//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: My Little Pony: Symphony of Fire 
// by LordStarKnight 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 9

Pinkie's gaze was in deep thinking in the bright orange of the rising sun. Her eyebrows were intensely frowned. Her lips were stained with chocolate and her eyes reflected a thousand complex calculations that crossed her mind to solve the conundrum she faced. She had been thinking about it for a long time, but no matter the angle of approach, no solution seemed to reveal itself.

"I’ve never had to solve such a complicated situation before, Gummy," she admitted.

The little alligator blinked an empty eye, while the pink pony fretted. She had no choice but to accept the conclusion before her.

“This party can only take place this evening and everything is against us.”

The pastry chef was like a queen before her council. She started pacing very seriously, even though said council consisted of stuffed animals, candy, and her pet reptile.

"Besides, everypony must be busy today." An epiphany seemed to strike her. "Wait. Everyone except... Of course!"






A mass with ebony hair was snoring on the sofa under Vinyl Scratch’s gaze, masked by her glasses. The sleeper was still holding his red guitar with his fingertips, as well as a completely empty cider bottle. Others were lying on the ground like the victims of an ogre's feast. Octavia finished going down the stairs to join her DJ friend, a yawn on her lips.

"Good morning Vin..." The musician pony stopped when her eyes fell on the sofa. “Did he stand there all night?”

Vinyl simply nodded. Her friend didn't have time to comment on this because someone knocked on the door. Octavia, curious to find out who could come and see them so early, opened it and came face to face with the element of laughter.

"Hello!" greeted the pink pony without waiting. "Sorry to bother you before breakfast, but I need to wake up Kenneth."

Disconcerted, the musician replied.

"How do you know that..." Octavia cut her thoughts off when she remembered who she was talking to. “Never mind. You are free to try, but I warn you: he stayed up late and drank a lot it seems.”

Pinkie leapt up to the metalhead who was snoring like a pig. She patted him with her hoof first. No reaction. Then she tried to shake him. Still no results. She thought for a moment, then a bright idea came to her mind. She rummaged in her mane and by some unknown miracle brought out an air horn she pressed with all her strength. The whole house shook, Octavia and Vinyl plugged their ears and Kenneth jumped with his eyes wide open, tense as if he were taking a powerful electric shock.

The second she finished blowing it, the human grabbed the instrument and threw it mercilessly against a wall, on which it broke in a thousand pieces. Kenneth turned his bloodshot eyes to the party pony, who continued to smile and announced, "don't worry, I have a good stock of this."

“ARE YOU CRAZY ?!” yelled the metalhead. "You don't wake up someone with a hangover like that!"

Before he could say all the insults he had in mind, he stopped under the overwhelming weight of pain. He stood there for a moment, his head in his hands, groaning like a rabid dog while Vinyl brought him an aspirin and a glass of water with her magic. Kenneth thanked her and swallowed it all in one go. It wasn’t his first hangover, but it was the first time he was woken up this way. He turned back to the person to whom he owed it and groaned.

"Pinkie... why did you do that?"

"To wake you up, of course!"

"Don't piss me off!" he said angrily. "I want to know why you did it!"

The pastry chef's good humor remained as unruffled as a rock in front of a storm.

"Because I need your help."

“MY help? Are you drunk too?”

“Nope. I limit my alcohol consumption to the bare minimum to make the most of every party.”

"And… what exactly would you need me for?"

"I want to organize one, except that I have a lot of work planned this week. We had big orders with the next Grand Galloping Gala coming. So, if I want to do it, I have to prepare it for tonight, and on my own, I'll have some trouble since I also have to work for the Cake family.”

"Don't you have, like, a ton of friends to ask for this?"

"Oh yes, but they have jobs too and I don't want to disturb them."

"What about me?"

Octavia cleared her throat to attract his attention and explained politely.

"Kenneth, all you do for the day is sleep, drink and play music. I have no problem with this last point, but you have to admit that you haven't been very productive since your arrival.”

Before the young man could reply, the pink pony grabbed his sleeve and pulled him after her.

“Come on!” she declared enthusiastically. “I just need you for a minute.”

Kenneth escaped her grip and declared, annoyed, “No freaking way! I don't want to bake cakes and blow up balloons.”

To the surprise of the metalhead, Pinkie's mane, usually curly like a wild bush, began to deflate. Her little pony eyes shined like two large drops of water and she began to whine like an abandoned puppy. All the young man’s anger gave way to astonishment. He had no idea how to react. All the ideas that came to his mind seemed bad or cruel in front of this.

"Kenneth ..." Octavia called out to him. "She was the one who defended you when you yourself weren’t helping."

The human looked again at Pinkie. Her eyes growed to become two ponds of tears. Her lips started to shake. Kenneth groaned before exploding.

"ALRIGHT ! I’ll do it."

The pink pony's mane swelled up and she got her radiant smile back just as quickly. She jumped up, shouting “Yipee!” before thanking the grumpy metalhead as he put on his checkered shirt, groaning as a tear on his sleeve got bigger. The human left the house, explaining that he wanted to end it quickly. He only realized a little further that Pinkie wasn’t with him. He called out, curious, and she appeared as a flash, apologizing.

"Sorry, I had to say something to Octavia and Vinyl before I forgot."

The element of laughter showed him the way, the human growling behind her.







The smell of fresh-baked brownies wafted through the warm summer air as Mr. Cake began his day at Sugar Cube Corner. The sound of softly chirping birds, eager to start their own mornings, put a spring in his step as he went about restocking the bakery glass. The smooth, polished case glinted in the morning sun. As he sampled one of the brownies, his moth was flooded with a soft, smooth, and chocolatey goodness that proved this batch was perfect, just like his wife always made them.

However, he wondered where Pinkie was. There was no shortage of work and he would need help, especially with the twins. The bell at the entrance tinkled, and the pastry chef saw his dear assistant, but his greetings blocked in his throat and his eyes widened. Right behind her was the famous human who had frightened half of the city. He entered the shop, lowering his head so as not to bang against the top of the door. The pony didn’t know what to do with this colossus with an angry face, like a beast whose shadow stretched up to him.

“Hi Mr. Cake!” exclaimed Pinkie with joy. “This is Kenneth. He came to help me with the party I’m preparing for tonight.”

Intimidated by this gigantic creature with a blood and ink colored shirt, torn in places, Mr. Cake managed to pronounce only weak greetings, to which the stranger replied softly. The musician seemed to remember an important detail and called out to the pastry chef.

