//------------------------------// // 7 Lost Spark // Story: The Line Between Fire and Light // by Stolenalicorn //------------------------------// James leaned back in the chair of his office/quarters on the Citadel. Much to his irritation the Salarian government had reopened negotiations once it's network discovered that the same supplies were being traded to New Guardia at a lesser price than the one they had received. Even attempting to drag James into it beyond being facilitation. The Salarians would get riled up and start huffing and bringing in nonsensical examples to muddy negotiations but Jurai was firm on their stance, they could either deal at the already agreed upon price or lose the deal all together. James had to remind the Salarians that if they attempted to use New Guardia to drive prices again he would shut down all trade with the offending government, even the Citadel itself if necessary. That threat was enough to bring the Asari and Human Councilors to his side and the Turian Councilor wouldn't take sides in this business, but there needed to be no opposition for the trades to continue. The Salarian government would have to either cave or surrender it's trade agreements, which it was not willing to do. The only thing accomplished here was wasting James's time. Had it not been the Councilor and one of Juria's ruling families James could have walked away and reassigned a negotiator to the problem and not have to worry about it. But as it stood he was going to be here longer than he wanted. He looked out his window over the Presidium and couldn't help but remember a time when this place was somewhere he loved to visit, and not just another headache. He almost wished he had brought Twilight along even if she wouldn't be allowed to remember anything, her marveling at it could at least bring some vicarious joy to the place again. His Omnitool alerted him that he had a new message. He didn't care if it was spam right now, at least it would be a distraction. He grinned slightly as he saw it was from Liara. Clearly this meant that something interesting was happening. “I'd say sorry to bother you, but I know how much you enjoy these trade conferences. I located the Salarian informant and have replaced him with one of my operatives, tomorrow they'll get word that due to a shortage Jurai's prices have doubled for not only the station, but for their own universe. The Salarians will leap at the current offer then, maybe even make a generous offer for any surplus we may have. The Jurians in the mean time will receive a message about the stockpile of human medigel the Salarians are holding. They'll be willing to accept the current price after the Salarian insult with a shipment of that coming your way. Along with our fees paid for facilitating the exchange of course.” James smiled as the message ended, he hit the reply icon and began typing. “Thanks Liara. You have no idea how much I needed that. Unless you've got a camera in my suite, then you also know a few more uncomfortable things.” Less than a minute after sending the message a reply came from Liara. “1428 Opened text. I fucking hate that Salarian bitch, I want to give her a super sayian smack, but that would compromise the Citadel's environment. They may have a lot of intel but they don't know jack shit about inter-universal trade. (deleted)” “Writing a letter you don't send is a valid psychological tool for humans, but you're unusually stressed right now. I'd offer some advice, but I'm an information broker, not a psychologist. Maybe a vacation would help. P.S. Yes, there's a camera and microphone. And you've been on the edge of super sayian for a while now. And tell my father hello, she wants to go to the arena. That should help you blow off a little steam.” With a sigh, James once again stared blankly out his window. There really were a lot of places he could go, even if he just stuck to New Guardia. The reason that he didn't go around the station was he knew it all so well, being the one who designed it. His mind drifted back to Twilight's enthusiastic request that she come to the negotiations. He kind of missed having that wide eyed wonder. Though never over anything so boring as trade negotiations. I wonder if Celestia ever misses that, by all accounts she deals with shit like this all the time too. It was then that James realized that while he couldn't exactly feel that himself, he could still see it on their faces if he brought them to New Guardia. And that thought brought a smile to his face. The wonder of new worlds was something he missed so much. Even when he went to Equestria, his thinking wasn't about how it's a new world. It was just another First Contact mission. He remembered how his daughters smiled as they looked around, and how he laughed as they flailed. James took out paper and pen and began writing a list of places to visit. Places he designed from pictures books and movies, places he could lead friends to and explain why he recreated them here. He knew the history of each landmark he had placed and had stories to tell with most of them. But there was so much to show, and he was certain that they'd want to