A month has passed since Skystrike's visit to the capital again, but he didn't regret it. A few bridges have at least begun to be rebuilt. Celestia smiled at the memory as she looked at the letter she got from him. He began sending letters to her and her sister. Partially as a way to get closer, and to check in on Nightmare moon. She shuddered at the thought of that name. Celestia still hated her for what Nightmare did to her sister. She didn't want the same to happen to Skystrike... Then she shuddered at the thought of how terrifying a Nightmare Skystrike would be. He already handle Shining Armor and Princess Cadence... easier than she thought. All he came out of that fight with was some sore muscles.
Speaking of, Celestia had to admit he was right about the PR that they all had to go through. In hindsight, it was not a good idea to have him take them both on. But in her defense, who'd expect one pegasus to take on a Captain of the royal guard and an alicorn. Morale within the ranks has dipped a little, the guards feeling as if their efforts in training hasn't been worth it. Took a bit of persuasion to raise their spirits back up. Needless to say, her guard did not have a good impression of Skystrike.
That reminded her, the airship came in. One larger than she expected him to need. A private one normally fit about a dozen or so ponies, but the one Skystrike asked for could easily fit thirty. When asked why he needed such a big one, Celestia was given an answer that made sense. It wasn't just for fun, he planned on travelling, and he'd need a lot of storage. Plus, bigger ones would be more comfortable for Tethys and him, given their sizes. Each of them took up the space of three ponies easily.
"Sister! I'm about to read Nebula's letter!" Celestia called for Luna. Luna teleported into the throne room and sat next to her. They finally opened the letter Skystrike sent her and Luna, reading through it.
Dear Princess Celestia and Luna
Because I have to send these through Spike, your faithful student Grape Juice, is giving me tips on how to write.
Of course, I sent a dummy one within this just so she'd get off my ass, so that's why this one is much less formal.
Celestia checked the other sheet of paper in the letter, and indeed, saw that it was written more like Twilight's style.
Just so you know, I'm gonna call you silly little names in here. I'll think of some next time. Onto the more boring stuff.
Sorry again about Bonbon. Kinda knew for a while, but in my defense, I don't like being spied on.
Things are going fine here. I told the local school teacher here that I'd teach the foals about physics, so that's happening. Still waiting for that guy to find me so I can set him up to meet you.
I'm gonna rat on Twilight real quick. She, Rarity, and Stardust got drunk at my house. It was really fucking funny because your ever faithful student is a really honest drunk. Said something about 'laying off the hayburgers, or my flank will look like Celestia's. And I'm not gonna lie, I see you eat sweets like it's nothing. I don't know how alicorn metabolisms work, but maybe slow down the intake? You look like a wedge from the top view. Like, it's kinda impressive how it only goes back there.
Celestia blanked at that part while Luna caught up to where she was and giggled. "Luna, not a word."
"You must admit, he's right."
Celestia sighed and hid a chuckle as they continued reading.
Luna, if you're reading this with your sister, you aren't much better. Your money does NOT fold. Actually, I'm not sure if you know what I mean by that, but you can figure it out given the context. Ponies only think it's small because you're always with Celestia.
This time, it was Celestia's turn to laugh, seeing Luna's face and making herself laugh even harder.
Anyway, mild rant out of the way, I realized we need to get you two out more. I want to make so many jokes, but they go over your heads because Celestia works too much, and Luna needs to know how to interact with ponies. Interacting with ponies through your jobs don't count. I could tell from last month and how much you two wanted to see a fight that you two are overworked. I already know a way for you two to get away for a day or two. Just meet me in Ponyville, I know you two can teleport.
Nightmare Moon is doing fine. Hasn't been a problem. Wish I could get more out of her than annoyed grunts. She did hint at wanting to talk a bit about a week ago. I'm going to keep trying. I'll tell you two how it goes.
Oh yeah, another reason I wrote this letter. I sent something to Shining a couple weeks ago, as well as to a record company. You two should go check on him.
I can already imagine your faces.
Nebula
Celestia and Luna looked at the letter, then to each other. They were suspicious of that last line. "Sister, do you... have a bad feeling?"
Luna nodded. As if on queue, a guard burst into the room. "Princesses!"
Celestia nearly jumped out of her seat at the entrance. "What is it, Shining Armor?"
He started huffing, as if he ran for a long time. "It's... It's Nebula!... hah..." Shining said as he put down a speaker. "He... one of the guards under me... I found him listening to this... I don't... I don't even know how to explain it!"
"We'd hardly think that the simple listening of music would cause such an... outrage." Luna straightened her posture and tiara.
"Just... just listen!" Shining Armor pulled out a vinyl titled "Menace - Sun and Moon" and put it into the player.
An aggressive beat started playing as Skystrike began announcing himself. "AAAAAAAAAYOOOOOOOOOO! MENACE ON THE MIC! DJ PON3 ON THE BEAT!! WOOOOOOOOO!"
Celestia looked at the guard, hiding a laugh behind her hoof. "Is this- is this Nebula? What is..."
"Just listen, princess..." Shining coughed as Skystrike began rapping.
"HA! HA!
Do you wanna die? Cause Imma take your soul back! Baby I'm the reaper!
HA! HA!
Keep it to the side, I got my bitch actin priest, way she touchin on my wiener!
HI! HI!
I'm a really nice guy, Imma shake your hoof first, Like it's really nice to meet ya!
HA! HA!
They call me that guy, way I act like a menace, and your future looks bleaker!"
"Up first!" The beat stopped for a moment as he spoke with autotune.
"And without further delay~!
Luna!
It's time for your D-day!
Heh! Heh!
She in the dark, silhouette! Neck long as a clarinet, and no hoes try'na play!
The deep dream browsin, age in the thousands,
Old talkin pone, Royal Canterlot mouthin,
The real time yammer, oh my, foul cur!
I call her big moonpie, she built like a graham crackerrrrraaaaaaaaaaah!" He roared as it continued into the chorus.
"HA! HA!
Do you wanna die? Cause Imma take your soul back! Baby I'm the reaper!
HA! HA
Keep it to the side, I got my bitch actin priest, way she touchin on my wiener!
HI! HI!
I'm a really nice guy, Imma shake your hoof first, Like it's really nice to meet ya!
HA! HA!
They call me that guy, way I act like a menace, and your future looks bleaker!
Celestia like Edison, her forehead like a lightbulb!
I am not brazilian but ja ja when her eyes close!
Buckin up these lyrics, just like her wrinkles we hide those!
Booty way to big, so she probably need some lipo!
Yeah! Whoa! This a light show!
Yeah Whoa! I hit a nice pose!
Put em up, run them hooves, knock them down,
They ran fade like its a mugshot, but I put them in the ground like!
HA! HA!
Do you wanna die? Cause Imma take your soul back! Baby I'm the reaper!
HA! HA!
Keep it to the side, I got my bitch actin priest, way she touchin on my wiener!
HI! HI!
I'm a really nice guy, Imma shake your hoof first, Like it's really nice to meet ya!
HA! HA!
They call me that guy, way I act like a menace, and your future looks bleaker~!"
The throne room went silent as the rap ended. It was... indeed one of the music's of all time. Celestia turned to her sister. Luna looked back. "Guards, could you... leave us for a time? We must speak about this in private." Celestia said with a cold face before each guard quickly left the room. The two sisters looked at each other before bursting out laughing. Celestia was stomping her hoof on the ground while Luna nearly fell out of her throne, both using the royal Canterlot voice accidently. "He made a diss track???" Celestia said between laughs.
"We are not sure what a 'diss track' is, but that was amazing! One of the best things we've experienced since we've returned!" Luna cleared her throat and sat up. "Did you hear what he spoke? Forehead like a lightbulb? HA!"
"He got you too, 'Moon pie'! Ahaha! Oh my gosh, that was great!" Celestia giggled as the laughter began to die down. "Well, putting the humor aside, we should probably do something about this... Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long for a pony to do this."
"Indeed. It only takes one pony to influence a nation. While Skystrike did it in good fun, we would not like the common pony speaking about us that way." Luna nodded. "Should we make a public statement?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, at least not yet. We shouldn't bring more attention to it."
"Sister, one of our guards already listens to it. And we must admit, as the ponies of these times say, it goes hard. We do not doubt that it has spread throughout the ponies."
"Do not worry, we shall speak to him when we deliver his airship today, along with the dragon bodies from the north."
Meanwhile, Skystrike was pulling a small wagon of wooden stakes, plastic buckets, shower lining, packaging tape, plastic bolts and screws, small funnels, and some bungie cords. Enough for 30 colts and fillies. There were only 18 kids right now, but you know, kids break things. He spent a week practicing the presentation, making it engaging while also having the kids learn things. Projectile motion should be fairly easy.
Skystrike knocked on the schoolhouse door, straightening the suit and tie he was wearing. Cheerilee answered the door. "Perfect timing! We've just finished lunch." She welcomed him in. "Kids, lets give a warm welcome to our speaker for this month, Mr. Nebula! He'll be giving us a talk on introductory physics!"
The kids clapped for him as he put down the wagon and flipped the chalkboard to the black side. "Thanks for having me, kids. Now, I'm not gonna talk to you all for an hour on end, we're gonna make things a bit fun. So, let's start with the basics. You all will be able to pick up on this quick. Who knows about Newton's laws of motion?" The kids looked at each other in confusion. "Don't worry, it's ok to not know. That's the process of learning! So there are three laws of motion, and they affect everything in life, and I mean everything."
Skystrike began writing on the board. "Newton's first law: The law of inertia, states that a body at rest stays at rest, and a body in motion stays in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force." He finished and then took out a rubber ball. "Allow me to show you a demonstration. This ball has been enchanted with levitation magic." Skystrike carefully let go of the ball, the item floating in air. "Can anypony tell me why this body isn't moving?"
A colt named Pipsqueak raised his hoof. Skystrike pointed to him. "Because there's... no forces acting upon it?"
