//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Forgiveness Pending // by Kiroberos //------------------------------// Magic. Using a broad definition, it was anything not clearly defined through science that still held definable effects that could be documented and controlled. Well, not always so much on the controlled part. To narrow that focus a little bit, our magic was a little bit more understood, anyway. We knew where the energy came from and how to manipulate it. It followed the most rudimentary laws of the physical world. You couldn't create or destroy matter at a fundamental level. Forces such as gravity and inertia could only be balanced out instead of changed completely. You had to obey the rules already in place. There were still variables missing, of course. How our bodies made the energy. Why the symbols worked the way they did to focus our efforts. Where the energy went after dissipating. Even the very nature of the 'soul' itself, if I was allowed to be dramatic. Back home, mentioning that in the wrong audience was liable to be disastrous, if I recalled correctly. I'd always been more interested in function and practicality, though. Magic did what I wanted it to, for the most part, making my life significantly easier than it was prior. Which was a good thing, considering that in most cases, if life had been any harder, I probably would be dead. A burst of focus. The ebb and flow; twists and bends of the energy through me. It was an elation to use it. The log in front of me shuddered gently and I released the energy in the same instant. With a light tug, three stacks of the plates slid out of the wood with the extra space between them turning into a light dust. "Oh, I'll never get tired of watching that. It's so efficient, Darling! I'd be simply delighted to see what you could do to fabric," Rarity assured from behind me. I smiled back at the relaxed unicorn, pleased that I could see a majority of her without distortion or fuzziness. It would seem that I couldn't be without at least one unicorn with me today. Twilight had burst into a small fit when she realized that she'd forgotten some of her drawing equipment, and immediately took off back towards the library to retrieve them. Spike had elected to stay here, giving her an exasperated look if I recalled correctly. That was about a half an hour ago, at this point. It wasn't five minutes later that Rarity showed up looking for me, believe it or not. Spike was then delighted that he decided to stay here! Not that I was complaining. Personally, I was just happy that they had bought, or at least partially bought, my blatant lie earlier. Thinking fast, I had informed both mares that I had simply been practicing 'precision magic' with the pieces of paper. They seemed skeptical, but I elaborated that I couldn't manage to fall asleep and was trying to tire my brain out quickly with the practice. Twilight shrugged and went back to sorting and labeling sheets of paper, but Applejack had given me a dirty look. It hardly mattered, though, as at least she could be as suspicious as she wanted without potentially involving powerful princesses on the case. I hoped. The measuring tape felt cool as the ever-gentle white unicorn pressed it up against the nape of my neck before running it down my spine. "How are the measurements coming?" I inquired curiously as she continued. She still insisted on making me a suit, but I realized that it would defeat the purpose of me going with her if I looked horrible. Plus, it was apparently good advertising for her to actually have an example of what she could design for stallions. "You'll need far less fabric than Big Mac, admittedly. Which is a good thing!" she rapidly assured before I even had a chance to think otherwise. Oh, she had accidentally insulted my body type the first time I had visited, now that I recalled. "I mean, honestly. There are many good builds for suits that I could make for you. You'd look simply ravishing in a dark blue. Maybe get some simple gemstones on the cuffs and buttons, and a nice bow tie to go along with the look. Hmm!" she continued, cooing contentedly as she paced around me, eying over every inch. I swallowed, blushing a little as her eyes almost hungrily scanned me. I knew she was just thinking up suit designs, but the intensity she was pursuing it with was a little on the scary side. "I'm so glad you didn't talk me into going! Total drag, those kinds of parties," Rainbow Dash complained from up near the ceiling. Rarity glared up at her ineffectively and was ignored completely as the rainbow mare drilled the support plates into the ceiling. Metal pads attaching in the four corners to spread out the support pressure as best as possible. Of course, they were only backups, really; something to give a bit more sturdiness to the ground platform and to buy time if something catastrophic happened. Dash had arrived a little after Rarity, primed and ready to help finish the job. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I managed to get through two more logs since she got here. I rubbed at my temples now, however. The headache was starting to flare up, and I knew if I tried a third log that things were going to get messy again. Still, this was already more than what I had managed the last time. Nowhere near what I could have done before coming to Equestria, but that was a different story completely. "Rest, Mender. It simply won't do if you get your nose bleeding again. Maybe stretch and get a bit of fresh air?" the kind unicorn next to me asked, giving a soft smile. "Ah agree completely! Ah'm not gonna let ya overwork yerself again. Get some fresh air, okay?" Applejack chimed in, popping her head out from under the main platform for the conveyor and giving me a stern glance. It lasted all of three seconds before she cracked a smile and winked at me, however. Sighing, I nodded to both of the insistent mares before slowly standing up. My legs were stiff from lying in one spot for over half an hour, but it felt good to stretch them out. Maybe they were right? A bit of fresh air would do me some good. As if reading my mind, Rarity nodded to me before suggesting, "Come then. I can always finish the measurements later. Let us take a stroll around the barn to clear our heads." Spike stood instantly as well, attentively watching Rarity with all of his focus. "Am I allowed to go with you two as well?" he asked pleasingly, sounding a little on the desperate side. I struggled not to smirk at the little guy. Applejack didn't hold back her eye roll, however. "Well o' course ya can, Spike. Ah'm not gonna force ya ta do heavy liftin' or nothin'," she assured before giving a warm chuckle. She seemed in good spirits today for some reason. "Yeah, that's what she has me for," Rainbow groaned, hauling the toolbox back down and shaking her wings off after she landed next to her orange friend. Applejack gave her a knowing, amused look, but shifted back to her warm smile when Dash looked over at her. Wait, what was that? "Ya know ya like it. Good exercise fer tha wings," she pointed out, brushing her hoof along the underside of the cyan mare's left one as if to emphasize. Rainbow flailed instantly to the side in surprise, her other wing blasting out to full extension in an instant. How it didn't lose half of its feathers, I didn't know! She glared back at the country mare, cheeks burning a bright crimson, now. Applejack seemed unfazed and instead winked over at me. "If ya'all are gonna date Flutters, that's ah good spot ta remember. Ah hear it drives ah pegasus wild," she explained, causing me to join Rainbow in blushing. "Why did you do it to me, then?!" the flustered cyan mare squealed, stomping her right hoof down into the dirt of the barn floor. Applejack laughed before ducking back under the platform again. "Ah needed an example, RD. Ya proved