Just Horsing Around

by Darkness Shade

17th Harvest

As morning finally broke, Ryan felt movement and figured it was Cellie getting up to go raise the sun once again. He gave a muffled yawn, which he found to be odd as he shouldn't have been muffled for any particular reason. Curious as to why this had occurred, he opened his eyes and got his answer readily; for there, staring him right in the face, was something he recognized well enough. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was pretty plush pony posterior. More specifically, a certain cowpony's as he was staring straight at a trio of red apples. He wasn't quite sure how this had happened—or why Cellie had neglected to comment, though odds were she had been wearing a cheeky grin when she left—so Ryan weighed his options, trying to deduce just what the next move he should make was.

...it took all of three seconds before he grinned and did what anypony would do in this situation: he smirked and then took a bite of them apples. This certainly got a reaction as AppleJack gasped before quickly rolling over to her right...which led her to tumble over Rainbow Dash who kicked out in surprise. Her hoof met Rarity's gut, the mare whinnying as she inadvertently used her magic on Pinkie Pie. This led to Pinkie being flung around the room like a rubber ball before she collided with Spike. Spike yelped, releasing a small burst of green flames that hit poor Fluttershy, who jumped forward and collided with Twilight. And lastly, as Twilight was pushed forward, her horn connected with poor Luna's posterior causing the Princess of the Moon to shout loudly before flapping her wings and flying straight into a wall.

As everypony lay there in a confused heap, Ryan surveyed the damage and could only blink, "Well...damn...that's one way to wake up. I guess...not mah way, but it works. So then, who wants breakfast ladies?"

The girls, one by one, snapped out of their dazed states to slowly look at their human who was merely smiling at them and being pleasant as always. Luna, now no longer seeing pony's flying around her head, tried to figure out what exactly had happened, "Twilight Sparkle, why did you poke me in the bottom with your horn?"

"It's not my fault!" Twilight gasped out, "I was pushed..."

Slowly they put together the chain of events, before staring at AppleJack who was still rubbing her hindquarters. Noting their attention on her, she gave a shrug, "Ah don't rightly know. I was just dreaming about a giant apple, Ryan, and he was just about to—ah mean, somepony took a bite out of mah lovely orange rump! Whoever bit me started this whole thing."

'Well it's not like we could prove who did it right? I doubt there's teeth-marks.'

"Dark's right ladies; no use worrying over who bit into those apples right?" Ryan gave a shrug before feeling a bit uneasy, "...ladies?"

"Ryan...I can't help but notice that in all this, you're the only one that didn't have something happen to them."

"Well that might be true T-Sparks but I was kinda, ya know, in the middle of y'all so I was buffered."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, "I think you're the one that started this domino effect Rys!"

Ryan blinked before waving his hands about, "Ladies! Please! Yer lettin' yer paranoia get the better of you."

Spike, who finally shook off getting hit with the pink pony cannonball, glanced at Ryan and shook his head, "...I'd usually agree with you big bro but...I think we all know of all those here, you're the one most likely to go after them apples."

Taking a deep breath, Ryan slowly stood up, dusted off his clothes and turned to look at his friends before smirking, "Well...the thing about that is—"He quickly slapped on his magnet spell"—I have no argument against it so later y'all!"

With that Ryan blew passed them in their stunned daze, heading out of the room and down the hallway.

'It Begins! Again! Oh man, never a dull moment with you around Ryan!'

"Shut up Dark! I don't need another moment like last time...especially with how things have changed since then."

'...I don't know, a bunch of cute chicks that all like ya running after ya? Doesn't sound like a problem ta me~'

Ryan facepalmed, rounding a corner before hearing a cluttered jumble of noise behind him, "Oh boy...what a way to spend Christmas Day!"

"GET BACK HERE RYAN!"

"Yeah! We'll show y'all ya don't just go and chomp on a mare's backside."

Ryan glanced over his shoulder at them, "...even if she's the one putting it on mah face?"

"Ah! That is...!"

"What I think AppleJack is trying to say is you can't rightly just do that to her rump—"

"See Pinkie's got the right idea..."

"—at least not without getting a good eyeful of ours as well and then judging which one looks totally ponylicious enough to nom on!"

Everypony else was so stunned at Pinkie's statement they stopped their chase to stare at her in utter disbelief. Pinkie frowned as she looked at them, "What? You know I'm right! He can't just play favorites like that!"

"Pinkie darling, I know that you mean well but what do you mean by play favorites?"

"Guys?" Spike watched as Ryan took this moment to run off, "Guys?"

"What I mean is if he's our human he has to play fair!"

"Guys? Ryan's..."

"Pinkie Pie, while I agree with you to some degree..."

"Princess? Hello?" Spike huffed, "I hate being ignored!"

Twilight finally noticed Spike's little fit, "Spike? What's wrong?"

"It's Ryan! He took advantage of the moment and ran off!"

"...what are you talking about? He's standing right there." Twilight rolled her eyes, walking over towards him slowly, "And it seems he's going to listen to reason. That's very—"

As she stared at "Ryan", Twilight's eyes narrowed before she lightly tapped him. What was now clearly a cardboard cut-out of him fell down with a clack as her eyes slowly widened, "...why that wily, sneaky human! RYAN!"

'Dude...she must be really mad if we heard that from here.'

"Just shut up and help me keep running..."

Princess Celestia was in a rather pleasant mood: not only was everything peaceful and quiet but for the first time in what seemed forever she'd gotten a pretty good night's sleep. She laughed softly to herself, sipping her tea, as she thought of how the one that was—mostly—responsible for her sleeplessness was also the same reason she had gotten the sleep she did last night.

"Perhaps my little human isn't all that bad after all; sure he's played a few tricks on me but haven't I done the same?" She laughed, taking another sip of tea, "It certainly has livened up things...at least to a level that's near what Darkness used to stir up. Perhaps I should go wake them as—"

And that's when Ryan flew through the throne room doors, slammed them shut, and then looked around spastically before locking eyes with her. Quickly closing the short distance between himself and Cellie—much to the two pegasi standing guard's displeasure—he bit his bottom lip before moaning, "Cellie ya gotta hide me! I didn't even really do anything this time but they're pretty upset with me! Please!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow, still trying to process just what happend, "Ryan? Hold on...what's wrong? Who's chasing you?"

"The girls...and yer sister. Look, to simplify things, I woke up with Apps' flank resting on mah face—"

"Oh yes!" She smirked, "I do recall that sight when I went to raise the sun; most amusing."

"...yeah, anyway Ah felt like being cheeky and I kind of nommed on her cutie mark." Ryan laughed sheepishly, "What can I say? Ah do love me some apples! But please!"

Celestia jumped slightly when Ryan threw his arms around her and pleaded for her help. At this point she faced two conflicting thoughts: one, she could help him as it seemed her sister and the others might just be overreacting a bunch or two, she could set both him and Dark up for some epic trolling. Taking one more look at the pleading look in his eyes, she made her decision before motioning behind her throne, "Quickly, hide there and I will handle the rest."

Smiling in gratitude, Ryan wasted no time hiding where she had noted...and with good timing at that as Luna burst through the doors with the others in tow.

"Sister! What is the meaning of such aggressive behavior?"

Luna, realizing she was getting perhaps a slight bit out-of-hoof composed herself before entering, "Our human has created another situation for himself and is in dire need of being taught a few lessons."

"Exactly! He's got to learn to judge all plots equally!"

Rainbow Dash face-hoofed at Pinkie's incessant sticking to that point, "What she means you're majesty is that Ryan decided to bite AJ's posterior and set off a whole serious of unfortunate events that led to us waking up in quite a daze."

"Oh goodness me...that doesn't sound good at all." Celestia nodded slowly, a frown on her features, "So he did this while awake?"

"Well...we think so, because he seemed aware that he bit her Princess."

"But are you sure Twilight? He could simply have been dreaming..."

"But sister! Why would he run if he—"

"Would you not run if you were being chased by a group as powerful as the eight of you?" Celestia shook her head, "I cannot blame him for running, seeing as you did not listen to him last time when he proclaimed his innocence."

"But...but yer majesty! You told us you were behind that last time."

"While I admit you are right AppleJack...that does not change the fact you did not listen to him."

"...so then...he was just sleep-biting?" Rainbow scrunched her face up, "...I guess I could see that being what happened but..."

Celestia narrowed her eyes at her sister, "Did you not stop to think on what he may have been dreaming about, Luna? Though you were sleeping with us, I know that your awareness of other's dreams does not diminish when you sleep yourself."

Luan bit her lip and hung her head, "I...I was so caught up in the moment I did not think on that. Now that I am, he was dreaming of....oh my!"

Those there raised their eyebrows at the way she had said that, wondering just what it was Ryan had been dreaming about. Seeing that they were all waiting for an answer, a blushing Luna composed herself before explaining, "...suffice to say, his dreams may have influenced him...as he was dreaming about eating something delicious."

"But then if that's all it was why are you blushing so much?!" Pinkie furrowed her brow, "Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?!"

"Pinkie, please!" Luna grumbled, "...as the Princess of the Night I cannot divulge such info. I must protect the privacy of those I watch over after all."

"S-so then...we just chased Ryan for no reason?" Fluttershy timidly mumbled, "Oh dear..."

"I suggest then that you go and find my little human and make amends as best you can...assuming he does not keep running from you." Celestia nodded her head, "If he shows up, I will let him know what has happened."

Twilight sighed in relief and bowed, "Thank you Princess. Come now, we need to find our human."

