> Rising Hope
>  by Ultimus Pendragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Start.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Try getting thrown out of a moving bus.

It wasn't that bad, now that I think about it. I mean, the most I walked away with was a broken spirit, in my opinion.

I need a cheat day so I can stuff myself with junk food. But, I should tell you my story, from the beginning, and it was the one day I will never be able to forget.

I already tried.

My life was certainly an interesting one, I can say that at least.

The name's Duncan, and this is my story.




The wind assaulted my face, forcing my eyes shut. ''Hey, kid, either give me the flash drive or get thrown out!'' the voice of the man holding me by my collar hollered in my face, shaking me back and forth as I danced with death, either choosing to be thrown on the pavement going 60 miles an hour or have my luck tested with the river whipping past us under this bridge.

I had no idea one little flash drive could cause my day to be the most interesting one since I was born.

''L-Let me go!'' I struggled to get this guy to let me go as the smell of his breath would have been enough to send me over if I didn't care to try and explain myself. This guy had a iron grip, and I was not going to be hung like a limp noodle if he decided to choke me.

This was going by too fast, but I'm sure there's a chance to explain.

''Who told you to get involved in the mob, you putz?!'' the man yelled at me, the sound of screaming and fighting going on in the back of the bus as more men, like this one, all dressed up in black and with ski masks as they waved around guns and dealt with any unruly passengers who tried to fight back. ''These people and anybody who even looks like you gotta go now! And it's because of you!''

''Seemed like a good idea!'' I yelled back, our conflict going past longer than what I would have deemed ok. I mean, there was money in it, and all I had to do was distract a lady and now here I am, with my fate decided by if I have a flash drive or not. . .my life was never a step above normal if I had a say in it. "What say you on just ending it? I don't have the dang thing anymore!'' I spit in his face, only for that to bite me in the butt as I was punched in the face, a sharp, stinging pain following as I hacked and tried to calm myself.

''Whaddya mean, you don't have it?!'' the man asked, resorting to pulling out his handgun and aiming it at me. The screaming of the few passengers who weren't either knocked out unnerved me as I scrambled to think of something to do while I tried to distract myself from the pain.

''Cause-'' I showed him my free hand, the small black USB catching his attention as I threw it back, the fate of where it landed unknown to me. ''It's out of my hands to control, so you might as well cut your losses while you still can,'' I resigned to my fate. Though innocent people will be hurt and made examples of, I just did not have the capacity to care, as I didn't for myself.

''You bastard!'' the male yelled, cocking his gun and aiming it at my stomach, feeling the barrel press against my stomach. I was sweating, I never was this close to a gun before, and knowing that did scare me as my actions led to me being at this point, and it made a hole in my soul. ''You're dead!''

Huh, not even a minute to absorb all of what is happening, but I guess with time and patience, I can understand, so I could help others to. I woke up expecting something around this general setting to happen, and when it finally got here, I couldn't be surprised really.

I only hope that whatever comes my way from this point on can start to explain what went so wrong, because I have no idea at all.

By the second, the guy holding me looked to turning redder and redder as he groaned and made his mind up on what to do.

BANG!

''. . . .W-What did you do?'' I felt the  force push me back a tad, though I was still standing. At first, I just felt a push and a small amount of heat, followed by a burning sensation accompanied by the feeling of a knife in my stomach. I looked to see a hole in my hoodie, the next thing I was able to register before I could scream was the bus getting closer to the edge of the bridge as I was picked up by my waist and thrown out of the bus, my body weightless for a moment.

I was tossed in the river. . .left for dead, no doubt.

The last thing I was able to see besides the bus pushing on past me was the slight flicker of sunshine before the water consumed me, and I hit the water hard.

''MMMMPH!'' I waved my arms and legs around, having to stop when I tried to turn because of the hole in my stomach. I wanted to scream, but that would make things worse, on top of the fact I never learned to swim, so I was sure to be sleeping with the fishes in a few.

Nothing I did would change this.

Unless I just let myself. . .go. That would speed things along a lot better.

Darkness, all I could see was darkness. The weight of the water pressed against my chest, making it harder to keep my breath. On one side, I could tough it out, or just let it go to to make the end come quicker.

Well, nothing lost, nothing gained. I guess. 

I opened my mouth, water immediately flooding in. I fought the invasion of fluid by trying to instinctively close my mouth, but it didn't work. If anything, I just made it worse for myself as my vision began to blur and I shook back and forth frantically. 

I would have thought about the people in my life who I've done wrong, the mistakes I've made, the heartache and disappointment, the. . .lack of things I've done in my life to be considered good.

I was never going to get out this, or make things right, that much. . .

I knew.

And then, all sound and feeling disappeared.




For the longest time, everything was quiet, and cold. I was exhausted, I felt like crap, and. . .

Wait. I should be dead. Why is it cold, and w-why can I see light? I suddenly opened my eyes to see myself in the water still, but something felt off. The water was moving back and forth, and I brushed up against something rough and scaly. A fish?

"MMMPH!'' I felt the pain of the bullet still, even after all of that, and I screamed, though none of the water made me choke and struggle.

I was above water. . .and apparently in a cave of sorts. I carefully drifted to the edge where I could grab onto and pulled myself out of the water, looking to see how things were different.

And not of Earth seeing as I fell down, and somehow ended up in a cave. Looking around, the ground was littered with what looked like flowers that were glowing white, mushrooms and a dirt path that moved up and led to light. A way out.



But something felt off, and I meant besides the fact that I was still alive, and somewhere else, it was hard to explain, It was kinda like a presence, within myself, maybe?

No, that's stupid.

At any rate, I had to get out of here, and make some sense of this, however small. I checked my bullet wound, how I have not bled out or gone into shock is beyond me, but I should find something to help stop it.

''Huh?'' I said aloud, feeling for where I got shot, only to find that it was no longer there, but healed with a faint discoloration of my skin right where the hole formed. Was this water. . .magic? This is. . .this is. . .this. . .is. . .

This is so stupid.

''Can you even hallucinate yourself getting shot or getting thrown off of a bus?'' I wondered to myself as I walked up to where the light is, although slow and observing all of what I could. There has got to be something that can explain this preferably with science and reason. ''For all I know, this could a bad experience with some bad food, and I know that I'm lying to myself, but I need something to cling to,'' I came up to see a dense grove of trees of and blue flowers surrounding me as the heat could be felt through the small pockets.

This could be a park for all I know.

How wrong was I.

''Come on, guys, do we really have to seal up the mirror pond?'' a small pink horse whined, bouncing up and down as she was followed by 5 others of different colors and with different features.

''Yes, Pinkie,'' everyone besides this Pinkie said.

Hmm, I'm not quite sure how to feel about this, but one thing I can say is that-

''Uh. guys, what is that?'' out of the group, a blue Pegasus pointed right at me as the rest of them looked at me with interest.

''Uh. . .'' they collectively said.

''Uh. . .'' I said, letting loose a nervous chuckle. ''Hey there,''
> Another Step
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Ok, so this is strange.

Apparently I have  come somewhere where animals can talk. 

Well, one thing I can see that they are indeed female, at least I would hope so.

Taking a minute to think over what to say, a certain phrase just came to mind, it sounds overused, but at least it would get the point across.  ''Hello. . .I mean you no harm,'' I was hesitant, put did it anyways.

''Oh, well, hehe. . .we mean 'you' no harm, either. By the way, my name is Twilight Sparkle,'' Twilight spoke, her friends looking on. ''Mind telling us why you were coming out of the Mirror Pond?''

Hold up a second. . .

''Mirror what now?'' I asked, gesturing to where I came from. ''I'm sure that little bitty pond is no mirror, but something's going on if I'm here with small horses,'' I put my hands in my pockets.

In the back of my mind, this seems surreal, or I at least would think it to be that way from hitting my head on a rock or something at the bottom of the river if I didn't drown first. And, confusion aside, why does this seem like a piece of out someone's imagination, or just a really really sick joke.

Again, not ruling out being shot or maybe hallucinations.  

But this really is what I think so, then this can only mean one of two things; either I've been given a chance to make this right for myself, or this is some punishment for being an ass back with my life on Earth Whatever route it goes, I should say something to them, at least be nice and considerate.

''Yea, no,'' the rainbow colored one spoke, hovering in the air.  ''That's pretty dangerous for anypony to be in there, so we're trying to make sure this stays a secret, so can we trust you?''

Trust?

''We can discuss that a little later.'' I carefully said, looking at my surroundings, seeing nothing but trees for as far as I could see.  ''But who here can tell me where the hell I am?'' 

''You're in Equestria,'' Twilight said, looking puzzled at my response. ''You act like you don't know your own home.''

Well, that's because I'm not from. . .wait.

My home?

''My home?'' I asked. ''You do know that I'm not like you guys, I'm-''

''A Human,'' the white unicorn said, walking forward a bit and smiling. ''My name is Rarity by the way, good sir.'' 

How do they know what I am? ''You make it sound like seeing humans was something common here.''

''T-That's because. . .it is. Or at least was years and years ago. And I'm F-Fluttershy. . .'' Fluttershy said, looking away from us. ''This is your home.

Okay, back up, back up, back all the way up. Humans have been here before, wherever. . .this is?

Well, if I seem like this is all calm and collecting, then because that's how It seems on the outside. Now on the inside, I'm trying not let my cool be broken. 

And I have just one question as of now, and if it actually is true, then I may be in trouble.

''Twilight,'' I asked, Twilight looking at me with a small smile. How are they all so calm about this? ''How come there haven't been humans here in years?''

''Because,'' Twilight smiled, then frowned. ''They were exiled by Princess Celestia.''

Well I was somewhat wrong. 




> From The Ground Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waking up, my body felt like a freight train passed by it or a salt truck dumped it's entire load onto me. Hearing voices speak to me, my thoughts went fuzzy as to what the hell happened.

''Hey, are you okay?...''

Great, another wake-up call.

''Hey, can you hear us?. . .''

Feeling the rays of the sun on my face, I opened my eyes to see the 6 faces of the denizens of this new place I was in. 

I was still considerably mind-blown, however small that wherever this Equestria is, humans have already been here. And it seems like we were banished or something along those lines since it's been years since they've been heard or seen before I came here, through a magic pond.

''We really don't know, it was weird. From what Twilight told us, he just kinda. . .appeared here," Rainbow Dash said to Pinkie and Rarity, me making sure I was careful to know everyone's name and not confuse them with somebody else.

''Really? Great. How am I supposed to get home now?" I groaned, surprising them as I woke up from the small, and I mean, very small couch at Fluttershy's place. Then realization hit me. "Shouldn't that have killed me? I mean, I was shot, and underwater for a good minute, how is it I'm still here?"

''I'm afraid we haven't the slightest idea, Duncan,'' Rarity said, chuckling a bit nervously. ''But we can say we are glad that you did not die whilst underwater and injured. Perhaps Twilight, with some research can see how it is they you were even able to get here from this 'Earth' you speak of.''

''Thank you,'' I smiled, trying to seeing a bright side to this. ''but I have a question: why is it that all of you look so calm about me being here? I mean, you're not scared or intimidated by me?''

''No.'' Pinkie said, hopping over and smiling at me. ''There's no real reason to judge you first hoof. . .cause we kinda learned that somepony may seem strange or different, but that only expresses them being different and it's not smart to really do that.'' Pinkie said, sitting on the floor.

''Yea!'' Rainbow shouted, starling me for a second. ''Besides, offense to the side, you're not as weird as you think we think you are. And true, we haven't actually seen a human in the flesh instead of books and stuff before today, so this should be a learning experience for all of us.''

Well, knowing that neither helped or killed my resolve to understand. But seeing this as good a chance as any to learn about this Equestria, I guess I'll have to adapt, and hopefully, meet some like-minded people here. I was no more sure about how I was going to do that no more than how I would find out my situation when it comes to living and stuff like that. I mean, the first thing would be, to really sit down and talk about the elephant in the room, being how my kind were exiled.

And given how we as humans have a tendency to make most new things we find in our own image or subject to our understanding, I shudder to think what exactly prompted us to be moved, and what the cost of that was. War? Hunger? Social and economic differences?

''Hmm, well, my brain still says some part of this is not real, but let's see how far logic can go,'' I stood up, stretching from my little rest after being thrust in this world. ''Can't we all have a sit down and. . .I guess, compare notes and try and find a way to wrap our heads around this? I mean, seven heads are better then one.''

''Good point, Duncan,'' Rainbow said, giving my knee a tap with her hoof. ''Let's go into town, and get you some grub.''

''Uh, Rainbow, are you sure that's wise to do at this time? I mean, while none of us have heard or seen the slightest sign of humans since The Exodus, you would think dear Duncan might attract just a little too much attention should all of Ponyville see him at once,'' Rarity stopped her friend from going any further. ''We need a plan until we can find a way to get him, as well as Ponyville ready and comfortable before we go off showing him like a caged beast.''

''Weren't they at one point?'' Rainbow asked, with a small quirk of her brow. ''But given that we've grown over the years, some might see things the same way as everypony else.''

Did she just suggest that we were put in cages while being here? 

I don't know if-

''-Well, I guess it will have to be up to us to see that the opinions of others are swayed to the side of right, and I believe nothing was done wrong on the part of the humans, even with the evidence given,'' Rarity stood by me, Pinkie doing the same. 

Should I be mad?

''. . .'' I stared at them, coughing to catch their attention. ''Uh. . .''

Rainbow's ears dropped as she folded her lips up. She turned more red then a tomato as she spoke. ''S-Sorry; I didn't mean it like that, or to say it like that especially with you. . .actually being here. It's just we all have different opinions on what happened on the day of The Exodus.'' Rainbow said, my own thoughts about this exile being held until a better time.

''I don't need you to explain it to me, I know enough about my own species to know that we are the farthest thing from saints, but also not complete monsters either. It just sounds like a case of 'this side' vs 'that side', and the only thing that can help fix this is everyone coming together to see the good and the bad, and stuff like that.'' I said, trying to remain neutral.

''Are you some type of congress pony?'' Pinkie asked. ''You sound like you know a lot about this kinda stuff.''

''No, no, it's just I'm looking at this with a perspective of being on both sides, even though it wasn't for long with both sides. That, and I don't know how laws and stuff like that work in this place, so why not be in the middle so I don't end up being hated by one over the other?''

Rarity nodded her head and smiled. ''I agree as well, my friend. We should not be so quick to judge one side over another, even with evidence; we should learn to be firm, but fair. But just standing here will no more answers any of our questions our friend here. We need to come together.''

I folded my arms and spoke. ''How?''

''Princess Celestia should know, I mean, she was the one who put The Exodus in effect, so she should be the only pony who might have an idea of why Duncan came from the Mirror Pond!'' Pinkie exclaimed, Rainbow and Rarity seeming to agree. But I wonder how far that would go with me there. 

The only human in years might surface some form of contempt or animosity. And as much as I would love for this to be a meeting with this Princess Celestia, if she was the one who put humans wherever they are now, I think I would have the opposite effect of help over having something sharp pointed at me and told to go through what they did. I mean, it could work out, until it no longer has weight.

''Ok, before we go any further on this little quest to of ours, can you guys at least tell me what it is you hope to have happen?'' I wondered, going following the trio outside and to the back where there was a separate area for small animals like chickens, bunnies and a bear, even though I would not classify that as small in any regard.

''More understanding,'' Rainbow said, hovering above me. ''From what I read and learned, you guys don't really have a lot going for you; no claws, no venom, not even speed, like me,'' Rainbow smiled. ''How do you guys get by with just those clothes on your back?''

Hmm, I'm gonna she doesn't know about the more interesting side of people, like our craftiness. It should stay that way until I know more about this place.

''Timing,'' I had to give some type of answer, without being too much on the nose. ''Humans are really patient, so that's a big way we were able to survive and stuff, it never fails,'' I give her a crap eating grin, seemingly her, Pinkie and Rarity buying it as they nodded in agreement.  ''So why are we here? I thought we were gonna eat.'' I had a bit of a curious feeling about why we were out here, but like I just said, I'll just wait to see what it is.

''Well, one thing we noticed from studying you guys is that you're omnivores-'' Rainbow went over to a chicken coop, and coaxed out a hen. ''- so meat kinda has to be in there somewhere.''

''Well, that makes things easier for me,'' I chuckled, looking to see the three of them curious and tilting their heads. ''I thought I would have to go without that for long.''

Rarity gave me a sympathetic smile, then spoke. ''We here in Ponyville, at least are thoughtful of the needs and ways of others, or we try our very best too, so you do what you need to to survive as long as it's within reason, darling,'' Rarity told me. I would hope that would be the case, so it would be fair. But I wondered why Rainbow brought the chicken out. ''Now, that being said, do you need to eat now? We'd rather have some time to prepare the chicken then to just do it now.''

So I figured right, that they were gonna rip the chicken's head off.

But we were getting off topic. We had to figure out a way to get me. . .introduced to the residents of this world. . .and I was not ready.





> Know What You Know
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan's Pov, a few days later.





Well, this would be my first day dealing with other people rather then the girls, but even with them. . .this still felt odd. While it's nothing that I would run from, it literally doesn't feel right. . .being here.

Ugh, I don't know anymore. I've been here 4 days, and the most time I've had to myself is when I sleep on a bed which is too small for me, so the best I can do for comfort is to sleep at an angle with my legs in a chair. Yea, that went really great waking up with a cricket in my back.

But now, I'm getting up and making the itty bitty bed of mine before I go to wash my face and get that eye crust out. Ugh.

"Huuuwah. . ." I yawned, scratching my back and cracking my knuckles as the the warm water relaxed my face and got rid of the dust and crap. The bathroom was a little more forgiving in size, but it was mostly modeled for ponies. Let's see; teeth? Mmmmm. . .nah, it'll be ok. I looked in the small mirror, noting the same stuff with me since the day I was born.

My eyes, though brown, are mistaken for pitch black sometimes, I have no idea how. My eyes had bags from years of staying up late with cartoons or homework, my skin was free of any facial hair, at least according to me, maybe two years, I should get some peach fuzz. My face was still in the process of losing that little bit of baby fat but at least I didn't have high cheekbones that showed.

My hair, black and loose, was all over the place, I needed to brush it to one side for it to look a little more manageable, but one thing that always stays are these few white strands of white, I was told it was harmless but I haven't got an explanation of why just that it won't kill me.

Well, my daily routine is pretty much done, just clean the wax out of my ears, and I'll be good to go.

Only I felt watched. And not in a good way. I turned the water off and tended to my ear with some tissue as I looked around my room and saw nothing, however when I looked towards the door, all I could see was a purple eye staring back at me, and normally this would startle somebody else, for me, I groaned and advanced towards the door as the eye retreated.

"Twilight, remember we talked about. . . personal space? Something I kinda stressed after my first night here and you almost saw something you really didn't want to see?"

Twilight neither confirmed or denied my claim, just brushed it aside.

"How did you sleep, Duncan?" Twilight beamed, levitating over a cup of orange juice for me, which I took and downed as she took the cup back.

"Meh." I said, still intent on getting my answers on why she feels the need to spy on me, and for what? "Back to my question from earlier, and why are you happy? Because of what's going on today?"

It seemed that the question I just asked was the straw to break the camel's back as she hopped up and down and explained her joy.

"I think we can try and start introductions with you and Ponyville in the next couple of days," Twilight said, me going over to my small bed and thinking. Was this really something we wanted to do now? As it stands, doing that could make things worse since I don't know who supported the exile or is against it. And though I may have the 'protection' of the girls, I think a whole town is something to be more aware of. "What's wrong?" Twilight frowned at me being quiet. "You don't think it's a good idea?"

Groaning and sitting on the base of the bed, I weighed my options. If this happened and went smooth, things would be easier to transition to as I figure it what to. If not, then it's no different then being home, only difference is I literally have nowhere to run if things go south.

If another human was here, preferably somebody I know, then maybe it won't be so bad.

Man, I don't know what to do. It's bad enough that I was forced here, but it may be a fucking joke.

Whatever or whoever is pulling the strings should know that it won't be easy for them to try and get on over on me. I told Twilight about how I felt about this and she had somewhat mixed results.

''But what can you do? Literally, you only came into this world not even a full week ago, just barely befriended us, and are just getting settled in. What the heck could you possibly hope to accomplish by fighting this if goes bad? Worse case, you get the same treatment as the other humans." Twilight said, sitting down and levelling with me.

One thing, at least.

''To protect myself, that's all I need to accomplish, but that road is a give and take: if I'm going to do this, then I'll try to go neutral but the second I feel I cornered, I'm coming out fighting," my eyes focused on her, Twilight thinking to seem I was talking about her, and I was, in a way but she didn't need to know that yet."Can you blame me? You try being all alone here."

Twilight carefully walked over and laid a hoof on my leg. "You're not alone, you got friends; us," Twilight smiled.

I didn't mean to have the amount of venom in my voice as I did but she needed to know. "That's not the same and you know that, no matter how you look at it, I'm alone.

"Hey, guys," Applejack came into the room after knocking and flashing a small smile. We both looked at her. "Oh. Spike let me in."

Oh. Well, since she's here, might as well tell her. Yay.





''But you have nothing to go on with that,'' Applejack tried to bring into the light of reason. ''We're all peaceful around here unless we need to take other measures, but it doesn't come to that a lot.''

''And that's where you're wrong," I scoffed, making Twilight frown while Applejack muttered something to herself that I couldn't quite hear. ''It pays to be prepared, instead of just sitting around," I took a look at to work with, which was nothing. I had nothing, but that was going to change.

We talked for a few hours in the room, their opinions trying to muscle their way into my mind but failed. I'm still on the fence about meeting so soon at least in front of a crowd since I'll literally be put on stage to be observed if you think about.

The first humans in years, who may or may not be in danger of the town who may or may not hate him and want to see his head on a pike.

In no way was I ready. But I can't twiddle my thumbs, I need to study them before they study me.
> Up A Wall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight's Pov.




"Well, Twilight, what are you gonna do?" Duncan asked me as me, him, Applejack, Spike and the rest of our friends were filled on what our resident visitor was attempting to do in the event my plan, which was carefully thought out to get him introduced to Ponyville. "Cancel or go ahead like you planned?"

I frowned, my eye twitching. Why can't he just listen. . . he's the human here, we're the ponies, he has no real ground to stand on. The sooner and more effectively we do this is the easier it'll be to try and do the impossible. "We're still doing it, guys," I said, not wavering. "We all can serve to learn from this, even Mayor Mare, after convincing her I wasn't lying was open to talking to him and setting up a town meeting to see if this would go good."

"I don't know, Twi," Rainbow shook her head, hovering in the air. "That would be good, but all those ponies versus him? They both might get overwhelmed like we did. Do you really want to see that outcome?"

No, cause it wouldn't be good.

"No, cause it wouldn't be good," I paced back and forth, trying to find some common ground. "But we can't just sit around and let him fade in the background, what if there's a chance he could go home with his people," I tried to get them to see we need to get Duncan home, but also try and get some information that can help for the books, for me, of course.

"Darling, haven't you been listening? It appears that young Duncan, while being a human is not a Equestrian Human, rather he came from their actual home, Earth." Rarity said, making me huff. Even so, still he needs to go home. And if what he said is right, Equestria would be better then Earth, ergo; this is his home, now.

Now the question is, would it be here, or wherever the rest of the humans were exiled?

"Mmmm, I don't know," Pinkie hopped over to see me writing a letter to Princess Celestia. "Whatcha doing?" 

"Writing Celestia. If anypony should know, it's her." I plainly said. "She'll know what to do better then us."

Just need to sign, like I always do, and we'll be-

"Noooo!~" everypony, even Duncan leaped over to me, almost crushing me to death with their weight. "Don't!"

"Mmmmm. . .G-Get~ off!~" I grunted, clawing to try and get away. "O-One reason. . .why I. . . s-should not!~" my lungs felt like a deflated balloon.

Duncan, of course, spoke of, pointing to himself as he untangled himself from our friends. " In case you haven't noticed, I'm human. Based on what you told me, Celestia if that's her name, might not take to kindly to knowing there's one she quote on quote 'missed', and I ain't trying to die a second time," then he thought back to when he got here. "I guess technically, I mean I felt dead for a second. But besides, the point. You're literally asking her to fuck with me for the rest of my life."

That is not what I meant.

"Now, Duncan, that's not the slightest of what I meant to say to Celestia. I was just going to explain the situation to her and-"

"-And the mortician why he has a dead human on his table," Duncan's mouth curled into a firm frown. "Are you so sure she won't try and kill me the second she sees me? Did you consider that?"

"Of course I have," I smiled, proudly. "As far as I know, Princess Celestia has never had a reason to do that unless absolutely necessary. You should be, good Duncan. Do you think I would lie to you?"

Duncan just looked at me, unmoving as everypony looked at me.

What? I couldn't be sure about this, even if I really wanted to. Well. . . this is getting nowhere, and the longest we put this off is the worse it'll be later on. I don't want anything to happen to Duncan. Sure, he's a little strange, but he's my friend, he's a friend to us all. He just needs to trust me.

"I know you're scared, Duncan," I looked at him to scoff at what I said. I understand his thoughts at this, I can't fault him for feeling this way, not even a little bit, he's just unsure on what to do and with nobody he can really relate to to help make that choice. "In a way, I kinda am, too but this is better then nothing. . . besides, Ponyville isn't as bad as you think. Right guys?" I asked my friends.

"Nope" Pinkie said, smiling. "Everypony is super nice and calm, before you know it, it'll feel like home to you, Duncy," she giggled and bounced around him.

"It's wholesome to say the least," Applejack said, shrugging as I hoped to gauge his reaction. "Honest place, honest ponies."

See, it's nowhere near as bad.

"You'll find with a little bit of time, the town will be like one big family to you, darling," Rarity nudged Duncan and lead him up the stairs to look out of one of the windows to see the little bit of Ponyville that he could. Come on, girls, keep going; convince him.

"Plus-" Rainbow, being loud and assertive, poked him in the chest and laughed. "You can't stay in here forever, before you know it, you'll be here long, you'll end up being part of the library, like Twilight here," she pointed at me, flashing me a grin.

"Hey!" I joked, learning to take Rainbow's jokes with a grain of salt, I knew she meant it but not in a hurtful way. "But are you starting to see what it is we're talking about, we wouldn't press this if we didn't think we knew what we were talking about?" I hoped to break through the wall of resistance. 

After what seemed like forever of looking outside and seeing what he could, he finally relented. "Fine, fine, fine. . .fine." he said. "We will try it your way, at first, but I don't want everyone there at first," he folded his arms and negotiated some terms. "Just have the people who have the most influence in the town there, and make sure that all of you guys are there. Do that. . .and we got a deal."

"Great, great!" I beamed, smiling, turning to Spike and Fluttershy. "Can you guys go and talk to Mayor Mare and let her know that things changed a little?"

"Mmm-hmm!"  The pair went off to get this ball rolling on this.

"I hope I don't regret this," Duncan  sighed, his face srunching and him pulling at his hair. He leaned against a wall and slid down until he sat on the floor in his dark blue collared shirt and black pants. "I really hope I didn't get shot for nothing. . ."

Same here, I hope I don't regret not telling Celestia right away.



> A Slight Change
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sister. . ." a voice called, though faint and far. It almost seemed detached from whoever was speaking. It sounded urgent, or. . .playful? 

The thought was dismissed to the back of her mind as she walked out to the balcony to admire the sun. It was so far but easily able to be seen, a beacon in the sky, in a way.

"Sister. . ." the voice called again, only more pronounced. Luna.

Sighing and taking a seat on the balcony, she thought for a moment before speaking. "Hello, little sister. What can I do for you?"

Luna walked in front of her sister and took a seat as well, she was closer to the railing then her sister as her back touched the warm pillars. At least her flank was warm. "It isn't what I need, it's more so what you need, and you need it now," Luna took to a condescending tone. For being a few decades younger, the lunar princess definitely has some grit.

Celestia, after rolling her eyes and looking at the ground for a second, took to her daily task of improving her efficiency with her magic. Channeling  the glow of magic to her horn, she focused and blurred the world out. The sounds, smells, sensations, she toned them all done, and in a second, everything went silent, the only sound being her heartbeat and the hum of her magic. Both sounds tried to overpower the other, but after a little bit, she took hold of both in the metaphorical sense and melded them together until there was silence again.

"Oh my goodness, why do you insist on doing that every day?" Luna groaned and nudged her. "You do know Alicorn magic is infinite, right?" Celestia snorted after hearing that. Her sister thinks highly of them, which she should in a way but she is thinking too much highly of them. Another lesson.

"It is not, Luna," Celestia clicked her tongue, intent on setting her straight. "Nothing ever is, and it is that mindset that will lead to mistakes. I do this because it helps, bit by bit to lessen the strain of magic that all Unicorns experience, and we are no different."

Her thoughts on this did not waver, even in the face of family.

"Well I know you have more important things to attend then. . .this. Like preparing for the Day court. And then you have 3 meetings, an appearance at the library to commemorate the new wing, then help prep for the party tonight and-"

"Luna," Celestia said, staring with a half-lidded stare, shaking her head. Luna looked suprised but continued with one last piece.

"And visit young Twilight and her friends in Ponyville. . ."

"I'm aware of the day's activities, just because I don't say anything doesn't mean I forgot. I appreciate your help with this but worry about your daily routine, I have it under control." Celestia said, patting her sister on the head.

"Of course, sister," Luna looked dejected, and Celestia saw it from a mile away. Ever since her transition from Nightmare Moon and back to herself, she's fallen out of touch with some things but it's dedicated to helping, often where it's not needed at all. But that was a different matter. This was about her.

The pair talked for a while before having to go their separate ways for the day. While Luna was more outgoing in more  areas then her, one thing she was more than the pair would both admit is being reserved. In the line of work she Luna are in, that is definitely something that is needed, not only for the greater good, but for herself as well.

'Some things can't be unseen. . .or undone.' Celestia thought, observing the various guards at their posts, unmoving as ever. Walking down the hallway to her bedchambers, she dismissed the two guards from their post. Walking inside and paying no mind to her decor, she trotted over to a collection of snow globes from a good friend in Yak-Yakistan. They were admittedly, very important to her. So much that she protected them with an enchantment that prevented it from moving unless she actually moved it.

And that she did, removing the middle one from it's row to reveal a small button.

Celestia shuffled back and forth, trying to see if she really wanted to do this again today, but like with her magic training, this was also a thing of habit. But everyday, it got more difficult to do so. It gave her headaches to even think about it, it made her tremble, and she could easily dispose of it. . . but it's a reminder that she said she wouldn't let be forgotten.

Even at the price of her own sanity.

She pressed the button, and with a few clicks, behind her a small pedestal Rose from the  ground, a glass case protecting what was inside. She slowly turned and slowly put a hoof on the case, the tapping of her hoof 9 times over and over against the glass being the only sound for a while. Sweat began to drip off her forehead as she felt a pit in her stomach at the trouble this one thing caused. It. . .was unnatural to have something like this, so easy to use but devastating and in a way. . . elegant.

She tempted herself to take it out of the case and get a closer look. But she always said she would, only to never do it. Maybe out of fear, she might. If none of the guards could help, if Luna was gone.

If she had no magic. Just maybe she would, then.

"No. . . just try again tomorrow. . ." she decided to put it off for the 100th time, like every other day. She was the only one who knew, she would try and count Luna but, in her eyes, she still was a foal, and this is something she would never dare as a sister to let her sibling go through. She would stomach it, and do it gladly. However, for how much longer, she was unsure as she shook her head back and forth and tried to muster up the courage only to fail and start crying.

She always figured she could break this trend, the only question was how. How, without letting anyone know that pain and find out her worst secret. She was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Doing her best to recompose herself, she wanted to be down with the day to be over with and it just started. 

