"Jethro, my savior!" Zecora got up on her hind legs, placing her front hooves on both my shoulders. Her worry was evident, but I wasn't focused on her. I looked past her to the points I'd seen earlier. Two Alicorns stood just outside my property line, looking around with serious expressions on their faces. Not only that, but I saw a larger number of stallion guards as well as the six Elements of Harmony, all with varying looks of worry and suspicion on their faces. All except Pinkie Pie, who was laughing and giggling while bouncing off of the barrier, clearly enjoying herself.

"Why did you leave?" Zecora continued, regaining my full attention.

I turned to her once more. "Please forgive me, but I had to make sure my home hadn't been discovered and ransacked by Celestia's guards."

Zecora's eyes widened. "They would never do such a thing!"

"You might know that, and others might, but I've only been here for a month," I replied. "I still think like a human, remember? Besides, it wasn't all paranoia. I was spotted. And…I attacked a guard. I'm probably going to prison now…" Suddenly exhausted, I collapsed.

Her ears flattened, and a look of concern crossed over her face. I swallowed, never realizing just how much a look like that directed at me by her would hurt. I looked down as she spoke. "I understand you're still scared, and I'm not angry with you, but you were still needing to sleep. That concoction I gave you will only work if you sleep more. Do you not trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," I replied, still not able to look at her. "But a picture is worth a thousand words. No matter what I've seen in that magical recreation of your lives, I need to see things for myself."

She lifted my head to face her once more. That tender smile on her face helped me relax a little bit. "You have my word that the princesses will do you no harm."

I began to panic again, breathing harder and faster. "Zecora, I'm scared. Really, REALLY scared. Those aren't princesses. They're goddesses with the power to wipe me from existence the moment I even LOOK at them wrong," I replied. "I can't move, it's that bad. And I attacked one of her guard!" And it was true. Even if they couldn't see me, looking at the two godlike princesses was almost enough to make me lose the sandwich she'd made for me.

She gently led me to one of the chairs on my porch and sat me down in it. "My savior, please take deep breaths. Fear is only natural in your case. The guard told the princess what happened, and I believe you acted out of terror," she said reassuringly. "Stay here. I will inform the princess of your state. Do I have your permission to use your name?"

I slowly nodded. Zecora smiled gently at me and turned to walk towards the barrier. The moment she passed through, the Elements of Harmony surrounded her.

"Well? Is that creature going to speak with us?" Twilight asked.

"Oooh! Oooh! Is it preparing a party for us!?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. "I bet it'll be so cool!"

"Settle down there, pardner," Applejack said. "Yer bein' a bit rude there."

"I-I hope it's nice," Fluttershy said softly, hiding behind Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry, if it's not I'll beat the snot out of it faster than you can say 'Cloudsdale rocks'!"

"Silence, all of you!" Luna bellowed, causing everyone save Celestia to wince at the sound. "Unknown creature from beyond the barrier, come forth and show thyself!"

Celestia held up her hoof to silence Luna. "Easy there, dear sister. You might scare him." I smiled immediately. Celestia hadn't referred to me as an it. "Well, Zecora? What did he say?"

"An it he is not, you Ponies all. Jethro Bethridge is his call. Forgive me, for he trembles and is pale. In fright he lies beyond the veil. He is alone, with none of his kind. He fears bars he'll be put behind."

That brought a somber mood on everyone out there. Even Luna seemed slightly smaller by Zecora's words. "Why…why would he think that?" Pinkie finally spoke, a hint of concern in her voice.

"A world without magic is his home. And now into our own he's roamed," Zecora continued to explain. "Terror has clawed its way into his heart. That is why he keeps you and him apart. He fears retribution for hurting your guard. This is why he believes he will be barred."

"But Princess Celestia is the kindest and gentlest ruler in the world!" Twilight said, eyes wide.

"Twilight, hush for a moment," Celestia said with an air of authority, causing her faithful student to go silent. "Why would he fear us this much?"

"The power of deities you two possess. That is what has him under duress," Zecora further explained.