look around Truce as well. Of course that meant putting out a citizen advisory that a new species was going to arrive. But that wouldn't be a big problem, the citizens of Truce were used to alien visitors and sentient equine shouldn't be an issue, especially after Rarity, Twilight, and himself in pony form wandered the streets for a week. It would simply be a larger group. As James planned his Omnitool alerted him again. “I got a bottle of Ryncol and an arena slot. You wanna go at this with fire or fists?” James couldn't help but laugh as he read the message from Liara's father. “Fists. But no Rynchol for me, I've got trade shit in the morning.” “The hell do you mean “No Ryncol for me, I need two bottles of Ryncol”? Get your ass down here and let's show these panty wastes what fighting really looks like.” Her message read. James laughed harder at the crass matriarch as he read her latest message. “See you soon you crazy bitch.” “Save the pillow talk for little wings, lover boy. PS. We're fighting STG sims and the bets are going wild already.” She replied. James knew immediately that Liara had arranged the whole thing to help him blow off steam. He really needed to do something nice for her as thanks. “Want to go in handicapped? Maybe give them half a chance?” “Yeah, don't need those little shits thinking we cheated.” James could practically hear her voice as he read her response. James had no idea where the camera was, but he nodded anyway and told Liara thank you aloud before going to meet her father for the combat sim. – – – – – – – – – – – – – The evening sun cast an orange hue over Ponyville, even the reflected light around Princess Twilight's castle had grown dimmer. All around town ponies were preparing to turn in for the night. A door creaked in the castle as it opened and through it came a chestnut colored alicorn with a blond mane, his clothes were his usual blue hakamashita and white haori. James grumbled to himself again to get some oil for the hinges before they got worse. “Oh, hi James.” Spike said as he walked over to investigate. “I wasn't expecting to see you for a while.” James shrugged as he approached. “Frankly I needed a break. The negotiations turned sour fast and it was only because of Liara that they didn't drag on for another few months. “Sorry to hear that.” Spike calmly said. “But they ended well right?” “Nope. But they ended and that's the important part.” James paused a moment as he thought about the conversation. “Is Twilight out, or are you genuinely curious about trade deals?” “Neither. I just thought you might need to talk, that's all.” Spike said with a smile. James smiled rubbed the top of Spike's head with his hoof. “Thanks, but I'd rather talk about something less unpleasant.” “Then you might want to avoid Twilight.” Spike suggested. “She has a whole list of questions to ask about it.” “And you had to write it, I bet.” James said as he shook his head. “And rewrite it, and rewrite it, and rewrite it … She really wants to know what you talked about.” “Suffice to say that friendship plays no part in these talks.” James muttered. “Well, that answers question four.” Spike happily said. “I'd probably stay and talk, but it's getting late and I bet you both would like some sleep. If Twilight asks, just let her know I'll be back in the morning.” “Oh, alright. So where are you going for the night?” “Figured I'd spend some time with Princes Luna. Who knows, you might just see me tonight after all.” James calmly said as he walked to the front door. “Given that means having a nightmare, I think I'd rather not.” Spike said as James walked out the door. Shortly after leaving James took off into the air, flying towards Canterlot and Princess Luna's balcony where she would watch over the dreams of the ponies of Equestria. James landed as Luna began raising the moon. Quietly he watched, observing her technique to compare her experience to how he had instructed Twilight Sparkle to attempt raising the sun. He would have to make time in the morning to observe Celestia as well. “Oh, hello James.” Luna said as the moon began to crawl across the sky without her help. “What brings you out here at night.” “Just coming to visit, that and my curiosity about your nighttime duties.” James calmly answered as he sat near by. “I'm afraid I don't have the time to explain tonight, unless you have that “Fade Walker” spell you spoke of.” Luna hid her sarcasm at the concept of a spell that mimics her abilities as something one might find in an old tome. “I do.” James said with a smile. “I wanted to see if the spell would work here and didn't want to just come into the dream realm without your knowledge.” Luna smiled as she considered it. If it failed then nothing would happen, if it worked then she would have someone to talk to this night. Figuring there was no harm in letting him try, she nodded. James's horn took on it's dark aura with golden fringe, the aura slowly wrapping itself around his whole body. With a flash, he vanished. Not knowing what had happened, Luna decided to trust that this was supposed to happen, and began her nightly duties. Her horn glowed a dark violet as the scenery