> Reaper
>  by vincent5000x
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: "Welcome to The World"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ow, my head...”

I couldn't help but release a heavy groan as consciousness slowly returned to me. A throbbing pulse of pain as one of thenonly things around to respond to me.

Forcing open my eyes, I tried to take in my surroundings, a bought of nausea coming over me. Even through my unfocused mind, i could see little more than blurs, telling me that I wasn't wearing my glasses.

Feeling around my area, a rough sigh of relief escaped me as I felt plastic frames laying nearby. Still fighting to regain my mental functions, I quickly slipping the frames on, bringing the blurry world around me into a better focus.

“That’s not right…” I mumbled as I took in my new surroundings. 

Unlike the dull, yet sharp colors and objects of everyday life and normal objects, I was now surrounded by what could only be described as the colorful bouncy world of a cartoon.

Fighting against my aching muscles, I got to my feet and looked all around my area.

What should have been my old worn out barracks room, complete with cheap bed and lead painted walls, was a colorful field filled with an assortment of flowers that even in this cartoon world, glowed in the light that seemed to shower everything.

Looking down at myself, I was even more surprised.

My caucasian skin had become a more peach like color, and my fingernails were as good as gone as my finger tips looked even rounder than they had originally. I was in my marine corps woodland cammies, remembering that I hadn't bothered to take them off after work before taking a nap, and their colors seemed brighter than what I was used to while my cover (hat) was sitting on the ground to my left.

Checking my pockets, I pulled out three pens, a small Gerber flip knife, some lip balm, my red wallet case with my ID, credit cards, $20 American cash and my room key and finally, my phone. I was also surprised to find my headlamp stuffed in my cargo pocket with a protein bar.

“I hope this thing still works,” I mumbled to myself while turning my phone on. I couldn’t help but give a small smile as the phone flicked on, showing my Derpy wallpaper. But that smile quickly fell as I noticed the lack of a signal and the 20% battery reading.

“Fuck!” I shouted, causing some birds off in the distance to fly away in fright. "I forgot how low this things charge was."

Picking my cover up, I snapped it into place with a groan, covering the last place on my body that felt naked. Giving myself a second to calm down, I looked around once again, trying to catch my bearings.

Off in the distance, I could see several small buildings, and while they may have been too far to recognize, there was something familiar about them.

“I wonder if this is what it's like to be high?” I asked myself as I began to make my way towards the buildings.

It kind of made since to me, seeing as I had never been high before, so that’s the best I could come up with. That or I was finally having a real lucid dream, but that couldn’t be it, because my thoughts of a M4 suddenly appearing in my hands were unfruitful.

After walking for what felt like thirty minutes, I made it to the edge of a town and the sight of it caused me to stop in my tracks.

        The buildings looked just like the old style homes of the ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I could even see town hall and the Golden Oaks Library off in the distance.

        “Okay... maybe I am dreaming,” I mumbled to myself. 

I was unable to hide a smile even as my mind tried to understand what was going on. I was so shocked about what was in front of me, I almost missed the pink pony that had stopped in front of me during a mad dash to who knows where.

        “Oooh, what are you?!” the pink maned pony questioned in her squeaky voice. Even though she was a few feet away from me, I could still smell sugar and pastry smells coming from her.

        “I’m-“

        “Wait,” the pony I knew to be Pinkie Pie interrupted. “Don’t answer that, just show up at the library tonight at eight sharp!”

        Before I could say anything, Pinkie was racing off to most likely set up a party.

        “Okay, I should either start jumping for joy, or wondering who slipped me what in my drink...” I mumbled to myself before walking further into the town, marvling at all I saw.

        Off in one direction, I could clearly see the carousel boutique and images of its admittedly sexy owner flashed through my mind. Another direction held the towering Sugar Cube Corner that housed some of this world’s best confections as well as the “party mare”. Who, even though I had but a moment to look, had quite the rear end.

        I chuckled to myself, seeing the apple farm off in the distance. I couldn’t help but drool as I thought of taking a taste of an apple from one of the trees. Off in a far field, I could see a towering castle of cloud, rainbows falling from the side and was home to a mare with an ego the size of the sun.

        Back behind me, I could see the library, which while it should have been a crystal castle, held Ponyville’s resident sexy librarian. Finally, even though I didn’t know exactly where, was the one that could shatter hearts with nothing but her heart attack causing smile. Who lived just on the edge of Whitetail woods and the Everfree forest.

        A darker part of me couldn’t help but wonder how far I could go with some of these ponies, seeing as I was a furry and found them all hot in their own way.

        I mean, everything I was seeing was in my head, so there shouldn’t be anything to stop me.

        Oh who was I kidding, I’m a complete wuss. While I may find them all really hot, I would never actually do anything like that towards them, even if it was all in my head.

        “Excuse me,” a pony grumbled as they pushed passed me. I couldn’t help but stare as a grumbling Twilight Sparkle made her way past me with her eyes locked on the ground and a gawking Spike following close behind.

        “T-Twi-Twilight!” Spike shouted as he snapped to the purple unicorn’s side.

        “Uhg, what is it now, Spike?!” Twilight almost shouted as she finally looked up and noticed me. We stared at each other for several moments before she groaned and continued on her path. “This is why I don’t leave the castle.”

        I stood there for several minutes, watching as the two disappeared around a corner towards Sweet Apple Acres.

        “That wasn’t right…” I said quietly to myself. Twilight was supposed to be an alicorn, but she was clearly a unicorn, and not all to friendly. Taking a second to think it over, I decided to follow after her and Spike. They were my best hope for figuring things out if this all turned out to be real after all.

        Quickly breaking into a run, I brushed past several groups of gawking ponies before finally catching up with Twilight and Spike just a few blocks away. Luckily, once I caught up to them, they both stopped and stared at me while I caught my breath.

        While I may have been in shape because of PT, running in full cammies still takes a bit out of you.

        “Y-you’re, Twilight Sparkle, right?” I asked as I caught my breath.

        “Yeah…” she replied as a bit of worry flashed through her giant eyes. Spike stood behind the mare, staring at me with a mix of wonder and fear.

        “Hi, I’m Chris, short for Christopher,” I said holding out my hand for a shake. Twilight stared at my outstretched limb for several moments, the worry still on her face, but I can see the lovable curiosity she was known for desperately trying to push through.

        “While it’s nice to meet you,” Twilight began, shaking her head as she turned back on the path to the apple farm. “I really don’t have time right now. I have to finish checking on the preparations for the Summer Sun celebration, get to the library, find a book on the Elements of Harmony, find them and then…”

        By this point, I stopped listening to the bookish mare as I realized that I must have been currently in the first episode.

        “This being a dream is starting to sound more and more true,” I said to myself as I moved to follow Twilight.

        “Twilight!” Spike whispered to the mare, just loud enough for me to hear. “It’s following us!”

        “Don’t worry, Spike,” I said, trying to look non-threatening. But the fact that I was almost a clear four feet taller than him wasn’t helping. “As they say, I come in peace.”

        “And it knows both our names!”  Spike cried, this time causing the mare to look more then worried and light her horn in preparation of something.

        “W-wait!” I quickly blurted, trying to come up with something to defuse the situation. Unfortunately, the first thought I had, slipped out before I could stop myself.

        “Princess Celestia sent me!”

        “What?” Twilight asked as the glow around her horn died down and she seemed to calm down.

        “Princess Celestia sent me to keep you safe,” I replied as I mentally berated myself for using such a horrible lie.

        “Really, why?” the mare asked with a bit of intrigue.

        “While… while she is skeptical on your belief of Nightmare Moon’s return, being as it is nothing but a wi-marestale,” I began, trying to come up with a good enough cover story on the spot. “She thought that maybe a… specialized guard would put your nerves to rest.”

        “Okay… but I got some questions first,” Twilight began; her guard still up. “What are you, species wise?”

        “A…minotaur?” I replied as my anxiety finally started to kick in, causing me to speak without thinking. “I’m a rare off shoot.”

        “I’ll have to do some research on that,” Twilight said to herself. “Okay, how do I know that you’re actually apart of the guard?”

        “Y-your brother…Shining Armor is the captain of the Royal Guard,” I blurted out, starting to sweat a little. “He specializes in his shield magic, and for being a captain, is amazingly laid back and easy to talk to. He a-also said something about… uh, a Smarty Pants…”

“Lets not mention that and that sounds like him,” Twilight said with an embarrassed glow and chuckle. She finally seemed to relax, even if she did seem a little down still. “I guess I can understand the Princess wanting to send somepony to watch me.”

        “No need to make this weird, Twi,” I said as I breathed a sigh of relief. “Just think of me as a friend who’s looking out for you.”

        “Friend, huh,” Twilight suddenly huffed with an annoyed expression before turning around and continuing towards the far. “Let’s just go already.”

        “Not the reaction I was expecting,” I told myself as I began to follow. Spike, who had remained silent, decided that this was the best time to look at me, point to his eyes and then point at me with a slight scowl.

        I decided that it was best to just ignore that as the farm entrance finally came into view.

        As we walked into the farm, I began to hear solid thumps that I knew were that of a certain cowgirl hard at work.

        “Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist. Number one, banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres.” Spike proclaimed as Applejack came into sight.

        As Twilight begrudgingly went to talk to Applejack, I took a moment to finally look the mares over, and not in a perverted way.

        Applejack seemed surprisingly stockier in person and a good inch or two taller than Twilight. But even then, neither passed my midriff in height at a little over three feet. I bet they would only just pass my chest if they stood on their hind legs.

        “Howdy there stranger, names Applejack,” Applejack said as she made her way over to me with an outstretched hoof. “Aint never seen nothin like you before.”

        “Christopher, but everyone calls me Chris,” I replied as I grabbed the hoof for a shake. While I was disappointed that it wasn’t as squishy as a marshmallow, I was still surprised by how soft her fur was.

        “Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, Chris,” the mare said with a smile after almost pulling my arm from its socket.

        “Since you’re here to check on the food fer the celebration, would y’all three like a sample?” Applejack asked the three of us. I had almost forgotten about that being Twilight's reason for coming here.

        “Genuine Sweet Apple Acre grub from the source, count me in!” I replied with a smile as I noticed Spike nod enthusiastically.

        “As long as it doesn’t take too long…” Twilight sighed. Out of nowhere, Applejack produced a triangle, shouting out to her family. 

“Soups on everypony!

        “Now, why don’t I introduce you to the family,” Applejack began, ignoring Twilights protest.

        With each name called, I watched as another treat was added to a table the farm mare had pulled out of hammer space. A few of the family members gave me confused and slightly frightened looks, but most gave me a small smile and a polite wave; Something I gladly returned.

        “…Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith. Up’n’attem, Granny Smith, we got guest.” Applejack finished, causing her elderly grandmother to jump slightly. I couldn’t help but chuckle as the elderly mare made her way over to the group as Applejack proclaimed that Twilight was already as good as family.

        “You too, Chris,” Applejack said as she came to my side and gave me a good whack on my lower back with a hoof. “Y’all seem like a good pony…er whatever you are; and I can tell just by lookin at yah.”

        “Thanks, AppleJack,” I said as Twilight tried to slip past us. But she was stopped by the big doe eyed look of none other than the farms resident Cutie Mark Crusader, Apple Bloom.

        “Aren’t yah gonna stay fer brunch?” the filly asked in a tone that just about caused a heart attack on the spot.

        “Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do…” Twilight began as the Apple family sighed in disappointment. Apparently, that’s all it took, as Twilight begrudgingly agreed to stay, causing the family to cheer.

              
*             *             *


        “Food’s all taken care of, next is the weather,” Spike said as he made another check on his list.

        “Uhg… I ate too much pie…” Twilight groaned as she wobbled forward, her belly slightly enlarged from the mass intake of food.

        I, on the other hand, was literally in heaven. I had always liked apples, but the ones here where on an entirely different level. The apples were larger, crisper, juicier and so much better than I have ever had before.

Just another thing that was making me think that this all wssnt a dream.

        But what really stole the show for me was the precious treasure I carried in my left arm like a newborn baby.

        “Like a nice warm apple pie,” I moaned as I brought my plastic spoon back to my mouth for another bite.

        “That is an apple pie,” Twilight groaned as she continued forward. “And why do you keep saying that. That’s the tenth time in the last thirty minutes?”

        “You worry about the celebration, I’ll worry about placing this pie’s contents in a secure location,” I chuckled as I went for another bite.

        “Hmm, there’s supposed to be a Pegasus named, Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds,” Spike said as he looked into the cloudy sky.

        “Well, she’s not doing a very good job, is she?” Twilight pointed out as she indicated all the surrounding clouds; and while she did that, I took a step back.

        Moments later, a rainbow colored blur shot past me and ended up pushing Twilight into a nearby mud puddle.

        I couldn’t help but laugh along with the speeding pony, as the mare stopped and tried to help Twilight back into working order. I almost dropped the last of my pie after the “rain-blow dry” bit.

        “Let me guess, you’re Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked with a scowl, her hair bobbing slightly.

        “The one and only,” Rainbow Dash proclaimed with a smirk. Flying over, Rainbow rested a hoof on one of my shoulders while failing at trying to snag my pie secretly with the other. “Why, you heard of me?”

        “My pie!” I hissed as Rainbow Dash drew back with a slightly startled expression, which quickly turned into a cute pout and a scrunched up nose.

        “I heard that you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear,” Twilight sighed. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check the weather.”

        “Yeah, yeah, that’ll be a snap. I do it in a jiffy,” Rainbow replied as she flew up to a cloud and settled down with her hooves under her and her eyes still locked on my apple goodness. “Just as soon as I’m done practicing.”

        “Practicing for what?” Twilight asked as I finished the pie.

        “The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow proclaimed as she pointed towards a poster showcasing their up and coming show. I was a little shocked to see it written in perfect American English. “They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!”

        “The Wonderbolts?” Twilight questioned, developing a slight smirk.

        “Yep!” Rainbow replied with a smile.

        “The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?” Twilight asked back.

        “That’s them!” Rainbow stated proudly.

        “Pfft! Please,” Twilight huffed, turning so Rainbow couldn’t see her smirk. “They'd never accept a Pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day.”

        “Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow snapped back.

        “Prove it,” Twilight replied as she spun and looked at the Pegasus challengingly.

        Before I could even blink, Rainbow blasted past use, clearing every cloud in her path. At the end of it, I couldn’t help but start jumping around like a mad man.

        “That was so fucking awesome!” I said as the mare landed before me, Spike and a stunned Twilight.

        “I know I am,” Rainbow proclaimed with a chuckle, flying back up and circling the three of us. “You guys, are a laugh. I can’t wait to hang out more.”

        “Wow, she’s amazing!” Spike said as Rainbow zoomed off somewhere.

        “Rrgh…” Twilight groaned as she began to walk off, her eyes looking up at a piece of her poofed up mane.

        “And I thought I got bad bed head,” I chuckled while following the mare towards Town hall. I actually couldn’t wait for the next encounter because I knew it was Rarity.

        Honestly, I wanted to see what she would care about more, Twilight’s mane, what I was or my cloths. I was betting on Twilight’s mane though.

        “Decorations,” Spike’s voice suddenly said, making me realize that we were already inside, the door being surprisingly large enough for me. But then his voice began to slur as his eyes found the hall’s white coated occupant. “Beautiful…”

        “Yes, the décor is coming along nicely,” Twilight commented as she was looking up and around instead of in front of her. “This ought'a be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed.”

        “He wasn’t talking about the décor, Twilight,” I pointed out while making sure my blouse was on straight.

        “Yeah, her!” Spike added with hearts in his eyes. No seriously, there were little hearts in his eyes as we made our way over to the mare in question.

        “No, no, no…” Rarity fretted as she looked through several different ribbons in her magic. “Oh! Goodness no.”

         “Good afternoon-“ Twilight began to say, only for the fashionista to interrupt.

        “Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help yo—“ Rarity said as she worked, yelping once she finally decided to turn around. Her eyes snapped between me and Twilight several times before settling on the purple mare’s mane. “Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!”

        “Oh, you mean my mane?” Twilight asked as she looked up at her cotton top with a sheepish smile. “Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair!”

        “Out of my hair?” Rarity began as she suddenly took Twilight in her magic and began to drag her out of the hall. “What about your hair?!”

        I couldn’t help but laugh as Twilight struggled to break free of Rarity’s magical grasp, calling out for help. Shaking my head, I followed after the two with Spike literally floating just behind me.

        “Man this is fun,” I chuckled to myself as I followed.

                
*             *             *


        “No, no, uh-uh. Too green. Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too... shiny,” Rarity said as she put Twilight into several different outfits. Some of which I’m pretty sure weren’t meant for the eyes of children. ”Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from.”

        “I've... been sent... from Canterlot... to—“ Twilight wheezed out as Rarity tried to fit the mare into a corset/saddle mix.

        “Huh?” Rarity blurted as she released the straps she was pulling and causing Twilight to crash down.

        “Canterlot?!” The mare squealed with star struck eyes. “Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it!

        “We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I...” Rarity beamed as she pulled a worried looking Twilight in close. Looking at the saddle, the fashionista adapted a slightly disgusted look. “Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!”

        As Rarity went to get the rubies, Twilight quickly magicked off the saddle and rushed towards the exit. “Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!”

        I couldn’t help but chuckle as I followed the frantic mare out as Spike begrudgingly followed with a sigh.

                
*             *             *


        “Wasn’t she wonderful?” Spike sighed dreamily as we continued to the next and last meeting.

        “She was something, that’s for sure,” I said with a grin while giving Spike a low five, or a high five in his case.

        “Focus, Casanova,” Twilight scolded Spike before fixing me with a sharp glare. “And keep up your flamboyant attitude and I will personally inform my brother.”

        “Okay, sorry,” I sighed in a defeated tone, my hands held up in a placated manner. I had actually forgot that I had told her I was a guard. Although it did slightly worry me just how easy it was to make her think I was one.

        “What’s next on the list?” Twilight asked, turning back to Spike.

        “Oh, uh, music!” Spike replied as he looked at the list in his claws. “It’s the last one!”

        As we continued on, I began to hear distant birdsongs coming from behind a few bushes. Since I stood slightly taller than them, I could see the buttercup yellow Pegasus fluttering around, cutting off the song as a bird began to sing out of key.

        “Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm. Excuse me, sir?” Fluttershy quietly interrupted as she flew up to the off key bird. “I mean, no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off. Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-“

        “Hello!” Twilight chirped right next to the mare, having slipped away when I wasn’t looking. Her greeting had the expected effect of scaring the birds away and causing Fluttershy to jump in fright before tuning to look at Twilight.

        “Oh my, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to frighten your birds.” Twilight said with a caring smile, not noticing Fluttershy shrink back slightly. “I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful. I'm Twilight Sparkle, what's your name?”

        “Um… I’m Fluttershy,” the mare replied so quietly that it would have been impossible to hear if you didn’t know what she was going to say.

        “I’m sorry, what was that?” Twilight asked as she tried to get closer, causing Fluttershy to take a step back and shrink some more.

        Twilight's next two attempts were met with something completely inaudible and a squeak.

        “Oookay…” Twilight said as she gave up and came back to the bush, Spike stepping out to meet her. “Well, that was easy.”

        “A baby dragon!” Fluttershy gasped as she rushed forward, pushing past Twilight. “Oh, I’ve never seen a baby dragon before. He’s sooo cute!”

        “Well, well, well…!” Spike said with a smug grin.

        “Oh my, he talks. I didn’t know dragons could talk,” Fluttershy gushed rather cutely. “That’s just so incredibly wonderful I… I just don’t even know what to say!”

        “How about, ‘Hello, my name is…’” I said with a chuckle while stepping out myself. “I think you know how to take it from there.”

        Now, I was expecting a few different things to happen when Fluttershy saw me. Her to scream in fear, faint, gush at meeting yet another new creature or even just act shy. What I wasn’t expecting was her to just stand there and look at me as if nothing was wrong.

        “Uh, are you okay?” Spike asked waving a claw in front of Fluttershy’s face.

        “Huh, oh, sorry,” Fluttershy sheepishly smiled as she turned back to Spike. “What’s your name?”

        “I’m Spike,” the young dragon proclaimed proudly before pointing to me. “And this is, Chris.”

        “Hi Spike, hi C-Chris,” Fluttershy greeted as she gave me a cute smile.

        “Well then, we better be going,” Twilight said as she began to walk off in the direction of the library, placing Spike on her back with magic.

        “Wait!” Fluttershy quickly called as she kept in step behind Twilight. “I wanna know what dragons talk about, and you too Chris.”

        “Uh… Spike can go first,” I chuckled.

        “Well, what do you want to know?” Spike asked with a smile.

        “Absolutely everything,” Fluttershy replied with a smile. I couldn’t help but laugh at Twilight’s groan as Spike began his reply.

        “Well… I started out as a cute little purple and green egg…”

                
*             *             *


        “…and that’s the story of my whole entire life!” Spike finished with a flare of his arms, the library now just a few yards away. “Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?”

        “Let’s just skip that one,” I interrupted with my own groan. I didn’t know whether I should be annoyed or sorry for the kid. His life sounded dull as fuck.

        “I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast?” Twilight said as we stood outside the library door. “This is where I’m staying while in Ponyville my poor baby dragon needs his sleep.”

        “No I don’t—whoa!” Spike called out as Twilight caused him to fall off with a thud.

        “Aww, wook at dat,” Twilight said in a hilarious baby voice. “He’s so sweepy he can’t even keep his widdle bawance!”

        “Poor thing,” Fluttershy said as she scooped up Spike in her hooves and began to head into the library. “You simply must go to bed…”

        “Yes, yes, we’ll get right on that!” Twilight replied as she took Spike in her magic and pushed Fluttershy back outside. “Well, g’night!”

        With that, Twilight slammed the door shut, leaving both me and Fluttershy outside as the sky darkened for the night.

        “Well, that happened,” I chuckled as I waited for the surprise party to start before I entered in. The cool kids always show up late to the party.

        “Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked when she realized I was outside with her still. “C-Chris, I didn’t know you were still out here?”

        “The cool kids always show up late to the party,” I chuckled.

        “Surprise!” Came the shout from inside, the shock of it causing Fluttershy to jump into my chest in fright.

        “Awesome,” I chuckled as I used one arm to hold Fluttershy and the other to open the door. I was actually surprised at just how light Fluttershy was.

        As I walked in, all noise stopped and I was immediately the center of everyone’s attention and that’s when my own anxiety finally stated to kick in.

        “So… how about that airline food, am I right?” I began to chuckle nervously. Unfortunately, whenever my anxiety kicks in, I try to make jokes.

        About everything…

        “Hey!” Pinkie Pie whined as she popped up in front of me. “you missed the surprise part of the surprise party.”

        “Uh… surprise?” I squeaked out, holding Fluttershy out in front of me.

        The mare immediately squeaked herself as she began to shake in embarrassment.

        “Well look who decided to show up!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew over with a couple drinks. “Cider?”

        “Uh, thanks,” I said, setting Fluttershy down and taking one of the cups. Suddenly, a train whistle sounded and I watched Twilight zoom up a nearby set of stairs.

        Everyone at once looked over to a table filled with snacks, watching as Pinkie Pie downed a hot sauce covered cup cake.

        “What?” Pinkie asked as she finished her treat. “Its good!”

                
*             *             *


        The party was well underway and I had just finished downing half a barrel of cider, non-alcoholic though.

        “Not bad,” Applejack commented as I tried to hold in the large amount of liquid I had just consumed. “But ah still got ya beat.”

        “Bah, I’ll get ya next time,” I said standing up and retrieving my blouse from the chair I was on. I was amazingly welcomed with open arms, or hooves in this case. I had continued telling everyone that I was a rare breed of minatore and it seemed like everyone believed me, Applejack included.

        “You know,” Rainbow commented as she flew over and started poking my belly with a hoof, my cover sitting on her head. “You could stand to lose some weight.”

        “Yeah…” I sighed looking at my gut. “I just can’t stop myself when I see a good taco.”

        “I know exactly what you mean,” Spike chuckled as he poked his own belly, a lamp shade on his head.

        “Hey, Spike, why don’t you go check on Twilight,” I said as I slipped my blouse back on and buttoned it up. “Its getting pretty early in the morning.”

        “Okay, Chris,” Spike said as he rushed up the library stairs.

        “Would you like another cupcake?” my shadow asked, and no, it wasn’t Pinkie Pie.

        “Thanks, Fluttershy,” I said as I took the vanilla cupcake with pink frosting from the mare. She was never more than a few feet away from me. “You sure you don’t have any questions right now?”

        “No, I’m okay,” she said while looking up at me with a smile.

        “Dear, are you sure I can’t interest you in a new ensemble?” Rarity asked as she walked up next to Fluttershy.

        “This is standard issue for my division,” I told Rarity for the tenth time that night. “If I’m still here after tonight, we’ll talk.”

        “Very well,” Rarity sighed as she made her way towards the library’s exit, along with most of the other party goers. “I will see all of you at City Hall in an hour.”

        “C-can I stay with you until the celebration?” Fluttershy asked me with a look of hopefulness.

        “Uh, sure,” I said, getting a little confused.

        “Yay!” Fluttershy cheered quietly.

        I could literally feel my heart stop for a moment as Fluttershy said this.

        “Come on everypony,” Spike called as he appeared from upstairs. “If we leave now, we can get some of the best seats!”

        “Come on, Chris,” Fluttershy said as she floated up and took one of hands in her front hooves and started to pull me towards the door.

        As we passed Rainbow Dash, I snatched my cover back and placed it on my head before ducking through the library door.

        “You could wait for me you know,” Twilight said as she rushed out behind me.

        “Sorry Twilight,” I said as Fluttershy released my hand with a sheepish smile.

        “Lets go,” Twilight replied with a determined look and one more glance at the moon in the sky.

               
*             *             *


        “Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited-- well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went [deep gasp] but I mean really, who can top that?” Pinkie Pie chirped to Twilight as I watched from the side of the hall.

        I was standing off to the side because Fluttershy was still attached to my shadow, so I didn’t want to force her into the middle of a large crowd and the guards were giving me some uncomfortable looks. I think the only reason they hadn’t done anything is because they saw me enter and talking with Twilight.

        “Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” Mayor Mare proclaimed from a balcony on the third floor, causing the crowd to cheer. “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..”

        I continued to watch as Fluttershy finally flew off to where her birds were set up for their performance.

        “…Princess Celestia!” Mayor Mare proclaimed as the curtains behind her were pulled apart to reveal a lack of princess. The entire hall began to break down into nervous chatter in the background.

        “Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!” Mayor Mare said as she tried to keep the hall from panicking.

        “She’s gone!” Rarity suddenly shouted from the balcony, causing most of the hall to gasp.

        “Damn, forgot to watch the moon,” I grumbled as a indigo mist floated over to the balcony. A maniacal laugh filled the hall as the mist formed into Nightmare Moon.

        “Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces,” Nightmare Moon chuckled as she looked down at the hall.

        “What did you do with our princess?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tried to charge the alicorn, only for Applejack to pull her back down.

        “Why, am I not royal enough for you?” Nightmare asked with a chuckle while sweeping the hall with her eyes. The moment she saw me, her scowl faltered for a moment before she continued. “Don’t you know who I am?”

        “Sadistic and probably homicidal?” I said to myself, missing Pinkie Pie’s response.

        “What did you just say!?” Nightmare Moon shouted as she suddenly appeared in front of me in a flash of light.

        “Pudding…” I dumbly replied.

        “I know who you are!” Twilight shouted, drawing Nightmare moon’s attention away from me. “You’re the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!”

        “Well well well, somepony who remembers me,” Nightmare chuckled as she turned to the purple mare. “Then you also know why I’m here.”

        “You’re here to… to…” Twilight gulped as her confidence began to falter.

        “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last,” Nightmare chuckled as thunder began to sound from outside. “From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

        This was supposed to be the point when the credits would roll, ending episode one. But all that happened was Nightmare Moon continued to laugh.

        “Seize her!” Mayor Mare shouted, pointing at Nightmare. “Only she knows where the Princess is!”

        “Stay back, you foals!” Nightmare laughed as three Pegasus guards tried to rush her. She blasted the first two away with lightning and teleported to the side just as the third was about to reach her, causing the guard to crash into me instead.

        “Ow… fuck,” I groaned as the stallions golden helm bashed into my chest, forcing me to fall on my back in pain.

        “I’ll take care of you later!” Nightmare growled down at me with a smirk before she broke down into a mist and flew out the hall doors.

        “Oh dear,” Fluttershy’s voice suddenly called from above. I looked up to see the mare quickly come over to me with a worried look in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

        “I’m fine,” I grunted as I pushed the unconscious guard off of me and sat up. Looking around, I saw that the entire room was in chaos, but the thing that concerned me the most was that the other main five were already gone.

        “Fluttershy?” I began looking towards the mare. “Why are you still here? You need to get to the library!”

         “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Fluttershy said with a sniffle.

        “And I can’t thank you enough for that,” I said, feeling like the worst thing on earth for making Fluttershy feel bad. “But we gotta get you to the library and fast!”

        Before she could say anything, I scooped the mare up and rushed out of the hall back towards the library. By the time we made it there, the others were already getting ready to leave.

        “What took you so long?” Twilight asked as I placed Fluttershy down in front of the other five, breathing heavily.

        “Reasons…” I wheezed as the group began to trot towards, what I surmised to be, the Everfree forest. Soon enough, the group stood outside the dark forest, and while they may have feared it, I couldn’t help but feel slightly excited at actually seeing these six on their adventure in person.

        “Whee! Let’s go!” Pinkie Pie chirped as she began to bounce forward.

        “Not so fast,” Twilight said as she pulled Pinkie back with her magic. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I’d really rather do this on my own.”

        “No can do, sugarcube,” Applejack replied for the group. “We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple.”

        “Especially if there's candy apples in there,” Pinkie Pie added, drawing everyone’s confused expression, excluding my own. “What? Those things are good.”

        “Can’t you get them to see reason?” Twilight asked, drawing my attention. “I’m sure you know how dangerous it will be.”

        “Don’t worry,” I chuckled in reply. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

        “Great, even my guard is crazy,” Twilight sighed to herself as she started walking forward. “So, none of you have been in here before?”

        “Ugh, Heavens no!” Rarity groused as she did her best to avoid any mud. “Just look at it – it’s dreadful!”

        “And it ain’t natural,” Applejack added with an uncomfortable look. “Folks say it don’t work the same as Equestria.”

        “What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked as we began to walk up a hill in the path.

        “Nopony knows. You know why?” Rainbow began, ignoring Applejack’s complaints. “’cause everypony who’s ever come in has never come out!”

        Suddenly, the ground below us gave out as all the non-flyers began to tumble down.

        “Crap, I forgot about the cliff!” I groaned to myself as I quickly dug my hands into the soft ground. While it wasn’t enough to stop me, it did give me enough time for my legs to find some holds.

        I hung just on the edge of the cliff for several minutes, not daring to look down due to a fear of heights. I was so focused on not looking down and losing my grip, that I almost missed the soft tapping on my shoulder.

        “Uh, Chris… are you okay?” Fluttershy’s voice quietly asked from behind me.

        “Just g-give m-me a m-moment,” I stuttered out as I decided to take a tentative step down. Luckily, it seemed that there were plenty of rocks to use, and within a few minutes, I was safely on the ground.

        “Took you long enough!” Rainbow Dash groaned as I fell to my knees, a little off balance from the whole thing.

        “S-sorry I have a fear of heights,” I tried to reply sarcastically, only me stutter caused it to sound legit.

        “Taint no need to apologize,” Applejack said as she helped me stand back up. “Now lets go!”

              
*             *             *


        “…and once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh… Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around WHAM!” Rainbow said to me, retelling her heroic exploits. “Caught Twilight right in the nick of time.”

        “Yes, Rainbow, we were there, and I’m very grateful, but we gotta-“ Twilight began to reply, falling silent when she was interrupted by a roar. Suddenly, a large lion like creature jumped out of a nearby bush. “A manticore! We’ve gotta get past him!”

        “Rarity, don’t!” I blurted without thinking when I saw the mare rush forward. Luckily, the mare decided to listen, unfortunately this also drew the manticore’s attention to me. “Oh, that can’t be good…”

        “YEE-HAW!” Applejack called out as she jumped on the creatures back like it was a bull. “Git along, little doggie.”

        The manticore roared as it began to flail around, almost bashing me with its tail in the process. After a few moments, the creature successfully flung Applejack off.

        “Whoa!” Applejack called as she flew past Rainbow Dash. “All yours, partner.”

        “I’m on it.” Rainbow replied with a salute before flying forward. As Rainbow did her part with the manticore, I caught Applejack.

        “Thanks, sugarcube,” Applejack said.

        “Rainbow!” Twilight called as the mare came skidding down in front of the group. With a snort, Twilight prepared to charge forward.

        “WAIT!” Fluttershy shouted, coming in-between Twilight and the manticore. Turning to face the creature, Fluttershy withstood a roar from it.

        “Shhh… its okay,” Fluttershy calmly said, nuzzling one of the manticore’s paws and causing it to reveal the thorn in it. “Oh, you poor, poor little baby.”

        “Little?” Rainbow asked with a raised brow.

        “Now this might hurt for just a second,” Fluttershy said as she leaned forward and pulled out the thorn, causing the creature to roar again.

        “Fluttershy!” the ponies shouted in fear, obviously ready to rush forward. The all stopped when they heard the manticore purring.

        “Aw, you’re just a little ol’ baby kitty, aren’t you?” Fluttershy giggled as the manticore picked her up and gave her a big lick. “Yes you are, yes you are.”

        “How did you know about the thorn?” Twilight asked as Fluttershy was set down and the manticore wondered off.

        “I didn’t,” Fluttershy replied as she came up next to me and nuzzled my hand. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”

        With that, the group began to move forward once again. But just as I was passing the thorn Fluttershy had removed, I decided to stop for a moment.

        “Cant have others getting hurt, now can we?” I asked no one in particular with a smirk. Rearing my right leg back, I kicked the thorn back into the bushes, seeing it hit a tree before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

        “Come on, Chris,” Fluttershy called, drawing my attention back to the path.

        “I’m coming,” I replied, following the mare to catch back up with the group.

               
*             *             *


        “No. My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck,” Rarity complained as we moved forward. Suddenly, the moon disappeared over the tree tops, surrounding us in darkness. “Well, I didn’t mean that literally.”

        I knew what was going to happen next, but that didn’t help to keep my heartbeat down.

        “That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn’t even know it!” Twilight groaned.

        “Just keep calm, Twilight,” I said as I began to pull out my head lamp, hearing Rarity bump into Rainbow. “I got something that should be able to help.”

        “Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin’,” Applejack commented as I placed the light around my head, just under my cover, and flipped it to its low light setting.

        Fluttershy’s screams quickly filled the air as the dark red light suddenly turned on.

        “It’s just mud,” Applejack said as she was finally able to see what it was. But in her quest to rub it away, she bumped into a tree.

        “Aah!” Applejack screamed as the tree seemed to growl. My light quickly zeroed on it, causing it to look ten times worse than what I had expected.

        “Holy shit!” I quickly blurted as most of the others began to scream and move away from the surrounding trees. I’m slightly ashamed to say that this continued for several moments, until the sound of laughter drew everyone’s attention.

        “Bleh. Ooo!” Pinkie Pie garbled as she made silly faces at one of the trees.

        “Pinkie, what are you doing?!” Twilight shouted. “Run!”

        “Oh girls, don’t you see?” Pinkie Pie began.

        “What about me?” I asked, only to be ignored as Pinkie began her song.

        Before I realized it, the song was over and everypony was leaning against me, laughing hysterically. “Damn, I missed the sing along…”

               
*             *             *


        “How are we going to cross this?” Pinkie Pie asked as we came upon the river.

        “No one’s swimming those currents, that’s for sure,” I commented as I put my head lamp away. The current was even worse than what I remember from the show as the waves kept hitting the shore and flowing over them.

        “Huh?” Pinkie Pie chirped as a distant crying could be heard. Following the sound, we all came upon a purple sea serpent with golden orange hair and half a mustache.

        “What a world, what a world.” The serpent wailed.

        “Excuse me, sir,” Twilight called, gaining the serpent’s attention. “Why are you crying?”

        “Well, I don’t know,” he replied with a sniffle. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid.”

        With a final wail, the serpent cashed into the water, causing a wave that only I had the time to dodge.

        “Oh, give me a break,” Rainbow Dash groaned with a roll of her eyes and a wet mane.

        “That’s what the fuss is about?” Applejack asked while the serpent rested his head on the shore nearby.

        “Why, of course it is,” Rarity replied as she stepped forward, using a spell to dry herself and restyle her mane and tail. “How can you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales.”

        “I know,” the serpent said with a sniffle.

        “And your expertly coiffed mane,” Rarity continued.

        “Oh, I know, I know,” the serpent replied as it sat up and brushed its hair back with a claw.

        “Your fabulous manicure,” Rarity pointed out.

        “It’s so true!” the serpent gushed.

        “All ruined without your beautiful mustache,” Rarity said with a frown.

        “It’s true,” the serpent wailed, trying to cover itself with its small arms. “I’m hideous!”

        “I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected,” Rarity proclaimed with a look of determination. Suddenly, she jerked forward, taking one of the serpents scales in her mouth and holding it up high.

        “Rarity, what are you-” Twilight began to say as Rarity suddenly lifted up her tail and cut most of it off with the scale. I ended up missing what happened next since the moment she cut off her tail, her marehood became almost fully exposed and I immediately turned around, and while I would have liked to look; this was neither the place or the time.

        “You look simply smashing,” I heard Rarity proclaim as my mind realized slightly from the fact that there was actually something in between her legs.

        “Oh, Rarity,” Twilight said in a saddened tone. “Your beautiful tail…”

        “Oh, its fine, my dear,” Rarity replied, although I could hear a slight bit of disappointment. “Short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back.”

        “So would the mustache,” Rainbow said under her breath. Then, I began to hear her chuckling and I could see her looking at me from the corner of my eye.

        “We can cross now,” Twilight called as I heard her splash into the water. “Lets go!”

        “Allow me,” the serpent suddenly said. I knew he had made a bridge with his body for the ponies, but what I wasn’t expecting was for him to pick me up and carry me over to the other side as well.

        “Be sure to come visit some time,” the serpent said to me specifically before giving a wink.

        “Yeah… not gonna happen,” groaned as the serpent left.

        “We should almost be there everypony, lets go!” Twilight proclaimed as she obvious continued forward.

        “Wait,” I called, as I had yet to turn and face them. “Rarity, could you come here for a moment?”

        “Why, whatever do you need darling?” the mare asked as she came in front of me.

        “Please don’t take this he wrong way,” I began, taking my cover and blouse off. Handing the mare my blouse, I tried to explain what I wanted without putting her off. “W-would you mind wrapping that around yourself or something? You’re, uh… kinda exposed.”

        “Why, whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked as she took my blouse in her magic and looked back at herself. It only took a moment t for her to see just how high she made the cut, and her face immediately began to glow red.

        “Oh, my…” Rarity said with a sheepish smile, quickly tying my blouse around her in a way to hide her marehood from prying eyes…mostly mine. “Th-thank you dear.”

        “Now that that’s settled,” Twilight said, drawing my attention to her and everyone else’s slightly red cheeks. “Let’s go!”

               
*             *             *


        “There it is, the ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony,” Twilight proclaimed as the decaying towers of The Two Sisters castle came into view. “We made it!”

        “Twilight, wait for us!” Applejack called as the girls rushed forward.

        “We’re almost there,” Twilight called back, almost missing the gorge separating us and the castle. “Whoa!”

        Luckily, Rainbow was able to catch the mare by her tail and pull her back. “What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?”

        “Nice save,” I told Rainbow, earning a smirk.

        “Now what?” Pinkie asked with a sigh.

        “Duh,” Rainbow replied as she gave her wings a flap. We all watched as she dived over the edge, disappearing in the fog.

        We all waited for several minutes before I noticed Rainbow Dash on the other side talking to three pegasi dressed in black, purple and gold.

        “Rainbow, what’s taking so long?” Twilight called, noticing who Rainbow was talking to. “Oh no, Rainbow! Don’t listen to them.”

        “Don’t worry, Twilight,” I told the worried mare. “Rainbow will pull though.”

        “Yeah, see?” Rainbow said as she flew over to our side, the bridge now repaired and looking as deadly as any ancient wood bridge before it. “I’d never leave my friends hangin’.”

        “Well, let’s go,” I sighed, forcing myself to cross the bridge first.

        “Here it is,” Twilight said as she came up behind me and moved forward. “The Castle of the Two Sisters.”

        “I expected it to be bigger,” Rainbow commented as we stood outside the castle.

        “Six words no male ever wants to hear,” I chuckled to myself, forgetting just how close Fluttershy had been sticking to me.

        “Why is that?” she innocently asked.

        “Uh…” I began in a slight panic. Luckily, I was saved by the howl of a nearby wolf. Unluckily, those wolves were closer than I thought.

        “Timber wolves!” Applejack shouted as four of the wooden wolves emerged from around the castle decaying entrance.

        “Okay, this wasn’t supposed to happen,” I commented as Fluttershy began to shake against my side. “Whatever you do, don’t run!”

        “Wasn’t planning on it!” Rainbow replied as she reared up, preparing for a fight.

        “No!” I quickly said, pulling the mare behind me as well. “I need you to watch behind us.”

        “Why?” Applejack asked as she looked behind the group. Almost like it was a reply, several growls sounded from behind us. “Oh, that’s why…”

        “This is terrible!” Rarity wailed as she and the others began to huddle against me.

        “Don’t look any of them in the eyes, but don’t take your eyes off them,” I quickly instructed. I was currently going off of what I had read off the internet on how to deal with wolf attacks.

        “We have to get past them!” Twilight said as she tried to look past the wolves covering the entrance. “Anypony have a plan?”

        “W-we go home and hide under our beds?” Fluttershy asked with a slightly hopeful smile.

        “Our exit route is kinda cut off,” I told the shaking mare. This part was never in the show, so I was running blind. Suddenly, an idea popped in my head, a stupid one, but it was the only option at the moment and as long as this was a dream, I should end up fine.

        “Twilight,” I called the mare, hoping to gain the mare’s attention. “I’m going to distract them, so when you all see your chance, run inside.”

        “What are you going to do?” Fluttershy asked, concern and worry clear in her voice.

        “Something stupid,” I said as I carefully pushed the mare to the side. “LEEERRRROOOYYYYY JEEEEENNNKKKIIINNNNSSSSS!”

        Before anyone could stop me, I sprinted towards the castles west side.

        “Chris!” I heard Fluttershy shout as the wolve's basic instinct took control and all of them took chase.

        “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” I cursed as I sprinted through a broken entrance way. A small trip resulted in a wolf to go sailing just over my head. The wolf ended up crashing into a wall, falling apart on contact.

        “One down…” I groaned, jumping threw a broken window. Rather than continue, I quickly slipped under the window frame, watching as another seven wolves jumped through and rushed forward, missing me.

        I watched as all of them rushed down another corner, disappearing from sight.

        “That was close,” I wheezed, standing back up and turning around… facing the same wolf that had just fallen to pieces. “Fuck your regeneration powers!”

               
*             *             *


        “I hope, Chris is okay,” Fluttershy said as she and the others waited for Twilight to do whatever it was she was doing with the elements.

        “D-don’t worry…” I wheezed out as I limped from around the corner. My green undershirt had several rips and tares, I had several bleeding cuts on my arms and I had a bad gash on my left thigh. “Don’t know about the other guys though.”

        “Chris!” everyone shouted as Fluttershy zoomed towards me at an unbelievable speed.

        “Thank, Celestia you’re okay!” the mare sniffled as she pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

        “How did you get away?!” Rainbow dash asked in shock.

        “Locked them up in one of the back rooms,” I chuckled, flinching from a bit of pain. A part of me thought that I shouldn’t have been feeling this pain, but I had felt pain in dreams before.

        Although, it usually resulted in me waking up.

        “That’s great and all,” Applejack said as I saw her eyeing my leg wound. “But we should really—“

        “Aah!” Twilight shouted from back inside.

        “Twilight!” the ponies shouted, rushing back inside. Luckily, Fluttershy stuck behind to help me walk.

        “The Elements!” Twilight shouted as we watched her disappear in an indigo fog and bright flash.

        “Twilight, where are you?” Applejack called after everyone’s slight freak out moment.

        “Look!” Rarity called pointing towards another section of the castle, light shining from its broken windows.

        “Come on!” Applejack called as she led the charge to the other building.

        By the time we reached the room with that held Twilight and Nightmare Moon, the bookish mare was already giving her final speech to Nightmare.

        “You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that?” Twilight asked as the broken shards began to glow and float into the air. “Well, you’re wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here.

        “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, representing the spirit of… honesty!” Twilight proclaimed as some of the shards began to circle around the apple farmer.

        “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of… kindness!” More shards flew over, separation the timid mare from my side with a squeak.

        “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!” I watched as the pink mare began to jump around as her shards began to circle her.

        “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!” I watched more shards float over circling the fashionista as others began to circle Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!”

        “Nice,” I said to myself, looking back towards Nightmare Moon. But what I saw began to worry me. There were still a few shards floating in our direction.

        “And Chris, who faced impossible odds against a pack of timber wolves to make sure we could move forward, represents the spirit of… courage!”

        “Oh…fuck,” I wheezed as the remaining shards began to circle me. I ended up missing whatever else was said as my eyes tried to follow the circling shards, my mind having been left behind.

        Suddenly, there was a bright flash as something seemed to pulse through my body and I felt something wrap around my right forearm.

        “Nooo! Nooo!” I heard Nightmare shout before a deafening explosion threw me back off my feet.

        I lay where I landed for several moments before my sight and hearing finally returned. The first thing I noticed was that all my injuries were gone. The second, was that I was wearing my blouse and cover again, the cover having been lost during my scuffle with the timber wolves. Finally, I noticed the odd weight on my right forearm.

        Pulling my sleeve up, I revealed a golden bracer with a clear diamond inlayed in the middle.

        “Oh, hell no!” I began to panic, quickly getting back to my feet. I was about to pull the brace off when a golden glow stopped my hand from doing it.

        “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a stern motherly voice said, sending a chill down my spine. Looking up, I felt my heart drop as I came face to face with a large white alicorn, and instead of a motherly smile, she was giving me a stern glare and frown. “After all, I wouldn’t want one of my guards to get hurt.”

        “H-hello Princess,” I stuttered out as I noticed everyone else standing behind the solar diarchy. All but Fluttershy and a young Luna had a scowl on their faces. “L-lovely morning, isn’t it?”

        Celestia said nothing as her foot long horn glowed brightly for a moment before the sun could be seen rising outside a nearby window.

        “Fuck it,” I sighed as I heard something snap. Before anyone could comment or stop me, I reached forward, grabbing the sides of Celestia’s head and brought her in for a quick peck on the lips.

“Taste like frosti—“

        Hello darkness my old friend…
> Chapter Two: "Good men mean well. We just don't always end up doing well."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oww…” I groaned out as my senses painfully began to return to me.

Again...

 Aside from a pounding headache, I noticed that I was laying on something soft, wrapped in something thick and warm.

                “That was one hell of a dream…” I groaned as I forced myself to sit up. After fighting against a small case of nausea, I began to feel under my pillow for my phone. But when I couldn’t find it, I began to panic as thoughts of being late for work popped into my head.

                “Ugh?!” I grunted, hoping to get my roommates attention.

                “Oh, thank goodness,” a soft yet familiar voice echoed out. “You’re awake!”

                “Fluttershy?!” I called out, instantly recognizing the voice but unable to see more than three feet in front of me since my glasses were gone.

                “It’s okay,” the mare replied as a yellow blob appeared in front of me and slowly solidified into Fluttershy. She was looking at me with a caring smile and slightly watery eyes, still a cartoon. “I’m so happy that you’re awake.”

                “But… you can’t…” I began to sputter like a fish out of water. “Dream… not?”

                “Oh, right,” Fluttershy giggled as she flew off, only to return a few moment later with my glasses in her hooves. “Twilight repaired these for you.”

                “Repaired… what in the name of?” I began, carefully taking the frames and putting them on.

I immediately found myself in a small wood room, which honestly looked like the one the crusaders slept in when they slept over at Fluttershy’s. “Am I in your house... and in your bed?”

                “Oh…yes,” Fluttershy replied as she looked down at her hooves, her face glowing red. “I thought you would be comfortable…”

                “Oh… thank you,” I replied, still slightly confused, both by the circumstances and that I fit in Fluttershy’s bed.

And the fact that I was in Fluttershy’s bed.

 I was about to stand up, but I stopped when I realized that I wasn’t wearing anything but my underwear and the bracer. “What happened to my clothes?!”

                “O-oh, they g-got a little torn,” Fluttershy quickly replied, her eyes still locked on her hooves as the glow on her face increased. “Rarity said she would fix them.”

                “I guess you girls learned the truth then?” I asked, deciding to just roll with things for now. Deciding that worrying and questioning everything wasn’t going to help much.

                “Princess Celestia said you’re a ‘Hue-man’ and that you’re from another world,” Fluttershy replied looking at me with slightly disappointed eyes. “Why did you lie to us?”

                “I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” I sighed remorsefully, while ensuring I was fully covered. “I just didn’t want to worry or scare anyone.

                “I mean, how would you feel if you suddenly appeared somewhere you shouldn’t be able to get to, surrounded by easily frightened cre…ponies?” I asked honestly. “I thought that maybe I was dreaming all of this. But after that hit from Celestia, I’m starting to think that’s not the case though.”

                Fluttershy continued to watch me for several moments, a sad expression on her face. When apparently it was enough, she quickly pulled me into a hug, nuzzling my bare chest.

                It took about three seconds for Fluttershy to realize what she was doing, and when she did, she immediately pulled away with and embarrassed squeak and a face redder than an apple.

                “I-I’m sorry,” the mare timidly said as she began to play with a free portion of the blanket I was using. “I-I just wanted y-you to feel better.”

                “Th-thanks,” I replied, adapting a small smile. We sat there for who knows how long, her staring at the blanket and me at her, until a knock at the room’s door drew both out attentions.

                “Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity’s voice called from the other side. “I know you are worried, but its been three days already. Everypony is worried about you!”

                “Three days!?” I shouted out, forgetting my lack of attire and rushing to the door and ripping it open. “Have I really been out for three days?!”

                “Oh my!” Rarity gasped as she looked at me, her face beginning to glow brightly due to her position.

                “Oh, crap,’” I quickly said while trying to cover myself with my hands. “My shame!”

                “No, no, it’s quite alright,” Rarity quickly replied, turning her head to look in another direction as her face continued to glow red. Her horn glowed for a moment before my cammies, socks and boots appeared in front of me, floating in her magical grasp. “I repaired and cleaned these for you.”

                “Th-thank you,” I replied, quickly snatching them up. For a moment, I thought I felt something as my hand came into contact with Rarity’s magic, but I quickly brushed it off as it just being a new thing that I could explore more later. “But why’d you have to repair them? Everything was repaired when the elements activated.”

                “Yes, well,” Rarity began to reply, her face beginning to return to normal. “That didn’t account for the three walls you went through…”

                “Three…walls…?” I zoned out. I didn’t remember anything like that happening. The last thing I remember was Celestia’s hoof…

                “When Princess Celestia hit you…” Fluttershy began to answer as she walked up behind me, flapping her wings for some reason. “You went through three brick walls, broke four ribs, both legs, your left arm, nose and had a grade three concussion.”

                “H-how am I still alive?!” I blurted out, dropping my blouse before I could put it on. I looked between the two of them and then down to myself, noticing that I was completely fine. Hell, I felt better than ever now.

                “Princess Celestia saw to your healing personally,” Rarity said as she looked at me finally, only a slight tint of red on her cheeks. “Even after you so shamelessly forced yourself upon her.”

                “Oh, right…” I mumbled as I remembered that moment. “I… I kinda thought I was dreaming at the time.”

                “Oh, dreaming of Princesses are we?” Rarity cooed with a deviant grin, sweeping her tail back and forth with a sway of her hips. “You seem to have very high hopes, darling.”

                The way she said ‘darling’ caused a shiver to run down my spine, but in all the right kind of ways.

                “Maybe… maybe we could take this conversation to the living room?” Fluttershy asked as she drew my attention, offering me my blouse. “I mean… if you want that is?”

                “Yes, I think that would be a lovely idea,” Rarity chimed in, tuning to walk away, still swaying her flanks in a way to only just keep her goods covered. “Why don’t we finish this over a nice cup of tea, no?”

                “Uh, sure,” I droned on as I blindly followed the mare’s swaying hips.

                “Just like a stallion,” Rarity giggled, making me realize that we were already in Fluttershy’s living room. All around me, small animals and birds were rushing around, most stopping to either look at me or give a sniff before scurrying off. Taking a seat on the rooms couch, I watched as Rarity trotted through another doorway.

                “So,” Fluttershy began as she took the seat next to me, laying her front hooves over my lap as she looked up at me with an innocent smile. “Is there anything else you want to know?”

                “Uh…” I replied dumbly. “I-I guess if anything, what happened after I got knocked out?”

                “Well… after, Princess Celestia hit you,” Fluttershy replied, fidgeting around on my lap. “Princess Luna quickly rushed off to help you.”

                “It was actually thanks to her that you’re alive,” Rarity added as she walked back into the room with a tray full of cookies and a tea set. “She found you first and was able to apply aid until Princess Celestia could arrive and finish the healing process. It still surprises me that Princess Celestia had a sister, let alone the fact she was Nightmare moon.”

                “I guess I owe her a big thanks then,” I replied with a smile as Rarity floated me a cup of steaming tea. Once again, I felt the strange feeling of Rarity’s magic, but I noticed this time that the magic seemed to flow towards me hand.

                “If there’s anypony you should be thanking, it should be, Fluttershy,” Rarity replied, apparently not noticing what happened with her magic. “The poor dear has been by your side for three days. I can only imagine what things she had to do.”

                “Oh, it was nothing,” Fluttershy sheepishly said as she laid her head down on my lap and covered her head with her hooves.

                “Either way, Fluttershy,” I began, beginning to scratch behind one of the mare’s ears. “Thank you very much.”

                Fluttershy literally became putty in my hands as she began to press her head into my hand, sighing in bliss.

                “Isn’t this just adorable,” Rarity cooed as she sat on my other side. “You have quite the way with mares, Christopher.”

                “Uh… Thanks, I guess?” I muttered out, still scratching behind Fluttershy’s ear. I was beginning to become uncomfortable, but like most time I was in uncomfortable situations, I pushed through.

                “Hmmm… that feels really nice,” Fluttershy sighed as she began to nuzzle my chest again. I had to be honest, it was really nice. After a few minutes, I began to hear light snores coming from the mare in my lap.

                “Looks like she’s finally catching up on her sleep,” Rarity commented as I carefully scooped up the sleeping mare, intent on bringing her back to her room. “As I said, the poor dear has been worrying over you theses past three days.”

                “Why?” I asked, placing her in her bed and tucking her in. I couldn’t help but smile as Fluttershy unconsciously pulled one of her pillows in a hug and cuddle with it in her sleep.

                “Well, isn’t it obvious?” Rarity giggled as we went back into the living room. “She likes you.”

                “Like a friend or…” I began, feeling my cheeks heat up.

                “Maybe as a friend or maybe even more,” Rarity commented as she took a seat on the couch and sipped her tea using her magic. “You may not know this, but Fluttershy is very timid.”

                “I had no idea,” I replied with a forced chuckle, still wanting to keep the fact that I knew them prior, a secret for now. “How long have you known her for?”

                “Oh, I’ve known the dear for years,” Rarity began with a reminiscing smile. “It was about five years ago when I first met her in the market square.”

                “How long did it take for her to even talk to you?” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

                “It actually wasn’t that long,” Rarity replied, with a slight frown. “This horrible stallion, basically cornered the dear on her first trip to the market.”

                “And let me guess,” I began, finishing my slightly cold tea. Which was the best tea of my life. “You showed up and put the stallion in his place.”

                “Why of course!” Rarity chimed with a smile. “After all, we mares do have to stick together.

                “So after I kindly handled the stallion, I offered to help the dear with the rest of her shopping,” Rarity continued. “She was a little silent at first, but the moment I mentioned my cat, Opalescence, suddenly we were as thick as thief’s!”

                “That’s nice,” I replied with a nod.

                “So,” Rarity said a few minutes later drawing my attention from a pair of playing squirrels. “What are you going to do?”

                “Uh…” I dumbly replied as I tried to think of my plans. “I guess… I guess I’ll have to figure out how I got here in the first place.”

                “I don’t mean about that!” Rarity huffed with a cute scowl. “I mean, about Fluttershy’s attraction towards you.”

                “Oh, that…” I replied as I felt my face light up again. I had tried to ignore it, like back in school, when girls would call me cute or that their friend wanted to know if I was available. In the end, they would just laugh and say it was a joke or something slightly hurtful.

                After the third instance of something like this happening, I started ignoring them, even if they actually liked me.

                “Sorry… I’m not,” I tried to say, falling flat.

                “Oh, I’m sorry,” Rarity quickly replied, covering her mouth with a hoof. “I didn’t know you were like that, I just assumed you liked mares.”

                “What?!” I chocked out, jumping in shock.

“No, no, I’m not like that,” I replied quickly, a slight shiver running down my spine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly fine with same sex couples and the like. But when it involves an attraction towards me, then I become very uncomfortable and a little bit rude. “I like the female body, like most guys.”

“Oh,” Rarity replied with a sheepish smile. “Sorry for insinuating. But then, what’s the problem?”

“Aside from the difference in species,” I began, sitting down next to the mare and leaning back. “Some bad experiences back in school and absolutely no experience.”

“Well,” Rarity began her reply. “There is nothing against the law in Equestria for different species relationships.”

“Yeah…” I simply nodded.

“And your school experience couldn’t have been that bad,” Rarity continued. “Come now; tell me what would push you away.”

So I recounted the few times I fell for the school girl thing and by the end, Rarity had a slightly guilty look.

“While it shames me to admit this,” Rarity sighed. “I may have done such a thing to a colt once or twice myself.”

“So you can at-“

“But please don’t let something like that influence you,” Rarity interrupted with a slightly pleading look. “I’m not trying to pull your leg or anything like that, especially with Fluttershy involved.”

“Why are you trying to get us together?” I asked, still very uncomfortable with this conversation. “You have only known me for a few days, and I was only conscious for a couple hours during them, let alone the fact that I lied about who I was.”

“Because I can see that Fluttershy really does have feelings for you,” Rarity replied with a sigh. “She’s a sweet mare, but you’re the first pon-hu-uh… anything that she has ever showed any interest in.”

“I still don’t know how to feel about that,” I replied with a sigh, pulling off my glasses and rubbing my eyes.

“Would you be willing to at least ask her if she likes you?” Rarity asked while laying a hoof on my thigh with a sincere smile. “The dear really could use somepony in her life.”

“I’ll… I’ll ask,” I replied, replacing my glasses and forcing a smile. “But if things go wrong, I’m blaming you.”

“Nothing will go wrong, I assure you,” Rarity replied as she stood up and headed towards the door leading outside. “I’m sorry, but I really must get back to my shop. I have a few new projects that I hope to finish by this evening.”

“Okay, Rarity,” I waved with a slight sigh. “Have a good day.”

“Thank you, Christopher,” she replied as she opened the door to leave. “Expect a visit from, Twilight later. The dear has been hoping you would wake up soon.”

“Great…” I blandly replied as the door closed behind the mare. So here I was, stuck in Equestria, Fluttershy apparently liked me and Princess Celestia had almost killed me. “This is not good.”

I don’t know how long I sat there thinking, but a quick set of thumps against my side drew my attention.

“What?” I asked looking to my left and seeing a scowling white rabbit. “Oh, it’s you.”

The rabbit continued to scowl as it pulled a book out from under the couch cushion and opened it to a certain page that had been seen in the show.

“I’m not making you that,” I replied as I looked at the elaborate salad Angel was showing me. This resulted in more stomping and a book being thrown at my head.

“You little demon!” I growled out, just dodging the book.

“If you’re hungry, I’ll try to get you a carrot of something,” I growled down, staring the rabbit in the eye. “But don’t think I won’t show you who’s the top of the food chain here.”

I don’t know if it was me flashing my canines or if was just that easy; but Angel quickly nodded his head in reply, a scared look in his eye.

“Let’s go you,” I commented as I picked up Angel by the scruff of his neck and placed him on my right shoulder, noting how light he was.

 Walking through the doorway Rarity went to get the tea earlier, I entered a small kitchen that had two fridges, a large floor freezer and a short table with two chairs. I could also see some cupboards and spice filled shelfs off to one side with a sink placed under a window that showed a large backyard.

“Not a bad set up,” I commented while opening one of the fridges. Inside was an assortment of different vegetables, fruits and drinks. A quick tapping drew my attention to Angel, who was eagerly pointing at a pack of strawberries.

Ignoring him for a second, I checked the other fridge and found more fruits and veggies, but there were also labeled shelves. Like the one marked “Angel” that had a stack of carrots.

“Nice try,” I commented as I pulled out a carrot and passed it to the rabbit. With a slightly sullen look, he took it and began eating.

“Hey,” I said, feeling a little bad for him. “I’ll see what I can do later if you actually behave yourself, okay?”

It took him a moment, but he did nod his head in reply, a slight smile on his face.

“Alright then,” I said with a snap and turning around. I was immediately greeted by a giant assortment of animals, including a bear, all with slightly expectant looks. Looking at a nearby wall clock, I noticed that it was around noon already. “G-guess it’s time for lunch.”


*             *             *


Fluttershy snuggled more into the pillow, imagining that it was actually Chris. Even though she was too shy to admit it to anypony, she really liked him and hoped that he liked her to.

As she slowly began to wake up, she couldn’t help but remember when she first saw him. The way he towered over her, how he walked on two legs and the strange clothing he wore. Normally things like that would cause her to be worried or frightened of something, but instead caused her heart to beat faster in a different way as a calming warmth seemed to follow it.

“What time is it?” Fluttershy asked no one in particular with a soft yawn. Opening her eyes, she was slightly shocked to see that she was in her room. The clock on her wall quickly drew her attention when she noticed the time.

“Oh dear!” Fluttershy gasped as she quickly rose from her bed. “Its five o’clock, I forgot to give my animals lunch. Oh, they must think I forgot them!”

“Its okay everyone, I’m-“ Fluttershy quickly called out as she rushed out of her room, only to stop when she noticed that there weren’t any animals around. “Angel? Miss Tweets? Beary?”

A knock at her front door prevented the mare from panicking as she decided to see who it was.

“H-hello… who is it?” Fluttershy timidly called through the door.

“Fluttershy? It’s me, Twilight,” a familiar voice called from the other side. “Rarity told me that Chris was finally awake. May I come in?”

“Oh,” Fluttershy chirped, thinking about how rude she must have been.

Opening the door, Fluttershy saw the mare she had only met a few days ago, yet had become a quick friend. “Come in, Twilight. Would you like something to drink?”

“No thank you,” Twilight replied as she walked in, wearing a set of saddle bags and with Spike following close behind. “So, where is he?”

“I-I don’t know,” Fluttershy sheepishly replied. “I kind of just woke up.”

“Then where did he go?” Spike asked as he looked around the new room. “And what’s with all the little staircases and bird cages?”

“Those are for all of my animal friends,” Fluttershy said with a small smile. “And I think, Chis is around here somewhere… I hope…”

“Whoa!” Something shouted from Fluttershy’s backyard.

Worried for her animals safety, Fluttershy quickly led the way out her front door and around to her backyard, finding something that only caused her fears to grow.

“Christopher?!”


*             *             *


“Christopher?!”

The sudden call of my name caused me to stop what I was doing and turn to face the one that called me. I quickly noticed three new additions to the crowd consisting of Fluttershy, Twilight and Spike.

“Oh, hey everyone,” I said before turning back to what was currently in front of me. After I fed all the animals their lunch, with the help of Angel, I had gone outside to take a look around. I didn’t get far before almost every single animal Fluttershy cared for began to encircle me and begin their own process of inspection.

But that was a few hours ago, so now I was sitting in the backyard with the biggest wolf I had ever seen laying on its back in front of me. On all fours, it equaled most ponies in height and size, had silver hair with orange eyes, and had a back leg was currently kicking furiously as I scratched its belly.

 “Who’s a good puppy?” I cooed to the domesticated animal.

“C-Chris, that’s an Everfree Cave Wolf,” Fluttershy stuttered out as she hesitantly made her way over to where I sat. “H-how did you pacify it? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“Pacify?” I asked while, switching to the wolf’s muzzle. “Isn’t this one of yours?”

“No…” Fluttershy muttered back, moving to pet the wolf, only to yelp and hid behind me when the wolf growled at her.

“Oh…” I replied, continuing to mess with the wolf’s muzzle. After a few moments, I stopped and slowly pulled my arms away from the wolf. For a few minutes, it stared at me with a cocked head before barking and pointing to me had with its snout.

“I think… it wants you to keep petting it,” Twilight voiced out from behind me, Spike hiding behind the slightly intrigued mare.

“Bark!” the wolf replied, nudging my arm with its nose now.

“Oookay…” I mumbled out, reaching back out and scratching the wolf’s ears. It playfully began to nip at me as it flipped back to its stomach. “So… should I be worried or what?”

“Um… excuse me, Mr. wolf?” Fluttershy timidly called from behind me, receiving a slight ear twitch from the wolf in reply. “W-why are you here and not back in your home?”

As if it were replying, the wolf gave several growls and barks before continuing to nip at me and enjoy the scratching.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy said as she finally came out from behind me and decided to sit next to me. “He said he’s here because of you Chris.”

“Wait?” Twilight interrupted before I could reply. “You can actually understand animals?!”

“Uhm… yes,” the mare timidly replied, twiddling her hooves as her face began to glow in embarrassment. “It’s not that hard… if you know what to listen for.”

“That’s really cool, Fluttershy,” I told the mare, earning a smile and brighter glowing cheeks. “But you said he came for me, why?”

“He said he saw you take care of the timber wolfs,” Fluttershy, replied slowly as she hesitantly reached for the wolf once again. Only this time, the wolf allowed it. “He said he wanted to thank you, because that pack had moved into his territory and wouldn’t leave, attacking him in his own home.”

“So it came to thank me?” I said, looked at the content wolf. “Did he happen to say what his name is?”

“Um…no,” Fluttershy replied with a small frown. “Most animals from the Everfree don’t have one.”

“Oh, then I’ll just give him one,” I replied, stopping the attention and thinking for a moment. “How about I give you a name?”

“Woof,” the wolf replied, nodding. It caught me mildly off guard, seeing as most of the animals on this planet had some form of sentience.

“Okay, how about…” I began, thinking hard for a few minutes.

“I have a book of names back at the library,” Twilight chirped quicly with a smile. “I can go back to the library and-“

“Geralt!” I pronounced, interrupting Twilight.

“Why, Geralt?” Spike asked, attempting to come closer, only to pull back as the wolf growled at him.

“Geralt was the main character in a series called Witcher,” I replied, looking at the wolf. “He was a ‘Witcher’, who are mutated people who had super ability’s and could perform magic, all for the purpose of hunting monsters and witches. I thought it would match because the character, Geralt had silver hair, orange eyes and belonged to the school of the wolf, its perfect.”

“Were there really people like that where you’re from?” Twilight asked with a hopeful grin.

“No, Twilight,” I chuckled. “It was something from a video game.”

“Like those things from the arcade?” Spike asked with an excited smile.

“If I had to guess,” I replied, trying to think of how advance they’re arcades might be. “Yes, but with way better graphics. If I ever get the chance, I’ll show you some pictures I have of him.”

“How would you do that?” Twilight chirped, getting in close to my face. She quickly backed off though when the wolf growled at her.

“So, how does that sound, Geralt?” I asked the wolf, ignoring Twilight’s question for now. “Do you like the name?”

“Bark!” Geralt replied, actually smiling back.

“Oh this is so exciting,” Fluttershy commented as she clapped her front hooves excitedly. “I always love seeing a pony and a new pet coming together.”

“I don’t know if he wants to be a pet, Fluttershy,” I replied, looking at Geralt.

“Bark!” Geralt replied, looking at Fluttershy.

“He says he doesn’t mind,” Fluttershy interpreted. “He said he was getting lonely all by himself in the Everfree.”

“Well, I guess that’s okay,” I said with a nod. “Haven’t had a personal pet since my hamster and gerbils back in grade school, but I don’t mind.”

“Well, now that that’s taken care of,” Twilight said as I stood up and looked at her. “Would you mind coming inside and answering some questions?”

“I guess I owe you that much,” I sighed before turning back to Geralt. “I got some things to do, but we can hang out some more after, okay?”

“Woof!” Geralt replied before getting up and laying under the shade of a nearby tree.

“Alright, let’s go!” I announced jumping to my feet. “I owe you some answers, so what do you want to know first?”

“I have a list right here!” Twilight announced, a list appearing in her magic. “I had to change plans I had with Applejack for this.”

“Wait?” I said, her statement reminding me of episode three. “Did she need some help collecting apples?”

“Yeah, but I left early to get something to eat and finish this list,” Twilight replied, looking over her list. “So, Christopher… what does your-“

“Burp!” Spike interrupted with a belch, a sealed scroll appearing in front of him. “A letter from the Princess!”

“I got it!” I said snatching the scroll up, slightly confused on why it showed up so late.

“Hey!” Twilight and Spike yelled as I broke the seal.

“Blah blah blah, fancy talk,” I droned reading over the letter as Spike tried to take the scroll back. Unfortunately, even at his highest jump, he was three feet too short. “Looks like Princess Celestia sent you some tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala!”

“The Grand Galloping Gala?!” the other three shouted in shock, causing several flocks of birds to fly away. Suddenly, Spike released another belch, causing two gold tickets to appear.

I was about to make a joke about the way the two mares were squealing when I noticed another part to the invitation at the bottom.

“And Twilight, please notify me immediately of the human’s awakening. There is much I still need to… discuss, with it.”

I don’t know what scared me more. The fact that she purposely separated the word ‘discuss’, or the fact she referred to me as an ‘it’.

“Got it!” Spike suddenly shouted, snagging the scroll out of my hands. I didn’t even bother questioning how he got it as he suddenly rushed off after Twilight. The mare saying something about a change of plans.

“Chris, Twilight said she’ll be ba… Chris, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked as walked up to me, a worried look in her eyes. “Did you want to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

“What… Oh, no, that’s not it,” I sighed looking down at the mare. “There was an addition to the letter that, Princess Celestia added, and she called me an ‘it’. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but it’s the fact that it was from Princess Celestia. Did I really piss her that much off?”

“Oh, that’s not very nice of her!” Fluttershy replied with a cute scowl. “I could tell her how mean that is…if you want.”

“No, that’s okay,” I chuckled, smiling down at the mare. “Besides, I doubt you’d actually tell the Princess that she was being mean.”

“I-I would though,” Fluttershy replied looking up at me with a glowing face and nervous smile. “I-if you w-wanted me to, that is.”

“Fluttershy…” I began, remembering what I discussed with Rarity earlier. “Do you… like me?”

“W-w-what?!” Fluttershy chirped out as her face glowed redder than an apple as her legs began to shake. “W-w-what… W-who… I-I-I.”

“Sorry, sorry,” I quickly began to reply, worried that I had pushed her to far. “I just thought th-“

”Yes,” Fluttershy quickly interrupted as heat waves began to come off the mares face and her eyes screwed shut.

“R-really?” I asked, completely floored by her response. “Why, when… what?”

“E-ever since I first met y-you,” the mare began to squeak out, hiding behind her mane, but trying her best not to. “W-when I saw you, it felt like, little butterflies were in my stomach and I-I… I really like you.”

“Oh…” I replied, unable to think of a proper response.

“D-do you like me?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, her face still glowing but her eyes full of hope.

“W-well, yeah, but not the way you like me,” I said, causing the mare to look like I just kicked a kitten. It being Fluttershy made it three times even worse.

“B-but that doesn’t mean it can’t become more!” I quickly added before the mare could cry.

“Really?” Fluttershy asked, her face no longer glowing but her eyes still full of hope as the bining of tears began to form.

“Y-yeah,” I replied, knowing my face was glowing now. “If you don’t mind me not being a pony that is?”

“I-I don’t!” Fluttershy replied, rushing forward suddenly and hugging me tightly. After a few moments, I felt the mare begin to nuzzle the side of my chin before pulling back and looking up at me. “Do y-you want to go o-out somewhere?”

“S-sure,” I replied as Fluttershy pulled away fully.

“Yay!” Fluttershy cheered,  grabbing me and squeezing even tighter.

“Cant… breath…” I wheezed out as my vision began to go black.

“O-oh!” Fluttershy proclaimed releasing her death hold on me, allowing life giving air to flow into my lungs. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I doubt you could hurt me,” I coughed out with a chuckle, “Even if you tried.”

“I-I’m still sor-“

”Don’t be,” I interrupted, watching as the mare sheepishly landed in front of me with a smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at how cute and embarrassed Fluttershy was. “So, you wanted to go somewhere? Just tell me when and where.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy chirped quickly as she took a moment to think. “H-how about tonight?”

“Didn’t expect it to be that soon,” I commented to myself before replying. “Yeah, sure.”

“Great!” Fluttershy said with a smile, only for it to be replaced with a slightly worried look a moment later.

“You okay, Fluttershy?” I asked.

“O-oh, I’m fine,” Fluttershy squeaked out suddenly. “I just have to… go… somewhere.”

Before I could ask her anything further, the timid mare suddenly zipped off, quickly disappearing off in the distance.

“What the hell was that all about?” I asked no one in particular. I stood there for a moment, watching where Fluttershy had just disappeared before I realized something.

“I just said I would go on a date…” I said out loud, my eyes going wide as I began to feel a cold sweat. “With, Fluttershy… just after the Nightmare Moon incident.”

A part of me began to panic, the realization that I was changing this worlds history even more than I already had. While the other part was literally jumping for joy at the fact that I got asked out by FLUTTERSHY!

“Geralt!” I shouted looking back at where the wolf was resting. Rushing over, the wolf barely did more than look at me as I skidded in front of him. “I just got ask out by, Fluttershy and I said yes!”

Geralt simply turned his head in confusion to my statement.

“I know, shocking isn’t it?!” I continued, nervously laughing. “I mean hell, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve ever been asked out and am now panicking or anything.”

Looking at myself, I silently cursed as I realized that all I had were my cammies, and I was not going to go on a date in them.

“Rarity!” I suddenly shouted remembering how she said she was working on a special project. If I knew her like I thought I did, that meant she was working on new clothes for me. “I have no time to lose!”


*             *             *


I don’t know how I did it, but I ran all the way from Fluttershy’s cottage to Rarity’s boutique without stopping. Granted, I got lost a few times and got a few fearful stares from some locals, but the thing wasn’t that hard to find with its unique shape. Normally, I would have questioned how I got there in full cammies so fast, but I had more pressing concerns on my mind.

“Rarity?!” I shouted out as I pulled the door open and ducked inside. The room I walked into was exactly as I remembered it with one addition. Off to one side was a human shaped manikin currently wearing a pair of tan dress pants and a short sleeved, navy blue, polo.

“Chris, what are you doing here?” Rarity asked as she came out from a back room, quickly closing the door behind her so I couldn’t see inside.

“I need cloths!” I blurted out, pointing at the manikin and breathing heavily. “Like that, but I don’t have any cash right now, but I promise to…”

“Calm down dear!” Rarity quickly interrupted as she came over to me, inviting me further in. “Those cloths are for you.”

“So what do ya need for them?” I asked, hoping to get them and start getting ready. I had no idea when Fluttershy wanted to go out exactly, but that just meant it could be soon. “I can’t do magic, but I’m pretty good with repairs, so…”

“Oh no no no, darling,” Rarity quickly replied. “I wouldn’t dream of charging you for these cloths. It was a great chance for me to try out some new technics and by the way your current outfit looks, you could really use them.”

“Yeah, cammies suck some times,” I sighed, finally taking a moment to calm down. “But I still wouldn’t feel right just taking them. I really hate feeling like I owe someone, and theres still the whole lying to you and the others thing.”

“Oh, I’m sure I can think of something,” Rarity purred, flicking her tail against my chest before taking me over to the manikin. “And I believe I can understand why you lied to us the other day, but for now, take these. I hear you have quite the evening tonight.”

“Thanks, Rarity,” I said as she used her magic to take the cloths off the manikin and place them into my outstretched arms. “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Oh, I won’t,” the mare replied as she began to lead me somewhere. Before I could realize it, she had led me to a small bathroom. “Why don’t you get washed up and change in here? Once you’re done, just come back out so I can make sure everything fit right.”

“Thanks, Rarity,” I said as the mare nodded and left me to my own devices.

My first stop was the sink mirror, finally getting the chance to look at myself.

“I look like a damn cartoon,” I commented as I looked at my square shaped face. My eyes were slightly bigger, but were still the same blue they had always been. The only difference was that the brown segment in my right eye was far more pronounced than normal.

My hair was a light yellow, seeing as it used to be chrome blond, and was slightly flat on top with my cowlick visible in the front, while fading down before reaching my ears. My ears, which had always been pretty large due to the earlobe, actually seemed to fit the size of my head for once.

My nose came out to a point like it would in an anime, rounding off at the tip only slightly and my mouth was nothing but a slight slit in the lower part of my face.

“Did they shave me?” I asked myself as I looked at my clean face. Putting that to the side for now, I walked over to the old Victorian style tub that rested just below the rooms only window. While the shower head was a little low, the whole thing still looked big enough for me to stand in and the controls seemed to be the same as those from my world.

“Let get this over with,” I sighed as I began to strip down. As I was doing this, I quickly realized a few things. One, my cover was gone and I don’t remember what happened to it. Two, I was going to have to re-wear my underwear, socks and boots, since Rarity didn’t seem to make those. Three, was that I was going to have to shower wearing the brace on my arm, Celestia’s warning still fresh on my mind.

“I wonder what she meant?” I asked myself while stepping into the small bath.


*             *             *


“God damn!” I said while looking at myself in the mirror. “For a cartoon, I look good!”

After my shower, I quickly dried off and got dressed in the new clothing. The shirt fit snuggly without being too tight and the pants weren’t baggy but didn’t bunch up at the crotch or thighs. I was still clean shaven, which confused me slightly, and my hair was nicely styled, my cowlick popping up like always.

“I’m too sexy for my shirt…” I quietly began to sing to myself as I popped the top two buttons of my shirt open, showing my bare chest for the fun of it. I never did really grow hair there, but I did have a tattoo on my left pec.

It was a tribal looking dragon that I had the tattoo artist add a hunting knife running through from top to bottom, thinking it would look cooler.

It totally did.

“…oh so sexy, it hur-”

“Are you okay in there?” Rarity’s voice interrupted from outside the bathroom door.

“Oh shit!” I blurted out, embarrassed but relived that she probably hadn’t heard me. Moving to the door, I opened it to find the fashionista waiting, a pencil behind one ear, her thin red glasses on her snout and a devious smirk on her face.

“Having fun?” she purred as she looked me up and down, taking in how I looked. But I couldn’t help but notice her smile slip slightly when she saw that I was wearing my boots. “I knew I forgot something.”

“It’s alright,” I replied, leaning back into the bathroom and taking my folded cammies from the side of the door. “Thanks again for the new cloths.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Rarity waved with a hoof before turning around. “Now, if you would follow me if you please.”

“Uh, sure,” I replied as Rarity began to lead the way to the main hall, swaying her hips as we walked. A part of me was actually hoping that she was trying to flirt with me while another was chastising me for thinking that when I was about to go on a date with Fluttershy.

“Here we are,” Rarity’s voice said, forcing me to look at something beside her marshmallow plot.

We were back in the boutiques main hall, but what really drew my attention was Fluttershy, who currently stood in the middle of the room in a simple green dress and a pink butterfly clip in her mane, allowing me to see both her eyes clearly.

“You l-look very handsome, Chris,” Fluttershy said as she both tried to look at me and hide a slight blush at the same time.

“And you look breath taking, Fluttershy,” I honestly replied. While I had a slight suspicion that she had come to Rarity’s as well, I was happy to see that the fashionista had not gone overboard.

“Oh, budding love,” Rarity swooned, causing me to blush along with Fluttershy.

“S-so, where are we going?” I asked, forcing the blush from my cheeks as I set my cammies down on a nearby chair.

“A small restaurant,” Fluttershy replied, giving me a shy glance. “I-if you want… that is.”

“I….Actually,” I began as a cold realization swept over me. “I… don’t have any bits.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Fluttershy quickly responded, pulling a small pouch from under her right wing. I could hear the slight jingle of coins coming from it as she showed it to me. “I-I got it.”

“I still wouldn’t feel right…” I began to say. I may not have ever been on a date before, but hell would have to freeze over before I allowed the women, or mare in this case, to pay for everything.

“Why, however come Darling?” Rarity called, drawing my attention. “I don’t see any problem with it.”

“D-do you now want to go anymore?” Fluttershy asked sadly as her body wilted slightly.

“I-its not that!” I quickly said in hopes to reassure the mare. “Its just, as a guy, I should be the one doing that.”

“If I may, what does a date usually consist of where you’re from?” Rarity asked with intrigue.

 “Uh…” I dumbly replied before my mind finally caught up. “Well, usually the guy asks the girl out, he’ll be the one to set up and pay for everything…”

“I think I see where this is going,” Rarity quickly interrupted with a little giggle. “Now, what would your male to female ratio be where you’re from?”

“Relatively speaking,” I began, giving it an actual thought. “About 50/50, but if fluctuates minutely throughout the years. Why?”

“Because that is where there is quite a difference,” Rarity chimed with a little grin. “Here in Equestria, the ratio is closer to eight mares for every one stallion.”

“Damn!” I replied, honestly shocked. I remember there being a lot more mares in the show, but I didn’t think the ratio was anywhere as that bad.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity continued, scrunching her nose slightly. “So, mares are the more forward ones in forming a relationship here in Equestria. A mare will be the one to ask out a stallion and they will usually pay for any concessions.”

“I guess…” I began, that uncomfortable feeling still there. “As long as it doesn’t cause, Fluttershy any problems.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Fluttershy replied, jingling her bit bag cutely. “I have more than enough!”

“Then at least,” I began, giving a reluctant sigh, zipping over and opening the shops door with a flourished hand. “Let me get the door for the young mare.”

“Th-thank you,” Fluttershy replied with a blush as she made her way out.

“Thanks again, Rarity,” I said as I began to walk out as well. “I’ll pick up my cloths tomorrow, if that’s alright?”

“That’s quite alright, darling,” Rarity replied before my cloths disappeared in a flash. “Now shoo, go have a nice evening.”

“Will do,” I said as I began to close the door.

“Oh, and Chris!” Rarity called out, stopping me and drawing my attention. I instantly felt a cold shiver run through my spine as she fixed me with a glare and slight frown. “You do anything to hurt my friend and I will personally, rip them off and shove them down your throat, got that mister?”

“Y-yes ma’am,” I croaked out, shutting the door with shaking hands.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked with slightly worried eyes.

“I-I’m fine, sorry,” I replied, regaining my composer with a shake of my head. “Lead the way.”

“It’s this way,” Fluttershy giggled as she floated up and took my left arm in her forehooves and began to pull me down a nearby path. “It’s just a few blocks from here.”

“Okay,” I chuckled, amused at Fluttershy’s enthusiasm. As we moved, I took a moment to watch the mare fly, marveling both at how her wings moved and enjoying the slight breeze they created. After a few moments of walking, I noticed something rushing towards us. “Is that, Twilight?”

“AAAAhhhhhh!” Twilight yelled as she rushed past us, Spike clinging to her back for dear life. Fluttershy and I watched as she rushed into Rarity’s boutique, slamming the door behind her.

“What was that all about?” Fluttershy asked, a tone of fear in her voice.

“Give it a sec,” I replied, making a guess as to what was going on.

A few moments later, a small group of ponies rushed toward us. Their eyes darting around in looking of something.

“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked as she dropped to the ground and hid behind me as the group stopped in front of us.

“You’re the one that was with, Twilight Sparkle the other day!” one random mare pointed out, giving me a slightly hesitant look. “Have you seen her recently, by any chance?”

“She just went off towards Sweet Apple Acers,” I replied, pointing in a random direction like it was the truth.

“Thanks!” the same mare replied before the group rushed off.

“W-why did you lie to them?” Fluttershy asked as we continued forward.

“Don’t worry,” I replied calmly. “It was mostly to get them to stop chasing after, Twilight for a bit.”

“But why were they chasing, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as she looked back the way we came in worry.

“Don’t worry about that right now,” I chuckled, smiling at getting the chance to see the mare’s concern for her friends in person. “She’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy replied a little hesitantly as she looked forward again. After a few minutes of walking, she pointed a hoof towards a certain building. “That’s it right there.”

Walking up to the building, I was a little shocked at the fact that it looked more like a small diner than a restaurant. The building was only just larger than the surrounding houses and was painted a light tan with dark green trimmings. The roof, like some of the other surrounding buildings, was covered in hay and had a large window in the front, showing about ten tables inside, most of which were full.

“Why hello, Fluttershy!” A young unicorn mare greeted as we walked up to a podium. She had an eggshell white coat, a dark orange mane and tail with dark brown eyes.

“H-hello, Morning Brew,” Fluttershy timidly replied, as she walked up to the mare and began to fiddle with her hooves. “C-can I get a table for two, outside… if that’s okay?”

“OMC, don’t tell me,” the mare gasped as she looked between me and Fluttershy several times. “Are you on a date?!”

“Eep!” Fluttershy as her face began to glow red.

“OMC, Fluttershy finally asked somepony out!” the mare cheered with a mile wide smile. “Even though its some strange monkey thing!”

“Hey, I aint no monkey,” I replied, slightly offended. “But if you were to offer me a banana, I would not refuse.”

“And he has a sense of humor,” the mare swooned with a giggle. “I know just where to seat you two.”

Without waiting for a reply, Morning Brew led us around the building, carrying two menus in an orange magical field.

“This is the perfect table for you two,” the mare said as we came to the other side of the building. The table itself was the same as all the others, which was still a good foot shorter than I was used too. But the view was actually very nice and we were the only ones outside.

Apparently, the street was on a bit of a hill, so the area we were at gave an almost full view of the town. Past that were large open fields leading into a forest that stretched on for miles. The sun could be seen, beginning its slow decent past its final ridge for the day.

“What is with this town and hills?” I asked myself with a heavy sigh.

“One of the best if I had to say,” Morning Brew proclaimed proudly as she set the menus down across from each other. “Somepony will be out shortly to take your orders.”

Before rushing off with a giggle, Morning Brew quickly whispered something into Fluttershy’s ear, causing the mare to blush even harder.

“I suppose you won’t be telling me what she just whispered to you, are you?” I chuckled while pulling out small chair for Fluttershy, which was more of a stool with a cushion.

The mare quickly took her seat, muttering a reply too quiet for me to hear. Once she was seated properly, I pushed her chair in and moved to the other side. After a moment, I decided to just sit on my knees, using a nearby napkin to separate my new pants from the ground.

“W-we could sit somewhere else if you’re uncomfortable,” Fluttershy voiced as she noticed how I was sitting.

“It’s okay, Flutters,” I replied with a dismissive wave. Taking the menu, I quickly began to skim through its options. Over half the options consisted of flowers or hay and a few had fruits that didn’t sound all that safe for human consumption.

“They have very good cheese lasagna here,” Fluttershy pointed out using her own menu. “It should be okay for you to eat.”

“I guess I’ll get that then,” I chuckled while closing the menu. I decided to simply watch as Fluttershy proceeded to look over her menu for her own meal, stealing glances at me every now and then. It was actually really cute and adorable.

After a few moments of this though, new feeling of unease hit me as I remembered all the times she was like this in the show. The fact that I was already mildly familiar with the mare and her not knowing it didn’t sit right with me.

“Fluttershy…” I began with slight unease.

“Yes?” she asked with a small smile while looking at me with those beautiful teal eyes.

“I… need to be honest with you,” I continued with a sigh.

“What do you mean?” she asked, sounding worried.

From there, I went into a quick explanation of the show. Not anything of their adventures, but enough to at least help her realize that she was a well-known, and loved, character of a children’s cartoon.

“D-does th-that mean th-they’re wa-watching us now?” the mare asked as she began to shake heavily and hide under her menu.

“What?” I couldn’t help but chuckle before coming up with something to help calm her down. “No, no. I can say that we are defiantly not being watched right now.”

“How can you be sure?” Fluttershy whispered from under her menu.

“Because I’m here,” I chuckled once again, thinking it was a little obvious.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy questioned as she finally came out from under her menu while still shaking. Her eyes kept darting from side to side, as if expecting to see something that wasn’t actually there.

Carefully standing back up, I walked over to the mare and wrapped her in a hug. Her shaking almost immediately seized as she began to nuzzle into my chest.

“Well, I have two answers for that right now. One logical and the other as more of a tension breaker,” I chuckled while softly stroking her mane. “The logical one being that this is defiantly not the same universe as the show. It’s really close, but the timberwolf situation at the castle sells Alternate Universe to me.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy replied, still looking a little uneasy. “W-what about the other one?”

“I don’t feel the hateful and jealously filled stares of hundreds of people,” I chuckled mirthfully. Although, I did feel abnormally warm at the moment, and it wasn’t because of Fluttershy. (1)

“That doesn’t sound very funny,” Fluttershy commented, with a slightly annoyed looked taking over her features.

“Sorry,” I replied as I released the mare from the hug and stood back to my full height. “I tend to have a bad sense of humor sometimes.”

“That’s okay,” Fluttershy replied before she looked back down at the table, obviously lost in thought.

“I’d… I’d understand if you didn’t want to continue this date though,” I sighed. A part of me was saying that I should have at least kept all of that hidden, while another was congratulating me for being honest.

“What? Oh…no, I still want to continue,” Fluttershy quickly replied, playing with her hooves once again as her eyes looked up at me. “If you want to, that is?”

“Yeah, I would,” I smiled as I went back to my previous spot across form her. A few minutes later, another mare walked over, wearing a small apron with a note pad and pencil and took our orders.

“Thank you for being honest,” Fluttershy said as the waiter left.

“It wouldn’t have been right to lie to you… again,” I replied with a sigh. “I’m just worried about telling the others now.”

“To be honest,” Fluttershy began as she gave me a worried look. “I don’t think you should.”

“Why?” I asked with general intrigue and confusion.

“Well…” Fluttershy began to say, turning her head as she began to think. “Rainbow Dash would probably show off more, Rarity would end up wearing even more dresses...”

“Ah, I see where you’re going with this,” I interrupted with a nod. I guess it was a better idea to wait before telling them. “But I’m still going to have to tell the princesses.”

“That should work,” Fluttershy said as the mare who took our orders returned with our food.

From there, we began to tell each other about ourselves. I quickly learned everyone’s age, with Rarity being the oldest at 22 and Twilight being the youngest at 18. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie were 19 and Applejack and Fluttershy were 20.

“Well, I’m 24,” I replied as I took another bite of my lasagna. It was actually some of the best I had ever had. “Wait, what’s the legal drinking age?”

“20,” Fluttershy replied as she finished her small salad. “I don’t really like it though.”

“Eh, it’s not for everyone,” I replied with a shrug. “I personally hate the taste of alcohol. So whenever I do, I tend to go for the fruitier drinks that are half juice. Yeah, I may get made fun of when I order a ‘sex on the beach’ or something like that, but at least it actually tastes good.”

When all I received was silence as a reply, I looked over and noticed that Fluttershy was staring at me in shock with a face that was redder than an apple.

“Th-theres a drink called that?” the mare finally stuttered out after a few moments.

“Oh yeah,” I sighed before letting out a chuckle. “And that’s a commonly known one.”

“Can we talk about something else now?” Fluttershy asked as she began to look uncomfortable.

“Oh, sorry,” I apologized. “Why don’t you tell me abou—“

“AAAhhhh!” a shout rang out as Twilight suddenly zipped out from around the corner and proceeded to hide behind me. A few moments later, an even larger group than followed from close behind.

“What the hell is going on here?!” I shouted as the group began to crowd around the table.

“These ponies are crazy!” Twilight shouted back, pointing at the surrounding ponies from across my shoulder. “I was trying to decide who to bring with me to the Grand Galloping Gala, and then I’m suddenly being chased after for my ticket!”

“Is that what you’re all here for?” I asked the group while standing up. I could see Fluttershy timidly slip under the table and a few moments later, she popped up at my side, hiding next to Twilight as the glow returned to her face.

“You know what, screw this,” I snapped, annoyed by the interruption and the fact that they were causing Fluttershy embarrassment. Looking back at Twilight, I held my hand out. “Twilight, give me the damn tickets!”

Without a single word, the tickets appeared in my hands, both feeling slightly heavier than expected.

“In the wise words of my dad,” I began as I proceeded to tear the tickets to shreds in front of the group, finding it to be quite easy. “If you all want argue over it, than no one can have it!”

“…”

“What they hay?!” one of the mares of the group shouted in agitation. “Why the buck would you do that!?”

“Well, for one,” I began, glaring at each pony in the group. Most cringed back when I looked at them, while a few stared back, doing nothing but affirming the fact that ponies looked adorable when they pouted or scowled. “Did, Twilight offer any of you the ticket?”

At this, most of the ponies began to sheepishly look down while a few began to look uneasy.

“But she was just going to give them away!” one stallion said.

“To her friends,” I replied. “And I’m about 90% positive that none of you have become her friend within her four days of being here.”

“But-“

”No ‘buts’,!” I interrupted whoever it was that was about to talk. “Now apologize and get out of here!”

No one moved at first, but after a few moments, each pony began to individually apologize before wondering off.

After a few minutes, the only ones left were me, Fluttershy and Twilight.

“Thanks for that,” Twilight said with a relived sigh, the shredded tickets being scooped up in her magic and quickly repairing in a flash of magic. “While I think tearing the tickets up like that was a bit much, I do appreciate the help.”

“Yeah, well… I do kinda owe you for lying about who I was,” I replied as I turned to look at the other two mares. “If you don’t mind me suggesting, Why not just ask Princess Celestia if she could get you enough for your friends? It was kind of an A-hole move only sending you two, after all.”

“Oh, I don’t want to trouble her…” Twilight sheepishly replied.

“Just ask her,” I huffed before finally turning to look at Fluttershy. She had remained quiet for the entire duration and I could see that she was still a little frightened by what happened. “I’m sorry that happened, Fluttershy.”

“Its okay,” she timidly replied while looking at me hopefully. “Do you… do you want to continue? That is… if you want.”

“Of course,” I smiled as I pulled her chair out for her again.

“Wait a second,” Twilight suddenly chimed as she began to look between me and Fluttershy. “Are you two on a date?!”

“Y-yes,” Fluttershy sheepishly replied as she took her seat and looked at the ground in embarrassment.

“Wow… I mean,” Twilight began, at an obvious loss of words. “I’d like to ask some questions… but I don’t think now is the time?”

“You’re right, it’s not,” I replied as I returned to my place. “Now head home and send Celestia that letter.”

“Oookay,” Twilight said as she began to leave, the tickets disappearing into her saddle bags. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Yes! Now have a good night!” I snapped back a little too harshly. “Sorry, still a little riled up from that whole fiasco.”

“Its okay,” Twilight giggled. “Good night Fluttershy, Chris.”

“Good night, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied as I gave a simple nod of my head. Soon enough, it was just the two of us once again. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, Flutters,” I replied with a calm smile. “Now, what I wanted to know was-“


*             *             *


“…and they never found out it was me,” I finished, earning a round of giggles from my companion. After the meal, the two of us had decided to simply walk around town a bit, with Fluttershy pointing things out and telling me some of its history.

“That’s just mean,” Fluttershy giggled as we finally stood outside her cottage.

“I ended up doing the repairs myself anyways,” I replied.

“Well, that’s good,” Fluttershy said as she looked up at me. The sun had already gone down, so she was now being bathed in the glow of the moon, and she looked amazing. “I had a very nice evening.”

“S-so did I,” I chocked out as the moonlight reflected off her eyes. I was so captivated that I almost missed her getting up on her hind hooves and placing her fore hooves against my chest. When my senses finally did return to me, I felt something incredibly soft pressed against my lips.

“I-I hope we can do this again,” Fluttershy breathed as she broke the simple kiss and nuzzled the side of my face.

“Uh…” Was all my brain could respond with.

“Chris…are you okay?” the angel on my chest asked, her voice laced with worry and concern. Suddenly, she wasn’t in my face anymore as a slight breeze passed my face as the ground started getting closer.

Hello grass, have you met my face?

No? 

Well you’re about to.

*THUD*

Ahh, friends....
> Chapter Three: "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Uhg…” I groaned as consciousness slowly returned to me. My head was slightly pounding once again, albeit a lot better than it had yesterday. “I have to stop waking up like this.”

“Hmm…” a soft voice mumbled in reply, drawing my attention to a warmth against my side.

“F-Fluttershy?!” I blurted out in a loud whisper as I found the mare hugging my side in her sleep, ignoring the fact that I was still had my glasses on.

“I-I’m in bed… w-with, Fluttershy,” I quietly stuttered out as I began to panic.

Quickly pulling up a part of the blanket, I sighed in relief as I found myself fully clothed.

Looking around, I found that I was back in Fluttershy’s room and a small amount of light was coming from a nearby window behind the bed.

“What time is it?” I asked myself as I tried to get out of the bed.

“No…” Fluttershy quietly mumbled as her grip around me tightened in her sleep.

Giving in with a sigh, I laid fully back down. Bringing a free hand across my body, I carefully began to scratch the mare’s closest ear.  Continuing this for several minutes with nothing but a few twitches of said ear as a response.

“Hmmmm…” Fluttershy happily sighed as her eyes slowly began to open a half an hour later. For a few moments, she simply stared at me, sighing happily as I scratched her ear. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” I softly chuckled back.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Fluttershy said as she shifted up slightly and nuzzled the side of my face with a slightly red face.

“Y-yeah,” I replied, catching the slight smell of flowers coming from the mare as her soft fur brushed up against my face. “Sorry about that, by the way. I-I wasn’t expecting you to…”

“I just thought…” Fluttershy timidly began to reply as her face began to glow brighter.

“No, no, its fine!” I quickly replied, using my free hand to stroke her cheek. We continued to lay like this for several moments before Fluttershy asked something that completely shocked me.

“C-can we try again?” she timidly asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Uh…” I was able to get out as my mind suddenly began to debate with itself. One half told me not to, sense she was both a cartoon and a pony. The other half though, was all for it.

“S-sure,” I hesitantly replied with a little smile.

Giving a smile of her own, Fluttershy released my side and carful placed herself on my chest. I couldn’t help but place my hands on her sides slowly brushing them back and forth as they slowly towards her flanks.

“Eep!” Fluttershy chirped as my hands almost reached her rear end.

“Sorry!” I quickly apologized, moving my hands back up to her mid back, just below her wings.

“I-I’m not really ready for…” Fluttershy replied as he face hovered over mine, her mane brushing the side of my face.

“I-its fine, that was my bad,” I replied as she her face came closer to mine.

“Okay,” the mare whispered before closing the distance between our lips.

I couldn’t help but marvel at all the sensations I felt. Her soft lips against mine, the sweet scent of flowers filling my nose, a slight taste of butterscotch reaching my senses, her soft fur against my face and our beatings hearts each seeming to beat in tandem with one another.

We went no further than meeting our lips, but it was still an amazing experience.

“W-wow…” I said as she pulled away a few moments later. “That was…”

“Y-yeah,” Fluttershy panted slightly, her face beet red, which I’m sure was a reflection of mine.

For several minutes, we stared into each other’s eyes. After that, we shared another quick kiss before Fluttershy laid back down at my side, her chin sitting on my shoulder as she nuzzled my neck.

“Chris?” the mare softly asked, drawing my eyes back into hers.

“Yeah?” I replied, stroking her cheek with my thumb again.

“Will you be my special somepony?” She asked quietly with a hopeful smile, causing my heart to skip a beat.

“Yeah,” I breathed, kissing her forehead in the process.

“Yay!”


*             *             *


“Here’s the eggs, Fluttershy,” I said while placing the basket full of fresh eggs on the mare’s kitchen table.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said as she floated up and kissed me cheek. Taking the basket, she took them to her personal fridge and began to put them away. “After this, we should go to Twilight’s.”

“Rah,” I replied as I rinsed my mouth with some mouth wash Fluttershy had offered me.

“What?” Fluttershy asked when she heard me, stopping from washing the dishes from our breakfast of cinnamon oatmeal.

“Oh, sorry,” I replied while looking at the eggs, as I debated on wither I should go back to the coop to pet the chicken.(1) “Its just a response and could mean a lot of different things depending on the situation.”

“Oh…” the mare replied simply before returning to the dishes.

A few minutes later and we were both standing outside Fluttershy’s home waiting as the mare gave Angel some instructions on watching the house while she was gone.

Which just made me wonder how smart that bunny actually was.

“Bark!” something sounded off behind me. Turning to look, I found Geralt standing behind me with a slightly curious look. Showing that at some point, someone had tied a plane black bandana around his neck with the point at the front.

“Hey, Geralt,” I greeted, reaching out and scratching behind his ear. “What’cha need?”

“I think he wants to come with us,” Fluttershy told me with a tone of worry. “But I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Nonsense!” I chuckled out while beginning to walk off with a flourish of my arms. “I’m sure he won’t cause any problems.”

“Woof!” Geralt replied as he began to follow me with his tail wagging and a smirk on his muzzle.

“But, what if ponies are afraid of him?” Fluttershy asked as she walked next to me, sparing Geralt a backwards glance every few moments.. “I just don’t want anypony to be hurt.”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” I chuckled, looking back at Geralt with a smirk. “If anything happens, I’ll take care of it, okay?”

“Okay…” Fluttershy quietly replied as the town edge came into view.

“Fluttershy, before we get to the library, I have to ask…” I began as we entered the town. It was still a little early, but there were a few ponies already outside and almost all of them immediately zeroed in on our group. Luckily, none of them seemed to run away in fear… yet.

Although, a few did decide to hide behind their friends when they noticed Geralt.

“What?” the mare asked curiously.

“Are you okay with me being your boy… Uh, coltfriend?” I asked while scratching the back of my head.

“Yes, why?” Fluttershy asked in worry.

“Well there are a lot of reasons,” I began with a sigh. “We aren’t the same species for one, we’ve only really known each other for a few days, I know more about you and your friends then anyone here does about me and you’re Fluttershy!”

“Uh…what was that last one?” the mare asked as she stopped in the middle of the street.

“I know a lot about you and your friends,” I replied with a smile and a chuckle.

“No, not that,” Fluttershy giggled cutely, obviously realizing I was joking around.

“Basically, what I meant was that you are WAY out of my league, even factoring in the whole  ‘different species’ thing,” I replied, sighing heavily. “Where I’m from, I’m not exactly what most people would consider attractive.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy said as she looked down, a slight tint to her cheeks. She stood there for several moments, lost in thought before she finally continued.

“Well… none of that really matters to me,” she said, looking up at me with a small smile. “I know a few ponies that have relationships with griffons and minotaurs. We also have plenty of time to get to know each other and with you already knowing so much about me, all I need to do is learn about you!”

“And what about being out of my league?” I asked as we began to move once again. The library was now in view, so we only had another minute or two.

“Why should that matter?” Fluttershy asked before looking down bashfully. “Besides… I’m not that attractive.”

Several flocks of birds launched into the air and flew away in fear as I almost collapsed in a fit of instantanious laughter.

“What the hay is so funny?” a recognizable southern accent asked from behind us.

Doing my best, I was able to turn and see Applejack walking up behind us and tried to tell her the joke Fluttershy just told me, but I doubt she understood what I said through all my laughing.

“Is it okay?” Applejack asked, looking at Fluttershy with a raised brow.

“He’s not an ‘it’,” Fluttershy quickly replied, scowling slightly. It was so cute, it calmed my laughs.

“Its… its okay, Fluttershy,” I said as I caught my breath. “I kind of deserve that, for lying and all.”

“No, no…” Applejack sighed, removing her hat and giving a sigh. “I might be a bit cross with ya fer lyin’, but that don’t mean I should be rude; Sorry.”

“Its alright Applejack,” I replied, holding my hand out. “I’m sorry too. I promise to explain myself when I get the chance, but I kinda owe Twilight a Q and A first.”

“That’s actually why ah’m here,” Applejack replied as she replaced her hat and used her weird hoof magic field to shake my hand. “Twilight invited us all to your little Q and A this mornin’. Be a might easier then have’n ta repeat yerself more.”

“I guess that works,” I said as the library door suddenly burst open, almost hitting me.

“Will you three hurry up already!” the prismatic mare who stood in the door shouted. But it wasn’t the mare that caught my attention, it was the fact that she had my cover on her head. “I had to wake up early for this!”

“Hey, that’s my hat!” I snapped, trying to grab it back. Unfortunately though, I was too slow as Rainbow Dash ducked back inside.

“No way, this is mine now,” Rainbow replied as she stuck her tongue out at me. “It’s what happens when you lie to your friends.”

“That’s still my hat,” I grumbled as I led the way for the others to enter the library. All the other main six were inside, with Spike placing several cups of water on the table in the middle of the room.

“Hurray, you’re okay!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she hopped towards us. “Now I can throw you a ‘Glad you’re okay party’ and a…”

“Let’s put a rain check on that one, kay?” I interrupted as the bouncing mare jumped into my chest for a hug. I reciprocated the action with a chuckle of my own. “You smell like cotton candy.”

“And you smell like…kinda like Fluttershy,” Pinkie pointed out with a slightly curious look.

“Well, I have been staying at her place since I’ve been here,” I replied as I set Pinkie back down on the ground.

“Speaking of which,” Rarity chimed in with a devious smirk. “How did your date go?”

“DATE?!” half the room shouted in shock, causing Fluttershy to hid behind me with a glowing face.

“It was very nice, Rarity,” I replied as I reached around and stroked Fluttershy’s mane reassuringly. “A little bump here and there, but a wonderful evening all the same.”

“I am so happy to hear that,” Rarity said with a smile as her horn began to glow. A moment later, my cammies were pulled out of a set of bags to the side of the room, as well as another shirt and pair of pants. “It’s going to be a little while until I can get those shoes for you.”

“I’m perfectly okay with my boots for now, so there’s no rush,” I replied as I took hold of my cloths, watching the slight drain effect happen once again.

“Whoa, wait a minute!” Rainbow suddenly snapped, drawing my attention to the shocked faces of several others. “You… and Fluttershy… went on a date… with each other?!”

“Yeah, got a problem with that?” I asked with a shrug. Putting my cloths under my arm, I returned to stoking Fluttershy’s mane. “She asked me out and only a fool would say no to a mare like her.”

“Awww,” the others sighed with smiles.

“You just better not hurt her, or else my hoof and your face are gonna become real close friends,” Rainbow said with a cute scowl as she waved one of her front hoofs at me.

“Grrrrr,” Geralt growled, reminding me that he was there as well.

“Whoa, nelly!” Applejack jumped away as she was the closest to the wolf.

“Why’d you bring him here?!” Twilight groaned as her friends looked at the wolf with a mixture of shock and trepidation.

“Because he wanted to come,” I replied while watching Spike slowly walk up to the large wolf and timidly reaching a claw out to pet it. After several moments of the claw just hanging there, I sighed and walked over and picked the dragon up and placed him on Geralt’s back.

“Grrrr,” Geralt growled at me. Normally, having a giant wolf would scare the shit out of almost anyone, but this cartoon wolf was about as intimidation as a puppy.

“Hey,” I snapped, flicking his nose. “I’m in charge here.”

“Whoa…” Spike said from his place on Geralt’s back.

“Can we please get back to what we are all here for?” Twilight groaned.

“Shesh, Twilight,” I replied with an exaggerated sigh. “Give a guy a chance to sit down why don’t ya?”

Without waiting for a reply, I walked over to a small bench at the side of the room and took a seat. Fluttershy quickly joined me and laid her forehooves and head on my lap, while Geralt simply sat next to the library’s entrance, causing Spike to fall off.

“Finally!” Twilight sighed as a giant list suddenly appeared next to her, reaching from the middle of the room to the kitchen. “Now first, what do…”

*Knock Knock*

“I got it!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she rushed to the door.

“Grrrr…” Twilight growled in annoyance. But her mood quickly changed when Pinkie opened the door.

“Hey princesses!” Pinkie greeted the two alicorns outside the door.

I couldn’t help but shudder as Celestia entered first, her warm, motherly smile, turning into a scowl when she noticed me. Luna followed shortly after, still in the form she was when she was first released from the nightmare’s hold.

“Ah, thout art awake,” Luna said as she noticed me and gave a small smile. “We bring the’ good tidings.”

“And good dawning to thee as well, Princesses,” nodding my head slightly remember hearing the response in a game once.

“Chris, you’re supposed to bow,” Fluttershy whispered as she got off my lap and bowed to the two sovereigns.

“Sorry, but my people don’t bow to foreign powers,” I replied while standing up, saying it loud enough for the princesses to hear it as well. “Not only is it a massive insult to bow to rulers you don’t live under in some regions, but where I specifically come from, a lot of people see it as the same as surrendering your own freedom. We’ll salute under certain conditions though.”

“I suppose that is understandable,” Celestia huffed, drawing slightly confused looks from the others in the room. “I’d rather have it that way anyways.”

Except for Twilight.

She was staring at everything in shock, her hair sticking out in several places and her right eye twitching slightly.

“Hey look,” I chuckled while pointing at the stunned mare. “We already broke, Twilight.”

“Not again…” Celestia sighed to herself while moving to the mare. With a quick flash of her horn, Twilights face snapped to the side as if she were slapped.

“Uh… what, where?!” The mare blurted as she looked around the room. Her gaze quickly fell back on the solar princess as she smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Princess Celestia.”

“There is no need to apologize my student,” Celestia replied, her motherly smile returning.

“Excuse me, Princess,” Rarity called, drawing Celestia’s attention while Luna had a strange staring contest with Geralt. “But why are you here? N-not that I’m saying you can’t be.”

“Ah, yes,” Celestia began as her horn flashed once again. Suddenly, golden tickets appeared in front of everyone, including me. “When, Twilight sent the tickets I gave her back, saying how she wouldn’t want to go if all her friends couldn’t; I realized how rude I had been having only sent two.”

“Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!” Rarity gushed as she took her ticket in hoof and began to admire it with gleaming eyes.

“Yes, you all deserve them for helping to bring my sister home,” Celestia replied as she looked at the ponies with a smile. Her scowl appeared once again when she looked at me. “Even you, unfortunately.”

“Princess, do you not like, Chris?” Pinkie bluntly asked.

“No,” Celestia replied, causing the room to gasp.

“Why the hay not, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, I know he lied, looks like he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, looks like a hairless monkey and…”

“Thanks for the moral boost,” I interrupted, frowning at the mare.

“Because he does not belong in our world,” Celestia replied. “Things never go well when his kind appear in Equestria.”

“So I’m not the first human to arrive here?” I asked, shocked to hear that.

“Thou are not,” Luna replied as she finally looked away from Geralt, the wolf now rubbing its obviously irritated eyes. “We have encountered thy species several times within our lives.”

“There’s actually several books about them,” Twilight pointed out as she floated one of a shelf and showed me the cover.

It was titled, Beings from another world, and had a crudely made picture of a human body.

“That is the other reason for us being here,” Celestia said as she took a seat by Twilight. “I knew my student would have a list of questions, as would you.”

“Well, after hearing that I’m not the first human here, that list just got bigger,” I dryly chuckled, sitting back down on the bench. A moment later, Fluttershy retook her position as Geralt came over and rested at the side.

“Why is the quiet one sitting on thou as such?” Luna asked as she looked at Fluttershy with a curious yet stern gaze.

“Cause they’re special someponies, silly,” Pinkie giggled, causing Fluttershy to squeak and hid under her front hooves.

“Is this true dame Fluttershy?” Luna asked with a shocked expression, her eyes darting between us before sparing a quick glance towards Celestia with a slightly unsure look. “Have thou consummated they relationship yet?”

“Luna!” Celestia snapped, causing everypony to jump in fright. “For one, relationships do not work like that anymore. Two, they obviously aren’t in a relationship as they have only known each other for a few days at best.”

“A-a-actually… w-w-w-we,” Fluttershy began to stutter horribly. I commended her for her bravery, but I thought it would help if I did it instead.

“W-we decided to try it out this morning,” I squeaked out, just a little louder than the mare on my lap.

Celestia stared at the two of us with a shocked expression. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she adapted a slightly confused expression.

“Have you consummated your relationship yet?”

“Okay!” I loudly replied, clapping my hands as everyone looked at Celestia in complete shock. “Twilight, I believe you have some questions?”

“Y-yeah… I mean yes, I do,” Twilight replied, snapping out of her shock and levitating her list back up.

“First question…


*             *             *


“Because it’s on an axis!” I yelled at Luna for the fourth time. One of Twilights questions asked me how our sun and moon moved, and after telling them about how the earth rotated around the sun and how the moon rotated around the earth, I decided to go ahead and also tell them about the world’s axis.

But when I mentioned how long night lasted in the polar ice caps, Luna decided to call it a bluff since that apparently wasn’t a thing on this world.

“But, how could anything live there then?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Adaptation and technology,” I replied before looking back at Twilight. “Next question.”

“Well, I believe we have gone over most of the basics,” Twilight said as she looked over her list. While she hadn’t asked anything personal yet, she did drill me about a lot of other things. I still chuckled every time I remembered the look on their faces when I told them that the human population was in the billions. “How about…”

“What was your job back where you’re from?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, being the first to aks me something about myself. “Because you told us that you were a guard, but we all know that was a lie.”

“I actually am in the military,” I replied, grabbing my cup of lemon tea and finishing it off. “I’m in a group called the Marine Corps. It’s a division of our navy, known for being the best of the best.”

“And you were a part of this group?” Celestia chuckled disbelievingly. Any chance she had, she would criticize me or make fun of me. A part of me honestly found it pretty hot… wait, I had a girlfriend now, so I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be thinking that.

“Hey, just because I wasn’t the best physically… wait that sounds wrong,” I began, mumbling the last part. “… Doesn’t mean that I didn’t work hard at what I did.”

“What did you do?” Fluttershy asked from her position on my lap. Throughout the morning, she had stayed in this spot, receiving ear scratches and mane pets the whole time.

I could see the jelly in the other’s eyes.

“I was a metal worker for the air wing,” I began. “Remember the planes I told you about; well, I basically helped repair parts of those that were sent to me and the other workers.”

“So, if you had the stuff, could you make a plane?” Rainbow Dash asked, a hopeful grin on her face. It kind of made me regret telling her about supersonic jets.

“Oh, dear sweet god no,” I chuckled. “While I understand the concept of flight, there is no way I’d be able to replicate anything I’ve seen. Even if I could, the parts I’ve seen and handled are a mere fraction of several different aircrafts.”

“Drat!” Rainbow Dash huffed as she plopped down to the ground.

“Next question!” I called out dramatically, causing some of the attending ponies to giggle. Except for Celestia, who just huffed and looked back towards Twilight.

“Okay then,” Twilight said as she looked at a nearby clock. “One more question and we can take a break for lunch.”

“Good, cause I’m starving!” Rainbow Dash groaned as she laid down, her legs spread out eagle. I learned pretty fast that the prismatic mare had no sense of decency.

I mean none at all.

So as not to cause any problems for the mare on my lap, I continued to ignore her.

“Fire away,” I replied, a little hungry myself.

“What does your cutie mark mean?” Twilight asked, drawing my confused look.

“What cutie mark?” I asked, scratching my head. “I thought I told you, humans don’t get cutie marks.”

“Then what was that thing on yur chest?” Applejack asked, her cheeks beginning to glow faintly. “That thing next to yur… uh… your teat.”

“You mean my nipple?” I asked, lifting my shirt up and showing my tattoo and nipples. It was kind of funny how half the room broke into blush’s while the other half simply shrugged.

“Its not a cutie mark,” I continued. “It’s a tattoo. Someone took ink and a special needle and basically drew an image I wanted onto my skin. This has no meaning except for sentimental value cause my uncle got it for me after I joined the Marine Corps.”

“Did it hurt?” Fluttershy asked, concern clear in her voice.

“At the time, yeah,” I replied, putting my shirt back down. “But now, it’s the same as the rest of my skin.”

“We have heard of such a thing occurring in the minatore lands,” Luna said. “But there were problems with infection.”

“Don’t worry,” I quickly said, looking down at Fluttershy. “To help prevent that, tattoo artist use a specialized ink, sterilized needles and there are special creams and lotions you can use to help as well.”

“Can we have lunch now?” Rainbow asked as her stomach growled. “I need food!”

“Yes, let us break for lunch,” Rarity said as she got up from her spot.

“I actually need to get back to my animals,” Fluttershy said as she got off my lap.

“Let me come with you,” I said with a smile.

“Actually,” Celestia interrupted, stopping me from following Fluttershy towards the door. “Me and Luna have a few things to discuss with, Christopher in private.”

“Oh… okay,” Fluttershy replied, obviously disappointed. She looked from me to the floor several times before suddenly zipping forward and placing a small kiss on my lips.

“Igottagofeedtheanimales!” the mare blurted before flying out the door.

“Awww,” Pinkie Pie said as she watched the mare zip away.

“Yes, well,” Celestia said as she looked at me with a frown. “If you would follow me and Luna upstairs for a moment.”

“Uh…right,” I replied, still a little off guard from the quick kiss in front of so many. Shaking my head, I followed the two monarchs up to Twilight’s room.

“So, what did you need to talk about?” I asked as we entered the room. It was just like in the show, so the ceiling was high up and I could see Twilight’s and Spike’s bed up on the second deck.

“We simply wish to know…” Luna began.

“How did you get here?” Celestia interrupted with as stern gaze.

“What?” I asked, a little off put by the hostility I heard in her voice.

“How did you get here?” Celestia asked again. “On all the prior occurrences that humans have appeared here, I was able to find them due to a ripple in the world's magic fields caused by their appearance. But that didn’t happen with you.

“Also, there is the fact that you are an element of harmony,” Celestia continued. “When you obviously don’t deserve it.”

“Hey!” I snapped. “I can be courageous… as long as it doesn’t involve roaches or spiders. Those things send me into a fear so bad, I tend to get angry.”

“I’m pretty sure that is just your stupidity,” Celestia bluntly replied. “Now please answer the question.”

“I honestly don’t know,” I replied, trying to remember what happened before I woke up in the field. “Last thing I remember was getting back to my barracks room from work and taking a nap. Then… nothing.”

“That is unfortunate,” Celestia sighed.

“Why?” I asked, looking to Luna for an answer.

“For it would better help us in devising a means to return you home,” Luna replied. “There is but a small window for you to return before the effects become irreversible.”

“What?” I questioned as what she said set in. “Uh… what do you mean by ‘irreversible’?!”

“It’s what happened to all the humans that have entered this land,” Celestia replied, a slight smirk on her lips. “The entire time you have been here, your body has been absorbing the natural magic of our world.”

“What’s gonna happen?” I asked, a part of me concerned with my wellbeing and another hopping I get bad ass magic powers.

“You will become a pony,” Luna replied bluntly, causing me to choke on my own spit.

“What?! But I like being human!” I shouted back, looking at the both of them with a growing sense of fear. “Humans have fingers and I need those for…stuff!”

“It is an odd effect, yes,” Celestia sighed. “It’s also the reason I told you not to remove the element. Every human that has arrived began to physically change within mere hours of their arrival with almost no exceptions.”

“We believe that the element is acting as a substitute storage area for the magic thy body is absorbing,” Luna continued. “While we are uncertain as to when, we believe that at one point, it will begin to leak into your body forcing it into a change.”

“We’re also sure that you have changed in some ways,” Celestia added. “You were here for quite some time before the element attached to you.”

For several minutes, I stood there. Completely shocked by what I had just heard.

“Oh well,” I finally said, adapting a board expression.

“Yes, so you can see why…” Celestia began, smirking at first, but letting it fall once she realized what I said. “What do you mean, “oh well”!?”

“I said, oh well,” I replied with a shrug. Let’s be honest with myself. There was no way in hell I was going back, especially with Fluttershy as my girl… marefriend now. “I’ve been gone long enough to get in major trouble with my superiors, and if I show up after thirty days, I’ll just end up in the brig for who knows how long. Especially when I tell them where I’ve been.”

“But what of thine family?” Luna asked with concern. “Doust thou not wish to see them again?”

“And maybe one day I will,” I sighed, pulling out my wallet case. Inside, I had a family photo that had my grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, mom, dad, cousins, brothers and my sister hidden in it. “But thinking realistically… I doubt I’m gonna be able to go home and suffer no repercussions.”

“And what makes you think we’ll let you just stay here when you do not belong?” Celestia asked, but rather than scowl, she honestly looked concerned. “Would you really just abandon your family and friends like that?”

“I realized that I did that years ago when I signed the dotted line,” I replied with a slight shrug and a forced smile. “That and you’re going to need me for when, Di—“

THUNK

“Ow!” I grunted as a book suddenly fell on my head. Turning around, I saw that it fell off the highest shelf from the bookcase behind me. “What the hell?”

“Chris?” Celestia said, drawing my attention. She had a slightly confused expression as she looked from me to the bookcase several times. “Could you repeat what you were about to say again?”

“Sister, wasn’t that…” Luna began, falling silent as Celestia held up a hoof.

“Okay…” I said, a little confused and worried. “I was just going to say that Dis—“

THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK

I groaned from the ground I now laid on, several books laying on top of me now.

“Okay, are you doing this?” I asked Celestia as I stood up, rubbing a small bump that was developing on my head. “Cause that going a bit far, don’t you think?”

“Sister, that was mother’s magic!” Luna pointed her hoof at the bookcase with a wide smile. “We would know it anywhere.”

“Especially that spell,” Celestia replied as she looked at me, her gaze was stern, yet cautious. “Chris, do you know our world’s future?”

“Uh… about that,” I chuckled sheepishly. From there, I told them both the same thing I had told Fluttershy. I didn’t involve any specifics like before, but I did my best to explain at least how I knew what I did.

“This is beginning to make more sense now,” Celestia said as she looked towards Luna. “There is more to this then we thought, Luna.”

“Uh… am I missing something?” I asked, slightly concerned. “You’re not angry about the whole show thing, are you? Because I’m pretty sure this isn’t that world exactly.”

“I believe that we know how you came here,” Celestia sighed. “When you tried to tell us the future, a spell created by our mother was activated. It’s a powerful spell that must be performed in pony due to its complexity.”

“And our mother is never that far away from Father,” Luna added. “Who could quite easily open a portal to a different world.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that it was your mom and dad that brought me here?” I asked, completely caught off guard. “Who are your parents anyways?”

“Our mother is the alicorn of time, Queen Ananke,” Celestia began. “And our father is the alicorn of space, King Astraeus.”

“Ananke, the Greek god of inevitability and, Astraeus the Greek Titan god of the stars and planets?” I asked, my eyes opening wide. “Those are your parents?!”

“Is that what their names symbolize in your world?” Celestia asked, with a slightly curious look.

“If I’m remembering right,” I replied slightly unsure. “I got into a Greek god binge after I played… uh, you wouldn’t understand.” (2)

“Well, here they are the alicorns of time and space,” Luna replied. “Mother gave birth to, Celestia and us two and a half millennia ago with only a mere decade difference.”

“What happened to them?” I asked, getting hooked by the story.

“When my sister turned two hundred, they left,” Celestia replied with a slight frown. “They said that it was time for them to travel, telling us that we would see them again.”

“And while it hurt to see them go,” Luna began, frowning herself. “We were raised with the knowledge that it would happen one day.”

“When you tried to tell us the future,” Celestia continued to explain. “We noticed the similar magic of our mother appear suddenly. We have encountered it before and are familiar with it. Its main purpose is to ensure what is supposed to happen, does.”

“And with their combined power, they could easily rip asunder the dimensional barrier,” Luna finished with a wide smile.

“So, why would they bring me here?” I asked.

“That, we will have to look more into,” Celestia replied quickly, her annoyed expression returning. “But knowing them, there’s a reason behind it.”

“Then it is good we prepared for something like this,” Luna added as a key suddenly appeared in her magic. It was one of those old style ones, but had a new sheen to it. “We have prepared proper lodging for thou.”

“You got me a house?” I questioned as Luna floated the key over to me. While a part of me was excited to get my own place for the first time in my life, another was remembering every single complaint my dad, uncle and grandfather ever made about home care.

“But it’s not free,” Celestia pointed out, with a devious smirk. A part of me really wished she treated me with that iconic motherly nature of hers. “I fully expect you to get a job and pay me back every bit.”

“Wait… what do you mean pay you back?” I asked, catching what she said there.

“Well, I did pay from my own personal reserves to not only acquire you a nice house,” Celestia began, looking me dead in the eye while smiling. “I also payed to get it renovated for your stature.”

“I’m going to owe you a lot of money, aren’t I?” I asked in a defeated tone.

“Yes, yes you are,” Celestia replied as a small stack of papers appeared in front of me. Taking them in hand, I reluctantly began to skim them, looking for anything that jumped out at me.

“Uh… what are the interest rates going to be?” I asked once the initial scan was done. This time, I began to read it more in depth, making sure to pay attention for any hidden addendums inside of it.

“Well…” Celestia began, a triumphant smile on her face.

“Sister, remember what we talked about,” Luna quickly interrupted with a stern glare.

“Fine,” Celestia sighed, her features falling into a board state. “As long as you make the proper payments, I have decided to forgo charging you any interest.”

“Uh… it says here that I have to keep a stock of fresh cake and moon pies at all times,” I said as I found the strange addition.

“And milk, do not forget the milk,” Luna added with a scary gleam in her eye.

“Yeah…” I said, continuing on. “And I am not hanging a painting of you over my fireplace, Even though a fireplace sounds awesome!”

“Do it and I’ll bump down what you owe by 500 bits,” Celestia replied with a stern gaze.

“Make it a thousand and include Luna in the photo and you got a deal,” I replied, finding that those were the only two odd things about the contract, having ready many in my time.

“Done!” Celestia quickly replied as her horn flashed quickly. While nothing around us changed, I hazard a guess that she just put up said painting.

“Sister, please tell us that thou did not use that painting?!” Luna harshly whispered at her sister, her cheeks glowing slightly.

“Hush, Luna, he’s about to sign it.” Celestia replied, with a giggle.

“You say something?” I asked, thinking I heard something.

“Nothing that involves you!” Celestia snapped quickly. “Now, are you going to sign?”

“Uh… I guess so, not that I have much of a choice” I sighed as a quill popped into existence next to me. With the grace of a drunken Irish man, I took the very fragile item and signed my name in several spots.

“Have you ever written with a quill?” Celestia chuckled as she looked at my horrible writing and ink covered hand.

“There’s a first time for everything,” I said as I left the room to wash the ink from my hand.

On my way out, I ended up passing Spike, who offered me some ink remover when he saw my hand.

“How did you get ink on your hand in the first place?” Spike asked as he led the way down to the library’s kitchen. The little guy had offered to actually make me a ham sandwich from his own stash of meat.

Turns out, dragons, or at least the species Spike is, are omnivores as well. It defiantly helped when Twilight had asked what humans ate.

“A contract for a house,” I sighed as we entered the kitchen. Twilight was off somewhere, so we were the only two in the room at the time. “I owe Princess Celestia a lot of bits… and cake.”

“Good luck filling that order,” Spike chuckled as he disappeared into a small pantry. He came back out a few moments later with a small wrapped package that I knew was the ham. “She has a huge addiction to cake, so you’ll probably end up paying double what you owe in cake alone.”

“She honestly cant each that much cake?” I asked in disbelief. If I was doing my basic conversions right, the amount of cake Spike was talking about could sustain most third world countries.

“You poor poor fool,” Spike sighed as he handed me two ham sandwiches. “I’m sure if you ask, Pinkie Pie will give you a good deal.”

“I’ll think of something,” I sighed, taking a seat at the table and eating.

“Why did you even agree to it in the first place?” Spike asked as he sat across from me. “Why not just stay with, Fluttershy? I mean, aren’t you two a couple now?”

“Well, yeah,” I smiled. “But that wouldn’t be right.”

“Why not?” Spike innocently asked.

“Because we only just agreed to be a couple and we still know very little about each other,” I replied, hoping to throw some good knowledge at the kid. “Most people from my world take years before they feel like making the move to stay in the same home... or they used too.”

“Wow,” Spike said as he looked up at me. Seeing this, I remembered how he never really had any guy friends and spent a lot of his time in the library.

“Spike, what do ya say about checking out the new house with me?” I offered.

“What about everypony else?” Spike asked.

“Well, aside from one of the princesses to show me where it is,” I began, ruffling the top spike on his head. They were actually a lot softer and smother than I thought. “And possibly, Fluttershy… I’ll need someone to help me set up a man cave.”

“What’s a man cave?” Spike asked, his eyes riveted on me.

“Basically, it’s like a room just for men,” I replied with a fake gruff voice. “No frilly stuff, no giggling girls and no one saying that that’s unsanitary. Just guy stuff like beer, beer, more beer and that one poster you’re too ashamed of to show your mom.”

“What’s beer?” Spike asked.

“I’ll tell you when your old enough to drink it,” I replied as Twilight suddenly entered the room, her eyes quickly locking on me.

“There you are!” Twilight chirped as her horn suddenly lit up and I felt myself lift into the air, my entire body feeling strange at the touch. “Now we can finish the questions!”