Celestia nodded slowly. Turning to her sister, she said, "Luna, this will require a much more delicate approach than you're used to," Celestia said. Turning back to the barrier, she approached. "Jethro Bethridge, was it?" she began with a calm tone, "I swear by my authority as Princess of Equestria you will come to no harm. You will not be arrested, and you will not be mistreated by anypony here." She turned to face the Elements of Harmony. "And I mean it." The look in her eyes practically said Don't try anything. She turned back to the barrier. "I am aware that you assaulted one of my guards, but judging from what I've just heard, your terror got the better of you. I sweat we won't seek any retribution from you."

Zecora came back through to find me still trembling. She moved closer and touched her forehead to mine. "Did you hear all that?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah, I did," I replied. "I'm still scared."

"I understand, my friend," she replied. "Put your hand on my withers. I'll be with you."

I inhaled deeply, then lowered my head. Her forehead met mine again, one of her hooves wrapped around my neck reassuringly. "Thank you," I whispered softly. After a while, I gently broke away, straightening. "I'm more ready now." I stood and winced.

"My savior?"

"It's my ankle," I whimpered. "When that guard tackled me, I twisted it pretty severely."

"Lean on me for support," she insisted.

I knew that tone: a tone that said Do it or else. "Thank you." I put my hand on her back and leaned against her.

Silence fell as they waited. I froze, still afraid despite her reassurances. A couple seconds passed. Be calm, Jethro. The soothing voice of Athena sounded in my head just then. Don't be afraid. Just breath and relax. Hearing her voice in my head did help me relax. Taking a deep breath, Zecora and I slowly approached the barrier, straightened, and pushed through.

Everyone save for the princesses backed away, some nervously, some nearly ready to attack. I winced as I stepped through and stood before the two princesses. Unlike Zecora and other normal sized Ponies, Celestia was the same height as Athena, if not slightly more so. Luna was slightly shorter than Celestia, but was still taller than I was.

We stared at each other, not speaking or blinking for a good ten or so seconds. Then, remembering I was in the presence of royalty, if not a being of godlike power, I did the only thing I could think of. I took a knee and lowered my head, placing my hand on my chest. In as steady a voice as I could muster, I said, "Your Highnesses, it is indeed a great honor to be in your most illustrious presences. My name is Jethro Bethridge of the planet Earth."

Silence. Utter silence. No one made a move, not as far as I could hear. The more no one spoke, the more nervous I became again. Taking Athena's words to heart, I breathed in and out regularly.

"We like this creature, sister," the booming voice of Luna said, a hint of amusement in her voice. I tensed up again, breath audibly catching.

"Luna, no one speaks that way anymore. You're scaring him further," Celestia admonished. "And no one call him a creature or an it. He is living and sapient, just as we all are. Zecora has made that quite clear."

My heart was racing in terror now. I felt for sure that I was about to be arrested or something. However, I felt a gentle pressure on my shoulder. "Don't be afraid," Celestia, sounding gentler now, said. "Please stand."

When I didn't move, Zecora came to my side and put her head beneath me. Gently but with great strength, she helped me to my feet. I inhaled sharply as I accidentally stepped on my twisted ankle.

Celestia noticed this, because she said, "Are you injured?"

"It's my ankle, your Highness," I replied. "I twisted it pretty badly."

"Allow me," she said. Her horn began glowing. I felt something wrap itself around my ankle. Looking down, I saw some of Celestia's magic enveloping my ankle. I forced myself not to panic as the pain in my ankle slowly disappeared. Soon the magic vanished and my ankle felt back to its normal self.

I still was too scared to let go of Zecora. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind and pressed herself closer to me. I regarded the princess once more with, as the apostle said, great fear and trembling. Despite my kind having evolved to be attracted to other humans, I had to admit to myself that Celestia was an enchanting being, fur a white sheen which glowed the color of sunshine and a rainbow-colored mane and tail that fluttered in some kind of ethereal breeze. Unlike the show, her mane and tail had every single color of the rainbow. She had a warm smile on her face now. "May we come in?" she asked, pointing towards the barrier. "We want to talk with you. And no, that is no order." Her tone suggested appeasement which helped me relax even more.

