//------------------------------// // 4. An Honest Heart To Heart // Story: The Soldier From The Stars, The Green Lantern Of Equestria // by biznizz //------------------------------// "Hal deary? Your shift's over with," Cup Cake announced, as she walked into the kitchen where the human had been sweeping. "Don't worry, I'll finish up the cleaning for now. Just be sure to check in with Carrot so you can get your pay for this week." Hal gave a nod in response and let the broom rest against the wall near where he had been sweeping. As he went to the front of the house to speak to Carrot, Cup Cake began to take over. Nearly a month had passed by since the ex-Lantern Hal Jordan had come to the village of Ponyville. 26 days, to be more precise. In that time, the human had become to grow, as much as he could in his situation, acclimated to living with the city's residence. There were still some who were wary of him and tended to avoid him; if there was any hostility towards him, it was thankfully kept below the surface. As is with any major change-up, despite efforts to minimalize such a thing, there were the inevitable reporter-and-paparazzi influx to the town, trying to get a scoop and exclusive interviews from the mysterious "human from myth". None had gotten much more than photos for their trouble, and even then, most of the more respectable papers erred on the side of caution and chose to portray Hal tastefully. But, there's always going to be those who try to sensationalize to sell papers, which Hal could see when he helped Fluttershy change papers for some of the birdcages, covered with as they were trying to say. "Alright, Mrs. Cake," Hal announced, sticking his head into the kitchen, "I suppose I'll see you in two days. Have a good one." But before he could leave, the pudgy blue mare called out to him, remembering she had a favor to ask of him. "Oooh, I'm such a scatterbrain sometimes!" she berated herself, "Hal, I have a favor to ask of you concerning your schedule for next week." "What's up?" Hal asked as he walked into the kitchen, sticking the small sack of bits he'd received as his paycheck into his pocket. "I was hoping you could come in on the 22nd and help fill in my shift," Cup explained, "Pinkie's going to be out of town, and I only just got word from Balitmare that my reservation at the Confectioner's Convention has been confirmed. I was hoping you could help Carrot out with the register... as well as the twins." Looking over his shoulder through the entrance way to see the lanky yellow stallion taking an order from a hungry customer, Hal nodded in approval. "Sure, I don't mind," Hal shrugged. Cup breathed a big sigh of relief, "Thank you. I'll give you an extra day off next week for this. Getting to attend this convention could be a huge opportunity for us to swap recipes and techniques with other pastry & dessert chefs." His curiosity getting the better of him, Hal had to ask, "Yeah, no big deal. But what is Pinkie going out of town for? She didn't say anything to me that I can remember." Cup, taking the dust pan and broom over to the supply closet to put them away, answered matter-of-factly, "Oh, she's going to be visiting her folks over at their farm of course. She's actually going to be leaving the day before when she's done with her own shift." She sighed and shut the door sadly. "Huummm.... I wish the Convention didn't have to fall on that day, though.... I really didn't want to miss the day with Carrot and the kids..." Slightly confused at Cup's words, Hal decided to keep his escorts from waiting much longer and bid his boss adieu. Walking into Sugarcube's front, he spotted Fluttershy & Dawn waiting for him. "Hey, hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long," Hal apologized. "Chillax, homeboy," Dawn waved off with her hoof, "me and Flutters her' weren't kept up long." Fluttershy gave an assuring smile and Hal's mind was put at ease, putting off the workday nearly instantly, as the three of them walked out of Sugarcube and towards the Hay Burger to eat. They had only just arrived within eye shot of the door, when Fluttershy paced ahead of Hal & Dawn. "Twilight, Spike!", she exclaimed in her reserved, Fluttershy manner, "What a coincidence!" The matching purple dragon & unicorn were on their way out, having already finished their own lunch, and stopped to speak. Hal got down on one knee, and gave Spike a light, playful punch to the shoulder, "Spike, dragon bro, if you'd told me that you & Twilight were coming here for lunch, I'dve asked the Cakes to get off a bit earlier." "Sorry, dude," the dragon apologized, "me & Twi were out doing some errands, and just decided to stop in for a bite." Twilight also gave an apology, "We'd just got done setting up a last minute reservation at the Prancing Pony for next week, and... well... let's just say that the subject got me hungry with out my realizing it." "The Prancing Pony is one of Ponyville's nicest restaurants," Fluttershy explained to Hal, who'd never heard of it, "it's a bit expensive, but the food is always very nice." Hal stood back up and, curiosity striking once again, asked, "So what's the occasion?" Twilight had a brief, puzzled look on her face before answering, "Well, my family is coming in from Canterlot. My mom and dad, and Shining is bringing Cadance along with him. So all of us and Spike are going out for the day." 'Huh, that is a strange coincidence', Hal thought to himself, 'first Pinkie, now Twilight. Some friends think alike, I suppose...' He smirked and spoke aloud, "Well, that's great Twilight. Just remember to keep clean when you see your folks. I don't think special sauce makes for good make-up." He tapped the side of his mouth with his index finger, letting Twilight know she still had some sauce around her mouth, to which the unicorn blushed & wiped off with her hoof. "So what are you going to do for the rest of the day, Mr. Jordan?" Spike asked. Dawn answered before Hal could open his mouth, "Me 'n mah peeps are gonna help Flutters out and pick up some chicks." Spike tilted his eyes over to Hal & Fluttershy, the latter of which giggled. "Dawn means that she and Hal are going to be helping me gather the new chicks that hatched in the chicken coop and help me count them," she clarified. As the two groups decided to be on their way, Twilight turned her head back and addressed Hal, "Don't forget! You said you wanted to get some Equish lessons done this evening, Hal. Don't get overexhausted helping Fluttershy today!" "Relax, it won't be a problem. Thanks again for the favor," Hal shot back, heading inside. Making good on his promise to try to be less dependant on his ring, Hal had been taking speech & writing lessons from Twilight over the last few weeks. It wasn't going so well, and the last time, Twilight had made the suggestion about getting Cheerilee, the school teacher, to assist in the lessons. His ego a bit hurt by this, he had asked for a few more weeks before going down that road. "...And please make sure it's a soy patty this time. Thank you," Hal said to the teenage mare at the cashier counter, depositing the money for the food. Hay Burger, the last time he had gone, had given him one of their titular burgers, and even though he was not a big fan of soy, which was an alternative the establishment offered, he was much less so for their typical staple: hay processed burgers & fries. As he sat down at the table that Dawn & Fluttershy had decided to use, the latter spoke up, "Mr. Jordan, I have some trout available for the bears and manicores