"I suppose this is my burden, and mine alone," Celestia hmmped. Then she giggled, then chuckled, then burst into laughter like a mad pony, her laughs only echoing inside her room, she swung her head back and forth, sometimes slapping the floor with her hoof or involuntarily shaking and falling like a goat when she tried to get up. Her head thrummed to life with headaches but she didn't care. Not even when she was coughing and hacking did that stop her.

For a few minutes, this was all she did, her mind swimming before she suddenly quieted down and stared at the floor again. With all of her laughing, she moved her mane in such a way that she she uncovered something she wanted to keep hidden.

A scar, long healed the best it could be, but not completely as the marks from the stitches were barely visible, yet the entire stich was a tad darker compared to her coat.

Celestia instantly became irritated, stomping the floor where the reflection of her scar was with so much force, it made a small crack on the floor. Then, after realizing what did, she frowned and groaned. This was going to be a long day indeed.

"I only hope that I don't lose face when I go to visit Twilight." Celestia relented, standing up and going to fix her room the way it was before she came in.




This was wrong. This was wrong and she knew it, but she needed to know. Duncan can be mad later, she figured. All that mattered was making sure he was known about to who it was important to and also uncover some answers for herself. Twilight, over the past few days had been studying the human, trying to learn as much as she can, as the books provided did not provide much meat on the subject of Humans. She yearned to understand them in the best way possible, and also find out exactly why things went the way that they did.

But she was his friend, she told him herself, and she wouldn't feel comfortable with just selling him out when's he not ready for anymore interaction then what he already deemed manageable. It's true she doesn't know what Celestia might do when she sees Duncan, but it'll have to happen if he wants a chance to join his people.

"But he said he might not want to do that either," Twilight was torn over the letter she was pretty much done with. She just had to get Spike to send it, but with him siding with the girls, he may try and look at it and not send it if he finds it. "Mmmm. . .maybe this is something I should save for just in case," she tied the letter up with her magic, putting a seal on it and stowing it away for later. This would be. . . difficult but for the sake of a friend, she'll wait.

"Hopefully this won't be a long process," Twilight continued on her studies while trying to cast Duncan to the side, for now.




"Come on, now, put your back into it!" Applejack urged Duncan as he was slowing down. "You gonna let Rainbow Dash beat you?"

"As if!" Rainbow called back, smirking before resuming what she was doing. "He can't beat me at this, I got too much practice!"

"Doesn't mean anything, you still can lose!" Duncan yelled back, continuing his charge. The pair were trying to land rotten apples in their own separate bucket, at first it was fun, now it was war. "Besides, I'm 5 more ahead of you, you should be hurrying up!"

Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she galloped around, trying to spot any rotten apples on the trees at Sweet Apple Acres, so far, if Pinkie Pie's count was right, Duncan had 45 to Rainbow's 40. Even though she can run faster, how is he getting more then her? 

"Duncan's going for another one!" Rarity cheered, seeing the human leap up and snatch two rotten apples at the same time, landing on the grass and turning around almost instantly and bolting back to his bucket by Fluttershy.

"47!/47." Pinkie and Fluttershy said, Duncan flashing a small smile. This certainly caught his attention and gave him some exercise, though it's not quite the same as hanging with actual people, he still preferred it to not at all. "15 seconds left and the game is over!"

"Huh?" Rainbow asked, shocked. "It can't about to be over, I haven't won yet!" her resolve somewhat refreshed, Rainbow pushed past the burning in her legs, becoming somewhat of a blur before running past a few trees and returning with 7 more apples in her bin by Aj. "Hah!" Rainbow cheered as she dumbed the bunch in, some rotten juice splashing the speedster. "Now I win!~". she sought to do a little victory dance but Pinkie telling her that she not only had 7 more seconds, she was tied, and another apple was a few feet away from them to make it her win made her heart sink.

6.

Duncan and Rainbow began to run, each second feeling like a minute.

5.

The goal was so close she could taste it, not that she wanted to.

4.

Her hoof reached out to grab the apple and hopefully, with some luck, toss it over her shoulder and land it in her basket.

3.

A hand reached out, poised to grab the apple. Rainbow tried to reach but failed as a millisecond before she thought she would have touched it, the apple was gone and accompanied by the sound of Duncan saying "Yeet!"

2.

Her eyes narrowed then widended as she marveled how quick he could move in two seconds.

1. 

The apple was slam dunked in as Duncan hopped over the basket and almost Fluttershy, startling her as Duncan rolled on the grass and stopped.

"Time!" Pinkie blew a whistle, the sound being anything but a good for Rainbow. "Duncan wins!" Duncan breathed heavily as the rest of the girls cheered for him. Rainbow was tired too, she couldn't tell herself she didn't get her exercise for the day.

"Man. . ." Duncan breathed, his voice scratching and chest rising and falling a few times per second. "Now that was a exercise. . .good one, guys, oh my goodness. . . I need some w-water," he fell back, his shirt drenched in sweat. He felt so sticky, like a wet cat.

"Here you go," Pinkie handed him a bucket of water. When he pointed to him, she took the hint and poured some in his mouth before he signaled her to stop. When he finished and fanned his hand towards him, she just dumped the whole thing on him as he held up the peace sign and laid motionless.

Rainbow never took loss easy, no matter what it was, she wanted to point his out for cheating but there was nothing that he did wrong. If anything he did everything right now and did it better than her.

She remembered talking to Applejack about her issues with getting mad and how it served no purpose to be that way at all.

Sure, she would be a little sour, but she could recognize when a good time was had by all. She was almost Iron Pony, almost.

"Good job, Duncan," Rainbow lightly thwacked his arm with her hoof, earning an ouch from him. "It's not everyday somepony comes around and is as awesome as me, or sometimes, more awesome. You get this win today," she sat down beside him, catching her breath. "But next time, I won't lose."

"Well, I won't either, so we're at a standstill until then."

Rainbow held Duncan to that, as did everypony else.

"Well what do you think so far, Duncan?" Rarity asked. "Are you getting used to us a little bit since coming here?" 

"Hmm," he thought, replaying the difference between today and his first day here. "It's slowly but surely getting there, I'm trying to get used to it that you're ponies and a dragon. But, I wouldn't be against calling you my friends."

"Yay!" Pinkie cheered, playing with a ripe apple before putting it down. "A few more days or so of hanging with us and talking and sharing, and we'll be the best of friends!"

Duncan, contemplating that for a few minutes agreed. He smiled back and sat up, his voice a little scratchy still. "I'd actually like that after a little bit. Thanks for being so patient and understanding." Duncan actually thought to himself that this could work. Then the girls, and Spike did something that he didn't view as necessarily too much, but was still welcome; they all hugged him.

And he didn't shy away, he returned it in kind.
> Off With Their Heads
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan awoke the same way he had for the past couple of days, and today would make a full week since he's been in Equestria. Though he's grown accustomed to waking up with a slight crick in his back from the way the bed was not set up for humans, the day started mostly the same.

''I really need to get me something better than this,'' Duncan went right to work cracking his back and neck to get any knots out. ''Another week of this, and I think I might deform my spine,'' Duncan said as he slowly shuffled his way into the bathroom, looking to get not only the taste of morning breath out of his mouth, but look presentable for the events that were planned out for today. Splashing his face with some water and using a small rag to wipe the sleep out of his eyes, he took a seat on the small wooden chair in the room to think. It would really be today he would see more of these ponies, but also, find out more about the world around him versus looking at the various books and growth of a tree, which still made question why to actually live inside of a tree, as big as it is.

Twilight, in all her wisdom, pressed the issue from the first day her and her friends talked about introducing Duncan to Princess Celestia in the hopes of possibly getting him back to his own world, or to be a part of this one, seeing as his life before coming here was less than ideal because getting shot will often change one's mind about a lot of things, especially in near death.

Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville, (Duncan snorted to himself at the pun) wanted to set a small meeting to get Duncan slowly introduced to the townsfolk in a way that did not seem like showering him with so many different faces. And the guest with the most influence today would be meeting the Princess of the land. 

Or one of them, at least.

And knowing that she was the one to exile his kind to. . .wherever on the basis of any number of things did put a small damper on his mood at the moment. In his mind, maybe they deserved it, but another part of him hoped against it for the fact of seeing as it's technically illegal for humans to be in Equestria according to Twilight, Duncan was beginning to have second thoughts.

Would he be sent to go with his kind to wherever?

Would Celestia kill him on the spot or take him prisoner?

Would he-

''-Duncan,'' Twilight called from outside, knocking on the bathroom door. ''Are you ok? you've been in the bathroom for 15 minutes. Is it something wrong?''

''Oh, no, of course not.'' Duncan thought. ''Just contemplating the biggest choice of my young life is all.'' Duncan thought as he finished brushing his teeth with the mango flavored toothpaste.

He wanted to bang his head against something hard, but he knew it would do nothing but bring him pain instead of relief. 

''Um. . .yea, Twi,'' Duncan let the nickname slip, rubbing the back of his neck as he came out, slipping past the unicorn and looking to put on the best neutral look that he could. ''Just peachy keen, know what I mean?''

Twilight quirked an eyebrow but didn't let up with her point. ''You sure? You look like you've seen a ghost.''

Duncan figured he should level with her, no use in lying. ''Ok, let me be honest when I say this; I don't really trust this whole situation. I mean, it's still weird knowing that ponies can talk, let alone how I survived getting shot and falling off a bridge.'' Duncan said, walking out of the bathroom to see Twilight by his bed with a curious look on her face. ''After all this time, I've barely gotten warmed up to you guys, plus I didn't sleep that much-''

''Duncan.'' Twilight said.

''And the thought that I may never be able to get home and see-''

''Duncan,'' Twilight moved closer to Duncan, laying a hoof and his leg, his eyes going wide and his arms swinging back and forth as he ranted. ''Just relax for a second. . .it'll be ok.''

That seemed to stop him for a sec as he looked down at her, his mouth contorting into a creepy half smile. His brown eyes narrowed and he huffed a breath of air and spoke again, though with a low tone.

"Yea, yea, if you say, Twilight.'' Duncan said, turning to look outside his window and see the town of Ponyville go by and the citizens go about their daily lives, unknowing that a human was only a few hundred feet away from them, watching, waiting. . . . unsure. "So when do we leave?''

Twilight trotted out of the room, a smile on her face. ''Now.'' Paying a silent look of irritation and resignation, Duncan followed Twilight down the stairs with less of a vigor than he would have thought possible. "And remember, be in high spirits, this is a day of celebration.'' Twilight smiled, leading the charge to Town Hall with Spike and Duncan in tow.

''Celebration or exhibition?'' Duncan saw no difference of the two. Well, one thing he was happy to enjoy was the warm sun against his face as he stepped outside to look at the mountains landscape in the distance with rows upon rows of lush grass being swept back and forth by a cool breeze. On either side of him, space out with some distance was a few of the homes in Ponyville. From his perspective, they looked to be well insulated with pretty pink fences guarding flowers of all different colors and sizes. A lot of the homes that he was able to see followed more or less the same pattern, or differed based on the area. "So, where is this 'carriage' of mine?''

''Over here, Duncan,'' Applejack came trotting over, paying the human with a fine how do you do. "We should get this show on the road, the town hall isn't that far, but we're not trying to have anypony who doesn't need to see you yet to. . .well, see you yet,'' Duncan found her small chuckle understandable. ''So how's your morning going so far?'' 

After a week of being here, Duncan was slowly beginning to have less of a concerned face whenever one of the girls, or once or twice, Spike asked how he was or how he was handling the entire situation which was nice to know that someone cared, even though that someone just happened to be a pony from another world that can talk.


''They're not so bad,'' Duncan thought as he was telling Aj about the events of just a few minutes ago. ''Who knows, maybe I can find a semblance of enjoyment here. . .maybe.''

Riding in the carriage with Spike while Aj pulled wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, it was just different. It was a little bit of a bumpy ride, though before he knew it, he had arrived in about 10 minutes.

''Welp, here we go. You ready, Duncan?'' Spike asked, hopping out of the carriage and onto the steps of what he assumed to be the infamous town hall as he heard the pitter patter of the dragon's tiny feet. ''Can't wait to get this squared away so we can start to hang.'' Spike was excited at the idea of having a male friend to hang around, which Duncan understood completely if he had to be the one waking up everyday to pretty much all females.

''I second that, little buddy, cause I can already tell what kind of mindset you've been breeded into, so hopefully I can help change that.'' Duncan said, walking through the doors to be greeted to a circular room, tall and wide as the eye could see. Above him were multiple circular balconies. The floor, a light tan, clearly has seen much better days with all of the scuffs and scratches, and the paint on the wall has faded in some spots, but he assumed this place has just seen its fair share of days. All in all, it didn't appear to be too bad.

''Hey, girls,'' Pinkie Pie, greeted coming out with Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and another pony that Duncan had yet to meet, so he assumed that this would be the person of the hour, at least until the person of the day arrived. ''Duncy, meet Mayor Mare of Ponyville!''

''So this must be what's causing a bit of commotion around here,'' Mayor Mare spoke, slowly trotting towards the human but stopping short. Adjusting her collar and what looked to be some kind of flower tie, she extended a hoof and smiled. "I may not have much knowledge on Humans, but what I have heard is nothing too crazy, so I would like to extend my welcome to Ponyville on behalf of everypony who has yet to meet you.'' Duncan took what she said with a grain of salt. Nothing too crazy could still mean something in their eyes, but he hoped that would not be the case.

''Well, thanks for that, Mayor, but I wouldn't get your hopes up just yet. I'm still new, and there's no telling if I may want or may have to stay here or go back home, or even be sent off with the rest of the Equestrian Humans, but something is bugging me from this whole thing.'' Duncan's face contorted into confusion.

It was interesting to hear how he had yet to be prosecuted, executed or exiled. Duncan wouldn't openly admit this word for word, but based on the girls, Mayor Mare, and Spike; is anyone in this town a snitch? If he brought it back up, it only would prompt more affirmative action from Twilight which is a few hundred years too early in Duncan's mind, but also pointless conversation that would get nowhere, so he would have to redirect the flow to something more light-hearted, if he could help it.

So that's what he did.

''Just how long do you think it'll take for the ponies of this town to. . .well; like me? I mean, I see you're not completely racist, since you got-'' he patted Spike's head and whistled innocently. ''-a freaking dragon here, so I see the strides-''

''Hey!~'' Spike grumbled, swatting Duncan's hand away. ''You're-''

''-Welcome for the compliment,'' Duncan brought focus back to himself. "But if something like that can be done, I just may not be able to see right away it might take for me, is all.'' Duncan was beginning to have second thoughts about this meeting the longer it was taking. But one thing he was sure he knew, even with being here for only a week is that Twilight is likely to chase him down and drag him back, so formulating a plan of escape can come later. "Any immediate ideas can be welcomed.''

It took in all about 30 minutes of talking before anything concrete came out, but nothing really was learned; or that is to say that Duncan did not learn something he was not already learning from the books in Twilight's library, which surprisingly was in the same written English format, though a lot of books did seem to favor cursive writing, and now that he thought about what he was dealing with, it began to make sense.

''Well, something I heard someponies doing to help get used to having friends or get used to a new setting would be to live with friends or ponies that they know really well,'' Fluttershy chimed in, making Duncan quirk an eyebrow. Living together? If he knew the girls as good as he did for knowing them for about a week, then he was safe to assume that she meant the 6 of them would take turns letting him stay at their places and try to help make friends with the town. ''Before they knew it, everypony knew each other and became really good friends. . .so maybe we can help Duncan by trying that.''

Taking a moment to think over it, it dawned on each of the girls differently what this could mean for them and for their resident friend.

''If Duncan gets to stay at each of our places for. . .however long, it could help him to see some of the different friends that each made on our own, and the mutual friends in common, plus we can have our rematch!~ Awesome!~'' Rainbow thought. "Only issue might be whether or not he can stand on clouds though. . .'' In her mind, Duncan was certainly some'body' worth looking into, not just as a friend, but a partner who might be able to do more than Applejack on a good day, granted he works out some. Plus with him being closer by, she can keep a better eye on him if he tries any monkey business.

''That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea, Fluttershy, good thinking." Twilight praised her friend. Taking the stride of the conversation in stride, Rarity added some constructive criticism.

''If Duncan stays with us each, then it could provide us with the chance to help make as many new friends as it takes for him to feel welcome, as well as understanding more about Humans as a whole since the textbooks of now offer little information about anything, especially the different kinds of fashion that they have and the inspirations.~ If only Duncan had some catalogs with him, it would make things all the more better," Rarity pouted in a playful manner.

Duncan was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he knew a thing or two about basic clothes and he figured that in itself should be hopefully be enough.

"Well, I don't have much knowledge about clothes, but you can pick my brain and maybe we can make something happen, Rarity." Duncan said, Rarity immediately cheering and lifting him up a few inches off of the ground in her forehooves. "T-Too tight!~"

"Apologies, dear," Rarity chuckled and put him down, clearing her throat.

Twilight mulled over where Duncan should go first, but after that display, she came to a conclusion quicker than she would have thought. After all, somepony like Rarity could be the one who can help Duncan to start his journey of learning more about the world around him.

She would have preferred him to stay longer at the library with her, but her friends telling her how that'll actually be the thing that ends up being a deterrent for the human was a fair assessment.

"I nominate Rarity to be the one who goes first, what says you girls?" Twilight trotted over to a table and began writing down everyone's name and setting up how long each of them would have Duncan there for. Scribbling quickly on the old parchment with a quill and ink, she decided her schedule.

"Why not? Plus somepony has to be first." Pinkie said, smiling as she bounced up and down.

"Same here, she's the most enthusiastic," Applejack smirked, making Rarity hmph.

"I agree." Fluttershy chimed in. "And I'll have time to prepare the house for him. What about you, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash was in the middle of muttering to herself when she stopped and blinked, dropping to the ground after she tucked her wings in. "Meh." Rainbow waved a hoof in disinterest. "That's a hold on the rematch." Rainbow thought, groaning internally.

Duncan, however was the last person to confirm, so Twilight directed the question at him with curiosity. "What about you, Duncan, does this seem like a good idea to you?"

Huffing and clicking his tongue, the human walked over to the unicorn and laid a hand on top on her shoulder, cracking a small smile. "Why not, if I'm gonna be here, might as well make this seem as homey as I can help it." Duncan turned to face everyone else. "So let's get started."



> Have Heart, Will Travel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A whole hour and a half has went by since Duncan, the girls, and Spike conversated with the Mayor, ranging from some of the history of Ponyville that the human was not learning all the way to the kind of ponies he should avoid.

Before anyone had an idea of the time, the biggest part of today began to weigh in on Duncan's mind. "I seriously hope that this will not come back to be a pain in my. . .well, everything.'' Duncan thought. 

In a few minutes, Princess Celestia would be coming through those doors, and he would be the first person on her radar before anyone else. So he figured he should bolster his defense the best he could by consulting with Twilight. "You better be right about this, if anything seems wrong or it seems like she'll try something, I exepect you to either buy me time, or not be surprised when I fight back.''

Twilight groaned a tad, but saw the logic in her friend's reasoning. "Duncan, for the last time, I promise; if Celestia tries anything out of the way, I will try and talk her out of it, or need be; defend you until we can get her to a point where she can be understanding and cooperative. But I am sure that she will willing to listen once we explain things to her.''

''Is that why you're having him hide until we work up to his big reveal?'' Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. "Because I, for one think that this will end up going some kind of wrong to the point where we'll get in the crossfire.'' Twilight frowned at her friend's comment and continued to usher Duncan behind a curtain and giving him a chair. Once she was sure that he could not be seen from the angle of Celestia's arrival all the way up to where the 10 of them would be, she closed the curtain with the human behind it. ''How do we know she won't already have an idea of what's going on?''

''She has a point, Twi,'' Spike said, leaning on the speedster. ''Celestia is kinda all-knowing to a degree, and something this out of the blue would probably make her think outside the box since a lot of things that happen, we tend to handle ourselves.''

Ears flattening, Twilight hated to admit it, but that was also something to keep in mind. She could especially attest to her mentor having some degree of knowing about things that most would think that she would have next to no concern about, only for her to end up having an integral part in it, at some point. But being the princess of the land, Twilight assumed she often just had eyes and ears wherever she deemed it was needed to maintain that all-knowing attitdue. And given how. . .volatile she's been the last few times she's been called on for concuil or when trouble struck, she did always seem on edge, ready to let whoeevr had the most of a hoof in causing the commotion to have the full brunt of her anger/disappointment and depending, punishment to a degree. 

And seeing as Princess Luna has not done much to help curb that, whether out of fear or lack of understanding. . .began to unnerve Twilight.

The last time trouble came to Ponyville and Celestia had to intervene, the town almost was ground zero due to a test the unicorn herself was conducting reached wind to Celestia when no other solution presented itself. To this day, she still thanks, but also kinda hates Spike for telling; with another hour, she would have figured out the spell to reverse the effects. . .possibly.

And now that she had a second to think about things, Humans and Celestia did not mix particuarly well, from what she was told and 'accidentally' heard her tell Luna in confidence. Maybe. . .Duncan. . .

Should not be meeting Celestia. . .

So early on. . .

But it was too late.

She goofed.

''You may be right, but it's too late.'' Twilight said. ''We can't leave.''

''And how do you figure that, Twilight?'' Duncan was scared to ask this question because of the sound of rhythmic flapping outside and the sound of horns outside.

''Because she's walking to the door now,'' Pinkie Pie slipped underneath the curtain on her back, Duncan only seeing her head as she held a neutral expression. "In times like this, Duncy; you gotta make a tough decsion.''

''I-''

''-You got 5 seconds.''

''Shit.'' Duncan said, slapping his forehead with his free hand as Pinkie Pie disappeared and went back over to the girls. Then it happend.

''Twilight! It is so very good to see you, how have you been progressing with magic of friendship here in Ponyville?'' the voice Duncan only could assume could be Princess Celestia rang throughout the room, a touch of grace and and a good smear of authority behind it as he paled and held his breath. "And to what do I owe this visit today?''

Twilight chuckled nervosly, as did Spike. ''Can't a filly just want to see her favorite teacher and princess of all time? Need there really be a reason to see you?'' Twilight held her head out and low, cracking a out of place smile and sweating a bit. ''I know you get busy in Canterlot, but I know you want to be out and about relaxing every so-'' Twilight was cut off by a hoof to her lips by Celestia.

''That is exactly right, my student. As I do not have many days to myself to enjoy a lot of the things that ponies like you and your friend get to enjoy everyday, it does mean a lot to me when I am able to enjoy the little time to myself that I do have; on my own terms. Now, Twilight; we both know most of the time when I come here, it is for business or possibly cleaning up another mess of a scheme of somepony's, and while that is something I do not have much distaste for, it would be better if you cut to the chase. No offense, Twilight, but I have known you long enough to know how you operate most of the time.'' Celestia said, shocking the unicorn as she continued speaking, paying the looks of shock to varying degreees from her friends and Mayor Mare no mind.

''B-B-But, how did you know it was something important?'' Twilight asked, curious. 

''I seem to remember you writing me, informing me of something that would need to be discussed in person a little before a week ago, did you not? You asked if you can have the meeting on this day at Town Hall, so I cleared my schedule just for today.''

Twilight was shocked, how did Princess Celestia know that she sent the letter? She remebered putting up and attaching a seal on it. Unless. . .



Flashback, 6 days ago. . .

''Spike, make sure that you send those letters in the bottom shelf to the princess as soon as you can.'' Twilight said, being occupied with looking over the section of the Species Index to see what things Duncan told her actually matched up with what was written, and so far; a lot of inconsistenties.

''Which ones?!'' Spike yelled from upstairs. It bafflled her how he had yet to conform to a simple labeling system. Well, she was sure that he knew, but only wanted to confirm, which she couldn't blame him for all the way.

''The one labelled Send Offs!'' Twilight replied before resuming her fact checking. "And make sure you send all of them!''

''All of them?'' Spike asked. There weren't a lot but some of them looked like they might not have to be sent to the princess. ''Even this one that-''

''-Spike, send all of them, please and thank you.'' Twilight said, ending the conversation there so she could get back to correcting what this book apparantly had wrong with it.

''Ok, if you say so,'' Spike shrugged, sending all the letters as she requested. Hey, her making as sure as she was about sending them, he might as well.



Flashback End.

Twilight realized her mistake instantly. She had forgot to put the letter telling Celestia about this whole situation in a different place. Granted, she did not tell her anything about Duncan or a human, but her letter did mention how the princess should come by and visit and spend some time with her friends. And perhaps how there have been some hiccups even before Duncan.

She did not, however think that it would be something Celestia would see through, even with her less than stellar track record since being in Ponyville.

She doomed her friend.

''Curse my aloofness!'' Twilight thought. Well, there was no backing down, not when Celestia was right in front of her, waiting for an answer to her question. Would she lie and risk facing the wrath of her teacher or tell her the truth and end up being the one to put a friend in a predicament that could lead to their downfall, or. . .or. . .she didn't know! ''No time like the present, hehehe. . .''

Duncan, however was behind the curtain and behind the girls, fuming. She actually told her, after she sat there, or rather she was sat on by everyone and told them that she would not? What kind of sense did that make? What kind? He was torn between going out there and giving the unicorn a piece of her mind, but the greater threat at the moment, was the one pony who could very well do away with him with whatever amount of ease he had yet to know, but he would rather not challenge that when he has nothing to defend himself but a chair.

He grit his teeth and hissed quietly. A knot twisted its way around his mind and heart as he clenched his fist, hearing a knuckle or two pop from the pressure. His eyes narrowed, and though he could not actually see anything but darkness right in front of him, he was able to see slivers of light at the floor and to his right where the end of the curtain failed to meet the wall. 

Duncan heard Twilight talk some more to Celestia and explain slowly the reason why she was given the letter to come here, and from her wording, it was something along the lines of a 'discovery', but without any real context, which prompted Celestia to ask more questions until she was done running in circles.

''-and that's why it should-'' Twilight was silenced again. Celestia sounded irritaed just from the kind of words that she used, and Duncan, and probably everyone in the room knew that this was the final chance to come clean.

''Twilight Sparkle, whatever it is that you have to tell me should be said now, or otherwise, I would consider it a monumental waste of my time,'' Celestia's eyes narrowed in under the gaze of everypony in front of her, and they looked none too happy to be under said gaze. ''Now. What. Is. It?''

Paying a silent prayer to himself, Duncan was literally put in between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he could try and find a way to leave and leave Twilight and her friends to their own devices with Celestia, but that would bite him harder than he would think because then he would nowhere to go, nobody to help him, and most of all; it would feel. . .wrong.

From the first day he's been here, everypony has been some degree of nice to him, and while his attitude of being somewhat crabby and withdrawn may have been something that made it harder for the girls snd Spike to ease his trasntion into this new world, it was an act of kindess that he did not have to be given. He hasn't told them really much of his past life on Earth, just that it was horrible, and he was not given a lot of the same kindness and care that he's received while being here, and that in itself made his choice all the more easier to make. These ponies went out on a limb for him, just for the sake of being a good friend. . .the least he can do is attempt to pay that back to some extent.

His hands slightly trembled, and all of the air in his body seemed to vacate at the mere thought of tearing back the curtain. His head ached a tad from overthinking, and his legs were shaking like coins as they refused to be still and support him as he leaned his arms on the chair and closed his eyes. What Twilight said a few days ago was still on his mind.

"You're not alone, you've got us, you've got friends.''

That was enough for him. 

If he had anything to regret, it would be if he didn't do what he already had his mind set on. ''And I got you girls,'' Duncan whispered, steeling himself and throwing caution to the wind.

''The 'it'-"the curtain was thrown back and the light almost blinded Duncan as he was in the dark for quite some time. Everyone looked shocked, but no more than Celestia as the next thing she was about to had said died in her throat right away. ''-would be me.'' Duncan said, trying to sound intimidating, as he put some bass into his voice. ''Is this 'wasting' your time?''

Thump. Thump. Thump. 

The blood in Celestia's veins would have boiled if possible after it ran cold. She could not believe what she was seeing. . .

It.

Her majestic wings suddenly shot out in the blink of an eye, shaking so violently that a few feathers began to fall off. The ruffling was so loud and violent, it was all she heard for a moment. Her breathed came out in raspy exhales, sounding akin to someone throwing up.

Her muscles tensed, making a few underlying veins rise to the surface, the trembling in them also giving way to her present feelings.

Her mind went blank as her left eye began twitching erratically, scaring everyone in the room.

The number 9 rang through her mind before everything else was pushed to the past.

Before anyone else could process anything else, Celestia charged at Duncan, faster than Rainbow Dash on a good day as she plowed into the human, knocking him off his feet and flat on his back as Celestia zoomed into the wall and put a dent in the wood.

A few street fights taught Duncan to never stay on the ground, so despite getting punched in the chest and almost having the wind knocked out of him, he turned to face the princess, a scowl on his face. "What the fuck, lady?" Duncan cursed, throwing his arms outward in surprise.

Celestia only responded by huffing and screeching like a pony possessed. Her eyes were full of tears and looking every which way as she hated her teeth and screamed. "Haaaaaaaugh!" Celestia galloped straight for the human, aiming her horn straight for him. 

Narrowly dodging, Duncan spun on his heels, his arms in front of him and his hands open to grab hold and throw her if need be. "TWILIGHT, DO SOMETHING!"

"Princess Celestia, what are you doing?" Twilight teleported in front of her teacher, only to internally scream. From close, Celestia looked fully prepared to kill Duncan, her eyes were wide, her teeth bared and mouth foaming, and she was shaking more an excited filly. "You need to stop!" Twilight looked fully prepared to hear her teacher say something of reaffirmation, but instead was violently kicked over a few feet and the nearby wall with only Celestia's forehooves.

"Twilight!" Duncan watched her friends run to her side and check on her as he had to deal with an enraged princess.

Charging again, Celestia must regained some sense as her attacks were more planned. She dove in, attempting to skewer Duncan with her horn, to no avail, but followed up quick with two front hoof jabs, one of which connected, though she executed a brutal back kick that sent the human on the ground with a shout of pain and his head slamming against the wood.

"Raaaaaaaugh!" Celestia was struggling to get the part of the curtain that was trapped around her head off so she could see. Duncan wheezed and hissed. Not even 5 minutes into 'meeting' her, and he was certain that he had at least a concussion and possibly a few broken ribs. At least, it felt that way. Struggling to get back on his feet, he managed to do so before almost throwing up and falling over.

"Duncan, are you-"

"Stay back, S-Spike!" Duncan said, falling to one knee.

"But you're hurt!" Spike said, tears almost falling from his eyes. It pained the young Drake to see anybody, let alone a friend of his, in pain. He wanted to help, to do anything that he could if it could be any amount of help to Duncan.

Duncan found his footing, and thanks to the adrenaline in his blood now, the pain he was in numbed to a considerable degree. He stood, and began to feel rage of his own. He told Twilight he would fight back if he was attacked, and he meant that, so he began his own charge.

After bucking wildly and yelling more and more, Celestia was able to get free, setting her sights on the human once again. All within her eyesight was red, except the human as clear as day. Charging without a care in the world, Duncan stood where he was, eyes narrowing until she came close enough for him to grab hold of her after narrowly miss a hoof grazing his head.

"Go down!" Duncan summoned all the strength he could, managing to lift the solar princess off of the ground and slam her down with a resounding thud and groan from her. The throw dazed her long enough for her to thrash about on the ground while Duncan got back up and limped over to his chair, confusing Spike and Mayor Mare until they saw him pick it up and bring it back to Celestia, the red painted wood splintering as he whacked it across her head, silencing her screams as Duncan screamed a scream of rage.