Skystrike nodded, "Nice job!" and threw a piece of candy. "Now, who can tell me what a force is? Give me an example." Many, many more kids raised their hooves. "Archer!"
"A force is something that can move something! Like gravity!"
Skystrike threw him a piece of candy. "Very good! Force is a magnitude with a direction. Gravity is a perfect example, and something that we all experience! For example..." He bought out a different ball and dropped it, the ball bouncing a few times before stopping. "As you see, the only force acting on this ball in gravity, which is why it slows to a stop. Now, I push this levitating ball to the side, what will happen?" He pointed to filly. "Sweetie Belle?"
"It will keep moving until something stops it!"
Candy was thrown. "Right!" He pushed the ball, it slowly moving to the back of the classroom, it bouncing back for Skystrike to catch it in his hoof. "Vertical and Horizontal forces are different from each other, and act independently. That sums up the first law of motion. Now, Newton's second law of motion is pretty simple, F=ma, where F is the force in newtons, m is the mass of an object in kilograms, and a is the acceleration in meters per seconds squared." He wrote the equation and terms on the board. "Write this down, you'll need it later. So, anypony know what mass is?" He pointed to a hoof. "Featherweight?"
"Miss Cheerilee said mass is how much matter something has!"
"Nice job." Skystrike threw another piece of candy. "A perfect example! Now, who knows what acceleration is? Scootaloo!"
"How fast something changes speed?"
Yeet. "Very good. So from that, we can infer that if something moves at a constant speed then there is no force generated by the object. Now..." He began writing on the board again. "That brings us to Newton's third law: Action and Reaction. For every force, there is an equal and opposite force. Equal in the magnitude of the force, opposite in the direction. So, back to the levitating ball. If I throw it at the wall again, and it bounces back..." He did so. "Why does it bounce back to me? Twist?"
"Because there is an equal reaction from the wall!"
"Great job!" Skystrike threw her a piece. "The wall exerts a force on the ball, sending it back with nearly the same amount of force. The wall doesn't move because it's mass is much larger than the ball. This sums up nearly everything we need to know to have fun today. Any questions so far?" He looked around the room, seeing a few fillies and colts raise their hooves. "Applebloom, what's up?"
"How did the ball bounce back? I don't get the physics behind it."
Skystrike nodded. "Alright, think of it like this." He made a drawing of a ball on the chalk board, the ball having an arrow in it pointing towards a drawn wall. "While the ball is moving towards, it has a constant velocity. While the ball is moving away from the wall, it has the same velocity, but in the opposite direction. That means when it hits the wall, the velocity is getting smaller, and at a certain point, the velocity is zero. But, the force from the wall comes in, and the velocity of the ball increases in the opposite direction, towards where the ball came from. Remember, acceleration is a change in velocity. Does that make sense?" Applebloom nodded. "Any more questions?" He looked around the room, and no more hooves were raised.
Then Skystrike began writing some equations on the board. "So, for today, we're just going to stick with projectile motion in two dimensions. We'll need a few equations. First, velocity, in meters per second, is the distance the projectile went in meters, divided by how long the projectile travels in seconds. Velocity is v, distance is s, and time is t. Next, it's starting to get a bit complicated, but you all are smart. s=vit+at2/2, vf=vi+at, vf2=vi2+2ax, and finally, x=t(vi+vf)/2." He finished writing on the board. "vf is the final velocity, and vi is initial velocity. So, I'll have you all do a quick problem, and you all can work together! When everypony is finished, then we'll make air vortex cannons!" He wrote his question on the board as he spoke. "If a ball is thrown on flat ground with a horizontal velocity of 20 meters per second and a vertical velocity of 20 meters per second, at what time will the ball be at it's highest, how high can the ball get, and how far does the ball travel before it lands? Think it through, I'll give you all about ten minutes. Ask questions if you have any."
Skystrike chugged a bottle of water as the kids got into their groups and began trying to work out the problem. Should be pretty easy, the answers being 20.39 meters, 81.57 meters, and 2.04 seconds respectively. He sat next to the chalkboard as he waited, looking around the school house, seeing the ponies go into their groups. Spike seemed to make pretty good friends with Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Spike quickly got down the answers, no doubt from always being with Twilight. He was actually explaining how to do all the problems pretty well.
Meanwhile, he noticed another group consisting of Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon. He had to admit, Silverspoon had a good head on her shoulders, but she was a follower, while Diamond Tiara was a leader. The grey filly was doing all of the work while trying to explain to Tiara why she was right... She'll have to learn to go her own path sooner or later.
Soon the ten minutes passed, and after answering some questions he clapped his hooves to get everypony's attention. "Alright, so how does everypony think you did? I'll work these out quickly on the board. First, how high can the ball get? We'll need to know how long the ball was in motion for. If its initial velocity was 20 meters per second vertically, and when it lands, the final velocity is zero, and the only force acting on it is gravity, we'd use the equation vf=vi+at. We can rearrange the equation to solve for time, t=(vf-vi)/a. Plugging in everything, the ball has a total flight time of 4.08 seconds." He wrote on the board. "Since the ball was thrown from flat ground and landed on flat ground, that means at half the time of 4.08 seconds, the ball is at the highest point. This is because the only force acting on the ball is gravity. This also means that at this point, the vertical velocity is zero. With the time of 2.04 seconds, where the ball is at the highest, we can use the equation s=vit+at2/2 and solve for the distance s. Plugging in everything..." He wrote out the math on the board. "We get a height of 20.39 meters. Everything make sense so far?" The fillies and colts nodded. "Great! Now, a show of hooves on who can explain how far the ball travels?" Only one raised a claw. "Spike?"
"Using the equation you just used at the end. There's no other force acting on the ball, so acceleration is zero. Now the equation is just s=vit. We were given initial velocity and we just found time. So the distance it travels before it lands is 81.57 meters."
He threw the dragon a piece of candy. "Very good! Now, I get this may have been a little boring, so here comes the fun part." Skystrike went to his wagon to retrieve a large trashcan with a hole cut in the bottom. "This... is an air vortex cannon. It's best if I show you, then explain how it works after. I'm going to put a piece of dry ice inside this just so you can see the air flow." He did so and pulled back on the plastic covering the top of the vortex cannon. When he released his grip, a ring of air flew out in front of the chalk board, some chalk dust being flung away when it hit. The kids oo'd and ah'd in amazement. "Pretty cool, right? So why did that just happen, the vortex? It's because of something called Bernoulli's principle. It basically means when fluid is moving fast, it is forced to have low pressure. When slow, the fluid has high pressure. When the air is pushed out of these air vortex cannons, it creates fast moving air. Low pressure air. But because the moving air is around slow, high pressure air, if forces the vortex to stay together and stay going straight." Skystrike then aimed his air vortex cannon at Cheerilee, making her squint as the vortex blasted her and the kids laugh. "Now, who wants to make their own?" The kids cheered as Skystrike began passing around the items they would need.
The kids were all outside. It took about an hour of explaining how to build them, cutting the wood for the handles for the kids, and drilling everything that needed drilling, but they were done. Each filly and colt had their own DIY air vortex cannon. Skystrike used some colored smoke so the kids can better see the vortexes. But it was all done. Now, Skystrike was sitting with Cheerilee, the two having a rather late lunch. Skystrike broke the silence as they ate. "So, hope I did a good job?"
Cheerilee nodded. "Oh, you did great! Much better than most of the ponies who volunteered. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything more than a talk and a few problems. Also, if you don't mind me saying, you clean up well." She pointed at his suit and tie.
"Thanks for the compliment. Figured I'd try to make others enjoy something as much as I do. But the way you said that got me curious... who all was before me?" Skystrike stopped mid bite.
"Well, there was Rarity, Bon bon, Redheart, Ivory Scroll, Junebug, Roseluck, and Twilight was the most recent one."
He chuckled. "You know, I don't think I've met Junebug. Anyway, I guess Twilight just talked at the kids for like an hour?"
"Two actually." Cheerilee chuckled with him. "Magic studies is important, but it wasn't very interactive. You really went all out for yours. I might have to ask you again a couple months down the line."
"Maybe. I'm planning on going on a long trip. But if I'm here and you need a pony, then I'm for it." Skystrike agrreed as he looked at the kids playing with each other. "Hey... has Diamond Tiara... always been a problem? I'd say Silverspoon too, but Tiara doesnt seem to treat her too well either. It's kinda like Silverspoon is just stuck in the ditch she dug with Tiara."
Cheerilee cringed. "Yeah... honestly they'd both be good kids if it wasnt for Diamond Tiara, and for her mother, Spoiled Rich."
"...Real quick, was was her maiden name?"
"Spoiled Rich? Milk."
Skystrike stared. "Her full name is Spoiled Milk? Damn, now I feel bad for her... Anyway, give me a heads up if something happens. If the Richs try to strongarm you with money or funding, make sure I'm the first to know."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd rather you not hurt anypony."
"I never said I would. I have my own connections with Filthy Rich from years ago. He owes me a debt. But that's a story for another time. Maybe at the bar later this week?"
"Sure. By the way, Ivory wont be able to come, but Redheart is bringing some of her nurse friends. That all good with you?"
Skystrike nodded. "Fine by me. Let's just not get drunk this time." He said as he bit into his food. Skystrike looked at the kids out in the distance, blasting each other with their new toys. "Hey, can I ask you a weird question?"
"Sure, go for it."
"I didn't grow up interacting with many ponies, so I don't really know too much about our society. After word spread around town about what you, me, and Ivory did, I wasn't really sure, so I figured I'd ask somepony I did it with, how... open are ponies about intercourse? Because that spread too fast."
Cheerilee chuckled. "You say that like you aren't a pony yourself. Mares are pretty open about it, but only the ones who can get it. You were my first stallion, admittedly. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I could be wrong, but it feels like a lot of mares are trying to hit on me. I'm dense as hell apparently, so I don't know. I just ask you because you're one of two ponies I've actually laid here. And... sorry your first was under the influence." He sighed.