“Woah!” I called, unused to the floating sensation, wondering if I was absorbing the magic like I had Rarity’s. But after a moment, I decided to joke around instead. “You’ll never take me alive!”

Once I knew she was looking, I wrapped my right hand around the back of my head and then grabbed the right side of my chin with the same hand, showing off the fact that I was double jointed.

“What are you-“ Twilight began, falling silent as I gave a slight jerk and click of the tongue. From there I immediately went limp and stared forward without blinking and held my breath.

“Chris!” Twilight shouted as she carefully placed me on the ground. A few seconds later, I could see Fluttershy’s buttercup yellow hooves quickly rush into the room.

“I-I don’t know what happened,” Twilight began to blurt out. A part of me was beginning to feel like an ass because I could hear the tremble in her voice while the other, more sadistic part, was calling her an idiot for thinking I would actually hurt myself. “He reached his arm around his head a-and grabbed his chin… then there was a ‘click’ and he just… he just…”

“C-Chris?” Fluttershy’s worried voice quietly asked as she came into my sight properly.

“Yeah?” I asked while looking up at her, causing Twilight to jump in fright.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Fluttershy sighed. “I thought you were hurt.”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily,” I chuckled while standing back up. “Just cause, Twilight over reacted, doesn’t mean something is actually wrong.”

“But… you suddenly… and…” Twilight began to blurt out in confusion.

“Calm down, Twi,” I said while reaching over and scratching one of her ears. She immediately calmed down as a dopey grin appeared on her face. “I was just messing with you. Sorry if I went too far.”

“Huh…” The mare mumbled, pressing her head further into my hand. After a minute or two, I pulled my hand back, earning me a cute little pout.

“Dear sweet god,” I chuckled looking back at Fluttershy. “With these things, I could rule the world by nap time.”

Fluttershy simply giggled as she flew up and gave me a peck on the cheek.

“That still wasn’t very nice,” Twilight commented as she left the room.

“I thought it was pretty good,” Spike chuckled, reminding me that he was there as well. From there we went back into the main library, were everyone but Rainbow Dash and Applejack were waiting.

“What was all that commotion a moment ago?” Rarity inquired.

“Just a bit of a joke,” I chuckled, looking around. “Where’s AJ and Rainbow Dash?”

“Rainbow Dash was called into work and Big Mac needed help on the farm, so Applejack had to head home,” Pinkie Pie replied with a smile.

“Unfortunately,” Celestia said, drawing the rooms attention. “Me and Luna don’t have that much time left before we must return to the castle. So while we still can, I would like to show Chris his new home.”

“But, I thought you were going to stay with me?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at me with clear disappointment.

“And I would, but you don’t have the room,” I replied.

This was actually true in fact. Her room was the only bedroom in the house and I felt that we were still new a couple to share the same bed continually and I didn’t want to sleep on a couch for who knows how long.

Especially one made for ponies.

“Oh,” Fluttershy sighed despondently.

“Hey, don’t be sad Fluttershy,” I said lifting the mare’s chin so she could look me in the eye. “You’ll obviously be allowed to come over whenever you want. I’ll even get you a copy of the key, okay?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said as she looked up at me. “I’ll get a key for you too.”

“Okay,” I chuckled with a smile before turning to everyone else. “Well, who wants to go check out my new place?”

“But what about my questions?” Twilight quickly asked before anyone could reply. She held up the list in her magic, clearly showing that we weren’t even halfway done with it.

“Just make a questionnaire out of it and I’ll fill out what I can when I get the chance, okay?” I offered with a shrug. While I knew that Twilight would end up asking me a lot of questions, I wasn’t as prepared as I thought, so I believed that it would be easier that way for me.

“Okay,” Twilight said a little uneasily with a pout. “But I want detailed answers!”

“Sheesh, Twi,” I chuckled. “You sound like my English teacher.”

“What’s ‘English’?” the mare questioned back.

“Put it on the questionnaire,” I replied with a wave of my hand. Turning around, I made my way out of the library. “We ride!”


*             *             *


“Wow, its actually better than I thought it would be,” I commented as me, the princesses, Fluttershy, Spike, Rarity and Geralt approached the large building in front of us. “I was expecting a shack surrounding a fireplace.”

“Didn’t this use to be Ms. Lemon Way’s house?” Rarity commented, earning shrugs and confused looks from most of us.

“Yes, but she put it up for sale when she moved in with her grandfoal in Manehatten,” Celestia replied while giving me an annoyed glare for my earlier comment. “It was actually one of the buildings I had planned for Twilight to live in, but she decided on the Library.”

In front of us stood a two story building that was painted a light maroon color with an actual shingle roof. Off to one side of the building I could see a white picket fence that hid a small garden and on the other, I could see some construction equipment.

“It seems that they have finished the modifications,” Celestia commented as she led the way to the front door.

Completely disregarding the fact that I had the key, Celestia used her magic to open the door, which I noticed was large enough for me to walk through comfortably. We immediately entered a long hallway that had several doorways and a staircase leading to the second floor on the right.

“Come with me,” Celestia said as she looked back at me with a devious smirk, leading us towards the first door way to the left. “Through here is the living room.”

“Lets see this…uh…” I enthusiastically began, only to fall into a state of shock and confusion as my eyes locked onto the large painting atop the room’s fireplace.

“You said you wanted one of me and Luna,” Celestia began pointing a hoof at the elaborate painting in front of us. “I think it really got our good side, don’t you?”

 Now, while I might not be an art buff, I do know good art when I see it. From where I stood, I could tell that the brush strokes were even, the coloring had not faded from the very old painting, and it generally looked well done.

“Why do you have a painting of the princesses’ flanks on your mantel?” Rarity asked bluntly, snapping me out of my confused daze.

“Uh… class?” I offered with a forced chuckle.

“Sister!” Luna snapped as she entered the room. “Thou told us, that that abomination was destroyed!”

“The original was,” Celestia replied with her devious smirk. “After I painted another one off of it.”

“I-I… uh… think its nice?” Fluttershy replied as she looked at the painting with wide eyes and a glowing face.

“Yes, well enjoy it,” Celestia proclaimed proudly as she took a confident stance. “I painted it over five hundred years ago, basing it off of the original I painted for Luna’s 431st birthday.”

“Sister!” Luna bellowed, her own face now glowing as she looked at Celestia in shock. “Thou promised to hold thy tongue about it!”

“Do I really have to keep that there?” I questioned, wishing I had asked for more off the total. This was defiantly the work of Trollestia, and while it was a very appealing view of the princesses flanks, Fluttershy was literally right next to me.

“You already signed the contract,” Celestia replied with a chuckle. “Why, aren’t my sister and I’s flank’s good enough to place on your mantel?”

“Uh… did you stop to think before you said that?” I asked almost immediately, my face probably lighting up like a Christmas tree.

“What are you…oh…” Celestia began, confused at first. The moment she realized what she said, the look of shock and embarrassment on her face was enough to get me forget about my own embarrassment and laugh hysterically.

“W-well then,” Celestia said after a moment. Her horn lit and the painting of her flank was quickly replaced of one of her and a full grown Luna standing side by side, small smiles on their faces. “That obviously did not work out as I had hoped.”

“What were you expecting?” I was able to wheeze out in between my laughing fits.

“Nothing, lets continue, shall we?” Celestia asked as she gave a heavy sigh.

The rest of the tour went by smoothly. Aside from the living room, the first floor also had a kitchen with all the appliances, a small bathroom, a nicely spaced dining room that could easily fit everyone and a single bedroom.

“Spike, I think I just found our man cave,” I told the young dragon as I walked into the room. It was a 20 ft. by 18 ft. room with a window on the wall opposite the door, revealing a small back yard.

“You still haven’t told me what a man cave really is,” Spike said with a slightly annoyed look.

“What’s a man cave?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I joked as I led the way out of the room. “Onward to the upstairs!”

On the second floor, were three more bedrooms, a larger bathroom and a large walk in closet. Luckily, the first room we walked into had a bed with linen already in it and it was just my size.

“At least I won’t have to sleep on the floor,” I said while looking over the queen sized bed that occupied the back wall of the master bedroom. It was soft, yet had a good firm feel to it as well.

“I told the’ that he would appreciate it,” Luna said as she faced her sister, a smug grin on her face.

“And I do,” I chuckled, giving Luna an appreciative nod.

“Yes, well that concludes the tour of the house,” Celestia replied, looking at me with her now trade mark ‘I really don’t like you’ expression. “Unfortunately, my sister and I must take our leave.”

“Wait,” I quickly said, stopping the two before they could move. “What about payments? How am I supposed to pay back what I owe for the house?”

“*sigh* just give me 250 bits next we meet, does that work?” Celestia asked. “We can figure more out at a later time. We are currently running late.”

“When will that be, because I don’t even have a job yet,” I replied, a little worried now.

“Good bye,” Celestia huffed before she and Luna disappeared in a flash of magic.

“Crap…” I groaned under my breath. With how things were going with the princesses, next time we meet could easily be in just a few days, and I didn’t even have a job yet.

“Don’t worry, Chris,” Fluttershy said, obviously seeing my worried expression. “I can help you-“

“No!” I quickly interrupted, causing the mare to jump slightly. “I know things work a little differently here, but that is one thing I will not let you do. A lot of my family would mooch off of others and all that does is cause problems.”

“Dear, there’s no shame in accepting a little help,” Rarity added. “All, Fluttershy is saying is that, should you need any help, she’s more than willing to help, as would I if you need it. That’s what friends are for.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a sigh. “But if anything, I could use some help finding a job. I only had one job before the Marines and that was being a cashier slash janitor; and I kinda don’t wanna do that again.”

“Why not just join the guard?” Fluttershy asked. “You said you were one where you’re from. So maybe that could work.”

“He cant,” Spike replied calmly. “Equestrian law dictates that you need to be a fully legalized citizen to be allowed any type of position within the military and law enforcement, which Chris is not. Even if he wanted to be, he has to live in Equestria for over a year to be allowed to apply for full citizenship.”

“I’m surprised you know that, Spike,” Rarity commented with a surprised look.

“I’ve lived in a library basically my whole life,” Spike sighed. “You kinda pick up… a lot.”

“Yeah, well, even if I could join, I wouldn’t.” I replied. “I’m a Marine, and that is what I will always be.”

“I guess we could try looking around town,” Fluttershy said, looking towards Rarity.

“Yes, that would probably be best,” Rarity said as she turned to leave. “If we leave now, we could even have you working by tomorrow!”

“Great…” I sighed before following the mare.

Just because I needed a job doesn’t mean I’m enthusiastic about it.


*             *             *


“… and have you had any experience with being a masseuse before?” The pink coated mare in front of me asked.

“I’ll be honest,” I firmly replied, staring Aloe strait in the eyes with a warm smile. “The closest I’ve ever really done was giving my aunt and uncle shoulder massages.”

“Have you ever given a pony one?” Lotus asked, with a raised brow. She currently stood off to the side of her sister, looking me up and down, trying to read me.

It was now four in the afternoon and with the help of Fluttershy and Rarity, I was now having a quick interview with the spa ponies. Unfortunately, not a lot of others wanted or needed me, so I was hoping that this one would work out better.

Even if it was a spa.

“Does scratching behind the ear count?” I asked back with a chuckle, having done plenty of that already.

“Not necessarily,” Aloe replied with a giggle before giving her sister a look I could not understand, to which the other mare nodded.

“Mr. Chris, if you would please follow us, we would like to see how well you can do,” Lotus said as she indicated for me to follow the two of them out of the office.

Back in the lobby, Fluttershy and Rarity waited with slightly bated breaths, each giving me hopeful looks as I walked out.

“So, did you get the job?” Rarity asked, looking from me to Lotus and back again several times. Fluttershy simply watched me, waiting for an answer.

“Before we decide, my sister and I wanted to see if he could even give a proper massage first,” Aloe replied as she walked out behind me. “Would either of you like to be the test subject?”

“Oh… Uh…,” Fluttershy began to stutter, playing with her hooves as her face glowed slightly.

“I wouldn’t mind,” Rarity said with a smile. “I’m sure he will do marvelously.”

“Thanks, Rarity,” I said with a smile. A moment later, I noticed that Spike was gone and voiced my observation. “Where’d Spike go?”

“He had to go back to the library,” Fluttershy replied as we all began to move to a different area of the building. The little guy had been with us the whole time, asking me questions every now and then.

“Oh, okay,” I replied with a shrug. A few minutes later, we entered a large room that had several tables obviously meant to hold ponies for massages.

“If you would please?” Aloe asked, pointing Rarity to the closest table.

“Of course,” Rarity replied, giving me a wink before climbing onto the table and laying on her stomach.

With a slight bit of nervousness, I walked up to the table finding it slightly lower than what I found comfortable.

“I-is there a way to rise this a bit?” I asked looking back at the sisters.

“Yes, there is a crank right here,” Lotus said as she pointed out a small handle under the table. “We usually use it to lower the tables, but there should be enough to raise it high enough for you.”

Giving a nod, I crouched under the table, quickly finding the handle and raised it a about a foot.

“That’s better,” I commented as I stood back up. While still being a little low, I knew I could work with this. “So Rarity, where do you want me to start?”

“Oh, if you could start at my withers and work your way down, that would be divine,” Rarity said as she placed her muzzle into the hole in the table meant for your head.

“Okay,” I said, taking a moment to remember what the withers of a horse were. Once I found it, I put on some oil Aloe held out with a hoof and reached towards a spot around her upper back.

“Wait!” Fluttershy suddenly called out, stopping me before I could touch the mare. She quickly flew up and pushed my hands slightly higher up Rarity's back than where I was going to start out at. “We may be quadrupeds, but our withers are slightly higher than others. It’s what allows ponies to move their forelegs more openly.”

“That explains a bit,” I said as I softly pressed down on the area, earning a soft moan of relaxation.

“I can already feel a difference,” Rarity sighed blissfully. “Your hands are so much softer than hooves.”

“No, your fur is what’s soft,” I couldn’t help but voice. Taking a moment, I couldn’t help but brush one of my hands through her fur. “If I didn't know any better, I’d say you were made of silk.”

“Thank you darling, I use a very good conditioner,” Rarity commented. “Now, please continue.”

“Right,” I said, thinking of what to do. When I gave my aunt and uncle massages, I basically just squeezed the areas I thought needed it until they were loose. But I doubted that it would work right now.

“Uh… let me try something,” I said, shifting slightly. Finding the region just between Rarity’s shoulder blades, I pressed down with my thumbs.

“Dear, what are you- Oohhh…” Rarity moaned, tailing off as I began to roll little circles where my thumbs were.

“What is that technique?” Aloe asked watching my hands intently.

“Its, uh… Shiatsu?” I mumbled out, not sure myself. “I’m just trying to replicate something I had back where I’m from, that did the same for my back. Basically, I’m just kneading the spots.”

“I actually have a book for such a massage from the minotaur lands, but hooves do not allow for it,” Lotus said with a nod.

For the next ten minutes, I continued to massage Rarity’s back, slowly moving down. Ever few moments, one of the spa sisters would direct me to do something specifically or use more force in certain areas.

“This feels heavenly,” Rarity blissfully sighed as I reached the spot just over her tail base. For a split moment, I couldn’t help but look at the mare’s flanks, her indigo tail hiding everything that rested in between them.

With a quick shake of my head, I pulled back, believing that I had done what I needed. If I wanted to stare at someone’s flanks, the better and safest choice were Fluttershy’s.

After I asked for permission.

“Aww, what about my legs?” Rarity asked, a slight whine in her voice.

“Uh… what?” I asked.

“Most ponies develop some stress in their legs,” Lotus informed me. “For now, that was enough though. After some training, you might just be one of our best.”

“Wait, so does that mean I get the job?” I asked, looking at both sisters.

“Yes,” Aloe replied with a smile, lowering the table so Rarity could get down. “For safety reasons, you won’t be allowed to give ponies massages without our supervision until you complete our training course.”

“So, be here bright and early on Monday,” Lotus said with a smile. “No later than 8 am if you please.”

“You got it,” I replied, shaking both mares’ hooves enthusiastically. While being a masseuse wasn’t my first choice, it was at least something I could do. “Just one question.”

“And what would that be?” both of them asked in sync.

“What day is it today?” I asked bluntly, still smiling.

“Friday,” Fluttershy said as she nuzzled my side.

“Yes, well we should be going as well,” Rarity sighed as she said goodbye to the two spa ponies.

A few minutes later, we were out on the streets once again, my job worries having been put to rest faster than I had thought.

“So, that went better than I thought,” I commented as we traveled through the market district. Since it was getting later in the day, most of the shops were beginning to close, but it was still nice seeing some of the local wears.

“Yes, it did,” Rarity voiced happily. “And to think you were so good at giving massages. Be sure to tell me when you finished training so I can be your first customer.”

“Only if its okay with, Fluttershy,” I said, looking at the Pegasus. Fluttershy though, was off in her own world, her eyes locked on a nearby flower stand.

“Fluttershy, you okay?” I asked, snapping her from her daze.

“Oh…sorry, I got distracted for a moment,” she timidly replied, her face beginning to glow slightly. “C-could you wait here for a moment?”

“Uh, yeah sure,” I replied, watching as Fluttershy suddenly rushed off towards the flower stand.

“Oh dear sweet Celestia,” Rarity breathed in a voice of shock and disbelief as she watched Fluttershy walk up to the flower stand. Suddenly, she fixed me with a hard glare. “Chris, if you do not accept this, I will personally end you!”

“Accept what?! I don’t even know what she’s doing,” I blurted out, slightly worried now.

“She is getting you a flower,” Rarity quickly began to explain. “When a mare has her eyes on a stallion they will give them a flower matching their coat color. Pegasi have even given feathers as marriage proposals as well. This is done publicly to make sure ponies know who it was that gave the flower as well as dictate that she is the alpha mare of the relationship.”

“What do you mean by alpha mare?” I asked. Rarity was about to answer, but fell silent when Fluttershy began to make her way back. In her mouth, she carried a small butterscotch colored rose.

“C-Chris,” Fluttershy said as she stood in front of me, her face redder than an apple as she held out the flower with a shaking hoof. “I-I g-g-got this f-for you…if you want it that is.”

All around us, ponies stopped and stared. Most of the surrounding ponies had looks of complete shock and some with slight giddiness. But there were also few looks of disgust and even envy.

“T-thanks, Fluttershy,” I said, taking the rose from her. The moment the flower was safely in my hand, Fluttershy jumped up and pressed her lips firmly against mine. We stayed like that for a few moments, Fluttershy using her wings to stay aloft; before she set herself back down with a sheepish smile and a glowing face.

A loud cheer suddenly erupted from a majority of the crowed, causing Fluttershy to squeal and hide under my shirt.

“Oh, Fluttershy, congratulations,” Rarity gushed as ponies began moving about once again. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous.”

“Uh, let’s get back to my house,” I said as I noticed my shirt beginning to rip. “My shirts beginning to rip and I don’t think Fluttershy could handle so much attention right now.”

“Yes, let’s go!” Rarity proclaimed as she led the way back to my new house. Along the way, I received a few congratulations from several ponies, while also getting a shove or two from a few others.

“Some ponies can be so rude!” Rarity said as we finally made it to my house.

“You can come out now,“ I told my chest.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes appearing just under my shirt collar.

“Yeah, my house is right in front of us,” I told her. A few moments later, she was standing next to me while I pulled the key out to open my door.

“Surprise!” several voices shouted as the door swung open on its own.

I was almost blasted backwards by the sudden shout as my home’s entrance was filled with an assortment of ponies.

“Wereyousurprised? Wereyawereyawereya?” Pinkie Pie shouted as she suddenly appeared in front of me, hopping up and down.

“Uh… yeah, you got me, Pinkie,” I chuckled, a little ashamed that I didn’t see this coming.

“OH MY GOSH! Is that a flower!” the mare bellowed out for all to hear when she noticed the rose in my hand. “This. Is. So. AMAZING!”

“No way!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew over the group of ponies in the hall and stared at the flower with a mix of shock and confusion, my cover still on her head. “She actually gave it to you… in public?!”

“Y-yes…” Fluttershy quietly replied from my side.

“Who are you and what have you done with Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash questioned, staring her friend in the eye. “Are you a spy?”

“Okay, enough with that over used joke,” I groaned, snagging my hat back and pushing her away. “This is a house warming, right? Well, lets get to the party!”

“YES!” Pinkie Pie chirped as she grabbed the hand not holding a flower and dragged me inside.

Once properly inside, I was immediately assaulted with a mixture of greetings and congratulations. Most of the ponies were ones I had seen at the Summer Sun Celebration party at the library, but there were a few new faces. One of them being the mint green unicorn in the corner who looked like she was having a seizure.

“Uh… you okay?” I asked while moving over to her, the flower now attached to my chest thanks to a spell from Rarity. “Cause I kinda don’t need you to have a heart attack in my new house. It would look really bad with my land… owner… something that could literally crush me with a single thought.”

“Human…” the mare simply replied, her grin reaching from ear to ear.

“Yeah, that’s what I am,” I replied with a smile, happy to see that this mare’s human fascination was real. “But the better question is, who are you?”

                “And you have hands,” the mare continued with half laden eyes as she began to get closer.

                “Stranger danger!” I quickly shouted, lifting my hands over my head and looking around the room. Off to one side I could see Fluttershy and her other friends talking, her face glowing brightly as her friends talked at her. On the other, I could see a small table set up with snacks and drinks, a few ponies walking around it.

                The rest of the living room was just a random assortment of ponies from town with almost no recognizable faces. Except for Berry Punch, she seemed to be putting the drunken moves on the record player that I guessed was Pinkie Pie’s.

                “Lyra!” a new voice shouted drawing my attention to the cream colored mare making her way towards us with a scowl. “I didn’t tell you about him to have you hit on him!”

                “But Bonnie, human!” Lyra groaned, looking at her friend. “He’s right in front of me… and he has hands with real fingers.”

                “He’s also taken,” Bon Bon bluntly replied, pointing a hoof at the flower on my chest.

                “I’m just gonna go… that way,” I told the two taking a step back before booking it like a mad man.

A few moments later, I entered what would be the ‘Man Cave’, finding Geralt sleeping on an old blanket and Spike reading from a few giant piles of comics.

 “Oh, hey Chris,” Spike said as he noticed me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I would bring some of my comic collection here. Twilight always complains when I leave them lying around and hides them from me.”

“No prob, Spike,” I replied as I walked over and sat next to the small dragon. Looking at the piles, I couldn’t help but chuckle at all the pony versions of comics I read as a kid.

“So, what would you recommend?” I asked while taking two different comics and holding them up. “Spider-mane of Bat Mare?”

“Bat Mare,” Spike replied without any hesitation. “Spider-Mane jokes are way too dumb for my liking.”

“Bah! Another DC fan,” I groaned, placing the Bat Mare comic down and opening the Spider-Mane. “Oh shit, the venom suit saga!”

I don’t know how long we sat there reading, but a sudden weight on my lap drew my attention.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” I greeted, giving the mare an ear scratch. “Finally got away from the others.”

“I don’t really like parties that much,” the mare replied, nuzzling my stomach with a small sigh. “I can be a bit shy sometimes.”

“I understand,” I said, placing the comic I was reading down and looking at Spike. “I’m gonna spend some time with Fluttershy, so don’t burn the room down before I get the chance.”

“What?” Spike asked, watching as I stood up and walked out with Fluttershy following close behind.

“You’re not actually going to start a fire in that room are you?” Fluttershy asked innocently as we walked back into the houses living room.

“Of course not,” I replied while looking around. It seemed like most of the attendants had left while I was gone. “At least, not on purpose.”

“There you are!” Pinkie Pie groaned with a frown as she walked over to us. “Where were you? The party’s almost over and you didn’t even open any presents.”

“Pinkie, you didn’t need to get me anything,” I voiced out when I saw a small pile of wrapped ifts now occupied the same table that once held snacks and drinks. “Seriously, the welcoming party was more than enough.”

“Its just a few things to help start ya out,” Applejack said as she led me over to the table. “My family had a few pots and pans we thought ya could use that we don’t need no more.”

“Heh, thanks, Applejack,” I replied as I took the items wrapped in regular brown paper and opened them to reveal several different pots and pans tightly placed together.

Going through the rest of the items, I ended up with cutlery, extra silverware, extra linens, curtains, towels and a few other necessities.

Rainbow Dash gave me a calendar with the summers weather schedule already written in and Twilight gave me several books on home care.

But it was Pinkie Pie’s gift that really took my breath away.

 “That is a lot of baked goods,” I said as I looked at my full fridge. Inside were four different cakes and two trays of moon pies.

“Spike told me about part of your deal for your house, so I made these,” Pinkie chirped happily before fixing me with a serious look. “But if anypony asks, you tell them you got them from Sugar Cube Corner, got it?”

“Done,” I replied with a nod, stealing a moon pie for myself.

“This is for you!” Lyra suddenly chirped, popping up beside me holding a small card towards me in her magic. She was one of the few who had decided to stay back, along with her friend Bon Bon.

“Uh… thanks,” I carefully said, taking the card. For a moment, I felt her magic try to take my hand, but my magic absorption quickly caused it to dissipate.

Looking at the card, I quickly felt a lump develop in my throat as I moved past the grinning mint mare and walked up to her friend.

“I don’t know how to take this…” I told Bon Bon, holding the card out for her to see it. It showed a crudely drawn pony holding what looked like a foal and under it said ‘This card entitles you to be the father of my foal’.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon snapped, glaring at her friend angrily. “Do you want another restraining order?!”

“Oh, let me see!” Pinkie chirped, snatching the card out of my hand before I could stop her. She stared at it for a moment before shrugging and handing it to Fluttershy.

The room immediately went dead silent as Fluttershy looked at the card. Even my own heart beat went silent as my marefriend looked at the object she now held in her hoof.

“Lyra,” Fluttershy began slowly glaring at the mare; and for a split second, I swear her eyes glowed red. “Why did you give my coltfriend this?”

“Uh…” Lyra dumbly replied, unable to look away from Fluttershy as her smile left her face and her legs began to shake. “I just… I mean…”

“Leave,” Fluttershy simply replied, causing the mare to sigh dejectedly before trudging out of the room with a slight sniffle.

A part of me actually felt bad seeing Lyra leave like that. If what the fandom ever said was at all true, she was just really excited to finally see a human. But the other was still reeling from the card.

 “Sorry about Lyra,” Bon Bon replied, shuffling her legs slightly. “She gets really excited… and weird… whenever humans are involved.”

“Uh… yeah,” I dumbly replied as Fluttershy continued to stare in the direction Lyra had left. “Fluttershy, are you okay?”

“Huh?” Fluttershy asked, shaking her head slightly. “W-what happened?”

“You kinda just made Lyra leave,” I said, a little shocked by Fluttershy’s actions. Granted what Lyra did was creepy as fuck, but I couldn’t help but feel like Fluttershy did something completely out of character.

“O-oh dear, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy suddenly said, a remorseful look on her face as she looked at Bon Bon. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“No, no,” Bon Bon quickly reassured. “You were in the right and Lyra was in the wrong.”

“You bet she was,” Rainbow Dash added with a scowl, somehow having reacquired my hat, the card now in her hoof. “She didn’t even ask Fluttershy for permission first.”

“What?” I asked, a little confused by what Rainbow just said.

“And I’ll talk to her,” Bon Bon replied before looking at me with an almost pleading look. “But please don’t be mad at her. She was just so excited to meet a real human.”

“I kinda forgot that you were the creature, Lyra was always talking about,” Twilight commented. It was at this point that I remembered that Lyra was one of Twilight’s friends from Canterlot.

“Then you know how she can get,” Bon Bon said looking at Twilight for some help.

“I’m not mad,” I replied with a sigh, still a little confused by Rainbow’s comment from a moment ago. “Just a little creeped out; Just tell her not to do that again please?”

“Yes, of course,” Bon Bon replied before wishing us farewell and rushing out of the room and probably out the front door.

“What I miss?” a new voice suddenly said, the slight recognition of it causing my heart to stop beating for a second.

“Just Bon Bon’s friend being really weird and creepy… again,” Rainbow replied as I decided to see who spoke.

The muffin mare…

The muffin mare, aka Derpy Hooves stood at the kitchen entrance wearing a pair of saddle bags.

“Oh,” Derpy replied as her face scrunched up in confusion, one eye staring down while the other started to wonder to the left. “Which one was that again?”

Even I couldn’t help but laugh as Derpy’s comment brought out chuckles from most of the room.

“Good one,” I chuckled as I walked over to the mare and held my hand out. “I’m Chris, it’s a pleasure Ms…”

“H-Hooves, Derpy Hooves,” the mare hesitantly replied, timidly shaking my hand. The action did nothing but confuse me, as Derpy seemed to pull away as fast as she could before distancing herself slightly. “Welcome to Ponyville, these are for you.”

“Thanks,” I replied as Derpy reached into one of her bags and pulled out a small plate of wrapped muffins.

“You made muffins, awesome!” Rainbow Dash voiced as she zipped forward to grab the plate. But for once, she was too slow as I took the plate first, quickly putting a hand out to stop the mare from taking any.

“Mine!” I hissed like a cat, looking at everyone before settling on Fluttershy. “Quick, use you cuteness to protect the muffins.”

“U-uh…” Fluttershy mumbled as her face began to glow from my comment.

“Okay, let’s just get back to what we were doing,” Twilight chuckled as Applejack pulled a slightly pouting Rainbow Dash away from my muffins by her tail.

“These are also for you,” Derpy giggled as she offered me a small stack of papers she held in her mouth. Taking them with my free hand, I quickly gave them a look over.

“Those are to get you on the mail listings and a few other services,” Derpy said.

“Wow, thanks,” I voiced appreciatively.

“Well, as Ponyville’s premier mail pony, It’s my job to make sure you get all your mail,” Derpy replied with a cute smile. I swore, if there was a cute contest, Derpy would get second place after Fluttershy and her record setting looks. “The other things are usually stored at the post office anyway, so I try to get them to new ponies as a whole.”

“Thanks, Ms. Hooves,” Twilight said as she took the papers from my hand in her magic and began to look over them. Pulling a few out she asked if Derpy had any extras for her.

“Chris,” Fluttershy’s soft voice called, drawing my attention towards her. I couldn’t help but feel my heart sink as she looked at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, b-but I didn’t get you anything…”

“What are talking about, Fluttershy?” I asked with a caring smile as I got down on a knee and cupped her cheek with my free hand. “Cause I’m pretty sure I’m wearing your gift right now.”

“Awww,” resounded through the room, causing me and Fluttershy to blush… and Rainbow Dash to gag.

“Okay, enough with the sappy,” Rainbow Dash groaned as she tried to swipe the muffins again.

                “Rainbow Dash…” Fluttershy said in a slightly threatening tone, her eyes fixed on the prismatic mare.

                “Well, I have to get going,” Derpy said, reminding us that she was still there. “I have a filly to put to bed and have work in the morning.”

                “Of course, Derpy,” I said, standing back up and facing the mare properly. “Thanks for coming and for the muffins and forms. I’ll get those filled out when I get a free moment.”

                “If you leave them in your mailbox, I’ll deliver them to town hall for you,” Derpy added.

                “I will, thank you,” I replied as the mare finally took her leave.

                “So, who else is still here?” I asked as everyone walked back out into the living room.

                “Looks like everypony else is gone already,” Pinkie Pie said sadly. But she pepped back up a moment later. “Ow well, time to clean up!”

                “Actually Pinkie, I wanted to say something before that,” Rarity said, drawing everyone’s attention.

                “What you wanna talk about Rare’s?” Applejack asked.

                “Well,” Rarity began, looking at everyone carefully. “Since we are all going to the Grand Galloping Gala, I thought it would be nice to create dresses for you all… and suits for the stallions.”

                “As long as you don’t put anything really shiny on it,” I told Rarity as the others began to look excited. At this point I was trying to fight back the laughs as the images of what the others really wanted flashed through my head.

                “No promises,” Rarity giggled, as the others looked back at her expectantly. “So if you all could stop by my shop at some point this weekend, I need to take proper measurements.”

                After a round of agreements, we all began to clean up my house. Luckily it wasn’t that bad, so we were done after a little while.

                “I’ll have the questionnaire for you by tomorrow,” Twilight said as she placed Spike on her back. The dragon fighting back a yawn as it was already nine thirty at night. “I’ll have Spike drop it off when he gets the chance.”

                “Thanks Twi, have a good night,” I said, closing the door as the two left.

                “So Fluttershy, what are your plans?” I asked, turning to look at the only pony who was still in my house.

                “I-I have to go home tonight,” she replied hesitantly, but I could also hear a bit of disappointment in her voice.

                “Would you like me to walk you home then?” I asked, actually hoping to spend some time with her alone.

                “N-no…” Fluttershy said, surprising me. “B-but before I go… I was hoping… if you don’t mind…”

                “There’s no need to be shy with me, Fluttershy,” I told the mare sitting down on the floor next to her. When I got the chance, a proper couch was going to be my first major purchase. “Be as open with me as you-“

                “Canwemakeout?” Fluttershy quickly interrupted as her face glowed red.

                “Uh…” I dumbly replied, taking a second to figure out what she said. Once I had, I couldn’t help but blush at what she asked. Throughout the day we had been sharing little kisses here and there, but it looked like Fluttershy wanted to go a little further. “I guess… if it’s what you want.”

                Without replying, Fluttershy walked in front of me, sitting down in between my legs as she placed her front hooves on my chest. I couldn’t help but stare into her eyes as she slowly brought her face closer to mine.

                I couldn’t help but shiver as our lips met and our eyes closed. I quickly noticed something pressing against my lips and without hesitation, opened my mouth slightly.

                It was an odd feeling, having someone else’s tongue in your mouth. Hers being larger and flatter than mine quickly filled up a good portion as mine tried to mirror her actions. When her tongue passed over one of my canines, I felt her whole body shudder as she began to run over them continuously.

                What felt like hours later, but was actually just a few minutes, Fluttershy pulled away. A small trail of drool still linking our mouths as she didn’t even bother to put her tongue back in her mouth.

                “W-wow…” the mare heavily panted, her face red and her eyes a little glossy. “T-that w-was amazing.”

                “Y-yeah,” I replied, watching as Fluttershy slowly stood up and made her way for the door.

                “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she left, her flank swaying seductively and her tail giving me a teasing peek at what lay beneath.

                “Holy fuck,” I breathed out as the door closed behind her. I was kind of glad she was gone now, because I had a painful hard on happening and I don’t think she was ready to go that far.

                Standing up, I fully intended to go to my room and remedy my problem, but before I could go up the stairs, I stopped.

                The problem in my pants quickly faded from my mind as I absent mindedly walked into my living room and sat in a single fold up chair Pinkie said I could borrow. From there, I just stared into the empty fireplace.

                I don’t know how long I sat there for, but a tap on my shoulder brought me to my senses.

                “Chris?” Celestia’s voice whispered from behind me. But instead of the annoyed condescending tone it usually had, all I heard was worry and concern.

                “I-I m-might never s-see them a-again,” I chocked out, unable to see because of the large amount of tears coming from my eyes. “My mom… my day… brothers, sister, aunts, uncles… my grandparents… I’ll never see them again.”

                “Don’t say that,” Celestia’s voice replied motherly as she pulled me into her chest, wrapping her wings around me. “I’m positive you’ll see them again.”

                We stayed like that for who knows how long, as I finally released all the pent up emotions I didn’t even realize I was holding. When I had finally cried myself dry, Celestia released me from her embrace and looked down at me with caring eyes.

                “Feeling better?” She asked, a bit of concern still visible on her face.

                “Yeah,” I dryly replied. A second later, a glass of water appeared in front of me; which I greedily drank. “Thanks.”

                “I’m happy to see you’re okay,” Celestia smiled. I couldn’t help but actually feel better seeing the motherly Celestia rather than the one I had been subjected to most of the day.

                “I…uh, don’t have any bits right now. So…” I mumbled back, remembering what she told me earlier.

                “I don’t care about that right now,” Celestia firmly replied. “Its not like I was going to force you to pay me back immediately or anything. Don’t worry about that until you actually have a house and not a bunch of empty rooms.”

                “Oh, thanks…” I said as I finally stood up from the chair. I couldn’t help but look back at Celestia in confusion. While I liked the whole ‘I care for you and your well being’ Celestia, it was still a bit of a 180 from the way she’d had been acting around me normally. “Are you okay, though? You’re acting differently.”

                “I may not like you right now,” Celestia sighed as she adapted a slightly annoyed expression. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about your wellbeing.”

                “Oh…,” I replied, once again caught off guard by the mare’s actions. “Thanks then… I guess.”

                “You don’t need to hold it in, Chris,” Celestia advised as she stood up as well. “I have to get back to the castle before somepony realizes I’m gone, but don’t be afraid to contact me if you need somepony to talk to. You have friends that will listen.”

                “I will, thank you,” I replied with a nod. I watched as Celestia made her way out of the room, laughing when I noticed the cake held in her magic grasp.

                “Better get to bed I guess,” I sighed making my way out of the room. As I walked into my room I couldn’t help but smile as I noticed Geralt laying at the end of the bed, a look of mild concern as he looked at me from his position.

                “Don’t worry, Geralt,” I told him as I removed my boots and pants. “I’m okay.”

                He continued to watch me as I got into the bed, to exhausted to even think about what I wanted to do earlier. With a final sigh, I placed my glasses on the floor next to the bed and closed my eyes.
> Chapter Four: "I like shorts! They’re comfy and easy to wear!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Bang Bang Bang*

                “Uhg…” I groaned out as a sudden banging drew me from my sleep. Not daring to open my eyes, I continued to groan as my natural instincts told me it was still bum fuck early. “Go away!”

                “Wake up!” Rainbow Dash’s scratchy voice called out from somewhere.

                “Fuck you, Skittles!” I yelled out, covering my head with my pillow and trying to go back to sleep. Waking me up early on a non-work day was one of my biggest pet peeves. I feel that if you wake up two hours before the sun on a regular day, you should be allowed to sleep in two hours on the other.

                “Wake up already!” Rainbow shouted again. Sill not opening my eyes, I flung my pillow towards where her voice was coming from, hearing a soft ‘thump’ a moment later.

                “Oh yeah, because that really would have worked,” Rainbow chuckled.

                With a final groan, I opened my eyes. Luckily, there was almost no light in my room, so I wouldn’t have to squint. Unfortunately, that just pushed the fact of how early it was.

                “God damn it, Rainbow…” I groaned out as I grabbed my glasses from the side of my bed. Once they were on, I looked over towards where Rainbow Dash’s voice was coming from and groaned.

                “Well, you gonna let me in or what?!” she demanded as she hovered outside one of my room’s window’s.

                “Did I ever tell you how much I hate you?” I grumbled as I got out of my bed and putting on my pants. Once they were on, I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw that Rainbow was no longer looking at me. But it quickly puttered out when I realized that she probably just saw me without my pants on.

                “W-what do you want, Rainbow Dash,” I mumbled out, moving to the window and letting the prismatic mare in.

                “I need a training buddy!” Rainbow replied as she settled into the room. “Applejack has morning chores and nopony else is up this early.”

                “And so you decided that you would wake me up at bum fuck early,” I grumbled in an annoyed tone. I was still half asleep and the memories from last night weren’t helping.

                “You said you were a ‘Marine’, so prove it,” Rainbow replied, trying to egg me on. “Besides, I can see the fat on your body from a mile away.”

                “Wow, so you start staring at my ass from that far?” I asked in a joking manner, earning an embarrassed scowl from the mare.

                “Anyways, let’s go!” Rainbow said as she recollected herself.

                “Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that aint happening,” I replied, more annoyed now than I had been a few moments ago.

                “What, why?!” Rainbow demanded. “I thought you even said yourself that you wanted to lose some weight.”

                “And I do,” I nodded. “But I don’t have the right cloths, it’s really fucking early and I really really don’t want to.”

                “Then we’ll get Rarity to make you some. Hay, you could even go naked for all I care,” Rainbow groaned, signifying that I need to explain to her why humans wore clothing… again. “Come on, I really need a training buddy!”

                “Come on, Rainbow Dash…” I grumbled as the mare actually began to pout.

                “Fine…” I groaned after a few minutes. Looking around my room, I saw my cammies sitting off to one side of the room. “Get out of here so I can change.”

                “I still don’t understand why you’re so concerned about cloths,” Rainbow chuckled as she left, probably patting herself on the back for convincing me to work out with her. “Hay, ponies are usually naked 24/7.”

                “Yeah, ponies, not humans,” I replied as she closed the door behind her. With her gone, I walked over to my cammis and began to put all of it on, excluding the blouse.

                “You’re seriously going to work out in that?” Rainbow’s voice suddenly asked mockingly.

                “Gah! How long have you been watching?!” I demanded as I felt my cheeks heat up.

                “I walked back in after like five seconds,” Rainbow chuckled with a smirk. “You really should pay attention.”

                “Yeah, well… don’t do it again,” I groaned while pushing past the small mare.

                “Calm down, sheesh,” Rainbow giggled. “You act like I saw your dick or something.”

                “Can we please stop talking about this now?!” I blurted out, stopping in my kitchen to get some water before leaving. “I mean, seriously, this isn’t helping me want to be your training buddy.”

                “Fine,” Rainbow blandly replied as she followed me outside.

                “Okay,” I said looking off towards the newly rising sun. “What’s the game plan, cause the sooner we’re done, the sooner I can get breakfast.”

                “So, first I was thinking of a five mile sprint around town as a warm up,” Rainbow began with a confident smile, missing my dropped jaw and look of horror. “From there, the real work out begins…”

                “Let me stop you now while I can still feel my legs,” I quickly cut in. “Even if I were in a pair of shorts and running shoes, I wouldn’t be able to sprint five miles strait.”

                “But you sprinted half that two days ago,” Rainbow replied with a confused look. “You sprinted all the way from Fluttershy’s to Rarity’s in like, 5 minutes, and you didn’t even look tired.”

                “In full cammies? Yeah right,” I chuckled, not believing her in the slightest. I remembered getting there pretty fast, but I was nowhere near that fast.

                “I’m not lying!” Rainbow yelled back, worrying me that it might wake any of my neighbors... who I have yet to meet. “I saw you with my own two eyes! So did half the weather team and part of the town.”

                “Fine then,” I said, still not believing her. “After, we do some warm up stretches and exercises, I’ll run go on a run with you, but don’t expect me to run as fast as you think I can.”

                “You better put out then,” Rainbow smirked with a determined look. “I’ll know if you didn’t and then… I’ll tell Fluttershy.”

                “W-whatever,” I stuttered, a small part of me actually afraid for a moment.

                “Okay, so why don’t you show me some of these stretches of yours?” Rainbow asked as we moved to an open spot besides my house.

                “Just do what I do if you can,” I replied while starting with arm stretches. She was able to mimic my front arm stretches while sitting on her haunches, but had a lot of trouble with the ones behind her back.

                “Your stretches are lame,” Rainbow grumbled as she watched me do a chest stretch.

                “Meh,” I replied before sitting down so I could do some leg stretches.

                Once again, Rainbow tried to mimic my stretches, but failed epically at them.

                “You know you could just do some of your own right,” I said while standing back up. “Your body isn’t made to move like mine.”

                “Buck you,” Rainbow grumbled before doing some stretches that reminded me of cats.

                “It’s too early for this,” I mumbled to myself before marking a small space to do some sprints in. After the sprints, I did some side startle hops followed by some push-ups.

                “Now, those I can do!” Rainbow proclaimed as she started doing push-ups with her wings.

                “Right…” I replied without looking at her as I continued to do push ups.

                “And that’s 100,” I called out as I finished my push-ups, surprising myself with how many I could do.

                “N-not bad d-dude,” Rainbow huffed a few moments later as she finished her set as well.

                “Right,” I said as I took a few breaths to ready myself. “Okay, so lets start that run.”

                “Sweet!” Rainbow said before facing some random direction. “Just follow me! Readysetgo!”

                Before I could even begin to understand what she said, the prismatic mare took off like a bullet. Sprinting down the path without looking back.

                “Crap,” I cursed under my breath as I began to run forward.

                At first, it seemed like this was a horrible idea as I began to feel a slight burn building up faster than normal, especially since I had boots on. But for some reason, the burn made me feel lighter and seemed to feed me more energy.

Before I realized it, I was beginning to catch up to Rainbow Dash, going at least two times faster than I have ever gone before.

                I don’t know how long I followed Rainbow, but by the time we stopped, we were standing in front of my house once again, both panting heavily.

                “See, I told you!” Rainbow shouted with a slight pant as I stopped a few feet away from her. “We just sprinted eight miles straight!”

                “Eight miles,” I said, panting slightly in shock. I didn’t even feel that worn out, yet I just sprinted eight miles in boots and I feel like I could keep going.

                “And you thought I was lying,” Rainbow chuckled proudly. But I didn’t pay her much attention.

                How the fuck did I do that? Looking back at the path we came from, I tried to figure out how I did what I just did.

                “Dude, are you okay?” Rainbow’s voice called from behind me. But for some reason, it seemed to be fading. “Cause you look kind of pale… I think.”

                I meant to turn to address her, but I apparently went to fast and ended up on my ass.

                “Chris?!” Rainbow shouted. But to me, it was just above a whisper.

                “I’m… I’m gonna…” I began as something began to leak from my nose. “Take a nap…”

               
 *             *             *


                “Is he going to be okay, Nurse Redheart?” Twilight asked as the white mare finished checking Christopher’s breathing.

                She, along with all her other friends stood inside Rarity’s boutique. This building being the closet thing Rainbow could bring their friend after he collapsed, blood flowing from his nose.

                “He’s going to be fine,” Red Heart replied with a reassuring smile. “You were right to get me, especially sense we don’t have a proper medical record on him.”

                “But what happened?” Fluttershy asked as worry still gripped her. She remembered leaving him in good health the night before and worried that it might have been her fault somehow.

                “Magic exhaustion,” Redheart replied in a surprised tone. “If I’m understanding the symptoms right, he used more magic than his body had or could handle.”

                “But ah thought humans couldn’t do magic?” Applejack questioned.

                “He mentioned it, but didn’t follow up on it,” Twilight replied with a sigh. “I knew we should have finished the questions at the library.”

                “Well, you’ll just have to wait until he wakes up,” Red Heart replied with a slightly stern tone. “Right now, he needs plenty of rest, and fluids when he wakes up.”

                “Of course,” Fluttershy replied as she moved next to the couch that held her coltfriend.

                “I also recommend having him come to the hospital for a proper physical,” Red Heart continued as she put her saddlebags on. “If something were to happen, we’ll need proper records to go off of and we may need to start a collection of his blood in case of emergencies.”

                “I’ll be sure he goes to that,” Rarity chimed, walking Red Heart out of the back room and out of the shop. “Thank you ever so much for coming.”

                “It’s my job,” Red Heart replied with a chuckle before finally walking off.

                Back in the room, everypony looked worriedly at Christopher, hoping he actually was okay.

                “Explain to me again, how this happened?” Twilight asked Rainbow Dash.

                “I already told you,” Rainbow groaned, flailing her hooves. “We went on a run and when we finished, he suddenly got really pale, fell down and passed out!”

                “Well, it’s a good thing you brought him here then,” Rarity said as she walked back in. “Magic exhaustion is no joke.”

                “He’s going to be okay though, right?” Fluttershy asked, her voice heavy with concern as she used a hoof to take Chris’s glasses off his face.

                “He’ll be fine, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied. “I had it all the time when I first started to learn from Princess Celestia.”

                “Okay…” Fluttershy quietly replied as she placed a small kiss on Christopher’s forehead.

                “You know,” Rarity chimed, drawing the rooms attention. “Since we’re all already here, why don’t we get the measurements out of the way?”

                “Uhg, do we have too?” Rainbow groaned as she fell onto her back. “It sounds so boring!”

                “Come on Dashie!” Pinkie chirped. “If we get this done now, we won’t have to do it later!”

                “I’m going to wait here,” Fluttershy replied, taking a moment to look back at her friends. “I want to be here in case he wakes up.”

                “That’s quite all right dear,” Rarity responded with a nod. “If you need anything, we’ll be in the next room. Come along everypony!”

                With that, Rarity led all the others out of the room, leaving Fluttershy and a sleeping Chris to their own.

                
*             *             *


                “…and then, she squirted milk out of her nose,” a familiar voice giggled softly as I slowly began to awaken.

                “Ow, my head,” I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes to a blurry world. I almost immediately began to cough as I realized how dry my throat was.

                “Chris, your awake! Oh, thank goodness,” Fluttershy said as her butterscotch yellow fur filled my hazy vision as she cradled my head into a hug. “I was so worried when, Rainbow Dash said you collapsed.”

                “Wha… what happened?” I coughed out as my head spun slightly. I was really grateful for Fluttershy at the moment since her hold helped keep me from falling out of whatever I was on. “I remember running… and then everything began to spin…”

                “Nurse Red Heart said it was because you used too much magic,” Fluttershy quietly replied as I felt a straw meet my lips.

                “That makes sense,” I replied before taking the cup I knew she had and began to drink, ignoring the straw. I continued to drink for a few moments before what Fluttershy said actually registered in my head.

                “Magic?!” I blurted out; spraying the mare with whatever water was still in my mouth. Even though it was a little hard to see, I could still make out the shocked look on her face when I sprayed her and I immediately felt bad for it.

                “I am so sorry about that, Fluttershy,” I began to apologize. “You just caught me off guard when you said I used magic and… well… humans shouldn’t be able to do magic.”

                “They can’t?” a new voice asked, drawing my attention to a purple blob that was entering the room I was in. a moment later, Fluttershy gave me my glasses and I confirmed that it was, in fact, Twilight.

                “Like I said yesterday, no,” I replied, feeling a little better now. “There were always legends and myths, but that’s all they ever were. Although, there were some that believed our current science and technology was a form of magic as well.”

                “Fascinating,” Twilight squealed as she looked behind her. “Quick, Spike, write that down. I defiantly want to look more into that.”

                “I’ll add it to the list,” the little dragon groaned as he walked into the room and looked at me with a relived smile. “Hey Chris, glad you’re okay.”

                “Thanks Spike,” I replied as Fluttershy nuzzled the side of my face. Usually, I hated whenever I was touched or hugged. But when you got a soft squeaky Fluttershy, you make an exception. “Where am I?”

                “At Rarity’s boutique,” Twilight said as she came closer, her horn lighting up slightly. I began to feel a strange feeling through my body as the mare continued to talk. “Rainbow Dash brought you here after you collapsed because it was the closest house she could think of. While Rarity watched you, she got everypony else and Nurse Red Heart from the local hospital.”

                “So I collapsed… after using too much magic?” I asked, still confused on if that were true or not.

                “According to Nurse Red Heart, yes,” Twilight nodded as her horn stopped glowing and the feeling I had disappeared. “It seems like everything’s back to normal. Your muscles might be sore for a while though.”

                “Uh…thanks,” I replied as Fluttershy helped me to sit up. I looked around to find that I was lying on Rarity’s fainting couch in what looked like one of the mare’s back rooms. “I guess that explains how I ran so fast for so long. But that still doesn’t tell me how I did magic.”

                “Maybe it was your element,” Spike said with a slight look of realization. “I mean, it makes the most sense in this case. It’s a highly magical artifact that ponies still don’t fully understand. This could be one of the side effects it gives.”

                “I thought this this was supposed to be absorbing magic,” I said while looking at the brace. Amazingly, I could barely tell it was there unless I looked at it. “Not give it to me?”

                “Isn’t that a good thing though?” Fluttershy asked me as she sat beside me. “Maybe if you keep using it, it won’t build up and change you like the Princesses said.”

                “Wait, what do you mean by that?” Twilight asked, making me realize that I had only told Fluttershy about what happened to the other humans that had arrived here.

                “Princess Celestia told me that all the other humans that arrived usually changed into something else shortly after arriving here because of this world’s magic,” I replied. “I told Fluttershy the other day when we were walking around.”

                “She never told me anything about that!” Twilight suddenly yelled, a worried look in her eyes.

                “She probably didn’t want to worry you,” I quickly began, seeing one of her panic attacks beginning to rear its head. “It was probably to protect the ones that had arrived and changed.”

                “I guess I understand,” Twilight replied, looking a little calmer. “But what if somepony really famous had been human at one point…? What if everypony was a human at one point?!”

                *Smack*

                “Snap out of it, Twilight!” Spike shouted after smacking the mare’s face. “You’re starting to sound like Lyra! Lyra, for ponies sake!”

                “Sorry, sorry,” Twilight replied as she shook her head clear and took a deep breath. “I’ll just send the princess a letter about that later then.”

                “You do that,” I sighed, my stomach deciding to growl at that moment.

                “Looks like someponies hungry,” Fluttershy giggled as she got off the couch and went over to her saddlebags.

I’ll just be honest… I watched her flank the whole time she was digging in her bags for something.

                A few moments later, Fluttershy pulled out a small clear container. Inside, I could see eggs, toast, some fruit and something that looked like gods greatest gift; bacon.

                “I was actually bringing you breakfast when Rainbow found me,” the mare sheepishly smiled as she brought me the food. “Eat as much as you want.”

                “Wow, thanks Fluttershy,” I said, taking the container in hand and kissing the mare’s forehead.

                “Once you’re done, just come out front,” Twilight said as she turned to leave with Spike. “Applejack had to leave to finish her chores, but everypony else is getting their dress measurements done.”

                “No prob,” I replied as I began to eat my breakfast with a plastic fork Fluttershy had put in the container as well.

                For a few minutes, I sat there and ate as Fluttershy sat next to me, leaning against my side. Every now and then, I would hold a fork full of eggs or diced fruit out for Fluttershy to have; which she always accepted with a smile and warm glow.

                “Is this real bacon?” I asked as I tried the first strip. It tasted and smelt like bacon, but it just looked off to me.

                “Y-yes…” Fluttershy shyly replied, her eyes fixed on my mouth as I ate the meat. “I-I get a small amount sent to me for my carnivorous animal friends.”

                “Thanks,” I smiled as I left half of the bacon in the container alone. I know it was a sin against all that is right in the world to do so, but I was going to give it to Geralt. I’m pretty sure I haven’t given him anything to eat…ever, so I don’t want him attacking anyone.

                Before I could do anything else, Fluttershy lunged forward, pressing her lips against mine and forcing her tongue into my mouth. Caught off guard, I couldn’t help but notice how much attention the mare’s tongue was paying towards my canines. Every time it glided across one, her body would shiver and she’d press herself further against me.

                “W-wow,” I chuckled once Fluttershy pulled away a few minutes later. Her face was flushed as she stared at me with half closed eyes, panting heavily. “Where did that come from?”

                “S-sorry,” Fluttershy replied as she shook her head a little, her blush intensifying. “I-I just don’t know what came over me.”

                “Well, I like it,” I said, flashing a tooth filled smile. Her eyes immediately locked onto my mouth as her wings suddenly flared out.

                “O-oh… my…” she quietly squeaked once she noticed what happened. Her face was redder then an apple as she tried to force her wings back down while trying to hide her embarrassment at the same time.

                “So my teeth are a turn on for you?” I chuckled out, watching as Fluttershy tried to keep her wings down using a hoof.

                “A-a little…” Fluttershy replied timidly as her wings began to sink on their own.

                “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I told her, brushing her mane from her face. “I think it’s cute.”

                “O-oh,” Fluttershy said with a smile, her face somehow becoming even redder. “Is there… is there anything I have… that turns you on?”

                “Uh…” I dumbly replied. While talking about this kind of stuff in one of Rarity’s back rooms, I knew I owed her something at least.

                “Your flank.” I quickly replied, doing my best to keep my cool.

                “M-m-my fl-flank?!” the mare squeaked out as heat waves began to come off her face as she looked back towards her plot.

                “I think it looks nice,” I continued, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly.

                “I-I’m sorry, but I’m not ready for that kind of stuff yet,” Fluttershy stuttered out as she covered her back lower half with her tail.

                “What do you mean?” I asked honestly.

                “Ponies consider anything involving the flank to be quite intimate,” Rarity’s voice suddenly replied with a giggle. “A bit of an erogenous area actually. Looking is okay, but touching is a different matter.”

                “Eep!” Fluttershy chirped as she jumped up and hid behind the couch.

                “How long have you been standing there?!” I blurted out as I looked toward the rooms entrance. Rarity stood there, looking into the room with a little smirk.

                “Oh, for quite some time,” Rarity giggled as se sauntered in, swaying her hips more than necessary with each step. “But I figured you to be a flank stallion early on.”

                “Uh… thanks?” I questioned as Rarity took a seat to my right, a small smirk on her face. “Is there something you need?”

                “Oh, not really darling,” Rarity replied with a flick of her mane. “The others were just wondering what’s taking you two so long.”

                “Right,” I sighed while standing up. My legs felt a little sore and weak, but I knew I could still make due. “Might as well get this over with, come on Fluttershy.”

                “Actually,” Rarity said, looking over as Fluttershy began to slink away from behind the couch. “I was hoping to speak to her about something… important.”

                “Okay… I’ll just be out here then,” I replied as I made my way out of the room. I was about to do the classic thing and eavesdrop, but a pair of pink hooves pulled me away from the door.

                “You’re okay!” Pinky cheered, as she pulled me into a literal bone cracking hug.

                “Cant *crack* breath!” I wheezed out as several cracks came from my back.

                “Opps,” Pinkie giggled as she let go with a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

                “No prob,” I coughed out as Rainbow Dash and Twilight made their way over.

                ”Yeah… sorry about this earlier…” Rainbow began to say, her eyes locked onto the ground with an uncomfortable look on her face.

                “It’s not your fault, Rainbow,” I replied, reaching out and giving her ear a scratch. Just like Twilight, she adapted a dopey grin and began to press her head into my hand further. “I went on the run and I didn’t stop to question what was going on.

                “Hell, I should actually be thanking you,” I continued, removing my hand and earning a small pout. “Thanks to that, I just learned that I may be able to use magic.”

                “Really?” Rainbow asked looking at Twilight for confirmation.

                “Apparently,” Twilight replied with a nod. “Spike actually may be right when he said that it might be because of his element.”

                “Yeah, about that,” Rainbow suddenly said, looking at the element I wore. “Why does he get to keep his, but we had to give ours up?”

                “Because Princess Celestia said that it was best if she protected them at the castle,” Twilight replied. “The only reason, Chris has his is because its apparently helping him keep his human form.”

                “And it gives me magic,” I added with an accomplished smirk. Although, it fell when I realized that I had no idea how to use it. “I just gotta figure out how to use it though.”

                “Wait, what was that about keeping his human form?” Rainbow Dash asked.

                “Apparently the natural magic of this world will change me into a pony,” I sighed. “It’s apparently a fast transformation. My element is keeping that from happening.”

                “But what about when you weren’t wearing it?” Rainbow asked. “Did anything change then?”

                “I… actually don’t know,” I replied with a bit of worry. A part of me hopped that the fact that I looked like a cartoon was the most that had happened. But another suspected that there could have been more.

                “Nurse Red Heart actually suggested that you go to the hospital and schedule a full physical,” Twilight said. “Maybe we can figure out any changes from that.”

                “I guess that works,” I replied.

                “Why don’t you want to be a pony though?” Pinkie asked with a smile. “Cause being a pony is fun! And then I can throw you a “Congratulations on becoming a pony” party and…”

                “Sorry, Pinkie,” I quickly interrupted, covering her muzzle with my hand. “But I like being human because that’s how I was born.”

                “I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow sighed.

                “Yeah…” I nodded.

                “Why don’t we head over and schedule that appointment now?” Twilight asked. “The sooner its done, the better.”

                “But I haven’t even taken his measurements yet?” Rarity pouted while she and Fluttershy walked in. Both looked really happy though, so there was that.

                “Then how did you make those clothes for me?” I asked, only just now realizing that I was still in my cammies.

                “Fluttershy got them for me,” Rarity replied as the mentioned mare blushed slightly.

                “Well, why don’t we do this then,” I began. “We’ll get those measurements done now, and then I’ll stop at home and get showered and changed before heading to the hospital?”

                “Or you can just shower here,” Rarity replied with a devious smirk. “I think I have a plain shirt and shorts I was working on around here somewhere that you can ware.”

                “If you want, I can go set up an appointment for you at the hospital as well,” Twilight added. “I have to give them a copy of my records anyways, so it shouldn’t be any trouble.”

                “I still gotta feed Geralt,” I voiced out as I noticed Fluttershy begin to press against my side.

                “I can take care of him for you,” Fluttershy offered. “I have some shopping to do afterwards though.”

                “Thanks, Flutters,” I said while petting her mane.

                “You should totally take that wolf shopping with you,” Rainbow chuckled at towards her shy friend. “I bet you’ll get all kinds of deals.”

                “I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” Fluttershy replied, earning a few chuckles.

                “Well then, let’s get to work,” Rarity said as everyone began to leave. I made sure to give Fluttershy a kiss to the forehead before waving everyone else goodbye.

                “So…” I began, looking back at Rarity. “Shower?”

                “This way, darling,” Rarity purred, leading the way.

               
 *             *             *


                “Have a marvelous day darling,” Rarity giggled as I walked out of the boutique a few hours later.

                “Y-yeah…” I timidly replied, my cheeks warm. Throughout the entire time I was here, Rarity kept brushing herself against me, even brushing her tail over my crotch several times.

                Another problem was that the “Shorts” she apparently had, were more like Speedos with some leg. I had to think about dead puppies for almost the whole thing.

                “I should have some better shoes for you by Monday, so be sure to stop by here before work,” Rarity added, giving me a wink before she closed the door, leaving me outside in the tight shorts and a plane white shirt. She kept everything else but my boots, saying that she would wash them for me.

                “Please let no one be in my bathroom,” I groaned out as I began to walk back to my home in my awkward outfit.

                When I got home I was more than glad to find that only Geralt was there. His face stuffed in a small bowl of something. So with a relived sigh, I began to make my way towards my room, fully intent on reliving some stress.

                *Knock knock knock*

                Or I was…

                “Yes?” I asked in a slightly annoyed tone while I answered the door. What greeted me was nothing more than a stack of floating comics.

                “Hey, Chris!” Spike’s voice called from below the comics. “I brought my Power Ponies collection for the “Man Cave”.”

                “Great…” I sighed, grabbing some of the stack and bringing it to said room. I knew that alone time wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon.

                “And Twilight set your appointment for next Saturday,” Spike told me as he set his stack down. “It was the only opening they had for all the tests they want to run.”

                “That’s fine,” I said while grabbing one of the comics.

                “Uh… what are you wearing?” Spike asked when he noticed my cloths.

                “Only the latest in fashion,” I replied in a high pitched voice, not even looking up from the comic.

                “So, Rarity made them?” Spike asked. Even without looking, I could tell the little guy had a love struck look on his face.

                “You really like her don’t ya?” I asked, putting the comic down.

                “W-what?!” Spike blurted out. “N-no way dude! Girls are gross and… and…”

                “Hey, it’s all good little dude,” I replied with a chuckle. “She’s an attractive mare.”

                “Y-yeah…” Spike said with a slight glow of his cheeks. He just stood there like that for a few moments before looking at me. “Do you think she… you know… likes me?”

                “To be honest…” I began, thinking about it. I took a moment to think back to the show and what I currently knew. “I think she likes you…but probably not in the kind of way you’re hoping for.”

                “Oh…” Spike sighed dejectedly.

                “Come on, Spike,” I said, moving over to pat the dragon on the back. “There’s someone out there for you and you’ll find them one day.”

                “I guess,” Spike sighed. “I just wished she would look at me like she does you.”

                “What do you mean?” I asked, a little confused by his statement.

“She’s always giving you those lovey dovey eyes whenever I see the two of you together,” Spike groaned. “She obviously likes you way more than me.”

“Well, you don’t need to worry about me taking her from you, Spike,” I chuckled. “I got, Fluttershy.”

“I guess,” Spike sighed as he took a seat on the ground.

“Come on, Spike, buck up champ,” I said while taking a seat next to him. “I’m sure there’s plenty of fillies your age that would love to go out with you.”

“But I like Rarity,” Spike replied.

“And no one’s saying you can’t,” I replied with a chuckle. “Who knows, maybe Rarity’s mind will change.

                “This is a different world after all,” I quietly finished to myself.

“Unless she joins your herd…” Spike grumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” I asked, unable to make out what he said.

“Nothing,” the slightly depressed dragon sighed. “I’m just gonna read some comics.”

“Hey, why don’t I show you that picture of Geralt I was telling you about,” I offered hoping to cheer him up. “Just let me go get something.”

“Really?” Spike asked as I stood back up, a curious expression on his face. “Okay!”

“Be back in a minute,” I said as I left the room and went upstairs to mine. I quickly pulled out the second pair of cloths Rarity had mad and put them on over the ones I already had on. This time, the pants were a black kaki and the shirt was a simple long sleeved red one.

The last thing I grabbed was my phone that was sitting next to my bed. I had yet to turn it back on since I turned it off the first day I was here because it was almost dead. But a few minutes should be too bad. So, as I headed back to the man cave, I held the power button to turn it back on.

“Alright Spike, this is it,” I said as I entered the room. The little guy was sitting in a chair made out of several stacks of comics, a excited look on his face. “This is a cellphone.”

“Like what you told Twilight about?” Spike asked. “Twilight was telling me that there are telephones in some of the bigger cities like Manehatten.”

“Yeah,” I said as I moved next to him. “Check this out.”

“Hey, isn’t that the mailmare?” Spike asked when he noticed my lock screens wallpaper.

“Ignore that,” I waved off, forgetting that I had that on there. I quickly unlocked my phone and opened the picture gallery. Luckily, all my porn pics were in a secret folder on my phone, so that wasn’t the first thing to pop up. Instead, I opened up my “Game” folder, were I had at least one image of every main character of every game I’ve played since I was ten. So there were a couple hundred.

I really like video games…

“This, is Geralt of Rivia, Witcher from the house of wolfs,” I said as I pulled up the image. The best part was that the image hadn’t changed to match the world like I had.

“Wow…” Spike said as his eyes gleamed at the image. Using my other hand, I zoomed in on Geralt’s face, so Spike could see the eyes. “He does kinda look like him.”

“And this is Bat Man,” I said, swiping to a picture of the dark knight. “Way better than your Bat mare.”

“Yeah right,” Spike scoffed as he looked at the image. “He doesn’t look so tough.”

“Are you kidding me,” I said, once again zooming in on the image. “This guy has had almost every bone in his body broken and fought while like that!”

“Pfft, Bat Mare is still cooler,” Spike said as he looked at the image again. “What’s that mean?”

“What?” I asked, looking at the phone.

“That,” Spike said as he pointed to the battery icon near the top, it standing out the most due to it currently flashing.

“That how… much…” I began, trailing off as I noticed the number beside it.

“How much what?” Spike asked as I continued to stare.

“80%... its at 80% now?” I asked myself. Last I remember, it was at 20% and leaving it off for a few days isn’t enough to recharge it by 60%. In fact, the battery symbol said it was charging.

“What?” Spike asked, waving a claw in front of my face.

“Its… its how much power my phone has,” I told him, trying to figure out what was going on. “But its charging somehow.”

 “Is that a bad thing?” Spike asked.

“Hell no,” I chuckled as I went into the settings and checked the battery status. “I just don’t know how this is possible.”

“Maybe its another thing with your element?” Spike offered.

“Really? Here hold this,” I said, handing the dragon my phone. I watched as the charging symbol disappeared, confirming Spikes suspicion. “That’s awesome!”

“What’s this mean now?” Spike asked as he tried to swipe the screen. Unfortunately, his claws didn’t register in the screen and luckily, they didn’t leave a mark.

“It means now we can listen to some bad-A music,” I chuckled, taking the phone and going into my music folder. If there were two things that I had a lot of on my phone, it was pictures and music. I had a few movies and a few cell games, but that was about it.

“Whats bad-A mean?” Spike asked innocently.

“I’ll tell you in a few years,” I said as the first song began to play.


*             *             *


“Thanks for watching Spike,” Twilight said as she made her way out with the sleeping dragon on her back.

“And thanks for the questionnaire,” I said as I held up the large stack of papers she had brought me. I couldn’t help but chuckle when she had handed it to me and the first thing she said was that she wanted it by Monday.

“Your welcome,” Twilight replied innocently. “I should be at the library all day tomorrow, so if you need anything, you know where to find me.”

“Of course Twi, see ya,” I replied as the mare left.

“Did Twilight just leave?” Fluttershy asked as she came into the hall. She had arrived a few hours ago, bearing some groceries for me.

“Yeah,” I replied as I gave the mare a kiss and picked her up.

“Chris,” Fluttershy giggled as I carried her into the living room. “Put me down.”

“Give me a second,” I chuckled as I placed her next to the fire place. A warm blaze having been started earlier. I quickly took a seat afterword and laid down, using the mare as a pillow.

“Comfy?” Fluttershy asked with a giggle, kissing my forehead.

“Defiantly,” I sighed, breathing in the flowery scent of the mare. “Your all soft and warm.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy sighed as we both continued to stare at the flames.

“You didn’t have to bring that food, you know,” I said a few minutes later. “I can go a few days off of water and cake. You don’t need to waste your money.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy told me, giving a smile. “I know you don’t have any bits, so I want to help.”

“Well, what do you want in return?” I asked, looking up with my own smile.

“Can we just stay like this?” Fluttershy asked, laying her head next to mine and kissing my cheek.

“Say no more,” I replied, looking into her eyes.  A few minutes later, her eyes closed and the rhythmic breaths of sleep overtook her.

Smirking, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and took a quick picture of the sleeping mare. With a few swipes and presses, my new wallpaper was of the sleeping mares face.

“Fascinating,” a voice suddenly said, causing me to jump to me feet in surprise.

“Princess Luna?” I quietly asked as I found the mare standing a few feet away. She actually looked a little larger now, and there was a slight sparkle to her mane.

“Verily,” the moon princess replied just as quietly. “We hath come to check on the’, as well as to partake in the moon pies.”

“Uh… they’re in the kitchen,” I said pointing in the direction.

“Huzza!” Luna chirped as she skipped away. Once she was gone, I bent back down and picked up the sleeping mare, deciding to let her sleep in my bed for the night.

After tucking the mare in, I looked back at the foot of the bed where Geralt lay.

“Make sure nothing messes with her, got it?” I told, giving the wolf a slight glare. He replied with a snort before laying back down.

Going back downstairs, I found Luna in the kitchen with a half empty tray of moon pies.

“These are most good,” the princess smiled with a mouth full of pie. “Who is the baker?”

“Pinkie Pie brought them from Sugar Cube Corner,” I told her as I took one for myself. I ignored the glare from the princess as I finished the treat and leaned against the counter. “Are those the only reason you’re here right now?”

“We must admit that there is more to our visit this night,” Luna sighed as she finished another pie. “Sister told us about your trouble from one night prior.”

“Oh,” I sighed with an uncomfortable look. “Had a bit of a break down.”

“It is understandable,” Luna replied as she moved over to me. “Would a hug make thou feel better?”

“Only a fool would turn down a hug from a princess,” I chuckled as she gave me a small hug. “Thanks.”

“Thout art welcome,” Luna replied as she pulled away from the hug with an odd smile. “We also have something else for thee.”

With a quick flick of her horn, a bag the size of a small melon appeared on the counter next to me. The jiggling of it letting me know what it was.

“I can’t take that,” I immediately replied.

“Stallions,” Luna sighed before fixing me with a stern glare. “Thout shall take it. Us and our sister hath thought about it and hath decided that thou needs something to start on. Even if thou hath acquired a form of paying work, thou will still need necessities.”

“I won’t owe anyone more bits, will I?” I asked with an uncomfortable sigh. Luna was right though, I needed a lot of things… and a toothbrush.

“It took some work, but we decided to take it from our nephews allowance,” Luna replied with a smile. “That pompous stallion had the nerve to try and lay us.”

I couldn’t help but choke slightly on my own saliva at the passive yet agitated tone Luna used to say that.

“Was he as much a pompous twat on thou world’s rendition of us?” Luna asked.

“Uh… if we’re talking about Blueblood, then yeah,” I replied with an uncomfortable shrug. “I mean, he actually used Ra-“

*Slip*

“Our mothers magic at work,” Luna giggled after I slipped and fell to the ground. “But it is good to know somepony that understands our strife.”

“Celestia only sees a misunderstood colt, doesn’t she?” I groaned while standing back up.

“Yes!” Luna replied with a heavy sigh. “She doth not see the atrocities he commits, using her name as a shield. We hath been home for but a week and already we see his horrid actions.”

“One, I know some good pranks you can pull on him,” I said, earning a big smile. “And two, we gotta work on your talking.”

“Sister hath said that we speak out of the common tongue,” Luna replied with a slight frown. “She hath said that we may have to take lessons.”

“I can help you if you want,” I said while pulling my phone out. It was only nine thirty and I was still wide awake. “I got a few hours before I was planning to go to bed.”

“Thou would?” Luna asked, surprised by my offer. “It is not too late for thee?”

“Humans have a bit of a mixed sleep schedule,” I replied. “People my age tend to stay up late and sleep in late. It’s usually when we are much younger or older that we sleep through the whole night.”

“For true?” Luna asked with a small glisten in her eye.

“Yeah,” I nodded, while waving for Luna to follow me. “Come on, you can tell me about the constellations while I help you with your speech.”

“Huzza!” Luna giggled, following me out the door and into the night.
> Chapter Five: "I have an Angel on one shoulder, and a Devil on the other. I'm also deaf in one ear."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was mad… and itchy.

Mostly itchy.

Apparently, yesterday was a prank day for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash and they slipped itching powered into all of my clothing. The only things I had that were powder free was a baby blue work shirt and white pants that Rarity had made me for work.

Luckily, Rarity said she would clean the clothing for me.

“I think you look nice,” Fluttershy said as we walked along through the market.

She was directing a small family of ducks through town and since it was my day off, there was no one I would rather spend the day with.

“They still owe me ten bits for the cleaning,” I grumbled. Something in the back of my head said that I should be looking out for something, but I was too pissed off… and itchy at the moment. “I’ve taken three showers and I’m still itchy!”

“Well… Pinkie Pie’s over there so, you can go talk to her if you want,” Fluttershy said as she pointed to the pink mare several yards away. Pinkie was sitting at a small table with a strawberry milkshake and a slightly conflicted look.

“I’ll be right back,” I said while moving towards the mare.

“Pinkie, you and Rainbow owe me ten bits!” I quietly snapped as I came up behind the mare. I was mad, but I didn’t want others involved.

“Oh, it’s just you, Chris,” Pinkie giggled. “Don’t scare me like that silly.”

“Ten bits Pinkie,” I repeated. “If it was just one shirt, I’d forget about it. But when you put it in everything, including my boots, I get pretty pissed.”

“Oh, sorry,” Pinkie sheepishly giggled while looking at something behind me. “Me and Rainbow kinda got carried away.”

“Yeah, well I still need te-“

“ROAR!!!!” something screeched, drawing my attention to something behind me. I turned just in time to see Fluttershy fly away in tears as a familiar griffon scoffed at the act.

“You bitch!” I shouted rushing forward and grabbing the griffons tail before she could fly off. “Oh no you fucking don’t!”

With a little more force than I intended to, I pulled back, slamming the mildly large griffon to the ground.

“What the buck?” the griffon groaned in a feminine voice.

“Did you just roar at my marefriend?!” I shouted at the griffon. Some would think I’m going overboard. But after being with the mare for over a week, that protective instinct was in full bloom and I was still pissed about the itching powder.

“What… the… buck?” the griffon questioned as she slowly got up, staring at me with shock. But that look quickly changed to anger as she growled at me, her eyes looking me up and down appraisingly. “You almost ripped my tail off you bucking ass!”

“And you just caused my marefriend to cry!” I shouted back. We were now creating a scene, but I really didn’t care. By this point, I remembered who I was yelling at, but I was still pissed about her actions towards Fluttershy.

No one makes Fluttershy cry; not if I have anything to say about it.

“I don’t give a buck about your marefriend,” Gilda scoffed. “She was too stupid to look where she was going, and apparently she goes out with strange looking things to.”

“Oh, you’re dead bitch!” I growled as I tried to lunge at her. Fortunately for her, a pair of gray hooves quickly stopped me.

That and I hadn’t been in an actual fight since high school.

“I’m out of here losers!” Gilda snapped as she quickly flew off, giving me a wink.

“Get back her bitch!” I shouted out. “I aint through with you.”

“Christopher!” a familiar voice called from behind me. “Please stop, you could get in trouble!”

“Fine!” I snapped, taking a few deep  breaths. A moment later, the hooves released me and I turned to find Derpy standing behind me shyly.

“Feeling better?” the mare asked as the surrounding ponies began to disperse.

“Not really,” I sighed heavily. I was still pissed, but another part of me was happy that someone had stopped me. “Thanks though.”

“No problem,” Derpy giggled. “I just don’t want you getting in trouble. Besides, you should go make sure your marefriend’s okay.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I sighed, trying to think of where she would fly off to. “I gotta go, but thanks again. I’d love to hang out some time.”

“You wanna hang out?” Derpy asked as I began to run off.

“Yeah!” I called back quickly. “I gotta go, catch ya later!”

I quickly rushed off in the direction of Fluttershy’s house, hoping that she was there. While I did move faster than I used to, I still held back so I didn’t suffer from magic exhaustion again. Even though I had been spending some time at the library, I still hadn’t learned how to control the magic.

“Fluttershy!” I called as I reached her house. My shout spooked several animals, but it also caught the attention of a certain rabbit. “Angel, is Fluttershy here?”

The rabbit shook its head after I asked, now looking worried himself.

“Do you know anywhere she could be?” I asked. The rabbit quickly pointed at me.

“And if she’s not at my house?” I asked back.

This time, Angle took his time to think before grabbing a stick. I continued to watch as the rabbit drew out Rarity’s shop.

“Okay, hopefully she’s at one of those two places,” I said, giving a quick scratch behind one of his ears before turning to leave. “I’ll be sure to slip you an extra carrot next time I’m here.”

Once again I ran back into town, this time stopping at my own house since it was closest. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there either; just Geralt and something charred and black that the wolf was chewing on.

Becoming a little winded now, I finally headed towards Rarity’s shop. Without even bothering to knock, I rushed into the shop, startling Rarity in the process.

“Oh, Chris!” Rarity said, shocked and slightly breathless. “You startled me.”

“Sorry,” I replied, slightly panting. “Is Fluttershy here?”

“Oh yes, the poor dear just flew right in and locked herself in my back room,” Rarity replied as she looked back towards said room with a worried expression. “What happened to the poor dear?”

“Some bitch went and scared her into tears,” I growled out.

“Chris, language,” Rarity chastised. “What if my sister had been here?”

“Sorry Rarity,” I sighed, moving towards the room. “I’ll take care of Fluttershy.”

“Of course dear, I’ll be out here if you need anything,” Rarity replied as I made it to the room.

As I got closer, I could hear the quit sobs of the mare inside. Each one just made me angrier towards Gilda, making me want to ring that chickens neck.

“Fluttershy? Its me, can you open the door?” I called into the room carefully. A few seconds later, the door gave a click and a butterscotch yellow blur rushed into my chest, sobbing quietly.

“Its okay, its okay,” I quietly reassured, brushing her mane while sitting down where I stood. “I promise that you have nothing to fear.”

“I-I d-didn mean too…” Fluttershy began to sob out.

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” I carefully interrupted. “That griffon was way out of line and she should have been the one apologizing to you.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked, looking at me with slightly red eyes.

“She was way out of line,” I reassured. “If something like that happens again, get me and I’ll take care of it, okay?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy sniffled as she gave me a quick kiss on the lips “Thanks for making me feel better.”

“What kind of coltfriend would I be if I didn’t?” I asked, kissing the mare’s forehead, relieved that it wasn’t that hard to help calm her down.

“I don’t know, what kind?” Pinkie Pie asked, popping out of nowhere.

“Pinkie!” I blurted out, falling backwards as Fluttershy jumped in another direction.

“I’m not a coltfriend silly,” Pinkie giggled as she stood in front of me with her blue saddlebags. “I’m a mare silly, and mares cant be coltfriends, only marefirends! *Gasp* but what if I was a coltfriend? Would that mean I’m actually a stallion? What if-“

“What do you need Pinkie?” I quickly interrupted.

“Oh, I wanted to give you these invitations!” Pinkie chirped, hoofing me and Fluttershy small envelopes. “They’re for the party I’m throwing for Rainbow Dash’s friend, Gilda.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be-“

“We’ll see you there, Pinkie,” I replied with a smile.

“Hurray!” Pinkie cheered. “It’s in three hours at Sugar Cube Corner, so don’t be late.”

“See ya there,” I smiled as the mare bounced off.

“But, Chris,” Fluttershy said, drawing my attention. “I don’t want to go there. I already don’t like parties that much, but I don’t think I can handle it if Gilda’s there too.”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” I said, pulling her in and giving her a quick kiss. “This is a party you don’t want to miss.”


*	*	*


“So, you two have met Gilda before,” Twilight began as we waited for Gilda to arrive at her party. “What’s she like?”

“Oh, um,” Fluttershy began to stutter, looking at me for an answer.

“She’s a character, I’ll tell you that,” I sighed with a roll of my eyes. My gaze was fixed on the bakery’s entrance, the sadistic part of me jumping for joy at seeing the griffon that made my marefriend cry get caught up in so many pranks.

“Uhm, Pinkie?” Fluttershy called as she walked up to the pink mare. “About this party for Gilda, uhm… do you really think it’s a good idea?”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about mean old, Gilda,” Pinky replied, patting Fluttershy’s head. “Auntie Pinkie Pie has it all taken care of!”

“But I’m a year older than you,” Fluttershy tried to reply as Pinkie bounced off.

“I got an uncle who’s only a year older than me,” I commented as I came up next to Fluttershy and scratched her behind the ear. “Family always said I was the more mature one though.”

“Gilda!” Pinkie called as the griffon entered the shop. “I’m so honored to be throwing you one of my signature Pinkie Pie parties, and I really, truly, sincerely, hope you feel welcome here amongst us pony folk.”

I watched in anticipation as Pinkie held her hoof out for a shake, and as expected, Gilda reached out and grabbed the hoof.

“Ah ha!” I chuckled out as the buzzer on Pinkie’s hoof did its thing, shocking the griffon and singing her fur.

“That’s not very nice to laugh at,” Fluttershy reprimanded me with a slight frown.

“It’s a prank, Fluttershy, you’re supposed to laugh at it,” Rainbow chuckled as she walked over to Pinkie and an agitated Gilda. “Oh Pinkie Pie, the old hoof-shake buzzer. You are a scream.”

“Yeah,” Gilda replied with an uncomfortable chuckle. “Uh, good one, Pinkie Pie.”

“Come on G, I’ll introduce you to some of my other friends,” Rainbow said as she began to walk off.

“Right behind you Dash!” Gilda called back, but instead, the griffon stuck back and began to speak to Pinkie Pie quietly. They stuck near the door way for a few moments, with Pinkie Pie pressing her face against Gilda’s before they separated.

“Everyone, I’d like you all to meet Gilda, a long-time, dear friend of Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie announced to the part, pulling the griffon into a hug. “Let’s honor her and welcome her to Ponyville.”

“Bitch,” I coughed out as most of the party cheered for her with welcome.

“That’s not very nice,” Fluttershy repeated.

“Fluttershy, she made you cry,” I told the mare as I watched Gilda head towards one of the snack tables. “Anyone that does that is horrible.”

“Hot!” Gilda shouted out as she breathed out a quick plum of flames. I couldn’t help but chuckled as Pinkie pulled out a marshmallow and stick.

“G, the punch!” Rainbow quickly called, chuckling under her breath.

Even Fluttershy giggled when Gilda rushed over and grabbed the one dribble glass of the bunch. From there, Gilda rushed over to a different table and grabbed a random cup and chugged it. I was going to rig those ones myself, but decided against it.

“Ha. Priceless. Priceless,” Rainbow laughed as this happened.

“Yeah,” Gilda groaned with a roll of her eyes. “Hilarious.”

“Hey G, look, presents!” Rainbow pointed out, indicating the table with several gifts.

Once again, Gilda fell for a gag as the first gift she took happened to be a can of snakes.

“Spittin’ snakes,” Applejack chuckled as we all began to laugh at the griffons puffed up feathers. “Hah, somepony pulled that prank on me last month.”

“I don’t think it’s nice how she keeps getting pranked,” Fluttershy commented with a slight frown.

“It’s purely coincidence Fluttershy, aside from the snakes, the pranks were for whoever,” I told the mare while trying one of the peppered lemon drops. It actually wasn’t that bad and tasted like a fire ball candy. “Why don’t you go make sure the bird choir is in sync?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said as she left with a little smile.

“Hey,” Gilda called, drawing my attention to her scowl, which switched to a smirk and a wink when she knew I was looking. “I’m watching you monkey.”

“Bring it, Chicken Wings,” I chuckled slightly uncomfortably, flashing the bird my teeth. “I’ve been itching for some deep fried chicken.”

The two of us proceeded to stare at each other as we growled. At one point, Gilda tried to puff her feathers on purpose and make herself look larger. Shows what she knew, cause all I had to do was tower over here.

She backed down first, so I think I won that one.

“Cake time everypony!” Pinkie Pie called out as she wheeled in a cake almost as big as her.

“Hey, can I blow out the candles?” Spike asked hopefully.

“Why don’t we let Gilda blow out the candles, Spike?” Twilight replied. “She is the guest of honor after all.”

“Exactly!” Gilda proclaimed as she pushed Spike away. Everyone watched as Gilda tried several times to blow out the candles, earning more laughs with each unsuccessful attempt.

“Re-lighting birthday candles, I love that prank,” Spike laughed. “What a classic!”

“Now, I wonder who could’ve done that?” Pinkie asked, earning a glare from Gilda.

“Yeah,” Gilda growled. “I wonder?”

“Mmm, who cares?” Spike said as he literally began to dig a tunnel through the cake. “This cake is amazing!”

“Spike!” Twilight chastised as the dragon popped up from the top.

“What? It’s great, try some,” Spike offered.

“Don’t mind if I do!” I chuckled out while taking a scoop using a big wooden spoon I found.

“Hey y’all, it’s pin the tail on the pony!” Applejack called out to the party. “Let’s play!”

I will admit. A part of me died at that moment, knowing that grown up individuales were playing a game meant for children.

Oh, the irony.

“Hey, what-“ Gilda began to complain as Spike wrapped a blindfold around her eyes. “What are you doing?!”

“We’re spinning you around and around and then you can pin the tail on the pony!” Pinkie chirped as she spun Gilda several times before stopping her abruptly. “Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail.”

“Now just walk strait and pin the tail,” Gilda mockingly said as she stumbled slightly before turning around, facing away from the poster. “Hmph, yeah. Right. This is another prank, isn’t it? I’m going this way.”

“Stay close to me, Fluttershy,” I said as I moved Fluttershy out of the path to the kitchen. No sooner had I done that, Gilda went sliding by and crashed through the door, causing ponies to laugh hysterically.

“Uh, Gilda?” Pinkie began as the griffon walked back in, covered in frosting and wearing the tail on her beak. “You pinned the tail on the wrong end.”

“This is your idea of a good time?!” Gilda roared as she snarled at Pinkie Pie, pressing her face against hers. “I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life. And Pinkie Pie, you! You are queen lame-o with your weak little party pranks. Did you really think you could make me lose my cool? Well, Dash and I have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together.

“Come on Rainbow Dash, we’re bailing on this pathetic scene,” Gilda said as she began to leave. Stopping only when she realized Rainbow wasn’t following. “Come on Rainbow Dash. I said we’re leaving.”

“Gilda, Pinkie didn’t set those pranks up,” I called out with a chuckle.

“So it was you then?!” Gilda growled as she flew towards me and grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt.

“Actually Gilda, I was-“ Rainbow began to say, but she and everyone else fell silent at what Gilda did next.

“I have never been so turned on!” Gilda proclaimed before forcing her beak against my lips.

You ever kiss a beak? Because that shit is boner shrinking weird.

Not because was hard, but because her beak was actually as soft as Fluttershy’s lips.

“YOU WHORSE!” a shout rang through the room as Gilda was tackled by a butterscotch yellow blur.

I could only stare in shock as Fluttershy proceeded to beat the crap out of the griffon. By the time anyone began to move again, one of Gilda’s wings was already broken and she seemed to be unconscious.

“Fluttershy, stop!” I called out, rushing forward and pulling the flailing mare off her victim. “She’s down, she’s down!”

“How dare that whorse touch my stallion without asking my permission!” Fluttershy shouted, acting completely out of character. I would have questioned what she meant at the end there, but I was more concerned with Fluttershy ending up in jail.

“We need to get her to the hospital!” one of the other party goers shouted as they looked over Gilda.

“Calm down Fluttershy, you gotta calm down,” I told the flailing mare again. I could see a small trail of blood leaking from the side of the griffons head. “Deep breaths Flutters, deep breaths!”

Once Rainbow Dash and several others had removed Gilda from the shop, Fluttershy began to calm down. But she was still breathing pretty heavily.

“How dare she touch you like that,” Fluttershy growled. “I’m the alpha mare.”

“Yes you are, Flutters,” I said, playing along with whatever she was saying. “You’re the alpha mare.”

“Yes I am!” Fluttershy said as she turned her head and forcefully pressed her lips against mine. Putting more passion into it than I have ever felt from her before.

“Oh, my!” Rarity said as she stood nearby fanning herself with a hoof.

“Wow,” I said a minute later as the mare pulled away with a happy sigh.

“What’s going to happen now?” Spike asked as I set Fluttershy back down.

“Well, Gilda will most likely be arrested once she wakes up,” Rarity sighed.

“Wait, what?” I asked, thinking I heard wrong.

“She kissed a taken stallion without permission,” Rarity replied. “I know there’s still a lot you don’t know, but that is a very bad thing to do without the permission of the alpha mare. It’s almost as bad as rape in some places.”

“What’s rape?” Spike asked, making me realize that he was the youngest here.

“Spike, go home,” Twilight told the dragon with a heavy sigh. “This isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“But Twilight?” Spike groaned.

“Spike, please?” I asked. “I’m pretty sure I have questions now that you are too young to know about at this time.”

“Fine,” Spike groaned. “But I’m going to the “Man Cave” instead. All my comics are there.”

“Fine,” I said as I pulled out my key and handed it to him. “Make sure Geralt is fed while you’re at it.”

“Whatever,” Spike sighed as he left. With him gone, the only ponies currently left in the shop were Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight.

“Okay, since he’s gone, can someone please tell me what the fuck just happened?” I almost begged.

“You tell us,” Applejack replied. “One minute, that griffon is shouting like a timber wolf got her tail, then she’s throwing herself at ya.”

“I have no idea!” I blurted back. “I thought I was yelling at her!”

“Princess Celestia taught me about the griffon kingdom,” Twilight said. “Just tell us what happened during your encounters with her.”

“Okay…” I said, thinking back to earlier. “I first met her this afternoon when I grabbed her tail…


*          *          *


“Okay, now ah’m confused,” Applejack said as she rubbed the back of her head. “If y’all had acted like that towards me, ah’d buck your face in.”

“That’s what I expected,” I replied as I finished my relatively quick story. “Hell, I kinda want to punch my own face now.”

“And you should,” Fluttershy said. “What you did was very mean.”

“I’m sorry Fluttershy,” I replied with a sigh, pulling the mare into a hug. “But when you ran off crying, I just snapped. No one makes you cry if I got anything to say about it.”

“Awww, that so sweet,” Rarity gushed.

“No, its not sweet,” Twilight groaned. “Half of what you did is considered flirting in the griffon culture.”

“What?” I asked, setting down Fluttershy.

“The tail pulling, asserting your dominance,” Twilight began to list. “But the worst was when you towered over her. She wasn’t trying to look big, she was showing herself off, its a griffon mating ritual!”

“How was I supposed to know that?!” I questioned loudly. “Besides, I told her I had a marefriend!”

“When you towered over her, you basically invited her into your herd!” Twilight shouted back.

“Okay, flag on the field,” I quickly said, throwing both arms up for a moment and tossing a nearby napkin on to the ground. “What’s this about a herd?”

“Chris, darling, remember how I said that the mare to stallion ratio is 8 to one?” Rarity asked.

“Wait, you cant mean…” I groaned out. I guess the signs had been there, but I had been trying to ignore it. “Ponies are polygamous, aren’t they?”

“In general, most species in Equestria are,” Rarity replied with a nod. “In smaller towns like Ponyville, you can usually tell more easily.”

“My parents are monogamist,” Twilight added for some reason.

“Mine too,” Fluttershy added, giving me a slight glare. I swear she was staring right into my soul. “And yours, Rarity.”

“Okay, so it’s a bit of a dying tradition with some ponies,” Rarity sighed. “But it’s still done.”

“So, where do we fall?” I asked, looking at Fluttershy.

“Oh… I was… I mean…” Fluttershy began to stutter as her face was beginning to glow. “I was kinda hoping… at one point…”

I honestly had no reply for that. Fluttershy basically just said she wanted a “herd” as they call it and a part of me didn’t. But I’d be lying if I said the idea wasn’t tempting.

“so, how are you going to respond?” a small voice asked drawing me to a mini me in full cammies and little horns on my left shoulder.

“Uh…” I mumbled, thinking my brain may have snapped.

“He’s going to do what’s right,” another me voiced from my right shoulder. He was smaller and wore just some regular clothing, but looked like he had his ass handed to him.

“How did you get out of your cage?!” the horned me demanded of the beat up me. “and what did you do to my guard shark Maverick?”

“You didn’t lock the cage and Maverick is a stuffed animal,” The beat up me replied blandly. “Now we should get back to the real discussion at hand.”

“That, I can agree with,” the horned me replied with a devious smirk. “Now back to the subject of multiple partners.”

“Uh…” I mumbled, sparing a look at the others, receiving slightly confused looks from them as well.

 “So, you wanna give your good boy spiel to him before I tell him all the positives of what’s being offered here,” horned me offered with a wave of his hand.

“Oh, you all for it too?” the other me replied in shock. “I thought you were gonna go all marine and recite some law or something.”

“I thought you were the good side?”  the horned one replied with a chuckle and a smile.

“Are you guys seeing this?” I asked, looking at the mares around me.

“See what?” Twilight asked as they all looked at me like I was crazy.

“The uh…” I began, looking back to my shoulders to find them empty. “Uh… never mind?”

“Chris, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked with concern.

“Uh, yeah…” I replied once I found my voice, deciding to blame what just happened on Pinkie Pie. “But is a herd what you really want?”

“Yes,” the mare replied quietly as she looked at the ground and kicked sheepishly.

“Uh…” I uncomfortably replied.

“I think this would be better discussed somewhere else, don’t you think?” Twilight asked, looking uncomfortable herself.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I sighed, looking at Fluttershy. “We should really start heading to the hospital.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked looking slightly ashamed.

“Because, I know you,” I told the little mare. “I’m sure you’re planning on making a basket and everything.”

“Well, I did break her wing…” Fluttershy replied with a slight frown.

“We also gotta settle this whole misunderstanding,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m sure this will be all just water under the bridge.”


*          *          *


“You whorse!” Fluttershy shouted as I held the surprisingly strong mare back.

“Bring it you tramp!” Glinda shouted back as Rainbow held her against the hospital bed. “I’ll show him what a real mate can do!”

“This was not how I planned for this to go!” I relayed to the shocked crowed.

The moment we had entered the room, Gilda and Fluttershy had started shouting at each other. It was only thanks to mine and Rainbows quick reflexes that both weren’t currently covered in the others blood. That and I had to drag Fluttershy into the room in the first place.

“We’re… just going to leave…” Rarity said uncomfortably as she began to push Twilight, Applejack and a bouncing Pinkie Pie out of the room.

“Don’t you dare leave me with these two!” I shouted towards the fleeing ponies, fear clearly showing in my eyes.

“This is my stallion, you got that!” Fluttershy yelled past me, causing my ears to ring.

“Well, you must be doing something wrong, because he seemed pretty interested in me,” Gilda smirked, finally pushing Rainbow aside. She had several bandages wrapped around her head and her back left wing was in a cast.

“Look, Gilda, I wasn’t trying to hit on you!” I said as I shifted my grip on Fluttershy. “I was pissed off at you for making Fluttershy cry and yelling at you!”

“In all the right ways big boy,” Gilda said in a sultry tone and giving me a wink.

“Not helping Gilda!” Rainbow Dash snapped as she glared at her old friend. “Chris probably had no idea what he was doing…”

“Which I didn’t!” I added as I used one hand to keep Fluttershy’s muzzle shut.

Dear sweet God this mare is stronger than she looks.

“See!” Rainbow said, pointing towards me.

“But… he towered over me…” Gilda replied with a slight bit of worry in her voice. “You don’t mix that up.”

“That’s what they do in griffon culture, G,” Rainbow replied as Gilda began to look downcast. Even Fluttershy began to calm down at this point. “That’s not how ponies… or humans I guess, do it.”

“Oh…” Gilda replied with a heavy sigh as she looked down at her claws.

“Look, I gotta go talk to the doc about something,” Rainbow sighed as the griffon continued to look at her claws. “I’ll be right back.”

“Et tu, Rainbow,” I sighed as Rainbow left the room. By this point, I had already let go of Fluttershy and the mare was watching Gilda.

“Uhm… I guess I should apologize… I guess,” Gilda muttered.

“That’s right,” Fluttershy nodded sternly.

“S-s-sorr…“ Gilda suddenly began to sob out. Suddenly, the griffon fell into full blown tears as whatever she tried to say became incomprehensible.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Fluttershy cried out as she rushed forward and wrapped the bawling griffon in a hug. “Its okay, just let it all out.”

“I-I thought… some-someone actually liked me!” Gilda cried as she returned Fluttershy’s hug. “All through flight school, the only one to ever talk to me was Rainbow Dash. Even the stallions never talked to me.”

“What. The. Fuck?” I asked myself at this complete one eighty that was going on.

“Am I too mean? Am I ugly?” Gilda began to ask Fluttershy as tears continued to fall down her face, her beak clicking lightly as she sobbed. Turned out the supposed eye shadow she had was completely natural.

“Oh, of course you aren’t,” Fluttershy assured, wiping away some of Gilda’s tears. “You’re a beautiful griffon, and anypony would be honored to be with you.”

“Really?” Gilda sniffled, looking between me and Fluttershy hopefully.

“Of course, right Chris?” Fluttershy asked, dragging me into the mine field.

I desperately wanted to shout “Frag out” and bail on the situation, probably even jump out the nearby window.  But I couldn’t just go and do that when I had a tear covered griffon and worried marefriend staring at me.

“Yeah,” I sighed, putting on a forced smile. “You are the most caring and beautiful griffon I have ever met.”

Granted, she was the first one I have ever met, but you don’t say those things out loud.

“O-oh…” Gilda replied as her cheeks began to glow pink.

“Feeling better?” Fluttershy asked the griffon, drawing a startled look from Gilda.

“Y-yeah… thanks,” Gilda replied as she looked back down at her claws. “And sorry… you know… for yelling at you in the market. I should have been paying attention and I went too far.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy replied with a small smile. “I wasn’t paying attention either… and I’m sorry for breaking your wing.”

“Never thought you had it in you, seeing as you wouldn’t even hurt a fly back in flight school,” Gilda chuckled before gaining a slightly hesitant look. “Fluttershy… now that we’ve settled that… can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Gilda,” Fluttershy replied with a smile. “What is it?”

“Can I… you know…” Gilda shrugged, fiddling with her blankets as she looked towards me a few times.

“Know what?” Fluttershy asked innocently. But I felt my heart in my throat as I fully realized what the griffon wanted to ask.

“Uhg… Can I join your herd?” Gilda groaned as her cheeks began to glow red with embarrassment.

“You want to join our herd?” Fluttershy chirped in shock. “Oh…my!”

“Oh… crap…” I mumbled under my breath.

“W-well… I don’t really know,” Fluttershy sheepishly replied as she tapped her two front hooves. “Me and Chris haven’t really talked about it and…”

“Oh…” Gilda replied with a downcast look. “Sorry for asking then.”

“But um…” Fluttershy began to reply before giving me a worried, yet hopeful look.

“Just… just do what you feel is right, Fluttershy,” I sighed while leaning against the wall, hoping the little mini me wouldn’t show up again.

“Okay,” Fluttershy nodded before looking back at Gilda with a smile. “Gilda, I would be honored to let you into our herd.”

“R-really?!” Gilda replied as she looked between the two of use with a wide smile. “Awesome!”

Without warning, Gilda grabbed Fluttershy and brought her into a deep kiss.

“Woah, what I miss?” Rainbow asked as she and a unicorn stallion in a lab coat.

“Dash, I’m in a herd!” Gilda replied proudly as she released a shocked Fluttershy.

“Uh… that’s great?” Rainbow replied as the doctor simply pushed past her with a sigh.

“Yes well, congratulations,” The doctor said off handedly as his horn began to glow. “Now please sit still so I can get a final scan of your wing.”

“So, what’s the verdict doc?” I asked as I watched the same glow around the stallions horn pass over Gilda’s broken wing.

“Well, unfortunately, griffons aren’t affected the same by pony healing magic as say a Pegasus,” the doctor sighed. “So it’s going to be a month for it to heal, a month and a half if you want to be safe. Although she doesn’t have a concussion luckily.”

“Wh-what?!” Gilda shouted in agitation, her one good wing flaring by instinct. “A month and a half?! Where the tartarus am I supposed to stay?!”

“Don’t worry, G,” Rainbow replied with a smile. “You can crash at my place!”

“My wing is broke dufus, I can’t even fly up to your house!” Gilda yelled at her friend.

“Hey, I was just trying to help!” Rainbow yelled back.

“Can you not yell in the hospital,” the doctor growled. “Its getting late and some of the other patients are trying to sleep.”

“So where am I supposed to stay?” Gilda asked. “I don’t have the kinda bits to stay in a inn the whole time.”

“I got plenty of room, thanks for asking,” I grumbled, drawing the griffon’s attention.

“Oh, Chris, that’s so nice of you,” Fluttershy chirped as she flew over and gave me a quick kiss.

“Sweet, then I can show you what I can do,” Gilda purred as she looked at me with half laden eyes.

“Uh…” I stared at the griffon a little flustered by what she said. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you, me and a night of getting to know each other properly,” Gilda replied as she licked her beak and gave me a wink.

“When you’re done flirting with each other, you can sign out at any time,” the doctor groaned as he left the room.

“I…uh, gotta go too,” Rainbow stuttered out as her face glowed slightly. “W-we can hang out tomorrow if you want, G. See ya.”

In the speed she was most known for, Rainbow was out of the room and probably out of the hospital.

“Uhm… Gilda,” Fluttershy finally voiced. “About what you were saying…”

Thank god, I don’t think I’m ready for what she wants.

“…you won’t get pregnant will you?” Fluttershy asked, causing me to stumble on my own feet.

“Don’t worry, I know most of the rules,” Gilda replied with a wave of her claw. “I’m not in season yet.”

“What the hell?!” I shouted out, looking between the two. “Shouldn’t you be against this, Fluttershy? I mean… we haven’t even been… you know.”

“I don’t mind,” Fluttershy replied with an innocent smile. “I want our first time to be special. If somepony else just wants to waste it on a one night thing with you, I don’t mind.”

“Wow, way to try and guilt trip me,” Gilda replied while giving the innocent looking mare a slight glare.

“Can we just get out of here already?” I asked in a defeated tone. I was almost positive that I would end up sleeping with Gilda tonight and yet… I was terrified.


*          *          *


“You live here?” Gilda asked as me, her and Fluttershy arrived at my front door. “I didn’t expect it to be this big.”

“You say that now…” I quietly said to myself. I had surrendered myself to what was going to happen, but that just brought horrid doubts to mind as my anxiety kicked in.

“Thanks, the princesses got it for me,” I replied with a smile, opening the door for the two. “The rents not that bad either compared to what I’ve seen.”

“Wait, so Rainbow wasn’t lying when she said that she knew the princesses?” Gilda asked as she wondered into the living room, her eyes snapping onto the painting over the fireplace. Luckily, I had got some furniture with the bits Luna gave me, so I now had a couch, love seat and lazy boy set up around a small coffee table. That was about it though, seeing as I only just started living here.

“Woof!” Geralt barked as he rushed in to the room and started growling at Gilda threateningly.

“What the buck?!” Gilda shouted as she flared her good wing.

“Down, Geralt!” I snapped at the wolf, throwing a small ball he left lying around at him. “Gilda’s gonna be staying here from awhile!”

“What the buck is that thing?!” Gilda asked as she watched Geralt chase after the ball. I found out that he acted more dog than wolf, and it honestly confused me.

“That’s, Geralt, Christopher’s pet Everfree wolf,” Fluttershy said as she went ahead and took the ball when Geralt returned with it, throwing it again.

“That’s so cool,” Gilda smirked as she watched Geralt rush off.

“Hey Chris, welcome back,” Spike said as he entered the room, a comic in hand. “How did everything go at the hospital?”

“Everything’s been taken care of,” I sighed while falling back into the lazy boy, the stool popping out as I leaned back. “For now at least.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Gilda snapped as she took a seat on the couch, which I had placed to the right of the lazy boy. Everything was set to face the fire place, which was empty right now.

“Nothing, sheesh,” I sighed as Fluttershy flew up and landed on my chest with a giggle.

“Well… I guess I’ll be going,” Spike said as he made his way for the door after returning my key, eyeing Gilda with a confused look. “See you guys later.”

“See ya, Spike,” I called back as I heard the front door open and close.

“So, now what?” Gilda asked as the light from outside slowly began to fade.

“Dinner, I guess,” I replied off handedly while staring off into space and petting Fluttershy’s mane. “I got a small supply of meat Fluttershy here got me from her supplier.”

“You eat meat?” Gilda asked me with a surprise look.

“Humans are omnivores,” I replied with a shrug. “What about griffons?”

“Mostly carnivorous,” Gilda replied. “But there are some fruits we can eat. Like apples and pineapples. I personally like pineapples the most.”

“You gonna stick around for dinner, Fluttershy?” I asked the mare on my chest. I really hoped she said yes, because that meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about Gilda that much longer.

“I need to go back home, sorry,” Fluttershy sighed as she reluctantly got off my chest. Although she did brush her tail across my crotch and face as she did.

“Want me to walk you home?” I asked as I followed the mare to the front door. This was my latch ditch effort, so all I could do was hope.

“No, I’ll be okay,” Fluttershy replied before floating up and pulling me into a deep kiss. Like every time before, she would brush her tongue over my canines, her body giving a shudder with each pass.

“Uh… are you going to continue doing this in front of the door or…” Gilda questioned, draw an embarrassed squeak from Fluttershy as the mare pulled away.

“I-I’m going to go now,” Fluttershy stuttered as she gave me a final peck on the cheek. “Have fun tonight!”

“Oh, he will,” Gilda purred as I felt her tail brush against my crotch. I could only watch as Fluttershy left, leaving me to what was to come.

mommy...


*	*	*


*Knock knock knock*

“Chris, darling, are you awake?” Rarity called just outside my front door. I knew she was here to drop of my clean cloths and a new work outfit, but I also guessed that she would want the dirt on what happened after she and the others left. The thought of how she might act made me chuckle before I decided to open the door.

“Good morning, Rarity!” I bellowed out joyously while pulling my door open for the mare. Luckily, I had already put the pants I left in the kitchen back on, so Rarity wasn’t forced to see things she didn’t need to. “Come in, come in.”

“My, aren’t we energized this morning,” Rarity giggled as she made her way into my living room. Once there, she immediately began to empty out the saddlebags at her sides, placing all of my clothing on the coffee table. “I take it yesterday’s whole misunderstanding was settled?”

“All water under the bridge,” I smiled as I went back to what I had been doing before Rarity had arrived. “Want some pancakes?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose,” Rarity replied as she followed me to the kitchen. “But I wouldn’t mind one or two before I had to go.”

“Help yourself,” I said as I placed several extra pancakes on a plate for her. From there, I placed her plate on a small table I had on one side of the room. I hadn’t bothered with any chairs yet, seince it was low enough for ponies to sit and eat comfortably.

I just sat on my counter.

“Oh, is Fluttershy here as well?” Rarity asked as she noticed the other plate I had set out.

“Nope,” I replied while stuffing one of my pancakes into my mouth. It was okay, but I should have cooked them longer.

“What smells so good?” Gilda’s rough voice suddenly called out as the griffon limped into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around the top of her head.

Yes, I said limped. Why else would I be so happy right now?

“Oh, uh… Gilda, I’m surprised you’re here,” Rarity said with a hint of shock and confusion. “May I ask why you are here?”

“I needed a place to stay while my wing heals,” Gilda replied off handedly as she began to eat her meal. “Besides, after last night, I may never want to leave.”

“Why, whatever do you mean?” Rarity questioned, looking at Gilda with slightly worried eyes.

“Herd mate,” I simply replied as I stuffed an entire pancake into my mouth. But it didn’t stay there long as the shocked look on Rarity’s face made me spit it out so I could laugh.

“S-so the limp?” Rarity stuttered out as she looked between the two of us.

“Ooh Rah!” I shouted out with a proud smile, chuckling when I noticed the annoyed look Gilda was giving me.

“Oh… my,” Rarity blushed as she began to fan herself with a hoof. “I-I never expected Fluttershy to be so open about it so soon, and with somepony that’s a complete stranger.”

“Meh, I aint complaining,” Gilda shrugged as she ate.

“So, how was he?” Rarity suddenly asked, causing me to choke on my food.

“Amazing!” Gilda gushed with a wide smile. “I got off several times, easy.”

“No!” Rarity gasped, looking at me in shock. Although, I couldn’t be sure since I suddenly couldn’t look anyone in the eye.

“Yes!” Gilda replied with a grin. From there, she went on to explain everything we did, in explicit detail.

“Igottagotowork!” I shouted out, not wanting to hear her description of last night. I was there and I didn’t even believe it. Rushing out of the kitchen, I entered the living room and quickly grabbed my new work shirt and made my way out of the house.
> Chapter six: “Can’t find a door, make your own!”
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“… and so I had to scrub out the mud baths because of it,” I shivered while talking to my walking companion. “The only good thing was they let me off early because of it.”

“I could have gone my whole life without hearing that a pony would do that,” Spike replied as he gave me an annoyed stare. “Why in the name of Equestria would you even tell me that?!”

“Because you asked me what I did today,” I chuckled, flashing him a shit eating grin.

I had found Spike on his way to my house after he had finished doing some work with Twilight. After he explained that Twilight gave him a mustache, I knew that the rest of the day was going to be interesting.

There was just one thing that had thrown me off slightly.

“I still don’t get why someponies like mustaches,” Spike complained while itching his chin. “It was itchy and felt weird.”

“It’s an acquired thing, I guess,” I replied while feeling my smooth face. For some reason, Spike actually hated the mustache and I actually found him with it still on. 

Luckily, Aloe was willing to cut it off for him when we stopped by quickly.

“Then why don’t you grow one?” Spike asked as the town square came into view. “I thought you said that you always grow hair there?”

“I shave it,” I replied. While my hair growth seemed to have slowed significantly, it still happened. So out of the two and a half weeks I’ve been here, I’ve only had to shave twice to get the smooth feeling.

The only downside I had with it was that I had to use a straight edge razor.

“Makes me glad that I don’t grow hair,” Spike said as we came upon a growing crowed in the square. “Hey, what’s going on here?”

“I don’t know,” I lied as I looked for the others, a familiar looking stage sitting in the middle of the crowd. “But Twilight and the others are over there. Let’s go ask them.”

“Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” a blue coated mare called out as we made our way over, a stream of fireworks flared from behind her star covered purple cloak. “Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”

“My, my, my! What boasting!” Rarity complained as me and Spike joined the group. I quickly kneeled down and gave my marefriend a hug and kiss as she walked up beside me.

“There’s nothing wrong with being talented, is there?” Twilight asked as she looked to all of us in worry. I already knew what she was worried about, but this was also an important lesson for her to learn.

“Nothin’ at all,” Applejack replied. “’cep’n when somepony goes around showin’ it off like a school filly with a fancy new ribbon.”

“I’ll have you know, I paid good bits for that ribbon,” I joked, earning some giggles from the surrounding ponies.

“Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us,” Rarity added, glaring at me slightly.

“Preach!” I quietly chuckled, earning a small shove from Fluttershy. Although she giggled at it, so I knew she found it funny.

“Especially when ya got me around being better then the rest of us,” Rainbow added with a smirk. But the glares she received from the rest of us caused it to fall and sift into awkward chuckles. “Eh, I mean, yeah… uh, magic shmagic. Boo!”

“Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience,” Trixie’s high-pitched voice called out as she pointed a hoof towards our group. “Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?”

“Just who does she think she is?” Rarity quietly asked as she blew a raspberry.

“So, “Great and Powerful Trixie”!” Rainbow suddenly yelled at the mare. “What makes you think you’re so awesome, anyways?!”

“Hey, why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has the magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded ursa major!” Trixie proclaimed as a shower of sparks and fanfare went off behind her once more. I couldn't help but feel impressived as she made a picture of a bear out of one of the fireworks contrails.

“When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to,” Trixie began to proudly explain as she edited the image to fit her story. “But the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic, and sent it back to its cave, deep within the Everfree forest!”

“At least one thing she said is true,” I mumbled to myself. I hated when people were obvious liars, especially when it puts others in danger. But Trixie didn’t know that, and if I interfered, I could end up just making things worse.

I continued to watch as Trixie showboated to the whole crowd. She strung Applejack up like a young bull at a rodeo, spun Rainbow Dash like a top with her own rainbow and made Rarity rush off in tears with a swamp green mane.

“Come on, Twilight,” Spike begged as Trixie brushed her hoof against the gem of her cloak. “You’re better than her, I know it!”

I merely gave a heavy sigh, having decided days ago that I would do my best not to interfere with Twilight’s lessons.

“Perhaps you are still unsure of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s power!” the boastful mare shouted out to the crowd, re-drawing my attention. “What about you, strange ape, what can you do?”

“Scratch my ass and eat bananas?” I chuckled.

“Come now!” Trixie laughed openly with a smirk of her own. “Everypony is good at something. Come show the crowd so Trixie can show that she is better.”

“Might as well,” I couldn’t help but chuckle while getting up on the stage. Moving forward, some ponies tried to stop me, but I would simply tell them it was fine and that this was just how these kind of shows are supposed to go.

“So monkey, what can you do?” Trixie asked as I made it onto the stage.

“Uh… I guess I’ll do what I do best,” I replied with a shrug before beginning my act.

Completely ignoring her, I looked out at the crowd instead. Everyone seemed to stare at me with mixed reactions, some curious, some worried and even a few with disgust. But I was more focused on finding the lovely eyes of my marefriend.

“Fluttershy look, I’m on stage, I’m on stage!” I loudly proclaimed while jumping up and down and waving both of my arms in the air. “I’m gonna be FAMOUSE!”

“What in the name of Celestia are you doing?” Trixie questioned, drawing my curious eye.

“Huh? Oh, nice hat!” I said while plucking the pointed hat of the mare’s head and placing it onto mine, making sure it was oddly askew. “Quick, someone find me a broom!”

“What is he doing?” a random pony questioned, drawing similar responses from several others.

“Uh, Chris… what are you doing?” Fluttershy asked as she flew up next to me with a slightly worried look.

“Hey, Fluttershy! Like mah hat?” I asked looking at the mare while pulling the hat down with both hands at the same time and puckering my lips. “It’s currently all the rage!”

“Trixie see’s what you are doing!” Trixie suddenly snapped, taking her hat back with her magic. “And she will not play at such a crude level.”

“Why, are you stuck on level one too?” I asked with concern. “That stupid bandicoot never jumps when he’s supposed to, right?”

“Idiotic ape!” Trixie snapped with an annoyed stare. “Trixie said she would not act like a buffoon, as you are.”

“Acting?” I asked looking at myself. 

This actually drew some laughs from the crowd as Trixie began to huff in annoyance.

“Fine then, Trixie will show you why she is the ‘great and powerful Trixie’!” the show mare shouted as she noticed how much more attention I was getting. The mare tried to take a step forward, but quickly tripped on her own cape and face planting on the ground. “Owwie, I got a booboo!”

What followed was pure comedy and idiocrasy gold.

What I saw brought tears, laughs and confusion to everyone in attendance.

It was like watching the Three Stooges meets Will Ferrell meets Adam Sandler meets Deadpool.

“Damn…” I said in my mock voice of Kirk Lazarus from Tropic Thunder, felling to my knees in defeat. “Should’a gone full retard.”


*	*	*


Standing in my living room, I watched through my front window as ponies went home for the day, wondering when the main event for the day would actually happen while going over the days events in my head once again.

“RAWWWWW!” something roared from outside a few moments later, shaking the whole house.

“What the buck was that?!” Gilda shouted as she rushed into the room.

“Oh, it’s just an Ursa minor,” I said while looking for the colossal bear. “As long as everyone remains calm, Twilight… will…”

“Dude… Ursa minors are blue,” Gilda said as she joined me by the window, worry beginning to develop in her voice as we both noticed the large purple bear . “That thing isn’t blue!”

“Crap!” I growled out as I saw the giant constellation bear enter the towns edge. That thing was a lot bigger than an Ursa minor and I couldn’t remember if the town suffered any real damage in the show.

But this thing could easily kill dozens with a single step.

“I have to go make sure no one gets hurt!” I told Gilda as I made my way towards the front door.

“I’m coming too!” Gilda proclaimed as she made to follow.

“No, your wing is still on the mend,” I quickly replied, pointing towards her cast. “Stay here and watch the house. If that thing makes its way over here, just leave the house and get to safety.”

“Stupid wing!” Gilda growled as I rushed out the front door. As I began to run towards the commotion, I was quickly followed by Geralt, who had been out in the backyard.

“Quick, everypony get to the farm cellars!” I heard Applejack’s voice called out as I made it to the town square. All over the town, ponies were running around in a panic as the Ursa Major continued to roar in agitation. Even though I was still a few blocks away from it, the creature still towered high over all the entire town.

It made my head spin with how tall it was.

“Run for your lives!” a terrified Trixie shouted as she ran past me and around a building.

“Christopher, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked as she suddenly popped up out of nowhere. “Its dangerous out here! You need to get somewhere safe until the royal guard show up.”

“People are in danger, Twilight!” I quickly replied, never taking my eyes off the towering monstrosity. “We need to ensure everyone got out of their homes safely.”

“That’s very admirable,” Twilight replied, looking at me with a smile.

“It’s what has to be done,” I simply replied, worried about the town. “I need you to distract the major with your magic, draw it away from homes or the town if possible. I’ll gather who I can and make sure the houses closest to it are clear.”

“B-but… what can I do?” Twilight stuttered, a terrified look in her eyes. “It’s an Ursa Major, I don’t know any spells that can do anything.”

“Twilight, you’re an amazing magic user,” I told the mare, giving her a reassuring grin. “If anyone can get that thing away from the town, it’s you.”

“R-right!” Twilight said, forcing a determined look into her eyes. “I’m on it!”

Without waiting to see where the mare went, I rushed towards the direction the ursa was. Before I even realized it, I already had a small group with me as we began to clear the houses closest to the monstrosity.

I’m glad we did too, because a few families and foals thought it would be safer waiting it out either in their own basements or under their beds. None of that would help if the entire building came down.

“There’s one building left,” Rainbow Dash shouted as she held onto a trembling filly. I quickly looked at the building Rainbow was indicating and immediately became worried. The Ursa was just a couple dozen yards away from the building and while Twilight's magic was doing wonders to keep the Ursa distracted, it was beginning to head for the building.

“I’ll check there,” I quickly told Rainbow before rushing towards the building. “You get that filly to her family!”

“Got it!” Rainbow shouted back as she flew off.

As I got closer to the building, it became harder and harder to run because of the earth shaking steps of the ursa. But that wouldn’t stop me from making sure that no one was still in the building.

“Hello, is anyone in here!” I shouted after forcing the door open. “If there’s anyone inside, please say something!”

“Help!” a young voice shouted out as the entire house shook violently.

“Keep talking so I can find you!” I called out as I quickly made my way through the small house.

“In here!” the voice called, directing me. “Please hurry, my mommy hurt her head!”

I quickly found myself inside what had once been a living room, but the shakes had caused everything to fall over.

“Please, my mommy wont wake up!” a young unicorn filly cried as she drew my attention to her and a motionless Derpy.

“Derpy!” I quickly said as I rushed over to the two. It looked like something had fallen off a shelf and hit her on the head, simply knocking her out.

“Is she going to be okay?” the filly, most likely Derpy’s daughter Dinky, cried openly.

“Don’t worry,” I assured the filly as I quickly scooped the two of them up in my arms. “She’s just unconscious, she’ll be fine once we get her to a doctor.”

“T-th-thank you,” Dinky cried as she buried her face into my chest. From there, I quickly made my way out of the house, only to freeze as I made it outside.

“Christopher, don’t move!” Twilight shouted as me and the Ursa Major began our staring match. The beast stood just several yards away, leaning over and looking right down at me. It was like the scene from Jurassic Park where the T-rex stared down at its intended victim, and like the movie, I knew it was going to strike.

The only question was when.

…

…

Maybe I could just wait her...

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Dinky shrieked as she noticed what towered over us.

“Crap!” I cursed as I put everything into getting away from the striking zone. Just as I cleared the houses threshold, the ursa’s paw came crashing down, demolishing the house and sending a large amount of debris right towards use.

“Fuck!” I shouted as I dropped to the ground, using my body as a shield for the other two.


*	*	*


“And stay out!” Celestia shouted as she flung a bruised and beaten Ursa Major back into the Everfree Forest. The moment she heard word of the Ursa attack, she rushed out of the castle before anyone could stop her.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight's voice rang out, drawing the solar princess’s attention to the building that was demolished mere moments before her arrival.

“Twilight!” Celestia called back with a relieved smile. She was unable to stop herself from flying down and scooping the small mare up in her hooves. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I came as soon as I-“

“Princess, we have to save them!” Twilight shouted as she pushed out of Celestia’s grasp and pointed towards a large pile of rubble nearby. “There are ponies trapped under there!”

“Stand aside Twilight,” Celestia advised so as to not cause her student to see something in case the worst happened. But when she used a spell to check on whoever was inside, an even greater surprise greeted her.

“By my father’s beard…” Celestia breathed as she used her magic to open up a segment of the pile.


*	*	*


“How bad is it… wait don’t tell me, I’ve probably been run through haven’t I?” I quickly asked once I heard the tell tell signs that someone had made an opening. I didn’t dare open my eyes incase either I failed to save them or I was grievously wounded. “Just please make sure the other two are okay.”

“Open your eyes…” Celestia’s voice range from next to my head in a monotone voice. “Idiot.”

“Huh?” I dumbly replied as I opened my eyes to a surprising scene.

I was currently on my hands and knees with Dinky and Derpy laying under me, both of whom were awake and looking up at me with looks of shock and disbelief.To my left, about four feet away, stood Celestia with a completely dumbfounded look in her eyes.

But all around us was a strange gray mist, forming a barrier that kept all the surrounding debris at least three feet away from me.

“Who uh… who put up the weird barrier?” I questioned while getting off my hands. Reaching out, I received another surprise when I found that I could actually manipulate the fog with my hands. “Cool.”

“Chris, stop messing around with your magical residue and get those two out of there,” Celestia groaned.

“Huh… uh, okay…” I replied as I scooped the two ponies up again and carried them out through the opening Celestia had made. No sooner had I stepped out then the entire pile collapsed in upon itself.

“Thank goodness you’re all okay!” Twilight shouted as she rushed over to us. “I’m so sorry that happened! The ursa suddenly stopped paying attention to me and I tried to keep it distracted but…”

“It’s okay Twilight,” I replied while placing Derpy and Dinky on the ground. “Things would have been a lot worse without your distractions.”

“I’m quite proud of you, my precious student,” Celestia added as she looked at Twilight with a warming smile.

“O-our home?” a quiet voice said, drawing our attention to the mother and foal. Both were looking at the ruins of what had once been their home in horror as tears began to develop in both of their eyes.

“Where are we going to sleep tonight mommy?” Dinky began to sob out. “And what about Miss Snuffles and Mr. Gob Gobs?”

“Don’t worry my little ponies,” Celestia said as she brought the two homeless ponies into a hug with her wings. “Not only is the capital going to be paying for all repairs and damages, but I know the perfect place for you two to stay at.”


*	*	*


“Are you sure you both want to stay in just one room?” I asked as I set the small box of belongings down in one of the free rooms of my home.

Even if Celestia hadn’t, I would have offered the two a place in my home. While the ursa had done a lot of damage at the edge of town, Derpy and Dinky were the only ones to actually lose their home in the incident.

“This will be fine,” Derpy said as she looked back at her sleeping daughter on her back. “I really don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing at all,” I said while leading the two to my own room. It was decided that the two would be using my bed until we could get something for them. “Like Princess Celestia said, there’s plenty of room here.”

“Well, thank you once again,” Derpy smiled as she tucked Dinky into the bed.

“If you need anything, I’ll be downstairs,” I said before beginning to walk out of the room.

“Actually, do you mind if I come down too?” Derpy asked as she began to follow me out. “Doctor said I need to stay awake for a little while.”

“Sure, come on,” I said while leading the way down to my living room. Once there, I joined Fluttershy on my lazy boy, the mare too afraid to sleep at her own home tonight because of the Ursa.

“Hello Fluttershy,” Derpy greeted my marefriend as she went ahead and sat on the love seat. She probably would have sat on the couch, but Gilda was currently sprawled out on it, fast asleep.

“Hello, Derpy,” Fluttershy replied as she laid down on my chest. She had a sorrowful expression as she looked at the gray mare. “I’m sorry about what happened to your home.”

“Dinky is safe, and that’s all that matters,” Derpy sighed as she looked towards me. “I really don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“There’s no need to worry about that,” I replied as my hand absentmindedly brushed Fluttershy’s mane. “What happened was very traumatic, so I say just take some time off and spend it with Dinky.”

“I will,” Derpy nodded. “My boss actually gave me a couple days off to get better.”

“What are you going to do about your house?” Fluttershy asked with concern.

“I really don’t know…” Derpy sighed as she looked down as her ears laid flat on her head. “The place was a rental to begin with and the owner doesn’t even live in Ponyville. I don’t know if I can afford another place.”

“Stay as long as you need,” I told the down-trodden mare. “Princess Celestia basically gave this place to me for a steal and it’s way too big for me alone.”

“Ass…” Gilda suddenly grumbled as she threw a couch pillow at me.

“O-oh… hello miss… Gilda?” Derpy haphazardly greeted.

“Who the buck is she?” Gilda asked as she glared at the other mare.

“Gilda, that’s mean,” Fluttershy reprimanded with a stern glare. It was kinda weird because she was always stern or slightly aggressive towards Gilda, yet her shy timid self around everyone and everything else. I asked her about it once and she told me that she had to be, since she was the alpha mare of the small herd. “Derpy and her filly just lost their home, so they’ll be staying here for some time.”

“Oh, wow… sorry,” Gilda apologized with a slight wince. “Was it because of the Ursa major?”

“It’s okay,” Derpy shrugged. “and yeah.”

“Okay?” Gilda suddenly questioned with an annoyed look. “You just lost your home, you should be angry!”

“I-I don’t like getting angry…” Derpy winced. “It never really solves anything.”

“Still better than holding it in I always say,” Gilda shrugged as she got up off the couch and looked around. “How did the thing even wind up here?”

“Two retards decided the they wanted to see that traveling show mare take it on,” I replied, ignoring the glare Fluttershy sent me. “Little nimrods thought they wouldn’t get in trouble for it, but I wasn’t having that shit.”

“How did you even know it was them?” Derpy asked, looking confused.

“I have my ways,” I replied, giving Fluttershy a quick wink. “Besides, most ponies thought it was Trixie’s fault before I set that straight.”

That was one thing I had decided to change, seeing as half the town literally wanted to arrest the mare when all she did was her job.

“It was really surprising when Princess Celestia said that Trixie had gone to the same school as Twilight,” Fluttershy commented.

“Huh, okay,” Gilda accepted with a simply shrug before giving me a deviant grin. “That mean I should expand my nest for two?”

“I slept on sticks and twigs during my Marine Corps training,” I replied with a fixed glare. “I will not go back!”

“Your loss,” Gilda replied as she left the room. “Good night.”

“Wow… so the rumors are true,” Derpy said after a few moments of silence.

“What rumors?” Fluttershy asked as she placed her front hooves on my chest and sat up.

“That you were making a herd,” Derpy replied with a light blush. “And that you actually invited a griffon into it on the first day.”

“Well… she asked,” Fluttershy meekly replied with her own growing blush. “She’s actually really nice when you get to know her.”

“Gilda… nice? We talking about the same griffon here?” I chuckled, receiving a light smack from Fluttershy.

“Yes she is,” Fluttershy giggled. “She’s actually helped me feed some of my animals a few times.”

“And here I was wasting my time with work,” I chuckled, earning giggles from the other two.

We spent the next half an hour simply talking about day to day things. Derpy was apparently surprised to hear that I was working at the spa, and I was equally surprised to hear that the mare actually had three jobs to support herself, Dinky and all the repairs she had to pay for whenever she crashed into something.

I honestly hopped she wouldn’t have to worry so much about that with her staying at my home.

“…and I hopped back up and-“ I was saying, retelling a story from my highschool days. But a sharp knocking at my door interrupted me and drew my attention.

“It’s almost midnight, who the hell could that be?” I grumbled as I got out of my chair and went for the door. I didn’t even bother putting Fluttershy down as I cradled the mare in one arm and answered the door.

