Chapter 1

"What happens now?'" Andrew pondered despondently.

He never quite believed in life after death. That's not to say that he would outright deny the existence of some sort of God or gods, he didn't care either way. If anything, he would categorize himself as an agnostic atheist. On the off chance that there was a deity of some sort, however, he prayed that his mother would find the peace that she so desperately deserved after all these years of suffering from her terminal condition.

He was scared. If it turned out that he was wrong and there was truly something beyond this wretched game of life, what awaited him? He knew damn well that he wasn't the best person he could have been, even he wasn't blind enough to ignore that fact. He had killed people, whether he was in control of his emotions or not didn't excuse that. The truck driver he accidentally pushed off-road, and eventually into the river. The neighborhood thugs he had beat—killed?— and robbed, the gas station cashier... the bus he had plucked from the street and sent toward the side of a skyscraper in an attempt to harm the last person alive who he could consider his friend.

Perhaps... there was still something he could do to save himself?

He tried to take hold of the spear lodged through his chest by way of his telekinesis, to no avail. He just couldn't feel anything, both physically or telekinetically. It was as if he was deprived of all five senses, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He couldn't really blame Matt for having done what he did, who knows what he would have done to those cops had his cousin not intervened. He had warned them to leave him alone yet they chose to continue to threaten their better. Lucky for them Andrew had chosen to throw everyone back instead of killing them outright. He had even tried taking his anger out on every damn window in the block.

He couldn't stop himself, even if he wanted to. He was just so damn angry. At his father, Richard. That bastard had the gall to blame him for his mother's death. Him!? When all he did all day was drink costly booze during the day and go out to God only knows where at night. Then there was Wayne, the bane of Andrews existence since freshman year, second only to his father. There were no redeeming qualities about him, all he was good for was picking on Andrew just because he was stronger than...

Oh...

Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, he had no time to dwell on the thought any further as he felt the unforgiving tendrils of death begin to slowly eat away at his mind. It was vaguely akin to falling into a light slumber, expect this would be a rest from which he knew he would never wake from. He didn't have much time left, If there was just one thing he could do before tumbling fully into the abyss, it would be to at least make peace with himself for failing his mother. She made him tell her that he was stronger than this. If felt almost like a promise than a statement. And oh boy was she right. He was stronger than this, stronger than everything. Stronger than any human being could ever hope to be. Yet here he was, clinging to what little life force he had left, fully aware of his imminent death.

“I'm sorry mom, this isn't what you would have wanted of me.” He though solemnly

The darkness was beginning to muddle his thoughts. He was... losing himself. He was scared, if he was even capable of feeling his lungs he would probably be hyperventilating. With what little focus -foggy it may be- that he had left, he summoned up one. last. thought. The only aspect of himself that he could genuinely consider himself to be proud of.

“I'm supposed to be an apex predator. so why is this happening”

Everything went dark.

Just before everything went blue.

***

The first thing he became aware of was the darkness. He couldn't see anything, just blackness all around. However, as he slowly became more and more cognizant he began to regain his lost senses. He could feel a soft texture just under himself. A bed perhaps? It was a small one to be sure, as he could vaguely feel his feet hanging off the edge. Remembering he had to breath, he inhaled a lungful of air and took the next step.

Andrew slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by a plain, spotless white ceiling.

"No." He thought in utter disbelief. It was impossible, that spear ran him through the center of his chest. As far as he knew it ripped his heart and lungs to shreds along the way, there was no way he could have survived that.

But the repeated beeping emanating just to his right crushed any doubts he was having of his health.

"They managed to save me..." he uttered under his breath. He clenched his eyes shut, his stiff muscles straining as he got himself into a seated position on his pearl white bed.

Except he felt a firm resistance from his wrists accompanied by metallic clanking... He had been cuffed to the shallow railing that only barely poked up from the sides of the fairy comfortable mattress.

"You have got to be kidding me." He spoke stoically to himself.

The cuffs (which seemed excessively large for his frame, more appropriate for a leg than his wrist) clicked open as he more or less rattled the inside of the keyholes with his telekinesis, the cuffs now hanging limply against the metal rails of the bed. He examined his spotless wrists, from the position he had woken up, the cuffs should have been pressing up against them, yet they had no red marks to speak of. He either had tougher skin than he thought -which he doubted- or his shield had somehow activated itself while he was unconscious. He began to examine his room in greater detail.

His bed was shoved near the corner, the back against a beige wall and about three feet of space between the left side and the wall. There was an iv drip to his right filled with clear fluid, what it was he had no idea. It wasn't connected to him, and it didn't seem like it was at any point prior to how full it currently was. He chose to ignore for the time being. There was a single door located in the corner in front of him along the left wall with an open window directly across from it to his right. It had blue curtains that were swaying to and fro at the discretion of the wind coming outside, it was probably early noon if the sunlight piercing through the curtains was any indication.

He looked down and began to examine himself? All he was wearing were plain navy blue boxer briefs. And then he saw his skin.

He just noticed that all of his burns were gone, and all that was left of what should have been a decently sized hole in his chest cavity was a pale, slightly sunken circular area of scar tissue. He brought his right hand up and took hold of some of the flesh, kneading it between his thumb and index finger. It felt dry and rough, leathery almost. He silently hoped that it too would heal over as well as his burns, which may as well have been healed through stem cells, since the rest of his body was spotless. Along the edge of the circle were a few pieces of dried blood, as if it was only just starting to heal. He left it alone, not wanting to interfere with the healing process any further.

He reached around his back to see if there was a similar scar.

It took all but two seconds of searching to feel the same rough texture on his back.

Andrew scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. Perhaps he had been in some sort of coma for awhile, and that the reason he had healed to this extent? Or perhaps one of their gifts was some sort of accelerated healing factor? He quickly discarded the thought, They would have noticed such an obvious perk if it came packaged with their telekinesis. And a coma would fail to explain the dried blood, or the relative sameness of his hair length as he remembered it. But what sort of hospital is capable saving someone from being impaled through the chest? He knew that stem cells could do incredible things to burns, practically reversing all damage, but a hole through the chest?

No hospital on Earth could possibly hope to treat that kind of wound unless this was no ordinary hospital? The cat was out of the bag, the world knew of his powers, there was no way he would be admitted to a regular hospital so easily. So perhaps he was taken by the government to some sort of secret base? No no no, that was ridiculous, no competent government would be content with leaving him only cuffed to a bed and near an open window.

Andrew's train of thought was put on hold as he adjusted his position to lean on his right side. Looking downward he noticed a duffel bag on the floor right next to the bed. It looked exactly like the one he used to rob the gas station. No, it was the duffel bag he had used, it even had some scorch marks across the already black surface from the gas station explosion.

Now Andrew was genuinely confused, this room was too casual to be some sort of FBI holding facility, but he also couldn't believe that he was in a regular hospital. Yet whoever was in charge felt comfortable enough that they had left him his duffel bag.

Swinging his legs across the bed, he planted his bare feet firmly on the cold, white marble floor and stood up. Surprised at the lack of muscle atrophy, he discarded the possibility of a coma. He wasted no time in grabbing the bag and placing it on the bed. After unzipping it he flipped it upside down to empty it of all its contents.

There was no money in the bag, just clothing, specifically his clothing. He gave it a few last shakes for good measure, a pair of sneakers being the last to fall out, which then proceeded to roll off the edge of the bed. Again, they were his.

Perhaps someone was trying to help him break out? Matt maybe?

No, that's crazy. He could easily just fly out of the open windows. So the only reasonable explanation would be that the "hospital" staff know that he is dangerous due to the handcuffs, but not to what extent.

He had way too many questions and no answers.

It was about time to seek some out.

"Hello!" he bellowed into the room, hoping the noise would bleed out into the hallway.

Silence.

"Great." He sighed.

Andrew quickly began changing into his clothing. Included in the bag was go-to attire, dark grey jeans, light grey t-shirt, and his favorite dark grey -essentially black- hoodie. Someone who knew him had to have brought the clothing, as the last thing he was wearing were his tattered bandages and a hospital gown.

He didn't even want to contemplate what they wanted to do with his paranormal body while he was unconscious if it wasn't done already.

Just as he was preparing to make his way to the window and make his exit, he heard voices from behind the closed door. He approached it cautiously, staying away from the rectangular window so as not to be seen.

"Princess Celestia has already been informed about the situation so we can expect her arrival from Canterlot fairly soon." He heard a male voice say. "As for the biped, It's safe to assume that he is sapient what with that hospital gown of his, as well as that satchel full of clothing fit for his kind. After making sure there was nothing in it that could prove dangerous we thought it best to leave it next to his bed. If we are correct and he is indeed intelligent we don't want to seem like we robbed him blind. We need him to trust us if we plan on having a civil conversation when he awakes. As for the cuffs, he was thrashing about in his sleep and we had no other way of making sure he stayed in place, hopefully, we can remove them before he wakes up. Don't want him to panic on us after all."

Who the hell is Princess Celestia? And what was that about calling him a biped and being sapient? Was he NOT supposed to walk on two legs? Was he supposed to be no smarter than a vegetable? He would have been inclined to open the door to make his presence known until he heard a girl begin her nervous reply.

"T-that sounds splendid, but I have to ask, do you have so much as an inkling of an idea of what it is? I've never seen or heard of a creature like that in all my days as a medical professional. It-I mean he looks like some sort of hairless cross between a minotaur and diamond dog." Her voice was thick with nervous confusion.

"I'm afraid not, seems that none of us have a clear understanding of what he is. All we can do for the time being is wait for the princess's arrival, she may know what he is and where he may have come from, but from the looks of it I doubt he is anything Equestrian!" He exclaimed.

“But if he isn't Equestrian than where else could he have come from?" She questioned skeptically. "Griffonstone has nothing like him and the Badlands can barely support life as it is."

Okay, now things were getting interesting, albeit even more confusing. He didn't have the slightest idea where Equestria or Griffonstone were, or that they were a thing in the first place. These doctors were also treating him like he wasn't even human. While bothersome, he could somewhat understand how they arrived at that conclusion. Must be easier to label him as some kind of monster or supernatural creature than a teenager who happened to be at the right place at the right time.

The man mentioned that this Celestia figure would be coming over soon. And from the mention of civil conversation, this princess was probably his best shot at getting some information on where exactly he was and why. The mere fact that these people didn't turn him over to the government straight away was reason enough to stay for a bit and get some answers from who he could only guess was their leader.

Growing impatient with the situation, he decided now was about the time to reveal himself.

Walking over to the tiny glass panel on the door, Andrew could see that his room was at the intersection of a T-shaped hallway, the walls were almost comically clean, like they had just been repainted.. he turned the door lever and pushed it open, overestimating the resistance the door would have, it flew leftward and bounced slightly as it flattened itself against the wall. He took a single step outside his room and turned to face the figures on his right. Except, he was only greeted by the sight of two barn animals.

Andrew stood there wide-eyed and at a loss for words.

Horses.

In lab coats.

The voices were coming from horses...

Of course. At least that answered one question. He had indeed died. Now all that was left to find out was whether he was in some very strange part of purgatory, or if waking up in some horse filled hospital was supposed to be the relatively tame beginning of hell before things got progressively worse. Another part of him wanted to believe that he hadn't died, and was instead merely hallucinating.

He hadn't seen them through the door's window as they were practically touching the wall on either side of the door. He had just barely missed hitting the mare when he opened the door, and she had to take a step back and to the left to avoid it. He was fairly confident that it was female, the pink mane against the white coat and long eyelashes definitely played a part. But there was also something vaguely human in her facial features. It was definitely strange, unlike the giant statue of horses he was familiar with, the mare only reached up to his gut.

She looked straight at him with stupendously over-sized eyes, mouth agape. He gave a similar expression before past words from his mother rang in his head.

You're stronger than this.

He pushed back the shock nervousness that threatened to overtake his mind and steeled himself before speaking.

"W-what the hell are you?" He asked bluntly, regaining his composure somewhat, but failing to keep the confusion from slipping into his voice. "And where am I?" He added.

She just continued to stare at him for a few seconds. She blinked a few times, her mouth opening and closing rapidly as if trying and failing to form words. "Uh...I...I..." She stammered.

The stallion on his right chimed in in her place, "ponies sir." Andrew turned his head to face the stallion as he continued, "we're ponies. And I take it that you are just as confused by our appearance as we are yours?"

Andrew nodded weakly, still trying to make sense of the situation. The male pony that was talking to him was caramel coated with a dark brown mane. He also didn't seem as nervous as the mare, or him for that matter. In fact, the equine doctor was smiling at him.

The talking animal was smiling at him, this was either Hell and he was being tricked into a false sense of security, or things were about to get much more complicated. For now, he thought it prudent to continue trying to figure out his situation.

"Ponies?" He replied incredulously, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, sir." The pony responded happily as if he wasn't at all bothered by the fact that he was speaking with a creature he himself stated to have never seen before.

"But... how?" Andrew pressed. "How are you talking? And what's this I hear about griffins? Where am I!?" He asked, nearly losing his cool. He was no less baffled by his predicament now than ten minutes prior.

The stallion only nodded knowingly. "I believe I can understand your confusion sir, I would likely have a similar reaction if I found myself in a place full of... I'm sorry, forgive my bluntness but what exactly are you?" He questioned.

Andrew frowned inwardly at the implications of that question.

"Human... I'm a human." He answered promptly. "Are you saying I'm the only one you've ever seen? Because if that's true then that either means..." He paused, wondering if he should continue or not. After a moment, he decided to take the plunge. "That either means I'm in some sort of joke of an afterlife, or on another world.” His tone grew more sarcastic as he finished speaking. Those were really the only two options that he would even consider. He HAD died, or at the very minimum came extremely close it. This could very well be some sort of twisted afterlife, but one thing that made him doubt that was the fact that although the burns that covered most of his body were gone, he still had a scar from the spear that killed him. For the sake of his sanity, if nothing more, he would continue to assume the former for now... Although if that was indeed the case, he was rather disappointed. No golden gates on puffy white clouds, no fiery brimstones on a sea of lava, just... ponies. Ponies of all things.

"You aren't accustomed to talking ponies... and we have never seen nor heard of anything like you." So that would make you an alien then." The doctor mused with a grin. "Hmm, I see," he chuckled heartily. "then again, I suppose Ponyville has seen stranger times. I believe some introductions are in order. You may call me Dr. Stable, I am the head surgeon of Ponyville General Hospital and was in charge of bringing you here safely upon your discovery. The shy mare over there is my wonderful assistant, nurse Redheart." He gestured to her with a forehoof.

“H-hello.” She stammered, giving him a half a smile.

Ponyville? Dr. Stable? Jesus Christ. Andrew mentally shook his head. He went from literally dying to conversing with barn animals in what felt like only a few minutes. Perhaps this wasn't a fiery Hell, and it's not like Heaven would have a use for a hospital, but alien world? He decided to just take this a step at a time. He sighed and said "Andrew. Andrew Detmer, but could you give me a bit more information on what you are? Just telling me you're ponies isn't enough. The ponies that I'm familiar with are just regular non-talking animals.”

“Oh, I would be happy to!” Redheart yelled, betraying the silent, shy nature she'd been displaying thus far. She went on to very quickly explain to him the three different pony races, how they differ from one another with their inherent magic and how they each utilized it, pegasi and earth ponies using it passively to manipulate the weather and grow food, respectively. Though what really captured his attention was her explanation on unicorns and alicorns, who could take complete control of their magic to perform extraordinary feats… telekinesis included.

Although he found the idea of magic ridiculous, he tried to keep in mind that he considered telekinesis to be equally as impossible not too long ago.

"Alright, this is all... a lot to take in," Andrew admitted. "But I'm still pretty lost, you mind if we keep talking inside?" Andrew gestured to the room behind him.

"That sounds quite alright," Stable began, "but I believe it would be best if we wait a short while. You see, we are currently waiting for princess Celestia to arrive. And nopony would be better qualified to answer any and every question you may have than her." He stated matter of factually. "No doubt she will have plenty of her own as well.” He added.

Andrew frowned. "And how long will that take?" He inquired.

"Not long at all I can assure you." A womanly voice said from around a corner.

Andrew turned and saw that the newcomer they had heard was none other than princess Celestia herself. She was noticeably taller than the other ponies, but still a far cry from a normal horse, as the top of her head only reached his chin. Celestia had large wings draped along her sides, and from her forehead protruded a long, eerily sharp, bony horn. Then there was her mane, multicolored and flowing in an invisible wind. Telekinesis maybe? Though it looked more like it was flowing underwater than in air.

As the nurse and doctor gave a brief bow, he repressed the urge to pinch himself to see if maybe this was all just a dream. Instead of following their example he looked the royalty figure in the eyes, having to look down to do so, but not so much as he had with the regular ponies. He leaned to the side, looking at the sun tattooed on her butt. “I.. ugh, take it you're Celestia?”

"You are correct." She answered with a smile.

"So are you supposed to be what passes for a horse here, still seem pretty short to me?" He commented.

"Hey! That's the princess you're talk-" The nurse started, but stopped as Celestia gave her a look. The princess didn't seem to mind the question, merely continuing her unwavering smile, making it apparent that she found this amusing.

"Pony." She answered smoothly. "Now, then, we have much to discuss. Please," she gestured to the room, "After you."

"Right." He replied as he walked back into his room and took a seat at the foot of his bed. Several white chairs somehow found their way into the middle of the room. "Ok," He started once everyone was seated, Celestia opted to stand, the two chairs on either side of her unfit to hold her... excessive frame. Redheart and Stables took their seats to the princess's left and right, respectively. "I have zero idea what the hell is going on and I need you guys to fill me in on how I got...” he examined his surroundings uncomfortably for a moment. "here. One moment I'm dying and the next, I wake up in a hospital full of talking ponies.”

He got worried looks from all three ponies before Celestia spoke.

"I see, I am sure Dr. Stable should be able to explain the situation in more detail for the both of us. The letter I received only informed me about a wounded alien creature that was discovered here in Ponyville and nothing else. I came as quickly as my chariot would take me. Unfortunately Luna—my sister—was not in Canterlot at the time, so she may run a bit la- ." She stopped short, looking disconcerted for a moment. "I'm sorry but did I hear that correctly? Did you say that you were dying?"

He made a heaving sigh, readjusting his seated position.

"Yeah," He answered in a regretful tone. "I had a spear through my chest, I remember feeling like I was dying. But right before I lost consciousness I think I saw a flash of blue light and next thing I know I'm waking up here.” He patted the bed to emphasize his point. He looked at Dr. Stable. "So? Can you shed some light on where and how you found me? You said I was injured in that letter you sent, Did you heal me with magic or something?"

The stallion cleared his throat as he began his explanation.

"Right, of course. Well, I was merely filling out some paperwork this morning when I began to hear a fairly quiet ringing noise. I thought nothing of it at first, but it started to get louder and louder before quieting again, then repeating."

Sounds an awful lot like he's describing the sound from the cave, Andrew instantly thought. Before Matt, Steve and he jumped into the underground cave with that blue crystal that gave them their powers, it was making the same noises. Maybe there was some sort of connection there?

"Even then, I ignored it still. But then it just continued to grow and grow until it felt like I had taken a needle to my eardrums!" Stable winced as he brought a hoof to his ear and scratched. "Everypony in town was able to hear it and several search parties were assembled to find out what was causing the ruckus. After about fifteen minutes of going around the area, my party discovered that the noise was coming from the town square, but we still couldn't pinpoint the exact location…” He paused, as if uncertain how to continue.

“Dr. Stables, do not leave us in suspense,” Celestia said anxiously, just as intrigued in this as he was.

The doctor looked at Andrew for a moment with a soft expression, as if to say he might not like what he was going to hear. Andrew merely nodded for him to continue.

“Well, once word had spread about where it was coming from, everypony gathered there, mostly to complain that nopony had done anything to stop it, as if yelling at each other was supposed to help. But then… something happened… I couldn't see what exactly—I don't think anypony saw— because there was a great flash of blue light right in front of the town hall along with a loud boom and minor earthquake that broke several windows in the area. Thankfully nopony was injured but...” He paused again with a grimace.

Andrew was listening intently at this point, the boom, blue light, earthquake. Yes, It had to be connected to his powers, everything the doctor was saying matched perfectly with what happened in that cave. Celestia was also giving the doctor her undivided attention. Redheart, however, didn't seem to like wherever this was heading as she became rather tense, her face taking on a tint of green.

“After the flash of light faded," Stable continued, "so did the noise. But where the light had been was… you..." He gulped nervously. "You were covered in blood.”

Chapter 2

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The white alicorn tilted her head at the scene before her, silently contemplating the situation. She found herself sympathizing with the crying human in front of her. If she found herself thrust into an alien world full of hairless bipeds, the only thing that would keep her from panicking would be the stoic, analytical persona she had developed all those centuries ago.

"Andrew, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

Andrew held his face in his hands, attempting to calm himself after hearing the revelation that he was indeed reborn after suffering the fate of death at the hands of his friend. He should have been laughing triumphantly at the fact that he had just cheated the reaper. Indeed this could be counted as a huge win for him. Alas, he knew that this was no victory. There was a reason he did not die as he should have; some explanation for all this must exist. His powers, the blue crystal, the flash of light that he saw at the moment of his death coupled with the one that brought him into this alien world proved without a doubt that this was no accident.

"I'm a monster," Andrew whispered silently to himself as he withdrew his hands and lifted his head, revealing his slightly red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "This isn't fair, first Steve, then the gas station, and now me. I can't even die properly." He began to thoroughly rub his eyes, trying to rid them of the remaining offending moisture.

This sudden display put a frown on the trio's faces. Celestia stepped forward, about to pull the troubled newcomer into her embrace. However, when she moved within a yard of him she was swiftly put to a stop as Andrew stared up at her from behind his now raised hand.

“Please, don’t. I just need some time to adjust to all of this." He said with a sigh. "A whole new world, wow. Steve would have loved this... Matt would probably just freak out though. I wonder if he was able to get away from the cops after he killed me. Actually, knowing him he would probably just try his best to avoid hurting anyone until he could get away." He mentally chuckled at that for a moment when his train of thought was interrupted by a rumbling feeling in his stomach.

"Can I get something to eat and drink, I feel like I haven't eaten in days.” He groaned just before gently laying himself back on the bed, his feet brushing the floor.

Nurse Redheart cheerfully nodded. “Of course! We just need to know what your species' diet consists of. I took a look at your teeth while you were unconscious, you are an omnivore correct?”

“Yeah, we can eat just about anything I guess, meat, fruit, and vegetables. Although we need meat no matter what, I'm guessing you don't have any here since you guys are herbivores.” Andrew replied dully, beginning to rub his eyes.

“Unfortunately no, although we do have eggs and toast if that would be ok." She said, peering at the human. “It’s the closest thing we have to meet here.”

“I guess so, thanks… am I by any chance allowed to go outside?” Andrew questioned as he turned his head toward the window. "Wait a minute, that's not right..." The sky had darkened considerably in the past twenty or so minutes. Before any of the ponies could respond, he continued. "How late is it? I could have sworn it was noon.”

Dr. Stable trotted over to the window and glanced out into the dark streets. “That’s strange, there wasn’t suppose to be any kind of storm at this hour, it’s barely three o'clock.” He said. He looked up at the sky and saw a grey, behemoth-sized storm cloud stretching all over the sky above Ponyville. “Uh-oh.” He turned to the ponies and Human, a look of concern plastered on his features. “It would seem that the pegasi over at the weather factory have no clue what they're doing. Not only have they started the storm early, but from the size of it we might be looking at several cases of property damage!” He scowled.

Celestia frowned at this unsettling piece of information and trotted over to the window to take a look for herself. “...Oh dear, that storm will end up causing quite a bit of damage to Ponyville as is, I will need to teleport to the weather factory in Cloudsdale and resolve whatever problem is causing this to prevent it from enlarging anymore. Please take good care of our Andrew in my absence.” She began to light up her horn, much to Andrew’s surprise.

“Of course Princess,” replied Redheart with a slight bow. "Farewell Andrew, we can discuss your situation at length when this is resolved."

"Fine." He responded stoically.

With that Celestia disappeared in a flash of white.

Andrew narrowed his eyes at the first display of magic he had been audience to since arriving in this world. He was curious at what else they could do with it.

“I'll be right back with your food Andrew!” Redheart announced as she cantered out of the room.

Andrew didn't respond. Instead, he was thinking just how powerful magic was in this world. The earth and Pegasus ponies were practically powerless, but the unicorns had full use of their magical abilities. Celestia just teleported and he knew that telekinesis was apparently an everyday skill that unicorns used, but what else are they capable of? He decided to ask something small first.

“Can every unicorn teleport?” Andrew asked quizzically.

Dr. Stable paused momentarily, caught off guard by the impromptu question. "No, but any unicorn can learn to teleport." He began to Explain as he trotted slowly to the center of the room. “But the problem lies in that most unicorns only know basic spells for everyday use, like telekinesis. Since teleportation is high-level magic, it involves way more know-how about... magic stuff than most are willing to bother learning. At least, that's how a unicorn acquaintance of mine explained it to me."

Andrew smiled at that. Knowing that he won’t have to hide his powers here was most definitely good to hear. As he had mentioned to Matt at Steve’s... funeral, his powers have grown to such a point that they were part of him just as much as his limbs. It had gotten to the point where he would use his powers for simple everyday activities like making his bed to clothing himself. It would be difficult trying to hide what now felt like second nature to him.

Andrew nodded softly and asked, "So this storm, the pegasi can't just fly up there and disperse it? Like... I don't know, use their magic to spread it thin or move it someplace else?"

"I'm afraid not, there comes a point where a cloud becomes too big to properly control, and the only option is to wait it out." Stable explained.

"Can't the unicorns just fly up there and use their magic to deal with it?" Andrew asked.

Dr stable took on a look of confusion. "What? Unicorns can't fly, only pegasi can. Were you not paying attention to Redheart's explanation?" As much as Stable liked a learner, he didn't like ponies that lacked common sense. Then again, this was no pony...

"Then it's not real telekinesis." Andrew replied with a subtle scowl. How are they not able to fly? It should be just as easy as lifting a table.

"And just what do you think is real telekinesis hmm?" Stable replied with a snort.

"Food is here!" replied a cheerful Redheart as she trotted through the open door, somehow balancing a tray containing a glass of water, two golden scrambled eggs and two brown slices of toast. She paused however when she saw the tray hover over her head and into the waiting lap of Andrew.

"That is telekinesis." He crossed his arms, sporting a prideful grin. The slices of toast then levitated a foot above the tray as the eggs quickly followed, nestling themselves on top of the lower slice as the other came down. What was left was a perfect egg sandwich... minus the ketchup.

To Dr. Stables and his assistant, it looked as if the plate and its contents had minds of their own. There was no visible aura that would usually indicate the presence of magic, so what exactly did Andrew do?

Andrew took a gluttonous bite and looked at the two medical ponies with a mouth full of food, chewing as he looked at their bewildered faces.

“Whuh?” He coughed up just before swallowing. “Why do you look so surprised? Don’t you guys see that kind of stuff like… every day or something?” He took another large bite of his sandwich and washed it down with a swig of water.

"How did you do that!? I didn't see any magical aura? Did you use illusory magic to conceal it? Was that even magic!? Stable asked fervently.

Redheart was completely lost. How stable knew so much about magic she had no idea.

"Magic doesn't exist in my world so it can't be that, it's just a power me and some..." Andrew paused, thinking for but a moment about Steve and Matt. The crazy antics that they went through together since getting their powers. The first time they flew through the sky together.

"Friends." He said solemnly. "It's something me and two other friends got from," He paused again, contemplating whether or not he should tell these ponies the origin of his powers. Magic is commonplace in this world so it's possible they might be able to help him understand what exactly happened to him down in that cave that gave him his abilities. "from a huge glowing blue crystal in a cave, it has to be connected to my arrival here after I died."

"Fascinating, Twilight is going to have a field day with you that's for sure." Stable said.

"Who?" Asked Andrew with a tilted head.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle is the most magically adept unicorn of this age!" Stable clarified. "Not surprising of course when you also take into account that she is the sole student of Princess Celestia. She lives here in Ponyville, from what I hear she and is tasked with studying the magic of-"

CCCRAAAAABBOOOOMMM!

The deafening sound of thunder could be heard alongside the feeling of a deep rumbling beneath their hooves and feet. Andrew was the first to respond as he rushed to the window and peered out.

Pandemonium was all he saw, ponies everywhere were scattering like roaches and screaming incoherently all the while. He tilted his head upwards to look at the sky, or rather what should have been the sky.

"This is bad, you two should come see for yourself..." Andrew said without even turning towards the duo.

Redheart and Stable exchanged momentary glances of worry before trotting over alongside Andrew to get a look at the storm.

What they saw made them want to run as far away from this town as possible. The entire sky above Ponyville and extending outwards for miles was a dark grey, almost black mass of clouds. Large tendrils of lightning could be seen making their journey along the storm in short flashes every few seconds. Several pegasi royal guards could be seen flying around trying to keep everypony calm.

"Andrew, back away from there! We need to head to the lobby and bunker down until this storm passes. Redheart, make sure all the patients are moved deeper into the hospital and that everypony stays away from the windows." Dr. Stable barked out confidently, taking immediate control of the situation as best he could.

"Of course doctor, come on Andrew follow me!" She exclaimed as she began to turn around and head for the door.

"No," he replied defiantly. This was his chance. He may have done unspeakable wrongs before arriving here, but it's not like they knew that here. As far as they were considered he had a clean slate. This was his chance to not only prove to the locals that he was benign but to take hold of the downward spiral his life had taken and do something about it. He lifted his right foot and got into position on the window.

The two ponies merely looked at him like he was crazy.

"Don't worry, I can fly by using my telekinesis on myself." Andrew said with a grin.

"Pardon? Andrew, flight using telekinesis is nearly impossible to maintain beyond short-term levitation!" Stammered Dr. Stable, sure that Andrew was completely out of his mind.

Andrew turned back to stare at the town. It was quite a simple looking village that was for certain, it could probably pass for modern if it wasn't for all the green. He would have to ask later how advanced they were technologically. "I already told you." He said as he stepped along an invisible floor and into the open air. Upon reaching a few yards out he turned around to look at the two flabbergasted equines.

"This is true telekinesis! Not magic." He spoke the last word with a drop of disdain.

"It's the creature! It's escaping!"

Andrew and the two startled ponies at the window turned toward the source of the yelling, seven ponies clad in golden armor and matching spears were advancing from the right of the hospital. All were white, three pegasi, three earth, and one unicorn.

"Nopony said it could fly!"

"I don't care if it can shoot lasers, get it before it harms anypony! Flight team attack from above, get it down to where we can all deal with him together, Celestia knows what that creature is capable of!" Barked the apparent lead pegasus as he commanded his fellow guards.

"Ugh oh." Thought Andrew. He quickly started his flight upwards and away from the hospital, the cries of Stable and Redheart muted against the raging wind, whether they were trying to say something to him, or the guards he couldn't tell. Within a minute a pegasus guard slammed into Andrew from the back, forcing them both down at an angle, putting them even further away from the hospital. They impacted the ground with an audible thud, sliding a few yards before coming to a stop, Andrew on his back spread eagle with the pegasus on top.

"Ouch" Muttered the guard as he got up and took hold of his spear. "What do you want to do with him, captain!? He yelled to another approaching guard.

"Good job Streak, hold him there while he's teleported to the dungeon, Then we report the incident to Celestia," Commanded the pegasus captain.

Streak pressed the tip of his spear to Andrew's throat. "Yes sir, but what do we do abou-umph!" Streak found himself flying back as if punched right in the stomach, he landed before his troopmates, who stopped dead in their tracks. They were all stunned for but a moment before Andrew got to his feet.

"Everypony hold your ground, it's capable of magic!" The rest of the guard ponies lifted their spears, ready for a fight. One pony, however, the unicorn of the group off to the far left, lowered his head.

Andrew wore an irritated look on his face. He didn't want to kill anyone here but he was tired of being pushed around. He saw this as an opportunity to show off his superiority over these ponies. He needed to let them that he was stronger. That he was not to be messed with. He was certain this could just be written off as a misunderstanding after he deals with the storm. Besides, he needed some warm-up exercise for what he was planning.

Both sides just stood in place about four meters apart, examining the other. Andrew took note of the unicorn who was aiming his horn directly at him as well as the spears doing the same. He pondered how he could best dispatch them all without actually doing any harm. He glanced up at the storm, it was thundering a bit more frequently now. He would have to make sure to hurry it up.

The nameless captain took in every detail of the creature before him. Bipedal, mostly hairless, clothed. "No way is it not intelligent, it's surveying the situation just the same as us." The captain thought quietly.

"Captain, I knocked that thing out of the sky and crashed it straight into the ground! How does it not have any marks or tears on its body or clothing?" Asked Streak. After looking over Andrew's clothing again he found Streak's assessment to be correct, It was completely unscathed.

The captain furrowed his brows, unsure of what to make of it. How did the creature come out of that crash unharmed? He would have dwelled on the thought longer if he wasn't snapped back to attention by the fact that his spear was growing lighter. In fact, it had quickly become weightless. In his shock his grip faltered momentarily, allowing the spear to leave his grasp and float away from him. The captain backed up slightly with a scowl. “Hold tight onto your spears! We need to find out what else it can do besides telekinesis. Dusk!” He called out.

“Yes sir!” Replied the unicorn his left.

Summon my anti-magic spear for me, then proceed to provoke the creature into revealing whatever else it is capable of. If simple levitation is all it can do then we should have no trouble bringing it under control, everypony else wait for an opening and hit it with everything you got.

"Sir!" They all called out in unison.

Dusk began to focus his magic into his horn, intent on summoning the ethereal portal linked to the weapon cache in the royal barracks. After a few moments, he released the built up magic within and the luminescent white portal materialized above them. A golden spear shot out from the center and lodged itself into the ground to the right of the captain.

Andrew's interest peaked greatly when he saw Dusk summon the replacement spear. "Have to admit, that's kinda cool," He thought, mentally smiling to himself. He was anxious to test how he fared against magic, best to dispatch the irrelevant parties beforehand though so as to minimize interruption.
"let's see what else you can do..."

The captain took hold of his spear and raised it, pointing it directly at Andrew.

"Hear me, creature! We have been informed that you speak Equestrian. Why you choose to remain silent while facing the royal guard I don't know, but this is your last chance to turn yourself in. Drop the spear and-oomph!" The captain was cut off when he was thrown sideways into a tree, knocked out instantly.

"What in Tartarus!?" Exclaimed Dusk as chaos befell all around him.
One by one his platoon was taken out. Streak was flipped forcefully onto his back, stunning him. The two earth ponies to his right were dragged forcefully into each other, heads meeting with an audible thud as they fell to the ground limp. Snoozing softly after a few moments.

Dusk was trembling with fearful awe. In the twenty years that he has lived, he has only ever been able to partially hone his conjuration magic. This creature had used telekinesis offensively, something that takes years of honing your magical endurance and skill. Telekinesis is one of the most simple spells ever created, but the amount of magic needed to use it increases exponentially after a few dozen pounds of lift.

This creature was capable of flinging one hundred and fifty pounds of pony and sixty pounds of armor across the road like child's play! Multiple times even!

And that wasn't all he could deduce. This creature had perfectly mastered an entirely separate form of magic, Illusion magic. It is able to conceal its wings as well as its magical aura from view completely. If he didn't know any better he would have thought it was doing all of this with its mind. But that would be ridiculous.

"Hurry up and do something cool, I don't have much time!" Andrew yelled, a restive tone lacing his voice. The wind had begun to pick up dramatically over the past few minutes and was buffeting the trees mercilessly.

Dusk recovered quickly from his thoughts, preparing to attack as he lowered his head.

Andrew saw this and quickly backpedaled to a distance of 9 yards, unsure of what to expect. "Maybe he can shoot lasers?" Andrew smirked. "Steve would probably love that." He thought solemnly.

Pewpewpewpewpew!

Dusk opened fire with a barrage of lasers.

"Shit!" Andrew screamed reflexively, no time to dodge. He put his arms in front of his face and closed his eyes.

Ssssssssssssss...

No pain, no impact, nothing but the sizzling sound that permeated through the air. Andrew opened his eyes and brought his arms down to his side. Beyond the thick layer of white smoke in front of him, he could make out Dusk sitting on his haunches utterly dumbfounded. Andrew assumed that his special defenses managed to protect him.

"Impossible...," Dusk uttered woefully to himself. "How!? He cried. "Offensive telekinesis, illusion magic to mask your wings and aura, and now shield magic!!? That's not scientifically possible!" He pointed his hoof at Andrew. "You're not scientifically possible!"

CCCCRRRRAAABBBOOOOMMM!

It began to pour.

This was not your typical shower. The downpour was so strong and relentless that at first glance it would seem more like hail than anything else.

Looking at Andrew, Dusk realized that he wasn't getting wet, it looked like the water was splashing off him as it should, but leaving no wet splotches on his clothing or hair. Was he really wasting magic to shield his body from the rain in such an inefficient manner? He could achieve the same results if he were to form an umbrella barrier above himself than waste concentration covering every inch of his being.

Andrew looked down at himself momentarily then back at Dusk. "No such thing as magic on my world. Everything I'm doing is telekinesis, my power, my gift, my talent. Nothing to do with your poor imitation that doesn't even let you lift yourself off the ground.

"B-but....what?" Dusk stuttered through chattering teeth. The rain had already begun to lower his body temperature

"Thanks for the warm-up but I need to take care of this storm before someone gets hurt." He frowned, trying not to dwell on what he had done during a storm similar to this... Although his memories seemed off, distant even.

CCCRRRAAABBBBOOOOOOMMM!!

"No time to waste on the past" Andrew Thought as he flew up, heading straight for what seemed to be the center of the chaotic storm.

Dusk maintained his sitting position, staring at the seemingly wingless creature flying up to and eventually disappearing into the mass of black that now covered the sky.

Andrew found himself in the midst of the storm. Lightning arcing from one cloud to another, crackling with raw energy. He closed his eyes and began his work by projecting a bubble around himself and proceeding to expand it, hoping to eventually disperse the storm enough for it to either lose most of its strength or simply disappear.

Ssssssssssssssssss...

Andrew paused. Opening his eyes to the familiar sound. Once again he was met with the same white mist that formed when he blocked Dust's magical attack. This time, however, It was completely shrouding him in what appeared to be the same spherical shape that he was emulating just moments ago, it faded away after several seconds. Andrew began to ponder this strange effect his power had been having lately, "Why does that keep happening? What's going on with my powers?" He certainly didn't feel any different than bef-

Cccrrraaackkk

A bolt of lightning arced from the right only several feet from Andrew's head, caught by surprise he tumbled backward in a back-flip before righting himself, smelling thick ozone.

His eyes were wide open and his mind fully alert from the adrenaline now coursing through his veins.

So why is it that he could see Steve floating before him? He was wearing a suit and looking at Andrew, smiling. Was this a hallucination? Ptsd? Did the lightning hit him and scramble his brain!?

If he can come back to life than just maybe this was actually Steve. Unless this actually was some sort of Hell, or maybe this was a test? He didn't care, maybe he wasn't hallucinating, maybe he was. Assume the worst, hope for the best.

"Steve, if that's really you I'm sorry!" Andrew yelled over the raging storm. He began to weep, the tears prominent against his still dry skin. He slumped down to his knees, sitting on his legs. "I... I wasn't trying to hurt you," He clutched his scarred chest with his right hand and yelled, "I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"You didn't mean to hurt me Andrew... And I forgive you for that. But we both know you knew what you were doing when you robbed those three thugs. You killed that store clerk. You killed police officers.

"I didn't mean to-"

"You crashed a bus full of people Andrew!! Men! Women!"

"But Steve, I didn't know what I was doing... I wasn't try-"

"There may have been children in there Andrew!!"

"But-!"

"Andrew you killed people, you ended their lives. Does that really mean noth-"

"I was trying to save my mom! I just wanted to be left alone!"

"By killing dozens of people!? You almost killed your father!"

"He would have deserved it!"

"Did those innocent people deserve to die, Andrew?"

"..." Andrew's eyes began to grow puffy as he held back tears. This couldn't have been Steve... He had to be hallucinating.

"Would your mother have wanted you to do all those things to save her!?"

"..."

"You know what killed her Andrew."

He rubbed his left temple with his left index and middle finger, his head was killing him.

"Instead of helping your mother you chose to buy that stupid camera of you-"

"Shut up!!" Andrew bellowed as he let loose a torrent of telekinetic energy all around him. He was simultaneously assaulted by the feeling of a dagger being wedged between his brain and skull and twisted without remorse. The pain was indescribable, paralyzing his mind as he began to fall. The last thing he remembered seeing was a bright white light.

Then everything went black.

---Ponyville General Hospital ---

"Thank you so much for the help ms. Sparkle. I could never have imagined somepony being able to teleport so many ponies at once," said Dusk to the Princess's star pupil.

"It's no trouble at all sir, anything I can do to help. Now, back to this alien that you confronted, are you certain that he was able to use such powerful telekinesis magic?" Questioned Twilight. The possibility of meeting somepony as proficient in magic as her was quite exciting, but the fact that it wasn't even a pony, unprecedented! She wondered why he had attacked the guards though, maybe he was scared. After all, he wasn't of this world, so it could very well be that the guard was expressing some sort of hostile intention without realizing.

"I know what I saw ms. Sparkle, you don't think my comrades just decided to knock themselves out, do you? Also, he said that it wasn't even magic, that he was doing it all with his mind." He stated, shrugging and rolling his eyes.

Ok now this was getting weird, why would he lie about his talent and pretend it wasn't magic? Twilight was about to question Dusk further when she saw Redheart come out of the room they were outside of. She was balancing a clipboard on her back and wore a smile on her face.

"Well sir, it would appear that your friends here will be just fine, nothing but a few scrapes and bruises. Might I ask what you did to elicit such a hostile reaction out of Andrew? He isn't used to this world yet so you may have done something that may be regarded as a threat where he's from." She asked accusingly.

Dusk brought his chin up and closed his eyes. "We did no such thing Madame, we simply told him he had to come with us right away and he refused. He said something about fixing the storm before leaving," he turned to Twilight, "I almost even believed him too. He was able to stop my magic beam like it was nothing with that shield of his, though he seemed just as surprised about that as I was, to be honest."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that last statement. "Wow, really? Fascinating, are you sure he didn't have a horn in his man-whoah!

Twilight stumbled as the ground beneath her hooves began to shake roughly. After only a few moments the rumbling dies down.

Redheart stepped forward. "What in Equestria!? We almost never get quakes in this region, could it be because of the storm?"

Twilight furrowed her brow in thought. "I doubt it, I don't feel any fluctuations in the magical stability underground.... wait a minute. Something is going on with the storm, did you feel that Dusk." She asked.

Dusk lit his horn for a moment. "Sparkle is correct, the storm is fading away, let's go investigate. Redheart you stay with your patients.

"I need to stay here with the patients, besides it's probably just Celestia as she did say she would fix this," Redheart replied cheerily as she walked back into the room.

***

Twilight gasped at what used to be the forming hurricane above Ponyville. Dusk doing the same. The storm had an ever-expanding hole in the middle that seemed to burn away all the clouds in its journey toward the outer edges. There appeared to be somepony in the center.

"I think somepony is in the center, let me check," Twilight said as she began to focus her magic into her eyes to form magical magnifying lenses.

"Never seen that before, she really is the princess's student huh?" Dusk thought silently observing Twilight. It seemed like a very practical spell, interesting how nopony has ever thought of it before.

Twilight adjusted her zoom level until she could make out the Pony well enough to see that it wasn't a pony at all but Andrew himself.

"It's Andrew!" Twilight shouted as she started galloping along the road leading east of the hospital, followed almost immediately by the royal guard. "Do you have any spells that can catch him?" She yelled over wind rushing past her.

"Not from that height no! A bubble wouldn't be able to withstand terminal velocity, his momentum would just rip through it. Do you think he got struck by a stray lightning bolt?" Dusk asked.

"No, he has no burn marks on his clothes but it looks like he is bleeding from his nose, ears, and eyes. Do you think..." She paused. "That's impossible, he couldn't have." She thought doubtfully.

Dusk knew what that meant. Those are symptoms of arcane exhaustion. Andrew must be the cause of the storm's disappearance. Whatever he did to disperse the storm must have drained him of all his magic at once, leaving his body in a state of shock. "He displaced the clouds! How in the name of Celestia did he manage to do that!?"

Twilight was going to call dusk out on the fact that typical magic can't affect the weather when something caught her eye.

A prismatic blur was rushing towards Andrew.

Chapter 3

View Online

Andrew found himself flying through a bank of clouds, the familiar sensation of the wind rushing past his body completely absent. After a brief moment he exited the clouds and took in a view of a vast blue sea below. He tried to halt his flight, but discovered that he had no control over his course. Andrew paid it no mind, however, still clutched in the numbing throes of sleep. But, Andrew did acknowledge the unpleasant feeling of paralysis; being unable to move his body had the effect of making him feel as if he was nothing but a flying head.
He blinked.

Without warning, the dream changed. Andrew was now flying through a desert landscape, swerving in the sky above a vast array of sand dunes. The desert stretched as far as the eye could see. Again, he blinked; now he was flying through another bank of clouds, he noticed a snowy mountain range below. The scene changed yet again. Now he was soaring across the same beautiful landscape as before, but instead of looking down at the mountains, he was flying in between them.

The scenery cut to what appeared to be him standing on the side of a mountain, looking in toward a valley of sorts. He heard footsteps coming closer from his right.

Andrew did not care very much about any of these visions, as vivid as they may be. He was dreaming, barely even able to form a coherent thought. Such were the nature of dreams. What he saw next though, brought him to full lucidity.

Matt.

This was his camera, the flying, the lack of peripheral vision and control. He was looking through his camera. Which means whatever he was seeing now had to have occurred after… everything.

As his cousin walked into his view Andrew felt his heart drop. He felt both searing rage at the one who abandoned him when he needed him most and aching regret for all the mayhem that he caused that forced Matt to kill him. He didn't mean for things to get so out of hand. He became blinded by rage, trying to take out on whomever was closest. It started off with just his father. But then Matt saved him, making Andrew even angrier than before. It all just spun out of control from there. Why? Why did Matt have to save him?

Matt walked over to the camera, breathing rather heavily before speaking. "Hey Andrew..." he looked down for a moment before continuing, "I just wanted to say... That I'm sorry. And, ugh...-- I hope... that you know that I did what I had to do." He looked straight at the camera, at Andrew and stated with confidence, "You're not a bad person, I know that. That's all that matters... and I want you to know I'm gonna be better from now on, I'm gonna help people. I'm gonna find out what happened to us down there. I don't care how long it takes, I'm gonna get answers... I'm gonna do it for you, and I'm gonna do it for Steve." Matt looked off to the distance momentarily. "I love you man, I didn't ever get a chance to tell you, but I love you."

Matt turned and looked behind him, presumably taking in the landscape. He turned back toward the camera smiling as he stepped forward. He reached out with his left hand and took hold of the camera, turning it to the left.

"And guess what?" he asked with a smile."

Even in a dream, one can feel the wetness of running tears in the real world, just as Andrew could now. The camera came to a stop on a snowy mountainside littered with temples.

Tibet.

"You made it," Matt stated enthusiastically. "Isn't it beautiful?" He slowly walked away from the camera, admiring the serene landscape.

"Heeeeeeeyyaa!" He bellowed into the air, an echo promptly following suit. Matt was sporting a look of absolute giddiness as he took a single step back towards the camera.

"Goodbye Andrew." He stated with finality. Andrew felt a sharp pain in the back of his head not unlike what accompanied overexertion during training; it was not on the level of a migraine but a momentary throbbing pain. Matt simultaneously clutched the back of his head softly, a hint of crimson exiting his nose as he began to make his way to the right and then off-screen.

Darkness quickly engulfed Andrew’s vision, consuming the scene. Alongside the blackness arose the feeling of being watched, as well as a sharp throbbing pain in his head. In the recesses of his mind he found no avenue of expression, no way to scream, no way to alleviate the silent agony. Something was in here with him, probing his mind. He could feel.. or rather, sense something foreign in here with him. Something that did not belong.

The pain faded as he began to recall the events of these past few weeks, seemingly forcefully as it was not by his will that they were brought to the forefront of his mind. Almost as if this hijacker was sifting through his memories looking for something.

He remembered in impossible detail the major events that would lead to him and his friends getting his powers, starting with him turning on his camera for the first time in his room. It seemed that the most prominent memories were linked to when he was using his camera, as those were the ones that the unseen force began to consistently bring up. Whether this was a coincidence or not was a different story.

This went on for what felt like hours before Andrew was forced to watch himself go mad in the streets of Seattle. He saw himself endangering, or flat out extinguishing the lives of countless innocents as he fought with Matt.

Soon enough came the moments just before his death. Andrew didn’t want to see this, he strained to regain control of his mind to no avail.

Andrew saw himself lift his arms as he began to scream in both rage and literal burning agony, shattering all the glass within a block.

“Andrew stop! Don’t make me do this!” pleaded Matt as he lay weak and bleeding on the ground. He looked over to a statue to his right, it looked like some sort of tribal man holding up a spear, as if about to throw it.

Andrew could do nothing but watch as his cousin lifted his hand toward the statue, ripped the spear from its grip and shoot it towards his back.

The memory ended immediately. And with its fading arose a slight feeling of control returning to Andrew's mind. He seized the opportunity and quickly wrestled back the reigns, going so far as to try and push back the invader with his telekinesis immediately after.

It worked. The very second he used his power he felt the invader forcefully eject from his consciousness. After a few moments of relishing in the feeling of control Andrew tried to wake himself up to no avail. He began to grow uneasy, still unable to feel himself, panicking against the blackness of the nothingness surrounding him. At least that thing was gone now.

He wondered if he could try forcing himself awake...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sss!"

Luna was flung backwards from the bed, hitting the wall with enough force to cause a sizable crack. Twilight and Celestia quickly closed the distance up to her.

"Luna"

"Princess!"

Luna stumbled back up to her hooves. "I'm alright, he just caught me off guard is all." Luna said breathlessly.

Celestia turned her head to look at the sleeping human. He was sweating profusely, as well as tossing and turning. She closed the curtains to prevent the morning sun from heating the room any further. Turning back to her sister worriedly she asked, "But... how was he able to stop you? I've never seen anypony resist your dream-walking spell."

Twilight was also about to ask what exactly caused the spell's violent failure when she got a clear look at Luna, her eyes went wide as she exclaimed, "Luna, your horn is burned!"

The lunar princess took a moment to conjure up a mirror and take a look at herself, a dull pain in her horn accompanying the feat and making her wince slightly. Sure enough, the the tip of her horn had been charred. "It must have occurred when he forced me out." She said calmly while reaching up with her right hoof to rub at the offending scorch mark.

"Twilight, perhaps this could have something to do with his strange magic. What did the nurse tell you when you spoke with her?" Celestia asked Twilight.

The purple unicorn took a worrying glance at Luna, who responded with a nod indicating that she was truly fine. "From what she told me, Andrew claimed that it isn't magic at all. He said that it is something he and some of his friends picked up." She shook her head. "I don't believe it, although his magic is definitely unique with its invisible aura and how strangely it reacts when it comes into contact with other forms of magic"

Celestia looked intrigued at what Twilight was saying. "Is that so? I was told by Dusk that he is only able to perform telekinesis, Is that correct?"

Twilight nodded. "That's correct, but from what he told me before you arrived Andrew is able to take his telekinesis and apply it in various different ways. For one can use it traditionally to manipulate objects without physical contact, but he is also able to manifest a layer of his magic into a shield using only his telekinesis, a literal "force field".

The solar princess rubbed her chin and nodded. "Astonishing, I never imagined telekinesis could be used as an alternative to a proper shield spell... And what of the flying?” Celestia further questioned.

"That is where things get really interesting!" replied Twilight enthusiastically. "He is able to use his telekinesis to lift himself off the ground to effectively simulate flight, something that should only be possible by creatures with innate flight magic like pegasi. Then there is the matter of how he somehow constantly has a layer of magic surrounding his body protecting him, even when he is unconscious. I mean, it's one thing for an earth pony with magic imbued into their skin to make them tougher, but he literally has a force field around him all the time! That's the reason why the nurses were unable to inject him with fluids when he was first found, the needles kept getting broken by some unseen force just millimeters above his skin."

Luna remained particularly quiet throughout the entire conversation, a look of sympathy adorning her face as she observed the restless form of Andrew. Like she was not even paying attention to Twilight.

"And the strange reaction?" Celestia asked.

Twilight nodded and continued excitedly, "Whenever his magic comes into direct contact with mana foreign to his, it causes a violent reaction and breaks down the foreign magic, leaving his completely undisturbed."

The white alicorn hummed in thought. "Do you have any idea as to why or how his magic reacts in such a way? I have my own theory but would like to hear yours first to compare." Even though Celestia was an inordinately powerful alicorn, with an insurmountable number of spells at her disposal there is a big difference between knowing hundreds of spells and advanced magic theory, to somepony who is actually dedicated to learning everything there is to know about magic and how it works. Twilight was an intellectual without equal in all of current unicorn society, her only equal having died long ago.

Twilight threw her hooves up into the air and exclaimed with a smile on her face and a slight twitch in her left eye, “Nope... I have absolutely no idea why or how it does it, but I intend on eventually running a few tests on him when he recovers,” after a moment she quickly added, “With his permission.. of course.” She gave a half-hearted smile.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at her pupil. “I see...” The white alicorn hummed in thought. “I can’t say I have ever seen or heard of such a peculiar kind of magic, although I suppose the fact that he is most certainly not of this world is explanation enough, for now anyways.” She turned towards her sister. "What were you able to find, Luna? Surely you could have absorbed a fair amount of information and memories from those few minutes of contact, I assume that the elapsed time was likely several hours from your perspective.

Luna looked aloof, still staring at the human. She blinked before turning towards Celestia. “Tia, forgive me but I absolutely can not share everything that I learned from my venture.” Luna looked down solemnly. There is no way she would tell her sister about Andrew's full story, that was something he would have to tell her himself

The white alicorn raised an eyebrow. “What? Why? Everything that you saw could potentially be used to interpret what kind of a creature he is, where he came from, and especially how dangerous he may be to our subjects!" She gave Luna a stern look, baffled at what her little sister could have seen that would make her so reluctant to share such valuable information.

There was a pregnant pause in the air as Luna mulled over what to say. She had to choose her words carefully. There was so much that she learned in her journey into Andrew's mind, yet she could not have even scratched the surface of the knowledge pertaining to his world. She let loose an audible sigh before speaking. "For the sake of his privacy, 'Tia, I refuse to say anything about him and his personal life that I believe he would prefer to tell you himself. If you would have let me finish I would have said I could tell you everything else."

Celestia's features softened a bit. She wondered what kind of things Luna could have seen in Andrew's life that would warrant such silence. "Oh... very well. I am sorry for assuming the worst."

Luna nodded. "It's quite alright. Now let us begin with his species. They call themselves Humans. They are bipedal and omnivorous in nature and are the dominant and only sapient race on their world."

Twilight's ears perked up in interest. "Wow, the only sapient race? I heard that he took the sight of us pretty well when he woke up, if we are the only other intelligent life he has ever seen wouldn't that be pretty peculiar behavior."

Celestia spoke up as well, "Agreed, something is definitely off about how he is taking all of this. And what of his magic? Can you tell us anything about why his reacts the way it does with ours?"

Luna nodded. "On his world, magic is nothing but something found in fantasy stories and myths. There is nothing indicating it’s existence. Because of this their species has evolved to focus more on industry and science, although I do not know anything more specific than that."

Twilight's ears twitched.

"His ability, which... from what I felt when he canceled out my spell is NOT magic, surfaced a few months ago after exploring a strange cave with two friends of his and having an encounter with what I can only describe to be a luminescent blue rock. Even he does not fully recall the events, but from what I could gather their noses started to bleed and their heads began to hurt as the rock pulsed red, he was flung backwards against a wall before they managed to escape. They discovered their telekinesis the day after."

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but was quickly cut off by Twilight, "But it HAS to be magic!...it has to be!?" Her ear visibly twitched.

Luna shook her head slowly. "No, Twilight Sparkle, he is from a completely different world, as far as we know he could be from a different reality altogether. A reality that knows no magic. We need to be prepared to accept things that we may find impossible. That includes the possibility of life without magic. As for the his powers, I have no better explanation than he himself can give us." She lowered her head to get eye level with the unicorn, "Andrew knows only a world without magic, just as we only know a world with magic. We cannot simply right off what we don't understand as impossible because we don't understand it. Look at him, Twilight."

Twilight glanced over at the human without turning away from Luna. "It’s hard to believe that he could face off against the royal guards and come out victorious without the aid of magic, let alone whatever he did with the storm."

"What do the kids say these days? The evidence is within the custard?" She gave a half-hearted smile.

Twilight snapped back at Luna, then shared a look at the equally confused Celestia.

…

"Ahahahahahaha!" They both shared a bout of laughter at the blue alicorn’s expense.

Luna stood wide eyed and befuddled. "I fail to see the humor in the situation. I was merely trying convey my message by a means I believed would be more effective for somepony of this century."

This only elicited another round of laughter...

Celestia wiped a hoof across her eyes. "I believe the saying goes by the proof is in the pudding"

"That is what we said!" Luna exclaimed.

The laughter paused, replaced with a dead silence as both teacher and protege stared at Luna with raised eyebrows.

It took the dark princess a few seconds to realize her mistake. "I! I said!”

Yet another round of giggles ensued.

Luna was not amused, but her visible blush betrayed her angry expression. "Might I continue?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"But of course, dear sister," Celestia said with a grin.

Twilight raised a hoof "Hold on. If he is one of only three humans with this 'power,' how are they the dominant species? If we assume that he is from some parallel world or dimension or whatever based on the fact that he can speak Equestrian and recognize everyday items like furniture, then it shouldn't be too far fetched to assume we have similar flora and fauna as well, right? He has no claws and doesn't seem particularly strong, as such he seems to have no way to defend himself. How would such an organism contend with far larger, far stronger predators?

Celestia nodded, "Yes I was wondering the same thing, did you get any insight on this as well Luna?"

Luna shook her head. “That is something he could explain better himself."

“And you couldn’t just ask me all this from the beginning, why?” questioned a familiar male tone.

The trio froze momentarily before turning toward the voice. Sure enough, Andrew was there, sitting up in his hospital bed. A look of muted anger on his face.

“Explain in detail why you thought it was okay to go through my head? What were you looking for!?" Andrew tried his best to resist the urge to use his powers right now. He didn't want history to repeat himself.

Luna stepped forward, unable to look Andrew directly in the eyes. “'Tia, Twilight. It will make things much easier for me if you would leave us alone for a moment.”

Celestia wondered if this had something to do with what Luna saw but chose not to say. as much, Luna must have a reason for withholding it. “If you believe that is for the best.. very well. Come along, Twilight.” She began to make her way out the door. The lavender unicorn followed, closing the door after her. The glow of her magic attracting the attention of a certain human. He looked back at the blue alicorn, clearly angry but level headed enough to listen.

“Andrew, I realize I invaded your privacy to the fullest degree, but look at this from my perspective. A strange alien creature appears out of nowhere, reveals itself to have the ability to take out a battalion of royal guards and then takes care of a storm that nopony is supposed to be capable of affecting. Forgive me but I needed to know what your intentions were. I needed to know you weren't a danger to my subjects”

“And?” Andrew asked stoically. “Am I a danger to your subjects?”

Luna looked into Andrew’s eyes, the window to one’s soul so they say, especially for her . Black, so much black in those hazel colored eyes. She felt like she might lose herself in the never ending darkness that lied behind those tragically dark eyes. And yet there was something in that blackness that could not be ignored, something familiar.

Regret. Pure and utter regret. In that ocean of black was a sea of remorse. It felt almost like she was looking into a mirror. The likeness was uncanny.

“Andrew, let me tell you the story of Nightmare Moon, a wicked mare whose lust for power and attention came close to tearing this world apart.”

Chapter 4

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"What do you think those two are talking about in there?" asked Twilight as she splayed her ear against the door.

Celestia enveloped her pupil in her golden aura and pulled her back to her seat next to the door. "Well," the alicorn started, "if my sister is not currently trying to explain our reasoning for the drastic actions we have taken, then I can only imagine she is discussing with him whatever it is she has chosen to keep from us. Whatever it is she found within his mind... There aren't any raised voices at least, so that is a fairly good sign."

Twilight got up from her seat and trotted a few feet away from Celestia. "Well I'm sure Luna must have a good reason for her silence, it might be something embarrassing, or just personal. Who knows!? Maybe Andrew will end up telling us anyways."

Celestia sighed, "I certainly hope so, I just wish there was some way to-" her ears perked up at a sudden idea. "Twilight?"

"Yes princess?"

"There are already rumors going around about Andrew's involvement in the storm's resolution correct?"

Twilight looked at her teacher with an upturned brow. "Honestly it's all but royally confirmed at this point, dozens of pegasi saw him appear from the storm's center as it was dissipating. I hear Equestria Daily already has a speculative article about the strange new creature. They're claiming he's some sort species of flying hairless diamond dog-monkey hybrid." She had to stifle a giggle. Now that she thought about it he does kind of look like a hairless monkey.

The white alicorn pouted slightly and looked down, as though thinking deeply.

"He really does look like a cross between those two species... she regained her composure with a slight shake of her head. "Well since it is too late to keep him a secret, I believe I have an idea on how we can introduce him to the world properly but I will need a while to prepare it," her horn glowed golden as she materialized a piece of parchment and quill.

"I should probably get Rainbow Dash over here, after she saved him yesterday she made me promise to let her know when he wakes up. I'll be back in a few minutes princess," She began charging a teleportation spell when Celestia started to protest.

"Twilight he has only just awoken, I am not sure it would be wise to introduce him to any new faces in his understandably irritable state,"

Twilight shrugged. "Sorry princess, but a promise is a promise. Andrew is gonna have to tell her himself if he doesn't want to meet the pony who saved him.

And with that she disappeared in a flash of violet.

***

Rainbow Dash hated Mondays, who didn't? But this Monday was special you see. Mondays are when the weather teams head over to cloudsdale in order to set up the weekly schedule. Due to the unforeseen circumstances surrounding yesterday's freak storm and the rumors surrounding it's... resolution, it was decided to leave the weather alone for a few days to figure out what went wrong. And so here she was, on her favorite tree, snoozing away the morning hours...
The beauty of sleeping in.

That is of course until one is awoken by the resounding pop of a long distance teleportation spell anyways.

Pop! "Rainbow!"

"Aahhhh!" Exclaimed the cyan Pegasus. She instinctively gave her wings a forceful flap, her head colliding with an overhead branch. "Ouch!"

Twilight grimaced from her spot at the foot of the tree, "Not again" she thought.

"Buck it Twilight! How many times do I gotta tell you to stop popping up while I'm sleeping." Rainbow rubbed her now sore head.

"Hehe, sorry Rainbow. Anyways I came to tell you that Andrew finally woke up. He is in a pretty bad mood right about now and meeting the pony that saved his life might be just the thing to cheer him up.

Rainbows ears perked up. "Oh sweet! That alien looks so cool, did you see him flying! He doesn't even have any wings! And the way he blew away the storm!? Awesomesauce!" She did a few loop de loops before coming to a hover next to Twilight. "Come on let's go!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Ok ok, and just so he doesn't have to repeat himself Let me try to explain his powers, they aren't magic so we are just calling them powers for now. He pretty much has the most advanced form of telekinesis ever heard of and whatever his power is made of, it really doesn't like Equestrian magic. That’s why when the clouds were dispersed the sky looked like it was burning for a moment, that is what happened when his power mixed with the magic in the clouds. He flies by using his ability on himself, something that is supposed to be extremely straining on a regular unicorn. Oh and be careful what you ask him, he probably doesn't want to tell a bunch of aliens his deepest darkest secrets.

Rainbow listened intently to Twilight’s explanation, genuinely intrigued. She scrunched up her nose in confusion toward the end though. "But we aren't the aliens, he's the ali-ooohhh, yeah never mind I got it" she rubbed the back of her head dismissively.

Twilight giggled. "Yes Rainbow, ooohhhh. From his perspective he went from a world where the only intelligent species is his race, to one inhabited by a bunch of quadrupeds. Quadruped means four-legged by the way."

"I know what quadruped means Twilight..." Dash said with a.deadpan look.

"You do? Wow" Twilight seemed sincerely surprised at Rainbow's statement.

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean!?"

"Nothing! Nothing, wanna see an alien!?"

"Do I!?

"Hehe, works every time."

"Wait what!?"

Pop!

***

There was a dreadful silence occupying the hospital room, the morning sunshine doing little to lift the mood.

Luna was seated next to Andrew, the latter sitting on the bed with his knees on his chest, arms wrapped around his legs.

There was a long pause before Luna spoke softly, "I understand, Andrew Detmer. The hunger for power, attention, validation. Vengeance. Nopony understands them better than me."

She tentatively extended her left wing towards the human, who stiffened upon contact. She paused momentarily, when there was no continued protest, she continued wrapping it around him.

Andrew certainly didn't enjoy being touched by strangers, but there was something strangely comforting about having Luna's wing along his back. Yet, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Was it the softness? The warmth? No, it was something else, something more. He discarded the thought.

"How many did you kill?" Andrew asked, seemingly ignoring the embrace.

Luna lowered her head. "Hundreds, it would have easily escalated into the thousands and eventually the entire world had my sister not banished me when she did. What about you Andrew? How many would you wager were harmed during your rampage?

Andrew shrugged. "I don't know, I crashed a bus into a building, downed a helicopter, and threw around cars without even thinking about the people inside. It's less about the dozens I definitely hurt and more about the hundreds I probably killed.

"And do you regret your actions?" In truth Luna already knew the answer. But whether or not Andrew acknowledged his feelings was arguably more important. With how much of a recluse Andrew was used to being, getting in touch with feelings was something he needed to learn to properly cope with his past sins.

"Do you? He questioned back.

Luna shook her head, "Like you wouldn't believe..."

"I think I can." Andrew replied.

Luna retracted her wing and got to her hooves. "So, do you forgive me for looking into your mind without your consent?"

Andrew got up from the bed. "Yeah, I understand why you did what you did." He donned his hoodie and stretched. “If it was the other way around and a talking pony ended up in my world,” he scoffed, our governments would probably put you in a cage a mile underground and run experiments on you. I consider myself lucky that all I got was mind-raped" he smirked a bit at his own joke.

Luna grimaced slightly, he was probably right about what would happen if a pony found themselves on his planet. "Umm, thank you... Would it be alright if everypony else came back in so we can exchange some questions about each other's worlds?"

"I guess, could you also get me some food on your way back?"

"Of course,” she began to make her way to the door when before stopping, “and Andrew."

"Yeah?"

"What made you change?"

"What do you mean?

“The monster I saw in your memories thought himself superior to humans in every way, to the point of thinking them as flies. But your eyes tell a far different story. The human before me now and the one I saw are not the same. I was given a thousand years to learn from my mistakes... What could possibly change you so quickly?" She magically opened the door and trotted out, promptly closing it behind her.

Andrew was once again left alone with his thoughts. He quickly got his shoes on and proceeded to stand silently. So many questions to ponder. “I guess dying and coming back to life is a start. Then there's that dream with Matt. Was it actually real? It sure as hell felt real. What about that hallucination with Steve? Was that just me going crazy? Steve wouldn't talk to me like that, right? And what’s up with my powers here? Why exactly does it negate magic? And my reincarnation, could it be possible that this is some twisted purgatory where i’m supposed to become some sort of hero?”

No. That storm was bringing up memories he would rather keep buried, he wasn’t having that. He was NOT trying to be a hero, he was NOT going to be a hero. He flew up there and dealt with it. That is the only reason he decided to try and blow away the storm. Right? His train of thought was interrupted when he heard footsteps outside his room. Or... hoofsteps?

The door creaked opened and in came Luna and Celestia.

