The time of the Grey Knight.

Chapters

Chapter 1: The foreshadowing of change.
Chapter 2: The forging of a deal, the start of a story.
Chapter 3: Once Upon a Dark Night . Part 1
Chapter 4: Born to be a knight.
Chapter 6: Meetings, friends and dark nights.
Chapter 7: Dark Side. Pink Asylum 1.
Chapter 8: Public Relations.
Chapter 9: The harp of times past.
Chapter 5: The Duties of a Protector . Dark Blood.

Chapter 1: The foreshadowing of change.

Note from the author (From now on NFA):
Hello everyone and welcome to my new fanfiction. I want to say right now that this NFA is going to be probably large and NOT necessary, so feel free to scroll down after reading this little part:
I don’t own MLP FIM, its story or its characters, they are copyright of Hasbro (And they better make the right decision and let the following do things right) and Lauren Faust (Have her deviant art gallery if you don’t have it already :3 http://fyre-flye.deviantart.com/ ). I own, however, this fictional story and the OCs that are in it. Also for the official characters go here: http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Characters as I doubt I would honor them with a description.

Once that is taken care of we can move to onto less necessary things, but ones that I want to get out of the way right away, so read on if you like but don’t feel obligated to.

I hate, and I mean HATE, MLP the original show. It was much like the f*censored* Carebears show: Make it cute until you puke, and not in any kind of good sense, if there is any out there. The stories were lazy, the characters were clichés, the ponies were obnoxious and the humans… I would’ve skinned them alive. However my friends poked me to see MLP FIM, so believe me when I say that sent them to hell a few times, but they promised me that it wasn’t like the usual ‘girls’’ cartoon. In fact they bought me when I heard it was made by Lauren Faust, but I had some prejudice thanks to the first cartoon. Of course I finally saw it; I am not made of stone…

And I liked it.

I mean, man, there is no cliché in the characters as they are complex (At least way more than the usual in most cartoon or movies), the story is good and even with it being filled with some chapters that are more or less stand alone it is very well done. The development of the characters is interesting, there are some very nice mental breakdowns you wouldn’t even think to see in a kid’s cartoon as well as some nice moral advices that almost nobody really want to hear because the truth of what you should do burns most minds. So take it from someone who prefers to see IT, The Thing, Alien and loads and loads of… mature stuff.

This show is golden :3 And I hope the 2º season is not ruined because Hasbro made Lauren Faust stand down.

Now though, why did I force all this on you guys when you wanted only to read something? Well, I said I hated MLP the original show, but after watching the new one I began to create my own ideas as I always do… and the most prominent came down to be one that most people do not seem to enjoy: Mix a human in here. I know what I said of the first MLP show but I did enjoy the idea of an ADULT in here as I planned adventures and other things. I don’t know if you will like this as much as I did as I was writing it, but I hope for the best even if it may not be the most interesting or novel idea, I wanted to try and so here is the first chapter. Let’s see how it goes from here :3

***

Sunny day, flowers everywhere, happy talks, a beautiful landscape and a rustic village to both. Over the last three months Twilight Sparkle had been accustomed to the sight of the perfect village, it had been a revitalizing experience to go from Canterlot to the village of Ponyville, also granted her some friends too. The problem she had as she walked down the road to her house was that after those three months she had discovered something that practically discouraged her.

Having adventure after adventure forced you to learn and develop faster than anyone would’ve thought.

In three months most things that had happened were parties, having her friends and learning facts about life that made it all the better, but sometimes a monster or a little adventure sprung up and gave her a fast forward in magic skill or practice for things she was yet to gain confidence in, only to master them quite fast. It was the most exciting experience in her life besides the finding of her friends and them all together, but it made her feel insecure as with her little body and young age she was not ready to escalate so fast with such power, it would only harm her and her friends.

That is why she had devised a plan! She knew that Nightmare Moon could control monsters or even create some dark creatures with her powers, Twilight had asked Princess Luna about it since Celestia could, maybe, not want anything to do with it and, while the young Princess was ashamed of it, she had said that creating or summoning creatures to help and protect was indeed quite easy if you knew how. The ways of doing it were easy enough: Form a convocation circle with chalk (Make sure it is closed or it may backfire), concentrate in the creature you want to summon or create and use all your power without extenuating yourself, stopping if you think it could make you faint as something dangerous could come out of such mistake.

She was excited, partly because it was a new spell to try, partly because she knew what she wanted to summon and, in good measure, because she knew this was very, very dangerous. There had been some nasty monsters, most of them Fluttershy had been able to subdue and the rest had been fought thanks to the Elements of Harmony (She still had problems believing it was her and her friends), but at some point the luck would maybe take a turn and they would fail, or worse, get someone harmed. Twilight didn’t want to think of the worse but it had been a beautiful life for so long that something horrible was due sooner or later.

However she would prevent it! She had a plan and she knew just the thing to make sure that even if something bad was going to happen it would only be able to be a scare and maybe nothing else. However first she had to get home with the book that she had asked Princess Luna for, hopefully with none of her friends catching up with her. She needed this to be a secret.

“Hey Twilight!”

Tarnations.

Twilight turned to see her friend Spike running towards her with a muffing in each hand. The little dragon had grown nothing, but it was common for them to take long so while he was highly intelligent he was still simply a baby. Even as worried as she was now Twilight had to laugh inwardly as she thought ‘A baby with a bit of an hormonal problem’ with a chuckle almost escaping her lips as she thought back at the time when Spike had told her about his ‘secret’ (As secret as dragons love gold) crush on Rarity.

“Where are you going so inconspicuously?” He asked with his face covered in chocolate and muffin remains “Usually when you go to see the princess or have a talk with her you go tell all the girls about it”

“Oh, it is nothing Spike, I only wanted to do something to have the day free and spend some time with the girls after telling them. I don’t want to cut it short and do my duty just after telling them” She gave the best and most convincing smile she could. It technically wasn’t a lie as she had been encouraged by Princess Luna to summon a friendly creature to help them if needed, so she was sincere “You know I have to do what the princess tell me, besides it shouldn’t take very long”

“Oh… alright” Spike munched on the muffins and gulped them down, cleaning his hands and mouth before mounting Twilight “Then let’s go! I will help you so you finish faster whatever you have to do; I am number one assistant after all”

“T-thank you Spike” Twilight grimaced a bit as she turned back to head home again “But you shouldn’t worry, this will take no time at all I promise. I don’t want to keep you away from whatever you were doing earlier”

“Nah, I am full and besides Pinkie Pie is preparing something so I don’t want to get in the way, besides I think I already took enough of her sweets” He belched loudly “Ups, sorry”

“Heh, no problem Spike” Twilight just smiled, he was indeed a big baby. Hopefully that would mean he wouldn’t mind what she wanted to do.

Fortunately she didn’t have to worry for too long about anything else than getting things done. Spike had always been her friend and he would help her no matter what, she knew he would and she knew this would end well with her achieving what she hoped for. The problem is if the legends she had been reading about held truth about these creatures or were really only myths.

*** Earth ***

It was a rainy Sunday, the sound of the storm, the droplets hitting his window and loud music hitting his hears, for him it was perfect. J, as he liked to get called, was simply enjoying the day at his home now that his little and big sister had left for his father’s and his mother had left a few minutes ago to the store. It was so rare to enjoy the sound of the rain and such loud music in his bed like this without being yelled at, or punched, or pounced or, well, basically anything you could imagine.

Twenty five years old, bald already (hereditary, heh), coffee colored skin, one meter sixty eight cm in height, normal build, green eyes and quite a bright mind with many evil ideas brewing (Mostly fantasies, he was a good guy). He was a normal guy that liked heavy metal, black or camo clothes, had fantasies about being a knight in medieval times or being the hero of some game… fine, he was not normal, he was a bit weird like many geeks before him and he was completely fine, besides, his room already told enough about him.

Big room with a bed that had bed sheets from Star Wars, one self filled with figurines from TLOTR, Warhammer, Star Wars, Transformers and more, another one full of comic books and traditional books, a third one full of Manga, Hentai, Anime, Sci-Fi movies and Action and Fantasy ones. In one lateral there was a cupboard that had so many games stuffed inside that it was about to explode even being as tall and twice as wide as a man. That was the legacy of a geek.

However that was one side of the room, the side where he had the part of personality that was his and his alone. In the other side there was a bow, an axe, a shield, a medieval armor and a couple of paintball guns. His mother was a soldier and she loved any kind of way she could explore warfare as she wanted to be prepared for anything, in fact she wanted to be so prepared that she tried to get her children and husband to imitate it. Let’s say that J was the only one that enjoyed, or simply tolerated, such a thing.

Still that he was the only one to stick with his mother didn’t mean they mingled all that well together…

*Knock, knock*

As life was about to force him to remember.

He got up with a groan and turned down the volume as he walked towards the door, grunting as he saw that his mother was looking at him with a disappointed look.

Annemarie, his mother, was a tall black woman with long black hair, red eyes and a muscular build that made her son dwarf in comparison as she almost reached the meter ninety of height. A rough life and an even rougher character forged from it granted her very few moments where she would allow a smile over a stoic or even scornful face that otherwise would be beautiful. No one would even imagine she and her ex-husband had a kid when they were nineteen, in fact no one would ever imagine that Annemarie was further away from her twenties.

“I found this” She growled as she showed a photocopy of a picture to her son “In your sister’s room”

“So… what about it?” His mother forced the picture on his hands. It was a drawing of all the main characters in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic “Fuck. This again?”

“Son, I have enough of a problem thinking of you as a weak geek that spends most his time at home playing games and watching porn” Annemarie said with a loud groan “I have even a bigger one accepting that you are a damn furry and that you would love to bang an animal” This made J open his mouth, but his mother forced it shut with a hand “But that you love this fucking girly cartoon?! You are turning up to be a pansy and I won’t allow you to drag your sisters into it!”

Finally J got his mother’s hand away and decided he wouldn’t shut up this time “First of mom: I am a geek, I like my games, my comics, my figurines and my PORN and I still can break an adult man’s arm with ease even if he is taller than you and weights two times as much as I do, you trained me for that since I was young” His mother seemed about to explode but he continued “Second: I am a furry because I love the idea, I love the fandom and I love animals. I wouldn’t bang an animal, not now, not ever, if I do something with someone I want that person (or whatever) aware of what she is doing and with the chance to say yes or no, I would never force myself on anything without consent and as such I wouldn’t do it with an animal thank you very much” By now his mother was obviously doing her best to repress her anger, she was about to explode in the worst way possible but she was doing her best to resist until the end “And what is your problem with this cartoon? It had good story, characters that aren’t stereotypes, deep personal isues and it even makes a guy enjoy simple and innocent things. What is your problem with what I do for Christ’s sake!?”

“That when you were young you did it perfectly” She said, relaxing a bit which only meant it was about to get deep, in a bad sense. J only sighed and rolled his eyes as he thought ‘here we go again’ “You were a warrior, a survivor. We all went to the forest one summer and a storm got us all separated, we almost lost you and your little sister in there when she ran screaming and scared only to fall in the river and get dragged deeper into the forest. You helped her survive for almost a week: You healed her wounds with herbs, you hunted with stick and stone and you even build a small house for her to rest. From there onwards you were strong of body and strong of mind… then this!” She pointed at his room, pushing him away so she could enter his room and open her arms to simply point at everything “You got into games, into fantasy and into all this shit that got you mushy and weak over time. You got into that weird fandom of yours and you changed, you…”

J cut his mother waving his hands fast and hard. He was losing it by now “I changed because I hated what I did back then. I had to kill innocent things for food; I had to see how cruel I could become when I was not even ten years old. I love you and what you did for me, I became strong and capable, but I don’t want to be that, I want to be my own person instead of what you wanted me to become” He saw that his mother was getting red in anger, but this was normal by now and this talk had been done ad eternum so he wasn’t all that worried “However I still love you and I still use what you showed me. Isn’t that enough? I am studying and I am going to have a career someday when I finish, what else do you want?”

Annemarie had a twitch in her eye by now, she was squeezing her fists close and it was obvious she had lost it.

“What do I want?” She said in a soft way “I want my son back, the one that loved me but also obeyed me in whatever I said. I want my little soldier that would someday follow my footsteps and that would make my family proud. I want my kid, my flesh and blood, to do as it is told like it should be for I am your mother and I know what is best for you” She turned and, with one powerful motion, threw the three selves down with a loud crunch “AND THIS SHIT IS CORRUPTING YOUR MIND AND GETTING YOU AWAY FROM ME AND YOUR DUTY!”

There was silence for a while in which J had practically a neutral expression as he looked as mostly his last fifteen years crushed thanks to his mother. At the same time a realization struck Annemarie as she saw what she had done, she felt worse than ever and she only wanted to try and say sorry as she got closer to her son, only to be pushed away.

“So that is it eh? After that day in the forest dad was fed up with you, he left you and we three had to get a few days with each other, but not together anymore. Incessant discussions after I began to do things I liked but you didn’t, a yell here or there, maybe a few days of punishment being alone or without some things. We had a lot of problems since I tried to stay with you all the time, I love you mom, even with your rants and your nutty ideology… But this overreacting for no good reason?” He pointed at the wreckage that was his room “And what you said? Did you lost it altogether? Did you really want a little toy soldier out of me? Or was it that you thought I would end up leaving you at the drop of a hat like dad did?”

“Son, please” She begged.

“No, no please” He growled “It is not that you broke things that were important to me, I am mad not because of the monetary value, but for the history and the tales the told of my life and who I am, things that I held dear for lessons or times past. You and anyone else can think I am sick, stupid or whatever, but I am me and nobody will make me change anything I do or like” He turned and didn’t gave a look back “I tried to make you proud when I was a kid and I tried to make you proud when I was growing even if I did things you didn’t approve. I always tried to do as you wished only to see you happy again, but it seems I wasted my efforts” He sighed and shrugged, not caring anymore “I will come back whenever I feel like it”

With that he walked away and left Annemarie as she felt on her knees, crying. Since the divorce she had been taking medication, but a first day prior she had stopped after… something went awry. She had been getting worse and she knew she would explode, however this was not the outcome she had hoped for. She had been raised the same way that she had tried to raise her son and her daughters, she had fought all her life and while she had tried to not make the same mistakes her parents did it was obvious that to this day was it was hard for her to say that she did something right, if anything.

This way of life was the only one she had ever known of. The only thing she hoped now was that she wouldn’t do something stupid, at least stupider than this.

*** Equestria ***

“Are you sure about that, Twilight?”

Spike sat on Twilight’s bed as she drew a circle on the floor of her room. She didn’t know what to expect but right now there were no Pegasus on Ponyville so there were less chances of someone seeing whatever happened here in case that the summoning is ‘flashy’ or the creature indeed is like the legends say.

“Are you saying that there is any other creature as intelligent as this one and that is NOT going to eat us?” Twilight gave a smirk towards Spike as she finished the circle.

“Not really, but as a dragon I do know many things” Spike seemed a bit uncomfortable “For example: You know that there are many realms or dimensions, that is why there are so many and so different monsters everywhere as with the magic in this world a lot of creatures that are magical may drift here from other worlds or realms” Twilight nodded “I know I am not as bright as Princess Celestia or Luna, or probably you” At that Twilight blushed a bit “But every dragon inherits some natural knowledge from their ancestors, and the creature you want to summon is… dangerous, very, very dangerous. If you summon the wrong one you will end up harming everypony you know”

“I… the legends say…”

“The legends aren’t always legends, you showed that to everypony when Nightmare Moon came, didn’t you?” Spike cocked an eyebrow, inquisitively looking at his friend “I am sure that all the horrid things in those books were as true as all the marvels and the joy they could create, something simply TELLS me it is true. I don’t want to change your mind, I only want you to take care and concentrate in what you want to summon as much as possible”

“…” There was silence for a while, but Twilight was decided to do it “Only creature I found that would be as versatile and as dangerous, but also as loyal was an adult dragon. Do you think any adult dragon would help us fight monsters when they were once regarded as so? Because they still are in some places”

“Doubt it” He said flatly “Some dragons are very nice, but most of us haven’t been born with a caretaker like you, most of our kind lives with their own and it is commonly ‘Be strong, be the best and get a big hoard’. Friendship and helping others usually don’t mingle well if there is not a lot of money and jewels mixed in and this little village couldn’t afford it”

“I guessed as much” She sighed a bit and sat in the cold floor “But it is the best plan I have. I don’t know how much things will be as nice as they are now…”

“You are worrying too much Twilight” Spike chuckled “But if you want to summon a human to help you protect the city let me tell you something that is nagging at my mind, it may be wrong since it is ancient knowledge if I am right, but it seems of importance”

“Well, then say it. It may be important Spike, and if not, it at least will be some extra information to look about” She was getting nervous, but at least she still was cool about it.

“It seems when you transport a creature from another world or realm it gets stronger, but it also has to be in very dire condition” He rubbed his chin a bit with one paw while the other went to scratch his head as if he was forcing the thoughts out “That is how some of the most ancient creatures of this world are so strong in comparison to others of their species that are younger and seemingly more capable: They were empowered when they came here”

“So… how strong could a human be?” Twilight was a bit worried of what the result could give her if it wasn’t a good outcome.

“Hmm… don’t know” Spike shrugged “I suppose a human is weaker than a pony, they don’t have the same anatomy you do, but they are versatile so I suppose they would be as strong as any other pony with the benefits of their race only being augmented”

“Then in the worst case we may be able to hold it down, no?”

“Depends… most humans aren’t magical as far as this little voice in my head is concerned, so if they aren’t magical the magic will not harm them as much, or help them as much, which means you would be at a disadvantage”

“Just wonderful” she groaned “But maybe it is all the better if whatever comes is magical and we do need its help. Now though, I wonder, why does it have to be in a very dire condition?”

“Dunno, it is a nagging feeling about needing the creature to want to be here and owing you for it, I suppose, I am not sure” He gave an innocent smile as he blushed a bit. For once he was being very smart without messing up something “But I am sure you don’t want to bring someone that wants to be here for something else and not under your control if it is a bad guy by any chance, right?” Twilight nodded at that “Then remember to concentrate. I will be prepared in case it is not friendly”

Spike posed like if he was a superhero as his mind drifted to how cool it would be to save somepony (And how effective in the sense of getting Rarity to like him of course). Twilight couldn’t help but laugh silently; it was too easy to read her friend.

However laughs and other stuff would have to wait. This was the first time she hadn’t done something ‘by the book’ and she didn’t want it to backfire. She wanted to have it done, to ensure there was some extra protection and to make more than sure than she was simply being paranoid, in which case if she summoned someone in a dire condition then the only outcome of this escapade would be that she saved someone’s life.

‘I can live with that’ She smirked as she thought so, concentrating as the circle began to glow with a purple light. If she was wrong and there was no need to invoke this creature then, as said, she would save it if Spike was right, in the other hand she was all too sure that this human would be needed at some point. She wasn’t sure if she was scared of what she was doing or knowing that it was necessary to bring a dangerous creature to Equestria, but her gut hadn’t let her down once and this time she was wishing it did.

“Here goes nothing” She whispered, forcing her horn to spark with power as the circle’s glowing grew in intensity with the magic power being pumped into it.

*** In Earth ***

J had been out in the rain for the latest fifteen minutes. He had calmed down quite fast; the rain was pouring down his hood, which relaxed him, he had Motorhead pumping hard in his ears and he DID understand what his mother had gone through and how hard it was for her sometimes. A few days ago she had tried to talk with his sisters and his father to try and get together again, something that was very hard for her to do as she was not someone to admit she had done ever wrong at all, but the result was… well… It made it worse and he knew that what had just happened would force the rest of her sanity down the drain or help her.

He had been trying to help her any way he could since his father dumped her after that day. He knew that it was his mother’s idea to go out there every time they could and practice survivalism, it was a nice skill and would help almost anywhere if the worse come to happen, it wasn’t HER fault that rain poured down so fiercely that the storm scared his sister and they went lost downstream. J knew his father missed his mother as much as she did miss him, but he feared of what would happen if his mother didn’t change, in fact after so many years his fear was confirmed more and more for how things had gone.

*Sigh* ‘This is pure shit’ He thought.

*Splash!*

Looking down he could see a couple of frogs leaping from where he was to the river bellow. Unlike his little sister he hadn’t gone hydrophobic after that event years prior, that was the reason he loved the little town where he and his mother were: It had a nice river and an old wooden covered bridge. It went towards a pond that was half an hour away where the forest began, one of his favorite spots thanks to the wildlife coming there most the time even when he was around.

‘Maybe the reason my mother worries so much about my little ‘fandom problem’ is because I have always been better with animals than persons’ He chuckled as he thought about that ‘I want to be a veterinarian for some reason, ‘asides it is nice of course’

Thanks to his mother he hadn’t been all that good with people, but a lot of time in nature had left him finding it better to be with animals for the most part. Don’t get me wrong, he did like his friends, but an animal usually liked you or didn’t, it couldn’t lie, they would show what they felt for you right away and you had to do something VERY stupid or VERY daring (and helpful) to make them change their mind, something that would show right away. He appreciated the truth they gave away so easily, something that humans usually did not.

‘Fuck, I am weird, my life is weird and I make no sense’ He chuckled at that as he rubbed his temple ‘Why couldn’t I be more like a normal person? I wouldn’t have these problems and I wouldn’t have to be wondering when, better say IF, I am going to go back home’

He turned to watch the little city that had been his home. His mother had moved in this small (Technically speaking) and secluded city simply because: A) It was far away from his father. B) It was close to the base she was stationed. C) In these kind of places it was hard to have any kind of event, and she didn’t want ANY kind of event, least of all that happened to her little one.

Of course it is always at the worst moment when things decide to go down the drain, and in this case it meant that J didn’t turn out fast enough to see the car that was skidding along the road towards the bridge thanks to the heavy rain and probably a drunk trying to drive.

The last few words he could say before it all went dark were pretty simple and specific.

“Oh fuck me…”

*** Back in Equestria ***

“Come on Twilight! You can do it! Only a little more!”

Spike had been cheering for Twilight the past fifteen minutes, but it had helped little to nothing. The incantation was hard to pull off with a normal monster; Twilight had come to realize that way too late, but to bring something from other world here? It was the hardest thing she had done, ever, and it was hard on her as she knew she would be unable to do any magic for a while after she finished, if she did pull this off at all.

The circle had form a small portal of white light two minutes ago, but no image had come to form within it and nothing came out of the little thing even with all her power going straight to finish this fast and efficiently. She was sweating a bit and her horn felt like it was on fire, demanding for her to scratch it and bothering her almost enough to force her attention away from the spell.

‘A bit more… come on… a bit more!’

Suddenly a explosion of light forced Twilight to close her eyes as she heard Spike yelling and falling from the bed, then a wet sound of someone hitting wood fast and very, very hard, maybe even a breaking sound to both. For once she was scared. Had it work? Did she summon the creature too late? Had the sound meant that the one she had summoned had… suffered for her tardiness? Or was it Spike that had hit the ground hard because she had fumbled it? Maybe it was something worse, maybe…

“Hey! We have someone!” She heard Spike yelling.

She finally opened one of his eyes to peek, only to gasp in surprise.

There he was, or at least she thought it was a he: A big man, lying on the ground with his back against the wall of her tree home. He wore some kind of clothes, she thought they were called trousers and shoes with… some kind of jacket? She had heard that some of the dogs that took Rarity back then used this kind of equipment when they weren’t digging underground but strolling near the surface (Rarity had forced some manners on them).

The human was, though, not as she had supposed it would be: He was tall, probably two times taller than her? It at least was as tall as Princess Celestia, but the legends said there were humans so huge that would dwarf Celestia easily, so this one could be considered a runt if she wanted to be harsh, but she wouldn’t go that far. The creature was, though, not strong in the looks, maybe well rounded, but not strong, didn’t have any weapons, armor or anything like the things in the legend, it looked… more civilized.

It was NOT the result she was hoping for. She heard music coming from a device the human had, she saw that everything that he had was very well done, which either involved magic or great skills, and was obviously out in the rain without a care in the world for all she saw, so it also meant that at least they had good medicine to ward from common viruses and other nasty and bothersome things.

Twilight had gotten someone from a place with very intelligent and civilized beings, she-messed-up. She was hoping for a barbarian like human like in most the legends, or one of those ‘medieval’. Thanks to all that Spike had been telling her while the spell was being made (She had to get her mind away of the tiring or burning sensation she felt) he was sure that with magic they would probably follow her, and if she had saved them then they would be honor bound to help her make Equestria safe which also would mean they would get a happy life in this lovely world. But she hadn’t thought it would be like this. What if she had crushed this guy’s life by error then? She would’ve done something HORRID.

“Eh… Twilight?”

The voice of Spike finally tore her away from her little paranoia as she looked at the little dragon checking on the downed human as he hadn’t moved a muscle since he came here.

“He is… he isn’t breathing”

*** First Chapter Finished ***

Chapter 2: The forging of a deal, the start of a story.

Chapter 2 – The forging of a deal, the start of a story.

Nighttime at Ponyville, the only creature awake at this hour was today at the palace, waiting for Princess Celestia to grant him the ability of speech as the princes had promised her student, Twilight Sparkle. Today the little village was sleep with nopony up at this late hour, all eager to wake up for the next day, the work and the excitement that it would bring.

“Oh god what are we going to do?!”

Well, the previous statement is obviously not true. Today Twilight had been feed up with a nagging feeling that she needed more protection, a bigger and probably far dangerous help than anypony would’ve wanted, but one she simply thought was necessary: A human; the most dangerous creature that ever existed thanks to its mind, its capability to adapt and its destructive power, but also capable of feats thanks to its many feelings and its sense of duty and loyalty.

And the only one in Equestria after god knows how long (If it ever existed there) seemed to be in the worst condition.

“Twilight, relax!” Spike forced his friend to remain quiet.

For those that don’t know: Twilight Sparkle is intelligent, capable and quite the leader as well as a good friend and always thinks the best of everyone else. The problem is that she is way too naïve thanks to the lacking of her social skills and that she is unused of her plans not working, in fact her mind is almost incapable of admitting to itself that it has failed and, in this case, she had been running all over her tree house for nearly a minute before her dragon friend, Spike, could stop her.

“Let’s call Princess Celestia, she may know what to do!”

“Celestia?” Suddenly Twilight stopped; a little tear down her cheek as she was still in shock of what she probably had done “Nonononono! Let’s call Luna! Yes, yes, let’s call her! Spike, write this please” She said in a hurried tone.

Spike simply nodded, he had seen his friend like this in a few other occasions, but this time it was serious, not for the breakdown, but because someone was hurt, so he prepared pencil and paper and nodded to Twilight.

“Dear Princess Luna” Twilight began, now calm and collected, at least of the six friends Twilight was the fastest to recover from these… problems “I want to thank you for your help and your counseling in the matter I had at hand when I visited you earlier today. I am sure I will be bothering you right now as tonight you told me you would be mapping the stars, yet I am sorry to say that there has been a problem with the summoning and I need your help. I am still not in the level to know if there is any healing magic, if at all, but as one of the two Princesses I hope that if there is any, you have within your power the ability to help me right now. With my thanks: Twilight Sparkle”

“A bit too formal if you ask me” Spike told her as he sent the message “For once you could cut down to the chase, this is something serious you kno…”

*BURP!*

“That WAS fast” Spike took the new letter and opened it “‘I am teleporting right now, open the door for me please’ Huh?”

*Knock, knock*

At lightning speed Spike was already at the door, opening it for the young Princess Luna to get inside the house with a worried look.

“What happened? How did you manage to pull it off? I was just kidding! I promise I was just kidding! I thought you would pass out as much and then try to call for something different I SWEAR!” She was frantic; the dark colored pony girl was obviously terrified of whatever could’ve happened.

Wide eyed, Twilight didn’t know what to say, she simply pointed at the second level where her bedroom was and where the human was laying still, unmoving but, luckily, breathing now, even if it was a very slow and ragged breath.

Luna ran up the stairs, her jaw hung open when she saw what was in front of her, but soon regained her composure as she got closer, inspecting the human with care. Twilight and Spike, meanwhile, got up again, hoping that they hadn’t been too late on their actions and that the man was indeed ok, though Twilight was sure that at least the human had something broken.

“You… you pulled it off, for real” She said, her horn sparkling with a magic aura that much resembled Nightmare Moon’s hair, something that startled Twilight and Spike even when they tried not to show it “Relax, I am going to check him up, give me a moment”

With that said the blue magic aura, as beautiful and dangerous looking as the sky itself, enveloped the human whole.

*** J’s mind ***

“So… cold”

In a blank space, devoid of anything, J float like a lifelessly puppet amongst the emptiness that was… whatever was after life. He felt cold, pain and loneliness all over his whole being, not able to see further away than that fatidic moment when the car, and the scared occupant, went right against his face. A scream, closed eyes and then… nothing else.

“This… sucks” He said between shivers. He was not the kind of guy to fear death, nor welcome it mind you, but he had hoped for more to it than an empty blank space.

However as that thought filled his head he finally felt gravity, falling down to give a loud “UGH!” when his back collided with soft grass and soil and his whole form was enveloped in the chilly breeze that runs at night. When J opened his eyes he was finally dry, somewhat warm and felt good for some reason as his body seemed to relax at the sight of a tree and the beautiful clear sky at night.

“Oh, this is better” he smiled, not really caring to search for an explanation as he got his hood back up and took a nice spot under the tree to lie. Whatever had happened could wait, he felt like taking a nap now that there was no pain and cold.

*Ehem*

A voice caught his attention almost immediately, but he was feeling lazy and he didn’t even try to acknowledge it as a silly smile was plastered in his face. As much as he liked a rainy day, he loved a clear night, so it was normal that he wanted to enjoy it letting his lazy bum side take over, besides if he had bit the dust he didn’t care for whoever was here, there was all the time in the world.

“I said, EJEM”

This time J did give a glance, a small one mind you, as he lifted his hood just enough to see the muzzle of something he did know very well only a few inches from his face.

“OH SHIT!”

In a fast motion, faster than he ever thought possible at least, J got up, got wide eyed as he confirmed what he had saw and then climbed the tree to hide between its leafs and branches from the thing he had just seen. Under the tree, however, Luna was wondering if she had to be amused, laugh, cry or get infuriated at that reaction; she did not foresee that kind of reaction from anypony, much less that language.

“Umm… can you get down, Mr. human, sir? We need to talk” She called as cutely as she could, even giving puppy eyes in case he could see her.

“No way in hell, I thought I was dead but it seems I am either just unconscious and suffering from delirium tremens or I am just NUTS and in coma” J said, sticking his head out for her to see “So no, thank you very much, Princess Luna’s fantasy”

“I am not a fantasy” Luna tilted her head, then went wide eyed “How do you know my name?”

“Of course you are a fantasy, and I know your name because Lauren Faust and Hasbro made you, silly” He said, taking this as the funniest thing ever, probably even losing it a bit as it was obvious his mind had suffered quite a shock “You are in my head, fantasies and such are supposed to know what the viewer knows… or it isn’t so?”

Again Luna tilted her head in confusion “Teeeechnically you are in my mind sir, yours seem to be out of commission right now, it seems you were hit pretty hard, twice to be exact if what I feel is correct” She tried to be gentle saying it, but there was a limit as to how easy you could tell to someone that they were pretty ‘roughed up’ “But that name, Lauren Faust, does mean something, I think I heard my sister say it once or twice since I got back”

It was J’s time to tilt his head, he finally let go of his little fear and reorganized his mind, took a firm hold of the branch and dropped down to the ground right next to Luna, whom now saw that maybe she had been too close to a creature that dwarfed her by quite a lot. In fact right now, in the point of view of J, Luna looked much like it had done in the series, but he saw himself the same, not cartoony or anything, probably it was perception, but what was true is that he was two times taller than the pony.

“You… didn’t look so big before I got in here” She said with a little shy gulp “I suppose I have gotten a bit unused with time”

With a chuckle J sat down “Better now?” Luna nodded “Good, now, can you do something to show me that this is real?”

“I can heal you up and wake you up if you wait for a bit” She tried to smile gently at J even though she was blushing, though it was mostly because of worry and being nervous thanks to the fact that she was in the weakest place possible. If the image of his mind decided to attack her she would have a very hard time.

“Sounds good to me” He shrugged, lying down on the grass again “I am not going to be a frigging cliché and freak out again, as I see it if I am where I think I am then I doubt I have a way to go back”

“Cliché? What do you mean?” She got closer to J “Hmmm wait, I think I can prod on your mind, let me check it out if you don’t mind…”

“No, don’t..!”

It was a second, a single second, but J could see that Luna’s face was drained of color in just that much. Whatever she had done she had seen way too much and way too fast, not only of things he wished NO ONE to see, but of facts that he would’ve wanted to keep hidden if he was really where he thought he was.

“Jon…”

“Don’t! Call me that, please” He growled as he shook her up very gently, just enough to make sure she did not have any connection “Don’t do that again, don’t look in there, if I am really in Equestria for some reason I DON’T want my life biting me in the ass, got it?”

“B-but how?” She was bewildered and even I she wanted she could hardly say what she wanted to say “I don’t know what to…”

“Any questions you have I will answer when I am awake, so no prodding my mind again ok?” He said, scuffling away from her in embarrassment “I think I messed things enough by now”

Luna nodded, looking down, unable to utter another word as she let her magic do the trick outside of their minds. They just sat there for a while; it hadn’t been longer than a minute even if for them the time seemed to stagnate in a way that it had been more than a few hours. Luna unable to say anything as she blushed, trying to digest the things she had seen, and J unable to say anything as he was embarrassed of the horrors (to call them something) that Luna probably saw in his mind.

Most people have dark secrets or parts of their minds that they have locked away, J had it all open, and it was the only reason why he didn’t consider himself a good man; He had many skeletons in his closet and many dark secrets that he couldn’t forget. Most people preferred to not look back and to forget what history had to offer, or to forgive themselves and then let go. No matter what you had thought of J before, he did neither of those two things; he had everything he had done always present and he felt bad (to put it mildly) for every ‘failure’ he had.

“So… umm…” Luna finally broke the silence, looking him in the eyes, or trying to “How would you like to live in Equestria?” She tried to offer a sincere smile.

“I would love to” He replied drily, trying to hide his face with his clothes even though he seemed to try a sincere and warm tone with his voice “If you think it is alright after what you probably saw”

“My sister forgave me for some things I did and that you are aware of, I am in no position to judge” She rubbed the ground with the tip of her hoof with a sad look “I know no one is perfect, you only need to control yourself”

At that J looked up “I never went to know what DID happen” He chimed in quite fast “It is a story I would love to know, if you were willing to share”

Luna looked at him and blushed again, this time not by fear or anything, not even thanks to some of the things that she had seen in his mind and that would make even someone older than her and her sister blush! But because it had been the very first time in one thousand years that someone wanted to know what she thought of what had happened, of her side of the story. It felt… warm, it was good in some way she could explain that someone else but her sister would care to know about it and maybe even befriend her finally after so long.

“You want to know my story?” Luna asked, stumbling on her words, J only nodded “I could tell you, but it would take a long time for me to do so and you are almost ready to heal and get out of this ‘dream’”

He nodded, not wanting to press the matter for now, though Luna saw he would do it latter for sure. The man seemed to be inquisitive and she DID know he was very curious; it was part of his being alongside everything else she had seen. Some of what she now knew disturbed her, more than a little mind you, but she knew that this man was very nice deep down, maybe to a fault, and that he tried his best when he needed be. Everyone had a dark side, she knew very well, but the fact that he seemed to suppress it most the time spoke volumes of the young man knowing that if he wanted he could do many things that nopony should feel good with, but that humans would usually be too happy to pull.

“Would you want to come to the castle with my sister then? I could begin my story there, and my sis would need to know about you anyway, she could help you somehow so you are still in your world someway” At that she tried to smile the best she could. She had seen what had happened before J got here and she knew that the man tried to hide it, but he wanted to cry as the only thing he regretted was how he had left his mother “I am sure there will be a way, if you want to try”

“Sounds good” Was the only thing he said.

Again Luna found herself poking at the earth with her hoof while J tried to relax his already troubled mind. This hadn’t been the best beginning for anything, in fact, counting the fantasies the man had, it was the worst thing that could come to mind right now except… wait, forget it, this was worse than most but still not a demolition of his chances and hopes, only a total wreckage.

“I am going to heal your more serious wound, it will be only a minute, see you in the real world” Luna finally smiled genuinely as she said that phrase, a phrase she heard in his mind, but she couldn’t recall from what or why, still it made her smile a bit.

