//------------------------------// // 22. Remedy // Story: Gifts and Curses // by flamevulture17 //------------------------------// [Chapter 22] Remedy Lyra and Andrew returned to the lobby of Sugarcube Corner after what they were able to accomplish with their private conversation, but it came time for Andrew to depart this world. He was confident Princess Luna had the power to get him there, but was skeptical if she knew where to send him. The difference between ending up in the right place and somewhere else entirely was one mistake he was willing to accept. Lyra was now aware of the hardships that humans and ponies alike share. To her, it seemed like any two intelligent species across worlds, dimensions, realities, and universes can have things in common when exploring emotional constructs. She was glad that Andrew saw this experience as a wake up call and found a probable way for her to connect to the human world. Things will get better. Hopefully. “Everything alright, you two?” Luna asked as the pair strolled into the room. “Solid,” Andrew replied with enthusiasm. He noticed the entire room was filled with streamers, balloons, and an excess amount of cake. He and Lyra stopped just beside the front counter as they took in the change atmosphere. A predetermined concern hovered above every mare in the room. Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash paused their cupcake-eating session and focused their attention to the new arrivals. “SURPRISE!” screamed a high pitched voiced as a pink blur whizzed by Lyra and Andrew. A shower of confetti rained down on them from above. Several colorful pieces landed on their heads. “Pinkie Pie!” shouted Applejack. “But it's a party!” the party pony exclaimed. “We're supposed to have FUN!” “A party for what?” Andrew asked. “A going away party, for you, silly!” Pinkie bounced towards them. “What games you wanna play first? How about-” Pinkie was suddenly engulfed in a blue aura as she was pulled away from the two surprised ponies. “Hey!” she cried. “Pinkie Pie, please,” Luna remarked. “I appreciate the party you have set up for Andrew here, but the shouting is a bit unnecessary.” “Not necessary?” Pinkie gasped in shock. “But it's the best way to say goodbye to anypony!” Pinkie looked at Andrew. “You want a surprise party, don't you?” “Um, not really,” he said. “I'm not the party type.” Pinkie's expression increased in shock. She never thought she'd hear somepony say they didn't like parties. It hurt her little heart. Andrew noticed a bleak expression overcome Pinkie's face to match her feelings. “But I would love to try some of the cupcakes,” Andrew smiled, licking his lips. The pink pony's face immediately lit up with happiness. “YAY!” Pinkie zipped from her spot next to Luna and appeared in front of Andrew with a tray of chocolate frosted cupcakes with vanilla filling. Andrew was caught off guard for a moment as the earth pony appeared in front of him as if she teleported without magic. He shook his mind free of the question on how she was able to do that. He lifted a hoof to grab a cupcake, but stopped just before touching the treat. Remembering he didn't have any fingers to grab it with, he retracted his hoof away from the tray. “What's wrong?” Pinkie asked cocking her head. “Oh, it's just that I can't grab a cupcake properly. I don't have hands.” “Use your magic silly nilly,” Pinkie grinned with the tray still held up to his face. “I... don't know how.” Pinkie's smile faded significantly and was replaced by a hanging grimace. Twilight took the opportunity to walk over to the three ponies while Pinkie Pie looked at Andrew and Lyra with a curious face. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. “You want me to teach you how?” Twilight inclined her delight with a wide grin. “I have some books on basic spells to help you out.” “Yeah! And I can teach you how to fly,” Rainbow Dash added, darting over to them. “No no it's fine. Thanks for the offers though.” “Oh come on, just try it,” Rainbow begged, flying a full circle around the turquoise alicorn. “What about the cupcakes?” Pinkie reminded. She then pouted with a gleam of puppy dog eyes to add to that. It was enough to convince Andrew to invert his original reluctant decision into a more trusting one. He shrugged and the girls led him over to the table where Applejack stood munching on a slice of specially-made apple pie. Leaving Andrew to converse with the three talented ponies of their expertise, Lyra trotted over to Luna. “You let Pinkie Pie throw a party?” she asked in a voice only Luna could hear. The two of them were far enough from the other group to engage in a conversation of