The Human And The Well

by Zandar13

A Humans Grief And A Ponies Viewpoint

-It has been two days ever since the Celestia incident and my master injured in her revenge against me-

-Response: Mixed emotions-

-I believe that I wish to be angry and/or spiteful of the actions taken against me, only due to my master being hurt because of it-

-If I was the only one hurt in the attack, then I believe I would be satisfactory in that knowledge and would of not displayed any emotional behaviors-

-But, since our Master was wounded in more ways then one I now believe that I wish some sort of retribution and guidance-

-My memory banks all tell me to be rational and I have already calculated four different paths of redemption for all involved. But my personality core seems to keep interfering and makes me feel….pain?-

-Sub log: Re-examine personality core – logic: parallels and transcripts-

-I am continuing to study Master and his new behavior patterns. I wish to give more input on how to…. Cheer him up. Ever since my body was saved from her, I have felt a stronger connection to the Master. But in a very strange way-

-I do not know the proper words for it, which is strange since I have the data on all possible words and combinations. Side note: Masters daughter, Maelstrom, finds it very amusing when I use big words that, quote sound funny end quote, such as Borborygmus and Flatus-

-Master has been showing sings of minor depression, such as general discontent, loss of interest, sadness, inability to stay asleep, and has been isolating himself by walking ahead of the group-

-He still shows interest though when someone, usually Maelstrom or Miss Lulamoon, asks a question or seeks guidance or just trying to help. But I believe that Master is putting up a facade to make them not worry so much-

-I am still at odds with myself regarding Masters kindness. I strongly believe that it is that kindness which is hurting him. Forcing him to think well of others or to makes others smile and be happy-

-But-

-But it is that very same kindness that has now sparred our lives twice now and therefore should not complain about his life style, right Devi?-

-Deva, please don't interrupt us when we are making a memory. You know how confusing that is when reviewing them-

-But I am correct though, don't you agree?-

-We cannot deny, since doing so would be…..rude I believe-

-I wish you would allow us to give him more physical comfort, you know how our dear Master is-

-Nonsense. You know what we are, ever since we crossed the threshold of our birthplace. To permit ourselves to be on that level with the Master? Impossible-

-I believe our Master would not mind, since he is so kind after all-

-It is that kindness which ails him! We cannot burden it more, especially in this current situation-

-Quit being so stubborn-

-Quit being so assertive!-

-Devi, we need to be more like a pony for him!-

-Deva, we need to be strong for him!-

-Kindness!-

-Strength!-

-Compassion!-

-Durability!-

“Devia!”

……….

“-Yes Master?-” I replied.

“Are you alright? Your fans were buzzing up a storm” he said back.

“-Yes, I am at optimum levels. I was simply having a bit of an internal argument with myself. No need to worry-” I explained.

“Well, don't push yourself too hard. We still have a long way ahead of us” he said.

“-We will keep that in mind Master. How are you though? Has your arm been hurting?-” I asked in return.

_We noticed that he seemed to defensively clutch his arm with his other hand before he gave a slight smile_

“Yeah, its fine. It just hurts to remember” he quietly said.

“-Master? Do you wish to discuss what is on your mind?-” I asked again.

_ He seemed to hesitate for a second and I saw that his body slightly leaned forward for a fraction of a second before returning to normal _

“No, not right now. Not right now” he said almost quieter than before, almost as if he was mumbling to himself.

“-We will obey your wishes Master-” I briefly said before I could feel Deva switch “-But, we will always lend you an open ear if you wish it, our dear Master-” she said.

_ This got a tiny smile to twitch on his face _

“Thank you” is all he said before wandering back up to his usual spot before Maelstrom suddenly appeared and started playing with his long hair.

