Michael rolled down the windows of his Hilux and took in the evening ocean air. Looking over his shoulder, he backed truck and its trailer down the long pier to the end where a custom version of a World War II LCVP waited. He stepped out of the truck and onto the pier. The sky was overcast and the water was calm; he couldn't have asked for a better night. Taking his phone out from his pocket, he remotely activated the lights on boat and had it lower its ramp.

The LCVP was a far cry from its ancestors. Gone were its large diesel engine or machine gun turrets; instead, a single electric motor powered two nearly silent turbines embedded in the bottom of the hull and the top of the vessel was covered in a thin layer of matte black carbon fiber paneling. The insides were spartan at best, leaving plenty of room for the one pilot, the equipment, and the special cargo.

Walking to the trailer, he unfastened the straps that held his two newest creations in place and began moving them across the ramp, into the LCVP. Michael had been preparing for this for months and, although the reason for the journey had changed, there was a principal problem that had to be addressed before the trip could even be considered: Equestria was an enormously large island and Michael would need a way to get around quickly. The solution was two vehicles: “The Gambit" and the "Gambit Jr.". Unlike the LCVP which was, for the most part, a modified barge, the Gambit and Gambit Jr. were made entirely from scratch.

The Gambit was designed with the lightness of a dune buggy, but with the power and handling of Michael's Evo. Just big enough for two people to ride in, the frame was constructed almost entirely out of a titanium alloy. The little amount protective fiberglass paneling between the beams gave it a very aggressive, angular look. The Gambit used two electric motors; one to power the front wheels and one for the rear, producing nearly 500 combined horsepower. In traditional cars, electricity was stored in paper-thin layers of polymers beneath the trunk carpeting. To power the drive system, Michael spent weeks tearing out nearly 100 cars worth of carpeting in ponification camp parking lots, rolling up the battery layers into super-dense tubes, and packing them into the very frame of the buggy. There was enough power stored in there to run it for months. All in all, the Gambit was a ninja: whisper quiet and able to easily outrun Michael's Evo on even the most problematic of surfaces.

Gambit Jr. was a motorcycle that was somewhere between a motocross bike and a sports bike; sleek and aerodynamic but with slightly knobby tires to help deal with the less-than-perfect roads of Equestria. It was built similarly to it’s big brother; titanium alloy frame with integrated battery to power the two hub motors. However, Gambit Jr. had a trick up its sleeve; not only was it fast and ultra-light, but it could be folded in half and stowed on a rack on the back of the buggy. The two vehicles were Michael's finest creations and the edge he needed to move around off the beaten trails and out of sight within Equestria.

       That is, if he could survive the trip through the magical barrier.

        After nearly three hours at sea, the boat finally made land, and Michael lowered the ramp. The shore of Equestria was beautiful, even in the dead of night. As the moonlight bore down on the sparkling beaches, Michael began to understand why the Human Liberation Front wanted so badly to immigrate and why those ponified sang their praises so highly.

However, there was little time to take in the beauty. Daylight would arrive in only a handful of hours and his matte black ship would contrast spectacularly against the white sandy beaches. Michael moved quickly, loading his equipment into the rear of the Gambit, each container snapping into place. Closing the rear hatch, he entered the buggy, strapping himself into the familiar bucket seat that he had installed into the Gambit from his prized Mitsubishi.

He put on the drivers helmet and clicked it on. The words "LINK ESTABLISHED" flashed briefly on the visor and, suddenly, the world was as bright as day, lit by the array of infrared flood lamps on the front of the car. With the two vehicles being completely bereft of any gauges, the helmet was integrated into the systems of the Gambit and Gambit Jr., providing Michael with a feedback from a myriad of sensors and radars as well as vehicle information, but the link only worked over a short distance.