In a puff of sparkly dark blue smoke she waved a hoof and left while J only nodded, barely in time for her to see. He wasn’t feeling well, he felt sick, and this feeling would grew as he knew that now there was a huge problem: Luna could read minds, probably something a goddess could do, which mean that Celestia could too. He wasn’t afraid of being banished or anything, but he felt remorse, he would need to lie to everyone else but the two princesses and if he wanted to tell the truth he knew that Luna would recommend against that, the face she gave after that single split second was enough to make him sure of that.

“I feel like shit, again. This is the worst start I could’ve had coming here”

“Understandable” A maybe eerie and yet sensual and feminine voice chimed in “After all, you had your life severed and were forced to a new home without a good reason. Makes you think of something in special, right?”

Turning his face, very slowly, J found himself face to face with one of the creatures that would make this world, this peaceful and lovely place, into a nightmare, and what other name than the fitting Nightmare Moon? No need to be furry, no need to be any kind of naughty, you only needed to see her to think of her as beautiful… and quite dangerous. From the TV to the real thing there was no change, except that in person, even before a human, the ‘demoness’ looked capable of doing anything if she wanted to.

“In your case at least it saved your life. In mine however it was just a torment that lasted more than you may think of” Nightmare Moon sat besides J, the idle chatter almost unbelievable as she was talking of a punishment than most fans of the series had used as an excuse to call Celestia the so common nickname of ‘Trollestia’ “Of course it was our fault back then, Luna and I. Even if I want to say that it was her fault it wouldn’t be fair, I encouraged her to do a few things that stressed her and got us in the position we ended up”

“Pardon me, but I don’t quite understand” J was baffled and halfway speechless, but keeping silent probably wasn’t a good idea.

“Oh dear, don’t act silly, I have seen all in your head unlike my little Luna and I know you are not stupid nor so innocent” The mare smiled, much like a predator “But I will let her tell you about it later, hope you make the right decision later on, ta ta”

“Wait, what…”

*Poof!*

“…decision?”

Suddenly J found himself covered in wet clothes, under the gaze of two ponies and a baby dragon, as well as being wet and cold.

“Fffffff…” He growled “I don’t like being a cliché”

“What are you talking about, J?” Luna wondered a bit worried before she went wide eyed “You were left in my mind when I got out?”

“J? Is that his name?” Twilight cut Luna off, though she apologized afterwards but was the best save J could wish for “Sorry Princess Luna, I was just curious”

“Truth be told, it is Jonathan” J told her as he tried to sit, only to wince as he felt his right arm giving him the worst pain he had feel in years “Something… is not right”

“You had many broken bones” Luna told him, forcing one hoof on him so he would not move “Your arm was the worst and I have little magic left, but my sister could patch you up. Not many ponies do know about healing magic and I doubt there is one in Ponyville”

“Here people like to do everything with their skills, Princess Luna, there is practically no magic in the village” Twilight confirmed “I am sorry though, this is my fault, I had to do the summoning faster…”

“Twilight, I don’t want to be harsh but I have to repeat it: I was hoping to discourage you” Luna cut off of Twilight’s words, knowing she was going to go in a spiral of sorrow for the pain she supposed was her fault “In fact you saved J from a more than assured death with your spell, a spell that you didn’t even know the incantations or runes for, you simply used the basic summoning circle and practically WISHED for it to happen” She offered Twilight a gentle smile “I knew why my sister took an interest in you when I meet you and you helped me, but this only reinforces my theory that you can change many, many things with your power”

Everyone in there knew that this was supposed to make Twilight feel better, but the pony simply looked down in shame. She had messed up either way, she had taken someone that she had not hoped for, and what was even worse! She had done it almost too late. Maybe it was because she had been too paranoid and tried to do something too big for her own good? It was impossible for her to accept that she had done any good with such a mess.

*Thud!*

“Ow!”

J took Twilight away from her melodrama as he tried to get up. The roof of Twilight’s room was way too low for him and he ended adding another bump to his head, but at least that made Twilight give a shy smile as he rubbed this new source of little pain.

“Well, that was stupid” He tried to offer a gentle smile “But don’t mind that. Twilight, you helped me no matter what you want to think about it: You saved me, even if it was almost too late, you did your best, and I thank you. Whatever you want to ask for that I would try to grant… though I can’t do much” J couldn’t help but chuckle. In Earth he could do many things. Here? Well, here he could do little that he knew of.

At least with that Twilight did smile, even if it was only a bit “Thank you, but I don’t find it fair to ask for anything now. I had hoped to get someone more… barbaric, someone that wouldn’t mind being here, someone more like the legends in this” She used her magic to transport a book by the name of ‘The Most Dangerous Creatures That Ever Lived’ with the face of a human (In a drawing much like the Inca) in gold over the cover “I had hoped for a savage that would be honor bound and happy to live in such a magic place fighting monsters or defending us. I am sorry I messed it up”

“What is done is done, don’t delve on it too much” J had to smile at the irony of counseling he was willing to give, and that he knew was the best, but not willing to accept himself “I don’t know if I can help you how you wished, but I promise to do my very best” However as he said so he tried to move his right arm, groaning in pain “When I am healed of course”

Luna had to nod as he gave a frown of little disgust. She had been, at least partially, evil, but she didn’t like any kind of wound or pain, which was why she was grateful for something that her sister had made after their… little discussion back then. Of course she didn’t know if the human had any magic in him, the fact that he lived in a world of technology didn’t mean he was unable of the magic feats that the wizards of his species could do in presence of real magic.

“So are we ready to go now?” She asked with a bit of a hurried tone. Her healing power had done wonders, yes, but any movement could undo her work and J would be back as how he was when he arrived here.

J nodded, but Twilight tilted her head a bit in wonder “Go where?”

“To the castle of course” Luna smiled gently “J’s bones are weak and need to be mended a bit more. He doesn’t have the protection WE have thanks to my sister”

“What is that you have that I don’t?” J wondered out loud, blushing a bit as he noticed everyone looking at him “Eh… was meant to be a thought, not spoken out loud”

“Since you are new allow me to illustrate” Spike commented getting on top of Twilight’s bed with a big book that read ‘The Many Gifts of the Sun’ “After the war was done and the evil Nightmare Moon (Forgive me, Princess Luna) was banished to the moon, Princess Celestia saw that the pain caused was too much to bear, not for only a goddess, but also for the people and even the monsters. Many died back then, and while it was sad, it was a lesson that had to be learnt so it could give something in return for everypony”

“Back then there were now monsters rampant, evil creatures and diseases” Twilight chimed in, happy to show her knowledge even when Spike simply gave her a look of ‘Dude, it was my moment’ “The Princess managed to create a fast spell to protect everypony and creature from real harm, making knocks, cuts and the like be all but a little pain and never a real wound. She also used a great deal of her power to make every creature vegetarian, or at least partly, which is why there are so many fruit trees everywhere so no monster or creature decides to eat meat again. This is not perfect and sometimes the magic in every creature doesn’t work all their lives, but it is the best that Princess Celestia could ever do to her kingdom”

“So I am in the land of vegan monsters?” J asked with a hint of a chuckle “Seriously?”

“Not really” Luna said with a hint of sadness “A lot of monsters have regained their appetite for meat after generations, but luckily they often fight amongst other monsters and nopony is harmed. The dragons never were affected and the most dangerous and unintelligent prefer meat even over jewels. Luckily the one we have here is very nice” Luna chuckled as she patted at Spike as the little baby dragon blushed “But more about that latter, shall we go now? I don’t know how much your body will remain healed”

Everyone nodded, but Luna asked J to sit down so they all could bundle together easily. Teleport was easy for one, mildly hard for two and very hard for three. Four was hardly possible but with the help of Twilight they could do it easily, more so knowing that Luna could transport huge amounts of people if she wished too. The problem they could face was the human’s size.

“Why would my size be a problem? I still count as one” He said, blushing a bit with Luna in his lap.

“Because I want to take you directly to my sister’s room, a room that is not used to such large guests” She replied cutely “Now stay put”

“Are you calling me fat by any chance?”

*** Princess Celestia’s Room ***

It was late, very late, but Celestia could hardly feel the need to sleep today, so she simply shipped some tea instead, reading a book under the gaze of the stars. Today felt a bit too weird for her taste, much like a foreshadowing very long ago, one that sent the world she knew into darkness so fast that she had made the worst mistake of her lifetime, and that was saying a lot. Right now she only felt the need to call her sister and hug her, but as the first tears began to roll down her eyes she advised herself against it.

‘It wouldn’t be right, we already cried enough’ She thought bitterly ‘I don’t want to mess it up again’

*Poof!*

“Fat?! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Celestia had to spit the tea she had in her mouth as she saw her sister appear in front of her, not alone by the way as her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her pet and assistant dragon, Spike, were there too. Luna was snorting and laughing at some joke she didn’t understand, nor could she even if she wanted, as an enraged scowl took place in her face as she saw who had her little sister on its lap.

A human.

There he was smiling and blushing a bit like if he was an innocent creature with Twilight and Spike at his side, probably not getting whatever joke as Luna had done, but laughing nonetheless. However for Celestia whatever had happened meant nothing, there was only one thing she was concerned and it was that a human WAS-TOUCHING-HER-SISTER.

She was a goddess, and the goddess of the sun, so it was not anything to laugh at when it is said that she could move at blinding speed to place the tip of her horn right against the human’s throat.

“Leave-my-sister-on-the-ground” She said with a deep hiss that Luna hadn’t hear in almost a millennia and that neither Twilight nor Spike had ever heard from the usually collected and regal Princess of Equestria.

A stunning moment, a flashing light and an action she was unable to understand, but Luna had pushed her, her own sister, away from the human. It had been a simple spell and she had been all but prepared for the shockwave that her little sister had thrown at her with force just enough to ensure that her magical (and very sharp) horn was away from the throat of the human.

“Luna? Why are you defending him?” Celestia asked, unable to understand what had happened.

“Sis, he is ok” Luna said wide eyed thanks to her sister’s reaction before “Relax, please”

The Princess couldn’t believe what her sister was saying, much less after so much time. Surely one thousand years was not enough to forget about…

“Please sis? I took a peek in his mind, I know you made me promise not to, but I had to” She tried to smile cutely even when her face turned to worry “He has nowhere to go and his body is damaged, please sis heal him”

Grumbling Celestia sat, yet her gaze was still on the human before her “If you say so, sis”

There was silence for a while after that. Luna moved away from J with Twilight and Spike following suit, only to ensure that Celestia didn’t think something was wrong yet again as she finally decided to use her magic to slowly mend J. What was really a few minutes looked like hours as the only thing that broke the silence was an occasional cough from J (Whom was still quite cold mind you) or a quite loud nudge given by Luna that almost throw her sister on the side as she was caught in surprise.

The reason for Celestia to take so much time (And not notice her sister) was that there was a little talk that had been going on even without any of the present realizing it. She had connected with the human’s subconscious and was dwelling deep within his mind. She had made sure to practice such an art that she did hate herself, but that she thought would come in handy some day. It was not that she did not believe in the words of her sister, it is that, want it or not, Celestia was more mature and after so many bad moves on her part she had come to get used with deception or any kind of hidden wild card in anypony.

“I don’t like what I see” She finally said, relaxing her expression “But I cannot say you are the worst I could imagine. I am, though, disappointed that my own sister gave my student such a prank like counseling and that my student didn’t know better” She was not harsh, but Celestia made sure to let everyone know that she was not pleased “But I must commend her on saving you. You don’t seem like a bad man but you do have quite a dark side that I wish not to see in my kingdom again”

“I am sorry” He said meekly, not daring to get his voice louder than Fluttershy, in fact Celestia had to admit that the man had spoken even in more a whisper like way than the yellow Pegasus mare “If there is a way you can turn me back to where I was then I would be happy to, I don’t want to worry my mother”

“Even wanting to, I can’t” Celestia had a bit of a sad tone, but she still showed her serious face “You are bound here by the one that summoned you until your task is complete and you want to go. I can, however, create a copy of you in a few days to send it to your world to make sure you have no reason to… convince my student to return you”

This time J looked at Celestia with something that everypony could decipher as pure hate. It was obvious that what Celestia had implied was something that J hadn’t liked, at all, something understandable as even Luna and Twilight were looking at Celestia practically speechless.

“Do you think I could do what you suggest?” He asked with his tone darker than any of the mares (and dragon) present could imagine, except for Celestia who seemed to be pleased at the outcome “I suppose I could do what you think then? I suppose humans are regarded as the worst creature in existence if the book Twilight showed me was truthful in what I suppose it says. I can guess it goes easily with tales of how we can easily betray as well as how we can be the most loyal creatures in existence” Celestia simply nodded and J smiled grimly “Which means you hadn’t believe squat from what your sister told you and decided to take a dive in my mind. I am correct again?” Again another nod “Then tell me this Celestia: What do you want to know?”

“What would make you snap and how to end it” Celestia was blunt and quick.

“Sis?” Luna tried to nag at her sister “What do you mean?”

Not taking her eyes from the human Celestia began to speak “In his youth he saved his younger sister, I am sure you saw that with a little poke at his mind, Luna, but you didn’t saw that he had to kill a lot of animals by himself to support his sister and himself until they were found” Celestia was blunt and descriptive as she told it “Nor did you see, I am sure, that as he grew he tried to become nicer, and maybe a bit different if you want it mildly put, but deep in his memory there are many fights and many victims of his rage. When someone he held dear suffered or someone annoyed him to the point of exploding in rage he was very, very dangerous to anypony near him. The worst case was when he was eighteen and a bully got him nine months straight, making fun of him until he exploded, sending him into a coma with most his bones broken after a fight. The young man took half a year to come back and be able to move” Her look was of utter disgust and she didn’t even try to hide it “Under too much pressure, or faced with danger to someone he loves, he is ruthless and efficient in what he has been trained to do since he was young”

“Nice of you to tell it all” J groaned, ashamed “But if you know what would make me snap, then why ask?”

At that Celestia got up, still a serious look on her face as she paced around the man very, very slowly, not missing an inch of his form to see his reaction to whatever she said.

“Because you have a dark side inside of you that only erupts when you want to defend those you hold dear, or that invades you when you have been pushed too far” She said, making J cringe in a way she seemed to enjoy as the young man obviously HATED that fact “You could kill anything, maim anyone or destroy whatever was in front of you if that dark side of yours got hold of you. The best intentions usually make the worst things happen. I know about that first hoof”

“Does it have anything to do with the tale I wanted your sister to tell?” J tried to change the subject, and even though Celestia gave him a glare that could kill, she nodded “Then why not share it? At least a bit of it. If you say you have dark within you and you don’t like mine, then I want to know about it firsthand myself”

“Just because my sister promised you and because you did swear to help the one that invoked you doesn’t mean I will share my tale with the likes of you” She spat, quite angry “While I admit that you don’t seem to be the worse your kin has to offer you still aren’t welcome here as far as I am concerned. If it wasn’t because my sister seems to think you are good and that my student has your word, a word I know you wouldn’t break, I would end your life now no matter how nice you could be, so don’t stretch my kindness too far”

“Sis” Celestia turned to her sister, whom was now almost crying “Stop, please, be nice. You promised me it was all in the past. He has nowhere to go and you know it. Offer him a pact if you don’t believe in him but please, stop, you are scaring me”

Celestia sighed, nodded and took ink and paper with her magic as she sat beside her sister. It didn’t take long, but the furious movements of the pencil as Celestia wrote were a bad sign for any that knew her. She had been obviously quite angry at the sight of a human and even with now three figures quite afraid of her, or at least reluctant to talk to her, she had only worsened her mood thanks to her previous actions.

With a final movement the pencil lied on her table and the once beautiful room dimmed in light, soon turning almost dark except for vibrant lights that seemed to come from everyone present. Celestia had a bright sunny glow, Luna a dark stellar bright, Twilight had sparks of magic floating around her and Spike seemed to glow multicolor as gems would if a batch of them were washed with light. J, however, seemed to be circled perpetually by a black and light glow, dancing in tandem around him.

“Read it out loud” Celestia commanded in a gentle, yet strong tone as she gave J her writing.

“As you wish, Celestia”

By each second he was less happy about being here, in fact this was going halfway to hell, if it wasn’t because at least some of the ponies seemed nice to him. However he supposed at least a bit of information would be given if he complied. He got up and tried to act dramatically enough.

“By the deal presented to me I give my word to serve thee
that whom has given me what I seek is the one who holds my very self
in this day I swear the law uphold for my benefactor my life holds
I will not break my word for any reason for my life ends if I commit treason
with these words I make my promise that only for the sun and the moon my will rise”

“Done, now what?”

There was no time for an answer it only took a moment for everyone to realize that the lights came back and that J was enveloped by sparkles much like those that Twilight had just a moment ago when the lights had faded. He didn’t even have time to curiously touch the sparkles as all of them, five in total, flew a slight distance away before slamming against his head, arms and legs with such force that he didn’t even felt pain. Everything in his body was numb.

“Ugh… what kind of train hit me?” He groaned, looking at the ceiling as the world around him spun.

“Sister!” Luna cried out “I said a pact! What have you done?” However Celestia didn’t say anything.

“Princess… wasn’t that a bit too hard? Why did you give him something that would hurt him now?” Twilight, practically silent until now, couldn’t comprehend how her teacher was being so… so nasty for a lack of a better term “I have never seen you like this. What happened for you to hate someone so much? You have always been kind, to the point of crying for a few days when Princess Luna came back for what you had to do, and I didn’t even get to hear the story. Tell me why, please…”

The pleading look on Twilight made Celestia finally crack, but she didn’t change her firm tone.

“It is all in the story” Celestia said openly “And much like in his world; story may not always be truthful to everypony. Dark things are buried deep within its cracked walls; such an important thing should not always be told. Sometimes it is for the best to forget, in others it is the worst thing possible, but I will begin the tale tonight so you all begin to understand what happened”

Celestia got up and, with magic flowing from her horn, left her hair envelop the whole room as J came back to the world of the conscious. Soon the veil that had formed of multicolor sparkle turned into a solid pink color of translucent, crystal like, appearance.

“One thousand years ago things were very different than today, in fact, they were unlike any you would ever imagine my faithful student” She began, her tone back to the sweet angelical voice that Twilight had ever known and that of which her sister had gotten used to “However it was not in any kind of good sense. There were problems and it was as much my fault as it was the fault of something else. No matter that I was younger, it is no excuse for the mistakes I made, however I made them and that is what is important, yet to this day I don’t fully understand how it came to happen”

An image formed on the veil, a form covered in metal that had a visor in the face from which red eyes looked at the ones present with hate. By its side soon many kind of creatures, monsters of all kinds, congregated to look towards what once had been the castle of the two sisters.

“Whatever the case, the monsters had rallied under one single banner many years ago, when a crisis was hitting our nation with nearby factions having problems and some needing our aid. The reason why I hate your kind” Celestia looked at J with teary eyes “Is because if it wasn’t for them leading these creatures, the pain that everyone would’ve had to bear would be much less excruciating and me and my sister would be happy today with many more species than the ones that exist now”

The metallic creature took away his helmet and showed a jovial young man with red short hair and blue eyes, though the helmet still had the red eyes and black mist pouring from it. He took one hand to his side and patted the flank of a Manticore, it nodded and the monsters all moved away with the young man.

“So let me illustrate you all; let me give you a lesson in history, how the worst day of Equestria began”

*** End of chapter 2 ***

Chapter 3: Once Upon a Dark Night . Part 1

Chapter 3: Once Upon a Dark Night – Part 1

Celestia sat atop of her tower, watching the sky happily as the first month of her reign ended and the second began. Her mother had passed the powers to her and her sister as it had always been done before and now the old mare and her sister, Celestia’s aunt, were enjoying the benefits of such a long and fruitful time of peace. Many ponies preferred to think that their ‘gods’, their princesses or princes as they were called, lived forever, but Celestia had to be thankful that it was not true.

You see, anypony can live from fifty to two hundred years more or less, as far as the story book told of course, but most ponies didn’t live much more than one hundred. Everypony could live two hundred years thanks to the magic, and old age didn’t ever show until the last five years of their lives. Every creature in the world had this kind of power thanks to the good magic that enveloped it, but to live forever? That hadn’t happened and Celestia knew that it would turn people mad, if nothing else. That every goddess or god of the sun or the moon looked the same was simply thanks to the powers that were shared down from generation to generation. It had been strange that her father hadn’t inherited the power of the moon from Celestia’s grandfather and instead it had been her mother’s sister, but it worked out in any case and nopony had minded it.

Still it had a bleak side for her; this meant that Celestia could only enjoy one more year with her mother and aunt. Yet fate thought it was funny if she was not going to have such luck thanks to the illness that had taken them to be confined in bed, not only that but that the problems that had arose all over their domain and the nearby countries made sure to keep her away from her family in her last days. It was not so bad if you thought that it was tradition to let the last days of the ‘Elder Gods’ as they were called, to be left in quietude and to relax as they saw their eternity go away to, in the near future, see themselves vanish from thin air into their rightful rest.

That part didn’t bother Celestia, what bothered her was that many magical creatures were angry that others were trying, again, to expand borders or business where they were not welcome. For example: The Diamond Dogs were unhappy about dragons digging for gems in their territory, and while the gems regenerated quite fast the dogs were way too possessive. The humans were displeased that orks, trolls and other pseudo humans were pressing against the unified borders to break free while others were violent against their brethren instead of asking for a kingdom for themselves. Magic critters like Parasprites were multiplying in the north and some of the cities of fellow ponies, and even their cousins, the horses and donkeys, were suffering from the ravenous creatures.

It was true that not all problems would bother Celestia and her little sister anytime soon, but a lot of diplomats did come to ask her for help, or ‘better’ yet, ask her mother and aunt as only the other ponies or equines wanted to think of their goddesses as such mythical creatures with such fervor. It was getting on her nerves.

“I have to ask yet again, noble Princess Celestia, that you lend us your aid”

She sighed and turned, Celestia was friends, and very fond, of the human that had came to visit her. It was Sebastian: A blonde young man with grey eyes, strong constitution and always behind his sinning golden colored armor or regal blue clothes. He was the first son of the king of the humans, Yomeron, a man that tried to rule every nation of his kingdom as gently as possible, not caring for species and not minding any differences, he, as his son, only tried to do the best for everypony else. She was grateful that Sebastian was such a nice friend, but lately he had become way too worried, much like his father.

“And what I am supposed to do? Should I send my knights forth to force your people to stand down? Would you think it fair for my ponies to be hated? If I had another kind of aid to offer I would, my friend, but I don’t know what to say” She looked down quite sad “I am sorry Sebastian but with the realm of the Diamond Dogs getting aggressive against the Dragons my ponies are already trying their best, that is if we don’t even count the hordes of Parasprites eating our food, forcing us to import things that sometimes don’t even MAKE it here before they are eaten by those little critters” Celestia sighed, those things were giving her such a headache that she was going to make sure that, once they were gone, a spell was on her head to forget those things once and for a ll.

“But… but…” Sebastian whined as he sat in a nearby chair “I don’t know what to do, and father is getting sick from all this stress. What should I do, Celestia? I don’t know what the best course of actions is and your kingdom is the only one that doesn’t try to roast or fight us if they see us looking at them the ‘wrong way’”

“Which mean ANY way, right?” Celestia chuckled gently “It is what happens when you let an adventurer from your kingdom to travel to the Dragon cities and boast in the bars how he could slay a feral dragon with his battleaxe” Sebastian could only cover his blushing “It is not so bad, your cousin came back only with his rearguard charred and the dragons do know your kind is nice, they just hold grudges a long time. Just relax; it will be alright if you try to talk to them and make them see that having different kingdoms would only create more problems”

“Thank you, Tia” He smiled, nodding a bit. Tia was an abbreviation of her name that only friends very close to her could use without her frowning “But it is true. In one or another way I will help my father with this problem. I thank you for your patience, Tia, no matter how busy you are, you always have time for me” He smiled, offering a hand to the goddess.

Hand that the goddess was happy to ‘take’ with her hoof in a kind of handshake “Always a pleasure, my dear friend. Take care and see if you can bring that stubborn brother of yours next time too, ok? Luna is really bored and with her antics to such a level I can’t nearly control her”

“That is another problem altogether” Sebastian groaned “He is again hunting in the wilds, I doubt when he is going to come. Figures the only time my father is willing to hear my little brother he goes missing”

“Oh well, had to happen I suppose” Celestia gave a little chuckle “Always wanting to be daddy’s right eye and when he can he is not present. He is going to rant for days when he comes back then”

“Be sure of it” With a smile Sebastian finally bid his farewell and walked out of the room.

*Sigh*

Celestia simply let herself fall to the ground. He was now alone and so she could relax and drop the façade. It all was getting to her nerves in such a way she could not express in front of anyone. She had to show herself as powerful, commanding and sure of herself, in other words: A goddess. Her mother had asked her to do that and it was going to happen no matter what, however it was tiring and taxing.

Day by day she saw how the sun went down and how it rose every morning, she did this work together with her sister, half the day for one and half for the other, but even so the little ritual that got it working was done by each of them separately. At first Luna had hated it, saying that nopony loved her night as they loved Celestia’s sun. It worried Celestia at a time as it had been only half a month and the already reclusive girl that was her sister now was to look powerful and imposing, she had to be loved by everyone and she had to at least try to make some friends, but seeing the reaction of the young filly made it obvious that Luna would do no such thing.

So a sister did what a sister should: Show her sister where she was right or wrong. One night, half a month ago, Celestia took Luna to the nearby village where ponies of all ages had parties at night, explored the beautiful sky or simply enjoyed the creatures that were out under the bright gaze of the stars. They all were more than happy to see the goddess that granted them such marvelous things and mad their life all the better. Still, while Luna was flattered she only said thanks to everypony and flew back towards the castle.

It worried her, Celestia didn’t know what to do to get her sister to go out and get any friends. The only one she had was the younger son of Yomeron, Caustros, but after she became a goddess the young human had not visited even once. It was not weird for him to stay away in the forests testing his power to impress his father for months at a time; normally Celestia was more than happy as she could spend more time with her sister that way, but now? Now it had been half a month with her sister utterly alone with not even the staff of the castle willing to put with her magical pranks and little antics all over the place. She didn’t know what she was going to do, if she had messed the dungeon again someone was going to complain and Celestia knew she would explode if that happened.

Thinking about it… why did they have a dungeon? It had been never used for anything more than storage. Oh well, it simply meant extra work, she was simply grateful it was not hers to do, she was already stressed enough.

“Princess, are you there?” The voice of her counselor, Yohoofrich, called from outside the room “I have the papers that need filling so we dispatch help to fight the Parasprite infestation and to calm down the Dragons and Diamon Dogs”

“God!” Celestia took the closest cushion with her magic, brought it close and began to scream and bite at it in frustration for a few seconds “Ok, ok, I am ok” She told herself before opening the door of her room with her magic “Let’s see what you have for me, Yohoofrich”

*** Luna ***

“I didn’t mean to get the place like it is, I promise!”

In the first floor of the castle it was a mess beyond words. Blue sparkly water very similar on its colors to the sky at night was dripping from every wall, drenching the once white walls and halls with water that left parchments of blue, watered down paint or irregularities in the few sections of the castle made with wood. Where the paint hadn’t been removed, exchanged with the colored water or watered down to an ugly grey, the rocks had moved out of place or water bugs had raided the place quite fast creating quite a little plague, scampering only after the servants came to clean it all.

“I am sure you didn’t” A young brown mare with a servant’s tiara told her “But… we would like if you asked us before you try to give out decorations in the castle, if that is ok with you Princess Luna”

“Ok…” Luna sighed, looking down in defeat “But… I am sure I can help!” She smiled, wanting to at least help cleaning up her own mess.

“No!” The mare almost yelled, which attracted the attention off the other near twenty servants “I mean, dear Princess Luna, we have our cutie marks that mean we are here to SERVE you” The Mare showed her cutie mark that basically was a maid’s dress “You don’t have to waste your godly powers helping us, in fact you already used a lot taking so much water from the nearby river to do this” The mare tried to smile “And we need you to bring the night, so rest for now”

With another sigh Luna nodded “Ok…”

Luna simply turned tail and went away at a slow sad trot ‘I messed up, again, and sis is going to get angry, again’ She thought, a small tear running down her cheek as she walked outside towards the garden where a few ponies were hanging ‘Each time I try something it is the same ‘Luna you are our goddess of the moon, you have to relax to bring us the night’ or ‘Luna don’t do this, there are specialized ponies for it’ and such things’.

She sighed again, and for the looks of it, the day was going to be like that for a very, very long time. It didn’t help that most the ponies scattered as she approached, it probably was nothing but Luna was quite the paranoid right now. ‘I am sure they don’t like me, even the ponies that like my night don’t like me. My only friend is my sister now. Where is Caustros? Where is…?’

‘I am here, Luna’

The sweet voice of an older mare came to her as she took a place under a nearby tree with a little pool of water right under its base. There, the face of the mare one day would be known as Nightmare Moon was present, yet this time it had a gentle crown made out to resemble a star and her expression and eyes were normal and gentle, not the almost crazed one that she would exhibit one thousand years later.

‘Oh Nightmare Moon’ Luna was already halfway crying ‘What should I do? I don’t get to befriend anyone, I DON’T want to. But my sister says I should and even if I could I would need to go alone at night’ She said within her mind ‘What should I do? I am afraid, alone and… and I think I am losing it’

‘Dear, dear, relax’ Nightmare Moon said with a gentle smile ‘I am what you hope to be one day, remember? You can’t be all scared of your own night can you? You can enter the dreams and minds of others to defend yourself if needed be, my sweetie, and there I can help you. I am sure you won’t need any help, you need to believe in yourself and make new friends” The older mare said with a bright smile.

‘I know, I know” Luna looked down, defeated ‘But I don’t want to…’

Luna couldn’t help but blush as she heard Nightmare Moon laughing ‘Look at you dear, afraid of making new friends that love your nights. It was harder to get your human friend that it would have to make fellow pony friends, but you were always so reclusive’ Nightmare Moon gave her a sincere smile ‘Don’t you think it is time to stop talking with imaginary friends and going out there to get real ones at last? I know it would make your sister very happy’

‘But I don’t want to have more friends’ Luna said finally ‘I am happy with Tia with me only, I don’t want anyone else’ She shook her head ‘Caustros… wasn’t planned. He came to our kingdom once when he was little the first time he ran away from home and he enjoyed the night my aunt made so much that he didn’t notice when he walked over me’ She didn’t want to but she chuckled wholeheartedly ‘We fought the whole night calling each other so many things. I thought we were going to hate each other, I did hate his guts at least…’

‘And look at it now’ Nightmare Moon giggled ‘He is your best friend besides Celestia, and it won’t change if you make more friends my dear. If you fear to change for good then what would happen if things change and you don’t want them to? You have to look at the future with a big smile and hope. Come on, go ahead’

Finally Luna smiled, nodding as she got up with a plan already. The festival in honor of the moon was going to be tomorrow, but she had an idea that, hopefully, would sit well with her sister and she would enjoy a day off thanks to that.

For once the usually gloomy princess Luna was bright and happy, running inside the castle yet again only to trip and dance all over the place in a comical way as she tried to dodge everypony that was cleaning her previous mess, yelping “Sorry!” after “Sorry!” until she finally connected personally with the wall near the stairs. Dizzy, but still happy, she ran upstairs to meet her sister.

She discovered that the water, when she had failed to concentrate, hadn’t only splashed all over the first floor and the bashement where the dungeon/storage had been half flooded, but the second level too as well as the base of the stairs towards her sister’s tower.

Speaking of which, down the stairs was coming a bright yellow pony with brown mane, moustache and tail that had a monocle as his cutie mark. It was Yohoofrich, her sister’s advisor and someone that had worked with not only Luna and Celestia’s mother, but also knew from his father about their grandfather and so on as his family had always served the gods and goddess of sun and moon. It was his job to be rude and demanding until the new goddesses knew how to do their job to ensure the safety of their kingdom, but to Luna he was the worst flank she had ever seen.

“Hello Yohoofrich” She said coldly, not caring to hide her disdain.

“Good day, ‘Princess’ Luna” He returned the stare to his supposed superior “I gather that this colorful water is thanks to you, as I have told to your sister” This made Luna shiver and lose her previous confidence “I hope you understand I am doing this for your own good, your own father gave me this task” He said quite bluntly as he walked past her “It is very bad, and I know, that the powers of the gods force the pairs to be sterile until they have only twenty years left my dear Luna, and even worse than they had you late instead of twins as it usually is, but understand that we need a MATURE goddess of the moon” He turned to give her a gentle and pleading look “Please understand that if I am severe it is only because it is my job, I, as you, have to think of everypony else. I don’t want to force your childhood away, but unlike your sister you have to mature fast now. Excuse me…”

Luna’s world sunk. Now she had to speak with her sister, but not about what she had wanted to. In fact now she would have to talk to her and say how sorry she was, not that it was a lie, but she knew that Tia had been in the verge of a breakdown with so much to do and being unable to see their parents and aunt. Customs could get bent for all she and Tia cared, but even so Celestia was the one with the heavy duty and only Luna could visit the family now.

‘This is going to suck so much flank’ She thought, looking up the stairs to a glaring Celestia whom was looking at her with disapproval.

With a very shy smile Luna climbed the stairs, not even daring to look at her sister until she was one single stair away, moment which she used to sit and look up, gulping down as she drew her breath “Sis I…”

“Luna, I am very disappointed” Celestia cut in quite brusquely “Not only had I hoped that you would behave after all this time, but I know that you are bored and want someone to talk now that I horn deep in work. Yet instead of doing as I advised you and finding some friends you play childish pranks that make our fellow ponies as work taxed as I am, something that I am NOT happy about” Luna could see that for some reason her sister had now small bags under her eyes, maybe the work was taking the best of her? “I know you miss me but doing these things only help to give me MORE work and MORE frustration, frustration that I DON’T NEED”

“I… I am sorry sis… I only wanted to help, to give the castle a nice look as I was not sure going out at night out of the castle to find anypony new” She said, looking down in embarrassment “I thought if I gave the castle the look of the night some of the ponies that enjoyed it could come here where I am more comfortable”

“I appreciate that you are trying at least something, Luna” Celestia said warmly “But you should try to be a normal sociable girl my dear sister, not trying to do the things the other way around. People won’t come to you here dear, you have to go to them, you have to go out and experience it”

“Thanks sis, I came to that realization earlier already, which is why I thought” Luna scrapped at the stairs before looking up “If the Moon festival could be a whole night? I mean, the whole day turned to night so everyone can appreciate my night in all its glory? Maybe then I will be able to…”

“Absolutely not!”

Luna backed away, almost falling down the stairs as she heard her sister yell at her. Once she looked up she saw the enraged face of her sister once again looking tired and disappointed like if she saw her like little more than an annoyance.

“Do you know what you are proposing? The extra problems you would cause? The harm it would do!?”

Backing down as Celestia clopped forward, Luna simply tried to talk to her sister as her eyes went full of tears “B-but Tia! I didn’t mean anything bad with it! I only wanted to…”

“If this was like the other planets I would let you do whatever you want Luna, but our world’s magic forces us to make it turn! What you said was beyond stupid if we don’t follow the natural order” Celestia spat “I have heard you say a lot of silly things, all of them funny and even cute or lovely when you played, but this is selfish and would hurt a LOT of people and ponies. I will NOT let you do such a thing EVER, so if you want to meet friends you can go at night wherever you want, but do NOT mess with the order of things” With a tired sigh of disdain Celestia turned “When you begin to think about what you say then we will talk again. I have work to do sister, so go play along and behave this time”

Crying now, Luna turned and ran down the stairs, sobbing after her sister had said such things to her. If she had looked back she would’ve seen her sister crying too, but one of the things that Luna hadn’t know back then, and one she would never know, was that one of the things that Yohoofrich had to talk about with her sister was that both her mother and aunt had gone to their rightful rest just minutes before their father, who had passed away by the sadness of the loss and his age.

Celestia hadn’t mean to yell at her sister, nor to call her names of any kind, but she was stressed, she was sad and she wanted nothing more than to feel the embrace of her mother again, something that she would never ever enjoy until her time to rest came. With all of this she did hope to make her sister angry though, angry enough to hate her for a few days if needed be, it would all be little to pay so when she told her sister the news she would be angry with her, and only with her, for holding the truth away from her as well as for slashing at her to release her anger.

