This is a What If scenario for A Cloaked Heart. In it I attempt to answer the question: What If Jethro Bethridge appeared in Equestria before the events of Nightmare Moon? Enjoy!

Sunset Shimmer's Perspective

Sunset Shimmer sighed as she stepped off of the magical transport pad with her young charge, a Unicorn filly with purple fur and a darker purple mane with a streak of pink and another shade of purple through it. Twilight Sparkle was her name, Sunset recalled as she looked around. No matter how one looked at things, Everfree City was one of the crowning achievements of modern Equestrian technology.

Built almost a thousand years ago over what once had been the most deadly and chaotic of forests, the city that spread before the Avalon Palace behind them was nothing short of harmonious. The shimmering towers that pierced the heavens, the many various small parks of trees and grass spread throughout the city, and the flying vehicles together with the Pegasi who flew alongside them seemed to fill the young filly beside her with awe.

Not that Sunset could blame her. She remembered when her three teachers had first taken her to the vast metropolis about five years prior when she'd first started to train under them. She'd had a similar reaction, and even now she couldn't help but stare. Nopony could have imagined this a thousand years ago, she mused as she moved forward. "Come along, Twilight," she said, "or else we'll be late."

"Sorry Miss Shimmer!" Twilight said as she fell into step next to the older teen.

Sunset chuckled. "You can call me Sunset, you know?"

"Okay, Miss Sunset," Twilight replied.

Sunset rolled her eyes, smirking at how formal this filly had been. Had she ever been so uptight and formal when she was Twilight's age? She couldn't remember a time when her three teachers had always insisted it was okay to call them by their names instead of their titles. Pushing back the thoughts, she led Twilight towards their destination: a large domed structure surrounded by towering trees. Ponies from all walks of life were walking to and from the building, which was labeled Everfree Museum. Various holographic displays were lit up around the entrance, advertising various exhibits, such as A Tour of the Former Everfree Forest, or First Lunar Colony Experience.

Twilight's eyes were almost bursting out of their sockets as she took in the various exhibits displayed. She pointed her hoof at them. "Can we go see all of those, Miss Sunset? Can we? Can we?!"

Sunset laughed. "If we have the time, Twilight. I'm sure we can go visit them if we have the time. Now let's get going."

Twilight rushed forward, getting to the entrance faster than Sunset could blink. She was practically bouncing in place in excitement as Sunset joined her. As the doors slid open, Sunset found herself in the familiar well lit massive entrance to the museum. Hanging above them, she could see the familiar holographic display of the Equestrian solar system in real time, with all of its planets and moons and their orbits superimposed on the celestial bodies. Even she couldn't help but pause and stare at the display. Once again, she had to marvel at how far the inhabitants of Equestria had come in the time since the Great Industrial Revolution.

She had to use her magic to pull Twilight back to her side as they approached one of the empty front stalls where a young-looking Pegasus mare sat. She could have easily gone to the unponied terminals, but if her training with her mentors had taught her anything, it's that there was nothing quite like the personal touch.

The nametag on her front read Windy Skies, and she was staring intently at a holographic display. When Sunset and Twilight stepped over a green line, Sunset saw some kind of alert pop up on the display and the mare looked over at them. She smiled and tapped a control on her terminal, making the display go away. "Hello, how may I help you two today?"

Sunset used her magic to pass along two silver cards towards the receptionist mare. "Two all day passes, please."

Windy looked wide eyed at the cards, which bore the mark of the Triarchy on them, two pairs of wings, one alabaster and one dark blue, encircling a gold-colored asymmetrical, arrowhead-shaped pennant with a star in the center. "O-Of course!" she said, tapping a few controls on her terminal with her wings. "Please put your hooves forward on the scanner."

Twilight was the first to do so, trembling with excitement. Sunset did the same and there was a small hum. There was a familiar sensation of something being pressed onto the bottom of their hooves, then nothing. Sunset looked at the hoof and saw the strange symbol one of her teachers called the alpha symbol as it glowed a bright blue. "There you are!" the receptionist said. "Now you're free to visit all the exhibits and get premium access to all holos! Enjoy the museum!"

If it had been up to Twilight, Sunset suspected they'd be heading towards the Lunar Colony exhibit, but her teachers had asked that their first stop be one of the older and permanent exhibits, the History of the Triarchy. After that, they were free to do anything they wished. "Twilight, you know what you were told. This way, alright?"

"Awww, but I know the history of Equestria already," she pouted.

