Fluttershy awoke, feeling herself sliding along the ground. She was tied to a spit, her legs wrapped around it and bound together on the opposite side. She opened her eyes to see Nathan dragging her along the ground, a wild look in his eyes. Everything around her was still dark, Except for the campfire which had been built-up to a bonfire lined with a-frames. They were still in the clearing. Fear clutched her chest.

"W-where are you taking me?" she demanded.

"The bear meat wasn't very good. But I'm sure Pegasus meat is delicious! I've made a fire just over here. I hope you don't mind..." As he fully turned to face Fluttershy, only now could she see the colour of his eyes: a deep blood-red that seemed to swirl in the light of the fire. His teeth were sharpened to points, and the nails on his fingers curled around into crooked claws. She screamed in terror.

"What? No, you can't! You couldn't!"

"Good-bye Fluttershy. It will be nice having a last meal with you." Nathan licked his lips and twisted is mouth into a devious snarl. With that, he hurled her up on the a-frames and started slowly turning the spit. The flames licked at her body, and she could feel her flesh heating up.

"No!!! Help!!!!" she screamed, her eyes wide with terror. "Noooooo..!"

"Noooooo!" Fluttershy screamed as she awoke. Nathan, startled by the scream, dropped the frame he was carrying her on. Quickly stooping to grab it before it could hit the ground, he could see the surprised look in her eyes.

"Are you alright? Did I jostle you?" Nathan inquired after a moment of silence and readjusting his load.

"N-no, just, ah, just a bad dream." she sheepishly said, her head burrowed in her side, trying to not make eye contact. She did catch his eye colour though- relieved it was actually a deep brown. Overall she was fine. She still harbored the fear she would end up a meal yet, but she quietly reasoned that the human had been given ample opportunity to kill her, and hadn't done so. He was even dragging her back to Ponyville. Maybe he wasn't that bad. Her leg and wing sure hurt though.

The sun was just peeking through the canopy of trees, and she could see the human had managed to get her saddlebags and gear wrapped around one of his arms. He was dragging her along, and, as predicted, it was a slow pace.

Nathan had cut off most of his pants and used them to rig up the frame and strap it to his other arm over his shoulder. His back glistened with sweat, and she could see his muscles straining a bit under her weight. She wasn’t very heavy, as a pegasus, but the thick forest offered enough resistance that the human had to work to keep the 'sled' in motion.

"I-I'm sorry to bother," she broke the silence, "but how long have we been walking for?" Nathan turned to look at her, glad for the reprieve from the monotonous silence.

"About an hour, I'd wager. Hard to tell based on the sun. Canopy’s too thick."

"Oh, ok." she whispered in reply. The fear surrounding her was palpable, but she didn't have much choice but to let her new acquaintance drag her along. Nathan walked in silence for another ten minutes, and then turned back to face the pony again.

"Why were you so far out here?" The question caught her off guard. She knew the answer, of course, but after the events of the evening before, she wasn't sure how Nathan would feel about it. Finally, she summoned up the most calm, even voice she could command and replied to him.

"I-I-I was looking for you, actually. I just thought my friends had been hasty in dealing with you, and weren't being fair. I mean, mostly not fair. I mean, you don’t mind I was looking for you right? Then there was that bear and..." she trailed off in an attempt to not offend her savior. Nathan mused over this information and gave a weak smile.

"Well that was kind of you. You probably shouldn't have, but I appreciate it all the same. And your friends weren't necessarily wrong to be wary of me. They didn't know me, and by the looks of things you guys haven't even seen a human before. Which confirms what I'm starting to suspect: assuming I'm not dreaming or on some massive amount of drugs, I'm not where I'm supposed to be." With that, he let out a long sigh, expelling the frustration and letting a calm smile play across his face again. Fluttershy was still confused by that word he used. 'Drugs'. She made a note that if she lived through this experience, she would ask more about it. In the meantime though there was another word she was confused about.

"So, when you... attacked... that bear, you used a word that confused me. I'd never heard it. Ka-me? Was that it?" Hearing her try and reason out what he had said, Nathan started to blush.

"Well, that is to say, um... it's not a word for ladies."

"Oh... well ok. If you say so. So… um… as long as we’re walking anyways did you want to tell me? About yourself? If you know, you feel like it?”

"Not much to talk about really. I‘m an average human in most respects. Grew up getting into trouble, screwing around, spent weeks in the bush on various camping trips. Scouts and the like. Would have been a lot harder to build a frame like the one you’re lying on without it. Went to school. Found a career. The usual for a human. Miss…?" Fluttershy shot another look of confusion his way.

"O-o-of course you know my name! You were calling me by it...." she suddenly cut herself short. It had only been a bad dream she had had. "I-I mean, Fluttershy. My name is Fluttershy. F-for someone who thinks they’re average, you seem so brave, saving me from that bear. Would all humans have done that?" Her words came out quickly at a little above a squeak. Nathan raised an eyebrow at the diminutive Pegasus. Letting the obvious question slide, he focused on her last statement.

