“Did your eyes see the planet of our origin, the true home of our race? Was it beautiful? Was it covered by oceans? By sand? Were there nine moons above your head? Were there none?”
Forra Gegen, Star Trek: Voyager – “Distant Origin”.

Ponyville Hospital, Equestria. 2nd May, Year 3 Era Harmonia.

“I have to say,” Nurse Redheart commented as she checked the little vial of blood, “I've never seen anything quite like this.”

Lyra Heartstrings, a well-worn notepad held in front of her, was jotting down everything the nurse was saying. Twilight Sparkle didn't know what exactly her fascination was with humans – as a myth they'd always been rather vague and characterless, not unlike the myths about Sasquatches in the frozen north – but here Lyra was, scribbling away like Redheart was discussing the cure for over-channeling.

“What makes you say that?” Twilight asked the nurse. “Is there something unique about its blood?”

“Well, yes and no,” Redheart said. “The blood itself is thaumaturgically unreactive.”

“Thauma-what now?” Applejack asked from nearby.

“The fancy word for magic is ‘thauma’,” Rarity put in, happily inspecting the human’s garments. “Thaumatons are ‘units of magic’, in a sense.”

“Extremely unreliable units of magic,” Redheart corrected. “It’s not like we can measure it exactly. It’s more like we can measure the difference between ‘lots of’ and ‘not lots of’, or maybe just barely measure a more finessed version – so at a pinch, I could measure the difference between Ms Heartstrings and Ms Sparkle.” She shrugged. “Other than that, it's really just a case of being able to tell when something can actively react with thauma and when it can't.”

“And his blood can't?” Lyra asked, still scribbling notes.

“His blood can't, no,” Redheart nodded, “but that's the interesting thing.” She motioned to one of the many strange marks on the human’s body. “You see, as far as I can tell, these markings can.”

Twilight frowned. “Artificial thaumaturgical reaction?”

Redheart smiled. “Like I said, I didn't even know that existed, but it seems so.”

“That implies a level of advanced magical understanding – if not in him, then in whoever put the markings there,” Twilight theorised.

“Quite so,” Redheart said, and she chuckled almost ruefully. “Your new friend is… quite interesting, to say the least.”

Rarity snorted, stepping closer to the human’s clothing and picking it up. “I’d hardly say he’s our friend, Nurse Redheart.” She picked up a torn shirt and shuddered slightly, before dropping it. “Coming out of the woods and scaring us all silly is not exactly an act of friendship.”

“He was injured,” Fluttershy said quietly. “Injured creatures – even intelligent creatures like ponies – often default to instinctive reactions, and aren't always the most coherent.”

“So,” Twilight mused, “he is intelligent, then?”

Dash folded her forehooves. “Hey, he can speak, right?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t prove anything,” Twilight said, chewing her lip. “Each of us only heard him speak a few coherent-sounding words.”

“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent,” Pinkie said sagely.

“Exactly,” Twilight agreed. “For all we know, he could simply be a very sophisticated mockingbird.”

“Some mockingbird,” Dash said.

“Well,” Rarity said, sighing as she stepped back from examining him, “for what it’s worth, the clothes are machine-woven and seem to be reinforced cloth with some attempts at a kind of impact-resistant material I'm not familiar with. It could be some sort of survival gear?”

“What about the patterning?” Lyra asked.

“It's kind of camouflage pattern,” Rarity said. “I've seen similar patterns on birdwatchers and some scientists, to conceal them from view, except that this one is coloured in greys, whites and blacks, almost as though it was made for more urbanised environments.”

“Bird-watching in a city?” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, the pigeons must be really interesting in Humanville or wherever this guy’s from.”

“They could be,” Lyra said from behind her notepad. “For all we know, there could be giant pigeons where he's from.”

Rainbow laughed. “Oh, yeah, sure. With giant splats of pigeon sh-”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight warned.

Rainbow shrugged. “Just saying.”

“That would be messy,” Pinkie Pie reasoned. “The maths involved would easily make a splat like that three or four times the circumference of a regular -”

“Pinkie,” Rarity cut in, “no one wants to discuss that particular mathematical conundrum.”

