//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Return of A King // by Zarmflamekin //------------------------------// Even after making his decision, Somber felt uncomfortable falling asleep, seeing as that’s all he had done for over one thousand years. He tossed and turned, got up and paced the room a little to see if he could tire himself a little bit more. With a sigh of defeat he plopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes and didn’t think of anything. Everything was black and silent. The first thing he did notice was the figure of Rarity running up to him. She grabbed his hoof and began pulling him forward, and he followed. Neither said a word, just one leading the other one out of the black void and into lush green fields. As she lead him over a hill he could hear the thunder of hooves in motion, when they came over the crest he saw a heard of zebra’s and minotaur running together. He saw gryphon’s and pegasai flying over them going the same way. Somber looked the way they were running, but there were only fields as far as he could see, but looking the opposite direction, he could see his palace out in the distance. Looking to Rarity, she smiled and nodded and they began running toward his home, and even though it looked so far away, they were there in mere seconds, and the capital looked just like he remembered it. There were even crystal ponies going among their day with only a passing notice of the two new comers. Somber walked down the streets, smiling in his nostalgia, and smiling to Rarity as he pointed out the library, the hot springs, and his favorite restaurant. With a hesitant glance at the palace, Rarity once again grabbed his hoof and lead him along against little resistance. As they came closer, Somber was surprised to be met by his siblings, smiling at his return. This confused him in either that they weren’t alive, or that they would be pleased with his return with his failure. There were no words exchanged between the four, instead being lead in a tight embrace with his sister, and then his brother. When he pulled away and looked at his siblings again, he hoped to remember their names here, but they still didn’t come to him. His sister pulled Rarity aside as his brother did the same with him. Somber expected his brother to say something to him, but instead there was a sly smile and a hearty pat on his back. He had always done this when he had found him with a different mare, but his sister usually never met them. He looked over his shoulder to see the two seeming to have a fun time as the two were laughing. At least they looked like it, he couldn’t hear any laughter, and in fact he hadn’t heard any sounds aside from the heard in the beginning. He turned back to his brother and opened his mouth to speak, but found no words come out. His brother was still smiling, but it was different, gone were the knowing blue eyes, and in their place were piercing red ones. They unnerved Somber, but he didn’t back away, somehow knowing it was the right stance to take. There was another pat on his back, but there was a staying weight to it this time. Somber looked again and saw black crystals growing out of his back. He could see Rarity between the spikes and could see her begin to panic, but his sister put her hoof on Rarity’s shoulder with a calm smile, but her purple eyes were replaced with the same red ones his brother had. Somber tried to call out, but his voice still didn’t come, and the crystals on his back were growing, weighing him down. Somber dropped to his knees, and then his stomach as his brother stood over him. He watched in shock as his brother’s coat turned from white to his own grey, his blue mane to Somber’s black, and strange enough, his brother’s horn curved and burned blood red. All the while smiling with white, razor teeth. Somber looked on in horror as the new stallion, a seemingly twisted version of himself, leaned down and whispered in his ear. “Enjoy the dream while it lasts.” He said with an ethereal snarl. Somber sat bolt upright in his bed, a cold sweat running over his body. He quickly pat his back to make sure there was nothing actually there. Not having been a stranger to horrid nightmares, Somber took deep, slow breaths as his adrenaline receded. Somber began to recount what disturbed him, to assess what was bothering him so he could address it, but screwed his eyes shut as it seemed to have already slipped his mind. He punched his pillow in frustration. He had been taught that dreams were meant to be a reminder to yourself of what needed to be done and addressed, but if he couldn’t remember a note of it after waking up, he was never going to be able to remember. He pressed his face into the pillow as he tried to recall the dream. He remembered Rarity being there prominently, he recalled the fields and the myriad of creatures running together, and he remembered showing Rarity around the capital, but the last thing he could call was hugging his brother. He knew what he needed was right after that, but it wouldn’t come to him. Somber beat his