"Right! I totally thought he was playing favorites and now it turns out he wasn't and I have to make things up to him so he doesn't ignore me in favor of you all and that means no snuggles and...oh no what have you done to yourself Pinkamena Diane Pie?!"

As they walked out, Rarity was still rather confused about just what Pinkie was prattling on about, "Pinkie dear, I still haven't the faintest idea what you're going on about...and that worries me."

As soon as the throne room was empty save for Celestia and her two guards, she looked behind her throne before laughing, "You may now come out Ryan...Dark."

Heaving a relieved sigh, Ryan walked back out before standing in front of Celestia with a smile on his face. Before she could say anything he gave her another hug, "Thank you Cellie."

'Yeah Tia, yer a champ fer saving our flanks.'

"Haha, think nothing of it." Celestia giggled, returning his hug, "I only wish I could have seen what happened myself; it sounded just positively amusing."

Nodding his head, Ryan had to agree as he released her from his hug and watched her stand up, "That's true enough....it got pretty crazy once I had a taste of apples."

Celestia snickered before remembering something, "So then...Ryan? Dark? Would either of you care to share what this dream was that had my sister so flustered to recall?"

Ryan blinked a bit, unsure whether he should share what details he remembered before waking. Taking one look at Celestia and thinking on the fact that she totally saved his butt, he figured it wouldn't hurt that much...right?

With that he leaned in and began whispering in her ear a few things that brought a slight blush to her cheeks before he just stood there unsure of what else to say. Celestia continued to face forward for a few moments before glancing at him, "So...all of us...and...strawberries...and..."

'Chocolate...lots and lots of chocolate...'

"...I see." Celestia processed all this before smirking, "Well then, since your dream self seemed to be sated, how about we sate the real you with a Hearth's Warming breakfast feast?"

Laughing softly, Ryan followed Celestia out of the throne room and down towards the dinner hall, "That sounds like an awesome idea. Although...we probably should tell the others as well. I don't want them wandering all around the castle on today of all days."

Placing a hoof on his shoulder, Celestia nuzzled his cheek, "You are indeed a kind man...but with Dark to guide you it's no surprise."

'Hey, I can't take all the credit...it's not like I can make him do things.'

Ryan shook his head before laughing, "Y'all are crazy...so...what exactly is on the menu?"

"Hmmm? Wanting something with a little substance are we my little human?"

"...you and that pet name. Yer awful Cellie. Hahahaha." Ryan grinned widely before poking his fingers together, "Yet...I don't think I'd complain much if'n I could have a little bacon...if that's an option I can choose that is."

Celestia chuckled as Ryan opened the door for her, "For a gentleman like you, my little human, I think I can arrange that."

"Then this will indeed be a Happy Hearth's Warming Day indeed."

"...or a Merry Christmas as you would say."

"Hahahaha, right you are Princess."

After having found the others who apologized to Ryan for overreacting—even if he totally did do what they thought he'd done and deserved their retribution were it not for Cellie becoming his partner in messing with them and protecting him—they had enjoyed a delightful breakfast before wandering out to the gardens that were covered in a nice layer of snow.

Just to throw this out there: as bad as the hijinx got when Ryan and Cellie were trying to out-troll each other, just imagine what might happen if the three of them—Ryan, Cellie, and Darkness—were to team up as they did just now. Yeah, let that terrifying thought sink in a little at how nopony in Equestria would be safe from their pranks. Now that that's been established, Ryan seemed a bit puzzled by how Dark was grumbling about something, "...what's the matter, bro?"

'...I just...I've got the strangest feeling that something beyond the bounds of us decided to make some remarks that I'm not quite sure I approve of.'

"Hmmm? Oh, so the narrator said something dumb again?"—Ryan waved his hand dismissively—"Meh...he's always doing stuff like that...best not to think on it."

"Oh Rysy-Wysy!" Pinkie hopped on top of him, taking her favorite spot on his shoulders, "Ya shouldn't abuse yer extra-sensory perceptions like that..."

'...what?'

"She's saying don't overuse our knowledge of what lies beyond." Ryan rolled his eyes, "So then Pinks, I had a thought."

"Oh! Oh! I had one too! I have a bunch of those all the time! Usually really colorful ones, full of the most amazing things!"

"Haha, yes, I would hope so...otherwise I'd be worried about ya." Ryan smirked as he reached up to scratch her belly, "Anyway, mah idea is that, since I've got the energy this time and we're not in a terrible rush...how about we finally tackle that hedge maze?"

Pinkie's eyes grew wide in excitement before she practically flew off his shoulders—dragging him along as well—as she rounded up the girls before setting everypony down at the entrance to the maze.

"...what...was all that about?" Spike shook his head, "I was making an awesome snow pony ya know!"

"Don't look at me little bro, all I know is I suggested tackling the hedge maze and then Pinks went crazy on me."

Spike took one glance at the look in Pinkie's eyes, "Nope! I know enough to see things are going to get crazy here...if anypony needs me, I'll be building an awesome snow fort."

'...so what do you suppose he thinks is gonna happen?'

"I'm not sure Dark but—"

Pinkie hushed him by putting a hoof on his mouth, "Shhhhhhhhh! We're gonna make this fun!"

"...fun?"

"Ah'm with Apple Ryder, what do ya mean by fun?"

"Oh AppleJack, while we could be boring and just solve the maze normally...I think it'd be much more interesting if we made a game of it!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow in thought, "What kind of game?"

Pinkie rubbed her hooves together in glee, "Simple! We hunt Ryan!"

"...uh...say again?" Ryan seemed a bit confused, "What do you mean by "hunt" me?"

"Yeah...I don't think we need to go spooking Rys any." Rainbow shook her head, "We've already caused him trouble once today..."

"Oh girls, you're completely mis-reading what I'm thinking." Pinkie giggled, "By hunt, we mean he takes off first and if any of us happens to catch him...we get the best prize: a kiss. Smooch-smooch!"

'I like this game already!'

"Oh heavens....you would. Haha."

"Hee-hee, you get a thirty second head-start! Oh! But no flying! That goes for everypony!"

Rarity tapped her chin before turning to Pinkie, "What about magic?"

"Well, I suppose as long as you don't use it to cheat through the maze magic is alright!" Pinkie nodded furiously, "Good to see you're finally catching on Rarity!"

"...while I'm not sure entirely what's going on, I have a feeling I might be figuring things out."

Ryan gulped before laughing nervously, "Whatcha talkin' about Rares? Haha...nothing...nothing to figure out. Besides, yer not serious right Pinks?"

"One...two...three..."

"Oh Luna! She totally is! Welp! Off Ah go!"

With that Ryan took off into the maze, hoping to put some distance between himself and the mares that certainly enjoyed teasing him...though it goes without saying he certainly enjoyed the fact that said teasing just went to show how much they truly did love him.

'That's the way to think Ryan! But...we can't make it too easy on them can we?'

"Hell no! If'n they're gonna tease us, we're gonna make them work for those kisses! Let's get to work."

"And thirty! Let's go girls! There's kisses to be won!"

Rainbow Dash grinned before running ahead of everypony else, "Oh yeah! I'm gonna find me a Ryan!"

"Not if I do first!" AppleJack laughed, passing her by before turning right at the fork ahead.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she sauntered along at a slower pace before turning off earlier, "Rushing isn't the way to win this. I have to guide him to me...it's time to use my knowledge!"

Even Fluttershy seemed determined to find Ryan, though she still made her way about the maze much slower than the others. Rarity huffed, "Such ridiculous showings. Don't they know that a gentleman is naturally drawn to a lady? If anypony finds him first, it will most certainly be meeEEEE!"

She gasped as Pinkie rolled right under her, knocking her up into the air before she came crashing down with a grunt. Pinkie stopped in mid-roll to look back at her, "Sorry Rarity! But it's time to transform and roll out and I want that kiss! Vroom-a-zoom-zoom!"

And just like that she was off, down the many corridors of the maze leaving Rarity who narrowed her eyes, muttered her iconic "It. Is. On." phrase, and then took off with determination in her eyes.

Somewhere in the middle of the maze, Ryan and Dark were currently working on one of their plans when they heard the sound of somepony go running by. Putting the finishing touches on it, they looked for a spot to hide. Crouching down behind some decorative bushes, he listened as the voice got closer and closer before finally revealing none other than Twilight Sparkle.

"Hmmm...knowing him, he would try to come to the center of the maze first in order to set up something. Seeing as there are three entrances to this part it stands to reason he'd be able to move along pretty quickly if being chased." Twilight hummed to herself as she stood near where he was hiding, "So then do I wait here and hope he shows up, or set up something so that he becomes ensnared? Decisions, decisions."

'...oh man...this is tense.'

'I know Dark but shhhh...' Ryan held his breath, trying to be as still as possible, '...that's it...just a little closer.'

Twilight had decided to set up a trap of some kind, and as luck would have it, she'd picked the exact corner Ryan had been tinkering around in. He bit his tongue to steady his nerves as she was just about there until finally with a gasp she jumped back but it was too late. Poor Twilight had triggered the magical trap and was now stuck tight by a web of chocolaty, marshmallow goodness. Not sensing any of the others nearby, he appeared from his hiding place and laughed softly as he walked over to her, "Well now T-Sparks, I dare say you've gotten yerself into another sticky situation."

Twilight grumbled, trying to shake free but she was held tight, "You! Oh! This is going to be so hard to get out of my fur!"

'Perhaps we could help?'