"Are you kidding? I'm scared sh-- er, I'm pretty scared. I'm still not convinced that this is real. That you're real. I'm dealing with it though. Other humans? No… I guess a lot wouldn’t have. You seem pretty brave yourself, coming out on your own to find me." He had mentally decided to avoid swearing within earshot of any of these ponies. They just seemed too... innocent. Especially this one.

"W-who me? No, I'm not brave. I'm quite timid actually. I just needed to... make sure you were ok. That's all. What about your family? They must miss you dearly right now!”

“My family? Not much to talk about there.”

“Really? Do you not talk to them often? I don’t talk to my parents often either, since they live so far from here.”

“Something like that.”

“Well, what are they like? Your parents, I mean. And how about your friends? You must have so many of them.”

“My friends are pretty alright, not as many as you’re fantasizing though. But they were a pretty okay bunch.”

“But, how about your mother and-”

“Fluttershy, there really isn’t anything to talk about there.” Nathan's eyes were lidded, and while his tone was calm and even, Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably at his voice.

“Do you think that your family knows you’re out in the forest with me right now?”

“N-no…”

“Exactly. Mine isn’t here. So they don’t matter. End of discussion.”

“I-I see. I’m sorry I bothered you.” Nathan shrugged and kept walking. Not wanting the conversation to end, Fluttershy clung to anything she could question the human about.

“So, camping with ‘Scouts‘? You said that’s how you figured out how to organize all of this right?" She motioned broadly to the frame around her with one of her hooves.

"Yea, survival skills. Took some as a kid."

"Kid? What's a kid? Does a human grow up from a baby goat or something?" Fluttershy twisted her face into a knot trying to fathom the idea. She decided she didn’t like the idea. Nathan laughed at this. Fluttershy was just more confused.

"Ahahaha no. Oh no. 'Kids' is just a slang term we use to refer to our children, our youth."

"Oh, so when you were a little foal you mean?"

"Kind of, but not being a pony 'foal' doesn't really work."

"Oh of course, right. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!" she stammered back. "So what did you do for work?"

"You mean what do I do for work. Engineering. Designing and building stuff."

"What kind of things do you build? Like houses or fences? Oh my friend Applejack needs some fence work done! Maybe when we get back you can help her build some new fences for her orchards. Oh! I need a couple new animal pens built too." Finally! Something she could relate to. At least she thought so, but his sudden laugh caught her off-guard.

"Oh, well I definitely COULD help with building fences, but that's not what I really do. When I design and build things, I mean technical things. Engines, motors, equipment." Seeing the confusion spreading across Fluttershy's face, he finally realized just how far from home he was. "You have no idea what those are, do you? Of course. I wake up in the middle of a field, after what I assume is the worst night of drinking ever, clothes falling apart, accosted by talking magical flying ponies, and by the way I don't believe in magic, and the technology level here is something straight out of the dark ages!" He had been scared, frustrated and confused, but now he was just mad. Nathan realized he had been yelling the last bit. Fluttershy shrunk back and whimpered a bit, clearly frightened at having angered the human.

"I'm s-s-sorry." were the only words she could squeak out. Nathan's features softened, and he allowed himself to relax. It wasn't this poor pegasus' fault he was in the middle of this forest. So far, she was the only one who had shown any kind of concern for him. He sighed another long drawn out sigh.

"I'm sorry Fluttershy, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm just frustrated. I'm frustrated and scared. I don't know where I am, where I'm supposed to go, or how to go home. For all I know my home isn’t even reachable by foot. Right now you're the closest thing to a friend I have and you don't deserve any verbal abuse from me." While he had earlier been glad for the conversation, Nathan was quickly regretting it. Fluttershy nodded, and turned her face up towards him.

"Equestria."

"Sorry, what?"

"Equestria. You're in Equestria, and the town I live in Ponyville."

"Of course. Everything here has to be a reference or pun based on ponies. Let me guess, you have a castle around here somewhere and you decided 'Canterlot' would be a good name for it?"

"Actually that's our capital. Our princesses rule over the land there." Nathan glared down at her. He could see Fluttershy was serious.

"Oh for f--" Biting off the expletive he wanted to spew, he gently laid down the frame and allowed Fluttershy to ease onto the ground. "Pardon me for a moment." He walked over to a hollow stump, and shoving his head in and covering it with his hands he screamed and allowed a torrent of curse words to line the sides of it. Fluttershy couldn't make out any of it, but inferred Nathan was fairly upset. After a moment of steadying himself he returned to where the yellow pony was lying, picked the carrier back up, and continued walking. He was much calmer now.

"F-f-feel better?" Nathan nodded.

"Yes, I do thank you. Sorry, can we just walk for a bit? I need time to think."

"Sure. I'm sorry if I said anything to upset you."

"You did, but it's not your fault." Nathan trudged on, dragging the frame and pony behind him, and the rest of the say they walked in silence.

Celestia walked through the halls of Canterlot on her morning stroll. She had completed her duties early for the day, making sure the sun rose, seeing her sister Luna off to bed, and had taken the rare opportunity to walk and admire the architecture of her grand palace. The light was filtering in from various stained glass windows and archways, and she could hear the sounds of the city being carried to her on the light winds blowing that day. Children laughing, buskers making sales, musicians practicing, a foal crying. She closed her eyes and let the feeling of contentment roll over her. This was her kingdom, and all was well.