around her was wiped away in blackness. Carefully she opened her eyes. The creature before her was unlike any she had seen before. It stood on two legs with a flat face and forelimbs shorter than it's hind legs. She couldn't help but wonder how it moved around without toppling over. It's forelimbs ended in hands similar to that of an ape, clearly to allow it to grip things easier. It was clothed similar to how James had been, with the same wide legged pants layered shirts and long coat, however they were black instead of blue, and around it's waist it wore and a fur belt. It also had James's long hair and shadowed beard. Suddenly Luna realized that this must be James in his normal form. “James?” She cautiously ventured. “Hello.” James said with a smile. “I guess I should have realized that I would be in my normal form here. But then again this spell isn't the most reliable on what form one takes in the fade. Or dream realm, as is the case right now.” Luna paced around him cautiously, in this form he was taller than Celestia though not by much. She knew the alicorn wasn't his natural form, but she was expecting something more familiar somehow, and where was his tail that Tali had mentioned? “Don't worry, if the dream realm functions like the fade, anyone we encounter here will just see me as a background character. Nothing of note beyond the general chaos of a dream.” James calmly said. “Be that as it may, perhaps you should avoid any nightmares that arise this night.” Luna said as she regained her composure. “Oh, I didn't intend to interfere with your work. And let me know if you need any space. I'll back off.” James said as he held his hands up. “It may be interesting to have some company as I work tonight.” Luna said as she looked out over the dreams of Equestria. James looked over a drastically different realm than Luna did, while he didn't know just what she was seeing right now he was able to generally look at the same dreams she did. A scene shown itself in the distance, a tan earth pony with brown mane was running through wide round corridors. Trying to escape from metallic constructs who's shape was somewhere between a pyramid and cylinder with evenly spaced round protrusions along it's side. Near their top was a forward facing stalk with a glowing light at it's tip. “Daleks.” James muttered. Luna had not been looking to the same dream as James had, and couldn't help but wonder what he was talking about. “What?” James pointed to the dream that now laid before him. Luna's stare told him that she was not seeing what he was. “Um, Doctor Whooves, brown earth pony from Ponyville with an hourglass cutie mark. I can see his dream right now, and he's being chased by Daleks.” Luna's horn glowed as a door appeared in front of her. She opened it and walked through as James watched. With the sound of keys scraping against piano wire, Luna faded into the scene. Whooves continued to run from the creatures, from her distance he seemed distressed, but not outright frightened. “What are those things following you doctor?” She calmly asked. “I wish I could remember, it's been bothering me all day. Not that it really matters, I can see that since you're here this is clearly a dream and my plan should work marvelously. If only I knew where I had placed my screwdriver.” The sound of something hitting and rolling along the corridor floor caught both their attention as a blue handled screw driver rolled across their path. “Ah ha! There it is.” Whooves bent his head low and collected the screw driver in his mouth as he ran. Around the next bend the corridor came to an end, only a blue box with a door waited for them. “What is your plan Doctor?” Luna asked, her voice still calm. “Well, I just need to get this panel open and deactivate the static grid powering the creatures. Then we can simply leave in my box.” Whooves calmly answered as he trotted over to the wall and began working on a panel near the floor. Luna was now as curious as Whooves himself about the names of the creatures before she offered the name James had told her. “Are they Daleks?” Whooves stopped. “Yes, that's it. Many thanks Princess that's been bothering me all day … or rather night seeing as I'm asleep and all. Daleks, we're getting away from the Daleks. I'll remember the name next time. … Aaaand … Got it. We'll not being seeing those things for a while. Care to come along with me, Princess?” Luna shook her head, more at the general oddity of the night just beginning than as refusal. “My apologies doctor, but I'm afraid I must be leaving.” “Of course, you're a busy mare with lots of ponies to help. I wish you well on your journeys.” Luna nodded and walked through the door to the box, vanishing on the other side. James stood by the door as she returned. “Sorry to distract you.” He said. “I could see that it wasn't a nightmare, I was just curious about the Daleks.” “Did you give him the screwdriver?” Luna asked. “The Doctor needs his screwdriver.” James answered with a smile. “Well, not always.” “It would seem that “Fade Walker” spell is as impressive as you told me.” Luna said, keeping the disappointment out of her voice. “Yeah, but it takes