>An explosion rattled the cockpit of your aircraft, its already stricken frame shattering from that last blow.
>Aside from the terrible rocking, that missile must have knocked out the avionics.
>You wouldn't know what the hell else made the shrill screeching of alarms and warning lights finally stop.
>Quickly reacquiring your bearings, you instinctively attempted to get back into the fight, damage be damned.
>Gripping the controls, you slam the throttle as far as it would go...
>...and there was no response from the afterburners.
>Or the engines, for that matter.
>Fuck!
>Did you really just take a hit back there?
>The meager amount of thrust you had been getting up to this point finally ceased altogether with a rather unpleasant sound.
>Glancing over your shoulder, you witnessed the rear of your plane billowing acrid black smoke, bits of your plane being peeled off.
>Another thing; the dark plume trailing behind you had been curving downwards.
>No.
>No, no, no, you weren't going down like this.
>The show wasn't over yet!
>Though neither turbine nor aileron responded in the slightest, you performed every last trick you knew in a last-grasp attempt to get the wind back under your wings.
>Your descent to the ocean below continued, the rising sun boring into your cracked canopy.
>As you continued to fall from your perch in the skies, to your unending protest, a stroke of luck seemed to have passed you by.
>You felt lift under your wings once more!
>Thank the Gods!
>Reflexively, you prepared to level your plane out to keep from diving further.
>All you needed now was for your eng-
>The most ear-piercing shriek filled your ears as everything violently shook and began to spin.
>From the short glimpse you could get of a black shape whirling off, your wing must have separated.
>A sinking feeling of hopelessness suffused your being as your vision narrowed into crushing grey.
>Before the end came...you noticed something in the waters below...
>Did it look like that from up there?
>A resounding crump echoed throughout the otherwise quiet and tranquil forest, scattering many of the woodland critters.
>The sudden, violent sound jolted you to your hooves, sitting upright in your seat as your heart raced as you awoke from your little nap.
>You scanned the horizon, on the lookout for anything big and scary that could have made that noise.
>Your little heart skipped a beat, and your fright grew.
>Something was covering your eyes, and you didn't know what it was!
>The only thing you could think to do was vigorously shake your head to get whatever it was off of you.
>Luckily, you managed to shake off whatever shrouding thing was covering your eyes, but at a terrible cost.
>Sunlight flooded into your now wide-open eyes, immediately filling you with a strong sensation of regret.
>Covering and nursing your eyes with your hooves, you found out what it was that had blocked out your view.
>Your mane was down.
>The question as to whether or not you were disabled briefly hung in the air.
>It didn't linger on your mind for very long, as the more pressing matter of what in Celestia's Royal Fetlocks made that crash took center stage.
>Tossing your white mane back with a nod of your head, you squinted as your eyes adjusted to the morning light.
>Another, secondary sound soon followed after that first one which nearly gave you a heart attack not but a few seconds ago.
>Your ears swiveled around, honing in and guiding your slowly-recovering eyesight to the source.
>Hopping down from your seat onto the front porch below, you weighed what it could be.
>That could be a particularly mean creature looking for the juicy white treats inside ponies...
>Or somepony desperately needs help, and they're out there all alone.
>The thought of somepony out there, all alone and badly hurt overrode a need for staying away from potential danger...
>You'd be a horrible pony if you didn't help in any way you could.
>You resolved yourself to find them, wherever they are.
>Galloping quickly into those dense woods, all you could hope was that you could find them before long them.
>Other than the sound of your hooves digging into the dirt and your breathing, the woods were eerily quiet.
>Did all the little critters here disappear?
>Maybe they were hiding elsewhere.
>In certain spots, it looked like the canopy above had been damaged by something plunging down from above.
>Thinking on your hooves, you follow the holes poked in the canopy, believing that was your best bet for finding whoever crashed out here.
>As those holes poked in the tree cover above brought more and more sunlight onto the ground below, you saw the sunlight glint off of...something shiny.
