"Twilight, you can't be serious!"

""Oh, but I am, Rainbow! Think about it! This is the first human to show up in Equestria, and we have the chance to study it! You don't find many books that detail humans up close like this!"

"Yeah, but this thing broke Applejack's leg. And let's not forget to mention that it stabbed me in the leg!"

"Which is exactly why I asked Pinkie to tie it down. Don't worry, Rainbow, it'll be safe, I promise you, you'll see."

Bobby's eyes fluttered, and sensations began to return to his body, the pain centered around his ahead foremost of them all. He could dimly hear hushed whispers from all around him, but could not make out what they were saying. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at a wooden ceiling.

He turned his head to his side, and the whispers stopped. On his right, he could see a purple unicorn, and an orange earth pony that was sitting on a chair at the far corner. His eyes also caught the cyan pegasus that has hovering in the air, and a bandage had been applied to her leg.

Memories began to flood into his mind, and he remembered about the attack the these very same ponies had initiated on him. He moved his hands to better defend himself, but realized that were tied down to the bed by thick ropes. The ponies that were talking had now fallen silent, observing his every move.

Bobby struggled against his restraints, and found, to his surprise, that they were not tied strongly. Indeed, it was easy for him to rip the binds free and sit up on the bed which he lay. To his left, a yellow pegasus yelped in surprise, and fell to the floor with a loud Thud!. He leaped out of the bed, landing on his boots and making a loud Thud! of his own. He dashed past the purple unicorn, who had retreated a few steps backwards, and dodged a strike by the cyan pegasus. However, before he could take more than three more steps, his head exploded with pain, and darkness claimed him yet again.

"Is it still alive? Applejack did hit it quite hard."

"Hard to say. In any case, a dead human is still worth experimenting on, so a win-win situation either way! Did you see that? Its fingers just twitched!"

"So it is still alive! Rarity, hand me that knife, would you? Let's make sure the human never wakes up."

Bobby's eyes opened, and he pushed himself into a sitting position with a pained effort. He took a good look at his current situation, and analyzed the situation thoroughly. He was surrounded by three ponies; one on his left blocking his escape route, and two on the right.

As he was thinking about how best to escape without getting knocked out by these ponies a third time, he suddenly came to a realization. He was in the company of the Mane 6, and they were the same ponies that he had scuffled with the first time he blacked out.

Twilight Sparkle approached him cautiously, and when he did not retaliate, she nodded, mostly to herself. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," she said, emphasizing each word with a deliberate slowness. "Can you understand what I am talking about?"

Bobby suppressed a chuckle. He forced himself into a kneeling position, pained with the effort. With a groan, he replied, "Yeah, I can understand you, Twilight."

"Hey, no human calls Twilight by that name!"

With a push from his right hand, Bobby managed to get into a standing position, and then he was at a height that forced the other ponies to look up at him. All the ponies except the one that had been the last to speak. He turned his focus to Rainbow Dash, who glaring at him with near murderous intent, and he did not blame her for it. After all, he had stabbed her in the foot with his knife, and he knew how that felt like. "Yeah, well, I'm sorry for the knife thing, Rainbow Dash," he replied, motioning at her foot which had the bandage.

"Well, pal, you better be sorry, or I'd-" she started, then stopped mid-sentence. "You...you know my name?"

Bobby stretched his back, feeling rejuvenated as the pain started to fade away. "Yeah, I know who you are, Rainbow," he replied. "And I know everybody, or more rather everypony, else in this room. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack." He motioned at each of the ponies as he said their names.

"Well then, partner," Applejack began. "Sorry about that headbutt o' mine. Thought you were trying to attack us again."

Bobby turned to the cowpony, and felt sorry but what he saw. Applejack had a cast that wrapped her rear left leg. He remembered that, in his confusion, had caused the dislocation/fracture of the cowpony. He also saw that instead of sitting in a wheelchair, she had some sort of device attached to her rear end of her body that looked like what a dog might use when it had an injured leg.

"Applejack, I'm sorry about the leg," Bobby replied, his voice choking up slightly. "I wasn't really thinking straight at the time."

"Don't sweat it too much, partner," she said cheerfully. "Ah bumped into Zecora the other day, and she said she'd be brewin up a potion to fix my leg."