mah words well enough, right?" she reasoned, muffled a little by her new location. "You don't lie, Applejack. I would have just believed you," I assured, smirking now. Suddenly I realized that Rainbow wouldn't need to worry much about being turned down. Not only was the farm mare significantly more adventurous than I had pegged her for, she seemed extremely affectionate towards her cyan friend. Of course, I didn't know a whole lot about Equestrian relationships, but this seemed like a good sign. "Speaking of, where is the Dear? I thought Fluttershy was to help us today with the remainder of the barn?" Rarity questioned softly, glancing over at me instead. Wait, why would she think I knew? Even though I technically did... "What do ya mean, 'us'? All you've been doing today is measuring Mender," Rainbow pointed out, flushed cheeks finally calming down. I saw through her attempt to distract herself and smirked at her. Unsurprisingly, she avoided locking eyes with me. Rarity looked absolutely appalled by the suggestion, dramatically throwing her foreleg up to her forehead and seemingly looking woeful. "The shame at even suggesting such, Rainbow! Surely you realize that I will help just as soon as my measurements are done, right?" she asked in a dramatic tone. Dash slapped her forehead with her right forehoof before shaking her head. "I'll hold ya to that, then. Where is Fluttershy anyway, Mender?" she inquired, mirroring Rarity. Why was I suddenly the resident expert on the shy mare? "She said she had to catch up on feeding her animals this morning and would arrive afterwards," I revealed, if only to get them to stop asking. Without missing a beat, Rarity shifted from dramatically depressed to curiously asking, "Oh, you saw the Dear this morning?" "Uh, well, yeah," I admitted, suddenly unsure of how much I was supposed to give out. On one hoof, they probably wouldn't let up until I told them. On the other, Twilight might use me as a makeshift hammer for the conveyor if I gave out too much information. "Yeah! Mender and I made breakfast in bed for them this morning! It was a lot of fun," Spike suddenly admitted. Damn it. Well there goes that choice. I knew I was going to get blamed for this, too. "Oh my! Scandalous!" Rarity murmured, suddenly blushing faintly as she brought her left hoof up to her mouth. What?! No! Rainbow burst into laughter instantly and even Applejack peeked her head out again. "Our little Flutters decided ta spend tha night at Twi's place? Ah'm suitably impressed," she admitted, brushing a hoof through her bangs lightly. It was weird seeing her without her hat. The overly large Stetson couldn't fit through the support beams, though. Wait, that was beside the point! "She just spent the night! Nothing bad happened," I defended, not wanting the mare's reputation sullied, even if she wasn't here to see my defense. If you can't be proud of who you are in the dark, not much else matters. Rainbow grinned but Applejack beat her to the punch. "Ah know that, Mender. Everypony 'ere could agree that yer ah real gentlecolt," she assured with a curt nod and smile. Rarity averted her eyes and snickered before suggesting, "Well technically speaking, it doesn't have to involve Mender, of course." Wait, what? Was she suggesting...? Applejack blushed, the pink of her cheeks looking quite fetching when complimenting her orange coat and widening eyes. The cyan and rainbow pegasus couldn't contain herself any further and burst into laughter, rolling over onto her side. I averted my gaze and sighed. Sure it was good to have a healthy sense of humor, but when she spent most of her time laughing at other ponies' expenses, it was an entirely different story. "Well, I was simply suggesting. Anyways, if Mender is to get his fresh air in any timely fashion, we really should get to it," she excused politely, timing a tactical retreat just as Applejack's mouth started to open. She had either been about to protest the probable mental images flooding through her brain, or her mind was losing motor control. Dash grinned and slowly closed her mouth with a hoof, still lying on her back, now partially under her friend due to a particularly festive side roll. Spike scampered faster than I realized he could as Rarity exited the side of the barn. I watched him carefully as he caught up to his target of affection and began hopping excitedly next to her. Well, he certainly didn't try very hard to keep his interests a secret. I was beginning to have my doubts as to the validity of my prior promise to him. Was I the only pony who bothered to keep the secret? "Please, Rarity? It would be really, really awesome," I suddenly heard him plead as I approached. Oh, was he requesting favor already? Admittedly, I had no idea how this dating thing worked still beyond my girlfriend's rather vague explanation. "I'm truly sorry, Spike. I just brushed my coat down and styled it. I know it's not your fault, but your claws do terrible things to styled fur," she refused. Oh, was he asking for a ride? Wait, she combed and styled her coat before even leaving her house? I didn't think there was any special occasion today. Twilight barely ran a brush through her mane before we headed out this morning! Upon catching up to the slowly walking couple, I inquired, "Is something going on today for you to go to all that work?" Rarity hesitated for a moment, suddenly averting her eyes before shaking her head. "Why, of course not! A lady must strive to be presentable at all times. You never know when a simply wonderful stallion could be watching," she explained simply, adding a smooth wink onto the end. I laughed and blushed, careful to avert my eyes as she swished her tail in an extremely distracting fashion. "Well, I wouldn't know, not exactly looking to attract stallions' attention," I reminded, mostly to change the topic. Maybe it would work better the bigger an idiot I made of myself? Spike took to the distraction well, breaking out of his depressed expression and snickering. "Oh, that much is obvious. Twilight and Fluttershy both seem convinced enough. You have that subtle charm that only innocence, kindness, and a certain level of oblivious striving can produce." She smiled sweetly at me as she said as much, causing my blush to expand. Damn it. She hadn't fallen for the topic change. Spike struggled to run after us again, having finally snapped out of his momentary shock of watching her tail with so much focus. I let him save face and knelt down as he caught up. He caught my smile I directed his way and didn't miss a beat, hopping up and settling himself in the middle of my back. "Oh dear! You let Spike ride on top of you as well?" the pearly mare questioned, smiling politely at her now somewhat eye level dragon friend. I nodded before starting our walk yet again. "It'll be good weight training. I need to get back in shape," I excused, sighing wearily. "Hey! I don't weigh that much," my scaly passenger protested. I almost felt his irritated glare on the back of my head. "That's the point. I'd probably collapse if I tried to lift anything heavier," I groaned, wishing I could magically skip all of this and just get back to the same fitness level as my old self had been. Nothing like the active lifestyle of trying not to die horribly from murderous rampaging aliens to get one into shape. Rarity giggled along, regardless of it being a true statement. "See, Spike? Gentlecolt. Don't let those guards tell you otherwise. Being a nice stallion definitely makes you attractive," she assured nonchalantly. I came within half an inch of inhaling a large cluster of rocks as I stumbled in surprise. Rarity was either oblivious or intentionally ignoring my almost accident as she continued with, "Sure, you leave yourself open for attracting a definite type of mare, but isn't that the type you want? You know, the mare