"You know what our teachers said," Sunset said.

Twilight sighed and recited one of their mentor's favorite sayings. "'Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it.' I knoooow!"

Sunset chuckled in amusement. She had been a lot like Twilight in that regard, and she'd even seen this history exhibit a couple of times. "It's not going to be that bad. When we're done, we can visit any of the exhibits you want, remember?"

Twilight's mood perked up and she nodded. "Okay!"

Sunset rolled her eyes in amusement as they walked up to the exhibit entrance. A dark blue Unicorn stallion gave them a pair of headsets and old-fashioned VR goggles, which the two Unicorns placed over themselves. Sunset asked for their goggles to be linked so they could stay together and communicate, and the stallion obliged.

Sunset saw the familiar green outline of the holographic overlay, then the goggles scanned the room in front of them, and her vision was filled with the familiar view of Avalon Palace, but as it had looked all those centuries ago. Sunset allowed her senses to be hijacked by the VR set as she felt the breeze flowing through her mane, could smell the dampness from the apparently midmorning dew on the Everfree Forest recreation behind her, and felt the ancient cobblestone road beneath her hooves. She looked down at the young filly Twilight, who was looking around at the scenery in awe despite her previous boredom and lack of interest in learning more about what she said she already knew.

The familiar soothing voice of the narrator began. "Many Equestrians today believe that the rise to harmony began many thousands of years ago before the joining of the three Pony tribes, but that is not quite the case. Yes, the Ponies of Equestria achieved a great peace after the banishing of the Wendigos, but the rest of planet was still disharmonious and full of strife. And Ponies had yet to learn how to befriend other races. Were it not for the arrival of a certain individual to our world, things might have turned out quite differently."

There was a flash of light slightly to their left, and Sunset and Twilight both turned. A small house had appeared on the borders of the Everfree Forest, right next to the cobblestone road and the bridge over the Everfree Canyon. The scenery moved towards the unusual house and property and through the door, which opened into a small living area. Sunset recognized the old-style television on the entertainment center as well as a few odd electronic boxes standing next to it. A couch sat opposite the wall where the TV was mounted and next to a large window a single reclining chair sat.

The scenery moved again as they were whisked away to a small bedroom down a hall where a familiar figure lay in an old-styled bed. "Before he was known as the Harmonious Prince or the Architect of the Great Industrial Revolution, our ruler King Jethro was simply the human known as Jethro Bethridge, a lost soul ripped from his world through means still unknown to us."

The scene moved forward, showing the same individual, now awake, bound in chains and flanked on either side by two Unicorn guards. He was standing before the ancient throne room of then Princesses Celestia and Luna. "He was taken before the Queens, who were then still only Princesses at the time."

Sunset watched the conversation play out, still surprised that her three mentors had been at odds like this at one point.

The representation of Princess Celestia stood. "Guards, release his bonds," she commanded.

"Yes, your Grace," one of them said as his horn glowed. A small key came out of his armor and undid the shackles around my arms, which fell heavily to the floor.

"Now then, creature," Celestia said, looking down at the then human Jethro, "thou led our guards on quite the chase, it seems. What, pray tell, are you?"

Sunset heard Twilight snort in amusement, and she didn't blame the filly. Hearing Celestia speak in such archaic Equestrian always amused her as well.

"And art thou a threat to our little Ponies?" Luna added, looking down at Jethro with more suspicion.

Jethro held up his hands and faced Celestia first. "My name is Jethro Bethridge, and I'm what's known as a human," he replied, before turning to Luna, "and no, I'm not a threat to any of your Ponies."

"Address the princesses with respect!" one of the Unicorn guards said, hitting Jethro over the head with his hoof.

Twilight winced, and so did Sunset. Nopony enjoyed seeing this part, but the triarchs had insisted on it being included.

"Stay thy hoof, guard!" Celestia demanded, stomping her hoof on the ground for emphasis.

"A thousand pardons, your Grace," the Unicorn said, stepping back but giving Jethro another glare.

Celestia returned her gaze to the human. "We have not seen a creature such as thy kind before," she said. "Where art thou from?"

"That's…a difficult question to answer," Jethro said. "I'm from a planet called Earth."

"Thou art from an alien world?" Luna asked suspiciously.

"That'd be my best guess, yes," Jethro nodded.

"And how, pray tell, didst thou come to be in our domain?" Celestia asked.