their own. “Pinkie strongly insisted she make Andrew feel better with a party. It was not my place to refuse. This is Sugarcube Corner after all.” Lyra nodded. “Fair enough.” “So, what was it you two talked about?” Luna leaned in closer to Lyra. “You two have been gone a while.” “Stuff.” Lyra rolled her eyes, pretending to be nervous. “Wait, how long were we up there?” “I'd say... about a twenty minutes.” “Really?” Lyra put a hoof to her chin and pondered for a moment. “I guess we lost track of the time,” she chuckled. “Were we supposed to be back down here already?” “Don't worry yourself, Lyra,” Luna hushed in a calm tone. “I'm glad you took your time.” Both mares smiled at each other and they glanced back at the table were Andrew was at, chatting with four ponies eating vanilla filled chocolate cupcakes. A silence fell upon Princess Luna and Lyra for few seconds. “So, what kind of stuff did you two share?” Luna had a playful smug on her face. “Um, I'd rather keep it between me and him,” Lyra whispered. “Fair enough.” Luna giggled. “So how do we send him home?” Lyra asked. “We don't have a proper spell to do the job. What is it you want us to help you with?” “I was hoping to attempt the same mind spell I used on him earlier, but since you know how that turned out, I will need you and Twilight to counter any negative outputs of magic that may occur. I want to avoid a potentially fatal mistake. That would not be good for anypony. Are you sure you can manage?” “You can count on me, my mentor.” Lyra made sure they maintained eye contact before winking. Luna's ears twitched a bit at the weight of the unicorn's words. After all the Princess has been through, past and present, it was nice to hear those words enter her mind and receive agreement from her new – and possibly official – student. Luna knew she would have to tell her sister about it, eventually, but for now, it was a harmless secret. Instead of friendship reports, they would look into the the mysteries of magic. The alicorn sealed the deal with a warm, sincere smile. “You ready to get started?” Lyra remembered what Andrew told her about his intentions before returning to the lobby and took a deep breath. “Yes.” The both of them stood together and quietly watched the group of ponies, but before Luna was about to address the ponies of her plan, the room went silent when she noticed a single cupcake floating high above the table in a teal aura. “YAY!” Pinkie shrieked. She leaped into the air and snatched the cupcake with her mouth, swallowing it a second later. “Mmm... Delicious!” “Well done, Andrew!” Twilight said with a big smile on her face. “I'm impressed!” “Yer a natural!” said Applejack, patting him on the back. “Actually, it wasn't even that hard,” he responded. “Come on, big guy,” Rainbow Dash looped in place and threw her hooves in the air. “Let's see those wings in action!” “Ahem!” Luna loudly cleared her throat to get their attention after waiting for the right opportunity. Even though the Princess shared the same enthusiasm as Twilight Sparkle, she thought more of the matter at hoof. Each pony shot their gaze at Luna. “Let's give Andrew some room to breathe.” “Did you see that, Princess?” Twilight asked. “I sure did, Twilight.” Luna nodded. “However, we must focus on what is most important.” She took a few steps towards the center of the room. “Shall we begin the spell?” “Which one?” he asked. “The same spell I cast on you before...” Luna trailed off, reluctant to finish that sentence and reminding everypony of that unpleasant event. Andrew looked directly into eyes of the Lunar Princess. Each of the ponies were waiting for his confirmation, but he had a different idea in mind. The movement of his muzzle to one side indicated he was in thought, though was subtle and nopony really noticed. “Umm...” his gaze drifted around aimlessly for a moment, then he looked back at the midnight-blue alicorn. “You know what? Let's not.” “No?” Luna grimaced. The faces of each pony around him showed mixed expressions, namely that of confusion. “I don't care why I was brought here anymore.” “But Andrew!” Twilight jumped in front of him, apparently upset by his answer. “It's important to know exactly happened to you and what kind of magic was involved. It will give us a greater understanding on the mysteries of magic. Aren't you at least a bit curious?” Andrew sighed. “I am, but I feel it's better if it stays a mystery.” “But this can be the most important discov-” “Twilight, please.” Luna cut her off. Even though she agreed with Twilight, she refused to argue about it. She could not ask Andrew to volunteer for such a dangerous spell that may put his