Windfall watched as the princess and the element of magic, Twilight Sparkle, walked away from the park and towards the center of town. She wished she could have a chance to talk to the princess and see what wise advice the sun alicorn would be able to give her. It occurred to her that if she hung around with the rest of them then maybe the opportunity would present itself. Feeling a little more hopeful, she trotted after the departing group of ponies.

About an hour later, the idea suddenly didn’t seem as good as it had a while back. For one, every pony in Ponyville was following the princess around. At this rate, she would never get to speak to the her. After waiting a little while longer, she walked away from the crowd of ponies and made her way back to the park.

If there was anything that could clear Windfall’s head, or at least make her feel more relaxed, it was flying. It was a rare pegasus that disliked flying, although it was rumored the element of kindness herself had some trouble when it came to that. Making sure her saddlebags were secure, and that all her possessions were safe for flight, she spread her wings and took to the sky.

She flew in the skies above Ponyville, just enjoying the freedom of the open air and the exhilaration of moving effortlessly across the sky. For fun, she did a few tricks, catching air waves and avoiding crosswinds effortlessly, an innate ability she learned she had during flight school. She saw Celestia’s chariot take to the sky, and gave a mid-air bow to the departing diarch before resuming her flight.

At first she simply flew over the town itself, waving at some of the other pegasi going about their business, then decided a bit more natural scenery was to her liking, so she made her way east over what had to be Sweet Apple Acres. She kept going east until she was flying over the Whitetail Woods, enjoying the tranquil scenery beneath her. Looking up, Windfall noticed that for whatever reason, both the sun and the moon were out, and together they bathed the world in beautiful colors which only added to the beauty below her.

She was so caught up in the scenery that she didn’t notice anything around her until, “Watch out!”

“Huh,“ she looked up just in time to see a cross-eyed pegasus before the two collided in mid-air. Pain was foremost on her mind as she began to fall. After she shook off the pain she realized the danger and tried to remember a maneuver she could use to correct herself. While she wasn’t as trained as a military or showpony, she had at least some flight training, as did most pegasi.

Tucking her wings and limbs against her body, she tried to correct her spin, and finally succeeded. Feeling elated at her success, she opened her eyes in time to see the trees of Whitetail Woods rushing up to meet her. She let out a loud, terrified shriek, and shut them again; bracing herself for the impact and pain that would be sure to come, and praying to Celestia that it would be over quickly.

I blinked and put down my binoculars, somewhat at a loss. I had a very good view of the town and it's inhabitants, so I had absolutely no problems discerning what was going on.; but what I saw seemed surreal even after all I had seen. What I saw through my binoculars was a town full of PONIES. Not anthropomorphic ponies mind you. Given how many anthros I'd run into in my life, I wouldn't have been taken aback by something like that. These ponies looked and moved like ponies, at least while they were walking. When sitting or doing anything else...well, ok I had no fucking clue how they did any of that but hey, what do I know?

After a minute or two of sitting there, trying to mule things over I picked up my binoculars and returned to the task at hand. From what I could see there was something big going on as most of the ponies were congregating in one place. Reaching up with a finger I turned a rotating dial on the top zooming the binoculars in to get a better view. Like a camera, when I first zoomed in the picture got blurry but these binoculars could autocorrect their focus and in a second I had a clear picture of what was happening.

At the center of the gathering was a pony that I honestly had no idea what to call it though I settled on pegicorn for the time being (though I thought unigus was pretty good too). It stood noticeably above the rest of the ponies there and had both wings, and horns, and what looked like crowns on it’s head. It had white fur and a billowing multi-colored mane and tail. Standing next to it was a unicorn that had purple fur and a non-billowing indigo mane and tail with pink and purple highlights running from front to back.

They were obviously important and the ponies all seemed to be in awe of them and were respectful while trying to get as close as possible. I watched them for a while though all they did as far as I could see was talk to one another, making me wish I was closer so I could listen to what was being said. No guarantee I’d understand it of course but my gauntlet did have a universal translator function and I couldn't imagine Sheeva would be dumb enough to put me here if I couldn't understand them. After talking for some time, the white one climbed back into the chariot thing I had seen earlier and flew away thus breaking up the giant meeting.

All the ponies were heading inside so I figured it was a good time to leave without being seen. As I made my way back to the cottage the sun finished its journey below the horizon and the moon had completely come out. As I neared my cottage my gaze traveled up to the moon marveling at just how much it was like Earth’s I had seen a lot of moons over the years so I had plenty of fodder for comparison. In most cases the moon was either smaller or larger than earth’s or they look almost like planets themselves. A lot of the time too they weren't even the same color as earth’s moon but instead were any and all colors of the spectrum. The sun was going down over the horizon which meant that I was going to be heading back to my cottage soon. I shook my head at the events of the day; everything from getting sent here against my will to seeing the locals. I looked down at the notes I had made on my gauntlet while making a mental note to bring a computer pad in the future.

