“This... this don’t feel right,” Applejack stood there, looking out at the thirty or so yards of empty nothing surrounding the log cabin that had been my home for the last ten years.

“What could do this?” one of the guards, a bat-winged pony of Luna's Guard spoke, I hadn't caught his name just yet.

Luna’s tone was reserved, quiet, and not a little edged with a nervous tremor. “We do not know, Captain. As the Element of Honesty has pointed out, this does not feel right.”

I glanced down at the ponies around me, before looking back to my left at the princess of the day. Giving a shrug, I stepped over the boundary line and started for the cabin.

“It wasn’t like this back home, I used to have a garden over there, and my well was around the back,” I began to explain.

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Just some dirt,” and took off. She made it all of five feet in before letting out a loud and very terror-filled cry. I had only started to turn as she crashed into the ground, flopping around as she came to a stop.

“My wings won't work!”

Twin reactions happened almost instantly. A golden-glowing wall of energy was thrown up in front of the ponies. I had to guess that Celestia reacted to keep others from charging over the line. A part of me somewhere deep inside gave a little shudder of respect for the speed and power she had.

Second reaction was my own, as I turned and sprinted ten feet or more back to the flopping around pegasus mare. We humans still had instincts on our side. We are survivors, fight or flight is written into our very DNA. I didn’t really think, I just reacted.

Arms around Dash, I took a hoof to the face. Blood erupted out of my nose, but it didn’t matter. My adrenaline-fueled muscles knew what to do. With a bellow, I lifted her up, clutching her to my chest and sprinting her back over the line, crashing to the ground on my knees and setting her down. I took note that she wasn’t moving or making noise.

Kneeling there, neglecting to notice the blood running down my mustache and dribbling onto my shirt, I took a hand and turned her head, scanning for signs of life. I exhaled deeply and audibly when she let out a cough and blinked awake.

Others gathered around, one unicorn stallion in golden armor nudged me aside. “Let me check on her.”

I backed off, rising to my feet while what I guessed to be their corpsman—corpspony—went to work doing what he does best, then hearing Dash start to complain.

“I-I feel fine now,” but letting the white-coated stallion check her over.

“What just happened, Shane?”

I glanced down at Twilight, who was closely examining the line with a troubled narrowing of her eyes.

Sniffling, it gradually dawned on me, just as a butter-yellow pegasus floated in my face, flapping her wings gently as her hoof stretched out, a white handkerchief held in it.

“You are bleeding, let me help,” the kind pegasus spoke, not a hint of timidness or fear in her tone. No, she had the tone of a seasoned nurse. It was almost like a switch had been thrown somewhere, and she was a different pony entirely.

I blinked and nodded, slowly lowering myself down onto the ground so she wouldn’t have to hover there. I let her hold the cloth to my nose, I tipped my head forward some to allow the blood to drain and let her put pressure on it.

“Very much like when a dog has a bloody nose, just let me put pressure. It doesn’t feel broken. Does it hurt?”

I coughed, but didn’t shake my head. “No, stings a bit, but I don’t think it is broken. I have had a broken nose before, doesn’t feel anythin' like that. Is Rainbow okay?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the soft smile of the sun princess at my concern for her pony, rather than my own present condition.

The solar guard working with her spoke up. “As far as I can tell, yes. Miss Dash?”

She rose to her hooves, gave a few flaps of her wings to shake them out, then lifted off a few feet off the ground back to her usual legs-down hovering. “Ye-yeah, I feel fine now. What the heck happened?! One moment I was fine, next moment, it was like someone slugged me in the gut really hard.”

After short pause, she said, “Twi, remember when I got feather flu? It felt like that, only like, twenty percent worse...”

Many of the ponies now stood a good distance from the line, maybe seven or so feet. One, however, remained just at the edge of it, I suppose I should not have been surprised by that. The purple alicorn stood there, head tilted in thought before she spoke.

“It... is like the paper. I have been trying to move that little rock right there, and I can’t even touch it with my magic. Applejack, come over here. I want you to place your hoof over the line. Don’t worry if something happens, I will yank you back.”

The farmer mare walked over, a frown pursing her lips. “Ah don’t like this, but ah trust you, Twilight.”

I observed as Applejack lifted her front-right hoof and reached it out. The moment she crossed it over the line, I saw her eyes go wide and she let out a very genuine nicker of fear. Starting to fall forward, a purple glow grabbed her around the barrel and tugged her back.

Falling down on her haunches, she exhaled and shook her leg like it had no bones in it.

“It felt like mah leg went to sleep! Y’all know that feeling when ya lay down too long on one leg, like y'all got pins and needles all up and down yer leg?”

Quite a few gave a nod at her words. Luna stood beside her sister, both in thought, before Celestia spoke.

“It is almost like the whole area was a nullstone plate,” she paused, glancing down at me as the Element of Kindness tended to my nose.

“Nullstone is a stone, an oddity in nature. It has properties that nullify all magic, a dead zone to all of this world. Even the less and non-magical creatures fall victim to it, just by touching or hovering a few feet above such an object.”

I pondered that for a bit. “How much of that stuff is there?”

She shook her head and looked out at the dead area around the cabin. “It only exists where meteors have struck the ground,” her gaze returned to me. “I think it wise we bring you to Canterlot soon, Shane. What my sister and I must show you will answer many questions, I believe."