life at risk. “Let's respect Andrew's decision. We cannot force him to submit to the spell if he wishes not to, even for our own self-interest.” The lavender mare stared off in another direction, trying to hide her discontent, and then sighed, letting her ill-conceived thoughts wash away. The lobby went quiet for a while, before Pinkie Pie broke the silence. “Oh come on Twilight, let's turn that frown upside down.” The pink pony bounced right next to Andrew and brought a foreleg around his shoulders and pulled him against her side. Her body brushed against his wing and Andrew winced from the discomfort. “As long as our new friend can get home with your help, you'll feel better knowing you helped somepony in need.” Andrew agreed, but was too incapacitated by Pinkie's tight grip to voice his agreement. He simply smiled, which made Pinkie's smile even more. Twilight looked at her outgoing and happy friend. The smiles of their faces made the rest of her solicitous feelings disappear. “You're right. I guess I just over-reacted.” Twilight laughed away her embarrassment. Pinkie released her tight brace with Andrew. “So how do I get home from here?” he bluntly asked to everypony in general. “Why don't we do it at the library?” Twilight suggested. “I'm gonna need to reread some of the books to brush up on my rusty spellcasting abilities. The books I have with me don't account for advanced teleportation.” She looked at Pinkie. “Plus, if anything goes wrong, we don't want Sugarcube Corner to burn down, do we?” Pinkie returned an awkward smile this time, remembering her sole responsibility as caretaker of the pastry shop while Mr. and Mrs. Cake were out. “It's settled then,” Luna nodded in agreement. “We shall prepare the final spell at the library. Lead the way for us, Miss Sparkle.” Twilight returned a nod and murmured something among her friends while Luna turned to Lyra. However, before the Princess could form a sentence, Andrew voiced a concern of his. “What about my clothes?” he uttered, looking at Luna. “Your clothes?” “Yeah, what happened to my shirt?” “Ya mean this ol' thing?” Applejack said, holding a wrinkled mess of woven cotton in her hoof. The large t-shirt was torn down the center about halfway and was covered in a layer of loose dirt when it came in contact with the ground. Andrew whistled in certain two-tone tune, indicating his smooth acknowledgment of its poor condition. It was in worse shape than he thought. “Wow,” he mumbled. “Ah reckon we get Rarity to fix it up for ya,” the farm pony advised. “Rarity?” “The best fashion designer and dress maker in all of Equestria that unicorn. There's nopony better.” “Alright, um...” He paused to think if he forgot something. “What about my pants? I left those back at the hospital, remember?” Applejack pondered for a moment, then perked her ears up when the scene suddenly came back to her. “Oh ya! Ah remember.” “Applejack, dear,” Luna said. “Why don't you do the honors and visit the boutique and the hospital. Tell Miss Rarity to bring the necessary materials with her and meet us at the library as soon as possible.” Once the Princess finished her orders, Applejack nodded and quickly trotted out the front door. “As for the rest of us,” she continued, addressing every individual in the room. “We must get going as well. We will resume matters at the library. Twilight, will you lead us there?” “Of course, Princess.” Twilight levitated both her original and secondary saddlebags and laid them on each side of her back and began walking towards the entrance. Andrew and Lyra followed after the librarian and Rainbow Dash flew after them in a flash. Luna waited a little longer as Pinkie Pie ran around the room, making sure everything was in perfect order before locking up the building for the night. Sugarcube Corner was already closed for business for the past hour or so. Pinkie Pie smiled as she finished going through her mental checklist. She was glad nothing went horribly wrong, other than the broken window in her own room. She could fix that later. Luna received confirmation from Pinkie Pie once her routine sweep of the lobby was complete and left the shop. Pinkie locked the door behind her and swiftly picked up her bouncing pace to catch up with the the rest of the party. As the six ponies strolled through the chilly night of Ponyville, the vacant streets was a sign of relief while the darkness provided extra cover from wandering eyes of the villagers who would get suspicious if they sighted Andrew. Lyra deliberately fell to the back of the group to talk with her new, unofficial mentor. With Twilight in front, Andrew walked next to an attentive pegasus who