Celestia smiled at Andrew and said, “Your breakfast will be brought shortly Andrew, it will take some time however as the chefs are attempting to prepare something more suitable to your diet.”

Andrew nodded, “That’s ok I guess I can wait, thanks”. He was definitely hungry, but there wasn't much he could do about it other than accept the free food. Twilight came in through the open door followed by a new face… was that rainbow hair?

“Whoa dude! You’re so tall!” Exclaimed Rainbow as she quickly flew over to Andrew. "Sick clothes!"

Andrew was slightly taken aback by the boldness of this pony, who was now flying circles around him. He was not okay with this. He caught her in a telekinetic field as she was making another loop around his front and gently pushed her back until she was in between Celestia and Twilight.

Rainbow got up from the floor and put a hoof across her chest. "Hey c’mon dude, that's no way to treat the pony that saved your flank from that nasty dive you were taking. You should have seen yourself! Your face was covered in blood, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, took like half an hour to scrub it all from my coat."

"Oh, that was you? I thought I saw a blur flying towards me before I passed out." Andrew stated.

"You bet your flank all you saw was a blur!" The cyan pegasus proudly exclaimed. "The names Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria."

Seriously? Rainbow Dash? “Right, ugh, thank you for that.” Andrew scratched the back of his head absent

"Anytime! Say, you mind showing me some more of your powers!?" Rainbow asked with a wide grin. "What you did with the storm looked sooo awesome, it was like-" a velvet glow enveloped her lips, halting any further speech

"Rainbow! What did I tell you about controlling yourself?" Exclaimed Twilight, horn aglow.

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders. "Ergmf?"

Celestia saw something curious, in her short time with Andrew she didn't recall ever seeing him smile. She was beginning to worry for him, after all he had been through so much in such a short amount of time. A gruesome death, a baffling reawakening, and most of all finding himself on an alien world. But here he was watching the scene before him with a slight but noticeable smile. She was pleased to see him coming around.

"Just... let me and Celestia do the talking for a bit" Twilight said with a sigh.

"Ferrnn" Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.

"What?"

Rainbow stared at Twilight with a look that said "seriously?".

"Oh right, my bad" Twilight released her hold on Rainbow's lips.

"I said it's fine Twi, geez" Dash looked away, clearly bemused.

Andrew raised his hand and said, "actually I don't really mind showing you guys my powers, as long as you show me some more of your magic. Twilight, you said you wanted to run some tests right? Will that help figure out the connection between my powers and my appearance here?" In truth Andrew was partially reluctant to giving them information on his powers, but they were ponies. So long as he left them alone he couldn't see any reason why they would try and harm him. Besides, it didn't seem like they could if they wanted to anyways.

“See Twi? He says it’s fine.” Dash exclaimed as she pointed a hoof at the human while giving her a smug grin.

Twilight looked to Celestia, who only nodded in response.

“I believe that is an excellent idea Andrew, this way we can both familiarize ourselves with each other's abilities and possibly draw parallels between your powers and our magic.” She stepped forward until she was standing directly in front of the human. “This I promise you Andrew, we will do anything and everything in our power to get you back to your world”

“NO!” Exclaimed both Luna and Andrew simultaneously.

Rainbow, Celestia, and Twilight all looked between the human and alicorn with a mix of confusion and shock. “WHAT!?”

Chapter 5

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"Waddaya mean ya don't wanna go home!?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air with her hooves outstretched.

Twilight was equally baffled. "I don't understand, Andrew. Don't you want to see your friends and family again? Won't you miss your home?" She asked with a look of concern.

Andrew was looking downwards and to the side, attempting to avoid any eye contact. He didn't have a home to go back to.

Celestia remained quiet, observing the human for a moment before speaking, "Andrew, obviously we are terribly confused. Why is it that you do not wish to return to your world? As twilight mentioned, would you not miss your friends and kin? Why would you choose to remain on an alien world when being presented with the possibility of returning to your own?"

The human remained quiet for a moment, pondering his next words carefully. He was not going to tell them what actually happened to cause his spearing; there was no telling how they would react if they became aware of his violent tendencies. With a sigh, he began his explanation. “Like I said before, only me and one other person have this power, before I died we-”

“Excuse me,” interrupted Celestia. “Forgive me for cutting in, but did you not say that there were three of you?”

Andrew shook his head, “...There, was an accident,” he wouldn’t dare to elaborate anymore. Besides, it was an accident, he wasn't lying about that.

Celestia immediately regretted asking, “Oh dear, I am so sorr-”

Andrew quickly cut her off, “Forget it. It’s fine. Anyways, the thing about us humans is, well… I guess this is as good a time as any to exchange some world history. You guys okay with th-"

"Yes!" Twilight practically screamed, ears perking up at the prospect of hearing the origins of an entire world first-hand. A piece of parchment and a quill materialized in front of her. Looking around she noticed her enthusiasm was not shared. "I mean, yes Andrew, that would be just fine."

The human raised his eyebrow at the unicorn, "well, I guess I should start," he inhaled deeply before beginning, "so, the reason we're the apex predators on our world is that we’re so much smarter than every other animal, the only ones that can think. We started off primitive, sure, but then we started making weapons like spears and bows to help us hunt, shelters and clothing to keep us safe and warm. We eventually reached a point in our evolution where we started practicing mass farming and raising animals. With food no longer posing a problem, we began to focus on, like… science, trying to understand the world around us.” He gave the ponies a few moments to let the information sink in, as well as himself some time to remember whatever he could from class.

Twilight was the first to ask a question: “It sounds a lot like your history is eerily similar to ours. we also started our research into magic theory once we managed to solve the food crisis. I had a theory earlier that our worlds are actually part of parallel dimensions, which could explain why we speak the same language. Our similar history only supports that theory! Also, we've been wondering for awhile why you insist on wearing clothing, but would I be right in assuming that since you've been wearing clothing for warmth for so long, that as a species it's basically become second nature?"

Andrew nodded, “Actually, yeah that's more or less it. That theory of yours also seems to make perfect sense. We even have myths and legends about unicorns, pegasi, and a ton of other creatures that simply don’t exist. From what I overheard the doctors talking about yesterday even griffons, another mythical animal from our stories exists here.” He took a look around the room. "Makes me wonder what else you have here that seems to be pulled straight out of our imaginations. Do you guys have anything on us?” He asked inquisitively.

Celestia shook her head. “Unfortunately not. I don't don't even recall ever hearing about a creature such as yourself. Strange that your world's myths are our realities, it seems somewhat one-sided though does it not?" Celestia asked.

Andrew voiced his agreement, "Maybe that's the connection between our worlds, maybe my powers, which shouldn't be possible, created a bridge or something between us."

"And so when you perished, the part of you that is closer to our world remained, and simply pulled you close enough to our dimension that your spirit crossed over?" Luna suggested.

Andrew shrugged, "maybe, it's only a theory. Hopefully, we can figure something out in Twilight's tests. Anyway, let me just quickly go over a few important events before we get to your history."

"As you wish," replied Celestia.

"Don't get me wrong, your history sounds cool and all, but how does that explain why you can't go home!?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"And I have some questions as well," stated Twilight. "How is it that-"

"No," interrupted Andrew. "Save your questions; once I'm done, I'm gonna be the one asking them. I know for sure that everything I'm saying is answering a ton of questions you guys have, but is also raising even more. Consider this explanation your turn.--" He gave them no time to voice their possible disagreement before continuing. "--Alright, so back to what I was saying. We basically entered this sort of Golden Age of knowledge, where we began to learn how the world works and stuff, we made better technology and medicine and started to live longer thanks to it. Then after that, I think we entered the Industrial Revolution, where we started to build these huge automated factories that could mass produce all the tools and items we need. We went from horse-drawn carriages to-"

"Horse-drawn what!?" yelled Rainbow Dash in surprise.

Twilight spoke out as well, asking, "I thought you said your planet didn't have ponies?"

Andrew shook his head, "No, I just said that they couldn't talk. They're not intelligent like us. They're just mindless farm animals, really. The reason I'm mentioning them is that since horses are larger and stronger than humans we kinda used them as... what's the word? Animals of burden, I think." He couldn't quite recall the term and paused in thought.

"Beast of burden..." corrected Luna with a pained expression.

Andrew shook a finger in Luna's direction. "Right, thanks. So we would use them to carry supplies for us when it was too much for a human and ride them when we had to travel long distances." He saw the ponies eyes go wide, and could already guess the kind of reaction he was about to receive. He decided to assuage any worries they might express. "Of course, just keep in mind that they are just mindless animals, kept as pets and taken care of on farms and stuff. No need to get offended or anything."

"We are not offended, Andrew," proclaimed the solar princess. "We were just surprised is all. As a matter of fact, we ourselves have carriages drawn by ponies, only they are actually paid, as it is their job."

"Really?" susurrated the human. "That'll be a sight... Anyways, we went from horse-drawn carriages to vehicles powered by fuel: cars. By far the biggest changes we've had in technological advancements occurred in the past century, but that's way too much to cover for now." He sighed loudly. "So basically, we are so obsessed with knowledge that there would be no hesitation in shoving me into a cage and performing experiments on me until I died, and then continuing them on whatever's left of me..." He gave the information a moment to sink in before saying, "of course, I wouldn't let them, and I have The means to protect myself for years, but the government doesn't care about the possible casualties as long as they get what, and if they don't they will just try again... I'm staying. Now I believe you owe me an explanation in return?"

After a few moments of silence, Rainbow Dash decided to speak up. "Hold on, you can't just drop a bomb of info on us like that and expect us to just bottle up our questions for who knows how long!" Yelled the agitated pegasus, now hovering.

"It's okay, Rainbow, this should only take a few minutes," Twilight calmly stated. "Besides, you already know I have questions for days!" She giggled.

"Heh.. yeah. I guess if anypony is frustrated it's you," Dash lowered herself back to the floor.

Twilight proceeded to give Andrew a summary of Equestrian history, starting from the reign of the Wendigos, to the union of the three races and eventual against them. She spoke of the rise of the alicorn sisters and how they wrestled back the world from using the Elements of Harmony.

She briefly touched on the Crystal Empire and the sisters' sealing away of King Sombra a thousand years ago and how Somra, in turn, froze the entire city in time until he returned.

"And so after the Crystal Empire's disappearance, the general populace grew more aware and fearful of dark magic. To the point where they even stopped celebrating any dark themed holidays, namely Nightmare Night,"

"Nightmare Night?" questioned the human.

With a nod, the lavender unicorn elaborated. "Originally, it was a holiday that celebrated Luna, where fillies and colts would dress up as creatures from their nightmares: vamponies, ghosts, changelings and such. It was meant to make them believe that after confronting their fears in the waking world, Luna would enter their dreams and banish their nightmares."

"Actually," said the Lunar alicorn. "I did do precisely that, Twilight Sparkle, but who would believe their child when they say that one of the princesses personally entered their dreams?"

Twilight splayed back her ears and lowered her head, "Oh, sorry Luna. That wasn't in the history books, I could never have known."

"Of course," Luna said with a smile. "Shortly after the incident with the Crystal Empire, I transformed into Nightmare Moon, which I already gave Andrew a summary of the civil war that ensued and my banishment."

"On Nightmare Night, do the kids go door to door asking for candy?" asked Andrew.

"Uh, yeah, actually," Rainbow Dash acknowledged from the sidelines. "How did ya know?"

"Because we also have a holiday where kids dress up as monsters and do the same thing. Honestly, though, I have no idea what it actually celebrates. Everyone just cares about the candy. Not sure what a changeling is, but we do have stories about vampires," He scratched the back of his head, "Sooo, what happened after Luna was banished?"

"Truthfully, the past thousand years have been particularly uneventful," Celestia said dismissively. "The past three, however,--" she peered at Rainbow Dash and Twilight, "--Have been full of adventure. Twilight, if you will." she gestured with her hoof for her protege to take the floor.

Twilight gingerly stepped forward and said, "It would be my pleasure. It all started three years ago, on the final day of the thousandth year of Luna's imprisonment."

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"And thanks to Spike, the crystal heart was returned to its pedestal and we defeated King Sombra with the power of Love! Twilight declared triumphantly.

Rainbow flapped her wings and did a loop de loop, "Yeah, it was wicked, Sombra started to get all these glowing cracks over his body and he just exploded! All that was left of him was his horn!" she exclaimed.

"...So you literally killed him with love," Andrew stated stoically

The pegasus lost her smile and slowly descended, "Uhh, yeah... I guess so. But it's not like we had much of a choice! If we didn't kill him he would have enslaved the entire empire! He would have won!"

"Then why didn't the princesses go and deal with Sombra themselves? You didn't use the Elements to take care of Sombra like you did all the other villains, so why?" He looked to Celestia and asked, "Why would you send a ragtag group of friends to a cold, remote location in the north expecting them to beat some super powerful evil wizard that took both you and your sister to seal away? What would you have done if they died? It would be your fault. What did you think they could do that you couldn't do a hundred times faster and better?"

The ponies present could only stare in bewilderment at the human's audacity to speak to their regal ruler in such a manner.

Celestia remained unfazed by Andrew's words, instead only giving a short sigh and said, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Andrew, but I had total confidence that the power of their friendship would be more than enough to--"

Andrew interrupted the princess, "Wait, you weren't kidding earlier? You actually believe that there's some magic to friendship? Look, I have telekinesis, I've died and been resurrected, so I can handle a parallel dimension housing a bunch of talking animals and bigfoot, but the Magic of Friendship? No way! If anything friendship isn't magic, it's tragic," he was just about ready to kick these ponies out of his room.

Celestia actually reacted to his words this time, her eyes growing noticeably softer. "Oh, my goodness, I am terribly sorry for whatever happened that would lead you to come to such a conclusion. But, I sincerely hope that you are able to find solace here in Equestria." She tried to be mindful of his situation, it may very well be having an adverse effect on his state of mind, causing him to speak so passive-aggressively. He probably just needed more time to come to terms with everything.

“And what about Chrysalis!? She only invaded Canterlot to feed her hive. You make her sound like a desperate mother trying keep her kids alive! And you just damned them to starvation!"

Celestia held her head high as she replied with an air of authority, "Chrysalis attacked my city. She endangered my subjects. We only did what was necessary to keep ourselves safe."

"And can you honestly say you didn't know that the changelings were starving? Or did you just turn a blind eye? If you ponies are as peace-loving as you make yourselves out to be, wouldn't you have come to some sort of arrangement with them a long time ago?--" Andrew waited for an answer. When there was no immediate response, he continued. "--Did the changelings even kill anybody? Or are you the only side that spilled blood?" He knew he wasn't one to judge spilt blood, but he wasn't going to ignore the fascinating dark side of these ponies, to willingly starve another race was pretty brutal.

Before anypony (or human) had a chance to speak, the door opened, revealing a griffon adorning a chef hat and carrying a covered tray of food on his back between his wings. He grasped the tray with his right forepaw and proudly strut into the room. Completely ignoring the alicorn princesses and ponies present, he walked directly to Andrew, his eyes moving up and down his figure, avoiding his eyes. "Hmm..." He said softly, nodding and presenting the tray to the human as he lifted the cover, beak held high. "Behooollld hue-man! For you have dubious hooonor of being the first of your kind to grace your lips with the cooking of the great and powerful spicy Season Claw!"

The ponies all stared at the griffon chef, both surprised at his sudden appearance and relieved at the well-timed interruption. But all eyes eventually made their way to what the griffon was carrying.

A porcelain circular dish sat atop the hospital tray, next to it silverware and a napkin folded neatly into a triangle. But of course, the main attraction was the meal itself. A lavishly seasoned cut of well done red meat, wet with juices and sided with a generous portion of mashed potatoes. Of course, the meal would be nothing but a pauper's supper if not for a real chef's secret ingredient, a tiny leaf resting on the center of the cut not only made the serving fit for royalty but raised its market value two-fold!

Andrew could smell the aroma of the lavish meal presented to him, and it was absolutely intoxicating. It smelt not unlike a hickory smoked barbeque. But there was definitely something more to the meat, it looked like something worthy of a close-up shot in a food commercial, it was too perfect. Unless high-class food is always like that, not that he would know...

Not everyone was as mesmerized by the scent of the meat, although the princesses have, unknown to most, grown accustomed to the smell of meat and blood through countless battles, not everypony had the luxury of such experiences. As evidenced by a certain purple unicorn desperately trying to hold back the build-up of bile in her throat.

"Ughh," mumbled a green-faced Twilight, barely managing to suppress vomiting for the third time. Rainbow went to her side, rubbing her back and whispering words of encouragement to her friend, seemingly unaffected by the scent or sight before her.

The griffon craned his neck at the sound of disgust, giving Twilight a disdainful glare before looking back to Andrew with a "hmph," and saying, "Can you believe these ponies? That a meal as scrumptious as this would receive such a reaction. But hey, what else would you expect from herbivores?" He put particular emphasis on his last word.

Celestia never approved of Season's racial views, but he was the very best meat cook in all of Equestria, and having him under her employment was a huge boon when carnivorous diplomats were to be received at the castle. She even saw her sister partaking in his cooking every now then, not that the general populace would be privy to this.

Andrew grasped the tray with both hands. "Heh. Yeah. But you can't really blame them, they can't help being prey animals."

"Right right, I suppose so. I eagerly await cooking for you again, sir; not every day you get to prepare manticore meat for an alien." He avoided eye contact. A true chef would not look into the eyes of patron until they show satisfaction with their meal.

Celestia blinked in surprise. "...And how might you know this, Season?" She did not recall his origins ever leaving this room.

"A pink pony told me shortly after I left my chariot. According to her, she just finished sending invitations to every kingdom's ruler regarding sir Andrew's Welcome to Equestria party. She also mentioned that our hue-man friend can use telekinetic magic."

Celestia closed her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. Of course it was Pinkie Pie, unpredictable and capable of defying all logic. She really didn't want to know how Pinkie figured out that Andrew was not native to Equestria. If anything, it was more surprising that the element of laughter hasn't yet introduced herself to the otherworldly visitor. "In that case, I should probably get back to the castle and prepare for the meeting that will no doubt be taking place soon. Enjoy your meal, Andrew."

Andrew nodded in response, settling himself into a comfortable position on his bed and placing the tray on his lap. "Yeah, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

"Bwahahahah!" Seasoned exclaimed, doubling over in laughter. "A humorous saying indeed. I like you, sir Andrew, might I ask where your species rank in your food chain?”

"He would ask something like that," thought Celestia. Griffons were a race that valued strength above all else, behind dragons, they were probably the most respected sapient predatory race. Even though they didn't possess the ability to manipulate weather like pegasi, they held a magic referred to only as the predator's eyes. Able to gauge the strength of any creature relative to for a race where determining the strength of one's opponent was everything. Lose to one weaker than you, and you are disgraced. Win against one stronger than yourself, and you will see yourself rise to ever more respected positions in society. It was a barbaric way of handling a kingdom, but there was little she could do about it.

Prey animals also had something similar, but purely for guessing the potential danger an animal could pose. All sapient prey races find themselves without this ability, relying instead on their common sense.

Andrew's smile widened as he explained, "We're the Apex Predators of our word." He grasped the silver utensils and began to cut into his meal.

"Really!?" Exclaimed the griffon in surprise. "I'm sorry, sir, but I simply cannot believe that--"

Andrew looked up from his plate, catching the griffon mid-sentence. He was going to explain how humans made weapons what he saw in the griffon made him pause.

Season was staring wide-eyed at Andrew, unmoving, as if in a trance. Andrew raised an eyebrow at the bird's peculiar behavior, wondering if this was normal or not. He prodded the griffon's side telekinetically.

Sure enough, Season blinked in surprise, backing a few steps away from Andrew and looking down at the ground. "Ugh, nevermind," he took another step back, "w-well... I believe I should be taking my leave with Celestia, f-farewell." He made a quick bow and practically bolted from the room, clearly in a hurry.

"Wait!" Andrew yelled. But it was too late. By the time he shouted Season had already slammed the door shut, leaving him and Rainbow Dash utterly dumbfounded. Andrew and Rainbow looked at each other, the former shrugging before continuing his feast.

The rest of the ponies, however, knew exactly what happened. Twilight narrowed her eyes and nudged her mentor. Celestia looked down to her student, as stoic as ever, and only nodded.

Luna was biting her lower lip in frustration. "Damn that griffon, why did Andrew have to meet one of them so soon!? And in front of Tia, no less. I need to do something..." she thought before saying, "Tia, you really shouldn't be postponing day court any longer, I shall deal with the mob outside while you catch up with Season."

Celestia gave her sister a look that could only mean, "We WILL speak of this later," as she made her way to the door.

"Wait, mob? What mob?" asked Andrew as he looked up, taking a break from practically inhaling his meal. "I don't hear anything that sounds like a mob."

The human put his almost empty tray to the side and cantered over to the curtains, pulling them apart telekinetically. What he saw was VERY MUCH a mob. There were dozens of ponies all seemingly shouting, but no sound seemed to be coming out? He turned around and looked at Luna with a raised brow, pointing at his right ear.

She responded to his silent question with, "Oh yes, after your little stunt with the storm, let alone your arrival, the entire town has been camping the hospital trying to get a hold of you. There is even a newspony that keeps begging for an interview, which in my opinion you should do as soon as possible, just to let Equestria know you... mean no harm. My sister has several guards making sure everything is in order as well as a spell that blocks sound from traveling past the window, they also cannot see into the room.

"Hmmm," Andrew thought silently as he reached for the center of the open window with his right hand, "I wonder what would happen if.."

"Andrew, stop!" cried Twilight.

With mischievous determination, Andrew tapped the air where the glass would normally be. Sure enough, there was an immediate reaction as it began to 'burn', starting off as a small hole with a scorching outline much like a piece of paper set aflame. The bubble simultaneously became visible, a golden sheen stretching across the windowsill now tearing itself apart as the corruption spreads throughout, leaving only white steam and an audible ssssss in its wake.

“Wicked,” Rainbow said with a tone of awe.

“Oh yeah, that was cool..” Andrew followed, looking at his hand.

Celestia pressed her hoof firmly to face as she groaned out an “Oh no…” while shaking her head.

“LOOK! IT’S HIM!”

“IT'S THE MONSTER!”

“SQUEE IT’S OUR HERO!”

“TO TARTARUS WITH IT!”

“SEE BONNY! I’M NOT CRAZY!!”

Chapter 6

View Online

“Andrew!?” Twilight yelled, as if scolding a foal, “get away from the window before they start throwing things! And why did you mess with the spell!?"

Ignoring both the advice and question, the curious human took a moment instead to peer out at the crowd. Dozens of ponies were yelling over each other incomprehensibly, a few seemed excited, most were visibly angry. There were several guards along the front and sides making sure they didn't get out of hand. Looking back at the lavender unicorn he replied with a shrug, “honestly, I just wanted to see what would happen.”

Twilight rolled her eyes dismissively. With a glow of her horn, a notepad and quill popped into existence before her. She had to admit, the shields reaction was definitely noteworthy and she just had to put it to paper while the details were still fresh in her mind.

Celestia observed the exchange silently. Curious or not, the fact that he could negate magic with such ease, as well as his apparent telekinetic strength, was cause for concern. She cleared her throat to get all eyes on her. “Well Andrew, see to it that you keep your curiosity in check. It was difficult enough for my guards to keep the spectators in control before they saw an alien at the window. Let us wait until they disperse and my carriage is prepared. I believe it would be for the best to take you to the Castle for the time being.”

Luna frowned, “Are you sure about that Tia? Shouldn't our priority be to make Andrew as comfortable as possible as he adapts to our world? Wouldn't the castle be too confining and the residents... hostile... towards him? In Ponyville however, I know first-hoof how quickly the locals can get used to newcomers. Why, they even welcomed me with open hooves shortly after I terrorized them as Nightmare Moon! That is not something we can expect from the city, least of all for an alien such as him. And we mustn't forget about Twilight Sparkle, who is arguably more qualified to study his abilities than any Unicorn we have at the castle."

"We can even do our tests safely at the edge of the Everfree!" Twilight added earnestly.

"Come on Princess! He'll be safe with us!" Rainbow dash pleaded. She straightened her back and took a pose that emanated confidence, "we're the elements of harmony after all!"

The alabaster alicorn shifted her gaze between her sister, her pupil, Rainbow Dash, and the human in question. Unsure of the situation. Her sister seems to be confident that Andrew means no harm... and she did come to such a conclusion after having a look into his very mind, despite being reticent about her findings. For now perhaps, she could make do in placing her trust in her sister's decision. "Very well," she stated, "I shall allow Andrew residence here in Ponyville for the time being. He is to stay in Golden Oaks Library with Twilight. I shall make arrangements for the delivery of goods that will satisfy his dietary needs as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Rainbow exclaimed silently with a celebratory hoof pump.

"And Twilight," the princess continued, "I expect a report detailing all tests conducted, their results, and what you can conclude from them on a weekly basis. My sister and I may be able to add to your findings should you come across anything me may have knowledge of. Besides acclimating him to Equestria, our top priority should be finding the origin of his powers, seeing as such a thing is supposed to be impossible on his world." Twilight, Andrew, are you both satisfied with these terms?"

"Yes," Twilight said with a smile and nod, eager to please her mentor. "I won't let you down."

"I guess," Andrew stated nonchalantly, seemingly preoccupied with his thoughts.

Celestia nodded. "Then it is decided. Andrew, do you have any further questions?"

The Human opened his mouth, only to immediately close it again in thought. ”...If everything on this planet is supposed to be magical, doesn't that include everything that's alive too?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond before continuing, “doesn’t that pretty much make me immune to any disease? Wouldn't that also..." he paused, putting his hand to his head. "Do any of you feel that?” he asked, only to receive looks of confusion that slowly turned to concern. “Do you really not feel that?” He repeated. Something was wrong, the air was... He couldn't adequately describe it, the closest thing he could think of was the feeling of being watched, yet knowing that your were alone.

Celestia frowned, perplexed by his sudden uneasiness. “Andrew, everything is fine, perhaps this is just some sort of side effect of your power.” She suggested.

“Oh dear... I suppose stealth is meaningless to Andrew boy here,” quipped a voice coming from the bed.

Everyone looked at the bed expectantly, moments later an antler poked out from under the covers, followed by none other than the head of the spirit of chaos himself. He brought out his paw and claw to grasp at the covers, looking like a colt that had just snuggled into bed. “Heeellooo everypony, or body, whichever you prefer really. I just wanted to drop by and give our little guest a friendly welcome from one being of chaos to another."

Andrew narrowed his eyes at the draconequus, Celestia doing the same, though to him instead.

“Explain.” They both ordered in unison.

He wasn’t too concerned about how Discord managed to get into his bed without anyone noticing. Being the god of chaos, there was no doubt he could do things that couldn't be explained, let alone the fact that he didn't really know what magic was even capable of. There was something else about him that caught his attention, It was the same feeling as before, but it felt almost like it was coming directly from Discord. He took a mental note to ask about that later. For now, however, he was more concerned about what Discord had called him as, a fellow being of chaos...

The god gave the pair a toothy grin. "Well, what's to explain? Surely Andrew boy here has given you all insight into the workings of his race? Sure, they don't have as refined a taste as I, nor are they very chaotic individually for the most part, but as a whole, when it comes to pure, unadulterated calamity, they put me to shame. But enough about that, I'm sure I am not the only one wondering how in Equestria you could sense my presence."

All eyes were on Andrew, as if that question was somehow important. Still, he wasn’t sure how to explain it. But he tried his best to explain what he felt, he wanted to understand it just as much as they did after all.

“I see,” The white alicorn nodded. “And did you sense anything at all from my sister and I?”

The human shrugged, “No… I've never felt anything like it before or after getting my powers."

Discord gave a small chuckle. “Oh, I suppose that makes you quite special doesn’t it?” He commented. "Not even the princesses can do that.” He mocked as he slithered out of the bed and stood up.

“And why is that?” Andrew asked, trying to ignore the mismatched amalgamation of animal parts he was looking at. He was intrigued at the idea that the princesses of this world could apparently move the sun and moon but couldn’t .

“Because,” Luna began, “everypony has a certain magical signature that is unique to them. Through the use of scrying spells one can search for nearly anypony. Though the spell’s downside is that the mana consumed is exponentially proportional to the range of the spell. Discord’s signature, however, is constantly changing and shifting, making it impossible to track.”

“Changing chaotically!” Discord stated.

Luna sighed, “sure Discord, changing chaotically,” She corrected mockingly.

"Ok," Andrew replied, grasping his chin in thought. “and I’m guessing you already checked me for this signature thing?”

“I checked you this morning,” Twilight pointed out, “I just pulled a hair from your arm and scanned it since you dermal shield wouldn't let me scan you directly.”

“Weird though," the human commented. "I never knew that my force field worked without me actually trying to use it.”

Twilight scrunched up her nose in thought. "Hmm, you said that you acquired your powers, which means you weren’t born with them," Twilight's eyes visibly dilated, a frightening smile spreading across her face. "Maybe this shift from an active to a passive effect is the result of your subconscious adapting to and understanding it, and then instinctively taking advantage of its defensive capabilities. And you said you've only had it for a few months, so if this theory is correct, then who knows what it could grow to beco-mph”

Twilight was interrupted when her lips mashed themselves together and refused to obey her attempts at speech. She splayed her ears back and blushed in embarrassment, fully aware of her to-be rant.

”OK ok, I get it,” Andrew asserted as he let go of the mares lips. Her explanation made perfect sense as far as he was concerned. He knows he hadn't reached the limit of what he was capable of; assuming there was any at all. Maybe these experiments could help figure out a way to unlock some sort of latent potential? It was worth a try at least. He glanced over at Discord, who had been oddly quiet thus far. He was still sporting his mischievous grin, as if entertained by what was transpiring before him.

"Well then," Celestia began, "It is about time that Luna and I return to the castle. We shall alert you should anything of importance occur, and we expect as much in return. I recommend waiting until nightfall to return home to avoid as much unnecessary attention as possible. I will have word with Mayor Mare about about organizing some sort of event to formally introduce Andrew to the town. If he is going to be living here, he shouldn't need to be in hiding any longer than necessary. Most of the crowd don't seem to be pleased with Andrew's appearance, so I will also have several guards staying in Ponyville for the foreseeable future. At least until we can be certain that nopony means him any harm."

"Don't worry Princesses, We'll take care of him!" Rainbow assured.

"We are certain you will." Celestia replied happily.

As the princesses made their way out the door, Luna paused and looked back at the Human. He was clearly deep in thought, oblivious to his surroundings.

----------Golden Oaks Library: 9:00pm----------

Wide-eyed and silent with awe, Andrew looked around in amazement. His mind denied the possibility of what awaited him when he initially saw the structure, yet here was inside an actual home that doubled as a library forged from a hollowed out Oak tree. "How!?" He exclaimed, looking quizzically around at the beige walls indented with several bookshelves. "How did you even get this thing to grow so huge? How is it not dead!? Why do you... live in a library?” Once stricken with awe, his expression quickly degraded into one of confusion.

"Magic, magic, and why not? Twilight answered gleefully as she closed the door behind the human. "Like i said before, so long as your up for it, we can begin those tests first thing in the morning, starting with some practical applications at the edge of the Everfree Forest before moving on to the complicated stuff in my lab. That's where we can try and figure out what makes your powers tick, first things first though, I need to actually observe you using it."

Andrew nodded wordlessly, still admiring the living building, pink walls aside. According to Celestia, he is to try his best to familiarize himself with this world while working with Twilight to study the root of his powers. Of course, he had no qualms with this arrangement seeing as he was already interested in what this world held, let alone his powers.

Hearing footsteps coming from the second floor, Andrew looked at the top of the steps to find a small, purple, bipedal lizard wobbling it's way down the steps. It was looked directly at him through slitted pupils within emerald irises. Twilight had mentioned having a dragon assistant named Spike. Though as the drake hobbled his way over to the pair, his hopes of seeing a full fledged dragon sank further and further until Spike got right in front of him, coming up to barely knee height.

"So, you must be the alien I've heard so much about," the baby dragon stated, looking up at the human unblinkingly.

"And you must be the mighty dragon of Ponyville I was told about," Andrew replied, only slightly sarcastic in tone.

Spike closed his eyes and hummed thoughtfully before turning to Twilight with an approving nod, "ok, you can keep him," he stated before promptly making his way back to the stairs.

Twilight followed him with her eyes for but a moment before calling out, “Wait!"

At this the baby dragon paused and swiveled around on one heel.

"Aren’t you going to ask where he came from!?" She asked, sounding almost desperate. "Or what he is!? How he got here!?” How could you act so calm when you have a live alien in your house!?

“Really Twi…? Seriously?" Spike asked before beginning to count with his claws. "One, you stopped a maniacal mare from plunging Equestria into never ending darkness, something that only Celestia had done before. Two, you successfully defeated the spirit of Chaos, something that took both princesses to do. And let's not forget Sombra." He grinned slightly at that, "though it was kinda me at the end there that saved the day. I live with one of the elements of harmony for crying out loud, the only thing that could possibly surprise me at this point is if you suddenly sprouted wings, as if that would ever happen.”

Twilight stared at Spike’s back as he continued on his path to the second floor, a bemused expression on her face.

"Please tell me dragons get bigger than that..." Andrew pleaded.

Still focusing on spike making his way to bed, Twilight's ear twitched at Andrew’s voice, she rolled her eyes before replying, "VERY much so. And considering the rulers of the major kingdoms are more than likely going to hold some sort of meeting here in Equestria at some point in the coming weeks due to your appearance, you're probably going to be able to see first-hoof just how big they can get.

'Hand', he mentally corrected. While amusing at first, these puns were beginning to get annoying. "Fair enough,” the human responded. If he still hadn't read about them by then, he wouldn’t mind the surprise of meeting a real, full-sized dragon. He began to feel the same uneasiness from before, a shiver made it's way down his spine. Alerting him to the arrival of a certain someone. He shook the sensation away, “He’s here again…”

“Hm? Who is?” Twilight replied.

“Who else? Who is the only person that I can for some inexplicable reason, tell when their near?”

“Discord?”

“Yes…”

An audible THUMP was heard, coming from the kitchen.

Making their way over to the room in question the pair found the refrigerator wide open, inside it, sure enough, was a tangled draconequus. Discord was coiled around himself, his head squeezed in between his thigh and the bottom. He was stuck...

Discord looked at them pleadingly. “Umm, could I get a little help here?”

The human and unicorn shared a look before the draconequus was engulfed in lavender and levitated out of the fridge before being plopped onto the kitchen floor.

As he was placed down Discord immediately compressed himself like a spring and uncoiled himself, somehow now sporing a lab coat and holding a beaker. Craning his neck forwards until his face was eye-level with the human. “Thank you for that dear,” he began “now how soon can we do we start practicing Human 101!?”

Twilight gave him a quizzical look. “We don’t start the tests until tomorrow, if that’s what you mean.” She narrowed her eyes. ”That can’t be the only reason you’re here though.”

Discord bright his arms to his chest, as if accused of a crime and looked down at the unicorn. “Oh come now Twilight! A god of chaos can’t visit his FRIEND’S home just to say hello!?”

“No!” She replied sharply.

“Oh that hurts…” Discord said with a grimace, “although you are most definitely correct, after a little talk with Celestia I managed to get her to call off half a dozen of her guards that were going to be stationed here in exchange for me. Andrew!" he took a modest bow and materialized a foam sword in his claw hand, promptly extending the blade to the air. "Consider me your full time body guard and watcher. After all, I am just as interested in your... talent as everybody else, so I get to have a front row seat alongside Twilight while we figure it out!"

“Great..." Andrew stated with a yawn, covering his mouth. "We can deal with all this in the morning."

Twilight yawned immediately after, “agreed, let me go get the guest bed, are you ok with sleeping in the living room?”

“Mhm,” the human murmured.

Discord rolled his eyes and sighed heavily “you mortals and your sleep… Very well then, I will return first thing in the morning, for SCIENCE!” He exclaimed before teleporting away with pop.

Andrew remained standing in the kitchen for a moment, He wanted to see if he could try and feel for Discord's presence again, but didn't even know where to start so he perished the thought immediately. Making his way back to the living room,he found Twilight adjusting a mattress against a corner. The bed was twin sized, light blue, with equally colored sheets and a single white pillow. He supposed it was roughly the same size as his old bed.

"Sorry about this," Twilight began, "the guest bedroom is a mess at the moment. I'll have spike clean it up tomorrow and you can start sleeping in there."

"Ugh, sure. That's fine," he replied. Twilight turned off the lights and made her way up the stairs, her horn shining the way with violet light.

Halfway up the stairs she looked over her shoulder and called out, "good night Andrew!"

"Umm, yeah," he replied weakly. "Night..." Twilight gave him a smile and continued on her way, disappearing from view. He was alone again...

He put his arms behind his head, pulled a half dozen random books from their respective shelves, and began twirling them in a spinning ring above himself as he let his mind wander. How exactly did Luna enter his mind If his power is supposed to somehow cancel out magic? He remembered clearly how he kicked her out with minimal effort on his part. He would need to remember to ask her when he had the chance.

And what about this Celestia figure? He could understand not trusting him, he was an alien after all, let alone the fact that Luna was hiding something about him from her. That alone is cause for suspicion. He could even understand keeping him under guard here in Ponyville for a few weeks. Definitely much better than how humans would treat a talking pony that's for sure...

From the way she acts alone he would never have guessed that she was anything less than benevolent. The way she speaks, to the way she looks just screams 'good'. And then she's supposed to be able to move the very sun itself! If that was supposed to be true then what could possibly have prevented her from defeating Discord and Chrysalis herself? For that matter what the hell do they have against the Changelings? What did they do to deserve mass starvation? Did she personally make sure that all of Equestria come to hate changelings? Jesus Christ, the more he thought about all of this, the worse the princess seemed.

Andrew stopped rotating the ring of books and proceeded to shove them back into any random shelve that they happened to fit in. He was in the same clothes as before, and so chose to forgo using the sheets as it was quite warm enough without them. He shifted himself, now lying on his right shoulder, facing the stairs.

"What the hell am I doing here?" He whispered as he shut his eyes.

Chapter 7

View Online

In the midst of a long since abandoned city, a sandstorm rages. The rusted metal of the once proud skyscrapers now obfuscated by the swirling grains of sand. A dark hooded figure trudges across the shallow sand dunes that cover what was once well paved asphalt. The incessant sound of grain against glass permeated across the dry landscape. He pulled the hood of his tattered black cloak ever lower over his face, despite being safe from the elements within his invisible sphere.

After making his way around yet another felled building. The human finally arrived at his destination. Before him was the last scene of his life, or rather, previous life? In the sandy clearing, surrounded by similarly buried streets on all sides but the back, where a building stood, were about a dozen police vehicles, each covered in dead overgrowth and sand.

Slowly, he closed the distance to the center of the clearing, wherein a green statue awaited him. The carved stone depicted a sort of tribal man, his right hand missing from the wrist posing as if to finish off a downed beast. Between the human and the statue was... himself. Or rather, his burned, bloody corpse, pierced from the back by a spear firmly stuck in the ground, still tightly gripped by the disembodied hand... Andrew formed a fist and tsked in frustration. The irony of the scene was not lost on him.

Every night since the incident in the cave, he had not yet failed to lucid dream. He didn't care for the why, he just took it as another perk of whatever that thing did to his brain. Alas, all he wanted now, was to forget it all, something not even a nice rest could help him with anymore.

In his right peripheral vision, he could see a blue figure making its way towards him. Taking a wary glance, he saw that it was Luna. Aware of his immunity to magic, he wondered if that was actually her or simply a part of the dream. She seemed to be ignoring him, opting instead to survey the surroundings from within her own blue shield. He chose to stay silent, not quite sure what to say, if anything at all.

"You know," she started, "you can tell a lot about a pony from their dreams," she turned, now facing him directly. "What do you think this dream says about you?"

The human stayed silent under his cowl for a moment. Although he was not necessarily angry at the alicorn for entering his dream, he was still curious as to how she actually managed to do such. He assumed that the first time around was a simple fluke of his powers after having just died, revived, and almost immediately overexerting himself. He hoped that the ponies wouldn't take his actions regarding the storm the wrong way After all, it wouldn't do him any good to get caught up in another world with a life threatening storm going on around him. He doubted that these ponies could harm him if they wanted to, but there was no harm in getting on their good side seeing as they were his only means of figuring out what the hell was going on. Dismissing her question, he responded with one of his own, "Aren't I supposed to be immune to your magic? How are you here?"

The dark princess smirked, occasionally glancing at the corpse just a few yards away from them. "True, you do seem to exhibit such an ability. But how then, do you think, are you able to sense Discord when you should be completely nullifying whatever magical presence he is giving off?"

Andrew opened his mouth, as if to reply, but immediately closed it and furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?" He quietly demanded.

"Discord referred to you as a fellow ‘being of chaos’, which may or may not mean that humans and Draconequui are somehow related. Humans may not possess any kind of magical ability, but you do have a certain innate penchant for disorder not unlike his kind..." she paused, as if waiting for another question. When none came, she continued. "There is no denying the many parallels between our two worlds, to the point of sharing a common language as well as most animal species, mythical or not. It is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that you may be related to his kind by some non-magical means, in the same sense that ponies here are sapient and magical, where the opposite is true for yours. Clearly you are not a Draconequus, nor is Discord a human, but there must be come underlying non-magical connection that factors into your ability to sense him."

Andrew walked past his limp, hanging body to take a seat at the statue's base, trying to process the information he was presented with. He couldn't deny the fact that her theory made sense, but the only way to know for certain was to ask Discord directly when he had the opportunity. It was obvious to anyone that paid any attention to Discord's mannerisms around Andrew that he knew things he shouldn't about the human. He was surprised that nobody brought it up before at the hospital.

"Ok, I guess that makes sense..." He nodded before looking the alicorn in the eyes. "Putting that aside though, You still haven't answered my question? Shouldn't you not be able to enter my mind? And for that matter, how did you even look through my memories before?" He asked firmly.

"Oh? Do you think that dreams actually occur in your mind?" She replied. Before he could say anything she continued, "Just as how our worlds seem to share similarities, so too, it would seem, does the dream realm. It is a place only accessible through restful sleep, a reality that, although greatly influenced by the minds of those who enter, is not entirely grounded in magic. As for how my spell was able to pierce your defenses, it was not a spell at all. I was merely using my natural connection to the dream realm to enter yours. As such, and because dreams are so deeply connected to the mind, I merely used it as a means of accessing your memories in a matter much less complicated than an actual spell. How I was expelled from your dream in the manner that I was, I still do not know, everypony believes that you used your powers to cancel out what they believe to be my magic, but that is not true. Something occurred in your dream that I have never experienced before, almost as if the dream realm itself was advocating my expulsion, which is absolutely impossible."

The human nodded silently, but furrowed his brow in thought. "So you're really trying to tell me that this 'dream realm' is somewhere we go to every time we go to bed? Even on Earth?" He asked skeptically.

Luna shook her head with a frown, "Our current situation speaks to that effect yes. Although I am uncertain how exactly your world operates without somepony to manage your dream realm, such as assisting those who have nightmares by bestowing upon them their waking minds, so as to allow them to rationally confront their fears. In some extreme situations, I even choose to personally intervene in my subjects dreams if they are having especially vivid night terrors. As for why the dream realm itself is not magical, I cannot say. Due to my natural connection with it I may enter and alter this reality as I see fit, as well as temporarily bestow the same power to others without ever needing to tap into my reserves of mana to do so, which is exactly what has led me to believe it mustn't be magical in nature at all. Of course, there is no way to tell for certain without studying it. For obvious reasons, doing such a thing is impossible from the waking world, and woefully unreliable in this one without real instruments."

Luna took a step back from Andrew and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were shining a blinding white, her irises hidden behind the iridescent glow. The raging gale began to slow to a gentle breeze, eventually coming to a stop. There was no time to take in the now visible ruins of Seattle, however, as the world quickly melted away into a blurry haze. Andrew brought his left hand to his eyes, shielding them from the annoyingly murky sight.

When the world came back into focus, he and Luna were in a brightly lit clearing in the middle of a forest. Turning his gaze upwards, he took in the sight of a most breathtaking display. It was as if someone had taken the black, barren, light polluted sky he was so used to seeing, and dipped it into a sea of stars before draping it back over the world. At the center of the canvas was the largest, most luminescent full moon that he had ever laid his eyes on. The moonlight it reflected was more than sufficient for perfect visibility in the night. It was like something straight out of an astronomy documentary.

“This is amazing,” he uttered. “You'd be lucky to see half a dozen stars back on my world, the city lights block them all out.

Luna blushed slightly behind him, unprepared for the compliment. “I- I’m glad you like it. Manehatten, as well as Los Pegasus share a somewhat similar phenomenon with my sky, but I can't even begin to imagine an entire world in such a state," she shook her head. "Truly a shame... But onto more important matters. You should be receiving a letter tomorrow with some fairly urgent news, but I may as well ask you now," she stated.

“Oh yeah? What is it,” he curiously asked, now giving the alicorn his undivided attention.

“Well,” she began, “You are only human in Equestria.”

“No shit?” He replied sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes, ignoring what somehow sounded like a curse. “You didn’t let me finish. Seeing as how you are the only one of your kind, you are currently considered a diplomatic representative for your entire race, while at the same time, as far as the law is concerned, the last of your kind.”

Andrew rolled his eyes,“Ok, I’m not really the last of my kind, and I don't really follow politics, but I guess I understand the logic behind that. But so what? I’m not going to go around the world attending meetings for the rest of my life if that’s what you're about to suggest," he stated adamantly.

Luna chuckled, "Oh no no no! That would be most absurd," she said, waving a hoof dismissively. "Through your status as a diplomatic representative, you will be allowed to travel anywhere in Equestria free of charge should you decide to use a train or carriage, as well as a sizeable discount at inns and taverns across all nations where you may rest and eat during the travels that you wish to undergo. As for politics, my sister and I do ask that you attend a meeting this coming Saturday consisting of several of Equestria's nations, it being Tuesday when you awaken in the morning if you were not already aware. I understand if you don't wish to attend, but It was scheduled almost immediately after news of your arrival reached the other world leaders and It is extremely important that you, being the very subject of the impromptu congregation, are present. Seeing as you wish to expand on your knowledge of Equestria, the experience would certainty benefit you greatly.

Andrew nodded slowly, "will there be a dragon?"

"Pardon? Luna replied, taken by surprise by the rather random question.

"Is there going to be a Dragon?" He repeated.

Luna nodded, "Y...yes, the dragon lord of the current era, Da'kethitus will be attending the congregation. Might I inquire as to why you wish to know?

Andrew bore a look of confusion upon hearing the strange name, but quickly recovered with a shrug and slight grin. "Well, dragons are probably the most popular mythical creatures we came up with... or have, since it turns out you guys or real. Anyways, Unicorns and Pegasi here have magic, can talk, and bend their legs at weird angles. Fancy? Sure, but other than that you guys are pretty normal as far as ponies go. Other than your magic, you're not very exciting, but a real life dragon? That's something straight out of a fairy tale! I've always liked em, even have a few drawings hung up in my room."

Eyebrow raised, Luna smiled, "For somepony who just recently died, you sure seem to be quite lively.”

Andrew’s smile faded, turning into a solemn expression, “y-yeah, I guess so,” he heaved a sigh.

“Andrew? Are you okay-”

“Yeah,” He said before she could finish. Raising both his hands, he gazed at his palms. “I just... I couldn’t help her… I was too weak…”

Luna trotted over to his left side, her wing draping across his back. “You are not weak, Andrew. Far from it in fact. You cannot blame yourself for your mother’s passing.”

“But I wasn't fast enough!” he snapped back, removing himself from her grasp with a shrug. “If I had only gotten the money faster, I would have been able to get her the medicine before she…”

“No," Luna stated quietly. "Your mother was very sick, as tragic as it was, if she truly passed mere hours before you awoke, there isn't much that the medicine could have done.” She sighed, her voice taking on a slightly more firm tone, “and even if the medicine could have saved her, how do you believe she would feel if she ever found out what her son had chosen to do for her sake?" The human looked away, his expression becoming unreadable. He knew exactly how his mother would react. She would probably be ashamed of him. She continued, "I understand how you feel Andrew, more than anypony else, that may be the only reason you are still as free as you are, had it been my sister instead of me that scanned your memories, she would see you only for the monster you seemed to be. But I know that wasn't the real you. You were in agony, your father made your trust in your friends falter, you were cross with him for putting you through such misery, for putting the blame of your mother's death on you. I understand where you are coming from. I blinded myself with rage and nearly plunged the world into -what would have been- inevitably fatal darkness simply because I thought nopony appreciated me… Make no mistake, your actions were absolutely loathsome, and you paid for your crimes with your life. However... for some unknown reason, something saw fit to bring you back to the realm of the living, in a different reality at that."

Andrew glanced back at the alicorn, she bore a stern look as if preparing to scold a child. Yes, he knew what he did was terrible, after the fact anyways. Dying had a way of clearing one's mind, of putting things into perspective. Despite that fact however, he would gladly do it all again if he knew it would save his mother. Right now though, he was confused more than anything, what with robbing a store one moment, dying the next, and now dreaming alongside some sort of lunar deity in an alternate reality...

"I shall not see you squander this second chance, Andrew," she hissed at him.

He said nothing in response, only doing his best to avoid her gaze. After a few seconds he mumbled, "I'm getting up, I need to... I don't know. Clear my head..."

Luna tilted her head in confusion, "what? Ponies cannot simply decide to wake up on a whim."

"What makes you say that?" Andrew asked simply. What's supposed to stop them from waking up on their own if they so choose? He was genuinely curious, most of the time when you don't even realize that you're dreaming you simply wake up at what seems to be a random moment, but willing yourself awake was a simple enough task during lucidity that the idea of such an action not being possible was quite confusing. Well, confusing enough anyways, that he chose not to simply ignore Luna and awaken, but postpone the action at least until he was provided with a reasonable answer.

Luna's left ear flicked downwards. Andrew wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but guessed it was a sign of.. uncertainty? Or perhaps confusion at the question presented perhaps?

"Well," she began, "I am able to gift ponies with temporary lucidity, or even grant it passively by simply entering their dreams as I am doing now. However, it is not possible for ponies to sever their connection with the dream realm at will unless either I, as the sole being capable of manipulating it, do so in their stead or they awaken naturally. Of course, their rest can also be disturbed from the outside." She narrowed her eyes, more so in thought than in hostility. "You spoke of waking yourself just now with unflinching confidence, are you... actually able to do so?" She asked, a hint of weariness lacing her voice.

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, I guess with all the magic and whatnot here things are bound to work differently. Back on Earth though, anyone can just randomly become lucid while dreaming, or even train themselves to become lucid more often than not. I would occasionally lucid dream, wasn't too common though, like once a week at best. After I got my powers, I can't explain why or how, but I'm always lucid when I sleep. My head hurts when I overexert my powers, so obviously they have something to do with my brain, and whatever that thing did to give me my power..." Andrew shrugged, indicating his own uncertainty of his answer to come. "One of the byproducts must be lucid dreaming I guess, no other explanation for it."

"So you mean to tell me... that every human has the capability of controlling the dream realm as I do? That their is no entity that polices it in search of nightmares or other such happenings!?" The blue alicorn began to grow visibly distressed, her eyes beginning to widen more and more as she spoke, her voice doing the same. "That every single human can freely pass through the dreams of others without any care in the world!?" Surely such a thing should not be possible, such a reality would quickly devolve into complete and utter chaos!

Andrew stared at the alicorn, a dumbfounded expression on his face. "Ughh, nooo." He replied, as if the answer was obvious. "You go to sleep. You dream." He shrugged. "And sometimes, whether by chance or practice, you become lucid. That's it. No invading other people's dreams or anything like that."

Luna was trying to wrap her head around what the human was telling her. The idea of so many beings all having control of the dream realm was mind boggling. Let alone the fact that it filled her with unease. While her sister had her sun, and she herself had her moon, only Luna had other extraordinary abilities, that being her absolute dominion over the dream realm. It was just as much a part of her as the very moon and stars themselves, for an entire race to so easily be able to bend it to their will... No, best not to dwell on it, not now anyways.

"I... I see," she hummed softly, "morning is approaching, I will leave you to your own devices, farewell Andrew."

"Yeah," he replied without looking at her, "bye."

He took a moment to think back to the race that Twilight spoke about, the one that attacked them just recently. Changelings, they were called, if his memory was correct. He wondered what they were actually like, what they could be doing now... he couldn't quite get them out of his head for some reason. He would have to press Twilight further for more information on them, or ask for a book about them if they had any.

On second thought... what would be better than talking or reading about changelings, than speaking to one himself.

Chapter 8

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---Golden Oaks Library, Tuesday, 7:00am---

"Pardon?" Replied the lavender mare.

"I asked, why do you have forks? The human repeated, idly impaling another piece of pancake with his utensil. "I might be able to overlook you having fridges and speaking English, but forks? Why do you have something specifically designed for human hands?" He raised the fork in front of him, eyeing it in curiosity. "Who even invented these!?"

Twilight stared at the human from across the circular mahogany table. She swallowed the food she was chewing and levitated her glass of water to her mouth to help wash it down. She examined the manner in which he was holding his knife and fork and sure enough, it looked so ergonomically correct in his grasp that she couldn't quite see how it wasn't made for him... which it wasn't. Right? "Well, we use them to help us eat without having to touch the food with our hooves, it's hygienic." She said matter of factly.

"But how do you hold it?" He asked, "unicorns can just levitate it but what about the other races? Why is it made here the same way it's made on Earth if you can't even hold it properly?" If the fork was attached to some sort of glove that these ponies could use, it would make much more sense, but what he was holding was no different than ordinary silverware back home.

"Well, all races can grasp objects to some extent." She demonstrated by levitating her fork into her right hoof and releasing the spell. As if glued to her, the fork remained in place pointing downwards. She then awkwardly stuck her hoof out in front of her, as if not used to physically holding things, and with some effort brought it down on another helpless slice of pancake. "See?"

Andrew nodded, "I.. guess that works." He didn't even question what he was seeing. chalking it up to 'magic'. But if such was indeed the case... "What if I do this then?" He asked.

Twilight then felt as if an airy, nearly intangible cloth was draped over her hoof, the fork immediately began to fall, only to then be suspended in midair by Andrew's telekinesis and set down alongside her plate. There was a steady stream of vapor rising from her hoof, though she felt no discomfort "Oh.. I was actually going to test something like this today!" She exclaimed before materializing a thick scroll and quill. Immediately unraveling it and taking notes.

After finishing her writing, she quickly teleported the scroll away. The unicorn went through the actions so fluidly, and with such speed, that Andrew was left slightly shocked at what he had just witnessed. "What was that giant scroll for?" He asked.

"That," a certain baby dragon started as he entered the kitchen, "is all the stuff that she wants to go over with you about your powers. She's been working on it since before you woke up, couldn't pry her away from the thing if I tried. It was hard enough getting her to come eat."

"Spike! Don't be ridiculous! ...I got a head start on it last night, so I didn't do too much writing this morning." She turned back to the boy. "Now then, have you had your fill Andrew? Did you like the food?" She asked the human, who was wiping his mouth, his plate devoid of what was a sizable stack of pancakes.

"Yeah, it was okay. We have pancakes back on Earth too." He replied simply. "Where is Discord and the, ugh... rainbow one? Isn't he supposed to be making sure I don't mess around or whatever, not sure how he is going to do that if he isn't even here. And that friend of yours said she wanted to come along this morning." Honestly, he didn't care whether or not that Pegasus was coming. As for Discord, however, he had more than a few questions for the Draconequus. And the sooner he could seek answers the better.

"Her name is Rainbow Dash." Twilight corrected. "And since I told her to be here no later than seven, she's probably sleeping in, as per usual. She doesn't want me to wake her up, so best to let her come whenever she wants. She knows where we'll be. Discord on the other hoof could very well be anywhere he wants to as far as I know so-"

"-indeed I can princes-I mean, Ms. Sparkle, "Discord stated before literally poofing into existence aside the lavender mare. Who promptly yelped in surprise and teleported over to Andrew's side of the table in her panic. She bared her teeth at the draconequus.

"You agreed to knock first Discord!" She yelled. Stomping her front hoof against the hardwood floor. Who the buck does Discord think he is, teleporting into a pony's home unannounced!?

Andrew wasn't surprised, he felt Discord coming a few moments ago. Thankfully, the feeling no longer sent a chill down his spine, it was now merely a noticeable tingle. He wasn't quite sure what caused the drastic change in the feeling, but chose to not give it much thought.

"Oh, and give up the opportunity to hear you squeal? Inconceivable!" Discord proclaimed haughtily. “On another note,” he began, “how has our guest been treating you? Has he been playing any practical jokes on you behind your back? I hear Andrew appreciates a good prank.” He peered at the human, a knowing smile spread across his face.

He was met only with a bemused look from the human.

“What? No!?” Twilight replied, clearly confused. “Why would he be playing pranks? He doesn’t seem like one for jokes Discord. Besides, he's been through a lot these past few days, what could possibly motivate him to be fooling around when he clearly has so much weighing on his mind?" She shot back. Then again, that also begs the question of whether or not they should be subjecting him to so many tests so soon, but she chose to disregard that specific train of thought. Besides, he agreed to it! For science!

The malformed god smiled coyly. "Hmm, it's almost boring how little you ponies know. Andrew loooves a good laugh, ill-gotten or not." He shifted his eyes to look into the boy's, "right?"

Andrew narrowed his eyes. Okay, this guy knew much more than he was letting on. The only other person who had knowledge of his past was Luna, but that was only due to that spell, or... dream... thing... that she did. The extant of his knowledge shouldn't be anywhere near as high as Luna's, but clearly that thought needed reevaluation. Unfortunately he needed to wait until he was alone with Discord to get any meaningful answers, though. He wasn't quite ready for Twilight to know too much about his past, as she would just beeline to Celestia with that info. According to Luna, that's a big no no for the time being, so he refused to acknowledge the question. Of course, there was no stopping her from putting the pieces together herself...

"How about we figure out when we're heading out?" He suggested. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in what we're going to be doing that requires us to leave town." Thus far, that was all he was told about the tests that were going to be conducted. It has to either be something that requires a lot of open space, or too dangerous to engage in with so many people and buildings around.

Twilight frowned, glancing at Discord, then at Andrew, something was certainly off between these two. Ever since he popped up at the hospital yesterday, the way that Discord has been talking almost implies that they know each other, but Andrew seems to be just as confused about the whole mess as anypony else. She certainty wouldn't out it past the god of chaos to be unusually informed about a mysterious alien from what appears to be an alternate reality... "S-sure," she stated hesitantly, "I suppose we can start leaving now. There shouldn't be too many ponies out and about this early in the morning so we shouldn't attract too much attention. And speaking of attention, we should really speak with Mayor Mare later today about setting up some sort of public assembly to introduce you to the town, Celestia knows it would work wonders to quell any fears they might still have."

Before Andrew could respond, Spike came rushing into the living room from the kitchen holding what appeared to be a fancy, gold trimmed scroll. "Twi!" He called out, "message from the princess." He extended his arm, offering the scroll to Twilight. She levitated the parchment out of his hands, giving her thanks as he wobbled his way back to the kitchen. Quickly unfurling it, her eyes skimmed across the contents of the scroll, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh my... oh.. WOW!" She exclaimed.

"Hmm? What does it say?" Asked Discord, coiling forward and placing his arms on the table.

"It says that there is going to be a international meeting this Saturday due to Andrew's appearance in Equestria." She glanced back at the parchment. "And that Andrew needs to attend." Of course Andrew wouldn't truly understand what this all means, so she decided to take the initiative and explain before he had a chance to ask. "Andrew, It's a congregation of the five most powerful beings in all of Equestria! This usually only happens twice a century! Oh I can picture it now! The oldest, largest Dragon. The wisest Zebra. The strongest Griffin. The alpha Diamond Dog among all of the alphas! And of course, the princesses." Twilight was visibly shaking, unable to contain her excitement.

"Okay I have no idea what a Diamond Dog is, but i'm familiar with everything else. So basically, your saying that all the strongest creatures in Equestria are going to be there?"

"Well, most influential, yes," she replied.

This changes things. Initially he was only interested in the prospect of seeing a true, real life Dragon. But he was actually going to be seeing the very best this world had to offer, there was no doubt that he was the strongest human on Earth, but he wondered how he would stack up against the best of the best here. There was something else that was slightly bothering him, though, which he chose to express. " What about the changelings?

Twilight's left ear flicked about, betraying her calm appearance. It was a simple question, for which a simple answer immediately entered her mind. "The changelings are evil, they don't have the right to attend such an important meeting."

Discord smiled and stepped back slightly, materializing a bowl of popcorn for the coming show if he didn't think it would distract from the proceedings.

"Again I ask," Andrew began with a heaving sigh. "Why are they so evil? What did they do that made you all convinced that they are evil. Give me one good reason."

Twilight was growing increasingly irritated by argument, but she knew exactly what to say. "They brazenly attacked The capitol of Equestria!" That's all the reason she needed to claim them as villains.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

Andrew heaved a heavy sigh, "Why did that attack the capital?"

Her face contorted into one of confusion. "So her race could feed off of the love in Equestia?"

"Okay, but don't they need love to survive?"

"Technically yes, physical food might sustain them for maybe a week or two but starvation would be imminent without some sort of love intake. But so what?" Why does this matter?

Andrew rolled his eyes. For someone that's supposed to be so smart, she sure is acting pretty stupid. He looked over at a half open map at the top of one of the bookshelves he noticed earlier. He levitated it over to them, Spreading it across the table. "Can you show me where the changelings live right now?"

Twilight horn was set aglow, and a small speck of light appearing near the bottom of the map. Southeast of Ponyville was a quaint little town called Appleloosa, which was bordered on its south and southeast side by mountains. On the other side of the mountains was where the speck of light resided, a barren desert labeled as The Badlands. This desert, too, was enclosed on all sides by mountains with only a small gap on the North and South side, connected by a dirt road that zig-zagged across the empty land.

Andrew raised an eyebrow, "So you're saying they live in the badlands. Sure sounds like a nice place..."

... She stayed silent, now understanding what the human was getting at.

"I don't know why they are forced to live in a desert devoid of the one thing they need to live," he rolled the map back together in his hands and quickly flew it back to it's original position, "but whoever put them there was trying to kill them off. They attacked because they had no choice, because they were dying. It was either stay put and die, or die trying to save themselves. How many changelings are left?"

Twilight lowered her head, slowly but surely relenting to the human's logic, "well, Chrysalis is the last remaining queen." she said silently, a tone of disbelief in her voice. Oh no, he's right... Celestia was the one that banished the changeling to the Badlands all those centuries ago, labeling them as a threat to peaceful Equestrian society. Who are they to doubt the words of their benevolent, sun-raising ruler? Actually, even the history books describe the Changelings as a dangerous, parasitic species. Could her mentor be behind that depiction as well? Why!? Why would she knowingly condemn them to almost certain starvation in the Badlands? No, there could very well be a good reason for all this. She wasn't around at the time, so for all she knew, the changelings could very well have been a violent race at the time.

"The last queen, huh? Now what could possibly drive them so close to extinction?" He questioned sarcastically. "You know what, you can send a scroll to Celestia through Spike right?"

In her musings, she almost didn't hear the human's question, "Y-yes," she replied, "why?"

"I want you to send a letter saying that I won't be going unless Chrysalis goes too." He said stoically.

Twilight's left ear flicked about erratically. She was trying her best to control herself. "What? Do you have any idea what your asking? It could take days for the message to even arrive at the badlands, let alone having to bring Chrysalis back!"

"I'm sure Celestia can figure something out," Andrew replied dismissively. "Lets just hurry up and be on our way before everyone starts to wake up."

Discord smiled devilishly from across the table. "I believe I can pass the message along Andrew, I simply must see the look on Celestia's face when she hears your request. You two can run along without me, I'll be back in a jiffy!"

Andrew shrugged in response.

"This is going to be brilliant," the draconequus thought before teleporting away.

Twilight stared at the spot that Discord occupied just moments ago, trapped in her thoughts.

"Aren't we leaving?" Andrew called.

The sound made Twilight lose her train of thought. Andrew was already at the door waiting for her. After calling out a few simple orders to spike, she exited the library with her brown satchel slung across her back.

"Well, lead the way..." Andrew said.

"Right," she responded. "The Everfree forest is this way."

Chapter 9

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The trek through Ponyville proved to be far less eventful than Andrew had expected it to be. The few locals that happened to be out and about at this hour following the strange events of the past few days were either too busy or too nervous to confront the duo. Andrew found the whole thing rather humorous, actually. These ponies were perfectly content making a ruckus about him when he was confined within a hospital room and surrounded by guards, yet here they were now trying their hardest to avoid his gaze. He recalled how some of the local populace seemed to be afraid of him, referring to him as a "monster". Well, it's not like they were that far from the truth... Others however, seemed to acknowledge him as the one that stopped the storm, or was it a hurricane? Either way he had to give himself a mental pat on the back for taking such action. What better way to introduce yourself to an alien world full of unknown creatures with unknown motives than by getting on their good side as quick as possible, just in case.

Truth be told, he was enjoying the attention. Though that's not to say he would be letting it get to his head... Dear God, never again.

Just a few minutes after passing the last building in Ponyville, they were already fast approaching their destination, the Everfree forest only a few hundred yards in front of them. But there was something peculiar about it that immediately caught the human's eye. He had noticed it before, but only now saw that it was situated directly above the eerie canopy, not a single cloud was exiting the area occupied by the forest. The clouds above the sea of trees were moving of their own volition in stark contrast to the stillness of the rest of the sky.

"Why are the clouds around the forest normal? Like, my Earth normal?" Andrew questioned, breaking the awkward silence that had hung over them since their departure from the library. "If you're supposed to control the weather, how is that going on? Are going to go into the forest?" He found the idea appealing, wondering if maybe there was anything else so Earth-like within the woodland.

As he spoke, Twilight turned her neck to glance at the human before setting her gaze up toward the sky. As to be expected, the clouds above the Everfree made their way across Celestia's blue canvas at a snail's pace, as they usually did. "Well," she started, "no, we won't be going into the forest, it's especially dangerous this time of year. Early spring is mating season for Timberwolves and Manticores in particular, they become extremely aggressive and territorial during this time, sometimes going so far as to take on predators much bigger than themselves for encroaching on their land. As for the clouds, you mentioned that your world handles its own weather, but you never really elaborated on how." She had every intention of getting that bit of information out of him at some point today. The only reason she chose not to press him on the matter the previous day was to give him as much time as he needed to rest. "The Everfree is a special case," she continued, "we have no idea how it makes and controls its own weather, as it's generally too dangerous to try and study it up close for any prolonged period of time. Honestly I wouldn't at all be surprised if it's similar to your world's method, whatever that may be, but on a much smaller scale. If anything that would just be even more evidence in favor of our parallel worlds theory. Too many coincidences stacked up just aren't coincidences anymore!" She couldn't contain the excitement in her voice, the very idea that an entire planet's weather could be self sustaining was so wonderfully illogical, she would speaking with Andrew about the topic for hours on end if she could have her way.

"Like forks?" He replied.

"Like forks." She echoed. Though that did still bothered her somewhat, the way his hands looked handling his utensils was simply too... natural, to simply be some sort of parallel between their worlds. Now that she had some time to think about it, forks and knifes were counter intuitively designed when it comes to being used with hooves, whereas Andrew had mentions forks on his world were specifically engineered to fit perfectly in the grip of a human hand. Forks in Equestria, as far as he could tell, were no different from those on Earth.

Jokes aside, Andrew knew how the weather must work in the forest, probably anyways. You never really know when magic is involved. Evaporation of whatever bodies of water residing in the Everfree made the clouds, which condensed until there was too much to hold before raining it back down, third grade science really... Of course, there was the fact that all the clouds seemed to swirl lazily in a circle, never leaving the perimeter of sky above the woods, like they were scared that if they left the safety of their little section of the heavens they would lose their freedom of movement, forever bound by the unnatural forces of nature that governed the rest of the land until a wandering Pegasus could end their plight. Unlucky for the unicorn however, he wasn't here to talk third grade science, so he refrained from pursuing the topic any further. He muttered a simple, "oh," and left it at that.

