//------------------------------//
// 13: Explanations Are in Order/Jethrek and Fluttershy Meet Again 
// Story: Constant: Time Guardian 
// by TimeSpawn 
//------------------------------//

Later that evening, Applejack lead Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Maud Pie to the barn. It was 7:28 PM. Applejack pushed the barn doors open. "He'll be arriving in here," she said.

"Why would he choose your barn as the place to meet us?" Rarity asked.

"Actually I chose it," Applejack replied, "He wanted a place that was secluded, so I told him to come here." She pointed to where the Monitor stood earlier. "That's where he said he would park, so watch where you stand."

"Park?" Spike asked, "What, is he using some kind of carriage?"

"Not exactly," Applejack replied as she walked to the barn doors to close them. "Spike, could you help me light some lanterns?"

"Oh, sure," Spike said, and ran to each lantern, turning them on and using his own fire to ignite them.

Twilight looked to the barn doors. "He really want to keep this secret, doesn't he?"

"Wait," Rarity said, "Don't you need to let him in?"

"He won't need the barn doors," Applejack replied.

"Then how will he get in?" Rarity asked, "Is he going to appear out of thin air right behind us?"

As if on cue, a slight whooshing sound was heard.  Applejack smiled, pointing behind Rarity, who looked and saw that a large rock was now present in the spot where Applejack said Constant would be parking. Everyone was surprised, but the pony who actually reacted was Maud. "That's it!" she exclaimed, "That's the rock that landed in the rock farm!" She ran up to it. 

"Maud, stop!" Applejack said, "It's not a rock!"

Maud stopped and looked back to Applejack. "What?"

"It's never been a rock," Applejack replied, "It's the Monitor. It's Constant's ship."

"What are you talking about?" Maud asked, not believing it. Suddenly, a section of the rock was pulled inward with a CLUNK, and it split in two, sliding in opposite directions to reveal a stallion walking out of the rock. Maud, who had seen the whole thing, was shocked, to say the least.

Constant looked at Maud. "Hello there," he said as he walked out, closing the doors behind him. Then he looked to everyone else. "Hello everypony..." He looked to Spike..."and dragon."

"Wait a minute," Pinkie Pie said, running up close to Constant, "I recognize you! You were at the library a few days ago, weren't you?"

"Yes," Constant said, "That was me...but I wasn't looking for astrological phenomena."

Pinkie froze at that instant. "Then...what were you doing?"

"I'll explain everything," Constant promised, "Just give me some room to---"

"Pardon me for interrupting," Rarity said, "but how rich are you to have possession of that vehicle? You couldn't have made it yourself, could you? You're not a unicorn."

"True," Constant said, "and I'm not a pony, either."

"What?" Rarity asked, "but you clearly look like---"

"Rarity!" Twilight snapped, "Give him a chance to speak! It must be important if he requested all of us to be here to talk with him."

Rarity looked at Twilight, realizing she was right. "I apologize," she said, sitting on a hay bale, "I guess I was a little overexcited."

Everyone else took a seat somewhere as well, but Constant remained standing. "Alright," Constant said, "Thank you all for being here. For those of you who are unaware, my name is Constant, and my journey here was unpleasant, to say the least. My arrival in this world was quite accidental, you see. Now that being said...those of you who have seen me already...I should stop deceiving you." He deactivated his perception filter to reveal his humanoid shape.

Some of the ponies went wide-eyed with amazement. Rarity nearly fainted, but Spike, who was between Twilight and Rarity, caught her.

"This is my true form," Constant explained, "In my universe, this planet is dominated with beings that look something like me, but there are several differences. I won't go into too much detail about it though."

"So the dominant species is like the the beings I saw in another dimension,' Twilight said.

"Right," Constant confirmed, remembering asking Applejack about that earlier.

"So what does that make you, then?" Spike asked, "Extraterrestrial?"

"That's right," Constant confirmed, "I'm a time traveler as well."

"A time traveler?" Spike asked, "Well, that being said, what time did you come from?"

"I've made a point of not revealing that information," Constant replied, "Plus, I don't know if my planet has a counterpart in this universe. I doubt it, though."

"Truly unique," Fluttershy and Rarity said together.

"So when did you arrive here?" Twilight asked.