"Are you the one making those cupcakes that Pinkie made me taste?"

"Hmm ... The recipes are from my wife and I, yes."

Kenneth looked away, as if embarrassed by something he dared not admit. He nevertheless succeeded in doing it.

“Well… They are… pretty good.”

The fear of Mr. Cake was tempered by surprise. He thanked the human while stammering, while Pinkie was enthusiastic, delighted to see them already getting along according to her. The metalhead quickly asked Pinkie what she wanted him to do. She pulled a package of five colored envelopes from behind the counter and handed it to him.

“If you could deliver the invitations while I’m cooking, that would be great.”

Kenneth grasped the letters and quickly recognized the names marked on them with colored pencils and glitter.

"You want me to bring these to your friends?"

"That’s it," confirmed Pinkie.

The human growled with exasperation.

"You know they hate me," he reminded. "As soon as they see me, they’ll tell me to go away."

"They don't hate you, silly," corrected a laughing Pinkie. "They just need to get to know you."

“Are you fucking blind or...?”

The young man suddenly stopped and opened his eyes wide. Pinkie turned, as did Mr. Cake, to find what had caught his eye. Just coming down the stairs, Mrs. Cake had entered the room with her two little toddlers on the back, the twins Pumpkin and Pound, chirping while playing with their hooves under the watchful gaze of their mother. She worried when she spotted the human.

"Oh, look who’s awake..." said Pinkie.

At a speed that impressed Pinkie herself, Kenneth grabbed the letters and ran off into the streets of Ponyville screaming, "I’m on it!"

Everyone in the Sugarcube Corner, including the babies, exchanged confused looks, particularly Pinkie, who wondered what happened. Convincing him had been much easier than she would have thought.







The Golden Oak Library was as quiet as usual. Twilight Sparkle finished putting away a book she had just studied looking for information regarding the Canticle of Truth, without success, while Spike finished cleaning the place. He felt that his friend was starting to get discouraged. There was no reference to any Ivory Tower in the Equestrian encyclopedias, or a place called Dream Garden. She sighed as she returned to the classification of the returned books, disappointed with her failure. Somepony knocked at the door. She wondered if she had forgotten to put the “Open” sign on it. Spike walked over to it and opened it, very surprised by who he found behind.

“Hi Kenneth,” said the little dragon, surprising the librarian in turn. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey kiddo, I have a letter for Nerd.”

"It's TWILIGHT!" screamed the mare, heading for the door.

The purple unicorn joined them and was openly not delighted to see him. The last time he had seen him, two days ago, he had left her with Princess Luna and even more questions than before. She found his attitude so frustrating that just thinking about him, she wanted to break something.

“Still in your books?” he asked with a smirk.

“I manage a library, what do you expect?”

“I don’t know. Some dark ritual to summon Yog Sothoth?”

“I don’t do dark magic!”

“That’s exactly what an evil witch would say.”

Twilight growled before trying to cut off the conversation.

“What kind of letter is it?”

“An invitation to Pinkie’s party,” he informed, handing her the purple envelope with her name.

Twilight levitated the mail and opened it immediately. She recognized Pinkie’s writing style. She asked Kenneth, very suspicious, why he was the deliverer of this mail, but his explanation puzzled her. She asked him, as if it were the most important element in her next decision, "Will you be at the party?"

“Hell no! Balloons and confetti are really not my kind of stuff.”

Twilight didn't reveal it, but she felt relieved. She thanked, with difficulty, the musician before he turned on her heels. Twilight started closing the door when the musician called out to her again.

“Oh wait! Do you know where I can find your friends?”

Twilight didn't have time to think about it before Spike proposed with a suspicious enthusiasm, “I can guide him.”

“Are you sure?”  asked Twilight, worried.

“Yeah. He’ll finish faster if I show him the way, and I guess you’ll be reassured with somepony keeping an eye on him.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but ended up admitting with a sight.

“Fair point. Just be careful, alright?”

“Sure thing.”

The dragon joined Kenneth and directed him to the nearest destination, under Twilight's worried and nervous look.






The walk to the Carrousel Boutique was a silent one. Kenneth was trying to breathe calmly to relax and reduce his headache, and sometimes, without understanding why, he caught Spike staring at him like a curious statue. He preferred to ignore it. He already had enough to do with this invitation situation. Once in front of the merry-go-round store, Kenneth stood there for a moment, unsure of whether he should throw up or curse the kid who had imagined this world. Spike, impatient and smiling, pushed him into the store. The bell above the door rang.

“Just a minute please!” announced a cheery voice from the back of the shop.

Kenneth looked around and didn't seem the least bit surprised by what was around him. Wherever his gaze looked, the metalhead fell on colored fabric, frills, lace, and mannequins with dresses and jewelry. The grin he made stirred the curiosity of the young dragon.

“What?” he asked.

"I feel like I’m in a six-year-old girl’s dollhouse," he replied nauseously.

“Hey! Rarity is a very talented designer and her creations are amazing.”

"What the hell are you saying? She’s your girlfriend or what?"

The little lizard stammered, under the curious gaze of Kenneth, who arched an eyebrow. The sounds of rhythmic hooves were heard. The unicorn who ran this store entered the room with a noble posture and a radiant smile. With a quick gesture of the head, she drew from her face a strand from her purple and wavy mane, and when her eyes found Spike, she greeted him with joy.

"Oh! Good morning Spike.”

Then she saw Kenneth. Her eyes lost their spirit and her smile diminished to form a half haughty figure.

“Hello, Kenneth. Nice to see you.”

The young man looked amused.

“Wow! That’s the most convincing lie I’ve ever heard, Drama Queen.”

The unicorn simply turned her head, refusing to take up the insult made to her.

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

"I have an invitation from Pinkie for you. She's planning a party tonight. You take it and I'm out.”

The unicorn wasted no time in taking the white envelope with her magic.

“Thank you,” she said out of sheer politeness. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

Kenneth did not have to be asked. He turned on his heels and headed for the exit with Spike by his side.

"At least it was quick," he muttered.

“Dear Celestia!” screamed the unicorn, freezing the young man on the spot. “What happened to your shirt?!”

Kenneth didn't understand immediately. He tried to look behind his back but saw nothing in particular.

“What do you mean?”

"Why, it is full of tears!" Rarity informed him, scandalized.