Ever since Luna had returned to ruling Equestria beside her, Celestia had found herself with more time on her hands to take in the finer aspects of life. Where before she would spend every waking hour dealing with civil issues, raising the sun and the moon, and conversing with dignitaries from other kingdoms, now she found herself enjoying her new found freedom. To be sure, there were still many trials and duties that fell before her, but with her sister responsible for a good share of the workload, she never felt as consumed by it anymore.

Walking out to the gardens she wandered amongst her artwork. The gardeners had done a fabulous job this summer, tending to the flowers. Even now, in the early fall, many of the plants still bore their colourful accents, proof of the hard work and dedication of the ponies in her employ. Many statues ringed the paths that wound their way through the different parts of the garden- great ponies that had come before and during her time, a gryphon or two she had personally known, even a dragon that snaked alongside one of the western pathways. They were all beautiful, and all held a special place in her heart. All except one. As she brought herself to gaze upon it now, the content smile that had played across her face fell into an uncomfortable frown. Hideous to gaze upon, this statue held no joy for the princess, for this statue wasn’t really a statue at all. It was Discord.

Discord.

As the name crossed her mind, visible disgust dripped from her visage. All he sought was to sow the seeds of chaos throughout her kingdom. When he was living, he used his powers to use ponies like puppets, dangling them on strings and watching them do his uncouth bidding. She and Luna had used the Elements of Harmony to seal him away once over one thousand years ago, whilst Twilight Sparkle and her friends had done much the same only a few months back. Both times he had been encased in a solid statue of stone. Good riddance. The thought crossed Celestia’s mind as easily as any other. Discord was the living antithesis of the order she had worked for, and she would not suffer him.

Confident that the magics that sealed him were still holding firm, Celestia continued on her walk. The path continued on towards the palace, and she took one last look over the garden. Everything was in its place, every tree pruned, every flower tended to, every cobblestone properly set in the ground. Orderly, clean, perfect. She allowed the smile to grace her face once more. Everything was… wait. She spun back around. Discord’s statue… was it her imagination or was it facing the other way before? No, no that was the way it had always faced. I really must stop working myself up she thought to herself. Her appraisal finished, she completed her rounds and returned to her throne room. Just as she thought before. Everything was orderly, and perfect.

The three ponies and Spike made their way to Fluttershy‘s cottage as quickly as they could. Rainbow Dash had regained her stamina and flown ahead of them, and Rarity and Twilight found her tapping her foot impatiently just outside Fluttershy’s door. She was itching to get back inside and get what information they could from Angel. The rabbit was Fluttershy’s pet, and one of her closest confidants, and if anypony knew where Fluttershy had gone, he would. Rarity raced up first, spurred on by the fear that her fragile friend had done something rash.

“Rainbow Dash honestly! How hard is it to wait for us? We want to know what happened to Fluttershy as much as you do. It’s not our fault we can’t move as fast.” She sputtered, nearly out of breath. Twilight brought up the rear, her assistant dragon hanging off her mane for dear life.

“Ok, ok we’re here. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Now Dash, you’re SURE that Fluttershy isn’t here? You could have just missed her. I don’t want to barge in. I don’t think she would appreciate that.” Rainbow Dash just twisted her face into a look of frustration and anger. She had been here once already and barreled through most of the town looking for Fluttershy already.

“No! She’s not here, OK?! I’ve already looked in the keyhole, she’s not there. NOPONY is there. Look, Twilight, I know just rushing in to somepony else’s house isn’t your thing, but I’m really concerned for her. She’s shy, and frightened of everything. She can barely take care of herself. She can’t be out and alone.” Dash’s eyes pleaded with Twilight. She needed them to do this. She needed to find Fluttershy. With a sigh of resignation Twilight nodded, closed her eyes and dropped her head. A faint lavender glow encircled her horn, and they heard the soft click of the lock on Fluttershy’s door, and it swung open.

“Ok Dash, let’s go inside.” Twilight motioned towards the open portal with her hoof and waited for her friends to walk through. Rarity went in second, pausing for a moment to turn to her friend Twilight and nod her thanks. She respected another pony’s privacy as much as anypony else, but she just needed to get to the bottom of her friend’s disappearance.

“You’re a good friend Twilight. You have my thanks as well.”

The only light in the cottage came from the open door, and as such their elongated shadows played across the far wall. All of the blinds had been pulled shut, and a light layer of dust covered everything. A half-consumed pot of tea sat over a fire that had long burned itself out, its ashes spilling out across the stone hearth randomly, leaving a black sooty mess on the side of the room. A few half empty food dishes lined one of the other walls, a few animal tracks visible in the dust coating. The animals were coming in and out through a few of the holes in the side of the cottage, but by the looks of things nothing larger than a rabbit. It was this rabbit they were looking for now.