As the Gambit eased down the ramp and onto the beach, the sounds of the waves easily overshadowed any sound from the car's two whisper quiet engines. Getting out of the car once more, Michael re-entered the beached boat, plotted a course back to the pier with instructions to drop a relay buoy mid-way, and exited again. Once the ramp closed, the boat shot forward, pulling itself out to sea by the anchor that was dropped nearly 200 feet away. Michael felt a sense of pride and sighed as he watched his biggest creation pilot itself back out to sea all on its own.

Re-entering the matte black off-roader, Michael patted the steering wheel, "Looks like it's gonna be just the three of us."

The car only moved only ten feet before an alert sounded in his ear and the readout from the spectrograph snapped into view.

"What the hell?"

Stretched out across the entire field of view was a wall so bright with energy Michael had to turn down the opacity of the spectrograph's overlay.

This was the force field; the unforgiving wall that was meant to keep Michael out. Again, Michael climbed out of his ride and flipped up the visor of his helmet. He unclipped a flashlight that was clipped to the roof of the car, turned it on, and approached the invisible barrier. Picking up a stone, he tossed it and watched as it flew effortlessly through the air and well into the other side of the force field.

"Hm..."

Next, he lobbed the flashlight through the field and onto a patch of grass. It remained lit. This was good; it meant all his work in building Gambit and Gambit Jr. hadn't gone to waste.

Finally, he tried pushing his hand through, but it wouldn't move. Even as he put his entire weight behind it, it was as if he was pushing against a stone wall.

"Fuck."

Still, he did have one last trick. Not that he was sure it would work, mind you, but it was worth a try.

He opened the rear hatch of the Gambit and pulled out a case. Despite the fact that no one cared about it, the fact that Michael possessed the contents of the case made him an official criminal, guilty of grand larceny. He clicked open the two latches that kept the case closed, removed its contents, and covered himself with it.

Testing the barrier, it yielded to his clever ruse. The cloak that fooled the force field was a two-hundred year old piece of horse-hide, stolen from the American Indian Heritage Museum. Michael grinned with smug satisfaction.

         "Magic may be powerful, but it's not smart."

As he stepped through the force field, he felt a strange energy wash over him. When he emerged on the other side, the scene spun around him and the world went black.

        Michael woke up with a start in a bed that was altogether too small. He looked around and found himself in a room decorated with strange masks.

A zebra emerged through a doorway, "Oh, finally you are awake. I had feared the worst for your fate."

"What happened?"

"The answer to that I do not know, but you were on the ground, like fallen snow."

Michael cocked an eyebrow, "That rhyme was a bit contrived. I can see that and I've just arrived."

"You are quite quick to knock my rhyme for someone who is not equine. Tell me now, and please, no jokes, how did you enter the land of pony folk?"

"I fooled the field around this isle with a trick that would make you smile. I wore a cloak and, not to be morose, that was made of the hide of a long dead horse."

The zebra had a worried look.

Michael tried to reassure her, "Please don't worry. It wasn’t me. That cloak has been around for centuries. It hung in a museum for years; I can only hope that can assuage your fears."  

"Hm. Your story seems a bit absurd, but I will take you for your word.”

Michael looked out the window to see it was still dark, then looked at his watch. He sighed in relief; he had only been out a couple of hours.

"How far are we from the beach? There is something there that I much reach."

"It's only a ten minute walk; I will join you as it is dark."

He put his helmet back on, "Alrighty then, let us make haste. I haven't any time to waste."

The two left the house, which was carved into a tree, and the zebra led the way.

"So, what's your name?" Michael asked.

"My name is Zecora, and you?"

"Michael. Tell me, do you know of a place called 'Ponyville'?"

"Actually, it's not far from here. Why do you ask? And please, be clear."

"I need to go there. Personal matter."

"I take it you will not explain? I'll accept that, and not complain. We all have secrets we must keep. Still, if you tell me, I will not speak."

They continued ahead in silence. Soon, Michael's helmet activated and indicated it was within range of the car. He stopped, activated the buggy's lights, and had it drive through the force field, towards them.