kept leaping in the air and landing beside him, apparently examining his graceful features. “Why don't you try flying? I'll can help you with the basics.” Andrew looked at Rainbow Dash as she hovered mere inches off the ground, her wings flapping rapidly. “I'm not sure if I-” “Sure you can!” she interrupted. “All you gotta do is take each wing and stretch them out like this.” Rainbow leveled both her blue wings perpendicular to her own body. Andrew brought his gaze back in front of him, reluctant to do as she instructed. The simple thought of having wings was still unsettling, but his judgment was soon overshadowed by curiosity. It would be foolish to ignore something so cool. He finally glanced at his own body, staring at the feathered wings attached to his back. Even though the darkness made it hard to see anything, light from the full moon helped illuminate the environment sufficiently enough. After a few tries, he ultimately got his wings to obey his brain's commands to move. He then mimicked the rainbow pegasus' actions. A dash of euphoria filled his mind. “There you go!” she said with increased excitement. “Now, put your wings up first, then push down with the right amount of force. You can give yourself a boost by jumping, just don't push down too hard. Remember to sync each wing so they move together. You want to keep your center of gravity in your chest. Like this.” With every word Rainbow Dash spoke, Andrew did his best to follow them as closely as he could. His only fear was the lack of a tree to save him from falling. With just one flap cycle, Andrew was able to lift off the ground a foot or so before landing back on the street. He almost lost his balance once his hooves hit the uneven gravel and wobbled in place. The low amount of outside light made it difficult to see where the ground was relative to his height in the air. “You got it!” Rainbow squeaked as Andrew flapped a second time, catching more air and anticipating contact with the ground. “Try it again, but instead of letting yourself fall, flap your wings again while you're still in the air to counter your fall.” Andrew took a deep breath and flapped his wings once more with more force than the previous two tries, but as he was about to fall, he quickly flapped his wings again. Forgetting to coordinate each wing with one another, he began to tumble to his right, descending quickly. A couple panic-stricken seconds later, Andrew flapped again, adjusting his trajectory to his left, sparing himself from hitting the cobblestone in an ugly fashion and landed safely on all four hooves. His increased heart rate reverberated in his ears. “Whew, that was a close one dude,” said Rainbow, landing directly in front of him, neglecting to ask him if he was alright. Throughout her days of being a daredevil, she had a history with disregarding safety. It hardly crossed her mind if she didn't think a certain stunt was worth worrying about. “Next time, try to focus more on balance. With more practice, you'll be able to fly like me someday.” “Have you forgotten why we're going to the library, Rainbow?” Twilight joined in, trotting up to her athletic friend. The rest of the group converged. “There won't be time for practice.” “Oh yeah... … right.” Rainbow snorted. Her plans on teaching a unicorn pegasus for the first time were foiled with that reminder. Just like the rest of her friends, she didn't want him to go just yet. Rainbow was always a reliable coach and it would amend her list of achievements with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Do you ponies by any chance have air travel besides pegasi?” Andrew asked, trying for an interesting conversation. Even though they were impressed with his improvements on flying, the question at hoof begged for an answer. “There are royal chariots pulled by pegasi and hot air balloons of sorts, but other than that, transportation is very limited for us unicorns and Earth ponies,” Lyra explained. Luna smiled at her new pupil for taking initiative. “I was thinking more like airplanes, jets, rockets, helicopters, and-” “Did somepony say helicopters!?” Pinkie shouted, but before any of them could look at the pink pony, she zipped away and returned a second later on a strange looking, wooden contraption hovering above the ground. Andrew looked at her in surprise, as did the rest of the group. The rotor blades pushed air downward, keeping the occupant (Pinkie) suspended in mid air with amazing accuracy. “I stand corrected,” Andrew said to himself, staring intensely at the flying Earth pony. “It's one of my many inventions that help me do what Earth ponies can't,” Pinkie stated with a huge grin. Oddly