"Wha-what does he mean by that Ryan?"

Ryan chuckled as he stepped quite close to Twilight, learning down to her head-level, "Heh, yer mah little bookworm so you tell me."

Twilight wasn't quite sure what he was going to do, and then she gasped when she felt him lick some of the chocolate-marshmallow mess off of her horn before kissing it. Her cheeks immediately flushed and she whimpered slightly at the action, "...that's not fair."

Laughing warmly, Ryan licked her cheek before kissing it, "Ya didn't catch me but ya deserve that consolation prize. Now then...I must be off T-Sparks. Later hun."

With that she watched as he took off and so attempted even harder to break free before hanging her head and growling, "You can't just do that to a mare and take off! It's not fair! Argh!"

A distance away, Rainbow Dash had heard Twilight's aggravated cries and smirked to herself, "Well then...looks like she won't be a problem at the moment. That kiss is as good as mine!"

'Heh...that's what she thinks.' Dark chuckled as Ryan followed behind Rainbow Dash, '...so what's the plan this time?'

'Not sure.' Ryan quickly hid behind a corner when he saw her stop, 'I'm kind of proud that she's not using her wings and sticking to the rules though.'

Peeking around the corner again, he saw that she'd disappeared...but that wasn't possible as the path she'd turned on to was just a long straight route. Puzzled by this, he heard a rustling noise above him and turned to see her on top of the hedge smiling down at him, "Hello there lover boy, looking for me?"

"Hahaha, clever girl." Ryan jumped back, narrowly getting tackled before running off, "Not gonna make it that easy Dashie."

"You can't outrun me forever, Rys!"

Ryan snickered, glancing back at her briefly, "I can sure try though!"

While that was happening, AppleJack had ended up running randomly and getting herself turned around without any idea as to where she should go. Huffing at this fact, she tried to calm her mind before hearing the noise of someone being chased. Focusing in on it, she came to a crossroads and saw Ryan run by followed by Rainbow Dash.

"What in tarnation! Ah can't let her get the first one! I betcha I can cut them off!" AppleJack began running down the other corridor, trying to remember if it would loop around. Sure enough it intersected again, but this time Ryan gave Rainbow the slip and watched as she ran by letting him catch his breath.

"Hey there sugah."

At least, until he heard that, turned to see AppleJack staring at him with a wide grin, and then took off in the opposite direction, "Oh come on! Both the star runners! Really?! Really?!"

'You can't tell me you aren't having fun Ryan.'

"You shut up!" Ryan gasped as he chugged along, "This is getting crazy."

Finally realizing she'd been duped, Rainbow Dash growled in frustration before doubling back the way she came and seeing hoofprints in the dirt leading down another path. Panicking that somepony else might get to Ryan first, she took off after them in hopes of catching up. As it was Ryan was having a heck of time getting away from Apps, only keeping ahead thanks to his tighter maneuvering of the corners.

"I'm gonna get me a human~" AppleJack sang in a sing-song manner, "And then he's gonna give me a kiss~"

'...I hate to say it, but she just might. Yer gettin' kind of worn out.'

"Ya think so Sherlock?" Ryan grumbled before seeing an opportunity ahead, "Perfect!"

Pushing as hard as he could he ran towards the split in the path before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the ground and shouting, releasing a spell that blanketed the area in a smokescreen. AppleJack skidded a bit before coughing, "Tarnation! That's a dirty trick there Ry-Ry!"

"All's fair in love and war~" Ryan teased, "Catch me if you can~"

AppleJack narrowed her eyes before charging through the smokescreen and going right at the fork, which played right into Ryan's trap as the smoke cleared to show he hadn't chosen either path and instead hugged the hedge wall. Dusting himself off and catching his breath, he felt he was finally in the clear, "Thank heavens...I'm exhausted and—"

He sighed when, in the distance, he saw a certain cyan pony come running up behind him, "I finally found you Rys! Now give me that kiss!"

Ryan sighed loudly before running off the way Apps hadn't gone, "Oh come! On! What's a guy gotta do to catch a break here?"

And thus the chase continued with Dashie running Ryan pretty ragged, slowly catching up to him until something awful happened: while running from Dashie, he saw Apps at the end of a corridor staring straight at him. With no way out, and a pony both in front and behind him, things looked a bit hairy for our hero.

'So what now?'

Glancing at Dashie and Apps who had both slowed their pace to savor the moment, Ryan smirked, "We get creative."

Focusing his breathing, he waited as the two mares picked up their pace—each hoping to beat the other—and charged headlong towards him. When they were just about to him, he smirked, blew each of them a kiss...and then fell backwards and became 2D against the ground before scooting away under the maze wall. AppleJack and Rainbow Dash gasped out loud and skidded, trying to avoid a collision but it was too late as they hit with mighty crash and ended up in a heap.

"Sweet apple pie....yer head must be made of bricks Dash."

"...then yers must be made of solid wood. Ugh..."

Having made it under the wall and to the other side, Ryan gave a grunt before popping back into his three-dimensional self and dusting himself off, "...Ah can't believe that worked. That was really weird..."

'...but very awesome. What made ya think of something like that?'

"Let's just say I've played a lot of video games." Ryan heaved a sigh and allowed himself to finally relax a little, "That's three down...three more wandering about though."

Cautiously moving forward, Ryan followed the winding path as far away from Dashie and Apps as he could before ending up in a dead-end that contained a fountain, a hammock, and two unicorn statues. Figuring this was a good place to recuperate, he waved his hand over the one and only entrance to disguise it before walking over to the hammock and sitting in it, "That should at least give me a few minutes to rest up."

'I'll keep an eye out for ya, so don't wor—what was that?'

Blinking, Ryan tilted his head, "What was what?"

'That statue...did it move?'

Now realizing they might not be alone, Ryan casually got up and continued chatting mentally with Dark, 'Which one?'

'The right one. I swear I saw it twitch.'

'Hmmmm.' Ryan paced about, making it seem as if he was merely observing the decorations as he first looked at the left one thoroughly before walking over to the right one, 'This one huh?'

Looking at the left one and then the right one he could tell they looked very similar: same horn design, same eye-shape, same hoof width...nearly everything between the two was the same. And yet...there it was! Even though it would have been almost unnoticeable, there was the slightest of movements that set Ryan's senses off. Maintaining the best poker face that he could he walked to the left one and knocked on it slightly, hearing the solid thunk of it's stony make-up.

'I could almost swear the other one is sweating now.' Dark remarked as Ryan walked over to the other to repeat his actions, '...huh?'

That came in response to Ryan not knocking on the statue and instead scrunching up his face before grinning widely. Knowing what he was about to do, Dark about died from laughter as Ryan brought his hand back and then smacked the statue's flank as hard as he could. The statue gasped and whinnied before dashing forward and tumbling over itself, breaking the illusion and showing a certain marshmallow mare.

"Well well, what have we here?"

'It would appear to be a lovely marshmallow...that tried to trick us.'

"Ugh you ruffian! What kind of gentleman smacks a lady's...a lady's..."

"A lady's flank?"

"Yes! So uncouth! And yet..." Rarity glanced over her shoulder and batted her eyes at him, "I must say I never expected you to be so forward Ryan."

Ryan coughed, caught quite off-guard by Rares' words, "Good heavens! So much for m'lady being innocent."

"Oh darling, I am a mare after all...even a lady can have such thoughts." Rarity giggled as she stood up and dusted herself off, "The difference is she doesn't make such thoughts known save for special occasions."

Ryan was at a loss for words but only for a few moments, "So when did ya figure out what was going on Rares?"

Rarity giggled again before sauntering over to him, "Oh it doesn't take a genius to notice our dear Rainbow Dash being much friendlier towards you then before. Or maybe it does, seeing as Twilight has been giving you some interesting looks. Heh, I must admit I was puzzled...at least until Pinkie's words and actions began to give it away. I dear say we all know now...perhaps even the Princesses at that."

Ryan facepalmed as he shook his head, "...well that didn't take long. Hold on—"He narrowed his eyes"—even Flutters knows?"

"Hmmm...I think she does, she didn't say anything." Rarity frowned at that thought, "Which means I'm the last to catch on...that's not fair at all darling, leaving a lady out of the loop like that."

With that Ryan felt himself flipped upside down by her magic before she hopped on to his chest to pin him. Rarity smirked and batted her eyes as she leaned down towards his face, "At least I'll be the first to get her kiss."

"NOPE!"

Glancing in the direction of that loud shout, Ryan saw a blur of pink come flying through his fake wall, plow right into Rarity, and then send her flying into and then through the actual hedges. There, now standing where Rarity had been, was a very happy pony wearing a very large grin. At this point Ryan wasn't sure whether to thank her or to start crapping his pants at how fiercely she'd fought to get him, "S-so Pinks...nice ta see ya. What, uh, what can Ah do ya for?"

"Oh you can do a lot for me—"She leaned down, her lips all but touching his ear as she whispered"—but I'm more interested in what you can do to me, Rysy-Wysy."

Ryan shivered at the feel of her breath on his ear, his cheeks flushing deeply at her insinuations. His mind was unable to form much beyond two simple words, "Holy crap!"

"Hee-hee, I couldn't possibly let somepony else get the kiss first when this was my game after all." Pinkie snickered as Ryan's blush deepened, "I can't wait to have my fun."