A few moments later, they came to a stop a half a dozen yards from the woodland's edge. They stood in a grassy plain completely littered with rocks ranging from small pebbles to enormous boulders the size of cars. Using her magic, Twilight cleared a small rectangular area to her left of stones before loosening the clasp of her satchel. Upon opening the bag, she retrieved a quill, the enormous scroll she wrote on earlier, a red notebook, and a lavender blanket. Spreading the cloth out, she lowered it to the now mostly green patch of earth before setting down her supplies on it.

"I'm guessing whatever we're doing involves rocks...?" He guessed with a tinge of sarcasm.

"Yes!" She answered promptly as she focused intently on levitating several large boulders, seemingly oblivious to his tone. She gently began to set them down next to a thick car-sized slab of rock that was leaning against the mossy bark of a tree in descending size, the slab being on the right. "This field is popular in Ponyville," she started while scanning their surroundings, as if in search of something. "Well, more like infamous really, for being used by teen colt and filly unicorns to fool around with their magic. I assure you though, everything to come today will be purely academic in nature. Before moving on to how your magi.. well ability, interacts with magic, we need to take a baseline approach in measuring it. Take care of all the fundamentals as they would normally apply with regular magic, In this case, telekinesis. Today we're going to be testing your raw strength, finesse, ability to multitask, and varying combinations of the three." She glanced back at him with a smile, "I like to call it the telekinetic trifecta. One of my friends, Rarity, is especially gifted in the finesse department. Being a seamstress, that's exactly the kind of thing that she would need. On that note, if anypony is talented enough to make new clothes for an entirely new species, it's going be her."

Andrew examined his clothing, all he had were his white undershirt, dark grey zip hoodie, and grey jeans. His shoes were nothing special either, just his usual grey brand-less sneakers. Indeed, he never was much for variety, and even if he was it wasn't like there was money around that couldn't better be put towards his mother's medicine. Presently though, he could definitely get behind the idea of owning more than a single pair of underwear. "Is she another one of the elements?" He asked.

"Of generosity, yes." She replied matter of factually. "Everypony but Rainbow, Pinkie and I have been out of town lately but I'm sure they've already read the news regarding Ponyville's new resident alien and will be coming back any day now."

Andrew hummed in thought as Twilight got back to her work. Fondly remembering how Steve had complimented him on his finesse when he was first seen manipulating his camera using his telekinesis. Surely he had the strength as well seeing as he was strong enough to effortlessly lift a double decker bus. Not to mention all the added weight from.. the passengers. Which he then proceeded to ram into his best friend only to then further sandwich between said vehicle and a building... He dispelled the thought into the back of his mind. What is done is done, all he can do now is tough it out and move on, it's what his mother would have wanted.

"I'm stronger than this." He muttered to himself

Hearing the whisper behind her, Twilight turned to see a despondent Andrew facing the ground with closed eyes, hands in his sweater pockets. She was about to open her mouth to ask if he was alright but was preemptively interrupted by a loud POP above the pair. Looking up, they were greeted by the sight of a very bemused spirit of chaos.

Snapping out of his brooding state, Andrew stared at Discord in confusion. There was a thick layer of white smeared across the draconequus's chest. A sort of cream perhaps? "Is that... frosting?" He asked incredulously.

Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof in a failed attempt to stifle her giggling. She was very aware of her mentors admittedly unhealthy fondness for all things cake.

"I take it she didn't like what you had to say?" Andrew guessed.

Discord's mismatched eyes shifted to glare at the boy. Bringing his right lion paw to his hip, he pulled a handkerchief out of what could only be thin air before casually swiping it across his furry chest, the frosting disappearing behind it, as if the frosting was merely a layer in Photoshop that had been deleted, leaving only the clean, untouched Discord in its wake. Andrew raised an eyebrow at the display, but knew better than to question how that worked, if he ever saw or experienced anything particularly out of the ordinary, he could probably just chalk it up to "magic". He would wager that more often than not, he would be right on the ball with such an assumption. Conventional physics need not apply here, after all.

With a flick of his wrist, Discord cast aside the stained cloth, which promptly evaporated into smoke upon hitting the ground. "Ugh... don't get me started." He heaved, hovering down until his limp legs were mere inches above the ground. "I mean, sure, her reaction when she saw who was swimming in her tea was priceless... But once I passed along your message she just went on and on on the sociopolitical," he made air quotes to emphasize his point, "ramifications of inviting a changeling to the gathering of the five nations. Then she went on about how poorly the populace would react to the information once it's undoubtedly leaked. Oh for the love of me I nearly died of boredom before she finally finished arguing with herself and agreed to allow the queen a seat at the table. Suffice to say, she wasn't pleased about it, but she sent out an emergency envoy to the badlands at full speed. IF Chrysalis is still in the badlands, she will more than likely get the message and be brought to the capital in time. Assuming she wants to come at all."

Twilight frowned, but otherwise gave no reaction to what sh had heard. She really wanted to say something about how Celestia had a point in the matter. The changeling invasion should still be somewhat fresh in the minds of everypony in Canterlot, of course there would be some sort of panic if word got out that the leader of that very invasion was returning. But seeing as how Celestia was going to go through with it, she must have some sort of plan to quell the fear that would otherwise run rampant should she allow it to become a rumor. She complete and utter faith in her mentor.

"Sounds good." Andrew commented, he was genuinely curious to know what exactly it was about these changelings that made all these ponies so scared of them. Well, he was more excited about the dragon, but that goes without saying. He looked over behind Twilight towards the collection of rocks and boulders that she had set up along the edge of the forest, there were nine in all, spaced out with about a foot from one another. On the far left was a rock the size of a golf ball, to the far right was the slab roughly the size of a smart car. The whole thing ran parallel to the tree line, measuring about thirty feet from end to end. He made eye contact with the unicorn and said, "guess that means we should get started." He gestured behind the mare.

"Umm, right" She agreed, trotting over to Andrew's left before turning back around to face her hoof work. "To start us off, I would like you levitate this rock." Instead of gesturing with her hoof, she chose instead to encompass the rock on the far left in her magenta aura and lifting it off the ground momentarily. She also produced her notebook and quill from the blanket, ready to note-take at a moments notice.

He gave the mare an incredulous look that silently asked "are you serious", which was met with a sheepish smile in return. It should be obvious that he was capable of far more than lifting a silly little rock. Nevertheless, he shrugged inwardly, assuming there must be something to this that was going over his head, if it meant learning more about his powers, he may as well play along.

Without even moving from his standing position between Discord and Twilight, or even making any kind of gesture that would indicate what it was he was about to do, Andrew exerted his will upon the piece of detritus. Slowly, silently, and with no visual indication that it was being affected by outside forces besides its gravity defying movement, the rough stone raised itself above the ground and proceeded to streak its way across the field and into Andrew's now waiting left palm. He twirled the rock in his hand absentmindedly, waiting for more instructions.

"Sorry," Twilight said after she finished her writing, "I understand that this is probably a simple task for you, but we need to record how easily you can levitate objects of various sizes. What you did with the storm, while definitely quite the spectacle to behold with how the clouds reacted when coming into contact with your mag-err ability," she corrected. "It isn't quite that difficult to accomplish for an above average unicorn. What you did is probably the equivalent of this." She sidestepped away from the pair and set her horn aglow. As the intensity of her horn's luminescence rose, the light expanded in the form of a transparent magenta sphere. The bubble itself continued to grow in size, covering her horn, head, and eventually engulfing her entire body and beyond. By the time it finished growing, she was within a bubble that extended about two feet around her in all directions. "For an experienced unicorn, a field like this isn't too difficult to maintain for even a prolonged period of time." She lifted a fore-hoof and pointed at something behind the human.

Following the direction of her hoof, Andrew and Discord looked beyond the collection of buildings that comprised Ponyville and towards one of the many mountains that surrounded the quaint town. Along the side of one such peak was a city, or the vague visage of one when looked at from this distance, while the details weren't quite clear from here, he could tell that it was much larger than it appeared. He had seen it before when he was flying into the storm, but that was nothing more than a passing glance. He wondered if that was where the meeting was going to take place. If so, he doubted it was going to be indoors since a dragon was going to be in attendance. Of course, that begs the question of how big dragons could even get in the first place. As much as he wanted to get an answer from Twilight then and there, he didn't mind waiting a few days. After all, the dragon lord was probably going to be stupendously large, more than likely the largest dragon alive. He wanted to be surprised.

"That's Canterlot, capital of Equestria and where I grew up as a filly." Twilight continued, breaking the human's train of thought. "My older brother is captain of the celestial royal guards and was tasked with maintaining a force field around the entire city. It isn't very hard to create a large field of magic, or even a force field, but more about the duration of it's use. This bubble I'm making right now isn't even solid, just a sort of a force field without the 'force' to back it up."

To illustrate her point, she levitated a pebble from the ground around her hooves and threw it to the side, passing it through the bubble with zero resistance. "Of course, a simple projection of my magic in this form doesn't quite say how strong my magic is in general, so you can understand why we need to go through all of this." She smiled and cut off her magic. The bubble quickly dissolving from the top downwards as it was deprived of its source of power. "The size of the field absolutely plays a part, the fact that you were able to make one so large is very commendable in its own right, even if it was short lived, and since your ability seems to dissolve magic on contact you had no need to make it solid."

"Yeah, I think I understand what you mean." Andrew nodded. He never actually tried projecting a telekinetic blast without some sort of weight behind it, but the idea made sense to him. In fact, the blast he emitted to take out the storm was probably strong enough to blow away dozens of trucks if they happened to be around him at the time, but he refrained from mentioning that to her. Mostly due to not wanting to explain the concept of automobiles and how they worked. He was also interested in the fact that her brother actually managed to cover an entire city. He wasn't certain if he could say the same, though he had never actually attempted it. And If Celestia really could literally control the sun, he did NOT want to get on her bad side, magic-immune or not.

Although, if all Twilight needed right now was to see how heavy a rock he was capable of lifting, why not just get right to it instead of starting at the bottom? He crossed his arms and glanced at the line of rocks before looking back at the unicorn. "I mean, I know I can lift that boulder over there, I've done heavier even," he pointed to the rock on the far right, "so can't I just lift that so we can move on to the next test?" He asked.

Twilight frowned, she didn't like the idea of skipping steps, but she supposed in this case since all that was being measured was his strength, there was nothing particularly wrong with getting right to the weight that he was confident with. "Ok," she agreed, "do whatever you feel most comfortable doing. She readied her quill, noting that the slab was approximately 1800 lbs (816 kg). Glancing at Discord, she saw that he was seated in a white plastic chair, a red umbrella stuck into the ground protecting him from the rather mild morning sun. He's been suspiciously quiet for awhile now. Andrew however... was smiling.

There was no doubt in her mind that what she was looking at was a genuine, bona fide smile. She was going to jokingly mention her surprise that he was even capable of the expression, but thought better of it. Pointing that out would probably be the quickest way to erase his apparent happiness. Better to just leave him be, hopefully he'll come around completely as he grows more comfortable in Ponyville.

Just now noticing that Andrew was eyeing her, she nodded in response to the unspoken question, pressing her quill to the paper in preparation.

As if on cue, Andrew began surveying his surroundings, as if taking in every possible detail of the rocky plain. "She did say to do whatever was most comfortable." He thought. Taking a deep breath through his mouth, he raised his arms from against his sides slightly, open palms facing the ground. Dust and rock began to rise into the air in the area immediately surrounding the human, forming a cloud of detritus. A moment later, the area under Andrew's influence began to expand, as the diameter increased, progressively more rock and less dirt began to rise.

The quill's strokes against the parchment appeared sporadic with the speed at which Twilight was writing. While initially Andrew appeared to merely used the equivalent of an area of effect spell around his feet, it quickly became clear that what he was doing was far more complicated as not only did he extend the area of effect, but limit it to only the solid materials on the surface and nothing more. "Can he actually change the parameters if his powers in the same way a unicorn does a spell? Or is he actually micromanaging every individual piece of earth She furiously jotted down her thoughts, even as the ever increasing area approached her. She made an audible "eap!" as she felt a pressure against her right forehoof, tilting her head to see the cause she saw a pebble making its way straight into the air against her leg. She tried to grab it only to instead encase it within its own personal cloud of sizzling white smoke, the rock otherwise ignoring her magical influence. As it rose above her head, it began to make its way toward the treeline. Wait no, EVERY rock made it's way toward the treeline, and that was not an exaggeration. The formerly rocky field was now half grass and half patches of dirt. By the time she looked back at her assortment of boulders, The 1800 lb slab was nonchalantly hovering above the treeline as the eight others attached themselves around it.

It took all of Twilight's willpower not to ignore her notes and simply look on as the air was blanketed in a thin veil of grey. The sea of earth moving toward and blanketing the boulders in a sphere made up of thousands of what amounted to mere pebbles, the boulders no longer visible.

"Did I pass?" She heard the human ask.

She glanced at Andrew, whose gaze was on his work, right arm outstretched. A bead of sweat was running down the side of his face, whether it was because he was reaching his limit or from the intense focus he needed to maintain she did not know.

"Throw it!" Discord quipped from the sidelines.

"No!" Twilight yelled as her mind snapped back into focus. She had no idea how strong Andrew was, but Zecora's hut was only a mile deep in the forest, it if landed there, or if she was out collecting herbs and...

Too late.

By the time the words left her mouth, Andrew had already pulled the amalgamation of earth higher into the air and proceeded to fling it in a broad arc deep into the forest, the sphere quickly lost its shape as the individual pieces began to spread out, taking on the shape of a small scale meteor shower just before disappearing below the green canopy. A series of crunches and crashes could heard in the distance from what could be assumed to be trees being felled.

Andrew grinned at his handywork, he wasn't even sure if he could manage to take hold of so many individual rocks. The closest he had been to this level of multitasking was when he had levitated several dozen phones, tablets, and cameras just a few days ago. That is, ignoring the time that had passed between his... impalement, and his awakening in the hospital. It may have felt like a few days to him, but for all he knew, weeks or even months had passed back on Earth. Any further musings were cut short however, as the air was filled with a chorus of applause that could rival a football stadium moments after a game-winning touchdown.

"Bravo! Bravo!" The draconequus cheered as he lavishly waltzed into Andrew's field of view, his hands were clapping with such speed that they left afterimages, giving the appearance that his arms branched out at the elbows into dozens, if not hundreds of individual limbs all clapping together. He could have sworn he saw two of the countless arms exchanging a gold coin for a hot dog.

"Good show!" Discord continued as the grand applause began to die down, the blur in front of him dying down until only two, solid looking hands were left, they too stopping as they came to rest at his sides. "A plus, my boy, A plus! What say you ms. Sparkle? Did he pass with flying colors or did he leave the visible spectrum of light in the dust?"

It took a moment for the mare to finally pry her eyes away from the treetops in front of them, which blocked off the view of the rest of the forest, but when she did, her face was full of not surprise, or joy, but fright and anxiousness. Her notes lay abandoned in the ground, half a sentence ending in a broad stroke of ink down the page.

"We need to find Zecora!" She yelled pleadingly. She answered Andrew's question before he had the chance to speak. "She's a friend of mine that lives in the Everfree and you threw the boulder in the direction of her hut! We have to make sure she's safe. Follow me!" She hesitated for only a moment before galloping into the forest.

Andrew observed silently as the forest swallowed the mare whole, as if the trees tried with all their might to move their branched and close off the path behind her but failed due to their floral properties, and not for lack of trying.

***

"Oh, my god, I can see your head is, like exploding right now." Matt replied from the driver's seat. They had just left the school talent show, which Andrew unequivocally dominated thanks to his rather unorthodox... talent.

"What?" Andrew replied, unsure of what his cousin was trying to say.

"This is the beginning of your downfall -hubris- right there." Matt stated.

"What is 'hubris'?" He replied, more for the nonexistent audience behind his camera than himself. Of course he knew what hubris meant, some Greek literature was par for the course in English 2.

Matt laughs, whether it was mocking or not Andrew couldn't tell. "No, what does 'hubris' mean?" He repeated in a more serious tone.

"Seriously?" Matt questioned?

***

Andrew looked to Discord, who just shrugged. Cursing under his breath, he sprinted after the mare.

"This is what I get for showing off again huh?" he mused.

Chapter 10

View Online

The Everfree was far less impressive now that Andrew had a good look of it from the inside. It had a dark, almost menacing air about it before. Though now that he found himself far enough inside that he could no longer see the forest's edge if he peered behind himself, it could honestly be mistaken for any average woodland on Earth. The canopy, while thick enough to provide a constant shade, still allowed plenty of sunlight with which to clearly make out his surroundings.

Being constrained to only two limbs for traversal, he had fallen considerably behind the much faster Twilight, having to resort to following the shallow hoof-prints she had left in the dirt he was currently running through. While he wouldn't consider himself an athletic individual by any means, he silently thanked his past self for postponing physical education to his senior year, otherwise he would probably be heaving for breath right about now.

As he jogged after the mare, he was lucky enough to see a wide variety of wildlife, most he was familiar with, a few exotic in nature. In the case of the squirrels and hares, the only reason he had even noticed them in the first place was because they wasted no time in fleeing the area as quickly as their tiny limbs could take them the second that he was seen. He saw a few sleeping owls, some lizards scurrying up and around trees, even a brown sloth, hanging limply from a tall branch overhead. If it did notice him, it gave no reaction to indicate such.

Right after jumping over an unusually large ant hill, something large and hard crashed into him from his right, whatever it was made him lose his balance, and they both tumbled to the ground, Andrew belly down with the creature on his back. It was roughly equivalent to a medium sized dog in weight.

"The hell!?" Andrew yelled as he instinctively pushed the creature off of him with a telekinetic shove. He got to his feet immediately and turned around in time to see the creature get back up as well.

It was a chicken, or.. an overweight lizard? It had the head and feet of a chicken anyways, but the rest of it's body was covered in green scales, instead of feathered wings, it had those of leather. He had no knowledge of any sort of chicken/lizard hybrid creature in any mythology stories he had read. Then again, it's not as if this world would only limit itself to animals he knew of, it could very well borrow from every kind of mythology and beyond. It was pissed. It stood up using the end of its long, thick tail, bringing it about chest level with Andrew. It screeched loudly at him, anger etched in its feathery features.

Then it did a complete one-eighty and went wide eyed in fear, it flapped and clucked about erratically before it decided to stand still and stare directly into his eyes. He immediately had to shut them as his vision was filled with sizzling smoke. It didn't hurt per-say, but it certainly wasn't enjoyable to have your eyes suddenly covered in a layer of smoke. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at the lizard chicken, which now seemed more surprised than fearful. He was about to snap its neck when it shrieked and slithered its way into a bush. He briefly considered crushing the bush along with the creature within, but chose instead to turn and continue after Twilight. The chicken-lizard probably just crashed into him by accident on its way to wherever it happened to be going. He made yet another mental note to ask her about the creature when he had a chance. He seriously needed to get himself a notebook.

About a minute later he finally heard Twilight's voice ahead of him.

"Stay away!" He heard her shout.

Quickening his pace, he neared and then stepped through an opening in the trees, he exited into a large clearing. Before him were about a dozen wolves, though once again, they must have been some sort of mythological creature he was unfamiliar with, as although they were undoubtedly wolves, their bodies consisted purely of wood with leafy brows. Stranger still, their bodies were not simply a single whole piece, but instead appeared to be a vast collection of lumber, be they the small sharp twigs acting as their claws and teeth, or the thick logs that made up their thighs. The only thing that could possibly be holding their bodies together was 'magic'. The beasts were gathered in a broad semi circle at the other end of the clearing, cornering twilight against the bark of an old, wide tree.

From his position, he could see the sides of the wolves furthest from him, which were to Twilight's sides. Their drool was thick and viscous, likely made of sap. They eyed their prey through yellow, glowing eyes, whether they were glowing eye sockets or actually iridescent pupils he couldn't tell, as they were far too bright to make out any details.

The second Twilight saw him she let out a shrill "Andrew!" Her horn shone momentarily as she teleported to his left side.

For some reason, Twilight's baser instincts were screaming at her to cower behind the human for safety, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and instead opted to stand straight, mimicking his confident demeanor as she glared at the timberwolves who had already turned around to face the duo.

"Timberwolves." She muttered coarsely, just loud enough for Andrew to hear. "We both know I can't teleport you out of here, and no way can I just leave you here alone. The best I can do is slow them down to give you a head start, then I can catch up." She suggested silently. She was expecting some sort of reply, but when none came she peered at the human, whose gaze was focused straight ahead at what can only be the alpha of the pack. Each wolf was about twice the height of a regular pony, and a head above Andrew. The alpha however was easily about a third larger than the rest of its peers, several shades darker. They both stood their ground, the alpha staring into Andrew's azure irises, and he the yellow glow that made up the alpha's. She understood exactly what was happening. By the looks of it, so did Andrew.

"Why is it staring at me?" He mumbled through gritted teeth.

Or perhaps not.

"Just... don't move." She suggested. If she was right, and what happened back at the hospital wasn't just a coincidence, there was a chance the alpha might -for some unknown reason- recognize Andrew as a superior predator, the same as Season Claw. It was made apparent that Andrew was stronger than a griffon. Granted, Season Claw was a chef and not a fighter, but still. The problem was whether or not the timberwolf would take the bait. As far as she understood the matter, the predator's gaze only took into account a creature's raw strength and cunning. Andrew didn't seem to have the ability, but from Season's reaction it was clear that the predator's gaze still applied to the human regardless of his own capability to harness it. She wasn't one to judge, but as far as she could see, Andrew's physiology had nothing that would indicate he was particularly dangerous. For Celestia's sake he had trimmed nails in place of claws to defend himself! Yet he was a predator, that much was a fact going by his canines and unquestionable dietary likes. Humans had apparently became the apex species of their world through the use of tools, but whatever those tools were, Andrew didn't have access to them in Equestria.

She was snapped out of her train of thought when Andrew let out a dry sneeze. The tense mood faltering for only a moment.

The alpha had yet to move, and they resumed their staring contest. But there was something missing in the scene. She counted eleven timberwolves when she first encountered the pack, yet only ten stood before them.

A twig snapped behind them.

"Andrew!" She called just as the growling wolf pounced on him from behind.

***

As 'cool' as these timberwolves looked, it was getting increasingly creepy how the pack leader wouldn't quit staring at him through those shining, eerily unblinking eyes. He returned the gaze, of course, motivated by equal parts curiosity and excitement. Speaking of excitement, This was what he was here for, the nice, peaceful scenery of Tibet still held a special appeal in Andrew's heart. This was something else however. The sheer overpowering excitement was enough to nearly make him forget the events that had led up to him standing there.

This was real. Looking into those glowing eyes, it truly dawned on Andrew just where he was. He was on an alien world. There was a unicorn just to his left. There was a pack of wooden wolves glaring at him. Earth, Matt, Steve... his mother. He had lost them all. There was nothing left for him there. Here, his powers weren't something that had to be hidden. Here, they were to be taken for what they were, what they had become. His powers were a part of him, they have been for a long time now. Here, there was no power hungry government to hide from. Here, he could be himself.

He felt a shiver of excitement run down his spine.

He felt himself grin involuntarily just as the snap of a twig resonated behind him, immediately followed by Twilight calling his name from the side and the alpha giving a quick guttural bark. Reacting as quickly as the adrenaline in his system would allow, Andrew turned to see a timberwolf pounce from behind a bush at him, forelegs outstretched to welcome him into its lethal embrace. It growled menacingly as it neared the end of its arc towards him. Just before its sharpened claws were about to reach him, he outstretched his right hand palm up and flung it back toward the rest of the pack who were now all running towards the pair minus the alpha, who seemed content with staying back and observing the proceedings silently. The wolf followed the arc his hand had made, Flailing about through the air and above its kin until it reached the tree Twilight had previously been trapped against. The thudding impact caused it to explode into a dense pile of lumber. A thin trail of white smoke outlined the path it had followed through the air.

Ignoring their fallen comrade, all wolves but the alpha continued their mad dash towards the pair. No, wait, they were all rushing him instead. Thinking quickly, he pushed Twilight away with an TK enhanced shove of his left hand. He wasted no time to see if she landed ok before dealing with the onslaught half a dozen yards away. The timberwolves were arranged in a wide V formation. The air was filled with beastly barks and the grinding of wood against wood as they approached him.

Andrew was no kung-fu master, the most he would be able to do in close combat would likely be shielding himself as best as possible until he TK pushed whatever was encroaching on his personal space.

That was a situation he would much prefer to not find himself in. Back on Earth, he and Matt survived crashing into and through buildings without so much as a scratch, but his unpreparedness got him literally and fatally back-stabbed. Even if his shield appeared to be working on its own now, and he was immune to magic, he was still in the dark as to what he could expect from the creatures of Equestria.

He wasn't going to take any chances, not anymore.

"Andrew wai-" Twilight started but was immediately interrupted when almost all at once, the timberwolves crashed into an invisible wall just three yards from the pair. They collectively yelped in pain from the unexpected impact but quickly recovered. The pack split up and tried to sprint alongside the barrier to find an opening only to once again crash into the corners of what they now realized was their cubed prison. One of the wolves tried to run back towards the alpha and hit yet another wall just before reaching its destination, it let out a loud yelp as it brought its paws to its aching snout. Small puffs of smoke emanated from the wolves with each impact they made against the barriers, whether by ramming into it with their broad shoulders, or making a futile effort to scratch at it with their claws.

From behind the Alpha, they could see the remains of the fallen timberwolf give off a yellow glow as it began to stir. The pile of lumber shivered once more before rising and flowing into the air directly above, each piece finding its predetermined spot in the air and hovering in place as its brethren found theirs as well. The last twigs and sticks came together to form the head of the wolf just as two symmetrical leaves got into position above the shallow, empty eye sockets. When every piece was in place, its eyes glowed, life once again finding it's way back to the felled beast.

Twilight could only look on in horror at what Andrew did next. Just as the newly risen timberwolf howled with renew vigor, it was lifted into the air and immediately exuded sizzling smoke from any and every gap across it's body. Her ears splayed as they were assaulted by the deafening cry of pain. Similarly, all the other wolves stopped what they were doing as their comrades pain-filled shrieks attracted their undivided attention as well. They barked and yelped in unison, as if trying to communicate.

She brought a hoof to her mouth in shock. Like any other creature, timberwolves were creatures of magic, but due to their composite nature, magic played a very vital and very active role in keeping them whole. And by way of their wooden nature, they were more likely to simply break apart than they were to actually break themselves. A simple matter, seeing as the magic that previously held them together can simply go to work to restore them to their good as new condition.

But Andrew's abilities and magic don't play well together, and she knew what was happening even before the amber light in the creature's eyes dimmed to nothingness and every twig, stick and log floated aimlessly in the air before succumbing to gravity, landing in a series of thuds.

Noticing that the wolves were now running away from him and back to their side of the clearing, Andrew lifted the barrier. They all surrounded the jumbled heap and gave a long, drawn out howl into the sky. All save for the alpha, which continued to stare at the human, except now a toothy snarl had found its way across its face. Andrew simply grinned back tauntingly.

When the howling came to an end, the alpha gave a curt bark and turned, the pack running into the forest. The alpha got one last look at the lifeless cluster before following after the rest of its kin.

Looking at Twilight, Andrew frowned upon seeing the aghast expression on her face.

"What have you done!?" She screamed accusingly through her covered mouth.

Andrew knit his brows and pouted confusedly. He followed her gaze to see she was staring at what used to be a timberwolf. "OH." He replied. "Well," he started, "they've obviously never really seen a human before, probably why they were staring at me for so long. And since the Everfree is so much like Earth minus the lizard chickens and wooden wolves, I'm probably gonna want to come back and see what other cool stuff I can find. Figured showing them what I'm capable of would be a good way to avoid this kind of thing in the future." He waited for her to reply, but she simply shifted her horrified gaze to him instead, she looked like just walked into her room to discover the walls had been repainted with fresh manure.

"What?" He asked defensively, spreading his hands out in a gesture that was probably lost on the mare. She didn't react, nor did her expression change.

He was going to repeat the question when Discord stumbled in from the left side of the clearing, behind Twilight.

"Good news everyone!" He announced, getting their attention. "Zecora's hut is perfectly intact." He was dribbling a rock as if it was a basketball. "As for Zecora herself," he continued, "she left a note on her door saying something about visiting family so I'm certain she is just-"

He paused as his eye caught sight of the heap of wood. "Oh, firewood! Are we going camping!? I knew it was a good idea to bring this!" He chucked the large rock behind himself, and despite its terribly uneven and... rocky contours, it bounced several times before rolling out of sight. Discord fumbled around his left hip with his left claw and, grasping on of the corners, pulled out a full-sized tent. "Unfortunately, I only brought the one, so we're going to have to share!"

Twilight looked at Discord, then at the 'firewood', then back at Discord. Her face went green and she practically galloped to the nearest bush and retched.

Discord brought his right lion paw to his chest, looking more offended than a donkey named Ass.

"Hmph," Discord huffed, "Very mature, Twilight, you could just as easily have said no thank you."

Chapter 11

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"Oh, is that it?" Discord chuckled then grinned devilishly. "Seems like ponies have grown rather soft under Celestia's rule."

The draconequus hovered alongside Andrew, Twilight leading the way out of the Everfree several yards in front of them. Shortly after leaving the clearing, they found and began following a dirt path through the forest. Andrew had just finished recounting the events that had occurred in his absence.

"Well I don't see what the big deal is." Discord quipped. "Self defense is all I take from that!"

"Exactly." Andrew murmured in agreement. He couldn't understand why she would even care what happened to a bunch of mindless animals. He briefly wondered what kind of tune she would be singing if he hadn't been there to saver her, only to recall that she could have simply teleported away.

"So why didn't she." He wondered. Shouldn't that have literally been the first thing to do at the sign of danger when you were a magically endowed being!? He shook his head dismissively. Maybe she was just one of those 'people' that froze up in difficult situations. Though it was entirely possible that he stumbled upon her right before she was going teleport anyways.

After a few minutes of relative silence, Andrew recalled several questions he had for Discord. Now was as good a time as ever...

"So," He started, earning the god's attention. "What exactly is it about me that lets me, like, know when you're around?" He asked confusedly. "You called me a being of chaos, what exactly does that mean, besides the obvious?" It couldn't be magic, since that clearly didn't play well with him, but what else could it be?

"Good question," Discord replied. "When I was imprisoned in stone, I was still fully conscious of my surroundings, and could do nothing to exercise my powers. I couldn't spread chaos across this world so I did the next best thing."

"You... found Earth?" Andrew guessed, admittedly shocked. "And did something to inject chaos into the human rac--"

"Nononono" Discord interrupted as he waved the accusations away. "You're overthinking it Andrew. I wouldn't have done something as grand as systematically merging the chaos energies with an entirely alien species in a parallel dimension. That would be far too.... planned and organized for my liking."

"But I am in a parallel world then? Or dimension?" Andrew asked.

"Indeed." Discord nodded. "After the first day or so of my imprisonment, I left my physical body behind in favor of a reality that I could occupy myself in until I could free myself. Woefully limited in power, I couldn't cause the chaos I wanted, so I endeavored to seek it out instead. I simply looked for a source of chaos, and your universe lit up like the sun in my metaphorical sky. I entered it without hesitation, and was treated to the beauties that are planets of never ending dust storms, light sucking black holes, and matter spewing quasars." He sighed blissfully. "A true spectacle your universe was."

"Was?" Andrew inquired?

"Right..." Discord sighed. "As impressed as I was in the beginning, after awhile I started getting lonely. After all, what is the point of chaos if there is nobody to enjoy it but I. And you can only spend so many months riding a black hole all by your lonesome before it starts getting repetitive. The spaghettification also made me queasy, so there's that too."

Seeing the treeline ahead of them, Twilight quickened her pace, forcing Discord and Andrew to do the same, lest they fall behind. The magical glow of her inner ear yet unnoticed.

"So," he continued, "I tried to find the highest density of chaos in your universe. When I detected yet another "sun" exuding endless amounts of it, I mistook it for the black hole in the center of your universe. Without anything better to do, I made my way to it. Imagine my surprise when it was just this tiny marble of blue white and green with a striking resemblance to Equestria. Further still I narrowed my search for chaos on your world to find myself in the middle of a slaughter that I would soon find out was just another of Genghis khan's conquests. There was no magic in your universe, and I could feel it trying to reject me at every moment, but being the embodiment of chaos, and surrounded by my element, I managed fairly well.

"Was it the same as when I use my powers on magic, with the smoke?" The human questioned.

"No, not exactly." Discord clarified. "The chaos energies are far too complicated for those that reside in conventional reality, and simply considered another strain of untouchable magic by unicorns. The truth is, chaos energy and regular magic are more like opposites. Magic, for the most part, is about harmony, case and point the magic of friendship, which, if you still don't believe it, IS an actual thing here." He finished the statement in an almost mocking tone. "Chaos is just that, chaotic. I quickly realized that humans had a slightly differing version of the chaos energies than what I am familiar with, a... refined, cleaner kind of chaos, if that makes any sense. Your very universe was birthed from an infinitesimally small, stupidly dense singularity of pure chaos -it was blindingly bright, very boring, do not recommend watching- and it seems your race carries vestiges of that destructive, primal chaos within yourselves. And yet..."

So engrossed were they in conversation, Discord at some point hovering in front of Andrew, that the only indication of Twilight stopping was when Andrew couldn't help but notice the large cottage directly in front of them.

"Sorry." The unicorn stated. "Me and Rainbow have been taking turns feeding Fluttershy's animals while she's been away and, since we were in the area, I thought it would be prudent to do this now rather than having to come back later. We also need to go back and pick up the blanket and satchel I left behind."

"It's fine" Andrew said.

"Well don't keep the poor things waiting, go ahead." Discord said. When the Unicorn gave her thanks and disappeared through the unlocked door, he turned back to Andrew.

"And yet... I learned much about humans in the millennia I spent on Earth. It's fascinating really, the duality of your species. You deny your very nature almost instinctively, you seek normalcy and despise change. Always you strive for peace, yet are ready to go to war at the drop of a hat. As a species you seem to genuinely value human life, yet always try to devise more efficient ways to end it. Stubborn, yet innovating. Extremely hard-working, yet you pour that dedication into inventions that will simply make everyone more lazy. Always talking about standing United as one, yet you divide your planet into hundreds of countries, each with dozens of little states or territories of their own."

"And yet." Discord repeated. "Somehow you make it all work. No mark that guides you to your future, and yes, sometimes without such guidance, lives crash and burn. Other times, most of the time, you find your own purpose in life and occasionally accomplish great things. Thousands of languages, thousands of beliefs. Always portraying aliens as the potential doom of humanity, yet you have specialized buildings seeking them out every day of every years. It's amazing you still manage to refrain from tearing yourselves apar-bah!"

The draconequus was rudely interrupted when an envelope came from below and smacked into his face as he blinked. He snatched it out of the air as it fell.

"Magic mail?" Andrew guessed. How else would it find its recipient by itself on a windless day. Discord ripped the envelope open, inside was a plain white note that he read silently to himself.

Dear: Discy, Drewy, and Twi

You're going to be late!

Love, Pinkie and friends

"What does it say?" Andrew asked as he reached for the note.

Discord idly snapped a finger on his other hand before giving the note to the human. He eyed it confusedly.

"Just spam." Discord said happily.

"The hell is a cutie mark?" The human asked.

Discord frowned, then snatched the paper back. He eyed it for but a moment before uttering a silent "whoops," the note burst into flames in his hand, and he rubbed away the remaining ashes. "Umm, forget you saw that." He said. "And just ask Twilight."

Chapter 12

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The trio’s journey back to the library continued in relative silence. The sun, though high in the cloudless sky, was not as unbearably hot as it could be in the summer months. In fact, it was rather pleasant, casting just enough warmth on Andrew's skin to feel nice, but bereft of the burning sensation that would often accompany such a sunny day. They had just entered Ponyville, and were likely within minutes of their destination.

He cast yet another glance at the mare leading the way at the same moment, it would seem, that she was looking back. She immediately retracted her gaze, looking straight ahead. Twilight was already on edge from the event in the Everfree, and the strange incident at the cottage seemed to only increase her discomfort.

***

Following Discord’s recommendation to speak with Twilight on the topic of ‘cutie marks’, Andrew walked over to the quaint cottage’s front door. The dense, green foliage that completely covered the roof just barely grazing the top of his head due to his height. He could hear Twilight yelling from within the home.

“For the last time, I am NOT going to make you a gourmet salad, what even IS a gourmet salad!? Isn't it just a regular salad but nicer looking-AH! What was that for!? That hurt! Was that supposed to help your case!?”

Amused and curious, he gave three brisk warning knocks and proceeded to let himself in.

The inside of the home somehow pulled off the same feeling of quaintness as the outside, yet at the same time it as full of what he could only describe as peculiar. Against the brown wall on his right and towards the center of the room was a cobblestone fireplace with several shelves filled with pots and pans above it, likely doubling as a stove. While wide at the base, the cobblestone narrowed as it neared the roof, leaving space between itself and the wall behind it. Along the towering stone were situated miniature stairs that spiraled upwards, branching along the wall towards the front of the house, as well as into the roof as it neared the ceiling. Along with a few birdhouses, similar stairs and pathways hung from the beige ceiling as well. If he had to guess, he would say there was a network of these miniature pathways that ran all throughout the house The floor was, predictably, hardwood. Unpredictably, wood was a light shade of green.

Ah yes, and the room was teeming with wildlife.

Twilight was standing in the middle of the room, having set down a collection of bowls, some filled with seeds, others with cheese, carrots, and various other kinds of food. She was surrounded by all kinds of animals; mice, birds, owls, as well as a full sized wolf with a broken left foreleg in a stint happily chowing on some scrambled eggs. All the animals were in the process of consuming their food, others patiently waiting their turn if a bowl was surrounded. Well, they were anyways.

From the moment he stepped through the doorway, all eyes were on him. And there were A LOT of eyes, even Twilight was looking at him, biting her lower lip anxiously, as if waiting for something to happen

He closed the door behind him with a creak, and then all hell broke loose. Birds flapped frantically, some fluttering to the assumed safety of their houses, others flying up the stairs in the farther left corner relative to Andrew’s position, disappearing into the second floor. The small critters scattered in all directions, the mice scurrying into the several mouse holes around the room. Two ferrets and a small army of rabbits scampered and hopped up the stairs and into the ceiling in a hurried, practiced fashion. By the end of the madness, several of the bowls were knocked over, what little was left of their contents now emptied onto the otherwise spotless floor. By the end of it, only two animals stayed behind. The first was a rabbit that was clutching his bowl of lettuce in one hand, and somehow holding an open tome of a cookbook, easily three times his weight in the other. It looked at him, then at its food, then back at him. Throwing the cookbook at Andrew with strength more appropriate for a bear than a rabbit, it snatched a piece of lettuce from its bowl and ran into the room on the left in front of the stairs.

That left him with a now floating cookbook, a startled Twilight, and a whimpering grey and white wolf cowering behind a small, blue, circular table in the far right corner of the room.

“So, uh, can you answer a question for me?” He asked haphazardly.

Twilight responded with a heavy sigh. “Later, Andrew. Just… Later.” She lowered her head as she turned and walked up the stairs.

He shrugged to himself. Yeah, he could understand that kind of reaction, after what just happened. He was caught off guard just as much as she was. Though he did find it more amusing than anything else after the fact. Using his powers, he quickly returned the food to their respective bowls, the fact that they were spaced apart a fair bit helping in determining what went where..

Finishing the task in only a few seconds, he turned his attention to the wolf with the broken leg. She, as it would seem, was in the far right corner of the room lying down behind the thin legs of the table, eyeing him silently. Her ears splayed back when he looked at her, and she rested her head on her front paws.

He was usually pretty well with pets, at least when he was younger anyways. He always liked dogs, and who doesn't like wolves? Going for the number one tried and true method of earning an animal’s trust, he walked to and grasped a sizeable piece of the scrambled eggs she had left behind. Getting down on one knee he beckoned her over with a sound while slightly shaking the food in his grasp.

The she wolf’s ears perked at the sight of the food, her tail giving a few flicks of approval. She slowly raised herself from the floor, and cautiously limped over to the human. He stayed still as she sniffed at, then bit the food out of his hand, giving it a few chews before greedily swallowing the morsel. Her tail was now wagging a mile a minute and she panted happily. She was a large animal, easily two feet tall excluding her neck and head. He wondered if all wolves were like this, as he had never actually seen one in person before.

He brought his right knuckle into her view, she tentatively sniffed at the alien appendage curiously before giving it a lick, as she was going for the third he moved his hand away and wiped it on his pants. She began sniffing his shoes and legs when he noticed a surprised Twilight at the top of the steps. Her forehooves were damp with moisture, likely from having used the bathroom, though he hadn’t heard any flushing from down here.

Twilight was beyond confused. For all intents and purposes, with Andrew’s ‘threat level’ being made clear with the earlier encounter with the timberwolves, Esmeralda should be hiding under a bed with her tail between her legs, even more so with a broken limb. Timberwolves were used to taking down tougher beast through numbers and coordination, but she was just a regular wolf. What could he possibly have done to earn her trust in the short time that she had been away?

“How did you?” She started, but stopped as Andrew began scratching behind the wolf's ear, much to the canines pleasure. The action only served to further confound the unicorn. Andrew had done one of the worst things a pony could do today, and here he was comforting a wounded animal when all others fled at the mere sight of him.

“Well,” he started, “I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean squat here, but on Earth humans domesticated wolves thousands of years ago, and they pretty much evolved alongside us since then.” During his... research... into evolution, he had come across wolves and, while he couldn't recall any specific details, he got the gist of the topic. “So,” he continued, trying his best to remember what he read, “With selective breeding, over the course of dozens, well, more like hundreds of wolf generations, we ended up removing most of their more aggressive, feral traits, and pretty much made dozens of new dog species in the process. It started off more to help us hunt, or to better control livestock, but once we had complete control over our food supply, we didn’t have much use for them other than keeping them as pets.” In truth he didn't know how many ‘dog’ species there were, so he tried to refrain from exaggerating the number. “Dogs as pets are such a big deal that there's actually a saying about them being ‘man's best friend.’” He made air quotes, confusing Esmeralda with the lack of ear scratching that was currently happening. When she realized it would continue no further, she half ran, half limped into the other room and out of sight.

Andrew was a true enigma. He had the ability to clear a room with his presence alone because of his anomalous predatory strength, yet despite what appears to be him radiating malice wherever he goes without even realizing it, he could just as easily befriend an injured wolf when, as far as the wolf should be concerned, she may as well have just stumbled upon a hungry manticore!?

She trudged down the steps and walked past Andrew, heading towards the front door. “Let’s just do our Q&A after lunch.” She said with a sigh. She needed time to think, as well as get a letter to Celestia as soon as possible.

Mumbling an only slightly irritated “fine,” the human followed the mare out the door.

***

After a lengthy but silent walk, the library was now only moments away. Looking closely, Andrew could see an unfamiliar face in the corner of one of the windows, upon being noticed, it immediately made itself scarce. “Strange,” he thought. That face was much too pink to be spike. Then again, it was a library, so guests were likely not uncommon.

“Oh no,” Discord stated from behind the pair, earning their attention without interrupting their stride, “it would seem that there is something of upmost importance that requires my attention.” Andrew saw him take out a foot long sewing needle and a basketball sized yarn ball. The individual strands, however, looked more akin to rope than yarn in thickness.

Before they could ask, he said, “It’s chaos business, nothing to concern yourselves with. I will keep an eye out from afar. If I am needed, just give me a call.” With that, he popped out of existence.

“Any idea what that was about.” Andrew asked.

“Honestly, I care more about getting something to eat.” The lavender mare replied. “Besides, I’m not sure I want to know what he gets up to in his spare time.”

That was an idea Andrew could get behind. Despite Twilight packing several sandwiches for the trip, they had fallen prey to ants by the time they were recovered. They hadn't had a bite since breakfast, and it had to be at least past one o'clock by now.

Coming upon the door to her home, Twilight opened it with with her magic and stepped through with Andrew following closely behind.

The second Andrew stepped inside, dozens of ponies jumped into view.

“WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA ANDREW!” They yelled over blasts of confetti. There were ponies of all races and colors in the room. Most were forgettable in appearance, but in the center of the room was a familiar face. Rainbow Dash. On her left was a white unicorn with a purple, styled mane. Then an orange Earth pony with a wide stetson with a mane tied in a… ponytail. Of course, why not.

Behind those three was a butter yellow pegasus. Her face mostly hidden behind her draping pink mane. Though obviously shy, her eyes were wide with wonder until she met his gaze and promptly retreated further behind her pink veil.

The rest of the room was looking at him expectantly. He wasn't a fan of parties, throwing up on the girl you were about to lay with and being made the laughingstock of the school does that to a guy. But this party was set up specifically for him, and it would a reeaaal dick move if he just ran away now. When was the last time he had a birthday party? He had no idea what he was suppose to do or say. Hi? Hello? Yeah, that's me? Your town was almost torn apart the other day, why are you throwing a party?

“Sorry everypony,” Twilight spoke up in his place, redirecting the room's attention to her. “Andrew is a little shy, he's just surprised is all, right?” she looked at him with a halfhearted smile.

“Umm, yeah. Right.” He answered, mentally thanking her for ending the awkward silence. “I wasn't told there was going to be a party.” He looked around the room. Besides the dozens of ponies -mostly mares-, there were a few tables full of a variety of confectionery, cupcakes, donuts, sweet rolls, and several other sugary delicacies he had no name for.

“Well duh!” Exclaimed a pink mare on his left. “It's a surprise party silly.” She was beaming at him.

“Indeed ms. Pie,” a light tan mare stated as she walked over to Andrew, coming to a stop right in front of him. She was an earth pony with a white mane and tail, as well as gold framed semi circle glasses that somehow balanced on the end of her short snout. “Hello Andrew,” she began in a diplomatic tone loud enough for the room to hear, but gentle enough to not bother him. She gestured to herself with a hoof. “I am the mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare.”

Andrew did his best to suppress a chuckle. Mayor Mare is a mare mayor, Nurse Redheart is a nurse, do ponies rename themselves after they get into their chosen career?

“From what Celestia has told me, you are a stranger to our world, is that really true?” She asked in a tone of curiosity.

He answered only with a nod.

She looked back at the room, “Well, there you have it everypony, now you can stop asking me when you just heard it straight from the source. Just please keep in mind that we are the aliens from his perspective, so be mindful of cultural differences when and if you ask him any questions.”

There were a few hushed conversations for a moment before Mayor Mare cleared her throat and began to speak again. “With that said, I am sure I speak for everypony here when I say we are delighted to welcome you to Equestria, as well as our humble town of Ponyville!”

Andrew smiled faintly. “Ummm, thank you. I.. I don't really know what to say.” Besides the courtesy ‘thank you’, he really was, truly, at a loss for words.

“You don't need to say anything Andrew.” Mayor said with a smile. “Just know that we are happy to share our town with you, and I would be more than happy to make sure your stay in Ponyville is as comfortable as possible. If you ever need anything, simply come by my office. ” She paused briefly before asking, “How long do you expect your stay to be?”

“In Ponyville? It depends. Maybe a few weeks, but it could easily be a few months.” it all depended on his progress with Twilight. “As for my stay in Equestria, due to… extenuating circumstances, it's going to be indefinite.”

Several audible gasps rang throughout the room. “But I don't mind.” He added. “Honestly it’s best for me to stay here anyways.” He raised a palm as if dismissing their concern. “It's really not a big deal.”

“But what about your friends and family?” A mare asked from the crowd.

His silence was the only answer she received, she didn’t pursue the topic.

***

With the pleasantries out of the way, the library was buzzing with dozens of conversations. Andrew made a beeline for the only thing on his mind right now. Food. He grabbed a disposable paper plate from the corner of the table, and proceeded to grab whatever looked good. His stomach would be killing him later for eating so many sweets, but that was future Andrew’s problem. From the corner of his eye he saw Twilight speaking with her friends, no doubt the topic was about him. He finished stacking his plate and walked over to a round, wooden table in the corner of the room and took a seat.

He grabbed a chocolate glazed donut from his tray and bit into it. It was delicious. Then again, it was a chocolate coated donut, he certainly didn't expect it to be bad unless it had some grass mixed into it. As he chewed on the soft, chocolaty goodness, three children galloped over to his table. “fillies”,he mentally corrected himself.

“Howdy mister!” said the filly in the middle. She had a light yellow coat with a red, ribboned mane. “I'm Applebloom.”

“Scootaloo!” called the orange, purple maned filly to her left.

“Sweetie Belle.” Said the white filly to her right, her mane was a mix of light purple and pink.

Andrew returned the greeting. Unlike every adult he had come across, none of these fillies had a tattoo on their flanks. Upon bringing it up, he was met with confused looks.

“You don’t know what a cutie mark is? Does that mean you still don’t have yours?” Sweetie Belle asked.

He pursed his lips for a moment. “How convenient,” he thought to himself. “No, I don’t have one, is it supposed to be special or something? I've noticed that you three are the only ones without them.” He could see Twilight and her friends looking in his direction a few yards away, likely waiting for his current conversation to end.

Their faces fell, Scootaloo being the first to recover.

“When a pony discovers their special talent, their cutie mark appears on their flank.” Her tone of voice grew more enthusiastic as she went on. “Like, if somepony is really, really, really good at playing the flute, they'll get a flute or music related cutie mark!” The others nodded happily in agreement.

“Then they might join a band!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“Or become a traveling musician!” Sweetie Belle followed.

“Oh! Or they could make snakes dance!” Scootaloo said eagerly.

Ok, so cutie marks appear when you discover something you are particularly good at, and it was apparently common to make a career out of it. Fair enough.. But…

“And if they don’t like playing the flute?” He chimed in.

There was a moment of confused silence between the three as they thought.

“That’s not possible!” Scootaloo replied in a confused tone. “Everypony likes being good at something, and I've never heard of sompony having a cutie mark of something they didn’t like.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed, “Your cutie mark is always something that you like!”

“Ok, sure,” Andrew relented, “but what if you want to be good at other stuff too?

“You can be good at other things!” Sweetie Belle said. “You just won’t be as good with them as you are your special talent.”

“Wow, that... Kinda sucks,” He stated.

“Why?” They asked in unison.

“Well, what if you find out you're really good at…” He paused, thinking of something that they might understand. “Flying, what if you are good at flying fast, but you get into an accident that paralyzes your wings. You can’t open them, you can’t fold them, they just sorta hang there. What do you do then?”

They were frowning now, Scootaloo looking more aghast than anything else. Noticing the now muted festivities, he looked around. At some point ponies must have begun to listen to his conversation, as he saw similar looks all around, most prominently on the faces of the pegasi. Most of all on Rainbow Dash, who most directly related to his example.

Once they noticed that he was staring back at them, they retracted their many gazes and once again filled the room with their many conversations, now hushed. He took another bite of his donut as Twilight and her friends rushed over and ushered the fillies away.

“What were you thinking!? Twilight scolded in a hushed tone. “They're way too young to be hearing that kind of thing.”

The many mares arranged themselves in a semicircle around the table. Left to right from his perspective stood the white unicorn mare, Dash hovering in the air, the cowgirl mare, the pink mare bobbing up and down excitedly, Twilight, and the shy yellow mare behind her.

“Heavens, those three haven’t even gotten their own cutie marks yet,” Said the white mare with a shiver, “they shouldn’t have it in her head that something so special could be… taken away. Anyways, putting aside that topic, I simply must know where you had your clothes tailored!” She came uncomfortably close to Andrew and peered closely at his jeans. “Twilight informed me that you might be needing some extra clothing, but I doubt that even I could recreate such remarkable stitching.” Noticing the uncomfortable look on his face, she took a step back. “Oh, my apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Rarity, seamstress and proud owner of the Carousel Boutique.” She made a show of bowing slightly. “At your service.”

After he returned the greeting the pink mare bounced with ever increasing fervor. “Oh, oh, is it my turn!?” She called out excitedly before rushing towards him in a blur. Careful not to use his powers lest she run head first into his wall, he opted to step backwards as quickly as his legs could take him. She came to an sudden stop inches from his face.

She inhaled a deep breath, then the words began to flow from her mouth steadily and without pause. “Hi I'm Pinkie Pie but my friends call me Pinkie I'm so sorry I couldn't meet you sooner I just had to make sure eeeeeverypony knew that somepony super duper special is in Equestria or should I say somebody Would it be rude if I said somepony even though you're not a pony then again we say somepony when we talk about zebras and griffons so why not whatever you are wait why don't we ever say anyzebra or anygriffon.”

She finally paused her cascade of words by way of a sharp gasp.

“Oh my gosh, are you a body!? Is that why you're a somebody and not a somepony!?”

Andrew stared wide-eyed at the energetic mare, he looked over at the rest of the mares only to see them chuckling at his expense, as well as some of the other ponies in the room that happened to catch the interaction.

“I forgot to mention,” Twilight said with a grin, “that Pinkie gets quite excited when meeting somepony new, and you being the most “new” thing anything could possibly be in the whole of Equestria doesn't help much.”

“...Right.” Andrew replied as he freed himself from the pink menace. “And no, I am not a ‘body’, I’m a human.” He turned to the rest of what he assumed were the elements of harmony. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say your name has apple in it.” He directed to the stetson wearing mare.

“Well shoot, name’s Applejack, what gave it away?” She asked with a chuckle.

“Definitely not the apples on your sides. Funny thing about your name, where I come from there's a brand of cereal called Applejacks”

“Really? Apple flavored cereal?” She scrunched up her muzzle in thought.

“Well, that’s the thing, they taste nothing like apples. Not even a bit.”

“Then why are they-”

“No idea.” He shrugged. “So, who is the shy one? He gestured towards the butter yellow pegasus hiding behind Twilight.

Dash said, “Come on Shy, say hello to the alien. I woulda thought you would be excited about meeting a never-before-seen human.”

She mumbled something incomprehensible into Twilight’s coat.

“Oh come on,” Dash grumbled as she hovered her way to the shy mare and, with a gentle shove, pried her from her lavender shield. She looked up at Andrew then immediately hid behind her mane.

“Is there something wrong?” Andrew inquired.

“No, she’s just really shy around new ponies.” Dash clarified before leaning her head toward the mare as she mumbled a few more words.

“Really? I don’t see what the big deal is, he’s just a bit tall is all.” Rainbow stated with a shrug.

“Why? What did she say?” Andrew asked.

Dash lowered her tone of voice. “She said that she doesn’t feel safe around you. I mean, she’s shy around just regular strangers, so it’s probably just that you’re an alien stranger that has her all worked up. Don’t worry, she'll come around eventually.”

“Kinda reminds me of those animals at her house.” Andrew started, earning Shy’s attention. “Twilight brought us over there to feed her animals, but nearly all of them ran away when they saw me. The only one that stayed behind was this wolf”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up at at the mention of the wolf, and she raised her head curiously. “Esmeralda? Oh, I hope she didn’t give you any trouble, she doesn’t like most ponies.”

“Really? She was actually pretty nice after I showed her I wasn't going to hurt her or anything.”

“She was!?” She exclaimed, “is… is that normal for,” she tentatively gestured towards him with a hoof, “humans?”

“Well,” Andrew began, “yeah, pretty much every wild animal runs away when they see a human back on Earth. Small animals are just being themselves and running from the big bad predators. Some big animals like bears might not have a problem attacking a human if they’re being territorial or hungry.” He shrugged, “but as far as I know, most animals know how dangerous humans are, so even animals like lions and wolf packs mostly try to avoid us if they can help it.

“So, humans are...” Fluttershy gulped, the action a bit more visual than it probably should be, “dangerous?”

“Well of course, we’re natural predators.” He stated matter-of-factly. “I don’t see how we could have made it this far if we weren’t.”

“And, what exactly do humans usually eat?” Rarity asked. “That is, if you don’t mind my asking of course?”

“Don’t see why I would.” He shrugged and took a moment to think, he grew visibly annoyed at himself and shrugged again. “Everything.”

“Wait what? Whaddya mean everything? Everything everything!? Rainbow questioned.

“Yeah, ok, maybe not everything.” Andrew relented. “We can’t eat grass, hay, or…” He eyed a nearby platter full of sandwiches stuffed with unfamiliar flora. “Flowers.” He finished in a disgusted tone. “But we can eat nearly every kind of fruit, vegetable, fish, or animal. As for what we usually eat. I guess that depends on what part of the world you're in, too many different cultures and stuff… I'm no expert, but off the top of my head, chicken, pork, and beef is more or less everywhere.

Rarity’s otherwise pristine white face turned an unsightly shade of green. “Oh goodness, I'm sorry I asked."

The rest of the mane six elicited similar reactions of varying intensities. Well, all but one.

“What about cake, humans eat cake right?” Pinkie asked in an eager tone.

He nodded. “I'm pretty sure we're the ones that invented cake. No offence, but you're like hundreds of years behind us in technology, and probably everything else not magic related.” He shrugged, “You probably haven't gotten to our level of technology because magic takes care of most things.”

More intrigued than offended, Twilight wanted nothing more than to press Andrew for answers, but there were far more pressing matters that could no longer be postponed. She let her friends know she would be back soon and went off in search of Spike.

“So, if you're supposed to find your special talent on your own without a cutie Mark, have ya found yours yet?” Applejack asked.

Andrew thought for a moment, before looking at his open right palm. He smiled. “Yeah, yeah actually, I have.” He stated with pride.

“Well, what is it?” Rainbow questioned.

“My power is my talent.” He scanned the room, and upon finding a glass pitcher and generic red plastic cups, poured himself a glass. Several ponies eyed the occurrence curiously, while more than a few unicorns did the same in confusion. He set the pitcher back down and levitated the cup across the room to him, passing it right alongside Rarity’s face, making her flinch in surprise. Most ponies in the room were now eyeing the flying cup until it paused in front of Andrew.

“Before I got this, I wasn’t really good at anything. Sure, I got good grades in school, but that was mostly because I had to, or else...” He paused with a grimace. Composing himself right away, he continued. “Well, I had to get good grades, but I don’t play an instrument, I’m not athletic, I didn’t even know what I wanted to study after graduating high school. Then-” he closed his right hand save for the index and middle finger, which he aimed at the floating cup and wiggled back and forth. The cup mimicked the action, its swirling contents rising above the sides of the container, only to rise against an invisible barrier before dropping back down and repeating the process on the other side. “- I got this.”

The cup then turned and spilled its contents into the air, where it splashed against an invisible floor about a foot into its descent, then it swirled around within a quickly filling invisible, cylindrical container.

Andrew heard a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’, but his attention was focused solely on exercising his power. “There isn’t any magic where I come from, so it can’t be that. It also doesn’t react very well when affected by magic, so there’s that too.”

“As far as I know, me and two of my friends were the only ones that had this, I still don’t really understand what happened to us when we got this, and I guess now I never will. But anyways, I was a natural compared to them. After the coolness of having telekinesis wore off, they just treated it like a neat skill. But for me, it was the first time I found something I was actually good at, and I didn’t stop practicing.” The water rounded out into a sphere the size of a baseball. “When I started, I couldn't even lift a ball this size without having to rest. Now I can…” He was going to mention how he could lift buses and swat helicopters out of the sky, but then he would have to explain what those things were, what they carried... that would be a mistake. He chose to go with something bit more innocent instead. “Fly. Now I can fly.” He couldn’t hold back a smile. The ball of water flattened and contorted roughly into the shape of a human in a flying superman pose with an undulating, watery cape. “If you asked a group of people what superpower they would choose if they had the option, a good chunk would probably say ‘I wish I could fly’. Sure, we invented machines -planes- that do fly,” The water took on the rough shape of a passenger plane, “but sitting in a huge metal cage with two hundred other people is nothing like soaring through the air on your own. He gestured toward Dash with one hand, and the rest of the room with the other. “I’m sure all the pegasi here can understand the difference between flying by yourself versus in a carriage.” He recalled seeing one making it's way away from Ponyville during the storm.

There were several murmurs and nods of agreement scattered around the room, but even the non-winged guests could understand.

“How fast are they exactly? Rainbow asked. “Those things,” She pointed at the plane shaped blob of water with a hoof. “You said they’re made of metal, so it’s probably hard enough getting them off the ground, let alone going at a decent pace, right?” She asked skeptically.

Andrew shook his head, “No, actually, they're the fastest way to travel. Expensive sure, but nothing that most people can’t afford for distant vacations. I don’t really know any specifics, but the fastest jets could probably fly around the Earth in less than a day if fuel wasn’t an issue.” He shrugged. “Don’t quote me on that though, barely more than a guess. And I’m not even sure how big your planet is, but I don’t really feel any heavier or lighter than back home, so probably not much of a difference if anything.”

He sighed inwardly, he didn’t have stage-fright, nor did he particularly dislike speaking in front of a crowd, but he didn’t want to spend all evening on this. Though he would admit he did bring this upon himself with his rambling. He saw a dark grey hoof shoot up amidst the sea of heads. Caught off guard by the classroom-like experience he hesitated for a moment before pointing at it, as well as giving it a gentle telekinetic tap. It twitched backwards reflexively from the unexpected action as he called out “yes?”

Those who were surrounding the curious guest shuffled around, allowing her and Andrew an unobstructed view of each other as the white maned mare spoke.

“So, this… ability of yours,” she pointed at the water, still in the shape of a plane, “It seems to just be nothing more than telekinesis, yet you can do so much with it, and I’ve never heard of a unicorn able to make themselves fly without a temporary wing growing spell. Humans don’t have cutie marks, but would you consider that to be your special talent?”

He answered flatly and without hesitation, “Definitely.”

You also said that it doesn’t react well with magic, what did you mean by that?” She gave the plane a worried glance.

“Oh no,” he waved her worry away, “it’s not going to explode or anything like that, go ahead and try to move the plane with your magic. Better to have everyone see it for themselves than spread crazy rumors.”

She nodded meekly, then turned toward the plane and enwreathed her horn in grey, there was a very brief moment where a tinge of her aura appeared around the plane before it instantly sizzled and became completely replaced with a white cloud, immediately obscuring the water within. There were a few startled gasps from the crowd as the mare cut off her magic in surprise, and the white cloud quickly dispersed into obscurity, leaving behind a spherical blob that flowed back into the cup that it came from, now being held by Andrew.

“So, yeah, I have no idea exactly why or how, but I guess you could say me and magic just don’t mix. Twilight are I going to try and figure that out while I stay here.

“But, flying without wings… isn’t that cheating?” A tan, grey-maned pegasus stallion asked from the back of the crowd.

The human shrugged in response. “Probably, doesn’t change the fact that I can though.”

Before any further questions could be asked, the doorbell rang, and was promptly answered as a pink blur streaked across the room to answer it. Pinkie swung the door open and, standing on two legs with closed eyes, greeted the newcomer heartily. “Welcome to Andrew’s ‘welcome to Equestria’ party!”

“Thank you Pinkie, I hope I am not too late to the festivities.” Asked Celestia as she entered the building.

“Princess!” Shouted all but Andrew, followed by those present bowing in acknowledgment.

“Please, there is no need for such formalities.” She said in a soft, even tone. Everyone stopped their bowing as she continued, “I am simply a guest here, same as all of you. Our exotic young friend over there should be the center of attention this day.” She gestured to the human across the room as she entered the building. The door closing behind her. “How do you feel about Equestria thus far Andrew?”

He shrugged. “It’s ok so far, besides the magic, it’s more or less just Earth with the contrast turned way up. I mean seriously, how are you all not blinded by the all the color!?”

This earned him a few chuckles, and an amused grin from the alicorn. He could faintly hear Rarity complaining to herself about how she wasn’t ‘dressed for the occasion’.

“I see, so you haven’t run into any problems since you left the hospital?” She asked skeptically.

“Hm? No, not really. besides, it’s only been a day.” He shrugged, “what could possibly happen in twenty-four hours?” He immediately mentally berated himself for saying something so stupid after all that’s happened to him.

Celestia eyed the group of mares next to him, and was about to say something when someone from the crowd beat her to it.

“You’d be surprised mr. Detmer.” Mayor Mare said with a giggle.

“Princess!” Twilight called from atop the stairs, earning the attention of the room. Her face was damp, indicating why she had probably spent so long out of sight. She made her way down the stairs in a hurry while calling out, “I didn’t realize you would be coming today.” She half galloped across the room and upon reaching her mentor, immediately craned her neck up, Celestia returning the gesture in a pseudo equine embrace.

“I do apologize, but do you mind if I borrow you for a moment Andrew?” She asked the human. “There is just something I would like to clear up.” Although the tone of her voice was soft and motherly, and her expression peaceful, it was clear that this ‘talk’ was not at all optional.

“Sure, what about?” He replied.

Celestia chuckled in response, “I wouldn’t be asking to borrow you if I didn’t mean in private.”

Many of the guests laughed quietly as well, but whether they did so because they found the situation humorous, or because they felt the need to laugh alongside their ruler, who could say?

Celestia trotted past Andrew with Twilight in tow. Not needing to be told, he followed suit as well. The rest of the elements began to move as well when Celestia stopped them.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, but it would be best if I speak with Andrew and Twilight alone.” They nodded understandably.

While the rest of the room obliviously went back to their previous conversations, the elements gave each other worried looks as they saw the trio make their way up the stairs and into Twilight’s room.

“Whaddya think that was about?” Dash asked.

Rarity said, “Haven’t the slightest clue darling, but I sure hope Andrew hasn’t gotten himself into trouble already.”

***

After reaching the privacy of Twilight’s room, Andrew sat at the edge of the bed, while Twilight and Celestia chose to stand to his left and right, respectively, in a triangle formation.

Celestia's horn shone, followed by the walls of the room, no doubt a sound proofing spell. “So,” Celestia began as the spell finished. “You said that nothing of import occurred since yesterday, are you sure? She questioned.

Andrew furrowed his brow, looking genuinely confused. “Yeah, why?”

Celestia sighed heavily. “Andrew, I know what happened in the Everfree. And I will be the first to thank you for protecting Twilight, but I need to hear about what happened from your perspective.”

“Oh, those wooden wolves? Almost forgot about that with the party going on.”

“Andrew, you killed a timberwolf.” Twilight stated flatly.

Andrew shrugged. “Yeah I guess so. So what? It’s just an animal?”

Twilight's face was aghast with horror. “Just an animal!? How could you be so-”

“Twilight! Enough!” Celestia snapped. She turned back to Andrew. “Humans are omnivores, correct?

“Yeah.”

“And do you happen to know the global population of your species? Or at least the population of your village?"

“City.” Andrew corrected.

“City?”

“Yeah, it’s mostly cities and towns, not many villages in this day and age, unless you happen to live in an underdeveloped part of the world. As for the global population, it reached seven billion as of last year, it was all over the news..

The alicorn found it difficult to stifle a gasp. “S-seven billion? As in, with a b, not million?”

“Billion.” Andrew insisted.

“But how!?” Twilight exclaimed. “How can you reliably feed seven billion mouths!?”

Andrew shrugged. “Well, not all seven billion people have immediate access to food, but for the countries that do, we just use farms, same as you.”

Ignoring the insinuation that the poorer countries are ignored by those with wealth, Celestia continued the questioning. “And how exactly do you have enough space for the number of animals needed to feed such a population?”

Andrew bit his lip, looking for a way to say it without actually saying it.

“Well?” Twilight chimed.

“We’re very, umm.” He paused again for a moment. “Efficient?”

Twilight covered her mouth as she gagged. The implications were as obvious as they were numerous.

“I see. Celestia hummed softly. “And with the species of your world not being sapient, I assume they have no say in the matter?”

The human shrugged again. “We gotta eat right?” Though he would admit that many countries actually produce more food than they need, he would rather not divulge that bit of trivia.