at my house. After you help me out, I can give a fish or two to you as payment for helping me out." Hal smiled and frizzed her mane gently, "Thanks, 'Shy. That really would be great. It's been a while since I've had trout... or rather, trout from Earth anyway." He looked over his shoulder at the counter, waiting for the food. "I figure that'll have a better chance of success than me trying to bake something." Dawn tilted her head smugly towards Hal, "Yet, cha working atta bakery wi' Shorty-Pie". Hal waved her off, knowing she was taunting him. Trying to find some employment since his arrival was a bit hectic; strictly speaking, he had a tear-off flyer at the bulletinboard near Town Hall open for anyone to hire-for-pay, but getting a more stable income was something that Twilight had insisted on. Between several suggestions between their group of associates, Twilight & her friends had narrowed it down to either Sugarcube or the Day Spa owned by two sisters named Lotus and Aloe; the latter of which ended very suddenly when attempting to train him for massages had... "relaxed" their test pony a bit too much, leading to Hal bidding the establishment farewell with a red face and fast pace in his step. Sugarcube wound up being a compromise, Hal hadn't really much knowledge of any recipes (and the ones he did know were already on their menu) and his baking skills were subpar. He was fortunate enough to be hired on to do floater jobs, such as cleaning, register, inventory, or even watching out for the Cakes' twin foals, Pumpkin & Pound Cake. 'Maybe I should have taken home ec., back when I was still in school,' Hal languished to himself, head propped up, 'Ahh... who am I trying to kid. I didn't even have enough time for my regular classes. Thank god for Bruce and private tutoring...' Even in Equestria, fast food usually lives up to its name and the three managed to get their order served, and quickly devoured. Dawn looked over Fluttershy to look through one of the glass windows the burger joint had. "Yo-yo-yo! Look who's struttin' her stuff outside, dawg!" she exclaimed, pointing her hoof at the pony she had seen. Hal & Fluttershy looked over to see Lyra walking by, and were surprised when Dawn teleported out of her seat to appear next to her outside, where they began to chat, Dawn being more lively than Lyra appeared to be. "Oh, my," Fluttershy remarked, "I didn't know that Dawn could teleport. Most unicorns exhaust themselves and their magic doing that. Twilight's the only pony I know who can teleport without exhausting herself like that." "Well, Dawn's says she's from Canterlot," Hal responded. "Maybe she's trained herself to use that spell to get around. Or something. I dunno." Hal shrugged and finished off the last few bites of his (thankfully) soy burger, just as Dawn teleported back in. Lyra, still outside, gave the group a wave and, after getting one in return, went back along her way. "So how's little Miss Playing-On-Your-Heartstrings doing?" Hal asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Dawn looked towards the distantly shrinking unicorn and answered, "Shawny's just gotta few problems, and a big one's Bon-nay." Hal silently face palmed listening to Dawn speak; he thought she was a nice lady, but her accent was atrocious. It took a few days before he realized his ring wasn't on the fritz and that's how she apparently spoke. "Seems little Miss Thang's tryin' to coppa attitude with Shawny, givin' hur the cold shoulder and crashin' with some homewrecka name 'a Harvest or summthin'," Dawn continued. Fluttershy gasped at the news, "Oh that's terrible! It's always so sad when friends fight... But to think that Bon Bon's actually moved over to Golden Harvest's... It must be really bad for it to come to that." Hal put a hand up to his chin and tried to think back over the names he'd tried to learn. "Have I met this Harvest guy? I can't recall anyone with that name that I've met anyway..." he asked. Fluttershy shook her head and corrected him, "Golden Harvest is the mare who grows the carrots outside of town. That's her special talent & cutie mark. She's got a dark orange mane & light orange coat." "Wait. That's who Bon Bon's moved in with? I thought her name was Carrot Top..." Hal trailed off, lost. "That's just her nickname," Fluttershy lectured. Hal sighed, "Is there anyone else I've met that has any nicknames I should know?" Fluttershy thought for a few seconds and answered, "I suppose... I think Bon Bon's real name is actually Sweetie Drops, but I don't know if that's true or not..." "Ah, drop this nickname biz," Dawn exclaimed, shifting the conversation. "My homegirls 'r fightin' and we gots ta do sumthin'!" Hal stood up, and put his hand on Dawn's right shoulder. "I think the best course of action is to let them resolve their own problems by themselves. At least give them a few days to cool off," he explained. "The last thing anyone needs is for us to get involved in something we don't have all the info for and potentially make things worse." "....You sure abou' dat? Seems kinda... messed up ta not try to help out homies in distress..." Hal picked up his tray and turned his back to the table, "Yeah. Sometimes it's better to try to pick up the pieces and try to rebuild than trying to stop something from getting broken in the first place...." He instantly regretted his words and started to walk off. "Let's go and count those chicks." Fluttershy and Dawn gave the other a concerned look and followed suit. ------------------------ "Thank you both so much for helping me with all the new chickens today," Fluttershy graciously thanked an exhausted Dawn & Hal. They had spent the last few hours, thanks to Fluttershy insisting on not scaring the chicks with magic, gathering up a group of fowl that did not want to be gathered; not helped when nearly half had found their way into Fluttershy's cottage. "No prob, 'Shy," Hal waved off, "Still don't have any takers for my service flyer, so I had plenty of time." He held up the paper wrap which contained the fish that Fluttershy had promised him earlier. "I'm grateful for this. You really didn't have to..." "Oh, yes I did Hal," Fluttershy cut in, "It was no problem at all. I'm just happy to help out a friend." Dawn looked up at the sky with a bit of apprehension; the sky was starting to turn orange with the late afternoon. "Yea, boy. No troub at all." She looked over at the others. "Sorry, gots ta split. Have ta get back over thur to Canterlot." She gave a small nod and started running back to town. Hal looked over to Fluttershy and gave her a two fingered salute to the head and ran off, trying to catch up with Dawn. The mare had a longer stride than him, but he was able to catch up with her, holding onto his wrap with such force that he knew was going to get the smell into his clothes. "H-hey, Dawn!" Hal called out, getting her attention. "Listen... I've been thinking about the Lyra & Bon Bon thing! I still think we should give Bons a bit of time to cool off, but we should try to see if there's anything we can do to help!" Dawn, not slowing down, turned her eyes over to the running human, "Uh... totes awesome, playa! I'll be able ta hang wid y'all in three days! Afta dat, it might take a while till I see y'all again. ...My job, 'n all." Hal gave a bit of a smile and replied, "Great! Well... hope you can, uh, have enough time in a week. Cup's going to be out of town and if I take her shift, she & Carrot are gonna let me have an extra day off!" Dawn nodded and put in a bit of speed, "Least they