“But it's so interesting,” Pinkie said with a smile. “And it's all dependent on proportions, diameters…”

“Well, pigeon leavings aside,” Redheart said dryly, cutting Pinkie off again, “I don't know entirely what we’ll be able to do for him. Half our staff aren't familiar with non-pony biology at all: we can't risk accidentally killing him because we don't know where everything is.”

“But you've got staff who’re familiar with non-ponies,” Rarity said with a frown. “Don't you?”

“Yes,” Redheart said slowly, “but usually we’re limited to Griffons, Horses and other more local non-ponies, Zecora and Spike excepted of course.”

“And this human is completely different,” Twilight nodded. “Zecora’s biology is similar to ours, and Spike’s reptilian and fire based, not water based.”

“There's a lot we can estimate about the human,” Lyra supplied. “Mammalian, bipedal -”

“That won't tell a surgeon where his heart and kidneys are, what the bone density is, how much blood he can safely lose,” Redheart said grimly. “It certainly won’t replicate blood if he needed a transfusion. We can make approximations of his biology, educated guesses, but as far as I know, they’ll be just that. And external examinations can only tell us so much about his injuries. They may be more extensive than they appear.”

“What are his injuries, exactly?” Twilight asked.

Redheart sucked in a breath. “Here's the part that may be the most unfortunate.”

She trotted to the human’s side and lifted the sheet gently, before motioning to the burns on his arm and chest. Fluttershy gasped at the full extent of the wounds, Rarity looked away, and even Applejack looked sick.

“Some of these are standard spell-burns,” the nurse said grimly. “Any unicorn with an axe to grind could have done those, though they take some practice. It's these,” she continued, motioning to a pair of black burns on his arm, “that bother me.”

“Why?” Twilight asked.

“They're not burns,” Redheart explained. “It's necrotic flesh.”

“Necrotic?” Fluttershy repeated. “But how did it…”

“Royal Guard and Night Guard unicorns are taught a spell that flash-necrotises flesh, killing the target almost instantly with a direct hit, or even most glancing hits,” Redheart explained grimly. “And only the Guard are taught it. It's expressly forbidden to teach it to non-Guard trained ponies. I remember seeing the results of improper application first-hoof during my time with the Home Guard.”

“So… so a Guardspony did this to him,” Lyra said slowly.

“So it would seem,” Redheart said quietly, “or possibly an ex-Guardspony, which seems more likely.”

“So lemme get this straight,” Applejack put in. “We have a mythological bein’, hurt by a spell only a guardspony can know, appearin’ in the middle of the Everfree?”

“That's about right,” Twilight said.

“Well,” the farmer said, sucking in a breath. “This is definitely a pickle.”

There was a moment’s pause as everypony considered this information and what it could mean.

“I need to find Spike and get a letter to Celestia,” Twilight finally said. “As soon as I can. She can pass it off to Shining Armor, maybe we can find out if…” She trailed off. “Well, we can find out if any Guardsponies have been involved with… this.”

“I’ll wait here with the human,” Lyra said quietly, “make sure he's okay. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

“I appreciate that, Lyra,” Twilight said. “Come on, girls – let’s see what Princess Celestia has to say.”

She trotted out, the others following behind her. Lyra sighed.

“My shift’s nearly over,” Redheart said quietly, “but I’ll be back tomorrow to help you, and Nurse Sutra Cross is a highly qualified xeno-surgeon. At this point, she’s his best bet.”

“Thanks, Nurse Redheart,” Lyra said quietly.

Outside the hospital, Twilight let out a breath that she hadn’t realised she had been holding.

“Well,” she said. “How’s that for a ‘doozy’.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “Might be a seven out of ten. Maybe even a six.”

“Only seven?” Rarity said with a raised eyebrow. “Heavens, if that thing and all the questions it brings is only a seven, perhaps we should be grateful we’ve not -”

“Don't finish that sentence,” Applejack cut in. “Ah don’t reckon temptin’ fate’s a good idea.”

“If you believe in fate,” Twilight said with a snort.

“If you don't, ‘s’all fair to still be cautious like,” Applejack said. “Myr Fee’s law, Twi.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come on, girls. Let's get back to the library so I can write up that letter. I have no idea how we’re going to explain this…”

“Successfully?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight let out a soft chuckle. “Here’s hoping.”