"A few days ago, actually," Constant replied. He looked to the young dragon. "Spike, that meteor you and your friends were doing research for? I'm sorry, but that was no meteor."

"It wasn't?" Spike asked. He looked down, disappointed, "Then what was it?"

Constant pointed to his time ship and sighed. "Crash landing."

Rarity gasped a bit. "This is going to break Sweetie Belle's heart."

"I'm sorry I lied to you Spike, and Twilight...and you too, Pinkie Pie...but it was necessary."

"Why did you lie, anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked, restraining herself from showing an angry face.

"I'll answer that," Applejack said, "He told me that if someone powerful or...untrustworthy learned about him, that they'd want to use his time machine for their own benefits."

"How is that a bad thing?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Constant glared at Pinkie. "I'll speak now." He walked to Pinkie Pie. "Imagine all the events that you've lived through, especially those which got you where you're standing now. Alright?"

"Okey-dokey," Pinkie Pie replied, a smile on her face.

"Now, " Constant went on, giving her a stern look in her eyes, "Imagine what would happen if someone went back in time and changed something. Just think. One change could mean that you would live your life differently...or you would be uncreated altogether!"

Fluttershy gasped and shuddered at Constant's statement. "Could that really happen?" she asked.

"In my universe, I've corrected at least 124 paradoxes involving that kind of situation," Constant confirmed, "And speaking of paradoxes..." he looked to Twilight, "Twilight, did you by chance cast a time travel spell in the past?"

Twilight was surprised at that question. "Yes," she replied, "But how do you know about that?"

"Actually, you just confirmed it," Constant replied, "I could only guess because this ship detected a  temporal anomaly in Ponyville, inside the library."

Twilight looked down. "It was an adventure I want to keep behind me," she said.

"Actually, I'm glad you did it anyway," Constant said, "You see, your actions started a causality loop. Whatever you did is still happening again and again and again." He smiled a bit. "Because of that, I'm able to keep the Monitor powered up."

Twilight looked to Constant, surprised, "Wait, that's why you parked your time machine on the library?"

"Exactly," Constant confirmed.

"So that whooshing sound I kept hearing was you," Spike said.

"Correct again," Constant replied.

"So how did you end up crashing in my rock farm?" Maud Pie asked.

"That's an interesting story, actually," Constant replied, "You see, the quantum signature of this universe differs to that of my own, so the power in my ship dramatically fell to below minimum. It's getting used to this universe as we speak, but from what I can tell, it'll be a while before I can stop relying on the library for power."

"Sounds like your ship is a tree that was replanted in new soil," Applejack said.

Constant pondered what Applejack had said..."That's an accurate analogy. Sometimes a tree goes through quite the shock before it starts taking in nutrients from the new soil. Anyway, to finish answering your question, Maud, because the Monitor lost power, I had no control over the navigational systems until I entered the atmosphere. By then, there was enough power to set a crash course, which I did...and the Monitor ended up rolling down one hill and up another...and then landed in your rock farm before disguising itself."

"Then why didn't you come out and tell me?" Maud asked.

"Yeah, why?!" Pinkie snapped, coming up close to Constant, "You made her think she was loco in the coco!"

"Pinkie!" Maud gasped. She didn't expect Pinkie to take it that hard, especially since she was not the one who it affected.

"You owe her apologies for so many things right now," Pinkie seethed at Constant, touching her forehead to his and looking directly in his eyes.

"Uhm, no, just two," Maud said, a little worried about where this was going, and she was not alone.

"You owe her for making her think she lost something valueable," Pinkie went on.

"Okay, yeah, that's true," Maud agreed, "but---"

"You owe her for keeping her thinking your ship was a rock!," Pinkie went on further, not hearing Maud. Constant was getting annoyed and a little bit scared, but did not show it.

"Okay, that's number two, but---"

"You owe her for---"

"PINKIE!" Maud yelled, "THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU'VE COVERED EVERYTHING HE OWES ME FOR!"

Everyone looked at Maud, surprised. No one had expected her to burst out like that.

"Uh," Pinkie spoke nervously, "yeah...okay."

"Sit down," Constant said quietly to Pinkie. His tone suggested he was annoyed. Pinkie went back to the hay bale she was sitting at.

"Uhm..."Fluttershy began, "Constant?"