Zecora seemed very interested, "That was certainly quite a trick."

"The advantages of all electric. Anyways, thanks for your help. Would you like me to give you a

ride back," he asked, opening the door and getting in.

"When I found you, I was looking for roots, so I think I'll go back to my route."

"Alright then, Thanks a lot!" Michael said as he hit the accelerator and sped off. The buggy quickly passed Zecora's house-tree as it practically flew over the dirt trail that wound through the forest. As he neared the edge of the woods, Michael hid the buggy under a bridge that crossed over a dry river bed and got out. He circled around the rear, pulled out Gambit Jr., then climbed out of the riverbed.

Pulling a pair of black leather gloves out the pocket of his matching motorcycle jacket, he took off. As he rode towards the town in the distance, there was not a light to be seen.

Still, he had no idea who lived where. Furthermore, who could he count on to not panic if he showed up on their doorstep? As he rode silently through the night, Michael thought on this, taking in the scent of the passing apple orchard in bloom.

"Hm... Irene? Obviously. Twilight? Most likely. Fluttershy? She'd probably panic, but she'd just as soon faint. So that leaves Irene and Twilight. Well, Twilight lives in the Library. I have no idea where Irene lives, so Twilight it is."

Michael turned off the night vision overlay to let his eyes rest and rode through the rest of the beautiful countryside under the moonlight.

He sighed, "It's so peaceful. So quiet. So beautiful."

Soon, he ran out of countryside and entered Ponyville. He slowed the bike and prowled around the sleeping town, looking for the library: for the biggest tree in town.

Finally, he spotted it and rode up to the door. Dismounting from the bike, Michael removed his helmet and knocked. He waited; No answer. He knocked again. This time, he could see a light turn on inside. Michael looked down as the old wooden door opened and saw a small purple dragon with green spikes.

"Excuse me? But is Twilight Sparkle home?"

The sleepy-eyed dragon looked up at Michael, barely registering him, "Twilight... There's a human here to see you."

Then he realized what he had just said and sprung to full attention.

         "A Human?!" the small dragon ran back into the library and out of sight, "Twilight! Wake up! There's a human here!"

Michael stood patiently outside with a smirk, tapping his foot.

"Don't be silly, Spike. There can't be any humans here; It's impossible." she addressed the dragon sleepily.

Michael poked his head through the door, "I'd reevaluate that assumption if I were you, Twilight."

He heard the sound of what could only be Twilight falling out of her bed, then running down a

flight of stairs. Suddenly, she appeared in front of him, out of breath.

"You! Hurry up and get in here before someone sees you!" she whispered.

Michael, trying to contain his laughter, walked his motorcycle into the library. Twilight closed the door behind him.

        "Nice place you've got here. So many books..." he said, admiring the shelves upon shelves of literature.

Twilight, however, was not in the mood for pleasantries, "Michael, what are you doing here? How did you even get here? How are you even alive?"

He gave her a coy smile, "Well, you guys left so suddenly that I didn't even have a chance to say 'goodbye'."

He was messing with her and this made Twilight even angrier, "You think this is a joke? Some kind of game? Michael, this is serious!"

Michael put away the grin and the jokes and looked her in the eyes, "Yes, I know, and I'm sorry for bothering you in the middle of the night but, as you can imagine, I've gone through a lot to get here and I think we can both agree that the only thing more dangerous than me being here is me being out there. I know something's happened, Twilight, and I need you to tell me what's going on so I can help you."

Twilight let out a sigh, "Fine, but in the morning. Come with me, I've got an extra bed."

"Thank you."

Michael took off his motorcycle jacket, hung it on one of the bike’s handlebars, and set the helmet on the seat. In his black shirt and jeans, he followed Twilight up the stairs and stretched across the bed, his legs dangling off the end.

It had been a long night and, with the next day’s challenges ahead, a few hours of sleep was exactly what he needed. Next Chapter: Chapter 11 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 52 Minutes