>Slowing your pace to investigate, you trotted over to discover that whatever it was, it must be a piece of metal.
>From what, you had no idea, but it looked twisted and jagged.
>However it ended up here, it wasn't pretty.
>You made a mental note to watch where you stepped, at the very least to avoid another trip to the hospital.
>You didn't linger for much longer after you caught your breath, picking up the pace once more to get back on track.
>Additional pieces of discarded metal littered the ground in head, some of them larger than before.
>Perhaps not the best sign for whoever's having a bad day, but it was encouraging in hopes that you might be close.
>You slowed your hoof-falls again as more and more metal shrapnel littered the forest floor.
>Jeez, whatever hit the ground had to have hit it hard...
>With how dense this mess was, it wasn't long before you arrived at the scene, standing before what made that crashing sound.
>The smoldering, splintered wreck of...a fighter jet?
>Like from MLH?
>Were you seeing this?
>No way were you seeing this...
>No way was there a mare out there somewhere autistic enough to build a full-scale, fully-functional model of one of these and crash it in your neck of the sticks.
>Stepping closer, feeling the heat radiating off wrecked jet...
>Maybe you really were seeing this?
>If it really is real and not just a vivid dream, you were just hoping this wouldn't start looking like a nightmare.
>Trotting around the side of the wreck, if indeed it was what it was, you noticed that the cockpit was no longer connected to the rest of the airframe.
>Now how did that, of all things, get torn off?
>More importantly, where was it?
>Glancing aside from the bent and broken remains of a plane, you spotted a thin pillar of smoke a short trot's way into another impromptu clearing.
>That answers your question.
>Trotting anxiously over to the separated cockpit, you took note of how relatively intact it was in comparison to the rest of the plane.
>It was lodged firmly into the ground, yet it was still measurably taller than you.
>Standing on your hind legs, you balanced yourself against the aluminum hull, trying to peer through the canopy to see if anypony was okay in there.
>You could barely make it out from the haze of smoke in the cockpit, but slouched forward was the silhouette of what was not a pony, minotaur or griffon, but in all likelihood, a human.
>As much as your spaghetti-spilling instincts were demanding you to do so, now was not the time for sperging out.
>That comes later.
>Frantically thinking of some way to bust them out, the first idea to come to mind that would work was the bluntest approach.
>Buck where the canopy's latched in and hope that does the trick.
>You had doubts this would even work, but there was little time to be thorough.
>You assumed the position to buck your hind legs against the side of the nose section, looking back to guide your back hooves.
>Blind luck and pony autism, don't fail you now.
>Putting all your might into this first kick, your hooves impacted the aluminum alloy with a solid, metallic 'thwack.'
>You think you can feel your back hooves ringing after that.
>Surveying the damage, you seemed to have buckled the hull inwards, leaving two roughly horseshoe-shaped imprints.
>That didn't quite budge it, though.
>Looks like it needed just a little bit more...
>Again, you balanced yourself as you slammed your back two hooves against the metal skin and frame, feeling it start to give way.
>And the keratin of your hooves was slowly turning to gelatin, too.
>You went through the motion once more, with this last impact yielding fruit.
>Not only you could hear it, you felt the latching mechanism for the canopy finally breaking after your sustained assault.
>Thank Celestia, you really didn't think you could keep that up for much longer...
>Now you needed to get them out of there.
>Finding enough space to wedge the ends of your hooves in, you forced the glass up and to the side, a cloud of choking smoke pouring out from the plane's helm.
>Hacking and coughing as the rising smoke filled your throat, if only temporarily, you swatted that foul smog.
>Not only did it sting your throat, but it also made your eyes water.
>When enough of it had cleared, you hauled yourself up, taking care not to slip.
>Looks like they're still in their harness, and thankfully, nothing else was keeping them locked in place.
>Squirming forward, you try to tackle how you'll get them out of that fancy seatbelt...and the rest of the wreck's nose, for that matter.