Twilight growing visibly greener. “That’s. That is the most-”

“Twilight,” her mentor interrupted, “humans are omnivores, and with such an inordinately large population, they likely face trouble trying to balance land used for residential, urban, and food growing purposes. They are clearly predators at heart, and as such they look at the world in a way that is fundamentally different from how we do. We have to try give Andrew the benefit of the doubt.

“I’ve been explaining ‘human things’ all for a while now, is this going to go on for much longer?”

“Apologies,” Celestia said with a smile, “I simply wished to understand why you did what you did, and I believe I now know, thank you.”

He raised a brow in response, “Really? Why did I do what did?”

“Simple,” she started, “there was something threatening your life, and you reacted accordingly, as any other predator would.”

Andrew frowned, “I think you're oversimplifying it.” His life was in almost zero danger...

She smiled, “perhaps, but I believe that is the heart of it. Again, I thank you for protecting my student.” She turned towards her pupil, who splayed her ears and lowered her head under the gaze. “It's not just about cultural differences this time Twilight, Andrew is a completely different species from a world where his kind are the only sapient race, on top of being apex predators of said world. There will no doubt be many conflicting opinions between our cultures. I am sure most of which can be cleared up with a simple question, without the help of one of Equestria’s rulers.”

Twilight mumbled an apology.

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty Twilight, I understand your concern, but again, next time I’m sure it would be better to simply address your worries with Andrew directly. Right Andrew?” She looked back to the human, who was idly twirling a strand of his hair in between his fingers.

He nodded back, seemingly disinterested in the fact that Twilight had gone behind his back to arrange this.

“Also, try to keep your experiments away from the Everfree for the time being, although it was made clear today that Andrew has significant control over his abilities, I think it would do more good to exercise such talent in the safety of the basement.”

Twilight apologized again, this time directed at Andrew.

“It’s fine.” He said, finding the situation awkward and not wanting to prolong it any further.

The spell faintly glowing against the walls of the room fell as Celestia made her way to the door. Opening it with her magic. “Now then,” she said as she looked back at the two, “I believe there is a party to attend.”

***

It had been several hours since the last guest had left the library. Many even checked out a book or two that at some point caught their attention, much to Twilight’s excitement. The cleanup also proved trivial with Andrew’s talent and Twilight’s magic. There would be no tests tomorrow -Wednesday-, as it would be dedicated to more formally introducing him to the rest of the elements. Honestly though, he was mainly interested in visiting Rarity’s Carousel Boutique, as his need for fresh clothes was growing more and more with each passing day, all he could do currently was ask Spike to wash his clothes while he showered. He had no money of his own to pay for Rarity’s services, but with the element’s, especially Twilight’s, close relationship with the ruling diarchy, he figured money would be a non-issue.

Unfortunately, new body coverings were the least of his worries at the moment. Right now, he was cursing past Andrew for his terrible judgment. It was probably around eleven pm now, everyone else had already gone to bed, and he was eager to sleep in tomorrow, unfortunately, he was stuck... Sitting. After Celestia’s sound dampening spell from earlier in the day, he exercised his imagination to try and mimic the ability with his own power. Recalling that sound can’t travel in a vacuum, he created a “bubble” encasing his corner of the… room. He created the sound proofing effect by creating a regular bubble, then splitting it into two separated layers, one expanding and the other shrinking, making sure to leave no gaps along the edges. The end effect was two “solid” layers separating him from the rest of the room, and a vacuum in between the layers. The air didn’t grow very stale as there was a rather large potted plant next to him, but that also meant it trapped other in as well.

This was the last time he stuffed himself with a dozen alien chocolate donuts and called that dinner.

Chapter 13

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Andrew made his way to the kitchen, empty breakfast plate in hand. Due to the... poor, dietary decisions of the previous day, he had to ask for seconds to quell his hunger. His body's way of demanding real food. As he passed into the room, he saw Spike washing dishes in a miniature apron. He placed his tray next to sink, thanked the drake for the food, then asked him about his whereabouts last night.

"Me?" the drake asked with a hint of surprise, now moving on to Andrew's plate. "Well, Twilight bought me a few copies of a comic I like, and while Pink's parties are nothing to scoff at, I just wasn't strong enough to peel myself away from a brand new issue of Power Ponies."

Andrew nodded. He could understand the appeal, though he was already slightly biased against parties. They exchanged farewells and he returned to the living room. "Twilight! Are you ready!?" He called out into the upper floor. They were supposed to leave for Rarity's right after breakfast.

"I'll be right down!" She replied.

"Alright, I'll be outside then!" He called back, already on his way out the door. Still no word from Discord; whatever he was doing, it must be one hell of an errand if he still wasn't finished. After exiting the library he leaned on the pink sign to his right. On the sign was a depiction of an open book.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards, taken from one of the inner pockets of his backpack. They were the same cards that he used at the talent show. He eyed them for a few moments before taking one of the jokers holding it aloft above his palm and tilted it so that two opposite corners were pointing up and down. He spun it, the card turning into a blur of motion yet remaining straight, He liked how easy playing cards were to manipulate. As part of his act during the talent show, he 'accidentally' dropped the cards onto the floor only to then outstretch his hand and 'scoop up' all the cards at once. To others, it probably looked like each card had a will of its own, swirling upwards in a cloud of red and white trying to find their way back to Andrew's hand. He smiled fondly, recalling how the boos and laughter from the audience turned into a single, unanimous gasp. It only got better from there. Taking a break from juggling for nice cold drink, the balls suspended several feet above him as he took his time quenching his thirst, to causally walking and jumping on a tightrope. The latter gave him a bit of trouble at first, but he solved it by creating a wide "floor" directly on top of the rope. At which point, it was just a matter of making sure it looked like he was stepping on the rope instead of thin air.

Ceasing his reminiscence, he tucked away the deck. Looking away from the past, he instead pondered on the near future. What was this Saturday going to be like? He really hoped it wasn't just going to be hours upon hours of mind numbingly boring politics.

The creak of the door behind him derailed his train of thought. Twilight, now with the same saddlebags as yesterday, was the first to speak.

"Sorry, I wanted to fetch this crystal," she levitated it from her bag, it was a clear rectangular prism, measuring roughly five inches in length and two in width, if he had to guess.

"I thought we weren't going to do any tests today?" He said. After yesterday, Twilight had decided to give Andrew a few days off, thinking it better to allow him more time to acclimate to Ponyville and Equestria proper before delving any further into their research.

"We aren't." She assured. "Well, besides this, if you're up for it of course." She shook the crystal slightly, "It's extremely simple, we can even do it while we walk." She smiled as she began to lead the way to the Carousel Boutique. He shrugged inwardly and followed. "Ok, first I need you to levitate the crystal."

She barely cleared two steps before it was already covered in a thick, hissing cloud of smoke that she now found herself walking through face first. She cut the magical flow from her horn and closed her eyes momentarily without slowing her pace. When she opened them again, the crystal kept in place in front of her as they walked. I really need to get around to analyzing that smoke. She mused.

"Got it, now what?" He asked.

"Now," she said, "let it go." No sooner did the words leave her mouth that the crystal was making it's way toward the ground. This time, she was prepared for the humans prompt response -which she was certain he was doing on purpose- and immediately seized the object in her magic. "Now for the interesting bit. These crystals are meant to store magic, and I wanted to see if you holding it might prevent me from infusing it with mine afterwards." Her horn grew brighter, and so did the crystal, a thin trail of magic connecting the two.

Andrew was almost worried she might run into a tree with how little attention she was paying to where she was heading. When her horn's glow finally ceded, the crystal was no longer clear and transparent, but nearly opaque with a faint purple glow, almost like bright amethyst. Though, its true luminescence was likely being obscured by the morning sun.

"Hmm," she mused "I guess whatever your power is made of, it doesn't appear to leave any lingering effects, or, at the very least, not enough to interfere with raw magic.” She levitated the crystal back to him. "Here, take it. I want to see if your ability can dissolve the magic inside the crystal. If not right away, then perhaps after extended exposure. How long do you think you can hold onto it before having to rest?"

He encased the crystal in his telekinetic hold, the resulting sizzle and smoke surprising neither party at this point. Twilight cut off her magic at the sound. What did she say about giving me a choice in this? He thought bemusedly, though it honestly didn't bother him enough to protest. He held it aloft about a foot in front of him, just to his right and above eye level. Well, I've never actually tried to see how long I could hold something so small. He thought for a few moments then said, "I'm sure I can do this all day if I really wanted to."

"Perfect!" She replied as she took a right turn in the road, Andrew following. "Ok, here we are, Carousel Boutique." She gestured toward the building a few dozen yards in front of them. It was a blue, pink, and dark pink building. While it looked to be tall enough for 3 floors, there were only windows on the first, and at the top. The first floor had a flowing, flowery pattern draping around the windows, while the rest of the building had a repeating diamond pattern. It exuded an air of elegance that contrasted starkly with the quaintness of the surrounding buildings.

When they approached the establishment, Twilight knocked on the door three times. After a brief moment of waiting, it opened, and they were greeted with the sight of the white unicorn mare, a measuring tape was slung around her neck and hanging down to her knees.

"Hey Rares" Twilight greeted with a smile, she looked toward the measuring tape. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything important."

"Twilight! Andrew!" She greeted back with enthusiasm, her voice as refined as the home she resided in, if not more so. "How good of you to make it so early, please do come in, and I assure that you are interrupting nothing that can't be postponed!" She ushered the pair inside, giving the crystal a curious glance before closing the door after them. "Is there anything I can get you? Snacks, something to quench your thirst perhaps?" She was clearly eager to please. They entered the building, Rarity closing the door behind them.

"No thank you," Andrew replied, raising a palm. "I just want to see what we can do about getting some more clothes soon."

"Ah, straight to business then, I can certainly respect that." Rarity said with a nod. "In that case, I will need to take your measurements, follow me please." She led them to another room with various clothed equine mannequins on one side, and several racks filled with enough clothes to fill many wardrobes on the other. When Twilight noticed the seamstress cast another glance at the floating crystal, she took the opportunity to explain the situation, to which white unicorn nodded thoughtfully. "I see." the alabaster mare mused, clearly understanding the scholar's words, whereas they went straight over the human's head.

note to self, Andrew thought, take a look at the 'Magic theory for dummies' book you saw earlier. It would do him no good to stay ignorant to the magical forces he was surrounded by. Besides, fake telekinesis or not, it was magic, and it was real. Who wouldn't want to learn about it if they were in his place.

She turned back toward Andrew and levitated her measuring tape off her neck. She frowned, now taking a closer look at his attire. "Tell me, do you often wear clothing of such, err..." she frowned as if trying to plan her next words carefully, "minimal color?"

Andrew looked down at his clothes. Dark grey jeans, light grey t-shirt, and grey - but essentially black - hoodie, and cheap, grey, brand-less sneakers. True, it was all rather colorless. "I just like dark clothes." He shrugged.

"I... I see," she responded, sounding almost disappointed. She waved a hoof dismissively. "Well, I am sure we can come up with something more varied at a later date. For now, please stand here." She gestured to the space in front of her. "Oh, and please shed your clothing, I need to make sure the measurements are as accurate as possible.

Andrew nodded, first taking off his hoodie, and then his shirt. He wasn't overweight -not even close-, though he also wasn't very muscular. P.E certainly helped to keep him from being scrawny, but he wouldn't consider himself 'fit' beyond being a ok runner. He levitated the discarded clothing over to one of the empty racks on the right side of the room and stood, waiting for Rarity to say something else.

"Umm, Andrew?" She asked tentatively.

"Mhm?" He responded.

"Well, I need to measure more than just your upper body, how else am I going to replicate your..." she gestured to his legs, looking for a word that probably didn't exist in her Equestrian vocabulary.

"Pants." He stated.

"Indeed," she said, "how am I going to make your pants if I can't measure you legs."

"Right..." He flushed slightly as he removed his shoes, socks, then jeans. By the end of it he was left standing in only his boxer briefs.

Rarity tilted her head quizzically. "You... you have another layer of pants... under your pants? Do all humans do this?"

"Do all humans wear these?" He pointed at the hem of his boxers, "well, there are different kinds of underwear, but yeah, there's pretty much always something under your pants regardless of gender.

"But... why?" She questioned. genuinely curious.

"Actually, I already asked him about that, I think I can clear up a few things regarding human clothing." Twilight said, excited at the prospect of dumping her knowledge on her friend. "From what Andrew told me, humans are continuous breeders, whereas most Equestrian species are seasonal. Clothing doubles as protection from the elements in place of their non-existent fur, and to cover up areas that might prove... distracting. Going without clothing is taboo and immodest to them." She looked to the human. "Is there anything else I'm missing?"

"How am I supposed to know, I'm not Google." He stated with a shrug.

"Who's Google?"

Andrew shook his head. "Forget it, it's just a human thing." He knew enough about the bookworm already to know that the last thing he wanted to explain was the concept of a search engine that could lead to nearly all the knowledge mankind could offer.

"Well then," Rarity said as she looked back at the human, readying her measuring tape. "I believe I can work around this, if I must. Can you please stand up straight for me."

He did as he was told.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your work then, I'll be reading in the living room if you need me." Twilight said before leaving the room.

Rarity mumbled an "mhm". She was already entirely focused on her work, She brought the measuring tape around his left ankle, then levitated over a notepad and quill, making a note of her findings. She did the same with the other ankle just to be sure. She then asked him to stand straighter before measuring the distance between between his legs. When she reached his thighs and hip, she made sure to... respect his boundaries...

Fifteen minutes later, having felt like practically every joint and curve of his body had been measured and re-measured multiple times, the unicorn finally stood back to admire her work, which, if the view of the mirror behind her was to be believed, amounted to a notepad with several dozen numbers scribbled about with no semblance of order... some of them were even written upside-down.

After a minute had past with the unicorn humming at her notepad, Andrew spoke. "Can I put my clothes back on, I'm starting to get cold?"

His voice snapped her out of her focused trance. She blinked in surprise and looked at him. "Hm?" She blinked in confusion before her mind caught up with her. "Oh right, of course, by all means. We should be just about done here. All that's left now is coming up with some design choices for your new clothing. A suit is probably going to be a must, what with you being, well, you. You are likely going to be attending quite a number of formal gatherings, this Saturday being just the beginning." She grasped his jeans and hoodie from the rack in her magic and brought them over to herself, eyeing the garments closely. "I still can't get over the fine stitching in these, especially the pants. Are you absolutely certain magic wasn't used in their making?" She asked skeptically.

"One hundred percent." Andrew stated over a loud sizzle resulting from his taking his clothing back. Her magic didn't stand a chance as it instantly evaporated on contact with the human's telekinesis. The resulting smoke spread and cleared quickly as his clothes cut through the mist on the way to his waiting hands. The smokey reaction seemed to intrigue the mare; he could see her looking at the smoke with open mouthed awe, her ears perking at the hissing sound. She was clearly fascinated by it, but thankfully didn't press him on it. Instead, she sat on her haunches and watched him as he clothed himself, oblivious to the mild awkwardness she was causing.

"What is the purpose of wearing socks under your shoes?" She questioned as he was slipping them onto his feet. "Shouldn't the shoes be enough protection against the ground by themselves?"

He paused, glancing at the mare, then at the sock that was halfway up his foot. "They are." He started as he continued to slip on the fabric. "But the socks are to protect our feet from the rough inside of the shoes. If they were made of the same fabric as the socks, they would get dirty easily, and start to stink pretty bad after awhile. It’s much easier to wash socks than an entire shoe." He finished tying his laces and stood. Whatever the historical reason behind the invention of socks was, he didn't know it, but the best he could do was give an educated guess.

"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense." She wrote something on her notepad and flipped a page. "So," she smiled at him, "do you happen to already have some things in mind?"

He grasped his chin in thought. "Not particularly; I plan on being outside a lot, and, much as I like my hoodie, I don't think i'll be able to wear it much during the summer. That would just be asking for sweat. But since I can fly, I need something to help keep me warm when at higher altitudes."

"Hmm," Rarity hummed in thought. Then she gasped audibly "What about a cloak?" She asked with a glint in her eye and a smile on her face, eyeing his form up and down. "It could easily keep you warm, and if you get too hot, you can simply raise it over your shoulders." She smiled, the designs swirling around her head. "I can picture it now, a tall figure strolling through the streets of Manehattan, catching the eyes of every mare and stallion in the vicinity, face obscured by a dark hood, exaggerating the air of mystery he already holds without even trying. The won't be able to help themselves from approaching the figure and asking where he got such fine apparel!" She sighed wistfully before furrowing brows and frowning, "I assume you would want it in black?"

"Or grey." He replied, not wanting to explain to her that ponies would be more likely to avoid him than ask about his attire. "But I've never really worn a cloak before, I think I just want to stick with something more familiar."

"Nonsense darling, variety is the spice of life after all." She readied her notepad and quill. "Now we just need some designs." She continued to eye his body before her eyes locked in on a target and she exclaimed, "Aha!" She pointed at his crotch almost eagerly.

His eyes went wide, taken aback by the bold gesture. "Umm... that's my."

"Nonono!" Rarity corrected with flushed cheeks. "Not... THAT, the zipper!"

"OH!" Andrew exclaimed with a sigh of relief, "What about it?"

She was beaming now. "I have the perfect idea for a cloak, but I'm going to need a few minutes to try something in combination with your telekinesis and that brilliant smoke."

"Wait, so you want to run some tests?"

"A few."

"Oh for the love of-"

A few minutes turned into nearly an hour, but after the most important errand was over with, Andrew and Twilight made their way to their next stop. Sugarcube Corner.

"Wow" Andrew commented, referring to the bakery in front of them. It looked more like an over sized gingerbread house than a proper building, the brown, chocolaty roof lined with what was what appeared to be cream. The very top of the building was shaped like a cupcake, going so far as having three giant lit candles. "Is that actual fire up there?" He asked, pointing towards the top of the building.

"No." Replied the mare. "Those are made from spells infused into crystals, like the one you’re holding. They're meant to draw on the ambient magic around them to fuel themselves, so they can last quite awhile before needing maintenance, depending on the spell. Some stronger spells require occasional charging manually though.

"I'll admit, almost makes me hungry just looking at it." He commented.

"Well why don'tcha have a cupcake then, Drewy?!" A bubbly voice said from his right.

Both their head snapped to look at the pink mare, who was casually sitting down on her haunches next to Andrew, as if she had been with them the entire time.

"When did you-?" Andrew started, but was interrupted as Twilight cut him off.

Twilight chuckled. "Hi Pinkie," she started, then glanced at Andrew, "don't worry, you'll get used to it. Pinkie does a lot of things that don't make sense. Trying to get find out how she does what she does will only raise more questions. I know from experience."

"Yuparoo!" Pinkie agreed, "Why just the other day, I almost broke reali-" She was cut off sharply by a deep, echoing voice.

"Pinkie..."

"Ugh oh." She responded.

Twilight looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

"It's just Discord." Andrew stated.

As if on cue, a purple, circular portal opened up above them, and out floated a less than amused Discord. "Do you have any idea what I have been doing for the past day!?" He yelled at the pink pony.

"Nnnnope" She chirped cheekily, looking up at the draconequus with a smile.

"Fixing your mistake. This is going to take days to repair, and I'll be damned if I have to do this myself. Do you have any idea what you have done!?"

"Eeeeyup." She said. "I was actually just telling Twilight and Drewy abou-" He interrupted her mid-sentence.

"Their mortal minds cannot even begin to comprehend these cosmic forces!"

Pinkie giggled. "Don't be silly Discord," She lifted a hoof and pointed at herself, "I'm mortal."

"That's not the point and you know it!" Discord snapped. "Now are you going to come quietly and assist me, or do I have to drag you along myself!?" He bellowed with a glare.

"Okie dokie lokie." She said with a salute. She sprung in place a few times before hopping into the still open portal.

Discord, a grimace on his face, ignored the confused unicorn and human and stepped inside as well, his form disappearing behind the purple, ethereal surface. A claw reached out from the void, grasped one side of the portal and attempted to close it against the other, only to jam itself in the middle, it jerked in pain before retreating inside, the edge of the portal springing back into place. A pink hoof then appeared and jammed a zipper onto the top of the portal and immediately retreated. A moment later the portal zipped itself shut.

Left behind was a mystified Lavender mare and open mouthed human.

"What. The." Andrew started, but trailed off in thought.

"I... I'm not sure." Twilight replied, shaking her head to clear it. "That was not normal. Not even by Pinkie standards."

"Any idea what they were talking about?" He asked.

"Honestly, I think we're better off not knowing." She ran her hoof through her mane. "Since Pinkie is... busy, do you want to just head over to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"I guess so, how far away is it?"

"It's on the outskirts of town, about a fifteen minute walk from here." she gestured in the farm's general direction. "Why, is there something you'd like to do before then?" She asked.

"No, it's just..." He looked down at her, then into the sky. "How do you feel about flying there?"

She tilted her head, confused. "Pardon?" She didn't have time to inquire further as the next thing she knew, Andrew shot out into into the sky. She was about to call out after him when she felt herself pulled skyward just as quickly as him. She shut her eyes and screamed, when she opened them again she was blasting across town, several dozen feet over the rooftops. She looked ahead to see Andrew, flying with his arms at his sides. She tried to use her magic to keep her saddlebags in place on her back, but that only resulted in a streak of steam trailing behind in her wake. Andrew, it seemed, had already thought of that.

"ANDREW!" She called out over the buffeting wind, "PUT ME DOWN!"

"WHAT!?" Andrew exclaimed over the deafening wind.

Twilight was about to repeat the question when she took a moment to take in the speed at which they were streaking across Ponyville. At this pace, they would reach Sweet Apple Acres in seconds. Telekinesis shouldn't be able to accomplish this, it could move things from one location to another at a decent pace yes, but nothing like this."HOW ARE YOU SO FAST?" She exclaimed over the wind. Her curiosity overpowering her fear that Andrew could likely keep up with the fastest of pegasi, and she wasn't even sure if he was holding himself back for her sake.

"PRACTICE!" He shouted back lazily, he brought her up next to him, and within moments they could see the vast stretches of apple trees and the red barn that could only be AppleJack's home. They slowed down considerably, so as to not overshoot their destination, and began to descend at an angle towards the ground. As they grew closer, she could make out Applejack's orange form galloping towards them from the nearby apple fields.

Andrew gradually touched down toe-first, Twilight stumbling a bit as she tried to regain her bearings.

"Andrew." She stated firmly. "Please never do that again without asking me first."

"I'll think about." He replied just was Applejack approached them, coming to a stop a yard away from the pair.

"Wooooeeee!" The cowpony exclaimed. "I ain't never seen nopony fly that fast since RD's rainboom. Why, 'fer a second I thought that was her when y'all were just a speck in the sky." She chuckled softly, glancing at Twilight, her mane was in shambles, sticking out every which way. "You alright Twi, you look a little frazzled."

"I'm fine Applejack, thank you for asking." She replied as she straightened out her mane with her magic. "I'm just learning to appreciate how nice it feels to be on the ground again." She sighed. "Anyways, I thought you could show Andrew around Sweet Apple Acres."

"Well shoot Twi, it'd be my pleasure." The country mare stated with a raise of her stetson.

"So," the human started as he scanned the surroundings, "how do you actually harvest the apples? It's not like you can just pick them, since you don't have hands." He pointed to his forehead. "You don't have magic either."

"Glad ya asked, sugarcube." She said happily, using her go-to nickname, much to Andrew's confusion. "Here, lemme show ya." She lead the pair to a nearby Apple tree. The tree, as well as several dozen around it, had baskets scattered around the base and under some particularly long branches. She trotted up to the tree and turned around. She looked over her shoulder, pressed her fore hooves firmly into the ground then raised her hind legs, delivering a swift buck to the tree. The strength behind the action was made evident by an audible crack, the tree shaking violently in it's wake. Almost all at once, the tree began to shed its apples, wherein they landed safely within the confines of the many baskets.

Much to the human's surprise, not a single apple landed on the ground. "Wow." He commented, genuinely impressed. On Earth, apples had to be hand-picked, yet a single kick from a pony here could apparently send them all crashing down. The way that the tree shed itself of the bright red fruit was almost satisfyingly smooth, as if from a video game. "That's... actually pretty cool." He commented. Was Applejack insanely strong, or were the trees here just cartoonishly frail?

"Aw shucks," The cowpony blushed, crossing one forehoof over the other. "Thank ya kindly, but I have had my whole life ta practice." She smiled wryly before saying, "wadaya say, wanna give it a shot?"

The human couldn't help but raise a brow at the offer. "Me?" He asked skeptically. Were the trees here actually so feeble that a human could knock the fruit from them with a good punch to the bark? Before Applejack or Twilight could respond, he walked over to the nearest prepared tree.

"Umm, Andrew, are you sure about this?" Twilight asked, concern spreading on her face.

"Sort of, no way could something like what Applejack did happen to Earth trees." He replied. "Looks like trees in Equestria are weaker or something." He shrugged, and with that, placed his left palm against the tree, and bent his right arm back as he prepared to deliver the blow. He concentrated on deactivating the barrier over his hand, otherwise it would instinctively flare to life. He was curious with what he could accomplish with just his normal strength. He inhaled deeply, then thrust his fist forward. The connection with the bark was accompanied by a loud thump. His fist trembled in place at the point of contact.

The tree, oblivious to the assault, refused to so much as flinch.

"Andrew?" Applejack called softly. "Are ya alrigh-"

"-FUCK!"

"Are you sure you're OK?" Twilight asked as she inspected the bandages wrapped around the human's knuckles. The cuts were shallow and the splinters were easily dealt with by way of Andrew's subtle telekinesis. "Maybe we should go to the hospital and get it x-rayed, if only to make sure nothing is broken.

"I'm fine." Andrew insisted. He leaned back on the brown sofa, bending and unbending his fingers experimentally. He was greeted by a throbbing pain that only flared with the movement. "It'll heal in a few days, the worst I'll get is maybe a bit of bruising but I'm pretty used to that."

"What was that?" Twilight asked.

"Never mind," he dismissed with a gesture.

Applejack, next to Twilight, finished closing the first aid kit on the wooden table then turned back to the human with a solemn look on her face. "I'm real sorry Andrew, I probably should have thought things through a bit before asking ya to buck a tree when ya don't even have hooves."

"It's fine," he repeated, "When I saw how easily applejack did her thing, I assumed that the trees here were somehow weaker than those from my world." He rubbed his bandages with a grimace. "Clearly I was wrong. It's probably just your weird magic that let's you do what you do."

"Still," Applejack continued "at least let me treat you to some apple pie."

Andrew suppressed a look of disgust. Dessert was the last thing on his mind after last night. He made a gesture that said 'no thank you'.

"Are ya sure? Sweet Apple Acres make the best darn apple pie in all of Equestria." She frowned, clearly disappointed at his refusal.

"I'm sure," he affirmed as he got up from couch. He noticed they were still looking at him with concern etched on their faces. He rolled his eyes, "I'll be fine." He repeated for what felt like the umpteenth time. Do they make this big of a fuss every time someone gets hurt or did they just think he was as fragile as a squirrel.

"Well... if ya say so." She relented. "Still though, can't just let you two leave here empty-hooved" She quickly went to another room and came back with a woven basket full to the brim with the ripe, red fruit. She held the basket in her mouth and lifted it toward Andrew.

"Ugh, thanks..." He brought his left palm under the handle as Applejack let go, trying his best to ignore the moist surface, she didn't seem bothered by unhygienic act.

"Ain't nothin Andrew," Applejack said with a smile. "We still got plenty left over from last season."

"Right then." He responded. "We're heading to Dash's house next, can you point me to her house?"

"Sure thing." She replied, pointing a forehoof north-east. "Way on the other side of town is RD's cloud house, just north of Fluttershy's. Trust me, ya couldn't miss it if ya wanted to."

"Alright then, guess we'll be going now." He turned to leave, thanking Applejack again for the gift as he did so.

"You go on ahead, I just need a word with Applejack." Twilight said, opening the door for him with her magic.

"Alright, I'll meet you over there then." He replied. closing the door behind himself.

"Sure thin-" She started, but went wide eyed as she processed his words. "Andrew don't fl-!"

She was too late. All she saw was his shadow rushing up the window as he flew away from the ranch.

"Ughh!" Twilight groaned in frustration.

Applejack whistled. "I got a feelin he and Rainbow are gonna get along just fine."

Twilight gave her friend a deadpan look.

"What? You know I'm right!"

Twilight rolled her eyes with a grin.

"This never get's old" Andrew mused as he cut through the sky effortlessly. The thrill of the "first time" would forever be out of his reach, but that didn't mean that flying had to become dull. To his right were the crystal and basket of apples, the latter comfortably shielded from the turbulent wind he was creating.

In no time at all, he caught sight of Rainbow's cloud house in the distance. Words that he thought were simple exaggeration proved be quite literal in meaning as he inspected the nearing cloud home. It was, as Applejack described, literally a home made of clouds. It looked like a large silo situated atop a floating, island of white cotton candy. There were also several roman-styled pillars supporting the sections that stuck of of the center and balconies and... were those rainbow waterfalls?

He was snapped out of his train of thought when he saw a rainbow blur shoot out from the home and fly his way. He slowed himself down before coming to a stop and hovering in place.

Rainbow Dash quickly closed the distance between them and flew around him once before stopping in front of him. "Andrew! How ya doing!?" Her brows knitted in thought. "Wow, you look so weird just floating there without wings."

Andrew couldn't help a small smile, there was something about Rainbow that reminded him of Steve, but he couldn't quite place it. "Yeah, well, back on Earth, you'd be lucky if all those tiny wings of yours could do was make you jump a little higher than normal." He retorted.

Rainbow snorted. "These tiny wings saved your flank from going splat." She stated.

"...Touche." He recalled when a he and his friends were playing catch with a football a few thousand feet above the ground. A rising plane broke through the cloud bank and nearly killed them. Andrew was just barely able to save Steve and break their fall as they hit the ground. That was twice now he had almost gone 'splat'. He would never have imagined he would be the one in need of saving.

"Oh come on now," Rainbow said with a smirk. "Turn that frown upside-down, not like you were awake for it anyways, it can't be that bad."

Andrew composed himself.

"Are those from Applejack's?" The mare asked, pointing toward the basket on his side.

"Uh huh," he said, reaching into the basket and throwing an apple to the pegasus. She caught it between her hooves as he pulled out another for himself. Where else would they be from, he thought.

"Thanks." she said, biting into the fruit with an audible crunch. "So," she said after swallowing her mouthful. "Whaddya plan on doing?"

Andrew shrugged. "Beats me, Twilight thinks I'm supposed to get to know you guys but I don't really know what you're into besides flying." He threw another apple at her as she discarded the core of the first to the ground far below. That was fast, he thought as he eyed the falling core.

"Weell," Rainbow said, rubbing her chin in thought. "How do you feel about pranks?"

Pranks? Andrew thought. He loved pranks, he was the one that pitched the idea to his friends when he suggested they take their use of their powers 'out of the backyard'. From there came an entire day of hi-jinks and shenanigans as they used their powers for the greater good. The greater good at the time being 'shits and giggles', ranging from scaring kids with flying teddy bears to taking gum out of a guy's mouth. Actually, now that he thought about it, Matt was able to grab that guy's gum while he was chewing even though he couldn't even see it. He himself did something similar when he 'lassoed' Dwayne's teeth out of his mouth, and even greater still was his feat with the rocky field yesterday. He really needed to practice more with his powers. He needed to find out how far he could take it in all aspects. Was there a limit? He had only ever gotten stronger, even to his 'last' breath'. Maybe there wasn't a limit? Maybe if he just kept pushing himself more and more he would-.

"There we go, show me them gums!" Rainbow exclaimed as she took another bite from her apple, interrupting his train of thought. "So, I take it you do like pranks?" She asked with a smirk, the food in her mouth doing little do impede her speech.

"You could say that." Andrew said with a shrug. "But maybe some other time, I still need to get my hands on some books or something to help me get a better idea of where exactly I am. I don't really want to just walk around only knowing I'm in some place called Equestria."

Rainbow huffed. "Oh boy, Twilight is going to love hearing that, she's the biggest bookworm you'll ever meet. Where even is she anyways? I figured you two would come over using that hot air balloon of hers. And what's up with that crystal?"

"Twilight wanted me to spend the day holding it in the air, something about holding a magical charge."

"Riiight..." Rainbow said.

"Yeah, as for her, I left her back at Applejack's. She didn't like that I flew her over there, but I didn't feel like walking across town again so I told her to meet me here."

The pegasus mare chuckled at his words. "Twilight? flying? Now that I gotta see." She rolled her eyes then gestured to her cloud house behind her. "Wanna head inside?"

Andrew nodded skeptically. "Umm, sure. Is that house actually built on top of clouds though? Like, actual clouds?"

"Well duh." Rainbow answered, as if the question was silly in nature. She turned and flew toward the house, Andrew following next to her.

In a few moments they reached the front porch of the pegasus's home, where Rainbow touched down softly on the cloud floor.

Andrew remained a few feet above the puffy ground, looking apprehensive. "I'm pretty sure I won't be able to walk on that." He said, proving himself right by reaching down and running the palm of his hand along the surface of the cloud. It evaporated where he touched it, a mixture of water vapor and magical smoke byproduct running up along his palm and into the surrounding air, and a few water droplets falling through the floor. His hand came away soaked from the ordeal.

Dash pursed her lips at the demonstration. "Yeah, that might be a problem," she said. "Just... try to be careful not to touch the clouds. The inside should be fine though, since it's all solid."

"Alright." Andrew said. "How exactly is it that a bunch of clouds can even hold this up?" He leaned back, taking in the looming tower above him. Several of the columns surrounding the building seemed to be holding up another cloud that made up the upper floors. So, the outside is all cloud, and the inside is solid? He wondered silently. Seriously, how does that work?

Dash opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it. She furrowed her brows and rubbed her chin with an forehoof.

"You make the weather and you don't even know how clouds work!?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm no architect." She opened the door and entered, then gestured for him to follow. "Hurry up before I change my mind."

"And that'll be the last time I share food with you." He quipped as he passed through the door and touched down on the blue marble floor.

"Pfft, yeah right." She said as she made her way to another room. "Do you happen to like apple cider!?"

"And that's how my sonic rainboom pretty much gave all of us our cutie marks." Dash said as she took a bite out of yet another apple. She was lying on a blue couch with Andrew resting on his own directly across from her. His head was resting on one of the armrests while his knees bent over the the other. A trash can between them was slowly filling with apple cores.

"That's... sooo cooool" The human said with a flushed face. The crystal that was once hovering in the air now at a constant wobble. He took another swig of his drink, emptying the contents of the bottle down his gullet before placing the spent container on the floor with the other eight. "That thing, like connected you guys for life. My cousin would probably say something about that being -hic- some crazy destiny thing or something."

"Thanks, but... Andrew? That's... a LOT of drinks." Dash stated, looking from Andrew to the ever-increasing row of bottles on the floor. He was helping himself to the contents of the mini fridge she had placed in the living room. "I don't know how much humans can take, but a Pony would be out cold after their fifth drink. Should I be worried?" She took a small sip from her own drink, it being her second of the night. She wasn't even halfway done with it, and would probably call it quits once she finished it.

Andrew laughed with uncharacteristic gusto. "Ponies pass out when they drink too much apple juice?" He hiccuped again.

Rainbow shot him a look that said "Are you serious?" When she received no reply but the same goofy smile he had been wearing for awhile now she said, "Andrew, you do know this is hard cider, right?"

Andrew narrowed his eyes in thought, like he was trying to work out a complicated math problem in his head. He looked at his bottle with concentration that would make even Twilight blush.

Rainbow was about to say something when a knock on the door got her attention. "Is that you Twilight!? Come on in!" She yelled, too lazy to get up from her comfortable position.

The door opened and in stepped Twilight. "Hi Rainbow, sorry I'm a little late but somepony decided they would be better off..." Her words died in her throat as she eyed the scene. Her eyes drifted from the almost empty basket of apples, to the more than half dozen bottles of cider next to Andrew's couch.

"Hard cider?" Andrew finally said, oblivious to the new guest in the room. "This can't be hard cider, it isn't even frozen."

With that, he finished his ninth drink, and a moment later the wobbling crystal dropped to the floor with a clink as the human passed out.

Chapter 14

View Online

As was becoming the norm these past few days, Andrew sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast in silence. The only thing breaking the ever-increasing monotony of the act was the dull throbbing in his head, which served as a constant reminder of how much he needed to avoid alcohol in the future. Thankfully, the pain was quelled by an ice-pack that he held to his head. The blissful cold of the ice did wonders to drive back the pain from the hangover. According to Twilight, he had consumed enough liquor to give even a hardy Earth Pony a rough time in the hospital, but due to the lack of understanding regarding human physiology, and the inability to treat his body with magic, there was little that could be done besides making sure he was kept well hydrated.

Andrew winced from a particularly stinging throb of pain. He pressed the pack harder against the left side of his head as he ate with his right hand. A few minutes later, he finished his meal. Wiping the crumbs from his lips with a napkin, he stood and grabbed the now empty plate, taking it to the kitchen sink. As he dropped it off, he noticed Spike's absence from the room, which was strange, as he was usually in the kitchen around this time. He shrugged, thinking the little bugger deserved a day off with all the work Twilight has him doing around the library. You only had to organize bookshelves so many times before it became redundant to the point of stupidity, and that magic number was once.

Exiting the kitchen, he walked over to the corner of the room where Twilight sat patiently, indulged in a book as per usual. A notepad and quill rested on the table. Andrew had offered to indulge the mare with the Q&A session that she so dearly wanted. He didn't mind, of course; while he wasn't quite as obsessed with knowledge as Twilight, he definitely wanted to understand Equestria just as she did Earth.

Her ears perked up at the sound of his approaching footsteps, and she lowered the book with a smile. The anticipation was evident in everything she did, from the hungry look in her eyes to the subtle but constant shifting in her seated position. He pulled out a chair and took his place across from her. He opened his mouth to say something when Twilight cut to the chase.

"Alright, first thing's first," she began, "do I have your consent to publish everything I record here today?" She had already begun to write in her notepad. She wasn't even looking at what she was writing either, the quill's movements were quick, yet precise, moving as if with a mind of it's own.

Andrew raised a brow in confusion, the unspoken question immediately evoking a response from the mare.

"You said you wanted to travel around Equestria, right?" She began to explain. "Surely, you don't want to have to explain what you are, where you're from, and other 'human things' to everypony you happen to interact with, do you?" She grinned, then continued. "You can't blame ponies for being curious, but the least we can do is try to record as much information as possible and make it available to the public. This way, anypony that's even remotely curious about you," She giggled, "which, let's be honest, is probably going to be just about everypony in Equestria, will be able to read up on you and answer most of the common questions you would otherwise be bombarded with on a daily basis if you go through with your nomadic lifestyle.

Andrew frowned as he mulled over the words, then he frowned and gave a nod of agreement. "Yeah... kinda hard to argue with that, I guess. You have a point," She gestured with a hand, "go ahead then."

"Wonderful." She replied with a smile, only to then notice him applying force to the ice-pack. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked in concern, "if you aren't feeling up to this, I don't mind waiting a few days."

He waved away her concerns, "I'm fine, it's just a headache, I can talk, and I can listen. So go ahead and start."

"A-Alright then," She said, though she didn't quite sound like she believed him. "I'll start with some basic health-related questions, for the sake of any medical care that may need in the future for whatever reason." The quill scribbled something in her notepad before he replied.

"Actually, " Andrew started, "now that you mention it, If it ever comes to it, how will I even pay the bills?" He asked skeptically. "Actually, now that I think about it, I doubt that I'm going to be making much money in the first place by just flying around Equestria." Sure, he could catch his own food with ease, and learning how to start a fire probably wouldn't be too difficult given his abilities, but regardless... It didn't matter what world one found themselves in, money was practically a necessity.

"An excellent question." Twilight agreed with a nod, sounding almost like a pleased teacher. "As far as medical attention goes, I'm sure that Celestia will make some sort of arrangement to make certain that you're properly cared for. And even in the unlikely event that she doesn't, I'm one hundred percent certain that no nurse or doctor in Equestria, regardless of race, would willingly turn away an endling. especially an otherworldly one at that."

Andrew creased his brow in confusion. "Ok, and what exactly is an endling?"

"Oh, my bad," Twilight apologized. "Endling is the term used when referring to a creature, male or female, that happens to be the last of it's kind." Her voice took on a more somber tone as she said, "They're called endlings because... well... their passing will mark the end of their race." She noticed the skeptical look Andrew was giving her and immediately continued. "Yes, yes, I know, you're not really an endling, but you are the one and only human in all of Equestria, so as far as the law is going to be concerned, you will in all likelihood be marked as the endling of the human race, again, as far as Equestria is concerned.

Andrew leaned back in his seat, taking a moment to digest the information. On one level, he clearly understood that it would be nothing more than some sort of weird legal title. But on another level, the realization that he was the only human in Equestria loomed over him heavier now more than ever before. It was true after all, he would never see another human being for the rest of his natural born life. By extension, he was also robbed of the chance of ever finding love. And on the day that he dies, as far as this world was concerned, humans would be forever extinct.

The first and only human being to have ever lived in Equestria... no doubt such a title would draw all kinds of attention, both good and bad. He pictured some stallion or mare, years after his death, writing about all the things the otherworldly traveler had done during his time in Equestria. There was no doubt in his mind that someone out there would want to cash in on the opportunity to write such a story, be it for the 'bits', or the simple desire of chronicling such a unique life, just as he enjoyed doing in the past few months. What would they write about? He mused to himself.

"Andrew," Twilight said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He blinked away his thoughts and refocused on Twilight. "Sorry, just got lost in thought is all, ready when you are," he replied.

"Alright then," Twilight said with a smile before clearing her throat, "What is the normal core body temperature for humans?"

"Ninety-eight point six." He replied.

More scribbling. Then a pause.

"Ninety-eight point six," Twilight repeated in a curious tone. "You wouldn't happen to be using the Fahrenheit scale would you?"

"I am," Andrew assured.

"Interesting, that's the same scale that griffons use, and they're the only ones that haven't adopted Celsius."

Andrew furrowed his brow at that. "That perfectly describes my country, we're the only ones that haven't moved on to Celsius too. Well, the only big one anyways."

"Fascinating," Twilight said as her note-taking sped up some. "There are some similarities between our worlds that are outright uncanny. Anyways, what about your height?"

"Five feet eight inches."

"Oh wow, that's pretty tall," Twilight commented.

Andrew shrugged, "Average actually, there are plenty of people that are a little over six feet."

"Six feet? That's just about the height of a full grown minotaur." Twilight pursed her lips in thought before adding, "Then again, I suppose that's to be expected, considering you're both bipedal."

"What about you ponies?" Andrew asked. "From what I can tell so far, Celestia is the tallest of you, and I'm still like a head above her if we ignore the horn."

"Well," Twilight started, "most mares are around three and a half feet with stallions typically running a little bit taller at four."

"Hmm," Andrew mused, "alright then, next question?"

"Right, what's the normal blood pressure for a human male of your age?"

"No idea."

The quill began scribbling, then stopped abruptly as Twilight looked up at him. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "You can't expect me to know everything there is to know about the human body like I'm some sort of doctor. Maybe if I was a med student in college, sure, but I'm not."

Twilight cleared her throat. "Right, sorry. In that case, just answer to the best of your ability, and let me know whether you are certain of your answer or if I should take it with a grain of salt. I have a fairly broad spectrum of questions, so it's only to be expected that you might not be completely knowledgeable on all of them." She may have been a little too presumptuous in her expectations of him, and she promised to regularly remind herself that she would only ever be able to learn what he already knew about Earth, and some of the information may be biased. After all, it wasn't like she nor Andrew had access to Earth books.

It went on like this for some time, long enough that Andrew's headache had subsided enough to no longer need the now mostly melted ice-pack. The questions had gradually moved away from human health, to general society. Twilight was both fascinated by the idea of people having the freedom to choose and cultivate a talent of their choosing, and sincerely heartbroken that there were those who found no talent, instead spending their lives at jobs they despised.

With every question that Andrew answered, she would do the same, answering the question in turn with regards to pony society instead of humans, though Andrew had declined her offer of a quill and notepad of his own. As they moved on to human education, Twilight commented on how much more in-depth human schooling was compared to the equestrian curriculum, which typically only lasted eight years, by which point most ponies would have already received their cutie marks and would go on to a related career path, unless their talent required further education, as is the case in medical or magic fields. There was also a marked difference in the number of languages, where Equestria only had a few dozen, Twilight was dumbfounded at the fact that a single race could maintain thousands of different languages without the overwhelming majority fading away to leave only a few behind.

As if they needed more evidence of the eerie similarities between Equestria and Earth, they apparently shared several languages and city names, such as French and Prench, Manhattan and Manehattan, among many others.

After several hours, the topic of notable conflicts came up.

"Conflicts?" Andrew asked, surprised by the question coming from Twilight. "Do you mean like wars?"

"Yes," Twilight confirmed, "even Equestria has had a few short-lived wars during the beginning of Celestia and Luna's reign. Griffons and diamond dogs have fairly frequent in-fighting, as do dragons." she gestured to him with a hoof, "And I thought since you're a predatory species as well..." She trailed off.

Andrew scratched his head in thought. "No, I get what you're trying to get at, and yeah, you're right. But we might have different definitions of war, soo."

Twilight caught the unspoken question and said matter of factually, "Violent conflict between two or more groups of ponies numbering at least four hundred in total. At least, that's our definition."

Andrew went slightly wide-eyed. "Oh wow, definitely different. Ours is a bit grander than that, it's typically when two or more nations or states instead of couple hundred people fighting each other." He shrugged, "Then again, I don't have a dictionary in my head. If you want to use your definition, then..." Andrew furrowed his brow and placed his hand over his mouth as he thought. "Ok, I'll be perfectly honest here, history is NOT my strong suit," he admitted. "But everyone and their mother knows about world war one and two." He ignored Twilight's baffled reaction at hearing the words 'world war'. "I'll spare you the details, mostly because I don't actually know them, but they basically involved most of the major nations and..." He paused when he noticed Twilight gawking at him.

There was a moment of silence between them as the utter shock on Twilight's face slowly morphed into one of sadness. While she was glad that he had skipped over the details, that only left them open to her imagination. She didn't know what she expected, the griffon chef's reaction, the way Fluttershy's animals practically ran over each other trying to get away from him. It might not have just been him personally that they were scared of, it could very well be the nature of 'humanity' as he called it, that they were seeing when they looked at him? Celestia's words rang in her head.

It's not just about cultural differences this time Twilight, Andrew is of a completely alien species, from a world where his kind are the only sapient race, on top of being apex predators of said world.

Her mentor was right. She shouldn't just judge an entire race for what was very likely the result of a few dozen greedy leaders. Humans were clearly capable of ingenious inventions, from the available information that Andrew has provided on human society thus far, she could infer that humanity's strength lied not in their raw physical capacity for violence like a griffon or a dragon, but their inventive nature and ability to adapt to almost any problem or environment they faced. And without any magic to aid them, it was no wonder that they would have to rely on their wits to survive.

So why couldn't they simply adapt to each other?

"How long ago were these two wars in particular?" She asked. " you said your technology advanced exponentially in the last several centuries, so I'm assuming they happened in this time frame as well?"

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, the first ended about a hundred years ago, and the second about thirty years after, both were pretty short, less than a decade each."

"What about now?" Twilight asked weakly, ears splaying slightly. "As of a few days ago, what state was Earth in?"

Andrew frowned slightly, the melancholy in Twilight's voice being almost contagious. "I don't really keep up with world news, I'm only aware of there being one conflict on the other side of the world. Besides that, I guess you could say most of the world is at peace." Or at the very least, relative peace, but he really didn't feel like going into any more detail.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear, so besides that one conflict, all the different nations were finally able to put their differences aside and learn to live together in harmony then?" She smiled eagerly.

Andrew looked at her like she was crazy. "Harmony? Twilight, Earth isn't some magical fantasy land like Equestria, there is no magic, and that includes the magic of 'friendship', and 'harmony'." He accompanied the words with air quotes, and while ponies didn't have the necessary limbs to replicate the gesture, he assumed the meaning would be obvious from context alone. "And I still doubt that those two things are even real. Anyways, yeah, there are plenty of countries that genuinely like one another. But it's not so much that some of us like each other that's keeping us from going to war, it's more like all the bigger nations have the capability of literally wiping out millions of each other's population in only a few hours at the press of a button, and nobody is crazy or suicidal enough to start a domino effect that could only end badly for everyone involved."

Twilight set her quill and notepad down on the table. "I'm sorry, but... this is a lot to take in." Her ears were splayed against her head and she hadn't written anything since he. "Do you mind if we continue this some other day?"

"You don't have to get so bummed out about it," Andrew said. "Those things were only used once. After that, nobody is in a hurry to start something, and it's probably going to stay that way if that makes you feel any better." He was surprised that she seemed to care so much about a place she didn't even know existed just a few days ago. "Look, you like books, right? Why not help find some that'll help me get to know more about where the hell I am in the multiverse?"

The sincere request for knowledge snapped Twilight out of her somber mood and she smiled. "Absolutely," she said in a happy tone as she got down from her seat and pushed in her chair with her magic. "Follow me," she said as she walked around the table and lead Andrew to the nearest bookshelf to help pick out some long unread tomes.

It was night now, and Andrew had spent the day skimming through one of the books that Twilight had deemed important enough to pick out. Unfortunately, despite not even actually reading most of it, it would likely be weeks before he was even half done with the stack of books he was given, which was easily a foot taller than him. Twilight said they were stacked in order of importance, with the least being at the bottom, the dry, yellow hue of the pages betraying their age.

The book he was currently reading was simply titled The Rich History of Equestria, and was an easy enough read. It began at the earliest piece of recorded history—roughly two thousand years—with the age of the wendigos and explained how the three different pony tribes worked together to take the land back from the frozen beasts. Then came the eventual rise of Discord, who was eventually overthrown by the Alicorn sisters. He found it strange that Celestia and Luna's origins weren't so much as mentioned. Where before it would take teams of the most powerful unicorns alive to raise and lower the sun and moon, they could now be managed by Celestia and Luna. Due to this and their possession of magic from all three pony tribes, many believed the sisters were akin to goddesses, and while he didn't quite believe they were divine, given their ability to move the very heavens themselves along with their apparent immortality, he truly couldn't blame the populace for thinking so. Either way, Andrew did believe they could move the sun and moon, he had seen the act himself every night as the sun suddenly began to make its way down the sky in mere moments, the moon doing the same as it rose in the sun's place.

He paused in his reading when he heard the front door open. He set the book down on the table as he saw Spike enter the library and close the door behind him while holding a thin, long black crystal in his right claw.

"Hey Andrew." The young drake called to him as he eyed the stack of books next to the human. "I'm guessing Twilight felt like assigning some homework!?" He chuckled as he waddled his way over to the human. He stood in front of the stack, carefully examining the many titles before turning his head to glance at Andrew, "what're you reading there?"

"Just a book about Equestrian History," he gestured to the stack. "And I guess eventually all of those too, but I'm probably just going to skim through them, to be honest. Where have you been all day anyway? Did you leave right after making breakfast?" He bent the corner of his current page to mark his progress and closed the book. He softly threw the book back onto the stack, using his telekinesis to assure that it landed correctly.

"Oh, that's a decent read." The drake commented when he read the spine of the new addition, "And yeah, I had to leave right away to help Rarity out with the clothes she's making for you." He continued to examine the tall collection of books again, his eyes working their way down from spine to spine. "Hmm, take this one out." he pointed to the second book from the top with a claw.

Andrew complied, holding the top book in place with one hand as he slid the other out of the pile. It was titled Equestria: Through the ages. "Wait, isn't this the same as—"

"—Yes." Spike said before Andrew could finish. "Which is exactly why you don't need it, unless you want to become an expert historian." As he continued to work his way down the books, he pointed to the spine of a second book. "Take this one out too."

Since it was the fifth book from the top, Andrew opted to make things easier for himself and use his telekinesis to slide the book out from its space as he supported those above it. He set the two discarded books down on the corner of the table as spike pointed out a third, fourth, and even a fifth tome to add to the unneeded pile.

By the end of it, Spike had deemed roughly half of the original books to be unnecessary.

"Wow." Andrew commented as he examined the now massively reduced heap of texts. While he had his doubts, he didn't want to question the massive amount of literature that Twilight had picked simply due to the fact that he didn't know what was too much or too little since he had no knowledge of Equestria to begin with.

"Yup." Spike replied. "Twilight doesn't kid around when it comes to books, she could probably read this all in a few days, poor mare sometimes forgets that not everypony is like her." Spike snickered. "But hey, if you want to be a historian, biologist, botanist, scientist, and zoologist all at the same time, by all means, help yourself!" Spike spread his arms for effect, and Andrew caught another glimpse of the black crystal in the young drake's claw.

"What's up with the crystal?" He asked curiously, gesturing with a hand at the item.

"Oh yeah," Spike said as he raised and opened his claw for the human to see. Despite the color, it looked just like the one he was carrying around the day before. "It's an onyx crystal." Spike began. "There really cool since, unlike every other kind, these naturally draw magic from the air around them. Imbue them with a spell once, and you never have to charge it again. They're a bit rarer though since they can only be found around a Dragon's Lair, and it's pretty hard for ponies to get permission to scavenge for it over there, so they usually just have the dragons get it themselves and trade for it with gold." Spike shrugged. "But since ponies make such a big deal about wanting it, it makes dragons see it as valuable too, so they mostly choose to hoard it instead."

"Hmm," Andrew mused. "Alright, so they're basically a zero maintenance magic battery." He crossed his arms, a skeptical look on his face. "Let me guess, Rarity sent it with you because she wanted me to do something with it right?"

"Eeyup." The dragon replied, handing the crystal to the human.

The moment he gripped the crystal, it began to sizzle, exuding white smoke through the gaps between his fingers. Despite sounding like his palm was being fried, the smoke itself was actually pleasantly cool. He altered his grip so that he held it with only the tip of his thumb and index finger. The smoke lessened noticeably, but it was still coming from where it touched him"Well then," he said, twirling the crystal in his hand, the smoke and fizz continued unabated. "That's pretty neat." The crystal didn't seem to have any visible aura, but from how Spike explained it, it was likely that he was reacting with the magic that was concentrated just outside of the crystal before it was absorbed.

"You're telling me!" Spike said, admiring the thick wisps of smoke that extended about a foot above the crystal before diffusion spreads it into obscurity. "Do you think it's safe?"

"What? The smoke?" Andrew replied. What was wrong with the smoke?

"Yeah, I mean, It just looks like smoke, but it's almost like your powers... I don't know, eat the magic that it touches." Spike frowned, scratching his head in thought before continuing. "Seems to me like that smoke is the magic, but just broken down or something. What if it's not safe to breathe?"

Andrew huffed. "Oh come on, how could it be dangerous? It disappears way too quickly for it to actually do anything. For all we know, if it actually is magic that my powers broke apart, it could turn right back into regular magic just a few seconds later."

Spike outstretched a claw, and Andrew returned the item, the smoke ceasing as soon as it switched grips.

"Look." Spike started, placing the crystal in an unoccupied space on one of the bookshelves. "As far as we know, that smoke is a slow working toxin that causes all sorts of health problems. It might not be, but it could be. Besides, if it actually is harmful, nopony should know that more than you, since you're the one that's going to have to deal with it for the rest of your life. Rarity wanted me to report back tomorrow with how the onyx reacted to you, but I don't think that would be a good idea until we clear this up."

Andrew stood there silently before nodding with a sigh. "Okay, fine." He relented. "Let's go get Twilight, she's in her room reading." He had to admit that Spike brought up some good points. He hadn't really given it much thought until Spike brought it up, but if his use of his powers came at the cost of exposing himself to deadly chemicals, that was definitely a top priority.

Twilight curled her eyebrows, looking over the results given out by the machine. Her eyes scanned the page once, twice, thrice. She rubbed her chin with a hoof. "That's... odd..." She mused.

"Why? What did we find." The purple dragon next to her asked, trying in vain to look over the table at the parchment.

"Is it bad?" Andrew followed. After seeking Twilight, the three had immediately gone down to the basement. Due to the potentially serious results of such a test, everyone wanted to take care of it tonight.

Andrew stood by the bookshelf on the adjacent wall, one of the few spaces not lined with "science" equipment that looked more like metal boxes with randomly placed buttons and levers than actual machines. What kind of library even has bookshelves in the basement?

"No," Twilight responded. "It isn't bad... I think. Let's try a few more times. She pushed a few buttons and pulled a lever.

"Alright," Andrew said, not moving from his spot but looking toward the center of the room where a small round table sat. Atop it was a thick metal plate, attached to the machine Twilight was operating via several red and blue cables. On the plate was a glass lid wherein lied a red, plastic cube.

"Ready when you are," Andrew called.

Twilight nodded. "Ready in three... two... one... now!"

At the same time, Twilight's horn flared to life in a show of lavender as she and Andrew both exerted their will upon the cube. Andrew won out, his telekinesis instantly taking control of the cube and slightly levitating it off of the plate. The muffled fizz of their clashing abilities was accompanied by the constant production of white smoke. Twilight turned back to the machine in front of her, scanning the changes within the air-tight container in real time using the polygraph-esque machine that Andrew couldn't even begin to understand, all the while maintaining her own telekinesis. After a minute past, she looked back at the container. The cube wasn't even visible at this point, the perfectly transparent glass of the container showing only misty white.

"Stop," Twilight stated. She turned sideways so that she could quickly glance between the continuous stream of data coming out of the machine and the current state of the container. Almost immediately, she took note of how quickly the air-tight container began to clear up. She looked back to her data.

"Wow, that was fast." Spike quipped from the sidelines.

At his comment, Twilight glanced back at the container. Already there were only faint wisps of white rising to spread against the top of their prison before they too faded away. The cube sat peacefully in the container looking exactly as it did a few minutes prior.

She frowned, then checked her data once again.

"Sooo, is my smoke going to try and kill me or not?" Andrew asked.

"Umm, no?" Twilight responded as if unsure herself.

"Well that doesn't sound very convincing," Spike commented.

"Sorry, it's just that nothing changed. From before we started all the way up to when It was full of smoke, to when it all diffused. Nothing. The oxygen stayed the same, the humidity, everything. Absolutely nothing changed in there.

"So Andrew's smoke won't burn anypony's lungs?" Spike asked.

"N... No, it won't," she said simply, still frowning.

"You don't seem too happy about that," Andrew observed.

"I am!" Twilight protested. "It's just... strange..."

"Any stranger than a horse being able to move the moon?" Andrew challenged.

Twilight rolled her eyes and snorted. "Stranger than a moon that moves itself, that's for sure."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Ugh, no, not really, but sure."

---Golden Oaks Library, Saturday, 9:30am---

Andrew leaned back against the railing of the library's balcony, although, the term leaning may not be entirely accurate. He was over the edge of the balcony, the palms of his outstretched arms behind him grasping the top of the railing in a bench dip position, except the rest of his body stood straight standing in the open air, the only thing stopping him from falling to the ground below being his telekinesis. Of course, that alone was more than enough.

He silently stared at the gold trimmed letter held aloft in front of him. All it said was that he should expect a chariot sometime after nine and that the location of the Equestrian Summit would be at the peak of the so-called Dragon's Rest mountain. According to Twilight, it was named such due to being used by traveling dragons to slumber every other century or so, much to the annoyance of the nearby Ponyville and Canterlot. He was more than a little surprised when he was told that Fluttershy of all people had been able to force a dragon to abandon it.

He locked eyes with a teal mare walking along the ground below. She smiled and waved a little too enthusiastically, only stopping when the cream coated mare next to her yelled something unintelligible to her friend. He waved back halfheartedly, but the mare didn't seem to notice as she now appeared to be in the middle of an argument. They walked off, both of them trying to speak over each other all the while.

It honestly felt wonderful not having to worry about hiding his powers in public. It may have started out as just a neat trick at first, but had become so much more. It was just as much a part of him now as the skin on his back. Like the muscles of a bodybuilder, it wasn't something to hide, but something to be proud of. Besides, for better or for worse, it would have only been a matter of time until he or Matt were recorded flying around all over Seattle.

The door opened behind him, the clopping of hoof steps indicating it was Twilight as opposed to the soft pitter-patter of Spikes stubby feet.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. "Nervous? Excited?"

"I really don't know." Andrew said with a sigh, then swung himself around and planted his feet on the wood floor of the balcony. "All of the above I guess."

"Well, I suppose that's to be expected," Twilight said a nod, "but I'm sure you'll be just fine." She smiled at him reassuringly.

"Hopefully, I'm just worried how different races might react to an alien. I know that there's supposed to be a dragon, a Griffin, and..." His voice trailed off.

"Well, let's see," Twilight started, "There's going to be Celestia for sure, probably Luna, but she does usually sleep during the day, so it can go either way with her, then there's Cadence. As far as races besides ponies that should be at the summit, dragons, griffons, diamond dogs, zebras, and..." She paused for a moment, then her expression turned sour. "Chrysalis." She practically spat the word.

Andrew could only roll his eyes. "Right, thanks." He said as he eyed the nearby mountains. "Alright, just so we're clear, that's Dragon's Rest over there right?" He pointed towards a mountain in the distance, far higher than those it surrounded and much darker in color, it's pointed tip glazed in white. If he didn't know any better, he would have guessed that the mountain was meant to stand out.

"Yes," Twilight confirmed with a nod. "After what happened with the latest dragon, the girls and I like to call it Mount Dragonshy. She giggled softly, and Andrew couldn't help but grin as well at the ridiculous name.

"Do you mind doing me a favor and letting the chariot guys know that I already left."

Twilight frowned at the request. "Well, I want to tell you to just wait for them, but you're probably going to fly off anyways soo..." She paused and they shared a look. "Alright, I'll let them know they don't have to worry about you."

Andrew wasted no time as he thanked her and immediately set off towards Dragon's rest.

Not two minutes went by before a golden chariot, headed by two celestial royal guards, touched down on the ground in front of the Library.

Chapter 15: The Endlings of Equestria

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As Andrew rushed towards Dragon's Rest, he began to notice movement in the air around the mountain. What at first could be confused with flocking birds were now revealed to be dozens of pegasi guards frantically preparing a large bench in the mountainside with patches of carpet. Just as he got close enough for the ponies to take notice of him—though it seemed he was being ignored in favor of their labor—a pegasus placed a square piece of red carpet into the corner of the ledge adjacent to three other pieces that themselves were a part of a larger whole. The end product was a ground mostly devoid of dirt or rock, covered instead by the rich fabric, the outermost edges lined with gold.

"Andrew!" A voice called up to him.

Looking for the source of the sound, his eyes caught that of Celestia's. She stood at the mouth of a cave several feet beyond where the fabric ended. Behind her were half a dozen Earth pony guards lifting an incredibly long wooden table out and into the center of the hilltop.

He floated down toward the mouth of the cave and touched down in front of the alicorn. "Hey," he greeted as he looked around at the number of ponies trying their hardest to make the area fit for literal kings and queens. "The carriage was taking a bit too long for me, so I thought it would be faster if I just came on my own." Celestia made something akin to a grin as she looked up and seemed to examine her sun. If it was burning her retinas, she sure didn't seem bothered by it.

She looked back at the human. Her eyes having to look up at him as—disregarding her horn—she only came up to the human's chin. It was not often that she found herself conversing with a taller being, that typically occurred with minotaurs, diamond dogs, and dragons, all of which she seldom had the pleasure of interacting with. "I'm fairly certain," she began, "that I stated you could expect it to arrive sometime after nine," she raised a brow, "it has barely been twenty minutes..."

Andrew shrugged. "Well, I knew where you would be, and it's not like I actually need to rely on some slow bumpy ride when I can just fly over over here myself in a lot quicker."

"I highly doubt that bumps in the road would be a problem when you are traveling far above it," Celestia replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Andrew tsked, "You know what I mean."

"I suppose so, but please at least send advanced notice at least twenty-four hours prior next time."

Andrew was about to reply when he heard a guard coming their way. The sound of hoofsteps were muted against the soft fabric below, but the clanking of metal against metal caused by the shifting armor earned their attention before the stallion spoke.

"Your highness," the orange coated—as opposed to the uniform white of the rest of the guards present—guard said with a modest bow. He looked to Andrew and gave a curt nod of his head, "Human."

"Pony," Andrew replied seriously with a nod of his own.

Celestia grinned as the stallion's ears splayed slightly in embarrassment. "Um, yes well," he faced his princess and cleared his throat, "the preparations are complete. Also," he lowered his head, "if I may speak freely?"

"Always, Flash Sentry," She replied warmly.

"Thank you," Flash said before continuing, "I would like to suggest that mandatory inspections be done on royal cargo carriages prior to each use." He looked back at all the guards hurrying about. "We don't want anything like this to happen again."

"I couldn't agree more." Celestia answered back.

"Why? What happened?" Andrew asked.

Flash Sentry took a step forward and explained, "just as we were about to reach the mountain, the back of the cargo carriage opened prematurely, spilling everything down onto the rocks along the base." He rubbed a temple with a hoof and sighed. "They were damaged beyond repair, and we were forced to rush back to Canterlot to get more. The whole thing ended up setting us an hour and a half behind schedule."

"Oh," Andrew nodded his head, "and here I was thinking I was just too early." He turned to Celestia and asked, "so is this summit thing supposed to start at ten then? Your letter only told me when my ride was supposed to pick me up."

"You are correct," she said, "but we still have over half an hour until then; I am simply thankful that the area has been furnished on time, despite the setback.

"And not a moment too soon." Flash sentry added.

The comment earned him Celestia's and Andrew's attention, and when they saw him looking to the east, they followed his gaze. About a hundred yards away was a chariot, pulled by no less than four griffons. As it drew closer, more and more pony guards made themselves scarce, the pegasi among them strapping themselves into the harnesses in front of the various carriages as the unicorn and earth ponies stepped into the vehicles. Several of the guards near the edge of the cliff moved aside, allowing the vehicle to touch down silently. All the other carriages were already in the air, leaving behind about a dozen royal guards of mixed races who stood at attention along the ledges. They were clad in their golden spartan-esque armor and each holding a single spear held upright against the joint of their right fore hoofs.

The griffons that were pulling the chariot were adorned in steel plate armor that covered their chest, front legs, and trailed across their back and sides before tapering off at the base of their tails. There were, of course, two large slits for their wings. On their sides were leather sheathes that held what looked like broadswords. The group swiftly relieved themselves of their harnesses and moved as one to the left side of the chariot that faced the center of the area. Standing two on either side of the entrance to the chariot, covered by gold trimmed royal blue curtains, the griffon guards stood facing each other before unsheathing their swords in synchronous, practiced fashion. They proceeded to then thrust their weapons up and forward, crossing blades with the griffon directly across from them in a flurry of sparks. They held their positions as they shouted at once.

"Presenting his royal highness, King Flavius!"

The curtains finally parted, revealing a gold armored dark-gray griffon as he stepped down, gold-tipped feathers held against his sides. There were a few bald spots on his body where various scars marred the otherwise pristine coat, the most prominent one being on his face where a vertical scar extended from his forehead to where a crack began on his beak. The crack, although thin, extended outwards, forming an eye-catching spiderweb along the smooth beak.

Celestia and Andrew closed the distance to the king as he took in his surroundings. The alicorn nodded at the griffon before speaking, "Greetings, King Flavius," her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, her smile unwavering as she asked, "I do not recall seeing you in any past summits. Pray tell, when did Griffonstone elect a new ruler? And why was I not notified of such a noteworthy change in administration?"

The griffon stayed silent for a moment. Eyeing the princess, then moving on to Andrew. He looked into the human's eyes for a long while, and Andrew only stared back, unsure if the griffon was doing some silly staring contest as a means of sizing him up, or just curiously examining the alien creature before him.

"Flavius?" Celestia said.