Celestia went limp like a noodle, the small rising and falling of her chest being the only indication that she wasn't killed by the chair striking her in the face. Duncan, however, breathed heavily and shook erratically after the ordeal, everyone else in a complete state of shock, Twilight more so than the rest.

"Dude. . ." Rainbow Dash said, her voice in a high octave, her eyes sewing pin thin. She raised a trembling hoof to the princess, then to Twilight, and finally Duncan. "That was so bucking crazy!"

"Save your excitement for later, Dash; we gotta make sure that Princess Celestia is ok." Applejack said, nudging her friend and dragging Fluttershy and Pinkie over to Celestia to make sure she was ok. "Rarity, Spike, check on Duncan, and Rainbow; help prop Twi's head up."

Duncan was still enraged, but quickly came back to reality when the fashionista and dragon came into view, looks of worry adorned on their faces as he dropped the two pieces of the chair in his hands. The effects of the fight began to catch up with him as he suddenly felt an intense pain in his arms, stomach and chest. Taking off his shirt revealed two massive hoofprints indented into his skin, beginning to turn red and ache with the smallest touch.

Taking a moment, he began to taste blood in his mouth, no doubt from his accidentally biting his lip at some point during the fight. His clothes were covered in dirt and sweat, and he was irritated.

"If this is her flipping her lid, then I'd hate to see when she's fully aware of what she's doing," Duncan commented, drawing a nervous chuckle from the look of disbelief from his two friends. "But are we going to restrain her? Because I don't think that I can take a second round right away."

That thought alone was something that everyone seemed to be able to get behind, for the sake of everyone involved.

Taking a second to make sure that everyone was ok, the next thing would be to put everything in a position that was better than the current one.




Celestia first noticed that she had the mother of all headaches when she was able to wake up, however, she could not see. Was she blindfolded? Attempting to move proved unsuccessful as her entire body was bound tightly by ropes and tape. Obviously somepony did not want her to escape.

"No matter, my magic will make short work of. . .why isn't my magic working?" Celestia thought as she felt no connection to her horn. Nothing was being sent and no magic was ripping apart the restraints. She pursed her lips and attempted to feel if her horn was still there, and sure enough; it was. "What. . . happened?" she thought again, slightly beginning to worry. She remembered walking into Town Hall to see Twilight and her friends and then the rest was a haze.

Something was not right. But then, she heard a voice.

"I think we're gonna be in trouble for this one, Twi," the voice of Rainbow Dash sounded a tad worried. "I think she's awake, anyways."

Indeed she was. And she wanted answers.

"Twilight Sparkle, what is the meaning of this? Why am I trapped and blinded?" the small edge in Celestia's voice was suppressed enough that Twilight and her friends were oblivious to the rage beginning to stir inside of her again.

Twilight shook with a bit of uncertainty, but still committed to seeing this through. But she had to be sure that her teacher would understand everything that she was going to be telling her without worry of a freak-out or worse; another fight. "Princess, before I let you go, you have to know something and you have to promise to not freak out again, this is really important. I know you may want to do whatever it is that you're going to want to do when your blindfold is taken off, but I'm begging you to not do that."

Celestia huffed, then thought. Why would she need to do that? How bad could it be? But, at any rate, the amount of conviction in Twilight's voice made her respect her student at times where she could be the pony to set down her hoof when it called for it. The very least she could do is try her best to follow by that if possible.

"Very well, I promise, Twilight. Now can you release my bonds?" Celestia was eager to be free of this tape and rope as it was beginning to chafe.

Twilight used her magic to surround the blindfold before actually taking it off. "I can take the blindfold off, however I'd feel like your safety and everypony else's will be safer with you still in those bonds until we talk and come to an understanding."

"Ugh, very well, Twilight. I suppose I can agree to that." Celestia said, actually knowing that she really couldn't go anywhere. They must have had time since the rope was very thick, almost like industrial cables, and the tape wrapped around her like a corset. It wouldn't be easy getting out of this, but it would take a good amount of time, as well. She wondered what had her student and everypony else on edge. . .then she saw it.

"Princess?" Twilight asked, seeing her see stare in shock before her face contorted into one of anger. She was instantly back to where she was when the fight broke out, but the only difference was she seemed to have much more of a controlled mindset. "Are you-"

"WHY IS THIS FILTH HERE?!" Celestia roared in a voice that quite literally shook the town hall. She growled and tried to get free of her bonds to cave his skull in with her hoof, she wanted to see his blood spill, she wanted to make him suffer. 

Celestia wanted him dead.

"Ok, that's certainly a welcome welcome," Duncan said, walking closer to Celestia. "What's your problem with me?" Duncan would regret that as Celestia head butted him once he was close enough, almost breaking his nose as he stumbled back and cursed. "You bitch!~ What did I do to deserve this?"

Twilight was shocked once again, staring back at her teacher. "Princess, what is wrong with you?!"

Celestia was seething. "Twilight, everypony else. . .you cannot trust this savage! He will lie to you, steal, kill, and defile! He must be dealt with!" Celestia began to thrash more and more to no avail. "You dare to harbor this criminal in our kingdom?! He is-" Twilight cut off her teacher.

"-A friend, Princess Celestia. Duncan is not who you think he is. He may be-"

"A filthy, conniving, savage Human!" Celestia yelled, spit and sweat flying from her as she kept shaking back and forth.

"-But he's not an Equestrian Human, he came from their original home, so he shouldn't be the object of your aggressiveness."

Celestia clicked her tongue and laughed. Laughed so much it hurts. Laughed so much, everyone was surprised how she had a very good lung capacity without being subject to a need for air. Celestia became hysterical before she stopped and calmed herself down.

"You fail to understand what I mean, Twilight. . . nopony is more worse than the murder that's standing right by you! I'm surprised he hasn't tried to put a knife to All of your necks! Humans are the issue, Humans are why everything is wrong with the world, and Humans are why my life is so fucked up!" Celestia bellowed, tears streaming from her eyes. Everyone was shocked at her choice of words, sans Duncan. "Nothing. . . will ever come from them. They deserve to be wiped out, for all I care. . ."

"Princess Celestia, you can't mean that!" Rarity exclaimed suddenly. "You, who is the most benevolent pony and leader!"

Celestia chuckled. "Oh, I am nowhere near the benevolent pony any of you think that I am. . . I don't have any semblance of regalness that I have been made out to have. I am just a pony that does the job that none of you have the guts to. . . I keep you all safe, and I do it, and asking for nothing in return. . . I am what keeps this land together!"

Duncan had enough of her talking, so he decided to do some talking of his own. Walking up to her with a scowl on his face, he made his anger known as he stepped in front of her. "What in the hell did I do to you?" Duncan said, staring the princess down with a smug look to rival her own.

Celestia only continued to fume every passing second as she wanted so desperately to hurt this savage, but the only thing she was able to do was quick him a quick headbutt that sent him stumbling back and hollering in pain, clutching his nose.

"You bitch!~ Achoo!~" Duncan sneezed, a bit of blood coming out of his nose that be hoped wasn't broken from Celestia's concrete head. Everypony else stared in shock as Rarity and Spike attempted to help Duncan, but it was too late as he rushed forward and decked Celestia across the face with a left hook, forcing her head to whip the other direction, the look of joy in Duncan's eyes telling of the worth of taking the chance to get another hit in.

Twilight had enough, she, along with Aj and Rainbow held Duncan back while she fumed and wanted no more of this headache and heartache to happen, she had to do something.

"Enough!" Twilight shouted, stomping her hoof in annoyance and rage. "This ends now!" 

"She started it!" Duncan argued. But Twilight was not having any of that. At all.

"And I'm ending it! Princess Celestia, like I just said; Duncan is not an Equestrian Human, so that should be one reason why he's not to be set on trial, since he's done nothing wrong. He does not deserve to be exiled without probable cause. He's only been here a week and he nearly died being sent here, so that's already something on his mind, as well." Twilight looked to see Celestia clicking her tongue and retorting.

"You have no idea what they, what he! Is capable of. I do, and none of it is good. The longer you stay around him, the longer he will have you under his control, corrupting you before you're a shell of the pony you once knew. Humans are only good for one thing; nothing." Celestia breathed out with some much hatred, spitting close to where Duncan's feet were, signifying just how much she did not like anything to do with him. "And I will have you know that I refuse to take any part of involving myself with you, should you choose to side with him." Celestia said.

"And what does that mean? You'd be so willing to abandon us? Just that easy? What about the magic of friendship? If he's that bad, maybe he just needs more friends to-" 

"No amount of friends or magic will be enough to save him, and I'm shocked you have thought that of him," Celestia growled, unwilling to hear anything of this further.

"But, Princess Celestia, Duncan's a good friend. He's scared and confused, but he hasn't given a reason to any of us that he would try and be deceive or harm us." Rarity said, firm in her conviction as Celestia snorted.

"It's true!" Pinkie chimed in, bouncing over the princess. "Duncy is super duper nice to all of us and that's something that's something that we should be happy about, right?"

"No, Pinkie Pie," Celestia slowly said, shaking her head in dissatisfaction. She knew this was something that would not be negotiated unless they were exposed to what she has seen first hoof.

"So that's where their allegiance lies. . .very well. When they are hurt. . .they will apologize." Celestia thought, her mind made up.

"Fine." Duncan quirked an eyebrow. Fine?

". . .Fine? That's it; you're not upset or furious with us?" Twilight questioned hesitantly. She hoped there wouldn't be too bad of a chewing out.

"Oh, I am beyond furious that would keep something like this from me, from Equestria, my little ponies. . .you have no idea of what you have brought upon yourselves and Ponyville."

Fluttershy was worried hearing that. Brought what? Did they bring anything at all besides a friend who needs help? "W-What's that, Princess Celestia?"

Celestia only settled for saying something that shock everyone to a point they thought not possible. "It matters not. From this point on, you are on your own. Let this. . .be your warning, Human,'' Celestia said, staring right at Duncan, but with none of the malice or anger that was shown a few minutes ago. ''Anything that is done from this point on is on your head, as well as you and your friends, Twilight. . .understand that. You will not receive any help, should there be any issues.''

''But, Princess Celestia-'' Twilight tried to reason with her, but failed to connect anything.

''-Twilight, please release me; I refuse to stand, or rather sit here a moment later in the presence of this savage. . .'' Duncan looked to see Celestia lower her head and become quiet. This is what this meeting amounted to? There was a sense of accomplishment that Duncan drew from in being forthcoming in wanting to meet, but the way things turned out at this specific point in time was something that he could not have been prepared for. He almost wanted to say something that would help, but he knew there would be nothing that can help this. 

It would be best to leave Celestia to her own devices for the moment.

Silently resigning to the fact that her teacher was unwilling to hear another word, Twilight and Rainbow Dash released Celestia, the look of disgust that painted her face as she was free and stretched her limbs and nursed what looked to be a headache from Duncan throwing a chair to her skull. She walked a few wobbly paces and hissed in pain before Twilight used her magic to remove a black ring clamped onto Celesta's horn, a wave of her golden magic flowing through her horn the instant it was removed.

One last look at everyone in the room, and a extra long look of disappointment directed towards Twilight as the unicorn cowered under her gaze, and a look of rage at Duncan as she began challenging her magic. If it wasn't for a small hope that she said she was not going to take any further action, at least for now still failed to reassure him. Before she teleported away, she made one last thing known.

''While I will not endanger anypony else in making sure that you are wiped from this world, understand that reality will be upon you very soon.''

POOF!

Duncan blinked a few times, looking at everyone staring at him, then he spoke, laughing a tad in worry and in genuine laughter. ''Sooooo. . .she seems nice.''



> Step One: Generosity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan, along with the girl and Spike were, respectfully in a less than stellar mood at the events of Princess Celestia coming to meet and 'talk'. 

Twilight, more so than anypony else felt the bitter sting of her mentor's words and disrespectful attitude towards her friends, and she meant all of them. The sheer thought of those words of malice and standoffishness made the unicorn want to gouge her eyes out. Everything that was said was from out of left field, and more and more as the conversation went on, no concrete evidence was given to back her claim.

That, and the head injury that she sustained, while minor, was also a reminder that her teacher, or anyone that is not in right mindset should not be approached unless they wanted to almost have a black eye. 

And she never apologized for that!

The tension in that room was so thick, a heated butter knife wouldn't be enough to make a dent. If this was the result of Princess Celestia just meeting Duncan, she wondered how far the depths of her supposed mental issue goes.

Her, and Duncan were okay; nothing broken, just a few bruises and headaches, and while she was confident in her friend, she couldn't help but think that this will only serve to make his time here in Equestria and his opinions on ponies as a whole less than. . .nice.

Because of this, her and her friends were alone in the event something went wrong; Celestia would not help, she would not care, and whatever happened was to be on their heads. What kind of ultimatum was that to give your student? Stand by me, or be left to the wind.

After apologizing to Mayor Mare for damaging the Town Hall, she was happy to know that she was not mad, but somepony has to front the money to get repairs done. While everypony banded together at first to help pay off the damages, Duncan was the one to offer his aid in paying by finding some work around town.

The only question was who would hire somepony they have never met, and a Human at that?

''Well, what now?'' Spike asked, taking a seat on one of the hay seats as everypony else either took a seat or sat on the ground. Laying his rump on a stack of hay, Duncan found that the hundreds of little strands not necessarily poking him, but laying on him every which way made him just lay on the ground cross-legged. ''That didn't go at all how we thought.''

''Yes, dear,'' Rarity said, not particularly wanting to go back over the events of earlier. Seeing that different side of the princess when she saw Duncan, as well as seeing a Human in the flesh for the first time in centuries. The difficult thing now (as if Duncan slamming the princess on the ground was not difficult to see) would for the group to help the resident Human adjust as best as he can to his current situation.

And find somepony that would give him a job.

''I don't know. Duncan sure gave the princess a little bit of a time, and she didn't exactly look the best when she found out we were 'against' her for wanting to help Duncan.'' Rainbow said, attempting to think of something that would help in this venture.

''We haven't done that,'' Twilight looked down at the table in disagreement. She still was surprised that her teacher felt so strongly about Duncan being here that she would be so quick to tell the group that everything would be on their head from that moment on. She never knew Princess Celestia to act so out of character, to be so angry. To have so much murderous intent in such a short amount of time. The thought scared her. ''The princess just has a different idea of what should be done in this situation.''

Duncan wondered about that. Something felt off, more than the princess kicking the crap out of him, as well as him being in this world in the first place. He wondered what the previous Humans before him did for them to be exiled; more than likely nothing good. Celestia seemed to have a personal vendetta herself, so he could only deduce something on a more personal level. And from that, he may have assumed that she may have blamed the actions of few on that of the many, which could have led to the exile of the Humans to wherever they are in Equestria.

''So what's the move?'' Duncan asked, wondering what the pair could scrap together. Also more on one side, he also wondered if he would ever have a chance for a rematch with the Alicorn. Contrary to what just occurred, he lived by a strict code that has gotten him into more fights more than most. And while it is very uncouth to some, he did not care.

''I ain't no bitch.''

''Well, as far as I can see, we need to help Duncan get a job so he can help to pay off the damages, then from there; work on getting everypony introduced and used to him.'' Applejack offered a solution, though there were a lot of holes in it that they may not be able to fill in right away. But what they had was better than nothing.

''D-Does this make us wrong?'' Fluttershy asked a tad scared. She didn't have the slightest clue of what to do, but she always knew to do her best to help those in need, and Duncan fit that description to a t. Princess Celestia telling the group that whatever happened was going to be on them certainly made the whole feeling of the conversation worse than what it was. She didn't want to be doing the wrong thing. She didn't want to be a jailpony! ''And why did she attack Duncan like that?''

That was something nopony knew. Even though he was not a citizen of Equestria, what the princess did can still count to assault without cause, and the punishment for that verified from 6 months to a year and a half depending on how severe.

''We don't know!'' Pinkie beamed, then deflated on the thought of what happened. ''But we also don't know how we can handle this, but we need to get everypony on the bandwagon of introducing everypony to him!'' Pinkie bounced up and down in joy, thought was not with the same vigor as she normally had. 

''For Duncan's sake, I hope you're right Pinkie,'' Twilight said, not entirely too sure about the state of anything right now.




Canterlot.


''Princess Celestia, calm down, please!'' a maid called, ducking around maneuvering around the princess having a literal meltdown since she came back from her visit in Ponyville. Nothing and nopony was safe from her wrath as chairs, tables, and at one point, an unsuspecting guard across the room and out a window. ''You're going to end up destroying the castle at this rate!''

''I don't care!'' Celestia roared, charging her magic and aiming it at a nearby wall, the bright yellow glow of her horn doing little to deter the maid from having the worst of hopes. A moment later, and a blast of magic rocketed outwards, a high pitched from the second of release almost causing the eardrums of everypony in the room to almost burst and bleed. The wall instantly buckled underneath the force of the blast, throwing dust and marble every which way. Thrusting a hoof forward, she smashed the incoming piece with ease, growling and crouching.

''Princess, please!'' the maid begged, her hooves over her head, scared of out her mind. She dared not intervene past talking the princess down; if she was able to do so.

''AHHHHHHHHHHH!'' Celestia fired another blast at the ceiling, putting more power into the blast. The small crystal chandelier turned to dust instantly, the force of her attacks seriously weakening the structure of the castle. ''Leave.''

''But, Princess-''

''-Now.'' Celestia's eyes glowed the color of her magic. Her body began to shake and the floor began to rumble.

The maid slowly began to fall back, and creep out of the room, and the last thing she was able to see before closing the door was the pure rage in her eyes. Almost a kind of. . .killer instinct.

Celestia was absolutely fuming. The nerve of that. . .Human. He dared to galavant around her land? After what they did. . .how did she miss any stragglers? And Twilight and her friends certainly were quick to jump to the defense of him, and to the disappointment of Celestia; anypony against Equestria were to be considered an enemy and was expected to be dealt with appropriately. 

She knew telling her student that the actions of her and her friends from that point on was a hard move to play without more information, but a move is better than no movement. Something had to be done about the menace that she allowed for the time being to exist in her land.

Well, not for long.

Paying no mind to the destruction of the throne room(she was sure Luna was going to take care of it.), she only knew of one pony that possessed the skillset and motivation to take care of this. . .problem. Celestia promised she would not interfere in the life of the human as to not incriminate herself should something come out, though she held very high confidence that it would not.

''That is not to say somepony else will on my behalf,'' Celestia snickered, the crazed look in her eye capable of scaring even her if she was able to look at herself right now.

She would be stronger, smarter, and faster than them. In every way. And she would be their ruler. Nopony would get that privilege, not Luna, not Blueblood; nopony.

But she would need her guardian.




''I am at your beck and call, Princess Celestia.''

''I wish to entrust you with a task I would normally reserve for myself. . .that is, if you wish to prove yourself worthy of becoming my Understudy.''

''That post belongs to Twilight Sparkle.''

Celestia exhaled, opening her closed eyes and taking a moment to think about what the meaning of that was. And then that moment passed.

''She will be missed.''

''. . .''

''And I suggest you bring backup if you need it. Twilight and her friends certainly are no pushovers, especially with The Elements Of Harmony. . .and be wary of your actual target.'' Celestia said, narrowing her eyes and the tone of her voice leaving no room for disagreement.

''The Human known as Duncan, correct?''

''Yes, you are free to use any methods available for capture, but I want him alive and brought to me when the time permits. No disintegration.''

''Yes, Princess Celestia. Worry not; I will secure our prize.''



> Step Two: Loyalty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan's Pov:

''So how was work today, Duncan?'' Spike asked me as we headed back to the library after I worked with Rainbow Dash and Applejack with apple-bucking and demolishing an old shed that she wanted to tear down and build new. At first, I didn't think much of it since it was just a small shed, but Rainbow sure took to making that collapse faster than Wall Street. ''They didn't work you too hard, did they?''

''I guess, well not really,'' I said, rubbing not temples to stave off a small headache. ''I just hope having to pay off Mayor Mare won't take everything out of my money, and even that I still have a long way to go before I can get used to this system of money versus my own.''

In all, I had owed (more like Celestia) just about 425 bits to cover the damages for Town Hall. If only there was a conversion system in place here; that amount seemed to be a lot, but Spike telling me otherwise that the price wasn't all that much failed to reaffirm me either way. Mayor Mare was also willing to do a payment plan over a month with weekly payments of 106 bits.

So I had no room for error.

Spike and I eventually made it back home, being greeted by Twilight who was just beginning to leave the library with her saddlebags and rolls of parchment sticking out of the sides.

''Geez, Twilight. Are you going to write somebody to death?'' I joked, Twilight looking at me and chuckling.

''No, I was just going to head back to The Mirror Pond with Pinkie Pie to investigate something,'' Twilight pursed her lips and looked back at me. ''We don't really know what caused you to just appear here and maybe finding out how can be the key to getting you back home, if you wanted to.''

''Tempting. . .'' I thought.

''Tempting, but I think I'll pass on that for the moment. I'm more concerned about the Equestrian Humans here. And what I mean by that is what kind of fuckery they got themselves into for Celestia to put them in exodus. . .knowing anything about Humans, Equestrian or not,'' Spike and Twilight looked at me with wonder as my tone of voice got deeper. ''I know just how far they will go in the name of false preservation, but I also would hope that it was noting done by you guys to provoke them.''

''What do you mean by that?'' Spike asked me.

''I mean, that if your benevolent 'leader' was the one to throw the first punch, then I can understand what my people did, and even to an extent, support them, even from afar.'' I looked down at the ground in determination. 

''Do you really mean that, Duncan? How can you say that without knowing anything? The Equestrian Humans could be wrong.'' Twilight said, frowning.

''Or Celestia could be wrong in whatever garbage she shoved down your throats having you believe that she may not be the one with a few screws loose and maybe we were defending ourselves,'' I snapped back, Spike beginning to look a tad nervous as Twilight and I got closer to one another.

''How dare you say something like-''

''-You saw how quickly she wanted to cave my skull in the second she saw me; don't sit there and tell me you don't think the slightest thing may be wrong with your mentor, Twi. Regardless of whether or not who was at fault matters little to what she almost tried to do to me. And you all-'' I poked her in the chest with a finger, my tone going from loud to minuscule. ''-you all saw how she basically abandoned you without a second thought. . .do you really think a leader is benevolent by doing that?''

Twilight stammered for a moment, looking between me and something imaginary off to her left or right. Her lips began to quiver and she shook her head numerous times before settling and talking once more. ''So you're loyal to your own 'people', not us?''

''Twilight, I barely know any of you to really say that I trust any of you like that right away. What kind of fucked up question is that? You're asking to put my full trust blindly into a whole different species versus my own, which are nowhere near saints, but there are a few select people that I know are good-natured enough to not and try and cave my head in the first time we meet!'' I hissed, not wanting to attract any real attention from the locals just yet, so I pulled the pair back into the library and shut the door.

''But Celestia is a great leader and mentor, I know whatever this little spat is, it-''

''-Is bullshit.'' I cut her off. ''I'm sure you have this same saying, but oftentimes, the first impression of one associated with many can give a bad feeling to the rest of said group, even if they themselves had nothing to do with it.''

''So you mean to say-'' Twilight attempted to speak again, but I raised my hand and she stopped, her eyes narrowing and a look of anger on her face as I wanted to make my point clear.

''I am not saying I do not trust you 6, well 7 cause of Spike. But what I am saying is forgive me if I seem the tiniest bit wary of anyone of you beside you guys who know of Humankind. Where there's one like Celestia, I know there's more somewhere.''

''Uh, guys?'' Spike asked, Twilight stopping him for a moment as she started her offensive.

''Then let me say that you're lucky that we were the ones who found you, otherwise there may be those kinds of ponies you may want to avoid. And before you go off mouthing about stuff you know next to nothing about, attempt some research.'' Twilight said, stomping a hoof on the floor. ''We are a peaceful lot, but we are not pushovers, Duncan. You have to think about how it feels for someone to come into your world and criticize your leadership based on their own evidence; tell me how that feels.''

''Twilight, you have no idea what you're getting into by asking that question,'' I slowly shook my head back and forth. ''You want to accuse us, or rather, the Equestrian Humans when you were probably not even thought about being born. You go off of books and what Celestia is letting you know, not telling you the whole thing. And here you want to lecture me about loyalty just because I don't share the same sentiment that the rest of you are too naive to take a second look at.''

Twilight, I could see from a mile away was not going to take this standing up or down. She was still stuck on stupid when it came to brownnosing Celestia. Being her student, I can understand to a degree, but if the person you look up to the most to starts trying to kill someone defenseless like it's nobody's business, you may want to ask them a few questions about where their moral compass sits.

This would not sit with me.

''Look,'' I leveled with her, kneeling down to her level. ''I appreciate you guys wanting to help, and even trying to find me a way back home, but I also need to know more about this world that I got sucked into. And I doubt Celestia is the pony I want to be talking to, and regardless of who shot first or whatever, the best thing would probably be for me to find out where they were sent to, and get their side of the story.''

''So that's what you're doing? I thought you looked at being here in Ponyville as a way to get away from your old world.'' Twilight calmed down a tad, but I chuckled a bit and put a hand on her shoulder. ''Is that not what you want?''

''Yes, but since I now know that Humankind is here, that just made that even more difficult. I'd rather not go back home if it can be helped, but I also can't ignore their presence here. . .it's complicated. I doubt you'd understand.''

Twilight did the same to me but ended up putting a hoof on my knee. ''Help me understand, then. We're your friends; friends help each other when they need it.''

''It won't be that simple.''

"Being friends never is, but it's never not worth it.'' Twilight gave a small smile then sighed as I patted her shoulder. ''I apologize for getting emotional. I know it may seem like I'm doing this out of selfish research, but that's not it. I just want to understand this phenomenon just as much as you do.''

I gave her a small hug and pulled back, the glint of a mistake made in her eyes. ''No big deal, Twi. I just ask you to understand where I'm coming from. I'm the stranger, you're the native. My people are exiled, yours aren't. And I can't believe one side of an argument, especially when it involves two different sentient species. When I have true evidence from both sides, then I can make a judgment call.''

''Ok,'' Twilight relented. ''I guess I can see that side of your counter-argument. We should do everything we can to make sure the facts are true and relevant. It's just a shock to think that Princess Celestia may not be as. . .I thought she was,'' Twilight slowly lowered her head and contemplated some internal issue within her.

''Oftentimes, the people in power we trust the most end up being the ones to put that knife in our backs because we were looking in the wrong place,'' I said with a solemn tone as I remembered the lengths I went to to get to the point I was at before getting shot and thrown off a bridge. 

My biggest lesson to not mess with the mafia, at least if not actually prepared.

''Go ahead and investigate The Mirror Pond if you want, just know getting home is not the most important thing to me. Getting answers is,'' I venture further into the library as Twilight looked at me go. ''No hard feelings?''

''No hard feelings,'' Twilight responded, though a bit less vigor than before we started butting heads. ''I guess the first order of business is to gather all the information that we have on Equestria Humans and figure out where they were sent.'' Twilight turned around and began to walk to meet up with Pinkie.

''Duncan, what are you going to do?'' Spike walked alongside me as I went to my room.

''Nothing much to do now, buddy. Not to say that the whole interaction between me and Twi wasn't. . .something, but I do want both sides to be uncovered.'' Spike looked at me as I sat on my bed. ''I just hope that this won't be as hard as my mind is telling me. But what did you have to say before Twilight cut you off?''

Spike shook his head and only looked a tad worried. ''I only wanted to tell you that I know how you feel a little bit. Not with the exile thing, but being the only dragon can kinda be a little strange from time to time.''

''Appreciate it, little buddy.'' I said, giving him a small fist bump. ''Things tend to suck before they get better, so there's that.''

I only hoped that nothing would end up coming out of left field with this supposed death threat that Celestia unofficially put on my head.




Ponyville Outskirts.

The wind blew from the south, carrying small leaves and bringing bitter cold along with it. The small group of squirrels were hopping about when they stopped and suddenly began to convulse. Squealing and weakly trying to run away proved futile as their necks crinkled like parchment. Blood slowly began to leak out from their bodies as a figure from the distance came to a stop upon a small hill with a pretty sizable view of Ponyville.

It was quiet.

''This is where my prey is, eh? Hmmm. . .I can smell his fear. And anger,'' the figure sniffed the air and chuckled. ''If only you didn't need him alive. But dealing with his kind should be easy enough. And I doubt he has one of those.''

''Just make sure the job is done as we discussed, and we both will have what we want.''

''And you're 100% sure about Sparkle and her friends? Won't The Elements Of Harmony be useless with one of all of them dead?''

''. . .No. The Elements will seek out the next suitable bearer before long, so we will not be without for long.''

''Even she's your star pupil? And the rest of them your subjects?'' the figure cackled manically before settling down and looking in interest.

''There serves no purpose in having subjects if they are not loyal to their own kind; especially to an outsider, as well as the enemy who they only just befriended. For them, I hold no sympathy.''

The figure only shrugged before venturing into town, the flapping of wings and the shadow flying overhead and heading for Canterlot catching their attention before focusing on heading into town.

''Have it your way, just don't regret the deed when it gets carried out.''



> Step 3: Laughter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan tossed and turn in the bed, intent on ignoring the assault he was unfortunate enough to experience.

''Wakey, wakey, Duncy!''

And that would be dealing with Pinkie Pie at any time during the morning until after 12. He had to admit, from time to time he would find himself telling a decent joke here or there and getting the laughs out of pretty much anyone around him, but Pinkie took it to a whole different level. He gave props where props were due.

''Ok, okay. I'm up; now what sweet-induced terror will I be thrown into? Throwing cupcake bombs? Using frosting bags as nunchucks? Or wait, let me guess; using pies for shields?'' Duncan laughed a bit, causing Pinkie to thwack his leg. 

Rather hard.

''No, silly; but that did give me a good idea for my next confectionary party, so you just helped me secure victory in that,'' Pinkie chuckled and produced a glass of water from pretty much nowhere for him to drink.

''I'm not drinking that,'' Duncan said, gently pushing the glass back.

''But it's water,'' Pinkie smiled, intent on helping her friend with the chronic dry mouth that he complained about whenever he woke up.

''That you pulled from nowhere; which I still don't get even though I haven't been here long.''

''Apples and oranges! But we should be getting on our way with the day; we need to help the town get used to you if you're gonna stay here for a while,'' Pinkie trotted towards the stairs, as she gave her friend some space to get ready for what was to come. Thanks to Princess Celestia derailing the plans that Twilight and her friends set forth, there was a need to change the pace. ''Where do you want to start first?''

That would be tough to decipher. With the notion of Equestrian Humans being a fragment of the past, it would be the equivalent of him seeing a Neanterdal in the present-day back on Earth, so it would be hard to convince those who already did not hold some belief in their existence. And there would also be the possibility of how they may react to seeing him.

''I guess the ponies who might be the most receptive to believing that Humans are in Equestria, for one.'' Duncan stretched and brought a hand to his chin in thought.

Hmm, ponies that might be able to believe that Equestrian Humans are in Equestria. . .

Nope, nothing.

''We'll just have to try our luck,'' Pinkie said, wanting to get the events of the day rolling. And certainly, anything to get their minds off of what happened with Celestia and Duncan. ''Follow me,'' Duncan trailed behind after taking care of his teeth and washing his face of any crud.

''So what do you think we can expect from the locals? What do you think of the general public?'' 