enough, her white teeth reflected enough moonlight downward, making her smile evidently more lively than normal. “The more the merrier!” “Okay Pinkie Pie, I think Andrew gets the point,” Twilight giggled. Almost instantly, the makeshift wooden helicopter with working pulleys and gears whizzed out of sight and the lone form of the bubbly pink equine returned just as quickly. Andrew wanted to ask exactly what happened, but shook his head to break his train of thought regarding the improbability. He didn't want to know at that point. Unknown to Andrew, everypony else knew it was just the unexplainable personality of Pinkie Pie. “Now that this little diversion is over,” Luna began, her tone sounding more serious than before. “Time is short and we must press forward.” The group came to the silhouette of a large tree several houses down the road. Without any more questions, comments, or complaints, they continued through the dark path following closely behind Twilight Sparkle. Shortly before reaching the library, Rainbow Dash swooped down next to Andrew. “What's a rocket?” she whispered in his ear. “A giant metal tube that shoots things high up in the sky really fast,” he whispered back. “It can even go into outer space. Then it's called a spaceship.” Rainbow's eyes went wide with genuine astonishment. Before she could express her amazement with a considerably loud outburst, the entrance to the library opened, letting a yellow light pour out into the cool night. Twilight quickly entered; trailed by Pinkie Pie, Andrew, Lyra, and Luna. Rainbow Dash stood in awe after Andrew's description of rockets for a brief moment before dashing inside after the others, closing the door behind her. Andrew was amazed at what he found inside. - - - A particular short figure paced back and forth in the main room of Ponyville's only library. The small purple dragon spent his time trying to recall the things he's done that day and worrying about Twilight. It has definitely been one of those unusual days that were special under its own merits. With the library organized and the evening chores taken care of, all he could do was wait. Before long, the front door to library swung open and a certain lavender unicorn strolled in. “Twilight!” shouted Spike, rushing over to her. “Spike?” The young reptile jumped to embrace Twilight with a tight hug. “I've been so worried, Twilight. You've been gone all day.” “It's okay, Spike, I'm here now.” As soon as he let go of Twilight, he noticed multiple ponies had followed her friend inside the room; including Lyra Heartstrings, Princess Luna, and- “Um, who's he?” he asked. Spike had never seen that stallion before. He was about to introduce himself, but as he got closer from a different angle, he noticed certain characteristics that stopped him in his tracks. A horn AND wings. He back away slowly. “No need to worry, Spike,” Twilight hushed. “He's a... friend. His name is Andrew Fera.” She gestured a hoof for Andrew to advance further. “Come say hello to my dragon assistant, Spike.” The turquoise alicorn stallion stared at the short bipedal figure with just as much surprise as the dragon stared back. Spike then sighed in relief, but was still skeptical about the new guy. He tried to overcome his initial intimidation in an attempt to build his maturity. “Did you say, dragon?” Andrew said in awe, keeping his eyes on the short lizard, at least, that what he thought it was before Twilight said otherwise. “What? Never seen a dragon before?” Spike teased, crossing his arms. “Nnnope.” Andrew faked a smile and laughed nervously, noticing the dragon's attitude against him. “How did you get back here from Canterlot?” Twilight asked Spike. “Oh, uh, Princess Celestia sent a second chariot after the one filled with your stuff. I rode it straight here.” “That was nice of her.” Twilight removed her heavy saddlebags and set them gently on a nearby desk. Lyra did the same while Andrew simply set down his duffel bag where he stood. “Wait here. I needed to search for the right book,” she continued, trotting up the staircase at the far end of the room. “Be nice, Spike!” she shouted before disappearing out of sight. As much as Spike didn't trust the alicorn, it didn't help to stay overly cautious. He grunted his dislike away and forced himself to look on the bright side. His suspicions were based on ignorance, unaware of Andrew's situation. “Loosen up a little, short stuff,” said a familiar voice from close behind, startling the poor dragon. “When are you gonna stop sneaking up on me?” he hissed as he tried poking a claw at Rainbow Dash. “As soon as you lay off the poking.” The light-blue pegasus laughed