"Don't worry about it. And there are some I know who have an eye for you, but probably most are just going for you since you seem like an easy lay... There's only a dozen or so stallions. Stallions can be picky, so when something like that happens, everypony shoots their shot."
"That makes-... wait, so mares think I'm a whorse then?" Skystrike looked at her.
"That isn't the right word for it... you aren't getting paid. Well, slut doesn't exactly fit either... you're not really open for sex, but you aren't super picky with your partner, and up for something casual."
"Yeah, I guess there isn't a word for that." He chuckled a bit. "Honestly, I'm kinda asking because I'm still thinking about getting into a relationship. Ignoring what I want to work on myself for, I also need to get used to societal standards with it. Most of the years where I could've learned that were when I was alone."
"Oh... well... if that's the case you should... probably know about this." Skystrike looked at the mare with a tilted head. "Some griffons I've met weren't fond of the idea. Well, you... might not have to deal with this, given your... stamina, but it's a bit of an unspoken rule that if a mare in a relationship isn't satisfied, she finds other partners."
"...I'm going to try not to judge. Is that normal? Like, each partner allows it?"
"Well, sometimes? It depends. Few are exclusive. Most mares respect their partners to get help from the herd. Some go for other stallions, often with their coltfriend or husbands permission like Mrs. Cake, or you know... cheating."
Skystrike blinked. "...Ignoring that Mr. Cake is a cuck, Things are starting to make a lot more sense. Thanks for telling me without making it awkward. I appreciate it."
Cheerilee nodded. "No problem." Then she shuffled in place. "...Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it."
"If you do decide to start a herd, could you keep me in mind?"
Skystrike thought about a lot of things when he was asked that. "You know... gotta respect you for shooting your shot. I'll keep you in mind, you are pretty cute, but it's a really big if. I'm... going through a lot right now. I... don't want to make any long term commitments at the moment. That being said, if you want me as a coltfriend, you gotta make me want you, else it'll seem like I'm with you out of pity"
Cheerilee gave an awkward chuckle. "You say that like you're going to die." Skystrike looked at her. "...Wait are you kidding? Oh my gosh, Nebula, I'm so sorry!"
"...My automated response is 'don't worry about it', but that's an insane thing to say." He sighed. "Please try not to tell anypony, I've only told one so far. There's a lot I still need to sort out. Before you ask, the only thing you can really do is treat me like you normally do. I want my last years here to be good ones."
"Oh... a-alright. I'll try my best."
"That's all I ask." Skystrike stood up and straightened his suit and tie. "I promised their sisters that I'd take Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom home. I'll make sure Scootaloo gets home safe too, I got a few things to do in town."
"Alright, but if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm willing to listen." Cheerilee offered as Skystrike began to walk away.
"I might take you up on that offer. I'll see you friday, Cheerilee." Skystrike cleaned up his trash and threw it in the trashcan as he walked to the kids playing together. "Hey, I promised everypony I'd get you all home at a reasonable time. You all got everything ready?" Each of them blasted him with their air vortex cannons. Skystrike couldn't keep a straight face. "Glad you're all enjoying those things."
Spike jumped on Skystrike's back with his tail wrapped around his cannon. "Yeah we are! These are great!"
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all ran around him. Sweetie Belle pouted. "Aw, how come only Spike gets to ride on your back?"
"You all can hop on, I'm not stopping you." Skystrike lowered his body for the rest of Spike's friends to jump on. "So, Applebloom, I'll be dropping you off first, then we'll turn back around and drop everyone else off." Skystrike said as he began walking towards the orchard. "I hope you all learned something today."
"Yeah! It was really fun too! I can't wait to blast granny with this!" Applebloom aimed her cannon to nothing in particular and released.
"...Oh yeah, I do have to deal with your granny... hopefully she's inside." Skystrike said under his breath. Then he noticed something.
Scootaloo was humming a tune to herself. "Hey, Mr. Nebula, what was that song you sang back when you were at Canterlot a month ago? I read about it in the newspapers, and Pinkie Pie played a recording of it. Where's it from?"
"Bruh, she recorded that?" Skystrike sighed. "Well, to answer your question, back when I was in highschool, my friends wanted to do a musical for a talent show. I wanted a choreographed sword battle. So, we decided to do both. I was in charge of the lyrics, they were in charge of the script. I played the villain, and my friends the heroes. The version Pinkie recorded was a version with newer lyrics to better show the beings in my group."
"Cool! I read the whole article about your fight too! Well... tried to. Rarity didn't let me finish. You're really strong! How'd you make that thing to break their shield?"
"Well, Physics, actually. It's a lot to learn, and different paths of study you'd have to go down, but it's similar to what I taught you all. It's actually a really interesting field to study." Skystrike could see the Barn in the distance as he reached the peak of a hill.
"Hey, what's Ms. Tethys like? I see her around town sometimes, but I never get to say hi." Scootaloo asked. "I see her flying with Rainbow Dash sometimes! Is she a good flyer?"
"Tethys is pretty chill. Heh, pun not intended. I didn't know she spent that much time with Rainbow. I've been holed up in my own studies for the past few weeks. Tell you what, we might see her on our way through town. I'll let you see for yourself." Skystrike stopped right in front of the barn. "Oh, what timing, hey Applejack."
The mare in question was walking out of the barn balancing a barrel of apples on her back. "Howdy, Nebula, howdy kids! Thanks for droppin' off Applebloom for me. Big Mac ain't feelin' to well."
"Well no prob, and hope he feels better. If it's medicine, I can see if Zecora can whip up something?" Skystrike let Applebloom down, the filly running inside.
Applejack was about to answer, but a voice was heard from inside. "Applejack, is that that young whipper snapper yer' always talkin' about?"
"Applejack, I am not dealing with her today."
"Granny, leave Nebula alone!" Applejack turned to look at the barn's door.
"Oh don't be like that! A stallion like him just needs a mare to get 'em in line! Show him who's boss!"
Skystrike blinked. "Oh god, she is old. Applejack, we're leaving now." He turned on his heels and started walking at a faster than normal pace.
Applejack hat to trot to keep up with him. "Sorry 'bout her. I'll try talking to her about it again. Thanks again for visiting the farm, despite that. Ya have no idea how lonely it gets sometimes."
"Hey, don't mention it. I know how it feels." Skystrike shook his head. "So, what's got you out and about?"
"Well, Tethys really liked my apples, and she wanted some more. Just out to deliver 'em. I'm flattered, honestly. No pony- er, body has liked my apples this much in years!"
"The sweet ones?" Applejack nodded at Skystrike's question. "Makes sense. She has a massive sweet tooth. Apparently the only sweets they have in the dragon lands are gems."
Spike jumped in at that. "What are the dragon lands like? What are other dragons like? So far, Tethys is the only other one I've met."
Skystrike paused at that. "I'm... not sure how to best answer that. Most dragons don't even leave their lands or seas. The ones that have, like Tethys or Kyne Lok from those months ago on the mountain, are outliers. I haven't been to the lands myself. Just... don't expect other dragons to be like Tethys. She's grown a lot since I've met her."
"Oh... alright." Spike said a bit disappointed.
"Hey, don't sound too sad. I'm sure Tethys can tell you a lot about dragons. They have a rich history if you're willing to listen to her for a while. She's been around for over 300 years, after all."
"Three hundred?" Scootaloo's jaw dropped. "Dragons live that long?"
"Actually, Tethys is considered young for a dragon. The dragon me and Applejack saw that was spewing out smoke was in his eight thousands. I don't know how their life expectancy varies, but from what some texts imply, there's a few dragons who are older than even the princesses, and we don't know their ages."
"That's... weird to think about, how I'll live so long." Spike rubbed his chin in though. "One week already goes by so slow..."
"Well, something you, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo should know: time goes by faster and faster as you get older." Applejack laughed.
"Wonder how the princess's feel." Skystrike thought aloud.
"Hey, Nebula, mind slowin' down? It's a bit hard to keep up with yer stride." Applejack huffed.
Skystrike did so. "My bad, didn't realize I was walking so fast... At least we're in town. Scootaloo, we're here." Skystrike let her down.
Scootaloo jumped down before running inside with her new toy. "Thank you, Mr. Nebula!"
"Alright, Spike, Sweetie Belle, I'm gonna say this to you two specifically, Twilight and Rarity will *probably* get mad at the cannons, so... you can use them less around them and keep it for a while longer, or use it more and it'll be funnier." He got up and started walking again.
Spike and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, then smiled mischievously. Applejack couldn't help but laugh. "Nebula, you're a bad influence."
"Well... probably, yeah. By the way, Sweetie Belle, you know if Rarity is hanging out with Tethys? I haven't seen her all day."
"Uh, I think they went looking for gems? Rarity had her wagon this morning. But she should be back by now!"
Skystrike stopped in front of Carousel Boutique. He could hear voices inside. Skystrike let Sweetie Belle off. "Well, they're definitely here..." His voice trailed off as he saw something in the distance coming from Canterlot. It was a dot in the distance, but a quick zoom of his visor made out what it was. Skystrike knocked on the door. "Tethys! Meet me at home in... twenty minutes! It's coming!" Skystrike jumped with excitement, startling Spike. "Sorry, Spike... hey, Applejack, I'm gonna drop off Spike really quick. I'll see you later!" Skystrike began running.
Spike was holding on to his neck. "Nebula! Why are we going so fast!? What's happening!?"
"I made a bet and won! They're finally delivering it!" Skystrike stopped in front of Twilight's library. "I'll see you next time Spike!" Skystrike let the dragon off his back before jumping into the air and flying towards his house.
Naga, his pet Earth Basilisk, was a bit grumpy having to wake up so quickly just to make a landing area for his coming reward, but all it took was a promise of some of Pinkie Pie's cookies to get her to help out. Naga really liked her cookies. Skystrike, Stardust, Zecora, and Tethys who just landed from her flight over watched as the airship, his airship landed.
