A Broken Warrior

by Stonehearth

Taking Flight

The four friends stood on the deck of the Wind Waker as it lowered toward Eques, parting the clouds. Trottingham was finally in view. They'd have quite a bit of time to explore it, since it was before noon. The town was right on the shore of the Griffith Isles, and was Equestia's furthest territory. He did some research on Trottingham, and was a bit interested with the place. Like Ponyville, the place was founded by Earth Ponies, so they were the majority. At the same time, they get many foreigners due to the city having one of the best agricultural Colleges.

Trottingham also has a strong mining and raw materials sector, generating a sizable amount of Equestria's coal and metals. The artisans here were in a league of their own. Honestly, they'd probably be better than him if any of the local smithy's would let him visit. They manage their forests quite well for timber harvesting as well, but that was a smaller section. What interested him the most was that due to them being so close to Griffonstone, it wasn't uncommon to see a griffon here or there, nor was it uncommon to find fisher mares and stallions. He should stop by the market.

But that was for later. Skystrike yawned. "Thanks for letting me get some sleep in, I really needed that."

Elytra nodded as she turned into Stardust. "No problem. But uh, quick question... is this ship legal?"

"Well no, but technically yes."

Stardust almost fell over. "The buck does that mean!?"

"No laws were made against the Wind Waker yet. The technology I made for this ship is at minimum decades ahead of what these ponies have. Because of that, I can do things that'll probably be illegal when the times catch up."

Tethys snickered. "Skystrike, you're a trip."

Skystrike crouched down and turned back into a pony, spreading his wings slightly to catch the wind. "Is Zecora still sleeping?"

Stardust shook her head. "Well, she's on the toilet. She liked the meat we had, but her stomach isn't used to it."

"Ah, yeah, I guess that makes sense." Skystrike said as he put on his sweatshirt. "We'll wait for her before we land. They have two air docks at least... Tethys, can you hang out inside for a bit? Don't want things to go south the moment they see a dragon. Stardust, can you put on your guard armor? We can pass this off as official business."

She chuckled. "You think we can pull that off?"

"We can land no problem. But they're going to want to search the ship, especially since we're going across borders. They'll probably think we're smuggling some stuff."

Tethys stretched and folded in her wings. "And what's she going to do about it?"

"Explaining that we're traveling on official business, and that everything is confidential will take a lot of eyes off of us. Yes, I have a pardon from Celestia and Luna, but many would believe it forged unless an actual guards mare came with it." He patted Stardust on the head.

Stardust and Tethys looked at each other before shrugging and going to do as requested. Skystrike went back inside to the ship controls, slowing the Wind Waker to a stop. The ponies at the dock were scrambling at the sudden arrival. After a few minutes passed, two pegasus guards flew up to greet them. There was no reason to differentiate the two, as their enchanted armor made both of them have white coats and blue mane and tails. The two stallions landed an the ship deck in front of him.

"This is an unscheduled landing of an airship of unknown model and registration. If you wish to land, you must show your license, registration, and consent to a search of your ship, as well as answer some questions." The first guard spoke.

Skystrike reached into his saddlebag and handed them the license and registration. "Take your time to check over that. Not surprised you don't know the registration, since I got this about three months ago. As for the searching of this ship, I am on official business, and I cannot allow you to search the ship."

"Likely story." The second guard said. "Your name gets around, Nebula. I doubt the princesses would work with you, especially after everything you've done to the guard and Princess Cadenza."

Skystrike blinked at that. "Heh, well, wasn't expecting that, but I guess we're going down this route. I have a guards mare inside, Stardust is her name, probably heard of her since Celestia assigned her specifically to me a while ago, and she's getting the Royal Decree, signed by Celestia and Luna, that is allowing the safe travels of me and my companions while within Equestria's borders." Skystrike stood up straight as now wasn't the time to be lax. "As for your questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability without leaking any confidential information."

"Sure... Then I guess we'll wait for-" The two guards looked past Skystrike as the door to the interior creaked open. Stardust, clad in her armor, walked out with the decree in her hooves. She wordlessly handed the scroll to the guards, who eyed it suspiciously. "...Looks official... I don't know how a pony like you got his hooves on this-"

"Yo, Guard pony, I would recommend you think about how your words could be interpreted by another, as Stardust has to report to the literal highest authorities in this country." Skystrike cleared his throat. "Now, do you have any questions before I land this ship?"

The second guard grit his teeth, but then the first elbowed his colleague. "I apologize for my subordinates actions. I will continue with the questioning." He pulled out a pen and began writing on a clip board with his mouth. "How many occupants are on this ship?"

"Four."

"Of what make and model is this ship?"

"This is the same make and model as the Lavender Spirit, simply a different color scheme."

The first guard looked up at that. "And the armor? Were those commissioned by the government?"

Skystrike shook his head. "All custom made by yours truly, though it is classified on how it was made and installed. Same with the wings and armaments before you ask."

The guard continued writing. "And how long is your flight? I can do the calculations for how much it will cost to fuel up for the trip."

"No need, I already fuel up, and will have more than enough for my trip. Thank you for the offer though." Skystrike rolled his neck.

"Any other modifications to this vessel that I should be aware of?" The guard asked his final question.

"Not that I can legally tell you." Skystrike answered.

"Very well. I will give clearance to land soon. Be on the look out for the signal." The guard put away his pen and began to fly off, the second guard following behind.

Stardust followed Skystrike back into the bridge. "Skystrike, you're kinda an ass."

Skystrike sat down to steer with a smirk. "You are what you eat, Stardust." Stardust couldn't contain her laughter, even falling on a floor. Damn... wasn't even that funny. Skystrike noticed a pony with two beams of light in their hooves. Must be the marshal. In a few minutes, and the guidance of the marshal, Skystrike landed the Wind Waker and extended the boarding dock.

Stardust, Tethys, and Zecora were already waiting for him in their casual wear, save for Stardust. Skystrike noticed Zecora was shivering a bit. "You alright?"

Zecora nodded. "I'm alright, just not accustomed to this twist. In my homeland and Ponyville, warmth does persist."

Skystrike took off his sweatshirt and put it on Zecora. "It'll be a bit- a lot big on you, but it'll hold you until we get you a jacket."

Zecora's rolled up the sleeves so her hooves were making contact with the ground. "I hadn't grasped the size you wear, a fact that took me unaware."

"Aw, it's cute on you." Tethys picked Zecora up, making her hang like a ragdoll cat. "But thinking on it more, what would go well with you? Any ideas Skystrike?"

"What, am I the go to fashion guy?"

"Yeah." The three said.

"Ok I guess. Bomber jacket, easy." Skystrike said as he began walking down the ramp. "Didn't know I was so good at choosing clothing."

"You're the only one that wears clothes. And Tethys got her style from you." Stardust said. "You sure you'll be fine?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine. The main reason I wear shirts is because it'd look weird if I just wore pants." Skystrike turned back to look at her.

"And... why do you wear pants?"

"Stardust, you, and every other pony, zebra, griffon, changeling, whatever, are all eye height with my balls." Skystrike sighed. They all laughed a bit at his expense, finally making it off the ship and into the city. Of course, they got many stares from passerby, since the group is not one you'd see often. Alas, they were used to it. "So, we're here, and we don't have much to do, aside from a few beings we have to see. So we have a couple things we can do, sight see, find those you-know-whos, or what I'm most excited for, go to the open air bath houses."

Tethys flexed her wings. "Actually, we had some girl talk last night. We planned on going to get some stuff for... us girls. Why don't we meet back up at three here?"

"...I am mildly afraid to ask what girl stuff is, but sure, you three have fun. If I got time to myself, I'm gonna see what I can get myself into."

"The girl stuff will be a surprise! We shall leave it to you to surmise." Zecora put a hoof over her mouth in a shushing motion.

"...I feel as if I should be worried. But yeah, you three have fun."

---

Skystrike was walking through Trottingham alone. He didn't like how familiar it felt, but he wouldn't have to deal with it for long... He didn't realize how nice it was, having friends around him. For now, he just finished waiting in line for a hayburger. Even after all these years, it was still weird for him to eat hay. It was fried though, and the four he ordered were pretty good, didn't get tired of the taste even though he was on the second one. Maybe he'll visit again for the burgers.

He began to wonder what 'girl talk' was about. Skystrike wouldn't know, he isn't a girl... nor did he even realize ponies talk about gender specific things. Sure, he spends time with Spike, just the two boys, but there wasn't really 'boy talk', or maybe he did have it unintentionally. He guesses that's what it is, just personal stuff that you can only really share with those close? But why specify the gender? He was still confused as he took another bite of his burger while waiting at a stop light.

Ponies pulling wagons ran by as he waited. A filly with her mother began waiting next to him, the two talking with each other. Skystrike rolled his neck as he waited. The filly wasn't paying attention, pushing away from her mother and running around Skystrike, most likely thinking he was a light pole or something. Unexpectedly, the filly tripped and almost fell into the street. Skystrike nearly dropped his food as he put out a hoof to catch the kid.

The mother quickly picked up her child as she thanked him and they quickly crossed the street before going their separate ways. He felt good about the little deed he did, but he was still hungry. He sat down on a bench and finished his second burger, ignoring the stares he got from ponies walking by. Damn, this was the first time he wasn't busy doing anything... he hasn't felt like this since the group disbanded.

In hindsight, he regrets it, more so the way he left. In the night, no words spoken, just a memory to fade away. Skystrike couldn't begin to imagine how everyone else felt... Fuck, it wasn't the first time he up and left. But they just accepted him back so easily, as if it was just water under the bridge. He didn't deserve any of them. The best type of reaction he was expecting was the one from Moon dancer, but that was the worst of it... He should not be alone with his thoughts.

Anyway, he stopped by the post office, still writing those weekly letters to family and friends. Double checking the sending addresses, he mailed them to their respective destinations. He decided to go for a fly to take his mind off of the past. Skystrike noticed that the town was a bit similar to Ponyville. Sure, it was much, much bigger, and had more infrastructure, being decades older than when Ponyville was founded, but he imagined that this is what Ponyville would look like in the near future. A bustling market, a steady population, fun places to hang out.

But as he flew, something, or somepony caught his eye. Sitting on top of a ledge of a four story building was a mare. She had a grey coat and dark grey mane and tail. Being above her, he couldn't see many of her distinguishing features, but from her shaking, he could tell she was going through something. Skystrike had a bad feeling...

He flew in front of the mare, seeing her greyish mulberry eyes... full of tears. Her eyes went wide as Skystrike lowered himself in front of her, making the lady step back. He landed in front of the mare. "...You doing ok?"

"Why do you care?" She snapped back at him with a noticeable Canterlot accent.

Looking closer at her, her mascara was running, the purple bowtie she wore was a mess, and her eyes were red. This mare has been crying for a while. Those eyes reminded him of his own, when he split apart the group. He could tell she needed someone. "Because I've seen those eyes before... and you're about to do something you wont be able to regret." Skystrike sat down next to the mare. "I wont force you to tell me what you're going through. I'm just here if you wish to vent to a nobody."