"Jefferson's cheese shop," I answered. "We got the cheese and we love to cut it."

“Good evening, Christopher,” Twilight greeted, fighting against a laugh as Princess Celestia stood just behind her. “Oh, and hello Fluttershy!”

“Eep!” Fluttershy chirped as she jumped out of my arm and zoomed off to the living room, earning a chuckle from me.

“Evening Twilight, Celestia,” I nodded, moving to the side so the two could come in. “Is there a reason that you’re here so late?”

“We wanted to check on you,” Twilight as the two walked in. But her obviously forced smile told me something else was going on. “What happened was a very trama-“

“I need you to come to Canterlot,” Celestia interrupted with a stern tone. “I was willing to let things pass when your ‘magic’ was only affecting your physical body passively. But with it having actually affected the environment like it did earlier, I need you to come to Canterlot and be properly trained on how to control it.”

“What?” I asked as I noticed Derpy and Fluttershy looking on from a nearby doorway. “Why can’t I just get Twilight or someone else to teach me?”

“Because your magic is also closely tied to your element by what I could sense,” Celestia replied. “If you were to have a magical burst or fluctuation, I doubt even my precious student could stop you before somepony got hurt.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I sighed while rubbing the back of my neck. “When do I need to go?”

“I was planning to take you with me now,” Celestia replied evenly.

“Can it at least wait until tomorrow… or in a few hours?” I asked a little off put by how soon she wanted me to just suddenly go to the nation’s capital. “I need to prepare.”

“Fine…” Celestia sighed as she used her magic to summon a golden ticket. “This will allow you to ride the train at any point for you and two others. I expect you to at least be on the noon departure.”

“Thank you Princess,” I said as I took the ticket in hand.

“I need a cake,” Celestia grumbled as she pushed past me and headed towards the kitchen.

“How long are you going to be gone for?” Fluttershy asked as she came out and nuzzled my side.

“It shouldn’t be longer than a week,” Twilight replied with a slight frown. “I am sorry though Chris. I tried to convince the Princess that I could teach you, but she’s very admit about you going to Canterlot to learn.”

“It’s okay, Twilight, I understand,” I replied, giving the mare a quick ear scratch. To be honest with myself, I was a little nervous about going though. Ponyville may have somewhat accepted me, but I could already see the problems I would face in Canterlot.

“Um, Fluttershy?” I called, looking down at the mare.

“Yes?” she replied with concern.

“I was actually wondering if you wouldn’t mind going with me?” I asked a little nervously. I doubted Fluttershy would want to go, but I really did want to spend some quality time with the mare. “If you want to, that is.”

“Oh… I guess I could,” Fluttershy meekly replied. “But I have to find somepony to feed the animals while I’m gone… maybe Gilda would?”

“Me and Dinky could do that for you,” Derpy offered with a smile. “I think Dinky would like seeing your animals as well.”

“I guess that works…” Fluttershy hesitantly replied. “But if you need any help, Rainbow Dash and Gilda know what to do.”

“I will, thank you,” Derpy replied as she gave Fluttershy a quick hug.

“Are you going to invite anyone else?” Twilight asked me.

“Actually, Twilight…”


*	*	*


“…and I can show both of you the best places to hang out!” Spike proclaimed as the train continued to coast up the mountain.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Fluttershy timidly replied. “Do you know anywhere were there aren’t a lot of ponies?”

“There’s a small coffee shop I know that I think you would like Fluttershy,” Spike replied before looking at me with a smile. “Thanks for inviting me, Chris!”

“I’m just surprised that Twilight said it was okay,” I chuckled as I lay across a few seats.

“Twilight has been saying I need to get out more,” Spike mused.

“Isn’t that ironic,” I openly laughed as the other two followed.

After a few minutes of laughing, we recollected ourselves and watched as the mountain city drew closer. I once again began to feel slightly worried as to how the ponies in Canterlot would take my appearance. Even when I had gotten on the train, I had received a few worried and frightful looks, but I knew that I would be okay as long as Fluttershy was with me.

“Why didn’t you ask Gilda to come though?” Spike asked, drawing my attention.

“She keeps saying that she wouldn’t be caught dead going to the hoity toity capital of the world,” I chuckled while sitting up. “When I asked her to watch the house while I was gone, she said she would prepare my funeral arrangements.”

“Canterlot’s not that bad,” Spike replied with a little grumble. “The ponies there can just be a bit… annoying some time.”

“I’ve only been there a few times myself,” Fluttershy said. “My dad works there.”

“I remember you mentioning that once,” I voiced, my interests peaked. “Where does he work? Maybe we could go and see him.”

“I-I don’t like to talk about it,” Fluttershy timidly replied as she began to fiddle with her hooves.

“We will be arriving at Canterlot station in five minutes, please ensure that nothing is left behind and please clean up after yourselves,” a feminine voice called through the cart.

“You guys ready?” I asked while taking a deep breath. “Cause the moment we get off this train, there’s going to be a lot of eyes looking our way.”

“R-really?” Fluttershy asked as she hid behind her mane with a worried look.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’ll be the one they’re all looking at, so if it gets to be too much, just hide under my shirt or something,” I offered pulling Fluttershy into a hug.

“Okay,” Fluttershy smiled as she gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

A few minutes later and the train pulled to a stop to a large station. Even though this had been the first time on a train, my worry for what was about to happen completely overshadowed it.

“This is one small step for man *Krsht* one giant leap… for mankind,” I said as I exaggerated my steps off the train. I immediately became the target of several dozen different sets of eyes, most of which quickly filled with fear and disgust.

“Are you… Christopher?” a pony in golden armor asked, drawing my attention to a small group of royal unicorn guards. All of them looked the same with white coates and blue manes and tails.

It made me think of Shining Armor.

“Reporting as ordered,” I couldn’t help but blurt out half way joking and half way because I wanted to.

“Um, yes… if you would follow us, we shall escort you to the castle,” the guard uncomfortably replied. With a simple nod, my group began to follow, with Fluttershy pressed close to my side.

As we walked, Spike would point towards several different buildings and give us a little history lesson or recommend it for its food and drink. But that still didn’t help with all the stare's we received since I towered over most ponies by at least two feet.

“Place is bigger than I thought it would be,” I commented as we walked up to the castle’s front entrance. I couldn’t help but look over at the surrounding fields where I could see either small gardens or training guards.

“Construction for Canterlot castle actually began twenty years before Princess Celestia decided to move the capital,” Spike informed us as we entered the main foyer.

“I guess that paid off in the end,” I said to myself while marveling at the decorations and grandeur of the room.

“I see you finally decided to show up,” Celestia commented as she made her down the stairs. As she drew closer, everyone but me fell into a full bow, while I gave a simple nod.

“Bow you degenerate,” one of the guards quietly snapped as Celestia stood before us.

“It is alright,” Celestia waved off with a heavy sigh. “I will direct them from here, so please return to your posts.”

“Yes Princess,” the surrounding guards replied before rushing off. Although, most saw fit to shove their way past me in the process.

“That’s gonna cause some problems,” I sighed as I brushed Fluttershy’s mane with my hand.

“Maybe you should have bowed then,” Celestia replied with a smirk.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I sighed, waving my hand for Celestia to lead us forward.

“Fine then, follow me and I will be showing you to where you will be staying for the week,” Celestia grumbled before turning back around and heading up the stairs. “Spike, you can stay in yours and Twilight’s old room and the others will be staying in the guest chambers in the nearby hall.”

“Okay Princess,” Spike replied with a salute.

As we walked, I continued to look around at the castle decor, marveling at getting to see it all in person. In fact, a familiar stain glass window was slowly beginning to appear just up ahead.

“Wow, look at that Fluttershy,” I said, directing the mare’s attention to the window depicting the act of the elements facing Nightmare Moon. But something about the window quickly drew my concern. “But uh… that’s not me?”

Instead of actually having a crudely done picture of a human, there was just a gray orb shaped like the element on my wrist.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she stared at the window in awe.

“It was either that or a monkey,” Celestia replied. “Luna had it switched to that when she saw it.”

“Wow, thanks Princess, I feel really appreciated,” I replied sarcastically before continuing forward.

Celestia simply giggled before leading us forward once again. After about ten minutes and countless awkward stares, we arrived at what was to be the guest room I would be staying at with Fluttershy.

“This is where you will be staying,” Celestia said as she led us inside a large room. The main room consisted of a large bed, a desk, dresser and several small chairs and a couch. I could even see a personal bathroom off to the left.

“There's only one bed?” Spike commented with a confused look. “I thought this room was a double?”

“We had to switch out the beds to better suit, Christopher’s size,” Celestia replied before looking at me and Fluttershy. “I hope this doesn’t bother the two of you.”

“I-I d-don’t mind,” Fluttershy stuttered quietly as her face glowed brightly. I simply nodded before petting Fluttershy’s mane reassuringly.

“Well then, I will give the two of you some time to settle in,” Celestia said as she turned to leave. “There is still most of the afternoon left before dinner, so if you have any questions… ask Spike.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Celestia flashed away, leaving a confused dragon to stare at us.

“Uh… I guess I’ll go drop my stuff off at my room,” Spike said as he held up his one small bag. “I’ll be back in a little bit and then I can give you a tour of the castle.”

“Thanks Spike,” I said as the small dragon rushed out of the room.

When I turned around, Fluttershy was already laying on the bed, looking towards me with a bashful smile.

“Geronimo!” I shouted out as I rushed towards the bad and jumped into it. Fluttershy simply giggled as the force of my impact with the mattress, caused her to jump up a little.

“Nice bed,” I commented as I laid back and stared up at the ceiling. After a few moments, Fluttershy’s face filled my view as she came in for a deep kiss. This continued for a few minutes as the mare worked herself onto my chest as my hands slowly began to massage her back.

Even as she pulled away, I continued to brush my hands through her soft fur.

*knock knock*

“Chris, Fluttershy, are you two in here still?” Spike asked as he slowly entered the room.

“Eep!” Fluttershy chirped as she leaped off my chest, winding me in the process.

“Yep, still here,” I wheezed as I sat up.

“Cool,” Spike said as she fully entered the room. “So, are you two ready for the tour?”

“Lead on, Spike,” I chuckled while picking Fluttershy up from my side.


*	*	*


“Over this way is Princess Celestia’s personal study,” Spike said as he led us down another hallway. We were half an hour into our tour and I was surprised at just how big this place was compared to how it looked outside.

Another surprising thing was how the castle staff reacted to me. While the guards either ignored or glared at me, the maids and servants would continually come up to me and ask what I was or some other small questions.

“Will princess Celestia be in there?” Fluttershy asked as we neared a guarded room. She was still in my arms since I didn’t want to set her down, and with the constant nuzzling, it didn’t look like she wanted to be set down.

She’s so soft and warm!

“She shouldn’t be,” Spike replied as he stared at the guards in confusion. “She should be with the council right now.”

I watched with mild fascination as Spike walked up to the guards and began talking to one of them. His once curious look turning into a frown when one of the guards quietly replied to his question.

“What do you mean he’s in there? Princess Celestia banned him after that incident with one of the maids,” Spike groaned.

“What’s wrong Spike?” I asked while finally placing Fluttershy down, the mare slightly pouting in the process.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Spike sighed. “Just wait here while I go get Princess Celestia.”

“Uh…okay,” I replied as Spike wandered off, grumbling under his breath. “Kid’s getting shit done, I guess.”

“Um… excuse me,” Fluttershy’s soft voice called towards the two guards. When they looked towards her, the mare quickly hid behind me before continuing in an even quieter voice. “Who’s inside there?”

“Prince Blueblood,” one of the guards grumbled in a feminine tone. “He’s technically not allowed in there after trying to force himself on the attending maid, but there is very little we can actually do until her highness is informed.”

“I bet I can get him to leave,” I chuckled, knowing that he would probably run screaming like a little girl at the mere sight of me. “I won’t even need to touch him.”

“I’m sorry, but nopony is allowed inside the study without permission,” one of the guards quickly replied in an aggravated tone.

“Oh lighten up,” the other guard giggled. “That butler we sent in earlier never came back out, so if this… uh, guy, wants to take a crack at it, I say let him.”

“Well, I want no part in this,” the first guard replied while turning to look in a different direction.

“Okay then,” I began, shaking myself loose as the more carefree guard stepped aside to let me open the door. “Once I’m inside, keep the doorway clear. Don’t want anyone getting hurt by this.”

“Uh… what are you going to do?” the guard asked with a raised brow, a small smirk appearing on her lips.

“I really don’t think it should do anything,” the other guard groaned. “When the princess shows up, she’ll take care of it.”

“And we’ll get stuck on latrine duty again when the higher ups learn we let him in here!” the first one replied back harshly.

“Don’t worry,” I chuckled as I made my way towards the door. “I’ve had a little experience at clearing rooms.”

Carefully opening the door so as not to be heard, I immediately noticed my target napping on a large couch on the other side of the room… or I though he was napping.

His lower half had a blanket with a very obvious bulge going up and down.

I quickly looked back at those behind me to see mixed reactions. Fluttershy’s face was a glow and she seemed to be looking everywhere but into the room. The care free guard at first looked confused, then began to fight back laughter. The other ended up looking into the room anyways, looking confused, then sad and finally appalled.

“This is going to be easier than I thought,” I inwardly chuckled; pretty sure I knew what was going on now. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much cover leading up to the stallion besides a few large cushions and a coffee table.

After a moment’s thought, I dropped down low into a Spiderman crawl, since I would have more control and not have to worry about making a dragging noise as I moved forward.

Moving carefully, I slowly made my way around the room, using what little cover I could in the off chance that Blueblood happened to open his eyes.

“Hmmm, yes,” I heard the stallion blissfully sigh as I finally made it behind the couch. Lying flat on the ground, I quickly came up with a plan that would be prefect. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long for my que.

“I-I’m about…” Blueblood began to grunt. If what I was about to do wasn’t so hilarious, I probably would have gotten sick hearing that, but I ignored that feeling and jumped up and raised my arms over my head.

“FUCK YEAH! CHOCK! CHOCK! CHOCK!” I shouted as Blueblood shirked in terror, his eyes bulging when he noticed me. Then, his shrieks went even high pitched as his face shifted to the bulge of the blanket and he began to cringe in pain.

“Hardcore parkour!” I continued jumping clean over the couch, grabbing the blanket while in midair. I didn’t even bother to look back as I began to rush towards the door.

“For FREEDOM!” I shouted as I rushed out the door… and right into the brick wall known as Celestia.

“Would you mind explaining to me why you were in my personal study?” Celestia ask through gritted teeth, having not moved an inch after I barreled into her, resulting in me laying on the ground.

“OH RAH!” I simply shouted back from the floor, still hyped up on adrenaline.

“Owwww!” a pained groan shouted from back into the room.

“What is going…” Celestia began to ask as she looked past me and into the room curiously. Almost immediately, her expression turned to shock and for a brief moment, amusement, then right into agitation.

“Corporal Silver,” Celestia groaned, addressing the one guard that wasn’t currently laughing hysterically at what she saw happen. “Go fetch a physician… and some ice.”

“Right away your highness,” the one guard replied before rushing off.

“Sargent Heart,” Celestia addressed the laughing mare. It took a few seconds, but the mare was able to compose herself enough to stand at attention.

“Yes ma’am!” Heart replied with a salute, still smirking.

“Go fetch the head maid,” Celestia told the mare, raising a brow at the guard while keeping a stern expression. “And be sure to return with her.”

“Y-yes, your highness,” Heart stuttered before rushing off.

After the guard rushed off, Celestia fixed her gaze back on me with that all too familiar look. I stared back at her for a few moments as my adrenalin finally began to settle.

“Uh… I got you a present,” I muttered out, holding the blanket out for the princess while sitting up.

Celestia simply huffed in agitation as she took the blanket in her magic and went into the study; slamming the door before I could see anything inside.

“So…” I uncomfortably replied while turning to Fluttershy. The mare was standing just next to the closed door with a glowing face and an uncomfortable look. “Should we stay or…”

“How many times have I told you to stay out of this room!” Celestia’s voice shouted out. While it defiantly wasn’t enough to shake the castle, it still caused me and Fluttershy to cringe. “Not only that, but you used this blanket in your sick act to get off!

“I got this over one hundred years ago as a gift from a filly who simply wanted to meet me and you decide to try and soil it?!” Celestia continued. “And you! I hope you enjoyed what you were doing because I will personally ensure that you clean every toilet in this ENTIRE castle! Am I understood?!”

“Yes ma’am!” a stallion’s voice replied loudly.

“We should…”

“Christopher, I swear to my father, you had better not leave!” Celestia’s voice called out as I was about to stand up and vamoose.

“Crap…” I sighed as I noticed Spike chuckling just around the corner. I quickly pointed a finger at him and directed him to come close.

“What?” Spike chuckled as he made his way over.

“Just get, Fluttershy outta here,” I sighed while reaching over and giving the mare a reassuring pat on the head. “She doesn’t need to stick around for this.”

“I-it’s a-alright…” Fluttershy replied as she tried, and failed, to look me in the eyes.

“Just continue the tour with Spike, Flutters,” I told the mare reassuringly. “I’ll see you after I get another scolding from the princess.”

“Okay…” Fluttershy replied before giving me a small kiss.

“I’ll see you soon,” I told the mare as she hesitantly began to follow Spike down the hall.

“Okay,” I sighed as I found myself alone in the hall, still sitting on the ground. “Now what do I do?”


*	*	*


“I have to admit,” Heart said as we passed another hall. “I never expected this to be my last assignment.”

“Wait, I didn’t hear anything about you being kicked out?” I said while looking down at the armored mare. After Heart had returned with the head maid, an old crotchety unicorn mare, Celestia chewed me out a bit for going into the room without permission while also thanking me for retrieving the blanket before anything could be spilled on it.

But the real kicker was when she assigned Valiant Heart to be my personal guard for the next two days. I’m pretty sure she did that because of the death glare and mumbled threats Blueblood gave me when he finally saw me.

“Oh, I’m not,” Valiant chuckled. “This is my last week in the guard. I decided that I’ve spent enough time in the guard. I wanna settle down now… probably start a family.”

“Huh, so how old are you then?” I asked.

“It’s not polite to ask a mare her age you know,” Valiant giggled. “But I’m 26.”

“Well, I wish you luck in that,” I replied with a nod as we made it to the dining hall. Upon entering, I found Fluttershy, Spike and Princess Luna all sitting at one end of a very large table.

“Hello everyone,” I greeted as I made my way to the open seat next to Fluttershy and Luna. As I sat down, I spared Luna a quick glance, noticing that she was almost fully grown now and that her mane was starting to sparkle even brighter.

“Sup,” Luna greeted, putting some of my modern day speech lessons to use. “How ya doin homie?”

“Luna, I told you those terms as a joke,” I chuckled out as Fluttershy gave a nuzzle to my cheek. “Tone it down a little bit.”

“We are sorry,” Luna sighed. “It is quite hard for us to grasp such change.”

“It’s alright Princess,” Spike said. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

“Thank thee, Spike,” Luna nodded before looking at Valiant. “And who pray tell are thee guard?”

“Sargent Valiant Heart ma’am,” Valiant replied with a crisp salute. “Princess Celestia has given me the task of guarding Christopher for the next two days your highness.”

“And why is that?” Luna asked as she looked at me. With a smirk on my lips, I quickly recounted what had happened when Spike brought us past Celestia’s personal study.

“… so I’m sure Blueball’s has it out for me now,” I chuckled as I received a slightly disapproving look from Fluttershy.

“That is most amusing,” Luna openly laughed. “We are happy to hear that he was unable to talk his way out of punishment.”

“It still shouldn’t have happened to begin with,” Celestia sighed as she entered the room. “I have told him countless times to stay out of that room, but he still doesn’t listen.”

“Good evening sister,” Luna said as she stood up and gave her sister a hug.

“Aww, that’s adorable,” I chuckled as Fluttershy and Spike gave little giggles and chuckles as well.

“Yes, well,” Celestia said as she took her seat at the head of the table. “Before we begin our meal, I would like to discuss the plan for the rest of the week.”

“Okay, so what should I expect?” I asked, placing my forearms on the table, but not my elbows.

I’m classy like that.

“For most of tomorrow, you will be attending a special class with an instructor who will teach you how to call upon your magic,” Celestia began. “After that, you will be taught specifically by…”

“Us,” Luna replied, drawing a confused and shocked look from me. “By what our sister says, you possess a rare form of magic knows as miasma. It is a very rare form of magic that most do not even know of. One, that we are a master of.”

To prove her point, Luna’s horn glowed. But instead of energy like flame, her horn was encased in a indigo cloud that seemed to cascade down her face before disappearing into the air.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“After a week, you should have enough control that you may safely return to Ponyville,” Celestia replied.“At which point you will continue your studies alongside Twilight.”

“And you shall report your discoveries to us!” Luna added with a large smile, practically radiating pure joy. “We shall expect weekly letters.”

“You can’t be serious?” I chuckled looking at Luna. I almost immediately felt bad as her ears dropped and she frowned with a sad look in her eyes.

“I mean… yeah, I’ll write letters,” I said with a forced smile, causing Luna to perk back up.


*	*	*


The next morning, I woke up early. I didn’t bother moving though, as I found Fluttershy pressed snuggly against my chest with one of her wings draped over my side. While one hand was under my pillow, the other was placed on the mare’s lower waist.

This wasn’t the first time I had woken up in this position with Fluttershy. But whenever I did, I always had to fight the part of me that wanted to reach lower and grab a hand full of her flank. Gilda let me do it all the time, but Fluttershy was still against doing anything more intimate than kissing.

ponies are weird...

That also brought on the confusion of why Fluttershy let Gilda into the herd in the first place. We barely knew the griffoness when she first showed up, even now I was sure that she was still hiding a few things, and yet she accepted her so easily.

I tried looking in a book about it, but all I could find was a book on a herd’s rank structure. But that wasn’t my concern at the time, so I just put the book away.

So at points like this, I just attributed it to Fluttershy’s kindness.

“Hmm, good morning,” Fluttershy’s voice softly spoke, drawing my attention to the slowly awakening mare.

“Good morning, Fluttershy; Sleep well?” I asked, giving the mare a tender kiss.

“Whenever I’m with you, I do,” Fluttershy replied as she brushed her wing against my side. We stayed like this for a few minutes before Fluttershy looked up at me with a slightly glowing face.

“What is it Fluttershy?” I asked while brushing some of the mare’s mane back.

“I-Its just… you can… you know…” Fluttershy began to mumble out as she looked me in the eye.

“What?” I asked.

“M-my flank,” Fluttershy stuttered. “I-its okay if you want to touch it… if you want.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise. When the mare sheepishly smiled back with a nod, I couldn’t help but smile gleefully myself.

Moving slowly, I reached my hand back down, tracing Fluttershy’s curves as my hand slowly made its way to her plot. After a few moments, my hand reached a region that had more give than most others and also caused the mare to squeak quietly.

For a few minutes, this was all I did. The only change being when Fluttershy moved to my chest and my other hand met her other plot cheek.

“O-oh… m-my!” Fluttershy panted as I began to squeeze her flanks more firmly. By this point, I had a painful hard on. The only thing keeping it contained was my briefs and sweatpants.

I couldn’t help but revel at how soft her posterior was. The way my hands would just naturally sink into them while being more than enough to fill my hands.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” I voice giggled, causing Fluttershy to jump in fright and hide behind the bed.

“God damn it, Heart!” I groaned out as the guard made her way in, a smile playing across her lips.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Valiant giggled as she noticed the bulge in my pants since I had discarded the blanket earlier. “Besides, it looks like you aren’t anywhere near done.”

“I-I’m sorry, Chris,” Fluttershy said as she came out from behind the couch. “I-I’m still not ready for…”

“It’s alright Fluttershy,” I replied, giving the mare a quick kiss on the nose. “Take as much time as you need.”

“You know, I could help with that,” Valiant said in a slightly husk voice, drawing mine and Fluttershy’s shocked looks. “If you don’t mind that is.”

“Uh… I don’t think…”

“I don’t mind,” Fluttershy interrupted me, with a slightly glowing face.

“Great,” Valiant chirped as she removed her helmet, revealing a blue mane with her white coat.

“I’m going to go take a shower than,” Fluttershy said as she began to heads towards the bathroom.

“Uh… do I get a say in this?” I asked, only to be ignored.

“Take your time,” Valiant replied as she got onto the bed with me and placed her head at my lap. “We’ll be right here.”


*	*	*


“I needed that,” Valiant sighed as she fell to her side in bliss. “Three years is way too long for a mare.”

“G-glad I could help?” I said as I pulled my pants back up and not a moment too soon, since Fluttershy chose that moment to leave the bathroom. A towel wrapped around her mane and a smile on her face.

“It’s your turn, Christopher,” Fluttershy chirped as she came up to the side of the bed.

“R-right… I’ll just be a few minutes then,” I quickly replied, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.


*	*	*


“Thanks for that,” Valiant sighed blissfully once Christopher was gone in the bathroom. “Nopony’s treated me like that in years.”

“I-I don’t mind,” Fluttershy replied sheepishly as she finished drying her mane. “Would you like to join?”

“Join? Join what?” Valiant asked as she decided to finally get out of the bed and do her job.

“Our herd,” Fluttershy offered with a smile.

“But you hardly know me,” Valiant said as she replaced her helmet. “Heck, neither of you even know what I look like because of the enchantment on my armor.”

“That doesn’t mean there isn’t time to learn,” Fluttershy offered.

“Well… I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing if this could work out,” Valiant nodded as she looked towards the bathroom. Being honest, she did find Christopher handsome, in an exotic kind of way, and she wouldn’t mind seeing just what he could do. “I take it you’re the Alpha mare?”

“Yes I am,” Fluttershy proclaimed proudly. A part of her always liked hearing that.

“Then sign me up,” Valiant smiled while licking her lips.


*	*	*


“Feelin’ all squeaky clean now,” I chuckled out as I walked back into the room, my lower halve securely wrapped up in a towel. Normally, I feel a little self-conscious when wearing so little around others, but when one of them is your marefirend and the other just gave you a BJ; you learn to not give a fuck.

Like a boss!

The other two remained silent as I went over to one of my bags and pulled out my cammies. Out of everything I had, they were the most durable as well as fire retardant.

That and they were one of the only things I had clean at the time. I couldn’t afford my own washer and dryer yet and Aloe and Lotus wouldn’t let me use the ones at the spa.

“What kind of outfit is that?” Valiant asked as I finished buttoning my blouse.

“They’re my cammies. The uniform I wore back home,” I replied while checking to make sure everything was tucked in right.

“Uniform? What do you mean?” Valiant asked, looking more confused by the second.

“Well, as you know, I’m not from this world,” I began to explain. “But I was in the military for my home country.”

“Really now?” Valiant asked with a smirk before whispering something to Fluttershy, causing the mare to giggle.

“What's so funny?” I asked.

“I just said “I think I’m going to like being in this herd”,” Valiant chuckled.

“What?” I asked looking at Fluttershy. I looked towards her for simply a moment before sighing and giving a shrug.

“Now then, if you would follow me, it’s time for breakfast,” Valiant said as she began to lead the way out.

“Uh, don’t you wanna take a shower first?” I quickly pointed out feeling a little embarrassed myself. “I think I can still see something in your tail.”

“I think I’ll leave it,” Valiant replied with a devious smirk. “It’s a great conversation starter.”


*	*	*


“I thought you said he would be here by now?” I asked, turning to look at Celestia.

“Well he isn’t,” Celestia groaned from her place in a small hut. She and Fluttershy sat in the shaded area with Valiant and two other guards standing watch. Although, Valiant would give me a quick wink every now and then.

“Can I at least wait with you under the shade? It is uncomfortably hot out here,” I honestly whined. Not only did I not have a hat because Rainbow Dash stole my cover again, but I had a nagging feeling that Celestia was purposely making me feel hotter.

And not in the good kind of way.

“No, you’re all sweaty,” Celestia simply replied as she took a sip of her tea.

Fun fact, the tea she has here, actually tastes horrible. I don’t know what it is, but it all honestly tastes like shit to me.

I blame Celestia.

I gave a large groan as I fell to my back and stared up into the sky. Every few minutes, I could see a Pegasus fly by or a stray cloud wonder through. The sound of beating hooves drew me from my musings as they became louder over time.

“I am so sorry I am late!” a masculine voice suddenly called as a couple of pebbles hit me from the pony stopping abruptly.“My little filly thought it would be fun to play with daddy’s clock.”

“It’s alright, Focus,” Celestia replied as I heard her begin to move. I just continued to lay there, a part of me hoping that if I didn’t move, they couldn’t see me. “Things happen.”

“Yes well, is this the… human?” the new voice asked as it seemed to taper off at the end.

“Yo!” I replied lifting one arm into the air and nothing else.

“How is this… I thought… how can he?” the voice began to mumble as a navy blue stallion suddenly appeared in my face. His orange mane brushed back as he looked at me with his yellow eyes in a mixture of fascination and confusion.

“Dude, back up a bit!” I blurted out, finally moving just to get away from the stallion.

Once I was clear, I quickly stood up and prepared to complain about personal space when I actually looked at him. There wasn’t anything wrong with him, but something about him simply seemed… off.

“Uh…” I dumbly replied while staring at the stallion.

“Christopher, allow me to introduce Focused Mind,” Celestia began, drawing my attention.

“But you can just call me John,” Focused said as he took a step towards me and held out a hoof.

“J-john?” I stuttered out as the gears in my head began to turn. “Does that mean that you are… I mean were…”

“Human?” John finished with a small chuckle. “Yes, I was. Showed up about eight years ago and turned into the unicorn you see before you. After freaking out, Princess Celestia found me, a little bit of this and that; now I have a job as a teacher, a loving wife and two foals of my own.”

“Wow,” I said, still in shock about meeting a pony that had once been human. “So you’re going to show me how to use my magic?”

“I’m going to try,” John offered with a shrug. “When I changed, it didn’t take me long to figure it out on my own. But somehow, you're still human. Do you know how that’s possible?”

“That would be this thing,” I said as I showed him my brace. A quick explanation later and he was nodding his head.

“I guess that makes sense,” John sighed with a slight frown. “Kinda wish I had one when I first showed up.”

“Why don’t you begin with your lessons,” Celestia chirped, obviously trying to increase the mood of the unicorn.

“Yes, of course Princess,” John replied with a nod before turning to me. “Now first, I need you to…”


*	*	*


“I must admit,” John said as my right arm was engulfed in a gray cloud for the tenth time in a row. “You’re a lot better at this than I thought you would be.”

“Is that supposed to be a complement or insult?” I asked while flicking my wrist to dispel the miasma.

One of the tricks John showed me to both activate and dispel my magic was to tie it with an action. He attributed it to muscle memory, so that it would be easier for me to grasp.

“Take it as you want it,” John said with a nod. “But by the looks of things, I have taught you all I can for what was requested of me.”

“Really?” I asked disappointed. “I was actually hoping to get to know you better.”

“And I’d like that, but I gotta get home before the wife begins to worry,” John chuckled as he pulled out a small card from hammer space and floated it over to me in his magic. “This is my address, so send me a letter if there’s anything you want to know.”

“I will, thanks,” I replied as I put it in my wallet.

“Princess Celestia, everypony,” John said with a bow before leaving.

“Congratulations Chris,” Fluttershy said as she quickly rushed over to me and nuzzled my side.

“I must admit, it’s a surprise seeing that it only took you a few hours to be able to summon your magic,” Celestia said as she made her way over.

“I was always a fast learner,” I shrugged.

“Yes well, come. It is time for lunch,” Celestia said as she began to walk back to the castle. As we walked, I continually flicked my wrist, turning the flow of my magic on and off, relishing in the cool feel it left behind.

It was weird knowing that the gray smoke escaping from my arm was actually magic, let alone my magic. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of things I could do.

Would I be a wizard like Harry Potter? Fighting secret cults and a foe who must not be named?

What if I had the power to take over the world?

“Uh, Chris? You doing okay there?” Valiant asked as both she and Fluttershy stared at me with looks of concern.

“I. Have. THE POWER!” I gleefully shouted, raising my smoke covered arm into the sky.

“We’re all doomed,” Celestia groaned as the others laughed.

“I think it was funny,” Spike chuckled, coming out of nowhere.

“Spike,” I said, looking down at the small dragon. “Is it all set up?”

“Tonight at six o’clock,” Spike replied with a thumbs up.

“What’s at six o’clock?” Celestia questioned with a worried look.

“Why, mine and Fluttershy’s date of course!” I proclaimed while sweeping the mentioned mare up, causing her to giggle. “We’re in Canterlot, so why shouldn’t we?”

“Because I don’t need you causing a panic through the streets,” Celestia replied sternly.

“Bah, I can handle a few stuck up nobles,” I replied while cradling Fluttershy like a baby and scratching her tummy. It was actually really cute because she seemed to love it while completely embarrassed since others could see her. “Besides, I promised her that we would have one when we got here and Spike recommended a good place.”

“I still don’t think that it is a good idea,” Celestia replied, causing my smile to fall. “I am sorry, but I cannot allow this.”

“Well then, it’s too bad that I don’t care what you say,” I replied, giving Celestia a glare. “I understand your concern, but I promised Fluttershy.”

“We don’t have to go out…” Fluttershy told me, a small hint of disappointment in her voice. “We can stay here… if you want.”

“What I want is to treat you to a romantic evening,” I said giving the mare a quick kiss, causing her to blush heavily.

“Aww…” a few nearby maids cooed as they saw the scene.

“Fine,” Celestia huffed as she turned to continue forward. “But if you cause any trouble, I won't go easy on you.”


*	*	*


“Damn I look good,” I commented as I looked at my reflection one last time. I was currently wearing a navy blue button up shirt dark brown slacks. The only thing that looked off were my boots, but Rarity said she would have a new set of non-work shoes for me by the time I returned, so I had my fingers crossed.

“I think you look nice too,” Fluttershy giggled as she stood to my side in the same dress she wore for our first date, only she wore some make up this time. Even though I told her she didn’t need it, she still insisted on at least putting on some eyeshadow.

“Not as good as you though,” I smiled down at her before stealing a quick kiss. “You’re going to make a lot of ponies jealous of me.”

Fluttershy simply looked down at the ground with an ever growing blush and small smile.

“If you two are done complimenting each other, we can get going,” Valiant chuckled from the other side of the room. She and a Pegasus guard were going to be our escorts, which I was okay with.

“So, do either of you know where this place is?” I asked as Valiant and the other guard led the way out.

“I know the way,” the Pegusus replied in a gruff voice. He didn’t talk much, but he also didn’t seem to react much to anything. “Took my wife there for our first date. Place is pretty good.”

“How romantic,” Fluttershy coed from my side, nuzzling my hand as we walked. I really had to fight the urge to pick the mare up and just nuzzle the shit out of her.

It was weird actually. I had crush’s before and even had fantasies of being with Fluttershy, but nothing compared to actually being with her. It just felt right being around her.

Which made the whole herd thing even more awkward.

“Hope you’re ready to be the center of attention,” Valiant chuckled as we made it out of the castle's entrance. Almost immediately, every passing individual locked their eyes on me.

But instead of letting that get to me, I simply smiled and moved forward, my hand idly brushing Fluttershy’s mane as we walked. Every now and then I would notice several looks, ranging from fear to disgust. But I ignored it as I instead watched the slowly setting sun in the horizon.

“This is the place,” the Pegasus guard voiced as we came up to a moderately large restaurant called The Golden Hoof. It was a single story building that had both an outdoor and indoor venue and had a color scheme that matched everything else in Canterlot.

“Have fun you two,” Valiant giggled as she held the buildings door open for me and Fluttershy.

With a simple nod, we both walked in. Although, Valiant did smack my ass as I walked past her.

I kinda liked it.

“Welcome to The Golden Hoof,” a slightly posh voice called, drawing my attention to a waiting unicorn. He wore the top piece of a suit and had a small name tag that said something illegible to me for some reason. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Uh, yes,” I said, drawing the attendant gaze. I gave him a silent nod for keeping his cool before continuing. “There should be a reservation for two under ‘Christopher’?”

“Ah yes, right this way,” the attendant nodded, not even looking in his book. At first that worried me, but I quickly let it go when he brought us to a table right next a window.

Before anything, I quickly pulled out a chair for Fluttershy, the mare taking the seat with a bashful smile.

“Would the two of you like to hear our wine list today?” The waiter asked as he pulled out a small list from a breast pocket.

“No thanks, I’ll stick with water for now,” I replied while taking my seat.

“D-do you have any red hazelnut?” Fluttershy timidly asked as her face began to glow slightly.

“I think I know just the thing madam,” the waiter said as he wrote something down. “Your waiter should be by in just a few minutes with your drinks, enjoy.”

“Thank you,” Both I and Fluttershy said as the waiter took his leave.

“Wine huh?” I asked with a chuckle. “What’s the occasion?”

“…” Fluttershy simply looked down at the table cloth with a glowing face.

“Fluttershy, are you okay,” I asked with honest concern. While she was obviously embarrassed and worried about something. “If there’s something wrong, you know you can talk to me.”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy quietly replied, her ears laying flat.

“Sorry? For what?” I asked, now also confused.

“For inviting another mare into the herd,” Fluttershy replied. “I know you’re still aren’t comfortable with it yet, but I just couldn’t help myself. Oh… I can be so stupid sometimes.”

“Fluttershy, you are not stupid,” I firmly told her as I raised her chin with a free hand and looked her in the eyes. “The main reason I’m uncomfortable with it is because I was expecting to only be with you. Polygamy is a BIG no no where I’m from.”

“Do you… do you want me to end it?” Fluttershy asked with obvious disappointment in her voice.

“Fluttershy,” I sighed while rubbing my eyes. “I’m just trying to figure out why you want one. If this is what you want, than I’m not going to stop it.

“Hell, I really shouldn’t be complaining,” I finished while remembering the few times I had sex with Gilda and Valiant’s BJ.

“I just… remember seeing a small herd when I was a filly,” Fluttershy began to explain. “They were at the park like one big happy family and after seeing that, I kind of wanted one too.”

“And is it as good as you hoped?” I asked, intrigued how such a simple thing brought this want on for her.

“So far I enjoy it,” Fluttershy shrugged. “Gilda comes over all the time to learn about animals.”

“I was wondering what she did whenever I was at work,” I replied as a young unicorn stallion walked up and placed down our drinks.

“Is the couple ready to order?” the waiter asked. After making our orders, we waited for the waiter to be out of earshot before continuing.

“So how many more should I be expecting?” I asked while taking a sip of water.

“A few more…” Fluttershy timidly replied as she took a drink of her wine. I couldn’t help but chuckle at how she almost instantly went red faced. “I know that one of our friends is interested.”

“Yeah, Rarity…” I mumbled under my breath.

From there, we decided to just enjoy our night and that’s what we did.


*	*	*


I’m not sure how, but after dinner, we found ourselves back in our guest room. Fluttershy was out of her dress and on my lap, while I was shirtless.Nothing was said as both our mouths were preoccupied with the other.

I could easily taste the several glasses of wine the young mare in my lap had drank and like normal, her tongue found its place at the tip of my canines. As this continued, my hands slowly found their way to her soft flanks, once again squeezing them tenderly.

“O-oh Chris,” Fluttershy panted as she pulled back and looked me in the eyes, her own shining in the moonlight. “I-I think...”

“What do you think, Flutters?,” I asked, pulling back as I looked at the mare.

“I think… I’m… gonna take a nap…” and before I could even say a word, Fluttershy slumped forward, softly snoring against my chest.

“Yeah, I thought as much…” I heavily sighed before laying the mare down on the bed and tucking her in. Since I knew I wouldn’t be going to bed any time too soon, I decided to take a walk.

“I’ll be back,” I told the two guards standing outside our door while slipping my shirt back on. Valiant had left earlier saying she had a going away party she had to go to, which was probably hers.

“Please stay within the castle,” one of the guards replied as I walked off.

I gave nothing but a dismissive wave before wondering down one of the halls.

After about half an hour, I was completely lost. But amazingly, I didn’t care.

“This place is like a maze,” I chuckled to myself while taking my first left. I continued forward until a commotion caught my attention.

“WOHO!” a shout echoed from the end of the hall. Walking towards the sound, I came upon the entrance of a small mess hall that appeared to be holding an even smaller party.

Looking in, I saw several ponies sitting at one of the side tables with an assortment of food and drinks sitting in front of them. But two things really stood out about the group.

One, was that they were all mares of varying races, and that one of them looked like Spitfire. I say look because this mare was missing an important pair of wings.

“Christopher, get that flank in here!” the mare who looked like Spitfire suddenly called, smiling as she noticed me look into the room.

“Uh… me?” I asked looking around for someone who wasn’t there.

“Oh that’s right!” the mare chirped as her friends giggled. “You haven’t seen me without my armor. It’s me, Valiant Heart.”

“Heart?!” I asked in shock while walking fully into the room.

“The one and only,” Valiant proclaimed as she made her way over. She looked exactly like Spitfire from the show, only more stocky and her cutie mark was a flaming heart. “Like what you see?”

“Yeah! I mean, yeah,” I replied with an uncomfortable chuckle.

“Another one who didn’t know about the disguise enchantment,” one of Valiant’s friends chuckled.

“I bet it’s just because of how much she resembles her sister,” another giggled.

“Enough with my sister for Celestia sake!” Valiant groaned. “I am seriously contemplating getting my mane died or something.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked as I moved over to the table the group was at. There were four other mares there not including Valiant, and each one kept giving me little winks.

“Do you know who, Spitfire is?” One mare asked, ignoring the glare Valiant was giving her.

“That’s… uh, captain of the Wonderbolts, right?” I asked, fanning ignorance. “I got a friend who’s got a mareboner for her.”

The resounding laugh was well worth the embarrassment of saying mareboner.

“Well, just so happens,” Valiant began, regaining her posture. “Miss Captain, is my twin sister.”

“No shit?!” I squeaked out in shock.

“Yep,” another friend replied. “Youngest Captain of the division to date.”

“Yeah yeah,” Valiant groaned as she snatched a bottle from the table and took a large gulp. “Little miss prodigy and all. Just go ahead and forget about her sister who was top of her class.”

“Oh, don’t let it get to ya Valiant,” one of her friends said. “All the Wonderbolts are, are a bunch of show ponies.”

“That are widely known around Equestria for their skill and speed,” Valiant groaned, taking another swig. “She was always the family favorite.”

“Okay, I’m pretty sure this was not the way it was supposed to go tonight,” I sighed, taking the bottle from the mare. I took a sniff of it and quickly pulled back from how strong it was, earning more giggles from the mares.

“Yeah, well, I got something now that she don’t,” Valiant chuckled while giving me a half laden look.

“And what would that be?” I asked while risking it and taking a small swig of a nearby bottle.

“A stallion,” Valiant chuckled before jumping up and pulling me into a drunken kiss. The other mares giggled at the display before the mare decided she wanted to taste my tonsils.

“Get it, Get it!” one of the mare called as Valiant drove me to the ground and began to grind against me on the floor.

“Okay, okay!” I called, pushing the drunken mare off me a bit. “While I would like this to continue, we are in a public place and your obviously drunk.”

“Oh, they don’t mind, right girls?” Valiant giggled, smirking towards her friends while ignoring the who drunk bit.

“Uh… Valiant… you should get up now,” one of the mares hissed as all their eyes went towards the room entrance.

“What is going on in here?” a familiar male voice sounded.

“Attention on Deck!” one of the mares shouted.

For those of you who don’t know, when someone shouts that, you’re supposed to drop whatever it is you’re doing and snap to the position of attention. For a marine, it doesn’t matter who or what is in the way.

“Wah!” Valiant shouted as she was launched off my chest as I jumped to my feet and popped to attention out of instinct.

“At…ease,” an uncomfortable looking Shining Armor said as he looked at me. “You must be Christopher. The princess told me a lot about you.”

“Lies and slander!” I quickly bellowed, pointing upwards dramaticly.

“I meant Princess Luna,” Shining chuckled, the surrounding mares giggling. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Same here,” I chuckled while sharing a hoofshake with the stallion. “Except for the whole captain thing. Nowhere near there actually.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything here?” Shining asked as he looked towards Valiant, who was currently laying a few feet away.

“Just me getting lucky sir…” Valiant groaned while she got up.

“Okay… a bit too much info,” Shining replied with a sheepish smile. “I guess I’ll just take my leave now. It was great meeting you Chris, hope we can talk again. See ya!”

Without another word, Shining Armor quickly left the room, leaving me with the giggling mares.

“Now that he’s gone,” Valiant purred as she came up beside me. “Why don’t we continue where we left off… in my room?”

"Wait, Shining!" I called as Valiant pressed herself against my side. "Come back! I need an adult!"


*	*	*


“I’m really sorry about last night,” Fluttershy cried in my arms, her tears staining one of my sleeves. “I-I really wanted too… but I-I guess I drank to-o much.”

“It’s okay Fluttershy,” I softly reassured the mare. After waking up in bed with Valiant, the mare had brought me back to my room where I was immediately greeted by a crying Pegasus. “When its time, its time.”

“You’ll love it though when it is time,” Valiant added, standing next to me without her armor.

“I had even asked Gilda for some tips,” Fluttershy sobbed. “I’m so stupid.”

“Fluttershy, seriously, stop that,” I said, taking the mares chin and having her look me in the eyes. “You are a smart, beautiful mare. You don’t need to force yourself to do something you’re not ready for.”

“Why did you even drink beforehoof?” Valiant asked. "Took me almost an hour to convince this guy I wasn't too drunk to do anything."

“I don’t know if you know this, but I can be very shy,” Fluttershy timidly replied while pressing into me more. “And I wanted to make up for making a herd.”

“Well, when do you think you will be ready?” Valiant asked.

Whatever Fluttershy’s response was, ended up lost in translation as all I could hear were some incoherent mumbles.

“What was that Flutters?” I asked, hoping to get her to speak up.

“I s-said in two months… when I go into… heat,” Fluttershy replied, causing a silence to fill the room.

“Oh, you’re one of those mares,” Valiant said with an intrigued look. “I hear it’s like ten times better then.”

“Wait… when you’re in heat? Couldn’t you end up pregnant?” I asked getting really confused. 

While in reality, such a thing shouldn’t be possible, I was in a world of magic. Plus, I had gone almost twelve hours before getting the element I wore, so something inside me was at least bound to have changed.

While Fluttershy remained silent, Heart began to giggle.

“That’s the point you idiot,” Heart replied. “She wants to have a foal.”

“What?!” I shouted out as I jumped to my feet, releasing the mare.

“I-I want my first time… to also be when I get pregnant…” Fluttershy timidly replied now looking a little sad. “I-I know I’m young and we’ve only known each other for a month. But I really think I’m ready.”

“Woah, okay, take a step back please,” I said, feeling a slight panic attack coming. “You want to have a foal… with me?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied as she came up and took my hand in her hooves and nuzzling it. “I really do.”

“Hey, there’s still two months to decide on all of that,” Valiant quickly interrupted, stopping me from going into a panic attack.

“Right, right,” I said while looking down at the hopeful mare currently holding my hand.

“Good marrow everypony!” a boisterous voice suddenly shouted as the room’s door flew open, the lunar princess walking in. “Art thou ready for thine training?”

“Princess,” the two ponies replied with a bow while I simply nodded, the mood from a few seconds ago now suddenly gone.

“Don’t you think its still kinda early?” I asked, still a little uncomfortable from a few moments before.

“It is never too early to train, young one!” Luna smiled as she walked forward, her eyes quickly finding Valiant Heart. “Captain Spitfire, what has happened to your wings?”
> Chapter Seven: "I was in the pool!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I didn’t know there was a feeling beyond uncomfortable,” I commented as Luna’s muzzle came closer to my face.

After making her way into the room, Luna had proceeded to shove me into a sitting position on the bedside and placed herself on my lap, removing her regalia in the process.

“But apparently there is…” I finished as I worked on not getting stabbed by her horn.

“Obviously, thou had not been listening to us the other day,” Luna replied as she brushed a hoof against the side of my face with a light smile. “Our first lesson shall be in thine Dreamscape, a place where there will be no worry of harm to yourself and those around.”

“And… the reason you’re on my lap?” I uncomfortably asked as I tried to look at anything but Luna’s glittering blue eyes.

“We have had trouble entering the dreamscape as of late,” Luna voiced with a frown. “It does much to raise our ire, but it is how things are at this time.”

“Right…” I said as I looked over at Fluttershy; the mare sitting nearby as she watched us. “This really doesn’t bother you?”

“No,” Fluttershy simply replied as she stared on with a slightly red face and an odd smile. “Should it?”

I just released a heavy sigh as I turned my attention back to Luna.

“Now then,” Luna said as she pressed her horn against my forehead, the appendage feeling cold to the touch. “Just close your eyes and breath normally.”

“R-right,” I stuttered as I did what she said. The one problem with that was it caused me to briefly focus on my other senses. Like the one that could tell there was something soft and warm pressed firmly in my lap.

“Such a naughty stallion,” Luna whispered into my ear, indicating that she felt something I really wished she hadn’t. “Open your eyes.”

“I am so sorry!” I quickly blurted as I opened my eyes. “I couldn’t help… it… what the?”

When I had opened my eyes, I was no longer in the guest room, but a large field of dead grass.

“How the hell?” I asked while looking at myself and receiving another shock. “I look real again!”

“It is how your mind see’s you,” a voice sounded from beside me, sounding familiar yet held a tone of sadness. “It takes years of training to hide the truth in its entirety in here.”

Looking to my side, I found an animated Nightmare Moon standing beside me instead of Luna.

“What the hell?!” I shouted as I took a step back, looking at the chest high mare. “I thought you were…”

“This is what I truly look like fool,” Nightmare glared, but it was obvious that she was very uncomfortable at the moment.

“That… kinda makes sense,” I replied while looking at the all black mare, drawing a slightly surprised look from the mare. “But if that’s the case, the whole incident from a thousand years ago?”

“You honestly believe my sister would seal me in the moon for a thousand years?” Nigh- Luna said as she looked up at an ash gray sky with no sun to be seen. “Yes, we did fight, and in an act of desperation, my sister called for help by the elements.

“Neither of us expected the elements to do what they did,” Luna growled as she looked to the ground. “It was only thanks to assurance from our mother of my release that Celestia did not destroy the elements. I’m just lucky that it simply felt like a few hours, instead of the silence of one thousand years.”

I was completely floored by what I had just heard as my eyes looked towards my right wrist. While it was bare in the dreamscape, I could still feel my element against my arm.

“I don’t think I feel safe wearing mine anymore,” I idly said, looking towards Luna with a slight bit of worry.

“You have no need to worry of yours, Christopher,” Luna replied, adapting a small smile as she looked at me with her catlike eyes. “Your element was the only one to not assist in my sealing and it was thanks to this that I was imprisoned for only one thousand years. My imprisonment would have been indefinite had it added its strength.”

“Can one element really make that much of a difference?” I asked, a little confused at the revelation.

“It was the only one that took both Celestia and I to control,” Luna replied with a nod. “So, when she called for the help of the elements, courage was the one that did not heed the call.”

“I guess I should remember that,” I replied, nodding absentmindedly while clenching my right hand a few times. “But did you two really fight because you wanted the moon to stay out?”

“That is not something you need to know,” Luna replied with a surprising glare. Her smile having disappeared as she stared at me intently. “For now, ponies can believe what they wish, and that includes you.”

“I was just asking,” I replied with a quick nod, holding my hands out placatingly. “Not my place to be telling anyone about things like that anyways.”

“Yes, now then, we shall go over what we intend to do,” Luna began as she walked around me, her smile returning. As she walked though, I couldn’t help but notice the slight sway she would give as she did.

“Now now, just because we are in a dream , does not give you permission to look without compensation,” Luna chuckled as my eyes snapped to her draconic ones. “Although, we are quite flattered.”

“S-sorry,” I stuttered.

“Now then,” Luna continued. “For the rest of today, we will train on your control here in your dreamscape.”

“Okay…” I said, looking around the large field. While the dead grass was a bit of a letdown, I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that there was light with no sun. “So, this is my dreamscape?”

“Not entirely,” Luna sighed as she her horn glowed and the grass came alive once again, a few different flowers popping up as well. “Your subconscious is far different than any I have encountered. It seems to have trouble with connecting certain things. So, I used my magic to force it into a stable enough form so that we could train.”

“So, I’m lucid dreaming right now?” I asked.

“In a way, yes,” Luna replied with a fang filled smile. “Here, your imagination is your limit, which in essence, is exactly what your magic will allow you to make real.”

“Cool,” I nodded with a smile while activating my magic. Unlike before, I couldn’t feel the cooling effect on my arm this time, so it took me a few times to get it right. “Will this actually carry over into the real world though?”

“It will help,” Luna said as she looked over my magic with an intrigued eye. “Here, there are no limits to what you can do, while in the waking world, your magic will have a limit to what it can do. Granted it can be increased with training and work, but there is a limit.

“Tomorrow, we will train in the waking world, seeing your limits and ensuring that you have the basics learned to the point where you can continue your studies on your own safely,” Luna continued. “When on your own, I will expect to receive reports on your progress at least once a week. You will come to see that there is a vast difference between a unicorn’s magic and miasma magic.”

“And the next day?” I asked, remembering that there was supposed to be a third day of training with Luna before going back to Ponyville.

“Oh, yes,” Luna purred. “We have set up a bit of a… demonstration for that day.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, raising my brow at the grinning mare.

“Well,” Luna began as she walked up to me, with a very obvious sway in her hips. “We promised our sister that you would have enough control to take on a royal guard.”

“Seriously?” I asked as Luna used me to stand on two hooves, bringing her head down to mine as she stood slightly taller than me in this fashion.

“Yessss,” Luna replied with a smirk as she brought her muzzle to my right ear. “And if you happen to do good, I might be inclined to… reward you.”

With that one word, I felt something against my lips, even though there was nothing there.

“Does that intrigue you?” Luna breathed into my ear as I felt something grind against my crotch. “The quiet one has already given her permission.”

“I-I think… I think I need to talk with Fluttershy about how open she is about all this,” I replied with a slight stutter in my voice and obvious wide eyes.

“For now, that can wait,” Luna said as she dropped back down and tuned to walk away, swaying her rear end far more than she needed to. “Now than, let’s begin.”


*	*	*


“Intriguing,” Luna said as she looked at what I had done.

After she had finished an hour-long explanation on how the miasma was an extension of my mind’s reach and all that crap, we began to work on me forming it into shapes and just working on mental control.

“I always wanted to have claws,” I chuckled as I held up both my arms, now covered in my miasma, shaped to look like large claws. “Can’t get them to solidify though.”

“That will come with training,” Luna replied as she licked her lips. “Now then, would you like to break for lunch?”

“I could go for some food,” I chuckled. While I didn’t actually feel hungry, I knew it was getting later in the waking world and I hadn’t had breakfast yet.

“Very well then,” Luna smiled as she sauntered over to me. Without even stopping, she jumped up and kissed me hard on the lips. The act alone seemed to be the catalyst that woke me up as I suddenly blinked to find myself back in my room, only this time, the mare pressed against my lips was a dark blue instead of black.

“We shall see thou in the hall for lunch,” Luna giggled as she carefully removed herself from my lap, trailing a hoof against my crotch as she did so. I simply watched as she placed her regalia back on and walked out the door, flicking her tail in a way that I could easily see something dripping.

“Wait a minute,” I mumbled, snapping my eyes from the retreating princess to my lap. As expected there was a small damp spot there.

“How did it go?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, reminding me that she was there.

“Uh… good?” I stuttered out while looking over to the mare. She was laying on the other side of the bed with a small tray of food in front of her. “How long were we like that?”

“All morning,” Fluttershy shrugged as she held out a cookie for me. “Cookie?”

“Please,” I said while taking the offered item. I quickly finished the item before deciding on what next to say.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“Did you…” I began with a look of confusion clear on my face. “Did you tell Princess Luna that she could… seduce me?”

“She said it would help with your training,” Fluttershy replied with a red face. “She also said she’s never been with a stallion… so I thought…”

“Fluttershy, we really have to talk about this,” I sighed while standing up. I was still hungry, but I needed to change my pants first.

“What about?” the mare asked as she gave a cute cat like stretch before getting out of the bed.

“About this whole herd thing,” I sighed. “I’m not saying get rid of it or anything, just ask me first before you invite a mare in or try to offer me up to somepony, okay?”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy replied with a frown, reminding me why it was impossible to stay upset or mad with the mare.

“It’s alright,” I sighed after changing my pants. “Come on, let’s go get lunch.”

***

“…and he was actually doing quite well sister,” Luna chuckled as me and Fluttershy entered the dining hall. Like before, there were several guards, Celestia, Luna, Spike and surprisingly, Twilight.

“Hey Twi,” I greeted the mare. “I didn’t know you would be coming.”

“Well, after Spike left with you two, I got kinda lonely at the Library,” Twilight sheepishly replied with a light blush. “So, I thought it would be nice to come here and see the Princess. Probably go see my mom and dad while I’m here too.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Twilight,” Celestia replied with a mischievous look forming on her face. “In fact, why don’t you bring Christopher to meet them.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Twilight trailed off with a worried look.

“That’s a great idea Princess!” Spike just about shouted as he turned to me. “You think I have an awesome comic collection. Wait until you see Night Light’s.”

“Well, I still have the rest of the day for training,” I said while taking a seat next to the young dragon.

“Now that we have entered thy dreamscape…” Luna suddenly chirped with a smile of her own. “We should be able to access it without problem during the evening.”

“Fine…” Twilight sighed, looking at me with what seemed to be pity. “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you though.”

“Well,” I sighed, turning to Fluttershy with my own look of trepidation. “That wasn’t ominous at all.”


*	*	*


“Man, I can’t believe Fluttershy had to leave,” I huffed as I walked down the street with Twilight and Spike. Apparently, when Twilight couldn’t tell her exactly how her animals were doing, she got really worried and decided to go back early.

“She said she’ll make it up to you, so quite whining you big foal,” Twilight huffed. She really didn’t seem to like the idea of me meeting her parents.

At least no one had decided to bother us as we walked.

“There it is,” Spike said as he pointed to a large two story white house with a purple shingled roof. It had a nice walkway with flower gardens on each side and a large window showing an empty sitting room on the left side.

“Nice place,” I commented as we walked up to the front door, deciding not to point out that all the surrounding buildings look the same.

“Before I knock, I need you to promise me something,” Twilight said as she turned to me with a serious look. “If my mother offers some of her ‘special’ tea, say no.”

“Uh… why?” I asked, even seeing Spike looking slightly uncomfortable.

“It’ll be kinda obvious,” Spike sighed as Twilight gave the door a few knocks. We stood there for several minutes before we heard someone on the other side of the door.

“Unless you have the thin mints, I don’t want any!” a stallion’s voice called from behind the door.

“Daddy, open the door,” Twilight groaned as her ears fell and another blush filled her cheeks.

“Daddy?” I chuckled as I heard the click of a lock.

“Shut up!” Twilight hissed under her breath before going all smiles as the door opened to reveal Twilight father, Night Light. He had a blue coat with an even darker blue mane and tail and had wide gold eyes.

“Twily!” the stallion cheered before pulling the mare into a big hug. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming, your mother and I would have prepared something.”

“It was just a spur of the moment thing,” Twilight replied as she pulled back from the hug.

“Hey Mr. Light,” Spike said, giving the stallion a hug before allowing him to see me.

“And you are?” Night Light asked as he looked at me with a raised brow and perked ears.

“Daddy, this is Christopher, he’s a human,” Twilight said, introducing me with a barely discernable tone of hesitation.

“Hello,” I said holding out my hand.

“Wait… Christopher?” Night asked as he gave me a hoof shake and gained a growing smile.

“That’s my name, what about it?” I chuckled as Twilight suddenly erupted into a glowing red.

“Why, we get a letter every few days from Twily, talking all about…” Night began with a chuckle, falling silent as a magic glow clamped his muzzle shut.

“I-I think he’s heard enough Daddy,” Twilight stuttered as she quickly pushed the stallion back inside the house, her hair fraying slightly.

“Come on,” Spike chuckled as he led me into the home.

“Nice place,” I said as I crouched through the door.

“Why thank you,” a new voice piped from across the entrance hall. I watched as a mare who looked surprisingly like Twilight, but with a different color scheme of off white and violet, walked into the hall with us.

“I didn’t know you had a younger sister, Twilight,” I joked, knowing fully well that the new mare was in fact her mother, Twilight Velvet.

“Oh, a charmer, are we?” Velvet chuckled as she walked over to me with a sway. “That kind of talk will get you everywhere with me.”

“Mom!?” Twilight snapped in shock, her face glowing redder than a tomato.

“Oh hush, dear, I’m only playing with the… stallion?” Velvet asked while looking at me with a raised brow.

“Technically speaking, yes,” I replied with a nod of my head. “But I’d rather be referred to as a man.”

“Maybe after dinner and some dancing,” Velvet purred, eliciting a groan from Twilight and Spike.

“Dear, this is Christopher,” Light chuckled, apparently having been released from Twilights magic.

“You’re Christopher!?” Velvet suddenly beamed, staring at me with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen. I gave a slight nod as the mare sqweed in happiness.

“Oh, our little Twily has sent us all kinds of letters about you,” Velvet squealed. “It’s so cute how she gushes about you.”

“Really now?” I chuckled as I looked at Twilight. The poor mare looked like she wanted to die as more hairs began to pop.

“To think she would actually bring her herd stallion to meet us so soon,” Velvet sighed wistfully.

“What?!” Both Twilight and me shouted in shock.

“Oh, there’s no need to be embarrassed dear,” Velvet said as she pulled her daughter into a hug. “We don’t care if you’re in a herd.”

“But I’m no-“ Twilight tried to reply.

I would have said something too if I wasn’t busy laughing hysterically.

“We were afraid you didn’t like stallions,” Night Light chuckled, causing my laughter to increase. “Even if said stallion isn’t a pony.”

“Oh, you should see the letters,” Velvet gushed as she magicked one out of thin air. A pair of glasses quickly followed as she cleared her throat and began to read. “he fell asleep reading another history book today.I forgot Fluttershy’s warning and got to close and ended up stuck in his grip for an hour.

“It was nice though. I’m kind of thinking about accepting Flut…”

“Ithinkthatsenough!” Twilight quickly blurted out, taking the letter and eating it while her face glowed redder every second.

“Huh, so the librarian has a crush on the alien,” I chuckled as Twilight began to stutter incoherently around her paper filled mouth. “Sounds like the beginning of a bad porno.”

“Would you like to join us for dinner?” Velvet asked with a flutter of her eyes, her glasses disappearing in a flash.

“As long as there aren’t any flowers or hay, I’m in,” I smiled, giving the mare a grateful nod.


*	*	*


“…and this was little Twily when she was still in diapers,” Velvet cooed as she continued through the foal album. Twilight for her part was sitting in a corner, looking like she was waiting for death.

“Oh my god, she a tubby filly!” I cooed back. Foal Twilight had major pudge and looked fucking adorable.

“Oh, I know,” Velvet whined as she looked at the pictures. “Why did my filly have to grow up?”

“They all do at some point Miss Velvet,” I replied as she continued to show me pictures.

“You know, I wouldn’t be so sad if I could actually get some grandfoals,” Velvet voiced out to no one in particular. Although, it was obvious that she was trying to gourd Twilight.

“Mom! I’m eighteen!” Twilight called back.

“And your brother is taking too long!” Velvet called back. “I swear, if one of you two don’t get me a grandfoal soon, I will not be held responsible for what I do.”

It was at that point that Miss Velvet proceeded to grab my crotch firmly with a hoof.

“What do you say stud?” Velvet asked while squeezing my balls a few times. “I got at least one more foal in me. What do you say to fathering it?”

“Velvet, let the poor colt go,” Light said as he walked back into the room with a tray of drinks. “Its bad conduct.”

“Then are you going to put another one in me?” Velvet asked as she released my crotch and looked at her husband. “You barely survived Twilight’s conception.”

“Dear sweet god…” I groaned out as I got off the couch and moved away from the mare, cradling my irritated balls.

“Okay, they’re both still there,” I groaned as I tried to locate my balls behind my slightly erect dick.

“You. Me. Bed. Five minutes. Be there!” Velvet yelled at her husband before rushing out of the room.

“Honey, what about dinner?” Night Light called back with a groan. When no reply came, the stallion gave a shudder before leaving the room as well.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” the stallion sighed as he left.

What followed were several minutes of squeaks, muffled moans, and a few muffled screams.

“At least they remembered the muffling spell this time,” Spike commented as he walked into the room carrying a large tub of cookies. “Shining Armor stopped bringing friends over after the first time they forgot we had company.”

“Does what just happened have anything to do with her so called ‘special’ tea?” I asked, completely shocked by the events.

“Her special tea is basically an invitation to have sex,” Twilight sighed heavily as her ears dropped along with her posture. “My parents are swingers, or my mom is. Apparently, my dad just likes to watch.”

“What the fuck is wrong with this world?” I asked myself quietly as Velvet trotted back into the room with a smile.

“How is eveypony?” Velvet asked as if nothing had happened.

“Horrible and slightly disgusted,” I mumbled out, doing my best to not look at the older mare. “Pretty sure I’m scarred for life too.”

“Please, you’re a stallion,” Velvet chuckled. “I bet if I offered right now, you’d take me on this couch.”

“I need an adult!” I squeeked out, worried about where this was going.

“Silly colt,” Velvet giggled, smirking at me with half laden eyes. “I am an adult.”

“Mom, please, can we just stop this?” Twilight begged, finally showing signs of life. “Please?”

“Oh fine,” Velvet huffed. “Only because he’s your coltfriend.”

“I’m not-“

“Thank you,” Twilight sighed, preventing me from answering fully. “Now PLEASE go take a shower. I can smell you from here.”

“Oh hush,” Velvet said as she walked out of the room. Only this time she flicked her tail to the side and gave me a wink.

“I wish I hadn’t seen that,” I sighed, rubbing my temples with a free hand.

“You get used to it,” Spike shrugged as he decided to leave the room too.

“No, you really shouldn’t,” I sighed as I took a seat back on the couch.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Twilight said as she took a seat beside me. Before I even realized it, the mare was laying down on my lap and looking up at me with an apologetic smile. “Kind of makes it hard to have friends over.”

“You know what they say,” I chuckled while stroking the mare’s mane. “You can’t choose your parents.”

“Kind of wish you could though,” Twilight blissfully sighed as she pressed further into my hand.

“So, why did you lie to your mom about me being your coltfriend,” I asked.

“Because if I hadn’t, she would have probably taken you right then and there,” Twilight replied with flat ears and a small frown.

“I guess I should thank you for that then,” I chuckled as I began to trail my hand farther down her back.

“I was also… kind of hoping…” Twilight began as her cheeks began to glow again.

“You want to join the herd?” I asked, chuckling though the slight shock. Fluttershy having already admitting to have offered the chance to all of the other elements… and half the town.

I was kind of afraid of going back to Ponyville now…

“If you don’t mind,” Twilight sheepishly replied as her face was red. “I mean, I like spending time with you, and you actually listen to me when I talk about things…”

“Cause they’re actually really interesting topics… most of the time,” I chuckled, earning a small playful shove.

Usually after work, I would go to the library and do some reading. It was mostly to confirm a few suspicions, but I tended to fall asleep whenever I got to board. This resulted in me usually talking to Twilight about whatever she was currently studying. Most of the time it was about a silly little friendship problem, but sometimes it would be about magic or Star Swirl.

“But why would you want to be in a herd, especially one with a strange creature like me?” I questioned.

“You’re not strange,” Twilight chuckled. “You’re just… special.”

“Mama always said I is special,” I replied in a deep voice and a lop-sided grin.

“And such a special colt you are,” Twilight giggled while patting the side of my face.

“So, we’re making jokes now?” I chuckled while shifting my hands to the mare’s sides and began to tickle.

“St-stop! Y-You’re going t-to make me p-pee!” Twilight laughed as she tried to get away.

Fun fact, Ponies are VERY ticklish.

“Then you better hold it,” I deviously chuckled, while continuing my assault. A few minutes later, I stopped, allowing the mare to breath.

“That was mean,” Twilight said as she now lay on her back next to me, staring at me with half laden eyes.

“What are you gonna do about it?” I asked, cocking my brow as I leaned over the mare.

“How about this?” Twilight giggled as her horn lit and she forced my lips to hers for a kiss. My shock quickly evaporated as I leaned further into the kiss, my hands trailing against the mare’s sides.

My hands quickly found the mares flanks, causing her to moan in my mouth. While she was busy exploring my mouth, my hands were marveling over the fact that Twilight had an even softer flank than Fluttershy, bigger than hers too.

“I’m gonna get a grandfoal!” a sudden squeal erupted, shocking the two of us away from each other.

“MOM?!” Twilight snorted with a red face as she quickly moved into a more proper position.

“When’s the wedding?” Velvet asked rapidly, rushing up to us, her eyes wide and her smile large. “No, forget the wedding. Just give me grandfoals!”


*	*	*


“I still think my uncle has more,” I grumbled while playing with the chili in front of me. I was currently complaining because I had just seen Night Light’s comic collection and I’m pretty sure there was enough merchandise in that one room to fund a bank.

“Told you he had a lot,” Spike chuckled, accidently flinging some of his own food at me. “Opps…”

“Twilight Star sounds like a good name for a filly, doesn’t it?” Velvet said as she talked to a completely crestfallen Twilight. “Works for a colt too.”

Right after the mare had caught me and Twilight making out on the couch, she’d been droning on and on about fillies and colts.

“Velvet, dear,” Night Light called, trying his best to draw his wife’s attention. “She’s only just turned eighteen a few months ago, and she’s not even the alpha mare. You know the rules.”

“Then he’ll just have to get to work then,” Velvet replied before turning to me. “Do you need some uterus inducers? I know a pony that can get you some.”

“I’m good…” I replied while placing my spoon down. “Fluttershy is already asking for one so…”

“Wait, Fluttershy wants a foal?” Twilight asked while coming back to life, suddenly more interested in what I was saying.

“Fluttershy… is she the alpha mare?” Velvet asked, looking between me and Twilight.

“Yes, Fluttershy is the alpha mare,” I replied, really not giving a fuck anymore as I let out a sigh. “And she told me this morning, that in two months, when she’s in heat or whatever you ponies call it, she wants to conceive a foal.”

“Well congratulations,” Night Light proclaimed without smiling, raising his glass of milk.

“Night, hush!” Velvet snapped at her husband before she got out of her seat and moved next to me. “What’s wrong dear?”

“…I really…” I began with a heavy sigh. “Everything is moving too fast in a direction I didn’t see coming.

“At first, I agreed to go out with Fluttershy because only an idiot would tell a mare like that no. Then, out of nowhere she wants to start a herd and while I can’t really complain about it, I still can’t help but feel that it is wrong, but something in my head just pushes that aside, telling me that its fine and not to over think it.

“But the real kicker… the real kicker was when she told me earlier today that even though we have only been together for a month, she wants a foal. Even though things like-“

*CRASH*

The chair I was in suddenly gave out, reminding me that I couldn’t reveal the future. But even then, I didn’t bother getting up.

“The princess told me a few weeks ago that you knew more than you led us all to believe,” Twilight replied quietly as her face filled my view. “You may think you know what’s going to happen, but I’ve seen the looks of surprise and confusion on your face. Things are different, so don’t try to focus on what you think is going to happen and instead, look at what’s in front of you and live by that.”

“Twi,” I said, looking up into the mare’s eyes.

“Yes?” She responded with a smile, her bangs only just grazing the top of her eyes.

“You are such a nerd,” I chuckled while actually sitting up, earning an eyeroll and small chuckle from the mare.

“You okay, Chris?” Spike asked me with a worried expression.

“Just a little overwhelmed is all, Spike,” I sighed while looking at the mess of a chair. “Sorry about the chair, I’d explain what happened, but I don’t think you’d understand.”

“It’s not a problem,” Night Light said as his horn began to glow and the chair began to repair it-self.

“Chris,” Velvet called drawing my attention to the dining room entrance. “Would you mind following me to the living room?”

“Uh…I don’t…” I began, a little worried.

“I’m not going to try anything,” Velvet said. “I just want to talk, okay?”

“Right,” I sighed as I followed Velvet into the living room. Both of us taking a seat on the couch when we got there.

“So,” Velvet said as she looked at me. “Ask me whatever you want to know about herds.”

“What?” I asked, shocked by what she said.

“One of the biggest reason you’re having problems with this, is because of your lack of knowledge,” Velvet replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “So, ask away.”

“Oh… okay,” I nodded as I took a moment to think. “Is it common for a mare to want a foal so soon?”

“Yes,” Velvet replied simply. “It’s mostly an instinctual thing. A mare finds a stallion and the best way to keep him is to bear his foal. With colts being born every one in eight, it was a common practice in the old days.”

“And that would actually work?” I asked.

“Not always,” Velvet replied off handedly. “But it tends to work out most of the time.”

“But what if the stallion didn’t want a kid?” I asked back.

“I’m gonna guess that ‘kid’ is your species term for foal,” Velvet said with a slight sigh. “And depending on the time of year, a lot of stallions don’t get a choice.”

“What?!” I asked in shock.

“That’s how it used to be!” Velvet quickly added, noticing my expression. “When a mare goes into heat, they tend to lose a lot of rational thinking and there aren’t many things that can calm them down. Or that used to be the case. Now, there are some spells and potions that do help, but it is still a bad problem in spring.”

“Uh…okay,” I said while thinking of another question. “How many are there usually in herds?”

“I think the legal limit is ten these days,” Velvet said with a slightly confused expression. “Although… I think I have a cousin who has twelve.”

“And that actually works?” I asked trying to think of something like that.

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t?” Velvet replied as she looked at me. “The biggest thing to making a herd work is just being open with everypony and trusting one another.”

“But how can they all handle being in the same house or something?” I quickly asked, thinking about it in my head.

“Oh, I see where you’re confused,” Velvet giggled. “Not all herd mates tend to stay in the same house. They don’t even make houses that big outside of Canterlot and Manehatten these days anyways.”

“Still a bit confused… but I kinda understand,” I nodded with a bit of thinking. I mean, I doubted I had the room to house everyone currently in my herd.

I just realized I’ve been saying ‘my’ herd.

“Oh, are you disappointed?” Velvet giggled. “I bet you were thinking about sleeping in a giant bed of mares, weren’t you?”

“That actually doesn’t sound that comfortable,” I deadpanned.

“You really need to lighten up,” Velvet chuckled. “Now, what else do you want to know?”

“What can you tell me?” I asked, honestly wanting to know more.

“Watch out for mares trying to steal you from your herd,” Velvet replied with a slight frown.

“That happens?” I asked.

“Some mares don’t like being under somepony else,” Velvet replied with an annoyed frown before muttering something to herself.

“Uh… okay,” I said as I watched the mare grumble angrily about something. “Anything else?”

“No having sex with other mares without a herdmates permission,” Velvet sighed as she stopped her grumbling. “And be prepared for some mares to ask for a “donation”.”

“A “donation”?” I asked, feeling slightly worried.

“Some mares don’t want to be in a relationship, herd or prefer to be with mares,” Velvet began to explain. “But they do want to be mothers. So, sometimes they ask for a herd stallion to father a foal for them. Usually from friends and the like.”

“But they need permission from the Alpha mare, don’t they,” I uncomfortably replied as I remembered the instance with Lyra.

“And only after she’s had one first,” Velvet pointed out. “Having a foal with a somepony that isn’t the alpha mare first is likely to destroy the whole herd.”

“Okay…” I sighed honestly floored by what I learned. “Anything else?”


*	*	*


“Again!” Luna shouted as I slumped to the ground in annoyance, the mare looking like she apparently should once again.

“But this is so boring!” I groaned out as my claw arms dissipated. After going to sleep, I quickly found myself back in the field that Luna had created in my subconscious.

Apparently, she made it a semi-permanent thing without telling me, so I was going to be seeing this place… for the rest of my life.

She said that I would be able to change it in time though, so that’s a plus.

“Those claws seem to be the best you can think up right now, so I want you to fully test the limits on what you can do with them,” Luna replied as she sat upon a giant pile of dark blue pillows. “The better you can do it here, the more likely it will carry over correctly in the waking world.”

“Fine…” I groaned out as my arms were wrapped in the miasma again. Unlike this morning though, they now had a magma rock like look to them, a light blue glow emanating from several cracks.

I quickly realized that they looked a lot like Nero’s devil arm from DMC 4; The main difference though being that both my arms were covered and the stone was a bland gray instead of red.

“So, how was your meeting with the Sparkle family?” Luna asked as I threw a punch forward, a smoke like wave rushing from my fist.

“Have you had the chance to meet them?” I asked back.

“No, our sister has advised us against it,” Luna replied with a raised brow. “Why, are they not good hosts?”

“No, they’re actually really nice ponies,” I replied with a shrug. “But… Ms. Velvet can be a bit… forward.”

“How so?” Luna questioned.

“She tried hitting on me, offered to have my foal, proceeded to go and fuck her husband, offered her daughter to me and grabbed my crotch,” I replied with a heavy sigh. “I’m honestly afraid that she’ll try something in my sleep.”

“And what of Ms. Sparkles father?” Luna asked. “Surly he would be against such acts.”

“They’re swingers or something,” I replied with a shrug.

“Yet another thing I will have to learn about,” Luna sighed, her draconic eyes glaring out into the gray sky.

“Yeah, I think its kinda---“ I began, falling short when I began to feel something against my chest.

“What is wrong?” Luna asked as she got up from her seat.

“Something just got into bed with me…” I said as I felt it move against my chest. “I hope to god it’s not Velvet.”

“No, she is asleep,” Luna replied as she seemed to look off into the distance. “In fact, there is currently one resident in the household you reside in that is not in the dreaming world if my guess is correct.”

“Then who is it?” I asked, a little more relived now.

“Why don’t you find out,” Luna chuckled as she lifted up one of her front hooves.

Even though I was dreaming, I still felt my heart catch in my throat as the princess’s leg turned into a hammer as big as a semi-truck.

“Be sure to tell them I say hello!” Luna called as the hammer smashed down onto me.

“HOLY CRAP!” I shouted out as I woke up, throwing whatever was on my chest away.

“Eep!” a quiet voice shrieked as whoever I pushed away fell out of the bed.

“What in the…” I questioned as I moved to look over the bed. I didn’t have to go far to find a slightly comical sight.

Twilight was currently laying in on the ground, trying to remove a small trash can from her head.

“Twilight… what are you doing?” I chuckled as the mare removed the can to reveal her heavily blushing face.

“I just… I was kinda hoping I could sleep… with you,” Twilight replied without looking at me.

“Sleep with me?” I asked in slight confusion, still a little groggy.

“N-not like that!” Twilight quickly replied as she looked at me in embarrassment. “Just to sleep, that’s it!”

“What…uh, yeah sure,” I replied as I moved to the other side of the bed and held the blanket open for her.

“Okay,” Twilight smiled as she crawled in with me. She quickly pressed herself against my chest as I placed the blanket over us. “I thought you would be against this.”

“It’s still really late, so it’s either spend time questioning/worrying or just accept it and go to sleep,” I mumbled out as I began to fall back asleep.

“Well, I kinda forgot something back in Ponyville,” Twilight said as she nuzzled under my chin. It was kinda weird feeling her horn against my cheek.

“Your smarty pants doll?” I replied, pulling the mare against me with a free arm. I had to admit, it was way better going to sleep with a soft warm body with you.

“It’s a little embarrassing, but my brother gave it to me when I was really little,” Twilight began to explain. “I was afraid of the dark and being alone, so he made it for me.”

“He sounds like a good stallion,” I replied, moving my hand up and scratching behind one of the mare’s ears.

“He is…” Twilight replied before falling silent. “But I would recommend staying away from him.”

“Uh… why?” I asked, now almost fully awake.

“Let’s just say our uncle… instilled some worrying beliefs in him,” Twilight sighed with a frown. “Shiny always looked up to him, but he was a bit of a supremacist.”

“Oh…” I said, pretty sure I knew what she meant.

“Doesn’t help that the last potential coltfriend I had he scared away just five minutes after he asked me out,” Twilight grumbled before laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling with a small glare.

“Eh, let him try,” I chuckled. “I aint ‘fraid of no pretty boy pony.”

“That’s still my brother you’re talking about,” Twilight chastised as she smacked my chest with a hoof. But the small smile she had told me she was taking it as a joke. “But I guess we should get to sleep.”

“I’m kinda not tired anymore,” I chuckled back, bopping the mare on the nose.

“Really now?” Twilight giggled as I suddenly felt one of her hoofs grip my ass firmly. “I can think of a few things we could do to pass the time.”

“Like?” I asked, mirroring her actions. If I was being honest, I really liked the feeling of Twilight’s flank.

“Well, I’d like to try some…” Twilight began to reply, her eyes taking a half laden look. “Experiments.”

“On what exactly?” I asked as my hand continued to massage the mare’s flank.

“Biology,” Twilight purred as she gave me a quick kiss. “Perhaps a look into human mating habits?”

“While I would love to…” I began with a heavy sigh, a stray thought coming to mind. “But I’d like to spend some time with you ‘romantically’ first.”

“And ponies say that shivery is dead,” Twilight giggled as she nuzzled into my chest.

“That, and I’m pretty sure your mom both slipped something into your food and is standing outside the door with party poppers and ‘it’s a filly’ balloon,” I chuckled as I continued to grasp Twilights flanks.

“It’s actually ‘it’s a colt’ balloon,” Velvets voice replied from outside the guest room. “My family has a history of having colts first.”

“MOTHER!” Twilight shouted as her horn flashed briefly. A moment later, there was a loud pop outside the room followed by Velvet giving a slight shriek.

“I-I’m okay, don’t worry,” her voice echoed back a few moments later. “Just continue with what you were doing… I’m going to get some ice.”


*	*	*


“Now than,” Luna began as she walked around me in an authoritative way. “For the rest of today, we will be assessing your potential and limits of thy magic in the waking world.”

After having a quick breakfast at Twilight’s family home, Spike, Twilight and I quickly made our way back to the castle.

Once there, Luna quickly brought us to a large dome like room that she explained to be a place where we would work on my magic in the waking world and that the room could withstand most magical mishaps.

“Any questions?” Luna asked me.

“I have a few!” Twilight called from the side of the room where her and Spike sat to observe.

“And they will be answered at another time,” Luna quickly replied to the mare. Apparently, Luna thought Twilight asked too many questions for her own good. “At this time, we are more concerned with our student’s capabilities.”

I just chuckled at the display, finding the slightly disappointed look Twilight gave back cute.

“So, just like in my dreams, right?” I asked while looking at Luna.

“In essence, yes,” Luna nodded. “But as I warned before, thou shall see a difference between here and there.”

“Okay,” I nodded, slightly hesitant. Flicking my wrist, I quickly activated my magic, allowing the cool feeling to envelop my right arm before trying to share it with my left.

After a few moments, I quickly realized what Luna had warned me about. It took far more concentration to share the mist between both arms. The feeling alone causing some trouble.

“Very good,” Luna smiled as I finally got to the point where both arms were covered in the mist. But even then, it was shoddy at best. “You see what we warned thou about, no?”

“Y-yeah,” I replied, almost losing focus. I tried to then shape the mist into the claws, but ended up losing focus entirely in the process.

“Crap…” I muttered as my right arm was the only thing enveloped at mist by that point.

“Calm thy self,” Luna said as she walked over. “As long as you realize the difference, it will be far easier to rectify the problem you face.

“The one who first showed us how to control the miasma told us of a trick,” Luna smirked with an odd look in her eye. “Close your eyes, take a calming breath and envision what you want. Try to imagine how it would feel if it were real.”

“Right… feel,” I hesitantly nodded before closing my eyes. For a few minutes, I simply took calming breath as I began to imagine my arms as the claws from the dreamscape. The slightly sudden feeling of something surrounding both my arms helped to cement the image in my head that something was surrounding my arms.

Before I opened my eyes, I mentally convinced myself of what I wanted to see, allowing the cool feel enveloping my arms help, and with one final breath, I opened my eyes.

“Fuck Yeah!” I shouted as my arms were now like they were in the dreamscape only more colorful and cartoonish.

“And that is the trick to miasma magic,” Luna smiled as I noticed Twilight taking notes. “Miasma is meant to bring illusions into reality, but to do that, one must first be able to convince themselves what is reality.”

“This is way more than just illusion, that’s for sure,” I said as I tapped my arm, resulting in what sounded like two rocks hitting on another.

“Miasma magic can be very powerful or very weak depending on the user,” Luna commented. “If one can truly envision it, than it shall be.”

“And if you can’t even convince yourself, than your as good as dead?” I asked.

“Morbidly speaking, yes,” Luna replied with a slightly uncomfortable look. “Now than, we believe you were able to do several different actions with those arms if we are not mistaken. So, please begin.”

“Right…” I sighed while looking around the slightly barren room as I began to bob to a beat in my head. “Let’s rock!”


*	*	*


“That was just sad,” Spike frowned as he looked at Christopher’s unconscious body. “How long did he last?”

“Nine minutes and 33 seconds, half of which was him trying to get his magic to work in the first place,” Twilight listed off with a shake of her head. “I’m more concerned with Princess Luna though.”

Off to one side of the room stood Luna, a defeated expression on her face as she slowly banged her head against the wall.

“We are doomed…” Luna groaned.

“It’s okay princess, all he needs is some practice,” Spike said as he made his way over to the sulking princess and gave her a reassuring pat on the side. “I’m sure he’ll get stronger!”

“That is not the problem young Spike,” Luna sighed as she looked at him. “We challenged sister to a duel. We were positive that he would be able to stand against a trained guard come tomorrow.

“We were a fool to think he would be strong enough to take on a trained pony so soon,” Luna finished as she looked at the unconscious human.

“Chris is going to what?!” Twilight shouted as she heard what Luna said.

“Tomorrow, Christopher will be facing a pony of Celestia’s choosing to face in combat,” Luna sighed as she walked over to the unicorn. “We got excited over the prospect of a student of our own and believed we could prepare him to face such a challenge in a short time.”

“It can’t be that bad?” Spike asked as he checked Chris over himself. “I mean, does he have to use magic?”

“Yes… yes, he does,” Luna sighed morbidly, before a slight look of realization crossed her face. “But perhaps there is still a chance that we can show our sister who is the better!”

“Uh, what?” Twilight and Spike asked as they watched in confusion as Luna scooped Chris’s unconscious body and rushed off.


*	*	*


“Gah… my head still hurts,” I groaned out as I slowly trudged alongside Luna. I woke up to her carrying me to god knows where with a horrible headache.

“Thy pain shall pass,” Luna replied as she continued forward. “We will admit though, we are highly disappointed with your capabilities in the arcane.”

“What did you expect!?” I just about demanded as my head gave another heavy throb. “Humans don’t do real magic.”

“We are sorry,” Luna replied as she flinched back from my shout. “We just thought that… our offer was enough to incite thou to push further.”

“Offer?” I questioned, honestly having no idea what she was talking about.

“How can thou not remember?” Luna suddenly replied as her face began to glow red. It was a moment later that I remembered what she basically offered the other day.

“O, you mean about-“ I began only to be stopped as Luna quickly placed a covered hoof over my mouth as her eyes looked towards several passing guards.

“If thou values thy life, thou shalt not speak of such things where others can hear,” Luna quietly hissed into my ear. “It is against the law for a pony not of royalty, nobility or high military standards to even think about bedding me or my sister.”

“What kind of dumb ass came up with a law like that?” I asked while trying to ignore the slight taste of dirt that seemed to accompany Luna’s hoof.

“Our father,” Luna quickly replied with a frown and glare. “And you would do well not to insult him as he has been known to be easily angered.”

“Really?” I asked with a chuckle as we continued towards what looked like a large stone barracks with several chimney stacks. “Because I’ve been cursing both him and your mother for bringing me to this place without an explanation and the only problem I’ve had so far is a lack of milk for my cereal in the morning.”

“That… may be a fault of our own,” Luna sheepishly smiled as we stopped outside of two large wooden doors. “We tend to enjoy milk… with our moon pies.”

“Hey, the deal was for the moon pies and some milk, not all my milk,” I replied with a frown. I was actually a little annoyed about this, mostly because I REALLY liked having a glass of milk with every meal, as well as several others throughout the day.

“And should thou win tomorrow,” Luna began before leaning in close to my ear. “We shall personally restock thy milk.”

I couldn’t help but shiver as Luna just about purred the word ‘milk’ in my ear.

“L-let’s talk about that later,” I stuttered back as Luna pulled back with a giggle.

“Yes, we shall,” Luna nodded as she opened the large doors with her magic. It was at the sight of this that another question popped into my head.

“Hey, Luna?” I called as we entered what turned out to be a forge. “Why does your magic look different from mine? I thought you used miasma magic?”

“We do,” Luna replied as several smiths and works stopped what they were doing to bow to Luna and stare at me in confusion. “But through training, we have come to be able to mask is as regular magic. Back in the days of old, it was thought to be a curse to have such magic, so we had to hide it to prevent civil unrest. The same can also said for the form you see before you.”

“Beh, I think the real things cooler,” I said as I activated my magic not noticing the grateful look on Luna’s face. I quickly released it though as it just made the headache worse.

“Good Morning, Princess,” a large earthpony stallion said as he bowed before Luna. He had a charcoal black coat and a short cut, dark brown mane. But the most striking feature was the stallions glowing orange eyes. His cutie mark was of a flame atop an anvil.

“Christopher, this is Fire Breaker, the castles head smith,” Luna introduced as Breaker stood back up and stared at me with a blank expression.

“When they told me that a strange monkey was within the castle, I thought the guard was pulling my mane,” Breaker said without any emotion on his face or in his eyes.

“Hey, I aint no monkey!” I snapped back, knowing an insult when I saw one.

“My apologies then,” Breaker simply replied before looking at Luna. “What can I do for you today your highness?”

“We wish to supply our student with a weapon,” Luna replied with a slightly stern look. It looked like she noticed the insult as well. “As we are sure thou has heard, a competition shall be happening tomorrow and we feel that it would be best if our student had a weapon he could wield as well.”

It was very slight, but in that moment, I saw a look of annoyance pass the stallions face as his gaze quickly locked onto me before returning to the princess.

“Of course princess,” Breaker bowed before turning around. “If you would please follow me, I am sure I can find it something.”

“Bitch…” I grumbled under my breath as me and Luna followed the stallion towards what I believed to be the back of the forge. As we walked, I couldn’t help but look around at some of the work being done.

To one side, I could see several ponies shaping metal into what I believed to be spear tips. While on another, I could see a few hammering out several longer pieces that I believed would later become knives or daggers.

Or perhaps those were for their swords.

“In here please,” Breaker said as he opened the door into what had to be the connecting armory.

All around us were racks and piles of spears, short swords, daggers, armor and several other items I couldn’t immediately identify.

“Tinker, get out here!” Breaker called out. A few moments later, several bangs were heard as a lanky Pegasus quickly rushed over from around a corner. He had light brown fur with several blotches of oil coving his body as well as a long orange mane. His cutie mark actually looked like Tinker Tom’s hat from Fallout 4.

“Y-yes sir?” the stallion asked looking at all of us with wide eyes.

“Get the monkey a weapon,” Breaker grumbled, ignoring the glare I gave him. “Make it from the ‘special’ bin or something.”

“Y-yes sir,” the stallion nodded as he gave a slightly uncomfortable look.

“I’m sorry your highness, but I must be getting back to work,” Breaker said as he left the room, not even bothering to look at me.

“Jackass,” I growled as the door closed behind the stallion.

“S-sorry about him,” Tinker quickly replied to my remark. “He’s apparently been having some problems at home.”

“That still does not excuse his behavior,” Luna replied. “I will be sure to inform the appropriate ponies though that he is having troubles.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Tinker said with a bow before straitening up and looking at me. “Hope you don’t mind me asking, but what are you?”

“I don’t mind, and human,” I said while holding my hand out to the stallion. “Names Christopher, but my friends call me Chris.”

“Tinker, Tinker Tom,” the stallion replied while awkwardly shaking my hand with a hoof.

“Seriously?” I couldn’t help but ask while holding back a laugh.

“Seriously what?” Tinker asked with a confused look.

“Nothing, nothing,” I brushed off, forcing the laughs away with a cough.

“Yes, well, we are still in need of a weapon for my compatriot here,” Luna said as she looked over the decorated walls with a calculating eye.

“R-right,” Tinker nodded before looking behind him for a moment. “If you wouldn’t mind following me out to the front, I can cart the… special bin out for you.”

The way he said ‘special’ sent little red flags off, but I quickly pushed it away as Tinker lead us to what was the actual lobby for the armory, which was empty except for one pony at the moment.

A small yellow unicorn filly sat at a table off to one side of the front counter, coloring in a book. She had an electric blue mane and currently lacked a cutie mark.

“And who do we have here?” Luna asked as she noticed the little filly. The filly looking up and going wide eyed as she noticed Luna.

“This is my daughter, Circuit Spark,” Tinker said as he walked over and gave the shocked filly a nuzzle.

“Well, hello young one,” Luna said as she got closer to the filly and lowered herself down. “What is one such as yourself doing here?”

“Her mother had work to do and ask me to watch her last minute,” Tinker quickly replied. “I was told that it was okay as long as she stayed out here.”

“I see nothing wrong with that,” Luna replied with a kind nod.

“You’re a princess,” the filly finally spoke, her voice quiet as she still stared at the princess in front of her.

“That we are young one,” Luna smiled, apparently enjoying the attention.

“I’ll go get that bin,” Tinker quickly said as Luna began to have a small conversation with the filly.

I simply watched as the stallion wandered off back behind the counter with a sigh of relief.

“Christopher, would you come here for a moment,” Luna called to me as she sat next to the filly.

“Sure, what’s up?” I asked as I walked over to the two.

“We were just telling young, Spark here of thou,” Luna replied as she looked down at the filly.

“Are you really a monkey?” Spark asked with a look of complete innocence.

“Not really, no,” I replied while glaring at Luna. The princess for her part simply looked away with sheepish grin.

“So, what are you?” Spark asked with a confused look on her face.

“Human,” I chuckled, finding the filly cute in her own right.

“What’s a hu-man?” Spark asked.

“What I am,” I chuckled, remembering the old back and forth game my uncle used to play with me when I was younger, bringing a slight tear to my eye.

“Are you okay?” Spark asked after my reply. “You’re crying.”

“Oh, sorry,” I replied wiping the stray tear away. “Just some dust. No need to worry.”

The next few minutes were filled by silence until Tinker came back from behind the weapons counter with a large bin on a cart behind him.

“Here it is,” Tinker sighed as he pulled the bin in front of me. “The ‘special’ bin.”

“What the fu---dge,” I said as I looked down at what was in front of me, only just remembering the filly nearby.

“What is this?” Luna asked as she got up and looked at the bin herself.

Inside were an assortment of different weapons, but the problem was that they all looked vastly different from what I had seen coming in.

“The ‘Special bin’,” Tinker began with a heavy sigh as he took out a small black and blue knife. “An assortment of items that were either denied by the head smith to be put into production or failed apprenticeship applications.”

“Failed apprenticeship applications?” I asked while picking up a guard-less blade. I immediately put it down when I noticed how ALL the weight was somehow centered on the lower grip of it while being the size and look of a typical throwing knife.

“To be accepted as a smith in the castle, one must first be accepted as an apprentice to one who already works here,” Luna explained as she simply glared at the bin. “Most have to prove their abilities at being a smith to be accepted.”

“That’s the gist of it,” Tinker sighed as he returned the knife to the bin.

“How dare that smith recommend something from in… this… thing!” Luna growled. “We will return momentarily!”

Before I could even put in a word edge wise, Luna disappeared in a flash.

“Might as well look at what we got,” I shrugged while looking back into the bin. Tinker stood nearby, watching as I looked over several items, only to put them back as I noticed discrepancies with them.

“Have you handled weapons before?” Tinker asked as I returned another short sword in the bin.

“Yes,” I replied with a sigh. “But nothing you’ve ever held or will see.”

“And what about things like these?” he asked, indicating the weapons in the bin. “You look like you know what you’re doing at least.”

“I have, but only a very little bit,” I replied. “But in my last job, I did work with different types of metal, and even though it’s a little hard to tell, I can see several items here that are mixed with the wrong kind of materials. Hell, half these things are rusting over because of it.”

“That’s actually what gets most applicants kicked out,” Tinker chuckled as I continued to look. After a few more minutes, I heard a small clank and looked down at my side.

“What’s this?” I asked as I noticed an odd black and yellow pipe like thing. Picking it up, I found it slightly heavier then what I expected as well as seeing that it fit my hand while still having an inch or two above and below.

“T-that shouldn’t have been in there…” Tinker suddenly said as he noticed what was in my hand.

“Why?” I asked, actually intrigued by what I had. I knew it had something inside of it, a portion at one end looking like it opened.

“Just another failed experiment…” Tinker sighed.

“You made this?” I asked as I found a small hidden switch. Before he could respond, I pressed it and watched as one end popped open and a single sided blade suddenly popped out, stretching for at least three feet before ending with and audible click. The top of the tube having formed a small hand guard.

“Woah!” I said with a smile, ignoring whatever was going on around me. The blade looked solid and something seemed to compensate its weight so that it wasn’t too tip heavy while not putting all the weight in the handle. Pressing the switch again, I watched as the blade disappeared back into the handle and the opening closed.

“Just something I thought would get me a full apprenticeship,” Tinker sheepishly smiled as he rubbed one of his legs.

“I’m no smith or anything, but this this is way cooler and better than anything else in that bin,” I said while looking the thing over. I tried to figure how he did it, but I doubted I would be able to without taking it apart. “How could this not get you in?”

“Because it can’t be used properly by any of the guard,” Breaker grumbled as he walked into the room with Luna behind him. The princess still looking annoyed. “The switch can’t be properly used by a pony, the blade is too long, it’s apparently segmented so that it would fit, but that just makes weak points and it has several parts that are out of budget for a weapon meant for the guard. So, I failed it.

“The only reason he even works here is because he actually chose some good material combinations as well as made it work.”

“May we see?” Luna asked as she took the handle from me. Everyone watched as Luna looked over the handle before her magic found the switch and released the blade.

“We must admit, this is quite impressive,” Luna voiced as she caused he blade to spring in and out several times before looking at Breaker. “We have used many a blade in our day and we find this one far better than how you seem to see it. A unicorn could easily wield it if one were to simply shorten the blade.”

Breaker simply remained silent, but even I could see that he wanted to voice his opinion.

“Have thou thought of other such innovations?” Luna asked Tinker, causing the stallion to sputter.

“A-a few your highness,” Tinker quickly replied. “B-but nothing that would be of use.”

It was at this point that I felt a small tapping at my leg and looked down to see Spark with a small notebook in her mouth.

“What’s this?” I asked as I took the book.

“It’s my daddy’s notebook,” Spark voiced, drawing everyone’s attention. “He has all kinds of ideas.”

Choosing a page at random, I was shocked to find what looked like a set of armor drawn out of a dark material. Notes littered the two pages I looked at, but I knew enough to notice composite material and epoxy resin mixes when I saw it.

“And here I thought you pony’s weren’t progressing,” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What are you talking about?” Breaker huffed as I handed Luna the notebook to the page I saw.

“Luna, If that’s what I think it is, I can guaranty that it would help make some damn good items,” I began to explain. “At least a mere fraction of the weight of metal, far cheaper and faster to make, more flexible…”

“And it could be enchanted too,” Tinker giddily added finding his confidence. “I was reading about some things the zebras have been developing and found that some of the chemicals they create are as hard as stone while weighing very little.”

“And it’s also not smithing,” Breaker growled as he glared at the notebook.

“To some people, no,” I replied with a shrug. “To others, it could be considered composite work. It’s used in countless things from lightweight weapons to everyday appliances.”

“We are most impressed,” Luna simply replied as she looked over more of the book, the blade still held in her magic nearby. After a few moments, her eyes lit up as she looked at Tinker.

“Could you fashion us this?” Luna asked as she held out the notebook to be seen. On the pages seemed to be sketches for a self-reloadable crossbow that had, by what the notes said, five shots.

“I-I could,” Tinker smiled brightly. “I’m still working on the drawback mechanism, but I’m close.”

“Very well,” Luna smiled as she gave the book back to the pony before looking at Breaker. “He is to have access to whatever he needs to complete this project as well as his own work station, are we understood?”

“Yes, your highness,” Breaker growled before stomping of.

“We expect good things from you Mr. Tinker,” Luna said as she looked towards the stallion with a smile. “If anypony gives you issue, you may seek us personally.”

“I-I won’t let you down princess,” Tinker replied with a smile as he fought back tears.

“Yay daddy!” Spark cheered as she grabbed her father in a hug.

“Cute,” I chuckled while watching the hug.

“Quite,” Luna giggled as she looked back at me. “Come, let us find thou a weapon.”

“Already got it,” I said as I snatched the handle out of Luna’s magic.

“Art thou sure?” Luna asked with a raised brow. “The smith was not lying when he said it had some weak points.”

“And I think it’s cool, so I’m using it,” I said before looking at Tinker. “If you don’t mind that is.”

“No, no please do,” Tinker said as he looked at me. “It needs a field test anyways.”

“I will be that genie pig then,” I smiled while twirling the handle in my hand a few times. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”


*	*	*


“So, you mean to tell me,” Luna almost growled as she glared at me, the two of standing outside in a small grassy area. “That you have NO prior experience with swords play?”

“I’ve had some knife training,” I replied sheepishly. “Does that count?”

“NO, IT DOESN’T COUNT!” Luna shouted back in agitation as her eyes flashed briefly to their true nature. “Why would thou take a weapon that thou does not even know how to wield properly?!”

“But look how cool it is,” I meekly replied while releasing the blade.

“Oh, this is going to good,” Celestia said as she walked up to the two of us, Twilight and Spike following close behind her.

“Sister?!” Luna jumped seeing Celestia. “Thou cannot be here! We are teaching our student so that he may trounce thy chosen guard!”

“I already talked to the one who would fight and told them where to be and when,” Celestia replied with a slight chuckle. “I thought I would come and see your progress, but I can tell that it hasn’t been much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, feeling offended.

“It means that you’re holding that blade like a foal,” Celestia replied curtly. “I’m just amazed that you haven’t cut yourself yet.”

“I’m not going to cut myself…” I groaned out as I retracted the blade, and spinning the tube before pocketing it.

“Impressive,” Celestia remarked.

“Thank you,” I smiled.

“Not you, the blade,” Celestia replied with an off handed wave of her hoof. “I actually came here for something else.”

“And what would that be sister?” Luna asked in agitation. “Perhaps thou plan to ridicule our student more before the match.”

“While I would enjoy that, I actually came to talk about what you promised should Christopher lose the match,” Celestia smiled mischievously.

“What do you mean, princess?” Twilight asked after she walked over and nuzzled my side.

Had to keep things low key in the castle with her, or else Shining Armor would find out. Although, I doubted he would do anything.

“If Christopher is to lose tomorrow, Luna must wear a frilly pink dress for a month,” Celestia smiled.

“And if Chris wins?” Spike asked while suppressing his chuckles. He wasn’t the only one either as I started thinking that dropping out would still pay off one way.

“We have yet to come to a decision,” Luna grumbled, her ears falling flat for a moment. “But mark our words sister, it shall be what thou deserve!”

“And that is why I am here,” Celestia replied. “How about I forgo cake for a month?”

“OOOoooooo,” Me, Twilight and Spike said as the realization of that offers importance hit us.

“To offer such a thing,” Luna said as she glared at Celestia, the white mare looking pretty smug at the time. “Thou are planning something and we do not like it.”

“Simply because I know my chosen guard will win with little to no effort,” Celestia smiled.

“Wow, I am literally being insulted left and right today,” I grumbled, gritting my teeth slightly.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way,” Twilight whispered at me. “Now shush.”

“You have until before the match begins to decide Lulu,” Celestia chuckled with a devious grin.

“Actually….” Luna said as an odd look suddenly flashed across her face, slowly morphing into a devious grin. “We believe we know the perfect thing.”

I could only watch as Luna leaned in close to Celestia’s ear and whispered something.

“W-what?!” Celestia shouted, causing several birds and pegasi to jump and fly away in fright. Her entire face was aglow as she stared at Luna in a mix of shock and embarrassment.

“And you must do it for one month,” Luna seemed to add, her smirk only growing.

“Y-you think I won’t?!” Celestia began to stutter, going on the defensive and trying to force a regal look. “Fine, if he should succeed, I will do this. But like I said, my chosen guard is bound to win.”

With that, Celestia quickly turned and left. Her face only glowing redder as she quickly pushed past me.

“Okay, I gotta know what you said,” I chuckled as I continued to watch Celestia’s retreat, having to keep my eyes off her bouncy flank as she rushed away.

“All in due time, my student,” Luna giggled mischievously.

“Who do you think he’s gonna fight?” Spike asked Twilight.

“Maybe its Blueblood,” I chuckled. “I know the guys had it in for me since that little incident.”

“What incident?” Twilight asked as everyone but her began to fight they’re laughter.

“Nay, I doubt the cowered would face thou on such terms,” Luna voiced as she regained control first.

“Better make sure I lock my windows and doors tonight then,” I chuckled.

“W-what if it’s my brother?” Twilight suddenly voiced with a look of worry. “He is the captain of the guard.”

“And I’m sure he has better things to do then mop the floor with my face,” I replied dismissively. “My best bet is that it’s some hot shot up and comer who heard what was going to happen and had a bunch of his friends make him look good.”

“Whomever it may come to be,” Luna said as she fixed me with a stare. “They will still know how to swing a sword.”

“I can swing a sword!” I replied in a huff. “Just because I don’t know the art of sword fighting, doesn’t mean I can’t do it. Countless fighting styles and techniques were learned by doing. Learning is just supposed to set the base for self-improvement.”

“Wise words, yes,” Luna nodded. “But we will still proceed to train you in some of the fundamentals until thou magic stores are appropriately charged for more arcane training.”

“How will I know when that is?” I asked.

“Well, its typically a few hours to get back to at least a comfortable level,” Twilight replied in thought. “But one of the best ways to tell is when the headache goes away.”

“Oh…” I said as I took a moment to think. “How long has it been since I passed out?”

“About two hours,” Spike replied after some thought. “Why?”

“Because that headache went away like an hour ago,” I replied causing the others to look at me in surprise.

“Art thou sure?” Luna asked. “Thou may just not notice it.”

“I’m pretty sure,” I replied with a nod, my head feeling clear and fresh. “I feel fine.”

“You must be absorbing magic from your surroundings,” Twilight theorized. “Your stores must have filled faster because you were with Princess Luna the whole time. She and Princess Celestia are two of the strongest magical sources on the planet.”

“Huh… cool,” I said with a smile.

“Yes, very ‘cool’ as thou put it,” Luna smiled halfheartedly before forcing it into a full grin. “This knowledge should help us prepare for tomorrow.”

“Okay then,” I said with a shrug. “What’s first?”


*	*	*


“You know, you should really chew your food first,” Twilight giggled as she watched me all but inhale the food in front of me.

We had spent the rest of the day training both my magic and my sword knowledge. When I would begin to suffer a migraine, we switched to swords for a time.

“Well, if someone hadn’t gone into an hour-long speech on the development of swords in Equestria, I wouldn’t have missed lunch,” I countered as I held my plate out for more food.

“You didn’t have to listen,” Twilight giggled.

“Can’t help that it was interesting,” I shrugged as another plate of cheese lasagna was placed in front of me by one of the castle servants.

“Then would you mind not chewing with your mouth open,” Celestia groaned from the head of the table. “I’ve asked at least three times.”

“And I listened the first time,” I replied as I scooped a large portion up. “But I can’t help it when it tastes this good.

“My complements to the chef by the way,” I said, turning to one of the awaiting servants. The pony simply nodded with a small smile before walking off.

“Calm thyself sister,” Luna giggled. “Or would thou like us to inform them of thy old eating habits?”

“You will do no such thing!” Celestia snapped as she glared at Luna in annoyance.

This kind of bickering and teasing continued on for a few minutes between the two. The whole act of it causing a small laugh to escape me as it reminded me of the few good times I had with my siblings back home.

“You okay Chris?” Spike quietly asked, not drawing anyone else’s attention.

“Just… just remembering my family,” I quietly replied, absentmindedly patting the top of his head with a free hand.

“I’m sure you’ll see them again one day, Chris,” Spike replied confidently.

“I hope so Spike,” I replied before returning to my food. “I really do.”


*	*	*


“Should’ve known I wouldn’t get any sleep,” I groaned while leaning back in my chair.

After dinner, Twilight took Spike and went back to her family’s house, planning to spend another night there with them.

I on the other hand, decided to stay at the castle for the night. Both because of the match tomorrow and the worry of what kind of ideas Twilight’s mom had come up with to get a grandfoal.

“You know, thou can do just as much complaining back in thy room,” Luna said from her throne, a slightly annoyed look on her face.

“But then there’s no one there to listen or tell me to shut up,” I replied with a shrug, fighting against the grin that wanted to form.

“Oh, I’m sure somepony would respond,” Luna replied with a roll of her eyes. For the past hour, the two of us had sat in an empty throne room, waiting for any practitioners for the night court.

It had been very silent, which I fully expected since Luna only just got back a month ago. This was her second time running the night court, planning on only doing it once a week until it started to really catch on.

Or, she hoped it would catch on.

“I thought you said ponies actually signed up for this?” I asked from the surprisingly soft chair the servants had placed against a nearby wall for me. I apparently wasn’t allowed on the dais where Luna sat for some stupid reason or another.

“They are running late,” Luna replied with certainty. “We understand the… difficulties, of traveling to this castle at a late time.”

“While I understand why you want to do this Luna, I think it’s just a waste of your time and resources,” I sighed.

“Thou would do well to hold thy tongue,” Luna harshly replied, staring at me with teal draconic eyes.

“Your eyes are showing again,” I grumbled out.

“Then stop annoying her,” one of the thestral guards growled. Turns out, they all know what Luna really looks like, as well as several other high-ranking officials if what I was told was true.

“Bah…” I replied with an off handed wave. Turns out, most thestrals are complete dicks if you’re anyone but Princess Luna.

The next ten minutes were spent in silence before another night guard entered the room.

“What does thou need my guard?” Luna asked as the guard made his way closer.

“Captain Vlad has requested the human’s presence in his office, your highness,” The guard replied with a bow.

“Very well, we shall send our student momentarily,” Luna replied, allowing the guard to leave.

“Who’s Captain Vlad?” I asked Luna as the one guard left.

“He is our commander,” one of the nearby guards replied. “While Captain Armor may lead the day guard, Captain Vlad leads us in our nightly duties.”

“Next time, ask before thou answers,” Luna suddenly growled at her guard, still agitated. “He is our student and asked us a question.”

“Y-yes your highness,” the guard quickly replied, shaking in his armor slightly. “I-I apologize for interrupting.”

“It is forgiven,” Luna replied with a smile before looking at me. “Captain Vlad has been the head of my guard for a very long time and is very good at his job. If he wishes to see thou, be sure to make haste.”

“Alright…” I sighed while getting out of my chair and looking at a few of the guards. “Any of you guys mind showing me the way?”

Without a single word, the stallion who had spoken out earlier began to walk out, stopping after a few feet and looking back at me.

“Let’s get this over with…” I groaned out while beginning to follow him. Walking out into the halls, I absentmindedly followed the guard while looking around.

The castle at night was almost completely silent excepted for the faint clicking of armor and hooves. It both frightened and calmed me.

“So, what kinda stallion is Captain Vlad?” I asked while we walked.

“You’ll see,” the guard chuckled as we entered another section of the castle I had yet to see.

“Not ominous at all,” I said as we walked up to a random door. To the side was a small plaque saying something that confused me slightly.

“Vlad T.I. Night Guard Captain?” I read aloud. “What’s the T and I, stand for?”

“You’ll have to ask,” the stallion replied before turning to leave.

“Wow, rude much?” I asked quietly before turning and knocking on the door. Instead of getting a verbal answer, all that happened was the door creaking open slightly.

“Hello?” I carefully called into the room, pushing the door open more. The room itself wasn’t that big, being about half the size of my own living room. A few candles littered around were the only sources of light, just barely revealing an old desk and scattered papers.

“Uh, Captain Vlad, sir?” I called out as I entered the room fully, allowing the door to close quietly behind me. “Is anyone here?”

When I received no reply, I began to worry that I had been tricked and possibly trapped. But when I turned to open the door, I found it unlocked and easily openable with no one outside.

“Okay… I guess I’ll wait,” I told myself while looking back into the room, a little more calm. There was only one chair in the room, but it was behind the desk and didn’t look like it could support me anyways.

I silently stood in the room for several minutes, looking blankly at some of the stray papers on the desk. But like most people, I got curious and looked around a bit more.

On one side of the room were several bookcases with a mass assortment of books, binders, awards and more random papers. On the other side were several weapon racks with spears, swords, daggers and the like. An empty pony armor stand standing next to those.

On the desk though, I noticed a few picture frames, and being the curious cat, I decided to take a look.

Looking over the desk, I found three different images.

The first one showed a blood red Pegasus stallion, with a black mane and deep crimson red eyes standing beside a lovely Pegasus mare with goldenrod fur, a navy blue mane and sparkling turquoise eyes. Both sat under a cloud outcropping, with strangely smug looks on their faces.

The second image showed the same stallion, only this time, he was joined by a jade green stallion just slightly shorter than him. The larger stallion seemed to be shaking the smaller one’s hoof as they stood in the shadow of a large cloud structure that looked completely unfamiliar to me. Both were smiling proudly at one another.

The last one though, caused a cold chill to run up my spine.

It held the same stallion, only this time, he had a bright smile as he held the other pony in the picture caringly. The other pony was a very familiar filly with butterscotch yellow fur and a bright pink mane and a slightly thin frame.

But it was the carved caption was what cause me to suddenly why I was here.

“D-daddy’s little filly…” I stuttered out as I stared at a young filly Fluttershy joyfully hugging the pony that had to be her father. Not the one I remembered from the show.

“That was taken right after she got her cutie mark,” a rough voice calmly said from somewhere behind me.

“Oh shit!” I jumped, tumbling over the desk in fear. Once on the other side, I quickly got back up and looked at the entrance of the room.

“Jumpy one, aren’t you?” a blood red Pegasus asked as he walked into the room, his face blank of all emotion as he stared at me with piercing red eyes. I suddenly found myself completely unable to move, let alone breath, as the stallion walked towards me, his eyes continually locked on mine.

“I’ve been meaning to meet you for quite some time,” the stallion spoke as he walked around the desk. Even in my locked-up state, I could clearly see that he wore an intricate set of night guard armor, more black then blue like the others wore and stood taller than the average stallion.

As he came closer, I suddenly felt my body begin to move without my say so. By the time the stallion had made it to the chair, I was already at the front of the desk at a forced attention stance.

“If you don’t already know,” the stallion began to reply as he took a seat, his eyes still locked onto me. “I am Vlad, captain of the Lunar guard.”

“Good evening,” I was able to grunt out, still not in control of my own body.

“Yes, it is,” Vlad replied, blinking for the first time since he entered. Almost immediately, I felt my body return to my control as I could breathe once again.

“Jesus Christ…” I quietly groaned as I took a few deep breaths.

“Do you know why I wanted to speak with you?” Vlad asked as he took the picture of him and Fluttershy and turned it so I could see it from where I stood.

“W-waffles…” I blundered like an idiot.

“Yes, my little butterfly does make good waffles,” Vlad nodded, still no emotion on his face. “But I didn’t call you here to talk about my daughters cooking skills.”

“I-I’m Christopher!” I suddenly blurted out, holding my hand out.

“Yes, I know,” Vlad replied, ignoring my hand.

“S-so, you’re Fluttershy’s dad?” I asked while pulling my hand back.

“I fathered and raised her,” Vlad nodded. “So, yes.”

“I-its nice to meet you,” I uncomfortably chuckled.

“Why are you so afraid right now?” Vlad suddenly asked. “Have I done anything to cause you to fear me?”

“I-I’m not afraid,” I lied through my teeth. There was something about Vlad that honestly scared the shit out of me.

“You’re a horrible liar,” Vlad replied as he opened a drawer and pulled out two glass cups and a bottle full of brown liquid. “You reek of sweat, your heartrate is elevating by the moment and you’re breathing quite heavily.”

“Oh…” I mumbled, noticing that everything he had said was true.

“Calm down, have a drink,” Vlad said as he pushed a half-filled glass towards me. “All I want to do is talk.”

“Oh, okay,” I said while taking the drink in hand. Without a wasting a second, I downed the drink in its entirety, a horrible burning following close behind.

“And here I thought you wouldn’t do it,” Vlad chuckled, smiling as I fought against the urge to throw the hard drink back up.

It took a few minutes, but when I finally regained my composure, I looked up to see Vlad refilling both glasses, a small smirk on his face.

“So, tell me about yourself,” the stallion said as he took a gulp of his drink. “Tell me about the one who won my butterfly’s heart.”

“Uh… what do you want to know,” I asked, retrieving the glass but only holding it this time.

“Well, first off, I’d like to know what makes a worthless thing like you think he deserves someone as wonderful as my daughter?” Vlad asked, that small smile still on his face.

For several moments, I simply stared at him, both caught off guard and scared for my life.

“I asked you a question,” Vlad growled, his smile turning into a sneer, his irises thinning out and his eyes beginning to slightly glow as he stared at me. “What right do you have to be with my daughter?!”

“I-I don’t!” I quickly blurted out, placing the glass down and held my hands up in a playacting manner. “She asked me out first, I swear!”

“So your saying my daughter asked something like you out?!” Vlad all but shouted, slamming his glass on the table, his eyes still locked on me as a chill began to cover my body. “Did she give you a flower?!”

“Yes!” I suddenly shouted, unable to stop myself as my legs gave out and I fell to my knees, my eyes still locked with his.

“Good,” Vlad suddenly smiled, all the hostility from his eyes suddenly gone and replaced with a look of joy.

“W-what?” I asked, slowly getting back to my feet, a look of complete shock and confusion on my face.

“I’ve always been worried that my little butterfly wouldn’t find someone,” Vlad softly chuckled as he took another drink. “Let alone a human.”

“Uh…” I replied like an idiot.

“So tell me,” Vlad began leaning forward and looking at me. “How is my little butterfly these days? I don’t get much time to see her ever since she moved into Ponyville.”

“She’s… she’s been doing good,” I replied with a simple nod.

“Does she still have that blasted rabbit?” Vlad asked with an aggravated sigh. “Damn thing tried to bite my hoof last time I visited.”

“Yes she does,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “He tried doing that to me too, so I sent him to bed without a carrot.”

“And that actually worked?” Vlad asked with a mirthful smirk.

“No, I ended up having to tie him up in his blanket and lock him in his little house for the night,” I chuckled. “I told Fluttershy that he had an upset stomach and she believed me.”

“I’m going to have to remember that,” Vlad laughed as he finished his drink. I couldn’t help but join in as the tension in the room slowly faded away.

“I hear you are also forming a herd?” Vlad asked with a raised brow.

“Y-yes,” I replied, becoming slightly uncomfortable again. “Fluttershy wants one and I’m not really going to tell her no.”

“The old me would find that abhorrent,” Vlad sighed as he leaned back. “But when you’ve been around as long as I have…”

“Uhm… what do you mean?” I asked.

“Kid, I’m well over 2000 years old,” Vlad chuckled mirthfully.

I simply stared at him for several moments before laughing myself.

“Right,” I chuckled out. “and the ‘T’ and ‘I’ in your name are for ‘The Impaler’.”

“Oh, so you have heard of me,” Vlad commented his eyes lighting up slightly. “And here I thought that nickname had died out back on earth.”

“Wait, you’re telling the truth?” I asked, suddenly stopping my chuckled and looking at the stallion with a bit more fear than should be humanly possible. I remember looking up some information on the man after seeing a Dracula movie and the man truly was a monster. “B-but you died in the late 1400’s, you even had three sons.”

“Then either your horribly misinformed or you’re not from my earth,” Vlad sighed as he closed his eyes. “I never married nor had any children when I was human and I don’t know what you mean by ‘1400’s’.”

“Did you really impale your enemies and place them on pikes outside your kingdom?” I asked abruptly, intrigued to learn some history from someone who was there, weather it was mine or theirs not mattering.

“Oh yes,” Vlad chuckled as a fang filled smirk suddenly appeared on his face, his eyes still closed. “I remember the days before I arrived here, looking out and seeing my work and knowing my people were safe.”

“How are you still alive though?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, I died several years before I arrived here,” Vlad replied as he opened his eyes. “I truly loved my home and its people, so when my enemy’s threatened them…”

“You made a deal with the devil,” I finished as I instinctively took a step back.

“I died afterword’s, but woke up as something so much more shortly after,” Vlad said as he stared into a nearby candles flame. “I had gained the power to protect my people, but lost so much in the process.

“Where I would once simply dunk my bread in my enemy’s blood, I needed to openly consume it to survive. Where the sun once warmed my body and soul, it now burned like a roaring fire…so much changed.”

The room fell into silence as Vlad stared into the flame, never blinking or diverting his gaze.

I on the other hand, had no idea what I was going to do.

“So, you’re a vampire?” I asked.

“They call it vampony here, but yes,” Vlad shrugged. “Over the years, I’ve learned to change and see things differently. I became the Captain of Luna’s guard when her and Celestia were still young, and about thirty years ago, I met my soul mate while in Cloudsdale.”

“Is she a vampony like your or…?” I asked, finding myself more curious than afraid.

“Not when we met, no,” Vlad said with a small smile. “When she found out though, she simply asked to be a mother first. She was turned shortly after my butterfly turned five.”

“Wait, so Fluttershy’s a daywalker?” I asked as everything about the mare seemed to make so much sense. Her connection to animals, her strength, her natural beauty and her “Stare”. “That explains so much!”

“What the buck’s a ‘daywalker’?” Vlad asked with a confused look before brushing it off and taking another drink.

“This world really likes to throw me for loop,” I said while finishing off my second drink. I didn’t know what it was, but it was beginning to taste pretty good as well as give me that funny spinning feeling.

“That’s life for you,” Vlad replied before filling my glass once again. I simply nodded my head while drinking from the glass again, finishing it off quickly.

“Why ish the rum, alwaysh gone?” I muttered out as my mind became hazy.


*	*	*


“Chris… Chris…” a quiet voice seemed to call out past my pounding head.

“I…need…a…” I tried to reply, recognizing that I was suffering from a hangover instantly.

“What you need to do, is get out of my room,” the voice said, slightly more recognizable but still a mystery to me.

“Electrolytes…” I groaned, my eyes clamped shut as light began to register in them. “It’s what plants need.”

“You’re going to need more than electrolytes if you don’t get out…” the voice growled, now recognizable to the point that I realized who it was.

“Uhg… the sun tyrant has found me,” I groaned out playfully, recognizing Celestia’s voice finally.

“I’ll have you know, that I am widely loved by all my little ponies,” Celestia replied, agitation clear in her voice.

“They love your flank!” I chuckled, still slightly drunk form whatever it was I drank the night before. “All hail, the great flank!”

“LUNA!” Celestia suddenly shouted, almost crushing my brain with its intensity.

“Gah!” I groaned out as a bright flash made it through my eyelids.

“Thank mother, you found him,” Luna’s voice sighed in release. “Where is…”

“Get him out of my closet before I do something I’ll regret,” Celestia growled as I felt the temperature rise slightly.

“I don’t wanna go to school today…” I groaned out like a small child. “All the cool kids are skipping.”

“Get out of my closet and put some damn cloths on!” Celestia suddenly shouted, causing another horrid ringing in my head.

It was at this point that I finally decided to open my eyes, only to close them as the light was too bright to handle.

“Can someone turn the lights down?” I almost begged, slowly bringing my hand to cover my face as a small bout of nausea swept over me.

“It’s actually a little dark in here,” Luna replied, a slight tone of disappointment in her voice.

“Where…what happened?” I forced out, trying my best to focus my mind and remember last night. Everything past the third drink with Vlad was a complete blur.

“Thou got drunk, got into a fight with a passing guard, shouting something about being too sexy for your shirt, stripped naked and then proceeded to disappear, leaving quiet the mess in your wake,” Luna listed off, giggling slightly throughout it.

“And this morning, I wake up to find my room in shambles and you hiding in my closet completely naked!” Celestia growled.

“Oh…” I replied as what they said finally reached my jumbled mind.

Both my hands quickly found my crotch, covering my shame as the words escaped my mouth.

“It gets bigger, I swear!”


*	*	*


“Bwahahahah!” Spike laughed hysterically.

“Its not that funny…” I replied, ashamed of what had happened. Last night was my first time ever being black out drunk and it apparently went horribly.

After the whole debacle in Celestia’s room, I quickly sobered up and got dressed in my cammies before going down for breakfast to find Spike and Twilight there already.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Twilight tried to say, her own laughter barley being contained. “What did he shout as he ran through the castle naked?”

“Someone help! I just escaped Celestia’s chambers!” Luna bellowed out in laughter.

Celestia, for her part, just glared strait death at me. I was positive that if I looked up from the empty plate in front of me, she would incinerate me.

“It was… It was at that point… that he just about disappeared,” Luna wheezed between her laughs. Another round of laughter filled the room, including from several servants and guards.

The only two not laughing were me and Celestia.

“Remind me to dock Captain Vlad’s pay…” Celestia growled under everyone’s laughter.

I still stayed silent as the laughter died down.

“Speaking of whom, where is he?” Luna questioned. “He was not in his office this morning.”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Celestia growled as another set of pancakes were placed in front of her. The food barely sitting for a second before Celestia began to eat again.

“Maybe…maybe he went home?” I offered, finally deciding to speak through the embarrassment.

“Captain Vlad lives in the Officers’ quarters most days,” Twilight replied. “His room is right next to my brother’s, so I’ve seen him once or twice.”

“Bet you didn’t know he’s Fluttershy’s dad, though,” I couldn’t help but chuckle out. The completely shocked looks of both Spike and Twilight quickly drew out more laughs from the room, including me this time.

“Actually…” Celestia suddenly said with a raised brow. “Shining Armor didn’t report to me this morning either.”

“Is that a common thing?” I asked, dreading the idea that I may have done something to the guy in my drunken stupor.

“No, its not,” Celestia replied before turning to a nearby guard. “Lt. Iron, have you seen the Captain this morning?”

“No, ma’am,” the stallion replied. “When he didn’t show up for morning briefing, we sent a guard to go find him. He’s yet to return.”

“And none of this worries you?” I asked the guard, shocked by the completely off handed way he spoke of this.

“The Captain is more than able to handle himself in any situation and it would only cause unrest if we ended up sending half the guard looking for him,” the stallion replied.

“I-I’m sure he’s okay,” Twilight worriedly added. “He probably forgot to set his alarm this morning.”

“You ponies have alarm clock’s?” I asked aloud as the dining hall’s room suddenly opened and a single guard rushed in.

“We-we found both Captains your highnesses,” the guard both panted and slightly chuckled.

“Oh, this I gotta see,” I grinned, pulling my phone out of my pocket and turning the camera on.


*	*	*


“Kodak moment!” I quietly chuckled as I took a few quick pictures of what lay in front of us.

The guard had led our group out into the gardens, specifically to one of the fountains.

“How did they get up there?” Spike asked scratching his head at the scene.

“It was probably me,” I chuckled while tacking another pic, ensuring that I was in it as well.

The fountain had three levels that basically over filled each other so that it all cascaded down. Both Shining Armor and Vlad lay passed out in the heist level against one another. Shining armor was in a maid’s uniform while Vlad had a pink dress and matching umbrella. Both also seemed to be waring mascara and lip stick.

“Why would you do that?” Twilight asked, an aghast look on her face.

“I was drunk last night,” I replied, putting my phone back into my pocket. “If they’re still asleep, that probably means that they both were too.”

“I’m sorry, but my brother doesn’t get drunk,” Twilight replied matter of factly, a smug smile on her face. But that quickly disappeared when said stallion suddenly twitched awake and threw up over the side.

“Buck my life,” Shining loudly groaned out after a few final rounds of dry heaving.

“Shut the buck up ya twit, I’m trying to sleep,” Vlad’s harsh voice suddenly replied before the stallion began to push Shining farther away from him. This resulted in Shining falling down to the next level with a loud splash.

“Fuck, I already put my phone away!” I complained as two Pegasus guards flew up and pulled the sputtering stallion out of the second level.

“Where am I? What’s going on?” Shinning asked with a pained look on his face.

“This is what our guards have become…” Celestia groaned as her sister continued to fight back the laughter she had since we arrived.

“Well ma’am you’re late for work,” I chuckled out quickly pulling my phone back out and recording what was happening.

“What the hell happened last night!?” Shining shouted as he finally noticed me.

“Spike did it!” I replied quickly, pointing at the dragon.

“Uhg, I think I drank to much” Shining grumbled as he got onto wobbly hooves. He tried to move forwards, but his hoof got caught on the skirt of the uniform and he fell on his face.

I quickly put my phone back away before moving over and helping the stallion up.

“I’m fine, I’m fine” Shining quickly said as he pushed me away.

“Just take a seat for a moment,” I tried to say.

“I said I’m fine!” Shining shouted, causing several startled gasps from the crowd. “I’ll be good, I just need to clear my head.”

Before anyone could say anything, the stallion turned and left, tearing the dress off with his magic as he walked.

What followed were several moments of silence before Vlad began to laugh hysterically.

“What the fuck happened last night?” I asked looking around, receiving nothing but shrugs and confused looks from everyone.