who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to pounce. Every mare reaches a point where she decides she'd rather settle down with a nice stallion with a responsible outlook on life. Well, some skip right to that step as well, as I imagine Fluttershy and Twilight have. Myself as well, of course!" She only added herself after a sudden look of dawning, and I tried not to snicker. I hadn't considered her the wild party type attracted to the 'bad' stallions anyway. Like those two guards... "I try my hardest to be really nice, too," Spike chipped in, sounding a little down over the entire conversation. Rarity didn't miss a beat with that one. "Of course! You're the nicest dragon I know. Any lady worth her salt would be happy to be with you, Spikey," she assured pleasantly. He perked up instantly, of course, and gave her a wide smile. It kind of made me wonder if it was socially 'acceptable' to be with a dragon when you're a pony. They're both sentient species capable of making their own decisions, so I saw nothing wrong with it. We'd gotten about halfway around the barn at that point, not traveling at all that impressive of a speed. Rarity seemed pleased with the slow pace and I wasn't going to argue. Walking was becoming second hand, but moving any faster would typically result in my face greeting the ground in short order, still. It was hard to make sure all of these hooves were going in the right direction! "Still, I can hardly imagine Twilight 'pouncing' me, per say. She's usually quite reserved," I admitted after a moment's consideration. It hadn't really bothered me, I decided. It was probably better for both of us that we take things slowly. Rarity let out a whimsical giggle as she listened. Spike, for the most part, seemed unfazed by the whole ordeal. Twilight was either his sister or mother, depending on how one looked at it. Normally, either of those would pose a negative reaction upon him should a guy start becoming involved with her, I would think. I mean, I don't even have proper breeding documentation or a certificate of authenticity! I vaguely recalled that those were important when trying to impress a female and her clan. Well at least they were in my prior world. Equestria was so weird, sometimes. "I doubt her education covered the finer points of intimate involvement, so I could hardly blame her. Are you two truly dating, then?" she inquired, shifting back to curious like someone flicked a light switch. There was that word again. I hesitated and stopped walking for a moment. "I, well, she said that I was officially her coltfriend, and her my fillyfriend. We haven't, um, gone anywhere to celebrate it or anything, if that's the right idea," I ventured carefully. Rarity's smile widened and I inwardly groaned. I screwed up somewhere, didn't I? "Dating does involve actually going on dates, but ironically, such events aren't necessary. If she says she's your fillyfriend, then you are dating," Rarity explained patiently, much to my surprise. I exhaled softly and nodded. "I'm still getting adjusted to Equestria's culture, really. This is way more complicated than my old life," I excused quietly, feeling a little tired still. Of course, I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night between the Keela-induced insomnia, then blacking out when she ran my brain through a microwave. "It's perfectly understandable, Mender! Relax. Has she informed you about herds yet, due to Fluttershy's interests?" she inquired, a bit of her mirth slipping as she tilted her head towards me. I nodded wearily, unsure if I should be talking about this or not. I suddenly realized that I had to be really careful with Rarity. She was on a totally different level from what I was used to dealing with, I realized. Something subtle like a tone change could mean quite a bit! "Yeah. This morning, anyway. I'd heard the guards last night reference it and was," I started to explain. All was interrupted by a spontaneous shout from high above. All three of us looked up instantly, just in time to see a wooden cube of some sort descending towards us at high velocity! Rarity went rigid, eyes widening as I panicked. Not again! Simply going on instinct, I leapt forwards into the white mare, hauling Spike along on my back still. All three of us fell sideways and rolled just in time for the falling object to crater itself into the ground where we were. It shattered noisily upon impact, splintering open and spilling what appeared to be metal rods all over the ground. They were long and thin things, each about five feet in length. Wait, the support rods for the conveyor belt in the barn? "Look out!" sounded from high above me in a lower, yet still distinctly feminine voice. Yelping, I shoved the now scrambling Rarity off to the side and tucked my legs up, narrowly avoiding three metal rods as they stabbed into the ground right where my groin had been located a mere second ago. Not cool! What, had the second crate exploded in midair or something?! Spike cried out as he fell off my back finally and landed on all fours. He wasted no time in tossing himself on top of Rarity and shielding her upper body with his entire form. That wouldn't do at all. Grabbing onto both of them, I pushed them over until they were both tucked up under me. The second we took up as little profile as possible, my barrier activated and unfurled into a pseudo-umbrella above me, covering all three of us. Rarity covered her eyes with both hooves as she tucked against Spike and my right foreleg. I balanced carefully with my left hoof in the air, supporting my weight on just my back legs and one foreleg. The shield held; sparks flew off at various angles as the high velocity metal rods skipped off it and fell around me in a loose pile. High above, a panicking gray pegasus with a blond mane attempted to control what appeared to be a floating cart of some sorts. For some reason, somehow, the cart was on fire. Another box fell off the back and exploded in midair from a haywire blast of magic the cart produced, sending yet another wave of flying spikes plummeting down towards me. Damn it. Tucking up again, I lowered my left hoof and focused purely on compacting the shield as hard as I could. The more compressed the energy, the stronger the barrier was. All three of us let out a panicked yelp as the sky darkened and metal rained about like a spring storm... * * * * * "I really do need you to sign for this," I heard through the hundreds of bars of metal. Why did Applejack even order so many?! This was easily three times the amount that she had needed. Was she just trying to kill me or something? "What tha hay?! Derpy! Ya made ah right mess o' the barn. Some o' these things are stickin' through the wall!" I heard Applejack complain. It was hard to hear anything through Rainbow's laughter, of course. Rarity and Spike stirred under me slowly. I doubt they lost consciousness, but they'd probably just now decided the end of the world wasn't going to take them with it. I raised myself to the edge of the shield as best I could to give them room. I was sweating a little bit now under the force of maintaining the stupid thing after so many collisions. Rarity glanced up at me and smiled momentarily before looking past me. Her smile faltered and her eyes widened as she realized why exactly it was so dark in here. There was a tired sigh, followed by, "I know, Applejack. I'm sorry. I just don't know what went wrong!" "I'm surprised they didn't arc towards Mender, wherever he is right now," Rainbow finally muttered, catching a breather between chortling. Gasping, I winced as another spike of pain went through my head. I didn't even dare speak and let my focus slip. "A little help under here?!" Rarity called out, noticing my dilemma. "Oh yeah. If Mender's that blue stallion, he is actually under there. Along with Miss Rarity and