Chapter 7

9-15-13, 2:34 A.M.

//{Black Mesa OST – We’ve Got Hostiles}

Well, here he was. Final battle – unless something else came up. It’d be hilarious if this didn’t open into the throne room, for instance, or if the throne room was not where Celestia and Luna were being kept. Jeremy briefly reflected on this, readying himself anyway. This was not going to be easy...

As soon as the doors opened, he burst out and quickly began shooting changelings, the muzzle fire echoing loudly in the spacious chamber. Chrysalis, immediately noticing him, shouted at her changelings inside the room to attack. Celestia, Luna, Twilight and her friends were all trapped in the green sacs he had first seen, unable to move. Plenty of high-society ponies were trapped as well, presumably to be Chrysalis’ first victims. Thankfully, all the changelings were at the door, guarding it, so he didn’t have to worry much about aiming until they started flying around the place. He was sure he hit the stained-glass windows once or twice, but they seemed to hold – probably enchanted. Seeing that he was too accurate for flying tactics to work, the changelings instead decided to swarm him up close. Switching to his metal pipe, Jeremy began bashing their heads in – and because this was his last fight, he was executing some truly forceful swipes at their heads and spinal areas. He didn’t even notice the bullets anymore – his entire body had become such a stinging mass of bruises that he doubted he’d ever notice pain again. All he concentrated on was destroying every changeling within reach.

Finally, they had all slumped to the ground, unconscious. Chrysalis sprang off Celestia’s throne and stalked forward, furious. Jeremy remained silent, took out his shotgun, and began firing at her. To his surprise, a green sphere of energy deflected the bullets. Chrysalis grinned in satisfaction, and began firing what seemed like bolts of energy at him. Jeremy was now on the defensive. He ducked and rolled until one finally connected with his foot, and he was blown backwards to the opposite wall. Choking a bit due to having the wind knocked out of him, he ignored the signals from his spine and front and charged forward again, a double-barrel blast exploding out the shotgun and once again hitting the energy sphere. Was it just him, or did it seem to flicker a bit this time? As Jeremy reloaded, Chrysalis managed to connect another bolt of energy, this time directly to the chest, and Jeremy flew backward again, hitting a pillar.

Quickly reorienting himself, he sprang forward off the pillar and issued another double report directly on top of the sphere, which seemed to crack before breaking. He then switched to his metal pipe once more. Chrysalis, visibly furious at losing her protection, grabbed him – she was way stronger than her looks suggested! – and threw him behind her, turning around to face him. There was an audible crack as he hit the wall, and the hostaged ponies gasped as Jeremy slumped to the floor, unmoving. Glasses half off, Jeremy didn’t get up, looking as though he were only barely conscious. Chrysalis grinned again and moved in, presumably for the kill. Jeremy jerked his head up. “Hey love-bug!” he yelled, hoping to startle her.

Miraculously, it worked, and Chrysalis jerked back, a surprised expression on her face. This was all Jeremy needed, and he sprang up and delivered three quick blows to the head with his pipe – one to the left of her face, one to her right, and a final one straight down the middle, each making a wet cracking sound as they contacted her skull. Chrysalis tottered backwards a little, before finally slumping to the floor, down for the count.

//{end}

Jeremy stood there for a moment, his brain still processing what he had just done - he'd just won. He'd defeated Queen Chrysalis! Holy shit, he'd actually won! After a moment of self-congratulation, he snapped back to reality and noticed the green sacs attached to the ceiling and walls – these he set about removing. As soon as he shot Luna’s off the ceiling, she broke free, and flew down. “Thou hast done it!” she happily exclaimed. With a well-placed rifle shot, Celestia flew down as well, merely nodding at him, a small smile on her face. Jeremy nodded back, and used his pipe to break open Twilight and her friends’ imprisoning spheres of green gel on the floor - these were much easier to destroy, almost as though they had been constructed in a hurry. Just as he broke the last one, Applejack crawling out with a thankful smile pointed his way, his body suddenly decided to remind him that he was exhausted, severely injured, and shaking from adrenaline. All at once. Jeremy slumped forward, blacking out.

9-16-13, 4:22 P.M.

Jeremy woke up in a hospital bed. He looked down at himself. His suit was off, and aside from his dark green pajama pants and white bedshirt, he wasn’t attached to or wearing anything else. Briefly checking, it appeared he was once again fully healed – no bruises, bite marks, blood or otherwise. He didn't feel any pain, although he certainly felt tired - in fact, he was tempted to go back to sleep. He slowly got up, his spine cracking like an artillery cannon, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, surprising himself when he found the floor was only a foot down. Jeremy got up, groaning, and opened the door, crossing the hospital corridor to look through a window.