"I guess my stay in the forest wasn’t easy on it," admitted Kenneth. “So what?”

“You can't go out with this on your back! As a fashion extraordinaire, I won’t allow it.”

"Why not? It gives it personality I would say.”

“No! You are simply ridiculous.”

"Why does it matter to you? Anyway, I'm leaving so..."

He realized that he was not advancing an inch as he walked towards the door. He noticed that he was enveloped in an aura of sky blue energy that kept him a few inches from the ground, and almost lost his balance when he was brought right in front of Rarity, her eyes raised towards his own.

“Take off your shirt,” she demanded.

“In general, the girls who ask me that…”

His joke was cut off when the magic that enveloped him turned him over like he was hanging from the ceiling. His face was now right in front of Rarity, and commanded with the mighty dignity of an empress, “Take - Off - Your - Shirt.”

For the first time in a while, Kenneth was speechless. The designer's piercing eyes made it clear to him that resisting was both unnecessary and dangerous. He groaned like a wolf, but Rarity remained unperturbed. He ended up taking off his precious shirt while Rarity grabbed the worn clothes with her magic, thanked him, and dropped him like an old bag.

“AWWW!” shouted Kenneth, his head aching again. “Fuck!”

“Language,” the unicorn responded.

Rarity then seized spools of thread and needles and began darning the garment. Now dressed in his sleeveless white top, Kenneth remarked, “Be careful with it, Drama Queen. It's my favourite."

"Darling, even if it belonged to my worst enemy, and even if the fabric is not of good quality, I will treat it with the same respect that any garment deserves."

Kenneth couldn't do anything but wait. He just sat against a wall, frowning. Spike joined him and the two of them began to wait for the designer to finish her work. Kenneth noticed the little dragon watching his Cthulhu tattoo with curiosity. When the child saw that he had been spotted, he looked away.

"What is it, kiddo?" asked Kenneth.

Spike played with his fingers, embarrassed. Kenneth waited until the child dared to speak.

"What you said last time, about your tattoo and your convictions; did you really mean it?"

“One hundred percent.”

"Isn’t it sad?" questioned Spike. “I mean… You seemed to say that nothing matters. Not even you.”

What Spike said awoke Rarity’s curiosity, who strained an ear towards the two boys.

"It's complicated," replied Kenneth, sighing, "and you're probably too young to understand."

“Hey!” the dragon said with anger. "I'm not that young. In pony years, I’m ten.”

Kenneth stared at him with a heavy, strange look, and the young dragon relaxed, curious, under its weight. The young man's voice did not reveal any emotion, whether it was sadness or anger.

“I don’t matter, kiddo.” Spike listened carefully. Rarity did the same while continuing to sew. ”No one matters. Many people spend their life doing things to make them feel otherwise, sometimes bad things. They even come to think that their life is more important than others’. Except that in the end, everything they were and did will eventually fall to dust and be forgotten. That’s how it is for everyone, without the slightest exception. I don't play music to be famous or because I think I can change the world with my voice, I do it because I like it. I don't care if my body disappears in the middle of nowhere or that no one remembers the name of Kenneth Marshall. This life is all I have. To say that I’m not important is to choose not to lose my few microseconds of existence in eternity to do unnecessary things that would make me feel like I am, especially receiving approval from the others. Since, as I said, no one is important. I only want to be me and live it until the last moment, no matter when it happens, because it’s inevitable. Because in the end,” Kenneth tapped his tattoo with a respectful delicacy, “there’s only the Great Old Ones.”

The young dragon seemed frozen in place and the designer, perplexed. Spike seemed to regain consciousness when something came to his mind.

"But, if nothing matters," he asked, unsure, "why did you save me and Rarity?"

The unicorn interrupted her gesture, then slowly turned her intrigued face to the young man,  by what he would say. The musician's gaze was fixed on the ground, lost in thought in search of an answer. He ended up with a weak smile and blowing what could have been a laugh.

“Honestly kiddo,” he answered, “I have no idea.”

This sentence surprised Spike. He knew only about good and bad ponies, so he had a hard time understanding that someone so cynical could help another without even knowing why, especially after what Kenneth had just said. Rarity seemed to think about Kenneth's words, like with an enigma. She should have thought it was strange or disturbing, but some part of her was just intrigued by the musician’s words. She realized the state of the shirt and called Kenneth.

“I finished it.”

The young man put on his clothes without delay and hurried to the exit of the store, Spike at his side, eager to disappear before another problem arose. When his hand grabbed the handle, he noticed a seam on his sleeve. Something was blocking him. He knew what and that bothered him a bit. He had to make a huge effort. Kenneth sighed deeply, looked at Rarity out of the corner of his eye and said in a calm voice that she hadn't expected, “Thanks.”

The unicorn didn't get time to tell him he was welcome for Kenneth had already left with the little dragon. For a moment, Rarity remained frozen in place, surrounded by her models, drawings, and dresses. She was a bit lost after what she had just heard. 







When the people of Ponyville met the human on the street, most ran to hide, while others just looked down and kept a good distance from him. Noticing this, Kenneth sneered a bit.

“See? We’re already the bad boys of the town.”

The dragon couldn't help laughing.

"I think it’s mostly because of you."

“Give yourself some credit. In a few years I’m sure you’ll be flying around terrifying everyone with huge jets of flame." The musician thought about it and laughed. "Damn! I would give anything to be there playing some Rhapsody song when you do it.”

Spike didn’t know what he was referring to, but he commented, “I don’t think Twilight would appreciate that.”

“Oh come on!” sighed Kenneth. “Is everyone as serious as you and her? And do you always do what she says? Just enjoy the idea for five seconds.”

Spike thought it was strange, but he tried, just to show him that he wasn’t a killjoy. He imagined himself gigantic, with wings so large that they plunged all of Ponyville into shadow. He imagined himself to be so majestic and powerful that all the ponies bigger than him, that is to say almost everypony, fled at his mere sight. He imagined Rarity impressed by his magnificence. Spike was on a little cloud. Seeing this, Kenneth smiled.

“You see?” he told, bringing the child back to earth. “Not so bad, right?”

“Yeah, well… I still better not tell this to Twilight. I’m sure she would lecture me for appreciating it and I don’t know what...”

“You’re being a pain in the ass, kiddo,” remarked Kenneth. “If she presses you too much, just sing something loud right in her face. Don’t know why but I can see you quite well singing some Sum 41. Probably because I used to listen to them when I was your age, but you should start with Iron Maiden first.”