face in the pillow multiple times before he pulled another pillow over his head to see if it would help. As something pushed on his back, Somber sat bolt upright, but was again confused by his own reaction. “Oh, I see you’re already awake.” Somber heard Spike say. He looked down to see the tiny dragon clasping his claws. “You weren’t answering when we called down for breakfast.” “Ah, sorry, I was trying to grasp a dream before I lost it.” “Really?” Spike perked up. “What do you think it was you were looking for?” Spike asked as he ran over to one of the tucked away tables, scrounging a quill and a piece of parchment out. Somber merely raised an eyebrow. “Is this yet another thing Miss Twilight has looked into?” “Ah, actually, it’s more a hobby of mine.” Spike admitted. “There are a lot of times that something comes to me and I want to keep it. And there are time’s I catch Twilight sleep talking over her work.” Spike said as he dragged his toe in a circle, but then perked up. “So, tell me what you got.” “Uhh, well…” Somber went on to recount what he could, taking his own note of how hesitant Spike was to write when he mentioned Rarity as the first thing. There were times Spike didn’t write to listen intently, and other times he held a claw up to stop Somber as he scratched additional notes. When Somber began stuttering with his brother, Spike stopped writing all together. “And that’s where it starts getting fuzzy I assume? You must have started to wake up then.” Spike said as he rolled the paper up and blew a puff of green flame, the smoke wandering upstairs to his bed. “Come on then, breakfast is getting cold.” Somber sighed as his uncomfortable feeling of forgetfulness started to ebb and followed Spike up the stairs. They went into the kitchen where they found Twilight sitting sipping a cup of coffee. She peaked up over her cup and smiled as she saw the two come in. “Did you have a restful night Somber?” “For…the most part. I have to admit; going to sleep was the hardest part. I thought I would have had enough of that.” He smiled, and Twilight smiled in return. “Well, at least it won’t last a thousand years again.” She quipped. She felt keeping a light air about Somber would be for the best right now, to let him gain a better sense of self before having to, unfortunately, break it down. “So, ah, what are we having?” Somber asked as he sat down. “I don’t know, what are we having today Spike?” Twilight asked as she fetched Somber a cup of coffee of his own with her magic. “Ah, any cream or sugar?” “Black is fine.” Somber nodded. “I thought we could accustom Somber to Ponyville’s apples, so it’s pancakes with some apple preserves.” Spike said as he rummaged through the cabinets for said preserves. “Ah, apples.” Twilight sighed. “Yes, you’re going to find a lot of those around here.” “Why’s that?” Somber asked, making Spike groan, and Twilight’s grin widen. “You see, in the founding of Ponyville…” --- “…And that’s when the Apple Carrot war began.” Twilight paused to catch her breath, as there was a knock at the door. Twilight looked up at the kitchen clock to see it was 10:57. “Aww, I could have at least fit in the Cake vs. Pie family blood feud in three minutes.” The two had been talking throughout breakfast and had eaten more in a secondary fashion than paying attention to the plates in front of them. After Spike had finished his own portion with ruby dust, he had taken it upon himself to effectively clean out the preserves jar for its next use. Eating the remainder for himself was just a bonus. Spike looked back as he filled the sinks for the morning’s dishes, he was a bit baffled to see what Twilight and Somber had done. “And when did you have time to make this an entire study session?” In the time between breakfast and dishes, Twilight had indeed dragged in the blackboard and papers for Somber Tones. Fortunately for Spike, there was only a small stack of notes on the history of Ponyville. Somber collected his papers as Twilight headed for the door. “Who would be here at this time?” Somber asked Spike as he began to fill the jar with water. “Well, we are a library after all, though nopony seems to come by, there are usually two or three a day.” Spike shrugged. Somber’s ear swiveled as he heard Twilight talking with the only somepony he could put a name to. “Oh, I don’t think it’s a patron right now Spike.” Somber smiled. He turned to address the two mares coming in. “And what can you be here for today Miss Rarity?” Rarity was a bit taken aback by Somber’s nonchalant address to her before she had even come in the room. She glanced to Twilight who only smiled, and composed herself. “Well, it wouldn’t do you any good to sit in here all day. Some light could do you some good, and I know for a fact Twilight isn’t the best at doing that herself.” Rarity gave her own smile to her friend, who only pouted in return. Somber pursed his lips. “While it could do me some good, I think staying here could do me a lot more justice. There’s no telling what I could gleam from all of this.” Somber emphasized his point by