at their ongoing friendly game. With perfect timing, a knock came from the library door before the silence among the ponies became arid. Spike slipped away from Rainbow Dash to answer their newer arrivals. “Howdy there Spike!” greeted a worn out orange pony as she casually let herself in with a subtle pant in her breath. She was shortly followed by an enthusiastic paper-white unicorn mare with a purple saddlebag on her back and a pink striped scarf around her neck. A reddening blush suddenly slapped itself on the cheeks on the affectionate dragon. “There's my Spikey wikey,” Rarity sang in her usual elegant voice. “Is the unique colt in question present?” Spike's blush went away. “Who? Andrew?” “Is that his name?” Rarity cooed. “What a lovely foreign name if I must say so myself.” Rarity took his uncertainty as a yes and trotted inside the library. Spike's dislike for Andrew doubled as he slammed the door shut while steams of jealousy sizzled off his scales. That guy is getting all the attention, he grumbled in his thoughts. Rarity skipped further in the library with her eyes closed, humming to herself. When she opened her eyes, she caught sight of a rather unfamiliar turquoise pony with a dark-blue and white mane standing next to Applejack. He was no ordinary stallion. “Oh my!” she gasped. The white mare reacted by bowing where she stood. “Miss Rarity?” said Princess Luna, starling Rarity from her respectful gesture. “It's quite alright, dear. This is our friend Andrew Fera.” Rarity rose from her stance and bowed to the Princess of the Night. Andrew stood beside Applejack with a confused look. “Why did she do that?” he whispered to Applejack. “Ah reckon ah forgot to tell her 'bout y'all bein' an alicorn and all.” Applejack laughed. “She assumed you was royalty. Ah admit, ah did too when ah brought ya to the hospital.” So that's why those nurse ponies at the hospital bowed to him before he left. They were unusually nice to him compared to all other ponies he's met. “Make's sense.” He shrugged. Rarity slowly stepped towards Andrew. He was no larger than the farm pony standing next to him. His golden eyes glistened in the light of the room. It took her a few seconds more of her initial examination on every attribute of the stallion. Both his wings and horn were a sight to see on a male pony. However, even more surprising was the absence of a cutie mark. “I have to say, Prince Andrew,” she began. “You have an extraordinary taste in dresses.” Andrew leaned closely into Applejack's ear. “Did she just call me Prince?” Applejack couldn't help but giggle at Rarity's misunderstanding. Rarity lifted two different articles of wrinkled clothing with her delicate magic from her saddlebag, one of which was given to her by Applejack, and suspended them in front of her. “Oh yeah. Those old things.” Andrew snickered. “It's just a shirt and pants, and not even the good kind.” “I've never seen such simplicity and shape. They are simply divine, darling. With a little help Rarity,” Rarity lifted a hoof to point to herself. “They will be as good as new.” “Thank you.” Andrew wasn't sure how he would be able to repay her for her generosity. “If I had something to give-” “Please, Prince Andrew,” Rarity held up another hoof. “It will be my pleasure.” Andrew wanted to tell the neatly styled unicorn that he was no prince, or any royal figure for that matter, but he wasn't going to be around long enough to befriend the pony. He also didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, as it happened often to people concerned with their self-image in the presence of others of higher class. Rarity wasted no time in fixing the torso portion of his dresses. She went right to work, taking out a variety of sewing material from her saddlebag; threads, needles, a tape measure, a pair of purple reading glasses, and even a mini notepad and a brown feather. The pony was on the tips of her hooves with this one. She calmly – yet frantically – began to sew up his shirt back together while jotting down something down on her notepad. Every stitch was recorded, every thread was inserted perfectly, and every needle secured each hole with the finest yarn Rarity brought with her. Every other pony (secluding Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, and Spike) oversaw the delicate work of the pristine fashion pony as she patched up the fabric of the t-shirt. Moments later, Twilight entered the room from the stairs with a brown book floating beside her. “Hi Rarity,” she said as the pony worked. Rarity looked up and returned the greeting, but then refocused her concentration back to her current task. Twilight trotted past the