Ryan's eyes widened as he watched her lips slowly descend towards his and for all intents she should have got her kiss...until she was knocked off of Ryan by a rather large stone wearing—were those sunglasses?! Looking to see who had thrown the stone—after looking to make sure Pinks was okay—he saw a very irritated looking Rarity, "Tom says he'd like to play TAG!"

Seeing as the two mares were occupied with one another now, Ryan slowly got to his feet before slipping away through the hole Tom had made when exiting the dead-end. Thanking his luck they hadn't noticed he'd made tracks yet, he ran as fast as he could to put more distance between them.

'Hahaha! This has been most amazing! I can't believe how close yet far they've all come!'

"You would be enjoying this. Although..." Ryan laughed softly, "The chase is making this pretty exciting. Thing is...that's everypony but Flutters."

'...Ryan! Turn right now!'

Not one to ignore Dark's advice, he quickly turned right just in time to see a blur of pink followed by a large rock with a very pissed off and messy-mane looking Rarity following up behind, "Get back here Pinkie Pie! This lady wishes to have many words with you!"

'...okay. That keeps them busy for a while. As for yer question...I'm not sure where our butter pony is.'

"B-butter pony?" Ryan snickered as he ran along, "Let me guess, because she's yellow right?"

'Exactly!'

"...I would say something, but I've come up with more ridiculous thoughts before so I'll just let us move on." Ryan slowed his pace down to a walking one, "Better conserve mah stamina fer now...so any bets on who'll finally catch me?"

Hearing, and then seeing, a rather large fireball in the distance, Dark laughed loudly, 'Looks like Twi finally broke free.'

"Indeed. She seems mad...let's hope we don't get caught by her. I'm a little worried she'd get more than a kiss out of me." Ryan's cheeks—which had returned to their normal color—flushed red again, "Especially after those comments about...experimenting."

'Ah, but that is the price we pay for being so irresistible.'

Ryan rolled his eyes at his mental companion's nonsense, "Why do I get the feeling things like this were all too common between you and the Princesses way back when?"

Dark let out a growly laugh, 'Tsk! Tsk! You should know better than to ask that. A true gentleman doesn't kiss and tell after all. Besides you—'

"Huh? Why'd you cut yerself off?"

'That's why. Look straight ahead in that clearing.'

Cautiously making his way to the small clearing, glancing to see that there were five branching pathways spreading outwards, and then looking where Dark had indicated, Ryan saw none other than the final mare that had been missing. Fluttershy was currently sitting by a small lake that was the focal point of this particular clearing, staring at her reflection before heaving a sigh. Ryan frowned, curious as to why she was so down in the dumps. Slowly making his way over to her, he smiled before speaking, "Flutters hon, what's the matter?"

Fluttershy gasped and squeaked as she jumped up and tumbled backwards end over end before landing in a heap at Ryan's feet. She looked up at him sheepishly, blushing as their eyes met, "I-I was just...I don't like being by myself in this maze. Just memories from the last time we were here."

"Oh right." Ryan snapped his fingers, "When Disky first gave y'all grief and caused a lot of mischief using this hedge maze. Sorry Flutters, Ah guess we didn't really think about that fact bothering anypony."

Fluttershy flopped about before rolling over and finally getting to her feet, hooves, whichever! She gave a slight sigh before looking up at Ryan, "I heard all that noise that everypony else was making and got scared. That big fireball really freaked me out. They all found you but me...I'm so bad at this you found me."

Ryan frowned before ruffling her mane, "Hey, don't be like that. Yes, you might be a bit timid...but yer kindness knows no bounds. Besides, no matter how scared you've gotten before, you've always stuck by yer friends and rose to the challenge right?"

"I...I guess so."

"See?" Ryan smirked as he formed a plan, "And ya know..."

Fluttershy looked up to see his smiling face and seemed puzzled, "R-Ryan? What are you thinking?"

"Well, mah dear kind mare, you are right: I did find you." He was quick to not let her get sad about that, "Ah-ah! I said you were right...but remember the rules that Pinks came up with?"

Fluttershy twitched her nose before nodding, "Yes! If we caught you we got our...our k-kiss..."

He laughed softly at how super adorable she was, feeling his cheeks blush to match hers in the moment. Kneeling down, he gently scratched her ears before smirking, "Right. So since I caught you, would that not mean the inverse?"

"...the what?"

'The opposite. What Ryan is trying to explain, my sweet butter pony, is that since that is true...you owe him a kiss.'

Fluttershy's eyes widened at Dark's revelation and she began hemming and hawing left and right as her poor little mind tried to process that fact. Ryan laughed softly before leaning in closer to her, "So then...does the victor get his prize?"

"Uhm...uhm....oh my, oh dear...I...it's just that this....oh me...." Fluttershy shook her rear in time with her muttered words, "I...oh..."

"FLUTTERSHY!?"

Fluttershy squeaked and leaped forward, locking lips with a very confused Ryan who wondered just who the hell had shouted her name so loud. Taking a moment to enjoy his prize, his eyes flickered about before seeing the others each taking a spot in the five pathways that connected to the clearing. Apparently, from what he could deduce, the others had almost perfectly timed their arrivals to see Fluttershy moments from kissing him. No doubt stunned that their timid friend would be the first to "win" the little game, they had all shouted her name in surprise which led to the events leading to what they were now. Finally breaking his kiss with her, he noticed her cheeks were flaming red as he caught his breath and flashed a grin to his other beloved ponies, "Well howdy there y'all. Looks like Flutters here stole the first kiss of the game...fancy that."

"Don't you howdy us there pardner!" AppleJack huffed, "Ah still haven't forgotten that headache of a collision ya gave Dash and I."

"As if it wasn't bad enough you pulled a fast one on us." Rainbow Dash pulled at her mane in frustration, "I have to deal with the fact that Fluttershy—FLUTTERSHY—of all ponies got the first kiss?"

"Oh...oh my...oh dear..." Fluttershy shook as she hid behind Ryan, "I...I didn't mean to...eep!"

Ryan frowned, glancing at her before looking at the others, "Hey, yer scaring poor Flutters. Besides, isn't the whole point of this game to have fun?"

Pinkie laughed softly at first before dragging it out into something far more creepy, "Oh Rysy-Wysy. While that might be true, it's supposed to be fun for us...not you."

"Heh, heh...ya...ya mean "not just you" right? Right?"

"I do believe the lady was quite clear Ryan." Rarity smirked, her horn glowing as she grabbed his legs, "Twilight, do be a dear and help."

"With pleasure!" Twilight's twitchy grin was unsettling as she grabbed Ryan's arms, "Oh yes...I'm going to have such fun getting you back for teasing me like you did. When we're done you'll be the one begging and shouting in frustration!"

'...I think we broke Twi.'

Ryan fought against his magical bonds and groaned, "It would seem so...oh my..."

Try as he might, Rarity and Twilight had him caught quite well and were not about to let him go no matter how much he struggled. His eyes darted from one mare to the next as they slowly advanced on him, "...well now, this is quite the pickle we got ourselves into isn't it?"

'I suppose it is...the only way we'd get out of this one is if something incredibly unlikely occurred.'

"Seeing as they're just about upon us, I have a feeling that won't be...huh?"

With a dark blue and bright white flash, two more apparent players in this little game made themselves known, "Are we too late for the fun? Spike relayed to us the craziness that was being unleashed and, despite my sister's objections, I knew we just had to double the fun with our presence."

Dark chuckled softly, 'Oh Woona...you always did have the best timing! Now Ryan!'

Seeing as Twilight and Rarity's concentration had been interrupted by the princesses' sudden appearance, he focused intently and shattered their magical bonds. Now free once more, he snapped his fingers, donned his magical magnet skates, and tore ass down the nearest pathway, "Sorry ladies, but once again the uncanny luck of Ryan and Darkness Shade pulls us from the jaws of defeat. I guess y'all just didn't want those kisses enough. Oh well~"

Luna frowned and looked about at the five angry mares glaring at her, "Oh my...did we perhaps show up at the wrong time?"

"It would seem so sister." Celestia snickered before glancing in the direction Ryan had run of in, "Well my little ponies? Why are you standing there when our human is getting away? Was not the point of this game—as Spike told us—to catch him for...what was it again? Oh yes!" She grinned cheekily, "A kiss."

Twilight nodded before twitching slightly, "The Princess is right! We can't just stand here!"

"YEAH!"

"We can't let him get away with taunting us like that!"

"YEAH!"

"He'll pay for licking me the way he did!"

"YE—what?"

Seeing the others giving her strange looks, she shook her head before running off after Ryan, "All rules are off! Get him anyway you can!"

Off in the distance...

Spike was busy putting the finishing touches on his snow fort before he felt the ground shake and he turned to see a rather chaotic sight happening in the vicinity of the hedge maze. Magic of all colors was flying left and right and he could make out a few shapes flying above as well, the clashes clearly a sign that—once again—things had gotten quite out of hand and hoof with his loved ones. Shaking his head and watching what appeared to be Ryan get tackled by both Princesses, Spike could only sigh before once more turning back to his work, "Looks like I called it. Heh, I bet the big guy is having lots of fun though...I hope the girls aren't too rough on him."

Back at the maze, Ryan as well as his outfit looked rather ragged after going all out with his beloved mares as a result of their little game ramping up far more than they bargained for. Having taken quite a blow when Lunes, Cellie, and Dashie all tagged-team him in mid-air, he stood staring them down as he panted heavily. Seeing they too were a bit worn out, he knew it was inevitable so he laughed loudly before collapsing in the snow, "...I can't...I can't fight anymore. You ladies win...do with me what you will."