Pinkie had to stop and think about that; a lot of the town from her knowledge never really know much, so it would be on a case by case basis when introducing Duncan. She wouldn't say this when Princess Celestia was here, but she also wondered about what exactly caused her to make the Equestrian Humans to be banished to wherever they were sent to; it didn't make sense for the history books to mention them so vaguely; not even an entire chapter talking about anything concrete. Pinkie even didn't believe that they really existed since there were no actual pictures to go off of.

''Well, I think they should be open to understanding. Ponyville has never been the kind of place that ponies are known for being mean. Even with the Parasprites, but if Twilight and the girls believed me, we could have had the entire problem under control quicker,'' a grumble came from Pinkie as she sulked for a moment.

''The what?'' Duncan asked, looking confused. ''And how sure are you of that claim?''

''Nothing!'' Pinkie suddenly beamed back to life as if nothing happened. ''But I guess the first pony on our list would probably be Cheerilee! She teaches school for all the fillies and colts in town, so she might be the best pony for you to meet,'' the sounds of her hooves and Duncan's shoes hitting the ground filled the air, kicking up dust and crunching under pressure. ''And she might be the best besides Twilight to discuss Equestrian Humans with.''

Duncan thought about that phrase; Equestrian Human. He knew what it meant, humans who have been born in Equestria and their following generations. What he did not take much into account would be if there were any significant or distinct differences due to evolving or harsh theoretical conditions. And furthering diversifying the gene pool of humans could also spell disaster for cross-breeding if there were to be any adverse effects to breeding if that ever happened.

He would also commit himself to help the actual story of his people for those to come. If there was one thing that he hated, it had to be inconsistency. 

''Sure, why not. It'll be better than twiddling our thumbs waiting for the biggest death threat ever.''




Sitting outside of Cheerilee's room gave Duncan a very confusing feeling. The Ponyville Schoolhouse was just like he figured one to be back on Earth, just not as small and not as bright. The small chair he was in made him feel like he was back home and he would be sent to the principal's office for doing harmless pranks. It was always in good fun; he definitely had a laugh out of lighting an m80 under his teacher's desk when he wasn't looking.

“He should have been quicker,” Duncan chuckles to himself, letting himself relax for a moment. The last few days were indeed stressful; arguing with Twi, being shell shocked to a whole new world, and almost getting the crap beat out of him made him just want to crawl in a hole and lay there.

Oh, and work is picking up which wasn’t necessarily bad, just more time he would be without time to himself, but he had a debt to pay off.

“And then Princess Celestia told us that we weren’t going to get any help from her, so we figured to introduce Duncy to the town to hopefully change her mind,” Pinkie Pie’s voice sounded as it got closer to the door. He doubted Celestia would be able to change any part of her mind when it came to him, but the girls had faith so he would at least try.

“I still don’t believe you, Pinkie,” Duncan assumed the other voice was Cheerilee. She spoke somewhat softly, not quite to the level of Fluttershy, but more of a mothering, warm voice that would hear you out before chewing you out. She sounded unimpressed with whatever Pinkie told her, but it sounded like she would only do this if to get the mare to leave. “I have papers to grade, so if we can get this little charade out of the. . .w-way. Oh, buck; you were right.”

Turning to his right, Pinkie stood in front of the human, smiling and bouncing up and down, the sound of a spring sounding every time she jumped up from the ground. Weird. Next to her was Cheerilee, who stopped and held a hoof to her mouth in shock. She sized Duncan up and down, slowly backing away but still curious nonetheless.

“Told you!~” Pinkie sang, bouncing over to Duncan’s side and laying a hoof on his shoulder. “Duncy, meet Cheerilee. Cheerilee, meet Duncan. The first Human in Equestria since the Exodus.”

Cheerilee narrowed her eyes when Duncan just stared at her, waiting to see what would happen. The look of pure confusion in his eyes pooled out like a wave. She immediately noticed a few things in her mind that the books did not talk about.

“No claws, are those. . .nails? A-And his mane; it’s cut pretty short to his head. Humans do wear clothes to keep themselves warm, but it’s not constructive.” Cheerilee thought. “He looks uncomfortable sitting like that, and he-“ Duncan stood up to his full length, appearing as tall as Princess Celestia as he spoke.

“Hi. I know I’m interesting, but could you at least say something back?”

Oh! How rude of her. He. . .didn’t seem as bad as the books made them out to be. Perhaps a little imposing, but she didn’t feel any bad intentions off of him from here. And while Pinkie’s judgment on making certain friends can be questionable, she didn’t look in any danger.

The first Human to set foot in Equestria since the Exodus. . .why was he here? He should be with his kind.

“Hello, it’s. . .nice to meet you. I apologize for being speechless. It’s just the stuff I seen in the books; it’s-“

“-Let me guess,” Duncan waved his hand back and forth with a frown on his face. “Over exaggerated and full of mumbo jumbo about me being violent?”

“The opposite, actually. Well, here and there,” Cheerilee admitted but pushed on despite her initial fear. “We haven’t been given pictures, just vague descriptions to go on, but it never spoke to how. . .majestic you are.”

“Huh? What am I a Dragon or something? I think I’m the farthest thing from that.” Duncan said, snorting a bit. “Well, it’s nice to know the first pony I meet beside the girls aren’t scared of me.”

How wrong he was.

“Yes, well I am a teacher, so it is my job to and make sure I understand as much as I can about a subject so I can teach it to my students,” Cheerilee giggled. So far, he didn’t seem so bad. But she would still be wary. “What’s this I hear about Princess Celestia attacking you?”

Duncan began to laugh, catching her off guard. His laugh. . .was full of life, not mindless shouting anger. He sounded just like a pony, gestured like one, but wasn’t one. He was Human.

“I think it’s best if we sit down and talk about it; plus I wanna see what these books got wrong about us,” Duncan said, Pinkie nudging him and giving him a smile.

“I’d like that,” Cheerilee said, her tone becoming less scared and more friendly. “Did you want some tea?”




SugarCube Corner.


“Hmm, his scent is going cold, where did he run off to?”

A push of the door and the sound of hooves clipped and clopped until they came to a stop at the front desk, ringing the small bell that was put out to alert the owners.

“Coming!~ Welcome to SugarCube Corner, what can I get for ya, dearie?” Mrs.Cake asked, balancing a tray of freshly baked peanut butter cookies on her head.

“I’m looking for Pinkie Pie; have you seen her or know where she’s gone?”

Pinkie? She wasn’t still here, was she? She said something about taking a friend to see Cheerilee at the schoolhouse, only she was never told who the friend was. Just where they were going.

''They went to the schoolhouse on the other side of town; you can't miss it. Are you a friend of hers, perhaps?'' Mrs. Cake asked, putting the tray down and looking at the pony who- ''Dearie?'' Mrs. Cake asked to see the pony that disappeared.

Strange. It was almost like they were never there.




Duncan had no idea how much time had passed, but it didn't matter. Once he sat down and relaxed with Cheerilee, he found that she was a chuckle a minute, laughing at the tales that he told her about the less than perfect plans when back on Earth. As for the state of the book that talked about Humans, there were a lot of things either wrong or just not true in the slightest. The ponies that wrote this book was obviously lied to.

''I just can't believe any of that stuff!'' Duncan guffawed, his laughs echoing throughout the entire school. It sounded like a siren, and he held his sides and rocked back and forth in his seat. He could definitely see now why Humans may seem more myth than reality. ''You actually believed all that dumb stuff about us?''

Cheerilee had to swat his nudging hand away and look away with a smile on her face. ''No, of course not! It was just the only material I had, so I just thought-'' a harsh interrupting cough stopped her as he wiggled his index finger slowly.

''-Stop lying; you believed it. It's fine,'' another round of giggles left his mouth after a moment. He couldn't blame her, but he had to poke some fun. All in all, just meeting her for these few hours felt like a lifetime because of their chemistry. He didn't feel defensive or worried, even though it's only been a short time. Cheerilee slowly began to let her misplaced fear melt away. The book made a comparison of Humans to a wild bear with some kind of disease. He seemed to have a gentle giant personality. She. . .wanted to get to know Humans more. She wanted to get to know Duncan more.

And to set the record straight. For whatever reason Princess Celestia attacked him, she really wanted to get down to the bottom of it. And while she wouldn't admit it out loud; from what they talked about and how he acted. Their laughter helped to connect them further. It helped them to ease any tension, it made them feel more alive. It was like a well-needed medicine. 

One thing that failed to creep away from the mare's mind was something that slowly began to spark since they began talking and she began to see the similarities between the two.

Cheerilee thought he was a little cute.

''No, bad thought! Bad thought! Focus.'' Cheerilee said, mentally slapping herself. '' I just met him, I can't be thinking that. Wouldn't it be. . .wrong?'' Duncan was busy chatting it up with Pinkie Pie when she reminded him about what they talked about earlier, something about a pastry party. She couldn't focus on that; this new feeling in her chest overtook that thought. It was warm, inviting. New and stimulating. But also inherently wrong according to the law of the land. She couldn't try and pursue that option.

''-rilee!'' Duncan called, knocking the mare out of her delusion.

''Wha?''

''Are you ok? Pinkie asked, walking over to the mare and waving a hoof in her face. ''You were just staring at Duncan for a few minutes.''

''Y-Yes, of course. I was just thinking about something.'' Cheerilee said, making up something on the fly he would believe. She hoped he didn't notice her acting so weird.

''You're lying aren't you?'' Duncan asked blankly.

How did he know so quickly?!

''N-No!'' Cheerilee asked he got closer to her face, pursing his lips as he gave her a sideways glance. ''I really was just thinking; my mind wanders sometimes, you know?''

''Hmm. . .if you say so. We just wanted to let you know that we were gonna go and meet up with Rarity later, so we wondered if we could do this again another time?'' Duncan asked, pushing in his seat and finishing the last of the lemon tea that she made for the duo.

''Oh, sure. No problem. I should be free this Thursday if you want to come back around and talk some more.'' Cheerilee said as Duncan smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth.

''Sure; it was nice meeting you today. I hope I didn't scare you when we first met,'' Duncan held out his hand for her to shake.

''At first, but I got over it; you seem more like a teddy bear, minus the bear. And the fluff,'' Cheerilee joked back, putting her hoof in his hand. It felt warm and soft. She liked it. After bidding the pair goodbye, she had to sit down and replay the events in her mind. She was one of the first ponies to meet a Human face to face and survived. he was not as bad as the outdated, unreliable book made Humans out to be.

He was nice, loved to have a laugh, and seemed like any other pony. She had a hard time understanding whatever it was that made the entire situation revolving around them to happen. And what these feelings in her mind meant. She would have to before something embarrassing happened while he was in front of her.




''So, what did you think, Duncy?'' Pinkie asked the human as they walked outside the school, turning onto the main road to lead back into the town square. The sun slowly began to set, providing a warm yellow glow that covered everything sight with its inviting warmth. The brightness began to dull as the clouds began to retreat. ''Think the rest of the town will be like Cheerilee?''

''If they are that amount of nice, then maybe. But Ponyville looks like it had quite a few ponies; I get the feeling it'll take a minute before I have a sit down with everyone,'' Duncan stretched his arms to the sky, his upper body shaking before relaxing as he sighed in contentment. One pony beside the girls and Spike, and he had a positive experience. He guessed the old saying was true; laughter is a universal language.

Walking down the road, their conversations continued as they laughed and Duncan began to chase after Pinkie as she bopped him on the nose for a game of tag. Leaning behind a tree they passed, the figure from earlier stood up and watched the pair run off in the distance. How fun things looked. . .for the moment, anyways.

''Laugh while you can. Before you know it, you'll be in front of Princess Celestia, begging for death. . .and that bitch's spot as Celestia's favorite will be mine.''



> Step 4: Kindess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna walked through the halls of the castle, her mind going to a few different places as she sought to get ready to perform her duties for the night. Even with her initial trouble of readjusting to the more modern world of Equestria after Twilight Sparkle and her friends freed her from the grasp of Nightmare Moon, she still preferred that over being trapped still. The sound of her steps echoed throughout the spacious hallway on the way back to her chambers. The nightlight of the moon came in through the spacious mosaic windows.

''Another beautiful night, courtesy of thou-I mean me, hehehe,'' Luna corrected her mistake. Oftentimes something that still plagued the younger sister would be that the occasional slip of the old tongue whenever she was not focusing or coming to anger. It began to wane some when she took the time to slow down in her actions. ''Hopefully-''

Luna was cut off by the distant sound of something hitting metal. Or metal hitting metal. the sudden change in the silence made her stop and tense. She closed her eyes and focused her magic on the direction the soundwave came from. It took a moment after isolating it from the small background sounds, but it soon came to her. It was. . .Celestia's room?

''Sister? She should be sleep. Unless something happened to her?'' Luna mused to herself as she galloped over to her sister's room. Ordinarily, she would be fast asleep as soon as she did her part in lowering the sun, and Luna would just resign herself to her duties in the most efficient way possible to minimize any issues. But even she knew when her instincts told her something was off. Or that perhaps she may be reading too much into it; it could be nothing. But it could also be something.

Luna groaned as she approached her sister's room, stopping just short of her hoof touching the door. Maybe she should leave it alone. Her duties did technically take precedence. But she couldn't help but feel. . .

No. It was Celestia after all, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. 1000 years by herself certainly proved that point in itself. But Luna wanted to be of some sort of help rather than just a pony doing her job. Maybe tomorrow; plus if there was an issue, Celestia would probably voice her concern or something similar. Luna's breathing hiked as she fought to tear herself away from the door. With any luck, Celestia did not hear her approach so she could be left to whatever it was that she was doing.

''I should be more considerate than to barge in, especially at this point,'' Luna said, shaking her head of the thoughts of something bad occurring. It would be better to settle things in the morn, where her sister would be in a better state of mind versus groggy and confused.

As Luna teleported back to her own quarters, the last she heard before casting the spell of that sound again. It sounded familiar, but also foreign. It also happened with the space of a second before the sound echoed again.

''Was that. . .Luna?'' Celestia asked, stopping what she was doing before setting what was held in her magic down and looked towards her door. She thought she heard the faint poof of a teleportation spell and the sound of her sister talking. At this hour? Perhaps she heard. . .it. ''No matter, as long as she didn't come in, then I would not be able to restrain myself,'' Celestia touched a hoof to her chest and peered at the papers on her desk about the Human that her agent was tracking. Celestia wanted to know every single thing about the disease that galavanted around her kingdom as if he belonged there.

She would have his weaknesses known, exploited and all of the fragile bonds that he has made with Twilight and her friends will crumble to dust. And then, and only then, when they beg for her forgiveness. . .she will consider allowing them to come back to her side, to let her rule be known throughout the land.

Only then, would the thought come across her mind.

''They will be begging for mercy when she gets done with them and they are laying at my hooves,'' Celestia snarled to herself, resolving herself. To her, the ultimate betrayal is of that to your country. ''The prices will be paid, one way or another.'' the sounds began to sound again she picked the object up again.




Fluttershy and Duncan sat down in her clearing behind her house, the lush green grass being blown through by a wave of wind, the faint smell of flowers and honey carried on the current as of the feeling of being one with nature. After the other day of having fun with Pinkie Pie and Cheerilee, but the plan to help Duncan integrate into the town had to be back on track. And Twilight still looked up any actual information about where the Equestrian Humans actually were exiled to so the chance to bridge borders could be bridged.

And with the lack of information at hand, it would take a minute to get anything concrete enough. And with Celestia not being the most cooperative, it would make things especially more difficult. So for the time being, all was. . .quiet.

Duncan decided on spending a few days at Fluttershy's house seeing as Twilight would be busying gathering information, Rainbow lived in the sky, and there were no immediate ideas where he could stay there and not fall through the floor, leaving the rest of the girls to decide amongst themselves to have different days where they would spend with Duncan and help to acclimate him to Ponyville.

''So you can talk to animals? That's actually pretty cool.'' Duncan commented, looking to see Fluttershy talking to her bear friend, Thomas. ''And you named them?''

Fluttershy finished scratching Thomas's belly, much to his displeasure when she flew over and smiled over at him, looking absolutely ecstatic to have somepony else be more invested in animals beside the girls. ''Oh yes, well most of them. Other times, depending on where they grew up, they end up hearing ponies talk and say names, and they decide based on that.''

''So, do you think they understand me even though it's not two way?'' Duncan wondered, rubbing the feathers of a Toucan that perched on a nearby stand that took a liking to Duncan. The brightly colored beak and color contrast of its lime green and black body colors reminded him of something from his past, and well every kid's past if they grew up with a certain brand of breakfast cereal. ''Do you know what I just said?'' Duncan asked rhetorically, expecting silence in return. He did, however not expect the bird to nod his head and caw a bit. The size of Duncan's eyes may as well have been the size of dinner plates when the bird ended up nuzzling his shoulder when it came closer.

''Answered your own question,'' Fluttershy giggled, looking to see the bird caw again, but at Fluttershy for a few moments. Nodding and smiling, Fluttershy pointed at Duncan as the bird nodded again and cawed, flapping its wings before taking flight and soaring off into the sky and arching around and flying back down to the ground, soaring in between the pair as Duncan felt its feathers graze his cheek as it flew by, knocking him on the ground from the sudden surprise before it returned, landing on the ground in the space between its legs. In its beak, although a bit marred, was a peach.

''He says he wants you to have it.'' Fluttershy said, the bird dropping the fruit in front of him and waiting.

''Really? Well, thanks little guy,'' Duncan reached a hand out as the bird tilted its head for a moment, looking at Fluttershy, who was all to happy to translate.

''He wants you to shake his hand. Kind of like a nuzzling but you may have to use your beak.''

The bird looked to think for a moment before hopping forward and allowing Duncan to wrap his hand around his beak and shake it for a few seconds. When he let go, the bird cawed again, extending a wing to Duncan again before it flew up on his leg, being mindful of his claws. Peering at the bird with an amused expression, Fluttershy shrugged. ''That's up to Duncan.''

''What are they saying?'' Duncan thought.

''Um, care to translate?'' Duncan asked, not understanding fully what was going on. He knew it was nothing bad, but the language barrier did annoy him to a degree.

''Oh!"' Fluttershy was surprised at the tone of his voice, forgetting for a moment he did not have her talent of animal interpretation. ''This Toucan's name is Rain, and he wanted me to tell you that he thinks you smell nice and that he wanted to know if you want to be friends. That's why he brought you the peach; he likes you.''

''Really? A. . .Toucan? He wants to be my friend?'' Duncan looked to Rain, who nodded again and cawed. ''Why? We just met.''

Fluttershy called Rain over and held her hoof out for him to sit upon as she explained. ''Well, a few weeks ago, before you got here, this little guy showed up with a broken wing. I nursed him back to health and he told me what had happened with his last owner. He had been used as a bird to help perform tricks, but one went horribly wrong and ended up breaking his right wing,'' Fluttershy gestured to Rain, who nodded sadly. ''I don't know for how long he had been like that, but I just knew he somehow managed to find his way on a cart full of the animal I normally get once a week and needed somepony to help heal him.''

Duncan felt a bit of sadness when hearing that, but paused when a certain question entered his mind. ''How come he wasn't defensive of me for the past hour?''

''Oh, that's because I told him about you whenever I talked to my animal friends. And it sounded like to me that he wanted to meet you. But I didn't think that he would take such a quick liking to you,'' Fluttershy pet Rain as he cawed softly.

''Hmm,'' Duncan held his chin and thought. He knew was. . .liked to a small degree, just not that well from an initial meeting. He didn't see any possible issue with making another friend; especially knowing that they would be needed in this time of uncertainty. The only issue would be the lack of communication between the two that would be the hardest thing to deal with.

''Sure.'' Duncan said, smiling at Rain. He did want a pet after being thrown from his home. He always wondered if his cat would be ok without him there. Then he remembered that his cat was a cat.

''She'll be fine, plus I doubt she even noticed that I left,'' Duncan joked to himself as he held his forearm out. ''Sure thing, bud.''

Rain cawed over and over, flying over to his arm and nuzzling the human as he giggled and accepted the affection. That would make 2 new friends made in the span of less than a week. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he had a friend quota to make. ''Just don't be expecting me to understand you all the time.''

The pair began to chat, with Fluttershy playing the role of translator. Soon, the two of them began to bond. But something that came up in his mind was the true extent of their efforts in trying to get the town to open and accept, as well as believe that Humans used to roam in Equestria and that they are not more than myth.

With Fluttershy beginning to show him the beginning phases of it, he thought maybe kindness could be one of the factors to overcome to barrier. At least he hoped.




''Playing with mindless animals, are you? Fitting for a lesser being such as yourself. . .I suppose the time to make my own move is drawing near. Just make sure you can put enough of a fight when the time comes.''
> Step 5: Honesty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan felt the air in his lungs leave as he stopped by Mayor Mare's office, once again to drop off his weekly payment. He had worked hard, even extra hours to get a little extra to help him get a little bit ahead for when everything would be all said and done.

''And that's the 3rd of 4 payments,'' Duncan cried internally as Mayor Mare counted the small bag filled with 106 bits. One more and he would off of the hook, and any subsequent money would be his to enjoy. He still vowed to make sure Celestia would pay him back his just due for this. She attacked him first, nearly gave him a concussion, and damaged property in the midst of attacking him.

He would charge pain and suffering, as well.

''Well, as always, a pleasure to business with you, Mayor Mare. I'll see you next Friday?'' Duncan asked rhetorically as he approached the door. That dent was indeed there, and the curtains still had yet to be replaced. A holding period before any work was agreed upon after all of the money was present and accounted for. ''Sorry again.'' Duncan chuckled nervously before Mayor Mare waved him off.

''It's quite alright, Duncan. It's not your fault about what happened; just a case of a bigger situation that none of us quite understands yet. I am more than sure that with time, will the facts be revealed.'' Mayor Mare said in quite a confident voice. It still surprised him just understanding most of the ponies in the town were. At least, the one he was able to interact with at the moment. Never had they seen a Human, let alone heard anything concrete about them, and here he was as bright as day. 

With almost no judgment.

''Appreciate it. I'll be going now.'' Duncan smiled and bid her goodbye until the next time they would meet. He carefully walked out of Town Hall, looking each way in the hopes of not being seen by anyone right away. How he managed to not been seen for the last three weeks eluded him. He would take the same route, at about the same time with no more than a minute or two in between the different times he left.

On his agenda for this week?  He had just the idea of just knowing more about Ponyville, and one way that was brought up besides learning from the books had to be to interact with the folks of the town more. Much to his surprise, he discovered that just like Rarity, Applejack had a sister that he had yet to meet. And it sounded like they would be a good start to bridge the gap between Humans and Equestria.

Plus children were easily impressionable, so he figured it wouldn't take much for the interactions to begin.





Golden Oaks Library.


''Any luck, Twi?'' Spike asked Twilight as she continued to pursue every book in her collection on anything related to Humans. Nothing. Never even remotely close was ever mentioned about where exactly there were exiled to, or even why. Two of the biggest questions that she hoped would be answered eventually so the true nature of Princess Celestia's actions can be judged.

Still feeling some sort of instinctual connection to her mentor, Twilight was torn between a rock and a hard place as she fought to try and make sense of everything. Ever since Duncan and her 'argued' about the issues of loyalty and trust, she admittedly was a little sourer than usual as she had a small tick that often concerned being proven wrong, especially be it about something that she had poured extensive knowledge into, only to have those days of study, practical application and everything else underneath Celestia's sun to be questioned so easily. ''Nothing yet, Spike,'' Twilight sighed and massaged her temples as she fought to make sense of this. Nothing she resolved herself to studying never took this much headache to accomplish. It may take a while, but it never came with quite the level of headache that was currently trying to stave off.

''Do you think Princess Celestia would have told you this if Duncan hadn't come when he did?'' Spike folded his arms as his eyes shone with worry for his new friend. He didn't want to lose him to this crazy thing going on with Princess Celestia. He would try his best to prevent that. ''Or do you think she doesn't trust you?''

Trust. . .a strong word. Something Twilight honestly didn't know if Celestia was capable of understanding. If ever she was in pain, had any kind of problem, or even stubbed her hoof on something; Twilight, as her top student would be to help do whatever it would take to help her get over that. She was just that good of a mentor that she was willing to do any and everything in her power to help. But after she blindly attacked their friend, and without valid reasoning made her question just about everything about the entire exchange.

She. . .was unsure. Of herself, of her studies, and even of Duncan and Celestia. It just all began to pile up so quickly, and she had no idea of what would come next; whose side to be on, what things to keep secret, what plans to make, what-

''-Twilight!'' Spike yelled, knocking her out of her thoughts for the moment. "Are you ok? You blanked out there.

And there were her friends and Spike. Lying would be the wrong thing to do in this situation and she was more than sure of it biting her in the flank if she even so much as thought about committing to it. Plus AJ would not give her an inch if she found out. ''No. I'm not. This is just too much stuff to ingest so quickly.''

Spike knew his friend was having a small internal crisis, but a joke had to be made nonetheless. ''Even though you study like it's nopony’s business? You can’t let this get you down,” Spike approaches Twilight as she looked into his eyes. A huff of air came from her mouth. “You look tired, why not take a break?” Spike noticed the faint bags under her eyes. She must have been going full steam ahead.

Twilight sighed and pulled herself back into her current book that she was going over. She couldn’t stop now, not with so much going on. “Maybe. . .” Spike was given a kiss on his head as Twi told him to just go and take the rest of the day off. She would be alright.

Hopefully.




“Wow, so you’re kinda famous round here, huh?” Apple Bloom asked Duncan as he sat in the treehouse with her, which he found to almost be a challenge with the dimensions being smaller than he would expected, as well almost falling over before getting inside. “How come you don’t have a Cutie Mark?”

That was another thing. Apparently, with Apple Bloom, she and her other two friends were avid hunters of their Cutie Marks, or their markings that would define their talent for their life; The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Humans can have more than one talent,” Duncan   let the filly know as she looked on with the complete enthralled look of a child. He didn’t expect her to be so welcoming either, she didn’t seem to look too surprised when Applejack introduced him. “Though, some are not as good as having multiple things they can do, so it depends on the person.”

Apple Bloom looked confused before she dismissed the thought. She would make sense of it later. But now, the better thing to do would be to help Duncan be inducted into the CMC. Even without a Cutie Mark, maybe him being there can help her and the girls find theirs. “So, have you met any other ponies here besides my sis and her friends?”

“Kinda.” Duncan said, rubbing  the back of his head and thinking back to when he and Pinkie talked to Cheerilee. “Just Mayor Mare and Cheerilee for now, and then probably whoever else in the town would be more welcoming too, with time.”

Apple Bloom still didn’t buy that. Ponyville was a good place; everypony would be nice enough to not chew his head off; maybe. “So why are you really here?”

Duncan was confused. Wasn’t he here to learn? To make friends? “To make friends.”

“Are ya sure ‘bout that? I was raised not to judge, but even I can tell that you probably wouldn’t really want to be here; least not without more of your kind.” Apple Bloom pointed a hoof to Duncan, who quirked her brow.

Was a kid. . .being racist? 

“It’s not like a choice, Apple Bloom. I wasn’t sent here because I wanted to be, it just happened,” Duncan uncovered the small faded scar on his stomach. “I was hurt and thrown into a lake. And came here through that magic pond or whatever.” Duncan sat back down from standing and gestured to the filly. “And while it seems nice here so far, that wouldn’t be my first choice if I had one, least not with your leader with a death wish against me.”

“Well, why not find your folks?” Apple Bloom asked. “Maybe they can come here.”

If they weren’t exiled, maybe. If he had to guess, they were probably not told about Humans, to any real degree. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he also did not want to tell a child something as sensitive right away. It wouldn’t be the whole truth; but not a full lie either. “Well, they’re here, but where; I don’t know.”

“I can help!” Apple jumped up sudden and scared Duncan a bit.

“Beg pardon?” 

Apple Bloom clicked her tongue. “I mean, let me and the girls help you find your kind! They can’t be that far, right?”

Hmmph. Maybe, maybe not. But having 3 kids help, 3 pony kids no less just did not seem like a power move to him. Plus Duncan had the small feeling that with their lack of understanding the small amount of controlled propaganda about Humans would also skew their thinking on the matter. Wait, why was he even thinking about this? It’s a no. He wouldn’t risk it. “Thanks, but no thanks. I can find them on my own; and that’s even considering if I want to find them.” Duncan spied Apple Bloom frowning at what he said. “What?”

“But, I want to help!” Apple Bloom argued. She wouldn’t take this sitting down. Not if it meant there would be a chance to help find their Cutie Marks. He didn’t understand. “This could be just what we need to help us find our talents, and if we help a friend in the process, why not do it?”

“That’s very nice of you, but trust me when I say you don’t want to get too involved with my people, let alone me,” Duncan chuckled and frowned at himself. He should stop talking before he created more questions for her that he wouldn’t want to answer.

“That’s not the way of The Cutie Mark Crusaders. We’ll help you, Duncan. Don’t worry. We might be small, but we can-“ Duncan held a hand up, stopping her.

“Just. . .stop.”

Seriously? 

“Can we at least try and help?” Apple Bloom’s bottom lip began to quiver and stick out. Maybe the eyes and lip pout would do it.

“You can help me by getting the town to like me; maybe if we do that, it can help you girls find your Cutie Marks and get the major stick out of Celestia’s flank.”

“Language!” Apple Bloom thwacked Duncan on the knee, which did nothing.

Ignoring that, he continued. He would try this Twilight’s way; non-aggressive said until
It was pushed to that point. After that, nothing would stop him. “And if you want to make any ‘plans’ as the self-proclaimed leader you think you are, the rest of your team should be here first.”

“I knew that!” Apple Bloom blushed a bit. “Oh, pony feathers.”

“Hey, what happened to language?” Duncan thwacked her back, to which she did the same to his knee. Then he to her nose, then her to his forearm.

“Don’t tell Applejack!” Apple Bloom backed away as Duncan was poised for another strike. “If she-“

“-If she whats?” Duncan heard another voice sound behind him as he looked to see a Unicorn and Pegasus behind him looking ver curiously at him. “Who are you?” Duncan spied the Unicorn speak, her tiny white hoof pointed at him.

“Let me guess; you two are Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?”

“Yea!” Sweetie and Scootaloo responded with a vigor, then defaulted back to their previous look of confusion as they spoke at the same time. “Who’s this, Apple Bloom?”

Breathing a sigh of relief it wasn’t her sister, Apple Bloom rubbed her hooves together. “Our newest Crusader, girls. Our newest Crusader.”





Celestia’s Chambers.


“Yes, Princess?”

“You are to strike in exactly one week from tomorrow. That will be the perfect time.” Celestia sat on her bed as her agent reported to her via telepathic message. A slow going few days since dispatching her has passed, but the first remnant of a chance to begin her plans may have presented itself.

“But that would be on-“

“-I am aware, but your job is not to think past what you are told.” Celestia said, her tone final and uncaring. “Until you become my Understudy, you are nothing. Remember that.”

“I-I. . .yes, Princess. I apologize. I am nothing without you.”



> Nightmare Night, Nightmare Fright
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dream Of Nightmare Night. . .




Duncan sat at the edge of his bed, looking down at the floor with a neutral expression. The dim light of the room's candle reached his face, illuminating the glow in his eyes with each second. The air was stale, the small howling of the wind outside rushing against his closed window with a firm woosh that flung small rocks and dust towards the glass. The moon appeared to be closer than it had even been since he arrived to Equestria. 

This would be the death of him before a crazy, 10ft power horse princess would have the chance.

''Duncan!'' Twilight called from downstairs, her voice muffled by his closed door. He did not want to have to do this, in any capacity. ''Are you ready?''

Was he ready for this? He knew it was coming up, he knew all the buzz it would bring to the town, and he even knew that it would probably his best chance to have the majority of the town in one place to help his introduction to the town without any complications or underlying judgment from him being who he was.