For the eldest sister it was better this way; she would probably have to suffer the rage of her sister, but after she had calmed down it would be ok… right? She was sure that after his sister took all her anger at her she would only be a little filly that wanted to cry and embrace her big sister once again, she hoped so at least.

In truth Celestia would never know if this would’ve played out as she hoped. At the time she was hardly thinking clearly with the work pressing everywhere and forcing her to suck her own tears. She hadn’t even noticed that, even crying and moping under the same tree from earlier, Luna had brought the night in time after many, many hours of lament and anger.

‘Luna, I am so, so sorry’ Nightmare Moon told her, the pool from before was now bigger thanks to the tears shed by the young filly ‘I had really hoped for the best. If I had known that your sister would be like that…’

‘You are me! You should’ve known!’ She cried silently, the poor Luna broken now ‘I had to know! Why did I try to talk sis into that? It was stupid and it still is! I would harm people simply because I am a reclusive coward! No one is going to ever like me’ The young filly mopped, crying louder now ‘I am a waste of a goddess of the moon!’

‘Please Luna, don’t say that’ Nightmare begged ‘You will be a great goddess of the moon some day! You just need to give yourself time and be strong. This night is young, go out and play with someone! I am sure there are hundreds of ponies out there that would give anything to be with their goddess of the moon’

“Stop!” Luna finally screamed, stomping on the pool “I am not what I should be! I am not Moon Goddess and I am not a princess” She cried, running without a course “I am just a young pony that is good for nothing! I want my mom!”

Luna strode away, not intending to go so far as to get to the linden of the forest that surrounded the castle and the village, however right now she was not afraid and not in the mood for caring. Right now all Luna wanted was to find a big and dark enough hole to rest in until all had passed or until she was no more, she practically didn’t care for which.

In the future this well maintained forest would turn to be the Everfree Forest, a natural area where monsters dwell. However on these days it was simply a forest where animals lived in peace near the village that surrounded the sisters’ castle. Right now Luna wished it was otherwise, she wished for a monster to come out and get her, to harm her or do at her whatever it wished. She simply didn’t care anymore.

In hopes for finding either a suitable end or simply to find a place to cry herself to sleep Luna walked deep into the forest, not minding brushes or branches that scratched her or made it harder for her to move. Right now her young mind was full of guilt, betrayal and anger. Guilt at trying to be what she wasn’t and either harming or bothering those around her somehow, betrayal at her sister for tossing her asides in favor for her work and anger at everypony for looking down at her like simply the object that brought them their night.

Finally Luna, not looking where she was going, stumbled on a big fallen branch.

“WOAH!”

Falling down a slope, luckily not harming herself as she bounced on the grass, Luna found herself looking at her beautiful star filled nightly sky.

‘Sigh’ “I don’t know what I am doing. I should go back and tell sis I am sorry instead of doing this” Luna was full of regret as the last tears in her left her eyes “I am a stupid little foal”

A chuckle came from somewhere nearby, taking Luna’s interest and making her get up with a quick jump. She knew hat voice, or she thought she knew, she hadn’t hurt herself but maybe she had gotten a bump in the head, speaking of which… Yea, she still had her little crown. Celestia would’ve chewed her flank if she had broken it.

“Well, you always were quite headstrong and you couldn’t control your own emotions. At least you could pay attention to an old friend instead of that old thing, no?”

Paying attention again to the voice that was now in front of her she saw a lone group of rocks and a human figure lying against them. Covered in a black cape and clothes as well as boots, the figure was practically invisible under the shadows if it wasn’t for the rocks and the grass giving it away under the moonlight. Luna was used to this form though, she had seen the young man with those clothes sneaking around her and her sister’s castle a lot of nights, practicing stealthy moves only to give them a surprise visit from time to time. At least this time he had it right to hide his muscular form into a more slender one with the cape and a more rigid leather cover, though Luna didn’t want to know where he got that leather from.

“So why not come closer? I am sorry to say I can’t move, nor see”

Caustros’s voice was gruff in comparison to his older brother, but his personality was sweet and even playful sometimes. It seemed his situation was either dire or very serious, but he didn’t seem to rush or show any anxiety. In fact Luna heard him laughing gently as she got closer to take a look under the hood, only to see a few droplets of blood running down his frown.

“I had been almost a month with my friends searching for a darn hydra until we got the thing near here. I would like to say that we got away easily but… eh… until I get my bones mended and my eyes back I will refrain from boasting” He said with a wide smile that showed two missing teeth “But we did manage to prevent the thing from hurting any innocents. Sorry Luna, but I won’t be able to see your first Lunar Celebration”

“What is wrong with you Caustros?” She practically barked, sitting beside her friend as she was unsure if she could do anything else without harming him “You are hurt, you should worry about that and not my first Lunar Celebration!”

“Hey, I promised you that I would be there with you, didn’t I?” He said, moving slightly to try and ‘look’ at the source of the voice “I am sorry to break the promise, it matters more to me than my harm. Yago is going to bring me one of the potions your royal unicorn medic has by tomorrow and Innot has gone get some herbs to heal me since there are no more monsters around here to worry about. Relax Luna; I am more worried about YOU than I am about ME”

“You won’t change it seems” Luna couldn’t help but smile gently. Caustros had been like that always and the only thing he had always wanted was his father’s favor, something he never got, but he had a very caring personality “But don’t worry about me, I am only… a bit angry after my sister and I had a discussion, it is nothing major. Why were you hunting a single Hydra though? I doubt a single monster was a danger to anypony”

Caustros took one of his hands inside a pouch on his side, groaning as he moved only to bring out a bit of a dark blue thing. It was partially liquid and moved around as if it was alive, but didn’t seem much more like paint or maybe a very soft skin that moved thanks to the wind and Caustros’s shivering.

“The thing was covered in this. We don’t know what it was but it seemed to heal the monster, making It very bold. When we felled it most of this disappeared, but a bit of it got attached to me” Caustros showed the arm he was using as best as possible, letting Luna see a dark blue parch of skin “I don’t know if it is good or bad, but it did heal me quite a lot, otherwise I am ashamed to say I wouldn’t be here now”

Like if it was indeed alive the blob jumped straight at Luna, making her yell in surprise and try to dodge the thing, only for it to land on her cutie mark of the moon. In a moment the ‘cloud’ in her cutie mark turned even darker to an almost pitch black color. Out of instinctive fear Luna tried to take it away with Caustros aiding however he could, but the thing had glued itself in there.

In the end the blob embedded itself on Luna’s rear, healing the little scratches she had from the previous running through the forest at a cost that neither of the present knew of. She gave her friend a pleading look but even if Caustros could see it was obvious that the young man had the same problem and the same inability to solve it.

“It is stuck in there, it won’t let go of my skin” She said in a defeated tone “What is it? Why does it heal me?”

“We don’t know” Caustros told her “With luck it only heals, but I can’t promise you anything… Maybe your sister knows? I cannot move but I would like to ask her tomorrow. Why don’t you return to her and ask? If it is something bad you at least could get it off from your body fast if you fly to the castle”

“But will you be ok?” She asked in concern.

Caustros simply chuckled and waved it off “Remember I worry about you more than me Luna, go get it checked out. I will see you tomorrow if all go well”

It looked like Luna wanted to force him to comply, but she had to be serious for once and think straight. She was a filly, not a full grown mare like her sister. As a goddess they looked almost like horse alicorns, at least when grown, right now Luna didn’t have the strength to carry Caustros even if she wanted to, nor did she know if with all day crying and how tired she was after raising the moon she had enough to transport her friend. She simply nodded in the end and flapped her wings to get into the air.

In the ground two new figures came from the surrounding forest only moments after Luna flew away towards the castle. They were barely visible as they kept close to the shadows of the forest. The only thing that could be said about them was that they were neither pony nor human.

*** Celestia ***

Now Celestia was more than worried, she was frantic! The whole day Luna had been away and no one had seen her, not that anyone had looked for her young sister, she was sure that everyone was happy to get the young goddess out of their backs for a day if they could. It was exactly THAT the thing that made her angry and even more worried. She hadn’t intended to get her sister so angry that she would think of trotting away in the middle of the day! She thought she had all under control!

Well… she had to admit that her plan consisted mostly in HOPING for it to happen right thanks to how well she knew her sister, but she had no proof of what the young one could do under pressure this big for her young mind. If she had messed it up she would NEVER forgive herself, in fact if something else happened to her she would lose the little family she had left! How could she do such a thing?

“Princess!”

Celestia practically jumped in place as she looked at her side. She calmed down seeing Yohoofrich looking at her with concern, almost like a father as the colt had been like family to her as she grew, that is why he was the only one allowed to her room right now. He felt as bad as Celestia when he heard that Luna was nowhere to be seen, but both of them had thought that the young filly would come back at some point when the night was up. Now he was trying to maintain his cool to a degree, failing miserably at Celestia’s eyes.

“Calm down, you look about to explode” He pleaded “She will be back at some point I am sure”

“I can’t calm down Yohoofrich!” She almost cried out “My sister is not here! She is the last thing I have from our parents and I keep feeling something… bad… I know something horrid is going to happen and I don’t know what it is! I CANNOT CALM DOWN!”

“Princess please” Yohoofrich tried to calm her down “Being this worried WONT change a thing and will only cause you more problems. Please calm down and sit, things will be alright soon”

“Don’t you see Yohoofrich?! It won’t be all right!” Finally losing it, Celestia looked like she had lost all her confidence and her calm demeanor. She was nervous and insecure to such an extent where she was almost a mind wreck “I know something horrid is going to happen and I know that part of it is going to happen to my sister! This can only get even worse!”

“Princess!” It was the first time in years that Yohoofrich had every yelled so, almost by instinct, Celestia stopped dead in her tracks to listen to her counselor “You need to keep a cold head and think straight, please. I know that you had tried to get your sister angry at you knowing that she would bicker and pick a fight with you instead of mourning your fathers, at least at first. I am sure your intentions were good, but you may have overdid it this time thanks to the pressure and the situation we are in” Gently and with care Yohoofrich began to caress Princess Celestia’s flank, pushing slowly so she would lie down and relax “But if you give in to the pressure NOW then the problems will multiply, you need to keep cool and everything will be…”

*CRASH!*

“… alright?”

“Princess! We have a situation!”

Two Royal Army colts had barged in with a third coming in right behind them. Unlike in the actual time these colts looked like they had bronze armor breastplate and helmets with red feathers, though if we had to talk about red, we should mention the red stain that the last pony had all over his white fur thanks to the wounded he was carrying.

Prince Sebastian was clad in his silver looking armor, though it was battered to such an extent where the full plate equipment that was so much alike the knights of the middle ages in Earth was now more like scrap and broken pieces of grayed out metal as well as parchments of blood everywhere. His chest had a missing chunk of the armor and a nasty swipe of a claw mark had left a wound much too disheartening for the young man while puncturing wounds could be seen all over his body. Even his face had been scarred with a cut that seemed to have taken his left eye if the hit had been too deep.

“We found him during our patrol of the borders” One of the colts explained, trying to regain his breath “The medicines and potions don’t work, not even the magic from your personal medic! We don’t know how long he has if you don’t do something!”

“You foals!” She practically yelled, widening her eyes at the outburst “No, no, sorry, please forgive me that my colts, but simply lie the prince here” She offered one of her cushions, the young man needed it now “But you HAD to have taken him here first. Prince Sebastian is a null human; he can’t produce magic of any kind and CAN’T absorb any magical effect for long. The potions and the mage only helped him temporally”

“We are sorry your majesty” The colts lowered their heads as the one carrying Sebastian left him on the couch “If you need us for anything we will be at the ready”

“I do need you for something: Go the my medic and ask him to prepare the most powerful rejuvenating potion he can make. I know of a thing that will take his null state away, but he needs to talk and be able to withstand a very powerful shock. In his current state I doubt he is able to do any of those, now go please!”

The colts gave a quick nod and went trotting away at full speed. Celestia feared that no matter how fast they were, her friend would probably not last long enough. Now that she could see him without anypony obstructing her view she had to admit… he looked quite worse than she thought, but was still alive for some reason. She didn’t have time to lose then, she took a pen and a paper and began to write as Sebastian took a firm hold of her front leg.

“C-celes… Nigth…” He groaned, opening his only eye just enough to see a blurry that he recognized as the alicorn princess “Night... mares…”

“Nightmares?” Yohoofrich wondered out loud “That sounds like one of those old mare’s tales with monsters. Princess Celestia, he is hallucinating from blood loss and… Princess?”

Celestia’s eyes had reverted to such a size that they looked like tiny dots of blackness. Something had scared her to such an extent where she was mumbling nonsense as she looked down at her friend with a paper having been raised with her magic and a pen halfway writing something down.

“Night… night… nightmares?” She babbled “Nightmares… here?”

“Princess? What are you writing? What is happening?”

“Monsters, horrid monsters are coming” She said in a half whispering voice full of fear “They are coming and my sister is out there…” Celestia gulped, tears building in her eyes “Yohoofrich! Sound the alarm! We need to get everypony ready to search for my sister and to get everypony else to safety!”

“B-but what are you going to do with Sebastian then princess?” The counselor asked with worry.

“I am going to give Sebastian the spell of Bounding” She said as she got her pen to work again “I know his father will be angry, but it will give him inner magic and we will be able to heal him”

“But it also will bind him to YOUR command princess” Yohoofrich said cautiously “I don’t know how that will sit with the king…”

“It is either that or I will lose a dear friend today” Celestia barked “I want him healed and my sister back. Whatever it is that nightmares are doing here, they are the cause of my foreshadowing. I won’t let them get my friends and family, not now, not EVER”

Celestia wiped the tears away from her eyes and sent Yohofrich away to do what she had asked him to. This was going to be the longest night she had ever seen, and probably the worst.

***

After that the scene collapsed and everyone was back in Celestia’s actual room. Twilight was pale, almost white, after she saw the blood from and wounds while Spike was speechless and Luna simply didn’t want to look. The only one more or less intact in a psychological sense was J as Celestia had a face that showed no real emotion whatsoever.

“That is the first chapter of me and my sister’s story” She declared in a monotone “I cannot tell you all more than the humanoids would disappear from this world later on. It is quite easy to guess as there are no more here, however as to how that happened in the end? You all will wait to see it. I have to say, though, that the next chapter of this tale will have to wait maybe a few days and it will also be bloody, yet it won’t be the last for you all to see” Celestia sighed with a deep frown “However I had hoped that as much I would have to show it to you, my faithful student” She gave a gentle nuzzle to Twilight, helping her regain her color “Without adding a human to the mix. I had thought that the spell I bound to the dragons would give any of them former memories of their ancestors to discourage anyone from delving into the myths of humans if they got to interested. How is that you got away from Spike’s if I can ask?”

“Uh? Oh! Well, Spike didn’t try to stop me princess, but he did seem to have a spurt of… intellect if you want to call it that” Twilight told Celestia, still wondering about that herself.

“Oh, then it backfired” Yet Celestia chuckled gently as she looked at Spike “You see Spike, while your kin could not get affected even by me, as dragons are extremely resistant to magic, I could make a deal with them to grant their descendants the intelligence of their ancestors in exchange of them helping prevent any other human like creature to ever exist here, which mostly meant making sure that nopony was too curious with these spells and myths. However Twilight is a mother figure to you, so your duty was mostly to her and not to me”

Spike blushed a bit, letting out a short laugh “Heh, but I hope it is not bad?”

Celestia shook her head with a smile “Certainly isn’t my dear Spike, but the results leave something to be desired” She said giving another look at J “Still I hope this is both satisfactory and helps you all understand what that spell did to him”

“That he will have to serve you?” Spike asked in wonder.

“It means that he has magic now running through his veins too” Twilight added as a matter of fact.

“And also that if I piss her off I die” J cut in, making everypony but Celestia gasp at his bitherness “I would’ve expected such a low blow from a fellow human in this situation of power, but from you? I believed you were better than this Celestia, I thought that you were better than everyone thought you were in the internet. Most people called you ‘trollestia’ and I see why NOW”

“Do you think me a foal, little boy?” She practically growled, getting up and making her sister, student and the young dragon move away as J also got on his feet “You still have not seen it, but what will happen in my tale will almost doom our world and certainly will doom your kind and many others thanks to actions YOUR people did. I won’t believe you are good until you prove it, and to make sure it will BE done I will make you OBEY both Twilight and ME” She stomped the ground to make emphasis on that “When you prove yourself I will be more than happy to ask for forgiveness and will take my command away from you, but…” Celestia gave a predatory smirk, much like Nightmare Moon had done before her as J waited in Luna’s mind “If you prove to be a danger for anypony that doesn’t deserve it, a case I find most unlikely, I will make sure to see your kin eradicated from Equestria again”

“Then I hope you are up to kneel and beg” J said smugly “Because if I can’t go back home I am here and I am not going to go away. I will be the best guest you ever had and I am going to kick monster ass while at that”

While the air seemed to vibrate with conflict, it seemed things had calmed down to an extent. However it didn’t seem like Luna shared that opinion.

“I think you two better make up now” Luna almost commanded, though she was still a bit shy thanks to all of what had happened recently “Tia, we are going to leave you two alone and I hope that you two can talk this off. This time try to calm down ok? Take this as a new beginning, please?”

“Alone? But Princess Luna!” Twilight whined, she wasn’t sure of what to think of her teacher right now, but this was not an idea she liked.

“I said alone” Luna pushed Twilight’s flank with her head, taking the young mare with her towards the door as she opened it with her magic “Come Spike, my sis has to mature a bit yet again”

“Uh…”

Spike looked at Twilight being dragged away with a gruff expression and then to Celestia and J glaring at each other. Seeing how it had gone the young dragon though it would be better to give them some space, at least that way his scaly rear wouldn’t be in danger.

“See you soon Princess Celestia, J” He gave a little bow and ran for the door which closed after he followed Luna and Twilight outside.

Again the silence came to fill the room, however this time Celestia took a quick peck towards the door and then gave out a loud sigh, sitting down and doing something with her horn so the walls suddenly glistened with the light of the room as if they were made out of crystal.

“I am sorry for my outburst earlier” Celestia said in her usual gentle tone “But once you hear the rest of the story you will understand why I am like this. I do not like what I saw in your mind and I would urge you to NOT touch any of the girls first and foremost, do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal clear. I don’t want to fuck this up if I have to live here Celestia, this is not my world, I understand I don’t have to mess with it” J groaned as he tried to get the stubborn princess to hear him “I did pretty bad things in my home, I don’t want to repeat them here”

“Like when you killed that man?” Celestia gave him a cold glare “You had your reasons and that man would’ve done something despicable, but you didn’t have to kill him” J was now beyond ashamed and Celestia, for once, didn’t felt good for managing to shot his hopes down “I don’t want us to be enemies if you will be the one to protect Twilight J, I was going to design someone for the same task but since you are here thanks to her, I want you to protect her and her friends. If I was so brutally honest and bent on making you explode is because I don’t want what happened back then to repeat itself again and I certainly don’t want to do what I had to” The princess looked away in shame as memories began to flood in again “Immortality has left my sister and I once we were reunited, but I have had a premonition before she ever came back: We need the Elements of Harmony and we need them ALL. Something bad is going to happen again and I didn’t only want them together to get my sister back, but also to protect Equestria”

“You mean you knew of this and you just manipulated them for your own ends?” J wasn’t accusing, he was outright saying what was blatantly obvious, and something that was all the easier to believe with the nod of Celestia.

“I didn’t know it at first, but when I saw that Twilight had the cutie mark of pure magic on her I was sure to have discovered the embodiment of magic in a pony” Celestia sounded happy and almost cheery, but her face didn’t give it away as she looked sad “I went in a small quest when to find the other elements, only to find them so close to the castle. I didn’t want to but I did read their minds and saw they would perfect friends for my little student, however she was too much like Luna” She sighed, feeling worse than ever “So much that for a time I almost replaced Luna with her. I will never confess that to Twilight, but Luna is a girl too smart for her own good. However that is irrelevant, what is relevant is that you defend them since instead of my guards you were summoned by my apprentice. I will need for you to help each one of them to overcome their ‘other’ when the time comes”

“I am not happy to hear about this Celestia, I thought this was all about friendship and harmony, not to manipulate others no matter how good the motive” J was more than upset yet again, he liked the show for all he thought it was, but to see and hear this? He was disheartened to say the least “But if you ask for me to protect them for the good of Equestria? To help them fight their ‘other? I need a better reason than simply you being the one with the least around my neck”

Celestia gave him a glare, but did understand what he was saying “I may have used them, yes, but I do want them happy. I have made many mistakes the first hundred years that I was separated from my sister; in fact you could say I went a bit… insane… I did worse things than you could ever do and Canterlot, Equestria, the new one, was a way to forget and to begin anew. I don’t want those dark days back and if you are the one to ensure that the Elements of Harmony do their job again to protect us and prevent happiness from being erased from this world? Then so be it, because I won’t let anyone down again and if I have to hold your life as ransom I will do it”

Tensions hadn’t risen nor downed at any time during the talk, in fact it had gotten to the point where it was obvious that neither of them were going to like each other even with J wanting to and with Celestia TRYING to. They had views of each other that were too conflictive with what they wanted to see or hear.

“What is this ‘other’ you talk about though? If I am going to work for you on this at least I need to know”

“The ‘other’ is what you are thinking it is” Celestia gave a small smile “And yes, I keep on reading your mind even after finally healing you dear, I am not going to lose control even once. But since you do want me to explain, let it be quick and blunt: Each one of the Elements of Harmony have a powerful good quality that conflicts, to some extent, with their personalities. Being one element means that what you want sometimes they will have a huge conflict within themselves, you saw it in the series when they had a breakdown”

At that J had to shudder; each of the girls had at least one breakdown thanks to their element and/or personality. In order it was like this:

Apple Jack was too headstrong to be sincere in asking for help at first and it taxed her health and almost her mind at least once. It was obvious that she also could have a problem as the same way her honesty had been blocked away from that episode of her life only to try to maintain her word of doing it alone she could probably keep secrets from her friends if she thought it was better. This was something that J hoped not to find as for him the worst thing to do was lying one way or another to a friend.

Rarity was too generous and pleasing for her own good and it could get her to realize her mistake too late to fix it, moment where she found out that it had backfired, no one had ended up happy and she felt like a total failure (both literally and in the fashion sense). While not greedy Rarity did forsake her kindness at some extent if she found something she wanted, going as far as to envy their friends’ success or not noticing how much vanity she had with her.

Rainbow Dash was loyal to a fault, but her problem was that she had too much of an ego and it could get hurt somewhat easily, something that could get her into a nervous breakdown and into an overjoyed rush of happiness when something went well. If her ego got the better of her she could forget her friends and turn her personality 180º degrees in the worst case scenario, but her loyalty SHOULD prevent it.

Next was Pinkie Pie, probably one of the worst but not the worst of all. She had an obvious fear of her closest friends leaving her and her mental breakdown was probably the most dangerous of all, but also easily solved when she realized that her friends hadn’t tried to get rid of her or evade her as she thought. Still the element of Laughter could also be the element of Insanity if Pinkie Pie lost it for a long period of time. She was one of J’s favorite ponies and he could identify with the happy mare quite easily, however it also meant that he knew the extent of Pinkie Pie’s possible hostility if something went awfully wrong.

In the verge of being the most dangerous was Twilight Sparkle now. It was not that the only breakdown shown in the show was bad or anything, in fact it only showed the fact that under pressure when her mind was proven wrong and wrong again she would crack and ask for the impossible. The problem was her power and what could happen if she ever lost it in such a way that she thought it could be better to do things ‘right’ and get rid of the things that got in her way. With her social skills being so… inadequate it was not impossible to think that she would resort to that if it called for such measures in her head.

Now, the worst? The worst was his second favorite: Fluttershy. She was too shy and adorable to do anything wrong, in fact it was obvious that if it was like her usual life she wouldn’t get angry, EVER. However as shown in the show a few times (Specially in the last episode of the 1º season) she could get fed up with something and stare down whoever was harming her friends or, in the worst case scenario, lose it completely and try to force someone (At least the critters) to love her. She was a time bomb that could explode at any given time for she was the most delicate of the group.

“I will ask Luna to help you get in their dreams, but for it to work you must be close to them, almost as a best friend. I don’t want to use you in everything without telling you about it if we are to someday trust each other J, but I know that even if I ordered you to not do it you would still befriend every one of the six friends” For once Celestia smiled genuinely “If you prove to be better than I had thought then I will sincerely ask for your forgiveness and even to do anything you want in exchange”

“Anything?” J gave out a wide smile while looking at Celestia.

“Y-yea… why?” Now she had a nervous smile on her face. She probably hadn’t meant so say what she did.

“Then I would ask you for…” Celestia lost her nervous smile and simply gave him a cold glare, the dramatic pause was enough to tell her that he was kidding, she had read that much “… my pc and my games as well as a way to get internet? If I am going to be here I DO want my daily dose”

In short: Apply hoof to the face.

“Yes, yes, I can” Celestia finally giggled “But you cannot use the messenger or anything else. That is going to be for the new J living there ok?” J nodded in understanding “It will take a lot of time though, probably by the next time we can talk about my story you will have gotten friends here and probably shown me that you are competent and trustworthy” Suddenly she gave a face that screamed ‘Oh! I almost forgot’ “Also I have to tell you: Mages here don’t work like you heard in most your tales and your movies. You will find out when you need to, but remember that you have to use your new skills to defend people all right? Otherwise I will know”

“You know I won’t do it, you have been prodding my mind long enough” J seemed annoyed by now, though not angry like before “Before I go though, you said you had a premonition of shorts no?” Celestia nodded at the question so he continued “Twilight said she had one too, that is why she thought she should get a human. In fact I thought she was kidding and she just thought that the ‘most powerful creature’ should be the one to protect the ponies in Equestria, but I am not sure now”

“She said that? Hmmm…” Celestia turned out pensive for a few seconds “I will have to look into it latter, for now I think you, Twilight, Spike and Pinkamena should let Luna teleport you back and spend the night talking if you find yourself with energy or it”

From out of nowhere in the room a pink blur landed on top of J as he was tackle hugged to the ground. On top of him he could see the hyperactive pink pony giggling like mad before bowing before the princess for a second.

“It is no fair! How did you know I was here?” She asked after the little ceremonial pose.

“Dear, that you have your own way with magic without a horn doesn’t mean I can’t feel it” Celestia chuckled as she gave her a pat “Now though, don’t tell your friends about it ok? And you don’t need to swear it I know you won’t”

Pinkie smiled happily “Of course I won’t, besides, now I got a new friend! One of the bronies that watch our show! It will be much fun, you know what? Because we will throw a party this weekend and you” she poked at Celestia with a giggle “Are invited to it so we all can say hello to our new friend”

“This is getting sooo weird” J sighed with a little smile on his lips.

“Oh, then you will have to see what will happen tomorrow!” Pinkie giggled out loud “You are going to be so cool, I promise”

J preferred to not make any sense of it and simply nodded, letting Pinkie drag him away as she took a firm grip of his clothes with her mouth and throated away from the room only to get some gasps from her friends and Luna. Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle as she thought that, maybe, she had been way too harsh with the young man, and still she had to make sure they all thought she hated him. The plan had to work or there would be no happiness left in Equestria after this.

“I hope you know what you are doing letting him come Lauren” She sighed to herself as she got comfortable to sleep finally “For all our sakes”

*** End Chapter 3 ***

Chapter 4: Born to be a knight.

Night had been what one could think of a blast now that Twilight thought about it. Right after the talk and discovering that Pinkie Pie had been there the whole time (Which had made her haw touch the floor if you were to get her to tell you the truth) Luna had taken them to the library with her teleportation, bid her farewells to everypony and left them to discuss what they had seen. At first Pinkie had wanted to throw a small party for J, seemingly not caring for all the news that had befall upon them, Twilight wanted to sleep and think it thoroughly with a clearer head.

J made his opinion known pretty easily by entering the tree house and lying on top of one of the many piles of books that Twilight had left behind after her latest study. She would lie if she said that she didn’t blush at the realization that she had let herself go a bit as there were mountains of books everywhere, but at least it did help to make Pinkie Pie head out to sleep, even if she did so with a pout and puppy eyes.

Right now the sun was slowly getting up and she hadn’t had any sleep all day. She was way too worked up about last night, not only was it true that she had managed to summon a human, but it seemed that humans and more creatures lived here, in Equestria, a long time ago. What had the princess done then? Why there were no records or other humans in this world now? Had there been more than a little war between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon as the princess had told her? Or was this all a lie? For once Twilight found herself questioning her teacher, her first and, for a long time, only friend.

However if we put all those questions aside, what was she going to do now? She had, no matter how she looked at it, one powerful creature (technically) under her control (again, technically). She was unsure of what to do with him. What if she was wrong and there was no real need of him in the end? She was sure that after a while he would be happy here, if he wasn’t already, but she was worried that she may have condemned him, no matter how much she tried to tell herself that she had saved his life as she had been told. For her it was simply always in her mind, she was always telling herself that she had messed things up, in fact she wasn’t even supposed to make it happen and it had been basically a ‘prank’ of shorts from the young princess.

“I messed up big time” She thought out loud.

Ruffling in her bed for a few more minutes didn’t seem to calm her anymore than she was, meaning that she wasn’t, at all. Twilight had to accept that she had messed up and relax, even with J seemingly perfectly ok with it she wasn’t so sure about how true his feelings were. Hay, if she had been thrown into a weird place like him she would be out there throwing a tantrum and so freaked out she would blow the place up by accident if anything at all got her too scared.

*Gurgle*

“Just perfect, my stomach has a mind of its own yet again” She gave a heavy sigh and just got away from the bed.

Down the stairs and to the kitchen, at least that was no different than everything else today or… well, yea, it kind of was. You would hardly ever think you would see a human in your kitchen eating a hay sandwich, for Celestia’s sake, you wouldn’t even think you would EVER see a human in the first place as it was unlikely you KNEW about them.

J just gave her a shy smile and a little wave of his hand. The man had taken his clothes off and washed them, Twilight could see them outside over one of the branches. She was thankful that at least the man had decided to keep on his shorts and probably clean them later once he had something to cover his privates. Sadly it didn’t leave much to the imagination when she saw his body covered in scars here or there and many signals of old wounds or maybe beatings. She didn’t have to know about medicine to understand that it did seem that J had quite the unpleasant life.

“I hope you don’t mind I took some of this?” He asked as he pointed at the bread and hay “For some reason it tastes like… like… I don’t know how to put it, but the smell was pleasant. I suppose whatever Celestia did to me it did turn me into some kind of ‘vegan’” Even after the last night the young man seemed to be quite happy. Twilight did hope it was true, but at least it made her smirk.

“Don’t worry; I have plenty more from where that came from. Also if the Princess did what I think, umm… let’s say you better don’t try to eat meat anymore, it could be bad for your tummy, to put it mildly” The mental image of what could happen made her cringe and give away a weird smile “Otherwise you should be more than fine now that you are healed, at least I hope”

“Perfectly well, thank you” He gave her a sincere smile and showed that he could move quite well, though it was quite obvious he was, at least, shore “I can’t say that I will be running a marathon anytime soon, but I am fine”

“The important thing is that you are ok” Twilight smiled gently as she used her magic to put together a sandwich of her own so she could calm down her hunger “Of course I don’t know what to do now. How could I break the news to Ponyville? To my friends it will be easy, I doubt Pinkie Pie is going to keep quiet since this isn’t supposed to be a secret. I am not sure what to do now”

“You think too much all the time Twilight” J chimed in with a grin “Why not relax and let it play out? Remember that while books are important, as well as planning, some things have to come naturally and there is no way to get prepared for it”

“You do seem to know about me quite a lot. I had the impression that I was missing out on something important yesterday and I still get it” The mare had an inquisitive look and she didn’t seem to be the one to drop it anytime soon. At least she could admit she liked him being honest and, also, that he was quite intelligent. Her friends were perfectly fine but a cultured mind to talk to was rare “So care to share before anything else happens? Because this seems the perfect time for an interruption”

“Twilight, are you sure you want me to tell you about what I know?” The human asked with a raised eyebrow and a serious look.

“Pretty sure thank you” She gave a big smile with an assuring look on her face “If we are going to work together we need to know everything, right?” However as he gave her a deadly serious look she wasn’t so sure “Right?”

“Depends. I don’t know how you would take that in my world you girls are a series of cartoons we see on TV, pretty much like you saw that tale when Celestia used her mane to tell it” J wasn’t sure of how Twilight was taking the news, but if she asked she did deserve the truth “More or less you are all a fantasy in my world, a tale for young girls that, ironically, worked better with grown up men because you all, this world, the history behind it, was better made than almost anything that the people had come up with in the latest years” He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that “It is funny when you think about it, but in your case I suppose you don’t know if to laugh or to simply cry”

“I think I am going to puke” Twilight replied flatly “We are… not real? How? Why? I don’t know what to say now!” She seemed to be ready to lose it yet again.

“Hey, relax Twilight.” He placed a hand on her head to rub her mane gently. “In my word you were supposed to be a fantasy, but I am here and I am alive am I not? There were theories about anything we did or imagine being real, that humans were able to see other worlds and creatures with their imagination. I am not sure if believing it or not, mostly because I don’t understand it though it is true that I saw your girls in that cartoon and that I am here now. Whatever the people in my world think it doesn’t matter for you are real”

“I h-have to calm down, I don’t know what to think.” She was pale and her stomach seemed eager to spill the recent ingested contents right now “I am going to be sick.”

“Relax Twilight, I took it better coming to a place I thought was fantasy than you knowing that in my world we THINK you are a fantasy” J couldn’t help but smile as he kneeled to give Twilight a little hug. He knew that the lavender unicorn enjoyed the contact of her friends and he hopped that this would calm her down. “Come on, don’t think about it ok? Relax, please, I don’t want you sad”

“It will be hard not to” She gulped down her nausea. “I mean, you can’t lie to me, I am sure of it, my spell and Princess Celestia’s own should prevent you to, not that I think you have any reason to” Twilight at least thought she was sure of it “Don’t mind them thinking we are not real or anything, but it is NOT comforting to know that humans are seeing my life in another world”

“Heh, it is not the worst of it all believe me, and I would never lie to you Twilight” J couldn’t help but snicker as he got up to finish his food, even though Twilight was giving him quite a weird look “You don’t want to know, really Twilight, please”

“What can be WORSE than what you told me?” Twilight wasn’t sure if it was because she was naturally curious and inquisitive or if she really thought there could be no worse (Or weird) than the one he had told her already.

Man, was she wrong.

An hour and a half later Spike would get up to see J sitting near the entrance door, fully clothed, while reading a book to hide his ashamed face while Twilight, blushing fiercely and unsure of what to think this time, busied herself getting every book in its place. Spike wasn’t sure of what had happened, he simply shrugged and went to fetch himself some food.

“We shall never speak of that again, ok?” Twilight said as fast as Spike was out of the room.

“Eeyup” While ashamed about what he told Twilight, J was still up for a joke, at least he could imitate Big Mackintosh quite easy. Twilight, thought, gave him a serious glare “Ok, ok, I promise I won’t” He chuckled.

“Thanks” Twilight sighed, relieved

“But again, you should relax Twilight, sooner or later they will ask, and one of the things I hate the most is liars” He spoke with a very sincere face and maybe even a bit of a harsh tone “I can either tell them I can’t say because you asked me to, or tell them the truth”

Twilight bit her lips “Is there no other way? I don’t know how they will take it”

“I can show them most the things once Celestia does send me what I asked her for, though now that I think about it I don’t know how she is going to get it to work” J shrugged though, knowing that Twilight hadn’t a clue about what he was saying “But at least we have a few days until that and afterwards they won’t want to know as much as you did with some luck. Decided what to do in the meantime yet?” He tried to change the topic.

“First of? I am going to ask Rarity to make you more clothes” The velvet mare gave a little blush “If we ever get any mark from a fight even with Princess Celestia’s incantation our fur doesn’t let it show. I wouldn’t want anyone seeing how much pain you had to bear, not all people understand it and I know you don’t want to give them any reason to ask”

“No, no I wouldn’t” He admitted plainly.

After that Twilight had to admit that the silence that took the place was eerie to say the least. She had wanted to ask but at the same time she was all too sure of the outcome of any question regarding those scars as the questions would be either dodged or simply not answered. It had been made clear that any question she made he would answer trustfully, even if it pained him, or not answered outright if she allowed. Of course she could command him to answer, but she did want him to be happy here as there was no way for him to come back to his place, forcing him to do something was not what she wanted.

