghouls. 

That horrible face, those shiny black eyes, those rows of jagged teeth…there is nothing left.

Recovering from his brief shock, the Wanderer brought his armored fist back and drove it into the monster’s skull. Grabbing his dazed assailant by the shoulders, he threw it off of him. The human scrambled to his feet as the abomination slammed against the nearest bulkhead.

The human raised his pistol when the abomination prepared to pounce again. The Wanderer fired thrice, the darkened corridor lit up briefly with flashes of emerald green light. The first two shots hit it in the chest, while the third caught the monster between the eyes.  Its shrieks were cut off as it dropped like a stone.

Putting another shot into its head for good measure, the Wanderer’s short and frantic breaths once again gave way to a sigh of relief. Although he would never admit it to anyone, the abominations sickened and terrified him. He knew that he had been experimented on, and he knew he could very well have been turned into one of them as well. 

The whole idea of just twisting members of his fellow species into these things for no other reason than for science made him furious. He had seen how the abominations had attacked even the aliens; there was no controlling them. 

The human glanced down the hallway and listened closely. Thankfully, whatever other monster lurking in these halls had either been disinterested in his little scuffle, or was a product of his imagination. 

Sighing, the Wanderer silently kneeled down next to the corpse and gently put his hand on its mutilated face. The fact that this thing used to be human sent a chill in his gut.

“I’m sorry.”

Empty words, but nothing else could be said.

As he rose to his feet, a very familiar shriek rang throughout the wreckage, echoing throughout the halls. He gritted his teeth at the sound. It felt like a stab to the heart each time he heard the cries of these abominations. He heard another shriek, and another.

It was time to go. There were monsters lurking in the dark…and they were after him.
	
	
> Stranger in the Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	If the situation wasn’t tense before, it certainly was now. The sudden knowledge that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had likely gone into the forest took everypony by surprise. 

The plume of smoke far in the distance seemed as ominous as ever, and nopony knew exactly what they were going to find there. The Princess had been pretty vague, though that only made them more worried. Every unpleasant scenario that could happen was running through Applejack’s head as she galloped along, the rest of the ponies trailing behind. She looked rather silly hauling an unconscious Rarity on her back. 

Images of large, dark creatures with mouths full of nasty jagged teeth flashed through her head. Strange creatures with even stranger magic stalking after her sister and her friends, who could do naught but watch as it closed in to…

Applejack shook her head, No, that ain’t gonna happen…Don’t worry sis, I’m a comin’. Hopefully, if they were lucky they would catch the fillies before they were too far ahead. 

Luna’s moon shone overhead, and a heavy note of urgency hung in the air as the ponies galloped along the path leading to the Everfree Forest.  The rapid thumping of hooves was the only noise that penetrated the night.

From above, Rainbow lounged, almost casually as she was flying along. Her fuchsia eyes flitted between the farmpony and the bookworm as a smile came to her face. With a sudden burst of speed, the pegasus shot ahead. 
Applejack audibly snorted and Twilight had to suppress a groan as she saw her cocky friend perform a series of acrobatic stunts through the air.

By the time the mini air-show had ended, the rest of the mares finally caught up with Rainbow. Twilight’s rainbow-maned pal glided down to her side, flying along at a casual pace with a grin on her muzzle.

“Maybe you should exercise more than those eye muscles so you could keep up with me, eh Twilight?” said Rainbow.

“Pfft, not all of us have high endurance scores, Dashie!”  Pinkie Pie blurted out. Everypony gave her a confused look, “What?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie. “As I recall, didn’t I beat you in a race once?”

A pained grimace game to Rainbow’s face at that memory, “Yeah…but that was…um…” her eyes closed while she tapped her face with her hoof, “…different. That totally didn’t count.”

“Riiiiight…” muttered Twilight.

Applejack huffed from the front of the column, throwing an angry look over her shoulder, “Will you two stop horsin’  around? We gotta get movin’!”

“Don’t be so hasty, Applejack,” said Twilight, “You have to keep a level head in this situation.”

They had one more destination before heading into the forest. Everypony always thought that shy pegasus was somewhat bold for constructing her home so close to the forest. She always ran the risk of something nasty crawling out of the forest, and the first thing they would target would be her home. It was fortunate for the Element bearers though, since they needed to rush into the Everfree as soon as they could. The mares quickly cleared the boundary of the vast orchard.

“Apple Bloom is rushin’ into the Everfree Forest!” Applejack snapped, “It’s my job as a big sister to keep her safe!”

“If your sister is in danger, you aren’t doing her any favors if you get worked up like this,” Twilight chided.

The orange mare sighed, “Ah know Twi…it’s just…Ah’m so worried right now…” 

She didn’t have much time to dwell on it when familiar cottage came into view. The stream that ran past the front of the house seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. Unfortunately, the lights were dimmed, and the house was silent; not a single peep came from the many animals that Fluttershy cared for on her property. 

Though to their surprise, they already found somepony there waiting for them. They almost didn’t see her at first, given that her dark coat allowed her to blend in with the night, but soon after, they recognized the tall form of Princess Luna standing near the small bridge in front of Fluttershy’s quaint little home.

“So you have arrived,” announced Luna. All the mares bowed before her, eliciting an eye-roll from the Princess. “None of that now, on your hooves,” her blue eyes swept across the assembled ponies, a frown forming on her muzzle. 

Twilight gulped loudly, her ears drooping, “Um…sorry! We were just on our way to find Fluttershy, and…”

“I know, Twilight Sparkle,” interrupted the Princess; she pointed with a single capped hoof, “What has befallen Lady Rarity?”

Applejack shuffled around uncomfortably on her hooves, and swiveled her head around to look at the unconscious mare, “Um, she might have…um…fainted a bit.”

Luna raised an eyebrow, “Fainted? And what could have caused that?” she said as she leaned forward, putting the tip of her horn to the unconscious unicorn’s head. The horn went aglow, and Rarity stirred moments later.

“Oh…mm…huh?” she mumbled. Her eyes flickered open, her eyes glazed with confusion. Rarity blinked twice as her current predicament set in, “Huh…? Applejack! Put me down this instant!”  the fashionista began thrashing wildly, her hooves kicking at the air.

The sudden movement nearly sent the farmpony teetering off balance, who deposited the white unicorn on the ground with an ungraceful thud.

“Applejack! Why did you…ugh, dirt!” she rapidly rose to her hooves, trying to brush away the blemishes marring her formerly pristine coat.

Applejack smiled sheepishly, grinding her hooves into the path, “Oops, sorry Rares.”

The unicorn glared at her, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to…wait a minute,” her brow furrowed. What was she doing earlier? Her gaze drifted over to the dark blue mare that was standing not three body-lengths away, looking at her expectantly. Her eyes snapped wide open as it came rushing back to her.

“The girls have gone missin’!” Applejack blurted out, her eyes darting to and fro.

“Whaaaaaaaat?” Rarity gasped, her eyes going wide.

“Ah’m sorry Rarity!” said Applejack. “Ah think they’re headin’ for the forest!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity exclaimed, cupping her hooves to her cheeks, “My dearest little sister!”

“Sweetie Belle?” the Princess questioned, throwing a glance at Twilight Sparkle, “What is this that Lady Rarity speaketh of?”

Twilight gritted her teeth, “We believe that several fillies have gone into the forest to investigate the object.”

Luna’s expression became grave, “Then there is no time to waste,” her gaze glanced over to Fluttershy’s house, “Retrieve your friend, I will attempt to confirm your suspicions.”

Twilight nodded, “Rainbow, Pinkie, let’s go,” she beckoned them forward with her hoof while Applejack and Rarity stared worriedly at Princess Luna. While the trio was crossing the bridge, Luna’s horn lit up and she pointed it into the forest.

Alright…now how am I going to convince Fluttershy to come out? thought Twilight. Following the entire crash, the unicorn would be surprised if she wasn’t quivering under her bed. Twilight’s gaze flitted over to the backyard. Were the animals undisturbed, or did Fluttershy have to calm them down?

She didn’t have time to think about it before she found herself stopping in front of the front door of the cottage. Listening closely, much to her dismay the unicorn could hear no sounds coming from inside the house. 

Taking in a deep breath, Twilight raised a hoof and rapped on the door three times. 

“Fluttershy? Are you in there? It’s Twilight, I need to talk to you,” Twilight said loudly and clearly. No response. She knocked again, “Fluttershy, hello?”

“We have no time for this,” muttered Rainbow. Snorting with derision, the cyan mare shoved her way past the unicorn and pounded on the door with both hooves. “Fluttershy! It’s us! Open up!” she yelled.

Again, no response.

Sucking in a deep breath, Rainbow prepared to bring down her hooves again. It was then that the door opened, and a disheveled pegasus tentatively peered out at them.

“Rainbow?” Fluttershy whispered. Her gaze swept over the other ponies, “Twilight, P-Pinkie?” she quietly opened the door all the way to reveal herself in her entirety. The pony was clad in a white and violet robe, her long pink mane was disheveled, and her eyes were half-glazed over with weariness.

“Good morning Fluttershy,” Twilight said curtly.

The pegasus stared at her for a bit, “Um…I don’t mean to be rude but…could you tell me what you’re doing here? Um…if that’s okay with you that is…”

Before Twilight could reply, Fluttershy stared right past her. Her teal eyes widened when she noticed her other visitors standing just beyond the bridge. “Applejack and Rarity…and i-is that Nightma- um…Princess Luna too?”

“Yuppers! The gang’s all here!” Pinkie said happily, bouncing in place.

Fluttershy gulped loudly, her eyes going wide as they trailed over to the visible plume of smoke coiling in the night air. Gritting her teeth, she looked back at her unicorn friend while the pieces fell into place in her mind.

That thing happened…friends show up…P-Princess…black smoke…

The canary-yellow pony could distinctly remember the last time a cloud of scary black smoke rose up into the Equestrian sky; it involved a trek up a tall mountain to shoo off a giant, fire-breathing dragon.

Already knowing the purpose of her friends’ visit, Fluttershy turned back to the gathered ponies, her face partially hidden behind her bangs. “I-Is it another d-dragon?” the pegasus squeaked. “I d-don’t know if I could…”

“Nope, aliens!” Rainbow said enthusiastically, bouncing on her hooves slightly.

Surely she misheard her friend. That didn’t make the pegasus feel any better as her face paled further. “W-what?”

“Yep! Aliens!” the cyan mare replied, her wings flaring out in excitement, “Real life aliens in Equestria! Just like in those books! Omigosh! This is so…so…AWESOME!” Rainbow cupped her hooves to her face. 

“B-but are they nice aliens?” Fluttershy stammered.

Twilight shook her head, “We don’t know for sure, we don’t even know if there are aliens.”

“Don’t be such a buzzkill Twilight!” Rainbow pouted as she took to the air and briefly circled overhead, “This is so fantastically unbelievably awesomely cool and radical!” Rainbow abruptly stopped and looked to her peers for support, “Right guys?”

Pinkie Pie giggled, “Yep! And we’re gonna throw a party and become best friends, just watch out for the bendy straws!” the mare tapped her chin, “Hm…I’ve never thrown a party past midnight  before! Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything! Hey are you girls…”

“Pinkie, is now the best time?” asked Twilight.

“Anytime is party time!” said Pinkie, “Hey anypony want to…WOOOOooOOoAAaaaaaHHHHhhh…” her whole body started shaking. This was the third time the dreaded doozy alarm went off on their brief journey to the edge of the woods.

“Um…doesn’t that mean that there’s going to be a doozy?” said Fluttershy as she anxiously eyed her friends.

“Hey! Are you gals finished up there yet?” Applejack shouted from the opposite end of the bridge, “Get ‘Shy so we can get going! We don’t want the Crusaders getting too far ahead!”

That got Fluttershy’s attention, the mare’s ears perked up. “C-Crusaders? What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” she said anxiously.

“Oh, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo went to go say ‘hi!’ to the aliens,” Pinkie said nonchalantly as if it were some minor detail.

Fluttershy did a double-take at her pink friend, her eyes going wide and her irises shrinking to the size of pinpricks, “W-w-w-what!?” she said at a an almost normal volume. “T-the girls are…the girls went into the Everfree Forest?” 

“Most likely,” responded Twilight, “We have to go after them now, Fluttershy.”

The pegasus gulped loudly, “I…just give me a moment,” said Fluttershy as she disappeared into her house. “Angel Bunny, look after the house while I’m away! Um…if that’s okay with you.” 

Cocking her eyebrow, Twilight was about to go in after her when Fluttershy reappeared at the door. She had disposed of her robe, and her mane was slightly tamer. “Okay, l-lets go,” she mumbled as she pushed past her friends.

“C’mon Fluttershy! Let’s go find the fillies! …and aliens!” Rainbow said enthusiastically while the four mares joined the other ponies on the far side of the bridge.

“Alright Princess, have you discovered anything new?” Twilight asked as she trotted up to Luna.

The Night Princess turned to the unicorn and gave a single firm nod. “Indeed, I believeth that thou are correct in your assumption, fair Applejack,” she glanced at the farmpony, “Amidst all the life in the forest, I could sense three fillies. The spell isn’t refined enough to pinpoint their exact location, but I know that they are in there, besides,” she gestured towards the path with a single capped hoof, “Look.”

Everypony did; undoubtedly, there on the dirt were a series of hoofprints. They were small, and definitely belonged to young ponies. They were still fresh tracks, and the way they were arranged suggested that they were moving in a single file.

Applejack rose to her full height, her face hard, “What’d I tell ya’ll?” she glanced to all of her friends, “Mah sister is out there and if there are…” her face contorted, “…aliens, then they may be in danger!”

Luna nodded in agreement, “Even I know not what awaits us at the impact site, but I have no doubt that we must make haste!” said the Princess. She started down the path at a noiseless gallop. The rest of the mares were surprised just at how quickly she accelerated. The moon Princess shot a look over her shoulder, “Come!”

So they did; the six friends followed their Princess into the darkness of the Everfree as both excitement and fear filled the air.

Amidst it all, Applejack took a deep breath of anxiety as a lump formed in the pit of her gut.

Please be safe, please be safe…

~~

Holding his pistol aloft , the Wanderer checked his corners as he cautiously moved forward through an open doorway. His keen eyes scanned every inch of the room he was in: every nook, every crevice, and every potential place for one of those abominations to be hiding.

Knowing that he was in a poorly-lit labyrinth with horrible twisted ex-humans lurking in the darkness did not make the Wanderer feel any better. He scolded himself for letting that previous one getting the jump on him last time; he couldn’t afford to make stupid mistakes like that. Thankfully, he saw no trace of that other monster he had encountered in the cell blocks; either it was trapped in there, or if he was lucky, it was all a figment of an overactive imagination.

He found himself in what appeared to be some sort of storage room. The walls were lined with empty shelves, their contents messily piled up in one corner of the room along with a table and a couple of chairs. A shattered observation window was set into one of the bulkheads next to a closed door. 

A quiet beep from his Pip-Boy drew him away from his observations. Glancing down at the wrist-mounted computer, he felt a rising sense of satisfaction when he noted that the cartoonish figure of the human on they display was once again whole and smiling. It was a hint of good news, knowing that his cybernetics and mutations did their job.

Lowering his Pip-Boy, he looked around. There was nothing in this room he could use, so he quickly moved on. The Wanderer assumed that the door was inoperable, so instead the he vaulted through the gap where the window used to be. He landed on his feet noiselessly on the other side to find another unadorned corridor.

Quickly and quietly the Wanderer walked down the hall, throwing an occasional glance over his shoulder to see if anything was trying to creep up behind him. He was watchful for any air ducts set into the ceiling or walls, in case an abomination tried to get the jump on him again. Finding none, he pressed on before rounding the corner into another high ceilinged chamber. It was surprisingly well lit; moonlight streaked in through a cracked skylight. The room was cluttered with piles of toppled crates, and about halfway across the room a low wall running horizontally center blocked the opposite end from view. A damaged staircase running parallel with the divider stood before him, an archway near its base. He couldn’t make out much on the upper level, with the exceptions of a few crates lying about, some of them teetering precariously over the edge, the railing completely absent.

The Wanderer’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the room. He was standing out in the open, the crates, the high ground… Under any other circumstances, this looked like an ideal place for an ambush.

Not knowing if the monsters were smart enough to utilize it, he remained cautious anyway as he crept forward. He trained his sights on the upper level, diligently peeking behind every crate as he passed them. Nothing popped out to attack him, thankfully. So far so good.

The Wanderer tensed up when he heard a familiar shriek echoing throughout the ship. Taking in a deep breath, the man bit his lip and listened closely. He felt a pang of anxiety when the monster shrieked again.

It was closer.

Holding his pistol in his right hand and his knife in his left, the Wanderer’s sight fervently darted between each entrance, as well as the air ducts. He noticed two, one on each side of the room.

His stance went rigid when he heard another shriek, followed by something heavy crashing to the floor. He could hear them, he could hear them crawling in the walls.  

He bit his lip as he braced himself, prepared for the inevitable fight.

Everything went silent, the tension in the air about to burst. A stray bead of sweat made its way down his face.

“Contacts rear!” his AI warned him, signaling the start of the fight. Whipping around, sure enough, he caught sight of no less than four of the abominations rushing in from the same door that the Wanderer came in through. Their skin was deathly pale under the moonlight, their black eyes shiny, devoid of any emotion as they charged at the man, and their spindly white claws reaching out for him.

His Novasurge fired four times, three of the energy bolts found their marks in the abominations’ skulls, while one shot was off, hitting the final monster in the shoulder. It hissed in pain while the other three toppled over dead. It quickly closed the distance between itself and the human, but the Wanderer was prepared. 

Ducking beneath the monster’s claws, the Star Paladin drove his elbow into the abomination’s ribs, sending it off balance. Its momentum carried it past the human, exposing its back. Without hesitation, the Wanderer swung his left arm, wielding a knife, and slashed at the vulnerable ex-human. The knife in particular was carved out of a deathclaw’s…claws , and reinforced with saturnite alloy.

The end result was a very light , very durable blade that could cut through just about anything with ease.

The knife effortlessly cut through the abomination, shredding and slashing muscle and bone. The monster howled in pain, the cry made the Wanderer cringe. Its shrieks were cut off moments later as he attacked again, this time the swipe directed at the monster’s neck.

It collapsed like a puppet that had its strings cut. It convulsed on the spot, a sickening gurgle emanating from its ruined neck. It was still moments later as sticky black ichor began pooling around its fallen form.

The entire clash lasted about five seconds.

But the Wanderer knew it was far from over. Even now, he could hear them. An unhealthy hiss echoed through the chamber as another monster rushed in through the open doorway, followed by another, and another. The Wanderer picked them off as they came, but there were far too many. As he centered his sights on the skull of another monster, the star paladin cursed when the pistol beeped, indicating that he had depleted its ammunition. He backed away as he ejected a spent cell from his weapon, and furiously pumped in a new one.

Two more abominations fell to his pistol, while three more appeared to replace them, stepping over the fallen corpses. They similarly made a mad dash for Wanderer. He successfully took down two, but the third one reached him. He braced himself as the monster pounced, its claws outstretched. At the last second, the Wanderer threw his body forward, catching the abomination mid-leap. The sudden move took the thing by surprise, and it was thrown off balance. Before it could recover, the Wanderer seized it by the throat, threw it to the ground, and stabbed it in the neck.

“Contacts rear!” his AI informed him as he withdrew his blade. Something grappled him from behind. He grunted in pain as a pair of strong, pale arms constricted around his neck, and his hands scrambled for the offending appendages as the abominations further encroached on him. He managed to pry himself free and violently flung the personal space invader into the masses.

Turning around, and taking deep breaths, the Wanderer swore when he saw several more monsters pour in through the door leading to the other half of the chamber, while even more abominations streamed in from the way he came.

Just how many of these things survived…? The Wanderer thought. 

What I’d do for a minigun… he thought bitterly as the abominations began to form a semi-circle around him while he fired into the rapidly encroaching horde. When he emptied his pistol once more, he snatched a grenade from his belt as he backed away from the approaching monsters and searched for a route of escape, his heart racing. He cursed when he found his back to the wall. Wherever he looked, all he saw was the snarling faces of the abominations, but beyond them were…

The stairs…

The circle around him grew tighter as he made his decision, his eyes darting between the grenade and his potential escape route. When one of the abominations made to pounce on him, he charged at their ranks, rushing at where the circle looked the weakest. The monster’s in his path were sent sprawling to the ground as he primed the explosive, dropping it behind him while making a dash for the stairs .  He heard the satisfying sound of the explosion behind him as he wheeled around the horde of abominations, staying near the wall. When he was about halfway, he hit another snag. A lump of dread formed in his stomach when he heard something over the incessant hissing and shrieking of the monsters. Something was moving in the vents. He didn’t even get time to speculate as the grates burst off their mounts and clattered to the ground with a metallic ping, followed by even more abominations coming in. One of them flopped through the opening directly in his path, and rose to its feet in an eerie slithering motion.

How did they fit in there…? thought the Wanderer as he lashed out with his free hand, decking the monster in the face as he passed it. 

He withdrew his pistol once more midstride, and pumped in a new energy cell. He took a few pot shots at the once more encroaching abominations as he rapidly approached his goal. Even though they had to climb over heaps of their own dead, no matter how hard he fought there were always several more abominations to replace the ones that he had slain.

Once again, some of the monsters managed to get behind him, their arms restraining his own behind his back as several more of the things moved in to start beating at the currently helpless target. They pounded and scratched, tearing at his armor. Some of them drew blood; each individual drop seemingly throwing them into a more aggressive frenzy. The Wanderer struggled against his attackers as he felt their claws tearing into his flesh. 

He was being overwhelmed.

“I don’t want you to die best friend, this will help!” his AI chimed in. A moment later, he felt a little prick as his suit’s Auto Doc systems injected a stimpak. He felt a sudden rush of energy throughout his body. With a feral yell, he shook off his attackers, yanking his arms free and slashing about with his knife in wild arcs. The monsters sounded surprised, if they were even capable of surprise. He fought on with renewed vigor while he continued to beat them back. His weapon and armor were splattered with his enemies’ dark blood. 

A triumphant grin came onto the human’s face as he reached the stairs. They groaned under his weight while he rapidly ascended them, but then that gave him an idea. 

As the monsters started to chase him upward, he casually dropped a primed plasma grenade on the stairway. He dove behind a nearby crate as the explosive detonated, briefly bathing the chamber in a green glow. Already weakened from the crash, the powerful blast pushed its durability past its limits, and the metallic stairs broke away from the landing with a loud screech, taking several of the mutated monsters with it.

The Wanderer grinned, a feeling of relief washing through him.

However, his elation was short lived as an abomination’s head popped over the edge of the opposite side of the landing, shrieking loudly at him. Its claws made a horrible scratching sound as the scraped against the floor, leaving white streaks. He raised his pistol and fired, the green bolt of energy instantly liquefied the abomination, leaving a nasty stain on the edge of the floor.

The Wanderer swallowed when he heard…troubling noises coming from below. Tentatively, he peered over the edge.

His heart skipped a beat at what he saw.

Abominations, dozens of them swarmed below, shrieking, hissing. A quick peek over the other edge revealed a very similar sight as they scrambled over the broken remains of the staircase.  Both groups were doing something that made a lump of dread form in the pit of his stomach.

They were climbing. 

He took in a deep breath to calm himself; he had to keep his head on straight. There were nearly a hundred abominations after him. All he had was a sidearm, a knife, a few grenades, and damaged power armor. There were just too many of them. 

He had to get out of there. He needed to retreat.

He quickly scanned his surroundings as the monsters drew steadily closer. One side of the room was a dead end, but the other had a doorway set into it with a hallway beyond. Making up his mind, he sprinted towards what he hoped was a way out as the first of the abominations scaled the wall.

The Wanderer was utterly silent as he passed empty room after empty room. None of them yielded any results. He felt a gnawing sense of worry. If he couldn’t find a way to lose his pursuers, or at least slow them down, he would be overwhelmed for certain. 

He could hear the abominations pursuing him, their shrieks echoing through the corridor. 

It was then that he noticed a light in the distance. He felt a rising sense of hope as it drew nearer, was it a way outside, a tear in the hull? As he drew nearer, his face fell when he realized that it was merely a doorway with a light on above it.

Wait… he thought. Does that door still have power? He picked up the pace, this could work! He skidded to a halt as he passed through it, and fervently examined the door. He winced when he caught a glimpse of the abominations running down the corridor, but grinned when he noticed the intact force-field generator set into the archway.

Now where is the…ah! He felt elated as he eyed the activation panel next to the door. Quickly, he put his hand too it.

Nothing happened. Frowning, he pressed it again; same result. He felt his heart drop into his stomach as the abominations rapidly closed in on him.

“God dammit!” the Wanderer hissed. Hoping to buy himself more time, he shot at the monsters’ legs. It worked as the one in the lead stumbled, and it tripped up its followers.

With a grunt, he tore the panel from the wall. Fortunately, the electrical components within were intact. Wordlessly, he pulled a few wires, made a few connections, and he reached into the depths of the activation mechanism…

“They’re coming…” his AI warned him.

“I know!” he hissed, his heart pounding, “Just a few…more…got it!” Just as the first monster passed the threshold, the force-field hummed to life. The Wanderer easily dispatched the only one to make it through while the remainder stared at him through the force-field with their shiny black eyes, their faces contorted into snarls as they pounded on the barrier with their clawed hands.

The Wanderer let a long, drawn out sigh of relief pass through his mouth. Although he realized they would eventually find a way around, the barrier would hold.

He was safe…for now.

~~

“ What is it?” Sweetie Belle thought aloud.

“Ah have no idea…” replied Apple Bloom.

The crusaders all stood on the edge of a ring of flattened trees, all gawking at the object in the midst of all the destruction. They really hadn’t expected this, it was like nothing they had even seen or heard of before. One end partially buried into the ground looked like a large disk-shaped object. It wasn’t perfectly circular; large pieces of it looked like they had broken off. Torn metal columns protruding from the bottom of it indicated that this disk was also once part of a larger object as well.

It was made of metal. The sections in which the plating wasn’t warped or deformed by heat shone in the moonlight. Some parts of it were covered in flickering lights, whereas other places were completely dark. On top of the mystery object, the fillies could see flames belching out from places in which the outer shell was torn open, the smoke from the fire was what was coiling towards the sky. 

“It looks scary but at the same time…it looks totally awesome,” remarked Scootaloo, drawing a glance from both of her friends, “What? It is!” 

It was big; at its highest point, the part that was jutting into the air was taller than any building in Ponyville, and it was several hundred feet long.

“Let’s get closer, gals!” exclaimed Scootaloo. She began excitedly trotting towards the object, jumping over fallen trees the whole way.

“Wait up Scoots!” yelled Sweetie as she followed suit.

Apple Bloom was the only filly that hadn’t moved yet. The object was giving her a bad feeling. The more she stared, the more hesitant she was getting, which was unlike her. 

Scootaloo seemed to notice, stopping atop the trunk of a flattened tree and looking back at her, “C’mon Apple Bloom!”

Her friend’s voice snapped her out of her trance, “I’m coming, I’m coming!” she said as she took the lantern she dropped earlier into her mouth, and carefully tucked it into her saddlebags. It was unneeded thanks to the moonlight.

The Crusaders pressed on. It was awkward finding footing due to all of the trees that were toppled, so they settled with leaping from trunk to trunk. The entire time, the moon shone down on them. It was pretty warm around the crashed object, a not entirely unwelcome change due to how chilly it was.

“Wait for me!” shouted Sweetie, who was rapidly falling behind. From behind, Apple Bloom heard something snap followed by a sharp cry from her friend. Both she and Scootaloo rapidly spun to face her to find that she had lost her balance and had driven her face into the sooty ground.

“Sweetie Belle!” yelled Apple Bloom as she rushed to her friend’s side. Much to her relief, Sweetie was unharmed, but her white fur and crusader cloak were caked with ash.

“I’m fine! I’m okay!” 

“Ya sure?” asked Apple Bloom as she helped the filly to her feet.

“I’m alrig-al-ah-ah-AAACHOOO!” said Sweetie Belle, her statement interrupted with a sneeze. 

“Come on slow pokes!” Scootaloo shouted, “If you take any longer we’ll be here all night!”

“We’re coming! Keep your saddle on Scoots!” replied Apple Bloom.

The Crusaders regrouped and all shared a collective gaze at the large metal object. Now that they were closer, they could make out more of the finer details. Lining the sides, they could see several transparent square objects that looked like windows, some of which were cracked, others of which were shattered. In the sections where the plating was missing or torn away, the fillies noticed that there were even more complex layers beneath. It looked even bigger up close; the fillies had to strain their necks to stare directly at the top. The fillies’ eyes remained fixated on the wreckage as they got closer and closer.

When the mystery object was close enough to touch, they stop.

The trio shared a moment of silence as they stood side-by-side. Slowly, Scootaloo extended her hoof.

The other two noticed, “Careful!” said Sweetie, “We don’t know what it is!”

“Relax, okay?” said Scootaloo with a roll of her eyes. The other two held their breaths as Scootaloo’s hoof drew closer and closer. They gritted their teeth when it was within inches and…

Nothing.

The orange filly’s hoof was firmly against the side of the thing, and they weren’t vaporized, incinerated, blown up, or any of the other unpleasant scenarios that were running through their heads at the moment.

Scootaloo glanced at her friends with a smug look on her face. “See? It’s all right.” She lightly rapped her hoof on the surface of the thing several times, the echoing note ringing throughout the night. All three fillies’ eyes widened at the sound.  The other two followed Scootaloo’s example, each of experimentally whacking the hull.

“You think something is inside there?” asked Scootaloo.

“Ooh!” said Sweetie Belle, “What do you think could be in there?”

“No idea! But we’re going to find out!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “Maybe it’s aliens! That would be so cool!” she backed away from the wreckage and craned her neck upward, her eyes scanning the object’s surface, “You gals see any ways to get inside?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both joined Scootaloo in her search for an entrance. 

“Nope, ah don’t,” said Apple Bloom. She was pondering what her friend had said. The more she saw of this thing, the more plausible the thought of aliens was. This thing was definitely not natural, and it was definitely not built by ponies.

“Well, we’re not going to find a way in just sitting here!” said Scootaloo, as her wings buzzed excitedly, “C’mon! Let’s get looking!”

Sweetie Belle eagerly agreed, while Apple Bloom’s gaze was fixated at the mystery before her for a moment longer. It seemed to take a lot of effort to drag her gaze away from it before she cantered after her friends.

Seizing the opportunity to speak her worries aloud, “Say Scoots,” she said she as caught up to her friend.

The filly met her gaze, “Yeah?”

“Um…you know how you were thinkin’ that this here object is um…alien…” the word came out awkwardly as she shifted about, “How do we know that they’re nice aliens?”

Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin, her brow furrowed in thought, “Huh, I haven’t thought about that,” she said as she stopped.

“You haven’t?” said Apple Bloom with a hint of incredulity, her ears falling flat against her head.

“Well, uh…” said Scootaloo. 

“Besides,” Apple Bloom pointed upward, “Ah can clearly see that somethin’ is burning in there, and ah doubt that this thing is…um what’s the word…stable, after a crash like that.”

The pegasus craned her neck, “What are you getting at?”

“Somethin’ is telling me that this is a right bad idea,” Apple Bloom whispered, leaning in close to her friend.

Scootaloo shook her head and giggled, “Going soft on me eh? We’re crusaders! Don’t you want to earn your cutie mark?”

Mentioning the name of her heart’s greatest desire overwrote any better judgment the filly had at the moment. She stomped once, “Of course ah do!” said Apple Bloom, a determined look on her face.

Scootaloo smiled, “That’s what I thought! Cutie Mark Crusaders Alien Finders are a go!” she said excitedly and she and Apple Bloom high-hoofed.

“Girls! Over here!” shouted Sweetie Belle. 

“Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom shouted back, “You find somethin’?”

The filly beamed in response, “Yes, I think I see a way in!”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exchanged a quick glance before rushing over to join their friend. “Where? Where?” said Scootaloo. Sweetie pointed with her hoof, and the other ponies directed their eyes towards it. Sure enough, hidden in a shadow cast by the object’s bulk was a sizable tear in the hull, partially hidden behind a heap of debris. The three trotted up to the opening.

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin, “Hm…this stuff looks pretty loose. I reckon we could move it.”

Scootaloo bounced on her hooves, “Well then, let’s get to it!” she eagerly starting moving the rubble with her mouth. She glanced back at her friends, “Wbut ah roo ‘aiting fer?” she said, her voice muffled by the scrap metal.

“Oh right,” said Sweetie Belle as the she and Apple Bloom went to work.

It took several minutes, but in the end their efforts were successful. The junk was piled off to the side, leaving a gaping hole in the mystery object before them. It was more than large enough to accommodate a full-sized pony.

They walked up to the wide hole and peered inside. Though it was very dark, they could make out that it was quite a mess in there.

“Good thing we brought a lantern…” Scootaloo glanced at Apple Bloom, “You didn’t lose the lantern, did you?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, ah didn’t lose it!” said Apple Bloom, pulling the firefly lantern out of her saddlebag. She gave it a good shake to rouse the insects inside. She made a muffled sound of triumph through the light-source in her mouth as the disturbed fireflies shone with light.

Cautiously, Apple Bloom poked her head into the entrance, illuminating the dark interior with her lantern. What greeted her was a hallway with cold, metal walls, made of a lighter-colored material than the exterior. Both the walls and the ceiling were rounded. What appeared to be pipes were running the length of the ceiling, some of which were cracked. The floor was missing tiles in several places, exposing the darker material beneath, but it was largely obscured by what looked like metal crates littering the ground. Her lantern’s light didn’t extend far enough to reach the ends of the hallway in either direction. Listening closely, Apple Bloom thought she could hear a distant buzzing sound.

“See anything interesting?” said a voice over her shoulder. Apple Bloom heard a quiet clip-clop as her friends trotted to her side.

“What a mess,” Sweetie Belle thought out loud, “My big sister would have a fit if she were here right now.”

“I bet she wo-…woah!” said Scootaloo, as she stepped on a lose piece of debris that gave way under her hoof. She lost her balance fell to her belly was an audible thud, “Ouch! That scared…I mean…mildly surprised me!” she thumped her chest with her hoof.

The other two fillies giggled as the third scrambled to her feet. Apple Bloom glanced down the hallway. First to the right, then to the left, and then…

A faint sound echoed off in the distance.

Wait what was that?

Apple Bloom’s gaze shot towards the noise. A brief shudder ran through her small frame; she could have sworn that she just saw something move. Her irises shrunk down to the size of walnuts and a shiver went down her spine. She focused on that one spot…but the shadows refused to reveal anything.

“Apple Bloom?” said Sweetie, interrupting her train of thought.

“Shh!” Apple Bloom hissed though the lantern.

“Wha…-?”

She spat out the lantern, “I thought I heard somethin’!” Apple Bloom whispered. The three fillies shared a moment of silence as they perked their ears up. Her stare remained fixated into the darkness, and still, nothing else happened.

“Oh please, it’s just your imagination, Apple Bloom,” muttered Scootaloo, rolling her eyes.

“But I…”

“I don’t see or hear anything either, Apple Bloom,” said Sweetie Belle
.
“It isn’t like you to be so skittish, Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo, “Are you sure you’re okay?” she put a hoof on her shoulder.

Her ears drooped, “Ah don’t know why…but I have that feeling that we’re bein’ watched. You know what ah mean?” said Apple Bloom.  

Scootaloo sighed, tapping her head with her hoof, “I think it’s just you.”

Apple Bloom shrugged and lowered her head, “Ah don’t know…maybe.”

“Don’t you want to find those aliens?” said Scootaloo, as she reassuringly patted her friend on the back.

Apple Bloom smiled, “Ah sure do,” with that, she scooped the lantern back up in her mouth and bounced excitedly on her hooves. The feeling was contagious, and soon the other fillies were mimicking her.

“Let’s get moving!” said Scootaloo. She beckoned Apple Bloom to take the lead, her carrying the lantern and all. The other crusaders followed in her hoofsteps.

“This is so exciting!” said Sweetie Belle.

As the moonlight disappeared behind them Apple Bloom shot one more look over her shoulder. Seeing nothing, the filly pressed on in better spirits.

~~

Time to move.

The Lone Wanderer frowned as he eyed the horde of abominations being held at bay by the force-field. Who knew how long it would last? The man gave the horde of monsters a one-fingered salute as he turned on his heel and strode away. Sure it was petty, but it was satisfying. 

The Wanderer found himself on the top level of a multi-tiered chamber. He licked his dry lips as he surveyed the room below. He really wished he had something to drink.

The majority of the chamber below was occupied by a hulking piece of broken machinery. Several large pistons were locked in place while a clear liquid leaked out of fractures in large tanks.  It made a barely audible hissing sound as it continued to flow; he wasn’t in a hurry to identify whatever fluid that was. A pungent odor filled the dry air.

The only door on his level led to a stairwell that predictably led to the lower tiers. He picked a floor at random. He stopped as soon as he got off the stairs and scanned the room. He saw multiple doors, each leading off into the darkness. One of them had a light on over it. Listening closely, he could hear the satisfying hum of the barrier generator upstairs.

He chose the lit door, and it was revealed to have another featureless hallway beyond it. Worth a try, I suppose… he thought as he stepped through it. 

The room the corridor led into was another multi-story chamber. It was circular; a couple of damaged stairways hugged the walls of the lower level, leading up to his walkway. A few of the sparking cables hung through a gap torn in the ceiling, dangling precariously.

Multiple passageways branched off of this chamber; it appeared to be some sort of hub area. His pistol held aloft, he took a step forward.

He heard something.

He swore under his breath, they couldn’t have bypassed the barrier already! Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement in one of the darkened passages, followed by a muffled thump. 

Wait, what was that?

His ears perked up, something was approaching. He immediately ducked into the darkest corner of the chamber as he recognized what were unmistakably footsteps. 

But something was wrong. 

They made an audible clop sound, as if the unseen arrival was wearing boots or some other kind of footwear. It was a stark contrast to the noise the bare feet of the abominations made, which was more of a quiet plop. Whatever the footsteps belonged to, they were clearly lightweight. The footsteps lacked the rhythm a biped would make; it sounded more like…four? Eight? Now, the sound was bleeding together too much for him to estimate any discernible amount of feet.

He cautiously poked his head around the corner, determined to catch a glimpse of this new interloper. 

“Incoming contacts,” informed the AI.

“No kidding…” the Wanderer grumbled.

His eyes narrowed when he noticed a faint light appear down one of the corridors, gradually glowing brighter. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was flickering, as if it was a candle. His hand tightened on his weapon as the light grew brighter and brighter.

They stepped into view. The Wanderer’s mouth dropped. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, unsure if he was hallucinating or not.

Upon reopening them, they were still there.

Standing no more than twenty feet away from him were a trio of small, four-legged creatures. The closest parallel he could compare them to were ponies, like in the pictures in old pre-war textbooks he had seen, or the countless advertisements for Giddyup Buttercups that were all over the DC ruins. They were small, less than a meter tall, maybe as high as his knee. 

They didn’t quite match the description he had in mind. Their muzzles were shorter, and their heads larger. Also, their color schemes were…vibrant. Two of them had purple hair atop their heads! He could have sworn he could see what looked like a small horn protruding from the forehead of the pony in the back, but that would just be silly, unicorns belong in fantasy!

The one in the lead was carrying some sort of lantern in its mouth. It looked like an old-fashioned oil lamp, yet that wasn’t a flame that was burning inside of it. From his position, he couldn’t tell what was. All three of them were wearing matching capes, made out of some sort of red fabric with a blue and gold crest of sorts stitched into the sides, and the lead…pony was wearing a large pink bow atop its head. 

What the hell am I looking at?

Animals don’t put accessories like that on, or carry lanterns…were they some sort of mutant pony monster that the aliens spawned? They did seem to have a strange obsession with Giddyup Buttercup, to the extent of having an entire section of the cargo bay filled with them.

He remained perfectly still as he silently watched them. He cocked an eyebrow as the trio gathered in a tight circle. 

The bow-wearing pony sat down its lantern. The Wanderer held his breath, curious as to what was going to happen. One of the creatures started making a strange series of sounds. Another one made a distinctly different sound back.

Something abruptly dawned on the Wanderer. Wait a minute… he thought, That’s… they’re speaking a language!

He couldn’t understand a word, but it sounded like the new arrivals were having a conversation. The ponies’ voices were high-pitched, they sounded like children. They looked childlike. He couldn’t deny it, but he found that those little ponies were…cute, even adorable.  Those were two adjectives that rarely ever passed through his mind.

These new observations sent both worry and excitement down his spine. It was quickly becoming clear that these creatures were indigenous life, and they were here to investigate the crash. And if they are indigenous, that means they got in here somehow, and I have an escape route!

His thoughts trailed off when the bow-wearing pony turned its head towards his general direction. His heart seemed to stop when those large gold eyes strayed over his position and stayed there. Even as far away as he was, he could clearly tell just how…expressive they were. 

It turned away from him and said something in…pony… to its companions. Both of them said something back. The ponies’ little…conversation… grew louder. The pony with the bow was…arguing… with the purple-haired, orange-coated one. Emotions played across their saccharine features, their mouths animated and flowing with their alien language.

The group seemed to come to a consensus as the bow-wearing pony retrieved its lantern as the group trotted over to one of the staircases. The human hid behind a crate resting on the metal walkway as he heard the rapid pitter-patter of hooves on metal drew closer. Soon after, the noise gradually faded away.

Although the human knew that he could ignore them and attempt to find out how the pony-creatures entered the ship, he decided against it.  Both curiosity and concern for the safety of those little creatures overrode his desire to get as far away from this place as possible.

They were clearly sapient, and foolishly wandering into a monster infested wreck. Making up his mind, the star paladin set off after them. He would keep himself hidden, he would observe, and he would assess. Looks could be deceiving. As cute as the ponies appeared, the Wanderer would never forget that one incident with the rad bunnies.