Spike," the mare named Derpy finally explained. Trying not to groan, I pushed back any comments about her priorities in light of not getting squished by metal rods. "What?!" I heard in two simultaneous voices. A sudden harsh galloping sound came from off to my right. I winced as a hard blow slammed into the side of my shield. It flickered and I was forced to slam my eyes shut as the strain put pressure on the inside of my eyes. Uh oh. That was never a good sign. "Hold on ya'all! Ah'll get ya outta there," Applejack assured before another slam hit the same side. I finally groaned under the pressure, the top of the barrier fading slightly. No! My eyes snapped open as I re-solidified it just in time. Well, almost just in time. One rod made it through just before I slammed the barrier around it. My right foreleg instinctively whipped to the side, snagging the rod as it stabbed downwards. I winced as I felt a light gash along the side of my leg, but the improvised weapon missed Spike by a few inches. He yelped and crawled closer to Rarity, both looking more than a little worried. A few drops of red descended from my nose as I looked down at Rarity. She watched them hit her coat and frowned before her horn lit up. Shakily, the rod slid upwards again from her magic as she strained to push it back out of the field. Seconds passed and I strained more. Finally she pushed the tip of it out again, and I closed the barrier back up instantly. The pressure on the top lessened as I realized that two or three of the rods were being lifted up off the shield. "Almost got rid of a few off the top!" Rainbow gasped, sounding like she was straining. Holy hell! These things must have weighed a good seventy or eighty pounds apiece. How was she lifting three of them at once with just her wings?! Her reply from Applejack was a furious scream of rage as one more blow hit the side of the pile. I almost choked on my gasp, but the shield held somehow as light suddenly breached through from my right. "Mender? Ya got ah barrier up?" she asked carefully as I saw her peek between the bars in my peripheral vision. I didn't dare so much as move, however. I was literally helping the roof hold up with my back now, drops of blood and sweat coming off me in various spots. My head was screaming at me, an invisible pressure inflating inside my skull like a balloon. "Get them out," I managed to say. Plead, really. Applejack frowned but nodded before slamming her shoulder into the side of the bar. It shook with the force of her muscles and she shoved five over and out of the way an instant later. The other side started moving by itself, seemingly, at the same time. It took me a moment due to the strain to realize that Rainbow must be yanking them from above. Finally, half a meter of clearance was made and I slid open that side of the barrier with all my focus. Why couldn't an accident like this have waited a few more days for me to get more practice in? The temporary slip in thoughts caused me to jolt to the side, another bar slipping through to my left this time. Spike thankfully managed to dodge the thing before pushing against Rarity rapidly, helping her squeeze herself sideways out of the hole that was made. Applejack grabbed her a second later and pulled rather forcefully. The pearly unicorn was out of the barrier and removed from danger before I could even manage to blink. Spike stumbled under the sudden loss of the individual he was shoving, but caught himself. He quickly looked back up at me and frowned. "Go," I managed to spit out, closing my eyes yet again as another bar slipped through, sliding hotly across my left flank before leaving a burning, then numb sensation. If I lived through this, my curiosity was going to force me to weigh these bloody things. I knew they were long, but what in Equestria were they made out of?! Spike brushed against my leg as he left, rapidly following Rarity. "Mender, you doing okay? Can ya slip out while keepin' tha barrier up?" Applejack asked in a worried tone. All I could manage was to shake my head to both questions. If I moved, I just knew the magic would snap and bad things would happen to my fragile body. Again. "Oh no. Oh no. I thought he was okay because of his magic thingy," I heard Derpy whine from behind the farm mare somewhere. "Whoa! What's going on now? Uh oh. Is this your delivery, Applejack?" I suddenly heard asked from an oh-so familiar sounding unicorn on the other side of the peppering of bars. She sounded surprised, but not entirely distressed. Okay, time to change that. Sorry, Twilight! "Help!" I managed to shout out weakly. It made me lose more of my concentration and the barrier flickered again. I shrank it instead of letting it collapse, falling to my belly as I lost ceiling height at the same time. "Mender's under these in a barrier!" Rainbow Dash added hastily. Some of the metal bars suddenly didn't follow the shield down. I counted five directly above me that stopped as I heard a frustrated groan from Dash. There was a beat of silence, followed by, "What?! Move, Rainbow!" It wasn't a question, and I swallowed nervously. What was she possibly going to- The bars didn't fall more than an inch when Dash let them go before snapping rigid suddenly. My eyes widened as I was bathed in a purple and scarlet glow. Every single one of the rods lit up like a light bulb and started shaking violently. The pressure was suddenly gone off the top of the shield as the magic tore the entire shipment of rods up out of the ground at the same time, lifting them all into the air before dropping them in a rough pile almost twenty feet away. There was a negative energy image as the barrier collapsed upon itself instantly with my sharp exhale. My eyes shifted to my left in time to see my fillyfriend standing there, a foot of energy radiating off her horn as she glared over at the pile of metal. Well, that marked a whole new level of awe and terror I had for the unicorn. I had momentarily forgotten that she was practically a physical goddess when it came to magic. Damn. I was starting to realize that she was actually stronger than the instructors back home, not only in sheer volume of magical energy, but raw talent as well. Moving was out of the question. My mind screamed as I gasped the air back into my lungs, tasting blood as my tongue rolled out. It was oozing from my nose in a healthy quantity, I felt. The light throb of my heartbeat reached my left flank and right foreleg at the same time and I winced. Oh well. Aside from my headache, this was probably the least I'd ever been hurt in an accident of that magnitude. Actually, it turned out kind of lucky for me! "Mender!" Twilight shouted as she rushed up to my left. I couldn't seem to catch my breath and simply panted there before opening my eyes again to the sound of her hooves on the grass. "You used too much magic, too soon! Here," she informed needlessly but in a worried voice. I wondered momentarily what she was going to do. Her forehead and full underside of her horn was shoved directly into my forehead a moment later. I gasped as the world momentarily disappeared, raw magical energy flooding directly into my skull from the emanations. It was distinctly Twilight in feeling, and extremely familiar at this point. I couldn't help but blush a little as I felt her push herself closer, shoving more of her own energy inside of me at the same time. Oddly, my breathing regulated as the pressure eased up inside of my mind. Her magic danced along inside of me with purpose, flicking along the sore parts of my body before gently restoring them from the inside this time. Further, her energy seemed to almost massage my being, promoting my own energy to stabilized and bolster itself on the inside. Thoughts surprised me as they danced along the surface of consciousness. They were the full spectrum of emotions. The