The air blew their hair back as the giant fan like wings folded inwards as it landed. He was glad he did all the paperwork over the last month so he could fully take in the glory of his ship. It was a sister model of the Lavender Spirit, though was much bigger in size. The rudders were a beautiful silver color, complementing the mainly raven black hull with patterns of wind painted on with sky blue and violet, the wind starting at the bow of the ship and reaching to the back in swirls. And of course, Skystrike couldn't ignore the massive balloon holding it up. Same colors as his ship, in the shape of a flying whale. On both the forehead of the whale and the front of the ship was the four pronged star they were known for.
It was even bigger than he expected. Nearly the size of his house. Skystrike could barely contain his excitement." Heheheheheheheheheh"
Tethys and Zecora's jaws dropped. Tethys decided to ask the obvious. "You got an AIRSHIP for winning that???"
"Heheheheheheheh"
Zecora rubbed her eyes to make sure she saw things right. "When you spoke of an airship, a notion so slick, I did not imagine it'd be like this, or so quick."
Stardust couldn't help but agree. "To be honest, him winning that fight is still setting in."
"I'm just that guy!" He laughed to himself. The four watched as a dozen ponies walked off the airship, then making way and bowing as Celestia and Luna walked off. The two stopped in front of Skystrike and looked at him with small smiles on their faces. Skystrike looked back. He already knew what this was about. "...HA! HA! Do you wanna die? Cause-"
The princesses couldn't help but snort. Celestia tried to speak, but covered her mouth with a hoof as she turned away to laugh some more. Luna spoke first this time. "We must admit, it was a catchy song. Also... we are not sure if it's a good or bad thing that your... 'diss track' was one of the first songs we've heard upon our return."
Celestia cleared her throat. "Excuse me. It was amusing, but we ask you not to do one like that again. We have reason to believe it's influencing others."
Skystrike waved a hoof. "Oh, it was a one time thing. The plan was just to get our names out there with something insane but catchy. And it worked! You know... I actually plan on making some more. If you two decide to come by anytime soon, we could collab... actually, do you two even know how to sing?"
"Nebula, I used to sing Cadence lullabies. And while it would be amusing, it'd depend on what we'd sing... preferably not my 'forehead like a lightbulb' or how 'my booty need lipo'." Skystrike tried to keep a straight face while Stardust and Tethys looked at him, wondering what he sang.
"We believe we can sing quite well. But we've always wanted to try this... rap music you do." Luna hummed.
"Zecora helped with the rhymes. She's great."
"Well, before we get too off topic, going back to the contents of your letter this morning, you spoke about us needing a break. While I admit, I haven't had one in decades, but it's very hard to find the time. What do you mean by getting us away for a day or two?" Celestia waved a hoof to dismiss the ponies behind her.
Skystrike took the hint and motioned for his friends to go inside the house. Once out of earshot, he spoke. "So, Celestia you two know how you feel like you baby your ponies too much?"
Celestia nodded. "...Yeah?"
"Luna, you know how you feel like the guard today is lacking discipline and is weaker than 1000 years ago?"
Luna nodded as well. "While it is a time of peace, we do feel that our divisions have gotten a bit... lax."
Skystrike sat down and started making various hoof motions. "So, and hear me out until the end for this, we stage a foalnapping?" Their eyebrows raised slowly. "I infiltrate the castle to show how easy I can get past the guard, and I 'foalnap' you two, and you two can hang out for... however long the guard takes to either find you, or the public gets restless. You'd still raise the sun and moon, but whatever logistics division will have to put off day and night court, so the ponies can think for themselves for a bit, instead of running to their mommies."
Celestia opened her mouth to protest, then put a hoof on her chin in thought. "Well, that is bare bones but... it could work."
"It'll only work if I can sneak past and into... well, what's the most guarded place in the castle?"
"Our bed chambers... surely you aren't suggesting you'd sneak into our chambers~?" Luna teased.
"I've done it before. And why you gotta say it like that?" Skystrike put his hooves on his hips in fake sass.
"He has done it before as a colt... I upped the security soon after too. It did show the gaps." Celestia admitted and kept thinking. "Very well, if you can sneak within our chambers within the next month, we will go along with your idea. Preferably not in the next week, as I have to talk to some trusted staff... as well as plan for anypony foolish enough to try and fill that vacuum of power."
Skystrike nodded. "Alright. And you know if anypony becomes too much of a problem, you can call on me. It's what I do." Celestia raised a brow again. "No, I wont kill, just threaten... Oh, speaking of ponies being a problem, are you allowed to tell me about what happened to Upper Crust, Caesar, and all the ponies up in that village?"
Luna smiled at that. "Well, Opal went back home the week after your spar with Cadence and Shining. Everypony is safe for now. While we weren't sure what to do with that dragon, Opal suggested that he goes back to the village with her for him to attempt to atone for his actions, and those of his brethren. They told us to give you their thanks once more. They actually sent a letter to us recently, wishing to name their village after you. We allowed it of course, dubbing it the Atlas Nebula mining town."
Skystrike smiled at that. "Huh... Well, I'm flattered."
Luna continued. "They've also sent back the materials from the dragon corpses, as well as some gemstones as a gift, all on your airship. We must admit, when we saw the pelts of the dragons, we were impressed by the amount you took down, as well as the size. We hope you do not mind that a sizeable amount was taken to pay the processors and transportation of the materials."
"As for Upper Crust, while I can't tell you too much, as the investigation is still ongoing, he has been stripped from his management of Atlas town. Count Caesar is also being looked into for his guards negligence." Celestia paused for a moment in thought. "...Because of this new opening in government, there is a chance for you to further protect those ponies if you wish?"
Skystrike blinked. "You... you're saying I should become a noble?"
Luna nodded. "To be quite honest, you already are in title. Just like Cadence and... Blueblood, you are part of royalty. As a prince, you can lay claim to a territory."
Celestia cleared her throat. "And to be honest, it would make our jobs easier if you did so. Until you reveal your identity, you'd have the title of a viscount. If you do decide to reveal yourself, your official title and power will be prince. Needless to say, you won't have as much political power as Cadence. You will have to serve in the guard for a time, however. Are you interested?"
Skystrike thought about it for a moment. "I'm... not against it. The politics part sounds like it'll be a pain though, especially since my gut is telling me Upper Crust and Caesar are working together, and I'm right next to the former..."
Celestia put up a hoof. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I assure you it's much easier than you think. The hardest parts for you would probably be negotiations with other nobles, but you can get around that easily. And while Vanhoover might be hard to do trade with, once you get a train station running, it's smooth sailing. You'd also be the closest railway wise to Griffonstone. After a little while, you can simply put somepony in charge to do all the paperwork for you. You'd just need to sign deeds and the like."
"Doesn't sound... too bad, but I'll need some time to think about it. If it wasn't obvious with the airship, I planned on doing some traveling. Got some loose ends I need to tie up. I'd leave in about... two months, then be gone for a month, back a few weeks before the gala." Skystrike explained.
"Well, if that's the case, we believe it's best to wait for the gala, then for your coronation." Celestia looked at the sun, seeing it be about half past three. "We won't take too much more of your time, as some ponies are inside waiting to see you. We bid you farewell, Skystrike." Celestia smiled at him before changing to her Sunny Skies persona and walking towards Ponyville. Luna followed behind her, doing the same and turning into Starry Night.
Skystrike wondered who'd he'd see. He climbed up the ladder to his ship and walked from the main deck and opened the double doors. On the other side was two hallways to his left and right that lead to the lower decks of the ship. Directly in front of him was the captain's quarters, the door to it being half open. Well, if anypony was inside, they'd be there.
The pegasus pushed open the door to see some familiar, yet unexpected faces. "Huh, didn't expect to see you three here."
His friend Casta, and his sisters Dawnstone and Astral Night, turned to hug him. "Skystrike! How've you been?" Astral asked.
Dawnstone nuzzled his neck, but made sure to be careful to not ruin her makeup. "Hey, big brother! It's been a while!"
Casta used her magic to straighten her glasses. "Good to see you. How's the past month been treating you?"
Skystrike hugged them all back. "Good to see you all! I've been fine, just been busy. You wouldn't believe the month I had. But what brings you girls here?"
They all backed up from the hug as Casta spoke first. "Well, when the princesses notified me of you getting an airship, I thought I'd come visit. Astral, who began working as my assistant a few weeks ago wanted to come, and Dawnstone was free. But what I actually wanted to test was a long range teleportation magic circle. I've set up a test one within my tower, and it worked flawlessly, thanks to Astral's help! Now, we set up a bigger one in my tower, and I figured I could set one up here!"
"Oh, alright! Sounds good! Can you set it up within the airship? I plan on doing some traveling in a few months, and it'd be convenient."
Casta thought for a moment at the thought. "Well, it's... maybe? It would already take quite a bit of magic to teleport us from Canterlot to Ponyville... Teleporting while moving is also difficult, since normally a unicorn would teleport to a set location... I suppose if we had a magic anchor within this ship it would work in theory but... that would require magic equivalent to three unicorns specializing in magic."
Skystrike's ears perked up. "Actually, you know how I have no magic? And your theory of mana?"
"Yeah?"
"Turns out that I technically do have magic, but my 'mana' doesnt get turned into magic naturally like you all. If you can figure out a way to take out my mana and use it, it should be more that enough to power whatever." Skystrike explained.
Casta's eyes glistened. "Interesting! I've already been working on a mana extractor! We'll send you a letter once it's done! Could you go into more detail?"
"A bit later. I want to show you three around town. I think you'll like the place. You three plan on spending the night?" Skystrike rolled his wing joints.
Dawnstone nodded. "The plan was to find a hotel for a day or two. I took the next few days off. If you have room and you're offering, I'll stay." Astral and Casta nodded in agreement.
"Alright. I'll prepare the guest rooms later tonight." Skystrike stretched a bit. "But just try and remember to call me Nebula in public. Few ponies know who I am here."
Casta, Astral, and Dawnstone followed Skystrike around town as they talked. Their first stop was a late lunch... well another late lunch for Skystrike. Honestly at this point it was an early dinner, it being around three in the afternoon. They stopped by his house first before packing up the food and deciding to have a picnic in town.