"I…I wish I could tell you," Jethro said sincerely. "One day I'm relaxing at home enjoying my day off, and the next I'm being chased through some horrifying forest by a platoon of guards."

"According to Captain Dark Sword, thou ran when thou were summoned to our court," Luna said.

"Well…yeah, I did," Jethro said quietly. "Being surrounded by a bunch of armed Ponies caaan terrify a person."

Celestia smiled slightly. "Indeed. But we hope thou understand our need for caution."

"I think I can," Jethro said. "A strange house showing up out of nowhere is something to be cautious about."

"Sister, we think thou art being too lenient with this creature," Luna said, glaring at Celestia. "For all we know, it could be another one of Eris' tricks!"

"Eris is trapped in stone," Celestia said, "she cannot escape, and we doubt she can breach the barrier between worlds. Star Swirl barely managed to do that, remember?"

"Eris is a being of chaos," Luna argued, the frustration in her expression clearly visible to Sunset. She'd been told by Luna had the animosity she showed to Celestia continued, something drastic may have happened. "We cannot be too careful! We should lock it up until we are sure."

"Sister, thou art being hasty in thy judgement once more," Celestia said sternly, in a tone she recognized as an older sisterly tone.

"Um…forgive me for interrupting, but I might have a suggestion?" Jethro asked quietly.

Celestia and Luna turned back to Jethro, their faces both one of shock. Back then, it was almost unheard of for anypony to interrupt a conversation between the Princesses. Luna looked like she was about to say something in anger, but Celestia held up her hoof. "And what, pray tell, is this suggestion?"

He took a deep breath, then asked, "Have either of you wanted to go to the moon?"

The scene morphed once more and they were standing on one of the balconies of the palace which overlooked the first city, once known as the city of Harmonia before its destruction in the deadly Fireswirl Quake. The narrator continued. "It was this conversation and many afterwards that led to the human becoming one of the most trusted advisors to the Princesses. His access to knowledge and technology was for many years afterwards a secret, but that first contact led to the civilization we live in today."

Jethro, still without his wings and magic, was sitting around a small table on said balcony and sipping on some tea and enjoying teacakes with the princesses. A holographic indicator above them showed the words ONE MONTH AFTER ARRIVAL. Jethro was showing them a video on his old laptop, showing the now famous human Neil Armstrong as he set hoof-or foot as Sunset had to keep reminding herself-on Earth's own moon. Luna looked especially interested, and Celestia not far behind. "And this was accomplished using technology that's pretty much out of date back where I'm from," he was saying. "Yes, the technology was dangerous, sure, but humans are nothing if not tenacious. You should have seen our first attempts at manned flight before the Wright Brothers developed their airplane."

"This is…quite the fascinating display," Luna said, sounding very much in awe.

"We agree," Celestia said. "And thou art willing to share this knowledge with us? Why?"

Jethro smiled, but this version of him had a bit of sadness in his eyes. "I might have been just a banker back on Earth, but I was always a sucker for science fiction. I would love to at least help another civilization make it to the stars, and hopefully not make the same mistakes ours made in the process. And it's all on this staticnet." He tapped the laptop. "I'm a big dreamer, your Highness. I won't live to see the accomplishments you reach if you apply this knowledge, but I would love to be at least a small part of it."

The scene shifted, and the indicator above read ONE WEEK LATER. Sunset and Twilight were standing in the Royal Gardens. Jethro was the only one around at the time. He was sitting underneath the Elder Golden Apple tree, reading an ancient book. "Our king was very wrong about his own mortality."

Jethro paused, wincing. Sunset had seen this scene more often than her visits to this museum, but she wasn't sure if Twilight had. She watched as Jethro began removing his shirt, looking behind his back in fear. "Ah…AAAAH!" he screamed in fear as his majestic wings finally spread from his back. At the same time, a powerful magical wave emanated from him, spreading out in a sphere in all directions. He began to glow his signature magical color and began writhing on the ground.

"Jethro?!" Luna appeared in a flash of a teleportation spell, rushing to his side in fear. Celestia wasn't too far behind, rushing over. "Sister, what is happening to him?!"

"We aren't sure," Celestia said with an equally worried voice. "Somepony call a healing mage at once!" she ordered in her Royal Canterlot Voice, a voice that hadn't been used in centuries.

A nearby maid Pony heard the command and galloped off. Sunset watched as Jethro continued to glow. Suddenly, a voice echoed from all around them. "I, Obsidian Star, entrust my faithful student Jethro Bethridge into the care of the two Ponies who have taken him in. I have given him all that I can. And now it is time for me to finally pass on."