Slowly walking over to him, the group smiled down at their human before laughing softly. Twilight, despite being quite exhausted, still had it in her to rub her hooves together maniacally. That combined with her creepy smile certainly did little to ease Ryan's mind as she spoke, "Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho Ryan...I plan to take full advantage of this situation."

"Easy there Twi." AppleJack tugged on her mane lightly, "Why don'tcha come back from crazy town and join the rest of us before ya go and do something ya might regret to Ryan?"

"Oh I won't regret anything I plan to do...and I highly doubt he will either."

Ryan gulped at those words, wondering if perhaps his earlier teasing may have been just a tad too much. As they all focused their attention to him, Dark decided that would be the ideal time to chime in.

'Well...you know what I say in a situation like this?'

Ryan groaned in preparation for what was likely going to be something very dumb, "What Dark?"

'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth...especially if it's a pretty mare as, odds are, she's about to kiss you and looking deep into their eyes gets them every time!'

"...yer an idiot."

'A sexy idiot! Bring it on ladies!'

"Dark shut yer—" Ryan didn't get another word out as he felt a hoof press against his lips.

"Y'all are talking too much." AppleJack snickered, "Now then...be a good boy and take yer "punishment" like a man."

According to legend, Ryan's scream that day could be heard all the way in Ponyville...

Well it doesn't take a genius to figure out how that little event ended. Needless to say the gals got their fill of kissing and then some, leaving Ryan a blushing, stunned mess for quite a while. When he finally snapped out of it, they said their goodbyes to the Princesses before finally returning home to celebrate with their family and loved ones back in Ponyville. The rest of the year seemed to fly by in a rush, with the last day of the year coming upon them quickly. Ryan was rather curious to see how they celebrated New Year's Eve in Equestria and, like the previous holidays, saw that the similarities were intriguing. While they didn't watch a giant ball drop—instead it was an apple of all things, though he figured that was a Ponyville thing—there was still partying as usual with good food, lots of delicious cider and other beverages, and basically just ponies having a hell of a good time. Said good time was exactly why Ryan was where he was, surrounded by slightly inebriated ponies who were pleading over and over with him over something.

"Please~?"

Ryan sighed, looking over his ladies before nodding his head, "Fine."

With that Dashie happily dropped the brush in his hand before getting settled in her lap, "I don't know why you're so against this Rys—"She snickered softly"—after all, I do recall you being an avid fan of brushie-brushie time."

Ryan paused in his brushing momentarily to glare at Rainbow before continuing on, grumbling all the while about mares and their unfair use of what he likes against him. Twilight slowly stumbled over to Ryan—showing clear signs she'd had just a bit too much cider—before gently nipping his ear, "Oh shhhh, ya know you love the attention."

"Gah!" His face flushed bright red as he accidentally yanked the brush through Dashie's mane, "Oh God! I'm sorry Dashie."

Rainbow Dash cried out before sighing, "Sheesh, not so rough Ryan...not in front of the others anyway."

"Guh!"

Rainbow looked over her shoulder, quite pleased to see Ryan speechless at her reaction. Giggling drunkenly she cleared her throat, "Ahem! Someone is slacking on their brushie-brushie time."

'You heard the lady.'

"...shut up Dark. Not helping." Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself, finishing up Rainbow's mane, "There...such a lovely looking damsel you make when we untangle that messy mop of yers."

Rainbow rolled her eyes before making room for someone else, "...I'm no damsel...but that's still sweet of you."

And that's how the early hours of the new year rolled along for Ryan, one pony after another getting their brushie-brushie time before falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Having finished all of them at last, he looked at the six mares happily sleeping in various spots of the barn and gave a nod.

'...ya know, we should really think about building a proper house for all of us.'

Ryan had to wonder just where that came from, 'A proper house? Don't we all have one?'

'Well sure, I suppose so...but if you and these lovely ladies are gonna be close, wouldn't ya want to be with them in one central place?'

'...why is it with stuff like this you always make logical points?' Ryan shook his head in a huff, 'I mean, ever since things just sort of snowballed into this it does seem a bit bad that Apps tends to get me more often. Of course...that's because we haven't exactly told everypony what's up yet.'

'This is true...oh God, I wonder how Shining is gonna take this? Or their parents at that....what about Apps' parents?'

'Ah don't know...ah mean, it was kind of Apps' idea to begin with and, well, her parents were pretty laid-back about me so...' Ryan looked at AppleJack's sleeping form and smiled, 'I can tell she's a bit hesitant to be more open about it. I wonder how Granny and Big Mac will react?'

'Well, this is how I see it...'

'Oh this is gonna be rich.'

Dark grumbled, 'Bite me. Anyway, why worry about it? It'll have to come out into the open eventually anyhow so we'll just deal with it then!'

'...again, the clarity from you regarding something like this is just mind-blowing.' Ryan rolled his eyes before settling down with his gals, 'Oh well, whatever. I just wish ya could be this clear with everything else.'

Dark let out a growly laugh, 'Oh come now, where would the fun be in doing that? Anyway, Happy New Year, Ryan. Good night.'

'Yeah, yeah...Happy New Year ya dork.'

"Here I come!" Ryan roared as he charged towards Spike, Malus Domestica's twin selves glistening in the bright winter sun.

Spike readied himself, his newly acquired gauntlets glimmering as he settled his stance. Watching Ryan close the distance and bring his swords to bear, he threw his hands up to catch Ryan's attack, both weapons colliding with a loud clank! Metal grinded against metal as Spike's arms shook, doing all he could to hold back the force of Ryan's attack. Eventually he felt his legs buckle and so he readied a burst of flame that forced Ryan to jump back; while he was dodging Spike closed the distance and headbutted him right in the gut. Groaning at that Ryan twisted around and elbowed his little bro before he had a chance to land. Spike yelled as he flew through the air before skidding to a stop on the snow.

"Huff, huff....you've gotten quite better." Ryan tried to catch his breath, "I'm proud of that."

Spike chuckled softly as he pulled himself off the ground, "Well, your Hearth's Warming present for me probably is helping out. What made you think of gauntlets anyway?"

"Well, you already had the claws so it seemed like a perfect fit for one that would fight with their fists." Ryan took a deep breath to steady himself, "And of course, after a few modifications thanks to our mutual time and space altering friend, they're as...uhm..."

'Enchanted?'

"Ah! Yes! I reckon that would work Darky! In short, they are as enchanted as Malus Domestica here." Ryan chuckled softly before snapping his fingers and donning his wings, "Now then...shall we step it up?"

Spike cracked his knuckles and neck before nodding, "Very well...I want to see just how hard I can push myself! Let's go!"

And so sword clashed with gauntlet, spell traded off against fireball, and even head against head as the two of them sparred intensely with one another. After dive-bombing Spike and backing him into a corner, Ryan was coming in for the final strike. Thinking quickly, Spike set his gauntlets ablaze with his own flames before Ryan was upon him. Using one flaming gauntlet to deflect his swords, he used the other to land a direct blow to Ryan's face which caught him totally by surprise. Grunting in anguish at the unexpected pain, Ryan rolled in the direction he was punched before landing on his back and grabbing his cheek.

"Ryan!" Spike ran over to his big bro's writhing body, "Oh man, oh jeez....I just reacted without thinking! I'm so sorry!"

Ryan removed his hand to show his cheek was only slightly singed thanks to some quick thinking, "It's okay little bro. Heh, sparring can have it's mishaps but nothing that a little magic can't fix. Besides, don't you remember what Dark said?'

Spike tapped his chin before smirking, "Oh yeah! When I turn up the heat, prepare for a burn so bad even Trollestia would go DAMN!"

'Damn straight! You're turning into a proper hero now, Spike.'

"And now I won't just have to stand idly by while my friends are in danger." Spike blew out his gauntlets before pulling them off, "I still don't get what the Doctor did to make them so stretchy like that but it's weird. Metal should not move like that."

"And you act as if I should be able to split a sword into three, channel the strength of mah friends through it, and then cultivate a massive apple tree to entomb mah foes." Ryan laughed loudly at how silly it sounded out-loud, "And that's not even counting all the new stuff I've been working on in mah spare time. Seriously, while I never hope to have to use them, if a moment ever comes up where we have to fight for real you are going to see some fireworks mah dear dragon!"

"Heh, well hopefully I'll be there to witness it then if you're building it up so much." Spike shook his head, "Leave it to you to be the only person that could outmatch Rainbow Dash in building up your own egos."

"Hey! I take offense to that! I'm merely excited at how well we..." Ryan watched as Spike began to sway oddly, "Little dude, you okay?"

"Huh? Well I...my back feels weird is all. In fact, ever since I punched you I've felt a little off." Spike put a hand to his head, "My head's hurting now...I...don't feel...so good..."

"SPIKE!" Ryan gasped as he collapsed, "Oh shit! This isn't good!"

Knowing he had to get him to a hospital or something, he quickly and carefully scooped up his little brother before flying as fast as he could back to town. Leaving a whirlwind in his wake, he slid to a stop inside the hospital entrance before rushing over to the front desk, "Nurse Redheart! Help! We were sparring and then he started feeling weird—something about his back—and then..."

"Hold on hold on!" Nurse Redheart put a hoof up to silence him, "Calm down! We'll get a stretcher but calmly tell me what happened, Ryan."