The two sat for a while as she contemplated what to do. She wiped her tears away with a hoof, smearing her mascara even more. The mare gave a sad laugh. "Buck it, why not!" The earth pony sat down. "If you must know, I was about to jump." She said while shaking. "I know who you are. Here to do your good deed for the day? Don't waste your time. I'm not worth it..."

Skystrike laid down to be at her eye level. "Why do you say that?"

"Because there's nothing left for me in this place anymore!"

"Family?"

"Oh don't get me started!" She scoffed. Skystrike realized he opened the flood gates. "My father passed a few years ago. All I wanted to do was make him proud of me! But no, every recital that I told hem about, that he didn't even bother to attend, all he said was 'That's what was expected of my daughter.' Asshole!" She shouted to nopony in particular. "I should've realized earlier. I could've never made him proud. He wanted a son in the first place! Didn't even greet me as a filly when he came home, just asked 'why aren't you practicing?' So I did! I was the star of the Canterlot Youth Orchestra! Everypony saw me as a prodigy! I got a scholarship to the best music school in Manehatten, but that wasn't enough to convince him to let me go... I thought if I just tried harder, do better as a cellist, I'd be able to see him smile at me." She took some deep breaths, realizing she was out of breath from her speaking. "And then he went and got sick. I was 16, didn't even know or care what he was diagnosed with at that point. Mom said that he wanted to see me, but I knew she was bucking lying. But it hurt even more when she said that Father loved me... So badly, I wanted to believe her, but we both knew she was lying. Never showed me an ounce of love in the 16 years he was my father... I thought I'd be happy if I never saw him again, but... I don't know what think anymore. Didn't visit his funeral anyway."

"And your mom?"

She looked at him, her greyish mulberry eyes filling with more tears as she began to speak through the sobbing. "I... I moved away from home as soon as I could at eighteen. But I left my mom alone in Canterlot. I hate how I left her there, but I still loved her, and she loved me. For years, she was the only one I could talk to, the only one to write and say 'Happy Birthday.' The only one who said she loves me... But then she passed away a few months before my 21st birthday. I attended her funeral, she actually mattered to me. Enough where I composed my best eulogy for her, only to be played once, for her... I didn't realize how much I loved her, or how much I'd miss her. And worst of all, she made me realize how... empty my life is. All the practicing at the behest of my father left me no time to make any connections. I played solo to make a living, and none of those fans cared about me besides my music... Without my music, no pony cares about me. I thought I just needed a break, coming here. Came up to this rooftop for a break..." Her tears began falling again. "And then I realized I could end it all right now... The sadness... the loneliness... the unappreciated work... I've been here for two weeks, and already gave up on trying for any meaningful interaction. I haven't been able to compose anything for months... and it feels like I have nothing left to give..." She began to laugh. " I've been having dreams you know. About my father. His disapproval. Everything I did was the bare minimum... something to be expected. All I want is for somepony to tell me that I'm worth while..." The tears came down even harder, soaking her face and hooves. "Since mom passed, I haven't even been told 'I love you' 'I like you', buck, 'It's nice to see you.' Bucking ANYTHING would be better than this! For the past three years, I've thought about making this final leap... I just need to commit." The mare looked towards the ledge again.

Hindsight seemed to have caught up with her as her eyes went wide before covering her mouth. Almost immediately, she felt sick to her stomach, vomiting up whatever was left of what she ate earlier in the day. Skystrike stopped her from falling over from the lightheadedness, quickly putting a hoof on her shoulder. Seems like all the water is out of the damn now. Skystrike reached into his saddlebag and offered the mare a bottle of water. The pony quickly took it to wash the taste of bile out of her mouth. She was about to thank Skystrike, but was interrupted by her tears.

Skystrike waited in silence as the mare let out years of bottled up emotions. Admittedly, he didn't really know what to say. It was a lot to take in. All he did know is that he should probably help this lady out. Question is, how? He thought about it for a bit. "I'm... You did not deserve the childhood you had to endure, nor the suffering you're going through now." Skystrike reached into his paper bag and threw one of his burgers over to the mare. "Considering you just threw up your lunch, you must be hungry. I got time to chat if you want." He grabbed his unfinished burger and began unwrapping it.

The mare caught the food in her hoof, looking at him hesitantly before unwrapping it. "Very well... I'd... really appreciate the company right about now."

"Cool. Sorry, they're not hot anymore, I got these like an hour ago." He bit into it. "...So, you say you compose and play music. You said you were a cellist. I listen to music quite often and I must say, I rarely hear a solo one. Can I ask your name?"

The mare rubbed away her running mascara before eating a bit. She sighed. "I'm sorry. You listen to my ramblings, give me food, and I still haven't introduced myself. Octavia. Octavia Melody." Despite the years of little to no meaningful contact for her, she still tried to come off as knowing her manners.

Skystrike blinked in realization. "You're Octavia Melody!?" Skystrike almost yelled before curbing his excitement. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, you've heard of me?" A hint of curiosity was heard in Octavia's voice.

"Yeah, I have some of your records! I was actually listening to some on the way here. I was wondering where you went, you normally publish something every few months." Skystrike's ears perked up, then went back down. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. You just complained about ponies only wanting you for your music."

"It's... well it's not alright, but I don't blame you."

Skystrike didn't want an awkward silence to come. "Actually, kind of embarrassing to say, but I got into music because of you. I work with a mare named Vinyl Scratch, she does the instrumentals and mixing, and I do the vocals-"

Skystrike was interrupted by Octavia's light giggle. "Sorry, I just... didn't expect a pony of your stature to sing."

"Hey, me neither. But we're doing pretty well for beginners. Just released our last work like four months ago. It might not be your style, with you doing classical though..." Skystrike bit into his burger again. "Octavia, I'm not going to act like I know you, but I want to learn more about you. I've been through something similar-"

"I don't want your pity." She snapped.

"I don't mean for my actions to come off as such. I apologize. I just don't want you to journey to the other side so early." Skystrike finished his burger. "If you'll let me, I'd like to get to know you better. You need someone to be with you right now. I can't leave you alone in good conscience right now. You're more than just your music. The only validation you need is from yourself... If it will help, I'll make sure to find you on your birthday to congratulate you."

She shook a bit. "I... appreciate that, Nebula... Ironically, today is my birthday... I'm twenty four today."

"Oh really? Happy birthday! What do you want to do?"

Her ears perked up. "I don't know... I barely did or got anything for my birthdays, aside from a slice of cake from mom... You wouldn't want to spend time with a mare like me anyway."

"Oi, no self loathing thoughts anymore. Today is a day for celebration." Skystrike stood up. "I'll walk you to your hotel so you can get cleaned up. We're going to go have some fun... well, try to at least."

---

Skystrike made sure to call out to Octavia from time to time just so she knew he wasn't leaving. After a short walk, Skystrike and Octavia were standing outside of an arcade, the latter cleaned herself up and fixed her makeup. She was still feeling down, and in visible shock, but was leagues better than earlier. Honestly, Skystrike was surprised that this place has such a large selection of arcade games. "So... what are we doing here?" Octavia asked.

"To play." Skystrike said.

"Isn't this rather... childish?"

"Yeah, most of the time, fun is childish."

"Oh... I see... This is the first time I'm experiencing this."

"Well, if that's the case, we'll start off small." Skystrike grabbed her hoof and began to lead her inside. He bought two tickets for entry, and a hoof full of tokens with a picture of a smiling pony on it. Generic, but it'll work. "Here we go, the simplest but arguably most rewarding, Skee-ball!" Skystrike put in a token into the machine. Several balls came out. "Just roll it down the alley and try and get as many points as you can." He hoofed a ball to Octavia.

"Er- well... alright then." She looked at the ball in her hoof before weakly throwing it down the lane. It didn't even make it up the ramp, rolling down back to her. Octavia looked at Skystrike, who motioned her to keep going. After trying again, she made it into the 10 point hole. "Is... this it?"

"Well, you have to keep going. You get like, ten tries." He explained and goaded the mare on to keep going.

Octavia could tell he was trying to help her, giving in and continuing to throw the balls down the lane. She ended with a final score of 270 points. She did better than she thought she would. The mare nearly jumped when tickets began to be vended out of the machine. "What are these for?"

"It's your reward. Get enough, and we can trade them in for prizes!" Skystrike said as he put in another coin. "Mind if I have a go?" Octavia stepped aside. Skystrike threw the ball in his hoof a couple times to get a proper feel of the weight, even swinging his arm a few times to get the proper motion. On his first roll, he decided to play a bit risky, going for the 100 hole in the left corner. Luckily, he got it in first try. Now to just keep the same strength in the throw. He missed more than he wanted, ending with 700 points. He smiled as the tickets came out before ripping them off and giving them to Octavia. "So, we got 40 tokens to split between the both of us... what do you want to play next?"

Octavia looked around at the ponies playing on the numerous games. "Well... I saw a colt playing some ring toss game?"

"Oh god, I suck at those." He laughed as the two began to walk over. A stallion in a red and white stripped shirt greeted them, and after receiving two tokens, gave each of them three rings. "And all we have to do is aim for the red bottle." Skystrike threw one of the rings, it bouncing off each bottle and falling on the other side of the setup. "FUCK!"

Octavia couldn't help but giggle at his outburst. "Well, we have three tries for a reason, I suppose." She threw a ring into the fray of bottles, it bouncing off. And then she tried again... and a third time. "...I see why you got upset."

Skystrike gave her one of his rings as he threw his last one. It landed on a normal bottle, and the stallion gave Skystrike a lollipop as his reward. Wasn't even a good one, just one of those tiny ones you'd get at the doctor's office... And it was banana. Octavia threw the ring the pegasus gave to her, also landing on a white bottle. She got the same lollipop but grape flavored.

She chuckled a bit as she unwrapped it and put hers in her mouth. "Well, we got something out of it. What do you want to do next?"

"Well, we still need to get some more tickets..." Skystrike looked around the room as he thought of what to go for. "...Whack-a-mole?"

"Whack-a-mole? What's that?"

Skystrike lead her over to the machine, putting the play mallet in her hoof. "It's pretty straight forward. Hit the mole guys as soon as they come up. So far the high score is... 270 points. I bet you can beat it."

Octavia looked at the machine as Skystrike inserted a token. The lights flashed to life as a cartoonish mole poked its head out of one of the seven holes. She processed it looking at her, but before she could swing her hoof down, the mole vanished. She didn't let the second escape her though, nailing it right on the head. She celebrated internally with each hit she landed. It was repetitive, but enjoyable. She huffed a bit as the machine dinged, signaling the end of the game. "That was... more tiring than I thought it'd be. I think I did good." She looked at her score, 250 points.

"Hey, you were super close." Skystrike congratulated her as she counted out her tickets. "And looks like you got a good amount of tickets too."

"Heh, yeah... but I wonder how well you could do. I wonder how different this is from cutting down beast for you?" She put the mallet in his hooves. "If I got close, I wonder how high of a score you'll get."

He smiled as he rolled his shoulder. "Well I don't want to toot my own horn, but I take pride in my reaction time." Skystrike put in a coin and held the mallet out in front of him as the machine flashed on once more. As soon as a mole came up, it was smacked back down instantly. Octavia had to admit, it was a bit impressive. And he was keeping up the pace to, not slowing down when even three at a time popped up. Eventually, it came to an end, Skystrike finishing with 740 points. "Hell yeah!"