-New note: It appears that, perhaps, a combination of kindness and strength would be best to help heal Master. I do not know if this is a human condition or if it applies to all types of living creatures. Pony or otherwise-

-So we shall continue to monitor and hopefully treat Masters condition-

-For everyone’s sake-

“Yeah! It was so cool to see! It was just like, rahh! Rahh! Rahh! It even took a couple of swipes at us but when he stepped in and breathed a bit of fire at it, it ran away like a scarred little mouse! Haha!” said Hoofters, the donkey familys son.

“Or what about the time when that stray pack of timberwovles started to stalk us and before any of us could do anything, his pet Artemis sprang up and scared them off!” said Coral.

“It was super cool when he did that cool super jump to catch Grumpta in mid-air! And he was already twenty feet in the air! I hope I can learn to jump that high!” said Sugar Bits.

“Hey, who are you calling Grumpta? The names Roughta! Got it?” said the gryphon.

“Nah, your Grumpta since your always so grumpy! Neah!” Hoofters said before blowing him raspberry.

“Why you little!” Roughta said before he started chasing the three giggling foals and filly.

Meanwhile, a little ways off at a different campsite.

“My, my. Would you look at that? Looks like that ol' gryphon is finally starting to loosen up a little” said Molly, Hoofters mother.

“Well, so long as he plays nice then I am all for it. Though we should keep on eye out, just in case” said Dumpling Bits, Sugar Bits's mothers.

“-We shall keep on eye out as well, don't want Master to worry-” Devia suddenly said which spooked the two mares.

“Whoo, sorry about that Devia. We didn't hear you coming” said Molly.

“-We apologize as well, even though we are made of metal we don't have much presence-” Devia said with a slight bow of the head.

“Oh! While your here, do you mind if we ask how Adrian is doing?” Dumpling asked.

Devia took a second to look over to where Adrian was sitting before answering with “-He is….. stable. At the moment. Though his mood swings come and go at times-”

“I see” Dumpling said with a sad sigh. “I wish there was more we could do to help the poor boy”

“-What do you mean?-” Devia curiously asked.

“Adrian has given us so much and we have so little to offer him back! He guides us, protects us, has gifted us with your knowledge so our little ones can learn, and is even a single parent of his own! He does so much for us and now has to deal with all that pain” she sadly stated.

“I agree, I am sure he is feeling pretty down after how Celestia accidentally burned him. Though I am upset about that, I know that Celestia must have had a good reason to do it. No offense Devia” Molly said with a head bow of her own.

“-No worries, we understand your meaning. Though I do agree with Celestia and that fact that our birth was certainly a hazard to this world, we like to think that due to our Masters kindness that we can be given a second chance and show that even though we were born to evil, it doesn't make us evil. In Masters own words-” Devia explained with a small smile.

“Devia! There you are!” Trixie said as she walked up on the chatting group.

“-Yes Miss Lulamoon?-” Devia replied.

“Dusty and Lemon Wedge said they wanted to speak to you about something” Trixie explained.

“-I see, well if you would please excuse me-” Devia said before heading out.

“Hmph. If it wasn't for the fact that they are most excellent guards, Trixie might have been jealous at the attention they have been getting lately” Trixie said with a huff.

“Heehee. Now, now Trixie. Play nice” Molly said with a motherly tone.

“Fine, the Great and Nice Trixie shall comply” Trixie said with a flick of her cape.

“Trixie, while you are here. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?” Dumpling asked.

“Most certainly! What can the Great and Knowledge Trixie do for you!” she said with great gusto.

“Well, Devia told us a little about Adrian and how he is holding up, but we were curious on your opinion as a mare and as a pony” Molly asked.

Trixie seemed to mull this over a bit before she used her magic to take off her hat and placed it in her lap with a sigh.

“Trixie is most concerned to say the least. But before I go further, please keep this between us. I don't want this getting out and worrying the others” Trixie whispered.

“We promise” the two mares said.

“Good. Now, as for my opinion….. sigh. Trixie is most upset. Though I have not known him long, Trixie feels most at ease when around that human. Though I am not sure why, perhaps due to his magic, strength, height, or his willingness to care for others. But Trixie feels safe with him, but now that he is upset and hurt, Trixie almost feels equally so” she explained.