“There's something going on with all of this,” Rainbow Dash said grimly. “I'll just bet it…”

“Dashie,” Pinkie said, “breathe, and relax. You're looking way too serious. This ain't a doozy yet.”

“Serious face, serious business,” Dash replied. “And you said it yourself. ‘Yet’.”.

Ponyville Library.

Twilight hadn’t been back yet, and that was more than a little worrying. Despite Twilight’s blasé words about the issue being nothing important, Lyra Heartstrings had seemed pretty serious about there being an injured creature.

Spike found himself dusting to take his mind off of his worrying, which, in itself, said a lot about how much he was worrying.

It’ll be fine, Spike, he thought to himself. I mean, Twilight’s a clever mare, and it’s just an injured creature. How serious could it get…?

Suddenly, there was a sound at the door.

“Spike?” he heard Twilight’s voice ask. “Are you there?”

Immediately, Spike went to the doorway, seeing Twilight and the other Element bearers standing in the entrance hall. They were apparently in the midst of a conversation.

“You're sure she'll know what it is?” Rarity was saying. “I mean, I don't wish to question -”

“She’ll have some idea,” Twilight was replying. “And if she doesn't she'll know who will. She's never not known what a thing is before.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said. “She's gosh-knows how many years old, she's probably seen one of these human critters somewhere.”

“Yes, you're probably right,” Rarity said with a small smile. “Still, I – oh, Spikey-wikey!”

The bearers looked at Spike, who waved sheepishly. Twilight smiled.

“There you are!” she said. “I need to write a letter to Princess Celestia, quick.”

“What happened?” Spike asked, frowning. Something serious must have happened if they were writing to the Princess, but he'd heard nothing from town, so it couldn't have been a monster attack. Some friendship conundrum?

“Just hurry up and fetch a quill,” Twilight said seriously. “This thing, whatever it is, is a little beyond us.”

Spike nodded slowly, before going to fetch a quill. Beyond Twilight? She's not had to go to Celestia for help in ages… and even when she has, I don't think she's ever said anything’s ‘beyond’ her before.

He returned to Twilight a moment later, quill and scroll at the ready. It was only now he recognised the look on Twilight’s face: one of irritation, like a problem was vexing her far more than usual. He'd seen it before, when Twilight had been trying to find out what made Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sense’ work.

“Are you okay, Twi?” he asked sincerely.

She smiled, but it was strained. “There's something bothering me about all of this, is all. Ready?”

Spike held up his quill. “When you are.”

“Alright,” Twilight said quietly. “Here goes.”

Ponyville Hospital.

Nurse Sutra Cross, the xeno-surgeon Redheart had mentioned, arrived some ten minutes after the others had left. She was a cyan-coated mare, with a silky white-and-blue mane, a green cross on her flank, and a soft smile. Lyra liked her immediately.

Upon entering, her first action was to check the human’s eyes, after which she had declared with a compassionate smile that she thought he was dreaming.

“Dreaming?” Lyra asked.

“Oh, yes,” Sutra Cross said with a smile.

“Wow,” Lyra said. “You're sure?”

“Oh, definitely,” the soft spoken nurse said, examining the movement of the human’s eyes. “Rapid eye movement is almost universal to any sentient life, and it’s one of the best indicators of dreaming.”

The two of them observed the human for a moment, watching his expression shift and his eyes twitch beneath the lids.

“Do you think we could ask Luna to look through his mind?” Lyra asked. “Whatever he’s dreaming about doesn’t look pleasant.”

“No,” Sutra Cross agreed quietly. “And yes, I suspect we’ll be asking the Princess to employ her unique talents in this respect.” She sniffed. “Nicer than some means of learning about him that I can think of.”

Lyra frowned. “You're talking about mind delving. Would that be necessary?”

Sutra Cross sighed. “I don't know. I'd hate to think about it to tell you the truth, but if Redheart’s right and he was attacked by somepony with Guard training, there's rogue Guard out there… or your human friend here is somehow a threat that some guardspony patrol felt the need to try and kill.”