>With how long it took you to fumble through unlatching the flight harness with your hooves, you were kinda envying those hornheads with your lack of unicorn power.
>While you struggled with it, you thought you may have seen the stranded human shift somewhat, but you didn't know if that was because of you.
>It was honestly embarrassing how long it took you to unbuckle that thing with these clippity-cloppities.
>Come on, Flywheel, this isn't amateur hour!
>After pulling off that unholy contraption, now came the fun part: actually getting them out of there.
>As you tried to gain some leverage to pull them up out of their seat, you really wished your wings still worked.
>Not that it meant you would be any better a flyer, of course...
>Once you sure you wouldn't slide off onto your haunches immediately, you hooked your forelegs under their arms, pulling them up and out with all your strength.
>Wow, they were heavier than you thought they'd be!
>Or maybe you really do need to get a bit more into shape.
>As you were lifting them free of the prison of their seat, fate decided that now must be the hour for you to lose your footing.
>Your instincts were to hold onto them tightly as you stumbled, falling with your back towards the ground and your charge in-tow.
>They were freed, yes, but you landed on your cast-bound webbed wings, practically crushing the poor things.
>For a moment all throughout the world, time seemed to stop.
>There was no strife, no fear, no sorrow.
>There were no tears or nightmares.
>A dog was seen eating catfood.
>You think your life - mistakes, triumphs and all - flashed before your eyes.
>Then the unending agony hit you, forcing you to bite your lower lip - and in the case of your fangs, your chin - to force down a scream.
>With the human falling on top of you, it effectively putting you through that experience again.
>A-At least you helped break their fall, ri-right?
>Your lucky day, you Good Samaritan.
>After taking a moment to collect and distract yourself from the lightning-fire of your nerves hollering and shouting, you gently push the pilot off of you.
>As they slumped over to the side, you got back up on your four hooves, dusting yourself off after yet another unpleasant landing.
>Your concerns shifted from yourself to the mysterious pilot, and their health.
>You still didn't know if they were even alive.
>Could they even be after that fall?
>You rested your head against their chest, trying to hear if their heart still beat...
>…
>You weren't hearing a thing.
>The sinking feeling of fear burned in your gut.
>W-Were they...?
>No.
>They weren't unless there was beyond a shadow of a doubt they were.
>And there was no time to waste.
>Every second counted.
>Placing your front hooves over their chest, you rhythmically compressed their chest, doing the only thing you could think to do to keep them alive.
>Two, three, four, five, six...
>Were you even doing this right?
>Were you actually hurting them?
>This self-doubt was not helping, and at such a time, too!
>You switched to the next phase, leaning in and pressing your lips against theirs, blowing hard to try and get the breath of life back in their lungs.
>Doing this a couple of times, you went back to listening for any stirring in their chest.
>…
>Nothing answered your hopeful ears.
>Immediately, you went back to pumping their chest, restarting the process.
>Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen...
>You clung to hope that they'd make it through this, even as some part of you was losing grasp of that optimism.
>Again, you forced new air into their lungs, praying that this would be the time, that this would get them back on their hoo- feet.
>Back to their chest your attentive ear went, ever more desperately searching for any newly-awakened fluttering.
>…
>Still n-nothing...
>As you got back into position to continue compressing their chest, your vision was starting to get blurry and a feeling of tightness enveloping your throat.
>C'mon...c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon...
>Please get up...
>Once again, you forced more of your own breath down their windpipe as you felt a wetness drip onto your cheeks.
>After a lungful or two, the human below stirred, startling you something fierce.
>You almost jumped as they hacked and gasped, a choked-up little squeak escaping your lips.
>Your initial surprise gave way to immense gratitude that whoever this was, they yet live.
>Thank Celestia's golden Sun they're okay!
>With their throat now cleared, they immediately switched from coughing up a storm to groaning under the influence of distilled agony and muttering something you couldn't quite make out.