waving at his stack of notes. Twilight wanted to smirk at her newfound student, but she knew she needed to get Somber out of the library. “As that may be, you do need to get out and stretch and build some muscle. And we have a friend who can be more than helpful in some minor physical recovery.” Twilight advised. Rarity smiled as Twilight stuck to the plan, but Spike could only eye Twilight in suspicion. As he raised a claw to give his input, both Rarity and Twilight gave him a sharp glare for him to keep silent, which he reluctantly did. Somber didn’t notice however, as he was considering going or staying. Staying could mean he could learn more of what he missed and piece together where he could be in this time. But going could make him feel physically better than he had since waking up, and after glancing up at the two a second after they had glared down Spike, he could see they had a look that said he was going, it only depended on how much he wanted to argue. Somber gave a small sigh and smiled. “I suppose getting out and about could do me some good.” Somber set aside the papers and walked up to the two. “I suppose we would be leaving immediately?” “Ah…ah…Yes.” Rarity said in a bit of surprise, she honestly thought he would have argued a little bit, she had even been putting together a convincing argument on the way over. “We can go see Fluttershy right away.” “And will you be coming too?” Somber asked Twilight. “No, I’m going to see if I can start seeing to our trip to the Empire while you’re out.” “Oh, well I suppose it’ll just be the two of us then.” Somber smiled, making Rarity blush for a reason unknown to her. “I can join you two if you wouldn’t mind the-“ “Spike, I’ll need you here to double check the schedules to see nothing overlaps.” Twilight politely interrupted. Spike frowned, but could understand that this was the time for yesterday’s explanation. “Right, you do have quite a lot to plan around.” Spike affirmed, causing Somber to glance over his shoulder in surprise. He was sure Spike would insist to come along, if it were only him and Rarity. “Well then, shall we go?” Somber asked. “Yes, lets.” Rarity bowed and turned, leading Somber out the front door. When Spike and Twilight heard its resounding thud, Spike gave a long agitated sigh. “All right Twilight, what is it with him that we can’t talk about?” Spike said as he turned back to the sink, vigorously cleaning the preserve jar with his slowly building frustration. Somber seemed to be getting a bit too chummy with Rarity for his liking. Twilight took her seat at the table again, flipping through Somber’s notes again, noting that he took particular interest in the details of the Apple family’s meticulous cultivating. She mused at how Somber could perceive the information’s use, but was snapped back by Spike’s annoyed tapping on the sink. “Hm? Ah, right, Somber. Well it seems somepony tampered with his memories before his sleep, and put Cadence and Shining Armor over his actual siblings.” Twilight said bluntly. Spike stopped his tapping and took a serious look at her. When he saw her staring back at him, waiting for his response, Spike merely shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t like he was going to be Dreamy McPerfect from where we found him.” Spike said as he finally decided the jar was as clean as it was going to be, setting it aside to dry, his frustration also subsiding. “So what’s the plan now?” “Well, step one is to tell Shining Armor and Cadence, step two will be coming up with a step three with them.” “Really?” “What?” “You usually come up with at least three different branch plans, and all you have is calling Cadence and Shining?” “I need their input on this, they’re obviously an end goal for somepony, so they’re going to need to be in on the plan.” Twilight said as she took one of the blank sheets from Somber’s notes. She took his quill and scrawled out a quick note to her brother. Rolling it up, she fetched a ribbon, her seal, and a candle to quickly wrap the note. After the seal, she quickly handed the note over to Spike, who took a deep breath and burned the note in green flames, sending it all the way to the Crystal Empire. Twilight stood and headed for her room, gesturing for Spike to follow. “It’ll be easier if we have a face to face conversation.” Twilight said without letting Spike even ask why they were going upstairs. “And to do so we’re using the mirrors.” “But doesn’t that spell take a lot of magic to work? From both sides?” Twilight smirked over her shoulder. “Who do you think is talking Spike? The three of us could keep the conversation going overnight.” “I hope it doesn’t take that long.” Spike mumbled as he wondered what Rarity was doing right now. As it happened, Rarity had to deal with a neurosis of Somber’s. “Are you sure I’m okay here?” Somber asked as he kept his head forward, but his gaze jumped all over, seeing only mares and children around. “For the fifth time Somber, yes. All the other stallions are working right now. I’m sure in an hour or so you would see a lot more for the lunch