Spike was taken aback, firstly because of these curious names he never heard before, but more because of the advice itself. Twilight always told him to be nice and polite, to never be angry, as much as he could. She usually told him that, even if it was okay to lose nerve sometimes, it was important to stay civil with everypony. That was the first time somepony was telling him to scream at someone’s face to express something openly. Before Spike could say something about that, Kenneth asked him where the next guest was.

“Rainbow Dash should be close,” he answered. “She’s in charge of Ponyville’s clouds, sot if she isn’t taking a nap, she should be around here.”

“When you say that,” asked Kenneth, “you mean she gets rid of unwanted clouds?”

“Not only. With the pegasus of the weather team, and Cloudsdale’s administration, they manage all of Equestria’s climate.”

"You can’t be serious!"

Kenneth spotted the blue pegasus moving a large cloud and tapping it like a large cushion. For a moment, the young man watched what she was doing with some curiosity. 

“Hey Birdbrain!”

“WHO SAID THAT?!”

The pegasus descended to the ground at the speed of light and sought the origin of this insult.

“Who said that?! Show yourse-” She spotted the human. "It was you, wasn’t it?"

“Guilty as charged.” 

“Take it back!” she said, an inch from his face.

“Or what?”

"I'm gonna make your life a living nightmare!"

Kenneth remained silent for a moment, then spoke casually, “Meh. Whatever. ” Without giving her time to reply, he handed her the blue envelope.

The pegasus grabbed it with suspicion. As she read the invitation, Kenneth spoke calmly.

“Is it true that you and your pals control the weather?”

“Yes...” Rainbow Dash replied defensively.

“Does that mean that nothing happens without your intervention? No rain, no snow, nothing?”

“Except for the Everfree, yeah. Why?”

“Just curious. And what do you mean by ‘except for the everfree’?”

“The forest is weird. On top of the wild animals and plants, the weather is completely out of control. Whenever a pegasus tries to change something, even a little cloud, it doesn't stay in place."

“Why?

“I don’t know. I told you, that place is creepy.”

Kenneth seemed intrigued, then smirked.

“What?”

“You don’t like the forest because you can’t control it. I think I like it even more.”

Kenneth turned his back on her to go. The pegasus simply groaned to get back to work, while Spike again showed him the way. Rainbow looked one last time at the human, while the dragon asked the metalhead about the bands he mentioned, making the human grin.

“Weirdo,” she mumbled.







After a walk on the edge of the forest that Kenneth had learned to appreciate, with Spike repeating some lyrics slowly, they found a house with a roof covered with greenery. The musician raised his eyebrows, both impressed and worried as he noticed all the animals lying around: birds, rodents, amphibians... He even seemed to have spotted a bear a little further.

“There! It's Fluttershy’s cottage,” said Spike.

“This big bush is Plushy’s house?” Kenneth thought for a moment before admitting, “Actually, I'm not surprised. She takes care of animals, doesn’t she?”

“That’s right. She’s like the best caretaker in all Equestria, I would say.”

Kenneth rolled his eyes before stopping when he felt Spike pulling on his jeans to get his attention.

"Um ... I know I ask you a lot but... If you could be nice to her it would be great."

"I already told you, kiddo. How I behave with others is entirely up to them.”

"I know. What I mean is that she’s really shy. You might scare her if you're not careful.”

"Come on! I saw her. She would pass out if a leaf fell on her back.”

Spike was about to reply, but an image came to his mind and made him admit, “Now that you say it, I think she did that once.”

“See? If she's scared just because I'm here, she's the one with a problem.”

"I'm just asking you to make an effort. Please.”

“For the last time,” ended Kenneth, walking again, “it all depends on Plushy.”

Spike hurried to catch him. The young man was walking at an imposing pace, which worried the dragon. And as they were about to knock on the door, Kenneth stopped when a voice caressed his ears. An unexpected song that surprised Spike, but not as much as the human face at this moment. His eyes were wide and his pupils as small as seeds. His whole body seemed frozen, as if each of his muscles had been locked.

There's music in the treetops

And there's music in the vale

And all around the music fills the sky

Spike and Kenneth searched for the origin of that melodious voice and discovered the pegasus they had come to see, flying like a swallow and bringing food to every animal.

There's music by the river

And there's music in the grass

And the music makes your heart soar in reply

Fluttershy began to vocalize, observing her reflection in the river, flowers in her mane. Spike watched Kenneth again to see what he planned to do, and his astonishment did not diminish as the musician continued to stare at the pegasus as if he had just discovered something impossible. He almost seemed disconnected from the world. A sentence slipped from his lips, as if he had lost control of it.

“She sings like a fucking Disney Princess.”

Suddenly, the young man seemed to get his feet back on the ground. He realized what he had just said and the shock tensed him like a prey in the middle of wild beasts. He turned suddenly to Spike and muttered threateningly, "If you tell anyone that I said that, I’ll kill you."

The dragon swallowed, trembling: the threat seemed quite serious. The two boys then realized that they had attracted the attention of the pegasus. She was clearly frightened, but it was difficult to say whether she was by the young man or by having been discovered singing. She seemed ready to run away from the colossus in a red shirt.

“Did you… hear me?” she asked with wide eyes.

Spike played with his fingers, unsure of the answer that would reassure Fluttershy. Kenneth replied without any hesitation, “Of course we did. It was amazing!”

Spike and Fluttershy were both caught off-guard. It was the last thing he expected to hear from Kenneth. The human knelt very quickly near the yellow pegasus to question her in a cheerful tone.

“How did you get to sing like that? Have you trained a lot?"

"Hmm... Not really," she replied, between surprise and fear. “I just… do it.”

“So you’re a natural? That’s awesome!”

Bit by bit, Fluttershy realized the sincerity of the young man's compliments and relaxed. All that remained was astonishment. She was really scared of the human when he arrived in town, especially when he started singing, and her friends told her how he behaved with people. Even though it wasn’t very nice, she had prayed to see him as little as possible. However, seeing his admirative face, she no longer knew what to think. His big eyes reminded her more of a big child than a wild beast.

“Th… Thank you,” she managed to pronounce.

“Could you sing something else?”

“What?!” worried Fluttershy.

“Please, that would be cool.”

Spike shook his head, unable to believe what he had seen before his eyes. Since his arrival, he had never seen the man so polite and affable. The human looked like he was facing a very important pony.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” he asked, incredulous.