And only if things went right for tonight. Duncan sighed, combing his hand through his hair as he fought a battle within himself to make himself stand up and do this without complaining or to embarrass his friends. Walking over to his mirror, he traced a finger over his makeup and double-checked none was showing his own skin color besides the dark red paint that was so intricate to be put together after a grueling appointment with Rarity on what colors would and would not clash. The light white crescent moons under his eyes resembled tears rolling down his face with minor wave patterns in between.

''Why did I agree to this?'' Duncan asked himself in a low voice, shaking his head in disbelief. Pinkie certainly made a good case against the promise that it would be, as well as how sad she would be if he did not attend the night's festivities. ''Oh, yea. . .friendship.''

All of this said last minute before he was fully backed out of it while her being in a chicken costume.

Rubbing his index finger and thumb together to generate a bit of heat, he ran his fingers through the collar of the cloak he was wearing to ensure the crease remained as straight and crisp as possible. Rarity would kill him if he ruined this at all. Once upon a time, which was last week, Duncan found himself wondering what exactly compelled her to do all of this when he was sure his initial plan of doing things his way would work, but he knew better than to question the opinion of a woman, especially about something he knew next to nothing about. ''Let's see what this 'Nightmare Night' is all about. Yea! I'm ready Twi!'' Duncan shouted back, turning around and shuffling to the door, paying one last look to his bedroom.

He just wanted to sleep this night off, but his friends (Pinkie) was ever persistent.

''About time!'' Spike called, coming over to the bottom of the staircase to see Duncan close his door and venture down, the cloak perfectly covering all of his body except for his head and a bit of his neck. It was a simple black, purposely made with folded layers that made it appear as if he was just wearing a curtain until Spike looked to see the simple chain the same color as his face paint connecting the cloth together. ''You look like you're floating almost,'' Spike said, noting the cloak clipping just barely before the tops of his shoes.

Duncan snorted, looking at Spike's costume once he got to the bottom, noting the crudely made attempt at. . .whatever it was Spike was trying to do. ''What in the name of all that is considered holy are you supposed to be?''

Spike thumped a claw against his chest, the half-heartedly made green and purple costume that covered his body resembling something that a child would draw. ''I'm a dragon!''

Duncan quirked a brow, slightly tilting his head as he bent down to Spike's level. He reached a hand out and felt his forehead to see something.

''Uh, what are you doing?'' Spike felt him firmly press the back of his hand into his forehead. It didn't hurt, but it did kinda feel strange.

''Checking to make sure you don't have a heat stroke or something going on, because if not, you're sillier than I thought.'' Duncan felt no abnormal temperature from what he was able to tell.

Twilight finished adjusting the beard on her Starswirl The Bearded costume with a grin a mile wide plastered on her face. This would be one of the best nights ever; ponies could see her costume and admire her hard work and maybe even want to learn some of the spells that the unicorn knew back during his time. Or both. Whichever one took precedence. This would also be beneficial for Duncan in more ways than one.

Candy, tricks, and games should be enough to help take the edge off of some of the feelings that some of them felt ever since Princess Celestia attacked Duncan and made her declaration, which was still understandably as unjust in Twilight's eyes as it was sudden. Ever since that day, she dared not sending any manner of letter to her for the possible fear of it backfiring on her. Never had she seen something like even remotely change her perspective on a matter.

Except for Nightmare Moon.

''At any rate, that can wait,''Twilight thought, looking herself over once more before she traveled over to Duncan and Spike as they bickered about the validity of Spike's costume. ''This night should be enjoyed.''

''-And also, you could have gone as anything else!'' Duncan chortled, flicking the small spines on Spike's costume. ''A mummy, firefighter, even Clifford, but you had to go as yourself.''

Spike was confused. Who was Clifford? ''But you're going as yourself.''

''Because as far as everypony is concerned; Humans don't really exist,'' Duncan folded his arms and gave the dragon a smug smile that told him that he had won this argument. He always considered himself to be a bit of a smooth talker when it mattered. ''That's like seeing Medusa walking down the street; you just can't ignore it.''

''I still don't get it.'' Spike said, walking over to his tiny pumpkin basket for candy.

''And that's why you have lost this battle of wits,'' Duncan replied in a positive tone, walking over to the door with a bemused expression. ''We going or not?''

Twilight smiled back at Duncan and continued to the door as well. She would do her best to help Duncan adjust, and make this a night that nopony would forget. And who knows; he may just win an award for the costume contest.




The night always was always a comfort. It allowed for the true nature of those who would otherwise lie and cheat to be revealed, and the ensuing retribution to be all the sweeter when caught. She would always be just the pony who be called in to handle any unruliness and to instill fear in the hearts of any creature foolish enough to go against her client. ''With all of the jobs I did in the past, this one is probably the most annoying. Princess Celestia and her. . .eugh. Rules.''

Faster, stronger, more accurate, and better than any of her previous assignments. This one would be the one to get her in the best position of power. Only playing the role of the fool, for now, would guarantee her own plans for the future. . .a world where her word is law. 

Conform or die.

Brrrr. The cold air certainly got to her quicker than she thought. Always standing watch over a mountainside had certain advantages, but not as much when compared to being up close and personal with her prey. The clinking of her gear against the rock as she stood up and stretched. Almost time for the first strike. ''Let's light this town up. Princess Celestia, I am moving now.'' Starlight communicated telepathically.

POOF!

Craning her head to the left, the pony in question appeared in a fantastic display of teleportation magic, the radiant light blinding her for a second as the waves of light flowed down Celestia's body before dying out in the ground in a wave of magical particles. How smug of her to walk like she was in charge of this operation, especially without lifting a hoof. She stopped halfway and directed her attention to the town which would be a few miles away from the outskirts of town. ''You do know what is expected of you, so I expect it to be done with the. . .care and professionalism you have been known for, Starlight Glimmer.''

Starlight bowed her head a tad, crossing a hoof over her chest. Mere formalities to just feed her client, soon to be master's ego. ''Yes, Princess. I shall give a full report when done. Not one moment less once the mission is complete.''

''Good,'' Celestia used her magic to pick up a loose rock in her magic, using a bit of her magic to wither away at it, the process as second nature to her as breathing. The pieces that were unfit to stay fell to the ground with no consideration; they were rejects. Before long, with Starlight casting a look of mild wonder as she began to stop her work and present what she made to her soon to be the student to replace which was, in her opinion, a mistake. ''Humans. . .resilent as ever; and Duncan will-'' she spit the word out with such rage that she scrapped her teeth against themselves by accident. ''-with no doubt, pose an annoyance to you if you fail to pay attention.'' Celestia showed the rock sculpture to her as she looked on. 

She knew that. with the way that she described him to her, and with the different time she observed, she did think that the fool thought highly of himself that he could take on any opposition if it came his way. If only he knew. He wouldn't know what hit him. But, for the sake of her becoming closer to her goal, she would swallow her thoughts and smile and wave. ''Yes, Princess.''

POOF! THUMP! The rock fell, almost rolling over the side of the cliff before Starlight's magic picked it up so she could better look at it with her own eyes. It. . .was funny in a way. The way Celestia so easily made that into what she wanted would be the same for her making Duncan suffer, and the different ways that she could implement that pain would oh so difficult to pick one to leave such a lasting effect. ''Element of Magic, huh? This better not be for nothing,'' Starlight resigned herself and focused her power, bringing forth a pair of ethereal wings that formed over her cloak as she took a few flaps and glided forward.




''So far, so good,'' Duncan commented, noticing the festive decorations that littered the town. The ground was adorned with various decorative webs and baskets that held images of a pony bathed in black with a singular eye peering back at them. Princess Luna, from what Twilight told him and he found out a bit in the books around the library. The younger sister of Celestia just sounded all the worse to him after using what she did to him as a benchmark for any future behavior. ''I think this is working, you guys.''

Nopony had looked at him too strangely, besides the occasional sideways glance that he actually didn't mind all too much as they continued on with just enough curiosity to wonder, but not enough to question outright. Some costumes were made with thought, ranging from scarecrows, mummies, doctors, and everything in between. 

The only oddball, besides himself, was Spike.

''See? Not that bad once you give them a chance,'' Spike said, shaking in delight at the prospect of candy and pranks.

''Well, he technically is wearing a costume, Spike. They probably think he's just another pony.'' Twilight said, also noticing the ponies carrying on pretty much the same as she would expect them to without Duncan present. He looked to be having fun, waving to a few of the fillies that were brave enough to give him a glance. But, there still seemed to be something on his mind, and she knew it was Celestia.

That still was an issue that she still had trouble believing that her mentor was someone that had the capacity to be standoffish about the entire situation, and the fact that she has yet to hear anything at all from her about anything. And that would make any further plans down the line all the more difficult if she were, to be honest with herself. That disconnect could possibly mean the end of any further studying under her tutelage, no more spells, and possibly no more friendship lessons. . .

That reality was something that she may have to soon face, with the way that things were now.

''Oh my goodness,'' Duncan stopped walking when the trio walked into the town square as he spied Mayor Mare in her costume. ''What is she wearing?''

''Even I can't tell you that,'' Spike shook his head and wondered what possessed Mayor Mare to dress up like that. ''You think anypony tried to tell her why it's not gonna work?''

''Doubt it.'' Duncan said, folding his arms and sweeping a look across the various tables that were set up with games, decorations, and candy. Ugh. Candy corn; something he always hated as a kid, and even now, he still was not a fan. Spying some moment out of the corner of his eye, he turned to see a small group of files and colts running after one another. The colt who seemed to be the biggest focus of the group almost swept Duncan off his feet if not for his quick reflexes and footing.

''Oh, my goodness,'' the small colt apologized, the red bandanna that sat perched on his head falling to the ground in a small plume of dust and rocks. ''I am so, so, sorry! I should have looked where I was going, Mr. . .whoa. Who are you?''

''Oh, Pipsqueak!'' Twilight walked over, frowning and helping the colt up who looked in awe at Duncan.''You need to be more careful; you could have hurt somepony. Are you ok, Duncan?''

Duncan waved his hand back and forth, chuckling at the panicked state of Pipsqueak. ''No harm, no foul. But, to his question. I'm. . .different.''

''You're not a pony, so what are you, sir?'' Pipsqueak asked, searching for his list bandanna to complete his pirate costume, frantically looking before Spike came to his rescue.

''Let's just say-'' Duncan swept his cloak in front of his face, covering everything except his eyes. ''-I am a myth made a reality,'' Pipsqueak's eyes dilated and his hooves thrummed with nervous shakes. Myth? W-Was he dangerous? ''I am a Homo Saipan, and if you know what's good for you on this Nightmare Night. . . you won't tell anypony!''

Crack! BOOM!

''Ahhhh!'' Pipsqueak and his friends ran off, though Duncan couldn't tell if it was from him or from the sound of thunder sounding that scared the ever-loving life of them. He also noticed Spike taking a toll for the worst as he fell flat on his face as Twilight complained to whoever caused the scare.

''Rainbow!~'' Twilight turned her head to Rainbow Dash, who frowned at her friend who sat on a darkened thunder cloud as she sat in a dark skinsuit and googles.

''HAHAHA!~ Oh, man; classic!'' Rainbow fell on her back, kicking her hooves in the air as she lowered the cloud closer to the ground. ''Suprised I didn't get Duncan, I'll just have to get him later.''

''That wasn't very nice, Rainbow,'' Duncan shot a venomous look to Rainbow, the sound of her laughter making his eye twitch. 

''Lighten up, Duncan. It's all in good fun.'' Rainbow said, making Twilight scowl at her friend's antics.

''But look what you did to Spike!'' Twilight frowned and pointed to Spike who looked to be having a heart attack. ''And Pipsqueak and his friends, too.''

Rainbow looked very much annoyed that her friends were party poopers. This was the one night a year she could enjoy this without any repercussions. Almost. And she would be remised if she was going to let anypony get in the way of her fun on this Nightmare Night. Plus, she wouldn't be the only one who would plan any pranks. Something that did miff her a bit was that the true target of her prank failed to react. ''Won't be acting that way for long.'' Rainbow thought.

''Are you listening to us?'' Duncan put his hands on his hips, exhaling a breath through his nose. If he didn't know any better, he had the feeling that she was in her head, about something and that it would not be any good for anypony tonight.

''Oh! Oh! There's another group over there!'' Rainbow zoomed away, leaving the group by themselves.

''I swear, I will hurt her one day,'' Duncan growled, looking at Spike as he twitched on the ground, a few ponies looking at him with a curious eye. ''Ey, Spike; you good?''

''He'll be fine, I'm sure,'' Twilight took hold of him in her magic and set him on her back as the pair began to walk around and see some of what the other ponies were doing. ''Where are the girls? They said they would meet us here.''

''Maybe that got caught up for a second. This is a night where scares could be around any corner.'' Duncan said, Twilight shaking her head and continuing with looking around the town. ''Still surprised I haven't been noticed really.''




Starlight Glimmer trotted through the clearing that stood by the side of Fluttershy's cottage from what Princess Celestia informed her in the dossier. The information that she provided her with certainly helped her to make a good enough persona for whoever she would need to use to get close enough to her target and to do the job she was sent here. Fluttershy, from what she was told, would be more on the lesser side of candidates should the need arise.

Applejack would be difficult due to her honesty and often spot on track record of being the voice of reason of the group, which she factored into being a problem, should the rest of them be in the position to question.

Rarity would be too obvious. . .and that her sense for fashion would be against her. Starlight continued walking, slowly passing by the trees that side of either side of her as she slowly walked through Ponyville, keeping her eyes open and ears raised for the littlest thing that could stand out. All the planning in the world would amount to nothing until it actually was put into place, and if it held a significant chance of success.

And Pinkie Pie?

''No,'' Starlight said, shaking her head and continuing on her path. The town soon came into view after she began to see the dim lights of torches being lit through the town For Nightmare Night. Why Celestia chose this night of all nights still eluded the unicorn no matter what angle she attempted to think from. In recent years, Celestia's mind has, for a lack of better words, deteriorated. She lied to herself every day she raised the sun; every deal she ever made with every delegate, king, queen, or political power was all a front. Celestia knew something was coming, but what exactly, she never told Starlight. 

With taking that into account, the only logical option would have to be-

''Hmm.'' Starlight paused her walk for the moment, looking around to see nothing; just trees, the dirt road that led into Ponyville, and the few clouds that littered the night sky. ''Mmm.'' Starlight continued walking, closing her eyes for a moment before the sounds of her metal horseshoes against the dirt, silently thumping.

BOOM! CRACK!

''Ngh!'' Starlight instinctively fired a blast of magic towards the sound, nearly striking the pony who used the cloud to catch her off-guard. She knew she heard something, but whoever it was possessed good reflexes to avoid her attacks so quickly.

''Jeez,'' a voice called from the dark cloud as it floated closer to the ground, revealing Rainbow Dash blowing a bit of steam from her mane. So close. ''Can't take a joke?'' Starlight looked at Rainbow Dash chuckling a bit and looking a bit miffed that she was exposed before she could fully enjoy what she tried to do. A small fire sparked itself inside Starlight's mind, wanting to grow more into an inferno of malice. The Element of Loyalty? More like a waste of great power and this Wonderbolt wannabe has yet to even scratch the surface of her Element's power. None of them did.

Especially not Twilight, the thief. 

''Hey, are you okay?'' Rainbow asked, taking off her goggles so she could see a bit of her better. Starlight nearly lurched out, if not for her own restraint. She would have to temper her anger, but only just long enough to get her in the best position possible.

''I'm fine,'' Starlight clenched her teeth as the words came out rather forced, Rainbow quirking her brow and hopping off the cloud. ''I'm just not one for jokes, is all.''

Rainbow blew a raspberry, waving her hoof in defiance. Not a fan of jokes? Oh, how rich. If she didn't know any better, she kind of sounded like Duncan. ''So why are you out here by yourself? You don't seem like you're from around here.''

Of course, she wasn't. Having too many questions, however, could be something that could be the end of her very, very, small life if she continued to put her nose where it did not belong. This incident, however, was certainly operating within the parameters she projected, but she still wanted to move it along with all the more quickly; the fewer ponies who knew about her presence would be all the better for her to finish the mission she was given.

She would have to handle this quickly before anypony else came.

''Hey, are you ok-''

Starlight used her magic, channeling a magical blast that Rainbow Dash narrowly missed, looking back at Starlight with a panicked look. Rainbow grit her teeth and readied herself. Pranking this pony was obviously something she couldn't do. ''What's your deal?!''

Rainbow truly was fast as Celestia made her out be. Firing a barrage, Starlight used her magical prowess and instinct to lead her prey into a position where she was able to strike her down, causing the speedster to seize up and plummet to the ground after the sounds of her magic piercing the air and the flapping of Rainbow's wings soon came to a stop. Weakly trying to stand up after it felt like she was hit with a cart full of bricks, Rainbow coughed and fought to look at the pony who suddenly attacked her. ''W-What. . .did you do?''

Walking up to her target and smiling, Starlight only responded by using one of her hooves to strike Rainbow Dash in the head, her face soon ending up in the dirt as a swollen, red mark began to form on her left cheek. Lighting her horn with magic once again, she only wished she could have more time to pay back this. . .imatator.

But, she had a mission to complete, and she would not falter.

''I guess you'll have to be the vessel for now, but worry not. I won't do too much damage.'' Starlight chuckled, beginning the process.



> A Luna Eclipsed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''You know, this actually ain't bad,'' Duncan commented as he took a bite of his dandelion, tomato, and lettuce sandwich. 

''I told you; I knew you would be fine,'' Twilight responded with a sense of pride. Duncan finished his current bite and looked to his friend who long finished hers, along with a side of hay fries and some cider.

''After I told you that it wouldn't do anything to me, as long as the bitterness was cooked out,'' Duncan replied, making Twilight chuckle nervously for the moment. ''You need to work on that, you know.''

Twilight paused her thought, wondering what her friend wanted to tell her. 

''I haven't been here that long, but I can see you have a bit of a 'complex','' Duncan used air quotes as he spoke. ''and that shows where you have the need to prove your point a bit more than the average pony, which isn't all that bad, but when you go out of your way to do it, you seem like a know-it-all.''

Twilight wanted to argue against that very point, it was almost second nature to her to do something akin to that, only she slowly began to realize that Duncan was right.

''He's right, Twi. Remember that Friendship Issue you struggled with a few months ago when Celestia had to bail you out?'' Spike replied with a raised claw. Drat. She hoped he wouldn't have to reference that; she had learned her lesson, albeit after the fact.

''Ugh, fine. I apologize.'' Twilight said, noting that for the books. Nightmare Night so far, was indeed full of different things to do, and most of the townsponies didn't actually pay much mind to Duncan, possibly it being from the majority of those who saw him were from behind as his cloak did not any real physical identification besides just possibly being a bigger pony like Big Mac. ''I wonder what's taking the girls so long.''

''I don't know about the rest of them, but I can say we're here at least,'' Applejack said as she, Pinkie, and the CMC came walking over.

''Hey guys!'' Spike waved them over to the trio's table, once again proclaiming the validity of his costume. ''Like my costume?''

''It. . .certainly fits you, Spike,'' Applejack chuckled as she came to the night's festivities dressed as a scarecrow. ''What's Twilight and Duncan getup all about?''

''I'm Starswirl The Bearded, why do I have to keep telling everypony about this?'' Twilight groaned and stomped a hoof as her bells jingled.

''Everyone isn't as well-versed in the means of history, magic, and everything in between,'' Duncan walked over and laid a hand on Twilight's shoulder. ''Especially me.''

''You're not even from here, so you get a pass,'' Twilight pushed Duncan's shoulder away before pointing to the farm pony in question. ''You, Applejack? You don't know?'' Applejack looked in between Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle before pointing a hoof to herself. When Twilight's gaze failed to let up, Applejack let out a hearty laugh.

''You do know who you're talking to, right? And besides, with that beard, I reckon you're some sorta country music singer.''

Twilight groaned as everyone chuckled at her, Spike doing the most to contain his laughter. Duncan looked at the CMC, looking to see their getup for the night; Scootaloo was dressed as a mummy, Sweetie Belle went as a bumblebee, and Apple Bloom was a wolf.

And then there was Pinkie Pie. As a chicken.

''Pinkie Pie?'' Duncan asked, cracking a small smile as she looked at him, swiveling her head just like a chicken would.

''Yeah, Duncy?''

''No,'' Duncan shook his head, chuckling as Pinkie clucked. ''Just no; if I didn't know any better, I would batter, bread, and throw you into some oil.'' Duncan looked on as the Crusaders were jumping up and down about Nightmare Night and what they would try and do to help get their Cutie Marks.

''Hey, Duncan, how come nopony's come to you about you being. . .you know; Human?'' Apple Bloom asked as she leaned over to him, darting her eyes back forth to the few ponies passing by their table.

''That I can't really tell you, AB. We did have your friend, Pipsqueak get a little spooked by me, but I don't think he was trying to be mean. Don't suppose you guys saw him on your way here?''

Applejack took a seat before she went and took a bit of candy from Apple Bloom's pumpkin basket, happily munching on some candy corn. The only thing they were able to encounter was Rainbow Dash, who looked to be in a hurry to go and spook somepony else, paying no attention at all to them as she told Duncan about the antics of their friend.

''I swear she gets a rise out of this,'' Duncan said as he leaned on his arm. ''If she's not quick, the night will pass by before she can hang with her friends,'' Applejack nodded as a thought came to his mind on the concept of friends. ''Where's Fluttershy and Rarity?''

''My sister's busy in Canterlot; she's not one for the. . .spooky stuff, so she won't be joining us,'' Sweetie Belle said as she pouted a bit, hoping that she could enjoy this night with her sister since they never got to hang with her much. But she knew the truth; she didn't prefer the night dedicated to things that go bump in the night.

''And where's Fluttershy?'' Spike wondered.

''In her cottage; scared as ever about tonight,'' Scootaloo replied simply. Twilight and Spike both looked at each other with an unimpressed look as Duncan nodded to himself with a look of self-confirmation once he thought about it. ''But where's Rainbow Dash? She said she would be here.''

Duncan groaned once again, gaining the interested look of Scootaloo as he talked about what the trio witnessed Rainbow screwing with them before taking off to terrorize more of the townsfolk. A thought came to him on how tranquil the night seemed, contrary to what the actual night itself was actually about.

Nearby, a few of the ponies finished bringing a stone statue that depicted Nightmare Moon. 

Duncan didn't want to jinx anything, but he had a good feeling about Nightmare Night.

''Uh, guys; what's with the wind?'' Spike asked the group as the sky began to be assaulted by a wave of clouds, the light of the moon soon being blacked out. Thunder and lightning rumbled, causing the ponies to stop what they were doing.

Twilight, Applejack, and the CMC took a few steps back as it began to rain some. The wind blew so fiercely that Twilight's hat was swooped away, and a figure loomed its shadow to the eye of the clouds. Duncan narrowed his eyes and hoped that nothing too bad would actually occur; would this be Celestia? A pair of bat-winged stallions flew towards the statue, hauling a carriage that held a cloaked pony with their head down. Coming to a stop at the base of the statue, every second was tense and seemed to last forever. Stepping off and touching down on the ground, the figure's hood was taken off to reveal the princess of the night, Princess Luna.

''Princess Luna!'' Twilight smiled, realizing who it was.

''Citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our presence so that you might behold the real Princess of the Night! A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!'' She boomed with the Royal Canterlot Voice.

''That's Celestia's sister? What the fuck is she doing here?'' Duncan asked, shielding his eyes from the roaring wind until it died down. What was she doing? Ordered by her sister to kill him? Kidnap him?

''Yes,'' Twilight replied as Luna turned to look at the statue, noting the inconsistencies with it and shaking her head with a disapproving frown. ''Well, this night is essentially made her make her appear like the monster she was believed to during her banishment, but the girls and I personally helped her reform from Nightmare Moon to who she is now. . .she just may be a bit out of touch with this new time she's been thrust into.''

''And if you ask me, she seemed pretty remorseful for what she tried to do, and Celestia herself comforted her when it was all said and done,'' Applejack agreed with Twilight. Nothing so far, even with exception of her arrival seemed to indicate any malice or hate that Celestia possessed towards Duncan the day she came to Ponyville. ''I don't think-''

''-That's just it; you think. You don't know. Who's to say she won't be the same as her sister, if not worse? 1,000 years is a long-ass time, and if she was around when the Equestrian Humans were here or even had a hand in exiling them, I don't want to be anywhere near her right now,'' Duncan said as he ducked a bit underneath the table the pair was at. She hadn't noticed them yet, so that was a plus.

''I don't think so, Duncan. Princess Luna still is a regular pony, just like everypony else, she just may need help realizing that.'' Spike said, a few of the townsfolk running away as Luna approached Mayor Mare.

''Madame Mayor, thy Princess of the Night hath arrived.'' Luna offered her hoof to Mayor Mare as she cowered in fear on the ground, too scared to want to get up and run for the hills. The sneer on Princess Luna's could not have gotten any worse. They. . .chose to deny her? Her subjects, as well as Celestia? No, it could just be one. She offered another hoof to a Unicorn dressed as a fish as he shied away. Then another one. Then another. Same response. Nothing but whimpers.

''What is the matter with you? Very well, then. Be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell!'' A look of anger was plastered on her face as she stomped her hoof on the ground, easily splintering the rock.

''Think we should talk to her?'' Apple Bloom asked, standing behind Applejack as Sweetie and Scootaloo did the same to Duncan, who already was attempting to hide.

''Duncan and Twilight should be the ones to do that. You girls and Spike should stay here and try to calm everypony down,'' Applejack said, catching Duncan off-guard as he looked at his friend with a bewildered expression.

Feeling a surge of anger overtook his fear, he stomped over to his friend and tapped his foot against the ground, looking to see her unimpressed look that challenged his own.

''And what will you be doing while we, and by that, I mean me, risk our lives to talk to her?'' Duncan asked.

''Manging things here; somepony has to.''




Starlight had tried her hoof at this spell a few times before, and with varying amounts of success, though this time was a bit different, due to the subject being a bit more difficult to. . .convince than others. But, the saving grace of this would be that she would not have to endure this for long. 

Only long enough to complete her mission.

''Princess Celestia's target better be worth it, doing something like this is. . .ugh; terrible.'' Starlight observed the night sky, noting the quiet that filled her walk. Every step she took felt. . .so wrong, it felt unusual and it irked her to no end. Thoughts of the notes she made, as well as the files about Twilight and her friends flowed through her mind.

Twilight would no doubt be the first of her friends to respond to any threat to her precious friends, so she would need to be taken care of first, should her attention be drawn to them.

According to Celestia, she would be the most difficult to take care of, and for good reason.

''That thief had better be careful had to not get too comfortable. . .being Celestia's Understudy comes with more perks than you think, but you squander them,'' Starlight muttered to herself, wanting nothing more than to show Twilight Sparkle who was the better, and who would fall under her hoof, only to pushed to the brink of pain and suffering.

And then she would relish in the 
aftermath.

Being in this form certainly held its share of advantages, but she wouldn’t be falling in love with it at all; just get in do what she needed to, and get out.

The town came into view, the various decorative theme of spiderwebs, jack-o-lanterns, and Nightmare Moon strung about mattered little to her. This town would soon be reduced to rubble after all had been said and done, and the real work that she so desperately wanted to get started could begin.

“Oh, hey Rainbow Dash! What happened to your cloud? Did you lose it?” Starlight heard a voice call out to her, making her stop and look to the sky to see a Pegasus looking at her, or rather, trying to look in her direction if not for her eyes disagreeing with each other. Taking a moment to ponder what this pony wanted, and who she was slowly came to her in the form of remembering names and faces from the dossier.

Though it mentioned next to both, she figured this was Derpy.

Which she had no time for.

“Bite me; I’m busy, Derpy.” Starlight said as she continued on, pushing Derpy out of the way as she looked confused at her ‘friend’ and flew off, probably figuring Rainbow Dash was having a bad day; she wanted to be a good friend and leave her be until she was ready to talk.

“Bye, Rainbow Dash; see you later!” Derpy waved goodbye as she smiled. Starlight rolled her eyes, continuing on.

“What an idiot,” Starlight whispered to herself. But now, she would have to find her target and isolate him to start the first phase of her plan.




Princess Luna sat in a clearing, gazing upon the moonlit night with eyes filled with tears. She was told that she would be welcomed back, be loved, and treated as if nothing happened.

The last one she knew was highly unlikely, but she still tried to hope.

Celestia told her how she should try and make a effort to adjust to this new world, to learn what she missed while on the moon, and to learn to let the past go, but it was difficult. She flopped every action; even saying hello in the old tongue was considered outdated, and when that was all she knew, things had to change.

Tracing a hoof in a dirt patch, she watched as the earth moved under the slightest force; she sulked her head lower and wiped her tears away. Luna thought gaining the love and respect of her subjects would be easy, but her ambitions were too high for something like that to occur right away when her past is beginning to actively haunt her now.

“If only somepony could help me understand how to navigate this new world. . . somepony who knows not of my past, and somepony who may relate to adversity,” Luna said to herself, her mane and tail long standing still as a connection to her emotions.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends risked their lives to help free her from the darkness, and she never truly got the chance to thank them properly. She still remembered those last moment ensnared by the darkness, when her thoughts were not her own and she attempted to reach out to fight against the grip of shadows, only to helplessly do nothing until the release came from the Elements Of Harmony.

Luna almost considered leaving and going back to Canterlot; it would make the most sense versus staying here and possibly scaring the masses even more. Celestia would understand-

“Um. . .excuse me?” Luna heard a voice call out, interrupting her thoughts. Wait. . .that voice sounded a bit familiar. She slowly stood up and turned around to see something she would have thought a myth. Something she was taken from; and a part of her that felt guilt. “Princess Luna?”

A Human? Here? Why now? And why. . .on this night of nights?

Her breath hitched in her throat, the step she took back out of instinct also making the Human step back a bit too, a cautious look in his eyes as he stood a safe distance away. She instantly recognized he wore face paint, the dark red hiding most of his features as the crescent moons running down his face gave the impression of tears.

His cloak was simple, with a clasp as it looked to swallow him whole.

She didn’t know what to say at first, anything that came to mind was immediately disbanded the second she began to realize what creature stood before her.

“A Human? W-What are you doing here?” Luna asked, the nervous look in her eyes betrayed by the somewhat forceful tone in her voice. She watched as the Human groaned and unclasped his cloak, revealing his clothes and body shape much easier. He certainly was taller than her by a good length, possibly even reaching up Celestia’s chest. He walked forward slowly, his hands clearly visibly as he spoke.

“I honestly don’t even know. . .one minute I’m fighting the mafia, and the next I’m here, and with a death warrant the second I touch down here,” Luna observed him leaning against a lone tree that stood separate from the others, providing just enough shade under the moon light. “I just hope I’m not making a mistake by doing this.”

Luna walked forward towards him, also cautious but more curious than anything. From his wording, he indeed was not who she thought; an Origin Human.

“So you are not of Equestria birth, but rather-“

“-Earth, our actual home, yes. And my name is Duncan,” Duncan looked down at Princess Luna as she looked positively curious, the somber mood she was once in slowly being replaced. “And I’m here to get answers.”

“To what questions?” Luna asked. Duncan looked at her with a sideways glance for a moment. He studied her features, hoping that she would not be lying so she wouldn’t be throwing him into a proverbial pit of needles. Luna. . .was Celestia’s sister, and that fact alone scared a him a bit to think someone like her, who wanted nothing more than kill him and his people from his own account of events, had a sister that she also banished for a millennium.

Luna could be on her side, or actually another player in this messed up game.