Dawnstone began unwrapping her sandwich with her magic. "You know, I wasn't expecting to see Tethys again... You know, I never asked, what did you get all dressed up for? Had a date?"
Skystrike shook his head. "I did some volunteer work for the Schoolhouse. I was teaching introductory physics. That being said, in hindsight, I really didn't need to get dressed up."
"Damn... big brother doesn't get any mares..." She pouted, then laughed at the look Skystrike gave her. "Most stallions your age at least have some experience."
Skystrike side eyed her. "Dawnstone, I've literally haven't had the time."
Astral hummed. "That makes sense, but you should at least start looking. You're 25 and haven't had a marefriend yet. Most colts have had like three at least."
"Why the hell does every conversation I have with a mare end up being about me getting a marefriend?" Skystrike put down his food. "But if you two *must* know, I want to work on myself before I get into a relationship."
"Well, you've already got a few friends. What about them? And you've already grown a lot. Are you being realistic about the expectations you have for yourself?" Dawnstone said as she and Astral turned to face him.
"There's no way any of my friends are interested in me." He shook his head at the thought. "We're friends for a reason."
Dawnstone sighed and put her face in her hooves. "Dear Celestia, you're dense... Actually, let me ask this first: How many girls here do you actually know personally? Like, you've spoken to them personally, and not out of convenience?"
Skystrike thought about it, then began listing ponies. "Well... Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Zecora, Tethys, Mayor Mare, Cheerilee, Vynil, Casta..." He felt like he was forgetting one. "Oh, and Derpy."
"...And you don't think any of them are interested?" Dawnstone pushed her hair back with a hoof.
"Well... I found out today that one of them is, but I told her I need to work on myself first... I'm... not the pony I come off as. I'll tell you about it another time. I'd rather move on from this."
Dawnstone huffed. "Fine, I'll leave you alone for now."
Skystrike was about to bite into his food again when a thunder cloud was kicked right above him, causing him and the mares around him to jump. The four looked up at the cloud, seeing a rainbow pegasus stick her head out laughing. "You should've seen the look on your faces! Bwaaahahahaha!"
Skystrike sighed and bit into his food. "Everypony, this is Rainbow Dash."
The mare in question landed in front of Skystrike. "Coolest and fastest pegasus in Ponyville!" Rainbow smirked as she struck a pose. "I see studinator finally got himself a herd!"
Skystrike groaned at the nickname. Astral and Dawnstone, who were cuddling at each of Skystrike's sides, looked at each other and began laughing. Skystrike scratched his head. "Rainbow, let me introduce you to my sisters Astral Night and Dawnstone. My friend sitting across from me is Casta Spell."
Rainbow's wings froze in place, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, uh... my bad?" Astral and Dawnstone laughed harder. "In my defense, I just heard around town that you came in with three hot babes."
"I hate this place sometimes. I just want to eat my fuckin food..."
"What do you mean by 'studinator'?" Casta tilted up her hat to look at Rainbow. "Nopony has explained it to me."
Skystrike stared at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow... I don't want to talk about that.
Rainbow smirked. "Nebula here bagged a threesome a month ago." Skystrike sighed in frustration.
Dawnstone chuckled. "And here I thought you had no game."
Skystrike looked at them, then stood up. "I'm... going for a walk. Don't follow me." He quickly stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth before turning and walking off.
Their ears went back. Rainbow tried to call out to him. "Hey, w-wait!" She flew up behind him.
Skystrike turned and stomped his hoof and stared daggers at her, causing Rainbow to freeze and land on the ground. He growled slightly and began walking again. He'd like to keep his private life private, but of course, skittles thinks the whole thing is a big joke. Guess she wanted an audience too... He shook his head to try and get the thought out of his head. Skystrike walked aimlessly for a few minutes before he saw a familiar face. "Hey Pinkie, how's things?"
The pink mare with an umbrella hat on looked at him, then her tail twitched. "Oh no! Twitchy tail!"
"...What?"
"My tail is twitching! You know what that means..."
Skystrike tilted his head. "That... your tail is itchy? What else does it-" Skystrike didn't get to finish his sentence as his hoof went into a hole in the ground, causing him to trip and fall. "...Haaaaah..." He was tired of today.
Pinkie gave a sigh of relief. "At least it wasn't a bad fall." Pinkie helped Skystrike up. "I guess you haven't had to deal with things yet, so I'll explain it really quick. I have a Pinkie sense!"
Skystrike brushed some dirt off himself. "I see... so what does that entail? Your 'Pinkie sense'?"
"Well, if my tail twitches, that means something is going to fall! There's a lot... I'll tell you about it as it happens!" She smiled. Then her tail twitched again. "Neby! Be careful!" Pinkie dove under somepony's porch. Skystrike was about to say something, but narrowly dodged a falling flowerpot by jumping backwards.
"Sorry!" The two looked up to see where the voice came from. Roseluck gave a nervous smile. "Are you ok?"
"Uh, yeah, just be a bit more careful." Skystrike nodded, then turned back to Pinkie Pie. "You know, I'd normally say correlation does not equal causation, but I can't predict you... let's say I believe this sense of yours. What else can it predict?"
Pinkie rubbed her chin in thought and tapped her hoof. "Well... If my back hair stands up, that means watch out for pointy things. Or if my nose itches, it means watch out for bees!"
"All of these are... oddly specific. Is that normal?" Skystrike hid under the porch with Pinkie, as he noticed her tail was twitching again.
"Yeah, or at least I think so. I don't know anypony else who has these senses." Pinkie checked her surroundings as she dashed under a wagon. Skystrike decided to follow, looking slightly up to check for anything that could fall. The two traveled for a while, Pinkie hiding under and behind various different things. How she flattened herself to hide under a rock like flat Stanley, he had no idea. "Oh, by the way, word around town is you were seen with some mares?"
"Sisters and Casta. You met Casta." He said flatly.
"Yeesh... touchy subject?"
"I don't like when ponies keep 'teasing' me about relationships. Or my sex life. If I'm not fucking laughing about it, then I don't want to keep being teased about it. I'm lax about most things, but I have boundaries. Apparently, I just haven't shown where those boundaries are well enough." He sighed. "But it's my own fault... I'm not that good at sharing how I feel, and I end up pushing others away. I thought I was getting better but... I feel like I'm relapsing. And I don't want to go back..."
"Well... if it makes you feel better, you've gotten a lot better since you first moved here. I... still regret how I-... how this whole town avoided you for a while. Thank you for being my friend despite that." She got out from under a wagon and hugged him. "I know that my antics annoy you sometimes, but you still put up with me. I really appreciate it. You're... a much better pony than you think of yourself."
Skystrike return the hug. "It... it does help. Thank you, Pinkie. And also, it's not that you annoy me. It's actually pretty amusing most times. Sometimes, it's just a bit... much. Like that time you gave me a giant cupcake because the order I put in was written in capital l letters, and I will admit, in hindsight, It was pretty funny.
She let go of the hug and snorted before laughing. "What was funnier was that you committed to the bit and ate the whole thing there."
Pinkie's tail twitched as she went to grab it and hold it in her hooves. "Hmmm... Twitchy twitcha twitcha twitch..."
Twilight and Spike walked up to the two. The former spoke first. "Pinkie, Nebula, what in the wide, wide world of equestria are you two up to?"
"Oh, it's my tail, it's my tail! It's-a twitcha twitchin!" Pinkie shoved her tail in the unicorns face. "And you know what that means!"
"Actually, I don't have the slightest idea."
"It means my Pinkie sense is telling me that stuff is gonna start falling! You should better duck for cover!"
Twilight and Spike looked at each other. Twilight was amused, but Spike was a bit worried. "Oh Pinkie, it's not gonna rain! There's barely even a cloud in the-" Twilight was interrupted by a frog coming from the sky and slapping her in the face. Then it croaked. Skystrike could barely contain his laugh.
The three four looked up to where the frog fell from to see Fluttershy flying in the air with a wagon and saddlebags full of frogs. "Oh, I'm so so sorry! You ok, Twilight Sparkle? I just couldn't stand to see the pond getting so overpopulated, what with the frogs all hopping into each other and all, so I decided to fly as many as I can over to Froggy Bottom Bog."
Twilight got more and more annoyed as the frog crawled on her face. "Of course you did."
Skystrike processed what the pegasus mare said as he grabbed the frog on Twilight's cheek. "Hold on, you're telling me your going to that bog alone?" He flew up and put the frog in the wagon. "I'm coming with you. You wouldn't believe the shit that goes on there. Pinkie, Twilight, Spike, we'll catch up later."
Fluttershy smiled. "I'm sure I'd be fine, but I do appreciate the help!" Fluttershy said as the two began flying towards the bog. "I haven't seen you in a few days. How've you been?"
"Things have been... going." Skystrike admitted. "I was pretty busy with some stuff. Making armor, weapons, budgeting, new inventions... It's real tedious, but a bit fun. Admittedly, I was in my workshop for so long that I didn't realize how many days passed."
Fluttershy turned her head to look at him. "How long were you working for?"
"Uh... four days. In my defense, I got my work done."
Fluttershy gave a hesitant chuckle. "Try not to do it again... I worry for you sometimes."
Skystrike flew up to her side to keep with her pace. "Really? While I appreciate it, you really don't have to. I'm fine."
"Skystrike, I have a brother. Although he's... nothing like you, I know from him that when you say 'you're fine', that you actually aren't. What you actually mean is that 'you'll be fine', and none of us like seeing you hurt yourself."
"Damn... just pick me apart, why don't you? You're right though." He sighed.
"Do you... want to talk about it?" Fluttershy offered.
"...You know what... I do, but it's a lot to throw at a pony." He flipped on his back and began flying backwards as he stared into the sky. "The relationship I have with you and everypony else, I... don't want to ruin it... To be honest, I feel like I unconsciously push everyone I know away, because I feel like if I get to close, I'll end up hurting them... My friends, my family, they already got hurt because of what I did, and what I didn't do."