Constant looked to her, "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I've been meaning to ask," Fluttershy began, "and...you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but...what was that octopus-like creature I was taking care of before you came to get him back?"

Constant was not looking forward to that question being asked. "You're all about to think I'm crazy now," he replied, "He's a Dalek."

Applejack gasped. "What?!"

Constant sighed and sat down on a hay bale. "I'd better tell all of you what I told Applejack." The story took as long for Constant to tell as it did before. For a moment, after the story ended, everyone in the barn was at a loss for words. 

"A truly sad story," Rarity said at last, a tear in her eye. Fluttershy felt the same way.

"So other than you and this...Doctor," Twilight said, "the Time Lords are all gone?"

"Yes," Constant replied.

"That still doesn't explain why Jethrek is with you," Applejack noted.

"Well, now that I've told my story," Constant said, "I'll now explain him. I don't know how he got on board the Monitor. He must have found a way into the vault and got aboard without the key. Why we didn't encounter him while we were getting the Monitor away from the battle was also a mystery. However, I did encounter him some time after I crashed here. He was still in his travel machine, too. We had a fight, and it ended with Jethrek trying to travel through time to escape, which, due to the incompatibility with this universe, caused several systems in his travel machine to short-circuit, including what was needed for time travel. I had to take it apart to get him out and make the life support system."

"So why did you spare his life?" Rarity asked, "You're a soldier. Shouldn't your instinct have told you to---"

"Stop!" Constant interrupted, "After my home world was wiped out, I left my military status behind. I'm a lone time agent now. The reason I spared his life is that I need his help to search for a method to get back to my own universe."	

Rarity was taken aback by Constant's response.

"Well why didn't you ask us directly, then?" Twilight asked.

"Let me guess," Applejack said, "You didn't want to expose too much to us at the time, and now that you messed up here, you seem to have no choice, right?"

"Yeah," Constant replied, "That's pretty much it, but the other  problem is that I don't want it to disrupt your lives or the lives of anyone in...the higher up."

"Why not?" Rarity asked, "We'd be more than willing to help someone in your situation."

"If you all concentrate more on me, then it will end up disrupting the natural flow of time. My research so far indicated that there are hundreds if not thousands of critical events which this world has been through to get to where it is now."

"Critical events?" Twilight asked.

"Okay think of it this way," Constant explained, "How did you all get those...marks on your flanks? Did you earn them?"

"Not exactly," Twilight explained, "They're called cutie marks. A pony gets them when they find their hidden talents."

"Ah," Constant pondered, "I see...so they're not like tattoos or painted marks, then. Anyway, I want you all to think back...Think back to the time you got your cutie marks. Think about what happened the moment you got your cutie marks. Now, think about what transpired after that, what you were able to do with your special talents."

"I think I see where this is going," Spike said. 

"Now," Constant went on, "think of this scenario: Someone travels back in time and prevents whatever event got you those cutie marks, whether or not it is something of your own doing. If that happens, the chances that you'll ever do anything that you have done with those marks on you will be slim to none."

All the ponies looked at each other. What Constant said seemed to make sense.

"I don't want to catch myself involved in some event that is the most critical for your world," Constant continued, "So you see, if I do accept your help, I don't want you to concentrate too much on it."

Twilight looked to Constant. "I understand, Constant. We'll continue on with our lives...almost as if nothing happened here. But still, we're willing to help whenever you need it."

Constant smiled. "Thank you," he said.

"In the meantime," Rarity said, "You simply must do something about your attire."

"My...attire?" Constant asked. He looked at his clothing..."Well, nobody except the Apple family saw me in this clothing, and anyone else who saw me saw the pony I was disguised as. Nevertheless, you are right...I should probably make myself some concealable armor too."

Pinkie sighed..."And I wanted to make a party for you too." She perked up. "I know! Maybe we can plan a secret party! Just us! Rainbow Dash too!"

"I'll think about it," Constant replied, "Maybe on a day when I'm not so concerned about disrupting your timeline."

Pinkie looked down a bit.

"Hey!" Constant said, making her look up to him. "No sad faces. I've had enough sadness in my life losing my family and my world. I don't want to spread that sadness here."

Pinkie's sad face slowly turned to one of happiness.

"That's better," Constant said, smiling himself. 

"Uhm...Constant," Fluttershy said, "I hope it's not too much to ask...but...Can I see the Dalek again?"