Bobby felt relieved by the fact, and returned his attention to Rainbow Dash, who was still glaring at him, although it was not as serious as before. Before Bobby could even get a word out, Rainbow put of a hoof in the air, silencing him. "I know what you're thinking, but I'm not going to just forgive for stabbing me in the leg," she said decisively.

Bobby sighed, and realized that he had made an enemy out of one of the Mane 6, and it just had to be Rainbow Dash of all the choices. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned his head around, and was face to face with a beaming Pinkie Pie. "This party's going to be so awesome!" she cried out, jumping around the human in glee. "I've never had a human in a party before! What's your parties like?! Are they wild, all out parties or the refined ones that Rarity would rather go to?" This drew a protest from the unicorn, but Pinkie continued. "What do humans eat, what do they drink, what do they-"

Bobby held out his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa, hold on there, Pinkie," he told her. "A party's fine and all, but I think we're gonna have to do a rain check on that."

The earth pony looked at him in confusion. "A rain check?" she asked him, her tone still jovial. "What's that? Is that something you can eat or drink? Or is it something that-"

Bobby cursed at himself, regretting that he had managed to get Pinkie talking that much. He had just remembered that, other than Everfree Forest, the weather required the pegasi to shape them and the plants that required the earth ponies to grow them. He did a facepalm, unsure on how to stop the pink earth pony from talking.

Thankfully, he didn't have to pay attention to Pinkie for long. He felt a tug on at his pants, and found Fluttershy looking up at him. "Erm, excuse me Mister Human," she asked in her soft voice. "But I don't think we caught your name."

Right, I did forget to give my name, the man thought to himself. He squatted before the yellow pegasus, and broke out into a warm smile. "My name's Bob Klein," he told her. Then, making his voice loud enough to be heard over Pinkie's, he said out loud, "My friends call me Bobby, so I guess that's what you all can call me."

The yellow pegasus smiled, but was pushed aside by Pinkie. "So that's your name, Bobby?" she asked him, rhetorically. "Well, I'm just gonna have to change the name of the party to 'Bobby, Welcome to Ponyville', and then-".

Bobby shook his head, not even bothering to stop the earth pony's talking. He was about to ask Twilight on a certain matter, when Rarity called out to him. "So if your name is Bobby," she said with in a refined manner. "Then this thing that I cleaned out... Who does it belong to?" She lifted a small, oblong shaped metallic item from the bedside table using magic, and floated in gently to Bobby's open palm.

He looked at the object in his palm, and knew that it was. It was a dog tag, but it was not his because of the name. It had once belonged to Owen Anderson, who had been killed by a grenade blast back in the hot zone. He gripped the tag tightly, and looked at Rarity. "It belonged to a close friend," he replied, his voice now soft. "He's gone now, and this tag's all that we're going to remember him by when all of this is done and over with."

Rarity nodded her head in understanding, and did not broach the subject further. Bobby pocketed the tag, and then asked Twilight his question. "So, Twilight," he asked, keeping his voice controlled. "This has been nice and all, but I really need to get back to where I came from."

Twilight frowned, a sure sign that she was in deep thought. "Well, this is the first time that I've heard of humans coming into Equestria," she told the man. Then, her face lit up as she thought of something. "Princess Celestia should know how to solve this. She's our best option."

She skipped past Bobby, and called down the stairs. "Spike, I need you to write a letter to the Princess!"

"Ah appreciate what you offered to help me with, Bobby, but you don't have to go through all this trouble..."

"Nonsense, Applejack. Its my fault that you can't buck the apple trees, so this is the least that I can do until your leg recovers."

In ten minutes, Bobby was regretting every single word. Applejack was supervising his progress and giving him tips, but his leg wasn't as strong as the cowpony's, and only a few apples would drop with each kick. He carried on with a dogged persistence, though, as he did want to atone for his mistake that caused Applejack her leg.

He was in the apple orchard on Sweet Apple Acres, and he was tasked with bucking the trees in a small area, with Big Macintosh taking up most of the work. On his fourth tree, he stopped his slow efforts, his leg no longer up to the task. Applejack trotted up next to him. "Don't worry too much bout it, partner," she assured him. "You did do your best."