Outside the hospital, he could see Canterlot. Ponies were out and about, repairing the damage from the invasion or simply socializing outside the destroyed remains of their favorite restaurants or shops. Jeremy briefly wondered what insurance was like here. He stared outside for a little while, and then headed down the hospital corridor to find someone to talk to. He figured he was free to roam, as he hadn’t been hooked up to an IV or saline drip or anything (not that they would have similar enough blood to give him). Venturing downstairs and ducking to avoid the low ceiling, he found a cafeteria with various ponies who immediately stared up at him. Jeremy gave them a tired smile and a brief wave before moving on. He got a fruit salad and peanut butter sandwich before heading over to the lone unoccupied table. This was a common habit for him, unless his best friends were there – talking and eating didn’t mix in his opinion, nor did casual icebreakers with either of the two. To his satisfaction, not a single pony had the courage to head back to his table. After he finished eating, he headed to the front office and asked to check out, as he felt fine. After some reluctance, the pony at the desk agreed, and he walked out the front door, heading once again into the warm sunshine.

Jeremy's initial happiness that he had succeeded in his almost impossible mission of rescuing Luna and saving Equestria diminished when he saw ponies' reaction to him. They shied away, whispering in hushed voices and pointing at him with wide-eyed looks that Jeremy could only interpret as fear. Frowning, he continued walking, unsure of quite where he was going. To be honest, he hadn't thought he would get this far - and now that he had, he had no idea what to make of his life. Judging from the looks, he was probably considered a vicious monster, so staying around was likely not an option - Jeremy could almost see the torches and pitchforks. Plus, he'd come into visual contact of Twilight Sparkle a few times, which near-guaranteed attention from the Fourth Wall that apparently translated this universe's occurrences into a TV show back home - that would not be good. Best-case scenario, he could claim innocence to Hasbro and company, and hope they didn't look into it too thoroughly. As he continued walking, he picked out all the landmarks of the previous day. The hole to the caves. The street where he had met the giant changeling. The street where he had fought off the gunships. The day care he had mercilessly defended. It seemed he was going through the battle in reverse order. Finally, he came to the trainstation, and Jeremy surveyed it for a moment. Did he really want to leave Canterlot so soon? Yes, he decided, he did. No good could come of staying here.

Jeremy felt very out of place as he walked up to the line for buying tickets - and this feeling only increased once he saw the reaction to his presence. Almost in unison, every single pony that had been in line moved out of the way, providing him with a clear path to the ticket booth. Nervously, Jeremy walked forward, and dropped a nod to the pony hoofing out tickets. "I don't suppose I could get passage to Ponyville?" he asked quietly, and the stallion shakingly nodded before shoving a single ticket through the window. Jeremy took it, giving an apologetic look to the booth stallion, and took a seat on a bench. Finally, a train came into the station, and a very familiar conductor shouted "All aboard for Ponyville!" Jeremy smiled up at him, and the gruff stallion did a double take upon recognizing his tall, human form. "Ay, it's you again! You leavin' Canterlot already?" Jeremy nodded, but didn't feel like explaining. He held out his ticket, and the earth pony grabbed it with his hoof, Jeremy watching curiously as the ticket just stayed attached somehow. "Looks good to me - hop aboard!" the train conductor enthusiastically replied, and Jeremy smiled as he got on, ducking through the tiny door and taking a seat on the equally tiny bench. Deciding that these quarters were too cramped for his liking, he made his way to the back of the train, finally leaning off the very end of the last car. Much better, he thought, and watched as Canterlot receded into the distance.

The train ride was uneventful – nobody came out to talk to him, and that was just the way he liked it. Maybe they didn't know he was out here, or maybe they were simply shy like all the others. It didn't much matter to Jeremy - talking meant explanations, and explanations likely meant a mental asylum room with his name on it. Jeremy wasn't too fussed about them buying the whole 'alien' schtick - no, it was the "TV show" part he was worried about. He was nervous that if he talked to someone, he'd slip up and reveal he knew a detail he shouldn't - and, therefore, elected to remain mostly taciturn.