“I can't imagine how,” Lyra commented. “I saw him arrive.”

“Yes,” Sutra Cross agreed. “But from where? Maybe he was attacked wherever he came from?”

“But that's impossible,” Lyra said. “Why would ponies attack him in any part of Equestria?”

“Self-defence?” Sutra Cross suggested with an apologetic expression as Lyra’s eyes hardened. “We don't know anything about this creature…”

Lyra snorted. “And so we’ll assume he’s violent and aggressive right off the bat, that he had to have been the aggressor? It's not nice to make assumptions. We in Ponyville learned that lesson the hard way.”

Sutra Cross nodded sadly. “Yes, I’d heard about Ms Zecora’s less-than-brilliant reception right after I took this position. You're right, of course – we can't make assumptions about a being we don't know.” She gave Lyra a look. “But that works both ways.”

“I know,” Lyra assured her. “That's why I’m keeping my eye on him, and taking notes.”

Sutra Cross motioned to the notepad with an inquisitive expression, and Lyra passed them to her with a smile.

“Interesting,” the nurse said, passing the notes back. “There are a lot of conclusions you could draw…”

“But I’m refraining,” Lyra finished. “Like you said. No assumptions.”

“Quite,” Sutra Cross agreed. “Still, I’m curious – what conclusions could you personally draw?”

Lyra smiled. “I tend to go on a bit – Bon Bon hates it when I go off on one of my ‘lectures’.”

Huh, Lyra thought as she said that. I wonder if I should go tell Bon Bon where I’ve been…actually, I wonder what she’s up to?

Lyra Heartstrings’ residence.

“Lyra!”

Bon Bon was not normally the sort of mare for whom yelling was second nature. In fact, it could hardly be said to be third or even fourth. She didn't like yelling, she didn't like confrontation, and she did not like living with other ponies. When choosing a life for herself after… difficult circumstances had necessitated her moving, these were the things she had wanted to keep in mind.

“Lyra Heartstrings, where the buck are you?!”

So, naturally, she had ended up living with another mare – one who required constant confrontation, needed to be yelled at just to get her to do anything, and to top it off, was generally slovenly at home.

“Where has she gone?” Bon Bon said, more to herself than anypony else.

Shaking her head, Lyra returned her attention to Sutra Cross.

“You sure you wanna hear this?” she asked.

Sutra Cross chuckled. “Before today, I’d never heard of humans, even as myths. Xeno-surgeon or not, I'm more than willing to acknowledge that you probably know more than I do about our new friend.”

Lyra’s smile turned bashful. “Well, sociologically, maybe…”

“Well, society and culture both help define us,” Sutra Cross said. “I’d like to hear what you think.”

“Okay,” Lyra said, taking a breath and forgetting all about telling Bon Bon anything. “Well, the first thing you’ve got to note is…”

Canterlot Palace, Equestria.

It was a relaxing late lunchtime in the capital of Equestria. Princess Celestia was hard at work finalizing preparations and finishing what remained on her plate, pondering the various crises, half-crises and not-quite-crises-yet that still remained for her to deal with.

With the Crystal Empire’s return, and its freedom from Sombra secured shortly thereafter, reintegration was well underway. Given the northerly location and cooler climate of the area, it had seemed only natural to call upon the Reindeer to work with Cadance, and her old mentor had agreed to work with the young Alicorn eagerly.

After all, the Sun Princess though as she finished reading a report regarding the latest Kirin negotiations, Cadance could use the support: she's only young yet. A lot of the responsibility we’ve placed on her shoulders is very heavy.

There was still much to do beyond just that, though: Discord had yet to report back from his mission, and though Fluttershy had vouched for his good intentions and Luna had – after a brief examination – agreed with her, he remained an unknown quantity.

If he fails, we act accordingly, Celestia tried to reassure herself. If he does not… we’re golden.

Her musings were interrupted by a sudden flash of green flame that heralded the arrival of a small scroll. Celestia frowned slightly.

Twilight normally doesn't write to me this early in the day, she thought. She gently levitated the letter up and began reading it, her eyes narrowing as she did so.