Kenneth looked imperiously at the dragon and explained, "Kiddo, when it comes to music I'm always serious." He faced again Fluttershy, resuming his peaceful gaze. “So? What about an encore?”

Fluttershy stared at the floor, uncomfortable. She stuttered under the intrigued gaze of the two boys.

“Just tell us what you think,” advised the human kindly. "It's okay."

Fluttershy was, to her own surprise, more at ease when she heard Kenneth's encouragement. She took a deep breath, then whispered.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked the young man, straining his ear.

Fluttershy lowered her ears and repeated, barely louder.

“I have… stage fright.”

“You?! With your voice?”

"Yes. I'm glad you appreciate it, but I'm really not comfortable in front of an audience."

"But ... But ..." stammered Kenneth, observing her sad look, before giving up with deep disappointment. "Ooooh... It's a tragic day for music."

“I'm sorry," apologized Fluttershy, putting a hoof on his arm. “And thank you for your understanding.”

Kenneth didn't dare to look at her in the eye. In a shy voice, which no one was used to coming from him, the young man asked, “Can I at least come to listen to you sometimes?”

Fluttershy was again taken aback.

"I don’t know." she hesitated, very embarrassed. “I don’t sing all the time and I have to take care of my little friends…”

“Oh please please please,” begged the metalhead, taking a little mouse in his hands. "I’ll be as discreet as a little mouse."

The pegasus looked at the animal with a concern that quickly evaporated. The young man's hands were huge compared to the animal, but he seemed to be careful stroking its head with a delicate finger. The rodent even seemed to appreciate this caress. With curiosity, Fluttershy asked him, “Do you like animals?”

“I didn’t spend so much time with any but I don’t mind them. We are all Shub-niggurath’s young.”

“Who is this Shub-niggurath?” worried Fluttershy.

“Oh, simply the eternal and incomprehensible force that spits and devours every living being in the universe. Also named the Black Goat of the woods with a thousand young.”

The pegasus didn't quite understand what he was talking about and the little she did was not reassuring. She told him very quickly, “That doesn’t seem very nice. I think I prefer Equis, if you don’t mind of course.”

"Who’s that?"

“She’s the alicorn who created our world. Let me tell you her story. It’s my favorite.” 

As she was beginning the tale, some of her wild friends gathered around her.

“At the beginning, there was nothing but darkness, cold and silent, but then a light appeared. The very first light. It was an alicorn with a fur black as the dark from which she was born, a flowing and shining mane and, on her flank, a white trikestra. Equis was her name and she radiated with so much power that she illuminated all the infinity. With it, she created the stars, then a planet close to the first one on which she could rest for a moment. After that, Equis saw that the planet she created was a desolated rock, so she made it rain to give this world rivers and oceans and make all the plants grow. She then created the moon to give this world light even in the darkest nights. This garden under the stars was such a beautiful scenery that she felt the need to share it with someone. Equis then gave birth to the animals. She was so happy with her children that she gave birth to all the other species we know, from the unicorns, pegasus and earth ponies to the dragons and yaks. She loved all of them so much that sadness and pain didn’t exist. Equis conforted all those who felt a bit down and gave courage to those who felt scared. Until the day a terrible earthquake shaken the entire world, announcing the awakening of a terrible monster of fire and smoke named Blazing Sky whose only desire was to destroy everything and bring sorrow. Equis faced the creature with courage and used her power to stop him, but he was strong and filled with rage. She used all of her power to destroy the beast and save her children. Equis died this day and nopony ever forgot it or how much she loved all of her creations. That is why we named our planet Equis and try our best to be peaceful and caring with the others.” 

When Fluttershy finished, she saw Kenneth arching an eyebrow.

"Right..." he said, not very enthralled. “So, can I come back?”

Fluttershy hesitated a lot. She glanced at her animal friends, silently asking them what they thought about it. Most did not pay much attention to their exchange actually, the others did not seem bothered by his presence. The pegasus then looked the human in the eyes and seemed surprised by what she saw there. Usually intimidating and harsh, Kenneth seemed worried.

“Well…” she declared. "I guess if you came to help, I can try to think that one po-human isn’t really an audience."

The young man was euphoric. He put down the rodent in his hand and thanked the yellow pegasus energetically. The doubts she still had in her mind melted like ice under the sun when she saw his smile. Kenneth recovered, however, when he remembered a detail.

“Oh yes! I almost forgot.” He handed Fluttershy a yellow envelope. "Pinkie invites you to a party tonight. I think all of your friends will be there.”

The pegasus retrieved the letter, thanking him. Then the human tried to regain his dignity by getting up.

“Alright, I’ll come back soon, I think. I still have one last letter to deliver.” The human hit the road declaring, “See you, Fluttershy.”

Despite this, she was worried when she saw Spike looking dumbfounded, frozen like a statue. The dragon looked at her as if she were a mythical creature and pronounced, admiring, "I can't believe it... You can really tame even the wildest beasts."

“Oh, you exaggerate,” replied the young pegasus with embarrassment.

“Not at all! Except for Princess Luna, you are the only one he calls by their name.”

“Hey! You coming or what, kiddo?”

“See?!”

The dragon quickly joined him, under the puzzled eyes of Fluttershy. She thought about what she had just heard. The only person the human made the effort to call by their name was a princess. For some reason, which she didn't know if it was nice or not, she felt quite proud. She cutely laughed, half embarrassed, half happy.







Kenneth was starting to get sore feet. He hadn't walked so much in a long time, and was anxious to deliver this last invitation. He finally saw the big house of the Apple family. Seeing the apple trees and its new fence reminded him all kinds of memories, some sweet, others extremely painful. Once outside the entrance to the estate, on the border between it and the road, he spotted the famous orange pony and her cowgirl hat bucking apple trees.

“Hey Redneck!” called the musician.

The farmer looked for the source of this insult and was not surprised to find out who it was. She growled before asking him from afar, “What da ya want?”

"I have a letter for you," he said as he approached the entrance. "It's from Pin-"

“DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ONE MORE STEP!”

Kenneth stopped, his foot still in the air. He was two centimeters from officially being inside the Apple domain. For safety, he put it back.

"What’s wrong?" he asked

“We don’t want ya here!” declared Applejack. “Not even for a second.”

“Why is that?”

Even Spike couldn't believe he had asked that.

“You want the list?” asked the upset farmer approaching him. “You stole our apples for weeks, scared the crusaders, and you destroyed the wall of our barn. Remember?”