Just an hour later, he got off the train, and realized he was missing his suit - they'd likely taken it off before submitting him to the hospital for treatment. Oh well – birthday present for Luna. He felt bad for leaving Luna without any kind of note or anything, but figured she probably didn’t want to actually get to know him, having just befriended him for use in that war. Or maybe that was just a justification? Jeremy didn’t know. She hadn’t been hanging around the hospital, so she couldn’t have been all that interested. Then again, he shouldn't expect her to simply have waited hours for him to wake up - that would be rude of him. Jeremy continued to cycle and rationalize his thoughts as he re-entered the town, searching for the green portal that would lead him back home.

//{Black Mesa OST – Unforeseen Consequences}

He traveled the streets of Ponyville, noting that the green, slimy substance that was the hallmark of changeling occupation was still being carted out of the town jail. The sun had gone down a few minutes ago, causing Jeremy to jump at the sudden lack of light. He shook it off and continued. Not far now…

He traipsed out into the square, searching for the green portal. It was right about here... he remembered, looking around for it as though he thought it might have moved. It took a few seconds for him to realize that it would probably have been taken down by the changelings, or even the ponies. Well. Shoot… what now? He aimlessly wandered around the square, trying to think.

//{end}

Jeremy jumped about a foot when Luna’s voice sounded out right behind him. “And what art thou doing out in the cold night?” He turned around to see her casually leaning on a floating dark cloud, hovering about two feet in the air right behind him.

“I… uh… Sorry, I..." Jeremy stammered, all the reasons in his head unable to make their way to his vocal cords.

Luna cocked an eyebrow. “We suppose we should ‘come clean’ – we have been reading thy mind for quite some time now,” she stated. That shut him up quickly. “Do not worry, we did not pry. We only ever listened to what thou had been thinking at the time.” Luna explained. Jeremy relaxed. There were some things he didn’t want anyone to know, let alone Princess Luna.

“So… how did you know where I was when you sent me that rocket launcher?” Jeremy asked in return, as they walked back to the train station.

Luna blushed a little. “We… may have placed a recording circuit in thy infra-red camera when we created it, and it was a simple spell to view the recording a fraction of a second after it happened."

Jeremy thought a bit. “Does this mean you have a video recording of the whole thing?” Luna nodded. “Well, at least I won’t forget anything…” Jeremy grumbled. Princess Luna lit her horn, and Jeremy was temporarily blinded by a flash of light. When he stopped rubbing his eyes and looked around, they were back at Canterlot - more specifically, they were right outside the castle doors.

“Why didst thou run, anyway?” Luna queried, gesturing for him to follow her.

“A few reasons…” Jeremy mumbled. When Luna merely raised an eyebrow at him, he explained. “First, every...pony has been avoiding me - I think they're scared of me, and I'd rather not be chased down with pitchforks and torches any time soon . Second, I... still have to answer for what I did on Earth."

Princess Luna, to his surprise, chuckled. “Pitchforks and torches? My, my, one wouldst think we had not yet been banished to the moon... As for the stares and avoidance, tis' likely due to ponies' having a rather herdlike mentality around strangers- rest assured thou art not special in this regard. ” Jeremy supposed this made sense. "Besides," Luna continued, "thou had just pulled off the equivalent of a one-pony army against the heavily armed forces of Queen Chrysalis - thou wouldst think they would respect and fear such an unmatched alien warrior, yes?"

Jeremy blushed. “Oh, stop. The whole thing was a sequence of my getting stupidly lucky - you saw how ridiculous things got, right?"

Luna rolled her eyes as they went through a network of towers, all very grandiose with flags and gold- and silver-burnished rooftops. "We think thou were more than capable - honestly, cease thy modesty." She stopped at one labeled ‘907’. “But please, stay a while! There is so much we want to discuss with thee, and wouldst thou not like to explore a world decried as 'fictional'?" Jeremy thought for a while, reconsidering his earlier decision to leave as soon as possible.

“Would it be possible to send me back in time or something if I ever need to return home? I don’t want to have ‘disappeared’ for a while… I have friends back there, I don't want to just leave them behind...” he asked, feeling hesitant to ask such an immense favor from her - time travel didn't sound easy, unless you were a certain purple alicorn. But all the same, he already missed Jackie and Sam - they were his besties, his lifeline to sanity. Luna had done an okay job of replacing them for the time being, but he wasn't about to just stop missing them overnight.

Luna, to his surprise, nodded eagerly. “Certainly. The spell is complex, but tis' the least we owe thou for risking thy life.”