Dear Princess Celestia,

A situation has arisen requiring your attention: a kind of being we’ve never encountered has arrived in Ponyville, something we believe to be called a ‘human’. It's injured and currently recuperating in Ponyville Hospital, but we don't know how it came to be injured, or if it is hostile.

We have left the human at the hospital under the care of Lyra Heartstrings until otherwise asked. Any advice on this matter that you may have would be most welcome, as we’re currently working in the dark with this situation.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia’s frown deepened. A kind of unknown creature? She'd mapped many different species in her younger days, or seen them mapped by the explorers of the time (she remembered her nephew’s grandfather, Professor Challenger Blueblood, flying his old airship, the Mother of Invention, on a variety of different explorations, before his rather sad slip into believing in some new-age religion or another). Still, something about the name ‘human’ rattled in her subconscious somehow.

She quickly reached for her private quill and scroll reserve, and began drafting a reply.

Ponyville Hospital.

As it turned out, Lyra Heartstrings had a lot of theories, even if she wasn't willing to commit fully to any of them yet.

“...So I’m sure he's from a harsher culture than ours,” she was saying. “Survival gear at minimum means that he's living in a world that’s harsh enough to require it. Then there's the artificial magic. If he's using artificial magic, that must mean they evolved without magic, even the subtler kinds like earthpony magic that we take for granted.”

“Quite,” Sutra Cross nodded thoughtfully. “I can't imagine living without the amenities magic provides.”

“Exactly, which means his society’s not had those amenities,” Lyra continued, “and that means a lot of the control we take for granted, weather, crops, the works, simply does not exist.”

Sutra Cross nodded slowly. “I’m surprised you can deduce and conjecture so much about an essentially mythical race.”

“Well, there's a lot of stuff to sift through,” Lyra said sheepishly.

“I wonder,” Sutra Cross said suddenly, “how did they pick up the slack?”

“What do you mean?” Lyra asked.

“Well, one of the first things I learned was: ‘different doesn’t mean primitive,’” Sutra Cross said. “And the clothes he’s wearing… I don’t even know what this material could possibly be. It's like it's entirely synthetic. I wonder what sciences they must have where he comes from…”

“I guess we can ask him,” Lyra suggested. “When he wakes up?”

“Perhaps,” Sutra Cross said. She checked her clipboard. “I’d best go quickly fill in some paperwork. This is an important case for the hospital – we need as much information noted down.

“Alright,” Lyra said. “I’ll holler if anything changes.”

Sutra Cross pointed at a small red button on the wall and winked at Lyra. “Just press the button, dear. Hollering makes a racket.”

Lyra felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment, but she smiled. And then Sutra Cross was out of the room.

Well, Lyra, she thought to herself, this has been one heck of a day.

She looked to the sleeping human, his eyes still darting about hither and thither beneath his closed lids. She rested a hoof on his bed, hear his arm.

“What have you seen?” she asked softly. “What's your world like? Is it ours, or another? If it's another, is it like ours? Are you one of many races or are you alone? What's the sky like? Or the sea? The stars above your head, or the moon, or the sun… who moves them, without magic? Or do others have magic in your society?” She sighed dreamily. “So much I could ask you when you wake up. So much…”

She moved away – only to feel a soft, hairless grip on her hoof, and a soft voice whispering.

“Lyra…”

Ponyville Library.

It didn't take nearly as long for a reply to arrive as Twilight had expected – but when it arrived, it was far shorter than she had been expecting.

Dear Twilight.

Given what you have described, I have decided to come attend this matter personally. Please return to the hospital and await me at the entrance.

Princess Celestia.

“I've never seen her write such a short letter,” Spike commented. “You think she knows what a human is?”

“If she does, her reaction suggests they are not a good creature to have around,” Rarity said softly. “I mean, listen to the tone of this letter – she sounds… worried.”

“How can you get ‘worried’ from a letter with only two sentences, a salutation and a valediction?” Rainbow asked.

“How do you know what a salutation and a valediction are?” Rarity retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I do read, y’know. And you haven't answered the question.”

“Rarity’s right,” Twilight interrupted. “This is brief. She's already on her way. That means she's worried.” She took a breath. “We need to go, now.”

She left the library without another word.

“Well,” Pinkie said calmly. “This is getting to be an eight on the doozy scale.”