He remembered what Twilight and Spike, as well as Applejack said. But if they were wrong; it would be hell to pay. Duncan looked to the moon, noting its beautiful glow and position among the stars. 

Twilight suggested that he be the one to start off taking to her as she watched closely from a distance, knowing that the pair may be just the thing the other needed for the ball to get rolling of solving the mystery of the Equestrian Human’s exile.

He needed to get answers, one way or another.

“Answers to why my people were exiled.” Duncan said as Luna looked on intently, sitting down on her haunches as she heard the information that she did not even know was possible.



> The Princess And Human
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Surely you jest,” Princess Luna waved a hoof in naivety. Hearing that Celestia did something of that caliber was laughable, sad even. And for this. . .Human to talk about so it easily made her question if anything he said held any truth. “I know that there were some differences between the Equestrian Humans and Equestria when it was young, but never something of that magnitude would occur as a result of my sister’s mental negligence.”

Twilight watched on intently, not really wanting to step in, if she could help it. Princess Luna was still very much adjusting to the world she was thrust into after her being freed from the shackles of Nightmare Moon, so she figured she would be a tad bit skeptical about most things. Twilight also noticed, however the almost pedestal that Luna put Celestia on, even with all that happened.

If only she was present at Town Hall when Princess Celestia came to town.

Duncan blew a breath of hot air out his nose as he stood and listened to Luna defend her sister, which he understood as she was probably numb or blind to her true intentions. He figured that or she was just that stupid or playing alongside her sister to possibly skewer him with a long spiked stick.

The gleam in her eyes and the firm conviction in her she spoke told him a bit about her from what Twilight accounted with her friends. Luna seemed to be so small, so mildly underwhelming, and she often blinked a bit too much when talking about her sister contrary to what she was saying about her. Duncan still waited with his defense up; he needed to get information, and the only person who actually could have an immediate answer could also be a great enemy if she already was not. “I have no reason to lie,” Duncan informed Luna as she looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

“You must understand; for one such as you to come out of the blue and proclaim what you do, and as you are a Human who was not born in Equestria, no less! How can I be so certain to believe your words over that of my sister?” Luna asked him, pointing a hoof to him as his heart jumped a few paces. Duncan had the gall to accuse Celestia of-

“-She basically fucking told me that I was a monster; that I would defile, kill, and lie to survive in this world, but there’s one problem with her claim; she said that on the first day she saw me! After almost cracking my skull in two!” Duncan begun to get a bit heated, not liking the look of anger grow on Luna’s face as her nostrils flared and her mane and moved around quicker that what he considered normal. “She told of Twilight and her friend right in front of me! Your sister is batshit crazy, and you just don’t know it yet!”

Luna stood up, approaching Duncan, who also moved away from the tree to close the gap, the pair looking each other almost in the eye at the same level, though Duncan was a bit taller and had to crane his neck down a tad to meet her gaze. “Do not presume to call my sister crazy when you do not know her!”

Duncan’s anger pushed him a bit as he pushed Luna back a tad, the action surprising both Luna and Twilight as Duncan all but growled in her face, almost touching noses as he saw, for the moment due her speaking like her; Celestia.

And Duncan wanted to hurt Celestia more than anypony right now.

“I know enough to know that she’s been off her rocker for a good minute, and you just haven’t seen it in however long you’ve been alive, and you probably couldn’t see shit banished on the moon for a fucking millennium! By your own sister, no less!” Duncan’s word made Luna step back and shudder. She didn’t want to think about that; back to those days of solitude, pain, and regret. It hurt, every day she couldn’t try and fix what she did; to apologize.

“Ahhhhhh!” Luna charged Duncan, pressing him back up against the tree with her forehooves, the sudden push almost cracking Duncan’s head against the wood if not for him catching himself so just his back impacted the tree.

“Oh, no. This doesn’t look good,” Twilight began to walk over to attempt to defuse the situation, only to hear something that made her stop; made her thoughts pause and for her to slowly piece stuff together.

“Y-You don’t know e-every-SNIFF!-thing.~” Luna begun to cry, fighting so desperately to hold back her tears, only to fail. Luna was upset, angry, confused; and possibly, most of all. . .she could be  wrong. “Y-You claim to know, but you have not even lived one of either mine or my sister’s lifetime to make your claim. Being nigh-immortal is nothing short of a headache, and a constant barrage of watching those who we loved and cherished to pass away to the ravages of time.” 

Duncan understood that point enough as it was; being older than literally everyone else and outliving them would bring it’s fair share of issues, but he knew that Luna had to be lying to herself when it came to his people and what happened, which she failed to go into detail about.

Luna wiped her tears, keeping him pressed against the tree as he had made no move to get out of the bind, only to find out more about what happened so long ago, and what could found that was lost.

“You’re right, Princess Luna, I don’t know everything; I may not even know some things, but what I do know is that there is something not right with your sister.” Duncan said, catching her attention at the gentle tone of his voice. She looked confused on why he spoke so softly to her. “And I’m sorry that I made you cry, but I do know that you know that what I said is kinda true. Or prove me wrong.”

But she had to be seeing things; she had to. It didn’t make any sense for her sister to act rashly, especially after all this time; it seemed unnatural.  Celestia’s mind was always the sharper of the two of them, magic always the more powerful, words spoken much more eloquently, and love for what she symbolized to be greater than the moon.

She. . .she thought back to a few weeks ago when her and Celestia conversed about magic. There was a certain air about Celestia that Luna vaguely sensed but failed to mention anything about. Luna chalked it up to just be the nerves of the Day Court getting to her as that was taxing in itself. She could understand that. 

Than there was the time she ventured the halls, and heard certain sounds throughout the night before she escaped to the Dream Realm; it sounded of something not of this world, resembling clanking train tracks and high pitched noises. It was a wonder none of the maids were woke.

And even further back before her banishment, she could see the subtle signs that Celestia had changed in some regard, but any question of that was saved as times back then were more uncertain than were in the present day.

Never had she thought to question it, never had she wanted to, whether fear of something happening to her, or for their subjects.

Luna remained quiet about few things, all this time. Luna lowered her head a bit, being mindful to turn her head to the side a bit so her horn wouldn’t poke Duncan at all. Her mind away with uncertainty, growing into a small headache that almost consumed her as she racked her brain of all possible instances where something like what Duncan mentioned could have happened, when it got to be too much, all sound around her drowned out.

“Princess Luna,” Duncan called out, his voice muffled to her as she groaned and winced.

Luna backed away from Duncan, walking a few feet away as her heart began to race, flashbacks of her time as Nightmare Moon coming back to her in full force; how she hurt Celestia, hurt herself, and what the darkness did to her; how it sapped her strength when she did not comply, it held her right and kept her awake so many times, and the power it returned in spades once she gave in.

But she could still very much remember the almost gleeful look in Celestia’s eyes as she sent her away with the Elements of Harmony. As if she was delighted to finally be rid of her sister.

“Nghh!” Luna fell onto the ground as Duncan looked on with a curious look, a part of him telling himself to do something versus standing there. Looking back to Twilight, she threw him a sheepish look and gestures to Luna’s direction.

“Great help, Twi,” Duncan muttered, figuring much wouldn’t be done, but he took his cloak and walked over, carefully draping it over her as her shaking slowly stopped. “Princess, are you ok?”

Luna was too far gone in her own mind to properly respond, she was too far down the rabbit hole of conflicted emotions. Celestia was her sister, her family, and the pony who almost had all the answers to whatever questions she had.

But now, she questioned every part of that; she wasn’t sure. Ask Celestia? Take Duncan’s word for it?

But Duncan was a Human; an Origin Human, no less. He had no real idea about how Equestria functioned, not since the Equestrian Humans were almost all killed off.

Right?

“Luna.” Duncan said, her mind calming down for just a moment; long enough for her to hear him. She would need to hear something to really. “When was the last time you saw a Human besides me?”

Luna looked at Duncan, the cloak providing her with a bit of warmth from the wind. She begun to think about the last Human she saw. . .

Which was about 3, maybe 4 days before she became Nightmare Moon.

1,000 years ago.

“Before I became Nightmare Moon,” Luna responded as Twilight dared to come closer, but a hand gesture to get her stop had her stop her charge.

“Which was a millennia ago. Tell me; have you seen any since you’ve been back? Any indication or mention? Anything?”

Luna shook her head, of course not. The Equestrian Humans were exposed a sickness that killed most of them off, and the remainder had to flee to a different region in order to escape the sickness and preserve their race. That’s what Celestia’s story about it was once Luna came back.

“Bullishit,” Duncan called as Luna explained to him, the look of passive indifference on her face as she listened. “Something is going on, and if I can be honest; you were probably too scared to actually think of it before another in the event-“

“-I was wrong,” Luna finished his sentence. What Duncan proclaimed were very serious accusations, and the punishment for any deceit would be grand. She didn’t know why, but a part of her felt the same as Duncan; knowing there has to be more to it than meets the eye, but being the younger sister of the one who banished her in the first place complicated things to a certain degree. “Give me one good reason why I should even consider trusting you.” Luna said, wanting to make sure of whatever is was that the two of them would do would be for the pursuit of finding out the truth.

“Because if you retaliate in any way, you know you couldn’t bring yourself to hurt me; it would ruin the image that you’re already trying to build. I want the truth just as much as you, Princess, but I can’t get it without your help,” Duncan took a seat on grass with her, rubbing the grass between his fingers and feeling the slightly damp blades give way at his touch. “I may be a jerk, but I can see when someone is trying to appear strong because they’re scared.”

Luna laughed, not mocking, but in surprise. He was able to gather all that just from conversation with her? Somepony he’s never met? How would he know? “Pray tell, how did you come to that understanding?”

Duncan looked ahead at the night sky and hmmed to himself, taking his time to find the right way to word what he wanted to say. He would only have one chance to convince her. “You  seemed pretty eager to let your emotions go; you got teary-eyed pretty quick. I’d like to think you wear your heart on your shoulder, or am I wrong?”

Luna observed Duncan in every sentence he spoke; he sounded almost passionate about what he told her, from the the look of assurance in his eyes as he all but demanded her help. It was poetic, in a way.

Sitting on her haunches and bringing the cloak closer to her, Luna had to admire Duncan for the moment; he certainly had fortitude to challenge her and her sister and to highlight things way beyond the scope of his understanding. “You are . . .good-natured, for a Human,” Luna chuckled a bit, watching Duncan jokingly get offended.

“I resent that statement; Humans are the best.”

“At what?” Luna asked, matching his crap-eating grin.

“Being the worst.” Duncan replied, sharing in a laugh as the mood turned to something good from its mild hostile one. “So, will you at least hear me out? I wouldn’t come out of the blue saying this.”

Luna signed, shaking her head and throwing caution to the wind. She didn’t know why, but Duncan seemed more of a mature Human than the ones she encountered in the past, and she would like some form of clarification on some of the events that she should have given a second to. “It will not be easy, and we may even be wrong. . .are you prepared?”

Duncan knew the answer was no, but he would still go at it in spite of it all.

“As ready as you’ll be,” Duncan smirked. “And if we’re wrong, you can throw me in the dungeon.”



> Night Of Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Duncan and Princess Luna walked down the the dirt road with Twilight in tow. The conversation that the pair had certainly sparked emotions on both sides, and it took a flurry of emotions from both Luna and Duncan to meet on common ground.

Duncan, much like Luna from what he could tell, as well as her depiction in lore often made her as the villain, which seemed convenient to fit the narrative of good and evil.

But a part of him knew better. While she may not have been completely innocent of the events that transpired over a milllenia ago in Equestria, Duncan’s personal philosophy of good and bad were often tipped to one side or another based on logic and reason versus the facts of any one particular event.

“So, Princess, while I don’t mean to be rude when I say this, I have to know; why come to Ponyville on this night of nights?” Twilight asked as she cantered beside Luna who still took to wearing Duncan’s cloak as she contemplated the question for a moment. Twilight hoped she wasn’t being disrespectful. “It’s just. . .I thought you have taken a bit more time to-“

“-Acclimate to New Equestria, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked with her accent of Old Equestrian, as she had a habit of staying in that headspace with those she did not know as well. Nightmare Night; something to essentially, from her perspective, demonize her and what she stood for as one of the princesses of the land. It should make her furious her own subjects would be so quick to turn the other cheek to the plight of the one they had resolved to trust and confide in.

Subjects to understand they are the same of those beneath them, never higher.

“Yes, that,” Twilight nervously chuckled, noting the mild look of her insanity being questioned by Duncan who gazed at her with slitted eyes and a small shake of his head. “What happened in the town square was not planned, I can assure you.”

Luna hmmped, continuing on the path, noting the stillness of the air and the subtle chirp of crickets in the distance. One thing she was able to tell from the brief encounter with Twilight Sparkle was that she essentially lacked direction. Studious and determined in the ways of learning for the sake of, Twilight was also being prepared for something, though she could not tell what it would be. “Spare me your false care, Twilight Sparkle, the town is certainly determined in their innate hatred of me, so I find no reason to contest that which cannot be changed so easily.”

“It’s not hatred, they just misunderstand, Luna.” Duncan said, attempting to cheer Luna up a bit, if any. He still was a bit wary of Luna as per the relationship to Celestia, but he ventured to gain insider knowledge about whatever screw was loose or whatever stick remained in Celestia’s flank to get her to see reason and not want to kill him. “Being gone for so long, along with the whole Nightmare Moon thing just gave them-“

“-Essentially a free opportunity to validate their hatred by using the thought of it being something that was bound to happen for the sake of the natural balance, or something more hypocritical.”

Duncan frowned, hearing her reason and trying to chalk it up to just blind ignorance of what she knew was not all the way true, but also like their reasons for hating Luna was also a reason to not try and change the status quo.

Whether fear or lack of resources to do so.

“But, we can help you, Princess Luna. We can try and show everypony that you’re no longer Nightmare Moon and that they shouldn’t be afraid anymore or treat you any different than Princess Celestia,” Twilight offered her wits and connections to help and try fix this unfortunate chapter in Equestrian history. “It can help your image.”

“She has a point; especially if we want to find the truth out another your sister. It’ll help build your image so when we make that stand, it won’t backfire on us.” Duncan said, agreeing with Twilight. Building a rapport with the town would also possibly help his own image so he would be more likely to be accepted. 

“Time will only tell if me agreeing to investigate my own sister on the suspicious claim that she may or not be involved with the idea that the Equestrian Humans were indeed exiled by her. In addition,  everything that has ever been said or done from that point has been a lie to paint herself in the best of light every single time remains to be seen.” Luna said, shaking her head in mild disagreement.

Duncan chuckled, laying a hand on Luna’s back as she glanced at him out of her peripheral, casting her gaze back forward a moment later. “You could still say no, but I know there’s a part of you that wants to know the same, but looking into it by yourself could be a bad move if you’re wrong, so you essentially need me,” Duncan flashed a grin, knowing that Luna had little room to argue.

“I do not ‘need’ you, but I will say. . .your assistance would be appreciated in this matter. With you being Human, should we need any form of agility or dexterity, you would be well-suited to that role; nothing more,” Luna huffed, gazing back at Duncan as he coughed, though he did not meet her view as his eyes closed for only a moment before she straightened herself as Twilight looked on, curious.

“I wonder; it looks like Princess Luna. . .no. She couldn’t; maybe she’s just worried about being too open,” Twilight thought to herself.

“However, a better question for the moment, Duncan is how you came to be in Equestria when you were not born here? Is it possible for you to return to your world?” Luna asked, curious about the home that a few of the Humans she did know before her banishment talked about extensively. From the great sights to the many machines that made their lives all the more easier.

And especially the food. How she yearned to go there, if only one time.

“From what Twilight and her friends told me when I got here; through The Mirror Pond, and even if I could go back, I’d rather take my chances here.”

“But why? Do you not have the wonderful sights to behold; the food that is to die for, and the freedom to whatever you please?” Duncan’s answer failed to make her understand anything other than how he came into Equestria.

“Yes, definitely, and the last one really depends on the place and time you were born, and even some of what color skin you have. But Earth is really a shit shit show, at least it was for me; I pretty much had a death threat on my head, as well as pissing off the mafia, and just all around kinda shitty luck; so no.” Duncan folded his arms as the trio begun to see Fluttershy’s cottage appear over the hill. “I would recommend not going there, if you want me to be honest.”

Luna pondered that little nugget of information in her mind as Duncan told her of what exactly led to him being in Equestria to the best of his ability. Granted, there had been some tales and myths passed down through the generations of Equestrian Humans who gradually came to be, but Luna figured the entirety of Earth was not as terrible. Human experiences were also far more varied then that of a pony, given that there were not restricted in quite the way that she often viewed being a pony, and even an Alicorn at that.

“Well, we will have to add that our list of questions to answer on this journey of us to uncover the truth. I would like for us to be one in the same on these matters to help speed along the process,” Luna nodded to herself, all but fully accepting the ‘arrangement’ she and Duncan made.

Twilight’s offer for aid also seemed to call out to her in the decision making process. 

“Sure, just one thing. Twi?” Duncan asked, looking to her as they stopped in front of Fluttershy’s door. “What are we doing here?”

Smiling and knocking on the door with a firm fee taps, Twilight chose to hold off on what she more or less thought about on the way back towards Ponyville. “Helping Princess Luna; if we want to help her not been seen as Nightmare Moon to everypony, then we need to help her adjust to these times.”

“And how do you propose that, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked, casting a bland look to the unicorn who merely hummed in acceptance of Luna not refusing the aid, versus being more curious of what said aid was.

“Fluttershy is one my good friends; she’s delicate and demure with the sweetest voice ever. I think a good a place as any would be to change the way you speak to lessen the chance of ponies running away when you try and talk to them.”

Luna backpedaled for a moment, only to come back with a complaint of sorts. “Do you mean to say that you are unhappy with the way my voice is?!” Luna roared for a moment, a small sound wave blasting Twilight’s hat off her head as she barely managed to catch it with her magic.

“Ok, ow,” Duncan commented, lightly rubbing his ears for the moment, noting how quickly Luna flipped from relatively chill to high-strung when confronted with something that possibly upset her to some degree of her past or possibly something she herself did not like and chose to retaliate for fear of being too harshly judged.

“No, Princess. I just think. . .it would be better for you to be more socially acclimated to the new world around you so everypony you meet from here on out won’t think you may be stuck in the Old Equestrian ways,” Twilight attempted to draw some line of comparison so Luna would more open to least changing her speech pattern around certain individuals as to not stand out too much. “And maybe lower the tone is all.”

“But the old ways work!” Luna shouted back, though not quite as loud as before.

“Ok, this is getting nowhere,” Duncan said to himself, not wanting to endure another second possible eardrum rupture, along with mildly awkward yelling out of nowhere. Tapping her on the shoulder, Luna turned around as Duncan raised a finger in order to say something without being yelled at, which Luna understood, “Think about like this-“ Duncan cleared his throat, then crouched down a tad, to eye level with Luna. Cupping one hand on one side of his mouth, he spoke. “If I spoke like this all the time, would you understand me?

“Yes, but it would be sure to be annoying or, even inconvenient at times,” Luna said, tilting her head at what Duncan said, seemingly not understanding until Duncan frowned and gestured to her.

Oh.

“Glad you understand it; that’s what Twilight was saying; yelling at ponies you don’t know will seem out of character for you, when we’re trying to change bits and pieces of your personality to make you seem more appealing to the masses,” Duncan laid a hand on his hip, smiling a bit at Luna who threw him a deadpan look before sighing in defeat.

“Very well,” a huff of her breath left out her mouth, the small chill of the night sky beginning to make itself known in more ways than one. “Then you should be qualified to assist me in this process since you feel so strongly about wanting me to change, as well as-“

“- Not change, just elevate.” Duncan interrupted, waving his hand back and forth. “Just help you adjust until everypony accepts you.”

“Which could take time, Princess Luna. So it would be best to start now,” Twilight adjusted her hat, knocking on the door once again when Fluttershy did not answer right away. “Hello! Fluttershy; open up! It’s Twilight and-“

“GO AWAY! NO CANDY HERE! VISITORS NOT WELCOME HERE ON NIGHTMARE NIGHT!”

“And this is the demure, kind Fluttershy of which you spoke earlier?” Luna asked Twilight, who ignored the look of judgment as she cleared her throat once again and tried to knock again, only for nothing to sway here.

“Yep, Scoots was right; girl’s not coming out anytime soon, and probably even less so since Luna was yelling for a minute straight.” Duncan said, chalking the entire trip over here as a foolish errand. “Come on, we’ll have to do this a different way,”

Luna watched Duncan walk off the beaten path, heading for Ponyville as Twilight stayed behind for a moment, wanting to knock again but ultimately deciding to follow Duncan as well. Taking flight, she hovered over to Duncan’s right side as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, attempting to think of something else to do to possibly help Luna seem less indifferent to the town. “And what are we doing now?”

“Hmm. . .winging it, I guess. Maybe if we ease you into some of the small games and stuff with the ponies we do know, that could help. Pipsqueak and his little gang of troublemakers could be a good a place as any to start.” Duncan said, snapping his fingers as another thought came to him. “Or Rainbow and Aj; they were there when you were freed from being Nightmare Moon, so maybe they can help too.”

Twilight also silently agreed with that idea, trying her best to go over any possible scenarios in her head that she could with everything that was happening. Luna and her voice could be ironed out later, Twilight had the better idea that getting Luna accustomed to the games and traditional things done on Nightmare Night would be a bit easier if approached at the right angle.

“What acts are there to do that may help?” Luna asked, being a a bit out of sorts with any kind of ‘recreational’ activity. Did the ponies of today still throw flaming axes and collect snake venom?

Luna was. . .different as a young filly.

“We can see, but no matter what it is, it should be just the edge we need to help. Tonight we should try and enjoy this night and make it something different than what the masses made it out to be; a positive night for the rest of days. And then afterwards-“ Duncan clenched his fist and felt a bit of phantom pain from Celelstia hitting him and  headbutting him.

“-We begin the investigation of any possible illicit activities that my sister may be involved in,” Luna finished for Duncan. “Correct?”

“Yep. What about you Twilight? Are you still on the fence about your teacher?” Duncan looked to herself hold an inner conflict with herself as she held her head down a tad and her ears flattened. “We could either be right or wrong, but you would have no connection to any of this. You, or the girls and Spike.”

Twilight shook her head. “You don’t know that. Princess Celestia could-“ Luna laid a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, temporarily calming her down when it looked like she was about to go on a rant.

“Worry not, Twilight Sparkle. Though I may have been. . .weak when it pertained to my sister during my fall from grace, I can however assure you that you and your friends will not be a part of this internal quarrel, this I promise.” Luna said, the tears that almost came pouring out of Twilight’s eyes halting for the moment. “I know Celestia has been a great many things to you over your time knowing, and she may even do more when the future is concerned, but even you cannot deny that there is. . .something going on that must be looked into.”

Pushing Luna off of her and taking a few steps forward, Twilight exhaled a shaky breath. She herself, was not certain of many things anymore. She tried to be strong; this night begun as nearly any other, but hearing Luna and Duncan essentially badmouth Celestia without any real evidence lit a fire within her.

A fire of conflict.

“What if you’re SNIFF! wrong? What if all of this is just in your imagination? Can you imagine the fallout of this if you are indeed wrong? It could be worse that being banished to the moon! Duncan could be in actual danger! And what about him? He’s our friend, too but he’s getting roped into this.”

“First off; I would consider myself in danger after the second she laid eyes on me; there’s no actual danger because it’s already been established.” Duncan said, raising a finger, as he did another. “And two; Luna told you herself she held doubts, but she wasn’t sure. I have my own doubts, definitely just based off our our encounter that day, which you essentially made happen because of that damn letter!” Duncan growled at Twilight, who stood back in shock.

“It was a mistake! I didn’t mean to, but you had to meet Princess Celelstia!” Twilight argued.

“Yes, but we’re any of us ready? No! I’m not so much so as mad as I am just wanting to get this shit solved so I can start to enjoy my new life in this world. But if it comes to light that your teacher, Luna’s sister, and the ruler of this land has a screw loose or has been hiding something that can change everything; that’s worth investing some time to see if it’s true or not.”

Twilight cried her eyes out, trying to hold back her tears, only to fail. Duncan’s look of no nonsense could have seen as a lack of caring, but it was quite the opposite. Just like the last time he and Twilight argued, she became emotional, just as she was now, but Duncan would not let that stop what essentially had to be done for the sake of the truth; be it good or bad.

“He is correct, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said, nodding as Duncan pointed to himself in confirmation. The truth often hurted those who it would have the worst impact on. “There is not denying that things have certainly changed in my sister, be it small or large. However, I do find it to be a bit questionable that her explanation of The Equestrian Humans of the past truly succumbed to this virus of which she spoke when I returned.”

“Twilight, I know how you feel, and believe you me; I know how heart wrenching it can be to see and hear things about the ones you place the most trust and support in to possibly be not who you were led to believe them as; I get it. But we can’t sit around and do nothing.”

Twilight could not stand to hear another word of this; not now anyways. Tonight was meant to be special. Seeing Princess Luna once again since she was released from her shackles was something to take note of. They had a mission; to help Luna fit in. The duo’s quest for answers could come tomorrow.

But Twilight. . .was not so sure she would join in the search.

“We should find a better place to talk about this; tonight is a night I have to get right; if I am to walk amongst my subjects, they will need to form a new bond with me; even stronger than before,” Luna said, as she wiped Twilight’s tears and Duncan slowly began the walk back to Ponyville. Hopefully Aj and Rainbow Dash would be the first of many answers to the questions she had of this new world.

And possibly a solution to the deeper problems she held within.



> Forgotten Lies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ground was once silent, being followed by the sounds of hoof steps. The events of Nightmare Night were plentiful, and the various ideas behind each stemmed from the idea and fear of Nightmare Moon, and what it could mean for their future, should anything they do be taken as disrespect to appease the dark figure for salvation.

Duncan and Luna walked down the road back into Ponyville, both of their brows furrowed and their thoughts scattered about as the idea of turning around what would essentially be an entire cultural idea in the span of one night would be next to impossible. The cold air harshly stung at the pair, forcing both to shiver a tad in favor of remaining warm as Twilight lagged behind some, her own thoughts more of a mess than she would like to admit.

“So, if we are to implement your idea into changing the way that things are done on Nightmare Night, what do you suggest that we do first?” Luna asked, watching Duncan with a curious eye as he sought to articulate the reason so Luna would understand. “And to what end do you hope to achieve this supposed peace?”

Duncan only wanted to make certain Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Night would be a thing of the past, for the simple reason that. . .he was unsure of. Something inside of him told him that what Ponyville saw as a tradition, so to speak, was essentially a singular night devoted to the hatred of one due to circumstances that may have, or in Luna’s case was misunderstood and the new narrative was put on the record as law.

Being Celestia’s sister already drove a wedge between him and Luna when it came to wanting to help her, out for some reason he was unable to properly understand.

“We just have to wait for the right moment where we can help everypony see you’re not as bad as you once were,” Duncan weighed the scales of how he would tell everyone that Luna was not bad, and just wanted to be as understood as her sister, or better in Duncan’s case due to the recent act of violence against him. “I’m sure it won’t be that hard for a pony, at least it won’t be as bad how it was back in my world with-“

“-Slavery of African Americans across your world but more subjectivity concentrated in America, am I correct?” Luna asked, surprising Duncan as he was preparing to tell her about that.

“How did you know that?” Duncan asked.

“A few of the Old Equestrian Humans held memories of some history of Earth; books, pictures, stories and even some first-hoof account experiences,” Luna chimed without missing a beat, thinking back to the few nights she could have time to sit with those and learn of some of their own culture and history. “Some of your. . .people’s culture is much interesting, especially the notion of your music.”

Duncan shrugged, chalking up the explanation as something that would have been told anyways, though it made him wonder how much she was told about Humans and the history of Earth. 

Twilight remained in her own thoughts, looking to see the pair converse and formulate a plan of action as she wrestled with her own conflicting thoughts; Princess Celestia hadn’t sent a letter or even responded to any of hers that Spike sent off. Perhaps she was busy taking care of Equestria, as she always had. The Day Court was certainly taxing in of itself, and any foreign matters that came up would certainly be an additional worry that she would shoulder by herself, so Twilight could understand that part of it, but something else stirred within her.

“Maybe Duncan was right; maybe Princess Luna too. There’s something with Princess Celestia’s mind that I can’t seem to figure out, but I know it can’t all be her fault,” Twilight muttered to herself, shaking her head and hearing the bells of her costume jiggle and shake about. Nightmare Moon was a most fearsome part of Equestria history, and to turn that around in a night would be quite the feat, though even Twilight knew that the likelihood of that happening would be less than ideal. ''II hope there's something that I can do to help. . .'' Twilight continued to trot on with her thoughts as Luna and Duncan began the slow walk back into the town square, a few of the townsponies scattering about or giving a side glance was certainly something to take into account.

''Isn't that; you know?'' a whinny of worry came from Daisy as she whispered to another pony who was desperately trying to get away without being noticed.

''N-Nightmare Moon; okay, be cool. If you don't move, she might not see you,'' another Pegasus whispered, making Luna's ear flick in annoyance.

''W-Wasn't she imprisoned in the moon? Why is she here?''

Luna huffed, a deep exhale coming as her body began to turn towards the source of the issue that would take but a moment to fix, if it had not been for Duncan laying a comforting hand on the back of her neck and slowly coaxing her to remain walking straight. It was a most difficult task, but slowly, it was done. Twilight watched from her position and was quite tempted to say something in defense of the princess, but she felt as though that would follow with a twinge of hypocrisy if she had a moment to stop and think about it.

''Just keep walking, Luna. Keep walking,'' Duncan urged, ignoring the looks as he knew part of it was part ignorance and the other part genuine curiosity, which he knew would be something to take time to understand and get over. ''If you lash out now, you'll just confirm what they think about you.'' 

Luna's mouth nearly opened, wanting to prove her misunderstood subjects wrong, for them to understand a bit of her pain, and for her to not be subject to these accusations. Her heartbeat was the only sound she concentrated on for the moment as she and Duncan began to walk over to the podium where the first small part of their plan would be implemented, even though she was. . .hesitant of what could happen with the topic at hoof.

The thump of Duncan's shoes and her regalia were in a rhythm as the looks of some of the ponies were almost laser-like, wanting to analyze every little part of what stood before them. Luna slowly began to want nothing more than to disappear if the road ahead would be difficult. Duncan had assured her that if she tried her best, some result would be better than doing nothing. Luna looked to Duncan who nodded, only a hint of a confirmation to try. 

Luna raised her hoof, beginning to speak as a small moment had clarity as everypony looked upon the two of them, and the realization began to set in. Perhaps she could do this. Maybe-

''-Stop!'' a boom of sound came before a plume of dust was kicked up, revealing Rainbow Dash in her costume, panting and looking rather irritated. Everypony else and Twilight looked to the new arrival with a curious eye, only to gasp when they laid eyes upon her costume, seeing it torn and parts of her coat bruised as her eyes were drenched with tears. ''Don't listen to them!''

''Rainbow? What are you talking about? What happened?'' Twilight walked over to her friend, concerned.

''Twilight! Everypony! Duncan and Princess Luna can't be trusted! They're evil!'' Rainbow panicked, looking around like a chicken with it's head cut off as Twilight tried to get through to her friend to understand what exactly happened. Whatever issue arose would have to be talked about versus plain accusation. Rainbow was completely catatonic, and the way she was talking made it appear as if she was under the influence of something. The feeling coming from her friend was certainly concerning.