"Yeah, well looks like my best wasn't good enough," Bobby replied dejectedly. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. "I'll be right back," he said to the cowpony, and jogged off to the Apple family home. He returned almost ten minutes later, his rifle in hand.

"Whoa, hold on there!" Applejack cried out. "I know you're frustrated an all, but this don't mean you can go shooting them apples."

Bobby snorted. "Its not even loaded, dear Applejack," he assured her. "Its just that the rifle is much more harder than my boots, which means that..." He used his rifle to butt the tree in front of him, and met with resounding success. Half of the apples came to the ground, and with another hit he had cleared the tree with little damage to the tree, He smiled to himself, glad that he had his items carried over to the farm.

As he and Applejack moved on from tree to tree, he recounted his life to the cowpony. He told her of how humans lived their lives on Earth, how the weather and plants changed and moved on their own, and of his own daughter who had first introduced him to My Little Pony.

Applejack was fascinated by his stories. She laughed when he told of her of the times when something funny had happened in life, but he suddenly turned cold as he reached the part where he left his comrades in the hot zone, without any knowledge on their safety.

"So here I am, in Equestria," he told the cowpony. "Bucking trees with my rifle, talking with ponies who can talk. My friends are probably worried sick that I'm gone, and I can't do a GOD DAMNED THING!" He put strength into his arms as he shouted out his last three words, chipping off much of the bark of the apple tree.

There was a cringe that originated from behind him, and saw a frightened Fluttershy standing next to Applejack. "There, there sugarcube," Applejack assured the pegasus. "There ain't nothing to be frightened of."

Fluttershy stood there for a few moments, before shaking herself out of her daze. Bobby had covered the distance between them, and was now wiping the sweat of his brow. "So, Fluttershy," he asked with a hoarse voice due to his parched throat. "What brings you here to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Well, Zecora asked me to bring this to Applejack," she said as she removed a vial from her pack, handing it to Applejack.

"Well ah'll be," murmured Applejack. "Three days, and she came finished this fancy potion of hers." Applejack downed the vial with a thankful gulp, then kicked her legs out. The device that was attached to her came off, and Bobby help to cut the cast open. "Ah'll be back to bucking apples in no time! Thanks again, sugarcube!"

Fluttershy smiled in return, then looked at Bobby. "Twilight told me to tell you that Princess Celestia just replied her message. She wants to meet you and Twilight at Canterlot Castle."

Bobby thanked the pegasus for the message, and slung his rifle over as he walked off towards the farm. He stopped suddenly, and turned to the two ponies behind him with a sheepish grin. "I just remembered something. I have no idea how to get to Canterlot."

Applejack laughed, and skipped up to him. "Well, ah guess ah;ll just have to show you around, partner!" She looked back at Fluttershy. "Hey sugarcube! You coming along?!"

Fluttershy out a hoof to her jaw. "Um, its okay," she replied, her voice so soft that both Bobby and Applejack almost didn't catch what she said. "I'll meet you guys there, okay?"

Applejack muttered something to herself, incomprehensible to the man that stood next to her. She then tugged at his sleeve, motioning him to move. She began skipping around, joyful at her regained use of her legs.

"I may have found a spell that will transport you back to where you came from, Bob Klein. It will require some additional research by my pupil, Twilight Sparkle, but it should be ready by tomorrow."

Bobby saluted the Princess. While she was not his superior in any way, she was the Princess of Equestria, and he showed his respect in one of the only ways he knew how.

The princess nodded at his gesture, not really knowing what it meant. She then dismissed the the human, who exited the room, meeting up with the ponies who had accompanied him here. Pinkie Pie was dismayed when she heard that he was going to return soon, trying to make him Pinkie Promise that he'd attend her party before leaving. Applejack was assuring him that he'd finally be able to see his family again. Rarity and Twilight were keeping their silent counsel, whereas Rainbow Dash bid him good riddance.

Bobby was glad at the news that he could go home, although a part of him would miss Equestria. He had a new-found understanding of the friendship that bonded them, and had had experiences which no other human would have. Whether or not he would remember any of this, he was still grateful for the chance.

Princess Luna leapt up the main stairs, landing gracefully next to Twilight. With an urgent tone, she addressed the entire group. "It has come to our attention that the Fluttershy might be in danger. She was last seen entering Everfree forest on her own, and has not been heard from since."