"I…It would be my pleasure," I said, bowing again, before turning to the barrier. Touching the surface, it glowed and warped. My fear aside, I knew I could not lie to any of them. "Free access is granted for the individuals known as Princess Celestia of Canterlot, Princess Luna of Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie." I turned and looked apologetically at Celestia. "I apologize for not including your guards. I don't know their names, and to be honest, they do make me nervous. I was chased by them earlier, too…"

Celestia chuckled and shook her head. "No need for apologies. Captain, remain on guard here. If any danger arises, blow the horn."

The guard from my dream looked apprehensive. "But your highness, we don't know what this creature is or what kind of magic it possesses, and he did attack one of our own-"

"Zecora has vouched for him," Celestia replied sternly, silencing the guard. "That is enough for me. You also chased him and terrified him even more. So you will stay out here. Understood?"

"Yes, your Highness." The captain lowered his head in obedience, but I saw a glare directed at me. I tried my best to ignore it, but my fear grew more.

"Please, follow me," I replied, passing through the barrier. I stepped through, then moved aside so everyone could walk through unhindered. A half minute later, every Pony I'd let in was looking around in awe at not just my house and land, but at the shed and gold I'd stacked away. Everyone, that is, except Rainbow Dash. She was looking square at me, a look of mistrust in her eyes.

Instantly, she was in front of me, grabbing my collar and leaning in. "Alright, you're gonna answer my questions now. How'd you know all our names? Are you some kind of spy!?"

She squealed as she was pulled away, Applejack pulling on her tail. Rainbow Dash released me and fell tumbling to the ground. "Calm down there, sugarcube," the farmgirl said. "Not in front of the princesses. They ordered us to play nice." She turned to me. "Sorry 'bout her. She can be a tad suspicious at times."

I nodded, fixing my clothes shakily. "W-Well, I'm not surprised about that. I am practically an extra…extraequestrial," I replied.

"Extra what now?" she asked.

"Alien being," I said. "I'm not from this world."

Immediately, a pink furred blur jumped over in front of me. "Oh wow! What are you? Are you friendly? Do you like parties? Maybe we should throw a welcome party for you back in Ponyville!" The pink blur that was Pinkie Pie began looking around. "Oooh! This is a strange home! Oh, but not in a bad way!"

"Pinkie, calm down," Applejack said, grabbing onto her tail and pulling her back. "Ah reckon you're scarin' the poor feller even more."

Twilight was the next to approach me with an eager expression on her face. "You're an extraequestrial? Where are you from? How'd you get here?"

I held up my hands, feeling myself grow more nervous. "Please, I'll answer all of your questions in a moment. First, let me light a fire outside. I don't think my house will be able to fit everyone." I indicated the firepit. "Please wait here, I'll be right back."

I rushed into the house, digging through the closet for some extra blankets. Halfway through, I collapsed to my knees, taking in great gulps of air. "I just spoke to a princess…a fucking princess…Oh God…" I felt nausea rise within me now.

"Need some he-Jethro? Are you okay?" Zecora was standing a few feet away, paused as if she was walking towards me then stopped.

"Ah…just a bit weak in the knees," I said with a nervous smile. "And I want to puke."

"Here, let me help," she replied, walking over and lowering her head. She helped me to my feet. "You're trembling."

"Heh, you try not falling to your knees in terror in the presence of two princesses who could very well be called deities," I replied shakily as I continued grabbing blankets.

"Put those blankets on my back," she said. As I did so, she continued, "You've nothing to fear from them."

"I almost pissed myself," I replied.

"They mean you no harm, my friend. I promise."

There it is again! Friend! I stiffened slightly, pausing a bit before going back to gathering blankets. "Like I said, my brain knows that, but my baser human instincts don't. But…for your sake, I'll do my best."

"That's all anyone can ask," a familiar soothing voice said from down the hall. I turned quickly, seeing Princess Celestia herself standing in my house. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

I bowed once again. "Forgive me, your Highness. I didn't mean to make you wait-hold up? You speak Farasi?" My curiosity greatly overcame my fear in that moment.

She chuckled, clearly amused. "That's one of the perks of being an immortal. I was getting a little worried when you didn't come back out."

