//------------------------------// // Lesson Learned // Story: Fighting Never Ends // by Tx Avenger 218 //------------------------------// “Alright Twilight, you ready?”   She gulps nervously, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”   I smile, “Good. Let’s do this.”   I look around, “1 katana, 5 throwing knives, 3 combat knifes, 1 AK47 assault rifle, 2 drum magazines for the AK47, 1 Mossberg 500 shotgun, 20 M4 Carbine assault rifles, 1 Barrett .50 Cal. sniper rifle, 2 Remington Model 700 sniper rifles, 1 AA-12 full auto shotgun, 3 drum magazines for the AA-12 full auto shotgun, 2 Glock-18 full auto pistols, 5 red dot sights, 3 Double Magazines for rapid reloads, 1 Smith & Wesson M29 revolver, 2 Springfield Model 1861 Rifled Muskets with bayonets, 18 M67 frag grenades, and a fair amount of .44 magnum bullets, .50 caliber rifle rounds, 5.56mm rounds, 7.62mm rounds, .308 rifle rounds, 9mm bullets, and 12 gauge shotgun shells, standard and slug shells.” I list off all dangerous items I found over the last month and a half. “Got all that Twi?” I look back to the purple unicorn as she scribbles a few more things down on a scroll.   “Got it.” She smiles and rolls up the parchment before handing it to me with her magic.   “Thank you.” I place the parchment down on a table and grab the next one and toss it to her, where she grabs it with her magic and readies herself again.   “Ready?”   “Alright, miscellaneous items.” I walk over to another pile to take into inventory. “One copy each of Assassin’s Creed 1 and 3, one Gears of War 2, two Halo Reach games, two jacks for lifting a vehicle, one coffee maker, one fully stocked toolbox, one crowbar, one sledgehammer, one game guide to Mass Effect 3, one violin with an intact bow, one acoustic guitar, and one mildly torn recliner chair.” I finish listing and look back to the unicorn.   “Done.” She hands me the parchment and I lay it down next to the first one.   “I’m surprised that you haven’t found more of these things.” Twilight says while looking into the miscellaneous pile.   “Well, to tell you the truth, these were the only things that really interested me. With the times I wake up, I could use the coffee to keep myself awake; I remember playing a bunch of video games back in my world so I thought I would hold onto them just for the heck of it, and the recliner chair… I could use the relaxation.” I move past the unicorn and begin taking the stuff off of it before sitting down on it and laying back, letting the chair lift up my legs as I stretch out my back. “Oh yeah. Ahhh. That’s the good stuff.” I moan out. From everything that’s happened here, this feels just nice.   “Well, if there’s nothing else I better get back to Spike so we can…” she trails off as she spy’s the shelf I built to house some books. I have 6 books on said shelf, a history book chronicling every major and minor event that took place in America, a World Geography book showing every landmark and wonder the world has to offer to my people, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War strategy book, a massive cookbook detailing the many types of foods to eat, cook, obtain and how to make them from different countries and a military listing and catalogue of the different types of weapons made available to just about everyone, including the attachments to go along as well.   “Did you already read the ones I lent you?” I ask her. She looks at me and smiles nervously. I had some more books but Twilight is always the knowledge seeker, so I lent her some… a day ago. Seeing as how she’s smiling nervously and eyeing the rest of my so called library, I lay my head back and groan. “Fine, but first…!” I quickly stop her before she gets too excited. “Bring back the other ones first before I think about lending you these. Oof!” I shout as I suddenly have a large unicorn on my stomach and squeezing the life out of me.   “Ohhh thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou!” she quickly says and continues to hug me tightly.   “Twilight… if you keep doing this… Oh… I won’t be able to lend you… ahh… them!” I try to wheeze out.   “Oh I’m so sorry, Swift!” she quickly lets go, allowing me to take in a massive gulp of air.   “Ehhhh, it’s alright Twilight. I’m good.” I catch my breath and look at her as she continues to eye me with worry. “Hey, didn’t you say you had to go do something with Spike?” I ask her.   The lights in her mind suddenly flash on. “You’re right! I made a checklist of things I had to do today. I better hurry home before I’m late with the checking!” She turns around and her horn lights up. “I’ll bring those books back later.” That’s the last thing she says before disappearing.   “Yeah, no hurry.” I nonchalantly say and stand up. My mind plays over what I was thinking when we were done talking.   That face, her expressions, her hairstyle, her potential… Beautiful?! What was I thinking?! I shouldn’t be thinking these! I’m just trying to live as normal a life as I possibly can. Not fall in love with…   I close my eyes and take a deep breath through my nose, letting it out slowly through my mouth. She’s a friend Swift. One of your best friends. The only best friend you have ever considered as such and has treated you right. Don’t let false feelings get in the way of that. Maybe I’m just eternally grateful that we are friends again. With everything we went through, everypony’s been on edge for some time now. Thankfully, things have cooled down since then.   