''What are you talking about Rainbow? You're gonna ruin our plan!'' Duncan hissed, being completely in the dark about whatever she was talking about. Something told him from the first day she met her, Duncan knew there was something off about the Pegasus, but he never thought it would manifest itself in something like crazy accusations. Her idea of being a friend was questionable at best, with her volatile attitude and competitive nature, but he wouldn't take slander.

''Speak thyne mind, Rainbow Dash; what transgression have we done? Or do you merely speak out of your flank?'' Luna asked, daring to walk closer, as a few scared ponies began to somewhat stand between the two of them, the look of betrayal on her face unfazing the townsponies. ''What evidence do you have to back up your claim?''

Rainbow only shied away as Luna began to advance, but did not relent as she pointed a shaky hoof to Duncan.

''H-He's the actual monster! He did something terrible! Something that can't be f-forgiven!'' Rainbow began to slur her words, spitting when her mouth was filled with saliva. Rainbow began to hyperventilate, shaking her head in denial, but part of her knew she had to expose these two, let the truth be known, and for the healing process to be started. ''He. . .raped me. . . A Human raped me!''

The entire town went silent, the words settling in for some and taking longer for others. Duncan's mind began to short-circuit, the words making next to no sense to him as Luna slowly began to turn to Duncan, her eyes almost as slits before looking back to Rainbow Dash as Twilight confronted her friend about her claim.

''Rainbow! How can you say that?! That's a very serious accusation! Duncan would never!''

''How can you be so sure, Twilight? Duncan is a Human, and they're considered myths, but they're real! You're the skeptical one out of all of us! You betrayed Princess Celestia! You're the pony who didn't tell everypony And you're working with Nightmare Moon to bring Humans here so we can all be their slaves!'' Rainbow shouted at the top of her lungs, pushing Twilight back when she attempted to get close to her to console her. Luna's voice began to be filled with bass as the winds began to pick up, Duncan trying to calm her down as she began to huff and puff.

''Tread carefully on your words, Rainbow Dash; I am a great many things, but I am Nightmare Moon no longer, and Duncan is no predator as you may claim,'' Rainbow laughed as Luna began to flap her wings and hover in the air, Twilight looking between the two of them and the town as she was torn on what to do. ''Ponyvile! Do you dare go against one of your beloved princesse at the drop of a hat?!''

''Hahahaha. . .but how can you be certain, Princess? You barely know Duncan, you only met him tonight, so how would you know?''' Rainbow asked, countering her claim. ''The both of you were considered myths until tonight, and an accusation like this would stand for itself!'' Rainbow looked around at some of the townsponies rallying around Rainbow as Twilight, Duncan, and Luna remained confused, and a tad scared about what to do next. What would they say? How would they solve this? How-

''Ooof!'' Duncan was hit by a stray pumpkin, unable to see it as the winds kicked so violently that he had to shield his eyes from dirt and rocks, knocking him to the ground as Twilight rushed over to check on her friend. ''What the fuck?!'' the sounds of the town gathering items and shouting as they began to band together with Rainbow Dash, anything else the trio attempted to say being drowned out by the crowd's anger. 

Twilight cast a shield to deflect the thrown items from buckets, fruits, and even a few of the torches that were used to light the way.

''Get Nightmare Moon and the Human!"' Rainbow chanted as the crowd began to advance forward, hearing nothing else but the words of what was true to them. Duncan's rage began to be shown as he wanted to act but could do nothing from behind the shield.

''What do we do?'' Duncan asked, flinching when something particularly heaver hit the shield. Twilight racked her brain to find an answer but found no such thing besides running. The town was so heavily focused on the two of them, that they almost seemed hypnotized, in a way. Something would need to be done until the three could reconvene.

''Run!'' Twilight pleaded, Luna nodded as Twilight dropped the shield partly to allow them to run, things still being thrown overhead as Luna's eyes looked every which way in panic before she thought for a moment, looking to Duncan as she flared her magic and laid him on her back, the sudden motion throwing Duncan for a loop as he nearly fell over.

''Hold on! I shall carry you as I fly!'' Lunas shouted, Duncan, gripping the base of her neck without chocking her as she took flight, zooming to the clouds, the strong wind whipping in his face as his eyes began to pop from the change in air pressure as they began to fly over the Everfree forest with the rate of speed that Luna was flying at, her movement and flapping of her wings erratic as the adrenaline surged through her and Duncan's veins. Where she was taking the two of them, he had no idea, but any place besides Ponyville would have to suffice for the moment.



> Days Gone Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FWOOOSH! FWOOSH! BOOM! BOOM! 

''N-ngh! Luna! Slow down!~'' Duncan barely managed to yell at his ride away from the chaos of Nightmare Night. He didn't feel the full force of Luna taking off, and when she seemed to stabilize, she only ended up blasting off with a purpose, intending on getting as far away from the situation and accusation which neither of them believed for a moment. Knowing the layout of Ponyville itself took Duncan a few days to get used to, but even he knew that they had to be far, far away from the town by indication of the rapidly moving sights underneath. ''Where the hell are we even going?!''

''Say again! I did not hear you that well, I am flying too fast!'' Luna called her the frantic look in her eyes betraying her once regal attitude that he bore witness to earlier. For what little hope he was sure to hold in the few moments before the night activities were put to a halt, Duncan did enjoy himself.

''I can't hear you! You're flying too fast!'' Duncan huffed, tapping her neck and pointing down as Luna craned her head to look at the appendage staring at her before Duncan shrieked, the sight of the tree in front of them. ''Watch out!''

Luna managed to look back forward, gasping as she pulled her body to the right, Duncan's grip loosening until he all but pulled Luna down to hold on, causing her head and body to swing back and forth in an attempt to correct herself, the underbrush of the trees slowly grazing the both of them and tearing Duncan's cloak off of him as multiple branches whipped him and Luna in the face, the stinging pain, and droplets of blood falling out of the cuts as Luna pushed her wings to their limits and flew upwards again, soaring faster than before as the night sky greeted them again, the moon enveloping their vision from its place in the sky. ''Curses!'' Luna groaned, her eyes attempting to blink, only for her eyelids to be so badly damaged and or filled with miniature fragments of leaves making seeing difficult.

Another few tortuous seconds passed by as the pair fought to make sense of what was happening, Duncan's mind fighting with his body on what action to do as Luna's mind and body were in perfect sync of everything being wrong from the very beginning. A glimpse of a reflection of water at the bottom of a chasm did little as Luna's altitude began to dip, Duncan's hands grabbing onto the sides of Luna's face, steering her away from the drop that would no doubt kill them. ''This way!'' Duncan grunted, feeling Luna's body gradually respond and go in the direction he moved her head. 

The sound of her wings flapping, the breathing of both of them due to the stress, as well as the circumstance in which tone dealt with the other certainly made for a memorable experience, should they touch down and meet dirt in a controlled manner. ''I-I cannot see! Guide me to ground!'' Luna shouted, hoping Duncan heard any part of that, or that would end up as part of the land when their bodies decomposed with enough time. Glancing at the slight reflection of the tracks the closer that they came to, Duncan was somewhat assured that they were hopeful far enough away from Ponyville for it to give them the time needed to gain their bearings.

Another flap of her wings and Duncan felt the pressure in the airdrop and Luna begin to sink down to the ground as Duncan fought to keep the two of them up for as long as possible as another grove of trees that couldn't easily be avoided get presented to him. Another round of ducking and dodging trees took place as his grip could no longer be supported and he slipped from Luna's body, barely able to protect his head from any damage as he hit the ground and attempted to recover in a staggered roll, feeling the hard ground scrap at his skin and clothing before he came to a halt on his back. 

SMACK! Duncan's sight faltered, black spots filling his vision as he painfully rolled over on his side, wincing when he felt the tension in his lower right leg. His breathing was shallow and the cold air of the night slowly began to get him the longer he was on the ground. ''U-Ugh. . .''

A bit of a way away, Luna had encountered her own pain, impacting the nearest tree and its branches in succession as she fell to the ground, dirt, rocks, and leaves covering her as she reached a weak hoof to the air before the shock of all what happened got to her, resulting in her throwing up in a small pile that her nose fell right in, the tears in her eyes filling her vision as she felt a splintering pain from her head and all around her body, the thought of how things went so wrong making her angry as she allowed herself to get distracted for a single moment.

''D-Dun. . .can.'' Luna said, looking over to where she was sure that he was, hoping he was okay. Darkness took over before long, the pain failing to subside.





Canterlot. . .


Celestia had just finished taking her a well-deserved bath, relishing the new body wash formula she tried to help and make her coat shine all the brighter. The result themselves would come in time, but she held good faith that it would work out. The hallways of the castle were quite the sight to behold, and Luna's touch of lavender did help things certainly smell better. ''Some many memories,'' Celestia said to herself, walking along and reminding herself of the different meetings, arguments, and late-night talks that took place up and down the corridors, sometimes for days.

Especially issues that were more sensitive.

Starlight's mission was one that Celestia knew she would have no trouble accomplishing; or if she had any. . .complications, then she would uncomplicate matters for the sake of the mission, which took priority overall. That. . .Human was treading on dangerous water the longer his presence remained in her land. It would take ages for the stench to be purged from the world. She wouldn't know what exactly would be necessary for it to be gone, but whatever would be needed would be utilized.

Celestia was sure that she had taken care of that problem long ago, and written history in the manner that they almost existed, but obviously her plan contained a loophole, and that would need to be taken care of before long. ''Filthy Humans. . .bringing death and disaster wherever you go. Well, not here,'' Celestia told herself, shaking her head and walking forward to her chambers. ''Not again.''

''Princess Celestia.'' Starlight's voice called out to her, though as Rainbow Dash as she knew that her plan was taking place.

''Report,'' Celestia replied, her tone final and impatient.

''The plan. . .went a bit off course.'' Celestia's left eye twitched as she inhaled air, wanting to curse at the incompetent Unicorn who was renowned for making those who needed to go away with no hassle do that very thing. ''But I believe that this may be good for us.''

Celestia walked into her chambers, closing the door after nodding to the two guards. Her soundproof spell activated the moment she walked in, sitting at the base of her bed as she wanted to find out just how could this little incident could be made into a bigger positive than if the original plan was followed. ''Pray tell, do you figure that?''

''Well, framing the Human was the first part, though accounting for your sister in the mix didn't work out quite as well I anticipated, them fleeing did help the narrative that he indeed had help in assaulting poor Rainbow Dash,'' Starlight said, snickering as she began to revel in the plot to kill two birds with one stone. ''This will help you secure your place as the true Matriarch of this land, and those shall know so. . .with my enforcement.''

Hmm, misdirection? Could pay itself out in spades if used correctly. Celestia did like a slow burn to certain things, so something that would put and keep her at the top could certainly not be passed up if the work to accomplish said goal would be foal's play. ''In what direction did they flee?''

Starlight was not actually that sure on that part, they could have changed direction once they were far enough, but she would get to track before long. ''Adjacent to the Badlands. Should I begin searching for Luna's signature so I can begin the hunt?'' Starlight figured an early start makes and an earlier end.

''Very well, just locate where they currently are, and wait for further instruction,'' Celestia said, reinforcing her point. ''Do not fail me when the time comes to hunt, you know the consequence for those. . .who dare fail me.''

''Yes, Princess,'' Starlight said, the connecting cutting off after that, leaving Starlight with her own thoughts as she remained in the Ponyville General Hospital to be 'examined.' The doctor hadn't yet come in, but Nurse Redheart assured her everything would be fine even she didn't seem to be shaken up by her own claim.

Because it was false. Observing the pale white floor and seeing the reflection of her face as Rainbow Dash, Starlight chuckled after shaking her head in disappointment. ''How much longer will I have to put up the farce?''

''Rainbow Dash!'' Twilight and her friends all but barged in, the Unicorn having a fiery vengeance in her eyes as the rest of her friends teemed with different emotions, Starlight muttering under her breath as the ponies advanced on her.

''This better be worth ruling this world.''



> A Road Less Traveled
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Time. . . 





Crickets chirped, followed by the feral howl of wolves at the eldritch glow of the moon. The rumble of the earth loosened the few misshapen boulders toward the nearby ravine. The water from the stream passed on without issue, the moon's light refracted across every inch.

"Huuawh. . .O-Oh.~'' Duncan slowly began to rouse from his unmoving state. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Each pulse of his headache echoed akin to a hammer against a steel drum, the screeching, uneven, and long pulses that followed into his brain from his ears urging Duncan to burst his eardrums. His clothes were, torn; skin flared with the smallest movement from each small cut that allowed shards of rock, dust, and leaves in. ''H-Huh?''

''Grrrrrr. . .MMMMMPSH!'' Duncan faintly made out past the whining. . .the sound of sandpaper scratching? A hot huff of air wafted over Duncan before he felt dripping on top of his head. Blips of darkness followed before the sight of a mass of black fur, followed by a lumpish gait. The click-clack of claws on the rocks grew closer and closer. The two pointed ears positioned themselves toward his breathing.

Two brown pupils stared at Duncan.

''F-Fuck!'' Duncan gritted his teeth, the tension in his leg holding dominance along with the fear he felt at the moment. Another growl; it was one that told Duncan it knew. It knew he was there. . .hurt and trying to fight back. Duncan turned over and limped, shimmying back and forth on his cut and damaged arms as the creature growled in retaliation, the pause before it swiped its claw giving him the opportunity to slip down out the way.

''Nggggh!'' Duncan felt the weight of the ground give beneath him, causing him to tumble and roll around, the sharps feeling of something being cut, the growl of the creature being heard not long after.

Duncan's heart pounded with each second; get away. Get away. Survive. Do anything. Rocks, mud, broken twigs mattered little unless it could help kill this thing. Past the trees, in barely visible sight, was a crevice. It looked small enough. Duncan hoped it would be enough.

Though so far away. 

Another few gruesome seconds passed by with Duncan's limping, each inch of his body shaking and the lack of response from some of his limbs not responding due to the fear that consumed every inch of his being. The creature's presence afflicted Duncan for one reason. One that seemed to worsen the more he was able to coherently think about it:

Was it intelligent enough to know he was struggling to get away?

Another swift breath followed along with a blob of spit that landed on Duncan's head. The creature seemed to play with Duncan, nipping at his feet when he tried to kick it away, only to hear growling. . .as if it was laughing? The distant howl of wolves in the background mattered little to the human; any sound, any sight, anything that would fail to help him escape would-

''-AHHHHHGGGNNGH!'' Duncan shrieked in the air, the gurgle of blood following nearly causing him to choke if he didn't manage to hock it onto the ground in time. Its thick claws punctured his damaged leg, close to the thigh. His hands grasped over and over at random, the adrenaline in his body soon giving way and stopping his advance. Duncan could feel himself being turned over by the creature's claw, his exhale being more making to a sputter of air. 

Those same brown eyes stared back at Duncan again, the almost child-like mirth in them helping to confirm a bit more than whatever this thing was; it certainly was enjoying playing with its food before eventually killing it. If his death were to come at a time such as this, then he would ensure it would get a fight out of him, if nothing else. Another growl followed as he was able to get a somewhat better look at the face of the creature that would surely do him in. 

Duncan felt around, grasping a medium-sized rock that he would do something, only if it would make his end come all the more quickly. He would only have one chance to do something, or it could all be over.

The dots in his vision began to get worse and worse, building up until Duncan could no longer see and used the last bit of strength in his arm to swing with all his might, his curdling scream followed.

Though he felt no contact, but only heard the one word that gave him a tidbit of hope as the pain caused him to pass out.

''Duncan!''




Luna pushed the creature away from Duncan with all of her might, barely coming to his rescue after the events of Nightmare Night that ended in the two having to flee, due to the treachery of ponies. The ponies claimed to have a love for her and her sister. The ponies who showed her some form of care.

Only for Rainbow Dash for slander her name with lies.

''Heh. . .'' Luna heard the creature. . .laugh? It stood up after being tackled, rising to a standing position standing on its rear paws and folding the top two in a show of dominance of sorts. The more Luna was able to see, the creature's true identity became clear to her. ''Stand down, little pony; if you know what's good for you.''

Luna gritted her teeth, her left forehoof aching though she did her best to remain strong. The thrumming headache failed to help. This thing was certainly intelligent enough that chose to play with Duncan versus outright killing him, which begged the question as to why. ''No.''

A deep chuckle came from the creature, a sneer appearing on its pointed snout, showing the few misshapen teeth that were either darkened or goldened. A consistent thicket of smoke rose from his breath into the air, the creature's shape seeming to increase to twice its size. ''Good.'' Luna felt the air in her lungs forcefully be ejected as the creature somehow jumped forward further than her eye could accurately track, the massive paw curled up and launching Luna into the air, the change in gravity making her organs shift about before she plummeted back towards the earth.

''Rah!'' Luna nearly felt her head dislocate from her body as the creature struck again, driving its paw in her face as she was driven into the ground, sharp rocks and sticks covering Luna's body. The creature only seemed to be more amused as Luna slid to a stop near Duncan. ''Heh. . .long way from home, aren't you?''

Luna heaved, attempting to regain her breath as the force from this creature's punch must have jostled a few of her organs out of place. Something was definitely off, though Luna couldn't tell right away. Her mind swam with ripples of pain, coming out in hoof stomping grunts. In the middle of all those feelings came another. One that she seldom experienced personally. Celestia was the last that ignited even the smallest spark of it. 

Duncan, no doubt felt it come to him before she managed to come to his rescue, and possibly even from his time being  the punching for her sister from what she was told at the time.

Fear.

''W-Why do you f-fight us? What a-are your intentions?'' Luna asked. The creature chuckled once again, sitting on its bottom as it stared at Luna with a cold, calculating gaze. The painfully slow blink of its eye was met with Luna's own eyelids frantically struggling to close and open at a consistent pace, only for the injuries she sustained so far to impede it. ''T-Tell me your name.''

''Survive long enough, and you may get an answer to your first question. . .'' the creature hummed, rubbing its chin with its paw, pausing to wiggle its claws. ''For the second; I have none.'' Luna tensed once again, seeing its eyes narrow. ''Don't blink.''

''NGGNGHH!'' Luna flew back, her back nearly hitting the opening in the crevice as the creature walked forward, a sinister smile on its face. Breath in, breath out. In and out, in and out.

Fight. Fight. Luna had to. She was too old, and too young to die in a forest. There were too many questions, and not enough answers. Duncan. . .a Human. Brought into this world on essentially a whim, and Celestia. . .

Rainbow Dash.

''I shall have my answers! One way or the other!'' Luna roared, a burst of strength coursing through her body, her small amount of focus hopefully being enough to turn the tide.

''Come!'' the creature dashed forward on all fours, each second seeming to drag on as Luna's fear was blanketed over by her intense need to survive. Nothing else mattered. Luna would do everything in her power to see what would come after.

And there would be something after this.



> The Fallout
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Set Fire To The Ground. . .





Duncan felt. . .different. One minute, he could somewhat remember himself feeling the worst possible feeling of dread, second to when he was shot on that bus, all that time ago, though, had that much time passed? Duncan. . .was unable to really tell, and that was something that he was sure would come to him in time. Vivid flashes of light filled his mind, echoes of panicked, curious, and nonchalant voices.

Twilight, Pinkie, Spike. . .Rarity. Rainbow Dash.

Slowly, his senses began to input some of the pain, starting from his body up, a massive inward piercing headache going from his temple down to the middle of his neck. A slow, but constant heartbeat seemed to amplify the jerking of his body on the uneven ground. Bones; rocks, twigs. . .and a pushy weight underneath him that slowly drug him in some direction.

''U-Ugh. . .w-w-wha?'' Duncan breathed out, his lungs burning with each syllable uttered. 

''S-Say not-thing.~ Keep y-your strength. . .w-we may have. . .n-need for it.'' Duncan's head dipped once again, dampness on his forehead and on his leg slowly becoming more and more clear the longer he was dragged to wherever. He had to know what was going on, even if it was to be for a moment. Not knowing would be the death of him first before anything else.

''L-Lu. . .na.~'' Duncan managed to find a surge of power long enough to open his eyes, the night and blur in his eyes making the shape of one of the few ponies he would find himself depending on if they managed to make it far enough for the hassle in Ponyville to have any merit or weight. Much couldn't be seen through the dirt and the natural color of her coat, but even Duncan could tell Luna was in a sorrier state than he was. Being a princess and at least a millennium old gave the illusion that carrying him on her back as she slowly limped forward somewhat easily. Every few seconds, he heard hissing and feel her weight dip to her left side, almost touching the ground before walking in a sloppy line. ''S-Stop. . .''

Luna ignored the command, knowing that if she were to stop now, then she might not continue on until it was to be too late.  Though a princess of Equestria and her ponies, Duncan could very well be something she could write off to abandon in favor of ensuring her survival. Duncan was willing to take a chance, a ludicrous one, in the eyes of anypony who knew the lay of the land, but as she learned from Humans; they were known for their ignorance and arrogance. 

Luna admired that, in a way.

But the very reason the pair was in their current predicament stemmed just not from her, but also her sister, for which she held some suspicion, and had some questions to confirm a few things. It was crazy; accusing her sister of the kind of behavior and motives that both Duncan managed to voice to her, and while some did connect some dots for her, Celestia was still her sister at the end of the day.

Her pride wouldn't allow her to up and leave any creature to their demise, no matter how intelligent, and the fact that Duncan was a Human, much less than one that came from Earth strained her mind to its breaking point intending on figuring out why things occurred the way that they did, and if she held anymore to blame for said things than she may have thought initially.

''Where did things go so wrong? We had. . .peace all those years ago, and now. . .gone.'' Luna thought, feeling a pang of guilt for those who she considered family outside of her own, and wondered what ever became of them. A lifetime for them was about as much as a blink for her and her sister, but the life, memories, good and bad behind each and every one of them could never be accounted for, which made finding out what happened to the Humans of old all the more important.

She would save this Human if nothing else.

''I-I will. . .not; r-rest. . .for now; w-we need. . .shelter. . .'' Luna said, her mind made up. ''H-He. . .is not f-far behind,'' the howling of wolves in the distance made Luna shake her head, readjusting her grip on Duncan by shooting her flank upwards to keep the majority of his body on her back as she gently pulled his arm over her neck. She dragged him by his feet, and the blood on her right shoulder long dried out, but the gash on his forehead began to leak again, the makeshift leaf covering coming off. Duncan's eyes glossed over, barely keeping track of her as his mouth lazily open and closed, faint hisses being produced with each rise and fall of his chest. ''O-Oh. . .no.'' Luna's eyes closed, her muscles contracting at the sight of what she peered at over the small hill.

Another ravine, the shape of the erosion pattern forming an almost perfect semi-circle, the top of the shape running stretching down for as far as her eye could see. The bottom, Luna was sure was littered with sharp rocks along with the running downhill stream. She had to do something, they couldn't just sit there. It would only be a matter of time before the bear returned, and in their state, neither of them was in a decent condition to fend it off.

It took a few tries, but Luna managed to fight the beast off long enough for them to gain some distance, but even she knew the sheer capability of bears, and the fact that it failed to instantly catch up to them told the lunar princess the very uncomfortable, and mildly disturbing reality that the creature's intelligence aided it in taking its time to hunt the pair. Grunting and digging deep with everything that she had, Luna carried her charge, If she was going to ensure that the both of them would live to see another day, then Luna would have to do something that would inevitably weigh on her mind, were it to go wrong. and she held the feeling it would only make things easier for the bear.

And that would not happen. Nopony, or body else would get hurt if she had anything to say about it. She made a promise.

''M-Moon. . .g-give me the strength. . .f-for I have l-little,'' Duncan's groaning snapped Luna out of her thoughts and shifted her mind in the mode for action, hoping not to add to her list of mistakes. ''I-If w-we survive, I. . .h-have a lot to explain.~ '' the growl of the bear in the distance told her all she needed to know in that one moment, and she would have to make it count. Carefully taking hold of Duncan's body the best she could, it took a monumental effort to drag the human to the closest piece of cover that she hoped would serve her plans well. The surrounding areas gave her little to work with in the ways of identification of where they were, but Luna quickly dismissed any form of help from the outside.

''Ugh. . .~'' Luna heard Duncan moan and hiss as she slowly, positioned him down as carefully as she could in the small area of a few fallen trees laid close to each other in a line, using the branches and leaves to conceal him the best she could while she slowly sat down in front, laying an eye over him to see any other injuries she couldn't glance at when first she picked him up. She took a quick glance at the sky through the brush, eyeing the one thing she knew better than anypony. A small smile graced her lips. Luna spied the gash on his forehead still bleeding a bit, so she would have to be quick.

Using her good hoof, Luna took the gash on her bad hoof and set it to the still bleeding gash on Duncan's forehead, hissing as the blood melded together and healed the two cut areas as if nothing had happened.

''Mmmph!'' Her brain throbbed and pulsed erratically, her body responding in turn with small bouts of convulsing. She was sure the tendons in her wings somehow locked themselves in position by the clamp-like tightness caving in near her midsection, so flying was out of the question. Her forehoof was most definitely broken, pieces of her slipper wedged in the hoof at a grotesque angle that looked to cause her pain, and while sure it did; the feeling meant little. She felt. . .that something else was off, as well, but the words failed to come out. There, on the tip of her tongue, and yet. . .nothing. ''M-Mmmph!~ H-Hurry.~'' Luna muttered to herself, managing to slow her breathing enough to the point where she could think a bit more clearly. All the focus in the world would help the process go all the smoother, but time was not something she had in spades. 

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Luna sucked in as much air as possible, gasping and choking up until she felt the limit approach. Celestia teaching her the practical exercises always did seem easier, where the constraints of time and energy were more than she would need. Luna's ears perked and curved a tad, the sound of the bear slowly beginning to become more and more clear; every crunch of leaves, rocks, and any unfortunate small animals that grazed its path at the wrong time soon became amplified the deeper her focus went.

''C-Come on, come on. . .'' Luna harshly whispered to herself, roughly going over in her head the odds. What would be the odds of if this would work? Or the odds that she would have to cancel the process and put her energy into something else, to become else. Something that there was next to no coming back from, and she was sure death would suit her better. ''W-Work.''

But Duncan was innocent in this, as far as she could tell. Until she made the connection, that is.

Closer. . .

The bear made a beeline through the trees, the glint of gold in its teeth as it smiled, sporting a few cuts and missing tufts of fur. But it meant little, the Pony and that. . .thing would die, and be food. They were good prey for the time being.

Closer. . .

''S-Sorry for this, Duncan,'' Luna said, her own body starting to shut down from the amount of effort and magic threatening to release from dangerous places. Her mind flashed by in an instant, a few of her less proud moments at the forefront, every mistake, close call, and the invisible grip around her neck only served to remind her that, in doing this, she would be essentially trapping herself. ''It is all I-I know to succeed.''

Closer. . .

''Die, Pony!''

Almost there. . .

''Surgo.''

WHOOOSH! A bright blue flash of magic flowed from Luna, engulfing the three as the bear's weight nearly came crashing down on the pair, the swipe intended to take one of their heads off never connecting as the animal went flying back and through a line of trees, crushing the wonder of the forest akin to straw, the land rumbling a tad, sending a few birds fleeing in surprise before the forest soon went quiet. Luna turned around her eyes barely managing to stay open as she looked at the fruits of her last-second choice.

ROAR! The bear rebounded, shaking off the attack, a roar of retaliation as it got up, a small limp in its gait and all of its teeth bared to show the amount of aggression it was ready to unleash. ''What?'' the pony didn't have any power like that earlier, and all of a sudden, it displayed something else.

Wait, no. . .the thing.

''. . .'' Luna watched Duncan slowly lower his fist down to his side, his body slowly beginning to heal the damage from his semi-crouched position, his broken leg snapping back into place with an audible crack before he growled as well, taking off in a dead sprint, the thousand-yard stare in his eyes and the light blue aura coming off of him telling Luna all she needed. She did what she set out to, though she only hoped it was at the right time.

And the right person.

''Agh!'' Luna's eyes could barely keep up with the fight at moment, only able to tell that her choice so far seemed to be working out, the growls and roars of the bear giving her a glimpse of hope. When the bear would go in for a swipe, Duncan would strafe, almost on instinct, and immediately deck the animal in the snout, resulting in Duncan jumping back, as he squared his stance with both arms extended at eye level while the bear appeared shocked, only to raise up on his hind legs and stomp ahead, swinging its paws wildly. ''Stop moving!''

''. . .'' Duncan remained stoic, remaining quiet and focused, the aura around him growing darker in color and skyrocketing towards the heavens as his attacks steadily became more and more collected, an inquisitive glint in his eyes. Crouching low to the ground, the bear did the same, silently accepting the challenge of rushing the other head-on. The sounds of the forest soon came to a halt, almost at the drop of a hat.

And then the two of them set off toward one another in a flash.





Canterlot Castle. . .


Celestia hummed to herself, relishing the feeling of another day done, she was always happy when things went her way. The Day Court was, for a change of pace; relatively tame, and the Canterlot Justice Committee found it easier to close their sessions earlier in the day than what they would normally foresee. One thing she could always count on was the-

''Mmmm?'' Celestia paused in the middle of her first bite of cake, her magic setting the confection done on her plate. Her magic picked up . . .something familiar. She would have missed it had she been one second too late. Faint, but she held no doubt as to what her mind connected the dots to. The slight pull at the back of her mind taunted her, invited and confused her all in the span of just under one second. Fear, anger, confusion, complete and utter survival instinct.

Her left eye nearly popped out of her head once the true realization sunk in for her. No. . .Luna couldn't have; could she?

''Sister; have you really fallen that far from our grace that you w-would. . .DEFILE yourself?'' Celestia's mood slowly began to deteriorate, her body involuntarily leaping off of her bed, smushing the cake on the clean, marble floor that the castle maids just finished cleaning, only for it to end up sullied. A flash of red warped through her mind, her sights laid on the snow globe on the top of her mantle. ''No, no. D-Don't; you're better than that Celestia, you're better. . .than Luna. Her choice to engage with that. . .f-filth!'' Celestia cleared her throat, trying her best to slow her hyperventilating down so she could double-check what she hoped was wrong.

Gradually the room gained quiet again, the cool touch of the floor as Celestia slowly sat down, igniting her horn with magic and honing in on the feeling that displayed so much in so little time, the process taking a bit longer than she would have liked, but the concept of focus in regard to this technique was absolute; all or literally nothing. ''I need to be quick, even my magic won't last long.'' Celestia dipped her head down further, the haze in her mind lifting revealing the deeper that she went into the azure blur played out the events all too well.

They were in a forest, the glow of the moon's light illuminating enough for her to see Luna huddled near a trio of fallen trees, panic rushing throughout her mind as she hurriedly finished chanting to herself about saving the Human before their whatever with killing intent that followed them closed in on them.

''M-Moon. . .g-give me the strength. . .f-for I have l-little,''  Celestia could feel it. Every cut, bump, throb, ache, tension, and everything in between as Luna began the process ultimately ousted her from any salvation.

 ''I-If w-we survive, I. . .h-have a lot to explain.~ '' 

''Surgo.''

The images slowly faded away, Celestia figured all of Luna's concentration went into jumpstarting the process as she laid down, her eyes picking up the sight of the Human contending with a wild bear, though she couldn't very well see, she had to admit; his control over Alicorn magic was commendable. His aura. . .shone bright, and true. Humming to herself, the image slowly warped away, whispers of Luna's mind splintering away.

The final nail in the coffin. It was almost as if she stepped back in time.