"Forgive me, your Highness, I was simply-"

"Recovering after all that sudden excitement out there?" Celestia asked. I nodded slowly. "I'm sorry about that. I invited the Elements of Harmony to accompany me and my sister here. And don't worry about being in here so long. I could see how overwhelmed you were. Please, raise your head. I can see your terror. Believe me, my sister and I will do everything in our power to reassure you." To my shock, she lowered her head to me. I was no politician, but for a princess to bow to someone of the common folk willingly…I knew she was kind from what I had seen in the show, but TV and reality rarely echoed each other.

"Please, don't bow to me!" I said, holding out my hands shakily. "Please get up!"

Celestia did so, giving me a hopeful look. "I hope that was enough to gain some trust."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, but quietly nodded. "I…I'll be right out." Gathering the remaining blankets and some pillows for good measure, I followed Celestia and Zecora out.

By this time, I could see the sun had gotten lower in the sky. The temperature had gone down a bit. Looking around, I saw Rarity admiring the gems and jewelry, Twilight was looking inside my shed at some of my devices, Fluttershy was in a corner, looking scared, Rainbow Dash was flying up and down through my barrier, Pinkie Pie was zooming around, exploring everything, Applejack was looking at my grape vines, and Princess Luna was standing near the firepit, watching everything.

I inhaled deeply, walking out with Zecora close beside me as she kept me steady. With Zecora's help, I began setting up blankets and pillows for everyone to sit on. When I finished, I began assembling a fire then lit it. Just as it was getting close to twilight, the sun set. Stars began appearing and in the east I saw the silvery light of the moon peering over the horizon.

With the onset of night, I started feeling a bit more comfortable. I looked around. Pulling out my phone, I opened the notes app and created a new document. Twilight's eyes widened as I did so, but she said nothing . "Um…c-can I get everyone here something to drink? I have water, milk, soda, tea, sweet tea, juice, cider, hot chocolate-"

"Cider? That wouldn't happen tuh be apple cider, would it?" Applejack asked, one eyebrow raised.

I nodded. "That's correct."

Her questioning look turned into a grin. "Ah'll have some cider then, if it ain't too much trouble. Ah'm curious about what alien cider tastes like."

"Soda please!" Pinkie Pie said, grinning widely.

"Alright," I nodded. "So that's one soda, one cider, does anyone want anything else?"

"If you're offering, just some water," Fluttershy said shyly. "I don't want to inconvenience you."

"I heard you say cider!" Rainbow Dash said. "I'll take some of that!"

"Alrighty," I said, feeling slightly more comfortable now. "That's two apple ciders, a soda, and a water. And how about everyone else?"

Celestia, appearing somewhat relieved by my antics, said, "Thank you for offering. I'll have some tea, please. I'll leave the flavor at your discretion."

"We shall as well," Luna said.

"I'll have some tea, too," Rarity said.

"So…three teas, two apple ciders, soda, and water. And for Princess Celestia's most faithful student?" I asked with a polite smile. I'd quickly slipped into the persona I'd had when I used to be a waiter.

"Sweet tea for me, please," Twilight said, looking excited. "Alien tea…so exciting!"

"Excellent. I'll be back with those as soon as I can," I said, heading into the kitchen, Zecora quickly joining me.

The moment the two of us were alone, I swallowed hard. I wasn't an alcohol drinker, but I never wanted to down something to calm my nerves more than in that moment. Zecora saw this and approached, standing on her hind legs and, to my surprise, hugged me from behind. I'd learned that the inhabitants of this world were a lot more affectionate than humans were. And in this moment, I welcomed it once more. "Zecora, I-"

"Shh, my savior. I can feel it. The tension within you. And I don't just mean due to the presence of the princesses."

I started to ask what she meant, but she put a hoof over my mouth. I went silent and she removed that hoof, beginning to stroke my hair gently with it. This helped me calm down considerably. When she released me, I turned and smiled at her. "Come, my savior. Let's prepare the refreshments for your guests."

Zecora placed the kettle on to boil and grabbed three mugs, placing three honey chamomile teabags inside them for later. I poured a strawberry soda in a large glass for Pinkie Pie, grabbed a razzleberry sweet tea can for Twilight, a couple large glasses of apple cider for Applejack and Rainbow Dash and a large glass of ice water for Fluttershy. Zecora's favorite drink of mine was strawberry banana juice, oddly enough. When I'd finished that, we waited for the water to boil in silence. When that was finished, I poured the hot water into the mugs and waited a little while. After the tea was finished, I moved the teabags out and placed them on an empty plate to cool.