Rainbow Dash took a cursory survey of the open main-room of the cottage, looking for any clue of what could have happened to her friend. There were no notes, no sign of a struggle or a fight. The animal food stores were about what they should be based on how many Fluttershy was currently caring for. Stumped, she resumed her search for Angel. Rarity had similarly given up her search for clues, resigning herself to do some cleaning and dusting. Her desire to keep everything neat, tidy, and clean was overriding her desire to get a quick answer to their query. Twilight noticed her dusting, and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Rarity, I know that seeing the disorganization and dust is distracting for you, but we really need to focus on Fluttershy. If something has happened to her, every minute might count. We can help her best by finding Angel and getting an answer. Please, let’s just focus on the task at hand.” Rarity gave a few more nervous glances around and sighed. Cleaning could wait. Where was that rabbit?

After five minutes of searching, they still had nothing. The upstairs was just as devoid of life as the main-floor. The odd chipmunk or bird hopped in through their respective tunnels, but they still had not been able to locate Angel. Dejected, they exited the cottage and locked the door behind them. Twilight broke the palpable silence first.

“Well girls, what’s the plan now?” Being greeted with only frustrated shrugs, they started down the path back towards town. Out of the corner of her eye, Rarity caught a flash of white. There. That sneaky rabbit. Angel had been hiding in the chicken coop while the three of them had been in Fluttershy’s house, and had evacuated his hiding spot a moment too soon.

“There he is! Twilight quick!” Rarity cried. Angel hopped away as fast as his legs could carry him, making it as far as the edge of the Everfree forest when the purple light encased him and lifted him off the ground. Twilight’s magic held him in place a couple feet in the air while he struggled to get free. Finally accepting defeat, he went limp and allowed himself to be carried back to the three waiting ponies and their dragon accomplice. Twilight scrutinized the rabbit closely before speaking.

“Now, I’m going to let you go, but Spike will be watching you. If you so much as flinch the wrong way he’s going to jump on you. Failing that, my magic will make sure you stay put, and I won’t be as gentle the second time. Do I make myself clear?” Spike reacted to this statement with whining.

“Awww Twi do I have to? Remember the last time I watched any of Fluttershy’s animals?” he grumbled.

“Yes Spike, you do. Now Angel, do you understand?” The tiny rabbit looked furious at having been caught, but nodded his agreement to the unicorn. She was the most powerful magic user that he knew of other than Celestia. He wasn’t about to test the honesty of her words.

“Good. Now,” Twilight said as she set him down, “talk to us. Where’s Fluttershy?” Angel crossed his feet, and looked to the ground. He glanced at the tree-line, wanting ever so badly to have the opportunity to make a break for it. Unfortunately he had obstacles in the shape of a baby dragon and a magic using pony that would make that proposition nearly impossible. Fluttershy had made him promise not to say anything, but it HAD been three whole days. That was too long for her to be gone. Something must have happened. Perceiving his internal conflict, Rarity took the opportunity to make inroads with Angel.

“Angel, darling. I know that you look up to Fluttershy with the utmost respect, and it’s very obvious to us she’s trusted you to do something for her, and it is making it so you can’t answer our question. We understand the word of a friend is important, and you don’t want to risk making her upset. But, we’re her friends too. We only want the best for Fluttershy and to make sure she’s fine. If she’s gone someplace nice like Canterlot for a couple days then we’re happy for her. Everypony needs to get away once in a while. However, if something else has happened, we need to know. Please Angel, tell us what has happened.” Her words hung thick in the air, surrounding the rabbit and choking him in emotion. A single tear rolled down his cheek and he nodded softly. Fluttershy had made him promise not to tell, but he was too scared for her not to. Tearfully, he pantomimed out the whole scene. Spike followed along and relayed the information to his equine friends.

“Rarity was right. She went to the Everfree forest to look for the human. According to Angel, he spoke with some of the forest animals the other night and it turns out that this Nathan didn’t belong in the forest. Never came from there, and never should have been there. Fluttershy heard this and headed out right away.” A lump stuck in Twilight’s throat, not only for the fact Fluttershy had gone off alone, but also at the knowledge that they had potentially sent somepony into the Everfree forest that didn’t belong there.

“How long though Spike… how long ago was it?” Spike looked crestfallen at the question, struggling to come to terms with it.

“This time… this time Rainbow Dash was right. She’s been gone for… three days. Three days Twilight. She’s been out in the Everfree forest for three whole days.”

That night Nathan set up camp in the shadow of a cliff overhanging a small river. The nearby fresh water helped to top off their supplies, and gave a bit of background noise to an otherwise silent forest. They had walked most of the rest of the day in silence, broken only by a few sobs and squeals of pain from Fluttershy as her injuries bumped along with her. Nathan was being as gentle as possible, but if they were going to make it back to… ugh Ponyville… within the next couple days they had to keep moving. Now that they had a warm fire made and the tent was erected around the splayed out pony, they had time to relax.

Nathan sat in silence, watching the fire crackle and spit. Deep in thought, he pondered his current predicament. He decided the best course of action was to accept he wasn’t dreaming and move on. For better or for worse, he was stuck in this land of ponies. Was it still earth? Was it another dimension? Was it even the same date? He didn’t know, and had a feeling no one else around there was going to know either. He poked the fire with a stick, exposing a bed of ashes and feeling the heat flood out again. He had, with Fluttershy’s reluctant and uneasy permission, caught a small trout and was half-way through cooking it. Apparently fish didn’t go by the same rules as the rest of the animals here. Either way he wasn’t going to let an opportunity to load up on protein and fat go to waste.