Princess Celestia didn’t like him, but she was not one to lie, besides she offered to make a ‘copy’ of him, much like one of the legends she had read about a ‘reborn’ pony that had been given life again by the princess for his services. If she knew enough about the supposedly fantastic incantation she was sure that her teacher would use a small part of J (A bit of blood, hair or something, there is no need for real harm) to give ‘a new life’. She was unsure of how it would work if the person was still alive, but Princess Celestia was the best magician in Equestria. At least he would have no reason to worry about his mother and that satisfied Twilight to some extent.

“So what do you think about it now that you are calmed down?”

J cut her train of thoughts suddenly, making her drop some of the books she had been piling up by instinct after so many years spent in a library. At least that made her giggle a bit, she knew she should stop spacing out when she was thinking of something too hard.

“Sorry, what do you mean J?”

“Well I did tell you about the fanfiction, fanart and other things, as well as the pairings and… the rest” He tried not to say out loud and it was obvious that Twilight was thankful as she was blushing profusely “So… what is your opinion about that?”

“I… don’t know?” She gulped, rubbing her hoof against the floor “I mean, I suppose the fanfiction and art about us as homage are nice, even if I don’t like the idea of people watching my life without me knowing, I do have secrets and a ‘private life’ you know?” Twilight’s blush only grew brighter “But the pairings? The… the… the ‘adult’ stuff? I suppose they are free to do whatever they want; it is not like it is us for real, but… I am a bit embarrassed to think about it”

J couldn’t help but chuckle as he left the book in the floor “I know about that, I mean what is your view on such ‘adult’ stuff” He gave away a bit of a naughty grin at Twilight’s reaction “I am curious about how your kind sees relationships and the like, nothing else, however I can understand if you don’t want to share the information after some of the things I said”

“Oh… Oh!” Her blush only intensified “Don’t worry about that but, well… I… don’t know? I mean, I had never thought about it. Ponies don’t have any kind of prejudice you know? We can marry or not, be with anypony we like as far as it is a mutual feeling and we don’t worry about sexes or any other thing. Usually a pony will marry another if they have a kid, but it is not really necessary” Finally Twilight calmed down a bit, she wasn’t as worried now as the question wasn’t as personal, of course it would be a lie if she told you she didn’t feel a bit silly “We are content having friends or some very close companions, I do not know if it is like your species does it where you live”

“It is nothing alike, and I do mean nothing” Twilight tilted her head in curiosity “I mean that where I am from people don’t see ‘gay’ people or ‘bisexual’ people like they are ‘normal’, you know?” J was adamant of putting emphasis to those quotes “What I want to say is that a gay or bisexual person is a person, that is it, you should respect them and that is it, yet a lot of humans do hate them with a passion that is worrisome, much like they hate other people that don’t share their religion or that has different skin or that simply has been born in a different country. Unlike here, where you may have dark creatures or monsters, in Earth everyone is a monster, or hides one within. Even the most nice friend you got could someday turn or you and without even hitting you, simply speaking, could do you so much harm that you wish you would be dead for any kind of disagreement or when they found out something you like that they hate” He gave a long and tired sigh as he finished “That is why I like it here, even the worst are much best than what I have in my world”

Twilight’s eyes were by now filled with little tears. She was not so emotional most the time, her upbringing focusing in magic, studies and such had still an effect on her that simply meant she didn’t feel as much in some things yet. Of course she had shared happiness a lot with her friends, she even had a nervous breakdown like everypony else, but actual sadness? She hadn’t had any of that since she almost blew it when she was young, even the few sad moments these last three months had been only so brief that they had made an impact, but only to show a good and warm lesson in the end.

In this case it was different. She was intelligent enough to know, even with a lesser social skill than most, that J was speaking from experience. Who knows what he could answer her if she asked the question she wanted to ask before? Maybe she would hate to discover the answer, but if she was going to befriend him and she had shared some of her opinions after he told her the truth, then she wanted to know the WHOLE truth.

“Do you know it from seeing, reading or… from personal experience?” She asked finally, taking his attention once more “Are those scars…?”

“As I told you before, I am a furry, I also explained to you what it meant” J went right away to the talking, his tone plain as it was obviously something he didn’t like to talk about “In some places it is hated with fervor, in others it is as common as it gets and nobody cares. Some people would actually try to justify brutality with the rumor about us being… some very nasty things. Even after years it is still very bad, but much like the gay people or the ones that had AIDS, it will pass with time” He chuckled and waved it off as if it was nothing “But yea, some are from that in special, mostly the impact blows as I got in a fight in school once when I had a supposed friend of mine find a picture that was simply a furry fursona from a mutual friend. I got an expulsion after I had broken my ex-friend’s fingers in his right hand when he got most of the worst bullies after me and my other buddy” He chuckled a bit with a very sad look. Twilight thought she saw a tear running down his cheek before he pried it off “After that though, we found a lot of people that weren’t in the fandom but did think of it as a great place to find beautiful artwork and promising artist or writers. My friend even got a proposal to work in a new cartoon movie, though I don’t know how it is going for him as haven’t seen him in a month now, I suppose his schedule is tight”

“About the cuttings you have not to worry Twilight, most of them are from training with my mother as sometimes we go a bit overboard and the practice equipment can break and indeed cut when forced. However some are not, like this one” He showed his arm where he had a nasty cut going from the elbow to the shoulder “A girlfriend of mine was a lesbian, but didn’t had the heart to tell it to the boy that had a liking to her, in fact he found her with the one that is now my friend’s ‘bride’” He chuckled a bit at that “I still don’t know why but it sounds weird ‘Bride and Bride’” He smiled halfheartedly “But personal humor asides, the guy took it bad, and I mean BAD with capital letters. I think when he found out something in his head snapped because the next day I got a call from my friend saying there was a madman with a knife that had broken in her house and was yelling what he would do to her so they would be together forever” J covered his arm and gave Twilight a sad look as he left the end of the story to her imagination “I break my back for my friends Twilight, literally, even though most of them ended up leaving the city I was living with my mother in hopes to find a better place where there were less closed minded companies”

“Are you angry with them for doing that?” Twilight was definitely sad after what she had heard. She supposed there were way worse things in his world, but se preferred to not think about it “They did leave you even if they had good reasons…”

“Of course I am not angry” He gave her a gentle smile this time, looking cheery again “Though I will indeed miss them now…” In a moment he turned sadder than Twilight. J was obviously thinking about his world and things he would never do again. Even thought he knew that living here would be a dream come true, almost no one ever thought of the price to pay “But I am sure that if Celestia does what she says they won’t have to worry about me, nor will my mother, dad or my sisters, so it is ok. I can begin anew here and at least I think I have a friend” He gave a wink to Twilight, smiling again. She supposed he was good at giving such facades but at least what he said was true.

“Don’t doubt it, you got a friend here” She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she gave him a hug.

Twilight was sure that J still didn’t know how the ponies could do it and it was really weird him out a bit, so she made sure to weird him as much as she could if it made him smile. For some reason it made her laugh gently, soon cheering him up and exchanging that face to a happier one as he begun to laugh wholeheartedly, rubbing her mane and keeping her close in the hug. She didn’t know it, but even thought J had his favorite pony as Pinkie Pie in all aspects (The funny, the cute and the friendly), he never say he didn’t like any of the other girls, and this was being quite hard for him to be this close to one of the most innocent creatures he had known without trying to take that innocence away. Probably she wasn’t that kind of ‘innocent’, but compared to him she was a saint.

“You know you are blushing, don’t you?” Twilight chimed in with a big grin.

“Oh I am?” It only made him blush all the harder “I suppose it is a different thing being near someone I had wanted to meet as well as giving her a hug to calm her down than and actually giving her a hug when she wants to give it willingly” He waved one hand dismissively, but neither did break up the hug “Besides… you technically are my hero now you know? I have survived a lot of things, but yesterday would’ve been my last if it weren’t for you”

Now it was her time to blush slightly.

“You are just saying that to flatter me” She gave a gently chuckle “I know I messed up, no matter if I did help, though I am grateful that even with a mess being made I could help someone”

“No, I mean it” J pulled her off a bit to push her head up gently enough so she could look him in the eyes. The young mare was being too headstrong with the supposed mistake. She took very hard each failure and it was showing “You saved me, it wasn’t your intention but you did. You could’ve probably summoned someone else in their dire need but it was me, mistake or not, and for that I am the most grateful man. I owe you my life and I want you happy for that, so no matter what you ask or what you want to do you have my loyalty Twilight, I won’t let you down and I certainly won’t let you be sad for this”

She couldn’t look at him in the eyes for a few seconds, but in the end she had to believe what he was saying and stop thinking of what she did as a messed up episode on her life, another mistake the supposed unicorn of magic had made. Twilight blushed and nodded as she looked at him.

“Thanks” She said getting a bit closer again “That-that does mean a lot to me…”

For once she didn’t care that all over her was slowing down as she thought, she had to make sure that this was alright for she had been thinking about it since he begun to open to her like a book.

He had been nice even with her being sure of that she had messed it up, she had been friendly and even with him probably being capable of ditching her or doing anything he wanted, he had been nice and had stayed with her. She was sure that if the human had wanted, if J had desired for it, even with broken bones he could have escaped from Princess Celestia being as tired as she had been yesterday if he was as powerful as she supposed. His loyalty was not only for a debt, he liked her genuinely and wasn’t put off by anything on her, even when he knew of the past of his race here and that it would be all but a gentle ride if someone else knew about it, he stayed, with her.

J had made her feel better by assuring her of what she had done had been the right thing. Hay, he had shared a truth he knew would not sit with her well, but he had done because she wanted to know and because he thought her as a friend and that she deserves every little bit of information she wanted to know. He had her dark side, as anypony else, he had been done ‘bad’ things, but the kind and friendly side that he had showed her seemed sincere and she loved it, she didn’t care if she had darkness inside. If they ‘cured’ Princess Luna she knew J could be ‘cured’ too. Besides, J liked every one of her friends, including her, at least for their characters, their personalities and little things that made them unique. It meant that if he didn’t like any of them physically, he at least did like them for who they truly were, not what they were, it was something far more important to her.

All those reasons were enough for her. It was right, and all she had told him was true: Ponies had no problems with these things, they were very open and they loved friendship of any kind. Twilight was more than sure that if the others liked him they would share her opinion in this matter.

Kissing him was a good idea.

“Twilight? What are you… hmmp!”

J did neither struggle nor push her away, she was still embracing him and he hadn’t taken his arms away either. It only made it feel all the better for Twilight as she pressed in, finally kissed him in the lips and found not only that he didn’t mind, but that he took her closer as they shared the kiss happily. She had to admit she was a bit ashamed as she had been almost sure he wouldn’t refuse, but J was one of the first males (or females for that matter) to catch her interest at all. This was not her first kiss, but it was one of the few she really enjoyed.

It was also so different. While sitting and with her body against his he was barely taller than her, there was not so much size difference like this and she enjoyed it as she pressed her body against his. It felt warm and maybe even a bit alluring as he stroked her mane and her back slowly. Twilight had never thought how different it would be from a pony to something different, probably because the only intelligent kind of creature she knew of were the Diamond Dogs (besides dragons) and they had more like paws than hands like a human in comparison, but the slow and delicate work that J could do with his? She thought she could melt right there.

For J, however, it was something different.

He loved it alright, for him these Ponies, like to most people that watched the series, weren’t animals, nor were they persons, he could not say what they were for sure but he knew that if anyone else could do this, it wouldn’t be wrong. They were intelligent, could decide what to do and chose not to do anything they thought was wrong. If Twilight wanted it, he was not going to deny her at least a kiss like this. He thought it was maybe too fast, he didn’t know what this could bring, but he couldn’t care as much as he should. This was bliss.

Still, there was a problem.

‘I think this is exactly what I told you not to do’ A voice spoke in his mind, but he didn’t break the kiss. Of course the other kind of need sink down quite quickly as he found out who’s voice was it.

‘Celestia?’ He thought in worry as he opened his eyes wide, luckily Twilight was seemingly enjoying it enough to close hers and let it all play out.

‘If it wasn’t because you didn’t force anything I would smite you right here right now’ While this was not a change from yesterday to J, the goddess was meaning it to its full extent this time even without an angry tone in her voice. She wasn’t doing it in spite of him, but because she worried about Twilight ‘I don’t want you harming any of the Elements of Harmony, much less Twilight. If you do so I will make sure you suffer for it, understood?’

‘But I didn’t do anything!’ He thought bitterly. He hadn’t seen this coming but hell would freeze if he broke the kiss until Twilight wanted. That would hurt her feelings, he knew it very well ‘I was simply trying to be nice and sincere with her. I do want her to like me as a good friend if I can, not because you told me to, but because it is what I want. I… I hadn’t foreseen this happening and I am sorry, but I do not mind this result’

‘And that is exactly what she and the others will like, much like anypony else’ Celestia sounded halfway to happiness and halfway to an angry rage now. She wouldn’t tell him but this was dangerous ‘I know that your good side will appeal to them, we do not look for physical traits most the time Jonathan, we seek for the character, the personality, the soul, that we want’ She cleared for him ‘Besides, you give away pheromones and every one of the six friends will know that you like them, probably to the point where they will know that you do LIKE them in that kind of way. We are not animals and we don’t act on such instincts, but I do not want any broken hearts, not even yours, so make it clear to everypony because they will not get as angry or sad as if you lied to them’

‘I won’t lie to them, but this may hurt Twilight anyway…’ He closed his eyes, pressing on the kiss. He wanted to think of anything tut the conversation now.

J couldn’t help but let a tear escape his eyes as Twilight finally broke the kiss and pushed away gently. He didn’t need to force it as he did look happy and she looked even happier, so telling her it would be better to not go further than that would hurt both of them if he messed up. For him it had never been a problem to think with the correct brain all the time, however J did have a girlfriend or two, as well as a few chances that begun with such a kiss. He hated with all his being every failure and every ‘goodbye’ he had. He wished, practically begged Celestia it wasn’t like that this time. If nothing else he didn’t want to lose a friend over this.

‘She will understand, tell her what you think is right’ This time her tone was gentle, like the good princess he had seen in the cartoon ‘I am sure she will understand if you do it gently and don’t push her away. I know you will do well, for your own well being’ It was not threatening, but the truth. If he messed up Twilight would all but hate him in the worst case.

“I am sorry” Twilight said finally with a huge blush and a smile on her face as she gently cuddled against J. At least she was the one to begin this potential drama “I didn’t mean for that to happen so quickly, but… you are so friendly and nice, not at all what I had wanted to summon and at least” She gave a sincere smile “If nothing else, THAT in special makes me happy. You stayed with me, you told me the truth when I asked you for it even when you knew it could change my view of you, you didn’t even try to get away from Princess Celestia even if she was maybe a bit too rough with you and you know the dangers that the story of your kin has here, yet you stay loyal to me” She gave him a nuzzle “I like that, very few ponies except my friends had ever shown me that kind of friendship. I am sorry if I weirded you out, I know you told me ponies are small horses in your world and not… not like us”

“It didn’t weird me out Twilight” J replied with a smile, giving her a little kiss on the cheek that bought her some confidence back “But it does worry me”

“W-what? Why?” She asked, worried now that she might have done something she shouldn’t, that from being ‘forgiven’ one mistake she would gain another one much worse.

“It is not something bad Twilight, but I do worry that you like me” He sighed “Celestia told me that your kin likes personality and how one is, not what one is, that is much like me but is exactly that what I find a problem” While J wasn’t sure if he could tell Twilight about the whole thing, he did hope Celestia didn’t mind him giving out some vague information that wasn’t a lie “I doubt you are as new as the cartoon may have given out to a relationship or… other things, but that you liked me so fast may mean that your friends may like me this way too if how I am allures to them” J blushed a gave a chuckle “I am not bragging though, I am not the prettiest thing in existence Twilight, nor the most charismatic or friendly, however I try to please my friends and make them happy as well as like me. Much like Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy I only want my friends to like and love me and I will do anything to protect them and ensure they won’t abandon me, even if it didn’t worked well on Earth here it may have some unexpected results in here thanks to how things run” J sighed and shook his head, he had to forget about it as soon as he could but for now he could distract himself gently rubbing Twilight’s mane to comfort her “However here it may also include another kind of more personal love, and I don’t know if you all would be ok with that” He chuckled “Hell, even being a male of a species that enjoys that kind of things I am not sure if I would like it with such chances of hurting someone. I could hurt your feelings or your friend’s, I wouldn’t be able to live with that here, ever”

This time she had to bit her lip. Twilight wasn’t all that sure of what to say to him. She did hope that no one in his world had seen that in a few occasions the six friends had shared ‘very close friends’ as he had put it, in Equestria it was not uncommon for that and no one was ashamed of it (as far as it was in private), but how would he react if he was presented the chance? And in fact, how would any of her friends react? How could she? In a single day she had felt him as a close friend and she had liked him, his character and how sincere he was as well as how kind when he could be. In a way it was what you could call love, but it was too soon to say if it was true or just the fixation with something new, dangerous and exciting.

It was not something common for a pony to feel possessive of another, even when it was their mate; Pinkie had confirmed it MANY times as Mrs. and Mr. Cake had some ‘parties’ of their own. If she was indeed in love she would know with time, but in the meantime that he and her friends knew each other and maybe had some interactions (or something else) together didn’t bother her. It could definitely be a problem in the future, yes, but with luck this would take time to mature and she was going to be sure to not be so foolish again, for the sake of her new friend and her five best friends. He told her to let things run its natural course before, she was sure to give it a try.

The beautiful things had to take time to mature, and she was not going to be the one to rush things. For once she had someone different and she didn’t have any books to tell her what to do, only her conscience saying that she should let things run its course and tell the truth.

“I understand your worries” She said finally, granting J the chance to breathe again. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle a bit as she saw how nervous the young man had been “I would like to talk with you about this matter latter on, with more patience and being calm. It is unlike me to lose it like that and I should have asked you first, but I assure you that as far as you do not force anything and you are sincere me and my friends will be more than happy to comply” Twilight gave him a kiss on the lips that obviously both of them enjoyed, though she had yet to finish “Sharing is common in Equestria in all its senses, J, if any of my friends like you that way you will be welcome with each one of us with the level of trust or… companionship each one of us shows to you. If you do feel something STRONGLY for any of them however, you should tell, and if you are uncomfortable with anyone or any of this you should tell too”

He nodded and took her again in a gentle hug “I will, I do like the idea… but I don’t see it happening and working. All my life I have tried to find the one for me Twilight, failing miserably each time. I am not sure how it will play in here”

“Better than HER past tries I am sure”

The voice of spike made both of them jump in place. The young baby dragon had been placing the books in their places like nothing was happening during the whole ordeal. He had the same stoic face he had in the cartoon when he was working and didn’t seem all that impressed or interested on what Twilight had been doing with a completely different species.

“I mean, you know she is an egghead and you haven’t thrown her away already, that is a lot more than most the guys she was hooked up with” Spike chuckled.

“Spike!” A huge blush appeared on Twilight’s checks.

“Come on Twilight” Spike gave her a serious face for once “Everyone of your friends tried to hook you up with someone, none of them worked, granted that none of your friends have a boyfriend or girlfriend either, but at least they all could find someone that matched with them more or less, at least for a time” At that he gave a little laugh as he turned to his usually jovial side “Come on, even I tried to get you a date and you scared the poor colt away. You know I see you like a good friend, even a mother, more than my boss Twilight, and I want you happy. I know you don’t need a colt for that but I know you feel lonely when your friends are away, you want something else”

She gave a nervous smile as she looked at both males in the room. Twilight wasn’t sure of what to say and didn’t want to mess up again, but she didn’t want to rush it and mess it up either. She had no plan and her mind was getting too worked up while part of it went back to the kiss.

“As tempting as it may be I will respect Jonathan here” She smiled as she said his whole name, though he didn’t seem to like it very much. That gave her another thing to wonder about so to keep her mind busy “So first I will let him meet everypony else and see how it goes, ok?” Twilight tried to give her most sincere smile, but she was more than obviously nervous.

“Thanks” J gave her a little hug that took her by surprise; though you wouldn’t see Twilight complain “I just hope I didn’t mess up Twilight, I would hate to hurt… anyone’s feelings” However the three on the room knew that the phrase hadn’t been said as he had thought it.

Spike was going to say something more when a knock made everyone in the room jump. Someone was coming to the library? There was no time to hide J without a good excuse to make anypony outside wait for Celestia knows how long.

“Y-yes?” Twilight called, hoping for the best. In other words: Someone she could turn down.

“Twilight? Are you in there? I have something to tell you… umm… that is if you are not busy?”

Oh hay, it was Fluttershy. Way to jinx it Twilight.

“Of course Fluttershy, come right in” Sighing in defeat, Twilight signaled Spike to open the door.

She couldn’t tell Fluttershy to wait or go away, she would think that she had bothered her in any of both cases and would walk away quite quick. The shy Pegasus girl was one of the nicest, thought Twilight had to admit she found quite irritating the fact that she would let anyone push her around like that and that Fluttershy was never up to the challenge except if someone else was in trouble. Yet she was such a good friend… how would she take the little news she had to share? And more important, what would she want now? As far as Twilight knew everypony had some plans for today but Pinkie Pie.

When Spike finally opened the door a pair of fillies before Fluttershy could even mutter a word. The first was a young blue pegasi with grey feathers at the end of her wings as well as white short hair that was ruffled both in the tail and in the head. The second one was also blue, but was a little unicorn that looked a bit younger than the pegasi, also she had a red like mane with small dots of white hair running through the middle of her hair and tail, and both gently combed to look fluffy and cute.

Neither of them had cutie marks and both practically barged in yelling for help while Fluttershy tried to calm them down. None of them had even noticed J as he was still as a statue, probably everypony in the room thought that he was just that as Fluttershy seemed to be in such a mix of sadness and worry that she didn’t seem to care while the pair of young fillies were wailing at Twilight without making any sense between their mixed screams.

“Please I can’t hear anything!” She cried out when they all wouldn’t quiet down. The yell at least got the three to relax, though both fillies were crying and Fluttershy seemed about ready to “Now, slowly, tell me what is the problem”

The fillies only cried louder, so it was Fluttershy who talked “These little girls came to me today at morning, one of my bird friends told me he had seen the girls and a group of carts hiding in a cave in the Everfree Forest to guard from the horrible storm that hit us that day. He said no one came out at morning, so he thought they all had decided to rest there…”

“But?” Twilight didn’t like one single bit where this was going already.

“Well, you know that most big creatures are the ones that live in the caves, but they prefer to hunt under the rain or at night, so he thought nothing of it, but… umm…” Fluttershy soon had her eyes filled with tears. Someone so sensible usually was sad easily, but this time it was obvious she had a good reason “But when he came back today he found these fillies running away, screaming in fear and covered in blood and gasses” The yellow pegasi was crying and sobbing hard “My bird friend bought them home and I used the potions you made for me in case any of the creatures near the forest was too strong and evil to talk to, they are healed and clean but they…”

“That monster ate our friends!” The young pegasi cried out “Mommy and daddy made us run away while they distracted it, but they didn’t fallow us, we heard screams!” She wailed.

“I want mommy back!” The young unicorn cried as she hugged her sister’s flank.

“Please girls, calm down…” Twilight bit her lip; the sudden change from a happy (yet awkward and shy) moment had changed to one of sheer horror “How many ponies were in those carts?”

“It was… It was the Circus Fly-Off” Fluttershy sobbed.

Oh-Celestia.

“But that circus had at least forty ponies! No creature, no matter how big, should have attacked them if they were in a group! They had even powerful magicians and one of the strongest Earth ponies I have heard of besides Apple Jack!”

“Uncle Hard Hoof was the first to go” The young unicorn mumbled under a now ragged a broken voice after so much crying “The monster got all of our family…” She sniffled, unable to cry anymore.

Twilight couldn’t help her tears by now. It was not only that the circus had been famous even when she was young, she had attended once when they came to Canterlot, it was that if it was true there had been a lot of good lives lost to a wretched monster. If Princess Celestia had battled them long ago Twilight wondered why she had left them alive, though a second after questioning herself that horrid thing she realized that she probably had to do something as horrid with the humans as eradicate them. Even if monsters were dangerous they didn’t deserve such a fate, however it was hard to think of that if so many ponies had perished.

“But then… what do you want me to do?” Twilight was sad and nervous beyond belief, if they had been attacked so long ago it was a miracle that these fillies were still alive, in fact she very much doubted that their parents were still on this world now.

“Twilight”

Almost screaming is how she found herself as J’s hand was placed over her shoulder, though Twilight was the one to take this little movement the better since the two fillies and Fluttershy moved away, even more scared than before.

“Do you have any weapons a human can use? Or maybe you know of some near here? This is going to be my first day on the job”

He had a stoic face, very much like if he was made of stone. Twilight didn’t know why but all the nice on him seemed to have been locked away for now, it was still there, but instead of taking the news like Fluttershy or she had done he had a look that told how much anger he was suppressing. While something told her that he wouldn’t do anything stupid, or to harm them, it was blatantly obvious that he was also decided on making sure whatever had done this wouldn’t do it again.

“I-I think I have. Princess Celestia told me this library had a basement where there were very old things that some ponies had locked away after Canterlot had been created” She used her magic to slowly move one of the selves that Celestia told her about, revealing what seemed to be a hidden stairs “We can go and take a look”

“Twilight umm… what is he?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at the human in front of her. She was still crying and sniffling, but her worry about what she had in front of her was also gnawing at her pretty deeply.

“A friend” Was all that Twilight responded “Spike, can you escort both fillies to The Mayor? She has a good way with kids and may be able to get them some help” Twilight looked at both fillies “I am sure my friend will try his best to find your parents. Wait for us to come back and try to rest, ok?”

Both kids gave a nod, still crying as Spike signaled them to fallow him. Twilight knew Spike was not the most friendly baby dragon ever, and he was a bit rude, something that seemed to have changed little after the intelligence spurt yesterday, but he was as much as a caring being as her other friends. He would do a good job, probably he would make sure to keep them company until she came back.

Once they were gone she sighed and got off J “Ok everypony, let’s go down here…” Besides, this would be as good as it could get to explain J to at least one of her friends.

*** Castle of Canterlot ***

Celestia had been watching J all day; in fact she was going to do it every day at any chance she got either like this or with the link she had with him after the pact was made. She had to make sure it would all end how she had hoped. Today there were no duties, no schedules and no nothing, she was supposed to be relaxing but after yesterday she could not, she hated lying to everypony, including the human, though what had happened a little while ago had left her a bit disheartened. If things didn’t go right Twilight could end up feeling… well…

“Tia, we need to talk”

Though she knew that Luna would come to talk sooner or later, Celestia had really thought she would come sooner, not by teleportation to catch her red hooved like she had done now, but sooner anyway. For some reason it seemed to disappoint her little sister to see her not surprised, even more so to see her spying on the human and now two of the elements of harmony without losing a bit of concentration.

“I suppose you have questions?” Celestia chuckled while she continued her vigil. After all she had a mirror like screen to see what happened near J and she could look at her sister without losing too much detail.

“Why are you spying on him?” Luna asked, maybe a bit worried.

“Making sure all goes well, of course” Celestia didn’t change her expression as she said so.

Luna had hoped that her sister took it a bit more seriously, maybe that she would at least stop her incantation, but it didn’t seem to be going to happen any time soon.

“What was that?” Celestia gave her an ‘excuse me?’ look “Why the over the top charade yesterday? Why so angry? I know you are not like that, at least not anymore sis. I can believe… maybe I would understand that at first you would be shocked and angry, and by the way I know the shock was genuine, but the rest? You were too harsh on him for no good reason!”

“Then I did a good job with that facade” Celestia gave a guilty smile as she looked down, quite ashamed “I didn’t want to go overboard, but it was necessary, I needed everypony thinking I hated him and that I would be so willing, with some pressure, to give help him and give him what you had promised. It is not like what I did with you that time so long ago, that was unplanned and I was literally angry, depressed and hardly thinking rationally, this time I have a plan. One doesn’t live one thousand years without picking something up dear sister” She gave her a gentle smile this time, patting her side so Luna would sit down.

When she did Celestia formed another little mirror, showing her the scene where she had worried herself to such an extent that she had to stomp in and act. While she was unsure of how long she would have to act like she was hateful or at least resentful of what humans did.

“It was… fast?” Luna gave out a little chuckle as she saw the kiss unfold, though that didn’t took her questioning look as she turned at Celestia again. Her big sister sighed and continued.

“It is a bit of a byproduct” Her sister told her as she watched the two mares and t he human reach the stony underground of the library “A summoner that calls for a companion usually gets attached to them very personally, though most times they are monsters or other creatures that do not care that much for it beyond loyalty. In this case it is way too different as , while his good side will probably attract almost any mare (or maybe colt) that he meets if they are in contact with them for long and get to know him to some extent, Twilight is quite the different matter and it needs TACT” Her look of concern was genuine and Luna had to sigh inwardly as she had seen that in her sister only for three other creatures, one of which was her “If it goes too fast it can end badly and in obsession or something else entirely. I am sure that this little romantic stunt will probably happen with one or more of Twilight’s friends thanks to how they all are, so I want to make sure that Jonathan and Twilight are both ready for it and that he understand how things work here. I didn’t enjoy meddling in my student’s affairs, I want her happier than she is, but I had to step in so this wouldn’t ruin what I did yesterday”

“What do you mean sis? Your act yesterday was a farse, but I didn’t see what it could do” Luna wasn’t impressed nor surprised, however she hadn’t had any hopes for her sister to tell her outright what she had done “I thought you said you weren’t going to lie anymore…”

“Nor do I want to, but this case is very special”

While the group traveled through the little dungeon Celestia used the other mirror to show three sheets of generic armor, one made out of gold and silver, another of common but beautiful metals and another one made of what seemed to be black stone. Each one of them had a shield and a sword as if they had humans inside; it was so life like that Luna didn’t look impressed as they all moved within the image.

“You see, if it had been a normal human that is either good or bad by nature I would’ve minded it, my dear sis. I admit I had been rough before I read his mind, but after that I became much, much more worried than I thought possible” The metal armor took a step back and the other two faced each other “Thanks to what Twilight had done, Jonathan had been turned into a Knight. Do you remember how the stories go from our time dear?”

“Umm…” Luna gave a nervous smile “No?”

“Knew it” Celestia gave her a gentle nuzzle before she explained the old lore “The Knights were those humans that displayed loyalty to the best mages of our time back when they existed, it was even possible to get other humanoids as knights, even the Diamond Dogs if they were intelligent and loyal enough, though they have reverted to a bit of a savage state in this age” She gave a sad sigh, obviously concerned about that “There were, as for everything else, different kinds to identify them”

The golden armor lunged forward with its sword trying to connect with the dark one.

“The most common and loved of our time, the ones that made most of the myths that exist today, were the Order of Lore: Loyal, determined and always on the side of the law and the people. They were usually the only ones to appear within our old kingdom thanks to us, ponies, being loyal and friendly by nature. No human with dark intentions would ever submit to serve our nation when our royal family had power” Celestia looked like she had her mind wandering back in time for a while “Back on our days we only got one, and too late”

The dark armor, not caring for Celestia’s explanation, took a step aside when the golden one lunged. It used its knee on the golden one’s chest, making the other fall before he crushed it chest plate with a boot. Luna was sure that if the thing had a voice it would’ve laughed as it cut the helmet away with one single slice.

“The Knight of Onyx was unique back then, but it was the complete opposite of the Golden Knight: He was ruthless and crazy, he commanded the monsters that attacked us and he was behind all the chaos. He was the reason why all ended up… like this” She looked down and begun to cry openly “The reason of why we lost so much”

This took the younger sister by surprise as Luna hadn’t seen her sister cry in a long time, she had been sure to hide her tears from her as she showed her the whole story three months prior. Whatever was crossing her mind now was something painful, as painful as what had happened so long ago. However she soon realized what it was and her concern grew as it was the real reason of why she did hate, at least partially, the humans to this day.

“Tia?”

‘Don’t go back! You can live as long as us now! Let me heal you! Come back…!’

“Tia, are you ok?” Luna gave her a nudge “Don’t think about it, please. I don’t want you sad, you already have enough on your back trying to be who you aren’t… and you still have to tell me why you do it”

“Sorry dear, sorry” Celestia wiped her tears and cleared her throat as the last armor came from behind the victorious Knight of Onyx to impale the armor with one powerful trust, thus breaking also the mirror with a dramatic but almost inaudible crunch “Some of our unicorns weren’t truly nice, nor were they really evil, they stood in the middle and did what they thought was right. The Grey Knights were the humans or humanoids with carefree spirits back then, they weren’t common and weren’t special, but their actions most the times either saved or doomed people”

Celestia absorbed the remains of the mirror with her horn as she took control of the remaining one, showing the group again as they found a door in their part. The underground had turned gloomy and Twilight had her horn sparkling with magic as she talked to Fluttershy who now seemed more at ease near J.

“Jonathan is going to be a Grey Knight; I have no doubt of it. It means he will do what he thinks is good, however he has a great problem within his mind that may turn his neutral sheet to something darker” Celestia gave a gentle cuddle to her sister, nuzzling her under her wing as she explained herself “He can’t let go of everything he has done, he is too self conscious of his actions and he knows he can lose his temper so easily that he won’t care who was the cause and who to harm if the right buttons are closed. If he is lied to, he will lash out at least verbally, if his friends are in danger, he will protect them no matter who is the one threatening them, it can go to the point of killing the opposition” Celestia lied her head gently over her sister’s as she took both crowns away with her magic “I wish things don’t go that badly, that is why I wanted him intimidated so he knows it won’t be accepted here if things go grim. He has to learn to control himself and he has to learn to wish for a happy life without violence, however he grew up with training and taught how to be a soldier from his world. His mother is a good woman, but she was unable to teach him properly as she hadn’t had a proper teaching of how she should use her own talents”

“You think he can be a danger then?” Celestia gave a nod to her younger sister “But he looks so nice, I know he IS nice” Luna tried to beg to her sister.

“I know he is, but he has to learn to forgive himself first so as to live with what he did and to hope for the best. However for a long time the only things happening to him had been bad: Losing friends slowly but steady, sometimes by betrayal. He also got lucky a few times and found someone he could call a girlfriend, someone he hoped was the one for him, only to lose her way to quick for one reason or another. It didn’t help him any how unlucky he was as he had the ones dear to him hurt while he saw his mother’s pain”

The sun goddess closed her eyes slowly. She was so sad about the man in so many ways she wanted to cry. She had seen sadness so big once and it was hers. While this wasn’t, by her standards, so cruel and he hadn’t suffered for that long, for a human it could be enough of a motive to do something drastic. She wanted to believe that what she did was the right thing, but it was hard for her to do so even knowing that this was the best case scenario. In fact Celestia had her doubts that when J was finally told about this he would not punch her square in the face. She knew she would deserve it, but no matter how she looked at it, this wouldn’t be fair no matter how necessary it was and it pained her heart even if she wanted to turn it to stone like many years ago.

“Unlike us he was not going to have a happy ending, no matter how positive he was all the time: he knew there would be another one to push his buttons, way too many sad moments and just too much pain for him to bear. His hopes for a happy end were running so short that he had thought of ending it all, I saw it in his mind. The only thing keeping him away of such an end was his family” She tried to give her sister a smile as she looked down at her “At first I thought that he would try something this night right away, however after what happened before I do know he is not going to do anything so foalish” At that the smile on her muzzle grew, but ever so much “Maybe, with luck, he will give himself some more time and see that what he learned during his life could benefit us all. However there is the problem that this is the time for him to learn the Duties of a Protector, and he is going to be burdened with more than just loyalty towards someone for both his life and his friendship”

“And what is that sis?” Luna rested her head on Celestia’s forelegs, relaxing at last now that she knew that her sister would, with some luck and a gentle nudge, drop the façade the next time she saw J.