The ponies gasped, thanked the princess for her message and rushed past her out of the castle. Bobby did not follow them, confused by something. He looked at the princess of the night, and cleared his throat. "I know that their friendship is strong, but Everfree Forest boasts creatures that are frightening and powerful," he said. "Do you think it was wise to let non combatants such as them to rescue Fluttershy? Wouldn't one of the royal guard be a better choice?"

Luna eyed the human, sizing him up from head to toe. "I have seen the bond that they share for one another," she replied. "Even a hydra would not stop them from saving Fluttershy. Though I am worried about their welfare in that dark place."

Bobby mulled this over, and he reached a command decision. "Princess, I have a favor to ask of you..."

Bobby ran past trees and branched that bounced harmlessly off his clothes. Everfree Forest was dark, but he could see quite well. Of course, his visibility was reduced, but that was of little concern to him. He was tracking the whereabouts of Twilight and the other ponies in the forest. He had done some hunting with his father, but he was no ranger. It was slow going, and every minute he wasted reading the tracks of hooves on the ground was devastating to him.

He had asked Princess Luna for transport back to the farm to pick up some gear. He took his gloves, his knife, his Desert Eagle and his water canteen, just for safe measure.

He was deep in the forest, when the bloodcurdling howl of a wolf could be heard. Bobby dropped himself into a prone position, and got up as soon as he realized that there were no timberwolves in his immediate vicinity. The howl had originated somewhere nearby though, and he crept silently to the source, his Desert Eagle ready in hand.

He came to a stop at the top of a slope overlooking a clearing. In the clearing, he spotted the six fillies. Their bodies were covered with open wounds and scars alike. Rainbow Dash's wings were bloodied, and she was no longer flying as she usually was. The six fillies were breathing hard, and were huddled together.

They were not huddled together in a warm embrace, but rather in fear. They were surrounded by timberwolves, and had their backs against some trees, thus blocking off all their avenues of escape. The timberwolves were advancing slowly, as predators savor their kills.

As if Bobby was going to let that happen. He made a quick count of the number of wolves there were, totaling them at around seven. Sparing not a moment, he stepped forward and slid down the muddy surface of the slope, not making a sound.

It didn't last long. Bobby lined up his weapon for a shot at one of the two timberwolves at the base of the slope. He fired, and the shot pierced through the head of the timberwolf. This got their attention. Several of the timberwolves turned towards their new enemy.

As his feet hit the bottom of the slope, Bobby fired another shot that took the head of the timberwolf on his left. Two done, many more to go, he thought to himself. He pressed forward, his footing sure and steady. Another wolf rushed him and leaped, trying to land in a bite on the man. It did not get that far. A well placed shot cleanly ripped through its throat, and it crumpled in a heap.

He had covered at least half of the distance between himself and his goal, and was ready to take out another one of the pack. He aimed and squeezed the trigger, but at the last minute his aim was thrown off when he felt something sink into his left shoulder. The shot went wild, but did not come close to any of the ponies he was trying so hard to save.

There was a timberwolf on Bobby's left shoulder, which was unwilling to release its fangs from him. To make things worse, another timberwolf came up to him and started gnawing ferociously on his leg, a feat which even his clothes could not protect him from.

The pain was growing with each passing second, and he knew he had to act fast. He aimed his gun at the wolf chewing at his leg, missing with the first shot. He tried again, and met success; his shot ripped through the wolf's torso, almost hitting his foot in the process. He reached over his left shoulder and grabbed, throwing the wolf that had caused him so much trouble in front of him. Another shot, and it lay still.

He ejected the clip from his Desert Eagle, and inserted a clip which he had decided to bring along, the only one he had on his person. When the reloading was done, he charged forward with an enraged yell.

There were three wolves left, one to the left side of the ponies, and two directly in front of him. One of them who was in front of him was staring at Bobby, snarling furiously. He made no attempt to divert, instead rushing headlong into the fray.

The wolf that had been tracking him charged as well, and tried to tackle the soldier while baring its fangs. Instead of dodging out of the way, he used his left hand, allowing it to be bitten by the wolf. His gloves absorbed most the damage, but it was paining his hand.