Looking back up I noticed how the moonlight played through the leaves and reminded me of nights spent at my grandmother’s house with my family. She lived in a wooded area very similar to this and we often spent time listening to the sounds of the woods at night. I shook my head to dispel the memories going through my mind. The last thing I needed was a reminder of those days and instead I should just concentrate on getting back to my cottage.

As I walked along I mentally noted my surroundings, where the treeline got thicker or thinner, if there were rocks that helped the area stand out or not. Coming to the bottom of the hill where my cottage was situated I looked up towards it, the moon making a rather nice frame over to the right of the cottage. As I trudged up the hill a flash caught my eye and I looked up, “What the hell? Did the moon just grow a face?!” I stopped and stared at it for a moment. I was sure the moon had just turned from being a predominantly white sphere to a ghostly, shadowy face with two large white eyes, and what looked like…flowing shadows where its hair would be?

I’m not sure how long I stood there looking at it, but suddenly I heard a loud scream from above me, then the sound of something crashing through the trees.

That kicked me out of my reverie. I grabbed my pistol and aimed it towards the direction of the disturbance. A few moments passed without any new sounds breaking the silence. The forest that covered these hills looked dark and uninviting in the shadows of the night, and although I would have rather simply gone back to my cottage my curiosity got the better of me. Besides whatever made that sound was awful close to my home and I hated the idea of leaving a possible threat behind that could come back to bite me in the ass later.

I slowly walked bent legged into the forest, looking down the sight of my gun as I aimed it from side to side. After a while I came across some bent and broken branches on one of the trees and examined them closely. They didn’t look like they had been broken naturally but rather by a rather forceful impact. It meant I was getting closer to whatever I had heard earlier, or at least I was reasonably certain that was the case.

Trying to get an idea of where what I was looking for hit I began looking at all the nearby trees, mentally marking all the ones with broken and bent branches. After having found a few I looked between them, gauging the heights of the branches that had been broken and using that to determine the direction of the crashed whatever. Moving in that direction I continued to look out for the signs of the crash until the trail of trees with recently missing limbs stopped at a clump of bushes.

I slowly worked my way around the bushes, readying myself for anything that might suddenly attack, but what I found instead was the exact opposite of a threat. The sight that lay before me was that of one of the small ponies that I had seen earlier. It’s coat seemed to be a shade of green though the darkness made it hard to tell for sure, and as I got closer I noticed two small wings attached to its sides. Ok, so it was a pegasus-pony…thing.

It wasn’t moving so I wasn’t sure if it was even alive or not so I began to move closer, slowly of course, keeping my pistol pointed at it, just in case. As I got closer I could see that there were gashes and cuts down its side including the one wing and blood was flowing from them which at least meant that it wasn’t dead, yet anyway. I had no idea on how to treat ponies and even if I did it wasn’t my problem so I went to leave when its rather large eyes popped open. They focused on me and I could see the fear there, though if the fear was for me or for its injuries I couldn’t tell. Its mouth opened and a decidedly feminine voice came out, “Please...I don’t want to die!”

I froze instantly as the voice brought a memory painfully to the fore.

His face looked up at me with pleading in his eyes. This close I could smell charred flesh and burnt fur as he lay at my feet. He needed help but I was the only one around at the moment, everyone else had either fled the scene or were looking after their own problems. My instincts screamed at me to help him, he was an innocent man and had nothing to do with what was going on and yet here he had been caught in the middle anyway.

Even as I thought that another thought had come to mind that began to drown out any feelings or thoughts of compassion; he wasn’t innocent, no one here was. He may not have worked directly for who I was after but he lived here and worked here and paid taxes here. Even if he wasn’t a direct employee he was a part of the system that had wronged me and it was held up by people like him. His scorched lips moved a little and he finally managed to let out a call for help.

I turned on my heel, unable to look him in the eye, “No. Not my problem.”

My mind returned to the present, my breath started becoming ragged, and the hand holding the gun began to shake. I looked down at the pegasus who continued to stare up at me with fear and pleading in her eyes. We stayed like that for another moment before I finally put the gun away and stepped towards her. She shut her eyes whimpering in fear and as I got closer she began to shake and whimper more.

Kneeling down slowly I reached out a hand and gently placed it on the back of her neck. She flinched but eventually opened her eyes and looked up at me. I did my best to look as friendly as possible though I doubt I did a very good job of it. I kept my voice low and tried to reassure the frightened pegasus, “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re going to be ok; I’ll take care of you.” The words automatically came out without me really thinking about them. My mind however was thinking about how I was going to take care of a wounded pegasus I knew nothing about.

She stared at me in shock and her shaking began to calm down. “Can you walk?”
After a failed attempt at getting up she shook her head, “No, it hurts too much.”