warmth of her kiss, the nervousness as she looked down at me in bed, and even a pang of guilt as I swallowed nervously and looked away from her. Wait a second. The images weren't from my point of view, but hers. That made me pay even more attention to them as I realized that there was indeed a huge wave of affection pushing through, tainted with worry. A lot of worry, actually. The image flickered through for barely a second upon closer examination. Pieces of paper, hastily taped together, with written out words on it. "Mender, are you there?", "The book is important, right?", and "Tell me more about yours," were clearly written on the page in a familiar, fine handwriting. Oh hell. She must have sensed what I saw. The connection snapped shut in a heartbeat as she pulled her forehead back. I groaned lightly as I felt the connection fade, her energy withdrawing alongside it. My own rushed to fill me back up again, however, bringing the burning pain in my skull down to a dim sizzle. Now I had other things to worry about. I suddenly realized she hadn't gone back to the tree house to get tools. She averted her eyes as I looked up at her. I knew it. "Mender, we need to talk," she finally admitted, almost too quiet to hear. The tone made me inwardly groan. There was something about the way she said that which set off red flags in my head, and I didn't know why. Rarity pounced before I could further analyze how badly I was screwed. "Oh, thank you, Mender! You're simply amazing, I must say. You didn't even hesitate! You saved Spike and me from certain doom," she spoke rapidly, tone dripping with a surprising level of appreciation. "Yeah, dude! That was awesome the way you threw that shield up so fast! We would have been pancakes if you didn't. Although that does sound kinda good," Spike chipped in, derailing his own thought processes as he hummed, subconsciously rubbing his stomach, it would seem. I had to chuckle at that one. Twilight actually hesitated. Normally the single-minded mare would have hauled me off to lecture me on scribbling all over hundreds of sheets of paper in a crazed manner during the night, then cutting them up into dozens of pieces each. Well, some were only cut once or twice. Towards the end, I was getting really tired and lazy. "Um, not to say that I'm not thankful that he saved you two and was really brave and all, but I kinda need to talk with him for a moment, if you don't mind," Twilight interrupted, sounding vaguely uncertain for some reason. I sighed wearily. Rarity heard my sigh and looked up at Twilight, a frown shifting onto her face instantly. "Twilight! Mender not only totally exhausted himself saving the lives of both your best friend and assistant, but he is injured! Anything you need to say to him surely can wait until he gets healed, cleaned up a little, and a big glass of water into him!" she lectured, surprising me completely. It wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, the accident surely wouldn't have been lethal or anything. All I really did was save them the pain and Twilight having to heal the two of them. Hell, if I hadn't been there, I suspect the rods would have missed entirely. They did seem to cluster exceptionally well right on top of me. Although she’d already healed most of the inside wounds anyway. Twilight flinched and looked away, sitting down again and frowning. I saw the pieces of paper that she dropped from where I vaguely heard before. They were the same taped up pieces that I saw in her mind. Great. Should I try to lie and say they're nothing, play into the fact that she probably thinks I'm totally insane, or try to tell the truth and watch them really think I'm insane? Such great choices. Spike must have traced my sight as he asked almost immediately, "Hey, I threw those away! Why did you tape them back together? And what about the tools you went to get?" Heh. At least one of those questions should be obvious, but I don't think he's ever seen how readily Twilight can use espionage to her advantage. Or I'm just exceptionally paranoid. Or would it be 'properly paranoid' instead, seeing as it turned out to be true? "I lied. The tools are all here in my saddlebags. I went home to tape these back together on a hunch that proved right. This is why I need to talk to Mender," the lavender unicorn admitted, tossing yet another surprising twist onto my day. I would have expected her to try to hide it. "Uh, what? Are ya sure yer feelin' okay there, Twi? That seems kinda paranoid an' distrustin'," Applejack asked quietly. Okay, that's it. I give up trying to do the silly 'expectations' today. Now the mare who was usually first to suspect me, even for irrelevant things, was thinking Twilight was a bit overzealous. That should really give the unicorn pause for thought. Twilight scowled at her orange friend and shook her head rapidly. "I was right, though! Fine, look for yourself," she defended harshly, floating the papers over and tossing them in the general direction of the two mares and Spike. I didn't include myself, having neither the energy to interfere, or the desire at this point. No matter what I did or said, it was going to look bad. Tactical silence was for the best. Of course, one of the pieces of paper landed on my face and got stuck to a blood spot on my nose. I just lay there regardless, now enjoying the shade for my eyes. Why did using up a lot of magic make me physically sore? "What in Equestria? Did Mender write these thingies?" Applejack asked, complimenting the sound of rustling paper as I assumed she picked one up. At least after my prior experience, I was significantly more comfortable being blind. Twilight groaned and pointed out, "Of course he did? Why would Fluttershy or I get up in the middle of the night, write on hundreds of pieces of paper, cut them up, and throw them all over him while he slept? It's not even our handwriting!" Her irate tone let me appreciate not being able to see her. In my current state, I couldn't run away and hide somewhere. "Easy, Twi. Mender, can ya tell us what tha pieces o' paper are?" Applejack asked bluntly. Ignoring my first choice of dripping sarcasm, I went with a much more diplomatic approach. "Yeah, I could tell you. You wouldn't believe me if I did, however, so isn't it just easier to tack it up to ol' Mender being totally insane?" I reasoned calmly. Yeah, that was the diplomatic approach. I took note to try and tone down the bitterness in the future. Largely, it was just this topic, though. "I'll believe you, Mender. Please?" Rarity asked politely. I felt a hoof gently trace down my back and figured it was her. She followed up with, "If he answers truthfully, will you then heal him, Twilight?" Well that was a little pointed. Ouch. She also technically healed me already. At least a little bit. "Hey! I wasn't holding it for ransom or anything! I'll heal him regardless. Plus I already fixed up the inside of the wounds a bit," Twilight protested. Idly, I wondered why Rainbow wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear wing flaps either, so she either landed or left. Weird. "They're from last night. I couldn't sleep, like I said. It wasn't because of insomnia, however. Keela wouldn't shut up. Whenever she talks near a book that's on the other side, I hear it for some reason. I think I'm still linked to that book and I don't know why. Keela is a Keldarian scientist. That's the name of my old race." I actually surprised myself this time with the calm I managed to maintain. Although it probably didn't matter either way, so was that calmness or apathy? "What?" Applejack asked in about as flat a tone as possible. A low groan, sounding very akin to what frustration would be like if it made noise, emitted from my girlfriend. This was followed by a faint slapping noise, from her hoof and forehead in all likelihood. "Mender, this is