Seriously, those things were nasty. 

~~~

“I’m tellin’ ya’ll, there’s something in here with us!” said Apple Bloom, her eyes narrowed at her pegasus friend.

“I think you’re just jumpy!” retorted Scootaloo, the light from the lantern giving her an eerie look. 

Their trek into the mysterious wreckage had been unnerving. At first, all three of them were excited by the prospect of what amazing things they could find in there. Their hopes of finding an alien or perhaps their Cutie Marks was quickly giving way to fear.

It was chilly in the wreckage. Minutes seemed to stretch into hours as they walked down darkened hallway. Empty corridors and shadows were all that they encountered, and Apple Bloom was certain that she saw something lurking in the darkness. The fact that her Apple Sense was going off the entire time didn’t help either.

The Apple Sense, though not nearly as potent as the fabled Pinkie Sense, was useful for identifying when thieving varmints were attempting to make off Sweet Apple Acres’ prized crop. It was downright near impossible to sneak up on a member of the Apple family. It manifested as a subtle chill down her spine; the very same chill that she was feeling right now. The young earth pony shot a glance down the corridor they just exited. Something was there, she was certain of it. She thought she could see a slightly darker shadow against the blackness.

The fillies explored for several more minutes, finding nothing but darkness and whispers. Their hearts raced in their little chests as their lantern illuminated abandoned chamber after abandoned chamber. 

Apple Bloom was very frightened. Something was following them, she was absolutely positive. She thought she caught a glimpse of it several times, but neither of her friends saw the figure that was stalking them. Three recurring features made her certain that it wasn’t part of her imagination.

One, it was tall.

Two, it had a dark body.

Three, its face was pale.  

No matter where the fillies walked, when Apple Bloom turned around she could see it. It was watching them. Always watching…

“Darn it…we’ve been here before…” Scootaloo murmured as they stepped into another room. All three fillies were quivering with fright. 

“Girls…I don’t…I don’t think we should be in here…” said Sweetie, “Let’s go home, please…”

Scootaloo gritted her teeth, trying to put on a tough face, “D-don’t you want to get your cutie mark?” her false enthusiasm wasn’t enough to mask her nervousness. “I’m not friends with a couple of wimps, am I?” her voice fell, “Oh I wish Rainbow Dash was here…”

Sweetie Belle squeaked, “I’m scared…”

Apple Bloom through a glance over her shoulder. On the walkway above them, there it was again.

She squeaked with fright, clenching her eyes shut. When she reopened them, it was gone. Ah wanna go home… “Girls…” she stammered, “Let’s get out of here…”

The other two fillies nodded in agreement. None of them saw any way in which they would earn their cutie marks  in this place.

“A-alright…” muttered Scootaloo as the crusaders turned around…only to come face to face with two identical passageways.

“Um…girls?” asked Scootaloo, “It’s this way…right?”

~

The bow-wearing pony knew he was there, he was sure of it. 

Frequently, she would turn around, those gold eyes nearly on his position. While he was certain that the creature could sense him, it couldn’t see him. The fact that it didn’t alert its companions made him believe that it was the only one aware of his presence. He had to give the little critter some credit, the Wanderer was well known to be a master of stealth.

So far, the creatures didn’t appear to be a threat of any kind; they definitely weren’t like rad bunnies. In fact, they seemed to be quite terrified; he could see them quivering. They didn’t appear to be following any sort of set goal; they were just choosing corridors at random.

The bow-wearing pony turned to look at him once more. Those eyes were so expressive and…

It made a frightened sound and turned back to its companions. The three creatures had a hushed conversation, he could tell that the orange one was trying to appear brave, but failing. The more he observed them, the more innocent they seemed. Were they children? Mischievous, reckless children overwhelmed with curiosity and poor judgment?

Finally, the trio turned around and disappeared down another passageway. Noiselessly dropping from his perch, he pursued them. His eyes narrowed as they passed through a familiar multi-story room. He recognized the large, broken machine on the lowest tier; it was the place where he escaped the abominations earlier. Shuffling about uncomfortably, he listened intently.

He was suddenly filled with a sense of apprehension.

Over the quiet sound of the ponies’ hoofs and the faint hissing of the broken machinery below, there was no other noise. He couldn’t hear the hum of the force-field, it was offline. The Wanderer heard something heavy land on the walkway above him. He caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. The human bit his lip as he glanced upward. 

They were coming.

On the walkway above, the Wanderer could see dark shapes moving, crawling around on all fours. The catwalk overhead creaked with their movements as the monsters peered over the edge. 

His gaze returned to the ponies. The little fillies continued their retreat, completely oblivious to the danger nearby. Their lantern stood out like a beacon, drawing the monsters like moths to a flame.

Those ponies were dead for certain if he did not intervene.

He readied his pistol and knife, his expression was hard. Although they weren’t human, the Wanderer wasn’t about to sit by and do nothing. 

He was the type to help everyone. Those abominations were going to kill no one.

The Star Paladin was already moving when an ear-splitting shriek echoed throughout the ship.

~~

The Crusaders were breathing rapidly as they made their exodus from the wreckage. All of the excitement of adventure was gone. Now, they just wanted to get out of this awful place. There was a strange scent in the air; it smelled like something was rotting. Up above, they could hear what sounded like murmuring. It made them even more frightened. 

“Girls! Slow down!” said Sweetie as she took up the rear.

Scootaloo shot a glance over her shoulder, “No, you go faster!” she hissed.

Apple Bloom ignored the exchange as she fervently glanced up towards the walkways above. It felt as if somepony had poured ice water down her back. Something’s there…something’s there…

The fillies seized up with fear as a horrible cry echoed throughout the room. Their ears went flat against their little heads and their expressions contorted in pain as the cry pierced their skulls. Their bodies were quivering violently.

“W-what was t-that!?” Scootaloo squeaked.

Apple Bloom looked up. It felt as if a lump of ice formed in the pit of her stomach. She could see movement, lots and lots of movement. Something glittered in the light of her lantern; the earth pony squinted at the object, gasping at what she saw.

It was a pair of eyes, connected to something horrifying.

“G-girls!” said Apple Bloom, “RUN!”

As the fillies bolted, it was as if somepony had bucked a beehive. Overhead, they could hear rapid hoof falls, followed by dark creatures dropping into their midst. The air was filled with the sickening, raspy breathing of whatever it was lurking in the dark. The fillies’ hearts raced, the light over door leading out seemed so far away. They didn’t dare look back.

It was when one of the monsters dropped directly in front of them that they got a better view.

It stood upright on two legs, its hairless body tall, and pale. Its belly was a disgusting paunch, and its organs were visible through the thin layer of skin. Two clawed hands, similar to what Spike had, yet far more horrifying were hanging by its sides, but what was most terrifying were the eyes. Twin pools of glistening, soulless blackness that were staring right at them.

They stared at the abomination, and it stared back. Their bodies went rigid with fear when it shrieked.

“D-don’t just stand there!” stammered Scootaloo.

The monster swiped at them with its claws as the fillies darted between its spread legs. More and more of the creatures dropped into their path, and it quickly became a deadly game of weaving around them, dodging their sharp claws all the while.

For some reason, Apple Bloom could have sworn that she saw flashes of green light out of the corner of her eye, though that was the least of her concerns at the moment.

Apple Bloom felt a rising sense of elation as the exit drew closer. Almost there…

Her heart seemed to stop when she heard somepony scream. “Help!” shrieked Sweetie Belle. The young unicorn had tripped, and the monsters were rapidly closing in.

“THWEETY!” Apple Bloom shouted, her voice muffled by the lantern. 

Apple Bloom froze in horror as the abominations started circling the prone unicorn. The little filly put her forelegs over her head and whimpered.

Then, something strange happened.

There was a series of muffled thumps, each followed by a burst of green light. Vivid, emerald colored projectiles streaked through the air, striking the monsters nearest to the fallen filly directly in their heads. There was a bright flash, and when it faded away, the tall monsters were gone. In their place were a couple of puddles of strange, luminescent goo.

Overcoming the feeling of bewilderment, Apple Bloom rushed over the unicorn and helped her back to her hooves.

“Girls! C’mon! Over here!” shouted Scootaloo. The other fillies turned to find her silhouetted in the exit. To the pegasus’ left, Apple Bloom’s eyes shot open as she noticed a monster, its claws outstretched, rushing at the oblivious filly.

“Scootaloo watch-” before she could finish there was another burst of green light, and the monster was replaced with a similar puddle of goo, “…out?”

Scootaloo turned to the new puddle, her eyes wide with surprise, “What the…?” she nearly spun in place as her friends barreled past her. “Wait for me!”

The three galloped down the corridor as fast as their little legs could carry them. They could hear a cacophony of shouts and screams behind them with random thumps thrown in. What was causing that?

Against her better judgment, Apple Bloom threw a quick glance over her shoulder. What she saw puzzled her. There, standing in the doorway was another mysterious figure. At first glance, it looked similar to the monsters, but the filly could see differences. Although it was too far away to make out any finer details, she could tell that its limbs were less gangly, and its upper torso looked more defined. It was facing away from her, pointing something into the horde of monsters.

Scootaloo seemed to notice as well and skidded to a halt.

“What is that?” she thought aloud, “Is that…an alien?” she stared intently at the silhouetted figure. Her gaze drifted over to the object held in its right…paw? Her eyes widened when she saw it flash with green light several times. Her mind quickly made the connection, “I…think that’s its zapper,” she said breathlessly.

Sweetie Belle tugged on the pegasus’s shoulder, “L-let’s get out of here please.”

The orange filly nodded, “Right.”

They went on like this for some time, the sound of the distant scuffle faded away. Apple Bloom was curious. Was that figure silhouetted in the door the same thing that had been following them earlier? She threw another glance over her shoulder.

It turned out to be a bad idea when she abruptly collided with something hard. While distracted, the young earth pony didn’t notice that there was a stack of crates in her path, the only barrier between her and a sudden drop.

The little filly cried out when gravity abruptly took its hold. She tumbled head over hooves, the world spun as the floor rushed up to meet her.

She landed with an ungraceful crash. Her vision flickered and her friends’ yells were barely audible over a dull ringing in her ears.

Pain shot through her hind legs when something heavy landed on her. The sound of crashing metal overpowered her cry.

Her head was pounding, and she was dizzy. She tried to move, but found that she could not. Her heart was pounding in her chest, “S-scootaloo?” she muttered as she gradually came back to her senses, “Sweetie Belle?”

Apple Bloom blindly groped around in the dark, her hoof coming on contact with a glass object. Much to her dismay, she found that it was shattered, and the fireflies were nowhere to be seen.

It also dawned on her that she was alone.

“Sweetie? Scoots?” said Apple Bloom, “W-where are ya’ll?”  She squirmed around, her legs were pinned under a heavy crate, “T-this ain’t funny! Stop foolin’ around!” she shouted. 

Only silence answered her.

“D-don’t leave me here…p-please…” tears were welling in her eyes, “P-lease…come back…” the tears flowed freely, despair overwhelming her little body. She was at a low point in her life. She was in a scary place, her friends were missing, she still didn’t have a cutie mark, and she trapped.

All alone, in the dark.

She buried her face into her hooves as she continued to cry while sobs racked her frame. Ah wanna go home…wanna go home…

Tap.

Her ears perked up. Something was in the dark with her.

“Sweetie? Scootaloo?” she murmured. She opened her eyes and blindly looked around the darkened room. “Is that you?”

Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw it. She was too scared to scream. There, standing not three feet away from her was a tall figure. Its body was dark, and its face was pale. She couldn’t make out any features on its face. She could see faint glittering where she assumed one of its eyes must have been.

The filly covered her head with her hooves and quivered violently. “D-don’t hurt me!” she squeaked. Applejack! Big Mac! Help me! Oh Celestia ah don’t wanna die…Ah’m so scared…

She braced herself from the inevitable pain she would feel when it tore into her, but nothing came. 

“(Don’t worry, little fella, I won’t hurt you…)” said the stranger. It was in a language she couldn’t understand, but it sounded comforting, and definitely male.

“Huh?”

The shadow shifted and there was the sound of creaking metal. Apple Bloom sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as the weight on her legs suddenly lightened. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Did that…thing just help me?

Apple Bloom struggled to rise, but then she cried out when pain shot down her legs. She tried once more with the same result. Suddenly, there was a faint clicking noise as the world abruptly became brighter. Gasping in surprise, she squinted in the new light before looking around. She took a deep breath and turned towards the stranger, ready to behold the scary, otherworldly features of the alien. 

Her mouth gaped as she took into account the stranger’s appearance. He didn’t look like a monster at all.

Most of the creature’s body was encased in some sort of dark plated armor. It wasn’t too different from what she had seen royal guards wear, although while theirs appeared to be primarily for decoration, this creature’s armor seemed to be designed for maximum protection. It was asymmetrical, probably courtesy of the plates missing, and it had some sort of emblem painted onto the shoulder plate, a cutie mark maybe? A series of pouches and saddlebags lined its midsection, several of them bulging with unknown objects.

But what got Apple Bloom’s attention the most was its (…or was it his? He sounded male…) face, and how…unmonstery… it was. A smaller bump was above his mouth, which she assumed was a nose.  An unkempt, shaggy dark brown mane was atop his head. But the eyes… they were a brilliant green, just like her siblings, not the glossy, black pools she’d expected.

“Are…are ya’ll an alien?” she asked.

The creature merely tilted its head at her words, staring at her inquisitively. Slowly, he extended a…hoof, claw, whatever towards her. Apple Bloom naturally tried to edge away, but the stranger just stopped, just holding his hand out. The alien said something to her, its voice was gentle and soothing.

Apple Bloom whimpered as the stress of the night took its toll on her. Before she knew it, the creature gently scooped her into his arms. For some reason, she didn’t feel inclined to struggle. He hugged her to his armored chest while he gently stroked her mane.

“(I won’t let those things hurt you.)”

Apple Bloom’s despair seemed to wash away as those dexterous digits gently caressed her head. She murmured something incoherent, leaning into his hand. She glanced up at her mysterious benefactor, trying to think of what to say. “Thank you mister,” she managed. She didn’t know why, but for some reason this being made her feel safe, like he was her big brother. A whimper passed through her mouth as the creature continued to stoke her mane.

“(Hush now…it’s alright…)”

~~

This is a rewrite. Original Posted: 3/2/12 and 3/17/12. Rewrite: 11/17/12. Posted: 12/5/12
Edited by Gravity's Rainboom and q97randomguy.
Feel free to comment.
> First Contact
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Everfree was an unwelcoming place at night; many nasty creatures lurked in the dark, stalking anypony foolish enough to wander into their hunting grounds. The weather happened completely on its own, as did the changing of seasons, much to the befuddlement of all. Everypony was advised to stay clear of the wretched place, and many of them complied. In most cases, ponies didn’t even need to be told. The sharp contrast between its feral, gnarled trees and the rolling picturesque plains of the Ponyville countryside and the tall, proud trees of the Whitetail Wood was staggering. Yet even with all of the dark rumors surrounding it, time and time again, some ponies found a reason to go cantering into its trees. 

A column of ponies were trotting down the road at a brisk pace. Luna took the lead, with everypony else trailing behind. The well-maintained road quickly gave way to a much neglected trail which ran through the forest. The fillies’ hoofprints were quickly lost to the muck and the shadows. Luna’s moon was obscured by the thick canopy above, a few stray beams poked through the gaps, illuminating the forest floor below. Other than the idle chatter being exchanged by everypony present, the forest appeared lifeless and unnaturally silent. No bushes rustling, no subtle whisper of the wind blowing through the trees, no frogs croaking, no snarls of any predators lurking out of sight, not even an errant cricket was chirping… nothing.

They had a unanimous agreement; they felt it would be worth checking if the fillies simply opted to take a late night trip to the zebra herbalist, as unlikely as it seemed, before heading for the crash site. It was common knowledge amongst themselves that the young fillies had less than stellar judgement. Zecora was rather amicable towards the crusaders if they remembered correctly, Apple Bloom at least. Better check now rather than fruitlessly combing the dense forest for hours, then finding out after the fact, they decided.

“S-Something… isn’t right…” said Fluttershy, her pink mane swishing about, surveying the scenery as it rolled by, “Even in the Everfree Forest, the nocturnal animals are livelier than this. Oh I hope nothing bad happened to them…”

“I do say that I would agree with you on that, darling,” added Rarity, “Yet the muck is still as hard on the eyes as ever…do you have any idea how hard it is to wash mud out of a coat as white as mine?”

“Quit yer fussin’ Rare,” said Applejack, “We got ourselves some troublemakin’ sisters ta find.”

“Fluttershy is right though,” said Twilight, before Rarity could retort, “We’ve been out here plenty of times, and it’s never this quiet!” she sighed, “Yet I’m still getting that strange sense of foreboding when I’m walking though this place…”

“And that feelin’ that somethin’s a watchin’ you…” added Applejack.

“And you keep seeing something out of the corner of your eye,” said Rainbow.

“Yes, exactly that,” continued Twilight, “It’s almost as if the forest is…hushed. It doesn’t feel right at all.”

“Worry not, my ponies, as long as I am with you, nothing ill shall befall you!” said Luna.

Immediately Rainbow was in her face, much to the shock of her peers, “Are you saying that we can’t handle ourselves?”

Twilight couldn’t suppress a grimace. Immediately she darted forward and shoved her hoof into Rainbow’s mouth, shooting a sheepish grin at the Night Princess, “What she means to say is: ‘Although we can handle ourselves, we don’t mind the reassurance,’” she shot Rainbow a glare, “Right Rainbow?”

Twilight withdrew the hoof from Rainbow’s mouth, the cyan mare nervously laughed, “Er…yeah. What she said.”

Luna merely giggled.

“Oooh! Ooh! watch out for the Poison Joke!” exclaimed Pinkie, fervently hopping and pointing at a patch of the familiar blue flowers…which were at least fifteen feet off of the path. Everypony stopped and turned their heads towards the troublemaking flora, well out of the way. Grimaces came across their faces when a brief recollection of what happened the last time they blundered through one of those patches. 

Rainbow suppressed a laugh, “Good to know.”

It took Twilight a moment to realize that Luna was shooting her a curious look, a single brow raised. Twilight rubbed her head with her hoof, “Er…it’s a long story.”

Apparently satisfied with that answer, the Princess turned away and continued down the trail.

“So, when we find these aliens, what do you think they are going to be like?” said Rainbow, trotting along with a spring in her step,  her expression thoughtful, “Wonder if they have wings…Think that they are fast flyers?” she let the question hang, looking to her companions for an answer. When nopony replied, she shrugged with derision, “Ah, who am I kidding, of course not. Nopony is faster than me!”

“I hope they like parties!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, as she, unsurprisingly, hopped along, “Imagine! I’ve never thrown a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for an alien before and, come to think of it, I’ve never thrown a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party either!” an excited gasp, “I’ll be the first pony to have thrown a ‘Welcome to Equis’ party EVER!” she was giddy with excitement, “Do you girls wonder what planet they’re from? Marecury? Saddleurn? Urplot? Oh I don’t know what I should write on the banner!”

“Really Pinkie Pie?” said Rainbow, “We’re gonna meet real live aliens and the only thing you can think about is the party?”

“Butthepartyisthemostimportantpart!” spluttered Pinkie.

“I wonder what level of technology they have…” thought Twilight out loud, her keen mind alight with possibilities, “This sort of occurrence is unprecedented! Imagine the things we could learn!” she said excitedly. She always loved watching the sky at night, and always wondered what it would be like to travel through space as if it were a vast ocean, visit distant stars, and explore strange new worlds.

“You would think about that, wouldn’t you Twilight?” said Rainbow, throwing the mare a smirk, before tapping her own chin with her hoof, “Hm…you know what? I wonder if they have zappers…”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up though,” interrupted Twilight, “Even if we do see…actual aliens, I have a feeling that their biology is completely incompatible with our planet’s biosphere.”

Everypony exchanged perplexed looks, “What is that supposed to mean?” said Rainbow.

Twilight sighed, “That means that their bodies aren’t adapted to survive on our planet; our environment could very well be hostile to them. The odds of a species coming from a planet with a completely identical atmosphere…temperature, gravity, etcetera, are completely astronomical.”

More stares.

Twilight stomped irritably, “It means that there probably won’t be…” she swallowed, “Live aliens!”

Her friends took a moment to let that last statement sink in. “Oh, those poor dears…” whimpered Fluttershy, her head hung low in sadness, “That sounds simply awful.”

“I’ll say,” said Applejack, “’sides, that crash was mighty strong. I don’t think nopony could survive somethin’ like that. I saw how it tore the top of the mountain clean off.”

Pinkie Pie seemed to be visibly deflating at the fact that she might not be throwing a party for aliens anytime soon, while Rainbow simply sulked.

“Oh don’t be such a killjoy,” Rainbow announced, “If anything, I’d bet that they have…er…” she tapped her head with her hoof, “Env…enviro….environmental suits! That’s the word! To survive on our planet!”

Pinkie Pie instantly perked back up, “Of course! Space ponies have gotta be in space with their spacesuits! How could I forget? Oh I feel like such a silly filly! Ponies from space! Space space space…ohhhh that’s such a fun thing to say! Space…parties…in space!” she started rambling on about space and her plans for a party at an increasingly rapid tempo, much to the chagrin of her friends.

“Oh don’t rely too much on the old sci-fi clichés, girls,” said Twilight, “One thing that always annoyed me about those stories is how the aliens always look like…well, ponies. You think that writers could be a little more creative.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Rainbow.

“Well, if they were adapted to survive in a completely different environment, they would have a drastically different physiology then ours,” continued Twilight, “I mean, in Captain Starlight, issues number 3, 6, 11, 18…” she listed off a impressive number of issues from memory, much to the amusement of her friends, “…and 132 every single time the aliens just looked like ponies with say…oddly colored coats, multiple horns, strange head crests, maybe an extra tail…” she paused for breath, “Even series like Daring Do are vulnerable to such stereotypes, I mean, like in Mystery of the Black Obelisk, they…” she trailed off, and met her friends stares, “What?”

Applejack snorted, “Oh brother…”

Rainbow could barely hold back giggles, “Twilight, you are such an egghead!”

Twilight huffed indignantly, “I’m just telling it as it is!”

“Really darling,” said Rarity, “You need to go outside more.”

“I’m outside right now!” Twilight huffed, “I do plenty of things…outside!”

“I have an idea! Let’s go to space!” said Pinkie Pie. She spastically hopped amongst her companions before settling near Luna, “Hey Luna, you’ve been in space before! Is it nice in space? Huh huh huh?”

Luna shifted uncomfortably on her hooves at the question whilst everypony else blanched at the sheer insensitivity of the topic.

“Pinkie!” Rarity chastised, “That is simply rude!”

Rainbow glanced at Twilight, “What if you’re wrong and they do look like ponies?”

Twilight scratched her head with her hoof, “Well…”

Instantly Pinkie Pie was in Rainbow’s face, “But what if Twilight’s right?” she said, “What if… what if… they have big slimy bodies and twenty big googly eyes and hop around on one leg? What if they eat ponies? What if they are those kooky aliens in which fun is a punishable offense?!” she was nearly frantic as she said that, the idea that anypony would not like having fun caused many weird things to go through her head. Her eyes went wider, “What if they have-…”

“For the last time Pinkie,” Rainbow cut her off, “They don’t have bendy straws!”

Everypony shared a giggle. Pinkie made an uncharacteristically irritated ‘hmph’ before immediately returning to her usual bubbly self. 

As the laughter died down, they continued down the path. Twilight shot a smile over her shoulder at the eccentric pink mare. No matter the situation, Pinkie was always able to get her to smile. 

Just then, Twilight thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze drifted off to the side; the grin adorning her features melted away at the sight of a dark, unknown shape lurking off the path. Twilight stopped in her tracks; she practically did not notice when the nearest pony behind her bumped into her.

Twilight squinted, trying to make out its features; she wasn’t sure if it was an oddly shaped tree of some sort of creature. If it was an animal, she didn’t know what it was. It was tall and it looked like it stood upright - that she could tell, only the more she stared, the more of a strange sense of foreboding washed over her. It gave a bad feeling; a shiver traveled down her spine the more she stared, her heart began thumping at a faster pace. Her eyes narrowed, Twilight took a single step towards it and blinked once; the figure was gone.

“Twilight? You alright sugarcube?” asked Applejack, walking to her side, stepping over a fallen branch.

Twilight glanced towards her friends, “Did anypony see something just now, over there?” she pointed to the spot where the unknown figure was moments before.

Her friends all crowded to her side and stared at the indicated area. They all shared a moment of silence. 

“I don’t see anything,” replied Rainbow.

A brief chorus of agreements came from the rest of the ponies. Twilight sighed and bowed her head. “Must have just been my imagination,” Twilight declared.

“Oh, don’t feel bad, darling,” chimed Rarity, patting Twilight on the shoulder, “This dreadful forest is causing us all to become jumpy.”

“Yeah, I-I suppose you’re right” Twilight shuddered, pawing at the ground nervously. Twisting her hooves into the dirt, she quietly sighed before looking back to the others “We should probably get…get..” 

Right there.

Staring directly at her from the shrouded darkness, the figure reappeared. Twilight’s spine went ice cold as hot blood began to sink down her legs; it was there and it knew she was conscious of its obscure existence. Her eyes got wider as her pupils dilated. “T-There!! There it is again!” she exclaimed, triggering a yelp from Fluttershy and everyone else to cast a sharp glace at her viewpoint.

Nothing. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Only a blanket of shadow took its place, as it always appeared to have been.

Luna let out a silent gasp. Her eyes were concentrated into that distinct spot; a single bead of sweat found its path down her neck, yet she remained silent.

Pinkie focused into the shadows, humming with her inspection as she slowly edged closer. Looking back to Twilight quizzically, she raised an eyebrow “Are you going loco in the coco, Twilight?” she asked, tilting her head. “Not even my Pinkie Sense is twitching! And you knoooow there’s trouble when I get all twitchy twitchy!”

Rainbow dubiously scanned the spot from above the group before shaking her head and glancing back down at Twilight. “Pinkie’s right, Twi. Come on! I still don’t-“

“Ah… ah saw it too, Dash.” Applejack cut her off, swallowing while her cyan friend averted her gaze to her. A hostile sensation ran to the ends of her nerves, forcing her to step backwards. Her pulse began to increase as she felt ice forming inside her gut, wearing expression which matched that of Twilight’s.

“As did I,” Luna stated.

“M-Me too,” squeaked Fluttershy.

Twilight’s head quickly snapped around towards the three of them. She rapidly looked between the farmpony, caretaker, and the Princess.

Twilight’s face paled, “You did?” she said, her mouth dry as her knees started shaking, breaking the silence. 

Fluttershy merely nodded, the timid mare’s face hidden behind her long bangs. Her body was quivering.

“Sure did,” said Applejack, pawing at the ground nervously, “Had a bit o’ an uneasy feelin’…” It was obvious that she was a little more than uneasy; anypony could see that the pony’s face was glistening with sweat, and her eyes darting back and forth.

“Was it sort of a tall thin figure?” said Luna, stepping up to Twilight, keeping her composure, “Looked like it could have been walking on two legs?”

A feeling of dread fell into Twilight’s stomach. Twilight wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing that someone was seeing the same thing as her. Was there something lurking nearby? Something potentially dangerous? Following recent events, the various hypotheses that were running through her head were…unpleasant for lack of better words. The added fact that several young fillies were in the forest at this time did not make her feel any better.

“Yes,” peeped Twilight.

Immediately Rainbow was at her side. She gently placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “Are you feeling alright, Twi?” Rainbow stared at her, before redirecting her gaze at Applejack. The orange mare seemed oddly quiet, her large green irises shrunken out of worry. “AJ? Fluttershy?”

Pinkie tapped herself on the forehead as the cyan mare looked between the two ponies before grinning, “Well, we all know what to do when things get scary, right?” her eyes darted between everypony, “I know how to make those shivers go away!” she tilted her head back and inhaled loudly, ready to burst into song.

“Not now, Pinkie!” said everypony in unison.

The party pony wasn’t put off at all; she merely grinned and shrugged, “Okie dokie lokie!”

Rainbow gave her farmpony friend a concerned look, “Something wrong?”

Applejack stared at Rainbow, then back into the forest, “Nothin’…just a…feelin’…” much like Twilight, the unknown shape sent a shiver down her spine. The Apple sense doesn’t lie, there was something lurking in the forest, and her sister was out here. It was her job as a big sister to keep little Apple Bloom safe.

Rainbow’s eyes darted between Applejack and Fluttershy, “What do you think it was? Some kind of animal?”

Pinkie popped up in the shy pegasus’s face, “Was it an alien?”

“Pinkie!” Rainbow hissed as the other mare leapt back in surprise from the sudden invasion of personal space. Rainbow shoved the party pony away, giving Fluttershy room to breathe.

Fluttershy calmed down and thought for a moment before speaking, “I-If it was a creature…” she trailed off before shaking her head, “… it wasn’t a creature I’m familiar with… it makes me nervous…” she said quietly, her voice disappearing into a soft whimper.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, totally unsurprised by the timid mare’s expected unease before turning back to Twilight, “So Twi? You got anything?”

But she didn’t respond. The purple unicorn was slightly catatonic as she continued to stare into the darkness, her expression unreadable, and her irises shrunken. Seeing dark shapes in her peripheral vision was commonplace in the Everfree, but she was certain this was much worse than that. She could recall pretty much the entirety of the Beastly Bestiary of the Everfree Forest from memory, but she was currently at a loss…

“Twi?” Rainbow gently nudged her.

Shaken from her stupor, Twilight had a quick idea. A faint chiming sound ran through the air as Twilight’s horn lit up with a faint violet glow. Suddenly, a cone of bright light shone from it, causing everypony to gasp in surprise at the sudden brightness, and shakily directed the magic illumination to the spot the dark figure stood moments before. There was nothing there, not even an oddly-shaped tree, Twilight swallowed loudly. The lack of any figure present did little to sedate her unease. Her heart continued to race as a stray bead of sweat worked its way down her forehead. Not wanting to stick around any longer than she had to, Twilight opted to muster up her courage.  “We need to keep moving,” she said. Before dimming her horn, Twilight shot one more look towards the spot the shape had appeared; there was still nothing there.

Everypony muttered an affirmative before they continued on.

“I still think the forest is simply making you uneasy, darling,” said Rarity.

“I’m not so sure…” murmured Twilight, “I was certain I saw something…”

Although Princess had not spoken, she was inclined to agree with her sister’s protégé. One of the perks of having an affinity for nighttime and shadows was keener night vision than most ponies, and she was able to get a much more defined picture of the creature in the shadows. Unlike the rest of the ponies, she could clearly make out what looked like claws tipping several digits on pale fingers, and what looked like horrid glistening eyes, but it was gone before she could come to any conclusions.

Who knows, maybe lady Rarity was right and it was just a figment of their overactive imaginations? If it wasn’t…well…the supportive weight of the Elements hanging from her side was reassuring, as well as her own natural magic. The royal sisters rarely needed to use their power for actual combat, but even so, no beasts could stand against her or her sister on the battlefield.

“It has been ages since I have explored this wood,” said Luna conversationally, trying to keep her worry from her voice, “Is the zebra herbalist not far?”

Twilight glanced at her, “Yes, it should just be…ah here we are.”

Sure enough, their path opened into a clearing in the forest. In the dead center stood a much larger tree, a house built into it not so different from the Ponyville library. It looked just as it always has, at first glance somewhat creepy and unwelcoming, yet offset by the fact that everypony knew that the structure’s resident was kind, yet simply had an exotic taste in decorations. Although the blinds on the windows were drawn shut, the light shining behind it gave them that the herbalist was up and about. Yet unfortunately, there did not appear to be any fresh filly tracks.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight took the lead and trotted confidently up to the front door. She cleared the distance and raised her hoof to knock, her hoof inched closer to the door.

“Be gone, foul creatures, out of sight! You will not come here on this night!” a voice angrily shouted from the other side of the door.

Twilight jumped from the sudden outburst, “Um, Zecora? It’s me, Twilight, can we come in?”

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door. Twilight could hear the herbalist say a stream of phrases in her native Zebrican tongue before the latch on the door was undone and the door slowly creaked inward, revealing a cautious zebra peering out at her.

The zebra looked tense; her distinct Mohawk mane was disheveled and stray hairs pointed in every direction. Her choker was conspicuously absent and she was wearing her dark brown cloak. When the unicorn and the zebra locked gazes, the herbalist visibly relaxed as she recognized the pony that stood outside her hut.

The zebra smiled, “Twilight Sparkle, indeed it is you I see! What could have brought you here to me…?” she trailed off as she noticed her companions, “It looks like you have brought your friends as well. I apologize; I thought it could have been something fell…”

Twilight’s smile faltered slightly at the end of Zecora’s statement, but she held it. “Good morning, Zecora,” she said with a polite bow, “We were wondering if…”

“Could we take this inside, if you please? I fear outside that something seethes…” Zecora interrupted.

Twilight shrugged as the zebra ushered she and her friends into the hut. Luna was the last through the door, but as she and the herbalist’s locked eyes, the zebra balked in surprise.

“Oh my goodness, what a sight! Is it not the Princess of the Night?” said Zecora.

Luna smiled in response, “I remember you from Nightmare Night,” she said, “Please just call me Luna.”

While the two were conversing, the rest of the gang made a quick once-over of the hut’s interior. It looked just as Twilight had remembered it, the same creepy tiki masks decorating the walls, some of which had old repairs visible from when Rainbow had once smashed them, the bottles hanging from the ceiling, and shelves lining the walls, on which there were hundreds of different kinds of herbs, many of which even she didn’t know the name of or their uses. The almost omnipresent tang of potions hung in the air. Several books were scattered around, some on the table, some on the shelf, but what got Twilight’s attention most of all was just how dimly lit the hovel was.

Only dying embers remained in Zecora’s firepit, and the only other lighting came from a few sparse candles and the curtains on all of the windows were closed. Twilight wasn’t sure if she could credit it to the fact that it was early in the morning, or something else.

Twilight grunted as Applejack roughly pushed past everypony present and began fervently searching every nook and cranny, and anypony would know what or who she was looking for. Pinkie took it as a cue to join her and looked in the most ridiculous places, like empty jars or drawers far too small for any filly to fit in. Rarity assisted, in a far more finicky matter than the former two.

The sound of the door closing behind them snapped them all too and called off their search. But on first glance, they realized that the fillies weren’t here.

They turned to see the building’s owner trot straight past them, and to one of the windows. Cautiously, Zecora parted the curtains and peeked outside.

“Zecora? What…”

“Shh!” she hissed. A moment later, she ditched her brief vigil and joined the mares. It did not escape their notice that she was pacing.

“Now, it is always a pleasure to have you near…” started Zecora in an anxious tone, “But might I ask what you are doing here?”

Everypony shifted uncomfortably at the zebra’s behavior. The zebra lived in what was unanimously considered one of the scariest places in Equestria, it wasn’t like her to be so anxious. Lots of nasty creatures lurked in the Everfree. “Um…Zecora? Is something up?” said Rainbow Dash.

The two exchanged a glance before the zebra resumed her pacing, “In some new twist of fate. Dark creatures I’ve seen, as of late.”

“How recent?” said Twilight, trying to keep the rising worry out of her voice.

“Were they aliens?” Pinkie Pie blurted out.

“Pinkie! Shh!” said Rainbow.

“It all started this very night, following that awful fright,” replied Zecora, “From skies above, an object fell. Though I fear it has brought us hell…” she trailed off. 

Everypony paled at this new revelation, no thanks to the fact that Zecora had a knack of making things sound cryptic and dark with her habit of rhyming.

“Has my sister been around these parts?” said Applejack. 

“And mine as well,” added Rarity, stepping up to AJ’s side. The two shared a stare, “We know they and another one of their friends walking into this dreadful forest, and we were hoping you had seen them…”

Zecora froze in her steps and gave each pony in turn a hard stare, “If what this you say is true, into the forest went young Apple Bloom?”

Applejack swallowed, “Yes.”

Zecora went so pale it was a wonder that her stripes didn’t fade away, “If this is truth, you must make haste! I fear there is no time to waste!”

“Why? What is out there?” demanded Rainbow.

“The aliens, of course you silly filly!” said Pinkie.

Zecora, wide eyed, gestured frantically with her hooves, “You should get going, and going soon. Lest you seal the fillies’ doom!”

“Oh my…” squeaked Fluttershy.

Everypony gritted their teeth and shared a collective look. Rapidly, they all filed out of the hut, leaving the disheveled zebra and strange potioneering scents in their wake.

“What do we do now?” said Rainbow who took to the air and circled around the rest of the mares.

“I feel bad about leaving Zecora out here all alone,” said Fluttershy, looking at the zebra who was watching them from her front door, “Especially when there might be…m-monsters about…”

“We get the fillies back, is what we’re doin’!” Applejack exclaimed, straightening her hat. “Right Twi?” she turned to the unicorn, “Twi?”

The pony in question was staring blankly into the foliage as she was being addressed. Shaking herself out of it, she stared at Applejack, “Hm? Oh…um…Luna?” she looked at the Princess for guidance.

To their surprise, the alicorn’s horn lit up with its magical, silver glow. The Princess was doing something, and, oddly, Twilight wasn’t sure what spell it was. An orb of light seemed to travel up the length of her horn before reaching the tip; a brief burst of energy was released the moment it reached the horn’s zenith, Twilight and her friends felt the magical energy wash over them. Nothing seemed to happen, much to everypony’s confusion, yet Luna was staring skyward towards the canopy.

“Princess?” said Twilight.

But their question was answered a moment later as several of Luna’s personal guard came gliding down through gaps in the treetops. They landed in front of their Princess and all sunk into low bows.

“Woah…cool…” said Rainbow.

The largest one, the leader spoke first, “We came as soon as you summoned, your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Captain Tempest,” responded Luna, “You may rise.”

They did as commanded, rising to their full height, standing significantly taller than everypony but the Princess. There were six of them in all.

It just occurred to Twilight that this was the closest she had ever been to any of Luna’s personal night guard. They looked even creepier up close their leathery, bat-like wings, slitted, reptilian eyes, and their heavy dark armor that only seemed to enhance their already imposing silhouettes. She never did get a chance to ask if the wings or eyes were natural…or if it was a spell.

“What do you need of us, your Majesty?” said Tempest, standing tall and proud.

Luna gestured at the hut with her hoof, “There is something dangerous lurking in the woods, tonight. I order you and your squad to guard this citizen with your life.”

An audible gasp of surprise came from Zecora, who was standing in the doorway to her home. 

“Well, that solves the dilemma of Miss Zecora being left in solitude when there are ruffians about,” muttered Rarity.

The Captain arched his brow quizzically, “The zebra, your Majesty? Are you…”

“Captain,” said Luna sternly. Although she was accepted in Ponyville now, there would always be a slight stigma against anything that isn’t a pony.

“…Yes, your Majesty,” said Tempest. He looked at his fellow pegasai and ordered them forward with a nod of his head. Each guard strode forward, forming a circle around the hut.

Zecora continued to stare at the Princess, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the words. “Your Ma…” she started.

“Luna,” she cut her off, “Even though you live in this untamed forest, you are still a citizen of Equestria.

“Luna…” said Zecora, “Thank you.”

Luna arched an eyebrow at the conspicuous lack of a rhyme. “You’re welcome.”

She was distracted by something lightly nudging her shoulder. She turned to find that it was Fluttershy, of all ponies. Hastily, the shy mare hid her face behind her long bangs before finding the courage to look back up to her.

“Um…L-Luna…could we…you know…go find the fillies before something bad happens please?” she averted her gaze, “That is…if that’s all right with you…”

Rainbow was shaken out of admiring the night guard pegasai’s wings by Fluttershy’s words. “Yeah! What she said!”

“Very well,” said Luna, glancing upward to the distant smoke plume visible through gaps in the canopy. The entire group took one step forward. “Oh, one more thing,” said Luna, drawing everypony’s gaze to her. Her horn lit up, as well as her saddlebag, and the magic box containing the Elements of Harmony was telekinetically lifted out of it.

Luna opened the case with her magic, and the Elements were revealed before them. The six element bearers were still awed by the way there seemed to be a fire burning inside the gems, sending a kaleidoscope of colors dancing around the clearing. The light did not go unnoticed by the night guards; several of them craned their necks, trying to get a glimpse of the legendary artifacts, but it was shown to be unnecessary as Luna lifted the various necklaces and the tiara from the box, giving them to their respective bearers.

Twilight went tense when she felt the familiar weight of the artifact resting on her head, and how it always seemed to be warm. Pinkie Pie unsurprisingly hopped around excitedly, while Rarity had to restrain Rainbow Dash to stop her from showing off to the guards. Applejack looked like she was ready to bolt, determined to get her sister out of danger, and Fluttershy just waited for somepony else to do something.

That was when the Pinkie Sense chose to go off again. Everypony’s gaze locked onto the pink mare as her entire body spasmed like some invisible being had grabbed her and shook her vigorously. It lasted all of five seconds before Pinkie abruptly stopped and fell onto her haunches. She blinked once.

“What was…” started a confused Luna.

“Pinkie Sense,” explained Twilight. Twilight made a dismissive gesture with her hoof, “Just go with it.”

“Alright Pinkie,” said Applejack, “which a’ way does the ol’ Pinkie Sense say the doozy is?”

Pinkie Pie tapped her chin with her hoof as she ‘hmmed’ quietly. She stuck her foreleg out as if it were a scanner and moved it horizontally back and forth.

Luna shot Twilight a quizzical glance, to which the lavender unicorn shrugged. Finally, the party pony stopped ‘scanning’.

“Beep beep! Doozy detected that-a-way!” she said in her usual chipper tone of voice, her hoof pointed a few degrees away from the actual smoke column.

“Well okay then!” said Applejack.

Sharing a single collective nod, the ponies moved in the indicated direction as one.

They didn’t go very far before they heard something rustling in the bushes. Everypony, already tense as they were, went rigid in anticipation.

“What in tarnation is that…” said Applejack.

The source of the noise wasn’t a mystery for long, as two small figures shot out of the underbrush, and tumbled to the ground in a heap. They were both wearing familiar capes, red on the outside, gold on the inside, and their manes were disheveled and dirty.

“It’s the fillies!” somepony exclaimed. 

The two troublemaking children realized that they were not alone, and their eyes darted over to them. It did not escape everypony’s notice how shrunken and fearful their irises were, they were practically pea-sized. They relaxed when they realized who was talking to them.

“Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Everypony sighed in relief as the two children practically threw themselves at the adults. Sweetie Belle went to her sister and Scootaloo went to her idol. 

“Oh sis! I’m so sorry!” said Sweetie Belle, burying her face in her sister’s neck.

A wave of compassion overwrote the derision that the white unicorn was feeling regarding her sister’s recklessness. Rarity nuzzled Sweetie Belle, comforting the shaking filly. “It’s alright, Sweetie…” she said in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. 

“Wait just a darn minute…” said Applejack. Everypony turned to her to find her staring into the spot where the two fillies had emerged from. “Where’s Apple Bloom?” she turned back before glaring at both of the fillies in turn, “Where’s mah sister?”

Everypony went rigid. Sure enough, they realized that the Crusaders were one member short, the little earth pony was nowhere in sight.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a glance. Their eyes went wide and fearful once more. 

“Where is she!?” Applejack shouted, making Sweetie Belle whimper.

“Applejack!” scolded Rarity.

“I thought…I thought she was right behind us!” sobbed Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo crossed her forelegs, “Yeah! She was right there!” she glanced at Sweetie Belle, “Why didn’t you say anything!?”

Sweetie Belle balked, “Why didn’t I say anything? Why didn’t you say anything!?”

“Girls!” yelled Fluttershy, of all ponies, “Stop arguing, please, right now,” she relaxed, “What happened?”

Sweetie Belle swallowed, “We…well we went into that…scary place…”

“The thing that fell from the sky,” added Scootaloo, raising more than a few eyebrows from everypony.

Sweetie glanced at Scootaloo before continuing, “At first, nothing much exciting happened, but then…” she trailed off, her expression becoming dark.

“Then what?” demanded Applejack.

“There were...monsters...” said Sweetie Belle.

“Monsters?” said everypony.

Scootaloo snorted, “They were aliens! I keep telling you that, Sweets!”

“We don’t know that Scoots!” said Sweetie.

“An alien?” questioned Rainbow Dash, getting in their face, “You saw an actual alien?”

“Ohh! Ohh! Did it have slimy skin and twenty eyeballs?” Pinkie asked.

“Rainbow! Pinkie! Not now!” barked Applejack, before settling back of the fillies, “What happened?”

Sweetie was quivering, “Oh it was horrible! They were so pale, so…” she trailed off, “…scary. I thought they were going to…” she started shivering more violently. Rarity closed the distance between them and reassuringly nuzzled her. “But then…something happened.”

“Another alien came and blasted them with its zapper!” said Scootaloo.

“And…Apple Bloom?” said Applejack hesitantly.

Sweetie Belle found it difficult to look into the worried farmpony’s focused stares, “After that, we ran. We just wanted to get out of there…we were so scared…” she averted her eyes, “I think…I think we got separated from her. She must be still back there! Oh, I’m so sorry Applejack! We should have listened!” tears rushed to her eyes and her lip quivered.

Applejack nearly drew blood; she was biting her lip so hard. From what they had told her, her sister was in serious trouble.

Luna stepped forward, “Fear not, children. You are safe now.”

“Princess Luna!” exclaimed the fillies.

The Princess was saying words of reassurance to the fillies and the rest of the group, and explained what was going to be done with the girls. Applejack, however, was only vaguely aware of their exchange; her green eyes were still locked onto the place where the fillies had emerged. There was no time to wait around and she had promised her big brother that she would bring little Apple Bloom home safely!

Did she even need her friends with her at the moment? She felt they would only slow her down. Her family was the one thing more important to her than her friends. She didn’t even notice a cyan mare come to her side, “Hey, cheer up AJ,” said Rainbow, “We’re gonna go save your sis, right?”

Determination came to the orange mare’s face as she glanced at her friend, “Yes, ah reckon we are.” She could rely on Rainbow. She isn’t boasting when she calls herself ‘The Fastest Flyer in all of Equestria’. Rainbow’s eyes darted between AJ and the place where the orange mare was staring.

Rainbow seemed to understand what was on the farmpony’s mind, gently nudging the mare forward.
“
Well then, let’s get your sister!” said Rainbow excitedly, “Can’t wait around for these slowpokes, right?”

Applejack couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s enthusiasm, “Ah’ll say.”

“C’mon, I’ll race you!”

Applejack readjusted her hat, “Yer on.”

~~

Apple Bloom bounced along with each step the stranger took. Her sore legs hung down, swaying slightly from the jostling she was receiving from being carried. The dreary walls of the corridor, lit by the strange device on the creature’s foreleg rolled by as her carrier walked along at a brisk pace. It was pretty hypnotic, now that she thought about it. The gentle rocking motion made her feel somewhat drowsy and the way that he was carrying her had it so that her body was touching his wrist device…thing, and it was warm. Last but not least, the alien’s footsteps were completely silent.

That perplexed her, looking down, she could clearly see that the aliens’ back hooves were completely covered in what looked like heavy metallic armor, and even bare hooves tended to make noise when hitting a hard surface. It just confused her how he was able to move so quickly yet so silently at the same time.

But in her current relaxed state, she was really only capable of doing two actions right now: think and observe her rescuer. Time and time again she found herself looking up towards the strangers face, trying to look at his green eyes that reminded her so much of her siblings for reassurance. Sometimes he stared back, sometimes he didn’t. 

But eventually, Apple Bloom noticed a few things about him that she did not notice before. It did not escape her notice that there was some pretty heavy scarring surrounding his left eye. It scared her; she had never seen anypony with scars like that. The longest mark was a wicked-looking jagged thing that started just below the eye and disappeared into his mane. Apple Bloom shuddered at the thought of what could have caused that.

Then, there was what he was wearing. Sure, it was obviously damaged, but it still encased almost every inch of his body in its protective plates. At the joints, and the places where plates were missing, she could see some tight grey material underneath. If judging by the skin on his face was any indication, the grey stuff was more than likely another suit. There was a white symbol on his shoulder plate; it looked like a pair of wings with a sword pointing upward with a profile shot of what looked like a snarling lion imposed in the center; directly below the pommel of the sword was a series of strange symbols, forming ‘101’. If that was a cutie mark, what special talent did the alien possess?

Also, many parts of his armor were splattered with a strange, sickly brown substance. It was obviously not normally part of the armor, especially since in several places a dried brown substance was pasted over it.  A pang of fear fell into her gut when she realized that the brownish colored stains were likely dried blood. If it was blood, she didn’t know how to feel about it. Was her savior only helping her so he could gobble her up later when she was feeling better? She didn’t want to even think about it. 

Last but not least, she noticed that he and those…monsters had several similarities, now she had a closer look. They both stood upright on two legs, they both had two arms with flexible digits, like Spike, plus they were similarly proportioned. She could clearly tell that’s why he had frightened her. Although now that she could clearly make out his features to be much less monstrous, in the dark neither she nor her friends would likely be able to see a difference.

Speaking of her friends…where had they gone? Part of her was worried sick that she got separated from her two best friends in a place like this, part of her was terrified that something bad had happened to them, part of her was frustrated, and part of her was confused as to why they didn’t stop to help her. She had to suppress tears at the thought of what might have happened to them. They had not run into any side-passages, or any other ways to have turned, so the only direction Scoots and Sweets could have gone would have been forward. If they hadn’t run into them by now, then they were (hopefully) out of this spooky place.

She was shaken from her thoughts as the alien stepped over a particularly large piece of debris. Her companion stopped briefly, slipping his fingers beneath her chest while he angled the brightly lit part of the wrist-mounted device towards his face. Yet Apple Bloom was actually able to catch a glimpse as to what was on the screen. It looked like a map of some sort, yet it was lit up all on its own! Was it some kind of magic map? She squirmed around in her companion’s grip, trying to get a better look but it was to no avail, he merely held on tighter as his forelegs repositioned, and she once again found herself firmly tucked in, with the strange device facing away from her.

“What is that thing?” said Apple Bloom, craning her neck, “It’s magic, isn’t it? You can use magic…!”

He glanced at her, “(I have no idea what you just said, but I’m going to say ‘maybe’.)” The stranger chuckled, “(Don’t worry little fella, we’re almost out of here,)” he said in a tone that could be considered reassuring.

The pair hadn’t communicated since their initial encounter. Not really much to talk about, given the fact that complete and utter incomprehension of the other’s language was a mutual handicap.

By some stroke of good fortune, they hadn’t run across any more of those horrible, glossy black-eyed monsters. There had been distant shrieks, yes, but none of them sounded close.

The night’s events were definitely taking their toll on the young filly; she was struggling to stay awake as the stranger continued to lope along. She yawned deeply.

~

Almost out of here - at least that’s what the Pip-Boy told him. He didn’t let his guard down, however. He was prepared to whip his pistol from its holster at a moment’s notice, yet he hoped he didn’t have to.

He was escorting what he assumed to be a child. He hoped that he didn’t have to resort to violence in front of her.

The cute, high pitched yawn the little creature made only further cemented the determination that he didn’t want to tarnish that level of innocence. It was clear she was already frightened enough when those abominations almost got her and her other companions earlier. 

As he walked along, his large frame was nearly quivering with anxiety. He knew that just in a few moments, he would be the first human to have set foot onto an alien world.

His inner explorer was giddy at the fact that he would be setting his eyes on something new, something green. An earlier observation out of a porthole earlier had shown that green was beyond the crash site. He had not seen real grass…real trees in what felt like ages.

It seemed like it was so long ago that he had been to Oasis…

He sighed sadly as he recalled that place. It was a true oasis of green amongst a depressing sea of brown, or so Three Dog worded it, the one place he could go for a moment of peace, where the people living there were truly peaceful; very weird, yet peaceful. It provided a chance for the whole wasteland to become green again. Sure, it likely would have taken decades, but still…and that entire dream came crashing down when…

‘No, now is not the time…’

He shook his head as he shook those thoughts out of his head. Contemplating that which had lost could wait until he and his new…friend were in a safer place. He did not know the extent of the damage done the small…filly’s legs, there would be an opportunity to check later, but a brief observation gave him the impression that the damage was manageable. He would take a closer look once they had gotten away from the ship.

The fact that he was currently carrying around a member of what he was absolutely positive was a sapient, non-hostile species was still sinking in. So many questions were going through his mind. She was wearing a cape, and the blue and gold insignia was stitched into the fabric, so obviously they were somehow capable of using a sewing machine…or needle and thread, depending on the extent of their technological level. That further mystified him; a single look at the filly’s hooves showed that she was lacking dexterous fingers, how they managed to accomplish something that requires dexterity without fingers?

Unless of course it turned out that the hostile green aliens had a legion of pony slaves as pets, which was a possibility, as grim as it sounded. He certainly hoped that that wasn’t the case. The filly that was tucked under his arm was far too…cute to be the pet of something like those horrid green aliens that he killed in bulk.

On a more important note, if he ran into other members of this filly’s species, how would they react? The Wanderer had accidentally scared this one, as well as her two companions, wherever they had disappeared off to, if they had an actual society, how would they take his presence? The little filly was clearly fascinated by his Pip-Boy, given her reaction when he angled the screen to a position in which they could both see it, if they could break the language barrier, what sort of things could he teach them? Did they have a leader? It felt weird thinking about what could very well be a society of ponies. It also felt weird how he stumbled across an alien civilization that resembled something familiar from Earth, and one of the fillies he had seen earlier looked like a unicorn of all things.

Soon however, his thoughts were interrupted as the scent of fresh air hit his nostrils. He was so close to freedom! He picked up his pace abruptly, startling his passenger, if her brief cry of surprise was of any indication. He ignored the distant shriek of an abomination deeper into the ship as he hurried along. A light appeared in the distance. Judging from the quality, it was a natural light source, given the way it didn’t flicker and how…healthy it looked. It drew closer and closer and closer. 

He had a strange sensation fall into his gut.

The loud screeching of metal-on-metal echoed throughout the dusty confined tunnel. The Wanderer held back tears as the massive door of Vault 101 closed behind him, sealing off access to the only life he had even known…

The light, indicating that his goal was near got brighter…

He leaned heavily on the wall of the tunnel, panting heavily, a single hand on his chest, his heart raced. The air he breathed wasn’t the carefully regulated atmosphere of the Vault, it was hot, and extremely dry. The weight of his situation was really starting to sink in. His father had left, Jonas was dead, and…he killed those guards. Killed them!

Even step towards the exit, seemed to take just a little more energy. The filly shifted uncomfortably under his arm.

Was he a murderer? Did that make him a monster? He was defending himself, wasn’t he? He stared at the 10mm pistol that he was clutching tightly in his right hand. He had promised Amata that he wouldn’t use it. He snorted derisively, well, some friend he was.

There it was! On the right side, a sizable hole was torn directly through the hull! Natural light spilled through, illuminating the corridor in a rich, silvery aura.

It did not escape his notice that at least half dozen skeletons were gathered around the vault door, as well as the signs bearing faded obscenities. Part of him wondered how old they were, and another part was horrified at the sight of death. He forced his gaze away from them, and instead settled on the wooden door at the end of the tunnel. Through cracks between the planks, he could see light streaming through. Actual sunlight; it was something only ever referred to in textbooks in the Vault. Despite him being aware of its existence, it was regarded as if it was a myth, like say…magical unicorns. A strange feeling of excitement came over him as he started walking towards the door, the distance between him and his lifelong home growing. The rough earth crunched beneath his boots.

The door was close enough that he could make out the layer of dust coating the wood, as well as the recent handprint that was disturbing it. It was close enough to touch. His legs were shaking so badly he could barely stand as he tentatively reached a trembling hand out to the door and pushed it open…

…and got his first look of the outside world.

Something was gently nudging his midsection, snapping him back to reality.

“Hm?” He glanced downward and found that the little filly was looking up at him curiously with those big ol’ golden eyes and found her gently tapping his waist with her hoof. The two of them exchanged a stare. He couldn’t deny how ridiculously cute the critter’s curiosity was.

“(Uh…Mister Alien, are ya okay?)” said the filly. 

It took him a moment to realize that he had stopped moving as he indulged in his memories. 

He practically had to tear his eyes away from her. ‘Okay, you can do this’ he thought. Taking a deep breath, he rounded the corner and stepped through the hole in the hull. He raised a hand to shield his eyes was the sudden influx of moonlight and he gasped in surprise.

Slowly, he drew his hand away as his eyes readjusted to the light, and finally set his eyes upon a new world, without a layer of glass in the way.

He exhaled deeply as he surveyed the sight. Although the picture was ruined by all of the destroyed trees that went hundreds of feet in every direction, and the thick smell of burnt wood hung in the air, it still left him breathless.

Beyond the crater, there was so much green.

The full moon hung low in the sky, lighting up the land in its pale, silvery light. It was significantly larger than the moon he was familiar with back in the Wasteland, and seemed many more times as beautiful. It lacked the maria that dominated the surface of the moon he was familiar with, making it almost a solid disk of white, and it was peppered with craters large enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Although partially obstructed by clouds, the stars were out, the spectacle not so different from if he stargazed in the middle of the country, far from any civilization. He could have looked up at the sky for the remainder of the night. A curious squeak from his companion reminded him that there would be time for gawking later.

Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward. The simple act of walking seemed to take so much strain on his part; his limbs felt so heavy. Slowly, he brought his boot down onto the new world. The sound of the earth crunching beneath his foot brought his attention to the ground upon which he stood.

For some reason, he felt compelled to crouch and rake his fingers through the soil, leaving five furrows running through it. He stared intently at the dirt that had gathered in his palm. Why was he feeling so sentimental over dirt? He decided that was being foolish.

Though, out of the corner of his eye, something much more important drew his attention. He could clearly see where several pairs of small hooves had made their mark in the soil. He could see several hoofprints going in as well as out. He followed them around the edge of the alien wreckage before they led him into the patch of the fallen trees. A branch snapped under his boot. 

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness at all of the destruction. No matter where he went, he couldn’t escape scenes of destruction. Part of him blamed himself for this whole ordeal. A few scattered fires still burned amongst the fallen trees, further lighting up the dismal scene. He knew that less than a day ago, these burnt out husks used to be green, living trees, standing tall and proud. Kicking aside a scrap of debris, his eyes followed it as it disappeared into the fallen trunks, but then he noticed a brightly colored object. Caught on a branch of one of the fallen trees was a small scrap of red cloth. Amongst all of this grey and black, it stood out like a beacon.

Where have I seen this…? He thought as he briskly walked over to it, and gingerly plucked it from the dead tree. He raised it, and examined it at eye-level. It was red on one side, gold on the other. Excited chatter from his companion drew his attention to the small filly, her eyes locked onto the piece of cloth. When his eyes settled upon her, he was abruptly reminded where he saw the red cloth before; the filly was wearing a cape, as were her companions. He held the scrap of fabric up to the filly’s cape, just to make a comparison. Sure enough, it was the exact same material.

Judging from the little fella’s reaction, this was a sign that her friends had escaped from the wreckage. He looked down at the filly and smiled, “I guess that means your friends made it out, eh? That’s a stroke of good news…”

He was faced with another problem. Where should he be going, exactly? Where should he take the little critter under his arm? He walked around the ship to the point he could see the horizon opposite of that of the moon. In the distance, he could see mountains poking high above the tree-line, like daggers reaching for the sky. The sky in the direction of the mountain was…brighter. He assumed that meant that he was witnessing the dawn’s first light.

He glanced downward once more, setting his attention on the hoofprints leading away from the wreckage through the field of ruined trees. Judging by how the sky was gradually getting brighter towards the mountains, he guessed that that was east, if this planet went by the same laws his did, so he was walking south. 

When he finally reached the treeline, he threw one more look over his shoulder. The wreckage, sitting in the middle of the destruction looked dark, menacing, and like a blight on the landscape. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding as he looked at it. He could clearly see that there was many segregated tears in the silvery hull, fires still smoldered within some of them, and a column of smoke was rising to the sky. It was odd that he had not encountered any more of abominations as he was leaving with the filly. 

Something told him that some of them were loose on this planet, and those other two children were running around in this forest. Not even just that, several of the tears in the hull were far larger, he couldn’t help but get a sinking feeling that something far worse had made them. He thought back to the monster he had encountered in the cell blocks

A quiet sound coming from the filly snapped him from his worrying. His gaze shot down to it, his eyes widening in fear when he saw that the creature’s eyes were closed, and her body was limp. It made the same sound once again.

It took him a moment to realize that she was snoring. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It looked like the night’s events had taken their toll on the poor little critter, and she had fallen asleep. She looked so adorable.

He felt like a million pairs of eyes were on him as he confidently marched into the forest. It was a slow transition; the leaves from the trees closest to the edge of the crash site had all been blasted off. The night steadily became darker as the thicker and thicker canopy obscured the moon, plunging him into darkness, save for the light being generated by his Pip-Boy. He had no more need for it, so he shut the light, letting his passenger sleep, and the cybernetics in his eyes did the rest.

He walked along for several minutes, but he steadily felt more and more uneasy. From everything he knew about Earth before the bombs fell, he imagined that a forest would be teeming with activity, even at night. He didn’t think it would be so…deathly quiet. Even in the wasteland, there was always the sound of some critter scurrying around, or some annoying insect buzzing around his head, or the distant crackling of a heated gunfight. He thought that a forest, an actual green, living forest would be absolutely abuzz with activity, with whatever nocturnal life that resides her chirping out their night melodies.

Something was amiss; it was the same atmosphere as when he was stalking the darkened corridors of the crashed alien vessel. Dark shapes kept popping up in his peripheral vision. He had a bad feeling that the tainted beasts from the wreckage opted to go exploring. He reached down and fingered the grip on his pistol. He felt reassurance as his hand tightened on the Novasurge.

“(Apple Bloom!)” cried a distant voice.

The Wanderer went tense, assuming a combat stance. Under his arm, the sleeping filly shifted slightly and murmured softly. What was that?

“(Apple Bloom! Where are ya?)” Said the voice again, it sounded closer.

It was not in a language he recognized. It was not the irritating ramblings of the annoying green space men, it sounded like…the same syrupy language he heard the filly speak. Perhaps it was someone looking for the critter under his arm? A concerned parent perhaps? The pitch sounded deeper, sort of like an adult female.

In a split second decision, the Wanderer opted to shift his movement towards the voice. Might as well face the speaker and get it over with as there was little point in trying to hide. If it could be reasoned with, great, if not, well, his enemies don’t call him ‘That One Asshole’ for nothing. He was particularly proud of that nickname for some reason.

He quickly and quietly made his way towards the unseen speaker, his footfalls silent, and his strides long. His brief trip through untamed terrain opened into a wider clearing, it was flooded with moonlight. Perfect, he had scared those ponies earlier when he was in the dark.

“(Apple Bloom!)” shouted the voice again.

“(Jeez, could you be any louder, Applejack?)” said another voice in response, causing the Wanderer to raise an eyebrow. More than one lifeform?

“(Not now, sugarcube! Apple Bloom! I’m a comin’!)”

They were coming this way. He braced himself for whatever he was about to face, idly fingering the grip of his pistol. He could hear the rhythmic sound of what he assumed were hoofbeats, followed by the sound of rustling in the bushes.

Any second now…

Abruptly, two forms came galloping into his clearing, and they skidded to a halt the moment they saw the moonlit figure standing in their midst, a cloud of dust rising behind them as their jaws dropped in surprise, and their eyes went wide. The Wanderer maintained his rigid stance as he kept his analytical gaze upon the newcomers. Both of them took a step back.

He could immediately tell that they were adults, each significantly large than the one he was carrying. He could tell that they were frightened by just looking at them, and their coats glistened with sweat.

The first one had an orange coat, and a blonde mane and tail. What stood out the most was the Stetson hat on its head, hairbands in both its mane and tail, and what looked like a golden necklace around its neck. The second was much more striking. Its coat was sky-blue, of all things, and its hair and tail was every color of the rainbow. No way could that be natural. Like the first, it also was wearing a necklace. Were those wings? The Wanderer blinked hard to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. He sucked in a deep breath. When he reopened them, sure enough, they were still there. He wasn’t sure if he was delirious from exhaustion or…something else.

They were roughly the same height, their shoulders about as high as his navel.  Both of them looked like they had some sort of brand or tattoo on their flanks. The first had what looked like a trio of apples, the second had a multi-colored lightning bolt.

“(W-what the hay is that thing, Rainbow?)” said the hat-toting pony.

The colorful one squinted at him with her fuchsia colored eyes, “(It’s an alien!)” its pupils shrunk down to marble size.

Both of them stared at him wide-eyed, and he stared back. Slowly, he noticed that the first one’s large green eyes strayed away from his face, and its entire frame went rigid and its face paled.

Its eye twitched.

“(It’s got mah sister!)” she shouted, (He assumed it was a she, she sounded like one). She aggressively pawed at the ground with one of her forelegs, kicking up dust. It took the Wanderer a second to realize what she was staring at. Her large green eyes were locked onto the filly tucked under his arm; the limp, unmoving filly. A bead of sweat formed on his head when he realized how the situation would have looked out of context.

The second one blinked once, her stance becoming aggressive, her chest low to the ground, her…wings spread,“(Let her go, you monster!)” yelled the cyan…pegasus. Her eyes narrowed in a fierce glare.

“Woah! Calm down!” said the Wanderer, raising his free hand in what he hoped they interpreted as a placating gesture.

‘This is crazy…’

“(Get yer filthy paws off mah sister!)”

Before he could say another word, the orange pony bolted at him, turned around, and kicked him squarely in the chest with her back legs. Sometime in the future, he would realize how lucky he was that he was wearing his armor. The kick was powerful. Even in his armor, it nearly knocked the wind out of him.

‘That’s gonna leave a mark…’

~

‘Horseapples, it felt like ah bucked a brick wall!’ Thought Applejack as she gritted her teeth in pain.

When she saw her sister’s limp form in the hands of that…thing, a sense of anger like she had never felt rushed through her system. She just wanted to…wanted to hurt the thing! Turns out it wasn’t such a good idea as pain shot through her famous bucking legs.

“Applejack!” shouted Rainbow, “Get away from my friend!”

It appeared to be totally unfazed, and it continued to stand there, still as a statue, “(Okay, that’s kinda cute, would you knock it off please?)” said the thing its rough language in a tone that could be known as…annoyed.

“What…what are you doing? You want a go? Huh?” said Rainbow, rearing up and punching the air like a boxer.

Applejack gritted her teeth, prepared for whatever that thing was going to do to her and her friend. Her entire frame quivered as a cold lump formed in her throat. Didn’t Scootaloo said it had a…zapper or something? But nothing came, just a few confused remarks from Rainbow.

Applejack forced her eyes open. Much to her surprise, she found that the tall, imposing figure was crouched down, putting itself at eye-level. Rainbow’s body was still low to the ground, pawing the ground nervously with one of her forehooves, but the creature’s expression was calm. It was now how much she realized how…normal its features looked. None of that twenty eyes hogwash Pinkie had been spewing. It stared curiously at her with eyes just as green as her own. Last but not least, the object of her worries was cradled in its forelegs. Apple Bloom didn’t look any worse for the wear. 

“What are you doing, chump!?” shouted Rainbow.

“Rainbow!” chided Applejack, gritting her teeth due to the soreness in her legs, hoping that her friend’s bluntness didn’t put her sister at risk, “Not…not now.”

Slowly, the stranger extended its arms, offering the filly to her. Applejack’s eyes were locked onto her sister as the creature maneuvered its arms around her head, and gently deposited her little sister on her back.

Applejack’s whole body was rigid when the creature let go of Apple Bloom, and returned its hands to its side.

Applejack could feel her sister’s gentle breathing against her fur, and she sighed in relief. The creature hadn’t hurt her sister, she was just sleeping. Relief like she had never felt before washed over her; she could have fainted right then.

“(See? I told you to calm down.)”

“What just happened?” said Rainbow as she settled down on her haunches, her expression confused.

Everypony relaxed as the tension simmered down. The soreness in AJ’s legs quickly receded and she rose to her hooves, the creature stayed where it was. What was it doing? What was it planning? Its expression was unreadable as it quietly observed the two of them. Is this what scared the other fillies so badly? Applejack could understand why, when it was standing, it stood taller than even Celestia, and its shoulders were wider than those of her brother, and he was the biggest pony in Ponyville! The bulky black scales…no wait, it was armor, only served to make its silhouette more imposing.

Its appearance was unlike anything she had ever seen. With the exception of its mane, and a thin strip on its chin, it was bald. One of its front hooves…or claws…or hands was resting on its knee, while the other one was planted on the ground.

Applejack bit her lip as she sized up the creature before her. If her kick had angered it or provoked it… she shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. She felt apologetic as it raised one hand to massage its chest, tracing its dexterous fingers over the scuff marks her hooves had made on its armor. It couldn't quite hide the pained look on its face. It seemed to notice what she was looking at, and its hand fell away.

Surprise showed in the stranger’s face as Rainbow abruptly took to the air, circling around them. She flew close to the stranger, and essentially shoved her muzzle into its face, making AJ cringe. If Rainbow’s scrutiny irritated it, it didn’t show it. Rainbow landed next to it, and gingerly prodded its face with her hoof. Once again, its expression was unchanging.

“(I would appreciate it if you cut that out,)” grumbled the stranger.

If its voice was anything to go by, it sounded male. His gaze met Rainbow’s and raised a single eyebrow as the mare drifted closer. Just before her muzzle bumped the side of his face, the stranger lifted a single hand, placed it against Rainbow’s forehead, and gently nudged the mare away; the sight was kind of funny from Applejack’s perspective.

Her flying friend dropped to the ground and sat down on her haunches as the alien continued to stare quizzically at her. Rainbow’s uncertain expression slowly became one of awe as the magnitude of their current situation sunk in. Applejack watched as Rainbow’s face split into an ear-to-ear grin as her whole frame started quivering with excitement.

“Omigosh…” she whispered, “Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh…” she said at a gradual crescendo, eliciting a perturbed stare from the creature, “An alien! I’m…sitting here…with a real life alien!”

“Rainbow!” Applejack hissed, “Simmer down, will ya? Somepony here is sleepin’!” she gestured to the filly with a jerk of her head.

Rainbow excitedly clopped her hooves together, “Sorry AJ, but…an alien!” she squealed, before taking to the air again. She began scheming the best way to say ‘I told you so’ to doubtful Rarity; she tried to imagine the look on the fashonista’s face when she found out that aliens are real. “This is almost as cool as the time I met the Wonderbolts! This is so awesome!” she cupped her hooves to her cheeks.

“Applejack! Rainbow! Where are you!?” shouted a distant voice, echoing through the night air.

Applejack suddenly remembered why they were out in the forest originally in the first place at the sound of her friend calling out for her. Well…she honestly wasn’t expecting to run into anything like this. Whatever happens next she didn’t care; her sister was okay and that was all that mattered to her. The alien still sat there quietly, calmly observing the two of them. He seemed to perk up at the new voice.

“Over here Twilight!” shouted Rainbow, “C’mon! You gotta see this!”

“Didja find an alien!?” shouted Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie, really…” echoed Rarity’s voice.

Rainbow smiled, “Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” she said smugly, crossing her forelegs.

Nopony expected the poofy pink party pony to come blazing into the clearing like a pink rocket (of doom) a mere three seconds later. She blazed directly up to the stranger so quickly he fell onto his rear out of surprise.

“(Gah! What the f-…)” his words trailed off when he found Pinkie’s face hovering mere inches from him, her eyes wide, her face split into an insane grin. Much like Rainbow, she too was quivering with excitement.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m super duper happy to meet you, Mr. slash Mrs. slash Ms. Slash whatever Alien!”

“Mr., I think,” added Applejack. AJ didn’t miss that totally confused look plastered across the alien’s face as he slowly leaned away from the kooky mare.

“I’ve never met anypony from space before! But you’re not a pony you’re an alien! Do you have a spaceship? Do you come in peace? Is that your spacesuit? What’s that symbol on your shoulder mean? Is that a Cutie Mark? What’s your special talent?”

“Um…sugarcube…”

“Do you like parties? I’m so excited because Twilight said we probably wouldn’t find live aliens because of something about biospheres…or something! But it looks like smarty pantses aren’t right all the time…”

“Pinkie…”

“…I throw a welcome party for every new pony in Ponyville, but I’ve never seen you before because you’re new! And I know everypony in the whole wide world! Well maybe not the whole world, because that’s a lot of ponies! But you’re not even from this world are you because you’re an alien!”

“PINKIE!” AJ shoved a hoof in Pinkie’s babbling maw.

Pinkie’s continued to yack into AJ’s hoof. Pinkie’s eyes snapped over to Applejack, “You know he can’t understand a darn thing yer sayin’, right?”

“Heh! His expression is priceless!” added Rainbow.

The stranger looked between everypony present with a totally perplexed expression on his features. He was sitting down, propped up on his elbows, leaning back far enough so that his head was a mere foot from the ground. He shot AJ a pleading look that read, ‘help me!’.

Pinkie stared at AJ and blinked once when the mare removed her hoof, “Aw ponyfeathers, but we’re still gonna throw a party anyway, aren’t we? Huh, huh huh?” and her motor-mouth went right back to work.

~

‘Quiet please, make it stop!’

The newcomer was a pony whose coat was a vibrant shade of pink and her wild mane a slightly darker shade of pink. Her behavior appeared as if she had just consumed a dozen boxes of Sugar Bombs, and wore the widest, kookiest grin he had even seen, trumping even Yes-Man. Only it just would not stop babbling even after she got a hoof shoved in her mouth, courtesy of the orange mare. Didn’t she realize that he couldn’t understand her? To him, it sounded like little more than jibberish. Judging from the reactions of the other mares present, the pink pony’s antics were commonplace. 

While he was caught up in the pony’s oral blitzkrieg, he couldn’t help but notice just how well-articulated their forelegs were. He could clearly see how they their limbs were surprisingly flexible, as evident by the other two ponies sheepishly scratching the back of their heads at the pink pony’s antics, and how the pink pony kept making gestures with her hooves as if they were hands. He watched her mouth as she kept spewing words, watching the way she rapidly formed syllables, incoherent as they were to him, yet how similar it was to human speech. 

He shot another pleading look in the…Cowpony’s direction, the hat made her look like one. She could only respond with a sheepish grin and an apologetic shrug.

He tried tuning out the pink pony, but it was downright impossible. He suppressed a laugh, he thought that ignoring the grating Little Lamplighters was a chore… Over the pony’s incessant babbling, he could hear the rainbow pony conversing with another new arrival, which he had yet to see. He hoped that they were less spunky than Miss Chatterbox.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see more ponies enter the clearing and, when he felt their gazes fall upon him, they all stopped. He decided to return the gesture and stare back. There were four of them. The nearest to him was a violet…unicorn, of all things, with a purple mane with a single pink stripe running through it. Some sort of headdress was perched on its head and a six-pointed star was on its flank. She regarded him with a dumbfounded, disbelieving expression; he returned a very similar look.

Unicorns? Pegasai? What’s next…dragons?

“(I-…is that…)” said the unicorn.

The rainbow one trotted up to his side and stood tall, “(Yep! I told you!)”

The pink one redirected her attention towards the unicorn, thank god, also redirecting her endless barrage of chatter. She hopped up to the purple pony, that insane grin still on her face. How that didn’t hurt mystified the Wanderer.

Another one of the newcomers, this one in the form of a white unicorn with a curly purple mane that looked like it had been styled. A trio of diamonds adorned her flank as she circled around him, looking at him as if he were some sort of expensive object. He cocked an eyebrow when it…or she, all of these ponies looked and sounded like girls, took a step back and had an expression as if she were disgusted.

“(Ugh! What is it wearing!?)” said the white pony, “(It’s so…dirty!)”

“(Really, Rarity?)" said the rainbow one in what sounded like she could have been annoyed, stomping her hooves, “(We meet a real life alien and the first thing you can think about is what he’s wearing?)”

“(How do you know that it’s a he?)” asked purple.

Rainbow shrugged, “(I heard him talk,)” she paused for a moment, “(Besides, he looks like a ‘he’.)”

“(What manner of creature are thou!?)” bellowed a newcomer, seemingly conjuring up gale force winds. Everypony cringed from the shouting as the speaker stepped into view, her eyes darting between each pony, “(Has he harmed any of you in any way?)” she said in a much softer voice. The Wanderer’s jaw dropped slightly as he sized her up. She was significantly taller than the other ponies, he’d guess that her shoulder would come up to his chest, and she had a very dark blue coat, along with a pair of massive, feathery wings and long, pointed horn. Other than the splash of black and crescent moon on her flanks, what really got his attention was her mane and tail; they were long, were seemingly blowing without the aid of wind, and they looked like a starry night sky. It looked…ethereal. He had to resist the urge to reach out and run his fingers through it.

Judging by her greater size, the way she carried herself, the ebony black tiara she was wearing, he assumed that this was the group’s leader. Not only that, but she seemed to emit an aura of authority as she looked down at him with her vivid blue eyes, her expression stern.

There was one more pony, and he barely even noticed her, she was doing her best to stay behind the taller…princess pony. He caught a glimpse of her face and large teal eyes mostly concealed behind a long pink mane, and a canary-yellow coat.

He got a better view when the tall pony started circling around him. She was another…pegasus, sporting a pair of wings tucked firmly against her sides. She was absolutely adorable, she was sitting down on her haunches, with her forelegs crossed, doing her best to look as small and insignificant as possible. It took her a moment to realize that she was sitting in full view before darting behind another stationary pony, her quivering haunches, adorned with a trio of pink butterflies not quite concealed.

“(C’mon, Fluttershy, he’s not so bad!)” said the rainbow pony. “(You’ve faced down a dragon before!)”

“(Not a dragon,)” she responded in a barely audible squeak, “(…he scares me.)”

“(So…you saying that this creature has not brought harm upon you?)” said princess, her attention diverted between the two ponies who had found him first. The Wanderer had a sneaking suspicion that he was the current topic of conversation.

“(Well…uh…)” said cowpony, scratching her head, “(…I may have bucked him, a little…)”

“(You did what?)” said the purple one who nearly fell onto her rump, her eyes darting between him and the mare.

“(I thought he hurt mah sister!)” said cowpony in response, “(But, he didn’t seem to mind. He just knelt down and just…gave her to me,)” she glanced at the crouched human, “(Turns out she was just tuckered out. He’s…not so bad…)”

The princess pony continued to stand tall, “(If what thou sayest is true, dost thou thinkest that he is…not hostile?)” she glanced down at the Wanderer, “(Is he a threat to Equestria?)”

The ponies continued conversing in their foreign tongue as the Wanderer sat there, stewing in his thoughts. So far, this was going rather well, other than that heated incident involving a kick to the chest. They haven’t tried to kill him yet, which was a good sign. In the Wasteland, almost everything he encountered had subsequently attempted to kill him the moment he tried saying ‘hello’. It was nice for a change of pace.

He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was currently within ten feet of several creatures that were only found in story books and mythology. He had outright seen the cyan pegasus fly, and there was currently a purple unicorn within arm’s reach. A happy look was slowly creeping onto the purple unicorn's face as she continued to stare, and if her body was quivering out of fear or excitement, he couldn't tell.

‘A race of sapient equines…creatures from ancient Earth mythology…’ he thought, his eyes darting between every critter present. ‘Well, it could have been worse…’

He closed his eyes and planted his hand on his forehead as the ponies continued to…debate whatever it was they were debating. So far, they didn’t seem to be hostile towards him, and he was able to get the situation with the slumbering filly resolved peacefully. He found it amusing how the little fella was able to sleep through all of that. 

It took him a moment to realize that the chatter had all but died down as he continued to rub his eyes. The toll of the long day was finally starting to catch up to him. He was roused from his current state by the feeling of something nudging his shoulder plate.