I didn’t bother to nod, rather letting Fluttershy continue to tend to my bloodied nose. Rainbow came over, dropping to the grass next to the butter-yellow pegasus.

“I don’t remember much, but, I kind of remember flailing around. I caused that, didn’t I?” as she gestured to my nose.

I had to smile some. “I ain’t mad, Rainbow Dash, you were in a panic. I was in fear for you, and it ain’t broken.”

She shook her head. “Just call me Rainbow, and no way I am going to let it go. You helped me and I am not going to forget that. Ever.”

Loyalty, it really was her. Not just a word, not just a platitude. The cartoon may have shown us her nature, but it paled compared to how she presented herself in person—er, in pony?

I lifted my right hand and formed a fist, holding it out to her. She lifted her hoof and gently bumped it to my offered knuckles.

“Soon as the bleeding stops, I will get my bigger pack and some food. Celestia, will it be safe to leave this area unguarded?

She shook her head. “No, it will not be. My sister and I have been speaking. We will leave the guard here and start rotating them in the area. I think they should be quite safe in numbers. Until we can find a way to block this area off, or somehow remove the effect, it will need to be guarded at all costs.”

I sniffled and was rewarded with a big clot down my throat. Coughing, I turned my head and spit out the glob of snot and blood. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pinkie Pie using a stick to poke the dirt on the other side of the dead zone line. This was going to be a long day.

---

I sure as hell didn’t like what I found when I got back out of the cabin. I had my trusty three-day pack on my back. My shotgun was now tucked in its bag along the side of said backpack. I still had on my holster, that wouldn’t change. Not at least until I truly felt safe, not that I mistrusted the ponies, but I remained to be an alien among them.

Standing on the deck, I took note of four large chariots pulled by golden-armored pegasi. Crossing over the ‘dead zone’, as we were now referring to it, glancing over to the two sisters talking. Lost in thought, I didn’t hear Applejack walk up to my side, and she grabbed my attention by bumping my leg. “Shane, ya were out wool-gatherin' again.”

Looking down at her, I gave a nod. “Just kind of my way, Miss Apple. I think things out before I do, at least when I can.”

A nod of her head followed as she glanced to what I was looking at, the chariots. “First off, sugarcube, don’t be callin' me Miss-anything. Ya just call me Applejack, or AJ if ya want. Second off, y’all helped Dash out. Ah wanted to say thank ya for that.”

A smile found its way onto my face. Talking to her was like conversing with people from back home. Her accent reminded me of many of the ranchers and farmers I grew up around, too.

“Well, ma’am, I will call you Applejack, if that is okay, momma would have taken the wooden spoon to my backside for arguing with or disrespecting a lady... or her wishes.”

She gave a nod. “Sounds like yer momma raised a right good-hearted stallion then.”

I blinked. “Man. We call ourselves men and women... but, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Means the same thing.”

Again, she tilted her head, lifting her ears up and listened to me. “Man,” rolling the word around in her mouth some. “Well then, partner, your momma raised a good, respectful man,” she gave a nod of her head.

“I don’t like the idea of flying on one of them things. Hell, I don’t like the idea of flying at all,” I glanced down to see her looking at the chariots as a few guards got off the last one, and Pinkie Pie along with a few of the guards from our group hopped on.

“Don’t you worry none, Shane, it is plenty safe, and it won’t take but fifteen minutes to get to Canterlot. However, truth between you and me, ah don’t like flyin' none either. Ain’t right having these hooves off the ground like that.”

I simply nodded in return. “Yes, ma’am.”

Celestia gestured to the chariot that had just landed. I glanced over and gave a nod, walking closer. “This may be a bit strange for you, Shane,” Celestia began. “However, my sister and I will shadow behind you. No harm will come to you.”

I exhaled softly. “I... would like it if someone rode with me, perhaps Applejack?” peering over at the orange mare.

The orange mare nodded and trotted over. “Ah would be happy to, Shane, and thank ya for being respectful and asking.”

Once in, the guards galloped in short run along the edge of the forest, and suddenly my gut fell out from under me. Up we lifted, and my hands clutched the edge of the chariot in a death grip. I felt my hat about to fly off, but I grabbed it quick and tucked it down between my knees before grabbing the edge again.

“Sugarcube, you can ease up some. We are safe and airborne.”

Opening my eyes, I looked out to see the forest stretch out for miles below us, and there in the distance, the grand white city perched on the side of an unnaturally-shaped mountain. I had to breathe out slowly as I struggled to keep my cool in, glancing at the two guards hauling us along through the sky.

My voice trembled a bit. “I... I hope I ain’t too heavy for you two.”

One glanced back. “You are fine, sir. Wind Cutter and I have been pulling carriages and chariots for the Guard and princesses for, well, heck, how long now?”

The other glanced back, a female voice came from the other pegasus. “Over ten years now as a team, Wingover.”

I caught a hint of something more in the tone, and the smile they gave each other. It set me at ease a bit to know, really. “Thank you, for the information that is. Truth of it this is all so... new to me.”

It was Wingover that answered back. “Not a problem, sir. You and Miss Apple just relax, we will have you at the castle grounds in a few minutes here.”

I glanced down at Applejack, who too removed her stetson, and then back at the view. I sure as hell wasn’t willing to let go of the edge of the chariot, nope. I was going to be just happy letting my hands cramp as my muscles refused to ease up.