Taking a deep breath, Ryan composed himself as the nurses took Spike from him and then down the hall. After that he explained exactly what he and Spike had been up to before he collapsed before feeling drained himself. Nurse Redheart jotted down what she felt was important before smiling at him, "Don't worry, we'll do what we can. Until we're sure we have him stable I'm afraid you'll have to wait here."

"It's okay, I understand. I should probably go get Twilight and the others...I'll be back."

And like that he was off in a flash to go collect T-Sparks and the others as fast as he could...

Twenty minutes later he'd rounded everypony up as Twilight continued to give him a hard time over letting something happen to Spike, "You said you'd keep him safe!"

"I did! He's the one that hit me before starting to feel all weird." Ryan felt so frustrated and was nearly brought to tears by it, "I only wanted to help mah little bro feel more capable...dammit! I'd bet anythin' this has to do with that injury he got from trying to fight Disky! I'll...."

'Ryan...breathe.'

Unclenching his fists, Ryan took his mental partner's advice and took a deep, cleansing breathe to relax his mind. Turning to Twilight he frowned, "I'm sorry...it's just..."

"No, no...you couldn't have foreseen something like this." Twilight shook her head, "I shouldn't be yelling at you. I should be hoping Spike is okay."

"I know but if I hadn't agreed to train him..."

"You only wanted to help him out..."

"Yes but..."

"I know Ryan so..."

"Don't worry, it'll be okay..."

"You're right, he's tough. Thanks Ryan."

"No problem mah little bookworm."

"Awwww...and now kiss."

Ryan and Twilight both turned to Pinkie Pie with amused expressions, the likes of which the pink mare returned whilst giggling....before widening her eyes when they did just that. Now it was everypony's turn to giggle as that silly little moment was just what they needed to dissolve the tension.

"Tarnation...it's always an adventure when it comes to us." AppleJack chuckled, "I just hope the little fellah's okay...did Nurse Redheart give you any indication of when he might be better?"

Ryan simply shook his head, "No. All we can do now is wait ladies...and hope."

"I can hope." Fluttershy gently nuzzled Ryan's side, "Hoping is what gets ponies through the toughest of times right?"

"Exactly." Ryan gently ruffled her mane, "So then..."

With that he sat down, the others around him as they waited patiently as time ticked slowly by. One hour became two, two became four, and eventually it was evening before they finally heard some good news from Redheart. Well, it was as good a news they could hope for anyway as she explained while he was stable, they had no idea what brought about his fainting spell...or the change.

"Change? What change?"

"Well Ms. Sparkle, it would appear that Spike has gone through a metamorphosis of some kind and, well....perhaps it's just best if you come with me to see him." Nurse Redheart led them down the hallway, "He's still asleep, so do be quiet."

Once they came upon his room, they could see exactly what she'd been talking about. Though Spike looked pretty much the same there were a few key differences from how he was beforehand. Namely he now had a pair of wings growing out of his back, he seemed slightly taller, and his scales certainly seemed to look more rugged.

"What in tarnation happened to him?"

'I'm not sure AppleJack. Spike looks like he went and leveled up on us.'

Twilight scrunched her face as she looked her little brother over, "It isn't unheard of for dragons to have changes. I mean, I knew he'd eventually start changing at some point but...from the species he was I didn't think he'd grow wings."

"We all remember what his grown up form looked like after that awful incident involving his birthday." Rarity shook her head, "So if that was a sign of what he'd look like grown up, then why is Spikey-Wikey suddenly sprouting wings?"

"It's because of what Discord did, I know it."

Rainbow Dash glanced at Ryan and raised her eyebrow, "What? What are you talking about?"

"Don't ya remember Dashie? How after our fight and y'all returned us to the castle that Spike collapsed a day later?"

"That's right!" Rainbow heard Nurse Redheart shush her as she walked by, "...sorry. Anyway, are you saying whatever happened to him then might be the cause of this?"

Ryan shrugged, "Maybe. I'm no expert on dragons by any stretch, but seeing as the doctors that patched him up had no idea how it might affect him it seems logical. Add that to our sparring and how well he's been improving and it might just have sparked some kind of change early. All I know is...I hope he wakes up soon."

Sharing his sentiment, the others waited with Spike as long as they were allowed until Nurse Redheart informed them visiting hours were over. Despite his insistence he stay with him, Ryan couldn't convince Redheart otherwise and so he simply nodded before walking out with the ladies, "I doubt I can do much sleeping right now..."

"I hear ya Apple Ryder. We're too worried about the little guy too."

'What a way to start the new year huh?'

"Yeah, it's pretty somber." Twilight sighed, "...would you all like to come to the library? I could make some tea and we could talk since it seems none of us seem all that eager to sleep."

'I think that's a sound idea Twi. I'm sure that's exactly what our little herd needs to calm the mind.'

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Really, Dark? Really? Our herd?"

'Well, that's the correct vernacular for our specific situation is it not?'

"I...again, the logic over the weirdest stuff." Ryan shook his head before laughing, "Sure, fine, our herd then. Come on ladies, to the library."

Well sure enough they were able to get some rest that night but still Spike slept, no doubt his body trying to adjust to all the new changes it had rapidly undergone. About a week had passed as they now made their way further into Januwary and still Spike had not come around. They tried to keep on with life as usual, doing what they had to as each day came and went but they could feel the strain it put having their little buddy out of commission. It would be another week before he finally came around while Twilight and Ryan were visiting and just sitting with him. Twilight was resting in his lap as they watched their little brother laying there and were startled out of their slightly napping state by a groan emanating from Spike. Spike let out another one before opening his eyes and coughing, "Ugh...what happened? I feel like I got into a fight with an Ursa Major before being tossed into a barrel full of glass shards."

"SPIKE!"

Spike gasped as both Ryan and Twilight tackled him, taking him into a group hug, "Sheesh, what gives? Wait...why am I in a hospital?"

"Well..."

Quickly catching Spike up to speed on what happened over two weeks ago, he simply glanced at his slightly altered body and gave a shrug. He laughed softly before smirking, "Well, this certainly is unexpected...guess I have to learn how to fly now, huh?"

"Hahaha...I don't think you'll have a shortage of teachers." Ryan laughed as he patted his back, "I'm just glad yer finally awake again."

'Yeah! Do ya know how boring it is without our little buddy around to be all sarcastic with us?'

"Heh, nice to see you again too Dark."

It didn't take long for the others to find out he was doing well again and they were more than happy to see Spike up and about after just one more day in the hospital. Though he wanted to jump right in to it, Twilight was insistent he take his time to build back his strength. Ryan backed her up on this, saying that as both his sensei and—more importantly—big brother he couldn't let Spike just go back to full-speed like that.

"After all, nothing good comes of pushing yer body too hard for too long. Just like all things in life, moderation is key." He had explained, "So no training of any kind till yer fully adjusted."

Realizing he wasn't going to win this one, Spike acquiesced to their decision and spent a full week just doing his normal responsibilities— keeping Twilight from going crazy, being sarcastic with Ryan and Dark, all those good things—in order to get used to the configuration his body now took.

And for a time things were calm, the snow fading slightly as winter rolled on and everypony went about their days in peace. That all changed, of course, with the arrival of a letter one day from Princess Celestia...

"What?!"

Ryan, AppleJack, and Rarity could hear the shouting from clear across Ponyville and immediately took off in the direction it had come from. They weren't surprised when they heard more irritated sounds before they came to a halt just outside Twilight's house.

"What in tarnation is wrong this time Ah wonder?"

"I'm not sure darling, but Twilight certainly sounds angry, doesn't she?"

"I agree Rares, let's go find out what's up." Ryan went to knock on the door but stopped and just opened it anyway...before getting a book to the face, "Oh Luna dammit! Every time it's something!"

Rarity gently nuzzled his side, "There there dear, relax and breathe. Are you okay?"

He sighed before nodding, "Yeah, yeah...just kind of getting sick of always opening T-Spark's door and getting hurt somehow."

Finally stepping in, he could see Spike cowering behind the couch while Twilight was floating in mid-air looking quite perturbed. Heaving a sigh and daring to step closer, Ryan cleared his throat before calling out to her, "T-Sparks? Honey? Is something the matter? You seem a tad bit upset."

Twilight slowly shifted in the air to stare at Ryan, "Upset? UPSET? Oh no, this isn't me upset! This is me livid!"

Ryan rolled his eyes before sighing again, "And what, may I ask, has mah bookworm so perturbed?"

Twilight said nothing as her eyes landed on a rolled up scroll sitting on the floor; staring at it she looked at Ryan again before motioning towards it. Curious as to what could possibly have been written to stir her up so much, Ryan bent down to pick it up and then unrolled it to read what was on it. As he read over the message it became clear to him why Twilight would be a little upset, "Hmmm, Ah see..."

"Well darling, don't leave us out of the loop. What's it say?"

"I can see why our dear friend here would have reason to be upset but let's wait a few moments; I have a feeling the others in our group will show up any minute and I don't feel like explainin' twice."

AppleJack shrugged but figured that would work, "Well, okay...but perhaps we can do something ta calm Twi down while we wait? She looks like Ah could roast marshmallows over her hair she's so worked up."

'...she's got a point. Go work our charm and calm that tweaked out mare of ours.'

"Dark, I just..." Ryan sighed as he walked over to Twilight, "T-Sparks, would you kindly take a deep breath please?"

"What? How can I do that after reading what's in that letter? I mean, it's bad enough that..."

Ryan reached over and gently wrapped his arm around her neck before staring her in the eyes, "T-Sparks. Breathe. Now."