She went after Twilight, and soon the rest of the Bearers had followed. Spike was left on his own, blinking in surprise.

“Well,” he said finally. “Darn.”

Ponyville Hospital.

The human’s eyes, deep blue like the sea, were wide and expressive, full of what might have been shock. His expression was one of surprise and… relief?

“You’re awake,” Lyra said softly to him, immediately regretting it and feeling foolish.

The human said nothing for a moment, but his body began shaking and tears were beginning to pool in the corner of his eyes.

“Lyra…” he whispered, staring up at her.

“Yeah,” she replied, still not certain how he knew her. “How d’you…”

“You're here…” he murmured, almost ignoring her. “You… you did it, didn't you? You found a way? Learned some secret… some secret thing?” He looked, for a moment, almost hurt. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I… I don't know what you mean,” Lyra said, frowning at him.

“You… you've come back,” he said to her, eyes widening slightly as he looked at her. “From… from the dead.”

Lyra felt the blood drain from her face. “The dead.”

“You said there was more to know,” the human pressed on, ignoring her expression. “More… beyond what we knew. That's what you told Hiro. I didn’t… you never said you'd learned the secret.”

Lyra blinked. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

The human frowned. “Is this… are you… you made it back… okay, didn't you? Or… did you…”

“I really don’t know what you're talking about!” Lyra insisted. “I’ve never been dead.”

The human’s eyes widened. “Oh… oh no.” He paused. “This… you're not… did you forget, or…”

“I’ve never been dead,” Lyra insisted again.

The human’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What… day is it? The date!”

“It's May 2nd,” Lyra said slowly.

“The year,” the human insisted, his voice getting stronger. “Is it the Anno Imperator or is it still Era Harmonia?!”

Lyra frowned. “Anno what? It's the third year Era Harmonia, I’ve never heard of an ‘Anno Imperator’.”

The human blinked. “I have to go. Right now.”

“Go? Go where?!” Lyra asked.

The human’s certainty seemed to slip away. “I…. I don’t know. I don't even know where I am.”

“Ponyville hospital,” Lyra said quietly. “You were injured when you arrived, so we -”

The human bolted up. “Ponyville?!”

Lyra skittered back in shock, and the human held up one of his hands in what might have been a placating gesture.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I just… here, of all places…” he looked at his hands as though surprised they were still there, then – to Lyra’s surprise – he chuckled. “Well, damn, so many people are gonna laugh when they hear about this. Turns out the bitch was...” He suddenly growled. “Lying. For years. Fucking evil monster…”

“I don't understand what you're talking about,” Lyra said, stepping back at the sheer vehemence of his words.

The human looked up at her, and seemed to calm down. “It would take too long to explain… all I know is, I'm somewhere I’m not supposed to be, and there are… a hell of a lot of bad things that are about to happen to you, if I’m right.”

“If you're right?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah,” the human said. He frowned. “The second of May… the third year Era Harmonia, you said? Alright – I need to know a few things.”

“Why?” Lyra asked.

“Because I’m possibly from your future,” the human told her bluntly, “and it's full of terrible things. But maybe – just maybe – I can prevent those things from happening.”

Canterlot.

Celestia stared out at the horizon as the sun began slowly rising, concentrating as best she could. She had spent the night reading as much as resting, looking up ‘humans’ as best she could, but those researches – apart from brief mentions in books about cryptozoology – had been frustratingly lacking in anything useful.

“You're sure you want to go without me?” Luna asked quietly. “This could be more complex than we realise, a harbinger of -”

“We will know,” Celestia interrupted tightly, “what it is a harbinger of soon enough. And I would not place both of us at risk when we don't know what this creature is capable of.”

“I prefer to have your back,” Luna said quietly.

Celestia smiled at her. “You do have my back – who do you think I’m relying on to come save me when this all goes horribly wrong?”

“You’re funny,” Luna said with a chuckle, but it faded quickly. “Be careful.”

“I always am,” Celestia said.

Ponyville Hospital.