The griffon moved his head an inch toward the alicorn, as if only trying to show that he heard her, and nothing more. His eagle eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at Andrew. He snorted, then looked at the alicorn. "Do not speak to me about Griffonstone." He spoke the name with palpable disgust in his voice. "Griffonstone is nothing but a shell of its former self.” He stood up straighter. "Until such time that the Idol of Boreas is recovered, and the griffon in question rightfully takes up the mantle of ruler, I am in charge. My kingdom is east of Griffonstone, and the citizens of the fallen city have made it known that they are not against being under my extended rule for the foreseeable future." Celestia was about to open her mouth to speak, but the griffon continued, "I also could not help but see that you wait until the last possible moment to get your affairs in order, and on a day of such import no less." The king shook his head ashamedly. "And here I expected somepony as long lived as you to have learned some organizational skills."

If Celestia was angered or otherwise offended at the king's words, it did nothing to sabotage the motherly smile on her face. "Yes, I admit that we did unfortunately happen across a problem that set us behind schedule. Regardless, you did not answer my question, how exactly did you come to your current position? You say you founded a kingdom of your own east of Griffinstone, but why not simply help your homeland regain the splendor it has lost?"

Flavius's eyes narrowed and he scowled. "I know exactly what you are thinking princess," he snorted, "I spilled nary a drop of blood in my rise to power. They needed a leader, and I gave them one. I didn't see Griffinstone coming back from its sorry state anytime soon, so I left with every griffon that shared in my vision of a better home. With me leading the charge, we found fertile land and forests full of fresh game just waiting to be hunted. We immediately began to settle the area, and have prospered since. Naturally, I assumed leadership, and not a single griffon was opposed to the idea."

One of the griffon guards stepped forward and spoke loudly in a gruff voice, "Were it not for King Flavius, I know not what would have become of my children. I have him to thank for lives and health of my family."

"As do I!" Another guard stated adamantly.

"I would follow his majesty to the depths of Tartarus and back in a heartbeat if he so commanded it!" Another guard yelled.

Flavius nodded to his guards stoically, who saluted and stepped back into position next to the chariot.

"Very well," Celestia relented, "for the time being, I shall recognize your claim to the throne. We may speak about the specifics at a later date perhaps. For now, let us shift our focus to the main subject of the summit." Celestia gestured to Andrew.

"Yes," Flavius said, "the..."

"Human." Andrew said, answering the unspoken question. "Andrew Detmer, the human."

"The human..." the griffon repeated. "How very interesting." he grinned, "How very Interesting indeed... And I would presume that you are an adolescent of your race, yet you must be quite the capable warrior for your age." His grin grew another inch.

A look of confusion crossed Andrews face as he responded, "Warrior? Me?" He tried to picture his thin frame clad in plate armor, complete with a sword and shield. The very idea itself sounded ridiculous to him. "No, I'm not a soldier or anything." He dismissed the idea with a wave of a hand. "I'm just..." He paused, looking for the right words. "I'm just human... granted, one with powers but still..."

The king frowned at Andrew's words, as if disappointed. "Not a warrior you say?" The griffin chuckled, as if Andrew had just made a clever joke. "Surely you jest?"

Now it was Andrew's turn to frown, "Umm, no, last I checked I was still just a teenage student."

Celestia cleared her throat, earning their attention. "Andrew, I am sure you have been wondering why I chose this location for the summit instead of Canterlot." She received a mildly suspicious look from the human, to which she only smiled and looked to the eastern sky.

Following her gaze, Andrew saw the thing he had been most looking forward too since meeting spike. A full grown black dragon.

The great beast flapped its wings in a slow but steady rhythm as it drew ever closer, partially shrouded by the clouds it pierced as it cut its way through the sky. Andrew's heart thumped in his chest like a drum. Was it Excitement? Apprehension? He didn't care. This was it, he was actually going to meet an honest to God dragon. There was something else that he noticed as well. Two carriages were making their way towards them from the same direction, but were much closer, only now visible because they had risen to be level with the plateau floor. They must have been traveling just above the treeline until now. Just as the gentle swish of the dragon's wing beats became audible, the guards cleared the area to the left and right of the griffin carriage just before the next two touched down. The pegasi that were pulling the vehicles stood panting, their coats glimmering with a sheen of sweat.

From one carriage exited a brown-robed zebra and two guards, one of which carried a tray with glasses of water to the parched guards, who thanked the zebra and eagerly gulped down their respective glasses with glee. All wore a a collection of golden necklaces around their necks and rings around their hooves. Were it not for the robe and lack of a spear, Andrew wouldn't be able to tell who was in charge as they all looked the same in his eyes. The robed zebra had a soft smile on his face, and the guards were somehow looked content, yet stoic at the same time.

From the other Carriage exited some sort of gray, bipedal dog-like creatures. Diamond dogs were what they were called, if he recalled correctly, having spent the overwhelming majority of the previous day reading. It wore a black leather vest and a golden collar spiked with various gems and precious metals. Behind it followed two large mutts with iron vests, complete with studded shoulder plates and spears. The eyes of the guards were hidden under iron helms, and their faces were expressionless.

As the carriages emptied, the pegasi wasted no time as they turned and took off, taking the vehicles with them. The new arrivals walked to within speaking distance of each other. Andrew was about to ask if everyone actually planned to arrive within minutes of each other when the robed Zebra broke the silence.

"Greetings everypony," he began in a pleasant tone as he scanned the attendants, his eyes looking at Flavius and Andrew a moment longer than the rest. "Please, allow me to introduce myself to the new faces here," he bowed slightly, "my name is Zuberi Imari, but I would prefer to be referred to as Imari." He looked warmly from Andrew to Flavius and asked, "Might I ask for your names?"

Flavius introduced himself, then Imari turned to him.

"Andrew," he said, "Andrew Detmer." He looked around, he was in a sweater and jeans, surrounded by gold and gem-wearing royalty... "I'm not a king or prince or anything like that though," He shrugged.

He caught a glaring look from the diamond dog, who huffed and introduced himself next.

"Rox," he stated in a gruff voice. "Just Rox."

Andrew waited for the alpha to say something more, but no more words were spoken. According to Twilight, diamond dogs, while capable of being just as intellectual as the next pony, did not pride themselves on their ability to hold a conversation, or stay in school (if they even had schools). Diamond dog society was split between many underground cave networks across Equestria, each one dominated by an alpha, of which there was one alpha that was, in turn, in charge of all the others, making sure peace was kept between them. Common sense would dictate this was that very alpha.

The wind was beginning to pick up as the dragon got closer, the flapping of its wings being felt even from this distance as it crossed over Ponyville, a large shadow encompassing the town for a moment. If the townsfolk weren't already aware of the summit, they were likely in for a startling surprise when they went outside.

Everyone present turned towards the jet-black drake, watching in silence as the dragon closed what distance was left. Whether they wanted to wait until the dragon arrived to continue, or were just as enraptured as Andrew himself, he couldn't say. The turbulent wind brought forth by the dragon brought the trees and grass below to life. The drake began to descend as it reached the final stretch, gliding toward the mountain with ease.

After a few moments, the dragon flared its wings and hovered next to the mountain. If he looked large from a distance, he was absolutely gargantuan up-close. Its frame was easily half the size of the mountain itself. It grasped the mountain with its large, scaled claws, the action causing the ground below them to shake in protest of the added weight. One set of talons bent over the cliff, the curved, pointed tips—longer than Andrew himself, even with the curve— digging through the red fabric and finding purchase in the rock below. Its wings, stretching wide enough to touch wingtip to wingtip around the peak if it so desired, gave a few more hearty flaps as the dragon settled itself into a comfortable position. As the great dragon lord relaxed, it folded its vast gray wings to its side, then craned his long, muscular neck back as it looked toward something below and out of view of those who stood in the clearing. As it raised its head, its slick black tail followed, coiled around the handle of a giant tankard fit for a beast of its size. It manipulated the cup towards its mouth and eagerly gulped down its contents, the rest splashing across its neck and down its body.

Their was long stretch of silence as the dragon caught its breath. The tankard lowered back down to its original location, much lighter now than before. The action of breathing alone caused the fibers that made up the carpet that covered the plateau move to and fro. After a sudden intake of breath that slightly pulled at the those present, and almost making Andrew lose his balance and fall, the dragon turned its head skyward and yawned. The rows of impeccably white fangs glinted in the light of Celestia's sun, its forked tongue extending out of the large, narrow mouth as it filled the lungs within with fresh air. Out from the back of its head extended two long, straight horns, their length matching that of the head. The dragon didn't seem to mind the fact that the sharp tips of its horns were pressing into its neck. Black smoke accompanied its exhale as it brought its head back down.

As it completed the action, Luna flew in from behind the creature's right side and touched down onto the carpet, then hurried to her sister's side, exchanging words that Andrew couldn't be bothered to care about at the moment. He gaze was fixated on the magnificent creature looming above him.

"I apologize if I was unable to fully quench your thirst, Kethitus," Celestia apologized. "We were unable to bring a second tankard.

Keth only gave a deep grunt and nod as he continued to catch his breath.

"You are very welcome." Celestia replied, despite the fact that The dragon said no words.

The dragon locked its ruby red eyes with Andrew's. He could see his own reflection disappear against the rapidly narrowing pupils as they peered at him before they relaxed again. Keth continued to stare at him, as if searching for something. The dragon opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth again. Andrew wasn't very versed in adult dragon facial expression, as spike's face was relatively flat, much like a human's, as opposed to the elongated snout of the beast that loomed above him. However, he had a feeling that the dragon was grinning.

"Do I amuse you, creature?" Keth said in a deep, rumbling voice. The vocalization sending a thumping vibration through Andrew's body similar to that of deep bass.

He noticed that his eyes were wide and his mouth was open, he must look ridiculous. He shook his head to clear it and tried—and failed— to put on his best poker face. Glancing around, he saw that everyone was looking at him now, including a pink, candy-maned alicorn mare―who could be none other than Cadence―stood behind Luna and her sister. The third alicorn must have arrived from behind the mountain when his back was turned.

The dragon made a rumbling sound in his throat, causing Andrew to snap his head back to face the dragon.

The human stumbled for words before stealing himself and speaking, "S-sorry, it's just that where I come from..." Andrew paused, failing to find words as the dragon leaned forward, expression now hidden among the uniformly black scales that made up his face He took a step back, not so much out of fear as much as respect. The dragon moved his head left, then right as he examined the human.

Luna trotted forward next to him and interjected on his behalf, "I believe what Andrew is trying to get at is that on his world, humans are alone in their sapience, not only is he not accustomed to speaking with other thinking creatures outside of his own species, everypony here today was literally a creature of fantasy to him just a few days ago." She swiveled her head to glance the rest of the leaders. "If anything, it would be more strange if he wasn't nervous around so many strange creatures, at least from his perspective." She smiled, looking back at the dragon lord. "And he, like many others of his kind and age, is quite fond of dragons in particular." She winked at Andrew, who scowled defensively, the expression downplayed by the flush in his cheeks.

The dragon gave another toothy grin before saying, "I suppose it is to be expected that I would incite such awe.," He lifted his claw from the cliff's edge and brought forth a curved talon to Andrew. "I am Da'kethitus, current stand-in as the lord of dragons. You may call me Keth if you wish."

Andrew gripped the tip of the talon, even then unable to reach completely around, the entire piece of keratin probably weighed more than him, and he resorted to using telekinetically enhanced strength to give it a firm shake. Keth's claw rose and fell in tandem with the human's, causing Keth to sharply pull back his claw.

"What is this...?" He asked, peering down at the human with curious suspicion.

Before Andrew could even attempt to answer, Luna spoke again. "Telekinesis." She stated, earning a few hushed murmurs from the gathering. "On Earth, Andrew's world, there is no magic of any sort. Despite this fact, Andrew and two other humans recently acquired this power. From what little we know, his ability is very likely connected to his arrival in Equestria, though we know not the how nor the why."

"But we fully intend to learn, if at all possible," Celestia added. "But for now, we should focus on other matters." Celestia made her way to the foot of the roughly fifteen foot table, directly across from Keth, who loomed over the ledge of the mountain bench. Following her lead, everyone else found their own spot at the table and stood, as there were no seats in sight. Luna took the corner to her sister's right, while the pink alicorn took the other. Imari stood next to Cadence while Rox stood by Luna, followed by Flavius. Andrew himself stood next to the royal griffon at the corner of the table, to the left of Keth.

"A real life alien." Imari quipped with a chuckle. "That's quite an interesting development, even for Equestrian. Where to even begin..."

"I believe the start will suffice for the time being," Flavius said, looking toward the human. "Under what circumstances did you find yourself in Equestria? Celestia believes that your abilities have something to do with it, so start with that. How did you get them? How did you use them? Tell us as many relevant details between then and now as possible."

Andrew debated with himself on whether or not he should reveal the circumstances surrounding his death. How would they react when they find out how he was wrecking havoc across Seattle before having to essentially be put down like a wild animal by his cousin? Would they throw him in prison? He wouldn't think so, in the same way that committing a crime in America probably didn't matter once you crossed the border into mexico. The truth would come out eventually, right? It was only a matter of time until his silence about his past would cause more problems than simply telling the truth now. Perhaps it would be prudent to deal with the potential fallout now rather than later? Keth's presence certainty eased his mind somewhat, surely he wouldn't be judged as harshly from a dragon.

"I..." He started, but hesitated. "I did something that, if I didn't end up here, would have put me in—"

He was interrupted by the sound of several sets of flapping wings, followed by the sight of yet another carriage appearing on the other side of the cliff, directly across from him. The pony and zebra guards that were near the edge moved away as the carriage landed, the wheels somehow unhindered by the carpet as it came to a stop parallel to the edge. The pegasi that were pulling it were facing him, and noticeably fatigued if the shine of their coats were any indication. Unlike the guards that brought the zebra's however, their expressions conveyed only stoic calmness. He could see the confusion etched on the faces around the table. It didn't seem like anyone besides Celestia, Luna, and himself were aware that there would be an extra dignitary in attendance.

The right door opened towards the table as a stoic-faced guard trotted over and offered a hoof to the passenger. There was a loud smack as the offering hoof was presumably slapped away.

"We do not need your help, pony! I don't want you so much as touching us!” Chrysalis seethed, the disdain clear in her voice.

The guard's professionalism held as he stepped back. His eyes lowered, looking at something as he spoke a few unintelligible words to the queen.

"I hope you are merely jesting." Chrysalis said through gritted teeth. "You would bring me to my enemies, then DARE to take away my lone guard? My first line of defense!? Do you plan on ridding me of my only protection to more swiftly take my life!? If not, then WE DO NOT NEED YOUR HELP!" The door shuddered as it was struck, the queen still hidden behind it.

The stallion's stoic face made way to confusion. He opened his mouth to speak but Chrysalis practically screamed.

"Say another word!" She threatened.

The stallion failed to suppress a snort as he stepped aside, making way for the queen as she strutted past him.

If the depictions of changelings he had seen while reading were accurate, a hideous, bug-like monstrosity of a being should have been what exited the carriage, something worthy of a place in the nightmares of the mares and fillies of Equestria.

Those books couldn't be less accurate. What stepped from the carriage, on shaking, bandaged hooves, was a black, green maned, emaciated creature. What would otherwise be perceived as smooth skin betrayed its true nature as spidery cracks ran along portions of the carapace.

Despite the state her body, her face glowed with disdainful pride as she slowly made her way to the table with a slight limp in left hind leg. Where most ponies came up to about Andrew's belly button in height, Chrysalis was about the same height as Celestia, coming up to just under his chin not including the horn. They locked eyes for a moment before his traveled downward to the large, brown, tattered cloth that was tied around her neck, forming a bundle around her chest like one might make for an infant. Except there wasn't a child, but a much smaller changeling wrapped tightly in the material. Only the head of the youngling was visible, facing upwards and toward Chrysalis, the rest of the body hidden beneath several layers of the cloth. A small, makeshift spear―essentially just a sharp rock tied to a stick with split string―was held in place between the queen's body and the bundle, pointing up and to the right. Next to the spear, resting above the cloth, was a tiny, dark blue-hued helmet. All the while he could feel the changelings eyes mirroring his own as she examined him with equal interest.

"What in Tartarus is SHE doing here!?" Cadence spat with venom in her voice. She turned to her aunt with a glare, "Celestia! What is the meaning of this!?"

Chrysalis's eyes shifted to look at the angered princess, lips contorted into a snarl. "Cadenza..." she said in a tone thick with disdain.

Cadence's head snapped back to face the Changeling. Her face contorted in a rictus of disgust. She moved her head only slightly as she glared back at the solar alicorn. "Explain," she said authoritatively.

"I'm sorry," Celestia started, losing her smile. "It was on extremely short notice that I extended an invitation to the summit to Chrysalis, but it was at the request of Andrew that I did so."

"Have you already forgotten what she did to Canterlot!? To me!?" Cadence yelled. "She foalnapped me, imprisoned me beneath my own home. She set her army on your city, she—"

"I understand your concerns Cadence," Celestia interjected, having to raise her voice to do so, "but it was only out of respect for Andr—"

"You brought a Changeling queen to the summit out of respect for an alien!!?" Cadence practically shrieked. "For all we know, she may have dabbled in dark magic to bring him to Equestria. For all we know, her army could be well on its way to—"

"SHUT UP!" Chrysalis screeched, earning everyone's attention. She glared at Cadence from across the table, her sharp, white fangs creating a stark contrast next to her dark carapace. "You foal-brained. Selfish. Arrogant. DEVIL! Are you truly such a fool that you believe the words you speak!?" Her anger only rose as she continued to speak. "Do you truly fear the monster you think me to be, or are you just oblivious to what you did to us that day."

"Yes," Cadence shot back without hesitation, "my husband and I banished you back to the land from whence you came, a place just as rotten as yourself!" Cadence smirked triumphantly. "I often find myself thinking back to it when I am in a less than stellar mood."

Andrew could see Chrysalis trying desperately to suppress herself from shaking with anger.

"YOU DOOMED US!" She screamed at the pink alicorn, holding the bundle against her chest with a hoof. "Did you even take a moment to consider what would become of us after you blasted us away, did you even realize the power behind that very spell? My children closest to you were killed instantly from the shock wave alone!"

Chrysalis reared up and placed her fore hooves on the table. As she did so, the spear fall into the bundle, where the thin fore hooves of the changeling grasped it, and held it tightly. It hadn't so much as said a word thus far, with the only signs of life it gave off being slow, shallow breaths.

"They were the lucky ones." Chrysalis continued. "By the time I regained consciousness, it was already night, and I was surrounded by my dead and dying children. Bodies broken to pieces from the fall, some hanging over the branches of the dead trees. I looked down with horror to see that, in my unconscious state, dozens of my children sacrificed themselves just to break my fall. When I refused their help, they forced me to the ground as one by one, they transferred the last of their love to me to prevent my own death," Chrysalis began clapping, resting her elbows on the table. "Bravo, Cadenza, bravo. By your own admission, you enjoy reminiscing on a genocide of your making, proving yourself to be the very villain you see in me. How does it feel to be worse than a harmless love consuming Changeling that just wants to stay alive? How does it feel to nearly eradicate an entire race?" Chrysalis's tone was sarcastically triumphant, but her expression was sour.

There was pregnant pause in the air as everyone took in the exchange. Keth simply loomed overhead in silence, expression unreadable. Rox and Flavius were stoic, as were their guards. It was a different story entirely for the ponies and zebras present. Imari uttered something under his breath in his native tongue as his guards exchanged hushed words as they looked at Cadence with dismay. Luna was in a state of open mouthed shock, and even her sister's ever present professionalism was shattered, a grim frown replacing her otherwise ever-contented features.

Cadence held a hoof over her mouth, ears splayed tight against her head. The revelation of what she had done shocking her to the very core. How could she have known? The last thing she would ever want to do is to cause harm to others. She even considered Sombra to be a victim, falling prey to the black magic that he coveted. If there was any other way to stop him, she would not have hesitated to do so. To now realize that she had a direct hoof in the deaths of what was likely over a hundred lives—even if they were changelings— was too much to take in. She felt sick, disgusted with herself.

"What is wrong Cadenza? Are you just know second guessing your actions?" Chrysalis mused. "A little late for that don't you think?"

No one said a word, whether that was due to being at a loss for words themselves or because they enjoyed watching the exchange Andrew couldn't tell. They looked to Cadence expectantly.

"No..." Cadence said weakly. "I had no idea... I- I thought that—"

"Thought what!?" Chrysalis spat. "That we would all land safely in the badlands, well within sight of each other, and simply mope about in our defeat for a few days before shrugging and moving on with our lives, living a life full of food in the desolate wastes that we call our home?"

"I'm so s—" Cadence started, but was immediately cut off again by the changeling.

"What? Sorry? Feeling empathetic for once, are we?" Chrysalis snorted. "You couldn't even begin to understand, not without children of your own." The changeling queen finally lowered herself from the table and scowled. "I will speak of this no more, the only reason I am even here is because my guard insisted I come."

From his position and angle across from the queen, Andrew could see a weak smile spread across the changeling guard's face before it winced, as if simply the act of smiling caused it pain. Following the painful reaction was a dry coughing fit, which drew the attention of everyone present. By the end of the fit, small splatters of blood coated the cloth.

When she saw the blood Celestia wasted no time in shouting out, "Guards, ready a carriage, that changeling needs medical a-"

"Don't you DARE touch him!" Chrysalis shrieked, holding the bundle protectively as the two guards closest to her began to move. They stood in place when she yelled, looking over to their ruler for permission to proceed.

"I don't understand," Celestia pleaded, "how can you possibly deny him help when it is clear tha-"

"There is NOTHING you can do for him!" She spat at the alicorn. "We did not come here to partake in your revolting pity, we are here because of this thing." She pointed a hoof at Andrew, and then looked at the human. "So stop feigning worry on us, and get on with the summit."

"But wh—"

"We will speak of this no more." Chrysalis hissed.

"Fine then, have it your way," Celestia relented, then looked to Andrew. "I apologize for the interruptions, I believe you were speaking about something that you did..."

"Oh, right." Andrew stumbled for words, nearly forgetting himself from the heated exchange he had just witnessed. He thought silently of a way to explain everything without... well...

"Ughh," Chrysalis groaned with her nose scrunched up in disgust, "There is enough repugnant guilt in the air as is without you saturating it any further."

Andrew looked at the changeling skeptically. He knew that Changelings fed off of love, but he didn't read anything about them also picking up on other emotions as well. Not to mention the fact that he was supposed to be immune to magic. Then again, his magic immunity meant nothing when it came to Luna's apparent affinity with dreams, but even then, he could easily just exert his will as he pleased in his own dreams. His emotions however? There wasn't sure what he could do there... He pushed his skepticism away for the time being, lest he get caught up in his own thoughts.

"Know this, human," Keth said, his voice booming from the close proximity to Andrew. "Crimes that you may or may not have committed on your world, no matter how severe, will hold no weight here beyond giving us insight into your past. You may speak freely."

Andrew nodded with a sigh. He was about to begin when Luna spoke.

"Andrew, you are not being forced into this,"Luna said. "This is your own choice to make, are you absolutely certain?" the lunar alicorn asked, giving him a concerned look.

"It's alright sister," Celestia said. "What Keth says is true," she directed her attention back to Andrew. "While in Equestria, you are just as bound to our laws as everypony else, and extradition would most definitely be on the table under normal circumstances." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Of course, our current situation is anything but normal, and I refuse to even consider the possibility of returning you to your world. Not while knowing what would become of you..." She grimaced, the expression looking rather alien on Celestia's face. "I couldn't possibly condemn anypony to such horror."

Andrew caught Chrysalis shooting Cadence a cold look, the alicorn refusing to meet the changeling's gaze. She was still frowning from the revelation of what she had done, and he was surprised she didn't have to leave and compose herself.

"I do not understand." Keth said. "Why should he not be sent back to his world?"

"Because," Andrew began, "The first thing they would probably try to do is kill and dissect me— and maybe not even in that order—to find out the secret behind my powers."

"So he believes." Celestia said. "According to Andrew, his race is extremely inquisitive by nature, and—at least away from the eyes of the public—would readily throw ethics to the side if given the opportunity to study something they previously believed to be impossible. Of course, there is no way for us to prove him wrong in his assumptions, but I would rather refrain from taking the chance."

"Besides, Andrew wishes to stay in Equestria by choice." Luna added.

"Indeed," Celestia affirmed. "And even if he did wish to be sent back to his world, he has shared with my student and me information regarding his race that make me less inclined to bridge our worlds together."

Imari was visibly surprised by the statement. "Is that so? What ever could you have learned? I would expect you more than anypony here to jump at the chance to establish relations with another race."

"True," Celestia nodded in agreement, "but humans, for the overwhelming majority of their history, barring the last several decades, have been a conquering, war-faring race."

"So what?" Flavius questioned. "That didn't stop you from negotiating a treaty with us? And I am sure if you can convince dragons to sign a non-aggression treaty, what's one more race?"

"I have not finished," Celestia continued. "I can certainly, at the very least, attempt to connect our worlds together by studying exactly what caused Andrew to appear in Equestria and potentially reverse engineering it with magic, but I believe the potential disadvantages of such an act outweigh the advantages. For starters, humans, being the only sapient race that they are even aware of, would no doubt suffer from severe culture shock when suddenly learning of an entire planet full of other races. Not to mention that most of those standing here are quite literally beasts straight out of their fictional literature. There is simply no way to predict the outcome of beginning such a relationship. If we were to suddenly 'open our doors' to them, I can imagine the hundreds of human countries competing with each other over their need to curry more favor with us than their neighbors." She gave a moment for the information to sink in before looking to Andrew. "Although I would like to hear how you believe it would play out."

"Well," Andrew started, carefully considering the implications of alien contact. "I don't really know politics, but I think more than anything they would probably just want to trade for your resources. BUT, all it really takes is one xenophobic country to declare war on you for everything to go to shit on both sides, since there’ll be countries that think likewise, and others that want to keep the peace. And I've noticed that bits are made of gold, so that, along with all the gems you have..." he shrugged. "Those things are a lot less common on Earth, so some people are going to want to fight each other and you for control of it.

"I see..." Celestia stated simply.

"OR," Andrew emphasized, "Everything will turn out just fine."

"and how likely do you think that is? Keth asked.

"We have a saying back on Earth, 'don't poke the dragon'." He replied.

Keth snorted, black smoke jetting out of his nostrils before catching on the wind, "A wise saying."

"Very well then," Celestia started. "I will take your advice to heart. Now then, I believe you were going to..."

"Yeah, right..." Andrew took a deep breath as he began to retell his story, starting at the cave entrance and the accident, up until his last night on Earth. He didn't reveal anything too personal—the fact that he threw up on the girl he was about to lay would go with him to his grave—but he fully admitted to his pain and vengeance-fueled rampage across Seattle. He wouldn't give too many details, but he certainly gave enough to damn himself ten times over in court. All he could do to even remotely justify himself was the fact that it all started with him trying to get money for his mother's medicine.

He could have sworn he felt Chrysalis's gaze on him intensify when he brought that up.

The entire story took him about twenty minutes to go through uninterrupted. He wasn't used to talking for so long without pause, and he relished in a moment of silence after he mentioned his spearing by his cousin Matt. He raised both arms and crossed them behind his head as his shirt raised itself up to his chest, showing off the circular scar between his chest and stomach, then he turned around to show the scar on the other end. He turned back toward the table and lowered his arms and shirt. "Next thing I know, I wake up in Ponyville hospital, by all rights my guts should be on the floor and my spine should be broken. I don't know why or how I'm still alive, or what I'm doing in Equestria." He shrugged. "I should be dead, but I'm not, and for now, that's all that matters."

There were many hushed murmurs from the surrounding guards, but the summit table was completely silent.

"Those are grave actions indeed," Imari said softly.

"And by one so young no less." Flavius added. "How old are you, Andrew?" The griffon hummed for a moment before adding, "For that matter, what are your days and years like?"

"I'm eighteen," the human answered promptly, "and our days and years are the same as yours, even some of our holidays are similar." And I was only a month away from graduating, too, he thought.

"And how does Luna play into this?" Imari asked. "It seemed like she already knew about your situation, whereas Celestia did not."

"You are correct,"Luna admitted, "due to the mystery surrounding his initial arrival, I went through his memories while he was unconscious to help ascertain whether or not he was a threat." She gave the human an apologetic look before continuing. "Since then, I have known of his violent past and chose to keep it to myself in fear that he would not be given the same mercy as I was after my return from my banishment. I do not know how many lives were lost due to Andrew's actions, but..." She paused, biting her lip. "A thousand years ago, I threatened the entirety of Equestria when I let jealousy and loneliness consume my heart. If my sister had failed to stop me, it is very likely that none of us would be standing here today." She extended a hoof toward the human. "I know that Andrew is a kind soul at heart, even if he himself would think otherwise, for I have seen it through his own eyes. I am by no means justifying his deplorable actions, but the hardships that he has personally gone through that led him astray far exceeds what it took for me to fall from grace. I only ask that he be treated with the same mercy as I." There was a short pause before she added, "Besides, as far as I am concerned, he has already payed for his crimes with his life, whether he stayed dead or not is immaterial.”

Celestia's features softened at hearing her sister's words. She said, "Very well Luna, I trust your judgement. I admit I have had my suspicions about Andrew since the beginning, but I can sense the sincerity in your words. I would also like to add that, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, there was an altercation between Andrew and my royal guards, and he was careful not to cause permanent damage, even as he faced down their spears."

"Well," Andrew began, "in their defense, they couldn't really touch me if they tried."

This earned him more than a few raised brows from the table, and Luna gave him a look that said 'you're not helping yourself.'

Keth said, "While I believe your words, human." The dragon turned and lowered his head, observing Andrew with a single eye that looked him up and down. "I fail to see how that is possible."

"How else?" Andrew said sarcastically. "If bullets can't get past my telekinesis, what's ancient stuff like spears going to do?"

"Ancient!" Flavius exclaimed.

"Do you mean to tell us that your weapons are better than ours?" Imari asked. "How so?"

"I am also rather curious," Keth grumbled

Looking around, it was clear to Andrew that everyone present was curious to hear his answer or at least, all but two.

Celestia cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and said, "I cannot say I am fond of the idea of introducing new weapons into Equestria. I believe it would be best hold the first vote of today's summit."

"What? Why?" Flavius questioned, glaring at the solar princess before looking to Andrew with a toothy smile. "You are more than welcome to visit my kingdom human, I can make it worth your while if you would divulge to me your secrets."

Andrew wrinkled his forehead and rolled his eyes at the offer. First Twilight, expecting him to have impeccable medical knowledge, and now the rulers of Equestria expecting him to be a trained engineer. Then again, as he thought about it, if he supplied enough general knowledge about guns, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility that they could be recreated in some fashion here, and who knew what could be added or changed now that magic was on the table. For now, he chose to keep his mouth shut and see where this went.

"We will hold it to a vote, Flavius." Luna restated with authority.

The griffon glared at her from the corner of his eye.

When the king finally stayed silent Luna said, "As usual, Cadence, my sister and I will count as a single vote, so as to not easily manipulate the outcome. Should the vote end in favor of Andrew keeping his knowledge a secret, he will be bound by law to do so." She looked to Andrew expectantly.

"I understand." He said with a nod. Not like I'll talk either way though, he mused. Even if he was free to give up everything he knew about guns and such, he would probably just use that to have everyone try their best to stay on his good side until they eventually found out his lips were sealed and they gave up. Besides, it was in his best interests not to, as even if he could block bullets if he tried, the last thing he needed was the possibility of getting shot at when he least expected by some—admittedly, though he wouldn't be caught saying it out loud—adorable looking talking animals.

Celestia began the vote with, "All those in favor of Andrew withholding any and all knowledge of the detailed workings of his worlds weaponry?"

Andrew assumed that he didn't have a say in the matter, so he simply looked around, if the alicorns all counted as one, and he wasn't included in the vote, that meant there were a total of six votes. Imari was the first who placed a hoof on the table, followed by Luna with no protest coming from the other two princesses. After a moment with no further votes, the zebra and alicorn withdrew their hooves.

That made two votes against.

"A-all those in favor of allowing Andrew to freely sharing his knowledge." Celestia asked with a tinge of worry.

Rox rested a paw on the table, and Flavius a claw. After several seconds passed with no further actions, they withdrew their limbs, exchanging muffled words between themselves.

"Those who are withholding their vote." Celestia stated.

Keth simply raised a talon from the ground and rested it on the edge of the table, while Chrysalis did the same with a bandaged hoof, but only for a moment before she withdrew.

That made two for and two against.

"We need at least one more to come to an agreement," Celestia said. "Is there any reason in particular as to why you two wish to abstain?"

Keth was the first to speak, he huffed, black smoke streaming from his nostrils. "Petty squabbles between your races do not concern us," he stated in an uncaring tone. "I do not care one way or the other."

Chrysalis looked from Flavius to Cadence and turned her nose upwards with a huff, "If you all wish so dearly to find better ways of killing each-other, what do I care." She gave Cadence another glaring look. "I have had my fill of death."

Imari shot the diamond dog and griffon across from him a glare and asked, "Of all the ideas that Andrew could share, why is it that you are both so intent on those that can only bring about strife?" He gave the predators across from him a stern gaze, which they both returned in kind.

"Human," Keth grumbled, the deep, overpowering voice instantly earning him the spotlight. He leaned his head forward again, looking directly at Andrew. "Your... weapons...," He spoke the word with audible disgust, as if the very idea offended him. "What are they capable of?" He grinned, jet black making way for a trail of porcelain white. "What would become of these creatures if they are given these shiny new toys.?"

These creatures? Andrew thought to himself curiously, Keth said that condescendingly but seemed to exclude him from the insult. Was he held in higher regard by the dragon than the others? Was he simply over-analyzing the question? He looked into the dragon's eyes again, feeling strange... exposed, as if Keth was looking at him naked through the prolonged eye contact. He looked away sharply, playing it off by scratching the back of his head. "Umm, hold on," he looked around the area idly, thinking of a way to explain guns without actually going into detail. "I-I guess you could say..." He paused, grasping his chin in further thought. "Well, it depends. The most simplest of them could..." he looked around the table, then made eye contact with several of the guards standing at attention along the ledge, "could, in the hands of a kid, or colt or whatever, probably kill everyone here and very much annoy me and Keth." He chuckled at his own joke, then coughed into his hand awkwardly when he noticed no one else found it amusing."

"You seem to find that idea humorous..." Rox said. It was the first time Andrew could recall the giant dog actually speaking with him. "But you are not kidding, are you?" The Diamond dog looked at him stoically, and with the same intensity that Keth had only moments ago. It made him uncomfortable.

"Ughh, no," Andrew assured, wiping the smile off his face and choosing instead to mirror the same seriousness as those around him. many of the guards were giving him mixed looks of disgust and bewilderment, while those at the table refused to let their emotions show.

"You say that it would naught but annoy me,?" Keth said, "if that is what you believe, then I assure you it would do much less to the celestial princesses. The Dragon snarled slightly. "And what of the more advanced weaponry? Keth asked, talons scraping against the carpet as his grip strengthened. "The the simplest of them can wipe out dozens of trained guards and their rulers in the hooves of a mere foal, so what would the best of them do to a full grown dragon. There was the slightest tinge of anger in the drake's voice, as if he was daring Andrew to come up with something that could harm him.

Lucky for him he didn't have to think very long at all, and he already knew the perfect way to describe it without using words, well, maybe just one word.

Trying his best to hold back a grin, he asked Celestia if she could create a map of Equestria using her magic.

With a confused nod, she turned around and lit up her horn in a golden aura. All present looked on as the entire mouth of the cave became completely obscured by a golden hued map of Equestria. It only took a fraction of a second for the map to finish materializing, and the detail on it was striking, complete with borders, railroads, and labels floating just in front of the map and pointing to their corresponding cities in Equestria. From the South Luna Ocean on the bottom left, to the Crystal empire in the far north, even Dragon's Lair was labeled on the bottom right with Griffonstone across the sea to the north. So large and tall was the map, that Andrew had to turn his head to examine the corners. Looking around, he noticed he was the only one that looked impressed. This probably wasn't the first time Celestia had to do this, and her age alone could easily explain her familiarity with Equestria's geography, let alone the fact that it was in her job description.

Celestia turned her head to look at the human and asked, "Might I inquire as to why you nee—" She was interrupted by the loud sizzling behind her. She turned her attention back to her spell. In the center of the map, where Canterlot, Ponyville, and even the Everfree Forest were supposed to be, was now a perfectly circular hole, the cave behind it visible through streaks of misty white. The surrounding aura pushed against the circumference of the hole, attempting to repair itself, but the action only served to further produce a continuous, hissing stream of the short-lived smoke.

"I don't understand?" Imari said with a look of confusion.

A few seconds of silence passed before Keth pulled his head back with a deafening, seething hiss. His long tail showed itself as it was raised over his back before slamming back downwards and out of view. An instant later there was a loud crash followed by the mountain shaking violently from the violent blow.

"Da'Kethitus!" Celestia commanded with a magically amplified voice, "Calm yourself at once!"

Andrew stumbled where he stood, having to grab onto the edge of the table lest he lose his balance. He noticed Chrysalis eyeing him, maintaining her balance on three legs as she affectionately stroked the underside of the bundle with the fourth. She looked away indifferently when they made eye contact.

"Impossible! Keth barked, much to the confusion of the alicorn princesses and Imari.

Cadence looked at the hole in the map skeptically before giving Andrew a confused look. "Apologies, but I don't understand, what are you-" She was interrupted by an annoyed shout from Flavius.

"Do you ponies need everything spelled out for you! It's supposed to be an—"

"Explosion..." Keth finished with a snarl

This earned him several more skeptical looks, but mostly from the surrounding pony guards.

Andrew shrugged, "Sorry, I thought it was obvious?"

Before Andrew could clarify, Rox did so in his stead.

"Ponyville, the Everfree, Canterlot, the surrounding territory, this mountain included. All gone, wiped off the face of the map."

Celestia turned her attention from the now composed Keth to Andrew and cleared her throat. "Your race is capable of such a devastating creation, and yet you also claim that there are hundreds of countries, with thousands of cultures between them all.” She closed her eyes and thought for a moment before opening them again and continuing with, "Am I right to assume that there are many countries in possession of such... items? It is the only reason I can fathom for why—considering your history—you have not fought yourselves to the last few nations.”

Andrew rolled his eyes, "We're not bloodthirsty killers looking for any reason to murder each-other princess. Sorry we can't all be grass eating horses like you." The insult earned him a few chuckles from around the table. He saw Celestia was about to say something, but cut her off before she could apologize. "And yes, there are several countries with... them. I don't know how many, but not a lot. Also, that's just an extreme example of what we're capable of, we haven't used it in like eighty years or something. Nothing really happens these days beyond regular crime and the like," he rolled his eyes, "Okay, maybe one or two countries might be in active conflict, but the rest of the world is at peace, I guess." He was met with a doubtful look from the solar princess. "What!? I'm sorry for not reading up on world news, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to make the things that do that," he pointed to the smoking hole in the map. "That's something I would have to go to school for four more years to learn. And even if I did know, I certainly wouldn't be sharing." He stayed quiet after that.

The diamond dog alpha and Griffon king both shared a look before the former said, "Regardless, I change my mind."

Rox followed with, "I would like to change my vote as well, may any and all knowledge the human possess die with him."

"Agreed." Flavius said. "I also believe it would be pertinent if Andrew would keep to himself any and all technological advancements, not just those pertaining to weapons."

"Very well," Celestia said. "Before we move on, would anypony like to vote against the proposed?" Not a hoof or claw was raised. "Then it is decided, Andrew Detmer is to withhold all information regarding his world's technology if it can be used to reverse engineer it in Equestria. She looked to the human.

"Lips are sealed." He assured.

She nodded, then disabled the spell behind her, the aura fading away quickly.

"Speaking of the human dying..." Flavius began. "How are we to handle the fact that he is the only one of his kind?"

Ahh, Andrew was wondering how long it would take to reach this topic, Twilight had touched on it, but he was still interested in the details.

"I am also curious," Imari added, "I do not recall there ever being an endling of a sapient race."

"You wouldn't," Celestia agreed. "That is because the last endling was Discord." Celestia stated.

"Discord?" Rox questioned, "But he's the god of chaos, is he not? A one of a kind?"

"Yes, A god of chaos, one of what were once many." She frowned and shook her head. "Though not even I know what befell his race, as he is the only draconequus I have personally met. He never speaks of them, and I choose not to bring it up. But coming back to Andrew, I do have an idea I would like to propose. He will, of course, be granted full Equestrian citizenship, but I believe it would be more prudent to instead grant him universal citizenship across all our nations. Being a stranger to our world, he has already made his plans of prodigious travel open to me, and I believe that this would make such a journey much easier for him.."

There was a short moment of silence as the Summit considered the proposal, then Cadence spoke.

"So long as he remains in good legal standing, he will be treated as an honored guest should he choose to visit the Crystal Empire." Cadence put a hoof to the table.

"Likewise." Imari stated with a nod, repeating the gesture. "Forgiveness is a powerful virtue, and all the more important for those who have yet to forgive themselves. My people would welcome him with open hooves, and would be honored to help him find within himself the peace he may not know he seeks."

Andrew raised a brow at the Zebra, who's eyes were closed at the moment. He wasn't sure what to make of the statement.

Flavius rolled his eyes and placed a claw on the table. Rox only gave a huff and shrug, but from Celestia's nod back at the mutt, it must have somehow been a shrug of agreement.

"He may enter our lands as much as he pleases," Keth began. "But it is up to him to fend for himself."

"I expected as much." Celestia replied. "In addition, due to his status as an endling, he is to be afforded the best possible medical care from any and all hospitals and clinics in Equestria as well as being exempt from the bills that come with them. Said bills are to be sent directly to Canterlot instead." She stopped to make sure everyone was paying attention before continuing. "Furthermore, Andrew does technically represent all of the human presence on our world. Due to this fact, although he is no diplomat, his status speaks for itself and I would like to grant him the same privileges. Such rights include free travel by way of train and carriage, discounted lodgings, should he choose to stay at any inns. One last thing, per a piece of legislation that was passed nearly a millennia ago, all sapient endlings have the right to receive a monthly stipend for the remainder of their natural born lives. It is my own personal belief that, devoid of the possibility of ever seeing his kind again, Andrew should have the flexibility to do with his life as he pleases. As the last of one's kind, an Endling should have the time and freedom to make their mark on the world, as whether they wish to or not, they will be remembered forever as their race's last legacy. Does anypony object to granting Andrew these rights based on his being the first and last human in Equestria?"

There was a long silence in the wake of her words. Andrew definitely perked up at the thought of free money, but his excitement dwindled as Celestia seemed to emphasize the weight of being the 'last' human.

"Very well," she looked to the side and nodded. A few moments later a tan, black maned unicorn mare trotted over with a large scroll and quill and levitated them over to Celestia, who took them in her own magic.

Where did she come from, Andrew thought. Has she been here all this time? It should come as no surprise of course, it was commonplace for someone to transcribe something as important as a summit, much like in a courtroom. It was more so the fact that he was completely unaware of the mare's existence until then that impressed him.

Celestia laid the parchment on the table and began to write something. When she finished she then passed it to Cadence, who did the same before passing it to Rox. It was clear to Andrew now that they were signing the document, which either meant it was being drafted as they were all speaking, or Celestia had somehow prepared it beforehand and didn't expect to encounter any difficulty, which he doubted.

Celestia caught Andrew's eye and said, "I will refrain from boring you with any further details now, but you can expect to receive mail within the next few weeks that address any and all privileges you have been granted. If you still have any questions after that, feel free to send me letter, or, if you truly wish, ask Twilight to bring you to Canterlot so that we may speak face to face."

Andrew only nodded in response as Flavius signed the document, then made to hand it to Andrew when he was stopped by Rox, who mumbled something to the griffon before the document was then handed to Andrew.

As he took the parchment in his hand, and began to examine it, he believed less and less that it could have possibly been drafted live. The small, precise calligraphic lettering held no room for error, and yet there it was in front of him. 'Andrew Detmer, unless otherwise permitted through no less than a three-fifths majority vote by the Equestrian summit, is to withhold all knowledge pertaining to his native technology, should such knowledge be able to be used to reverse engineer said technology.' Celestia had no idea what humans were capable of until this summit so that could only have been added recently. The three-fifths vote wasn't mentioned on the floor though, so he could only assumed that was a common loophole they used.

He grasped the quill in his hand and went to sign the line reserved for him. Or at least, he tried to sign it, as when he did so, only faint streaks of ink were left behind by the quill-tip's movements. He looked at quill skeptically before frowning at Celestia.

"Ughh, I've never actually used a quill before..." He admitted.

"Oh?" Imari said, "then how do you write if not with ink?" The zebra seemed genuinely curious.

"Oh no, we use ink, we just haven't used quills for centuries now..." Again, he was probably exaggerating a bit, but he couldn't be expected to know exactly when pens became obsolete.

"I see," Celestia said as she brought forth and inkwell and gently dipped to tip of the quill into the container, only just barely grazing the surface of the black liquid. While he wanted to say something about how he could have just done it himself, but he probably would have overdone it with the ink. He took the now refreshed quill and went back to signing the paper, only this time, he was a bit too forceful, but by the time he had noticed the thickness of the ink, he had already committed himself to signing his name, so he simply continued to finish.

He felt like his rough, messy signature clashed with the finely written letters of the rest of the document. He couldn't help but notice the lack of any signature s belonging to either Chrysalis or Keth, though it at least made some sense fro the latter, who couldn't grasp a quill if he wanted to.

Chrysalis tsked from across the table as Andrew handed the parchment back to Celestia, who took it in her magic and gave it to the same unicorn mare that brought it.

"With that out of the way, is there anything anypony would like to add or bring up before we move on to discussing the situation regarding Chrysalis?

The changeling huffed at the mention of her name.

When nobody said anything for a moment, the alicorn continued. "Andrew Detmer is now a recognized dignitary of the human race, and will now be allowed all voting rights for the remainder of the summit.

“Now then,” Celestia directed her attention to Chrysalis, who looked back disinterestedly. “I cannot possibly say anything to excuse what you have went through.”

"Please," Chrysalis hissed, "I know better than anypony that you wish Cadence would have finished what you started all those years ago. After all, it is ultimately because you refused to aid us in the beginning that we stand here today."

"Chrysalis," Celestia began in a regretful tone, "I am not the same ruler I once was, I freely admit that at one point I thought less of your kind due to your... dietary nature... but I understand tha—"

"That what!?" Chrysalis bellowed

Andrew blinked in surprise as an upward draft hit him in the face. He looked to his right to see Keth was sniffing the air curiously, the lung power behind the intakes of air enough to pull on him slightly.

"That we aren't parasites?" Chrysalis continued. "That just because we were born as creatures that feed on love doesn't mean we live lives of debauchery!?" She was beginning to raise her voice.

Andrew was looking back and forth from Chrysalis to Keth, who continued to search the air for the source of the smell before the dragon looked toward the changeling and spoke.

"Chrysalis." He said in a low tone, only exaggerating the already low, natural boom of his voice.

"That maybe I didn't deserve to feel firsthand the deaths of all my children?"

"Chrysalis..." Keth repeated.

"That perhaps I don't deserve to have been left sterile at the hooves of your accursed niece!!?" Chrysalis choked on her words as a thin trail of tears streaked down her face, only visible as they glistened in the noon sun.

"Chrysalis..." Keth repeated, noticeably louder than before.

"That I don't deserve to be alone!?" Chrysalis yelled, slamming a bandaged hoof on the table. The action caused a hoof to fall from an opening in the bundle, and it swung back and forth limply for a few moments, unnoticed by the Changeling queen.

There was gasp from both Luna and Cadence as they saw the hoof.

"Chrysalis..." Keth said again, returning to a conversational tone.

"I know." The queen replied without turning her head. The next moment, her horn became wreathed in green, the magical aura flickered intermittently as she lowered lowered her hoof from the table and placed the limp limb back into the bundle before covering it completely. The inside glowed a subdued green for a few moments before Chrysalis cut off her magic and undid the knot behind her neck. She dropped the bundle, where it opened and was promptly taken by the wind, along with the cloud of ash that it contained within.

"Well?" Chrysalis asked as she noticed everyone looking at the cloth as it disappeared under the bench of the mountain. "Do I deserve this?"

Chapter 16

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Andrew stared dumbfounded as the queen composed herself, now sporting a serious expression in stark contrast to the glimmer of moisture along her cheeks.

"W-we could have done something..." Cadence choked out, a hoof held against her mouth as she stared at Chrysalis. "We... we could have. I could have..."

"It was too late to do anything." Chrysalis stated in a clinical tone, the rage and sadness from moments before gone. "We both knew he likely wouldn't survive the journey here." She closed her eyes for a moment as she sighed. "But like I said before, no matter how much I wished to turn away Celestia's envoy, Thorax would have none of it. It wasn't until the fool tried to strike me and only succeeded in adding to his injuries that I agreed to come. If it was up to me, I would have died with him in the Badlands, as a changeling queen with no hive and no means of rebuilding one has no reason to even exist. It is only because of my promise to him that I continue to live." She glanced at Andrew momentarily before closing her eyes and finishing with, "Anyways, enough about that, I believe you have a second endling to deal with."

Cadence was about to speak—presumably to apologize again—but was promptly cut off by Celestia extending a wing.

"No matter how much we may wish to apologize," Celestia began, "Chrysalis has made it clear she does not want to dwell of the past. All we can do is move forward." She waited for Candace to show she would hold her tongue, though it was clear she did so reluctantly. Celestia retracted her wing and said, "To expedite this, I propose that we afford Chrysalis all same titles that we did Andrew, as well as all the rights and privileges they entail. Are there any in disagreement?"

"I am not opposed to the idea," Rox began, "but I would just like to warn both the human and the changeling of something."

warn? Andrew mused. He found himself more intrigued than cautious of notion.

"While my kind is particularly interested in the collection of gems, there is no doubt in my mind that there will be more than a few parties interested in being in possession of such..." The diamond dog gave a toothy grin as he eyed the endlings like they were pieces of meat, "rare, exotic species."

"The same goes for my kind as well." Flavius said. "There would be no better hunting trophy than one from a never before seen species, and an endling at that." He gave Andrew a cautionary look. "Equestria may be a relatively peaceful land, but there are plenty of less than savory groups that couldn't care less for its laws, and would gladly hunt both of you down if only to hold and sell you to the highest bidder. I suggest both of you exercise the utmost caution in the coming months, as it will probably be a race to see who can capture you first..."

"I was actually about to get into that." Celestia added before looking to the endlings. "I regret to say that I agree with Flavius, there will be many individuals looking for their next source of coin, and there would be no greater source than ransoming the life of a sapient endling."

"Well," Andrew started, "I can take care of myself just fine. I mean, the worst thing you guys have is magic, and even that isn't really going to help much."

"So you believe," Celestia quipped, "but am I wrong to assume you had similar thoughts before your death?"

Ouch, Andrew thought with a grimace. She doesn't beat around the bush, huh. The worst part about it all was that she couldn't be more right. That kind of 'apex predator' mindset is exactly what made him go out a rob a gas station, it was that mind set that got him killed.

It was that mind set that drew him away from his mother in her final hours.

The wave of embarrassment turned into gut-wrenching guilt.

From the look of her narrowing eyes, Chrysalis knew exactly what he was feeling, if not why.

He didn't respond to the alicorns words, his silence answer enough for her to continue.

"I admit I thought of this possibility shortly after my first meeting with Andrew, and I assigned several of my guards to Ponyville to assure his safety, as well as Discord himself." She eyed Chrysalis with concern. "While Andrew is currently staying there, I invite you to stay at Canterlot Castle for the time being. You need medical treatment as soon as possible."

Chrysalis scowled at Celestia before sneering, "First your kind shuns and banishes us, then every hive but my own dies off. And finally, in our final effort to save ourselves, you finish the job. Now you formally invite me to Canterlot? To tend to my wounds? To shower me with gold and special treatment simply because I am the final Changeling? The Endling of a race you yourselves drove to such a state that you couldn't finish off?" She turned her snout upwards and closed her eyes. "I am no charity case, and I refuse to be treated as one."

"Chrysalis, this is no time for pride," Luna stated. "This is about your safety."

"To tartarus with that," Chrysalis spat. "I can take care of myself just fine, and in the event that I can't, I will fight to my dyin—" She paused as she snapped her head towards Keth. "Your pity offends me, dragon." There was venom in her words, but the dragon only huffed in response, the action spewing forth puffs of black smoke from his nostrils. She scowled again before declaring, "I refuse your offers of money and protection. I don't need help from you ponies. So long as I am free to move about as I please, I can make do."

"But what of money?" Luna inquired. "What will you do to support yourself?"

"I am a shapeshifter," Chrysalis stated matter-of-factually, "I am certain I can figure something out."

"Chrysalis." Celestia said in a calm tone. "Are you absolutely sure that you wish to turn down our financial support and protection? I will not force you into something you don't want, but this is a decision that will affect the rest of your life. Are you sure?"

"As sure as I was when I promised my hive I would free them from the wretched lives we were living." She scowled, looking away from the solar alicorn to meet Cadenza's gaze. "In a twisted way, I suppose I kept that promise."

"You are making a mistake," Rox warned the changeling. "I can see it in your eyes, you are too used to hiding behind the security of your hive, too inexperienced in actual combat. Even with your magic, you will not last on your own..."

"You do not decide what is best for me mutt!" Chrysalis spat, then turned toward Andrew, speaking to him directly for the first time. "And what of you, human? You know very well you don't need the security of the god of chaos. You claim you can take care of yourself, but I don't see you relinquishing the safety blanket she provided you."

Andrew tsked at her words, and was about to reply until Rox did so first.

"Unlike you, changeling, the human appears to actually have the mettle to back up his words."

"You curr!" Chrysalis spat, "I will have you know that I bested Celestia the day I invaded Canterlot." She smirked, relishing in the verbal victory.

"The only reason I lost," Celestia began to explain, "is because we were surrounded by my subjects. The love you fed on made you powerful, I'll give you that, but that only made it all the more necessary to regulate my own magic, lest the integrity of the castle would be jeopardized, as well as all the lives inside."

Chrysalis gave a quizzical frown, unsure of the validity of the alicorns statement. She remembered clearly the moment that they had clashed in a magical battle of supremacy. Celestia seemed to be winning with ease in the beginning, but she managed to overtake the alicorn by flaring the love energy she had collected from Shining Armor, nearly using all of it up at once in doing so. Perhaps she was lying? No, that couldn't be right, Celestia was brimming with confidence when she spoke.

"That is irrelevant." Chrysalis decided to say. "I still won regardless."

Keth tsked, smoke leaking through his teeth. "My time is wasted with this nonsense." His eyes shifted between the changeling queen and Andrew before he re-positioned himself, as if readying to push away from the mountain. "Unlike the rest of you, I am not content with standing idly by listening to apologies and passive aggressive banter.” He focused his attention on Chrysalis and flared his nostrils, the resulting gust of air pulling on the changeling's mane. "If you do not get medical attention soon, not only will you lose your foreleg to infection, but your hind leg will become permanently lame"

Chrysalis glared at the drake before she turned to look at the rest of the summit attendees. "They all had a chance to save us, and that time is long passed."

Andrew noticed the Changeling cast a glance his way, and he could have sworn her eyes narrowed in that moment.

Chrysalis mentally cursed herself. She knew more than anyone how serious her current predicament was, the stabbing pain she felt all over her body wouldn't allow her to forget. She wouldn't dare put her safety in the hooves of the ones who had destroyed her life, or those that stood by and watched.

She felt another wave of curiosity from the human, and without thinking, shot him a glare. Surprisingly, The human's emotions were extremely, almost unnaturally concentrated, and drowned her with emotional stimuli, leaving her unable to sense anything but him for a few moments. Unfortunately, no matter how intense it was, curiosity wasn't palatable. It only served to remind her of her malnourished state. In the moment that they locked eyes, the curiosity was accompanied by a tinge of familiarity. This piqued her own curiosity.

Ever since she had arrived, she had been bombarded with hate, disdain, pity, and more negative emotions that didn't even have names. The human however—for the most part—had only been exuding constant feelings of interest. Why he felt how he did, she couldn't understand. Was she not just as alien to him as every other being present?

"What about the human?" Rox suggested.

"What?" She and Andrew said at the same time, causing them to share a glance at each other before looking back to alpha.

"What about me?" Andrew asked.

"I mean," Rox started, "that you are the only one here the changeling holds no opinion of, negative or otherwise, while also fully capable of defending yourself..."

Luna said, "Wait, you're not suggesting..."

"That Andrew be assigned to the protection of Chrysalis." Celestia finished quizzically.

Andrew gave Chrysalis a quizzical look, and she returned it with one of her own. He was at a loss for words, and if the changelings raised brow was anything to go by, she was just as lost as him.

The moment Celestia finished, Chrysalis could feel the area grow thick with surprise. Of course, it was only a moment later that she couldn't help but focus on the Andrew's emotions, by choice or otherwise. There was an initial gust of shock—that was to be expected, and one need only look at the human's face to asses as much— but that was quickly replaced with other emotions as he presumably thought over the proposal. Shock made way for confusion, perhaps he was wondering 'why me?' Or maybe he doubted his ability to defend himself and another? No, that couldn't be right, he was plenty confident in himself. Wait... That was definitely a pang of regret she felt from him, accompanied by a bit of mourning no less. That particular combination of emotions could only mean one thing... He either directly or indirectly caused the death of someone he cared about. This couldn't go back to his mother, as she was already at death's door. No, this was someone else.

"You must be jesting," Luna protested. "Andrew hasn't been in Equestria for a week and you want to force such a responsibility upon him?"

"Of course not," Flavius answered. "The human could simply refuse and that would be the end of it. Besides, it will still come down to Chrysalis's approval."

"I am inclined to agree with my sister," Celestia commented. "Andrew is still a stranger to our world, I cannot —" She suddenly interrupted by Flavius.

"—With all due respect princess," the griffin began, "Andrew was just given the rights and freedoms of a normal Equestrian citizen, as well as those of, for all intents and purposes, a foreign dignitary. His decisions are his own. That said..." He looked over to the lone changeling, then the displaced human. "What will it be? I am certain that Celestia would be willing to compensate you for you trouble.

Chrysalis again focused on the human's emotions. There was small flare of greed at the mention of money, but it was only momentary. The regret was still there, but had died down significantly. She had a momentary feeling of imbalance, and leaned forward against the table to steady herself.

Andrew knew the summit would be a bit stressful, but he certainty didn't imagine having to choose between protecting someone he didn't even know, for who knows what length of time, or leaving them alone to most likely get kidnapped and ransomed, possibly killed. He wasn't like Matt, he couldn't see himself as some hero going around using his powers to help people. But this was different. He probably wouldn't even be here if he hadn't lost control of his powers during that storm and killed Steve. He regretted killing however many people he did right before Matt had stopped him, sure. But he would be lying if he said he lost sleep because of that. Steve was different. Steve was his best friend. He was probably the one person that could have prevented him from going postal.

"I'll do it." He stated. He would do it because that's the kind of thing Steve would want him to do, and his mother too. He would never be an altruist like Matt, that simply wasn't him. But, at the very least, he was willing to do this one thing. He looked to Chrysalis, who in turn gave him an amused grin.

"How intriguing..." Chrysalis mused with a chuckle. "Very well, I suppose I can accept the human as a guard, if only to see how this plays out."

"I do not think this is a good idea either," Imari stated. "But it is as Flavius said, we can do nothing unless they are stripped of the citizenship they were just given. So long as both parties are willing, I suppose we must simply accept it."

"Fine," Celestia relented, before directing her next words. "But Discord will continue to supervise and observe you, as well as chrysalis, for the next month, at least until you have properly acclimated to Equestria."

Andrew shrugged. That seemed agreeable enough.

"And Chrysalis," Celestia continued, "Until that time comes, I must insist that you be admitted to Starswirl hospital in Canterlot. The sooner we see to... Chrysalis?"

The changeling was staring glassy eyed at Andrew.

"Chrysalis?" Flavius said, trying to get her attention.

The queen's collapse was just as swift as it was silent. That is, until the right side of the queens muzzle smacked loudly against the table on its way to the ground below.

Instantly, a guard was at the queens side.

"Chrysalis!" He barked as he lowered himself to the ground. "She's burning up with fever!" He called out, "Scarlet! The table!"

“Yes sir!” A unicorn guard responded, then rushed forward and hollered, “Everypony back away!” His horn shone crimson as a similar hue encased the table. Not needing to be told twice, everyone took several steps back as the table was tilted away from chrysalis’s collapsed form.

Andrew could hear several hushed conversations coming from the other delegates, the distraction causing him to nearly be struck by the corner of the table. Being directly opposite the changeling at the end of the table, he had to move the furthest. He could now clearly make out Chrysalis on the ground, her frizzled mane was covering her face, the tips tinted red from the freely flowing blood exiting her muzzle. Celestia was halfway to the scene when she began to take control of the situation, the summit all but forgotten in the following moments.

“Flash Sentry!” She called out. “Ready a carriage and stretcher." Sentry only gave a quick nod before barking out orders of his own. The guard next to Chrysalis moved out of the way as she examined the changeling. Using her magic, she loosened the cloth wrapped around Chrysalis’s foreleg and raised it in such a way that only she and the guards behind her would be able to see what was concealed underneath.

Most of the guards managed to suppress their disgust, but one weak-stomached stallion took one look before rushing to the edge of the mountain and expelled his breakfast, much to the dragon’s disgust.

“There is nothing we can do for her here,” Celestia said. Her stoic expression leaving no room for emotion “Her wound is severely infected, I fear she may be suffering from septicemia, if not worse. She looked at one of the pegasi. “Fleeting Wind, I need you to fly to Canterlot—”

“Ponyville is closer.” Luna interjected. “And if you're correct, we have no time to waste.”

Celestia gave her sister a nod of agreement and looked back at Fleeting, “Ponyville it is Then.” “Head straight to Ponyville General Hospital and have them prepare a room for Chrysalis, as well as a team of their best doctors.

Fleeting gave a silent salute before turning around and taking flight toward the quaint town in the distance. Just as he disappeared below the edge of the mountain, a carriage was pulled over the side and onto the ground by a team of pegasi. Moving as an organized unit, a team of three unicorns rushed to the carriage and removed a stretcher from inside before hurrying to the Changeling. They were meticulously careful in using their magic to lift Chrysalis onto the stretcher, and another guard—presumably a medic—began examining the changeling even as she was being placed in the carriage. Just before it was to take off, Cadence sprung from her spot, gliding between the delegates and past Celestia, landing next to the carriage.

“Wait!” Cadence yelled, “Chrysalis is a changeling, she needs love to survive." She pointed to herself with a fore hoof. "Love that I can provide.” Her words were filled with determination, but her expression was uncertain.

“Are you certain?” Celestia asked. "How?"

“I am the embodiment of love, auntie,” Cadence Answered. “I'm hoping that I might be able to sate her hunger with my magic alone.”

Celestia considered her words for only a moment before nodding. “Very well, It’s worth a try. Please go on ahead, I will be there shortly.”

Cadence thanked Celestia before rushing to the carriage and closing the door behind her. A guard off to the side gave a signal to the leading pegasi, and they wasted no time in taking off.

Andrew tsked. He had decided to protect Chrysalis because he felt that's what Steve would have done, or even Matt for that matter, would have done in his place. It was supposed to be his way of atoning for what he did to Steve on that stormy night, something he himself still didn't understand.

He took his best friends life, so he would protect 'Chrysalis' to make up for it. He was fully aware of how selfish he was being by only 'atoning' for Steve's life, out of the dozens that he took. But he wouldn't lie to himself and pretend to care about the others, that just wasn't him.

Keth watched silently as Celestia apologized to everyone for cutting the summit short, despite the fact that it was very much nearing the end when the Changeling Queen fainted. He was surprised that he was the only one who saw it coming. He could smell her sorry state the moment she exited her carriage. The whelp she was carrying had absolutely stank of death, he even caught the scent of gangrene coming from it. Sometimes, only sometimes, he envied the lesser races and their horribly dull senses.

He ignored the eldest alicorn and looked back at the human. An interesting specimen, to say the least. When he looked into the biped's eyes, he was met with such a dense concentration of hostility that he could easily mistake the creature for a feral manticore. Of course, the human posed no actual danger to him, that much he could infer. Of course, that was to be expected, as very few things could stand against a dragon, even less so one of his age and size. If he so wanted, he could easily eviscerate the ape with a single talon, but such a thing was beneath him. He was no whelpling, looking for every opportunity to prove his worth, he was perfectly content with merely observing. It wasn't every millennia that one could bear witness to a new species.

After the carriage containing the dying Changeling flew off, Keth took a moment to observe the proceedings below. He was less interested in the hushed conversations between the many guards and delegates, than he was in the state of the human. He could smell the scent of stress on the biped, presumably from the embarrassment of accepting the job of protecting Chrysalis, only to have her likely die within the same hour. He suppressed a chuckle, and was about to speak when the human said something under his breath, but clear to the dragon's keen ears. It sounded somewhat like a curse. Before he could say anything, the human shot away from the summit at breakneck speeds, flying right past his shoulder in the process.

He blinked in surprise as his body moved against his will, his left side being pushed back. He had to tighten his grip on the sides of the mountain lest he lose his balance. The mountain shook in protest from the strain he was causing it in his shifting, and he gave a few hearty flaps of his wings to right himself, much to the detriment of those below. He hissed as he snapped his head back toward the human, who was already fast approaching the carriage. To his surprise, just as the human was supposed to overtake and shoot ahead of the vehicle, it suddenly sped up right behind him, matching his speed.

"What in the blazes!?" Shouted one of the griffin guards, regaining his footing from the earthquake that Keth had just caused.

"Never mind that, how in tartarus did that thing fly without wings!?" Questioned Flavius.

"Damn it," Celestia said through gritted teeth, losing her composure momentarily at seeing Andrew's reckless exit. If she had her way, she would have the human stay in Canterlot where she could keep a close on him. She was already beginning to regret giving the human his titles. He may be an adult in age, but his actions were clearly that of a child.

"I'll go after him!" Luna called out as she galloped towards the edge of the mountain, before unfurling her wings and taking flight.

"Celestia... Keth said with a hiss, earning the alicorn's attention, as well as that of everyone present by virtue of his loud, commanding voice. He could still feel a lingering pressure in his shoulder. He hadn't expected the human to be able to fly, but what truly surprised the dragon was the force that propelled him. Kethitus had never heard of telekinesis being used to fly. The last unicorn he was aware of dabbling in the possibility was Starswirl, but nothing came of it. There was no pain, as it was more akin to if another dragon had bumped into him. But that itself was the problem, the only beings that could produce such a force were beasts of roughly equal size to him, and the alicorns. He didn't like it. He brought his claw down on the area that Andrew had been standing in and with a grinding sound, scraped the square section of carpet away.

Underneath the carpet was a spiderweb of cracks, the slight but visible indentation a permanent reminder of the force that the bench was subjected to.

"I sincerely apologize Keth," Celestia started, "Andrew has been like this since his arrival. He-"

She was cut off by the Keth.

"Forget it," He he said.

Rox tried to ask, "Did Andrew really almost-"

"Make me lose my balance? Yes." Keth confirmed. He was not a coward, and refused to hide his shame. He was caught off guard, and he suffered for it. Such was the way of the world. "Andrew said he first 'received' his powers months ago, and that he has only grown stronger with time." The drake narrowed his eyes as he said his next words. "Celestia, you and the element of magic are attempting to figure out how his powers work, so... are there limits?"

Celestia frowned at the question. "We don't know." She admitted. "His powers are nothing like magic, so much so, in fact, that it reacts violently with our magic, as you saw. This isn't as easy as testing for magical aptitude in unicorns. His powers don't even leave any trace that they were ever used after the fact, something that my student has just recently discovered."

"And what of Chrysalis?" Imari inquired. "How grave are her wounds? I'm afraid I am not familiar with the medical terms you used, is she going to make it?"