getting ridiculous. You need to see somepony about this," she finally managed to voice a dozen seconds after the groan. "What's the book thing about?" Rainbow suddenly asked, indeed confirming that she was still present. Still present, and missing the point entirely, anyway. I shifted my legs under me fully, realizing that with her current level of distraction, Twilight wasn't going to heal the outer wounds right away. Not that I wanted her casting spells on me while distracted, exactly. "It's the journal my old self kept, I believe. They were allowed one personal item to carry with in the military. Keela stated that it's something called an Aegis Artifact. From what I've pieced together, it's some sort of pseudo-sentient item of extreme magical power. The book is dormant until I connect with it. For some reason, it's linked to me." All the talking was making me even more tired, but Dash deserved a proper answer. She had actually asked the question without the barest of hints that she thought I was nuts. "You really believe all of this, don't you?" Twilight asked, sounding genuinely surprised now. "Don't be rude, Twilight. I mean, honestly. You should trust your coltfriend more. Would it hurt things that much to have either yourself or Princess Celestia take another look? The three of us will be in Canterlot in three days' time, need I remind you," Rarity suggested reasonably, actually giving me the benefit of the doubt as well. Maybe it was a good idea to come clean after all! "Ugh. You too, Rarity? Can't you see how crazy this all sounds?! Princess Celestia herself said that there was no link to his dimension left. You all trust her as the leader of all Equestria. She's not going to screw up when the risks are this high!" Twilight defended, getting more irritated with each rebuttal. Rainbow sighed wearily and added, in an uncharacteristically serious tone, "I kinda agree with Rarity, Twilight. If it's as serious as you just said, I think we should have it looked at again. Princess Celestia would want that." I couldn't help but smile gently from under my piece of paper. Maybe I was wrong about all of them thinking I was crazy? Well, crazier, anyway. Pity the only pony arguing for my craziness was my fillyfriend. Twilight let out a stifled groan, but was interrupted almost instantly. "I agree with Rainbow Dash! If it's dangerous, you or Princess Celestia should definitely check it out!" exclaimed the gray mare from before. Derpy was it? Wait, why was she still here and listening to all of this?! "Ah! Derpy?! What are you still doing here?" Rainbow asked almost instantly, apparently thinking the same thing. "Oh. Well, I feel badly for what happened and wanted to apologize to Mr. Mender himself. Plus, you still haven't signed for these," she reminded. If I'd had the energy, I'd have hit my forehead myself. She was almost legendary in her persistence. Applejack sighed but nodded in my peripheral vision, being one of only two ponies I could actually see from around the paper. "Ah guess yer right. Still, could ya kindly not tell anypony 'bout this? It's kinda ah secret," she requested politely before accepting a feather of some sort from beyond my vision range. She held it carefully and signed a slip of paper that was held out for her, it would seem. "Ophf corph, Apphljahk!" Derpy agreed, I think. It sounded like her mouth was suddenly stuffed full of something. Oh, wait. She was holding the clipboard in her mouth while it was being signed. Twilight sighed wearily, reminding me that she was still there. "Fine. I'll do another scan tonight on him if it will make everypony feel better. What do we do if it comes up negative?" she questioned, sounding as if that was mostly assured. Still, at least she was considering the slim possibility that I might not be totally insane now. "That would probably be reasonably easy to deal with. I'm sure you have places in Equestria for ponies like that," I finally spoke up quietly. Maybe she was right after all? The possibility that all of this was just in my head hadn't been lost on me yet. Twilight went completely quiet, and I was almost curious enough to peek if it hadn't required so much energy. Applejack stopped looking over the page presented to her and softened her expression a little before setting the feather back down and glancing back over at me. What, was it taboo here to have ponies with mental illnesses? Uh oh. Was I going to be executed or something for being crazy? Surely they wouldn't have kept that large of a secret from me! "We do, but yer not gonna go to one o' those places. If'in it comes down ta that an' Twi can't do it, Ah'll take care o' ya mahself. Yer still ah hero, Mender," the orange mare returned softly, smiling again over at me before turning to face me fully. A cyan wing shot out into my vision a second later, startling me just as the blush had started to set in. "Heck yeah!" Dash exclaimed abruptly, making me suddenly realize the outstretched wing was part of a pose on her part. "The entire town will probably take care of ya! If nothing else, you have the full support of the six of us." I blushed further, tucking my ears down and trying to hide behind the paper. I could handle making an idiot of myself, but this was totally out of my comfort zones! "Seven!" Spike added, sounding a little irked that he needed to remind her that he was still here. I chuckled finally and extended my right hoof a little towards him as he slipped into my right-most viewing field. He grinned and nodded to me before bumping it with his claw. Derpy herself put her clipboard away, and then looked between everypony with a happy grin. “Eight!” she exclaimed a moment later with a little hop into the air. I held back a snicker. To my surprise, a light giggle sounded from Twilight. "It won't come down to that. If what you've shown so far is the extent of the issue, you'd still be considered a fully functioning member of society. The Princess would probably just want you watched to make sure you didn't hurt yourself if you had a spell. I'm keeping you, regardless," she explained, extremely clinical and detached until the last sentence. Her tone shifted to amused and teasing with that, and I smiled weakly. Well, it was nice to know she wouldn't let my potential delusions ruin our relationship. Applejack gave a stiff snort, amused but giving Twilight a skeptical glance. "That would be interestin' ta watch. But Ah think tha real problem 'ere would be if'in yer test comes up positive," she reminded, losing a bit of her smile. Twilight let out a quiet humming noise before it suddenly shifted way closer to my perspective. Her mouth latched onto the piece of paper and pulled it off abruptly, making me wince as it took a bit of drying blood with it. She spat the paper back out after it was clear of my nose and looked down at me with a troubled expression. Was that because of me? A pang of guilt went through me. "If it comes back positive, we have a lot of problems. It was either something the Princess couldn't detect; doubtful. Or it was something that happened after she did the scan. You said it was a book you felt connected to?" she reasoned out loud, repeating what I vaguely recalled saying to her already. I bit my tongue and nodded. If she was willing to actually inquire more about the issue, I should try to be as somber as possible. "It was my old self's journal. She said it was an Aegis Artifact. I'd not heard the term before that, and seriously doubt that my old self made it into one," I furthered, earning a frown from my fillyfriend. "Isn't that what you call your strongest barrier spell?" she pondered out loud, somehow making it sound like both a normal and rhetorical question. I nodded yet again before remembering the bits I'd learned in the meantime. "Oh, that's right! I also learned that there's something wrong with that