The human had listened to Lyra rattle off historical events without so much as batting an eyelid – the Elements of Harmony, the return of Princess Luna, Discord’s brief return…

When she had mentioned Discord’s recent reappearance and – according to local gossip – redemption, the human had frowned slightly, but he hadn't said anything, still. By this point, Lyra had been able to tell that his injuries were once more taking a toll on him, as he had started looking fatigued – his eyelids were dropping slightly, and his head was nodding.

“So,” he finally said, words slurring. “There's been no… no conflict.”

“That's right,” Lyra said. “Should there have been?”

The human waved the question off. “This… this shit’s more complex than I ever cared to learn about. There was a guy I met once or twice, who rattled off crap about time travel and multiverse theory ‘til he was blue in the face, and Doc Whooves had a few opinions…”

“Look,” Lyra said, frowning slightly at his language, “you're still injured, and you're tired. You need to -”

“I need to go!” the human argued back vehemently. “This… this whole thing is impossible. I need to find a way to get back to… back to where I came from.”

And with that, he moved to stand up, wincing as he did so. As Lyra watched, he began limping out of the hospital room, almost at a snail’s pace. Lyra followed, uncertain what to do. Should she try to stop him, or would that only enrage him? That brief glimmer of anger he had regretted… it had been worrying.

Almost immediately, nurses and doctors stopped what they were doing to watch the human walk out, many of them too shocked to react.

“Uh, sir?” one of the nurses managed. “You… you should be in bed…”

The human simply ignored the nurse and pressed on, Lyra following cautiously.

“What should we do?” the nurse asked in a hushed whisper.

Lyra pondered for a moment, uncertain how to respond to the question. Before taking a deep breath and sighing.

“Get everypony out of his way,” she said calmly. “I don’t know if he's dangerous, but it’s best not to take any chances.”

The nurse nodded and dashed off, whispering hurried instructions to others as she went. Lyra went after the human, whose pace had managed to increase a modicum. She hoped he wouldn't hurt himself – or indeed, anypony else.

Outside Ponyville Hospital.

Twilight and the other Element Bearers arrived at the hospital in no short order, and Twilight found herself feeling an acute sense of anxiety. There was definitely something more to all of this, and Celestia’s brevity in her letter confirmed it.

“How long do you think it will take the Princess to get here?” Rarity asked Twilight.

“Not long, hopefully,” Twilight replied. “I mean, this whole thing’s feeling more and more… ominous. Don't you feel that?”

Rainbow Dash looked distinctly unhappy. “It’s the Death Tree, I bet. That thing’s cursed us with some monster.”

Twilight scowled. “Rainbow Dash, that’s really not helpful.”

“Well, you’re getting an ‘ominous feeling’,” she pointed out. “You are. The mare of rationality.”

“There’s nothing irrational about the evidence pointing towards a less-than-pleasant conclusion,” Twilight said grimly. “Some unknown creature we’ve never heard of appears, injured and suffering spell-damage it could only have taken from a Royal Guard. Now Princess Celestia feels the need to come here personally. That alone should be setting off warning bells.”

“Plus the doozy’s hitting eight point five,” Pinkie chimed in helpfully, a shiver running through her body as she spoke. “Definitely gettin’ closer!”

Before anypony could say anything else, there was a gust of wind. The group looked up, to see Princess Celestia, alabaster wings glimmering in the sunlight, landing near them gracefully.

“Princess,” Twilight said, bowing, the others following suit. “I hope this isn't an inconvenience.”

“Not at all,” Celestia said quietly. “You've done well with an extraordinary circumstance, Twilight. You should be proud of how you've handled yourselves.”

“What do we do now, your highness?” Fluttershy asked.

Celestia looked pensive for a moment. “That, I’m not sure about. First, I have to examine this ‘human’ myself to see what we’re dealing with.”

“Well, that’ll be easy,” Pinkie said, pointing behind her. “Since he's standing right there.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. The other Element Bearers gasped in shock, and the Princess turned, to see the bipedal figure of the human standing right there, his own expression somewhere between horror and disbelief.

“You,” the human snarled, teeth bared and body shaking. Despite the bandages and the clear injuries, the rage in his face was more than enough to make him look quite threatening. But what got Twilight’s attention the most was the strange, subtle blue glow of… some kind of magic surrounding him. “You lying little murderous bitch… I’ve been dreaming of this moment for years- agh!!”