A faded form began appearing in the air, solidifying into the now famous Obsidian Star, one of the Lost Alicorns. Her wings were spread majestically, and she was looking down at the three Ponies. There was slight strain on her face as she smiled, turned and bowed to the princesses. "Celestia, Luna, I'm glad to see you again, for the last time."

"Obsidian," Celestia gasped. "You have returned…after all this time?"

"I've returned, yes. But it was all leading up to this moment," she replied.

Jethro, who had by now stopped glowing, looked up at Obsidian. "Leading up to this moment? Athena?"

Turning back to Jethro, the faded ghostly form of the Alicorn smiled sadly. "My faithful student, when we came to Equestria, I had to change your body to better fit into this world. This led to an alteration I did not expect: giving you the powers of an Alicorn as well as the wings of one. I have spent the remainder of my magic to rectify this mistake and give you a life free of as much pain and suffering as possible. I did warn you that I would never be able to take a physical form ever again, but now I'm afraid I can no longer be with you."

Jethro shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. "No…you're not…don't go! I won't let you go! I can't lose anyone ever again!"

Obsidian Star moved down and hugged the now weeping Jethro. "I've given you everything I can give you, but now it's time for me to face judgement in the next world."

She slowly began to vanish, releasing the now crying Jethro. She turned to the princesses. "Please look after him, Tia, Lulu. Teach him all he needs to know."

Celestia put a hoof to her chest. "We shall do so, old friend. In honor of our old friendship, we shall ensure his safety and comfort."

The Alicorn ghost vanished in a blinking white light, ascending to the heavens before vanishing into the bright blue sky. Both Celestia and Luna surrounded the sobbing human turned Alicorn and spread both their wings over him, comforting him.

The scene faded. "Years passed, and Jethro became a key figure in the still growing kingdom. He advised the princesses on many different matters. He even helped stave off a war with the once Lycan and Deer enemies and earned a knighthood because of it. Then, five years later to the day of his arrival, Equestria was changed forever."

The scene shifted once again, and the indicator read FIVE YEARS LATER. The citizens of Harmonia were gathered in the massive royal courtyard of Avalon Palace, looking up at their princesses. Princess Celestia was speaking. "Only five years ago today, a being from another world was transported here through no fault of his own or anypony else. He was lost, scared, and alone in a world not his own. Many of you have seen him and met with him frequently, and he has been instrumental in establishing peace with our Lycan and Deer neighbors. In his world, he was just an ordinary citizen performing an ordinary service. Now, he is the Knight of Everfree, the Warrior of the Arena, and one more thing. Today, my sister and I have a grand announcement."

From behind her, Jethro, clearly nervous, walked up. He was clothed in what now could only be described as royal garb. Luna walked beside him, giving him a tender, loving smile before turning to the crowd. Celestia turned to Luna and nodded. Luna inhaled, and in one of the last instances of her known to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, said, "As of last evening, our sister and I are engaged to Sir Jethro Bethridge!"

Sunset beamed as the roar and applause from the Ponies nearly deafened her ears once more. There were shouts of "Congratulations, Jethro!" and "Good on you!" from nearby Ponies.

Celestia held up her hoof after a while, and the crowd's silence died. "Our sister and I are pleased to hear your approval of our fiancé. We shall also be bestowing the title of Prince of Equestria upon him, and not just the title of Prince Consort. He has proven to have the interests of harmony at the forefront of his mind. As of today, we present to you Prince Jethro of Equestria!"

The applause now was louder than before. Sunset sighed, gently pulling her ear pieces away to keep her eardrums from bursting. Looking down, she saw Twilight watching the scene in obvious awe still despite her earlier boredom.

"This was only the beginning," the narrator said as the scene faded, and real-life images began passing by. One showed a dirty Jethro holding two little foals in his hands after the Fireswirl Quake, shouting out some kind of order and holding the crying foals close, another showed him ceremoniously breaking ground at the new digging site for Everfree City, another showed the famous image of Jethro, Celestia and Luna sitting at a table with a small meeting of various intelligent Everfree creatures as they negotiated a plan to help build a new city within Everfree and break the magical curse within its borders, an image of the triarchs ceremonially breaking ground at the first dig site near the city, One of the building of the Old Everfree City, another of Celestia attempting her hoof at driving in one of the new automobiles of the day, with Luna and Jethro laughing in the background at her obvious inexperience and yet another of the triarchs in safety gear looking out at what would be called New Canaveral, a small section of Everfree where the first rockets to space would be tested and what was now the location of the oldest and most famous space elevator on all of Equestria.