hour.” “But I can feel them staring.” “I’m sure that happened back home as well, you are royalty.” “Yes, but there I at least knew why I was being stared at. Here is a completely different story.” “Somber, I assure you, you’re fine. Just relax a little and- oh no.” Rarity braced for the oncoming storm. “What? What’s wrong?” Somber asked, a bit panicked. His eyes darted everywhere, but the only thing he found out of place was a bouncing pink pony. “I am so sorry for what’s about to happen.” Rarity looked up at Somber with eyes of pity. “For what’s going to happen?” Somber began to go into flight mode when he heard a giant intake of air in front of him. His eyes fixed on the pink pony who was suddenly hovering in the air. Somber was a bit concerned, and confused, as how this was being accomplished, as she was neither a unicorn nor a pegasus. But before he could speak, the pony was replaced with a pink cloud that quickly dissipated. Somber looked around frantically, worried she had been snatched away, but saw her bounding down the street to his left. “Well that was significantly downplayed.” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. Somber also began to feel a bit more relieved as he felt the stares stop and a much faster flow of the town began. “Who, or what, was that, and why is everypony suddenly so relaxed?” Somber asked as the unnatural shift began to get to him. “That was my friend Pinkie Pie, she’s our resident party pony, and she knows everypony in Ponyville. And now that she knows you’re here, you’re going to have a welcome party.” “Oh, well, that sounds nice, when do you think that will be?” “Oh tonight, most defiantly.” Rarity nodded as she began walking again. “Wait, tonight?” Somber asked in shock as he caught up. “Oh yes, and expect to be up all night too. Welcome parties are one of her bigger bashes.” “Who’s going to help her with all of the preparations and set up?” “She does it by her self, don’t ask me how, but when Pinkie wants something done, it gets done, whether we comprehend how or not.” “But… to make one thing clear, she is an earth pony, correct?” “Yes, she is.” “Then how was she hovering and going so fast?” Rarity only smiled at a private joke. “Whether we comprehend how or not.” She repeated. Somber could only bite his lower lip before he finally accepted the answer she gave, for now. ”So, I was wondering about this other friend of yours, Miss Fluttershy, what is she like?“ “Ah, well, she’s very shy, as in she won’t be talking to you for about the first ten minutes you know her. Just be patient and she’ll come around to you.” “Wow, if she’s so shy, how does she get what she needs?” “She mostly forages in the Everfree Forest, so her house is on the edge of it. She also takes care of a multitude of animals there, so she collects for them as well.” “How many is ‘a multitude’?” “See for yourself up ahead.” Rarity waved as they came to the edge of town and the only thing down the road was the way to Fluttershy’s house, and Somber surely saw. He saw the chicken coop that was fluttering in its own business, he could see flocks of birds fly this way and that way, he saw bunnies and ferrets running in their packs, and he could see one yellow pegasus tending to each of them without a care in the world. “Ooo, ooo, shh!” Rarity put her hoof over Somber’s mouth. “It’s such a treat to hear her sing.” She whispered. Somber took her word and concentrated in her direction, and sure enough he could hear such a lovely tune coming from her. As he stopped completely and closed his eyes, he could hear the birds harmonizing with her and some soft percussion as the critters amongst the ground kept a beat. It didn’t even seem like the song had any planned lyrics, just whatever came to her mind. Both Somber and Rarity were sorely disappointed when Fluttershy quickly stopped with a small “Eep!” The birds flew off and all but one bunny scurried off into the nearby bushes. The remaining bunny taking an uncharacteristic glare at Somber. “R-Rarity, I wasn’t expecting you.” Fluttershy addressed her friend before taking a bashful look at the imposing stallion next to her. “W-Who’s your friend?” Fluttershy asked as her voice quickly dwindled from its already quiet nature. “I’m sorry to interrupt you like this Fluttershy, but this is Somber Tones.” Rarity introduced, Somber taking a light bow in accordance. “I happened upon him yesterday in quite a bad position in the forest, I thought he could have a peaceful stay around here while he recuperates.” “Bad? How bad Rarity? Shouldn’t he go to the hospital if it’s that bad?” Fluttershy said as she began taking nervous glances at Somber, trying to assess any outright problems. “I assure you Fluttershy, if he was that bad, he would be. He just has a few… problems he needs to work out right now.” Rarity said, still trying to be discreet about Somber’s actual situation until she could properly spell it out for Fluttershy. “Um, if I may Miss Rarity?” Somber asked, his voice seemingly making Fluttershy hide in her mane, which Somber considered quite a feat. Rarity