Taking my mind off things, I look at all the things I and the others found. It’s a pretty sizable scavenge. Thanks to Discord’s short renovation of Ponyville and the surrounding area, a lot of things popped up that I, my friends, and the rest of Ponyville were able to find over the time since Discord was defeated, more or less a month and a half ago. I only chose these items here in my house because they seemed the coolest and most useful. Any guns or dangerous weapons I or anypony else finds is to be brought to me for safekeeping, along with any other foreign items. The musket rifles had some dust of them which means one of two things: 1, they were on display inside a museum, or 2, they were stuck in warehouse for safekeeping or something. The latter option seems the most likely since museums sometimes wipe the dust off. A pretty big haul I found was a crate of those M4 rifles. Sadly they still needed to be outfitted with the receiver parts that allow for full auto capability. Thanks to the military book I found, I know the parts. Now I just need to find a blacksmith or someone with smelting to make it.   And the video games… Man, it’s been so long since I played them. I still remember befriending some others around my age who let me crash at their house a few times, where I slept under the bed most of the time. It wasn’t 5-star hotel perfect but was better than on the street. The snacks were good, the games were awesome, and it was a pretty good ride for awhile. Until the usual annoying sister found me, scared mother, or overly protective father with a shotgun that drove me out of the house. Still, it’s fun having these games again. I may not be able to play them, but it still feels good.   Along with what happened, because of Discord’s short… lengthy… I don’t know, reign, my sleep clock got completely screwed up with his fast changing days. The residents of the Everfree Forest also got scared further in so I was able to launch a small expedition to gather as much materials as everypony can possibly get from within. It was worthwhile for a bit until the denizens made their way back in. It was a shame, but tis’ their home. We also found a bunch of broken, destroyed, and half eaten things as usual: couches, chairs, clothes, a refrigerator, and a convertible that become a nesting hole for some things called parasprites. My friends specifically told me not to ever let one into my house, Ponyville, or to follow me whatsoever. Basically, cut off all contact from them. Still not sure why, they never bothered to explain, but at the moment I’m not looking for a pet so I left it, which sucked for the convertible.   Speaking of vehicles, my plane is back where it was, where I also took a more in-depth look at the manual and practiced more so I wouldn’t have a repeat of almost crashing and burning. Plus my bike is next to my house, and thank Celestia and heavens themselves… my Hummer is back to normal. I haven’t taken it for a ride since then but soon I might… might. What was also weird to see was a 42-inch plasma screen TV that was reduced to 21, give or take an inch or two.   On another note, since my reputation slowly grew from being one of the ones that defeated Discord and being the only one of my kind, it finally became official that I had to do a Q&A at Canterlot. My friends, the nobles, the princesses, and as many ponies that could come from all the different cities were to attend. Speaking of cities, some sound very weird and vaguely familiar, such as Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Cloudsdale, Coltumbus, Salt Lick City, Fillydelphia, Hoofington, and Stalliongrad. Needless to say, I’m probably gonna be pretty popular in a few choice places in Equestria, probably elsewhere too. Either way, things have quieted down to some degree of peace.   *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* “Hey, Swift! Open up!”   Some degree…   “Hold your horses, I’m comin’.”   Bad metaphor, dude.   “Shut up.” I mutter to myself as I make my way to my front door. “Why can’t you ever try to be subtle?” I grumble to the rainbow-maned pegasus on my porch.   “You know I can’t do that.” She replies as she hovers at my eye level.   I groan and lean against my door frame. “What do you need? Want to see me show off more of my limited, very rare weapons that could save my life or kill me in a battle?”   She stares at me intently, “Do you honestly expect to think that that’s all I want from you?” she slightly, but angrily, says.   I push myself off the door frame and lean in closer to her, “I know you too well to expect anything less.” I lowly say. We continue to stare at eachother for a little while longer, seeing if the other will crack.   Then she blinks, “Ha! You blinked! I win!” I happily pronounce and turn around to go inside.   “Wha-? Hey! I-“ Rainbow stammers out.   “Nope! You lose. I win.” I say and fall onto my couch with my hands behind my head.   “I… Fine! Whatever. I just wanted to tell you that Applejack wanted me to help tear down her old barn so she can make another one.” She gives up and explains.   I stare at her, “Annnnnnd what do you want from me?”   “Well, I figured that you might wanna lend a hoof… hand… you know what I mean.” She tries to correct herself. “I’m sure you have something to help you make things more fun.”   I sigh and shake my head slowly, “Rainbow, just because I have the tools doesn’t mean I-“ I stop myself, my serious expression slowly turning into a wide grin as I think. “Alright, I’m in.” I jump onto my feet, much to Dash’s delight.   “Sweet.”   “Lemme go grab my stuff.” I turn tail quickly and move back into the storage part of my house. Seeing all the weapons and items I found, I think of what to get. My mind doesn’t wander too far before I lay my eyes on just the right tools.   I grab the sledgehammer in my hand and get a good feel of its weight. Nodding, I turn around and grab three grenades before connecting them to my belt. “Alright, this’ll work.” I walk out into the living room to see Rainbow Dash laying back in mid-air. Wow, now that is pretty cool. Can’t at all see how she does it. “Eh-hem!” she looks up from her position which actually shows her staring at me upside down. Turning right side up to see me clearly, I lay the sledgehammer on my shoulder and smirk. “What do you think?”   