>Were those even words?
>It wasn't like anything you heard before.
>Maybe they were just drunk on the pain.
>The sound of their voice, though...it sounded familiar.
>You weren't too sure where you heard it from in MLH, but you know it had to be there somewhere...
>Carefully, you removed their flight helmet, and your heart skipped a beat when you saw them.
>All those little details on his face, and seeing his eyes...
>He was definitely somepony in the show.
>You racked your mind, trying to think who it might be.
>Shortly after your eyes met for the first time, he slumped back into unconsciousness.
>Poor thing must be in so much pain right now...
>Just in case, you listened to his heart.
>…still beating.
>Good.
>You sheepishly reminded yourself that he wasn't out of the woods yet, and he probably needed a doctor.
>Now, how to get him to town...
>The only real way you could think of was to drape him over yourself, cringing at the prospect of putting your already-reeling and bound wings through even more torment.
>You weren't going to just take hold of his flight suit with your teeth and drag him on his butt all the way there like some kind of animal, though.
>You were a pony, not a timberwolf, after all.
>Seeing no other way to accomplish the task at hoof, you resigned yourself to deal with the discomfort to get him to town safely.
>You'd do it [spoiler]for him.[/spoiler]
>First, you started by going under his legs, letting them rest on top of you to help acquiesce to pressure applied to your wings.
>Oh, Luna's Moon, did it hurt after what they've been through today.
>Deep breaths, Flywheel...deep breaths.
>Getting used to this so far, you shimmy down further, lifting him up onto your back, whining all the while as the entire weight of the human was now resting on those two little sore spots.
>W-Well...time to g-get going.
>Your hoofsteps were slow as you started, going cautious and steady, not wanting him to slip off of you.
>Steady does it, Flywheel...
>You'd get there soon enough...
>You were awoken from your rather uncomfortable place of rest by a nursepony.
>"Miss?"
>Your eyes groggily fluttered open, heavy from a lack of real sleep.
"Whuh…?"
>You blurted out, not even knowing where you were.
>"Your...human friend is awake and well, now. Did you want to see them?"
>It took a moment for the gears to start turning in your head again.
>When everything fell into place, you were a flurry of miscoordinated activity, nearly falling flat on your face trying to get to your hooves.
"Y-Yeah! Just, uh...just give me a sec..."
>It had been seven days since you heard anything after bringing him here.
>Or...at least you thought it was that long.
>It could have been longer.
>After a few days of sleeping in the hospital's waiting room, you forgot to keep count.
>Giving you a nod as you got to your hooves, the nurse led you down the hallway to the room he was currently in.
>As the two of you approached, you could hear his voice coming from the room ahead, his tone not exactly sounding friendly.
>No doubt he was confused as to where in the Tartarus he was.
>Arriving at the room, number sixteen, the nurse's horn lit up with a feint red-pink glow, enshrouding the handle in the same magical veil.
>As the door creaked open, the room fell quiet, all the attention was directed to your entrance.
>Your little heart thrummed and time seemed to slow to a crawl, your mind jumping to fits of self-criticisms.
>You didn't even have time to straighten up your appearance, how much of a trainwreck did you look like?
>What were you even going to say to him?
>He was going to hear you talk, and that lisp of yours...
>Oh gosh, was he going think you were the biggest dork to ever dork?
>His stern, inquisitive gaze met yours as you trotted into the room.
>If you had any saddlebags, alfredo sauce would be dripping liberally from them right now.
>He sat up in his bed, however much he could, anyway.
>Those injuries weren't going to let him do much, anyhow.
>And it was he who broke the thick silence that had enshrouded the room.
>"Where in the Gods' name am I?"
>Guess it fell to you to introduce him to Equestria.
"You're in the Point Th-Thdardutht Memorial Hothpital."
>All the discipline you could normally muster slipped out from under you, bringing up that bad habit of yours.