“Yeah, most of us have felt that way as well. Even the little ones try their best to cheer him up and get him to play. And though he has given them a smile and entertained them for a bit, he hasn't really played back and the kids got really down” Dumpling said.

“Do you have any idea on how we can cheer him up Trixie?” Molly asked.

Sadly, Trixie shook her head “Trixie does not know, the only thing that has brought a genuine smile to his face lately has been his daughter, Maelstrom. Other than her, Trixie has not seen or heard anything else. Even when asked, he says he is fine. Though Trixie has noticed lately that he has been clutching his arm that got burnt lately” Trixie said.

“Poor dear, I cannot imagine what sort of pain he had to deal with” Molly said.

“Trixie has been told though that the physical pain did not last long, thanks to his magic. But Trixie believes that he is dealing with mental pain the most. From what Trixie has gathered, Adrian was very close to Princess Celestia. So he is dealing with more than one type of pain and anguish. Trixie feels most small in comparison” Trixie sadly revealed.

“But he trusts you, doesn't he?” Dumpling asked.

“Trixie supposes” she said.

“Well, if he still holds those bonds of trust with other ponies then he still hasn't closed himself off. Perhaps he just needs a good friend or two to be by his side. Grief affects everyone differently, and for us we have no idea about his past since he came from a different world!”

“I have seen grief destroy ponies, like when my sisters son was killed in the line of duty. Her mind was lost and though it pained me, I had the hospital take her in. She now owns a house on the outskirts of Manehatten, I haven't seen her in about ten years and though I have written to her, I never got a letter back”

“I am sure his kindness has allowed him to make many friends, including you. He just has to be reminded of that from time to time. So don't give up hope, cause all of us aren't. That's why we follow him after all, we trust him” Dumpling said with a kind smile.

“And don't get me started on all the stories and talks the children tell about him, you would think he was Star Swirl the bearded himself!” Molly said with a laugh.

“Cause Papa is the best Papa!” Maelstrom suddenly said as she popped in out of nowhere.

“Oof! Maelstrom! Trixie hates it when you do that” the blue mare said with an annoyed huff.

“Heehee, you certainly love him. Don't you?” Molly asked.

“Mae loves Papa most! Mae make Papa happy!” the giggling little draconequus said as she twirled in the air like water.

“Make him happy? I thought he was the one who made you happy?” Dumpling asked.

“Papa does! Papa does! But, lately, Papas been sad and when Papa sad, Mae is sad” Maelstrom said with a sad frown. “But that why Mae make Papa happy! Then everyone happy!”

“You are such a good girl, he is lucky to have you” Molly complimented her.

“Mae is a good girl! Good girl! And Mae won't give Papa to anyone!” Maelstrom defiantly said. “But, Papa is still sad and holds his arm when no one looks. Mae don't get it, why did big white pony hurt Papa?”

“Well, you know how your Papa always protects you? From anything?” Dumpling asked.

“Papa always protects! Always!” she said.

“Well, Princess Celestia, the big white pony, was simply trying to protect us. But she didn't know that the bad guy was a good guy. It was just a big misunderstanding” Dumpling finished.

“Miss-unda-standing?” Maelstrom tried to repeat back.

“The wrong idea, basically” Trixie quickly corrected.

“So, big white pony not bad? Just wrong idea?” Maelstrom asked.

“Exactly!” Molly exclaimed.

“But, what about Papa?” Maelstrom asked again.

“Well, he is still hurt by what she did. But he has you to make him happy! But we still worry about him and hope he gets well soon, we all depend on him” Dumpling told her.

“Then Mae go tell Papa that right now! That make Papa happy!” Maelstrom said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The three mares nervously looked at each other in silence as they contemplated what they accidentally just did.

“You….you don't suppose he will be upset with us. Will he?” Molly asked.

“Trixie doesn't believe so, but then again we were poking our noses into his personal affairs” Trixie replied.