could do! Havin' ta work Parent's Day won't be a cake walk ya know! Hah!" As she pulled ahead, Hal started to slow down, coming to a complete stop as Dawn vanished from sight. "Wait. What the hell!?" ------------------------------------ Five Days Till Parent's Day "Parent's Day was established by the two Princesses in the first year of their reign... blah, blah, blah. ....meant to encourage family bonds, blah, blah, blah.... one of the first national Equestrian holidays... ugh! Why couldn't you just ask Twilight to tell you this egghead stuff?!" Rainbow Dash exasperated, throwing the book she had been half-reading-half-flying onto the ground at Hal's feet. Sighing, he picked it up and dusted it off. "Given that she's already getting everything set up over at her place, I felt.... asking her wouldn't be the best idea," he explained. "That girl, I swear, has got OCD or something..." Rolling her eyes, Dash gestured Hal to follow her to the place where she usually conducted her flight training outside of Ponyville, since Hal had agreed to watch her moves. The walk wasn't done in complete silence. "Back home, we have two 'holidays' for mothers and fathers, but those aren't national holidays... just excuses to sell cards and stuff," Hal went on, to Dash's frustration, "I know you guys are all for connections, but... Really? It just seems like an overblown event to make into a national holiday of all things. ...No offense." Dash continued to fly, but turned around to face Hal, her face full of annoyance. "You really ARE hung up on this, huh?" she asked, and continued without letting Hal attempt to answer. "Look, I think I get it: you don't have anypony here you can spend the day with, so you're freaking out or something. I thought you were gonna be working the whole day anyway. It doesn't matter in getting nervous about it all, right?" Hal put his hand up to his chin in thought, digesting Dash's words; she was on to something. Slamming his fist into his other hand, Hal exclaimed, "Speedy, you speak the truth! It's no biggie at all. I'm just gonna... gonna put it out of my mind and just focus on work." "Grrreaaat....," Dash sarcastically quipped, "now that your little moment is over with, I want you to see a new routine I've been working on." Despite his earlier proclamation, Hal couldn't help turn his attention to the rainbow-maned pegasus flying in front of him, doing some aerial stretching in preparation of her showing off. "Twilight & Spike are gonna be having their fam come over next week. Should I expect to see Rainbow Dad or Mama Dash coming by too?" If she had been walking, Dash would have tripped up in surprise; as is she seized up for a second before resuming her hovering. "Uhh...," Dash struggled to answer, "no. I'm... gonna go visit Cloudsdale that day and see my Dad there." She hoped the human would buy her nervous sweating as being caused by her stretching, despite the fact that she hadn't even begun to start getting worked up. Hal shrugged. "Shame, but whatever floats your boat, Flash." "Let's just get this over with, and tell me how everything looks on the ground. And use my name!" "Whatever you say, Rainbow Raider," Hal smartassly answered with a big grin on his face. 'Gonna be the last thing on my mind. It's just gonna come and go. No prob.' he thought as Dash shot up into the sky after giving him one last look of annoyance. ------------------------------------ Four Days Till Parent's Day Hal, despite liking them fine for the most part, was never good with kids. Especially infants. 'Ohhhkkkaaay.... kids are changed, all washed up... just gotta get Cup or Carrot to feed them and they should be good for now...', he thought to himself as he stepped out of the washroom, waving the remaining moisture off of his hands. The business was, thankfully, not too bad at this time, so he wasn't too hard pressed in getting Pound & Pumpkin taken care of. He was about to walk into the kitchen when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw two mares walking by the window. "...Cup? The kids are changed, but they need to get fed. Mind if I take a few minutes before I get back to work?" Hal called out into the kitchen where Pinkie & Cup working at the stove top, in the middle of making some fresh ice cream for stock. "Thanks!", he added before Cup could answer, and ran out the front door. "And just where do you think HE'S going in such a rush?" Cup asked Pinkie, who was in the middle of mixing her bowl like a turbine. Pinkie shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe he's gonna get some carrots or something. Maybe for Mr. Cake!" she giggled. Mouthing out 'carrots' to herself, she let the Pinkie-ism slide and go get Carrot up from his break. Outside, Hal ran up to his quarry. "Hey! Wait up!" The two mares turned around and looked at him. "Hey... how's it going Bons...", he regarded them, "Miss... Carrot... Harvest." He was still a bit confused about the ginger mare's name, but she wasn't the one that Hal wanted to speak with. It was barely two days since he had decided to not stick his nose into Bon Bon & Lyra's apparent fight, and here he was. Not too unusual for him, all in all. Trying to play it smooth, Hal tried to speak to Bon Bon alone. "It won't take long, I just want to talk for a bit while I'm on break." Bon Bon looked over at Carrot Top for a second and flatly agreed, "Okay." She followed him a short distance near the back of Sugarcube. "What is it? I'm busy." She wasn't playing around and went straight to the point. 'Alright, I guess I'll just come out and say it if she's already not in the mood,' Hal thought as he analyzed the situation. He leaned against the wall of the building. "So I've heard you & Lyra are having a bit of a tiff." "It's not that big a deal." "It is to Lyra. She's got her feelings hurt because she thinks she did something to piss her off." "She didn't." "Then why are you crashing over at Golden Top's place? Why haven't you talked to Lyra?" "That's not her nam-" "Just answer the question, Bons," Hal demanded, giving her a glare. Bon Bon didn't appear to take the situation seriously, looking uninterested despite the discussion. Bon Bon sat on her haunches and crossed her forelegs in annoyance, giving a small scoff. "Excuse ME, but I don't think that you are in any position to demand me of anything," she accused matter-of-factly. Hal took a deep breath to continue his argument, but the indignant pony cut him off, her glaring eyes focused directly on the clueless fool in front of her. "You barely know me. You barely know Lyra. And yet you think that you have any say in our affairs? You, some weird alien who's so unwanted, he had to come begging to the Princesses to take him in?" The wind immediately left Hal's sails as he found himself unable to voice a rebuttal. "You've been here less than a month, yet you think you have any clue on how ponies interact? On any real knowledgeable scale? How dare you think you can just order me around like some Guard Captain. You don't know anything about us at all!" she snarled at Hal, a look of disgust at the human plastered on her face. Feeling two feet tall, his eyes downcast, Hal knew that Bon Bon was right, at least on a good chunk of her points. He was clueless about this world and its people, their culture and traditions. Hell, the fact that the upcoming holiday totally caught him offguard until it was all but right in front of him was proof of that. 