“You didn’t saw it but I was here Luna: There is a monster that has… ended many pony lives. It spared only two young fillies, and I am sure he did that to call the attention of the Elements” At that Luna sprung on her hooves, looking at the mirror intently as the door was finally opened “This is the first time he is going to see something that cannot die, not only that but that it want the death of everything else or the complete control of everything that moves. He is going to have to fight against the worst our world has to offer and I can’t help him, I can’t help him or the ones alive where he is going to go even if I want to. I saw what had happened too late and the thing is waiting for the Elements and their protector”

“Can’t you help him? Why?! If you are talking about ‘that’ thing then I don’t want any harm to anypony else” Luna had her eyes watering now. The last time she had even thought about ‘that’ thing those images came back “No other creature would have harmed ponies, maybe one, maybe even done something horrid to one, but more? No matter how big that is not hunting and it is not protecting one’s territory. There is nothing else I can think of that is capable of being cruel by nature”

“Even if I could I won’t do anything Luna” Celestia tried to give her sister a pleading look, but hers was one of such sadness that she could hardly change it, much less when Luna pushed away from her in a bit of shock “If I can use any power to help what they are going to find there, I will do, but if it is impossible to bring them back… then… Then I hope for him to learn a valuable lesson and to take care of what he thinks is just” She saw how her sister opened her mouth to protest but Celestia stopped her “Sis, this thing has to be done. He has to put his will in saving not only his own life, but those he finds dear, for other reason than fear and instinct. He has to forge his new character and has to show his determination to be better, not only to me but to his own self. If he fails we will lose him forever… and I will step down to save Twilight and her friend Fluttershy”

“…” Luna looked down at her sister with a cold stare “Would you let him die?”

“If he doesn’t change? Yes, I don’t want to, but it could bring something horrid in the future or keep Twilight and her friends alive and happy” Celestia was crying profusely now, not caring to maintain her façade anymore.

Celestia hid her face from her sister as her cry was too much for her to bear now. The many outcomes she had seen. All of them made someone else sad, but two showed pure destruction and misery, and some showed almost perfect bliss. She wasn’t sure of what to do, she only knew that she had to help this happen, or the future was going to be one of those bleak ones. But here she was, knowing that whatever she did she would harm people dear to her, her subjects, friends or family. How could she chose the right thing when none of them looked like they would fit on her desires of a perfect and blissful future?

“I am sorry sis, but I don’t want to lose you again, not you not Twilight and not her friends” The sun goddess sobbed “I know you probably hate me now, I am no better than all those years ago when I yelled at you. I thought I was in control and I only ended messing up everything, not only that it seems like I am going to mess up again even when this is the only thing I can think of. I am a horrible, horrible pony…”

She stopped once she felt her sister give her a hug. Celestia was still sad and crying, but she knew Luna only wanted her to smile again as she took her close.

“I am sorry you will do what is right sis, I am sure you want to do the best for everypony so I will be here with you to help if I can. I don’t want to leave you to do everything alone again this time. If you say it is the right thing to do I will support you to the end” She gave her sister a gentle kiss on the cheek and wiped her tears away with one wing “But promise me that if it is needed, if he is in danger but he can change somehow without this, you will help. I know he is good inside and he will forgive his past shins and change if we nudge him in the right way. Please sis, for me?”

The sun goddess nodded, smiling a sad smile “I promise, I promise my dear sister” She tried, but Celestia couldn’t stop crying.

She knew that if the ‘thing’ made him doubt what he had found, what he now thought he loved, he would be gone way too fast for them to do anything. Luna would be a great help if needed, at least she would offer support, but if J’s resolve wasn’t strong enough he would be no more, and not by her hoof, he would end all of this thanks to his own insecurity and the belief that he was not worthy of this. It was not how Celestia had wanted it, she thought this creature would take much longer to act, in fact she had hoped it would do so without harming anypony, not like this.

If J died the connection between Twilight and him would break and Twilight would need much help nursing a broken heart again. If he survived, then the attraction wouldn’t dwindle, so her only desire if today things turned out alright was that they two worked it out very slowly and that Twilight would learn to control her feelings. She was young and, much like her friends, a bit too hormonal driven as they all were young mares that wanted somepony to love them. It would be the next problem to avert but Celestia knew it was time away, a long time, if it ever happened.

She was able to see the last bit of the group underground as J took his new possession Celestia simply let go of the spell, her mental connection with him more than enough for the time being. Now she only wanted to enjoy this hug with her sister and to clear her mind. She was going to be sincere with him the next time he came to the castle and she needed to tread carefully or if she had made any progress and he had survived it all would end in nothing but a sorrowful night.

‘Goddess’ She thought, still sad as she looked at the sun ‘This is so hard, even after so long…’ She hid another tear that rolled down her cheek ‘I miss you… it would be so easier with you here today’ Hiding her sadness Celestia gave her sister another gentle kiss, trying to smile as she waited for the young man’s upcoming confrontation and the future of the Elements of Magic with… or without a Protector.

Chapter 6: Meetings, friends and dark nights.

NFA: Hello again everybody. This NFA will be quick as I have a few things to say so everyone remembers the basics: This story does NOT necessarily follow fanon or maybe even cannon analogy. I do my best to please everyone but I have to stress this out because of things I have planed and that will happen that do NOT stick to what is believed by fans or assured by the creators of the show as this is, after all, a fanfiction. Why do I tell you this? You all will see in this chapter… also I should warn you of the next beforehand, but you will know what it is about in due time.

Now onto the reviews :3

Solrac III: You will have to wait at least one or maybe two chapters for the next insight in Celestia’s story, but it is going to happen soon I assure you :3 Now, I began to write at the age of 10 after eating most the books my father and my grandfather had at that point, one of my favorites being TLOTR. My first published story in the whole net was one in AGNPH… so not telling much about that. Now I haven’t had anything published for a few reasons:
1º And most important is that I do not finish anything because I get bored if no one reads it but me, it is depressing to see the work you want others to enjoy but that you have to keep for yourself.
2º I don’t have any kind of title, I may be a good writer to some extent but I suck at Spanish and it is required (I am Spanish so…). Also I am a lazy bum and dropped out of college because when I was younger I had both problems and was pretty stupid, so no one would, for now, even think about publishing anything I make.
3º Do you think what I make could sell :p? I am not a normal writer in the sense that I do not mind porn or other ‘weird’ things in my stories. I find sex normal and something that would happen in most situations given the right circumstances, as well as that I try to be unconventional if I can and for the past few years (I would guess around 11 or so :p) people have been drawn to a boring self repetitive and replicant life (I mean in books, movies, series). Imagination, the one that sells, seems to be dead to me so I am all but sure that I wouldn’t sell :p.
It is my opinion though, doesn’t have to be yours or anyone else.

Nobodyreallyimportant: There is always more to say until The End >:3 And I wouldn’t even get Twilight dehydrated ^^ not yet and not by crying at least :3.

Jiropracter: I do my best on taking those little mistakes away, but I am used to some words making sense in my head. My friend, a grammar nazi of the best quality ;3, usually helps me out with it :3 But I cannot push him anytime I finish a chapter as it is a load of work, luckily he is a brony and for now he likes my story so he does take a peek when he can.

Also as a side note:I may need someone to read the chapters after I finish them and then correct any spelling errors I may have overlooked as well as for the accent of some characters. Reason? As I said I do my best with grammar, but my job and only job is to create this story and make it enjoyable. It includes good writing, but while I try to make it the best I fail miserably since I am used to say some words in a way it makes sense to me and the stupid Word doesn’t want to put those big ‘FUCK ME LIGHTS’ (As Spoony says) where the big mistake that may make this crumble is located.

If anyone wants to volunteer, please, send me an email or a private message and make sure that you CAN do it because when it is about writing I am as serious as I can be even if I am as silly as Pinkie Pie whenever I can afford such a thing.

Mini note: I write Apple Jack simply for the diminutive AJ, I know it is Applejack ok?

*** ***

After the past events it had been a surprise for Twilight to wake up and find that the birds outside were singing at her like every day. She had indeed thought that this day would be rainy and depressing, not to see some of the damned cute animals out of her window happy as if nothing had happened. Twilight didn’t want to, but she had to take a look nearby to see most of the usual morning birds by her window with Owlowiscious perched on one of the tallest and better covered as so to sleep. At that Twilight couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness as she had left her little pet owl out of her home yesterday, though when she came back she was all but thinking of anyone else.

*Snore*

The poor mare went wide eyed when she remembered that yesterday she has shared her bed with someone, in fact she was a bit ashamed to say that she hadn’t even feel his arms and chest against her back, but J had been with her the whole night. In fact as she turned she had to admit that he probably had slept little to nothing: He had bags under his eyes and seemed to have a couple of bruises, pretty new if you want to know, over his chest. She couldn’t help but give a little smile at the thought that during her sleep full of unrest she had kicked her newest friend, yet he had remained with her as she had asked him to.

She didn’t feel like she had the heart to break free from him, besides she felt warm and comfortable, even if a bit embarrassed, between his arms and being pinned against his chest. This was the first time someone had spent a night with her and she hadn’t seen her bed empty the next morning except when it was a very close friend, of course she had never suffered like yesterday and she could tell that J had felt as bad as her, at least o an extent. She had to be thankful, but she also wanted to be alone right now no matter how good she felt to have someone close to her.

Gently, so as to not wake him, she pushed away and stared at her now huge bed ‘Princess Celestia said the effect of that powder would do whatever I desired… Stargaze Powder maybe?’. She shook her head; she had to stop thinking so much and stay sharp, moreso now that all she wanted was some morning coffee, to eat something and… solitude? Twilight wasn’t sure, but she was right on track: She wanted to NOT think anymore, not for a while at least.

Before she got off the bed she turned, gave her friend a little kiss on the forehead and thanked him for being there with her. Afterwards she took off towards the kitchen, only to stop midway and sit, alone, in the main room of her house where all her books were located.

‘So many books… The first time I don’t feel like reading any of them, or caring for them’ She thought as she looked around.

Books now made her think of her aunt, a memory that she didn’t want to have within the limits of her mind, that was the reason why she didn’t want to think at all, yet as a bright mind that is what it made this endeavor quite difficult: She was thinking, all the time. For Twilight using her mind was the equivalent as most writers or artists as they were always forming new ideas no matter what while Twilight was always thinking of new things to do, new ways to play with her friends and solutions to end her social awkward position as an egghead or assure no one had a hard or bad time. It is not that it was bad, but she knew that not all her friends (Or all ponies in general) liked how she rambled on things sometimes.

Now though, she couldn’t care less.

*Knock, knock*

She sighed and, with an apathetic voice, she said “Come in”

From her position she could see perfectly who had knocked and who came in, but she didn’t even care to get up and open the door for her. The Mayor of Ponyville came in without her usual bright smile that she sported around this beautiful town, thanks to her position in such a secluded place the mature mare had more reasons than not to smile everyday at how well and how nice the place was, as well as its inhabitants. Today, though, she was followed by two fillies that could only but look down with sadness.

“I am sorry to come at you after such a horrible day you had yesterday my dear” The Mayor spoke with that gentle grandmother like tone she had “But Princess Luna came to tell me and the young girls about what had happened and… well… She thought you would hate to break the news to the fillies, about everything” She added with a shy look towards the young librarian.

“Then… I suppose I don’t have to be the one telling?” Twilight had to let a sigh of relief escape her lips “That is… a comfort, somewhat”

“I know I talk for everypony in Ponyville, dear Twilight, when we say we all feel for you in this. I have told the messengers to tell everypony to leave you be for a few days, they all will only know that you lost your aunt and uncle in an accident recently so no one will ask many questions” With her tail she nudged gently at the two fillies “However we still have this little problem”

Both young ones gave a few steps forward, practically sitting under Twilight’s tired gaze even if they didn’t take a look to see eye to eye. The young girls were obviously distraught and, if they knew everything, hateful to some extent. Twilight could see the tired and red eyes from the young girls, guessing pretty easily that yesterday they had cried themselves to sleep, probably more than once too, and that the news had been hell on them. Still she had to tell Princess Luna how grateful she was as the young mare didn’t believe herself capable of telling the girls.

“Are… are you going to be our new mommy?” Rain gave her a shy and saddened look “Are you, aunt Twilight?”

A sudden realization came down over Twilight. Like the coldest shower of her life she felt the fact that she had to take care of these young fillies all by herself now, if anything else just by the fact that she had been the one to help to try and bring their ‘parents’ back. It was simple too, as Trixie was for the young girls little more than their aunt, if they felt that she deserved to be their ‘aunt’ at least that is.

Trixie, whom Twilight had discovered to be the only daughter of her uncle and aunt, had left the circus where she had been born when her ‘mate’ knew of her pregnancy, something that seemed to break Trixie apart. Twilight couldn’t understand how someone would abandon their young ones to their parents and flee to never be seen again. Then she came back to her family, unable to tell her young ones who was their mother, the mother that abandoned them, was now back with them.

‘Not that it mattered after yesterday though’ Twilight thought with a grunt, knowing that the harm was done already and it had only been aggravated.

It was then when Twilight understood that, while she had lost her uncle and aunt, something that would pain her for a long time, the fillies had lost their ‘parents’ and their ‘family’; the whole circus and the ponies that worked in there. How could Twilight make up for that? It wasn’t her fault that it happened even if she knew that it did happen because her aunt had gone out of her way to go and see her to her new home, only to find her demise. The thought was a bittersweet memory she would probably never forget for the rest of her life.

“I… I don’t… I don’t know what to say” Twilight, breathing hastily, tried to do her best in a situation that could only make her lose the bit of cool that she had gained during a night of unrest “I-I am no mother, I don’t even know how to be a normal pony sometimes” Ashamed, Twilight looked down while it was now the fillies that looked up “I am a egghead, I have spent most my life with books. How could I be a good mother? Wouldn’t you want Trix…?”

“No!”

Twilight was startled at the young pegasi’s response. Final was not crying and seemed as tired as her sister, but she was obviously also angry and had hate in her eyes, one that no young filly should have.

“She abandoned us when we were born because our ‘father’ left her” The young pegasi practically spat the word ‘father’ “If she didn’t want to be our mother she should have NEVER returned. I don’t CARE what she wants and I DO NOT want her as my mom. You at least had the guts to fight until the end” Final had a spark of hope and respect when she said that “Every one in our family did, Trixie only tried to hide all the time! I don’t want to see her again”

Rain took a step back at her sister’s outburst. The young ponies were mentally more capable than humans one year after they had been born; sometimes earlier thanks to something they had in common from the animal kingdom with their fast development. So at seven years of age both girls were probably at the same level than the ones that lived here, such as Apple Bloom (Whom was also around that age as far as Twilight knew). It was perfectly ok for Final to give her opinion quite vocally, it still stung though.

“I understand that you don’t like your real mother like that after what happened” Final growled something about ‘Real mother my flank…’, but Twilight continued “However I do not know how to care for you two, I would do a horrid job at this, I am not prepared to be a mother” She sniffled a bit, not about to cry again but sad about this situation as well as about to get a headache from all this shi…

“I can help you”

The Mayor had to take a step back as J came to the same room as them. While she had been told about the human she had not seen him, though she had made preparations so everypony knew that a ‘creature’ was going to stay within Ponyville and to not fear him (Not that she thought some of the girls wouldn’t do the usual when he was seen the first time). The fillies on the other hand had seen him earlier, and even if it wasn’t the case they were cured from fear for life by now, they wouldn’t care much if they saw a Manticore in front of them, roaring and looking at them like food. At least the young man had the clothes on or the results could have been a bit different and for the worse.

“Jo…” Twilight turned to tell him something, but he stopped her.

“I am not proposing anything Twilight” He cleared, remembering the talk they had yesterday, giving her a knowing look “But I told you that I would be here for anything you wanted. I have four spare rooms in the basement so they can sleep there and I can help you take care of them. I grew up with both a younger and an older sister, I know how this goes” J tried to give her a little smile “If you want my help in this too that is”

She had to give a smile. Twilight was sure that all her friends would offer her the same help and she would be glad, maybe feeling bad for accepting such a thing was stupid, but she hated to depend on someone, no rely as friends do in some cases, but depend. Maybe her mother could help her here, but both her father and mother hadn’t had enough time to go out of Canterlot in so long… She definitely couldn’t count on them, not because Twilight didn’t want to, but because by now her mother would know about what happened to her sister and she… she would be in a worse state than her.

“I appreciate the help Jonathan, I really do” Twilight smiled at her friend “You have been a great help these past two days…”

“It is what I am for” He smiled back and gave a little bow before looking at the young ones “Would you like me to help too?”

“We would?” Rain Berry gave her sister a quizzical look. Final Test simply nodded with a bit of a stoic face “I suppose we would…”

“You almost died; Princess Luna said so” Final lowered her head a bit “She said you were protecting aunt Twilight until you couldn’t even lift a finger and that you were crying as they buried our family. You tried to help mom and dad so you are ok with me” The filly looked away, probably overly proud to show any other feeling.

“Thank you girls” J went to the secret door and opened it to show the now bright and beautifully crafted stairs “Down there you will find a door, behind it, a room. Pick any of the four rooms in there except the one with my name, if you want you can share one to be together”

The fillies nodded and walked downstairs, leaving the adults alone for a while. The Mayor was unsure of what to say in this situation and an awkward silence came as J got close to Twilight, sitting by her side to gently rub at the still sad mare. At that The Mayor had to suppress a smile as, even after such bad things had happened, she couldn’t help but think hat something good came out of it, as it always does.

“Where is Spike?”

The question from Twilight got The Mayor out of her little fantasy as she stopped seeing things and focused in what was in front of her.

“Well dear, Spike took care of the girls even when I couldn’t anymore” The Mayor said with a light smile “He is a very diligent young boy, I don’t understand how it is that he doesn’t have any more friends. Anyways, when I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore thanks to my work and the girls, he stayed up. I suppose he didn’t go to bed until the sun was almost up, so I left him sleeping… I hope you don’t mind?”

“He has learned from a good mom, if you could say that” J gave Twilight a smile, whom simply blushed a bit “You can say whatever you want Twilight, but you can do a great job. Not only I but your friends too will help you with this”

“And I thank you all, I know they will offer whenever they get to know of my situation” The young mare sighed “But Spike was something else: A dragon is born much more intelligent and they hunger for more knowledge as well as for gems even if Spike does grow bored from time to time. Rain and Final are a pair of fillies that grew in a circus and are accustomed to large crowds of people and a large ‘family’. How will I be able to provide them with that with how I am?”

“Dear, you could do easily” The Mayor chimed in with a big smile “I know by personal experience that kids feel much worse with these kinds of events, but at the same time venting their fear, anger or sadness lets them come back stronger and faster than an adult” She got closer to the young librarian “I know you will take at least a few days, if you are strong enough to recover so fast, but the girls will recover much faster. I am not saying that any of us is insensitive my dear, but it has never been in the nature of anypony to wallow in sorrow with these kind of events, it is just how life goes, and it always gives something in return, you only have to seek it out” Even with her words Twilight didn’t seem to change much at all “Dear, you have a lot of friends and everypony in Ponyville, I promise you that these young fillies will be cared and loved here as much as they were in the circus. They will not have the kind of family they once knew, but they will certainly never be alone. The only thing you have to do is to take care that they don’t wander too close to Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon” The Mayor cringed at the names “I don’t know why those girls never learn that what they do are going to cost them if they don’t change”

At least that made Twilight snicker wholeheartedly. The pair of young fillies she had known and they were the most superficial and prissy ponies she had ever known, not counting Prince Blueblood that is. If she had to raise the two young girls she would make sure that those two didn’t bother her again, however it was not only that problem the one nagging at her.

“I thank you Mayor, but I am also worried about Trixie now. What will happen to her when she knows about this?” She sighed in defeat, knowing that no matter how many good things came out of this she was not going to allow any good feelings to make her feel good for that long “I lost something dear to me, but she lost more. I don’t know how I will make this family stay together”

“You should not worry about that now Twilight, you should worry about returning to happiness before it harms you and those around you” J took her friend close to embrace her gently “You know I hate my friends sad for any reason, and I do know how bad it can hurt someone to lose their family”

“I know, thanks for worrying” Twilight gave him a little nuzzle, sighing happily as she cuddled with him.

Much like with Spike, Twilight felt confident and comfortable near J. However with Spike it had been obvious, at least to her, that it was motherly love that she felt toward her assistant and, for a long time, only friend. She had raised Spike and she felt proud that, while a different species entirely, he was growing to be a proper and friendly dragon.

With J it was mostly the fact that he seemed to be more than willing to please her friends to a fault: He was willing to get in harm’s way, it was impossible for him to lie and he wanted no sadness befitting one of his friends no matter what. It was obvious that if he got friendly with any other pony he would be like that with them as well and that made Twilight feel comfortable whenever she had him nearby. Unlike with Spike, though, she had to admit she was worried of him too…

“But I would like to be alone for a while…” She pushed him away with a little pang of regret, however she did thought it was for the best. Twilight simply wanted to be a lone now; she did not feel able to turn her mood.

Hearing that seemed to sour J’s mood quite a bit, but he did recover quite quickly, if not because he understood that Twilight needed some alone time simply because it would probably help her to talk with the young fillies once they came back from the basement. It was not all that bad also, J had to talk with the other Elements and with some luck they would all be in Ponyville.

“That is not advisable my dear” The Mayor retorted to Twilight’s little plea “I will stay with you and we will talk with the young girls once they come back. Your friends came back first hour in the morning after they delivered what they had to the palace in Canterlot and Rarity is housing a guest. I was going to ask him to leave us to talk already, if that was not a bother, but I am by no means leaving you alone knowing the mood Trixie was when she woke up”

“Uh? What mood? I thought Trixie wouldn’t wake up in days” Twilight was, indeed, confused. She thought that the magic from Princess Celestia, even being as powerful as it is, would take more to bring back Trixie.

“She hasn’t changed her attitude much I am sorry to say” The Mayor gave a tired groan “Or so says Fluttershy whom had been caring for her all night long, only to get yelled at when Trixie woke up. She was in tears when she found Rarity, her guest and I walking towards her shop before I took the girls to come here. I doubt Fluttershy would leave someone unattended even if she was hurt very badly, so I suppose Trixie is in a good physical condition…”

“But?”

J had gotten up already, letting Twilight talk with the Mayor as he fetched himself something to eat. Whatever was going to be said was a family matter now and as much of a friend that he wanted to consider himself to Twilight, he had been with her three days now and had no rights to give his opinion in this. It was better to let her talk alone.

He never said anything about not paying attention to what they said though. It was his duty to be alert he supposed.

“While her character seems to be only bitter and more egomaniac than before, Fluttershy is sure that since your last encounter with her she has grown spiteful beyond belief towards you. As far as she told us Fluttershy thinks that she may calm in a few days, but right now it seems that Trixie would prefer to bite anyone that got close enough instead of simply talking… if you can consider the yells needed to make Fluttershy cry, talking that is”

“It is only normal” Twilight’s voice sounded, again, sad “She lost her parents, the ones she once called family until she escaped and she, I am sure, knows that her own daughters don’t want much to do with her, if anything at all. I am not sure what Trixie had to do to back then, but Final Test seems to hate her and I doubt Rain Berry is much better in that regard” A loud enough sigh made J shudder as he took a few apples for himself “I am surprise she is still sane, or at least as sane as she can with all that happened to her recently. Yet I don’t know why you worry about me so much Mayor, I am… perfectly fine”

“Dear, have you looked yourself in the mirror?” A flash like sound (Much like the ones used in movies or cartoons) was heard before Twilight gave out a little yelp “A few meters away and you look fine, up close you seem to have had the worst night of slept possible, your eyes also seem to be a little bloodshot and with everyone knowing what happened it will be easy to link all that and your messy hair so they will ask questions I am sure you don’t want to answer. I can couple this with the fact that you do not plan in doing anything, at all, until you feel better, which will not come if you sit on your flank for a few days” J heard a gentle petting, probably The Mayor trying to cheer Twilight up “Trust me dear, I have a lot of experience in these matters, for good or bad, so I am not going to let you down. Princess Celestia would have my flank if that happened” The Mayor let out a bit of a nervous giggle.

“I suppose there isn’t a way to convince you against this?” Twilight gave such a loud sigh that J thought books would fall from their places.

“Sorry dear, but I need to help you, if not for the Princess’ orders because you have done much for us and are a very nice and great pony yourself. You do not deserve to be in such a sorrowful state and if there is something I CAN do it is talking people to change their minds for the better of everypony, including themselves” By that time J took a bite of an apple, happy to hear that Twilight was going to get some help and that The Mayor was headstrong enough to convince her “When someone in special LEAVES to meet the rest of the elements, of course”

*COUGH!* Oh fudgecakes…

*** Less than ten minutes afterwards… ***

‘Get out there and meet the others! You need to smile again too young man’ “What a mare” J growled with a little smile as he walked down the street.

He had to admit that his mood had brightened considerably after he saw Twilight smiling at The Mayor like she was some kind of grandma that was trying to cheer the youngsters of her household. It didn’t help at all to his seriousness the fact that once he had stepped out of the tree house the first pony he had meet almost eye to eye was Lily. There is no need to describe the ruckus that fallowed afterwards.

Of course the place was deserted and everypony was looking at him through windows before closing them with a loud slam, or taking their foals inside while giving him glares that would scream murder (If the ponies were evil enough to do so). All in all he was about to laugh his ass off as compared to the second day of his new life this one was being the happiest one so far, it even included an unconscious Lily in front of him right now.

J couldn’t help but pick her up with a little groan, making a lot of ponies gasp dramatically as he rolled his eyes, took his earphones and got the music going as he approached one of the houses with the mare he recognized as Bon Bon looking at him with fear but, luckily, with her door open even as he got close enough to grab her (if that had been his purpose that is).

“You know where she lives?” He asked, though Bon Bon did not reply, only stared with her mouth open “Would you mind if I left her with you then?” Bon Bon nodded at that, maybe quite too fast “Good then. I’ll leave her to your care; also do me a favor” J couldn’t help but smile “Tell her to stop fainting so much, it is a running gag but come on…”

With that he left Bon Bon wide eyed as they all looked at her, then at Lily and then at the human again. It was true that The Mayor had sent word that ‘something’ was going to be living in the city now, but they didn’t know what this thing was and why it was hearing music so strange to them. The only pony to ever pay some kind of attention that was not of shock, fear or a kind of strange curiosity was one specific white unicorn that was already running towards him.

Vinyl Scratch, on all her glory (Which meant with her unkempt mane and huge smile) kept on trotting behind the human, using her developed ears (For music that is) to hear the beautifully strange songs that the creature in front of her had in that device. While she was curious about the human she was even more curious about the device that was playing that music as the creature in front of her looked around, seemingly looking for a way to reach a certain boutique a bit faster.

“Hey you!” The voice of Vinyl was happy and vivid, much like the one you would expect from maybe Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie but with a melodic touch to the mix “Hey! Pay attention!”

J hadn’t noticed the mare, not until she had shoved his legs with both hooves. Luckily Vinyl was very light and as an unicorn she was all but strong, so it only came as a shove to J whom turned back to see the mare smiling at him triumphantly.

J arched an eyebrow as he looked down at the mar who, to him, seemed about to pounce him for something “Yea?”

“Can I have that device?” She chirped “I want to hear that music; I NEED that music, please? I haven’t heard that ANYWHERE and I WANT it” Vinyl took her glasses away with her horn and showed the cutest puppy eyes she could, something that was an utter FAIL when one of her lentils fell down to reveal a brown eye that she squinted at the felling “ACK! Hay! Not now!”

J couldn’t help but chuckle “I am sorry but I am not going to give you this” Only in case he did hide it as he knew that magic wasn’t to be trifled with, even though he was sure Vinyl wasn’t going to steal from him “I have things to do and I also need distraction for a few reasons…”

“Is this about what happened to Twilight?” Vinyl seemed to have a casual tone as she took her lentil back with her magic “What are you doing? If I help can I have that for a while, please?”

His face turned sour and serious “You are quite insensitive, you know?”

Silence reigned. Vinyl obviously had ‘heard’ about what had happened, just like The Mayor said, but she didn’t seem to take it as seriously as any other pony would.

“Of course not, I feel for her” Vinyl seemed genuinely hurt “But she still has her parents, unlike me who had to grow alone after I escaped from mine” She said with a bit of a scowl “I live to be happy and to best my talent every day of my life. I don’t have time to be sad, I never want to be sad, that is the reason I am friends with Pinkie” She gave a little smile “We both know that the best remedy is a smile, no matter how much you want to cry. We both know about this by personal experience”

“I see…” J had to look at Vinyl with more care. It was obvious that from the cartoon to the real world there were a lot of differences. He had to wonder how many there would be yet “But I won’t part ways with this, not until I get something from someone though”

“Then come to my home when you are done?” Vinyl pleaded.

“What?!”

“Come to my home? I will accompany you until you finish whatever you are doing. I REALLY want that music; I can take it from your device to my disks quickly. Pleeeeeeeease?” Her huge smile and cute red eyes finally won over the supposedly much tougher human.

*Sigh* “Fiiiine…” He groaned “But you better don’t break it, and so as to avoid you touching it in any way you aren’t allowed to use your magic until we are in your house. So don’t prod in my pockets!”

“Promised!” She smiled, saluting happily “And since you seem to want to reach Rarity we should go this way” Vinyl chuckled gently “That you are big enough to look towards it is such a giveaway”

Vinyl trotted down the pat quite fast for most ponies, J had to suppose it was because if she was friends with Pinkie Pie the two of them had to have shared a few secrets (As to how could a Earth pony teleport?!). At least Vinyl did help since not even two minutes after they got together the boutique of Rarity was in front of them.

“Well, I must admit you did help me out” J kneeled a bit to ruffle Vinyl’s mane, making her laugh a bit “Tha…”

“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

“…nks?”

“I know that voice…” Vinyl lost her smile as both J and her own attention went towards the boutique.

The yell came from within, the voice though; J couldn’t make out, much like Vinyl’s own if it wasn’t because he had seen her. The only thing he could make out was that, unsurprisingly, it was female (As it seemed at least 80% or so of the population was female), but also quite gentle even when the anger and hate, if he had measured it right thanks to his experience, were dripping from it like if it had been drenched for that exact moment.

If by instinct or something else J didn’t know, but he ran towards the boutique with his arms stretched as if to catch something, only to see the words open and a flying pink blur being thrown at him. It stung, well, it did hurt right away, but when he crashed down, letting out a loud yelp as his ass connected with the ground, he had to admit that the laughter from Pinkie Pie made it all the better.

“Honk!” She smiled, poking his nose with her hoof.

“Pinkie! What happened in there?!” J blurted out as best as he could with his mouth half full with that hoof, something that seemed to make Pinkie giggle even more “Seriously please, what happened?”

“Oh it is nothing; my sister was acting up” She said with a little smile “Hello Vinyl!”

“Hello Pinkie” Vinyl sat right besides them like if this was normal “What is the occasion? How is that she is here today?”

“Dunno” Pinkie shrugged “She still doesn’t want to talk to me, so I didn’t pay attention to her if she was going to be a mean meanie pants again, like you told me” The pink mare smiled “So I went to talk with rarity, but it seems that my sis thought I was doing it to bother her, so when she tried to get me I dodged her for a while until I saw J here” She gesticulated as if she had been in a bar fight much to J and Vinyl’s amusement “When my sis charged at me I jumped out of Rarity’s boutique all dramatic like so J would get me!” She gave her usual carefree smile, making J roll his eyes as he tried to suppress a laugh.

“The nerve that mare has” Vinyl laughed “You should ask her to relax a bit you know? She will live longer”

“Don’t you dare talk about living, you wretched caricature of a musician!”

Everypony (and J) turned their heads to see the serious face of Octavia whom was in front of Rarity. The musical pony seemed to not notice the look of displeasure, the worst she could feel towards anypony, that the dress maker was giving her. With her gaze fixed on Pinkie Pie Octavia moved forward, not caring for those around her and seemingly not even minding the human that she should have noticed as he was as blatant and out of the norm as the sun touching the ground before her, then again… Pinkie was over him and she had been on top of weirder things and toys.

“You know what happened and you don’t share that knowledge, I respect the Princess’ orders much like anypony else but this is a family matter and YOU are in the middle of it all” Octavia threw daggers at Vinyl with her eyes before turning to Pinkie “And YOU! I shall remain here by order of the Princess, but I do not want you near me EVER, understand me? I.Do.Not.Want.You.Close!”

*Cough*

“And what do you…!” Octavia turned and finally noticed, to her dismay and surprise, that there was something under Pinkie that was all but a pony “Want?...”

“I do not know of the story behind this” J began, taking Pinkie gently off him with a giggle coming from the pink pony as she was placed on the ground “But if I hear you yelling at Pinkie Pie AGAIN for whatever reason” The sword appeared in his hand, much to his surprise and to the ponies, though he fought back the surprise and gave more emphasis to the effect by lining the sword against Octavia’s face. The only one not so surprised was Pinkie as she said ‘Oh! Dangerous!’ “We will have a problem that neither one of us wants, got it?”

Confusion, anger, fury and sadness flashed across Octavia’s eyes and face as she started at the sword and then at the creature in front of her. She looked ready to do something too brash, something that would probably meant a sad ending for somepony more than someone, but she soon calmed down to an extent, regaining her composure with a serious and cold face that seemed to have been perfected during many years in a way no pony would want to if they had the chance to chose.

For a moment everypony had to back down as J seemed like he was going to plunge the sword against Octavia or that, in the more probable chance, that she was going to lunge at him. When she calmed down it was time to look at J in different ways.

Rarity was horrified at what someone she thought was serious and classy had said and tried to do to Pinkie (which in fact wasn’t much, but such outburst were beyond her in most normal terms). Now though she feared for whatever this creature could do to her friend’s sister, no matter how harsh and brash she had been a moment ago. It was in her nature to think of others and she felt frustrated at not knowing what to do.

Pinkie simply chuckled gently as she knew her sister wouldn’t do anything towards J. She was a very angry mare when it meant Pinkie, but the pink mare was more than sure that this would calm her down in a way. Of course she had to offer a half serious face at this! Not that Pinkie got it right of course, as always she knew, more or less, how things would turn out and it was going to be good for her big sis.

Vinyl said nothing. She simply sat there and watched things unfold. Much like Pinkie she knew that Octavia wouldn’t do a thing and, for what she had seen, J wouldn’t do anything either. She was the calmest of the group after Pinkie, simply looking and taking mental notes in regard of something no other pony present knew.

J, unbeknown to the ponies, was in a dilemma. How did the sword materialize if he wasn’t in danger? That was a question that he wanted to get answered quickly, in fact he felt himself about to lose it as he shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. It was simply not what he had wanted to do! He just felt angry, angry at the pony that seemed to want nothing but to see Pinkie disappear, yes, but it was just anger and he knew how to manage it. However there was a hunch, something that told him that either he could stop this and ensure that Octavia did not berate at Pinkie anymore or that something was going to happen.

At that realization he had to hold a shudder as he took the weapon away from Octavia, letting everyone sigh in relief.

He did not.

The last time J had a ‘hunch’ that he had to act this way it ended badly… like the one before that and on an uncountable number of occasions that he couldn’t let go. Why was it happening now though? Why did he felt it was necessary to intimidate such a cute pony? Why did he mingle in family affairs when he wanted none to get in his? It was not like him, it was not like how he did things, this made no sense in his mind and the more he thought about it the more he wanted to find an excuse.

He didn’t know that Octavia was Pinkie’s sister, not until now at least, nor had he thought that if he got to know her family it would be like this: With one of them giving glares at pinkie that would freeze hell. Was there any reason beyond that to prompt the sword forth? He still didn’t know how this magic worked but there had to be a reason... a reason that didn’t involve the violence his mind was prodding forward, wanting him to implement drastic measures in this. The only thing it gave him was a pang of guilt and sadness as he saw that, even with what had happened the other day, he had changed nothing.

Or maybe it did change something…

“Sorry” He began, still with a serious face and with regret slowly overtaking not only his voice but his features “I do not know what came over me…”

“Oh I do” Octavia blurted out with her composure still as intact as it could be, serious face giving away nothing now and dry tone staying as neutral as it could “It doesn’t matter if you are a different species, you just love the laughter and love the parties, you love a life where seriousness and hard work are paired with a little smile and with the fact that you can slack off to enjoy ‘the little things’” She looked coldly at Pinkie “You think that life is a laugh Pinkamena, but I still think you are a murderer. It was because of YOU and your parties that mother and father agreed to go to the ‘lively forest’ and it was because of YOU that our sister had that accident”

“Octavia, you don’t kno…” Vinyl tried to stop her but she lifted a hoof with a bit of a scowl.