Fluttershy nodded. "I understand what you mean... about getting too close to others at least. It took me a while to open up to ponies besides Rainbow Dash... I still feel like my friends are just around me for convenience, but I know you all care. I just need to remind myself of that."
Skystrike sighed. "I've been doing that too, and it does help. I just... I cant really keep telling myself that when I feel like I'm lying to you all. I want something more than the friendship we're stuck with, because I'm too scared to break out of this... faux normality. But if I reveal to you what I really am, then our friendship could be bought into question."
The two landed in the middle of Froggy Bottom Bog. Skystrike rolled up his sleeves as he helped Fluttershy unload the frogs. The two pegasi did so in silence for a little before Fluttershy thought of the best way to answer. "Skystrike, I doubt there's anything that can ruin our friendship... You can tell me. I wont tell anypony."
Skystrike took in a deep breath, then released it as he sat down. "You may be surprised... this is going to sound stupid, but I can't exactly tell you my secret unless you have some idea of what I am. Some type of mental block I have."
"Is... this related to what you said about being a child soldier back at your party? You were serious about that?"
"I mean, where else would I get my arm?" He tapped his metal arm as he took off his helmet. "Honestly, all I can do is give you hints."
Fluttershy thought for a moment. "...You said 'what I really am'... so are you... not a pony?" Skystrike nodded. "Well that... is a lot to take in... wait, so you haven't been a pony since we met?" Skystrike shook his head. "So... that's... I'm confused... are you a shapeshifter? An illusionist?"
Skystrike nodded. "Something like that... do you know what a changeling is?" This time, Fluttershy shook her head. "Basically, they're like bug ponies that are naturally gifted in illusion. They're able to completely change their look into almost anything. Like ponies for example."
"So then... you're a Changeling? I don't see why you were so hesitant to tell me about that, especially since you introduced us to Tethys." Fluttershy tilted her head.
"Well, I do appreciate that, but you're a bit off the mark... I was raised by Changelings. I learned their magic, but to an... arguably better but more dangerous degree. They can make their illusions have a physical form. I change my biology through magic, if that makes sense..."
"A bit, yes... I'm just... trying to think it through... So you can use magic?"
"Not in the traditional sense... You for example, make magic subconsciously. I have to make it consciously."
"Like a unicorn?"
"I mean... kinda? Lets just say for simplicity, yes."
Fluttershy sat down in front of him. "I'm... I have no idea what you could be... some kind of alien?"
"Yes actually. Excuse me for a minute..." Skystrike took off his suit and tie, then used his magic to turn back into his original body. "This is what I am... I'm human." He shook his long grey hair out of his light blue eyes. "I wish I could've told you earlier but... I'm kinda on the run... Honestly, me admitting this to you is putting you in danger if the princesses find out."
Fluttershy, although a little scared of the sudden change in appearace, she hot a bit closer. "I've... never seen, or even heard of a creature like you. Are you... humans normally so big and muscular?"
"No, most humans are about six inches shorter than me. As for my muscles, they're all natural. I'm not able to transform into something smaller than me, and it takes a lot of mana to generate mass." He explained.
Fluttershy couldn't help but chuckle. "That explains why you were so hard to drag to your house a month ago..." Skystrike smiled at that. "But I do have... a lot of questions..."
Skystrike nodded as he crossed his legs. "Ask away."
"How many have you told besides me? And... why tell me now of all times?"
"That... I've revealed my secret to Tethys, Zecora, and Rainbow Dash in that order. I plan on telling each of our friends, but it's... hard finding the time. Answering the second part, it's because I'm running out of time... Back when I had that spar with Tethys, and Twilight had some theory or whatever, after I left, I found out that I... don't have much longer to live. I fear that if I don't share this soon, I wont have the chance to." He clenched a fist. "Rainbow was the only one I told the specifics to so far... At best, I have 15 years... at worst, five."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide. It took a while for her to process what her friend said before she started crying. At first, it was a few tears falling one after another, then it turned into a river of tears. Skystrike walked up to her and crouched down to hug her. She couldn't help but return the hug, burying her face in his chest, muffling her wails. The sat like this for minutes on end before Fluttershy forced out some words through sobs. "I'm... I'm so... sorry..."
Skystrike brushed her mane with a hand. "There's... nothing I can really say to make you feel better. I'm still coming to terms with it myself but know this. I want to spend my last years in this world to with you, and everyone else. I want to keep the relationships we have. I'm tired of running away."
"Sky we... we just got you back!" She cried, pushing herself out of his chest to look at him. "And now... we have to lose you again... it's... it's not fair!"
"I know, Fluttershy... I want to live, just as much as you want me to. But the deck of life just gave me a bad hand. I got to play it the best of my ability." Skystrike sighed. "I want to stay friends with you, but if this is too much for you, I completely understand, but-"
"I want to be your friend! I want to have good times together!" Fluttershy yelled through the tears.
"Thank you, Fluttershy... you got no idea how much that means to me." Skystrike pulled her into a hug again.
The two held each other for a while longer before Fluttershy wiped her tears away. "I know this is a bit late to be asking but... you were human this whole time? Was... was everything we went through just an act to you?"
"You know, Rainbow asked the same question. I'll give you the same answer... The flesh may be an illusion, but the experiences are real. I've never lied about who I am."
"Then... why hide about who you were in the first place?"
"...When I first came to this world, it was... not good. Ever heard about that meteor that hit Canterlot?"
Fluttershy looked up at him. "That was you? Then... why are you so close to the princesses!?"
Skystrike chuckled. "It's the last place they'd look."
"Then... what happens if they catch you?"
"Well... best case scenario, they see that I've been Skystrike this while time, and I can go about a mostly normal life. Worst case... lets not fret over hypotheticals..." Skystrike dread the thought. The two stayed like that for a while more before Skystrike heard something. Hoof steps, and flapping wings. Two distinct wing flaps, and about... six ponies running. They were getting closer. "Fluttershy, ponies are coming, so I gotta change back. Please don't tell anyone about this."
Fluttershy nodded and backed up, letting Skystrike turn back into a pony and put back on his clothes and helmet. The two shied away from each other awkwardly as the beings in question came out of the forest and into view. Twilight, Casta, Pinkie, Applejack, Spike, Tethys, Rainbow Dash, Astral, and Dawnstone all ran to them. Dawnstone ran up and hugged her brother. "Thank goodness you're ok!"
Skytrike put a hoof around her. "Uh yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"
"I'm so glad everypony is alright!" Pinkie smiled.
Spike jumped to hug Fluttershy as Twilight cleared her throat. "I don't mean to say I told you so buy... AHA!" They all jumped. "I told you there was nothing to worry about, Pinkie, and I was right!" Twilight began gloating as a low rumble was heard. A thick fog surrounded them all as Twilight began coughing. Everyone else backed away from Twilight as she continued through the coughs. "Pinkie Pie said whatever she was shuddering about was a doozie, and the only doozie here is about how right I am!"
Applejack gulped. "Uh, Twilight..."
"Pinkie's made a lot of predictions today but..." She coughed once more. "What is that smell?" Twilight looked around. Skystrike, Tethys, and Casta all got ready to fight, while everyone else was a hair away from running. "But what we've shown here is that there-"
Skystrike interrupted her. "Twilight, shut the fuck up and get out of the way!" Skystrike jumped towards her to grab her, throwing her back to the group. "Astral! Snap out of it, catch Twilight!" Skystrike ordered. Astral did so almost instantly and put Twilight down. "Tethys, Casta, with me! Astral, Get everyone else our of the danger zone!" He said before the four heads of the Hyrda each let out a deafening roar.
Tethys flew into the air while Casta prepped her magic and Skystrike made sure everyone was a safe distance away. Everyone was there. "Tethys, fly high! Take aggro on two of the heads. I'll take another two! Casta, use some fire spells! The moment we get a chance to run, we're taking it!"
"Right!" Casta and Tethys said as they got ready. Skystrike flew into the air and dove at one of the heads, spinning and bucking at the jaw of the beast. The head recoiled in pain while another opened their wide jaws to clamp down on him. He narrowly dodged it. Tethys shot a beam of ice at the two other heads, them growling and pulling the rest of it's body out of the bog, to face them. Casta launched a large fireball at the chest of the monster, making it recoil. Of course, because of that, the four heads focused on the unicorn mage, each head diving at her.
Casta realized, and in a split second, teleported out of the way and into the air. "Skystrike!" Casta called out. He already knew what to do, grabbing her hoof and throwing her onto flat ground, Casta slowing her fall with a spell while simultaneously charging another flame blast. Skystrike flew full force into the spot Casta fired, making the Hydra move back a few feet and lurch backwards. "Tethys!"
"On it!" The dragoness took the small window of free time she had to uproot a tree with her claws. She made a thick block of ice around it with her breath before swinging it at the torso of the Hydra. Each of the heads roared in pain as the frozen tree broke from the force, making the entire creature fall backwards. Unfortunately, it fell towards the bystanders. They were barely able to run out of the way.
Skystrike and Tethys landed next to the group, while Casta teleported over, catching her breath a bit. "Dang... it's been a while since... I've had to do that... Adrenaline is still going..."
Skystrike trotted over to one of the heads. It was still breathing, but unconscious. It almost felt too easy. Rainbow pumped a hoof. "That was so awesome!"
"Why are you all here? Do you know-... well you know now how dangerous this place is... Why did you all come here?" Skystrike huffed a bit.
Twilight shook off her fear response and began explaining. "Well, after you went to help Fluttershy, I began following Pinkie Pie around to study her Pinkie Sense. Then I met Casta, Astral, and Dawnstone, who were walking around with Rainbow Dash looking for you. When I told them where you were and what I was doing, Casta and Astral decided to help me out. We didn't get good results..."
Dawnstone picked up where Twilight left off. "Anyway, when we were walking around, I saw Tethys and decided to catch up. Then Pinkie started doing some full body jitters saying a... doozie was going to happen? And then Tethys said that there were some dangerous creatures here, so we all got worried and came to see for ourselves."