She smiles, “Awesome. Let’s go.” She says and floats out the door. Without further ado, time to destroy a building…   “You’ve been pretty mellow lately. You know that right?”   “I know right.”   “Used to be that you only stuck to protecting and fighting and that’s it, barely any fun at all.”   “I know right.”   “But I have to admit, you seem a bit cooler now that you’ve loosened up a little.”   “I know right.” Rainbow glares at me, obviously a little more than ticked off at my repeating phrase.   “There you two are!” Our attention cuts to the orange farm pony in the Stetson hat. She’s in a ditch and is poking her head out to see us. “’bout time y’all showed up.”   “Sorry AJ.” Rainbow apologizes and hovers above the ditch.   “So you needed help with destroying a barn?” I quickly ask, more than a little anxious to bust the hell out of something with someone’s consent.   She nods her head, “Sure do. It’s there over yonder.” She points straight ahead of us and there it is. A barn in all its… glory. A giant painted faded, boards missing, holes in the roof and rickety type of glory.   “Wow, that thing needs to be condemned.” I bluntly say.   “I know right.” I snap in Dashies direction whose only reply is a wide grin along her face.   “Fine, fine. I deserve that.” I swing the sledgehammer back onto my shoulder and look towards Applejack, “Need anything specific done to it or do you just want us to go full on Rambo on it?”   Both ponies look at me with confused looks on their faces with the unknown name I mentioned. “An old war veteran who can create an innumerable amount of damage in a matter of seconds.”   Both ponies look at each other for a bit before turning back to me, “Uhhhh… Rambo?”   I smile and grab the sledgehammer with both hands. “Excellent choice madam. Die barn!” I yell and charge at the hunk of junk with the hammer over my head.   The stare a bit before Rainbow shrugs, “Huh… whelp, can’t let him have all the fun. Wait for me!” Rainbow fits her goggles on before taking off after me.   <<<>>>  Author’s note: Decided on changing the symbol for the scene transition.   “No need to panic. Rarity is just one pony. I'm sure one of my other friends will need me.” Twilight mutters to herself as she trots down the cobblestone road towards Sweet Apple Acres. After Rarity’s scream of fright turned out to be a false alarm, the lavender unicorn is now looking around to see if there is anypony around that needs some help with something. Considering that she has to send a letter to the Princess before sundown, just anything will do.   “Haaaaaaa!” *Crash*   “Raaaaaahh!”   Fortunately, that anything just presented itself in the form of two hyperactive and very destructive individuals: the rare human and a rainbow-maned pegasus. With a sudden smack, the nervous unicorn is halted by the sudden impact of a wooden plank at her hooves.   “What in the world...?” Twilight says in awe as she watches the duo go to town on the barn that is sure to belong to the farm pony Applejack. “Rainbow and Swift must be angry with Applejack! They must hate her guts! How wonderful!” Twilight says with happiness. In any other situation, that would kinda be considered mean. In Twilight’s situation, that’s perfect.   “Rainbow Dash! Stop!” Even if the destructive Pegasi wanted to go full head on into the building, the pink aura of magic surrounding the full length of her tail ceased that action in an instant.   “You too, Swift Wind!” Just as the human was about to bring the massive sledge hammer down on a poor defenseless segment of the wall, he’s stopped in mid-strike, the blunt heavy part of his hammer just an inch away from the target.   “Hey! What the-!?” he stammers out annoyingly as he tries to figure out on just what stopped his rampage. His theories don’t have time to sprout up ‘till his entire body is engulfed in the pink mana and is carried over to the owner, upside down.   “Listen, you two. I know you're upset with Applejack, but don't worry. Whatever it is that has come between you three, I'm sure that I, as a good friend, can help you resolve your problems.” Twilight explains her role as she lets the two fall onto the ground.   “Ow!” Swift yells as he lands on his head, his body now slumped in an awkward state from lying on his head. He then tries to look at the unicorn from his position. “Explain what the heck you are talking about and that why am I lying upside down on my head?” he asks her with a slight hint of anger in his voice. Of course he would sound like that. Suddenly going from a stress-releasing act of destruction to being dropped on your head can definitely kill the mood.   “Yeah, what are you talking about?” Rainbow adds.   “Oh, you two, you don't have to hide your feelings from me! I can tell you three must've had a terrible fight.” She tells the duo as she stares at them closely and intently. With a flash of light, Swift Wind and Rainbow Dash are laying down on benches on either side of the now therapist looking bookworm, complete with glasses, clipboard, quill, and mane in a bun.   Swift looks at himself for a second before looking at his partner of destruction, “How did we get here?”   The only reply is a shrug from the rainbow pony.   “Now, why don't you two tell me all about your issues with Applejack. You first Rainbow.” Twilight asks her.   “We don’t have any issues with Applejack.” Rainbow replies casually but a bit confused for the two.   “You don't? Then why are you destroying her property?” her question shifts over to her second patient.   “Uhhh… because she asked us to.” Swift shoots up into a sitting position, “Yo, Applejack! Clear this up for us will you!” he shouts   The orange farm pony pokes her head out of the ditch while wearing a red helmet. “He’s right. I wanted to put up a new barn, but this one's gotta come down first. Hehe. Now get back to it, you two.” Applejack explains.   “You got it, boss!” Rainbow happily yells before taking off towards the barn.   “Hold on there, speedy!” Swift intercepts her by grabbing onto her tail and halting her, sliding a few feet due to the Pegasus’s momentum before stopping. She grudgingly looks back at him.   “What the hay?” she asks in an annoyed tone. He lets her go and walks a few more steps towards the barn.   “I got this.” Swift casually says before grabbing all three of his grenades. Looping a finger into each pin, he pulls, starting the 4 second timer on them just as he throws all three. One grenade finds its way through the window at the top while the remaining two land through the open door in the front. “Hit the deck!” Swift yells as he jumps into the ditch, landing prone with his hands over his head.   “Aaah!” With a slight shriek, Twilight and Rainbow Dash duck into the ditch as well. A tense second later passes before…   *BOOOOOMMM!*   <<<>>>   “Ow.” I mutter in an annoyed tone as dirt, rocks and old wood lands on me and the others. I manage to shuffle myself out of the pile I’m under and look to see Rainbow Dash with a smile on her face and Applejack with teeth bearing grin, both of whom jump out to assess the damage. Now where’s everypony’s favorite bookworm.   “Uhhh…” Under the moaning and slightly moving pile of junk, maybe? I reach over and begin clearing the stuff of the unicorn.   “Don’t worry, Twi. I got you.” I say as I slowly pull her out and carry her out of the ditch. I set her down gently, “You alright, girl?”   “Brrruu.” She grunts as she shakes off the debris from her mane and muzzle. “I’m fine.”   I nod, “Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make sure I didn’t kill anybody.” I casually say and begin making my way to the site of destruction.   “Wait!” However I am halted by the special mare clutching my leg. She looks up at me with wide puppy dog eyes and a huge grin. “Do you have anything you need help with? Maybe go exploring in the Everfree Forest? Need help cleaning your guns? Conquer your fear of your truck? Or maybe you want to experiment a bit on your relation to magic?” she quickly asks the questions. Ooooookkaaaaayy… weird. Nothing is really popping into my head right now so much to her disappointment,   “Nooo, no thank you. The… the mid-air rotation and then landing on my head magic bit was enough experimenting for me today.” I say before slowly sliding my leg out of her grasp.   “Oh, okay then!” she recovers quickly and begins to trot away, rather sadly for that matter.   What’s gotten into her?   It’s probably nothing. I walk back over to the others as Applejack looks into the slight crater and Rainbow Dash examining a tree with a plank of wood embedded into it. Standing between the two mares, and looking at the points of interest, I sigh, “Too much?”   “A little.” Applejack answers.   “That was awesome.” Rainbow Dash says with a smile.   I chuckle at the statements and kick a rock into the crater. A few minutes pass as no conversations are started. “Sooooooo… anything else you need from me today?”   “Just show up for the picnic this afternoon.”   “Oh, alright then.” I reply and begin walking away. I stop in my tracks and turn around. “Picnic?”   The two mares look at each other nervously before turning back to me. “We never told you?” The farm pony asks.   I slightly frown and cross my arms, “No, apparently you did not.”   “Oh,” Dashie decides to express hers and AJ’s awkwardness of the situation. “Well… we were going to have a picnic just on the outside of Ponyville over at that tree. We thought it would be a good idea to wind down after everything that’s happened.” She tries to explain in the best possible way without accidentally making things worse. She rubs the back of her head nervously, trying to come up with something else. “I guess we forgot mention it to you, huh?”   “Uh-huh.” I say flatly, my expression not changing an inch.   “Swift I-“ I silence the apple worker with a fling of my hand, basically telling her stop.   “No, don’t. I am hurt. What, you think I’m not your friend enough for you to tell me when you were going to have this little… get-together?” I say in a sad but hurt tone, making the two feel bad, even worse than a minute ago.   “But we-“ I do the same thing with Rainbow Dash.   “No buts! I am going to the market right now and buying a dozen sandwiches and then meeting you all over at the picnic area in one hour!” I shout and start walking away.   “Wait-“   “No!” I say while quickly turning and pointing at them. “I go!” I turn back around and continue walking. Where did that come from? I think I remember another pony shouting that almost every time she left a room. I think her name was Photo… something. I don’t remember.   <<<>>>   “He can be a bit weird sometimes.” Applejack states.   “And Pinkie isn’t?” Rainbow Dash adds. Both mares stare at eachother for a second before they share a short laugh.   <<<>>>   “Now where to go?” I ask myself as I stroll through the market square of Ponyville. After leaving my hammer back at home, I found the perfect place that sells some daffodil sandwiches that the girls like. I tried them before and although they aren’t the best things I’ve ever tasted, they’re bearable. I’ll buy them when I’m making my way to the others so that way they can be fresh. For now, the market square is bursting with life as the wares are being sold. Maybe something will catch my eye. I don’t go through here often so their inventory always shifts every so often. I look at my watch. With 40 minutes left to kill, let’s see if anything pops up.   Fortunately, something does. I stop in front of a stand that sells accessories, nothing too major but some watches, hats, small jewelry… and sunglasses too. The female earth pony with a yellow coat and black mane notices my attention to her goods. “Why hello sir! What can I interest you in today?”   