As these images passed, the narrator continued, "Prince Jethro, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, with the help of the knowledge of another world, helped to usher in a new age of technological and magical revolution, building the precursors to the society which we know today. Prince Jethro helped to establish not only these, but he and the rest of the triarchy began establishing lasting ties with neighboring nations, sharing certain technologies and bringing in other scholars and scientists from other nations to build more trust and peaceful coexistence with others, as true harmony taught."

The scene shifted to a launch pad. On it, the first ponied vehicle on its way to the moon, Artemis 1, gleamed in the sunlight of an early summer's morning. Many gathered Ponies, along with Griffons, Dragons, Hippogriffs, Lycans, Deer and the other races of Equestria were gathered to watch the launch. In front of the launch pad was a large table where not only did the triarchs sit, but the other various rulers of the other Equestrian nations sat, or in some cases tried to sit. Dragon Lord Torch pretty much blocked the launch. Queen Novo was looking over with great interest at Jethro, who was seated between his two wives, and Emperor Galen of the Griffons was talking Empress Agate of the Lycans. One of the Council of Deer, Saelihn Glynmaris, was talking to the Triarchs about something.

Sunset watched as Jethro stood and clapped his hands, catching the attention of everycreature gathered. He wasn't wearing anything royal this time, having slowly moved to continue wearing his old clothes from Earth. He looked exactly the same as he had before, but the eyes had begun to show the same wisdom that came with age, the look she associated with her mentor. "Ladies and gentlebeings of all races," he began, looking down at a stack of notes he'd written. He paused, looked back up at the crowd, then smirked. He threw the notes away, letting them scatter. "Actually, screw a prepared speech. They're boring anyway, and I know you'd all rather be watching the launch."

This got a laugh from the crowd gathered, and even Twilight giggled. Jethro smiled that self-deprecating smile Sunset knew, and continued. "Honestly, I'd have never believed that twenty years after I became a Prince of the Kingdom of Equestria that we'd be sending somebody into space, much less the moon of all places. Humans took a lot longer to reach the technological level you were when I first arrived, but you had help. And I don't just mean my access to Earth's technology, but you had each other. The power of harmony in this world is strong, and it brought you all together to get the Artemis Project off the ground. I might have given you the ideas and some of the experience from my world, but you made it all possible. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who was involved in this endeavor. And as we finally have somebody setting foot, or hoof, on another world, I'd like to think this is just the beginning for us. We'll stand on one world, and look to the next one! And we'll do it all together!"

His majestic wings spread behind him, earning him applause from everycreature in the audience. Jethro raised his hands which glowed, and the table and all the leaders gathered floated up and headed behind the crowd at the top of the hill, not only giving them a better view but clearing up the view for the general public.

Sunset watched as the archaic rocket launched itself into space a few seconds later, slowly passing the cloudbanks where Pegasi had gathered to get a front row seat to the action, continued watching as it vanished into the upper atmosphere.

The scene faded again and more photographs were seen, the image of the Pony Stellar Gaze taking his first hoofsteps on the moon, followed by the dragon Borean and the Lycan Emerald who had been selected to be the first creatures to step foot on the moon. Another image showed Jethro and Luna also stepping their foot and hoof on the lunar surface during the Artemis 13 mission four years later, as well as the establishment of Selene Base, Equestria's first permanent lunar colony near the lunar south pole where ice had been discovered by Artemis 5.

The narrator continued. "The Artemis missions led to much more than space travel between Equestria and the moon. It was only the beginning of the Great Industrial Revolution. Computers became a common household item, medicine began to expand lifespans and heal ailments that magic had, for so long, not been able to heal, and magic, alongside technology, grew and spread to the rest of the world. And all thanks to the human turned Alicorn Prince Jethro Bethridge."

The scene before them faded to white and they removed their helmets, finding themselves back in the vast room where they'd been wandering. Sunset took Twilight's gear off and placed them on a nearby table. As the two walked out into the main museum hallways, Twilight looked super excited. "Can we go to the Lunar Base now? Pleeeease?"

Sunset snorted, but nodded. "Alright, Twilight. But stay close, okay? We don't want you getting lost again, would we?"

Twilight nodded and the two headed towards the Lunar Base exhibit. Sunset smiled. Today was going to be a really fun day…