a lot of power to use. I only can because of my Demon's Blood Talisman, but most who attempt the spell need either a large group casting at the same time or even larger amounts of a substance called Lyrium to have enough power to cast the spell. And Lyrium is dangerous at it's best so those who can use this spell are few and far between.” James explained. Luna was curious as she had never heard of anyone who'd even conceived of such a spell. “How did you come across this spell?” “I first saw it being used in a rite a group of sorcerers used to test it's newest members. The dream realm in their land is a dangerous place, with real monsters that often follow them into the waking world.” James continued as he used his illusion magic to weave an image of the fade and it's demons. “This rite is to show that the sorcerer is capable of defending themselves against these dangers as the dream realm is also the source of their power.” He deliberately avoided mentioning that he stole the spell, at least long enough to copy it. A scream rang out in the distance and Luna turned to face the dream immediately. “I fear we must discuss this another time. I've my work to do.” Luna said as she found the door to the dream she needed. James looked out over his own landscape, searching for the nightmare Luna had just stepped into. Across his landscape he could see multiple iterations of Princess Luna each in their own situation. None of them appeared to be nightmare, however. Even in ones where she's fighting it seems the Pony dreaming is scared more as a part to play than any real fear. Much as Hooves was only running because his dream called for it. James spent much of the night watching the dreams of the ponies, occasionally talking with Luna as she returned to search for more nightmares to resolve. James could clearly see Luna enjoyed her work, even as it exhausted her she would smile when she was able to guide another pony to confronting their problem. In the distance James noticed something unusual. He could hear his voice, sternly talking numbers about apples. James looked around for a shortcut to the dream without stepping into someone else's dream. With the irregular dimensions of a dream he only needed to take a few steps before he found himself in Twilight Sparkles' dream. He was in his alicorn form and seated next to her as he spoke to several nebulous pony shaped things about prices and trading. His dream self was talking far more formally and politely than he ever did in these negotiations. It was all he could do to not laugh outright at the scene before him. The room looked similar to the conference room in Twilight's castle but the ceiling opened up into star field not unlike one that could be seen from New Guardia on some nights. “Is this really what you were interested in? The trade and not the new horizons?” James calmly asked Twilight as he stood behind her. Twilight suddenly jumped from her seat as the talking stopped abruptly and all eyes were on him. “James, what are you doing there?” Twilight asked as she started to calm down. The dream characters fading out around them. “I just heard myself talking and thought I'd come and see what I had to say.” James said with a grin. “Wait, what do you see when you look at me?” “I see you. What else would I see?” Twilight asked. “I mean, do you see me as an alicorn?” James tried to clarify. Twilight paused as she tried to answer. She definitely saw him, but specifically what she saw she didn't know, nor could she begin to describe it. Something about him seemed nebulous and not fixed, despite it's definite shape. “I don't actually know what I'm seeing.” She eventually said. “Interesting. Oh well, you still haven't answered my first question. Was it the negotiations and not the new sights that interested you?” “Well, both really. There's so much to learn about other cultures, and you were going to be talking with two of them and getting them to see eye to eye on something. That's amazing.” Twilight explained as she trotted around the room. “Oh, not eye to eye, but we got them to agree on something. If you want, I can use a little illusion to show you where I went to. I can't show you much more than that.” Twilight's face lit up as she heard James's offer. “That would be amazing!” James smiled as he focused on the Presidium and began to weave the illusion throughout the dream. He gave Twilight a general tour of the area telling her about the history of each point they stopped at. “Are you sure it's alright to be telling me all this?” Twilight eventually asked. James shrugged before he spoke. “Neither of us can be held accountable if you happen to accurately dream about a place you've never been. Just don't go telling everyone.” After what felt like hours James excused himself from Twilight's dream before returning to the area between dreams where he once again began his spell. Wrapped in the darkness of the magic amplified by the demon's blood talisman James faded away and back to the balcony where Luna still stood as she finished the last of her tasks in the dreams of the ponies. It was on another balcony not far from Luna's that James saw Celestia