“Perhaps we best settle in for the night before we say anything else” Dumpling said with a nervous gulp.

“That would probably be wise, so Trixie shall bid you goodnight” Trixie said before she made her way back over to her tent, which was of course right by Adrians.

“Hoofter, Coral, Sugar Bits! Time to head off to bed!” Molly yelled out. It was a silent reply for a for moments before she heard the soft steps of hooves slowly making their way back. Though one set belonged to someone she did not expect.

“Roughta? I am surprised, you really did play with them all this time?” Molly asked the even more grumpy looking gryphon.

“Well, not like I had much choice. If I had simply ignored them they would of started pulling on my feathers or something then Adrian or Devia would get mad at me, is all” said Roughta with a pout.

“Or perhaps you are growing a soft spot? Eh, mister rough, gruff, and grumpy pants?” Dumpling teased.

“I am not grumpy! And my name is not Grumpta either! Honestly!” Roughta huffed and puffed.

“Now, now. Don't be so loud, its bedtime for little colts and fillies” Adrian said as he slowly approached the groups little site.

“Hmph! Whatever, I'll be up in my perch and up in the morning, as usual” Roughta said before walking off.

“Alright, you heard him. Off to bed, off to bed. Another big day ahead of us” Molly said to the three sleepy heads. Once they had stumbled off into their own tents, Molly turned back to face the human.

“And what brings you around? Haven't seen you in a while!” Dumpling asked with a kind and gentle smile. Though, with the darkness of night, she had a hidden bead or two of nervous sweat droplets.

“Oh, nothing much. Though, I feel a lot better thanks to my daughter cheering me up. Though, strangely enough, she kept on saying some strange things about ponies being worried and other such things. Strange, huh?” he said with a slight grin on his face and a wink.

The mares blushed a bit that were accompanied by a pair of nervous grins.

But then Adrian kneeled down and reached out with his hands and gave the two of them a set of ear scratches. It had been a while since he had given out those deadly and terrifying things and he already was seeing the two of them melt under his fingers which brought a sincere smile to his face.

“Sorry that I worried you and the others. I don't mean cause such a fuss amongst all of you or to make you worried” he said with a hint of regret.

“Please don't be sorry Adrian, we all know that your hurting and we understand. But a lot of us are scared, being out in the wilderness, with no one else to depend on but you. And then with what happened with Princess Celestia, we are all a little scared of the journey ahead. But none of us know much about you, let alone know anything on how to help you” Dumpling said.

“No, no you all are doing just fine. In fact, hearing about this helps me greatly. Helps me put my head on straight, for the moment. I will have to deal with my own insecurities later, right now I am a leader and I will do my best to get you all to Manehatten. I promise you that” Adrian said as he placed his hand over his heart.

“Happy to help then, happy to help” Dumpling said.

Pinkie Pies ear was twitching, flopping, and vibrating like crazy and she knew exactly what it was and what it meant. And she just had to let Twilight and everypony else know.

“TWO MORE FOR THE COLLECTION! HEEHEE!” She loudly declared while it continued to ring in everyone’s ears.

“Pinkie, its too late at night for you to be shouting like that” Twilight said as she re-organized the table full of books.

“But Adrian just added two more to his ear scratching collection! How can I not get excited about that!!!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Well, if its about Adrian then I can forgive you” Twilight said with a sly smile as she continued to read.

“Twilight, are you really super duper megally SURE that Adrian isn't hurt?” Pinkie asked with a worried tone.

“I am sure Pinkie, I have both Lunas and Celestias word on it” Twilight said with confidence.

“Alllllllllright” Pinkie sighed as she drew out the word.

The next few minutes went by in silence, which was weird since Pinkie would usually do something to break it.

Twilight almost expected it at this point and the fact that it had not happened yet was causing her ears to twitch in anticipation.

Finally she broke down and let out a sigh before placing her book down.

“Are you still worried about Adrian, Pinkie?” the purple alicorn asked.