Octavia clapped her hooves together as his tickets came out, nearly quadrupling her own. Of course, Skystrike gave her all of his tickets again. "Must say, quite impressed. There's quite a few more games I want to try, if you're alright with that?"

---

Skystrike held his head as he stared at the roulette wheel Octavia just spun, winning the grand prize of 10,000 tickets. "How the fuck???" Octavia was laughing at her win, and his reaction. "It was your first spin!"

"By Celestia, what are the odds!?" She threw her hooves up in the air as the tickets kept pouring out. It took a few minutes, but the machine finished. Octavia wrapped her many layers of tickets around her neck.

"By now we should have enough to get you something great. Pretty sure they have a ticket counter at the gift shop." He pointed a hoof over to the back of the arcade. The two walked over, and indeed, there was a ticket counter. It took nearly 5 minutes to count all of their tickets, but the total came out to 15,732 tickets. "Oh fuck yeah!" Skystrike pumped his hoof. He was about to ask Octavia what she was going to get with the tickets, but caught her eyeing a large purple Ursa Minor plush. "I see you already decided on something."

Octavia blinked, then shook her head. "O-oh, n-no... I wouldn't get something so... childish."

"Octavia, it's your birthday. Nopony is gonna judge you for having that plushie. You're allowed to be a bit childish." He looked at the price of 15 thousand tickets. "And we got you just enough. Get it, make it a present to yourself." Despite what he said, he could tell that Octavia was a bit apprehensive on it still. Skystrike took the tickets from around her neck and waltzed up to the counter, leaning his elbow on it to talk to the clerk. The pony looked up at him as he put down the tickets. "I'd like that large purple Ursa Minor plush."

The mare snickered a bit. "...Oh, you're serious? You don't seem like the type to want that."

"Well, I am. Can I get it?" He pushed the tickets forward. The mare gave him an awkward look as she counted out the tickets, then gave him the plush. Skystrike walked over with the plush in his hooves to give it to Octavia, who gladly took it and hugged it. In comparison, it was the same size as Octavia. Damn ponies and being cute.

Octavia gave Skystrike a surprise hug, getting on her hind legs to wrap her arms around his neck. He returned it as she spoke. "Thank you... for everything today. I wish this didn't have to end..."

"Eh, we have a few more hours if you want. But rather than thinking of a good time ending, think of it as... a chance for even better times to start." Skystrike released her from the hug.

"No- I mean- well yes, but... what I mean is that my train for Canterlot leaves in an hour. I just... don't want to be alone again."

Skystrike walked Octavia and her plush outside of the arcade before sitting her down. "Listen, Octavia. You may not think so, but there are ponies out there who see the value in you. I can completely relate to not wanting to be alone right now." He pulled out a piece of paper and began to write, then folded it up and hoofed it to Octavia. "In here is an address for the orphanage I grew up in. They're nice ponies, and always welcome a friendly face. If you ever feel alone, go to them, and they'll make you feel welcome. And hey! I'll come visit you."

Octavia opened the sheet of paper and read it before putting it away. "...You've done so much for me. I don't know if I can ever repay you."

Skystrike shrugged. "Well, you can repay me." She looked up at him with a confused look as he put a hoof to her chest. "Keep living, find a new meaning in your life. It's what makes us stronger. Play your cello for yourself, rather than the approval of others. If you ever want to send me any letters or anything, I live in Ponyville. I'll reply as soon as I can."

"...You do all of this stuff for a nopony like me... Why?"

Skystrike sighed. "Well, three reasons. I was close to taking that final step a few years ago. I also had a friend who followed through. Sure, I may know nothing about you, but you don't realize the impact you have on ponies until you're gone. Finally, it's our duty to help each other, not only as ponies, but as beings who can empathize with one another."

Octavia held back a few tears as she smiled at him. "I'll never forget what you did for me today... It'll be hard to keep those thoughts out of my mind, but I think you're right... I'll try, Nebula."

And with that, the mare left, carrying her plush across her back. He hoped the best for her, but there was only so much he can do. Her life is in her hands... makes him think about how he should start getting more serious about his. Only got a few good years left. Thoughts for later, he supposed, as he began to unwrap his second to last burger. Opening the lower jaw of his mask to begin taking bites. But out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something odd. Two ponies, one pink and one white were staring at him. They seemed familiar. Upon further inspection, one was a unicorn, and one was an alicorn.

He slowly turned his head to clarify who they were. Sure enough, it was who he thought it was. But then he saw that knowing smile on the pink one's face. He sighed as he greeted them. "Hey Cadence. Hey Shining. Unexpected seeing you here."

Shining Armor waved at him. "Hey, been a while. We could say the same to you-"

He was cut off by Cadence stepping in front of him and nudging Skystrike with her wing. "You got a marefriend~!" She sang.

Skystrike put his burger back in his bag and rolled it up before putting it in his saddlebag. "Cadence, I have more dirt on you."

Her nose scrunched up. "There's no way you have anything worse than the pillow."

"You want to test it?" Skystrike leaned down be be at her eye level.

"...Motherbucker... you know what, I do!"

"When you were 18 and we were at the gala, when you saw Shining armor you hid from him for half the time I was there because 'This dress makes my flank look fat!'" Skystrike did a bad impression of her voice. "And it took me telling you he was an ass man to get you to go see him."

"Holup, huh?" Shining asked before realizing what he said before letting out a hardy laughing.

Cadence was embarrassed. "I'll get you back for this one day..."

"Well, if it helps, honey, one time we made a bet, I forget over what, but he lost and the punishment was to eat 10 pounds of green beans." Shining laughed at the memory. "In under two minutes."

"Two minutes!?" Cadence snapped around to look at Shining, then back to Skystrike. "No way!"

"Jokes on them, I like green beans."

Shining didn't like how Skystrike said that. "Wait... did- did you lose on purpose?"

"Yeah." An awkward silence set in as he said that. "You two cant tell but I'm smiling so wide right now."

"...So Nebula, what brings you to Trottingham?" Cadence asked as Skystrike laughed.

"Ah man. Nothing much, just stopping by on my way to Griffonstone. You two? I assume it's business, given the royal regalia and armor." Skystrike sat down.

"Yeah, you know how it goes... learning to be a ruler and all." She sighed. "But we just got out of a meeting with the mayor, so we're free. What are you up to?"

"About to meet up with the girls. You met them back at the duel where I won that airship. Speaking of, I'm supposed to meet them back where I landed my airship." He put a lot of emphasis on his airship.

"We get it, you beat us." Shining chuckled.

"Yeah, I even put it in that diss track. Anyway, we were going to go to the open air baths. You two in?" Skystrike offered the two to come along.

The couple looked at each other. "Well, I'm for it." Shining said as he rolled his shoulder. "Honestly, I'm still sore from the fight. I hear that it has some magical healing properties or something."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Cadence rolled her neck. "...You know, we always talked about who was the strongest between the three of us when we were kids... I think I can safely say it's you."

Skystrike tilted his head. "Wait, you two were talking about physical strength? I thought we were talking about overall? Like integrity, morality, all that."

"I mean- I assume we were talking about physical. Now that I think on it in hindsight, it makes more sense. I thought you were just being humble." Shining admitted.

Skystrike got up and motioned for the two to walk with him. "Eh, maybe. I knew that in a battle, I could take both of you no problem. And that's not a slight at either of you, nor am I doubting your strength, it's just back then, you two haven't had to go through true hardship."

Shining looked at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you two haven't had to have to make those difficult decisions that make or break ponies in our line of work."

"...Nebula, I'm confused too." Cadence asked.

"Have you two had to kill a pony? Have you had to kill one knowing it was the wrong decision, knowing it was the best, and only decision you could make?"

"...Jeez dude. No, I haven't, but I still don't get your point." Shining said.

"I'm saying in the hypothetical situation where it was a fight to the death, you two would hesitate to deal the final blow. It's in your nature, you two are some of the kindest ponies I know. That alone is why I'm stronger. And I pray neither of you have to take the life of another." Skystrike explained.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as they walked. A question was eating away at Cadence's mind, and she decided to ask. "...You say that like you killed somepony back when you were younger... How-"

Shining Armor elbowed Cadence. Skystrike sighed. "It's fine, I don't blame her for asking. I was around eight when I had to take another's life for my own survival. Yes, I have to specify."

"What the buck." The two said in unison.

"I'll tell you two about it more eventually. For now, I just want to take a bath."

---

Skystrike, after meeting back up with his group, and getting ready for the bath house, was currently in a 1v5. Well, more like a 1v2. He was arguing with Tethys and Cadence. They specifically chose this place in consideration of his and Tethys' size, as well as the privacy they could get, given they were now traveling with royalty. The problem is that the open air bath house that they're at is unisex.

"I just don't get it, man." Skystrike sighed as he held his face in his hooves.

"What is there that you don't get!?" Tethys and Cadence said together before the former explained as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm a lady! I have things I don't want to be seen by you boys!"

"That's right!" Cadence agreed.

"And what I don't get is that for you, Tethys, I've already seen allat, and Shining will get his ass beat if he even tries to look at you like that, if he even gets off to dragons..."

"Was that part really necessary?" Shining asked.

Skystrike continued. "And you, Cadence, like every other god damn pony, walks around naked anyway!"

"It's different when we're wet!" They once again said together.

"And I just don't get how???" Skystrike threw out his hooves. "What, is being wet from hot spring water different than rain water???"

Stardust couldn't help but laugh with Zecora at the spectacle. "Ahaha! You can't make this shit up!"

"Nebula I swear to the dragon lord, there's no way you're this dense!" Tethys sighed and held her horns.

"By Celestia, he's still this dense? I thought he was joking as a colt!" Cadence began laughing.

A switch flipped on in Tethys's head. "You know what, fine, I'm fine with you coming in on two conditions. You and Shining Armor have to wear blindfolds, and you, Cadence, have to tell me everything you know about Nebula as a colt."

"Fine by me." Skystrike motioned to Shining Armor to throw him a towel. The unicorn did so as they both tied a towel around their eyes. Tethys made an effort to pull the knot even tighter. "OW! Tethys, one of these days, we need to talk about how you don't realize your own strength."

"Oh hush you baby." Tethys began to take off her clothes, then stopped half way through. "You boys can't see us, right?"

"No." The two said. As Skystrike stepped toward the swinging doors to the hot spring.

"...Nebula, how do you know where the entrance is if you can't see?" Cadence side eyed him.

"I memorized where it was as soon as I entered the room? Do... do you all not do that? You should always be aware of any entrances and exits."

Stardust took off her armor. "I think you're the only one who does that."

"Maybe... Then I guess it's also weird to recognize beings by the sound of their movement?" They all turned to look at him. Zecora moved her right hoof forward and took a step. "Zecora, please don't do that. Having my eyes blinded is freaking me out."

"Is this for real, or a trick to unfold? Trying to wriggle out of the blindfold?" Zecora asked.