'Such an idiot,' he thought to himself, 'I should have just done what I said and stayed out of this. Why am I so damn stupid?' "...You're right. I don't know anything about you ponies and how you guys tick," Hal strained himself to say. But just like always, he got a gut instinct and, perhaps foolishly decided to listen to it once again. "But we do know somebody who is all over these friendship studies, if I understood her properly. Maybe Twilight should talk to you two about your issues; perhaps she can..." He didn't get to finish before Bon Bon cut him off. "Wait. That's.... not necessary," she spoke, eyes wide and her look of contempt replaced by mask of alertness & worry. "I just... needed some space for a while. I don't think getting the Princess' protégé involved is going to help anypony in this situation." "There's a big difference between wanting space and completely shutting someone out, Bons," Hal growled, "I know. I've given as much as I've gotten in my time. I've lost good friends because of inability to talk and understand each other." "...." "I don't know you OR Lyra that well. That's true enough. But I can tell when someone feels hurt when they think they've failed a friend. And if getting Little Miss Sparkle involved is the only way for you two to make up, then obviously things aren't as rosy as you claim. So those are your options: Intervention or Reconciliation. And since you obviously don't want option 1, then at least trying to make up with Lyra is your only choice." Bon Bon looked over at Carrot Top, who was still within eye shot, mulling things over. "...I will. I'll tell her I'll go back home after Parent's Day ends. Is that okay with you?" she glared at Hal, who had his arms crossed in authority. After a while, Hal nodded his head in approval. "If that's how long it'll take you to get things sorted out. Lyra will appreciate hearing this anyway, even if you aren't ready to move back in." He unfolded his arms and stood back up. Bon Bon took this gesture as the signal the conversation had ended and she galloped back over to Carrot Top, who was still watching them. The two spoke briefly, too softly to be overheard, gave Hal one last once-over and went along their way. Sighing, Hal stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered over to the front of the building. He only stopped upon seeing Cup and Carrot Cake, twins in tow with their bottles, on the front stoop. As their eyes set upon him, they began to smile with some pride. "...You were listening in," Hal hollowly announced. Carrot, holding onto Pumpkin, chuckled, "Well, you weren't that quiet about it. I think even Pinkie heard everything from inside." Hal set his back to the wall near the stoop and slid down until he hit the ground, sighing audibly. "You do know what you did was a nice thing, right?" Hal turned his head towards the Cakes, "It was just a buncha show. I haven't really done anything until those two actually start to work things out." As soon as the words left his mouth, his mood turned even more dour. 'So this is all I've got left, huh? Threatening candy ponies because I decided to play alpha dog again. Getting chewed out because I'm an idiot and even these horses can see it. So much for the protector of a whole Sector and savior of the universe.' Cup picked up Hal's mounting depression almost immediately. "Are you okay, hun?" she asked with some concern. Hal decided to clam up and wave it off as he got up and headed towards the entrance, "I just gotta get back to work. Excuse me." He felt impotent and pathetic, the weight in his pocket more noticeable than ever. The Cake couple could only look at each other in sadness as the human's form disappeared into the building. ------------------------------------ Three Days Till Parent's Day Hal's wandered into the market, accompanied by six certain ponies and a baby dragon, holding up a shopping list for them to see. His quest for distraction still in full swing, he decided it was high time to introduce them to one of the foods of his people with a nice little get together. The 'P'-word was deliberately not used around Pinkie, for obvious reasons. "So, everyone got the plan?" he asked his group, "we'll assign ingredients for each of you to pick up, meet up at Sugarcube at about half past four and we'll have our... gathering and eat when everything's made. You're more than welcome to do some shopping of your own, but I'll only comp you for what we actually need." His eyes turning towards the list, as he put up a pre-emptive finger to stop Rarity and the others from objecting to his offer of payment, Hal put a slight frown on as he added, "I don't know whether to be confused or relieved that you've never heard of pizza before, given you have many of the same sweets and fast foods as my world does. I mean... come on, you guys have a freaking burger chain! Soy & hay yes, but burgers nonetheless!" "I suppose that, despite the incredibly high statistics of our worlds having so many similarities, there would logically be a multitude of things that one might have which the other doesn't," Twilight lectured, her mind once again racing with excitement over the implications and opportunites at research this opportunity afforded. Hal chose not to comment on the fact that the purple unicorn was slightly beginning to drool in her giddiness, as she was kind enough to write up an Equuish-written copy of the list and assign each pony's portion by both personality of the buyer and efficientness at haggling. Pinkie gave a small salute. "Okie-dokie, Hally! I'm supposed to get the cheese right? Is it alright if I get several kinds? Cream Dream usually has a pretty big selection!" Hal nodded, "I suppose. Try not to go too out there though. I think baby steps would be better with you guys, so I'd stick to some of the staples. Like provolone, cheddar or..." He was interrupted by Pinkie, who had somehow teleported behind him and was now on top of him, her upside down face all up into his. "Ooh, I know! Marezarella, right!?" she giggled with a grin highly reminiscent of the cat who's eaten the canary. Which only grew wider and she erupted into full on laughter as Hal's face curled up into the biggest frown he'd had in a while. "No, that's a bad pony!" he chastised, "That pun was bad and you should feel bad. Your world is already full of them without you trying to be cute and screw with me." Straightening her coiffure, Rarity bore her azure eyes at the human in annoyance. "Pardon me, darling, but just what do you mean by that? Our cities and countries aren't named after anything so... uncouth as mere punnery," the marshmallow pony glared, "Or perhaps you could tell us just what is so "punny" about such lovely names as Zebrica, Saddle Arabia, Prance or Bitaly?" As one was not going to be sufficient, Hal gave himself a double face palm and decided that this was an argument not worth getting into as they'd be there for hours. "Okay, while you guys get the essentials, I'll go pick up some extra stuff for toppings. Any suggestions you want me to pick up?" "Rose petals, if you wouldn't mind, darling." requested the fashionista. "Ah'll git some apples from tha farm, so ya don't hafta worry." said the cowpony. "Ah, I'll... I'd just like some carrots or alfalfa. Oh! Just a little, if you wouldn't mind..." trailed off the scaredy-pony, twiddling her hooves. "Sapphires for me, please!", said a very ravenous baby dragon. Hal quickly looked over to Rarity with a look of 'Can you take care of that' and, thankfully, she nodded with a smile. "I WANT GUACAMOLE AND MARSHMELLOWS!!" exclaimed Pinkie, channeling her inner Michelangelo as she hopped around. And with Rainbow Dash and Twilight's decision to not have any, the group separated. ..... 