>All these years of practice, and you couldn't keep it together when you spilt your spagooters. 
>Stupid front teeth, making you lisp like...and in front of him, too!
>Thank you, fangs, very cool.
>His eyes narrowed, seeming to be suspicious of everything around him.
>"That doesn't sound real. Were am I really?"
>Did...did he think he was still caught up in the war?
"Point Thdardust, i-it's a thmall town in northern Equestria."
>You iterated again, in more detail, trying to get a hang of your speech.
>What else could you really even say other than that?
>He still seemed to be quite disbelieving in your words, unable to make sense of the world around him.
>"That isn't even a real cou-!"
>His words were cut short after he moved a little too hard, groaning sharply as his battered body discouraged such a thing.
>As he laid back down, straddling his aches, the nursepony decided to make her presence more known.
>"Easy there, big guy. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself anymore than you are."
>The nursepony said as she strolled closer to the bedside.
>He glanced between the two of you, rubbing his eyes with his one good arm as though trying to wake himself from within a dream.
>"W-What...what am I even on right now? Is this some kind of interrogation? I haven't seen a single person since I woke up."
>You assumed by that remark he meant another human, like himself.
>"Just painkillers and medication to prevent infections, sir. You don't believe me, do you?"
>He shook his head in denial, probably thinking some tomfoolery was at work to...mess with his perception of reality.
>Or something of that sort.
>He didn't really say that aloud, though.
>Utilizing her magical abilities, the nurse levitated over his medicinal tab for the human to see.
>He squinted at the paper held in front of him, his eyes drifting from line to line repeatedly.
>Again, he tried skimming through the list, but didn't seem to grasp its contents.
"A-Are you having trouble, mithter?"
>You find yourself asking, wondering what the hold-up was on his end.
>"...I can't read this. I know Monan and I can't read this. You two speak Monan, and I can't read this. Is this...is this some kind of cipher? A joke, maybe?"
>His response caught you off guard; he could speak Ponish quite fine, and yet he couldn't read it?
>As you had no real response to that, his questioning turned back to the nursepony.
>"What am I being held for?"
>Sighing exasperatedly, she shook her head at the paranoid angle his questions had been coming from.
>"Nothing, sir. In fact, one of the reasons you're here right now is because of this mare right here."
>She pointed a hoof square at you.
>Oh jeez, the center of attention once more.
>"I think a 'thank you' is probably in order."
>The unicorn had apparently become tired of his prodding, turning to leave you and him alone.
>"I'll be back in a few minutes to adjust your drip, if the pain gets any worse."
>With that, she parted ways, leaving the room in an awkward silence.
>A few seconds of fidgeting uncomfortably later, you were thinking about leaving, too.
>Before you were able to do that, though, a voice called to you.
>"Bronze Cat-Eyes - can you come over here for a second?"
>His tone had softened from paranoid and accusatory to subdued and unsure.
>You nod, trotting over to the bedside.
"Ith there anything you need?"
>He took a slow, deep breath before answering your question.
>"...I suppose she's right. Sorry if I've made you upset, or if my tone's hurt you."
"Ith's okay, thir. I think I underthtand."
>Accepting his apology, you sit down beside him.
>Maybe you ought to stay longer to make sure he'd be okay while you were away?
>"I just...I just don't know what's real and not real anymore. First I go down, and I wake up somewhere I don't know-"
>His tone changed yet again, sounding lost and almost afraid.
>"I know this bed feels real. I know my broken bones definitely feel real. The sun through that window feels real. Yet I don't know if I'm really here, if I'll wake up somewhere else...or if I will at all when I close my eyes again."
>You attentively listened to him have a mild existential crisis, wanting to be there if he needed your support.
>"I don't even know what or who I'm talking to."
>While he laid there, as dour as he was, a thought crossed your mind.
>He could really do with a bit of cheering-up, couldn't he?
>Here goes.
"Well...would you like to find out who they are?"