step out and look across the land. James squinted to get a better look as Celestia took a breath and closed her eyes. As she breathed out, her wings rose up along with the sun. James continued to watch until Celestia's eyes opened and she walked back inside. Luna's eyes opened shortly afterword and she followed a similar pattern to finish lowering the moon beyond the horizon. She yawned as she looked out to the sky before turning to see James, once again the familiar Alicorn. “Thank you for your company, it was refreshing to not have to be alone all night for once. And I trust Princess Twilight appreciates your circumnavigation to safely give her a look into another world.” Luna said, politely fighting off another yawn. James nodded as he decided to get the ball rolling on his idea, it was as much for his benefit as theirs anyway. “I'll let you get your rest, Luna. I appreciate you're allowing me to have a look in your realm. And one thing to think about, I've been considering bringing some friends and their families up to New Guardia to see some of the sights themselves. If you and your sister would be interested. And don't worry about your responsibilities, I can assure you that you'd be back the same day you left, no matter how long you choose to stay.” Luna fought to keep her eyes open as she considered the proposal. “That sound's like a generous offer.” James held a hoof up as he continued. “You don't need to give me an answer right away, feel free to think it over and discuss with whoever you like. I'll be ready regardless of your reply. Have a good day, princess. Rest well.” James slowly rose from the balcony and began to fly off towards Ponyville. From his saddlebag a large can flew out, the top popped open and hovered in front of James's mouth. He took a sip as he thought about who to visit first. Then again, this early, no one should be awake yet. With a shrug and a gulp from his drink, James decided to fly more leisurely and see what there was along his path back. He took another drink as he got closer to Ponyville. It was getting active now as the day began, however he didn't have long to enjoy the scenery as something crashed into him hard. James barely moved but the distraction caused him to lose his focus and drop his drink. There were more important issues at the moment however as the pony that hit him was falling as well. James didn't even take the time to register her as he dove down and caught her. Holding her in his forelegs as he touched down carefully on the ground. “Hi James!” Pinky shouted from the distance. “Is this yours?” She continued as she held up his energy drink. “It smells yummy, can I have some?” James was more focused on the dazed pegasus, and generally ignored Pinky Pie anyway. “Sorry about that.” He said as he looked her over. James adjusted his grip so he could hold her with one limb as he started a low level healing spell, just in case. He could easily recognize the pony now as Derpy Hooves, she opened her eyes as the spell did it's work and they gradually settled into their normal placement. James wasn't completely sure she could see him well given only one eye seemed to be looking at him. Mostly. “Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there.” She said, trying to shrink into him in her embarrassment. “That's alright.” James calmly said. “I'm taking that as a yes!” Pinkie shouted again and immediately began finishing the rest of the can. “I wasn't paying attention at that moment. Sorry Derpy.” James said once again tuning out Pinkie Pie. Derpy's face fell as she heard her name. “Nopony calls me Derpy anymore.” “Sorry, I didn't know you changed it.” James said as he put her back on her hooves. Derpy tried to not look at James as she explained her name. “Oh, no. Nopony calls me Derpy because they got angry at me for that being my name.” “That's ridiculous. It's your name, if it doesn't bother you why should they have a problem with it. Now if someone were using your name to hurt someone else then they can get mad, but not at you.” “It's okay.” Derpy said as she lowered her head. “It's just my name.” “Exactly! It's your name. Don't let them bully you for your name.” James insisted, he'd had his own problems with that when he was a child and it still irked him that it happened. Derpy looked at James and couldn't help but see his smile. “Thanks. Uhm … Muffin?” She pulled a small basket of muffins from her saddle bag and offered it to James. James let out a single laugh as he looked down at her and smiled. “Sure, but only if you have one too.” James nearly jumped as Pinkie sprung up behind him and shouted. “I love muffins!” Pinkie took three muffins and shoved them in her mouth before she began listing her favorite muffins in order of color starting with her favorite and moving on to her absolute favorite. While Pinkie was distracted by her own hyper talking James and Derpy escaped down an nearby street. As they walked James began to laugh. “Oh, I've never seen Pinkie Pie so excited before. I wonder what could be going on.” Derpy said as she cautiously walked along the street. James couldn't help but remember an incident over ten years ago where