He opened his eyes to find the princess pony looming over him, her blue eyes fixated on his face. She was gently tapping his shoulder with her hoof. He cocked his head when he realized that she was wearing glittery…shoes of a sort.

Shaking his drowsiness from his eyes, he slowly stood up. He heard a collective gasp spread through the gathered ponies as he rose to his full height. Most of them took a step back, including the princess pony. He felt uneasy under the scrutiny of seven pairs of eyes; each stare delivered a different emotion. He could see nervousness, excitement, awe, and the princess had an air about her that indicated that she wasn’t used to dealing with people taller than her. Time seemed to slow to a standstill as they all stood there.

It seemed like minutes passed when the princess pony slowly extended a single hoof towards him. He eyed the offered appendage curiously; it looked like she wanted to shake his hand.

“(Do you…wish to make peace?)”

Every single one of the ponies eyed him expectantly. ‘Ah, if this doesn’t mean what I think it does, what’s the worst that can happen?’ Biting his lip, he mimicked the gesture, offering a single hand to the princess, hoping that they didn’t take it as a gesture of insolence or something.

He could feel them watching him as his fingers closed around the offered hoof. Surprisingly, he could feel her grip back, odd considering the fact that she has no fingers. He gave the limb a few firm shakes.

He could see a faint smile come onto the pony’s face. Judging by the excited murmurs he could hear from the rest of the crowd, he made the right decision. 

He could feel a rising sense of elation; he had found something new, and this time, nobody died in the process! Even though he barely knew the ponies, he could see no malice in the large eyes that were watching him, if they could somehow bridge the communication gap… he smiled inwardly at the possibilities.

‘Things…are actually working out! He smiled for real, Looks like fate decided to throw me a bone, for once…’

A high, piercing shriek that the Wanderer dreaded to hear echoed throughout the night. The sense of elation, as well as the smile went away immediately at the noise.

He had nearly forgotten about those.

~~

Cliffhanger lol!

I would like to give a huge thanks to Prasopchai for doing a totally awesome and thorough job pre-reading this chapter! He is quite l33t.


	 
> Here Be Monsters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A/N) I sort of learned a deadly lesson as well! Having a cliffhanger at the spot I did made it really awkward to pick up where I left off! That’ll teach me!

I also didn’t expect this one to be another huge >10k chapter!

~~

Luna wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened.

Earlier, she was shaking hooves with a being from another world, the excited chatter of her subjects degrading to mere background noise.  A strong feeling of pride was thrumming in her chest. Proud of the fact that she was interacting with a creature that had come from the stars, her stars; the same night sky that she watched every night.

Ever since she was a little filly, all those years ago, she had always wondered if something else lived out there, even before she took up her nightly vigil. But now, here she was with such a creature.

But then that awful shriek echoed throughout the night air.

She and the rest of the ponies felt an unbridled sense of dread at the sheer awfulness of the cry; every bit of chatter, even that off the vocal Pinkie Pie, was snuffed out in an instant. Even as she was, a millennia old princess, she couldn’t stop her knees from trembling or her heart from racing.

Poor Fluttershy was shaking so badly that it was a miracle she could still stand. Little Apple Bloom whimpered in her sleep, drawing a concerned stare from her big sister.

But what was most alarming was the abrupt change in the demeanor of their foreign guest. Luna recoiled in surprise at how quickly the stranger went from calm and relaxed as he shook her hoof to suddenly drawing a strange metal object from a holster at his thigh, standing tall and rigid. A stray bead of sweat worked its way down Luna’s brow as she watched him.

“What was that ghastly noise?” asked Rarity.

“I-I think…” said Twilight her mouth dry, suddenly remembering the dark shape she saw lurking off the path earlier with a pang of dread. Inwardly she scolded herself for being so forgetful. It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes since they left the other fillies under the vigilant eye of both the zebra herbalist, and Luna’s guards, and the sheer weight of meeting this enigmatic being had pushed the zebra’s warnings and her own fears to the back of her mind. The shriek had brought them all back to the surface.

“What’s that thing he’s holding?” asked Rainbow, interrupting Twilight’s train of thought, her eyes locked onto the strange metallic object that was firmly grasped in the creature’s right forehoof. She squinted as she stared at it, “Is that…his zapper?” said Rainbow, looking to her peers for support, “Didn’t Scootaloo say that the alien had a zapper?”

Fluttershy squeaked something in acknowledgement.

Twilight swallowed loudly, “Yes,” a brief pause, “Yes she did.” Her whole frame began quivering violently. Here she was, with an alien of an unknown race, and it was armed. It was clearly advanced, if his unique armor was any indication, as well as that strange device on his wrist. If it decided to turn on them… she shuddered at the thought.

Pinkie Pie abruptly jumped between everypony present, “Ooh ooh! Pinchy knee! Pinchy knee!” she shouted, holding the pinchy limb aloft for everypony to see.

“The hay is that supposed to mean again?” asked Applejack, the mare tiredly rubbing her forehead.

“It means that something scary is going to happen!” exclaimed Pinkie, who sat down on her haunches, and her teeth started chattering.

“And what does that mean?” asked Rarity.

Pinkie glanced at her, “Oh that usually means I’m s-scared.”

“Wait a minute…” said Rainbow Dash, the cyan mare landing near the pink pony, “Whatever happened to the doozy?”

The pony nodded her head towards the alien, “Oh, he was the doozy.”

Rainbow paled slightly at the news, “B-but doesn’t that mean…”

“A ‘doozy’ doesn’t always imply something negative,” interrupted Twilight, “Last time this happened, the doozy in question was simply me accepting that Pinkie Sense actually…works.”

“I just know that it is something that nopony would expect,” Pinkie said helpfully, “Nopony expected to find an alien!” she said cheerfully, despite her obvious fear.

“Something’s lurkin’ about,” growled Applejack, pawing at the ground nervously.

Luna continued to stare at the increasingly tense alien before her. She watched as it pointed that strange device into the woods, never leveling it at any of their faces. For that, she supposed she could be thankful. She could tell by just looking at him that he had been in situations like this before. She watched as his analytical gaze swept across every inch of the forest, leaving no square inch of dirt unaccounted for.

She craned her neck as she focused on the, what Rainbow Dash had stated, ‘zapper’, clenched in his hands. It formed a sort of ‘L’ shape, made out of some strange dark metal. Some faint glowing green parts could be seen through gaps in the casing. She had never seen anything like it, and she had no idea how it could have been a weapon. There were no blades, it was too small to be used as a bludgeon. She could only assume that it was either magic, or some sort of new technology she had never seen or dreamed of.

He seemed to realize that he was being scrutinized and stared back. Luna felt an involuntary shudder run down her spine at the sight. Gone were the friendly emerald eyes that she stared at when she shook his hand, in their place were a pair of jade eyes, cold, calculating, and intelligent. The difference between the two was jarring.

He growled something in his strange alien language, his expression unchanging. Luna wished she could pry some answers from him, as he seemed to know what was going on.

“Um…Princess…” said somepony. Luna broke eye-contact with the stranger to find that it was Fluttershy speaking to her. The poor filly was obviously terrified; merely a sliver of her large turquoise eyes were visible from behind her long pink mane, “C-could we go h-home now?” she stammered, “I mean…if th-that’s o-okay with y-you…”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d have to agree with Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash, nervously glancing from side to side, “It’s getting a bit too creepy out here,” she swallowed loudly, drawing a look from everypony, “What, I’m not s-scared!” she stammered; her eyes did a poor job masking her fear.

“What about…him?” asked Applejack, who shifted uncomfortably on her hooves, “I mean, the fella did help my kin,” she glanced over her shoulder at the small filly that rested on her back.

Luna glanced at the alien once more. He had not moved from his spot, and he continued his silent vigil. She weighed the options in her mind. If he abruptly turned on them, she was positive that both her magic and the Elements of Harmony could keep him at bay. On the other hand, if he was on their side, he could help them fight whatever was lurking nearby in the forest. He had already protected one of her little ponies, if the sleeping filly was any indication, what was to say he wouldn’t do it again?

Another cry pierced the silence.

Luna gritted her teeth at the noise. It was louder, and closer. That horrible shriek was worse than that of a pack of timber wolves.

Pinkie’s façade of outward cheeriness was starting to falter; she quietly sang a happy song under her breath to keep her spirits up. Fluttershy by this point was too scared to move, almost tipping due to how unresponsive her limbs were. Rainbow’s irises shrunk and her mouth screwed up into a frightened scowl. Little Apple Bloom whimpered again in her sleep; Applejack could feel her quivering violently on her back. The remainder of the mares’ eyes darted every which way, trying to find the source of that awful noise. 

Luna swallowed more loudly than she intended, “Alright, my little ponies. The creature comes with us,” she glanced his way, “That is, if he is willing,” her attention was redirected to the mares, “We should make haste, before…before…”

Luna caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye.

“Before what?” blurted out Rainbow.

Hesitantly, Luna turned her head towards it; her breath hitched in her throat. There, just barely visible was a tall dark figure, partially obscured by the brush and wreathed in a blanket of darkness and malice. Her pulse raced as she continued to stare. Its proportions were so similar to the alien that stood nearby, yet there were distinct characteristics that separated them. They were both bipeds, yes, but that was where the similarities ended. The stranger had intelligent eyes which the unknown creature lacked. Not only that, but Luna could look upon the stranger and not be afraid. He seemed to emit an aura that promised safety, for some reason. She couldn’t quite explain it.

The stranger seemed to notice the dark shape as well, and it pointed his strange weapon in the shape’s direction.

“Um…Luna?” said a clearly nervous Twilight. Luna forced her gaze away from both the stranger and the dark shape before settling on Twilight. Curiously, the unicorn wasn’t staring back, rather, staring into a seemingly indistinct section of the brush.

Luna force a smile, “Yes…Twilight?”

The pony’s ears drooped, “Look…over there…” she trailed off. An icy lump formed in the alicorn princess’s stomach. 

There was another one, another dark shape practically identical to the one she was staring at not moment ago.

Luna bit her lip and looked between both figures. Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the night, and the clearing with illuminated bright green flash. Luna watched as a strange green bolt of energy erupted from the end of the alien’s weapon and lanced into the thicket. A barely audible shriek could be heard. Everypony jumped with fright while Fluttershy squeaked quietly, too scared to move. They all forced their gazes towards the stranger.

Luna continued to stare, her jaw agape while everypony else swallowed as they realized what had made the noise; the stranger stood rigid, still pointing his weapon into the shadows. With the exception of Luna, they had not seen what he had done, but they could hear a faint sizzling sound. The tip of his strange metal device was smoking slightly, and the other dark shape was gone.

Luna was puzzled; what sort of weapon was that, and how did it work? She would have felt it if it were magic, yet this was not the case.

“Did he just…” said Rainbow, “Did he just zap something, and I didn’t see it?” the mare essentially voiced Luna’s thoughts aloud, “Aw ponyfeathers, I wanted to see…”

“Rainbow, how can you think about something like that at this time?” huffed Rarity, “What we should be doing is getting back to the other fillies! Away from all of this drab…” she trailed off as the stranger turned towards them. They all shuddered in unison when they saw how cold his expression was. His eyes widened in alarm when he caught sight of something…behind them.

He shouted something in his strange language and he pointed his weapon at the treeline behind them, aiming over their heads.

They all froze. Luna turned her head to where the being was pointing when she felt her stomach drop. There were no more than three of those things lurking in the undergrowth, all of them staring at her with their glossy black eyes.

The stranger yelled again as his eyes pierced past them; that was all the warning she got when they all charged.

~

Son of a bitch!

Of course, he meets a new race, seemingly makes peace with them, and immediately something from his past catches up to him. He had quickly taken out the lone abomination he saw lurking just outside of the clearing, but now at least three more of the monsters were quickly closing in.

He was at a bit of a loss he had to admit to himself. He had absolutely no idea what sort of numbers he was up against, if there were anything other than abominations lurking about, and last but not least, he had never fought in a forest before. The countless fields of burnt out husks did not count, this was completely unfamiliar territory.

He felt a brief moment of unease when he realized that all of the sapient equines were staring directly at him. The ponies were a sorry sight; with the exception of the princess pony, almost all of them were visibly quivering, especially the butter-colored pegasus, even the kooky pink one’s mane seemed to be deflating. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that they were no more used to situations like this than the little sleeping filly. The Wanderer felt a peal of anger. It was sickening; innocent creatures like this shouldn’t get caught between him and his battles.

Which gave him all the more reason to protect them.

He cursed inwardly as he brought his weapon to bear under the ponies’ stares. He leveled the sights of his Novasurge on the head of one of the rapidly approaching abominations.

He glanced at the ponies.

“Go! Get out of here!” he shouted. The ponies merely continued staring at him. Great!

He heard a collective gasp come through the group the moment the first of the abominations ran out into full view. They looked no less twisted than they did in the ship; their mutilated, once human features glowered at him, their paunches glistened under the moonlight, their claws were flexed and their soulless black eyes glimmered.

With expert precision, he fired his gun thrice. Each plasma shot found their marks in a different head. The first two fell backwards under the impact while the third tumbled forward, skidding to a halt mere inches from the ponies. Every pony present eyed the carcass with a slack-jawed expression. 

That was when all hell broke loose.

The Wanderer cringed when the quiet night air was suddenly perforated with screams. The princess pony tried to keep order, barking orders at her charges but they scattered in almost every direction, terrified by what they had just witnessed. With the exception of the two pegasai and the princess pony, the remainder of the band had disappeared into the trees. The first pegasus was too scared to move as she curled up into a quivering ball while the second hovered overhead with an utterly stupefied look on her face, her gaze fixed on him. Her jaw hung slack and was that…awe in her eyes?

That was when he was almost blown over by a loud shout. The Wanderer frantically looked about and found that it was the princess pony who did it. She did not look happy; her eyes were narrowed in a glare directed at him as she slowly walked towards him. She continued yelling, conjuring up winds (somehow) each time.

He raised a hand to make a placating gesture, trying to calm her down, but he was surprised when her horn glowed with a faint silver light, and he found it difficult to move. 

What…?

Naturally, he tried struggling against them. It seemed to have an effect on the princess the more he fought back. She was straining, her brow was twitching and she gritted her teeth.

Wait…is she doing this? Some sort of…I don’t know… he racked his brain, trying to think of a good word. He figured that he had simply startled her, or she suspected him of being affiliated with the abominations in some way. Either way, he had to convince her that he wasn’t the enemy, lives were at stake.

The rainbow pony was babbling something in her language, gesturing frantically with her hooves, both towards him, the princess and the quivering mass that was another pegasus. Whether she was trying to reason with the princess, or condemning him, he did not know.

He grunted in exasperation as the pony continued to hold him in place, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see more dark shapes gathering at the edge of the clearing, near where the butter-colored pegasus was resting. His eyes darting between the pegasus, the abominations, and the princess.

He barked a warning when the monsters charged.

The princess glanced in the direction that he was looking at she cried out in alarm, as well as the rainbow pegasus; the abomination’s soon to be victim shrieked in terror. The princess finally let the Wanderer go. His weapon came flying up, and he was already shooting at the monsters. 

One down, two down, three…

He swore loudly, the last one was too close to the pegasus; he wouldn’t have time to…

Abruptly, he heard what sounded like crackling electricity nearby. Suddenly, a radiant blue lightning bolt phased into existence, lancing through the air and impacting the remaining monster in the chest. The Wanderer yelled out in surprise and instinctively dove to the ground at the sound of a loud blast. The abomination went down, a hole burned right through it.

Gritting his teeth, the Wanderer turned and found that the act was done by none other than the princess pony, her horn still crackled with energy.

The Wanderer blinked once, Well, didn’t see that one coming…

The princess met his gaze and a moment of silent understanding seemed to pass between the two. The Wanderer scrambled to his feet, still staring at the pony. Guess that’s one way for them to defend themselves…

Another shriek rang through the air, and both the princess and the Wanderer stood at alert. They exchanged a glance and nodded. Nothing would get by the two of them.

The next group charged in a very similar fashion, and they fell extremely quickly. The Wanderer was impressed when the princess pony took out three more of the things in quick succession. Impressed and distracted to the point where he almost missed his targets.

He could hear one of the things trying to rush him from the rear. Quickly, the Wanderer readjusted his body as the abomination tried to pounce him; he seized it out of the air and flipped it over his shoulder, as it landed it shrieked horribly. He quickly ended its miserable existence by bringing down his power-armored boot on its neck.

The princess was faring just as well, zapping an abomination and flung another through the air with her telekinesis. 

Another monster tried sneaking up on him; it didn’t work. The Wanderer heard it coming and lashed out with his fist, catching the thing in the jaw. Before it could recover, he shoved his pistol in its face and fired point blank, reducing the ex-human’s brains to the consistency of a radioactive slushy.

When the chaos ended moments later, he and the princess pony were standing back to back. He had to admit: blasting hostile aliens with a pegasus…unicorn…or whatever she was called by his side was not what his typical day was usually like.

Well, it was Tuesday.

Figures.

Overhead, the rainbow pony cheered.

The Wanderer looked to the princess, while she looked back. Her expression softened and she said something to him, judging from her tone, it was an apology for the brief display of mistrust which almost cost the little yellow pegasus.

“Don’t worry,” the Wanderer responded, “I’m not angry,” he patted her on the shoulder. She recoiled briefly, before settling down.

There was a distant scream. Everyone present cringed but the Wanderer’s eyes widened when he realized that it wasn’t one of the abominations again, this scream sounded very human and very afraid.

It was undoubtedly one of the missing ponies.. He took a deep breath but before he could take a single step, he suddenly found his path blocked by a feathery, navy blue wing. He turned and cocked an eyebrow and the princess who was standing nearby.

“Do you mind?” grumbled the Wanderer, meeting her gaze. Before he could say another word, the princess’s horn once again lit up with a silvery-blue light.

He gasped slightly at what felt like a slight pressure on his mind. It was a curious sensation; he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He could see…images.

It looked like a picture of all of the ponies, every pony that was present in the clearing, including himself. They were all gathered in one place, but were surrounded by the abominations. With the exception himself, the princess, and the filly, a light arced between each of their necklaces and the tiara of the purple one. It finished up with the light coalescing into a large singular mass, before expanding outward, consuming all of the monsters. When it cleared, only the ponies remained, as well as himself.

He shook the images from his head before finding himself back in the clearing under the curious eye of the princess pony. It took him a moment from him to analyze what he had just seen, but he understood. Somehow, those necklaces could be used to destroy all of the abominations. How, exactly? He had no idea whatsoever.

Lastly, the princess tapped the ground on which they stood with one of her forehooves and the Wanderer grasped the meaning: find the rest of the ponies, and gather them here. He and the princess shared a stare for a moment before he gave a single firm nod. The pony seemed to be satisfied with his response and smiled. 

Not a moment later, the pony cantered over to the quivering mass, which was the terrified pony, and to his surprise, lifted her onto her back with some unseen force. The butter-colored mare shakily hooked her forelegs around the neck of the princess before the navy-blue pony took to the air with two powerful beats of her wings. The rainbow pony shot one more look at him before following the princess.

The Wanderer watched her go; he couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as well as awe. She and the other pegasus looked so graceful, so free flying through the air like that, completely unbound by the earth and…

He slapped himself, shaking himself from his musings. Keep the sentimental crap for later; you have a mission to complete.

He quickly observed the hoofprints that were leading away from the clearing. With his keen observational skills, he was able to deduce that they had run in two opposite directions in pairs of two. The princess was heading towards one group, so he decided that it would be logical for him to pursue the other two.

He took a deep breath before bounding into the forest.

Don’t worry, I’m coming…

~~

Pinkie Pie wasn’t having a very good day. Or night, or early morning, doesn’t matter. What did matter is that she had gotten separated from her friends when the scary monsters attacked and she bolted off in fright when the alien had zapped them. 

Pinchy knee pinchy knee…

She had run into several of those things not very long after she bolted into the forest.

She desperately clung to a branch as several of those horrifying monsters circled underneath her, waiting for her to fall. Her poofy mane had deflated and hung limply around her as she tried to hold back tears. She was scared; Grandma Pie had always taught her to simply laugh at the spooky to make it go away, but no amount of giggling would vanquish this evil.

They looked so awful. They looked so much like the alien yet not like the alien. It confused her. How could one of them be so nice, yet the rest of them be so mean…? Their horrible cries seemed to pierce her very soul as they stared up at her with their horrid black eyes as they reached for her with their twisted claws, intent on turning Pinkie into a Pinkie sandwich.

She gritted her teeth and her heart thudded rapidly in her chest. Her frame quivered as she hung on for dear life. She stifled a sob; all she wanted to do was to throw a party for her newest, bestest friend. She squeezed her eyes shut as a few tears ran down her face, gravity seizing them and dragging them down to the forest floor.

She stared at the starry sky through a gap in the canopy above; she sobbed once more.

Well… she thought to herself, Look on the bright side, Pinkie. At least it isn’t raining…wait…itchy back?

There was a loud sound echoing through the forest, each thump accompanied by a flash. Pinkie’s eyes sprung open at the noise as she wondered where she had heard that exact same noise before. But most importantly, she realized that the forest was quiet again. Slowly, she turned her head around, redirecting her gaze to the forest floor, only to find that the monsters were oddly replaced with puddles of green goo. She continued staring for a confused seconds before the cause of the monsters’ demise silently stepped into view.

Itchy back!

Pinkie’s sadness instantly receded at the sight of her new best friend approaching. Her hair poofed back up with an audible sproing as he walked to the base of the tree, and her face split into a wide grin.

Oh my best friend is here to rescue me!

“Ooh! Ooh! Up here new best friend!” said Pinkie.

The alien stopped at the base of the tree, glancing around quizzically for a moment before slowly looking up. His expression seemed to take on one of…annoyance when he saw her. Yet why would he be annoyed? Pinkie was absolutely confused, who would be annoyed to see Pinkie? Everypony likes Pinkie!

Without a care in the world, Pinkie let go of the branch.

“WHEE!!”

The alien cried out in alarm when he suddenly found an airborne party pony hurdling towards him from skies above.  The two collided and they tumbled into a disorganized heap of limbs and armored plates. The dust cleared to reveal a slightly dirtied Pinkie Pie standing on top of a prone alien, her expression one of unbridled joy and happiness.

“Oh thank you thank you for coming to rescue me, Mr. Alien! At first I was all like AHH when you zapped those monsters but then I got cornered by those other monsters and I was all scared because I thought they were going to eat me but then my back got itchy which means that it’s my lucky day and then you came by and were all like ‘NO YOU CAN’T DO THAT!’ or something but I don’t know what you were like because I can’t understand you and…”

The alien blearily looked up at her with an expression of absolutely bewilderment.

“…then you zapped those monsters too! Why’d they turn into goo? Does your zapper do that? That’s kinda weird…anyway then I saw you coming and I was like YAY and then I dropped down but then…”

The alien shushed her by placing a single armored finger on her lips. She stopped talking, but she kept the grin.

~

Of course, of all of the ponies he could have encountered first, it had to be the chatterbox. He couldn’t help but admire her cheerfulness though, one minute she was being attacked by aliens, the next she was completely back to normal, or whatever normal is for her. He couldn’t help but find it strangely cute.

With a grunt, and a brief protest from the pony, he shoved her off of his chest and scrambled to his feet. Much to his dismay, he found that he got some of the goo on his armor; that stuff is an absolute pain to wash out. He never quite pegged down the reason why plasma based weapons caused molecular destabilization, or whatever the correct term was.

While he was busy pondering that, the pink pony went right back to her relentless chattering, waving animatedly with her hooves. It was a bit refreshing to see how quickly she could bounce back; it looked like she was simply happy that he saved her and not afraid that he had just zapped those monsters to goo.

He had followed their trail through the dense underbrush, blasting a few of the monsters along the way. It was a learning experience in one way, fighting through a dense forest for the first time, just as it was incredibly nerve-racking.

The abominations had much more natural features to hide behind, the underbrush hiding them from view. By the time a lesser man would have noticed that there were monsters lucking in the brush, they would already have been attacked.

He felt that the pony’s stare on him as he crouched down, inspecting the earth at the base of the tree. He groaned irritably; seemingly it was too much to hope for that the two ponies that bolted in this direction stayed together. The conspicuous lack of a second pony, or thankfully, lack of a pony corpse gave him the impression that the two were separated.

He reeled back in surprise when a poofy pink object entered his field of view. The pony had roughly shoved her noggin between him and the ground, and her large blue eyes were staring at the same object he was staring at.

She babbled something before falling back on her haunches, her expression quizzical with her hoof on her chin. While she was doing…whatever that was she was doing, the Wanderer frantically searched for another pair of tracks. The ground in this forest was a great deal softer than that of the Wasteland, and animals seemed to leave much more noticeable impressions.

While he was scrutinizing the earth, he yelled out in surprise when something abruptly jumped onto his back. He trashed frantically, determined to throw his attacker off. His heart raced, he struggled, but his assailant refused to let go. He threw a glance over his shoulder and saw…

…that the pink pony had abruptly piggybacked him without his permission. The Wanderer’s jaw went slack in astonishment at the sheer boldness of Ms. Hyperactive. Her back legs were wrapped around his waist while her forelegs rested on his shoulders. He also noted how strong her grip was, interesting given the fact that she lacked fingers; she was completely unfazed by her brief ordeal, and her grin was as crazily wide as ever.

The Wanderer cocked an eyebrow, “Do you mind?” he said irritably. He rose to his feet, and the pony came up with him, her current position placing her head higher than his own. She stared down at him with those big blue eyes.

He almost forgot what he was out here to do as they continued to stare at each other; she seemed to remember as well, given the fact that she suddenly gasped.

The Wanderer continued to stare with a dumbfounded look plastered on his features as the pink pony frantically looked about, before placing one hoof above her eyes. She turned her entire upper body in such a way that it made her look like she was surveying the whole forest, when her hoof abruptly shot out, directed at the forest.

It took the Wanderer a moment to realize that she was pointing.

Sucking in a deep breath through gritted teeth, he began loping in that direction with a pony on his back. His jaw went slack when he saw a new pair of tracks heading down that way.

How did I miss that before? He thought with a hint of bewilderment.

The pink pony kicked his sides and said something in her sugary language. The Wanderer snorted as he took into account the irony of the situation. Here he was, on an alien world, and the pony was riding the human.

How silly.

~~

I feel so foalish…

Thought Twilight Sparkle as she and Rarity struggled to maintain a magical barrier. It was the only thing standing between them and the horde of ravenous abominations who flailed against the glowing dome surrounding the two unicorns. They had ambushed them shortly after becoming separated from the others, spilling out of the forest like insects.

Why couldn’t she have kept control and stayed with the princess rather than darting away like a skittish little filly? Although many of her exploits were lost to the ravages of time, and overshadowed by her fall as Nightmare Moon, Twilight knew that the Night Princess had combated and defeated many monsters, pushing them all the way back to the gates of Tartarus. Also, in becoming separated from her friends, she had lost the advantage of the Elements of Harmony; the tiara perched atop Twilight’s head was useless if it wasn’t gathered with the remainder of the elements.

Under most circumstances, Twilight would have devised some clever plan to get her friends and herself out of their predicament, but at the moment she was frightened beyond the point of rational thought. How to handle being surrounded by a horde of alien monsters wasn’t a normal part of her curriculum. She gritted her teeth, a bead of sweat traveled down her forehead as she struggled to maintain the spell.

Sure, she could teleport herself, but where would that leave her friend? She wasn’t the element of loyalty, but there wasn’t a chance that she would leave her friends behind to deal with these…creatures.

Twilight yelped when one of the monsters dove into the barrier particularly close to her position, giving her a clear view of its twisted features. There were so many similarities between its face and that of the other alien, albeit the fact that this one’s expression contained nothing more than mindless malice. Twilight shuddered as she stared into those soulless black eyes, and that hateful scowl.

“We can’t…keep this up…” grunted a very dirt-encrusted Rarity. Her chest was heaving under the strain as she struggled to maintain the barrier. The azure glow of her horn flickered dangerously. Tears welled up in her blue eyes as the barrier receded slightly.

Twilight and Rarity locked gazes as their shield, the only thing standing between them and the monsters slowly waned. Twilight sobbed while Rarity shut her eyes, more tears streaking down her cheeks. Twilight dug her hooves into the soft earth and her face screwed up.

“I’m sorry,” she squeaked.

I hope Sweetie Belle is safe… thought Rarity wistfully.

Twilight sucked in a deep breath. The images of her family, her mentor, and her friends flashed before her eyes. She gritted her teeth, sweat pouring down her face. Something like a flame sprung up inside of her as she thought of those happy memories, giving her a newfound sense of determination. She reached deep within herself, drawing on her vast reserves of magic.

Rarity gasped at the frightening look adorning her friend’s face, her heart raced in her chest. Twilight’s horn brightly, and their barrier took on a deep shade of violet. Twilight yelled as she threw her power behind the barrier, and it rushed outward with a surge of energy. The monsters shrieked as they were violently blasted aside, scattering like leaves caught in the wind; their bodies were violently crushed against the trees, dirt and rocks as the magic tore through their bodies.

A moment later, it was over.

Twilight stood there panting, her eyes half shut with exhaustion. Rarity looked on mortified at the destructive display. With a final sigh, the violet mare slumped heavily on her side, Rarity caught the mare with a startled cry.

“Twilight! Darling, are you okay?” asked Rarity, her concerned stare on her friend.

The mare shakily rose back to her hooves. Twilight took in a deep breath; “Just…a little…winded…” her statement was punctuated with gasps. The magical assault took more than just a physical toll on her. She was in a state of shock at what she had just done; she had never imagined herself using her magic for such destructive purposes.  

“Are you sure-“

“Twilight! Rarity!” shouted a new, welcome voice. Twilight and Rarity felt a sense of relief welling up in their chests before direction their gazes skyward. Sure enough, a familiar cyan pegasus was overhead, flying towards them, “Are you-…woah,” she stopped when she saw the broken corpses of the monsters laying about. “Did you…d-did you just…” her face paled. Her gaze slowly drifted over to Twilight.

The violet unicorn felt a lump of dread forming in her throat, terrified of what her friends would think of this little incident. Oh please don’t hate me…please don’t be afraid of me…

“An impressive display,” said another newcomer. Twilight blinked in surprise when she realized that Rainbow was not alone; the Night Princess materialized from seemingly nowhere alongside Rainbow and gracefully banked towards the two unicorns, landing noiselessly before them. Twilight’s knees started shaking, “I can see why my sister has chosen you as her protégé,” declared Luna, her head held high, looking down at the unicorn.

“P-Princess…” wheezed Twilight, her mouth dry. Twilight noticed that a quivering Fluttershy was mounted on Luna’s back. Twilight swallowed loudly before sinking in a bow, “Oh! I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have run and-“

“There is no need to apologize, Twilight Sparkle,” interrupted Luna, “Your fright at these most foul creatures was perfectly understandable.”

Twilight’s ears twitched, “But the elements were scattered...we should have stayed together and-“

“Wait, the other elements!” interrupted Rarity, thrusting a white hoof out, “What happened to Pinkie and Applejack?”

“I enlisted the aid of our mutual friend to aid us in gathering thine friends,” said Luna, matter-of-factly.

Now Twilight was curious, “How did you accomplish that? Last I was aware, we have a bit of a problem with a communication gap,” stated Twilight.

Luna puffed her chest out slightly, “I used a minor spell to get the point across, he seemed to understand my intentions,” her face became quizzical as she put her hoof on her chin, “I think I may have startled him, he acted as if he had never seen magic before.”

Rarity cocked her head and pawed at the dirt, “Ah…I see…but can our…friend be trusted?”

Luna shifted uncomfortably on her hooves, “We had a brief…disagreement, but I believe that he can be trusted,” she glanced between everypony present and shrugged, “Besides, I touched his mind briefly when I used the spell, I sensed no malice.”

“What are these…repulsive beasts anyway?” said Rarity walking to Twilight’s side.

Twilight met Rarity’s stare, taking note of the salty streaks that her tears had left down her cheeks, as well as her unkempt mane, “I honestly do not know, Rarity.”

“It does not matter,” interrupted Luna, “What I am certain of is that the other unknown creature is not aligned with their ilk.”

Rainbow snorted from overhead, “You bet he isn’t! You should have seen the way he took out those monsters! He was like…pow! Wham!” she punctuated each word with an exaggerated punch to the air. “Oh, and you looked like you did okay yourself,” she muttered, staring at the dead monsters, “Not that I’m saying it’s a bad thing, it’s cool to know that you can stand up for yourself,” Twilight felt a stir of reassurance. “Oh, and yes, he did have a zapper!” she said proudly.

That piqued Twilight’s curiosity, just enough for it to overcome her fear. With what had just happened, she had nearly forgotten that mere minutes ago she was practically drooling over the prospect of the strange, new technology and ideas their unique guest may have brought with him. That was of course until the monsters attacked. She frantically hoped that Luna and Rainbow were right, that the creature wasn’t aligned with these monsters. That would be one way to kill a dream… Twilight thought to herself.

Twilight yawned deeply; she couldn’t have picked a better night to skive off sleep for her studies.

“Art thou unharmed?” asked Luna in a soft voice, who trotted up to Twilight upon noticing the latter’s exhausted state.
Twilight groaned, rolling her shoulders, “I’m a little winded, but I’ll be fine. Nothing I’ve learned could prepare anypony for a situation like this…”

“What is important is that you are well,” said Luna, “My dearest sister would never let me hear the end of it if I let any harm come to thou.”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile.

“Fluttershy, are you okay, darling?” said Rarity, staring up at the quivering pegasus that was clinging to Luna’s back.
Fluttershy stared back and squeaked once.

Rainbow crossed her arms and noisily cleared her throat overhead. “I’d hate to rush ya, but shouldn’t we get going?”

Luna’s eyes darted between the airborne pegasus and the remainder of the ponies. “Indeed. I instructed our friend to bring any ponies he may find back to where we had first met,” stated Luna, “Do not worry, I will not leave your side. I will guard you against any more creatures that lurk in the dark.”

Sharing a collective nod, the ponies all fell in line behind the princess as they once again disappeared into the forest.

~~

“Hey! Stop that!”

The Wanderer really had no idea how, but the pink pony was now riding atop his shoulders, regardless of how awkward that must have been for her. But more importantly, she had somehow pilfered one of his grenades.

The Wanderer’s pulse raised as the pony precariously balanced the ovular green object, with the short glowing green antennae in her hooves. She stared at it as if it were a Christmas present. Predictably, she continued chattering all the while, seemingly oblivious to the danger they were in.

The Wanderer’s hand darted through the air and snatched the deadly plasma-based explosive from the hooves of the eccentric pony. The pony seemed to take a moment to realize that her new ‘toy’ was gone, before putting on an adorable little pout.

The Wanderer put on a stern expression and shook his head, “Not happening,” he grumbled.

But before he knew it, the pony somehow acquired three plasma grenades and started juggling them. The Wanderer’s eyes widened in fear and he gritted his teeth as he watched the imminent disaster that was just waiting to happen.

One again, the Wanderer took away the explosives, and pointed at the pony’s face. “Stop that! It’s dangerous!”

He wasn’t about to let an innocent little pony get blown up, especially since in this case it would involve him getting blown up as well. He rather liked his currently unexploded state.

Looking around he eyed a relatively sizable gap in the vegetation. It was just him and the kooky mare, so he decided to give a little demonstration. Amidst the pony’s protests, he forced her off of his shoulders and gently set her on the forest floor. She watched him like a young student that was getting lectured.

He held the grenade up in his palm and pointed to it, “You see this?” he fiddled with the safety and armed it, tossing it aside into the empty patch. The pony jumped when the grenade sparked as it impacted the dirt, and blew up in a radiant green explosion a moment later.

The Wanderer crossed his arms and looked down at the pink mare, who continued to stare at where the explosion was mere moments ago, her mouth formed into a tiny o.

“You see? Dangerous,” he said matter of factly.

Much to his dismay, the mare smiled and began excitedly clopping her front hooves together as if she were applauding. “(Ooh! Ooh! Do it again! Do it again!)” she said happily.

Good lord, what have I gotten myself into? Thought the Wanderer as his palm found its mark on his forehead.

A pained cry brought him and the pony out of their current states. The pony’s eyes became wide and fearful at the noise, while he became alert and attentive at the sudden change in the pony’s mood. She was so distracting; it was a miracle he could stay focused for more than five seconds in her presence. He kept nearly forgetting that he was supposed to be searching for another pony.

Abruptly, the pony bolted in the direction the cry came from. The Wanderer swiftly pursued her through the forest, the pony’s noisy hoofbeats echoing throughout the forest. He couldn’t let her get too far ahead since the princess had asked him to protect them. At least she looked like an authority figure of some sort.

He nearly tripped over her when the pink pony abruptly stopped in her tracks, her gaze set dead ahead on something. The Wanderer squinted; the forest opened up, and he found himself standing next to a river running through the depths of the forest. Before he had an opportunity to ponder the idea of a world with absolutely no irradiated water, something far more alarming caught his eye. Before him he could see several of the monsters, prone, and unmoving.

What did this…?

He walked over to one of the abominations and forced it face up. It was dead; blood dribbled out of the wretched thing's mouth, and he could see two imprints on the things chest where someone’s hooves had made their mark. The rest of the corpses were in a similar state, with the exception of one; he promptly broke the unconscious beast’s neck.

The Wanderer ignored the pink pony as she walked to his side before he noticed something sitting by the riverbank. He kneeled next to it, the earth crunched under his knee. His face paled as he recognized the brown Stetson hat that the orange pony had been wearing. He glanced back at the corpses briefly; he had to hand it to her, she sure packed a mean kick. It was definitely a good thing that he had been wearing his armor earlier.

The pink pony joined him. She gasped in dismay as she too recognized the headgear. She frantically babbled something, waving animatedly with her hooves, her eyes wide and fearful. The Wanderer raised a single hand to stifle her speech before the Wanderer spotted a blood trail running alongside the river. The pony spotted it as well; her face paled and the Wanderer swore he could have seen her hair deflate slightly. He followed it, his long strides quickly putting distance between he and the pink pony.

A faint whimpering reached his ears.

The Wanderer picked up the pace and rounded the bend. He stopped in his tracks; there, off in the distance was a prone, bloodied form with an orange coat. Next to it, he could see a smaller creature with a bow in her mane frantically shaking the former. The Wanderer’s jaw went agape, and he quickly made his way to the fallen mare’s side.

The filly saw him coming; she turned to him and stared with those large golden eyes. He saw a flash of recognition. Big, wet tears were streaking down her face, and her tiny frame racked with sobs. Her back legs sat awkwardly behind her, she still couldn’t move.

“(C-c’mon sis…w-wake up…p-please…)” stammered the filly as she continued to shake her sister.

The Wanderer’s heart raced as he knelt next to the pony. Her eyes were shut and her face was locked in a grimace. Numerous gashes marred her orange coat, and blood still freely oozed from many of them. The little filly looked up at him with pleading eyes, even his hardened heart could not resist that stare.

I’m not about to let any of these creatures fall to these…things! He thought angrily. He was barely aware of the pink pony rushing up behind him; her hair had gone full-on straight. How that worked utterly perplexed the Wanderer.

Stooping over, the Wanderer placed the side of his face near the mare’s nose. The reassuring feeling of the mare’s breathing on his cheek was a good sign.

She’s still alive, thank god…

The Wanderer stared down at Pip-Boy, ignoring the curious stares of the other ponies present. His eyes briefly strayed to the clock. It was 5:00AM; almost dawn. But more importantly, he still had a stimpak left, thankfully, yet only one; most of them were used to bring him back from the brink of death following the crash.

He pushed a few buttons to eject it from his suit’s auto-doc systems.

“Are you sure, best friend?” prompted his AI, the synthesized voice drawing confused stares from the two conscious ponies.

“Yes,” he replied bluntly. Part of him knew that stims might not even work on these critters, yet that was cancelled out by the fact that she was probably going to die if he didn’t try. She was losing a lot of blood.

There was an almost inaudible hiss as the life-saving chem was dispensed through a slot near where his Pip-Boy met his armor. He took the hypo in one hand, and brought it up to eye-level. He heard both ponies gasp in surprise at the sudden needle; their irises shrunk and pink pony backed away.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he swung the needle down and thrust the stimpak into the mare’s hip, dispensing the restorative drug into the pony’s system. The Wanderer held his breath as he removed the spent hypo, eyeing the pony with a heavy sense of trepidation. Part of him was afraid that it wouldn’t work. That would leave a very good impression on these ponies, first mission he receives, and he fails it.

His heart skipped a beat when the pony gasped for air, her whole body racking with coughs. The coughing fit passed shortly, and the Wanderer’s fists clenched as he saw the numerous cuts stopped bleeding; the smaller ones even scabbed over quickly. Last but not least, the mare’s large green eyes started cracking open.

~

Applejack gasped as the first light hit her weary eyes. Her head was pounding; it felt like she had drank a little too much cider. Her limbs were heavy, and it seemed like it took monumental effort to simply budge them.

Cool morning air, mixed with a hint of moisture hit her senses as she took a deep breath, it felt cool and refreshing. She struggled to remember what she was doing; indistinct images flashed through her head of the forest, of some strange creatures, and of…them.

Her heart started racing. She could recall bolting like a little filly, struggling to keep her unconscious sister balanced on her back. They had ambushed her near the river, she fought her hardest to protect her kin. She remembered their claws tearing into her hide as she bucked them as hard as she could, but then, blackness. Ice formed in her gut as she started shaking. 

Oh no! Apple Bloom!

“Applejack! Yer okay!” squeaked somepony nearby.

Huh?

The mare forced her eyes open, gasping at the sudden light. Before the scene could form, she felt a tiny body envelop her own in a hug. Blearily, Applejack shifted her eyes down and caught sight of her sister. Relief washed over her.

She’s okay!

“Ngh…wha-what’s goin’ on?” she said groggily as she swayed on the spot. Her body felt sore all over, even worse than that of a good day’s bucking. 

“You were so c-cold! I t-thought that y-you…” Apple Bloom whimpered; her lower lip was quivering and her eyes were glistening with tears. “You wouldn’t wake up...”

Applejack felt a rush of sisterly compassion wash over her, she leaned over and nuzzled the filly, “M’alright sugarcube,” she shook her head, trying to dispel the fog in her mind. The scene around her gradually came into focus. She was in the forest, by a river. It was all coming back to her.

But…where’d those nasty varmints scuttle off to?

“Ooh! I’m so glad you’re alright, Applejack!” shouted a pink blur. Applejack started to smile, but then the grin fell when she saw that Pinkie’s hair was straight. A dark cloud seemed to follow a sad Pinkie everywhere, it was very rare to see her sad. “At first I was all like…like…” she struggled to come up with the words, it sounded like she was choking back sobs and tears shimmered in her eyes. However, a moment later her hair sprung back up, “…And then I was like-“

“Mr. Alien helped you, sis!” said Apple Bloom helpfully, speaking loud enough to supersede Pinkie’s ramblings.

Applejack nodded, but then froze as she processed that statement, “’Mr. Alien’? Who the hay is…”

She trailed off when she realized there was a non-pony present.

He was crouched just out of sight, silently watching her like a guardian statue. The cold look that dominated his face directly before the monsters attacked was gone, and he watched her with an air of calmness.

Applejack swallowed loudly, “Er…this fella is on our side…right?” she said shakily. She hadn’t forgotten how quickly he had killed those other creatures, and how…it looked like something he was really good at. But much to her relief, that strange weapon he had used was not in his hand.

“Sure he is!” squeaked Apple Bloom, “He saved mah hide from the monsters earlier in that…dark place,” she wrinkled her nose, “He saved me…and Scoots…in Sweetie Belle…” her eyes widened and her lip began quivering, “W-what happened to them? A-are they alright?”

“Ooh, they’re at Zecora’s place! Along with all those big tough guards!” said Pinkie, who hopped on her hooves.
Applejack raised an eyebrow at her sister, “What happened to yer’ legs?” her eyes narrowed, “This fella didn’t do it, did he?”

Apple Bloom’s ears drooped, “Ah…Ah dunno. It was dark. Sumthin’ fell on me and hurt mah legs,” she bowed her head, “He carried me out. Guess I must’ve fallen asleep…”

Applejack nodded once as her sister’s situation became clear to her. So the alien had helped her, and now it looked like she owed him as well. Her eyes traveled over to her apparent savior; she stared quizzically up at him, before noticing the empty syringe held limply in his left hand.

“What did he do to me?” asked Applejack, looking to her friend and her sister for an answer.

Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom shared a look and a shrug. "Ah dunno...nothin' bad..." said Apple Bloom.

Applejack’s face screwed up before she replied with a simple, “Eeyup.” For all she knew, the alien could have poisoned her. She really didn't like the idea of strange alien medicine, but on the bright side, it seems to have worked. “Now…where’s mah hat…” she grumbled.

“Ooh! I’ll get it!” Pinkie said happily before darting down the riverbank.

With a grunt, the orange farmpony rose to her hooves. Her head swam and her knees shook. The world seemed to be spinning. She almost lost her balance but then she felt something holding her steady. She blinked once when she realized that it was the alien lending her a hoof, and helping her get her bearings; his hands firmly grasped her shoulders.

She released a long drawn out breath, before groaning. A brief self-inspection showed that she was in pretty rough shape, her orange coat was splattered with drops of dried blood. Thankfully, she somehow wasn’t still bleeding, given how many cuts she had. Maybe it was in that thing the alien had given her…?

Pinkie abruptly returned with the Stetson in her mouth, “Here’s your hat!” she chirped, and placed the headgear on top of Applejack’s head. Applejack grunted and hastily readjusted her signature hat, brushing a few stray strands of her blonde mane from her eyes.

“Sis!” exclaimed Apple Bloom from her lower position, “Are you gonna be okay?”

“Ah’m fine, sugarcube,” said Applejack firmly, while rolling her head about. A couple quiet pops could be heard.  She nervously pawed at the dirt and glanced at the crouching alien; she smiled and looked away, “Um...thank ya kindly...for both me and mah sister. Ah don’t know what ah would have done if...”

She trailed off as the alien extended an arm in front of her. Everypony eyed him quizzically. With that same arm, he pointed at Applejack’s chest. It look her a moment to realize that he was pointing at the Element of Honesty that was snugly around her neck, then he pointed at Pinkie’s necklace.

“Ooh! Are we playing charades? Whatisitwhatisit?” said Pinkie excitedly.

Applejack shrugged off Pinkie’s antics, “I think he’s tryin’ to tell us sumthin’ sugarcube.”

The stranger repeated the motions, pointing at both of the necklaces in turn. Applejack continued to stare at him with a puzzled look on her face. He grunted with annoyance. He then proceeded to place both of his hands near his head, forming what looked like a mockery of a tiara and a horn. He followed that up by flapping his arms.

“Ooh! Ooh! I think he’s talking about Princess Luna!” said Pinkie Pie.

“The Princess is here?” said Apple Bloom excitedly. He pointed at both of the necklaces again, then pointed back the way they came.

“Ooh! Of course! Luna told him to gather the elements so we can beat the baddies!” she said cheerfully, “Did I win? Huh huh huh? Is it my turn now?” without being prompted, the pony put on a goofy grin and started making vague gestures with her hooves.

Applejack placed a hoof on her forehead, “Wait…how do ya’ll know that?”

“Easy, silly filly! I read the chapter!”

Applejack gave her a flat look, “What?” she shook her head, “On second thought, nevermind,” Applejack had a headache enough as it was, no need to interpret Pinkie logic.

“C-could somepony help me up?” said a timid Apple Bloom. The alien seemingly read her mind and scooped her up, placing her on her sister’s back. She didn’t even get a chance to protest. “Thanks Mr. Alien,” she mumbled, lazily nuzzling the hand before he could withdraw it.

Applejack couldn’t help but smile at the display.

“Pinchy knee pinchy knee…” Pinkie rambled, visibly starting to shake again. Applejack’s eyes snapped wide open. Pinkie Pie stared at everypony with wide blue eyes. “That means something scary is going to happen!”

The alien seemed to notice the pony’s sudden change in demeanor, and rose to his feet. Applejack felt a brief jolt of panic when he towered over them at his full height.

He turned his gaze on them.

“(I don’t know about you, but I’d say this is a good as time as any to get back to your princess, hm?)” he growled in his strange language before backing away, making a gesture with one of his arms. He was beckoning them – that much Applejack could tell.

She and Pinkie exchanged a glance before falling in line behind the alien.

~

Almost done, now I just need to get these two to the princess pony safely…thought the Wanderer as he led the ponies down the riverbank. He still was unsure how exactly those necklaces were supposed to help, but he wasn’t one for skepticism.

He couldn’t help but smile inwardly at the display of affection between the filly and the orange mare. It was obvious that the two were either mother and child, or siblings. It gave him an odd…tingly feeling.

But even with that, the Wanderer couldn’t repress a newfound feeling of trepidation.

Something was off, and it wasn’t the abominations. He couldn’t shake the feeling as he walked alongside the river.
Before long, he noticed something alarming as he reached the spot by the river where he had emerged from the forest earlier. All of the abominations’ carcasses were conspicuously absent. Only splatters of sticky green ichor polluted the earth.

Where had they gone?

He stopped in his tracks, the pony nearest to him bumped into his legs. The Wanderer bit his lip in doubt. Something had removed them, and he had no idea of what could have possibly be…

He briefly caught a glimpse of another abomination prowling just barely out of view in the trees. He snorted, drew his pistol, aimed it, and…

Something pounced on it, something much larger and deadlier. The abomination screamed a high, final cry, before cutting off.

He could hear the mares behind him gasp in fear at the sight at the new dark shape that lurked in the forest. Ice settled in the Wanderer’s stomach as he recognized the reptilian features, the long tail, sloping horns, numerous spikes running along its spine, and last but not least…

…its massive claws.

Oh you gotta be kidding me…

The Wanderer’s heart raised as the hulking beast slowly turned its head towards him and the ponies. He knew that these things had poor eyesight, maybe if he didn’t move…

It stared directly at him. So much for that idea…

Earlier the Wanderer was curious if anything worse than the twisted former humans was being held in his section of the wreckage, and the universe deigned to give him an answer in one of the cruelest ways possible. Why did it have to be one of those? He was nowhere near well-equipped enough to deal with this sort of thing.

A lesser man might have soiled his armor right there and now, but that Wanderer deigned to make some witty internal monologue about how much the universe hated him.

It took a single step towards them. The Wanderer turned to his companions, panic on his features. The ponies all shared a similar look, their irises shrunken down to pinpricks, their knees quivering, sweat pouring down their faces. He jabbed a finger in direction from which he and the pink pony came, and silently mouthed ‘Go!’. The orange pony looked at him and swallowed audibly.

The beast growled as it took another step, and the deathclaw loped out into the moonlight. Standing over fourteen feet tall, it was a fearsome sight. The Wanderer could feel the blood drain from his face. Almost immediately the Wanderer recognized it has something other than a standard deathclaw, that would have been too much to hope for. Judging from its size and the length of its horns, it was at least an alpha, or worse; he shuddered at that possibility. He could tell that it had been experimented on; the old surgical scars were visible on its thick, dark, hide and its eyes weren’t the milky white, nearly blind orbs that most of its kin possessed; they were a shiny black, just like an abomination’s. 

Of course the aliens had to fix that flaw, he thought derisively as the monster opened its mouth, displaying a row of horrid, jagged fangs.

The Wanderer pondered his situation. He had personally eliminated many of these monsters. He had purged their foul nests, Old Olney and Dead Wind Cavern came to mind, yet both of those raids had one major thing in common; he had more than a couple of melee weapons, a handful of grenades, and a plasma pistol.

The Wanderer’s lip twitched. “I’m gonna need bigger guns…” he mused to himself, “This could be…problematic…”

The deathclaw spread its claws and hissed loudly, eliciting a terrified yelp from the Wanderer’s equine charges. The monster broke into a run.

A feeling of dread dropped into his stomach. The Wanderer snapped out of his daze and immediately shot at the deathclaw, the green, high powered shots impacting the monster’s eyes. It roared in pain, and its head jerked back.
The Wanderer turned to the ponies, who looked at him with shock. He jabbed his finger back towards the path again. “Go!” he bellowed, causing them to jump, “Get out of here! I’ll handle this!”

They seemed to grasp his meaning and the broke into a frantic gallop. The deathclaw snapped out of its plasma-induced stupor and turned its attention towards the retreating mares.

“Oh no you don’t!” the Wanderer shouted, shooting several accurate shots into the monster’s legs. It was unfazed by his attack as it continued to charge down the mares.

The Wanderer swore as the distance between the deathclaw and the ponies waned. The orange pony threw a frightened look over her shoulder. The deathclaw drew a single one of its hands back, preparing to strike. Without a moment’s hesitation, the Wanderer snatched a grenade from his belt, armed it, and hurled it towards the monster.

It made its mark, blowing up directly beneath the monster, nearly causing it to trip. It hissed in pain as the ponies disappeared into the trees.

He released a breath that he didn’t realize that he was holding; his heart skipped a beat when the monster turned its attention onto him, quickly recovering from its stumble. The hide of its legs was burned from the blast, and were visibly steaming.

It charged.

The Wanderer fired several more fruitless shots at the thick scales of its head, the monster slowed slightly each time, but didn’t stop. 

The Hero of the Wastes planted his feet firmly on the earth, and stared at the charging monster. He took a deep breath and bowed his head. The craziest idea was running though his head at the moment. Knowing how ‘crazy’ tended to go for him, he decided that it just might work

Directing his gaze back towards the monster, he narrowed his eyes.

“Bring it on, you son of a bitch!” he bellowed, and then he charged. 

Anyone else would have been called insane for even considering such an action, but he was not like most people.
People called him the Hero of the Wastes, the Paragon, the Wasteland Messiah, the dozen other names that Three Dog had called him.

He was the Lone Wanderer.

He watched his opponent carefully as it brought back its claws, preparing the hack him to bits. At the last moment, he dove forward, and the claws missed him by inches.

~

The monster stared about confusedly, wondering as to where its prey had gone and why its claws weren’t slick with the blood of that tiny human.

It got its answer moments later when it something exploded beneath it, making its vision flash with green. It roared with pain when it realized that its prey had used another one of those exploding rocks. It felt something tugging at its tail, followed by a searing pain in its back. It turned its great head around to find its prey climbing up its back; with one hand, he was using the deathclaw’s own spikes as handholds, and in the other he was holding a large knife to stab it in the back repeatedly as it climbed, leaving a bloody trail up the monster’s spine.

The deathclaw bucked its massive frame, trying to shake its prey loose, but he refused to let go. He continued to scale the beast. As he reached the deathclaw’s neck, he grabbed one of the monster’s horns for stability. The deathclaw blindly swatted at the human with its massive claws at it continued to shake and rock and buck.

A strong feeling of hatred racked the monster’s body as it felt the bite of its prey again. It should have been the other way around, its prey should have been feeling its bite!

With a vicious swipe of it claws, it caught its prey’s shoulder. He gasped in pain as a splash of crimson danced through the air. The deathclaw hissed as it felt the human’s grip loosen. With a single last buck, it sent its prey flying through the air.
The monster hissed in victory as it moved in to finish of its prey.

~~

“Where are they?” thought Twilight out loud. She nervously twisted her hooves in the dirt and her pulse raced.

It had been over ten minutes since she the Princess, the pegasai, and Rarity had returned to the clearing where they had met the alien. She was getting worried. Her other friends couldn’t have gotten that much farther away then she and Rarity did, that she was certain of.

More than once, they had heard the alarming cries of those monsters echoing throughout the forest as they anxiously waited for the alien to return with Pinkie and AJ.

“They’ll be here,” Luna said simply as she stood tall, “I can feel it.” She didn’t know why, but something about the stranger told her that he could be trusted.

That failed to reassure Twilight and the rest of the ponies.

“Are you sure that you could trust that fellow?” asked an irate and very messy Rarity, “Not to be disrespectful…” she started.

There was a quiet snap coming from the underbrush. Everypony went tense. The air was so thick with anxiety that it could be cut with a knife.

“What was that?” stated Rainbow Dash who frantically looked about.

“Is it…them?” squeaked Fluttershy. The pony had finally vacated the princess’s back. Her body was low to the ground and her knees quivered.

Everypony squinted into the darkness, holding their breaths. A silent cheer went through the whole group when two familiar mares burst out from the underbrush. Fallen leaves and dirt sullied their coats, but they were both intact.

“It’s them!” Fluttershy said slightly more audibly, “Yay!”

Applejack was panting heavily, they noted with relief that a certain filly was still firmly taking up space on her back. The blood drained from Twilight’s face when she noticed the numerous cuts and dried blood that marred AJ’s coat.

“Woah! AJ, you all right there, pal?” said Rainbow, who swooped down from above, “You look like you got into quite a fight!”

The mare eyed her tiredly, “Ah’m…okay…Ah’m okay…” she muttered as she limped up to the rest of the girls.

Immediately, Fluttershy darted up to her friend’s side when the timid pegasus realized that her friend was injured, “Ooh! Are you alright! Were you hurt! Are you okay?” she started.

“Where’s the alien?” questioned Rainbow, “Didja lose him somehow?”

A heavy lump fell into AJ’s stomach at that statement. “Oh! Princess, we’d better use these here elements right quick!” she exclaimed, frantically gesturing with her hooves.

“There was a big monster!” Pinkie announced dramatically, popping up between everypony present. “First the alien found me and then he helped Applejack but then my knee got pinchy and…”

“He distracted the monster so we could get away,” sobbed Apple Bloom, her eyes brimming with tears. “…so we could get away…”

Luna bowed her head and sighed, nuzzling the sobbing filly. Using her telekinesis, she transferred the filly to her pack, and protectively folded her wings over her. Applejack was too tired to protest. “Don’t worry, we shall return for him when our task is complete,” she reassured.

“I can find him in ten seconds flat!” announced Rainbow, under everypony’s stares, she rolled her eyes. “I mean, AFTER we beat these freaks! It looks like we all got here at not a moment too soon,” announced Rainbow, drawing everypony’s attention. Sure enough, a few more of those twisted two legged abominations were loping into their clearing. Everypony gasped in unison.

There was a faint tingling sound, and Luna’s horn flared to life. She was prepared this time, and a large, protective dome encircled their clearing. The monsters fruitlessly banged their claws against the impervious barrier.

“Use the Elements! We will keep the foul beasts at bay!” the Night Princess loudly announced. The six friends all gathered in a circle, and all exchanged a nod.

A feeling a determination like no other came over them as Twilight initiated the spell, tapping into the Elements’ power. It felt warm and familiar as she drew the power forth.

Everypony could feel a magical spark burn within them, rising to the surface. The Elements began glowing softly, the radiance gradually increasing. They could feel the power of the elements running through them as the ancient artifacts resonated. Wind whipped about them as their hooves went off the earth, and they floated into the air.

Light seemed to be emanating from their bodies, it steadily increased in intensity.

Outside the barrier, the monsters continued their frantic assault on Luna’s magical shield, their horrid shrieks becoming louder.

The light took on a distinct color for everypony, one for each color of the rainbow. A beam of light shot from one element, to another, and other, and soon, the six friends were connected in a field of radiant beams of light. Electricity crackled amongst them as the strength of the beams increased. Soon, energy swirled off of their bodies, coalescing into a single pure-white orb overhead.

From her place atop Luna’s back, Apple Bloom watched with awe. She averted her gaze from the sheer brightness and shielded her eyes.

The monsters seemed to become more and more frenzied as the spell reached its climax.

The sphere burst, sending a rainbow-colored magical shockwave in every direction. The Elements were always a mystery, they reacted differently depending on the situation, and this was no different. 

The wave washed harmlessly over the ponies, but the monsters were out of luck. They weren’t powerful, immortal beings like Nightmare Moon or Discord, they were just soulless husks. The power of the elements utterly annihilated them.
The magic blasted through the forest…

~~

Crap!

The ground caught up with him painfully as the deathclaw dislodged him. He landed ungracefully and in a heap, a pained cry passing through his lips. 

He was vaguely away of the stinging in his shoulder where the beast had raked him. He saw its shadow enter his vision. He narrowly dodged its claws as he rolled to the side, a nice quartet of gouges were rent into the earth.

He scrambled to his feet and wheeled around to face the monster, holding his knife in a reverse grip in one hand, his pistol in the other.

Blood trickled down the monster’s forehead as it glared at him with hatred burning in its dark eyes. He brought his pistol to bear and fired at the deathclaw’s eyes. The beast shrugged off the shots and swung at him with his claws. The very tip of the nasty white blades caught the barrel of his Novasurge, and wrenched the weapon from his grip, sending it clattering uselessly to the earth too far away.

The Wanderer’s heart raced and sweat poured down his forehead as the beast took another swipe at him with its claws.

His mind barely even registered the pain as the tips of the claws raked across his chest. The scent of his blood seemed to drive the monster into a wilder frenzy.

Although he barely felt it, the deathclaw’s hit still staggered him. Before he could even react, the monster’s head darted forward, seizing him in its jaws. The Wanderer cried out in surprise as the monster’s chops closed over his midsection. His left arm, holding his knife was pinned, and his right flailed about as he was lifted into the air.
The deathclaw bit down, hard.

He cried out in pain as the vice tightened. He desperately pounded the monster’s great snout with his fist, trying to get free. Several of his suit’s components sparked and hissed as they were crushed in the deathclaw’s maw.

“C-critical e-e-error…” he heard his AI chirp over the ringing in his ears, “E-e-e-emergency, s-s-s-shutting dooooown…” the pitch and speed of the AI slowed down, “Gooood byyeeeee, beeeeeesstt-t-t-tt friieeeend….”

He gasped for air as the deathclaw’s continued its vicious assault, adamant on choking the life out of him. He gasped when he felt several of his ribs break, even his enhanced, high-density bones couldn’t take it.

The artificial spine from Big MT strained under the pressure. Plates on his armor buckled. He gritted his teeth as his constricted lungs screamed for air.

He coughed as the image of the forest slowly faded to black…

There was a distant explosion.

Oddly, the vice grip of death loosened. The world came back to him. Blearily, the Wanderer craned his head about. It didn’t take long for him to find it.

Through the trees, there was a strange, rainbow-colored wave of energy hurdling towards him. It blasted through the trees, scattering leaves everywhere. The Wanderer’s entire body vibrated from the loud roar the wave was making.

It gave him a strange feeling looking at it. It was something of a mixture of awe, fear, and…calm. He hung there limply as the force closed in, gritting his teeth as the roar of the wave overwhelmed his hearing.

The noise abruptly cut off as his whole world turned white. The strangest sensation washed over him as he hung there. A feeling of extreme heat passed over him, before being replaced by one of extreme cold…so cold…

He started shivering as a coppery taste filled his mouth.

Before he knew it, he suddenly found himself suspended fourteen feet in the air, the deathclaw, gone. He barely even felt the impact when gravity reasserted its hold.

His whole body was numb as he lay there, face down, his mind was clouded. He tried to move, but then intense pain shot down his chest, not that it would have done much good anyway, he could barely budge his limbs.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a red stream flowing onto the grass.

Wait, is that my…

He coughed once, sending a spray of crimson onto the ground next to him.

Ohh…that’s not good…

He could feel the cool touch of the grass on his face. A grim smile came onto his face as he clenched his fists. Here he was, feeling grass on his skin for the first time, and it was as he lay there dying. He never took the opportunity to walk around Oasis barefoot.

He was certain that this was it. He had come to terms with his mortality years ago; he was not afraid. Images flashed before his eyes; his father, Amata, Vault 101, Project Purity…Sarah…

I feel…cold…

This was how he imagined he would go out, falling in combat. On the bright side, at least he didn’t get a fatal infection from a radroach bite or something equally anti-climactic.

Through his dying haze, he was vaguely aware of something landing nearby; he could feel vibrations through the ground. It made a noise, but everything sounded like it was muffled.

“(…hey are…alright?)” it walked up to his side and stopped there. He felt it prod his shoulder with one of its…her…

It’s one of the ponies isn’t it?

“(Hey! I’m talkin’ to you!)” he felt something grab him, and he was powerless to resist when something forced him face up. His world spun briefly before he landed on his back, staring up into the face of a cyan pegasus.

The slightly annoyed look on her face quickly gave way to one of horror as her face visibly paled. She recoiled and held her forehooves up; they were stained red with his blood.

“(Omigosh…)” she fell back onto her haunches and scooted away, “(Omigosh omigosh omigosh…)” she stared at her bloodied hooves and started quivering.

From somewhere out of sight, he heard a frightened yell, coming from something else. Soon after, a yellow pony entered his field of view. It was the very timid one, the one he had seen the princess pony carrying away. Her long pink mane tickled his face as she frantically tried covering his grievous wounds with her hooves.

Wait is she…crying?

“(O-oh p-please be o-okay M-Mr. Alien, I-I’m sorry…)”

His head lolled around before noticing the rest of the ponies gathered nearby.

They…came back for me?

His mind swam. They barely knew him, yet they came back? He was confused. Most people he knew wouldn’t even bother looking back when he protected them, barely acknowledging his assistance, but these ponies…returned.

He could see the princess pony standing over him, with sorrow in her eyes. His breath hitched and he coughed as he looked up at her.

He barely maintained consciousness as the ponies stood above him, talking amongst themselves. The rainbow one kept her distance and continued to stare at her bloodied hoofs with a distant expression.

They were all here, the princess, the six adults, and the little filly, who glimpsed at him with tears streaking down her face. Her big sister…or mother, curled protectively around the small filly. The shy butter-colored pegasus made a vain effort to keep his precious lifeblood from spilling out; several of her tears splattered on his face. The white one tried not to stare at him as mascara streaked under her eyes. The purple one looked just as sad as the rest of them, her ears drooped.

Why are they all so sad…? They barely even know me…

The princess’s horn lit up with that silvery light, and a strange sensation came over him. It made him feel warm; his mind kept trying to slip away, but something kept pulling him back, told him to hold on.

What felt like hours later but was mere minutes in reality, a shadow passed overhead. Something much larger landed by the river where he lay. He couldn’t see it, but he felt a sense of weightlessness take him as something lifted him into the air and gently carried him.

“(I’ll send a message to my sister…)” said one of the ponies, sounded like the princess.

His vision flickered as he stared at the pale sky. It was almost sunrise, he could tell. He could feel every one of the ponies eyes on him. He didn’t know why, but for some reason, they made him feel…content.

The sky was soon blocked out as he found himself being loaded into some sort of…transport.

Shame I never got to see the sunrise…

His mind finally slipped into unconsciousness.

~~


Annnnnnnnnnd that's that. Hope you liek! Once again, a big thanks to this guy for his excellent pre-read.

And look! I actually did it in under 2 weeks this time! Well, I just fell short of two weeks (about two days), but STILL!

On another note...does anyone think I'm making these chapters too long?

Until next time!

Oh, and +300 favs! I luv u guyz! :)
	
	
	
> Aftermath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I have brought great shame upon myself for making everypony wait so long! :(

~

All the ponies watched with a heavy heart as the chariot disappeared over the treetops. Even as the unnatural shroud of silence was receding from the forest, a heavy aura of melancholy rolled in to take its place.  Very few ponies were used to situations like this one.

Luna did what she could, summoning a covered medi-chariot to attempt to haul the stranger off to where he could hopefully get help. She had given the medic ponies that had come and gone very specific orders, and made them swear to keep this secret; they didn’t need the rumors spreading. He was in very bad shape that much was certain. Before the alien’s departure, Luna managed to cast a spell to keep his already precarious condition from deteriorating further, and that was extremely taxing for even one such as her. Her head was bowed and her mane lost some of its luster.

The sky above was overcast; unscheduled of course, as was the nature of the Everfree, attributing to the solemn mood further as the ponies contemplated what had recently transpired. They had met an alien. An actual extraequestrial and he was badly wounded, maybe even killed helping them. Luna sighed and sat down on her haunches.

I’d wager he didn’t even know what he was protecting… she thought grimly as she surveyed the remaining element bearers before her. As she sat there and saw all the dirt caking their coats, and the obvious fatigue heavy in their eyes, she felt a tinge of guilt and shuddered as she settled on the numerous cuts and bruises dotting Applejack’s hide, as well as the terrified filly clinging to her back. She, the Princess, had put several of her subjects in danger.

She sighed sadly and directed her gaze skyward towards the layer of cloud that was blocking out the sky.

I suppose I should lower the moon soon…

Fluttershy was openly crying, and being supported by Rarity and Pinkie, the latter’s mane went straight once more. Fluttershy’s body was quivering and her large teal eyes were hidden behind her mane, she was unable to mask to pitiful whimpers. 

“Oh that p-poor thing…I wish I c-could have d-done more…” she choked as several large tears splattered on the ground, near where the creature once lay.

Rarity patted her friend’s shoulder and reassuringly nuzzled her, sighing sadly, “Don’t fret darling, you did what you could…” she said.

“I should h-have been able to h-help…” mumbled Fluttershy.

“But you did help,” Rarity inferred.

“Not enough…”  said Fluttershy.

Pinkie wished that she could do something to bring a smile to her friends face, but for once, she was lacking ideas. A heavier knot of sadness formed in her gut at the fact. The mood seemed to be like that of a funeral, and funerals really weren’t her forte. Although she already found herself brainstorming ideas for a ‘Glad we survived the creepy monsters party’, she would have liked to throw a party for her newest, bestest friend.

She tried humming a reassuring tune, but failed, a persistent lump in her throat choked it out.

Applejack gentled nuzzled the quivering form of her foal-sister. Her wounds still stung, but it was nothing compared to how she was feeling inside. That alien-thing had held off that monster for them, he had stayed behind so she and her sister could get away, along with Pinkie. She wasn’t one to ignore a debt like that, but it made her feel terrible that somepony had gotten hurt for her sake.

“S-sis…why wouldn’t he m-move…what was wrong with h-him?” a quiet voice asked from her back.

Applejack gritted her teeth; and there was that. Although the body wasn’t there anymore, the bloodstain and the images remained. Apple Bloom had seen the whole thing, the monsters, the body, the blood, those deep wounds. No child should have to witness something like that.

“He…got hurt bad, sugarcube,” she stated.

Apple Bloom looked at her with her large golden eyes, tears welling in them, “Is he gonna be okay?”

Applejack paused and bit her lip. What am I gonna tell her? Applejack wasn’t a pony for dishonesty. Applejack took a deep breath and swallowed, squeezing her eyes. “Ah don’t know, sugarcube,” she said truthfully.

Apple Bloom sobbed and a tear escaped her eye, “H-he was like y-you…you w-wouldn’t move…”

Twilight glumly kicked at a loose stone on the ground, a dejected sigh passing though her muzzle. She saw how much blood that creature was losing, how deep those wounds on his chest were. She had so many questions, so much she wanted to ask and learn; she didn’t even get the opportunity to make friends with the alien, learned how to speak to him…she could have only imagined the things he had to say; but now, she might not get that chance.

A pang of sadness settled in her gut and her ears drooped. She yawned and tiredly rubbed her eyes. She was about to speak before a loud splash broke her train of thought.

It was Rainbow.

“Rainbow?” asked Twilight. She took a step forward but stopped when she felt something under her hoof. She glanced downward to find that she had stepped on an odd grey L-shaped object, drawing her attention away from her rainbow-maned friend. She cocked and eyebrow, stepping off of the thing and staring closely at it. Using her magic, she lifted it into the air and held it before her, turning it about and examining every inch of the strange object.

“Hm…what is…?”

Her eyes widened in recognition as she realized what it was. It was the alien’s weapon, his ‘zapper’ as Rainbow had so astutely put it. She was vaguely aware of somepony approaching her as she continued to scrutinize the object. The hoofbeats stopped.

“Twilight Sparkle,” said somepony; Twilight turned to look up into the face of the Night Princess, who looked down on her with half lidded eyes, “I would ask that I am allowed to have that,” said Luna.

Twilight wasn’t one to argue, so she handed over the strange weapon, forcing a smile. As she weakened her own magic on the device, her purple aura was quickly replaced by Luna’s silvery-blue. Twilight’s eyes followed the object as it disappeared into Luna’s saddlebag. Just one of many questions left unanswered, she wished she could ask the alien what it was.

Twilight watched as the Princess briefly swept her eyes over their clearing, before settling on another glittering object lying in the grass. When the Princess lifted it with her magic, it became obvious what it was; it was a large knife, splattered with blood. Twilight could practically smell it from where she was standing. Also one of the alien’s weapons, she supposed, she remembered seeing him carrying it around earlier. 

Speaking of weapons, Twilight couldn’t help but mull over how she had used her magic to end those monsters earlier. Not ward off or scare away, kill, and she did it without batting an eye. Part of her was terrified at how she was able to use her gift to end life like that; a shiver involuntarily went down her spine at the thought of how easily her talent could be perverted into something sinister. Her head drooped.

“G-Get it off me…! Get it off!!” cried somepony from nearby followed by the sound of several splashes. 

Everypony turned to find Rainbow standing by the stream, vigorously scrubbing at her hooves in a frantic attempt to wash away all of the blood. Her eyes were wide, her irises shrunken. She bit her lip as the red stains persistently clung to her hooves, sending water splashing everywhere.

“Rainbow, what are you doing…? Are you okay…?” Twilight asked as she slowly approached the blue pegasus. 
There was no response. She continued to flail about in the water as her wings fluttered in a flurry of helplessness, neither achieving flight nor stability.

“It’s h-horrid!” Rainbow wailed as her breath began to get heavy. Her disturbance caused silence amongst everypony present watching her. 

“Rainbow!” shouted Twilight, causing Rainbow to pause in her act.

“Oh… hey Twi..!” Rainbow swallowed, turning around. “What’s up?” she asked, masking her otherwise obvious panic.
“Are you okay? Is something the matter?” Twilight calmly asked, Applejack close behind, as she stood by the bank of the river.

Wordlessly, Rainbow held a hoof aloft whilst looking away, displaying the blood-coated foreleg.

“Are you bleeding?!” Twilight quickly asked.

At the final word, Rainbow’s body shuddered before seizing up for a moment. She then slowly shook her head.

“Ahhh, relax, sugarcube. It’s just a little blood you got on ya” said Applejack, who joined the two.

“T-That’s not it, AJ!” hissed Rainbow turning directly to them, voice raspy, her eyes going wide, “It’s just… it’s..!”

Rainbow stopped yet again before looked back at the others, who were looking at her silently. Blinking and regaining focus, she forced a smile at them

“Aha… it’s nothing you guys! C’mon... I just err… think the red doesn’t go well with my cool blue…! Yeah!”

…

“Well, why are we still standing around here for?” said Rainbow, trying to pretend she never had her little panic attack, “Hm…maybe a nap first, or maybe a snack…” almost as if on cue, Rainbow’s stomach growled loudly, “Yep, definitely a snack. I am starving…” she glanced at herself briefly, “Or maybe a bath first, I’m a little filthy,” she nervously chuckled averting her gaze from her bloodstained hooves.

Pinkie Pie giggled, “Careful Rainbow! You’re starting to sound like Rarity you silly filly!”

Rarity scoffed, “One does not have to be a proper lady to maintain proper hygiene!” she glanced at her formerly pristine white coat, now splattered with mud, “Besides, we do need a spot of cleaning! We are all filthy! I look dreadful! Ugh, my mane!” she brushed an errant hair of her once impeccable mane out of her eyes, “It takes so much effort to prepare such a coiffure!”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile. At least this whole ordeal hadn’t changed Rarity much. Twilight gritted her teeth as her head started pounding with each of her heartbeats. She couldn’t really say the same about herself though she thought as she rubbed her temples with her hooves. The scene where she had unleashed all that destruction kept replaying in her mind’s eye.

“Reckon we should start headin’ back, Princess?” said Applejack, breaking Twilight from her musing.

Luna turned her attention towards the farmpony, before sweeping her gaze across the remainder of the group. Twilight felt a slight shiver go up her spine as Luna’s stare briefly met her own. Whether it was intentional or not, the younger alicorn had a much colder demeanor then that of her sister.

Luna put a single hoof to her chin, and sighed inwardly. She realized that she hadn’t even set hoof on the crash site, which was her original intention. A brief tizzy involving a monster attack sidetracked those plans, but after what happened tonight, Luna realized that those plans could wait until later. Luna gave a single terse nod, “Yes, we shall return to the herbalist’s hut to retrieve the other children before moving back to civilization. I will likely order my guards to scour the area as well, to see if any of those beasts remain…” she glanced at the clouds overhead, “If we hurry, we could make it before I must lower the moon.”

The ponies all murmured in agreement; the all turned towards the treeline and started slowly cantering away. “Wait!” Luna said abruptly, causing everypony to stop and throw her a quizzical stare, “Before we return, I feel the need to say something to you all.”

Twilight looked up at her expectantly, “Yes, Princess?” already she was expecting the worst, quickly brainstorming whatever improbable action Luna was about to do.

Luna cleared her throat, “In having you join me in this endeavor, I have put each and every one of you at risk,” she said grimly, her ears drooped, “I did not expect to encounter such vile creatures tonight, and I am aware that thou could have been seriously injured,” she trailed off, “So, to that end, I would like to give thou a heartfelt apology for potentially putting you all at risk,” she bowed her head and sighed with resignation, “I hope you can forgive us… forgive me.”

The resultant air of silence weighed heavily on her shoulders; part of her expected them to jeer.

Luna’s ears perked up when Applejack was the first to speak, “Ah, don’t worry your head none, Princess. It’s just a few cuts and bruises… ah’ll live…”

“Besides,” added Rainbow, “Somepony had to take care of those monsters!” she punched at the air a few times to emphasize our point. “It might as well have been me!” she attracted a few perturbed stares, “I mean…uh…us!”

Rarity cleared her throat, “I am more than willing to get a little…” she glanced at her filthy coat, “Well, in this case, a little more than dirty if it ensures the safety of those I care for,” she thought of Sweetie, and what those monsters could have done had she and her friends not stopped them.

“You didn’t take me out here…” squeaked Apple Bloom, who was silently lamenting her and her friends’ mindless choice to wander into the woods tonight, “That wasn’t yer fault, I came here on mah own.”

“Had we not intervened, it was only a matter of time before somepony was seriously hurt by those creatures,” added Twilight, wrinkling her nose. She gritted her teeth at the realization that somepony had been seriously hurt, except that it, or he, wasn’t a pony. “We all saw them, how they seemed to have no light behind their eyes; it was imperative that this task was carried out,” she bowed her head and sighed, “It was just a shame that some of us are walking away with…” she swallowed and glanced at the quivering form of Apple Bloom, then to the bloodstained grass, “…scars.” And the worst ones don’t show… she thought grimly, tapping the dirt with her hoof. Poor little filly…

“I still wish we could have done more for that poor creature…” reiterated Fluttershy, her head hung low, her ears drooping.

“Ooh! I know!” said Pinkie Pie, whose bubbly demeanor was slowly returning, as well as her poofy hair, “How about we wait til’ he gets better, then throw him a super-special ‘Welcome-to-Equestria-Glad-You’re-Not-Dead-Thank-You!’ party!” she bounced excitedly on her hooves, “It will be super-duper spectacular!”

“I’m sure it will be, Pinkie,” said Twilight, forcing a smile. She wasn’t exactly optimistic about the alien’s chances, yet she didn’t want to put a damper on Pinkie’s mood. Twilight turned her head and faced the Princess, who continued to watch them with rapt attention. “Again, Princess, we are not angry at you. In hindsight it was a good thing we came along.”
Luna observed as everypony present looked up at her. A feeling a relief was welling up in her chest at how their gazes held no resentment for her. Each of them was wearing a smile, save for the filly, whose head was buried into her sister’s neck.

Slowly, a smile came onto Luna’s face. “Well…in that case…thank you, truly. Thank you for assisting me in this task,” she trotted forward, the ponies parted before her as she headed towards the treeline, she through a glance over her shoulder, “It has been a long night, I trust that there are no objections to the notion that we return home now?”

There was a chorus of agreements.

Luna nodded, and pointed towards the trees with a single hoof, “Well, then, let us be off!”

And so they went.