"Her wounds are life-threatening," Celestia admitted gravely. "I can't say for certain if we caught it in time, all we can do is hope for the best…”

Chapter 17

View Online

Andrew sat in the hall of a hospital idly fiddling with his deck of cards. The sterile smell that came with the medical environment was something he doubted he could get used to. He had arrived at the front door of the hospital only moments after Fleeting had relayed the message to the staff, and there was already a team of doctors ready to take the unconscious changeling into their care. The guards gave him an earful about how he could have made matters worse with the sudden acceleration of the carriage, but nothing actually happened, so he paid the guard's words no mind.

"Andrew!" Called out a familiar voice from across the room.

He looked up to see that the voice belonged to Spike, who was riding atop Twilight's back.

"What's all this about Chrysalis being in the hospital!?" The young drake demanded. "What's going on?"

Andrew stood and pocketed his cards before sitting back down. "Do you want the short version or the long one?" He asked.

"The full story," Twilight said. "What exactly happened over there? What's wrong with Chrysalis?" Despite her personal opinions regarding the queen of the changelings, she was genuinely worried. She had never actually tried to see things from the ‘villain's’ perspective before Andrew had aired his interpretation of the events. She still believed that Chrysalis could have easily spoken with Celestia peacefully instead of resorting to attacking Canterlot. Either way, she felt that she understood why Chrysalis went about things the way she did. Even if she didn't agree with the changeling's methods, she understood her motivation. Of course, she still couldn't completely accept that Celestia was both aware about the Changeling's plight, and choosing to ignore it. That simply wasn't Celestia. She optimistically hoped that Chrysalis recovered quickly, and that her and her hive could slowly begin to integrate into society, the right way.

After all, if the physical embodiment of chaos and disorder could be reformed, why couldn't the changelings?

Andrew sighed, "Alright, I'll skip some of the harsher details for the sake of time."

Twilight listened with a hoof over her mouth as Andrew revealed all that he learned at the summit regarding Chrysalis, and what became of her hive in the aftermath of the Invasion. Andrew claimed he would withhold the more gruesome pieces of information, but Twilight found that hard to believe, as merely the idea of so many lives lost was enough to upset her stomach.

"What about the other one?" Spike asked. "You said Chrysalis brought another changeling right? Where is he? Is he being seen by the doctors too?"

Before Andrew had a chance to reply, a white furred, blue maned nurse approached the trio, a clipboard and quill in her turquoise magical grasp.

"Hello Mr. Detmer," The mare greeted the human without taking her eyes off the clipboard, a slight frown adorning her face. "My name is Cool Remedy, I have some news about Chrysalis."

"And?" Andrew asked the distracted nurse, who was still scribbling away on the parchment. A moment after finishing, she looked to Twilight and spike before settling on the human.

"I won't beat around the bush," Remedy prefaced. "Frankly, I haven't the slightest idea how she survived this long with her wounds. Fractured femur, broken muzzle, a section of her leg almost perfectly flayed and infected, three broken ribs, a—"

"We get it," Andrew said, raising a palm. "I don't care how amazing it is that she's still alive, is she going to stay alive is what we need to know."

"Er… Right." She replied with a nod. "Chrysalis is in surgery at the moment, and it's going to be several hours at least, even more if there are any complications."

"And what about Cadence, is she in there too?" He inquired. "I haven't seen her since we got here, she just went in with all of the other doctors."

"Princess Cadence is helping with the surgery," Remedy explained. "She believes that feeding her magic directly into Chrysalis might help with her need for love."

"And? Is it actually helping?" Spike asked.

"We can't be sure just yet," the nurse admitted with a solemn shake of her head. "At the very least, Chrysalis's breathing and heart rate steadied right after Cadence began providing her with her own magic. It could just as well be a coincidence, but right now Chrysalis needs anything we can possibly give her to save her life. So long as there's a chance it might be working, it's worth trying."

"But what if one of the doctors hates changelings?" Spike thought aloud, not exactly expecting a response. "What's stopping them from..." He didn't need to finish for the implication to set in.

"Spike!?" Twilight gasped, looking at the dragon atop her back in shocked anger. "How could you even suggest—"

"No-no, I can understand his concern," The nurse interrupted, "what with the recent attack on Canterlot and everything, I can certainly understand why certain individuals would be willing to..." She shook her head and said, "I can assure you, every doctor in this hospital would do whatever it takes to save their patient, regardless of species and personal prejudices. All the more when the life of an endling is on the line."

"What!? An endling!?" Twilight exclaimed. "Th-that's horrible!" She looked to Andrew for answers.

"Like I told you," he began, "whatever Cadence did, it killed almost her entire hive. The ones that survived sacrificed themselves to save her, and the last one died at the summit." It was too late now, but he wondered if he was even allowed to divulge those details.

The first thing that she became aware of was the warmth of the bed she lay atop of. It wasn't the most comfortable mattress she had slept in, but there weren't exactly many opportunities to indulge in such luxuries when living in the Badlands. The most one could hope for there was a particularly soft mound of sand, or if one was lucky, a smooth, concave boulder. She took a few moments to appreciate her bed, then shuffled, changing her position. Accompanying the action was a series of cracks... That wasn't right, beds should creak, not crack.

She felt movement beneath her, causing further confusion. With more effort than should be necessary, she strained her eyes open, to see that she was lying on her side. She looked toward the ground, searching for the source of the unpleasant sound.

Instead, she saw bodies.

The bodies of her children.

Her eyes shot open in horror. She tried to scream, but only managed a coarse wheeze. She could barely breathe. She shuffled again, the action once again accompanied by a series of cracks. She couldn't tell if it was her bones that were breaking, or those of the bodies below her. She couldn't feel any pain, but she knew she was not without injuries, the pain would come... in time.

Her lips trembled as she took in the sight of the bodies below her. There had to be at least two dozen below her, in varying states of... wholeness. She brought a hoof to her face, only for it to come away a gooey mess. Confused by the substance, she strained her neck, looking back to the 'pillow' she had been using.

It was a head... At least, she thought it was a head; there was an empty eye socket towards the bottom, something that resembled the remnants of a horn. But this... thing... was more akin to an opened clam than a head. She turned away, looking for open ground in her immediate vicinity, but had no choice but to empty her stomach onto what were once her progeny.

She heard a squawk off to the side, and turned to see the source of the noise as she wiped the filth from her muzzle. Impaled on one of the branches of a dead, leafless tree was the body of one of her children. Well... the front half, as the other was on the ground below, still connected to its other half by...

A trio of vultures were fighting over the remnants of the corpse.

She tried to yell in protest of the scavenger's actions, but again, she could only wheeze. She tried to stand. That's when the feeling in her body came back in full force.

Her vision went white from the sheer intensity of the pain assaulting her mind. It felt like her entire body was on fire. She tried to scream yet again, and couldn't even tell if she was successful this time from the ringing in her ears. Despite the pain, she could still feel the cracks in the bodies below her. She lied there, unmoving, paralyzed in her pain. When her vision finally cleared and the pain subsided just enough to not occupy the entirety of her focus, she found herself slightly lower in the hill of bodies she originally woke up on. She cast a quick spell to dull the pain in her body. She knew that exhausting her magic was a bad idea in this situation, but she would be rendered completely helpless from the pain otherwise. She stood again, cursing herself at the breakage of chitin and bone alike below her. She fell into a coughing fit, and spit out a blood clot of worrying size. Her breathing eased somewhat after that, but she didn't dare examine her body for injuries, terrified of what she would find. Even without physically checking, there was one thing she knew for certain, something only a changeling queen could instinctively feel. She pushed the unpleasant thought from her mind and thought back to invasion.

It was supposed to be a last ditch effort to save her children, her race.They knew of the risk, that was the first thing she made them aware of, and she wouldn't force any of her subjects to go through with it if they didn't wish to. Somehow, the hive had unanimously agreed to spend a month carefully harvesting and rationing the already low supply of love they had access to in the hopes of gathering just enough strength to launch the attack. Dozens of her subjects willingly gave their lives simply so their siblings would have that much more sustenance.

How long has it been since the attack? She looked up to the sky, and was greeted by Luna's moon looking back at her. At least several hours, maybe more. It couldn't have been more than a day, as there was no stench of decay, not yet at least. She set her gaze back down, now examining the surrounding area. Changeling eyes were well suited for darkness. That, combined with the light of the moon made it easy for her to take in the arid region. It was a very rocky area, which meant they must have landed somewhere in the Eastern Badlands. Dead trees lightly littered the landscape, and off in the distance were the tall, steep mountains that worked so well at closing the badlands off from the rest of Equestria.

Chrysalis opened her elytra, the hard, protective casings on her back, and attempted to unfold her wings. Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, she discovered that her hind wings were missing. However, they weren't simply ripped or torn, it was more like they were cleanly burned away. It must have happened as she was being blown away, in her desperate attempt to right herself. She, as well as the rest of her hive, likely tried to right themselves in the air, unknowingly exposing their sensitive wing membranes to the magical blast that was all too eager to take away the one thing that may have saved them. That also explained why her children had resorted to acting as a meat shield for her in her unconsciousness. She paid her wings no mind; they would grow back rather quickly, if she survived her injuries.

She felt something tickling her fore hoof, and looked down to examine the cause. At the bottom of her hoof was a thick strip of flayed skin, the chitin layer above it crumbling slightly at every movement. The strip stretched further up her hoof before finally connecting to her skin. Strange, there was a dull throb where the exposed flesh met the air, but other than that, the spell did it's job well in addling her pain receptors.

She began to scan the area for potential survivors, starting with the... pile... that she awoke upon. She didn't even consider searching the crushed bodies at the bottom, or the broken bodies in the middle. She moved carefully atop the pile, only stepping on those she knew were lifeless, the crunching of chitin made her flinch with every step as she searched for signs of life. After a few minutes, she finally stepped off onto solid ground. She couldn't cry, she wouldn't cry. She was back in the Badlands, there wasn't enough water to waste on crying, she had learned that long ago, as did her hive after her. Tears were a waste of resources and nothing more.

She made her way around the area, checking the bodies of those were didn't already look... unfit for life. There were many boulders in this area, and she would have to take her time checking behind and on top of each. She heard the vultures behind indulging themselves in her absence, but she didn't turn back. There was nothing to save there. She continued looking for survivors in an ever increasing circle, the mound she woke up in serving as the center. On her right was a boulder, the body of a changeling resting in front of it, broken from the impact along the surface of the rock. She walked on, her steps just a little less confident. She was already desensitized to death, one had to be to live in the Badlands. However, she was used to her subjects passing from thirst, or from hunger both physical and emotional, not from being torn apart, nor from caved in heads. Every now and then she would wretch from the sights around her, her stomach trying it's hardest to expel food and fluids that were no longer there.

She heard a sound behind her, and looked back, her ears perking up as she waited, uncertain if it was all in her head. At once, she heard another whimper, high pitched and feminine, just as the head of a vulture poked up behind the boulder while it looked to the sky and swallowed something down its gullet.

She galloped towards it and jumped on top of the over sized rock, the pain in her legs and body flaring, even while dulled.

The scavenger saw the queen coming and squawked begrudgingly as it took to the sky. Food was plentiful at the moment, and it had no qualms with giving up its current meal to the creature.

Chrysalis jumped down to the changeling, who was lying in the fetal position facing away from her. She went to wrap her hooves around her child's midsection only to quickly retract her limbs when her daughter groaned from the touch.

"I-I'm so sorry." Chrysalis stammered, unable to think of what else to say. With a quick peek over her child's form, she could see that the vulture had had its way with her eyes, the first part of the body that birds typically go for, before starting on the other end... With a quick, if flickering glow of her horn, Chrysalis numbed the dying changeling's pain, just as she had done her own.

The changeling let out a contented sigh of relief before uttering, "M-Mom?"

Chrysalis bit her lip, one of her fangs drawing blood. It was extremely rare for one of her subjects to address her so casually. While she did enjoy the maternal address, she was her hive's queen first, and their mother second. "I'm so sorry, Kara," She repeated, unable to look her daughter in the eye, even if she was unable to return the gaze.

"About what?" Kara asked

"This is all my fault." Chrysalis stated. "If I didn't decide to attack Canterlot, we could have at least died in the relative comfort of our hive. Instead..."

"We died trying?"

"What if there was another way?" Chrysalis said, fighting to hold back her tears, unwilling to show her emotions in front of her subject.

"What else could we have done?" Kara asked, "From the scouts that we sent to the south, the ones to return only spoke of death. The west is nothing but trees as far as the eye can see, and the north is like the east, except once you exit the forest, there isn't civilization for several days journey. To the east are deadly swamps, and right after that is a lake so vast we wouldn't survive the journey across."

"The Ocean." Chrysalis corrected with a smile as she lied down next to her daughter, it was clear at this point that she was paralyzed from the neck down, as even the absence of pain didn't give her the excuse to move. Kara gasped at the feeling of Chrysalis wrapping her hooves around her, but there was no discomfort behind the sound. "It's not a lake, Kara," Chrysalis continued. "It's called the ocean, more specifically, the Celestial sea, which is only a small part of the ocean." The younger changeling never did attend her lessons, always risking her life making treacherous journeys to nearby pony villages to make use of her 'filly cuteness' to garner affection from the locals, before bringing it back to the hive. It was something that the hive as a whole appreciated, but Chrysalis would scold her each and every time for her reckless behavior, and each and every time Kara would promise not to do it again, only to go missing again several weeks later, possibly never to return.

"But Kara." Chrysalis said skeptically, "If the east is just the impassable sea, and the south and west are devoid of civilization, and the north has too many obstacles before reaching a decent love source, where in Equestria could we possibly go to feed ourselves?

Kara smiled, she of all changelings should know the answer to this. "North-west." She stated simply.

"Oh? What about the North-west?" Chrysalis asked.

"North west of our hive is a road," Kara began, "Follow it for a day and a half, and you reach the northern exit of the Badlands. Then you follow the road for a few days more, and—"

"Follow the road?" Chrysalis asked. “Isn't that dangerous? Won't you get spotted easily by carriages before you have a chance to shapeshift?"

"No." Kara stated with a weak giggle. "Nopony travels south on that road because it only leads to the badlands!"

"And?" Chrysalis inquired.

"Nothing is in the badlands but sand and rock."

"But?"

"But we live here! But most ponies don't know that, so we're safe!"

"So you do pay attention in class?"

Kara giggled again, the action interrupted by a cough, then a subsequent spit of blood.

"Continue, please," Chrysalis said softly. "You don't have to worry about carriages, so..."

"So there's no need to waste precious love energy to change form until you start to see the town."

"And what is the town called?"

"Dodge city," Kara answered. "Usually, it can be a really good place to get love."

"Why only usually?" Chrysalis asked.

"Because ponies there are mean sometimes!" Kara said angrily.

It was Chrysalis's turn to giggle. "And why is that?"

"Because last time I was there, not a single pony came to my 'free hugs' booth! Can you believe that! Not a single one!" Kara tied to shout, though it came out in a tone only slightly louder than conversational.

"Impossible." Chrysalis said as she used her magic to gently raise the changeling upwards, bringing Kara's head to rest on her neck, hugging her daughter's withers as she acted as a pillow for the younger changeling. "Who could ever deny such an adorable creature her justly due hug."

"Exactly!" Kara agreed.

"Then again," Chrysalis mused, "I suppose you have lost your filly charms, so such a method would come across as strange coming from a mare your age.”

"Hey!" Kara protested.

"What? I only speak the truth," Chrysalis said. "You're no filly anymore, you will have to start working for your love from now on, instead of relying on handouts."

"I can take care of myself!" Kara said defensively.

"Oh really? How so?"

"Last time I was in Dodge city, a colt called my booth stupid and bucked it down."

Chrysalis felt a brow twitch in anger. "That wasn't very kind of him, what did you do in return?"

"I bit him." Kara stated happily. "I made him believe I was his sister for the rest of the day!"

"Is that so!" Chrysalis laughed. "I didn't know you had developed queen venom."

"Hmm?" Kara hummed.

"Looks like you missed that lesson." Chrysalis said. "It's something that only changeling queens have. It's not anything of legend, but it is very rare for a typical changeling to acquire such an ability. It's a rather pleasant coincidence really."

"How so?" Kara inquired.

"Because," Chrysalis said, "I was planning on making you the next queen, once I had grown too old to sustain the hive, just as my mother did for me. Like you, I too had grown my venom glands before being made a queen. I was rather small at the time, even for a changeling, and suddenly, after word got out that I had queen venom, I was suddenly treated with respect second only to our mother, as if I had suddenly grown up overnight."

"Oh," Kara responded silently.

They stayed there for a long while, Chrysalis content with the gentle shifting of the young changeling's body as her chest expanded and contracted against her own. She used her magic as necessary to swat away the flies looking for exposed flesh in which to lay their eggs, though her attention was split between her own flayed hoof—which she could as least haphazardly close up—and Kara's eye sockets. She renewed the pain numbing spell on herself and Kara.

In the back Chrysalis's mind, an intrusive thought flared to life, that she was wasting her time on somepony that couldn't be saved. Time better spent searching for those that might actually stand a chance at living through this. Kara interrupted the thought for her as she spoke.

"Mom?" The grown changeling asked.

"Yes, Kara?" Chrysalis said.

"What was your mother like?"

Chrysalis stayed silent for moment, thinking of what to say in response.

"Pestilence," Chrysalis began, "as well as her mother before her, dreamed of peace with the ponies..." She paused again. "With no success, of course."

"Right..." Kara agreed. "But, what did they try?"

"Well, from what my mother told me, her grandmother had tried to bridge the gap between our species after the war, but—"

"War?" Kara questioned. "What war?"

"The Changeling War is what the ponies used to call it, but it's been several centuries since then, so I doubt it's commonly known about these days. Anyways, shortly after our defeat, most of the surviving queens and their hives were hunted down and eradicated."

"But why?" Kara asked. "The war was over, So why would somepony do that?"

"Because we're changelings." Chrysalis stated. "We are beings that require the love and affection of other races to sustain ourselves, and posses the means to do so whether they like it or not. That's just the way things are, as they have always been. That colt that you made to believe was your brother, I can only assume that was the first time you forcefully extracted love from somepony. There are physical and mental side effects to being so emotionally drained. I could have trained you to extract love at a steady, unnoticeable rate. Think about it from that colt's perspective. How would you feel if you suddenly came to your senses and remember that your sibling, who you loved dearly only moments before, was not only never actually your sibling, but clearly something that could bend you to its will with a bite.

"Umm, confused?" Kara answered.

"And?" Chrysalis egged on.

"Scared?"

"Precisely." Chrysalis agreed. "They fear us for what we can do, and for good reason. Right after the war, Equestria as a whole feared that anyone they knew could be foalnapped and replaced with a changeling, so the more zealous among them banded together, and finished off the already weak remnants of our race."

"But..." Kara started. "The ponies in Dodge city make Celestia out to be such a kind and gentle ruler. Even if we were at war, she doesn't seem like the type to just stand by and let another race get killed off."

"Then Celestia is either a different mare than before," Chrysalis suggested, "or they don't know their own ruler. The hives that survived the genocide, Celestia banished from Equestria.”

"Even us?" The changeling mare asked.

"Yes and no," Chrysalis started. "Yes, our hive was exiled, but while the other hives died out, be it in the frozen north, or the perilous jungles to the south and west, our ancestors were left to die here in the Badlands."

"But we survived!" Kara said excitedly.

"That's right, my little changeling, we lived just barely close enough to pony kind that we were able to hang on by a thread. Over the centuries, three queens have sought Celestia's aid, at the same time putting themselves at her mercy."

"But if she didn't decide to kill us, why leave us to suffer?" Kara questioned.

"Who knows," Chrysalis said. "Perhaps she simply didn't see us as a threat any longer, and figured she need only wait a few more centuries before we die out. She's lived this long after all, she may as well be immortal. What are a few centuries, a few generations of changelings, to her? Perhaps she expected us to attempt to cross the sea and hopelessly try to live off the love of the brutish dragons, or the feral diamond dogs."

There was a long moment of silence after that, before Kara spoke.

"Where is everypony else? I've only heard your voice since waking up."

Chrysalis said nothing, only squeezing her daughter that much tighter.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Kara?"

"Why are you with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep wasting your energy making sure I can't feel myself dyi-"

"You are NOT dying!" Chrysalis snapped back, interrupting her daughter. She spoke her next words more softly, mindful of the ears only inches away from her muzzle. "You are not going to die, Kara."

"You should be looking for survivors, not wasting your time on me." Kara suggested.

"Last I checked, I found a survivor right here." Chrysalis said. "So, do you have any other questions for me that you should have learned from the lessons you skipped?"

"Just two." Kara said. "Do you think Celestia might have actually helped us this time? If instead of attacking Canterlot, we just asked one last time for help?"

Chrysalis frowned at the question before saying, "No." The queen rubbed her cheek into her daughter's, the smaller changeling humming at the contact, "Nothing short of the face of a pouting filly Kara would be capable of thawing such an ice-cold heart. Unfortunately, we no longer have such a miraculous trump card at our disposal. What was your other question?"

"Umm, we need love to live, but we have to mostly rely on ponies to provide it. My question is, Why can't we just feed ourselves?" She started sniffling. "Wh-what is it that we're missing that ponies have? Why can't we l-love each other like they do? What if what we think we're feeling isn't even L-"

"Shh, Kara, it's ok." Chrysalis cooed.

"But I'm scared." Kara whimpered. "I don't wanna die."

"You aren't going to die." Chrysalis assured her.

Kara stayed silent this time, knowing that her mother wouldn't relent in her empty promises. She didn't understand why her mother continued to lie to her, as there was no doubt in either of their minds that she wouldn't last very long. Before Chrysalis had arrived, even before the vulture had noticed her paralysis, and had its way with her eyes, she knew she wasn't long for this world. She didn't know if it was a head injury, or a strike to her spine that had caused her paralysis, all she knew was that she could still feel pain from her extremities. She knew what a broken bone felt like from her many journeys outside of the Badlands, and she didn't have to be a doctor to know that most of bones in her body were in a less than ideal state. Her train of thought was interrupted when Chrysalis continued speaking.

"Going back to the topic of feeding ourselves," Chrysalis began, "there is an old changeling folk tale that speaks of a day wherein a changeling will learn to produce love within himself, and will share his love freely with the rest of his hive. After that day comes to pass, never again will a changeling want for love, and never again will we have to hide ourselves from others, for there will be no reason to." The changeling queen frowned after a moment. "Of course, the story is nothing but a tale made to give young changelings the false hope that they might free themselves of their... of what makes them who they are..."

"That's not fair." Kara sniffled. "I love you more than anything, even more than hugs!"

"Even more than hugs? You?" Chrysalis smirked. "Is such a thing even possible?"

They shared a soft laughter, and were silent for a few minutes after, each content with simply being in the other's presence.

"Mom?"

"Yes Kara?" Chrysalis replied in a maternal tone.

"I'm sleepy."

"Then I suppose that means we should be going to sleep then. It's the middle of the night after all."

"Please don't leave..."

"I wouldn't dream of it Kara," Chrysalis assured her. "I will be right here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"...Mom?"

"Yes Kara?"

"I love you."

"I love you too Kara."

Chrysalis closed her eyes, but moments later felt something that filled her being with indescribable warmth. She pressed her daughter against her as the last remnants of Kara's love reserves were forced into her. And then she felt something... more, something... purer. Just as quickly as she felt it, it was gone. She opened her eyes to see Kara's body glowing softly, and her eyes widened when a thin, wide tendril of magic came out of the cracked stub that used to be Kara's horn. It wrapped around the trunk, and slowly snaked its way around the top of the changeling's head, as if beginning to form a cocoon.

Then it stopped. Starting at the end, it began to tear and break away, the shreds floating up into the air before they too were gone. It went on like this, slowly at first, then it sped up, the ripping and tearing following the magic back to its source.

Chrysalis didn't quite know what to make of what she had just seen, but now, bereft of witnesses, she sobbed all the same.

Not bothering to wipe away her tears, Chrysalis stood and trotted away from Kara's corpse, there could still be survivors waiting to be found.

There had to be.

Chapter 18

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Twilight and Spike listened intently to Andrew's recap of everything that was discussed during the summit, cut short as it was. Seeing as Chrysalis would be indisposed for at least several days, they decided to come back to the library, and were seated in the living room.

"Sooo, let me get this straight." Spike began. "Since you're the only human in Equestria, you're basically going to be treated as if you were a king or something? Like, by default?"

Andrew shrugged, "I guess?" He said uncertainly.

"Not exactly..." Twilight said in a dull, crestfallen tone. She was lying on all fours on the couch, her front hooves on—what Andrew would call—the armrest. Spike was seated next to her, with the human across from them. "Yes, his privileges stem from his status as an..." her voice trailed off for a moment as she sighed, "...as an endling. But I believe it's more out of convenience than anything. His status will make it much easier for him to, for example, get in direct contact with the rulers of other nations, among other things."

"I guess that makes sense." Spike commented. "So, if he and a pony both show up to a hospital, and the doctors had to decide between saving him and pony, they would save him because he's the last of his kind, right?"

"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, "What has gotten into you lately! Of course they would save both!" What was with spike being so morbid lately?

"I know they would try their best to save both!" Spike said in his defense. "It's just... Sombra, Chrysalis... things don't always work out for everyone involved... so..."

Twilight's stern expression softened as she looked back at the not-quite-baby dragon. She frowned, crossing her front hooves and bringing her head to rest on the makeshift pillow, burying her muzzle in a tuft of fur. "I... I don't know, Spike," she admitted. She couldn't imagine having to decide who gets to live and who has to die.

"Is there something wrong, Twilight?" Andrew asked. Twilight had seemed aloof since before they left the hospital over half an hour ago.

Twilight's ears perked and swiveled instinctively at the mention of her name, but returned to their drooped state. "I-I don't know, it's just that I..." Twilight stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I met some of those changelings. Granted, we were fighting them, but still. I saw them, I interacted with them. Now they're all gone…”

It was Andrew's turn to frown. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. That people die all the time? No, definitely not that.

Luckily, he didn't have to say anything, as a knock on the door cut through the awkward silence just before Celestia herself entered the library.

The sudden arrival of her ruler and mentor instantly knocked Twilight out of her grim thoughts.

"Celestia!" Twilight yelled as she almost instantly crossed the distance between them and nuzzled the alicorn.

"Hello Twilight." Celestia said as she exited the embrace and greeted Spike, before shooting the human a stern gaze. "Andrew Detmer." She said in an authoritative tone. "What exactly were you thinking, flying off like you did? Chrysalis is lucky you didn't hurt her even more with the way you treated that carriage."

Andrew scowled. "She got here faster with my help." He shot back.

"Help that could just as easily have worsened her already severe injuries."

"Well, maybe the time I saved is exactly what will save her."

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the human, even as her protege looked back and forth between them in a confused manner.

Celestia tore her gaze from Andrew and met Twilight's with a softer, if just as commanding expression.

"Twilight, may I speak with you in private?" The alicorn asked.

"Um... yes, yes of course." Twilight replied before leading Celestia upstairs.

Andrew huffed in displeasure, crossing his arms against his chest as he leaned further back on the couch. He fidgeted with his hands, tapping one finger at a time, starting from his pinkie to his pointer finger and back again, except he was using his telekinesis to do the movement instead of his muscles. It was something he only thought of a few hours before, and he figured it might come in handy if he could do it with his full body at some point. Besides, using his powers seemed to calm him more than regular fidgeting.

"Wow, I haven't seen Celestia that mad in years. That was almost as bad as when Twilight found the cake stash under Celestia's bed." Spike commented.

Andrew couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"You think that's funny," Spike said, "Twilight didn't learn her lesson that day, and would go to the kitchen and ask for chocolate cake, on Celestia's orders, of course. Somehow, rumors started floating around the castle that Celestia was getting fat from all the cake she was eating. Lucky for Twilight, all those calories went straight to her head from all the studying she was doing. Twilight finally grew out of that, or just got tired of cake. Either way, she never got caught.”

Another chuckle from the human. "You use that as blackmail, don't you?" Andrew accused.

"Me?" Spike asked incredulously as he pointed to himself, "Why, I would almost never!"

Andrew grinned now back in higher spirits thanks to the young drake. "Yeah, ok." He replied. He looked at the stairs. He couldn't hear anything coming from up there.

Spike, noticing Andrew's attempt at listening in, chimed in with, "It's no use, silencing spell."

Andrew ceased his efforts before standing and making his way to the front door. "I'm gonna head out," He called.

"You sure that's a good idea? Celestia seemed pretty heated just then, probably won't help if you're suddenly gone when she comes back down."

Andrew shrugged, "If she has something important to tell me, she should have said it before going upstairs. I'm gonna be in the Everfree for a bit."

"The forest!? What are you going to do there?!" The young drake exclaimed.

"No clue," the human admitted, "Just going to walk around for a bit."

"Are you sure you—"

"I'll be fine." Andrew said, cutting the dragon off and closing the door behind him.

Now outside, he came face to face with a pair of celestial guards who eyed him warily. Without exchanging any words, he simply turned and walked in the direction of the Everfree.

On his way to the outskirts of town, he returned the hellos he was given, but kept a brisk pace so as to discourage further conversation. Thankfully, everyone took the hint, and didn't bother with small talk. It wasn't that he didn't like to talk to the locals, he just wasn't in a talkative mood at the moment.

A few minutes later, he was finally at the treeline that marked the entrance to the strangely normal forest. The sky was also relatively clear above the forest, which was apparently uncommon. He saw a shadow on the ground off to the side and he looked back to find the source, but the sun wouldn't allow him to make out the object causing the shadow. He sighed, and turned back before walking past the treeline. He had a feeling he knew what that was anyways. Or rather, who.

It wasn't long after that when Andrew heard the rustling of leaves and snapping of branches coming from behind him.

"Can you slow down for, like, two seconds!" Dash yelled behind him.

"Not in the mood to talk, Dash." Andrew stated as he continued to forge a path through the forest.

He heard the rustle of leaves, and saw Rainbow fly in front of him, facing him as she flew backwards in tandem with his steps.

"Whatcha doin in the Everfree?" She asked. "Never mind that, what went on at that meeting thing!? Did you see the wings on that dragon! Celestia may as well have lowered the sun with how well he was blocking it."

If her attitude and line of questioning was anything to go by, Andrew guessed that Rainbow hadn't heard about Chrysalis. He didn't want to be the one to open that can of worms to the mare, however, so he settled with answering her questions. "Yes," he started, "it's kinda hard to not notice a dragon the size of a mountain when he's only a few feet from you."

Rainbow was about to say something in reply, but let out a startled eep when a force took hold of her midsection and forced her to the side, just in time for her her to see a tree pass by her previous path. She was then placed on the ground.

"If you're going to follow me, at least look where you're going..." He quipped.

"Yeah yeah." Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes as she trotted alongside the human. "Sooo, what are we doing in the Everfree? Ya know it's not the safest place to be, right?"

"I'm aware," The human replied. "That doesn't seem to be stopping you from following me in."

Rainbow fanned her feathery appendages, lightly brushing the tips on Andrew's swinging arms so he would turn and see. "Wings, bro. I can just fly away at the sight of trouble. Then again, I guess you can too."

"Not in a talking mood right now, Dash...." Andrew warned.

"Why, did something happen? Are you ok?" Rainbow asked worriedly. She received no answer, and kept her head turned towards the human, looking for signs of a comeback. Not only did she receive no response, her muzzle was also pushed back against her will, this time narrowly missing a low hanging branch. She snorted and huffed, "Fine, if that's how you wanna play it, I'm game. Not sure what you're planning on doing out here, but doing it with a friend sure beats doing it alone." Rainbow looked forward and trotted evenly alongside the human.

Friend, huh... Andrew mused. If Rainbow only knew what he did to Steve, regardless of it being an accident. Or what Matt did to him.

He shook those thoughts from his mind. He was supposed to move on from all that. No point in focusing on the past so much when the present and future was so... not bright... interesting? Fascinating? Adventurous? Alien world and all that... He really wished something like this could have happened when Steve was still alive. He could already imagine the hi jinks they would have gotten into after acclimating to their new world.

"Thinking happy thoughts?" Rainbow asked in an amused tone.

Andrew reddened at the comment, and sped up his pace, the pegasus easily following along. They continued walking for several minutes before Rainbow spoke.

"Hey look, a squirrel! Been wondering where all the critters were at." She exclaimed.

Andrew tried scanning the area ahead for the animal, but the effort proved unnecessary as Rainbow trotted up ahead to the base of a tree, where a squirrel was busy munching away on a nut.

"What's up little guy?" Dash asked the mute creature.

The animal looked up at the pegasus, but otherwise paid her no mind as it continued to enjoy its meal.

"Yeah, thought as much," Dash smirked mirthfully. "I'm no Fluttershy..."

"You say that like she can talk to animals." Andrew commented as he approached behind Dash.

The animal immediately scurried up the tree at the sight of the human, going so far up so fast that they lost sight of it.

"Whoa, what did you do to scare him off like that?" She asked the Andrew.

"Nothing, it's probably just because I'm the first human it’s seen." He answered. "But what was that about Fluttershy?

"Oh, she can talk to animals." Dash clarified, as if that was a perfectly reasonable thing to claim.

"Of course," Andrew replied sarcastically, "silly me."

"Why, what's wrong?" Dash asked, happy at least that the human was talking again.

"Animals can't think." Andrew started. "For most of them, at least, all they care about is eating and sleeping. None of them can learn more than a handful of words, and even that takes months or years of training. They aren't like you and me, they’re mostly mindless, driven by instinct and nothing more. Haven't we been through this already?"

Rainbow Dash looked at him like he had just proclaimed the sky to be purple. "Did we?" She shook her head, "Never mind that. I’m not sure how it works where you come from, but a lot of animals here are pretty smart. Haven't you been to Fluttershy's? Have you seen Angel Bunny?"

Andrew thought back to when he first entered the quaint little cottage. "Yeah, I remember," He said. "There was a rabbit holding a cookbook, and it ran away at the sight of me, just like all the other animals." He gave a quizzical expression, and continued with, "Now that you mention it, he did run away just to stop and run back to his bowl to get a piece of food to take with him. No way would a regular animal have done that."

"Right." Dash agreed. "Sooo, where are we going?"

"Nowhere," Andrew replied, "just wanted to take a walk."

"In the Everfree..."

"Someplace quiet, and alone."

"Nnneat."

"Very."

"Speaking of neat things, get ready to fly in a bit, Andrew."

"Hmm? Why?" The human asked.

"There's a pack of timberwolves up ahead." Rainbow warned

"What? Are you sure, because I don't see anything." Andrew said in a hushed tone, slowing his pace.

"Look, right over there," the mare pointed with a hoof to a small clearing far ahead of them. Andrew found it difficult differentiating the bark of the timberwolves from that of the rest of the trees, but the faint glow of their eyes was a dead giveaway, even from this distance.

"Yeah, I see now." Andrew said. "But it sounds like you weren't even trying to look for them, how could you make them out so easily?"

"I'm a pegasus," Rainbow stated, "how would I be able to tell ponies on the ground apart when I'm in the sky without good vision?"

"Huh, I guess that makes sense," Andrew commented as he resumed his normal pace.

"Hold on!" Rainbow called out as she trotted back to his side and moved with him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We'll be fine." Andrew stated calmly.

"Yeah, I get that we can just fly away, but what if—"

"We'll be fine." Andrew pressed.

"How can you be so sure?" Rainbow questioned.

The human shrugged. "I just am, don't you trust me?"

"I-I mean..." Dash trailed off. "Okay fine, I trust you."

"You only met me a few days ago..." Andrew shot back.

"You're the one that asked me if I trusted you! Besides, you seem like a nice enough pony... or, human, or whatever.” It was about a minute later that she continued in a hushed tone, “Andrew, are you sure we’ll be ok?”

“Trust me, they won’t try anything. In case you care though, I won’t hurt them or anything, if they do. Well, I’ll try not to, if it comes to that." He could do without a repeat of what happened with Twilight. "Besides," he added, "they’re only wooden wolves, I doubt we need to bother worrying about anything smaller than a dragon, and what are the odds of running into something that big?” He finally entered the clearing where the timberwolves resided, Rainbow following closely behind, wings spread out, ready to flap at a moment's notice.

The timberwolves all walked around the edge of the small clearing, choosing to stand at the opposite side from the human and pony. He looked to see if there were any from the day before, but he couldn’t tell them apart. The alpha from the other day was noticeably different, but he wasn’t here either. A different pack, maybe? If they were, they didn’t seem as aggressive as the other. He noticed stems coming from the corner of their eyes, akin to eye lashes. Perhaps they were female? Were there any eye lashes on any of the timberwolves before?

“Stay next to me,” Andrew said as he took a tentative step forward. One of the timberwolves took a slight step back in reaction.

He grinned.

Chapter 19

View Online

Unlike the timberwolves Andrew had met previously, the ones before him now were perfectly content with keeping their distance from him. He counted six of them in total. However, that was assuming there weren't any in hiding waiting for a moment to strike, which if anything, he was expecting.

"Keep an eye out, last time we ran into these, they tried attacking from behind." Andrew stated.

"Last time? Us?" Dash said through gritted teeth, trying not to make too much noise. "What are you... Oh no way," she gasped in sudden realization. "Is that what was bothering Twilight during the party the other day? You guys ran into timberwolves!?"

"Yup," Andrew confirmed with a nod of his head, eyes still glued ahead. "I killed the one that tried to ambush us, and after they saw how easily I did that, they left us alone. After that was all done, Twilight threw a fit because I killed one of them."

"You killed a timberwolf!?" Rainbow said in a tone that resembled more shocked awe than horrified.

Much to Rainbow's surprise, the human began to walk towards the wolves even as they growled threateningly. Some of them tilted their heads, confused by the unfazed biped.

Unknown to both the pegasus and human, however, was the fact that the timberwolves could see the capability and willingness for violence in Andrew's eyes. The biped was small and lacked both claws and fangs. It had no right to be as threatening as it was. The pony stayed close to the biped as it came within a few yards of the pack.

If it was only the pony, they wouldn't hesitate at the chance to tear it to shreds. But this... thing... It was an unknown. It's eyes didn't lie, couldn't lie, there was danger there, and the alpha knew it, and so did her pack. But she couldn't show weakness in front of them, lest one of them see that as a sign that a change in leadership was due. She would stand her ground as necessary.

As they neared the pack, all but one wolf backed away and to the side.

Andrew silently stopped in front of the creature, just a few feet between them. With a faint, confident smile, he stared at those glowing yellow eyes just as he had done before with the other alpha. Just like last time, this alpha stared back.

Andrew felt a tinge of déjà vu at the situation, but was snapped from his contemplation when the wolf began growling.

As a precaution, he set up a barrier in front of himself, just in case the she-wolf decided to be less than compliant. The animal sniffed the air cautiously, examining scent of the alien creature she had never seen before.

Not having the keen senses of most animals, Andrew made due with simply continuing to stare at the timberwolf. He tried his best to exude as much confidence and possible, as—though he wasn't sure about the validity of the saying—he had read that predators could sense your confidence just as much as your fear. Though, as far as he was concerned, he would have to make an effort to appear less confident, as he knew damn well what he was capable of.

It seemed the wolf could tell as well, as—almost imperceptibly—it pulled its head back.

The timberwolf snorted and turned her head down and to the side, surprising both human and pegasus alike. This settled it for Andrew, something like this definitely wouldn't happen on Earth. There was something going on with the animals in Equestria, and he needed to find out what. The animals in the cottage running away from him was strange, but he could chalk that up to him being something that they've never seen before, regardless of their slightly higher intelligence. Then there was both of these timberwolf alphas. The way that they looked at him was too... observing, more so than simply assessing a threat.

Even Keth, as well as the griffon chef from his first day here had given him similar looks. It was like they were looking at him, but seeing something more.

His train of thought was derailed when the crunching of leaves made him aware of the timberwolf as it turned its back to him and walked away. The other wolves silently followed suit, giving the human a wide berth as they joined their leader.

"Woah," Rainbow said from the sidelines as the timberwolves disappeared past the thick treeline. "That. Was. Awesome!" She exclaimed gleefully as she flew around Andrew once and hovered in place.

Before the human could reply, Dash continued with, "That may not have been as cool as what happened on mount Dragonshy, but that was more suspenseful than the latest Daring Do book!"

"Daring Do?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah, It's about a mare that travels Equestria in search of lost temples and ancient artifacts."

"So basically the equestrian version of our Indiana Jones?"

"Inda-what?"

"Pretty much Daring Do, but a man instead of a mare."

The pegasus brought a hoof to her chin in thought. "Huh, I wonder what other stories we have in common."

"Probably more than anyone but Twilight cares to count."

Dash laughed at that. "I bet! So, care to tell me what you just did? She just—"

"She?" Andrew asked. "I kinda assumed it was female, but how can you tell for sure? Is it the eyelashes?"

"What? No, you can tell because of..." She twirled a hood in the air. "Ya know, the way they are?"

Andrew stared blankly at the informative reply. "The way they are?"

She waved the topic away. "Never mind that, how did you get her to abandon her own territory?"

Andrew gave her a quizzical look.

"You really don't smell that?" Dash asked the human.

Andrew sniffed the air experimentally, but didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, the air seemed pretty normal, fresh even, seeing as he was in the middle of a forest. "No," he replied, "I'm guessing you're talking about..."

"Yyeeaah," She replied. "Sooo, does that mean you're not gonna... ya know, mark over their territory now, are ya?"

Andrew raised a brow at that. "What? No! Humans don’t.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyways, I really don't know what's up with the animals here, they seem to act weird around me, different from animals on earth. I need to talk to Twilight later to see if she knows why. I can't tell if it's just because they might be smarter than animals on my world, or if it's something else."

"Then you wanna head back now?" Dash suggested as she looked to the sky. She looked back down at him with a glint in her eye. "In fact, we're pretty far out.” Her wings twitched, flaring out slightly, “we can race back to the library if you're up for it. I've been wondering how fast somepony without wings could be." She made a few loops around the human as she waited for a response.

Andrew grinned as he slowly rose into the air. Whereas back on Earth he would normally sway to and fro from the almost zero-gravity form of levitation, he had learned to stay afloat without looking like some sort of drunk superman.

"That's more like it!" Rainbow beamed as they rose above the treeline. They both turned to face the way they came. They had walked for quite a while, and Ponyville quite a distance away, only the rough layout of the town visible to Andrew. He wondered how much clearer it looked in Rainbow's pegasus eyes.

"Alright," Rainbow started as she began flying back turned and flew in the direction opposite the town, Andrew following behind, "overshooting and winning is better than slowing down and losing, so let's stay a decent height above the town and just make a U-turn if we have to."

"Ok." Andrew replied.

"And no using your powers on me!" Rainbow exclaimed. "That would just be cheating!"

"Of course." Andrew agreed.

"Then get ready." Dash warned as she turned again and tucked in her fore legs and narrowed her eyes. "Normally, we would take off from the ground, but we'll have to make due with a mid-air start."

"Fine by me." The human replied, taking his place several paces to her left. "Ready when you are."

"On the count of three then." Dash stated as she began counting down, adding a dramatic pause before finally shouting, "THREE!"

"And you didn't think to so much as ask him where he was going?!" Twilight scolded Spike, Celestia at her side.

"The guards said he was heading towards the Everfree!" Spike said defensively. "And what was I supposed to do? I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I figured you guys must have been talking about something really important if you had to set up a silencing spell, so I didn't think you wanted any interruptions. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Knock?" Spike crossed his arms.

"It's alright Twilight," Celestia said with a sigh. "We can wait until he comes back."

"Then it looks like you won't have to wait very long," Spike commented, looking behind the mares in front of him and towards one of the windows.

"It's not my fault you have to go through the trouble of flapping your wings to fly."

"But that isn't fair!" Rainbow protested. "I have to actually put effort into going as fast as I do! I have to work my flank off for this! You don't even need to learn a spell, you just lean forward and 'boom', you accelerate so fast that by the time I manage to match and pass your speed, you're already so far ahead there isn't anything I can do!”

"But you had that rainbow explosion thing." Andrew shot back, "that seemed like it made you just as fast as me, faster even, since you would have probably overshot me after a few seconds."

"Yeah, a few seconds I clearly didn't have!"

"Then maybe next time we should go for a farther finish line, that should give you enough time to reach your top speed and give you enough time to catch up to and overtake me."

"You better believe there'll be a next time."

The door opened, and the human and pegasus entered only to pause at the sight of the solar alicorn.

Dash was quick to greet her ruler and give a quick bow, while Andrew greeted Spike.

"Andrew," Celestia started, "we were just looking for you. I trust that the Everfree posed no trouble during your outing?"

"More like the other way around, princess." Dash commented, drawing attention to herself. "We ran into a pack of timberwolves, apparently for the second time in Andrew's case, and instead of flying around them he just walked right up to their alpha and stared her out of her own territory!"

Celestia raised a brow at the information. and shared a quick look with Twilight.

"Is... is that all that happened?" Twilight asked, sounding worried.

"Pretty much," Dash confirmed, "he said that killing a timberwolf is what made you so bummed out the other day, and he thought it would do the same with me."

"It wouldn't?"

"Childhood friends with a griffon, remember?" Dash replied, as if stating the obvious. "I would go out with her when she went hunting for a bite to eat, it stopped bothering me after a while."

"Oh..." Twilight replied simply.

"Any news on Chrysalis?" Andrew asked the alicorn, changing the subject.

"Yes, actually." Celestia replied. "One of my guards informed me that Chrysalis recently left surgery in stable condition. She has been placed in a mild magically induced coma for the time being. She only went through the most important operations first, and there are still several more that she needs, but her body is under enough stress as it is. She is in postoperative care and being closely monitored for any post-surgery complications"

Andrew tsked and muttered a curse unknown to the equines, though its meaning was not hard to guess.

Celestia added, "If anything changes, for better or worse, you and Twilight will be the first to know."

Andrew nodded, "What about the summit?" He asked. "Keth wasn't at the mountain when we left the hospital."

"It ended shortly after you left," Celestia clarified. "Most of what was discussed would be of no interest to you, but I can still give you a summary if you wish."

"No, that's fine." Andrew replied. After a sigh he asked, "So what now?"

"Now, I need to head back to Canterlot. There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be taken care of relating to you and Chrysalis. As for your stay in Ponyville, after much discussion with Twilight, we have decided to cease further study into your powers."

"What?" Andrew and Spike said simultaneously, then shared a look.

"Why?" Andrew asked. "What if the secret to why I'm here has something to do with them?"

"I'm gonna have to agree with Andrew on this one, princess." Spike concurred. "His powers are the only thing that we have to go on, wouldn't it help everypony involved if we can at least find out how it works?"

"Your reasoning is sound, Spike." Celestia said with a nod. "But therein lies the problem. Twilight told me of your experiment last night, and how you discovered that his powers don’t appear to leave any trace after being used. That is only one of the difficulties of studying his abilities. Equestria has never seen such a magically resistant creature before, and the dozens of analyzing spells I can think of off the top of my head can do nothing when their target is all but invisible to them.”

"Maybe on his world, things might be different,” Twilight began. “Their entire society is built around technology and science devoid of any magic whatsoever. No doubt they would have a far easier time with this than us.”

“So, that’s it?” Spike asked incredulously, “You’re not even going to try and find a way through this?”

Twilight flinched at the comment, and Celestia replied with, “This is the decision we have come to after a very lengthy discussion. At the moment, at least, we simply are not equipped to study Andrew’s abilities beyond that which we can see.” She sighed, and continued with, “And from what we can see,” she looked to Andrew, “it seems to just be normal telekinesis, albeit with a wider variety of uses in the hands of a skilled user.”

“But-” Spike started, but was interrupted by Andrew.

“It’s fine Spike, thanks” the human said, appreciating the dragon coming to his defense. “If there’s not much they can do then what am I supposed to do about it?” He shrugged and said, “I’m just happy to be alive.”

"Huh? Whaddya mean by that?" Dash asked, having been relatively quiet up until then.

Andrew held a hand up and shook his head, "I'll explain later."

The pegasus frowned at the response, but otherwise went silent again.

Spike looked at the human with a frown on his face. “Are you really ok with this? This could mean you might never find out where your powers came from.”

“No,” Andrew replied, “I’m not ok with it, but it’s just like they said, magic and me just don’t mix, and if magic is the only thing that can help... I guess I’ll just have to move on.”

“Then… what happens now?” The drake asked.

“Now,” Celestia started, “I must take my leave.” She looked towards Andrew, "You are more than welcome to stay in Ponyville for as long as you wish. I will send a letter at a later date summoning you to Canterlot to sign various legal documents before they are notarized, and your legal status will be made public knowledge throughout Equestria by the end of next week. While Chrysalis recovers, and in the absence of any experimenting, I implore you to continue acclimating yourself to Equestria."

After exchanging farewells, the alicorn trotted over to the door. Before opening it she spoke without turning around, "Andrew."

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I know it might be difficult," she started, "but take walks through Ponyville, eat out, make friends. While you are more than confident when it comes to your powers, your social skills leave much to be desired. You are no Fluttershy, but you can't expect to interact with the myriad of species you are no doubt going to encounter on your journeys if you don't leave your comfort zone every now and then."

Before the human could reply, Celestia's horn glowed yellow, and with a flash and a pop, a bulging, clinking brown pouch appeared in the air off to the side. The pouch was gently set down next to the windowsill. "Please enjoy yourself Andrew, and don't do so alone." She made to finally leave, but paused, then actually turned her head to look at the human with a frown. "And... perhaps keep your walks through the woods less... enthusiastic?

With that, the alicorn turned back around and opened the door with her magic and finally exited, closing it behind herself.

There was a long moment of silence before Rainbow broke it with a laugh.

"Ha! The princess just called you shy!" She exclaimed between chuckles. "And now that I think about it, she's totally right."

Twilight said, "Now that you mention it, he hasn't actually left the library except when he's had to. Not until today, anyways."

Andrew stayed quiet, he couldn't exactly deny what Celestia said. Hoping to instead change the topic, he levitated the coin purse across the room and into his hand, the weight of the pouch much heavier than he anticipated when he released his telekinetic hold.

"Wow..." Spike uttered as Andrew pulled out a single gold 'bit'.

Andrew turned it over in his palm, examining the coin. "Umm, I have no idea how much these are worth," he said.

Twilight trotted towards him and he lowered the pouch so the unicorn could look into it, Rainbow doing the same.

He saw the pegasus's eyes go wide and she gulped. "What?" He asked. "How much is it?"

"Enough for a week of nonstop partying is how much it is." Dash exclaimed.

He looked to Twilight.

"Um, yeah, I suppose Rainbow is right." The purple unicorn's horn glowed and the pouch closed itself. "If you want to go out today, though, I'd like to take some time to teach you how to count our currency."

Andrew nodded. "I was thinking of maybe eating out, is there a restaurant around here that serves meat?"

"There is." Twilight replied happily.

"Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Where are we eating?"

Twilight replied with, "Actually, I was thinking it might be better for Andrew to go out alone for a change." Twilight either ignored or didn't notice the pegasus's dumbfounded expression as she looked back to Andrew and said, "Here, let me show you how to count bits, then I can give you directions to the restaurant."

Rainbow looked pleadingly to spike, who only shrugged and gave the mare a sheepish smile.

"Alright, guess I'm heading to Fluttershy's then," Rainbow said, exchanging quick goodbyes before heading out the front door.

"Alright," Twilight began, Andrew paying close attention as the mare pulled out several bits from both his coin pouch, and her saddlebag slung across the couch, "bits come in six denominations—"

It was just beginning to grow dark now as Andrew seated himself by the window in The Hay Burger. Quite a few ponies had turned their heads at his entering the building, and he couldn't help but think that was what Twilight had meant when she told him to not worry about going alone.

The pony at the entrance simply told him to take a seat where he pleased, and he would be waited shortly. It proved true, as not a minute passed before a waiter approached his table by the window.

"Good evening sir." The crème colored, blue maned stallion greeted the human in a dignified tone. "My name is Savoir Fare," the stallion lowered his head in a slight bow, "I will be your waiter this evening."

Andrew glanced around, he was definitely in a regular diner, but this waiter acted like he was in a five star restaurant. He greeted the waiter back, trying his best to not sound awkward.

The waiter looked around, as if looking for something. "Will it just be you sir?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, just me." He replied over the door chime that went off as a group of ponies entered the diner, some of which he recognized from the party the other day, the rest he was unfamiliar with. Just as they looked his way, the waiter caught his attention as he spoke.

"Excuse me sir, but rumor has it that you are an omnivore, is that correct?"

"It is."

"I see." Savoir took out two menu's, one purple and the other red, "Would the gentlecolt prefer the normal menu or—"

"Both menus are fine." Andrew said before the waiter could finish. "And some water please."

"Right away sir." The waiter said with a bow as he left both menus on the table and walked off.

Pretending to not notice the group of mares that were trotting in his direction, he opened the red menu and perused its selection of meals. At the top of the first page was a deeply emboldened disclaimer stating that all served meat came from 'donors'. How one could 'donate' meat, he wasn't sure.

"Um, excuse me."

He looked up from menu to meet the gaze of the mare that lead the group of four. She was one of the few ponies whose name he had actually remembered from the party. She was the sole teacher of Ponyville if he recalled correctly, a bright, deep red coated mare named Cheerilee. To her left was a mare he didn't recognize with a pale yellow coat and two toned red mane. On her right were two mares, one had a light raspberry coat with a blond mane, and the other was pale magenta with a green mane. He recognized neither.

"Hey," he said. "Cheerilee right?"

"Yes, I'm surprised you remember me with all the ponies you met the other day.” She gestured to her left with a hoof, "this here is Roseluck," she then pointed to the ponies on her right, "Lily, and Daisy." They each greeted him as their names were called. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"

Twilight was right, he didn't have to wait long at all before someone asked to sit with him. He wondered if it had something to do with how friendly ponies seemed to be in general.

"Uh, no, sure." He scooted himself to the window as Cheerilee sat next to him while the other three mares took the other side, seemingly not bothered by the cramped space.

"So," Cheerilee started, not wasting any time "What are you doing eating out all by yourself?"

Andrew shrugged and said, "It was recommended that I 'go out more', but not with Twilight or her friends. Something about getting me out of my comfort zone.”

At that moment, the waiter arrived well prepared, holding four extra menus and water, which he proceeded to pass out. Cheerilee was the only one who didn't reject hers however, as Lily, Daisy, and Roseluck immediately ordered a lily sandwich, daisy salad, and rose pie, respectively.

"I'll have the beef burger with a side of french fries," Andrew said, not bothering to adapt the local 'prench'.

"Excellent choices." The waiter commented as he finished scribbling on his notepad and left.

"See, I told you he was a meat eater, that's five bits!" Daisy unsuccessfully tried to whisper to Lily.

"Does that bother you?" Andrew asked.

"Not at all," Cheerilee answered, "Why, you'd be hard pressed to find a more open minded place in all of Equestria than Ponyville."

"You hear that Daisy?" Lily said, "Maybe try to not scream 'monster' at ponies when they pop out of hospital windows."

"Hey," Daisy started, "at least I wasn't the one who fainted the second I saw him for the first time."

"Oh yeah?" lily shot back, "I bet you fainted right after!"

"Who's to say? You? Doubt you saw much with your face in the mud."

"Actually," Rose said, "Daisy fell right on top of you after you fainted."

Both glared at Rose, and lily said, "You probably fainted too!"

Rose grinned smugly and shrugged, "Who's to say?"

After a moment, the three shared a laugh.

"Sorry about those three, they can be a bit much at times," Cheerilee said to the human as the other side of the table was engulfed in laughter.

"It's fine," Andrew replied with a smile. "They kind of remind me of me and my friends back when..." He trailed off.

"What?" Cheerilee asked.

"Nothing," Andrew said with a wave of his hand. "Forget it."

"Al-Alright the—" Cheerilee was interrupted by an Enthusiastic fall of a hoof on the table.

"SO!" Daisy exclaimed, drawing all eyes on her. She looked intently at the human, a smile adorning her face, and asked, "What have you been up to the past few days?"

Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "Well," he began, "Not much, but the Everfree is an exciting place."

"I'm sure you can guess what happened after the ursa minor roared." Cheerilee stated sarcastically.

Andrew eyed the skittish mares across the table and rolled his eyes. "They fell to the ground like bowling pins, didn't they."

"And I had to drag them to safety." The teacher proclaimed.

They continued to share stories for a long while, well after they had received their meals. Andrew was caught off guard by a burst of steam when he grabbed his plate, emanating from the corner of the disk. The waiter went on to explain that the corners of the plate were enchanted to mask both the scent and sight of the plate's contents from all but him. It made sense at least, he was wondering how the mares would handle eating with him if all they would probably focus on is the dead animal he was consuming. Though it was a slight hassle having to avoid touching the edge of the plate, the occasional bout of sizzling smoke only proved to amuse the rest of the table..

"Timbawurf shimbawurf," Daisy said through a mouthful of... daisies. After a forceful bump from both sides, she swallowed her food and continued, "I'd like to see you try and stare down an Ursa Minor!" She took another bite from her salad.

"Says the mare that fainted from the sight of three fillies in a timberwolf costume last nightmare night." Rose quipped.

Daisy then proceeded to choke.

"And that was only an Ursa Minor." Cheerilee added. "Ursa Minors are just adolescents, when they grow to be Ursa Majors, they can easily rival most long lived dragons in size.

It was Andrew's turn to choke, and when he finally hacked and coughed the food out and into the right pipe, he looked at the school teacher with a shocked expression. "How many other animals in Equestria can get bigger than a house?"

Cheerilee stared back at him for a moment before looking up and to the side in thought. "Hmm, a dozen off the top of my head."

Andrew slumped slightly in his chair, he was beginning to feel smaller and smaller as the day went on.

"Bye Andrew, thanks again for treating us!" Cheerilee called out as he opened the front door to the library.

"No problem!" Andrew called out behind him, giving one last farewell before closing the door.

"See," Twilight said from the table at the corner of the living room. "I told you he would be fine."

"Yeah, I guess so," Spike admitted from his corner of the crouch, slitted pupils raised above the comic he was reading.

"Any news on Chrysalis while I was gone? Andrew asked.

At that, Twilight closed the book she was reading and frowned, shaking her head. "Sorry, no."

The human sighed and got a glass of water from the kitchen before seating himself on the other side of the couch.

"So how was it?" Twilight asked.

"Besides the awkwardness of a group of talking animals coming up to your table and asking to eat with you while another talking animal serves you animal meat, pretty ok I would say."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Alright then, just keep in mind you're free to go out whenever you want, you don't have to stay cooped up in here all the time."

Spike coughed and uttered under his breath, "Look who's talking."

Twilight shot daggers at her assistant but, resigning herself to the truth in those words, she sighed and turned her head, lifting a book from one of the small shelves behind her and levitating it over to Andrew.

He grabbed the book from the air, a sizzle of smoke marking the point of contact before Twilight cut off her magic and suggested, "You might want to read that book, it'll probably explain a lot."

Andrew turned the book over to its cover, the entire binding was blood red with an illustration of two bright orange, slitted pupils on the cover. It was titled, the predator's sight, and other interesting beast of prey traits.

"I'll be sure to do that." Andrew nodded, interest already piqued.

"Speaking of research," Spike started, closing his comic book and looking at the human, "do you mind looking that way for a second?" He pointed to Twilight on the other side of the room with a claw.

"Umm, ok?" Andrew replied skeptically as he did as instructed, now facing an equally confused Twilight. It was only a moment later that he saw Twilight tilt her head in confusion before going wide eyed and opening her mouth.

"OW!" Andrew cried out as he reflexively clutched the back of his head and turned back around to see the comic book now resting on the couch. He glared at Spike and shouted, "What was that for!?"

Spike on the other hand, was looking at him scrupulously.

"Spike!" Twilight gasped, "Why would you—"

"Ah hah!" Spike shouted, interrupting the mare.

"What?" Twilight asked, still visibly angry. "Don't tell me you had a reason to..." she paused, then her expression softened. "Ohhhhhh," she met Andrews gaze, "that... shouldn't have been able to—"

"Hit me," the human finished, "I'm supposed to have a barrier protecting me."

"It started two days ago," Spike began, "Sometimes when you were reading, I noticed that you would sometimes levitate your book. When your back was turned, I would throw stuff like paper clips at you since—"

"You what!?" Twilight exclaimed.

Spike winced, and gave a sheepish smile, "I... uh, I thought it was cool how anything I threw would just bounce off of thin air! I would pick them up after!" Twilight didn't seem like his reasoning, but she rolled her eyes and motioned for him to continue. "Anyways, I noticed how sometimes, they would actually hit him, he would scratch at the spot and everything. After awhile, I figured out that his barrier is only up when he's using his powers!" Before anyone could reply, he asked Andrew, "Did you use your powers right after you got hit just now?"

"No," Andrew replied, "Why?"

"Did you feel the second book?" Spike asked.

"What second book?"

Spike snapped his claws, "Now we're getting somewhere." He hopped down to the floor and picked up the second comic that was lying at Andrew's feet. "I threw this one right after the first, but it bounced off of your barrier, which you claim you didn't consciously create."

"So it was passive, yeah, we've been over this before." Andrew said.

"Yeah, but we thought it would always be on, but it seems like it's only passive when you’re using your powers actively for whatever else, or, in this case, when you feel threatened, even subconsciously."

"Huh," Andrew mused, rubbing his chin, "That's... actually really good to know, thanks."

Spike puffed out his chest in pride, "You're welcome!"

"I can't exactly praise your methods," Twilight began, "but he's right, Spike, this is a pretty good find. We thought that Andrew's dermal barrier became passive as a sign of his body getting more and more used to its new abilities."

"Which would explain why the doctor's couldn't get a needle in me when I was unconscious." Andrew stated.

"Precisely." the mare confirmed. "You technically 'died' only moments before, that shock is probably what triggered this new self defense trait, but it only seems to occur when your body acknowledges danger of some sort, or maybe even general unease. If you want, we could-"

"No." Andrew stated, holding up a hand. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I can handle this by myself." He always was good with his powers, and this particular ability didn't seem particularly complicated. He would try to figure out how to improve it later on.

Twilight didn't bother to ask again, only nodding. "Ok, if you ever change your mind, feel free to ask."

It was beginning to get late now, marked by the now quickly setting sun as the light bleeding through the curtains slowly faded. Andrew spent the rest of the night reading the book Twilight had given him. Within its pages were the answers to many of his questions.

"Whaddya mean 'what do I see'?" Spike asked quizzically from the couch across from Andrew. His claws still glistening from washing the dishes of the breakfast they had just eaten.

"He's a baby dragon, Andrew." Twilight stated as she sifted through the bookshelves. "He isn't going to see much of anything. Maybe give him a few more years when he hits his growth spurt."

"Then what about those animals at Fluttershy's?" Andrew asked. "I'm pretty sure I saw a baby animal or two."

"Yes, prey animals." Twilight confirmed. "Animals whose very survival depends upon being able to see and sense danger all the time. Spike is a dragon, and while dragon culture does have frequent in-fighting for territory and possessions, those instincts don't really kick in until adolescence, same goes with their beast's sight."

"The book called it predator's sight." Andrew corrected.

"And there are dozens of books that call it dozens of names, and it annoys me to no end."

"So that's what was happening at the cottage? Same with the timberwolves?"

The mare let out a sigh as she gave up in her search and trotted over to the couch next to spike, laying down next to him.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it all," she admitted. "Not even Celestia herself, with all her magical power, would register as anything but a pony in the eyes of a hedgehog. You on the other hoof... I mean..." she frowned, gesturing toward him. "No offence, but you have no claws, no fangs, you're not exactly muscular... you don't exactly seem all that threatening."

Andrew raised a brow, "Gee, thanks."

Twilight gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry," her expression grew serious. "It's just... the only thing that can explain it is your powers, but if that isn't it, then it can only be not who you are, but what you are."

"I mean, I guess that makes sense," Andrew shrugged. "Ya know, with humans being the top predators of my world and all that."

Twilight shrugged in turn, "It’s probable?"

Before another word was said, Spike let out a loud belch of green flames, and instinctively snatched the letter through the flames, wasting no time in reading it. He looked up and met Andrew's gaze. "It's Chrysalis," he said, "It says she's awake now.”

Twilight's ears perked up at the news, and she looked towards Andrew.

He nodded and said, "Yeah, let's go."

Twilight turned to Spike and said, "Go get Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie, I'll get Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"Got it." Spike said he rushed out the door.

"I'm guessing you want to head towards the hospital now?"

He nodded.

"Ok then, we'll meet you there then," she said as they walked out the front door and she flipped the sign to 'closed'.

Parting ways, Andrew headed towards Ponyville General Hospital. This time, he chose to simply walk at a brisk pace instead of flying. Any friendly hellos he might have received were probably turned away at the sight of the serious expression he bore. He seemed to know the streets of Ponyville better than he thought, as before he knew it, he was already entering the building.

"Mr. Detmer, over here please!" The receptionist mare called out to him. "I was told you might be coming," she reached under her desk and grabbed something before holding it out for him to take.

It was a laminated VIP guest pass on a orange lanyard. He grabbed it and placed it over his neck, muttering a thanks.

She told him the room number, as well as the directions to get to it. He set off right away, and as he was coming up on the last corner, he paused when he heard yelling.

"You heard what she said!" A masculine voice yelled from around the corner as Andrew cautiously approached. "She doesn't want your help, so just leave her to rot!"

"Shiny, how could you say something so cruel!?" Cadence shot back. "She's just lost her family, her children!"

"And what do you think would have happened to us, to Equestria, if she would have had her way!? Equestria would be overrun with those abominations! Do you have any idea what it's like to not be in control of your own body!? I loved her, Cadence. I loved that... thing. How would you feel if you were brainwashed into loving a monster that looked exactly like me!?"

"Shining, please," Cadence pleaded, "You're blinded by your hatred, it's our fault that she's all alone, we kil—"

"They attacked US!" Shining hollered. "We did what we had to do to protect Canterlot, who knows how many innocent ponies she's killed in the past, or how many would have died if she succeeded. She's a monster, a parasite, Cadence, simple as that."

Andrew couldn't hear what was said next, if anything, but what he hid hear was the strike of a hoof against flesh.

Immediately after, he heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching him, and he pulled back from the wall to appear as if he was only just arriving.

Cadence paid him no mind as she trotted past him, tears streaking down her cheeks. After a moment, he rounded the corner to see the stallion in question, who could only be Shining Armor, Twilight's older brother. He was facing away from him rubbing his cheek with a hoof when he sighed and turned around. Meeting Andrew's eye, Shining trotted a few paces over to him.

"I can't even begin to imagine what could have possessed you to want to protect this..." he glanced toward the partially open door at his side, "thing. But you've just made the biggest mistake of your life. Chrysalis is a cold-blooded monster that only cares about herself."

Andrew scowled. "Well, maybe monsters should stick together then," he said, before walking past Shining without another word and entering the room, closing the door behind him.

He immediately noticed the bed on the right side of the room, as well as its sole occupant. Chrysalis's body was covered in bandages, every limb, her midsection, chest , and part of her muzzle. A green eye was looking back at him.

He looked away.

"Hmmm," Chrysalis mused. "What's wrong? Does the sight of this broken body upset you?" He met her eyes again, the contracting of her pupil standing out against the prominent green of her irises. "I see... You've been in my place before, haven't you?"

Before he could ask how she could tell, she answered his unspoken question.

"The way you flare with a tinge of anger as your eyes scan the room, the way you look at me not with pity, but with shame, shame directed at yourself." Chrysalis grinned, one of her fangs revealing itself through her lips. "Am I correct in my assumption?"

He stood silently, mouth open, and brows furrowed in shocked amazement. once again, she answered his next question before he had the chance to vocalize it.

"No, I can't read your mind, only your emotions. But I find that with most ponies, that tends to be enough." She continued her grin for a moment, only to let it fade. "Why are you here?"

"Because I… I was worried about you." Andrew replied.