spell. It doesn't behave like I originally thought it did," I warned, unsure of exactly how to explain what I had figured out. She seemed curious, but distracted at the same time. "Can you tell me about it inside the barn? I just remembered that I need to heal your outside nicks, and that Applejack probably wants to get back to work on her conveyor.” "An' fix tha holes in tha wall, now," the farm pony groaned as she looked at the marks from the metal rods. Oh yeah. A few had stuck into the side of her barn like a giant dartboard. Twilight must have torn those out, too. Then I remembered that I knew alteration magic. "Oh! If you'll let me use the bits of wood left over from the logs after I cut the boards out of them, I can use my magic to meld them into the holes and repair them, if it would save you time," I offered politely, perking up again and rotating my head ambitiously towards the mare. She surprised me by looking equally as surprised before smiling again and nodding. "Yer just full o' handy tricks, ain't ya? Ah suppose Ah'll just have ta add it ta mah huge debt Ah owe ya," she agreed, smirking mirthfully afterwards. I scowled at her, and the smirk became laughter. She knew that I didn't like the thought of her paying me and did that on purpose! "Oh relax, Mender. You deserve to get paid a little bit for your trouble so far. Besides, she's already getting the work of a professional engineer and free materials as well, all for the price of a construction pony. I think she already knows how lucky she is," Twilight pointed out before picking me up like a ragdoll using her magic. All retorts left my mind as it was lurched downwards and I redirected processing to attempt not throwing up. Spike hopped up onto Twilight's back immediately as the mare stood up again. She didn't even flinch, and I wondered briefly at just how used to him being there she was. Applejack walked further forward and shifted under my drifting position, looking up into my lowered face. "Trust me, Ah know how lucky it is. This project would'a been ah total bust had ya not been 'ere, Mender. Ah'm real happy ya wanted ta help outta tha kindness o' yer heart, you have no idea! But that just don't set right with mah conscience. Mah brother agrees fully. So yer gonna get paid as much as we can manage," she spoke, surprisingly serious as she watched my expression. I lowered my eyes, but nodded to her. Even though I felt bad accepting anything from her, I suddenly realized that she probably felt the same way in return if I did everything for free. I could understand that. Rarity coughed politely before asking, "Is this a bad time to inform you that I'm giving you the suit as compensation for your troubles as well? Oh, and I will cover all of our traveling expenses too, don't fret!" What?! But that was one of her newest designed suits for stallions! I didn't even want to think about how expensive that was. My ears drooped as I pouted towards her. Well, they rose, I suppose, considering my head was upside down. "Rarity! That's too expensive," I protested weakly, trying the cute eye expressions I saw Fluttershy pull off before. She didn't buy it, and simply grinned wider. Rainbow snapped me out of it, however, as she smacked her hoof into the grass. "Hey! Not fair, you guys! The weather captain position isn't the greatest paying job, ya know. How am I supposed to pay Mender, too, now that all of you are?!" she questioned in frustration, throwing me for a loop with her logic. Wait, was she seriously going to try to pay me for the silly wing thing she requested earlier? That was barely twenty minutes tops, if that. She was either overreacting, or had additional details planned that I hadn't been told about. There was dead silence for a good four seconds, which I discovered was ridiculously awkward regardless of the short amount of time. Why was everypony looking at her like that? "What, pray tell, service did you request from Mender? Further, I think you have that a little backwards," Rarity muttered, sounding decidedly perplexed yet equally awkward at the same time. Maybe she felt it, too? Glancing over at her, I noticed her brow was furrowed and she seemed to be thinking very intently as she stared at Rainbow. Twilight spun me around instantly and glared into my face from well within my comfort zone. "Yes, Mender. What's she paying you for again?" she questioned pointedly, irritation present in her voice. Wait, what?! What did they think it was, exactly? I swallowed nervously as Rainbow shuffled with her front legs. How did I say this without giving away sensitive information? I tried rapidly motioning towards Applejack with my eyes. All it served to do was shift Twilight's irritated glare into a confused one instead, sadly. "Uh, it wasn't anything bad. I wanted him to do that glowy thingy with my wings again to help me practice for the race that's coming up after the party Rarity's hauling him to. You know, to maybe get better at my, um, celebratory sky writing?" Rainbow offered nervously, being surprisingly vague. A look of dawning comprehension appeared on Twilight's face and she shifted to a smile in an instant, nodding to me. Whew! I got to live another day! I made a mental note to get one of those "days since last accident" counters for living with Twilight. It would put each day I woke up still breathing into perspective. "Oh, that might be lovely indeed. You're certainly getting into this sky writing technique!" Rarity chirped, sounding honestly interested. Wait, why was she, of all ponies, interested? I was suddenly highly suspicious. Rainbow apparently wasn't. "Yup! I can even add colors to them now! It's totally awesome, of course. I just need to work on the sharper turns now, which I was hoping to use those cool wing things for!" She seemed oblivious to the strangeness of her friend's sudden interest, so I just assumed it was a rather regular occurrence. Obviously, I only ever saw them interact while I was actually there. They've been friends for years, so who knows the depth of connection that I was missing? Twilight's mouth caught hold of my ear and tugged my head back up using it. Huh? She smirked as she captured my attention again before leaning up and lightly kissing me directly on the lips. My system jump-started as my eyes widened. Right in public?! Well, her close friends, but still! Spike made a groaning noise and rotated around on her back so he was facing away from me. Despite the awkwardness, I felt the familiar heat drifting into my cheeks as I pressed further into the kiss to the best of my abilities. It was kind of hard to get leverage when floating in the air, I realized. Still, this was a pleasant change of pace from what I was expecting for today. Letting out an obviously stifled groan, she gently lowered me as her magic wavered, pressing me lightly into herself as she did so. With my legs back firmly on the ground, I pushed forwards a little, nudging my forehead up under her horn and earning a giggle, followed by a gentle blush. The horn lit up with her energy a second later and I felt a little bit of her flow into me yet again, comforting rather than healing this time. It was like she was nuzzling me with her magic! "Whoa! Now that's ah surprise," Applejack muttered quietly, apparently finally noticing Twilight's display. The purple unicorn blushed harder but followed me back as I tried to break contact, assuming she wouldn't want her friends watching. Well, yet another incorrect assumption! Her neck and chest pressed against mine as she refused to let me break the kiss. She didn't make any attempt to deepen it, which the rising heat to my face thanked her for. I might have passed out had she done that! My right eye peeked sideways to see the slightly fuzzy image of Applejack smirking as she watched. Rainbow's eyes went wide behind her and she looked past