he was hiding from an excitable Asari in the Presidium who reminded him heavily of Pinkie right now. She was a fan who was actually able to put the pieces together pretty well about his interactions with the council, and even guessed that he was a species that the council races had never before encountered. “Hey, Derpy. You want to hear a story?” James asked as he stopped laughing. Derpy looked over to James and her face brightened. “Ooh, I like stories.” The day seemed to pass by too quickly as James recounted stories from his long life, some funny, some adventurous, and even a hand full of sad stories. Eventually he remembered he already had plans that he needed to get to that day. With a wave and the promise of more stories he walked off back to Twilight's castle. As James walked into the castle Applejack met him in the foyer. “Hey, James. You know what's wrong with Pinkie Pie?” James chuckled a moment. “I don't think anyone will ever know what's wrong with her.” Applejack frowned at him for a moment before she rephrased her question. “I mean, do you know what's with Pinkie Pie today. First she was actin' like she couldn't stop, now getting her going is impossible. She said she drank something you gave her.” James stopped and stared for a moment. “I didn't give Pinkie anything. First I saw her was when she popped up behind me and started chattering about muffins. I couldn't get a word in edgewise so I walked away while she just kept going.” “Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash said accusingly as she flew into the room. “I found this can, just like Pinkie described.” She dropped James's empty energy drink can in front of him. James levitated it off the floor. “I was wondering where this had gone. I dropped it when Derpy crashed into me and couldn't find it when I came back after Pinkie's onslaught.” “Wait, Derpy told you her name?” Rainbow Dash asked, her concern suddenly shifting. If Derpy were starting to go by her name again this was huge. She'd been so upset when everyone was mad at her for using that name and demanding she change it. “No, I already knew it. But do you know how much it's hurt her to not be allowed her own name because some people think it's offensive to others.” James complained as he looked to Rainbow Dash, no less irritated as she had been. “I know.” Rainbow Dash said as she came to land near James. She agreed wholeheartedly and was more than ready to talk about this with someone who agreed with her. “I mean, she can be a real klutz and messes things up a lot. But that's no reason to not let her have her name.” Rainbow Dash said. “Exactly!” James proclaimed, venting his frustration. “I can't help but think we've gotten off track here.” Applejack muttered at the total shift in topic. “Could you ponies please keep it down, Pinkie's headache is getting worse.” Fluttershy quietly said as she entered the room. A loud moan followed her entrance, and Fluttershy turned back to the door and whispered gently even by her already quiet standards. An agonized “You're forgiven.” soon followed. James gave a concerned look to the three girls in the foyer and walked to the door Fluttershy just left. Pinkie Pie laid face down with her head on the cold floor, moaning occasionally. Her hair once again looked deflated and her tail wrapped around her. She appeared to be trying to hold her head together with her hooves and most surprisingly she made no effort to greet anyone. James quietly walked over to her as his omnitool blinked to life. It ran a basic triage diagnostic program as it scanned her. While not set up for Ponies it was able to tell James some information once he also scanned Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy. He looked at the readout as the rest of the group, save Fluttershy, stood around him marveling at the device composed entirely of light. The moment James had the information he wanted, his omnitool blinked out and he started pulling supplies out of his bag causing Pinkie to moan more at the noise. James walked up to Twilight as he checked the bottle of pills he had just pulled out of his bag. “Twilight, I need an empty glass please.” He whispered as he opened the bottle and brought two pills out. Twilight nodded and vanished, causing Pinkie to moan louder. “What's wrong with her?” She quietly asked when she reappeared, glass floating between her and James. “I'll explain once her headache is on the mend.” James answered as he levitated the glass in front of him and poured out a small measure of fizzy yellow liquid from a green bottle. It floated beside him along with two small white pills and a large chocolate bar. “Here Pinkie.” James whispered. “Eat this, I promise after I've given you all this you'll start feeling better.” Pinkie Pie raised her bloodshot eyes to the chocolate bar James levitated in front of her face. Without moving her limbs she reached out and took several bites of the chocolate. James pulled the bar away after and brought up the pills and fizzy drink. “Now take these pills with this drink.” Pinkie opened her mouth and James floated the pills in and gently tipped the glass until she was drinking. “Drink the