Skystrike blinked at that. "While I appreciate the worry... don't run into dangerous areas knowing the area is dangerous. It would've been a lot easier to just take Fluttershy and run than fight this thing..."
Rainbow Dash leaned an elbow on one of the heads of the Hydra. "Well, it all turned out well. Glad you're ok. Was worried there for a bit..."
"...Hold on, just processed that first part. You all came here because of a Pinkie sense?"
Pinkie nodded and smiled. "Yeah! A doozie happened! Like my full body jitters told me!" Then she vibrated in place. "...Nevermind, that wasn't it."
Applejack straightened her hat. "Buck you mean, that wasn't it?"
"That wasn't the doozie! I'm still getting the shutters! Whatever doozie that's here, it still hasn't happened!"
Twilight twitched. "Huh? But I... What!? The Hydra wasn't the doozie? How could it not be the doozie!? What's more doozier than that!?" She stomped.
Skystrike looked at her. "Twilight. It's Pinkie we're talking about. I don't know why you keep trying to predict her."
Twilight's face strained in anger as she looked at the pink mare. Skystrike could've swore she erupted into flames from her rage. Hehe... cracatowa... he thought to himself. Then she fell on the floor. "I give up." She sighed.
"Give what up, Twi?" Spike crouched down to her.
"The fight... I can't fight it anymore. I don't understand how, why or what..." Twilight admitted to both Spike and herself. "Pinkie Sense somehow... makes sense! I don't see how it does, but it... just does. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean it's not true!"
Pinkie's jittering intensified. "Y-y-you mean y-y-ou... b-b-b-eli-i-i-i-eve?"
"Yes, Pinkie... I guess I do."
Then Pinkie... he couldn't even describe what she was doing. Looney tuning? Is that a verb? It is now. How else does one describe expanding like a balloon, lengthening your limbs like rubber, then deflating as some odd sound effects played. Skystrike looked at Casta, who looked back, then at Tethys, who looked back, then Astral, then Dawnstone, both giving back the same look that said 'what the fuck?'. Then, abruptly, Pinkie stopped. "...That was it! That was the doozie!"
Twilight tilted her head. "What... what is?"
"You believing me! I never expected that to happen!" Pinkie jumped up and down. "Oh what a doozie it was!"
Skystrike groaned. "Today was... certainly a day of all time. Nice job though, you two. Good to see our teamwork hasn't gotten rusty." He gave a hoof bump to each of them.
Rainbow jumped on the head of the Hyrda. "You know... I had no idea something like this was living so close to Ponyville... What are we going to do with it?"
"Well, can't disrupt the ecosystem. this hydra is one of the reasons that the Ursa Major doesn't get too ballsy. We'll leave it here to wake up later." Skystrike explained. "I want to take a nap..."
Rainbow was about to ask Skystrike something as the rest began to walk back towards Ponyville. Unexpectedly however, the head that Rainbow Dash was leaning on snapped awake, throwing her spinning into the air as it jumped up. The head turned and opened its jaws to swallow Rainbow whole. Her eyes shrunk as time seemed to slow. Everyone's jaws dropped as they saw it happen. Only Skystrike was able to react fast enough, flying and pushing her out of the way as the jaws clamped down on his torso. Several crunches echoed through the bog as Skystrike screamed, before gritting his teeth.
Tethys dug her talons into the neck of the only conscious head, hitting an artery and killing the head. Skystrike coughed out some blood as he dragged himself out of the jaws. Tethys was about to gut the Hydra before Skystrike put a hoof on her leg to stop her. "Skystrike! Are you ok!?" Tethys called out as she crouched down to him.
"Tethys... my ribs are fucking broken..."
"Right, dumb question, sorry!" Tethys went to pick him up in her arms, but stopped when he grunted. "Sorry, sorry... I'll try and be more careful!"
Casta looked around. "We need a stretcher! It'll hurt less and be easier to carry him. Shit... Rainbow! You're fast, right! Go to the hospital and tell them to prepare for him!" Rainbow Dash began flying as fast as she could. Casta used her magic to gather some tree branches and fiber to make a make shift stretcher.
Skystrike wiped some blood off his chin as he rolled on his side. "Sorry you... had to see me like this... this was supposed to be... a good day."
"Shut up and focus on breathing! And try not to move!" Casta doubled up on the fiber to make sure it could hold his weight. Tethys! I'm riding on your back! I'll use my magic to keep him steady!" Tethys nodded, picking up her friend an putting her between her wings. "Let's go!"
Skystrike felt himself getting lifted into the air as his consciousness waned. He tried to focus on breathing. "I'm... still not... strong enough..." He said to himself as he tried to keep his eyes open.
Everyone waited in the waiting room with baited breath. It was about to turn eight. Fluttershy, Twilight, and Pinkie went to tell their other friends as Skystrike was being transported, while Casta went to tell Zecora once she calmed down. The silence hadn't been broken in over an hour, aside from Rarity and Zecora getting caught up to speed. Casta saw Rainbow sitting alone with a guilty look on her face.
Casta teleported to the seat next to her. Rainbow didn't even look at her. "...What do you want..."
Casta took off her hat and sighed. "I know what you're thinking. It's not your fault." Rainbow Dash looked up at her. "More ponies, and dragons here have thought what you're thinking."
Rainbow Dash frowned a little. "I doubt that... he could've died because of me."
Casta got a bit angry at that, rubbing her head in frustration. "Look, mare, I'm going to ignore that first part. Let me tell you something... Nebula has almost died for each of us in all." She pointed a hoof at the beings in question. "I used to be a noble in Canterlot, but because I specialized in Enchanting and Destruction in a family that specialized in Conjuration. My own family tried to kill me because I was an 'embarrassment'. He saved me from them, and almost died in the process."
Tethys nodded. "I was being hunted down by ponies. He nursed me back to health and fought against my hunters."
Zecora agreed as well. "Once poisoned, I was left in disarray. He returned battered and bloodied, but with the cure in display."
Astral looked up from hugging Dawnstone. "He saved me, Dawnstone, and the rest of our siblings from a fire. The one we thought he died in."
"And let's not even get into why we split up in the first place." Casta took of her glasses to clean them. "We all blame ourselves, as if analyzing every mistake we made that lead up to what we went through will 'fix' things. I can't even begin to relate to Astral, thinking that she was the reason her brother died... but he helped each of us because he wanted to. He cares for us. He makes sure to put those he cares about first, even before himself. That's why he saved you. And I'll tell you this: for me at least, he was more upset that I blamed myself then I was in danger in the first place." Astral, Tethys, and Zecora all hummed in agreement.
Rainbow Dash sighed. "I'm... sorry... I didn't mean it like that... I was just... an ass to him earlier, and... I don't want this to be the way it ends."
Nurse Redheart and Snowheart opened the door, taking off their masks. The former spoke first. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Doctor Horse is finishing up now."
Rainbow asked "How is he?"
"Well... could be better." Redheart admitted. "There was just... so much that threw us off."
Tethys turned to look at her. "...And what does that mean?"
Snowheart waved a hoof. "Oh no no no, nothing dangerous... mostly... First we tried to do an X-ray on him, but he couldn't fit in the MRI, or take of his helmet in the first place, so Dr. Horse tried to use his magic to see what was broken. Then we find out that his entire right arm is metal, so we had to avoid that, since we also didn't know how to detach it."
Redheart continued as Snowheart trailed off. "The hard part was the surgery. He did have two broken ribs and a punctured lung, but he's fine. He's much stronger than I thought. A normal pony's bones would be shattered. Anyway, the surgery was hard because of his size... we weren't allowed to give him enough of the sedative to keep him under, or rather, go under in the first place. But other than that, he'll be ok. Just needs about 6 weeks to heal."
Twilight slowly craned her neck forward at that. "He's been conscious? For the entire surgery?"
RedHeart nodded. "You have to understand. We literally gave him the max amount of morphine and anesthesia that we could give him for his own safety. We'd need to test his blood if we wanted to sedate him properly. Even though we recommended he get some rest, He wishes to go home, insisting he'll be fine. Just need to wait a few more minutes."
Meanwhile, Skystrike was talking to his doctor as he wrote on a clip board. Skystrike tried to ignore the itchy stitches, as well as the pain. He want's to get home as fast as he can. That way, he can heal in private. Dr. Horse hummed. "Your biology is amazing. Your blood clotted much quicker than the average pony's, not to mention how strong your bones are... Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Are you... quite sure you're alright? You were conscious that whole time."
Skystrike laughed, then winced. "Ow... hurts to laugh. To be honest, I know I'm high on morphine right now, and just coming off of anesthesia that did nothing, but I'm fine... It was a bit weird though, seeing my own lungs, but hey, you three stitched me up well!"
Dr. Horse sighed as he wrote on his clipboard some more. "I still urge you to stay until morning at least, just to make sure that your stitches don't get undone."
"Promise doc, I'll be careful..." Skystrike rubbed his bandages, a tiny bit of blood visible on his left side. "Damn... it hurts to breathe too... promise, I'll be fine. I promise I'll come back if anything happens."
"Fine..." The unicorn stallion used his magic to roll over a wheelchair for Skystrike to get into. "I've prescribed you some pain medications if it gets to bad. Remember, you fractures three ribs, broke two, and broke your left wing. Needless to say, try not to move much. Stay in a wheelchair for a week or two before even attempting to walk. And don't think about flying."
"Alright..." Skystrike took the small bottle of pills as he winced and got into the wheelchair. "Huh... I'm surprised you got one for me to fit in."
"Well, after the Ursa Minor, we thought we'd get one, just in case."
"Aw... you do care..." Skystrike laughed. "Ow..." He began rolling himself to the doorway, pushing the door open to see his friends talking to the two nurses. "The whole gang's here... Anyone got something to eat?"
A few relieved sighs were heard as Redheart cleared her throat. "You just finished. Don't eat anything until tomorrow noon."