Fluttershy quietly nibbled on some fruit and grains. They were going to start turning soon, but she estimated that her supplies should be good for another day. Assuming that the three day prediction held true, she would run out of food sometime the next evening. Looking over to her strange human companion she started to feel at ease. He had predatory instincts, ate meat, was quick to anger and right now he was frustrated with his situation, but he also seemed kind and generous. She wouldn’t have expected many ordinary ponies to carry her for three days after saving her from a rabid bear. If not for him she would be dead right now, a meal in the belly of a bear. She shuddered at the thought. Then again, if not for him I wouldn’t be out here in the first place she considered. Seeing her face scrunched up in thought, Nathan spoke up.

“So, uh, Fluttershy. Tell me about,” he struggled to keep his face straight as he said it, “Ponyville. How long have you lived there? Do you have many friends? What do you do for work?”

“Oh… uh…” she stammered. “Um well I’ve lived there for a few years now. I grew up in Cloudsdale, but ended up coming down to Ponyville and discovering the animals there. I decided I would rather be down on the ground helping the animals of the forest than fly amongst the clouds so I’ve been there ever since. I’m not sure how it compares to your life-span, but I started living there when I was around fifteen or so, and been there ever since. I’m twenty-one now. Oh, but you weren’t asking me my age, sorry.” Fluttershy blushed, before continuing. “My job is caretaker of the animals as I’ve said. From the smallest to creatures as large as… b-b-bears.” she choked back a few tears, memories of the day before still fresh in her mind. She was still mad that Nathan had killed the bear, but come to terms with the fact that chances were that if he hadn’t she might not be still here alive.

“I’m sorry again about that. I didn’t see an alternative at the time.”

“No, I know, I understand. I’m still upset, but I know you were just acting on what was in your heart. Anyways, I have a pet rabbit named Angel who..! Oh no ANGEL. He must be so dreadfully worried. I left him there alone to watch the animals for me, and I’ve been gone over a day. We must get back as soon as possible.” She shifted uncomfortably in the flickering light and attempted to stand up. The pain intensified to her injured limb and she collapsed, a small scream escaped her lips.

“Don’t be foolish Fluttershy. You have severe lacerations and a massive fracture to your leg. The only thing that will heal that is a doctor and time. We’re going to have to take it one day at a time. I’m sorry, but that’s what we’re faced with.” Fluttershy groaned and restlessly flailed at the ground with her good hooves.

“I know, you’re right, but I don’t have to like it. Anyways, where was I? Oh yes! I have the most wonderful friends. You actually met most of them when you first arrived in town. I know they might have seemed uncaring when you first saw them, but you have to understand they were just doing what they thought was best. The six of us form the Elements of Harmony, one of the most powerful magical forces in Equestria. Unofficially we’ve taken it upon ourselves to keep the peace and sanctity of Ponyville. They really are good ponies. Just wait until you have the chance to meet them properly.”

“I’ll take your word on that, Fluttershy. Sorry, that actually just reminded me of something to bring up. Magic. I’ve seen things here that make me think “magic”, but now you’ve just used the word itself. I don’t know anything about these Elements of Harmony, but I’m perplexed by what I’ve seen so far. First of all, talking ponies. Ponies that fly. Ponies that have glowing unicorn horns. I don’t want to sound crude but, what the hell? Where I’m from, magic is a fun thought, but it doesn’t exist. Here, it seems to be everywhere. Is it really magic, or something else? Something that you just can’t explain?”

“D-did you just say you don’t have magic where you’re from? You can’t use it or feel it?” Fluttershy gasped. The thought didn’t seem possible. For somepony to not feel the magic permeating the environment around them… it seemed almost cruel.

“Nope. Never have, never will most likely. Oh sure, we can do a lot of things that seem magical, but we use technology to accomplish it. I don’t understand why that’s such an issue though. I mean, I’m guessing that the glow of the purple one’s horn I saw earlier..”

“Twilight.”

“Right, sorry, Twilight. The glow of Twilight’s horn must have been “magical” in nature, but not everything here is magic right? Is there something I’m missing? What could she do with that glow anyways?”

“Oh, well yes, nearly everything here is magic. The unicorns can use their horns to perform minor tricks and incantations, while us pegasi use it to support our flight and to control the weather. We can move clouds and create independent weather systems. Every creature that lives here, including the earth ponies feels magic in a more passive way.” Nathan arched his brows at this revelation. Magical connections between everything, controlled weather, tricks and incantations. It just couldn’t be right. It shouldn’t.

“So… you could control the weather if you felt like it?”

“W-well yes, I guess I could. You, know if you wanted me to. I’m not very good at it though. I’m not as strong a flyer as some of the other pegasi so I usually find other duties. Rainbow Dash, who you also met, is the chief weather pegasus in Ponyville, and she usually does most of the work. Even the sun and the moon are magically willed to raise every day by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” Nathan balked at this last bit of information.