Jeremy smiled. “Then sure, I guess I can hang around for a while.”

Luna grinned jubilantly. “Splendid! There is so much we wish to show thee! The gardens, the armory, the royal library... we could visit towns..." she continued to list off increasingly unlikely things, until Jeremy held up a finger. Luna immediately shut up, gazing up at him sheepishly.

"How about we start with something small?" Jeremy answered. She chuckled, embarrassed, and nodded, looking away for some reason.

"In that case… We would very much like to invite thee to a special event tomorrow night. Wouldst thou be interested?” She pulled a brochure out of seemingly thin air and hoofed it to him, looking oddly embarrassed. Was she blushing? Jeremy took it and read - it was some affair involving singing and food, nothing too special. He noticed Luna staring at him expectantly - clearly, she was waiting on an answer. He cleared his throat.

“Hmm. Sure, I guess – I hope it’s not too ‘high-society’ like that Gala - I may have forgotten to pack a tuxedo.”

Luna chuckled. “It is much less formal than that – it’s a night for ponies to ‘let their hair down’, so to speak." Jeremy looked up at Luna’s eternally waving, ethereal hair as they climbed up the stairs to his suite.

“So, does that mean you’re going to make your hair obey the laws of gravity?” He was rewarded by Luna’s delighted laughter. As they stepped into his room, Jeremy noticed the lack of a lock. “What, no security?” Luna nodded.

“We do not have much crime, and it is almost never petty theft. Thou needst not worry about thy belongings being stolen.” Jeremy shrugged, and checked out his bed. It was very posh, and the mattress was huge - he had expected the beds to be tiny here, so this was a pleasant surprise. He sat down on it, and was surprised when it was cool and soft.

“Wow. This is… way better than the beds back home,” he appraised.

“Pegasus down,” Luna explained. Jeremy smiled appreciatively.

“One more thing: Where do I get some clothes? I can’t go around in the same pair of pajamas all day,” he asked.

“What are ‘pajamas’?” Luna asked, and Jeremy quickly explained. “Ah. It should not be too hard to commission new clothing for thee – we will do so immediately. Incidentally… dost thy kind wear clothes constantly?”

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, there's a big thing against being naked for us humans. Oh, and a word of advice - don't ask Rarity to do this.” Luna nodded in understanding, and summoned a measuring tape. Jeremy nervously stood still as she took his measurements, and tried to ignore the feeling of her magic on his skin - not unpleasant, but odd all the same. Finally, she finished, nodding to herself with satisfaction. "We shall have clothes for thee on the morrow," she informed him, and Jeremy nodded appreciatively. With that, Luna departed, and Jeremy turned around to examine his new quarters. They were relatively furnished, yet oddly sparse, reminiscent of a hotel room. Walking across the room, Jeremy found a placard on one of the tables that read "Dearest Guest - We the Princesses of Equestria hope you enjoy your stay!" and inwardly smiled.

Okay, so he was friends with Princess Luna - at least, he thought so. She seemed friendly with him, but maybe that was just part of her routine as Princess? Still, he was an alien, and she knew him better than anyone else, so he should probably expect to see her often - if only due to diplomatic relations. Part of Jeremy couldn't believe he could think that with any hint of veracity, but here he was - just outside Canterlot Castle, in Equestria, and friends with royalty. Maybe he had died, and gone to heaven - honestly, it wouldn't surprise him at this point. Oh well, better to enjoy it while it lasted instead of questioning it. Maybe now he could finally get around to doing what every card-carrying brony wanted to do - enjoy the sights and sounds of Equestria, make friends with the local populace, all that fun.

As Jeremy took off his clothes and got into the shower, he started humming. Finally, as the hot water crashed over him, the humming gave way to singing “Fireflies” by Owl City – one of the few artists he enjoyed who's music didn't make him quiver with adrenaline. As he sang, he became aware that he was perfectly on pitch, tone, and harmony – in fact, he was singing as though he were in choir. Jeremy was tempted to stop and question this, but decided to roll with it – he didn’t want to spoil it if it was a one-time thing. "I'd like to make myself believe, that Planet Earth turns slowly! It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, 'cause everything is never as it seems..." he sang, rubbing conditioner into his coppery hair. As he finished, he could've sworn he heard applause from somewhere, and looked around. Hearing nothing, he shrugged and dried himself off with the surprisingly correctly-sized towel provided - was this room meant for minotaur guests?

Next Chapter: Chapter 8 Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 49 Minutes