“That Princess Celestia told you to not tell anypony I may believe Vinyl, we have known each other since I began practicing with my talent and you are a nice pony I trust and am friends with because you have never let me down” She sounded calm and almost ashamed for what she had said before, but only to an extent as she looked at Vinyl “However I will not believe that my sister is alive until I don’t see her in front of me. As far as I know she died in the forest and I won’t believe otherwise until I see her in front of me again” With a look of disgust towards Pinkie she continued “For me it is not our sister that is dead, but you too, Pikamena, I do not want to see you ever again. If it wasn’t because of what Princess Celestia asked me to do I wouldn’t even be here, in fact if I had to set a hoof in here it would be to deliver the message and then get out” Octavia gave a loud grunt and turned “Speaking of which, don’t go anywhere, creature, I have a message for you”

Leaving in a fuss, Octavia went back to Rarity’s boutique, leaving everypony outside looking at her as she trotted with the head raised high in distaste for what she had seen and how everyone rose to defend her sister when she knew perfectly well what was behind that smile. She did not care about their explanations or reasons, she had her own and that is the only thing she cared for. She couldn’t let go of the memory, it taunted her every day of her life, and so did Pinkie. She couldn’t…

“Let go” J let go of the air in him with those words, looking down with a sad frown.

“Are you ok darling?” Rarity trotted towards the pink mare, a concerned look over her face “This has been… quite different”

“Oh I am ok silly, why wouldn’t I?” The characteristic giggle from Pinkie was there, even though those that knew her enough (in this case everyone around said pink pony) felt something different about it “But I wish my sis would let it go, she is too serious”

Rarity didn’t say anything about that, she just turned towards J “And you! You…” Rarity wasn’t really all that sure of what to say to him as J turned to face the white unicorn mare “Why did you took that sword” She pointed her hoof at the weapon “And placed it against Octavia? If you are friends with Pinkie I would have at least expected some kind of respect towards other ponies, not a brute”

The looks that Rarity threw at J hurt, he was feeling kind of sad again as well as ashamed. The weapon, for whatever reason, took that as a sign and banished in a bright light leaving behind the silver ring as J looked away.

“I don’t know” He said truthfully “It-the weapons is supposed to appear when I am in any kind of danger. I do not know how it got out, nor do I know why I felt compelled to intimidate Octavia”

J gulped down, something inside of him just told him how much he had messed it up and it made him want to cry. He had changed nothing; in fact he probably had just blown one of his chances away with what he had done in front of Rarity. The feeling simply made him sake in place as he thought what could happen if he were to do such a thing again, or in fact, if he could control what he felt when he did so.

“Well at least you seem to be sincere” Rarity made sure to be in front of him so he would look at her “But don’t do that ever again, a gentlecolt should be more than a brawler like you seemed back then. However I must admit my displeasure at such a brutish accusation towards my friend. Pinkie is a random and maybe… special individual” Pinkie only giggled at Rarity’s nervous grin “But she is no murderer, it is against her personality. I may not like what you did but I do feel compelled to show that awful mare to spread lies about my friends. If it wasn’t because I have left Fluttershy at the spa to accompany Octavia to my home I would give her a piece of my mind right now”

“You don’t need to; I already know what you think”

That was fast. At least that is what everyone thought as they saw Octavia came back with her cello strapped on her back and a note in her mouth that she promptly delivered to J.

“I expect nothing from those that seem to know my little sister so well” She said with venom dripping from her voice as she said ‘sister’ “So I will be on my merry way to any kind of residence I can afford with my bits” Octavia turned and began to walk away “Good day everypony”

“You wait there and stay put”

Everypony turned to look at J whom had opened the letter and had now three sheets of paper in his hands, all of them the usual size of Celestia’s letters and with a certain glow as they floated in front of J’s face.

“This thing says that I should read it out loud for everypony nearby, so no one moves”

J cleared his throat as Octavia sighed, turned and sat in front of him besides Rarity whom now had quite a hard blush on her face. She was a lady so being caught saying things of someone on their backs was quite embarrassing to say the least, though everypony else (included Octavia) didn’t seem to mind that much.

“Dear Jonathan” He began “If you are reading this then it means you survived yesterday’s endeavor and that you are a step closer to change. I am confident that this note you will read only in front of few ponies and that those that hear this will be important in the future, so they should know that the story given to the ponies in Ponyville was a lie so as to not spread fear and also to ensure no one but a selected few will know of the return of the Nightmares”

The girls all around him exchanged glances, well, except Pinkie who seemed to get surprised, yes, but also that seemed to know perfectly well what the Nightmares were. J thought it wasn’t only for what she saw when she ‘came along’ with that little vision Celestia had shared as Pinkie always seemed to have a perfect knowledge of everything, or at least of some obscure things other ponies didn’t know about.

“For that reason, and because you are now the only Knight of Equestria, I hereby name you the Lord Knight and give you the order to protect Ponyville as well as its inhabitants. By today, if not tomorrow if any problem arises, you will receive the first pay towards your cause. You have been granted powers to recruit others to your order and they will only respond to me or, if in a mission, to the Elements of Harmony. How these recruitments should be conducted and how it shall work is explained in the next two pages, pages that only you and Twilight Sparkle shall read”

With that finished J got to the next page, picking the first up and making it lose its magic as it stayed in his grasp willingly. Meanwhile the girls had turned into chatting, past confrontations or disagreement forgotten, mostly because the only that seemed to know was Pinkie Pie and after the Parasprite incident everyone had agreed that when something they didn’t know appeared (and they meant that Twilight didn’t know and hadn’t mentioned in her whole stay here), then they should hear Pinkie out if she had anything to say.

“I tell you guys! If there are Nightmares we are in deep, deep trouble! I mean a sea of trouble, well, if trouble was like water and if we could swim in it, but you got what I mean, right?!” She was greeted by stares from the three mares around her “Ugh! Nightmares are… dark thingies! Yea, that! Dark thingies that… umm… how was it? Oh yes! Dark thingies that are the ‘manifestation’” Pinkie gesticulated heavily at that “Of bad things like… fear!” She gave out a too realistic roar that probably would’ve made Fluttershy or Dash fall flat on their flanks “They try to corrupt ponies or other creatures and then use them to harm others, I swear!”

“Not that I don’t believe you, Pinkie” Rarity gave a weak smile, one that turned into a frown as Octavia whispered ‘I don’t’, to her friend “But it sounds too horrible to be true my dear, I haven’t heard of such a thing in all my life and we all know that I do risk my beautiful form greatly when I go hunting for gems to some of the most dangerous places in Equestria” Her melodrama was, as always, impressive if J had to give his opinion “So where else but in the rocky mountains and deep caves where I find such beautiful things could a beast like that hide? I doubt there is a place more fitting if we don’t count the wretched Everfree Forest”

“There are places” J let that lingering as he took the remaining pages and folded them all back inside the envelope to carry them easier “That is why I am here as Twilight had a ‘premonition’, you could say, of more dangerous creatures coming to cause havoc. Basically what we found yesterday in the forest was one of these”

There was an eerie silence for a second as the girls digested that information.

“Does… does that mean that it was that creature…?” Rarity asked, wide eyed and unable to finish her sentence as J simply nodded, knowing what she was going to ask “B-but then… why is Twilight alone?”

“For the same reason I was quite jumpy as I saw Octavia angry at Pinkie: She is shocked” There was no other way to put it, except to say that probably company was all but what Twilight wanted. Also he hoped that it was for that reason that he went, well, medieval on Octavia.

“But then shouldn’t we go with her?” Pinkie tilted her head. She didn’t seem sad at all because she either knew already of the truth once the Nightmares had been mentioned or because her nature was simply unable to get sad except with something extreme.

“Not really” J thought back at how shy and distant, to put it mildly, Twilight was even with The Mayor and him offering her some help and company “Since she is with The Mayor she already has someone, besides this morning she had another surprise, not bad, but quite a handful” He sighed, rubbing his temple in thought “Look girls I wouldn’t mind to go there and cheer her up, but the only reason I am telling you this is because I want you all to know so you don’t go there when all she wants is to be left in peace. None of you have the skills to talk her out of it, she doesn’t want help” He paused for a second and took some air, awaiting for the girls’ reaction once she said the last thing “So what she needs is someone to help her realize that she NEEDS it” The two friends looked up at him questioningly.

J understood that Pinkie was mostly acting; she always knew what was going on and, if she didn’t, it was because somehow she knew it was in her best interest (And in her friends’) to let it play out. If the pink mare had been in the dark about this then she would be depressed and with her hair down, J knew that much.

In Rarity’s case it was mostly that the Element of Generosity had within herself the need to simply give away to make others happy, to be unable to go and give the help that her friend needed was maybe too much for the white unicorn. She, however, waited patiently for J to make enough sense as to convince her OR to decide she had had enough and that she would go no matter what.

“You have to understand that Twilight, before meeting you two and the other Elements, had only her family, so unlike any of you” And with this he also got Vinyl and Octavia back in the conversation “She never talked with anyone if she could help it, in fact she only got Spike for most her life. You all had your family and/or, at some point, friends, no matter what had happened between any of you or within your own family” This made Octavia and Pinkie exchange and awkward stare “I do not know Twilight’s full story, I have been here only two days, but with how she cried yesterday and for the few words she said when I made sure she slept… I fear that the pain in her mind may be enough to maybe make her do something stupid if she doesn’t go slowly”

He felt weak, his body wanted to sit down and think of a way to help, but he knew that if it had been his mood the thing that had drawn the weapon and those thoughts and that hunch... Better not think about it, he could make a grave mistake and Twilight would hate him if he did so. Bringing worried friends to try and cheer her up could either make her happy again or stress her out too much. This was not a movie and it certainly wasn’t that friendly cartoon he had seen, here ponies could get harmed or worse, sad and depressed or maybe in a worse mental state.

Messing this world more would not only harm it, but it would also shatter the view he had of it in a definite and cruel way. He wanted all but that to ever happen.

“Then… should we give her some time?” Rarity had to ask and to attract the human’s attention. The look of sorrow in his face had showed her that he was, indeed, sincere and that he was as worried as everypony of the Mane six would be.

He shook his head a bit and nodded, trying to get his mind away from any kind of thoughts “Yes, yes, give her a few days. If things go alright she would be ok by the time Pinkie throws my welcome party” J turned to face Pinkie who had lit up again with a bright smile “If it is still on”

“Of course silly” She giggled as she jumped to poke him in the nose “I know Twilight will be happy soon enough. It is very rare that anypony grieves too long, we are not made to be grumpy” Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle, her sister simply sighed and rolled her eyes “I will make sure it is a simple party and also will make sure the Princess is there” She gave J a wink “If she is still not back to her old self Princess Celestia will surely help”

‘Yea, I hope so’ “I am sure that will help” J tried to smile but it didn’t come to pass this time “Forgive me though; I don’t want to think about it all that much right now. Yesterday had been maybe much more than I thought I could bite”

“With what you told us it is obvious it would’ve been a lot for anyone darling” Rarity was not in her usual serious but cheery mood, however she at least was as normal as it could get right now “If you want to relax at least a bit maybe you would like to come with me to the Spa? Fluttershy is still waiting for me and it is a good and quiet place if you want to share more of what you know. Celestia knows I would like to be prepared for when I see my poor friend again”

At least those words made him give out a smile. Rarity had seemed about to kick him off and he would then probably lose one of the six he had hoped to have as friends. Granted he had flunked up with his first impression and that he would not hate her if she had done, but this for him was a blessing.

‘Maybe I owe Celestia a praying or two?’ He chuckled inwardly. As a ‘soldier’ he believed in nothing else but training and being prepared, even after so long of hearing his mother’s preaching daily.

“Well it has been a nice and… very curious chat but it is my cue to leave” Octavia finally reared up and decided to go away. This was turning to be nothing like she had expected and it had much more drama than she cared for.

“Wait a second”

Octavia gritted her teeth, putting a straight face as she turned to face the human again. He was getting on her nerves by now and it was quite hard for anypony, except her sister, to do such a thing so quickly, if ever. However this time J was sporting a sincere regretful expression as he offered his hand to her.

“I am sorry for what I almost did Octavia, no matter why, there was no reason to try and intimidate you” He began “But I do mean that you should not yell at your sister, believe me when I say that family is something precious no matter how much it may hurt sometimes. You have to do your best with them before you find yourself they have grown distant to a point where you can’t relate to them or...” Looking up, Octavia could swear that J had his mind on another time and another scene that was taking his full attention for a few seconds “Or to find out that you don’t have them anymore”

A glare that could freeze the North Pole was exchanged, however Octavia sighed in defeat “I forgive you, if that is what you want”

“I don’t want you to forgive me, Octavia” That caught the mare by surprise to say the least. Why would he say those things but to get her to forgive him? “You are going to find only friends of Pinkie in this village, so no matter where you go to live until Celestia comes back you will have to deal with weird looks if they know the truth or if someone overhead your fight. I am offering you one of the rooms in the basement where Twilight lives as it is mine now and it is the quietest place you could get, as well as neutral ground if you will”

“Ooooh! Tavi you have to say yes and make up” Pinkie giggled at her sister’s surprised face.

“Don’t call me Tavi!” Octavia blurted out before offering her hoof to J whom did his best for a good shake “I gladly accept your offer, and I do mean that you are forgiven. I suppose I should not berate my sister such as I have” There was no need to say that those words were forced and pretty obvious, but the best one could get from Octavia right now.

Pinkie simply giggled as she jumped up and down with Vinyl and Rarity at least giving out a little smile. At least, if nothing else, Vinyl now would not need to worry about Pinkie getting into any problem with her sister and Rarity would only need to worry about Twilight when she came back.

“Well guys I’ll see you tomorrow” Pinkie chimed in with a grin “I need to go make preparations for the party already. I will make sure the party is GREAT, but I will tone it down so Twilight can be relaxed ok?” Vinyl and Rarity gave her a nod while J simply smiled offering thumbs up “Then see ya later alligator!” She chirped, bouncing away.

As everyone waved her away J got up “Vinyl, could you guide Octavia to Twilight’s house?” The DJ unicorn gave a little smile and nodded “Then do so please, but knock to make sure you two can go in. Tell Twilight to show you the secret entrance and that is it, I don’t know if she will react badly to that but I feel obligated” He got down and whispered “Because of my manners and because someone doesn’t have a single bit on her”

Octavia gulped down a bit, blushing as her angry and serious demeanor both banished. It was not that she had no money, it was that when she had found out that Rarity was offering a ‘famous musician’ a home during her stay as well as food as a favor for the Princess… well, would you want to bring money to someplace you don’t like if someone offers you a free stay? She wouldn’t, personally she felt bad about the idea of taking advantage of the generosity of somepony now that she had calmed down but what was done was done.

“I… thanks” She muttered with a sweet and gentle voice unlike what she had before.

“No need to” J assured her “I did a stupid thing, no matter what happened yesterday and how much I want the ones I know to never cry like I saw Twilight do. I shouldn’t have done what I did, I owe you this much”

Octavia looked up and offered a smile. He had given her one of the worst impressions she had ever had from anypony, yet he had done her no harm and even when she had been a harpy (Even if her sister deserved it, at least so she though) he had been sorry and had offered her a place to stay. It had been much more than most ponies had done for her as only Vinyl or Celestia had ever been so attentive and had tried to correct mistakes they thought they had done.

Maybe it didn’t help that most the times she was depressed and that she tried to erase such an awful feeling with liquor when she had the chance. For that she was glad that she hadn’t brought any kind of money as, after this, a drink was looking to be so promising for tonight.

‘However I may not need it’ She thought with a little smile “Still, thanks for what you did. It means a lot to find someone that is willing to give you a second chance, no matter whatever they did to you or what they promised” Octavia looked up at him “I… I may be willing to consider things with my sister… maybe…”

That made him smile as they parted ways with him following Rarity and with Vinyl signaling her to get moving. Octavia had to smile too, it had been a bad day at some point but it now looked like it could end well. However Octavia wasn’t sure if she had been truthful with that last statement.

Pain went deep down in her mind; maybe it had been because she had been used to the cold shoulder treatment or because all her life it had been about being serious and her family only. Maybe it had been for that reason that when such a thing happened to her sister she had been…

Devastated? Horrified? She wasn’t sure. Unlike Pinkie both sisters felt at home in the rock farm. Octavia at least loved the hard work, the gentle love from her sis and their parents and the effort it took to get all running. She had never connected with Pinkie and she had been jealous when their sister had preferred to spend time with Pinkie when she found out her cutie mark.

Why had she betrayed her? Why did she turn to Pinkie? Octavia didn’t know the reason then and she didn’t know it now. She only felt enraged because she hated those parties; she hated to see a hard day’s work going down the drain only to have some laughs. It pained her to see that her parents only grew to like them less and less because Pinkie obviously was not going to go on her life as a rock farmer and to have a mate as well as kids as they had hoped for her.

In fact she hated what had happened that day.

When her parents had brought them all and their last load of rocks for Ponyville so long ago Pinkie left, looking for the liveliest place in town. There she found it: Sugarcube Corner. A young pair of ponies regented such a sweet place that even Octavia had liked, until she discovered that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had found out how good Pinkie was with sweets and how much her little sister loved that place.

Pinkie begged to her parents to move to Ponyville. She wanted to make sweets, to throw parties, to be happy all the time. It disgusted Octavia, it was a waste of time and it only angered her more when she overhead their sister voicing her opinion that it would be ‘nice’. Octavia had said her own opinion back then and there, already raising hostilities between Pinkie and herself. In retrospective it had been a bad move, but their parents refused to leave Pinkie there.

As they approached a big tree house (Literaly the tree being said house) she had to sigh and look down. It did take her sister some time, but she took any free time she got to trot back and forth between the farm and Ponyville. In a few years she finally had the age to tell their parents that she would be staying in Ponyville with Mr. and Mrs. Cake as her teachers in the art of sweets, yet she promised to visit anytime she could.

And so she did, until things went awry.

‘I should really stop thinking about this’ Octavia groaned as Vinyl knocked at the door ‘Let’s give a smile, if Princess Celestia’s prized student is here and in such a bad state… Well, I can sympathize for real, but I suppose I would only depress her more if I talked’ The door opened and Octavia turned back to her serious face in hopes to avoid any kind of conversation ‘Let’s keep the façade, it is better this way, it is better to not talk, to not think’ She moved again when Vinyl finished talking with The Mayor and Octavia had only to give a polite salute ‘If anything let’s wait and practice. Music is like a good drink as it takes my mind away. Let’s simply… think about music, let the mind fly. Work for your dreams as hard as you can, as you ever did’ Those last words in her mind weren’t for her, but for someone else.

*** Castle of Canterlot ***

For the first time in a long, long time Celestia was sick, well, it wasn’t really a sickness as the goddesses, even without immortality, could not get really sick. However she had the biggest migraine known to man after a night of sleep and a forceful and tiring sun rising in the morning. Even in the quietude of her private chambers she felt the pang of pain now and then.

‘Stupid duties’ She grumbled, sipping a light soup that her mother had taught her to make whenever her head gave away to the pressure ‘I wish I didn’t have to do this every day, for once in my life I want to definitely be a normal pony’

She had been crying the whole night as she had seen what J had been through, his thoughts, his nightmares and the pain he felt as he held Twilight close in an embrace she could hardly describe without giving out a warm but sad smile that only worsened her pain. Celestia had to admit she was not sure that J would, maybe, develop such a liking for Twilight as the princess was hoping for, in fact she had taken all into account and Twilight maybe was one of the least possible with Apple Jack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash being the most probable choices if he ever found a partner.

‘Look at me, playing matchmaker in my head’ Celestia giggled; drinking some more with a little smile as the warmth of it made her feel better ‘It has been too long hasn’t it? I am getting old all of sudden and I want my little ponies to be happy’

“Sister?” The voice of Luna at least bought some comfort to her mind as she turned to see her entering her chambers quietly “I have feelt… something” Forget the comfort, Celestia was worried now and the migraine returned.

“What is it Luna? Has something happened?” Celestia tried to get up, but any kind of movement and effort simply made her groan and stay put.

“Don’t get up please” Luna got closer and nuzzled at her sister “It is… I think one of them is going to get a nightmare today. Jonathan will need to get in her mind, I am sure she will allow them without even knowing but…”

“You fear for his sanity and safety?” Celestia had to give a smile away even with the pain still tearing at her. Her sister nodded and cuddled so they would be together “You like Jonathan, don’t you?”

“It makes me remember someone” Luna said in a whisper.

“You only friend?” Luna nodded “Would you want me to ask him…”

“Not in that way, nor did my friendship ever go that way with him sis” Luna gave a bright blush “It is… I only had three friends back then sis. I now only have two, and one of them is new. I don’t want to lose anyone again, not like that”

Celestia couldn’t help but let out a giggle at that “I know dear, but I had to make sure. It seems he is already having some kind of effect on some ponies so I have to make sure where everyone stands. As for your worry… don’t” She gave her sister a reassuring smile “He has survived once, he will do so again. He is going to change, even though…”

“Sis?”

Celestia had a worried frown in her face as she thought back at something that had happened today. She had felt something, a feeling that was quickly replaced with over extensive thought into a matter that should have been clear for her to decipher.

“Nothing dear, I think he had an outburst today, probably from yesterday’s pressure. I know I shouldn’t worry but it was something traumatic” She shook the thoughts of her head and took a ship of her soup again “I suppose we shouldn’t worry if he doesn’t have another in a while”

Luna gave a little nod and rested her head against her sister “Then should I help him tonight?”

“Too dangerous” Celestia said maybe all too quickly. Luna knew in nightmares she was vulnerable and her sister was not up to lose her again, this time permanently “Send him some help, but do not get in the middle. I do not want either of them seeing you or you may not escape until he or she wakes up”

With a nod Luna tried to relax. She wasn’t sure whom but one of the Elements had seen or felt something that had made her… unstable. She wasn’t sure how to explain it but tonight she knew what J would see but would not remember: A chamber with six doors and the most horrid landscape ever.

The only thing the lunar goddess could do was to hope. She wasn’t sure how a human would react, but any pony would probably lose their soul inside the wretched traps of darkness. For now though, she knew that J was probably meeting the other Elements and, hopefully, making friends.

‘I hope someday I can make more myself’ She gave a sigh as Celestia took her under her wings ‘Tia wants me to be happy. Three months had been enough’

*** The Spa ***

The walk had been nice, interesting if Rarity could say so, as well as J. She had asked questions and, while none had been too personal, they did get her to know how he had been drawn here and what he had to do as well as the story Celestia had told him. Since the Princess had not said at any time that it should be a secret from the Mane Six he didn’t feel bad for sharing and it did help Rarity comprehend a few things while also promising to share it with the others so as to not bother Twilight with details and so he would not need to tell it again.

“It had to be horrible to be there and have to fend off those… things” Rarity sounded disgusted beyond belief “I can only imagine what it had to be for poor Twilight, the poor dear”

“Things could have gone… better” J had to admit, as they approached the Spa to see the twins wide eyed at the company that the fashionista had today “But it could have gone worse, much, much worse” He saw Rarity shudder at the thought of such an eerie end.

“Don’t ever mention that again darling, it is a dark thought” She sighed as she got closer to one of the twins “Good day dears, is Fluttershy still in here? Has she calmed down a little?” Both sisters gave a nervous nod, making Rarity smile “Good then, many thanks dears. I will go then with my friend if that is not a problem”

The twins didn’t seem to want to give an answer or, well, do much more beyond staring at the human so Rarity simply shrugged and went in with J fallowing close by.

Usually Rarity would have taken her time doing quite a few things, but today she only wanted to go to the pool and find her friend to talk with her as she had also seen at least the end of what had happened and had taken care of the young fillies that were now in Twilight’s house.

When she looked back at J she saw him smiling a bit, probably thanks to the calming odor from the Spa and all the relaxing creams, herbs and other compounds used here. Fluttershy had told her that everything was natural and safe the first time they came here, not that she had any need of these things since her natural and careful lifestyle made her naturally appealing, soft and beautiful, but the pegasi loved to be with her and the Spa was the perfect excuse. Rarity had to admit that without her shy friend the group would have had quite a lot of fall outs, much like if Twilight wasn’t here.

As Rarity thought of that J had his mind wrapped around other matter altogether, even if he wanted all but to think about it.

How would the others react? Right now he was going to see Fluttershy and maybe have a nice chat, however the fact that he didn’t have, but wanted; to meet the others was making him nervous. He did manage out a smile and a calm face but inside he was squirming beyond belief.

What had happened before bothered him, even if he had been able to make it ‘right’. Well he had been able to because the pages Celestia sent him had a little extra in the form of ‘I assume Vinyl Scratch will be near Octavia when you receive this letter, so I would like to ask you to befriend them both and also to ensure that Octavia resides with you in your new house. I cannot explain as of yet why I need you to do this favor to me, but I am sure that if you as Pinkie you will know of her relationship with the musician and how… it goes’.

That hadn’t made his mind up; it was how she treated her own family. J wasn’t sure of how much truth her words had, but she did seem to hate Pinkie, her own sister. While he disliked his own mother’s soldier quirks he also loved her dearly, as well as his sisters and his father. It was much like with his friends, but in a deeper and probably more dangerous level if it was possible. Now that he thought about it…

“I did something stupid” He muttered as they reached the pools in the Spa.

“What do you mean J? Something happened?”

He noticed, maybe too late, where he was and where Fluttershy was resting: She was comfortably lying against the border of the little pool (Even after watching the series he wasn’t sure how to call it, was it a little Jacuzzi?) with her wings spread and her expression quite calm, even if she had small bags under her eyes and a glint of sadness that appeared from time to time.

“Hello Fluttershy” J got closer to the pegasi, kneeling in front of the little pool to give her a gentle pet that the pegasi seemed to need “I… I got angry today. I suppose after yesterday I was going to do something stupid, but I didn’t think it would be against someone”

“But you didn’t hurt anypony… right?” The shy mare gave a little pleading look.

“Of course not” He assured with a big smile, one that dropped quickly “But it was stupid, stupid and dangerous…”

“Relax darling”

Rarity had taken a little towel around her hair and was now joining her friend, enjoying the little show at how the human did seem as nice as he had tried to appear to Rarity. It was, thus, true that his outburst had been because of the pressure of such events in two days, events that took him away from home and threw him in another world that forced him to have a new life. If she had asked him further and some key things he would know all the truth, at least he hadn’t lied and Rarity knew that much.

“You were under such pressure I am amazed it didn’t escalate into violence. Not that I think you would do such a thing as you have been a gentlecolt in our talk. I, however, don’t know how I would have reacted to such events, even more if I had seen Pinkie’s sister yelling at the only mare I have seen laughing and happy under all circumstances after such an ordeal” Rarity relaxed against the little pool and sighed “I must commend your control my dear, though you would indeed need to perfect it as I don’t know what could happen if this repeats in the future (Celestia prevent such a thing)” She offered him a sincere smile “I would hate to lose such a friendly new face”

“The good thing is that you didn’t harm anypony” Fluttershy sighed happily “That is nice”

He gave a weak smile and nodded, even though he still felt ashamed to the bone.

“You still seem tense darling” Rarity got closer to Fluttershy “J has told me all about what happened dear, but do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really…” Fluttershy went deeper under the water to hide her face a bit, yet she did resurface to talk after a quiet moment “But it is… it is simply that I feel bad” She looked down at the water, making it swirl with a hoof “I stayed back because I feared of what could be in there, because I didn’t want to see any creature harmed… I only was useful to carry Trixie and nothing else” The shy pegasi began to cry “And the only thing I did good was to make her angry and yell at me” She sniffled, pushing down until her eyes meet the water so as to not show her tears.

“Darling, darling… it wasn’t your fault” Rarity got closer to give a gentle embrace to her friend “You did all you could there, or do you really think you would have fared any better in there with such a monster?”

“I don’t know” She half cried in her high pitched tone “I never wanted to hurt anything… maybe I was wrong? That thing… that thing did something horrible. Those poor fillies…”

“Fluttershy” J took her chin and lifted her head so she would look both at Rarity and him “You did the right thing being out there. If you had been there…” He took the hand away and looked in any direction but theirs “You did the right thing, you got out of harm’s way. You took Trixie in and I know if there is someone capable of making her relax and calm things down it is you”

Fluttershy nodded but looked away quite fast, though she did meet Rarity’s gaze so to hide her embarrassment and obvious discomfort she would have to face away entirely, something she couldn’t do in fear of bothering her friends or raising more questions towards her.

“I will be fine, I promise” She said finally with an awkward smile “But… how are you?” The question seemed to make J retract some from where he had been by instinct “Do you feel alright?”

“No, no I don’t” He said with a loud groan “I told you it was important to me to be friends with you all, I wanted to be here and make myself change, to have everyone happy” Looking down he tried to hide how glassed his eyes were now as he finally let it go “Do you know how hard it is to let go of family? Twilight saved me as she summoned me here; it was a mistake on her side, but a miracle on mine. In exchange I lost my mother when she was feeling down for a discussion we had. I also lost my sisters and my father as I had little to no connection with the rest of my family and most my remaining friends were already out of town. Celestia is going to solve all of that somehow, but not for me. I will remain here with no one… only you girls, if you want to befriend me. That is why I told you it was important to me Fluttershy, it is because I will have no one else but those close to Twilight” ‘Those I think… that I think I know already’ He thought, fearful of saying the whole truth for the questions it would entail.

J didn’t feel like crying, not anymore. During his stay he had cried quite a lot already and, unlike some, he felt proud of it. Showing emotions was one thing most men tried not to do, it was the same with J during a time but he finally cracked and changed to what he was now. Crying was not funny and was not something he liked: His head ached, he felt impotent to do whatever he had tried before and, most of all, he felt a failure. However crying cleared the mind and he left the sorrow and anger behind after a good time spilling tears.

That he was happy for crying would be lying. The fact that he was proud of being able to, however, was true.

Yet this time was not for his tears “I cried” He lifted his gaze again and looked at both mares with a little sad smile “I cried yesterday after those events, you saw me Fluttershy” The shy pegasi gave a nod “However tonight I realized that I was not crying for the dead, but for Twilight” In a sad tone and with a pitiful attempt to smile he continued “Twilight asked me to sleep with her, she did not want to be alone and I didn’t want her to do something stupid nor be alone and in sorrow, so I complied” Looking back he found a mixture of happiness, rage and sadness in such a recent memory “She kicked in her sleep after the tears took her strength again. I was enraged to see her like that and so I found that I didn’t cry those that had died, but for the lost Twilight had sustained, for her pain and for the sadness that she would have more than those of Trixie and the fillies”

Silence dawned for a few minutes afterwards. J knew that what he said would probably sound like a certain topic or feeling to the mares, as well as to make him feel either insensitive like a monster would in the sense of those that had departed and the fate of Trixie and both Final and Rain or to see him as a compassionate man that feel for the one that saved his life and brought him here, treating him as an equal and a friend.

‘A good friend, one that didn’t throw him away once he messed up like yesterday’ He thought with bitterness.

“I don’t want to think it is what it is not” J broke the silence with a serious face “She befriended me almost after I got here, she had no complexes, and she didn’t even hate me after I… failed to save her aunt and uncle…” A light smile crossed his lips as he thought of the next “She has been the best friend I have ever had. Anyone else would have moved away or made sure to never see me again. I may feel for Trixie, the fillies or the deceased, but I do so all the more towards Twilight, towards my friends…”

To him such words gave away a pang of guilt. Did he think that the few friends he still had in… where he lived before were not so good friends? He was unable to decide what words to say. In that place not much happened as he knew, but the worst always seemed to go for those that didn’t want it and didn’t seem like they deserved it, which usually meant him and anyone around him.

J had to think ‘Would I have done differently if I was in their place?’. He had no answer right now, at least none that didn’t make him look like a total jerk to put it mildly.

“But it is beautiful, darling, at least in a way” Rarity caught his attention with a warm smile even in the dark of the conversation “Things were… harsh, to say something, but you stayed by her and made sure to comfort her. She may need time now and The Mayor may be able to help her better than any of us could, but you must make sure she IS well enough. I doubt any of us four can do the same as you can, dear”

“Us four? I know we talked with Pinkie and that Fluttershy is here, but that counts as three…”

*Poke, poke*

*Sigh* “I am going to turn and there will be two mares behind me, right?” He asked with an annoyed grunt. At least Fluttershy finally gave a little chuckle as she nodded alongside Rarity ‘God, why you hate me so?’ All his pleading to NOT be a cliché were for naught it seemed as when he turned he saw Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash sitting there “Allo ladies”

“Hello there partner” AJ gave a little smile, being the one of the pair that seemed to be open and outright warm to the human “Ah thought Rarity here would make this last longer than it did”

“Well, it is not polite to spy, even if in such a blunt way my dear” Rarity gave a huff and smiled gently “Besides I was curious as to why you two were in here, I thought both of you loathed this ‘girly’ place”

“Damn straight we do hate this” Dash blurted out “But we heard someone had made Fluttershy cry and that the little pushover was here” She stated with an angry scowl “I am sorry Fluttershy, but I have tried to tell you so many times: Not everypony is going to be friendly. Remember what happened with Gilda?” Though Dash seemed angry she did also seem hurt as she mentioned her ‘former’ friend.

“I am sorry…” The yellow pegasi looked down “I thought Trixie would be more… cooperative”

“Don’t need to say no more sugar cube” AJ gave her a sweet smile “After what we heard there is no need to excuse her, though ah am going to have a word with her after she calms down” That was said with a bit of an icy tone.

“Don’t, please” Fluttershy begged all of sudden “She had lost a lot… Just give her some time, ok?”

There was a group sigh as she said that. Everyone but J had joined in for it as each one of them had been on the receiving side of Trixie’s ego when she ‘made an example’ of them all so everypony knew how ‘great and powerful’ Trixie was when she came to Ponyville three months ago.

“If ya say so sugar cube” Apple Jack gave a little nod before turning her head to J “Now though, ah think we have a talk here” She gave a little smile and offered her hoof to him “Ah am Apple Jack, though ah think Twilight probably mentioned me and my partner here Rainbow Dash” Dash simply gave a little nod, still with a serious face “Ah want to say it is maybe not the best way to be greeted here if ah can say so, ah wasn’t there but for what ah heard it was hell so… If ya want a friend ah will be happy to be one”

“Yea, like, what she said” Dash offered her hoof too “But you better don’t make my friends cry and make SURE the egghead is back with her usual goofy smile and babbling in record time, got it?” Finally she gave a little smile, broken down in less than ten seconds “Wait, what are you…? ACK!”

‘Screw the hoof’ J had thought, much to Dash’s dismay as he embraced both ponies, making Apple Jack laugh loudly as Rainbow Dash tried to escape from the grasp of the ‘crazy guy’ as she shouted, squirming about until she gave up with a grumpy face, growling something about ‘Not cool’ and ‘This is so unfair’. At least it did cheer everyone’s mood considerably.

“Sorry, this does mean a lot to me” J had warmed up back to how things were before the events of yesterday, probably only for a while but it was better than nothing “Thank you”

“Ah think ya are all right if ya helped my friend back there as best as ya could” AJ smiled “Ah am sorry for not being there for her when ah could have helped, but better not think of things past, right? Just… make sure she is back soon ya hear?” Her voice obviously turned down to a sad tone, but even if it wasn’t so J did need no encouragement to nod.

After that the conversation turned away from sadness to simply a friendly chat where every mare asked J whatever they wanted to know. Luckily nothing REALLY bad or compromising came and their curiosity was satiated while J himself asked them some questions about things he was curious about.

First he asked Apple Jack about their parents and such. He made sure to be vague when he mentioned about her story and Apple Jack assumed Twilight had told him a bit about everyone, which made it easier for the rest too. As she told him her mum and dad were in their own plot of land and had sent Apple Bloom, Apple Jack and Big Mac here to keep Granny Smith as she had contracted a very rare disease that made her age at the same rate that a human would, meaning that she would probably not live past 80 or so which in human years meant to die around 40 or earlier.

She told him about the Grand Galloping Gala where she had hoped to get enough bits to pay for the first part of the rehabilitation to cure her and her most damaged part to regenerate; the hip. However when it blew Apple Jack had been depressed for a while. AJ tried to smile afterwards and said that she didn’t want any of her friends sad, though she had to admit it was partly because she didn’t want to see sadness, not to be sad herself. It was a bit egoistic, or so she said, but her friends did reassure her that it was normal and if it came to happen it would be much like what had happened to Twilight.