~~~~

The library was still a mess. Many of the books that had once been neatly organized along the shelves lining the walls were still in a disorganized heap on the floor, and amidst it all nervously paced a small purple baby dragon.

It was extremely unusual for him to be up so early; a quick glance at the clock showed that it was barely past six o’clock, but a nightmare, coupled with a second loud blast that ripped through the morning air, waking the whole town again put an end to his precious naptime. The chatter outside had died down, but he couldn’t fall back to sleep.

He had woken up to find that Twilight had left him a note, detailing where she had gone. The details were sketchy, at best, but it was still worrying.

He could see it in his mind’s eye: the horrific visions of Twilight, Rarity, and the remainder of his friends  being cornered by dark, twisted monsters with big claws and gnashing teeth, while Rarity cried out for her beloved savior Spikey Wikey to come rescue her. 

Pale light streamed through one of the windows, and he stood in the beam as if it were a spotlight. He wringed his claws together while worry wracked his form. He stared at the staircase, hoping that Twilight would walk up it. To try to ease his mind, he got an earlier start on putting away and reorganizing the books.

Like Twilight, but to a lesser degree, he had a habit of expecting the worst to an irrational extent; he figured he must have picked that trait up from her, given that she raised him, and right now he had a sinking feeling that something terrible had happened to Twilight and her friends. 

Didn't she say that Luna with them?

Before he could dwell on it further, he could hear the front door open and close downstairs. Spike whole body went rigid; the library wasn’t open this early so he was either dealing with an intruder or…

Twilight was home, finally.

He clenched his claws as he heard the sound of hoofbeats cross the public area of the library below him, shortly followed by somepony climbing the stairs. It was made very clear to everypony that the upper level was private, the only ponies who regularly came up here were Twilight, himself, and her friends. Spike gritted his teeth and his heart raced a strong feeling of anticipation came over him as the unseen newcomer slowly climbed the stairs.

Before long, a familiar purple unicorn came into view at the top of the stairs. Before he even realized what he was doing, Spike closed this distance as fast as his stubby legs could carry him and wrapped his arms around the neck of a startled unicorn. A feeling of relief washed over him as a contented sigh passed through his maw.

“Spike!”

“Twilight!”

An awkward moment passed between the two. Twilight cleared her throat, “Um…what brought this on?” she glanced at the clock, “Come to think of it, you’re never up this early, what’s the matter?”

“I had a bad dream,” said Spike, his words muffled into Twilight’s neck, “I couldn’t get back to sleep. What took you so long, why did it take all night?” he started.

“Long story,” murmured Twilight. She reached her hoof around and massaged her forehead, gritting her teeth at the lingering headache. She grunted in pain.

Spike noticed and took his arms off of the unicorn and took a few steps back. “Geez, Twilight, you’re a mess!” he exclaimed, looking the pony over. Her coat was splattered with dried mud and some other suspicious substance he couldn’t quite put his claw on, her bedraggled mane had stray hairs pointing in every direction, messier then when she had lost it when she was late for a friendship report, and dark bags were forming under her heavily fatigued eyes. “What happened?” he demanded, putting his claws on his hips.

“Ugh, I’ll tell you all about it later,” she groaned as she rubbed her forehead some more.

Spike raised an eyebrow, wringing his claws together. “Um, Twilight, are you feeling okay?”

Twilight shot him a glance, “I’m fine, just a slight headache is all…it’s been a long night?”

“A headache?” asked Spike, “Want me to get you something for that?”

Twilight smiled at him and nodded once. “I would appreciate it,” she said gently as she trotted over to the table situated in the middle of the room.

Spike shot her a quick salute and he sauntered off to the medicine cabinet.

Twilight watched him go, a long drawn out sigh passed through her muzzled to moment he was out of view. So much was on her troubled mind, and her pounding head only made it harder to make sense of the whole thing. Now that nopony was watching, she nearly collapsed as the weight of what had just happened that night washed over her.

After departing from that place by the river, the ponies had returned to the herbalist’s hut, and thankfully, nothing had impeded them. Everything had gone off without a hitch, much to her relief. The zebra was very relieved to see that everypony was intact, and the remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders were overjoyed to see that their wayward yellow companion was safe. She didn’t return their enthusiasm. 

While they were there, Zecora had offered to treat both Applejack’s, and Apple Bloom’s injuries, to which they had both accepted. Twilight realized that she could have gotten something for her headache while she was there, but Twilight chose not to impede on the zebra’s hospitality further. Luna had ordered her guards to scour the area, to see if any of those monsters had somehow escaped the power of the elements. Luna had escorted Twilight and her friends to the edge of the forest, retrieving the elements from them before parting ways.

That brought her to where she was now. From his perch high above her, her pet owl looked down at her with his large, round eyes. The only sound permeating the otherwise quiet interior of the library was the subtle tick-tock of the clock mounted on the wall.

She was seriously perturbed by how many questions were left answered from this whole ordeal. Where had the stranger come from? Where had those monsters come from? Had they come from the same place? She couldn’t deny that those creatures were alien life, even though she and the rest of her friends never actually made it to the crash site, all evidence pointed to them being alien. Yet what disturbed her most was just how similar both the stranger and the monsters looked. It was as if…the monsters used to be the same or somehow related to the species as the former. 

She and her friends had faced down many bizarre and dangerous creatures before, yet in the end, nopony was seriously hurt. It had never ended with somepony lying in a puddle of their own blood with holes torn into them, as well as the fact that she downright killed some of the monsters. 

It also crept up on her just how easily that could have been her lying there, or Applejack, or Fluttershy… or anypony. Her own life was put in jeopardy, as was that of her friends. She had once charged a hydra, as well as a corrupted princess-turned-monster and still she didn’t feel the same fear she had felt tonight.  From what she had gathered the creature had protected Apple Bloom, outright saved Applejack, and thrown himself in harm’s way for their sake, and Twilight was very well aware that they were just as unfamiliar to him as he was to them.

He put himself in danger for the sake of a complete stranger… thought Twilight who bit her lip. That’s…noble…

She cradled her head in her hooves once more and sighed deeply. She lifted her head and surveyed the chaos the living room was in, with the once organized shelves being in total shambles. It seemed like it was much longer than six hours ago that Luna had entered the library and asked for her assistance in some unknown task.

Twilight hardly noticed  when somepony placed a glass of water and a couple pills on the table beneath her muzzle.

“Twilight?”

No response.  She continued staring into space, a distant look plastered on her features.

“Twilight!” Spike snapped his claws in her face a few times, shaking her from her musings. Her eyes shot towards the dragon, who staggered back slightly from the sudden movement. “You were zoning out there for a moment.”

Twilight glanced down at the offered painkillers and glass of water, “Thanks Spike,” she said as she used her magic to telekinetically grab the items, popping the former in her mouth and washing them down with the water.

“Have there been any messages from the Princess?” Twilight said abruptly. 

Spike cocked his head at the sudden question, “Um, no?” he said hesitantly, he glanced at the clock, “It’s a little early, don’t you think? She probably just woke up and raised the sun.”

“Oh right…” mumbled Twilight as she fell onto her haunches and rubbed her eyes some more, silently demanding that the painkillers would dull her headache quicker. It would be foolish of her to expect that she would hear anything from her mentor so soon, assuming Celestia planned on updating her on the situation anyway. 

“Are you gonna be okay?” asked a concerned Spike, who put a clawed hand on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Sorry it’s just…” Twilight swallowed, “It’s been a rough night…” she looked around the room, “Plus, I think I still have an essay to complete…and I need to reshelf, all of these books…” her statement was interrupted by a deep yawn, “…hm…I left a to-do checklist around here somewhere…I think there is a big mess in the basement that needs cleaning up-”

“It will still be there tomorrow,” Spike interjected, gently patting the unicorn’s shoulder, “You look tired, you should go lie down for awhile Twi.”

Twilight took the suggestion to ignore the sacred checklist as if somepony had just told her to go jump in a lake filled with starved piranhas, “But what if there are visitors?” Twilight pleaded, her eyes widening and  imagining how bad it would look if somepony saw the sorry state the library was in, which they would then file a complaint to the mayor about how she was taking poor care of the place in which she would inevitably be evicted! What if- 

Spike sensed the incoming panic attack and raised his claws in a placating gesture, “I can take care of it Twilight,” he glanced at the clock, “Besides, the library doesn’t actually open for another few hours, a couple hours of rest couldn’t hurt-“

“Yes, I suppose you are right…” Twilight mumbled with a resigned sigh, bowing her head and leaning heavily on the table.

Spike’s eyes widened in surprise; Twilight never gave into somepony else’s suggestions so easily. “Twilight, what’s bothering you?” he climbed up onto the pony’s neck and gently tapped the back of her head. “Did something bad happen out in the Everfree?”

Twilight was silent for a moment before continuing. She quickly debated on how much she should reveal to her #1 assistant. Although Luna hadn’t specifically forbade her or her friends from disclosing details about the events that happened in the woods, Twilight had an inkling she shouldn't go spreading it. She thought about it for a moment; Spike was good at keeping secrets, unless he was talking to Rarity as a means to ‘impress’ her with the stuff he knew, and Rarity was already aware of what happened.

“Somepony…got seriously injured” she started, turning her head towards the curious dragon, “Maybe they even…died. I don’t what has become of…”

“Woah woah, somepony was hurt?” said Spike, his irises shrinking. The details of his nightmare came flooding back, with images of his friends cornered by horrific monsters. His mouth went dry, he expected the worst, “Did Rarity get hurt?” his whole body went rigid as he pondered this, “Oh no! Rarity!” he started running for the stairs, his tail swaying slightly behind him.

“Rarity is fine Spike!” Twilight called out from behind her, “Somepony else got hurt.”

He abruptly stopped, “Oh, good,” he turned to find Twilight glaring at him. He scratched his head sheepishly, “Um…I mean…oh how terrible,” he walked back to Twilight’s side, wringing his claws. “Well…who? Rainbow? Fluttershy?”

Twilight recalled Rainbow's brief episode before pushing that thought into the back of her mind, “Somepony new,” she said vaguely.

Spike was even more curious. “Twilight…”

Twilight looked to and fro, making sure that there were no eavesdroppers present, as pointless as the gesture was. “Can you keep a secret Spike?”

Spike crossed his arms, “Of course I can, I’m better at keeping secrets that you are, remember?” he put a lot of emphasis into the last word.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Oh come on Spike everypony knows that you have a crush on…” she was cut off as Spike covered her mouth with a single claw.

“Shh shh shh! Not so loud!” he hissed. He withdrew his claw and crossed his arms, “See what I mean?”

She snorted in response, “This is serious Spike! Promise me you won’t tell anypony!”

“I promise.” He replied.

Twilight’s head drew closer to Spike’s, “Pinkie promise?”

Spike rolled his eyes, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he made the appropriate gestures, “Now, what is oh so important?”

She beckoned Spike to come closer with a wave of her hoof. Spike leaned in close, his face scrunched up as he directed his scaly ear towards Twilight’s muzzle.

“There was something…in that thing that fell from the sky earlier…” she trailed off, and tapped her chin with her hoof, “At least I think it was in that thing, I fail to see where else he  would have come from…”

Spike’s jaw went agape as he processed what Twilight had just told him, “A-are you saying that there were ali-“

“Not so loud Spike!” she snapped, “This is a serious issue! If this is made public, I’m afraid of how everypony would react!” she bowed her head.

Spike tapped his claws together, “Sooo…” his voice dropped to a whisper, “Aliens, huh?” he understood now why Twilight wanted him to keep it quiet. His body started quivering with excitement, “What were they like, how did they look? Did they have laser beams?” his voice started increasing in tempo.

Twilight silenced him with a stern look. “I’m not exactly sure how to describe it, so many details are unclear,” said Twilight as she nervously tapped the wooden floor of the library with her hoof, “He was…interesting. He was tall, even taller than the princesses but he didn’t look like a monster, he was…friendly,” a hint of a smile came to her lips, “I didn’t get enough time to get a thorough examination but at a glance I could clearly see the technology he was using I had never seen the likes of before.”

“Well, what happened?”

Twilight rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes, “Well, we talked a little,” her voice dropped, “It was a shame we couldn’t understand a word from each other…”

Spike shrugged, “So you couldn’t understand each other… that’s not so bad, is it?”

Twilight raised a hoof to cut him off, “I’m not done yet; there were also…monsters…monsters of which we had never seen before.” 

Spike was nervously bouncing up and down on his heels, “W-what kind of monsters?”

Her expression darkened, “Were they…alien as well? I think so. There was no light behind their eyes, none at all.” she sighed, “In the end…we used the elements to…destroy them,” her lip started quivering and her ears drooped, “Not to banish them, or to turn them to stone, but to destroy them! There was nothing left!” her voice started rising in volume, “And even before that, I used my magic to kill a few of them Spike! I…I don’t know what I did, it j-just happened!”

Spike stared at her with his mouth agape, visibly disturbed by the news, his tail dragged limply on the floor. It was hard on him to see his best friend upset like this. He had seen Twilight get mad before, lashing out with magic out of anger, yet she had never used her magic to intentionally hurt anypony, “And the other alien, the friendly one?” he said hesitantly.

Twilight swallowed loudly and drew in a few raspy breaths, “He was injured…badly,” she said shakily, “I…I don’t know exactly what he had encountered, Pinkie, Applejack and…Apple Bloom do,” she cupped her hooves to her face, “Oh Celestia…there was so much blood…” her voice dropped to a whisper.

“Twilight?” whispered Spike, a pang of worry hitting his heart at the state of his surrogate sister, “Are you okay?”

“And there was nothing I could do…” she sobbed, “I’ve…never felt so helpless, Spike. I’m supposed to be Celestia’s protégé, yet all I could do was sit there and watch…” she sniffled and wiped away the tears that were gathering in her eyes, “He threw himself in harm’s way for us, and he might very well be dead right now Spike. Poor…creature…we should have been able to do more for him,” a nervous laugh passed through her muzzle, “Oh goodness, I’m starting to sound like Fluttershy-“

She was abruptly cut off with a surprised squeak as the small purple dragon threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.

“It’s not your fault, Twi,” reassured Spike, “I’m sure that you did what you could, and just think about it…” he released one arm from the unicorn’s neck and made a sweeping motion with it, “For all we know, that friendly alien could have like…weird…alien superhealing powers or…something. Princess Luna was there too, wasn’t she? She could help him out.”

Twilight leaned into Spike’s hug and sighed, “I…s-suppose…” she murmured, “Though I don’t exactly know where he was taken to, I’m certain that both of the royal sisters will be there, and together, the two of them can accomplish anything!” she said with rising fervor. She averted her gaze from Spike as a hint of a smile appeared on her face, “T-thanks Spike…” she stood up straight, “I think I needed this…”

Spike chuckled, “No problem Twi, that’s what I’m here for…” the dragon released her from his embrace and folded his hands behind his back, “You should lie down, you look like you could use it.”

Twilight laughed nervously, “First things first: I’m absolutely filthy,” she presented a mud-splattered hoof to her number one assistant, turning it about allowing the dragon to see every inch of it. “I think I’ll wash up before that…”

Before Spike could go prepare her a bath, Twilight stopped him by tugging on his tail lightly with her telekinesis, “Don’t worry Spike, I can handle it,” said Twilight as she cantered past him into the bathroom. She threw a reassuring smile over her shoulder at the dragon who was still watching her with a confused look on his face, “I’ll be fine, Spike.”

Spike gave a single firm nod, “Right, I’ll just…start reshelving some of these books then or something?”

Twilight laughed, “Do what you feel is best, Spike,” she said before closing the bathroom door behind her.

As steam filled the room, and the hot water flowed over her body, she felt as if all of her worries were washing away with the dirt, sweat and blood marring her coat. Her mind gradually flowed away from the events of the previous night as she soaked in the warm bath.