“Oh come on! There were extenuating circumstances."

“Beg your pardon?”

"The apples, because I had no other choice except for shady stuff in the forest. Your sister and her friends just ran into me at the wrong time. And for the wall, stop kidding me. You know very well that it was this pile of shit that threw me through it. My ribs can testify to that. ”

"I don’t care! Just go away.”

"What if I don’t want to?"

“I could buck you to the other side of town with these fellas of mine,” she threatened, lifting one of her rear hooves.

Kenneth had a brief tick of concern, which he made disappear as quickly as possible.

“And what if I come back after that?”

Applejack heard familiar hooves behind her. She sported a malicious smile.

“Then you’d have to deal with Big Mac.”

Kenneth was amazed to see the huge red horse that joined them. He had seen it before, but from afar. Up close, his almost human size and imposing musculature worried him much more. The metalhead regained his composure and fixed his gaze as if they were having a staring contest. The two frowned. Spike almost felt like their pupils were flashing.

“So,” observed Kenneth, “you’re her brother I guess.”

“Eeyup,” answered simply Big Mac.

“And you don’t want to see me here either.”

“Eeyup.”

“Not really talkative I see.”

“Eeyup.”

The two stared at each other for a disturbingly long time. Applejack and Spike, curious and amused at the outset, became more worried as the human and the big pony looked at each other with their hot, glowing eyes. the tension between the two became palpable. The dragon and the farmer feared what might happen. The tension subsided when a new perky voice entered in the situation like an innocent kitten.

“Hey! What’s happening here?” asked Applebloom. “Something fun?”

The little filly with the big red bow noticed the human and quickly disappeared behind her sister.

“What’s he doing here?” she asked, trembling like an apple leaf.

“Nothin’,” answered Applejack. “He was leaving.”

“Sure,” said Kenneth, rolling his eyes, “but first: take your invitation to Pinkie’s party.”

Applejack quickly took the orange envelope the musician handed her. Then he turned on his heels, groaning. Spike just wished the Apple family a good day before joining the musician. Each of the Apples resumed their activities while Kenneth and Spike disappeared in the distance. The dragon then explained to the musician that he should join Twilight at the library if he was no longer needed. Kenneth let him go, explaining that he would find his way to Octavia's house by himself. He thought he had done enough for Pinkie now. The two parted calmly, but not without Spike giving him one last puzzled look. After that day, he still didn't know what to think of this strange human.







The sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon. When Octavia and Vinyl Scratch entered their home, a familiar spectacle awaited them: Kenneth was dozing on the sofa. Octavia approached him and cleared her throat. The human didn’t open his eyes. She tried again with more force. No result. Vinyl shook him but without success. Octavia growled a little then smiled, remembering something. She went to her closet, pulled out a trumpet, and took a deep breath near the young man.

"Don’t even think about it," said Kenneth.

"Were you awake?" asked the musician pony. "Why did you not answer?"

"I didn’t want to."

Octavia sighed heavily.

"You know,” she said, putting away her instrument, “playing music with you is very interesting, but as a roommate, you are not an easy one."

“If you say so, I believe you. I’ve never had one before. How’s the rehearsal going?”

"Very well. My colleagues and I will be ready for the Grand Galloping Gala. I even suggested a song to them that you taught us. They loved it, but they think it will be too epic for this kind of party.”

"That means it’ll be boring. A good party is a noisy one. Right, Vinyl?”

Kenneth held out his hand and the DJ tapped it with a smile on her lips. Octavia rolled her eyes and faced the human.

"Before I forget, Pinkie would like to see you..."

“Nope.”

"I didn’t even say why."

“Don’t care. I've done enough for her today. "

“No, silly. She wants to thank you.”

“Great. Thanks for the message.”

“And she wants to give you something as a reward.”

Kenneth's curiosity seemed awoken, but not enough to make him get up.

“Whatever it is, it can wait for tomorrow I bet.”

“She kept Choco-hazelnut cupcakes and cider for you.”

This time Kenneth seemed to hesitate. The dilemma was terrible apparently. He sighed, growled, and took off from the sofa to get out of the house. He realized that Octavia and Vinyl were right behind him.

“We need some pastries for tomorrow's breakfast,” Octavia anticipated, “since you ate everything.”

The metalhead accepted this immediately, too tired to think. He arrived at Sugarcube Corner hoping to enjoy a good pastry before going to bed. When he walked through the door, he was caught off guard by a choir shouting, "Surprise!". Frozen on the spot, Kenneth discovered the place decorated with all kinds of colorful garlands, balloons and confetti. There was even a table topped with candies, but what surprised him most was the group of ponies in front of him. Everyone except Pinkie's eyes were wide. Whether it was Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, or Applejack, everyone seemed ready to scream in amazement.

“What are you doing here?” asked Twilight.

"I was told that Pinkie kept me some food and alcohol. Unless..."

The human turned and saw his roommates quite embarrassed.

"Well, we didn’t lie to you." declared Octavia. “There are cupcakes and ciders. I was just asked not to say there was a party around it.”

“Who asked you to do this?” wondered the human, still surprised.

“Me, of course!” Pinkie replied, leaping in the middle of the assembly. “This surprise party is to celebrate your first week in Ponyville.”

“SAY WHAT?!” screamed all the elements of harmony.

“You never said that!” rebelled Rainbow Dash.

“I didn’t said for who this party was for in the invitations,” explained Pinkie. “So, technically, I never said it wasn’t for him.”

The human shook his head before asking.

“Then why would you ask ME to bring the invitations?”

"I'm glad you asked, Kenneth." Pinkie had the posture of a genius addressing a confused audience. ”You see, that was the most complicated party I’ve ever had to organize. My goal can be summarized to this question: How do you get somepony to come to a party he doesn't want to come to while convincing five guests who don't like him to do the same? After a whole night of thinking, fueled by chocolate, I finally found the answer. I only needed to make sure that no one knew who this party was for. I knew Kenneth wouldn't want to come to a party, considering how shy and grumpy he is, and by involving him in its preparation, I made sure he didn’t imagine it was for him. And by making him bring the invitations, none of the guests would suspect that either, since he would say himself that he didn’t want to come. The only ones I needed to confide in were Vinyl and Octavia, to make sure he came to the Sugarcube Corner at the right time. Good job by the way. Especially Vinyl. You keep secrets very well. And my plan worked perfectly. Everyone is here in addition to being surprised.”