“You and he got into a bit of a drinking contest last night,” Vlad called down from his perch, still in the pink dress and using the umbrella to shield himself from the sun. “That and you told him your sister was in your herd.”

“You did what?!” Twilight shouted as she looked at me in shock.

“What the fuck did you give me last night?!” I shouted to Vlad, the stallion adapting a devious grin.

“Moonlight whisky,” Vlad replied. “Quiet delicious and very potent and good for getting ponies to speak and act honestly.”

“And the dress?” Celestia groaned as she rubbed the side of her head with a hoof.

“I have no idea,” Vlad shrugged before jumping out of the fountain, looking as sober as possible.

“After a couple glasses, you apparently thought you were invincible and rushed out of my office,” Vlad began as he began to remove the dress, a unicorn guard coming over and ensuring that the umbrella kept him covered.

“You rushed back into the throne room, punched a guard out, shouted “Oh Rah” or something like that and then ran back out and towards the barracks,” Vlad explained.

“And when did my brother get involved?” Twilight asked with a heavy groan of her own.

“Some time later,” Vlad replied. “I lost sight of him for a bit and when I found him again, he and Armor were having a drinking contest, which your brother won by the way.”

“I’m so proud of him…” Twilight grumbled with a disgruntled look.

“The two of you were so dunk that he told you that he was your opponent for today and you told him that you were dating his sister,” Vlad laughed as the unicorn guard seemed to frown at still having to hold the umbrella for the stallion.

“Sister, why would thou choose thy captain for this?” Luna asked with a worried expression.

“Because at the time he seemed like a good choice,” Celestia replied while glaring at me with a new intensity. “And this is also the first that I am hearing of my student’s new relationship.”

“I-it kind of just started,” Twilight replied sheepishly, as she leaned against my side. “Fluttershy asked me a week ago if I wanted to… so I thought, why not? I mean, you wanted me to learn about friendship Princess, and being with somepony romantically is just like that.”

“So, I’m a class assignment now?” I asked in a joking hurt manner.

“Quiet you,” Twilight replied with a playful shove.

“Well, your warrior is now suffering from a hangover, sister,” Luna told Celestia with her own sigh.

“I am so embarrassed…” Twilight sighed as her body sagged.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, Twilight,” Celestia assured with a calming smile. “Why don’t you and Spike go and prepare for the match while we finish our discussion?”

“Yes, Princess,” Twilight replied before looking up at me. Before anyone could stop her, she quickly hopped up and gave me a kiss on the cheek before rushing off with a slightly glowing face.

“Hey, wait or me!” Spike called as he ran to catch up with Twilight.

“That was cute,” Luna giggled as we watched the two reenter the castle.

“She was a lot more forward the other night,” I commented with my own chuckle. But that quickly tampered off as I felt Celestia’s glare at me once again.

“While I should be commending my student for following her heart,” Celestia began through gritted teeth. “I will leave you with one warning and one warning only.”

“Yeah yeah, don’t hurt her or cause her to cry and that kind of stuff, right?” I waved off, already knowing what she was going to say.

Celestia simply stared at me, her eyes flashing a rose like red for a split second before she stormed off.

“Thou should be careful our student,” Luna commented with a slight smirk. “Our sister will only take so much before she, as they say, snaps.”

“Oh, five bits says she actually enjoys it,” I chuckled. “But lets talk about this fight, now that I know that my opponent will be able to mop the floor with my face.”

“There is no need to worry, my student!” Luna proclaimed as she began to lead the way to god knows where. “This competition is to test thy skill with magic, so we have decided to have a point’s based competition.”

“So, depending on what kinda magic trick I do, I’ll get points for it?” I asked, trying to understand her.

“No, for every time thou hits thy opponent with magic as either the main focus or as an aid, thou shall receive a point,” Luna explained. “The same shall go for Captain Armor and whom so ever amasses fifteen points first, shall be the victor.”

“Well, that sounds better than going at it until one of us keels over,” I shrugged. That info alone did wonders to calm my nerves, seeing as the closest thing to a real fight I’ve ever had was back in boot camp when they made us box in protective gear.

The guy they paired me with ended up having been a professional kick boxer before joining and he apparently blacked out when the instructors gave the ‘go’. It took two drill instructors to pull him off of me before he could actually hurt me.

“While we would like thou to truly battle against a comparable opponent, we realize that thou still has much to learn before then,” Luna sighed, slightly disappointed.

We traveled in silence after that for a few minutes until entering another portion of the castle. This one filled to the brim with guards.

“This is the main guard’s barracks,” Luna answered my unasked question. “There are several fields meant for practice matches here, including the one you and Captain Armor shall be using.”

“So, how big is this going to be?” I asked while looking at some watching guards. Every now and then I noticed a small bag being passed around between a few sets of guards.

“While it was not made truly public, there will most likely be an audience of guards and staff,” Luna replied with a little giggle.

“And you didn’t give me a chance to see my hair stylist?” I chuckled, suddenly a little off put by the knowledge of a crowed.

Luna simply shook her head with a chuckle as we continued through the barracks.

A few minutes later, we left the barracks through a side door out into a large field that had several wooden fenced areas that currently sat empty.

Behind all those was a larger one where several guards were working on setting up seats and bleachers.

“So, this is it?” I asked as we came up to the field. It was about the size of half a football field and was nothing but sand and dirt. But for some reason, all I could do was wonder how a place this big and open existed on a steep mountain.

“Yes, we are disappointed as well,” Luna sighed. “The one at our old castle was far bigger.”

As I looked over the level field, several groups of guards and staff began to take their seats, leaving a large opening in the middle of two bleachers where two larger chairs sat.

“Do thou have everything?” Luna asked me with a raised brow.

“I think,” I replied while digging through the pockets of my cammies. I quickly found my new sword as well as my wallet and phone.

“Want me to watch those for you?” Spike asked, appearing out of nowhere.

“Holy shoit!” I blurted while jumping back, crashing into something behind me.

“Wah!” Twilight called out as I tripped over her and the both of us ended up on the ground.

“Opps…” Spike replied as he looked down at us. “You two okay?”

“I’m good,” I muffled out, somehow ending up directly under Twilight in the fall. I wasn’t complaining though, the mare’s tail smelled like lavender.

“So-sorry,” Twilight stuttered as she quickly got back to her hoofs, and dusting herself off.

“No prob, Twi,” I chuckled while getting back up. Luckily, my things had only fallen a few feet away and Spike had already grabbed them.

“Here you go, Chris,” Spike said as he handed me my sword.

“Thanks,” I said before putting it into a cargo pocket.

“Are you ready, Chris?” Twilight asked me as she looked back at the field. The bleachers had almost been fully filled and Luna had apparently decided to go take her seat as well.

“Nope,” I replied nonchalantly. “But whoever truly is?”

“This isn’t something to joke about,” Twilight pointed out. “My brother is Captain of the guard and he’s very well trained.”

“I’ll figure something out Twi, don’t worry,” I chuckled as Celestia suddenly appeared in a flash of magic in her seat. While she looked happy as she greeted those around her, her gaze quickly went hostile again as she looked towards me.

“Hey, Chris?” Spike called, causing me to look down at him as he held out my phone. “Can I listen to some of your music while you fight?”

“Uh, sure,” I shrugged as I unlocked the phone and loaded the music app. From there, I knew he had it figured out. “Just don’t let anyone else touch it, got it?”

“Got it!” Spike saluted before rushing off towards the princess with my phone and wallet.

“Please, be careful Chris,” Twilight said before turning to leave. “I don’t think Fluttershy would be happy with me if my brother hurt you too bad.”

“I’ll be fine Twilight,” I waved off as the mare quickly went to join Spike and the others.

“You seem pretty confident,” Valiant’s voice echoed from behind me. Looking behind me, I found the mare walking up to me wearing a pair of filled saddlebags. “It’ll take more than dumb luck to beat Shining Armor, even if it’s just a point’s competition.”

“I’ll figure something out,” I chuckled out while looking back at the field. The seats were filled and it looked like we were simply waiting for Shining Armor to show up. “Whats with the bags?”

“I’m not a guard anymore,” Valliant chuckled. “Can’t really stay in the barracks now can I?”

“I guess not,” I chuckled as well. “So, where you heading to?”

“Ponyville, duh,” Valliant replied with a grin. “Or do you believe in long distance relationships.”

“I was just asking,” I mumbled back. “You need a place to stay though? I still got an open room at my place.”

“No, I got a friend I’ll be staying with,” Valiant replied. “She even got me a job on the local police force too.”

“Ponyville has a police force?” I asked seriously, completely caught off guard by that.

“Yeah, but I hear they don’t do much,” she giggled with a devious smirk. “You wouldn’t mind helping a mare stay in shape?”

I simply looked at her for a few moments before the both of use broke out into laughter.

“Well, I have a train to catch,” Valiant said after a few minutes of laughter. “You’ll be back tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow Heart,” I replied with a smile and a nod.

“See ya stud,” Valiant winked before walking off, swaying her flank provocatively the whole time.

Unfortunately, as she walked inside, Shining Armor walked out in his unique purple armor.

“Ma’am, what happened to your uniform?” I joked as the stallion pushed past me, not even bothering to look at me. He simply kept a calm expression as he stepped into the field and proceeded to wait.

Giving myself a second, I proceeded to enter the field as well, making sure to distance myself from Shining Armor.

“Now that both competitors are here, let me explain the challenge,” Celestia began, surprising me by being the announcer. “This is a non-timed event where either Captain Armor or Christopher the human are to accumulate fifteen points. The first to amass these points, wins.

“To gain a point, you must strike your opponent with either magic or with something that used the aid of magic. Anything blocked with magic does not count as a point for either party.”

At this point I noticed Celestia’s horn flash once as a small dome surrounded the field.

“For those of you who don’t know,” the princess began to explain looking towards the crowed. “I have placed a dulling spell over the field so as to prevent serious injuries.”

“Let it also be known that any shots ‘below the belt’, as they say, are not tolerated,” Luna added.

“Yes,” Celestia nodded before turning to look at both me and Shining Armor. “If the two of you would please meet in the middle and shake hoof, we can begin this match.”

“Right…” I sighed reluctantly while moving toward Shining Armor. He still had the same focused look as he did when he first walked in and all it did was unsettle me.

Once we reached the middle, Shining was the first to hold his hoof out, and being the kind of person I was, I leaned down and grabbed it with my right hand and then grabbed just over that with my left.

“Brother!” I greeted while giving the hoof a shake. This action seemed to get a small frown from the stallion before I began to pull away.

Or tried to at least.

“If I win, I want you to stay away from my sister,” Shining almost growled as he seemed to grip my right arm tightly.

“And if I win, you have to spend a week in that maid’s outfit, doing their job,” I replied before jerking my hand away. With that, I began to walk to the other end of the field, activating my magic and focusing on making the ‘devil arms’ as I’ve come to call them.

“On my mark,” Celestia called, raising one hoof once me and Shining were in position, before dropping it. “Begin!”

Allowing the idea and image to form in my mind, I immediately threw my right hand out, watching as an enlarged spectral hand raced toward Shining Armor.

While it was obvious that my action caught him off guard, he still had enough time to side step out of the way.

“You’re going to have to do better than…” Shining, began to say, only to be interrupted when I swung at his head with my left arm while flying past him.

“Christopher, one,” Luna proudly called out. While actually striking Shining with the initial swipe would have been good, I knew it could fail.

So my actual target was one of the wooden posts behind the stallion. I used it as an anchor to pull myself toward the stallion faster than I could have on foot. The only problem with it was that I ended up bashing my side into the post to stop myself.

Before I had a chance to fully correct myself I suddenly found myself weightless once again as I was flung back from where I came.

“Shining Armor, one,” Celestia called out as I crashed back down in a small heap. While the spell Celestia cast helped with the impact, I still ended up breathless.

“Not a bad first strike,” Armor chuckled as he allowed me to stand back up. “But it won’t be happening again.”

I could only groan as a resounding cheer came from the spectators. But I quickly pushed out that they were watching, knowing that it would only cause me to panic.

“Oh, don’t you worry, I got a whole bag of tricks to show you,” I replied with my own confident smile, drawing my lips back so as to reveal my teeth.

Rushing forward, I put everything I could into getting to Shining as fast as possible.

I barely blinked before I found myself just inches from the stallion, and while it was a shock to both of us, I didn’t let it stop me from delivering a right handed uppercut quickly followed by a left handed jab.

“Gah!” Shining grunted as the combo was enough to lift him from the ground and launch him towards the back fence posts.

“Christopher two, Shining Armor one,” Luna stated over several small cheers, mostly those of Spike.

“How was that for ya, pretty boy?” I chuckled out, slightly out of breath. I was still trying to figure out how I got from one side of the field to the other so fast, but I knew that I could just ask afterword’s to find out. “Now what ya got?”

The stallion quickly regained his footing before suddenly disappearing in a flash of magic.

“How about this!” Shining grunted as he instantly reappeared behind me. From there, I felt a quick impact to the back of my right leg, causing me too lose my footing and drop to a knee.

Before I could stand back up, I felt the stallion grab the back of my blouses collar with his magic and quickly flung me back.

“Shining Armor three, Christopher two,” Celestia called out.

Once I landed, I looked up only to be greeted by two magenta spheres that quickly introduced themselves, sending me even farther back.

“Shining Armor five, Christopher two,” Celestia’s voice called out rather smugly if I had to say.

“Just give up already,” Shining Armor called out with a smile as he let me stand back up. “I’m sure you realize that I’m holding back.”

“Shut it candy ass,” I growled back, now annoyed. I quickly raised my arms to go into a combat stance only to find that the devil arms were gone.

“Looks like somepony lost their focus,” Shining chuckled as he sent a wave of magic towards me.

Rolling to the side to dodge, I tried to focus on reapplying the guise. Unfortunately, a quick follow up from Shining’s last attack prevent me from doing that while also pushing me farther away from him.

“Shining Armor six, Christopher two,” Celestia called out. As I recovered from the last strike, I noticed Luna looking slightly annoyed.

“God damn it,” I groaned out while pulling out my sword. Seeing as Shining armor wouldn’t let me reapply the devil arms, I was going to have to go with plan b.

“I hope to god this works,” I prayed while releasing the blade, and holding it out in front of me with both hands.

“Okay, that was kind of cool,” Shining called out from his position, a slight look of amazement in his eyes. “But you do realize that you will have to get close to me to use that, right?”

“I don’t suppose you would just let me come over there and get a couple swings in, would ya?” I asked, putting on a slightly hopeful grin.

“No,” Shining simply replied with his own smile.

“I thought as much,” I sighed while focusing my magic on my blade. I had no idea if what I was about to do would work, but if it did. I would have this match in the bag.

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to do something? I actually have a busy day today,” Shining chuckled at me.

“Just shut up already!” I groaned while taking my sword in my right hand and placing the tip just behind me.

“Demon Fang!” I shouted out as I swung the blade into an uppercut and released my hold on the magic in it.

As my blade left the ground, the energy inside it released and continued forward, making it to and striking Shining faster than he could react.

Ignoring the calls and looks of shock from the crowd, I rushed forward, once again flashing in front of the stallion.

“Sword Rain!” I shouted out while stabbing forward with the blade as well as releasing more magic. The effect worked as I hopped as several specter like blades quickly followed behind my initial strike in a short rain of stabs.

“Damn!” Shining grunted as he dodged the initial blade, but ended up getting struck four times by its spectral partners.

“Christopher seven, Shining Armor five,” Luna proudly called out as a cheer from the crowd followed.

“Not bad,” Shining grunted as he blasted me back with a quickly formed shield, earning him another point. “But flashy moves aren’t going to help you win.”

Before I could respond I was quickly blasted from behind from something I hadn’t seen.

“You do realize I’m still holding back, right?” Shining continued as I suddenly found my legs swept out from under me.

Once again I was unable to answer as several magic orbs rushed towards me. One, sticking me in the chest and lifting me into the air and two more following after and smashing me into the ground.

“Shining Armor ten, Christopher seven,” Celestia slightly cringed.

Almost instantly, my body was forced up and into a standing position with my arms held out.

“Now then,” Shining began as he came up to me and looked up at me with a smug smile. “I’m giving you one last chance to give up. What do you say?”

“I’m upgrading the uniform to pink,” I grunted out as I began to push out whatever magic I had in hopes of escaping. Unfortunately, that was a battle I ended up losing as a head ache quickly formed and I lost concentration.

“Nice try, but you’ll need a few years more training to get out of that,” Shining chuckled as he got in two more magic strikes.

I could only grunt in agitation as I glared at the stallion. I had been afraid of ending up in this situation and honestly hoped that it wouldn’t happen. But after a few moments, I noticed my headache slowly disappearing and it reminded me of my trump card.

I could absorb magic.

Even as Shining got another hit in, I began to focus on the strange feeling I had whenever my body came into contact with magic, hoping to increase the draining effect.

“That’s thirteen you know,” Shining chuckled as he stepped in front of me. He simply looked at me with a cocky grin for a few moments before he began to frown.

“What the…” Shining groaned out as his magical hold on me fell as he rubbed his forehead.

Before he could react, I quickly reached out and grabbed his horn, continuing to drain him of his magic.

“My turn,” I smiled before throwing the surprisingly light stallion over my head.

Even before he hit the ground, I was racing towards him, putting more magic into the blade still in my grasp.

“Tiger Blade!” I shouted, keeping the stallion airborne with an uppercut strike, launching myself into the air with him. I quickly followed with a downwards strike slamming him into the ground like he had done to me. Both strikes counting as my blade was coated in magic.

“Damn it,” Shining grunted as he hit the ground. Before I could follow up with another attack, the stallion quickly flashed away, appearing back on his hooves a few feet away.

“I don’t know how you did that, but don’t think it’s over,” Shining growled as he charged at me.

“Demon Fang!” I shouted, swinging my blade up from the ground but not releasing the magic I was putting into it. While this was enough to cause Shining to create a shield, it was not what I really planned on.

Putting as much magic into the blade as I could, I released it, allowing it to fly up into the air at a continues spin. A moment later, I followed behind it, jumping higher than normal as I doded the stallions charge, meting the blade half way and, shockingly, grabbing it by its handle.

“Sky Dragon SlashSky Dragon SlashSky Dragon Slash!” I shouted as I came crashing into the ground, forcing the blade down into the dirt. With that, a giant shock wave escaped the blade, ignoring me and blasting the still nearby stallion several feet away with a violent clash.

“Christopher eleven, Shining Armor thirteen,” Luna called out as I slumped down for a moment. My entire body felt drained as I took a moment to catch my breath. The last attack didn’t have the kind of range I hoped because of how low on magic I was, but it still took more out of me than I thought.

“Buck that hurt,” I heard Shining groan from behind me. Looking back, I saw the stallion get back to his hooves, his mane and visible coat covered in dirt and a small trail of blood coming from a busted lip.

“Plenty where that came from,” I panted as I stood back up. Reaching for my sword, I attempted to pull it up, but a small ‘tink’ sound filled me with slight dread.

“Aw man…” I groaned as looked at my now broken sword. Over half the blade was still embedded into the ground, while the rest was attached to the handle in my hand.

“Oh, tough brake colt,” Shining chuckled as he wiped off his chin with a hoof. “But I think it’s time I ended this.”

Before I could move, Shining blasted me with the largest wave of magic I had felt yet, flinging me across the field.

“Shining Armor fourteen, Christopher eleven,” Celestia called aloud, her eyes watching me tumble across the ground with slight worry as my world began to blur.


*	*	*


Twilight and the others couldn’t help but cringe as they saw Chris’s head make solid contact with one of the fence post with an audible ‘thunk’.

“Oh, that had to hurt,” Spike commented as he held Chris’s phone to the side of his head so that only he could hear the music coming from it.

“Sister, he’s not moving,” Luna worriedly said as she used her magic to secure the humans glasses, which had fallen off in the last attack.

“The spell should have prevented him from getting too hurt,” Celestia replied, still watching Chris.

“Chris, get up!” Twilight shouted at the prone man laying several yards away.

“It’s no use Twi, he’s out cold,” Shining chuckled, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s get him to the—“

“BANG!”

“Gah!” Shining Armor cried out as something impacted his chest, visibly cracking the armor he wore and causing the stallion to be pushed back with a heavy cringe.

Startled by the sudden sound, everypony looked back towards Chris, who was now kneeling on one leg, a strange black object held in his hands as he held it against his chin. The front pointed clearly at Shining Armor as he looked through a small telescope attached to the objects top.

With barely a twitch of his finger, the object released a flash and another ‘bang’ before Shining suddenly got hit again, his armor unable to withstand a second strike and fell apart where he stood.

“How did you?” Shining groaned as the strikes had defiantly bruised his ribs. He knew that, had it not been for his armor and Celestia’s spell, he’d have two new breathing holes.

Before he could even register it, a golden shield appeared before him, stopping several more shots from reaching him.

“This match is over,” Celestia suddenly called out, her horn glowing brightly. As she said this, Luna flashed away before appearing behind Chris.

With a quick tap of her horn, the human slumped to the ground. The object in his hands dissipating into smoke as he slipped fully into the dream realm.

The entire field remained silent as everypony watched the unconscious human for several moments.

“That will be all everypony,” Celestia suddenly told the crowd. “Under no circumstances are you to tell anypony or anything what you just saw!”

With quick words of agreement, the stands quickly emptied, leaving the princesses, Spike, Twilight, Shining Armor and the sleeping human as the only inhabitants.

“What… what was that?” Shining Armor asked as he made his way towards the human with a scowl. His chest hurt horribly, but that wasn’t his concern at the moment. The human had been hiding a weapon that tore through his captain’s armor while under a spell from Princess Celestia.

“Something very dangerous,” Celestia replied as she walked over to the stallion to inspect the damage.

“Shining, are you okay?” Twilight asked as she rushed over to her brother as well. She could already see some bruises developing under his fur.

“I’m fine sis,” Shining replied without taking his eyes off of the human.

“Is Chris okay?” Spike asked as he and Princess Luna inspected the sleeping human. Aside from a bit of magical exhaustion and a red bump on his head, he seemed fine.

“He is fine, young Spike,” Luna replied while staring at Chris with a mixture of concern and worry.

“Fine?!” Shining shouted as he moved up to the human. “He just tried to kill me! If I had been wearing a regular guards armor, I would have at least had some broken ribs!”

“Shining, I’m positive Christopher wouldn’t try to hurt you like that,” Twilight said, putting herself between her brother and herd mate.

“Twilight, he’s dangerous,” Shining tried to explain.

“And so are you, Shining!” Twilight replied with a slight frown.

“We apologize for our students actions, Captain Armor,” Luna said as she came up to the stallion. “But it seems that he had blacked out from the force of your last strike at him.”

“If that’s what he does when he blacks out, we can’t let him around other ponies,” Shining quickly replied as he glared at the human.

“His actions are merely due to the circumstances,” Luna replied sternly. “He was wounded, unable to see and knew that he would be attacked. Any creature would lash out to defend themselves at that point.”

“If I had to guess,” Celestia began to add. “What we just saw was a weapon he is probably very familiar with from his world. He was part of their military, so it’s more than possible that he has handled weapons of that caliber. Did he ever show you something like that before sister?”

“No, he has not,” Luna replied.

“I think I saw it before,” Spike said as he held up Chris’s phone. “He showed me some picture of what he looked like before coming here and I think one of them had that thing.”

A few moments later Spike showed a picture of Chris from his world. The colors were dull compared to what everypony was used to, but there was still enough to recognize Christopher’s face.

In the picture, Chris stood outside a strange looking white carriage wearing his cammies, a tan wool hat, black gloves and a large tan like vest. But what stood out the most was the item in his hands. He had the tip pointing at the ground and his hands seemed to be grasping the back end of it, but everypony could recognize it.

“I think he called it a…gun?” Spike offered. “He wouldn’t tell me much, only that every marine trained with it at least once a year.”

“To think that humans could create such a thing,” Shining commented.

“It was probably through necessity,” Twilight replied as she looked closer at the photo. “He once asked me how many wars we’ve had and when I told him that there have only been a few in the past thousand years, he laughed and told me how his had at least four occurring just before he came here.”

“This is not the kind of place where we should be discussing this though,” Luna said as she levitated Chris up in her magic, the human’s limbs dangling as she placed him on her back.

“What are you going to do with him?” Twilight asked.

“He shall rest in our room until he awakens,” Luna replied, hiding a devious smirk behind her mane. “Come tomorrow, he should be well enough to travel home.”

“Captain Armor, you should go to the medical ward,” Celestia replied. “I don’t want to take any chances that you might be more injured than we believe.”

“Yes Princess,” Shining nodded as he began to leave. He didn’t make it far before Twilight rushed after him, worried about his injuries.

“We shall ensure that Chris receives these when he awakens, Spike,” Luna said as she also took Chris’s wallet and Phone from Spike. “Thou should go with young Twilight and Captain Armor.”

“Uh… okay princess Luna,” Spike replied before rushing off himself.

Celestia and Luna stood in the field for a few more moments looking to ensure nopony was around before looking back at each other. Luna smiling smugly, while Celestia glared.

“We win sister,” Luna giggled.

“I don’t know what makes you think that,” Celestia growled.

“We counted at least five impacts to thy shield before we put Chris under a sleep spell,” Luna replied with a grin. “Technically, he won.”

Celestia glared at Luna for a few moments.

“I will get you back for this,” Celestia growled before stomping off.

“Remember sister, one month!” Luna called after her, doing her best to hide her laughs before looking at the passenger on her back with a sultry glance.

“Now to uphold my end of the deal.”


*	*	*


“Why does this always happen?” I groaned out as consciousness began to return to me.

Before opening my eyes, I took stock of what was happening. First was the feeling of a soft bed and blankets under me, meaning that the fight was over.

“I lost the fight didn’t I?” I asked aloud, that small feeling in the back of my mind telling me someone was nearby.

“Technically, thou won,” Luna’s voice whispered in my ear before I felt the bed under me shift.

“What happened?” I asked as I forced my eyes to slowly open. I immediately found myself in a large four poster bed with dark blue and purple drapes, all of which were open, revealing the large room around me.

“Thou ‘blacked out’ after, Captain Armors last attack,” Luna replied drawing my attention to her. Her muzzle was mere inches away from my head, my breath catching in my throat as I saw her.

Behind her, I could see a large open window with a balcony, a newly rising moon off in the distance.

But it wasn’t that sight that caused me to slightly panic, or how the moonlight seemed to make Luna glow.

“Thou has been asleep all day,” Luna giggled as she brought a white laced hoof to my bare chest and began to draw circles.

“We were quite worried,” Luna pouted before slowly bringing her muzzle closer to my face.

“L-Luna… what are you doing?” I asked as she nuzzled the side of my face as she crawled fully onto my chest.

“We are rewarding thou,” Luna breathed as she licked the side of my cheek. “Doest thou not remember our promise?”

“I-I do, its just…” I replied as I brought a hand up to stop her from licking me again. “Kinda thought I would have some time to prepare?”

“Thou have slept all day,” Luna softly wined as she pushed past my hand and gave a soft kiss to my chin. “And we have been waiting a long time for this.”

I was about to ask what she meant when she said that, but was preoccupied by Luna quickly diving in for a deep kiss.

“Perhaps thou would do better remaining silent?” Luna asked as she traveled downward with her kisses.

“B-but what about the match?” I asked as she kissed my chest. “What happened after I passed out? How was I getting to Shining Armor so fast? How-“

“There will be time for that later,” Luna giggled as she moved back up to my face. “All you need to know is that you were quite surprising.”

“O-okay,” I replied as Luna gave me another deep kiss. “But are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Art thou against sleeping with us?” Luna asked in worry. “Have our attempts been too strong?”

“Yes! I mean, No!” I quickly replied as I pushed her back enough to sit up. “I’m… I’m just confused.”

“Then let your teacher help you,” Luna purred as she dived in for a long kiss. As our tongues fought for dominance, I felt the mare drag one of her hooves down my chest towards my crotch.

“What do we have here?” Luna giggled as she looked down to...*Skrt*

Ghost! Ghostfacers!
We face the ghosts when others will not, we're-
Ghost! Ghostfacers!
Stay in the kitchen when the kitchen gets hot!
Ghost! Ghostfacers!
We face the nightmare, we face the dread!
Ghost! Ghostfacers!
We face the faceless--WE FACE THE DEAD!

In the haunted night, looking for the fight of our life
with the after-life!
When you trip and fall, into the super-natur-all
We're who you're gonna call,
cause we face them all!

*Skrt*
> Chapter Eight: "The Power Is Yours!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn’t look at anyone as I walked, not even bothering to turn my head as I continued to think about last night’s events.

I was amazed that I was even able to find my way to my room for a fresh set of cloths this morning, let alone get dressed in them.

“Good Morning, Chris,” Twilights voice echoed, snapping me out of my daze. Looking around, I found myself standing at the entrance of the main dining hall.

“I’m happy to see you’re okay,” Twilight continued as Spike nodded beside her, his mouth full of pancakes. “We were afraid you’d been hurt badly during the match.”

“Uh… what can I say,” I forced out with an uncomfortable chuckle, working the collar of my black shirt with a finger. “Humans tend to recover quickly. How’s your brother?”

“Fine,” Celestia’s voice growled, drawing my attention to the literally fuming princess.

No, seriously, she had actual smoke coming off of her mane.

“Would you look at that,” I said pulling up my left wrist like I was showing off a watch, my fear filled eyes still looking towards Celestia. “I forgot to brush my teeth, I shou-“

“Sit!” Celestia snapped and a bright flash later, I found myself sitting beside Twilight with a small bit of vertigo. “Please have some breakfast, I’m sure you’re hungry after yesterday’s exploits.”

“I’m good,” I squeaked out in fear, shaking my head to clear it.

I knew she knew, and I knew that wasn’t good.

“Hey Chris,” Spike called, drawing my attention. “Did you see the moon last night?”

“Uh… no, why?” I asked as Celestia’s eyes burrowed into the back of my scull and planted a bit of C4.

“It flashed!” Spike exclaimed. “I didn’t even know it could do that.”

“It actually happened a few times,” Twilight pointed out as she summoned a scroll and unfurled it. “Do you know if Princess Luna was working on a new spell?”

“Sorry… I was asleep,” I lied as I returned my gaze straight ahead, even as the room got slightly warmer.

“E-excuse me sir,” a maid asked a few moments later, drawing my attention to the side towards a small mare in a French maid’s outfit.

“Why the hell do they wear those?” I thought to myself as the maid looked at me nervously before continuing.

“What would you like for breakfast?”

“J-just some toasted onion bagels and some veggie garden cream cheese please,” I replied, beginning to think of Fluttershy in a maid’s outfit.

After a few minutes, the dining hall doors burst open as Luna walked in, looking like she normaly did for others.

“Good morning everypony!” She shouted out in a close equal to the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Good morning, Luna,” Celestia replied through gritted teeth. Her death glare finally leaving me and fixing itself on Luna. “How are you this morning? I can see you are almost back to full strength.”

“We have never felt better sister!” Luna shouted back, slightly quieter this time, as she made her way to the open seat besides Celestia with a sway, flicking my face with her tail as she passed.

“Good morning, friends!” Luna joyously called to the three of us once she was seated, flashing me a horribly concealed wink in the process.

“Good Morning Princess Luna,” Twilight replied with a slightly pained smile, probably noticing Luna’s horrible attempt at secrecy.

“Is something wrong with your eye?” Spike asked, apparently not knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

“As we have told our sister young Spike, we have never felt better,” Luna replied with a bright smile, her wide eyes flicking towards me for a moment.

“Are you ready to head back to Ponyville today?” Twilight asked me as Luna began to order her own breakfast.

“Can’t wait,” I replied quickly, personally wanting to get as far away from Celestia’s gaze as soon as possible.

“Good, because the first train is in a few hours,” Celestia replied as she ate a small salad; and when I say small, I mean like three leaves and a single cherry tomato. “But before then, I need to talk to you… privately.”

I almost shit myself at that comment.

“Oh, must thou leave so soon?” Luna pouted as she looked at me. I quickly noticed her horn light up and a small cup of tea begin to float towards her… as well as something rub against my crotch. “I wanted to discuss a few things before you left.”

“Which can be done at a later time, sister,” Celestia interrupted as her horn flashed and the feeling against my crotch disappeared and Luna’s cup returned to the table. “But he does have a job he needs to get back to.”

“Y-yeah, sorry,” I replied with a forced chuckle. “Rain check?”

“Very well,” Luna sighed as she continued to pout cutely before turning towards the kitchen. “Where art our waffles!?”


*	*	*


“So…” I began slowly, following Celestia down a hall. “How was your…”

“Stop talking,” Celestia interrupted as we made our way to a secluded staircase leading downwards.

“I’m going to jail,” I muttered as we were probably heading to the dungeons.

“You’re not going to jail,” Celestia growled, showing that she heard my mutter. “You should be going to jail and I want to bring you to jail, but I’m not. Just keep your mouth shut and follow me.”

I was about to reply, but another glare kept me silent.

“One of these days…” Celestia growled under her breath, the sound carrying in the empty passage.

“W-why did you tell the guards to wait back there?” I asked as we continued downward, an odd feeling pass over me momentarily like a I was walking through a curtain.

As the mare remained silent, I couldn’t help but worry for my life as we continued down the stairs.

I was also beginning to wonder how far down this staircase led.

“What do you remember about the match the other day?” Celestia asked as the stairs finally leveled out.

“Everything up to the part where Shining threw me that last time is all pretty clear,” I replied, thinking it over. “Things get kind of blurry after that and, uh… Luna didn’t really tell me anything about it.”

“I suppose she was… distracted,” Celestia growled at the end, glaring at me as her eyes flashed red. “Was there anything she did tell you?”

“W-well…,” I began, really needing to ask her about her eye flashes one day. “A-a few things.”

“Like?” Celestia pressed as she stopped walking and looked back at me.

“She… she told me her name,” I replied as Celestia continued to stare at me. “How her real name actually is, Nightmare Moon.”

“So, she finally told somepony the truth,” Celestia stated more to herself before addressing me. “If I find out that you have told anypony, I will throw you into my sun.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” I replied, not that afraid of Celestia’s threat. “So what if Luna wears a disguise and goes by a nickname?”

“Nickname?” Celestia questioned.

“Luna means moon in an ancient language from my world,” I replied. “I’m sure it’s the same here if my guess is correct.”

“Unfortunately, ponies tend to be very superstitious,” Celestia replied as she looked off into nowhere. “The way she looked and her name caused tension with our ponies. Even though it feels wrong, the disguise and name helped to ease ponies around her.”

Celestia took a moment to relieve a heavy sigh before looking back at me, her posture still low as she stared directly into my eyes. “I trust you won’t be telling anyone any of this?”

“Luna asked the same thing,” I began, raising my hand placatingly. “I won’t go telling her secret to anyone who doesn’t already know. Your ponies are way to skittish to handle the truth anyways, she told me that I could talk to you about it though”

“Trust me,” Celestia groaned as we began to walk once again. “I’ve been trying to fix that for a long time.”

“What about the fight?” I asked. “Like I said, Luna didn’t tell me much.”

“Well, you did surprise me a few times,” Celestia replied, raising my hopes. “I never realized somepony would shout out complete nonsenses when releasing unfiltered magic.”

“And there’s the ridicule,” I mumbled.

“I mean seriously?” Celestia said as she stopped to look at me. “Why would you shout such things?”

“It helped me focus… I guess,” I shrugged, blushing in embarrassment. “It was the only thing I could think of.”

“Well, I would recommend learning how to do that without telling your opponent that your about to do something,” Celestia replied as she turned and continued down the slightly dark hall.

“I’ll be sure to do that…” I replied sarcastically. “But I would like to know how I got to Shining so quickly a few times.”

“You blinked,” Celestia replied as we finally made it to the end of the dark hall.

“Well duh,” I replied, looking towards the large steel door we stood in front of. “Everyone blinks.”

“No, it’s a term we use for short range teleportation,” Celestia replied with a sigh. “Basically, anything within thirty yards or sight.”

“Wait, really?” I asked with a smile. “Awesome!”

“Unicorn foals do it,” Celestia replied patronizingly.

“Couldn’t let me have even that could you,” I grumbled, giving Celestia a stink eye.

“I could always put you in a jail cell,” Celestia replied, opening the door with a flash of her horn.

“So, what did want to show me?” I asked with a flourish of my hands as I followed Celestia into the room.

Walking in, I was surprised to see that we had entered a large supply room. The walls were covered in shelves and a vast assortment of chests and boxes filled the middle of the room.

“What is all this?” I asked as I followed Celestia to a back-wall shelf. There were no windows, but a soft light filled the room from small crystals in the ceiling.

“These are most of the items that other creatures brought from different worlds,” Celestia replied as she retrieved a small box from one of the shelves.

“All of this?” I asked turning to all the boxes around us.

“Just what we could find,” Celestia replied as an all too familiar sound suddenly filled my ears.

*Sherk* *sherk*

“I’m sure you know what this is,” Celestia’s voiced echoed as something small and metallic was pressed against the back of my head. “During the match, around the point where it gets blurry for you, you created somthing like this with your magic, only larger.”

“Oh dear sweet god, your going to kill me,” I spewed out, raising my hands into the air and slowly dropping to my knees. “I honestly never saw this coming. And what do you mean I made one of those?!”

“So much power from such a small item,” Celestia voiced as the object left the back of my head. “Get off the ground.”

“Okay!” I chirped, jumping up and facing her, my hands still raised high.

“During the match, I believe that you subconsciously created a weapon you were familiar with to protect yourself,,” Celestia sighed as she held a handgun besides her head, wrapped in her magic. “You shot my captain several times before we intervened.”

“One, I did not know I could do that,” I replied in a slight growl, lowering my hands and glaring at Celestia. "And two, never point a weapon at me again without probable cause. I don't care who you are."

“Remember that the next time you sleep with my sister,” Celestia replied as she shifted the gun around and offered its handle to me.

“Uh… what?” I asked, staring at the item she offered to me.

“This was acquired some years ago,” Celestia began to explain as I hesitantly took the weapon. “Unfortunately, the individual who had it was badly wounded and did not survive long enough for help to arrive.

“This was one of the few items we were able to recover,” Celestia continued before directing me to the box.

Taking a moment, I looked over the gun in my hand. Due to the cartoon nature of the world, it was a little hard to tell it apart from others I had seen besides the gun gray barrel and dark brown handle.

“Is this a M1911?” I quietly asked myself while moving to look in the box.

Inside the box were a few filled magazines for the gun, an old green helmet, some torn up clothing, a chest holster for the gun and a grenade.

“Holy shit, a grenade!” I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the item with fascination and fear. “Do you realize how unstable that thing gets over time?”

“Apparently not,” Celestia growled as the item disappeared in a flash of magic.

“So, what am I supposed to do with this?” I asked while inspecting the handgun, trying to figure out how to release the sliding mechanism so I could see the insides of the weapon and check for corrosion.

“Keep it,” Celestia replied as she levitated the magazines and holster to me.

“Uh… why?” I asked, becoming really confused and worried.

“You live in a town set next to one of the most dangerous places within Equestrian borders,” Celestia began to explain with a straight face. “And I don’t need to find out you died because your magic gave out or that you were SHOUTING NONSENSE at a manticore moments before it eats your face.”

“Oh…” I replied as I absently found the slide release while looking at Celestia.

“You do know how to use it, don’t you?” Celestia asked as her right eye gave a slight twitch.

“Well, yeah,,” I replied while looking into the receiver and finding it shockingly clean. “But I’m going to need way more ammo than what is here if I’m going to become a competent shot with this. I’ve only shot a handgun once in my life and it wasn’t like this one.”

“I know how to make more,” Celestia replied like it wasn’t an issue, missing the look of shock and worry on my face.

“Uh… I’m also going to need some things to keep it clean,” I continued before looking at Celestia with a raised brow and a slightly strained, happy smile.


*	*	*


“You wished to see me sister?” Luna asked, waving off a small yawn as she entered Celestia’s room, slightly disappointed that Christopher had to leave already. “We were hoping to get some proper rest today.”

“I’m sure you were,” Celestia calmly replied as she turned away from her telescope and looked towards her sister. “Your night must have been quiet… busy.”

“O-oh… it was something,” Luna blushed with a small giggle, missing Celestia’s horn flash.

“Oh, I’m sure it was,” Celestia voiced, the venom in her voice apparent.

“Sister, what is…” Luna began until she saw Celestia’s rose colored eyes staring directly into her own.


*	*	*


Even as the train pulled into the Ponyville station, Twilight stared at me in confusion, her eyes narrowed and her muzzle scrunched slightly.

“What did you do to her?” Spike asked as he waved a claw in front of the mare, trying to gain her attention.

“She asked what I did last night,” I sighed while standing up and grabbing all the bags from the overhang. “All I told her was that I spent the night in Luna’s room.”

“And what did you do there?” Spike asked as I walked over and picked up the odly catatonic pony with a free arm.

“Nothing,” I replied, keeping what I had done with Luna a secret but still saying I was with her.

The best lies always have a grain of truth as they say.

“Is she going to be okay?” Spike asked as we stepped off the train.

“Yeah, just give me a second,” I huffed as I set the mare down along with her bags.

“You have any ideas?” Spike asked, pointing to the still shocked look on his caretaker’s face.

“A few,” I smiled before cupping Twilights cheek in my hand. “But this one should work.”

With that, I brought the mare close in and gave her a deep kiss. For several seconds, she didn’t respond, but after a while, she sank into it as I felt a small smile appear on her lips.

“Better?” I asked while pulling away and standing back to my full height.

“You do realize that I don’t believe you,” Twilight stated as she regained her voice, a slight blush developing on her face.

“I spent the night in her room, you can think whatever you want,” I replied with a shrug. “If you wanna hear more, just ask Luna.”

“I just might,” Twilight mumbled mostly to herself before looking up at me with worry. “I-I just don’t want you to get into any trouble.”

I sighed while shaking my head before heading off the platform. “Come on, I gotta see if the repairs are done at the spa yet.”

“Right, let’s go Spike,” Twilight replied, shaking her head clear before levitating her bags and Spike onto her back and following me out the station.

“After you check the spa, would you like to join me and Spike for lunch?” Twilight asked as we entered the town fully.

“Uh… sure,” I offhandedly replied as I began to notice that the streets were empty. “Is Pinkie planning a welcome back party or something?”

“She might,” Twilight replied as we stopped just outside Sugar Cube Corner. “But I don’t think so.”

“Something about this seems familiar,” I mumbled to myself as I saw a mare slam her shutters closed.

“Pssssst!” something whispered from behind us.

“You say something, Twilight?” I asked, turning to look at the mare.

“No, that wasn’t me,” Twilight replied before looking back at her passenger. “Spike?”

“Don’t look at me,” Spike shrugged, also looking for what ever tried to get our attention.

“Psssssst! Twilight, Spike, Chris, over here!” came another whisper, only this time, the voice obviously belonged to Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie?” Twilight called as we all looked back towards Sugar Cube Corner’s entrance.

“Quick!” Pinkie whisper yelled as she appeared in the top opening of the shop’s door.

“Oh! Now I remember,” I chuckled to myself as I watched Twilight wonder over to the door with a curious look. Once she was a few feet away, Pinkie zipped out and pulled the unsuspecting mare and dragon into the shop, slamming the door in the process.

“Now then,” I said to myself while turning to the market district. As suspected, there was a small cloaked figure standing outside one of the flower stalls, the hood moving from side to side.

“Friendship my ass,” I grumbled under my breath while fixing my pack, annoyed by how I was so suddenly accepted, yet Zecora was shunned from the get go.

“Excuse me!” I called out while moving towards the zebra. Once she noticed me, her blue eyes seemed to expand from under the hood.

“What is this that I do see? Has a mythical human has come to greet me?” Zecora questioned in her rhythmic way.

“That’d be me,” I replied with a smile once reaching her. Holding out my hand, I continued, “My names Christopher, but everyone calls me Chris.”

“Zecora is what you may call me, a shaman from the Everfree,” the zebra replied as she reached out a golden ringed hoof and gave my hand a firm shake.

“I see your getting the old PONYVILLE WELCOME!” I said, shouting the last part while looking at several silhouettes in windows, knowing that there were plenty of ponies watching. But still, no one decided to show themselves.

“I am used to this,” Zecora sighed as she dug a small hole in the ground with her hoof. “But I would be remiss…”

“Yeah, I get what you mean,” I sighed while looking down at her then to the small flower stand. “If you want, I could pick up a few things for you. They don’t usually run and hide when I go shopping.”

“You would do this for me?” Zecora asked, with a slightly skeptical glare as she removed her hood, allowing her mane to rise up. “When to you, I am just some random pony?”

“Of course,” I nodded, giving a compassionate smile. “I’d like to believe that we can be friends and this is what friends do.”

“Then thank you my new friend, my thanks to you has will have no end,” Zecora replied quickly before pulling out a small list from under her cloak and handing it to me. A quick scan showed that it was just a general groceries list, mostly just fruits and veggies.

“Where would you like me to bring these after I got them?” I asked while looking down at the mare.

With a simple nod, Zecora than began to lead me through the market and towards the Everfree forest.

We both made a little small talk while we traveled and I actually found out that Zecora has been living in the forest for over a year now.

She traveled here from her village back in Zebafrica, far to the east. She wanted to go out and learn more about one of the neighboring nations, but the only real place she could find where her potion making didn’t put others at risk was in the Everfree.

“This spot should be good,” Zecora said as we stopped a few minutes after entering the forest. “Especially if you don’t want to become manticore food.”

“I’m guessing the animals don’t like the blue flowers,” I chuckled, pointing towards a nearby field of poison joke.

“Yes, that is true,” Zecora giggled. “The blue flower does like to mess with you.”

“I’ll be careful then,” I replied with a nod. “I probably won’t be able to get everything now, but I’ll be sure to get it in the morning. I’ll meet you here a little after lunch?”

“That would be good my friend,” Zecora said before quickly wrapping me in a hug, a large smile on her face.

“Have a good day Zecora,” I said as the mare pulled away and began to leave, obviously walking around the field of flowers.

“Apple Bloom, wait!” I suddenly heard Applejack’s voice call. I looked over just in time for a small filly to rush past me towards the field of Poison Joke.

“Whoa?! Kid, wait!” I called out rushing after Apple Bloom to stop her from entering the field.

Jumping forward, I snatched the filly from the ground, and while Apple Bloom may have been saved from whatever the flower would have done, I ended up sliding into the field.

“Bwa! The monster, its got me!” Apple Bloom began to shout and flail as I held her clear over the flowers reminding me that I had yet to actually meet the filly properly yet.

“Apple Bloom, Thank Celestia y’all are okay,” Applejack sighed as she and the others galloped into the field.

“God damn it…” I grumbled while getting up, still holding the flailing filly up and away from me, hoping to prevent her from suffering any ill effects.

“Oh, Chris! Thank goodness you’re okay!” Fluttershy suddenly called as she rammed into my side in a brutal hug.

After that, everything was drowned out by a mixture of yelling, the slightly sniffling mare at my side and the flailing filly in my hands.

“And here I thought nothing exciting would happen…” I sighed, placing Apple Bloom onto her sisters back. The moment she was safely placed, she looked back at me with big wide eyes full of fear and curiosity.

“Calm down kid, I’m not gonna hurt you,” I chuckled while reaching down and grabbing a few of the flowers.

I was already infected, so I decided to at least grab a few for future use… and cause I wanted to see what it did to Gilda.

“There’s no such thing as curses!”Twilight suddenly shouted, drawing my attention to the others. Most were in different states of paranoia, but all I could do was laugh, especially when I knew what they would wake up too tomorrow.

“Let’s just head home, huh?” I asked while pocketing the flowers I picked. Not the best choice, but I wasn’t taking them for their looks now. “Besides, I got stuff that needs to be done.”

“Thank you,” Twilight sighed as she joined me on the walk back towards town. Fluttershy still clinging to my side with an iron grip.

“Chris is right,” Applejack nodded as she began to lead the others out as well. “Ain’t no reason for us to hang around here.”

I could only chuckle, knowing that we all might just be making another trip into the forest tomorrow anyways.


*	*	*


“So all the repairs will be done tomorrow?” I asked Aloe one last time.

“Yes,” she nodded while looking back at the few scattered pipes and equipment placed in the hall we were in. “All the pipes and fixtures are good and all they have left is to re-check the baths and ensure there’s no leaks.”

“Awesome,” I nodded while looking around. “So, come in on Monday, right?”

“If you would,” Lotus said as she walked into the hall.

“You got it,” I replied with a smile and a nod. I began to walk away before another thought caused me to stop. “Actually, do you girls mind having one of the larger tubs set up with some clean water tomorrow afternoon?”

“We don’t see why not,” Aloe replied with a confused look. “Why?”

“Oh, trust me,” I began to chuckle. “You’re going to love it.”


*	*	*


“I see you made yourself at home,” I chuckled while walking into what had once been my slightly empty living room. Several pictures now adorned the walls as well as a haphazardly repaired coffee table and a bookcase with several small books sat against a far wall. Another chair had also been brought in and several small toys were scattered across the ground.

“Sorry for the mess,” Derpy sheepishly smiled while picking up a few small toys. “Dinky sometimes forgets to pick up after herself.”

“No, no, its fine,” I chuckled, setting my bags down and helping move the scattered toys. “We were all kids once, right?”

“Yeah,” Derpy giggled back. “So, how was Canterlot?”

“Not bad,” I shrugged while looking around. “Gilda around? I got something for her.”

“She went out for a flight,” Derpy replied. “Why, what’d you get her?”

“More of a gag gift,” I chuckled while moving to the stairs. “Did you get yourself situated in your room or am I crashing on the couch?”

“I got everything moved,” Derpy smiled. “The post office gave me some time off to get things moved, so I made that my first job.”

“That’s good,” I chuckled while making my way to my room. Once there, I found it as bare as I had left it, the only difference was that it looked like someone had changed my sheets and made it for me.

Geralt was also there, but he seemed to be sleeping peacefully for the moment.

I contemplated using some of the flowers on him, but decided to wait until he was at least awake before bringing the flowers towards a sleeping wolf.

After putting my bag away and storing the flowers in a small plastic bag I had grabbed from the kitchen, I decided to take a peek at how Derpy had set up her and Dinky’s room.

Opening the door, I was actually surprised to see two ponies already inside.

“Do you think mommy will like it, Aunt Sparkler?” Dinky asked as she held up a small crayon drawing to a larger pink mare with a purple mane.

“You mom will lo-,” Sparkler began to reply before she noticed me at the room entrance. “Oh, hello there.”

“Hello,” I nodded while looking over the room. There were a few dressers here and there, but the main occupants of the room were two separate beds and a large pile of stuffed animals that all showed signs of repair.

“Your, Christopher, right?” Sparkler asked as she got off the bed she and Dinky were on and made her way over. “Thank you for letting my friend and her daughter stay here.”

“It’s no problem, really,” I replied as I noticed Dinky get off the bed and begin looking for something.

“What are you looking for sweetie?” Sparkler asked as Dinky began to dig under the smaller bed, papers and crayons quickly coming out as she did.

“I’m looking for the picture I made him,” Dinky called out from under the bed. A few seconds later, she pulled her head out with a piece of paper in her mouth that she quickly brought to me.

“Here you go,” Dinky offered, holding it up for me. “Thank you for saving me and mommy and letting us stay here.”

“Your welcome Dinky,” I nodded while taking a knee and taking the picture. It was a crudely done picture of what looked like me standing over a big purple blob with X’s for eyes.

“Wow, this is really good Dinky,” I smiled as the filly beamed happily. “I know exactly where to put this.”

“Where?” Dinky asked with her childhood curiosity.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” I replied while standing back up and leading both the filly and mare downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Hello, everypony,” Derpy said as we walked in. The mare currently washing some vegetables in the sink.

“Hi mommy!” Dinky said as she continued to follow me to the fridge. While there weren’t many, I did snag a magnet or two, so I had plenty to use as I hung the picture up for everyone to see.

“There, now everyone can see that we have an artist in the house,” I chuckled as I took a step back. Dinky simply looked at what I did before smiling brightly and giggling.

“Do you want to come and color with me?” the filly asked.

“Sure, but only if you don’t laugh at my pictures,” I chuckled while heading back out of the kitchen. “I’m nowhere near as good as you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you how it’s done,” Dinky confidently smiled before rushing past me and up the stairs.

“Chris, before you go,” Derpy quickly called, drawing my attention to her as she reached into the fridge and pulled out a milk bottle. “Princess Luna dropped this off, saying its to make up for… something?”

“Sweet!” I chuckled while walking over and taking the bottle for a quick swig. After finishing it, I had to stop for a moment.

That was some of the best god damn milk I’ve ever had.

“Do you really have to drink from the bottle?” Derpy asked with a slightly disgusted look.

“Uh…” I replied dumbly.

“Don’t worry, I got another,” Derpy replied with a playful smile. “Just keep it marked please?”

“You got it,” I chuckled as I put the bottle away in a spot that it wasn’t very accessible. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I got a picture to draw.”


*	*	*


“That was nice of him,” Sparkler giggled as she watched the human leave. “I honestly didn’t think he would be like that.”

“He’s actually really nice once you get to know him,” Derpy giggled as she finished washing the vegetables.

“Oh, and just how well do you know him?” Sparkler asked with a smirk.

“No-not like that!” Derpy squeaked out with a growing blush.

“I’m just pulling your tail Derpy,” Sparkler chuckled as she gave her friend a good hug. “But this could be a good thing. A filly needs a good father figure, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I guess…” Derpy mumbled as she began to put the food away.

“There’s always Time Turner,” Sparkler offered with a chuckle.

“Yeah… no,” Derpy shivered remembering the one time she tried to actually date the stallion. He was a good friend, but he was a little to… weird for Derpy’s liking. Not that she would ever say that to his face or anything.

“Derpy… all I’m trying to say is that you should find somepony,” Sparkler offered. “What my brother did was wrong, but that shouldn’t stop you from finding a special somepony.”

“And I’m sure I will,” Derpy shrugged with a heavy sigh. “Someday...”


*	*	*


“Keep that thing away from me dweeb!” Gilda shouted as she jumped over my couch to get away from me and the poison joke I currently held.

“Oh, so you know what this is?” I grinned deviously, allowing a slightly crazed look to show in my eyes. “Now I wanna see what it does to you even more.”

“It’s stupid and I don’t care!” Gilda snapped, but didn’t bother doing much more than running.

“Then tell me what it does to you,” I grinned, jumping over the couch and trying to grab the gryphoness without success. “If you do, I’ll save this batch for Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Probably even slip it into a couple of big wigs drinks during the gala.”

That got Gilda to stop as she looked at me with a slightly intrigued look. But that’s also when I struck.

“Gotcha!” I shouted, grabbing one of Gilda’s claws and quickly rubbing it with the flower.

“Bastard!” Gilda screeched as she quickly swung at me with her other claw in a fist, connecting hard with my gut.

“Worth it,” I wheezed as Gilda took the flower and threw it into the fire place.

“You dick! It takes a week for this stuff’s effects to wear off!” Gilda growled as she turned back to me, her feathers ruffled.

“Oh, calm down,” I waved off with a grunt while getting back to my feet. “I know someone that knows a cure.”

“What is it!?” Gilda shouted as she rushed up and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt before shouting into my face. “Give it to me now!”

“Are you talking about the cure or my di-“ I began before Gilda punched me in the gut again.

“Ass…” Gilda growled before releasing me and stomping out of the room.

“Mommy, what does ‘’ass’’ mean?” Dinky asked from beside her mother. The both of whom stood at the room’s entrance now.

“It’s another word for donkey,” I quickly replied with what little breath I had at the moment. “But they find it mean, so don’t say it, okay?”

“Okay, Mr. Chris,” Dinky smile innocently before rushing out of the room.

“What was that all about?” Derpy asked as she walked up to me.

“You’ll see in the morning,” I chuckled as I began to leave, only to be stopped by Derpy’s extended hoof.

“Yes?” I asked looking down at the mare. But the look I received back only caused me the shiver in fear as both of Derpy’s eyes looked at me in a glare, completely in sync.

“You better hope my daughter doesn’t repeat that word to anypony, or you’ll be the one to pay for it,” she told me in an oddly calm voice, both eyes still fixed on me. “Got it?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” I blurted out before rushing out of the room.


*	*	*


“Buuuuuuuuckkkkkkk!” Gilda’s shout echoed, rousing me from my sleep.

Still half asleep and in a fit of panic, I jumped out of my bed and rushed out of my room, grabbing my glasses as I rushed.

“Buck, buck, buck!” Gilda’s voice could be hear as I quickly rushed to the door that led to the attic, not even waiting as I rushed through it and up the stairs, quickly shoving my glasses onto my face.

Once I made it to the top, I quickly stopped in shock, only to fall over in a fit of laughter shortly after.

“O-oh my god!” I wheezed out. Gilda was now completely pink, and I mean completely. The only non-pink part about her were her eyes, which had stayed the same.

“Sh-shut up dweeb!” Gilda snapped once she noticed me, another layer of pink appearing on her face. “I still look better than you do!”

“Why, what happened to me?” I asked, ceasing my laughter immediately.

“Your blue… and your hairs green,” Gilda grumbled as she stared at me with an unamused glare.

“Really?” I asked, finally looking at myself. My entire body was a slightly dark cerulean color and after pulling back the band of the sweat pants I wore, I confirmed that my hair was green.

“It’s really not your color,” Gilda replied as she pulled a blanket off of her large nest and covered herself with it. “Now go get me the cure!”

“Captain planet…” I quietly began looking up at Gilda with a slowly spreading grin.

“What?” Gilda groaned as she dragged herself and the blanket closer.

“He’s our hero,” I began to sing, slowly getting louder. “Gonna take pollution down to ZE-UHG!”

“Ass…” Gilda grumbled as she moved past me, leaving me to fall to the ground from the punch she just gave my gut.

“Z-zero…” I groaned out.


*	*	*


“Uhm… here you go?” Carrot Top cautiously said as she pushed the bag of freshly bought vegetables towards me, her eyes switching between me and Geralt several times. “And you’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I smiled while adding the bag to the several others I already had. This was the last stop on the list of items for Zecora and I honestly couldn’t help but marvel at how much she needed. “Thanks for asking though.”

“N-no problem?” Carrot replied uncertainly as I walked off with ten full bags of different foods, everyday items and plants. The only real problem I had with this was that I had not asked Zecora for the bits for everything, so I had to pay for it. But I was sure she would pay me back.

“With our powers, magnified, he’s fighting on the planets side!” I sang while walking down the street. While being blue with green hair made me stand out more than I normally did, it didn’t stop me from having fun.

“Uh… excuse me?” a small voice suddenly asked from beside me.

“Huh?” I hummed as I stopped and look down at my side. Apple Bloom stood a few inches away, looking up at me with a slightly nervous look while also keeping away from Geralt.

“You don’t think y’all are cursed too, do you?” she asked once she knew she had my attention.

“Oh, this isn’t a curse,” I chuckled, figuring that this was the point where Apple Bloom means to go to Zecora and prove what really happened. “This is kind of like an allergic reaction.”

“To what?” Apple Bloom asked back. “Cause mah sister and her friends think they’re cursed and what to hurt somepony even though she aint done nothing wrong.”

“Don’t worry,” I chuckled. “I was actually going to go see Zecora now and she knows the cure. Do you wanna come?”

“Into the Everfree?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked between me and the distant forest edge with both excitement and fear. “But wont mah sister get mad?”

“I’ll take the hit for that one,” I shrugged off, knowing that she would go there even if I said no, so I could at least make sure she stayed safe.

That and because I was now packing heat and had a wolf.

“Come on, I gotta bring these groceries to her anyways. Let’s go, you two,” I continued while leading the way out of town.

“O-okay…” Apple Bloom muttered as she began to walk towards the forest. But I knew this would end up taking too long since she kept looking back and forth between me and the forest before moving.

“Here, let’s try this,” I said as I set my bags down.

Before Apple Bloom could react, I lifted the filly onto Geralt’s back, causing him to grwl at me slightly.

“I-is this safe?” Apple Bloom asked as Geralt gave her a quick glance before continuing forward.

“He won’t hurt you,” I said while beginning to walk once again. “He knows that I’m in charge.”

“Okay,” the filly replied, obviously not paying attention to me anymore as she looked around from her new perch.

“At least she’s not nervous anymore,” I mumbled before continuing forward.


*	*	*


“… and thats why I picked you up before you entered them,” I told Apple Bloom as the three of us made our way around the large field of poison joke.

“But it don’t look to bad,” the filly replied as she looked at the flowers. “Maybe they would have given me my cutie mark!”

“I doubt it,” I chuckled once we were past the field. Zecora hadn’t been there yet, so I decided to head a little farther in. I knew we would be safe because the Zecora had basically said that almost everything tried to stay as far away from the flowers as possible. It was apparently one of the reasons she lived where she did.

“Aww…” Apple Bloom sighed as I pushed through a few bushes. “Ah aint ever gonna get ma cutie mark at this rate.”

“Don’t worry Apps,” I chuckled as I walked into a nice opening containing a familiar, large mangled tree. “You’ll get one, I promise.”

“Okay,” Apple Bloom sighed as she looked around, her eyes quickly finding the tree that was Zecora’s home. “Where are we?”

“This should be Zecora place,” I grunted while the filly jumped off Geralt safely. “Come on, let’s go say hi.”

“Okay!” Apple Bloom smiled as she rushed ahead.

“You mind knocking, kind of got my hands full,” I chuckled once we reached the small door.

“Okay,” Apple Bloom replied before giving the door a good few knocks.

“Room service!” I called out, earning a giggle from the filly as Geralt began to look around.

“What can this be?” Zecora’s voice suddenly came from inside as the door slowly opened. “Has somepony actually come to see me?”

The moment her eyes mad contact me, they widened as her mouth dropped in shock.

“Captain Planet, here to save the day!” I proclaimed with a chuckle while holding the bags up.

Apple Bloom just laughed as Zecora continued to stare, most likely caught off guard by my changed appearance.

“Mind if we come in?” I asked, holding out the bags. “I doubt you want some of these things getting warm.”

“O-oh, yes yes!” Zecora quickly replied as a large smile spread across her face as she moved aside for me and Apple Bloom to enter. “Please come into my home welcomed guests.”

“Thank you,” both me and Apple Bloom said as the filly walked in first and I followed in a low crouch. Once fully inside, I stood up, finding my head to just graze the ceiling.

“I’ll be out in a few minutes Geralt,” I called out to the wolf before the door closed.

“Nice place,” I commented as I looked around. Like Twilight’s tree, this one was bigger on the inside. Most of the walls held shelves with different ingredients, masks and what not, while a giant pot sat in the middle of the room. Off to one side I could see another small door and guessed that it probably led to Zecora’s room.

“T-thank you, my friend,” Zecora replied as she moved past me and Apple Bloom and stood at the other side of the cauldron. “It is not much, but it works in the end.”

“H-hello, Miss Zecora, I’m Apple Bloom,” the young filly quickly introduced herself soon after.

“Hello, young one,” Zecora greeted, giving the filly a nod. “May I ask, why are you with the tall one?”

“Uh… what?” Apple Bloom asked, looking back at me.

“She’s just here to see if you have the poison joke cure,” I replied while setting the bags down against a wall. “Her sister and friends are jumping to some slightly worrying conclusions.”

“A cure for the blue flower?” Zecora nodded as she went over to a shelf full of books. She pulled out a small olive green one before turning to a specific page. “Ah, yes, it’s as simple as a shower.”

“I actually have a bath at the spa open, so if you have all the ingredients, we can head over there and get started,” I said while pointing back towards the entrance with my thumb.

“Wh-while I am sure that is true,” Zecora nodded with a little hesitance. “I still need a small piece of mildew.”

“I can get it,” Apple Bloom offered with a smile.

“It’s aright App’s, I’ll get it,” I told the filly, earning a small frown from her. “Why don’t you keep Zecora company until your sister and the other show up.”

“They’re comin here?!” Apple Bloom asked in worry.

“Yeah… so when they do, just make sure they stay calm until I get back,” I replied before looking over at Zecora. “So where is this mildew and what does it look like?”

“It is a little farther in,” Zecora explained. “And it will seem very thin. The mildew will be a light brown, It will look as if it’s a rocks crown.”

“So it grows on the top of some rocks a little past your hut?” I asked, earning a nod from the Zebra. “Okay, I’ll be right back. Apple Bloom, behave.”

“Ah aint even do nothing…” the filly grumbled before I walked out.

Now before anyone thinks about how I just left a child with a stranger, I did take a quick glance through a window beforehand to see Zecora showing the filly a few of her books.

“Make sure nothing happens to her,” I told Geralt as the wolf joined up beside me. Receiving a simple nod as a reply, I turned away from the window.

“Now than,” I said while walking behind the hut and into the forest again. I knew that the others would be arriving soon, so I didn’t waste much time in looking for small rocks and began to search for hopefully a larger boulder instead.

After a few minutes I came to a small cliff face that had what I wanted and Zecora was right, it did seem a bit thin. But also slightly heavy, the quick handful I grabbed seeming to weigh almost ten pounds if I had to guess.

“Crazy world and its magic…” I mumbled to myself while heading back to Zecora’s. Even before I re-entered the clearing, I could hear several yells coming from the home.

“God damn it…” I groaned out while rushing towards the front door and quickly opening it to a scene of slight chaos.

Twilight was holding Rainbow Dash back by her tail, her blue spotted horn flopping around a bit. The rainbow mare was trying to reach a slightly concerned zebra, trying and failing to use her wings as the largest one seemed to refuse to move at points.

Applejack was reprimanding her younger sister’s actions from a top the filly’s back and the puff ball known as Rarity was over in a corner, whimpering as she tried to get all the twigs and leaves from her overly fluffy mane and coat. Pinkie Pie, for her part, just seemed to be sitting patiently while blowing random raspberry’s with her inflicted tongue.

The only one I couldn’t find was Fluttershy.

“What the hell’s going on here?” I asked, playing dumb.

The entire room quickly fell silent as everyone’s attention quickly fell on me.

“Chris, is that you?!” Rarity shouted, being the cry out. “Don’t look at me! I’m hideouuuuussss!”

“See, she got him too!” Rainbow pointed at me, as Twilight looked over at me.

“And you!” the small Applejack called as she hopped off her sisters back. “What right do ya have fer bringin’ ma sister here?!”

“PPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTT!” Pinkie Pie slobbered over the side of my face while trying to say something.

“First, it’s not a curse Rainbow Dash, so calm the heck down,” I began, wiping most of Pinkie’s slobber off my face before looking at Applejack. “And I brought her here because she would have come here on her own anyways.

“And Pinkie,” I continued looking at the pink mare next to me. “This is not the time or place for you to be slobbering all over me.”

At this, Pinkie blushed a little, quickly looking at the floor as the blush grew slightly more.

“Not like that,” I sighed before mumbling under my breath. “Although, I wouldn’t be against it.”

“You’re blue! How can that not be a curse?!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Because…” I began before taking a heroic stance. “I am… Captain Planet!”

The entire room just stared at me after I said that. It even seemed that everything had gone silent outside as well.

“…your all suffering from a reaction from a magic flower,” I grumbled while letting my stance fall in defeat. “The cure is a simple herbal remedy and Zecora has it in one of her books.”

“But I didn’t see anything about this in any of my books,” Twilight said as she looked over at Zecora.

“I have it here in this book,” Zecora said as she pulled the book from earlier out and handed it to Twilight. “Come over here and have yourself a look.”

“What?!” Twilight almost shouted as she rushed over to the zebra.

“Where’s Fluttershy?” I asked the others while Twilight groaned about the book.

“I think she went to go get you,” Rainbow shrugged before chuckling a little. “But wait till you see what happened to her, she…”

“Has a voice that’s deeper than Big Mac’s, yeah I know,” I replied before I realized my mistake.

“Yeah… but how do you know that,” Rainbow Dash replied with a raised brow as Applejack’s attention was also drawn. “She told us that she hasn’t seen you all day.”

“I-I got my sources,” I stuttered as I tried to wave it all off. “But that’s beside the point, I got Aloe and Lotus to set a bath up for us at the spa for the cure.”

“Than what the hay are we standin around here for?” Apple Bloom commented as she made her way to the door. “Lets go get mah cutie mark in… uh…”

“Herbal remedies?” I offered with a little chuckle.

“Yeah! That!” Apple Bloom shouted before rushing out the door.

“Man, I miss my childhood…” I sighed before rushing out the door with a shout.

“Go Planet!”


*	*	*


“Keep laughing dweeb, at least I could fly strait,” Gilda jokingly growled at the rainbow mare beside her. Her and the other six mares all sat in one of the spa’s largest tubs, all cured.

Except for me.

“But you were pink!” Rainbow heartily laughed before getting splashed with water by Gilda.

“Hey, what’s wrong with pink?” Pinkie Pie pouted before smiling. “I like pink, it’s one of my favorite colors!”

“What color isn’t your favorite?” I chuckled from outside the tub, causing the filly next to me to giggle.

“Chris, aren’t you going to join us?” Fluttershy asked from beside Twilight and Rarity.

“Yes dear, come and join us. The water is divine,” Rarity added with a twinkle in her eye and a smirk on her lips. “But be sure to strip down first; wouldn’t want you to ruin your clothing.”

“I’ll just wait my turn, thanks,” I chuckled before moving over to the side of the tub.

Looking over, I could see Zecora talking with my boss’s. Apparently, after the twins got through their fear of her, they asked if she knew any good herbal mixes for the baths aside from the cure.

“Hey, Apple Bloom,” I said, looking down at the filly next to me.

“Yes?” Apple Bloom asked as she stared up at me from shin level.

“I wanted to say good job,” I smiled down as I took a knee so she didn’t have to strain her neck. “I know you wanted to go out and greet Zecora properly the other day, but we left before you could.”

“I just didnt like how everypony was afraid ah her, when she aint done nothin wrong,” Apple Bloom replied sheepishly.

“And it’s unfortunate that something like that happened,” I sighed while scratching behind on of the filly’s ears. “But that’s why I’m saying good job.

“If you weren’t there, your sister and her friends might have done something bad to a good per…zebra,” I smiled.

“Yeah, I guess I did do pretty good, huh?” Apple Bloom smiled to herself, only to sigh as she looked back at her blank flank. “But ah still didn’t get mah cutie mark.”

“Don’t worry, Apps,” I chuckled, ruffling her hair before standing up. “You’ll get…”

SPLASH

“That’s for using the poison joke on me to begin with dweeb,” Gilda chuckled from above me, allowing a few final drops of water to fall from the bucket in her claws.

“Glad I emptied my pockets before coming in here,” I replied as I wiped off some excess water from my eyes as I noticed the blue begin to fade from my skin like water itself. As the others seemed to laugh at my current predicament, I simply smiled, planning to end my planet saving with a bang.

“Cannon Ball!”

SPLASH!!!!!

*Skrt*

Earth!
Fire!
Wind!
Water!
Heart!

GO PLANET!

By your powers combined I am Captain Planet!

Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero,
He's our powers magnified,
And he's fighting on the planet side

Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero,
Gonna help him put us under,
Bad guys who like to loot and plunder

"You'll pay for this Captain Planet!"

(chanting)
We're the planeteers,
You can be one too!
'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do,
Looting and polluting is not the way,
Hear what Captain Planet has to say:

"THE POWER IS YOURS!!"

*Skrt*
> Chapter Nine: "You can't judge how beautiful a girl really is by the way she looks."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My hand rested against my face like they were close lovers. The slight smell of lotion actually being quite inviting.

“Well?” Luna puffed, her cheeks full as she held the quill and paper in front of me with her magic. Every few seconds, she would tap them against my head in a failed attempt to get me to take them.

“Luna…” I groaned out, still not removing my hand.

“You promised,” Luna pouted as a sad look filled her eyes. “We even prepared a heading.”

“That’s not the point Princess…” I grumbled while finally pulling my hand down and staring at the lunar princess. “My problem is that I’m still at work!”

“Yes, but that should not stop thou,” Luna replied before she gave a slight moan. “A little higher on the right please.”

“Of course, Princess Luna,” Aloe replied before shifting her hooves to a better position on Luna’s back.

“Speaking of which, how is thy training for work coming?” Luna asked as she continued to tap the paper and quill against my head.

“We were planning on having him try on a real customer tomorrow,” Lotus replied as she walked into the room with a basket on her back. “Miss Rarity and Miss Fluttershy have volunteered to be his first real customers.”

“As long as I don’t have to work with that creepy model any more, I don’t care if its Granny Smith,” I replied in all honesty. The sisters had an actually training dummy that apparently moaned and chirped depending on what you did and its face reminded me of those damn Annabelle horror dolls.

“That dear mare could defiantly use it,” Lotus commented as she walked up to Luna and placed down the basket. As her sister continued on her back, Lotus took out a large file and began to work on Luna’s horn.

“Don’t try to change the subject, my student,” Luna replied before sighing blissfully as her horn filing began. Turns out that a unicorn’s horn constantly grows, so they have to be shaved every now and then or else their magic becomes effected and their heads become heavy.

“Uhg… fine,” I groaned while snatching the paper and quill out of the air. “I’ll write a damn letter.”

“Yay!” Luna cheered, before smiling sheepishly at my bosses. Both of whom had begun to giggle.

“Okay, let’s see…” I said as I waked over to another massage table and began to read aloud the header Luna had placed.

“Dear Princess Luna, mistress of the night and stars, teacher of the arcane and Empress of the sa-

“Seriously?” I asked while looking back at the other three. While Aloe and Lotus looked confused, Luna gave me a quick wink before blowing me a hidden kiss.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but a part of me honestly still wishes I had stayed a virgin,” I grumbled under my breath while I began to write randomly.

After a few minutes I was done with what I had but decided to wait another few minutes so the ink could properly dry. But once it was, I turned around and held it out to Luna.

“Here you go,” I sighed. “Your first letter from your student.”

“Do not just hoof it to us,” Luna groaned as Lotus moved for her to speak. “Thou must deliver it to us properly, bound by ribbon and sent by dragon fire.”

“God, I hate Mondays…” I groaned out as my hand met my face again.

“Uh… today is Wednesday,” Lotus replied, having heard my complaint.

“Hump day!” I shouted, impaling the letter on Luna’s horn and then running away.


***


Luna couldn’t help but scowl as she found her vision impaired due to the letter. But it quickly turned into a smile when she remembered that it was still a letter to her.

“Let’s see now,” Luna smiled as she floated the letter off her horn and looked at it. She did a quick check to make sure the spa ponies weren’t looking, mostly so they didn’t see the slightly perverted heading she made, and then began to read.

“Today, I learned that “Nothing is true”, and “Everything is permitted”,” Luna read to herself as Lotus joined her sister to work on the princess’s wings. She couldn’t help but wonder why Chris had actually put those two segments into quotes.

“Requesta de pache, Christopher?” Luna finished with a confused tone. That was it, as there was nothing else to look at aside from the hole her horn had left.

“This is no letter!” Luna called out in agitation. “Our sister gets at least twice this from young, Twilight every week and we deserve double!”


***


“I get the feeling that I’m going to regret that,” I chuckled as I made my way home.

Luna had surprised me today when she suddenly showed up for her “letter”. Saying that since her sister got hers on Thursday, then she should get hers on Wednesday. Luckily, Aloe and Lotus came to the save and offered the princess a free treatment.

The last for the day too, because it was already six in the afternoon.

“Well, well, well,” a voice called from behind me, drawing me out of my musings. “Look who decided to walk my streets without permission.”

“What can I say,” I chuckled while turning around and finding Valiant Heart standing just behind me. “I’m a bit of a rebel.”

She had a cute little baby blue button up shirt and a dark blue police hat with all the fixings. She even had aviator sunglasses on.

“Well, I think I can let you off with a warning this time,” Valiant chuckled as she removed the sunglasses and put them under her hat. “But don’t cause any trouble, cause I got a date tonight with my stallion.”

“I don’t think drinks at the local pub counts as a date, Valiant,” I chuckled before giving the mare a hug.

“Awww, you broke character,” Valiant sighed in disappointment. “I had this whole thing planned out and everything.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” I chuckled before turning to continue home. “Your shift over yet, or…”

“I still have an hour left,” Valiant shrugged. “Kind of boring since all I do is either sit behind a desk or walk around town.”

“At least they let you walk around,” I replied. “You’ve been here for only a little while. Trust me when I say that there will be action.”

“I’m both looking forward to it and dreading it,” Valiant chuckled. “As long as I don’t have to run through town being chased by Rainbow Dash again, I’ll be fine.”

“She still mistaking you for your sister?” I chuckled, remembering when she first told me the story a few days ago. “You’d think she’d remember by now.”

“As long as she doesn’t find out we’re related, I’ll be fine,” Valiant sighed before giving me a smirk. “So, we meeting at your place or…”

“I’m just heading home to change,” I replied while pointing to my outfit. We had finally settled on an actual uniform for me and it was basically either a light baby blue or very light pink collared shirt with a simple black cotton pair of pants and a pair of black shoes that Rarity was finally able to make.

“These aren’t exactly drinking cloths,” I chuckled. “Once I change, I’ll be at Twilights. I’m actually pretty close at finally getting levitation down.”

“Alright then, I’ll be there in a few hours to get you,” Valiant giggled before wandering off, swaying her flanks as she did. “And If things go my way, you won’t be needing cloths at all.”

“By the words of Trace Adkins,” I said to myself as I watched Valiant walk away. “Hate to see her go, but love to watch her leave.”

“Whacha doin?” Pinkie Pie asked as her face suddenly appeared beside my face, her eyes looking at me.

“Starring,” I chuckled, not reacting to her sudden appearance at all. For some reason, that little feeling in the back of my head that tells me when someone is nearby or watching me, has been a lot better than normal.

When Pinkie Pie is nearby without me knowing, it feels like someone is literally touching my brain.

I think it’s her.

“Do you like butts? Because you’re always staring at them when nopony is looking,” Pinkie Pie giggled as she fell to the ground on all fours.

“Maybe,” I chuckled at the mare. Let’s be honest, she caught me and there’s no denying it. “Why, jealous?”

“Maybe a little,” Pinkie giggled. After the whole poison joke incident, Pinkie had become a little flirty with me and even though it’s only been a few days, we started to make a thing out of it.

“Offers still open Pinkie,” I replied in a smirk. “You, me and five pounds of pudding; all you gotta do is ask.”

“Make it cotton candy and we’ll talk,” Pinkie giggled back with a small blush. This is about as far as it would get.

“There we go, there’s the blush,” I chuckled. “That’s four me, with two for you.”

“I’ll get you next time,” Pinkie giggled before hopping away.

Once again, I stopped to watch.

“Woo wee, shut my mouth.”


***


“Chris, it’s still connected,” Twilight sighed as she looked at the gray smoke tendril that connected my right arm to a small ball. “All I have to do is sever the connection.”

“Sorry Twi, I just can’t get it to work like that,” I sighed while putting the ball down. The first thing Twilight had shown me do was how to levitate. The only problem was that my magic always left a visible trail, that when cut with magic, basically undid it.

“Maybe Princess Luna knows how,” Twilight commented.

“She said it’s a type of feedback loop,” I groaned out while taking a seat. “Like recycling my used magic into my body. Wouldn’t tell me why it happens though; something about not being ready yet.”

“I think…” Twilight began as she looked at the ball I had been lifting. “I may know why. But she should be the one to tell you incase I’m wrong.”

“Whatever you say Sparkle butt,” I chuckled, earning a similar reaction from Spike and a blushing glare from the mare.

“What did Princess Luna want anyways?” Spike asked as he handed me a cup of water. “And why do you want so much water?”

“My weekly letter and because of reasons,” I replied before finishing my drink.

“What?” Spike asked before looking at Twilight.

“Oh, what did you write?” Twilight asked as she put away the ball and a few different books.

“Powerful words,” I replied with a smile before there was a knock on the door.

“It’s a library, why does everypony knock?” Spike groaned as he went to open the door.

“Hey Spike,” Valiant said as the door swung open to reveal her. She no longer had her uniform, but she did have on a small bowler hat.

“What’s with the hat?” I chuckled out as Twilight and Spike joined in.

“Found it in the lost and found, and noponies come for it in weeks,” Valiant shrugged. “Thought I’d wear it around so its owner could find it. If not, I get a cool new hat.”

“Okay, well lets head on out,” I chuckled as I stood up and headed for the door. “Same time tomorrow, Twilight?”

“Yeah, and have fun you two,” Twilight said as me and Valiant headed off.

“So, you and Twilight do it yet?” Valiant asked as we walked, the sun close to setting and ponies making their way home.

“Why do you want to know?” I couldn’t help but ask with a raised brow.

“Just do,” Valiant shrugged.

“Well, when you need to know, you’ll know,” I replied as we turned down another street, the towns local pub just a few buildings away.

“You sure you don’t want to go to a restaurant or have a picnic?” I asked as we made it to the building. A large sign over the door revealing it to be “The Creaky Hoof”.

“I like this plan so much better,” Valiant said as she dragged me into the bar. “Besides, we could always do what you and Gilda did.”

“One, never again,” I replied with a scared look. Instead of a date, Gilda wanted to do something special.

So, turns out that some gryphons like to have sex while plummeting to the ground at impossible speeds.

“…never again,” I shuddered.

“And two?” Valiant asked as she removed the hat and took a seat at a small table.

“You don’t have wings,” I replied as I looked around the place. It had that classic feel and had plenty of room.

A large tan stallion stood behind the bar fixing up a few drinks as a mare with mulberry fur and a cutie mark of berries walked around taking orders from a few of the patrons.

“Hey, Berry,” Valiant greeted as the mare made her way to us.

“Hey there, Heart,” Berry Punch greeted as she gave the two of us a nod. “Guess I owe that lug ten bits.”

“Love you too hun,” the large stallion behind the bar called without even looking.

“Can I get you two anything?” Berry asked as she looked up at me.

“Get me a regular,” Valiant replied as I stopped to think, and not about how she already had a “regular” drink.

“Got any moonshine whisky?” I asked after a few moments.

“Hun, if I had that, I wouldn’t be here,” Berry replied with a shake of her head. “I’ll just get you what we have on tap and you can decide from there.”

“Darn,” I sighed as Berry wandered off. “That stuff was actually pretty good.”

“It’s also insanely expensive,” Valiant replied as I finally decided to sit down. The tables were low enough that all a pony needed to do was sit on their hutches, which didn’t work for me at all.

“Hey, no sitting on the tables,” the stallion from behind the bar called as he noticed where I was sitting.

“Sorry,” I replied before standing back up.

“Sucks for you,” Valiant giggled as Berry returned with our drinks. While Valiant’s was clear and had a potency, I could smell from where I stood, mine ended up tasting like a slightly watered-down Jack on ice.

“I’ll just start you two a tab,” Berry said as she left.

“Now that is what I’m talking about,” Valiant sighed blissfully after her first sip.

“And here I was hoping that I finally found a place where I could out drink anyone,” I sighed while drinking. I thought the drinks here in Equestria would be weaker than those from home.

I was horribly wrong.

“Don’t worry, Chris,” Valiant said as she took a large gulp of her drink. “I’ll show you a few tricks.”

“We’ll see about that,” I chuckled as the bars doors opened and a surprising sight walked in.

“Is that DJ Pon-3?” I asked as Vinyl Scratch walked in, her white fur and blue mane standing out in the rustic building.

“Who?” Valiant asked as she looked at the door. “No, that kids name is Vinyl something.”

“Scratch,” I finished for her while taking a big gulp of my drink. I immediately noticed that Vinyl seemed to be having trouble getting a cart through the door.

“What are you doing?” Valiant asked as I placed my drink down and began to head over.

“Helping her out,” I replied as I continued forward.

“Hey, need some help?” I asked as I reached the doorway.

Vinyl remained silent as she had her back to me, trying to pull her cart through the doorway. Her cart, which I could now see clearly, was just slightly too large for the door way.

“I’m sorry but she can’t hear you,” a refined voice told me from outside. Looking up, I saw another shocking sight, as Octavia stuck her head from over the side, possibly holding the door open. “My friend, Vinyl here, is unfortunately hard of hearing, close to deaf really.”

“Oh…” I replied, still a little shocked that these two were here. “Well, do you two need help?”

“Just a moment,” Octavia replied before she reached out and tapped Vinyl’s side. Once she had the other mare’s attention, she proceeded to repeatedly tap Vinyl before pointing back to me.

Raising a brow, Vinyl turned and looked back at me, and even though her eyes were hidden by her shades, I could still tell that they widened at the sight of me.

After a few moments, she gave a slightly hesitant nod before moving to the side.

“Right,” I nodded as well before looking the situation over. It was pretty obvious that the cart would have to be emptied out first if they wanted to bring it inside. “The carts going to have to be empty if you want to bring it inside.”

“No, we’ll just the carry the equipment in,” Octavia replied with a sigh. “The cart would have just made it easier.”

With that, Octavia looked at Vinyl before pointing to the equipment and then towards the back of the bar.

Sagging slightly herself, Vinyl nodded before her horn began to glow magenta and some of the equipment was removed from the cart.

“All right then,” I said as I decided to continue my help and grab what looked like two small subwoofers.

“Just set them up against the back wall please,” Berry said as she also appeared to help.

“This a common thing or…?” I asked as I helped with the equipment.

“Oh this?” Berry said as she looked towards Vinyl, who seemed to only move a few pieces at a time with her magic. “No, we tend to let a small band play every now and then, but they weren’t available.

“I remember hearing about a filly looking to start off a music career, so I thought that it couldn’t hurt,” Berry said with a smile.

“And I can’t help but thank you again,” Octavia said as she walked in with a few final pieces. “Vinyl has been a worried that nopony would ever give her a chance.”

“Give her a chance for what?” I asked as I watched said mare begin to put together her sound system. “You’d think ponies would be lining up and down the street for DJ Pon-3.”

“DJ… what 3?” Octavia asked as she looked back at Vinyl. “Uh, her names Vinyl Scratch.”

“Uh… right, sorry,” I quickly replied, realizing that I may have found something that doesn’t match up with what I thought was true. “Kinda got my thoughts mixed up. Bit of a lightweight when it comes to the drinking game.”

“Speaking of which,” Valiant suddenly giggled as she popped up beside me with my half-finished drink in her hoof. “You mind finishing this so we can move on to the Cart-bombs?”

“Done,” I smiled at my way out, taking the drink and finish it in one go.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Valiant chuckled before hoping up and giving me a smooch.

“Good evening, Officer Heart,” Octavia greeted with a slightly strained smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“My herd stallion asked me on a date and I wanted to come here,” Valiant chuckled before fixing a slight glare at Octavia. “Doesn’t explain why you’re here though.”

“My friend is providing tonight’s music,” Octavia replied with a slight growl.

“Okay, brake it up you two,” Berry voiced out. “No fighting in my bar or I’ll have you both banned.”

“And that’s our cue to go back to our seats,” I said before picking Valiant up and returning to our table.

“What the hell was that all about?” I asked Valiant after setting her down. “Do you know Octavia?”

“Her, no,” Valiant replied with a frown. “But there isn’t a royal guard who doesn’t know her father. Damn hog is leader of one of Equestria’s largest mafia family in Manehatten.”

“One, damn, did not see that coming,” I said in shock. “And two, that doesn’t explain how she knew you.”

“Responded to a noise complaint the other night at her house,” Valiant sighed as she sat back. “Her friend simply forgot to put up a noise canceling spell, but we got it fixed.”

“Alright then,” I shrugged before leaning against the table.

“Here, try using this,” Berry said as she showed up with a small stool.

“Thanks,” I replied as I was finally able to take a seat.

“Now then,” Berry said before looking at me and Valiant. “What else can I get you two?”


***


“I win,” I smiled cheerfully, although also very very drunk.

“Only because you cheated,” Valiant replied with a giggle.

Instead of cart-bombs, Valiant decided that she wanted to play a drinking game. So, like a bit of an idiot, I bet her that I could finish three glasses of whisky before she could finish five shots. The only stipulation was that we could not touch the persons drink glasses.

So the moment I finished my first drink, I set the empty glass upside down over one of her full shots and finished my other two drinks soon after.

“Ish not cheating, its smarts,” I chuckled while pointing to my head as my finger trailed from there to my nose and lips. “So, whash I win?”

“Fine,” Valiant smiled before leaning forward and whispering something very enticing in my ear.

“Done! Lets go!” I blurted out, grabbing her hoof and trying to pull her out.

“Hey, just cause your sloshed, doesn’t mean I am,” Valiant giggled as she pulled her hoof free.

“Where’s the music?” I suddenly asked. It had been about twenty minutes since Vinyl had begun to set up and I hadn’t even heard a sound check yet.

“I think she’s having some difficulties,” Valiant said as she pointed towards Vinyl’s set up.

Both Berry and Octavia watched the, nicely shaped in my opinion, back half of Vinyl, as the mare was wedged under her soundboard, different wires sprawled out around her.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” I said before talking one of Valiant’s shots and finishing in one go.

“Damn, you really are a light weight,” Valiant giggled as I partially stumbled over to the mess.

“I gosh this,” I commented as I pushed past Berry and Octavia.

“What are you…” Octavia began, stopping when she saw me grab one of Vinyl’s legs and pulled her from under the equipment. “HEY!”

“I gosh this,” I repeated once again, kneeling down and sliding under the equipment.

“Oh, this ish goin to be easy,” I chuckled before I began to connect several wires and plugs.

“Get the buck out from there, you drunk or I’ll call the police!” Octavia’s voice called out, but I ignored it. My mind was too cloudy to focus on anything but the thing in front of me.

I didn’t even notice Vinyl’s ineffective attempts to pull me away from her equipment.

“Aaaaaand… done,” I chuckled as I plugged in the last loose cable. The moment it locked in, the familiar hum of energy began to fill my ears.

“Like music to my ears,” I smiled as I crawled out from under the system.

Once Vinyl noticed lights begin to alight on her soundboard, she immediately stopped trying to pull me away from her equipment as a look of shock crossed her face.

“That was easy,” I chuckled out to a crowd of angry looking ponies. A part of me hopping to find that big red Staples button waiting close by.

“Vinyl, he didn’t break anything, did he?” Octavia asked her friend aloud and in taps against her side, an angry glare directed straight at me.

“No, not by the looks of it,” Vinyl replied in a young voice as she began to look over everything, shocking the crap out of me.

“Holy shit, you can talk!?” I blurted out, only to feel bad a moment later.

“Yes, she can, you insensitive cur,” Octavia huffed, drawing my drunken attention. “She didn’t always have hearing issues.”

“That was…” Vinyl began as she held a hoof against one of her speakers.

“Rude!” Octavia said, opening her mouth to continue, but falling silent to Vinyl.

“Awesome!” Vinyl cheered before she rushed over to Octavia. “It takes me half an hour to plug those in and most of it is just sorting the wires and he got it done in just a couple of minutes.”

“But you did most of the work!” Octavia said as she tapped it against Vinyl’s side.

“Actually… I kinda made it worse,” Vinyl chuckled sheepishly. “I was psyching myself out and ended up just mixing most of the wires around even more.”

“Rock on!” I shouted, throwing up some devil horns and earning a few laughs from the bar’s patrons.

“So… will the music be ready soon?” Berry asked out loud.

“Vinyl, don’t you think it’s time to begin?” Octavia asked her friend before glaring at me again.

“R-right, I-I got this!” Vinyl stuttered as a she made her way behind her set up with a slightly worried look.

Aside from her sound board, which actually had two vinyl discs on it, she had several speakers and subwoofers spread out behind her and the room.

“Heh, high Tec compared to what I’ve seen,” I chuckled to myself before Vinyl’s horn lit with her magic and a soft base began to fill the room. After a few sound checks, the mare seemed confident in her set up and with a nod, began to play her first song.

It was okay…

“That was anti-climactic,” I said, still able to hear myself talk. Looking in the room, I noticed that the few patrons didn’t even seem to notice the music playing. A quick glance at Octavia also told me that she was slightly disappointed too.

“This can’t be it, right?” I asked, drawing Octavia’s attention as Berry walked off with a small smile.

“What do you mean?” Octavia asked, still a little annoyed with me.

“Probably because this song is nowhere near as good as what you were paying when I was called,” Valiant said as she wandered over with a large drink in hoof that she quickly gave to me. “Aside from it being absurdly loud, it was actually really good.”

“Yes, your right,” Octavia sighed as we all looked back at the DJ. Who was basically just standing there on her hind legs, making a few changes here and there.

“She’s basically afraid to get booed,” Octavia sighed. “She’s very self-conscious about her music.”

“I’ll be honest myself,” I sighed listening to what was playing and looking around. What was on could be considered dub step, but it was very low key. “This isn’t the kind of place for Dub-step.”

“Dub-step?” the other two asked together, both completely confused by my statement.

“Dub-trot or whatever it is she’s playing,” I sighed. “If she really wants to go big, she’ll need to either go to a night club and perform there or make her own.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Octavia sighed.

“I’d still like to hear what she has though,” Valiant giggled as Berry gave her another drink.

“I gosh this,” I smirked while snagging Valiant’s drink as well. I made it two steps before Octavia stopped me with a shocked expression.

“You can’t honestly think about giving her one of those?!” Octavia asked in a hushed tone.

“No, I’m not thinking, I’m doing,” I replied with a smirk. “Why?”

“She’s only eighteen!” Octavia snapped.

“Oh…” I muttered before looking at Valiant. “Whats the legal drinking age in Equestria again?”

“Twenty?” Valiant replied as I smirked at her response.

“Happy Birthday!”


***


“God damn it…” I groaned out as consciousness returned to me. My mind was a fog that was slowly beginning to clear.

The first thing I noticed was that I was in a bed. Then came the feeling of at least three body’s surrounding me. One on each side and one on my chest.

But the thing that really caused me to stir and force my eyes open was that I was inside something tight and warm.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what.

“I should really stop drinking…” I groaned out as my eyes opened to a mess of neon blue hair.

“HOLY SHIT!” I blurted out, throwing Vinyl off of me and freeing myself from her while tossing the others off the bed as well.

“BWAH!” they all shouted as they were forced awake when they contacted the floor.

“What the fuck happened last night?!” I blurted out as Vinyl, Octavia and Valiant sat up with a groan.

“I get you a four way and you repay me by throwing us out of bed?” Valiant groaned as she rubbed her head. “Kinky.”

“What?” I asked while looking at the other two. Octavia looked annoyed as she tried to fix her mane while Vinyl was staring at me a little hungrily.

“After you gave little miss teen here some ‘liquid courage’, she started playing the good stuff,” Valiant giggled as she stood up.

“Some of the other patrons didn’t like it did they?” I groaned out while looking down at my naked body.

“They tolerated it at first,” Octavia filled in with a heavy sigh. “But once you and Vinyl got a little too drunk…”

“I didn’t brake anything, did I?” I asked while getting out of the bed. The moment I stood up, Vinyl’s eyes went straight for my crotch, which was still at full mast.

“Just Vinyl’s cherry,” Valiant smirked. “You’re lucky the legal age for mating is 16 in Equestria, or I would have put you under arrest for some of the things you did last night, I’ll let the drinking thing slide though sense I kind of let it happen too.”

“God damn it…” I sighed as I looked over at the mentioned mare.

She was drooling.

“She gonna be alright?” I asked while taking the nearby blanket and covering myself.

“She’ll be fine,” Octavia groaned as she smacked the back of her friend’s head. “But if you could leave my room, that would be great.”

“Okay…” I said as I took a quick look around the room. It was slightly spacious and filled with classical music paraphernalia and even had a large cello set up in the far corner.

“Uh… where are my clothes?” I asked as I made my way out of the room and into a large living area.

“Everywhere,” Valiant giggled as she followed me out, pointing towards the clothing spread across the room.

“What time is it?” I asked while collecting my clothing and putting them on.

“Seven thirty amazingly,” Octavia sighed as she and Vinyl walked out. I was just about to pull my underpants up when Vinyl’s magic stopped it.

Octavia groaned as she walked into the room in a purple bathrobe. “If you dirty my floor, your cleaning it.”


***


“That’s the spot,” Rarity sighed as I kneaded some of her back muscles.

“Good to see your enjoying yourself,” I chuckled at Rarity’s comment. After my morning at Vinyl’s, I still had to go to work.

“No wonder, Fluttershy fell asleep,” Rarity cooed as I dug in a little deeper. “Your fingers were made for this.”

“You are doing very good, Chris,” Aloe smiled as she looked over everything. “I’m am pleased to say that you may now work as a proper masseuse.”

“That’s great!” I smiled while looking back at Aloe, my hands trailing down to Rarity’s flanks without me noticing.

“Oh…I’m sorry darling, but I’m going to have to turn that service down,” Rarity giggled, drawing my attention to what I was doing. “Although, I won’t stop you.”

“Oops, sorry,” I chuckled moving back up to her back.

“Please be sure to pay attention, Christopher,” Aloe pointed out with a slight glare. “Me and my sister don’t wont ponies thinking were one of those kinds of spas’.”

“I get ya boss, I’ll be careful,” I nodded as I finished Rarity’s small massage.

“Aww, is that it,” Rarity sighed as she looked back at me with a playful frown. “I was just getting comfortable.”

“Next time, okay?” I offered with a smile and shrug.

“Very well,” Rarity sighed with a roll of her eyes before hopping off the table. “I still need you and Fluttershy to show up later to look over your Gala outfits.”

“Damn, forgot all about that,” I muttered in realization.

“Don’t worry darling, I thought ahead and made you something when the others asked me to help them with theirs,” Rarity giggled before turning to leave, the usual sway in her flanks. “Ta ta!”

“Goodbye miss Rarity!” Aloe called after the mare.

“Looks like I’m going to be suiting up pretty soon,” I chuckled while looking at one of my bosses. She currently sat next to the table where Fluttershy lay asleep.

“Want me to move her to the back till she wakes up?” I asked.

“Why don’t you take her home,” Aloe replied with a nod. “You did very well today, so I feel you have earned an early day. Just be sure to come in on time tomorrow, okay?”

“You got it boss,” I chuckled while scooping the sleeping mare up in my arms and cradling her. As I began to leave, Fluttershy subconsciously burrowed her face into my chest as a smile spread across her face.

“So cute,” I cooed as I headed for my home, seeing as it was closer than the others.

As I walked in, I jumped in surprise as Geralt rushed towards me.

“Whoa, down boy!” I chuckled as Geralt began to sniff the two of us.

“What are you doing back so early?” Gilda asked as she looked at a nearby clock, marveling at the fact it was only a little past lunch.

“Got out early today,” I smiled as I carried Fluttershy into the living room and placed her on my chair so she could continue to sleep.

“What’s up with her?” Gilda asked as she pointed at Fluttershy.

“Magic hands,” I chuckled while wiggling my fingers.

“And when am I going to feel these magic hands?” Gilda asked with a devious smirk while flicking her tail at me.

“You’ll need to set up an appointment then,” I chuckled while heading off to get changed into more suitable clothing.

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked, coming back into the room in a pair of dark jeans and a red short-sleeve.

“Derpy has work and Dinky’s at school,” Gilda huffed from the same couch she had been on when I left. “Your home early, remember.”

“Yeah…” I said while looking at Gilda, specifically her previously injured wing. “I bet your glade you don’t have to wear that cast anymore.”

“Your telling me,” Gilda smiled as she flexed her wings out for me to see.

“So, you’re just going to lounge around?” I asked with a smile while moving over to my chair. With a little work, I was in the chair with a sleeping Fluttershy on my chest.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Gilda growled as she got off the couch and tried to look big.

“Down pussy cat!” I chuckled while pulling out a spray bottle from inside my chair and squirting her.

“Ass…” Gilda grumbled as she wiped the water off his face.

“I just thought that you would be out trying to race a lightning bolt or something,” I continued while putting the bottle away.

“I…I did,” Gilda replied with a slightly nervous smile.

“You got lazy, didn’t you?” I asked with a knowing smirk.

“Shut up!” Gilda replied with a growing blush.

“Why don’t you go do some flying?” I waved off while petting Fluttershy’s mane. “Maybe you’ll finally want to join me and Rainbow Dash on our morning runs?”

“Grow a pair of wings and we’ll talk,” Gilda mumbled as she left the hose, slamming the door in the process.

“Huh…” Fluttershy softly yawned finally waking up. “Where… where am I?”

“At my place,” I greeted, kissing the mares nose as she looked up at me. “Have a nice nap?”

“Oh yes, it was very nice,” Fluttershy cutely smiled as she looked at me. “That was a good massage by the way.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy,” I smiled while picking the mare up and placing her on the ground before standing up myself. “Ready to head over to Rarity’s?”

“Can we have some lunch first?” Fluttershy asked. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“Sure Fluttershy, let’s see what I have in the fridge,” I said before leading the way to the kitchen.


***


“God damn!” I said looking myself over in the large mirror in Rarity’s room.

“We are some sexy bitches,” I told the small dragon next to me in a nasally voice.

“Meh,” Spike shrugged as he looked down at the small black tuxedo top her wore. “I think yours looks better than mine.”

“I’ll take that as a complement,” I said while staring at myself in the mirror.

Rarity had made me a perfectly fitted white tuxedo with golden trimmings. Under it, I had a white button up shirt with a wine-red vest and a matching white tie. She even made me a matching pair of gloves and shoes.

“I’m gonna go check on the others,” I said while unlocking my phone and handing it to the drake. “Listen to some music till I get back and I’ll show you how to tie a… tie.”

“Okay,” Spike replied while I walked out of the room. A few minutes later, I was back in the main room of the boutique and found a surprising sight.

“Where… where is everyone?” I asked a disappointed looking Rarity.

“Oh… Chris, how is the outfit? Does it fit properly?” Rarity asked while putting on a forced smile.

“Its great,” I replied with a smile. “It isn’t restricting at all and the color matches my element well at least.”

“Yes, but… do you want anything changed?” Rarity asked, a slight look of worry crossing her face for a split second.

“Since I don’t have a clue about fashion, I’ll leave any changes up to you,” I replied with a smile, earning a relived sigh.

“At least somepony is happy,” Rarity sighed as she looked at the five manikins behind her. The other elements dresses proudly displayed on each.

“Did the others not like their dresses?” I asked, faking ignorance.

“No, no, it’s not that,” Rarity sighed as she looked over a large list she had. “They just had some… suggestions.”

“Well, I think they look great,” I commented as I looked them over. “But like I said, I don’t do fashion.”

“Thank you darling,” Rarity sighed with a smile while floating the list off to somewhere. “I do try hard.”

“Did everyone already leave?” I asked while looking around again.

“Yes, they all had things they needed to finish today,” Rarity sighed. “As do I, by the looks of it.”

“You don’t need to push yourself,” I told the mare.

“And I won’t, I promise dear,” Rarity told me, offering an appreciative smile. “Now please go take off your suit. I want to recheck a few stitches.”

“Alright, Rarity,” I nodded as I began to head back to the mare’s room. “I’ll be right back.”

Once I made it back to the room, I stopped just outside the door.

“What the…?” I began as I noticed a familiar tune playing from inside.

Opening the door, I was shocked to find Spike without his tuxedo top on and dancing around the room.

“Come on Barbie lets go party!” Spike sung along, using my phone as a microphone.

Even though this caught me off guard, one small thing jumped to the forefront of my mind.

“When the hell did I download that song?”


***


“…Alright Berry,” I said as I helped the mare off the table. “That’s it for your session.”

“That was amazing,” Berry Punch sighed as she rolled her head a little. “Carrot Top was right about this.”

“Well, if you ever want another, you know where I work,” I chuckled while leading the mare to the front. But I was surprised to find Rarity waiting for me.

The poor mare looked haggard and her mane was far from pristine… by her standards.

“Christopher, darling, thank goodness,” Rarity sighed as she noticed me.

“Good afternoon, Rarity,” I greeted as Berry went to pay her bill. “What can I do for you?”

“Darling, I need your help,” Rarity almost begged.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, mildly concerned. Today was the day of the fashion show for the “New” dresses Rarity made for the others, so I knew things weren’t going to go well for the mare.

“Darling, I don’t think I can do the fashion show…” Rarity sighed as her body sagged further. She honestly looked very tired. “The others dresses… their just so… I don’t even know what to say.”

“I get it,” I sighed with a nod before brushing a loose strand of her mane back into place.

“Hoity Toity is going to be there,” Rarity blurted out in fear. “And when he see’s those dresses… my career will be ruined.”

“Then have the others wear the original dresses you made,” I replied while taking a knee. “I know they had their own ideas, but you made those dresses with each of them in mind and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask them to wear them.”

“Do you mind coming and wearing your suit?” Rarity suddenly asked, apparently disregarding what I had said.

“Y-yeah, let me just tell the others that I’m clocking out early, okay?” I offered while giving her a small scratch behind the ear.

“Thank you darling,” Rarity sighed as I moved to find the others.


***


“Glad to see you here, Chris,” Spike greeted as I stepped out of Rarity’s room in my new suit. “And looking good as always.”

“Uh… what?” I asked, caught off guard by that last comment.

“Uh… I mean…” Spike began to stutter with a blush. “That came out wrong.”

“Okay… let’s forget that happened,” I said while moving to the main room.

The others all stood with one another, gushing over their dresses… the ones they basically made.

“Alright everypony, let’s get this show started!” Spike proclaimed as he rushed past me.

“Yeah!” Rainbow dash replied as she rushed out the front door and towards the large stage they had constructed outside. I could even see Vinyl setting up her equipment from a nearby window.

“You look very handsome, Chris,” Fluttershy told me as she and Twilight walked over to me, the others making their way out.

“Thank you Fluttershy,” I nodded, deciding not to comment on their dresses. “Rarity does great work.”

“Do you like our dresses?” Twilight asked as she tried to show hers off. “Each constellation is completely correct in placement and angle.”

“They’re… nice,” commented before pushing past them with a slightly uncomfortable smile. “Let’s just get to the stage, alright?”

“Your right,” Twilight replied as she made to leave. “Come on Fluttershy.”

“Oh… I hope there aren’t a lot of ponies out there,” Fluttershy commented as she left.

“This is going to go horribly…” I sighed before following them out.


***


“What’s everypony looking at?” Applejack asked the others as Spike and I watched from the side.

The entire crowed was silent and even Vinyl had stopped her music to getter a better look at the mares’ outfits.

“Oh dear…” Twilight said as she began to look uncomfortable.

“You think we over did it?” Rainbow Dash asked as she landed on the stage.

“Nah,” Applejack replied with a wave of her galosh covered hoof.

“My eyes!” I heard someone shout from the back, catching me off guard and causing me to chuckle at the same time.

“Okay, maybe a little,” Applejack sighed with a look of embarrassment and shame, her boots squeaking slightly.

“Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but a kitchen sink! It's a travesty is what it is,” Hoity Toity bellowed from the crowed. “Those outfits are the ugliest things I've ever seen, oh for shame. Who is responsible for subjecting our eyes to these horrors? Not to mention wasting my valuable time.”

At this, Spike quickly rushed out from the side and quickly pulled Rarity out from behind the stage, most likely having missed what the stallion had said.

“Come on out and take a bow, Rarity,” Spike told the frightened mare. “You worked really hard on this!”

I could only sigh heavily before putting my face into my hand.


***


“Rarity? Are you okay in there?” Pinkie Pie asked through Rarity’s bedroom door. “You haven’t come out for days.”

“I’m never coming out! I can’t show my face in Ponyville ever again!” Rarity sobbed from inside the room. “I used to be somepony. I used to be respected. I made dresses. Beautiful, beautiful dresses! But now everypony is laughing at me. I'm nothing but a laughing stock!”

“You’re not a laughing stock, Rarity…” Twilight answered back with a saddened look.

“She kinda is…” Rainbow Dash commented.

“Shut it Rainbow!” I hissed before Twilight continued.

“Come on out and talk to us,” Twilight called.

“Leave me alone! I vant to be alone! I want to wallow in... whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in!” Rarity sobbed through the door. “Do ponies wallow in pity? Oh, listen to me, I don't even know what I'm supposed to wallow in! I'm so pathetic!”

“Now what do we do?” Twilight asked as she turned back to the rest of us.

“Uh… panic?” Fluttershy offered meekly.

“That’s your answer for everything!” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“And yours is “Blah blah, ten seconds flat”,” I told Rainbow with a roll of my eyes. “You say it, like, ten times a day.”

“Well, we can’t just leave Rarity like this,” Applejack worriedly said as she looked towards the door.

“She’ll be come a crazy cat lady!” Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted in fear, drawing a chuckle from me and annoyed looks from the others.

“She only has one cat,” Twilight groaned.

“Give her time,” Pinkie pointed out.

“That still doesn’t solve our problem,” Rainbow Dash voiced. “How are we going to get her to come out?”

“I may have an idea,” I replied, deciding to go for broke before leading everyone in the main room. Once there, I stood before the five original dresses that Rarity had made before looking back at the mares.

“So… what’s your idea?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The dresses,” I pointed out. “We put on another show, only this time, you wear the dresses Rarity fully intended you to wear.”

“Will that really work?” Applejack asked.

“To get her social standing back, yes,” I nodded. “But that is only part of the plan.”

Walking to Rarity’s work station, I found the drawings for the dress that she wanted to make for herself.

“We’ll make this for her to wear,” I said as I picked the drawing up and held it for the others to see.

“I have an idea too!” Spike said as he suddenly ran off.

“Where the hay is he going?” Rainbow Dash asked as Spike ran out of the building.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back,” I commented while looking around. “Now, who’s ready to put on a real show?”


***


“Thanks for doing this again, Vinyl,” I said while helping to reinstall the mare’s set up.

“How many times do I have to remind you that she can’t hear you?” Octavia sighed as she looked at me under the equipment. “And you do realize that you’re in a very expensive suit right now?”

“Semantics,” I replied before climbing out and turning the tables over to the white mare.

“Thanks stud,” Vinyl grinned as she went behind the tables, flashing me a quick glance at her marehood as she went.

“Just invite her to your Celestia forsaken herd already,” Octavia groaned as she saw the display. “She won’t stop talking about you.”

“Tell her we’ll talk after the show,” I replied before turning to the stage and rushing behind the curtain.

“Oh, Chris! Thank you so much, darling!” Rarity bellowed, crashing into me the moment I was behind the curtain. The other girls currently changing in another area.

“Uh… it was a joint effort,” I replied, just barley keeping my balance as Rarity nuzzled my chest. “You better get changed though, I hear Spike got Hoity Toity to come back.”

“It was easy,” Spike replied as he buttoned up his tuxedo coat. “All I had to do was tell him that Chris actually made the outfits.”

“Thank you, Spike,” Rarity smiled as she released me and trotted over to him, kissing his cheek before continuing to a back area to change.

“Damn, Spike,” I groaned, drawing the small dragon’s attention. “Just crush a guy’s fashion career before it even starts why don’t ya?”


***


“Fillies and Gentalcolts,” Spike began as the spot light focused on him.

“Boys and girls,” I added with a smile as the light expanded to incorporate me as well. Both he and I stood in front of the closed curtains, the girls ready to walk the small makeshift stage. The small crowd’s eyes immediately drawn to my outfit.

“Welcome to a feast for the eyes,” I continued, talking into a small mike Vinyl had provided for me.

With that, me and Spike separated, both walking towards separate sides as the curtain opened enough for Twilight to begin her stroll.

“I don’t know about you, Spike, but there seems to be a new constellation in the sky,” I chuckled out as Twilight walked out for the crowed.

“Hello…” I heard Hoity Toity mutter from just outside the stage, shifting his glasses down to get a better look. “Oh, this defiantly can’t be the same designer.”

“Looks like we’ll need to talk to Princess Luna,” Spike replied with a smile as Twilight walked back and Applejack made her way forward.

“Simply magnificent! And I suddenly have a fierce craving for some Dutch apple pie, candied apples on a stick, apple turnovers, apple cobbler...” Hoity Toity began to drone on.

“And now I’m hungry,” I chuckled as Applejack gave the crowed a small wink before walking back and allowing Pinkie Pie to hop forward.

“Now that’s a lotta sugar,” Spike chuckled as Pinkie smiled at the crowed before turning back.

“Brilliant!” Hoity Toity proclaimed, almost falling over when Rainbow Dahs zipped on stage.

“It’s a bird, it’s an air ship!” I called out.

“It’s Rainbow Dash!” Spike finished as Rainbow took a moment to soak in the admiration.

“Oh, spectacular!” Hoity Toity called as Rainbow made her way back and Fluttershy meekly stepped forward.

“Smells like morning dew if I had to say so,” I spoke out to the crowed, flashing the shy mare a quick wink of encouragement.

“Reminds me of a calm brook in the forest,” Spike sighed blissfully as Fluttershy quickly made her way back.

“Now this is a fashion show! All of these dresses are absolutely amazing. Who is responsible? Step forward, show yourself!” Hoity Toity called as Rarity elegantly stepped out for a bow in her new dress.

“Oh, thank you. Thank you! Thank you so much!” Rarity almost wept as the crowed gave their praise.

“Thank you all for arriving at today’s entertainment!” I called out to the slowly dispersing crowed.

“If you would like to put in an order for your own dress, please speak to Rarity during regular business hours,” Spike called out as we began to pack up.

“That went pretty well,” I told everyone as I walked behind the curtain with Spike.

“How did I do?” Fluttershy asked as she came up to me.

“You were very brave,” I replied, leaning down and giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, I can’t thank you all enough,” Rarity called as she joined us back stage, Vinyl and Octavia following behind.

“We’re sorry again for the whole dress fiasco, Rarity,” Twilight said as the others nodded in agreement. “We should have trusted you to begin with.”

“All water under the bridge darling,” Rarity replied as the six joined up in a group hug.

“Chris, Spike, get over here you two,” Rarity called when she noticed us at the side.

“And ruin this suit,” I chuckled as Spike rushed over and joined the hug.

“After seeing that, I may just have to get a dress myself,” Octavia commented as she and a widely smiling Vinyl made their way over.

“I don’t see why not,” I replied as I looked at Vinyl. “Uh… is she okay?”

“You said that you would talk about her joining your herd after the show,” Octavia replied with a roll of her eyes. “So here she is.”

“Oh,” I replied while scratching the back of my head. “Hey Fluttershy!”

“Yes?” the mare asked as she broke away from the group and made her way over.

“Vinyl wants to join the herd,” I told her. “What do ya say?”

“Oh, she does?” Fluttershy asked with a smile before looking at said mare with a critical eye. “Why do you want to join?”

“She can’t hear you,” Octavia replied for Vinyl. “She lost most of her hearing when she was still a filly.”

“Oh, you poor thing, of course you can join,” Fluttershy almost wept as she pulled the mare into a hug.

“Does this mean I’m in?” Vinyl asked aloud with a smile.


***


“You wanted to see me, Rarity?” I asked the mare as I stepped into her shop fully. It was well into the night now, but Rarity had asked to see me after everything had been broken down and put away.

“Yes, I did,” Rarity said as she pulled out her fainting couch and took a seat on it, patting the side for me to join her. “I wanted to thank you for everything you did today.”

“It was no trouble, really,” I replied while taking a seat. “It was a group effort.”

“But I hear that it was your idea,” Rarity replied as she pressed up against my side while looking up at me with a small smirk. “There must be some way for me to repay my knight in shining armor?”

“I-I may have one idea,” I replied as Rarity began to brush one of her hooves over my lap, slowly drifting over my crotch.

“And what would that be?” Rarity giggled as she nuzzled under my chin.

“J-just let me grab my phone…” I mumbled out as I dug into my pocket, the mare pressing herself against me further. Even though she was trying her best to distract me, I was still able to pull my phone out and open the photo gallery.

“Could you make this for me?” I asked as I held the phone up for her to see.

“Make what for who?” Rarity sighed blissfully before taking a quick glance at the image I pulled up. On it was a picture of me in my Marine Corps dress blues alphas with all my medals and ribbons.

There weren’t that many unfortunately.

“Oh, this is your “phone” that Spike always talks about,” Rarity commented as she took it in her magic. I thought she would pull back, but all she decided to do was move fully onto my lap instead. “This device is quite amazing.”

“R-right,” I muttered as the mare shifted around on my lap.

“Oh, this shouldn’t be that hard,” the mare muttered as she looked over the picture while grinding her soft rump against my lap. “But that’s nowhere near enough to show my gratitude.”

“I-I think it’s enough,” I uncomfortably chuckled as I tried to keep myself from popping a boner.

I never stood a chance.

“Oh! It looks like somepony wants to say hello,” Rarity giggled as she noticed the new pressure under her plot.

“Uh…” I mumbled as the mare set my phone down to the side before looking at me with a sultry grin.
> Chapter Ten:"There really is magic in the magic fingers."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Never would have expected to see you here, Pinkie,” I commented while digging deeply into the mares back, my eyes unfortunately, finding their way to her large back side every few minutes.

“Rarity recommended it,” Pinkie sighed blissfully, looking back at me with a devious smirk. “And if you’re going to keep staring at it, I’ll expect you to start rubbing it.”

“Sorry, Pinkie,” I couldn’t help but chuckle while looking away from her back end and bopping her on the nose. “No improper relations with the clients during working hours. Dem da rules Pinks.”

“Aww… okay,” Pinkie giggled while laying her head back down. “So, how do you like your job?”

“It’s alright,” I shrugged while moving from her back to her front legs. “I get pretty good tips and my fellow employees are fun to work with.”

“See anything weird yet?” Pinkie giggled as I worked on the frog of her hoof.

“Granny Smith came in the other day…” I replied with a shudder. “It was like working with soft taffy.”

“That does sound weird,” Pinkie replied with a look of thought, giggling a few moments later.

I simply shrugged in response as I continued her treatment.

“So, what are you doing after lunch today?” Pinkie asked after a few moments of silence.

“Work, work and more work,” I replied with another shrug. “Why?”

“Well, Mrs. Cake is pregnant and has been complaining about her back a bit,” Pinkie began to explain. “I was hoping that you could come over to the shop and give her a massage. I read in a book once that it really helps.”

“Pinkie Pie reading a book? I bet it had pictures,” I chuckled before giving her a nod. “I guess I could do that then. As long as Aloe and Lotus say it’s okay.”

“Then we’ll ask after you finish,” Pinkie nodded back as she allowed me to continue.

After another half an hour, I was finished and helped the giggling mare off of the table.

“Wow Chris, I feel great!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she began to hop up and down excitedly. “I feel like I could jump to the moon!”

“Let’s not,” I quickly replied, stopping the mare from jumping any higher than my waist. “The spa doesn’t need a new sky light just yet.”

“Okay!” Pinkie chirped as she began to make her way towards the exit. “Come on, let’s go see if you can make a house call.”

“I’ll be there in a minute, Pinks,” I replied while putting a few things away. Before I took this job, I never realized how many different lotions and other things went into giving a proper massage.

Once finished, I made my way to the main parlor and towards the front desk where Pinkie stood talking to the spa sisters.

“… thanks, Lotus. I know Mrs. Cake will love it!” Pinkie Pie finished as I reached the group.

“Of course, Miss Pie,” Lotus nodded. “My sister was just telling me how the poor mare was looking stressed this morning.”

“She’s a hard-working mare,” I said, joining the conversation.

“And she’s also a regular customer,” Aloe added with a slight frown. “But with her being in the later stages of her pregnancy, she has been unable to make it here.”

“No problem boss,” I replied with a chuckle. “I’ll go grab a few things and head over after my lunch.”

“Very well,” Lotus nodded. “Afterwards, you can take the rest of the day off. Just be sure to bring everything back when you come in tomorrow.”

“Did I ever tell you how awesome of a boss you two are?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, but keep doing it,” Aloe giggled with her sister. “It’s good for moral.”

“Aye, aye!” I said, giving the two mares a quick salute as they left the lobby.

“Well, I better get going,” Pinkie Pie chirped as she made her way to the door. “I have a cutesinera to finish at Sugar Cube Corner today, bye Chris!”

“Bye Pinkie,” I called after the mare as a bit of realization hit me.

Adapting a smirk, I turned to prepare an away bag.

“And let the Crusades begin.”


***


“I’m sure Mrs. Cake will enjoy a massage,” Aloe nodded as she and her sister ate their own lunch in their office, papers scattered around them. “She probably needs it.”

“I’m sure,” Lotus giggled as she took a moment to lay down.

For the next few minutes, the two ate in silence, the sound of their chewing being the only sounds between them.

Suddenly, Aloe stopped for a moment, a stray thought crossing her mind.

“Do you get the feeling that something bad is going to happen?”

“It’s Ponyville, sister,” Lotus giggled back. “I feel that every day.”


***


Wiping my mouth clear of the last remnants of my lunch, I walked up to the local bakery’s front door and gave it a few firm knocks.

“Pinkie, it’s me, are you there?” I called, deciding against just barging in. Especially because it had a “Closed for Party Prep” sign on the front.

“Uhm… y-yes?” a lanky orange stallion asked as the door slowly opened.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Cake,” I greeted, having met the stallion at almost every visit to the store.

“Oh… uh, good afternoon, Chris,” Carrot Cake replied timidly. I quickly found that the stallion wasn’t the bravest of ponies. “W-what are you doing here?”

“Pinkie Pie asked me to come over,” I replied while fixing the strap of the bag I had. “Did she not tell you?”

“Oh, it must have slipped her mind,” Carrot replied with a small smile as he stepped aside. “Please, come in; is there something I can help you with?”

“Pinkie Pie asked me to come give your wife a massage,” I replied as I crouched through the door and into the room. “I guess she noticed that she was having some back pain and thought a massage would help.”

“O-oh, that’s nice,” Carrot smiled, only to look slightly worried a few moments later.

“Something wrong?” I asked, noticing his change.

“Well… have you ever given a pregnant mare a massage before?” Carrot asked out of concern.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied with a slight frown. “Why, is there something I need to be careful of?”

“Well… she’s a bit hormonal,” he began to explain. “So, she may say and act slightly flirty, but please know, it’s not the kind of mare she is.”

“Of course, I understand,” I replied with a nod.

“Alright then,” Carrot nodded as he walked towards the staircase behind the counter. “She’s currently resting up in our room. Follow me please.”

“Your house, sir,” I replied before following the stallion upstairs.

Quickly passing through a small living room, Carrot led me down a nearby hall.

“Honeybun, are you awake?” Carrot asked as he entered an open room.

“Oh, is the shop open already?” a slightly drowsy voice replied as I waited out in the hall.

“No, Pinkie Pie is still setting things up,” Carrot replied. “But she did go to the spa today and got one of the masseuses to do a house call.”

“Can we even afford that?” Cup Cake asked as I decided to enter the room now.

“Already paid for,” I calmly stated as I entered the room and drew the occupants shocked looks.

Now, I’ve met Mrs. Cake before. Usually whenever I came in for a morning mocha or a quick snack. But she always stayed behind the counter, giving me a motherly smile as she gave me my purchases.

Now that I could see her unhindered, I couldn’t help but marvel at how large she actually was around the barrel.

“Oh, good afternoon Christopher,” Mrs. Cake greeted with a smile, laying on her side while being mostly covered with a large blue blanket. “I didn’t know you made house calls.”

“Pinkie was worried and my bosses thought you could use it,” I said while walking over to the side of the bed.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” Carrot said before backing out of the room with a slightly worried expression.

“Okay then,” I nodded, giving Mrs. Cake a reassuring smile as I set my bag down. “Are you able to lie fully on your stomach?”

“Yes, but not for long,” Mrs. Cake replied as she carefully shifted onto her stomach and I got everything ready.

“Well, if something feels wrong, just tell me and will move things around,” I told her before beginning to work.

“Oh… that’s nice,” Mrs. Cake sighed blissfully while I worked. I couldn’t help but feel slightly sorry for her when I noticed how tense her muscles were.

“So, how much longer until your due?” I asked, hoping to start a conversation. I found out early on that this job can be pretty boring without it.

“Almost a month away now,” Mrs. Cake smiled with a blissful sigh. “I can’t wait.”

“Well, congratulations,” I replied, with a smile of my own. “The way Pinkie talks about you and your husband, you’ll make great parents.”

“Thank you,” Mrs. Cake sighed as some of her tension disappeared. “You have no idea how much that calms the nerves.”

“Glad to help,” I replied. “So, was it all planned or…?”

“Oh, very much so,” Mrs. Cake replied, smiling to herself. “We’ve actually been trying for years now.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but was there a problem?” I asked with concern.

“Carrot… Carrot is unable to give me foals,” Mrs. Cake replied hesitantly with a heavy sigh. “When it didn’t seem to work the first time, we had some testing done and found out that he’s sterile.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I honestly replied, now slightly curious on how she was pregnant now while also uncomfortable to the fact that I was being told something so personal. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you become pregnant then?”

“While looking for a way, we learned of a new process called “inception”,” Mrs. Cake replied a little bluntly. “Basically, they took some of my eggs and a sample from a donor and put it back in with hopes of it working.”

“And you both were okay with this?” I asked.

“Yes and no,” Mrs. Cake sighed, frowning deeply. “We both desperately wanted to be parents, but I didn’t want another stallion to have me, so this was our only option.”

“I understand what you’re saying,” I replied with a nod. “But congratulations either way. I’m sure you’re both excited.”

“Oh, if anypony is excited, it’s my Carrot,” Mrs. Cake giggled a little sadly. “He’s been doing everything he can to help me through it.”

“You sound worried though,” I noticed, pointing it out.

“A part of me can’t help but worry about him,” Mrs. Cake sighed, before looking back at me. “He doesn’t have any other family anymore and when he found out he couldn’t have a foal of his own… it almost crushed him.”

“Not to sound rude, but this sounds a bit personal,” I commented, not wanting to be pulled to deep into a situation I wasn’t meant to be in.

“Sorry, but I can’t help but worry that he’s pushing himself to make up for being unable to have his own,” Mrs. Cake began to sob, tuning to face me fully as tears streamed down her cheeks. “What if he leaves me because he can’t take it? What if he hurts himself or the foals or…”

“Mrs. Cake, stop NOW!” I interrupted firmly. “I’m positive that none of that will happen.”

“What do you know?!” the mare suddenly snapped, anger clear in her eyes. “You have no idea what we are going through!”

A part of me wanted to yell back, but I quickly pushed that aside, knowing it was the hormones at work.

“Actually,” I began in a calm voice, surprising the mare. “I do slightly understand what you’re going through.”

“What do you mean?” Mrs. Cake asked, calming by the moment.

“Because my dad was in the same boat in a way,” I replied. “The only difference being that I was already six months old when he actually met me and my mom.”

“But what does that have to do with this situation?” the mare asked, now more confused than angry.

“Because you’re worried about how, Carrot’s going to handle it,” I replied with a simple nod. “Being a father to foals that aren’t his.

“But if what I know about him is true, he will be a great father,” I assured her with a nod.

“But... did things ever change for you and him?” Mrs. Cake asked hesitantly, worry still in her eyes.

“If you’re asking if my dad ever treated me like anything else but a son, then no,” I replied with a nod and a smile. “Even when he had other children and when things got bad between him and my mom. He never treated me differently.”

“Why were they fighting?” Mrs. Cake asked with a tone of sadness.

“My mom was making some bad decisions and putting me and my siblings at risk,” I replied pushing the few memories I had from that time away. “But I really don’t think you’ll have those kinds of issues.”

For the next few minutes, Mrs. Cake stared off into the abyss with a confused look. But after a few more minutes, she gave me a slightly hesitant smile before shifting up and pulling me into a hug.

“Thank you, dearie,” Mrs. Cake softly sniffled, wiping the tears away with a hoof. “I’m sorry for snapping at you, but I’m just so worried.”

“It’s alright,” I replied as she released me. “You have every right to be wo-“

“Eep!” Mrs. Cake interrupted with a chirp, looking at me sheepishly afterwards. “S-sorry, one of them kicked.”

“So, you know that you’re having more than one?” I asked, sparing a quick glance to her large belly.

“Yes, twins actually,” Mrs. Cake smiled warmly while shifting to the side to show her full stomach, her tail covering everything below that. “Would you like to feel them kick, they’re a little active right now.”

“S-sure,” I hesitantly replied as I placed a hand carefully on the higher portion of her extended belly.

Mrs. Cake simply giggled before shifting my hand slightly lower than where I had placed it, causing a little more discomfort in me.

But after few moments, that feeling faded away as I felt the soft kicks from inside.

“Feels like a fighter,” I couldn’t help but smile as I removed my hand and stood up fully.

“We’ll see,” Mrs. Cake replied as she looked down at her own belly.

Giving the mare another smile, I continued with the massage, keeping the small talk light compared to what it had been.

“Well, that should be it for the massage and I can only hope I helped alleviate your stress instead of create any,” I nodded once finished, cleaning up a few things. “Is there anything you need?”

“You did plenty,” Mrs. Cake smiled before thinking for a moment. “But if you could, could you send my husband up. I’d like to talk to him.”

“Of course,” I smiled while picking up my bag and heading towards the exit. “And if anyone should give you any trouble, send them my way and I’ll set them strait for you.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Mrs. Cake giggled as I left the room and quickly made my way back downstairs, finding the party already started.

“Huh, must have been up there longer than I thought,” I commented as a few fillies and colts rushed past me.

“T-that took a bit longer than expected,” Carrot Cake said as he made his way over to me, placing a tray of cookies down as he did.

Those poor cookies never stood a chance.

“It happens,” I replied while watching Sweetie Belle snag a cookie for herself before rushing under a nearby table, the small white filly not even sparing the tall human a glance. “It’s done though, but your wife wants to talk to you about something.”

“O-oh, thank you Chris,” Carrot Cake nodded as he began to walk past me.

“Hold on a second,” I quickly stopped him, drawing his attention. “I just wanted to say congratulations. I’m sure you’ll be an excellent father.”

“Thanks, that actually means a lot,” Carrot smiled before rushing away.