“S-sorry? Your astral cycle is also controlled by magic?! That shouldn’t even be possible… how? Never mind, I think if I understood my brain would break down. Let’s move on to this more active magic of the unicorns.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and blew a line of air out of his puffed cheeks. “What sort of ‘magic’ can they perform?”

“Well, most of the time their abilities revolve around what their skill is. A gardener might have control over the plants he is working with, or a business-pony might be able to use their magic to ascertain good business deals. They all have a little bit of ability to levitate and manually control objects though. Nothing huge or intricate, just small bobbles.” Nathan was doing his best to wrap his head around the idea of real, functioning magic. It shouldn’t be that much of a stretch, considering he was having a conversation with a talking pony, but still- magic?

“What about Twilight? I just asked about her. What is her special skill?” Fluttershy had anticipated this question and had a reply planned in advance, which she quickly launched in to.

“Oh Twilight? Her talent IS magic. She’s one of Princess Celestia’s faithful assistants from Canterlot and spends most of her time learning new magic and new spells. The only ponies I know with more magical ability are Luna and Celestia, and I’ve heard Celestia say that with enough time Twilight should surpass both of them. She’s simply amazing, and a wonderful friend too.” Pondering the pegasus’ latest words an idea dawned on Nathan.

“Do you think maybe she would know how to send me back to where I came from? Or know how to get to where I came from? With so much magical ability, assuming it’s real, she must be able to do something right?” Fluttershy looked anxious for a moment. Why did he want to leave already? He had just gotten there and she was just getting to know him. He wouldn’t just leave like that would he? Stopping her train of thought she silently berated herself. He doesn’t even belong here, and what do you care Fluttershy? Finally after a prolonged silence she replied to his question.

“I don’t know. Possibly. If anypony does it’s probably her. She’s always dabbling in some new magic, and I’ve seen her open portals in time. We should talk to her when we get back. Even if she can‘t figure it out, Celestia would probably know.”

“I agree.”

“Can I ask you a few things now?” Fluttershy batted her eyes shyly, not wanting to impose on her companion's hospitality. After a moment Nathan took a few deep breaths to center himself and nodded.

“Sure Fluttershy, I think I’m ready for it now.”

“A-actually, my question is a little more personal. Earlier today, we were talking about your family. You seemed awfully upset, and I wasn’t sure why. Did… did you want to talk about it some more?” Nathan sighed and rubbed his face with both palms.

“Fluttershy, honestly. Again with the family. What is it with you? What does it matter?”

“W-w-well I just thought that… you know… I’m a pretty good listener and it sounds like there’s something bothering you about your family. You could tell me about it. I could help you.”

“I understand to you, as an innocent pony in the wonderful land of magic, friendship and family are very, very important to you. I understand that. I keep that in mind every time you speak to me. I keep that in mind when you ask me questions. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to take it with a grain of salt.” He had inadvertently grabbed a stick and was bending it between his hands.

“But I… but I just want to help! I help all my animal friends! Isn’t that what counts? Don’t you want help?” The stick snapped, and Fluttershy cowered before the agitated human.

“No, Fluttershy, I don’t need help. I understand why you would concerned but don‘t be. Really. There is nothing to talk about. Ok?” She whimpered slightly, hiding behind a wing.

“I’m sorry please don’t be upset with me.” Dropping the stick to the ground, his expression calmed and he nodded to the yellow pegasus.

“I’m not upset with you Fluttershy, I don‘t want to hurt your feelings. Just drop it ok? Ask me about other things. More general things.”

“I-I can still ask you questions? You don’t mind?” Nathan chuckeld.

“No, I don’t mind. Go ahead.” His permission granted, relief washed over Fluttershy, boosting her confidence.

“Oh good. Well, tell me about where you’re from. What are the humans like? Is everypony like you? What is your Princess like? I know you can’t remember much, but anything would be nice to know.”

“Hmmm… well everyone is physically similar to me if you’re referring to being a human. However, we’re a very diverse race. Our body colour scheme isn’t as wide as yours- they run from a dark black to a light white. We’re capable of great compassion and kindness, and horrible atrocities. We’ve created medicine that saves millions, and created bombs that have killed just as many. At any one time in the last fifty years any single nation has had enough firepower to cause any number of extinction events and destroy the world, but enough tolerance for our fellow man has kept us in check. We’ve built great cities, with towers flowing thousands of feet into the air. We’ve created microscopes that can see down to the basic constituent atoms of a substance. No magic, however. Oh sure, there are a few people that claim they can perform feats unexplainable by science, and a few others practice the art of illusion- using sleight of hand and distraction to give the impression something magical has happened, but they can always be explained in the end. Also, we‘re not really ruled by any one princess. Most countries have non-royal governments.”

“D-d-d-destroy your whole world? H-how would you do that?” Fluttershy was terrified. Who were these humans that they would so callously create the means to end their own existence so readily? Nathan sighed.