gave him a doubtful look, but gave a conceding nod. “Miss Fluttershy? I’ve been in accursed sleep approximately a thousand years and have lost the use of my magic.” As Somber gave his slight background, Fluttershy began to peek out from her mane. “I’m not familiar with anything around here, but staying inside all day wouldn’t help that condition. So it seems Miss Rarity and Miss Sparkle find that your… household would help in some recuperation. Would that be alright Miss Fluttershy?” Fluttershy looked up at the kind grey eyes asking her to visit, and she couldn’t help but want to help him. “I-I’m sure you visiting wouldn’t hurt. A-And there’s plenty of space for you to stretch.” “I thank you Miss Fluttershy.” Somber bowed slightly again at her acceptance. “Y-you don’t need to keep adding the ‘miss’, Fluttershy is fine.” Fluttershy said as she hid behind her mane again. Somber frowned, as his interaction with anypony he didn’t know always had the proper address. But if this was the new way, and if she preferred, he would have to adjust. Somber turned to Rarity. “Would you too prefer me to leave off the ‘miss’ in your address?” Rarity gave a light chuckle. “It would make me feel less formal about you Somber. It would probably be for the same for anypony you meet in Ponyville. Though you can feel free to check with them first.” “I’ll… see if I can adjust.” Somber nodded. He looked back into the vast yard Fluttershy owned and had one questioning mind. “Is there anywhere I can’t go?” He directed towards Fluttershy. “Ah, don’t go into the forest, that’s all you really shouldn’t do. Oh! And make sure to look out for burrows, the tenants can get cranky if to many run over head.” Fluttershy advised. Somber gave a polite smile. “I’ll make sure to keep myself to a walk then. If you two would excuse me.” Somber gave one last nod before heading off into the field with, unbeknownst to him, a flock of curious mice trailing him. “He seems nice.” Fluttershy said, regaining a normal composer as Somber left. “He is such a gentlecolt. Nearly the second he was off the ground he was helping me manage a business decision.” “Really?” Fluttershy’s eyes went wide at the notion. Rarity rarely took in advice from somepony she didn’t professionally know. “Well, it more of convincing me to take a job, really. But this is something I wanted to talk to you about Fluttershy.” “Oh, a-and what would that be?” Fluttershy asked as her ears flattened, she didn’t really like making decisions for other ponies. “It’s about Somber, dear.” Rarity said as she raised a hoof to Fluttershy’s ear to whisper. “He’s Crystal pony royalty.” “What!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she backed away from Rarity in shock, though her outburst didn’t leave the vicinity of the two. “I know! It’s just exciting!” Rarity let herself squee a little at finally being able to share such juicy information. “B-But Rarity, there hasn’t been any Crystal royalty before Princess Cadence since King Sombra.” Fluttershy pointed out. “Well, yes, there’s that too.” Rarity said as she came back down to earth. “Twilight says he was put to sleep before Sombra though. But there’s something else besides that, and I think we should sit down before I tell you the rest.” Fluttershy took a long, worried look at the retreating stallion before nodding nervously to Rarity. “I’ll go put some tea on.” Somber noted the two retreat into the house as he kept walking toward the field, making sure not to go over to many hills, as he noticed that’s where a majority of the burrows were. He only gave a passing thought to what they may be talking about, but decided that they were only catching up for the last few days, and began looking around at some of the more diverse animals he had only seen in books before. Somber lay in the middle of the field and looked up at the birds, noting the robins and the cardinals amongst some warblers and buntings, and smiled as the flock made its own melody overhead. It did make him curious, however, that none of them ever seemed to land near him, but always in the trees, and they never seemed to quite look at him. Somber would have passed it as birds being birds if it weren’t for every other creature seeming to give their distance. The mice he had spotted behind him were still there, but a good seven feet away, staring at him. The ferrets and rabbits he had spotted around Fluttershy were also scampering about, but far away from him, and the only one who seemed to even come close to him was the odd-staring bunny from before. “And could you tell me why everybody is staying away?” Somber asked, half jokingly, as he figured the rabbit wouldn’t answer. To his surprise, the odd bunny hopped over and bopped him at the base of his horn, making him reel back a little. Somber rubbed the base of his horn as he looked down at the stern bunny. “I-Is it my lack of magic?” The rabbit shook his head and bopped him at the base of his horn again and jumped on his head and down his back. Somber looked back, confused at the action of the rabbit. He saw it waiting at his