'Ah... pony shopping is weird...' thought a ruffled Hal. Equestria's marketplaces were apparently barter-based, so Hal had to actively try to argue down prices with the shopkeeps. While this type of system wasn't quite as unfamiliar to the ex-Corpsman, it was still relatively odd to him. After all, who heard of a world where you could, in essence, get fairly valuable sapphires for what was essentially highway robbery... on the part of the seller. He had only just placed Spike's precious gems into his bag when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure. "Yo! Dawn!" Hal called out and ran up to the mare. Dawn, who had not been expecting to get called out like that, jumped up slightly in the air at the shout of her name and started to sweat at the sight of the human approaching her. Taking a gulp in nervousness, she put on her best toothy smile and waved one of her forelegs at the smiling human. "Ah.... It's so good to see you... Hal. How have you been?" she asked in her best non-chalant voice. Slowing down his jog, both due to his closer proximity to Dawn and her odd greeting. "Hey... Dawn," Hal replied apprehensively, "glad to see you. I know you said that you'd be back, but I was half expecting your job would keep you too busy..." 'Job? What job?! There was no mention of a job?!' Dawn panicked in her head, but managing to keep her smile up. "Oh, yes... My job. Very busy, doing all that... paperwork... Ha...", Dawn smoothed through this potential situation, raising non-chalant levels through the roof. "Sounds like the daily grind is the same no matter where it is in the universe, huh?" Hal responded neutrally, raising an eyebrow. "So, what brings to you town today?" Giving a small cough, and feeling she had the situation under control, Dawn decided to answer truthily, "Ah, I was hoping to find Bon Bon and Lyra. ...They both weren't at home." She then quickly added, "I wanted to help them with the research." Giving a small snort, Hal turned around and gestured Dawn to follow; he still had to get Pinkie's odd desert and some flowers from Roseluck's stall. As the two passed by the various stalls and stores, through the crowd of commercing ponies, Hal, still off-put, decided to let the odd mare in on the situation, "Well, I don't know where Lyra is right now, but Bons is still over at Golden Carrot's place." Looking over at Dawn's face, he was at least relieved to see her face scrunch up into a frown. "Despite the fact I said we should give them some time... I did talk to Bons the other day. She said that she was going to talk sometime after... the holiday ends." "...Is that so?" "Yeah." The rest of the walk was done in silence, which continued after visiting the aptly named flower pony and getting some lovely reds for Rarity's request. "So," Hal said, breaking up the silence, "me and Twilight and them were going to have a pizza par- get together in a few hours, and I was just wondering if you wanted to join us for a slice or two." He turned his head over to Dawn who seemed confused at the mention of the food, understandably so to be fair. "Do you wanna?" he offered again. Feeling confident at Hal's offer, Dawn closed her eyes with a small smile on her face. "Yes, that does sound very nice," she quietly accepted, "I assume it will happen at the bakery?" Upon hearing a grunt of approval from the human, she started to take her leave. "It sounds lovely, but first I think I should go see... Bons... and talk to her about a few things. Hopefully it won't take very long." Biting his tongue, Hal decided to let loose. "Not so fast. Something's up with you." Dawn's gait halted almost immediately, as beads of nervous sweat were already beginning to form on her body. 'Oh, dear mother, please don't tell me he's already figured things out!' she mentally screamed at herself. "S-something's up with me? What e-ever do you mean?" she timidly asked, while further berating herself at blowing her cover. Hal walked over to her and put his hand on her withers, an action which made Dawn flinch due to its spontaneity. Looking at Dawn's face, he made his accusation, "For all the time I've known you, I could barely understand you. Then you show up today and, BOOM, this. Dawn...," he trailed off looking at her in the eye, which she tried to avoid, "what was up with you trying to impress me by pretending to be someone else you're not by trying to be overly cool?" Dawn's head snapped over to his, bewildered at what oddity he was saying. "Everytime we've talked, I could tell there was some... apprehension in your voice, that you tried to cover up. I think today's the first time I've seen you... shall we say, relaxed. And I've gotta say... you don't have to try around me. I get all the 'awesome coolness' I need from Flashy Dashie already. You can just be you," the clueless human concluded, putting on a supportive smile. '...Okay, this works in my favor I suppose.' Dawn inwardly reflected. Putting on a small smile of her own, she nodded, "Thank you.... I suppose in hindsight, I did try a bit too hard. I just... wanted you to think I was interesting." Waving a hand at her, Hal gave a dismissal, "You don't have to prove anything to me. ...It should be the other way around for me proving myself to all of you." He removed his hand from her and turned his body around to leave. "Well, I won't hold you up. See you in a bit, Dawn." Giving the other a nod, the two finally parted ways for the moment. And in no time at all, Hal had his shopping done. Holding up his bit pouch, he could tell he still had some cash left over. 'Okay. Things are going great.' he thought to himself with cautious optimism as he continued down his way towards Sugarcube. 'It's going to be a nice night, hopefully the pizzas will turn out at least half-way edible and I'llve shared a small bit of Earth with the locals. Everything's going fine.' But as his body went into autopilot, his mind wandered back to his trouble over the upcoming holiday. 'Still a stupid holiday. Why, just WHY would they make a legal holiday out of this? Just boggles the mind...' Then, perhaps serendipitously, he saw a certain store front pop up. The window was englossed, a quick scan of his ring deciphered: 'BERRY'S VINEYARD ~ JUICES, WINES & SPIRITS' Hal was looking at the store for nearly three minutes before he realized that he had stopped walking. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his bit pouch from his pocket once again and contemplated his options, "....Why the hell not." He started towards the liquor store, after all, what was a bottle or two. Cup had, before she had left earlier that morning, that their arrangement for him to work on THAT DAY was still on, so he'd be able to work all day and be able to drink the rest of the night away without worrying about showing up to work hungover. Everything was going to be fine. ------------------------------------ Two Days Till Parent's Day Everything was NOT fine. "What do you mean you don't need me to work the holiday shift!?" Hal shouted exasperatedly at his boss, who was in the middle of a kiss with her husband as he rolled some dough in Sugarcube's kitchen and NOT out of town like she said she was going to be. Cup Cake raised an eyebrow at him and retorted, "Why deary... I mean exactly that. In fact, you should take an extended weekend to make up for all the confusion. Don't you agree, honey buns?" The chubby mare kissed the lanky stallion's neck, sending shivers down his spine in ecstasy. "Not in front of the staff, Cup... *Ahem* Yeah, Mr. Jordan, I think that Cuppy's right. You do seem to be a bit stressed out, and perhaps a few extra days off will do you some go-OOD!" Carrot agreed, jumping at the end as Cup nibbled one of his ears playfully. Hal watched the scene incredulously, his arms raised in disbelief. " B-but... but what happened to your Baking Convention in Baltimore... grr... Balimare, dammit! That's the reason you asked me to work since Pinkie was going out of town that day!" the human demanded to know why his plans to ignore reality on that day were getting squashed like an egg underfoot. Swooning until her back rested against the countertop and with a foreleg raised to her head dramatically, Cup began her sickly sweet story, "I'm so sorry, deary. I know I seem to be a wishy-washy mare right now... but late last night, as I was waiting for my transfer at Canterlot's rail station, I began having second thoughts. About leaving my shmoopy-deary and babies all alone for such a special day..." She looked over at Carrot, tears in her eyes, "I couldn't bear it! I know I missed out on a real opportunity by coming home, but I decided that my family comes first over a few silly recipes." And with that, Carrot gave her a big hug and a sweet kiss on her quivering lips. "I know that it's disruptive of you and Pinkie's schedule, but me and Carrot decided that this Parent's Day should be spent with just the four of us here at Sugarcube. Mommy and daddy and babies in tow..." Cup looked over at Carrot, still in his embrace, "Right, my sweet?" The look of love that adorned Carrot's face dwindled as he looked over at Hal, guilt quickly filling it, "Tha...that's right. I'm sorry Mr. Jordan, but... I think this is going to be one Parent's Day with just us Cakes." His arms quickly dropping and slouching in defeat, Hal tried to make some sort of protest. "I... Can't I just.... I can still work that day! I can stay out of the way. I'll cook, I'll clean, I'll even tend register! I'll do anything you want! Please?" his pleading bargaining filled with desperation. Which, despite making Carrot's face fall even more, had no effect on the determined mare who was now gathering some bowls to beat some eggs in. "I'm sorry Hal deary, but the answer is still: NO. I can only wonder why you are so desperate to work that day? Surely you can find something else to do with your time?" Cup casually dismissed the crestfallen look on the human's face. Hal looked to the floor and muttered. "Everyone else is either going to be gone or spending time with their families..." "I think that you should take a half day today and get your vacation started a tad early," Cup stated in a gentle that's-an-order tone, "I believe that you might need as much relaxation you can get." She waved her hoof at him dismissively and Hal could tell that any further attempts to persuade her would be wasted breath. After seeing Carrot mouth out another "I'm sorry", Hal turned around and left the kitchen. He put an arm up and rubbed the back of his head, still not able to digest what had occurred. Cup had always seemed like a nice lady, mare, whatever, but she seemed really passive aggressive in her attempts to basically kick him out. Something about her tone didn't seem quite right, but Hal couldn't pinpoint just what was bugging him about it. His thoughts into the matter, however, were quickly dispelled by the familiar sight of Pinkie bouncing down the stairs, humming a happy tune. "Oh, hey Hally!" she playfully exclaimed when she saw him, "did you hear? The Cakes say we can take the next few days off!" She giggled to herself, "I can actually leave a whole day early and spend more time with Mom and Dad and Inkie and Blinkie and Maud than I thought! I'm so happy!" Pinkie jumped for joy, the biggest smile adorned on her face as she made her way back up, presumably to pack. A smile that made Hal feel ten inches tall all over again. 'Am I so screwed up that I can't see that those two are just trying to do me and Pinkie a favor?' he asked himself. 'They just want to make us happy. Not their fault I have issues.' Hal exited the bakery and headed down the street, now judging his options once again. 'So you can actually suck it up and try to get through this like a mature gentleman...' He found himself back in front of Berry Punch's store yet again, seeing through the window that the wine-red colored mare was waving at him. Berry Punch seemed like a nice mare, from what he could see yesterday. '...or I can go get enough booze to make sure the whole day's a blur. Outta sight, outta mind, right?' Hal went in to the store, sure that he had made the appropriate choice for once in his situation. ------------------------------------ Parent's Day, Evening Applejack paced back and forth around her barn, occasionally letting her eyes drift up to the loft on the second floor, where her newest headache was currently passed out. For what had been perhaps the tenth time in under an hour, she sighed, continuing her pacing as she waited for her friends to come. She'd sent Big Macintosh out to get them since they'd dumped an unconscious Hal up in the hay loft; the human all but dead to the world and his smelling like he'd taken a swim in a lake of wine explained the reason why. As the sound of hoof-steps grew closer, Applejack stopped, her ear turning towards the barndoor. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy stepped into the room their faces devoid of any mirth. They most certainly hadn't expected such a nice day as this to end on such a sour note. "Ah'm a-hopin' that Big Mac's told ya that a certain hooman is passed out drunker 'n a skunk up there?" the orange farmer asked her friends, sighing deeply as they nodded. Twilight stepped forward, concern on her face, and asked, "Your brother told us that you two put him up here after you found him in one of your orchards." She paused and her eyes looked up to the loft before adding, "Do you know how long he was there?" Applejack rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Prolly all day. Judgin' by all tha bottles that were there around him." She went over to pick up a spare tall mason jar she'd filled with water. "Us five 're tha only ones who know he's spent the day like this. Thankfully, noone's seen him make a foola himself." Her gaze focused on Rarity, quickly adding, "Had ta put his shirt in the wash, on account've the wine & sick was on it. Ya might wanna see if ya can get tha stains out tho, since that's more yer field." Her face contorting into a scowl, Rarity let out a small, unladylike growl. "Hurumph! So this is what my hard work for that man gets?" she whined, upset that her gift to such an important guest was sullied. "So," she turned her head to the now climbing Applejack, "we have learned that Mr. Jordan is much more uncouth than we had thought. Was this the only reason you have sent for us?" Shaking her head, Applejack paused midway up the ladder, water-jar still hanging from her mouth. "Naw," she explained, "'M gonna give this boy some'n ta drink before he regrets it later on. Worst comes ta shove, y'all can help me hold him down while 'Shy uses 'er Stare on 'im. Who knows how he's gonna be." She started climbing back up. "Gonna try wakin' his flank up alone so he won't get all flustered, so y'all wait down here, 'kay? If'n I need a hoof, I'lla holler fer ya." This sounded reasonable to the three and they nodded in agreement; Twilight using her magic to close the barndoor behind them just in case. When