Placing the glasses and mugs on two platters, Zecora and I carried them out and placed them on the ground. "Here you all are," I said. "I have a strawberry soda, two large ciders, a glass of ice water, some razzleberry sweet tea, and three honey chamomile teas. Please enjoy."

I watched as everyone approached and collected their drinks. Of course, the princesses and Unicorns used their magic to do so, and I watched in astonishment. It was my first time seeing Equestrian magic like that, and I was certainly not disappointed. I observed everyone else use their hoofs to inexplicably lift their glasses. Not surprisingly, Fluttershy was the last to grab hers, and as soon as she did, she moved quickly away.

I walked over to the fire, a glass of water in my own hands. Grabbing my lawn chair, I took a seat. To my surprise, Zecora sat quite close to me. Taking a deep breath, I began. "Now that we're all situated, I know a lot of you, if not all of you, have plenty of questions, but please don't ask all at once." I turned to Celestia. "Your Highness, I know you most likely have the most questions out of all of us. I will answer as truthfully and honestly as I can."

Celestia took a small sip of her tea, nodding in what I hoped was approval as she did so. She turned to me, her smile now gone. "Were you the one who rebuilt the castle?"

I straightened but nodded respectfully. "Yes. Yes I was."

Almost everyone began talking at once, throwing questions my way from left and right. Celestia raised her hoof and silenced them. "I see. And how, pray tell, was this accomplished?"

"Well…to answer that, I would need to explain the circumstances behind my being here. Might I do so?" When she nodded, I launched into my unusual tale. Everyone was silent now, listening with bated breath at my nearly impossible tale. Twilight was writing furiously with her magic as I spoke. I told them everything, save for the identity of Athena, but I did explain that she wished to remain anonymous. When I was finished, everyone was silent.

"So…perhaps Twilight's attempt at that displacement spell wasn't as unsuccessful as I had thought," Celestia said, turning to Twilight, who's ears flattened and tail curled up around her. "Don't be upset, my faithful student, we've put that all behind us now." Celestia turned to me. "But the question remains, how do we handle this?"

"How do we know he's on the level?" Rainbow Dash said, wings flapping slowly.

"For all we know, he could be spitting a lot of hooey," Applejack added. "No offense, stranger."

"None taken. Here, I can provide some proof right now about one thing: the television show depicting your adventures in friendship." I sighed, pulled out my phone, and brought up Netflix. Selecting the first episode of the show, I held up the screen for all to see. They were able to hear well enough, but the screen was so small that they crowded together. I heard the voice of the in-show Celestia introduce the tale of Nightmare Moon.

Just then I realized something. The voices I heard from the real thing, while similar in tone and how they spoke, were not the same. When the story changed from Celestia's voice to Twilight's, I was sure of it: their voice actresses did not sound the same as those from this new reality. I let the intro play out as well, and as I did that, I looked around at the faces to see their reactions. When I saw Luna's tearful expression, I quickly turned off my phone. "Forgive me, your Highness," I said, bowing my head apologetically, "I did not mean to bring up recent painful memories."

"Thou art forgiven," Luna said, smiling despite herself.

"Are the rest of you convinced?" I asked, turning to the rest of the Ponies.

There was silence for a while. Celestia's and Luna's faces were both unreadable, Twilight's was one of wonder, Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a look of incredulity, Fluttershy, of course, looked completely petrified, Rarity had her jaw dropped, and Pinkie Pie had the widest grin on her face. Unsurprisingly, she was the first to speak up. "Wowee! An entire group of people in another world know about us! That's so cool!"

"Downright creepy, more like," Applejack said.

"Yeah…I can see that," I said as I put my phone away. "I shouldn't show anything more. My presence has already affected things too much."

"How so?" Twilight asked.

"Did you guys have to go up a mountain to help remove a dragon recently?" I asked.

"D-D-Dragon?!" Fluttershy gasped, trembling in her, well, hooves.