Twilight froze up at that before taking a deep, calming breath and letting herself relax. Removing his hand as she slowly settled back down on the floor, he crouched down to kiss her cheek, "See? Don't you feel better mah dear?"

"...yes. Perhaps I did overreact just a little." Twilight sheepishly tapped her hoof, "Thanks for helping me chill out."

"Not a problem." Ryan smirked before bowing, "After all, a gentleman must always be ready to assist his ladies when they are troubled. What kind of stallion would I be if I didn't?"

Rarity giggled, "Oh my...he's always so smooth isn't he?"

"Yeah, smooth...that's what we'll go with." AppleJack laughed, "Although Ah must admit it is nice having somepony around that can help tame Twi when she gets into one of her fits."

"Hey!" Twilight grumbled as she stuck her tongue out.

'Now now ladies...no fighting. At least, not without a pool of gelatin...preferably grape-flavored.'

If Ryan could have, he'd probably have rolled his eyes inward to join the others in the room in their staring at Dark after his comment. As it was they just had to settle with the uncomfortable silence it had brought...at least until the others finally showed up.

"Oh thank Celestia, something to take away from that moment." Twilight sighed, "Well, now that the others are here perhaps it's time to explain things. If the gentleman would be so kind."

"Very well then." Ryan pulled out the letter and began to read, "Dear Twilight Sparkle...."

One short reading later...

"Okay, so we're being called to help with a wedding." Rainbow looked at the others, "That's simple enough...but I guess what got Twi so tweaked was that it's her brother's wedding?"

"Exactamundo Dashie!" Pinkie nodded her head so fast it seemed her mane might fly off, "Such a naughty big brother keeping a secret like this from his sister. We'll just have to have some fun to teach him a lesson!"

"...uhm, that's probably not a good idea Pinks." Ryan laughed softly, "Good on Shining though! He's a pretty awesome guy so I'm happy fer mah friend."

"But! Using a letter to tell me is just..." Twilight was on the verge of breaking again until Ryan started scratching her ears, "Ooooh! Okay, okay. I won't freak out Ryan....I didn't say stop though."

Ryan laughed heartily at that, keeping his scratching up for a few moments before finally stopping.

"S-so then the Princess wants us to come help prepare? When do we leave?"

Spike looked over the letter, "According to this Fluttershy, she wants us there tomorrow afternoon. Strange though, since she knows we'll be using our usual method of arrival, she says to appear outside the castle."

'That sounds peculiar. Do you think something odd is going on that she doesn't want to discuss unless we're there?'

"Yer guess is as good as ours Darkness. Either way it looks like we've got some preparing ta do."

"Apps is right y'all; the wedding isn't for another three days so make sure to pack appropriately." Ryan looked at his herd, "Hmmm...."

"What's turning through your head Ryan? I can hear the gears turning from her darling."

"I just had a thought...but it's not important right now. Now come on mah little ponies, we've got packing to do."

With that everypony there headed off to get ready...but Ryan felt a tug on his jacket and turned to see Twilight holding him back, "What's up T-Sparks? Bit fer yer thoughts?"

"Oh...it's just...well...I was wondering if you knew why Shining wouldn't tell me he was getting married until just beforehand like this? You know, being a big brother yourself and all."

Ryan twitched his nose in thought for a moment or two before snapping his fingers, "If it was anythin', Ah reckon he's probably been busy with whatever seems to be up at the castle. He is the head of the Royal Guard after all, so I can't imagine he'd have a lot of free time if trouble was possibly brewing."

Twilight nodded in response, "That does sound like something that could've happened...and I know what you were thinking about earlier."

"Huh?"

"When Rarity asked what you were thinking about...you're wondering how Shining might take the news of us all, uhm, being in a relationship."

Ryan laughed sheepishly, "Read me that easy eh mah bookworm?"

"Yeah but...I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think he'd react badly. Surprised, definitely, but he's met you enough to know you and what kind of person you are."

"Yeah...we've been lucky enough ta keep it under wraps as well as we have but it won't stay secret forever. In all honesty, I'm surprised more people haven't found out about it by now. Heh, especially Big Mac and Granny." Ryan tapped his chin, "Unless...they already know. Would they not say anything if they did? Hmmm..."

"Careful...now you're the one over-thinking things."

"Brat." Ryan stuck his tongue out at Twilight, "You feel better now?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"Heh." Ryan took her hoof and kissed it softly, "Anything for mah lady."

The next morning Ryan and the others had gathered together before their trip back to Canterlot once again. Making sure they had what they needed and that everypony was ready, Ryan and Twilight did their thing and with a bing-bang-zam they teleported to the outskirts of the town...and then promptly gawked at the large energy barrier that seemed to surround it.

'So...I think our theory that something is up is pretty spot on.'

"At least that explains why the Princess wanted us to arrive where we did." Spike hefted up his bag, "Well, let's not waste any time. I'm sure there's a lot to do...being a wedding and all."

"Right! And then we can talk to mah big brother and find out what the deal is." Twilight nodded, following along with her friends.

"Exactly....and hopefully avoid any hijinx at that." Ryan shrugged before laughing, "Of course, it is us so...I doubt that'll happen."

Having finally made it to the what appeared to be a checkpoint of sorts, the guards there greeted them all before asking that they please allow themselves to be searched before entering. Everything went well enough as they went along with it, knowing that it was probably a precaution against whatever threat was lurking in the shadows. Or rather, it went smoothly enough until they got to Ryan, "Sir, I must request you check your weapon."

"Look, I'm not parting with Malus Domestica. She's mah partner and she's staying with me."

"Sir, we cannot let you in unless you check it. It's a precaution all who enter must take."

"And Ah already told ya, it ain't going anywhere. I'm not gonna be left naked if something hits the fan...I will not leave mahself unable to protect mah loved ones."

The guard sighed, "Sir, while I can understand and sympathize with your thoughts, I cannot allow you access unless you check your sword with us."

"This is ridiculous...next you'll be wanting mah wand too."

"Actually..."

"What in the name of our Celestia is the hold-up here? Oh. Of course it's you."

"Funny Swift Cut, funny. Now could ya please tell yer men to quit hassling me. Y'all have never had a problem with me carrying mah sword and wand with me before...so why the change?"

Swift Cut wore a grim look as he walked over, "I cannot explain yet, but something is up and thus we needed to increase our security. We aren't sure what is being planned, but we have to be on our A-game with this one."

"Then ya know if things hit the fan, that I need to keep those nearby." Ryan looked at him with the same determined look, "I may not be as strong as y'all in the same aspects, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna allow mahself to go in unequipped and unable to protect people should the need arise."

Swift Cut continued his stare down with Ryan for a few minutes, the atmosphere tense as neither one backed down despite knowing the other had their valid points. After a few more silent moments Swift Cut sighed before nodding, "Fine. I know when I can't win. Heh, you're ballsy human. I like that. Now hurry along, the Captain and the Princesses are awaiting your arrival."

"Thanks Swift Cut. I appreciate it. You're a tough old dog yerself, so don't let anypony say otherwise."

With that Ryan and his friends continued on their way into the castle, leaving the younger soldiers to look at Swift Cut with worried stares. Sensing his men's anxiety, he flashed them a grin, "Relax men. That human might be a lot of things, but an enemy or spy is certainly not one of them. Too bad he's not a pony, he'd make a hell of a Royal Guard. Heh, knowing him though he'd prefer to go it solo and be the vigilante hero. I just hope nothing does happen...and things can flow smoothly for once."

Having dropped their bags off in their room, they group hurried to the backyard gardens as directed to meet up with Celestia, Luna, Shining and whoever his mysterious bride was.

"Do you think it's somepony we know?"

Twilight gave a shrug, "I don't know Rainbow. The odds aren't exactly high on that one but I suppose it's possible."

"Oh I bet it's somepony gorgeous. After all, Shining is a total gentleman so I have no doubt he would find his perfect match." Rarity sighed dreamily before leaning on Ryan, "Much like our dear human has done with us, it would seem those gentlemanly ways of Shining's also snagged a winner."

Ryan's cheeks flushed as Rarity's batted her eyes at him, causing him to lose his voice for a moment or two. When he finally did regain it he shook his head before leaning down to nip at Rarity's ear, "Simmer down mah marshmallow. No sense making me go mute from all the lovey-dovey stuff—"He winked at her"—save that for later when I don't really need to talk."

"Oooooooooh! Heh! Rarity's blushing so much her whole body's turning pink!" Pinkie giggled before rushing to her side, "Look! If I had a horn and made my hair all fancy-wancy like hers, Rarity and I could totally pass for twinsies!"

Spike simply rolled his eyes, "I think one Pinkie is more than enough. I'm pretty sure we couldn't handle two...uh, no offense Pinkie."

"Oh that's okay Spike! Can you imagine two of me? Oh! Or like four! I could get so many sweets made and—"

Ryan placed his hand over her mouth, "Quiet voices Pinks, we're just about there."

Pinkie nodded and so the group readied themselves as they soon saw Celestia and Luna sitting in the distance at a table with Shining and a pale cerise colored mare with a tri-color mane, the latter of which had her back to them. Twilight held back for a moment eyeing her, "I imagine that's the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza mentioned in the letter...strange. Something about her strikes me as very familiar. I wonder why?"

"Well, come on. Don't just stand there wonderin' sugarcube." AppleJack nudged her to keep her walking, "Might as well go ahead and get the greeting over with so we can get over this awkwardness yer havin'!"

Twilight gasped, "I am not being awkward!"