she finally got up onto the second story loft, Applejack walked over to the prone human, his body covered in the moonlight that flooded through the opening where the hay was lifted up by the pulley. His chest rose & fell slightly as he slumbered, but Applejack could hear the pace of his breathing change as she approached him. As if to confirm her suspicions, Hal opened one eye, wincing as he put and hand up to cover it from the full moon's light shining down upon him. "Well, looks lahk yer awake now, ya varmint," Applejack stated smugly, "So how ya feelin' after actin' lahk tha fool all dern day?" "Head's killing me for one. Embarrassed since it seems I slept all day for two," Hal retorted, bringing both of his hands up to his eyes and rubbing his temples. "Can't even get drunk anymore and just wind up getting sleepy... anything else new I should know about?" he mumbled under his breath. Applejack came up to the pitiful human's side, still holding the mason jar of water, but pulled away when Hal tried to reach for it. "Ahhh naww... I dun' think so, mister!" the farm pony scolded. "Yew ain't gettin' any 'a this till yew explain just what th' hay you were thinking," her eyes narrowed, "If'n yew were thinkin' at all." Groaning, his hangover killing him, Hal had no fight in him to resist the orange mare's demands. "What I was thinking," he began, "was that I wanted to find a nice, quiet place to get stinko in and drink the whole day away so I wouldn't have to deal with your greeting card holiday bullcrap." He shakily slid his hands to push himself up and glared at Applejack. "I mean, really? Parent's Day? It wouldn't be enough to just send off a card or two, but nooooo..... You ponies just have to make things so lovey-dovey that you make it a national holiday and act so sickeningly sweet all together." He held out his hand expectantly for the water. "That's why I wanted to drink the day away since you just all have to shove it down everyone's throats." Digesting this rant, Applejack didn't have to have any fancy psychiatry degree from Canterlot to see that there was some real issue the human had. One that she knew all too well. She tenderly handed the water to the outreached hand, which quickly snatched it up and brought it to Hal's parched lips. "Not all 'o us really cel'brate, ya know..." Applejack began. At this, Hal turned his gaze to the mare, still drinking the water like he hadn't had a thing to drink all week. Applejack, at this, hesitated for a few moments before continuing. "...Mah parent's died when I was a filly a good few years ago..." She sat down next to the human and looked over towards the farmhouse where her family rested without a care. "Ther's a fire that started.... pro'lly from a candle, but next thang we knew, tha whole house was' aflame. Me n Big Macintosh wer' tha first out, while Ma & Pa went in fer 'bloom n Granny." Applejack's voice went low and husky, full of pain as she tried to keep her tears from falling. "G-Granny came outta tha house carrying Applebloom in her bassinette... said that a beam fell on Pa & Ma was tryin' to get it offa him... but before help came...." Her voice broke and she fell silent once again. Hal sat upright, his eyes focused on the water jar, then over to Applejack who was still looking at the house. Slowly, he raised a hand and rested it on her whithers, hoping his sympathy wouldn't be lost. "Twas a long, long time befor' Ah stopped hatin' this holiday muhself. Seein' ev'rypony else all happy 'n such..." Applejack turned her head over and wiped her eyes with her hoof, trying to regain her composure. "But 'ventually Ah realized that just cuz Ma & Pa were gone that Ah should hate ev'rypony else with parents. Mac n Bloom n Granny... Ah still got family who loves me n Ah've love them." A small smile spread across her face. "Ya wanna know whut we all did t'day? ...We told stories and looked at our albums, since that was all me n Mac could get out that day. Even tho' they're gone... we still rem'ber them." Hal let his arm slide down until it was back at his side, bringing the water back to his lips so he wouldn't have to speak. Applejack took this as a sign to keep speaking to try to coax him into sharing his troubles. "N's not just me who's not really in tha festive mood," she began, "Fluttershy usually doesn't cel'brate either. Her folks 'r.. what's say... cultural hippopologists? Studyin' other cultures, Ah mean. Usually busy n all... Think 'Shy said they're studyin' Zebra tribal customs." Applejack frowned, debating if she should speak further. "Rainbow doesn't cel'brate either," she said smally, her eyes downcast. "Always goes off ta Celestia-Know-Where fer tha day. Nev'r really said why, but Ah know she hasn't spoken to her Pa since she moved here to Ponyville. Pro'lly had some row, but nev'r wuz mah place ta pry..." The two sat quietly up in the loft for a few minutes; while down below, the others stood silently, hoping to not make a sound and alert their presence. They all desperately wanted to leave since the situation began to get more personal than they had expected, but couldn't. Even Twilight's teleportation still made an audible sound which would easily be heard. All they could hope for was that nothing more personal would be said. "...I might not be one to talk...", Hal's voice started out of nowhere, "...I might not know what her sitch is... but I hope she'd try to bury the hatchet." His voice went quiet, but in the still night was still clear. "...You never know when you might lose them. Then you'll have to deal with that baggage for the rest of your life." Up in the loft, Hal slid his knees to his chest and closed his eyes; Applejack keeping silent to allow him to speak. "I have two brothers. Jack is... was five years older than me, while my little brother Jim was three years younger. Jim was the momma's boy, the baby of the family. Jack was busy making plans for his own future. And me? My dad... was my hero. Everything I wanted to be. He was the coolest guy I'd ever met. Then & now. When he died... it broke my family apart." He reached for his right pocket and pulled out his ring, holding it up; his & Applejack's eyes looking upon it. "When I got this ring... I was so happy. I was chosen to help people and I-I thought that I could be great like my father. My mother... disagreed." Hal closed the ring in his fist, clenching it tightly. "She tried to take the ring away, tried to... keep me safe. It never worked though, I'd always get it back. Hell, its return function one of the tricks I learned down pat." "Mom... was always a worrier. She'd look up at night waiting when I was in space on duty, or watch me fight with the League... Everytime I'd see her, she'd beg me to give it up. Eventually, it got to the point... where I couldn't live with her anymore. So I asked a friend with some... connections to get me legally emancipated. When I couldn't attend school, I asked another friend if I could borrow one of his robo- I asked him to make a duplicate to stand in for me. Things were going well, all things considered despite me not speaking to my family for months on end. I... even managed to make a new family to make up for it..." Hal trailed off, looking at the night sky and all of it's distant stars. "I made plenty of friends in the Corps; can't avoid it when you put your life on the line with others. Took me a while to get what that really meant though... There were other humans from my world who'd earn their rings, who I'd call my brothers: Guy, Jon, even Kyle after I got back... And