It was a grueling experience for all of them, she realized, but they lived through it. She could take comfort in that. She felt happy to be alive and unharmed.

She was unsure how long she lay there in the bathtub. Minutes? Hours? But eventually the unicorn had enough and pulled herself out.

A good bath always made her feel relaxed and comfortable; coupled with her already fatigued mind, she barely had the willpower to use a simple telekinesis spell on a towel to dry herself off.

She slowly ambled out into the living room, feeling warm and refreshed; she was hardly aware of Spike acknowledging her as she cantered up the stairs to her loft.

Her bed felt amazingly soft and comfortable as she slid into it, pulling the sheets over her tired body. Her thoughts began to wander as sleep began creeping over her.

It was a new day, and no nightmare would ever change that fact.

She drifted off to sleep…

~~~~

Several days had passed since the turn of events. Luna stared down at the unconscious being in the bed before her. He was surrounded by various bits of medical equipment, as well as a lone nurse silently standing off to the side, pouring over charts; the rhythmic beep the machine monitoring the alien’s heartbeat, and the almost imperceptible hum of the sterilization spell masking the doorway were the only noises in the small, sterile white chamber. Pale light shone between the gaps of the curtains in a small window set into the wall. The worst of the damage was concealed beneath clean sheets, leaving only his head exposed; all of the creature’s items were stacked on and under a nearby table.

Barely five days ago was he mere inches away from death. Luna had sent a message to her sister telepathically ahead of time before the alien arrived, and Celestia quickly responded. By the time the chariot had made it to Canterlot, Celestia had already enlisted the aid of the best medical staff that Canterlot had to offer, even they were up for a challenge. The extensive injuries, coupled with the physician’s nonexistent knowledge of the creature’s anatomy made their task difficult. 

They had absolutely no idea how to manually remove his armor, so they resorted to forcing it off with magic, via teleportation. The surgeons labored over the battered body for hours, doing their best to keep the critically wounded creature from passing away. Both princesses lent their power when it was needed.

Shortly past noon that day, the alien’s condition was declared stable. For now, the comatose alien was transferred to an undisclosed location within Canterlot Castle, surrounded by nurses and guards. It was easy enough to find a vacant room in the vast palace. 

He had lost a lot of blood. His ribcage was pretty much crushed, his left arm was broken, whatever had attacked him left several nasty large fangs broken off and embedded in his skin, several of his internal organs had taken damage, and there were a multitude of various other small cuts and bruises. The surgery had been several days ago, but at the rate he was recovering, Luna could have sworn that it had been much longer.

But there were complications.

The worst of the damage didn’t show; basic magical scans could detect something far worse with the alien’s health. The alien had come from a non-magical world, which was apparent. The creatures that reside on Equis are constantly exposed to the magic permeating the air. Nopony ever gave much thought to it, since the typical background magic levels are minor, but this eventually leads to them being able to tolerate exposure to much stronger levels of magic.

The alien had been on the planet for less than a day, and he had been exposed to the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful magic known to ponykind. It was like tossing ice-cold steel into a hot furnace. The fact that the alien had survived his terrible injuries was a miracle in itself, but this was on a whole new level of incredulity. The effects of magical overexposure vary from pony to pony, or alien in this case. It could be anything from exhaustion, to fever, to migraines, or everything else in between. The only way to find out would be to wait until he woke up, which is what Luna had been doing for the past couple of days in her spare time. Shortly after Night-Court had closed, she found herself wandering down to the makeshift infirmary, silently hoping that the alien would wake up.

She tapped her hoof to her chin, tilting her head slightly as she scrutinized the sleeping being more closely. He looked so peaceful laying there, a far cry from the stone-cold expression he had when he was fighting those other creatures. A nasty bruise lingered under one of his eyes, and Luna could see the subtle rise and fall of his chest through the sheets. 

He fascinated her; apart from a magic scan telling her that he was sick was severe magic poisoning, she could also sense strange anomalies present beneath his flesh. It was as if he had metallic components embedded into several of his internal organs, including the eyes, heart and brain, embedded to the point where it was too risky to try to surgically remove them. Even more curiously was that his spine seemed to be…entirely metallic. How that could have been possible utterly perplexed her. 

She wished that he would just wake up so she could get her questions answered. She bounced there like an excited schoolfilly as she pondered just what sort of things she could learn from him. Slowly, she circled the bed and headed to the table on which the creature’s items were stacked. They had been cleaned off, and the ponies had sorted through the alien’s various pouches and bags.

A brief examination from various scientists found that material that composed the outermost, plated layer of the alien’s suit to be surprisingly light, yet harder than anything that Equestrian smiths could hope to accomplish. The fact that the armor was in bad shape showed that its comatose wearer had been to Tartarus and back…or whatever his race’s equivalent or ‘Tartarus’ was. Curiously, even though the strange armor was unoccupied, they still found themselves unable to separate the individual components. Luna was surprised to find that the alien was wearing a much lighter, form fitting, yet surprisingly tough suit underneath, which was now folded up neatly next to the heavier suit.

It was in much better shape that the plated armor. The only indication of damage on it were few small gashes, as well as the several prominent lines running across the chest and back where whatever monster had left its mark.

The weaponry that the creature had been carrying was in a securely locked case under the table. They decided to do so after one of the scientists nearly managed to blow himself up with what looked like a strange dark green stone. Luna was unable to glean any answers from the strange device by merely looking at it, and she was hesitant to disassemble anything. They risked being unable to put it back together, plus she doubted the alien would appreciate it. Luna almost learned the hard way just how sharp the knife the creature had been carrying when she accidently dropped it, and landed point down, mere inches from one of her hooves. The mark it left was very visible on the stone floor.

“Somehow I knew I’d find you in here,” a new voice announced.

Luna made a brief squeak of surprise and quickly turned in place to face the intruder. The annoyed look on Luna’s face disappeared when she saw Celestia standing in the doorway. Luna didn’t miss the look of concern on her sister’s face.

“Oh, hey Tia,” said Luna, setting her attention back on the alien’s items.

Luna was aware of the sound of hoofbeats crossing the room and stopping next to her. Luna turned her head and found herself staring into her sister’s violet eyes. In her peripheral vision, Luna noticed the nurse step out to give the two some privacy.

Luna was surprised when Celestia suddenly draped one of her massive white wings over her body, and hugged her close.

Luna sighed and lightly tapped the stone floor with her hoof, “If there something you need, sister?” she said curtly.

“Is it so wrong that I want to check up on my dearest sister?” Celestia replied.

“I’m fine, Tia,” Luna snapped, slightly more rudely then she intended, shrugging off Celestia’s wing, “I can take care of myself.”

Celestia gave her a stern look, “Is something bothering you?”

“No, nothing,” said Luna, “Just this whole turn of events has me a bit flustered,” a hint of a smile came to her face, “I mean, actual extraequestrial life, and we're the first to discover it…”

“Yes, this is quite the find, Lu,” said Celestia, who was standing up straight, “It’s just that you’ve seem more…subdued lately. I find it troubling,” Celestia walked around her sister and stood in front of her, “You’ve haven’t been outside in days, Lu. I know how much you love stargazing, and you always disappear the moment Night Court is closed.”

“It’s not like anypony actually comes to Night Court…” Luna grumbled.

Celestia bristled slightly at that statement, “Anyway, you’ve been spending all of your free time down here, I’ve rarely seen you smile over the past few days, I know you haven’t been getting a whole lot of sleep…” once more Celestia draped a wing over her sister, “I know something is troubling you Lu. I can understand being excited over an incredible discovery like this. I certainly am, but you have that look about you…” Celestia tapped her hoof with her chin.

Luna sighed and bowed her head, “Am I a good princess, Tia?”

Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise. She certainly hadn’t been expecting that, “Of course you are,” said Celestia, “What could possibly make you think otherwise?”

Luna swallowed and leaned into her sister’s embrace, “It’s just that...I was willing to put those mares in danger. I specifically asked them to come along, not a large cadre of guards that are specifically trained to fight.”

“You didn’t know, Lu,” reassured Celestia, who gave her sister a squeeze.

“But I should have,” snapped Luna.

“Is that what has been bothering you, sister?” inquired Celestia.

Luna gave an almost imperceptible nod, “Fillies like them… shouldn’t have to be put in situations like that…”

Celestia nuzzled her sister, “There, there, it’s not your fault…”

Luna sighed and mumbled something into her sister’s side.

“Besides, if they hadn’t been there, there is a good chance that our guest here would have met an untimely end,” Celestia added, “Because you brought them, we were able to save him.”

“I’m not so sure,” said Luna, her ears drooping, “From what I’ve gathered the reason he was grievously wounded was because he was protecting our little ponies from my mistake…”

“Your mistake?” said Celestia, “Unless I am mistaken, you didn’t make that…” she searched for the right word, “…vessel fall from the sky, did you?”

Luna took a deep breath, “…no. I suppose I didn’t,” she turned to Celestia, “At least they’re safe, right?”
Celestia smiled and nodded, “Right.”

“But…still…” she turned towards the sleeping alien, “There is so much left that I want to know!” she glanced towards her sister, “Yet there is still so much that confuses me…”

“Such as?”

Luna lightly tapped the floor with her hoof, “You know how we’ve had ponies scouring the crash site, right?”

“Mhm…”

“I’ve seen some of the materials they have brought back…some things just don’t match up…” Luna scratched her head, “We have this fellow here,” she pointed at the comatose alien, then at the items that were laying on the table, “Some of the items recovered from the crash site are of similar make to what he’s got, yet most of the materials are completely different.”

Celestia cocked an eyebrow, “How so?”

Luna wrinkled her nose, “It’s hard to describe…it’s as if they come from different cultures…If you want, go ask the project manager for a report,” she tapped her chin with her hoof, “For instance… imagine if an archaeologist was to enter an undiscovered ruin and find artifacts from both Maresopotamia and the ancient Himalneighyas in the same tomb. Completely different cultures, completely different place and time, yet they were both buried together. Do you understand my meaning?”

Celestia nodded, “I do,” she gently patted Luna’s shoulder, “I guess it’s just one more thing you can learn from him when he wakes up right?”

“If he wakes up,” reiterated Luna, “Although I am still hopeful, physically, he seems to be recovering at an incredible rate, but the high level of magic poisoning worries me.”

“How do you think he will react when he comes to?” asked Celestia.

Luna furrowed her brow, “I honestly don’t know. He will probably be frightened and confused. He’s a fighter; that much is apparent…”

Celestia placed a hoof on her chin, “… and if he gets violent?”

Luna shook her head, “From what I’ve seen of him, that is unlikely, assuming he is lucid,” she glanced towards the alien and shifted about on her legs slightly. “If not…well, we have more than enough guards to keep him sedated,” she threw a glance at Celestia, “Don’t worry Tia, I’ll be fine.”

Celestia smiled, “If you say so Lu. Before I go to hold court there is one more thing,” her horn lit up with a bright golden glow and a small closed box floated into the room, suspended in the air by Celestia’s magic. “Since I’m assuming you’re going to be down here for awhile, I thought I might as well bring you a snack.”

Luna snatched the floating parcel out of the air with her telekinesis and floated it towards her. As she opened it, the smell of freshly baked pastries flowed over her nostrils, causing her to involuntarily drool. Within the box was a large slice of cake and a fork. Luna could barely suppress a laugh; it was rare for her illustrious older sister to actually share her cake, let alone carry it around and not eat it.

Luna beamed at her sister, “Thanks, sis.”

“You’re very welcome, Luna,” she said with a smile. Luna did not fail to notice when Celestia’s eyes involuntarily drifted over to the cake, or what the tip of Celestia’s tongue flitted across her lips. “Take care of yourself, Lu,” she turned towards the exit.

“You too, sis. Have a pleasant day at court!” Luna said with renewed cheer at her sister’s retreating back, waving as she went.

Once again alone in the chamber, Luna turned again to the items sitting on the table. Using her magic, she levitated the fork and started indulging herself in delicious cake all the while. Luna reached out and grasped one item in particular with the crux of her hoof. 

To her eyes, it looked like little more than an unflattering necklace that featured a metallic grey rectangular tag with rounded corners suspended on a chain. What perplexed her though was the black side with a crack running across it. It looked slightly glassy, and she could see strange components within. She turned it over as she shoveled another bite of cake into her mouth. On the reverse side was a peculiar emblem carved right into the necklace. She assumed that it was some sort of heraldry, given that a very similar symbol was painted onto the shoulder plate of the being’s armor, with the exception that rather than a lion, it was a trio of what looked like gears.

She turned it over once more, setting down her fork all the while.

Staring intently at the cracked side, curiosity was plastered across her face. She tapped a hoof to her chin and placed the necklace back on the table, an idea forming in her head. Tilting her head forward, magic coalesced around her horn, which was pointed at the cracked necklace. 

A narrow beam of silver shot from her horn into the object, and it did its job. It was a simply Fix-it spell. Luna watched as the crack disappeared, the glossy black material flowing around it like water. In less than two seconds, the once-damaged side of the tag looked like a span of black, polished glass.

Luna waited to see if anything would happen. She sighed several seconds later when her efforts bore no fruit. With a slight huff of frustration, she lifted her fork with her telekinesis again, and roughly impaled the poor cake. When she tore it out, she did it slightly too violently, and she somehow managed to lose her grip on the piece of silverware, sending it clattering to the table. The fork collided with the smooth black surface of the tag, splattering the dark surface with cake.

The look on Luna’s face suggested that she narrowly averted a disaster of epic proportions. She sighed with annoyance she made to pick the fork back up, but then the dark side of the tag flickered to life. Luna gasped and her whole body went rigid as words appeared in lines neat, bright blue lettering. She dropped her fork once more and snatched the tag from the table, yanking it close to her eyes. 

Those are…letters! She realized with excitement Actual alien script! She bounced energetically on her hooves, her mannerisms reminiscent of a certain pink baker. She couldn’t read a word of it, but still!

Shepard, Isaac L.
DoB: 7/13/58 
Brotherhood of Steel

Luna grinned with enthusiasm as she sat the tag back down, ideas running through her head. Words…and letters. I’m certain it’s to be worn around the neck…hm…parting words from somepony important? Name? Is it a nametag of sorts?

She turned to the last item, taking another bit of her cake all the while. At first glance, somepony could have mistaken the heavy grey, cylindrical object for a shackle, yet upon closer inspection, Luna found that she could see more of those strange letters on the device, positioned under above three small buttons. She experimentally prodded at some of the buttons with her magic, and was surprised when they lit up when she pushed them, and the image on the screen above changed.

The first two didn’t display much, but the third displayed lines and lines of script. Luna found it odd that she didn’t discover this several days ago. Part of her knew that it was unwise to be fiddling with unknown technology, as that near miss with the exploding rock thing told her, yet why would the creature be wearing something so dangerous on his wrist?

Through a little trial and error, she found that fiddling with the knobs and dials to the left of the screen allowed her to scroll through the lines and lines of alien data. She wished so badly that she could cast a simple translation spell so she could read it, but that first requires her to have a solid knowledge of the language she is translating to. Her cake sat there, seemingly forgotten as Luna continued to mash buttons. Other than lines of alien script, she also stumbled upon what looked like a map of some sort. As she continued to experiment, she didn’t notice when the device beeped once, barely audible.

“(Hold on Jonas! I need to record this first!)” 

Luna shrieked out of surprise and darted around to the far side of the room when the sudden noise came out of nowhere. Her heart raced in her chest as she took cover behind the bed.

There was a brief pause, “(Son…I…I don’t really know how to tell you this. I hope you’ll understand but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but I thought it was best for you not to know.)”

That sounds like…a voice! thought Luna as she poked her head over the bed. There was no mistake about it: that sounded like a deep, masculine voice playing from the strange shackle-device. The voice continued to speak as she circled back around the bed.

“(There’s no telling how the Overseer will react. It’s best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own.)”

Luna stopped, and sat down on her haunches, her eyes wide and her jaw agape. Recording audio wasn’t an unheard of concept in Equestria, but they couldn’t play it on a device small enough to fit onto a foreleg. She prodded the device with her hoof as the unseen speaker continued to drawl. Although she couldn’t understand a word he –he sounded male- was saying, certain inflections crossed language barriers. He sounded grave, sorrowful even. His words sounded heavy with emotion.

She leaned forward and rested her chin on her hooves, and sighed deeply.

If she had been paying attention, she might have noticed the prone figure in the bed stir slightly.

~

He felt like he was floating through water. He couldn’t feel his body. His world one of darkness… how long had he been laying there? Hours? Days? Weeks? It was hard to be sure. He wasn’t even sure if he was alive. There was so much uncertainly right now. So many unknowns, so little answers. 

He thought he could see a light in the distance. There was supposed to be a light at the end of a dark tunnel, right? But he didn’t want to walk towards it. It felt cold, unwelcoming, and foreboding. It didn’t promise peace, only turmoil. Many times, he kept drifting towards it, but every time, something kept pulling him back.

“Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me.”

That voice…

He had heard that voice before. Where had he heard it from? His mind was like murky water, completely devoid of clarity. Follow him where? He tried to remember, but he could not. 

“God knows life in the Vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going.”

I…know you…

The speaker was someone close, someone personal, someone close to his heart. Was he alive? Dead? He wasn’t sure. Slowly, he felt himself being pulled away from the cold light, further into the blackness. It crushing sensation came over him. He couldn’t breathe; he gasped for air, but his lungs found nothing

“Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with.”

I know you too…who are you?

Were any of those voices his? He struggled to remember. The crushing feeling lifted from his chest and he inhaled large gulps of air. His head felt dizzy, the world around him started to brighten, but it was not cold or unwelcoming like before. It promised warmth, safety.

“Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you, Isaac.”

His heart seemed to stop in his chest. It all came rushing back to him. The one speaking was his father, and that was…his name. He hadn’t heard his name spoken aloud for years. He was Isaac. And he was still alive. With a feeling as if he had broken the surface of a pool of water, his mind returned to his body, and Isaac, the Lone Wanderer awoke.

~~

Annnnnnnnnd we're out. Once again, sorry for the month-long wait. Again, another thank you to this guy for doing a swell job editing it.

Random question: In your mind, how would a high-level fallout character act?

A different random question: What do you think of my character's name?

Another random question: If you could wub the tummy of any pony, whose tummy would you rub?

Yet another question: There wouldn't happen to be somewhere out in the audience who is good at drawing, and would be willing to draw some cover art for this, would there? I would be grateful!

I swear I won't take a month again, especially now that I'm done with school!
	
	
> Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Beep…beep…beep…beep…

Isaac stirred ever so slightly as his battered body regained consciousness. One by one, his senses came back. He was alive, he knew that much. He could feel his heart beating strongly in his chest. 

Beep…beep…beep…beep…

He could recognize that noise; it sounded like a heartbeat monitor. As his sense of smell returned, his nose was hit with the distinct sterile odor that is commonly associated with clinics and hospitals. As he pieced those two bits of information together, he concluded that he was in an infirmary of some sort, but where?

He racked his brains, trying to remember just what had happened. It had been painfully obvious that he had yet another close brush with death, this wasn’t the first time he had woken up in a clinic.

Gradually, he became aware that he was lying on a cot or a bed of some sort. His limbs felt like they were made of lead, it seemed to take a monumental effort to even budge them. Almost involuntarily, his right hand raked across the soft downy sheets…wait, soft downy sheets? This immediately puzzled him. He had never, even come across any infirmaries with anything other than lumpy, two-hundred year old spring mattresses, cots, or bits of cardboard that served as an extra layer between a body and the cold ground. Any higher quality mattresses were extremely rare and very expensive.

So, I’m in an infirmary, I was injured, and they have really soft bedding. 

As his vision returned, he gasped an immediately clenched his eyes shut at the sudden bright light. Sucking in a deep breath through gritted teeth, he slowly reopened his eyes. The source of the luminosity was a bright fixture set into the ceiling, while a secondary beam of cool light was streaming in somewhere out of sight. The light seemed unusually…pure, for a lack of better words. It was bright, soothing, and it did not flicker at all. Not as good as pure sunlight, but it was a close second. 

The state of the room also perplexed him. Rather than the wooden, canvass, or haphazard scrap metal walls he was so used to, he beheld walls made of clean, polished white stone, and a tidy floor made of unblemished tiles. Slowly, he lifted his head from the pillow, which seemed extremely difficult and found his body covered all the way up to his neck in pristine white sheets. Even though he had grown up in a vault which was kept neat and orderly at all times, the constant dust of the wasteland and the ruins within had made the feeling of seeing such cleanliness seem almost alien.

Come to think of it his skin felt raw and ruddy ;  he realized that someone had cleaned him. He had grown up in a clean Vault 101, where showering was common, yes, but when he was forced to leave and enter the wasteland, it was either get used to being dirty or…screw that, you will get dirty.

Prior to Project Purity coming to fruition, the idea of using clean water for bathing was completely outlandish. Most wastelanders had the choice of either being dirty, or taking a dip in the Potomac River; not only would a wastelander have to deal with the rads, they would also have to worry about the mirelurks, roving bands of raiders, and super mutants. On a related note, it helped to smell like the wasteland; the scent of a clean human clashes with the decay of the wasteland, the contrast standing out to hungry predators like a flare in a pitch black cave.

As he pondered his improved hygiene, Isaac turned his head slightly and took in more of the room. The medical equipment surrounding the bed was strange; it all looked so antiquated, even more antiquated than he was used to, and…was that thing made of wood? What sort of advanced medical equipment was entirely wooden? He could clearly see the grain. Also, feeding into his right wrist he identified what appeared to be an IV, which was connected to a bag partially filled with transparent fluid. There was an open doorway off to his right, the wooden frame set into the stone wall. Oddly, there seemed to be some sort of translucent white film over it. Some sort of energy shield perhaps? 

He could vaguely hear the rhythm of the heartbeat monitor increase in tempo as his situation dawned on him. Unfamiliar place, injured, equipment removed, door blocked. Under most circumstances, that was definitely not a good sign.

Taking in a ragged gasp though his parched lips, Isaac forced his head to turn in the other direction. On the opposite side of the room was a lone glass window with a thin beam of light trickling in through a gap in the curtains, and below that was a wooden table. The quality of the light pouring through suggested that it was cloudy outside. But what caught his attention the most was the dark-coated equine that was sitting in front of the table. 

Isaac was confused, very confused.

Where am I? What had happened? Why is there a strange dark-coated equine  sitting just off to my left? Why is…oh…

Slowly, the scattered pieces of Isaac’s mind fell back into place. Images of the alien ship, the dark forest, the abominations, the deathclaw, that strange wave, dying by the river and…the ponies ran through his mind in a distorted blur. A sting went through his chest as he recalled the moment when the monster had attempted to crush him in its jaws. 

Did all that really happen?

He tightly clenched his eyes, counted to ten, and reopened them. The fact that the pony refused to disappear reinforced that hypothesis. 

He recognized her, she was one of the ponies that he had encountered in the forest; her ebony-black tiara glimmered in the light, and her starry mane continued waving in a nonexistent breeze. Her back was facing him; she was balancing something in her front hooves, though Isaac couldn’t see what. The princess-pony was seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had just awoken; she kept right on doing whatever it was she was doing, mumbling under her breath all the while. Immediately Isaac’s eyes were drawn to the table right behind her. On it sat his power armor, completely cleaned of dirt and below that was a reinforced chest. He could see that it was secured with a padlock.

Isaac blinked once as his gaze continued boring into the back of the unaware equine’s cranium.

Did they help me? 

How they managed to administer any form of first aid with hooves evaded him. Now that he thought about it, he could vaguely recall being transported into something, some sort of vehicle? It was dark inside, he remembered that much, yet how had they managed to get a vehicle through that thick, untamed forest, he had no clue. He sincerely doubted that they had vertibirds. Then again, the pony in front of him does have a rather prominent pair of wings jutting out from her shoulders, and Isaac had seen her use them. If creatures that existed in ancient mythology lived on this world, perhaps they did have some sort of aerial transportation; he wasn’t one for skepticism.

But still, he wondered how they managed to accomplish anything with clumsy limbs, such as hooves. The gears in his head were turning.

Maybe they have some sort of device they use for more delicate work? Perhaps they have a mutually beneficial partnership with another species with hands? They definitely aren’t working with the aliens, I’d recognize their equipment, but still- 

Isaac’s thought’s were interrupted as a barely audible chiming sound rang out through the small room; the pony’s horn lit up, and the object she was manipulating rose above her head. 

Oh…telekinesis…I remember what that horn of hers is capable of- wait what?

Isaac’s jaw involuntarily went slack as he the telekinetically lifted object came into full view; he recognized what was unmistakably a Pip-Boy. His Pip-Boy. Even though he had seen many other Pip-Boys before, some part of him could instinctually recognize his own on sight. 

He had been captured before, yes, he had been stripped of all of his equipment plenty of times, though his captors had never managed to remove his wrist-bound computer. Forcing open the biometric locks on a Pip-Body was possible but extremely difficult; it was typically much easier to simply amputate the poor sod’s arm, and take it from there. Even the aliens had left the stubborn computer on his arm.

Isaac had once stumbled across a rather unpleasant audio-log of someone going through that ordeal. Immediately fearing the worst his right hand frantically searched for his left forearm, blindly groping for it beneath the sheets. Much to his relief, he found that his left arm was still most definitely attached to his body; however, it was in a cast of some sort.

Well, they didn’t amputate – thank god – but how DID they remove my Pip-Boy? 

Right off the top of his head, he could think of absolutely no obvious methods for them to have done so; just another unanswered question.

Once more he was drawn from his musings when as the pony lifted a single booted…or whatever they called those things that were tipping the hooves – horseshoes, horseslippers, whatever – and began gently tapping the telekinetically lifted Pip-Boy.

This sudden development made him realize just where he had heard his father’s voice emanating from mere moments ago, from this…pony tampering with his equipment. That made him feel a slight pang of irritation, he had learned the hard way plenty of times that messing around with strange new items can lead to some very dire consequences. Plus, it was his gear that was being tampered with. On the other hand, his Pip-Boy was loaded with countless amounts of data, both harmless and volatile. He didn’t want the pony to stumble across any potentially frightening audio-logs; although they did not speak the same language, he suspected that terrified screams carried across the barrier. She had already stumbled upon his father’s farewell message, he knew it was only a matter of time before she came across more.

If the items lying out on the table in front of the pony were any indication, the Pip-Boy wasn’t the only thing that was tampered with. Isaac could distinctly recall an incident where one of the ponies was playing with his grenades. The last thing he needed was to have inadvertently blown up one of his assumed rescuers. 

He weighed his options; the pony was still seemingly unaware that he had awoken; he figured he could feign unconsciousness, and wait for an opening to escape, but he decided against that idea. They had shown him no hostility in the forest, and they had apparently saved his life. Yet who knows how the pony will react when she realized he was awake?

They’re just waiting until you’re weak a nagging voice said at the back of his mind, so they would have an easier time finishing you.

His brow furrowed slightly, If that was the case, why would they bother healing me, why would they clean me? That didn’t seem right, he could remember how the ponies were openly crying when he was badly wounded by the river; they could easily have let him die, but they didn’t, and it didn’t seem likely that they would be sad because they never got a chance to torture him. 

…

Yet what is up with that barrier in the doorway? Am I their prisoner?

He pondered this thought for a moment. While the barrier, if that’s what it truly was, was troubling, he realized it was probably for his own safety; after all, to the ponies, he was the alien. If he was truly being held prisoner, he suspected that there would be a lot more than just a barrier between him and freedom; there would at least be guards, if they were anything like his own species. On a different note, they very well could have let him die and then studied his corpse; they didn’t.

What’s the worst that could happ-…ah, I just jinxed myself, great.

Sucking in a deep breath through clenched teeth, he decided to throw caution to the wind and tried to get the equine’s attention. He had no idea how long it had been since he had last had a drink of water, but if the weak rasp that came out of his throat was anything to go by, it had been some time.

But it was enough.

The pony’s ears twitched at the noise. With the Pip-Boy still suspended in the air, she turned her head and glanced towards the door, a glimmer in her eyes. He could hear her call out to someone in her language, to which nobody responded. She held her gaze towards the door for a few seconds, shrugged, then turned back to her work.

Stifling a sigh of irritation, Isaac coughed again. Once more, the pony turned; her eyes darted all over the room, searching for the source of the noise, before she finally settled on Isaac’s eyes.

He stared at her.

She stared at him.

Slowly, those large blue eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Out of fear or surprise, he could not tell at a glance. Her gaze darted between him and the Pip-Boy that was still held in her telekinesis, before the suspended device was abruptly jerked out of view, hidden behind the pony’s head. A sheepish grin spread across her muzzle and she shifted about nervously as Isaac arched an eyebrow. He had to suppress a chuckle at how the pony was acting like a child who was just caught with their hand in the cookie jar (whatever a cookie jar is), and he was the parent.

The silvery glow surrounding the pony’s horn faded, shortly followed by the audible clatter of Isaac’s Pip-Boy falling to the table. Slowly, the princess pony’s entire body turned towards him, and she trotted up to the bed, her hooves lightly tapping on the floor, her mouth still agape.

The pony started quivering. Slowly at first, but gradually it increased in intensity. At first, Isaac was worried that it was out of fear, but as a wide, kooky grin slid onto the princess pony’s face, he realized that it was out of excitement.

He couldn’t help but find it strangely cute how she was acting. She cupped her cheeks with her hooves, and was rapidly speaking in…ponytongue. Her grin continued to get wider and wider all the while.

Isaac’s amusement was all but blow out the window when the pony slammed one hoof on the ground, stuck the other in the air, and yelled in that same gale-force causing voice he had seen her use before. It felt like a grenade had gone off way too close to his ear. What had once been silence to him was replaced with a cacophony of dull ringing, and a painful throbbing in his head.

Cradling his good arm to his now-aching cranium, he groaned in pain, silently cursing whoever conceived the idea of loud noises. Through his haze, he noticed that the princess pony was quickly cantering out of the chamber, her starry tail disappearing through the white barrier.

While Isaac pondered the fact that the pony had effortlessly just walked through the barrier, it didn’t deactivate as she approached or anything, he realized his situation. He was alone, and the alien equine was running off to god knows where.

She’s retrieving guards or a science team to slice you open! A part of him screamed. Another portion doubted that assumption, but then again, what was she doing? Calling in a doctor maybe? Do they even have doctors? They must have, someone had to do these bandages.

As the ringing in his ears subsided, he cast aside his doubts for now; Isaac tried to get up. It would be nice to get his bearings before the pony returned.

He couldn’t.

He tried again.

Isaac’s eyes went wide as he found himself unable to stand. It felt as if everything below the chest had been heavily weighted down. He instantly assumed that he had been restrained, fear taking hold in his heart, evident by the fact that the heart monitor began beeping at a more frantic pace.

His good arm shooting under the sheets, he frantically searched around for any harnesses or belts that were keeping him tied to the bed. Much to his confusion, he found absolutely nothing. Even this minor exertion made his arm feel like he had just carried over a hundred pounds of equipment for several miles. He thought back, trying to remember just how it was he got injured.

Let’s see, slashed across the chest, just lacerations, that would just be superficial…but then it…oh no… his heart raced even faster, it didn’t crush my…I can’t be paralyzed! He lifted his head and glanced at foot of the bed, namely the dual peaks in the sheets caused by his toes. Much to his relief, he found himself able to wriggle his toes and lift his legs from the mattress, albeit barely before the strain brought them back down.

What’s…wrong…with me? He thought as the ordeal took its toll on his mind, which was still pounding from the princess’s outburst. It wasn’t radiation poisoning, he was well acquainted enough with rads to recognize those symptoms, he wasn’t being restrained, he wasn’t paralyzed and if they had drugged him, the Big MT implants would have filtered it out; he was simply so weakened that he could barely move, and he had no idea why.

His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of rapidly approaching hoofbeats from somewhere outside the chamber.
An icy lump settled in Isaac’s stomach. He was entirely at their mercy, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He could only hope for the best.

~~

Over a thousand years of repetition had led to Princess Celestia following her morning routine with near mechanical precision. It was always wake up early, raise the sun, have breakfast, bathe, and then relax until the much more hectic Day Court started. Her sister’s return had initially disrupted her usual schedule but she had quickly adapted to it, and the changes were appreciated, mostly the extra sleep.

Frequently checking up on Luna, following her sister’s new habit of spending her morning studying their guest had not caused the sun diarch to deviate from her routine. Most mornings following her bath were usually spent basking in the quiet, reflecting on the many past years, or occasionally devouring cake. However, Celestia had bequeathed her last remaining slice to her dearest sister as she watched over their guest. Their…guest. He was on the princess’s mind as she returned to her chambers following her brief foray into his room, though it practically doubled as Luna’s room as well, given how much she was down there.

Celestia was unsure of what to make of him; over a thousand years of repetition, save for the occasional escaped mad spirit of chaos, and she had no idea how to deal with this situation. Celestia realized that it would have been easiest to simply let the alien die, and sweep the whole thing under the rug, yet she nor her sister would have any of that, it went completely against pony nature. Based on what Luna had told her, he was badly hurt throwing himself in harm’s way for the sake of their ponies, but for all she knew the alien could just be using that to mask his true intentions, building up trust, waiting for a moment to strike. Yet he was willing to defend what were total strangers to him, taking such a hit that rendered him comatose and possibly bedridden for an indefinite period of time; that did not reek of malevolent intentions. 

Also, there were no telling how the general public would react if they got wind of what had transpired, how what had fallen from the sky was an alien vessel, how she and her sister were sheltering a being from another world. Would they panic? Would they accept it? Would it excite them? Celestia was more than a little ashamed at how her little ponies tended to be a tad xenophobic, but as past experience dictated, they would be unlikely to congregate into a frenzied mob, assaulting the castle to kill the alien. 

What she was more worried about was how other kingdoms would react, accusing the ponies of hording the potential fruit of such a discovery. The warlike gryphon kingdom far to the north concerned her the most; Luna had spoken of how the alien was wielding some strange, powerful, yet non-magic weapon. The gryphons would be most likely to try to seize such technology for themselves, and who knows what sort of devastation such weapons would wreak in the wrong hooves?

But even amidst her concerns, she too shared her younger sister’s fascination with the being. The possibilities excited her; she hoped that the alien’s visit would bring change for the better. There was something that got her attention though; for that reason she requested that the librarian deliver several certain books to her quarters.

The same books that were sitting on her desk right at this very moment.

Using her telekinesis, she lifted the heavy gem-encrusted collar that she wore in public and placed it on a nearby stand, crossing her lavish bedroom and stretching her feathery white wings all the while. Her hooffalls were muffled by the carpet, which was lit up by soft sunlight streaming in through the balcony door. Philomena’s gilded cage was empty, hanging from a hook on the wall; Celestia always let the majestic bird out in the morning, the time she returned would vary, though she was always back by sundown.

Celestia sat down on her haunches as she reached her bed, settling her slender form into it, folding her wings at her sides as she lifted the dusty books with her magic, and carried the entire stack towards her. She looked up and down the pile. It was a collection of old myths and legends, each of the novels of varying age and wear. Some of them were relatively new, while some of them were older than anypony alive, save for she and her sister. Even after centuries of tender care, they were barely holding together; the once-bright lettering on the cover long faded away, pages missing the spine peeling away.

Some early-morning reading would be a good way to spend the time, she decided as she lifted the first once from the stack.

Slowly, she opened the cover.

The first story was an old creation myth about how ponykind had come to be. Everypony knew this story. It was the type that was told by parents to children, and to their own children; Celestia had fond memories of when her own mother had told this story to she and her sister countless generations ago.

In the beginning, ponies were little more than animals, little more than the beasts that lurked in the Everfree. Yet one day, these strange beings came; it was said that they were enamored with the ponies, found them worthy of advancement and sought to elevate them to their own level. They gave the ponies the ability to think, to reason, to thrive, and harmony. They taught them how to speak, to laugh, how to be happy, how to cooperate. In the end, the benefactors left the world, satisfied with what they had accomplished, allowing the ponies to flourish on their own.

Setting aside that book, Celestia set it down on the carpet with a faint thud and pulled the next from the stack.

She continued reading for some time. The genre of the stories varied, be it tragedy, or adventure, or a short happy story intended for foals, but each and each and every one of these stories had something in common. Although their names varied, being it benefactors, wanderers, outsiders, and they always stood on the side of good, there was always some mythical creature helping the ponies, teaching them something new, or just showing them kindness, they were always depicted in the same way. 

Tall, bipedal, four digits and a thumb on each hand, and their manes were the only fur on their bodies; several of the books even had illustrations. 

They looked strikingly similar to the otherworldly guest that was sleeping in her palace.

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed as she pondered the implications. 

It's as if a mythical  creature had fallen right into my beloved Equestria, she thought with a hint of a chuckle; Celestia didn’t know if the similarity in appearances was purely coincidental, or if these old myths actually held an ounce of truth.

Satisfied, she closed the final old book, a small puff of dust coming from the musty old pages. She glanced at the ornate clock in the corner of her bedroom. Celestia smiled when she saw the time, she still had a couple of hours until court started, more than enough time to get her thoughts in order. It was just her, and the silence…

…the same silence that was then abruptly shattered like glass under a hammer-blow.

BZZZZZZZZAAAP!

Her eyes shooting open and her irises shrinking, Celestia nearly jumped out of her hide at the abrupt bang and shot to her hooves, knocking over the neatly stacked books, wincing slightly at the flash of light and quickly turned her entire body towards the source of the noise, her whole body tense only to find Luna standing in the middle of her bedroom, the dark alicorn’s horn still aglow and sparking from her recent teleport. The younger princess was visibly bouncing on her hooves, a wide grin on her face.

“Dearest sister!” Luna said excitedly.

Recovering from her stupor, Celestia’s hoof found its way to her forehead, a small smile forming on the elder sister’s face and she laughed quietly. She had missed her sister’s antics on her thousand year hiatus, it felt so good to have her back.

“You know Lu,” she pointed at the door, “You could have used the door, or maybe the balcony if you’re feeling daring.”

“There is no time!” Luna said dramatically with a flourish of her hoof, “Something has transpired!”

Celestia smirked at her sister’s behavior. She certainly seemed oddly cheerful, considering how withdrawn she had been acting when Celestia had checked up on her earlier. Lifting an eyebrow, Celestia took a step forward, “What has happened Lu?”

Luna beamed at her, before taking a deep breath; Celestia’s smile vanished.

Oh no…

“Our otherworldly guest has awakened from his long slumber!” Luna bellowed, one foreleg firmly planted on the ground, the other in the air as her shout echoed throughout the bedroom, “This is a most glorious occasion! I have come to retrieve thou so…”

“Luna…” Celestia said calmly, even as her mane was getting blown about the gale-force winds generated by Luna’s excited exclamations, “You’re doing it again.”

Abruptly, Luna went silent, blushing furiously out of embarrassment and cupping her hooves to her mouth, “Sorry,” she squeaked.

Celestia couldn’t help but giggle once more, even with the dull ringing in her ears and the signs of an oncoming headache.  Her smile fell when she saw how Luna suddenly looked crestfallen, with her head hung and her shoulders slumped. She didn’t like seeing her sister like this. Quickly, she walked to her sister’s side and put a hoof on her shoulder, “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

Luna looked up and met her sister’s gave, her wide grin returning.

Celestia cleared her throat, “Why don’t you repeat that?” she said, “At a much more manageable volume, if you wouldn’t mind,” she added as an afterthought

Luna began bouncing again, “He’s awake!”

Celestia cocked her head, “Who?”

Luna rolled her eyes, “Him of course!”

Celestia thought about her words for a moment before the proverbial light bulb turned on in her head. Although she hadn’t been following the alien’s recovery nearly as fanatically as her sister had been, she could recall how poor his condition was when he was brought in, an inch from death with severe magic poisoning and barely saved by their own medicine. It hadn’t even been a week, and he had already awoken?

“Really?” she said incredulously.

Luna bobbed her head, “Yes sister! I informed the doctors before I came to fetch thou so you could witness this for thyself!” she said with the same grin lingering on her face.

A sly smile came to Celestia’s face, “Judging by how you were acting when you came in here, I suspect you may have used the royal Canterlot voice on him.”

Luna rubbed the back of her head, “Yes…well…no…um…” she stammered before shrugging, “Maybe a little.”

Celestia chuckled and shook her head, “You would do that, wouldn’t you sister?” she glanced off to the side at the toppled pile of books and grimaced as she noticed that she had accidentally jarred half the pages out of one of the older books; nothing a fixit spell could handle though she supposed. “I’ll be with you shortly, I want to get this cleaned up.”

Luna stared at the books as well, “What have you been reading, Tia?” she asked, snatching the nearest book from the toppled stack before her sister could respond, flipping the novel open in sticking her muzzle in it.

“Well I…”

“Oh Tia,” she looked up from the book meeting her sister’s gaze, “I haven’t read this in ages, I’ve always loved this story,” a smile came to her face as she too recalled fond memories of their dear departed parents.

Celestia nodded once before the reason why she had checked out these books in the first place came to the forefront of her mind, “Oh, one last thing before we go. Earlier, I noticed something interesting…”

She then relayed to Luna what she realized when she was reading through those stories earlier. Luna’s expression went from puzzled, to intrigued, her mouth forming a small o as Celestia described how the mythical creatures in the stories were seemingly identical to the being that had recently fallen from the sky and into their kingdom.

Luna’s jaw was agape when Celestia had finished.

Luna struggled to form words, “I…er…” she put a hoof to her chin, her expression constantly changing, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice that before,” she murmured, before shrugging, “Well, if this is an apt comparison, we have nothing to fear right? The beings from the old legends are the ultimate force of good, and in that case…”

Celestia silenced her sister with a wave of her hoof, “Let’s leave speculation for another time, shall we? Unless we’ve nothing better to do, then let’s go greet our guest in person.”

Luna smiled and bobbed her head, “I’ve got no objections to that, sister.”

~~

Well, I’m not dead yet, that’s a good sign.

Shortly after the princess pony had nearly deafened him and sped out of the room, Isaac quickly found a small crowd forming around his bed, all of them ponies. There were four of them, all of them different colors and sizes. All of them, save one, were excitedly talking amongst themselves in their strange language, their expressions bright, and their shoulders straight. Isaac merely laid there and watched.

A quick observation showed that of the four types he had seen, all of the ones currently crowding around him were either of the ‘unicorn’ or ‘regular’ variety, the former of which was staring at a clipboard being suspended by its telekinesis. Did this give the unicorns a definite advantage over the other ponies? Were they the only ones who could easily manipulate and move objects? Isaac failed to see how the other…breeds of ponies could accomplish anything by using their mouths, it looked clumsy and unintuitive. 

All of them were wearing clothing, one of them wore a white coat, two of them wore hats. The final pony, a larger fellow standing in the corner of the room looked like he was dressed up like a Roman Centurion; a real one, not those imitators in Caesar’s Legion. 

He was shaken from his thoughts when one of the ponies, a tan-coated pony with a close-cropped mane tried talking to him, its voice deep.

“(Well, good to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?)”

Isaac met his gaze and shrugged, hoping that it would get the message across. The speaker’s eyes widened slightly, before they sighed and said something that sounded resigned, its ears folded against its head.

Judging from the pitch of the pony’s voice, Isaac assumed that he was meeting a male of this species for the first time, would that be a…stallion? All of the ones he met in the woods were definitely…mares. Like his own race, the males had much deeper voices, broader shoulders, and their muzzles were much more defined and straight.

In the brightly lit room, he could clearly see that each and every one of them had some sort of mark on their flanks. They looked too…perfect to be a mere dye job and no two marks were completely identical, it was as if the hairs themselves were naturally that color. With the exception of the guard, whose flanks were hidden under gold-plated armor, all of the other ponies had marks that had something to do with the medical field; a red-cross, a stethoscope, bandages forming an ‘x’ shape…perhaps the marks had something to do with their occupations? If that was the case, at least none of them had a bonesaw or a scalpel…yet the princess pony had a moon for her symbol, what job would that represent?

Isaac passed in and out of consciousness over the next several minutes, making it a mystery just how long it had been. Most of his time awake was spent being poked and prodded by the ponies, much to his chagrin. They relented when they tried prodding at regions best left covered by the sheets; the scathing glare he sent their way may have encouraged them to stop.

Other than being poked, it went along just like any other medical checkup, minus the fact that he could barely move. Isaac had a brief pang of panic, the skipped beat was made evident by the heart monitor, when the doctor pony retrieved what was clearly a blade of some sort. He relaxed, however, when it was merely used to cut the cast from his left arm. The doctor-pony gently examined his arm, moving both hooves up the entire length and pinching gently. 

As his arm was at the mercy of the ponies, Isaac realized that this was the first time he had seen his left arm entirely bare since he was ten years old. The majority of his skin was paler than one might expect, given the fact that he spent most of his time encased head to toe in power armor but there was still a huge contrast, the tan-line was practically screaming. The middle of his forearm all the way to his hand was stark white, never having seen the sun.

The doctor-pony exclaimed something, a look of wonder on his face as he finished his examination of his arm. 

Isaac watched as the doc-pony exchanged words one of his colleges, the latter of which trotted out of the room, she returned shortly later with what most definitely appeared to be x-rays…wait they had x-ray technology? Isaac thought with confusion. The doctor examined them briefly, and then showed them to him. In what was unmistakably an x-ray of his left arm he could clearly see a multiple nasty fractures scatter across his arm. 

If the doctor’s reaction was any indication, his arm had already fully healed. Isaac healed unnaturally quickly, just one of the many perks he had picked up on his countless adventures in the wastes.

They did more seemingly harmless tests; at one point the doctor pointed his horn at him. It went aglow and an odd feeling came over him briefly, before leaving him feeling even more strangely tired. The doctor frowned and shook his head, scribbling something down on his clipboard, that wasn’t a good sign.

Isaac frowned as well.

When they took a blood sample, Isaac looked away from the needle, staring blankly into space as he felt the prick on his arm. Isaac threw a glance at the syringe that was now filled with a dark red liquid, his blood. With a slight chuckle, he was amazed that he still had blood, given how much he had lost in total over the years whether due to being shot, or slashed, or blasted, he had bled more than anyone. 

His musings were interrupted as a brief coughing fit took him, the dryness of the coughs reminding him of how long it had been since he had drank anything. Almost immediately after, one of the nurses, a unicorn mare with a white coat and a mint-colored mane tied back into a tight bun offered him a glass of water, seemingly pulling it out of nowhere; at least, it looked like water.

Isaac usually refused to consume anything unless he could test it for purity, but as the wasteland changed him, it became more of a habit rather than necessity. The Big MT implants essentially made him immune to poison, his body had become tolerant of low levels of radiation, even absorbing it at low levels, and he practically had a lead belly after all the gruel he was forced to eat to survive. Tentatively, he snatched to floating glass out of the air and stared deeply into the clear contents within. He brought it close to his nose and took a whiff; it definitely didn’t smell suspicious, but it might still…

Just drink it already! A small part of his mind screamed at him.

Without another thought, he put the glass to his lips and tilted it back. What was unmistakably cool water poured into his mouth, soothing his dry mouth and parched lips. Greedily, he knocked the glass back, trying to take large gulps. It turned out to be a bad idea as his began choking on the water in a fit of coughs, spraying some of the precious water out onto his chin.

The nurse gripped his shoulder, her expression concerned. “(Woah, take it easy, dearie!)”

Regaining his composure, he began taking much more modest sips. It didn’t taste strange; it was pure, refreshing, cool, water. It was the best water he had ever tasted, even better than Aqua Pura.

The glass was emptied and Isaac settled back onto the pillow, sighing with relief.

“(Feeling better now?)” said the nurse in a soothing, motherly tone.

Isaac cleared his throat multiple times, reveling in the refreshing feeling. He looked the nurse that had given the water, and hint of a smile coming to his face, “Thank you,” he said plainly.

Isaac’s ears perked up at the rapid sound of approaching hoofbeats, he propped himself up on his right arm and turned towards the door. The rest of the ponies noticed it too. It was then that the princess pony returned to the room, her starry mane and tail billowing behind her. Every pony present bowed to her when she walked in; this definitely cemented her status as some sort of authority figure.

She exchanged several words with the doctor, thankfully in a manageable volume. While they were speaking, Isaac’s attention was drawn to the door when yet another pony walked in.

Isaac felt his jaw drop a little.

Like the princess pony, she had both a horn on her head and a pair of feathery graceful wings tucked at her sides and she stood with a pose that radiated authority and power. She was even taller than the other equine, standing on long, slender legs, tipped with golden shoes. Her coat was a pure white, save for what Isaac could make out to be a sun on her flank, and her mane and tail were of a blend of a blues, greens and violets, shimmering in the light and waving in a nonexistent breeze. She looked down at him with intelligent violet eyes they purveyed wisdom and age.

An ornate golden collar, set with a large purple stone hung around her neck and a tiara of similar design was perched atop her head, just behind her horn. 

All the ponies, save for the dark-coated moon pony bowed once more. 

Isaac was puzzled; were they both rulers? Was the larger white one a queen and the smaller one a princess? Mother and child? More and more unanswered questions. He couldn’t help but feel a hint of amusement at the whole sun and moon theme both of the royal ponies had going.

The ponies continued to chat amongst themselves, he settled back onto the pillow, staring up into the light situated in the center of the ceiling. One of the ponies entered his vision; with the way he was situated, the creature was silhouetted in the light. One by one, the rest of the ponies did the same.

There he lay, staring up into the silhouettes. He couldn’t help but be reminded of…

A bright light was shining in his face. He winced, he tried raising his arms to shield his eyes, but he found that he could not. He slowly became aware of the cold shackles holding his arms down. He struggled against them, but it was to no avail, he could not free himself. 

The room he was in came into focus.

The walls were of a cold, white metal. The corners were smooth and rounded. He was lying on a table of some sort, belly up, and in the ceiling was the source of that blinding light. He would have examined the rest of the room, but his neck was restrained as well. Somewhere, he could hear faint chatter in a language he could not understand. Strange figures entered his vision, silhouetted by the light in the ceiling… 

Isaac shuddered as the memories passed through his mind. What was he remembering? Involuntarily, his hand drifted under the sheets, gently running his fingers across an almost invisible scar running up his stomach…

Something  turned on, there was a faint buzzing sound followed by a whirring noise. A long, black flexible object extended from somewhere off to his right. It was tipped with a strange, thin apparatus than ended with a point.

And it was pointed directly at him.

He eyed it with suspicion. The tip of it started glowing with a hostile blue light. Much to his horror, the object began slowly moving towards him. 

‘Oh no…not again…’ he thought with a peel of horror. He knew what was going to happen next.

He could do naught but watch as the machine drifted slowly closer, and closer, and closer…

Isaac’s entire frame began trembling, sweat poured down his face. 

“I am Alpha and Omega…” he murmered and he tightly gripped the sheets of his bed as the vivid memories passed through his head as if they were as real as life. Some things were meant to be forgotten.

The glowing tip of the machine came lower, closer to his skin. He cried out to the figures standing around the table, imploring them to see reason. They ignored him.

The machine burned when its wretched tip came into contact with his soft flesh. He gritted his teeth and the painful feeling, clenching his eyes shut.

“I…I am Alpha and Omega…the b-beginning…and the…e-end…” he gasped as the pain continued. His mother’s favorite passage gave him comfort when life was at its darkest. The machine continued cutting, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“I…will g-give…unto him…that is…a-athirst of the w-water of life…f-fr-…”

The pain was overwhelming. The strange beings continued their vile operation. He could feel them. He could feel them inside, underneath his skin. A roaring filled his ears and his vision was tinted red. His world faded to white as the searing agony continued…

Isaac snapped back to reality when something clamped down on his stomach. The infirmary came back into focus, and he found that the ponies were in a panic. Someone was screaming.

He found that it was the moon-pony had placed her hoof on his stomach, and she was staring at him, yelling in her language, though the words were lost to the mighty roar overtaking his hearing.

It took a moment for him to realize that the screams were his own.

He stopped; the room went silent.

The doctor and the nurses continued rushing about the room in a panic, with the exception of the royal ponies and the guard, the latter continued to stand in the corner as expressionless as ever. The moon pony stared down at him, her eyes wide and fearful and her ears flat against her head. He stared back. His heart was racing, his hair was soaked with cold sweat, and he was shivering violently. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps.

She said something to him, her voice low and concerned.

He reached out to her with a trembling hand. He could feel her tense up briefly when his skin contacted her fur. He traced along her muzzle, grazing her ear before his hand found itself lost in her starry mane. It didn’t pass through it as if it was vapor, the fine strands of hair flowed around his hand as if it were water.

Woah, soft…

He didn’t know what compelled him to do it, but he threw him arm around the pony’s neck and buried his face in her chest, his ragged breaths muffled by the fur. The pony squeaked in surprise, but shortly after, she returned the hug.

A wave of exhaustion following that vivid memory crashed over him. The pony cried out in surprise as he suddenly dragged her down with him. He promptly let go and fell back down to the mattress, utterly spent. 

“…f-fr-freely … ” he murmured before unconsciousness took him.
~~~~

Annnnnnnnnd that’s that. Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you to this guy for prereading it.

Time for questions!
1. While I was waiting for this chapter to be edited, I had an idea. How would you guys feel if I put short <500 word snippets detailing some of the Wanderer's adventures between scenes? They would fill in the blanks as to what happened between 3 and NV, and after NV, as well as my take on the end of some of the quests in game. Figured I should ask, since not everyone is familiar with fallout.

2. Has anyone noticed how in a lot of Fallout fics/x-overs, that most writers tend to have their Wanderer/Courier carry around way too many weapons? Seriously, who uses that many weapons? I tend to use like...one or two consistantly.

3. Can I have a hug?

On a lower note, I'm afraid I have some bad news.
My prereader has announced that he is throwing in the towel, so I don't have an editor anymore. Anyone interested in filling the gap?

On a different, yet slightly higherish note, I think I'm going to go back and rewrite some of my earlier chapters, namely the ones that never got preread for a few reasons.

1. I'd say my writing's gotten better since I started, anyone new to the story would see my inferior chapters first.
2. I've come up with some better ideas, namely regarding what happened to the Wanderer prior to this story.
3. It's too damn long until the humans and ponies meet. People read HiE stories for Human/Pony interactions (I think), and the first three chapters and the prologue total up to nearly 30,000 words. Way too long to wait for that Human and Pony action. I can't be the only one with a tendency to skim the pre-first contact stuff in HiE, and 30k is a lot of skimming.
4. It sort of feels like...like a....TUTORIAL LEVEL! AHHHHGGGHHHH....