group surrounding Rarity and towards the Princess. - - - “Here we are.” Twilight placed a large brown book on top a short podium she moved in front of her, entitled Quantum Incantations. A book of highly intricate spells that only the most powerful unicorns would be able to preform. “I just want to make sure I know the spell we will be attempting. I don't want anything to go wrong.” Lyra walked to Twilight's side and looked through the book with her friend. After a few page searches though numerous sections, they found the advanced teleportation spell they were looking for. It was the spell already tried earlier that day to get to Ponyville from Canterlot, but Luna was the only one to conjure up the spell's complexities. All Twilight and Lyra did was provide the necessary amount of energy to successfully transport all three of them. This time, they would need to know how to preform the spell themselves. The spell in the book, however, emphasized the procedures of morphological normality. It explained several steps on bypassing standard quantum integrity and use the teleporation itself to rearrange the atoms of the subject as it travels through the event horizon. Basically teleporting Andrew back home without any hiccups while reverting to his original form on the other side. Nothing two powerful unicorns and an alicorn can't handle. After several minutes of scanning the most important details from the multiple pages of the spell, Twilight turned to her mint-green counterpart. “Have you got it?” she asked. “Yep,” Lyra replied. “Remember, this is an extremely difficult-” “Relax, Twilight.” Lyra put a hoof around Twilight's neck. “It will be alright. No pressure.” “Okay.” Both mares looked towards Princess Luna who took the time to meditate in peace a certain distance away from them while floating on a dark-gray cloud, inches from the floor. It appeared to them she was asleep. They didn't blame her, the Princess had been awake for over twenty four hours after all. They waited for the right moment to interrupt the monarch's mused state. Right before Twilight was about to say her name, Luna shot her eyes open. “Are we ready?” she said. “Just finished,” said Lyra. “Marvelous.” Luna let the cloud dissipate and gently dropped to the floor. “Let's begin.” - - - Rarity was almost done patching up the final piece, the strange pair of pants, which suffered far less damage than the shirt. All she had to do was close a few tiny holes that ripped through both legs. Before she patched up the last hole, she decided to add a little something extra. She was glad to have brought a precious red stone in her saddlebag before leaving the boutique. Rarity searched for an ideal spot. She picked the top left where the hip would be and attached the precious ruby with aesthetic accuracy. A token of my generosity, she confidently thought to herself. With her final touches in place, she smiled. “Voila!” she squealed. “Here you go, dearie.” Rarity straightened out his pants, folded them neatly, and levitated them to Andrew. He turned around after having an interesting chat with Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash about airplanes and movies. They left Rarity to work her magic, quite literally, and start a conversation. It was actually more of a Q&A, but they were intrigued when he told them about the SR-71 Blackbird (his favorite aircraft) and the newest Star Trek movie (which was irrelevant, but fun to discuss). The ponies took turns telling him about some things they enjoyed doing. Pinkie Pie wanted to throw him another party. Applejack prided herself on the family tradition of Zap Apple Jam. Rainbow Dash gloated on her trademark that is the sonic rainboom while complaining about her efforts to get into the Wonderbolts. Interesting insight from both cultures. Andrew had already slipped into his newly stitched shirt (with some help). It covered most of his body, including his wings. Rainbow was a little bummed out that he was not up for another flying lesson. Andrew made an effort to grab the folded jeans with his own aura of magic and lay them on his back, unaware of the hidden ruby attached to it. “Thanks. You're really fast at sewing ya know,” he praised. “Likewise, Sir Andrew,” Rarity giggled. “It is part of my special talent after all.” “How is everypony settling in?” said Twilight's voice as she trotted to the group. “Fabulous, Twilight. All done.” Rarity stepped aside as Lyra and Princess Luna walked up behind the purple pony. Luna turned to the partially clothed alicorn stallion. “Are you prepared to go home?” she asked. Andrew took on last deep breath. “I am.” Final chapter to be uploaded 2.24.13.