whole thing now.” James calmly urged. Once the glass was empty Pinkie Pie started to stand and gave a weak smile. “That did help.” She said, oddly sedate. “What was all that?” Twilight asked. “I've been trying everything I could think of and nothing was working.” James sat down near the table and shook his head. “The chocolate was to get her body to start releasing endorphins, a natural pain killer. The pills were an anti-inflammatory to treat the problem. And the drink was a caffeinated soda to dilate her blood vessels and speed up the process. Bit of the hair of the dog that bit you.” “What?” A couple of the girls asked in unison. “Getting the solution for a problem from what caused the problem.” James quickly said. “Though the problem is that she drank one of my drinks and has never had anything like it before so her body wasn't used to just how powerful it was. Extending the dog analogy, what she drank earlier was like a wolf pack what I just gave her right now was more like Wynona.” “Then why in Equestria did you give it to her?” Rarity asked. “I didn't. I lost the drink earlier and never saw it again until Rainbow Dash dropped it at my feet. I thought someone had just decided to throw it away.” James explained. “I saw you drop it.” Pinkie said as she began to regain her chipper tone. “I was going to bring it back to you when I smelled it, and it just smelled so yummy. I asked if I could have some and heard you say “That's alright.”” James smacked his hoof to his face. “Pinkie, I was talking to someone else and didn't hear you. If you're going to ask if you can have something of mine, please make sure I know what's going on. I would have given you a taste if I had known you'd asked, but not enough to do this to you. That's extremely powerful stuff, I drink it because I'm so used to it that it barely effects me anymore.” “Why would you drink something like that in the first place?” Applejack asked, genuinely shocked. “To stay awake. With all of the other worlds I go to having a regular sleep schedule isn’t an option.” James said easily. “Speaking of, Pinkie I'll need to give you one last thing just before you go to sleep or you might not get any tonight.” “What?” Pinkie asked, almost fully back to her former self. James shrugged as he spoke. “Again, that stuff is really powerful. And by this time there's no magic to remove it's effects, we just have to counter them as they come up. Another being that you'll probably want more. In addition to being powerful, it's also addictive. That one you'll just have to use will power. I'll help by not bringing the good ones anymore.” “James, darling. Why would you start drinking the stuff if you knew it was going to do all this?” Rarity asked, genuinely concerned. James shook his head as he turned to Rarity. “Well I didn't know that when I started, I was younger than Sweetie Belle. I'm better than I used to be though. I don't actually need it anymore, unless I need to stay awake after an all nighter. But that comes with it's own problems.” James looked around the table and saw that everyone was looking at him, not upset now as much as they looked sympathetic. James didn't care for the looks and decided to change the subject before he had to explain more issues he's put up with over the years. “So I've got an idea for everyone if you want to hear.” James said forcing a convincing smile. “Uhm. Okay, what is it?” Rainbow Dash eventually asked. James looked around the room as he prepared to make the suggestion, knowing that he couldn't take it back once he let it out there. “I'd like to take all of you on a vacation up to New Guardia.” The room was completely silent as the suggestion registered. Applejack was the first to speak up. “Wait, take us up to your home?” “Well, not just you. It extends to close family as well. Sorry, but the whole Apple clan might be a bit much for the plan as it stands.” James said as he remembered just how big Applejack's family could be. “What about pets?” Fluttershy asked. “Only one or two. Sorry.” James quietly answered “How close of family?” Twilight asked. James grinned. “Parents and siblings mostly. I can make some understandable exceptions and allow more than just that. I wouldn't expect Applejack to leave behind Granny Smith after all. And if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle came Scootaloo would definitely stow away. So it's better she just have an invitation.” “Just how long will this vacation be?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I have Wonder Bolt practice to get to after all.” James simply smiled as he gestured to Rarity and Twilight. “Care to answer this one for me?” “What ever could you mean?” Rarity asked. “I think he means it doesn't matter how long the vacation is, we'll be back the day we left. He's got that time machine. But when we were in New Guardia we had to leave after a week.” James nodded. “Sorry, that was a scheduling problem on my end. I had a summit to get to shortly after Celestia's party and needed to put the first contact mission on hold for it. Even with the time machine if they knew I was on a mission or in New Guardia they would have thought I wasn't taking the summit seriously. More political garbage.” “So you're saying we could spend as long as we like and not miss a day here?” Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically. “Yeah but you need to know, just because we're going back in time doesn't mean you're the same age as when you left. I'm over five hundred years old and I was only born seventy years ago.” “Well when is this miraculous vacation, darling.” Rarity asked eagerly. “Not for a little while. I still have to do some hiring and get the cruise ship ready, plot out the final course and supply. I'm also anticipating a week or so in Truce to decompress before returning.” Rarity was grinning from ear to ear at the list of what still had to be done. “A cruise ship?! As in a real luxury liner?” James gave her a half grin as he spoke. “What can I say; It's good to be king.” “What all will be happening?” Applejack asked, not as sold on the idea as Rarity. “Things to interest everyone hopefully. On the ship there will be a full spa, along with restaurants; formal and casual both, and a library loaded with books from many other worlds. On land I was thinking of showing you to some of the more interesting points that most of the citizens don't even know about yet. Though that will take time to get to from the water, so there will be some camping too. There will be a few lectures available about some features of the station. Including the local wildlife. And stargazing obviously, with some really interesting things to see in the night sky as well. The full manifest isn't written up yet, so you can decide after seeing what all's available.” “I think that could be fun.” Twilight said with a wide smile. “I know I for one would love to go. And I'll pass your invitation to Shining Armor and Cadance as well.” “And your parents if you'd like them to come along.” James said with a nod. Rainbow Dash looked around embarrassed, she loved her parents but she did not want them to know about most of her current life. Especially somewhere trapped with her friends and a princess. “I think I'll just come on my own.” Rainbow uncomfortably said. “Maude would love to come!” Pinkie shouted before gripping her head in agony again. “Maybe mom and dad will come too.” She said much more quietly. “I'd love to see the animals up there.” Fluttershy quietly said as she smiled. “Well, I guess Granny and Big Mac could do with some time off the farm.” Applejack eventually said. “You didn't have to make your decision right away. The schedule isn't even finished yet.” James chuckled. Twilight's face and tone were friendly as she looked to James. “It sounds wonderful James. And I for one look forward to finding out everything that's planned.” James's mind came to sharp focus while he was looking around the room. Once again, he realized just how invested he found himself in this group and this country. “Glad to hear it. I'm not going to do anything else today though, I'm keeping an eye on Pinkie until she's asleep. Just making sure there's no serious side effects from the drink. It wasn’t made with ponies in mind after all.” Even as out of it as Pinkie was, James was astonished at how much she did for the remainder of the day. Though some of the other effects of her mild overdose were becoming apparent and James had to treat those on the go, eventually administering a mild sedative as Pinkie finally went to bed. It took seconds for the sedative to work and James walked away calmly as she snored behind him. “So do you know what happened with Pinkie Pie earlier?” Mrs. Cake asked James as he walked down the stairs. “Yeah, she drank something from my home that she wasn't ready for and it made her pretty sick.” James calmly answered. Mrs. Cake's eyes went wide at the news. “Drank something? Dear me, what was it?” James shook his head as he looked to the kindly baker. “Just something I keep with me when I'm going to be awake for more than a day at a time.” “That's horrible, you shouldn't stay awake like that. It's not good for you.” She said as she walked next to James. James chuckled at her concern, though he did genuinely appreciate the thought. “Yeah, but sometimes the work won't wait. Don't worry I've made it a point to never go longer than sixty four hours. Not after what happened to my dad when he went seventy, or my friend who went for seventy two. Things get a little weird when you've been awake that long.” Mrs. Cake thought for a moment before she hurried and blocked James's way out. “Now you listen here, if you've been using that stuff to stay awake you need to get to bed right now.” She was doing her best to sound stern. “It's not healthy for you to work that long, no matter what it is it can wait. Now we've got a spare bed you can use tonight so just stay here.” James nodded his head slightly before vanishing and reappearing beyond the door. “Thanks for the offer Mrs. Cake, but as I said; the work just won't wait. It's almost done though so I'll be getting to sleep soon. No need to worry.” James said as he took to the air outside and flew away towards Twilight's castle. Mrs. Cake looked on as he flew away, hoping that nothing happened to him on his way.