"Yes. There was an episode called Dragonshy where you all traveled up a mountain to convince a dragon to stop napping there or risk being covered in smoke and ash for a hundred years or so. I chased the dragon away. In fact, that gold over there would have been his hoard had I not found it first," I explained, indicating the gold piles in my yard.

"Wh-What did you do to it?" Fluttershy asked again.

"I didn't harm him, if that's what you're afraid off," I replied. "I chased him away from the cave by imitating a mighty dragon roar. He's long gone by now, fearful that he stepped into the lair of a dangerous dragon."

"That roar…was you?" she asked again.

"Ah…I guess I did go overboard," I said, once more nervous. "But the fact remains he won't be coming back."

"You did give us quite a scare," Applejack said. "Ponyville was pretty terrified for a couple days before we went and found nothin' in that cave."

"So, you did go up, but not for the same reasons," I nodded. "Well…I suppose it makes sense. I did roar pretty damn loud. Still, I am extremely sorry for scaring all of you." I bowed low.

"There was no damage done," Celestia said reassuringly, "but consider yourself forgiven."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, your Highness."

"There's no need to refer to me like that," she chuckled. "You are the only human here, and that gives you special status. Just call me Celestia."

I chuckled slightly, putting aside the pain of being the only human in the world. "As you wish…Celestia."

"Much better." She gave me a caring smile.

I stood, then turned to face them. "I imagine you all still have plenty of questions."

And boy, did I answer plenty of questions. Most were about my world. Fluttershy came quickly out of her shell when she started asking about creatures from my world. I showed her images of common creatures on my laptop.

Twilight was just as curious, so as an afterthought, I showed some pictures of some extinct creatures. When I showed them dinosaurs, specifically a T-Rex, the two Alicorn princesses exchanged a look of worry. After I explained that they'd been extinct for millions of years, they relaxed. She asked me more about the show, but not being an expert, I wasn't sure what I could tell her. Her other questions were more general in nature, and I did my best to answer without any bias.

Rarity, not surprisingly, asked me about human clothing fashions, so I showed her some online images. I could practically see the wheels turning as she, presumably, thought of new ideas for her boutique.

Rainbow Dash was interested in how humans were able to fly without wings. I showed her images and videos of airplanes, both commercial and military, as well as some videos of each. I also showed her some paragliding and videos of humans skydiving.

Applejack was curious about human agriculture, so I Googled various farming techniques humans had designed over the years. She listened politely enough, but she didn't seem too interested in adapting them on her farm. She also asked about any particular ways that humans prepared apples that her farm might not have thought of, and I Googled some recipes for apples for her.

Without being prompted, I showed images of various exotic human desserts to Pinkie Pie and even printed some of the recipes up for her to experiment with.

I showed Luna detailed images of astronomical objects humans had captured, most of which she recognized. She was quite interested in the map of the moon as well, so I printed out an image of the moon, light and dark sides. I also showed her images taken from the surface of my world's moon, which caused her to tense up a little. She explained that was all she saw there.

For Celestia, I printed up a few images of Sol as seen from Earthbound telescopes. I also shared images of a lunar and solar eclipse. When I was finished, the moon was at its apex in the sky, shining down on the now dim fire. Judging from the more and more constant yawns, I could tell they were all growing sleepy. Celestia had long since told the guards to return to the Palace of the Two Sisters, as well.

"I'm sorry, I kept you up later than I should have," I said, head bowed. "I can try and prepare a place for everyone-"

"We couldn't impose on you," Celestia said, smiling at me. "Don't worry. You did an amazing job at recreating our old palace, and the guest bedrooms are actually much more comfortable than before. We can stay there for the night."

"Right…I forgot about that," I chuckled sheepishly.

"Can you play a song?" Pinkie Pie asked suddenly. "One from your world?" Unlike the others, she didn't seem to be as low of energy.

"Pinkie Pie, dontcha think the poor stallion's had enough?" Applejack admonished.

"Well, sure, I can play you a song," I chuckled. "Just let me get ready." I rushed back inside and grabbed a large Bluetooth speaker. After connecting my phone, I scrolled through my music library for an appropriate song. "I hope you don't mind if I choose a song more meant for kids," I said as I looked through the Larry Groce songs.