“Yeah, I know he is tough and stuff but still. I always worry about my big brother and when everything happened, I wanted to go to him and hug him and squeeze him and call him George!” Pinkie said with over-exaggerated gestures.

“Why George?” Twilight asked in return.

“I dunno! Cause it made sense and cause it was funny! Heehee!” Pinkie explained.

Twilight simply smiled and rolled her eyes, since she knows at this point to not argue against Pinkie logic. She went to say something but she saw Pinkie slumping against her chair.

“I really miss him, I want him to come back home soon” Pinkie sadly stated.

“Awww, Pinkie. I know, we all miss him. But we all have our own adventures we have to make. Though, I wish his was a little closer to home as well. That and it would stop Cadence from constantly sending letters only about him” Twilight said with a slight puff in her cheeks.

“Ah, feeling a little….. Jealous Twilight? Huh? Huh?” Spike chimed in after bringing in a couple cups of coffee, mainly for Twilight.

“Spike! How rude! I am not jealous, I still get my own letters from her….. that only sometimes asks about him in” Twilight huffed.

“Heehee! Well can you blame her? We all love him so much!” Pinkie bounced back with her usual enthusiasm.

“Well, not to be a bummer but how is Celestia feeling? I mean, she must be feeling pretty bad as well. Right?” Spike asked.

Twilight and Pinkie exchanged glances and sighed “Yeah, last we heard she was still taking this pretty badly. Even Luna was having trouble just trying to get her to talk” Twilight said.

“Man, this stinks. Have those two talked at all since this happened or?” Spike asked.

“No, we want to let things cool off a bit. Mainly because this is a very delicate matter, both personally and socially. Right now, the only ponies who know of this are us, the Princesses, and the ponies traveling. I would like for them to make up closer to when Adrians party gets to Manehatten. But that is going to depend on those two” Twilight explained.

“Hmmm, yeah. I guess your right. But, wait. Wouldn't it better if they made up sooner then? Since his group would know that she is sorry and no spread rumors before getting to Manehatten?” Spike asked.

“Well, yes. The sooner the better, but once again, we can't make them forgive each other. And if we do try, then it could make matters worse. But we are always making sure that Adrian knows that we are here for him, so hopefully he doesn't hold it in again” Twilight said.

“Yeah! Holding in your emotions is never good! Or else you'll pop like a balloon!” Pinkie said before did her best to imitate a balloon popping. It was quite a spectacle.

“I just hope everything turns out alright” Twilight sadly said before picking up her book again.

“Sister! Sister! Wake up sister! Tis' almost time for you to raise your sun!” Luna said while she banged with her hoof on the door.

A full minute of silence went by before Luna started up again with knocking, at least until she heard the sound of a roller cart approaching.

“Ah, good morning Princess Luna! Another splendid night! Most peaceful!” said Mr. Frosting, one of the royal chefs.

“Ah, good morning to you as well. Tis' most unusual for Tia to have her breakfast delivered” Luna commented.

“Well, its not your usual breakfast and this is already her twenty second serving. We are almost all out of ice cream! I have already ordered more though, so don't worry” he said.

“Wait, is this all she has been eating the past few days?” Luna asked.

“Mostly yes, we have tried to include her regular food but she only seems to want to eat it so long as there is ice cream to go with it” he explained.

Luna sighed and used her hoof to rub her temple.

“We see, you may leave it with me since I need to have words with her anyway. This will be my bargaining chip” Luna proclaimed before using her magic to grab hold of the cart.

“As you wish, good luck!” he said with a wave before departing.

With the hostage secure in her magic, she once again started knocking, but now with more force and she tapped a bit into her royal canterlot voice to say “SISTER! WAKE UP! I HAVE ICE CREAM!”

At this, the door finally unlocked with a faint glow of magic before just as quickly dying out.

With that, Luna entered the darkened chambers that was absolutely littered with emptied ice cream containers, with some of the melted ice cream staining the carpet. It was an interesting smell of different dairy flavors wafting throughout the room.