Well there was only one thing for it so I said, “Ok, I’m going to pick you up ok? It will likely hurt but I can’t help you here.” She nodded so I gently wrapped my arms around her belly and with a grunt of exertion hauled her into the air. I turned her so her front hooves and head could rest on my shoulder while my arms held her up against my torso, then I began my trek back to my cottage where I would see what I would do.

In some small corner of the galaxy what looked like a silver arrowhead slid silently through the blackness of space. No name adorned the side of the small craft and the darkened interior gave no indication of there being any life on board. Inside the cockpit instruments glowed and beeped. The light the consoles gave off illuminated a pair of white fangs exposed from a curled muzzle. A furred hand reached up and ran over the screen of one panel, moving through a list of news articles quickly looking at each one. Next to a screen was a small photo of a red haired human wearing a black coat. The pilot of the craft emitted a low growl as he glanced at the picture.

Eventually he stopped scrolling through the articles as his sight settled on one that seemed to satisfy whatever he was looking for. On a different console the figure punched in the name of the planet featured in the article and waited for the computer to plot a route there. It would take time but he would find his prey and when he did...well he would enjoy it.

Given her condition and the fact that she was heavier than she looked, it was lucky we were so close to my cottage. I had a bit of trouble getting the door open while trying not to drop the pegasus. She was beginning to lose consciousness which was worrying, but fortunately I got the door open relatively quickly and was able to put her down on the couch on her uninjured side.

With my hands free I rushed over to where my gear was stashed and found a med kit with which I rushed back to the couch. While I didn’t know anything about equines I did know a little first aid, something of a required skill when I needed to treat my own wounds without involving others. I knew enough to at least try to stop the bleeding from the cuts, but if it got more complicated we were going to be in trouble.

Taking a bottle that contained a spray on disinfectant I sprayed all the cuts. I then began getting out pressure pads designed to absorb excess blood while still allowing some to clot on the wounds. I pressed them against her starting to get worried that she wasn’t responding to the pain she must have been feeling. Minutes passed as I held the pads down waiting to see if the bleeding was going to stop or if I needed to change the pads.

I have to admit I was getting tense; my skill sets were largely based around the taking of life not preserving it, and I didn’t want to fail her. A few more minutes went by and the bleeding hadn’t gotten any worse so I began to breathe a little easier. I gently changed all the pads then wrapped gauze around her body and wings to keep them in place.

I leaned in and listened to see if I could hear her breathing while also extending my hand in front of her mouth. Fortunately she was, and that furthered my sense of relief. After a while she showed no signs of slipping away from life so I got up and went go put the med kit and my gear away for the night.

Just as I got to the racks a flash of light behind me made me turn around to see another pony in the room, this one much taller than the one on the couch. Without thinking I grabbed my gun and aimed it at the newcomer who turned to regard my actions.

“Art thou threatening us creature!?”

The sheer volume of the shout and an inexplicable gust of wind that accompanied it threw me onto my backside before I could react.

Blinking from surprise I stayed down for a moment. I’d been knocked down plenty of times during my career as a merc and vigilante but never from someone shouting at me. I slowly got up, keeping my gun ready and aimed in her (the voice was feminine) direction. She hadn’t moved. The pony just kept glaring at me so either she didn’t know how much danger she was in or she was aware and had reason to believe she didn’t need to worry about me.

Given the look in her large teal eyes I’d be willing to put money that it was the latter of the two. It was a look that exuded confidence and experience, and I’d rarely seen someone wearing that look without good reason.

“Well that really depends on you,”

I took in the details of what stood in front of me. To start she was tall, certainly taller than the pegasus I had on my couch, in fact, not counting her horn she stood about chin level to me.

Her mane and tail both looked like the starry night sky and billowed in some non-existent wind. Her coat was a midnight blue that fit her mane perfectly with a patch on her flank that was black and a crescent moon shape in the middle. A tiara made from some dark material rested on her head, a matching necklace bearing the image of a crescent moon lay around her neck, and a quartet of shoes made of the same dark metal covered her hooves.

The pony had a large, sharp horn on her head and I thought she was a unicorn, that is until I noticed she also had wings like a pegasus. Mythology was not my strong suit back on earth so I had no idea what that made her, though I would have called her a pegacorn, or unigus. She raised an eyebrow at me and said in a more normal tone of voice, “I have merely come to check on my subject. Now are you going to continue to threaten me or shall we proceed in a more civil manner?”

Well it certainly doesn’t seem like a good idea to make her angry so I put my pistol away and watched as she walked around the couch. She seemed to get sad as she looked at the pony on the couch and she muttered something I couldn’t hear. As I began to walk over to her I saw her horn begin to glow a shade of blue similar to that of her mane and she tilted it towards the pegasus and swept it back and forth across her body.

When she finished I asked quietly, “What was that all about?”