Ryan rolled his eyes, seeing that her little outburst had caught Luna and Celestia's attention. Giving a smile and wave, he could only hope things wouldn't get more crazy...especially when, not if, he had to explain how he and Twilight were linked as more than friends to Shining.

'That'll be such a fun talk.'

'Shut it, Darkness...'

"Twily! You finally made it! And all your friends too! That's great!" Shining Armor ran over to hug his sister, "I'm glad you came on such short notice. We would've invited you sooner but things have been pretty busy here lately."

"...well, I was a little upset to find out this way but Ryan helped assure me there had to have been some reason I was finding out so late."

Shining smirked, "Oh he did? Heh, perhaps I should be thanking him for getting some pressure off my back."

"Always nice to get some praise from the captain of the Royal Guard but hey, we're friends so of course I'll help keep T-Sparks from going crazy if'n I can." Ryan laughed softly, "But for now...aren't ya gonna introduce us to this gal of yers that so captured yer heart?"

"Of course, where are my manners?" Shining Armor stepped over to and motioned towards the cerise pony, "May I present to you my bride to be: Princess Cadance."

"Dear, I told you that my title is Princess Mi Amore—"

Cadance cut herself off after she turned around and caught sight of Ryan, her eyes widening in what appeared to be shock—and...fear?—before she fell off of her chair and on to the ground.

Ryan simply shared the same confused look as the others as they looked on. Unsure as to the reason for her reaction, he simply shrugged, "...heh, Ah guess I'm just too awesome for mah own good. Sorry about that."

Author's Note:

Oh man, another big one but I finally got it proofread and up like Ah said I would.
It's not as quickly as I would've wanted, but with mah new job I don't have as much free time to write as I did so it'll be slow for a while.
The good news is that I know how this next plot is going to go down and so when I do get to write I shouldn't have any blockage issues. Ah'm pretty eager to write it so I might put a bit more effort into trying to work out any free time I can during the week.
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the silliness of wrapping up Hearth's Warming and the holidays before moving to the arrival of a certain queen.
Finally! The time is coming for more questions and more action! Time to really make that DSSA™ shine!

Comments

[Kaosu]

Mwehehehe, seems widdle Chrissy knows that there's a huge spanner in the works now... I do hope things will go better than they did with DIscord, maybe even for her...

[John Johny Johnson]

An amusing chapter, as ever, Dark!
Such good quality text AND in such quantity? You DO spoil your fans, Darkness, you charming rascal you!
*Stamps seal*

Heh heh...'Plot to come'...

[Darkness Shade]

Oh man, so much comments again. Sorry it took so long to reply to these, but that new job of mine doesn't leave much time during the week so...anyway, let's dive in shall we?

3410854
First off, excellent use of the word spanner; top-notch!
Hahaha, yes, Chrissy has certainly been caught off-guard by the fact that a human of all things happens to be connected to the party now. How will she react to this fact, Ah wonder? Oh wait, Ah don't have to since Ah'm writing it.
Suffice to say Ah have plans for her just like Ah still have plans for Disky...the next chapter should turn out to be pretty good. I am a fan of Chrysalis, so let that speak for what Ah might possibly do....for this chapter and beyond.

3412624
Thank you J³. It's always great to hear praise from our adoring fans.
Indeed! And such wonderful compliments. Hahaha. *bows and smirks* Ah do try mah best after all; never let it be said Darkness Shade does not put out quality work and effort! The DSSA™ is a proud stamp!
....haha, yes, yes...let's all have another round of chuckles at mah unintended joke.
Plot to come...sheesh.
But that's always been mah way when it comes to writing: it might take longer for updates to come out, but the chapter's length is always appropriate for the time taken. That way when Ah do update, it's quite the event!

3414137
This is my story we're talking about, when hasn't comedy been involved?
It's even got that big tag under the title declaring hijinx will be within so don't ya worry for a second that Ah won't be making some awful, awful puns...as well as a few references. Ah've already been thinking up a few since last weekend that Ah can't wait to put to written words in the story. When used in conjunction with those new moves Ryan noted he'd been working on in the current chapter it will just scream cheesy action hero comedy!
Oooooh, I so wanna say one of mah lines as a teaser but I will control mahself. It will give it just that more punch when its read where it belongs!

Anyway y'all, Ah did some writing this morning and got about two more pages done which gets us into the proper preparations for things...still trying ta think of one or two things I can add in to expand upon the chapter but just replying here has given me some ideas so Ah think I may know what those will be now. You may know of the wedding and Chrissy already from the show's events, but that's not to say things will play out exactly the same....for if life has taught us anything, it's that even a single change can forever alter the path life would've taken.
Oooooh, how cryptic!

[Darkness Shade]

3450459
Ah yes, the whole bit with Ryan being so loopy off the anesthesia that even Dark was wacky as all get out.
Those fluffy unicorns and their all being pink and stuff while dancing upon rainbows.

Ah'm glad ya liked the reference and are enjoying reading through it. It just gets better, Ah promise, so keep on reading and thanks for commentin'!

[Hawkx1]

I wonder if Crissy knows that Ryan deafted the Lord of Chaos

[Darkness Shade]

3457640
Hahaha, oh heavens.
While Ah won't say exactly why she had the kind of freak out that she did (the next chapter will obviously explain it), Ah suppose it is somewhat true that Ryan did lay the smack down on Disky. While he wasn't technically the one to finish him off—the gals with their Elements still had to turn him back ta stone after all—Ah'm sure he'll still prove ta be a bit of a handful for everypony's favorite insect queen.

...Ah should probably make a blog post updating the situation. Ah'ma do that now but thanks fer commentin'. Good to hear so much exciting...buzz over finally gettin' to the wedding.

[Darkness Shade]

3469136
Hahaha, yeah, that's kind of the joke that there's only her so of course the statement is true.

...that we know of anyway. Who knows if they'll ever introduce another Changeling queen at some point or not either in the show or the comic?

[Darkness Shade]

3468071
While your avatar certainly fits well with the, to be honest, rude and somewhat demeaning tone of your statements I'm not quite sure what it is your hammering at specifically.

While I do thank you for noting the effort I do put in to my grammar and spelling to ensure that nothing off-putting is there to affect any readers, how can you tell from just the first chapter—which is basically the beginning of the story—that there is no emotion and hence no soul in this?
There are countless stories—both professional and otherwise—where the story slowly builds up. It doesn't just throw everything at you in the first chapter and in most cases, they use the first few chapters to build ground-work. You know, characters and descriptions, laying the foundation of the situation, things beginning, and the occassional hint at the over-arcing plot here and there for foreshadowing and all that good literary stuff.

In fact, some stories that I've read don't really get into anything heavy until nearly ten chapters in.
Does this make them bad? No, it just means the author wants to keep most cards out of play until everything is set and things are ready to be slowly revealed. And that's how I've always written; I don't just give the readers everything in the first chapter or two so that they're satisfied right away. As I've noted before in other replies to others that have commented, I like to set the stage and then reveal things over time to help build up the characters, using moments here and there to flesh them out and show parts of them that aren't always visible.

The only thing I can think of is that you might feel there is no emotion because Ryan is rolling with things instead of devolving into a weepy, pile of messy tears at being away from his world and his family. Without giving too much away about things later revealed if you do decide to continue reading, he's not one to focus on things out of his control. As long as a situation seems safe, he lets his mind focus more on the most important things in the moment. In this case, since the ponies are being friendly towards him as they most likely would be to anyone new in their land based on what we've seen in the show, he can let his mind tuck away thoughts that aren't productive and focus on learning about this land he's found himself in and the curious inhabitants as well.

I suppose that's a pet peeve of mine with HiE stories I read where a human—a highly adaptable creature mind you—becomes suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed with emotion to the point where he becomes a crying child lost in sorrow.
While there's no way to imagine such a scenario unless you've experienced it, I don't think a lot of people would get lost in the misery. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic in the outlook of humanity, but I feel that more often than not in a case like this a person would be able to focus and hide the hurt as long as they aren't alone.
...which is exactly the case in this story with Ryan.

The later chapters, they start to build after the readers have a chance to understand the situation and a bit more background of the version of Equestria I used here as well as the kind of person Ryan is and how he interacts with others. By that point, there have been hints here and there that those paying attention will see shows some of the chinks in his armor so to speak as he deals with living in his new home and how the others help him through these weak points as their relationships grow and flourish.

So, as I tell those with comments similar to yours, I can't make you keep reading but hopefully you will and give it a chance to build upon itself before dismissing it outright. As always, I love getting comments to reply to and by commenting that does show my story had enough impact on you that you had to put words to it. And that's why people write, to get the reader to react, to emote, to think and to comment on what they've read and how they see things.

While my first chapters may be slow, I think in the long run a process of writing where the reader is rewarded with further developments the more they read is better than something where every fact under the sun is doled out in the first chapter or two. Pacing is important to flow and perhaps that's the issue here: a lack of patience in people nowadays with our instant gratification society. While this is in no means directed towards you, it is a thought that commentors have brought to my mind over the last ten plus years I've been writing.

But I digress...
As always, thanks for taking the time to comment and speak yer mind even if your tone wasn't exactly the best. I always welcome comments and the invitation to an intelligent dialogue and the chance to interact with those that give my story a look. Most people don't reply to my replies of comments like yours, but even if ya don't, I hope ya have a great day/night/whichever it is and thanks for reading!

[JXWheeler]

Poor Spike, losing out on Rarity due to the herd.