''Well, sister; I wish you had actually learned something with all those years on the moon, but I guessed wrong,'' Celestia's brain attempted to make sense, but the longer and deeper in thought she went, the less she began to care. Her horn lit up,  attempting to hone in on her location, only for the connection to get cut short, the realization making both of her ears fold and a crazed smile plaster itself upon her face. Her heart jumped at a million miles a minute. ''You are lucky I can't find you both right now.'' the feeling of excited rage failed to subside the longer her mind began to unravel Luna's betrayal. Celestia had to do something before long. 

Starlight was busy with her assignment, which from her periodic updates told her that it was processing about as well as the pair initially expected, and the time it would take for the desired result to be achieved could take longer than it would for her to take on another mundane assignment for the betterment of Equestria. She would have to have another, one more capable and willing to go to the lengths needed to complete their mission on time and as quietly as possible.

''And I know just the individual to do it,'' Celestia began to formulate a plan in her mind as she pulled out a scroll and drafted up a letter; knowing just how to play the game since her sister wanted to commit the worse of sin, then Celestia would meet said sin in hand with virtue.



> A Lesson In Redirection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


A Claim To Faith. . .




Starlight Glimmer may have bit off more than she could chew. Then again, that could be said about many of her previous exploits if she had not been adequately prepared. Twilight Sparkle and her friends would prove that she would need all her years of experience to navigate.

When Princess Celestia offered the idea to pose as one of her friends to conquer and divide their ranks made the most sense seeing as her star pupil was admittedly on the fence about her actions, but this would undoubtedly gather their attention and be able to rally their minds to the right side once again.

Or the lesser option would be put into effect.

Copying Ranbow Dash's appearance and voice was one thing, but having to constantly maintain her mannerisms and thoughts to pass off as legit was in a whole another world in itself. Plenty of ways her mission could go right, but only a few could make it go very wrong, mostly by Twilight's nosy self. Again, she often questioned why somepony with the regalness and power that Celestia had would entrust her most coveted position to an inexperienced pony who spent more time studying the practice of magic than actually taking the delve into the beyond.

All of the codices, and even an amateur like Twilight would be able to turn the very nature of Equestria on its head.

Speaking of the resident pony currently giving her a headache. . .

''Rainbow Dash!'' Twilight stomped back and forth in front of her, the bloodshot look in her eyes and gritting of her teeth at the last 6 hours would have put any normal pony in a mental institution. And sadly, Twilight herself was close to that very point if she failed to get any answers. Why; why did her friend, one of the ponies that helped save and protect Equestria and preach the message of the magic of friendship and represent her respective Element of Harmony lie? ''What could possibly cause you to lie and accuse Duncan of something like that? Are you trying to make all of our work be for nothing for Princess Celestia?!''

''Hmmm, the lungs on this one,'' thought Starlight, internally rolling her eyes and resisting the urge to fire a blast between her eyes to silence her. Permanently. She would have to sell this guise for as long as she could, or at least as long as Celestia deemed how good of a hoof she had over her subjects to sway them against her target, but she knew it was more than that. Anything to ensure her rule and power remained unquestioned. ''Regardless, if she continues. . .''

''-I mean, really?! Going so far as to suggest an accusation of something like that? That is too far of a prank!'' Twilight barely managed to shout through gritted teeth as her hoof struck the floor of Ponyville General, actually managing to crack the tilled floor in her fit of indescribable anger. How? Why? Why?! So much progress was being made, and everypony began to warm up to the idea of Humans being the more plausible reality versus something to be feared. Duncan wouldn't; he couldn't. Twilight. . .she had to ask Rainbow outright. Twilight slinked over slowly, eyeing one of her best friends with a softening glance. ''Rape?'' Twilight whisperered.

Starlight nodded. Time to get back into 'character'. ''Yes, why l-lie about this, Twilight? I have no reason to; I'm shocked as you are, but I guess what Princess Celestia said to us actually rang true,'' Starlight willed herself to cry a few crocodile tears to push the envelope more. ''I'm aching; in pain, I feel. . .used. Dirty. I-I tried!'' Twilight flinched at her tone. ''I tried to. . .''

''-I think it best to take it slowly, dear. You must be in more shock than you realize,'' Nurse Redheart slowly wormed her way into the fray, bringing a clipboard with the results of her test. In all her time working, Rainbow was the by far, the most. . .expressive and spirited when she was admitted, nearly giving the old nurse an appointment to get some new teeth as she fought with the doctors and Ponyville Police to get her settled into a stretcher long enough to calm her down and perform their tests. ''Quite the kick on you,'' Nurse Redheart chuckled nervously, attempting to lighten the mood. ''I have the results of the test.''

''Yea,'' Rainbow glared, snorting in her direction at the eagerness of the medical staff. So quick to stick, poke and prod. ''Test me when I told you that I didn't need one! That was bucking invasive!'' Rainbow slammed a hoof onto her bed, her body and more sensitive area seriously aching at their invasiveness. Though she could care less about it being about some other pony when it came to having a rape kit performed on her, and mostly against her will (if not for blowing her cover to act), it was more comparable to the act itself.  ''I'm the victim here!''

''And I am sorry, truly I am. But these are standard operating procedures when we end up with patients who have been. . .raped,'' Nurse Redheart wanted to truly shy away from the topic, and every single time, she did. But, part of her duty as a nurse, and a genuine pony wanting nothing more to help others, it was a necessary, albeit soul-wrenching process only for the few who rarely chose the route, and rather it was chosen for them. ''Now, and I just want to be as sure as possible when I ask this, but you do know who this Duncan is, correct?''

''Yes, but me telling you that won't have him in jail any quicker! I'm fine!'' Rainbow shooed away the nurse, intent on making sure that her pursuer would be seeing the behind of a jail cell for a very long time. ''You're worrying about the wrong thing!''

''And while I will not take that want away from you, we also have a job and duty. Wherever he is, we worry about it later. Our priority, right now is you.''

''And while I would be inclined to agree, Nurse, Rainbow has more to worry about than just her little 'accident.' Our friends,'' Twilight gestured to the closed brown door on the far side of the room where a lone officer pony stood. ''are out there, and they want answers. They do, as well as Ponyville about this, this just didn't come out of nowhere.'' Twilight frowned. ''Help me understand.''

Rainbow sneered, knowing Twilight was getting dangerously close to the point of no return. She needed to rile her up a bit further, to test the limits of their friendship, and the true power of the Elements of Harmony. The pieces were almost falling into place a bit too easily. ''Well, you certainly don't sound more on my side than I thought you would. If I didn't know better, I'd say you think I was lying.'' Rainbow turned her head away, trying to get the slightest bit comfortable if she were to be essentially confined to this room for the foreseeable future. ''And understand what? we're supposed to be friends. You should be taking my side more than him.''

Twilight reeled, her next string of words getting caught in her throat at Rainbow's comment, tears nearly falling off of her face and onto Rainbow's sheets. Why would Rainbow ever go to the lengths to doubt their friendship? After all of the things, they had been through? ''T-That's not what I meant when I said-''

''-No, you know what? Save it! You already made it up in your made that I must be lying!'' Rainbow chuckled, though nothing was truly funny. ''I guess you must not be able to take one second to think that I, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, could be telling the truth. You just want to defend Duncan so bad, and because he's a Human,'' Rainbow nearly spit on the floor where Twilight's hooves were, just to make a point. How easily for her to consider tearing apart the fabric of their relationship as friends, and over Duncan, no less. ''Taking his side won't make Princess Celestia any less mad; you're doing the literal opposite.'' Rainbow closed her eyes, wanting the conversation to be over with. ''Just go.''

The realization took a moment to dawn on Twilight about what Rainbow laid out, though not in so many words. ''Rainbow.''

''Leave, Twilight. Come back tomorrow, I can't stand to look at you right now.'' Rainbow said, mentally checked out and wanting nothing more but to hear Redheart's little speech and then get on to bed. ''You should know out of anypony that you won't be getting any answers from someone like me unless I want to tell you.''

Even a pony like Twilight understood a losing battle, and frankly, she was tired. Having to deal with the immediate fallout of Rainbow's accusation, the townsponies, and their chase of Duncan and Luna out of town, would be another issue to address sooner than later. On top of that, to add insult to injury would no doubt be the fallout that would come from ponies opening their mouths and blabbering about the presence of a human, and too soon for it to be a good thing!

An uphill battle, but for how long?

''Fine, Rainbow Dash,'' Twilight's tone finality took Rainbow Dash by surprise. She expected more pushback, or at least a final plea before folding, but then again, she was Celestia's student, though not for much longer. ''But our conversation is not over, not by a long shot. I won't try and make you understand my thought process, but I want you to know that I try to remain neutral-''

''-Keyword, try,'' Rainbow drly cut in.

''-Besides that, we are friends, and we need to get all of the facts straight before any concrete judgment can be made. But the bigger issue would be going to find out where Duncan and Princess Luna went off to; they couldn't have gotten far.'' Twilight said, chewing her lip at the thought of opening that can of worms. ''We just need to take things one step at a time,'' the last past was said mostly to herself as she walked towards the door as Nurse Redheart discussed the nature of her test results while also questioning the existence of Humans.
> All In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna awoke slowly, her mind fighting to make sense of the new sensation taking over her mind. Everything hurt, that much she knew. However, she did not expect the highs and lows of her emotions, thoughts, and body changing by the second. The last time she felt this bad, she engaged in a drinking contest with 10 angry Yaks. 

By the stars, could they drink like no tomorrow.

Out of all these feelings that began to overwhelm Luna, one among them made itself known; fear. Was it her fear? Fear that she may have failed at the one thing she thought herself able to do without messing up, or was it her mindset at coming back to engage with a whole new generation of subjects?

No, no. It. . .was something different. 

''Why am I scared? I am never scared.'' Luna argued against herself. Her mind drifted off into the realm of dreams, her surroundings of black replaced by a low light landscape, where the last few flickers of the sun began to ebb and the cold, night sky slowly filled with clouds. ''I am the Princess of the Night, emotions such as that are beneath me.''

''Yes, you may think that, but we both know we would have to be above something in the first place for that sentiment to hold.'' Luna cringed at the inner part of her mind that spoke. Rather, it manifested itself in response to her time on the moon. At any given time, it held either a grossly negative or positive stance. It never was a true in-between. It was raw unfettered emotion, wrapped in the thin vices of logic, and spit back out with the reckless abandon at whatever particular individual or topic. ''Why do you think we were imprisoned for a millennia? Because that is our price; for one mistake, all the time in the world.''

Luna groaned, eyeing the body of water in the distance from the cool beach she sat on, her regalia off, and her mane and tail static. It was oddly soothing; the crashing of waves, the glorious light of the moon peaking in, only the silence this time, of all others was more suffocating than normal. Her mind wandered in various directions, but her emotion at the situation was the same. ''And why I am here? I cannot be dreaming.''

''Oh, but that is where you would be wrong, dearest me. This is a dream, it just has yet to become a bad one at least,'' Luna's psyche murmured, slowly beginning to personify the image of Nightmare Moon as she sat across from her, frowning. The look of discontent on her face only paired with the baring of her teeth to intimidate.  ''How do you think Celestia will react when she discovers what we have done? And more importantly, what you lost?''

''Celestia is not here. I am, and she has no right to judge what I did-'' Luna turned her head away, small tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Don't cry; it would solve nothing, and only serve to make matters worse the longer she stayed in that particular headspace. ''She wouldn't dare.''

''And there, it surfaces again. Your failure.'' Nightmare Moon growled, the light of the moon and sky being snuffed out by a wave of darkness. ''Our sister was the better of us two, the one more gifted in the dark arts of magic, the one more in tune with the masses, and the only one capable of holding onto the greatest sin whereas you cannot.'' Nightmare's words rang through and played back and forth through Luna's mind, worming into the depths that she worked so hard to keep from unwanted eyes. ''Hahaha. . .when you finally realize the full scope of your folly, I shall take; pray you are strong enough to resist, lest I take the one thing you now seem to care about. . .'' with a flourish, Nightmare Moon disappeared.

''No,'' Luna mumbled to herself, her growing headache intensifying. No, she couldn't; she wouldn't.

''Luna. . .'' a distant voice mumbled to her. She ignored it.

''She cannot. Celestia will understand, she has to; I've done nothing wrong.''

''Luna. . .'' the voice grew more pronounced and clear. 

''They would not dare take. . .that from me.~'' Luna began to sob, huffing and puffing.

''LUNA!" another call of her name along with a shake of her body drew her out of the dreamscape and out into the real world.  Her eyes blinked away the tears blinding her vision as her brain began to make sense of her place in the world. She was lying down, on her back, facing up to the sky. Her sight focused on chipped, old boards of wood arranged in lines. A roof? ''Are you ok?''

Craning her head to the side, her neck screamed in protest for her to not move, but she pressed on, hissing to see the same configuration of wooden boards, only intersected by thicker beams of wood rising to the roof. A barn? ''Oh, u-uh, other side.''

That voice; Duncan? Was he ok? Turning to the other side, Luna laid her eyes upon the Human who looked at her with a look of worry. His entire body was covered in dirt, grime, and blood. Aside from the sunken look in his eyes and mangled mop of hair, he looked better. Luna shifted her view towards his lower body, seeing his injured leg perfectly fine. While shifting her body, Luna became more and more aware of her injuries, giving the pricking sensation of the wet hay bed against the deep cuts on her back and legs. ''D-Duncan?! H-How are you-''

''Hush, hush, it's ok. You took more of a hit than I did dealing with that bear,'' Duncan pointed his thumb over his shoulder, there was another thing that Luna became more aware of as time went on; the smell of death. In the far-off corner of the barn, she could faintly make out the shape of the bear that gave the pair such a hard time, rolled over onto itself. Duncan's glare softened for a second as she looked over her injuries. The ones he was able to help mitigate hopefully dulled some of the pain he knew she felt. ''I'm no doctor, so the cloak was only able to cover so much after I used some of it for compression wraps,'' Duncan said, helping her to sit up slowly.

Though a tad wet, Luna appreciated that he used his cloak from his Nightmare Night costume to cover her. ''Thank y-you. But where are we?''

Shaking his head like a lost foal, Duncan huffed and spoke. ''That I haven't got the slightest idea,'' Duncan tried his best to remember what happened, only to come up flat. He remembered the bear, crawling away, then Luna coming to his aid. The pain he felt then was unlike anything else, even getting shot was a little less of a hassle. His mind swam, trying to come up with an answer, only to fail. 

Luna hummed, coughing a tad at her parched throat. ''You remember nothing else?'' Luna began to feel duped. How could he not where he took them? ''How did you get u-us here?'' Luna began to backtrack in her mind about what happened earlier. She weighed the positive and negative, though she may have misjudged herself. 

''Again, can't tell you, not even how my injuries healed. I was sure my leg was broken at least,'' Duncan replied with a frown. ''I guess I stumbled upon this little barn. The last tenants didn't really leave much, but I was able to find a few odds and ins that could help, we need to make sure you're as ok as you can be so you can heal.''

Laying her hoof on his chest, Luna scoffed. How dare he? He assumed she was weak because she was not. Luna was strong, brave, and a leader. Being waited on was Celestia's prerogative, not hers. ''I-I am Princess Luna, I do not 'heal', as you say.'' Luna turned over on her stomach, slowly spreading her hooves outward to prepare herself to get up, only for her limbs to cry out in pain. She would have nearly hit her jaw on the ground, if not for Duncan catching her at the last moment. ''R-Release me!''

''Easy, Luna. It's ok. Stop being so damn stubborn for two seconds,'' Duncan chided, rolling his eyes when she gave him a pointed look. ''You've been out for at least a few hours, and you don't know what's wrong with you, but I do. Mostly,'' Duncan shrugged his shoulders. Another few seconds of her glaring and she resigned to let Duncan lay Luna on her back again. ''From what I saw, you have a broken front hoof, multiple cuts on your back and legs, your breathing's been irregular from what I can tell, and I think your wings are locked up.''

Lies. He was making excuses. She was not as hurt, as he would have led her to believe. The only thing she knew was that the pair of them were in a situation that neither could deal with. And with the debacle back in Ponyville, the only thing she knew was that they could not stay here for long if they wanted to survive. Luna stared back at the ceiling, only to huff and turn over to face Duncan. ''You should not see me like this, it is. . .unbecoming.''

''And why do you say that?'' Duncan asked, confused.

''Because I am Princess of the Night; I and my sister should not be seen in such a state to any creature; it would. . .'' Luna mumbled before going silent. She gave Duncan a side-eyed look, watching each subtle twitch and movement as he stared back. It was unnerving; to feel the judgment of a Human, in so long. ''Ruin the image.''

Image? That's what she was worried about? Her image? Though not as enthralled about the intricacies of one's looks to the public, Duncan could tell when someone just went through the motions to appease the egos of others. Combining that with how Celestia carried herself, and the lack thereof, the true reason revealed itself. ''You mean Celestia, don't you? Because call me crazy, but-'' Luna interrupted.

''-You are,'' Luna muttered, breathing at a slower pace to calm herself down. 

''Regardless, the last thing anyone should be worried about in a situation like this is how they look, including you. I don't give a shit how I look, and the same thing goes for you,'' Duncan argued. He stood up, walking out of Luna's sight for a moment, only to come back with a bucket that had seen better days, with pieces of his cloak hanging from it. ''Going to need to sit you up for a moment.''

Luna quirked a brow. ''For what reason?''

''So I can bathe you.'' Duncan simply said, the statement nearly throwing the monarch for a loop. ''Can't have you all dirty, gathering up dirt and any infections.'' Duncan nearly laughed at Luna's eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. ''And pretty sure you're in no position to do it yourself,'' Duncan nodded to her body.

''Nonsense! For I possess my magic, it will be a quick process,'' Luna hummed, focusing her energy to bring her horn to life. The situation itself was one she wished so badly to put behind her, just a simple healing spell, and it would be the end of Duncan's worrying and extinguish this strange feeling. 

Or so Luna thought. Nothing happened. Her mind was clear, the pathway to her horn was unimpeded, and she even memorized the incantation needed, so why?

''-Uh, Luna, what are you doing?'' Duncan tapped her on the shoulder at her lowering her head and grimacing for the past 5 minutes. She looked to be in pain, was it something that he missed while checking her? Possible, given the lack of available light, or were Alicorns just built differently? ''Headache?''

''Be silent. I require focus.'' Luna clarified, which only served for Duncan to look at her with a look of disbelief. Another moment passed by in her still mind, running through all of the different spells she knew, which granted was only two, but it never hurt to be sure. ''And could you possibly do something about the smell of the bear? Why bring it here?''

Duncan wanted to retort on instinct of such a stupid question; how did she not know? Could royals not read the room?  Plus, he figured he must have brought it with in the blank space of his memory. ''To eat? I don't know about you, but where I come from, you get food, you make it work; I can't remember exactly how long ago it was since I ate, and I don't know about you, but I refuse to starve.'' Luna continued to be in her trance, on the verge of growling. "Luna, I don't think whatever it is you're doing is working.''

''Curses!'' Luna slowly began to realize what was happening. ''My magic is drained, no doubt from the battle with the bear from earlier. It should replenish before long.''

So that's what she was doing. Seems Duncan had more to understand about the concept of magic than he did at first, but he also was sure that Luna's reasoning was. . misplaced. ''Hopefully, you can still use magic, given your horn's gone.''

''What?'' Luna flatly asked, her full attention on Duncan. Has she misheard?

''You didn't notice? Your horn's gone; well not gone but more like broken off at the base, I can only see a little bit of it.'' Duncan pointed to Luna, the sentence slowly beginning to dawn on her the longer she tried to perform magic without feeling a tinge of the energy rising up and out of her horn. ''Here, it's not much, but I found this,'' Duncan produced a hand-sized chunk of a broken mirror; Luna did her best to focus in on herself, only to gasp.

Nearly gone, save for an inwardly curved chunk was the space where her majestic horn should have been.

''Luna, you ok?'' Duncan's question was muffled by her erratic breathing where she seemed intent on sucking all of the air out of the barn, to no avail. The same hissing from before wormed its way back into her mind, causing her hooves to race to her head to quell the throbbing headache that followed as she fell back onto the hay pile. She didn't know when she started to cry, only that no other feeling compared to this moment; not even close. 

''And like that. . .you realize the very first of your mistakes,'' Nightmare Moon's voice filled Luna's thoughts. The slow grab of dark magic around her psyche would have been an easy deflection, only this time around, it was anything but. Distant memories flashed throughout her mind, forcing buried feelings to surface. Her time in exile, when she and Celestia fought against Discord, the day the two of them were named Princess, and even the first time she was able to perform magic. All of it came crashing down in a wave of sensory overload, causing Luna to fight the aching pain in her body and follow instinct. 

''Whoa! Hey, you ok? Luna?'' Duncan asked, feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable at the sudden lurching of her onto him in a hug. For as messed up as Luna was, she still managed to hug him with quite the grip as her scattered cries, mixed with deep wheezes. It felt offputting as his thought told him to get her off of him, but also comforting in a way that he didn't want to let her go. Celestia was her sister; the same one who caused him so many headaches in such a short amount of time, only for Luna's appearance to lead Duncan into another train of thought.

''I-I have. . .SNIFF! made a mistake.~'' Luna mumbled into Duncan's chest, wetting his clothes with the stains of her tears. ''I-I did not m-mean to,'' Luna began to babble, the strong persona she managed to hold onto for the entire exchange beginning to slip away. ''I did what I only t-thought would be-''

''Luna, what's going on?'' Duncan's vision started to blur once again, the entirety of his and Luna's body feeling like lead, forcing her to lay on top of him. Before his sight went to black and his body succumbed to the force of gravity, Duncan faintly made out the barn door on the other side slowly opening as two figures appeared. ''W-Wait.~''

The faint sound of hoof steps grew closer and closer before stopping just shy of the pair.

''Oh my goodness. Is that who I think?'' a female's voice was heard in a state of shock. Daring to get a bit closer to confirm the identify, a gruff male's voice replied.

''Probably not thinking about the same thing here, but I know just what to do with these two.''



> Moments
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dragon Mouth's Cave Entrance, Canterlot Castle.






The day carried on as it always had, only once the duties of the courts came to a close, did it speed up. It was a strange feeling, being so close to home, yet so far away. Chalking it up to being tired, Celestia hummed to herself and waited. In the distance, under the moonlit sky zoomed the shape of a figure with blinding speed. As erratic upon its arrival, did it stop and hover for a moment, scanning diligently. 

''That's it, keep looking,'' Celestia muttered to herself, bringing a glow of light to her horn. The wind whistled, almost threatening to uplift the princess from her spot. A moment later, and Celestia found herself face to face with a pony she knew of reputation, and none of it inherently good. ''Took you long enough.''

Scoffing to herself, Trixie lowered herself to the ground, dismissing her magical wings as they fell apart in a shimmer of mist. ''Celestia.'' Trixie already knew this would be was going to be an interaction.

Her first mistake. ''That's Princess to you, Trixie. Or did you forget?'' Celestia's eyes narrowed at Trixie who fixed her hat and gave her a glance somewhat resembling respect. ''I need not remind you that it was I alone who saved you from your failures, and trust me, I have been keeping track.''

And of course, the hag would pull that card out of her flank; it was the only one she could pull without razing a quarter of Canterlot just to prove a point. Having to be indebted to a regular pony was a simple enough task.

The Princess of Equestria? Or at least the one that actually mattered some? Different story. And not one that Trixie would be so willing to tell others, should the chance present itself. ''Little birdie told me a few things, you know.'' Trixie's voice may as well have been pure venom to the deity, who wanted nothing more than to turn her bones to mush. ''And it involves your student, Twilight.''

Celestia seethed, pointing a hoof in Trixie's direction, causing her eyes to rise in surprise. ''Ex-student; from the way that things are progressing.  She. . .no; The Element Bearers have been corrupted. With the worst kind of plague. I dare not even speak its name before I do something I regret.''

Oh, Trixie was enjoying this. Sitting down at the base of the cave's entrance and waiting for Celestia to do the same, one could only imagine the lengths a ruler such as herself would subject herself, and her subjects to in order to achieve whatever hair-brained scheme that found its way into her mind. ''A Human, perhaps?'' Celestia's pointed look made her raise her hooves nonchalantly. ''Little birdie, nothing more.''

''Hmmph. And were you also told of how it got here? And how it now has absconded with my sister? Celestia asked, her ears folded back and form slumped over as she lost herself in the moment of confusion; trying her very best to understand what sort of trickery would force her sister to so easily dragged into the clutches of one of those vile monstrosities. Her front hooves stomped the ground in defense, kicking up dirt and dust right in Trixie's face, who sat there waiting.

No need to poke a bear in its home. 

''All of Equestria is at risk with my sister doubting her loyalties and where they lie, The Element of Harmony's bearers nearly following the same example, and the embodiment of evil traipsing about my lands, trying to manipulate my little ponies to his side!'' Celestia exclaimed.

Trixie tilted her head, rubbing her chin with a hoof. The information she was told suggested otherwise. While Celestia was busy having her self-monologue of despair, an old, tattered piece of parchment was unraveled from her cloak. ''Mmm, seems about right,'' Trixie muttered to herself. Unrolling it a bit further must have caught Celestia's attention as her magic soon enveloped the ancient paper and was brought to her squinted eyes. After a few moments of reading, the look that barely resembled composure broke. ''Uh, Princess?''

The faint chirping of crickets in the background, the sound of her own heartbeat, and the not-so-restrained breathing from Celestia were all that it took for Trixie to feel a bit uncomfortable in such a small space.

With her also having nearly caved The Human's chest while barely aware failed to make the present moment better.

''Hahahaha! So that's what he hopes to achieve! It's no wonder he was as scared as he was before! Oh, goodness!'' Celestia cackled so loud, that Trixie's ears started to hurt. Her entire body shook with joy, at times prancing around like a filly and nearly smacking Trixie in the face with her mane or tail. When it seemed to reach a point of no return, Celestia stopped entirely; as if her mind hadn't split at the seams for a solid 5 minutes. ''If he can find them.''

''You of all ponies should know what they're capable of when determined. Otherwise-'' Trixie felt herself putting her hoof in her mouth with this, but she had a job to do and money to make, or else why be here? ''I can leave.''

''And go where exactly? I own you. Or do you not remember having to lick your wounds after Twilight and friends humiliated you so on your climb up, oh 'Great and Powerful Trixie?' Or did the gift I bestowed upon you mean nothing now that you have a taste of what it means to be on the winning side for once?'' Trixie's smug look slowly began to fade with the more intense of look that she was given. ''You move when I say; jump as high as I say, and eliminate who I tell you to if you want your greatest wish to come true. All things-''

''-can be achieved through you,'' Trixie finished the statement almost on instinct. Again she tried to assert herself, only to get shot down again. ''What is my mission?''

''Better.'' Celestia said. ''While Starlight is busy in Ponyville fixing the mess my student and her friends made, you can buy her time by stalling my sister and that wretched thing. All will be in place for my plans.''

Trixie frowned, nearly voicing her own opinion as to why her. . .employer chose not to take the literal easy road in getting rid of her problem. She was more than powerful enough to squash a bug like a Human, but she wanted to be theatrical, over the top, and careful. For a prey that was by itself with no others to help it, sure. But should Celestia give her enemy time to group up, and with even more of his kind, and there couldn't be enough bits to offer to pay for a job that grand. ''And I still don't see why I am needed in particular for this. This sounds like something that Starlight could handle easily enough, given enough time.''

At times, Celestia wanted to be so oblivious to the truths of this world, but then nothing would be down and get fixed. Knowing that Trixie knew of so little held its advantages. ''For once, I will indulge you, just so you will have no further doubts in your mind as to who to follow. Why do you think that I called you here?'' Trixie shrugged, Celestia, rolling her eyes and gesturing for her to follow further into the cave. The subtle orange glow of a fire ongoing from the dragon-shaped braiser burning illuminated the various carvings on the cave walls.

Figures standing upright, holding spears and torches in a group across from the different pony tribes. ''This is one of the few places where you can see the true history of. . .Humans. In the beginning; as us ponies began to flourish and create a peaceful existence,'' Celestia's eyes closed as her tone seemed for the moment seemed to suggest happier times for all involved. ''It changed one day, in what would later be known as The Everfree Forest,'' Trixie watched as a glow of her magic on the cave walls showed the ponies of old exploring, until coming upon an abnormally sized hole at the base of a cavern. From that cavern, Trixie's eyes widened seeing the shape resembling water produce the shape of Humans.

''They came from there?'' Trixie asked, wondering where in class she was taught differently. Her face contorted into a frown. ''I always thought they were just monkeys that suddenly got smarter.''

Celestia nodded, the claim making the most sense bar none. At least for the common ponyfolk. Not even she knew the true explanation as to why; just that it was the result of time and what Celestia considered to be luck. ''When the Humans first came to these lands, it was a bit of time before Luna and I took our reign. But the accounts of those who bore witness and took notes showed that the Humans of old were very resourceful and knowledgeable in providing assistance, and life was good.'' more images of Humans bringing music, song, dance, hunting, medicine, and technology which ponies took in stride.

The fire began to rage, the intense heat not bothering Celestia while Trixie covered a hoof in front of her face. In the middle of the flames showed the visage of what looked to be more modern times, and the Humans in much more detail, and even what seemed to be. . .Princess Luna? ''She was friends with Humans?''

''Indeed. And it seemed to work the most in our favor and for that of the council of Humans who took to maintaining relations.'' Celestia almost began to think back on all of the good times and experiences she had the chance to live through with her sister in a land so filled with potential. A Celestia of a few decades would probably be more willing to accept and believe that versus the one in the current moment. ''For some reason, the Humans always did seem to adore my sister more, and were so enraptured with her stories of visiting the Dream Realm.''

''From this, it sounds like Humans didn't do anything wrong.'' Trixie remained a tad bit unconvinced.

''After the end of a particularly harsh winter, it happened. The Humans began an uprising, claiming that the gifts and wonders they were able to provide were taken for granted; and that as a whole, us as ponies saw them as lesser beings. My sister and I attempted to quell the unrest, to help find a more peaceful solution, but it was never enough, now that I look back on the entire experience.'' Celestia said, the depiction of Humans taking up arms with more sophisticated weaponry, far eclipsing anything of the past. ''And as unfortunate as the event was, we had to either let ourselves be destroyed or fight back and defend.'' Trixie watched Celestia's ear flick back and forth, seeing the stern grimace she cast to the brasier. ''And what do you think I chose?''

Before Trixie could get another word out, the flames showed a depiction of Celestia herself casting what she only assumed was one of the most powerful magics along with The Elements of Harmony to force the Humans out of Equestria after the height of a bloody war between both sides. ''That day, I made a promise to myself. To seal off the Mirror Lake. A promise that I would never allow harm to come to our great land as long as I continued to draw breath. And a promise to cast Humans as far away as possible from us. Allowing the Humans to come in the first place was a grave mistake, and I paid the price for being open.'' a few tears began to fall down Celestia's face as the flames calmed back down. ''Now you see why Humans are the worst; always taking and taking, but never giving back, never grateful, never content.''

To Trixie, it was one thing to know about Humans, it was a completely different can of worms to hear first-hoof accounts from the very pony herself who made a choice others could not. Upon hearing that, her employer's hatred nearly became her own. ''Then what can we do to make sure he doesn't find more of his kind?'''

''Only together can we solve this problem. Starlight, you, and soon; Twilight and her friends. We must be a united front if we are to survive and protect Equestria,'' Celestia laid a comforting hoof on Trixie's shoulder, the warm, motherly glow in her eyes calming Trixie's nerves. ''Dealing with Humans is tricky, especially given the unfortunate side effects of Humans being unaffected by most magics, so I shall bestow upon you another gift.'' Trixie's heart would have sunk further if possible. Another gift meant deeper into the rabbit hole. ''Disappoint me, and you will not live long enough to regret it.''