even though Alan wasn't really Corps, I looked up to him too. Sinestro...." He shook his head, feeling he was getting off topic. "But it was my friends in the League who I'd come to call family. There were seven of us, in the beginning... "Clark & Bruce were sort of Team Dad for us. They worked so well together, the public called them the World's Finest. Them and Diana, they'd be called the Trinity, complementing each other well. J'onn & Arthur... I considered them the Heart & Soul of the group; one or the other or both, they'd always be a pillar of the team... Then you got me & Barry: the Brave and the Bold..." Chuckling, Hal looked over at Applejack, who was listening enthralled. "In some ways, we were kinda like you & Dasher, ya know..." Applejack raised a brow. "In whut way?" she asked. "Oh," he waved, "clash of the egos at first, then fast friends thick & thin. Barry was a lot older than me... then again, everyone else was it seems... he was about in his thirties, married, and had a sidekick a few years older than I was. Couldn't stand him at first... but then eventually we started to... click, so to say." Furrowing her brow, Applejack couldn't help but ask, "Clicked as in... how?" The phrasing raised several possible scenarios in her mind. Scoffing, Hal answered, "Clicked as in he became my best friend. I got to know him and Wally well. We were... close." Hal trailed off, and all the mares who were in the area started to blush at the implication. "He was like a second father to me," Hal croaked out tautly. "Then things started to fall apart. Barry took the life of the man who'd killed his first wife and tried to kill his new fiancée, went on trial, and eventually left for the future..." Applejack and the others had heard enough from Hal's adventures, as well as their own, that he was most likely not embellishing. "And I got a phone call from Jack. ...'Mom has cancer and she's dying. She wants to see you' he said. I went to the hospital to see her, Jack blaming me for her failing health. All the stress he said... "In her room, she did the worst, lowest thing I've ever seen: she emotionally blackmailed me. Told me that she would refuse any more procedures as long as I had my ring; that as long as I was a Green Lantern, she'd just lie back and die. ...What choice did I have after hearing that? I went up to the Guardians and quit, told them to pass it on to Jon, who was my backup... That was one of the worst mistakes of my life. "There was a... Crisis, you could say. Was there a time a few years ago when the skies turned red?" Hal asked. Putting a hoof to her chin, Applejack could recall that time; it had caused a panic amongst everypony, and Princess Celestia had to enact a nation-wide curfew to quell the panic. But as unexpected as it began, it soon ended with no explanation to this day what it was or why it happened. She nodded, not wanting to interrupt. "There was a bad guy. Worst ever. Beyond murder, beyond genocide, beyond xenocide... he destroyed and ate entire UNIVERSES!" Hal yelled, causing Applejack (as well as the three ponies downstairs) to jump in surprise. "Nearly everyone, good and bad, stepped forth to fight... except me. In the panic, Mom... died. Barry wound up sacrificing himself to save everyone. A-and I wasn't there. I could have helped him, but I wasn't there! But... we won in the end, we all got to live. No thanks to me... didn't get a chance to say goodbye... "I stopped speaking to Jack & Jim for years after that. Got my ring back, for all the good that's done me..." Hal looked like the weight of the world was placed upon his shoulders. "Clark died but came back... I couldn't help him either. I lost my hometown, got possessed, killed many of my friends, destroyed the Corps and tried to rewrite time to make a perfect universe. Kinda futzed around for a while after that, died saving the world myself, played the Spirit of Vengeance for a while, came back, got my ring again for all the good that got me again..." Hal looked at Applejack again. "Arthur died, unrecognizable and alone. And before I came here... I was told that J'onn was murdered as well, after being alienated for months... I didn't get to say goodbye to them either. Dad, Mom, Barry, Arthur, J'onn... they're gone, yet I'm still here... and I can't go home ever again. I can't wear this damn ring. That's, that's why I just couldn't take it, why I wanted to just drink it all away." He looked at the ring in his hand once again. "My life was destroyed by this stupid, f*cking thing!" Snarling, he threw the ring out the window of the loft, but as he threw it more down than far, it landed just in front of the barn doors below. It was a lot to take in, and Applejack knew she had to watch her words so she considered them carefully. "Would ya trade 'tall, tha good n bad... if'n you could then?" she asked, staring the human in the eyes. Hal opened his mouth to reply, but the words died before they could leave; the look on Applejack's face told him to speak honestly. "--No," he finally answered, defeated. "My life... it's like a bunch of soaring highs... and soulcrushing lows. I know this, I've... even gotten used to it. As much as one can. But I just... I just don't know when things are finally going to go full circle. When I can finally walk tall in the sun once again." The words had scarcely left his mouth when two orange legs wrapped around his chest in a hug. After a few seconds, Hal wrapped his right arm in a sign of gratitude. When the hug was broken, Applejack smiled at the human, "Ah can't tell yew when'll come. But Ah can say that yew got six, seven o' us with Spike, tha'll be with ya as long as ya want us ta be." Hal bit his lip, his head still aching but his mind slightly at ease. An errant thought about getting his ring back crossed his mind and, like before, willed the ring to return. Just like before, it rose up to the loft's level, floating like a green firefly. "Yew keep hidin' that thing, and yer nev'r gonna get past yer pain," Applejack added, "Yew wanna walk tall in tha sun? Then face it head on. Yer still alive, that means yew can keep writin' yer story, good 'n bad. 'nd 'spite the pain, if'n yew c'n carry it? Yew'll walk tall in the sun n crawl in tha darkness with pride, knowin' yew kept tryin', n' believed." Hal looked from Applejack to the floating ring. He was feeling tired after spilling his guts to a talking pony about his familial issues, and was stuck between dismissing her words as pretty fluff and wanting to believe in them. But taking a chance... The ring lurched forward and slid comfortably onto its familiar spot on his right index finger; it's slight weight comforting in a way. Applejack, finally remembering her friends downstairs, decided to take this time to leave, "Ah'll let ya stay tha night up'n here, but Ah'll expect ya to join us Apples fer breakfast in tha mornin'. Ah'll get ya some more water 'fore Ah'll turn in fer tha night." Hal muttered in approval and situated himself comfortably onto some hay, out like a light by the time Applejack had climbed back down. He wouldn't know there were other ears listening to his heart-to-heart with the cowpony. As the four mares opened the barn door to leave quietly, a single cloud above the building floated as it had for the last hour; the mare atop it conflicted with emotions she didn't want to think about. None of her friends would know she was there either. And as he lay sleeping, his hand rested on his chest rising and falling with each breath, the ring caught the moon's light and shined.