Speaking of family Rarity told everypony that her parents would probably visit from Fillydelphia in a week or two, as well as those of Rainbow and the others (Except for Pinkie’s and probably Twilight if her mother was as bad or worse than her daughter). It seemed that the girls had all their birthdays few days apart and since all families had been, or were, friends with each other they had decided to try and make of this a new tradition.

At that Rainbow tried to say nothing, but it seemed that, as far as J could hear from the little talk between her and Apple Jack, that there was some animosity between some of the parents.

“Ah only say to let them short it out Dash” Apple Jack had said “Ah reckon it is better that way”

“Yea, tell that to my mother, her hoof and Rarity’s dad” The rainbow manned mare said with a dejected sigh “I hope they don’t something foalish after so long”

“Ah know they won’t” AJ chuckled “All of them will be too occupied looking at Twilight’s new ‘assistant’ there to do something they may regret”

It went on smoothly after that with mostly some curiosities here and some there, hearing of their adventures from them was much more interesting than the cartoon and he didn’t have to feign surprise as there were some things different in their tales or at least more detail.

In truth he was having fun with friends for once in such a long time that he didn’t even notice that night was approaching so fast. Simply talking and sharing a few things had felt to him like the best drug, putting it bluntly; he had a high right now. The day had began as pure shit by his standards, had turned up to be a bit funny thanks to Lily and her overreacting, then went down again thanks to his outburst at Octavia…

‘And seems like it is going to end like this’ He chuckled as Dash told him of the ‘worst’ accident she ever had, which mostly included a lot of tree sap and following Apple Jack around the apple orchard because a little spat they had.

“Miss Rarity?” A sweet and calm voice caught the attention of everypony present towards Lotus and Aloe “I am sorry to interrupt but it is time to close… and Miss Vinyl is waiting outside for someone like if she was a statue”

“Oh, we probably stayed far too long my dears, I am sorry” Rarity blushed a bit, embarrassed at the fact that they had taken the bath and then simply stayed talking “I will make sure to repay you girls next time, just think of something I could do for you two and consider it granted”

The twins smiled and nodded “Thank you, Miss Rarity. We do need a few gems to renew some of the Spa’s decoration if you were so kind as to provide us next time you come here”

Rarity returned the smile and nodded, guiding everypony outside as they chatted a bit more. J had to admit that while everyone seemed easy around him, they did also seem a bit wary except for Fluttershy. While nothing too compromising had been said he had also been sincere with everything he had been told and, of course, not everything was good. Probably it was not any better that he put it a bit darker than it really was, in fact his opinion was still affected by self guilt from yesterday and thinking that what he said was the whole truth did not help.

Whatever it was though, the nature of the ponies was set to be friendly and forgiving most the time, so much like with Octavia everypony was happy to have someone new here. The only one that seemed really troubled was Dash for whatever reason, though Rarity was obviously worried sick for her friends and Apple Jack had been caught without her smile from time to time. Fluttershy was sad for obvious reasons and she was the only one J could say was ‘normal’ in this situation.

No matter how much fun it could be to have someone new or how open the girls seemed to him, it was obvious that with what had happened, what had been told and with one friend between a fine line between coming back ok or maybe never coming back the mares were in as high spirits as possible, just… not fully, not until Twilight was back and happy. They could, as much, play a bit of pretend and try to be as happy as they could.

‘Tomorrow will be a better day, I know it will be better’ J told himself, unaware if it was simply a self inflicted lie or hopes that it indeed was better than today.

“Well it has been nice but it is time for us all to go to our homes dears” Rarity brought J back to reality as they all got out of the Spa “I hope to see you again tomorrow J, and that you bring good news”

“Me too” J assured “Maybe tomorrow I can be with any of you girls? I would like to have more time and to know you all better”

“Ah have to pick some things up tomorrow so ah will not be available” Apple Jack rubbed her chin with a hove “Ah think ah will have ma sis running amok then, and after today ah swear you are going to cross paths with her in no time”

“I will be taking care of the weather, yesterday I took the day off so I have work to do” Dash flapped her wings and gave a little wave “In fact I have to go take a rest right now. See you next time!”

Everypony gave her a quick goodbye before Rainbow disappeared in the sky.

“I will be at my house taking care of Trixie” Fluttershy said with a meekly voice, more than usual I mean “Before she was so… grouchy I left her a lot of food and anything she may need so she didn’t have to move much. I doubt she even tried to get away so I am not that worried… I fear what she may say when I get back though”

“I’ll go with you dear, that is, if Apple Jack doesn’t mind taking care of Sweety Belle tonight” Rarity offered; glad to see her friend nod “Then it is settled darling. Though this changes the plans for tomorrow dear J, if you can’t visit Fluttershy’s cottage that is”

“I’ll go, I promise. I want to see how Trixie will be doing and… maybe get her to move with Twilight when she is recovered. For now I will see where…” He felt a thug on his jeans and looked back to see Vinyl’s smiling face “Oh, nothing then, found her”

The three mares nodded and waved their goodbyes between little smiles as they dispersed. At least J could say that, while not 100% perfect, it had been a more or less good day with new friends made and also the fact that he had the luck to know in person every single mare of the Mane Six. It was like a dream come true and for once in his life he was about to squeal like a girl.

*Thug, thug!*

Well, when there was nopony around that is.

“Ok, ok” He gave a little smile as he turned “I gather you have been here a lot” She nodded “How is Octavia? And Pinkie?”

“Octavia turned to her near mute self again after we got to Twilight’s place” Vinyl gave a little chuckle “She is only so open and talkative when her sister ‘drives her nuts’, the rest of the time you will have to be alone with her to get even what you could call a conversation” Vinyl couldn’t help but poke her tongue out “Pinkie is… a bit depressed, but give her a night of sleep and tomorrow she will be her usual random self again”

“I hope I didn’t cause her that little depression…” J began, but Vinyl did cut him in time.

“She is like this every time she tries to see her parents, receives her letters returned or when she sees her sister. When she came back from the Grand Galloping Gala she was the same because she thought she fudged her sister’s best chance at being famous” Vinyl shook her head with a little giggle “The little foal is always too worrisome for her own good. People don’t understand that she is so random because she doesn’t want to think all that much, though she is as smart as Derpy or Twilight”

Vinyl got up from where she was sitting and began a little trot towards her home after that. She seemed awfully eager and it did left J with his thoughs as he wanted them to be.

He had learned many things from the girls and had decided that what everyone had seen in his world was a toned down or child friendly adventure of what the Mane Six did here. They hadn’t spilled any spicy or sad details, but they had been implied. So he wondered: Why the Mane Six and why not the entire story? If they were real as this demonstrated, if this was no fantasy, why not showing the entire story?

‘Because it would be way too much for your people to accept that other worlds, other species, do exist’ He heard the voice of Celestia in his head ‘Very few can find these places, you are lucky. Probably no other human will ever place a foot in Equestria after you ever again’

‘But… how is it possible? Why do we see this? I mean…’

‘Lauren Faust IS an Alicorn you know?’ She said with a little chuckle ‘She is, in fact, a human, the only one with such an innocent mind that I could touch. When she slept or when she played with her Little Ponies when she was young I brought her here, at least her soul, her innocence. I shared my stories and she watched as this world grew, she even helped me in the last years.’ The alicorn princess smiled inwardly as she said that, as if bringing back a sweet memory that seemed so far away yet had been lived not so long ago ‘We shared our story during years, Jonathan, she was a magnificent artist and an equally magnificent person, a good friend. So when this all happened, when the Elements of Harmony’s final destiny finally came, she offered to share our story with your world in hopes that any of you could see the same marvels she enjoyed when she was young’

‘I guess it backfired a bit?’ J chuckled.

‘You could say that’ J didn’t have to see her to know she blushed ‘I mean, come on, Molestia? Trollestia? Your kind has a wicked sense of humor’ She gave out a warm hearted chuckle ‘However if they change maybe that about you being the ‘last human’ to ever get here could change too. As for now I only hope that you will change enough my friend, I still fear it may have been a mistake’

‘What? Why?’ Now J was nervous again ‘Why do you say that Celestia? I know I haven’t changed as fast as you had hoped but…’

‘Jonathan, I am unsure of what it is but there is something that has changed, and not for good’ She stated bluntly ‘There is… something weird going on, something that I had not foreseen. You are no innocent my dear, you are no Alicorn, not a pony of any kind. You came here corrupted and if someday you ever want me to change you, then you have to be as pure as Lauren, yet that will mean you will stop being yourself. Still, that is not what worries me’

‘Then what is it? Why are you scaring me like this now?’ J was about to scream the words, for once scared for his new friends, however not because someone or something else could do them harm.

It was because of what he could do if Celestia was openly saying she was worried.

‘I am not sure Jonathan, I wish I knew’ She sighed tiredly in defeat ‘But when you confronted Octavia I had hoped for talking, maybe yelling. The anger that rose within you and that made you use your now latent magic was… unpredicted. It was not in the ‘schedule of things’, as I like to put it’ A few seconds passed as Celestia remained pensive ‘I am not sure of what, but you didn’t get here, to this world, with what made you do that, however in my thousand years of age I haven’t seen nor felt such a thing’

‘What can I do then?’

‘Sleep, and don’t fear, but tonight you walk in the realm of nightmares’ Celestia sounded hurt as she said that ‘If it is something that is destined to engulf you, then I will know by tomorrow. Where you are going to go I cannot help, nor can my sister, not even Lauren can, and she has offered her help’ That made J feel warm for some reason, in a way Lauren was his little heroine for giving the bronies MLP FIM, to bring them the story of this beautiful world that she had experienced ‘However she never was seen by anypony, never in her whole stay. That cannot change, not even to help you, also Luna could be harmed in such a place so I can’t risk her getting in and helping you. If yesterday was harsh test, this will be even worse, something that will tax you in a way that would take away something that means much more to you than your own life’

There was silence for a few seconds as he and Vinyl approached one of the many houses in Ponyville. The only thing different in the outside was the big note that was exactly the same in Vinyl’s flank and that was adorning the entrance of her house.

‘Be careful Jonathan, I was too harsh with you and I still haven’t forgiven myself for that. I want you back, my sister wants you back. You are much like the only friend she ever had’ Celestia offered a warm smile that J could see even through this was telepathic, the goddess of the sun was simply that gentle and nice ‘I want all but to see any of my fellows sad ever again. Please, be careful and come back Jonathan. If Lauren made it possible for you to come here thanks to what she did, then I want to believe that there is enough good in you to remain here, to make someone happy’

“And this is my home! Watch out, it is sparkly”

The statement caught J too late as he refocused in the scene before him, only to find a wave of music and a bright flash blinding and deafening him for a few seconds.

Once he opened his eyes he found himself before the bright entrance of what seemed to be a huge disco, though in fact it was simply the main room of the building that had a few disco balls and an ample collection of stereos with music and lights dancing around thanks to both interesting decoration.

The floor was, literally, a dance floor that filled the whole main room except for the exact middle where a round table with four chairs lied comfortably. There was not much for the chairs or the table, in comparison to the rest of the room they were as normal as they could get.

Vinyl got in and switched something, letting the music die down and the lights becoming more like the normal white ones a ‘normal’ house would have. It didn’t change the fact that the multicolor floor and the disco balls were, alongside the walls, giving it a very specific look.

“Hey, my life is a rave” Vinyl gave a light chuckle “Come on in”

“I can see that” J smiled as he did his best to fit through the doorway “I had thought your house looked plain on the outside”

“Do you know how much it would take to change the exterior? I am not made of bits” She poked her tongue out “I wouldn’t mind though, it would be a lot of fun” She gave him a pleading look then.

“Oh, you want this, don’t you?” J gave the poor mare a mischievous grin as he brought his Ipod in plain view. Vinyl simply nodded as fast as she could “Ok, let’s see how much you take”

“Thanks!”

With her magic Vinyl took J’s Ipod and, before doing anything else, she examined it up and down. She bought the headset to her ears and with her nose she pushed a button, letting the music fill her mind as she smiled to herself before trotting towards one of the doors in the room.

J, wanting his music back when Vinyl was finished, fallowed the mare to the best of his capabilities. While the house was not big and only the main room seemed prepared to be one huge everlasting rave, the rest of the house was tidy and white as far as he could see. Of course the problem was that, while it was small, Vinyl was fast as heck.

“Stop running damn it!” J coughed after they had arrived to the 2º floor “Frak… you know… you are… pretty fast”

“Courtesy of Pinkie” Vinyl beamed “Now, it won’t take much” She said with a bright smile.

J hadn’t even notice that they had reached one room that had posters with many pony bands, a lot of albums with music and even some little trophies and pictures with Vinyl on them. One of such pictures was of Vinyl, Octavia and Pinkie in a happy hug, at least happy for Vinyl and Pinkie.

Once he was able to breathe normally J got up and checked the picture while Vinyl used her magic to do… something with one of her disks while holding the Ipod on the side.

“How long have you been friends with Octavia and Pinkie?” He asked, hoping that the white unicorn wouldn’t mind talking while she did her thing “You seem to know them very well”

“Since I got away from my parents, at least Pinkie” Vinyl commented with a little shrug “I meet Octavia two years later when she moved away from her parents as they sold the Rock Farm”

“They sold their way of life? Why?” He placed the photo down and got closer to Vinyl, sitting beside her on the mare’s bed “For what was said before I thought they couldn’t live without it”

“They couldn’t, but the guilt was pretty big as far as I know” She said nonchalantly, changing the disk and getting a new one quickly “I suppose that is what you get when you accidentally ‘murder’ your daughter”

“WHAT?!”

While Vinyl continued with her task J had turned pale as if the blood had drained from his face. As he had thought before: The day had been pretty shity, then turned up good… but after the talk to Celestia and now this? God, what else did he miss? What did Lauren hold back if she had been here and saw all of this? There were many secrets.

“Pinkie’s parents had been fed up with her for a long while. It is not that they didn’t want their daughter to be happy and to do what she was born to do, but they wanted her to be serious about things, they wanted to show her that doing what she did all time could be very dangerous” Vinyl gagged as she was disgusted “They paid a young dragon a nice amount of gems to give her and her sister a good scare at the last party Pinkie did for them. It was supposed to go smoothly as far as her sister told me, since SHE did know of what would happen”

“Her sis… why don’t you tell me her name? Would be faster and I wouldn’t need to guess, it is not a time for secrets” J grumbled, this was simply something that he thought would annoy him further.

“Because, like me, she is not the same pony as she was” Vinyl gave him a predatory glare that he hadn’t seen in any pony ever “I was escaping from my home when I found her body going down a river that was in the forest. Pinkie and I didn’t live that far from each other as there was a village near her Rock Farm, the forest nearby was where they threw the party and where the dragon was attacked by… something, I don’t know. Being a young dragon some creatures could face him, but whatever attacked him only made him angry, chased Pinkie and her sister until they were near the river and then left Pinkie alone while her sister had distracted the monster to what almost was her demise”

She changed the disk again as J watched her wide eyed. She was treating this as if it was everyday’s business! Something smelt fishy here and if it was any more obvious it could be cut with a knife, literally.

“When I found her downstream Pinkie’s sister was between the path of being drowned or ending up with blood loss. I could do nothing, I was little more than a filly back then, but Celestia came to help” Vinyl’s eyes sparkled as she took her glasses away “She healed her and helped us with a wish for each. We wanted practically the same: To enjoy a free life. She gave me those lentils and a change of my whole color to be a new person, a new pony. I changed my name and so did my friend with Celestia’s blessing, though she left and asked me to tell her parents and her sisters that she would be back when the time was right. Haven’t heard much of her ever since, much less seen her”

“Why didn’t she go back right then?” J wondered of why she did it, where she went and how she was now. Maybe she could help bring the other two together.

“Are you kidding?” Vinyl couldn’t help but to give a weak smile “When I found out about Pinkie I came to Ponyville, not a day after the events. She had been cast down by her sister and her parents were in a depression, not able to look at her. The poor thing thought they hated her, but asides from Octavia they didn’t, they simply felt so guilty they didn’t even think they deserved her little girl for they mess-up” Vinyl sighed as she changed the disk again “I must admit I think their idea was pretty stupid, but if nothing had happened to the dragon then Pinkie probably would have been scared enough so they could ‘teach her a lesson’ and the other two would maybe remain in the Rock Farm with their parents as they wanted it to be. I am not sure, the only thing Pinkie’s sister told me was that they were desperate, they didn’t want to lose their little angels to the world”

“I know of stupid coming from parents to make their little ones do what they think they should, you don’t have to tell me” J shuddered at some of his memories.

“I must say I saw Pinkie’s sister again, but once I told her about how things were… she didn’t want to come back. She said she would when all of them could forgive either themselves or, in Octavia’s case, Pinkie” Finally Vinyl placed the disks down and gave the Ipod back to J “I know you were rough with Octavia, but when she is dealing with Pinkie the only thing you can do is scare her or she will go on and on until Pinkie leaves crying when she finally loses it or until Octavia’s mouth runs dry. I hope it doesn’t repeat itself while you are here, as well as to see them smiling together for once” Vinyl gave a bit of a sad smile “Now though, thanks for the music”

“No need to, what you told me was a nice payment for it, as well as the help this morning” She gave him a gentle smile “I hope to catch you again soon Vinyl, but I should be going. I think tonight it is going to be hell…”

“I am surprised that you will even try to sleep after what you told us” Vinyl said matter of fact “But I hope to see you soon too, and try to make Twilight smile again, ok?”

J nodded and gave him a little petting, making the mare chuckle as he got out, waving his hand at her. With a content sigh she got closer to the picture J had in his hands before.

“I wish he could make you smile too” She said, rubbing a hoof against Octavia’s figure in the photo “I have missed your smile so much, Tavi…”

*** Back to Twilight’s house ***

Luckily from where Vinyl house was it only took a little trek to get to Twilight’s tree. The door was open and the place was quiet, only The Mayor was there, sitting and reading a book, though no one else had waited for him today.

“Oh, welcome back young man. I thought you would come here with the tail between your legs quite faster than this I must admit” She gave a sincere smile though the blushing was obvious “I am sorry for doubting you there, but you should know I had my reasons”

“If they include that I was worried for Twilight, I must admit I was entranced with the girls, Mayor” He admitted sheepishly.

“That is good” The Mayor giggled “For the record, call me Coral my dear, I know everyone call me The Mayor but the title wears you out after so many years”

“Alright Coral” For some reason the name didn’t quite fit to J.

“My real name is Golden Letter dear, but my friends called me Coral all the time back then” She gave a little smile “But enough chit chat, you should be tired and I am here to say that Twilight and Spike, as well as the twins and Miss Octavia are in their bedrooms. The little girls also told me that they chose to have one single room for them and that one of the closed doors opened to show a kitchen when they were hungry. I don’t know how that room of yours works my dear, but it still has one surprise left it seems”

“Thank you ma’am” The Mayor blushed at that as if to say she wasn’t ‘that old’ “Anything else you would like to tell me? I am tired, but, believe me, not so willing to go to sleep”

“Well yes, in fact something came down here” The Mayor took a little envelope from where she was and gave it to J “Derpy said it was very important. It does have the royal seal after all, so it should be”

J, wondering, opened the thing up. It had a little note and something else inside.

“This is the official decree where the order of the Knights in Ponyville is founded. Residence: Twilight Sparkle’s Library. Members: 1. Founder: Grey Knight Jonathan. Paladins: None. Squires: None. This magic note will stand by the Mayor’s residence and will be updated whenever it is needed” J read out loud before the paper banished in a blue light “Well, that is interesting” He chuckled, taking a look at a fine and delicate card that was also inside the envelope “Grey Knight’s card. Bit count: Five thou-WHAT?!”

“Five thousand bits?” The Mayor went wide eyed “I… eh… considering the news dear… I would ask you to come by the main hall tomorrow” The Mayor bitted her lower lip “I am ashamed to ask for something shellfish but I would like to ask you for a favor young man, would you at least hear me out?”

“Uh... yea… whatever” J couldn’t help but scratch the back of his neck, a bit nervous. He didn’t know how the economy worked but if a pie was four bits (from the series), then five thousand… why so much money? “I’ll go, I think after this I do need to sleep a bit”

“I understand dear, I hope you don’t mind if I take my leave to” The Mayor went straight for the door “I have some things to think about myself”

The Mayor closed the door behind her and J suddenly found himself alone. He gave a tired sigh and began his walk down the stairs and towards his room as he thought about all that happened today. He didn’t know what to make of it and, seeing the money he technically had in his hands now, found even less sense as to what to think of this day. Was it good? Was it bad? Was it the worst thing up to date? He was not sure of what to think, but between what almost happened to Octavia, meeting the Elements briefly, knowing of Pinkie’s story and some details of the girls he never knew of, as well as Lauren’s story here, he was overwhelmed.

Once he reached his bed it simply came to him, a sudden realization: The shock of a day could be his last one.

He thought ‘What if I survive? More days like this one? Is it any better than the life I had before? If I had any thought of this being a fantasy, being a lie, being a… a cartoon for children… it all was washed away with that Celestia told me. Now here I go, willingly walking down the path to the maw of one of those dark creatures, practically begging for it to devour me alive so I help to bring darkness to this world. Is this what I want?’

Lying on his bed, the light dimming slowly, he let out a tired grunt as he didn’t even want to take out his clothes. What would he do? What good was he? Messing things up in Earth, messing things up in Equestria, it was all the same but here it had been two people dead, two ponies, and one good friend harmed.

‘What good am I?’ He rubbed his eyes, not wanting more tears.

By then he was unable to feel the darkness embracing him, forcing his consciousness away, swallowing him to its depths as his room was all but a pitch black mess of glaring eyes within the shadows they formed around themselves.

*** The Other Side: Nightmare Realm ***

‘And lo, he of weak mind and body, crowned knight lord of the weak, savior of the just, pawn of the light. Lo he as he walks willingly the path of darkness to find the demon of madness, to fight the sweetest pain there is to gain. How much further will this champion, champion between darkness and despair and that which opposes them all, walk under the unrelenting onslaught of the ever-changing beast? Such a harsh path for such a tired and weakened soul that is so afraid…’

J opened his eyes, startled at the vacuous voice that seemed to echo from all around him. He saw darkness, a small glimpse of light all around him and metal, nothing else. He was unsure of where he was, but he was sure that there was nothing good in here.

“Twinkle, twinkle little star”

A voice came from nowhere in particular, leaving a trail of giggles on its wake.

“I so wonder what you are”

Another fit of giggling, this time darker, came from just in front of his face. J blinked and, suddenly, he saw Pinkie’s right where nothing had been: Sitting before him

“Hello Jonathan, ready to play?” The predatory smile and the slit in her eyes made it obvious that this wasn’t Pinkie, not the one he knew at least, not what was real.

‘What the fuck is happening here?!’

*** End of Chapter 6 ***

I am going to go and say it: I am not all that happy with this chapter. Reason? Heat, 30 degrees to be precise. I am a person that enjoys COLD, sweet, merciful COLD. These weeks I have been making this chapter I have been suffering from this heat AND school so my creativity had been impaired quite a big deal.

I knew what I wanted to make, and I did make it, but I am NOT sure that it is how I envisioned it. I did change whole pages on the fly after a few re-reads so you can see where I am going. I did, however, think of Octavia as Pinkie’s sister practically from the beginning, though I wasn’t really sure to implement it in the story until last chapter came along… So… random :3?

There are also other things here, like the meeting with the Elements, that were heavily edited. I thought of making it larger, more detailed and warm, but after the fight with Octavia (If you can call it that) I was not so sure. The chapter was growing large (Right now it is around 21 pages, if not 22 pages in size EIGHT!) and there were many details implemented, with loads upon loads that will be implemented in fallowing chapters as time progresses.

The background with the story I gave to Octavia, Pinkie, her parents and her MIA sister will be important latter on, as well as other things that will happen and that have happened already, only saying. Thankfully the forgiving and warm nature of the ponies in Equestria made it possible to draw a sword towards someone and get forgiven, somewhat, though in the future this will have some repercussions, don’t think everyone is as nice as I make them appear.

I am sure there are questions about Lauren and other things, but those will be answered in due time, you, though, can guess as much as you like. The worry should come now from the fact that I am going to use the Dark Side of one of the girls, namely: Pinkie.

I haven’t read cupcakes; I won’t read cupcakes, I FUCKING DENY IT’S EXISTENCE (Sorry for the outburst). However I do see Pinkie’s inner fears as pure madness, anger, hatred… However more of this in the next chapter, if you have the stomach to read it that is. It is going to be dark, cruel and probably filled with gore. This is not Pinkie, it will NEVER be the Pinkie I love so much, it is simply her inner darkness, what she could become if there was something so brutal as to break her mind.

Yet such is the destiny of this story: To find the darkest fears of the girls, what they would hate to become, and to destroy such darkness… Or to fail, it may depend as the story progresses as I haven’t yet decided for a happy or a dark ending. Time, and you as well, will tell.

See you in the next chapter, if you have what it takes to continue reading this adventure.

Chapter 7: Dark Side. Pink Asylum 1.

Chapter 7: Dark Side – Pink Asylum 1

Well everypony, this is where things turn quite grim in the story. It won’t be something common, but this does turn the rate up for mature in Fanfiction.net, in FIMfiction it is already listed and mature and in DA… well DA is DA.

Also: Still searching for a volunteer that wants to make sure my mess-ups are not so messy. I cannot stress the fact that I am bad at editing this grammar to make it as perfect as I want.

*** WARNING ***
The first two parts of this chapter contains scenes of gore and, if I do it right, horror that should not be read, much less imagined, by those that cannot take it well. I will not be held responsible for anything that happens to those that do read this.

“Are you ready uh? Are you? Are you?” The pink mare bounced up and down around J, only visible to an extent.

Not thirty seconds had passed, but J was scared shitless for once in his life. There was no other way to put it: Darkness enveloped him and he could only see a seemingly happy Pinkie Pie that threw him glances much like a cat would do to a legless mouse as the thing was used as both amusement and, after the predator was bored, food.

Right now he heard nothing but the mare that looked, but was not, Pinkie. Her tone was odd, not as cheery or as friendly as it had always been, nor was her jumping and bouncing that of such a cute creature, but more of one that tried to make sure to stay over the prey it was circling with those eyes keeping tabs on him every-single-second.

“Oh… you don’t want to play” J felt a pang of regret and sadness as he heard Pinkie say that. She stopped in front of him with her mane down and a regretful look.

“Hey Pinkie, I do want to play, but it is too dark” He kneeled down with a smile to give Pinkie a gentle caress “I am just… surprised”

“Oh, of course!” She perked up immediately, grinning widely and showing what J did knew as her usual smile and cheery tone, yet still something was off “But there is no light in here, dummy, you have to follow me!”

Bouncing away, Pinkie suddenly generated light of her own, showing J the way down a corridor covered in grey and brownish metal plates. It was eerie, to say the least, when J followed her only to see small lights (much like the ones he had in his ‘home’ now) popping up to the sides to show countless doors where nothing but darkness could be seen.

From time to time a corridor popped here or there, simply being there, the same as the one he was walking in right now. There was no difference, all was monotonous and exactly the same, sometimes it even seemed that the scenery repeated itself as in an infinite loop with only just the small change needed to keep him from thinking it was something else and not only his worried imagination picking at him.

However it was bound to happen, he did know it, and the scenery would change. He was in a nightmare, he was sure for the few times he had ever dreamed it was a dream walk, it was always dream walking when he had luck and his mind drifted away like this. It meant he was aware that he was asleep and in a dream, a magical world that, unlike Equestria, wasn’t real. The fact that he could see ripples in the air around Pinkie Pie was a perfect sign of it.

It was not only the fact that she was weird when she talked, but things around her… changed slightly, like around everything that seemed important but wasn’t real in his dreams.

Once, long ago, he dreamed of the scene that made him change, the one that made him almost unable to ever dream when he slept: When he had to kill that boar. In that scene the creature, huge and monstrous, went for his sister when he could do nothing for her, nothing at all… It was a traumatic experience that took something dear from him back in that day.

But then he saw it, what most people could describe as the essence of a nightmare if they could even wake up with the full memories of the encounter: Black energy, probably a suggestion of the mind, rippling through the creature that was instigating his fear. It made all around it change for its benefit, altering the field so J could not reach his sister, so he could not stop the creature, not, until he could control his actions during the dreams.

However, to control oneself’s actions during a dream there must be a sliver of innocence, and back then there was none. That made him remember what Celestia had said about Lauren and that, for him to change like she did, he would need to change who he was.

In fact this made him remember that it was not until much later until, finally, J could dream again. This time his mind was clearer and, after many visits to the psychologist, he didn’t feel the monster he thought he had been that time when he trembled at the sight of the dead boar before a glint of his adult mind forced him to carve the poor thing apart for food.

For a kid, innocence is hard to lose, much more to recover if it happens. When J did lose his he also lost the right mind to dream, much like many do thanks to traumatic experiences. Recovering it was only possible thanks to the good doctor and his sister. The doctor helped him overcome part of the guilt, the only time it happened, and his sister made him relive that nightmare one more time when, after so long being nervous around her, she asked to help with him one stormy night.

This time though, he got the thing away from his sister.

Maybe, now that he thought about it, this was why Twilight had made that ‘mistake’? There were few dream walkers for there were few innocent people left in the world, at least few with part of an innocent mind. As he looked around, seeing the now colorful walls as Pinkie, or her shadow at least, guided him towards a pink colored door he had to admit something to himself, something he didn’t like.

‘For all the shit I went through, I would prefer it to be an accident’ He thought bitterly ‘I don’t want to think there interest from someone mixed in this, but… it is too much of a coincidence that Celestia asked me to do this just when she met me? She did read my mind, I suppose it showed her and she didn’t know until then but…’

He shook his head and looked down at Pinkie as he was about to enter the room. The smile on the pink pony was so gentle and caring, yet it was as if it was forced and behind it was such a scowl that simply showing it would harm, or do worse to, J. The mare was twitching, but not in her usual way, and the ripples in the air weren’t black or dark, but sure as hell they weren’t natural. Whatever would happen, because something was going to happen, would be BIG and NOT good.

So entranced he had been with Pinkie’s weirdness, those things that made her so obviously different, that when he reached the door something that would happen to any human happened to J thanks to having his eyes and attention somewhere else.

*KLONK!*

“AUCH!”

‘Seriously, watch your step. These are ponies, not humans, not in height anyway’ A voice sang inside his head, one that seemed to come from anywhere it wanted inside and outside his head at the same time, echoing as if a drop of water inside an empty cave it was.

“Duly noted” He said out loud with a groan, rubbing his forehead until he heard laughter, sincere and happy Pinkie Pie laughter.

When he looked towards Pinkie he saw the mare, but not the ripples, not the differences, no nothing…. There was nothing different this time, it, she, was Pinkie Pie. She was rolling in the ground, chuckling and giggling, even snorting a bit like a piggy and just laughing all the more with such antics until she got up, got closer to him and poked his nose.

“Honk!” She giggled “Are you alright? Sorry but I hadn’t had such a super-duper laugh in a long while”

J simply gave her a little smile “I am ok, no problem, only” He rubbed his forehead again, groaning at the feeling “It stings”

“I am sorry to hear, but come in, take a sweet and relax for a while” Pinkie gave him a cute smile “I don’t have anything for the aching head, so we will pass the time”

With a bright smile Pinkie hopped inside the room with J fallowing her soon enough, not too fast though as he dared to glance back, only to see that the walls of metal and all around him was changing, very slowly, to resemble Ponyville. It was a beautiful scene under a perfect blue sky empty of clouds that was watching over a peaceful town that, while easy to the eye, seemed empty like if it was a ghost town even with how much it looked like the real one.

‘The most complex one I have seen…’ He thought, thinking about all the dreams and those nightmares he had. When something ‘good’ happened, then the scenery changed accordingly. If something bad, on the other hand, came to happen…

‘You don’t want that happening’ J heard the voice from before as it invaded his mind again ‘Believe me, I am on your side, but I cannot help you here, so make sure you do not mess up’

‘I would thank whoever is in my head this time to give some information without much dilly dalling’ He growled, getting inside the room with Pinkie Pie ‘Else it is going to be hell’

When he got in, without the voice saying a single thing, J was glad to find that nothing had changed in Pinkie and, to round things up, the room was in fact Sugarcube Corner! The first floor with the main room to serve customers or to throw parties was filled with balloons, sweets and other foods that would make anyone’s mouth water. It did smell delicious and looked past that simple word. If you want some more information on J then let’s give you one of his weak spots: He had the biggest sweet tooth in history.

Then, if you take into consideration his sweet tooth, plush that this was a dream and he knew it, you can excuse him if he jumps, lands on the huge table set up for this and begins to devour pies, cupcakes, muffins and even half a cake before giving out the loudest belch he had ever heard (Or produced, for that matter).

“Wow, you were hungry” Pinkie giggled, snorting a bit “Did you like them?”

‘You better compliment my friend’ The voice in his head chuckled darkly ‘We don’t want our little friend showing her other face just yet’

‘Just yet? You told me I wouldn’t like if…’

‘I say many things’ The voice interrupted ‘You better only keep in mind one: I want you to succeed’

“They were great Pinkie” J admitted with a big smile since, in all fairness, it was true… or it would be if knowing he was here made any feelings less real than for those that didn’t know better “But I think I got too much, my teeth are going to ache if I don’t clean them”

“Oh don’t worry” Pinkie gave a smile “After what the Princess did you don’t have to worry about that. We only clean them to keep our breath fresh” She flashed her white and perfect teeth to him.

“That is so cute” J chuckled wholeheartedly “However I must ask you, all of this was for me?” Pinkie nodded with a smile, taking a muffin for herself “Where are the others? You always have everypony ogling such sweet things”

It was night imperceptible, almost as soft as if a sponge fell to the ground, however J was much more used to be alert like if death itself was stalking him during his dreams, that is the only reason that made him notice and turn.

‘Congratulations, you fucked it up in record time’ The voice spoke with a loud laugher ‘Not even I could have made a bigger mess. I am amazed! You only took two, and a few lines from the third if you allow me to say so, so you are a champion my friend’ J didn’t even understand what the voice was saying, simply because the important bit of information that he did understand and was true was also his main problem.

He had fucked it up, royally.

Pinkie’s pupils had turned into tiny dots, her mane had flattened out and her tail had fallowed its example. There were vestigial tears in her eyes, but they ran dry so quickly it wasn’t natural, as if they had been absorbed back from lack of feelings to simply let them out. Not that it was the weirdest thing however, as soon those ripples of dark energy emerged again, expanding in a black flash that blinded him for a few seconds.

Once he opened his eyes again he saw that he was still sitting in the table, yet this time the table was a pure mess: Rusted, with remaining food in a putrid state, maggots, flies and what seemed to be some kind of bones that had been left behind until they lost their original coloration. All the sweets were gone too, replaced by eyeballs in the case of muffins, still beating hearts in the case of cupcakes, ribcages full of the organs they once held instead of the pies and, god, the cake…

Made out of bones was the cover, with meat and blood as the icing and organs as the sweet insides of what had been a sugar coated white cake filled to the brim with chocolate and cream. J could even see that the little sugar apple on top had changed to be a little eye that was watching him. That thing even blinked once with what seemed to be a transparent eyelid before it jumped out with what would be the optic nerve being used as a makeshift feet.

“Nobody comes here anymore, they never do” Pinkie called with the saddest voice he had ever heard. However Pinkie was not there anymore.

Looking around J found himself entranced as he stared at walls of metal covered in rust, at least those he could stand to look at, the others were made out of skin and covered in blood. It didn’t look like pony skin, but it was no more disheartening or any less sickening as he looked upon the crudely tanned hide, only to see, from time to time, an eye looking at him or a smiling toothy mouth.

The seer disgust simply made him look all over, admiring, and fearing, this gory nightmare.

“I am always alone here… with nobody to talk with me” Pinkie’s voice sounded as if she was about to cry “When I saw you, like when I saw my friends the first time they came here, I was glad” Her tone took back some of its cheery tone for a second “But I knew it wouldn’t last”

When he looked towards the entrance from where he came he saw her: Pinkamena Diane Pie. In his world, with what the people had created as ‘fanon’, the real name of Pinkie had been labeled as an alter ego: An excruciatingly sadistic, murderous and dangerous creature, a cannibal pony. He had never read the story, he didn’t like gore or drama, but it did seem that if he had, then this would probably worry him the same, if not more.

Pinkamena sat there, a sad smile on her lips as she looked at him with those dead, beady eyes she had now “I… thought you would stay…”

“I never said I wanted to go away” J tried to salvage the situation, but then he felt something.