“Good afternoon,” Fluttershy greeted as she suddenly appeared at my side and nuzzling my hand, Twilight walking up beside her.

“Afternoon Flutters, Twilight,” I greeted the two, giving them a simple nod while giving Fluttershy’s ear a scratch. “What are you two doing here?”

“We came here for a snack and got dragged into a Pinkie Party,” Twilight giggled as she gave me a quick hug. “What about you?”

“Work,” I chuckled while giving a small shrug towards the stairs. “But I’m done now.”

“Do you have to go back?” Fluttershy asked shyly.

“Nope,” I replied with a smile. “Aloe and Lotus gave me the rest of the day off.”

“Then join the party!” Pinkie Pie chirped, joining our small group and offering us all drinks.

“Depends,” I started while taking one of the offered drinks. “There any alcohol in this?”

“Do you want there to be?” Pinkie asked as she pulled a small flask out of her tail and held it out for me.

“Pinkie, Chris, stop that! This is a party for a filly who just got her cutie mark,” Twilight chastised as she took the flask in her magic and gave it to a confused Fluttershy.

“Calm down, Twilight,” I chuckled while retrieving the flask from Flutters. “My family had alcohol at every party, child’s party or not. As long as no one goes overboard, everything should be fine.”

With that, I took a swig of the flask, surprised to find it to be moonshine whisky.

“It’s still not right,” Twilight huffed before walking off on her own.

“That’s going to bite me in the ass,” I sighed before handing the flask back to Pinkie.

“So, how was your day?” Fluttershy asked as Pinkie Pie bounced off.

“Same old, same old,” I commented, with a shrug. “You?”

“I spent some time at the library today with, Twilight,” Fluttershy bashfully smiled. “R-reading up on parenting.”

“You’re really looking forward to that, huh?” I asked, still not fully behind the idea.

“Yes,” Fluttershy sheepishly smiled. “Did the results come back for your compatibility?”

“I’ll check again tomorrow, but they said it should be possible,” I replied with a heavy sigh.

Back when I had first gone to the hospital to get an initial checkup, they had taken some samples as well. One was to see if I could possibly breed with a pony or any other creature on Equestria, but they hadn’t finished those tests yet.

“I hope it’s possible,” Fluttershy sighed as she looked at the playing foals.

“Even if it’s not, I bet there’s a spell or something that could help,” I replied with a shrug.

“What do you think it will be?!” Fluttershy suddenly gushed as she looked at me with wide eyes. “A filly or a colt? Will they be a Pegasus or an earth pony? I mean, you can use magic, so maybe even a unicorn!”

I just nodded my head and let the mare continue to rant. Whenever she got like this, she would go on for hours, showing all the excitement someone could about becoming a parent.

Suffice to say I was still trying to think of a way out of it without making her cry.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” I cut in after a few minutes of her muttering to herself.

“Y-yes?” the mare chirped.

“Is it summer break for foals?” I asked, remembering that Apple Bloom and the others were at school before coming to this party back in the show.

“Summer break was last month,” Fluttershy replied. “I know it’s different in some places, but here, foals get one month off during the summer. But we tend to have long breaks during the spring… for reasons.”

“Huh, weird,” I commented as I decided to go get a snack.

As I headed towards the snack tables I couldn’t help but notice Apple Bloom sneaking around wrapped in a small table cloth.

“Just use your magic!” I heard a small voice hissed as I reached the snack table.

“I can’t!” a different one squeaked back. “I’m not that good yet.”

I didn’t take me much to find the source of the voice’s coming from under the snack table. Specifically, two adventurous fillies.

“Or you could ask for some help,” I commented while taking a knee just beside the table.

“Ah!” came to squeaks from under the table.

“W-what was that?” I heard Scootaloo ask quietly.

“I don’t know, you should go look,” Sweetie Belle squeaked back.

“I’m not going, you go!” Scootaloo snapped back.

“No, you!”

“No, you!”

“You!”

“You!”

“I’m just gonna leave this right here,” I mumbled as I slid a plate full of snacks under the table cloth.

“Thank you!” both voices squeaked out as I stood to leave.

“Heh, cute,” I chuckled. Off to the side, I could see both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing off to the side, talking to one another.

“Bah… it’d be rude not to at least congratulate the kid,” I sighed before heading over. Noticing me coming over, the fillies stopped talking about whatever it was they had been and stared at me with confused expressions.

“Silver, what the hay is that thing and why is it at my party?” Diamond asked her friend in a huff.

“Pinkie Pie invited me,” I replied, shocking the fillies and causing them to squeak in fright.

“Spoony, it can talk!” Diamond chirped as she used her friend as a meat shield.

“Don’t eat us!” Silver Spoon almost shrieked, drawing some worrying attention from some of the parents.

“I’m not here to eat you!” I quickly replied to the young fillies. “I just wanted to congratulate you on getting your cutie mark.”

“Oh!” Diamond suddenly said, pushing Silver away as she raised her head up high… by her standards.

“Well, it is a great cutie mark,” Diamond chirped as she looked back at her flank. Probably seeing past the weird purple saddle dress that covered her mark.

“Right…” I replied before looking around. “I said my piece, have a good day.”

“Rude,” Diamond huffed as I walked back over to the wallflower known as Fluttershy.

“That went as well as I thought it would,” I told the mare as I leaned against the wall next to her.

“Huh?” Fluttershy asked, probably having missed the confrontation from a moment ago.

“Nothing,” I shrugged as the scratching of a record drew our attention.

“Oh, no…” Apple Bloom mumbled as everyone there noticed her and her blank flank.

“Wow, that is an amazing cutie mark,” Silver Spoon giggled as she and Diamond Tiara made their way over to the fallen filly.

“Nice try blank flank!” Diamond began, her and her fellow bully finishing it off together.

Unfortunately, like with most children, a small chant began to fill the air as other foals began to giggle as well.

“You got a problem with blank flanks?!” Scootaloo’s voice suddenly called out over the crowd. From under the drink table, both her and Sweetie Belle crawled out with annoyed expressions.

“I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?!” Scootaloo repeated.

“The problem is, I mean, she's like, totally not special,” Silver Spoon replied snootily as the two others made their way over to Apple Bloom.

“No,” Sweetie Belle interjected. “It means she’s full of potential!”

“It means she can be anything!” Scootaloo added before adapting a mocking tone. “The possibilities are, like, endless.”

I simply watched as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle continued to defend Apple Bloom from the bullies. It was quite endearing and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Uh… did I miss something?” Carrot asked as he walked into the room as Twilight began to add her piece.

“Just fillies learning the way of life,” I replied as I watched.

“Oh…” Carrot replied, sounding uncomfortable.

“Something I can help you with?” I asked as I noticed Fluttershy wander off towards the others. A part of me couldn’t help but wonder where Applejack had been hiding as she joined the group.

“Cup said she told you everything… you know, about the pregnancy and all that,” Carrot replied while looking slightly ashamed.

“Let’s take this conversation somewhere else, okay?” I quickly offered, pointing towards the kitchen.

“Right, right,” Carrot nodded as he led the way into their kitchen.

“So,” I began once the doors closed behind us. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I-I don’t feel comfortable with you knowing everything,” Carrot replied as he took a seat by the wall of stoves they had.

“Understandable,” I replied with a nod, taking a seat on the island. “But if you’re worried about me telling others, I would never share something so personal.”

“Uh… thanks?” Carrot replied, looking confused now. “Wasn’t expecting that answer.”

“That sounded a little like an insult…” I mumbled to myself before letting out a big sigh.

“So, is that it or…” I began, motioning for him to continue if he had anything.

“Is it true?” Carrot blurted out, looking uncomfortable again. “I mean, about how your father wasn’t your father?”

“He was my dad, though and through,” I replied with a nod. “He raised me like his own and never treated me differently.”

“But do you really think I could do that?” Carrot asked as he took his hat off and began to roll it up in his hooves.

“I think you’ll do great,” I nodded.

What followed was exactly seven minutes of silence between us.

I know this because I could count the seconds.

“I’m going back out there,” I commented while jumping back to my feet.

“C-can we hang out some time?” Carrot suddenly asked, stopping me in my tracks before I could leave.

“Uh… sure,” I nodded. “We’ll go get some drinks or something when you got some free time.”

“Uh… that sounds awesome,” Carrot replied in an uncomfortable voice. “Dude?”

“Don’t quite your day job, Carrot,” I chuckled as I left the room.

“What were you doing in the kitchen?” Pinkie immediately asked me as I entered the large room, giving me a cute glare and pout. “You weren’t trying to steal my secret stash of dark chocolate again, were you?”

“Not this time, Pinks,” I chuckled, messing with the mare’s mane. “I miss anything else?”

“Nope-ity-nope-nope!” Pinkie giggled before hopping off into the kitchen.

“Afternoon, Mr. Chris,” Apple Blooms voice chirped, drawing my attention to her and her two new friends.

“Good afternoon Apple Bloom,” I nodded to the filly and her friends. “You here to introduce your new friends?”

“Yep,” Apple Bloom nodded as she let the two others step forward. “This is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”

“H-hello,” Sweetie Belle squeaked, looking a little nervous as her duel colored mane bounced.

“What the hay are you supposed to be?” Scootaloo asked, her wings buzzing a little.

“Scootaloo!?” Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle reprimanded.

“It’s alright,” I chuckled while taking a knee to be less imposing to the small fillies. “I’m Chris, a human and one of Ponyville’s newest residents.”

“What the hay is a hue-man?” Scootaloo asked bluntly.

“What I am,” I chuckled back.

“My sister talks about you a lot you know,” Sweetie Belle commented, looking less nervous.

“Rarity, right?” I asked, getting a shocked nod from the filly. “She talks about you a lot too.”

“Lies! Whatever she said, I didn’t do it!” Sweetie Belle quickly blurted back with an embarrassed glow, earning giggles and chuckles from the rest of us.

“Howdy, Chris,” Applejack greeted as she made her way to our side of the room. “What’s so funny?”

“Just meeting Apple Bloom’s new friends,” I commented while standing back up.

“They tell y’all about their little group yet?” Applejack asked with a smirk.

“N-no…” I replied, an odd feeling of uncertainty beginning to build in my stomach. “Why?”

“Cause mah sister says we need sup… uh sup-ah-vision,” Apple Bloom replied with a frown before adapting a look of cute determination and stomping with a hoof. “But we don’t need one cause we’re big ponies.”

“Its supervision, and yah do,” Applejack replied, looking down at her sister. “If y’all do even half the things ah did at yer age, ah’d rather have somepony there to stop the fires before they even start.”

“So, will you do it?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking up at me with big gleaming eyes along with Apple Bloom. Scootaloo just seemed to glare at me unamused.

“Uh… heh, give me a sec,” I offered with forced chuckle before grabbing one of Applejack’s hooves and dragging her over to the side.

“What the hay?!” Applejack groaned as we stopped just outside of hearing distance for the fillies.

“You cannot be serious about this?!” I asked in a harsh whisper, knowing full well what kind of destruction those three would cause. I did not want to be the one getting pointed at when these things happened.

“Look, ah just don’t want mah sister getting hurt and you’re the only one that could do this,” Applejack replied with a sigh. “Workin the farm takes all of mah and Big Mac’s attention, Rainbow would probably just get em hurt, Rarity would probably bore them tah death, Pinkie would give em too much sugar, Twilight runs the library and does her fancy research and Fluttershy would just have em sit there and do nothin.”

“But I also have a job,” I replied firmly, an image of me covered in tree sap flashing through my mind.

“And y’all are usually done by the time school gets out and Fluttershy says you don’t work much durin the weekends,” Applejack replied with a smirk. “It was actually Fluttershy that recommended you and ah think it’s a good idea mahself.”

“Seriously though?” I groaned, standing at full height and rubbing the back of my head in agitation.

“How about if ah make it worth your while?” Applejack replied with a small purr, before indicating for me to come closer. Leaning down, I was slightly surprised when Applejack removed her hat and held it up in a way to prevent other ponies from seeing us speak.

“Y’all do this,” Applejack began, breathing huskily into my ear and filling my nostrils with a mixture of grass and apples. “And ah’ll show ya why earth pony mares are known for their stamina.

“Whenever ya want…” Applejack purred, nibbling at my earlobe before pulling back with a seductive smirk.

“Uh…” I muttered, earning a giggle from the mare. I could only watch in a stupor as Applejack replaced her hat and began to make her way back to the fillies, flicking her tail and giving me a wink in the process.

“When the fuck did I suddenly become attractive?” I asked myself quietly before walking back over to the group.

Velvet had actually warned me about this kind of thing happening. The closer ponies were as friends, the more likely it was that they would be drawn towards the herd.

“Okay,” I clapped, drawing the fillies’ attention. “Looks like I’m in charge of your little crusade now.”

“Crusade?” Scootaloo questioned turning to her new friends.

“That’s it!” Apple Bloom proclaimed with a look of realization. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“It’s perfect!” Sweetie Belle agreed as Scootaloo nodded.

“Oh crap!” I muttered, quickly covering my ears.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS YAY!” the three fillies shouted, drawing the entire rooms attention.

“Excuse me! But could you not shout stupid things at my party!?” Diamond Tiara called out, rubbing her ears.

“And ah think we’ve over stayed our welcome,” Applejack replied, shaking her head slightly before looking down at the three embarrassed fillies. “It’s getting late and ah still got some chores to finish on the farm.”

“But sis… what about the crusade?” Apple Bloom moaned.

“We’ll figure everything out on Saturday, okay?” I offered. “Why don’t you three go and make a list of ideas.”

“Okay!” the three fillies announced happily before rushing away and out of the bakery.

“That was easier than I thought,” I shrugged before looking at a chuckling Applejack. “I guess I’ll see yah later?”

“I should be free tomorrow evenin’,” Applejack smirked. “Be at the barn bah eight and I’ll show ya just how much ah appreciate yer help.”

“This is what my life is now,” I mumbled as the mare took her leave, flashing me another wink before anyone could see.

“So, you accepted Applejack’s offer?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, causing me to jump in fright before looking back at her.

“Holy cow, Flutters, give a guy a heart attack,” I sighed, holding my chest while my nerves calmed down.

“O-oh… I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Fluttershy meekly replied as she looked down in shame.

“No, it’s okay Fluttershy,” I assured the mare, kneeling down and cupping her cheek and stealing a quick kiss. “You just surprised me is all my little ninja.”

“O-oh…” Fluttershy blushed as she looked a little better. “So… did you accept Applejack’s offer?”

“This was all part of your big all master plan, huh?” I asked with a slight smirk.

“I-I d-don’t know wha-what you’re talking about…” Fluttershy offered with a sheepish smile.

“Sure, you don’t,” I chuckled, stealing another kiss. “My scheming little ninja.”

“I-I-I go-gotta go feed my animals,” Fluttershy chirped before rushing away with a cute blush.

“I am so calling her that from now on,” I chuckled to myself before deciding to grab a snack.


***


“…but why lemon?” Carrot Cake asked as he sat across from me. While eating my snack, Mr. Cake ended up starting another conversation with me as the party slowly died down.

“I think it’s better than pepper,” I replied, wiping my face. “It’s something my mom apparently did and with the fact that you ponies’ walk around on your hooves, it’ll probably be a good idea.”

“Thanks, Chris, I’ll be sure to remember that,” Carrot nodded, taking a sip of the coffee in front of him.

“No, prob,” I nodded, taking a look around. Just about everyone was gone with the exception of Mr. Cake and Pinkie Pie.

And a frowning Diamond Tiara.

“Huh, what’s she still doing here?” I asked pointing over towards the filly that sat at a different table. She currently sat alone, frowning slightly while looking over some of her gifts.

“I guess her parents haven’t come to pick her up yet,” Mr. Cake offered with a slightly worried look.

“That’s pretty messed up,” I commented, earning a confused look from Carrot. “I mean, isn’t a cutie whatever this thing is, a really important thing in a foal’s life?”

“Defiantly,” Carrot replied with a large smile. “One of the proudest moments in a foal and parents life. I’ve already got the twin’s planned!”

“Then why aren’t either of her parents here?” I asked, a little disgusted with the two unaccounted for ponies. It was parents like that, that lead to child delinquency.

At least, that was my opinion.

“It’s to be expected unfortunately,” Carrot sighed, shaking his head. “I hear Mr. Rich is always out of town on meetings and… well, my wife just says that his wife is a “spoiled little whorse”.”

“I believe it,” I sighed while looking outside and seeing the sky outside darkening. “But I think I’ll help the kid get home with her gifts. I also want to see what fucked up reason her parents have for not being here.”

“Uh… are you sure that’s a good idea?” Carrot asked with obvious concern. “Talking to her parents, I mean.”

“Wouldn’t you want someone to talk to you?” I asked.

“I don’t even want to be in that kind of situation,” Carrot replied with a frown.

“Exactly,” I replied while standing up. “Catch yah later Carrot.”

“See you later,” Carrot replied with a polite wave, watching as I walked up to the lone filly.

“What do you want, monkey?” Diamond huffed almost instantly, glaring at me.

“Simply wanted to help you get your things home,” I replied, not letting her insult affect me.

“I don’t need help from some kind of mutated monkey,” Diamond replied before looking back at her pile of gifts. The pile wasn’t that big, but it did stand a little taller than the filly in total.

“It’s no trouble at all,” I replied with a forced smile. “Wouldn’t want you to mess up your pretty dress.”

“Huh, I guess that makes sense,” Diamond replied in her snooty voice. “Very well, monkey. Carry my presents; I need to get home before dinner.”

“Right…” I sighed about to pick all the gifts up at once.

“Here yah go,” Pinkie chirped, popping up from behind me and offering me some empty bags. “These should help.”

“Thanks, Pinks,” I replied before carefully putting all the random trinkets and gifts into the bags. “See yah.”

“Bye bye!” Pinkie giggled as I made my way outside, Diamond waiting outside with an irritated look.

“Let’s go already,” Diamond groaned. “I have school in the morning.”

“Lead the way,” I replied, trying to remain civil.

“Right!” Diamond replied in a huff before walking in the direction of her home. “And if I see you looking at my flank, I’ll scream.”

“Yes, mein fuhrer,” I replied, gritting my teeth at that comment. If anything, I at least had to commend her for having something of a plan.

For a while, the two of us walked through town. While I would give the passing ponies a friendly smile and the occasional wave, Diamond continued forward, barley passing a glance at any passing ponies.

I tried to start a conversation every few minutes, but it usually ended quickly with her calling me ‘monkey’.

Soon enough though, we were walking up to a large mansion on the outer edge of town. I had passed by it once or twice, but in a place like Ponyville, it was that ugly zit on the face of a super model.

“Nice place,” I commented as we walked up to the front door.

“Yeah, whatever,” Diamond grumbled back, her tone sounding saddened. Without saying anything else, she threw the door open and walked in.

“I’m home!” Diamond called before muttering under her breath something I barely caught. “Not like anypony cares.”

“Welcome home little miss,” a refined male voice replied before a brown unicorn stallion walked in wearing a black suit top. “How was your day?”

“Just get my bags from the monkey!” Diamond huffed before disappearing from sight in the house.

“Thank you for walking the little miss home,” the obvious butler said as he turned to me, completely unfazed when seeing me.

“No problem,” I replied, allowing the stallion to take the bags. “But are either of her parent’s home? I’d like to talk to them.”

“I’m sorry to say that Mr. Rich is out of town on business,” the butler replied as the bags disappeared into the home as well.

“And Mrs. Rich?” I asked.

“She is currently busy,” the butler replied, a little too fast if I had to say so.

It took me only one second to notice two distinct smells. One was that of perfume and the second was that of a mare.

I was actually becoming very familiar with that one.

“Look, I don’t give a fuck what happens behind your doors or whatever it is the two of you have going on,” I began in a harsh whisper, the stallion’s eyes going slightly wider. “But I would like to talk to Mrs. Rich, thank you.”

“I will be right back,” the stallion replied, slightly gritting his teeth before turning and wondering away, leaving the door open.

A few minutes later, a very irritated, dark pink mare showed up and glared at me, light jewelry reflecting some of the light from the home.

“This had better be important, monkey,” Mrs. Rich almost growled. I couldn’t help but noticed her slightly ruffled appearance and the familiar smells as well.

“Merely wanted to make sure everything was alright Mrs. Rich,” I replied putting on a forced smile. “When no one showed up for your daughter’s cutie mark party, I got worried that something had happened.”

“Well, as you can see, everything is fine,” Mrs. Rich replied in her own snooty voice. “Now if you will excuse me, I have very important things to handle.”

“Like your butler’s dick?” I asked before I could stop myself.

The following moments were so silent, that you could hear a piece of hay fall all the way from Sweet Apple Acers.

“You should know that I don’t take well to false accusations,” Mrs. Rich growled, looking up at me with a glare that could kill. “Especially, ones coming from an uneducated monkey.”

“You’re right, that was uncalled for,” I replied, gritting my teeth in agitation. “For that, I apologize, but I would still like to voice my complaint at you not going to your daughter’s party.”

“And its noted,” Mrs. Rich growled. “Now get off my property before I have you arrested, Monkey!”

“Whatever bitch,” I replied under my breath as I turned to leave. Feeling a rush of wind hit my back as the door was slammed closed.

“You really are stupid, aren’t you?” Diamond’s voice called, drawing my attention to an upper window. The filly was looking down at me, her dress and tiara gone.

“Sorry,” I replied looking up at the filly. “But congratulations once again.”

“Thank you,” Diamond replied, actually giving a smile. “Have a nice night, Mr. Christopher.”

“You as well Miss Tiara,” I replied, watching the filly close the window and disappear.

“At least she didn’t call me monkey that time,” I mumbled, finally deciding to head home.


***


I just stared at Nurse Redheart, my mind a mix of shock and confusion. The shocking information she told me continually repeating in my head.

“All… all of them?” I squeaked out.

“At least the ones we normally test for,” Redheart replied with a sheepish smile, her eyes looking at everything but me.

“But my chromosome count should be-“

“It’s undefinable,” Redheart interrupted hoofing me the small clipboard she had. Unfortunately, I didn’t really understand anything that it had.

“When we realized that we couldn’t get a defined count, we did a few more test and every test we performed came back positive,” Redheart began. “Apparently, something inside the samples we took kept shifting to work with the other samples.”

“Pony?” I asked.

“It was the first one we checked and yes,” Redheart nodded.

“Gryphon?”

“Yes, so be careful during the fall season with miss Gilda, that’s the general time frame that a gryphoness can become pregnant outside of laying an egg and having it fertilized.”

“Diamond Dog?” I asked out of shock, filing what the nurse just said about Gryphon mating to look into at another time.

“We did that one as joke, but it’s also possible,” Redheart replied before taking a deep breath. “Cow, Buffalo, Zebra, Saddle Arabian Horse, Changeling…”

“Wait, you know what a Changeling is?” I couldn’t help but interrupt.

“They have a small ‘hive’ as they call it, out in the Badlands, nopony knows where though,” Nurse Redheart replied with a slightly uncomfortable shrug.

I quickly and silently decided to file that away for later, especially since I had yet to find any written record of Changelings existing and a lump on my head was proof that I wasn’t allowed to talk to the girls about them at all.

“The test only stopped proving positive when we started working with non-sentient species. We also couldn’t test for Dragon or Alicorn, since one we have almost no information on and the other has their medical records sealed; and when I tried to get permission to do the test… the response I got back was ‘If that idiot comes anywhere near me or my sister with those kind of intentions, I will personally cut off his balls’.”

“Yeah… Princess Celestia doesn’t like me that much,” I replied with a sigh, both from Celestia’s reply and the new information. “Jeez that’s a lot to take at once.”

“You did ask for the truth,” Redheart replied with a sympathetic look. “Look at the bright side though, Fluttershy’s going to be ecstatic.”

“At least someone’s going to be…” I mumbled under my breath.


***


“Just because we can, doesn’t mean we are doofus,” Gilda groaned while laying back down on the couch. After a full day of work, I had returned home to get changed before telling Fluttershy the news and ended up finding Gilda first.

“Not saying we are,” I replied with a shrug. “Just thought you should know… and can you really get pregnant without laying an egg?”

“Yes,” Gilda groaned, a small blush appearing on her face. “And don’t ask me how it’s possible because I don’t know and don’t want to know because it. Isn’t. Happening… at least not for a few years.”

“What was that?” I asked, missing that last part.

“Just get out of here!” Gilda yelled, throwing a pillow at me. “I gotta take my mid afternoon nap.”

“And we trust individuals like you with our weather?” I chuckled, dodging another pillow as I rushed out of the house, cackling like a mad man.

“Hey, Chris! Wait up!” I heared Spike call out as I was quickly rushing away from the house.

“Sup little dude,” I said as the little guy rushed up to my side panting slightly.

“How was school?” I asked out of instinct.

“I-I don’t go to school,” Spike replied both confused and a little saddened. “Twilight and Princess Celestia taught me almost everything I know and apparently, I’m too smart for school now.”

“Just because your ‘too smart’, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go,” I replied with a frown. “Look, how about I talk to Twilight about getting you enrolled after I talk to Fluttershy about something, okay?”

“Really?!” Spike smiled hopefully, rushing me and giving me a surprising hug. “T-totally, that would be awesome. Thanks, Chris.”

“No prob, Spike,” I replied picking the little guy up and placing him on my right shoulder. He wasn’t that heavy anyways.

“So, is this thing you have to talk to Fluttershy about, about your compatibility?” Spike asked, surprising me once again.

I was beginning to think that Twilight talked a little too openly around Spike.

“Yeah,” I replied, deciding not to look at the little drake. “Apparently, I’m compatible with all sentient species on Equis. The only ones they couldn’t test were dragon and Alicorn.”

“But if you tried, do you think you could?” Spike asked.

“Knowing my luck… yes.” I replied defeatedly as Fluttershy’s cottage came into view.

“Wow…” Spike breathed, a slightly shocked look in his eyes. “So… you’re going to be a dad?”

“If Fluttershy gets her way,” I replied, stopping just before the bride in front of the mare’s house. “I don’t think I’m ready for it yet though.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great, Chris,” Spike replied, patting my head reassuringly. “You’re awesome!”

“Thanks Spike,” I chuckled before continuing forward. “But I should also apologize too.”

“What? Why?” Spike asked, a small tinge of fear creeping into his voice. “I-I don’t remember you doing anything wrong.”

“I haven’t… yet.” I replied, smirking slightly as we reached the door. “I just wanted to warn you before using you as a shield.”

“Wait… what?!”


***


“I said I was sorry,” I chuckled, ruffling Spike’s head while sitting on the display in the middle of the library. “Besides, I warned you that I was going to use you as a shield.”

“Still surprised on how strong her grip is,” Spike mumbled as Twilight reentered the room with several books from her room.

“I’m surprised that she let either of you go,” Twilight giggled as she set the books down next to me before shoving me off of the desk with a slight frown. “I heard her squeal from here.”

“I’m sure they heard it up in Canterlot,” I replied with a chuckle, sitting on the ground instead. “She also zipped off saying something about her mom.”

“I’m still surprised at the results,” Twilight replied as she began looking through one of the books she had brought down. I couldn’t read the title fully, but it looked to be a book on biology. Why it was in her room and not the main library, I preferred to ignore. “I think it could be a great subject to study. Just think of the accomplishments!”

“Another time Sparkle butt,” I interrupted, closing the book on her. “Luna wants me to work on my energy transference and I also wanted to talk to you about Spike.”

“Uhg, what did you do this time?” Twilight groaned as she looked down at the small dragon.

“What? I didn’t do anything!” Spike replied defiantly. “I think…”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” I replied. “I just wanted to talk to you about sending him to school.”

“Spike’s too smart for school,” Twilight instantly replied with a wave of her hoof. “He was tested at a university grade level just before we left Canterlot.”

“While that’s impressive, it’s still a very important aspect of childhood,” I replied, looking down at Spike. The young drake simply looked down at his feet, staying silent. “Celestia sent you here to learn about friendship and school is one of the leading places for finding and making friends.”

“So, I need to go back to school?!” Twilight bellowed out in a fit of fear. “B-but I-I’m too old… and what about…”

“I meant for Spike,” I quickly interrupted, placing a finger on the mare’s lips. “He’s gotta make some friends too yah know.”

“O-oh! I’m sorry Spike, I didn’t even think…” Twilight began, scooping the small dragon up in a hug.

“I-its o-okay T-Twilight!” Spike wheezed as the mare crushed him in her hug.

“No, it’s not okay Spike,” Twilight replied as she sat him down. “Chris is right, even though your smarter than most, school is still a very important part of social development.”

“So, can I go?” Spike asked, looking at Twilight hopefully.

“I’ll talk to the local teacher this weekend,” Twilight replied with a caring smile. “The classes are more generalized here compared to Canterlot though.”

“I-I don’t mind!” Spike proudly replied. “Thanks Twilight, thanks Chris!”

With that, Spike rushed away with a large smile on his face, disappearing towards his and Twilight’s room.

“I only hope it doesn’t end like last time,” Twilight sighed, drawing my attention.

“What do you mean?” I asked, a little concerned.

“Soon after Spike could walk and talk properly, Princess Celestia thought it would be a good idea to send him to school,” Twilight explained. “He said he loved it, but…”

“What he saw and what actually happened were two different things?” I offered, making an assumption.

“The teachers basically ignored him and the other foals wouldn’t go anywhere near him,” Twilight sighed. “Princess Celestia got worried when several petitioners came to her to have Spike removed from school. A few days later, Spike was pulled out, but the Princess never told me why.”

“Well, I’m sure things will be different here,” I offered, carefully putting a hand on the mare’s shoulder. “As we’ve both seen, once they get past the initial shock, everyone here in Ponyville can be pretty accepting.”

“I hope so,” Twilight replied as she leaned against me. “He really likes you though, it’s kind of surprising.”

“I’m a likable guy,” I replied, kissing the top of the mare’s head.

“We should get to work,” Twilight sighed as she nuzzled under my chin.

“In a minute or two,” I replied, pulling the mare into a hug. “I kinda wanna just sit here for a moment.”

“I do too,” Twilight replied. “Which is surprising since I would usually rather read a book.”

“So, I’m better than a book?” I asked.

“Not by much,” the mare chuckled back.


***


“I should work on Blinking next,” I groaned out while walking towards the Apple family homestead, the sun having set over an hour ago. Even though I ran with Rainbow Dash most mornings, I still couldn’t help but complain when I had to walk long distances.

Like to Applejack’s house.

Which resulted in rare, but long, visits.

“Heya, Chris!” a young joy filled voice called out as I made it to the farm house. A few lights showing that the inhabitants were still awake.

“Hi, Apple Bloom,” I greeted as the young filly rushed towards me, a large smile on her face and a piece of paper in her mouth. “What’s that?”

“Its mah list,” Apple Bloom replied as I took the piece of paper from her. “Its aint finished yet though.”

“I can see that,” I mumbled back, looking the list over. While it was a little hard to read the chicken scratch known as a foal’s writing, I still couldn’t help but sigh when I noticed that half of her ideas involved either power tools or explosives.

“Me and the others got all kinds ah ideas!” Apple Bloom replied with a smile. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

“I’m sure it will,” I replied as I gave the paper back to Apple Bloom, the young filly rushing away moments after.

The moment she entered the house though, Big Mac came out.

And he didn’t look all to happy.

“Kinda hoped you wouldn’t ah shown up,” Big Mac grumbled as he stood in front of me.

“Uh… what?” I asked, now slightly worried.

“Ah know why yer here, Granny does too,” Big Mac replied.

“L-look, I only showed up cause if I didn’t, Applejack would of…”

“Ah don’t care about that,” Big Mac interrupted with a groan. “Mah sister is a grown mare and can be with whoever she wants tou be. What ah want yah ta understand, is that if you hurt her in any way, they won’t be findin you.”

“Right… got it,” I replied, not daring to speak back. Watching the stallion on a show and standing right in front of him were two completely different things, and he was a lot bigger in person.

“She’s in the barn,” Big Mac replied, nodding toward the building behind the house. “Just try tah keep it down. Apple Bloom don’t need to hear anything and Granny needs her sleep.”

“Right…” I replied dumbly, watching as the stallion turned and wondered back to the house, grumbling the whole time.

“I really hope this kind of thing stops soon,” I couldn’t help but grumble while wondering towards the barn.

Once there, I took a look around. Aside from the lights from the house, there was no other sources and the only sound were those of some cicadas.

“Uh… Applejack?” I quietly called, calmly entering the barn. It was pitch black inside, but the little feeling in the back of my head told me that someone was there.

The moment I fully entered the barn, the door behind me slammed shut, causing me to jump forward in fright. Once I touched back down, I immediately found my feet ripped out from under me.

“Holy shit!” I called out as I felt myself rising into the air and being hung upside down.

“Whoever is out there, I know magic and don’t know how to control it when freaked out!” I blubbered out as I began to swing around blindly.

“Well, well, well,” I heard Applejack’s voice say from the darkness. “Now what kinda critter have ah caught sneaking into mah barn?”

With that, a lamp suddenly flared to life, surprisingly filling the entire area, revealing a shocking sight.

*Sex Start*

“Mah, mah, now would ya look at this,” Applejack cooed as she walked towards me, her hat now replaced with a thin black night gown, a matching pair of panties could be seen hugging her flanks through the thin fabric.

“What the hell AJ?!” I blurted out, trying my best to look away from the mare’s swaying flanks.

“And what a mouth its got on it,” Applejack grinned with half laden eyes. “Maybe it should keep it shut.”

“Wait… is this how you get off?” I asked as the mare brushed past me, flicking my face with her tail.

“Just go with this hun, ah need this,” Applejack quickly begged before going back into character. “Now, ya’ll wanna tell me why you were sneakin into mah barn?”

“Uh… I came for some apples?” I replied, starting to get slightly light headed.

“Shut it!” Applejack suddenly snapped, glaring at me. “Ya’ll come in here expecten to take mah families livelihood?”

“Uh…no?” I replied, giving an upside-down shrug.

“And it’s a liar,” Applejack replied with a huff before turning away, giving me a perfect view of her very large flank. “Now what to do with ya?”

“Uh… let me go?” I offered back.

“Ya’ll are really bad at this sugarcube,” Applejack sighed, slipping out of character for a moment. “Could ya’ll at least act like a predator or somthin?”

“I’ll try, if that’s what you want,” I offered, my head starting to spin now.

“Good, now then,” Applejack replied before slipping back into character. “Maybe Big Mac’s got an idea on what to do with this varmint.”

“So, getting your brother to do the dirty work?” I voiced, saying the only thing that could come to mind. “Just like a mare, making a stallion do all the heavy lifting.”

“Now, see here yah no good varmint!” Applejack snapped, turning back to me with a glare, a very small smirk on her face revealing that I was heading in the right direction. “Just cause ah got ta get mah brother, don’t mean ah won’t be makin sure you get what’s coming as well.”

“But why do you gotta get him in the first place?” I asked with my own smirk. “Afraid you cant deal with me on your own. Too weak to handle me?”

“Aint nopony callin me weak, yah no good critter,” Applejack growled, drawing close to my face with her own. “If ya’ll thi-“

I didn’t let Applejack finish whatever she was going to say, grabbing her head and taking her lips with my own in a Spiderman kiss before she could finish. As expected, I got a fleeting taste of apple before the mare pulled away with a shocked and disgusted look.

“Yah no good filthy varmit!” Applejack snapped as she glared at me. “Ah’ll show you what happened when ya insult an apple family mare.”

I watched as Applejack stormed off towards a side of the barn where I could see some tight rope leading up into the darkness.

“Crap,” I grumbled as I realized what was about to happen.

With a flick of her hoof, the rope came undone and I crashed to the ground, just missing my head, and before I could recover, the mare pounced on my, using all her wait to keep me down.

Or so she thought.

“I’ll just take care of ya ma- wha!” Applejack began, calling out as I quickly threw her off of me and switched positions on her. She quickly began to attempt and buck me off of her, but with a little know how and magic, I instead began to tie her up with the same rope she had used on me.

“Now would you look at that,” I chuckled as I finished tying her front and back hooves together. The knot wasn’t that good or that tight, but it seemed to be enough for her. “Tables have turned now, haven’t they?”

“W-wait!” Applejack quickly shouted, obviously falling out of character. “The safe word is “Pear”.”

“Your one strange mare Applejack,” I chuckled before indicating for the mare to get back into character.

“Ya no good piece ah manure!” Applejack growled. “Just you wait till ah get free! I’ll have you realizing that you messed with the wrong apple.”

“Really now?” I asked, leaning over the bound mare with a devious smirk. I couldn’t help but trace her very obvious curves with my eyes, slowly trailing my fingertips across her side.

“Get those filthy things off ah me!” Applejack snapped, trying to wiggle away.

But I didn’t let her, grabbing both sides firmly while making sure to watch out for her legs.

“Pretty stubborn,” I growled, pressing my weight into the mare, one hand traveling down to her flank and the other to her throat, making sure to not put too much pressure on the former. “I can work that outta ya.”

“N-now j-just wait a minute here,” Applejack began to stutter with a large blush, shifting herself to press into my hands more firmly. “Y-ya’ll b-best be letting me go or-“

“Or what?” I interrupted, drawing in close to the mare’s face, my nostrils being filled with the smell of grass and apples as I allowed my hand on her flank to rub and grip the well-developed muscles. “Cause I’m the one in power right now.”

“L-look, maybe w-we got off on the wrong hoof?” Applejack asked as she tried to pull her face away from mine while keeping the pressure on her throat.

“I don’t think so!” I snapped back, taking my hand off her throat and grabbing her snout, forcing her to look at me. My other hand proceeded to slip inside her gown and grabbed the edge of her panties, slowly pulling them down.

While her eyes became a mix of fear and anger, I couldn’t help but feel her smirk under my hand.

“You owe me pony,” I growled, bearing my teeth as I pulled her panties to her knees. Almost immediately, a heavy smell mixed in with the apple and grass, causing my head to swim. “And I know the perfect way for you to make it up to me.”

“Mmph!” Applejack tried to growl out, trying harder to escape.

“Don’t even- wait hold on a second… pear?” I said, releasing the mare’s snout.

“Aw come on now?!” Applejack groaned. “I’m more turned on than a young mare going through her first heat.”

“I just wanted to know if you wanted me to hit you, because its looking like that,” I replied, a little uncomfortably.

“Yes! I’m a big mare, I can take a hit or two,” Applejack snapped back with a real glare. “Now get back to taking me like the predator you are or I’ll-“

“Shut it, you!” I snapped, slapping the mare lightly, but making it look like it was harder. “From this point on, that mouth only opens when I want it to open.”

“Buck you!” Applejack growled, taking a nip at my hand.

“Oh, I’m gonna like breaking that stubborn mouth of yours in,” I growled with a smirk, earning wide eyes from the mare.

Before the mare could respond, I got off of her and began to drag her to one of the barn’s stalls.

“Just were you belong,” I smiled as I used some extra rope to tie her to a post by her neck.

“Now, if you promise not to attack me, I might be inclined to untie your legs,” I offered with another smirk.

“L-listen, maybe we can talk about this?” Applejack offered, using her tail to cover herself while also wagging the tip to spread her scent.

“That wasn’t the kind of answer, I wanted,” I frowned while walking around her, working off my pants and undergarments in the process and freeing my erection. “Now you’re just going to be even more uncomfortable.”

“Don’t ya dare do what I think yer ab-“

“How many times do I have to tell you to shut up!” I snapped, taking a knee just above her head and grabbing her snout. “I’m the one in charge here, me!”

While the mare continued to glare at me with defiant eyes, her tail began to wag more furiously as I finally noticed her surprisingly large teats.

“I’m going to give you one more chance at getting your hooves untied and I want either a yes or a no,” I offered. “Now which is it?”

For a few moments, Applejack just continued to glare at me, her eyes shifting to my manhood several times before giving a quick nod.

“Good,” I smiled, removing my hand from her snout and beginning to untie her hooves, making sure to dig my thumbs into the frogs as I worked.

“Pear,” Applejack moaned suddenly as I finished untying her hooves. “Ah just wanted to say that ah love having mah hooves rubbed.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” I smiled before getting back into character with the mare. “Now get on your stomach!”

“Make me!” the mare growled back, spitting in my face.

“You bitch!” I growled back, grabbing the mare’s snout and forcing it to the side, causing her to roll with it.

At first, I expected her to push forward and attack, but she became surprisingly submissive at this point while keeping the glare in her eyes.

“Now then,” I began, smirking as I dragged her face to my stiff cock.

Her eyes seemed to double in size as she stared at it, a slight glaze coving them as she took in several deep breaths through her nose. Her warm exhales causing my cock to twitch slightly.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what to do,” I smirked, grabbing the back of the mare’s head while releasing her snout.

“A-ah a-aint gonna…” the mare breathed, pressing her snout against the underside of my dick without me even forcing her too.

“Such a weak pony,” I chuckled as the mare reached forward with her front hooves and carefully bent my cock so the tip could enter her mouth.

With a heavy moan, the mare pressed forward, taking me to the base in one motion, her hooves switching to my inner thighs.

I could only groan out in bliss as the mare began to lose herself in the following bobbing motions. She was so lost in her own world, that she didn’t even notice when I released her head as she continued to take as much of me as possible.

But the thing that really got me was the hungry look she had in her eyes. Her green pearls staring up at me filled with lust.

Soon enough, I felt the familiar pressure begin to build and relayed that to the mare by grabbing her head and preventing her from pulling as far back as she had been.

“Gurk!” Applejack chocked as I released inside her throat, forcing everything I had down into her stomach. The stall we were in was now flooded with her musky smell as I couldn’t help but notice her slow hip gyrations.

“That’s a good mare,” I sighed blissfully as I allowed her to remove herself, watching her swallow before coughing a bit.

“Th-they didn’t say it’d be so salty,” Applejack breathed, her slightly glazed eyes still looking at me.

“You forgot to say pear,” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Buck the pear!” Applejack snapped, jumping forward and throwing me to my back as she landed on my chest, the rope around her neck having slipped loose. Moments later, Applejack’s mouth connected with mine as I felt the mare grind her dripping crotch against the tip of my re-hardening cock.

“Now then,” Applejack grinned as she pulled away from my face. I couldn’t help but gulp as the mare pulled off her panties the rest of the way before placing them on my face with a devious grin, the crotch was soaked with her juices and a small bit made it into my mouth and tasting distinctively of hard cider.

“Rut me,” Applejack moaned as she slowly sank backwards, slowly taking me into her. My hands quickly found their place on the mare’s flanks as she hilted me.

“Ah hope yer ready,” Applejack moaned, staring down at me with a cocky grin as her insides clamped down hard on me. “Cause ah’m gonna ride you till the rooster crows.”

*Sex End*

***


“W-wow…” I panted as I heard the morning call of a rooster, my hand carefully kneading the frog of Applejack’s hoof. They mare giving nothing but a blissful sigh as she snuggled closer against me.

“Ah can’t believe ya lasted all night,” Applejack sighed as she gave me a peck under my chin. “Mah last coltfriend didn’t even last five minutes.”

“You had a coltfriend?” I couldn’t help but ask as I trailed my free hand back down to her flanks.

“Now, no more of that sugarcube,” Applejack smirked, slapping my hand away with her crusty tail. “Ah still gotta work today.”

“Yeah, we’ve done enough for one night,” I chuckled back, giving the mare a kiss on the snout. “So… does this mean you’re part of the herd?”

“Well… yes…” Applejack replied, suddenly blushing slightly. “But ah don’t just wanna be another member.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, sitting up and moving the mare to my bare lap.

“Ah…ah wanna be a breedin mare…” Applejack replied a little hesitantly.

“What?” I asked in a mix of shock and confusion.

“Foals, ah want em,” Applejack replied more firmly. “Ah whole heap of em.”

“B-but…” I began to mutter, trying to remember if I knew what a breeding mare was.

“Now before ya go freaking out, a breeding mare is a mare in a herd who wants more than two foals,” Applejack explained, actually helping to calm me down. “Ah know ah gotta wait till Fluttershy has one of her own, but ah wanna have at least four.”

“All at once!?” I asked like an idiot.

“Nah, yah damn idjit,” Applejack replied with a playful smack to my gut. “Over time, probably two ta three years apart each.”

“You’ve already got this stuff planed out huh?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Already got names picked out,” Applejack smiled before rearing up and pulling me into a heavy kiss. “So, what do ya say?”

“If that’s what you want,” I replied, pulling the mare into a hug.

We sat like that for a few more moments until a heavy knocking drew our attention out of the stall we were in and too the barn doors.

“Ya’ll done yet?” Big Mac called in, drawing blushes from me and Applejack. “Breakfast is getting cold.”

“Looks like we should get moving,” I offered, straightening out the mares frazzled mane. “I have work today anyways.”

“And ah got chores to do,” Applejack sighed as she stood up. “Ya’ll still showin up to watch the “Crusaders” tomorrow, right?”

“Unfortunately,” I sighed, reaching over and retrieving my discarded pants and undergarments.

“Ah, hush yer mouth, it aint gonna be that bad,” Applejack chuckled. “Sides, means ah get ta see ya more often.”

“I’m both flattered and confused,” I replied standing up, now fully clothed. “I mean, why do you want to be in my herd? The stories you’ve probably heard can’t be the only reason.”

“Well, yah proved some of those stories true last night,” Applejack giggled as she bumped my side with her flank as she moved over to the discarded blouse and panties. “But really, its just somethin about yah. Ah see yah runnin and working out with Rainbow most mornings and ah kinda find it hot.”

“What, me working out with Rainbow?” I asked as we walked out into the main barn, her clothing being held in a free hoof.

“Its more of the whole sweatin thing,” Applejack replied with a sheepish smile. “I see how hard yer workin and it just gets mah blood runnin. Then ah begin thinkin about how your supposed to be a predator and ah just…”

“Huh, really now?” I chuckled as we made our way to the Apple family house. “As long as you’re sure, I don’t mind. But I’m with Fluttershy first and foremost.”

“Ah get yah and I wouldn’t expect differently,” Applejack replied as we stopped outside of her house. “Ya’ll wanna stay fer breakfast?”

“And get grilled and ridiculed by Granny Smith? No thanks,” I openly laughed, especially at the look of realization in Applejack’s eyes.

“Uh… mind if ah join you fer breakfast?” Applejack asked with an uncomfortable look.

“Sorry AJ, gotta run,” I chuckled as I began to run away, laughing the whole way. “Tell everyone I said h- ugh!”

Unfortunately, as I tried to both run away from the mare and give her a goodbye. I completely missed the large red stallion in my path.

“Ow…” I groaned out as I found that Big Mac was as tough as a brick wall.

“Ya’ll aint tryin to leave without breakfast are ya?” Big Mac asked my crumpled form with a frown.

“W-wouldn’t think of it…” I groaned.
> Chapter Eleven: "Get out now or stay and get weird! Your call, warden!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You know,” I sighed, sitting in the small chair offered to me by Nurse Redheart. “Being asked to come in immediately by you, Redheart, was worrying enough, but she’s just taking it to a whole new level.”

I currently sat in a small medical office with Nurse Redheart after getting a notice that she needed to see me immediately. But when I entered the small room, I found not only Nurse Redheart, but a vibrating Twilight with a smile larger than I’ve seen on Pinkie Pie after an all-night chocolate binge.

My spider senses were tingling.

“Ms. Sparkle, please calm down,” Redheart groaned, giving the other mare a glare. “I went to you first because the Princess said to keep you in the loop if anything came to light.”

“But I can’t help it!” Twilight chirped as her horn lit and she pulled out a clean sheet of parchment from a large stack beside her. “If what you told me is true, this could lead to a whole new avenue of magical and biological study.”

“Yeah, still here,” I quickly interrupted, drawing both mare’s attention. I was beginning to get worried and Twilight was not helping in the slightest.

“I’m sorry sir,” Redheart quickly apologized as she pulled out a few papers from a cabinet to her side. “I wanted to talk to you about your odd ability to breed with all sentient beings.”

“Ooookay?” I asked as Twilight’s continuous vibrations caused me to stare at her for a moment. “I mean, its really weird… but weird is my life now, it seems.”

“No, Christopher, its beyond weird,” Redheart replied sternly as she held out the papers to me. I barely spared them a glance before Twilight snatched them up and began to make her own copies.

I didn’t understand that medical mumbo jumbo anyways, so I didn’t care much.

…I probably should though.

“Something like that should be impossible without the use of magic and potions; and even then, the chances are slim to impossible,” Redheart began to explain, a frown on her face. “When you left the other day, I asked for a few more test to be done… and the results revealed something surprising.

“The reason that you can breed like I said, is because your adapting,” Redheart explained with an even look.

“Well, yeah… I kind of have to, don’t I?” I questioned, not really understanding what she meant. “New environments and all that?”

“No, she means that you are literally ‘adapting’,” Twilight began as she looked over the papers. “They ran several tests and found that your biology is adapting to the magic near it.

“It explains so much!” Twilight cheered as she finally looked at me. “You’re a predator, an unknown species and larger than ponies, yet you didn’t cause much of a panic because on an instinctual level, we felt like you were one of us.”

“That did seem kind of weird,” I replied as I thought about it. “But I still don’t understand.”

“You once told me something,” Twilight began, papers being filled out beside her head in magic. “About how one of humanities greatest abilities is how they can adapt to almost any situation and environment?”

“It’s what got humanity as far as we have,” I nodded as I gave it some more thought. “So… your saying that something is causing my body to adapt at an almost blinding rate?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s that fast, but that seems to be the case,” Redheart replied. “When your magic senses a different species magical signature, it seems to adapt your own biology in a way to basically match. Non-sentient creatures have little to no magic, which would explain why you can only procreate with sentient creatures.”

“That must be why all the humans that arrive here turn into ponies,” I voiced in contemplation, thoughts running through my mind. “By what Celestia said, all the humans they’ve come across turned into ponies because they are only in contact with ponies.

“If they came into contact with other species first, they may have turned into that species because they adapted,” I continued. “And once they’ve changed, they’ve finished adapting?”

“Uh… should we be talking about this around…” Twilight began, sparing Redheart a quick glance.

“I’m Christopher’s assigned medical examiner,” RedHeart replied, glaring at Twilight for a moment. “Princess Celestia signed off on my non-disclosure herself as well as notified me of several other pertinent things.”

“And its thanks to my element that I was able to keep my human form,” I began to mumble to myself. “But if I took it off, would I be able to keep it or has my body adapted fully? And is it really what gave me the ability to use magic or was it something else?”

“Do you understand what this means, Christopher?!” Twilight yelled at me with wide eyes, forcing me to look at her with her front hooves. “With enough test and study, we could probably adapt that kind of ability to work for ponies! Think of the possibilities!”

“You are not strapping me to that damn table again,” I quickly told Twilight, dashing the look of hope she had been developing as I pulled my face away from her. “And this doesn’t sound as good as you think.”

“It’s not,” Redheart agreed. “If ponies got ahold of this kind of information, Christopher would probably be hounded consistently by scientist just to get a blood sample.”

“And then there’s these possibilities,” I added, looking towards Twilight. “Do you know what blood magic is?”

“I-its one of the forbidden magical arts,” Twilight replied as she and Redheart visibly shivered. “It’s one of the most dangerous forms next to necromancy and soul magic. But you shouldn’t have to worry, there hasn’t been a blood mage in decades.”

“But there could be a resurgence if word of my ability spread,” I replied as my mind locked onto Twilights admittance of soul magic. “Who knows what kind of things could be done with my blood alone.”

I had never thought that soul magic could be a thing in this world. But when Twilight said soul magic, my mind locked on to Skyrim and their soul gems… gems that took power by basically draining the souls of other creatures.

“Perhaps we should talk to the Princesses about this?” Twilight offered uncomfortably.

“Yeah… yeah,” I mumbled, still thinking about soul magic. “We should probably check with the few prior humans too, in case they possess this ability as well.”

“I already sent word too Canterlot,” Redheart replied to my suggestion as I began to become lost in my own thoughts. “The samples were old, but indistinguishable from that of a normal pony. If the princess didn’t say otherwise, I would think they had been ponies to begin with.”

“So many questions answered,” I mumbled to myself. “And yet, just as many to be asked still.”


***


“O-ow,” I chirped as Fluttershy continued to clean a small wound on the top of my head. “It’s not that bad Fluttershy.”

“S-sorry,” the mare timidly replied, still working on the wound. “B-but it could g-get infected a-and I don’t want you to get sick… I-if that okay?”

“Thank you Fluttershy, but I’m fine,” I smiled, softly pulling the mare’s hooves away from my head. “All I did was bump my head.”

“You should be careful,” Sweetie Belle chirped from beside us. “My sister says that blood stains the coat and is really hard to get out.”

“Then don’t get any on your fur,” Scootaloo commented as she lay down on her back, staring up at the cloudless sky.

Today was Saturday and my first day of watching the Crusaders. Luckily, all we were doing was cleaning out Applejack’s old clubhouse.

Fluttershy showed up while me and Applejack were inspecting the structure with some snacks and drinks though, surprising us all.

“We’re back!” Apple Bloom called out as she and Applejack returned with some spare wood and tools for repairs.

“Sorry about this,” Applejack sighed as she unhitched herself from her cart of supplies. “Ah didn’t think it would be so bad.”

“It’s okay, sis,” Apple Bloom replied. “It’s still really cool!”

“Yeah, our own clubhouse!” Sweetie Belle chirped, hopping up and down in excitement.

“It’s not that cool…” Scootaloo grumbled under her breath as she got back to her hooves.

“I-I think its sweet,” Fluttershy smiled, sitting firmly in my lap. “I-I had one as a f-filly too… but it was made out of clouds.”

“I always wanted one myself,” I added, scratching Fluttershy’s head. “Never lived somewhere long enough or with a good enough tree to make one though.”

“Well, now we got one!” Apple Bloom proclaimed proudly. “And it’s gonna be the best clubhouse that ever did clubhouse.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Scootaloo grumbled. “Can’t we just get to work on finding our cutie marks already?!”

“Who knows,” I began, not even bothering to look at the annoyed filly. “Maybe you’ll get a cutie mark in clubhouse repair.”

“Really?!” the three crusaders called, growing giant smiles.

Knowing what was about to happen, I once again covered Fluttershy’s ears.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Club House Builders!”

“I really wish ah could help more, but ah gotta get back to work,” Applejack told me once our hearing returned. “I’ll be around to help if yah need it every now and then.”

“Don’t worry, Applejack,” I told the mare, kissing her cheek when she came close enough. “I’ll take of it.”

“I-I can help too,” Fluttershy chirped, surprising me when she grabbed Applejack and gave her a kiss on the lips.

“Uh… I’m just gonna… get tah work,” Applejack mumbled as Fluttershy released her.

“I don’t think she liked that,” Fluttershy commented as Applejack rushed passed the fillies, the group too immersed in going through the tools to notice what happened.

“Some people just don’t like that kind of thing,” I replied as I placed the mare on the ground and stood up. “But we can talk about that another time. For now, we have a treehouse to fix.”

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Applebloom cheered as the three fillies rushed toward us wearing hard hats and carrying hammers. “What do we do first?”

“I have no idea,” I smiled, ready for my next adventure.


***


“This is nice,” Fluttershy sighed as I softly dug into her back with my fingers. After spending a few hours fixing the clubhouse with the crusaders, I spent the rest of the day at my home with Fluttershy.

The mare in question laying on my bed, blissfully sighing as I gave her a small massage while I thought of what I had learned the other day.

“Just how has my adaptability changed me?” I thought while I worked. “And soul magic? Is there some way to confirm this without going to Celestia or Luna?”

“Oh good, thou art home,” a familiar voice echoed from behind as Luna entered my room, drawing me from my thoughts. “We aren’t interrupting anything, are we?”

“P-princess Luna?!” Fluttershy chirped as she noticed the princess, quickly jumping out of my grasp and the bed with a glowing face. “W-what are y-you doing here?”

“We were actually looking for you, young Fluttershy,” Luna smiled as her horn glowed briefly and a thick scroll appeared beside her.

“Huh?! Is that what I think it is?” Fluttershy asked suddenly, her timidness gone in an instant as her eyes locked onto the scroll.

“Yes, it is,” Luna smiled as she floated the paper to a smiling Fluttershy, completely ignoring my confused stare.

“Oh, this is perfect,” Fluttershy smiled as she took the scroll and opened it with shining eyes.

“Uhm… did I miss something?” I asked, just staring at the two of them.

“Oh, sorry,” Fluttershy replied, holding the scroll out for me.

Taking the scroll, I began to look it over while Fluttershy explained what it was.

“It’s a “Herd Registry Form”,” Fluttershy began while sitting back down on the bed. “It’s used to keep track of a herd and its members.”

“It’s something my sister began to help with something called a “Census”,” Luna added as she came up next to me and looked at the form as well.

It was honestly pretty confusing to me as the entire top portion was filled with several paragraphs of legal mumbo jumbo. Below that were several empty boxes marked for a “Herd Stallion”, “Alpha mare” and a “Beta Mare”. The majority of the lower form consisted of a large 20 row table with four columns.

“I get this top portion, but what’s this giant table for? Also, what’s a beta mare?” I asked pointing out the spot to the other two. When I had talked to Velvet, a beta mare was something she hadn’t mentioned.

“The table is for the other members in your herd,” Luna explained, using a free hoof to indicate the large table. “There are spaces for name, race, gender and herd position.”

“And a beta mare is like a second Alpha mare,” Fluttershy began to explain as I continued to stare at the form. My mind slightly blanking at how large it was. “They’re very important when it comes to larger herds because they help keep things organized and moving smoothly.”

“And the reason there are so many spaces?” I asked, trying my best to not glare at Fluttershy.

This was getting horribly out of hand.

“That is the largest limit either me or my sister are able to allow without the nobles sticking their noses into it,” Luna replied with a devious smirk. “You should feel honored, very few ponies are given such limits to begin with.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Fluttershy smiled, missing the look of shock I gave Luna. “W-would you like me to save a space for you?”

“Ah, yes, that reminds me,” Luna chirped as her horn flashed and a large stack of paper appeared before her, the stack being at least an inch thick. “We need Christopher to fill this out by the time of Grand Galloping Gala.”

“That’s just around the corner, what the hell do you need it for?” I asked, starring at the stack of paper in horror.

“Remember how we spoke of keeping our relationship a secret?” Luna began, earning a nod from me. “Well, there is a chance to court a princess of Equestria.

“This form is just the first step,” Luna continued, floating the stack over to my bedside table. “We need you to have this filled out and given to us as soon as possible so that we may ensure they participation in the second part come late fall.”

“I’ll make sure it’s done and that a spot is saved for you, Princess,” Fluttershy replied, completely missing my look of dread. “Thank you again for this princess.”

“It is of no trouble, Fluttershy,” Luna replied, smiling down at the mare. “You would have needed a royal issue either way, seeing as thou both are elements.”

“This is different from a regular form?” I asked, shaking my head and deciding to just go with the flow until I had time to actually think to myself.

“Yes, because of your standing in society, certain precautions must be kept,” Luna began. “There is a magical copy of this form kept in the castle that will mimic this one perfectly. The difference between this one and a normal one is that each area must be filled out individually by the joining party and must then be accepted by both the Alpha mare and herd stallion before it will be “accepted”, so to speak.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, honestly intrigued by what she was explaining.

“If you would?” Luna asked the timid mare next to me as she levitated a quill from a nearby table.

“O-okay…” Fluttershy stuttered as I set the form down for her. I watched as she filled out the space for the Alpha mare and was surprised to see her cutie mark to appear the end of her name, the only thing wrong with it was that it lacked color and was grayed out.

“Now, if you would fill out your space as well Christopher,” Luna said as Fluttershy gave me the quill. With a nod and shrug, I took the quill and filled out my spot, doing my best to prevent anything from splotching.

Once I was finished, I looked at the end, to see if anything would appear and became slightly confused and surprised when a strange looking ball of gray fire appeared.

“Well… at least something showed up,” I shrugged, looking at the gray symbol. “Do you two see that?”

“See what?” Fluttershy asked, looking at the spot with obvious confusion. “M-maybe there’s nothing there because you don’t have a cutie mark.”

I simply stared at Fluttershy for a moment before switching my gaze to an equally baffled Luna.

“Art though okay?” Luna asked, concern and worry in her voice.

“Uh… yeah, I’m fine, sorry,” I replied, deciding that it would be easier to keep the image to myself for now, unsure of what it could mean. “Uh… please, continue.”

“Now, it you would simply touch Fluttershy’s symbol,” Luna indicated. With another nod, I pressed one index finger onto the symbol and watched as color filled in the mark. Fluttershy did the same with my name, causing the mark to color ever so slightly with red and blue, but still remain more grayed out than it probably should have been.

“Now, if somepony were to join your herd, first they must write in the information themselves followed by BOTH of you touching the box with their name,” Luna informed. “This is to prevent any tampering with the form on both ends.”

“Takes a lot of magic to do this huh?” I asked, marveling at the form.

“Which is why it is not more common,” Luna informed, looking at the form with a small smile before looking at me with a slightly pleading look. “You will fill out the other forms, right?”

“Y-yeah, I’ll start on it tonight,” I replied, my mind in a slight haze.

“Thank you,” Luna smiled before taking a step back. “We must be going, but if either of thou have any questions, don’t be afraid to contact us.”

“Thank you once again, Princess Luna,” Fluttershy replied, surprising me once again when she floated up and gave the princess a small hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Hot…” I mumbled to myself as a soft glow began to fill both mare’s faces.

“W-well then,” Luna stuttered, shuffling her wings slightly. “G-good night e-everypony.”

Without another word, the princess left the room, leaving me and Fluttershy alone.

“Well…” I sighed, looking at the form and stack of papers. “There goes our night.”


***


“The form has been delivered sister,” Luna stated as she reappeared in her sister’s room beside a small glowing gem, having just given Christopher and Fluttershy several documents.

“Right… very good,” Celestia absent-mindedly replied staring at an exact copy of the herd form that had just been delivered. “I see young Fluttershy placed her name first.”

“Yes sister, but that’s to be expected seeing as she is the Alpha mare of the herd,” Luna replied.

“Good… good,” Celestia replied, still staring at the paper. “And the other form?”

“Christopher has informed us that he will be looking it over tonight,” Luna replied with a small smile. “There is still time to…”

“Enough,” Celestia interrupted, the form in her magic disappearing in a flash. “This is the only way.”

“Is it sister?” Luna asked with a raised brow.

“You know it is,” Celestia growled, pushing past her sister. “I have a meeting to attend.”

Luna couldn’t help but sigh as she watched her sister storm out of the room, a scowl clearly marking her face.


***


“I’ll admit, I’m slightly shocked and a little disappointed,” I mumbled to myself, while looking over the forms Luna had brought me to fill out. It had already been two days and I had barely gotten though two pages of legal script.

By what I could make out of it so far, it was a bunch of releases on several things. It reminded me of the time I had to sign a form to ride a dangerous ride in an amusement park.

Which made sense, seeing as it was an entry form for a fucking tournament!

When I found that out, I immediately went to Twilight so I could talk to the Celestia or Luna.

But Twilight was able to tell me more about it, saying that her brother participated once.

It was a combat tournament between all the races on the planet that was held every few years. Not only would the rulers set up wages and bets, but a boon from each nation was given to fighters who fulfilled certain conditions.

Which was probably the thing that I needed to add Luna to the herd.

“Why am I even doing this again?” I asked no one in particular. It was early in the morning and everyone else in house was asleep, including my bedmate, Applejack. “And why is it always fighting?”

The mare had decided to spend the night after filling out her information on the herd form. The second name to be added to the lower table.

The only other pony to add their name was Valiant. Gilda said she would, but she had to settle a family issue first and Vinyl was attending a concert in Manehatten… how that was possible with her being deaf slightly confusing me.

Twilight fainted.

But after she woke up and calmed down enough to talk, she said she would sign after talking more with her family and brother. The two of them were close and I honestly didn’t want their relationship to suffer since I was pretty sure I wasn’t on Shining’s well-liked list.

Rarity said she still wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted and then proceeded to go on about her fool proof plan to convince Prince Blueblood to be hers.

I gave her a pity pat on the head before leaving.

“Granny always said to watch out fer the ones that talk to themselves,” Applejack’s slightly tired voice suddenly rang out, causing me to jump slightly.

“Whoever said I was talking to myself,” I chuckled back, giving the mare a playful shove as she sat up beside me. “You never know who could be watching.”

“Now ya’ll are startin ta sound like, Pinkie Pie,” Applejack playfully glared at me.

“Perish the thought,” I replied while looking towards one of my windows. I could see the moon beginning to set off in the distance as the marks of night were beginning to end. “Earlier than I thought… that why your awake?”

“That and ah thought ah’d treat ya to some Apple family cookin,” Applejack smiled as she gave me a peck on the cheek. “And ya’ll better get used to it too.”

“If its anything like Spike’s cooking, then I’m all for it,” I smiled, deciding to get out of the bed anyways. The sun was going to rise in another hour at least anyways. “For someone so young, he’s one hell of a cook.”

“Ah’ll have tah remember that,” Applejack smirked as she stood up with me. “Ya’ll got work today?”

“Nope,” I replied taking a good stretch. “Aloe and Lotus said they were closing up shop today for the big storm today. Why you’re having such a large storm in the summer though, I can only guess.”

“Somethin’ bout a quota, by what Dash was tellin me,” Applejack replied as she made her way out of the room while I followed close behind. “Since ya’ll aint workin today, ya’ll mind helpin some of us in the town prepare fer the storm? Got to get some loss things takin care of and we could always use the help.”

“Sure, no problem,” I replied with a shrug as we made it downstairs and went towards the kitchen. “Might be a good chance for me to work on my magic too.”

“As long as ya know what yer doin,” Applejack replied as she headed towards my fridge. “We gotta take care of some spots by the library today, so maybe we could ask fer Twi’s help too?”

“I don’t see why not,” I shrugged, reaching for one of the apples the farmer pulled from my fridge.

“Oh, no ya don’t,” Applejack snapped, slapping my reaching hand away with a free hoof. “Ah’m using these fer breakfast, so ya’ll can just go sit down and wait. Better yet, go take a bath, yah smell a bit.”


***


“Last one, right AJ?” I asked while lifting my branch cutter up to its target. Thanks to working with both Twilight and Luna, I now had a good enough grasp on my magic and mental power to create small, yet simple objects that I could use. The branch cutter being one of them and cutting a lot of the work in half.

It made me glade that no one on this planet know who the Green Lantern was.

I don’t need that kind of humiliation.

“Yep,” Applejack replied around the rope in her mouth. After cutting through most of the branch, the mare gave a hardy tug, pulling the branch down. “Didn’t think we’d get that one before the storm hit.”

“Hmm. Hah! Perfect,” a familiar pony called out from somewhere behind us. Allowing my branch cutter to dissipate in the wind, I turned to look at the local fashionista. The mare currently finishing up another, “work of art” as she called it.

“Just take the broken limbs down, Rarity,” Applejack sighed before clearing her mouth with a quick spit. “Don’t ya’ll care about nothin’ other than prettifyin’?”

“Somepony has to,” Rarity replied, looking slightly insulted. “You two were making an absolute mess of the town square.”

“Hey, it was one trash can and it was on accident,” I replied with a frown, directing my own glare at the mare.

“Yeah, well, the storm’s gonna make an even bigger mess if we don’t prune all these loose branches so they don’t tumble down on anypony,” Applejack explained with an unamused expression.

“I simply cannot imagine why the Pegasus ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could have been a glorious sunny day,” Rarity faintly whined, the wind starting to pick up. “Did they miss another sprinkle?”

“I bet Rainbow Dash slept through it again,” I chuckled to myself, moving over and creating a pair of large hedge trimmers. Before the fashionista could stop me, I made short work of the branches she was working with and put them in a safe place with magic.

“Hey, I worked hard on that,” Rarity whined as her eyes slightly watered.

“Thank ya, Chris,” Applejack nodded to me and earning a frown from Rarity.

“And here I thought you would have liked a little class in your day,” Rarity grumbled to the mare as the first drops of rain began to fall. “Oh no! My wonderfully styled mane shale be ruined!”

“Yah should’ve finished the job already,” Applejack chastised as I began to snicker, watching the mare try to hide from the increasing rainfall and wind.

“Oh! Ah! Oh! Ph! It’s coming down too fast!” Rarity called out as she tried in vain to get out of the rain. “Ah! Oh! Oh! Ah! Help me!”

“Uh, there,” Applejack directed, pointing towards a nearby bench. “Hunker down to yer hearts content whilst we finish things.”

“Three bits says she won’t do it,” I quickly offered before the white mare screamed out.

“Oh, no, no, no!” Rarity denied, her eyes locked on the mud under the bench.

“Ah aint takin that bet,” Applejack replied to me before looking over at Rarity as the storm continued to grow. “And what is it now?”

“I prefer not to get my hooves muddy,” Rarity replied, turning her nose up into the air.

“Guh. There is just no pleasin’ ya, is there?” Applejack groaned as she looked back at me. “Y’all got anythin?”

“A wet set of clothing,” I shrugged, pointing at my simple black shirt and blue pants.

“Which is a travesty!” Rarity snorted, ignoring the surrounding rain for a moment. “I did not make those to be worn in the rain and muddying my hooves serves no purpose here.”

“Ya’ll wouldn’t know useful if it came up and bit yah in the flank,” Applejack almost growled.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Rarity replied with her own growl.

“Does so,” Applejack replied.

“Does not,” Rarity replied, taking a step forward.

“Does so,” Applejack replied as the two continued to bicker between themselves as they stepped close enough to press their faces together.

“It would be great if you two just kissed now,” I blurted out with a smirk.

“Pervert,” Rarity snapped as Applejack just glared at me.

“What? You two aren’t the only two here that are wet and irritable right now,” I groaned out. “And I’ve literally had sex with both of you, so I can think what I want.”

“Then maybe somepony should stop before they say something they regret,” Applejack replied looking back at Rarity.

“On the contrary, I believe it shall most certainly be you, who says something you will regret first,” Rarity replied, glaring at Applejack.

“I’m not sayin’ anything’,” Applejack replied.

“Nor am I,” Rarity countered.

“Am I still a part of this?” I asked, finding myself being ignored now.

“Y’all just be on yer way, then,” Applejack offered, pointing Rarity towards a random direction.

“After you!” Rarity countered instead.

“Now I remember what’s going on,” I said to myself, covering my ears just in time to block out the loud crack of thunder that immediately followed.

“Perhaps we should stick together for now and find some shelter,” Rarity mildly stuttered as she and Applejack grabbed one another after the crack.

“Uh-huh,” Applejack nodded. “Perhaps we should, and fast.”

“And que the intro!” I chuckled out pointing towards the library with both hands and a turn, earning confused looks from the other two.

“I’ll tell you another time,” I replied, watching as Applejack began to crawl under the bench, accumulating a bit of mud.

“Oh! Unacceptable,” Rarity groaned as it looked as if she were weighing her options.

“Don’t you live a few blocks away?” I asked, mostly to myself. If Rarity had left back when she first began to complain, she’d have been home already.

“Applejack! Rarity! Chris!” I heard Twilight’s voice call out from behind us.

“Twilight?” Rarity and Applejack asked together, turning to look at the library that was only a few feet away.

“Hi Twilight, is Spike home?” I called out to the mare.

“Yes, he is, now get in here before you all catch a cold,” Twilight called back as she stood at the library’s entrance.

“Whoa, nelly,” Applejack commented as she crawled out and led the charge to the library. “Is inside a tree really the best place to be in a lightning storm?”

“It is if you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do,” Twilight replied as she moved to the side to allow us inside. “Come on in!”

“Thanks Twilight,” I replied as the other two also shared their thanks.

“Uh, do be a polite house guest and go wash up please, won’t you?” Rarity said pointing down to the mud Applejack was about to track in.

“If I gotta spend one more…” Applejack began, falling silent when I picked the muddy mare up.

“Mind if we use your bathroom, Twilight? And some towels?” I asked the bookish mare, while Applejack blushed slightly in my arms. “I gotta get outta these cloths before I catch a cold myself.”

“Uh…sure?” Twilight said with a slightly confused smile.

“Let’s go apple butt!” I chuckled caring the mare up to Twilight’s bathroom.

“Y’all know ya like it,” Applejack giggled back.

“No funny business in my bathroom!” Twilight called after us.


***


“Thanks for drying my cloths Spike,” I told the small dragon as I watched him prepare some snacks for everyone.

“No problem, Chris, what are friends for?” Spike replied as he pulled out a large tray of baked goods out of the stove.

After helping Applejack get cleaned off, which only involved some mild heavy petting, the two of us came down to find Twilight gushing about having us all stay over for a sleepover. She was so excited about it that she completely missed the fact that I was in nothing but a towel. Although, Rarity did and the mare wouldn’t look away until Spike showed up with my dry cloths.

“Being awesome,” I replied to the drake, snagging a chip from the bowl in front of me and chowing down. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Canterlot?”

“I got done early and Princess Celestia sent me back with magic,” Spike replied with a shrug. “She kept looking at a scroll with a scowl, so I guess she was a little distracted.”

“Hope it’s nothing bad,” I commented, slightly concerned.

“She wouldn’t let me look at it, so I don’t know,” Spike replied with a frown. “You mind helping me take these out to the others?”

“Sure,” I replied, picking up the rest of the snacks in my magic and following the drake out into the main library.

“Chow time!” I called out as the two of us placed the food on the main table.

“Now that’s what ah’m talkin’ about,” Applejack smiled as she moved first to grab something. Rarity simply glared at the mare while Twilight was still reading over her sleepover book.

“Good, now that the snacks are here, we can begin with the next part,” Twilight chirped a moment later.

“And what would that be Twilight?” Spike asked as he took a seat beside me on a couch that had been pulled out of nowhere apparently.

“Party games!” Twilight cheered as she snapped her book closed. “I was thinking we could start with…”

“Why don’t we play spin the bottle?” Rarity asked with a devious smirk. “We have enough ponies here and I have a few good ideas.”

“Rarity has ideas! Quick, someone grab a fire extinguisher!” I cackled out, earning a glare from the mentioned mare. “I’m up for it; Truth and Dare version, right?”

“I’ve never heard of this game,” Spike added innocently.

“I’m game then too,” Applejack replied, looking over at the fashionista with her own challenging glare. “Ah aint fraid oh nothin’.”

“I was actually hoping to play Pictionary, but if thats what you all want to play,” Twilight relented as an empty glass bottle appeared in her magic, a slight frown on her face. “So… what do we do?”

“Simple,” I said, snatching the bottle out of the air. “First, we all sit together in a circle, evenly spaced.”

With that, I quickly stood up and pushed the couch out of the way, making a space for everyone to sit. First was me with Spike to my left and Applejack to my right. Rarity sat next to Spike while Twilight was beside Applejack.

“Next, we place the bottle on the ground on its side and spin it,” I explained, doing the actions as I spoke. “Whoever it lands on, I’ll ask “Truth or Dare”.”

“And from there, its self-explanatory dear,” Rarity added as the bottle began to slow down. A few moments later, the bottle stopped, pointing at the fashionista.

“Here we go then,” I smirked, looking at Rarity. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth, dear,” Rarity replied with a smile. “I have nothing to hide.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked, smirking towards the mare. “Do you have mane extensions?”

“W-wha, wha, WHAT?!” Rarity chirped out in a shock, staring at me like I just burned her house down with a smile. “W-why w-would you even think that?!”

“Just answer the question, Rarity,” Applejack smirked. “Y’all got nothin’ ta hide, right?”

“Huff, fine then,” Rarity grumbled, looking at me with a scowl before answering under her breath. “Yes… I do.”

“Alright then,” I smirked. “Your turn.”

“I’ll get you for that one, Christopher,” Rarity glared as she smacked the bottle with a hoof, sending it spinning. We all watched it spin rapidly before slowing down and pointing at Twilight.

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Rarity smirked deviously as she looked at the slightly worried mare. “Truth or dare, darling?”

“Uh… I don’t know,” Twilight stuttered, looking uncertain. “D-dare?”

“Very well… I dare you,” Rarity began, leaning forward with a smile. “to spend the rest of night without looking in a single book.”

“What!?” Twilight shrieked, a look of pure horror on her face as I held a hand to my slightly pained ears.

“Them the rules Twilight,” Applejack giggled as the rest of us chuckled together. “Y’all aint gonna break the rules now, right?”

“N-no… but my books,” Twilight pouted cutely, her ears folding downward.

“Try not to think about it, Twilight,” Spike offered with a smile. “It’s your turn now.”

“This isn’t very fun,” Twilight huffed as she spun the bottle using her magic. It continued its spin until it landed on me.

“Dare,” I automatically blurted out, honestly wanting to see what the mare would have me do.

“Okay… um, what to have you do?” Twilight spoke to herself for a few moments before a devious smirk appeared. “I dare you to spend the rest of the night in nothing but your underwear.”

“Whoa, looks like someone’s taking after their mother,” I blurted out in shock, chuckling uncomfortably as my eyes drifted to Spike. “But let’s keep this PG- 13 okay?”

“PG what?” Twilight asked as she and all the others stared at me in confusion.

“Well, y’all heard the mare,” Applejack voiced after a few moments of silence. “If ya’ll are worried about doin somthin inappropriate, you should remember that everypony else don’t even wear cloths to begin with, so this shouldn’t be bad fer Spike.”

“Damn,” I sighed while standing up and beginning to disrobe once again. “I’m counting on you to help keep the testosterone in this circle Spike.”

“Uh… what?” Spike blankly replied, staring at me as I sat back down in nothing but a pair of underpants. “Taste… pasta what?”

“Never mind…” I sighed, feeling my face light up slightly as I spun the bottle.

“Now we’re talkin’,” Applejack smirked as the bottle landed on her. “Give me yer best shot! Dare!”

“Alright… how about…”


***


“I think this should be the last one,” Twilight yawned before I could take my last turn. “It’s getting kind of late and most of us still need to get cleaned up.”

After playing for over an hour now, Applejack was in a pick dress and had makeup, Rarity was covered in mud and her mane had been completely destroyed. Spike was sitting uncomfortably on my shoulders as the result of a dare from Applejack, and Twilight was covered in flower.

“Just hurry and get it over with!” Rarity whined as she shuddered. “I can feel mud in places there shouldn’t be!”

“Give me a second…” I grumbled, still annoyed by the mare’s last question.

Flicking the bottle, I watched it spin. “All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel.”

“Not again…” Applejack sighed without her accent, the result of a prior dare as the bottle ended on her. “Alright, I’ll take one last dare then.”

“I dare you… to proclaim pears as your favorite food while I record it,” I smirked while grabbing my phone from my nearby pants.

“I’ll get you for this, just so you know,” Applejack huffed before taking a deep breath.

Following the beep of my phones recorder, Applejack completed the dare.

“Pears are my favorite food!” she growled out.

“Good enough,” I shrugged as I felt Spike begin to crawl down my shoulders, his scales dragging down my back slightly.

“Finally!” Rarity shriek before disappearing up the stairs, the sound of water running following almost just as fast.

“That was actually kind of fun,” Twilight giggled with a sheepish smile. After the first few dares, the mare stuck with mostly truth questions, the worst being if she was ever caught touching herself.

Rarity asked it.

Twilight didn’t understand what she meant by “touch herself”.

It was funny.

Until I remembered Spike was there.

“I hope you don’t mind sleeping down here on the couch Chris…” Twilight told me with a slightly guilty look. “My bed’s not that big and Rarity and Applejack are taking the extra one.”

“It’s no problem, Twilight,” I replied as I watched Applejack undress and remove her make up. If it weren’t for the drowsy dragon standing next to me, I would have found it arousing.

“Do you mind if I stay down here with you Chris?” Spike asked while wiping at his tired eyes.

“Yeah, sure,” I replied, standing up. “Time to sleep little dude.”

“Night Twilight, night Applejack,” Spike yawned, pulling a large basket out from behind the couch.

Little guy planned this out from the beginning.

“Night Spike, night Chris,” the two replied before heading upstairs.

“So, where are the spare blankets?” I asked while watching Spike fluff the pillow in his basket.

“Back closet,” Spike replied, pointing the door out. A few minutes later, I had the couch set up for me to sleep somewhat comfortably as it was just slightly too small for me.

“Alright then…” I shrugged while turning out all the lights.

Once that was done, I laid down on the couch as Spike got into his basket.

“Night, Spike.”

“N-night, Chris,” the young drake replied as he culled up in his basket. A few minutes later, I fell to sleep.


***


“HOLY SHIT!” I shouted out sitting up, finding myself suddenly alone, the morning sunlight just barely immerging from a nearby window.

“Chris, are you okay?!” Spike shouted as he rushed into the room from the kitchen, a frilly pink apron wrapped around himself.

“W-what… huh?” I huffed out, looking around in a slightly confused panic. “Just… just a bad dream.”

“You can still have those?” Spike asked, scratching his head with a wooden spoon. “Didn’t you say the princess made it so you couldn’t?”

“Unless Luna wants me to,” I puffed out, wrapping myself up in the blanket instinctively. Even though I couldn’t remember it, something about the dream still lingered and made me feel jittery.

“Who the hay is yellin’ so early?” Applejack grumbled as she stepped down the stairs looking freshly showered and just about ready for the day. “Other ponies are still sleepin’.”

“Chris had a bad dream,” Spike replied before I could, looking worried.

“Probably from all those late-night snacks,” Applejack chuckled, giving me a devious smirk. “Ya’ll don’t wanna regain all that weight yah lost now, do yah?”

“I will have a six pack! This I swear!” I blurted out, revealing my naked upper body. While I had lost a good amount of fat and gained muscle, I still hadn’t achieved my goal of a six pack.

“Why ya’ll still in nothin’ but yer britches?” Applejack questioned with a raised brow.

“Meh,” I shrugged as the mare walked over to a staring Spike.

“Need some help in the kitchen, Spike?” Applejack asked, looking towards Spike who gave a quick nod.

“So, Applejack, anything exciting happen last night?” I asked while getting up and retrieving my clothing.

“Sorry if our ruckus woke yah last night,” Applejack replied, adapting an apologetic look. “Me and Rarity got into it a bit again and ended up braking one oh Twi’s windows.”

“But it’s all better?” I asked as I finished buttoning my pants.

“Actually, yeah,” Applejack chuckled. “She may be a prissy fro fro pony, but ah can’t let that kinda stuff get ta me. We both live different lives, but we aint all that different in the end.”

“Friends through and through,” I replied with a smile. “Now let’s go see who can make better flap jacks.”


***


“Only one week left until the Gala,” I spoke to the room as I finished the last few entries for the form Luna had given me. “You’re obviously going to be there, but what about your sister?”

“Unfortunately, Luna has decided against it,” Celestia sighed as she took another bite of the cake in front of her. “Most nobles still fear her and tend to be either petitioning to have her locked up or have the monkey banished.”

“I’m not a monkey…” I groaned out as I leaned back in my chair. “And I bet they’re not actually afraid of her being Nightmare Moon as much as her being introduced to the court.”

“Oh, most defiantly,” Celestia chuckled around her food. “They think they’ve been whittling me down, but I’ve been at this game for a long time.”

“Nah,” I shook my head, looking over the forms one final time. “You ponies’ just don’t know how to work with fine print and loop holes. You bring a human politician or lawyer here and they’d have your whole system burning down within a week.”

“That’s something one the last humans said too,” Celestia sighed as she leaned back on the couch. “Are you done with it yet? It’s getting late and I need my beauty sleep.”

“Oh yeah, it’s doing wonders by the way,” I couldn’t help but reply sarcastically. Yes, by pony standards, Celestia was the hottest thing alive and was the thing that made colts go into an early puberty. But I didn’t need to tell her that. “Maybe you should add a few hours to that schedule. You might actually get someone then.”

“I’ll have you know that I have daily suitors lining up at the castle consistently,” Celestia pointed out as her horn began to glow. Instead of crushing my head, all she did was take the forms in her magic and float them over to herself.

“And yet you’re still single,” I pointed out.

“I’ve just yet to find somepony that I find to be a good partner,” Celestia replied as she looked over the forms with a slightly blank look. “I don’t need a partner that grovels at my hooves or one that would use the position for their own gain.”

“I’m sure there’s one out there,” I honestly replied. “Then when you find them, you make little itty bitty alicorn foals.”

“Hopefully one day,” Celestia smiled as she stared at the forms in front of her. For the next few minutes, the both of us sat in silence with me staring at Celestia and her staring at the forms in front of her with a slightly blank look.

“Celestia, you okay?” I asked, causing the mare to jump slightly.

“O-oh, sorry,” the mare replied as the forms suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. “Got a little lost for a moment.”

“As all of my friends and family used to say to me,” I began, adapting a slight smirk. “You need to get laid.”

“Pervert,” Celestia replied with a frown as she went back to eating her cake in a huff.

“Just telling you how it is,” I shrugged, enjoying the little back and forth. “But everything on the forms were correct, right?”

“Yes, everything looked to be in order,” Celestia replied as she began to lay down fully on the couch she was on.

“What are you…” I began to asked before a knocking at my front door drew my attention.

“I’ll be right back,” I told the princess as I stood up made my way to the front door.

Upon opening it, I was actually surprised at who I found waiting for me.

“Mr. Rich and Diamond Tiara? What are you doing here?” I asked the two in surprise. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Good evening Mr. Christopher,” Diamond greeted with a small bow of her head.

“Good evening Christopher,” Mr. Rich nodded. “I actually came here to talk to you about the incident with my daughter’s cutecinera.”

“Daddy!” Diamond groaned in a huff.

“I know sweetie, just let me finish,” Mr. Rich told his daughter before turning back to me. “I wanted to both thank you for making sure my daughter made it home safely and apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused you.”

“O-oh…” was all I could say in a reply. I was honestly not expecting this, especially with it having been a while since the party.

“I recently got back from a business trip and found that my wife had okayed her party before my return,” Mr. Rich explained, sounding disappointed. “I was appalled to find that not only had the party occurred without me to begin with, but that my wife didn’t even bother to show up.”

“Daddy!” Diamond whined with an embarrassed glow noticeable in the new night light.

“Either way, thank you once again and sorry for any inconveniences,” Mr. Rich repeated before he turned and looked down at his daughter. “What do we say Diamond?”

“T-thank you,” Diamond Tiara answered as she looked down at the ground.

“U-uh… yeah… sure,” I replied, still in shock.

“Well then, we need to be going. It is getting past a little filly’s bed time after all,” Mr. Rich chuckled, looking down at his daughter.

“Daddy!” Diamond squeaked, her pink face turning a scarlet red. “I’m not a filly anymore! I got my cutie mark!”

“Oh, that’s right,” Mr. Rich chuckled as he turned and began to leave with Diamond following him instinctively.

I continued to watch the two of the them retreat into the streets, unable to comprehend what just happened.

“I guess… that happened,” I mumbled to myself while closing the door carefully. Making my way back to the living room, I found a sleeping pony princess on my couch.

“That’s cute,” I couldn’t help but say. Celestia was curled up against the back of the couch, taking up all the cushions due to her size.

Taking a moment to look, I noticed that she actually had some pretty heavy bags under her eyes and looked slightly stressed.

“I’m sure Luna will keep things calm,” I quietly told myself while grabbing the blanket I kept draped over the back of the couch and placed it over my shoulder.

Working carefully, I removed Celestia’s regalia and placed them on the coffee table. I couldn’t help but marvel at how soft her coat felt, finding it softer than Rarity’s and smoother than Fluttershy’s.

“How you are still single must be one of the great wonders of the world,” I quietly said as I covered the large mare in the blanket. Once that was done, I decided to just nap in my chair incase either Celestia woke up or someone came home.

“I wonder what adventure happens next,” I quietly hummed before falling into a dreamless sleep.
> Chapter Twelve: "He's a mole. I think he eats the dirt."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Christopher, are you sure you’re okay?” Aloe asked as she noticed me rub my cheek again.

This morning, I had woken up to a slap in the side of the face by an enraged Alicorn, who apparently didn’t like the fact that I stripped her in her sleep.

Not that anyone would like that.

“I’m fine,” I sighed while looking at my reflection in a nearby mirror. The swelling had gone down and all that was left was a light red hoof mark. “Nothing I probably didn’t deserve.”

“Well, Miss Rarity is here and she wanted to ask you something,” Aloe stated as she looked the mark over herself. I couldn’t help but notice the slight perfume she wore, a slight strawberry mix.

“Whatever you say boss,” I chuckled, bopping the mare on the nose and earning a glaring giggle.

“Carful now, Christopher,” Aloe told me while flicking my nose with a hoof as well. “No fraternization at work.”

“Whatever you say boss,” I repeated as I stood up and made my way to the lobby where I found both Rarity and Spike.

“Hey guys, something I can help you with?” I asked the two of them with a smile.

“Yes, well you see,” Rarity began with a fluttering of her eyes. “With the Gala only a week away, I’ve had a lot of orders for revisions and am, unfortunately, low on gems.”

“So, we’re going to go get some,” Spike continued, holding out a small pail and shovel. “and we were hoping you could come with us.”

“Yes, it would put my nerves at ease knowing such a gallant and strong stallion came with us,” Rarity added as she came up beside me and rubbed herself against my side, flicking her tail against my leg as she did.

“Rarity, there’s no need to try and flirt your way into getting me to help,” I told the mare, shaking my head slightly. “I just need permission from my bosses, you know that.”

“And for Miss Rarity, who is one of our best customers, there’s no need to ask,” Lotus replied, surprising me with the fact that she was running the front at the time.

“Oh, thank you, Lotus darling,” Rarity smiled at the mare before grabbing my right hand in her magic and beginning to lead me to the door. “I’ll be sure to bring him back in just a few hours and please leave an opening for me as well. I tend to get a little dirty during this type of thing.”

“Of course, Miss Rarity,” Lotus nodded as I was finally pushed through the door. “Have a good day everypony.”


*  *  *


“This still shouldn’t be possible,” I mumbled while looking over the fist sized ruby in my hand.

“Oh hush,” Rarity replied as she pointed Spike to another deposit. “We’ve already discussed that this is how gems work in Equestria. Now please continue to clean them off of any excess dirt.”

“As you command mistress,” I replied with a slight grumble. The only good thing about all this, so far, was that she had at least let me change into more outdoorsy cloths before dragging me to the gem field. It was defiantly going to make what would happen at any moment now, a lot more bearable.

And I was once again carrying my gun under a light jacket, in case things didn’t go as smoothly as they did in the show.

“So, is it hard to get gems where you’re from?” Spike asked as he continued to shovel away dirt with his tail.

“Wars have been fought to get ahold of what my planet has,” I replied while looking over a large green gem. “And they’re nowhere near these sizes.”

“That sounds dreadful,” Rarity replied with a sad frown. “Lives lost for something we ponies’ see as simple everyday things.”

“But why fight over them?” Spike asked as he placed a new pile of gems in front of me. “Couldn’t they have more if they just worked together to get them?”

“If only it were that easy,” I sighed while looking over the clean gems I had stacked inside of the wagon.

“Well, let’s just do away with this dreadful discussion,” Rarity interrupted as she looked at me with a raised brow. “Perhaps you could explain to me why you are wearing your… ‘head lamp’, was it?”

“Reasons,” I replied with a shrug, adjusting the strap to the small light on my head. “Might need to look into some holes or something.”

“Like that isn’t foreboding at all,” Spike muttered, catching mine and Rarity’s attention with his comment.

“Why, whatever do you mean, Spike?” Rarity asked out of concern.

“Just something I heard Twilight talking about once,” Spike quickly replied while giving me an apologetic smile. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Well, now I can’t help but be slightly worried,” Rarity replied as she looked around the area with a growing look of fear. “Perhaps it is best that we lea-“

“No leaving!” a voice suddenly called out in an annoying, yet gravely tone.

All three of us turned and watched as three diamond dogs exited a nearby bush and made their way towards us threateningly.

“Pony knows how find gems!” the taller dog spoke in broken English. If I was remembering things right, the red vested one was Rover and leader of their little group. “Pony find us gems and lizard dig!”

“Yeah, that’s not how things are gonna go down,” I chuckled, drawing the attention of all three dogs as I gave them my own glare. “Now why don’t you mutts get outta here before I put you through some obedience training.”

“Silence monkey!” Rover shouted back at me as his two companions growled threateningly. 

“Chris, maybe you shouldn’t instigate them,” Spike whispered towards me while looking at the three dogs in worry.

“Spike, let me give you some advice about dogs,” I replied loud enough for the diamond dogs to hear me. “Never give in to them. Show them that you’re the alpha dog in charge first and for most.”

“R-really?” Spike asked as he looked over at me. “But what if… Chris look out!”

“What?!” I blurted, looking behind me and coming face to face with a wooden club.

THWACK!

“CHRISTOPHER!” I heard both Rarity and Spike shout before everything went black.


*  *  *


“Oh, hello Christopher,” Luna chirped as I found myself in my dreamscape. “We are quite surprised to see thou here at this time.”

“Uh… I was… I think I got knocked out by a diamond dog?” I offered with a sheepish smile. “Uh… what are you doing here?”

“Ah, yes,” Luna huffed as her draconic eyes seemed to glare off into the distance, ignoring my question of why she was in my head. “Celestia told us that those mangy mutts were still around. They apparently haven’t gotten any smarter since my banishment.”

“I’m ashamed to say that they’ve probably already captured both me and Rarity,” I told Luna with a heavy sigh.

“And why would they do that?” Luna asked as she suddenly glared at me, a chill running up my spine. “Are you to say that they are holding you two hostage?”

“I-I’m sure I could easily get us out,” I stuttered out in fear. “I-I mean, they’re just a bunch of dogs, right?”

“Quiet,” Luna nodded with a stern look. “When you awaken, ensure the safety of your fellow element bearer and make a return to Ponyville. Do whatever you can to ensure you both make it back safely.”

“You don’t honestly think it will be that bad?” I couldn’t help but ask. 

“I’m not sure,” Luna replied. “But if they feel the need to abduct citizens, they should be willing to suffer the consequences. As such, I’ll also prepare the guards to remove this pack from the area.”

“Are they not supposed to be here?” I asked her.

“According to my sister, they have been allowed to occupy certain areas on the basis that they do not harm our ponies in any way,” Luna replied. “If anything, we will have them detained and brought before both myself and Celestia to be put on trial.”

“That seems like a lot,” I couldn’t help but voice, even though I fully understood that.

“You and the other elements are of high importance to Equestria and her safety,” Luna told me with a stern gaze. “To threaten any of you, is to threaten the crown and shall be handled accordingly.”

“Good to know…” I mumbled, finding that information surprising. “So be careful when it comes to legal issues… got it.”

“Exactly,” Luna nodded before she looked at me with a raised brow. “You will be waking momentarily. Please… stay safe.”

“I will, Luna,” I told the princess with a confident grin. “I promise.”


*  *  *


“What it be?” A garbled voice asked as my groggy mind began to awaken. A throbbing in my head drawing a small groan from me, but nothing else.

“It awake?!” another one voiced, noticing my groan.

“And its annoyed,” I groaned out as I forced my eyes open, only to be greeted by near absolute darkness.

“Strange monkey be quiet!” one of the voices barked. Small glimmers of light could be seen from somewhere else, but little of it made it to where I was.

“Where the hell am I?” I grumbled as I carefully stood up, the pounding in my head subsiding surprisingly fast.

“No ask questions monkey!” one of the guards barked, revealing themselves as nothing more than two hulking masses of black in the current darkness.

“I’m not a monkey!” I snapped back before a strange itch drew my attention to a worrying revelation.

“M-my element?!” I yelled in shock and fear, finding my right wrist bare, a quick check to ensure I still had my gun and head lamp did nothing to settle my fraying nerves. “What the fuck did you mangy mutts do with it?!”

“What monkey talk about?” one of my guards asked the other as if I weren’t there.

“Me think it talk about shiny thing it wear,” the other replied before its black mass turned towards me. “We take shiny thing. Monkey no need.”

“How dare you take that!” I snapped, rushing forward in a slight panic. 

Only to crash into metal bars that I missed in the darkness.

“Monkey stupid,” one guard said as the other simply laughed in a rough way. 

“Me get monkey banana,” one guard said as he began to walk off. His body becoming harder to see.

“Get back here!” I snapped reaching out towards the mass. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still had access to my magic, as it quickly latched onto the guard and pulled it back towards me, slamming it into the cage I was apparently in.

“Wh-what?!” the other guard chirped as it looked down at its unconscious companion. 

“Hey, flea bag!” I called, gaining their attention. Before he could do anything, I flipped on my head lamp to full beam.

“Gah!” the dog yelled as he was blinded. Before he could react, I reached through the bars and grabbed his crudely made breast plate and slammed him against the bars several times, knocking him out with his companion.

“Wow…” I panted, looking down at the two unconscious dogs, my head lamp revealing them fully. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

I was surprised that what I just did had actually worked, let alone the fact that I was able to do magic without the element.

“If I can still use magic without it… does that mean I don’t need it anymore?” I asked myself while inspecting my wrist. Even though I had been wearing the bracer for so long, there were no tan lines and the skin didn’t feel raw, only a little itchy.

“I need to get it back fast, just in case,” I told myself, looking at my bare wrist. It was the one thing that was supposedly preventing me from turning into a pony and every minute without it could be the one where I get changed irreversibly.

After I got it back though…

“Now then,” I grumbled while turning the brightness down and looking for an exit.

Luckily, I didn’t have to look far and found a door to the cage just a few feet to my left. Looking it over, I quickly realized just how dumb these dogs were.

“It’s like they didn’t know I had thumbs,” I chuckled as I reached through the bars and opened the simple latch that simply needed to be twisted to open.

Stepping out, I looked at the two unconscious masses and set to work in trapping them in the cage they just had me in.

“You fuckers are heavier than I thought,” I grumbled as I set the second one against the back wall. It wasn’t so much as them being heavy, as much as the smell seemed to mess with everything.

“You two reek…” I groaned as I looked over the two for anything useful which turned out to be a whole lot of nothing.

“Great, now what?” I asked myself while looking around the room my cell was in. There was only one exit, but my head lamp revealed several small holes in the ceiling.

“Must be for ventilation,” I mumbled before looking towards the exit. I was about to make my way before the smell got to me again.

“Smells horribly,” I grumbled before I realized something.

Dogs have a great sense of smell and I probably smelled of sun shine and roses compared to them, making me an easy target even if I could hide.

“Maybe if could rub myself down in dirt?” I spoke to myself, not wanting to do the urine trick. Looking back into the cage, I realized that I could probably snag one of their helmets and carry that to at least help mask the smell.

“Damn, you look all kinds of fugly,” I told the sleeping dog after taking his helmet. They looked a little like pit bulls.

“Puts us jar heads to shame,” I mumbled as I used my belt to attach the helmet to my side. 

Closing the cell and bending the latch with a little magic, I turned my light down to its red low light and slowly made my way out of the room.


*  *  *


“I am defiantly lost,” I groaned out, stopping at another intersection. I had been traveling for at least half an hour and all that turned up was four more unconscious mutts.

I was just lucky that these dogs were really easy to knock out.

I mean, all I had to do was shove them into a wall and they were out like a light.

“I am not properly trained for this…” I groaned out while taking a seat for a moment and pulling my gun out to inspect it. 

I had yet to fire it once, not even telling any of the others I had it. But I did have plans I wanted to pass by Applejack in hopes of making a small Firing Range on the farm.

“Not trained for what?” a voice suddenly asked from beside me, causing to me to jump to my feet and face the new threat, quickly slipping the gun back into its holster.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise?” the diamond dog in front of me asked, looking me up and down. Unlike the others that I had met, this was not a guard and was probably female judging by its voice.

“What’s that thing?” she asked pointing at my head lamp. Taking a moment, I quickly realized that this wasn’t a regular diamond dog, but something more akin to a fox with her sharper snout and features. Her eyes were a dark green that matched the vest and shorts she wore.

“Wh-who the hell are you?!” I asked, hesitant to do anything to her since all she seemed to be was curious. 

“I’m Rachel,” the fox replied in a slight huff before pointing a claw at me. “Now answer my question!”

“Like hell I will!” I quickly replied before coming up with a quick plan. “You and your friends messed with the wrong people!”

“I have no affiliation with those mangy mutts anymore,” Rachel muttered to me before giving me a board look. “Let’s just say we had a falling out a few weeks back.”

“If that’s the case, then maybe you’d be willing to help me get back what they took form me,” I continued, hoping that this animosity would help bring her to my side. If I was lucky, she would know how to get around this maze.

If not, I should be able to knock her out with little trouble.

Rachel stared at me for a few moments giving me what looked like an inquisitive eye. 

Taking a chance to get my own observations, I was defiantly sure that she was a vixen instead of a mutt. She had a dark orange coat with black paws, snout and stood upright to just below my chin. Her tail was long and bushy instead of thick and clumped like a mace and had a black tip.

Another thing was that she had a more human like figure than what the diamond dogs had.

Unlike them, she had stood straighter and her arms weren’t drooped past her knees. She also was more intelligent, both in the way she spoke and the light I could see in her eyes.

But what really drew my attention was what was located on her chest.

She had actually boobs, her cleavage being obvious from the opening in her vest.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t staring out of a perverted desirer as more of a WTF response. 

“I can only take you so far,” she voiced, causing me to realize that I had been staring for too long.

“Sorry?” I couldn’t help but mutter as I looked back up at her face.

“I said, I’ll take you as far as I can,” Rachel nodded with a smirk, one of her claws reaching up and shifting her vest to reveal more cleavage. “Come with me, the main hall is this way and if I had to guess, that’s where the idiots are gathered.”

“Okay…” I hesitantly nodded before holding my hand out. “Lead the way.”

“Very well,” Rachel nodded as she started walking off into a dark tunnel, flicking her tail from side to side as she walked.

“This situation seems familiar,” I sighed before following along.


*  *  *


“You dug all of this?” I asked after several minutes of travel. The tunnel was at least two people wide and had a ceiling tall enough for me to reach up fully and still not touch it.

“I got bored back before the falling out and made a few tunnels of my own,” she replied nonchalantly while looking back at me. “I didn’t want to spend all my time mining like my brother Rover, so I dug a bit.”

“Wait… Rover?” I asked, stopping in my tracks. “Wears a red vest?”

“You know my brother?” Rachel asked, stopping and looking at me.

“No, but a friend of mine does,” I couldn’t help but chuckle as I remembered what Rarity did to gain her freedom in the show. “But I have to ask, how are you related.”

“We share the same mother,” Rachel huffed as she continued forward. “If you didn’t figure it out, I’m actually a Jade Fox, or at least, that was who my father was. We left our first pack when I was still young and made our way here after a while. Rover’s pretty stupid though.”

“Stupid how?” I asked as we walked.

“He can’t read or write,” Rachel pointed out. “But I learned how to from a couple of books I found.”

“Oh... kay?” I muttered as we found our way to an intersection.

“Take the path to the right to reach the main hall,” Rachel pointed out. “The left leads to an exit that’s just a few miles from the pony town of Ponyville.”

“Huh, thanks I guess,” I replied, surprised that she hadn’t led me to a trap.

“What did those idiots take from you that’s so important anyways?” Rachel asked.

“Uh… it’s a gold brace with a white diamond in it,” I told her. “It’s big enough for it to fit my wrist.”

“That sounds… familiar,” Rachel replied with a look of contemplation. “But I’d be careful, most of the pack will probably be in there at this time of day.”

“Damn,” I sighed heavily. I was lucky up to the current point, but I doubt it would last past their whole den. If anything, I had to at least provide a distraction until the guards finally arrived.

“Look, thanks for your help, but you should leave,” I told Rachel. “You don’t seem like a bad person and you helped me this far. So, for your own safety, leave here.”

“Why should I?” Rachel asked as she looked at me with a raised brow.

“Because your pack messed with the wrong people… or ponies in this case,” I replied with a sigh. “Do you know what the “Elements of Harmony” are?”

“Anyone who’s ever bothered to read a book should,” Rachel nodded as a look of realization began to show on her face, a slight twitch going through her left eye. “Please tell me those idiots didn’t do what I think they did.” 

“Unfortunately,” I replied with a shack of my head. “The item I’m looking for is the element of courage, my element; and your brother and some others took my friend Rarity, a unicorn who holds the element of Generosity.”

“W-what!?” Rachel stuttered, looking at me in shock as her fur actually paled slightly.

“And right now, guards are on their way here to basically arrest everyone here for kidnapping, attempted enslavement and most likely several other charges.”

“B-but… I-I had nothing to do with this!” Rachel almost shouted in hysterics.

“Just… head above ground and head toward Ponyville,” I sighed. “Ask anyone you see for directions to “the human’s house” and go there and wait for me.”

“B-but what if the guard…?” 

“Then don’t try to fight them,” I replied with a shrug. “Follow them and do what they say and I’ll help you after.”

“B-but…” Rachel tried to say as she looked down the right path with worry.

“Sorry, but I don’t have much more time,” I said while heading down the right path. “Thank you for your help.”

“W-wait!” Rachel called to me as I walked.

“What is it? I need to go,” I said, taking a moment to listen to her.

“I… I-I want to help,” she replied with a slightly unsure tone, her body starting to shake.

“What do you mean?” I asked, still surprised by how everything was going. “Isn’t this your, “pack” or something?”

“No, they aren’t,” she sighed with a frown as the shaking continued to get worse. “This is the fourth pack Rover and I tried joining.”

“Are you sure about this though?” I asked, seeing the fear in her eyes as her pupils shrunk by the second. 

“I-I have to,” Rachel replied with an almost desperate look passing her face. “Even though I hate him, I would still like a chance to at least get my brother out of here.”

“In that case, I still need you to head outside,” I replied, pointing towards the exit. “This place is a maze and the sooner the guard can get here the better. You help give them direction and I’ll put in a good word for both you and your brother.”

“Do you swear upon your honor?” Rachel asked with a stern gaze.

“What little I have,” I shrugged before rushing down the right path.


*  *  *


“Well, at least I won’t need this right now,” I quietly said as I shut my head lamp off.

After a few minutes of traveling several tunnels, I entered a large hall of sorts. Crystals along the upper walls provided a stable enough source of light for me to see.

The tunnel ended up leading us to a small ledge higher up on one of the walls. Luckily keeping me hidden from the ten varying diamond dogs on the ground.

“There you are...” I quietly said as I looked towards a diamond dog that looked like a Doberman with black fur. He stood slightly taller than all the others and wore a spike studded collar.

And in his right paw was my element.

“Have any of you idiots figured out why that creature was wearing this yet?” the Doberman asked the surrounding dogs in a complete sentence. “There has to be a reason.”

“Monkey still asleep, Alpha,” one of the dogs replied as it scratched its head. 

“That doesn’t sound right,” the Alpha replied as he began to sniff the air.

“Crap…” I muttered under my breath as I realized that I had lost the helmet somewhere along the way, the dog’s nose pointed in my direction. For a few moments, I stayed silent and kept myself close to the ground and out of sight.

“Come out creature, I know you’re up there!” the Alpha suddenly called out, drawing everyone’s attention towards my hiding spot.

“Uh… no you don’t?” I called back, fully realizing that I had been caught. 

"Don’t take me for a fool creature,” the Alpha called back. “Either come down here on your own or I will send my pack.”

“Then I obviously have nothing to worry about,” I chuckled while crawling to the side. While he may know I’m there already, I doubted that he could see me.

“Hell, I made it this far without raising an alert,” I continued as I reached a large enough bolder to hide me while I stood up. 

“Who’s to say we didn’t let you get this far?” the alpha replied, his voice coming from slightly closer to my location.

Rather than respond and give away my position, I carefully continued to travel around the room, keeping myself hidden.

As I moved, I could notice the rooms occupants making their way towards my last location. But luckily, the alpha was waiting behind the group with my element held loosely in his paw.

Picking up a small stone, I quickly chucked it across the room.

“It’s over there!” the alpha snapped as his lackeys rushed over towards the disturbance. But as they all rushed away from the alpha, I made my move.

Rushing out from my hiding spot, I put all my focus into reaching the Doberman as fast as possible.

“GAH!?” the alpha barked out as I blinked behind him and rammed him to the ground.

“I’ll take that,” I smirked as I quickly took back my element, putting it back on with a solid click.

“Monkey, get off Alpha!” one of the guards snapped when they finally noticed what happened.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I replied while standing up and activating my magic fully, allowing the mist to flow.

“You can use magic?!” the alpha snapped in shock from the ground.

“Yep,” I relied before grabbing the large mutt in a gray mist and flinging him into the others and causing a bowling pin effect.

“Strike!” I cheered as I watched all the dogs hit the ground. “Come on, reset the pins and let’s see if I can get a double.”

“You bumbling buffoons! Kill that thing!” The alpha growled as several of the surrounding dogs stood back up.

“I have a better idea,” I replied while applying my devil arms and cracking my knuckles. “How about I put you mutts through those obedience lessons I promised.”

With that, the first two mutts lunged at me. 

Dodging the dog from the left first, I grabbed the second dog by the throat and flung him across the room. As they flew into the wall, I quickly turned and delivered a kick into the first dog’s face as they stumbled from their missed strike.

“Like a boss!” I cheered when I saw what I had amazingly accomplished. Looking back over, I was just able to dodge a swing from another mutt, which I quickly countered with a powerful uppercut that sent it flying back.

Unfortunately, that put me right in the path of another two who proceeded to grab ahold of both my arms, a third making his way forward with a smirk on its face.

“Got monkey now,” the third said as he reared a fist back for a punch.

“I’m not a monkey!” I snapped as I picked up the two mutts holding my arms with the assistance of magic. Before the mutt in front of me could react, I pancaked him between his two comrades, putting all three to sleep at once.

“Dear sweet god, I love magic,” I couldn’t help but say as I turned to face the last of the group consisting of four mutts and the alpha.

“Stupid creature! I crush!” the alpha growled, his proper grammar beginning to fail him in his apparent rage.

“Hulk smash!” I replied with a cocky grin as I decided to pull a Hulk Hogan stance unable to prevent the following laughter.

“You think funny?!” the alpha growled before he shoved one of the other mutts at me. “Bring me its skull!”

“Uh…” one of the still conscious mutts muttered as he and the others look at me with a bit of worry. “W-we no sign up for this…”

“Good,” I nodded with a smile as I noticed their hesitation to attack me.

“Useless mutts,” the alpha growled as he pushed past the scared dogs around him and glared at me with bared teeth. “I took care of the know it all bitch before and I’ll do the same to you!”

“You better not be talking about my friend Rarity!” I snapped, clenching my fist while glaring back at the dog. I knew that this world was different from the actual show, so I was starting to worry about her actual safety.

“Enough talk creature!” the alpha snarled as he grabbed a bolder half his size and threw it at me.

With just one arm.

“Holy crap!” I called out dodging the boulder with a blink and watching it crash into a wall on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, that left me open for the alpha to grab me from behind and flinging me towards two still conscious dogs.

“W-woah!” I called out as the two surprised dogs caught me. “T-thanks for the catch boys.”

“Hit him you idiots!” the alpha shouted before the two mutts reared a paw back to deliver a punch to my face.

Without even stopping to think, I quickly ducked down as the dogs ended up knocking each other out with their own strikes.

“I guess it is true,” I chuckled while standing back up and looking at the two new additions to the stone floor. “You can’t find good help these da-Gah?!”

Before I could finish my sentence, the alpha had rushed me and picked me up by the throat, hoisting me into the air.

“I know what you are now!” the alpha growled as he kept a firm hold of my throat, making it hard for me to concentrate. 

“Gah?!” I tried to gasp out as I tried to pull his claw from around my throat, only to fail as he delivered a blow to my gut with his free paw. The blow not only stole what little breath I had left, but also caused my magic to fail me as my devil arms dissipated.

I was already reaching for my gun as he continued to talk, my vision beginning to darken.

“Who knows what I could get for both you and the element?” the alpha smirked. “All I gotta do is—“

THUNK

Suddenly, I found myself free from the alpha’s grip as he let me fall to the ground. The dog falling beside me soon after, but unlike me as I gasped for breath, the alpha was knocked out cold.

“You like that?!” Rachel snapped as she stared down at the alpha, a two by four in her right paw as she stared with small eyes and heavy breath.

“W-what the hell?” I wheezed as I stared at the worrying diamond dog.

“You couldn’t wait for us?” Luna’s voice echoed as she came into view, drawing my attention to her and the group of guards with her.

“What took you so long?” I asked as my breath finally returned and I stood up.

“Do you know how long it actually takes to prepare a group of guards for this kind of excursion?” Luna replied with a stern glare. “We were lucky that this Jade Fox found us and led us here or we would still be lost.”

“Yeah…” I replied as I watched the guards restrain all the unconscious mutts. Even the two that had still been awake.

“We are most grateful for her assistance,” Luna continued as she watched the guards work.

“As long as the human keeps his promise,” Rachel said as she looked over at me, her eyes still small as she gripped the two by four tightly.

“Princess Luna, can I talk to you for a moment in private?” I asked the alicorn while giving the dog a nod.

“Of course,” Luna nodded as I walked over to the side slightly.

One we were a few feet away from the diamond dog, I tapped my ear to relay a message to Luna. Which she understood as a small silencing dome encased us.

“I just need you to tell me if anything the diamond dogs did before me and Rarity were taken was illegal,” I quickly said while relaying an obvious look of worry. 

“They don’t have the proper permits for an excavation of this size,” Luna replied with a raised brow almost off handedly. “With this quarry being so close to a town and its depth, it’s an environmental hazard, and one of my guards commented that they expanded past what they are allowed without permits.”

“Okay then,” I replied, taking a moment to think over some things. “What about Rarity?”

“Apparently the dogs that took her earlier let her go with compensation,” Luna replied, her draconic eyes flashing into existence for a moment. “She is not pressing charges, but she doesn’t get much of a say in this matter.”

“Alright then,” I nodded, before sparing Rachel a quick glance. “I guess this is where I also put in a good word for Rachel, the Jade Fox. She helped me make it to this chamber so I could get my element back.”

“THESE MUTTS HAD YOUR ELEMENT?!” Luna shouted, causing my ears to ring.

“Y-yeah, but I got it back,” I replied as the ringing in my ears slowly subsided.

“And you kept your human form?” Luna questioned as she looked me over, a smile developing on her lips. “This is most interesting.”

“Yeah…” I replied as I looked at the brace.

“We shall talk about this more at another time,” Luna voiced as she looked out of the sound barrier. “This is not something to be discussed at length in public.”

“Okay,” I replied with a nod, noticing Rachel staring at the two of us.

A moment later, Luna let the barrier drop and we both looked towards Rachel.

“So… am I free to go?” Rachel asked with an uncomfortable look.

“Just give me a second,” I replied as more guards entered the hall from another tunnel, ignoring me as they began to group more diamond dogs against the wall. I was actually surprised to see Rover and his little goonies being led over to the group as well.

“Hey, bring that one in the red vest over here,” I called out to the guards.

Almost immediately, I noticed the growing look of fear in Rachel’s eyes turn to worry as the guards followed my request and brought Rover over to our group.

“Rover, right?” I asked as the dog was brought to us.

“What monkey want?” Rover growled as his eyes flickered towards Rachel several times without staying fixed. “Want take gems like whiny pony and others?”

“No,” I shook my head, starting to feel slightly sorry for him since I knew how Rarity could get. “I just wanted to meet you. Your sister here told me a bit about you.”

“R-right…” Rover stuttered with a bit of worry creeping into his voice.

“What are you getting at here, Christopher?” Luna asked.

“I just want to confirm a few things first,” I replied before addressing Rover once again. “Why did you and your sister join a pack that was digging in this region?”

“Join pack?” Rover questioned as he looked towards Rachel, the fox suddenly looking very uncomfortable. “No, we make pack. Sister say we dig and live here. Say this good place, lots of gems and no worry.”

“So, you are the one who began this dangerous dig,” Luna started with a frown, looking at Rachel.

“N-now wait a minute!” Rachel quickly began, waving her paws around frantically. “I-I followed all the codes and everything. When we begin to dig too much, I started to make the plans to move when these idiots thought they knew better!”

“Sister stupid!” Rover replied while glaring at his sister. “We find gems!”

“And now look at us you idiot!” Rachel shouted at her brother, anger in her eyes as she looked directly at him. “We got kicked out of every pack we joined and when I finally start one of our own, you and your retarded friends have to mess it up!”

“Friends not stupid, you stupid!” Rover replied with a frown, showing that he at least understood her. “Ra-Rah think so smart, but Ra-Rah caught too!”

“Ra-Rah?” I asked Rachel with a raised brow.

“It’s my birth name,” ‘Rachel’ replied with a frown. “No one takes a name like that seriously.”

“I actually like it,” I shrugged, earning a slight blush and glare from the fox. “Fits the world better.”

“We will have to review this new information,” Luna began, looking at the two before nodding towards Rover. A guard immediately responded by stepping forward and bringing the dog back to the group.

“Miss Rachel, was it?” Luna asked, looking at the individual.

“Y-yes,” Rachel nodded, a slightly worried look developing in her eyes.

“We will be reviewing this information, and if we find that you were telling the truth and following the laws as you said, you shall be free,” Luna replied as her horn began to glow.

“Thank you, princess, I pro-gah!” Rachel began to reply, only to fall silent when a collar appeared around her throat.

“But until that can be deemed, you shall be put under watch,” Luna replied sternly, glaring at the fox. “We do not like to punish the innocent, but we also do not like to played for the fool.

“Should you have lied to us, your punishment will be the same as your compatriots,” Luna continued, looking Rachel in the eye. “And let us warn thou now young one. The others have committed acts against Equestria and her citizens when they decided to take two of the elements.”

“And the collar?” I asked as I watched Rachel vainly try to take it off.

“It will prevent her from trying to escape,” Luna replied before tapping my forehead with her still glowing horn.

I immediately began to feel a spell take place. After working with Twilight, I had begun to develop a sense as to when a spell was being placed on me and how to drain it.

Except for the one placed on me by the princesses’ mother. I couldn’t feel that one.

“Do not drain that spell, Christopher,” Luna told me when she noticed my look of confusion.

“What is it?” I asked with a raised brow.

“It is the tether to the collar,” Luna replied as a small indigo line connected from the collar to my wrist for a moment.

“What?!” Both I and Rachel bellowed out as we stared at Luna in shock.

“You put in a good word for her, so until we have seen that she is telling the truth, you will be the one to keep watch of her,” Luna told me before turning to Rachel. “Before thou complains, we should be placing you in a cell with your companions. This is a reward for helping us make it here and helping Christopher as well.”

“By putting a collar on me?!” Rachel demanded. “This is species profiling!”

“Enough!” Luna shouted, causing the cavern to shack slightly. “As we said, we could easily place you in a cell with your companions, but we are not.”

“Right, right,” Rachel nervously chuckled as she gave a bow. “T-thank you princess.”

“Better,” Luna replied with an even look before turning to her guards. “Bring the prisoners to the Canterlot dungeons and have them wait for trial. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until after the gala.”

“Yes, your highness,” one of the guards replied before they began to lead the group out the way they came.

“They’re not going to get lost, are they?” I asked as they walked off.

“They should know the way,” Luna replied evenly before looking to the two of us. “We shall teleport the three of us to Ponyville. There are a few distraught individuals waiting for thou.”

“Excuse me Princess,” Rachel quickly said as Luna’s horn began to glow. “But will my brother also be put on trial?”

“Yes, he will,” Luna said with finality.

“Well, this will be fun,” I sighed as a sudden flash blinded me momentarily.

“Gah! My eyes!” I heard Rachel shout out as there was a shift in the feeling of our surroundings.

“Christopher!” a familiar group of voices shouted as my sight returned, allowing me to see the giant group of mares falling towards me with outstretched hooves.

“Thank Celestia you’re okay!” Fluttershy softly sobbed as she clung to my face, forcing my own into her soft chest. “I was so worried.”

“I told them you’d be okay big guy!” Rainbow replied as she pulled away from the group and flew next to my ear, my sight still lost in butterscotch yellow fur.

“Merph mufh…” I tried to reply through the fur of my overly affectionate marefriend.

“I am so sorry darling,” Rarity voiced out from my side. “We shouldn’t have left you with those filthy things and I shouldn’t have brought us to such a dreadful place to begin with.”

“When I was in charge, I at least made them bath once a week,” Rachel muttered, not realizing that she was being loud enough for everyone to hear.

“You brought one of them here?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to Rachel.

“Tph Rr-Rrh,” I replied though my pony mask. Luckily, Fluttershy’s sobs had subsided by now and my speech ended up causing her to giggle instead.

“It is by our hoof that she is here,” Luna replied, keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash while using her magic to remove my face eater. “It is with her help that we were able find Christopher and those who performed the foalnapping.”

“W-whats going to happen to them?” Fluttershy asked.

“They will be tried for their crimes,” Luna replied with an even tone, although she sounded slightly winded to me as her legs shook very minutely. “But we feel that that is all you need to know.”

“You can hang most them for all I care…” Rachel mumbled quietly enough that even I almost missed it.

“Ms. Ra-Rah, or Rachel as she likes to be called, shall be staying here until we have ascertained her role in this,” Luna continued. “We ask that the seven of you keep an eye on her and ensure she does not try to leave until we know the truth of her involvement.”

“Don’t worry Princess Luna, we’ll keep an eye on her,” Twilight replied as she pulled away from my leg.

“I’m twenty years old, I don’t need some namby pamby ponies watching me like I’m still a pup,” Rachel replied with a frown. “And if any of you call me Ra-Rah, I’ll bite you.”

“And then you will be sent to jail with an assault charge as well,” I told the fox.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pink mare suddenly chirped appearing in front of a startled Rachel. “Doyoulikecake?Whataboutparties,becauseILOVEpartiesandI’mplanning-“

“Why won’t it stop talking?!” Rachel blurted out as she took a step back, pressing herself against the front wall of my home.

“Because Pinkie Pie,” I simply replied as everyone released me. I followed this by scooping Fluttershy out of the air and holding her against my side.

“I still don’t understand that,” Twilight muttered as she pulled the pink mare back with her magic. 

“Yes, well, we must be returning to Canterlot,” Luna sighed while looking at all of us. “We hope to see thou after the Gala at some point.”

“We were actually planning to spend a few days there afterwards,” Twilight replied adapting a large smile. “We’re going to have a sleepover in my old room at the castle.”

“What about me?” I asked, hearing this for the first time.

“We wanted to see how you’d react on the spot,” Rainbow sighed. “Thanks for ruining it Twi. Me and Pinkie had this whole bit planed out and everything!”

“Knowing you two, I’d probably end up either pissed off, blue balled or both,” I grumbled while glaring at the two mentioned ponies.

“It involved a bowl of whipped cream, Pinkie’s flank and a tiny smidgen of itching powder,” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“So, one to get me blue balled, one to get me pissed off and another to make me crave pie and not in the Pinkie kind of way…” I said while trying to think it over. 

“You do realize that you’re talking about this in public,” Rachel pointed out with a look of surprise. “Also, the princess left.”

“Oh…” I replied while looking around. Aside from Rainbow and Pinkie, the others were looking at us with glowing faces and slightly shocked looks. Fluttershy though was staring directly at Pinkie’s flanks from her position at my side.

“She does have nice flanks,” the mare whispered to me, drawing a blush from me as well.

“Why don’t we take this conversation inside,” Rarity coughed, directing us inside my home.

“Right, follow me,” I replied, leading everyone into my home and into the living room. Almost immediately, Rachel made to sit in my lazy boy.

“You put one paw in that chair and I’ll let Geralt have his way with you,” I warned the fox.

“Who?” Rachel ask as she looked at me. Her face quickly adapted a look of fear as a soft growl sounded off from just behind me.

“That’s Geralt,” I replied as I moved past Rachel and took my seat, shifting the butterscotch mare to my lap and enjoying the feeling of her soft rump pressing down on my crotch.

“Heel!” I snapped, before Geralt’s growls could escalate. “Don’t make me get the squirt bottle.”

With that, Geralt wandered off somewhere.

“Wolfs,” Rachal shivered as she looked towards the spot the wolf had once been. “Why’d it have to be a wolf?”

“That better not jinx us,” I muttered while beginning to scratch behind Fluttershy’s ear, earning a blissful cue. 

“Uh… what?” Rainbow Dash asked as she took a seat on one of the couches with her friends.

“Forget about it,” I waved off while Fluttershy began to nuzzle under my chin. “Why don’t you introduce yourself Ra-Rah?”

“It’s Rachel,” Rachel growled back before looking at the others. “I’m Rachel, twenty years old and before you get into the mind set of thinking I’m a diamond dog, I prefer to be called a Jade Fox.

“Seriously though, diamond dogs are complete idiots,” Rachel tacked on with a frown. “Just because you’re a little smarter than the pack alpha, suddenly you’re a threat and need to be kicked out. Then even when you start your own pack, the damn idiots think they know better and take over, kicking you to the curb even though YOU were the one to—“

“Hey!” I quickly interrupted, noticing Rachel’s eyes slowly dilating as her breath began to shallow. “Calm down, your starting to lose it.”

“S-sorry,” Rachel stuttered as she took a seat beside my chair and took some deep breaths.

“Oookay, well would you look at the time,” Twilight said with a forced smile and uncomfortable look. “I should really be getting back to the library and… washing Spike, yeah. Have to make sure he took his bath so…”

And with that, Twilight quickly made her way out of the house.

“Ah, gotta start headin’ off too,” Applejack said as she began to leave as well. “Got an early day tomorrow, goodnight sugarcube.”

“I’m out,” Rainbow added as she followed Applejack out.

“And I do have to finish those dress changes,” Rarity muttered as she left as well.

“I’ve got party planning to do!” Pinkie cheered as she left, bouncing the whole way but stopping at the door way and looking back at me.

“You know, Chris, I wouldn’t mind still doing the thing with the whipped cream and my flank if you want to,” the pink mare smirked while wiggling her rump at me. “No itching powder included.”

“Switch the cream with melted chocolate and we’ll talk,” I replied while fighting to stay blush free.

“I guess I can give you that round,” Pinkie giggled with a blush before finally walking out of the room.

“What about you, Fluttershy?” I asked the slightly sleepy mare under my chin. “You heading out for the night or…?”

“Can I spend the night?” Fluttershy quietly asked as her eyes darted to the still recovering Rachel momentarily.

“For you my little ninja, you don’t even have to ask,” I replied while kissing the tip of her nose.

“Great, so you two are gonna be at it all night,” Rachel huffed. “Where am I supposed to stay?”

“For now, you can stay on the couch,” I replied with a shrug. “I have a free room, but its empty right now.”

“You can’t have her sleep on the couch!” Fluttershy suddenly inputted, a stern look on her face. “She’s a guest, so she can take the bed and we can stay here on the lazy colt.”

“I like her plan,” Rachel smiled while standing up and pointing towards Fluttershy. “So where am I going?”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Fluttershy said as she hopped off my lap and led Rachel upstairs.

“Five bits says she offers her a spot in the herd,” Gilda said as she walked into the room, looking towards the stairs. “I’m starting to think she has a problem.”

“It became a problem when I found out that she has asked almost every single single mare in town if they wanted to join,” I muttered back. “I’m just glad most of them find me weird or don’t find me attractive.”

“And the rest,” Gilda asks as she hops onto my lap and gives me a peck on the cheek.

“I tell them about you and they decide to walk the other way,” I smirked back before giving her a deeper kiss.

“Smart move,” Gilda smirked as she got off my lap and sauntered over to the couch. “Most of the ponies in town are complete pansy’s.”

“That’s not very nice,” Fluttershy replied suddenly appearing above the couch and looking down at Gilda with a frown. “Ponies just aren’t as violent as gryphons.”

“R-right…” Gilda chuckled uncomfortably.

“Did you just leave Ra-Rah alone in my room?” I asked the floating mare.

“Uh…” Fluttershy mumbled before a crash could be heard from upstairs.

“I’ll be right back,” I groaned as I stood up and made my way upstairs.

“Damn!” Rachel’s voice sounded from the bathroom instead of my room.

“Everything okay in here?” I asked while walking into the room.

“Sorry, I just knocked over the trash can,” Rachel replied with a chuckle.

But even though she said that, I couldn’t hear anything as my eyes were locked on her form.

Her naked form.

“See something you like?” Rachel asked while cocking a hip and giving a smirk. Without her vest and shorts, I had a completely unobstructed view of her large chest and lower treasure. Both looking surprisingly human compared to what I was expecting.

“Uhm…” I dumbly replied, unable to look away from her figure. Once again, it was amazingly human compared to all the others I’d seen so far and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested.

But the fact that it was so human like definitely raised some questions.

Questions that I hoped to get the answers to... some day.

“Your marefriend offered me a spot in your herd if I am proven innocent,” Rachel continued, leaning forward and placing her paws on her legs and pushing her breast together. “She said that all I need is your approval and I gotta say, after seeing how you handled those idiots in the cavern, I’m all for it.”

“Uh…yeeeaaaah” I muttered, drawing my eyes from her chest and giving her a blank stare. “We’ll… talk, about that some other time.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Rachel giggled as I left the room, closing the door behind me.

“That will be five bits,” Gilda smirked, meeting me just outside of the bathroom.


*  *  *


“Thanks for the cloths,” Rachel smiled as she finished buttoning up the shirt I had given her.

“Right,” I mumbled as I just stared at her. After her shower, she proceeded to tease me horribly with her tail and constantly pressing herself against me.

But that was it.

“You honestly didn’t think I’d have sex with you so soon?” Rachel giggled as she made her way out of my room, brushing her clean tail across my face as she did. “Check with me tomorrow though.”

“Dear sweet god…” I mumbled to myself, thinking the fox was crazy. “And I thought Rarity was a tease.”

With a heavy sigh, I made my own way out of the room and down to the kitchen.