Constant looked to her for a few seconds..."You really want to see him, huh?"

Fluttershy nodded shyly.

"Okay," Constant said, "First though, " he looked to the other ponies, "Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Just one," Spike said, "Should I tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders about this?"

Constant was confused. "Who?" he asked.

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo," Spike replied

"Oh hell," Constant sighed..."That's going to be trouble..." He remembered seeing Apple Bloom with two other fillies. "The last thing I'd want is to have one of you unicorns use a memory spell on them and make them forget their little project."

"I'm actually an alicorn," Twilight explained, showing her wings, "Although I was a unicorn once."

"Oh, sorry for the confusion," Constant said, taking note of the terms, "Still, a spell like that is likely to remove anything else around the subject in question."

Spike shuddered. "That wouldn't be good..."

"Not to mention the fact that they had school on the days in which they've been working on the project," Rarity added, "It would be quite unfortunate if they lost what they learned recently."

"Well we could make them...I don't know, Pinkie promise?" Constant suggested.

"Seems like the most reasonable idea to me so far," Applejack said.

"Yeah," Pinkie said, "No one breaks a Pinkie promise."

"Well then, it's settled," Constant said, "Spike, next time you see them, take them someplace where no one will hear you talking to them and tell them."

"Right," Spike said, nodding, "and...if they get...confused?"

"Then all of us must contribute to explain how serious the situation really is," Constant said, "Agreed?"

"No argument here," Twilight replied.

"Nor with me," Applejack put in.

Fluttershy nodded her agreement.

"Usually I don't like keeping secrets," Pinkie said, "but this time...I'll make an exception. This time."

"My lips are sealed," Rarity added.

"I guess that means I'll have to burn a few pages from my journal," Maud said, "I'll have to copy things that aren't related to the project, though."

Constant walked up to Maud. "Thanks for understanding my situation. Also, Pinkie Pie, here I am apologizing to your sister." He looked back to Maud. "I'm sorry that I didn't reveal myself to you the first chance I had...I have no real excuses for it except for the fact that I couldn't open the door because it requires power to actually open. Still, Pinkie Pie is right. It would have prevented all this confusion."

Maud smiled. "I accept your apology. Satisfied, Pinkie?"

"Hmmm," Pinkie hummed..."Okay, yeah, I'm satisfied."

Constant smiled. "Once again, thank you all for your help. Now...Fluttershy, come with me. I'll take you to Jethrek."

"Okay!" Fluttershy said, partly happy and partly nervous. She started walking in Constant's direction.

"Alright, y'all," Applejack said, "I've got some chores to catch up on, so, don't stay too long."

"Quite alright," Rarity said, "I've almost finished my latest design, so I'm going home to finish it right away."

"I've got some reading to catch up on," Twilight added.

"I'm going to go back with Pinkie and contemplate what we just discussed," Maud put in.

"I'm going to do an extra shift at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow," Pinkie said, "So I'm going to need to sleep super-early!"

"As for me," Spike said, "I need to figure out how I'll explain all this to the Cutie Mark Crusaders..."

With all that said, Constant lead Fluttershy inside the Monitor. "Don't be surprised when you walk inside," he said.

But it was too late. One look and Fluttershy gasped in shock and amazement. "H---ho---how?"

"How is there a whole room like this in a small cylinder, right?" Constant asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

"Not exactly a subject I like to discuss at length," he said, "Come now, I'll take you to the lab where Jethrek is being held."

Fluttershy snapped out of her shock and looked to Constant. "Oh, okay."

When they reached the lab door, Constant turned to Fluttershy. "Now, before we enter, I must remind you to remember what I told you about Daleks. Since he's in his life support system, he can now speak to you, but try not to get too offended if he is rude."

"I understand," Fluttershy said.

"Okay," Constant said, "Here goes. I'll walk in first and tell him that our situation is resolved. I'll call out for you, and you can come in and meet him."

"Alright," Fluttershy said, as Constant opened the door and walked in. 

Constant left the door open so Fluttershy could hear what was going on. He walked to Jethrek's life support container to find him just waking up. "Status report," Jethrek said.

"Our cover may have been compromised," Constant replied, "but after explaining our situation to a few of the ponies in the area, I think we're safe. Satisfied?"