"Fiiiiine... but can I drink when we meet on Friday?" Redheart couldn't help but giggle and nod. "Sweet... Anyway, what we doing?" Dawnstone and Astral nearly tackled him in a hug. "Ow! Fuck!"
Dawnstone wiped her tears, making sure not to ruin her make up. "Sorry, I'm just... glad we didn't lose you again..."
Then Astral looked at his right arm, lifting it to see the skin-like sleeve torn by the teeth of the Hydra. "The nurse wasn't kidding... It is metal... When did you lose it? While you were away?"
Skystrike shook his head. "Before I even met any of you. I'll tell you about it another time... for now, I want to take a nap... I've had a hell of a day. Thanks for coming, everyone. I'll do my rounds tomorrow... Actually, Rainbow." The mare in question's ears perked up. "Walk with me. Tethys, Stardust, show those three their rooms and I'll meet you all at the house." Skystrike began pumping his forehooves to roll himself out the hospital. It took a moment for Rainbow to gather her thoughts before deciding to follow him.
The two traveled in silence for a few minutes before stopping at the lake. Rainbow Dash rubbed her arm with a hoof. "...Why'd you bring me here?"
Skystrike looked at the lake, seeing where the river started, water flowing down hill. "Remember when we were kids back in Cloudsdale, and the shit we'd get into? One time we thought it'd be a good idea to gather some clouds and make a really big one."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah... mom and dad didn't let us off lightly with that stunt. The lightning from it fried half the garden."
"Heh, ow, yeah... Or when you were practicing your tricks and we decided to turn the neighborhood into your obstacle course? We scared the shit out of Zephyr Breeze..."
Rainbow began to form a smile. "Heheh, yeah... You know, we did get into a lot..." The two laughed a bit more as Rainbow sat next to him. "...I'm sorry, Skystrike."
He shook his head. "Don't think too much about it. Just don't cross boundaries like that again. Ain't funny."
Rainbow blinked. "Oh, not that- well yes, that too... I mean sorry for you ending up like that."
"...Are you-... are you stupid? Why are you sorry for that? That was my fault. I shouldn't have let my guard down."
"Why'd you have to say it like that? And that was obviously my fault! I shouldn't have been on that Hydra!" She frowned.
"Rainbow, if I dealt with that Hydra properly, I wouldn't be in these bandages, and you wouldn't be blaming yourself. Under the same circumstances, I'd save your life again."
"Bucker, I already have to live knowing you have 5 years left at worst. I don't want you to die over my own mistakes!"
"WHAT!?" The two heard the outburst and turned to see a moving bush. Then they heard Pinkie's voice. "Shhh... I don't think they heard us..."
Skystrike looked at Rainbow, then sighed. "Well, since we have a peanut gallery, I can't really make this as... personal as I wish." Skystrike turned his wheelchair to look at her. "So, I'll say this: It was not your fault. If anypony is at fault, it's me for being sloppy. You blaming yourself makes me feel worse. The wounds are no big deal."
"The buck you mean, 'no big deal'!?"
Skystrikke pulled her close to him so he could whisper. "Remember what I revealed a month ago? I can literally heal myself in moments. I just need privacy."
"Oh..." Rainbow realized that he could just use his magic. "Well... I still messed up..."
"We all do sooner or later. Like EVERYPONY ELSE THAT WANTS TO LISTEN IN ON PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS!" He turned to the bush. The silence was deafening. "Look, mother fuckers, I let my guard down around you all for a reason, because I trust you... But apparently I cant if eavesdropping is going to become the norm. I've dealt with way too much today to deal with this too."
Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack all came out of said bush. "Sorry, darling... But now that we're out in the open, anypony else expected something romantic? It was the perfect time to admit the growing love for your savior." Rarity looked around at her friends. They all looked back like she was crazy.
Skystrike blinked, then stared into Rarity's soul. "Rarity, I had you as a Damsel in Distress fetishist from day one. Get a fucking coltfriend. The only reason I'm not going to get into you further because I feel bad about the clothes you made me being ruined... at least I still got pants."
Applejack snickered at that. "I told ya this was a bad idea."
"Applejack, I don't want to hear that either, you could've stopped them any time. You're like, the one voice of reason." Skystrike pointed and Applejack grumbled.
Twilight moved her hair out of the way. "Is... what Rainbow said true? About you having... 5 years at worst?"
Skystrike nodded and groaned. "Yes, I do. I found out a month ago. No, I didn't hide it from you all because I didn't think we were good enough friends. Yes, I planned on telling you eventually. I planned to talk about this with each of you one on one but now you know." He took a few of the pain meds he was given. "Sorry, just... frustrated... I'd prefer if we talk about this another day... When I don't feel like a pin cushion."
Applejack began pushing his wheelchair. "Well, I'll push ya half way. We're going in the same direction for the most part. C'mon Fluttershy."
"What, you think you can just... drop that doozie and not talk about it? The reason we followed you is because I was getting the full body jitters again!" Pinkie stomped.
"Pinkie, I know you all care, and it probably sucks to hear that my time in this world is cut short, so I don't blame you, any of you. But I'm going to say this as nice as I can right now." Skystrike took in a deep breath. "It literally hurts to breathe right now. I can't even get into a comfortable position because if I don't stay perfectly still, I feel like I'm getting stabbed from all angles. Take into account that I'm frustrated in myself for what happened, and I still have a lot to think about, I want to sleep on it. We will talk about it. Another day."
Pinkie Pie and the rest took the hint as an awkward silence came in before Applejack began pushing Skystrike toward his house, Fluttershy following behind. Skystrike tried his best to focus on his breathing and calming down. It hurt... a lot... It was weird how he could feel some of the stitches in his lung. Made him realize that he wasn't invincible in this world. If that hydra just crunched down a bit harder, hell, if his ribs punctured his heart, it would've been over. All it takes is one mistake...
His train of thought was broken by Applejack speaking. "Y'know... I know you don't want to talk about it, but... I've seen you like this before, back with Nightmare Moon. You keep... pushing us away whenever something dangerous happens. You don't have to carry all your problems by yourself. You got so many friends... you can rely on us."
Fluttershy nodded. "We're here for you whenever you need us. You're there for us when we need you. We want to return the favor."
Skystrike kept looking forward and furrowed his brow. "...I never told you all the reason I hide my identity, did I?" He sighed. "The reason I died was because somepony was out to get me, and bought my family into this to get to me. Then, he somehow did it again, finding out who I was and luring me, Tethys, Zecora, Casta, and everyone else to an early grave we narrowly escaped. I... put distance between those I care for because I don't want you all to die because somepony is out to get me. There's too much risk at keeping you all close... The only reason I can think of for him not coming after you all yet is because you're the Elements of Harmony, and because after I died, a good number of ponies were under Celestia's protection... In a sense, you all just got lucky."
"Oh... I get it now- or at least somewhat..." Applejack said. "You... blame yourself for what happened."
"Before you say it wasn't my fault, he deadass specified he burned down my orphanage to get to me."
"Well, I don't want to encourage ya, but do you have a plan to deal with him?"
"Yes... at the Gala."
Fluttershy was a bit surprised at that. "The Grand Galloping Gala? This stallion must be pretty high up in society to get invited there... What's his name?"
Skystrike growled a bit as his eyes flickered. "Blueblood."
Applejack felt like she heard that name before. "Ain't that Celestia's nephew?" Then her eyes went wide. "Ain't that the colt that Rarity was going on about when Twilight had those tickets for the gala??"
Then Fluttershy realized. "Wait... doesn't that make him your adoptive brother? Doesn't that make you a prince?"
Skystrike answered their questions in order. "Yes, Yes, I don't consider him my brother, and yes. Don't tell Rarity. I know she's also a knight in shining armor fetishist too." He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Heheheha... Ow..."
"You know... This all explains a lot. Especially how dense you are." Applejack laughed.
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that it makes sense that you dont know what you want in a relationship, let alone what type of relationship you want because you always push away ponies that get too close."
Fluttershy nodded again. "It took you a bit of time to even call us friends in hindsight."
"Yeah... sorry about that... I'll be better. I just... need to get stronger." Skystrike held his side. "...Thanks for putting up with me, you two. I never really get to say how much you all mean to me. I'm glad I have you all as my friends..." Applejack stopped pushing Skystrike, as they were at his front door. He smelled something burnt. "...Applejack, Fluttershy, I need one of you to knock on the door."
The two mares looked at each other before Fluttershy knocked. The three heard a "FUCK!" From Tethys inside and then the clattering of pots, pans, silverware, and plates. Then an explosion. "SHIT!" They heard from Casta.
"Can't believe you both lack the cookery knack... Burn water? It's a skill you both seem to pack!" Zecora was yelling at the two.
"Why was there water in the first place!? We're making tacos!" Astral laughed.
"I thought we were making soup...?" They heard Dawnstone say.
Skystrike put his face in his hooves. Tethys opened the door, her green sweater covered in a black ash. "Heeeeey Sky! How's it going?" She leaned on the door in an attempt to act cool. Her face of worry betrayed her.
"Tethys... you and Casta tried to cook again, didn't you?"
"...Maaaaaaybe?"
Skystrike sighed as he rolled into his house. "Fluttershy, Applejack, thanks for bringing me home, I'll see you two tomorrow." He then rolled into the kitchen, seeing an exploded bag of flour, a burnt pan of water, pots and pans everywhere, and... "Casta, why are you lying on the floor?"
"Taste test... went bad." She groaned.
"And what did you eat?" Casta pointed to the plate on the kitchen island. "Is that... is that burnt soup with a taco shell? What the fuck? How the fuck? You know what, fuck it, I'm going to bed." Skystrike was about to go to his room, then realized it was up stairs... he did not make his home wheelchair accessible He grit his teeth as he got out of his wheelchair and onto the couch lying on his back. He was very annoyed right now... but at least he has ponies he cares about to be annoyed at. Makes him realize how much he cares. Skystrike ignored the chaos, setting it aside for another day as he fell asleep. He'd leave it for morning Skystrike.