My eyes wander around the stands sellable goods till my vision stops as I stare at the pair of black sunglasses. “Hmmm.” I lowly mutter as I think. The sun isn’t too bad right now, but I guess it never hurts to be prepared. “May I see these for a second?” she nods and allows me to grab the sunglasses and put them on. The world becomes a little bit darker under the glasses influence.   Suddenly I find a mirror in my face with the earth pony seller being the wielder of said mirror. Seeing how I look in them, the darkening of the sun is one reason. The other is that they sort of remind me of character from a video game who wears them a lot. I think it was… Albert Wesker if I remember correctly   Lastly, they’re pretty damn cool.   “How much?”   “5 bits.”   “Sure.” I immediately dig into my pocket and grab the correct amount of bits before dumping them on the counter.   “That’s it? You’re not going to haggle at all?” she asks in disbelief. From the statement, this market’s prices can be bended to meet the satisfaction of both customer and owner like at a flea market. Sweet.   “I’ve been having a good day so far sooo,” I look at her with a smile. “Count yourself lucky.” With that, I stroll off.   Half an hour passes of strolling around, nothing really catching my attention, but it felt good to browse. The sandwiches are bought and I’m making my way towards the picnic area where I see 5 of my 6 pony friends getting ready for the day of relaxation. “Hey girls!” I say with a smile as I walk up to them.   All my friends greet me in return, although I can’t help but stare at Pinkie as she uncovers her basket and balloons float up, slowly carrying the basket to the heavens. I already know what to expect, but you just can’t really get used to it. “Hey, Swift. Nice shades.” Rainbow compliments me.   I smile, “Thanks, you too.” I compliment her as she wears hers.   “Please tell me I did not forget the plates.” My attention shifts over to the white unicorn rummaging through her basket. She gasps, “I did. I totally forgot them. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” she cries and swoons on her hind legs before falling on her… couch that she just made appear. “Why, why, why...” she cries over and over again till she sees the different expressions that the five of us have, mostly the annoyed looks that Rainbow and I are giving her. “Uh... What? You didn't expect me to lay on the grass, did you?”   “Eh.” I groan. Only her… only Rarity can make such a big deal out of the smallest thing. I lie down on my back and stare into the sky for a second, my sunglasses still on till I close my eyes and let the peaceful scenery relax me.   *Smack*   When my eyes open, I’m greeted with a horrible sight. “Hey Swift!”   “Ahhhh!” I yell in fright and jump up to my feet. As I turn around to get a good look, I trip on my own foot and come tumbling down on a cushiony red couch that’s being occupied by a certain fashionista pony. “Ow.” I groan out as I lay on my back with my legs draping over the toppled seat.   Rarity slowly climbs up to get a look at everypony, her hair in a slight mess with a couple strands poking out.. “Swift… tell me why my couch has been toppled over by you? With me along with it?” she grumbles out.   I slowly climb up as well and stare at what freaked me out, “Ask Twilight McCrazy over there.” I bluntly say while staring at said pony. Her grin can scare foals and her hair indicates someone who is mentally unstable.   “You okay, hun?” Applejack asks worriedly.   “No! I am not alright.” Twilight yells. Everyone gasps in shock at the predicament that our Twilight may have gotten herself into. I grab the side of the couch and tip it back over onto its proper side. “It's just terrible.”   “Yes?” We all ask in worry.   “Simply awful.”   “Yes?!” We ask a bit more intently.   “It's the most horrific trouble I've ever been in and I really really really need your help!”   “Oh will you just shut it and tell us already?!” I yell. From the falling over, the scare and obvious suspense that she is probably trying to put us through right now, I just want her to go ahead and tell us all just what is so freakin’ important so we can help.   “My letter to Princess Celestia is almost overdue, and I haven't learned anything about friendship!”   … That? That’s what’s so important that she nearly gave me a heart attack? I fall flat on my front on the soft blanket under me while my friends breathe a sigh of relief.   “Oh, thank goodness. I thought something really awful had happened.” Fluttershy says. I groan and roll onto my back while the others get back to relaxing.   “Something awful has happened! If I don't turn in the letter on time, I'll be tardy! TARDY!” Twilight yells as she appears all around, knocking Rainbow’s glasses off, appearing on my stomach, almost making Rarity spit out her juice, and finally looking like she has a nervous breakdown in the middle of us all.   I say nothing and keep my eyes closed as my friends giggle cutely at the false alarm that Twilight is taking way too seriously. I can’t help but look up at the audible steaming sound coming from the temporarily, hopefully, crazy unicorn.   “No offense, sugarcube, but it looks like somepony's gettin' themselves all worked up over nothin'.” Applejack tries to console her friend.   Twilight scrunches her face and swats Applejacks hooves away, “This is not nothing. This is everything. I need you guys to help me find somepony with a problem I can fix before sundown! My whole life depends on it!” She yells, still going around and looking at us all in the eyes in a way to try and take her seriously.   Pinkie giggles at her point of view of ‘Twilight being funny’. “Oh, Twilight, you're such a crack-up! Hahahaa!” she laughs as she falls onto her back.   “Twilight, lighten up!” I shout as I stand up and walk over to the tree. “No one died or got every single little thing taken away from them just because they were a little late.” I try to explain to her that everything will be alright while sitting down. For crying out loud, she’s the one and only student of ‘The’ Princess Celestia! I doubt she’d let her go for just one little thing. No one’s perfect.   “He’s right. Come on. Have a seat and stop sweatin' the small stuff.” Applejack pats the spot next to her   Twilight groans and lets out a few annoyed and frustrated groans before teleporting away.   “Wow. I've never seen Twilight so upset before.”   “I have.” I HATE YOU!!... Don’t wanna relive that.   “Oh, what a drama queen.” Rarity says out loud. I chuckle and close my eyes.   “Takes one to know one.”   “Mmm!” Rarity lowly moans to herself at my comment. I raise my hand without opening my eyes and catch a sandwich that was propelled to my face. “Why thank you!” I happily say and take a bite out of it. “Let’s see if the sane people can actually relax now.” I say while laying back against the tree a bit more snugly.   “Yeah, let’s.” Rainbow agrees as she lies back on the blanket.   Rarity quickly forgets the comment and begins conversing with the others. They pass the time with idle chit-chat here and there while dining on the food that Applejack and I brought. Meanwhile, I just rest my eyes under my glasses as they converse while eating my sandwich.   “Swift, dearie, how often do you relax?” Rarity asks me. After I finish eating, I bring my glasses down with one hand so I can see her from over them.   I shift in my spot and move back up into a sitting position and placing my hands behind my head. “Not very often.” I bluntly say like it’s nothing.   “When was the last time you rested?” Applejack asks next.   I sigh and begin thinking of when exactly I did take a load off. “Let’s see… all throughout last week I spent organizing my house. The second week before I spent scrounging up whatever I could find in the Everfree Forest… I think maybe the beginning weekend before that week?” I ask unsure.   “Nope. You spent that day fixing up those contraptions of yours.” Applejack reminds me.   “Ohhh… that’s right. The third week back was when Twilight was doing experiments on me to see if anything else major happened to me from Discord’s attack… what about that Saturday through Monday?” I ask if I’m missing anything.   Rainbow shakes her head, “No, you were practicing on using your… plane I think you called it. Remember, you had me, Fluttershy and as many other Pegasi we could round up on standby in case you started crashing again.” The memories flood back to my mind. I remember now. Plenty of Pegasi were willing to help me with that issue. Thankfully they were all strong as hell so when the propeller to the front was slowing down, they were able to guide me back to Ponyville in one piece. During that whole weekend and then some, I had to go around and find the oils and lubricants needed to give that thing proper maneuverability. A pain in the ass but now I don’t have to worry about anything sticking on me.   “Oh… now I do. Thanks again for the help.” Both pegasi smile from my words as I continue to think, “Fourth and fifth week we spent scouring the forest… sixth and seventh we made sure Ponyville and Canterlot were back to normal and everypony wasn’t delirious anymore… like a couple days after we defeated Discord.” I finally say. Practically I spent working on one thing or another since Discord was defeated. With the monsters pushed back, I had to spend as much time as I possibly can in scrounging up whatever popped up in the Everfree Forest that I could use. The haul was big so it was worth it in the end, hopefully.   “Oh my. So you’ve been working almost nonstop for over a month?” The shy pegasus asks. I look towards the middle of them all, seeing the curious glances that they give.   “Yeah… yeah I guess I have.”   “Oh! No no no no no nooooo! You mustn’t go on for too long without a proper beauty rest dear! It could have drastic consequences on you!” Rarity yells in a scared tone.   I bring my glasses down and look directly at her, “Unless I look like a walking corpse, then I’ll worry about it.” I bluntly say and bring my glasses back up. I haven’t felt like total crap throughout my time here so everything seems to be cool.   “You should get a hobby!” Pinkie suddenly blurts out.   I shoot forward and take off my glasses. “I do have a hobby!” The same curious glances appear. “I take apart and put back together my guns and properly take care of my blades every so often so I can make sure that they are working alright so when the next time I am in a fight for my life, I won’t have a misfire or jam that could make or break me.” I casually say as I lie back and dawn my glasses again.   From the silence I don’t think that’s the hobby they were hoping to hear. “Uhhhh I don’t think that’s what she meant Swift.” Rainbow says as she looks at me from the branch above me.   I look up, “Alright, what did she mean then?” She looks at the others as they all share different looks, using their own form of talking without words.   “Didn’t you find a guitar?” Applejack asks.   “And a violin?” Rarity adds.   “And a trombone?!” Pinkie adds as well. All eyes loom over at her.   “No Pinkie. That’s you.” Rarity corrects her. Wait, Pinkie owns a trombone?   “Ohhhhhh… Okay!” she happily yells as she eats one of the sandwiches in one bite.   “Your point?” I ask, wanting them to get to the point of it all.   “Well since you have them, why don’t you learn to play them? The guitar mostly. I don’t see you playing any of those fru-fru songs that those high class ponies listen to.” Rainbow points out.   “Nonsense dear! A little classical music to a pony- err human’s life isn’t so bad; a nice change of pace from all the work that this brute does.” I stare at her as she snuggles a bit more into her couch.   “Do you want that mane messed up again?” I threaten her.   “No! Don’t you dare!” she hisses at me. I smile and look forward again.   “Good. Now back to the topic at hand,” I say, “So what you all are saying is that I should make some time to learn to play some instruments that I found in the monster infested forest that my home is built right next to?” I replay their question in my own words. Their heads looks down as I point out the situation that I can be in everyday. *Sigh* “Alright.”   They shoot their heads up and look at me surprised. “Really?!” All five voices say simultaneously. I smile and clean my glasses from a smudge on them.   “Yeah, sure. Could be an interesting experience.” Truthfully, the idea does sound a little appealing. I’ve never been one to truly listen to music all the time, but then again I barely had a moment’s rest back in my world. And here… almost at every turn there could be a music number ready to pop up in a moment’s notice, mostly by one Pinkie Pie.   “That’s good to hear.” Rarity says.   “Just make sure you learn some sick songs.” Rainbow says to me from up top. I place my glasses back on and give her a thumbs up.   “Do y’all hear somethin’?” After a few minutes, Applejack asks us from her position on the tree right next to me. Everyone perks their ears up to tries and pick up something. I bring my head up and look around but all I see is nothing but the countryside. The audible stomping sounds of running hooves become apparent closer and closer along with some voices.   “I hear something but I don’t see-” Suddenly a massive horde of pony’s run right in the middle of our little group as we were putting everything up. What’s weird is that almost every single one of them have heart shaped eyes and Mayor Mare is leading them all, or maybe she’s being chased. “What’s going- Argh!” I yell in pain as my sentence get’s cut off by a massive blur of red and a hoof to my thigh. I immediately grab my thigh as the trauma placed on it suddenly paralyzes it. “Damnit! Why do I keep getting hurt today?!” I yell in pain, anger and annoyance.   Once I manage to regain my senses, the scene in front of me is a mess. Ponies are fighting each other like crazy and I spot a few ponies fighting over a doll. A really… cool and awesome looking-   “Don’t look at it!” Somepony tackles me to the ground and covers my eyes. I quickly push off the pony to see it was Twilight, who immediately stops the others from looking at the doll as well.   “Don't look at what?” Rarity asks the still hysterical unicorn, who then pushes her hoof against Rarity’s eyes.   “My Smarty Pants doll! I enchanted her and now everypony is fighting over her!” Fighting is right. The ponies are going full blown ballistic here.   “Enchant your-! Are you crazy?!” I yell at her. I try to get up but my leg is still paralyzed so I just fall back onto the ground.   “Oh, I had to do something! I had nothing to report to Princess Celestia! I thought if I couldn't find a problem, I'd make a problem! The day is almost over!” Twilight tries to explain her reasons as she cowers on the ground under her hooves.   “Uhhh, I think we have bigger problems here!” With how all the ponies are going at it, I wonder and worry if some are willing to go to the death. And with my temporarily paralyzed leg, I can’t intervene.   “Twilight Sparkle!” The loud slightly booming voice yells at the unicorn from above. Night has already fallen and Princess Celestia is hovering in the air just above us, encased in bright light all over her.   “Whoa nelly.” Applejack nervously says as she takes off her hat.   “You said it.” I agree. The second the sun came down, the Princess suddenly appears out of nowhere. One of two things is the truth at this point: either the Princess felt this disturbance going on that was the source of her student, or that the lavender unicorn was right all along and we may have drove her to this. Either option sucks, the latter most definitely making us feel bad.   Princess Celestia’s horn glows her usual yellowish color, emitting a bright light that slightly blinds me and the others for a bit. Once I can see again, silence fills the air. Looking over at the field that housed a fierce battle, everypony is back to normal, no heart shaped eyes and more than a few with embarrassed looks on their faces.   “Meet me in the library.” The Princess harshly says to her student and walks away towards Ponyville.   “Goodbye, my friends. If you care to visit, I'll be in magic kindergarten, back in Canterlot.” Twilight says in a very sad tone before walking away to the library with her head hung low.   “Magic kindergarten?” Fluttershy asks confused.   “Canterlot?” Then Rainbow.   “She’s not serious is she?!” I quickly ask. No. No way. She can’t be forced to go back for not sending one stupid little letter…! Can she?   “We're never gonna see Twilight again!” Pinkie yells in worry. Can’t blame her. Twilight’s been with us through thick and thin. No way she can be taken away like this.   “Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” Rarity yells hysterically. She looks at us nervously with all the annoyed and slightly angry glares we are giving her for her constant overreaction of every single little thing. “What? I really mean it this time!”   You better.   “Uh, what are we gonna do, y'all?” Applejack asks all of us. I grunt as I finally decide to force myself onto my feet.   “We intervene. Ugh! That’s what!” I sternly say and try to walk but I immediately collapse.   “Hold on there, big guy.” Rainbow says as she and Fluttershy help me onto my feet again. “We can’t just tell the Princess no.”   