“Sup everyone,” I said as I entered the kitchen with Rachel to find Fluttershy, Derpy and a wide-eyed Dinky. “Where’s Gilda?”

“She’s staying over at, Rainbow’s tonight,” Fluttershy replied as she helped Derpy cook something for dinner, missing my irritated groan.

“What are you?” Dinky asked Rachel, her wide eyes never leaving the fox.

“I’m a Jade Fox and my name is Rachel,” Rachel replied with a calming smile and warm look to the little filly. “Our species originated from the far east, in the lands you ponies call Neighpon. But I’m also half Diamond Dog and was raised by them in the southern mountains.”

“Really?” I asked, taking a seat beside the entrapped foal. I was actually surprised at how Rachel was acting.

“Yes,” Rachel nodded. “There would be more records of it, but most diamond dogs aren’t known for their ability to read or write and I’m unsure how much info ponies have on Jade Fox’s.”

“They can’t?” Dinky asked. “But how can they not know? Ms. Cheerilee is always teaching us about reading and writing in school.”

“Diamond Dogs don’t go to school,” Rachel replied with a slightly sad smile, drawing shocked looks from everyone but me. “Most find it useless and that it cuts too much into digging time.”

“But then how did you learn?” I asked.

“Like I said, I taught myself,” Rachel replied with a proud smile. “I found a few books when I was young and worked really hard to learn.”

“That’s really impressive Ms. Rachel,” Derpy said as she placed a large bowl of salad on the table. “Have you ever thought of teaching Diamond Dogs?”

“I tried…” Rachel replied with a sigh. “It’s what got me and brother kicked out of our first two packs.”

“You have a brother?” Dinky chirped out as her mother fixed her a plate.

“Had, is a better word for it,” Rachel grumbled with a frown. “When I needed him the most, he left me to follow some stupid…”

“Why don’t we change the subject huh?” Fluttershy asked as she place a bowl in front of Rachel.

“Y-yeah, you’re right le… you cannot be serious,” Rachel began to reply as she looked down at her bowl that was filled with actual dog food.

“W-what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked with a worried expression.

“I may be half Diamond Dog, but I am not a dog!” Rachel huffed as she glared at the bowl with a scowl. “Contrary to popular belief, there is a vast difference between the two.”

“Oh yeah there is,” I muttered to myself, remembering the bathroom incident.

“Oh dear, I gave you the wrong bowl,” Fluttershy replied as tears began to develop in her eyes. “I-I’m s-so sorry!”

“N-no, it’s okay,” Rachel quickly replied as the rest of us watched the confrontation. “Mistakes happen.”

“O-oh… I’m sorry,” Fluttershy replied once again, swapping out the bowl of kibble with a bowl of veggie soup.

“Fluttershy?” I called, gaining the mare’s attention. “Have you been feeding Geralt out of my regular bowls again?”

“No…” the mare meekly replied, giving a sheepish smile.

“I’m not cleaning that,” I replied simply before digging into my own bowl of food.

“Chris,” Rachel said, drawing my attention to her smirk as I chewed my crunchy meal.

“Huh?” I asked while taking another bite, my eyes locked on her.

“That’s a bowl of dog food as well.”


*  *  *


“This is nice,” Fluttershy sighed as she lied on top of me, the two of us on my lazy boy.

“We should really get to sleep,” I smiled back while giving the mare’s flank a firm squeeze.

“I guess,” Fluttershy giggled as I continued to massage her flanks. This continued for a few minutes before a loud crash could be heard from upstairs. 

“I better go check that,” I sighed while getting out of the chair and laying Fluttershy down.

“If she needs it, I don’t mind if you stay up there with her,” Fluttershy yawned as she snuggled into the chair.

“Kind of hoping I don’t need to,” I sighed with a roll of my eyes. Making my way upstairs, I heard another soft thump before I made it to my room.

“Ra-Rah are you oaky?” I asked as I entered the room. Almost immediately I heard another thump, this time coming from my closet.

“Ra-Rah? Rachel?” I asked as I opened my closet door carefully.

“P-please… d-don’t,” Rachel stuttered as I found her cowering on the floor, tears visible even in the dark.

“Rachel, it’s okay, it’s only me,” I softly said while kneeling down towards her slowly. “You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“W-what?” Rachel asked as she looked around as if just realizing where he was. “Christopher? Wha… what happened?”

“You were having a night terror I think,” I replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I found you here crying.”

“O-oh…sorry for worrying you,” Rachel replied as she shakenly stood up. Leaning on the wall for support, she made her way to my bed where she took a seat on its edge.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked softly, moving to stand beside her. “I have it on good authority that talking about ones’ problems to a friend helps.”

“I-I… I just…” Rachel tried to begin several times as a slightly haunted look passed her eyes.

“Just take it slowly,” I replied while softly petting the top of her head.

“I’ve been having them for weeks now, I guess…” she began softly while laying her head against my chest, my hand following to continue the petting. “It’s always the same thing.”

“Take your time,” I replied.

“It’s not a dream… but a memory,” Rachel continued. “it’s starts with me talking to Ralph, the alpha you fought in the cavern.”

“But this was before he was alpha, right?” I asked, easily seeing where this was going.

“Yeah,” Rachel shuddered as her voice began to crack slightly. “H-he wanted to keep digging, but I said no and next thing I know, several of them jumped me.

“They almost killed me before I got away…” Rachel sobbed as she gripped my shirt with her paws tightly. “I was terrified because I had nowhere to go and knew that if they found me they’d kill me. Even Rover turned his back on me.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied, carefully drawing her in for a comforting hug. 

“It took me two weeks to heal and all I could do was cower in a small alcove fearing that they would find me.” Rachel cried. “I couldn’t even make it towards the exit out of fear of them finding me.”

“And then I happened to pass by?” I asked, as the fox continued.

“I-I had heard about you,” Rachel replied as she pulled away from my chest, but kept her gaze low. “I wasn’t really sure, but when I saw you knock out one of those idiotic mutts as if they were made of glass, I-I thought I could use you to make it to the exit.”

“And that’s why you confronted me?” I asked as she finally looked up to me, her eyes slightly red.

“I’m sorry that I used you like that,” Rachel replied before looking back down. “I just wanted to leave that place.”

“Don’t worry,” I replied as I lifted her chin and looked straight into her eyes. “Your safe, I promise.” 

“Thank you,” Rachel finally smiled as she pulled me down into a hug.

“No problem,” I replied, returning the hug briefly before standing back up. “Get some sleep.”

“I will,” the fox replied before shifting onto the bed fully. “I promise not to cause any problems.”

“Kid, you’re in Ponyville,” I chuckled while turning to leave the room. “Problems love this place.”


*  *  *


“I see somepony had had a nice night,” Fluttershy giggled as she set down a plate of eggs in front of Rachel.

“Hehe, yeah,” Rachel happily smiled as she looked over at me with a wide smile.

“If you ever want to talk again, don’t be afraid to ask,” I nodded pushing one of Rachel’s back paws away from my crotch for the fifth time. “Stop that!”

“Stop what?” Rachel giggled as she returned the paw to my lap.

“Rachel, there is a filly in this house and I will not have you doing something so inappropriate and end up tainting her young innocent mind,” Fluttershy said calmly, keeping an even look.

“S-sorry,” Rachel replied as she removed her paw and continued eating.

“That being said though, I expect you to help her get settled before you go to work Christopher,” Fluttershy then continued looking at me with a small smile.

“Arguing with you about this is useless, isn’t it?” I asked Fluttershy with a defeated sigh.

“Pretty much, yes,” Fluttershy chirped with a smile as she went back to cooking.

“And what is it I’m supposed to do?” I groaned out while standing up and taking my empty plates to the sink. “I’ll be in my room getting ready.”

“DONE!” Rachel shouted with a mouth full of food. Before anyone could say anything, she rushed past me and headed upstairs, passing a confused Derpy and Dinky in the process.


*  *  *


“Morning ladies,” I said as I finally walked into my place of work. 

“Mr. Christopher, thank Celestia you’re okay,” Aloe sighed with a relived sigh. “We had heard that you had been captured by some filthy diamond dogs.”

“They did not harm you, did they?” Lotus asked out of concern, her eyes looking me over for injuries.

“They tried too,” I shrugged while glancing behind myself and looking out the still open door. “But there’s something I do need to talk to you about.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” Lotus asked as the two sisters shared a confused glance towards one another.

“I was wondering if…” I began with an uncomfortable smile while pointing behind me. “She could wait in the break room for the day?”

“So, this is a spa?” Rachel questioned as she finally entered the building, her head continuously swiveling around as she took in her surroundings.

“Is that a diamond dog?!” both sisters asked in shock.

“No, I’m a Jade Fox,” Rachel grumbled back as a reply. “Why do you ponies keep getting it wrong!?”

“Just shut up already!” I snapped back. “You’ve been complaining since we left the house and It’s not my fault we can’t go that far from each other. Fluttershy said she would send the letter, so just wait until the princess shows up and fix’s this.”

“Christopher, what’s going on?” Aloe asked as she stepped up and began to inspect Rachel. “And why is she wearing your cloth’s?”

“This is Ra-Rah, a Jade Fox I met during the diamond dog incident,” I began to explain. “She’s currently under investigation for some mining issues and Princess Luna has me watching her instead of holding her in a cell.”

“My name is Rachel, not Ra-Rah…” Rachel mumbled under her breath with a blush.

“She helped with a few things during the incident,” I continued, ignoring Rachel’s mumbling. “Unfortunately, it seems we can’t get that far away from one another right now. Tried heading here only to make it a couple yards out the front door before I realized that she was being dragged behind me.”

“Thanks for that by the way,” Rachel growled as she glared at me.

“I already told you that I didn’t realize that would happen,” I replied with a frown before looking towards my bosses again. “So, is it okay if she waits in the break room? I should have this fixed by tomorrow.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay,” Lotus nodded hesitantly.

“Just please don’t make any trouble if you would?” Aloe asked Rachel with an uncomfortable smile.

“I won’t cause any trouble,” Rachel replied with a sigh. “First ponies in town run away, now your bosses are scared of me. What’s wrong with this town?”

“I’ll tell you when I figure it out myself,” I replied while leading Rachel towards the break room.


*  *  *


“This town just keeps getting weirder, don’t you think sister?” Aloe asked as she watched the human and fox walk around a corner and disappear.

“We knew that when we came here sister,” Lotus replied as she continued to hold a look of confusion. “But he never answered your question.”

“Which one?” Aloe asked thinking back to a few minutes ago.

“Why did she have on some of Christopher’s clothing?” 


*  *  *


“That was sooooo boring,” Rachel groaned as we traveled down the street. “I should have brought a book or something.”

“Will you stop complaining,” I replied while waving at some passing ponies. “While you were off sleeping in the break room, I got a letter saying that Princess Luna will fix the spell so you can stay at my house unless you’re with me.”

“But then I’ll be stuck in that dingy house all day,” Rachel complained.

“One, don’t call my house dingy,” I grumbled back. “And two, you’re under investigation right now, or would you rather be in a jail cell?”

“N-no, sorry,” Rachel replied, becoming quiet.

“Hey, there’s no needs to worry,” I replied, stopping and giving her a reassuring hug. “If you’re telling the truth, you have nothing to worry about. If not, I’ll still put in a good word to have you kept separate from the others.”

“Heh, thanks,” Rachel replied as she returned the hug.

“Come on, let’s keep going,” I replied as I released her. “I wanted to see if Rarity had any time left to make you some of your own clothing.”

“I could always walk around naked,” Rachel replied as she followed close behind me with a devious smirk. “I bet you’d like that, huh?”

“That’s your choice,” I replied with my own smirk. “Besides, it’s not like you’d be the only one walking around naked.”

“Your right, then I’d be like everyone else,” she replied with a mocking frown as Rarity’s shop came into view. “And I sure don’t want that.”

“Tone it down a bit already,” I sighed while walking up to the front door and simply entering.

“Hey Rarity, you up and about?” I called out as I entered the main room, finding it empty.

“Darling, must you really shout?” Rarity asked as she walked into the room with her mane in curlers.

“You got a date or something tonight?” I asked, noticing her accessories.

“Why darling, I’m simply preparing for the gala,” Rarity replied as if it was obvious.

“But that’s still a few days away,” I pointed out with a blank look.

“A lady has to prepare,” Rarity replied in a slight huff before looking beside me at Rachel. “Now, is there something I can help you two with?”

“Just wanted to put in an order for some clothing for Ra-Rah here,” I replied with a slight chuckle. “Only if you have the time though.”

“Actually,” Rarity began with a smirk as her horn began to glow. “I may already have a few things Ms. Ra-Rah can use.”

“My name is Rachel!” Rachel growled out in annoyance. “When will you all get that.”

“Come now dear, its unbecoming of a lady to yell,” Rarity replied with a frown as a small stack of clothing floated out of a nearby cabinet. 

“A-are those what I th-think they are?” I asked as I began to recognize the shape of the clothing, doing my best to hold back my laughter.

“Yes, they are dear,” Rarity replied as she pulled out a long yellow sun dress from the pile. “I made them when I got bored and wanted to make something else built for your kind of figure.

“It shouldn’t take but a few minutes to make some basic changes,” Rarity replied as she floated the dress over and held it against Rachel. “I’ve been doing nothing but revisions these last few days anyways, so I don’t mind.”

“Thanks Rarity,” I replied with a smile, before looking back at Rachel. “Now you’ll have something better than my clothes to wear.”

“Just step over here so we can get started,” Rarity said as she floated the dress and pile to one of the work stations.

“No!” Rachel huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

“What?” I asked. “Come on Ra-Rah, it’s just a dress. I’m sure there’s other things to.” 

“No, I actually like the dress,” Rachel replied as she turned her head away in a huff. “I won’t go over there until you use my correct name.”

“But I said Ra-Rah…” I began before stopping in realization. “Oh, you mean you want us to call you Rachel.”

“It’s my name, so it’s only appropriate that you use it!” Rachel huffed. “Ra-Rah makes me sound like I’m one of those other idiots.”

“Fine than, Rachel,” I huffed as she gave me a victorious smirk. “Just get over there already.”

“Well, if you insist,” Rachel replied as she sauntered over to the work station.

“I’m still calling her Ra-Rah though,” I muttered under my breath.
> Chapter Thirteen: "Let's see you grit those teeth!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Let. Me. Go!” Rainbow Dash yelled, fighting against the magic hold I had on her.” I’ll put my dress on later!”

“Would you rather have Rarity come get you?” I grumbled with a flat stare, finding her futile flailing annoying.

“But we don’t have to leave for hours!” Rainbow groaned as she finally submitted to her capture. “Come on big guy, I thought we were friends.”

“And that’s why I’m doing this,” I chuckled while continuing towards the target. “A friend, helping a friend, so that another friend doesn’t hunt them down in a slightly feral state.”

“Oh, come on, she can’t be that bad?” Rainbow chuckled as the boutique came into view.

“Really, that’s what you think?” I asked while walking up to the front door. Even from outside, I could hear a slight commotion occurring inside. “You weren’t there this morning when she broke into my house with hair curlers, face cream and a cosmetic set.”

“We all knew how much she was preparing herself for this,” Rainbow shrugged as she inspected her hoof non-shalantly.

“She brought that stuff for me,” I replied, opening the door and walking in.

“Finally!” a mass of makeup and curlers shouted as Rainbow Dash was ripped from my grip by white hooves. “We only have eight hours until we have to leave!”

“And I’ll see you all in six,” I replied as I made to leave while the getting was good.

“If we’re not leaving, neither are you,” Twilight replied as she blocked my path with a scowl, her mane in curlers and half her face covered in green gunk.

“Come on you,” Applejack voice rang out before a rope wrapped around my waist and pulled me into the middle of the group.

“This is like the start of a horror movie,” I said as I looked around at everyone in their prep. “Or the start of a bad chick flick.”

“There aint no way yer talkin’ yer way outta this one, sugarcube,” Applejack said as she pulled the rope off me. 

“Oh, this is so exciting,” Fluttershy chirped, wearing almost no mascara and only a single curler on her bangs. “I can’t wait to see all the cute little animals.”

“And I’m sure they can’t wait to see you,” I smiled, a part of me wishing that I could at least tell her something.


*  *  *


“Chris…Chris… wake up,” a familiar voice echoes through my head, rousing me from my nap.

“Huh, wha…?” I blubbered, sitting up on Rarity’s bed, having snuck into her room when no one was looking a few hours ago.

“You need to get changed,” Spike said as he stood in front of me, dressed in his tuxedo top but without a tie. “We’re leaving soon.”

“Oh… right,” I yawned as I stood up and stretched, earning a few cracks from my back. “Get outta here for a moment so I can change, then I’ll help you with your tie.”

“O-okay,” Spike stuttered as he quickly left the room for a few minutes so I could get changed.

“Alright, you can come back in,” I called out as I finished tucking in my own tie.

A quick look in a nearby mirror confirmed that the white suit was properly put on and that there weren’t any smuggles on the white or gold portions.

“That was fast,” Spike said as he entered the room. “That wasn’t even ten minutes to put on a whole suit.”

“Learned the art of fast dressing back in boot camp,” I replied while taking a knee and waving him closer. “I’ll show you some tips another time, but let’s get that tie done first.”

“Okay,” Spike replied as he walked over and handed me the red tie.

“So, how’s school?” I asked as I began to work. “Any better than how it was back in Canterlot?”

“Way better,” Spike smiled as he watched. “I already know a lot of what Ms. Cheerilee is teaching, but she has us do fun projects and its nice talking to others besides Twilight.”

“That’s good to hear,” I smiled as I finished tucking in the tie for him.

“So, how do you think tonight’s going to go?” Spike asked as I stood up and bushed off my clothing.

“With our luck,” I chuckled. “Canterlot will be burning to the ground by morning.”


*  *  *


“Ah still don’t know why you’re doin’ that,” Applejack said as she watched me rope off the area. 

“It’s only for a few minutes,” I replied as I tied off the final end and turned to look towards Twilight and Fluttershy. “Even though Fluttershy said her mice friends won’t freak out, this is just a safety precaution.”

“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash replied as she shifted her dress around slightly with her wings. “I still don’t see why we don’t take the train.”

“There’s a couple reasons actually,” I replied as I watched Twilight gather magic in her horn. “First is because the trains will be packed and are set to bypass smaller towns like here. Another reason, is because of publicity.

“We’re very important individuals and even though we like to think we’re like everyone else most of the time, we aren’t,” I explained as Twilight’s horn gave a flash and the mice that had been in front of her, changed into what could pass as acts against god.

As anticipated, the mice began to panic when they noticed Opalescence sneak out of the house, causing them to try and run away. But because of the rope and the unfamiliarity of their new forms, they didn’t make it far and Fluttershy was able to reach them and calm them.

“Woah, smart thinking Chris,” Rainbow Dash praised as she watched her friends attach the carriage to the mice. “It’s like you knew that was going to happen.”

“Maybe I did,” I replied, giving her a wink. “Would you believe me if I said that I could see the future?”

“Hah! Fat chance,” Rainbow chuckled as she bumped me with her flank while moving towards the carriage. “If that were the case, then you would be trying harder to get on the good side of this future Wonderbolt.”

“Whatever you say, Dash,” I laughed along, following the mare to the carriage. 

“Hey, Chris, want to join me in the front?” Spike asked as he climbed up to the front of the carriage. 

“As long as the girls don’t mind,” I replied while opening the door for the mares.

“I don’t mind,” Fluttershy replied, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “But you have to promise to join me in the garden for a little while.”

“Was already planning on it,” I replied before closing the door behind her and joining Spike in the front.

“You ever drive one of these before?” Spike asked as he handed me the reigns.

“No,” I shrugged while looking over to him. “But it can’t be that hard.”

“It’s not,” Spike nodded with a smile, looking forward. “But we need to do one thing first.”

“What’s that, Spike?” I asked.

“We need to take the ropes down…”


*  *  *


“W-waoh!” I cried out as the carriage skidded to a stop in front of the castle’s main entrance. Ponies all around stopped to stare as me and Spike shakenly stepped off the carriage on jelly legs, both our faces were slightly green.

“L-lets n-not do that again,” Spike mumbled with a sickly look at the mice.

“Y-you don’t need to tell me twice,” I replied before opening the side door for the mares, my body shaking as I fought against the nausea.

The moment the door was opened, all six mares rushed out with wide smiles and giggling up a storm as if they missed everything.

“We’re finally here!” Rarity chirped as she looked around at the crowed. “The Grand Galloping Gala!”

“This is going to be so great!” Spike began to say, trying to gain the mare’s attention. “I have a whole tour planned out for all of u-“

“It’s no use, Spike,” I interrupted as the girls began to break out in song. “We’ve already lost them.”

Both me and Spike could only follow and listen as the girls and other surrounding ponies broke out into song. Each hoping to have the best night ever for themselves.

A few quiet pops drew my attention towards the carriage as everything returned to normal and the mice quickly ran off.

“Don’t worry though,” I told Spike as we made it to the front entrance. “Even if we don’t spend time together tonight, we’ll still be in town for a few days.”

“I guess that’s okay,” Spike sighed dejectedly. “I was really hoping to show the others around the castle though. Some of them have never been here before.”

“You’ll get your chance, don’t worry,” I replied while patting the drake on the head.

“Come on you guys, we need to greet the Princess,” Rainbow Dash called, drawing my attention to the others as they waited by the open doorway, several guests giving us varying glares.

“Let’s go, Chris,” Fluttershy said as she came up to my side and leaned against me.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight cheered once we reached the front steps in front of the solar diarchy.

“Twilight! It is so lovely to see my star student,” Celestia replied as she nuzzled the small unicorn before tuning her direction to the rest of us. “It’s is also a pleasure to see most of you as well.”

“Happy to see you too, Sun butt,” I grumbled back.

“Oh, I’m so excited to be here!” Twilight chirped as she looked up at the princess. “We have so much to catch up on.”

“Don’t they write to each other all the time?” Rainbow asked Spike.

“Three times a week,” Spike shrugged nonchalantly. “At the least…”

“Well, I want you right by my side the entire evening,” Celestia told her student with a warm smile. “But before that, you all need to head to the main hall and be properly introduced. Afterwards, you’re all free to enjoy the gala to the fullest.”

“Wait, introduced?” I asked, not remembering that from the show. “Why do we need to be introduced?”

“This will be the first time all of you have been seen by the nobles of Canterlot as a whole,” Celestia replied. “It’s merely a formality, but shouldn’t take too much time.”

“Of course, Princess,” Twilight replied. “Come on everypony!”

“Eh hem?” I coughed.

“You to Chris,” Twilight added with a roll of her eyes.


*  *  *


“I’m surprised you changed your mind about tonight, Shiny,” Cadence giggled as she watched her coltfriend stare intently at the hall entrance, a beautiful sapphire blue dress covering her pink coat and her multi colored mane wrapped in a bun.  “And here I thought we would be spending the evening together, alone.”

“Sorry, Sweetie,” Shining Armor sighed as he pulled his gaze from the room entrance. “It’s just… I know my sister and her friends are going to be here and I just…”

“You want to make sure her new coltfriend doesn’t do anything,” Cadence giggled. “I actually can’t wait to finally see him. Your mother said he is quite… exotic.”

“He’s something all right,” Shining groaned as he leaned back. 

“Oh, come on Shinny,” Cadence giggled as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “He can’t be that bad. Granted, Aunt Celestia doesn’t seem to like him, but Aunt Luna seems to adore him.”

“Adore isn’t a word I would use,” Shining sighed.

“Oh, calm down you grumpy goose,” Cadence smiled with a giggle. “If you want, I could go get, Night Eye and the two of us can help cheer you up.”

“Speaking of her… have you found a second for yourself yet?” Shining asked with a sigh. “I feel bad being with another mare when you still haven’t found somepony else.”

“I’ll find somepony,” Cadence shrugged as she looked at her coltfriend with a devious smirk. “You just want to see me with another stallion, huh?”

“W-what?! N-no… I…” Shining began to stutter with a blush.

“Like father, like son,” Cadence giggled, earning a glare from the stallion.

“I’m not like…” Shining began, falling silent when the blare of trumpets.


*  *  *


“Now introducing, The Elements of Harmony!” the caller, a servant who stood beside the hall entrance, began as we all began to enter the large hall.

“The Element of Honesty, Lady Applejack Apple of Sweet Apple Acers!” the caller announced as Applejack made her way in first.

“The Element of Generosity, Lady Rarity Belle!” Rarity stepped into the hall with all the grace and glamor she could muster as her head was held up high.

“The Element of Laughter, Lady Pinkimania Diane Pie!” Pinkie forewent all sense of glamor and simply hopped into the hall as she giggled her way towards the snack tables.

“The Element of Loyalty, Lady Rainbow Danger Dash!”

“I can’t believe her middle name is actually Danger…” I muttered as Rainbow Dash flew into the hall and struck a quick pose before following after Pinkie Pie. “Let alone the fact she has a middle name.”

“She had it changed a few years ago,” Fluttershy whispered as she stepped forward with a shaking hoof.

“The Element of Kindness, Lady Fluttershy!”

With all the timid-ness she was known for, Fluttershy shakily made her way into the hall, unknowingly being more graceful then even Rarity as she made her way towards the closest hiding spot.

“The Element of Magic, Baroness Twilight Sparkle!” 

Yep, Twilights a Baroness…

With a practiced pace, Twilight made her way into the room, giving a quick bow before walking back out into the entrance hall to be with Celestia.

“The Element of Courage, Sir Christopher the human!”

With my entrance announced, I marched into the hall and stopped before the large crowd of on-lookers.

Almost immediately, the hall broke into hushed whispers as the occupants looked at me with wide eyes. Some out of amazement and some with looks of disgust.

“At ease solider colt,” Shining armor muttered as he made his way over to me in the same uniform I saw him wear in his wedding episode… which I thought was a horrible shade of red. “You look like your about to shit yourself.”

“One, I am no solider and two, you just don’t know proper bearing,” I replied with a grin as I followed him to a table where he and the Princess of Love sat.

“I’m going to ignore that and instead, introduce you to my date for tonight,” Shining grumbled before he pointed over to the staring pink Alicorn. “Christopher, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princes of Love and my marefriend.”

“B-but eveypony calls me Cadence,” Cadence replied with a light blush as she stood up and held out a hoof of introduction. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Christopher.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” I replied, taking her hoof and planting a small kiss above the fetlock like Rarity had shown me. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“S-such a gentlecolt,” Cadence blushed as she pulled her hoof back.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Shinning Armor suddenly said, pulling me away from the mare and trying to push my away. “Go have fun with your marefriends and don’t cause any problems.”

“No promises,” I simply stated before walking off to find Fluttershy.


*  *  *


“So… that’s Christopher?” Cadence asked as she watched the human walk off to find one of his friends, most of the nobles keeping a wide birth of him. “He’s more interesting than I thought.”

“Please don’t tell me what I think you’re thinking,” Shining groaned as he looked as his marefriend with a growing sense of dread.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” Cadence giggled as she watched Christopher walk outside with the element of kindness beside him, their love visible to her. “I thought you said I could chose whoever or whatever I wanted?”

“I’m really starting to hate that guy…” Shining grumbled as he watched his marefriend watch his sister’s coltfriend disappear outside.


*  *  *


“Oh! I can’t wait to see all the little animals!” Fluttershy practically cheered as we made our way into the garden, her wings flapping every few seconds.

“We should probably look for one of the grounds keepers first,” I told the mare, unable to hide my chuckles as I watched her.

“Why?” the mare innocently asked as she began to look around. “I know all about animals, so I’m sure I can take care of everything.”

“And I’m sure you could, my little Ninja,” I smiled before patting her on the head. “But the animals here may be afraid of all the ponies due to the party and they might be weary of strangers. We didn’t get the chance to see them last time, so they may be afraid of us as well.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Fluttershy replied as she looked at me with a small frown. “So where do we look?”

“Follow me,” I replied as I began to hear a soft whistling in the distance. A few minutes later, we happened upon an old stallion working on the garden, whistling a soft tune.

“Well howdy there,” the stallion greeted as he looked over at us. “Somethin ah can help ya with?”

“I was wondering if you could help my marefriend meet some of the gardens local animals?” I asked as Fluttershy pressed herself against my side.

“Oh, sure,” the stallion replied as he set his rake down and walked over to us. “Most of the critters tend to go scarce during these events, so it can be a bit hard to get them to come out.”

“T-thank you for your help, sir,” Fluttershy said while keeping her eyes down.

“Taint no trouble ma’am.” he said before looking at me with a slight frown. “But, not to sound rude or nothing, but they may not come out with your coltfriend here. Taint seen nothing like him before and so have most of the animals. They may end up runnin away before we can get to close with how skittish they are right now.”

“That’s okay,” I sighed before looking down at Fluttershy with a smile. “I’m going to head back inside while you go see those animals, okay?”

“But… I wanted us to see them together,” Fluttershy frowned.

“We’ll try again some other time when there aren’t so many ponies around, okay?” I asked before kissing her nose and earning a smile.

“Okay,” the mare quietly replied.

“Make sure nothing happens to her,” I told the stallion before turning to leave.

“Taint need to worry none,” the stallion replied before turning to Fluttershy. “The names Back Hoe miss. Please, come this way.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her sir,” a voice suddenly said, drawing my attention to two waiting night guards. “Captain’s order’s.”

“Good to go,” I replied before making my way back inside.

“Heya, Chris,” Applejack called out before I could re-enter the hall. “Fancy a quick snack?”

“While you know I love your cooking AJ, are you sure this is the best place to be peddling?” I asked as the mare set up her small stand.

“Well, ah don’t see why not,” she shrugged. “Good chance to make some bits and get some future contracts.”

“Unfortunately, AJ, this is nether the time or the place for that,” I began to explain. “While this is good place to do business, it’s not the best place to sell, especially when they have free food prepared already.”

“O-oh… Ah guess that makes some sense,” Applejack replied as she looked at her stand. “Most folk do seem to be ignorin’ me.”

“Why don’t you talk to Celestia?” I offered. “You can have them add your food to the tables with notes about how they were provided by the farm and to talk to you for more information. You probably won’t make any bits, but it could pay off in the long run.”

“Huh… that actually sounds pretty smart, Chris,” Applejack smirked as she began to close up shop. “Ah won’t be losing much either way and it should still get the farm’s name out.”

“I’m sure Celestia will allow it,” I replied with a smile. “Just slip her a small cake and you’re as good as guaranteed.”

“Alright then, ah’ll talk to ya afterword then,” Applejack replied before tipping her hat to me and wondering off.

With another sigh, I finally walked back inside…

And immediately bumped into Blueblood and Rarity.

“Uhg, it’s you again,” Blueblood groaned as he noticed me.

“Wow, you took the words right out of my mouth,” I replied, looking down at the stuck-up stallion. “Still having fun with your butlers?”

“Why you!” Blueblood growled slightly.

“Christopher, that is no way to talk to a Prince!” Rarity chastised.

“I know I’ve already said this before, Rarity,” I began pushing past the two, deciding that the best thing I could do her was offer a warning. “But your view of a prince and this guy are nowhere near the same.”

“The nerve!” Blueblood growled as I left their vicinity.

As I walked around a bit, I was slightly disappointed at how little ponies tried to talk to me. One or two stepped forward to speak but ended up leaving shortly after.

At least, that was the deal before a pair of familiar ponies walked up to me.

“Good evening sir,” A white coated stallion greeted as he fixed his monocle. “My name is Fancy Pants and this is my wife Fleur De Lis.”

“Bonjour,” Fleur nodded towards me with a smile.

“Well, it’s nice to see some ponies who aren’t too afraid of me,” I greeted the two, shaking Fancy’s hoof and kissing Fleur’s.

“Actually, we ‘ave come to ask you about something,” Fleur replied as Fancy took a picture out of his coat and offered it to me in his magic.

“Uh, sure?” I replied, somewhat confused.

Taking it and giving a look, I couldn’t help but feel slightly confused and creeped out when I saw that it appeared to be a picture of me and Vinyl sharing a drunken kiss.

“I don’t…” I began, looking back at the two and now finding them glaring at me.

Neither of them spoke as they continued to glare, the gears in my brain slowly putting pieces together.

A husband and wife were standing in front of me, glaring near death. They just pulled out a picture of me kissing a young mare and they were willing to confront me in the middle of one of the biggest parties of the year.

Either I have a jealous fan club or…

“Oh, dear sweet god, Vinyl’s your daughter,” I replied, wide eyed as the two slowly nodded, not breaking their glare.

My eyes shifted from them to the photo several times while I tried to come up with an ingenious way to escape.

“Hey look, a distraction!” I quickly shouted while pointing off in a random direction.

As planned, the two fell for my master plan as I quickly rushed away in the opposite direction.

“Well, that’s going to cause some issues,” I grumbled while quickly entering a different hall. 

In this new area, I could already see Pinkie Pie trying to convince Octavia and her group to play one of her songs.

“Come on, Pinks, it’s not that kind of party,” I chuckled as I walked over, pulling the mare away from the stage. “It may be boring, but this is the way it has to be.”

“Awww, but I wanted to sing the pony poky,” Pinky replied as she looked back at me with a frown and quivering lower lip. A slight look of fear flashed across Octavia’s face followed by a look of thanks directed towards me when she heard this.

“Let’s save it for the after party, okay?” I replied while pointing towards one of the snack tables. “Now why don’t you go taste check those foods, huh?”

“I’m on it!” Pinkie chirped with a salute before she rushed towards the table.

“Four down, two to go,” I chuckled, giving Octavia a wave while making my way out of the room and back to the main hall, my eyes now scanning the crowd for Fancy Pants and his wife.

“Dude, good, you’re here!” Rainbow Dash almost yelled as she appeared in front of me. “I need your help to get into the VIP area.”

“And they didn’t let you in after we were introduced as ‘The Elements’?” I asked with a heavy sigh.

“That’s what I said!” the mare replied as she proceeded to drag me over to a roped off area.

“I already told you, I can’t let you in…” the guard outside of the area groaned as he shook a clipboard he had. “You’re not on the list.”

“And who is on the list?” I asked, drawing the guards attention. I immediately noticed him take a more hostile stance, probably meaning that he was either a new guard, or one who didn’t like my whole ‘not bowing’ to their princess.

“High military officials, politicians, foreign dignitaries and other select individuals,” the guard replied with a slight glare.

“That’s stupid,” I replied with a sigh. “Who in their right mind decided to put such an area in the middle of party like this?”

“Princess Celestia planned the entire event,” the guard replied with a glare. 

“That explains it,” I couldn’t help but chuckle, more because of the enraged look the guard gave me due to my response.

“You disrespectful little…” the guard began, only to fall silent when he noticed something behind me.

“You’re not causing problems’, are you?” Shining Armor’s voice echoed from behind me.

“Not at all, just questioning some logic and denied entry,” I replied with a shrug.

“You know this guy?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at Shinning with a raised brow.

“Captain Shining Armor of the royal guard, Miss Dash,” Shinning nodded before looking over at the guard. “And what’s this I hear about denied entry? I remember the Princess passing that the Elements had full access to everything the gala had to offer.”

“S-sir, I’m sorry, I just…” the guard began to stutter.

“So, does that mean I can go in?” Rainbow asked as she inched her way towards the rope barrier.

“Yes, you may,” Shining replied as he took the clipboard in his own magic and wrote down all the Elements names. “And I will be looking into this Corporal.”

“Y-yes sir,” the guard replied as he opened the rope for Rainbow Dash.

“Awesome, thanks!” Rainbow cheered as she rushed in and made a beeline for a group of Wonderbolts. One with a familiar fire-like mane watching the rainbow mare get closer.

“So that’s one of Twily’s new friends?” Shining asked as he stepped up beside me while we both watched Rainbow begin to talk with her favorite Wonderbolt. “I’m not surprised that she didn’t tell them about me.”

“What did you expect?” I chuckled while looking down at the stallion. “If it wasn’t for Spike, she wouldn’t remember that she had to eat.”

“Your right,” Shining chuckled back. “She’s always been like that.”

“I can tell,” I replied while still giving the stallion my attention. “So, is there something you’d like from me?”

For a few moments, Shining stared forward, not really paying attention to anything in particular while he was lost in thought.

“What are your thoughts on everything?” Shining suddenly asked, looking at me with a serious expression.

“What do you mean?” I asked in return.

“I know you’re from a different world with different views,” he stated as a known fact. “Yet you seem to have adapted very quickly to our own. You’re in a herd, work and pay bills and everything in between.”

“It’s one of the things humans are known for,” I replied with a smile and shrug, my mind going back to my adaptability. “The human ability to adapt to any situation is what made us the alpha predator on our planet.”

“It also makes you more dangerous,” Shining said as he looked at me closely. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust you fully.”

“And I wouldn’t expect you too,” I replied with a smile. “Most ponies I’ve met simply hand out their trust without much thought. A quote I once heard said ‘it hurts a lot when you trust someone blindly, and then that someone proves that you are actually blind’.”

“Sounds like humans have a problem with trust,” Shining replied with a look of intrigue.

“It’s the hardest thing to earn and the easiest thing to lose,” I chuckled. “That’s another quote.”

“Oh…” Shining said as he looked into my eyes for a few moments before giving me a small smile and began to walk away. “Thanks Christopher, you’ve actually helped settle my nerves a bit.”

“Glad to help,” I replied as the stallion wondered off.

“Hey, Chris!” Rainbow’s voice called from behind me. “Come over here!”

Turning around, I found Rainbow Dash just on the other side of the rope boarder with three Wonderbolts standing behind her. The guard who was at the entrance already had the way open for me as he gave a slight glare.

“Hey Rainbow, who are your new friends?” I innocently asked while walking over to the group.

“Only the coolest flyers ever!” Rainbow gushed as she introduced the Bolts. 

“This is Sorin, co-captain of the Wonderbolts,” Rainbow said as she pointed to a blue costumed stallion who was muzzle deep into a pie. At his name, he speared a quick glance up before returning to his food.

“Next is Fleetfoot, the second in command,” Rainbow said as the white maned mare gave me a smirk and a wink.

“And I’m Spitfire,” the final mare said as she stepped forward with a slight sway in her flanks. “Youngest Captain of the Wonderbolts to date and best flyer in all of Equestria.”

“Sup,” I replied with a simple wave, causing Rainbow and Spitfire to stare at me in shock while the other two began to chuckle.

“W-what the hay, big guy?!” Rainbow just about yelled as she flew up to my face with a glare. “That’s not how you greet the Wonderbolts!”

“Well, I just did,” I smirked, pressing my forehead against hers and starting a small shoving match. “What yah gonna do about it?”

“A-alright, that’s enough,” Spitfire said as she pulled Rainbow back by her tail. “Not everypony’s a fan.”

“Can’t really judge them when all I’ve heard were secondhand stories,” I shrugged while looking at Spitfire with a smirk. “Heard a lot about you though.”

“Really now?” Spitfire asked with a smirk of her own while brushing her mane back. “All good ones, I hope.”

“Mostly about your exploits as a cookie thief,” I replied, causing the mare to look at me in horror. “Also about how you used to date this one stallion that-“

“H-how the buck do you know that?!” Spitfire blurted out as her face began to glow red and a frown began to form.

“Dude, not cool,” Rainbow replied as the other two Wonderbolts began to laugh openly.

“There’s only one pony who knows that,” Spitfire grumbled as she began to look around. “Where is she?! I’ll show her not to tell random stallions my secrets.”

“If you’re looking for your sister, she’s not here,” I replied, drawing Spitfires attention.

“You have a sister?!”  Rainbow Dash, Sorin and Fleetfoot blurted out in shock as they looked at Spitfire.

“How do you know that?” Spitfire asked me with an unhappy glare.

“Because she’s in my herd?” I replied drawing more shocked looks from the others. “If you two are sisters, wouldn’t you know something like that?”

“So, you’re the one my sister’s letters talked about,” Spitfire growled as she looked at me darkly. “And here I thought she was lying about joining a herd.”

“I’m gething they donth get along?” Fleetfoot asked as their captain continued to glare at me,

“No, she’s just always been jealous of my accomplishments!” Spitfire huffed. “I always knew she had a strange taste in stallions.”

“I feel like that was an insult,” I replied nonchalantly. “But I don’t really care.”

“Yeah, well, you can tell my sister that she can shove it up her flank for all I care,” Spitfire growled before turning and walking away.

“H-hey, wait!” Rainbow called as she chased after her idol, her face full of confusion. “Who’s your sister?!”

“She’ll figure it out on her own,” I sighed as Rainbow Dash disappeared into the VIP crowd. “I hope…”

“That was surprising,” Sorin said as he watched the two mares wander off. “I never knew she had a sister, let alone despised somepony so much.”

“There wath thath one pony,” Fleetfoot replied of handedly before looking at me. “Ith was nith to meth you, buth we thould go.”

“Uh… yeah, it was nice to see you two as well,” I replied as Sorin gave a smirk before walking away. Apparently Fleetfoot and a bad lisp and I couldn’t remember if that was on the show or not.

Eh… you can’t remember everything.

“Donth be a sthranger,” Fleetfoot winked before following the stallion with a swaying flank.

“I better keep her away from Fluttershy,” I muttered while leaving the VIP area, the guard still glaring as I wondered off.

“Now to figure out how to help Twilight…” I muttered while heading towards the Entrance hall.

“H-hey Chris, wait!” I heard Spike call as the small drake rushed around a few startled guests towards me.

“Hey, Spike, how are you enjoying the party?” I asked as the drake stopped in front of me.

“It’s okay,” Spike shrugged. “A bunch of ponies are talking about you though. Most of it isn’t that nice though.”

“I expected as much,” I chuckled while squatting down and patting Spike’s head. “Best thing to do is just ignore them.”

“That’s what the princess always says too,” Spike mumbled. “It doesn’t mean I like it though. I mean, they don’t even know you.”

“That’s exactly why I don’t care,” I replied while standing back up. “Come on, I need your help with something.”

“Sure,” Spike replied as he followed me to the snack table. “What do you need?”

“I wanted to grab a drink for Twilight and Celestia,” I replied as I grabbed two empty cups and looked at the several bowls of different drinks.

“Oh, okay,” Spike said as he looked at the drink selections for a moment. “Twilight likes that one and the princess likes the one in the corner.”

“Alright,” I replied as I filled the cups before handing the one for Twilight to the drake. “Let’s go see how they’re doing.”

“Aye aye!” Spike replied as he followed me.

Upon entering the hall, I was actually surprised at how long the line still was.

“How is the line still so long?!” I blurted out while walking up to Celestia and Twilight, interrupting a pony that seemed to be talking to the pair.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Celestia told the pony before looking at me with a frown. “What do you want?”

“Refreshments,” I replied while holding out the drink for Celestia as Spike gave Twilight hers. “Unless your guest feel like that isn’t important.”

“U-uh… N-no, that’s…” the pony said as he looked at me with a shocked expression.

“While I thank you for the drink, I still have guest to greet,” Celestia replied while taking the drink in her magic and quickly downing it.

“I find this quite rude though,” I muttered, earning glares from those that could hear.

“And what do you mean by that?” Celestia replied with a glare of her own.

“I mean, your guests are being kind of rude by not only showing up late but forcing you to miss out on your own party,” I replied openly. “Back where I’m from, that’s found as an insult to both your host and fellow guest.”

“The nerve,” I heard one mare grumble from the line, while I noticed a few shared concerned looks as what I said seemed to travel down the line.

And as if by magic, a large amount of the guest in line broke off, giving bows and apologies for their late arrival before wandering off into the hall.

Within a few minutes, the line was almost non-existent excluding a few stuck up looking individuals that seemed to glare at me before following the pack in a huff.

“That was easier than I thought,” I chuckled while looking back at a shocked Twilight, Spike and a glaring Celestia.  

“What?” I chuckled while giving the princess my own smirk. “It is considered rude.”

“Yes, it is, but that is beside the point,” Celestia sighed before turning to leave. “Come along, Twilight, I’d like to see what Miss Applejack added to the snack tables.”

“Uh… of course, Princess,” Twilight replied while flashing me an unsure look before following after Celestia.

“Why don’t you go join them Spike, I still have something to do,” I told the small drake.

“What is it? Maybe I can help?” Spike offered.

“I just wanna see how Luna’s doing,” I replied while wondering off. “It shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay, see ya Chris,” Spike said as he rushed to catch up with the others.

“Now then,” I muttered while re-entering the hall. “Where do I go from here?”

“The cave you crawled out of if I had my way,” a snobbish voice replied from behind me.

Turning around, I wasn’t surprised to find Blueblood walking towards me with a highly irritated Rarity trailing behind. The poor mare looked exhausted, disappointed and her shawl was drenched already.

“Sorry, but your mom kicked me out and changed the locks,” I replied while activating my magic. “Not like I’d want to go back to that roach infested rat hole anyways.”

While Blueblood glared death at me and Rarity stared in shock, I took the wet shawl in my magic and wrung it out over a nearby plant before giving it back to Rarity.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I got an appointment with Luna,” I stated while wandering towards a random hall.


*  *  *


“The guard said it should be down this hall?” I questioned myself while walking down another random hallway. I had been wondering around for ten minutes and the one guard that would actually talk to me pointed in this direction and nothing else.

This castle was way too big.

“I’ll get Pinkie to help me put super glue in their helmets,” I mumbled to myself while continuing forward.

“This sure is a long hallwa-“ I began to say aloud before I smacked into something I couldn’t see.

“What the hell?!” I groaned while holding my aching nose with one hand and placing the other on an invisible barrier. “Who put a wall in my path?!”

“It’s actually a defensive precaution,” an older voice echoed from behind me.

Turning around, I was surprised to see a group of individuals making their way out of several hiding places and standing in front of me.

“They’re placed in key positions to help protect the Princesses in case of an invasion,” a gruff looking gryphon continued to speak as he stood in front of the pack. “It’s a surprise to see it here, since this hall wasn’t supposed to have one.”

“What the hell’s going on here?” I asked as I began to feel my heartbeat increase slightly.

“Oh, nothing much,” the gryphon replied while looking back at his crew while they all gave small chuckles. Including the gryphon, there were three gryphons, two unicorns, three pegasi and two earth ponies total.

All of them wore light armor and held a variety of small weapons and a few crossbows.

“I’m guessing you aren’t here to sell me a time share?” I asked with a nervous chuckle.

“No, no we are not,” the lead gryphon replied with a sigh. “Sorry to say, but you just made our job much harder.”

“Uh… does it help my case that I didn’t put this here?” I asked while pressing myself against the barrier. 

“No,” the gryphon replied.

“You can’t honestly think you’ll get away with this?” I chuckled, trying to think of the easiest way of getting out of the situation I found myself in. “All I gotta do is yell loud enough and someone is bound to hear.”

“That would be the case, yes,” the gryphon replied before giving me a smirk. “But I doubt they’ll hear you.”

“What do you mean?”

The moment those words left my mouth, the floor beneath me shook slightly.

“That took longer than I thought,” the gryphon chuckled as a flock of random birds blasted past the nearest window.

“The animals?!” I blurted in shock. 

“A couple of well-placed stink bombs is all it takes to cause a sizable distraction,” one of the earth ponies replied.

“Enough of the small talk,” another gryphon said as he pulled out a small club. “We already got paid for the job.”

“Right,” the group replied as they began to draw closer to me. The first gryphon moving to the back.

“Back the fuck off!” I shouted in a slight panic as the group came closer.

“I-I’m only giving you this one chance,” I called out as I reached in and gripped the item in my jacket firmly. “Turn around and leave, NOW!”

“Sorry, monkey,” a unicorn mare said as her horn began to glow and a crossbow bolt flashed by my face, creating a small scratch. “But we’re kind of on a schedule.”

"These fuckers just tried to kill me?!" I thought as I glared at the surrounding group, making up my mind.

“Fucking assholes!” I cursed, gritting my teeth as I drew my gun and took a shot.

The first shot I took was aimed at the front of the group as a warning, chipping the floor in front of a pony.

“One more step and the next shot won’t be a warning one!” I stated firmly as my ears rung, forcing myself to stay steady as I glared at the group.

“Pots majority to the one who brings me the weapon,” the gryphon in the back called out with a arrogant smirk as the ringing in my ears became manageable.

Even though there was some hesitance, the group gave a nod before continuing forward.

Ten deafening bangs filled the hall as I took a shot at each individual. My lack of experience and shaking hands throwing off my shots, resulting in only three of the assailants falling into puddles of their own blood and most of others being only wounded.

“You piece of shit!” one of the shot gryphons cursed as one lay dead and the first stood in the back of them, watching with a burning fire in his eyes. “What the buck is that thing?!”

But I barely heard him as my eyes stared at the gryphon in the back. A stone column he had been leaning against had a chip where a bullet had hit and older the gryphon’s head had been.

“Impressive,” the older gryphon stated as her looked at the spot where his head should have been.

“D-did that f-fucker just dodge a bullet?!” I couldn’t help but stutter out loud as the smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils and I began to find it harder to breath.

“What are you idiots waiting for?! Bring me its head!” the first gryphon screeched as the remaining attackers quickly followed the command and rushed me, ignoring the dead and their own injuries.

"I am not ready for this!" I thought as I forced myself into the mindset of this being a video game.

It was either that or deal with the fact that I just killed sentient beings for the first time while my life was in danger.  

Activating my magic, I found myself applying my devil arms as adrenaline began to force its way through my system. 

“Stay the hell AWAY FROM ME!” I shouted out, sending out a wave of magic to push my assailants back.

“Hold him down,” one of the pegasi shouted towards a unicorn as they recovered first and two horns quickly lit as I felt their magical presser begin to surround me.

“You think some weak ass hold like that is gonna stop me?!” I shouted out in anger, draining the hold to the point that it was easily breakable and holstering the empty gun, really wishing Celestia had gotten me that extra ammo she had promised. “I train daily with one of the strongest unicorns to date. What do you think was the first thing we worked on?!”

“This wasn’t part of the plan sir,” The injured gryphon directed to their leader.

“Then we change the plan,” the older gryphon smirked as he launched himself forward faster than I thought was possible.

“Fuck!” I shouted out bringing my arms up in a block and using my magic to create a temporary shield in front of my body.

“Too slow,” the gryphon shouted as he bounced off my shield and into the air.

The moment he bounced off, the weak shield went down and I was immediately tackled from the side.

“How did you-?!” I got out as I looked toward the earth pony that tackled me, only to hit the wall of the hall a moment later.

Before I could refocus from the blow, another strike sent me sliding against the wall towards a waiting group.

“C-crap!” I grunted out, getting lucky and missing the first strike as I hit the ground on my stomach, my arms out in front of me.

Fully realizing that I was open to attack, I did the only thing I could think of in that moment and released a blast of magic from my hands. Blasting a pony away and dodging several strikes in the process.

But in doing so, I just put myself back in front of the earth pony that tackled me in the first place.

“Hi again,” the pony greeted before trying to slam a hoof into my head.

Bringing up my left arm, I was able to block the strike with my devil arm, while also shifting around enough to kick the stallion back and into the invisible barrier. 

Without even thinking, I made a swiping motion with my still raised arm and released a small burst of magic to give me room to stand.

“B-bastards!” I growled as I made it to my feet, my head throbbing slightly from the blows I’d already received.

“Not bad kid,” the lead gryphon chuckled from his earlier spot. “If we met under a different situation, maybe-“

“Cut the crap!” I shouted in a pant, interrupting the gryphon. “I don’t need to hear some bullshit like that!”

Reaching with my right arm, I snagged a small flower pedestal from the side with my magic and swept it in front of me. While the flyers were able dodge it easily, a few others had some trouble and where blown into walls.

“I told you to leave,” I growled, raising the pedestal over my head and glaring at them all.

With that, I crushed the column in my magic, keeping the shards in my hold.

“Get to cover!” one of the pony’s shouted as I launched the shards forward with enough power to at least scare them away.

Unfortunately for them, there were very few places to hide and more than enough shards for me to blanket the entire hall.

The only ones who made it out of the strike unscathed were the two unicorns, who formed small barriers for themselves and the older gryphon who barely even twitched to dodge the shards.

“Not bad,” the gryphon stated as the others began to recover. 

“You little brat,” the last injured gryphon growled as he felt a large cut on the side of his face. Pulling out a large knife, the gryphon stood up and glared at me.

“F-fuck you!” I growled as I took a fighting stance.

I was at a horrible disadvantage and they knew it.

“Why the hell did I pull out my gun?!” I internally shouted, chastising myself. “Ma-maybe I can brake a window an-“

“Gah!” I shouted as a crossbow bolt painfully imbedded itself into my left shoulder, just missing the rock like casing of my devil arms.

“Looks like we’re finally getting to you,” the gryphon who pulled a knife first smirked before looking at the others. “Wait for me to make an opening.”

“S-seriously, stop this,” I grunted out in pain as the gryphon began to step forward, flipping the knife around in his hand. I knew it was a ploy, simply showing of just to add to my mental torment.

“I-I didn’t want to do this…” I couldn’t help but stutter as I got into a basic fighting stance, my knife out in front of me.

The gryphon simply screeched before he and the others lunging forward.


*  *  *


“I can’t believe the animals reacted like that,” Fluttershy frowned as she looked at the cup of hot chocolate in front of her. “We were having such a good time.”

“I’m more surprised that they actually got inside,” Rainbow Dash replied as she took a bit of her doughnut. “Who taught them to open doors?”

“At least it wasn’t our fault,” Twilight sighed dejectedly. “I would have liked to have spent more time with the princess though.”

“At least the pony you were with actually cared about you,” Rarity groaned as she wiped more cake out of her mane. “I should have listened to, Christopher when he warned me about that clout.”

“Hey, where is Chris anyways?” Pinkie asked after stuffing several doughnuts down her throat.

“Probably with princess Luna,” Spike replied. “That’s where he was going before the animals went crazy.”

“Ah don’t know…” Applejack muttered as she stared out a window towards the castle. “Somethin just don’t feel right.”

“I know, right!” Pinkie Pie added as she hopped up beside Applejack with a look of shock. “I had a dozzey earlier that I thought was because of the animals, but it WASN’T and now-“

“M-maybe we should go back and find him,” Fluttershy interrupted in worry. “W-what if he got hurt and needs our help.”

“T-that… won’t be necessary,” Princess Celestia replied as she walked into the doughnut shop. A slightly uncomfortable look in her eye.

“Did something happen?” Fluttershy quickly asked as she got out of her seat.

“Yes… but we can’t talk about it here,” Celestia replied before her horn lit up and everyone disappeared in a flash of light.


*  *  *


“C-come o-on…” I wheezed out as I stared at the last standing individual.

My left arm was completely useless as blood and pain leaked from all over my body. My chest hurt the worst and it was getting harder to breath by the moment.

“I’ve… taken out your…fodder,” I pushed out while using my right hand to keep myself up-right against a wall. “Best tactic… in a boss fight… is to take out… the lackeys first… in my opinion.”

“I really do wish we had met under different conditions,” the older gryphon sighed as he looked at all the blood and bodies around him uncaringly. “Would have loved to have gotten a drink with a guy like you.”

I blinked.

I didn’t magically blink… just simply blinked like any normal person.

But when I opened my eyes, I found the gryphon’s yellow eyes inches away from my face as a numbing pressure sank into my chest.

“I’m sorry it had to end like this,” the gryphon simply stated as my eyes slowly fell to the hilt of a knife sticking from my chest.

“No…” I thought as my surroundings began to darken. 


*  *  *


“I better get out of here,” the old gryphon began as he began to turn away from the dead creature. His bosses were not going to be happy when they found out that everyone he brought with him didn’t make it.

“No…” a voice growled, drawing the gryphon’s attention back to what should have been a dead human.

“I’m not going to die…” the human spoke as his once blue eyes turned a glowing red, the white of his eyes turning black as smoke began to pour out like tears.

“Not without you!”


*  *  *


When the light faded, Spike and the others were both shocked and worried when they found themselves at the entrance to the castle’s medical ward.

“P-princess…” Twilight began to ask as Celestia stepped towards two waiting guards.

“Report,” the princess simply stated.

“All but three were dead upon arrival,” One guard began, ignoring the fear full gasps the others gave at the word ‘dead’. “Two are still in surgery and the third…”

“I understand,” Celestia calmly told the guard. “And, where is he?”

“With Princess Luna in one of the observation rooms, your highness,” the guard replied before stepping aside and opening the door for the group. “It has been oddly silent.”

“Thank you,” Celestia nodded before turning to the others. “Follow me.”

“P-princess Celestia, w-what happened?!”  Fluttershy asked as she moved to be beside the princess.

“The incident with the animals…” Celestia began with a heavy sigh. “Was a diversion.”

“A diversion? For what?!” Rainbow Dash asked as the group followed the princess through several halls and rushing doctors and nurses.

“To attack,” Celestia clearly stated, glaring straight ahead.

“What?!” Everyone shouted in surprise.

“W-what happened? Is Chris okay? Is he hurt? What did the guards mean by all but three dead?”

A rush of questions flooded from the others, all in hopes of finding out if their friend was okay.

“Somepony paid a mercenary group to infiltrate the castle,” Celestia began with an earie calmness to her voice. “We don’t know what their objective was, but they were found in one of the halls leading to Luna’s quarters.

“Christopher happened to trip a barrier that had been placed because of the festivities and unfortunately, trapped himself with the mercenaries,” Celestia continued. “By the time anypony knew what was happening, it was already too late.”

“But what about the whole ‘dead’ thing,” Rainbow Dash asked as the group moved aside for several gurneys to pass by. Each had a something large covered in white sheets with large red stains.

“Christopher fought back,” Celestia replied as they reached a more deserted hall.

“By the time a guard made it to the scene, he had killed all but three,” Celestia replied as they reached a door guarded by two of the highest ranking individuals in the royal guard currently in the castle.

“Princess,” Both Shining Armor and Vlad greeted, saluting the princess and directing slightly warning gazes to their family members.

“How is he?” Celestia asked.

“Oddly calm and collected,” Shining Armor replied as he took a look towards he door he guarded.

“He may be suffering from shock,” Vlad continued. “He doesn’t seem to be showing signs of violence, but he does seem a little on edge.”

“C-can we see him?” Fluttershy asked first.

“Just don’t make any sudden moves and don’t try to surprise him,” Vlad replied. “We’re still unsure of his mental state.”

“Awww…” Pinkie Pie sighed.


*  *  *


“Rarity is going to kill me,” I calmly stated as I turned to walk the other way across the room. My clothing was just about shredded to piece and covered in a mixture of blood. Mostly mine, but my lack of injuries didn’t seem to match it.

“Art thou sure you don’t need anything to eat?” Luna asked as she watched me pace.

“I’m fine,” I simply replied, unable to prevent myself from smirking. I couldn’t seem to focus on much as my own mind seemed to be at war with itself over… somthing.

Knock Knock

“Its open,” I called out as I calmly watched the door open.

“Hello Christopher, I’ve brought the others to see you,” Princess Celestia uncomfortably said as she noticed a small knife in my hand. “I thought he was stripped of all weapons?”

“When did I…?” I replied as the knife disappeared into a gray mist. “Heh, that’s surprising.”

“C-Chris?” a soft voice stuttered as the girls and Spike carefully made their way inside the room.

“Fluttershy, everyone?” I replied, a calming smile on my face as the group entered the room. “It's good to see that your all okay.”

“We’re okay?! What the hay about you?!” Twilight shouted as her hair began to pop out in small spots. “Y-your covered in blood and the princess said you killed ponies and-“

“Deep breaths Twilight,” Celestia told the frantic mare, nuzzling her softly. 

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” Fluttershy began to sob as she carefully made her way towards me. Once she was close enough, she latched onto my side, completely ignoring some of the still wet blood as she began to cry against my side.

“I-I’m sorry Fluttershy,” I replied, softly pulling her from my side and dropping to a knee to give her a proper hug.

“Who did this?!” Rarity suddenly shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to the partially cake covered mare. “Who destroyed my work?!”

“We have more pressing things to discuss,” Celestia interjected with a slight scowl directed towards the mare.

“Christopher’s not in trouble, is he?” Pinkie Pie asked as she looked over to the crying mess of me and Fluttershy.

“I don’t see why I should be,” I replied looking over at the mare. 

The moment she looked into my eyes, Pinkie took a step back.

“Pinkie, what’s wro-,“ Twilight began before she looked as well. “Christopher, what happened to your eyes?!”

“It’s a result of the incident,” Luna replied as I stood up and allowed everyone to get a look.

At the moment, I wasn’t wearing my glasses, yet I could still see perfectly. 

But what really stood out were the clashing colors of blue, yellow and the thin pupils.

“What?” most of the others asked as they looked towards me with fearful looks.

“Have you all failed to notice the lack of injuries Christopher has?” Luna asked.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to tell with the whole eye thing and all the… blood,” Rainbow Dash replied with an uncomfortable look.

“We were the first to arrive to the scene,” Luna replied as she looked at me with concern. “And when we arrived, Chris was covered in cuts bruises and other injuries. But the worst was…”

“Was what?” Fluttershy asked with a stutter in her voice.

“The blade handle sticking out of my chest,” I replied, drawing silence from everyone.

“We feared that you had already died,” Luna continued, her voice faltering slightly. “But you continued to move and kept hold of the last moving gryphon and drained him of everything.”

“So that confirms it,” Twilight said as I looked towards Luna and then Celestia. “When you say he took everything, you mean the soul, don’t you?”

Both Luna and Celestia’s eyes opened wider at that remark as the others stared at me in confusion.

Except for Twilight.

She was looking at me in a mix of horror and pity as she slowly moved closer to me.

“Soul magic,” the mare said, drawing the wide eyes of the room. “I had my suspicions, but…”

“Soul magic, what the hay is that?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around the silent room.

“I-it’s a form of forbidden magic,” Rarity replied in a quiet voice, her eyes locked onto me. “T-they warn unicorns about it in school, but that’s all they say.”

“I suppose it's no use trying to keep it a secret anymore,” Celestia sighed as she looked over everyone before fixing her eyes onto me. “Yes, the magic Christopher uses is considered soul magic.”

“And before thou continue this idea that it is a forbidden form, thou should now that it is far from that,” Luna added as she stood beside her sister. “When a pony uses magic, they send out energy from themselves to manipulate the natural magic in the air.”

“An individual is considered to be a Soul Mage when they draw in magic to shape it in themselves before releasing it,” Celestia continued. “It’s why it looks like mist leaving the body.”

“But if that’s the case, why is it a forbidden form of magic, Princess?” Twilight asked as she calmed down slightly.

“The few Soul Mages I’ve encountered were some of the most dangerous I have ever encountered,” Celestia replied before looking at me. "Countless lives were lost to those who tried to study it."

“A well-practiced practitioner of soul magic can affect the souls of other living creatures,” Luna added, her posture falling slightly. “Such as taking one's soul or... being able to enter the dreams and minds of others.”

“Wait, then that means…” Twilight began as she looked at Luna with wide eyes.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna nodded, fixing her gaze onto Twilight. “We too, use soul magic; Calling it Miasma magic is simply to mask what it truly is. Being a soul mage myself is another reason we wished to be Christopher’s teacher in magic.”

“But when word spreads on what happened this evening, it won’t take long for ponies to figure that Christopher is actually using soul magic,” Celestia sighed. “It will most likely cause unrest within the court.” 

“So, let them squabble,” I replied as the others stared at me in shock. 

“Due to the circumstances, we doubt you even realized what you were doing,” Celestia replied, sharing a quick look with Luna. “Your instincts of self-preservation must have been mixing with your magic in the last moment. I’m mostly just shocked that the element of courage allowed your magic to do something like that.”

“About that sister,” Luna began as she gave me a glare. “He’s not wearing it.”

“What?!” everyone in the room shouted in shock as they all looked at me.

“After the Diamond Dog incident, I started taking it off more and I thought tonight would be a good time to not wear it,” I calmly replied as if it was the furthest thing from my mind.

Holding up my right hand, I pulled down the sleeve to show my bare wrist.

“Where is it…” a sudden growl drew my attention as an unseen pressure began to build around me. Fighting though the pressure, I was able to look at a rose eyed Celestia and draconic eyed Luna.

“Where is it?!” Celestia shouted as her horn flared and I was launched into a wall and held against it. “If you’re not wearing it, where did you put it?!”

“Sister, put him down!” Luna shouted as her horn flashed and I found myself standing freely. “He obviously wouldn’t leave it somewhere unsafe.”

“Where?” Celestia growled, staring at me.

“Somewhere safe,” I quickly replied, a smirk forcing its way onto my face. “No one would think to look for where I hid it.”

“It’s under your bed, isn’t it?” Celestia replied with a scowl. “It’s where you hide all the things you don’t want ponies to find.”

“The only thing Christopher has under his bed are some Playcolt issues,” Pinkie suddenly answered with a big smile, causing all eyes to lock onto me. 

“I do?” I honestly questioned, pretty sure I didn’t have anything under there.

“I-I th-thought you would like them…” Fluttershy’s timid voice cut in ash she smiled sheepishly at everyone.

“We’re getting off topic here!” Celestia suddenly snapped before glaring once more at me. “Give me the Element of Courage so I can place it with the others.”

“While we are unhappy that this was hidden from us, we have to side with Christopher on this,” Luna voiced as she adapted a stern expression of her own. “We also understand the need to keep the elements safe, but to keep them all together could become an issue on the off chance somepony makes it into the vault.”

“Very well…” Celestia sighed as she looked at the still shocked looks of all the other ponies. “I think it would be best if we all turned in for the night.”

“Uh… I still have a couple of questions!” Rainbow Dash blurted out. “Mostly about what the hay is happening with Christopher. His eyes look weird and he’s acting kinda smug.”

“Kinda reminds me of, Gilda,” Rarity couldn’t help but comment.

“It’s the effect of taking another’s soul,” Luna replied as she gave me a slightly worried gaze. “Right now, his soul is trying to mix with the new one. These odd characteristics are a temporary side effect of the merge.”

“Will he be okay?!” Fluttershy asked as she looked up at me with worry.

“I’ll be fine,” I replied with a calming smile.

“As my sister said,” Celestia added. “It’s a temporary issue and there shouldn’t be any long lasting effects.”

“I highly doubt that.” I thought as I looked at Celestia. There’s no way that I wasn’t permanently affected by this upset.

“Either way, its getting late and we should get some sleep,” I chuckled while looking at Fluttershy, the mare blushing behind her mane. “I think we all have things we need to talk about, but we should get some rest before continuing.”

Celestia simply nodded as all the mares looked at one another with mixed expressions.

“It would be best if you stayed here for the evening, Christopher,” Luna replied as she indicated the large medical bed in the room. “Tomorrow, we will-“

Knock Knock

“Princess,” Shining Armor’s voice cut in as the stallion opened the door. “We have a problem.”

“Ugh… locked in a room and you still find a way to mess things up,” Celestia groaned as she looked at me with annoyance.

“Somepony leaked news to the press your highness,” Shining Armor explained. “If they weren’t already here because of the animal riot, there defiantly here for the murders.”

“By my father!” Celestia growled as she glared out a nearby window. Even though we were quite a way from the castles main entrance, I could make out a growing gaggle of pegasi with flashing cameras.

“That’s a lot of reporters,” Rainbow Dash voiced as the girls all looked out the window. “You would think you’d want to keep something like this hidden.”

“We were,” Luna growled as she looked towards the door. “Captain Vlad!”

“Yes, Princess,” Vlad replied as he walked in.

“Find out who is behind this immediately,” Luna growled towards the captain, a fire in her eyes.

“It will take some time, but what should we do about the reporters?” Vlad asked as he directed his gaze towards Celestia.

“We will take care of it,” Celestia replied before looking at the mare’s. “I need you all to go to Twilights room for now.”

“But what about…” Fluttershy began before her father interrupted her.

“Things are hectic right now, so it would be best if you all just stayed out of the way for now,” Vlad calmly stated, earning some hesitant nods from the others.

“And you,” Celestia said as she looked at me. “You’re coming with me.”

“Whatever you say,” I replied with a smirk.


*  *  *


It was everything I expected it to be.

The flashing lights, the loud yelling and the highly inappropriate questions echoing from the other side of the podium in front of me.

“Is it true that you are the spawn of Discord and a potato?!” one reporter shouted.

“Were you summoned here by Tartarus worshippers?”

“Do you eat ponies?”

“Are you male or female?”

“Why is the sky blue?!”

But through all of this, I remained silent. Not looking at anyone and doing my best not to show any kind of reaction while making sure the lab coat I had switched too was on properly. One or two remained silent, writing down notes on their little note books.

“When I give the signal, just read the card,” Celestia harshly whispered into my ear, her smile not leaving for the viewing reporters.

“Uh… as long as its your idea,” I quietly replied, giving her a side glance. “But, do you honestly want me, to handle this?”

“SILENCE!!!!!!” the princess of the night shouted out in the royal Canterlot voice causing the entire foyer to shake and the reporters to go silent.

“Thanks?” I nodded towards Luna. The princess giving a smirk and a nod in reply.

“Now then…” I began while turning back to the large group of shocked reporters, Celestia glaring at me from the side. “As I’m sure you are all aware, an incident occurred here at the castle.”

At this, several more shouts echoed through the hall as reporters tried to glean more info. But I remained silent, waiting for them to follow.

Once they finally calmed down, Celestia nodded for me to continue as a small note card appeared on the podium in front of me.

“The current cause of the incident is being investigated, but any information you can provide to the guard would be highly appreciated,” I read aloud. “And if someo- somepony can help us find the individuals responsible for the attack, I will personally give a one on one interview?”

After that, I turned and walked past Princess Celestia and Shining Armor and through a nearby side door.

Which turned out to be a broom closet, but it’s what the card told me to do. 

A few moments after I entered the closet, Celestia stormed in, ignoring the fact it was a closet and butting her forehead against mine.

“I hate when things like this happen,” Celestia growled as she glared at me. “I don’t need reporters all over the castle while we’re doing our own investigation but if I don’t give them something, I’ll just find them in places they don’t belong.”

“Why did you even have me do that?” I asked, drawing another growl from the princess. “I haven’t been allowed behind one since high school. Hell, I was banned from giving a graduation speech.”

“What did you do?” Celestia grumbled, staring at me with a mix of disappointment and annoyance.

“During an award ceremony a few weeks prior, I was called on stage to receive a humanitarian award,” I replied, shrugging in the small cramped space.

“That… that actually doesn’t sound like a bad thing,” Celestia replied as her eyes widened and she looked at me a little differently.

“I walked up onto the stage like a self-entitled noble, nose in the air and everything,” I replied blandly. “Once I reached the podium I took the microphone and said ‘I deserve this’.”

Opening her mouth to reply, the mare was suddenly cut off by the sound of chaos from the other room.

“Some people just don’t know how to take a joke,” I mumbled while moving around a glaring Celestia and opening the door just a crack.

Outside, the reporters were in a frenzy. Most were making a rush for the exit, pushing others out of the way in the process. Some were hounding nearby guards for information and a few tried to talk to Princess Luna.

“I really hate you,” Celestia mumbled from above my head.

“Meh,” I began, enjoying the chaos happening. “You can’t make everyone happy.”

“They’re going to tear the city apart trying to figure out what happened,” Celestia sighed as we drew ourselves back into the closet. “We don’t even know what happened ourselves.”

“I think it’s actually quite obvious once you think about it,” I shrugged, cracking the door open and glancing at Luna momentarily.

“What?” Celestia asked.

“It was an assassination attempt on Luna,” I replied, earning a wide-eyed look from Celestia. “The hall we were in led directly to her chambers, there was a stunning lack of guards in the area since they were reinforcing the hall for the Gala and they kept mentioning a job, but made it apparent that it didn’t involve me.”

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate you?” Celestia replied with a frown.

“All the time,” I replied with a smile. “Now all we have to do is wait for the one that brings info that points to that conclusion.”
> Chapter Fourteen: "I learned a long time ago that worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia groaned with a shake of her head, her eyes scanning the horizon form her balcony. “Why did he have to take off the brace?”

“Perhaps he figured out what it actually is,” Luna smirked as she joined her sister, the moon above causing her coat to glow slightly. “He already questions the validity of an Element of Courage, and it wouldn’t take much to figure out what he actually has, especially with his awakening abilities.”

“It served its purpose fortunately,” Celestia replied with a heavy sigh. “We need to figure out where he hid it before somepony else does.”

“Seeing as we can’t even sense it, there is only one place he could have hid it,” Luna replied as if it were obvious. “And with the deal fulfilled, neither of us are allowed in there anymore.”

“That bucking idiot,” Celestia growled, turning to look towards the Everfree Forest. 


*  *  *


“We see that thou have returned to normal,” Luna said as she entered the guest room I was in, her blue coat shining slightly in the rising sun light.

“I stopped feeling smug at about three A.M and my eyes kinda went back to normal at the same time,” I simply replied from on top of the bed while watching the sun rise from a close by window. I wasn’t under the covers or anything, just sitting on the bed in a pair of ruined white dress pants and a lab coat. Surprisingly, while my eyes had reverted to their natural look and color, I didn’t seem to need my glasses.

“Then I felt a little sick… then I just kinda… meh.”

“Understandable,” Luna said as she took a seat beside me. “Taking the life of another is never easy.”

“Huh? Oh, no, I got over that quickly,” I replied, looking at the princess. “They tried to kill me and while it may sound messed up, I honestly don’t feel bad about killing them.”

“What?” Luna asked, a brow raising in obvious confusion.

“What does make me feel bad, is that I thought of this world like a video game when the attack happened,” I continued, ignoring what she said. “I only thought of it to help cope with the moment, but it felt too easy to get in to that mind set and now, it’s all I can think about.”

“Why should that matter?” Luna asked with a raised brow. “You have been here for but a few months, so it is understandable that you still have trouble accepting things as they are.”

“But it feels like an insult to all of you,” I replied with a heavy sigh, scratching the back of my head. “This isn’t a game or a cartoon. You are living breathing peo-ponies with lives and actual history.

“Then there’s the fact that I ate a soul!” I blurted out in a slight panic. “Where I come from, not only does that shit not happen, but the soul is considered sacred by a lot of people.”

“Give it time, Christopher, that’s all we can say,” Luna calmly replied as she stood back up. “Now follow us, Celestia needs to see thou.”

“What about the others?” I asked as I got onto slightly shaky legs and put on my shoes.

“Sister is talking to them right now,” Luna replied as she began to lead the way. “We both feel that it would be best if they left for home sooner.”

“What about me?” I asked as we traveled the halls. Every now and then, we would pass a guard or servant and each one would give me a wide birth.  

“For now, we feel it would be best if thou remained in the castle for some time,” Luna answered. “It won’t be long, but ponies do tend to be skittish after events like this.”

“Will I even get the chance to say goodbye?” I asked as I realized that we were heading towards the medical wing of the castle.

“Do not take this the wrong way,” Luna began. “But sister believes it would be best for them to return to Ponyville before the citizens hear the wrong things.”

“I guess, I understand,” I sighed dejectedly as we stopped outside of a secured medical room.

Two guards stood watch outside the room, both unicorns. But when they noticed me, they both became more ridged as they locked their eyes on me.

“How are the prisoners?” Luna asked, glaring at the guards until they looked towards her timidly.

“T-the gryphon is still steadily declining,” one of the guards began to explain as the other continued to glare at me.

“Go on, keep glaring,” I groaned out, to the glaring guard. “Your about as intimidating as a new born puppy.”

“And the other two?” Luna asked before either guard could reply.

“The unicorn will make a full recovery,” the guard replied as he addressed Luna fully, completely ignoring me with his fellow. “And while the Pegasus will make a full recovery as well, the doctors are unsure if she will ever be able to fly properly without years of physical therapy.”

“That is of none of our concern,” Luna stated before looking at me. “Follow me.”

Without another word, Luna led the way into the small room. 

There were no windows and the door we entered from was the only entrance. There were four beds in the room, two on either side. While the beds on the left were open to me to see, one of the beds to the right was covered by a thick curtain.

The two beds on the left were filled. One held a yellow unicorn mare with a black mane who was missing the majority of her horn and had bandages wrapped around her bearl and head. The other bed held a magenta Pegasus mare with one eye bandaged and both wings held up in casts. 

While the unicorn was asleep, the Pegasus was awake and staring at me with her single eye, the pupil so small, I almost thought it wasn’t there.

The sadistic part of me wanted to say ‘boo’ and see if she would piss herself, but I decided against it.

“So, what are we doing here?” I asked as I looked away from the Pegasus and towards Luna. A part of me almost felt bad for hurting and killing those mercenaries.

But they tried to kill me, and only a fool would let themselves be killed without fighting back.

“To see him,” Luna replied as her horn glowed and the curtain on the right was removed, revealing the older gryphon.

“What the hell?” I asked aloud as I looked at the gryphon.

There wasn’t a single wound on the guy and aside from his blank stare, he seemed completely fine.

“Goldwig Knifewing, once a famous gryphon performer,” Luna began to explain. “He was apparently a well renowned knife thrower before he decided to join a mercenaries guild almost a decade ago.”

“I-I’ve heard of that name before,” I mostly mumbled to myself. “Gilda was telling me about him and was apparently a fan.”

“We brought you here to see what happens to those who lose their soul,” Luna said, as I watched the gryphon. He looked to be deep in thought and aside from a twitch from his arm where an IV was, he was motionless.

“He will slowly die as his body shuts down,” Celestia added as she walked into the room.

“I don’t feel sorry for what I did,” I replied evenly. “He tried to kill me… almost succeeded too.”

“We’re not asking you too,” Celestia replied. “I just want you to see what you did and to simply ask that you do your best not to do it again.”

“I make no promises,” I replied evenly before looking back at the two ponies in the other beds. “What’s going to happen to them?”

“Once they are healed to an extent, they will stand trial,” Celestia replied. “Until then, they will remain here under guard.”

“And the group they work for?” I asked.

“Based in the Gryphon Empire,” Luna sighed. “All we can do is send a request for an investigation until we can get more information. Those two are apparently mute it would seem.”

“That sounds like a real hassle,” I replied as I heard a growl come from Celestia. “So, can we get going? Cause I’m pretty sure the Pegasus stopped breathing when I entered the room.”


*  *  *


“I really don’t think this is a good idea…” I mumbled, looking at the dark red stallion in front of me. “I-I mean… shouldn’t I be helping with the investigation or something?”

“We’ll talk about that while we work,” Vlad replied as he closed the door to the room we were in.

After the meeting in the hospital room, Celestia brought me straight to Vlad; dropping me before the stallion with nothing but an irritated sigh.

After that, Vlad led me deep into the castle and into a windowless room that was attached to the lower dungeons. The room was quite large and several crystals provided just barely enough light to see with.

“What I am about to show you is not to be revealed to anyone or anything,” Vlad said as he walked past me and into the middle of the room. “Not even my wife knows what your about to see.”

“Uh…” I mumbled, staring at the stallion as I began to take a few steps back towards the door.

“Now then,” Vlad spoke to himself before a sickening crack filled the air.

I could only watch in horror as the stallion’s body began to contort and shift as sickening cracks continued to fill the air.

“FUCK IT, I’M OUT!” I screamed before bolting towards the door and trying to ripe it open.

Trying, being the key term as the door wouldn’t budge.

“Fuck this!” I yelled, activating my magic and trying to break the door down.

When a familiar yellow magic barrier prevented my escape, I really started to panic.

“I’m too handsome to die!” I yelled, flinging a hand instinctively back at where Vlad had once stood.

“Calm yourself, Christopher,” Vlad’s voice echoed out as a hand reached out of a black mass and caught the magic knife I had thrown on instinct.

I watched as a human appeared out of the dark mass that had once been a dark red Pegasus stallion.

He had pale white skin and piercing red eyes. His dark black hair was neat and reached his shoulders while a thick beard filled his chin.

“It’s been a few decades since I changed like this,” the man before me spoke in Vlad’s voice as he rolled his shoulders, a simple set of clothing coving his large form. “Never thought I’d have too again.”

“W-wh-what the HELL!?” I blurted out as I looked at the man before me, something screaming at me to run for my life. “Y-you can turn into a human?!”

“I wasn’t a human when I came here to begin with,” Vlad replied as the knife I had thrown vanished into gray mist. “Changing my shape was something I could do even before I arrived to this world.”

“B-but… I-I… what…” I stuttered as her walked towards me in dark red armor. Questions flew through my head but were unable to make it to my lips.

I thought I had questions before, but now I realized just how wrong I was.

“For the rest of this week,” Vlad began as he stared at me, his eyes glowing slightly. “I will be training you in how to actually fight.”

I could only shake where I stood as the man reached me and clearly towered over me by a foot.

“I don’t need my daughter’s special someone unable to properly protect himself from a couple of two-bit mercenaries,” Vlad frowned. 


*  *  *


“I can’t believe Mrs. Cake’s having the foals!” Pinkie Pie gushed as she and her friends waited outside the window to the nursery. “I have so many parties planned!”

“A-actually, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy interrupted, stopping the bouncing mare before she could rush off and do something. “I-I was reading some books, and you should probably wait a little whilr befor throwing them a party.”

“Awww, really?” Pinkie Pie asked with sad eyes.

“Just let the foals get settled first ‘for yah do anything, sugarcube,” Applejack replied with a compassionate smile, imagining the day when she would have one of her own.

“I kinda feel sorry for, Chris though,” Rainbow Dash commented as she tried to fly up to see into the room better. “He’s been stuck in Canterlot for a week now and I know he wanted to be here.”

“I had Spike send a letter to the Princess, so maybe the princess will let him come back soon,” Twilight told everyone with a slight look of hope.

“How is the dear doing by the way?” Rarity asked. “Word is, Canterlot is still in chaos with all the reporters digging up more information than normal.”

“Well, maybe if them fancy smancy ponies did some honest work, they wouldn’t have nothing ta worry about,” Applejack commented.

“I miss him,” Fluttershy sighed as she teared up a little.

“Oh, don’t worry darling, I’m sure he’ll be back in our hooves soon enough,” Rarity said as she gave the butterscotch mare a comforting hug.

“Yeah, knowing Chris, he’s prob-“ Rainbow Dash began to say before something inside the nursery drew her attention. “What the Buck?”

“Rainbow?!” Rarity chastised as she looked at what the mare was looking at. “We’re in a hospit… what in the name of Celestia is that?!”

Inside the nursery, a large creature had entered the room wearing an oversized lab coat and a white pillowcase over its head.

“Is that who I think it is?” Twilight groaned as the others stared into the room in varying degrees of shock.

“Where is be, Cake babies?” the hulking mass of white asked in a bad Stalingrad accent. “Uh… Ah mean… where be foals? We is make sure is healthy and cute and bubbly!”

“Oh no, there’s a monster with the foals!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she made to rush into the room.

“Let’s just let the nurses take care of it,” Fluttershy interrupted with a bland look, stepping on the pink mare’s tail so she couldn’t get away.

“But it could be too late by then!” Pinkie replied as she pressed her face against the glass and glared at the white creature. “Hey you, stay away from the cute and cuddly foals!”

“The pink one is being quiet!” the creature harshly whispered towards the window. “Foals is trying to sleep!”

“Why do you like him again?” Rainbow Dash asked her friends with an amused look.

“I’m beginning to question that myself,” Applejack replied as Fluttershy giggled a bit.

Just then, the nursery door opened once again as two new carts were pushed in by Nurse Red Heart and a haggard looking Mr. Cake.

“The foalses have arrived!” the white monster quietly cheered as it moved to hover over the carts.

“W-what the hay?!” Nurse Red Heart and Mr. Cake both questioned in shock and mild fear.

“I is seeing the foals?” the creature asked in an innocent tone, holding its hands out as if to pick one up.

“W-wha… how did…” Nurse Red Heart began to stutter as Mr. Cake just stared wide eyed. “Christopher?!”


*  *  *


“Oh, what gave it away?” I asked in my regular voice, keeping it quiet so as not to disturb the resting foals.

“You’re too tall for a pony and too small for a minitour,” Red Heart frowned as Mr. Cake gave a sigh of relief. “Who even let you in here?”

“I literary walked right in. You have horrible security,” I commented while shifting the pillow case over my head a bit so I could see the two new young additions to the room. “Oh my god they’re adorable.”

“Well, I need you to leave,” Red Heart said as she began to shove me out of the room. “Who knows what germs you might have dragged in here.”

“I’ll have you know, I had a nurse use a cleansing spell on me before coming in here,” I was able to say before being shoved out of the room. “I’m so clean, you could eat off me.”

“Just stay out here,” Red Heart groaned as she closed the door behind her.

“While it’s nice ta see ya sugarcube, ya’ll shouldn’t have done that,” Applejack’s voice cut in as I stared at the closed door with resentment.

“Christopher!” Fluttershy quietly cheered as shy flew into my side and gave me a tight hug.

“C-cant b-breath!” I wheezed out though my pillowcase as the mare continued to squeeze.

“I missed you so much!” Fluttershy softly sobbed into my side, releasing me enough to breath.

“Sorry,” I sighed, returning the hug finally.

“Weird entrance, but it’s awesome to see you dude,” Rainbow dash commented as she flew over with a curious glance. “But uh… what’s with the pillow case?”

“Fashion statement?” I offered with a shrug.

“Darling, the day that becomes a fashion statement is the day the princess becomes a stallion,” Rarity commented as her horn began to glow. A moment later, I felt a slight tug on my impromptu mask.

“It’s no use Rarity,” I commented as she struggled to remove it. “Celestia put it on me herself. Said I wasn’t aloud out of the castle without it.”

“Can’t you take it off yourself?” Pinkie Pie asked as she appeared from behind my shoulders. “I mean if she used magic to keep it on you, can’t you do your magic thing and drink it up or something?”

“I can drain magic Pinkie, I don’t drink it,” I chuckled back. “And her magic is one of the only kinds I can’t really drain away all that well. I think she has a way to counter it.

“She really doesn’t seem to like me.”

“Did Princess Celestia really make you wear that?” Twilight questioned with a look of uncertainty. “That doesn’t sound like her.”

“It was either this or several guards,” I replied as Rainbow Dash fell onto her back in laughter.

“SHHHHHHHHH!” Red Heart shushed from the nursery door, glaring at us all before disappearing back inside the room.

“Let’s take this outside,” I commented as I made my way out while carrying Fluttershy and using my magic to drag a chuckling Rainbow Dash.

“Does that mean you still have to go back?” Fluttershy asked as we all made it outside of the Ponyville hospital.

“Unfortunately,” I sighed as I set her down.

“Have they really not found out who did it?” Twilight asked.

“Not yet,” I replied. “I’ve been… occupied for the past week, so I don’t really know what’s going on.”

“What they hay could you be doing that makes it so you don’t know what’s going on?”  Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at me.

While they all may see me covered in a large coat and pillowcase, underneath I was a pile of cuts and bruises.

For the past week, Vlad had been teaching me nonstop in a large assortment of fighting techniques for both self-defense and the tournament. He only stopped to let me eat, heal major wounds and get a few hours of sleep.

If I did well for the day, that meant I’d get a full four.

It was just a few hours ago that Vlad said he was done, which both surprised me and gave me relief.

Shortly after that, Celestia entered the room and told me the good news and gave me her ultimatum. 

“So, how much longer till you get to come home?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’ll be back by the end of next week either way,” I replied. “Celestia said that things should be under enough control by then for me to safely leave the castle and come back fully.”

“That’s good,” Fluttershy smiled up at me.

“Sorry I can’t stay longer, but I want to check on Gilda and the others before heading back to Canterlot,” I told the group. “Why don’t you stick around and see Mrs. Cake. Be sure to give her and her husband my regards too while you’re at it.”

“Okay!” they all replied in unison as I began to walk away.


*  *  *


“So, the princess teleported you down?” Gilda asked with a little giggle as I took a seat on my chair. She apparently thought the pillowcase thing was as funny as Rainbow Dash did.

“It’s warm?!” I immediately thought. “Am I gonna have to cut a bitch?!”

“Yeah… felt really weird too,” I nodded back while Geralt rushed over and gave me an affectionate greeting. “So, where’s our new house guest?”

“If you mean, Rachel, she’s at work,” Gilda replied as I looked at her in confusion. “Princess Luna came the other day and said she was innocent or something like that.”

“That’s… good?” I replied as I leaned away from Geralt. “So, she got a job?”

“Yeah, she helps at the school or something,” Gilda replied, before she looked like she remembered something important. “Also, she moved into the backyard.”

“Wait… what?!” I blurted as I quickly got out of my chair and rushed outside to check the backyard.

Off to one side was a small cave entrance that had not been there before. It wasn’t that large, but it obviously led into the ground and was formed of tough dirt and large stones.

“She can’t do that!” I shouted while grabbing my head in agitation, nearly ripping the pillowcase. “This place is basically a rental!”

“Calm down, Princess Luna said it was okay after Rachel asked,” Gilda chuckled as she came up behind me. “Kinda cool down there if I’m being honest.”

“I still would have liked to have been talked to about this beforehand,” I sighed while looking back at Gilda and finding her to have a slightly uncomfortable look.

“Is something wrong?” I asked as I gave her my full attention.

“It’s nothing really…” Gilda began as she looked up at me. “It’s just that… there’s been some stories passed around town. A lot of ponies have been calling you ‘Reaper’ lately.”

“Reaper?” I asked, having been cut off from a lot of information during my time with Vlad.

“It’s from a Daring Do book,” Gilda replied. “In her first book, there was a mention at the end about a creature that… ate the souls of its victims or something… and that it was called ‘Reaper’. I guess one of the local papers made mention of it, and it’s kinda gone on from there.”

“Huh… I can see where they are coming from at least,” I replied, deciding to take a look at the book for myself at one point.

“Aren’t you kind of worried about how ponies will see you?” Gilda asked, obviously surprised by my reaction.

“Well, the house isn’t being burnt to the ground,” I began. “And while I may have a disguise, it’s still pretty obvious who I am and nobody ran away in fear when I was walking to and from the hospital. Hell, a few ponies even gave me a friendly wave.”

“I guess your right…” Gida replied, still looking uncomfortable.

“What else is it?” I asked, noticing Gilda’s worry.

“Did you really kill Knifewing?” Gilda asked as she looked up at me, her eyes turning a little red as she fought against her own tears. “The papers said that you… took his soul.”

“So, the papers actually printed that,” I sighed to myself before addressing Gilda.

“Yes, I killed Knifewing and yes, I took his soul,” I told Gilda, having decided to be honest with my herd about what happened. “He and a group of mercenaries tried to kill me and I defended myself.” 

“Darn it!” Gilda growled. “The guy used to be so cool and he had to go a screw it up and join a bunch of mercenaries.”

“I know you liked the guy Gilda, but he almost killed me,” I told her, wondering where this was going to lead. 

“I’m not mad at you,” Gilda sighed. “I just wanted to see him perform one more time.

“My dad took me to see him when I was just a chick and… I kinda hoped…” Gilda began as tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry Gilda,” I said as I took a knee and pulled the gryphon into a hug. This was the first time I had heard anything about her family and decided to save the questions for a better time.

“It’s not your fault,” Gilda said after a few moments. “While I would have liked to see him perform again, I’m just glad to see you okay.”

“There’s the sappy gryphon I’ve come to know,” I chuckled as Gilda gave me a glare.

“I have to get ready to head back to Canterlot,” I continued. “But when I do get back, I hope you’d be willing to talk some more.”

“I-I guess we could,” Gilda huffed as her cheeks glowed slightly. “I gotta get back to work myself anyways. Rainbow Dash kinda left the whole place high and dry when she went to the hospital and my breaks almost over.”

“That sounds like her,” I chuckled while standing back up and making my way back into the house.

“So, they’re calling me Reaper now?” I asked as I walked into my living room and finding Celestia sitting on the couch, eating a piece of cake.

“It’s an unfortunate result of the event,” Celestia replied as she ate.

“Eh, I kinda like it actually,” I couldn’t help but say as I thought it over. “If ponies want to call me that, then let them. As long as my friends now who I am, I’m fine with it.”

“You are some kind of stupid, you know that,” Celestia basically stated as I gave a shrug. “Now, please prepare yourself, as I’m about to teleport us to the castle.”

“Wow, a warning? When did I-“


*  *  *


CRASH

BANG

THUD

THUD

“O-o-ouch…” I groaned after sliding across the throne room and into a wall.

“I told you to prepare yourself,” Celestia said as she stood in the middle of the room. “You’re lucky I had the guards leave for a little while or they would use that as an excuse to put you in chains.”

“Your guards just don’t like me,” I groaned as I painfully sat up and finally removed the pillowcase, revealing my bruised face to the world.

“Maybe if you stopped antagonizing them, they would trust you more,” Celestia replied as she got back into her seat. “Now then, before I allow ponies back in here, I have a question for you.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked as I shuffled to a small chair I saw by the wall.

“How cute were they?” Celestia suddenly gushed with a large smile as she looked at me with twinkling eyes.

“Heart attack inducing!” I replied with a smile of my own. 

Captain Vlad had told me that Celestia LOVES foals and actually liked to sneak into the small daycare the castle has for some of the single working servants. If she’s not sneaking cake, she’s playing with foals.

“Okay, that should get me through the day,” Celestia smiled as she turned back forward and lit her horn.

In a flash of light, the room’s main doors opened and guards quickly moved into position, most giving me tense looks before continuing.

“Sorry about that everypony, there was a small situation, but it has been resolved,” Celestia told the crowd with her signature smile.

“Right…” I sighed while pulling out my phone from a pocket in my lab coat and staring at it with a bored expression.  

“Is there anyone else?” I asked a nearby guard after an hour, trying not to interrupt whoever was talking to Celestia.

The guard just stared at me with a slightly annoyed look.

“How many times do we have to tell you to not interrupt the princess?!” the guard whispered into my ear as Celestia’s meeting continued.

“A few more times should do it,” I jokingly replied in a quiet voice, earning another glare as the pony Celestia was talking to finally left. “Now, is there anyone else? It’s getting kind of late.”

“I really hate you,” the guard sighed before heading towards the throne room entrance. A few minutes later, he returned with a peach coated young filly unicorn. “This is the last one.”

“Well, this is a surprise,” Celestia smiled as the pony she had been talking too left with a frown “Is there something I can help you with?”

“You’re the weird monkey thing that asked for info about the Gala incident right?” the filly asked innocently, a small pair of saddle bags bouncing slightly on her back as she ignored Celestia and looked right at me. “The one who’ll give an interview to the pony who helps solve who did the bad thing during the Gala?”

“Uh… yeah?” I replied as the guard that had escorted her gave a slight chuckle.

“Then here!” the filly proclaimed as her horn glowed slightly and a picture was pulled from one of her bags. She floated it up to me with a large smile that proclaimed that she did something amazing.

“What in the…” I began as I took the picture and gave it a look. After a few moments, I couldn’t help but smile and take a copy of it with my phone.

“I’m sorry to say!” I yelled out into the hall, drawing everyone’s attention as I stood up. “But court is over for the day!”

“Everypony aside from the guards already left,” Celestia sighed as she looked back at me with an obvious look of annoyance.

“Either way, take a look at this,” I smiled as I walked up the diesis and showed Celestia the picture. After staring at it for a few moments, she gave me a nod before addressing the room.

“Would you look at that, he’s correct,” Celestia mumbled mostly to herself.

“Uh… did I do a good job?” the filly asked from the floor with an adorable frown.

“Did you come here with a parent?” I asked her, receiving a nod in reply. “Then could you go bring them here?”

“Okay!” the filly smiled as she rushed off.

“To think a filly would be one of the ones to bring you some good evidence,” I chuckled while looking at the picture.

“Try the only piece of evidence,” Celestia sighed as she took the picture with her magic and looked it over with a frown of her own. “What do you plan to do now?”

“I apparently have an interview to do,” I replied as the filly re-entered the hall followed by an older mare. 

“Very well,” Celestia chuckled before giving me a glare as she stood up. “Try to not antagonize the filly, will you? Contrary to what you think, you do need to improve what others think of you. And once you’re done, I need to speak to you.”

“Just go do your thing,” I replied as I stepped off the diesis and met the pair.

“Good Afternoon,” I nodded to the both, earning a big smile from the filly and a slightly scared look from the older mare.

“I-I’m sorry if my daughter upset either you or the princess,” the mare began to stutter. “S-she was just so excited when she…”

“It’s alright,” I interrupted with a chuckle while taking the pair over to the side of the hall and pocketing my phone. “She actually brought us exactly what we were looking for, so she’s defiantly not in trouble.”

“So, I win the interview?!” the filly almost shrieked in excitement as papers, quills and several ink bottles fell out of her bags.

“Yeah, you did,” I couldn’t help but chuckle as the filly began to collect her materials. It reminded me of Twilight and her study sessions.

“So… she’s not in trouble?” the mare asked for a reconfirmation, breathing a sigh of relief at my nod.

“So, I bet you got a lot of questions for me, huh?” I asked the filly as she sorted all her things in front of herself.

“Yep,” the filly chirped as she pulled out a roll of paper from her bag.

“M-my daughter, Short Press, is in a small newspaper club in her elementary school,” the mare said as she took a seat by her daughter.

“I hope you plan to only write the truth about me,” I smiled, standing in front of the two.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Short Press asked innocently.

“You’d be surprised,” I couldn’t help but say while staring off out a window for a moment. “Now, before we begin, can you tell me how you got the photo?”

“My mommy and daddy got tickets to the Gala this year and I took a picture for the paper,” Short Press said as she pulled out a large photo showing the mare and some random stallion in fancy outfits. In the corner though, was the same image as the one she had given me earlier.

“I thought it looked funny so I thought I’d try and I won!” Short Press proclaimed proudly.

“Good eye, kid,” I replied with a smile and a nod.

“But… I’m not a goat?” the filly replied as both her and her mother looked at me in confusion.

“Why don’t we start with those questions?” I offered, with a sigh.

What followed was an hour of questions from Short Press and a few from her mother, Perfect Edit.

I answered a good chunk of them truthfully. Mostly just things like who and what I am and a few things that weren’t really a secret.

But when they asked for things like where I lived, what kind of things I didn’t like and stuff like that, I would give them half-truths. It was a little unfair and dastardly of me, but it was mostly to things that they didn’t need to know.


*  *  *


“Thank you very much, Mr. Reaper,” Short Press called out as she and her mother left through the castle gates. It surprised me when she started calling me that and it was a little funny when her mother tried to apologize for it, but I let it go all the same.

“Well, at least that’s over with,” I sighed, giving them one final wave before walking back into the castle…

… and strait into Celestia.

“I see your finally done with your guests,” Celestia said as I shook the shock of running into the brick wall out of me. “You even missed the mid-mid-day meal.”

“Yeah… well, at least that’s over with,” I sighed as I began to walk with Celestia to where ever it was she was going. “How did it go on your end?”

“He’s currently off on vacation, but he’ll be back by the end of the week,” Celestia replied. 

“If he was smart, he wouldn’t be,” I grumbled.

“Just let me take care of it,” Celestia replied as we walked into a large empty room. “He will return and he will be charged appropriately. That picture alone opened all the doors we needed to collect the appropriate evidence against him.”

“So, there’s no chance of me leaving before then?” I asked while looking around the unfamiliar room.

“For your safety, no,” Celestia replied as she magically summoned a large box out of nowhere. “Now I wanted to give you this before dinner.”

“Uh… What is it?” I asked while looking the box over. It wasn’t that tall, but it was a few feet long and had a small gem set in its side. “A box?”

“It’s your reward for protecting a Princess of Equestria,” Celestia replied. “If you were a citizen, I would have had to set up an entire ceremony for this, but since you’re not, I decided that you don’t need one.”

“Why not?!” I asked, a little hurt that I wouldn’t be getting something that would put me in a good light with ponies.

“This is for both yours and Luna’s own good,” Celestia replied as she looked at the box. “What you did would usually result in a knighthood, but in doing so, you would in a way, become a citizen of Equestria and it would be harder for me to protect you from the other nobles.”

“And Luna?” I asked, trying to figure out how to open the box.

“We don’t need ponies asking why they were trying to attack Luna,” Celestia said with a heavy sigh.

“Why were those mercenaries doing a suicide mission like that anyways?” I asked, thinking it over. “I just can’t figure it out and Vlad never told me. I mean, aren’t you two basically immortal?”

“It’s because Luna is still not at full strength,” Celestia replied with a heavy sigh. “It’s a closely guarded secret, but she is barely at a fraction of her real strength.”

“I guess that would make some sense,” I replied, thinking about a few things. “But she seems pretty strong already.”

“At full strength, Luna is more magically gifted than me,” Celestia stated, drawing a shocked look from me. “I may have more experience than her, but compared to her, it’s like paring a Unicorn foal against Twilight.”

“Damn…” I muttered with wide eyes.

“I expect you to keep this a secret as well,” Celestia stated as she lit her horn and the box suddenly opened, making a sound like that of a broken seal. “Now, please open the box.”

“Uh… okay,” I muttered as I lifted the lid up fully, showing that it was on hidden hinges.

The inside of the box was fixed with red velvet and a vast majority of it was a block with a sword and my gun properly fitted in special spaces. The rest of the box was a separate container filled with bullets.

“Is that… a Shashka?” I asked as I looked at the sword set in the box, deciding to ignore the countless bullets for a moment.

“I’m surprised that you know what type of blade it is,” Celestia commented with wide eyes.

“I learned about them when looking up swords as a kid,” I replied, hesitating to pick it up. “I could tell because some of the hilt is inside the scabbard. It’s one of the things it was known for because it allowed water into the scabbard, causing the blade to rust.”

“I can promise you, this blade wont rust,” Celestia stated as she looked at me with a raised brow. “Pick it up and pull it out slowly, and I’ll explain more.”

“Okay…” I replied as I reached in and grabbed the scabbard. The moment my hand made contact with it, a slightly painful shock rushed through my arm and into my body.

“W-what the hell was that?!” I asked as I pulled my hand away.

“A special spell,” Celestia giggled. “It was just to mark it as yours, so now, others can’t take hold or use it besides you. It’s something that has to be ingrained in it during forging.”

“You could have warned me,” I grumbled as I hesitantly reached back for the sword. When it didn’t shock me again, I picked it up and found that a gold coin was attached to the pummel of the sword by a thick black cord.

One side had an image of the sun and the other had a moon. I could also sense a small amount of magic in it.

“This is specially made just for you,” Celestia continued, as I drew the blade out. The dull edge shined a dull copper color while the cutting edge was a crystal blue. “Its design is from long ago, but we felt it would suit you better. It’s made of orichalcum and mithril, both highly acclaimed for their strength and defense against magic.”

“I read about this stuff,” I commented as I held the surprisingly light blade out by the handle. Unlike all the other pony blades I had encountered so far, this was a lot larger and had a handle only just long enough for me to hold it with one hand, not including the pummel. “This stuff is supposed to be really hard to get though, right?”

“We have our ways,” Celestia replied.

“Wow, this is awesome,” I said, looking the blade over. It had no hand guard, so it was bad for parrying, but it was straighter than a katana but had a larger curve compared to a saber. 

“But… why give me something that I don’t know how to use properly?” I asked, remembering how the last sword I got kind of melted and broke in half.

“Because I will teach you,” Celestia replied. “The tournament is getting closer and the more you know, the better.”

“But how am I supposed to learn how to properly fight with a sword in such a short time?” I asked, sliding the blade back into its scabbard with a soft click. 

“I have my ways,” Celestia replied as she used here magic to attach the scabbard to my waist in a way so that it wouldn’t incombered me. As she did this, I noticed a few sparks coming off the scabbard and heard a slight grunt of pain from Celestia.

“Captain Vlad also said that you’re a fast learner,” Celestia commented. “Me and Luna spent months going through what took you only a week to finish.”

“Magic really helped expedite the process,” I replied as I drew the sword out slightly and returned it back several times, remembering my sword manual back in the Marine Corps. “Less time spent on preparing my body and more just learning the techniques.”

“Yes, well, there is still something else for you in the box,” Celestia said as she pointed to it. “Just lift up where your sword sits.”

“Okay?” I replied as I took a knee and opened the box further. Under the cushioning for the sword and gun, I found my holster and several papers.

“Is this… the deed to my house?” I asked, while looking over some of the papers. “Your giving me the house?!”

“Yes, I am,” Celestia seemed to growl back. “All I ask is that you continue to keep a stock of cake and moon pies for me and my sister.”

“Sure!” I replied as I looked over the deed.

“I’m a home owner!” I thought with glee as my eyes went over to the other papers. “Uh… what the hell are these supposed to mean?”

Several papers held far more legal-jargon then I have ever seen and I felt that Celestia could at least explain it to me.

“That is, if you accept the position, the paperwork needed to appoint you as the Warden of Ponyville,” Celestia began. 

“What does that mean?” I asked, finding it kind of cool but also feeling a slight sense of dread.

“Think of it like a special city guard,” Celestia explained. “In certain cases, you can uphold the law of Equestria on the spot and even overturn some judging’s under certain conditions.”

“Whose stupid idea was it to give me that kind of pull?!” I blurted out as I looked at the papers. “Besides, you said it yourself; I’m not even a citizen.” 

“I’ll be sure to tell, Luna what you think of her gift,” Celestia smiled, obviously trying to hide the seething glare she was giving me. “And while you may not be an Equestrian citizen, you are still an Element of Harmony.”

“Just calling it like I see it,” I uncomfortably replied. “I didn’t mean to call Luna an idiot, just that the idea is kind of bad.”


*  *  *


“It’s defiantly a change fighting with a shashka then a regular short sword,” I commented to Celestia and Luna during dinner, or in Luna’s case, breakfast.

“It’s to be expected,” Luna replied as she looked at the weapon still strapped to my belt. It had been a few days since I had been given my reward, and Celestia had spent that time showing me several different stances that she wanted me to practice.

She apparently planned to show me her wooden training sword collection tomorrow.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that I was going to be feeling a lot of pain soon. 

“We never much liked using weapons when our hooves were more than enough,” Luna commented as she gave me a smirk and a wink. Amazingly enough, aside from a few hidden kisses here and there, me and Luna hadn’t done much with one another outside of training in the dreamscape.

“What’s this I hear about fighting?” a sweet voice asked, sending shivers down my spine.

“Ah, Cadence, how nice of you to join us,” Celestia replied as the princess of love entered the small dining room we were in. “I thought you would be with Shining Armor right about now.”

“Oh, Shining is busy with work,” the mare sweetly replied as she took a seat to my right and proceeded to move herself closer to me. “So, I thought I would join the three of you for dinner this evening.”

“I doubt that…” both me and Luna replied as I began to fight off Cadence’s tail while it was still under the table.

Turns out, Cadence and Shining Armor are a couple, but have a bit of a deal to each have a second mate due to their jobs and positions. Cadence made it sound like it was just another type of herd, but the thing that made me uncomfortable was that she apparently had eyes on me to be her second.

But when I had told her no because I was already in a herd and she was with someone, she took that as a challenge. Now, whenever she’s around me, she would rub up against me, make very lewd comments and has showed up at the worst times possible, most of which when I was naked or she was in something inappropriate.

Shining Armor obviously didn’t approve because I was already in a herd with his sister and he didn’t trust me. Luna found it annoying and was usually the one to rescue me from her while Celestia literally ignored everything about it.

Although, I did feel a little sorry for Cadence since Shining already had a second.

She was a bat pony mare called Swift Eyes that they knew when they were in school together, who worked serving drinks at a bar just outside the castle. Shining introduced me to her once when he took me out to both apologize for the Gala incident, warn me away from Cadence and then thank me for looking after his sister.

Honestly, I just wanted her to leave me alone already.

“So, how was your day today, Reaper,” Cadence asked as she brushed herself up against my arm with half laden eyes. 

She also like calling me by my new nickname… which was becoming a common occurrence from just about everyone.

“Sorry, can’t say,” I replied, forcing my chair away and earning a pout from Cadence. 

“I heard you finally got the evidence you need to charge you know who,” Cadence replied as she continued to pout.

“Not again with this conversation…” 

“Ah, yes, a young filly actually brought it,” Celestia replied as she summoned the photo in her magic and held it up for all to see.

On it, was a zoomed in shot that showed a noble by the name of Count Dew Point, talking with one of the gryphon mercenaries just outside the palace gates. It would have been impossible to make out who it was if it hadn’t been for a firework going off at just the right moment.

“He was a top suspect to begin with anyways,” I replied for the umpteenth time as I sat back in my seat. “At least it wasn’t your brother Blue Blood, as surprising as that may be.”

Sparing the mare a glance, I couldn’t help but remember how I was told that Cadence was actually an orphan and got adopted by Blue Blood’s family when she was still a foal.

No one would tell me if she was an alicorn at the time though.

“Even if he didn’t do it, he can rot in the dungeon for all I care,” Cadence replied as she forced her seat closer to mine once again. “I honestly hate the stallion.”

“As do we, young Cadence,” Luna replied, using her magic to separate Cadence from my side. “In our day, nobles were at least noble.”

“Whatever you do, I’d recommend not keeping it a secret afterword’s,” I added. “If the truth got out and ponies think you went easy on this Count because of his rank, you’d just be inciting more unrest between the nobles and commoners.”

“I’ve been at this for a while, Christopher,” Celestia replied to me with a frown. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I just got a bad feeling is all,” I muttered.


*  *  *


“And that should be good for today,” Celestia said as she finished healing a few small cuts I had. 

“That’s good,” I sighed while falling onto my back, my sword held in my right hand. “Sorry about breaking the halberd, though.”

“It was old to begin with,” Celestia replied as she took a seat beside me. I couldn’t help but notice how close her ass was. “And if you keep looking at my flank, I will break your nose.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I grumbled as I stared up at the ceiling. “Bedside’s, it’s kinda hard not…”

“You finish that sentence and I will throw you out of a window,” Celestia interrupted as she glared down at me.

“Spoilsport,” I grumbled while sitting up. “So, I was thinking of going into town today to get some gifts for everyone since this, Dew Point should be back tonight.”

“Is this your way of asking me for permission to leave the castle?” Celestia asked as she looked at me with a calculating eye.

“Kinda,” I shrugged before standing up. “I was thinking of heading out after breakfast to see some shops. I mean, I’ve been here for a while on several occasions and I’ve barely seen anything Canterlot has to offer.”

“I guess I can allow it,” Celestia lamented as she stood up. “I can have a few guards escort you around to a few shops that I know will have some trinkets the others would like.”

“I don’t need no lousy escorts,” I replied. “Besides, enough ponies should at least know about me enough that I won’t be messed with.”

“I’m still assigning a guard as an escort,” Celesta replied as she led the way out of the practice room and towards a small shower area. “Now clean yourself off, you reek of sweat.”

“And you smell like a horse,” I replied, earning a glare from Celestia and the guards that had been posted outside of the room. 

That’s the moment I found myself falling into the castle mote.

“And that’s how you escape the castle without an escort,” I chuckled after swimming to the surface. Sheathing my sword, I swam to the side and climbed out of the water and onto the shore beside the castle entrance.
> Chapter Fifteen: "I’m about to do to you what Limp Bizkit did to music in the late ’90s."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What did you do this time, Reaper?” one of the guards asked as I made my way out of the castle in nothing but my wet pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, upturning my scabbard to empty it of water.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied as I walked past them, using my magic to help dry myself off. The guards had seen fit to call me only by my new nick name, possibly thinking it was an insult.

To bad for them, I actually liked the name.

Once I began to walk the streets, I quickly became the center of attention.

This was my first time leaving the castle since the incident, so I was sure things would be interesting, but I had to get some air before leaving back for Ponyville.

Several times I ended up in small augments with some snobbish ponies who would walk into me because their noses were raised too high or thought I was a threat to their perfect city.

“Watch where you’re going! I’m walkin’ ‘ere!” I shouted at another pony, putting on a heavy accent.

In return, the random pony called for the guard and told them to arrest me for assaulting him.

The arriving guards took one look at me and then dragged the pony away, saying it was for his own protection. 

“Now that, I could get used to,” I chuckled to myself as I continued my walk, looking at the surrounding buildings.

The white buildings easily reflected the early morning sun enough to light a path from the castle into the city. The ones closest to the castle were by far the largest and were spaced out so that each had a large enough yard to fit another house.

As I made it farther into the city, the building shrunk and the ponies seemed slightly less stuck up.

“All this white and purple must take forever to clean,” I mumbled as I moved past a staring group of ponies.

“Hey, you!” A voice shouted from behind me.

Instincts took over as I stopped and looked back for whoever it was calling for me. Years of hearing that while in the Marine Corps having given me a slight sixth sense for when someone was specifically calling out to me without using my name.

“O-oh, you stopped,” a pony that stood a few feet behind me said as I noticed her.

She wore an overly large sun hat and thick red glasses. A large dark magenta cloak covered her back, but two slight bulges pointed that she was a Pegasus. A pair of familiar magenta eyes looked up at me as the mare smirked confidently.

“Well, if it isn’t A.K Yearling,” I replied, causing the ponies eyes to widen even more than normal. “Surprising to see a pony like you in a place like this.”

“W-well… I’ve been trying to get a chance to talk to you,” Yearling replied, quickly regaining herself. “But apparently, you weren’t available.”

“Well, here I am,” I replied, holding my arms out to my sides and giving her a smile. 

This would actually be a good chance for me to talk to her about the Reaper from her books. While I had yet to read any of her adventures, I knew that getting the info right from the source would be better.

“Come on, let’s find a place to talk,” I said before turning around and walking towards a bench I saw in the distance.

“Awesome,” Yearling chirped as she fell in beside me.

Reaching the bench, I shifted my sword into a position that would allow me to sit properly and took a seat. Yearling took a seat beside me, setting a pair of saddlebags between us before looking at me with a smirk.

“So, you’re the local human?” Yearling began, looking me up and down, her eyes resting on my sword for a moment. “Never thought I’d get the chance to see one in pony.”

“You’re not the only one that I’ve heard say that to me,” I replied while leaning back. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Depends on how much time you have,” Yearling chuckled as she took a moment. “I guess if I had to start somewhere, it would be if you know anything about the legend of “The Reaper”?”

“Only that you mentioned it in one of your books,” I replied. “Whatever you put in there was enough to get ponies to start calling me Reaper from the little you put in.”

“Damn,” Yearling cursed in obvious disappointment.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” I chuckled at the mare. “Would you mind sharing what you have at least? I’d kinda like to know the full story behind why ponies decided to call me that.”

“The legend of “The Reaper” is one of the oldest and most obscure stories I have ever come across,” Yearling replied while opening her bags and pulling out a large folder. “Before I got into writing, I studied archeology.”

As she said this, she offered me the folder, which I took and looked into. The only things inside the folder were a few copies of writings in a language I couldn’t understand and a single picture.

The picture was of a faded mural that showed two large beasts fighting over a mass of different species.

The beast on the right was colored yellow and white, faintly resembling a man in full plate armor and large wings. Below it, a massive swarm of armored figures congregated, some held weapons while others looked to have dripping blood from their claws.

The beast on the left was shrouded in black and the only thing that could be made out from the faded image were a pair of red eyes. Below it, I could make out several gryphons, ponies, dragons and a few other species standing against the horde.

“During one of my first digs, I found this mural and several small records about it,” Yearling continued. “All I could decipher was that there was a great war back during the Rule of Queen Ananke and King Astraeus.”

“So, you know about the princess’s parents?” I asked, my eyes never leaving the picture in my hand.

“They’re princesses,” Yearling giggled. “That kind of infers that that there’s a king and queen. But their rule was so long ago, most ponies tend to forget about them entirely.”

“Okay, but what else?” I asked.

“I was so intrigued by the story, that I did everything I could to learn more about it,” Yearling continued, a look of wonder filling her eyes before they fell. “But no matter how much I tried, all I could find were bits and pieces. Mostly just rumors and little side notes written in some old journals.

“Apparently, the Reaper just showed up out of the blue when the war was at its worst. HE apparently had the power to drain the magic of his enemy and use soul magic. A form of magic currently forbidden for ponies to practice.”

“And for good reason,” I replied, giving the mare her files back. “Do you know what the guy was like?”

“Actually, he had a heart of gold,” Yearling chuckled in disbelief. “A journal I found information about him in, was written by a young mare who opened a home to feed and shelter orphan foals, and those who had nowhere to go because of the war.

“She wrote that he suddenly appeared one evening with food and stories. He made constant appearances there, but she didn’t write much else.”

“Anything else?” I asked, finding the original Reaper to be interesting. 

I honestly began to wonder why there was so little information on this character. 

The mare had put it in a book most believed to be fictional, probably causing researchers to second guess its authenticity if they came across something related. But if they asked the right ponies, they could find that its true.

“Celestia could easily…” I began to think before I realized that Celestia was probably the answer.

She was the only one I could think of who could possibly get this kind of thing swept under the rug. But that just made me wonder why she would do it in the first place.

“Nothing else that I could really confirm,” Yearling replied as she stored her folder and a slight uncomfortable look crossed her face.

“What is it?” I asked, noticing the look.

“I’m not the only one interested in this legend,” Yearling replied as she looked at me with determination. “I also wanted to warn you that some unsightly individuals may come looking for you as well. Even if you don’t know anything.”

“Like Ahuizotl?” I asked, crossing my arms across my chest as a small twinge of worry passed threw me.

“W-what?! N-no, th-that’s just a character in my book,” Yearling tried to explain, failing at her attempt to placate me.

“I know who you are Daring,” I replied, not bothering to look at the mare as she flinched at the name. “And if your Ahuizotl is anything like the ones my people have legend’s about, he’s gonna want me for more than just my power and supposed knowledge.”

I couldn’t help but shiver slightly as I recounted the time I had done a search on the creature after seeing the episode he showed up in. It turned out that it was actually from Aztec myths and had a love for human flesh and preferred to drown their victims.

“After I finish my current project, we defiantly need to talk about those legends,” Yearling replied almost absent mindedly. “And yes, he’s who I’m most worried about right now. He’s more dangerous than you think and he’s not afraid to hurt others to get what he wants.”

“Well then, if you happen to see him before I do,” I began with a growl, thoughts of my friends being threatened by the beast. “Tell him something for me.”

“Uh… what?” Yearling asked, looking at me with both worry and wonder.

“Etiam deos morietur,” I replied, having slight difficulty pronouncing the words before standing. It was Latin and was a phrase I had translated on my phones translation app when I had been bored and was the only one I could think of off the top of my head.

It was one of the few languages I had downloaded onto my phone since the Marine Corps had several quotes and sayings in Latin. I had decided to try and learn the language since I had a lot more time on my hands without TV and video games and the app was all I could go off.

I could already write in Unitologist, but that was a completely different thing all together. 

“If you’re as good as I think Indie, you can figure out what that means.”

With that, I left the mare to her musings. 


*	*	*


Yearling sat on the bench for a while longer as the words the human had spoke raced through her mind. It wasn’t because she was trying to translate it, which she had accomplished mere moments after he said it, even if it was horribly done.

“Even Gods die…”


*	* 	*


Three hours later and all I could say is that Canterlot is nothing but a tourist trap.

Everything was horribly overpriced or made for one kind of clientele and everyone kept stopping to stare at me. It would have been better if they at least asked me a question or something, but they just kept staring at me and whispering.

“And there are way too many unicorns here,” I grumbled as I turned down another street. I’ve seen a few pegasi and a couple earth ponies, but Canterlot really is a unicorn city.

Walking down a few more streets, I stopped when I reached a small curiosity shop in a back street. From the front window I could see a few old books that I thought would at least interest Twilight.

“Lest see what they got,” I decided while entering the shop. 

It was nicely lit, but the walls were a bit dingy. Several shelves were along the walls and held a large assortment of random odds and ends.

“What in the name of Celestia are you supposed to be?” a lanky looking unicorn stallion asked from behind a counter along the back wall.

“One of Equestria’s newest species,” I replied, giving him a quick nod before looking back at a few items. There was actually a nice selection of things here, even if they did look kinda cheap.

“Anything you lookin for in particular?” the stallion asked, drawing my attention. He had a dingy brown coat and lacked a mane. His eyes were slightly sunken and were staring at my sword.

“Just seeing what you got for now,” I replied, turning away from him slightly. I was beginning to think that this wasn’t a good place to shop.

“You part of the guard or somthin?” the stallion asked, looking me in the eye for once.

“Do I look like I am?” I replied with a smirk. I wasn’t in the guard, but Celestia did say I was something like a foreign consultant for the guard. 

“Well, if you need anything, just ask,” the stallion grumbled as he went to blankly staring at me.

After a while, I looked towards the shop clerk to see him still staring at me blankly.

“Uh… do you have any books on animals?” I asked, having found several older ones on veering items, but none that involved animals.

“How should I know?” the stallion replied with a wave of his hoof.

“Don’t you own this place?” I asked, getting annoyed. “You even told me to ask you if I was looking for something.”

“I just work the counter,” the stallion replied with a board expression, before giving a sigh. “Just let me go check to see what I got downstairs.”

With that, the stallion turned and headed for a door to his right. Opening it, I watched as he headed down what had to be a set of stairs.

For a few minutes I waited for him to come back, but when he didn’t, I planned on just leaving.

A sudden crashing noise, caused me to stop though as I moved to the counter and looked towards the doorway leading down.

“Hey, are you okay down there?” I called from behind the counter. When there wasn’t an answer, I hopped over the short impediment and looked through the door.

“Hey, can you hear me?” I called down to what looked like a lit hallway.

“I’m coming down,” I called before heading down the stairs.

At the bottom, I found a well-lit hallway and just a few feet from the entrance, I found the stallion on the ground, unconscious in front of an open steel door.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked as I checked him over. He was breathing fine and just simply looked like he hit his head in something.

“At least I don’t have to perform CPR… but what the heck hit him hard enough to knock him out?” I asked aloud while looking into the room of the steel door. It was almost pitch-black inside with very little of the hall’s light reaching inside.

Pulling my phone out and removing it from a plastic bag I had it in for my escape attempt earlier, I switched on its flashlight and entered the room with caution.

I almost immediately wished I hadn’t.

The walls were a sickly pealing green with a few wooden boxes to one side and a dingy mattress on the other. It also smelled horribly of rotten food, urine and other bodily fluids.

“I really should have left when I had the chance,” I quietly lamented as I started walking backwards to leave. I was almost out the door before it slammed closed behind me.

“W-what the hell?!” I growled as I turned to find it sealed.

“Y-you should have stayed upstairs c-creature!” I heard the stallion shout through the door, obvious panic in his voice.

“Open this door!” I yelled, banging on it with a free hand, anger beginning to build. “If you don’t, I’m braking it down!”

“Go ahead and try freak!” I head the stallion shout before his voice quickly faded away.

“Suit yourself,” I began, activating my magic and covering my right arm. I was just about to punch through the wall next to the door when something shuffled behind me, causing me to turn and scan the room.

“W-who’s in here?” I called, looking around the room, honestly worried about something being here with me.

For a few moments, everything remained silent, making me believe I was just getting a little paranoid. But another shuffling noise coming from behind the boxes made me think otherwise.

“Please don’t be a giant bug or rat…” I whispered as I moved around the boxes to see what made the noise. Making it to a small opening, I carefully peered inside and immediately froze at what I saw.

Inside the opening was a small unicorn filly cowering against the wall behind the boxes. Her mane and coat dirty and ragged as she stared at my light with fear filled sunken eyes.

“D-don’t h-hurt m-me…” the filly stuttered out in fear as she pushed farther back against the wall.

“Wh… I… is…” I tried to form words at what I was seeing. The room I was in and the condition of the filly not helping to settle my nerves.

With a shaking hand, I shut off the light and took a step back before kneeling down.

The room immediately fell into darkness, but after a few minutes, a small glow began to emanate from the ceiling, just barely filling the room with dull light.

“I-it’s alright, I promise I won’t hurt you,” I forced out, doing my best to hid my own hesitation.

For several minutes, the only thing that I received back was silence. A part of me was worried about what the stallion from upstairs was doing, but I was more worried for the filly.

“H-hey,” I carefully called out, trying not to frighten her anymore.

“W-what do you want?” the filly quietly squeaked out as she kept herself pressed against the back wall.

Flipping my phones camera on, I switched it to selfie mode and held it towards the filly, hoping to draw her out with her own curiosity.

It took a few minutes but the filly finally began to walk towards the phone, her eyes flicking towards me and the phone repeatedly.

“W-what’s that?” she asked as she was directly in front of the phone. I watched as she stared at the phone in confusion before making several faces before an unrestrained chuckle reminded her that I was there.

“It’s a camera,” I softly replied. “It records your image and shows it back to you in real time.”

“Wow,” the filly replied as she looked closer at the phone, taping the screen with her nose and causing it to take her picture with a snap.

“Eep!” the filly shrieked before rushing back into her hiding spot.

“W-wait, it’s okay,” I quickly called back, flipping the phone around and opening the image. While the lighting wasn’t that good, it was still enough to show her.

“See, it just took a picture,” I continued, turning my phone back for her to see.

It took her a few moments, but she made her way back out and looked at it.

“T-that’s me?” the filly asked as she stared at her picture.

“Yep,” I replied as I set my phone down and began to flip through some random pictures of me and the others from Ponyville. “These are pictures of some of my friends from where I live.”

“She’s pretty,” the filly commented as I stopped on a picture of me and Fluttershy.

“That’s my marefriend, her name is Fluttershy,” I replied with a soft smile.

“W-why are you here?” the filly asked as she continued to stare at the image, a blank look in her eyes.

“I was looking for a gift for her and my other friends,” I softly replied. “One thing led to another and here I am.”

“You shouldn’t have come here,” the filly quietly replied as she laid down, her eyes still locked on the phone. 

For a few moments, I remained silent before shaking my head and drawing the filly’s attention.

“If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have met you,” I replied, giving her a comforting smile.

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect of reassuring her and instead caused her to draw into herself as she tried to crawl backwards away from me.

“W-wait, please, I promise I’m not going to hurt you,” I tried to reassure. “I-I just want to ask you a question, after that, I promise to leave.”

“W-what do you want?” the filly squeaked as she found herself pressed up against a box.

“Do you want to leave this place?”

“W-what?” the filly asked, her eyes opening to their fullest as she looked up at me.

“Do you want to leave?” I asked again, doing my best to be as calm and compassionate as possible.

“B-but… I… what?” the filly began to stutter as her body shook slightly.

“I just need a yes or no, that’s it,” I replied with a smile. I was getting this filly out of here either way, but getting her to agree and trust me a little would help when the shit really went down.

And SHIT was about to go down.

For a few moments, the filly looked at me with a look of shock before she looked back down at the phone.

“Y-yes…” the filly whispered as she continued to look at the picture.

“Alright then,” I smiled while reaching over and grabbing my phone. As I picked it up, the filly continued to stare at where it had been.

“Here, this is something called a movie,” I said as I set the phone back down for the filly to watch Toy Story 1. “I swear to Celestia herself, I’ll be right back.”

The filly just continued to stare as I stood up and moved back over to the steel door.

“Now than,” I said, activating my magic and surrounding the door with it. I couldn’t help but noticed that my miasma looked darer than normal, but I attributed that to the dim lighting.

With a quick work, I removed the pins from the hinges and pulled the door out, not wanting to make too much noise in case things upstairs were as bad as I guessed.

“I’ll be right back,” I called to the filly before entering the hall and making my way towards the stairs.

“W-what the hay was that?” an unfamiliar voice echoed from up the stairs.

“That was probably the creature that I trapped in the room,” the voice of the stallion from earlier replied. “This is what happens when the boss leaves me here alone.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of whatever it is,” another stallions voice replied as my head crested the top of the stairs and I found out who the shop owner had invited.

And all it did was piss me off.

“What the hell is this!” I growled as I stared at the three royal guards in the front part of the shop. All the windows of the shop were covered, so no one could see inside or outside of the shop.

Two guards stared at me with growing looks of horror while a third stared at me with growing wonder.

“IT’S THE REAPER!” the third one called with a surprising smile.

“Kid, its best that you shut the buck up right now,” one of the other guards quickly said, never taking his eyes off me. He was a Pegasus, and a small emblem on the side of his armor denoted him as a sergeant of the royal guard.

“It’s the creature?! How did it get out?!” the store owner shouted before turning to the guards. “That’s it, get rid of that thing!”

“J-just shut the buck up already!” the second guard, a unicorn who looked to be a corporal. 

The third one didn’t have any emblem, but his armor was ruff and looked like it didn’t properly fit him. But the thing that surprised me more than the fact that he was smiling at me, was that I recognized this orange coated, blue maned Pegasus stallion.

It was god damn Flash fucking Sentry.

“Why are you here?” I asked, pointing at Flash, my anger abated for a mere moment at seeing him, replaced with confusion.

“H-he’s here becau-“ the Sargent began to explain before I glared at him, not knowing that crimson red was beginning to replace the blue of my eyes and a dark mist was beginning to come off my body.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Sergeant!” I growled before looking back at Flash.

“I-it’s part of m-my training,” Flash began to stutter, his smile dropping as he began to realize that something was wrong. “P-part of recruit training is to go on several patrols with veteran guards.”

“That’s not what I asked, Flash Sentry,” I replied, watching as Flash and the two guard’s eye’s widened in shock of my knowledge. I didn’t even notice the book that came flying from the side of the room and smacking my head, knowing it was a result of Ananke’s spell.

“A-a citizen came to us and said there was an i-issue here,” Flash began to explain as he began to shake. “The Sergeant said we had to come here.”

“Is that so?” I replied as I glared at the pony in question. Unlike the other two, he wasn’t shaking, but he sure as hell didn’t look all that brave at the moment. “Is this your sector Sargent?”

“What does that matter human?” the guard growled. “Shouldn’t you be up in the castle right now?”

“Flash?” I asked, looking towards the shaking recruit.