Jethrek looked to Constant. "Yes," he said simply.

"That being said," Constant said a moment later, "there's someone who wants to see you again."

"See me?" Jethrek asked, confused.

"Fluttershy?" Constant called out, and Fluttershy came in. "There he is," Constant said, pointing to Jethrek.

Fluttershy looked to the surprised Dalek. "Is he...going to stay in there the whole time you're in this universe?" she asked Constant.

"A question I've been asking myself this whole time," Constant replied.

Jethrek felt uncomfortable now that Fluttershy was there. She was the only being who was able to scare him so far. "Why is she here?!" he snapped.

Fluttershy looked to Jethrek. "I was concerned for you," she said, "Constant agreed to let me see you again."

"Concerned?" Jethrek asked.

"You have no idea, do you?" Constant replied, "Fluttershy, you should tell him about what really happened when you found him."

"Perhaps I should," Fluttershy said, "If he would like to hear it, that is."

Jethrek looked from Fluttershy to Constant, who nodded. He looked back to Fluttershy. "You may proceed."

"Okay," Fluttershy said, "I was returning home from the market with food for myself, and for my rabbit, Angel. I passed by Sweet Apple Acres, and I noticed some kind of trail. The imprints made it look like a live octopus was crawling on the warm ground, so I followed it until I found you. At first, I was startled. It was obvious that you weren't an octopus, but at the same time, you didn't look well. I tied the food I had in the blanket I used to line the basket and put you in the basket instead so I could help you when I got home."

"You came to save me?" Jethrek asked, a little bit surprised.

"Yes, I did," Fluttershy said, "You looked cold when I brought you home, so I did everything I could to keep you warm. Thank goodness my final solution worked."

"What solution?" Jethrek asked.

"I took a bed warmer, filled it with burning coals, and put a pillow over it. I then put you on that pillow."

"That explains how I stayed warm until Constant came back to retrieve me," Jethrek said in realization.

Fluttershy nodded, "When you woke up, I was relieved to know that you were okay...and then you grabbed my wing with your tendrils..." She showed which wing it was.

"I thought you were going to harm me," Jethrek explained, "I could not hear what you were saying."

"You couldn't?" Fluttershy asked, surprised

"Jethrek has no ears," Constant explained, "So without the appropriate technology, he couldn't hear you."

"Then you scared me," Jethrek went on, "Simply by looking at me. This is confusing. It is unheard of for a Dalek."

"I just wanted you to stop squeezing my wing so hard," Fluttershy explained, "I'm sorry if I scared you that much."

Jethrek looked to Constant, who nodded once again. "I...accept your apology."

"When Constant came with Applejack to retrieve you," Fluttershy explained further, "I felt a little sad because I thought I'd never get the chance to see you again. I'm always concerned for any creature who is hurt or in trouble."

"You did not know about me, yet you helped me anyway?" Jethrek asked.

"Y---yes," Fluttershy replied, a little taken back by Jethrek's tone. 

"From what I've seen, Jethrek," Constant said, "there will be more things to surprise you in this world. Furthermore, Fluttershy knows more about Daleks now."

"Yes, but that hasn't really changed my perspective of you," Fluttershy said.

Jethrek glared at Fluttershy. "Would it change your perspective if I told you that I killed four hundred non-Daleks in battle?"

Fluttershy gasped, her eyes wide. "Four....hundred?"

"All killed by me under the orders of the supreme Dalek. As a Dalek, I do not question orders. I follow them. No exceptions. If I was told to do something which may be fatal to me, I'd do it. If I was ordered to kill another Dalek for insubordination, I'd do it. If---"

"STOP!" Fluttershy snapped, slamming a hoof on the transparency, a tear in her eye. She stifled a little before speaking again. "Those...are things I can partly understand. I'm not a soldier...but...you didn't kill anypony...or anyone in this universe." She sniffed. "But...after watching you all that time you were keeping warm in my house...I know there's something...more."

"There is nothing more," Jethrek said simply.

"Now how can you be so sure, Jethrek?" Constant asked, "Daleks don't get scared easily by a stare, do they?"

Jethrek could not find any way to argue with that, so he said nothing.

"I think that somewhere deep down," Fluttershy said, wiping away a tear, "There's more than just hatred and anger. After all, you did respond well to the way I helped you. Well, after the part where you grabbed my wing and I scared you, anyway. I'm sure that someday, you'll be kind-hearted too."