Chrysalis's expression didn't change as she asked, "Andrew? Correct?"

"Yeah. Andrew Detmer." He answered, taking a seat next to the bed.

"Andrew Detmer," She began. "If we can expect to be in eachother's company for the foreseeable future, there is one thing above all else that you should know."

"What’s that?" Andrew asked.

"That you cannot lie to me," She stated. "It doesn't matter how small or white the lie is, I will know. Whether you are lying to my face, or merely concealing the whole truth. Now, I ask again, why are you here. You don't expect me to believe that you genuinely care about me do you? So what is it?" She scowled, "It isn't any kind of affection, of course. You didn't actually care about the money either, so it's not greed. So, pray tell, to what do I owe your decision?"

Andrew stayed quiet. Unfortunately, his silence seemed to speak loud enough for the Changeling.

"You’re atoning for something," She stated flatly. "You're reeking guilt." She eyed him wearily. "Once again, your silence speaks volumes. I assume you're trying to atone for the lives you took just before getting here?" She scanned his face for a response. "Perhaps not. Perhaps something a bit more personal? Ahhh, there it is. The guilt flared just then. You did something to someone clo—"

"I killed my best friend." Andrew admitted through gritted teeth, interrupting the queen. When he first stepped through that door, he wasn’t expect to essentially have his mind read like an open book, but he didn’t come here only to get scared away.

"Oh." Chrysalis said. "Your words are adamant, but your emotions are all over the place. An accident, I presume?"

"I... I don't know." Andrew sighed, slumping in his chair. "My father had just convinced me that the only two people I had a connection with weren't actually my friends. I got into a fight with him, it was the first time I used my powers on another person on purpose, though he didn't actually notice.” He wasn’t exactly sure why he was going into such detail with the changeling, but given what had been gleamed so far without so much as a peep from him, he may as well lay his cards on the table now. “After that, I flew up into a storm cloud to.. to get away from it all. That's when Steve showed up, he said something about knowing where I was, something about hearing me calling him, I don't know. I told him to get away, that I didn't want him there. I was angry, really angry, with my father, him, everything. Right when I felt like I couldn't get any angrier, there was a bright flash of lightning.... The funeral was a few days later."

Chrysalis snorted. "So, what then? Am I nothing more than some way of atoning for your killing your friend? A life taken, a life protected? If so, what of all the other dozens of your victims? I think the self punishment to be rather lacking, let alone selfish.”

"And I don't care what you think," Andrew shot back.

The changeling huffed. "Fair enough, I suppose."

"What about you?" Andrew asked.

"Hmm? What about me?"

"All the books I found on changelings said you were some sort of parasitic bug monster, but you don't really seem all that different from a regular pony."

"That is quite the unpopular opinion you have."

Andrew shrugged.

"If you're expecting a life story, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there isn't much to speak of. It was pure survival from the day I hatched to the day it all became for naught."

"...I'm... I'm sorry about Thorax."

"No you're not."

"... I'm still sorry though."

Chrysalis, narrowed her eyes slightly. "...Thanks."

It was nearly a minute of silence before the door opened, human and changeling alike turning to eye the newcomer.

Chrysalis scowled.

"Well, well, well," the queen seethed, "if it isn't the very mare that ruined my perfect day."

"Chrysalis, I-" Twilight started, only to be interrupted.

"Don't waste your breath, Twilight," Chrysalis started. "I don't want your apologies. Besides, It was my carelessness that threw you off in the first place. I made you suspicious of me, and you acted accordingly. You have no reason to feel so much guilt." She snarled, "That is a burden for Cadenza to bear."

Twilight winced. "Even still," she started, "we feel horrible about what happened."

"We?" Chrysalis inquired.

"My friends and I," Twilight clarified. "I brought them over too. If it's ok with you, they'd like to-"

"No." Chrysalis stated flatly.

"Huh?"

"Look Twilight, let's get one thing straight," Chrysalis began. "I don't like you, your friends, or what you all represent. I'm not here to be your friend, I'm not here for you all to grovel for forgiveness while at the same time drowning me with your pity and regret!"

Twilight frowned, her mouth opened, as if to say something, but closed immediately.

"It's not going to work," Chrysalis seethed. "Don't try to empathize with me, pony. You can't possibly understand."

Andrew got up to leave, he had been dead silent since Twilight had arrived, and the awkwardness was beginning to be too much for him.

"No, you stay." Chrysalis said in a commanding tone. "Twilight was just leaving."

Andrew awkwardly seated himself again as Twilight wordlessly trotted over to the door, head hung low. She looked back at the Changeling and said, "If there's ever anything you need, even if it's only a place to stay after you get better, you're welcome to come to the library."

"I will want for nothing." Chrysalis stated simply.

Twilight stayed silent as she left the room and closed the door behind her.

"You didn't have to be so... ya know..." Andrew trailed off.

"Yes I did." Chrysalis replied. "I'm only going to be here for as long I need to be, I'm here to recover, then leave. I'm not some project for that unicorn to use for one her friendship lessons, or whatever it is that Celestia has the that unicorn doing."

"Where did you learn about that?" Andrew asked.

"I overheard one of the doctors mention Twilight, and I pressed him for more information. But enough about that Unicorn, I have questions for you."

"You know she was only trying to help, right?" Andrew said.

The Changeling's eyes narrowed. "I don't want their help, I will no more accept the element's help than I will Cadenza's magic."

"Then what about Celestia? Aren't you technically accepting her help since she's paying me extra to protect you?"

"That's different," Chrysalis said. "You are the one doing the work, and you aren't motivated by greed, far from it in fact, you don't seem to be interested in money since your primary need for it is no longer..." She trailed off. "Anyways, the only reason you're here is out of some selfish desire to atone for the life of a friend that you may or may not have ended by protecting the life of another. A noble cause, I suppose, if it weren't for the fact that you took the lives of many others." She grinned, looking at his silent, stoic expression. "I can see how hard you're trying to suppress your anger. If you want to say something, say it."

Andrew was silent for a long moment before asking bluntly, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

Chrysalis looked at him, her expression softening. "So that's what it's about. What was it that you told Shining? Something like, 'maybe monsters should stick together’— oh there's no need to be so embarrassed, I thought it was rather amusing. To answer your question, yes, I have taken a few pony lives, though I didn't really have much of a choice, unless I wanted to have a pony run around town raving about Changelings and endangering my entire hive. Of course, I am capable of altering a pony's short term memory to some extent using my venom, but the risk is too great when factoring in the possibility of different ponies having different mental resistances. The elasticity of the minds of young colts and fillies make them a non-issue, but adults are simply too much trouble, unless you inject more venom than necessary, which may be dangerous." She paused her ramble and narrowed her eyes. "What confuses you?"

Andrew, not expecting the question, had to clear his throat as he replied, "It's just, none of the books on changelings said anything about that."

"Of course they won't say anything useful," Chrysalis said. "Those books were written by ponies who have probably never even seen a Changeling first-hoof. Anyways, what of it? Did you just want to verify whether or not I was as bad as..." The Changeling fell silent, before chuckling softly.

"What?" Andrew asked, not understanding what was so funny.

"And you don't even realize it..." Chrysalis snickered softly. "You're truly a fascinating creature, human," She started, looking into his eyes. "At the summit, I listened to the atrocities you've committed, and yes indeed, what I see very much confirms it. But what I and I alone can feel, is so much more.”

Andrew leaned his head back while maintaining eye contact with Chrysalis, a confused expression painted on his face. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Your emotions." She stated, as if it was supposed to be obvious, although, considering what she was, it may very well be for her.

"What about them?" Andrew asked, not sure what to expect as an answer.

"To be frank, they are all over the place," Chrysalis said. "I don't know what it is about you in particular, or perhaps it might just be an aspect of your species as a whole." She looked him up and down, "The emotions you give off are far more dense than any other species I've encountered."

"How so?" The human asked.

"Well, I suppose you can think of it like this: If there are several ponies in the room, and they are all glowing, you outshine them so much that it's genuinely annoying, and actively gets in the way of my trying to read the emotions of others. Of course, that also means that it's easier to sense your emotions, but that's where things get rather curious. There's nothing strange about being mostly happy, a little bored, and even a tiny bit sad at the same time, sapient minds are just that complicated. You, however, practically ooze a particularly strong mix of multiple emotions, as if you can't decide what you want to feel. Hiding one's emotions is one thing, but by all rights you should be having a mental breakdown right now."

"Gee, thanks," Andrew scoffed.

"See, you're even stable enough for sarcastic comebacks."

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about, I feel fine." Andrew stated.

"Apparently so." Chrysalis admitted. "But that only raises the question of ‘is this wild free for all of emotions normal for humans, or is it just you.’ Sure, you've been through quite a bit over the past few days and months, and no doubt that is playing a part, but even so..." The changeling grinned, "Well, enough of that, you plan on leaving Ponyville soon, correct?"

Andrew shrugged, "I'm still not sure. What about you, any idea how long it'll take you to recover?"

"Well, I'm a changeling, my body's ability to shapeshift also affects it's ability to heal, so likely far sooner than the doctors expect, but that's assuming I have a steady supply a love. I won't accept Cadences magic, but luckily, there is some office romance going on in this building, so I should be able to leech off of that."

"Is it really that easy?" Andrew questioned.

"Hardly," Chrysalis said, "Leeching off of ambient love is far less efficient than being on the receiving end of the source, and it grows harder still with distance. The energy Cadence gave me wasn't actual love, the only reason it seems to work as a substitute is because of love being so ingrained into her as an alicorn. It will last a few days at most. If I didn't need it to repair my body, I could easily ration it for weeks." The Changeling yawned.

"Tired?" Andrew asked.

"Yes," Chrysalis answered before closing her eyes and resting her face on the pillow. "As much as I enjoyed our little chat, I don't think I can remain lucid for much longer what with all the spells and medications I must be under."

"Oh, alright. Want me to come back tomorrow?"

"That won't be necessary. I expect to be on all fours next time we meet, for now, I need to focus on leaching as much love as I can. The sooner I can heal my body, the sooner I can leave this blasted hospital.”

"Ok then," Andrew replied as he got up to leave. "Bye."

He received no answer however, as it seemed the Changeling had already fallen asleep. He was quick to leave the room, and made his way to the lobby, where Twilight was likely waiting with her friends.

Chrysalis was going to be fine, but there was still one other major problem, or rather, decision, that he needed to make. Once Chrysalis was recovered, and all the necessary paperwork was finished regarding him and the changeling, he would likely want to leave Ponyville soon after.

But where to go first?

Chapter 20

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"At least ask her one more time for me," Twilight pleaded.

Andrew sighed as he put on his sweater. "I really doubt Chrysalis would have changed her mind. Besides, the reason I haven't seen her since Saturday was because she told me not to, I'm not going to just go to the hospital only to ask her that of all things."

"That was nearly a week ago!" Twilight protested. "In all that time she could have easily decided on staying here after she gets checked out!"

Andrew huffed and rolled his eyes, "Ok, fine, I'll give it a shot, but trust me, she hates you guys."

Twilight flinched at that, her ears splaying against her head. "I... I know, but where else is she going to go?"

"I'm sure she'll figure something out," Andrew said.

"I hope your right... Do you know the way to Rarity's?"

"Yeah," Andrew answered as he pocketed his coin pouch, now noticeably smaller than when Celestia had first given it to him. He had spent the better part of this week walking through Ponyville in search of things to do, and in doing so had acquainted himself with the town's streets. Today was the day he was supposed to pick up his new clothes from the Carousel Boutique. He exchanged goodbyes with Twilight before exiting the library and making his way through Ponyville. He still couldn't get used to how friendly the town's residents were, and even now found it difficult to return the random greetings he received while walking, often times from ponies he didn't even know.

It wasn't long before he found himself in front of the extravagant, out of place building that doubled both as a home and a clothing store. He walked up to the front door and gave it a few good knocks.

"Come iiin," Rarity answered in a sing song voice.

He opened the door and entered the boutique, immediately seeing Rarity examining a black piece of clothing on the stage area to his right. The folded garment was floating above the elevated stage, reflected by the three mirrors that surrounded the platform. Before he could get a better look, Rarity began to fold it further with her magic and turned around to greet him. Her eyes lit up when she recognized him.

"Andrew! Hello! Just the pony I wanted to see!" She said in a lively tone. She immediately levitated several dozen folded clothes from the racks on the left side of the room and set them down onto the stage.

"Alright, I've made nine pairs of socks and undergarments, six pants, four shorts—"

"Whoa, slow down," Andrew interrupted, "how did you even make so many clothes? Doesn't it take a long time just to make a single piece of clothing by hand?" He eyed the rather large pile and wondered how on Earth the mare managed to get all of this done manually. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you went through so much trouble to make all this, thanks. It's just... don't you think you overworked yourself?"

"Nonsense darling," Rarity dismissed with a wave of her hoof, "Spike helped me plenty, and I always enjoy a good challenge. I made sure to take into account that you will be traveling a lot, so I didn't make more than what could be carried in a single large luggage bag. Besides, it isn't every day I'm tasked with making such exotic clothing. If anything, I should be thanking you." She looked into space as if daydreaming before saying, “I'll be the only seamstress in all of Equestria to have made clothing for our resident human, and if that isn't something that will get me attention, I don't know what will."

Andrew furrowed his brows in thought.

"But enough of that," Rarity said, "go ahead and have a look, tell me what you think!"

Andrew relented, grabbing the first piece of clothing his hands came upon. He examined it for only a moment before realizing what it was and quickly folding it back up and putting it to the side.

"Oh dear, did you not like it? Did I do something wrong? I can fix it right away if you want!" Rarity said in a rushed, worried tone.

"No, it's fine," Andrew reassured the mare, "It's just underwear, it's going to be covered all the time anyways. I guess it doesn't look bad, but it also wouldn't have mattered if it was the most plain thing in the world." His embarrassment ebbed away once he realized he was alone in seeing the awkwardness of the situation.

"Oh, I suppose you're right," Rarity agreed. "Then what about the rest of the clothing?"

They spent the next ten minutes going through the variety of clothing Rarity had made for him. All in all, there wasn't anything too extraordinary, seeing as Andrew only asked for plain clothes.

"It all looks great Rarity," Andrew said with a nod as he folded the last pair of jean pants, or rather, the closest thing to jeans Rarity was able to produce. The stitching wasn't quite as tight as regular jeans, but he didn't exactly see that as an issue.

"Now," Rarity started, "for the cloak I promised you, I'm sure you've been curious about why I had to send Spike with that crystal last week.”

"Uh huh?" Andrew answered, eyes narrowing as his curiosity peaked.

"Well, I've been thinking about what you've said. Normally, you would never find me recommending a cloak of all things to somepony, but you are no pony, and I feel it would only add to the enigmatic aura that surrounds you. Personally, I think that a nice air of mystery would suit you quite well. With that in mind, I made you this beauty." Her horn shone, and the garment she had been inspecting when he had first walked in floated into the air and unfolded itself.

"Oh, wow."

"You like it?"

Andrew nodded. "I mean... yeah," he answered. The dark gray apparel was something between a sweater and a cloak. It was definitely long and large enough to be considered a cloak, but it also had a hidden zipper in the front that seemed to go just below the groin area, while there was still enough free fabric to likely reach his knees. He reached out and grabbed the garment, Rarity's magic fizzing out as she relinquished her hold.

"Is it just me, or is it lighter than it looks?" He asked skeptically, the low weight being the first thing he noticed.

"I'll get to that in a moment darling, first, why not try it on?"

Andrew nodded and put it on in a quick, practiced fashion, his typical morning routine making the action completely effortless. The first thought that came to his mind was just how comfortable it was, then there was how cold it was. Well, it wasn't exactly cold, but pleasantly cool. But then, something else caught his attention.

"Is... Is there smoke coming out of this thing?"

Rarity leaned in to get a better look. Sure enough, there was a faint amount of smoke coming out of the cloak from seemingly random spots. The smoke dissipated rather quickly, but even still, it would be very noticeable even if one wasn't looking for it due to the contrast in color between the clear, whitish mist and the dark cloth.

Andrew caught Rarity's smile as she examined the cloak. "Wait, is it supposed to be smoking?"

"Does it bother you?" Rarity asked.

"I... no, I guess not, but—"

"What about the sound?" Rarity continued. "I don't hear anything from here, but what about you?"

The human stayed silent, trying to listen for the signature sound of magic coming into contact with him. He could hear a silent sizzle, but it was something that would easily be masked outside of a quiet room. "I hear it when we're quiet but... no, that doesn't really bother me either." He raised an arm, and a very visible plume of smoke escaped from the sleeve before fading into the air. "Umm, Rarity... what exactly did you do to this?"

"Well," Rarity began, the smile never leaving her face, "I wanted to place enchanted Onyx gems inside of the fabric, but in order to do that, I needed to make sure you wouldn't cancel out the spell through physical contact. That was where Spike came in, after making sure the crystal he brought back was still enchanted, I went straight to work. There are various onyx crystals and gems throughout the cloak, some of the enchantments include keeping the cloak warm in cold temperatures, such as when you're flying at high altitudes, and keeping you cool when in the sun. I assumed you were planning on visiting places all over Equestria, so I wanted to make sure changes in climate wouldn't be too much of an issue.

Andrew raised a brow at the explanation. "That's... impressive," he stated. "It also sounds expensive, I don't know if I have enough to—"

"Perish the thought," Rarity said before he could finish. "Princess Celestia herself commissioned me to make sure you have suitable clothing for the future. Of course, I tried to inform her that I was already in the process of making your apparel, but she insisted anyways. She even went so far as to provide me with the resources that went into making that cloak."

"Oh..." Andrew replied simply. That's... awfully nice of her, he thought idly. He would have to thank her for that next time he saw the alicorn.

"Are you certain the steam doesn't bother you?" Rarity asked.

"It's fine," Andrew answered.

"Wonderful, I quite like the mist myself," the mare admitted. "In that case, let me show you the best way to stow this all away into the luggage bag."

Roughly half an hour later, Andrew found himself back in front of the library that had become his new home, luggage in tow. He opened the door and entered just in time to see Spike jumping up and down in excitement in front of a mildly amused Twilight.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Spike exclaimed. "I promise not to let you down!" The purple dragon gave a firm military salute before noticing Andrew. "Oh, hey Andrew! How did you like the cloak!?"

"It's awesome," Andrew replied honestly. "What about you, what are you so excited about?"

"Me and the others are supposed to go to the crystal empire in a few days," Twilight began to explain, "and Spike here just offered to take care of Everypony's pets. He still has to ask everypony else, but I'm sure they'll be ok with it."

The human raised a brow, "How long will you be gone for?"

"Not long," she answered, "three days, maybe four." She looked at his luggage inquisitively. "Do you mind if I have a look at that cloak Rarity made you? I'd like to look at some of the enchantments Spike told me about."

"Oh, sure." Andrew replied, reaching down and unzipping the luggage, taking out the cloak.

Almost as soon as he lifted the garment, it was wreathed in a magenta aura, and sizzling smoke where he was grabbing it. He let go as he felt the cloak move away from him, shaking his hand a bit to clear away the mist.

Her eyes went wide, "Oh, wow... I would have never expected her to make something so..."

Spike cleared his throat, "Unfashionable", he said in a mock imitation of the fashionista's voice.

Twilight shot him a glaring look.

"What? We were all thinking it," the dragon stated. "Besides, she thought Andrew might be able to make it work."

Twilight seemed to ignore Spike as she scanned the cloak with her magic. "Temperature, weight control, are those sound dampeners?

And... are those..."

"What?" Andrew asked.

"Some of these crystals are..."

Andrew raised a brow, silently asking for further clarification.

"The enchantments on some of these crystals," She explained, her horn glowing just a bit brighter before she continued, "They're just enchanted to absorb and leak magic faster." She paused for a moment, eyes focused on the crystals hidden from the eyes of everyone but her. "They're enchanted to leak magic at a rate that's only slightly slower than they can absorb."

"What's the point of that?" Andrew questioned. Being able to heat and cool itself made sense, but what was the point of a cloak that leaked magic?

"Wait a minute!" The young dragon yelled he grabbed the cloak, the magical aura clearing as he took the cloth in his claws and ran over to Andrew. "Quick put it on!"

Andrew reached down and plucked it from Spike's claws, putting an arm through one sleeve while throwing it over his shoulder so his other arm would go through the other. When he finished, wisps of smoke began to seep through the stitching and neckline just as before.

"I suppose some smoke is unavoidable, considering all the magic running through that thing." Twilight mused aloud. "But that doesn’t explain what the point of—"

"I think I might have an idea," Andrew said, "Though Spike was ahead of me on that."

Andrew levitated himself only slightly off the floor, just enough so his toes barely left the ground. The reaction was immediate. shearing smoke erupting from almost the entire cloak. The smoke itself didn't move far before disappearing, but there was enough of it that the sweater itself was partially hidden behind a veil of misty white, giving the vague appearance that he was wearing a cloak made of literal mist. Surprisingly, the sound wasn't too much louder than before. He lowered himself back to a standing position and the cloud of smoke cleared shortly after. By the end of it, Andrew felt he was probably just as giddy as Spike was when he came in. He coughed in effort to reset his expression, but only managed to get himself down to a pleasant smile. Even Twilight was gaping at the display.

"Okay," Andrew started, "that was awesome."

"Yeah, I guess that explains the, uh, plain—BURP!" Spike was interrupted by loud belch, a small burst of flame accompanying the action. The green fire was quick to coalesce into a ball before flashing into a scroll. Spike snatched it out of the air on instinct, head lowered as he coughed out an "excuse me."

Andrew took off the cloak and folded it over the couch for the time being. He definitely had to thank Rarity again.

"It says to give it to you Andrew," Spike said when the human turned back around.

Andrew took the letter and gave it a quick read.

"It basically just says I should head to Canterlot whenever I can," Andrew stated. "With Chrysalis if possible, so I guess there's no rush since she's still in the hospital. I guess I could go there the same day you all head to the Crystal Empire."

"But then I'll be left all alone!" Spike protested.

Twilight raised a brow. "Oh? Were you planning on relying on Andrew's help?"

"N-no!" Spike exclaimed. "I can handle it all by myself!"

"I'm sure you can," she replied before looking back to Andrew. "Regardless, you should still at least go see Chrysalis and let her know."

"Yeah, I know," Andrew agreed, "I'll go see what she thinks about it now."

"Alright then." Twilight said. "Me and the girls plan on leaving in three days, just so you know."

"Got it." Andrew replied as he exchanged quick farewells once again and headed back out.

Andrew walked through the hallway toward Chrysalis's room, still surprised by what he had been told at the front desk. Apparently, Chrysalis had recovered far faster than they had predicted, enough to completely mystify the staff. Even though the changeling herself had told him about her above average healing, he didn't expect that to mean that broken bones would be close to healing after only a week. As he turned the corner and Chrysalis's room was in sight, he noticed that this particular section of the hospital had far more patients than the week before. He went to knock on the door, but Chrysalis yelled from inside before he had the chance.

"Come in, Andrew." Chrysalis said through an audible yawn.

He complied, closing the door behind himself as he approached the changeling, who was lying down on all fours on the bed. Compared to the week before, he would guess that she had lost half a dozen pounds in bandages. Even her dark carapace seemed to have regained much of its former sheen, though having never seen her in a healthy state, he couldn't be sure.

As was becoming too common with the changeling, she replied to his unspoken question.

"I could taste your apprehension a mile away."

That answered that...

He frowned and asked, "Are... are you exaggerating?"

She snorted. "Sure."

He still couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

"Anyways, I suppose you didn't stop by simply to say hello?"

"Uh, no, sorry," He admitted, feeling like he had done something wrong. "I got a message from Celestia about going to Canterlot for all the paperwork about us, something about notarization. I'm going to be heading over in three days and just wanted to let you know since it involves you too."

"Going back to Canterlot is the last thing I want to do," the changeling seethed. "And that's without taking into account the reception I would receive if word got out that the leader of the army that invaded them was there."

"I'm not expecting you to go or anything, God no," Andrew said defensively. Fast or healing or not, he didn't expect her to be well enough to the trip for awhile.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "As much as I appreciate the concern, I should be the judge of what I'm capable of, don't you think?"

Andrew stayed silent, choosing not to answer the obviously rhetorical question.

"I thought so," she continued, "and I don't see why I wouldn't be able to go to Canterlot. I asked for nearly all the patients to be moved to this wing so I can have more access to the ambient love of visiting friends and relatives, and it seems to have worked out rather well thus far."

"That's an understatement," Andrew commented. "Last time I saw you, I could barely even see your skin." She was a veritable mummy last week, and now it was only her midsection and foreleg that were covered.

"Like I said, Changelings heal quickly." Chrysalis Affirmed.

"And what about the doctors? Do you think they'll let you leave."

Chrysalis didn't answer him, instead she turned towards the opposite side of the bed and removed the covers before gingerly stepping onto the tiled ground below. She grinded her teeth as she slowly trotted around the foot of the bed to stand in front of the human. He had to look up at her from his seated position.

"As far as the staff is concerned, my recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. They're probably more interested in how I can heal so quickly than anything else," Chrysalis stated with confidence.

"So you used up all the love Cadance gave you?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, I expended it all to repair my body. At the moment, I'm only barely sustaining myself with ambient love, but that's only really viable during visiting hours."

Andrew caught sight of a ring at the base of her horn, only just noticing now due to it being just as dark as her horn.

"It's a magic dampener." Chrysalis clarified, catching his gaze.

"For what?" He asked.

"According to them," Chrysalis started, "it's for my own protection, but I'm free to remove it at any time. It's probably meant to stop unicorns from using their magic in their addled state of mind. For changelings, love doubles as both our food and our source of magic. I wouldn't want to be expending my already meager rations of love, so that makes the ring even more useful."

Andrew continued to examine the black ring for a few moments. If he had to guess, he would say it was was two pieces of onyx that clipped together. A flutter of movement caught his eye, and he moved his head slightly to follow it. On Chrysalis's back were two vestiges of membranous wings, each about the size of his open hand. He was going to speak, but felt a lump in his throat.

"They will heal," Chrysalis said with a sigh, turning away from the human and trotting a few steps forward. "Three days, then?"

"Yeah."

Chrysalis nodded and asked, "Have you been to Canterlot before?"

"No, why?"

"Why not just go today?" The changeling suggested, ignoring his question.

Andrew raised a brow and asked, "Why today?"

"Because why not?" Chrysalis answered. "I don't know how well you're adjusting to Equestria, but I'm getting sick and tired of this room." She glanced back at him and asked, "How do you feel about Equestria? Don't you miss your old world?"

Andrew suppressed the the inkling of rage that flickered in the back of his mind, though judging by Chrysalis's grin, he may as well have gotten red faced with anger.

"There's nothing to miss," he stated flatly. "Earth is dead to me, and as far as anyone there is concerned, so am I."

Chrysalis continued her grin, "You're lying."

Andrew felt another flame of anger at that.

"What? No I'm not!" He exclaimed.

The changeling's grin faltered for a moment before growing wider. "You actually believe that. Adorable. Fine, I won't press any further." She got back onto the bed and laid down on all fours. "What about Equestria, then?"

Andrew didn't exactly know how to take the accusation. He certainly didn't feel like he missed Earth, but Chrysalis wasn't exactly wrong in her assumptions about him up until now... He abandoned that train of thought and answered her question, "It's pretty nice, I guess. I like that I don't have to hide my powers here, but..."

"But?" Chrysalis echoed.

He shook his head, "I don't know, it's just... I've been reading about that predator sight thing..."

"Hmm, seems I was right, then," Chrysalis began, "at the summit, I didn't feel any indication of your emotions changing negatively when you looked at Keth, so I assumed something was off."

"Eeyup," Andrew confirmed, "but it looks like it's only one sided. I don't have it, but it seems to work when I'm the one being looked at."

"When did you come to learn about it?" She asked. "Something must have reacted to you strangely, otherwise you still wouldn't even know such a thing existed."

"That would probably have to be when this griffon chef was serving my food. He took one look at me and practically pissed himself."

Chrysalis raised a brow. "A griffon chef?" She took a moment to chuckle softly before continuing, "Figures, no doubt a griffon that found their calling in cooking wouldn't exactly be very confident in their fighting ability, which only served to exaggerate your threat in his eyes."

"Is it really that bad?" Andrew asked. "What exactly is it that everything sees when they look at me? As far as I've read, predators are only supposed to be able to gauge strength."

"Strength does play a large role in it," Chrysalis started, "but it's much more than just physical strength. For example, you're not exactly very threatening at first glance."

Andrew rolled his eyes and grumbled, "So I keep hearing..."

"Right, but when I look at you," she looked into his eyes, the various green hues that made up her irises becoming more pronounced as her pupils contracted into vertical slits, "my baser instincts scream at me to get as far away from you as I possibly can."

Andrew crossed his arms in thought. "What do you think Keth saw?"

"The dragon?" Chrysalis mused. "Not much, I'd say. If anything, you are in his eyes what a particularly aggressive chinchilla is to us."

"A chinchilla!?" Andrew exclaimed. "Are you serious!?"

"I am," Chrysalis assured with a nod. "I'm uncertain what makes you so threatening besides your telekinesis, but even that doesn't compare to that overgrown lizard."

There was a long moment of silence as Andrew mulled over this new information, broken when Chrysalis cleared her throat.

"So," she began, "would you like to take care of this today?"

"Y-yeah, sure," Andrew nodded. It was definitely a spur of the moment decision, but he didn't exactly have anything better to do. "I just need to stop by the library to let Twilight know."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

"Also, speaking of Twilight..." Andrew started tentatively. "I told her it was pointless, but she insisted I ask one last time."

"And you believe you already know the answer I'll give?" The Changeling grinned, not waiting for Andrew to reply before saying, "Well you're right, the answer remains the same."

"Thought so." Andrew stated. "Train station is right across from the library, anyways."

Chrysalis shrugged, getting off the bed as they both exited the room. They walked through the hallways of the hospital in relative silence, the moment they entered the Lobby, however—

"Hey, what are you doing here!?" One of the doctors called out when he caught sight of the changeling.

"What does it look like?" Chrysalis asked, "I'm leaving."

"I've told you before, Ms. Chrysalis, despite your rapid recovery, we should—"

"Thank you for the treatment, but consider this my self checkout, doctor Stable." The Changeling stated as the duo walked towards the double door exit.

Andrew was taken aback by the staff's reaction, but he didn't exactly know what to do, so he just carried on alongside Chrysalis towards the exit. Said double doors then began to glow white, and both human and changeling looked to the side see a white, gray maned unicorn. The stallion looked at them, then to Doctor Stable.

"Andrew, do you mind?" Chrysalis asked.

Crap, Andrew thought. He was put in the spotlight. At this point, it would be awkward if he did nothing and simply let Chrysalis get dragged back to her room...

As if wiped away with a rag, the magic covering the exit dispersed in a large swathe of mist. TIt opened right after, the duo not wasting any time before going outside, the doors closing itself behind them.

"T-the princess will hear of this!" Doctor Stable called out behind them before the door closed, in a tone that was more annoyed than angry.

"Oh, of that I'm certain," Chrysalis replied, though only Andrew could hear her now.

"I thought you said they wouldn't mind if you left?" He asked after putting some distance between themselves and the hospital.

"I said no such thing," Chrysalis stated, "I intentionally avoided answering that question. You're the one that should have paid more attention if you wanted straight answers. Besides, it's not like you suddenly became opposed to my leaving upon seeing their reaction." In his silence, she continued with, "In fact, I do believe you enjoyed that little exchange."

He looked away.

Chrysalis chuckled. "What is there to be embarrassed about?" She asked. "You enjoy using your powers, there isn't anything wrong with that."

Andrew shrugged before trying to change the subject. "Anyways, how long do you think the love you have will last?"

"Long enough that I shouldn't have to worry about it for a week at least, unless you're ok with me doing something I've just thought up."

Andrew turned to look at her with a raised brow. "What do you have in mind?"

Andrew stood with his back to the wall of the Ponyville train station, now wearing the cloak Rarity had made for him, as well as the luggage resting beside him. It was incredibly comfortable, as well as noticeable cool on the inside, thanks to the enchantments. He had just come from the library—barely a thirty second walk from his position—where he had just informed Twilight about his and Chrysalis's trip to Canterlot. She could scarcely believe that the Changeling was ready for the journey, even with the astonishing recovery Chrysalis had made thus far. Although she was against the idea, the decision wasn't exactly hers to make, so she relented and gave him the time for the next train and the standard fare.

He looked to the right and behind the corner of the building, catching sight of what looked to be Shining Armor quickly approaching.

"How did it go?" Andrew asked when 'Shining' rounded the corner.

Green flames engulfed the stallion's form, dispersing an instant later. In place of the stallion was a white, green maned pegasus mare, although instead of wings, two feathered asymmetric stumps jutted out of her back. "Better than I thought it would, to be perfectly honest," Chrysalis replied. "All I did was make up some arbitrary excuse for why I came back to Ponyville, and seeing as how Twilight and her brother have such vastly differing opinions of me, it was safe to assume that they got into some sort of argument last week. I began with apologizing for whatever it is that Shining said." Chrysalis proceeded to clear her throat, a dull green glow barely visible from her open mouth. Then, in a pitch-perfect imitation of Shining's voice, Chrysalis said mockingly, "Oh, I'm so sorry Twilight, I don't know what came over me." She even sniffled perfectly, wiping away tears with her hooves. "I'm so sorry for upsetting you Twily, could you please find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"No way..." Andrew said, dumbstruck.

Chrysalis cackled, "Thanks to that sentimental little pony, I won't have to worry about my love reserves for weeks!"

"Seriously?" Andrew questioned. "Will it really last so long?"

Chrysalis nodded and said, "Love is an incredibly potent source of magic. You didn't think my hive had to invade the nearby pony villages on a daily basis for sustenance, did you?"

Andrew shrugged, "I guess not. Still though, ya know it's only a matter of time until she finds out that wasn't her brother, right?"

Chrysalis, finally composed, rubbed the final tears of laughter from her eyes and shrugged, "That doesn't exactly sound like my problem, now does it."

Andrew sighed, "Well, I guess not, still kind of a dick move though."

"I'm a changeling, Andrew," Chrysalis said, as if stating the obvious. "I have to do things like this every now and then. How else am I going to feed myself if not through some form of deceit?"

Before Andrew could answer, a telltale chugging sound brought their attention to the quickly approaching train. Neither they nor the train wasted any time as it came to a quick stop, and they stood to the side as a small handful of ponies exited. He received a few curious glances, but otherwise went mostly ignored. In fact, it was Chrysalis that garnered several sympathetic stares due to her wings. As the last passenger exited, they stepped up and he purchased their tickets before entering the now empty train.

The interior was filled with rows of rectangular beige seats along the sides, no doubt the long, soft seats were ideal for equine passengers, who were more likely to lie down instead of sit on their rump like a human. Along the walls were large vertical pieces of green glass that flowed downward in the shape of a cloud. It was on either side of these glass clouds that the cushioned seats were attached.

"Have you never been on a train before?" Chrysalis asked as she trotted over and lied down on the nearest seat.

"It's not that," Andrew replied as he followed behind the changeling and took a seat on the other side of the glass. "I just haven't been on one so empty before. The trains back home are packed pretty much all the time."

"All the better for us, I say." Chrysalis commented.

Andrew reached into one of the inner pockets of his cloak, removing the onyx ring that was on Chrysalis's horn. "Do you think they'll miss this?" He asked, raising the ring against the light that poured through the window.

The disguised changeling turned to see what he was holding, eyebrow raised at the steaming item. "Probably," she answered, "if you really care that much, just keep it on you in case they ask for it back."

Andrew shrugged mentally before pocketing the ring and looking outside just as the train finally began to move. The trip was supposed to take quite a few hours due to the journey not being a straight shot towards Canterlot, as well as even having to make several loops around the mountain itself before reaching the city. No doubt they could get there in a fraction of the time if they manually flew, but that was currently out of the question for Chrysalis.

He leaned against the window, looking towards the now receding town. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't actually seen any other town in Equestria besides Ponyville, let alone a city like Canterlot, that looked extravagant even from half a day's distance away.

A sudden jolt from the train startled Andrew awake, he didn't even realize he had fallen asleep. He rubbed his eyes to clear them, then glanced towards Chrysalis on the other side of the glass. She was looking outside, though at what he couldn't tell, as her face was hidden behind her mane. She was still wearing her disguise.

"Andrew." She said in a calm voice, bereft of her usually serious tone.

"Yeah?" Andrew replied through a yawn, wondering how long he had been asleep.

"What does it feel like to die?" She asked.

That question brought him to full lucidity. His mind instantly went back to the moments after he was skewered, to what little he could remember before he...

A sudden intake of breath from Chrysalis caught his attention, she shivered.

"I see..." She said quietly. "I still want to hear you describe it..."

Her face still hidden, Andrew gave up on trying to guess what was going through her head, and simply answered her question as best he could. "It was..." he struggled for a moment, trying to find the words. "Dark... I couldn't see anything... I couldn't feel anything either. It was just me and my thoughts up until the end."

"And... and what of the end?" Chrysalis inquired.

"I..." Andrew began, "I remember being scared..." He chuckled superficially. "Who wouldn't be, right? I mean, there must be something wrong with me if I wasn't. Nobody wants to die..."

He couldn't see her face, but he saw her gulp before she said, "O-of course... no one wants to die... But... what about after?"

"After?" Andrew echoed skeptically.

"Yes. What happened after you... lost yourself... after you... slipped away...?"

Despite the self regulating cloak, Andrew felt himself suddenly grow colder. He clutched at the garment, holding it closer to himself. The fabric sizzled in protest, though it went ignored by both parties.

"Nothing." Andrew stated simply. "Like the time after you fall asleep, but before you start dreaming... nothing. One moment I... I don't know... one moment I'm just... not, and then I wake up in the hospital."

The changeling lowered her head from the window, resting it on top of her crossed fore hooves.

"Sorry..." Andrew apologized, feeling like he didn't give her the answers she wanted to hear.

"No, I should be apologizing," she replied, "I shouldn't have made you recall such a harrowing experience."

Andrew frowned, replaying the experience again in his head. A grunt from Chrysalis derailed his train of thought when he saw her shiver again, her eyes were still covered, but her grimace was clearly visible through the thin veil of her dark mane. He wanted to ask if something was wrong, but he second guessed himself. He felt like he would get a response that went something like what do you think? In the end, he chose to stay silent, yet even then, he wasn't at all surprised when Chrysalis commented on feelings he couldn't bring himself to express.

"As I've said before," she started, "your emotions are incredibly... bright, potent, whatever. The point is, your emotions are only exagger—" She paused, as if reconsidering her words. "They cause me... discomfort..."

It was the droplets of water falling from behind her mane that finally clued him into how exactly he was affecting her. It all made sense now. Why she was so curious about what his death was like, her physical reactions to his negative emotions. It wasn't just a matter of being annoying, the grief he felt for his mother's death, for Steve's, all the negative emotions swirling around his head, be they conscious or not... They were both trying their best to hide their grief from each other, but in Chrysalis's case, It was bad enough that she had lost her entire hive, here he was multiplying her grief even more.

She must have sensed his epiphany, as she turned away from him to hide her shame.

"I'm going to use the restroom," Andrew lied before getting up.

Chrysalis only grumbled an "mhm" before he exited through the back of the coach and into the next one, finding himself a new seat for the rest of the journey.

Chapter 21

View Online

"Andrew."

"Hello?"

"Andrew, wake up!"

Andrew woke to the sight of Chrysalis standing in front of him.

"We're here," she stated, gesturing behind him with her chin.

He looked out the window behind him, rubbing his sore neck as he took in the sight of Canterlot. The train had stopped about a hundred yards from the city, and with the morning light he could easily make out the towering spires and buildings that lay beyond the white walls.

He got up just as the doors opened, still rubbing his stiff neck.

"Rough nap?" The changeling inquired.

"You could say that..." Andrew mumbled. "My neck is killing me."

"Why didn't you just lie down instead of lean against the window?" She asked as he took hold of his luggage.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It didn't even cross my mind, I'm used to just going to sleep sitting on trains."

Chrysalis stayed silent as they exited the train, Andrew taking a moment to crack his aching neck before taking in the scenery as they walked. The edge of the mountain was on the left of the road they were following, while on their right was a relatively flat grassland, at the end of which the rest of the wide mountain continued to rise far into the sky. There was a waterfall cutting through the side of the mountain, which created a small lake that then flowed over the left side, splitting around the building that marked the city entrance. A wooden drawbridge is what closed the watery gap.

As they approached the bridge, the two guards standing at its sides halted their hushed whispers.

The one on the left cleared his throat and asked, "Detmer, correct?"

Andrew nodded.

"We weren't expecting you so soon... Ah, no matter." He looked to the disguised Chrysalis "And you are...?"

"She's with me," Andrew said.

The stallion frowned, then glanced at Chrysalis's back. He quickly looked away and said, "Very well, enjoy your stay."

"I understand this will be your first time in the city, would you like a guide?" The other guard asked.

Andrew shook his head, "No thanks."

The stallion nodded. "If you insist, but don't be afraid to ask for directions, you won't find nicer ponies in all of Equestria than in our city."

With that, they crossed the bridge and walked through the porcelain white halls of the building before exiting on the other side. This time, a downward-winding stretch of suspended road was all that separated them from Canterlot proper.

Andrew groaned. "Who the hell decided to build a city on the side of a mountain, and why did they think that would be a good idea?"

"Who knows," Chrysalis replied, "maybe you'll get to ask her yourself. On the topic of questions, though, It feels like there's something you want to ask me." She turned her head to the left to look at him, waiting for a response.

"Yeah," Andrew confirmed, "about that disguise, are you sure you wouldn't rather be in your own skin?" He let go of his luggage's handle and it rolled up alongside him, keeping pace with the duo.

He gestured to the suitcase, "I mean, look at me. A few weeks ago, I couldn't use my powers in public because then the entire world would probably be after me." He then gestured to the sky around them, "Here though, I'm free to use it all the time, and nobody cares. These powers are a part of me, and I like not having to hide them." Finally, he gestured to her, "What's the point of finally being free from that desert if you're still going to walk around looking like someone else?"

The changeling stood still, halting their progress. She eyed him wearily, "You realize that the locals won't receive me very well right?"

"Who cares!?" Andrew scoffed, raising his voice. He could feel the anger beginning to bubble up inside him. "It's not like the guards are going to do anything. I mean.... You're not just going to let them..." He trailed off.

"...You seem to be taking this rather personally, aren't you?" She guessed, eyes narrowing. She said it more like a statement than a question.

He looked away, remembering how often he had been picked on at school, mostly at the hands of Dwayne. His anger cleared somewhat when he reminisced on how he had called to the bully in the hallway not too long ago, the moment he had turned around, Andrew had deftly 'lassoed' the bullies two front teeth right out of his mouth. Well, perhaps not too cleanly, as only one of the teeth was pulled completely, while only the top half of the other was taken. He couldn't help but smile softly at the memory, Dwayne had gotten was coming to him.

He swallowed, clearing away his smile as he turned back to Chrysalis. She was looking at him with a soft grin.

Chrysalis was engulfed in a swathe of green flames, the fire disappearing as quickly as it came, leaving behind the changeling in her original form.

"Alright then," she said, raising a foreleg and eyeing the various holes. "We can try it your way."

They resumed along the path, and less than a minute later they crossed the gates, the final threshold into the city.

The intersection they had stumbled into was bustling with activity, ponies walking to and fro, this way and that. The building was a bright pearly white with purple and gold designs of various shapes and sizes.

And then everything stopped.

They hadn't gotten more than a few steps into the city before all eyes were trained on them. The dozens of ponies stared blankly at the human and changeling, though which surprised them more, they couldn't tell.

They never stopped moving, and as they walked further into the street, several ponies stepped aside to make way for them. The moment the crowd was behind them, the silence was broken as dozens of hushed whispers broke out.

"How could the princess possibly let such a vile creature back here?" A mare asked in a pompous tone, clearly not caring who heard her.

"And that new human pony is with her too, what do you think that's about?" A stallion questioned.

"My cousin is a royal guard." Another stallion chimed in. "He heard from his squad mate who heard from his captain who was at the summit that the changeling she-devil-"

Whatever the stallion said, they were too far away now to hear it. Making use of their regained privacy, Andrew spoke. "So, what did you get from them?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing I wasn't already expecting," She replied. "Hate, confusion, disgust, a bit of which was aimed at you, I might add."

Andrew gave the changeling a quizzical look, "Really? Just from being with you?"

"Yes," she answered, "Just for being with me, welcome to the Equestria, the land of love and tolerance," she said in a mocking tone.

"Well, it's not like we have to be here for that long anyway," Andrew said with a shrug. Given that there was little doubt they would have to stay in the city for a day or so, a little animosity from the residents wasn't that big of a deal.

They rounded a corner and were now approaching a large, open area bustling with activity. It looked to be some sort of market square, and it was filled to the brim with commerce, be it inside the many stores, or the numerous stands outside. Andrew lagged a step behind the changeling, in part because he assumed she knew the way to the castle, and in part to avoid drawing most of the attention. His efforts didn't seem to amount to anything once they entered the square, however, as they once again almost immediately earned the undivided attention of every last soul in view.

Regardless, Chrysalis led them forward all the same, getting to the center of the square before stopping and glancing around at the ponies looking back at them.

It took Andrew a moment to realize that their way forward was blocked by a large group ponies, though it didn't seem intentional. He opened his mouth to speak, but one of the stallions in front of him spoke first.

"Aren't you that alien thing that cropped up in Ponyville not too long ago?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Another stallion answered from somewhere behind them. "He's the thing that caused that storm!"

"I heard he was the one that stopped it, though."

Before anyone else could respond, an older stallion in a suit pushed his way through the crowd to enter the large open space in the center and pointed a hoof at Chrysalis and yelled, "I remember you! You were the monster that hurt the princess during Cadence's wedding!"

Chrysalis gave Andrew a look that said, "I told you so". She then replied with, "Yes, and so what if I am?"

The older stallion snarled in disgust, "You would dare to show that grotesque visage of yours in our fair city again, after what you did to us!?"

"After what I did to you?" Chrysalis snarled right back. "Please, do tell."

"You ruined my house's chimney!" Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

"You broke my shop's windows!" Another shouted.

Andrew didn't have to be a changeling to know that Chrysalis was doing her all to suppress her rage.

"You think you had it bad, I had to spend the next week stuck on the ground with a broken wing!"

"Jesus Christ..." Andrew muttered low enough so only Chrysalis could hear. Although she wouldn't recognize the human idiom, she could probably figure it out by sensing his emotions. He stopped paying attention to the complaints the crowd was spewing in their direction, and that's all they really were, complaints. They kept going on about how the changeling invasion had inconvenienced them in some way.

Chrysalis was practically growling at this point, her rows of sharp teeth on display to any who happened to look. She began to take a step toward the ponies only to stop when she felt Andrew place his hand on her back. She glanced back at the human, only to see him shake his head.

"Don't," he began, "they're more trouble than they're worth. Let's just get out of here."

Although the changeling didn't take another step, she still couldn't pry herself from the commotion.

Then it all stopped.

Rather, stopped wasn't the right word, as the crowd was getting rowdier by the moment, though their yelling was now directed among themselves more so than Chrysalis. However, while visually the crowd was a sea of grimaces and angry faces, no sound reached them.

Chrysalis gave the muted crowd a quizzical look before turning it towards the human. "I- I thought you only had telekinesis, how are you doing this?"

"It's a lot easier than it looks," Andrew assured. "Let's just slip by while they're busy with... whatever it is that they're doing."

Without another word, they continued to make their way towards one of the streets exiting the square, now bereft of ponies as they had all huddled closer together behind them to better dispute. They exited the square without issue, taking the first left, but stopping a few moments later when a shadow caught Andrew's eye. He stopped and turned to see a beige coated unicorn colt on the floor rubbing his forehead. He also appeared to be muttering something at them, and Andrew wasted no more time before collapsing his bubble. A gentle breeze ran through him and the now turned changeling as the air rushed to fill the empty space.

Noticing that he had their attention, the colt stood up with an annoyed expression. "Hey! I was calling you guys!" He exclaimed.

"Uh... sorry," Andrew apologized, "we couldn't hear you." It wasn't technically a lie, right? He thought to himself.

Seemingly oblivious to Andrew's apology, the colt's expression changed to one of awe as he looked up at them. He looked from one to the other and said, "You guys don't have any fur!"

Before either of them could reply, the colt gasped loudly, then ran up and shoved one of his legs straight through one of the holes on Chrysalis's foreleg.

The changeling stood stiff and wide-eyed at the brazen action. She had to crane her neck back and head down to properly look down at the rude colt.

"Woow, that's so cool, how do I get holes in my legs?" The unruly child asked a bemused Chrysalis.

Chrysalis gave the colt a forced, toothy smile, gritting her teeth as she answered with, "I'll be more than happy to show you, just as soon as you—"

Andrew interrupted the changeling when he bent over grabbed the colt on his sides, then slid him away from the changeling.

"Hey!" He protested.

"Thank you," Chrysalis said as she eyed her leg with a frown.

Andrew was now holding the colt at arm's length under the armpits. He was looking down at Andrew's hands with a mixture of curiosity and displeasure.

"So," Chrysalis began, "does our intrusive little pony have a name?"

"Yeah! Blink Bright!" He replied enthusiastically, seemingly no longer concerned about his current position.

"Seriously? Blink Bright?" Andrew questioned as he glanced at the colt's cutie mark which was nothing more than a large spark. "So like, what are you supposed to do, be a strobe light?" He heard a snicker from Chrysalis.

"Hey!" Blink cried. "I'm not a strobe light, I'm a super skilled unicorn!"

"Uh huh," Andrew agreed, "and I can make a storm appear out of nowhere."

"You can?" Blink asked, not a hint of skepticism in his eyes.

"Put the colt down so we can get something to eat," Chrysalis said. "I'm tired of hospital food, and I can't remember the last time I've eaten fresh meat.

"Right around this corner!" A distant voice called out.

Andrew and Chrysalis looked ahead to see a unicorn royal guard and the elder stallion from before rounding the corner, Blink having to turn his head around to see.

The moment both groups saw each other, the elder stallion pointed and screamed, "They have a child! Stop them."

~~The guard's vision turned red with bloodlust and he wasted no time in charging the two like any rational character of authority.~~

The guard instantly readied his spear, but upon noticing the colt's smile, he gave an inaudible groan before saying something to the stallion. The stallion snarled in frustration, before turning and leaving the way they came.

Andrew set Blink on the ground as the guard approached them, the spear now lowered.

"Thanks for not instantly trying to murder us," Andrew said.

The guard snorted, "What, did you expect me to see the kid, then try and take you down without so much as trying to get a word of explanation from you? Anypony that does that clearly doesn't belong in the royal guard." He looked down to catch Blink trying to squeeze his head through a particularly large hole in Chrysalis's hind leg. She, in turn, kept trying to push him away. "Anyways, just to be sure, you two aren't the ones disturbing the peace?" The guard asked.

"You came here from the same direction we did, you tell us," Chrysalis said as she lit her horn and formed a mouse wheel around Blink, who saw it not as a mobile prison but as his next toy.

"Hmm, right, I figured as much," the guard nodded. "And what about him?" He indicated towards the colt. "And him?"

"He isn't with us," Chrysalis answered. "In fact, it would be a huge help if you were to take him with you."

"I can do that, know where you're going?"

"Could you point us to a decent restaurant that serves meat?" Andrew asked.

The guard took a moment to think before answering. "Well, if you're heading to the castle, I'm sure the chefs there will be more than happy to cater to your needs, and the quality will beat even the finest of restaurants you'll find in the city."

"Oh, well I guess that works too." Andrew agreed.

"Just keep in mind that day court started not too long ago, so it might be awhile until you get to speak with her. What's the young one's name?"

Andrew rolled his eyes, "Blink Bright..."

"And he already has his cutie mark too," The guard mused with a smile. "Blink Bright!" He called out to the colt, who was currently running circles around the changeling. His ears perked up at the sound of his name and he turned to look at the guard. "Why don't you come with me so we can see about getting you home."

Blink's horn shone a coffee colored hue as, in an almost blinding flash of light, he popped into existence on the back of the guard's neck.

"Already teleporting at that age?!" The guard said incredulously. "Ain't that something."

"Before you go, are you new to Canterlot?" Chrysalis asked.

"Eeyup," the guard answered, "still in training, though. I managed to get myself a day of unsupervised patrol today." He turned to leave while saying, "I should really be heading back now, somepony needs to keep that crowd calm."

She nodded thoughtfully and muttered, "Well that explains that."

After the guard left, they continued their walk towards the castle. The grand building was on the other side of the city resting against the mountain overlooking the whole of Canterlot.

"So, how hard is teleporting?" Andrew asked, breaking the silence. "He seemed pretty impressed when that kid did it, but it can't be that hard if some random kid can learn it, right?"

The changeling shook her head. "No, it actually is rather difficult," she replied. "But a pony's cutie mark has a marked effect on their aptitude in whatever it relates to, and in that colt's case, it must have been teleportation magic. That simply makes him an exception."

Andrew didn't reply. As they approached a busy street, the ponies gave them a wide berth. There were quite a few hushed whispers surrounding them, as well as scornful looks directed at the changeling, and even him as if by association. Other than that, however, the rest of the walk to the castle was rather uneventful, and they soon found themselves at the entrance to the grand building. The guard didn't bother to hide his disgust towards Chrysalis, and refrained from speaking so much as a word to her. He allowed them passage into the castle almost immediately, after insisting that Andrew give advanced notice 'next time'.

They turned a corner and had to stop abruptly, lest they bump into the back of the stallion at the back of a long line of nobles, at the end of which was a tall double door that could only be the throne room.

"Andrew!?"

They both turned around to face none other than Luna.

Much to the human's surprise, the smiling alicorn wrapped a foreleg around him and pressed the side of her face against his chest in a hug.

Ever since his arrival in Equestria, the physical contact he's had with others had been minimal at best, the majority of it coming from situations where it couldn't be helped, like sitting in a crowded table.

Too stunned to return the gesture, Chrysalis spoke on his behalf.

"You're making him uncomfortable," She stated.

Luna pulled back in surprise, now noticing how stiff Andrew had become. "Oh dear," she said with a frown, "my apologies Andrew, that was never my intent."

"No, it's fine," Andrew assured. "I just wasn't expecting it is all."

Luna nodded and turned towards the changeling. "Hello Chrysalis, I believe this is our first informal meeting."

"Luna," the changeling said, "the mare in the moon herself. I've only ever heard stories of nightmare moon, not so much the mare that would later become 'darkness incarnate'."

Luna chuckled. "Well, I'll be happy to tell you over some breakfast, you two look famished. Come, follow me."

The alicorn turned and began leading them through the castle halls.

"So, I take it you are recovering well?" Luna asked, gesturing her head to the left, indicating she was speaking to the changeling behind her.

"Well enough, I suppose," Chrysalis answered. "The sooner I can leave that town, the better."

"About that," Luna started, "Andrew, have you been thinking of where you want to go? Personally, I would recommend Manehattan as your first stop, as that will probably be most familiar to your world.

"Would that not defeat the purpose?" Chrysalis asked

"Hmm, I suppose so," Luna replied, "but is it not better to take things slow at first?"

"Well I've been 'taking it slow' since I got here," Andrew said as they came to a door labeled 'kitchen'. "I don't just want more of the same, I want to see more animals like griffons and dragons, not more talking ponies.. Uhh, no offense.”

Luna rolled her eyes. "It's fine, your thirst for adventure is justified, considering where you are now versus before." With that, she opened the door, and the various chefs inside turned to look at their princess.

"Greetings," Luna began as all the chefs gave her curt bows.

"Y-your highness." One of the chefs said. "I presume today's breakfast will include your guests as well?" He gave Andrew and Chrysalis a curious glance.

Luna nodded, then turned to look at the pair and said, "Feel free to order whatever you like, our pantry can cater to any diet."

Luna sat at the end of the dining table, with Andrew to her right and Chrysalis next to him.

"Won't you be bothered by our food?" Andrew asked the alicorn. Due to the paltry snacks provided on the train, he and Chrysalis both decided to skip what would be considered a conventional breakfast, and instead ordered steak and mashed potatoes for him, while the changeling preferred a combination of various meats and fish he had never heard of.

"I'll be fine," she replied, opening her mouth and showing off two small fangs. "Remnants of my transformation a thousand years ago. Since then, I've even developed an appetite for meat, one that I have no qualms indulging in every now and then. Speaking of food, however, how exactly do you two plan on feeding yourselves during your travels? Andrew's stipend should suffice when staying in a town, but depending on where exactly you are headed, and the paths you take, you could very well be alone for days or weeks at a time."

The human shrugged, "Well, I know how to cook, enough to not undercook anything at least, and catching food shouldn't be an issue with my powers."

"Is there a problem with eating meat raw?" Chrysalis inquired.

"For us yes," Andrew replied. "There are enough diseases you can get by eating raw meat back home, not about to risk it with chickens that can turn people into stone."

"Understandable," Luna said with a nod. "And what of you, Chrysalis. Solids are one thing, but how will you satiate your other dietary need?"

"I'll manage," the changeling answered.

"In other words, you have no idea," Luna accused.

"What does it matter to you?" Chrysalis asked. "You weren't even aware of my existence a few months ago, and the only thing you can attribute to me is the failed invasion of your city that you casually slept through."

The alicorn shook her head in disappointment, "Were it not for my sister's lax treatment of this era's army, I have no doubt we would have been able to resolve it with minimal casualties."

"Well, it's a little late for 'would haves'," Chrysalis commented.

"So it is," Luna agreed, "the Changeling War came after my banishment, so I only have my sister's account of the events that transpired. I'm not exactly capable of forming an unbiased opinion on the matter. From what my sister recounted, it was a silent war full of widespread disappearances and spies, our subjects tortured for information before being disposed of and impersonated."

"Get to the point." Chrysalis seethed.

"I want your side of the story," the alicorn clarified.

"That will be rather difficult," Chrysalis began, "considering I have no such information to give. My queen was more worried about keeping us fed than holding history lessons."

"Oh... I see." Luna said with a frown before looking at the human. "Andrew, is there something wrong?"

"Huh? No, why?" He answered.

"You haven't been talking," Luna commented.

"Kind of hard to considering I have almost no clue what you're talking about."

"Then I suppose a change of topic is in order then," Luna suggested. "Have there been any new developments with your powers? I've been reading all the letters Twilight has sent us, but has there been anything more recent of note?"

Andrew shook his head. "Not really, no."

"Then what was that sound barrier you created earlier?" Chrysalis questioned.

"Sound barrier?" Luna said skeptically.

"Yes," the changeling continued, "whatever he did, it was a perfect copy of a sound barrier spell."

"Your applications of telekinesis continue to astound me, Andrew," Luna said.

He stayed silent at that.

It wasn't long before their food was served and they spent the next half hour partaking in relative silence. Luna had tried to strike up a conversation several times, but Andrew and Chrysalis's primary focus was being directed at wolfing down their food.

By the time Celestia had a break from her day court activities, neither party had the strength for extended conversation, one too stuffed with food and the other from dealing with countless stubborn nobles.

The elder alicorn sighed as she summarized the next document that needed to be signed. She sat in her office room, with Andrew and Chrysalis seated across from her.

"This," she began in a bored tone, "is what will give you discounted lodgings at any hotels or, if you're in a less developed area, inns. You can also be fed for free at most establishments, but that is only to be used if you are genuinely starving, abusing this will incur a harsh punishment."

Andrew signed the paper without fuss, then slid it over to the changeling to do the same.

Chrysalis snorted. "How much more of this is there?"

"Not much more," Celestia assured, grabbing yet another paper from the stack at her side. She abbreviated its contents, then they signed it. The process repeated itself several more times before the last document was placed into a folder with the rest.

"Well, that just about covers it," the alicorn stated. She looked outside the window to her sun and said, "It's only just past five, I can lead you to your rooms now so you know where they are, and can have two copies of everything ready for you come morning."

Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, so what's next?"

"Nothing," Celestia stated. "As of this moment, you are legally your own, err, persons. So long as you stay within the law, you may go where you wish and do as you please. Celestia got up from her desk and opened a drawer, levitating a leather pouch from within. She floated it over to Andrew, the human cupping his hands to catch the falling purse.

"What is that for?" Chrysalis asked, eyeing the empty bag.

"Andrew's bi-monthly stipend will be delivered directly to that coin purse," Celestia answered.

Andrew frowned and asked, "Is it safe for me to hold onto it?"

"Not to worry," Celestia said. "The spell is imbued within a piece of onyx at the bottom of the pouch. Did Rarity explain how onyx works?"

"She did," Andrew replied.

"And I take it cloak is her hoofwork?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Andrew said, earning Chrysalis's interest as she no doubt felt his excitement rising.

Fizzling mist surrounded the entirety of the cloak, the changeling took a step away from the human while Celestia's eyes widened at the sight.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the mist faded away, leaving no trace that it was ever there.

"Well then," Celestia began with a chuckle, "I know Rarity can be a bit eccentric, but to turn your powers into a fashion statement only you could pull off... I do believe our fashionista has outdone herself, I ought to commission something for Chrysalis as well."

"I'm just fine as I am," the changeling stated.

"If you insist," Celestia relented. "With all that out of the way, let me show you to your rooms, then you can go about your day as you see fit, but try to come back before eight if you'd like to order something from the kitchens."

As they were led through the white marble halls of the castle, Andrew couldn't help but notice how Chrysalis was eyeing each and every guard they walked past, suspicion etched on her face the entire time.

"Here we are," Celestia said once they had arrived. She gestured to the two doors next to each other and said, "both rooms are mirrored in appearance and share the same balcony. If there is anything at all you need just pass on the message to a maid and they'll see what can be done. Now, as much as I would like to stay and chat, my break will be over soon and I need to get back to my duties."

With a final "thanks" from Andrew, the alicorn left them to their own devices.

Chapter 22

View Online

"So what's up with all the guards you were looking at?" Andrew finally asked.

Chrysalis was in the middle of looking into her room when he asked, and she had to pull her head back to answer him. "They were good at hiding it behind those masks of theirs, but their animosity towards me was practically palpable. I'm pretty certain there was one guard in particular that was resisting the urge to run me through with his spear as we were passing by."

Andrew grimaced, he knew very well what that was like. Chrysalis entered the room while he followed suit. Seeing as he was staying in a castle, he wasn't surprised by the fact that the room was easily twice the size of his living room. The floor was a white and purple checkerboard, while the walls were a light arsenic. What did surprise him was how lightly furnished it was. There was a dresser with a mirror above it to their left, with two large windows right behind it that nearly reached the ceiling.
There were two doors along the right wall that likely led to a restroom and closet, and on the opposite side of the room from them was the large exit to the balcony draped in purple curtains.

Trying to ignore the room, Andrew continued the conversation with, "So, what do you want to do about the guards?" Surely she didn't want to stay at the castle where so many armed ponies hated her guts.

"Nothing right now," she trotted towards the bed and jumped onto it.

"You... don't seem very worried..."

"I'll be able to sense them before they even enter the room." She grabbed the other side of the blanket in her magic and threw it over herself as she laid her head down to sleep.

"And will that be enough to wake you up?"

Her eyes fluttered open before training themselves on him. "Good point, I suppose it would be enough of a deterrent if we simply stay together."

"Can't we just tell Celestia?" He suggested.

"We could," Chrysalis started, "but on the off chance that a guard does act on their desire for vengeance, which they will no doubt fail to carry out, it would at least set an example for anyone else that has similar ideas."

Andrew walked over and sat on the bed next to the changeling, who was now resting her head on top of her crossed forehooves.

He nodded, "I get it, they mentioned that there might be groups that want to come after us because we're both the only ones of our species alive. You just want to get the word out that it won't be that easy."

"Precisely," Chrysalis confirmed, "and the shame and embarrassment the princess will feel after the rest of Equestria find out that the royal guard tried to kill someone in their sleep is just icing on the cake."

Andrew moved further away from the changeling and turned towards her. "So let me get this straight, you want someone to attack us tonight?"

"Yes, why?" She grinned. "Are you frightened?"

"You know I'm not," he replied seriously. She could easily read his emotional state, all she was trying to do was get under his skin. Even despite knowing this, however, he couldn't help but get the slightest bit peeved.

"Sorry," Andrew muttered.

The changeling chuckled in response, "I'm flattered, truly, but I think it would be best if you find somewhere else to sleep."

"I wasn't trying to!" Andrew started, then stopped when he noticed the smirk on her face. He rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. "I haven't showered since yesterday morning."

"While you're at it, go ahead and bring the other bed here too," Chrysalis said. "We need to stay close by anyways just in case."

"Alright," he agreed. He turned around and exited through the balcony instead. The moment he exited the room he was assaulted by the chorus of the city below. He approached the railing and leaned over to get a better look. The city was a vast expanse of white, gold and purple. The few streets he could make out in their entirety from this distance and height were full of moving specks. Above the chaos of the paved roads, pegasi were making full use of their wings to navigate their environment.

"As much as I hate Celestia, I have to admit she has an eye for architecture."

Andrew nodded in agreement, glancing to the side to see Chrysalis gazing out into the city as well. He was so enraptured by the view that he almost failed to notice her. When he finally pried his eyes away to fully look at the changeling, he saw the half-formed, membranous wings on her back flutter about excitedly.

"Have your wings gotten bigger?" He asked.

She followed his gaze, giving the half-wings another few flaps before they folded back against her body and each was then covered by what looked like large chitinous plates. The plates themselves were the same dark green color that covered her midsection, and were practically invisible, not even an outline giving away their presence.

"They have," she answered. "They should be fully formed in a day or so, then I'd like to wait for one more before I actually start to use them."

"So whaddya want to do?" Andrew asked, "Leave right after you're ready?"

She shrugged, "The sooner we leave the better, I say, though I admit I'm somewhat biased in that."

"Fair enough," Andrew responded. "I'm gonna get the other bed now."

He turned around and opened the door to what was supposed to be his room. It was just as advertised, a perfect mirroring of the other room, the bed was against the wall to his left, likely right next to its twin on the other side. He didn't bother entering the room, opting instead to reach out a hand to grasp the bed in his telekinesis. It levitated off the ground before turning on its side, the blankets nearly fell before he caught and bunched them up alongside the mattress. He backed up to make room for the bed to go through the doorway.

"Do your powers come from your hands?" Chrysalis asked.

"Hm?" Andrew inquired, tilting his head to the side to better catch her attention as he brought the bed through the other door.

"Your hands," she repeated, "are they the catalyst for your magic the same way my horn is for mine?"

"Not exactly," he replied, dropping his hand to his side. The bed continued into the room before being set down on the left side of the room between the bathroom and closet. "I don't need to use my hands, it just kind of feels right to." He re-entered the room and removed his cloak, setting it down folded on top of the dresser as Chrysalis got back on her own bed.

She snorted, "So it's the equivalent of a foal still having to point their horn at things when they use their magic?"

He would have been offended by the comparison if he didn't already know she was just messing with him. He still wasn't sure what to make of her nonchalant attitude in the face of.. well, everything. "Do you want to head out and explore the city?" He asked.

"You can do whatever you want, I'm perfectly fine where I am." She replied.

"Suit yourself," Andrew said with a shrug. He wanted to ask if she would be fine by herself, but he could already see her snapping at him for the implication. Just her magic alone probably meant she could overpower anything but another magic user with ease. Well, maybe not a dragon, but it's not like that will ever be a problem.

He walked over to and opened the balcony door, stepping through only partially before pausing and leaning back into the room. His brows narrowed suspiciously as he locked eyes with the changeling for a long moment.

Too long, apparently.

"Are you going to say something, or are you just going to keep staring at me?"

"Ughh," he started, "You're not going to... like, make yourself look like me and pull something, are you?" In the silence that followed, he had plenty of time to regret his question as Chrysalis’ confused expression turned mischievous.

"Never," she stated flatly, the candid, prideful tone of her voice clearly at odds with the sly smile adorning her face.