Enough venting, see you next time!
> Reflections
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	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...
> Gratitude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
A hint of a frown tugged at the Wanderer’s lips as he peered down the scope of his rifle. He was settled in a crouch atop a pile of rubble, his loyal companions not far behind. The Elder had given him the coordinates, which he downloaded to his Pipboy to investigate, and it looked like the scouts’ information wasn’t faulty.

Super mutants, over a dozen strong were present. Most of them merely milled about, some of them hauled around large pieces of metallic debris to reinforce their hastily constructed battlements, while the remainder stood at the ready, their weapons primed.

But what stood out the most were the humans that stood unmolested amongst the mutants. They were wearing the unmistakable black armor of Talon Company. The Wanderer was puzzled. Talon Company’s activity dropped dramatically after he had personally eliminated their commander after one too many assassination attempts, and he hadn’t been hassled by them since. Not to mention they were standing side by side with mutants. With the exception of the Gatling-laser toting bruiser standing within arm’s reach, and a wandering pacifist, the rest of the Capital Wasteland’s mutants were stupid brutes, unable to understand anything but violence.

Plus he could remember how TC and the mutants had fought relentlessly over the old capitol building. 

As he could see the mutants drag a flailing captive into an enclosure out of sight, he signaled his companions forward with a gesture of his hand. Why were two of his old enemies playing nice?

He intended to find out.

~~~

“She’s sure been in there fer awhile…” Applejack thought out loud.

After Fluttershy had gone into the alien’s room, the remaining mares had been escorted into a room  that was relatively empty, save for a dozen large cushions with a couple of windows on the far end.  All of their saddlebags had been moved to the same chamber; they hung from hooks on the same wall as the door.

“You are sure that our dear friend will be safe should our…guest becomes brutish, Princess?” asked Rarity, “I’ve known Fluttershy for years, and I’d just feel dreadful if-“

“Worry not Lady Rarity, all is well,” reassured Luna. Even if Wanderer did become unruly, all it would take was a little magic to knock him out cold.

According to the clock high on the wall, just over twenty minutes had passed, and everypony was finding their own way to pass the time. Twilight was going over her checklist for the fourth time, much to Spike’s chagrin. Quills, parchment, extra ink… It’s not like any supplies tried to escape as they hung on the wall… the baby dragon though with a snort. The purple mare could barely contain her excitement as her things were neatly slid back into her saddlebag. The Princesses had given her the honor of attempting to officially bridge the communication gap. Who knows what she would learn? An entire new species! And I’m one of the first ponies to try to speak to him! Well, other than Fluttershy…

Pinkie Pie was too eager to sit down, and merely elected to bounce on her cushion instead. She was finally going to say hi to her new best friend, and finally shake off her ‘somepony needs a hug’ sense. An errant swish-a-swish from her tail served to remind her of her current situation. Her mind was going a mile a minute as she mentally prepared her ‘Welcome checklist’. 

A mirror was magically suspended in front of Rarity as she redid her makeup, putting on her favorite mascara and eye shadow; essentials she brought from home. A lady must look her best when introducing herself, after all.

If anything good came from Rainbow’s recently newfound hobby of reading, it was that it made her exponentially more patient. She was reclining on her cushion, her rear legs crossed as she held the latest Daring-Do novel mere inches from her snout. Naturally she tried to hide the fact that she was thoroughly enjoying it to her friends, but still an occasionally high-pitched ‘awesome’ slipped out.

Applejack nervously crossed her forelegs as she waited, occasionally throwing glances at the clock. She didn’t know what she was going to do . She just hoped that the alien wasn’t sore about her bucking him; that would leave quite a dent in their relationship. She needed to set things right.

“If you have any questions, now is the time to ask them,” announced Celestia.

“I got one,” said Rainbow, raising a single hoof without looking away from her book.

All eyes were on her, “And that is…?” the Princess trailed off.

The cyan pony’s hoof pointed at one of the curtained windows, “What’s up with these windows? Something about them feels…off” she paused for a moment, “I mean…aren’t we underground? How the heck are there windows down here? It’s…weird!”

Twilight shot Rainbow a slight glare for being so casual, but it was absorbed into the cover of Rainbow’s book.

A smile tugged at Luna’s lips as she cantered over to one of the windows. “It is quite a simple enchantment,” she explained. Luna’s horn lit up briefly and the curtains were magically parted. With the exception of Twilight and the Princesses, a look of surprise came to everypony’s face. Rather than looking outside at the Equestrian landscape and sky, they were staring at an earthen wall. Suspended between the wall and the glass was a glowing, pale grey orb, the same color as a stormy sky. “Ponies aren’t meant to stay underground for extended periods of time,” said Luna. “This spell mimics whatever the weather is like outside, giving the place a more…natural feel.”

Rainbow worked her jaw briefly as she pondered what Luna had just told her. It made sense, she supposed. The fake spell-sky wasn’t as good as the real thing, but it still gave her that feeling that her precious sky was merely a hoof’s length away, and it helped ward off that lingering sense of claustrophobia.

Before they could continue on this tangent, they could hear the sound of approaching hoofsteps. Everypony’s ears perked up, and their gazes all shot towards the door. Tension hung on the air as the owner of those hooves drew gradually closer and closer. It seemed like an eternity.

Now distracted from her book, Rainbow gave into her impatience and sped off down the hallway. The remaining mares cringed when they heard a very faint ‘eep!’ resound from the corridor, and soon after, Rainbow returned, bodily dragging Fluttershy behind her. The startled mare fell onto her haunches with a look of surprise on her face at the sudden increase in speed.

Before she could utter a peep, the yellow pegasus was barraged with questions.

“You’re back! How’d it go?”

“Did he zap anything?”

“What’s his favorite color?”

“Was it awesome?”

“Does he like cupcakes?”

“Woah, nelly! Give the poor filly some space!” exclaimed Applejack as she tried to do just that. Everypony backed off, and predictably Fluttershy was covering her head with her hooves. Applejack helped her back up, “Alright sugarcube, how’d it go?”

This was it, the moment of truth. Everypony (and dragon held their breath) as Fluttershy stood their quietly, not making eye contact with anypony. Everypony’s face fell as Fluttershy hung her head and sighed…only to be taken aback as a warm smile came to her face.

“It went…well,” she said.

“Well?” inquired Rainbow Dash, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s not feeling very well but…we talked for a bit, and-”

Immediately, Rainbow was in her face again, “What’d you talk about?” she demanded. Fluttershy seemed to shrink under Rainbow’s gaze, “C’mon spill the- ow!”

Rainbow was cut off as Applejack lightly bopped the pegasus on the back of the head, “Let her talk, Rainbow!” Applejack said disapprovingly with a slight glare on her face. 

“Hey! What’cha do that for!?” Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head.

“Girls!” Fluttershy said at a volume that exceeded her usual loudness. Every mare (and dragon) reacted to her outburst with a look of surprise on their faces, “Oh, um…sorry,” muttered Fluttershy, “We talked about…things. He asked where he was, what was wrong with him…” she shrugged slightly, “He was very polite, curious, he’s a little scary…” she thought back to how…strange his eyes were. Fluttershy shook her head, “Though he seemed…nice,” she said as one of her hooves strayed to the place on her muzzle where the alien stroked her with those strange dexterous paws of his. Luna seemed to notice and her eyes narrowed in curiosity. She too knew what it felt like. A sigh passed through Fluttershy’s muzzle, “But he seemed so…so…sad…”

Pinkie’s ears immediately perked up at the mention of this. She loved making everypony happy, even if they weren’t ponies. There was a sad alien nearby, and she knew what she had to do, well, at least  what she thought she had to do. 

“And?” asked Twilight, as she bounced on her hooves slightly.

“He said he’d be willing to meet everypony.”

Rainbow had to restrain herself from squeeing. Her hooves found their way to the corners of her mouth, “Awesome,” she squeaked. Her eyes darted between all of her friends and the princesses, “We’re still doing this one pony at a time, right?” she tapped her hooves on the tile floor impatiently, “Right?”

“That is correct, Rainbow,” said Celestia. The princess gestured at Fluttershy, “Though you will likely have to bring her along to if you want to get any points across,”  she looked to the butter-yellow pegasus for approval. She squeaked quietly at hastily nodded.

“Oh, uh, great!” Rainbow stammered. Before anypony else could get a word in, she spoke back up, “Can I go first?” she nearly yelled.

The rest of the mares exchanged a glance. “I don’t see…why not?” said Twilight. “Are you okay, Rainbow?”

“Well, you know I’m not the most patient pony…” Rainbow bit her lip and her eyes darted from side to side, “I mean…I get to meet an alien! I’m excited! Oh uh…” her gaze shot over to Fluttershy, “There isn’t any blood, is there?”

Suddenly every mare present was looking at Rainbow suspiciously. Rainbow seemed to shrink under their scrutinizing gazes. Twilight’s eyes narrowed in suspicion at Rainbow. None of the mares forgot Rainbow’s little episode by the river.

“Um…no,” said Fluttershy, blinking once. She cocked her head, “Why?”

“Well…uh…no reason. Just wondering,” Rainbow wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead.

“Rainbow…are you afraid of blood?” asked Twilight.

The pegasus spluttered, “What!? No!”

“I’m not going to judge you if you have a phobia, some ponies just-”

“Don’t want to hear it Twilight!” Rainbow said more loudly than she intended before huffing and crossing her forelegs. It’s not like I’m afraid of blood, right? It’s just…messy, yeah that’s it! Messy! Oh, and it smells funny! “I’m not afraid of anything!” she exclaimed.

Applejack gave her a suspicious look, clearly unconvinced.   Twilight’s eyes narrowed disapprovingly as she prepared to deliver a lecture. She quickly pulled aside a conveniently place crate at stood atop it. Celestia’s eyes narrowed in amusement while Spike groaned out of annoyance.

Twilight put a hoof to her chest and prepared to speak. But before she could, she was interrupted, “As much as I hate to interrupt this discussion,” said Rarity, “Where has Pinkie Pie gone?”

The room went silent. Twilight blinked in surprise. From atop her perch, she looked about the room. She couldn’t see Pinkie’s pink anywhere. How didn’t anypony notice her…oh right, she’s Pinkie Pie. Her gaze drifted from the floor, to the wall, to the pegs protruding from the wall from which their saddlebags hung. Pinkie’s was conspicuously absent.

“Where the heck did that filly go?” Applejack thought aloud, though she really didn’t need to guess. 

Luna bit her lip. Everypony had a very good guess as to where the kooky pink mare had gone. Luna was instantly nervous. She, her sister, and the medical staff had inadvertently set him off, triggering a traumatic flashback. Although she was around Twilight and her friends far less than her older sister, Luna was well acquainted with the pink party pony’s unique brand of quirkiness. She could be a tad overwhelming at times, and there was an unstable, unknown, and generally enigmatic being residing nearby. 

The same being that Pinkie was undoubtedly seeking out.

A startled cry echoing down the hall only confirmed their suspicions. The voice was deep, and male.

Twilight’s hoof found its way to her face, “Ugh…Pinkie…” she glanced at Rainbow; that lecture can wait until later. “Darn it, Pinkie! I was supposed to go next!” Rainbow muttered angrily.

Luna leaned over and whispered something into Celestia’s ear. The two of them nodded and quickly started down the hall. Hopefully they would get there before Pinkie caused an accident.

“Come, everypony!” said Celestia.

The rest of the mares didn’t think twice as they fell in step behind their rulers.

~~

The Lone Wanderer lay in bed as he waited for the pegasus to return with her companions. He remained in a sitting position, his hands rested on the bed as he nervously drummed his fingers against the mattress. He couldn’t help but feel excited, meanwhile the ‘phoenix’ perched on the foot of the bed continued to stare at him.

It was rare for the people (or in this case, ponies) that he had helped to personally come visit him in the event that he was injured. It was common for him to simply part after receiving whatever reward that was offered, if any, and then he would be unlikely to see them ever again.

Truthfully, Isaac was typically more than willing to accept a job without caring what the reward was in the end, he’d even do it for free if he was in a good mood. In fact, the materials he scavenged from the places he visited and the targets he dropped tended to be worth much, much more than the end reward. Besides, carrying around a whole lot of caps was incredibly cumbersome.    

As the minutes crept by, he wondered what was taking the pegasus so long. They couldn’t be that far away could they? He was wondering just what he should say; though the pegasus could act as a translator, it wasn’t perfect. Other than reassuring them that he meant no harm, he was starved for ideas.

Suddenly, a shiver went down his spine. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end, and a lump was forming in the pit of his stomach . It was a feeling he had felt countless times before.

It felt like he was being watched, and it wasn’t the phoenix; the bird was facing the door.

So what was…?

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a shadow creeping across the bed, the owner of that shadow rising from below, standing just out of sight, opposite the door. His breath hitched in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. With the exception of the heartbeat monitor, the room was silent.

“(Hi!)”

With much trepidation, he turned to the owner of that shadow. His heart stopped and he cried out in surprise. There, standing mere inches away from his bedside was a creature from his nightmares. Its eyes were widened and frenzied, its maw was open, pulled back into a feral smile, its mane a snarl of pink fluff and…

…Actually, it was just one of the ponies he encountered in the forest; the chatty pink one, and her face was split into a wide, incredibly creepy grin.

It took a moment for Isaac’s mind to catch up with him. His eyes darted between the pony, and the door. Oh, I remember you and…Wait, how the hell did she get over there…? The door is…did she…how…window maybe? The curtains were still so she certainly didn’t come in though there. So how did-?

His thoughts were interrupted as the pink pony’s tail abruptly swished from side to side violently, knocking a few items off the table behind her. Isaac raised an eye brow as the pony quickly looked between him and her frizzy pink tail. Her smile had faded, replaced by a small ‘o,’ but the grin soon returned as the pony’s large blue eyes settled on him once more. Settling down into a sitting position, the pink pony opened her forelegs.

“(It’s hugging time!)” the pony chirped.

As the pony continued to stare at him, for some reason, the Wanderer got the same feeling he would get when being charged at by a deathclaw. 

“What are you…mmph!” he didn’t even get a chance to scream as the pony pounced.

His vision was obscured by pink fluff as he felt the mare’s forelegs wrap around him. In the awkward position he was in, the pony managed to hug his head, burying his face into the hair of the her chest. She started chatting, the words muffled by both the language barrier and the fact that her arms were wrapped around his ears. 

It took him a moment to realize that the pony wasn’t trying to suck out his brains, or something equally horrible; she was hugging him. He nearly tried to shake her off out of sheer reflex.

Bewildered, he sunk back onto the pillows as the pink pony let go, and started hopping around the bed with a surprising amount of energy. Around the bed…over the bed…his eyes followed her as she continued to move. Her high energy was contagious, and he couldn’t help but feel reinvigorated at the pony’s display as kookiness.

Abruptly she stopped, and her gaze shot over to him again.

“(Feeling better yet?)” said the pony. Without waiting for further input, the pony began rapidly chatting away in…pony again. 

Wait…

The way her voice kept changing in pitch, the rhythm, the volume… She wasn’t just talking, she was singing. Why would she…she does know that I can’t…what is…and where the hell is that music coming from!? 

Sure enough Isaac could hear some musical number accompanying the pony’s voice. He didn’t see any speakers, or phonographs or anything that could be playing sound, but it was there. The phoenix thing remained at the foot of the bed throughout the whole exchange, completely unfazed by the hyperactive pony. Without further ado, the pony hopped over to the foot of the bed and reached for something hidden just out of sight behind it. She pulled out a long, metallic, light blue object on wheels, longer than the actual width of the bed, and pointed it at-.

It was a cannon.

Wait a minute, where did- oh SHIT! 

BANG!

~~

The Princesses trotted briskly down the narrow hallways with an air of purpose about them. Their subjects weren’t far behind. They realized that as much as they tolerated Pinkie’s antics, they weren’t so sure that their guest would. They knew it was only a matter of time before she set him off.

Those fears were quickly reinforced when a loud bang echoed throughout the corridor. Luna cursed under her breath at the noise and she and Celestia sped down the hall.

“Oh Pinkie, what have you done this time?” Twilight thought out loud as their hooves rapidly clacked off the tile floor.

They retraced their steps back to the alien’s room, anxious  of what they were going to find. The Princesses were afraid that their guest could get violent, should somepony send him into a fit. Although he was too weak to do any real damage following his initial awakening, perhaps he had gotten stronger since then. Rainbow was already half way prepared for a fight, should it come to it. Even though she was excited to meet an alien, her friends came first; even if they were the cause of the problem in the first place. Fluttershy was worried that Pinkie had accidently hurt the poor thing; he looked so tired and sad…

The Princesses, the Elements, and Spike burst through the sterilization barrier in the door to the alien’s room and abruptly slid to a halt when they saw the huge mess that awaited them.

To say that it was a mess would be an understatement. Confetti of all colors rained from above. The things that had once rested on the table in the corner of the room were now strewn all across the chamber. In their place there lay a checkered tablecloth along with a glass bowl of punch, a couple of colorful balloons with their strings weighed down, several paper plates, a phonograph, and a cake . Philomena seemed undisturbed by the whole mess and was perched on the table, sipping at the punch.

The party cannon sat nearby, its barrel still smoking, and the source of this havoc was perched on the foot of the bed. Pinkie’s forelegs were outstretched, her chin up, her expression joyous and completely oblivious to the fact that the alien was lying on his side, his legs tucked into his chest, and covering his head with his hands. The heartbeat monitor was beeping frantically and the being was visibly quivering. 

Luna couldn’t help but feel a flare of anger at the party pony’s sheer carelessness. “Pinkie Pie! Cease this foalishness immediately!” she shouted loudly, but not Royal Canterlot tier yelling. 

Pinkie Pie only now seemed to realize that she wasn’t the only pony in the room anymore. She  leapt into the air out of surprise and hung in midair as her head snapped around to face the newcomers. “Ooh! Hiya Princess!” she said as the laws of physics caught up with her and she crashed to the group with a faint girlish yelp and a thud. She bounced back to her hooves almost instantly and grinned at the other ponies.

“What’s up? Ooh! I met the alien!” chirped Pinkie, her voice thick with the usual unabashed happiness.

“We know,” everypony said in unison. 

They didn’t return the party pony’s bubbling enthusiasm. Pinkie furrowed her brow in confusion; why didn’t they seem happy to see her? Everypony seemed to be annoyed? The Princesses looked mad! Did she do something wrong? Pinkie felt like she was withering under their glares. One of the few things Pinkie Pie hated was upsetting others.

“Did I do something bad?” she nearly whispered.

Luna jerked her head sideways slightly. Pinkie turned her head and that direction and noticed just now what state the alien was in. Her heart was rapidly beating in her chest as a lump seemed to form in the pit of her stomach. That wasn’t what she intended to do at all. Her mane seemed to be slowly deflating as she watched the alien; he seemed even sadder than before.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Luna whisper something to her big sister as Fluttershy calmly trotted up to the alien’s bedside. Celestia nodded in response. Before she could react, Pinkie felt herself being bodily lifted in the air by Celestia’s telekinesis. She felt tiny as she was held before the Sun Princess.

“I’m sorry Pinkie, but I think you’ll have to wait outside,” Celestia said gently.

“Are you mad at me?” Pinkie asked pitifully, her lip quivering.

Celestia shook her head and slowly released the party pony from her magic. Pinkie ambled out of the room, her head hung in shame. Everypony watched her as she disappeared behind the barrier and plopped down on her rump just outside.

“Mr. Alien, it’s alright…” everypony turned to Fluttershy as she attempted to calm their visitor down, “Don’t be afraid, everything will be okay…” She nuzzled him.

~

The sight of what looked like a weapon followed by a bang sent his mind to unpleasant places.

His whole body was numb with shock, his hearing a dull ringing as his mind withdrew to the memories of his time on countless battlefields, firing at the enemy, be it Enclave, Legion, or super mutants as his cover was gradually chipped away by the relentless gunfire. In the present, he lay there quivering. His mind was shrouded with darkness as…

Something soft prodded his shoulder, and he felt something land on his cheek.

His slightly bloodshot eyes snapped open to find not the dark grimy battlefield, but the comfortable, white light of a hospital room. His hearing returned to hear that the heartbeat monitor was beeping rapidly, drowning out the sound of the rain hammering against the window. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

What just…?

He reached up and brushed at the foreign object on his cheek. He felt it, and held it in front of his eyes. It was a brightly colored shred of paper. He stared at it quizzically as another shred of paper landed on him, and another, and another, and-

Wait…not paper...confetti?

He rolled onto his back and, through a half-lidded gaze, once again found himself face to face with the butter yellow pegasus. Soon after, she started softly talking to him. Those large, gentle eyes coupled with her soothing voice quickly calmed his racing heart and mind.

Be calm…it’s okay…

What just happened?

I remember…there was the pink pony…she started singing and then…a cannon? His eyes shot open in realization and he sat up, the abruptness of the action taking the pegasus by surprise, though the act made him feel dizzy and he slumped back to the bed, clutching his forehead. Didn’t I just get shot at by a cannon? What the hell just happened?

Gritting his teeth and reopening his eyes, he noticed that he had company. Over the yellow pegasus’ shoulder, he could see a much larger group of ponies, all eyeing him excitedly. Although the last time they had met under the night sky, he recognized them all. But what he didn’t recognize was what seemed to be a small, chubby lizard mounted on the back of the lavender unicorn. Its scales were a shade of violet. A green crest and a pair of fin-like protrusions adorned its head.  It seemed to realize that Isaac was staring at it, then it raised a single stubby claw and waved at him. Surprisingly, it said something in the same language the ponies spoke.  It was obviously sapient; did any more forms of sapient life exist on this world? Much like the ponies, its eyes were wide, intelligent, and full of life.

Slowly, the Lone Wanderer raised his hand and waved back. The little reptile put its - his, he sounded like a prepubescent male, - claws to his mouth and giggled excitedly, his fanged mouth in a wide grin.

He noticed that the pink pony was not present, though the small, light blue cannon resting at the foot of the bed caught his attention. The longer he stared at it, the sillier it looked. So, a pony did pull a cannon out of seemingly nowhere, and fire it…but where did all that confetti come from…and balloons…and cake!? The room was a mess, yet brightly decorated. All of his things were messily scattered throughout the room, and some of them landed on his bed, namely a scratched gauntlet and, much to his delight, his Pip-Boy.

Slowly, he reached out for it. It was time to put the device back where it belonged.

~

All the ponies present watched as the alien picked up the strange grey shackle-like device from his bed. Their expressions varied from curiosity to excitement. Spike was still giddy from the fact that the alien acknowledged him while Luna was eager to see exactly how the alien managed to wear that device. They couldn’t find a way to manually remove it so they had to resort to magic.

The alien seemed to shift uncomfortably under the gaze of all the ponies present. He eyed them suspiciously as he fiddled with some unseen mechanism with his dexterous fingers. He slipped a digit into a previously hidden slot, there was a faint mechanical sound, and the device opened. He promptly slipped it back on, still watching the ponies.

Everypony present ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ as lines of green alien script flashed across the dark glass screen. If the ponies noticed the alien’s snort of amusement, they didn’t show it. The spectacle ended quickly, as the screen faded to black once more, and the being settled against his pillows, still staring at them intently.

“That’s it?” blurted out Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow!” hissed Applejack.

“Um…girls?” said Fluttershy, “Would you like to introduce yourselves to Wanderer now?”

Applejack tapped her chin, “We still doin’ this one at a time then?”

Rainbow huffed, “We’re all here, aren’t we? What’s the point?” she turned to the Princesses.

Luna paused for a moment, still pondering how the alien managed to get that device back on, “I don’t see why not…”

“Great!” exclaimed Rainbow as she pushed past everypony and rushed over to Fluttershy, “Me first!” Her face split into a wide grin at the alien, who looked back at her with an odd look on his face. She winced slightly as she eyed the numerous scars marring the alien’s visage, those must have hurt. “Oh, um…hi Mr. Alien. I’m Rainbow Dash! The fastest flyer in Equestria!” She turned to Fluttershy, “You got all that?”

Fluttershy squeaked quietly and hid her face partially behind her mane, “Oh…um…just a minute…” She turned to the alien. She cleared her throat with a delicate, ‘ahem!’ “Um…Mr. Alien, this is Rainbow Dash. She…um…says ‘hello’.”

Rainbow snorted, “That’s not what I said!” she exclaimed. Before she could retort the alien said something to Fluttershy in his deep voice. “What is it? What did he say?”

“Um…he says ‘hello to you too’,” replied Fluttershy, her voice a gradual diminuendo , “Um, is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Rainbow blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, “Hm…nah, I’m good.”

Twilight eyebrows raised in surprise, “Really? That’s it? You seemed pretty anxious to see him earlier…”

“Well, I got to say ‘hi’ to an alien, didn’t I?” She glanced around, “Besides, it’s not like I can show off any of my sweet stunts in this place,” A dreamy look came onto her face, “Hm…that will be awesome…” She could see it now, Rainbow Dash, the most awesome pony around wows the alien. He is so enamored with her awesome that he calls his friends down and the entire galaxy will bear witness to the sheer magnitude of her awesome… 

“Can ah go next?” Applejack’s accented voice snapped Dash out of her fantasy. The orange mare nervously pawed at the tiled floor as Fluttershy nodded and beckoned her forward.

Applejack’s pulse quickened as she slowly approached her friend. What was she going to say? How do you thank someone whom you owed the lives of both yourself and your sister? She swallowed as she joined Fluttershy  by the creature’s bedside. Everypony looked at her expectantly as she stood there. Applejack bit her lip, her eyes drifted onto the bandages that were hidden by the sheets, then back to the aliens face.

His expression was one of curiosity.

“Um…hi…” she started, “Mah name’s Applejack and…ah just wanted to say…um…thank you…” She paused, “Thank you fer both savin’ me and mah sister that night. Ah owe ya…” she waited as Fluttershy relayed her message to the outsider.

She waited for his response. It seemed to take longer than it should; Applejack was feeling nervous. Did that offend him somehow? She honestly failed to see how it would. Much to her surprise, the alien reached out for her. She hesitated, what was he doing? She didn’t have time to back out as the alien gently traced along her cheek with one of those fancy digits. Applejack’s breath hitched in her throat as she realized what he was touching: the scar she had obtained a week ago. Applejack sighed and closed her eyes as the alien gently stroked the sensitive tissue, leaning into his hand.  All her worries seemed to wash away.

She heard Rainbow snicker but she ignored her. It felt good, she didn’t care. She almost didn’t realize that the alien had said something. “Um…what did he say?” mumbled Applejack. 

Fluttershy smiled gently, “He says ‘you’re welcome.’”

Reluctantly, she pulled away from the relaxing massage she was receiving and looked the alien directly in the eyes. His hand fell away and he gently lowered it to the bed. He nodded at her once.

Applejack gently tapped the floor and turned to Fluttershy, “Um…could ya tell him ah’m sorry for buckin’ him?”

“Oh um…okay,” Fluttershy replied and did just that. It didn’t take long for him to respond, “He says it’s okay,” he said something else. An odd looked came onto Fluttershy’s face, “Oh ah um…he says that it was a very good kick, you should be proud of yourself.”

The orange farmpony fidgeted and adjusted her hat. She felt heat creep into her cheeks at the complement,  “Oh…um…thank ya kindly,” her lips curled upward, “Get better soon, ya hear? You and Apple Bloom both…” she turned around to find all of her friends with amused smirks on their faces.

Applejack stared back, “What are ya’ll lookin’ at?”

~

One at a time, each of the ponies approached him and the pegasus continued to attempt to translate between the two parties. Although the translations were limited at best, he caught the gist of what the ponies were trying to convey to him.

Gratitude.

After the Stetson wearing mare returned to her friends, the white unicorn was next. Like the orange pony, she also thanked him for helping her and her sister, and for some reason he could have sworn he heard something pertaining to clothing. He reflected back to his time in the crashed alien vessel. Now that he thought about it, he could remember there being three fillies, and one of them was a unicorn. He felt relieved now that he realized that all three of those little ponies were alright.

That must have meant that the filly with the red bow was the orange pony’s sister, given the fact that the mare in question had kicked him. Her reaction when he complimented her kick brought a wry smirk to his face.

As trivial as it seemed, simply being thanked made the Wanderer feel better. It was always reassuring that someone out there, even though they weren’t human, appreciated him for what he did.

When the lavender unicorn approached, the little purple reptile surprised everyone when he hopped off the pony’s back and onto the bed. The Wanderer couldn’t help but think highly of the little guy’s boldness, even more so when he held out one of his violet claws. 

Isaac’s lips curled upward as he recognized the obvious handshake offered to him.

The lizard’s claw disappeared as the Wanderer’s significantly larger fingers closed around it and he gave it a firm shake. The lizard was surprisingly warm to the touch. Who knows, maybe he’s warm because he’s a dragon? The creature said a few words to him, but he noticed that he put some extra emphasis on some very specific words.

“(Hiya! Mr. Alien! I’m Spike! Spiiiike!” Spi-ke!)”

The yellow pegasus stated the obvious, that it was a greeting, but it dawned on the Wanderer that the lizard was telling him his name. He did his best to imitate it, much to the amusement of everyone present. Even if he mangled it, the lizard boy didn’t seem to mind. The reptile’s display of childlike awe couldn’t help but give the Wanderer  a strange warm feeling in his gut.

A feeling of weariness hit him as the lizard boy was enshrouded in a violet aura and was lifted off the bed with a surprised yelp. Isaac watched as the reptile was plopped down on the lavender mare’s back, whose horn was aglow. He felt even more exhausted the longer he stared at her horn. A lump formed in his throat as he pondered what he was feeling at the moment. Was that…energy the source of his weakness?

He felt strength return to his limbs as the violet light faded and he saw the unicorn and the…dragon, he felt like calling it a dragon, it sounds cooler, exchanged a look. The dragon’s arms were crossed and he was pouting as they shared a few words.

A short time later, the lavender mare turned so she was facing the human, she cleared her throat and spoke to him.

“(Good afternoon! My name is Twilight Sparkle. I apologize if my assistant bothered you…)” said the pony. The pegasus translated what she could.

The Wanderer blinked, “It is no trouble, he wasn’t bothering me,” he replied, glancing at the lizard who was nervously playing with his claws, “I’m perfectly fine with it,” he explained.

The pegasus exchanged a few words with the unicorn, and the dragon on her back smiled.

The unicorn turned back to him, “(I would like to thank you for helping us and saving my friends! I look forward to working with you!)”

“Work…with…me?” the Wanderer thought out loud when the pegasus dictated the pony’s message to him. What does she mean like that? He immediately set aside the thoughts that she meant ‘work with your insides,’ because that would be weird.

The rest of the introductions went along swimmingly. It was inefficient though, as it was, all he really knew was the ponies were thankful for what he did, and that the violet unicorn planned to ‘work with him’. At some point one of the nurses stepped in which, according to the pegasus, meant she was merely checking up on him. Both of the Princesses outright welcomed him. From what he was able to understand from the pegasus, the two of them were sisters. The dark blue one shook his hand…again. She seemed to be enjoying the feeling of his fingers a bit too much. 

Though he couldn’t help but wonder: where had the pink one gone?

Determined to get an answer, he tapped the pegasus gently on the shoulder. Isaac rolled his eyes in amusement when the she jumped and squeaked quietly; that pony would probably jump at her own shadow.

“I hate to pry, but what happened to that other pony?” Isaac asked, “You know, the pink one that pulled the cannon out of…seemingly nowhere?”

The pegasus shifted uncomfortably on her hooves and muttered something. Isaac raised an eyebrow out of concern.

“Sent her away? Why would you do that?” asked the Wanderer. Another response made him roll his eyes.  “She didn’t hurt me, she just startled me, is all,” he snorted. “You don’t pull a cannon out of nowhere and aim it at someone…” he muttered.

The pegasus cocked her head and stared at him with those cyan eyes. “Look,” Isaac started, “You didn’t have to do that, I’d be happy to talk to her,” he explained, “Just make sure she doesn’t point anything at me that resembles a weapon okay?”

The butter yellow pony blinked and said something to the two princess ponies. The sisters exchanged a few words. The taller white one nodded and trotted out the door.

Now he only had to wait again, he supposed.

~

Pinkie Pie was feeling down as she slumped over on one of the cushions in the room that had been set aside for them.

Her hair straight and limp, she sighed into her hooves as tears threatened to build up in her eyes while the fake rain continued to pound on the fake window. This wasn’t what she had intended at all. She came along to Canterlot with every intention of brightening up that poor alien’s day, and she blew it. Fluttershy was right, the creature did look so sad when she went to visit it, and Pinkie only succeeded in scaring him.

…and worst of all, her tail was still swishin’!

The quiet sound of approaching hoofbeats broke her out of her moody stupor. Her bright blue eyes looked towards the door just in time to see Princess Celestia enter the room.

Pinkie averted her gaze as the Princess trotted over to her. The Princesses were mad at her too right?

“Pinkie Pie?” said Celestia; the tall white alicorn brought her head down to Pinkie’s level.

“I’m sorry, Princess!” Pinkie blurted out, “I didn’t mean to scare the alien! All I wanted to do was make him smile because he looked like he was having a bad day and he was so sad! I know I should have listened because you said that he was ultra-sad but I didn’t listen because I’m an Irresponsibly Reckless Recklessnesspants!”

The Princess raised a single shoed hoof, “Pinkie, I’m not upset with you, there is no need to apologize,” she said gently.

Pinkie blinked, “But…but I…”

“Besides, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” Celestia said firmly. Pinkie cocked her head. “Our guest assured us that you merely took him by surprise, and he said that he would be willing to meet you.”

Pinkie’s mouth formed a small o, “You mean he…” she trailed off as a feeling of warmth spread through her belly. She could salvage this mess yet! Sure she got off to a bad start, but at least she got a chance to apologize.

“But you have to remember Pinkie,” Celestia shook her from her thoughts, “Our guest isn’t simply somepony who has had a rough day. From what we can gather, he has both physical and emotional scars we cannot even begin to fathom, so please, take it easy.”

Pinkie smiled and gave the Princess a playful salute, “Don’t worry Princess, I can slow down!” she cleared her throat, “Hooooowwww isssss thiiiisssss?”

An amused smirk came onto the Princess’s face, “I don’t think that will be necessary, Pinkie.”

The rejuvenated party pony hopped in place as her hair rapidly inflated. A wide grin came onto her face, “Okie Dokie Lokie!”

~

Isaac spent the time waiting attempting to answer questions that a few of the ponies threw his way, as well as idly checking some of the settings on his Pip-Boy. Whilst the blue pegasus was scrutinizing him uncomfortably closely, the white one said something about clothing…the Princess and the violet unicorn had asked him a lot more, although the pegasus was unsuccessful in translating much of their questions. Curiously, the dragon boy seemed to be checking off boxes on a comically long sheet of parchment with a feather pen, and writing down what he could on a separate sheet. The pegasus had mentioned that the little violet lizard was an ‘assistant’. 

Meanwhile, the wrist-mounted computer had helpfully diagnosed him with an ‘unknown ailment’.  It disturbed him, knowing that the Pip-Boy held information regarding every disease and condition known to mankind. It even picked up on when he started regenerating damaged tissue in sunlight.

It was then that he heard the sound of hoofsteps returning, and soon the other Princess returned with a pink pony in tow, who was hopping, seriously.

It didn’t escape his notice that there were a few salty streaks beneath the pony’s bright blue eyes. Was she crying? As the pink pony pushed her way through her friends, her tail seemed to swish around involuntarily, much to the chagrin of the other ponies. She stopped by the pegasus with a pensive look on her face as the white Princess said something to her.

“(Remember, be gentle…)”

The pony hopped in place briefly before she started speaking in a much more controlled voice than before, with her head hung, “(Um…hi Mr. Alien. I just wanted to apologize for scaring you earlier…please don’t be mad at me,)” said the pony.

Isaac couldn’t help but feel slightly down at how pitiful the pony looked with her head hung like that as the pegasus - Butterfly, he decided to start calling her that on account of the marks on her flanks – relayed the message.

The pony frowned when she seemed to interpret his silence as anger, “(I know that I can be a bit of a screw up sometimes…)”

“Hey,” said Isaac as he gently placed his hand on the side of her face, “I forgive you. I’m not angry, you just caught me off guard is all.”

The pony’s words abruptly cut off with a squeak as he gently stroked one of her ears. Her eyes closed and she sighed and leaned into his hand. The fact that she didn’t recoil when he did so gave him the impression that the ponies were much less touch-shy than humans were.

She decided to surprise him as she aggressively forced her head into the Wanderer’s fingers. The rest of the ponies stared on in a slight degree of shock at the sight. “(Ohhh…mmm….what did he say?)” the pony mumbled.

Butterfly looked away in embarrassment with a hint of a blush on her face, “(Um…he says that he’s not mad and that he forgives you, you just startled him…)”

The Wanderer shot a look at the rest of the ponies as the pink one continued to mash her head into his hand as distracting pleasured sounds passed through the pony’s mouth. “Can someone tell me what she’s…GAH!”

No one was exactly sure what just happened, but everyone looked on in bewilderment as the pony was somehow sprawled across the human’s chest, belly up. Isaac winced at the sudden pressure to the sensitive scars hidden under the bandages. She was heavier than she looked.

“(Pinkie…!)” all the ponies said in unison.

The Wanderer wasn’t sure if he should be disturbed by the pony’s behavior out or not. Isaac couldn’t help but notice how ridiculously cute the pony looked as she lay there with her forehooves crossing her chest, her eyes closed with a hint of a smile crossing her lips. She was close enough for him to notice the slight pudginess she had developing on her furry pink belly as he continued to scratch her behind the ears. He wasn’t sure what compelled him to do it, but his free hand slowly drifted onto the pony’s gut, and he gently rubbed it.

The sudden peal of giggles that passed through the pony’s lips gave him the impression that she was enjoying this a bit too much. It was high pitched, mixed with snorting, and all around silly sounding.  

And it was contagious, very contagious.

The rest of the ponies started cracking up as well as the Wanderer continued to massage the pink pony’s belly. Even he couldn’t resist it and his baritone chuckle soon joined the chorus of laughter.

What happened next took him completely by surprise. He grunted as the pony abruptly shot to her hooves and landed next to the bed, her face close to his own, her large blue eyes focused on the upward curve of the smile that had formed on his face.

The pink pony’s face split into a wide grin, and she began quivering with excitement. He was even more surprised when Butterfly crammed a hoof into the pink pony’s – he decided to refer to her as ‘Candy’ – mouth, not entirely able to muffle the enthusiastic cheer.

What the point of that was, he wasn’t sure.

Shortly after, Candy took a step forward and wrapped her forelegs around his bandaged torso. He was prepared for it this time however, and both human and pony shared a proper hug.

“(So, are we friends then?)” the pony chirped and Butterfly translated, the wide grin lingering on her features.

Isaac stared back as he considered the pony’s question. Normally, he was the type of person that was extremely slow to trust. He found that blindly trusting and attempting to befriend others was a surefire way to get himself into trouble.

Not to mention that he had lost so many friends he sometimes wondered if it was worth trying to make more…

However, deciding to humor Candy, he nodded slowly. The loud, high-pitched cheer afterwards made him wince.

“(I just made friends with an alien!)” she said happily, “(Do you know what this calls for? A PA-!)”

“(Pinkie…)” every pony present groaned. The white Princess shook her head and the pink pony seemed to deflate slightly.

“(Um…a small, private get together?)” she said in a quieter voice, her grin still remaining. The remainder of the ponies exchanged a glance before shrugging and each replied with something that the Wanderer assumed equated to ‘Why not?’

What were they up to?

He didn’t have much time to think as the pink pony came back over to him with a foam paper plate…Where the hell did she get paper plates?...that had a slice of cake on it, perched precariously on her back? How she managed it without sending said pastry flying was a mystery, considering she was skipping.

He eyed it as she offered it to him.  They had offered him food in the past, but he had refrained from eating it. Though they seemed to drink water as well, he had no idea if their food would be poisonous to him. The cake smelled pleasant at least. He hadn’t actually seen a real cake since his tenth birthday, which was mutilated by Andy the robot.

The ponies all watched in awe as he deployed a small metallic probe from the front of his Pip-Boy, and he stabbed it into the cake. It beeped a moment later, and he checked the screen.

No toxins detected.

A hint of a smile creeping on his lips, he nonchalantly stabbed the cake with the fork, and shoveled a bit of it into his mouth.

His eyes widened as the flavor hit him. It was one of the most delicious things he had ever tasted. He smiled at Candy and gave her an approving nod. The fact that the pony cheered gave him the impression that his message got across. Without waiting for any further input, the pony sped over to the phonograph that still rested on the table, and soon the small makeshift infirmary was filled with the sounds of cheerful music.

What else was the kooky pink pony planning?

~

Several hours later, the small get together was finally winding down. The Princesses, which he had dubbed Luna and Sol for now, had stepped out some time ago along with the phoenix due to the fact that it was too crowded for all of them in that small room. Apparently they also had other duties to attend to, but not before the elder Princess ravenously devoured some cake in a very unladylike fashion.

The Wanderer enjoyed the experience. Although he couldn’t actually join the ponies in doing…whatever it was they were doing, he at least got to eat something, now knowing that the food wasn’t poisonous. Candy had a brought a surprisingly wide variety of pastries, many of them were familiar through old advertisements and books back home. Cupcakes, donuts, punch, more cake…he got an opportunity to try it all. Well, almost all of it. The ponies, much like the ones formerly back on Earth could digest cellulose, apparently, rendering any of the goodies with hay in them inedible.

The apple pony, whom he had dubbed ‘Apples’ , had offered him…apples, unsurprisingly. They were delicious, juicy, fresh, and far better than what limited options were available in the wastes, or whatever imitation food the Biological Research Station would create.

The white pony, Diamond as he called her, spent much her time either examining his armor, the pieces of which had been stacked in the corner of the room  with a sour look on her face. She also threw an occasional glance his way, and sometimes chatted with the other ponies. 

The other unicorn and pegasus, who he had dubbed Starburst and Rainbow respectively, took a lot of time examining him specifically. The rainbow-maned mare had hovered too close for comfort several times to the point where he had to gently nudge her away, while the unicorn had her assistant scribble down whatever observations she had made.

Isaac sat there in a sitting position, feeling full and satisfied, and the dragon child asleep in his arms while the human idly stroked the dragon’s head. It was amusing that the dragon was familiar with rock-paper-scissors. The chances of that being a coincidence were…high. The window was dark but he could still hear rain pitter-pattering on it. 

He felt a slight numbness when the violet unicorn lifted the sleeping child onto her back with her telekinesis. Everything was cleaned up and one at a time, his company whittled away, member by member, until only Butterfly was left.

Much to his amusement, the last thing she did was…tuck him in. He had to stop himself from laughing.  It would have been rich if she had tried to read him a story too.

As she was leaving, she threw one last look over her shoulder, a smile on her lips and her eyes glimmering.

“(Good night.)”

Now that he was alone, he reflected on the events of the day. That wasn’t so bad, he thought to himself. The visit from those ponies had put much of his fears to rest. Though they couldn’t truly understand each other, he could tell that they were being sincere, and for the first time in years he was comfortable.

Oh, and the free food was nice too.

He glanced at his Pip-Boy and fiddled with several of the knobs. At some point, he had gotten the idea to record all of Three-Dog’s broadcasts, along with the music. Although having the DJ shower praise on him was a nice ego booster, he had an odd habit of repeating himself.

A smile came onto Isaac’s face as he found the number he wanted. He settled down and sighed with contentment as the soft music filled the room.

Maaaaaaaybeeeee…
You’ll think of me…
When you are all alone…

~~

“Didja see the part when I made friends with an alien?” Pinkie said excitedly as the girls settled into the guest suite they had been offered. There were three mares to a room: Pinkie was sharing with Twilight, Rarity, and Spike, whilst the other girls were in the other. The party pony was in an even better mood ever since she had managed to fix her relationship with their otherworldly guest.

“Yes,” both mares grumbled in unison. Spike was still asleep, and Twilight was sitting at a desk, hastily preparing a plan of action for when she made an attempt to officially break the language barrier the following morning. 

“Oh, and did you see the part when I made him laugh?” Pinkie reared up on her rear hooves and gently touched her belly with a dreamy look on her face as she thought about tummy rubs. “You gals should get your tummies rubbed sometime! It feels sooooo good!” Pinkie chirped before either mare could retort.

With an odd look on her face, Twilight turned towards the mare when there was a knock on the door. The response forming on her tongue slipped away as all the mares looked towards the entrance to their suite.

“Who could that be?” Twilight thought out loud as she moved to answer the door. Immediately she assumed that it was one of her other friends, but that thought died when she opened the door to come face to face with a familiar white stallion.

“Shiny?” Twilight asked as she looked up into her brother’s face.

The stallion smiled as he looked down on her, “Hello Twily, I heard you were in the castle…”

“Oh, I haven’t seen you in months!” Twilight exclaimed happily as she started hopping around her big brother. An amused look was plastered on the stallion’s face.

Meanwhile the other girls looked on with expressions of surprise. Rarity was the first to recover, “Um…Twilight, not to be rude, but who is your handsome friend?”

A sheepish look came onto Twilight’s face as her eyes darted between her brother and her friends, “Oh…oops…sorry,” she cleared her throat, “Girls, I’d like to introduce you to my older brother, Shining Armor.”

The both stared at her incredulously, “Twilight has a brother?”  said Pinkie.

Shining laughed and glanced at his little sister with a look of fake-hurt on his face, “All these months and you never mentioned me? Oh little sister, you wound me!”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head, “Um…sorry. I was busy with my studies and…” she shook her head, “Anyway Shining, I’d like to introduce you to my friends Pinkie and Rarity!” the former grinned while the latter curtsied.

“A pleasure!” Shining said happily and he turned back to his sister.

“What do I owe this visit, big brother?” asked Twilight.

Shining smiled, “I heard you were in the castle, so I thought I’d step in and say hello! Especially after a certain incident in the forest last week,” his expression became serious, “Also, I heard that we have a…unique guest staying in the castle, and I heard you were involved in some way?”

Twilight glanced towards her friends and back to her brother. She decided that everypony present could hear this information, “Yes, the Princess has asked me to teach him our language, if I can,” she bounced on her hooves, “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to find out what I’ll learn and…”

She was silence as Shining raised a hoof, “I just want you to be careful, okay?” 

Twilight nodded, “Don’t worry Shining, I won’t be alone. Besides, my friends and I recently introduced ourselves!”

Shining’s ears perked up, “Really? What was he like?”

Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof, “Quiet…intelligent…friendly…I don’t think you have anything to worry about big brother.”

Shining’s lips curled into a smile, “Okay, I’ll take you word for it. Though as your big brother, I’m commanding you to stay safe, okay?” he chuckled quietly and he playfully ruffled his sister’s mane, much to her chagrin, “I hear all the time about the scrapes you and your friends get in.”

Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her brother, who hugged back, “I’ll be careful, big brother.”

“I know you will, Twily,” he pulled away, “Anyway, there’s someplace I have to be,” he turned his head toward the other mares, “It was nice to meet you two. Good night.”

Soon after, he stepped outside and the door closed behind him. The sound of his hoofbeats faded away.

Rarity was still staring at the door with a dreamy look on her face as Twilight trotted back over to the desk.

“Twilight, is your brother seeing anypony?” Rarity suddenly asked. 

The violet mare turned towards her friend, a response already forming on her lips before Pinkie cut her off, “Hee hee! He’s probably rushing off to see his special somepony right now!” she glanced at Twilight.

“Pinkie, Shining would tell me if he was seeing anypony,” said Twilight in a mildly irritated voice as she turned back towards the stack of parchment on her desk.

“But where else would he be going?” Pinkie chirped.

“I don’t know. My brother has an important job,” replied Twilight.

“I’d betcha one day, it’s going to turn out that he’s getting married and it’s going to be a big surprise!” Pinkie tapped her chin, “Like a super-surprise party!”

“Sure Pinkie…sure…” Twilight muttered as she got to work.

She had a big day tomorrow.

~~~


Two more research vessels were destroyed by a human, all personnel research lost. 

No matter, the experiments will continue…

~~

“Ungrateful bastards…” Isaac heard his ghoul companion mutter as he eyed the retreating backs of the prisoners they had just rescued. They had made a break for it the moment they saw that two of their rescuers were a ghoul and a super mutant.

The attack had gone off without a hitch. All the hostile super mutants and the Talon mercs lay strewn about the clearing, some of them whole, some of them in pieces. But what was important was that they were dead.

Isaac had hoped that he would have been able to take one of the mercs alive for interrogation, but there were other ways to get information, be it a terminal or something else. After following the usual post-battle routine of collecting the ammo and weapons, and burning the chems, Fawkes, Charon, and Dogmeat stood on watch as he crouched over the corpse of the merc he had identified as this particular Talon Company squad’s leader.

He searched the man’s body before coming across two separate sheets of paper. Unfolding one, he snorted with amusement as he recognized it to be another contract on his head. The Wanderer could distinctly recall when the contracts used to identify him as ‘Isaac Shepard’, rather than ‘Lone Wanderer’; the price on his head had risen to a staggering 500,000 caps.

But the other contract got his attention. Strangely, they were offered a large sum to protect super mutants. Why they would do that, and how they were able to get the mutants to not attack on sight was a mystery. Fortunately, the organization that contracted them was kind enough to state their name.

Unity.   

~~

And that's that.
A big thanks to this guy, this guy, aaaaand joining the pre-reading bros for this chapter, this guy, for pre-reading this chapter. They are neat-o.
Questions!
1) Lasers or plasma?
2) You come across a sad pony in a dark alleyway on a rain day, you give her a hug. Now...do you scratch her ears or rub her tummy?
3) Something I noticed...In the plot of Fallout 1, The Master forcibly converts humans into mutants with FEV, because teh humans are bad and stuff and the mutants are oh so much better. Replace the underlined words with...a certain something else, and what does it end up looking like?

Till next time.
	
> A Learning Experience
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A/N: I'm a pretty bird...this chapter also involves time-skips...sorry, I'm a bad, bad refrigerator.

~~

‘Who are Unity?’ Isaac wondered.

The hot summer sun burned overhead as Isaac and his companions returned to the citadel. He gave the guards a curt nod, and they responded in kind.

The front door opened with a creak, and the bailey was alive with activity as the human walked inside. Several Brotherhood soldiers were training at the firing ranges while Paladin Gunny reamed out several rapidly paling initiates.

Isaac ignored all of it though, his sights set upon the sentinel, who rapidly approached him.

“Ma’am,” said Isaac, snapping a quick salute. Might as well act professional, given the fact they were in public.

“Paladin Shepard,” Sarah Lyons responded, saluting in kind. “You’ve returned. Anything to report?”

He nodded and explained what he had encountered.

One of the sentinel’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Talon Mercs were working with muties?” she thought aloud, rubbing her chin with a gauntleted hand.

The Wanderer reached into a pouch at his belt, withdrawing a neatly folded sheet of paper: the contract he had acquired from the body of the mercenary captain. He handed it over to the sentinel. “Take a look at this.”

She deftly took it, and her eyes roamed across the contract. A confused look came across her features. “They were hired to protect the mutants…why?” she muttered. Her eyes darted up to Isaac’s face. “Unity… I could have swore I heard that name somewhere before…”

“I was about to head down to the lab and ask Rothchild if he could give me information,” replied Isaac.

“Agreed,” said Sarah. “Steel be with you, Isaac.”

Nodding once, Isaac and his companions marched past the sentinel. Excited chatter from some of the gathered Brotherhood soldiers reached his ears as they passed by, awed by the celebrity in their midst.

~~

The sound of his bedroom door opening roused Big Macintosh from his sleep. He grunted in annoyance at the sudden sound, blearily opening his eyes to find only darkness. It was still late, judging from the view out the window; the stallion’s bedroom window was facing eastward, and no sign of the sunrise was on the distant horizon.

His eyes rapidly adjusted to the low light, and he glanced towards the door. Finding the door open, he cocked an eyebrow. The cause of the disturbance quickly became known.

There, standing next to his bed, was Apple Bloom; her eyes were fearful and brimming with tears, and her favorite stuffed bear dangling from her mouth. Her mane was askew without her bow to hold it back.

The slight annoyance he had towards the little filly for waking him up was quickly swept aside by concern for the youngest Apple.

Groggily, Big Mac propped himself up on his side and stared inquisitively at Apple Bloom, who continued to look as if she were about to cry. The stallion was the first to speak. “Are you okay? What’re you doin’ up?” he asked.

The filly was silent for a few moments, nervously glancing away as she tapped the wooden floor with a single hoof. Slowly, she once again made eye contact. “C-could ah sleep in yer bed tonight? Ah had a bad dream…” she whimpered.

Big Mac raised an eyebrow. His youngest sister hadn’t done that since around the time their parents died. Whenever she had a nightmare, she would ask to spend the night with one of her siblings; naturally, being the most “Splendifferously Cuddleicious,” as stated by Pinkie Pie, it was usually him.

“Aren’t you sick?” Big Mac questioned.

“A’hm feelin’ better,” the filly murmured.

The stallion took a moment to consider her words. The last thing he needed was to catch whatever it was his sister had. But, the filly’s sudden sickness seemed to have been easing up quickly. Apple resilience, after all. In the end, whatever sense of caution he had was overridden by brotherly instinct.

Wordlessly, the big, red stallion scooted over to give his sister room, which the filly eagerly accepted. Immediately after she hopped up, Apple Bloom buried her face in her big brother’s barrel, and the tears she had been holding back began soaking Big Mac’s fur.

The stallion barely managed to conceal his surprise at the sudden gesture. Wrapping his forelegs protectively around his little sister and rocking her gently, he allowed Apple Bloom to pour her sadness out.

Big Macintosh knew that his sister’s nightmares were caused by whatever happened in the Everfree Forest. One moment, Apple Bloom and her friends were foolishly running off into the woods on some foolhardy quest for their Cutie Marks, and the next, she was sobbing and having nightmares. It didn’t take a genius to connect the events. Apple Bloom had gone into the forest without supervision before, even got herself into danger more than once, but the aftermath was never so severe.

Although her fur did a good job concealing it, the new scarring on Applejack’s frame did not escape the stallion’s notice. Applejack had been adamant about keeping the events of that night hidden from him.