I look at her angrily, “My kind has had a history of overthrowing its superiors.” I pull my arms away and move forward a bit, ignoring the pain as much as I can before turning back. “Twilight is my best friend and I’ll be damned if all the hard work she’s done gets thrown away just for one little mishap. If you really want to make sure that Twilight doesn’t get sent away, then help me along.” I say as best I can while trying to hide the pain on my face, which I fail horribly. As soon as I turn back around, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy help me along under my arms. “A wise choice.” I say with a smile.   My friends smile back, “Come on. We have to hurry.”   “Right!” They all reply. We all make our way as fast as we can towards the library in hopes of stopping the Princess.   Let’s hope this works out.   <<<>>>   Dear Princess Celestia, We're writin' to you because today we all learned a little somethin' about friendship.   Applejack Begins.                        We learned that you should take your friends' worries seriously.   Fluttershy adds.                       Even if you don't think that she has anything to worry about.   Then Rainbow Dash.                       And that you shouldn't let your worries turn a small problem...   Rarity…                       ...into an enormously huge entire-town-in-total-chaos Princess-has-to-come-and-save-the-day problem.   Finally Pinkie.                       In which, the consequences can lead to disastrous results…   I add before patting the bag of ice on my leg.                       In more than one way.   My friends giggle a little.                       Signed, your loyal subjects.   Applejack finishes up. After our sudden intrusion of the Princess and her student, the Princess agreed to let Twilight off the hook on the condition that all of us, Twilight still, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and I, we all send her a letter of our lesson we learn on friendship whenever we do learn something. She also made it clear that we don’t have to send a letter every single week or every single month, just whenever we learn something. Now that all the craziness is over with and Twilight is no longer crazy, we all chill for a bit while writing our letter to the Princess. The ice on my leg also helps plenty.                       P.S. Obviously Spike did not have to learn a lesson, because he is the best, most awesome friend a pony could ask for. Unlike everypony else, he took things seriously, and-   Spike’s scribbling, horrible at being quiet and gloating P.S. note gets cut off by the glaring of Twilight.   “Eheh... uh... yeah... I'll just, um...” he nervously tries to say before scratching out his post. Everypony laughs at the silliness of the dragon. I smile and massage the sides of my thigh where I was stomped on in a way to ease the pain. It works a little as a slight bit of pain disappears under the cold embrace of the ice.   With a huff of green fire, Spike sends the letter to its destination. “There.”   “Very good Spike.” Twilight compliments her assistant. Her gaze falls to me, “You alright Swift?”   “Yeah, I’m fine. Already gaining feeling in my leg again. The swelling will probably disappear by tomorrow, then give it a couple days and I’ll be running around doing life threatening things at every turn.” I say in a happy tone. She rolls her eyes while the others giggle.   “Well, it’s been fun, but ah’ better get back home and make sure Applebloom and Big Macintosh are better.”   “I should go to. I promised some of the squirrels I would read them a bedtime story.”   “And I got to get ready to clear the skies tomorrow.”   “I should go too. I don’t want to make Mr. and Mrs. Cake worry too much about me.”   “And a lady must get her beauty rest.” All my friends say and begin walking to the door.   “Girls…” All stop at the former crazy unicorn’s word. “I… just want to say… thank you for trying to stop the Princess from sending me away.” She thanks us a little nervously. “And to say I’m sorry for causing all of this in the first place.” She looks at me, “Really sorry.”   I smile and wave her off, “Water under the bridge.”   The others agree as well. With goodbyes in the forms of words and hugs, all that’s left is I, Twi, and Spike. “You can sleep here tonight.” She says to me.   “Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a bother, Twi-“ I try to get up but the pain spikes. “Why-thank-you-very-much-for-your-kind-hospitality.” I quickly say as I ease myself back. “Going to sleep right now… feels just perfect at this point.”   She giggles before her horn lights up. “Here. Let me.”   “Whoa.” I say uneasily as I am covered in her magic mana and carried into a room. “No matter what, this still feels weird.”   “Oh, quit complaining.”   She slowly eases me into a bed, “Here, this is a spare bedroom I had just in case somepony needed to stay… or someone.”   I snuggle into a more comfortable position on the bed while keeping the ice where it is. The room is pretty basic. Nothing too fancy about, just a simple bed, some nightstands, and the walls are still covered in shelves littered with books. “Thanks Twilight. Consider this payment for dropping me on my head and forcing that massive riot.” She blushes in embarrassment at the events that happened.   “Right, well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She says before going to the door.   “See you.” I say and lay back.   “Have a good night.” she blows out the candle that was the only light in the room.   “You too.” I reply before she closes the door, darkness immediately enveloping both my form and the room.   Let’s see; getting lectured a little by friends on my job, then getting nearly trampled, a near broken leg and having to try and talk down a god…   I smile, place my glasses on the nightstand to my right and close my eyes,   My kind of day to relax.   -------------------------------   Well, here it is. Hope y’all enjoyed this as much as I like doing my best in trying to enrich your lives a little.   Rate, comment, etc. You know the drill when it comes to reading these things.