"Real... In hindsight, I should not have agreed to this so quickly..." He grit his teeth. "I need one of you to lead me to the bath. Please don't make any sudden movements."

Stardust was beginning to have second thoughts. "Alright, I guess..." She went to grab his hoof, but as soon as hers touched him, he jumped back. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you... Didn't realize how bad this would mess you up."

"Me neither... just warn me, alright?" He said as he shuddered.

"Alright. I'm going to grab your hoof now...." Stardust slowly went to grab his hoof. Skystrike flinched when they touched, but let his hoof settle into hers. Slowly, she began to pull the pegasus into the open air bath very slowly. Stardust noticed her wings were twitching and his ears were darting around. "Alright, we're about to step into the water now."

Skystrike heard the movement of water as Stardust stepped into it first, then lead him into it. The hot water felt nice, and the rocks felt smooth under his hooves. He calmed down ever so slightly as he sat down. "T-Thanks, Stardust..." He let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Behind him, he heard Zecora enter, then Tethys, then Cadence, then Shining. But he was too focused on the many other sounds around him. The flowing water, the blowing wind, the rustling leaves... there was too much to focus on. His mind was spinning, and he felt ill, but he'd keep on the blindfold. Himself being uncomfortable is worth his friends being comfortable... well, that's what he thought, but he was starting to think otherwise.

'-a... -bula! NEBULA!" Cadence called out to him.

Skystrike flinched again, turning his ears towards her voice. "Yeah?"

"Shining asked if you're enjoying the bath?"

"I haven't been able to focus on it, but it's... warm... What did I miss?"

Cadence blinked. "What did you- we've been in here for like 10 minutes already! We've talked about so much! Is the blindfold messing you up that much?"

Skystrike grit his teeth in an effort to try and not get annoyed. "Yes, Cadence, having on a blindfold does indeed mess me up that much." Skystrike began scratching at his arm with his metal hoof. He tried to control his breathing in an attempt to calm down. "...How much time do we have left here?"

"Almost two hours." Shining answered.

Skystrike inwardly groaned. "Alright, I can do this... it's easy... I've done it before..." He whispered tom himself as he kept scratching.

His friends all awkwardly looked between each other before continuing their conversation. "Anyway, Tethys..." Cadence started. "You're the second dragon I've met, and the only girl. Mind if I ask some questions?"

Tethys leaned back on a rock. "Yes, I am a mammal. Yes, I lay eggs despite that."

Cadence laughed a bit. "What, you get asked that a lot?"

Tethys sighed. "More than you think, and more than I should be. Just wish ponies asked normal questions."

Stardust's ears perked up. "I mean, I always wanted to ask how often you lay eggs... or what you do to them."

"The fuck you think I am, a chicken?" Tethys chuckled. "Basically, we only lay during our cycle. I just freeze mine and shatter them when it happens."

"I was actually going to ask what do you do to get that build? Like damn, I thought I was pretty muscular, but you're just impressive!"

"Oh, well, it's... because I eat meat." Tethys said awkwardly.

Cadence was slightly off put by that. "...You know, I should've thought about that aspect. I remember Shining told me that he sometimes took Spike to the castle to get some fish, right?"

"Yeah." Shining nodded. "Had to keep it a secret from Twilight though. I got worried about the little guy, since he was looking a bit thin... How's he doing?"

Stardust decided to add in. "Oh, the kid's doing good. He's doing a lot now. Nebula was able to convince Twilight to let him go to school... and learn combat from Nebula, and she isn't too fond of it, but it's whatever."

The two looked at Stardust. "Wait, Spike is training? Against Nebula?? Is he ok?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine..." Stardust grew a bit embarrassed. "Kinda pains me to say it, but he's been beating me more often than I'd like to admit."

Zecora nodded with her. "The gap between us and dragons, I had not seen, I assumed strength was for adults, not for kids in between."

Shining nearly stumbled at hearing that. "THAT Spike has been taking on two full grown mares and winning?"

"Nebula you faced, in battles that flow. Are you amazed his prodigy can match the show?"

Shining turned to look at the zebra"...Do you zebras- I'm sorry that sounded wrong. Do all of you rhyme?"

That did not sound better. There was a sudden silence, then Zecora began chuckling, making everyone else follow suit. But now, Zecora had a decision to make, tell him no, not all zebras rhyme... Or lie and it'll be really funny if he ever meets another zebra. "Oh yeah, they all rhyme. It's weird getting used to." Tethys jumped in at the chance. No way was she going to pass this up.

"Huh... neat." Shining stated simply. Then he noticed something somewhat off putting. "Oh, Stardust right? Don't worry about being professional in private. I just want to relax today. We both answer to the same princesses anyway."

"Uh... alright then... It's not just that, I was more thinking on how Nebula got to know so many powerful ponies."

Cadence laughed a bit, thinking back on the memories. "Well, it was... interesting from my perspective. I remember it really well, about three months beforehoof, I remember babysitting Twilight and saying to Celestia I wanted a little sibling. Eventually, we started looking around the Canterlot orphanages and we ended up with him and Blueblood. Apparently he and Auntie already had some history, so that's why he was chosen... though I wonder what that history is..." Cadence laid down in the hot water to get comfortable.

Stardust did the same. "Oh, I can answer that easy. From the story Nebula told, he snuck into Canterlot Castle and helped comfort Princess Celestia when she was mourning Princess Luna!"

Shining's eyes went wide, then narrowed in disbelief. "He snuck into Canterlot Castle? As a colt?? How in Tartarus?? I need to check on that once I get back... I'm getting too off topic. Continue the story, Cadence. I'm kinda interested now."

Cadence nodded. "When he was adopted, being around ten at the time, the first thing Celestia and I noticed is that none of our magic worked on him. We put him in magic elementary, but then Auntie told me he wasn't making friends. Nebula was really closed off, so I said that there was a kid I babysat around his age, and that's how he met Twilight and their group. He opened up a bit, but still visited his family at the Church of the Two Sisters. After about... two years? Yeah, two years, he was still closed off, so I suggested he move to Cloudsdale to be around pegasus. Had to get him tailor made boots so he could walk on clouds. Anyway, two years later he came back, and he actually started applying himself. Don't know what happened in Cloudsdale but he was a different pony. Tested out of all of his classes, skipped freshman and sophomore to start his junior year at fifteen. Would've graduated early if not for his history and politics requirements. It was around then that I became friends with him."

Zecora's ears flicked. "Friends now, weren't you tight before? Or was it something less, what's the score?"

Cadence sighed. "Before, I'd get a few words of conversation, but then I actually got to know about him. When we actually sat down to talked about it, and I admit, it was my fault, he said Celestia and I came off as trying to replace his last one. It was why he was still visiting his orphanage But once that was put behind us, it took a while but he opened up more. Told us his favorite color, his favorite food, pass time, but we mostly saw him at school and a few hours before bed."

"Truly? Time's short, just a dime. A mere moment, hardly enough time."

"Yeah... Auntie was always busy and Skystrike was off doing... whatever, and while I didn't hate Blueblood, he was always unpleasant to be around to say the least. By the time everypony was finished with their stuff, we still made time for dinner, then we'd all go to bed. When he moved back from Cloudsdale, he started going to me and Shiny's school. Eventually, since it was a military school, we had to do group sections, so I invited him to me and Shining's. Sure, that had its own hardships, being the only commoner in classes full of noble children and nearly two years younger. It wasn't until we did the combat training that he got some semblance of respect. And I mean he was destroying ponies! Originally I thought he was just the strategist, but he was an insane vanguard! Most ponies did not know how to handle a pegasus. And then the Gala happened..."

There was a silence at the mention of the Gala. Shining armor's brow furrowed a bit. "...Still hard to believe what he said about Blueblood... I knew he was a brown nose, but... I just can't see him doing something like that... or for no reason."

Cadence winced. "I mean... I can kinda see him doing that. You didn't have to share a castle with him, Shining. He took a lot for granted, thought ponies owed him things, whether it was the hard life he had before the adoption, or because he became royalty. It was a reason why I liked Skystrike more, he's more down to earth... Anyway, Blueblood had a superiority complex. I think he had nothing against me because I'm an alicorn... But Skystrike, he... lets say he got a lot more attention than Blueblood."

Tethys bellowed slightly. "There's no way he did all of that because of jealousy..."

"Eh... I mean there's probably more to it than that. Princess of Love is more of a flattering title. Specifically, I can pick up on latent emotions and thoughts much better than the average pony. I'm still not entirely sure how it works, it's just... something magical... So I can tell that there's definitely more to it than that. My best guess is the constant comparisons he got with Skystrike. He could probably tell you more about it-" Cadence looked to the one being spoken of. When everyone else saw her face of worry, they turned to see Skystrike as well.

He was not doing good... his coat stood on end from the goosebumps he had despite the heat of the bath. His ears flicked back and forth to the varying sounds entering them. Skystrike was still scratching at his arm, the spot turning red and some of his fur falling off. They could hear him sucking air through his teeth as he grew more and more nervous every second. Skystrike himself didn't even realize what his body was doing... his mind was racing at a thousand miles a minute as he focused on trying to regain his composure.

"...Nebula, are you alright?" Cadence asked. She was given no response. Her soaked mane and tail dragged across the wet floor as she approached him. With each step, she saw him flinch. If he wasn't already against a wall, he'd be backing away further with each hoof step that drew closer. Stardust was about to warn Cadence, but she reached out to put a hoof on her shoulder.

As soon as she did, the alicorn was taken off her hooves by Skystrike. His fight response kicked in, pushing the alicorn into the air with his left hoof while tearing off the towel over his eyes with his right. The pegasus' eyes darted around for his presumed attacker. When he saw his friends faces full of worry and shock, as well as Cadence on her back, his actions caught up with him. His breathing wavered as he looked down at his hooves.

"Cadence! Are you alright!?" Shining got up and took off his blindfold to help the alicorn on her hooves.

Cadence rolled her wing. "Yeah... he's done a lot worse." She tried to joke. "But I don't think I'm the one we should be worrying about now..." Skystrike was still looking at his hooves. He began shaking. "Hey, Nebula... it's ok, I'm fine."

"IT'S NOT FINE!" He shouted. Realizing what he did, he groaned. "Didn't mean to yell, I'm sorry... could barely control my own life, and now I can barely control my own body... I don't-... I hurt you all too much already..." Skystrike sighed. "Just... give me a minute." He began to stand up.

Tethys put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Dude, hear me out, I don't think you should be alone right now." The others around them gave sounds agreeing with her. "You can open up to us. You know that, right?"

Tethys took off his helmet, getting a better view of his face, which held a look of apathy. His eyes were empty, for lack of a better word. It was as if years of pain and repressed emotions were bought back to the surface and plastered on his features. Skystrike sat back down. "I... don't know if I can... I-... how I reacted wasn't normal. It's like my mind went numb."

Shining Armor sat back down with Cadence. "Skystrike, I think you might have a trigger... Couple guards I work with have something similar."

"Trigger from wha-..." He thought back to the lab he spent time in as a human. "Oh yeah..." Skystrike sat back down. "I guess that... makes sense. Sorry again, Cadence.

"You said 'Oh yeah' like you know what caused it?"