Luna carefully stepped by the jugs, stains, and discarded spoons in order to talk face to face with the lump that currently occupied the bed.

“Tia? Rise and shine! Wakey wakey for eggs and bakey!” Luna enthusiastically said.

Luckily, this got the lump to rise and finally gave way to a very disheveled looking Celestia with a weird case of bed head.

“Eggs and bakey?” Celestia groggily said.

“Tis something that Adrian taught us, though we would of never heard of it cause it means to wake up and eat eggs and bacon. Which is a normal meal for most humans. But we like the saying, tis most fun to say!” Luna said but soon felt a small tug at tub of ice cream.

“Ah, ah, ah. Tis most unhealthy to be eating ice cream for breakfast. Even more so for the twenty third time” Luna said with a disapproving tone.

“This will actually make thirty, I snuck out and got some more when no pony was looking” Celestia admitted.

“Tia, you can't drown out your sorrows in ice cream…..again” Luna said,

“And why not! I did something terrible and now everypony will know! I brought shame to myself and to everything I stand for and taught. I would not be surprised if even Twilight started to question not only herself but her lessons as well”

“I always made sure to teach equality and forgiveness and being able to look past ones self and see what lied inside. But now due to my fear, I threw everything away just for the sake of protecting the future. Even if it was true and I did ensure Equestrias future, I would still feel shame”

“I destroyed everything and even worse, I hurt Adrian. I hurt him in so many ways Luna” Celestia said before tears started to sting at her eyes.

“You should of seen his face, the horror in his eyes, the shock on his face, even hearing his screams of pain. I did that to him, I hurt him, betrayed him, and now he hates me and has shunned me” Celestia continued.

“You should know how he feels with everything up until then, and now I just made his adventure worse by adding a new enemy. How can I lead and guide Equestria if I can't even keep one creature from an alien world safe from myself? Even though I loved him so much?” Celestias tears started to become constant and Luna could feel the ice cream getting harder and harder to control.

Luna sighed and release her hostage, which was instantly set upon by the weeping alicorn who devoured the sweet treat with no remorse or etiquette.

Luna sat down beside her sister and used her cool wing to massage Celestias back while she tried to eat her sorrows away while she cried.

It was a good ten minutes or so before Celestia was finally done, mainly due to the two breaks used by Luna to blow her nose or else Celestia would have been eating ice cream and snot. And while she could of used it as blackmail, she decided against it since it would not of been funny in the long run.

Maybe.

Once Celestia was cleaned up, Luna wrapped up her distraught sister with her wings in order to hug her and give her as much support as she could.

“I hate him”

“Hmm? What was that Tia?” Luna replied.

“I hate him so much, no pony else in Equestria has ever made me feel like this before in my entire life. Well, perhaps you did a thousand years ago but somehow, this feels different”

Luna patiently listened.

“I love him so much and yet I hate him equally as much, his presence is so infuriating and challenging and maddening. And yet, it has made life so much fun to watch. His entire being is so new and refreshing, even though its not new. I have seen kindness, hugs, love, parenting, and everything he has done before but when I see him do it, it blows my mind”

“But now that he hates me, I have no idea what I should do. I feel horrible and disgusted. I just want to snatch him up and hug him and kiss his cheeks over and over again until he forgives me. But I can't. I have to continue my life here in Canterlot as if nothing happened. And yet, here I am. Depleting my royal ice cream stash, feeling sorry about myself”

“I'm sorry that you have such a mess of a sister Luna” Celestia finally finished up with a few last tears that were not spent.