“That would be the thing you got caught up on. It’s not important- said weapons haven’t been used in decades, and hopefully won’t be used ever again. Has to do with the atoms I talked about before. Either way, I don’t think it’s anything you have to worry about. I doubt very much that anything like that could happen here. I just wanted to give you an idea of where I come from. The kind of people humans are.” Sheer horror still running like ice through her veins, Fluttershy couldn’t understand anything that she had just heard. Nathan had explained away the ability to destroy a world like it was a common happenstance. She started to cry quietly to herself. She had come out here to find somepony that was misunderstood, and she was confronted with this human that had skewed her views of the world in the course of the day. Or at least her view of what could be the world.

Seeing the Pegasus crying to herself in her tent, Nathan suddenly felt guilty. The weight of an entire world started to weigh down on his shoulders, forcing him to bow his head and pinch the bridge of his nose. He didn’t have the right to corrupt this poor mare with horror stories from a world removed from her own. With a sigh he looked upon the clearly upset pony and muttered a quiet “I’m sorry.” The whole experience was overwhelming him, and he could recognize when he had overstepped his bounds.

“W-why even tell me these things? Why not just lie to me? Why not just tell me you come from a land where everything is happy?” Fluttershy finally managed to reply.

“I don’t know. I needed you to know the honest truth about us. About humans. Partly because you asked, partly because everything around here, including you, is too goddamned innocent. Too clean, too pure. I’m so uncomfortable here. You’re just so sweet… and I feel like I’m.. .a monster..”

“N-n-no! Oh no, so far you’ve been very kind to me. I never expected any of this from you. I don’t know how you humans are, but you seem nice enough. Please don’t feel bad on my part. You’re not a monster. Trust me, I‘ve met monsters.” She managed a weak smile. Content with that reply, Nathan laid back and rested his head on a rock.

“Well thanks, Fluttershy. You’re not so bad yourself. We should get some rest. We probably have a couple more days of hiking ahead, and I’m beat. One more question. This permeating magic- am I part of it now that I’m here? Am I connected to you in some way?”

“Yes. I m-mean no! I mean. Yes but no! Err that is…” Fluttershy blushed and tucked her head under her good wing. Nathan lifted his head and glanced over at the pony, arching an eyebrow.

“O… K?”

“I mean.. um… no. I don’t know if magic works that way. Sorry.” Satisfied with the answer, they both started to drift off to sleep.

Struggling to sleep, as soon as he heard the soft snoring from Fluttershy, Nathan stood up and went for a walk. Staying within earshot of their camp, he stretched his legs and took in the cool night air. So much had happened in the last couple days. It would take a while before he fully accepted everything that had happened. The conversation with the Pegasus had helped to jog his memory, but details escaped him.

Off to the side he heard a light hissing sound. Crouching down, he looked into the bushes, and noticed a chicken looking out at him. He chuckled to himself.

“Oh? How did you get out here little guy? Do you need a lift back to town…?” His query was cut short when the chicken lifted itself out of the bushes and continued to hiss. The head was followed by the body and tail of a serpent, leathery wings fanning out to the sides. Fear gripped Nathan’s throat, unprepared for this turn of events. The creature looked Nathan straight in the eyes and started to stare at him intently. After a few moments, Nathan and relaxed and looked at the creature quizzically.

“Ok. So, that’s what you do? Stare at people? What a strange creature you are.”

The chicken-lizard intensified its glare, beads of sweat developing on its forehead. Why wasn’t this working? It had worked on other creatures and ponies several times over. Why wasn’t this new creature reacting to it? Finally it gave up. With a hop, it screeched and tried to dig its foot talons into the human’s face. With a shot from his arm, Nathan punched his assailant out of the air, and watched it go limp. He noted with relief that it was still breathing. Unconscious, but alive. Picking it up and bringing it back to camp he gently woke Fluttershy.

“Hey, Fluttershy, sorry to bother you, but there’s this thing that tried to claw me in the forest. It’s still alive but I knocked it out. Do you know what it is? Have you seen something like it before?” Fluttershy stirred awake and saw the unconscious cockatrice hanging from Nathan’s arms and averted her eyes.

“Don’t look in its eyes!”

“What?”

“Don’t look in its eyes! It can turn you to stone with a blink! I’ve seen it turn several ponies to stone before. Did you say you knocked it out?”

“Well yea, it jumped at me. It stared in my eyes for a bit, then tried to claw me. I don’t know about the whole stone thing though. I seem fine.” Fluttershy proceeded to carefully scrutinize every inch of Nathan’s body. Nothing was turning to stone, no signs of anything wrong with him.

“I don’t understand… you should be solid stone right now. How…”

“Assuming you’re right about this thing being able to turn somebody to stone, I couldn’t tell you.” Fluttershy was perplexed by this turn of events. It didn’t make any sense. Who was this human that had shown up? Why did the cockatrice’s curse have no affect? Her confusion became a shudder rippling through her body. She just didn’t understand anything.

As she was trying to come to terms with the situation, the cockatrice awoke. Recognizing the pegasus as the same one who had managed to stare it down a few months back, he screeched and squirmed out of Nathan’s grasp, tearing off into the woods. The human and pony listened as the screeches and hisses grew softer and softer, until they finally faded away. Fluttershy looked back up at Nathan.