Rarity to get a better view. This of course alerted Rarity, who turned around and dropped her jaw while watching. Oh crap. I shut my eyes quickly as the blush magnified. Why were they all watching?! I felt Twilight grin and smirk against my lips as she finally released mine in return. "That, well, was to say I was sorry. I don't mean to get mad about that. Princess Celestia just means a lot to me, is all," she explained, grin dropping to a warm smile instead. My ears and eyelids drooped a little, but I quickly caught them and forced a timid smile. That was 'just' to say she was sorry? I didn't like the aspect of her treating it like a reward or compensation. Still, I struggled to try not to jump to conclusions. She didn't specifically say that, after all. Still, it would be nice if she didn't think I was crazy in the first place. She frowned slightly, apparently having caught my momentary lapse in expression. Her eyes practically bore a hole through mine and I backed up a little bit. Rainbow, who was thankfully oblivious as to my look, interrupted with, "Wow! That's the first time you two have willingly kissed with an audience. Although the one I accidentally flew in on was much more interesting." Rarity did a double take and directed her slack-jawed stare to Rainbow instead. "What?! You simply must reveal the story! Right now," she effectively ordered. "Rainbow! You weren't supposed to tell!" Twilight lashed back, switching from concern about me to seething rage in a surprisingly short amount of time! Suddenly, I didn't feel nearly as comfortable being pressed up against the unicorn. "It's all perfectly normal, Twi. Everypony gets ah little worked up with their special somepony in private, Ah imagine," Applejack tried to sooth, playing the voice of reason. Of course, she was also taking a shot in the dark with what we had been caught doing. Risky, but she'd guessed right. I think. If my terminology was accurate, anyway. "Excuse me?! We were experimenting! It wasn't anything serious like that. Then she blundered in without even knocking!" Twilight growled, sounding even angrier. Oh crap! My terminology must not be accurate! I started slinking back a little bit at a time, trying to distance myself without drawing attention. If she spontaneously ignited or something, at least I wouldn't be incinerated instantly this way. She noticed. Pretty much immediately. Her glare was shifted to me almost instantly and I made a weak whimpering noise in the back of my throat, trying to hop away. She caught me out of midair and violently pulled me back next to her in a heartbeat. "And for the last time, I'm not going to hurt you! You don't have to run," she started to explain in an irritated tone. There was something wrong; a twinge in my head from the situation. My vision flashed as I was pulled, something ugly twisting itself through my skull. My posture in the air matched something dark in the back of my mind, suddenly feeling familiar. For the briefest moment, everything darkened as I was pulled towards a metal table, arms and legs strapped in place to something cold behind me. I tried to scream, but there was some sort of metal piece stuffed in my mouth. A slim girl stood in the shadows in front of me, partially concealed by a combination of there being only one light in the room and it being shined directly into my eyes. I could still make out the whites of her teeth as she grinned, and the glistening metal blades of the drill she held. My eyes widened. The clawed-shaped blades were stained red, I noticed, the closer I was inched towards the gleeful female. I knew those were the last things I was going to see. The horrible image was gone in less than a heartbeat, but it was far too late. With a guttural yelp, I curled up into a little ball in her magic. Apparently expecting me to remain upright, her magic missed its mark and dropped me the remaining foot to the ground in front of her feet. I didn't even feel the jar before her hoof extended to stop me from sliding. I tucked up further, attempting to hide the sensitive parts from her magic. She kept saying she wasn't going to hurt me, but she got so angry sometimes. Just like them. She was so absurdly powerful that her anger... There was a thousand ways she could make me wish for such a simple thing as death and I knew it. She could torture me for days with that level of power, slowly pulling me apart yet making sure every individual piece stayed alive to feel everything. Nopony would stop her, would they? She was too important. Just like them. She could do whatever she wanted. What was I doing? What was I thinking?! I couldn't stop the shaking as I tucked up further, remembering suddenly what I had seen the females from my dimension do. Could that really be considered a 'relationship' in any way? Who was I kidding? I'd just been pretending to be her equal, after all. Her hoof hesitated, and then drew back again. I felt her body follow suit, even though I couldn't feel her. What was she doing? A spike of paradoxical anger suddenly reared up inside of me, scaring me even further in its sudden, seemingly random appearance. I smashed it down before it could even get started. No! If I got angry with them, it would just give them more reason to punish me. What was wrong with me?! Where had that anger come from? "Whoa. Dude, are you okay?" I heard Spike ask softly. Why didn't he realize? He's been her 'assistant' for years now. Surely he saw what she could do. Why didn't it bother him?! My body told me to run while they were distracted. I tried to quiet it down further and pulled my legs up. No, if I ran, even if she didn't just catch me with magic, Rainbow could in a heartbeat with her speed. She was nice though, wasn't she? "Mender, I..." Twilight started to speak. Speak. Her hoof touched my shoulder again and I went rigid. No. No, it wasn't right. She was either like them, or she wasn't! What was real and what wasn't, though? Was the other world all in my head? Was Equestria all in my head and I actually lay dying somewhere? Was it a mixture; if so, which was real? She was real. She just touched me. I could practically feel the magic beating under her hoof. She was filled with it. The guttural instinct was still there, after all. The panic spiked and I screamed, "No! Get away!" at the top of my lungs before booking it for the barn as fast as my legs could carry me. I tripped over my hooves within seconds, crashing along the ground and sliding on my face. "You're pathetic. You can't even walk right. There's no way we want you on the breeding list," she continued after laughing at my spill. Her essence seemed to follow me, inescapable. The images of the scalpels returned, and I gasped, clutching my stomach with one leg before scrambling to my hooves again and aiming almost blindly for the barn door. "Mender!" I heard Rainbow shout before taking to the air with a loud flap of her wings. Oh hell! "Come back... You'll make such a good pet. Just accept it," the cyan pegasus continued, echoing into my skull as I screamed again. I smashed off the side of the barn door's frame and fell over once more. "You already failed the breeding exam. You failed what it meant to be a soldier, too. You failed to protect her from yourself. You touched her!" Twilight screamed after me, somehow feeling like she was right behind me now. I dove across the floor, sliding in the dirt before getting under the bars of the support platform. "I'm sorry!" I yelled towards nothing in particular, the inside of the room spinning violently. There was no other choice. Panicking, I did the only thing I could think of that would protect me from them all; the only thing I was good at. I slammed all six inside edges of the conveyor's platform with barrier spells before tethering it up to my vitality. Now they couldn't get me at all, even if they broke through...