Pinkie was proud as a peacock. The whole assembly was speechless. The silence of dismay reigned like a king. The only one who dared to break it was Rainbow Dash.

“Wow… When it’s about parties, Pinkie is a mastermind."

“Then,” said the element of laughter with enthusiasm, “who’s ready to celebrate?”

“Not me.”

Everyone turned to the origin of this sentence. It was Kenneth himself. He was heading towards the exit of the store. In the blink of an eye, Pinkie blocked the access with her body.

“Wait!” she declared. “You can’t go right now. This party is for you!”

Kenneth grabbed her and pulled her with all his strength , except that, while she was only holding the door with her little hooves, he couldn't make her move. He even seemed to see her stretching like chewing gum.

“Get out of my way you... fucking Looney toons!”

“No! We didn’t even cut the cake!”

Twilight's voice rose sharply.

“PINKIE, STOP!!!”

Everyone present turned to the purple unicorn. She had a very disturbingly stern look and she asserted with anger and authority.

“You are wasting your time with him and I can't take it anymore. Kenneth doesn't want to be your friend, don’t you understand? Since he's been here, he's been annoying everypony. He insults our princesses. He is vulgar and violent. He gives us stupid nicknames and doesn't even apologize. He respects nothing and no one and spends his time doing ... doing nothing, in fact. All he cares about is himself. And if you insist on doing this, you’ll end up disappointed and exhausted by his fault. Because this human, I repeat, does not want to be your friend. And he will never have friends, actually. No one would want to be friends with someone like him!"

The room remained plunged in freezing silence, except for the disciple of Celestia who was trying to catch her breath, her piercing gaze fixed on Kenneth, whose own look was comparable to that of a bird of prey. He didn't seem surprised by what he heard. 

"How dare you?" muttered Pinkie, to everyone's surprise.

The pink pony, with a waterfall-like deflated mane, approached Twilight with wet, furious eyes that alarmed the purple unicorn.

“Who are you to judge him? Huh? You don't know anything about him. Do I have to remind you of how you were before we met? You didn't care about friends. We are the ones who chose to stay by your side and accepted you despite your asocial side. And we all accepted each other despite our flaws. Kenneth isn’t easy-going at first, but he isn’t a bad person. Do you want to hear how I know that? When he lived in the forest, he was kind to the animals which left him in peace. When I asked him for help, even if he didn't like it, he agreed when Octavia reminded him of what I had done for him. And the most important part, because he risked his life to save Spike and Rarity! If he hadn't done anything, our friends would probably not be here with us!”

Twilight's eyes widened. Her gaze turned for a moment to the dragon and the fashion designer. Both seemed overwhelmed by this painful memory. Pinkie took a moment to catch her breath before continuing.

"You say he troubles everypony? Since he's been here, he hasn't hurt anypony. And those nicknames, if it had been one of us who used them, we would laugh about it together. Kenneth isn't perfect, but you haven't even tried to understand him. With this attitude, no wonder that he doesn’t want to be nice to you. Do you believe studying friendship gives you the right to declare who deserves to have friends or not?”

Under the stunned eyes of the whole room, tears ran down Pinkie's face. The one who was supposed to be the element of laughter sat down on the floor, unable to stand any longer.

“I just… I just wanted to give everypony a chance to get to know each other a little better. I just wanted us to be together so that we could all make a step towards each other." She gasped in grief. "I just wanted everypony to be friends... But no one makes any effort... Not even Kenneth."

The elements of harmony exchanged shameful looks. Octavia and Vinyl were saddened by this scene. Even Kenneth had big stunned eyes, like he was seeing Pinkie for the first time. No one dared to act for fear of aggravating the situation. A deep sigh sounded and caught the attention of the assembly. Everyone was surprised to see Kenneth sit by the tearful pastry chef. She lifted her wet red eyes to him. She was surprised herself.

"Pinkie..." he whispered. "You really want me to be friends with yours?" The sad pony nodded. "You definitely are crazy."

This question intrigued the other ponies. He had said it in a weak voice, on the border between amazement and a laugh too weak to be expressed.

"She's right you know." he continued. “You will get tired if you continue. I’m not like you. Actually, I'm a total mess. Nobody wants someone like me here.”

"That's not true," Pinkie cut him off. ”I want to be your friend. And there are ponies who like you. ”

The young man raised an eyebrow. Nobody dared to speak. Octavia didn’t feel at all in her place. Friendship stories were usually the business of the elements of harmony. She wanted to disappear. Vinyl stared at her with surprising intensity. The DJ kicked her gently, as if to break her bubble. The pony musician remained indecisive for a moment, then dared to approach the human.

"You know,” she tried weakly, drawing the attention of the crowd, “you are a very stubborn person who does whatever he wants. You leave your cider bottles lying around, sleep around the clock, and even finish the pastries without asking permission, but that doesn't mean that we don't like having you in the house, Vinyl and I. You recognize our talents as musicians and give us good advice, you even teach us incredible scores. Playing music with you, it's great."

Octavia glanced at Vinyl, who confirmed with a nod. The elements of harmony were surprised by what she had just said. Spike rubbed his neck, also embarrassed. He ended up saying.

“I… don’t really mind you calling me ‘Kiddo’. It's not that mean. I got it that you address people by their name to show that they’ve earned your respect. When Princess Luna told you about her past, you did it. And you did the same for Fluttershy.” This revelation stunned all the other elements of harmony. “So, even if I still think it's not the nicest method, and that you have very personal selection criterias, you at least have the merit of recognizing when someone deserves respect.”

The speech of the little dragon intrigued Twilight. With her soft voice, Fluttershy addressed the young man.

"Um ... If what Spike says is true then I want to tell you that I appreciate your efforts. You accepted to help me with the animals when, obviously, you don't like working so much.... "

"I'm not really selfless in this case." explained Kenneth, without revealing Fluttershy's secret.

“Maybe,” continued the yellow pegasus, “but you wouldn't even have suggested it if you didn't respect me. Right?"

Kenneth remained silent, his gaze avoiding her.

"That’s what I thought," concluded Fluttershy. “Then I want to thank you, Kenneth.”

The musician was speechless, just like the other ponies. One of them looked puzzled. She too approached.