Skystrike winced. "Uh... lets just say it's... lack of control... Didn't realized how much I was blinded back then. Must've locked those memories deep in my mind. Anyway, I'll get out since you know..." He pointed to his eyes as he took his helmet back from Tethys."

Tethys gave a small sigh. "Don't want you to have to go because of us. Same with Shining. Just-... try not to stare?"

Skystrike sat down and tilted his head. "When have I stared?"

"When I was trying out those outfits at Rarity's."

The pegasus raised an eyebrow. "You... wanted my opinion on your outfits, mother fucker."

"What of when we ventured in the Everfree, gathering herbs, just you and me?" Zecora asked.

Skystrike thought back to it. "Oh, right. I was wondering if you zebras have cutie marks like ponies or if it was something like convergent evolution. Having your own flank patterns and all. Anyway, what were we talking about before I zoned out?"

"Oh, Cadence was saying that you knew something about Blueblood and him being compared to you?" Stardust gave an answer.

Skystrike leaned his head back. "Yeah, that guy... Well, I still went to the orphanage I grew up in. He didn't go to his. With that alone, ponies already judged his character, and elevated mine. Add to that that I'm a pegasus in a unicorn centric city, it did not make for a good time for him." He sighed. "Honestly, what I think did it for him was after I came back from Cloudsdale, I got all the attention... Specifically from you, Cadence, and Celestia. Then, even you two started comparing him to me. It got to him... enough where he tried to take me out of the equation... twice... Still don't know how he found out about my identity."

"Wait, me and Auntie? It was our fault?"

"Oh shit, sorry, I didn't mean it like that..." Skystrike tried to think of an equivalent. "It's like... when you're almost done with a project, and a surprise one comes in and you think, "I have plenty of time to finish the first one, I'll focus on this second one for now." Except the projects are sentient and spiteful... I've come to terms with never knowing the reason he hurt us. I just want him to know how monumentally he fucked up."

"I still need to get more information on what all happened, but you were right." Shining cleared his throat. "There were some bits that went unaccounted for during the alleged time in that forest... And the guard report for your orphanage was sketchy. No cause of fire, no body found, and the fire fighters were suspiciously late to respond."

"Oh yeah, I know." Skystrike nodded. Shining and Cadence shot him a confused look. "What? You think I wouldn't try to find out things myself? There's a lot that I can't tell you because if I did, it would make your entire investigation invalid."

"...For a merc, you know the laws really well... Can we at least get a hint?"

Skystrike thought on it for a bit. "Uh... He didn't set the fire himself. He had several ponies who reported to him at the time who were transferred elsewhere after the fact, with their records expunged... Oh yeah, not related, how did the gala go otherwise?"

Cadence shrugged. "Eh, well enough." She nuzzled Shining. "We were able to get a couple of dances in before the night was ruined."

"That's good, my plan worked." Skystrike smiled at them.

"Yeah, it did." The two said at the same time. Then they shared a look of realization as they turned to each other.

"Yeah, you two are dumb as fuck, hahaha! Yeah, I played both sides. You two are cute together."

The couple was stun locked for a few moments. Stardust raised a brow. "Sky, what did you do?"

"Yeesh, what didn't I do? These two were the most socially awkward mother fuckers that I've met! These two sucked at hints." He motioned to them with his hooves. "Do you know how often Cadence asked me stuff like what Shining's favorite food was? Or Shining asking if Cadence liked jewelry. Like damn, one time I basically set up a whole date for these two."

Zecora chuckled. "Were you often the third in the mix? Feeling like a spare part, an awkward fix?"

"Oh yeah, it was awkward as fuck. Especially how they both were trying to be subtle on asking me questions about the other." Skystrike cleared his throat and mimicked Cadence's voice. "'Oh, Skystrike, unrelated but do you know where Shining likes to hang out alone? Not for what you think, though!' And both of you admitted to me that you liked one another. Like come the fuck on. In fact, Cadence?"

"Y-yes?"

"Say a pick up line that Shining used on you from back then." Skystrike crossed his arms with a grin.

The princess thought back to her youth. "Uh... right before the gala, he said 'Can you hold something for me?' And I asked what, and he said 'My hoof?' And that was the best thing I heard."

"Hey Shining, where'd you get that from?" Skystrike's grin grew wider.

"...You..." He admitted, slightly embarrased.

Skystrike, Stardust, Zecora, and Tethys all began laughing at their expense. Cadence processed what that implied. "...Sweet Celestia! You mother bucker!" Cadence's embarrassment grew. "I used your lines on him! He used yours on me! You knew everything??" Skystrike couldn't help but laugh harder. "This isn't fair! I'm supposed to be the Princess of Love! I'm supposed to have dirt on you!"

"Pffffft! I don't know why you two are complaining. All I did was hold open the door. You two kept down the path. You two are just predictable."

Cadence looked to the other girls. "Tethys, Zecora, Stardust, I am begging you, I need something on him now!"

Tethys winced and put her claws up in defense of her pleading eyes. "I don't know what to tell you. Sure, I got stuff on him, but he has stuff on me, and the rest of us. You all have to deal with this for like the next couple decades. That's a lot for you but nothing for me. I'm just gonna wait it out."

"Well that's kinda bucked up." Zecora laughed, enjoying herself too much to not bother rhyming.

"A while ago, our seamstress friend made him a dress because the whole group thought he was gay." Stardust blurted out.

Tethys snorted. "Wait are you serious?"

Shining looked confused, but held his tongue. Cadence did not. "Wait, he's not gay?"

"You've gotta be kidding me." Skystrike sighed, though couldn't help but laugh a bit at the absurdity of the situation.

"FINALLY!!!" Cadence threw her hooves up into the air in celebration. "Something!"

"Yeah, honestly, I kinda thought so too." Shining Armor chuckled. "You never really showed any interest in mares... And you did a lot of things mares normally do."

"You know, I heard the same argument before, but I still don't get it." Skystrike admitted. "But enlighten me."

Shining armor reached into his mind. "Uh... well the clothes are part of it. Normally ponies don't wear them outside of social events unless they're trying to show off their clothes or themselves. And you wore clothes all the time, yet turned down a lot of mares. Aren't many other ways for the mind to wander."

Skystrike blinked. "Wait, I was getting hit on? I thought they were just being nice."

"Oh you're dense too!" Cadence leaned her head on a hoof. Then she looked at the strained look of Tethys and Zecora. "OhhohOH! This is amazing!" She clapped her hooves together. "You have to tell me all about it next we meet!"

"...I feel like I'm missing something here..." Skystrike narrowed.

"Skystrike, there's no way you're this dumb. You're the smartest guy I know!" Shining held his forehead.

"Ay, holup! I never said I was good with social queues! I will shamelessly admit I am lacking in that department!" Skystrike defended himself.

"You helped me get the mare of my dreams! You know how mares work! And you're saying you didn't notice any advances?"

"Advances!?" Skystrike said in disbelief.

Stardust's nose scrunched up. "Didn't you land four mare at the same time a couple months ago?"

"HE WHAT!?" Cadence shouted, then covered her mouth as the birds flew off of the surrounding trees.

"Jesus!" Skystrike's ears were ringing. "And yes, I did. Don't know how I managed it though."

Shining coughed. "I mean... I'm kinda confused how you managed to last long enough to deal with four." Cadence looked at him. "Oh come on, 'Princess of Love', you can't tell me you didn't think of that either!"

Skystrike cringed as he put up a hoof. "I'd prefer not to talk about my sex life unless it's with someone I'm fuckin."

"...Someone..." Cadence said aloud. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "No bucking way."

"I knew you had it in you bro!" Shining put out a hoof, which the pegasus hoof bumped. "Oh, and I always wanted to ask you Skystrike, How did you hide your identity for almost a decade?"

"Oh, it was surprisingly easy." Skystrike shrugged. "All I have to do is wear a helmet and nopony suspects a thing. Kinda makes sense given that many ponies in Canterlot have a white coat. Also, nearly tripling in size probably takes eyes away from you."

Stardust was confused. "Wait, how big was he before he left?"

"About Zecora's size. He was sixteen, right?" Shining answered for Skystrike to nod. "Now he's like... the size of Luna."

"Jeez man, what did you eat?"

"...Food?" Skystrike shrugged again. "Metabolism's a bitch. I needed to eat like, half my body weight to gain muscle."

"...You know the chefs would've made you anything you wanted, right?" Cadence blinked. "At least you have the good version of it. It's like I can feel myself gaining weight when I eat outside my normal." Skystrike opened his mouth while putting up his hoof, then closed it and put his hoof down. "What was that?"

"I... wanted to say something, but there's no way for me to say it without being mean, so I will stay silent."

Cadence gave a comforting smile. "Skystrike, you're my brother. I won't take it personally."

Skystrike hesitated to say it still while Nightmare Moon screamed in his mind. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

But it would be reeeeeally funny. "Well... I was gonna say you say 'eat outside your normal' like you're on a diet."

Stardust held her hoof over her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Zecora face hoofed while Tethys couldnt help but grin. Meanwhile, Cadence sat there with the thousand yard stare. Shining armor sighed. "Everypo- sorry, Everybody, let's... give these two some space."

As if they knew what to do, all save for Cadence moved to the opposite end of the bath. Skystrike grew slightly confused before Cadence quickly dashed over to him and shot a jab at his face forcing him to duck under it. Cadence tried to slam her hooves down on him, causing him to jump to the side. "Hey, I thought we were here to relax!?"

"Shut up, asshole! I am on a diet!" Cadence's calculated swings quickly turned to frenzied flailing.

"You gave me an invitation to say it! You said you weren't going to take it personally!" Skystrike kept dodging.

"I lied! Get over here, you stupid horse!"

The onlookers watched the show as their play fight got to be more playful than an actual fight. Skystrike began doing cartwheels and flips to dodge her swings. Zecora chuckled. "Did this occur often, a common theme? Or an anomaly, just like a dream?"

Shining sighed. "Yeah, these two got into it a lot... over much lesser things too." Skystrike began break dancing to dodge her magic missiles. "...That's impressive as Tartarus to do in water. Anyway, this same thing happened because one time Skystrike made plans with me before Cadence could... Damn, I was dense too. It's heart warming to see things sort of go back to how it was."

"How long are they gonna do this for?" Tethys wrapped her tail around her upper body.

"Eh... looks like it's ending soon. This part always cracked me up..." Shining chuckled. The group waited with interest to see how this would end.

While Cadence was catching her breath. Skystrike quickly hit a pose, flexing his muscles as he puffed his chest out. Then he got on top of her and locked his forehooves around her waist, leaning back into a suplex. Cadence's hooves flailed as she screamed at being lifted up into the air. "YAAAAAAAAAA-" Before landing on he back and laughing.

"Ok, you were right, that was pretty good." Stardust laughed.

Skystrike helped Cadence on to her hooves as the two huffed. Cadence looked at him for a long moment before pulling him into a hug. "I missed you. It's good to have you back."

Skystrike returned the hug. "Same to you."