“N-nowhere near here, Mr. Human… Reaper… Sir!” the stallion replied as he looked towards the other guards as if looking for guidance.

“B-buck you, you’re the one trespassing here,” the second guard finally forced out as his horn began to glow. “Y-your under arrest for-“

I didn’t allow the stallion to finish as I blinked in front of him and wrapped my right hand around his horn, lifting him up and slamming him into a nearby wall and knocking him out with ease. While the other three were to shocked to react, I reached into the side of the guard’s armor and pulled out a small ring and quickly slipped it over the unicorn’s horn.

Celestia had been sure to teach me a few things about her guards.

“Am I gonna have to put restraints on the rest of you?” I growled while tossing the unicorn to the ground in front of his Sergeant. “Or are you-“

“Buck you freak, you just assaulted a guard!” the Sergeant growled, finding his courage and taking an aggressive stance.

“And you?” I growled, looking towards Flash.

He seemed to hesitate with a response before the shop clerk made a brake for it, heading for the basement door.

“GET OVER HERE!” I shouted out, reaching out with my magic, a bone like chain flying from my hand and wrapped around his head, ripping him back towards me. The moment the back of his head reached my palm, I slammed him into the ground below me, braking his snout and knocking him out.

“Gah!” the Sergeant roared as he lunged at me, catching me off guard and slamming me into the wall. He quickly followed up with a strike to my gut, forcing the air out of me and causing me to fall to my knees.

“You aint so tuff now, are you?!” the Sargent yelled before trying to headbutt me with his helmet.

Blinking away, the Sargent’s helmet hit nothing but air as I appeared a few feet away and behind him.

“Enough of this,” I growled as I took in a breath of air, focusing as I opened my eyes. Unlike normal though, the world around me quickly changed.

Something Luna had taught me recently was a way to see magic. Normally, it was used to see ambient magic in the air, but it turned out different for me.

When I activated this new ability, the world around me turned into gray and the only colors I could see were that of small flames located in living creatures and active spells.

I called it soul vision. 

The first time I did this and looked at Luna in the waking world, I had gone blind for several minutes.

But the main reason I did this was so I could do what happened next.

Seeing a small yellow flame inside of the Sergeant, I rushed forward and reached for it. 

In this state, I focused solely on the small flame, my hand fazed through him as a gray mist shaped like my hand reach for and grasp the yellow flame.

Having practiced this with Luna against a few of her guards, I had learned that doing this caused the individual to pass out and nothing could fully wake them for a few hours unless I repeated the process.

Luna told me that it was something she could do too, but warned me that with the proper training and forethought, it can be resisted.

I had my own Neptunian brain squeeze. 

Releasing the now muted looking flames, I ended the soul vision and watched the Sergeant fall to the ground. He looked to be awake, but his coat had dimmed and his eyes had become unfocused.

It was reminiscent of what had happened to Goldwig, but unlike him, I knew the guard would wake up fine.

“Y-you k-killed him?!” Flash stuttered out, drawing my attention.

“He’ll wake up fine in a few hours,” I growled, looking at Flash. The guy was rooted to one spot, shaking as a small puddle began to form under himself.

“P-please don’t kill me,” Flash began to sob. “I gotta little brother to take care of.”

“I’m not gonna kill you,” I sighed, as I rubbed my head.

“Y-you’re not?” Flash asked as he continued to stare at me.

“No, because I need you to do something for me,” I began while walking towards a large chest I saw against the far wall. Dumping the large chest empty onto the floor, I brought it over to the three unconscious bodies.

“I need you to go back to the castle and bring Captain Armor here,” I said as I pulled another ring from the Sergeants armor and slipped it onto the shop clerk’s horn. “You tell him to bring whoever it is that handles special victim cases and that it involves a young filly.”

“W-what…?” Flash’s voice stuttered out in obvious shock.

“And if you don’t do this, well…”

With that, I activated my soul vision and ensured the other two ponies would stay asleep.

“I can do more then make you fall asleep for a few hours,” I continued, looking up at Flash with a glare. “And it had better be Shining Armor. I don’t care if he’s fucking his girlfriend, you make sure its him that knocks on that door, am I understood?!”

“Y-yes sir!” Flash shouted with a salute before rushing out of the shop with his tail between his legs.

“I’m really beginning to hate you guards,” I growled as I used my magic to help seal the shop.


*	* 	*


“That wasn’t flying! That was…that was falling, with style!” Woody shouted as the other toys led Buzz away.

“Wow,” the filly breathed out as she continued to watch the movie.

“So, what do you think of the movie?” I asked as a calmly walked back into the room.

“Eeep!” the filly chirped as she jumped up in fright and looked up at me with wide, fear filled eyes.

“Y-you came back?” the filly asked as the movie continued to play beside her, causing her eyes to shift to it every few moments.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” I replied with a small smile as I moved closer. “So, what do you think of the movie?”

“Why did you come back?” the filly asked as she finally stopped watching the movie.

“Didn’t I already answer that?” I asked with a small chuckle. Moving slowly, I came closer as I looked at my phone, my hands held up in a playacting nature.

“So, what do you think?” I asked as I took a knee and looked over at the filly.

“Uhm…” the filly quietly replied as she looked between me and the phone. “Do… do toys actually do all that?”

“Not where I come from,” I replied as I moved the phone for her to see better. For a few moments, I let her watch the movie before drawing her attention once again.

“If you want, we could go upstairs and continue watching that,” I said, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

“But… I’m not allowed outside this room,” the filly replied hesitantly with a frown.

“Don’t worry about that,” I replied while standing up. “No one’s gonna stop us.”

“Uhm… o-okay,” the filly replied as she moved to follow, but stopped to look back at my phone.

“If it’s alright with you, I could carry you and the phone so you can continue to watch,” I offered as I leaned down slightly.

“O-okay,” she replied after a few moments of silence.

“Okay then,” I replied as I carefully picked her and my phone up, both being very light.

“Don’t worry, I promise your safe,” I assured the filly as I noticed her shivering. She simply continued to watch the movie with a focus that told me she was terrified.

Once we had made it back up to the main shop, I sat the filly down on a nearby counter and left the phone for her to see.

“W-what happened here?” the filly asked when she noticed the state of the room.

Turning to look, I gave a quick inspection to the few destroyed shelves, cabinets and the large trunk in the middle of the room.

“Just packing up some gifts for a friend of mine,” I replied, causing the filly to look at me in worry.

“F-friend?!” she chirped, drawing into herself slightly.

“A good pony, I promise,” I calmly assured her. “Why don’t you continue to watch the movie, I’ll be right here.”

“Y-you promise?” she asked looking at me with a mixture of fear and hope.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” I replied while going through the motions.

“What?” the filly replied, looking confused.

“It’s a promise,” I replied, giving her a small ear scratch.

Taking a moment, I looked the filly over. Her coat was a light sky blue and her mane was a dull amber and both it and her tail were matted and looked a little slimy. Her eyes were a simple periwinkle and looked dull even in the new light.

She was small for what I guessed her age was, thinking that she was around the same age as the crusaders. She was also very thin, and was obviously malnourished.

“I hope they all burn for what they did to you,” I thought as I joined in and watched the movie.


*	*	*


“You see the hat?!” Buzz shouted at Woody, swerving around slightly. “I am… Misses… Nesbit!”

“What’s wrong with him?” the filly asked me as we watched the scene on the small screen. 

“He’s sad,” I replied. “He doesn’t understand how-“

Knock Knock Knock

“W-what was that?!” the filly chirped as she grabbed my arm.

“That should be my friend,” I carefully reassured her. “Just wait right here and I’ll go check.”

“Y-you’ll come back… right?” she asked as she tried to look around me to see who was at the front of the store. 

“Promise,” I replied as I stood fully and moved towards the door. Clearing the blinds of the front window, I could see several guards and an irritated looking Shining Armor staring back at me.

Flash wasn’t with them.

“Took you long enough,” I grumbled as I opened the door enough to poke my head out.

“This had better NOT be a joke Christopher,” Shining Armor growled as he glared up at me, using my name to obviously show how serious he was. “This kind of thing DOES NOT happen in Canterlot.”

“Yeah, well it did,” I replied with my own glare. “Now, do you have that special victim pony or whatever you call it?”

At my mention, A female guard stepped forward, a pair of saddlebags with red crosses on her back.

“Give me a sec,” I told the guard. Taking a step back, I flared my magic and grabbed the trunk and dragged it toward the door before flinging it out and past the group of guards.

“That’s for you,” I told Shining as I moved to let the mare in. “Give us a minute before coming in.”

“Tell me he didn’t lock them in…” I heard Shining begin to say before I closed the door, blocking what he was saying out.

“She’s over here,” I told the mare as I led the way towards the filly, who was staring at us with confusion and worry.

“W-who’s that?” the filly asked me as we came closer.

“Hi, there little one,” the mare softly began. “I’m Vera, a medical pony in the royal guard.”

The filly, just stayed silent as she looked up at me from the counter, her body shaking slightly.

“Don’t worry, this is one of the good ponies I was talking about,” I reassured her with an ear scratch.

“O-okay…” the filly quietly replied, before looking at the mare as one of her hooves gripped at my arm. “H-hi… I-I’m Cotton.”

“Hello Cotton,” the mare replied kindly. I had learned the name during the movie, it having been one of the few questions I had asked her “Would it be okay if I do some scans? I promise, they won’t hurt at all.”

Once again, Cotton looked up at me with fear and worry, which I replied with a soft smile and nod.

“Okay,” Cotton replied with a small nod. 

“If you would just stare at the tip of my horn,” Vera calmly said as her horn began to glow a soft orange.

For a few minutes, the same glow shifted across Cotton as the movie continued to play in the background.

“A-and that’s it,” Vera stuttered slightly as her horn stopped glowing. Once it had, Cotton went straight back to watching the movie.

I was about to ask the mare what should be done next, but she quickly rushed away and out of the shop.

“Why did she leave?” Cotton asked while still watching the movie.

“H-had to talk to her boss quickly,” I replied with a slight shrug, hearing some muffled shouting from outside.

“In a few minutes, some of the others are gonna have to come in,” I told Cotton softly. “Will you be okay?”

“I-I don’t know…” Cotton quietly replied, squeezing my arm tighter.

“Is there something I could do to make it easier?” I asked.

“W-would you…” Cotton began, looking up at me shyly. “Hold me again? Like when you brought me upstairs?”

“Sure,” I replied with a smile, carefully scooping her up and turning my phone off. “We’ll finish this later, okay?”

“O-okay,” Cotton replied as she leaned into my chest.

Pocketing the phone, I moved to the side of the room and waited to see what would happen next.

After a few minutes, the medic carefully made her way back in and upon noticing where the two of us were, turned around and said something to the others outside. Shortly after, a small group entered into the shop, being led by Shining Armor.

“Secure the area and scan for any privacy spells,” Shining instructed his group. “Forensics should be here soon. Point them to me when they get here.”

  “Sir!” the group of guards replied before spreading throughout the building.

  As they were doing this, I did my best to keep the shaking foal in my arms calm. But each time one of the guards got a little too close, she would shake worse and tried to hide herself deeper in my arms.

“Why is it that you wind up in the middle of most of my troubles these days?” Shining sighed heavily as he addressed me while keeping a safe distance.

“Because life seems to hate me some times,” I replied evenly so as not to scare Cotton any more than she already was. “So, what now?”

“Once forensics get here, I’ll pass command to one of my guards and escort the two of you back to the castle,” Shining replied as Cotton looked up at me in worry.

“W-why the castle?” Cotton asked me instead of Shining.

“Uh… well,” I began, looking towards Shining Armor, who pointed towards the medic that had walked up beside him. “Because we need to stop at the hospital there.”

“Hospital?” the filly asked me.

“We just have to do a few more test, sweetie,” Vera replied as she calmly stepped closer. 

“W-will you be there?” Cotton asked me with big eyes.

“Of course,” I replied with a smile and an ear scratch. “After that, as long as the doctors say it’s okay, I can introduce you to the princesses.”

“Princesses?” Cotton asked in confusion as Shining grunted slightly in shock.

“Yeah, I know them, so it won’t be that hard,” I replied, blowing a raspberry at Shining before looking back down at Cotton.

“A-as long as your there,” Cotton replied, giving me a small smile.


*	*	*


“How do you feel?” I asked Cotton as we finally left the medical ward.

“Okay…” the filly replied in my arms, looking slightly uncomfortable at the moment. “Thank you for being there.”

“No problem, Cotton,” I replied, before sparing a quick glance at the few guards that were following us around.

“A-are we going to meet the princess?” Cotton quietly asked, drawing my attention.

“Of course, we are,” I replied, before taking a moment to look at the clock on my phone. “They should be having dinner about now and I’m sure they would love to meet you.”

“I’ve never met a princess before,” Cotton said mostly to herself.

“They’re just a couple of silly ponies,” I told her as we entered the hall leading to the main dining room, ignoring the grumbles from the trailing guards. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“O-okay,” Cotton stuttered as we made it to the dining room entrance.

“Now to enter in style,” I said, adapting a grin before rearing back.

“Rub alub a dub dub, we’re here for some grub!” I shouted as I kicked the door open, knowing fully well that the door was a push open.

“Do you have to do that every time you come here?” Celestia calmly asked as the guards and Cotton looked at me in shock.

“If you wanted me to stop, you’d do something about it,” I chuckled back as I made my way over to her with our guest. “Princess, may I introduce you to, Cotton.”

With that, I carefully placed Cotton on the table in front of Celestia so the two could stare at on another.

Cotton with shock and confusion.

Celestia with that motherly smile she never saw fit to give me.

Bitch

“Why hello there, young one,” Celestia greeted, leaning down and giving the filly a little nuzzle. “My name is Princess Celestia, what’s yours?”

“C-c-cotton,” the filly stuttered as she pulled away and began to pull into herself again.

“H-hey, what’s wrong?” I asked as I noticed her begin to shake. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Cotton replied as I gave her a reassuring ear scratch.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Cotton,” Celestia replied with the same motherly voice. “I’m the one that’s sorry. I should have asked before touching you and for that, I deeply apologize.”

“N-no, no,” Cotton quickly replied, looking at Celestia in shock. “Y-you’re the princess.”

“And even I make mistakes,” Celestia replied as I took a nearby seat. “Now, would you like to join me and my sister for dinner?”

“Sister?” Cotton asked, looking at me.

“Princess Luna,” I began to answer, noticing the slight look of sadness spread across Celestia’s face when Cotton wasn’t looking. “She’s princess Celestia’s sister and raises the moon.”

“O-oh…” Cotton said giving a small nod before moving over to me.

“Do you want your own chair or do you want to sit with me?” I asked.

“I-I can sit by myself, I’m a big pony!” Cotton proclaimed with a surprising amount of courage.

“Then how about right here?” Celestia asked as she summoned a chair between me and her. It was just high enough for Cotton to reach the table comfortably.

“Now all we have to do is wait for my sister,” Celestia smiled as she looked down at the filly.

“I’m actually surprised she isn’t here already,” I voiced.

“She’s actually handling our little problem from earlier,” Celestia replied, making me remember that the Count should be back from his trip by now. “But I’ve been told that things went smoothly and she should be here soon.”

“W-what happened?” Cotton asked, looking between the two of us.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Cotton,” I replied reassuringly.

“Oh… okay,” Cotton replied as she looked down at the table.

For a few minutes, we sat in relative silence, the odd clanging of armor being the only sound we could hear.

“So,” I began, pulling my phone out to look at the time. “How much longer unti-“

“We have arrived!” a loud voice called out as… something entered the room.

“What in the name of all that is holy?!” I muttered out in shock, my eyes going wide.

“Luna, what did you do?!” Celestia groaned as she stared at her sister.

“Mr. Christopher, what is that thing!?” Cotton asked as she pointed towards Luna, jumping into my lap and shaking in fear.

“Well, excuse us for trying out a new spell,” Luna huffed as she placed a hand over her dress covered breasts.

“I swear to god, I had nothing to do with this!” I quickly told Celestia as we stared at the anthropomorphic princess.

While her head and face still looked the same, she now had a more human like figure with an ample bosom. Her horn was still on her forehead, but her wings had shrunk slightly.

“I’m still blaming you,” Celestia sighed.

“At least she’s wearing cloths,” I lamented as the lunar princess continued to stand at the rooms entrance with an embarrassed scowl.

“I still don’t know what that thing is,” Cotton interjected.


*	*	*


“Okay, so why do you look like that?” I quietly asked Luna as she sat next to me.

“Do you not approve?” Luna asked with a raised brow, sparing a glance at Cotton while the filly listened to a story being told by Celestia.

“I frankly don’t know what to think,” I replied with a sigh. “Today has not been a good day, and you walking in here looking like that isn’t helping. I can only imagine the rumors that are floating around because of that.”

“We do not care,” Luna replied as she inspected her hands for a moment. “Soon enough, such ‘’rumors’’ will be proven true or false to our subjects. But until that time, they may think what they want.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you look like that,” I replied, swiping her hand away as she tried to brush it against my crotch. “And this doesn’t look like your normal transformation either.”

“It is not,” she replied with a pout. “This is a spell crafted long ago, and we wished to see if we could perform it properly.”

“Why not just do it like you did back in the forest,” I asked, remembering how she had disguised herself as a thorn and a couple of ponies.

“Changing one’s self in such a way takes a large amount of concentration,” Luna replied before adapting a smirk and beginning to whisper in my ear. “And I’ve learned that our time together, tends to make that quite difficult.”

“O-okay,” I coughed, fighting against the blush I was developing. “I-I’m gonna have to take a rain check on that.”

“What does that mean?” Luna asked as a maid entered the room with a tray of assorted meals.


*	*	*


“Did you enjoy your meal,” I asked Cotton as she finished the small salad in front of her.

“Y-yes,” Cotton replied as she suddenly began to cry heavily, looking between me and everyone else around her.

“Cotton, what’s wrong?” I asked as I moved closer to her, Celestia and a still anthropomorphic Luna watched from the side. 

“I-I don’t wanna wake up,” the filly sobbed as she looked up at me with tear filled eyes. “I-I don’t wa-want to wake up and f-find out this was a dream.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” I softly said as I picked her up and let her cry against my chest. 

Celestia and Luna silently watched as Cotton cried herself to sleep in my arms, both trying to hide their own looks of sadness.

“It is disappointing that there is still such darkness in some of our ponies after so much time,” Luna sighed before she disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing a few moments later looking like normal and wearing an ill-fitting dress.

“It pains me to know that this was happening in my own home,” Celestia silently growled as she looked down at the table in front of her, a small fire developing in her gaze. 

“So, what’s going to happen to Cotton now?” I asked, sparing the two alicorns a glance while softly petting Cotton’s mane.

“She will most likely end up in the foster system while we look for her family,” Celestia began to explain, a slightly uncomfortable look crossing her face.

“Can she not just stay with, Christopher?” Luna asked as she directed her gaze towards her sister. “Young Cotton seems to trust him and it would be best for her, would it not.”

“She can’t,” Celestia answered for me. “Several laws prohibit Christopher from doing it and I know several ponies who would use it against him.”

“They just hate me because I’m beautiful,” I replied, forcing myself to smile as I tried to lighten the mood.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Celestia replied as she stood from her seat and began to leave. “I have something I must take care of.”

“But sister, what abou…” Luna began to ask before Celestia disappeared in a flash of light.

“Forget her,” I sighed as I looked towards Luna. “I’ve never been in this kind of situation before but aside from what just happened, Cotton’s been calmer than what I expected.”

“It is because we are a herd species, Christopher,” Luna replied. “It is why I suggested she stay with you. It’s obvious that she see’s safety in you, so she will be at her calmest as long as you are there.”

“That’s gonna cause problems when she has to go,” I sighed. “I was supposed to head back home tomorrow.”

“I’m sure my sister will figure something out,” Luna stated as she looked at Cotton. The filly’s face had begun to scrunch up as if in pain, but a quick flash of Luna’s horn caused her to relax.

“You mind keeping me informed as to how this whole thing ends up?” I asked. I really wanted to make sure those bastards and their friends get what’s coming to them.

“We’ll be sure to send you any pertinent information,” Luna nodded as her horn flashed once again and her dress disappeared. “Now, I would recommend finding a place to let young Cotton get some proper sleep.”

“I’m taking her back to the medical ward,” I replied. “The doc’s wanted her there after this in case they find something in their scans.”

“Very well,” Luna nodded as she gave me a nod and left the hall first. “Sweet dreams, Reaper.”


*	*	*


Knock Knock

“Huh?” Derpy quietly questioned as she made her way towards the front door after tucking her daughter in for the night.

“Hello?” Derpy called as she opened the front door, only to find nopony there.

“Good evening Miss Hooves,” Celestia said, surprising Derpy and causing her to turn around and find the princess behind her. “I know it is late, but could I take a moment of your time?”


*	*	*


Celestia was having a good dream.

This wasn’t the dream of living in a land of cake, or even the one where she got to spend the whole day in bed with no hassles.

No, this was her favorite dream out of all of them.

Her dress was immaculate, a glowing white with a golden trim that drew in everyponies attention. Her mane was wrapped in a bun and held by a white ribbon, preventing it from flowing freely and revealing her full face for the ponies in front of her.

As she walked past her friends and family, she couldn’t help but smile and shed a tear of happiness.

“I have waited for this day, for so long,” Celestia thought as she made it to the podium.

“Sister,” Luna nodded with a wide smile of her own as she presided over her. “I am so happy for you.”

“T-thank you,” Celestia couldn’t help but stutter as she looked over to the stallion of her dreams.

Everything about him she adored and made her swoon.

“I love you,” Celestia told the stallion, her eyes filled with tears as she allowed herself to smile wider than she had ever done before.

The mare watched with bated breath as the stallion leaned forward slightly and opened his mouth…


*	*	*


“WE’RE WALKING ON SUNSHINE!!” Me and Luna sung at the top of our lungs as Cotton called from my arms, the song playing on my phone and being amplified by Luna’s magic.

“BWAH!?” Celestia shouted as she bolted upright in shock, her mane covering half her face.

“And it’s starting to feel good!” the three of us finished before falling over in laughter. 

After spending the night awake and watching over Cotton, Luna had come to me with this little idea to wake Celestia up.

While I wasn’t against it, there was a look in her eyes that made me wonder why she wanted to. But Cotton said she was willing to do it if I was there, so we decided to do it.

“Good morning, everypony,” Celestia seethed through gritted teeth and a forced smile, her eyes looking at the filly for a moment.

“Good marrow sister,” Luna replied as she regained herself and moved to nuzzle her sister. “Have any good dreams?”

“I will get you back for that,” Celestia growled just quiet enough for Cotton not to notice.

“Did you like our song, Princess?” the filly asked as I placed her at the end of the bed and looked at Celestia with a smile.

“It was very nice, little one,” Celestia replied, giving the filly a caring smile. This in turn, earned a larger smile from the filly before Cotton decided to jump off the bed and make her way over to me.

“Why don’t the two of you head to the dining hall while me and my sister get ready for the day,” Celestia said as she mostly kept her attention on Cotton.

“Okay!” Cotton replied before looking up at me with a smile. 

“Let’s go,” I smiled, picking the filly up and heading out of the room.


*	*	*


“I will get you back for that!” Celestia snapped as she and Luna finished moving their celestial bodies. “You know I was having my favorite dream!”

“We are quite aware sister,” Luna replied without even flinching. 

“Then why interrupt it?” Celestia asked as she began to clean herself up with her magic.

“Because it is unhealthy for you to focus on a dream like that,” Luna replied as she looked towards her sister with concern. “The last time you had such dream, you fell into a deep depression for some time.”

“I…I understand Luna,” Celestia sighed as her regalia floated to her. “But please, at least don’t wake me up like that again.”

“We make no promises,” Luna replied as she nuzzled her sister affectionately. “Now, perhaps you could tell us where you went last night?”


*	*	*


“Why do you wear so many cloths?” Cotton asked as I finished filling my last bag.

“Comfort, warmth and because they make me look cool,” I replied with a chuckle, earning nothing but a look of confusion.

“Never mind,” I sighed as I placed the few bags I had next to the door of my room before taking a seat on my bed.

“Do… do you have to go?” Cotton asked as she joined me on the bed, looking up at me with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry, Cotton,” I replied, scooping the filly into my lap and letting her nuzzle my chest. “If I could take you with me to Ponyville, I would do it in a heartbeat, but… I can’t.”

I know it sucked, but the longer I stayed, the harder it would be to leave.

“B-but I don’t want you to go!” Cotton openly yelled as tears began to flow from her eyes.

“I know, Cotton,” I calmly replied as the filly began to openly cry into my chest. This continued for a while before a knocking at the room’s door drew my attention.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Celestia said as she slowly entered the room. “But there is somepony here to see, Cotton.”

“What do you mean?” I asked with some slight worry.

“A foster family has been found for her,” Celestia replied emotionlessly. 

“That was fast!” I thought as Cotton looked towards Celestia.

“No!” Cotton shouted as she glared at the princess. “I won’t go! You can’t make me!”

“Cotton, please…” I tried to say.

“NO! Nononononononononono!” the filly shouted as she gripped me shirt. “Please don’t go, please don’t leave me alone, please…”

“Uhm… can we come in now?” a familiar voice called as a gray snout and blond mane appeared in the doorway.

“Derpy?” I muttered in shock as the mare and her daughter slowly entered the room. “Dinky?”

“Hi, Mr. Christopher,” Dinky waved as the two stood just inside the room.

“What… what are you two doing here?” I asked as even Cotton’s attention was drawn to the pair.

“Miss Hooves here as graciously offered to become the guardian of Cotton until her family can be found,” Celestia began to explain, continuing to hide her emotions. “While she may be a single mother, she lives in a home that I know is up to all Equestrian codes, the town is tight nit and safe, as well as several other key factors.”

“I don’t want to go!” Cotton yelled, glaring once again at Celestia.

“Cotton, wait,” I began, carefully drawing the filly’s attention.

“I don’t want you to go…” the filly mumbled, tears in her eyes.

“Cotton,” Derpy called, drawing the filly’s slightly heated stare. “You don’t need to worry about losing your new friend because…”

“We live with him!” Dinky proudly added with her own smile.

“What?” Cotton questioned, this time looking up at Celestia.

“While Christopher cannot become your legal guardian while your family is being found,” Celestia began to say, now giving a soft smile. “Miss Hooves is more than qualified.”

“If that’s alight with you, that is,” Derpy added, blushing slightly at the praise received by Celestia.

“Does that mean you don’t have to go away?” Cotton asked me, looking hopeful.

“Not without you and those two,” I replied with a smile, giving Derpy and Dinky a quick point.

“Promise?” Cotton asked.

“Cross my heart,” I replied, crossing my heart before Cotton gave me a tight hug.

“Why don’t all of you join me for brunch before making your way home,” Celestia softly offered.

“Thank you, Princess,” Derpy said as she and Dinky bowed.

“What do you say, Cotton?” I asked the filly in my lap. “Willing to share another meal with the princess before we get out of this place?”


*	*	*


“Got to admit,” I spoke, watching as Cotton and Dinky worked to become quick friends. “I did not see that coming.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Derpy replied as she sat next to me. “The princess just showed up and asked to talk to me.

“When she explained the situation,” the mare continued, looking down at the floor with a frown. “I couldn’t help but want to do whatever I could to help.”

“Well, thanks either way,” I replied while leaning back and sighing.

“It’s horrible to hear that something so horrible could happen to a filly,” Derpy quietly said as she looked over towards the two fillies. “If something like that happened to, Dinky…I don’t...”

“Don’t worry, Derpy, I won’t let that happen,” I replied as I noticed Ponyville Station getting closer. “Our job now is to make sure that Cotton never has to think about what happened ever again.”

“Forgetting things like that is one of the perks of living in Ponyville,” Derpy replied, not meeting my eye as she spoke. “Good place to go when you want to forget the pain of the past.”

I just nodded my head in reply as I looked out towards the in-coming town, deciding to not ask Derpy about what she meant.

“Uh… Derpy?” I questioned when I began to see a large quantity of colorful flying balls throughout the air above the town. “Fluttershy didn’t happen to find a new pet the other day, did she?”

“Oh, yeah,” Derpy began, sitting up to look out the window as well. “She showed one to… me…”

“What are all those things mommy?” Dinky asked as she and Cotton made their way over to where we sat. The two looking out the window with us.

“Just Ponyville’s disaster of the week,” I replied as the train pulled into the station.
> Chapter Sixteen: "And I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“W-what are we doing here?” Cotton asked as I knocked on Vinyl and Octavia’s front door. I had quickly sent Derpy and Dinky back to secure the house with my bags, but Cotton didn’t feel comfortable enough to be away from me yet.

“I have to borrow something from a friend,” I replied as the door opened and a wooden bat swung just past my face, grazing my chin. “Or not…”

“Oh, dear sweet Celestia,” Octavia blurted as she noticed who she almost hit. “I am so sorry Christopher, I thought you were one of those bugs.”

“N-nope… just me and a new friend,” I replied with a sheepish smile, raising my hands placatingly.

“What?” Octavia asked as she looked passed me and noticed the cowering filly at my side.

“O-oh, I am so sorry,” Octavia continued as she put the bat down. “It’s just, when those bugs started to eat the houses, I began to worry that they would get to my instruments and…”

“I understand,” I quickly interrupted, noticing a few of the nearby Parasprites looking towards me. “I just came to see if you had a trumpet I could borrow?”

“A trumpet?” Cotton asked as she and Octavia looked at me in confusion.

“Uh… I have one, but why do you need it?” Octavia answered. “This doesn’t seem to be the time to be learning an instrument.”

“Trust me,” I replied with a nod, holding my hand out. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Pinkie Pie said something of the same sort too,” Octavia commented before wondering back into the house.


*	*	*


“I’m sorry we didn’t believe you, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight apologized to her friend. “We just thought you were messing around when the town was in danger.”

“It’s alright girls,” Pinkie Pie replied as she drew her friends into a hug, causing a random burst of noise from the instruments wrapped around her. 

“Well, now that we know what to do,” Rarity began as she pulled away from the hug. “We should get the rest of these dreadful things out of town before Christopher returns or…”

Rarity was suddenly interrupted from what she was saying as a loud tune began to play in the air. (Zoot Suit Riot)

“Hey, I think that’s Chris,” Rainbow Dash called as she flew into the air and looked towards where the music was coming from.

All the others simply watched in fascination as Christopher made his way towards them, playing a trumpet loudly as he led another group of Parasprites towards the Everfree.

Even though he played nothing but a trumpet, the mares could hear several different instruments playing along to the upbeat tempo, something that tended to happen every now and then in Equestria due to the magic in the air.

But this was the first time any of them had seen this effect happen to Christopher.

“Zoot Suit Riot!” Chris sung out, pulling the trumpet away for a moment.

“Riot!” a call answered from a filly that followed closely next to the human, a look of fascination on her face.

After the call, Chris went back to playing the trumpet as he finally walked up to the group of shocked mares.

All they could do was watch in shock as the Parasprites continued forward, spinning around one another as they danced to the music in pairs instead of merely hopping like they had for Pinkie Pie.

After a few minutes, the last small insect disappeared into the forest as the trumpet gave one final blare of a farewell.


*	*	*


“Damn that felt good,” I chuckled as I finally pulled the trumpet away from my lips, filling my lungs with breath properly. “I haven’t played like that since high school, and even then, it didn’t sound that good. I also didn’t expect so many to follow me.”

“That was amazing!” Cotton proclaimed, looking up at me with a big smile. “Can you show me how to play?”

“Sure,” I replied, giving the filly a smile before turning to look at my friends. “I think that should be most of them… I hope.”

“Y-you just…” Twilight began as the girls slowly began to recompose themselves. “Music… Perasprite… magic…”

“That. Was. AMAZING!” Pinkie shouted as she began to hop up and down excitedly, a wide smile on her face as some of her attached instruments made a racket. “I didn’t know you could play instruments too!”

“First chair back in high school,” I replied, allowing an embarrassed glow to appear on my face. “Four years in a row.”

“That’s all well and good darling, but…” Rarity began herself, a slightly uncomfortable look appearing on her face.

“Who’s the filly?” Rainbow Dash asked as she began to get closer, causing Cotton to quickly move to hide behind my legs.

“Cotton,” I replied with a little more force than I intended as I held a hand up to prevent anyone from getting closer. “And I’ll explain everything back at my house.”

“O-okay…” Applejack replied as all the others shared a slightly uncomfortable look with each other.

Except for Fluttershy.

She was simply giving a small smile in the direction of Cotton as the filly watched the six of them from behind one of my legs.

“We…uh, tried to set up a welcome back party,” Twilight began to explain with an awkward smile. “To welcome you back, but…”

“But then Fluttershy found those bugs and things kind of went downhill from there,” Rainbow added as Twilight trailed off and looked down sadly.

“It’s okay,” I replied, giving everyone an appreciative smile. 

“I bet you all learned a big lesson today though, right?” I asked, looking from Pinkie Pie to everyone else.

“Yeah, we did,” Twilight laughed uncomfortably as she and the others shared a small laugh.

“Well, I gotta head home and I’d recommend the same to the rest of you,” I voiced while looking back at the town. It didn’t look as bad as I thought, but there were definitely going to have to be repairs done.

“But what about your welcome back to Ponyville party?” Pinkie asked as her instruments gave a loud guffaw, causing Cotton to jump slightly.

“Just make sure your own homes are in order first,” I said while holding up the trumpet. “I gotta return this and then I gotta head home.”

“But what about the filly?” Rainbow Dash asked, causing Cotton to shake slightly.

“Go check your house first,” I grumbled as I picked up Cotton and walked away. 

Luckily, no one tried to follow, so Cotton was able to calm down and enjoy the new view.

“S-so, this is where you live?” Cotton asked as she looked at everything around her.

“Did you live in a place like this?” I asked, hoping that she wouldn’t become uncomfortable with answering.

“N-no…” Cotton replied, with a frown. “I lived in a place with a whole bunch of really big buildings and it always smelled funny.”

“I used to live in a place like that,” I said as I filed away what she said. Celestia had asked that I question Cotton subtly to learn more about her, both to catch the monsters that used her as well as find her family. “I like places like this better though.”

“Even with all those weird bugs?” Cotton asked, looking up at me with confusion.

“Even with the weird bugs,” I replied with a laugh as I reached Vinyl and Octavia’s home.

After putting Cotton down, I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When there wasn’t one, I tried the door and found it locked.

“I guess they must have gone out for supplies,” I shrugged, before looking back down at Cotton. “Are you ready to see my house?”

“Yep,” she replied as I leaned down and picked her up. As we walked, I looked down at the filly and sighed internally at how small she was. Even though she was as old as the Crusaders, she was the size of a filly a few years younger and was still malnourished.

The doctors said that it was important that she not spend to long walking around until she had reached a proper healthy state and had given Derpy a small supply of pills and a recommended diet before we had left the castle.

Walking through town, I gave a good look around.

While several buildings were defiantly in need of some repair, there weren’t all that many ponies out and about.

The few that were out and about seemed to be the local construction ponies too, just getting the major issues fixed.

“Welcome back, Reaper!” one called out as I passed by, giving me a quick wave as I walked by.

“Reaper?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me. “W-why did that pony call you that? I thought your name was Christopher.”

“It’s like a nickname,” I replied while waving at a few passersby. “It’s just what some ponies have started calling me.”

“Should I call you that too?” Cotton asked as we passed the center of town. I could see the mayor surrounded by a group of ponies who all seemed to be in a tizzy.

“So that’s where everyone is,” I commented as I made sure to keep far from the group, noticing how scared Cotton had become when she noticed all the ponies.

“No, there’s no need to call me that if you don’t want to,” I answered after we excited the area. “Chris, Christopher, Reaper, you can call me whichever feels right to you, okay?

“Just don’t call me mister,” I added on. “It makes me sound old.”

“Okay,” Cotton replied before rubbing against my chest a bit.

“Well, there it is,” I said as we turned a corner and the house came into view.

“That’s where you live?” Cotton asked as she looked towards the house.

“The best part now is that I own it too,” I replied with a growing smile. Celestia said that she had sent my new box to my room herself, so I knew the papers should be there. As well as my gun and a slew of bullets.

When I had asked Celestia how she got so many bullets, she told me that she used a special duplication spell on a bullet she kept with her and swore upon her crown that no other being could do what she did.

Going off a hunch, I activated my soul vision while walking up to the building and while I couldn’t see anyone, I could see a large group of flames within the house, muted heavily due to the walls.

I was really beginning to like my new skill.

“Why don’t we go in from the back,” I voiced, thinking that a surprise wouldn’t go well with Cotton right now. “My friends might be planning a bit of a surprise.”

“Oh… uh… why?” Cotton asked as I moved to the back of the house.

“Because my friends are weird,” I whispered, opening the back door and slipping inside. 

The moment we made it inside, I found Derpy and Dinky in the kitchen, the older mare setting up a few things on the counter.

With a silent nod, Cotton hesitantly made her way over to the mare and her filly while I made my way towards the living, keeping low.

“I thought you said you saw him, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight whispered to the prismatic mare as she and about two dozen ponies tried to hide in my living room.

“Maybe he slipped in the from the back,” I whispered as I snuck into the room, shifting my voice slightly. Cotton waited around the corner with Derpy.

“No, I had Pinkie Pie lock it,” Twilight replied as she remained focused on the rooms main window.

“Uh… Twilight, I never locked that door,” Pinkie Pie chirped as she popped her head out of the chimney.

At this, everyone in the room turned to see me crouching just a few inches from Twilight.

“Boo!” I chirped causing the mare and several others to jump in shock. Some tumbling over furniture, and others just staring at me in surprise.

“Awww, you did it again,” Pinkie pouted as she removed herself from my chimney, not an ounce of soot visible on her. “How am I supposed to throw you a surprise party if you keep ruining them?”

“Sorry, but no surprises today,” I replied, addressing the room instead of the pouting mare.

“Would that have anything to do with the filly that was with you earlier?” Octavia asked as everyone, came out of hiding.

My guest seemed to consist of my herd, my friends and a small gaggle of foals… and Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara.

So, there were a good number of individuals in the room.

“Filly? What filly?” Rachel asked as she looked back at the foals. Aside from a missing Dinky, the crusaders where there and an obviously irritated Diamond Tiara.

“Everypony, if I could have your attention please,” Derpy’s voice called as she entered the room with Dinky and Cotton beside her. “I would like to introduce you all to Cotton. I’ll be taking care of her for a while.”

At this, the room broke into a mix of greetings, and even though it was a nice gesture, all it did was cause the filly to run and hide behind my legs.

“It’s alright Cotton,” I promised, kneeling down and taking the filly into my arms. “No one here will hurt you, I promise.”

“We should really stop leaving him alone,” I heard Gilda whisper to those around her. 

“Anyways,” I called out as I stood up fully and looked at the crowd. “Cotton will be staying here for a while. So please be sure to welcome her as you would anyone else.”

After that, everyone gave a somewhat hesitant wave and another greeting.

Shrugging it off internally, I set Cotton back down with an ear scratch, the filly taking a position besides me as she eyed everyone in worry and fear.

“Let me introduce you to everyone,” I said as I led her around to everyone. Each gave a smile and a proper welcome as they introduced themselves to Cotton and welcomed me back.

“Cotton,” Dinky’s voice called as we made our way towards Zecora. Turning to look, I saw the filly and the other crusaders standing a few feet away. “Would you like to meet my friends?”

“Uh… I don’t…” Cotton began, looking up at me.

“It’s okay, Cotton,” I replied as I kneeled down. “Like I said, no one here will hurt you.”

“O-okay,” Cotton nodded as she hesitantly moved to meet the group.

“Just don’t leave the room,” I told the fillies as I noticed the almost boiling stares coming from most of the mane six as they stood beside my chimney.

“I’ll be just over there, Cotton,” I told her as I pointed to the girls, deciding that I should talk to them first.

“You wont leave… right?” She asked as she stood between me and the crusaders.

“Promise,” I smiled as Cotton suddenly rushed forward, kneeling down, she gave me a hug before carefully moving to meet the other fillies.

Standing back up and giving Zecora an apologetic smile, I moved over to the girls and was immediately assaulted with a flurry of whispered questions.

“Okay, okay, just calm down,” I quietly said as the room looked towards our group. After a few moments, the room turned to do their own thing of chatting and eating small snacks.

“Christopher, what happened?” Twilight asked, voicing the main question.

“Its… uh, bit of a story,” I sighed heavily. I was trying to think of a way to tell all of them what happened without actually telling them. I knew a few of them would make a scene if I said the wrong thing and I didn’t need rumors spreading about Cotton.

“Somepony hurt her, didn’t they,” Fluttershy’s quiet voice answered, drawing the looks of her friends. She had an almost emotionless look to her face, but I could see a bit of sadness in her eyes.

“Yes,” I nodded, drawing the wide-eyed look of the others. “If any of you feel that they may make a scene, please leave before that happens. I will explain more later, but not with so many around.”

Almost immediately, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash left through the back door. Their impassive looks changing to scowls as they exited. 

Rarity looked towards Cotton, who was watching a strange reenactment of an adventure the other fillies had been on. She nodded once as she levitated a cloth to dab at her eyes before also leaving.

Applejack and Twilight turned away and began to whisper to one another as they made their way to a snack table.

Fluttershy flew up to me and kissed my cheek before making her way over to the group of fillies and watched over their little show.

“Heard what happened,” Gilda said as she walked up to me, Rachel and Valiant with her. “I overheard the princess and Derpy last night and told them. I hadn’t had the chance to tell the others though due to those damn bugs.”

“I also got a letter about it,” Valiant added as she spared a quick glance towards Cotton. “Princess Celestia wants an eye kept on her and to be notified if anypony comes asking about her. Things like that don’t happen in Canterlot and not be found without powerful ponies covering it up.” 

“It doesn’t matter who it is, I’ll make sure they get what they deserve if I have too,” I commented. “So, I can count on all of you to keep an eye out then?”

“It’s a small town, so the news is gonna get out fast,” Gilda replied with a shrug. “So, you’ll have a whole town keeping an eye out for her soon enough.”

“Just gotta make sure no bad rumors start then,” I sighed. “The wrong thing said will just hurt her.”

“Ponyville is a good place, Chris,” Rachel said as she placed a paw on my shoulder. 

“Right, right,” I mumbled as Rachel gave me a hug and Valiant and Gilda gave my arms a small punch.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Filthy Rich said as he made his way over to me with his daughter.

“No,” I replied as the three took their leave and decided to join Fluttershy. “Not that I don’t mind the company, but I’m surprised to see the two of you here.”

“Well, I just wanted to welcome you back to Ponyville after hearing what happened in Canterlot during the Gala,” Filthy began to explain. “Little Diamond here was beside herself with worry.”

“Daddy?!” Diamond shouted in embarrassment, glaring at her father. “You said you wouldn’t say anything!”

“Oh, it was a slip of the tongue sweetie,” Filthy apologized as he nuzzled his daughter. 

“Uh… thanks,” I said, giving the two a nod.

“I would also like to congratulate you on your new position in town,” Filthy continued as he looked back at me. “Ponyville has been in need of a Warden for some time now and if you didn’t know, it’s the first step in getting some much needed expansions.”

“Oh, thanks,” I replied with a nod. 

One of the things that Celestia told me during my training was that a Warden was needed if a small town had hopes to expand. It apparently had something to do with nobles or something that I really didn’t understand.

“I was just talking to the mayor the other day about it and I can guarantee you that she will be making a trip to see you soon if you don’t visit her first,” Filthy added with a chuckle. “Now, I hate to chat and run, but I need to return to the house before my wife requests far more than just a few repairs.”

“But daddy…” Diamond whined as she begrudgingly followed her father. She stopped for a moment at the door to wave goodbye before leaving though.

“This town is weird…” I mumbled as Zecora took this chance to greet me.

She said nothing as she looked me over for a moment, seeming to focus on something before giving me a nod and a smile.

“I am glad to see, that you are who you are supposed to be,” she told me.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked looking down at her.

“When one takes the power of another’s soul…” Zecora began with an uncomfortable look. “They don’t always come back completely whole.”

“Oh…” I replied with my own uncomfortable nod. 

“I do not know if you have been told,” Zecora began, looking at me with a stern expression. “But accepting another’s soul in such a way can be more idiotic then bold.”

“So, you read the papers too then,” I sighed.

“I was trained by one of the strongest Shaman of my kind,” Zecora began, tapping me in the gut. “I can easily see the slight alterations in your own soul that tell me that you almost died.”

“Oh…” I said, adapting wide eyes. I had forgotten that Zecora was a shaman.

“There is much I would still like to discuss,” Zecora said while giving a smile. “Come see me in my home when you have the time.”

With another nod, Zecora made her way out of the room and out of the house.

“That last part didn’t rhyme…” I said, my eyes locked on where Zecora had once stood.

If Zecora wanted to see me at one point though, I wasn’t against it. As a shaman, she could probably teach me a few things about my magic as well.

“Uhm… Christopher?” a voice called, drawing my attention to Aloe and Lotus. The two are stood behind me, both looking at me with obvious uncertainty.

“Ladies,” I nodded, turning to look at the two of them. “Nice to see the two of you.”

“It’s nice to see you to, Christopher,” Aloe said, giving me a smile as her sister began to look uncertain.

It was kind of obvious that there was something the two of them wanted to talk to me about, and I had a slight feeling that I knew what it was about.

“We were hoping to talk to you about something,” Lotus voiced, as a sad look overtook Aloe.

“This is about my job, isn’t it?” I asked, taking a shot in the dark.

The flinch the two mares gave told me all I needed to know.

I had missed a lot of work, even if it was excusable. I was also now feared by a good portion of ponies outside of Ponyville, and the spa was actually part of a chain franchise that was based somewhere else. While the spa in Ponyville did good business, it didn’t do well enough to fully support itself without outside help.

“We don’t want to do this…” Aloe sadly began. “But we are being forced to let you go by the owner.”

“I understand,” I replied, kneeling down and giving the two mares a hug. “If you haven’t already heard, I have a backup job now.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” Lotus asked as Aloe wiped a tear from her eye.

“You’re looking at Ponyville’s new town Warden,” I replied as I grasped the coin attached to my swords pummel. Celestia told me to keep it close by at all times since the coin was basically a badge of office. It could also do a few other things, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

“So, you’re not mad?” Aloe asked with a confused frown, her sister sharing her expression.

“No, I’m not,” I replied with a nod. “I honestly can’t thank you both enough for giving me the chance you did to begin with. So, I owe you both a good couple of favors, so don’t be afraid to ask, okay?”

Both sisters looked at me in complete shock for a few moments before looking at each other. After a seemingly silent conversation, the two rushed forward and wrapped me in a hug.


*	*	*


“Okay, Cotton,” I said as I led the filly to my man cave. The party was over and aside from the other house residents and Fluttershy, everyone else had left. “There is still one other individual left for you to meet.”

“W-who is it?” the filly asked, a slight bit of worry in her tired voice. It was getting late in the day and she had had a very intense couple of days.

“My pet,” I replied as we stood outside the door to the room. Before the party had begun, Derpy had locked Geralt inside the room because he tended to get a little too excited around mass amounts of guest. “His name is Geralt.”

“What is he?” Cotton asked, looking a bit less worried, but scared all the same.

“An Everfree Cave wolf,” I began, chuckling a little when I saw Cotton’s confused expression. “Just think of a pony sized dog.”

“T-that’s really big,” Cotton stuttered as she shrunk herself slightly.

“I promise,” I began taking a knee and looking down at Cotton, with a smile. “He’s completely safe and won’t hurt you.”

“O-okay,” Cotton nodded after a moment.

“All right then,” I said while standing back up and slowly opening the door.

Immediately, the large wolf rushed out of the room and reared up, greeting me like most dogs did when their owners left for a few hours.

This was one strange wolf.

“It’s nice to see you too, Geralt,” I greeted, ruffling the wolfs muzzle a few times before the wolf noticed our guest.

Before he could even move, I grabbed the back of his neck with on hand and wrapped the other around his snout. 

Geralt immediately glared at me and began to growl as he noticed what I was doing, but a stern gaze from me caused him to silence himself soon after.

“Now than,” I began, looking the wolf in the eyes. “We have a new guest in the house and I’m expecting you to be on your best behavior, am I clear?”

Geralt simply growled as he looked at me with a clear “I’m not an idiot” look.

“Okay then,” I nodded, releasing the snout and letting the wolf drop back to the ground while still keeping a firm grip on the back of his neck for the moment.

Cotton involuntarily moved back, away from the wolf as he landed on his paws.

“Cotton, this is Geralt,” I introduced as the wolf looked at the filly. “Geralt, this is Cotton, our new house guest.”

“He’s really big,” Cotton almost whispered as she looked at the wolf.

“It’s okay, Cotton,” I said while using my free hand to beckon her closer. “Hold your hoof out so he can get to know you.”

“W-what?,” Cotton asked, turning her attention from the wolf to me. “Why?”

“It’s how canines get to know people,” I replied. “Or ponies in this case.”

While it took a minute or two, Cotton held out one of her hooves.

Geralt immediately leaned over and began to sniff the appendage. As he did his things, several odd expressions crossed his face before he simply began to rub his snout against the small hoof.

“He’s really soft,” Cotton commented as I released my hold on the wolf, watching as he laid down and allowed Cotton to pet him. “And really fluffy.”

“He’s just a big old fluff ball,” I said, giving the wolf an ear scratch. “He’s also one of my friends, so if you ever feel afraid, you can count on him to protect you.”

“Bark!” Geralt added, giving a nod to show that he would.

“Okay,” Cotton answered almost absent mindedly, still petting the wolf.

“Come on, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping until we can get you a proper bed,” I said, pointing to the stairs. I had talked to Derpy at the party and we had decided that Cotton would have the last free room of the house and would be sharing it with Dinky.

Until we got an extra bed for the filly though, she would use my room and I would take the couch again.

Making it to my room, I showed her the sparsely filled master bedroom as well as the path to the bathroom. I also showed her the door leading to the attic, Derpy and Dinky’s room and the room she would be sharing with Dinky soon.

“So, me and Dinky will stay in here?” Cotton asked as she looked over the empty room.

“If that’s okay with you,” I voiced. There was only one other free area in the house and that was a hidden basement I stumbled upon.

Defiantly not going with that one.

“Thank you,” Cotton said as she came over to me and hugged my leg, a small sob escaping her.

“It’s no problem,” I replied, reaching down and picking her up to give her a proper hug.

“Awww,” Derpy’s voice echoed as she entered the room, a small tray on her back. “That’s so cute.”

I just gave a small chuckle as I set Cotton down and watched what Derpy was doing.

On the tray were a few small pills and a glass of water. Most likely, it was the medicine the doctors had wanted her to take.

“Can you handle pills?” Derpy asked the filly as she set the tray down.

Cotton simply nodded her head as she quickly took her medicine.

“Okay then,” Derpy smiled as she took the tray. “I’ll make you and Dinky a snack and after, it’ll be time to get ready for bed, okay?”

“Okay,” Cotton nodded as Derpy gave her a small smile and left the room.

“Is there anything else you want to see?” I asked the filly while leading her out of the room.

“No…” Cotton said, with a slightly blank look, her eyes roaming the upstairs hall.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, easily noticing the look.

“Nothing,” Cotton replied as she began to head back down the stairs.

I just let out an internal sigh, knowing that life was going to be complicated for a while.


*	*	*


“That poor filly,” Fluttershy almost sobbed as she nuzzled my chest. It was late into the night and everyone else were in their rooms for the night with the exception of Dinky, who joined Cotton in my room.

“Can we not talk about that for now?” I sighed heavily, scratching at one of the mare’s ears absentmindedly. “I just want to think about something happy for a bit.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy responded as she looked up at me. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Why don’t you tell me about what happened while I was gone,” I replied. “I’m sure more happened outside of the Cake twins being born.”

“Oh!” Fluttershy chirped as she looked up at me with a new smile. “I watched the Crusaders the other night.”

“Really?” I asked, slightly surprised. “How’d that turn out?”

“It was… difficult at first,” Fluttershy replied as she thought about it. “But after we saved Twilight and Elizabeak from the cockatrice, everything turned out fine.”

I wanted to say something at that, more out of concern for her safety than out of the fact I basically knew what happened.

“Now, the Crusaders call me “The Stare Master”,” Fluttershy giggled. “I think it was good practice for when we have our own foal.”

“Right,” I replied, sighing internally. I had forgotten that the mare was dead set with getting pregnant soon with all the excitement that had been going on.

“The week after the Running Of The Leaves is when I enter my secondary heat, so you had better be ready,” Fluttershy told me with a deadly serious look. The creepiest part about it was how her eyes looked red for a brief moment as she said this.

“Scouts honor,” I replied with wide eyes, throwing up the hand symbol.

“Good,” Fluttershy smiled as she snuggled back into my chest.

“Uh… anything else happen?” I asked.

“Uhm… Rainbow Dash went to the hospital again when she hurt her wing doing a stunt,” Fluttershy replied without moving from my chest. “She found a book series she liked while she was there too.”

“Oh,” I nodded, staring up at the ceiling. I was kind of surprised that I had missed out on the sleepover and Hospital Infiltration incidents, but things do happen when I’m not around.

“Oh, I just remembered,” Fluttershy suddenly chirped, lifting herself from my chest and looking at me. “Cider season is right around the corner. Sweet Apple Acres makes the best cider and with Applejack being in the herd, we can probably get some!”

“I love apple cider!” I couldn’t help but voice out, remembering how I would buy gallons of the stuff when it was in season back in my world. It accounted for a good three quarters of my liquid intake for the time it was more readily available.

“So, does Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy giggled. “She drags me to the line that forms outside of Sweet Apple Acres almost every year.”

“And Nightmare Night is soon after that?” I asked, going over the calendar in my head as Fluttershy gave a nod.

By what I was able to piece together, about a week after the start of Cider season, was Nightmare night. A week or two after that, was the Running Of The Leaves followed by Fluttershy’s uterus.

After that though, I would have to leave for the tournament.

Being the Equestrian representative for the crown, I had to travel with Celestia to the location of this year’s tournament a good two weeks before the actual event. Celestia said that most Rulers arrived at that time to go over rules, prizes, as well as several other things that I kind of tuned out due to boredom.

“So, now that you’re the new town Warden, what do you have to do?” Fluttershy asked out of the blue.

“Basically, whatever I want unless I’m needed,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. 

Twilight had told me a little more about Warden’s in a way that I understood.

Wardens were typically nobles that lived in the towns and cities as representatives to Canterlot and the government. They originally stemmed from the first noble rulers of the area until the land was taken back by the crown and given to the government.

Obviously, the nobles didn’t like losing their land, so they came up with this whole idea that every town needed a proper representative of the government. It just so happened that these representatives happened to be nobles who may or may not belong to the families who originally governed the land.

It made me wonder what the princesses had to do to get me the position.

“Tomorrow though, I have a busy schedule,” I said as I looked up at the ceiling. “Me and Derpy have to take Cotton to the hospital to set up a few things before she goes to work. After that, I should go see the mayor about whatever she may need and then, I have something I need to talk to Twilight about.”

“What do you need to talk to Twilight about?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at me with confusion.

“I have an idea for something that should be a major boon for me in the tournament,” I replied with a smirk. “I just want to talk to Twilight to see if my idea is even possible before I invest too much time into it.”

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked with eyes full of curiosity.

“I’ll tell you after I speak to Twilight,” I replied, kissing her forehead before leaning back in my chair. “Now, let’s get some sleep.”


*	*	*


“Hello again Cotton,” Twilight greeted as me and the filly entered the library. The mare stood in the middle of the room, reading several books at once while Spike was nowhere to be seen, possibly at school.

“H-hello…” Cotton meekly replied.

“Good afternoon, Twilight,” I replied while setting a small stake of papers down on a nearby table. It was a mix of medical forms from the hospital and a small stack from the mayor that I needed me to look over.

“Fluttershy stopped by earlier and said you wanted to talk to me about something?” Twilight voiced as she used her magic to mark and set down her books.

“Wow!” I heard Cotton breath as she watched Twilight’s magical abilities.

“Yes, I do,” I said while moving to a small stool to take a seat and placing Cotton on my lap. “While in Canterlot, I had to get a fitting for the armor I’ll be wearing to the tournament and while discussing some things about what I wanted with my armor, I came across something that I found interesting.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked as she summoned a roll of parchment and a quill, preparing herself to take notes.

“Well, you know how regular guard armor is enchanted to help guards look similar to one another?” I asked.

“Yes, its been a common practice for centuries,” Twilight nodded. “The princess told me that it was to help hid the identity of a guard so that their families couldn’t be targeted.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Well, I was told that the enchantment is applied directly to the armor and is possible because of the material it’s made out of. But what I found out was that it wasn’t always directly applied to the armor and used to be applied though enchanted gems.”

“They actually still use the gems in some cases,” Twilight added as an afterthought. “They hold a better charge then the armor.”

“Exactly,” I nodded as a smile began to develop on my face. “What I wanted to ask you was if you knew exactly what limits enchanting a gem can have.”

“Your going to have to be a bit more specific than that,” Twilight replied with an uncomfortable laugh. “Gem enchantment is a very large field of study, and while I do know a lot on the subject, I don’t think you want to sit here for several days going over what I already do know.”

“Well…” I said taking a moment to take in what she said and thinking of how I wanted to reply.

“You know how I can form items with my magic?” I asked, crating a small throwing knife in my hand as an example.

“Which is actually quite fascinating,” Twilight nodded as she took the blade in her magic and looking it over. After a few moments, it dissipated as I stopped focusing on it.

“Well, I can’t help but notice that it tends to take a good amount of concentration to do things like that, especially since I can’t cast spells like you or other unicorns,” I explained. “What I was wondering was, is it possible to use an enchanted gem to… I guess, store the items image in a way where all I have to do is supply the magic, allowing me to focus on other things fully.”

“Of course,” Twilight replied as if it were common knowledge. “Its actually how some unicorn officers carry their own weapons.

“One issue I know about though, is that there is a limit as to what can be stored,” Twilight continued as she summoned a few books from the shelves and looking through them. “Anything too large tends to degrade the gem and causes it become inactive quickly due to the amount of magic that has to be forced into the gem at a continues stream.”

“How large are we talking?” I asked, feeling a small prickling of disappointment. The idea I had was pretty big and I was sure that, even if it is possible to do what I had planned, it would take a lot of time. Too much time to repeat for every time the gem is used up.

“I think we have a process that could create something about as large as a pony right now,” Twilight replied while looking inside one book specifically. “And even then, the gem’s used for items that large are exceedingly rare and only last a few hours.”

“Damn,” I grumbled with a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Cotton asked.

“Well, I had a few ideas that I wanted to try with gems, but if the biggest thing I could get is pony sized, it really cuts back on what I had planned,” I replied.

“There are some theories that say that larger things could be crated with gems that were magically infused naturally,” Twilight began. “But natural magic stones haven’t been easily available for over a millennia.”

“So, if I can get a naturally occurring magical gem, it should be able to withstand holding something larger?” I asked, a small inkling of an idea popping into my head.

“Its just a theory right now,” Twilight replied as she looked over her books. “But with a high enough quality, you could probably fit something as large as a dragon and not worry about degradation. But the only kind of gem that I can think of that would be anywhere near that kind of quality…”

“Would be the Elements of harmony,” I finished, things finally clicking into my head and a plan quickly forming.

“What did you have for an idea to begin with?” Twilight asked. “Maybe if we work together, we can come up with a way to circumvent any restriction depending on your idea.”

“Sorry, Twilight,” I quickly said as I stood up, holding Cotton to my chest as I rushed to grab my papers and head for the door. “But I gotta go! 

“Come to my house in a few hours with those gem enchanting books if you can though!”

“But what about-“ Twilight tried to call as I rushed out of the library back towards home.

“Where are we going?” Cotton asked as I rushed down the street.

“I need to head somewhere for a little while,” I said as my house came into view. “Derpy should be done from work, so do you think you can stay with her until I get back?”

“B-but where are you going?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me in worry.

“Not far, I promise,” I told her as I stopped outside of my front door. “But it will be too dangerous of a place to bring you.”

“Will you come back?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me from my arms.

“I promise,” I replied before walking inside.


*	*	*


“The staircase should be back over here,” I told Geralt as the two of us circled the old castle courtyard.

Geralt simply growled from behind me as I made my way towards the chasm’s side. After traveling the side for a few moments, I found the staircase leading to the depths and quickly began my decent.

After leaving Cotton with Derpy, I took Geralt with me and headed strait for the castle in the Everfree with the Tree of Harmony being my objective.

This would be the second time that I had gone to the tree, but instead of leaving something this time, I was hoping to take something.

“It really is cold in here,” I quietly commented to myself while we entered the large cavern that held the tree. 

Walking up to it, I inclined my head to stare into the branches, specifically the sharp ends that would possible shift to hold all the elements someday.

My eyes then fell to the small box I had placed during my first visit at the base of the tree. It held my element and I had placed it here for protection, and if the small crystal roots that held the box sealed meant anything, the tree liked it.

“Are you really not even going to come in here?” I called as I turned to see Geralt standing outside of the cave entrance. He had done the same thing last time and I attributed it to the tree.

“Now then,” I sighed looking around the cave floor. My main hope was to find some shards of the tree on the ground, and I was sure that they could be used to make what I wanted.

But as I looked, I found nothing but dirt and smooth earth.

“Damn,” I grumbled before looking at the tree. The damn thing was made out of crystal and was obviously magical, so if I could use a pierce of it, I could probably make a very strong enchanted gem.

Walking back over to the tree, I looked up at it, trying to think of what to do.

“Uh… look… uh,” I began, addressing the tree, as if it were sentient.

Which it could very well be.

“This might seem weird but… can I get a branch?” I asked, looking at the tree with a bit of hope… and humiliation.

For several minutes, all I got back was the sound of the wind.

After a few minutes more, I began to think that this was a lost cause. But then I noticed something in the trunk of the tree.

There was a small bulge in the trunk I hadn’t noticed earlier and it seemed to be calling out to me.

“What in the?” I asked as I reached up to touch the bulge.

The moment my hand came into contact with the tree, I found myself in a completely new place.

“What the hell?!” I shouted, looking around my surroundings. 

No longer was I in the cave with the tree, but instead, I found myself in a large crystal room. Six large chairs sat in the middle of the room, surrounding a large table that had a map of the world of Equestria.

“Is this where I think it is?” I asked as the creak of opening doors drew my attention to the rooms entrance. Turning towards the sound I watched as a set of double doors opened to reveal… nothing.

Past the double doors was nothing but an endless black abyss.

“What are you looking for?” a voice suddenly asked from beside me, shocking me and causing me to jump away.

“Who the hell?!” I shouted turning to look at who was with me.

“Oh, pardon my manners,” Slenderman said as he looked down at me, adjusting his tie as he stood fully.

“Oh, dear sweet go, I’m going to die!” I shouted as I tuned to bolt, only to run into Slenderman in the process.

“Please, Christopher, there is no need to run,” Slenderman said in a voice that was neither male nor female. “This is simply a form I believe better suits the purpose of our meeting without me being a blob of light.” 

“And it knows my name!” I shouted in fear, my fight or flight response shifting to fight. 

In an act that would disappoint my own mother, I began to blindly punch at the creature, not even bothering to add magic to the mix.

“Perhaps the blob of light would have been better,” Slenderman stated to them self as they effortlessly parried each strike with a single long finger. 

This continued for a few minutes before I lost my footing and tripped forward.

“Careful there,” Slenderman said as it caught me by the back of my shirt before I could hit the ground. “This place may not be real but I would still feel bad if you got hurt.”

“Not real… what?” I muttered as I was placed back onto my feet.

“Yes,” Slenderman said as they brushed some dirt off my sleeve. “I made this place using some of your own memories so that we could talk properly. And I have to admit, I may just keep a few of these designs”

“But I was just in front of the Tree of Harmony,” I mumbled, hesitantly looking up at Slenderman. “Are you telling me that you are…”

“I am what they call the Tree of Harmony,” Slenderman replied, giving a shrug. “Or at least, that’s what the ponies call me.”

“WHAT?!” I shouted as I looked at Slenderman with a different look of fear now.

“You had a request of me, correct?” Slenderman asked. “Well, I’m willing to fulfil your request, for a price that is.”

“Wait, really?” I asked, my nerves settling slightly.

“Yes,” Slenderman nodded before beginning. “While you can’t have one of my branches, I am willing to gift you with three gems that should more than suit your purposes.”

“And in return?” I asked.

“For each gem, I will require you to do something for me,” Slenderman began to explain. “First, with the gems, you will receive a box. Under no circumstances are you to ever open the box.”

“And what am I supposed to do with it?” I asked.

“You will give it to… well, you don’t need to worry about that for now,” Slenderman waved off. “The box isn’t large, so just keep it with you at all possible times.”

“What else?” I asked, confused already.

“For a second gem, I ask that you relay a message to the alicorns Luna and Celestia,” Slenderman continued. “You will receive it along with the gems. It is not meant for your eyes.”

As Slenderman stated the last part, I felt a dull chill go through me and all I could do was nod.

“And for the final gem,” Slenderman began as they leaned in close to my face, a smile filled with razor-sharp teeth appearing on its otherwise blank face.


*	*	*


When I opened my eyes again, I was already back in front of the tree, a small crystal box in front of me.

Without saying a word, I opened the box and took out its contents.

Three dark red crystals, a fist size blue box and a small scroll were the only things I found inside.

A blue ribbon was wrapped around the scroll and had a golden seal with the image of the tree on the front.

“Just what have I gotten myself into?” I sighed as I pocketed the gems and box.

“Time to go Geralt,” I called as I exited the cave. I had some things to do.
> Chapter Seventeen: “I feel the need - the need for speed!”
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Reset,” Celestia told me after I recovered from her last strike.

“Uhg… I hate this so much,” I moaned as I stood back up and returned to a defensive stance. I knew complaining was useless though, seeing as Celestia doesn’t care.

Before I could even blink, I was once again flung across the yard as another wooden training sword was destroyed against my side.

“He’s really bad at this,” Gilda commented as she and several others watched from beside my house. Even though the day was almost over, there was still enough sunlight to see just how much pain Celestia was inflicting on me.

“Why does she keep hitting him like that?” Cotton asked as she and Dinky stood beside Derpy with worried expressions.

“It’s alright, I’m fine,” I groaned out, standing back up once again, my vision spinning for a moment. “I need the training anyways.”

“This is training?” Gilda asked, turning to look at the group behind her, specifically Twilight.

“Oh don’t worry, Princess Celestia’s holding back,” Twilight replied with a smile.

“That’s holding back?” Rainbow Dash questioned quietly besides Fluttershy, unable to hide her flinch as Celestia took a practice swing with a new training sword, causing a small crater in the ground below where she struck.

It was all the more chilling since it didn’t come anywhere near the ground when Celestia finished her swing. 

“You can do it Christopher!” Fluttershy quietly cheered with a smile.

“I’m glad we can continue the training, Celestia,” I grumbled as I took my stance in front of her once again. “But won’t someone figure out where you’re going if this becomes a regular thing? Just think of the PR nightmare.”

“You need the training,” Celestia replied before taking another swing at me. “You wont be anywhere near ready by the time the tournament starts, but I’d feel somewhat better if you could at least block a strike properly.”

I had no chance of blocking it, but I couldn’t help but think I was at least getting better at tracking it.

“At least I’m not getting knocked out after every strike anymore,” I grumbled as I decided to stay on the ground for a few extra moments after the last hit. Back at the castle, I would be knocked out from some of the impacts and I was actually starting to worry about brain damage at this point.

“You’re instinctively placing more magic into defending yourself,” Celestia stated as she forced me back to my feet. “It’s a common practice with guards.”

“Just means I’m getting stronger,” I grumbled as I returned to the stance… again.

“Why is he doing this?” Cotton asked the adults, obviously uncomfortable with what she was seeing.

“Because he shall be Equestira’s champion for this year’s Equis tournament,” Luna stated confidently.

“What’s that?” Cotton asked, looking at Derpy.

“It’s like a big game that a whole bunch of ponies participate in from all over the world,” Derpy replied.

“But why does the Princess keep hitting him?” Cotton continued.

“Because a few fights are usually always held during it,” Rainbow commented as she watched the crap get beaten out of me. “I got to go to one when I was a filly and it was AWESOME!”

“They allow foals to watch in the arena?!” Luna burst out, staring at Rainbow in shock.

“Only when the tournament is held on Equestrian soil,” Celestia replied as she blasted me away once again. “But that’s only for the preliminaries and there are special restrictions in place so they don’t see anything they shouldn’t. Also, tournaments aren’t as dangerous as they were before you left sister. Thanks to new spells and rules, the likelihood of death is almost nothing.”

“But why does he have to fight?” Cotton asked. “What if he gets hurt?”

“He’ll be fine Cotton,” Dinky replied. “Mr. Christopher is really strong. He even goes into the Everfree forest without anypony else!”

“WHAT?!” the entire field erupted when they heard Dinky’s remark.

“Oh crap…” I mumbled when everyone turned their glares towards me.

“You went back into the forest?” Celestia asked with obvious anger in her voice.

“I had something I needed to check,” I groaned as I relaxed my stance. “I had an idea and I went with it.”

“Does it have anything to do with those enchanted gems you were asking me about?” Twilight asked.

“What’s this about enchanted gems?” Luna questioned.

“It’s just an idea I have,” I replied quickly as I felt Luna’s and Celestia’s glare intensify. I was pretty sure they had a guess on where I went and I had been planning to talk to them later about it.

I still had to deliver the message to them.

“And what was this idea?” Celestia asked as her horn glowed and her magic swept over my body. I was unsure what she was looking for, but when she didn’t find it, she seemed to tense a little more.

“I kind of wanted it to be a surprise,” I offered awkwardly.

“We’re done for today,” Celestia replied with a frown. “Let’s go, Luna.”

“But we did not get the chance to strike, Christopher with a training sword,” Luna frowned as she brought one up beside her with a small pout.

“Let’s take a rain check on that…” I grumbled as I let out a defeated sigh.

“So many of these cursed “Rain-Checks”,” Luna grumbled as she followed her sister back into my house.

“…But what about my question?” Cotton asked as she turned to look at the rest of us.


*	*	*


After a week, I was beginning to feel like things were going good.

My new job didn’t take much to do so I had plenty of free time.

All I needed to do was go around town a few times a day and make sure things were safe, visit my new office at town hall to look over and sign some papers, talk to the mayor every now and then about upcoming projects and discuss a few things with the local police every now and then.

Valiant was more than happy to join me during those times.

Other than that, I still watched the Crusaders with the addition of Cotton, learned more magical theory with Twilight, and had training sessions with Luna and Celestia before dinner.

Twilight did surprise me a few days ago though.


*	*	*


“That was just sad,” Luna said as I recovered from her training swords strike.

I had to agree myself, seeing that Luna wasn’t as powerful or as fast with her sword strikes as her sister. The big difference between the two though, was that Luna kept making fake swords with her magic that she would use to confuse me.

It unfortunately worked every time.

I already knew that I could easily tell the difference between the swords if I used my soul vision, but the princess either didn’t realize it, or were doing it on purpose, but every time I switched my sight, I would end up blinded by the bright flames of the princess’s souls as one of them stayed in my field of view.

“You need to be able to tell the difference between the real one and the fake ones,” Celestia groaned from the side of my house. Her voice quickly drew the attention of Cotton, Dinky and Rachel who were sitting nearby with a few books and loose papers.

Twilight had invited me and Cotton to get some lunch with her earlier that day, feeling a little lonelier at the Library with Spike going to school.

But when we sat down at a small restaurant, Twilight gave Cotton the menu and told her to order whatever she wanted from it.

That’s when we both found out that she couldn’t read or write.

After talking with the others, Rachel was more than willing to help teach her after school hours and even Dinky asked to help as well.

“I’m trying!” I growled back at Celestia.

“It doesn’t look as if thou are,” Luna commented with a smirk.

I was about to reply once again when the sound of hurried hoof beats came from behind.

Turning, I was surprised to find Twilight rushing up towards me with a smile that could almost rival Pinkie Pie’s.

“Okay, which of your favorite authors released early this time?” I couldn’t help but chuckle as the mare stopped in front of me, panting from obvious exertion.

“I… I did it!” Twilight panted as she looked up at me, her excitement causing her to miss the curious looks of the princesses.

“Uh… did what?” I asked with some trepidation. As everyone in Ponyville had come to know, Twilight did love her experiments, especially ones that seemed to make big booms.

“I figured out how to do your “Soul Vision”,” Twilight chirped with a smile as she closed her eyes and her horn began to glow a slightly off color from its usual glow. “Watch!”

“Wait, Twilight!” I tried to say as I remembered who was behind me.

“See-EEEEEEEEE MY EYES!?” Twilight shrieked as she opened her eyes for a moment before covering them with her hooves and falling to the ground with a whimper.

“What happened to Twilight?!” Luna asked as she and her sister quickly made their way towards the mare from right behind me.

“She saw the light,” I sighed with a shake of the head.


*	*	*


Celestia really let Twilight have it after that, seeing as she was diving into forbidden magic for ponies.

The rest of my free time was dedicated to my Enchanting project and after hours of missed sleep and confusing books, I had a working prototype of something that would revolutionize this world and was the first step to making a childhood dream of mine come true.

“What is it?” Scootaloo asked as she stared at the large object in front of her and the other fillies. All five of them stared at the object that was at least five time their own size and could easily flatten them if it physically weighed anything.

“It’s called a motorcycle,” I replied as I looked over my creation. With the help of Twilights books and a few tips from Luna, I was able to imprint a copy of a four wheeled motorcycle strait into the gem with my magic.

It had a gun metal gray with a dark gold trim casing and had simple stock handlebars. A slim pair of lights sat in the front with a red and white set in the back. Two tires sat side by side in the front with a matching pair in the back.

It could easily fit me and another person on it while stile having space for future improvements.

It was big, bulky and with some luck, would do exactly what I hoped it would.

“What does it do?” Sweetie Belle asked as the group looked it over from a short distance away.

“Well, if things go right,” I began, brushing my hand over the gem inlaid just in between the handlebars, putting some more magic into it so it could hold the form. “It should let me travel really far, really fast.”

“Like the train?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Faster,” I replied, giving the fillies a smile. I hadn’t actually planned on showing this to anyone yet, but then Cotton asked me what I had been doing and then the others began to ask with those big eyes of theirs and I caved.

“It can’t be as fast as Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo challenged.

“It just might,” I replied while taking a seat. I released a sigh I was holding as I found that the seat could support me and didn’t let me fall through like it was an illusion.

“What if it goes wrong?” Dinky asked as she and the others took another step back.

“The worst that will happen is that it doesn’t move,” I replied while looking over the few switches and buttons it had. 

The trick to it all was giving the enchanted gem basic commands to follow. Such as when a switch is in one direction and I spin the handle, it spins the wheels a certain direction. The same for turning on the front and back lights, braking and reverse and a few other small things.

The biggest issue though, was that not only did I not know if it would work, I also didn’t know how fast it would actually go. This thing was literally a magical construct and there was nothing to base it off of due to its size and complexity.

It also didn’t help that the closest thing I ever owned to a motorcycle was one of those little electric ones when I was a kid.

“As a wise man somewhere once said,” I began, flipping the switches to turn on the front light and prepare to go forward, the bike staying silent since there wasn’t actually an engine. “Time to go for broke!”

With that, I gripped the handle and twisted it.

“HHHHHHOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY SSSSSSSHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIITTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!” I shouted as the bike launched forward, rearing up on its back wheels for a few moments before settling down.

“I SHOULD HAVE WORN GOOGLES!!!!” I shouted over the powerful wind. I was going so fast that everything passed by in a blur. After a few moments, I remembered that I was supplying the power and finally cut off the magical feed and hit the brakes carefully.

Once the bike finally stopped, it quickly dissipated as its form was sucked back into the gem and both it and I fell to the ground in a puff of loose dirt.

“That was awesome,” I chuckled from my place in the dirt. The bike had worked almost perfectly and I could just feel that I hadn’t gone full speed on that thing yet.

Looking up, I realized something else.

“Holy shit, I’m in Ghastly Gorge,” I said as I picked up the gem and stood up. This place was several miles from Ponyville and I had made it here in only a few moments.

The only issue I could really say was that I could feel that it took a lot of magic to get this far. Providing enough energy to keep the bike’s form was miniscule, but when it started moving, the cost skyrocketed.

“I’m gonna have to work on that,” I sighed while pocketing the gem. I also planned on having Rarity make me a belt that could hold my gems instead of my pockets.

“Now then…” I mumbled to myself while looking around the area with a smile. “Should I walk back or do that again?”


*	*	*


“Sugarcube,” a soft voice whispered into my ear, drawing me from another dreamless sleep. “Come on now, ah got somthin’ fer you.”

“Meh…pancakes…” I mumbled out as I lazily opened my eyes to find Applejack’s bright green ones, inches away.

“Now you know ah could whip you up a stack right quick, but that aint why am wakin you up,” Applejack giggled as she stole a kiss.

“Well then,” I smirked as she pulled away and I looked out towards the dark sky outside my room window. “Why are you waking me before sunrise?”

“Well, today is the first day of Cider Season,” Applejack began as a small blush began to cover her face as she picked up a small thermos at her side and offered it to me. “Granny told me about this tradition in the Apple family, fer when a mare of the family gets into a relationship with somepony.”

“And it involves cider?” I asked as I woke up more and took the thermos the mare offered.

“J-just tell me how it tastes, alright?” Applejack mumbled as her face began to match Big Mac’s in color.

“Alright then,” I chuckled as I opened the thermos and took a drink. I could immediately taste the life-giving nectar that was cider, but I could also taste something else. It was a familiar taste that I quickly pinpointed and caused me to chuckle a bit more.

“A family tradition?” I chuckled as I continued to drink, Applejack’s eyes locked on the thermos.

“T-that’s what G-Granny said,” Applejack stuttered.

“I’m sure she did,” I laughed as I finished the drink. “Come here you.”

Before she could move, I scooped the mare up and pulled her into my bed with me.

“Now then, how long until you need to be back at the farm for opening?” I smirked down at the mare.

“An hour,” She replied before thrusting her lips against mine for a deep kiss.

“We might just make that,” I replied as I pulled away, one of my hands trailing down her side and resting on her flank.


*	*	*


“Alright everyone, let’s keep this simple and stay in line,” I called out to the mass group of ponies lined up outside Sweet Apple Acers. “I know you all want a cup, but we’re doing things a bit differently this year!”

“What do you mean differently?!” One pony yelled.

“Yeah, I want my Cider!” Another shouted.

“And you’ll get it!” I called back. “I’m here to tell you that because of issues that have occurred during prior years, everyone can only purchase one cup of cider today!”

“WHAT?!” an explosion sounded followed by complains, mostly from an irritated pink pony that found her way to my chest.

“What do you mean we can only have one?! I can’t have just ONE! I need at least five of their deliciously goodness!” Pinkie shouted into my face, a cute scowl on her own.

“Will everyone here who has missed out on a cup of cider because they sell out to fast please raise a hoof,” I called out past Pinkie, shouting over the commotion.

In response, a good half of the line raised a hoof and a good amount of complaining stopped.

“Now will those who tend to get more than one cup at once raise their hoof!” I called again.

Once again, half the line raised their hoof and all the complaints stopped, excluding Pinkie.

“It’s just for today, and it’s so everyone can get a chance to have a glass today instead of missing out,” I called out, receiving reluctant nods before the line properly reformed and the sales began.

“But they can just make more!” Pinkie complained as she headbutted me with her puffy hair. “What am I supposed to do now?!”

“How about getting back in line?” I chuckled as I pointed to the growing line.

“Oh phooey!” Pinkie chirped as she jumped off my chest and rushed to the back of the line. “Hey, no cutting in line!” 

“You’re the one that got out of line, Pinkie,” I mumbled before moving up beside the booth the Apples had set up. Since I was in a herd with Applejack, I counted as close enough to the family to help them in their cider work, but the most I could do at this time was just providing some security and order.

Although, they did accept my idea for only one cup per customer on the first day, even if the fact that they had to do it so everyone could get a cup made Granny Smith sad.

“Thank you very much, Miss Smith,” Cotton said as she sat behind the booth with Apple Bloom, a small mug of cider in her hooves. While the rest of the fillies had decided to wait in line, Cotton had kept her usual spot of at my side whenever possible.

Word had spread quickly about the filly in the town and while it was public record that Derpy was her legal guardian, I was the one to go to when it involved Cotton.

Gilda liked to joke that I acted more like her dad than anything else. But that was probably because she was jealous that I didn’t tuck her in at night and sneak her extra cookies in her meals.

“Now, there aint no need to be callin’ me, Miss Smith,” Granny Smith chuckled as she gave Cotton a smile. “Y’all can call me, Granny like everypony else.”

“Okay!” Cotton smiled as Apple Bloom took her empty mug and quickly cleaned it.

“Are you all sure you don’t want more help?” I asked while looking at the tower of cider barrels they had set up for the day’s sales. “You know there are plenty of others who would be willing to help make more.”

“Now don’t you go talking about that again, sonny,” Granny Smith scolded with a glare. “This is how we’ve done it fer years.”

“I know Granny,” I replied as Applejack continued to sell mugs of cider. Even though it wasn’t until season two, the Flim Flam brothers were supposed to show up and I could just feel that a curve ball was coming my way. “Just know that you got plenty of helpers should you need it.”

“Oh, course I know that,” Granny chuckled as she directed a stare her eldest granddaughter. “Not all of us are as stubborn as a brick wall.”

“Ah aint stubborn,” Applejack grumbled with a blush as a few customers chuckled at the remark.

“Actually, Christopher,” Granny chimed a few minutes later as if she remembered something. “Do you think you could run an errand fer an old mare?”

“You know you don’t need to ask Granny,” I chuckled while moving over to the older mare. “What do you need?”

“Ah was hopin you could bring that Zecora mare some cider,” Granny Smith said as she pulled out a small barrel. “The sweet thing went and gave me an ointment the other day fer mah hip and its worked wonders ah tell ya.”

“Oh, yeah, I can do that,” I said, taking the small barrel and putting it under my arm before turning to Cotton.

“Hey, Cotton,” I called, gaining the filly’s attention. “I need to head off for a little while.”

“Where are you going?” she asked as she stopped helping Apple Bloom clean cups for a moment.

“I need to head into the Everfree for a bit and talk to Zecora, the zebra you met the other day,” I informed as I reached into a pocket and pulled out a whistle I had gotten from Rainbow Dash recently.

“But what about me?” she obviously asked as she stared at the whistle in confusion.

“I’m gonna need you to stay here with Granny Smith and Applejack,” I replied as I noticed her face slip into a frown.

“Derpy is currently at work and it’s too dangerous for you to go into the Everfree with me,” I began as I slipped a string neckless over the filly’s head so that the whistle hung against her chest. It was cute because of how small she was, the whistle almost scrapped the ground.

During her first night her in Ponyville, I had given her my head lamp after she had woken up from a nightmare. Aside from its sad purpose, it made her look cute with the bulky thing wrapped around her head and under her horn and the whistle reminded me of that.

“What’s this for?” Cotton asked looking at the whistle instead of worrying about me leaving. Up to this point, she had only ever been with Derpy if I had to do something without her around.

“It’s a whistle,” I chuckled slightly before continuing. “If you feel afraid or need help, you take that whistle and blow as hard as you can.”

“Then what?” Cotton asked as she took the whistle in her hoof.

“Then help will come,” I replied, giving her an ear scratch. “For the times I can’t be around, okay?”

“O-okay…” Cotton muttered as she gave me a small hug, several “awww’s” echoing from behind me.

“I’ll be back in a little while,” I told her while standing up. “Stay here with Granny Smith, okay?”

“Okay,” Cotton replied with a little more confidence.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” I told everyone as I made my way towards Zecora’s home.

I couldn’t help but chuckle when I passed a pouting Pinkie Pie, who had ended up behind Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Once I was clear of the line, I pulled out the gem that held my new motorcycle templet.

“I dub the’, the Moto-Gem,” I chuckled as I fed some magic to the gem and threw it a few feet in front of me. A few moments later, the bike was fully formed.

“Overkill, they name is Reaper,” I couldn’t help but cackle like a mad man as I shifted the bike to face in the direction of Zecora’s before placing the barrel in a small box container I had included in its design.

“Oh, I love magic,” I smiled as I took a seat, flipped a switch and rocketed towards the Everfree.

“Okay, I got this,” I mumbled as I kept the speed lower than I had the previous day. Once Fluttershy’s cottage came into view, I veered off onto another path that led into the forest.

I was slowly getting the hang of controlling this thing and it easily put a smile on my face.

“I fucking love magic,” I panted as I reached Zecora’s clearing and stopped the bike, dispelling it and pocketing the Moto-Gem, taking a moment to recover some spent magic.

“It took you long enough,” a familiar voice called as Zecora stepped out of her home, brow raised as she stared at where my bike had once been. “And what in the name of the spirits was that thing?”

“Did… did you just talk without rhyming?” I questioned as I looked at the mare in shock. I had thought that what I heard the other day was a fluke, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

“I don’t always rhyme,” Zecora sighed as she shook her head. “Sometimes, I simply don’t have the time.”

“There we go,” I chuckled while leaning down and picking up the barrel that had fallen to the ground when the bike disappeared.

“Anyways Zecora, Granny Smith sent me with a small barrel of cider as thanks for some ointment you gave her the other day.”

“It was a simple thing,” Zecora replied with a slight blush as she took the barrel I offered her. “But I appreciate the gesture all the same.”

“Its good stuff, that I can promise you,” I said as I followed the zebra to her front door. 

Once she made it inside, she turned to look at me with a small scowl.

“I hope you’re not just going to leave,” Zecora grumbled at me. “I expected you a few days ago and you have yet to answer my question from before.”

“Only if you tell me why you suddenly stopped rhyming,” I replied as I followed her in and took a seat on a small stool, she had made just for me. It was a little larger than most regular stools and was made from wood in the Everfree.

“The rhyming was simply something my mother taught me to help with learning the local language,” Zecora began as she placed the barrel on a small table and grabbed two small bowls to drink from. “It also helps me to focus my mind and calms me when I feel stressed. After a while, I just began to do it more often until that’s what I was known for.”

“And the reason you stopped doing it for me?” I asked as she opened the barrel and filled the two bowls.

“I-I simply feel that we are at a point in our friendship where I don’t need to worry,” Zecora replied while handing me a bowl, a blush on her face.

“Well, nothing against your rhyming, but it’s a lot easier to understand you when you talk like this,” I nodded while drinking from the bowl. 

“Now then, to answer your questions, the thing you saw me with was a magical construct I made to resemble a motorized vehicle from my home world called a motorcycle.”

“But how did you make it and where did it go?” Zecora questioned as she sat in front of me. “Did you learn a spell to shrink it?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” I said as I pulled out the Moto-Gem. “This is a gem I enchanted myself that holds the construct so that all I have to do is add the magic.”

“That’s amazing!” Zecora nearly bellowed as she looked at the small red gem I held. “How do you keep the construct and gem from degrading? How did you craft such a construct and get it set into the gem? How-“

“Woah, calm down, Zecora,” I couldn’t help but chuckle as the ecstatic zebra reminded me of a certain librarian. “With some tips from Princess Luna and books from Twilight, I was able to form the actual construct in my dreamscape and from there, use a small connection to transfer it into the gem. After I supply the magic, it just follows basic commands.”

“But what about the degradation?” Zecora asked as she watched me return the gem to my pocket. “Ponies have been trying for years to create larger constructs but haven’t been able to do it without suffering horrible degradation in quality and construct life.”

“Well, Twilight told me about this theory that natural magic gems might be able to handle larger constructs without degradation and I decided to give it a try,” I shrugged while finishing off my drink.

“But where did you get… a natural magic gemstone?” Zecora questioned while placing her half full bowl down and glaring slightly at me. “I highly doubt anypony would give one of the very few that still exist in the world.”

“I… I, uh… I have my ways,” I replied, her stare burrowing in slightly. If Zecora knew about the tree, she would figure it out on her own. 

If she didn’t, it wasn’t my place to reveal such a place.

“Well, I’m sure everypony else has already talked to you about it, so I won’t press for more,” Zecora said as she reached for her bowl again, stopping when she saw the sheepish smile I had grown. “You have shown this to others, am I correct?”

“Well… some fillies saw it before I sped away at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash blush,” I sheepishly replied as I also remembered the fact that I had yet to give Celestia and Luna the letter from Slend- The Tree of Harmony. “I kind of wanted to keep them a secret until the tournament.”

“THEM?!” Zecora blurted as she stared at me in shock. “Not only have you not told your herd about something as amazing as your motor-cycle, but you have more than one?!”

“There’s actually only one,” I mumbled to myself. “The rest are blank right now.”

Zecora simply mumbled something under her breath before recomposing herself.

“And what about ignoring my request to visit me sooner?” Zecora asked after a moment. “There was something I wanted to discuss with you.”

“I’m sorry Zecora,” I apologized honestly. “With my new job and all the other things, I was working on, I forgot about your request.”

“Well, don’t forget next time,” Zecora huffed, a small blush appearing on her face. “I simply wished to talk to you about the tournament.”

“What about?” I asked, intrigued by what she wanted to talk about.

“Well, now that its known that you can use Soul Magic, I felt it would be best to talk to you about facing Shamans,” Zecora began, giving me a serious look. “While I can’t account for the abilities of non-zebra shamans, I can tell you that you might find them very difficult without a proper warning.”

“What do you mean?”

“A shaman works best when they commune with the spirits,” Zecora began as she moved to circle the large cauldron she kept in the center of the room. “With the proper materials and training, even the spirits of the living can be interacted with.”

“So, shamans can use soul magic?” I questioned.

“Not exactly,” Zecora grimaced. “I guess you could say that the Spirit is a type of energy that comes from the Soul. Ponies don’t normally use the energy, but it is still there and can be very powerful itself.”

“Okay, that I understood,” I nodded.  

“Well, my concern is if you face the Zebrica representative,” Zecora commented with a frown. “He is known as the Delver in many villages.”

“Delver?” I asked.

“That is how it is best translated,” Zecora nodded. “He is one of the best shamans from my lands who is known to have so much skill with the spirits that he can control the living.”

“So, this guy can basically worm his way into my spirit and control me?” I asked, opening my mind to whatever advice Zecora was offering.

“It would be easier to show you,” Zecora replied as she began to fill her cauldron with a mix of ingredients and a large amount of water that she got from a pipe on the ceiling.

I watched as she mixed the unfamiliar ingredients, muttering under her voice as she added small pinches of other items over time. It was a little interesting, reminding me of the times I had to mix resins or epoxies with precise measurements back on my home world.

It made me miss the shot glass sized lump of epoxy I had that had kept from a bad mix.

“I cant believe just a few grams off almost resulted in an explosion,” I thought to myself, remembering how I had acquired said lump. The mix had started to smoke and then got really hot within seconds of mixing and everyone around started freaking out, thinking it was gonna blow.

“That should be right,” Zecora said, snapping me out of my memories and drawing my gaze.

The cauldron now had a dull green glow coming from inside and a sweet smell filled the room.

“I am going to perform a special rite that is used to connect to the spirit of the living,” Zecora began to explain. “It’s not as advanced as what a master shaman like the Delver can do, but you will get a feel for it.

“Now, please look into my eyes,” Zecora finished as I looked into her teal eyes.

As she began to speak in a language I had never heard, I began to feel something.

A part of it shared the feeling I got when I actively drained magic, only different since I wasn’t actually doing it.

“What in the?” I questioned as my vision became fuzzy. I tried to bring my hand to my eyes, but found it almost impossible to move either of them as Zecora continued to look into my own eyes and speak in an odd language.

I didn’t like this at all as the feeling of being confined began to cause me to panic and I tried harder to move.

I tried to open my mouth to speak again, but found that I had no voice to use.

Once again, my panic rose and I did the only thing I could think of and grabbed the strange feeling and actively drew it in with as much force as possible.

In the next moment, I found myself in my dreamscape rather than Zecora’s home.

The shock of the change muted as I found myself comply covered by a strange green ooze, keeping my mental body still and silent.

For a few moments, I fought against the ooze before remembering that I could do more than that now that I was in the dreamscape

With some simple thoughts, two metal nozzles rose from the ground, attached to black tubs that lead back into the ground. A moment later, red flames burst from the nozzles and quickly washed over me and the ooze.

Within seconds, the ooze was gone and I stood there unharmed as the nozzles and flames faded away.

But what surprised me the most was when I noticed Zecora standing a few feet away. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me and the spots where the nozzles had erupted from. Either she had not expected me to be able to do that or she was surprised to see the real me and not the cartoon me.

“Let’s not do that again,” I grumbled as I formed a .45 in my hand and placed the barrel under my chin.

Having done this several times before to wake myself up from this place, I pulled the trigger and quickly found myself back in Zecora’s home as if nothing had happened.

I may or may not have shouted “Persona!” as I took the shot.

The once glowing cauldron no longer glowed and the sweet smell was no longer in the air.

Zecora stared at me with her eyes as wide as they had been back in my dreamscape.

“I can see why you wanted to warn me about that,” I spoke when I felt my heart settle from the experience. “I was completely helpless before I stumbled upon the trick against it. In a fight, I would have lost if that happened in the middle of defending myself or attacking.”

“You drew me in…” Zecora mumbled just loud enough for me to hear, a look of disbelief coating her face.

“What?” I asked.

“To preform that ritual, you need to connect a small part of your own spirit into it, so that you may direct its intent,” Zecora began to explain. “YOU were able to draw my consciousness into yourself and I saw… I saw the flames sprout and destroy my connection, yet I was still trapped there.”

“Probably a good thing I didn’t shoot you then,” I replied with a bit of worry. “No idea what that would have done.”

“It… it would have just woken me up first, most likely,” Zecora mumbled as she calmed down slightly. “But without this accursed headache.”

“You learn to deal with it,” I shrugged.

“I had planned to teach you a few tricks to counter such things,” Zecora seemed to chuckle in disbelief. “But it seems like I could learn a few things from you instead.”

“I’m just full of surprises,” I chuckled. “My next shows already sold out.”

“And where is my ticket?” Zecora asked as she moved closer, smiling as she played along with the last bit.

“In the mail?” I laughed while standing up. “But I need to get going; I left Cotton with Applejack’s family and I’m getting a little worried.”

“Oh, yes,” Zecora nodded as she began to frown. “I heard the stories around town and I wish her the best of health.”

“Thanks,” I said as I leaned over and gave the Zebra a hug, the mare surprising me with a kiss to the cheek as I pulled away.

“Perhaps I will come visit you next time,” Zecora said as she walked me to the door and outside. 

“Door’s always open for you Zecora,” I said as I moved away from her home and pulled out the Moto-Gem.

One again, I supplied it with magic and threw it into the open space in front of me. Once the bike was formed, I took a seat, gave Zecora one final farewell and zoomed away.

“I really need to get some goggles and a helmet,” I mumbled as the wind stung my eyes and a nagging part of me worried about motorcycle safety. 

Once I made it out of the forest and partway back to town, I dispelled the bike and walked the rest of the way. I didn’t need everyone knowing about it yet and planned to keep it that way until I was sure it was finished.

The rumors could sate their curiosity for now.

“I see the line hasn’t changed yet,” I commented as I passed the line, waving to the few that gave one towards me.

“No thanks to you!” Pinkie pie shouted as she rushed up to me with an empty mug. “You see this mug! Its supposed to be filled with appellee goodness and yet its empty! I only got one mug this time when I usually get eight and-”

“Pinkie Pie,” I interrupted sternly, stopping the mare’s tirade as she looked up to me with a cute scowl. “Don’t you think its fare for everyone to get a cup before they run out first?”

“Well, yeah,” Pinkie mumbled as she looked at her cup for a moment before looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. “But I want more.”

“Erk?!” I stumbled back while trying to hold out against the ponies most dangerous weapon.

“Just… Just get in line again or something,” I forced out while rushing past Pinkie and heading back to the stand.

Once I made it there, I was immediately tackled by Cotton as I caught the filly against my chest.

“You’re back!” the filly chirped as she tried her best to hug my chest.

“I said I wouldn’t be long,” I chuckled while returning the hug before setting back down.

“Now aint that the sweetest,” Granny chuckled.

“Pony pile!” a squeaky voice shouted before I found myself under a small pile of giggling fillies.

“Should have seen this coming,” I chuckled as the fillies proclaimed their victory.


*	*	*


The next day started a little later then it had the other day. Mostly because Applejack didn’t come to wake me up and because I was still recovering from my training season with Luna and Celestia the night before.

Before we had begun, I had finally given the princesses the scroll from the tree and when they got it, they immediately read and destroyed the scroll before I could say anything.

They told me nothing of what they read and the only reaction to it I got was a few extra scowls from the two of them and an extra half an hour of tolerating their strikes.

After that, I spent some time going through a few law books I snagged from the library. I didn’t read them word for word, just enough to prepare for the next incident.

“Cider tastes really good,” Cotton commented as we made our way to the farm.

“Yes, it does,” I chuckled as we walked.

The little filly was looking a bit healthier now and after a few counseling sessions with one of the councilors at the Ponyville Hospital, she wasn’t as reserved around groups.

“Oh, no, not this time!” Pinkie snapped as she rushed up in front of me and tried to block the path. The action causing Cotton to hid behind me. “You’re just gonna make it so I can only have one mug again!”

“No, you not being in line will make that happen,” I replied with a smirk, the line easily visible even though we were still a few minutes away from the farm entrance.

“Oh, phooey!” Pinkie blurted as she realized what she was forgetting and quickly rushed off.

“And here I thought, Rainbow Dash loved the stuff,” I mumbled to myself.

“Pinkie Pie is weird,” Cotton mumbled as she came out from behind me.

“Yeah,” I confirmed as we made are way forward.

Once we made it to the stand, both me and Cotton did the same thing we did the other day. This time though, I just made sure no one got overly rowdy or pushy. 

There was no limit to how much cider could be got today, but there were a few that obviously held back.

Then Pinkie Pie made it to the front.

When she tried to buy two barrels, I decided to step in.

Or I tried too.

“Hey, does somepony hear something?” Apple Bloom pointed out as I heard a small chugging and puffing sound coming from down the path.

I watched as a large object was driven down the path towards the stand and when I prepared myself for the song the Flim Flam brothers were supposed to begin as they arrive, I was thrown for a loop when two mares began singing instead. 

I remembered that the super squeezer episode was in season two, so it was actually a bit of a surprise to see them in the first place, but this Equestria seemed to find a way to throw me for a loop and add a bit of zest to it.

The two sisters had the same color scheme as the brothers as well as the outfits, the only real issue was that they looked exactly alike, since they didn’t have a mustache to help differentiate the two.

The song and motions were basically the same as well as they were in the show, with a few small changes which was mostly the way their movements were more flirtatious and that their names were apparently Kerry and Ferry. 

A weird nagging in the back of my head drew me away from their song and actions as my eyes looked to the side where Fluttershy and the others sat.

My panic quickly went into overdrive when I noticed a slightly contemplative look appear on Fluttershy’s face and I found myself moving without thinking.

“No!” I quickly told the more, blinking in front of her before she could take a step forward.

“But, I just want to…” Fluttershy began, only for me to interrupt her.

“No,” I reiterated before looking towards Twilight and Rainbow Dash, the two standing just behind the mare. “Do you two think you could-“

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll watch her,” Rainbow Dash interrupted with a frown as Twilight seemed more interested in looking at the vehicle the br-sisters were driving.

“Thanks,” I sighed before turning around and heading towards the growing commotion.

As I was walking up, I immediately used my magic to grab one of the mare’s horns with a gray tendril of smoke, preventing her from using magic for a moment as she tried to grab an entire tree’s worth of apples.

“W-what the hay?!” one sister, I think her name was Kerry, almost shouted in fear as her eyes locked onto the gray mist that enveloped her horn, their song cut short. Both followed the trail that led back to my outstretched hand.

“What the hay are you supposed to be?” Ferry snapped as she glared at me.

“Don’t you know it's rude to touch a mare’s horn without taking her on a date first!” Kerry added with a smirk. 

“It’s also against the law to take produce from farmland before you pay for the product, even if it’s for demonstration purposes,” I replied as I released my magic hold. “You need express permission from the land owners and the ability to pay for what you take.”

“But Chris, they were gonna give us more cider!” Pinkie blurted out. “And they said that they can make a whole bunch more that will taste even better!”

“Pinkie,” I sighed, looking down at the mare and drawing her attention. A part of me was disappointed that it wasn’t Rainbow Dash complaining instead. “Line.”

“Oh, not again!” Pinkie shouted as she moved to rejoin the line.

“Wait sister, I think I know who that is now,” Kerry said, redrawing my attention as she spoke to her sister. “That must be the “Reaper”!”

“I’m also the Ponyville Warden and this year’s representative for the princesses in the Equis tournament,” I added, giving them a flat stare. “Now, who do I have the pleasure of talking to?”

“I’m Ferry!”

“And I’m Kerry!”

“And we’re the world-famous Ferry Kerry sister sales ponies!” the two nearly sung, not bothering to get off their machine.

“We got that from the song,” Applejack interjected as she moved besides me. “Now y’all mind tellin us why you’re on my family’s property with that strange thing.”

“This here, is the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000!” the Sisters cheered with a flourish of their hooves. 

“This is the next step in cider production,” Kerry said as she caressed the seat she was in with a purr.

“No more empty mugs for thirsty ponies!” Ferry added as looked at the growing crowd.

“If you’ll give us the chance, we’ll show you!” Kerry called as she made a show of what she was doing to the crowd. Ferry quickly pulled a small bag from under her seat and tossed it to Applejack.

Catching the bag, Applejack opened the bag and revealed a small collection of bits. After a few moments, she looked up at me and gave a slightly hesitant nod.

“Okay…” I sighed, holding my hands up in a playacting manner. In response, both sisters lit their horns and a collection of apples from a nearby tree made their way into a large tube at the top of their machine.

The group of ponies watched the process as the machine quickly turned those apples into a small barrel of cider, which the sisters quickly poured into a mug and gave to Pinkie Pie.

“Yay!” the mare cheered as she downed the drink in a second before holding the mug out. “That was sooooo good, can I have some more?”

“See, a satisfied customer in only moments, with production at a quicker rate,” Kerry said as she absentmindedly poured more for Pinkie, missing when the mare switched the mug for her mouth.

“Not so fast!” Granny Smith shouted as she moved up to the pair. “No way no how that machine matches up with the care we put in our cider!”

“But if it really does work, we could make everypony in town happy!” Apple Bloom said as she made her way to Granny Smith, Cotton quickly making her way over to me.

“Ah just don’t know, y’all. We’ve always made cider the same way,” Applejack groaned as she placed the bag of bits under her hat.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac added as he stood by the stand. But a quick movement at his side drew his attention as Kerry and Ferry pressed themselves against his sides. “Huh?”

“We’ll sweeten the deal,” Kerry began to say into Big Mac’s ear, drawing an almost imperceptible blush from the stallion. “You supply the apples…”

“…We supply the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000,” Ferry added, mirroring her sister’s actions on the other side.

“Then we split those sweet sweet profits…” the two said together, as they pulled away from Big Mac and made their way towards the rest of us.

“…Seventy-five…” Kerry said as if she was giving it some thought.

“…Twenty-five.” Ferry added as if it were obvious.

“De-“ Apple Bloom began to shout, interrupted by me tapping her on the head.

“Hold on,” Applejack suddenly said. “Who gets the seventy-five?”

“Why, us, naturally,” Kerry replied with a smile.

“And, we’ll throw in the magic to power the machine for free,” Ferry added as she lit her horn for example.

“Cider sales keep our business afloat through the winter,” Applejack replied with a glare. “We’d lose Sweet Apple Acres if we agree to this.”

“So?” the two asked in unison, ignoring what Applejack said. “What’ll it be?”

“N-no deal,” Big Mac replied with a slight stutter as he made his way past the mares.

“Hmph. Well then,” Kerry huffed as she and her sister shared a look before looking towards me. “What do you have to say about this Mr. Reaper?”

“Don’t you think something like this would be a good addition to this towns economic development,” Ferry said as she looked at me with an almost predatory gaze. “More cider means more business, which means more profit in the long run.”

“One, I feel that matters like this shouldn’t be discussed in such an open space with so many people around,” I began, indicating the large group of ponies watching us. This was probably their shtick, get the group to agree to it and pressure the individual.

“And two,” I continued, pointing back to the machine. “Can someone get her off that thing?”

Everyone turned back to the Squeezy 6000 to see Pinkie pie trying to suck more cider from the nozzle in the back.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twlight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity shouted as they rushed to pull the mare away from the pipe.

“Who’s watching Fluttershy?!” I blurted out as I saw the three pass me.

“Hi there, I’m Fluttershy, do you want to join my herd?” I heard said mare say, drawing my attention towards her as she stood just to the side of the sisters.


*	*	*


“Are you sure that this is the way you want to do this Granny?” I asked as we all sat in the Apple family home’s kitchen. Even the sisters were here as we discussed what the family wanted.

Unlike the brothers in the show that admitted to wanting to put the Apples out of business, the sisters were willing to at least talk.

Although, I think they mostly did it for the chance to press themselves against Big Mac again.

“At least I don’t have to worry about them…” I thought while looking over to a pouting Fluttershy.

The sisters had outright denied her request, said something about wanting a real stallion and then proceeded to rub up against Big Mac again.

I was willing to take that hit to the pride.

Plus, it seemed that Big Mac didn’t really mind all that much if his own subtle movements against the mares said anything.

“This little cider makin’ competition will be enough to show everypony just how much better we Apples are then some machine,” Granny said. 

After talking about it, the current offer was now down to sixty, forty and the competition would be to see who it was in favor of.

I was against the whole thing to begin with, but the Apples quickly began to ignore my advice when their competitive nature was drawn out.

The worst thing was, that they had asked me to be the judge of the competition, meaning I had to become impartial. 

Which normally would have been contested since I was in a relationship with Applejack, but the sisters said they didn’t care and Applejack was quick to point out that she could tell if I was lying about any results or not.

“At least you’re talking this out beforehand,” I sighed as they worked.

“I can’t believe they said no…” Fluttershy grumbled as she looked at the table with a pout. 

“Not everyone wants to join a herd where the stallion is basically an interdimensional traveler who is also a different species,” I replied as I noticed Big Mac lock up for a second as one of the sister’s did something to his side that no one could see. 

“So, what time we starting this thing?” I asked as I pulled out my phone to check the time. I would have to leave soon to do a check around town before heading home for my training session with another set of sisters.

“If the Apple’s wouldn’t mind, we were hoping sometime after lunch?” Kerry offered as she looked towards Granny Smith and Applejack.

“We had hopes of perhaps sleeping in tomorrow,” Ferry purred as she pressed further against Big Mac.

At this, Applejack gave slight glare and Granny Smith seemed to chuckle.

“And just where will you two be staying tonight?” I asked, as I cackled internally as I knew that Big Mac was defiantly getting lucky tonight.

“The barn!” Big Mac blurted out before realizing what he said.

“Well, that’s all I got time for folks!” I called out as a silence filled to room. “I gotta do my job and Big Mac has to set up the barn.”

With that, I rushed out of the room before the glaring mares and single stallion could round on me.

“Come on Cotton, time to go,” I called, using my magic to grabby the filly as I escaped the house, cackling the whole way. 


*	*	*


“Cider, cider, cider!” Pinkie Pie continuously repeated as our group traveled to the farm. A good portion of the town was going to be there seeing as there was obviously going to be an overabundance of cider today and it quickly became the talk of the town.

We had all decided to head to the farm together after having a small lunch at my house.

“Calm down, Pinkie, your scaring ponies,” Rainbow Dash chastised as she flew over the group. “We all know that there’s going to be more cider today.”

“Chris,” Twilight called softly, gaining my attention and not the others.

“Wha’cha need Twi?” I asked while pulling back to talk to her alone for a moment.

“Did this happen like you thought it would?” She asked as she kept her voice low.

“Nope,” I replied with a bit of worry. “Things are a lot different from what I thought they would be, but it seems to be going okay. They did make a contract before doing this.”

“How bad would it be if they lose though?” Twilight asked. “Didn’t Applejack say that the farm needs the profits from Cider season for the winter?”

“The sisters lowered the price of the machine,” I explained. “Once they realized that there would be almost no profits between winter and mid spring, they seemed to realize just how dependent the Apples are on their profits. I’m sure they probably worked out a few other things once I left though, so who knows.”

“Well, I hope things work out for them,” Twilight said more openly. 

“So, do I, darling,” Rarity added as we all reached the farm’s entrance. “They almost didn’t have enough profits from last year’s sales to make it to this year’s harvest.”

“Well then, let’s all get up there and make sure this goes well then,” I commented as we walked onto the farm.

A part of me was worried about how this was all going to end, but when I got to the farm, we were all surprised at what we found.

“Hey everypony, y’all up fer some cider?” Applejack smiled from behind a new booth. It was still the same one from before, but it had a fancy little dispenser attached to it that led to the Squeezy 6000.

“What’s going on here?” I asked as we all walked up to the stand. Back towards the Squeezy, I could see Ferry and Kerry explaining something to Big Mac as they continued to press up against him.

“We came to an agreement,” Applejack answered as she gave all of us a mug of ice-cold cider.

“What about the competition and the contract?” I asked, as I noticed the sisters limping slightly.

“We ripped it up,” Kerry said as the three made it to the booth.

“Not much need for it when were as good as family now,” Ferry said as she smirked back at Big Mac as she and her sister bumped their flanks into the stallion.

“What?” Everyone openly questioned as we looked towards a defeated looking Applejack.

“They decided to form a herd,” Applejack grumbled as she continued selling.

“Aint it great!” Apple Bloom cheered as she hopped out from behind the booth. “I got even more sisters now.”

“We actually got the idea from Miss Fluttershy,” Kerry giggled. “We’ve been going from town to town trying to market the Squeezy 6000.”

“We’re just so tired of all this moving around and when we saw Big Mac…” Ferry continued.

“We began to think of trying our luck,” Kerry said. “Fluttershy’s mention of a herd, sparked a little in us and after last night…”

“We’re happy we tried,” they both said as they nuzzled Big Mac.

Big Mac just stood in between them and blushed for his part.

“And here I thought my herd developed quickly,” I mumbled as everyone stared at the new herd. “I mean, me and Fluttershy at least went on a date first…”

“Well, I guess… congratulations are in order?” Rarity said the mares around me seemed to be more shocked than confused.

“I’m just surprised Big Mac agreed to it,” Rainbow Dash commented as she stared at the stallion. “I thought you weren’t interested in finding any mares yet.”

“We convinced him otherwise,” Kerry giggled with her sister.

“How’s Granny taking this?” I found myself asking, looking at Applejack.

“She’s back in the house,” Applejack sighed, with a shrug. “She actually seems pretty happy about the whole thing.”

“I guess,” I replied while looking down at Cotton. “You mind waiting here with Applejack and the others? I want to talk to Granny about a few things.”

“O-okay,” Cotton hesitantly nodded as she gripped the whistle I had given her the other day. She seemed to take a liking to it and didn’t even bother to remove it when she bathed or slept, adding it to the hand lamp.

“I’ll be right back,” I told her while heading towards the house.

A few minutes later, I walked into the Apple family living room to find Granny Smith sitting on her rocking chair, looking at an old photo.

“Ah always thought this farm would get livelier,” Granny Smith sighed as she stroked the photo, a small smile on her face. “Mah daughter in law wanted a whole heap oh foals, she and mah colt had a big old list of names.”

I just took a seat on the couch as I let the mare speak. Without even having to ask, I knew that she just wanted someone to listen.

“But then the accident happened and ah lost them both and mah grandfoals lost their parents,” Granny sniffled as she offered me the photo. In the photo, I could see a young Big Mac, Applejack, an infant Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and a pair of ponies that must have been Applejack’s parents.

The Stallion had a similar color scheme to Apple Bloom’s, but his eyes matched Applejacks. The mare didn’t share much of a color scheme with her foals, but still had that southern belle beauty her daughter had.

“Ah had to start raising the little ones and work the farm mostly on mah own,” Granny began with a small sniffle. “We were so close to losing the farm, so many times.”

I just stayed silent as the mare sniffled a few times before looking towards me.

“When Applejack came and told me she was interested in joining your herd, ah was happy cause it seemed like the family was finally gonna start growin again,” Granny said with a smirk. “But even though he was older, Big Mac showed no signs of settlin down, but somehow…”

“Those two convinced him?” I helpfully asked.

“Ah got a chance to talk to them last night, before they did anything,” Granny replied. “Ah was afraid they were trying something with Big Mac, but they were actually pretty nice. They actually asked me if they could try herdin’ Big Mac before tryin’ and I just laughed and said they could try.

“Next thing ah know, Big Mac is walkin in this mornin’ sayin’ how he was thinkin’ of startin a herd with these strange mares,” Granny laughed.

“Are you okay with this?” I asked, trying to figure out what she was getting at.

“Ah’ guess I am,” Granny said with a smile. “Ah mean, I accepted the strange monkey into the family, didn’t ah?”

“Hey, I aint no monkey,” I replied as the two of us shared a laugh. “But I do like bananas.”

“Oh, quiet you,” Granny chuckled as we both settled down. “Thanks for listening to an old mare ramble.”

“Hey, it’s not rambling,” I said with a smile. “You care for your family and you’re just showing it.”

“Ah guess ah am,” Granny smiled as she slowly rocked. “Now ah just gotta wait to see which ah my grandfoals gets foals of their own first.”

“Well, I don’t know about Kerry and Ferry, but Applejack defiantly wants one as soon as possible,” I replied while sitting back. I had come to accept that it was because of instincts, but it still confused me on how fast some of these mares wanted foals.

“What are your thoughts on those two?” Granny asked, snapping me out of my temporary thoughts.

“Hard to say, really,” I replied. “I barely know them and by what I’ve seen, they are a bit flirty and manipulative.”

“So’s Rarity,” Granny bluntly said.

“That is also true,” I nodded before we fell into silence.

We both sat there for a few minutes without saying a word before the front door opened and Kerry and Ferry made their way into the house.

“Your herd mares are looking for you,” Kerry told me before the two of them faced Granny.

“And we were wondering if you were ready to head back outside yet?” Ferry said to the older mare. “You promised to tell my sister and me about how you helped with the founding of Ponyville.”

“Oh, now that there’s a story,” Granny chuckled as I stood up and led the way for us to leave.

Once back outside, I helped Granny Smith to a chair set by the booth and went looking for the others.

I quickly found them sitting at a small table, laughing about something as I made my way over to them.

“Hey girls, I miss anything?”
> Chapter Eighteen: "An Apple? Where’s my candy, you son of a bit.."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is going to be so much fun!” Pinkie Pie cheered, bouncing beside her friends, excluding Fluttershy, as the group made their way towards Christopher’s house. “It’s even Christopher’s first nightmare night.” 

She was dressed as a white feathered chicken, and each of her hops resulted in a feather or two flying away in the early evening wind. 

“Cotton’s as well, the poor thing,” Rarity couldn’t help but voice, her friends frowning at the statement. She was dressed as a princess in a bright purple dress and a matching silver tiara. “I heard Sweetie Belle say that she never got the chance to celebrate it.”

“Then we just have to make this one a night to remember,” Twilight proclaimed, raising a hoof and causing her large cape and hat to jingle as the others all shared a frown.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Reaper’s got this,” Rainbow Dash replied as she floated over the group in her Shadowbolt costume, the blue’s and yellows of the Wonderbolt outfit switched to black and purple. The mare had taken to calling Christopher by his new name, stating that it was “way more awesome and twenty percent cooler” than his real one.

“Ah’m more curious as to what he’s helping the fillies with,” Applejack voiced as she scratched at part of the costume she wore, the hay for her scarecrow outfit causing an obvious itch. “Apple Bloom rushed over here a few hours ago to get ready.”

“Spike said that he was heading here as well,” Twilight added, pointing out the fact that her assistant wasn’t with them.

They were walking up to the house now and couldn’t help but smile at the decor. It held some of the basic nightmare night decor, but had several things that wasn’t normally found on a pony’s house during the holiday.

Carved pumpkins lined the walk way leading to the front door. Most were obviously carved by foals by the silly designs on them, while a few showed scarier images that seemed to shift due to flickering candles within them.

A few fake tomb stones sat in the front yard, marked for ponies that had died long ago with little quotes that drew the eye. A few fake bones could also be seen in front of one, almost like something was trying to crawl out of the ground.

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash called as she looked at some of the fake spider webs that covered the front and sides of the house. “Gilda said she was helping with something, but this is even cooler than I thought.”

“I wonder if he has candy!” Pinkie chirped as she hopped towards the front door, knowing he had a large bowl waiting, since she had been the one to force him to get it.

Without waiting for the others, she quickly began to bang on the door, a large smile on her face.

“Nightmare night, what a fright, give me something sweet to bite!” the pink mare yelled before the door handle even began to turn.

“H-here you go…” a familiar voice replied after the door was opened just a crack, a yellow hoof holding out a few pieces of candy without revealing its owner.

“Candy!” Pinkie cheered as she snatched the candy away, causing a small shriek to escape from the hoof’s owner.

After getting her candy, Pinkie looked up only to be greeted with the door slamming shut.

“Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity called as they all stood outside the door. “It’s just us; Could you open the door please?”

“A-are you sure there aren’t any monsters with you?” the shy mare’s voice called back from behind the door.

“Even if there were, Reaper would smash them into next week!” Rainbow answered as she landed beside the others.

“His name is Christopher, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy assertively said as she opened the door and glared at her friend. 

Unlike most years, where the mare was without a costume and hiding under her bed for the night. Christopher and the others had been able convince her to not only wear one, but to at least stay at Christopher’s for the night.

Her costume was that of an elegant red cocktail dress with a bit of dark eyeshadow. Her lips were covered in a crimson colored lipstick as her free flowing hair was wrapped up into a bun. 

“What the hay are you supposed to be?” Applejack asked as Rarity moved forward to fix a few small things she noticed about the dress.

“Christopher said something about a succubus,” Fluttershy replied with a small blush. She didn’t know what that was, but the look he kept giving her after putting the outfit on made her feel warm in all the right places.

“I think I’ve heard of those before,” Twilight commented, mostly to herself, a look of thought crossing her face. She could have sworn Celestia had told her about those before, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was. “But I can’t remember.”

“At least it’s something,” Rainbow Dash shrugged as she led the charge into the house, past the still glaring mare.

“Just let it go dear,” Rarity sighed as she placed a hoof on Fluttershy to calm her. “She didn’t mean it as an insult, you know that.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy replied as she looked down with a sad frown.

“So, where is everypony?” Twilight asked as the group made their way to the living room.

“O-oh, right!” Fluttershy chirped as she rushed passed the others and went towards a large device set up on top of the fire place. It looked like a set of speakers attached to some strange box that held Christopher’s phone and was marked with Vinyl’s cutie mark.

“I-I was supposed to play this when you all arrived,” Fluttershy said as she pressed her hoof onto the phone and a song started to play. (Ghost Busters)

As the lyrics started to play loudly from the speakers, Scootaloo rode into the living room, pulling the other fillies in a red wagon attacked to the back of her scooter, a flashing red light sat on top of her helmet as the others made siren noises.

All five fillies wore tan coveralls with an assortment of random patches and name tapes. On their backs were paper mâché boxes painted black with a few small lights and small hoses.

Once they made it to the middle of the room, they all hopped out of the wagon and faced the rooms main entrance while taking the small hoses in their hooves. Scootaloo joining them after she removed her helmet and tuned the light off.

The others in the room couldn’t help but giggle at the cute sight, but quickly began to laugh when Spike entered in, wearing a large green fat suit. He was wobbling towards the fillies making weird grunting noises and caring two doughnuts in his claws. 

In response, the fillies pressed a small button on their hoses and yellow and orange strimmer’s erupted from the tips and splashed against Spike.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom called over the music as the Pegasus’s streamers began to mix with everyone else’s. “Don’t cross the streams!”

“Sorry!” the small Pegasus replied, fixing her aim.

“I’m putting down the trap!” Sweetie Belle called over the song as she pushed a small box in front of Spike. 

The fillies quickly covered their eyes as a bright flash came from the smaller box.

By the time the mares had regained their sight, the song was over, Spike was gone and the smaller box had smoke trailing from it.

“We be fast!” Scootaloo called out, holding the box high.

“And they be slow!” the others replied, hopping in excitement.

“Wow!” Spike called, appearing from around the hall.


*  *  *


“W-what was that?” Rainbow Dash laughed as the others worked to regain their composure.

“Just introducing their costumes,” I replied as I made my way into the room. Instead of wearing a Ghost Busters outfit like the fillies, I instead wore a large black cloak with gold trim around the collar. A large black helmet encased my head with a large piece of purple glass covering my face.

“We’re the Ghostbusters!” Dinky cheered as the others looked on with big smiles.

“I aint fraid oh no ghost!” Apple Bloom proclaimed.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Twilight giggled as she looked over the group of fillies and Spike.

“Then how do you explain me?” Spike asked as he waddled up, eating one of the donuts he had.

“Oh, don’t you all look so adorable,” Rarity gushed as she quickly rushed over and pinched her sister’s cheek. “Even if you’re wearing such garish outfits.”

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle whined as she pushed her sister way with her pack’s hose. “Your messing up my mane.”

“So, this is what ya’ll been workin’ on,” Applejack said as she got closer. 

“They all wanted to do a group thing and after passing a few ideas, they chose this one,” I replied, removing my helmet for a moment.

“I think it’s fun!” Cotton chirped as she stood next me.

“What are the Ghostbusters?” Pinkie asked, drawing a few nods from her friends.

“Fictional characters from my world,” I began as I retrieved my phone and putting it in a pocket. Underneath the cloak, I wore a purple three piece suit with more gold trimming “They were some scientists that had theories that ghosts exist and after an encounter with one, made a job of catching and saving people from them. Had a comedic undertone and everything.

“Luckily, the third one wasn’t cannon,” I finished mostly to myself.

“And your costume?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew around me and snatched up the helmet. “Are you trying to be a Shadowbolt too?”

“No,” I replied, taking the helmet back and putting it on. “I’m dressed up as a Zero, a character from a anime I watched back home.”

“You mean one of those moving picture shows you told us about?” Applejack asked before a groan drew everyone’s attention back to the rooms entrance.

“Okay, I waited for your weirdo show,” Gilda called out as she, Rachel, Derpy and Geralt entered the room, cutting off the other conversations going on in the room.

Gilda was dressed in ragged clothing and painted up with makeup to look like a zombie.

Rachel had wrapped her entire body in dirty white rages and wore a few small pieces of fake jewelry, claiming to be a mummy.

Derpy was going to simply wear a few paper bags, but I convinced her to work a bit more on her outfit, and now she had on a blue spandex suit with a muffin on the front and a paper bag on her head with holes for her eyes.

Geralt was in a make shift set of clothing to look like he was wearing chainmail armor. A small ball of aluminum foil was attached to a string around his neck and haphazardly shaped into a wolf head. Two wooden swords were attached to his back and were purely decoration.

“So, who wants to go get free candy!” Gilda called with a smirk, holding up an empty pillow case.

“Aren’t you a little old for that?” Rarity asked, throwing the whole room into silence as everyone looked at her in shock.

“Blasphemy!” I called out, pointing at Rarity with an exaggerated flourish of my gloved hand. “Capture the heathen!”

In response, the fillies directed their hoses at Rarity and let fly the streamers.

“Oh, no! Not my mane!” the mare shrieked out as she rushed out of the room, a small smirk on her face.

“After her!” Sweetie Belle called out as we all followed her out of the house.


*  *  *


“Thank you!” the group of foals cheered as they rushed away from another house with their spoils, Pinkie Pie leading the charge.

Once they were gone, I escorted Cotton to the door in front of us. She tried to join the group that Pinkie was leading, but quickly became uncomfortable and hung back with me instead.

“Trick or treat!” Cotton said, saying the greeting I had told her was from my world. While it confused the ponies at each house, they still gave her candy.

Then they would stare at the bag I held open for a few moments before closing the door in my face.

“At least the last one at least gave me a piece,” I frowned, mostly for Cotton’s amusement.

“You can have some of mine,” Cotton offered as she held her small bag up with a hoof.

“Thanks, but I’m okay,” I replied while giving her an ear scratch. “Do you want to keep going with the others, or do you want to go play some games back in the square?”

“I don’t know,” Cotton shrugged while looking towards the group of candy starved foals… and white chicken pony. “I don’t really like candy.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I replied while waving at a few passing ponies. “We can go play a few games before Zecora’s show.”

“Calling it quits already?” Valiant chirped as she showed up from around the corner. She wore a set of gold armor that matched the day guards’ armor, but looked to be made out of brass instead of gold and reminded me of a Spartan warrior’s set.

“Some of us aren’t built for theses dangerous streets,” I replied with a chuckle, a filly dressed as a sparkling fairy passing by at the moment. “If I wasn’t wearing a helmet, that one would have thrown glitter in my eyes.”

“Yep, quite dangerous,” Valiant chuckled while Cotton giggled.

“How are you enjoying Nightmare Night?” Valiant asked, directing most of her attention to Cotton.

“It’s okay,” Cotton shrugged as she looked around. “There are a lot of ponies around though.”

“Trust me when I say that this is nothing,” Valiant nodded as she looked around. “Back when I lived in Filliedelphia, there were way more ponies there.”

“Oh…” Cotton replied uncertainly as she looked between me and Valiant a few times.

“You wanna come with us over to the square?” I asked the mare. “We were gonna play some games for a while.”

“So, your inviting me to a night of fun and games now?” Valiant smirked.

“Just come on,” I replied with a glare.

While I was sure she hadn’t meant anything by it, it still could have been taken wrong way.

“Oh…sorry,” Valiant said as she realized what was wrong.

“Subject change!” I called out while picking Cotton up and shocking a few nearby ponies. “Would you like to hear more about Halloween?”

“No!” Valiant groaned as she began to walk away. During one of my walks, I had recounted the first Nightmare on Elm Street movie to her and she apparently didn’t like how vividly I described it. “I don’t need any more nightmares for Celestia’s sake.”

“The stories weren’t that scary,” Cotton shrugged as we watched the mare walk around a corner.

“The ones I told you and the other girls weren’t,” I replied while we made our way to the town center. “But she did ask for the scariest stories I could think of.”

“Can I hear one of those?” Cotton asked.

“When you’re older,” I replied by instinct.

“Apple Bloom says that adults only say that because they’re lazy,” Cotton replied as if it were a commonly known fact.

“I will not deny being lazy sometimes, but I will share some of those stories with you later, okay?” I offered as we entered the square.

“Okay!” Cotton cheered as we headed for Applejack’s stand first. 

As we made our way up, I could see a few ponies already standing by the apple mare, a few eating apples and a few waiting for their turn to play.

“So, Applejack,” I called drawing the mare’s attention to myself and Cotton. “What do we get for winning this game?”

“Uh…” Applejack began, the few ponies eating looking at me in confusion. “An apple?”

“Apple?! Where’s the candy you son of a …”

“Can I try?” Cotton asked, looking up at Applejack, cutting into my flashback.

“Go right ahead, Cotton,” Applejack replied with a smile, directing the filly to an open bucket. “Don’t be afraid ter go fer whichever apple yah want.”

“Uhm… I can’t reach,” Cotton said as she reached the bucket, only to find that it was an inch or two too big for her to reach.

“I got you,” I replied as I picked her up and helped her with the game.

It took a few minutes, but after a while, Cotton finally caught an apple by its stem.

“I got it!” she cheered as I set her down.

“Good job, Cotton,” Twilight said as she and Spike appeared from out of nowhere.

“What about you?” Cotton asked, looking up at me as she ate her apple.

“Give me a sec,” I smiled, removing my helmet leaning over the bucket. After a few moments, I had an apple firmly in my mouth.

“Perks of being an omnivore,” I chuckled, taking a full bite and looking at the slightly shocked surrounding ponies while I flashed them a smile, canines clearly on display.

“So, what are you two doing here?” I asked Twilight and Spike. “I thought you were doing something for the mayor.”

“We finished that already,” Spike sighed as he used his tail to get himself an apple. “It was really boring.”

“Oh, quite complaining, Spike,” Twilight scolded the little dragon. “Besides, it was to help with the show Zecora’s going to be doing soon.”

“What about the Princess?” Applejack asked, looking over at me. “Ah thought yah said the Princess was gonna come tonight; Yah even asked to borrow one of the open fields on the farm?” 

“Princess Luna has a surprise for the town,” I simply stated. “She’s getting things set up now, but it’s not until after the retelling of the holiday’s history and the offering.”

“Oh, this is so exciting,” Twilight smiled. “I can’t wait to see what the princess has planned to add to the festivities.”

“Its not until later Twilight,” I chuckled as we watched the mare hop up and down a few times before she realized what she was doing and stopped, smiling sheepishly. “But I’m sure you will like it.”

“Well, I still have a few things to check before the retelling, so I have to go,” Twilight said as she looked towards Applejack. “Will you need help getting things put away?”

“Ah got it,” Applejack replied with a wave of her hoof. “Big Mac will be around to take over.”

“Well, me and Cotton have an appointment with a pumpkin launcher,” I added, drawing gazes from the others while replacing the helmet. “After that, I gotta head home to get something.

“I got a bit of a surprise for the town myself,” I continued before looking down at Cotton. “Do you want to stay with me, or do you want to go with Twilight and Applejack once we finish?”

“I… I guess, I can go with miss Twilight,” Cotton said with a bit of a frown.

“Don’t worry, we still got a little while before I have to go,” I told her, kneeling down and giving her a quick hug before leaving the group.