“Kenneth…” pronounced Rarity. “You are rude, definitely, and I don’t like that at all. But when I took care of your shirt, you thanked me sincerely. I have an ear for that. And then, despite your seemingly arrogant attitude, what I have heard you saying makes me think, as strange as it sounds, that you are not at all actually. I admit you may be… more complex than I thought at first.” Rarity hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "What I mean is... I'm sorry if I was a bit snobbish with you."

Kenneth didn't know what to say. Neither did the elements of harmony. Except for Pinkie, her face wet and mane still deflated.

“You see?” she said weakly. "There are ponies who like you the way you are."

Kenneth could only look at her in the eye. His gaze was impenetrable. No one could know what he was thinking about. Twilight tensed when she saw him raising his hand and directing it towards the pink pony. The element of magic ended up disoriented when he placed it gently on Pinkie's head and began to scratch behind her ear.

"You are unbelievable," sighed the young man. "You got exactly what you wanted."

Pinkie smiled again. Her mane slowly swelled up. Fluttershy and Spike joined her, also smiling, followed by Octavia and Vinyl. The pastry chef seemed to purr as Kenneth kept scratching.

"This is really nice," commented the pink pony.

“Come on, Pinkie,” laughed Rarity, “you look like my cat.”

"I don’t mind," she answered “Try it and you’ll understand.”

Twilight didn’t know how to react to this unexpected spectacle. She exchanged an intrigued and ashamed look with Applejack, then Rainbow Dash. None of them knew what to do.

"Listen Pinkie," suggested the young man, "I think we'd better go to sleep now. The evening was… exhausting.”

Pinkie looked disappointed, but the lack of sadness this time indicated that she understood. The others agreed with their silence.

“Wait!” she exclaimed. “At least, let me give you your present.”

“A present?” wondered the human.

The pastry chef disappeared in a flash and reappeared just as quickly with a package made of black paper with an orange ribbon. Kenneth took it with suspicion. He unpacked it carefully and discovered something that surprised him very much, as did Twilight.

“But…” said Kenneth. “These are my books.”

"That’s right!" exclaimed Pinkie with pride. “I brought them from your cave.”

Kenneth looked at the three books with eyes veiled by an emotion that the ponies couldn't identify. The human seemed to be struggling not to reveal what he was feeling. The ponies looked curiously at the books in his hands. There was a large one with a reinforced and decorated cover entitled “The complete fiction of H.P. Lovecraft”. Then there was a smaller, obviously low-end book called “Of Mice and Men”. And finally, the last of the package was in a terrible condition. The cover was partially torn, the pages yellowed and torned and a brown spot was visible on the side. The title was “Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troy”.

Before anyone could comment, Kenneth wrapped them in the paper and cleared his throat.

"You know it’s not really a gift since they’re technically mine," he informed.

“You’re right about the books,” answered Pinkie, “but I’m sparing you the travel to get them. For someone as lazy as you, that’s a wonderful gift.”

Like an unexpected volcanic eruption, everyone laughed except Kenneth, who growled like a little dog, not happy to be made fun of. Even Twilight, still stunned by what had happened tonight, chuckled. When the happy voices subsided, Kenneth looked embarrassed. He avoided Pinkie's gaze. He nevertheless made an effort to pronounce, “Thank you, Pinkie.”

"You're welcome!" she answered, laughing a bit.

Kenneth then got up, his gift under his arm, and told Octavia and Vinyl that they should go. Pinkie didn't stop him this time. She smiled despite the disappointment. The human stopped before passing the door. His immobility worried every ponies.

"You know ..." Kenneth muttered, turning around. "You’re not as bad as I thought either, Rarity."

Again, the ponies were stunned. Rarity, at first amazed, smiled at him, her eyes full of gratitude. Fluttershy, Octavia and Vinyl were simply delighted by what they saw. The musician left without saying another word, followed by Octavia and Vinyl. The elements of harmony soon did the same, apologizing to Pinkie. She was still disappointed, but the grief had evaporated at least.

On the way home, Twilight was lost in thought, ears down. Spike was worried about her, but she didn't answer his calls. Once back in the library, the little dragon prepared to go to bed while his friend sat in the living room, looking low. He saw him grabbing a scroll and a quill. She wrote on it slowly. When she finished, she asked her assistant if he could send it to Princess Celestia. He did so, but was troubled by the gloomy look of the purple unicorn as she disappeared under her blanket.







In Canterlot, the solar princess was ready to go to bed. She appreciated the softness of her bed all the more since the day had been excruciating. During this one, various personalities, including the chancellor Neighsay, had spoken to her about a rumor which worried them: the presence of a strange and terrible being in Ponyville, with her approval. She didn’t know how so many of them heard about it so quickly, but she wasn’t that surprised. She knew that Kenneth’s existence would sooner or later be discovered by the Canterlot nobility. She had just hoped it would happen under better circumstances. The Grand Galloping Gala was coming soon and a new clay monster attack had been reported, this time in Manehattan.

As the princess wondered how she and her sister would deal with all of these issues, a scroll appeared right in front of her muzzle. She knew what it was and smiled. She hoped that her disciple would bring her good news for a change. Reading the content of the letter, disappointment and sorrow took hold of her. Her disciple's words were filled with sadness. She had described the evening she had lived, Pinkie's tears, the confessions of her friends, how Kenneth talked about himself... It was the conclusion of this letter that hurt her the most.

"The more I think about what Pinkie told me, the more I realize how right she was. Kenneth is not very easy-going, but he has never been cruel to us. By giving him a little time, he even began to want to help Fluttershy and respect Princess Luna. I was unfair to him and believed that what I understood about friendship gave me the right to judge him. Partly because I was afraid he would hurt the people I love, but maybe also because I was… arrogant. I am your disciple, the element of Magic and the first to study the magic of friendship. I really thought I knew how it worked, what a good friend is. Therefore, I behaved as the exact opposite of one, as if I had learned absolutely nothing and forgot how I was before.

I apologize for disappointing you Princess and can only promise to do better in the future.

Twilight Sparkle”

The solar princess put the letter down, a tear in her eye. She herself didn’t like this Kenneth Marshall. However, Twilight's words made her wonder if she was right to be so suspicious of him. And there was another problem: if she was not careful, the rumors concerning him would be limited to his attitude when they first met. Now, he seemed more reasonable. She had to find a way to present him to everypony in a way that would calm them. An idea occurred to her. She didn’t know if it was a good one, but it would both solve this problem and make her sure that the human was capable of being considerate.

She had to invite him to the Grand Galloping Gala.