Another recent event puzzled him: his sister’s abrupt trip to the capital. What sort of emergency warrants a royal summon? The last time Applejack and her friends were called away to the capital, Discord arrived to wreak chaos on Equestria less than two hours later. Twilight Sparkle seemed pretty anxious when she showed up to deliver the message, even excited. So far, out of everything that had happened over the past couple of days, all evidence pointed towards the strange meteor being the source of all this trouble.

Although much of Ponyville was content to ignore it like all of the other wacky shenanigans that commonly shook up the town, he certainly wasn’t. Not with a quivering filly burying her face in his chest.

“Sis…” he said gently as he stroked her mussed up mane. “Why don’t ya tell me what this bad dream was about?” The filly froze. “Ah’m yer big brother, Ah’m here for ya.”

Apple Bloom looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot. Her lip trembled.

Big Mac gently patted her back. “Ya don’t have to tell me nothin’ if ya don’t want to…” he reassured.

The filly looked away from her brother, bit her lip, and clenched her eyes shut.

The images from that night ran through her head. She could hear the sounds of those grotesque, bipedal monsters, those high pitched shrieks that seemed to pierce her very being. Images of that horrible horned creature flashed before her eyes, the likeness of its demonic visage as it charged her down forever burned into her memory. A whimper passed through her muzzle as she could see Applejack and the mysterious stranger who had helped them all that night; both of them were prone, covered in blood, and neither of them were moving. As they faded away, she found herself pinned under unseen rubble, all alone, in the dark…

Her eyes snapped open, and she sobbed loudly. “It…A-ah’m scared…” she sniveled. “S-so scary…” Thoughts of being trapped in the dark and her unmoving sister flashed through her head again.

Dark…

“C-could ya turn the lights on please?” the little filly pleaded, shivering all the while.

That request took Big Mac by surprise. Apple Bloom gotten over her fear of the dark years ago. Why now? What had brought this on? Shrugging in confusion, the stallion blindly reached out, pawing for his bedside table. When his hoof came in contact with the lamp placed there, he grunted with satisfaction as he felt the knob, and he gave it a gentle push.

The stallion winced as the bedroom was abruptly flooded with light. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, Big Mac redirected his gaze towards his trembling sister as she snuggled closer to his broad barrel.

Big Mac sighed. It was time for some answers. “Sis…what happened in the forest?” he pressed, his voice soft. When she didn’t respond, he continued. “Ah understand if it was scary, but it ain’t healthy to bottle things up like this.”

He heard a deep breath, and Apple Bloom blurted out a long stream of rapid, nearly incomprehensible babble into his chest. Recoiling slightly in surprise, the stallion was able to pick up words like “monsters” and “scary” and “aliens”.

Big Mac’s eyes narrowed. Applejack, what are you hiding from me?

“Applejack wasn’t movin’… ah thought…ah thought…”

Huh? The large stallion felt as if a lump of ice was dropped into his stomach. “W-what?”

“There was so much b-blood…Ah thought AJ joined Ma and Pa…” the little filly whispered, her eyes wide.

Big Mac’s mind stalled momentarily, his ears falling flat against his head. Applejack’s scars, her silence, Apple Bloom’s nightmares, all the pieces fit together. Applejack almost died, he realized with dread.

The annoyance he felt earlier was swept aside in favor of relief for his sisters’ safety. Unthinkingly, Big Macintosh enveloped his youngest sibling in the most powerful hug he could muster, eliciting a startled squeak from her. Applejack was going to receive the same treatment when she came home from the capital, he decided.

“Mac…can’t…breathe…” Apple Bloom protested.

The stallion let her go. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“And…and if that alien hadn’t helped us, ah…ah…” she sobbed, the image of her being trapped in the dark, unable to move flashed through her head again. “He saved me…and now he’s…”

Big Mac’s brow furrowed and he cocked his head in confusion. “Alien?” he wondered aloud.

Apple Bloom forced a small smile onto her face, “Yup, a real, live space alien…”

“Uh-huh…” grunted Big Mac, “And what did this alien look like?”

The filly wildly gestured with her forehooves. “He was big, tall, walked on two legs, and wore a funny suit! Ah thought he was purdy scary at first, but then he turned out to be nice.” She relaxed and lay against her big brother. “He had eyes like you and AJ; ah felt…safe.” she glanced at him. “Ya believe me, don’t ya?”

Big Mac doubted that AB’s account was accurate, but he decided to humor her. “Yes, I believe ya…”

Whether this stranger was alien or not, he realized something in particular: the Apple Family owed somepony a huge favor.

The little filly yawned deeply, “‘M tired…Ah’m feelin’ better now…”

Mac leaned forward and kissed Apple Bloom on the forehead. “I love you, sis.”

“Love ya too…” muttered Apple Bloom. With his forelegs around her and his strong heartbeat beating like a lullaby, the filly relaxed. Minutes later, she fell back into sleep, wrapped up in her brother’s protective embrace. Dozing with a smile on her face, she clutched her stuffed bear in her hooves. As Mac felt her sister’s gentle breathing disturbing the fur on his chest, a long, drawn-out sigh passed through his muzzle.

Stroking Apple Bloom’s mane, he glanced out the window, deep in thought. His sister’s words were on his mind: this mention of an ‘alien’. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed true, ridiculous as it was.  It seemed awfully coincidental that a week after something strange crashed in the woods, his sister and her friends were called away to the capital for some undisclosed reason.

“I bet this alien of yours is just fine…” he whispered. Unless they went to the capital to pay their respects or something… he thought darkly.

Big Mac once again glanced at his sleeping little sister. Although she was peaceful now, he knew it wouldn’t last. But if she had another bad dream, Big Mac would be there for her. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen.

Ah don’t know if ya can hear me, Princess Luna, but please…give my sister pleasant dreams…

~~

“How has our guest been faring, sister?” asked Princess Celestia.

The two princesses were seated on expensive cushions at opposite ends of a table in a private study area. The large grandfather clock stationed in the room read that it was very late. Moonlight streamed in through the windows, the starry sky beyond just barely visible through the velvety curtains.

Taking a sip of her tea and a nibble of a glorious culinary marvel called a “grilled cheese sandwich”, Luna smiled. It had been two days since Twilight Sparkle had started teaching their otherworldly guest Equish, and the results were extremely satisfactory. Essentially, Twilight had started with numbers out of hope that she could get something across, and the alien picked up on it almost instantly. After that, she moved on to displaying pictures of common items and creatures, both sapient and not, and said what they were. Wanderer had responded by miming that he wanted something to write with, and he began taking notes. They assumed that he was writing a rough enunciation of the Equish word and its counterpart in the alien’s language. They went on like that for hours.

“Very well, Tia,” she replied. “He is an able learner and appears to be getting along quite well with Twilight Sparkle and her companions. This is no doubt the start of a lasting and glorious friendship between our species,” she said cheerfully.

Celestia smiled tiredly; it was well past the usual time when she turned in for the night. “I am glad to hear that, sister. I hope that the circumstances continue to favor us.”

Taking another bite of her sandwich, Luna beamed. “Indeed.” Leaning in, she continued. “He was also kind enough to provide us with his name,” she said in a hushed whisper.

“Oh?” Celestia replied, arching an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

Luna’s brow furrowed. “Hm…how was it pronounced again? Eye sick? Is zack? Oh yes, I remember now, Isaac Shepard!” she said happily. “Oh, and he is called a ‘hue-mon’!”

Celestia mulled over the newly revealed information for a moment. “Hm…interesting name…I wonder if it has some sort of meaning,” she thought aloud. “Well, I suppose names contribute to a long lasting relationship.” She redirected her gaze towards Luna. “Good work, to you and Twilight both.” Although she kept it to herself, she personally had some reservations towards their guest, or “Isaac”, as it was now revealed. Though the fact that he has shown himself to be intelligent and willing to work with Twilight raised her spirits.

She only hoped that it would stay that way. “When this is all over, what do you plan to do, Luna?” asked Celestia. Shortly after, a sly grin crept onto her face. “Or should I say…’Pwincess Woona’?”

Luna’s blushed deeply and averted her gaze, ears going flat against her head. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she stammered.

“By your mannerisms, somepony is fibbing,” Celestia said playfully. “Come on Lulu, I’m surprised all of Canterlot didn’t hear your…disagreement.”

~

“T-Twilight…” the alien grunted, setting down his quill and offering the mare in question the sheet of parchment he had been writing on.

The mare smiled at the mention of her name. She maintained a cheerful demeanor as she plucked the parchment depicting Equestrian mathematics from the alien’s hand with her mouth.

It took the unicorn all of five seconds to review his answers, her grin rapidly widening. Gradually, Twilight was moving onto more and more advanced material to challenge the newly dubbed ‘human’ before her. It took him less than a minute to solve the problems.

With the exception of Fluttershy, the rest of her friends were not present. They knew that they wouldn’t have been able to help accomplish much, given the current situation. Rainbow wouldn’t have been interested in ‘Egghead stuff’, Pinkie was probably planning her ‘Glad you’re not sick anymore party’, Rarity didn’t need a reason to mingle in the city, Spike went with her, but Applejack was an odd case. She felt obligated to help out the alien in any way she could, but she wasn’t the academic type. She was probably with Rainbow.

Fluttershy was kept nearby in the event that they had difficulty communicating. However, it was proven to be unnecessary; the human was able to discern their intentions on his own.

The pegasus made a cheerful sound to indicate to the alien that his work was acceptable; in fact, it was all correct. “He’s a smart guy, isn’t he, Twilight?” said Fluttershy.

The unicorn smiled at her friend. “Indeed, I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next!” Her eyes drifted over to the alien. He was sitting up in bed, arms across his waist, his keen green eyes scrutinizing them carefully. His messy, dark brown mane hid his scars. Upon closer inspection, a pony could notice a few strands of premature grey.

He was still very weak from magic poisoning, but he was improving. Gradually exposing him to  increasing levels of magic so he would develop a tolerance seemed to be working. While he was focused enough to partake in her lessons, the doctors said it would be quite some time until he had the strength to walk again. The bandages on his chest had been removed, and the human wore a simple white cotton shirt to hide the ugly scarring on his well-muscled chest.

She glanced at the folded parchment that rested on one of the end tables, notes that the alien had taken himself. They were all written in a strange script that Twilight couldn’t read a word of. An odd, tingly feeling passed through her chest at the thought: a new language, and she was one of the first ponies to see it in written form.

Twilight found the whole process of teaching to be quite exciting. She wondered if Celestia ever felt this way when instructing her. If so, she could easily understand why.

After reviewing the arithmetic, they went back to vocabulary. Reaching into a saddlebag, she retrieved a sizable stack of photographs depicting a wide variety of different items.

She showed him one.

“What’s this?”

“Fork,” the alien said in rough Equish.

Twilight drew a new card. “And this?”

“House.”

This exchange went on for a quite some time, the alien struggling to recite the wide variety of phrases from memory. Although just knowing the words was pretty easy, the real challenge would be learning syntax, sentence structure, grammar, and all that material. For all Twilight knew, the human’s could be completely different.

Finally, Twilight held up the last card.

“Un-unicorn.”

Fluttershy clopped her forehooves enthusiastically. “Good job, Isaac!” she cheered, in her unique, barely audible Fluttershy style.

Twilight felt elated as well. Although he made a few mistakes, it was very impressive that Isaac was able to memorize nearly two hundred and fifty different words in Equish.

Throughout this whole exchange, Princess Luna observed the trio from the corner of the room. A small smile graced her lips as she watched her sister’s student interact with their otherworldly guest. So far, this all looked well.

The fake sunlight from the window had long since dimmed out. Eventually, a deep yawn from Twilight signaled the end of the day’s lesson. The effect was contagious; Fluttershy was yawning as well.

“What a day…” Twilight said cheerfully, despite her fatigue. She slipped her notes and flashcards back into her saddlebags and rolled away soreness that had been building in her shoulders. As much as she’d like to have kept going, it would have been awkward if she had fallen asleep here. Nearby, Fluttershy arched her back like a cat.

The human realized what was going on and eased back in his bed, his hands clasping together. His eyes drifted between all the ponies present.

Just when Twilight was about to leave, the alien spoke up from behind her. “T-Twilight?” he asked.

The mare spun around on the spot, arching an eyebrow inquisitively. “Yes?”

He pointed at her. “Twilight, unicorn,” he slurred. His finger drifted over to Fluttershy. “Pegasus.” Finally, he pointed at Luna. “What?” He glanced at Twilight inquisitively.

Twilight’s mouth formed a small ‘o’, before giving away to a smile. “That’s Princess Luna, she’s an alicorn. Ali-corn, Prin-cess Lu-na,” she repeated slowly, drawing out the syllables.

“Alicorn,” the human parroted, “P-p-pwincess W-woona.”

Fluttershy and Twilight both giggled at the human’s attempt. However, the princess in question had a different reaction. Her dark cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It sounded like a saccharine pet name.

“Good effort,” Fluttershy said wistfully.

Luna cleared her throat. “That won’t do at all. I am Princess Luna, Lu-nah,” she said firmly, taking a few steps towards the prone alien. She gestured at her chest with a single shoed hoof and then jabbed it at Isaac.

One of the human’s eyebrows rose, something both of the element bearers noticed. “Woona?” he repeated.

“No no no no, Luna, Lu-nah!” insisted the princess, stamping her hooves like a child denied delicious snacks.

“Woona.” 

Twilight noticed a sly smirk creep onto the alien’s face.

“Our name is-!”

“Luna,” the alien grunted.

She eased off slightly. “Yes! Just like-”

“Woona.”

Her face screwed up in frustration. “Our name is Luna!” she shouted.

Everyone present flinched at the sudden use of the Royal Canterlot Voice™. The alien’s bangs were blasted back in a comical display. Both Twilight and Fluttershy were nearly bowled over. Twilight felt a pang of worry; Celestia had said that Isaac had PTSD. He’d even had a brief breakdown when Pinkie had startled him. What if Luna’s abrupt outburst set him off again?

She found herself very surprised to find that Isaac was doing his best to not shake from laughter... and failing. Twilight didn’t expect that.

Luna, however, was less amused. “Art thou mocking us!?”

As soon as the gale-force shout died away, Isaac couldn’t hold it back anymore and started chuckling.

“Um…Princess…I think he’s messing with you…” Fluttershy offered meekly.

Luna paused for a moment to mull her words over. “Oh…hm…Art thou messing with us!?”

Both Fluttershy and Twilight burst into giggles. “It’s…uh…like a joke, Princess,” Twilight clarified.

“This was made in jest!?” a red-faced Luna exclaimed. When Twilight nodded in response, her ears slowly splayed back.

“Luna,” Isaac recited perfectly. The human and the alicorn’s gazes met, a look of utmost amusement was plastered on his face. “You loud.”

The blush on Luna’s face intensified, and she looked away sheepishly. “Not blasted Woona…” she muttered under her breath.

Her train of thought was broken as several medical personnel came rushing into the room, frantically asking about what that shouting was about. Twilight quickly set them straight while Luna stood by, shifting back and forth, trying to avoid their questions.

When all was said and done, the nurses left the room, leaving the human and the three mares alone. Soon, they made to leave as well.

Just as they past the threshold of the shimmering barrier over the door, they heard the alien speak up as they were leaving.

“Good night.”

The three stopped in their tracks and threw glances over their shoulders. Twilight and Fluttershy smiled at his progress, and Luna’s annoyance she felt towards the alien for his joke at her expense faded away as she saw his expression. The smug grin that had adorned his face was all but gone, replaced by one of exhaustion. Although he did a good job hiding it, everypony knew that he was still having nightmares, the nature of which, nopony knew. Even Luna couldn’t peer into his dreamscape; it was too different from that of a pony.

The princess could tell that Isaac didn’t want to return to whatever hellish dreams he possessed, and she was dismayed that there was very little she could do about it. She could at least show sympathy for him. “Sleep well,” said Luna, as she trotted out of the room with both element bearers in tow.

~

The princess tried to hide her blush as she took another large bite of her sandwich, but her efforts were in vain. Celestia’s amused grin grew as Luna squirmed. “Okay, maybe I overreacted a little,” she admitted as Celestia burst into giggles. Luna glared, but it failed to have the intended effect, only making her older sister laugh harder. “You are a terrible, terrible pony,” she groaned as Celestia regained her composure.

“Oh, Lulu, you really don’t mean that,” said Celestia. Her smile returned as she crossed her forelegs. “It just reminds me of way back when.” She took on a thoughtful expression. “What was it that father called you when we were fillies? Hm…”

Luna froze. “Don’t even think about it…” she growled.

A wide mischievous grin slip Celestia’s muzzle. “Oh yes! I remember! My widdle Woona…” she cooed, her eyes half shut as she gauged her sister’s reaction.

Much to her surprise, Luna had a very similar expression plastered on her face. “That’s right Tia. But…” She tapped her chin with a hoof while a look of false contemplation crossed her features. “I’ve heard some very interesting things about your exploits over the last thousand years.” At Celestia’s confused look, she continued, “Correct me if I’m mistaken but…The name for you was ‘Bananas’, if I recall.”

Celestia recoiled as a deep blush appeared on her white cheeks. “How did you-? Who told-? That’s just a rumor! I never-!” she sputtered. Her ears flattened against her head. “Lulu, don’t you dare-!”

Luna ignored her. “Bananas! Bananas! Bananas!”

“Why you little-!” Celestia made to grab her little sister, but the much more energetic sister easily dodged what would have led to a royal noogie. She was laughing all the while as she disappeared into the shadows, taking her delicious sandwich with her.

“We are messing with you!” Luna chirped in a singsong voice before devolving into impish laughter, echoing throughout the private study.

Celestia sat there for a few moments of stunned silence before a sheepish laugh passed her lips. “I love you too, sister,” she muttered just as the clock struck midnight. She sighed in defeat.

Only you would be so energetic at this hour, Luna… she thought wistfully.

~~

I love those dear hearts and gentle people

That live in my home town

Because those dear hearts and gentle people

Will never ever let you down…

Isaac hummed along with the gentle music playing on his Pipboy as he gently scribbled on the parchment. A quick glance at the device’s clock showed that it was just before nine. He didn’t know if it was some stroke of great fortune or what, but it seemed that this world’s time corresponded to his own.

This meant that “Twilight Sparkle” would be arriving soon. The violet unicorn ran like clockwork; she always showed up at exactly nine in the morning and didn’t stop her lesson until it was late. A quick glance at his nightstand gave him a brief overview of their progress. Upon the stack of neatly folded parchment sitting on it, hundreds of different English words were written in neat cursive, and next to them were rough enunciations of the same word in the ponies’ language.

Isaac was genuinely looking forward to the violet unicorn’s visits. He found her behavior to be very endearing. Whenever they made significant progress, Twilight seemed to be only a step away from joyfully hopping around. Also, she spent so much time in his ward that he wondered if it would be simply easier to set up a cot down here for her. She had dropped from exhaustion more than once. Considering that they studied and ate meals together, it would be convenient for both of them.

If anything, she and her pegasus friend helped stave off the crippling boredom he was experiencing cooped up in this ward. He probably would have gone insane by now if it wasn’t for their lessons. Shame he had nothing to read, with the exception of the countless notes and entries recorded on his Pipboy. He glanced at the sunlight gently tricking in the curtained window. Unfortunately, he was unable to get the fact that he healed quickly in sunlight across to the ponies.

How long has it been?

Growing up in Vault 101, he had a reputation as the introverted, bookish type, a trait that had carried well into his adulthood. He always loved learning and reading, and it was a refreshing change of pace to learn something new, especially since, for once, it didn’t involve killing things.

The information exchange thus far has been pretty one sided, although Isaac intended to rectify the situation. He nodded in satisfaction as he finished his work, deposing his quill into a nearby inkwell. The writing on the sheet closely resembled the same material Twilight had presented him on the first day of her lessons, except it was in his own language. One through ten, a corresponding number of dots next to each numeral, a short tutorial on how some operations functioned, and finally some basic arithmetic. Another convenience was that the ponies also used base ten mathematics. Isaac was surprised; he personally expected maybe base four from them.

He suppressed a snort as he pondered the implications. Here he was, the Lone Wanderer, Savior of the Wastes, all that juicy stuff, writing simple math problems for a unicorn using a writing utensil right out of medieval times.

He eyed the offending quill as it rested in its inkwell. That served as another source of confusion. The ponies clearly had a greater degree of technology than that, based on what little he had seen. They had x-rays and the means to save him from his grievous wounds, but they didn’t have ballpoint pens? Also, the few times there was a guard present in the room, they were wielding spears. It was difficult to gauge the ponies’ general level of tech, since there seemed to be so much variation.

It would help if he wasn’t stuck in this bed. Although that omnipresent fog clouding his mind had faded, his stamina was nonexistent, and his limbs still felt like they were made of lead.

Isaac grunted as he shifted about, tugging on the collar of his shirt. Apparently, one of the ponies had made it herself. The white one. Rarity, that was her name. He didn't know how she had gotten his measurements, but the shirt fit him perfectly.

His musings were interrupted when his old facial scars flared up. He hissed in pain as he rubbed at the aching tissue and his eye. Although the ponies tried to hide it, he could tell that his scarring made them feel uneasy; their eyes kept drifting to it from time to time. He would never admit it to anyone, but Isaac was very self-conscious about his old wounds. They tended to draw the eyes of his own kind as well.

The sound of approaching hoofsteps snapped Isaac back to attention. He glanced at his Pipboy, nine A.M.

Right on schedule. Hmm…

With a single push of a button, the music playing on his Pipboy went silent, and he listened intently to the approaching newcomers. Judging from the sound, there was at least a half dozen ponies coming towards him. Obviously, Twilight was one of them, probably the pegasus known as Fluttershy too, but who else? Luna perhaps?

Or Woona… He suppressed a chuckle at that memory. She obviously took offense to that mispronunciation.

The other mares had stopped by occasionally, but much of his time was spent learning how to speak pony from Twilight. She was clearly the designated group nerd, and this was her forté.

Soon enough, the first of the mares trotted through the barrier to the outside world. He took a quick mental headcount as they came.

Five…six…seven…

There weren’t usually this many of them; he smiled at the larger group. With the exception of Luna, every mare that he had encountered in the woods had come to visit him, as well as that small violet reptile. This was the first time the whole gang had attended since he started taking pony lessons from Twilight. Two armored guards had accompanied them as well, their stoic gazes drifted onto Isaac for a brief moment. Neither carried spears.

Also, a heavenly aroma accompanied them this morning. It didn’t take him long to discern the source. It was the pleasant scent of freshly baked goods that originated from the brightly colored box balanced on “Pinkie Pie’s” back, and a steaming, round pastry that “Applejack” brought.

He recognized it; although he had only seen pictures, he would recognize an apple pie anywhere. Supposedly nothing’s more American than apple pie…or at least that’s what the pre-war propaganda preached.

“Rarity” was carrying something in a featureless black box as well. Judging by the lack of a scent, it wasn’t food.

Twilight smiled at him. “Good morning!” she said cheerfully.

“You too…” He did his best to return the greeting to her, giving a small wave. The ponies who weren’t present for his pony-language sessions stared at him, some open-mouthed.

“How are you feeling?” asked Fluttershy.

“…Fine.”

The remaining ponies spread out evenly around the room. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity gently placed their burdens on the table at the far end of the room while “Rainbow Dash” stood uncomfortably close, staring at him inquisitively with those rosy eyes. Unlike Twilight, her interest seemed much less academic in nature.

“Hey! Can you understand me? Huh? Can you?” Rainbow asked excitedly as she drew closer and closer.

Isaac shifted around awkwardly as the pegasus’s nose drew within mere inches away from his own. “Um…I not know... much?” he said.

“Simmer down, RD,” Applejack drawled, jerking the overly nosy pegasus away by her tail. “Give the stallion some room, would ya?”

He glanced at the green-eyed pony and gave her a subtle nod of thanks for enhancing his breathing room. She nodded back, a smile on her face.

Shifting his gaze, he eyed the recently delivered goods. He could only guess what Rarity brought, and Pinkie probably brought cupcakes. Their generosity was appreciated. The basket of apples Applejack had brought wasn’t emptied yet, and they were still delicious. After spending the greater part of a decade eating two-hundred-year-old steak-like objects and giant mutant cockroaches, he wasn’t complaining.

He yelped as something heavy fell across the bed. To be more specific, a certain, pink, overly energetic something. Pinkie Pie had hopped over from her place near the table and was once again sprawled out across his lap, belly up. She put on her best sad puppy expression as she looked up at him.

Isaac suppressed a laugh; on every single one of Pinkie Pie’s visits, she had extorted belly rubs from him. For some reason, he found it incredibly funny that a sapient creature was acting like a big, pink, slightly pudgy dog. They must have very sensitive undersides or something similar. Wordlessly, he conceded to her request and gave her some vigorous rubs on the tummy, to which she squealed in delight.

“Pinkie, darling, that is so…undignified!” Rarity exclaimed, daintily putting a hoof to her mouth. The other ponies eyed their friend, shaking their heads or bringing hooves to foreheads. Isaac wondered if they had thick skulls, as it looked like it should hurt. Applejack and Rainbow in particular seemed to be scrutinizing his hand very closely.

A long, satisfied sigh passed through Pinkie’s muzzle as Isaac continued his ministrations. “Don’t…care…sooooo…good…” she groaned, “Okie dokie! Thanks Mr. Ali-…Isaac!” she said happily as she quickly righted herself. Before any of the other ponies could comment on her behavior, she wrapped her hooves around Isaac and pulled him into a tight hug before he could protest. “There’s your medicine, Sheppy! Doctor Pie prescribes a hug a day to keep the frownies away!” she said in a chipper tone as she withdrew from the flabbergasted human, deftly landing on all four hooves with a wide smile on her face.

The Wanderer still had to adjust to Pinkie’s unusual affinity for physical contact. Under most circumstances, if someone attempted to grab him, the proper protocol would be to violently eject the personal-space invader. None of the other ponies grabbed him in such a manner, so he had to assume that it was some strange quirk of hers. On the bright side, at least she hadn’t brought a cannon again.

And…Sheppy?

Still, he forced a smile onto his face as he surveyed the gathered ponies (and lizard).

“What’s the occasion?” he asked in English, his gaze directed at Fluttershy.

The pegasus recoiled slightly as all eyes turned on her. Nervously she stepped forward. “Oh um…Mr. Isaac, um…” she muttered.

I wonder why she’s so timid… thought Isaac.

“Well, you see…um…most of the girls are here to say goodbye.” Her ears flattened against her head, and she hid her face behind her long, pink mane. “Please don’t be mad at us.”

Isaac only nodded once at her statement. He cocked his head at the pegasus’s dejected look, her head hung low. “Hey,” he cooed in pony, or “Equish”, as he recently learned. He put a single finger to Fluttershy’s chin and gently but firmly lifted her head so she was looking him in the eye. “I no mad,” he reassured, patting the mare gently on the cheek. “I understand. You have lives.”

Leaning into the contact briefly, she smiled and looked away. “Thank you.”

The Wanderer cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Why was she thanking him? He wasn’t the one who taking time out of his day. “No, thank you,” he replied, his green eyes scanning across all the gathered mares (and Spike). “Thank all…you.” He wished he had the means to show his appreciation; words would only carry so far.

“Hey! No problem, that’s what I’m here for!” Rainbow said proudly as she puffed her chest out, acting as if she were the only pony in the room.

Applejack knocked her out of the metaphorical spotlight with a light punch on the shoulder, to which the pegasus directed a brief glare at her friend. The earth pony directed her gaze towards the human, a warm smile on her face. “Again, thanks fer helpin’ me and mah kin. Once yer all better, stop by the farm sometime.” She extended a hoof for him to shake. Taking her hoof in his hand, she shook was a surprising amount of vigor, eliciting a totally manly yelp from Isaac.

“Y-you d-don’t o-owe m-me anything,” Isaac forced out as the mare continued to enthusiastically pump his arm up and down. “I did the right thing…”

Applejack’s grin widened as she finally released his arm. The Wanderer groaned as he tried to get sensation back in the numbed limb.

Note to self: Ask Twilight how ponies grip things with hooves when you get the chance.

Applejack muttered something under her breath, a slight blush crept into her cheeks as she saw the aftermath of her overzealous hoofshake. He gave a quick laugh as he rolled his shoulder.

“Sorry…” she muttered.

“Keep sister safe,” Isaac told her. She nodded in response.

Rarity gave him what appeared to be the pony version of the curtsy, and Pinkie eyed him for a moment longer, a thoughtful look on her muzzle. Isaac could only guess what was going through her head at the moment.

With a sudden ‘ooh!’ she seemed to make up her mind. She turned around, apparently rummaging for something. Just as he was about to lean forward to investigate, she turned around, proudly holding a thin, white object in hoof.

Wait, where did she…You know what, never mind. I don’t care anymore…

Before he could object, Pinkie Pie forced the mystery object into his hand with a flourish. She stepped back, still wearing a wide grin on her face.

It was small and rectangular, made of some sort of paper. Written in bright colors on the front was an alien language, Equish, he presumed. He glanced at Pinkie. Whether she knew or cared that he couldn’t read a word of it, he didn’t know. A quick search showed that it was folded. Half of the sheet’s interior had more of that writing, but the other was a hand-drawn (hoof-drawn?) picture, depicting a grassy landscape. There was a town in the distance, as well as a forest. But what got his attention most of all was a drawing of what was unmistakably a drawing of him. He was wearing his power armor as it was when he first met Pinkie.

She was in the picture as well. They appeared to be…prancing together, with expressions of utmost happiness drawn on their faces. Oh, and the sun in the drawing was smiling too. There was also an abundance of cutesy hearts.

“Er…” he glanced at Fluttershy. “What is it?”

“Oh…um…it’s a ‘get well card’.” The pegasus helpfully informed him.

“Do you liiiiiikie it?” asked Pinkie Pie, her large, blue eyes wide and happy.

On one hand, it was the most saccharine thing he had seen in a long time, and that was saying a lot, given that he was surrounded by pastel equines, but on the other, the gesture was sweet.

Isaac nodded once, placing the card on the nightstand, “Yes, Pinkie Pie, I do.”

She cheered. Quirky behavior was definitely commonplace for this pony. His eyes drifted once more onto the gifts the ponies had brought. He figured he had one way to thank them.

He nodded at the table before eying the ponies expectantly. He uttered three words.

“Want to share?”

None of them objected to the prospect of free food.

After helping themselves to a delicious breakfast consisting of apple pie and cupcakes, the mares were ready to leave. Once he was finally well, Isaac would have to get himself back in shape. All this inactivity combined with junk food wasn’t doing him any favors.

A few affectionate hugs were delivered between Twilight and her friends; she was staying, obviously. They chatted amicably as Isaac watched them. A few hoofshakes with the ponies later, including Spike, and they trotting out the door, the guards in tow. Probably escorts. On their way out, Applejack tipped her hat at him, and Rainbow gave an approving nod.

Only Twilight and Fluttershy remained. As per usual, Twilight quickly unloaded some sheets of parchment from her saddlebags, eager for a new day of learning.

He signaled for her to stop by holding up his hand.

Twilight looked at him, her head tilted in confusion. “Yes?” she asked.

Wordlessly, he reached over and grabbed the human math sheet he had written earlier and offered it to her. She deftly snatched it from his hand with a hoof, violet eyes racing across the parchment.

She froze, her curiosity quickly giving way to wonder. Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ as the implications of what she was holding hit her. Slowly, her stare drifted away from the parchment and met his own.

“Is…is this…?” she stammered.

“My…numbers…” Isaac replied.

A small squeak passed through Twilight’s muzzle, and she seemed to choke a little. A wide grin stretched its way across her face, and the young mare was literally beginning to quiver with excitement.

So predictable… Isaac thought wistfully.

Suddenly, the dam that was holding back Twilight’s enthusiasm broke.

It was said that her squee could be heard across dimensions.

~~

The sound of a quill scratching was the only sound permeating throughout Celestia’s bedroom. The sky was golden as day gave way to night.

Celestia furrowed her brow as she poured her attention over a sizable stack of letters cluttering her desk. Setting her quill down, her horn briefly glowed gold as she sent off another response. The nature of the scrolls were varied, messages from foreign dignitaries, well-wishers, petitions…not too different than usual. Well, except for the multiple requests from her science staff to dissect Isaac’s equipment, as well as other artifacts from the wreckage.

There were a few tests here and there, but, for the most part, they had made very little progress. None of it had any magical properties whatsoever, throwing whatever existing theorems they had out the metaphoric window.

The princess felt a mote of respect for this new race. New, advanced technology that was utterly unfathomable to her subjects, and not an ounce of magic was involved. Pony society depended on and was built around magic. She wondered how the alien’s race managed without what most ponies didn’t realize made their lives much, much easier. It must have been very hard.

Privately, she was also concerned.

A firsthand account from her dearest sister informed her that Isaac was carrying powerful weaponry, clearly intended for war. For what reason would they have to develop such armaments? Also, why was he accompanied by a horde of monsters?

Celestia was always the type of pony who preferred walking in the light. Hopefully, she would be getting some answers soon. Luna had recently reported that they were making great efforts in crumbling the language barrier to dust. He was speaking coherent sentences, albeit with some difficulty.

Her lips curled upward at the thought; in just over a month, they had gone from complete incomprehensibility to being able to understand each other. Her student had done an outstanding job.

The alien had even responded by teaching Twilight how to speak “English” as well.

She couldn’t help but worry for her student; once she was dedicated herself to a goal, sometimes she would run herself ragged trying to achieve it. She had also recently taken to having one of the empty rooms down in the catacomb cleared out to use herself so she never had to come back up. She probably hadn’t seen actual sunlight for at least four days in a row now.

But, even after it all, there was one question that needed answering: What happens next?

Her eyes drifted onto a nearby bookshelf where she knew a series of stories regarding a race of enigmatic benefactors rested.

She disliked uncertainty, hated leaving things to chance if it meant possibly putting her little ponies at risk. On one hoof, he could be as selfless and altruistic as the beings depicted in those stories, but on the other… Although Luna spoke favorably of him, they knew next to nothing about what he was truly like. Perhaps he simply helped them to garner favor and his real intentions were dark?

No…that couldn’t be…

He had gotten himself badly wounded for the sake of a stranger. A stallion with an evil heart wouldn’t take a risk like that. She bit her lip and sighed.

There was an old adage she had in mind: hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

A gentle knocking at her door drew her attention. As she turned around, she smiled; Luna stood in her doorway.

“I’m surprised. You actually used the door this time,” said Celestia.

Luna giggled. “Sometimes, I do heed your advice, dearest sister,” she returned cheerfully as she strode across the chamber, her hooffalls muffled by the carpet.

Celestia turned back to her work. “Anything interesting to report?”

“The doctors say he’ll be walking again tomorrow,” she said optimistically. “He must be very strong willed to remain sane after this ordeal. I can scarcely imagine what such a long period of immobility could do to a pony. Thankfully, one unexpected side effect of their magic treatment prevented Isaac from severely atrophying.”

“That’s good news, sister,” replied Celestia.

Luna cocked her head. “You don’t sound too enthusiastic.”

Celestia leaned against her desk. “It’s not that, I just…” She sighed,. “Once he’s walking, what happens next?”

“What are you worried about?” asked Luna as she put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “I assure you, everything will be just fine.”

“We can’t force him to stay here… We will have to reveal his existence to the other nations as well,” said Celestia. “I’m concerned that somepony might attempt to take advantage of the situation…and with this strange new technology…” She glanced at Luna. “This could mean change for Equestria, and I’m worried it may not be for the best.” She started pacing. “Do we truly know what lies within Isaac's heart?”

It dawned on Luna what was bothering her sister. “I…don’t know. I’ve tried peering into his dreams, trying to see what has been haunting him so, but I’ve found myself unable to.” She settled down onto her haunches and wistfully tapped the carpet with a single hoof. “His mind involuntarily rejects my incursions. It feels…strange being unable to enter somepony’s dreams.”

Celestia nodded. “Is there no way to make his mental defenses relax?”

Luna’s brow furrowed in thought. “Perhaps…hm…” Something seemed to click in Luna’s head. A smile slowly crept onto her face. “I think I may have a solution, but it would require cooperation from him as well. I could force him to, but mutual trust is important in building lasting friendships,” she said.

“If you can, do it. It would greatly put me at ease if I were to know if the human can be trusted or not,” Celestia replied, nuzzling her sister. “I will see to it that the rest of the races’ leaders are informed of Isaac’s presence. Gently of course.” She couldn’t deny a pang of excitement at this new development. There hasn’t been another species introduced into the public eye in centuries. It was a grand event, and delegates from all across the world would meet and greet the newcomer.

Celestia smiled as she dipped her quill in her inkwell. She had a very important announcement to make to the world.

~~

“Is this information accurate?” asked Scribe Rothchild, his tone incredulous as he looked over the contract.

“Sure is,” replied Isaac.

The two were standing within the laboratory, their exchange watched over by the husk of Liberty Prime that was suspended in the center of the chamber.

Crossing his arms, he continued, “I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on this…’Unity’.”

“I can do more than that…” the scribe muttered. Isaac followed the man as he retrieved a holodisc from one of the many drawers in the room. “This has the information you need,” he said, handing over the fragile hardware.

Wordlessly nodding in thanks, Isaac quickly found a chair as he inserted the disc into his Pipboy.

His spirits quickly soured as he poured over the information.

Unity was a dangerous faction of mutants led by an entity only known as “The Master”, whose master plan involved exposing every human to FEV. Their ambitions were brought to a screeching halt by a man named “Albert Cole”, who destroyed both their bases at places called Mariposa and Cathedral, as well as killing the Master himself. The remnants of his vast army were allegedly scattered after his death.

Isaac was confused. These events transpired over a century ago, so why would they be returning now? Why was Talon Company involved?

A feeling of dread fell over him as he reviewed the information once more.

The wasteland was in for some dark days…
> A Long-Awaited Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Isaac was worried.

It was still early in the morning, just past four as he restlessly paced back and forth in the Citadel courtyard. Apart from a few vigilant knights standing on guard duty, he was alone. Five days had passed since the Wanderer had returned from brief mission into the Wastes, five days since he had uncovered the return of Unity.

Elder Owen Lyons was of a similar mindset: he judged this to be a serious threat. The first time Unity had reared its head over a century ago, the Master was defeated and his army was scattered before it could coalesce into a region-wide firestorm. In this resurgence, both the Elder and the Wanderer were hoping for a similar outcome.

Several scout teams had been deployed for any signs of significant mutant movements, but so far, they have had nothing to report.

That was even more worrying. Ever since he and his companions had ambushed and destroyed the mutant-reinforced Talon Company force, there hasn’t been any sign of any mutant activity.

On the other hand, Talon had been surprisingly active lately. They were hitting caravans like common bandits, but there was something alarming about the attacks.

The pack brahmin were gunned down, their cargo looted, the robot escorts destroyed (if any), but what stood out the most was that there were no other bodies.

Also, when Isaac had intervened and successfully repelled a raid, one thing became apparent: the mercs were using non-lethal weaponry.

Talon Company was abducting people. They weren’t taking them as slaves, Isaac was sure. He had personally razed the vile nest of filth known as Paradise Falls, the Capital Wasteland’s slaver headquarters, to the ground.

While he knew what Unity’s agenda was, he highly doubted that the Talons shared their motives. The implications were unpleasant.

Isaac sighed as he rested against a wall, trying to calm his nerves. He knew that a storm was coming.

The only question was: “When?”

~~

Isaac sat in a simple wooden chair as one of the unicorns looked him over. The doctor, Healing Touch, was a bespectacled, tan-coated stallion with a caduceus on his flank. He alternated between looking at Isaac and the information on a clipboard, suspended in the faint azure glow of his horn.

The Wanderer still wasn’t entirely sure what he had been stricken with. He was obviously treated for the injuries he sustained from both the crash and the proceeding battle, but that didn’t explain the long-term exhaustion. While he had a decent grasp of their language after the many lessons with Twilight over the past several weeks, some concepts had a difficult time translating over. The closest word he could get across was “Magic,” but that would just be silly.

Then again…I am surrounded by unicorns…

To be precise, he was apparently suffering from a mix of so-called magic overexposure (or was it poisoning?) and…something else. A deficiency of some kind, though he had no idea what a “thaumacyte” was. Some kind of microbe, obviously, but he knew nothing more than that. Supposedly, the Wanderer had the worst of both cases in recent medical history, and his recovery was nothing short of a miracle. A bad case of the latter can easily lead to a bad case of the former, or so the ponies had said. Severe cases of magic poisoning were often fatal without immediate treatment.

Turning a page on his clipboard, Healing Touch looked at Isaac with a smile on his muzzle. “Good news, Mr. Shepard. You’re going to be just fine!” he said.

“Well…that’s good to hear…” he responded in thickly accented Equish. Isaac clasped his hands together. “So…what happens now?” he said with trepidation in his voice. For much of his stay in…Equestria - that’s what Twilight called it - he was absolutely clueless as to what lay ahead. The ponies he had interacted with had been sincere enough. However, he still had some doubts. He was an alien on a foreign world, after all. Such situations had cropped up in fiction many times before, and they never ended well. Then again, much of the conflict in those first-contact stories arises from one side abandoning rational thought and taking pot-shots at the other side for some arbitrary reason. Unless they were communist aliens. In the pre-war USA, that would have been viewed as totally acceptable.

Also, this is assuming something fictional to read could be found. In the Wasteland it’s rare to have a moment in which one can just sit back and relax with a book.

“Well, now we just have to see what the Princesses want to do to you,” Healing Touch said cheerfully. He frowned when he noticed the questioning look on Isaac’s face, “Now, don’t you worry about a thing, sir. The Princesses are fair and kind. You can trust them!”

The doctor’s words brought Isaac some amount of comfort. He was only familiar with the younger Princess, Luna. So far, the only time he had seen the other Princess…what was her name…Celestia, I think?...was upon his initial unpleasant awakening in the depths of Canterlot. From what he was able to glean from the ponies, though, the two Princesses shared equal power, Celestia was more widely respected and influential.

Something about having the day shift…

Initially, Isaac thought her absence was a result of disinterest, but the ponies reassured him it was because she was much busier than Luna.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” said Isaac, his statement punctuated by a yawn. While his musculature had barely atrophied, given how long he had been inactive, he still tired very easily; it would take many laps around a track to get him back into ideal shape.

Slowly, Isaac stood up. Nearby, Healing Touch balked as the Lone Wanderer stood to his full, impressive height. He was wearing an off-white T-shirt and pair of tan pants. Both articles were made by Rarity, and unfortunately she wasn’t a cobbler, so only a simple pair of sandals was on his feet. It was a far cry from what he was used to, but at least they were comfortable. A few errant pops were heard as he rolled his limbs about. After being stuck in that bed for so long, simply being able to stand and stretch felt like heaven.

“Ah…that’s nice…” Isaac groaned as his arms fell back to his sides, sparing a glance at his Pip-Boy as he did so. It was shortly past dusk.

“Um…” Healing Touch said nervously as he craned his neck upwards to look at Isaac’s face. before clearing his throat. “Oh! Right…I was told to give you this.” He carefully placed his clipboard on a nearby table before redirecting his gaze towards himself. Shortly after, a small orange bottle hovered out of his coat. Isaac studied it carefully. At first glance, it looked similar to a bottle of pre-war prescription medication.

And that’s because it was. Snatching the bottle out of the air, the Wanderer examined the alien writing on the side

“Take one every morning,” said Healing Touch.

“What for?” asked Isaac as he continued rotating the bottle on his palm.

The doctor briefly readjusted his glasses. “It is to stimulate your body’s production of thaumalcytes. While you are healthy enough to leave, your lastest blood test shows that your thaumalcyte count is still low…”

The human raised a hand. “Wait…” he interrupted. “How would you know that my…thaumalcyte count is low? You don’t exactly have a baseline to compare it to.”

“To be honest, we are making rough estimations, comparing your results to a pony of similar weight…” he trailed off as Isaac’s eyes narrowed.

“That seems like an unsafe assumption to make, doctor,” he said. “I’m not exactly a pony…I’d hate to get put back in the hospital.” And I don’t even know what thaumalcytes are. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off the headache that was starting to form.

“As I said before, you’ll be fine,” he reassured. “There are plenty of races on Equis, and they all have the same baseline.”

Isaac nodded once before slipping the bottle into his pocket. “Very well…I’ll trust your judgment, doctor.” He stood there and pondered Healing Touch’s words for a moment before realizing something. Wait…did he say races? Then again, he assumed the doc was talking about the different types of ponies. Then again, there was that one violet reptile.

Both of them snapped to attention when they heard the sound of someone approaching. It wasn’t long until Twilight Sparkle trotted into the room with a bounce in her step, quite literally actually. Unlike Fluttershy, who frequently made trips home and maintained some sort of fitness routine, Twilight had remained sedentary for the greater part of the last month and a half. The end result of a lack of physical activity coupled with near-unlimited access to the pantry showed, primarily in her flanks: the starbursts on her haunches were visible from the front, and the width of her posterior had increased by approximately forty-two point four percent.

Isaac wasn’t exactly sure why he was making note of this.

Twilight wasn’t alone, however. Two of those golden-armored stallions trailed behind her. She strode up to Isaac with a smile on her face, and crane her neck to look him in the eye

“Hello, Isaac!” she said happily, in English. The tell-tale signs of a prolonged lack of sleep ringed her eyes; the long nights of studying having taking their toll.

Even so, she maintained a cheerful attitude. Her mood was infectious, and soon he found himself crouching to wrap the unicorn in a powerful hug, which was returned. Over the past couple of days, contact with Twilight had been limited. Ever since he had the strength to walk again, a large portion of his time had been consumed in physical therapy and tests.  After having so many lessons - with Twilight falling asleep mid-lecture multiple times - it felt odd when he was alone. She had been a near-constant companion; Isaac hadn’t spent this much time with one specific person - or pony in this case - for a very long while.

“Hello to you, Twilight,” said Isaac as he released her. He remained crouched at Twilight’s eye level. Judging by the twinkle in her eye and her demeanor, he assumed she had something good to tell him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Good news!” she said excitedly as she started bouncing on her hooves. “Good news! Good news good news!” Both of the guards exchanged odd looks at the presence of this odd language uttering forth from their ruler’s protégé.

Chuckling in a good-natured way, Isaac placed his hands on Twilight’s withers to hold her still. He had been around her long enough to be familiar with her behavior once she got excited. “Calm down, Twilight. Take a deep breath, and say your piece.”

Twilight did so, a sheepish look crossing her muzzle. “Hehe…Sorry about that. Anyway…both of the Princesses are going to see you! Isn’t this great? I’ll finally be able to show you around!”

Hm…I guess it’s just like Healing Touch said, thought Isaac as he rose to his feet. “Really? As in right now?” he asked. It will be very nice to get out of here…My curiosity is killing me…

“Yep!” said Twilight.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” questioned Isaac as he glanced at Healing Touch. “Thank you, doctor, for all your help. Pass my gratitude on to your colleagues, would you?”

The stallion took a moment to readjust his glasses and his coat. “There is no need to thank us. We were just doing our jobs.”

“Still…regardless, I owe you.” He glanced towards the guardponies by the door. “I assume that you two will be escorting me, so…lead the way.”

The two stallions shared a glance before turning around, making a beckoning gesture with their wings. Isaac followed closely behind, with Twilight Sparkle in tow.

Whatever underground complex he was in was strange. Although he hadn’t had a chance to explore it yet, there seemed to be far more passages than he remembered. Whatever place he was in wasn’t strictly a hospital - Isaac had been in enough infirmaries to know that - but Twilight had mentioned that he was in the depths of a castle, of all things. Sure he had read about castles both historical and fictional as a child, but blank white walls and cold slate-grey tiles were not exactly what he had in mind.

“Is Fluttershy still gone?” asked Isaac as the group rounded another corner.

“Yes,” Twilight answered him. “Although one of our friends is house-sitting for her, she still wants to check up on all of her animal friends; it’s her special talent, after all.”

Special talent…He had heard Twilight mention that before. In the context that she used it, Isaac assumed that she was referring to their occupations. Fluttershy was apparently a veterinarian of sorts, with an uncanny sense of empathy. She was literally capable of understand animals of any kind, including other sapients. Although he had yet to witness that for himself, the fact that she was seemingly able to speak to him prior to bridging the communication gap solidified that claim.

“I’ve realized I’ve never asked but…how far away is her home?” said Isaac, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Twilight.

“Ponyville is about a two hour flight, if conditions are good,” Twilight responded without missing a beat. “Though Fluttershy prefers to take the train, even though it’s much slower.”

Before he could ask why, his question was cut off as the quartet stepped out of the corridor and into a brightly lit room. It was much larger than his ward, and both the floor and walls were lined with tables stacked with items of all kinds. A large rug dominated the center of the room as well. The Wanderer recognized the nature of the items: things were salvaged from the alien ship.

Biting his lip in worry, a host of questions came to mind. What would the consequences of the ponies getting their hooves on this technology mean? The last thing he needed on his conscience was being responsible for the collapse of a civilization from dumping a bunch of tech in the laps of a people that didn’t truly understand the destructive power of the weapons they found. Could they be trusted to use it responsibly? Although the ponies he had met were friendly and well-meaning, it would be incredibly foolish to believe that such traits apply to every single pony. They were like humans: diverse.

However, at first glance he did not see anything that appeared to be in working or even salvageable condition.

On the table nearest him was a disintegrator with a gaping hole in the chassis, through which he could see that it was devoid of any and all electronic guts. The long barrel was bent at a thirty degree angle, and the delicate structure on the tip was missing. One of tables was covered with a bunch of relatively uninteresting nick-knacks, including a dented Vault-Tec lunchbox, the smiling man on the lid perpetually smiling at the Wanderer. Other than just the vast amount of broken equipment, the tables were also occupied by ponies of all different colors and sizes, each of them staring intently at the human in their midst.

Isaac felt uneasy from the sheer amount of eyes upon him, their gazes tracking his every move. Their expressions ranged from curiosity, to amazement, and, much to his annoyance, fear. Though, seeing all of this broken equipment made him realize something as his hand unconsciously drifted to his hip, blindly groping for a pistol that wasn’t there. It, along with all of his other equipment, was locked tightly in a trunk in his hospital ward.

“Isaac?” Twilight’s voice shook him from his thoughts. “Is something wrong?”

He realized that he had stopped moving, the guards looking at him with a mixed expression of annoyance and apprehension, along with every other pony in the room.

Clearing his throat, he spoke. “I just realized…my trunk?”

“Will be brought up to your quarters once your meeting with the Princess has concluded,” one of the guards answered.

“Alright…” said Isaac. He wasn’t sure how to feel about this.

He felt a slight nudge on his back as Twilight urged him forward, and the Wanderer continued on. Throughout the whole exchange, with the exception of one pony in the corner wearing headphones, completely oblivious to the world around her, not a single one of the ponies’ gazes drifted from Isaac. It was incredibly unnerving.

The tunnel out caused Isaac to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Rather than the white walls and tile floors he had been seeing for the past month and a half, the tunnel looked natural; the rough stone walls and floor were a shade of brown. Taking a deep breath, Isaac followed the guards into the tunnel, Twilight not far behind.

It was a tight fit for him, obviously not intended for one as tall as he. If the ceiling was any lower, he would have to duck his head to fit inside. It was dimly lit by torches set in brackets on the walls. Their shadows danced against the flickering light. A slightly damp earthy scent hung in the air. The chatter from the ponies they had just left behind resumed before promptly fading away into silence until only the sound of his companions’ hoofbeats and their own breathing remained.

Just how big is this place?

The tunnel seemed to be winding, the path forked many times as they delved deeper. Left…right…right…left…middle…middle-ish left… he thought to himself as they walked down another path. It looks really easy to get lost down here… Isaac glanced at one of the guards. He couldn’t help but be impressed; either the ponies had a superb sense of direction, or they were navigating through other means. Though, he had the feeling they were going the right way. Isaac could feel the subtle upward slope of the tunnel beneath his feet.

The Lone Wanderer had his Pip-Boy to avoid getting lost thanks to its automap feature. Just out of curiosity, he raised his arm and peered intently at the device. With a push of a button, he switched to his map feature and…

…What.

He stared blankly at the display, to be more precise, the static upon it, and the prominent ERROR message. The lack of a world map was completely understandable, given the lack of a GPS system, but the local map? A sense of worry started to creep over him. This had never happened before. What about this cave could possibly cause this? He had a month and a half to check to see if his Pip-Boy was damaged, and even then, that was unlikely.

None of the ponies noticed Isaac’s unease as they pressed forward. Something about these caves seemed unnatural. The closer he looked, the more discrepancies were apparent. Some tunnels made turns at greater than a one-eighty degree angle, and with how gently the floor was sloping upward, it felt like they should have ended up running across junctions they already passed. But they didn’t. They ended up at new intersections every time. It was as if the tunnels were constantly shifting…changing. Secondly, the darkness shrouding this place seemed unnatural. The Lone Wanderer had unusually keen low-light vision, thanks to cybernetics, and he couldn’t see more than eight feet in front of him. Torches seemed to materialize from the dark, rather than their flickering light being visible from a fair distance away.

And Twilight and the other ponies had to traverse this place every day? Isaac thought to himself. The Lone Wanderer became more uneasy as he listened closely. There were whispers emanating from the corridors that they did not traverse, beckoning him to seek them out. Dark apparitions appeared out of the corner of his eye. Whether the ponies could see it or not, he couldn’t tell. The pony guards pushed onward unfazed, while Twilight hung behind him, occasionally looking over her shoulder.

Just when Isaac was about to throw a question Twilight’s way, it was as if a fog was abruptly lifted from the tunnel. The whispers stopped, and the crushing sense of isolation vanished. It was jarring enough to cause the Wanderer to stumble, though he caught his footing before he could make an ungraceful meeting with the rough floor.

“Isaac? Are you okay?” asked Twilight, concern evident in her eyes.

He glanced over his shoulder at Twilight, catching a glimpse of the inky blackness that lingered in the tunnel behind them, seemingly swallowing all light. “I’m fine…what was…what was that?” said Isaac.

Twilight bit her lip. “A series of defensive spells, designed to ward away intruders.” She sighed as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, suppressing a shudder. “And I agree…it is unnerving…” A distant look came to her face, as if she were recalling some painful childhood memories.

Spells, spells, spells. More spells… thought Isaac. He spared a glance at his Pip-Boy once again, to find that it was seemingly back to normal, much to his relief. It accurately showed that he was in a long, narrow tunnel, but oddly enough, it seemed to just cut off at where the curtain of blackness began. It didn’t show a wall just…nothing, as if the passage opened into a void. Aside from that, he noticed that barely a minute had passed. It felt as if he were in those tunnels for at least ten.