"Daleks have no concept of kindness," Jethrek replied. 

"Maybe that's the problem," Fluttershy said, "Actually, part of a much bigger problem."

"Bigger?" Constant asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Fluttershy began. She thought carefully about how she could explain what was on her mind. "Okay...here goes." From then on, she was very straightforward. "Judging from what I was told about Daleks, considering that they were made to be soldiers and nothing more means that they haven't been exposed enough to the culture of whoever made them in the first place, which explains Jethrek's lack of the concept of kindness. From there I can only guess that Daleks also lack other concepts of friendship. Furthermore, in terms of culture, and again because they were bred to be soldiers, it is certain that they haven't developed art or music or even a standard social structure." Constant and Jethrek, amazed, looked at each other, then back at Fluttershy. "Given that," Fluttershy went on, "it is likely that eventually the Daleks will face disaster, assuming there ever comes a time when a Dalek of a low rank knows that a plan will end up destroying his squad or army, but his superiors will ignore his warnings and just execute whatever plan they had in the first place." She stopped there.

"Whoah," Constant thought to himself, "she's good."

Jethrek, however, spoke out. "And you believe that all this makes us imperfect?"

"I don't think 'imperfect' is the right word," Fluttershy said, "I just think it's unfair that whoever created the Daleks in the first place didn't think to give them the concepts I mentioned."

Jethrek did not know how to respond to that, so he remained quiet.

Fluttershy looked to Constant. "I don't think he will realize what I mean as long as he remains in one place, Constant."

Constant looked to her. "Perhaps you are right. It certainly gives me a lot to think about."

"I will not be persuaded to think differently," Jethrek said.

"All I ask is that you try," Fluttershy suggested, "Assuming of course that Constant gives you the chance." Constant, however, was still looking at Fluttershy, deep in thought. She noticed this. "Constant? What's wrong?"

"What? Oh!" Constant snapped out of his thoughts, "I'm sorry, it's just...I was thinking back to the time that Jethrek was bundled up on that pillow you warmed up for him."

"Now that you mention it," Fluttershy said, "He looked so adorable in that bundle."

Jethrek's eye widened, an indication that he was surprised by Fluttershy's comment. "I AM NOT ADORABLE!" he yelled, his eye squinted at both Fluttershy and Constant.

Both Constant and Fluttershy looked to Jethrek in surprise. They looked at each other. "Think it's the first sign?" Constant asked.

"It sounded like Jethrek was embarrassed by my comment, if that's what you mean," Fluttershy replied.

"I AM NOT EMBARRASSED!" Jethrek yelled.

Fluttershy sighed. "Definitely." She looked to Jethrek. "Jethrek, we're already seeing the first signs of your expansive capabilities. You're embarrassed about being called adorable, and you're in denial about it."

Jethrek turned his eye away, trying to show that he was not listening anymore.

"You were made only to hate, Jethrek," Constant added, "Does this mean you hate your own race too?"

"SILENCE!" Jethrek snapped.

"Think about it," Constant said, turning to leave, "In the meantime, I'm going to consider whether or not I should take Fluttershy's advice."

Fluttershy followed. "I hope you consider my observations about you, too," she added. 

Jethrek was silent as Constant led Fluttershy to the main control room. "Sorry if that wasn't what you expected," Constant said.

"It's okay," Fluttershy said, "and I don't think anything I said about him was wrong."

Constant set course for Flutteshy's cottage. "Hang on to something." Fluttershy grabbed hold of a support beam as Constant started the course. The Monitor shook less violently than before as it moved. After a few moments, it stopped. He looked through the viewscreen. "Well, here we are, Fluttershy, your cottage."

Fluttershy looked to the screen. "Oh. Thank you."

"No problem," Constant said, opening the doors for her, "Again, thanks for helping me out with my situation."

"You're welcome," Fluttershy said, smiling, leaving the control room to go back home. The sky was already dark with stars.

Constant watched as Fluttershy went into the cottage to be greeted by her rabbit, Angel. He smiled a bit as the doors clanked closed and clunked forward. With that, he set course back to the library and the Monitor disappeared from sight and reappeared as the extraneous branch on Golden Oaks Library.