"Songs for baby goats?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"No no, humans use the term 'kids' to refer to human children. Yes, it also applies to baby goats, but it also applies to how we refer to our children. Ah! This song is perfect. And I think it reflects your world better than my own." I hit play.

I closed my eyes and began swaying my head back and forth with the music. It's A Small World After All began playing, and I found myself quietly singing along to the Disney song, but not loud enough to distract. Everyone listened intently as the children sang the old diddy.

The more I sang the song, the more my heart ached for home. Pollution, war and misery aside, I missed it. I'd been keeping myself distracted by learning more about this world and using my dream powers to restore the palace. But, with all the talk I'd done about my world tonight, I could feel the heartache come back to me. As the song finished, I looked back up at the others. I held back my tears and simply smiled at them. "So, thoughts?"

Celestia's smile radiated warmth. "That was indeed quite a lovely song. You were right in that it encapsulates a lot of what makes Equestria how it is. Harmony and friendship abound in this world."

Pushing my heartache away, I smiled. "Well, children's songs tend to be like that."

Twilight, however, was looking at me with a peculiar expression, the same one she'd had before I passed out at Zecora's. But I was quickly distracted by Pinkie Pie who bounded up to me. "Oh wow! That little box has music on it?! How many?"

"Well, this particular little box, or a cell phone as it's known, can hold tens of thousands of songs," I replied. "But I only have about two thousand. That and a few dozen audio books."

"What are those? Are you some kind of egghead?" Rainbow Dash smirked.

"If I take your meaning right, I'm that. I'm also an otaku," I added. To my surprise, this got me a look from Fluttershy. "Here, listen." I started a random audiobook.

A male voice began. "This is Audible." Some epic instrumentals began, and then a different voice spoke out, "Audio Renaissance Presents: Off Armageddon Reef, by David Weber. Read for you by Oliver Wyman." The music continued, then began to die down. As it did, the voice resumed. "July 2nd, 2378. Crestwell's Star, HD 63077A. Terran Federation." The voice paused again, then in a panicked voice, it began once more. "Captain to the bridge! Captain to the bridge!"

I stopped the audiobook and disconnected the Bluetooth speaker. "Basically, a person records themselves narrating the entire book so you can just sit and relax while listening to it being read to you. It might be slower, but it's definitely got its perks."

"Jethro Bethridge," Celestia interrupted the conversation. Beside her was a now slightly concerned looking Twilight. "Might I ask you one more question?"

"Sure," I said. The look on her face was still quite pleasant, but there was something new within her dark purple eyes.

"What is your view on friendship?"

I could feel the blood drain from my face, but I regained control and stroked my chin thoughtfully. "Well…they say love is what makes the world go round. And in that sense, I suspect friendship does the same. I won't knock it, your highness."

"I see." Something told me there was some slight worry in her tone, but I quickly dismissed it. "Mr. Bethridge, would you be open to visiting Ponyville more often than you have been doing?"

"Well…perhaps," I replied, wondering where she was going with this.

Her next words, however, shocked me even more. "Perhaps there, and with the help of the Elements of Harmony, you will regain something that I believe you've lost."

Zecora had practically demanded that she sleep at my place that night. I was too exhausted and emotionally drained to argue. What I hadn't counted on was her insisting the two of us share a bed again. She didn't want me alone, she told me.

Too tired to argue, I prepared the bed for the two of us. I changed into pajamas and collapsed into bed. A warm presence snuggled up close to me immediately. We lay there for a while before Zecora stirred.

"Jethro? Are you asleep?"

"No. Is something on your mind?"

"I wanted to talk about earlier. I've never seen you so scared. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

I turned to face her. There was worry in her dark blue-green eyes. "I'm feeling better now. I think a good night's sleep is just what I need."

She frowned, but nodded. "If you're sure, I won't push it. I was just worried."

"I appreciate the worry. It means a lot, but I'd feel bad if you worried too much about me," I replied. "I'm sure I'll be a bit better in the morning."

She smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Please sleep well. Your body still needs the rest."

I smiled back, my eyelids already heavy. "Will…do…" was all I could get out before I slept into the sweet embrace of slumber.