She looked at me as she moved away from the couch, “I was simply using my magic to check on her, make sure she would be ok.”

“And will she be ok? I don’t know much about ponies at all and really only know a little about medicine in any case so I wasn’t sure if it would be enough.”

Her expression softened and she smiled a little, “She will be alright so you need not worry. Thank you for helping her; it is much appreciated.”

A sense of relief filled me at her words; nice to know I can actually save a life when needed rather than just take them. The large pegacorn stood back then and looked at me silently. Not knowing what else to do really I stared back. We stood like that, rather awkwardly in all honesty for some time before she said, “Doest thou always treat thy guests like this?”

Blushing in both embarrassment and some anger I said, “I don’t entertain guests. My line of work makes doing so a bad idea. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Perhaps an apple before we go if you have one.”

“Before we go? I didn’t realize I was going somewhere with you.”

“Forgive me, I did not mean you and I but rather I was using the royal we, meaning simply myself.”

“I see,” I said when in reality I had no idea what she was talking about. I went to the fridge and pulled out the fruit drawer at the bottom taking an apple from it and holding it out to her. Her horn glowed again and the apple was surrounded by a similar glow before levitating from my hand and making its way over to her mouth. Blinking I added, “So you really do have magic then.”

She eyed me questioningly, “Of course, it is as I said. Do you not know of such things?”

Grabbing a thing of iced tea (regular, my favorite) I poured myself a glass and leaned against the wall as I replied, “I have some knowledge anyway, though where I come from magic doesn’t exist.”

“If it does not exist then how do you know of it at all?”

I gave her a bitter lip-twitch (the closest I can manage to a smile), “I haven’t been home in years and where I have been there are those who do have powers. It’s just too bad that in my case they almost all wanted to kill me.”

Her eyes widened though I think I saw a bit of respect in there, “And you survived? You must be rather resourceful, or lucky.”

“Definitely the latter of the two, though I’ve since learned a lot about combating guys with powers so I’m on more equal footing these days.”

To my surprise a small chuckle spilled from her mouth though she grew a bit uncertain as she asked, “Did you…kill the ones who attacked you?”

Feeling a little like I was walking cracking glass I answered honestly, “Yes.”

“I see,” She finished her apple and dropped the core in a nearby trash can, “I suggest you be careful about who you tell that to. Most ponies aren’t used to such violence even in mention and it may frighten them.”

Sipping my tea I regarded her, “But not you apparently.”

“I am a princess and in times past things were not always so peaceful. Indeed a thousand years ago things were not peaceful at all.”

That surprised me and I had to spit out my tea as I nearly choked on it, “A thousand years? How old are you?!” Ok, not the smartest question I’ve ever asked, especially to a woman (species be damned as I’ve found, that question still is a no no).

Arching an eyebrow she went on, “I am older than that though I will not give out my full age to a stranger.”

“Forgive me that was just…surprising to say the least.”

“So nopony lives as long as me there either then?”

“No, no they do not.”

“That is not surprising,” She sighed a little, “It would be nice to know such beings do exist though.”

“Well there is a race that I’ve met that does live long lives. Two races actually, now that I think about it.”

She looked up, “Oh?”

Nodding I continued, “Yes, the Elediel and the Oragell. Both of them live for thousands of years and both of them have powers as well.”

This fascinated her, or so her eyes seemed to say and she turned towards me, “They sound very interesting and I would love to hear more about them, but my royal duties prevent me from asking more at this time. Perhaps later we can talk again about them.”

I could see no reason not to and having a member of royalty that at least seemed favorably disposed to me seemed like a pretty good idea so I nodded, “That would be fine. I’m not really going anywhere so you can most likely just meet me here.”

She smiled fully, showing her teeth which were a pleasant shade of white as she began heading for the door. I followed until we were standing underneath the stars and she spread her wings and began to lift away from the ground. Hovering a moment she spoke, “I shall see you again then in a few days time. Take care…Oh, forgive me, I never got your name.”

Annoyed at again having a lapse of manners I muttered to myself, “Fuck me anyway.” Looking a little embarrassed I gave her my name, “It’s John, John Tracker your highness.”

Again she chuckled, “No need to be formal with me, Mr. Tracker. I am Princess Luna, but please, call me Luna.”

“Very well, but only if you call me John. Mr. Tracker was my father and I never liked formalities very much anyway.”

“Of course. Until next time then John.” With that she flew higher into the sky until with a burst of light (which looked a lot like lightning) she disappeared. It was a pretty amazing sight, no doubt about it but eventually I turned away and headed back inside to try and grab some sleep. Things weren’t going as I planned but today’s events seemed to promise that tomorrow would be an interesting day.

Author's Notes:

Both I and my editor had some trouble getting a good description for the spaceship so we're just going to get a good drawing of it then link to it. Enjoy.