>You asked him, softly smiling in the hopes this would take his mind off his current troubles.
>A few long moments of silence passed before he nodded.
>"Alright. What are you guys? Never seen anything like you before."
>Before you could answer his question, he placed his hand atop your head, running it through your white mane.
>Wow, that sure felt really nice...
>A couple seconds into that, you almost forgot to answer his question.
>F-Focus, Flywheel!
"Mythelf and the nurthe? We're what you'd call ponieth. Equethtria hath tho many creatureth living here, but you'll find more ponieth than anything elth."
>You tried to limit the number of times you screwed-up your 's's, but with his handling of your mane, you felt...
>Secure, if that was a way to put it.
>Like everything would be perfectly okay, and nothing was gonna change that.
>"Ponies, huh? ...yeah, I think I can see that. That would make the nurse a unicorn, right? With the horn, and all?"
>You nodded, confirming his suspicions.
>He continues with his treatment of your messy mane, occasionally reaching closer to your ears.
>How could something so simple feel so divine?
>You think you saw the corners of his lips curve upward, if only so much.
>"So, what would that make you, Cat-Eyes? Beyond just being a pony."
"There'th a lot of termth out there...'bat-pony,' 'thethtral,' they all mean the thame thing, really."
>A little "Hmm." was the only response out of him.
>You'd probably have to give him the whole spiel about all the pony tribes and whatnot, but you'll save that for later.
>Right now, you just wanted to enjoy this moment.
>Somewhere, though, you felt like he was making you feel better instead of it being the other way around.
>You weren't certain how long he had been petting your mane, exactly, but eventually he withdrew his hand from your tangled, frazzled mane.
>Aww...
>"You enjoy that, Cat-Eyes?"
>He must've noticed your pouting.
>His words brought a bright, burning flush to your face as you realized he had kept an eye on your enthusiastic reaction to his hand gliding through your mane.
>Princesses, he saw everything...
"Mhm. I-It wath very...nith."
>You sheepishly smiled in response, hoping you didn't pass out from how flustered you were.
>He chuckled softly to himself as he got comfortable in his bed.
>With the room falling into quiet, your thoughts drifted to home.
>For the past several days, the hospital was where you rested your head, where you ate cheap meals...
>That didn't subtract from the fact that you needed to wash up and rest a little easier.
"I think I should probably head back home, now..."
>You mentally congratulated yourself on not butchering that one.
>"Before you go, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you."
>You tilted your head slightly, attentively listening for what last question he had for you.
>"We've been talking for as long as we have, and I don't think we've even introduced ourselves. I'm Anonymous, and you are?"
>THE Anonymous?
>No wonder he seemed so familiar!
"G-Glittering Flywheel."
>Anonymous raised an eyebrow at that, most likely finding pony names just as weird as his current situation.
>"Very...foreign. Everything seems that way, now, though."
>He stared up at the ceiling for a minute, before redirecting his attention to you again.
>"If I wake up, and I'm still here, maybe I'll see you again?"
>You nodded in affirmation.
"Of courth! I'll come and vithit you whenever I can!"
>As much as you wanted to stay longer, you did have a life outside this hospital to attend to.
>And you were pretty sure your ashen coat was a shade or two darker.
>You honestly felt filthy.
>"Be seeing you, then, Flywheel."
"Goodbye, Anonymous!"
>Yes, you got it right the first time!
>So proud of yourself right now!
>With goodbyes exchanged, you departed from the hospital for your humble abode.
>On the outside, you mostly kept composure with a spring to your step and a smile on your face.
>Internally, you were in paroxysms.
>You just met one of your favorite MLH characters, like for real!
>A-And the way his fingers handled your mane...
>You didn't even know touch like that would feel as good as it did.
>How was Anonymous handling his arrival in Equestria, really?
>What would he do once discharged from the hospital?
>Did he think you were silly for having that lisp?
>All of those things and more bounded around your tired mind.