He keeled over and clutched his side, and behind him came Lyra Heartstrings.

He was angry again: Lyra could practically feel waves of anger roiling around him, even as she took note of the barely-perceptible glowing that had flared up for a moment.

“Sir,” Princess Celestia began, “whomever and whatever you are, I can assure you -”

“Your… assurances… can go… to hell…” the human hissed. “This… this is the past… or another past… but you…”

Celestia glanced at Lyra, who shook her head subtly. The human was in no condition to attack anyone, but that didn't mean he wasn't still dangerous in some way.

“I don't know what you have seen,” Celestia said slowly, “but I don't mean any harm to you. None of us do.”

“No, you don't, do you,” the human sneered, pushing himself to his feet. “You just want to fix us. Make us more like you.”

What does he mean? Lyra thought, frowning in confusion. He claimed to be from the future, but this doesn't sound…

“But I said it before, and I meant it,” the human continued, breaking Lyra’s chain of thought. “You won't change me, Tyrant Sun.” He raised his chin slightly, and gave an almost ironic grin. “I am Alexander Reiner. And I am human.”

His glow started up again, and there was a slow rumble, the ground trembling beneath Lyra’s hooves. She looked up at the human and saw his expression was somewhere between beatific and pained. Celestia’s eyes widened for a moment in shock -

And then, like a light switch going out, the human simply collapsed, a trickle of blood running from his nose. At once, Lyra moved to his side, checking his pulse.

“What happened?” Twilight said, trotting up to her, the other Element Bearers and the Princess close behind.

“I don't know,” Lyra admitted. “I don't know what he was trying to do.”

“He was trying a sort of self-combusting spell,” Celestia said grimly. “He was attempting to destroy himself, but the power must have knocked him out in his weakened state.”

“De-destroy himself?” Twilight repeated. “But… but why?”

“Hatred,” Celestia said softly, looking down at the human with a sad, yet compassionate and also confused, expression. “He was consumed by hatred… for me, all of us.” She paused. “But I've never seen anything like him before.”

Lyra coughed. “Your highness, he claimed to be from the future.”

Celestia looked slowly up from the human, a frown of puzzlement working its way onto her face. “The future.”

Lyra swallowed. “Yes, your highness.”

Celestia nodded slowly. “Alright then, Ms Heartstrings.” She looked at the unconscious human with a bemused frown. “For now, we shall get this being back into the hospital. Afterwards…” She sighed. “I shall return to Canterlot tonight, but tomorrow… tomorrow, I want you to all to meet me here, and tell me everything.”

Nurse Redheart’s Residence, Ponyville, 3rd May.

There was a loud banging coming from somewhere, and Nurse Redheart groaned as she pulled herself from her bed. It couldn't have been later than 8am in the morning, and her shift usually didn't start today until 12 at the earliest.

It took her a minute to realise that the banging was coming from her front door. She sighed – maybe there was some emergency that required everypony to come in. With a frown, she considered the possibility that it could even have been something to do with the mysterious human.

“Yes?!” she called out. “Who is it?”

The banging stopped for a moment, and then resumed. Frowning, Redheart went to her door and pulled the door open, only to find that there was nopony there.

“Well, that’s mature,” she muttered irritably. But even as she said it, she felt a chill run down her spine.

This wasn’t a prank – something felt off. Her old Guard instincts were twinging beneath her skin, making it crawl, and she tended up.

“Is somepony out there?” she called.

Nopony answered, and so Redheart slowly stepped back from the open doorway and closed the door. She turned around – only to find herself facing…

…herself?

“What?” she whispered. The doppelgänger was identical to her, save for a hard, grim expression. She wore a muddy scarlet cloak over her body inscribed with what might have been the symbol of the Eighth Home Guard, Redheart’s old regiment. “Who…?”

The doppelgänger moved, bringing her hoof up and jamming something sharp into Redheart’s neck. She blinked, before slumping to the floor, feeling her strength leave her.

Sedative, she thought idly as a familiar feeling snaked through her system. She looked up at her copy, who was looking down at her with an almost apologetic expression, and then she knew no more.

Edited 13/04/2020