Things moved slowly all of a sudden, as Bobby's combat awareness kicked into overdrive. The wolf that was at the side of the ponies made an attempt on them. Bobby aimed his pistol, but because he only had one hand on the Desert Eagle, he knew his shot would be off way more so than usual. Instead of aiming for the head, he fired for the torso, and it hit his mark. Twigs were everywhere, but were nowhere near the frightened ponies.

Abandoning its prey, the last timberwolf turned, and started for the soldier. Because the timberwolf was coming from his front, Bobby did not want to risk a shot that might result in collateral damage. Instead, he placed the gun on the temple of the wolf that was trying to rip his gloves to shreds, and squeezed the trigger.

He threw his left hand sideways, and the corpse disengaged from his hand. Tossing aside his pistol, Bobby tried to reach for his combat knife, but was not fast enough. He was tackled to the floor by the last remaining timberwolf, who tried to go for the soldier's throat. Of course, a wolf was not much different from a combat dog, who also try for the throat when they tackled a soldier, and Bobby had enough experience with them. He grabbed the mouth of the wolf and clamped it shut, and in one violent motion twisted its neck.

It came as a surprise to him that it did not achieve the expected result. With the exception of the sound of a few twigs snapping, the timberwolf continued its attempt on the soldier's throat. Bobby started to panic, and did the first thing that came to his mind. He punched a fist through the timberwolf equivalent of the windpipe, and his hand emerged on the other side. The timberwolf's eyes lost their glow, and it went still.

He shucked the corpse off his chest, and stood, grabbing his pistol as he did so. He holstered the weapon, and started to remove any obtrusive twigs that had latched onto him. When he was done, he went up to the ponies.

Many of them had started to cry, probably out of fright by the situation that they had been in just minutes earlier. The one that was crying the most was Fluttershy, who was unable to stand properly, her legs shaking in fear.

"Thanks, partner," sobbed Applejack, her hat torn at several places. "You came just in the nick o' time."

The soldier nodded, then gave them a once over. "All of you okay?"

Applejack nodded, and she seemed to had stopped crying. Rainbow Dash had also seemed to had stopped crying. "Fluttershy came here to help you, you know?" she said, with a sob in the middle of the sentence. "She said that she wanted to help you, by coming to the place that most resembled where you came from."

Bobby's heart broke into a few pieces. "Fluttershy, I appreciate that you wanted to help," he told the yellow pegasus with a smile. "But didn't you realize that the Princess had already solved it when she called me to Canterlot?"

Fluttershy gave a sheepish smile which seemed forced, and replied, "S-s-s-sorry."

"Its okay, Fluttershy. Twilight, can you teleport us out of here?"

Twilight shook her head, her legs shaking slightly. Bobby put a reassuring hand on the pony's head. 'Its the adrenaline," he assured her. "When it passes, you'll be fine again."

He stepped next to Fluttershy, and bent over, lifting her over his shoulders. She was heavier than he expected, but he could lift her much problems. He took a few testing steps to gauge his mobility, and when he was satisfied, he turned to address the other ponies with him. "Anypony know the way home?"

Bobby was seated on a bench outside of the library. He had carried Fluttershy all the way to the hospital in Ponyville, a feat which had exhausted him greatly. At his insistence, the doctor had each of the ponies warded for at least a night. Bobby was worried about more than just their physical wounds; he was worried that the event might have been too traumatizing for them.

Spike was at the hospital with them, keeping watch, which left the soldier to skim through his thoughts on his own. Then, a most unexpected pony came to sit herself next to him.

"I take it that you heard about what happened to Twilight and her friends, Princess Celestia?" he asked.

"Yes. While I am still unclear on what had exactly transpired in the forest itself, I am grateful that you went to their aid."

"You wouldn't be so thankful when they tell you all of the violence that went in there."

"They aren't as vulnerable as you'd like to think. But I did not come here to discuss about them. I came here to talk about you."

"What else is there to know about me? You know I'm human, you know I have a family, and you know that I'm a violent man."

"Twilight will not be able to help you get back, not anytime soon."

"You don't say, princess."

"I can be of help though. You can be home tonight, if you so wish."

"About time. I was beginning to think I would never get this chance."

"There is one thing, though. Before you go, I would ask a boon from you."

"A princess asking a boon from a soldier? Not very likely."

The soldier sighed, and buried his head in his hands.

"Fine. Anything that will get me the hell home."