*  *  *


“At least I now know why you’re in my head all the time,” I spoke as I looked at the large white screen that had been set up in a large open field just outside of Sweet Apple Acers.

“It helps that you tend to day dream quite often,” Luna giggled as she worked with a few of her guards to set up a large projector that held a shining gem rather than a film reel. “We are beginning to agree with sister when she questions how you can be a working member of society with such an empty head though. We had to do quite a bit of digging to find this.”

“Et tu, Luna?” I asked as Mayor Mare worked to hide her own giggles, while also looking worried. While Luna didn’t ware a costume, the mayor had at least wore a rainbow wig and some clown makeup.

“Uh… I think it’s all set up, Princess,” one of the Night Guards stated as they moved away from the classic looking projector.

“Thank you,” Luna nodded to the guard. “Please join the others on their patrol.”

The guard saluted, looking towards me and giving a nod as well before leaving.

“I must admit, you look quite well in your new armor,” Luna smirked as she moved to join me by the screen.

After spending a little more time with Cotton, I rushed back home to meet Luna and change into my new outfit.

Instead of the makeshift Zero outfit, I now wore full body plate and composite armor developed by Tinker Tom for me to use in the upcoming tournament. The plates were a dark navy blue that almost matched Luna’s coat with dark goldenrod edgings, while the composite material had a dark gray color.

White metal prongs reached from my elbows to the tips of my fingers with small joints that allowed me to move easily, giving off the slight look of bones. The strange metal was supposed to be an excellent conduit for my magic and the prosses for its creation was known only by Luna.

She even explained that her own armor was made entirely of the material.

But the piece I was most impressed about was the helmet.

It was specially made, fully encasing helmet with a lot of impute from myself. It had a snout like protrusion that housed a special respirator and rebreather system that could supply me with a few hours of air in necessary.

All I had to do was replace a special set of gems every month or so to keep it fresh.

While it confused everyone about why I would want such a thing, Tinker Tom had pulled through swimmingly and Luna and Celestia both agreed to having some developed for their own guards after I explained some of the raspatory hazards that had been taught to me in the Corps.

There was even a special enchantment on the helmet that allowed me to see perfectly with it on. But it did make it look like I had large eyes on the outside.

The only real downside I had about the thing was the cowl it also had.

When I had gotten home to change, it had actually been a large cape, and Luna just about begged for me to wear it.

I then proceeded to explain that only Batman and Spawn can pull of a cape and settled on wearing only the cowl that had accompanied it.

“It’s a little stiff,” I grumbled, shifting around in the outfit. The plates were tough and slightly annoying while the composite material felt a little tight. “Do I really need to wear this thing for the next few days?”

“It will help in the long run,” a passing guard answered for me.

“My guard is right,” Luna added. “It will also help with your image to those who have doubts.”

“Bah!” I waved off as the first group of ponies made their way into the clearing, led by Twilight and the others.

“Welcome citizens of Ponyville!” Luna shouted as a few guards directed the arriving ponies to spots where they could sit and view a screen that had been set up.

“It’s Nightmare Moon, Run!” Pinkie blurted out from amid a group of foals as she tried to make a brake for it.

She quickly stopped when a guard held out a piece of candy to the mare, an obvious scowl on his face.

“Oh, candy!” the pink mare smiled as she snatched up the small piece and took a seat back in the group of foals. “Okay, were good.”

“Your knowledge of things worries us some times,” Luna mumbled to me as ponies continued to arrive.

“Dude, what the hay is going on?” Rainbow Dash asked as she and the others made their way up to me and Luna, excluding Pinkie Pie. “And what’s with the weird armor?”

“This weird armor is what’s going to protect me in the upcoming tournament,” I replied, giving Cotton and the crusaders a wave as they looked at me with wide eyes. “It got some pretty bells and whistles too, if what I’ve been told is true.”

“They will be explained more in depth on a later date,” Luna told me before giving the group a warm smile.

“So, what the hay is all this fer, Princess?” Applejack asked as she indicated the group and screen.

“All will be explained soon, fair Applejack,” Luna replied with a nod. “For now, please find a good seat before the show begins.”

“I can just tell that this is going to be so cool!” Spike shouted as he waddled away with the others, leaving me alone with Luna and Cotton.

“Can I stay with you?” Cotton asked as she looked up at me.

“Sure, you can,” I replied as we tuned to wait for a bit longer.

The next twenty minutes consisted of ponies arriving and finding a seat or setting up small food stands. The area by the projector was kept clear of ponies, but there were plenty of glances and whispers about it.

“I still can’t believe you ponies only just started working with film,” I mumbled to myself, knowing Luna would probably hear me anyway.

“And it will still be some time before they get to the point that your kind has created,” Luna replied with a shrug. 

“Even with what we’re about to show?” I smirked, only to realize that she couldn’t see it.

“We both know why,” Luna replied, pointing to her horn.

“What?” Cotton asked, looking between the two of us with confusion.

“I’ll tell you later,” I replied before Mayor Mare made her way towards us.

“I believe this would be as good a time as any your highness,” Mayor Mare said as she bowed her head, the rainbow wig falling off in the process.

“Very well,” Luna answered as she led me and Cotton towards the front of the screen where everyone could see us.

Cotton quickly made her way to Derpy and Dinky instead, the two sitting in the front with Twilight and Spike.

“Citizens of Ponyville, we welcome you this fine night,” Luna began, drawing silence and attention. “To celebrate this night, we have prepared something with the help of your own Warden.”

Excited muttering quickly followed this announcement as a few of the ponies in the crowed pointed towards me.

“We are also happy to reveal that you are the first to see our representatives’ new armor, which he shall be wearing to this year’s Equis Tournament!” Luna added as she waved me forward.

This announcement was followed by a wave a cheer’s, whistles and a few cat calls.

“Thank you, thank you,” I called back, waving my hands to quiet the crowed. “Now, let me explain to you what you are about to see.

“As some of you may have heard, my people also have a holiday that relates to your own Nightmare Night,” I began to explain.

“Its called Halloween, right?!” Apple Bloom shouted back.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Or All Hallows’ Eve as some would call it.

“Like all of you, we would dress in costumes, collect and give out candy and just have fun with scary things in general,” I continued. “What you are about to see is a movie from my world, acquired with the help of Princess Luna, that we generally watched during this holiday with family.”

“Is it safe for foals?” one mare shouted back, a few young fillies sitting by her.

“We ourselves can attest that it should be safe for young foals to watch, but if you do feel like the movie is unsuitable, you are free to leave at any time and please pass on any concerns to myself or a guard,” Luna answered for me. “Please also note that everything you will see is completely fictional and we are quite sure it won’t be hard to mistake that fact.”

This too brought some more muttering and a few ponies seemed to be debating on wither they should leave or stay now.

“There is also a second theme to this movie that relates to another holiday you all like to celebrate,” I added a few moments later. 

“It should be quite obvious as to which holiday it relates to, but I’ll leave all questions on that one for after the movie,” I chuckled as I stepped back and moved away from the screen.

With a flash of magic, Luna teleported beside the projector and with a flick of her horn, the projector began to do its job.

Murmurs of awe and wonder filled the air as the fireworks around the CGI Disney castle went off as a classic movie began to play. 


*  *  *


“That. Was. AMAZING!” Pinkie shouted as we all made our way back to my house after the show.

“Shhh!” Rarity hissed as her sister slept on her back.

While just about everyone had made it through the movie with only a few parents and individuals leaving, the moment it finished, just about every foal, filly and colt passed out where they were.

“Sorry…” Pinkie sheepishly replied as she looked at all of us.

“But that was still really cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she carried Scootaloo. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“I’m still more curious as to how the princess accomplished getting something like that from you, Christopher?” Twilight questioned with a drooling green ghost on her back.

I just gave Twilight a smirk while allowing my magic to flare for a moment, nodding as realization grew in her eyes.

“There’s a lot of things in the subconscious, Twi,” I said as we made it to my home. 

“That. Is. Amazing!” Twilight chirped, her cheeks turning red when she noticed all of our looks.

“Sorry,” the mare squeaked as we placed the fillies in Cotton and Dinky’s room and Spike in mine.

The rest of us went down to the living room where a surprising sight greeted us.

“Good evening everyone,” Celestia said as we found her snacking on a piece of cake in the middle of the room, Luna standing nearby while eating a moon pie. “I hear the show was quite nice?”

“It was pretty fancy,” Applejack replied as everyone gave a greeting, myself included after removing my helmet. “Taint never seen nothing like it.”

“I saw it myself the other night and it was quite informative,” Celestia nodded as she looked across the group.

“I’m heading to bed,” Gilda mumbled as she quickly left, Rachel also leaving since she still had to go into work early the next day.

“Just like I remember,” Celestia mumbled quietly, her eyes watching Gilda leave.

“What did you think of the songs?” Rarity asked as the group all moved to discuss the movie as I stood back and watched.

“They were interesting…” Celestia began as I took that moment to wander away and head to the basement.

The basement was basically just a large room half the size of the first floor that held a few pipes and whatnot.

Instead of having things like water heaters and power boxes, there was a small corner room filled with pipes, cables and gems. It was all that was needed for a normal home to function completely and didn’t cost much to maintain on its own.

Replacements were pretty expensive though.

The main room of the basement was left mostly open with a desk placed against one wall and an armor stand to its right. Unlike the first floor though, the distance from the floor to the ceiling was remarkably different and was almost double the distance.

When I asked about it, Celestia said it had something to do with an original weak foundation issue, so they had to dig down farther before setting the base or something like that. I wasn’t a contractor, so I couldn’t tell if it were the truth or not.

“Let’s get out of this damn thing already,” I mumbled to myself while placing my helmet on the desk and working to remove the armor. Unlike regular armor consisting of buckles, straps and Velcro, mine was made using special magic buckles that required my own magic to open and close. 

It was still possible for others to remove it with some work, but it would suck if a unicorn just magicked them off me mid battle.

Under the armor, all I had was a pair of shorts and a thin tee shirt, so I didn’t need to worry about a change of clothing, but I did need to put on some slippers because of the cold concrete floor.

“So, this is where you wandered off too,” Celestia’s voice echoed as I finished hanging the armor on its rack. “I thought you would have wondered into that ‘Man Cave’ Spike keeps commenting about in a few of his letters.”

“Eh, I’m thinking of just turning that into a rec room in general,” I shrugged taking a seat on my desk and making a hand motion to the only chair in the room. It was a large cushioned thing that should be able to support Celestia. “I already put in an order for a bookcase to keep Spike’s comics safe and Rainbow Dash said she knows someone that can get me a pool table for cheap.”

“I’d be careful telling Luna that,” Celestia sighed as she took a seat in the chair, curling up on it rather than actually sitting on it. “One of her guards showed her the game a few weeks ago and she seems to enjoy it.”

“She any good?” I asked as Celestia began to look over a few papers and a couple of small gems I had on the desk besides me.

“She’s actually horrible at it and it vexes her horribly,” Celestia replied as she held out a sketch of my motorcycle in her magic. I wouldn’t call myself an artist by a long shot, but it was better than the stick figure drawings most of my family could do. 

It was one of my earlier concept drawings and pointed out several things I wanted for cosmetic reasons. Another on the desk pointed out things I wanted to improve.

“This wouldn’t happen to be the strange contraption I’ve been getting reports about, is it?” Celestia asked with a slight look of intrigue. 

“Darn, I was hoping you wouldn’t have heard about it yet,” I chuckled, knowing this was bound to happen. Reaching into one of the pouches on my armors belt, I pulled out the three gems I got from the tree and tossed one out into the middle of the room after putting some power into it. 

In a puff of gray smoke, my Motorcycle appeared in the spot I had thrown the gem. It sat there for a few moments as Celestia got up to inspect the construct, but it faded away before she could do more than simply look at it.

“Unless I provide a constant stream of power, it just vanishes after a few moments,” I said while retrieving the gem with my magic. “I still have some issues with controlling its speed and how to tell how much power it actually takes to use it, but it’s still just a prototype.”

“Are these the notes you have on it?” Celestia asked as she returned to the desk and looked over the remaining papers on the desk.

“I actually haven’t written much on it aside from these drawings,” I replied as I picked up the rough draft drawing for my second prototype and offering it to her. “This is the one I’m working on right now and I hope to have it ready by the time we get to where the tournament is being held.”

“I’ve never thought of using gems like this,” Celestia mumbled mostly to herself as she looked at the picture in front of her.

The image Celestia was looking at was of a large jeep shaped vehicle. The main point of this one though, was that I would use smaller enchanted gems to provide extra features as well as an alternate power source.

“And it’s those gems that you requested from the tree?” Celestia asked as she looked at the three gems I still held. The Moto-Gem was a shining silver and the one I was using for the jeep was an obsidian black. The third and final Gem was a dull red and was currently empty, but I had big plans for that one after I finished with the first two fully.

“It’s the only place that can provide those kind of gems,” I shrugged. “So, if your worried about others doing something like this, you shouldn’t have to worry.”

“That’s what I have you for,” Celestia answered off handedly while still looking over the image before her. “If somepony gets out of hoof, I’ll just show them an image of you and warn them about how close they are to matching you in incompetence.

“It’s worked on several nobles already.”

The next few moments were spent in silence while Celestia continued to look over my draft images while I glared.

“Whatever,” I sighed, while standing up. “I’m surprised at you though.”

“Oh?” Celestia questioned as she placed down the papers and looked at me. “And what did I do to surprise you?”

“I thought you would ixnay the whole movie thing,” I shrugged. “I got lucky with ponies being too tired to ask me questions about it after, but it’s bound to happen, and they’re going to go to you for answers as well.”

“Which is why I originally came to find you,” Celestia replied with a heavy sigh. “I know its late already, but I’d rather talk to you about this now instead of before Day Court.”

“Its… no trouble, I guess,” I replied, an odd realization occurring to me. “I’m actually… not that tired?”

I couldn’t help but question my own statement as I pulled out my phone and finding that it was already one in the morning and I didn’t feel that tired.

It’s not like staying up late was unusual, but when I thought about it, I realized that I had been sleeping less and less and feeling more active than normal.

“It’s probably because of your magic,” Celestia replied simply. “You tend to focus your magic inside yourself to help strengthen your natural abilities. Something like that typically has the effect of cutting back on how much rest you need. It should change once your body adapts to the power more.”

“Oh…” I said, still finding it odd.

“Anyways, back to what I wanted to talk about,” Celestia cut in. “Do you happen to know how such a movie was made?”

“Uh… it’s called “Stop Motion Animation”, and it’s done by—”
> Chapter Nineteen: "Today is a good day for you to die!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No problems setting everything up, right?” I asked the pony before me as he took a look around the small set of stands, they were constructing for the Running of the Leaves the next day.

“No, sir,” the stallion giving me a mock salute. “We set these stands up every year, so we know what we’re doing.”

“Yeah… well, Rainbow Dash and Applejack want to make a spectacle of the run this year and we all know how they love get into pissing matches with each other,” I sighed as I thought about how the two were currently duking it out at that moment back on the farm.

“As long as we don’t have to rebuild town hall… again,” the pony sighed as he wandered away.

“Thank you for helping with the setup, Mr. Reaper,” Mayor Mare thanked as she stood beside me. “The run isn’t really that big of a deal most years, but if the Princess is going to be here for it this year, the least we can do is prepare for it.”

“Come on Mayor, how many times do I have to tell you to call me, Chris,” I sighed, shaking my head.

“In public, it’s important to be addressed appropriately and the majority of Equestria already refer to you by that name, so I don’t see an issue,” the older mare smirked. “Besides, I thought I told you to call me Mary.”

“Bah humbug!” I snapped back good-naturedly. “You’re the Mayor and I’m Chris. Let the tourists call me Reaper and you Mary and the problem’s solved.”

“I’m beginning to see why Princess Celestia had her misgivings about you,” Mary laughed as she walked with me away from the field.

“She just needs to get laid,” I replied off handedly. This was usually how the two of us talked whenever I spent time in the office instead of walking around town.

“And there’s a line from here and to the moon of individuals more than willing to do that,” Mary replied, surprising me as she continued to walk with me towards my own destination instead of heading to Town Hall to get ready for tomorrow.

“There a reason your following me around that doesn’t involve my sophisticated banter?” I asked, 

My plan was to meet Derpy and Cotton at the Hospital, since today was one of Cotton’s appointments.

Cotton had to see a head doctor twice a week. I usually attended the sessions, mostly by staying just outside the office door, but I wanted to check on the construction job quickly.

“I’m just off to see my sister,” Mary replied with a shrug. 

“You have a sister?” I asked, surprise to learn the mayor had a sister, let alone one currently in the hospital.

“Yes, a younger sister,” Mary replied as the hospital came into view. “She’s an architect and was the one who designed our Town Hall and the fountain in the square.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” I nodded. “What’s she doing in the hospital though?”

“She went to Manehatten a few years ago to design a few community buildings,” Mary began with a heavy frown. “A few months before you arrived, there was an accident that resulted in a few deaths and she ended up with some scaring and brain damage.”

“Damn,” I muttered with my own frown. “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

I took a moment to think about the ponies I knew where at the hospital, seeing as I go there so often. There weren’t that many that stayed there full time, let alone go there in the first place.

Contrary to how strange thing seemed to happen in Ponyville weekly, no one ever really really gets hurt.

Except for me that is.

“When they told me that she would need constant care, I had them move her here,” Mary continued as I held the door open to her. 

“She’s actually a big fan of yours,” Mary continued, chuckling as she led the way towards the Psych ward. “Wont she be so surprised when she meets you with me?”

“And yet you haven’t asked me why I was here,” I commented.

“I thought it was because you couldn’t stop looking at my flank?” Mary replied with a smirk as she hip checked my side.

“Eh, Pinkie’s is better,” I shrugged, not even bothering to look as I walked up to Derpy and a slightly familiar looking mare.

She had a light blue coat and white mane and tail. A patient’s gown was covering her body and an orderly was standing nearby.

He was your run of the mill stallion and kind of blended into the background even though he had a dark orange coat.

“… and that’s how I got this,” the other mare said as she moved aside a part of her mane and revealed a large scar where hair wasn’t growing. 

“I’m glad to see it hasn’t got you down,” Derpy replied with her usual smile. It was an infectious smile that had developed more since she had started living with me and having to worry less about working several jobs to pay for rent, expenses and repairs.

“Cotton not out yet?” I asked as I drew the two mare’s attention.

“Not yet,” Derpy replied. 

“Oh, my Celestia, its him!” the mare besides Derpy squeaked, her eyes dilating a little.

“Good afternoon, Screwy,” Mary greeted, moving forward and nuzzling the blue mare with a smile.

The mare who I figured to be Screw Loose, simply continued to stare at me, not even registering the fact that Mary was greeting her affectionately.

“So, you must be the Mayor’s sister…” I replied as I began to feel uncomfortable under the mare’s gaze.

“Y-yeah, my Mayor’s the Sister,” Screw Loose replied with a smile.

“I think you got that mixed up,” I chuckled under my breath as the mare suddenly launched herself from her seat and into my chest, clinging to it like some kind of cat.

Which was odd seeing as I was in my armor, helmet hooked to my side.

“I heard you saved one of the princesses from a group of deadly assassins!” she began to almost yell at my face, her pupils small. “And… and… you’re the town Warden, and this year’s representative for Equestria during the Equis Tournament and…”

“Uh… they were actually mercenaries…” I replied as Derpy, Mary and the orderly worked to pull the mare off of me, which she didn’t seem to notice.

“Screwy, please get off of him,” Mary asked as the three pulled hard on the gown she wore. 

“And and and and!” the mare began to continually repeat, her pupils sized differently from one another, causing me to worry.

“Sorry about this,” I quickly apologized before switching to my “Soul Vision” for a moment and putting her to sleep quickly.

To me, it looked like a smoky gray hand was wrapping itself around the small blue flame that was her soul. To everyone else… it looked like I had just stabbed my hand into the mare nearly elbow deep.

“W-what did you do?!” the orderly yelled as he caught the mare as she fell from my chest without any wounds. Even Mary was looking at her sister in worry as Derpy looked on in confusion.

“She’s unconscious,” I replied holding my hands up placatingly while releasing my switched vision. 

“She has brain damage! Do you know how dangerous that is?!” the orderly yelled back.

“I didn’t knock her out in a conventional manner,” I quickly began to explain before things got any worse. “I kind of just… told her soul to go to sleep. I didn’t harm her in any way that would cause her any issues and I can wake her up now if you want. Otherwise, she’ll be up on her own in a few hours.”

“If you could wake her back up now, that would be great,” a new voice spoke as a nearby door opened.

Cotton and a mare both exited the room, both showing signs of concern and confusion as they took in the situation.

The mare’s name was Doctor Psyche and she was the Ponyville Hospital’s main psychiatrist. She had an eggshell white coat and dark blue hair wrapped up in a small bun. She had hazel brown eyes, thin rimmed glasses and her cutie mark was that of a brain surrounded by a few needles.

“Sure, Doc,” I replied as I switched my vision again and gave Screw Loose’ soul another squeeze.

“I’m awake!” Screw Loose shouted as she shot up from her prone position, fully awake and aware.

“You had yourself a little problem there again Ms. Screw,” Doctor Psyche said as she drew the mare’s attention straight to herself.

“But I saw him, Doctor!” Screw Loose smiled brightly, a small shine in her eyes. “He was here and he was just like my sister said!”

I was about to say something before a small shake of Doctor Psyche’s head made me keep my silence.

“And what did I tell you to do when you did meet him so there wouldn’t be any issues?” the Doctor asked with a calm smile.

“To take a few breaths and greet him like a normal pony…” Screw Loose replied with a frown. “But I did… didn’t I?”

“Now how about we try that again then,” Psyche said as she directed me forward with a wave of a hoof.

The moment I walked into Screw’s view; her eyes began to dilate once again.

“Ms. Screw, remember what I said,” Psyche said, quickly drawing the mare’s attention once again.

“Uh…r-right,” Screw Loose replied before taking a few deep breaths. Once she was done, I noticed her eyes had returned to normal and she looked up at me with a calm smile.

“Hello Mr. Reaper, I’m Screw Loose,” she greeted, her voice a little shaky. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“Hello, Screw Loose,” I greeted in return. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“There we go,” Psyche nodded. “Now, Ms. Screw, if you would please enter my office, I’ll be in there in a few minutes.”

“B-but…” Screw began to protest before heaving a heavy sigh. “Okay, Doctor Psyche.”

Everyone watched as the suddenly depressed mare trudged into the room, closing the door behind herself.

“Sorry about that,” Psyche said as she looked at me. “She’s been making great strides and her tests have been showing improvements, but she still has her moments.”

“Its fine,” I replied while kneeling down and ruffling Cottons mane good-naturedly. “How was your session, Cotton?”

“It was okay…” Cotton shrugged as she pushed my hand away. She didn’t like coming here, but she didn’t hate it either, even if it did actually help with her mental state.

“She’s doing really well,” Psyche nodded as she gave Cotton a smile. “Same time next week, okay Cotton?”

“Okay…” Cotton replied with a small frown.

“Well… I won’t take any more of your time,” Psyche said as she looked towards Mary. “Will you be joining us in today’s session Mayor?”

“If it’s no trouble,” Mary replied as the two entered Doctor Psyche’s office and the orderly took a seat outside it.

“You two wanna go see Applejack and Rainbow Dash pointlessly challenge each other to challenges that don’t make much sense?” I asked Cotton and Derpy.

“Don’t they always do that though?” Derpy replied.

“Oh, but this time, they’re keeping score,” I replied while picking up Cotton with one arm and giving her a few ear scratches with the other.

“I’ll swing by the house and grab a fire extinguisher,” Derpy giggled as she left ahead of us.

“So… what’s got you down now?” I asked as I walked through the hospital, making my way to the exit.

“I just… I don’t want you to go to the tournament,” Cotton mumbled as she took my offered helmet in her hooves and fit it over her head. Ever since I had gotten the thing, if it wasn’t in my hands or on my head, Cotton was wearing it.

It didn’t activate when she put it on, so she couldn’t see anything, but it made her feel safe.

“You’ll… have to go away for a long time,” Cotton said, her voice echoing slightly. “And I’m afraid the bad ponies will show up while you’re gone.”

“I… I know it’s scary,” I began, trying to think of a response as I finally made it outside. “But your safe here in Ponyville.

“Valiant said she would stay at the house while I’m gone and obviously Derpy and the other girls will be there to make sure no one hurts you.”

“But I don’t want you to go!” Cotton shouted through the helmet. “If you go, then I want to go!”

“You know that can’t happen,” I replied softly. “I already said I was going to do this and it’s really important that I do.”

Aside from a few sniffles, Cotton remained silent for the rest of the day, not removing the helmet or leaving my side.


*  *  *


“…and now I can’t take it off,” I grumbled at Twilight, explaining to her why I was in the race and fully armored.

“But why would the princess make you wear that though; it can’t be that comfortable?” Twilight commented, her horn flashing briefly as she took a scan over the armor, looking for the spell that prevented me from taking it off.

There actually wasn’t one, but the enchantments the armor had to stop others from pulling it off of me should be enough for her to at least think there was.

“Not as bad as a Flack and Kevlar, but it’s not like wearing regular clothing either,” I replied while doing some side straddle hops for a warm up. “It has a few enchantments to help keep me cool or warm depending on the area.”

“’Flack and Kevlar’, those were things you had to wear back on your home world?” Twilight asked, watching my warmup with a raised brow.

Stopping my jumping jacks, I used my magic to create a thick tan vest like object and a green rounded helmet.

“Yep; The Flack is a vest we wear that we can have pouches put on to help carry gear and can even have protective plates inserted into,” I replied, holding the tan vest up first before switching to the helmet. “A Kevlar is our helmet, typically made up of synthetic materials meant to help redirect projectile weapons. It sometimes has its namesake in the mix as well.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight said as her eyes widened like they always did when something intrigued her.

It was absurdly cute.

“Pretty good stuff where I’m from, but not that useful here,” I replied, allowing the Flack and Kevlar to dissipate.

“Did you have to run in that stuff too?” Twilight asked as I returned to my warm up exercises.

“A few times, but nothing like this though,” I replied while doing some squats.

“Are you going to run in the front with Applejack and Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked as she started some odd-looking stretches that made her look like a cat.

“No, I’m gonna stick in the back in case someone gets hurt,” I replied. If I used my magic, I was pretty sure I could stay close to the front, but I wasn’t here to race like Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

I unfortunately have other plans for this race.

“I even picked up a few things from Nurse Red Heart in case of an emergency,” I replied, patting one of the small pouches at my belt. Thanks to the spells and enchantments on them, I had plenty of room for bandages, water, cold packs and other odds and ends that could be useful; and that was just in one of my two pouches. “The Mayor told me about a few accidents they had last year and I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Then I’ll stick with you then,” Twilight smiled up at me. “I read in a book that it’s actually a good idea to save your strength early in these things and then push forward at the end.”

“As long as your running in front of me, I won’t mind a bit,” I replied, glad that my helmet was hiding my smirk.

I was so gonna stare at her ass the whole way.

“You just want to stare at my flank the whole way, don’t you?” Twilight replied with an accusatory glare and a slight blush.

“I plead the fifth,” I replied as Pinkie Pie began to direct the preparations for the start of the run from up high in the sky. I could even see Spike waving from the balloon the two were sharing.

Twilight simply turned her head at me as her blush deepened slightly. But she did still move in front of me, an obvious sway of her hips drawing my attention.

“That helmet makes it really easy to tell where your looking you know,” a very familiar voice said, drawing my attention to my right shoulder.

“Not again!” I blurted out as a small version of myself in a set of blue jeans and a red tee shirt sat on my right shoulder like nothing was wrong, shining blue eyes looking at me and a knowing smirk on his face.

“Talking to yourself like that makes you look crazy,” my voice said from my left shoulder, drawing my attention to a mini me in my new armor staring at me with red eyes.

“What happened to the cammies?” Blue-eyed mini-me asked Red-eye.

“What happened to agreeing to keep quiet?” Red-eye responded as he suddenly appeared beside Blue-eye and glared.

“I had to say something,” Blue-eye shrugged, smiling. “If he’s not careful, ponies will think he’s a pervert.”

“What. The. Fuck…” I mumbled staring at the two as they got into a mini argument on my right shoulder.

I had unfortunately been catching more glimpses of these two ever since I had been to the Tree of Harmony. It was usually out of the corner of my vision, but they would always be gone by the time I tried to look directly.

“Uh, Chris?” Twilight called, drawing my attention to her concerned face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m seeing them again, Twilight,” I replied, looking back to my shoulder and finding it empty. “They were calling me a pervert this time.”

“That joke is beginning to get old,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes as she turned away from me. 

“Yeah… joke,” I mumbled, Red-eye and Blue-eye showing up for a brief moment on top of Twilight’s head and flipping me the bird. “Because this is my life now.”

This wasn’t the first time I had shared the knowledge of Red-eye and Blue-eye with someone, but they never took it seriously. The princesses had been quick to tell me that it was just my magic settling and my human mind working to understand it.

I was calling bullshit on that though.

Something about the two felt both familiar and very foreign. Even more foreign then the feeling I got using or draining magic, and one day, I was going to get a proper answer.


*  *  *


“…drink in sips, now,” I said, handing a small bottle of water to the panting stallion bellow me.

“Th-thanks, R-Reaper,” the stallion said as he took the water and began to drink.

“Next time, I recommend drinking more water before doing a run like this,” I replied as I continued down the path, paying little attention to the pony to begin with.

I had already stopped a few times since the run had begun and it was mostly to fix a few things Applejack and Rainbow Dash had messed with in their haste. But when I had stopped to check on the stallion, I immediately realized something was wrong.

First was that I knew he hadn’t been in the group at the start of the run and aside from a few out of town participants, the vast majority of the race were made up of locals only.

“Wait… is that blood?” I quietly questioned as I noticed a dark red patch off to the side of the road, a dozen yards away from where I was with the exhausted stallion. Moving to the spot, I looked down at the small red puddle with some concern.

“Did someone get hurt?” I asked quietly as I noticed a small trail of the red liquid traveling deeper into the surrounding forest.

Looking around, I quickly noticed that things didn’t seem right.

First was the small puddle of blood, sitting on the side of the path with a thin trail leading farther in. Nothing in the area looked like it could cause any real harm and there weren’t any tracks around that would speak of an animal attack.

Hell, the running alone would cause most animals steer clear due to the large groups.

Most ponies were curious creatures, so the fact that no one else was around to check it was also confusing.

It was also absurdly quiet.

“This has to be a trap,” I thought to myself with a low growl.

“Everything okay Mr. Reaper,” the stallion from earlier asked as he made it to where I was, the bottle of water held in a hoof and half empty. “Somepony get hurt?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, sparing the stallion a quick glance. “I’ll check it out, but could you head back and tell someone about this?”

“Y-yeah, you got it,” the stallion replied before turning around and running back the way he came.

“Running pretty fast for someone who was just suffering from exhaustion,” I mumbled as the stallion sprinted away at a speed that should have put him well in the front group.

Activating my soul vision, I looked towards the direction the small blood trail went. I could see the small flames of animals and bugs scattered in the distance. 

I had been getting batter at using this alternate vision and had found that I could focus more on a certain flame and, in doing so, found that I could focus on it more cleanly. This allowed me to see who, or what, I was looking at, even if they were hidden in complete darkness.

Just at the edge of my vision, I could see several different colored flames that I could make out to be a few ponies, diamond dogs, gryphons and a minotaur.

“How dare they try something so close to my home!” I internally growled.

“Might as well get this over with,” I sighed, reaching deep into one of my pouches and pulling out my sword by it handle.

“Man, I love magic,” I smirked, strapping the sheathed blade to my side as I began to make my way towards the waiting group.


*  *  *


“It just pulled a sword out of one of its pouches,” a gryphon relayed quietly to a thestral mare on a branch to their side, both of them were hidden in the branches of a large oak tree just outside a small clearing, giving them a clear view of the distant path. “It seems to be proceeding with caution.”

“It may know something is wrong,” the thestral muttered before looking down at a large gray minitour that hid behind the tree they were in. “Is everyone else in position?”

Several quick whistles and tweets were given in response to the quietly asked question. Even a unicorn who lay in the middle of the small clearing with a fake cut in their side gave a groan in response. 

“It’s almost in range,” the gryphon lookout whispered as the human came closer. “Get ready wi-guh! It vanished?!”

“What, where did it go?” the minotaur questioned, still keeping his voice quiet.

For several moments, no one moved as everyone in the area kept their eyes and ears open for the human.

“You’d think professionals would know how easy it is to hear whispers,” a masculine voice breathed into the thestral’s ear.

Just before she lost her head.


*  *  *


“W-what in the name of Tartarus?!” the gryphon who had hidden in a tree with a thestral mare shouted as I removed his comrades head with a quick swing of my sword.

The special blade easily cut through skin, muscle and bone as the mare fell from the tree, allowing me to take her place on the branch. The thestral’s body crashed hard onto the ground as their head fell several feet away from it.

“Now you fool!” the gryphon shouted to someone as I took another wide swing, aiming at the gryphon, catching one of his claws instead of his throat as they jumped away.

A wave of magic swept through the area after that and a sudden weight fell upon my shoulders and I felt myself start to become sluggish and heavy.

“Ahhh, it cut my bloody claw off!” the gryphon shouted as it dropped from the tree and moved into the clearing with a unicorn stallion that was getting to their hooves, a fake shallow cut in their side.

“Yah, piece of manure!” a growl came from below me as the tree suddenly shook. I was just barely able to keep myself from falling out of the tree as a large minitour punched a chuck of the tree out with his bare fist.

“Get over here, Greengot!” a diamond dog growled at the fuming minitour. “It’s not going anywhere anymore.”

“It’s killed Shade!” Greengot shouted, punching out another chunk.

“And your next if you dont turn and leave, NOW!” I shouted back, directing my magic to my hand, only to find that it wasn’t moving as fast as it typically did, it was also impossible to form anything more than a thin mist covering. “What the hell?”

“So, the barrier does work,” a pony smiled as I looked over the group.

I simply glared down as a few other gryphons and ponies began to walk into the clearing and join the group as I held onto the tree the minotaur struck again. Sheathing my sword to my side, I reached into one of my pouches with a free hand and pulled out a small vial of mostly clear liquid that had a slight green tint.

“You should have run when I gave you the fucking chance!” I growled before tossing the vial down atop the minotaur’s head.

Everyone around watched as the vile broke, covering the minotaur's head in the green liquid.

“And just what was that supposed to do?” A dog barked with a laugh, only to fall silent as the minotaur started to screech in pain.

The failed ambushers watched as smoke began to rise from the minotaur, portions of flesh and fur that the green liquid had touched began to boil and froth as the acid quickly began to do its work.

“Hydrofluoric acid motherfuckers,” I called out after retrieving a handful of vials with two chambers. One chamber had a clear liquid and the other had a yellow liquid. “And these are for you!”

Throwing them at the stunned group, most landed around or between some of the individuals while one landed on a gryphon’s chest and broke.

“Buck!” the gryphon shouted as he tried to wipe away the solution, only mixing them further, probably thinking it was more acid.

“What -cough- is going -cough cough- on here?!” the Diamond Dog shouted as their sensitive nose caught the ammonia bleach mix even from a distance.

“You honestly think I wasn’t prepared for this?” I asked, activating the respirator in my helmet in case the mix was more powerful than I had thought.

Celestia had come to me the other night and told me that she got word of a planned attack against myself during the run. She didn’t know who was behind it, but I was pretty sure there was a long list of possibilities.

“how dare they try something, especially at a time like this!” I had almost shouted as worries rushed through my head.

I couldn’t help but envision a colt or filly just happening to wonder into the area they set up and get hurt, or taken hostage.

Worse would be if the Cutie Mark Crusaders wandered into the area.

The town wouldn’t survive…

“You should be running,” I growled as I pulled out my phone. The barrier they had mentioned before was making it almost impossible to activate my magic outside of my body, which was worrisome.

It seemed to not only prevent me form calling magic outside of my body, but I could almost feel the empty air around me and the lack of natural magic energy.

But I knew this thing’s weakness without much thought.

I had once asked Twilight about using such a method to prevent riots and attacks from unicorns and other magic users, but it turns out there was a very easy loop-hole that was also pretty dangerous.

Barriers like this, worked by stopping all magic in the area, basically making it an empty zone. The trick to getting rid of them was by overpowering the barrier, either from inside or outside.

Taking the chance while the group bellow me began to panic, I pulled out my phone and started the music app, picking the first song I could see. 

As the music started to play, a dull pulse began to radiate around the area in beat with the quite music. Each pulse radiated from a small orb the minotaur had dropped when he was hit by the acid and, as the intro began to pick up, small cracks could be seen forming.

Normally, nothing odd would happen when I played music, especially when it was music coming from my phone. But apparently, the “World”, as Twilight had put it, loved music and the magic in the air was a way for it to listen. So, if it couldn’t hear it, it would try to fix that.

It reminded me of Ghostbusters for some reason. 

“Buck, stop -cough- the music, quickly!” one of the ponies shouted as the group finally began to move.

But even as they began to move, the lyrics began to play and with that, a new pressure began to surround all of us as the small orb began to shake. Even then though, the few still moving tried to reach the tree I was in, but by the time they reached me, it was too late.

With a loud shattering, the orb broke and the music began to blare louder than it should have been able to as the pressure and sluggishness disappeared.

The same magic that allowed ponies to sing in harmony with one another without practice was exactly the reason such barriers were rarely used. 

Holding my phone firmly in my left hand, I re-drew my sword in a reverse handed grip and dropped from the tree, stabbing the screaming minotaur in the shoulder as I landed on him, driving him into the ground as I heard a solid crack come from his chest. I worried about my phone and how it would impede me in combat, but Twilight had made sure to drill into my head to NEVER interrupt a song when the World was listening.

The first to reach me was a large Diamond Dog with a patchy brown coat and thick studded armor. He swung a large battle-axe at my head with the obvious intent of taking it off.

Deflecting the strike using the white metal on my left wrist, I quickly followed it up by ripping my sword out of the minotaur and slicing into the Diamond Dog’s undefended gut.

As the song played in the background, I could feel my body try to shift slightly to… follow along in a small way.

“Caps!” a gryphon shouted as I followed up the cut with a back handed stab, shoving the blades tip into the under portion of his jaw and pushing it through the skull. Once partially in, I switched my grip to a proper one before twisting it to the side and pulling the sword free.

Everyone stopped moving for a moment as they watched the Diamond Dog drop into a pile of its own blood and guts.

As the music continued to play and before the group in front of me could react, I launched myself over the corpse of the dog and towards the two closest individuals, a gryphon and a unicorn. 

The gryphon tried and failed to shoot me with a crossbow, the bolt bouncing off my armor like it was made of rubber, while the unicorn reacted on instinct and tried to shoot a blast of magic at me.

The blast barely grazed me before I was already absorbing it and negating whatever it would have done.

I tried to make a swipe at the two of them, but they were able to move out of the way before anything besides a few hairs and feathers could be cut.

Before I could follow up, a Pegasus rammed into my side, and with surprising strength, flew twenty feet into the air with me, striking at my armor with their bare hooves along the way. A gryphon met us in the air and made a swipe at me with a large bladed mace.

I tried to block the strike with my right arm, and while I was able to prevent myself from getting clocked in the face, the strike was still enough to cause me to lose my grip on my sword.

“Grab it!” the Pegasus shouted as he continued to strike my sides, the gryphon trying again to knock my head clean.

I ignored what was happening below me as I quickly activated my Devil Arms and stopping the gryphon’s attack with my bare hand, taking a firm grasp of the mace head and taking it from him. The force of grabbing the mace was enough to throw off the Pegasus’ grip on me and I quickly found myself falling to the ground…

And right on top of a pony that had moved to pick up my sword.

“Mother bucker!” the pony growled as I quickly fixed my grip on the mace and smashing it down onto the top of their head with enough force to embed one of the mace’s blades several inches into their head.

“That the best you fucking got?!” I growled, looking up.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun,” a Black feather gryphon growled as I picked up my sword.

Looking around myself, I found that I was surrounded by a mix of at least twenty ponies, eight Diamond Dogs and a few gryphons.

“You got a few of us, and I’ll give you a nod at catching us off guard. But this is where it ends,” the same gryphon spoke as the group surrounded me, a few in the air. “We got paid good gold to get rid of you.”

“If you think that’s all I’ve got, your wrong,” I replied, sheathing my sword and standing up fully. “Dead wrong…”

Before any of the surrounding individuals could react, I activated my magic and created a new construct around my body. It had no form, but surrounded me in a gray orb of smoke ten feet around myself, hiding me from sight.

“What the Tartarus is he doing?!” one unicorn shouted.

“Fire into the damn smoke!” the black feathered gryphon shouted, raising his own crossbow and shooting into the smoke blindly.

But just as the other attackers raised their weapons to attack, a human shaped blob of smoke rushed out of the larger orb and rushed one of the surrounding individuals.

“Buck!” a unicorn shouted, blasting the smoky human away with their magic.

“It’s just a distraction!” a Diamond Dog growled. “Just shoot the-“

Before the Diamond Dog could finish, two human shaped blobs rushed out of the orb toward two different targets. Red mist could be seen where eyes would be located as the blobs rushed forward.

Worried of what would happen if the blobs touched them, these two were also blasted away. But no sooner than the two blobs dissipated, did four more rush out.

For each blob they destroyed, two more took their place.

In the midst of all of these, I drew my M1911 from a special holster hidden in my right thigh’s armor and began to fire from inside the orb of smoke. Using my “Soul Vision”, I could see the colored flames of the attackers surrounding me.

“Gah!” a gryphon shouted as one of the blobs finally reached a target. All it did was tackle the gryphon, causing them to fall backwards before it dissipated on its own.

“Fall back, fall back!” the black feathered gryphon shouted as he looked around. “We’re out of time!”

“What, uhg, about the wounded?” someone shouted as I watched the flames of those still standing began to retreat and scatter.

“Screw them, its everypony for themselves!” someone shouted before a few flames suddenly disappeared.

“This isn’t over, Reaper!” I heard the black feathered gryphon shout before he and several others ran away.

Several flames still surrounded me, but by their position, they were down and injured.

“No one said you could run!” I shouted, reaching out and grabbing a specific individual from outside the smoke. As the smoke surrounding me dissipated and I returned my vision to normal, I found the black gryphon floating in front of me, held by my magic.

“Let go of me you monster!” the gryphon growled, trying in vain to escape my grasp.

All around us were bodies of the dead and dying. Off in the distance, I could see more flashes of gold appearing, and were most likely the royal guard finally showing up and doing their job.

“Were you the one leading this little group?” I asked, bringing the gryphons face close to my own.

“Buck off!” the gryphon spat, as I noticed him shift his beak in an odd way.

It took me a moment to recognize it, as it was the same look Gilda got when she was trying to chew something too hard.

“I don’t think so!” I snapped back. Letting my phone drop, I reached forward and forced my hand into his beak. While my gauntleted hand was to large to fit down it, I was able to grip the bottom of his beak and keep it open. Releasing my magical hold, I used my other hand to grab the back of the gryphon’s head while forcing him to the ground and keeping him from tilting his head back.

“What are you doing?” Celestia’s voice called out as the gryphon tried to fight against my hold.

“I think he was trying to brake a capsule in one of his teeth. Probably a suicide pill or something,” I growled, noticing the gryphon freeze for a moment. “Warn your guards that others might try the same thing.”

“They know cleansing spells,” Celestia replied as the gryphon disappeared from my grasp and appeared before her. She held him beside her magically as her eyes looked around the field and at the dead bodies around us.

“I didn’t expect so many to show up,” Celestia noted as the gryphon slumped in her grasp after passing out. “Sent quite the message though.”

“Fuck!” I shouted in reply, ripping my helmet off and letting it fall to my side.

The air stank of copper, burnt flesh and gunpowder. A few of the attackers that were still alive could be heard moaning as a few guards saw to them first.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" I found myself shouting as I stomped over to a nearby body. It was a Diamond Dog with brown fur and looked to be female with a few bullet holes in her chest.

"FUUUUUCK!" I bellowed, releasing a suge of magic that launched the body away from me and into a tree.

"Calm down, Christopher!" Celestia snapped, drawing my gaze. "You won, there's no need to desecrate their bodies."

"Screw them," I growled quietly, working to settle my anger and self disgust. "I told them to leave, but they didn't."

"Then they have no one to blame but themselves," Celestia said, looking me straight in the eye. "They thought the coin was worth their life and you simply proved their thought wrong."

"And yet they only decided to run when they "Ran out of time"," I groaned, looking at the black gryphon. "Everyday I learn just how different this world is to what I had expected."

"This is simply how things tend to work here," Celestia voiced as she looked over her guards working.

“I’ve been receiving letters from every other ruler and nation on Equis concerning you for awhile now.

“The attack during the Gala only got them talking; especially when they found out that you weren’t even the target to begin with,” Celestia continued, using her magic to take my helmet from the ground. “Your actions today will end up with me getting more of their incessant letters.”

“How do you know it wasn’t one of them who sent these guys to begin with?” I asked, snatching my helmet back and looking it over impassively. “I would be just as concerned if I was in their position.”

“Trust me,” Celestia replied. “Compared to me, you’re as dangerous as a newborn foal. They will not take you from me.”

“From you?” I asked, raising my head in confusion.

“Of course,” Celestia nodded as she held her nose up high. “Who else can I beat senseless and not have to worry about looking bad in front of my ponies?”

“If I didn’t already know that insulting me like that was how you relived stress, I’d actually be insulted,” I sighed, clipping my helmet to a small loop on my belt. “I better get going, before Twilight and the others start thinking I got lost.”

“Let me take you,” Celestia said, stopping me before I could leave as she floated the gryphon she had to a waiting pair of guards. “You might actually get lost going back.”

“One of these days, Celestia!” I replied in mock anger, feeling only slightly better about the situation. “Bang! Zoom! Straight to the sun!”

“Just follow me, you idiot,” Celestia huffed as her horn flashed for a brief second.

“What was that one for?” I asked, pointing at her horn.

“Your armor,” she pointed out, causing me to look down at my clean armor. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to show up covered in blood.”

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve shown up in,” I commented.

“A while back, I went with Fluttershy to Froggy Bottom Bog and…”


*  *  *


“There you are,” Twilight smiled as I made my way over to her and the other girls. 

“Oh, thank Celestia, I’m not last!” Rainbow cheered as I crossed the finish line at a slow walk.

The others simply shook their heads with good-natured smiles before looking at me.

Those smiles quickly disappeared as they noticed Celestia by my side.

“Princess, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, looking at her mentor with a raised brow. “Shouldn’t you be getting things ready for the tournament?”

“I needed to talk to Christopher about a few things and didn’t want to cause a commotion here before I had the chance too,” Celestia replied, moving forward and nuzzling Twilight affectionately.

“You should be proud Princess,” Rainbow Dash chirped. “Twilight placed third in the race.”

“I am always proud of my student, Miss Dash,” Celestia replied, drawing a deep blush from the purple mare. “As well as the rest of you girls.”

“Ah shucks Princess,” Applejack replied as the rest of the girls blushed as well.

As they all began to talk and gossip a bit, Fluttershy came up beside me and drew my attention.

“You smell like blood,” she whispered to me, causing my eyes to widen slightly.

“There… was an incident back in the woods,” I quietly replied with a heavy sigh. “I’m kinda hoping to just go home and take a nap and try to forget it.”

“Just come with me then,” Fluttershy stated as she took one of my hands in a hoof. “We’ll go back to my cottage and I’ll make you a nice warm meal while you get some rest. If you want to talk, I’ll be there to listen and if not, I’ll make sure nopony bothers you.”

“I guess I’m okay with that…” I sighed with a smile while looking at the others. “Derpy’s watching Cotton for the day and I don’t need to go to town hall for anything, so I’d love to spend the rest of the day with you at the cottage.” 

“Come on then,” Fluttershy smiled as she began to push me away from the group. “The sooner we get to my cottage, the sooner you can rest. Then, the sooner tomorrow comes.”

“And what’s so important about tomorrow?” I asked as we passed by several other groups of ponies, a few giving me a wave as we passed.

“Your going with me to, Zecora’s,” Fluttershy stated moving to stand beside me as we made our way down a small path that would take us around the town and towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “I asked her to prepare some potions and elixirs for me.”

“And just why did you do that?” I asked with heavy sigh.

“To help with conception,” Fluttershy replied with a confident smile.

“Bow chicka wow wow,” Blue-eyes chirped, appearing for a moment atop Fluttershy’s head.
> Chapter Twenty: “I swear to god I had something for this.”
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“These should help with any exhaustion and dehydration you may suffer,” Zecora stated as she placed several small glass bottles in front of me. “The first three will help keep you hydrated, the next three for energy and the last one is a very powerful sleep powder.”

It took a few extra moments for me to actually understand what the zebra was saying as she had begun speaking to me without constantly rhyming. It was a slight lag my brain seemed to have as it prepared to understand some hidden meaning behind a rhyme, yet it didn’t happen.

“I didn’t expect you to ever talk like that to someone,” I stated while picking up the last bottle filled with a purple powder. “And why will I need sleeping powder?”

“You’ll know why soon enough my friend,” Zecora nodded as she placed the bottles on the table into a small bag. “And what’s wrong with speaking properly to a good friend?”

“Nothing wrong with that, really... and here I thought it was worrying when Rainbow Dash showed up at Fluttershy’s this morning wishing me luck while handing me a case of energy drinks,” I sighed to myself with a chuckle, taking the bag and heading out of the tree home. “If you don’t hear from me within a week… well, you and all of Ponyville can probably guess what happened.”

“But is it truly a terrible way to go?” Zecora giggled back.

“Perhaps not,” I laughed back as Fluttershy stepped up to me, a small frown on her face. “Thanks again, Zecora.”

“Less talky, more walkie,” Fluttershy grumbled from just outside the zebra’s home. “Mama’s medicine is starting to wear off.”

“It’s like a damn switch was flipped,” I sighed as Fluttershy wrapped her tail around my wrist and began to drag me down the path back out of the forest. “Also, the whole “Mama” thing is actual starting to get creepy.”

“What did I just say!?” Fluttershy snapped as she looked back to me, her eyes boring into mine while still pulling me down the path. “Less talky, more walkie!”

The rest of the trip was done in near silence, Fluttershy’s odd purr the only thing that could be heard as we made our way back to her cottage. Even the animals of the forest kept their distance from me and the purring mare.

“Uh… where are all the animals?” I asked as we finally made it to her cottage. Even here, I noticed a lack of any other living creatures around Fluttershy’s home. I didn’t even hear any bugs or see any birds in the distance.

I was beginning to fear for my life.

“I didn’t want any interruptions for the next few days,” Fluttershy giggled with a little hop, releasing my wrist. “I had Angel Bunny take all my animal friends to White Tail Woods until we finish.”

“Uh…” I dumbly replied. “While I’m glad there won’t be an audience… did you really have to send them all that far away.”

While the Everfree Forest was maybe half a mile away from Fluttershy’s cottage, the White Tail Woods where on the whole other side of town.

“Yes,” Fluttershy stated with a small frown, standing just outside her cottage’s door. “Yes, I did.”

"Oookay..." I began, moving closer to Fluttershy. "I really think we should set a few ground rules before walking through that door."

"The only rule I care about is that you," Fluttershy began in a cool, seductive voice while turning and looking up at me. "Only finish inside."

Then, before I could react, Fluttershy launched herself at me, locking her lips to mine while staring directly into my eyes.

"You'll be sure to do that?" She asked a few moments later as her eyes began to glow. "Wont you?"


*	*	*


“It’s been four days…” Rainbow Dash mumbled to the other mares around her. “I’m starting to get worried.”

“Come now Rainbow Dash,” Rarity scoffed as she took a sip of tea. “You’re the one who keeps telling us, “Reaper can handle anything”.”

“But this is a whole other thing, Rarity!” Rainbow gasped as she looked at her remaining friends. Aside from Fluttershy, the rest of the mane six had come together for a simple lunch at Sugar Cube Corner, a few having done it to get their minds off their own secondary uterus cycle. “You girls haven’t had to help her with her heat!”

“It can’t be that bad, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie giggled. “I mean, Fluttershy might get a foal in her belly, and then I can throw her a “Your pregnant party”! Then, just imagine how many more parties I can throw after that!”

“Yeah… you have fun with that,” a familiar male voice huffed, drawing the groups attention to the shops entrance.

“C-Christopher?!” Rarity gasped as she noticed the man’s appearance. His clothes were slightly torn in several places and dark bruises could be seen around his neck and on some of his exposed skin. He smelled like he had bathed recently, but still had dark bags under his eyes while also wobbling slightly.

“I know why Zecora gave me sleeping powder now…” the man groaned as he dropped in an empty seat besides the mares. “I just wish she told me it would take an hour to work.”

“Dude, what the hay happened to you?!” Rainbow Dash shouted in shock, looking at some of the damage. “Did… did she hit you?”

“Hickies…” Chris sighed, pointing at his neck bruises before pointing at his torn clothing. “In the way.”

“And you just let her?” Twilight asked.

“To much brain power needed to answer that…” Chris groaned, rubbing at his temples with his right hand while the other rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t eaten actual food in three days and I’m starving!”

“I know some ponies get a little excited during their heat, but that still don’t sound like Fluttershy,” Applejack said, her face a little red. “Specially fer a secondary heat.”

“Well, a secondary heat doesn’t last as long as they do in spring, so she should be back to normal by tomorrow,” Rarity sighed before looking at me with a raised brow. “And what do you mean, “actual food”?”

He replied with a dirty grin and a chuckle while looking her in the eye.

“If that’s supposed to be how she acts during a secondary heat, I will probably have to go into hiding in Spring then,” Chris sighed, losing the look he gave Rarity.

“I would ah recommended it anyways,” Applejack replied. “Most Stallions leave town if they aint planning on stayin’ indoors.”

“I’ll just head to-“ I began to say before I found myself silenced by Twilight’s magic.

“It would be best if you didn’t mention where you would hide during Spring,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. “You know, in case somepony happens to remember where you said.”

“Right…” Chris sighed, looking over the group. “Would one of you mind getting me something to eat? I wasn’t lying when I said I haven’t eaten in three days.”

“Commander Pinkie Pie is on the job!” Pinkie Pie saluted before rushing to the back of the store, leaving a smoke cloud of her image behind.

“So… your leaving for the tournament in a few days, right?” Rainbow Dash asked as Pinkie’s smoke cloud dissipated. “Where’s it even supposed to be this year?”

“The South Sands,” Twilight replied. “The Kingdom of Cat-Uwan is hosting it this year. I’m very excited to go.”

“Aww, no fair, how come you get to go?!” Pinkie Pie chirped as she dropped a plate of food stuffs in front of the hungry man. He didn’t even bother looking it over before shoving what he could into his mouth.

“Princess Celestia invited me to go with her this year!” Twilight cheered. “I wasn’t able to go to the last one, but this time, I not only get to go, but have a chance to learn about a whole new culture in the process!”

“Egghead…” Rainbow Dash grumbled before looking back at Chirs. “Reaper, you gotta put in a good word for me! Spitfire is supposed to be participating this year and I have to be there to see her win!”

“Ah thought we agreed that we wanted to see, Chris win,” Applejack grumbled as everyone shared a quick glare towards the mare.

“And I do,” Rainbow Dash replied with a huff. “It doesn’t mean I can’t have a back-up plan.”

“Rainthow Dath hath a plan!” Chis shouted around a mouthful of food before swallowing and turning to look at Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, prepare for operation R.D.H.P!”

“All fire extinguishers are up to date and emergency services are on standby!” Pinkie Pie replied, slapping on a green metal helmet and saluting.

The room erupted into laughter at that as Rainbow Dash took her turn to glare at the rest of us, a heavy blush on her face.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Rainbow Dash mumbled as she looked towards the cackling human. “But come on man, you gotta let me come with you! I have more than enough days off saved for it!”

“You have days off saved?!” Rarity chirped, earning another round of laughter as everyone looked at Rainbow Dash in shock and amusement.

“I hate you all…” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“You know it’s all good natured, Rainbow Dash,” Chris said, ruffling the mare’s mane. “If you want to come and Celestia says it’s okay, then I won’t stop you.”

“Yes!” Rainbow cheered, tackling the human in a surprising hug.

After realizing what she did, Rainbow quickly pulled away and the blush from earlier reappeared on her face.

“I-I better go get things ready,” Rainbow stuttered before rushing out of the shop.


*	*	*


Spending a few minutes talking with everyone, a little giggle from behind drew my attention to Mrs. Cake as she walked in with her foals resting on her back.

“Foals!” I called out, jumping from my seat and rushing the mare.

“Eep!” Mrs. Cake chirped as I scooped the two foals off her back.

“The adorableness!” I called out, holding the two foals in my arms and spinning around, causing the two to giggle and laugh.

“They aren’t going anywhere, Christopher,” Mrs. Cake giggled as reared up and took her foals. “Stop looking like a teenaged colt after his first uterus experience and then I’ll let you coddle your Godfoals.”

“Godfoals?!” the others shouted in surprise as Mrs. Cake went to the upper floors of the shop.

“Yeah, they asked me the other week,” Chris replied sheepishly, scratching the back of my head. “It was a surprise that they asked me out of the blue, but I didn’t see a reason to say no.”

“Party!” Pinkie Pie shouted suddenly, her smile looking a little off and her mane deflating slightly.

“It’s okay Pinkie,” I whispered to the mare, leaning close as the others talked amongst themselves for a moment. “I’m just the Godfather. But I did put in a good word with them as to who the Godmother should be.”

“Thanks,” Pinkie smiled back, her features returning to normal.

"Now that, thats out of the way," I said, turning to the others. "How has everything been these last few days?"

"Well... its actually been pretty calm," Twilight replied with a smile. "A few ponies said they saw more animals in White Tail Woods, but other than that, things have been normal."

"This is Ponyville, Twilight," I replied with a smirk of my own. "You're going to have to be a bit clearer when you say "Normal"."

"Nothings exploded, nopony was injured and the Crusader's haven't been seen much," Rarity answered with a smile. "Its actually quite nice."

"What about Cotton?" I asked.

"She hasn't left the your house much," Pinkie answered with a small frown. "You should go see her after this."

"I will," I nodded, already making my way to the shops door. "I'll see you girls later."

With a few quick good bye's, I was out the door and heading home.


*	*	*


“I am so sorry about what I did,” Fluttershy squeaked for the hundredth time that day alone. “I couldn’t control myself in the end there.”

“And I already accepted your apology,” I replied, closing my suitcase. “But I have to get going; Celestia will be here any minute now if she isn’t already downstairs eating me out of cake and home.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy sighed before fixing me with a cute glare. “Just don’t get hurt, you got it?”

“I’ll try my best,” I replied, kissing her forehead quickly. “You sure you don’t want to come?”

“Oh… I couldn’t,” Fluttershy muttered shyly. “So many ponies I don’t know and a whole new country are too much. The stress of it could lower the chances of me being pregnant.”

“And I’m not going to question that since I’m not a subject matter expert on interspecies cross breeding,” I smiled back, picking up my suitcase and weapon box. “You helped Rainbow Dash pack more than a toothbrush, right?”

“She didn’t even have that originally,” Fluttershy giggled as we left my room and made our way out of the house. “All she had was a blanket and her favorite pillow.”

“Its two weeks until the actual tournament,” I chuckled as I noticed the mentioned mare standing just outside my house with Twilight, a small pile of suitcases besides them. “Was she just going to sleep the whole time?”

“Hey, are you talking about me?!” Rainbow Dash huffed as we walked over and I added my things to the small pile.

“Why, were your ears ringing?” I asked with a smirk.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Twilight asked as Rainbow Dash continued to glare and Fluttershy giggled.

“Superstition, Darling,” Rarity replied as she, Pinkie Pie and Applejack showed up. They all had small boxes that I guessed to be snacks meant for the trip. “Some ponies believe that the random ringing in your ears means somepony is talking about you.”

“That’s just stupid,” Twilight replied as she directed her gaze to the sky.

Celestia said that she would arrive in Ponyville by airship to pick us up for the three day trip. It was meant to show off to ponies as we passed over a few different cities before spending a large portion of the trip over open water and clear skies.

“This is going to be my first time on an airship,” I smiled looking over towards Canterlot and trying to see if I could see something. Every now and then, if you paid enough attention high in the sky, you could see the large build of a ship floating to and from Canterlot. 

They were still pretty rare to see though, as it turns out. Aside from being mostly used for trade and long travel, only the richest of the rich had one and they could only be stored in certain places.

“I’ve been in a few different ones,” Twilight said as she smiled at us. “The only problem I have with them is that they can be really cold if they fly too high.”

“Oh, how I wish I myself could go and ride upon the Royal airship,” Rarity sighed dramatically as she floated the large box she had to me. “Such is a place where I truly belong.”

“Oh course it is, Rare,” Applejack sighed as she put her box down and I looked inside the one given to me.

“Hey, you got it done!” I cheered as I looked upon the gift given to me by the fashion designer.

“I had to work a little later than normal to put in the final touches, but I wanted to make sure you had it for this event,” Rarity smiled back as she stood proudly. “You did say that it was meant to be worn for important events, correct?”

“Yeah, I did,” I said as I pulled out the first item in the box. 

It was a large white hat with a shining black bill and a golden Eagle, Globe, and Anchor attached to the front. The next item was a dress blue coat with golden buttons, red lining, white belt and a golden buckle plate with another eagle, globe and anchor.

It had several Ribbons and Medals, all of which I had earned back on Earth, as well as two medals I was unfamiliar with. One was a simple gold medal with a blue ribbon and two alicorns flying around a half sun and moon, the other was another gold medal, but it had a six pointed star and had a rainbow ribbon.

“What are those?” I asked Rarity, pointing at the two medals.

“The Rainbow one is something we all got after taking charge of the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight answered as a sheepish smile grew on her face. “You were… uh, unconscious at the time and the Princess gave me yours.

“I only remembered that I had it when Rarity came to ask if there were any that she should add?” Twilight chuckled as I stared at her. “The… um, Holder of an Element medal.”

“The other one is the one you earned for saving, Princess Luna from assassins,” Rarity quickly cut in. “It’s the Royal Accommodation award.”

“Oh…,” I replied looking at them again. Putting the coat aside I pulled out a pair of blue cotton pants with red strips on the side and a pair of shiny black shoes. “I’m really impressed that you were able to do this from a few pictures and a horrible description.”

“Well, I am a master at my craft,” Rarity cooed with self-praise before turning to Twilight. “Do be a dear and take plenty of photos when he wears it, will you?”

“Of course,” Twilight replied.

“That’s great and all, but how much longer do we have to wait?” Rainbow Dash groaned as I put the clothing back into the box.

“You’re the one with the better eyesight,” I replied as I placed the box with the other luggage. “When you can see an airship heading for us, you’ll have your answer.”

“Hey, where’s Cotton?” Pinkie suddenly asked, frosting on her lips and the box she had arrived with open. “I thought she would be here to see you off.”

“She’s not taking me leaving very well,” I sighed heavily. “When Luna came to pick up my armor the other night, it took me an hour just to get her to give me the helmet. Then, she refused to even talk to me and Derpy took her somewhere a few hours ago to talk.”

“Don’t you worry none,” Applejack said as she placed a reassuring hoof on my hip. “She’s just scared with yah leaving, but the rest of us will keep ah eye on her.”

“I know that, but I still don’t like leaving her like this…” I sighed again, turning to look in a random direction, hoping to see the filly so I could give her a proper goodbye.

“He’s going to be such a good father,” Fluttershy hummed, earning a blush from me and giggles from the others.

“I see something,” Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, a moment later. Instead of Canterlot, her gaze was locked up high into the air above us. “Look!”

Looking straight up, we were all surprised to see a white ship with purple trim slowly sinking towards the town from several miles in the air.

“That’s one way to make an entrance,” I commented as the ship came closer and closer.

Ten minutes later, the ship was directly above us and looked large enough to fit ten of my house with a gold colored balloon that was twice that size.

“It just screams “Canterlot”,” I mumbled as a few pegasi jumped off the side and made their way towards us.

“I know,” Rarity sighed blissfully as three pegasi landed next to our group. Two were simple guards, but the third was a familiar looking mare with flame like hair.

“Darn, I was hoping my sister would be here,” Spitfire huffed as she looked at our group.

“She’s at work,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “But if she knew you were going to be here, she’d have shown up.”

“I personally don’t know what you see in my sister, Reaper,” Spitfire huffed as she gave a starstruck Rainbow Dash a smirk. “Given the chance, I could show you things that she could only dream of doing.”

“In your dreams maybe, featherduster!” another familiar mare shouted as they rushed onto the scene, shoving her face against Spitfire’s. The two looked almost exactly alike, except one had wings while wearing a blue and yellow spandex suit, while the other had a blue police shirt, hat and no wings.

“The only thing you’d be showing him is how many diseases a slut like you has!” Valliant growled.

“Why you…” Spitfire began to growl before a flash of light cut her off.

“I thought I told you not to leave the ship Captain,” Celestia calmly said as she materialized next to me. “This is the opposite of that order.”

“S-sorry, Princess Celestia,” Spitfire gulped as she gave her sister a quick glare before flying back to the ship.

“And I believe you have a job your supposed to be doing, Officer Heart,” Celestia said, turning to the uniformed mare. 

“O-of course, your Highness,” Valliant bowed before looking at Twilight. “You mind keeping my sister away from Reaper? I’d ask Rainbow to help, but I think she’d just give him to her.”

“We’re flying there with Spitfire?!” Rainbow gushed. “This is going to be so awesome!”

“I’ll keep an eye on him, Valliant,” Twilight nodded as the mare gave me a wink before returning to her duties.

“I can take care of myself you know,” I huffed good-naturedly. 

“Enough with that talk,” Celestia interrupted with a shake of her head. “Do you have everything you’ll be needing?”

“Should be all right there,” I replied, pointing at the pile.

“What about goodbye’s?” Celestia said as she looked around. “I thought there would be more ponies here to wish you well.”

“That was all done yesterday,” I replied with a shrug. “Ponies stopped by yesterday wishing me luck.”

“And what about Cotton?” Celestia asked with a raised brow. “With how attached she is with you, I’d think she would be here.”

“She’s not taking me leaving too well,” I sighed again.

“Oh,” Celestia simply replied as she looked at our luggage. With a simple wave of her horn, our stuff disappeared, most likely to the ship above us.

“I have a few ponies getting the crates of apples you donated right now Ms. Applejack,” Celestia continued, giving a warm smile and nod to the cow pony. “I’ll be sure to let everyone know where they came from.”

“T-thank yah kindly, Princess,” Applejack stuttered, trying and failing at hiding a large smile. 

“Well, it’s time for us to leave,” Celestia said, looking at me. “Do you want to climb up yourself or do-“

“Wait!” a small, squeaky voice shouted, cutting off what Celestia was saying and drawing everyone’s attention to the approaching filly who was running like her life depended on it.

For a split second, I was worried that she was in trouble and was preparing to handle a situation. But When I noticed Derpy and a few other familiar ponies close behind the filly, my nerves settled.

Stopping in front of me and Celestia, Cotton took a few minutes to pant heavily as she regained her breath. In that time, Derpy, Doctor Psyche and Sparkler arrived as well with a small stack of papers held by each of them.

“Y-you can’t take him!” Cotton huffed, looking at the princess. “You can’t because… uh… because…”

At this, Cotton looked back at the three mares that had arrived with her, receiving smiles and nods from all three.

The rest of us simply stared at what was going on with obvious confusion.

“Why can’t I take him, Cotton?” Celestia asked, a small twinkle in her eye. “It would be very bad if I didn’t take him with me and a lot of ponies will get angry.”

“Because… because it would be den-ter-mental to my mental health!” Cotton replied, messing up when she tried to say “detrimental”.

It was both cute and surprising.

“Then how do we fix this then?” Celestia asked, although it was obvious she was directing her attention more towards the three mares than Cotton without making it obvious to the filly.

“This is the paperwork stating that, in my own professional opinion, that Cotton is not at the point yet where she can be safely separated from Reaper yet,” Psyche said as she levitated her small stack of papers to the princess. “While it might be unorthodox; I recommend that she join him on the trip.”

“What?!” the rest of us, excluding Celestia shouted in shock.

“This is the paperwork necessary for her to leave the country, signed by both her legal guardian and the Local Foal Services director,” Sparkler said, taking the papers she and Derpy had and giving them to me. “These will give you temporary guardianship over Cotton. All it needs is the princess’s signature to finalize it.”

I was so surprised by what was going on, I almost missed that the signature for the Local Foal Services director was Sparkler’s.

“You’re the Local Foal Services Director?” I asked, looking at the mare.

“What did you think my job was?” Sparkler asked, giving me a smirk.

“Gem polisher?” I offered with a sheepish smile.

“That’s my side job,” Sparkler replied with a smirk before looking at the princess. “Does this help settle any issues that may come about, Princess?”

“I want to say no,” Celestia replied a little uncomfortably. “But it’s important to listen to your doctor and the forms do look to be in order. Also, it should be enough to prevent too much trouble.”

With that, Celestia’s horn flashed once again, and I saw her own signature appear in several places on the stack I held.

Like she already knew where to sign.

“I’ll go get a bag packed for Cotton,” Derpy chirped as she nuzzled Cottons head. “I’ll be right back.”

“Well, I sure didn’t see that comin,” Applejack said for the group as Cotton made her way over to me with a hopeful smile.

“I can come to now, right?” Cotton asked, looking up at me.

“Well, I guess you are, but I’ll need to get something then,” I sighed, trying not to smile at the idea of not having to leave her behind.

“Geralt!” I shouted, turning to the house. At my call, the large wolf bounded from around the back of the hose and rushed up before me and the others.

“You want to bring your pet wolf?” Celestia asked, looking at Geralt with a small frown. “I already said that it would be a bad idea.”

“And I agreed when I thought he could stay here and watch Cotton,” I replied, giving the wolf a few ear scratches. “But if she’s coming with us, then so is Geralt.

“Also, he’s not my pet, but my friend.”

“My apologies then,” Celestia sighed. “But its going to cause some issues with the crew to begin with.”

“Screw them,” I waved off. “They got a problem with him, they can say it to his face.”

At this, Geralt turned and growled at Celestia, bearing his fangs and raising his heckles.

“Don’t growl at her you idiot!” I snapped, swatting the back of the wolf’s head. “Save it for the ones who can’t swat you across the continent with a thought.”

“Id rather he not growl at any of my ponies, but that looks like it wont be the case,” Celestia sighed.



*	*	*



“Kinda wish I could have gone…” Pinkie sighed as she and the others staying behind watched as the airship flew up and away.

“Oh, don’t you worry none,” Applejack smirked as she looked at her pink friend. “We might not be going for all the setup, but Princess Luna said she’d take anypony who wanted to go when she left fer the real thing.”

“Oh, I am definitely going to that,” Rarity smiled. “What about you Derpy, are you thinking of attending as well.”

“Of course,” Derpy replied, looking at everyone with a smile. “How else am I supposed to pick up Dinky?”



 *	*	*



“Surprising to see you here Vlad,” I said while walking with the stallion. “I would have thought Shining would be the one to come, seeing as he leads the Day Guard and serves under Celestia directly.”

“He was, but I guess it was only because Princess Cadence was going to come as well,” Vlad replied as he walked beside me, another stallion with black umbrella beside him, keeping most of the sun’s light off Vlad. “I’m not sure what happened exactly, but Princess Celestia said that Princess Cadence wasn’t going anymore.

“After that, Captain Armor asked me to lead the Princess’s guard until the actual tournament,” Vlad finished before looking up at me a small smirk on his face. “Actually, this gives me the chance to introduce you to somepony that’s been wanting to meet you for a while.”

“And just who would that be?” I asked with some worry, looking around the area.

We both stood to one side of the ships deck, watching the receding coast line of one of Equestria’s port cities just outside of Las Pegasus. All around us were ponies working to keep the airship flying correctly and keeping things from shaking loose due to an increase to the normal speed the ship was meant for.

We were apparently on a bit of a time crunch to catch a certain wind gust or something that was meant to cut a day off a normal trip. Meaning that we would most likely be the last of the ruled kingdoms to arrive to the preparations if we didn’t catch it.

“He means me, dear,” a sensual voice whispered into my ear, causing me to spin and look for the woman behind me.

“Over here,” the voice whispered again when I found no one behind me.

This action continued for a few moments before I decided to just create a barrier of smoke about ten feet around my body and slowly bring it in until I felt something press against my back.

“Oh, you’re no fun,” the voice said with an audible pout.

Releasing the barrier, I turned to look at the pony who had been messing with me and immediately recognized her from several photos I had seen. 

A Pegasus mare with goldenrod fur, navy blue mane and sparkling turquoise eyes looked up at me. She looked to be pouting, but I could tell it was more of an act by the ever so slight twitch I could see in the corner of her mouth.

“While I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of her,” Vlad said, stepping up to stand beside the mare and share the shade of his umbrella. “Allow me to introduce you to my life mate and love, Glimmering Cloud. Mother of my young and acclaimed cloud sculptor.”

“Oh, leave me something to use at least,” Glimmering Cloud huffed pushing Vlad away from her with a wing and a more obvious smirk. “You’re not the only pony that likes to be all creepy and mysterious to others.”

“Oh come, Love,” Vlad chuckled as he returned to his position without having moved far. “I can’t help but show you off to everypony I know.”

“I didn’t come to be shown off, Vlad,” Glimmering Cloud replied, pushing Vlad away more forcefully this time. “Especially when the pony your trying to show me off to, is the same one currently in a herd led by our daughter.”

“Uh… it’s nice to finally meet you, ma’am,” I offered with a sheepish smile, holding a hand out to shake her hoof. While I had seen pictures and heard a few stories about the mare, it was another thing to finally meet her and the first thing that stuck out to me was how she looked a lot like her daughter, aside from the coloring.

“If you’re going to with my daughter, I won’t accept a hoof shake,” Glimmering Cloud chirped as she rose to her back hoofs and hugged my waist…

*CRACK*

“Too much, too much!” I cried out as I felt my bones start to crack under the mare’s strength.

“Oh, come now, this shouldn’t be that bad,” Glimmering Cloud giggled as I found myself unable to break her grip without having to resort to magic. “Besides, it’s the best way for me to tell just how my daughter did.”

“I won’t even be able to tell what you did if you don’t let go soon!” I cried out as I contemplated using my magic to get out of this situation.

“Such a whiner,” Glimmering Cloud sighed as she released me and I fell to my knees with a pained groan. “And you don’t even have any strains or fractures.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” I growled, drawing looks from most of the sounding ponies. Those looks quickly disappeared as they caught sight of Vlad.

“It means my daughter didn’t do everything possible to get me a grandfoal!” Glimmering Cloud shouted, a slight red glow developing in her eyes. “I bet she let you sleep and one point too, didn’t she!?”

“Uh… what?” I asked, sparing a glance at Vlad for some kind of clarification.

“Hu… what… I can’t hear anything!” Vlad called out as I quickly spotted the ear plugs in his ears. “I especially can’t hear anything about what my daughter did or didn’t do to her stallion!”

“You had better hope your seed took, or I’m locking you and my daughter up in a room and not letting you out until I’m a grandmother thrice over!” the mare yelled into my face as she gripped it with her two front hooves and trying to crush my face.

“Ah thish rash, I wnsh be alive for thash!” I tried to yell as her hooves worked to rework my face.

“You’re right, I can’t have you dyeing until then,” Glimmering Cloud huffed, releasing me and stepping back, her eyes losing their red glow.

“First, Twilight Velvet and now you?!” I shouted, jumping to my feet and taking step away from the mare. “What is wrong with some of you mares?!”

“Oh, you know Velvet?” Glimmering Cloud asked, a new sparkle in her eyes. “I met the mare a few years ago during an event. She’s Shining Armors mother, right?

“I remember thinking about introducing him to—”

“She’ll be like that for a while, so you can go if you want,” Vlad said, moving beside me as he pulled the plugs out. “She won’t even notice you’re gone until she’s done with whatever it is she’s talking about.”

“But then that pink Princess starts complaining abo—”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I replied, blinking away from the pair and appearing behind them with a separation of over two dozen feet.

“I see you finally met Captain Vlad’s wife,” Celestia’s voice chirped as I moved farther away from my prior location. She stood a few feet away from me and looked to have come from inside the ship. I could see Cotton walking next to her, a look of worry and confusion on her face.

“What the hell is wrong with your ponies?!” I blurted out at the alicorn. 

“I’m still trying to figure that out myself,” Celestia sighed as she levitated a letter to me. “Unfortunately, there’s another issue that I’m going to have to leave up to you.”

“Please don’t tell me they burnt my house down…” I groaned as I recognized Spike’s writing.

I read the letter quickly.

Then, I sighed heavily while shaking my head.

“How did I not see this coming?”


*	*	*


“We’re all going to die in here!” Scootaloo cried out from the darkness.

“Will you stop saying that?!” Sweetie Belle groaned from somewhere else in the darkness. “Its only been a… few hours… WE’RE GOING TO DIE IN HERE! HELP! SOMEPONY HELP US!

“I’M TOO CUTE TO DIE!”

“Aint the first time ah got sealed in a crate oh apples,” Apple Bloom calmly stated before a familiar sounding crunch drowned out Sweetie Belle’s frantic whining. “At least they’re fresh.”

“Why didn’t we just go with them when Cotton went?” Dinky’s voice questioned quietly.

“I’M TOO COOL TO DIE!” Scootaloo shouted as she started banging on the wooden wall nearest her.

Outside the large wooden crate the fillies were hidden in, I stood; watching the small flames that were the crusaders souls move around in slight panic.

“At least they put air holes into it,” Twilight sighed as Rainbow Dash continued to chuckle from the shouts coming from within.

“How much longer should we leave them in there?” I asked. “Too much longer and Celestia cant send them back.”

“She won’t be able to send them back,” Twilight quietly replied with a frown. “She may have the strength to do it, but they’re too young to handle that much magic being used on them for a teleportation spell.”

“So, it’s either turn the ship around or take them with us,” I sighed. “I’ll get them out of the box and get this taken care of, you mind taking miss giggles over there and see about setting a room up for them with Celestia?”

“Okay,” Twilight sighed as her horn lit and Rainbow Dash began to lift into the air. “They’re obviously really scared right now, so try to go easy on them.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved off before looking down to my left side at the large wolf to my side and the filly on his back. Cotton seemed to have a little trouble staying balanced on the ship, so she had climbed onto Geralt’s back during the initial tour of the place.

“Cotton, why don’t you calm them down while I go get a crowbar?” I directed, pointing to a far wall where a few of the objects were stored.

“Okay,” Cotton nodded as she patted Geralt’s side. “Come on Mr. Geralt.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at that while I moved a retrieved the metal bar I needed. 

“Get us out of here!” I heard Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shout out as I returned.

“Oh calm down, you’re not going to die in there,” I chuckled while opening the top of the box.

The moment the lid was opened, all four fillies jumped out, shouting in exuberance.

That exuberance died quickly when they noticed themselves floating in front of me while wrapped in a gray mist.

“You got some splanin’ to do,” I told the fillies.

“Crabapples…” Apple Bloom grumbled.


*	*	*


“We’re sorry,” the four fillies said as they kept their gazes low. The crate had been emptied of everything but the remaining apples, so a few bags sat next to the small group.

“I’m not the one you all should be apologizing to,” I replied, looking down at them with a small frown. “Do your guardians even know that you’re here?”

“Mommy gave me a note,” Dinky quickly stated while pointing towards the bags.

“I got one too!” Scootaloo chirped, surprising me.

“Then go get them,” I waved to the two of them before looking at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Both had worried looks on their faces and seemed to be panicking slightly.

“What about you two?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“We’re sorry!” they shouted together, their eyes wide with fear and worry.

“That’s not what I asked,” I sternly replied, looking down at them with disappointment. “Didn’t I make it clear that any time you even think of leaving Ponyville, that you not only tell your sisters but get a signed note of permission.”

With what I knew about the Crusaders, I knew that telling them to not do something would end up with them probably doing it anyways. So at least one way to help mitigate issues was telling them that they needed signed notes from their guardians or sisters letting them do something.

It was a work in progress.

“But mah sis would never let me go!” Apple Bloom bemoaned as Scootaloo and Dinky returned. While Scootaloo had a single sheet, Dinky had several.

Sweetie Belle just scuffed her hoof on the ground while keeping her eyes on the ground, a forlorn look in her eyes.

“You all have no idea just how much trouble you’ve caused all of us,” I said, taking the papers from two of the fillies and looking them over. “Especially for the Princess.”

Scootaloo’s paper was a simple generic letter from her guardians giving her permission to attend a ”Special Event” and said that I had their permission to watch over her. If it weren’t for the fact that I had met the filly’s guardians, two mares that were apparently her aunts, I would think that Scootaloo had tricked them into signing the paper.

But I had met the two and was disappointed to find that they weren’t the most caring of guardians. Both having jobs that resulted in them spending little time at home and left Scootaloo home alone for a day or two often.

Dinky’s little stack was a properly worded letter of permission from her mom and a small stack of papers that allowed her daughter to leave the country.

“Okay, here is what’s going to happen,” I began, looking over the four. “You’re all going to write letters to your families telling them where you are and that your safe. You will also ask for the proper paperwork for coming on this trip.

“If your sisters don’t know what they need, they can ask Derpy,” I continued, directing a look at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. “You will also write an apology to Spike, because he will not only be the one delivering and sending letters, but also because he will be sending any homework and classwork you miss while here.”

“Awwww…” the four fillies sighed as they heard this.

“After that, you will apologize to the captain of this ship for stowing away without permission,” I continued, non-pulsed. “After that, you will then apologize to Princess Celestia.”

“Yes, sir…” the four fillies replied with looks of defeat.

“Cotton,” I began, turning to the filly and her mount. “Why don’t you and Geralt take them up to my room while I talk to a few other ponies?”

“Okay,” Cotton replied as Geralt turned to walk to an upper level where a room had been set aside for me. The four fillies, without being told, grabbed their bags and moved to follow Cotton and Geralt.

“Scootaloo,” I called, stopping the little Pegasus from leaving with the others. “Can I speak to you for a moment? I’ll bring you to the others after we talk for a moment.”

“O-okay…” Scootaloo replied before giving her friends a nod and walking back over to me.

I waited a few moments for the others to leave before I began to speak to Scootaloo. I wasn’t worried too much for them because most of the crew was terrified of me and Geralt by the looks I had seen.

“I got the letter,” the filly sheepishly said before any words could leave my mouth.

“Yes, you did,” I replied giving the filly a small smile. “Which is a lot more than Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle can say.”

“Y-yeah,” Scootaloo replied, her smile growing into a more real one.

“How much of this did you tell your aunts when asking for permission,” I asked.

“Everything, I swear!” Scootaloo immediately replied, her smile slowly fading. “They said okay… gave me the letter… and now here I am.”

“Is everything alright at home, Scootaloo?” I bluntly asked. “I told you, I’ll talk to your aunts if you want; all you have to do is say the word.”

“No!” Scootaloo quickly replied. “Nothing's wrong at home, they were just really busy when I asked them.”

“And that’s what worries me Scoots,” I replied. “They always seem to be busy and I’m just worried about you.”

“Well… I’m fine,” Scootaloo grumbled. “Can I go now?”

“Yeah… yeah,” I sighed, letting her go. I knew it would be a bad idea to push her too much and I hadn’t heard anything bad, so I decided to leave it for another day.

Getting proper permission for her to travel would be the issue. But between Sparkler and Celestia, I should be able to get what I need.


*	*	*


“I cant believe they did that…” I groaned while falling into a small couch. I was currently in Celestia’s cabin and the room was massive.

It was as large as the entire first floor of my house and set in the rear of the ship. Full body windows showed me a perfect view of the air and sea we had already traveled. The bed in the back of the room could hold three Celestia’s and looked like it had never been used.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned over my life,” Celestia replied, siting in another couch to my left. “It’s that fillies will be fillies.”

“Well, those “Fillies” basically ran away from home, stowed away on a government ship and contaminated a crate of food,” I began. “And that’s just what I can think of at the moment.”

“They’re foals who wanted to go on an adventure,” Celestia scoffed as her horn flashed and several drinks appeared on a table between us. “They apologized to me and the Ship Captain, so I don’t see the need to do anything more than what you’ve already decided.”

“Well, this adventure of theirs is going to be quite boring,” I replied, grabbing a glass and pouring a random drink. It didn’t smell alcoholic, but it did smell sweet and looked a little like juice. Downing it quickly, I found that it tasted quiet good.

“I’ve already decided that they won’t be leaving the room until we land anth Ig… whaaaath….”

As I spoke, I began to lose feeling in… everything.

“That worked faster than I thought it would,” Celestia commented as she got up and moved in front of me.

I tried to say something, ask what she did or what was going on. But all I could produce was a trail of drool.

“Calm down, I just wanted to teach you a trick,” Celestia grumbled as she did something with magic. “Where we’re going, your more than likely going to be poisoned one way or another and I wanted to make sure you knew how to handle it.”

“Uhhhhggg!” I groaned, find just enough power to twitch.

This resulted in me falling out of the couch and hitting the floor hard.

“You had better not bleed on my floor,” Celestia grumbled, putting me back on the couch.

“Now then,” Celestia began as she poured herself a drink of what I had. She downed it just as fast as I did before continuing. “What you drank was simply juice mixed with a paralyzing potion. Its not enough to hurt you but it is great for practice.”

As Celestia said this, she brought her empty glass back to her lips and spit out a gray glob.

“That is the what the potion looks like normally,” Celestia commented, waving the glass around slightly. “It might not look like it, but I’m constantly using magic to check and prevent myself from being poisoned.

“The trick is that I internalize the magic and spell so that it can counteract it before it can even take effect,” Celestia said. “Then I just expel it however I can.”

“Uh….” I groaned back. I just wanted the poison gone, and her telling me it was a spell that she used wasn’t going to help me.

“Right, so all you need to do is do exactly like I told you,” Celestia told me. “Twilight figured it out in under an hour. You have two since you don’t use regular magic. or I will leave you outside on the deck for the night like that.”

Before I could even twitch, she walked back to her couch, summoned a book and began to read.


*	*	*


“Seven… six… five…” Celestia counted off, the two hours almost up.

“Beuggg!” I puked, mere seconds before the two hour mark. A small gray object rocketed out of my mouth as I found myself finally back in control of my body.

“One,” Celestia finished as her horn lit and a small gray pebble was lifted closer to her for inspection. “Looks like you mixed it with something else inside your body; made it solid.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?!” I roared at her, my mind almost at a snapping point. The fact that I was fully conscious while being unable to move even a finger was terrifying.

“So that you know what to do if you get poisoned at the tournament,” Celestia calmly replied as she put the small pebble in a glass before directing me back to the drink she had summoned earlier. “Now do it again.”

“Hell no!” I replied jumping to my feet. A part of me thought I shouldn’t have been able to do that, but the rage building up in me masked that. “Not unless I get more than “Incase you get poisoned”!”

“Because I need you to be able to do it,” Celestia replied, growling slightly. “I know you had your helmet designed to help in case of a poison gas attack, but it won’t help if its injected into you or slipped into your food or drink.

“You may not like to hear this, but if you can be poisoned and just shrug it off with ease, then I can use that.”

“Use that for what?” I asked, frowning deeply.

“To protect the others from it,” Celestia replied calmly. “If I go around using my magic to check our entire parties’ meals and what not, it would send a sign of distrust to our hosts.

“The Equis Tournament’s main focus is to keep relations civil between all participants,” Celestia continued to explain. “Countries and settlements all over the planet use this tournament to settle disputes in a way that doesn’t lead to war.”

“So what… it’s a show of force?” I asked, starting to calm down slightly.

“Yes and no,” Celestia replied.

“Yes in that it shows those who are trying to harm us that their attempts are useless,” Celestia grumbled. “And no, in that it shows others that we trust them enough not to check our own meals.”

“But we will still be checking, right?” I asked, now worried that someone would try to poison me or someone else.

“Of course,” Celestia replied. “The fact that someone like me doesn’t check helps balance the trust mistrust scale.”

“Its sounds like you don’t trust anyone at these things,” I commented.

“I don’t,” Celestia admitted. “Like I said, this tournament is used to help decide very important things all around the world, so certain actions are always expected; even if they don’t happen.”

“Who else can do it?” I asked.

“On this ship, that would be myself, Captain Vlad and his wife, Twilight, a few guards and yourself now,” Celestia replied. “The biggest thing is that we not show that we are checking or being affected by whatever might be given to us.”

“Which is why you want me to do it again,” I sighed.

“We have three days to get it to the point where you can immediately detect and cleanse yourself of poison without showing it,” Celestia replied, indicating the drink again. “Be happy I’m starting you off with a weak paracletic like this, because I’ve once been poisoned with a concoction that burns your insides within seconds of injection.”

“Your not gonna hit me with that stuff,” I stated, rather than asked.

“I will, when you least expect it,” Celestia replied with a serious expression. “Even Twilight has been through it.”

“W-why now though?” I asked, worried. “Why didn’t you or Luna start this training back in… Equestria…”

I didn’t even need to hear Celestia’s reply to know why.

Looking out the window, all I could see was open air and sea.

“We’re no longer in Equestria,” Celestia replied. “If the wrong pony heard about this training, even I wouldn’t be safe from the law of the land.”

“I ever tell you how much I hate you,” I grumbled, poring myself another drink.

“Usually it’s me telling you that,” Celestia replied, switching the main container of drink with a dark red one. “You have an hour to finish this time because that’s how long it will take for the next one to kill you.”

“I’m starting to hate the fact I can do magic,” I grumbled, taking a seat and downing the drink.


*	*	*


“Uhg…” Christopher groaned as he left Celestia’s quarters. It was three in the morning and he had finally gotten to a point where he could feel the poison in his body.

That was Celestia’s main objective in this training. Cleansing a body was easy for her and any well-trained unicorn or healer, but if you didn’t even know you were poisoned, it wouldn’t be of any help.

“How I hate that man,” Celestia grumbled as she downed the last of the drink she had last given Christopher. This one had a way of making the body tense and relax randomly and uncomfortably.

She actually quite liked the taste of it with the juice it was with.

“Princess,” Vlad greeted as he entered a few minutes later. “I noticed, Reaper leaving and thought now would be a good time to talk.”

“Make it fast,” Celestia replied, taking a seat in the same couch Christopher had been in for several hours.

“It shouldn’t take long,” Vlad replied before beginning.

“The fillies spent the entire evening in the room given to them, my wife made sure of that,” Vlad smiled. “I also got word that Gryphons will be sending one of their princess’s as their ambassador, but it’s their representative that will cause us some issue.”

“Who?” Celestia asked, spitting out a glob of yellowish gel.

“The Bloody Claw,” Vlad replied with a heavy growl. 

“The Commander of the same mercenary company that took a contract on my sister,” Celestia added to herself, a frown also on her face. “They have to know that this will cause several issues.”

“Apparently they stepped forward when the Emperor Storm Beak put out that he was looking for a powerful representative,” Vlad added. “They want the chance to take on the Reaper.”

“Buck!” Celestia shouted, flinging her glass away and letting it shatter on a wall.

“Afraid the Reaper can’t handle them?” Vlad asked with a smirk.

“It’s the fact they want to take him on that angers me,” Celestia replied. “That fool probably wants revenge for his brother.”

“Do you want me to do something?” Vlad asked.

“No,” Celestia growled. “It will take some work, but The Bloody Claw will get his fight.”

“Will you tell Reaper?” Vlad asked, already knowing the answer.

“No,” Celestia replied. “Anything else.”

“The Arthwani will be in attendance,” Vlad said, a slightly concerned look on his face.

“I thought they would,” Celestia sighed.

“After all, if anyone’s after the Reaper, its them.”
> Chapter Twenty-One: "Oh my God, its happening. Everybody stay calm! Stay f*&#!#% calm!"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Filled with a mix of practicing with Vlad and Twilight in the morning, experimenting with equipment in the afternoon and being poisoned in the evening, I found myself with little to no time to just relax and enjoy the flight.

The poison training got really easy after the second night though. I was beginning to notice if I was poisoned, making it easier to cleanse myself of it.

I was surprised at how fast I took to it, but Celestia said it was due to the fact of using Soul magic. What I couldn’t understand though, was why I kept spiting the poison out as a solid, instead of a liquid. But after looking at one and having Celestia scan it with magic, we found that it was just a mix of minerals commonly found in the body that would usually be expelled by various means.

I was also feeling less and less of the poison’s effects on my body before cleansing it, my body adapting to the constant abuse.

At least, that’s what Nurse Redheart said after I stumbled upon her on the ship.

While I hadn’t known that she was coming, I wasn’t that surprised. In fact, with her being on the ship, I was able to get help with a special project that I knew only she could help me with.

“Thanks for the help Redheart,” I said looking at the small gem I had. “I can’t wait to see everyone’s face when they see me use this.”

“Just keep your end of the promise,” Redheart replied, walking away with a slightly worried look on her face. 

“I must only use my powers for my own enjoyment!” I cackled to myself while making my way to the top deck, passing a few concerned looking ponies.

“There it is!” Twilight cheered as I found her, Rainbow Dash and the fillies in their own little group. All of them were watching as what appeared to be a port city, come closer.

“We’ll be landing the ship there before continuing with a caravan,” Celestia said as she joined our group.

“Why can’t we take the ship all the way?” Scootaloo asked, her face scrunching up in annoyance.

“This airship wouldn’t be able to handle the trip,” Twilight began to explain. “One bad dust storm could be enough to crash an airship of this make and flying high enough to prevent that would place us in some dangerous areas.”

“Not to count all the dangerous monsters that are there,” Celestia replied. “Most fly high and fast so that they can get the prey they need to survive.”

“How long will it take us to reach…uh,” Rainbow Dash began, looking towards Twilight for help.

“Cat-Uwan,” Twilight answered. “And by what I know, it will take another two days from here.”

“Isn’t there a faster way?” Rainbow Dash groaned as even the fillies looked disheartened.

“There might be,” I replied, giving a smile and drawing everyone’s attention. “There’s a limit to how many can use it and I’ll need some help to keep it running the whole way, but I can cut travel time by half, at the least.”

“And just how would that be possible?” Celestia asked as everyone else looked at me wide eyed, mouths agape.

“Remember that drawing you saw back during nightmare night?” I offered, reaching into a pocket and pulling out one of the gem’s the Tree of Harmony had given me. It was an obsidian black and had a small shine, meaning that something was imprinted in it. “I finally got a prototype finished.”

“Prototype?” Twilight chirped, her eyes sparkling.

“Isn’t that the gem you used to make that motor-cycle thingy?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Nope,” I replied. “That one was silver, this one is black.”

“How many can it fit?” Celestia asked, taking the gem from me with her magic and inspecting it. I could see her focus on it for a second, but when nothing happened, she began to frown.

“It should be able to fit all of us here, Geralt and maybe three or four others,” I replied, snatching the gem back. 

“Can we see?” the fillies all asked as one, big smiles on their faces.

“What do you say?” I asked, turning everyone’s attention to Celestia.

“Go right ahead,” Celestia said as she cleared a large place on the deck with a wave of her horn.

“Everyone, stand back please,” I called, channeling some power into the gem before tossing it into the space, keeping a small tendril of power attached to it.

A thick mist quickly began to emanate from the gem, forming a large rectangle that stood six feet high and nearly twenty feet long. A few moments later, it began to shift, forming three thick tires on each side and a large dark gray rectangular body.

The dashboard was filled with switches and nobs. Instead of the common two front seat, there was only a single captain’s chair placed in the middle of the front, just behind a steering wheel. Behind that were another pair of captain chairs, a long bench seat and then a large back trunk that had benches on both sides with a large space in-between them.

“Woah!” everyone, including the surrounding guards gaped as I moved over to the vehicle. Opening the front door, I pulled out a small glowing gem from a pocket and fit it into an opening by the steering wheel.

“That will keep it from dissipating for a bit… I think,” I said, cutting my connection to the gem and watching it for a moment.

“This thing is huge!” Rainbow Dash blurted out as she opened a side door, with some difficulty. “How fast does it go?”

“No idea,” I replied, deciding to not shout ‘that’s what she said’. “But it should still be faster than what you could run at top speed.”

“Oh, trust me,” Rainbow Dash grinned, sitting in one of the back captains seats with a grin. “You’ve yet to see me run.”

“We can all fit in here!” Apple Bloom called as she and the other fillies found their way inside, sitting on the back bench.

“That was the plan,” I smirked while getting into the front seat and spinning it around to look back at them. “It even has air conditioning… I think?”

“You seem very unsure of a lot of things,” Vlad’s voice called as he appeared to one side of the jeep.

“Well, I haven’t had the chance to use the damn thing to even see what does and doesn’t work yet,” I replied as I heard a thump on the roof.

“What is this thing?” I heard Spitfire ask from above.

“Hey!” I called, getting out and glaring at the Wonderbolt. “You’re not supposed to stand there, get off!”

“I was just looking,” Spitfire grumbled, jumping off the roof and crawling inside.

“Maybe showing it off wasn’t such a good idea,” I grumbled myself, watching as ponies began to crawl in and out of the thing.

“What do these things do?” Cotton asked, pointing at the dashboard of nobs and switches.

“They let me do different things,” I replied, reaching in and flipping a switch that had a jeep frame just above it. The moment I did, the walls and windows of the jeep’s trunk disappeared, leaving only a frame in place. “Only a few of them work right now though.”

“This.Is.Amazing!” Twilight cheered as she went over the whole thing, stacks of paper floating around her like flies.

But the sight that really drew my eyes was Celestia.

She stood at the front of the vehicle, where an engine would typically be found, staring and rubbing the hood with her bare hoof. A look I couldn’t place clear on her face as she stared at the jeep construct.

“I think we should be able to fit at least five additional ponies including your group, the princess, my wife and I if they really squeeze in there,” Vlad interrupted, drawing my attention as he looked over the inside of the vehicle. “If this… thing, can cut even half a day off our trip, then we can leave more things behind to arrive at a later date, opening up more room.”

“Well, however you decide it, just know that you’ll be sharing space with Geralt,” I commented, turning back to Celestia and finding her discussing something to Twilight.

“What other little tricks have you got stashed away?” Vlad asked, giving me an apprising look.

“You’ll just have to wait until the tournament to see,” I replied, giving a chuckle.

Reaching back into the jeep I pulled out the gem powering it and quickly pulled back, watching it disappear in a puff of smoke, causing the ponies that had been inside to fall to the deck.

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Vlad nodded. Chuckling at the glares the ponies who had been in the jeep were giving me.

“Well, there are still a few things that need to be done before we reach the port,” Celestia said, drawing everyone’s attention. “If you haven’t already, go get your things packed and ready.

“Once we make it to the city, we’ll take the original caravan to the city edge before we switch over to Christopher’s vehicle,” Celestia explained before looking at Vlad. “Choose who will be going with us and make sure the others have what they need to make the rest of the trip themselves.”

“Yes, Princess Celestia,” Vlad saluted before rushing away, his umbrella lacky keeping pace beside him.

“Can’t you do some magic so he doesn’t need the umbrella?” I mumbled so only Celestia could hear me.

“Oh, I put a spell on him shortly after he started working for me,” Celestia quietly replied with a giggle. “He just never bothers to correct anypony.”


*  *  *


“Wow!” the fillies gasped as the carriage we were in continued down the cleared city streets. Someone had tried to tell me the city’s name, but I was unable to pronounce it so I ended up forgetting it.

“What is that?!” Dinky called as she pointed a hoof at what looked to be a camel.

“Camel,” I replied.

“And that?” Scootaloo asked, pointing at another species.

“Shark… thing?” I replied, looking at the walking, bipedal shark the filly was pointing at.

“What about that?” Cotton asked, pointing at a weird ball of pink fluff that was bouncing out of sight.

“Don’t stare at that one!” I quickly replied, a weird sense of unease filling me at the sight of the fluff ball that was a horribly bright pink. “That’s one we don’t want to deal with.”

“What?” Twilight asked as everyone in the carriage looked at me in confusion.

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied with a chuckle, swearing I could hear someone give a “thbpbp” in the distance.

“There’s so many kind ‘oh ponies here!” Apple Bloom cheered as she looked back out the window.

“They’re not ponies though,” Sweetie Belle commented before the fillies dived into a discussion amongst themselves about who they were seeing.

“There sure is a lot of sand out there,” Rainbow Dash grumbled from her own seat. She was currently stuffed next to Geralt and Twilight, so she couldn’t spread her wings and it was causing her to be irritable.

“It’s not called the South Sands for nothing, Rainbow,” I chuckled. “Besides, it could be worse.”

“Oh yeah, how?” Rainbow huffed.

“You could be walking outside,” I replied. “Surprised me when they said this place was a no-fly zone outside of the port.”

“Which is so stupid…” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“What about you Twilight, anything to comment on?” I asked the bookish mare.

She completely ignored me as her eyes remained locked outside the window, mumbling to herself about the things she was seeing.

“Oh, this is going to be a great trip…” I sighed.


*  *  *


“Okay, that should be everything,” Vlad told me and Celestia after loading up the back of my jeep with several large suitcases and a few small crates. “Everypony else is already inside and ready to go.”

“Very good, Captain Vlad,” Celestia nodded.

Vlad returned the nod with a salute before getting into the back and sitting beside his wife and Captain Spitfire.

“After you, Celestia,” I said, holding the side door open for the princess.

With a nod, Celestia claimed in and sat in one of the captain chairs with Twilight in the other. I was about to explain how to put the seat belts on when Celestia’s horn glowed and all the belts locked into place, holding everyone down.

I was going to question it, seeing as I hadn’t told any of them about the belts yet, but decided to just shake my head and close the side door before getting into the front.

“Now then,” I mumbled, sitting in the chair and putting on my own seat belt. “Let’s see how well this actually works.”

I didn’t need to turn the jeep on or anything, so there was no key slot, but there was a lever that had the basic setting of park, drive, reverse and neutral. 

Shifting into drive, the jeep immediately began to move forward slowly without me having to do anything.

The motion was enough to cause all the ponies inside and outside the jeep to jump slightly, drawing a chuckle from me.

“Just give it a second,” I grinned, placing both hands on the wheel and putting my foot over the gas pedal. 

Sparing a quick glance at the gems I had placed into the dash board, I nodded at the three that glowed a full charge. The stopwatch I had set next to it said it had already been ten minutes since I first activated the jeep and put the gems in; giving me a good feeling.

“I wanna go fast!” I whooped like an idiot before pressing down onto the gas pedal and launching us forward.

While it wasn’t as fast or as intense as it was on my motorcycle, the jeep still rushed forward, forcing everyone into their seats for a moment.

“It works!” I cheered while giving it as much speed as I could. A moment later, I couldn’t help but frown as I felt that we weren’t going more than seventy miles an hour, even though the pedal was all the way down.

“This is quite impressive,” Vlad’s voice echoed from the back as everyone looked out the windows and the rushing scenery. “We must be traveling at least twice as fast as a train.”

“And as long as it has power, we don’t need to stop to rest,” I called back, a little miffed by the slow speed. One of the abilities of the jeep I had plans for was a switch to swap to different modes for different situations, one of which was meant for speed.

I was now worried that the “Speed Mode” wouldn’t really be all that fast.

“Something wrong, Reaper?” Celestia asked, drawing my attention to a small rearview mirror. She wasn’t actually looking at me, but she seemed to know that something was wrong.

“This is as fast as I can get it to go right now,” I grumbled, drawing looks from everyone.

“Is it supposed to go faster?” Twilight asked.

“His motor-cycle thingy went way faster,” Scootaloo voiced, the other fillies nodding.

“It could be because of how many ponies are inside of it,” Spitfire called from the back.

“If it were a real vehicle then maybe,” I called back. “But like I said, this is just a prototype, so something like this is expected. There’s still a lot I need to figure out to get something like this to work exactly like I want.”

“Still pretty impressive if you tell me,” A guard called. A quick glance showed them staring at Geralt with wide eyes.

Geralt, for his part, had shifted enough to stick his head out a window in the back.

“If we can keep this speed, we should be able to make it by tomorrow,” Celestia said, mostly to herself.

“You work some of that magic to keep me awake throughout the night and we can probably be there by morning,” I replied.

“What about us?” Rainbow asked from between Celestia and Twilight. I had taken the time to put a small seat in between the two middle captain seats for her. “What if we want to sleep?”

“Then sleep,” I replied with a chuckle. “I used to sleep in vehicles all the time if I wasn’t the one driving.”

“Oh…” Rainbow Dash replies as she shifted to get comfortable. Everyone watched as she did this, and a few minutes later, she was snoring.

“Uh… is there something we can do while you drive?” Sweetie Belle called from her seat.

“Well… if someone would grab my smaller bag and Twilight was willing to help, we can play some music,” I replied, pulling my phone out of a pocket with one hand.

A few minutes later, the speaker I had borrowed from Vinyl and modified to work with my phone was set up and playing a random playlist for everyone.

“This is going to be a long trip,” I sighed, continuing to pay attention to the path in front of me, humming to the song playing.


*  *  *


“Is that it?” I quietly asked as I saw lights appear off in the distance. Celestia had yet to rise the sun for the day, so it was dark enough for me to see it from what had to be miles away. The only ones awake at the moment were, myself, Celestia and Vlad.

“Yes, it is,” Celestia quietly replied as she floated a charged gem into an open spot on the dashboard. I was happy to see that a charged gem lasted about half an hour before it needed to be replaced, surpassing what I had originally thought by about fifteen minutes.

“Stop by that small group of trees,” Celestia said, indicating a small oasis that my jeeps lights just barely reached. “I want Captain Spitfire and another guard to go ahead of us and tell them we’re coming.

“Plus, I think you could use a small rest yourself,” Celestia said. “If you don’t mind, I could drive this vehicle the rest of the way while you take a nap. I don’t have to move the sun for another hour and I think it would be best to reach the capital a few hours after that.”

“You don’t have a license,” I replied with a smirk. 

“I’m a princess, I don’t need a license,” Celestia replied as I slowed the vehicle down beside the oasis, stopping before putting it into park.

“Captain,” Celestia began, looking back into the dark and quiet trunk and addressing Vlad. “Wake Captain Spitfire and another Pegasus guard to accompany her. Don’t wake anyone else.”

“Of course, your highness,” Vlad replied as he got to work.

Ignoring them, I quickly got out of the jeep and was greeted by a hard chill. Another thing that hadn’t worked was my air conditioning idea, which Twilight and Celestia remedied with their own magic, keeping the jeep cool during the day and warm through the night.

A small movement drew my attention to the base of a nearby tree, where Red-eye and Blue-eye were lounging.

I didn’t bother addressing them, even as they looked at me and waved. Blue-eye made a motion for me to join them while Red-eye just looked up into the sky.

When I didn’t move, Blue-eye simply joined Red-eye into staring up at the sky.

Suddenly, I didn’t see small copies of myself, but two entirely different individuals.

Where Red-eye had been, a man with black armor sat, red cracks covering its entirety. He wore no helmet so I could see a pale faced, black haired individual. He had sharp features and knife-like ears, but I could also see countless scares covering his face as his red eyes looked skyward.

Blue eye had become a woman in a flowing white dress. Her hair was a shinning silver and cascaded down the side of her head, her own pointed ears poking through, but leaving her blue eyes free of obstruction. Her skin was bare of any marks and just as pale as Red-eye’s, but she sat in a more regal way compared to his slouched position.

“It’s rude to stare,” Celestia’s voice cut in, causing me to jump and turn to her. Her gaze was over at the same tree I had been, but when I turned back, Red-eye and Blue eye were gone.

“What aren’t you telling me, Celestia,” I asked, looking at Celestia with a glare. She clearly saw the two, meaning it wasn’t just in my head like she had been telling me.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Celestia cryptically replied as she sat down and looked up into the sky.

“That just makes me worry even more!” I grumbled, moving over to the tree and looking down at the spot I had seen the two.

The new image of the two was seared into my mind for some unexplainable reason. 

“Listen, listen

Remember the wane

Of son’s Fury and waving grain.”

The song seemed to softly spill from my lips of their own accord and was from “Red Raising”. A story centered around a young man who was drawn into a civil war after the death of his wife at the hands of their oppressive rulers.

“A tale of winter done,” I finished as a cool breeze moved through the trees.

“That song is unsettling,” Celestia commented as she stood next to me. “The underlying message could also be dangerous.”

“The book I heard it from called it “The Forbidden Song” a few times,” I replied with a shrug. “It just popped into my head after seeing them… it’s weird.”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” Celestia replied, mostly to herself. “If you ever have a chance to talk to a Arthwani, ask them about “The Angel and The Demon”.”

“I almost feel like I shouldn’t, just to spite you,” I grumbled back. “What’s an Arthwani?”

“One of the races on Equis,” Celestia replied with a frown. “You’ll meet them tomorrow most likely.”

“You sound like you don’t like them,” I replied, brushing off some sand that the wind had blown onto me.

“Bad history,” Celestia simply stated before getting up and climbing into the front of the jeep.


*  *  *


Cat-Uwan was quiet the sight as we all stood just outside of the city. Celestia said that a carriage would arrive to help carry everything from the jeep, but what we hadn’t expected, was who already sat inside of it.

“Queen Persephone,” Celestia greeted as a bipedal cat exited the carriage. They wore a large set of bright purple robes and had a circlet of gold on top of their head.

A second cat exited just behind the first, wearing dark leather armor and had twin swords on their hips. Both had dark brown fur while the queen had yellow eyes and the other had orange.

“Princess Celestia, it is good to see you arrive in good health,” Queen Persephone replied with a thick purring accent. “When one of yours arrived so early this morning, I feared that the sands had attacked.”

“Even if it had, there’s nothing out there that could worry me,” Celestia replied, giving a respectful bow of her head. “I see you brought High Guard Kleo with you as well.”

“Yes, she wanted to see your representative,” Persephone replied as her gaze and the others shifted to me.

“Uh… sup?” I offered under all the looks.

“I see your letters of him weren’t exaggerated,” Persephone sighed as Celestia gave an audible groan.

Stepping forward, Persephone gave a small nod to us before properly introducing herself and her companion.

“Good morning everyone, I am Queen Persephone and this is my guard, Kleo. We both welcome you to our homeland.”

Kleo gave a respectful nod to the ponies, while her eyes stayed fixed on me. Persephone held out a paw towards me, a simple smile on her face.

“Uh, hi, I’m Christopher,” I greeted awkwardly while taking the claw and giving it a shake. “But these days, everyone calls me Reaper.”

I quickly realized that I had made a mistake in shaking her paw when she frowned at me and the look Kleo gave turned into a glare. But before I could do anything about it, everyone else in our party gave their own introductions.

Twilight was the one to show me what I was supposed to have done as she touched the back of Persephone’s paw with her forehead. Vlad and his wife did the same followed by the other adults.

For the fillies, she simply patted them on the head, excluding Cotton who quickly moved away from the paw and hid behind Geralt.

This quickly drew Persephone’s and Kleo’s attention to the pony sized wolf and both quickly reared back with looks of alarm.

“{A Dire Wolf?!}” Kleo barked in what must have been the cat’s native language. It was a mix of purring, meows and what sounded like words, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“Yet why did I know what she said?” I thought to myself before Celestia began to explain.

“{Its actually an Everfree Cave Wolf that has bonded with Reaper},” Celestia replied in the cat’s native tongue. I wasn’t surprised to see that she knew it, but it did surprise me to hear the sound still coming from her.

“Yeah, he’s my friends,” I added. “He won’t cause any trouble I swear.”

At this response, everyone turned towards me with looks of surprise.

“{You can understand us?}” Persephone asked in her native tongue. 

“Uh… kind of,” I replied as Celestia began to look contemplative. “It’s like I know what you are saying, but not what you are saying.”

“[How about this?]” Celestia suddenly asked with a weird chirping like language.

“Uh… how about what?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable.

What followed was a few minutes of Celestia speaking to me in several different languages, revealing that I could understand Cat, Gryphon and the Minotaur languages. There were still several others Celestia spoke that I couldn’t understand, including something that sounded like Latin, but didn’t fit with the few words I had come to learn.

“I didn’t know you spoke other languages,” Dinky commented before anyone else could, after Celestia’s experiment.

“Uh… outside of a few words in Spanish, Japanese and Latin, I can’t,” I answered with a frown, mostly so everyone around could understand what I was experiencing. “Like I said, its like I just know what they are saying, but I don’t know what each individual word or phrase they were using meant individually. I’m positive I wouldn’t be able to speak to them in the language, but I do know what they are saying still.”

“Well, that sucks,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “How can you understanding a language if you can’t even speak it?”

“Part of it could be because he can’t make the noises needed due to a limitation in his vocal cords, but that still doesn’t explain how you understand it,” Twilight began. “I haven’t seen you with any linguistic books.”

“Perhaps this is a discussion better had behind closed doors,” Persephone cut in, looking towards Celestia with a nod. “Your rooms are already prepared at my palace and I believe a few ambassadors are waiting to meet with you.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Celestia replied. “For now, I’ll guarantee that Geralt won’t be an issue.”

“{Very well},” Kleo replied as she moved to the carriage. As we were talking, the guards had been loading our bags into and onto the carriage. In the front, two camels were attached, both looking at our group, waiting for us to board.

“Please, follow me,” Persephone said as she led the way into the spacious carriage. Aside from Vlad and Kleo, the rest of the guards stayed outside the carriage, planning to follow it from outside.

As we traveled, Persephone did her best to answer the constant stream of questions coming from Twilight and the fillies. I was only half listening as I was more drawn to the mass assortment of different races and species that filled the side streets, the main street being surprisingly clear.

Dog, cat, lizard and bird races could be seen staring at us past a few cat guards that blocked off the main street for our travel. But as we passed a slightly dingier part of town, I saw something that immediately drew my attention.

I could see a few groups that wore rages and thick collars trying to look at our small precession with curious glances. They kept themselves away from the main groups of passerbys and I noticed a few flinch back and shrink slightly when a guard would glare at them.

“What are those groups with the collars on?” I asked loudly, cutting off a question that Twilight was asking the queen.

“They are…” Persephone began, worry clear in her voice as she looked towards Celestia.

A shake of her head was all she gave to the now nervous looking queen.

“They’re probably part of the slave class,” Twilight blurted out, her eyes locked onto a paper filled with notes that floated in front of her. “I remember hearing that slavery is really big in The South Sands and that they use the… collars… too…”

Twilights explanation faltered when she finally looked up and seeing the mix of looks directed at her.

Celestia looked disappointed, while the cats looked annoyed. Vlad looked impassive while his wife looked sad.

The fillies were a mix of shock and horror as they looked around, unsure of who to actually look at. Cotton just stared at the ground, a distant look in her owns eyes.

But none of that compared to the rage filled eyes I turned towards Celestia.

While I was angry at Persephone, as she was the leader of a country that seemed to support slavery, I was even more angry at Celestia for colluding with such a country in the first place and not at least tell me to expect it.

“B-before this develops into a problem, please allow me to explain a few things,” Persephone called, drawing my glare. “Yes, there is slavery here, but it is something I have been working to abolish since I took the throne over fifteen years ago.

“I’ve had very little support inside my own kingdom in my attempt to abolish the practice, but I don’t plan on stopping until every one of my subjects are free from such things as slavery,” Persephone continued with a heavy sigh. “I’ve been able to get a lot of things changed, thanks to the support of Princess Celestia and a few others, but my subjects are stuck in their old ways, and I fear what would happen if I tried to force the change.”

“How you run your country is up to you,” I growled slightly. “Even my own world was filled with slavery for thousands of years; and still is in some places, so I know it’s something that takes a lot of time and work to abolish. So, there is nothing I can say except to hope you succeed.”

“Thank you,” Persephone replied with a sigh of release. “If you have the chance, would you be willing to discuss some of your own species issues and solutions at some point?”

“Sure, I can do that,” I sighed, sparing another glance out of the carriage.

The rest of the trip was done in silence as the fillies had decided to not look outside anymore and Cotton had found her way onto my lap.

Once we reached the palace, I took some time to look up at the towing mass of marble and stone. Unlike Canterlot’s white and purples, this one was a deep red with some dark purple mixed in.

“Nice place,” I commented as we exited the carriage, doing my best to settle my nerves. “I know Canterlot’s was made using marble, but what was this one made from?”

“A special clay,” Kleo stated in common as her gaze shifted to a few cat guards made their way over. “{Take their bags to the guest quarters}.”

We all took a few moments to watch as the cats and the few pony guards began to unload the carriage onto a small cart.

“I’ll be keeping this one,” I said, grabbing my weapons case. It may be enchanted to only open for me, but I wasn’t taking that chance with how much I had stored inside of it. An ever so subtle nod from Celestia also told me that she agreed.

It actually held a lot for its size, mostly thanks to the enchanted pouches on my equipment belt. It let me fit all the things I needed while also leaving enough room inside to fit my armor.

The only issue was that it weighed over seventy-five pounds.

“{Your highness},” a guard called as he kneeled before Persephone. “{Some of the guests have been causing a commotion in the Main Hall}.”

“{I’m pretty sure I know why},” Persephone replied, mostly to herself. “{Please inform them that we will be there in a few minutes}.”

“{Yes, your highness},” the guard replied before getting up and rushing towards the main entrance.

“Trouble in paradise it seems,” I mumbled, earning a small glare from Vlad and Celestia. I just shrugged my shoulders at them.

“I apologize for that, but it seems some of the others are… how do you say it…. getting restless,” Persephone sighed, looking towards Celestia. “It might be best if you sent the young to the guest quarters through a side entrance.”

“I’ll go with them,” I replied, looking at Celestia. “I can think of at least five fillies that might cause a problem if left alone.”

This caused the younger fillies to glower, and Cotton to look sad and hurt while Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“What are you laughing at, your one of those fillies,” I said, cutting Rainbow Dash’s chuckle short. “You’ll try to find someone to race; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle will set something on fire; and Twilight will spend the rest of the trip reorganizing the palace library.”

This caused all but the named individuals to burst out in laughter, even Celestia and Persephone giggled at the statement.

“There’s a library!?” Twilight chirped with wide eyes and a smile as the other named ponies continued to glare at me.

“While that would be best,” Celestia began, everyone else calming down. “I’m pretty sure those waiting want to see you as much as they want to see me.”

“You can leave the fillies to me,” Glimmering Cloud, added. “While my little butterfly isn’t a good example, I do have experience with handling rambunctious fillies.”

At this, Glimmering looked at Rainbow Dash.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash chirped, earning another round of laughter from the fillies.

Cotton was the only one not to laugh as she moved closer to me and looked up.

“Don’t worry, Cotton, you can stick with me,” I told her, leaning down and scratching her ear briefly.

“I really should insist,” Persephone cut in, drawing my eye. “Some of our guest’s aren’t… young friendly.”

“I will also have to agree with Queen Persephone,” Celestia added, looking down at Cotton. “Cotton, why don’t you take Geralt with you and the others, okay?”

“But…” Cotton frowned, looking between myself, Celestia and Glimmering Cloud.

“It’s okay sweetie,” Glimmering cooed, moving down and carefully pulling Cotton away from my side. “He won’t be far and you’ll see him again in a little while.”

“But…” Cotton repeated, looking down.

“I got an idea,” I said, dropping my weapons case and opening it momentarily. The only thing someone could see if they looked were a few parts of my armor, one of which was the helmet I was quick to remove before sealing the case again.

“You’ll hold on to this for me, won’t you?” I asked, offering the filly the helmet.

Cotton simply nodded as she took the piece and put it over her head.

“So adorable,” Glimmering smiled as she carefully moved Cotton to the side where the other fillies were grouping up.

“Don’t worry, nopony is going to mess with them while I’m around!” Rainbow Dash boasted as she flew up a few feet into the air and did a little shadow boxing.

“Rainbow Dash, this is a no-fly zone,” Twilight scolded as she pulled the mare back to the ground.

“It’s actually been partially lifted for the tournament,” Kleo answered as she waved a few extra guards over. “These guards will take you to the guest quarters set aside for you. If you need anything, they are instructed to assist in any way possible.”

“Thank you,” Glimmering answered for the younger group.

“I’ll keep an eye on them, don’t worry,” Vlad told me before walking off with his umbrella holder.

Even as I watched them wonder off, I couldn’t help but feel worried for Cotton and the others.

“Reminds me of the first time I was alone and in a different country,” I commented, not even caring who heard me, the memory popping up. “Got off the plane, American, couldn’t understand the language and had no idea what would happen aside from some haphazard instructions given to be from a friend.”

“What did your friend tell you?”

It wasn’t Celestia who asked that, but Persephone.

“Find the Marine,” I replied, moving up beside Celestia. “Now, let’s go see whose asses I’m going to be kicking, huh?”


*  *  *


I expected a lot of things for when we stepped into the castle’s main hall.

A contingency of cat guards, a bickering noble or two, a family pet running amok.

What I had not expected to walk in on was what looked to be a Mexican stand-off between a group of Gryphons, three elves and a fucking eldritch horror.

“What the fuck is going on in here?!” I blurted out, unable to stop myself as I looked between the three groups.

There were five gryphons, the leader of which was a towering beast of red feathers and metal armor. Another, who had the same shade of feathers as the leader, stood beside the gryphon, wore simple dark brown armor and had two long silver chains strapped to their side. 

Another gryphon, who stood close to the chain wielder, had white feathers and looked to be based on a snowy owl. They had on an elaborate set of silver and black robes and had the last two of their group behind them. Each looked like some basic guards and wore matching colored armor to the robes the white one was wearing.

The elves were what I had always heard of elves. Sharp features, pale skin, unnatural beauty and a look that screamed arrogance. The only difference between what I knew of elves and these ones were the thick furry tails thy had behind them.

The one in the front had gray hair and a small crown on their head. He had red and silver armor that, while the same shape as two with them, was more elaborate than the other. The second looked a lot like the first, but had less wrinkles and didn’t have a crown.

The third was completely hidden under a red and silver robe, preventing me from seeing anything about them.

The Eldritch horror was just that. It was in the shape of an inversed drop of water, while also being the size of a small car, and was made up of a mix of bones, muscle and a dark purple and red smoke.

Seeing the horror made me realize why Persephone and Celestia had pushed to make sure Cotton hadn’t joined me.

“[So Equestria finally decided to show up],” the lead gryphon growled in their native language as my outburst drew all of their attentions. His dark yellow eyes immediately locked onto me, and I began to feel a subtle pressure on me that I couldn’t place.

“It looks like Tartarus has decided to make an appearance this year,” Celestia quietly grumbled, revealing where the horror came from. “They haven’t joined the tournament for several decades.”

“And the elves?” I mumbled back.

“I think you mean the Arthwani,” Celestia answered.

“So that’s an Arthwani,” I quietly said as the three groups quickly made their way over to us.

As each made their way over, I quickly realized that they were all looking at me.

Aside from the lead gryphon and the horror though, who glared at me, they all seemed to look at me in a mix of intrigue and fascination.

“{So that’s a human},” the white feathered gryphon stated in a feminine voice. “{I thought it would be bigger…}”

The lead Arthwani also said something, but I didn’t understand their language the same way I did the others.

The horror just continued to glare, but with it being closer, unsettlingly so, I could tell that that was simply how their face was formed to look.

“Princess Elenora,” Celestia began, greeting the gryphon’s first, her respectful nod directed to the white feathered gryphon.

“Emperor Ker Faluck,” Celestia continued, turning to the lead Arthwani.

“Lead Guard Jin,” Celestia finished with the horror.

Each returned the gesture, even the horror nodded its bulbous body in greeting to Celestia.

“Out of all of us, its surprising to see you arrive last, Princess Celestia,” Emperor Ker said in a masculine, yet light voice. His accent made it sound like he was breathing his words instead of just speaking them, but it didn’t hinder its tone.

“Well, with the return of my sister, I had to take some extra time to ensure she knew what to expect before she also made her way here,” Celestia replied simply, little emotion on her face.

“So, the Moon shall be making an appearance,” Guard Jin replied in a heavy growl of a voice. “I did so miss our talks we used to have with one another.”

“There will be time for such frivolous actions later,” the red feathered lead gryphon growled, his gaze never having left me. “We’re all her to finally get a look at this freak.”

My eyes immediately locked onto the horror.

“The chicken means you,” Guard Jin pointed out to me, chuckling in a way that sent shivers down my spine.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that you walking corpse!?” the lead gryphon squawked at Guard Jin.

“{Commander Grantz, calm yourself},” Princess Elenora interrupted, staring at the large gryphon. “{Remember the terms of the contract}.”

“{Of course},” Grantz growled back.

“While those two bicker, perhaps you could answer something for me,” Emperor Ker Faluck began, drawing my attention.

“Uh…” I replied like a professional.

“Is it true that the ponies have been calling you “Reaper”?” the Arthwani Emperor asked, a heavy weight behind his words.

“Uh… yeah?” I replied uneasily, sparing a quick glance at Celestia, but her attention seemed to be locked on Grantz.

“Then I hope to see good things from you,” Emperor Ker Faluck said, bringing his hands together, flat against the left portion of his chest. “Do note that my people place the name “Reaper” in high regard.”

With that, the Arthwani turned and left the area, obviously knowing where they were going.


*  *  *


“|Did you sense anything?|” Emperor Ker Faluck quietly asked the fully robed individual.

“|There was something, but whatever it was, it wasn’t strong enough for me to confirm anything,|” the robbed individual replied in an old, withered voice.

“|Why do this father?|” the third Arthwani asked. “|What use is it to confirm something as inane as this?|”

“|Its not, but I will not have that name tarnished by some charlatan,|” Emperor Ker Faluck growled. “|Should that be the case with this human, we will take action.|”


*  *  *


“Good riddance to them,” Grantz growled as the Arthwani left. “Just more freaks like this one.”

“You would do well to hold your tongue, Grantz,” Celestia replied, a scowl on her face that wasn’t directed at me for once. “You and I both know that I have little patience for your prattling.”

“Bah…” Grantz grunted, turning his glare back at me. “I call them like I see them.”

I simply let the two talk, the weird pressure from before taking up my thoughts as I felt it seem to double.

It almost felt like when I got over anxious and worried about something, almost like something was trying to make me have a panic attack.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I had horrible anxiety as a kid, I probably wouldn’t have noticed such an odd feeling pressure.

Focusing on the feeling, I tried to push back against it with whatever it was that it seemed to target.

At first, I thought I was doing nothing but looking constipated, but the sudden silence around me drew my attention.

Everyone looked on edge, even Guard Jin seemed to be concerned about something as the purple and red smoke seemed to coil around it.

“Tell your freak to calm his presence!” Grantz growled.

“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have directed yours at him to begin with,” Celestia replied from my side. She was the only one to stay close to my side when I did whatever it was that I did.

Grantz just grunted as I felt the pressure that had been trying to push against me vanish.

“Now release yours,” Celestia commented, not taking her eyes off Grantz.

“Uh… what?” I asked, looking at her.

A simple glare from her was all it took for my focus on pushing back to fade as well.

“Such a powerful presence is to be expected of someone who can use their soul so fully,” Guard Jin chuckled before taking his leave. “I’m glad we decided to participate this year.”

“Freaks, the lot of you,” Grantz growled, turning and storming off himself. The rest of the gryphons stayed though, watching as both Grantz and Jin disappeared through opposite halls.

“I apologize for that Princess Celestia,” Princess Elenora said, turning to Celestia and bowing deeply. “I know you have issues with Commander Grantz, but when my father learned of who your representative would be…”

“Your father always did have a strange way of offering his assistance with certain matters,” Celestia replied, nodding back respectively.

“I hope we can talk more later,” Elenora nodded, both to me and Celestia before turning to leave. The two guards quickly followed her while the other gryphon stayed for an extra moment, looking me up and down.

“I too hope we can talk when you have the chance, Reaper,” the gryphon said in a calm voice. He gave a nod to Celestia and Persephone before following after Elenora.

“{At least they didn’t break anything},” Persephone grumbled before looking at Kleo. “{Please get Jaffar, I would like him to be Reaper’s guide when possible}.”

“{I-I will go get him your highness},” Kleo replied before turning and rushing at speeds that would probably impress Rainbow Dash.

“Sorry about that, I just felt that a proper guide for, Reaper would be needed,” Persephone told us.

“Uh… okay,” I nodded, looking at Celestia.

“When will the first meeting be?” Celestia asked Persephone, not looking at me.

“Tomorrow evening is the current plan,” Persephone replied. “It will give us time to implement any changes we come up with then.”

“One of the reasons we’re here early is to discuss the first part of the tournament,” Celestia explained before I could ask what they were talking about. “It’s the only one the representatives are aloud to attend so that they can provide some input.”

“Uh… okay,” I dumbly nodded.

Before anything else could be said, Kleo retuned followed by another cat that must have been Jaffar.

“{Sorry we took so long, my queen},” Kleo quickly said to Persephone.

“{My queen},” the new cat bowed, speaking in a masculine voice. He had dark orange fur and wore a thin white shirt and dark brown pants. But what really drew my eye was the thick iron collar around his neck.

“{Its quite alright},” Persephone replied before turning her attention to Jaffar. “I want you to be Reaper’s guide during his stay here. I feel that you would be best to do this and ask that you do this; can you?”

“O-of course, my queen,” Jaffar nodded before getting up and turning to me and Celestia. “Good morning, I am Jaffar and if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Uh, thanks,” I replied, holding my hand out. Jaffar looked at it for a moment before reaching out and giving it a slightly hesitant, but firm, shake.

“I’m Christopher, but as you’ve heard, everyone calls me Reaper.”