---

Two days passed since the groups stop in Trottingham. Their flight to Griffonstone was rather uneventful, save for a few fun stories they shared and games they played. Skystrike stayed human through the flight, though despite that, nothing eventful really happened. He could've sworn that Elytra grew an inch or sotaller, but it was probably just a trick of the eye. As of current, Elytra, Zecora, and Tethys were all standing at the opposite end of the deck.

Elytra scratched at the floor board. "Uh Skystrike, you've been out here for hours. What's up? You havent said anything."

"Oh nothing. Just... you know, feeling the wind on my skin." Skystrike stretched a bit, twisting his waist and rolling his shoulders.

"Skystrike, give us the actual reason." Tethys sighed. "We had all the time to do this in Ponyville, yet it's unprompted here of all times and places."

He tapped his foot and sighed, scratching the back of his head. "...At the rate things are going, I won't be able to walk out in the open as a human. Celestia still thinks I'm some type of mole, my mere existence being a threat. Add to that that I have a gut feeling about... quite a few things. I thought about telling Twilight before we left but... she'd more than likely tell Celestia. I also thought about... that invasion that Chrysalis is thinking up. If that happens, and I have to fight her and the rest of the changelings... there would be no good way that plays out. In both of those scenarios, I won't be able to be here anymore, alive or not. I'm thinking of ways to make sure you're all okay if that happens."

They all winced as his story finished. Tethys walked up next to him and stared at the horizon. Elytra and Zecora did the same as the dragoness spoke. "Skystrike, you made a promise to not leave us again. I get your worry-"

Elytra spoke up. "Tethys, we know you're trying to help, but you don't know how deep the rabbit hole goes." She sighed. "Chrysalis still blames Skystrike for their mom's death. She gave Skystrike the chance to rejoin the hive if he lead the march on Canterlot. He denied her, and threatened to kill her if she tried it... I don't doubt that she would reveal his identity out of spite."

Skystrike nodded. "And if that happens, all of you are guilty by association. I know you three would help me out if I became a fugitive, but I'm not letting you put yourselves in any more danger."

"But... you already told Princess Luna, right? Maybe it'd turn out fine if you work with her?"

"That would be the best case scenario. But remember, I faked my death for eight years. I wouldn't be surprised if Celestia thought I killed 'Skystrike' and took his place. After all, I do know how to transform."

Zecora had her own question. "Do you reckon she distrusts you so deep, that her suspicions, she just can't keep?"

"To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't try to kill me when we met in the abandoned castle." Skystrike gave a small chuckle. "She even got Casta to start designing a machine to neutralize me. The only reason I can think of where she hasn't come after me was because human me knows pony me. Makes me feel manipulative, but she cant come after me directly without ruining our relationship that we just got back."

"What of the changelings? Are you quite sure, that this impending attack is what they'll endure?"

Elytra could give her input on that. "When he was banished, it... was a moment of weakness for Chrysalis. It had a huge amount of side effects. Skystrike let any changeling who needed it take love... probably why this problem he was having wasn't necessarily a problem until he left the hive. I say that because with the loss of leadership that was Khrusalis, and the emergency source of love that was Skystrike, the hive quickly declined... There was a famine happening when I was banished, and is most likely still going on... We're a predatory species, parasitic even. Ponies are the quickest and most effective source of emotions that we feed on. They'll only last so much longer before the hive is effectively forced to invade."

"So... it's an inevitability." Skystrike stated as he sighed. "So far, I have three options..." He began counting on his fingers. "One, I ignore it, and risk the loss of this country, and the suffering of ponies with the reward of my own safety. Two, I tell Celestia of my identity, and the coming invasion at the risk of her retaliation, which is very likely. Three, I wait until it happens, and I confront Chrysalis and the rest of the hive at the risk of my identity coming out from her... The safest option would be to just tell Celestia."

Elytra huffed. "You already said that she barely trusts anything you say."

"I meant safest for everyone else."

Tethys frowned. "You're doing it again. Putting everyone else before you. You deserve to be happy."

"Maybe so, but not at the harm of others." Skystrike clenched his fist. "That was the whole reason I left the hive willingly... fat load of shit that did in hindsight. But even if there is a chance that you all will come out unharmed, I'll take it."

"...Hypothetically, If Celestia does find out, and doesn't confront you, what will you do?" Elytra asked.

"I would stick around until the end of my lifetime."

"And if she does confront you?"

"Then I'll fight her. She wouldn't let me be free, and I will not be contained again. Once she's in a state where she can't follow me, I would isolate myself as to not put anyone else in danger-

Zecora got angry as he continued to speak. Angry enough where she didn't even bother to rhyme. "What the buck is wrong with you!? You would abandon us again!? After all the time we spent together!? Do we mean nothing to you!?"

His eyes flickered. He took in a few deep breaths before answering. "It's because you all mean everything to me that I would do it. You don't realize how much I've thought about this. The Elements of Harmony would be called to stop me. It'd hurt me even more if they didn't even believe that I'm Skystrike. Luna would be forced to choose between me and her country. You all would either have to watch me suffer, or fight those you grew close to... I don't want that for any of you." Skystrike sighed. "The road that I've taken doesn't lead to any happy endings. I just have to chose the least worst one."

"You know we can take care of ourselves, right?" Tethys shook his shoulder. "You don't have to keep sacrificing yourself and your happiness for us. No matter what you do, we'll stand by you until the end."

Zecora and Elytra both looked up at him and put a hoof on each of his legs. "Thank you, girls. I don't know how, but I'll make it up to you all." Skystrike smiled at them. "I'll figure out something. For now, we're almost to Griffonstone."

The four friends looked back towards the horizon to see the griffon capital, sitting atop one of the peaks of the Hyperborean Mountains. He could see several dozen griffons flying around the peak. The city structures seemed to be built on a petrified tree, nearly as large peak of the mountain itself. Among the highest branches sat a tall castle carved out of the tree itself. Though he couldn't make out what it was made of, the entrance to both the city and the castle were marked with a red material. Getting closer, he noticed how... run down the place was.

The wooden houses and thatch roofs were either rotting, missing parts, or both. A few of the houses fell off their perches, while others slumped into the ground below. Getting even closer, it looked as if the place was abandoned. Doors had no hinges, their walkways were cracked and crumbling. He would believe that Griffonstone was a ghost town if Skystrike currently wasn't getting stares as a few griffons passed. Some of them were even armed... worrying. "Zecora, Elytra, Tethys, get your armor on. I'm about to park the ship and put it on lockdown."

They all nodded before walking inside, Skystrike following after them. In the bridge, he grabbed the levers and began to slow the ship down, just outside what he would assume to be the city limits. He then went to put on his armor before locking every room and hallway before meeting the girls on the deck of the ship. The winds in the sky were strong, but not strong enough to move the ship any meaningful distance.

Tethys looked over the city. "Yeesh, it's been a while since I've been here... Couple decades I think? I was in my hundreds, but I did not think it would be in this state of decay... I get why Alder didn't say anything about his home."

Elytra sheathed her Rapier. "You've been here before?"

Tethys nodded and played with the tip of her tail between her fingers. "Yeah, though it was long before any of you were born. This place used to be beautiful... from afar I mean. I never dared to step claw inside. The houses used to be made of stone, painted all pretty too. Every griffon wore some gold on them. Tartarus, they used to be as greedy as us dragons... now... It's like they lost all of their pride." Then she turned to Skystrike. "You think Alder will even be here?"

"I hope so. If not, we ask around and see if any of these griffons do." Skystrike clenched his fist of his metal arm, the joints creaking against each other. "If their greed is anything to go by, then that means money talk. You all ready?"

Zecora winced. "Descending from up high, a puzzling plight. Without wings, it seems, a daunting flight."

"Well, I planned on carrying you. I may not have wings, but I can still fly."

Zecora full on cringed. "This may seem to be a lesser plight, but I am... afraid of heights." It makes sense. She never truly got over that fall.

Skystrike kneeled down to be as close to her eye level as he could be. "It's not lesser. I get it. Don't worry, I'll take care to not go too fast, and to try and calm you down. It'll be over before you know it. Skystrike put out a hand.

Zecora put up a hoof and hesitated, but trusted him enough to take it. Skystrike picker her up, holding up her rear with his right arm just below his stomach, and his left arm around her back. A flustered Zecora wrapped her forehooves around his neck. "Tethys, Elytra, go ahead down. We'll be a minute."

The two gave a knowing smirk before climbing on and jumping off the railing of the ship. Skystrike took a step onto the railing before feeling Zecora tighten her grip. "It'll be fine. Just close your eyes." Skystrike created two balls of fire under each of his feet. It took him a while to learn the trick, but it was easy once he got it down. Increasing the output of the fire and controlling the direction of release below him, a small enough upward force was generated to slow their descent.

Zecora's eyes were closed tight. "...Are we moving?"

"Yeah, got about a minute before we reach the ground. Are you doing ok?"

He could feel the zebra nod. "I'm hanging in there, you're steady and true, Let's pick up the pace, I don't wish to be in the sky longer than I have to."

Skystrike slowly increased the speed of his descent. "I didn't think it was this bad. Sorry, I should've thought of that before asking you to come on this trip."

Zecora shook her head. "I do not mind it..., your company's a pleasure.... Flying together, a memory to treasure..."

Skystrike noticed that it was taking longer to for her rhymes, and she was beginning to shake slightly. In an attempt to calm her down, Skystrike began to stroke her back. Thankfully, it worked. Though she was still nervous, the shaking stopped. "Well, I enjoy the time I spend with you too." Maybe it'd help if he took her mind off the falling. "Oh, I never asked, what jacket did you get?"

"Oh, I... got a bomber jacket, olive green in hue. Stylish and cool, quite the debut." She answered. "With Tethys and Elytra by my side, choosing attire was a fashionable ride."

"Oh cool. I'll have to see you rock it sometime." Skystrike said as he landed on the ground with a thump before expelling his magic. "You can open your eyes. We've landed."

Zecora thanked him with a nod before jumping out of his arms. Tethys gave a knowing smirk before looking to Skystrike. "So, what's the plan, Skystrike?"

He looked around at the very few griffons looking at them. He walked up to one. The griffon had black feathers with grey fur and darker grey talons. She raised an eyebrow as Skystrike approached her, then grew uneasy seeing the armaments he and his companions had on. "I don't know anything, you got the wrong girl."

Skystrike chuckled and reached into his pocket to pull out a handful of bits. "Not in trouble. In fact, I need information. There's a griffon I'm acquainted with. He has silver feathers, orange fur, and white talons. Has a black feather crown, his wings go from silver to black, and the tip of his tail does the same. Rather tall for a griffon, since the bird part of him is a secretary bird. Should be in his mid 50s. Does that ring any bells?"

The griffon looked at the bag of bits. "I might... but with the armor you got on and the ship you came in on, you can do better than that."

Skystrike narrowed his eyes. "This is to make sure that you actually do know something, and I'm not wasting my money. You have to have some pride left as a griffon, so lets make a deal." He reached back into his pocket to bring out double of the bits he once held. "All of this for the guarantee of some useful info. If it's a simple pointer, you get the original amount offered."

The griffoness thought on it for a bit before taking the bags in a talon. "...Some griffon of that description comes by every once in a while. Has some family in the house a few blocks down. If you're lucky, he may be there. It's the one house that isn't completely run down."