"Whatever," Andrew said with a sigh, "I'll be back in a bit."

Chrysalis just muttered a short "mhm" as he closed the balcony door and wasted no time before setting off into the air, eager to explore the breathtaking city.

"This place sucks."

Andrew received several nasty looks from the ponies nearest him. He was seated on a wooden bench at the heart of the city. He had been walking around for almost an hour, and he had yet to see anything that garnered his interest. It didn't help that most of the ponies were snobs that regarded his passing with contempt. Looking around, he locked eyes momentarily with a lime-colored filly. She looked at him curiously for a few seconds before an older mare—presumably her mother—said something to her and ushered the filly away.

He looked away with a scoff. He may not want to be the center of attention, and he was more than used to being ignored and blending into the background, but this was different. Everyone here seemed to be going out of their way to avoid him. He idly wondered if he should make the trip back to Ponyville. A round trip by flight shouldn't take very long at all, especially considering how fast he could go. Without having decided, he got up from his seat and raised himself into the air. He heard several gasps from below, but he paid them no heed as he continued to rise at a steady pace until he could barely make out the faces looking up at him below. He looked Southward and saw the vague shape of a town in the distance. Ponyville.

He turned around. Located far behind the castle, nearly on the horizon, was the floating city of Cloudsdale. He scratched his chin in thought, then shook his head. He wasn't too keen on flying uninvited to a city that basically used magic to exist. Worst case scenario would be the evaporation of all the clouds from a telekinetic outburst from him if he was attacked. He scrunched his eyebrows as he pursued the train of thought further.

"Wait a minute," he muttered aloud to himself, "would the clouds evaporate because of me since they're made of magic, or would I just make it rain because that's what's keeping it all together?"

He musings were halted when a haze of shimmering green smoke whipped past him and headed in the direction of the castle. He turned his head to see where it came from but found nothing that wasn't already there before. He could have sworn he saw something like it before, and flew ahead to try and catch up with the twinkling trail.

He caught up to about half a dozen yards behind it. He had no clue where it was taking him, but he was determined to find out. Besides, it was a nice distraction if anything. It moved at a decent pace, then slowed as it entered the castle grounds. It finally entered a room through what he could only describe as a huge, framed entrance. When he flew into the room and lowered himself to the ground, he was met with none other than Princess Celestia. She looked at him with an expression of mixed shock and amusement. She was lying on a thin, circular cushion next to an unlit fireplace. She held a scroll aloft in front of her, and she set it aside to focus on him.

"Umm," she began, "is there something I can help you with, Andrew?"

He gave her a blank look, his eyes darting around to survey the room. On the other side of the room to his left was her bed, a modest size with tan sheets. The floor was a light purple with dark purple flowing patterns, while the walls were blue with purple clouds strewn about.

"Andrew," Celestia continued when he didn't answer, "I can see that you are just as surprised as I am, but that alone doesn't explain why you are flying into random bedrooms."

"I..." Andrew began, "I was only following this green trail. It came in here, so I just followed it.

"Ah," Celestia said, "That must have been the letter Twilight just sent." She raised the scroll again in her magic. "Surely you must have noticed how spike uses his dragon fire to send and receive scrolls?"

"That's right!" Andrew exclaimed, "I knew I saw it somewhere before."

"Yes." Celestia agreed. “Might I ask what you were doing before this?"

Andrew's expression soured, and he gave her a brief explanation of his lackluster experience in Canterlot so far.

Celestia sighed when he finished, pressing a forehoof to her forehead as she shook her head. "My apologies, I knew Canterlot wasn't the most welcoming of places for foreigners, but I would never have expected it to be this bad."

"It's fine, we won't actually be here for more than a few days anyway."

"Even still, that's no way to treat anypony." Celestia scooted over to one side of the cushion. "Please, while you're here, have a seat, I was getting a bit bored myself anyways.

Andrew accepted the invitation, removing his shoes and sitting cross-legged across from the alicorn. "About Chrysalis, how is she doing?" Celestia asked.

"Chrysalis? Fine I guess, why?"

"I'm worried about her," Celestia said, looking down with a frown. "She can't survive without love, and I don't see how she's going to get it if not by force, which I simply can't allow. The only thing that could possibly solve this is Cadence, whose help Chrysalis absolutely refuses." Celestia tsked in frustration, biting her lip. She looked at him and asked, "You've spent more time with her than anypony else, do you have any ideas?"

Andrew could only shake his head. He couldn't exactly admit he wasn't against Chrysalis using her shapeshifting abilities to get the love she needed.

"And even if she does get away with stealing love, Equestria is a large nation, and you could spend weeks alone. What then?

Andrew remained silent. This wasn't what he was expecting to be doing today, but he couldn't exactly pretend he didn't care.

"What about friendship?" Celestia suggested hopefully.

"What?" Andrew replied skeptically. She couldn't be serious...

"Surely friendship is just a weaker form of love, right? You two are friends, and even if it isn't as strong, she's going to be with you all day."

Andrew looked at the alicorn like she was crazy.

"Y-You two are friends, are you not?" Celestia asked expectantly.

"I-I mean..." Andrew stammered. "That's isn't exactly something you can just spring on someone."

"It's just a yes or no question, Andrew," Celestia said.

"It's not that simple!" He snapped.

She was taken aback by his tone of voice. "I'm sorry, I just... I just don't don't want her to suffer any more than she already has. Besides, it only just occurred to me that it probably wouldn't work with you anyway, seeing as your magic immunity likely extends to Chrysalis as well."

Andrew raised a brow at the comment. They didn't know that chrysalis could actually sense his emotions. For that matter, did they even know about Chrysalis's emotion detecting abilities?

"There's something I've been meaning to let you know," Andrew said, trying to change the topic.

"Oh?" Celestia said, gesturing for him to continue.

"It's about your guards," Andrew began, "I don't think Chrysalis is safe here. When you were taking us to our rooms they didn't let you see, but the second you passed by them they were looking at Chrysalis like they wanted to kill her. I can't be the only person that sees anything wrong with her staying at the castle she tried to take over not too long ago." All he did was reiterate his previous conversation with the Changeling, but there was no reason he couldn't just make it seem like he was the one that noticed the guards behavior.

Celestia stayed silent for a long moment, deep in thought. When she finally broke the silence, it was with a sigh. "I understand, tell her not to leave her room past nightfall. It has been many centuries since a guard of any nation has done something so deplorable, and even if I don't believe my own guards would do such a thing, I take your words to heart."

Andrew thanked her then asked, "What exactly are you going to do?"

"I'm going to set up a complex barrier spell that only Luna and I can undo. It won't stop anypony from leaving in case of an emergency, but nothing will be able to enter." She stood up from the cushion and walked over to a cabinet next to her bed. She opened the bottom drawer, and immediately found what she was looking for, removing a long yet thin cylindrical container. It was black with intricately embossed gold designs that flowed from one end to the center to form a sun. Celestia twirled it to show that the other side was the same, but with silver and a moon instead, with the silver tendrils coming from the opposing side. She opened the golden end, which fell against the side of the container with a metallic clang, hanging by a silver chain. She removed from the container a scroll and levitated it over to him.

He tentatively reached out a hand and plucked it from the air with a short-lived fizzle. He took a moment to appreciate the four handles of the scroll. The vertical rightmost handles were gold, while the left were silver, matching its container. Feeling Celestia's eyes on him, he carefully unfurled the scroll horizontally. The scroll pictured a map of Equestria, and it was no doubt the most detailed map he had ever seen in his life. He already knew what a map of Equestria looked like, but this particular map was done was such attention to detail that it was better suited hung on a wall then stowed away in a container.

"I was thinking you might like it," Celestia said, earning his attention. "I was hoping you could get better use out of it than me. I haven't found a use for it since it's more or less ingrained into my memory."

"Are you sure?" Andrew asked. The case alone must already be crazy expensive, he didn't even want to imagine what the map itself must be worth. He rolled the map back together and placed it in its container.

"Andrew," Celestia began, "That map has been tucked away in that drawer for the better part of this century, and before that I recall it being in the closet. I would much rather it be used for its intended purpose, and I can think of nopony better suited than yourself.

"I..." Andrew started to speak but paused. Since he first woke up in Equestria, with the exception of a few less than pleasant encounters, he had been showered with kindness. It almost made the events before his death feel like a distant dream.

But he knew in his heart that it wasn't a dream. He killed Steve, even if was an accident. He was the one who tried robbing a gas station, he was...

"I don't deserve this," he stated.

Celestia frowned at him. "Perhaps, perhaps not, what does it matter. It's a gift, you need only accept it." She stepped closer to him. "Nopony is perfect Andrew, and I have seen ponies do far worse and be forgiven. Take Discord for example, he ruled for generations. Those generations lived and died filled with hopelessness and uncertainty for the future. He may not have directly taken any lives, but some might argue what he did was worse." When he didn't respond, she continued.

"Even I am not without my faults."

This earned his attention.

"During the changeling war, I had those thought to be changelings locked away for months at a time. I had presumed that the months of isolation would do them no harm if they were ponies. The Changelings either starved or failed to maintain their disguise and promptly interrogated with prejudice. We thought... I thought that if they were ponies, they had nothing to fear, that a few months alone would do them no harm. They were given plenty of reading material, the cells were furnished relatively amicably. I thought it was perfect.”

She closed her eyes.

“Plenty of ponies prefer to be alone than in company, but what I did... I don't know if it was the forceful separation from their friend and family, the stress, or any combination of factors. But by the end of those few months, those who proved to be ponies were left as mere shells of their formal selves. I can still remember one unicorn stallion in particular. I'll never forget the fear in his eyes when we opened his cell door. He was huddled in the corner of the room and..."

Celestia bit her lip anxiously. "He didn't stop screaming until we closed the door. The cell itself was made to keep unicorns inside, and no form of scrying or teleportation was possible into or out of it. We tried for weeks to get him to come out, but we stopped once he started harming himself in an effort to keep us out. It started with making himself go deaf so he couldn't hear us. When we tried to get his family to coax him out, he raved about how they weren't real before gouging out his eyes in front of them. The war ended shortly after that. Everyone blamed the Changelings for what happened to him, and so did I for a few decades, but..."

She looked away from him and walked towards the balcony, with him following silently behind. Her horn shone, and the sun slowly began to set. When it finally slipped under the horizon, Celestia let the magic fade from her horn and sat on her haunches, as if waiting.

When the white of the moon peeked over the edge of the earth, she said, "If I hadn't treated my sister the way I did all those years before, she wouldn't have been trapped on the moon, she could have simply searched the dreams of our subjects and completely invalidated the Changeling's strategy. Everypony thinks that I am the better sister, pure in every way, that I can do no wrong. The truth is they have it completely backward, the only thing Luna is guilty of is being pushed to the brink and beyond by me."

When the moon finally settled high in the starry sky the solar alicorn looked at Andrew and said, "I don't care what you've done on Earth, let what you do here in Equestria define who you are." She turned around and began to walk back inside. "I will take care of her room, and please," she turned her head to look at him, “take care of Chrysalis. Good night."

With that, the entrance to her room shone golden before closing itself off, leaving behind a smooth wall in its place.

Well, now he just felt like an asshole towards Celestia.

He looked down at the container one last time before flying off the balcony. Even though it was night, the predominantly white city did well to reflect the already abundant moonlight. He had no trouble arriving at the balcony and tried his best to silently entered the room. Chrysalis was fast asleep on her bed, and the bathroom door was open, so he assumed she must have showered.

He walked past her to the dresser, where he placed the container. When he turned back to use the bathroom, he noticed something off with Chrysalis's pillow. When he approached to get a better look, it was obvious that there was a large wet spot just under her the changeling's face.

She had been crying again.

It bothered him to see her in such a state. He wished he knew what he could do about it, but didn't even know where to begin. He didn’t quite know her as well as he did Matt and Steve, yet he felt like he knew her better than anyone else in Equestria, besides Luna at least. He frowned and turned his gaze away. All this was doing was reminding him of Steve and his mother.

He took a quick shower before falling asleep in his own bed, though he could have sworn he heard a faint whimper from across the room.

Chapter 23

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Andrew heard someone clearing their throat behind him. He turned from his seat at his computer to see Luna on his bed. He was dreaming about his room on Earth.

The Alicorn ignored her surroundings and immediately cut to the chase.

"Andrew, I need your help!" Luna pleaded.

"With what?" He asked, curious as to what on Earth she would need from him.

"It's Chrysalis, she's having a nightmare!" Luna yelled.

Andrew looked at her incredulously. "Ok, everyone has nightmares every once in a while. Besides, what do you need me for? I thought dreams were your specialty.

"Yes," Luna agreed, "but I'm not omnipotent. I don't simply stop a nightmare, I help the pony work through the issues that started it. The problem is that Chrysalis is... She's been bottling up her grief for so long that the only way she can let it out is in her sleep. Even if I try to alter her dream to something more pleasant, that does nothing to alleviate her emotions.

"Ok," Andrew said with a nod, "I think I get it now, but I still don't see what I can do about it besides wake her up.”

"She won't listen to me, my presence in her dream only angered her." Luna explained, "I came to ask you if you were willing to try and speak with her instead."

"About what?" Andrew asked, "Why are you asking this of me of all people?" Weren't there certified professionals that could deal with this while she was awake?

"Because there isn't anyone else to ask," she pleaded. "I feel like I would only make things worse if I try and force myself into her dream."

"So you think it would be a better idea if you force me into her dream?" He asked skeptically, "No thanks,I'll just wake her up."

He shut his eyes tight, and Luna's protests drifted off into silence as he opened them again and found himself back in his bed in Canterlot castle. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then yawned. The rays of moonlight entering from outside provided enough light for him to see Chrysalis shivering in her bed.

It was that, coupled with her whimperings that woke him up completely. He threw his sheets aside while cursing under his breath. He walked over to the Changeling. She was on the left side of the bed facing towards him. She was wincing and clutching at the sheets like her life depended on it.

"Chrysalis." He hissed, trying not to startle her awake by yelling too loudly. When she didn't respond, he put a hand on her shoulder and began to shake her while calling her name again. Once again, she failed to wake, and it was at this point that Andrew began to worry. He put the back of his hand against her forehead, which was harder than it sounded due to the sheer size of her horn compared to normal ponies. Her skin, or rather, her carapace, was actually rather cool to the touch. It was also slick with sweat though, so he couldn't reliably gauge if she had a fever or not.

Her shivering finally stopped, and her grimace softened, though there were still wet streaks under eyes. He pulled his hand away and turned to go back to sleep, but that's when her whimperings started again. He stopped and turned at that, only to be met with the sight of Chrysalis in the fetal position with her forelegs tucked in and twitching outwards, as if trying to grab something. She looked more like an oversized dog in this position than anything else. Having an idea of what she wanted, he levitated his pillow over to her and placed it in front of her, and she clutched it eagerly.

Now that she finally calmed down, he walked back to his bed so he could finally get back to sleep. Unfortunately for him, Celestia had other plans, if the light outside was any indication. Cursing again, he turned away from the balcony and pulled the sheets over his head.

Andrew awoke first several hours later, and when he was finishing brushing his teeth, he heard Chrysalis yell from the other side of the door.

"Andrew, why do I have your pillow!?"

He exited the restroom and Chrysalis eyed him with a confused expression. He shrugged, "You looked like you wanted another pillow, so I just went ahead and gave it to you."

She looked at him with a raised brow, "And what exactly made you think I wanted another pillow, of all things?"

He shrugged again, "Let's go get something to eat." He was very obviously avoiding the question, but Chrysalis didn't seem to care enough to pursue it any further. After Chrysalis got ready they left for the kitchen to order their breakfast, though according to the chefs, lunch was more appropriate, as it was already past noon.

As they ate their food, Andrew briefed Chrysalis on the barrier spell Celestia had set up the night before, and presumably that night as well again.

"What a shame," Chrysalis said as she licked her fangs clean before giving a wicked smile, "I would have loved to show them what happens when someone decides to go after the life of a queen."

Before Andrew could reply, the door behind him opened, and in entered Luna.

"Andrew!" Luna bellowed, "What has my sister given you!?"

He had to turn around to look at the alicorn, "What?"

"My sister said she gave you a gift, but she wouldn't tell me what it was!"

"What gift?" Chrysalis echoed.

"It was just a map of Equestria," Andrew answered, unsure as to why Luna was so curious about what her sister had given her. "Well, alright, it was a really good map."

Luna gasped, "Was it gold and silver!?"

He nodded.

"Was it so beautifully designed that you could see yourself getting lost in the photorealistic forests and mountains?"

Andrew raised a brow at that description, but after a brief moment nodded again.

"I knew it!" Luna bellowed before disappearing in flash of blue light.

Andrew could almost feel Chrysalis staring at him behind his back. He was just as confused as she was though, and no doubt she could tell he wouldn't be able to provide the answers she sought.

"Consider my interest piqued," Chrysalis stated, breaking the silence. "You'll have to show me that map later."

Andrew nodded. "Sure, you plan on doing anything special today."

The changeling shook her head. "I was planning on just going to sleep."

"Again?" Andrew asked incredulously. Didn't they just wake up?

"Yes, again. Also, Celestia left a letter for me detailing that barrier of hers, so we don't have to worry about that anymore.”

"Alright, I guess I'll look for something to do again today, maybe fly over to Ponyville or something."

"Can you really fly that fast?" Chrysalis inquired.

"Oh yeah," Andrew affirmed confidently. "I don't know exactly how fast I can go, but it has to be pretty damn fast with how quickly I could get around my city."

Chrysalis hummed as if in thought, then replied with, "Alright then, I'll probably still be in our room when you get back."

After exchanging farewells, she left through one door, and he left through the door on the opposite side of the room, leaving their trays at the table to be picked up by the maids. While walking through the halls of the castle, it occurred to him that Chrysalis had referred to the room as 'theirs' even though there was no longer a need to share it thanks to Celestia's spell. Would it be appropriate if he take all of his belongings to the room he was meant to be staying in?

He pushed the thought from his mind, he could deal with that later. For now, he walked through the halls pretending to know where he was going, when in fact he just wanted out of the castle. As nice as the building was, it may as well have been a maze to him. He initially wanted to see Celestia and let her know he would be leaving Canterlot for a bit, but when he finally saw the castle's entrance, he settled with having the guards pass along his message.

After seeing one of the guards leave his post to pass along his words, he took off into the air. The cloak he wore exuded a constant trail of short-lived mist through the air as he rose higher and higher. Once he was below the clouds he stopped, and the smoke around his cloak was occasionally blown away by the wind. Even from this height, Canterlot was still a respectable size, though that wasn't too surprising, considering it was situated near the top of a mountain.

He shot southward toward the town in the distance. Something Steve and Matt came up with on their first day of flying was to keep their eyes properly shielded from the wind. Normally, being this high up also exposed him to uncomfortably cold temperatures, but he could feel the cloak heat up slightly. Assuming the cloak worked like a magical battery, he wondered how long it could keep this up before exhausting its supply and needing to 'recharge'.

As he approached the town from overhead, he wondered where to head first. Twilight had said that they would be leaving for the Crystal Empire in a few days, so they should still be around. Deciding on the closest target, he veered in the direction of the Carousel Boutique, and shortly after, touched down in front of the door.

He knocked thrice before remembering that the building was more a store than a home during the weekdays. He opened the door and let himself in.

"I'll be right there!" Rarity called out from upstairs.

Closing the door behind him, he turned to see a cat enter the room from the kitchen. This was the first time he had seen Rarity's cat, Opalescence. The cat walked across the room and jumped onto the nearby couch. She looked at him curiously before curing up and nodding off. Whatever the cat had seen in him, it didn't seem to care.

"Oh! Andrew!" Rarity exclaimed from the top of the stairs, taking his attention away from the cat. She walked down the stairs. "I didn't expect you back so soon."

He shrugged. "Canterlot isn't for me, so I'm just killing time over here."

She snorted. "I see Canterlot hasn't changed very much. What about Chrysalis? How is she doing?"

"She's doing alright," he answered. "We should be leaving Canterlot pretty soon. I'm thinking of heading out West."

"Oh, sounds exciting," she commented.

"Speaking of," Andrew started, "I forgot to mention this cloak could do this." Using his telekinesis, he coaxed a momentary burst of mist from the entire garment.

Rarity examined the display with silent admiration. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise.

"Actually, spike kind of ruined it," Andrew admitted. "By the time It happened for real, he had already figured out what would happen."

She rolled her eyes, "That drake is getting too smart for his own good."

"Well, thanks again for everything," Andrew said. "Hopefully You got paid well for everything."

"Think nothing of it, darling," the fashionista replied.

"About the cloak," he started, changing the subject, "If I'm ever in the desert, or someplace cold, how long before it runs out of 'charge', and for that matter, what's stopping it from always trying to keep itself warm of cool when it's not even being used?"

"Oh dear, it must have slipped my mind to explain that," Rarity said. "All you need to do is put it away folded like I showed you. I assure you that unless you are in the middle of a blizzard for days straight, you shouldn't find it without a magical charge."

"Alright, that's good to know, thanks," Andrew replied.

The unicorn nodded in reply.

"What's up with the cat?" He asked as he approached the feline, who was resting on the arm of the couch nearby. She didn't seem to care one way or the other about him petting her.

"Opalescence? I'm surprised she's even letting you pet her, she's quite the unruly little fluff-ball that's for sure.

The cat opened an eye and seemed to glare at her owner, still ignoring Andrew's touch.

"Oh, you do not give me the stink eye young lady!" She scolded the cat, pointing at her with a hoof.

Opalescence arched her back slightly and hissed at the accusatory gesture, before pouncing off the pouch and walking out of the room with her chin held high.

Rarity humphed and looked away from the disrespectful cat and back to Andrew. "She's like that with most ponies."

Andrew wasn't sure what to make of the cat's reaction to him, but decided that Opal was simply 'being a cat' when it completely ignored him.

"Well, I should get going now," he said. "I probably won't be back in Ponyville for a while, so I wanted to visit everyone one last time."

"Of course," Rarity agreed, "Goodbye Andrew, it's been a pleasure."

"Uhhh... yeah, bye," he replied, exiting the boutique and walking in the direction of Twilight's library. On the way, he exchanged a few words with passing ponies, which slowed him down some. When he finally reached the building, he was met with a 'closed' sign on the front, and he didn't see anyone through the windows, so he assumed nobody was home. The bakery was fairly close, but he decided to instead head to Fluttershy's cottage. It wasn't that he hated Pinkie, not at all. It was just that... she was a bit too much to handle, alone at least.

He could easily fly to the cottage and be there within a minute, but he continued walking. He loved indulging himself with his powers, especially now that he didn't need to hide them, but he could do without becoming a super-powered couch potato.

After about ten minutes he finally reached the shy pegasus's home. He hadn't actually interacted with her very much, so this visit would probably be more of a formality than anything, not to mention the fact that they were both socially awkward. With that in mind, he would try to keep the visit short. As he approached the quaint home, many small critters that he didn't even realize were there just a moment before they scurried inside the house through various nooks and crannies.

He paid them no mind as he walked up to the porch and knocked on the door.

"G-go away!" A voice squeaked from inside.

He raised a brow in confusion.

"M-monster!"

Now thoroughly confused, he stepped towards a side window and peeked inside. Huddled in a ball in the center of the room was Fluttershy. Behind her were several dozen frightened animals, ranging from squirrels and mice to a baby alligator of all things.

He tapped on the window and called out, "It's just me! Andrew!"

She took a hoof away from her face and glanced at the window. When she saw him, she made an 'o' face and quickly flew over to the door and opened it. "Oh, hi Andrew," she started in a soft tone. "I'm sorry, it's just that all my friends said that a scary monster was coming."

He would have to get used to her being able to talk to animals, let alone the fact that they could talk back.

"Look everypony! Andrew isn't a monster!" She stated.

Just then, the wolf from last week entered the room from the kitchen and barked when she recognized him. She walked over to him with an excited tail and demanded to be given some attention, which he happily gave. It seemed like some things were the same all across the multiverse: The cat was always in charge, and dogs were man's best friend. Then again, Esmeralda was a pure wolf, as far as he knew.

"See!" Fluttershy said with a smile, as she looked at the rest of the critters around the room.

The animals hesitated before they cautiously dispersed again around the room, careful to not get too close to him. Then he caught the purple eyes of the baby alligator. It stared at him silently, unblinkingly. When it did finally blink, it did so one eye at a time.

"Oh, that's gummy, he belongs to Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy explained when she noticed what he had been looking at. "She left him here yesterday for a checkup, but she should be stopping by soon to pick him up.”

He found it hard to believe that a hyperactive mare like Pinkie would have such a calm and quiet pet. He found the continuous stare from the alligator more unnerving as the seconds ticked by. Those eyes that stared back at him looked so cold, so calculating. He felt as if the alligator wasn't just looking at him, but into him, and through him all at the same time. He felt naked and exposed under the scrutiny of those reptilian eyes.

Fluttershy giggled and said, "Yeah, he doesn't really talk, not even to me. He's nice though, and a great listener."

He felt a shiver run down his spine. This alligator was seriously creeping him out.

"Andrew! It's been so long!" Discord exclaimed.

Andrew turned his head to see Discord slither through the air and hover next to Fluttershy. His sudden appearance must have been a regular occurrence, as she didn't even question how or why he was in her home. After they greeted each other, Discord looked from Andrew to Gummy and winced before floating over to the alligator and lifting him gently between two talons. His claw turned completely around before setting the gator back down and flicking its tail. Gummy took it all in stride and walked forwards into the kitchen before disappearing from view.

"That alligator is weird," Andrew stated.

"Oh my Tia, yes," Discord agreed with a groan. "I don't see how Pinkie can handle that thing, he's probably the biggest downer in all of Equestria."

"Hey, Gummy isn't a downer, don't be mean," Fluttershy protested.

"You're just saying that because he doesn't talk to you." Discord said.

Before they could go off on a tangent, Andrew explained that he would be setting off soon, and would be heading to sweet apple acres now.

Apparently, Discord and she had arrangements today, so not wanting to impose, he left fairly quickly after the draconequus arrived.

After leaving the cottage, he made his way to the nearby farm by way of flight. When he finally reached the farm, he was relieved to see that not only Applejack, but Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash speaking to each other by the barn.

They are arranged in a triangle formation facing each other, with applejack looking up and noticing him. The others turned to see him, spike having to turn around on Twilight’s back as he touched down across from the farm pony.

"Well, speak of the devil," Applejack started, "Hiya Andrew, we were just talking about you."

"Back already?" Rainbow asked.

Andrew shook his head. "Just for a little bit, probably the last time I'll be here for a while."

"So, does that mean Chrysalis is doing better?" Twilight asked.

"More or less," Andrew answered.

"What do you mean more or less?" She pressed skeptically.

He was about to answer that Chrysalis was fine, but paused. His hesitation was all the answer they needed to confirm that something was wrong.

"Uhh, Andrew," Applejack said with a frown. "Is there something wrong with Chrysalis? We might be able to help if you just tell us."

Dash stayed silent, as did he. He considered telling them the truth for only a moment, before discarding that idea without a second thought. Chrysalis knew exactly how he felt about Steve and his mother's passing no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Likewise, he knew just how hard the loss of her hive has been on her. He couldn't be sure, but he doubted anyone besides him had actually seen her cry.

He said, "I... I don't think I should say, it's between me and her." Then, wanting to change the subject he said, "So what were you guys talking about before I got here?"

"Twilight was talking about Earth," Dash answered immediately, clearly happy to talk about something else now.

Twilight nodded, still frowning from Andrew's lack of an answer. "I was mostly just thinking out loud. I was wondering what kind of technology could take the place of magic in everyday life."

"I'm not actually supposed to talk about that." He commented.

"Why not?" Applejack asked. "What's the harm?"

"The problem is that we're so much more advanced than you, I probably shouldn't be giving you information on things that are a hundred years more advanced than what you have."

Twilight was visibly eager to hear what he was hiding, but held herself back.

"Anyways, I think I've decided that I want to head west first."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Do you have anywhere in particular in mind?"

Andrew shook his head, "No, just plan on going where the road takes me at first, then kinda make my way around Equestria and ending at Dragon's Lair."

Twilight nodded in approvement. "I suppose that means you've found a way to keep Chrysalis fed?"

He only shrugged in response. "We'll figure something out."

"Uhh, Andrew," Applejack started, "that's Chrysalis's life you're talking about, you probably shouldn't be doing anything until you know for certain that she's ready for it."

He looked away. Chrysalis had been 'figuring something out' since she was born. He had a feeling things would work out just fine. He gave them a reasonable reason why he should be leaving now, and after some awkward goodbyes, he took to the sky again.

Chapter 24

View Online

The return flight back to Canterlot seemed to go by much faster than the trip to Ponyville, and he soon found himself flying over the gates of the city. He was flying just over the roofs of the buildings, and he caught sight of more than a few ponies looking up at him. The pegasi that shared the airspace with him kept clear of his path.

Instead of entering the castle right away, he decided to take a detour and check out the castle gardens—something that had been on his mind since the day before—on the other side of the building.

From his aerial view, the first thing that he noticed was an immense, labyrinthian hedge maze. He immediately forgot about the rest of the garden as he headed straight for the maze and touched down outside of it. The dirt path surrounding the maze was populated by stone statues at regular intervals. The statue to his immediate right took the form of an Earth pony standing in her hind legs holding a long, closed scroll. Surrounding her was an unfurled scroll that seemed to rise from the ground next to her.

He spent a few minutes examining the statue when a voice behind him caught his attention.

"Well hello there," a smooth, refined voice said.

Andrew turned around to meet the gaze of an alabaster, light pink maned unicorn. "Uh, hey," he replied.

"You must be the human I've heard so much about." She said as she eyed him up and down. The tone of her voice was both refined and effortless. "Please, call me Fleur."

Looking at her more closely, it was obvious she was no regular pony. Her body was far more skinny and lithe than the average pony. She actually closely resembled Luna, and could probably pass for the alicorn if it wasn't for her coat color and size.

"Andrew," he replied.

"It's not often I find another pony out here, most seem to take the royal gardens for granted." She paused, then continued with, "Then again, I suppose you are no pony. So, what brings you here?"

He shrugged. "I was only curious about it at first, then I saw this maze from the air and just had to take a closer look," he gestured to the hedge maze.

"Yes," Fleur agreed, "it is quite a sight. Even without wings, the castle balconies provide quite the view by themselves."

"Andrew!"

They both turned to look back at the castle to see Luna gliding towards them. As she touched down she tucked in her sizeable wings. "Greetings Fleur," She nodded to the unicorn.

"Hello Luna," She replied. Andrew noticed that unlike most ponies, Fleur didn't bow. He noticed that Luna was carrying a brown satchel on her right side. She caught his gaze and opened the satchel with her magic, removing a black, leatherbound journal from within. The edges were trimmed with silver thread, and the leather was embossed with stars all over the cover and back. on the center of the cover was a lunar crescent made of what seemed to be white crystal. The moon was surrounded by what could only be onyx in the shape of Luna's cutie mark.

"I figured," the alicorn started as she hovered the journal over to Andrew's waiting hands, "that you might want something to chronicle your journey through Equestria."

Andrew grasped the journal out of the air. He ran his fingers across the cover, feeling the gentle grooves of the leather under his fingertips, as well as a smoky hiss as he felt the smooth surface of the onyx. He hadn't had a proper birthday or Christmas in years, yet he had only been in Equestria for two weeks and he was already getting lavished with gifts he wasn't sure he deserved.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. What else could he say? What else should he say.

"You are very welcome," Luna replied. "I know how much you enjoyed recording your life in the past few months, but, "She looked at Fleur for a moment before returning her gaze to Andrew, "our cameras are nowhere near as advanced as yours, so I made do with what we have."

"It's perfect," Andrew replied.

"May I?" Fleur asked.

Andrew nodded and held the book out as the unicorn took the book in her pink magic. She seemed to appraise it as it rotated in her magic. She smiled, returning it to him and said, "it's beautiful."

"Thank you," Luna replied. She then passed over the small satchel to Andrew, who placed the journal inside.

"I should probably go see how Chrysalis is doing," Andrew said as he placed the satchel over his shoulder.

"Ah yes, the changeling," Fleur started. "We went from being besieged by an army to celebrating Cadenza and Armour's wedding in the span of a day." She chuckled, then stopped abruptly when she noticed the serious expressions on their faces. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked.

"You go on ahead, Andrew I'll explain things to Fleur and will be on my way to your rooms in a bit."

He nodded and exchanged a quick goodbye with Fleur before heading to his room.

When he arrived at the balcony, the first thing he had noticed was that all the curtains were drawn, which probably meant that the changeling was still asleep. He silently opened the sliding glass door and gently pulled apart the curtains.

Standing next to Chrysalis's sleeping form was a royal guard who looked up at the sudden light entering the room. Above the changeling's head was large spear wreathed in gold raised above her head. The stallion yelled something, but Andrew didn't give him a chance finish.

"Chrysalis!" He screamed as he swiped at the air with his right hand. The spear sizzled in useless protest as it was flung against the far right corner of the room. She jolted upright just in time to face the stallion as he tried to yell something but was stopped when he was flung through the air. He hit the opposite wall next to Andrew's bed with a loud thump and let out a pained groan. He fell to the floor next to the other bed with a thump. She threw the covers off just as the door opened. Another guard entered the room and saw his companion on the floor. He instantly shot a beam of fiery energy at Chrysalis, who reacted with a blast of her own. They collided in midair, sending a flurry of sparks through the air.

Andrew was about to dispatch the second guard when the first, who was concealed on the other side of his bed, poked his head up and shot a golden blast of his own towards them human. Seeing the whirling ball of violent magic hurling towards him, he flinched and held his hands up on instinct. The ball dissolved into harmless smoke about a foot away from him, but he could still feel the searing residual heat in the air. His eyes began to water from the sudden rise in temperature, and he cursed as he was forced to clear his eyes.

When he was finally able to open his eyes again the first thing he was was Chrysalis's bed on fire, the flames obfuscating her own struggle. He didn't have the luxury to clear the flames and check, however, as he brought his focus back to the stallion in front of him. the first guard was about to let loose another blast, his horn already charging in preparation. With a forward thrust of his hand, he pushed the bed that the guard was using as his cover forward. He screamed in pain as the heavy frame shot up suddenly then lowered again, an audible crack snapping through the air. The bed didn't stop until the guard was trapped between it and the wall. With the first guard taking care of, Andrew took the moment of respite to glance back and push his arm forward, all the glass shattered outwards at once, the curtains fluttering violently from the invisible force. Hopefully, that would get someone's attention.

Andrew smothered the still-weak flame that was trying to consume the bed and blew away the smoke. Chrysalis and the second guard were in the middle of a back and forth magical duel. The first thing he saw was a flurry of sparks flying off of The green barrier in front of the Changeling.

The guard was already preparing another shot, but instead of releasing another charged shot of magical power, his horn only emanated hissing smoke.

Seeing her opportunity, Chrysalis ran up to the guard while yelling, "hold him down!"

The guard crumpled to the floor, visibly straining against his invisible bonds as his horn continued to smoke uselessly.

Chrysalis bent down over the guard and opened her mouth before biting into his neck, she held there a moment before pulling back. Andrew could see a clear, greenish liquid drip from her long, reddened fangs. She used her prehensile tongue to lick her fangs clean before spitting to her right in disgust.

"W-what was that?" Andrew asked. He could definitely feel the adrenaline pumping through him, he hated the feeling. His heart was thumping furiously in his chest and he was sweating.

"Something to make him more compliant." She snarled.

The guard was lifted from his position on the floor to hovering in the air with his hind legs below him. His struggling was already beginning to slow down as her venom began to take effect.

"What's going on!?" Someone shouted from outside the room before three guards entered the room in quick succession. They saw their fellow guard held aloft by my Andrew and understandably raised their spears. "Let him go, you monster."

A groan from their right brought their attention to their comrade trapped between the bed and the wall, two of them rushed over to help, one of them called out, "Flare!".

The sound of crackling glass made them turn around to see Luna trotting in from the balcony. She was looking around the room, examining the destruction they had caused.

Andrew let the guard he was holding up crumple to the floor.

Luna trotted over to them before stopping, a stoic expression on her face. She met the eyes of the human, then Changeling. She looked over to see the guards move the bed and pull away a bruised and battered stallion with a mangled leg.

She trained her gaze back to Andrew and Chrysalis while she motioned for the guard still raising his spear at them to lower it.

"What happened here?" She asked in an even tone that demanded an answer.

"That guy," Andrew said as he pointed to the guard whose broken leg was being tended, "was trying to kill Chrysalis in her sleep when I got here."

"H-he lies," the injured guard groaned. "The human's gone crazy, he's a monster."

Andrew was about to yell his innocence when Luna stopped him. Her horn shone and she removed the white crescent moon that occupied the peytral she wore around her neck. She placed it on the floor to her left and waited as it pulsed white. Not three pulses passed before a bright flash of light above the object nearly blinded anyone that was viewing it directly. Celestia stood there facing her sister and immediately took in her surroundings.

"I'm sure he will be more than happy to answer your questions," Chrysalis said as she stepped aside and gestured to the drugged guard. Andrew moved as well, standing to her left.

"Are either of you injured?" Celestia asked the pair once she had examined the state of the room.

They both shook their heads.

She looked down to the guard who met her eyes passively. "Explain everything," she commanded.

And so he did. He told them everything. He explained how they tricked the guards that were assigned to Chrysalis and Andrew's doors into leaving their posts on 'Celestia's orders'. How they wanted to do this the night before but became aware of the many-layered barrier spell in place. It was only now, in the middle of the day and with the absence of Celestia's protection that they could carry out their plan.

As the stallion spoke and his companion was taken away on a stretcher, Andrew was busy packing his things away, which didn't go unnoticed by either princess, but they stayed silent for the time being.

There was a long stretch of silence after the guard finally finished. Celestia pondered the situation carefully.

"It's treason then." She stated.

"W-what!? No" The guard protested. "That damned monster took the mind of our captain, tried to take our city! I would have been doing the world a service by—"

"Enough," Luna commanded. "Not only are Andrew and Chrysalis honorary Equestrian Citizens, legally they also double as diplomats for their respective races. They are under the protection of Equestria. Under the protection," she trotted forward to stand next to her sister, "of us."

The stallion coward under their heavy gazes, and couldn't bear to look his superiors in the eye.

Luna said, "The gallows may be a thing of the past, but I don't think the dungeons alone will suffice."

Andrew looked up in time to see Luna flash the stallion a toothy grin, revealing her short but very obvious fangs. "It has been nearly a millennia since I had free reign over nightmares."

Andrew smiled upon hearing her threat, he couldn't possibly know for himself, but he had to guess that sleep was probably the only thing a prisoner had to look forward in their day to day life.

Andrew went to the bathroom to wash his face with a splash of cold water. When he re-entered the room. The guard had already been taken away, leaving only Chrysalis, the princesses, and himself.

"I'm sorry," Celestia began, "I didn't think to ward the room during the day, and it was my own guards that tried to take your life. I promise that this will not happen again, and those two guards will be dealt with accordingly."

"It's fine," Andrew said through gritted teeth as he tucked his cloak and the journal Luna gave him into the luggage. The dresser next to the bed, black with scorch marks, opened and the gold and silver scroll container flew out and in front of the princesses before tucking itself away into the waiting luggage bag before He zipped it back up. "If it's not safe in your own castle, what does matter. We're leaving, now."

He was furious. This was his fault. How could he be so stupid leaving Chrysalis alone to sleep the day away? And even if Celestia did manage to ward the room, all it would probably take is him walking right through it and that was that. If he was moving fast enough, he may not even notice it dissolve behind him. And that fight. That stupid fight that he should have been able to end before it even started...

"Thanks for everything, bye." He said. His words sounded sincere enough, but his expression no doubt betrayed his true feelings.

"Chrysalis," Celestia said, looking to the changeling, who replied with a scowl. "I understand if you want to go too, but we still need to figure out a way to sate your need for love. I can assure that you two can be under my sister and I's personal protection for next few—"

"No!" Chrysalis barked. "You've already shown what your 'protection' is worth. "The only reason I don't have a gaping hole in my cranium is because he," she pointed a holed hoof to Andrew, "got here in time to stop it. The only reason I didn't take my own life in the middle of an arid desert is because I was summoned to that ridiculous summit, A summons I accepted by the wish of my last living child. "This human has been in Equestria for how long and has already preserved my life twice."

"Chrysalis, I unders—"

"You understand nothing!" The changeling screamed. She blinked in surprise and looked down in confusion. She looked over at Andrew with a puzzled expression before composing herself again and meeting Celestia's eyes. "Ponies have only ever brought my race death, persecution, and extinction! Perhaps there could have been another way, perhaps things could have turned out different." She recalled how Kara had shared all of her love with her before she died, and how her magic seemed to try to wrap around her body in some sort of cocoon before her death brought a premature end to whatever was happening.

"Perhaps we don't need to be the way we are," Chrysalis said. "Perhaps we don't need to leech off of the love of those around us like parasites." She scowled again. "But it doesn't matter anymore, because that is all I know, and it's far too late to change. I go with the human."

The princesses were stunned silent, and could only watch as Andrew left the room with Chrysalis following closely behind.

"You need to calm down," Chrysalis told Andrew as they walked through the halls of the castle. There were very few guards about, and it seemed all the maids had been evacuated after news of the disturbance broke. "Your anger is affecting me."

"Sorry," Andrew said. The look she had given him during her exchange with Celestia is what clued him into the fact that his emotions were affecting her. "It's just..."

"You blame yourself?" Chrysalis guessed. "That doesn't make any sense, it was my own foolish idea to take a nap and assume nopony would be reckless enough to try anything in broad daylight.

"It's not just that," Andrew replied. "When I blocked that... I don't know, those magic fireballs or whatever they were, I got a faceful of hot smoke. What good are my powers if all it took was a little heat to pretty much blind me. I... I'm supposed to be stronger than that! I should have been able to take care of them the second I got there."

"And you didn't," Chrysalis stated flatly. "Let that be a lesson to keep your ego in check. You are strong, but you aren't invulnerable. More often than not, fights aren't drawn out long enough to completely exhaust one party, they only need to last long enough for someone to make a mistake and pay for it with a debilitating, if not lethal injury. That fight couldn't have lasted more than a minute or two."

A minute!? Andrew could have sworn it felt like so much longer.

"That's the adrenaline talking," Chrysalis clarified in response to his surprise. "When your fight or flight response kicks in, it's all about survival, skews your perception of time."

Andrew didn't respond immediately. Chrysalis must have been speaking from experience. He decided to change the topic.

"About what you said back there," he began. Everything she said about him saving her life... it was. As awkward as it was to have that said about him, it reminded him of the day he Matt and Steve had all flown for the first time. An airplane had rushed far too close to them and knocked Steve out of the sky, and it took everything in Andrew's power to save his life. He could still remember the painful bearhug his friend had given him as he thanked Andrew for saving him. The fond feeling he felt gave way to remorse as the life he saved was also the first one he had taken.

"I spoke only the truth, nothing more," Chrysalis replied flatly. She looked him from the corner of an eye and said, "Thank you."

"... You're welcome," he said. Sadly, he felt like that wouldn't be the first time they would have to fight for their lives.

They exited the castle, the two guards at the entrance ignoring their passing as they went off to a secluded area by the castle walls.

Chrysalis asked, "Canterlot and Ponyville are both out of the question, do you have anywhere else in mind that we can stay the night?" She gave him a moment to answer before sighing. "I figured as much, luckily I know of an area secluded enough that we shouldn't have to worry about much besides food and water."

"Where is that?" Andrew asked.

"First thing's first, I'm still not able to fly. So I want you to lift me using your powers."

"Oh, ok then," Andrew said as he lifted a palm towards the changeling. She looked down at herself as she began to rise from the ground, then she furrowed her brow before uttering a short, "Stop."

He set her down quickly but gently then asked, "What's wrong."

She shook her head. "The feeling of weightlessness, I find it nauseating. I suppose you'll just have to carry me."

Andrew's eyes widened at that. "Wait, what!?"

Chrysalis raised a brow at his reaction. "It's not that big of a deal, Andrew."

He sighed before muttering a "fine." She was only a head shorter than him, so he would probably have trouble carrying her. He didn't exactly pride himself on how often he lifted weights, which was never. He approached the changeling and was about to try and pick her up when she stopped him with an outstretched hoof.

"On your back, Andrew..." She deadpanned.

He cursed at himself, "Right, sorry." He turned around and crouched. Chrysalis got on her hind legs behind him and wrapped her forehooves around his neck. He grabbed onto her fetlocks.

"I'm not choking you am I?" She asked.

"No, I'm good," he answered. she was choking him initially, but a thin barrier was enough to alleviate the pressure from his neck.

"Whenever you're ready," She stated.

With her permission, he shot directly upwards into the sky with his luggage at a set distance behind him to his left. He was wearing neither his cloak nor his sweater, and the constant stream of wind made sure to remind him of that fact. He created a small windshield to block out the brunt of the wind to allow him to speak. "Where are heading?" He asked the changeling.

She tightened her grip on her hind legs as she pointed with a forehoof. After a moment of adjusting his grip on her, he set off in the indicated direction. He glanced down to look at the smooth, chitinous hooves wrapped around his neck. Up close, he could clearly see the holes that riddled the appendages. Then there was how it felt, all the cracks Chrysalis had from her injuries before gave him the impression that her 'skin' would be more shell-like in texture. Instead, it proved to feel no different than normal skin, though it was almost unnaturally smooth.

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

He looked the right to see Chrysalis had craned her neck over his shoulder to see what had captured his attention.

"Just the holes on your legs," he answered. "Are they natural?"

"Yes," she replied. "All changelings are born with them."

"Cool," he commented.

"Pardon?"

He looked back at her and saw that she looked thoroughly confused.

"What?" He asked.

She looked at him curiously before saying, "most ponies see them as some sort of disfigurement."

"Really? That's weird, they look kinda... I don't know... badass?"

He heard her chuckle behind him before saying, "I'm fairly certain that you are in the minority in that opinion, and that makes you the oddity. On another note, head to the right and get closer to the ground, you'll see some large ruins in that area over there."

Andrew did as he was told, and less than a minute later he lowered himself in front of the ruins situated within the Everfree Forest. He crouched down and Chrysalis got off his back and immediately made her way up the cracked stairs and through the open double doors of the castle. He followed after her, leaving his stuff behind at the entrance.

"This is where I had my hive stay in the days leading up to the invasion," She said. "With any luck, there should still be a few dried rations inside."

As he followed behind he noticed that portions of her wings seemed to be starting to taper off as they finished healing. But they also seemed to be creating natural holes and healing around them. When he asked whether or not that was supposed to happen, she only nodded. He didn't even want to ask how the holes in her hair were possible.

Sometime later, after collecting the moderate amount of dried foods left behind by Chrysalis's army, they made their way just outside the entrance to the ruins to eat under the setting sun.

When Andrew swallowed another bite of tasteless jerky, he asked, "There's something Celestia told yesterday..."

The changeling's long, thin ears perked up at his voice. "What did she say?" She didn't look up from her food as she replied.

"Personally, I think this whole 'magic of friendship' thing is ridiculous, but I was pretty sure magic didn't even exist before coming here so I don't exactly know what to think about it."

Chrysalis stopped eating and looked at him. "Don't exactly know what to think about what?"

"Celestia had the idea that maybe you could survive off of 'friendship' instead of love," he made air quotes with his fingers, hoping the foreign gesture would be self-explanatory enough to convey his doubt. If not, she would certainly be able to read the tinge of disgust he felt at even uttering the phrase.

She partially closed her eyes and glanced up at the night sky. "I've never heard of a changeling subsisting off of anything but love. Even if it was possible, making 'friends' hasn't so much as crossed my mind since I was a naive hatchling.”

"What happened since then?" Andrew asked.

"...I grew up," Chrysalis replied harshly.

Andrew didn't press any further.

“Do you have any water in there?” Chrysalis asked, gesturing to his luggage.

He shook his head. “There's a pot and pan in there, as well as two cups and two plates.”

She sighed and said, “Alright, take them out and follow me, there’s a river near here. I’ll be able to clean the water with magic.”

After he collected them, they set off through the treeline with the objects floating behind him. After a few minutes they arrived at a fast moving river at least thirty feet wide. On the other side was, according to one of the books Twilight had given him, a manticore. It raised its head from the water and gave them a curious look before continuing to drink, but keeping its gaze trained on them.

Seeing Chrysalis ignore the manticore, Andrew did the same. She took the large pot and filled it with with the water, then set it down on the grass between them. Her horn glowed green as the water did the same.

“There,” she said as she cut off her magic, “It’s safe to drink.” She laid down on the grass and scooped some of the water with a tin cup.

After the manticore left, they shared a few minutes of silence under the starry sky before a yawn from Chrysalis prompted them to make the return trip to the ruins.

“Uh oh,” Andrew said as he rummaged through his luggage.

“What?” Chrysalis asked, her hoofsteps echoing along the cobblestone walls of the dilapidated castle as she trotted towards him.

“There's only one sleeping bag in here.” Andrew answered as he took out and partially unfurled the dark purple bedroll.

“Oh, is that it?” Chrysalis said. “That’s fine, I’m used to sleeping on the floor anyways.”

He finished unfurling sleeping bag. It turned out to be a fair bit larger than his own bed back on Earth. “It’s fine, you can use if you want.”

Chrysalis looked from him to the extra large sleeping bag, as if debating whether or not to accept the offer. She shrugged and said, “Well, if you insist.” She tucked herself into one side of the bedroll with her face away from him.

He glanced around, looking for the least uncomfortable spot to sleep in. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything but the cold stone ground.

“Ya know,” Chrysalis began, earning his attention. “This thing is big enough for two with room to spare.”

His apprehension got an instant response.

She rolled her eyes and turned back around with a sigh “Do whatever you want, I’m going to sleep.”

He really needed to do something about his awkwardness. He got down and entered the other side of the bed with his back to the changeling. Hopefully, Chrysalis will be healed enough to set off westward in a day or so.

He noticed a momentary yellow glow from within the coin purse he left on top the luggage. He closed his eyes. It probably wasn't that big of a deal, it could wait until morning.

Chapter 25

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Andrew found himself having to choose between three options. He could use his telekinesis to gently slip the Changeling's hooves off himself, and slide her away to her side of the bedroll. However, if he did this, it would likely cause her to suffer more of her recurrent nightmares. It seemed like the only surefire way to keep her sleeping soundly was if she had something to hold; even a pillow was enough. Unfortunately, the only pillow her unconscious body had successfully sought out was him, prompting his premature awakening.

Another problem with this option was the possibility that he would wake up again later in the night and have to repeat the process.

Of course, he could also just ignore it completely and fall back asleep again. The situation didn't exactly make him uncomfortable, since he was the only one even aware of it. The true problem was if they both were awake at the same time... That was something he would very much rather avoid.

He thanked the stars that she was only a pony... Well, Changeling... He didn't think he would be able to stay so calm in a similar situation with a woman. Here, he could just pretend she was nothing more than an oversized clingy dog. Was that offensive? He felt like that was something better off unsaid.

Unfortunately, his body seemed to make the decision for him, as he found himself waking up to a ray of morning light in his eye, courtesy of a crack in the wall.

He pried himself from the Changeling's grip and slipped out-out of the bedroll. Almost immediately after, Chrysalis's hooves began to paw at the now empty space, and her expression twitched almost painfully.

He almost felt somewhat guilty, but there wasn't anything he could do. Perhaps she was used to sleeping while surrounded by her children? It made sense to him at least.

He checked the coin purse Celestia had given him, remembering how it shone the night before. At the top of the heap of coins inside was a letter from the princesses. It detailed how there was already evidence of there being bounties placed on Chrysalis and his heads in the underworld, and that they should return to Canterlot as soon as possible.

They already knew that there would be people out to get them, but he still had some difficulty accepting that Equestria even had a criminal underworld. He placed the letter next to Chrysalis so she could read it when she awoke, then went outside and spent the next few hours exercising his powers. When Chrysalis finally came outside, there were about a dozen fewer trees around and a large pile of lumber and shredded wood in one corner.

Andrew turned to her when he noticed she was up. She looked like she hadn't slept a wink, and the black of her carapace made the sheen of sweat covering her all the more Apparent.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head, "No, just an unpleasant dream. I saw that letter Celestia sent us."

"Yeah, I just thought you might want to read it, even if we don't go back."

She huffed in acknowledgment before setting off in the direction of the treeline.

He called after her to see if she needed help with something.

"I assure you," she began, "I don't and never will require assistance in relieving myself."

That shut him up.

The next three days became routine. Andrew would always wake up early, though he never did find a way to stop the changeling from trying to cling to something in her sleep, said something usually being him simply due to a lack of options. He would go outside and let loose his imagination on the hapless trees in the vicinity. Chrysalis would come outside hours later looking like she had just galloped a mile while forgoing sleep for a day. Andrew would continue spending most of the day practicing his powers, all while she watched in silence, occasionally striking up in idle conversation.

"Bad news," Chrysalis said as she exited the ruins.

Andrew set down the mass of leaves he was levitating around the trunk of the tree they were stripped from. He turned to the changeling and asked, "What's wrong?"

"We're out of food rations," she answered.

"Oh..." Andrew replied, "So what do we do about food now?"

Chrysalis rolled her eyes at him. "We starve."

"What?" The human asked incredulously.

She brought a hoof to her face and groaned. "We hunt."

"Oh, right, obviously," he stammered.

"Obviously," she parroted. "You've never hunted before, have you?"

He shook his head.

"No matter," she commented. "With my magic and your powers, neither one of us should have any trouble taking down game."

"Are you sure you have enough magic to be hunting?" Andrew asked curiously. That fight at the castle must have surely made some sort of dent in her reserves of magic, and as far as he could see, she didn't have a way of getting more for the time being. she said before that she had enough to survive weeks, but that was before she had to fight for her life.

"Truthfully, no," she admitted. "You probably think I used more magic than I actually did back in Canterlot, but even still I don't want to go around throwing away my very life force unless needed. Besides, from what I can tell, you can use your powers twenty-four seven like it's nothing. I'm sure taking care of our food shouldn't be that difficult for you.

"Alright then," Andrew replied. "How exactly are we going to do this."

"We walk in a straight line and you kill the first thing we see that can fill our stomachs."

"That's it?" Andrew questioned. "What about the tracking? The traps? Isn't a hunt supposed to have, like, an actual hunt?"

Chrysalis chuckled at his confusion. "I suppose humans would think that way," she pointed to her horn, "but I am no Griffon, and you are far more than just human."

Andrew made an 'o' face as he realized what she was trying to say.

"Exactly," Chrysalis stated.

Just as Chrysalis had suggested, they walked in a straight line side by side through the woods in search of the day's meal.

"So why exactly are you making a mess of the trees back there?" Chrysalis asked as they walked.

He only shrugged.

"I don't understand how such a simple question could upset you so much."

He sighed, unclenching a fist he didn't notice had curled. "Back at the castle, I... I should have been—"

"—We've been over this, Andrew."

"I know..." He admitted. "It's just... I still think I could have—"

"You could have, you should have, you didn't," Chrysalis said. "Accept it and move on with your life. This wasn't the first time you've been attacked, right?"

"No, but you already knew—"

"And when you were under attack from your world's law enforcement, was that less or more dangerous than what happened in Canterlot."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it and decided to simply answer her. "More, I just thought that I—"

"Would be able to instantly take down a pony that has years of combat training on top of being able to use magic, something that you only recently discovered was real?"

"I... I guess." Andrew said, defeated.

"No need to beat yourself up over it," Chrysalis said. "We both obviously held back so as not to kill those guards, just keep in mind you have no reason to pull your punches if some random minotaur tries to come at you with a dagger."

Andrew was about to respond when the changeling suddenly stopped, her ears facing forward, listening for sounds his human ears were incapable of picking up.

"What are you—"

She lifted a hoof to silence him, still facing forward.

He trained his eyes ahead, trying to see if he could see whatever it was he couldn't hear. He didn't see anything at first, but after a few moments the head of a dear poked up from behind a row of bushes about a dozen feet ahead.

Andrew decided to take care of it before he was asked. He had no idea where the heart of a deer was located, and even if he did, all he could see was the animal's head and neck. Working with what he had, he used his telekinesis to keep the deer's neck in place while twisting the head around. The animal was dead before it hit the ground.

That was easy.

"Good job," Chrysalis commented as she started to walk again, with him following closely behind. "Magic makes hunting far easier, but even then, the glow of a horn might have gained its attention just long enough for it to run away."

"I've never hunted my own food before," Andrew said. "It's kind of..." He tried looking for the right words.

"Exciting?"

He smiled faintly, "Yeah, though it wasn't actually much of a hunt."

As the changeling walked around the line of bushes to survey his kill, she said, "Well, I don't think your stomach will care very much when all is said and—"

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked rounding the corner and looked at his kill.

The deer had fallen on its side facing them, it's eyes completely open as it stared at its killer. That wasn't what caught their attention, however. They expected to find a body here. What they didn't expect to see, however, was the fawn that looked at them with a mixture of fear and curiosity. It took its eyes off them and brought its head down to nudge its mother's side.

All Andrew could see was a dead child whose mother was taken from him by powers beyond their control.

All he could see was himself.

"Are you sure this will work?" Chrysalis asked.

"I don't know," Andrew answered. "She probably isn't back from the Crystal Empire, but I doubt all those animals just up and left on their own, I'm sure somebody is taking care of them while she's away."

They were hiding deep within the treeline facing Fluttershy's cottage. He had left the orphaned fawn at the doorstep and knocked on the door from a distance with his telekinesis while making sure it didn't see where they were. After a few moments, he could see a rabbit's head in one of the windows. A few moments later, the door opened and the fawn was surrounded by dozens of animals. It stood shaking, then began calling out, presumably for its mother. With a combined effort of pushing and pulling, the critters lead the fawn inside. Even after the door closed, its calls could still be faintly heard.

Andrew turned back around. Chrysalis had the deer's body slung across her back. He had made sure that the fawn didn't have to face its mother after he had decided to drop it off here.

A few minutes into their journey back to the castle ruins, Chrysalis said, "I know how you feel, but don't suddenly decide you aren't going to eat this deer just because it happened to be a mother." She didn't give him a chance to respond before continuing with, "You realize that you're the reason we went out and killed this thing, right? Love is one thing, but I can survive nearly a month with barely any physical sustenance. Animals kill each other to survive, and animals die every day, big or small, young or old." She scoffed, "You're the last person I would imagine having this conversation with."

She was right, of course. Andrew recalled how he had filmed himself alone in a junkyard ranting about natural selection.

"There’s this thing called an Apex Predator, and basically what that is the most powerful predator in an ecosystem. And humans, you know, we’re the apex predator, because there’s nothing that preys on us, 'cause of weapons and stuff. But if something could, I bet it would. I... I mean, what I’m trying to say is, a lion doesn’t feel guilty when it kills a gazelle. You don’t feel guilty when you squash a fly, you know... I think that means something. I think it really means something."

He felt nothing for the deer when he killed it. It wasn't the first time he had taken life, and it likely wouldn't be the last. It was that damn fawn. It reminded him too much of his mother's death and he was weak enough to let it get to him. He hated himself for that.

"Again with the self-pity?" Chrysalis commented, reading his emotions like they were an open book, which they might as well be for the changeling. "Despite what the element bearers or Celestia would have you believe, this world is just as much kill or be killed as yours. Both of us intimately know what that means in ways no one else could possibly understand. You did not kill this animal only to leave its carcass for the wolves, got it?"

What else could he do but nod in agreement?

"Good, now, do you have any knives in your bag to skin this thing?"

"I don't think so, but I think I could try cutting it with my powers."

Chrysalis gave him a curious glance. "I've heard of conjuring magic blades, but I've never thought of one made using telekinesis."

He shrugged replied with, "it shouldn't be too hard."

As it turned out, it truly wasn't much of a challenge. With the wood Andrew had accrued from his days of practice and a simple spell from Chrysalis, they had set up a healthy campfire in the clearing outside the ruins. Making a knife with his telekinesis was one of the easier things he had done. All he really needed to do was picture a sharp edge, and unlike an actual blade, this one could cut without getting dull. On top of that, it could be as sharp as he could reasonably imagine it to be.

"We need to buy some salt," Andrew stated as he swallowed another bite of venison.

Chrysalis grumbled in agreement as she chewed her own food. She may be able to go a long time without food, but that didn't mean she would refuse a meal. "When your friend died, was that the first time you lost someone you cared about?"

He nodded.

"Don't worry, it gets better," she assured him. "Eventually you'll find that months pass in-between thoughts of them."

He frowned, "I can't tell if that's supposed to be good or bad."

"Does it matter?" The changeling asked. "You're still dealing with the first deaths in your life, those are always the hardest, but you've already been through the worst of it."

"What about you?" He asked.

She was about to take another bite when she stopped. "I lost all my siblings and mother when I was younger, so I taught myself how to regulate my emotions to cope."

Feeling that now was as good a time as any, Andrew explained how Luna wanted to bring him into her dreams to help with her nightmares.

"How bad is it?" Chrysalis asked. When she saw the confusion on his face she elaborated with, "When I'm sleeping, how obvious is it?"

"Pretty obvious," he answered.

She tsked in frustration, "Better late than never I suppose. That damn alicorn thinks that having power over dreamwalking trumps everyone else's right to privacy." She stood up "We probably shouldn't stay in this forest for much longer. If what that letter said was true, then for all we know we might have someone on our tail at this very moment.”

"You really think so?" The human asked.

"I don't plan on waiting long enough to find out," she replied.

"Can you fly? Are your wings healed?"

She answered his question by opening her elytron and unfurling her membranous wings. They gave off a bright sheen under the afternoon sun. Her elytron closed again but seemed to phase through her wings with a green outline as it settled back on her back.

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Much better, I'm not really used to keeping my wings covered for any length of time."

He placed the dirty pans in a bag and placed it in the roomy luggage bag.

"So we're heading west then, correct?" Chrysalis asked as she looked at what he assumed was westward.

"Yeah, maybe southwest," he answered.

The changeling's ears perked up, and she began to look around.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Do you not hear that?"

He shrugged, even though she wasn't even facing him. "Human's don't exactly have the best hearing..."

She ignored his comment, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the castle ruins when she said, "Something's coming. Something big."

He tried to follow her gaze, but all he saw was the mossy, overgrown walls of the long-abandoned building. He was about to speak when Chrysalis beat him to it.

"We need to leave, now."

Though still confused, he took her advice to heart and began to pack away the rest of his belongings without complaint.

It didn't take long for him to finally feel whatever it was Chrysalis had been hearing. And if the shaking of the ground was any indication, this thing was big. They began to hear trees being forcibly felled, the snapping of bark and the thunderous crashes filled the air. Right after he finally finished his preparations to leave, a manticore shot out of the treeline behind the castle.

Just behind the beast's tail was a brown, serpentine head that snapped its jaws in an attempt to catch its prey. The head alone was nearly as large as the manticore and shot forward from the treeline on a long neck. The attack was reminiscent of a cobra strike in its speed, but ultimately just barely missed its target. Even from this distance, he could plainly see the serpent's huge, marble white teeth. He didn't want to get a closer look.

The manticore sprinted across the clearing, clearly running for its life. Andrew prepared to defend himself if need be, but the animal completely avoided them as it ran back into the forest behind them. The serpent raised its head above the canopy as the rest of its body broke through the treeline and into the clearing, three more necks rose and hovered on either side of the first.

"Hydra!" Chrysalis said as she spread her wings. "Andrew, we need to—"

Andrew looked over at the changeling to see why she stopped speaking and saw a dart protruding from the side of her neck. She looked down at the dart and immediately yanked it out with her magic. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and looked down to see a second dart fall to the floor at his feet, this one clearly intended for him.

Chrysalis's wings went limp, and her eyes began to close. "Run," she pleaded before succumbing to the drug's effects and collapsing on the ground.

He called out to her, but it was useless, she was already unconscious. He wanted to look around to see where the dart had come from, but instead, he ended up locking eyes with the hydra. Or at least, he locked eyes with one of the heads. The rest of the heads were looking in the direction that the manticore had run. The rest of the heads took notice of him as well, and they examined him for a moment before looking at one another, as if striking up some sort of conversation among themselves. He took the opportunity to run over to the fallen changeling and picking her up. He thanked whatever magic made her so much lighter than she looked. His movement drew the attention of two heads, and with speed that its hulking frame shouldn't have been capable of, it closed the distance between them. The hydra raised its right leg and swiped at him.

Andrew let go of the changeling and blew her across the clearing, trying his best to break her fall even as he brought his hands up to shield himself from the hydra's incoming blow.

Either he overestimated his own strength, or underestimated the hydra's, whatever it was, he found his world spinning before coming to a violent stop. When he realized he was on the ground, he stood up and took a moment to look down at his body. He was fine. Unsurprising, considering Matt—who was far weaker than him—was fine even after Andrew had forced a bus to crash into his cousin in midair and further sandwiched him between the vehicle and a building. However, this was no bus, this was towering monster that, whatever it may have seen in him, didn't particularly care. On top of that, someone had shot those tranquilizing darts at him and Chrys—

He cursed out loud, looking at the opposite side of the clearing. Chrysalis's body was floating through the air, wrapped in an orange aura of magic. He stretched out his hand and blanketed the downed changeling in his telekinesis, causing her body to become shrouded in hissing smoke. The hydra was already lumbering towards him again, two heads seemed to be interested in what was going on with the body behind it, but the other two were licking their lips at the sight of Andrew's exotic flesh.

He had to relinquish his hold on Chrysalis when the hydra brought a claw up, preparing to crush him. Having learned his lesson with the previous strike, he dove to the left with the aid of a burst of telekinesis. He tumbled inelegantly beside the claw as it hit the ground. He used another burst of telekinesis to bring himself to a standing position, stumbling as he pushed himself forward with just a tad too much force. One of the heads rushed down towards him, and he reacted by outstretching both hands forwards and making a crushing motion with each.

The creature's head snapped back with a cry of pain, a mix of blood and white goo oozing out of each partially sunken socket. The other heads seemed not to feel their sibling's pain, but what they lacked in shared pain was more than made up for with anger.

The other heads spread out as the now-sightless hydra sought safety by huddling close to the base of their shared chest. The hydra eyed him wearily now, not understanding what he had done. Chrysalis's body appeared behind the hydra's right side, hidden by its large frame until then. Trying to give away that he was looking at the changeling, he shrouded her in his power again. Unfortunately, the hiss of the resulting steam once again attracted unwanted attention.

The leftmost head twirled around and saw the floating meal ready for the taking. It rushed forward to claim the free food, forcing the rest of the heads to move away from Andrew. Not having time to do anything else, he tried to cover her in a protective bubble. It turned out to be unnecessary when a blast of orange magic coming from the forest hit the attacking head right between the eyes. It didn't seem to maim it, but it did pull its head back and look in the direction of the offending bolt.

Andrew followed its gaze, and at the first hint of movement he reached out with a large net of telekinesis and pulled. A cloaked figure was dragged through the ground and into the clearing. The cloaked pony cried out, a stallion from the sound of it. The hydra again began to close in, this time on the stallion, but for once was too slow. The stallion, still on the ground, opted to teleport a short distance to his left just before the hydra clamped its mouth shut at the location he had been in just an instant before. Taking his opportunity, Andrew grabbed onto the stallion again and flung him through the air in front of the hydra and towards the other side.

Like a canine presented with a ball, the hydra's various heads snapped at the pony as he sailed through the air, screaming all the while. He grabbed Chrysalis one final time with his powers as well as—upon remembering—his belongings. He grabbed onto the changeling's body when she was close enough and looked back down one final time.

He couldn't see the pony, but the blinded head was clearly chewing something, leathery lips stained red. The last thing he saw before turning around was a flash of green hitting the hydra.

He flew as fast as his powers would let him, not caring where he was heading, only focused on getting the hell away from there.

The Equestrian Chronicle

by Souldrainr

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15: The Endlings of Equestria

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25