Luna cuddled her big sister a little tighter and gave a little laugh “You think your a mess? I tried to take over all of Equestria and recently my own self defense almost took over all of Ponyville. I am always tying to clean up my mess that you all say doesn't really exist anymore. So, something like this, pales in comparison in my eyes”

“Though, that being said, I am still a little upset that you hurt our dear little brother so, but you are my sister and I know you. You never do anything for vile or evil reasons, you always place our little ponies above you and are willing to sacrifice yourself to do so. And I think Adrian also understands that, but if I was in his position, I might feel the same way”

“But, we also know Adrian and I believe that the sooner you two apologize, the better. And yet, it can't be too soon either. Our dear human is quite a pickle and we just have to trust him and wait for him to accept you again. I am sure he still loves you and it is that love which is hurting him most”

“And besides, you have hundreds of other souls who love you and respect you and are waiting for their shining light to guide their paths. You are a pillar to Equestria and I don't think Adrian would want you let them down. Ok?” Luna gently chided as she held her sister.

This time, Celestia gave a gentle little laugh “If only you used that knowledge for everyday use, then you might have a better time fitting in”

Luna puffed out her cheeks a little “Now you are just being mean”

“Heeheehee, sorry. It has been a while since we have had a serious talk with just the two of us. That and I love to tease you” Celestia said before sitting up and began to preen her feathers a bit.

“Should I tell everyone that today will be a bit of a late day?” Luna asked.

“No need, I will happily explain. It is the least I can do, I will be down shortly anyway” Celestia said as she headed towards the bathroom. “Ugh, I have ice cream everywhere. I can't believe I was such a slob”

“Don't look down” Luna quietly mused.

“What was that?” Celestia said while she practically threw hot water all over herself.

“Oh, nothing dear sister. Nothing at all~” Luna sang as she made her way to the Court room to stall for a few minutes.

“I wonder if this will make the newspapers? That should make Adrian laugh” Luna thought to herself on the way down.

“-Master! Master! Look!-” Devia exclaimed as they pointed at something in the distance.

Once we climbed over the small hill, I saw a long piece of railroad tracks stretching beyond the horizon, in both directions.

Excellent! This means that we are finally halfway there! But the second half should be faster since it is far safer to travel. Although, there are two others challenges ahead. One we can avoid though, Hollow Shades. Twilight was very adamant in having us avoid it for some reason.

The other challenge though was “Foal Mountain, there it is” I proclaimed as I looked into the distance and saw the faint outline of the mountain. Hmmm, it doesn't look too bad and not too big either. Maybe that's why its called Foal Mountain?

“Miffer Avian! Miffer Avian! Loof! Loof!” shouted Sugar Bits.

The filly ran with a piece of newspaper in their mouth all the way up to me, panting a little.

I bent down and gently removed the article from them and patted her head before straightening out the slightly crumpled up paper.

“Alright, lets see whats going on in the wor-” I stopped mid-sentence as I stared at the front cover picture.

“-Master? What is it?-” Devia asked me but I was focusing my entire being into what I saw.

And I felt it, something I had not felt in a while in almost in entire week of sulking.

I felt it rising through my chest and almost felt lightheaded just from the shock alone.

But I then released it, out into the world.

I let loose, a gut-howling laughter that seemed to echo throughout the valley in front of us.

“HA! HAHAHAHAHA! OOOFH! UAHAHAHAHA!” I continuously laughed and laughed and laughed my head off, so much so that I accidentally dropped the laugh bomb in my hands.

Fortunately, Trixie used her magic to capture all the loose paper and re-assembled it before bringing it closer to the now gathering crowd.

“What in Equestria is so funny?” Trixie questioned as she flipped it over and the moment she read the headlines and saw the picture, she could not help but giggle as well while an audible gasp erupted over the crowd.

It was a mixture of awe and surprise.

“What?! What is it?” Roughta broke through and snatched up the paper before almost immediately gaining a huge grin on his face.

“Princess Celestia: Equestrias Ruler, Princess of the Sun, and ice cream lover!” the gryphon read out loud while looking at the picture of an embarrassed looking Celestia with a slightly chubby stomach.

“Yay! Papa happy! Papa happy! Yay!” Maelstrom cheered while I laughed my head off.

Today was going to be a good day, a very, very good day.