"Thanks." Skystrike motioned for the group to follow. "You heard the lady. May just end up being a waiting game." Skystrike waited for each of them to be within whispering distance. "And stay on your guard, I expected it but we're being watched."

The four of them walked down the cracked streets. Trying to ignore eye contact with the passerby, they saw the house that griffon spoke of in the distance. It was still run down, but like she said, not completely. The walled were made of stone, though cracked, and the roof didn't have any holes in it. What made it stand out was the metal door with a sliding door to see who was on the other side of the door. Skystrike knocked on it. The latch slid open and a pair of eagle eyes looked at him. Skystrike crouched down a bit to see the watcher at eye level. "...The fuck are you supposed to be, some... tall, flat faced ape?"

If only the beings of this world knew how racist that sounded. "Well, lets just say I'm not from these parts... I'm here looking for a griffon. I heard from a little birdie that this is where I can find him."

"That depends on who's askin', and who's yer lookin' for."

"A couple old friends, looking for a griffon in his mid fifties called Alder-" Skystrike didn't even get to finish his sentence before the latch slammed shut at the mention of the griffons name. Skystrike made a face, turned to his friends who were also making the same face as him, then knocked on the door again.

"Piss off! There's no griffon here by that name!"

"Oh, somehow I doubt that..." Skystrike sighed. "From the sounds of it, doesn't sound like you're one for conversation. So, I'll give you a simple ultimatum. Give us info on Alder, or I come in there and find it myself." He threatened.

"Good luck with that, asshole! This is two feet of solid steel!"

Skystrike motioned for his friends to stand back. They did so as he made a blade come out of his metal arm on top of his wrist. He made it vibrate at an astounding speed before pulling back and making three slashes in a triangle pattern across the entire door. The fragments of it fell inward to reveal a gobsmacked griffon. Before he could call for help, Skystrike jumped on the griffon, pinning him to the ground on his belly and closing the beak with his hand. He flailed under his weight for a bit before a sword dug into the ground next to him. "Don't. Move." The griffon listened. "Scratch into the floor with a talon how many of you there are. Elytra, Zecora, sweep the floor, don't split up. Tethys, make sure no one follows us in."

They all went to do as told, the mares going into the dark corridors while Tethys puffed up her chest before breathing out chilling water onto the floor, it freezing on contact. Soon enough, the entire doorframe was blocked with a thick wall of ice. Then, on Skystrike's demand, she froze the griffon to the floor, allowing Skystrike to step off of him. Zecora and Elytra came back. "The floor's empty. There's nothing here."

Skystrike shook his head. "They wouldn't have a door like that to act as a deterrent, nor a watcher if that was the case. Any rugs, bookcases, wall mounted torches, anything that would seem suspicious?"

Zecora nodded. "Amidst the room, a few rugs lie. But most are worn, torn, their days gone by."

"Same with the bookshelves. And the torches don't have any wicks left." Stardust added.

Skystrike hit a thinking pose. "...Zecora, you said most. What about the design of the rugs?"

"Among the fancy, one stands apart, yet its simplicity holds a special heart."

"Why are we talking about rugs?" Tethys crossed her arms and folded in her wings to not hit anything.

"There's more than likely a secret entrance, and from how most of these griffons don't really wear their wealth, I would assume crime rates would be a bit high. Sure, they may be prideful, but greed can be stronger. If there was anything here worth taking, it'd be something like a rug. My guess is that the secret entrance is under the one least likely to be stolen." Skystrike looked at the griffon frozen to the floor, who decided to not write anything. "We don't know how many griffons we may be dealing with, but despite that, we're not killing anyone today... Elytra, anything else that stood out?"

She shook her head. "No... well... the room where that normal looking rug is does have a stronger smell. A lot of mixed emotions... greed, pride, happiness..."

Tethys sniffed the air. "It also smells a bit like meat... They just came back from a hunt."

"Sounds like our place then." Skystrike rolled his shoulder. Zecora lead them all to the room with a plain orange rug, full of dirt and torn here and there. He huffed as he pulled the rug back, and sure enough, there was a large trap door. "Lets wait for a bit. Hug the wall behind the trap door. Elytra, hang out on the ceiling in the blind spot of the door."

They all did so before Tethys asked. "Why aren't we just going in?"

Elytra answered in Skystrike's place. "They're more than likely on shifts. No griffon is coming in since they just had a hunt and more than likely from the greed and pride and happiness, having a party. Eventually, one is going to have to come to switch out. There is also, more than likely some code if you want to enter the trap door, and not one to exit... It's what I was taught in the guard, and these griffons are organized."

And so, they waited. The silence was deafening, but none of them could guarantee that the door was soundproof. Given that it was wooden, more than likely not. Luckily, they didn't make much sound as they came in. It took about twenty minutes, but a brown griffon opened the door. "Apollo! Time to switch out! I saved you a cut of loin like you wanted!"

Skystrike pointed at the griffon, giving the signal to Elytra to pounce. She did so, landing on the griffon's head, causing them to face plant. While staggered, the changeling charged her magic and used a tranquilizing spell, knocking the griffon out easily. Skystrike got off the wall and began dragging the brown griffon away from the trap door and against the wall. "I see you never lost your edge."

"Thanks... I've been practicing..." She whispered back. "Honestly, I was worried I was starting to lose my edge... Been a while since we did a mission."

Skystrike motioned for Tethys to freeze the griffon. She did so before they all followed the ladder further down. They heard music getting louder, and the smell of roasted meat filled the air. It makes sense, since depending on the bird half, griffons are either omnivorous or carnivorous. They made sure to watch their steps as they followed the well lit torches on the carved stone walls, Skystrike leading the pack, stopping at each corner to make sure no griffon was coming. He thanked his luck that they were celebrating, else they would be breathing down his neck.

He put out a hand to stop his friends before a large opening. There were between two and three dozen griffons sat around six boars over a large fire pit in the center. Sure enough, it was a feast. Skystrike looked at the griffons filling their guts with pork and ale, seeing if he could fine who he was looking for. His eyes fell upon the one he was looking for. It's been almost three years now, but he looks about the same. Same silver feathers, same orange fur, but both were a bit more dull. He was giving a hardy laugh to his assumed subordinates around him. He seemed happy, to say the least.

Tethys leaned around to see Alder. "So... we can't exactly just go in and say hello, can we?"

"I mean... I can't... you guys probably could." Skystrike chuckled. Then he hummed as he got an idea. "Elytra, can you teleport to the ship and bring back what's left of the Ophiotaurus? Should be the tail left." Elytra nodded before teleporting away. After two minutes, she came back with a loud thump. "Thanks, now... this may seem crazy but-"

Elytra sighed. "You're gonna walk in there and say 'I come bearing gifts' or something."

Skystrike lifted up the roast by the metal pikes still in it. "You know me well." He said as he turned around. Stepping into the light, he felt dozens of eyes snap onto him as their voices fell silent. There was an awkward pause before Skystrike said. "I come bearing gifts! Ever had Ophiotaurus!?"

The griffons looked at him. "Who the fuck is that?" One asked. "What the fuck is that?" Another asked. "...It does smell kinda good... Wait, how in Tartarus did it get in!?" And with that last question, the few that could began to reach for their weapons. Muskets, crossbows, and various blades clattered as they worked their ways into their aggressors claws.

"HOLD!" Alder put up a silver talon, making all the griffons under him stop in place, their weapons still trained on him. The lanky griffon took slow steps towards the human before taking out a cigar and lighting it. The middle aged griffon took in a puff of smoke before blowing it out and meeting Skystrike's purple eyes with his sky blue. "You seem like a reasonable fella... put down that meat over the fire. Boys, some space, please." Alder lead him to the fire pit, and motioned for Skystrike to put the roast over it.

"Boss! You can't be serious!?" A griffon still has his musket trained on the human.

"Stork, he snuck in and got past two of our guys, if he wanted any of us dead, he would've done so by now." Alder let out another puff of smoke. "Though I am a bit curious... how'd you get in here?"

"Well your first guy wouldn't let me in, so I cut down the door. Then I waited for the second guy to come check on the first, and snuck in." Skystrike pulled over a chair to sit down in, as well as one for Alder.

Alder didn't sit down quite yet. "...Two of my boys just let you walk in?"

"Oh, no, had to handle them." Skystrike said. Alder put up a talon. "Oh, don't worry, they aren't dead. Didn't want to get on your bad side, considering I came here looking for you."

Alder put his talon down and sat. "And tell me, what do you want with me? Some other rival of ours tell you to come for us? Can't think of many enemies we have..."

"Oh, well, just to see you. Some old friends wanted to meet you, me included." Skystrike pointed to the hallway he came from. All the griffons turned to look into the darkness. "...Oh, right. Sorry, we didn't really have a plan. Yo! You girls can come out now!"

Elytra came out first, then Zecora, then Tethys. A few of the griffons turned their weapons on them before Alder gave his order. "Drop your weapons now!" He put out his cigar before putting it out by cutting off there fire with a talon. His stern face softened a bit at the familiar faces. "Go back to the celebration... We've got a couple new guests joining us!"

Though hesitantly, the griffons did as told putting down their weapons and picking back up their food and drinks. Elytra tried to hide her astonishment. "How did that work?"

"Elytra! Tethys! Zecora! What a sight for sore eyes!" Alder gave a hardy laugh. "Didn't think I'd be able to see you all again before I kicked the bucket!" He was almost a head over Zecora as he shook her hoof, then going to Elytra and Tethys to do the same. They exchanged their own personal greetings before Alder chuckled. "Damn... it's only been three years huh?"

Elytra nodded. "Time hasn't been half bad on you, Alder. Wasn't expecting all of this."

"And I wasn't expecting the three of you to be able to get here to Griffonstone. Much less with your... weird friend." Alder turned to the human. "Sorry, kid, I never asked your name."

"Skystrike."

Alder blinked. "Huh... had a pony friend with the same name."

"Yeah, that's me. Hi, Alder." Skystrike snorted.

Alder stared at him in disbelief before Skystrike showed his helmet to sell the change in appearance, as well as showing his swords. "No way... that colt was you!? How!?"

"It's a long story." Skystrike sighed.

Alder hummed. "Well... can you prove you're him?"

"Uh...." Skystrike thought. "You were the seventh to join, and we met in Canterlot because you were bored and wanted to find a way to make bits for your griffons here... You also tried to give me "advice" on how to "get girls" because I was lonely. You also said you had a neice that came to Equestria before, so you had a general idea of how the country worked. You, me, and Jeshan bonded the most out of the whole group before Skybeak joined because we're guys."

Alder smiled at the memory as he poured himself and the rest of his guests some drinks. "Heh, yeah, we got into so much shit back then... Jeshan and I were the oldest, but we still threw down like you and Skybeak. Haha! Remember when we all tried to out drink Tethys?" He looked back at the dragoness who pulled up some seats for the rest of them. "One of the best nights of my life, but I regretted it like hell in the morning."

Tethys chuckled as she turned the chair around to rest her arms on the back of it. "Still don't know why you thought you could win."