flank, patting his grey tri-crystal cutie mark. “Is there something wrong with… I don’t know, my use of magic?” That’s the best connection he could make between his cutie mark and horn. To his surprise, the rabbit tapped his nose in affirmation. “Well how can that make sense? I can’t use magic anymore.” The rabbit rolled his eyes and hopped back up Somber’s back, this time tapping him on the back of his head. “Hey now, stop that!” Somber told the rabbit off as he shook his head and stood up, making the rabbit fall on his rump. It glared up at Somber, stood, dusted itself off, and hopped off. “I wonder what his problem is.” Somber pondered as he kept walking through the field. His thoughts wandered to how and where this Pinkie Pie was going to hold a party for him, and how she could possibly set it up in time. Given her unnatural speed, Somber considered it possible that she could collect and prepare, but his question of where still lingered. He hadn’t been in the town for more than a day and knew nowhere beyond the library and here, and given the inhabitants of Fluttershy’s home, it was highly unlikely to be here. But a library, honestly? What pony in their right mind would host a party in a library? Although, if addressment could change over a thousand years, who’s to say a party couldn’t? But then who would possibly be there? He didn’t know anypony, who would attend a party for somepony they didn’t know? What if he had to introduce himself? What was he going to say? He couldn’t possibly introduce himself as an age lost prince, nopony would believe that. Could he even say he was from the Crystal Empire? Where could he say he was from there? What if somepony knew somepony there? Somber continued to travel down his pointless train of thought as Angel Bunny watched him from a distance and sighed. If the grey unicorn wasn’t going to acknowledge his own pent up anger and aggression, it was his fault if it blew up in his face. With his attempted work done, Angel turned tail to go inside to see if he could convince Fluttershy to make him another salad. Inside, Rarity had just finished telling Fluttershy everything she knew about Somber Tones, including his tampered memories. “So what are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked. “Twilight should be talking to Shining Armor and Cadence now, so what we’re going to need to do is inform Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie if she doesn’t already figure it out. And then we’re going to have to stop Applejack and Rainbow Dash from immediately jumping to the conclusion that he’s dangerous.” “B-But isn’t he?” “You talked to him Fluttershy, he’s one of the sweetest stallions you’ll meet around here. He’s not the one who’s dangerous; it’s whoever is playing him like a marinate.” There was a brief pause before Fluttershy voiced one of her own concern. “Are we going to tell him?” “That he doesn’t remember his actual siblings and that somepony is using him?” Fluttershy gave a small nod, and Rarity sighed. “I don’t know. I want to tell him, but he’s already fragile as he is. Pulling the rug out from under him as he is would be like pulling a tablecloth out from under fine china, he could come out fine, but more than likely it would shatter him. You have to believe me Fluttershy, I saw him when he was unsure of who he was, and I don’t want to see him like that again.” She shuddered at the memory of him snapping for losing his ‘siblings’ names. “So, should one of us tell one of the others, or should we go together?” Fluttershy asked. “I think we should do it together, seeing as neither one of us could stop AJ or Rainbow by ourselves, but the problem lies with Somber. Where could we leave him to tell the others?” “Can’t we just take him back to the library?” “Oh no, I’m sure Pinkie Pie is already setting up his welcome party there.” Rarity waved off. “Oh, so she’s already met him?” “Well, seen more than meet, she dashed off after she saw him.” “Ah.” Fluttershy nodded in recognition of Pinkie’s behavior. “Could we… introduce him to them before the party? Like you did with me?” Rarity mulled the thought over. “I suppose we could, the only hard part about that is catching them at a good time.” “Well, if we go now, I’m sure we could see AJ in her lunch break.” “But Granny will insist on us staying, and you know I’m trying to watch my figure Fluttershy.” Rarity complained. “One Apple meal won’t ruin your figure Rarity, I promise.” Fluttershy smiled at her friend’s conscientious mind. Rarity pouted, but sighed in defeat, at least an Apple meal would be worth it. “But how should we introduce him? You know AJ is going to see right through any half truths that we give her.” “I know.” Rarity sighed. “Which just means we’re going to have to give her the straight truth.” Fluttershy grimaced at the thought. “How do you think she’ll react when we say you found him in the Diamond Dog mines?” “Not well I imagine. But I’m not going to defend my own actions to everypony in town.” “And you don’t have too. I’m sure she’ll understand if it’s given straight enough.”