“The more time we spend together the more you frighten, confuse and interest me. At first I thought I had been wrong to come out and find you. Now… now I just want to know more. I think some of Twilight has gotten into me. T-this is so strange. I don’t know why you’re here Nathan, but thank-you for showing me… something new.” Nathan stood in silence for a bit, gauging his equine companion, scrutinizing her face for any sign of lying. Seeing that Fluttershy was legitimately expressing her feelings, he nodded and returned to the rock he had chosen for a pillow. “Nathan… I’m sorry, but I’m cold. Could you… could you come lay next to me and keep me warm? I mean, if it’s ok with you? You can share my pillow.”

Nathan hesitated; unsure he could carefully get inside the tent without injuring her further, but managed to reason out in his head how to do it eventually. “Sure Fluttershy, whatever you need. Watch out a moment, going to be hard getting around your wing.” A moment later, the night air was pierced with two new sounds- the snores of a pegasus and human entwined together.

The next two days passed uneventfully. The wounds on Nathan’s arms began to fester a bit, and the poultice on Fluttershy’s wounds had long ago outlived their effectiveness, but the two new friends were in good spirits. After the first difficult day together, conversation began to flow easily between the two. Nathan shared what interests he could with Fluttershy, and she returned the favour. Even as their food ran out at the end of the second day, they felt they were close enough to Ponyville they would be able to make it back by the next nightfall. Towards the middle of day three, Fluttershy began to recognize landmarks, and could better direct Nathan towards the town. Before long they would be back home. Well, at least Fluttershy would be.

The confirmation that their friend had been out in the woods alone for three days frightened Rarity terribly. As much as she loved Fluttershy, she had to acknowledge that the poor dear was a scaredy-pony. Nopony ever expected the yellow pegasus to stand up for herself. What was she thinking, going off into the forest to look for a predator? How had she managed to slip away without saying anything? The thoughts raced through her head as they began to comb the edge of the forest for any sign of her. Lost in thought, she barely noticed the sound of something dragging along the ground in their general direction.

Dropping low to the ground, she peered through the trees, looking for any sign of what was making the racket. She managed to get Rainbow Dash’s attention and subtly motioned towards the sound with her horn. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Twilight Sparkle joined her friends, and the three of them hid in a shrub. The sight that greeted them took their collective breaths away. The human had returned. Scratches and bruises lined his body, and three festering cuts ran the length of his left arm. He was dragging a frame… carrying the limp body of Fluttershy! Her wing and leg were bandaged and she wasn’t moving, and every few steps she let out a soft whimper of pain. Dash was the first one to react.

“Rarity! Twilight! Look! That’s what happened to Fluttershy! That human must have attacked her! Well I’m not letting that go any further.” With a scream she leapt from the bushes they had concealed themselves in. Rarity and Twilight were too slow to dissuade their fiery friend, and Fluttershy saw it coming too late.

“R-Rainbow Dash? No wait Dash don’t…!” The cyan blur was already in motion though, and by the time the other Pegasus’ protests landed on Dash’s ears she was already following through. With a powerful flap of her wings she landed a solid kick on the side of Nathan’s head. Loosing grip on the frame carrying Fluttershy, he dropped to his knees and struggled to keep consciousness. Tumbling forward into the grass, he felt his vision blurring and surging. The last thing he remembered before the darkness took him was Fluttershy berating Rainbow Dash.

“Dash! What are you doing! You’ve hurt him! Oh no he’s starting to pass out! Somepony help him…”

“I don’t believe it. I mean, I guess I should believe it, but come now! Usually my plans are too unpredictable!” The shadowy figure continued to work through the nights, planning every aspect of his revenge down to the tiniest detail, talking to himself all the while, cackling into his cauldron and descending further into madness. He knew that, eventually, a creature from some other plane of existence would end up in Equestria, but the fact it had happened so soon tickled him pink. He would have been content with the destruction of one of the Elements of Harmony, but the opportunity to not only crush all six of them, but Celestia and Luna along with them? As cruel a mistress as luck was, every now and then she rewarded her servants.

It had been simple really. Celestia was convinced that she would never see him again. Why would she think otherwise? It had been planned perfectly. Oh, he knew exactly what would happen when he tried to overthrow the kingdom again. He was actually surprised Celestia hadn’t called him on making it too easy for the overzealous ponies led by that Twilight Sparkle. If she had only taken a moment to examine the situation more closely, his plans may have been put to a stop right there. However, she had not taken any such steps, and it had freed him to pursue his latest scheme. Which, shockingly, even to him, was starting to form before his very eyes.

Another cackle escaped his twisted lips, the sickly odor of death and decay laying heavy on his breath. One more ingredient went into the cauldron, and an image started to form. It looked for all the world like a dream, because it was. He had spent many nights casting the same incantation, slowly and subtly working his magic. Tonight would be no different.

“Well Celestia, what are we dreaming about tonight, and how can we shake it up a bit?” A blood-curdling laugh escaped his belly, shedding his careful calm demeanor a plunged head-first into the cauldron.