The new, much more brightly lit tunnel quickly turned into a set of stairs, leading upward. Isaac wasted no time in following the guards, as did Twilight, both of them eager to be free of the tunnels.

That was the most panicked he’d felt in quite a long time. The last time he’d experienced such horrors was his forays into places like the Dunwich building or his trip to Point Lookout. The former was frightening enough, with its hordes of feral ghouls lurking in the dark, their scratching noises audible through the walls, as well as that…thing in the basement. Disembodied voices hung in the air around that obelisk, and they haunted Isaac’s dreams for days. The latter, on the other hand, had an unnatural aura of wrongness just blanketing the entire park, as if nature had abandoned it long ago, and something evil had taken its place.

He’d been stricken with insomnia and lost many nights of sleep thanks to those places, and those tunnels just made some bad memories surface. He’d have a stern word with the Princesses about this.

Just how far underground is this place…? thought Isaac as they continued climbing the stairs. Soon, a bright light at the top was visible, growing brighter by the second. A grin slowly crept its way onto the Wanderer’s face, eagerness quickly overtaking the anxiety he felt in the tunnels. As if sensing his excitement, the guards picked up their pace, and the remainder of their ascent passed by quickly. Isaac grunted in satisfaction as he reached the landing, entering a much wider corridor. As Twilight took up the rear, Isaac took a moment to catch his breath. He couldn’t help but feel ashamed; it had been some time since stairs had been an issue for him.

Damn stairs…

Thankfully, the rest of the group waited patiently for him. The ceiling was much higher as well; Isaac could actually jump and not collide with it. The ponies’ hoofbeats became muffled thumps as the ground beneath their hooves gave way to a rich, red carpet. The rough walls soon became smooth and white. The torches were replaced with brightly lit bulbs set into the intricate ceiling.

“We will be taking a different route,” announced one of the guards. “Your presence here has not been acknowledged yet, so we want to minimize the risk of you being spotted.”

The Wanderer nodded, “I understand,” he said. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed as the guards led him and Twilight on a detour through a seldom-used, dusty wing of the palace. He had been hoping to get a good look around the place, but all the rooms they passed were barren; their only contents being dust and cobwebs. Even the light fixtures within the rooms had been removed. Only the hall lights remained.

Seems a waste to have all this unused space…

They wordlessly passed through the door at the end of the hall, and bright light flooded through. Wincing at the sudden change, it was then that Isaac finally got a glimpse of the real Canterlot Palace. The ponies’ hooves clacked on the marble floor as Isaac took a good look around, his jaw dropping in awe. The chamber they stepped into was at least three stories tall and was brilliantly lit by a crystal chandelier high above. Tall, white pillars rose all the way to the vaulted ceiling, from which colorful banners hung. A red carpet with gold trimming was perpendicular to him, and ran the entire length of the room to a flight of stairs at the far end. He could see more doors similar to the one he’d just exited. He barely even noticed when one of the guards locked the door behind him. Just beyond the landing on the upper level, a large window dominated the wall. The gentle light of dusk shone through, and Isaac could clearly make out the sky, the first stars of the night just becoming visible.

The Wanderer was shaken out of his gawking when he felt someone tug on his arm. Blinking once, he looked down to see Twilight’s hoof wrapped around his arm, a smile on her lips. “Impressive, isn’t it?” she asked. “I remember the first time I came to Canterlot Palace as a little filly. Do you have places like this where you come from?” She looked at him expectantly.

Isaac froze as he pondered how to answer that question. He took another glance around the room before swallowing once. Did he? “Well, I’ve seen some pretty lavish places, but nothing so…spectacular,” he said honestly. Or clean, or not infested with ghost people or mutants, or not slightly nuked…

Twilight’s grin widened. “Well, I’m glad you like it!” she said cheerfully. The sound of someone clearing their throat drew the attention of both man and mare. They turned to find both of the guards waiting for them at the foot of the stairs, their expressions blank. “Well, I guess we’d better keep moving, huh?”

Isaac nodded in response and followed her. A quick glance made it apparent that they had emerged from some sort of side passage. The broad staircase split in two different directions. Twilight and Isaac followed the guards as they headed up the right set to the landing. It ran the length of the room on both sides, additional doors on the walls, and a sturdy wooden railing to protect from falls. Now that he was closer, Isaac could clearly make out the intricate carvings on the wall, depicting ponies, the sun, or the moon. A multitude of paintings and tapestries lined the wall, each beautiful and well-maintained.

They walked along for a short while before the guards directed them to one of the doors and stepped inside. It led into another short corridor. Several potted plants placed on pedestals decorated the room, and a couple of bright lights in the ceiling kept them out of the dark. It was only a short walk before Isaac saw what was at the end of it. He and Twilight groaned in dismay.

More stairs, spiral stairs curving around the corner and out of sight.

He didn’t even offer a word of complaint as he and the ponies climbed them, obviously up a tower of some sort. Isaac could hear Twilight panting nearby, the pudgy scholar showing her displeasure with stairs as well. Finally, they reached the top. Taking a deep breath and mentally cursing those damnable stairs, Isaac opened his eyes to find himself face to face with a large double door, which was flanked by two additional guards, both of them unicorns. On the far end of the room, away from the stairs were a potted plant and a portrait of a unicorn. To the left of that…opposite of the doors, was a large window. Nearby, Twilight had dropped to her somewhat meaty rump, panting. As his escort was conversing with the guards, Isaac took the opportunity to glance out the window.

Woah…

He was taken aback just by how high in the air they were. Overcoming the initial sense of vertigo, the Wanderer took in the sights of the land below. He was too high up to see things in too much detail, but it was enough. He saw a city lit in the evening below, and it took him but a moment to realize that the city and the palace itself was built into the side of a mountain of all things. Setting aside questions about the architecture for now, he looked beyond the city. He could see green, green, and more green. Blue rivers flowed, and he could even make out buildings in the valley far below, little more than specks at this distance. Fluttershy’s home perhaps? I’ll ask Twilight…

“Mister Shepard…” said one of the guards, his expression unreadable. “The Princesses are expecting you.”

Twilight was back on her hooves, giving him a reassuring smile. Isaac spared a glance at himself as he slowly approached the double doors. He snorted as he realized that he wasn’t exactly dressed for such an occasion, but that’s how the cookie crumpled. Not a thing he could do. As he contemplated this meeting, a plethora of things that could go wrong rapidly ran through his head. How would they react to the truth?

The two unicorns guarding the door horns lit up in unison, and the door swung open. Straightening his collar, the Wanderer strode through the open door, Twilight at his side.

~~

Luna bit her tongue as she gazed into a small hoof-mirror suspended in the silvery glow of her magic, as she ran a comb through her starry mane. Celestia was certain this was at least the fiftieth time that evening.

She seems determined to be presentable… Celestia thought to herself as Luna made a sound of approval as she worked the snarls out of her mane and lowered her mirror. The Princesses were waiting patiently in a private study set high in one of Canterlot Palace’s many towers. It was a long time coming, but the sisters were finally going to get a heart-to-heart chat with their otherworldly guest. They sought to make the meeting as pleasant as possible. The center of the room was dominated by a large blanket, upon which numerous cushions made of the finest, most comfortable material sat, along with themselves.

The two were bathed in the soft moonlight streaming through the tower window as the seconds ticked by on a nearby grandfather clock. Celestia sighed as she pondered the types of questions and answers she would glean from Isaac Shepard. Part of her was afraid of the things she might learn. She still clung to some irrational fear that the human’s comrades would blame them for his predicament or that his cooperation was all a farce. Celestia glanced at a locked trunk that rested just off of the blanket, the trunk that contained all of Isaac’s equipment. It had been brought up very recently.

As a show of good faith, Luna suggested that they let Isaac keep all of the items he had when he was brought in. Celestia felt uneasy about allowing an alien creature with unknown intentions to carry a weapon. Although she hadn’t witnessed the destructive power of that small, L-shaped device he had in possession, the reports she got from her sister were jaw-dropping. How could something so small be so powerful?

A soft chirp from the phoenix in the corner snapped Celestia out of her musings. She glanced over to the perch upon which Philomena stood, staring at her mistress with a knowing gleam in her eyes. Oh, Celly, stop worrying… The Princess briefly shifted her position on the cushions. Some part of her could understand why Luna was so adamant about having at least his weapon returned. Years after Discord had been defeated over a millennium ago, veterans of that conflict felt uncomfortable when their spears were out of hoof’s reach. Whatever place from which their alien guest hailed was clearly going through a similar struggle. She had seen him slip into a flashback, after all. Celestia realized how little she had to complain about. Almost all interaction with Isaac had been done by either Luna or Twilight. They knew him far better than she did.

A rustling of parchment drew her attention, and she turned to see Luna staring at a particular scroll, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Celestia smiled when she caught a glimpse at what was on it and the case containing countless other similar scrolls resting by Luna’s flank. Twilight hadn’t been the only one busy studying. Like any good scholar, her faithful student had been recording every moment of every lesson with Isaac and sending copies to both Princesses. Celestia had to admit that she found the new language, “English”, fascinating. While they had yet to see any samples of the English alphabet, both sisters had been extensively studying the information Twilight had learned in their spare time.

It had been ages since a new language had been introduced to Equestria. The last time had been when contact had been made with the minotaurs some eight hundred years ago. Though Celestia had mastered many languages over her long lifespan, English had fascinated her more than any other. Zebrician, Gryphoni, Minosian…each of them could be described in a single word be it exotic, coarse, or powerful. But when it came to English, every time she thought she had a general overview, something jumped out of the woodwork to surprise her. It was like a delicious layered cake, each new bite having a different flavor and texture.

Before the thought of cake could make her salivate, both Princesses’ ears perked up when they heard the noise of somepony approaching outside of the room’s large double doors. Celestia glanced at Luna. “Are you ready for this, sister?” she said gently, crossing her forelegs.

Luna gave her a puzzled look. “What made you think otherwise, Tia?” she said before sighing deeply. “I know you still have misgivings, but please, trust me.”

Of course… Luna had told her that her plan of truly gleaning what type of pony Isaac was inside had nearly reached completion. Personally, Celestia hoped that she had done it sooner because that would easily put many of her worries to rest. Swallowing her doubts, Celestia resolved to take Luna’s words about their guest at face value. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back and turned to face the door, her expression neutral. Luna did the same, though some degree of giddiness shone through her stoic mask.

They heard muffled voices through the door, and soon after, they swung open, and two familiar figures stepped inside. Twilight Sparkle smiled at her, which she returned, before her gaze swept over the object of her concerns.

Isaac peered curiously about the room, eyes wide open and his posture attentive. Celestia felt a hint of pride for her race at Isaac’s impressed expression. A flash of recognition and a hint of a smile crossed his face when he noticed the phoenix on her perch. Eventually, his gaze settled on both Princesses. Celestia could see the intelligence in those eyes. He was a lot larger than she remembered. At his full height, he was slightly taller than her. Other than minotaurs and the mighty dragons, she rarely had to look up to meet somepony’s gaze. He was clothed, with that strange device still on his wrist. The parts of his skin that were exposed were pale and muscular. Celestia couldn’t help but wince at all the scarring, partially hidden by his shaggy mane, along with a prominent mark on his left arm that she hadn’t noticed before. Once again, the same question permeated her thoughts: just what have you been through?

Giggling happily, Twilight trotted up to her, a smile on her face. Celestia couldn’t help but feel happy too. Twilight sank into a quick bow. “Princess Celestia!” she exclaimed.

A smile on her face, Celestia craned her swan-like neck and gave her precious student an affectionate nuzzle. “It is very good to see you, my faithful student,” said Celestia as she withdrew her muzzle and appraised her student. The Princess was not surprised to see dark shadows rimming Twilight’s eyes; she always skived off sleep once she was engrossed in a major project. She suppressed a giggle when she took note of Twilight’s more prominent curvature.

The evidence of Twilight’s repeated forays into the royal cake dispensary were made plain for all to see with her doughy midsection and haunches. It subtly squished out to the sides as she took a seat at Celestia’s flank.

The Princess felt an odd feeling surge through her chest when she realized that she was being surveyed as well. Looking away from Twilight, she saw Isaac analyzing her every move.

Cautiously, he took a few steps forward, his eyes never straying away from either Princess, before stopping at the edge of the blanket. His posture was rigid and alert. Both sisters said nothing. Celestia could feel uncertainty rolling off of Isaac as he stood there. It was clear he was unsure how to proceed.

After a few more uncomfortable moments of silence, the Wanderer slowly and awkwardly bowed out of respect, never breaking eye contact. He relaxed when the Princesses returned it.

Luna was the first to break the ice. “Good…’eve! Isaac Shepard!” she said loudly in fragmented English.

Isaac turned to her, surprise slipping through his controlled expression. “Wha-?” he started to say.

“Been practicing!” Luna said happily.

The Wanderer glanced at Celestia with an eyebrow raised. The Princess could only chuckle good-naturedly and shrug.

“Well…good evening to you too, Princess Luna,” he said finally in accented Equish after a few moments. Celestia cocked her head out of curiosity; it was like no accent she had ever heard before, which could be expected, given his origins, but still, it was surprising. All in all, his voice sounded pretty powerful, and she was surprised how coherent he was. Twilight had informed her how much his Equish was progressing, though she hadn’t expected it to be to such a great degree. He glanced at Celestia. “And it’s nice to finally meet you under more…favorable circumstances, Princess Celestia.”

Rather polite… “The pleasure is all mine, Isaac Shepard,” she said in return.

He finally broke eye contact as he slipped off his sandals before stepping onto the blanket, joining the rest of them. The four of them were arranged in a diamond as Isaac settled into an odd position where his legs were crossed. Luna looked on in curiosity. That looks uncomfortable…

“I hope I didn’t offend you in any way, Princess…I can’t say that I’ve had a meeting with royalty before,” said Isaac.

Celestia giggled before extending a hoof to him.“No, you have not offended us in any way, Isaac Shepard.”

Isaac eyed the offering before giving it a powerful shake. “If it isn’t any trouble, please just call me Isaac.”

Celestia smiled. “Only if you call me Celestia. My sister and I were never big on formalities.”

Isaac shrugged. “Okay, Celestia.”

“I’d have to say that you are looking much better,” said Celestia.

Isaac nodded. “I feel much better,” he replied as he scratched the mark on his left arm. “Thanks to all the ponies working down in that…place...” Celestia noticed apprehension flit across his face for a brief moment.

Luna didn’t seem to, however. “I imagine that it must have been terribly dull,” she remarked, her hoof resting on her chin with a thoughtful look on her face.

Isaac winced. “You have no idea,” he grumbled. “Not the worst hospital stay I’ve had. The last time…” he trailed off before muttering something under his breath. “Anyway” - he glanced at Twilight, a smile on his face - “It was made far more tolerable thanks to the efforts of Twilight and her friends. Saved me from the ravages of boredom, and even learned a new language in the process.”

“I expected no less from her,” said Celestia with pride, looking at Twilight as well.

“Well, I uh…thank you!” she stammered, beaming with pride at the praise from both Isaac and her beloved mentor.

“She acquired these skills from somewhere,” said Isaac. “I heard that you are her teacher, or so I was told.”

Celestia smiled and rolled her eyes. Flatterer. Clearing her throat, her expression turned serious. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s proceed to the purpose of this visit.” Everyone sat up straighter. “As we are all well aware, the circumstances surrounding your arrival in Equestria are most…unusual, to say the least. Needless to say, this is an unprecedented event.” Celestia sighed, rubbing her temple with a hoof. “I prioritize the safety of my subjects beyond all else, and as much as this pains me to say this, I cannot let you leave this palace until I am absolutely sure that you do not intended to harm my ponies.”

Twilight gasped and raised a hoof in protest “But Princess…” she started.

“Twilight,” Isaac cut her off, patting her gently on the withers. “It’s okay.” He turned to Celestia with a hard look on his face. “I understand. I don’t expect you to believe me through my words alone, but hear me when I say this: I swear to you on my honor as a Star Paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel, I will never harm an innocent,” he said, his voice steady and powerful.

Celestia listened intently, pondering his words, trying to weed out lies and deceit. She found none. While some words stood out, like “Paladin”, she had no idea what this “Brotherhood of Steel” was.

Taking a deep breath, Isaac fixated on her with and even stare. “Ask your questions, and I will answer them as best I can.”

“’Star-Paladin’?” asked Luna, a quizzical look on her features. “So…you are a knight, then?”

Isaac glanced at her. “…Of a sort, I suppose.”

Celestia glanced at Luna, her eyes slightly widening in surprise. Twilight had a similar expression on her face. This was an unexpected revelation. If the knights of Isaac’s world were anything like those of Equestria, that would ease her worries. Though, he had called himself a paladin, a knight who had dedicated himself to some higher goal. Other than foals playing make-believe, she had not heard someone refer to themselves as such in generations.

“I hope we haven’t offended you by not acknowledging your title, good Sir Knight,” said Luna.

Isaac chuckled. “Please, no honorifics. I loathe them just as much as you do. Besides, I’m not exactly a knight in the traditional sense, anyway…”

Celestia’s brow furrowed. In what way…? She decided to ask about it later. “Could I offer you anything to drink? Tea, coffee, milk, wine…?”

“Just water will do, thank you,” he responded without a second thought. He recoiled in surprise when Celestia’s horn lit up, and a pitcher of water appeared with a golden flash. It was suspended in the air alongside a tall glass. His eyes didn’t leave it as she poured him a glass and levitated it to him. He gingerly took it as if he expected it to shock him.

Celestia turned to Twilight, “And you, Twilight?”

“Milk please, princess!” she said cheerfully. As Celestia prepared a simple conjuration spell, she glanced over at Isaac. A thin metal probe was deployed from the strange device on his wrist – What did Twilight say it was called? A Pipboy, I think. – and was dipping into the glass. His expression was stoic as he gently stirred the probe, gazing at the green-tinted screen on the PipBoy the entire time.

“Might I ask what you are doing?” asked Celestia has she gave Twilight her glass of milk. She took it eagerly and nearly downed the thing in a single gulp.

“I’ve seen you do that before. You always do that before you eat or drink something,” said Twilight as she lowered her glass. Much to Celestia’s amusement, her upper lip was stained white.

“I always scan my food for toxins, poisons, radiation, or anything else that could be…hm…what was the word? Ah yes…harmful to me,” said Isaac, not even looking away from the screen. He froze immediately when he realized how that sounded.

Poison? Toxins? Rad-i-a-tion, what’s that? Thought Celestia. She was about to reply, but Luna beat her to it, her voice tinged with anger. “Surely you don’t mean to imply that we-”

He hissed something in English when he finally looked up from the screen and found three ponies with looks of disbelief on their faces. Celestia assumed it was a curse word. “I’m not…acc-us-ing…” he struggled with the word “…you of anything.”

“Then why-”

He shrugged. “It’s a habit of mine, I suppose,” he muttered as the PipBoy beeped. “I’m sorry if I made the wrong…im-press-ion.”

Without another word, he began drinking from the glass, apparently convinced that it was safe to drink. Celestia and Luna shared a subtle glance, the same thing on their minds. What sort of place would he have come from for such habits to form…?

“Now, I don’t suppose you could tell us what your future plans are?” asked Luna. “I would expect your people would be worried that one of their knights is stranded in our lands. Will a party be arriving to retrieve you?”

Celestia noted that Isaac was drinking his water with deliberate slowness, as if he was hesitant to speak. She frowned. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that many things about the whole crash site didn’t add up. By now, she would have assumed that whomever that vessel belonged to would have come looking for it, and what they salvaged from the wreck was chock full of discrepancies. Many of the samples retrieved were too different from each other, as if they came from different sources. She had seen some chairs and some tables taken from the crash. They were intended for someone much, much smaller than Isaac.

She had a feeling that Isaac’s response would reveal much.

After what seemed like an eternity, Isaac lowered the glass. His eyes were closed, and he took a deep, hesitant breath. Finally, his eyes opened and his green gaze met Luna’s blue. “No,” he said simply.

Luna visibly recoiled. “What do you mean by that?”

The Wanderer’s shoulders sagged. “No humans will be looking for me…” he said, his expression forlorn. Luna looked between Isaac and both ponies present, her mouth agape. “I wasn’t on that ship willingly.”

“How did…what…” Luna spluttered, “Were you a prisoner?”

Isaac growled and averted his eyes. “I was abducted. Taken against my will,” he growled. All three ponies noticed a pained expression flash across his face, as if he was reliving an excruciating memory. His hand disappeared under his shirt as it gently traced a hidden scar. Celestia’s mind briefly went back to the time when they had their brief, first meeting. How he had thrashed and screamed in agony at some past trauma. “They did…things to me. I was not the first,” he sighed deeply as he continued to stare into space. “You remember those monsters that attacked us, Luna?” said Isaac.

“Yes…what about them?” Luna asked, her voice heavy with trepidation. “Were they your captors?”

Isaac’s expression darkened. “No. They were their victims, the end results of their experiments,” he spat. Celestia could feel the anger in his words, though he still maintained an outward appearance of tranquility. “Those things used to be human…”

All three ponies recoiled in shock, especially Twilight. “They…they used to be…oh…oh my…” she murmured as she swayed on the spot. “I…I think I’m going to be…oh…” Celestia saw tears well up in her eyes as she trembled. “And I…I killed some of them…” she looked up at Isaac, “Oh Isaac…what have I done…?”

He gently patted her head. “There is nothing that can be done for those poor souls. You did them a service by freeing them from their torment,” he said softly.

Celestia was bewildered at the new information, her mind reeling with questions. She stared at Isaac as he tried to calm Twilight down, her mouth agape.

“Why?” asked Luna, her brow furrowed in disbelief. “What in tartarus did they expect to gain by turning your people into those…those…” she stammered as she tried to find the right word, “Abominations?”

“Hell if I know…” he muttered. “They had no control over them; they seemed to serve no purpose other than to satiate their own sick curiosity…”

Celestia had to suppress the rising feeling of anger she felt at these interlopers. She could tell from Isaac’s expression just how horrible it was. Thankfully, over a thousand years of practice made her a master at suppressing her emotions. “How did you escape?” she asked calmly.

“I employed violence,” he said bluntly. “They are arrogant as they are depraved. All it took was a few crossed wires to escape my cell. They have been abducting victims for centuries. Sure, they may feel high and mighty as they cut open a man strapped to a table, but when their targets can actually shoot back…” he trailed off and left the rest to the ponies’ imagination.

The Princesses were alarmed at the vindictiveness dripping off of Isaac’s words, but they could understand his anger. Twilight, though, was quite pale; the sheer hatred in Isaac’s voice, contrasted to the polite tone it usually carried, was making her feel queasy.

Isaac bowed his head and sighed. “I do not know how or why they came to be in orbit above your world, Princesses, but I am certain that it wasn’t for a good purpose.”

Luna’s eye twitched recalled as an unknown object appearing in her night sky in a red flash and the blast following it. Both Princesses were having similar thoughts. The idea of these monsters stealing away their little ponies and twisting them into abominations was just…unthinkable. They would cast all of those interlopers into the sun before they would let that happen.

Twilight paled further as she had visions of her friends before her, their coats gone, their eyes black, soulless pools, twisted into mindless monsters.

“Why haven’t your people done anything about them?” questioned Luna.

“We are no more spacefaring that you are, Luna,” said Isaac as he rubbed his temples. “Perhaps we were at one time but…not anymore.”

Celestia and Luna exchanged a glance, “What do you mean ‘Not anymore’?” asked Celestia, her brow furrowed as she looked at Isaac with concern. He took a deep breath and wiped away a bead of sweat running down his forehead. Celestia knew hesitation when she saw it; she knew he was worried about how they would react.

He glanced between all three ponies, his expression hard. “I don’t know what sort of civilization you thought I was a part of, but you’d best toss aside whatever preconceptions you had about us. My race is…We are in ruins,” said Isaac, a look of resignation on his face.

Three jaws dropped in surprise. That had been unexpected. Very unexpected. Celestia winced at the look of dismay on the faces of both Luna and Twilight, the latter especially so.

“How…did this happen?” asked Luna.

“It was our fault,” he lamented. He took the silence as a cue to continue. “It was around, hm…two and a half centuries ago this whole mess started. The worlds’ nations relied on two resources in particular, I don’t know the Equish words, or even if you have words for them: Petroleum, and Uranium.”

“What were they used for?” asked Twilight.

“They were used as a source of energy.” He glanced at Twilight. “My people were always a creative sort. We built self-propelling chariots, large transports that could fly through the sky, great factories, plants that could supply entire cities with electricity. We once even built a machine that landed on the moon itself.”

That got everyone’s attention.

“Pretty much all of them were powered by one of those materials I mentioned.”

“And how did this lead up to your civilization’s collapse?” said Twilight. Both Princesses were silent, listening with rapt attention. The scenario he was presenting them was very similar to an event in Ponykind’s past.

He drummed his fingers on his chin. “Hm…let me put it this way. This ‘magic’ of yours you told me about before, it is an important part of your society, yes?”

Twilight nodded. “That is correct.”

“Now, imagine that it is provided by a rare material.”

“Like arcanite?” Twilight asked. Isaac cocked his head in confusion. “Oh, it is a rare mineral that constantly emits a thaumatogical field. It can be used as a power source for magical devices, though most ponies prefer to use enchanted gems, because they are much more common.”

Isaac blinked once before shaking his head. “Okay, imagine that this ‘arcanite’ is the only source of magic for both machines and your own innate abilities. Now, what would happen if the world was to run out and no one could use magic anymore?”

Twilight winced. “Well, it would be chaos,” she said.

“That’s what happened to us,” said Isaac. “Once the world’s supply of energy was running out, people started fighting over what was left.”

“Couldn’t they have looked for alternatives?” said Twilight. “Wouldn’t that be best for everypony? Why would they fight over it? ”

Isaac sighed. “Yes, one would think that…Because the old world leaders were obsessed with keeping things the way they were. There is an expression for what their problem was, old world blues,” he explained. “They were so desperate to cling to the past, that they could barely grasp the present, let alone cope with the future.”

“Moving ahead into the future, but facing backwards the whole time…” remarked Celestia. This was sounding very familiar…

Isaac nodded. “Exactly. By the time the situation was going downhill, no nation had any sort of back-up plan.  The world leaders just kept on pretending that everything was fine, even when it sure as hell wasn’t. Global relations plummeted, and wars broke out pretty much everywhere. Nations began fighting over scraps, like starving animals desperate for a meal. Governments because more aggressive, stagnant, and corrupt, both towards domestic and foreign matters. And to top it all off, a goddamn pandemic broke out in the nation where I lived, which caused even more civil unrest. It was not happy-fun-times, like the government was pretending.”

“B-b-but…how…?” Twilight stammered.

“By then, though, I wouldn’t call it ‘the US government’ anymore. I don’t know exactly when, but they had been subverted by the Enclave, given the sheer amount of human rights violations they had committed…”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but…’US’?” asked Celestia. I wonder what this ‘Enclave’ is…

“Oh? United States, the country I came from. By the time of the Great War, it had been transformed into a twisted mockery of its former self…I could get into it further, but at the moment, it’s not important,” said Isaac. “While Europe – that’s a continent – was tearing itself apart, the US was embroiled in a war with a nation called China. Again, fighting over the world’s last remaining resources. By about…one hundred ninety years ago, someone had finally invented the world’s first microfusion cell, but by then it was too late.” He seemed to be staring far into the distance. “While uranium is used as a power source, it can also be used as a weapon. A very destructive weapon.” He let that hang in the air for a moment. “They can be fired at an enemy for a long distance away, more than long enough for the target to see it coming…and in turn fire the same thing back.”

Twilight was speechless, “So…someone used one of these weapons? Which, in turn, caused their target fired back?”

Isaac nodded once. “Exactly. The concept is called ‘mutually assured destruction’. No one knows who fired the first missile. No one knows just how many died in the resultant destruction…” He winced at Twilight’s horrified expression. “Over two hundred years later, and we are all paying the price for our ancestor’s idiotic refusal to change, their refusal to let go of the past…It has cost us tremendously. In the aftermath, it was up to the survivors to try to restart society, to not forget the lessons this has taught us, to begin again,” he said sadly. “There have been many times where I sat on a hilltop as the sun set, gazing out at ruined DC cityscape and just asking myself ‘How could we let this happen?’, and wondering if there is a man in Beijing, London, Paris or any of the other ruined capitals, doing the same thing…”

The room was silent as Isaac finished his story, nothing but the sound of the clock ticking. Isaac was seemingly staring past everypony, his expression sorrowful, his eyes heavy with regret. Twilight’s muzzle was buried in her forehooves, trying to comprehend what she just had been told. Celestia and Luna shared a glance, both mortified from the story they just took in. The entire situation was familiar, the two of them knew this.

It all added up. The nightmares, the scarring…They just never thought they would ever encounter someone who survived such a tragedy.

~~

So, there it was. The truth was laid bare. He knew that dishonesty would only hurt him in the long run. Even though he knew that there was very little chance of them discovering his true origins, unless they could read minds, he wouldn’t lie about something this big.

He was afraid how they would react. What would they think about a civilization that tore itself apart? Would they order him locked up or disposed of out of paranoia that he might somehow bring ruin? He couldn’t garner anything from the Princesses by sight alone, the two of them obviously good at hiding their emotions behind stoic masks, especially Celestia.

Twilight on the other hand…Isaac felt horrible about her reaction. She had obviously dreamed up some sort of futuristic utopia as his place of origin, only for it to be brutally shattered by the truth. She looked like she was about to cry, hit by the news of so much death and destruction.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off the rapidly approaching headache. He froze when he heard the sound of someone rising to their hooves and slowly approach him. This is it… he realized. Part of him expected the Princesses to throw words dripping with condescension or contempt his way. Or fear, or worry…or calling for the guards to seize him.

All of his worries were swept away when he found himself wrapped in a feathery white wing and pulled into an fluffy embrace. Gasping in surprise, he quickly found that Celestia smelled faintly of vanilla.

Her gold-shod hoof was resting on his opposite shoulder. “There is nothing to be ashamed of,” she whispered into his ear. “While it would be so easy to make broad assumptions, I will not judge your race based on the actions of a few selfish individuals. They dragged your civilization to ruin. Your people should not blame themselves.”

There was something unusual about Celestia, and it wasn’t the fact that she was a six-foot tall winged unicorn or the fact that Isaac felt that he could accept her words at face value. She made him feel…strangely calm. In some ways, he was reminded of the pacification field at Big MT, but there were some huge differences. He was unable to even form an aggressive thought at the latter. Around Celestia, he could still feel angry, but be eerily tranquil about it.

“Um…thank you?” he said uneasily, his words partially muffled by Celestia’s side. “I…appreciate the sentiment.” Much to his surprise, Celestia gently nuzzled his face when she finally released him and walked back to Luna.

“To tell you the truth,” said Luna. “Our race has once made a very similar mistake in the past.”

Isaac’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?” said both Twilight and he simultaneously.

Celestia nodded. “Although most of us have long forgotten it, the rise of Discord was the fault of Ponykind.” At Twilight’s shocked silence, she continued, “Very few know what happened all those years ago: the truth has almost been lost to history. I understand that you have many questions, though I would ask that they wait for some other time.”

The Wanderer was curious as well. He didn’t know who or what this ‘Discord’ was, though judging by Twilight’s reaction, it was something major. “Is that truly a good idea…? Nearly forgetting something of that magnitude as a civilization?” questioned Isaac. “There is an old saying amongst humans, ‘Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”

“That is…wise,” commented Luna. “And while I understand your concern, the circumstances leading up to such a fall will never happen again. My sister and I have lived for a very long time and personally experienced that age. We would never allow such a fate to once again befall our ponies,” she said with finality.

Isaac frowned. Not what I was hoping for. They said they lived for a long time, how long is…long? He could tell that the ponies were offput by his reaction. “Just…make sure you keep that promise, okay?” he muttered. He looked directly at Celestia. “And be wary. I do not know if those…interlopers will return, but I’d prefer that you are not taken by surprise…”

Celestia nodded. “Of course. The safety of our subjects is our number one priority.”

“But, enough of such dark matters for now,” said Luna. “Earlier, you had mentioned that your people had flown a machine to the moon itself.”

Isaac blinked in surprise at the abrupt change in topic. “Er…I did indeed say that, yes.”

Luna excitedly clopped her hooves together, giggling all the while. “Oooh! Tell me all about it!” she said cheerfully. He noticed that every pony was focusing on him with their full attention. Even Twilight had shaken herself from her dour mood, her intelligent eyes sparkling with curiosity.

They continued to listen with varied expressions of awe and wonder on their face, all previous traces of distress gone as he explained the space race to them. He told them of the moon landings, and how the entire world watched as it happened. Television was another thing he had to explain to them, which they also found intriguing. Apparently they had radios and telegraphs in Equestria, but no TVs. Oddly, when he described how the astronauts had planted a flag in the moon, Luna blushed and awkwardly looked away, for some reason.

“So, your nation went from having no space-program to speak of, to landing on the moon in less than a decade?” asked Celestia, her voice humbled.

Isaac smiled and nodded. “Yep.”

“Wow…” said Twilight, mouth gaping.

“That’s a funny thing about my race. If you motivate an entire nation towards a common goal, we can accomplish just about anything,” said Isaac wistfully. If only I could instill the same fervor on the people of the wasteland…

“Indeed, that is an amazing accomplishment,” complimented Luna.

“Ooh! I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Twilight. “All this talk about the moon has gotten me thinking. Who raises the sun and moon in your world?”

Isaac’s mouth opened and shut, though no words came out. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Who raises your sun and moon?” she repeated.

He stared at her as if she had just grown a second head, and she continued to stare back with the same diabetes-inducing grin. “Who raises our sun and moon?” he parroted, his tone confused. What kind of question is that? “What do you think? No one does, it happens completely on its own.” Isaac was bewildered at the looks the ponies gave him. Looks of awe as if he had just revealed to them the answer to the most important question in the universe. “…What?” he asked.

“Really?” asked Twilight, her eyes seemed to be glittering. “How do they rise and fall on their own? Tell me! Tell meeeeeee!”

Trying to keep the confusion from his voice as to what was so amazing about the sun rising and falling on its own, he explained how Earth orbited the sun, and how the Earth’s rotation on its axis gave the sun the illusion that it was moving across the sky, and how the moon orbited the Earth.

“Your sun and moon are capable of being in the sky at the same time?” asked Luna as if it were the most amazing thing in the world, to which Isaac nodded. “And…does this mean that there are moonless nights?”

“Yes…” said Isaac, still confused as to why this was so earthshaking. Is their moon always on the dark side of the planet…? Even the geocentric model of the universe explained how the sun rose and fell.

“Incredible…” muttered Twilight, as the royal sisters were talking amongst themselves.

Brow raised, Isaac addressed the Princesses. “Dare I ask how your sun rises and falls?”

Celestia turned to him and cleared her throat. “It is the duty of both my sister and I to manage the heavenly bodies at dawn and dusk.”

Isaac couldn’t quite keep the disbelief from spreading into his features. Riiight… “Uh-huh…” he replied, though it came out brusquer then he intended. If the sisters were offended, they showed no sign. Impossible. I mean, why would someone have to tell that lazy-ass sun to get up in the morning…? Perhaps it is just symbolic, as part of some old tradition? The whole concept was simply spitting in the face of everything he knew about the universe. Sapient ponies that could levitate things with their minds was one thing, but moving the sun?

He could tell that the Princesses knew that he didn’t believe them. No one was shrieking “heresy!” at his skepticism, so he took it as a good sign.

A look came to Luna’s face as if she just remembered something. “Oh! We’ve been meaning to return these to you,” she explained as she snatched up a relatively large trunk that was just off the blanket in her telekinesis before swiftly placing it in front of him. Everyone jumped at the heavy thud.

Isaac eyed it in curiosity as the heavy padlock was removed. Everyone was watching him as he cautiously opened the trunk only for his eyes to widen once he realized what was in it. Everything that he had on his person upon his arrival to Equestria was neatly stacked inside. Isaac was confused. He saw his all of his equipment down in the other place. In fact much of it was stacked on the table next to his bed. He had just been there. How did this get all the way up here without me noticing…? He recalled how Healing Touch said that his things would be brought up following his meeting with the Princesses, but he didn’t expect that they would be this prompt.

Especially with all those goddamn stairs. Carrying something this heavy up them would be quite a feat.

Then again, he noticed earlier when Celestia had seemingly conjured up a pitcher of water. Perhaps she had done something similar? The remaining pieces of his power armor rested at the bottom while his stealth suit was right next to it, neatly folded. A cursory glance showed that everything else was present, though he’d inspect the contents of the chest much more thoroughly later.

“We have tampered with nothing, I assure you,” said Luna. Isaac caught no deception in her words. “Well, almost everything.” Isaac looked at her in alarm. “That…tag you are wearing around your neck? I repaired it with a Fixit spell,” she elaborated.

His eyes widening, Isaac’s hand shot to the dogtag hidden beneath his shirt. Again with the spells. “Excuse me…’Fixit spell’?”

Luna looked pleased at the opportunity to explain. “It is rather advanced magic; few know how to perform it. It is capable of making small, delicate repairs. Unfortunately, that’s really all the extent of it.”

His face fell. “Oh…so it can only be used on things that are lightly damaged…?” Crud…that would have been useful.

Luna shook her head. “Sorry, larger repairs would take too much energy. Also it cannot replace what is destroyed,” she said. Luna went silent for a moment before coughing awkwardly. “Oh…and one of those green cylinders um…exploded. Sorry about that.”

Green cyli-…? Oh, grenades. “Was anyone hurt?” he asked.

“The pony who set it off was unharmed, only shaken,” added Celestia.

Isaac nodded in satisfaction. “Okay, that’s good,” he said. Twilight and Luna took a cautious stance as he carefully removed what was the most dangerous object in the trunk while Celestia looked at him with curiosity.

Of course, she hasn’t seen what this is capable of… he thought as eyed the Novasurge. He frowned when he saw that the pistol was still loaded, and the power switch was set to the on position.

“Um…Isaac, what are you…?” started Twilight.

Before she could finish, the Wanderer deactivated the pistol and removed the energy cell. All of the ponies shared a glance as he made a show of insuring that the weapon was pointing as far away from anyone as possible before replacing it in the trunk. “Just a safety precaution,” Isaac elaborated. At Twilight’s curious expression, he continued. “A weapon like this is very dangerous. One of the most important rules is to ensure that they can’t accidentally harm anyone. Ensuring that it is both inactive and unloaded is the best way.”

Celestia looked pleased at his explanation, apparently welcoming his willingness to ensure the safety of all present. “Was that ammunition you removed?” she asked.

“Yes. Accidents happen sometimes; you can never be too careful,” he replied. He closed the trunk before glancing between both sisters. “Thank you for leaving my things alone…well, most of them. I appreciate it.”

“You are very welcome,” said Celestia.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Isaac. “I am here, I have recovered, I am alive. I am currently in your lands. I have no way to return home…” He looked Celestia dead in the eye and shrugged. “What do you plan to do? What is going to happen to me?”

Celestia sat up straight, her expression serious. “To be brutally honest, ever since your arrival, I’ve been skeptical. But that could be more of a product of centuries of repetition. You are…an anomaly. But now that I’ve sat here and spoken with you, those worries have waned considerably. You’ve told us the unfortunate truth when it would have been so easy to hide it. Of what you’ve told me of your home, what you’ve endured…lesser beings would have been twisted into savage beasts, but you…refused to submit. Admittedly, I still have my doubts, but the fact remains: you helped our ponies when they needed it the most. I can only say that in return, Star Paladin Shepard, we will see to it that you will live a comfortable life here in Equestria,” she said as a smile slowly crept its way onto her face. “It’s the least I could do for someone that has endured such hardships.” She glanced at Luna. “Do you agree, sister?”

“Indeed, Celestia,” said Luna, as she wore a similar grin.

Before Isaac could say another word, he once more found himself being embraced by Celestia. “Know this, if it was possible, I would do everything in my power to ensure that your people could get back on their hooves…er…feet,” she said with absolute sincerity.

Isaac looked up at her. “You would…do that for us…?” he questioned. “…Why?”

“Because it’s right,” she returned. She continued to hold him in that embrace. “That dark chapter of your life is over. Let go. Begin again…” She rocked him gently. “You don’t have to suffer anymore.”

Isaac couldn't remember the last time someone had been so kind to him, and he had to gather himself before choking out, “…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said warmly as she finally released him. “Tomorrow, I will announce the arrival of a new race to Equestria. This hasn’t happened in centuries.”

Seems a bit excessive, given I’m the only human here…wait…there was Spike…and the doctor mentioned something about other races…  “’In centuries?’” Isaac asked her curiously. “How many known races in Equis?”

Celestia then recited a surprisingly large list, much to his surprise. He didn’t know the words in English, though. After a brief description of each, Isaac could only barely hide his wonder. They all sounded familiar. While there was something as mundane as zebras, there were also more fantastical species like Griffons, Minotaurs, even dragons! He’d met one earlier without even realizing it! Although he’d reserve judgment until he had seen them for himself, it was abundantly clear that he’d fallen into something he’d consider a fantasy.

“Wait…Spike is a dragon?” he asked Twilight.

“Sure is!” she replied cheerfully. “He’s just a baby dragon, though!”

“Are there many races on your world, Isaac?” asked Luna.

Super mutants and ghouls don’t count… He shook his head. “Not at all. It’s just humans, humans, and more humans,” he replied to their surprised expressions. “It’s funny, you know? All of you, including the races you just described seem to be very similar to fictional creatures from my world…”

“What…really?” Twilight said incredulously with a big smile on her face. “We could say the same thing about you!”

It was his turn to be flabbergasted. “Seriously? Humans are myths in this world…?”

“Well, they weren’t specifically called humans, but yes,” Celestia clarified. “In some way, shape or form, a simulacrum of your species appears in the mythology of every race on Equis.”

He looked at her quizzically. “They said nice things about us, I hope…” he said with mock severity.

Celestia put on an exaggerated pout before giggling. “Yes, very nice things indeed.”

“I wonder if this means anything,” added Twilight. Everyone looked at her. “I mean…something like this is too…strange to be a coincidence.”

No one disagreed. “Hmph…I wonder…” muttered Isaac. “Heh, I wonder what would get a more colorful reaction from your people: ‘Hey, an alien fell from the sky’, or ‘Check it out, I found a mythological creature’.”

“Nothing quite so…silly,” said Celestia, rubbing her head with a hoof. “As ashamed as I am to admit it, our ponies can…overreact at times, and by that, I mean ‘Gallop around in circles, holler, and then hide in the nearest alcove’,” she said, her face deadly serious.

Luna giggled. “This is indeed true, sister.”

As the minutes ticked by, the four continued to talk. The topics varied widely. Twilight repeatedly asked Isaac questions about various scientific advancements and theories humans had developed. Isaac could now say that he was the one who taught ponykind Newton’s three laws. In return, she told him of an old unicorn scholar by the name of Starswirl. Apparently, he had a hoof in discovering much of the science behind Equestria's magic. Even though he had known Twilight for a month, he still wasn’t used to her boundless curiosity. She was even more forward about it, now that they could understand each other. Luna asked him about the state of things in the wasteland. The Princesses showed some admiration at how his race continued to hang on despite how harsh things were in the wastes. Again, he wondered just how similar the Great War was to this catastrophic event Luna mentioned earlier. He’d have to ask about it some time.

Celestia told him more about the races of Equis. Ponykind still hasn’t circumnavigated their world, so much territory was unexplored. There could be even more races they haven’t contacted yet. Each race’s nation was separated by large swaths of unsettled wilderness, and apparently Equestria was smack-dab in the middle of them all. Of those that were known, Equestria was the most prosperous, though Isaac had no way of knowing if that was the truth or simple pride on Celestia’s part. Then she mentioned that she had been ruling over Equestria for over a thousand years. A thousand years…? Is that even possible? Then again this is assuming that our years are the same length…but what about Luna…? When he inquired about her, Luna seemed to shrink slightly, and an ashamed looked came onto her face. Isaac decided to let the subject drop. He’d ask another time.

Now, Isaac’s arm was extended, currently cradled in Twilight’s forelegs while he let the ponies take a closer look at his Pip-Boy. Unfortunately for him, in Twilight’s eagerness to play around with the device, she seemingly forgot it was attached to his arm. He yelped in pain. “Careful! That’s my arm you’re handling,” he said to Twilight, as she tried to twist it too far.

A hint of a blush came to her face. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. She peered intently at the green screen, the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth. “Just what exactly does this thing do? How does it work?”

Isaac smiled. “In your language, the ‘Pip’ is short for ‘Personal information processor’. It’s extremely useful; I never leave home without it.” In fact, I almost never take it off. “It has a medical suite to monitor my condition, various scanners to detect toxins, a Geiger counter” – that drew a blank from Twilight – “a clock, and automap function…Oh…check this out.” He beckoned the ponies closer. When they were ready, with a push of a button, he opened the map. Varying looks of intrigue came onto their faces when they realized what they were looking at, a map of Canterlot Palace, depicting the exact route he and Twilight had taken to get to the tower.

“Fascinating…” said Luna, her hoof resting on her chin.

“Omigosh, that is so…neat,” squealed Twilight as she rubbed her hooves together. That familiar twinkle had returned to her eyes.

“How are you able to fit so many functions into such a small device?”

“With science, my dear Princess. Science,” said Isaac flippantly. Celestia rolled her eyes. “And that’s not all…I also use it to create to-do lists, and…”

“Wait, you mean like checklists?” Twilight butted in. When he nodded, she continued, “You mean you can create checklists without a quill and ink?” Another nod. “And…it can be reused as many times as you like?”

“…Yeah?”

“Omigosh…” she whispered. Nearby, Celestia giggled and smiled knowingly, very familiar with her student’s antics.

“It also has the ability to store data. Sound files, picture files, you name it. I can store entire books right here on my wrist.”

Twilight was sweating. “J-just…” She swallowed and took a deep breath. “Just…how many books can your store on your PipBoy?”

Isaac crossed his arms. “Well, once I stored an entire library worth of books-…”

“HuHhuhhHUHWHhhaaaa?” said Twilight, her eyes going wide with shock. The Princesses looked amazed as well. Isaac yelped when Twilight placed her hooves on his shoulders and forcibly turned him towards herself. She was close enough that Isaac could pick up a faint whiff of lavender. “Y-y-you can store an entire library? On your wrist!?”

Isaac looked at the Princesses, silently asking for help. They only giggled. “Um…yes?”

Twilight’s ear twitched as a glazed over look came to her eyes. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth, and…wait, is she drooling? She moaned softly, prompting Isaac to once again silently signal the Princesses for a hand.

“I think he broke her,” Luna whispered to Celestia with a mischievous grin on her face. She silently laughed in response.

Isaac waved a hand in front Twilight’s face; she seemed to still be in la-la land, or whatever the pony equivalent was. “Hello…Earth to Twilight? Are you in there? We come in peace?” he said. He snapped his fingers a few times.

She blinked once. Isaac swore he could have heard the sound of glass shattering when Twilight finally came back to reality. She looked around wildly for a few moments, realizing that everyone was staring at her. Blushing, she twisted her hoof into the blanket. “Um…hehe…sorry…” she muttered. “But still…wow…”

“It is, indeed, impressive,” added Celestia.

As the night wore on, the four found themselves inexplicably huddling more tightly together. Both Princesses were close enough that he could easily touch their withers, and Twilight was using Isaac’s thigh as an impromptu pillow. The Wanderer’s legs were going numb from sitting on them for so long, and the Princesses had shifted to a position that could be called lounging. The dusk’s gentle light was long gone by now. All that was left was a dark blue, starry sky.

“…and this ‘New California Republic’, you’ve worked with them?” asked Celestia, her voice fatigued.

Isaac nodded. “With them. For a time, yes,” he responded. “They aren’t perfect, but I approve of their core values.”

“Neither is Equestria,” added Luna. Unlike Celestia, she seemed to be wide awake. “You said that you are a ‘Star Paladin’. If you haven’t sworn fealty to them, does this mean that you…wander the land, righting wrongs?”

Isaac snorted. “Unofficially, yes,” he sighed deeply. “I haven’t worked with them in years, though. We’ve had some…disagreements when we last parted.” The Princesses caught a flash of anger on his face. “I’ll be blunt, while I approve of the values the Republic stands for, I loathe the current leadership.”

Celestia and Luna shared a look. “And, pray tell, why is this?” asked Luna, her eyebrow raised.

Isaac rubbed his temples, “Because…” He was cut off when he felt something damp on his leg. Looking down quizzically, he had to suppress a laugh.

“Zzz…”

“How long ago did this happen…?” he thought out loud. Twilight Sparkle was fast asleep. It was one of the cutest things he had ever seen, minus the drool. Mane askew, her mouth hung open, and a dark pool was forming on Isaac’s pant leg. Overwhelmed by the cuteness, he reached down and gently scratched behind one of the sleeping pony’s ears.

A pleased hum emanated from somewhere in her throat, and a wide grin came to her face. One of her hind legs kicked out, narrowly missing Luna, who shot him a glare. Twilight then rolled to the side, her pudgy belly facing the ceiling, her forelegs curled across her chest.

“Mmm…books…knowledge…learning…” she muttered.

“…I think it’s getting…” her statement was punctuated by a deep yawn “…pretty late,” Celestia said rhetorically, just as the clock chimed midnight. No one disagreed. Everyone – sans Twilight – stood up, eagerly working out the stiffness that had been building in their limbs. Celestia’s arched her back like a big, white, royal, kitty cat, while Isaac stretched his legs. Luna seemed satisfied with simply rolling her legs in their sockets, still looking like she was full of energy.

Isaac shot another glance at the still sleeping Twilight. “Poor filly deserves a rest…” he thought aloud. “She’s worked so hard for my sake.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, Isaac,” said Celestia as she made a futile effort to shake off her sleepiness. “It is good to know that her efforts are appreciated.”

“Continue this conversation later?” asked Isaac, grimacing while he wiped away the Twi-drool from his leg.

“I would like that,” said Celestia with a smile. “Luna, could you see to it that Mr. Shepard reaches his new quarters?”

Luna nodded. “Of course, sister.”

Isaac pointed at Twilight. “What are you going to do about…” He was cut off as Celestia’s horn lit up in a golden glow, and the sleeping unicorn was gently lifted into the air. As she did, Twilight’s hind legs tucked into her stomach, like a kitten. One of her forehooves found its way into her mouth, and she began sucking it. “…Oh.”

Hnnnnngh…

“Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of it,” said Celestia in a motherly tone as Twilight hovered to her side.

Isaac turned away from her only for Celestia to immediately call to him. “Isaac?” she said. Their gazes met for a moment. “Welcome to Equestria and…good night.”

With that, both Celestia and Twilight were enveloped in a bright flash of light. When it cleared, they were nowhere to be seen.

“…Thank you,” he muttered. His eyes remained locked onto the spot where she had just stood moments ago. Even after everything that had happened, his mind still hadn’t quite fully processed just what had happened to him. Here he was, far from home in a land populated by dragons and other mythological creatures. And the local ruler just assured him that he will live a comfortable life here. Back in the wastes, he’d never even considered settling down and putting it all behind him. He just had too much to do, so much to lose, so much to care about…

He barely even registered the gentle thumps of Luna’s hooffalls as she cantered up to him. “Are you ready to go?” she asked gently. Turning to her, Isaac found that the trunk that was containing all of his equipment was suspended in magic next to her.

“Uh…yeah,” he quickly put his sandals back on and walked over to her. “I’m…ready.”

Luna looked at him with concern. “Have you never teleported before?” she asked.

“Not by magic, no,” said Isaac.

She beckoned him to come closer. “Here, put your hand on my withers,” she instructed, and he did so. Her coat was soft and warm to the touch. “Now…relax…”

Luna’s horn lit up once more, and in a flash, the two disappeared from the tower. It was over in an instant.

~~

The Lone Wanderer decided that he wasn’t going to just sit here and do nothing while Unity built an army. The following morning, he had gathered his companions, and went to go tell Elder Lyons of his intentions. The Elder approved of his decision.

Now, Isaac, Fawkes, and Charon, along with Dogmeat, were heading westward through the Capital Wasteland. He had a few ideas in mind of where he should start looking. There was, of course, Fort Bannister, headquarters of Talon Company. He had to hand it to them, even after how much damage the Wanderer did to them, the organization still existed. They were like cockroaches.

The second was Vault 87. All evidence he found the last time he was there pointed to the defunct Vault-Tec facility as the mutants’ breeding ground, the place where FEV was created and stored in the Capital Wasteland. He felt like a fool for not looking into it earlier.

Apart from an overconfident band of raiders, it was a surprisingly quiet and uneventful journey. Not even a molerat had popped out of the scenery in a suicidal charge.

It only made the party more tense.

“Hold on…” growled Charon. He peered intently at the pass ahead of them. “Something isn’t right…”

“I agree…” muttered Isaac as he readied his rifle. “I’ll go on ahead. Watch my back…”

“I don’t like this…” Charon responded.

Before he could even take a step, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, and they widened in alarm when he looked at it. It was barely noticeable, little more than a slight distortion in the air. Isaac, though, was seasoned enough to recognize the effects of a stealth boy.

“Get down!” he shouted. Not a moment later, the wasteland was lit up with gunfire. While Fawkes and Charon escaped unscathed, Dogmeat was not so lucky. The dog was thrown to the ground with a yelp. The party blindly returned fire at their cloaked foes. Suddenly, Isaac was taken by surprise as a cloaked figure managed to flank him, violently throwing him to the ground. His assailant raised his weapon with murderous intentions, though they were unfulfilled when it received a shotgun shell to the face, courtesy of Charon.

The stealth boy fizzled out, and Isaac found himself staring at a strange, blue-skinned super mutant. Overcoming his shock, Isaac then turned towards Dogmeat, only to feel a solid lump form in his stomach. His beloved companion was riddled with holes, including one right through his neck. It didn’t take an expert to determine that the dog was dead.

“No…” he whispered.

Fawkes ducked behind a rock to change the cell in his Gatling laser. “My friend, we must get to a more favorable position! We cannot hold here against foes we cannot see!” he yelled.

The Wanderer numbly nodded in agreement as he gingerly cradled the form of his fallen friend in his arms. “Fall back!” he shouted.

The trio ran, their invisible foes shouting in triumph.

…They’ll pay for this… thought Isaac.