Alder chuckled some more as they bumped their tankards together in cheers. "So... been three years. You're 25 now, right? Don't blame ya for how you left, figured you were going through a lot back then."

Skystrike nodded. "Yeah... still going through a lot now, but better at communication. Figured I'd come check up on you after these years in person, and say sorry." He sighed. "I thought I was doing the best by each of you, only to realize later that my actions hurt you all the most."

Alder put a talon on Skystrike's shoulder. "Kid, you don't gotta apologize for that. I get it, really." Skystrike raised an eyebrow at that. "Bein' honest, the reason I even joined you was because I've been trying to make money for the family."

Elytra looked up from her drink. "...You know, you never did talk about your family."

He sighed. "Well... not too much to talk about anymore. Had a brother who passed about a year back... All that's left is my sister in law and niece. My niece came back from Equestria just before her fathers passing, but... she apparently didn't have a good time before she came. Falling out with a friend or something. Anyway I promised my younger brother Talos that I'd take care of her."

Zecora tried to comfort him a bit. "I'm sorry, my griffon friend, that your brother met his untimely end. From your mourning, it seems you were close. A bond so deep, like a crimson rose."

"Yeah... Was a little shit at times, but I loved him to death. But let's not hang on a tough subject." Alder took another sip of his ale. "I'm interested in what this Ophio-what's it tastes like." Skystrike switched his tankard to his left hand. Alder was a bit confused at first before a blade launched out of the wrist of his metal arm. Skystrike cut off a slice and put it on a plate for Alder. "By the roost! That's cool as hell! When did you get that!?"

Skystrike chuckled. "Had it the whole time. Just never really wanted attention on it."

Alder cut a piece with his silver talons and stuck it into his mouth. His eyes lit up at the flavor as he pogged. "Oh this is great! It's so tender! The fat just melts in my mouth! And it's seasoned so well!"

"Heh, nice to know you enjoy it. We already stored food for ourselves, so you can share that with the rest of your guys here. Think of it as an apology for the door, and those two guys."

Alder looked at him. "Shit, almost forgot. HEY!" He shouted to his griffons. "STONE! SLATE! CHECK ON THOSE TWO WHO LET THESE FOUR IN! MAY BE FRIENDS, BUT THOSE TWO WERE SLOPPY!" Alder scarfed down the meat. "How did you guys get in anyway? I'd imagine it's hard, sneaking in with all that armor you got on."

Elytra took a gulp of her ale. "Oh, Skystrike cut down the door, then we waited for a griffon to come in to check on the first griffon."

Tethys nodded. "Honestly, was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Probably because we caught you during a celebration."

Alder blinked. "...How the hell did you cut down a solid steel door!? That costed me like, two thousand bits!"

Skystrike sighed. "Yeah, thought about that when I realized you were the leader here. I thought you got kidnapped or something, since they hesitated at the mention of your name. I got the stuff to fix it on my ship, so you don't have to pay. As for your 'hidden' base, I'd recommend having the same rug quality in each room. It was literally the first thing I thought of. Also, the metal door on a normal house makes the place stand out."

"Thanks... I've been working on that- hold on, 'my ship'? You came here by sea?"

Skystrike smiled. "Well, yes, but technically, no. I flew over the sea."

"...You have a mother fucking airship!?" His beak opened wide. "How!?"

Tethys smirked. "He tricked the princesses of Equestria to buy him one if he won against the captain of their guard and the princess of love."

Alder looked at them before busting out into laughter, some of the griffons around him stopping their conversations to look at him. "AHAHAHA! Knew you were a smart kid but damn! Never expected you to play the princesses!" He laughed a bit more before he gave a happy sigh. "Damn... how'd you even get close enough to them for that to happen? Don't really know how royals work there, but the ones here wouldn't let you even see them."

"Oh, well, I made my name as a solo after we split up." Skystrike began to explain as he took a sip of his ale. "I was known for being fast, reliable, and not cutting corners. Plus, I had my ways of making sure I left a good impression... Apparently, my name went around enough, that Celestia came to me personally for a quest. I met the Captain and the third princess when I got my reward."

Tethys nodded. "I met him during that mission. We were after the same targets, some dragons that had to be put down. It's been about... eight months I think? Time always loses me with how long I've been alive."

Zecora finished her drink. "Seven months, a journey profound. Glad to have shared this time, I've found. Skystrike's tale holds secrets untold, adopted by the princess, a story to unfold."

"Huh... ok then. That's... not as surprising as I thought it'd be." Alder said before side eyeing the roast. "Skystrike, can you...?" Skystrike chuckled before cutting off another, larger, slice. "Thanks... you know, if you're still single, my niece is on the market."

Skystrike's eyes went wide as he choked on his drink while the girls were laughing. It burned his throat, but he forced himself to swallow the harsh liquid. "God! That's one of the first things you ask me?"

"Oh, you'd like her... probably... Honestly, Gilda just needs a good influence." Skystrike winced a bit at the mention of that name. "Oh, you know her? Well, not you you, more like pony you."

"We have... a history..." Skystrike sighed. "Didn't end on the best of terms... Came to Ponyville, started off ok, but then she just started to be an a-... a jerk to my friends. Made one of them cry so I may have punched her in the face... hard enough for her to slide back a few feet."

Tethys, Zecora, and Alder all went "Oh." Before Tethys asked the important question. "Wait... which one did she make cry?"

"Fluttershy."

Tethys put up her hands. "Sorry, Alder, she deserved it. Fluttershy is the sweetest soul."

Skystrike shook his head. "Knowing what I know now, I regret it... She just wanted to spend time with her best friend, and kept getting interrupted. Of course she'd be mad. Add to that that she probably wasn't over her dad's death. Doesn't justify her actions but... I can understand why she acted the way she did."

"Damn... I don't want to believe it but... you weren't one to lie." Alder sighed as he poured himself some more ale. He took a few gulps before slamming it down on the table. "She's taking it worse than I thought then..."

Skystrike leaned back. "Well, if she's nearby, I planned on staying in Griffonstone for a few days at least. I'd like to apologize to her if she'd give me the chance... Actually, what would I even say besides 'Hey, sorry I decked you in the face and called you half chicken.' But yeah, I'll still apologize." Skystrike drank some of his ale. "Oh, I never asked, what do you do with all these griffons besides hunt?"

Alder rolled his neck. "Well, I kinda copied you. We take missions from the surrounding cities, territories, and countries. Zebrafrica, Saddle Arabia, Seaquestria from time to time. Sometimes we're hired as security, but most times, it's long distance package delivering. Us griffons can fly a lot longer than ponies, you know. Anything to keep the money coming in... Damn nobles up in their branches keep all the money to themselves, giving us the scraps."

"Let me guess... corruption?"

"You have no idea." Alder growled. "I'll tell you about it later."

"You know... I make no promises, but I could be getting some political power in the coming months. I'll try my best to get trade to Griffonstone if I do. The village I could be in charge of is right on the edge of the Luna Bay, so the fishing scene could be great." Skystrike leaned forward. "At the very least, I can help you get dual citizenship. Will be a lot easier than starting from Zero with Tethys."

Alder hummed as he scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm... not a bad idea, honestly. Can't exactly say I can afford to go out on the field anymore. Age is finally getting up there, plus Gilda... You know, I don't think I've ever had fish."

Tethys smiled. "May be bias, since my homeland is the Dragon Seas, but it's... alright. Depends on the type of fish. I just got tired of it. You'd probably like it."

Alder thought about it. "Well, it would probably beat living here... But let me cut to the chase, Skystrike. What are you here for?"

Skystrike winced. "Damn, was I that much of an asshole?"

"Yeah." They all said before looking between each other and laughing.

Skystrike couldn't help but smile either. "Damn, well, thanks for sticking by me throughout my actions."

Alder huffed. "Well, thinking back on it, you weren't really an asshole, more like... unfiltered? Like, sure, everything you did made sense, but there's the emotional aspect to it. I remember when we had some contract to find some stolen family heirloom, and this stallion was talking about how it was important to him or whatever. And yes, we were all thinking it, but you just up and say 'How will this information help us find it?' And he got SO mad."

"Yeah, that's fair." Skystrike chuckled a bit. "I'd like to think I've changed since. I realized I almost snuffed out the emotional part of me back then. I'll tell you about it later. To answer your earlier question... Rather not bring down the mood, but I'm here for nothing more than to see you again."

Alder stayed silent for a while. "Huh... Well, guess we have a lot to talk about in the morning." The griffon looked around to see the state his comrades. Some of the griffons were completely wasted, others were passed out, and the rest seemed to head back to their rooms for the night. "Guess it is about that time, huh? You four need a place to sleep?"

Elytra shook her head. "No, but thanks for the offer. The Wind Waker is surprisingly spacious."

"I'll fix your door in the morning." Skystrike stood up to stretch a bit. "The time zone difference is gonna mess us up, bit we'll be up around... ten your time. Wanna join us for breakfast? It'll be pancakes."

"Aw HELL yeah!" Alder pumped a fist.

Skystrike nodded, giving the griffon a fist bump before turning to leave. It's nice having something to look forward to.

Author's Note:

Prep for mid terms and finals have been beating my ass, but I got this out. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I plan on starting the next one relatively soon, but finals is in a week, so I may be late to starting it. Introduced a new character, Alder. I plan on touching on him more in the next chapter, then going to Diamondia in the same chapter for Jeshan the diamond dog. Alder will be a reoccurring character, but won't be here as often as of now. Wait until after the gala.

Took some liberties with the back stories of Octavia, though I was a bit hesitant on that part, as it was a bit of a personal experience years ago, but I'm better now, and Octavia is too. Also works as a prelude on how she got into the orchestra at the gala.

Onto Alder a bit, I have a small head canon that not all griffons are half eagle, and instead the bird half depends on where they're from. Griffonstone is just the hub for all the different types to meet.

Also, while I had it for a while, I do have twitter, and I commissioned art of Skystrike a bit ago from ShadowReindeer. Figured you readers would like a newer picture of him. https://twitter.com/ShadowReindeer/status/1766859262133743686

Also, a more personal note. I'm graduating in May, so by the time the next chapter comes out, I'll have a bachelors! Just something I'm proud of and wanted to share. That's it, and I'll see you next time.

Comments

[mustangdrew4]

A lot happening in this chapter. Skystike making excellent clothing suggestions, a pony In need being shown the light in a dark time, a run in with a familiar duo leading to realizing some buried memories have triggers that weren't known, Skystrike showing that he's still top dog when it comes to dirty secrets, and finally meeting one of the legendary allies of the famous disbanded merc group.

All the while Skystike continues to ignore most social norms, to just be himself and enjoy life. Very satisfying to read. Also the artwork you had commissioned really hammers in the, "ignoring social norms" part. It looks good 👍

I'm glad to hear that you moved past that personal experience you mentioned. That must've been a difficult time to go through but hey, you made it out and even used that experience to make something good from it.

Also, early congratulations on the bachelor degree. What is it in if you don't mind me asking? I decided against going through college myself for now but it's always nice hearing about others succeeding in it.

Anyways, that's enough rambling from me. Thank you for the entertainment, I'm looking forward to the next chapter!