Touching his chin he took away a b it of meat. Rubbing his hand against his mouth he could see blood. When he burped again he could feel the coopery taste and even inside his belly he could feel the meat, twitching and moving, as if it was still alive.

He threw up; one of the things he most hated about his biology and it was the only thing he wanted to do right now.

‘Not helping your case’ The voice, as a chorus, chastised him.

‘Shut up, I want to die’ J growled within his mind, his belly emptied of… whatever he had consumed before.

Hearing a sniffle was all it took for J to stop himself trying to puke his own guts out. It was not that the taste was horrid; it was that something inside of him wanted him to throw up the meat, to take it out of his organism. However the sound of Pinkie’s sadness brought him back to her as Pinkamena lied before the door, crying on the floor.

A cry that soon turned to laughter.

“Oh my gosh! You should have seen your face” She said, standing on her forelegs as she made a face herself, mocking his pain “Do you know what you did?” Pinkamena asked with a wicked smile “You turned me into a happy idiot for a second there” The smile faded as she growled, practically spitting like a cat as she hissed the words out “You made me think this hell is a happy place! That there are some out there that care for me! Do you think how hard is to wake every morning to see everypony out there, looking just at the sweets and thinking I am a stupid mare that just does what she do to be… random?”

She stomped with one hoof, crushing one of the metal tiles so hard that a two by two square of them bent over like if a demolition ball had bashed them at full strength.

“Do you know why I didn’t slit your throat when you got here?” Pinkamena gave him a glare that could melt steel if she wanted to “Because I DID thought you would be my friend. I may not be a princess, but I was born different, I was born in a way I can see ‘things’” She let it hanging, not bothering to explain anything “That is the reason as to how I know what is going to happen every day or how I know some things… Do you know what happens when I don’t know? Do you know what happens when this… this sense doesn’t work?”

Out of nowhere a few things materialized: The imaginary friends that Pinkie had when she tried to do ‘that one party’ when her friends had been getting her own surprise birthday party together. Mr. Turnip, Rocky, Sir Lint-a-lot and Madame LeFlour, all four of them with their own dark ripples that equaled, if not surpassed, those of Pinkamena. Whatever these things had been in the surface of Equestria, within Pinkie’s mind they were much more, and dangerous.

“I see things as they shouldn’t… I… I feel like the only friends I have don’t like me…” She sniffled “Everypony knows me, but only they are my friends, and Vinyl…” Suddenly her eyes turned bloodshot “That BITCH! She knows where my sister is! She won’t tell me just because that darn Celestia said not to! Why the FUCK does that whore thinks she is!?”

Pinkamena stomped again with full force, shaking the room and making J roll over the mess he had made. IF not sickening and grim, the scene was at least as dark as it could get… or not.

Mr. Turnip, a simple bucket full of turnips just a moment ago, turned into the first monster of the mind: A giant turnip opened in two from top to bottom, showing an enormous number of serrated teeth and tentacles within its fleshy insides as roots formed from the rest of the turnips in the basket, ‘sacrificing’ themselves to form a pair of hulking arms that doubled as locomotion means while the weird and separated body was joined by a muscle that originated from a huge eyeball that stood in the middle, as if floating between both parts of the body. The bucket had melted not long after, covering bottom of the ‘roots’ to make it a ‘clawed’ appendage from which a purple ichor was oozing nonstop.

Rocky turned next: The lower rock forming a six legged base , much like a spider of some kind, with the middle one forming a sphere with an eye on the middle and a couple of small finger like stones floating around it. At first the middle one seemed weird as hell, not dangerous like the rest but simply weird, until those ‘fingers’ sharpened the ‘nails’ making the little flying rock field death ground when they began to spun around at such a speed that was hard to simply see. When the top one changed though, it was not a head, what was formed was more or less it was a kind of a crown; the normal cartoony like crown that every king has in kid stories… though this one turned to look at J and gave a ‘smile’, bending its anatomy to show itself as it was the teeth of the monster.

“You know what it is to be nopony in reality?!” Pinkamena thundered, growling as the other two ‘imaginary’ friends grew within the dark ripples, ready to transform “To simply make ponies smile at your parties and then leave thinking THAT is all you are?! A FUCKING PARTY?!”

The third creature, Sir Lint-a-lot, transformed in more of a gaseous form than a consistent one. J was unable to understand how a little eyeball had formed from the lint, much less how the yellow gaseous material, semi solid for the looks of it, worked and how it had transformed, but the result was there: A big mass of a creature, a little eye floating with blood basically covering all but the black of the eye and a rancid smell coming from it like if the thing was putrid. The creature moved away just slightly and the gaseous body touched one of the skin covered walls, dissolving it.

“How the fuck do you think I could be sane and friendly when they all see me as a simple airhead? You know how hard it was to lose everything I had? To then put on a smile and throw a party the next day after I lost my family?! DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!”

As Pinkamena walked forward Madame LeFlour finally went along with her change. The sack that had the flour burst, though it soon formed the chest of a woman, skin, muscles, bones… all from a sack of flour that was not enough to form it completely, just bits of it here and there, with most of it being as much a parchment of meat with a bone and maybe some skin, not even the breast formed completely. The rest of the body, though, was a paste of white, dense liquid that ran all over the body as if it was partially solidified blood before it turned yellow, forming factions on the face, claws on the hands and the feet and a wicked smile on the mouth where serrated black teeth rested. The only human like of the bunch, probably for a reason that J couldn’t take away from his head.

However those thoughts simply banished as he felt a hoof push against his face, slamming it on the rusty floor.

“You came here, all worried, thinking of what was happening” Pinkamena said with a wide grin “Then you made me laugh, made me… HER” She spat with an angry scowl “But you know what? I am going to give you a chance, Jonathan, we are going to play”

“P-play?” He tried to ask, his mouth filled now with his own blood.

“Yes, play” Her predatory smirk lasted just enough for J to be entranced on her, not noticing the hoof going straight for his stomach.

The impact sent him away to the other side of the room, in fact the *KRUNCH* probably had been his back and a part of the wall, he was not sure. The thing is that as painful as it looked it was dulled, much like the tastes, but to a greater degree. He had been dismembered quite a few times in these nightmares, even killed, he was no hero and only if the nightmare had happened before or if it ‘wanted’ him to win he would… otherwise it was nasty. In real life however? In real life he had broken bones, cuts and more, so it all added up to him being quite insensible to pain.

And no, it was not a good thing.

“I will hide somewhere, you search for me” She said with a little dark giggle as J opened his eyes “My friends search for YOU, and if they catch you and you can’t escape” From somewhere in her mane Pinkamena drew a knife, looking at it with a professional eye “Then you lose”

Panting, J tried to get up, only to feel his leg get stuck against the wall, giving him such a REAL sensation of pain that he had to scream out in such a guttural and bloody way that anyone would think he had been bisected right there.

“Oh, and I forgot” A sweet but murderous chuckle broke from Pinkamena, forcing J to open his eyes again as he had closed them, wishing the pain away like the first time he had felt it “There is someone you should WOOOOOORRY about”

“Jonathan…”

If to this point you, or anyone else, had thought of J as an emotional wreck of some short, then you would probably be right. However if you thought of him as someone capable of showing no fear… well, his white face and cold sweat would probably make you rethink it, much more so as the feeling made him unable to even feel his other leg being pinned down. The reason?

Sarbo.

That the word doesn’t mean anything to you, that it doesn’t MEAN anything, doesn’t have anything to do with the fear. What had to do was the thing that owned the name, the thing that had been his little fear when he had been young, then his personal boogieman and, finally, his ‘reaper’.

“I am here… for you…”

AS empty as the void and as cold as the space should be, those were the aspects of Sarbo’s voice: Devoid of everything, full of death. At first, when he was young and still had his full innocence with him, probably even before he had reached his sixth birthday, J dreamed up with a pair of cute red eyes when he was engulfed in darkness. His first ‘nightmare’. Back then Sarbo only looked at him, trying to scare him, but it never came to happen.

He never saw it again, but he did, though, name ‘him’. When he recovered from the ‘event’ that made him lose all the innocence a child has, when he defeated his first nightmare, Sarbo returned. This time those ruby eyes had a big gapping mouth under them and Sarbo seemed able to take him with something that was hidden in the dark. Back then the creature, Sarbo, had to be huge, draconic like even, because J never had a chance and it was one of the reasons he became so numbed in dreams.

Now? Now he was like in his last years in Earth: Sarbo, the dark machine.

As to why he had decided to name his personal death like that, J didn’t know, but it did fit. Sarbo was, for a lack of a better word, a golem. Its head was a helmet, much like it would be for a crusader in Europe in the middle age, but with the lower pat, the mouth, shaped like if it was the mouth of a dragon. It should be close, pure plate reinforced and tight together; however the metal was creaked, forming a huge mouth that gapped with blood red light coming from inside and steam escaping from holes that seemed to have little tendrils of metal inside. And the eyes… those red lifeless but brilliant eyes… they looked vivid and warm, but behind them one would find a simple purpose and desire: Pain.

Its chest was empty; in fact what you could call a chest was simply a broken armor that showed the mix of metal and meat. The still live muscle and the non beating hearth probably where there to give the thing a scarier appearance as, if it was like any other nightmare it only was what J made of him: A machine. However it did serve to frustrate his attempts at cutting his metal body in two as the flesh made it almost impossible for him to break it apart as, somehow, it managed to regenerate back.

The arms and legs though, they were dual. Dual means, in this sense, that they were pretty much like human legs and human arms, but also that the creature could, with a screeching sound similar to snapping bone and tearing flesh, realign them, change them, SHAPE them to change legs to arms, feet for hands and so on. In this case the mechanical monster now had the two legs transformed into a form more like a dog with metal huge claws, one in each, going though the floor while his hands had what seemed to be a pair of meat grinders in each, both pairs crushing J’s legs against the ground.

“Don’t leave… a friend behind…” Sarbo gave a wicked smile before it simply… disappeared from view.

“Your friend got here when you did” Pinkamena said with a little smirk “He seems to want to play with you SO much that I invited him over” She got closer and used the knife on J’s already destroyed legs. The feeling wasn’t anything like when Sarbo did it though, something that seemed to upset her so the only thing she did was to take a little sheering in her hand and stab J in the chest, emptying it “Wake up and the game begins”

And with that the world went dark.

*** Undetermined time afterwards… ***

‘Being the main character sucks’ J groaned in his mind as he tried opening his eyes.

It was easy to open them, not so easy to look around and see that the room had now a blue like light that gave it an even eerier look as some kind of music seemed to envelop it. The nightmare, whatever it had turned out to be (For him or for Pinkie, he was not sure), was using psychological and physical means to make sure to try and harm him, or outright do it.

‘Get used to it, chump’ The voice from before came back, after all the shit, it came back ‘I know you are destined to, maybe, succeed. I know you are going to take away all this dark, after all, I told you that I want you to be the hero and achieve all these good deeds you want to do. The problem is: You are not the main character of this story, don’t lie to yourself, you are just here to clean the horse crap and then… who knows? Will you live or will you die?’ There was a dark chuckle within J’s mind ‘I want you to succeed, whatever happens afterwards I haven’t looked at for I don’t really care’

‘That is comforting’ J grunted as he tried to get up. It came as no surprise that, since he still was in the dream realm (Or nightmare) his legs were perfectly fine again. They did hurt a lot though ‘So I am a peon in this little endeavor’

‘A knight’ The voice said, matter of fact.

‘Whatever’

‘Listen up fool’ The voice grew in power ‘I am the nightmare of Insanity, I am Mneuthan, and I am here to make sure Pinkie Pie is her random and crazy self for all her life’

“WHA…!?’

‘I am NOT like the rest of my ilk. I do not hurt my hosts physically or mentally, I do, however, make their inner minds, their dream personas, mad’ It said with a grim tone ‘However I make sure that they never have the power to never surface and harm anypony. It is the way I feed, the way I continue existing’

Suddenly a red puff of smoke appeared in front of J and, from within the cloud, a creature appeared.

It was a simply floating stone face, much like a human maybe? J wasn’t sure as it changed shapes quite fast though the old dramatic masks used in theatrical representations were most prominent. The reason it was hard to tell is because the thing was exuding red fumes wherever it went, making it hard to see. At least it was fairly easy to perceive a tail made of twenty little tendrils of black color with little sparkles of light that are almost imperceptible except when they moved really fast, leaving small trails of light when the creature is in the darkness if the fumes don’t obscure them.

‘This is me, me, before they corrupted me’ The voice sang within his mind ‘Pretty nice right? Such a simple yet obscure body, so pretty and so hideous at the same time and for the same people’ It giggled ‘This is what you could say, the mind of Pinkie is: A random form, obscure and complex yet happy and simplistic in a way. Anypony could think of this form in their heads, it is horrid and dark in a way, but there are worse and most complex things’

‘What the fu…’

‘Do you think she is happy?’ It snapped at J ‘Do you think Pinkie has been happy lately? Since before you moved here something dark has been pulling at me, at her… I said I do not harm my host, I have had many unlike my ‘family’, but I have never harmed them, not when I had my own free will’ At that the voice turned dark and devoid of life ‘I know the others are coming, slowly but steady, they are getting close. At some point I will have to show you the monster that I am before you fight the monster that YOU are’ J tried to ask but the stone face in front of him aimed all of its tentacles against his face ‘Shut up and listen! I am supposed to embody insanity, but here I am, doing my best to retain the little bit of seriousness and of my sane mine to warn you: Do what you must, harm none doing it! Do you understand what I am saying?’

‘I-I do’ J gulped down, almost falling down on his ass as he was pressed against the metal wall.

‘Oh I doubt you do’ The face hovered against him as the tentacles retracted ‘Harming them physically would be hard, you wouldn’t do it even if you life depends on it. Harming their feelings however… that will happen’ The voice of Mneuthan was filled with distaste ‘I have little time, but I can guarantee you that, when this ends, some will hate you and you will be hard pressed to remain friends with everypony’

‘But I want to have them as friends! I want to do things right I… I don’t want to make the same mistakes I did when I was in Earth’ He mumbled, almost whispering, as he looked away.

‘Some things here will be easier, I can assure you, but some will look much, much harder’ Mneuthan floated away from him slowly ‘The feelings of ponykind are much stronger than those of humans. The humans of your world have lost much of their sensitivity thanks to the things you have done during your history and, as such, you do not have the problems ponykind have. Yes, they do recover soon from loss, but it is a defense mechanism to ensure they are happy as sadness can tempt them to be… dangerous to others, much like Pinkie’s dark side has’

‘Then what do I do? I do not want to harm any of them’ He couldn’t help himself. He was afraid to die now as he had what he wanted in Equestria, but at the same time he was afraid of harming his new friends… How to make sure none of those two things happened?

‘I know that you will beat the darkness in this world, I know it and have it stored in my mind. However I… I also have seen… have seen so many possible results… but never looked at them, never cared to spoil the surprise’ Mneuthan’s mask gave out a weird smile ‘Why, it would be so fun to see how awkward it will be when you tell Pinkie you like her’ The thing snickered ‘Or how weird I would be to tell Rarity you hate makeup but that you find her sexy? Even more! How would Twilight react if you told her it was the first kiss that you didn’t regret having? Awkward moment if I have seen one I bet, even more if she told you it was the same way for her’

*TWUNK! TWUNK!*

‘Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit…’

The ‘hands’ from what had been the mutated body of Mr. Turnip were protruding from the wall, each one barely an inch away from J’s arms. He had taken too long, he was supposed to be running and searching since he woke up. This conversation had taken too much time and it seemed that the ‘guest’ of honor had bored the pink mare.

‘Such huge amount of possibilities’ Mneuthan giggled as it rolled in the air, slowly disappearing ‘Telling Fluttershy how much you would love to cuddle her at night, asking Rainbow Dash out because you like her strong attitude, helping Apple Jack in the farm in hopes to simply stay with her for a while… Wouldn’t it all be great to do so many things? I am DYING to see how you will do all of it without harming them all at once. I wonder how this lovely mess in your head will play out in real life’ with a final chuckle Mneuthan faced him with a little smirk as it faded away.

Whatever had happened, Mneuthan had obviously lost whatever control it had left over what sane mind the nightmare of Madness could have. The problem was that if it was the Nightmare and that it had some control until now, then it meant…

*KRAK!*

“I am here for you” A croaking voice emanated from behind him, forcing him to turn and see that it did meant it.

The nightmare had resumed and the creature that would be Mr. Turnip was there, with its hands firmly on the fleshy ground behind the wall. It was like the nightmare ended right in the wall, but behind it there was a void with flesh expanding just a few inches away from the wall, tentacles making sure that the monster out there was not going to fall to the emptiness of the dark.

“The game is on… don’t disappoint my mistress” The creature growled as it cracked the wall with a roar, opening enough of it to step into the room.

‘Fallow the tracks…’ A sweet and gentle voice told him. It was female and sweet, but it was neither Celestia nor Luna.

‘Tracks? What tracks?’

J was seeing everything go in slow motion. The adrenaline had finally kicked in, in fact it was the first time he felt it in his dreams or nightmares like he had felt in real life. That… that was a problem, this was bad.

‘RUN YOU IDIOT! IF YOU DIE HERE YOU DIE FOR REAL!’

Never in his life had his mind simply screamed at him as it did then. The creature in front of him had just moved its semi organic appendage so fast that even in this ‘slow-mo’ it was being fast enough to guarantee that this time the wound he would get was going to be fatal.

As if on impulse he jumped backwards, stumbling to the ground and seeing bright reed hoof prints in the metal tiles that went straight to the now opened rusty door.

J heard his breath as he got up, his earth pumping blood so loudly that he could swear his eardrums were going to explode by the rhythmical sound beating at them without pause. From behind him he could hear the scratching of metal being bent and cut down thanks to the huge claws of the monster as it screamed something intelligible, distorted by J’s actual perception thanks to the natural cocktail that made his mind and body act faster than it should.

It took him a moment to notice that the creature was lumbering towards him, but, luckily, not fast enough. He had turned his face just enough to see the claw pass a single inch away from him, in fact that was a lie. Right across his eye a burning sensation came to rest when two deep gashes cut through his upper left side of his face in a diagonal direction. It didn’t hit the eye, but in turn did cut a small bit of his nose.

The pain felt real; in fact it felt so real that he thought, no, he was sure that those wounds would be there when he woke up. It was… it was simply something he felt inside.

‘If I don’t move I am really dead’ His eyes, for once after so long, were filled with tears of fear as he looked down to the eager ‘mouth’ that was practically the whole monster as it salivated ‘I need to move… MOVE!’

And move he did. As if all his strength was pushed right towards his legs J ran, ran for his life fallowing the hoof prints through the door, never looking back in fear of another attack as he watched the twisted corridors filled with blood, meat walls and even pure floor made out of something… alive. Whatever nested within Pinkie’s mind had twisted this part of her to such a degree it could hardly be called a mind anymore.

‘I need to run, I need to… to… god’

One, two, three corridors, uncountable doors and so many twists he could take. The music that was hammering at him had returned as the adrenalin stopped pumping in his bloodstream. Something was making him tired, nervous, afraid.

J took a hand to his wounds. They weren’t really all that deep, but they would leave a little scar. The problem was the pink ooze that they were exuding. It feel thick and it bubbled, as if it was caustic or venomous, though knowing that it came from an aberration it was probably the most plausible thing.

‘I-I am going to die’ He thought, his insides churning again as he felt the need to puke as strongly as when he felt the meat within his system ‘Oh god… when I finally do care for… for what is happening… when I finally enjoy living… why?’

‘Fallow the hoof prints, don’t falter’ The same sweet voice spoke again, forcing him to take step after step again.

J was unsure of what was happening to his body. He looked back and forth, to the sides as well as up and down. Everything was spinning and he saw things… so… so horrible things. Yet he kept on going as he heard voices and saw the scenes unfold.

He remembered that game he played on Newgrounds first, that is how it began. The music, the music crept to his ears and he knew he was hallucinating, but he saw… he saw THEM.

It all started moving when one of those rusty doors opened inwards, crumbling as the cadaveric figure stepped forward. He couldn’t be sure, much less as the world was spinning around him and the colors changed whenever they pleased, but J could swear there was a bit on green in… her?

“Someone new… a visitor?” The voice was vacuous and it reverberated like a gurgling from someone that was drowning while trying to talk “No… not a visitor… We are not at home… We are… somewhere else, again”

The creature turned around to look, showing its blackened form, red eyes and its jagged skull as well as putrid and rotting flesh. Most bones had turned black and while they looked fragile something made J understand that even if he had the courage to put his sword to use (and the right mind to score a blow) the thing would not feel it. It had remnants of hair in both had and tail, but them too were black except for hints of green that somehow where really present.

“We are here again… who brings us here? Why am I the only one that notices what goes on around this place?” The tone was not frustrated, nor was it angry. The thing was just questioning it as she shook her head.

As she looked back and forth the creature finally sighed, looking at J with pity before she shook as if it was an uncontrollable emotion that was rushing through its decrepit body.

To J this was going beyond surreal. If this thing was the one he had seen in that game, if they were REAL too and not something made up in Pinkie’s mind, then they, well, her, would try to get him. However the ‘zombie’ was there, shaking as he tried his best to stay on his feet.

‘Move. She will not be like that for long, you are in danger’

However J did not move, whatever was in him was making his thoughts clouded by the second. Instead he looked around, seeing that he was against one of those rusty doors. It was like most cell doors with a little space to see from. Inside the room, the ‘cell’ there was somepony, or at least what looked like somepony.

It all took was a blink but then the pony was right there in front of him.

It, she, was Octavia. Well, at least she looked like Octavia. Her face was… sucked, as if she had not so much meat in her. Her hair was white and seemingly falling out constantly. The eyes were half dry and the pupils small and discolored. Yet the creepiness of the scene came from the smile.

The joyous smile she bore in her face, one that was plastered there as she decayed.

Whatever it was, it happened so fast that J could hardly explain it. First her skin peeled off, showing the muscles behind until they… burned out, turned black and then showed even the dark bone as a red glow overtook the form of Octavia as her hair darkened and died with her skull soon showing jagged teeth and a mischievous smile.

“Stay with us, we want friends here…” She said with a voice J had never heard.

Then she struck.

A broken hoof shot forward, hitting J under the nose as he tried to move away a second too late. He felt his skull resent the impact, yet the painful sensation came from the burning feeling he had in his lips. J couldn’t help it as he touched, only to see his skin slowly, extremely slowly but oh so steady, dying as putrefaction grew over.

“W-what?”

“One of us… a friend” The voice from the first ‘zombie’ caught his attention as he turned to see her, the red glow in her eyes and all over her had taken over “All we want is friendship. Stay with us…”

“A friend…” Another voice called from his side.

“Someone who won’t spoil the party…”

“That is normal… that is not corrupted…”

“He lacks the marks…”

All around him there were zombies. Creatures of disjointed bones, decayed meat and bright red eyes looking at him with the longing for something they could not comprehend anymore. All of them different yet horrid, all of them with madness in their looks, as if something else had been there before and it still was, yet there was no way for it to surface and take over.

“But he can get them… if we don’t protect him he will be cursed…”

“Come with us, we’ll protect you… forever…”

‘Run! Run or die! They won’t stop now!’ The voice in his head had lost the gentle tone, scared for the life she had tried to protect.

With the world still spinning around him J got up, finally growing in courage or in fear just enough to push his body against the metal wall and simply dig his fingers against the next fleshy section, forcing his body with all his might so as to jump over the monstrous abominations that were closing on him.

The adrenaline quickly pumped back inside of him, but this time something had changed. His hearth had stopped, there was no beat and his lungs didn’t accept the air he tried to give them. As J looked towards the bright hoof prints he could do little but see as the darkness of the decaying disease spread over his fingers to reach his hand, and then stop. The left side of his face had stopped oozing the venom as the curse had spread out, covering it and turning half his vision into a red zone where dark treads of something lingered as he saw things very differently from a moment ago.

Yet he ran.

He was not going to let this nightmare have him, not without a fight at least. As he turned the next corridor he threw a glance to the creatures going after him. All of the zombie ponies were fallowing him, maybe no more than six or seven, but all of them snarling the same words over and over, viciously trying to get at him in such a way that they tore away with the corridor, bringing the blackness of the nightmare with them.

Right and left the darkness expanded, slowly creeping its way under J’s legs as he ran, feeling the burn all over his body even when he knew that the corruption had stopped consuming his face after practically disfiguring him. It was strenuous and his heart, even now that he thought it stopped, seemed about to explode by the fear that raced down his mind.

‘I am going to die for fuck’s sake!’ He cried within his mind, the stench of the monsters behind him intoxicating his lungs with each step he made, each new one feeling harder to achieve, his body numbing slowly.

‘Just a little more!’ The voice pledged ‘You are close! Come in!’

A sudden turn of the hoof prints made him crash against one of the fleshy walls for just a second, though a second was all they did need.

‘Madam LaFleur’s’ body busted the wall as if the creature had been expecting him to bump there all along. With its slick hands the feminine form drew him in into a sickening kiss in which she tried to bite away part of his face, yet was stopped by one of the charging zombie ponies as it collided against its form. The luck, though, didn’t even gave J a chance to breathe in as he felt to the ground because the creature that once had been Sir Lint-a-lot appeared from within one of the nearby cells, corrupting all around its form, much like the flesh of J, as soon as it appeared.

‘NO NO NO NO! STOP!’

He scurried away, the curse flooding through his veins as his vision finally turned red and his raged bread finally stopped. The burning was getting most his arm and all of his head, yet he still managed to move, to run, ignoring the sensation that his decaying body was giving him as he saw a door opening at the end of the corridor. A single little spark of light waited for him within the room and, even if it was another dreadful end that awaited him the hope for it to end in him surviving was overwhelming his broken body.

The last creature finally appeared. Smashing its way through the floor with the crown of stone ‘Rocky’ showed its innumerable clawed fingers and the rock/eye that seemed to be the control of gravity of such madness. Every single digit and part in the creature was dripping blood from whatever was underground, and while the monster seemed to be stuck it didn’t make any difference as the rocky fingers just flew towards J with murderous intent.

His flesh was punctured, his veins were cut, he even felt something go through his chest from the front and through the back, but the pain was no worse than the fear, in fact the sounds coming from behind made him ignore the former to such an extent that when Rocky was close enough to bite him, tearing away his good arm, J didn’t feel a thing as he jumped over the monster.

What caught his undying attention, what made him continue, was the door, the door he was growing so close to reach.

However this was a nightmare, one where he had lost control and that was not even his to begin with. Getting to a safe haven was not going to come so easy even if he was already dead.

“Where are you going?”

A feminine gurgling voice took him over just as he grabbed the frame of the metal door, as his already broken shoulder, lacking the arm, was grabbed violently by a pasty claw. LaFleur was faster than she looked.

“We haven’t finished playing” She hissed in his ear as he yanked him backwards.

“LET GO! LET GO OF ME YOU BITCH!”

The other creatures were closing in so fast that J’s struggling with only one arm served for nothing more than to bother the vaguely female figure as it inched closer, producing a worm like tongue to lick at his neck as her teeth got ready to bite down.

“Relax… enjoy your stay here…”

“Get out of here you monster!”

LaFleur had almost sunk her teeth inside J’s neck, yet she hadn’t yet done so simply by the surprise that was seeing a young filly of grey fur and two tones of yellow in her mane and also yellow as her whole eye color. She seemed tiny and fearful, but also determined as she turned to show her magnifying glass cutie mark. At first the empty eye sockets in her head shrieked in disbelief, then banished, alongside her whole face, as the little filly flashed a powerful light.

The monster was vanished, but whatever had been pushing J forward had evaporated as the flash turned the darkness into light for a second.

J felt the burn all over his upper body. He could swear that, by now, his skin and most his flesh had liquefied to a black substance that ran down the remnants of his body as his red eyes scanned what was left of him in a drunken daze of pain, his body’s last attempts to maintain him alive and the insane amount of adrenaline that was left in the few still functioning sections of his body.

He managed to take a few steps forward, hearing the monsters behind him as he looked at his hands; they were decayed and consumed, sporting black claws of what once had been bone with also some muscle of skin, or what was left of it in their actual state, connecting them together, making them work by either magic or some other dark means.

“Close the door or they will get you!” The young filly yelled.

By now his mind was all but right, however he didn’t need to do anything as a simple glance towards the door was all it took for the thing to close by itself just as a hoof shoot straight for his face. The slam and the crunching sound were sickening as the yells and cries from the monsters on the other side banged at the door, trying to bring it down by any means necessary.

J, however, could hardly notice it as he came crashing down on the metal floor.

The little he could feel now was all sickness. His vision was changing all the time as it went from his normal one to a redder and obscured one with little tendrils of blackness creeping over the surface of his eyes. He, his dream persona at least, was dead. J was not sure if this meant he had failed or if this meant he was really going to die. Right now he could think of anything coherently by the fear of whatever he was going to turn and who he could harm.

He coughed, probably by reflex, he wasn’t even sure he had lungs anymore and what escaped his mouth were a gurgling sound and a putrid stench as he began to cry.

“Why?... WHY?! WHY AFTER I AM HAPPY SOMEWHERE?! WHY THE FUCK!!!!!!!”

“Relax” The filly said with a smile as she crept closer, seemingly not afraid of the mutilated and decayed human “I can help you”

Again a shooting light washed all over, illuminating all around just for a moment, however it felt warm this time. When J opened his eyes again he was whole; his arm, his skin, his feeling and his mind. All was back where it should and the young filly was smiling.

“Hello, I am Ruby” She offered a cheery smile as J finally noticed that her eyes weren’t yellow, but that they were filled with light “And you meet my… the ones I thought were my friends”

“Is… nice to meet you Ruby” J was too shocked as he felt himself all over with his own hands. Whatever pain or wounds he had sustained were gone; all but the new scratch in his face “But… why are here zombie ponies? Why are you here?”

“I… don’t know” The little filly said with a little whine. In fact she was almost the size of an adult, probably she would be if she had lived a few years more, but if indeed this was like that game and it was real and not a dream… Ruby was as alive as J had been a moment ago “Something drags us here sometimes. Lately it has happened a few times and I am more scared than ever”

“That is because you should” The form of Pinkamena appeared out of nowhere besides both of them “You were supposed to be enjoying the show! I was having so much fun and you spoiled it! Now I know why Grayhoof did what he did. You are a party pooper”

Ruby’s eyes watered as she heard those words, something that made Pinkamena giggle.

“A monster for them and a party popper for me” She growled between gritted teeth “Get out of my sight!”

With a wave of her hoof Pinkamena vanished the ghost of Ruby from her nightmare as if it was nothing.

“Always so easy to banish ghosties with a little laugh” The mare said with a little smile before looking at J with murderous intent “However a cheater is much harder to take care of”

“Cheater? B-but I did nothing” J backed away from the mare “I just ran!”

“You stopped the timer! I don’t know what you did but you woke up and you stared towards NOTHING for ten minutes! None of my friends could move, why is that? What did you do?” She growled as she got closer, drawing her knife out “I do not eat meat like those crazy stories tell, but I do have a thing when it comes to see how much anypony can last with me” Her smile was predatory; her eyes filled with madness “Now tell me, what did you do?”

Tonight’s fear had simply ruled J’s mind. He had never thought of himself as a real hero, but more as a soldier. Hardly had he ever been afraid but inside of his own dreams, much like here. However this night had almost made him soak his own pants and the look that yearned bloodshed in Pinkamena’s eyes gave away all the little courage that the young Ruby had brought to him.

“I told you to watch out for him, yet you only watched out for yourself” Pinkamena stopped as she said that, rubbing the knife with a hoof “However if you don’t talk, I am sure he will be more than glad once you are done for”

A metallic sound brought J to attention, but all too late. From the shadows a pair of clawed metallic hands gripped at his arms while mechanical legs crushed his own as they enveloped flesh and bone as if blades of liquid metal were trying to fuse with him.

“Together…” The monster whispered in his ear as he lined his metallic/organic chest against his back.

“NO! DON’T DO IT!”

Immediately he felt the oh so familiar pain against his skin as Sarbo began to tear him apart with his metallic body as it spread through his skin, forcing them to join together. This was the time when he always woke up, when he always felt the most excruciating pain in existence: When his own being, his own soul, was being ripped apart by his own reaper.

The scream of anguish that fallowed only made Pinkamena giggle like a maniac as the two bodies slowly joined as one.

*** Equestria ***
WARNING is over.

“Wake up! Wake up please!”

J opened his eyes, gasping with his body on fire as he saw the darkness of his room. Somehow he had woken up as someone shook him violently, practically yelling in his ear. He would have loved to thank whoever had woke him up, but with the pain and the feelings that he had within he could only do one thing to thank that pony.

Push it away and puke his guts out as he pushed half his body out of the bed.

“By Celestia! What has happened to you?!”

Between raged breaths J finally gave a look towards whoever came to try and wake him up. In fact there were not one, but two ponies: Twilight and Octavia were there. The look in Octavia was of disgust, horror and fear. The one in Twilight turned the disgust away to replace it with concern as she held J’s clothes with her magic, cleaning red stains all over them with what she could spare and making J realize the mess that had been on his bed before he woke up.

“Octavia heard yells coming from your room and found you BLEEDING all over” Twilight said in a desperate tone “When she finally woke me up your door was CLOSED SHUT. I had to use all my magic to break in and then you… you weren’t bleeding all over but dear Celestia…”

Twilight couldn’t continue talking, but J did felt something particularly weird in his back, asides the pain. He was afraid to touch, but his curiosity as to what had happened, what had carried over (If anything) from the nightmare to this world. What was happening to him to worry Twilight so much? That was what he wanted to know.

First, and out of instinct, though, he touched his face. The wounds over his eye and across his nose were there, healed but rough to the touch, as if they had turned his skin into something stronger. He didn’t know how to feel about that, but the fact that, for some reason, they felt like the corruption when it was spreading over his body did not make them look any more tantalizing than they were in that nightmare.

Then he felt what was on his back. His other hand had touched it and it seemed to be a circular wound that left some of his skin much like the wounds on his face, however it didn’t burn as he touched it, it didn’t give away such pain. The thing is that it did felt weird, as if a shooting tranquility got him as he rubbed at it, yet it was worry some as the more he touched the more wounds like that first one he found. In total there were eight, separated by a few inches but all of them on his back.

“W-what the hell happened to me?” The fear from before came back to haunt J “Oh fuck… oh fuck… I need a drink. I want to forget this”

“What happened Jonathan? Why are you… why were you?”

“I… I need a shower first… I need to relax, to get a cold head” He rambled as he tried to get up clumsily “And then… and then I want to get drunk”

As if he was a zombie J got up and walked away, his body now awash with new wounds that seemed to heal fast and not leave a mark except for the eight spheres like wounds on his back and the cuts on his face.

Twilight could only look as he walked upstairs, practically nude and leaving a slight trail of blood as each time she or Octavia called for him the human did not even simply turn his head towards them. It was as if his mind was elsewhere or that he was simply numb towards the world. In the end they simply waited in an awkward silence outside Twilight’s bathroom until J finished his shower.

*** Fifteen minutes afterwards… ***

Twilight was glad that J had recovered a bit of his cheery character after the shower. She had done the same after hours of talking with the mayor, not an easy feat mind you; however he did seem distant as he got dressed in front of the watchful eyes of both her and Octavia. Why Octavia wanted to be there and offer any kind of support to the man that literally got her at sword point was a wonder to Twilight, but she had seen maybe worse things being forgiven in her lifetime.

Or maybe it was the story he had been telling them.

It was still nighttime, probably not later than three in the morning, but it was late. Luckily the girls were still sleeping, probably still so tired from yesterday that the commotion had not been enough to wake them up. All the better because as Twilight pestered him with question he did stick with what he said ‘I can either tell them the truth or nothing at all’, because he was not going to lie.

Celestia, she wished it was a lie.

How he described the nightmare, how he told her about the job Celestia had asked him for, how Octavia went wide eyed as she heard of what her sister had in her mind and how torn she had been since the day that their missing sister went away… as well as how she felt deep inside about Vinyl Scratch’s secret.

The monsters, the fear, the situations, it all was depicted with such realism in his words as he kept on dressing very clumsily and slow that Twilight could swear he was still feeling the pain as he muttered a curse when his body was touched until it became accustomed. The part about the zombie ponies and the ghost filly caught her attention, but Twilight was going to say nothing, she had promised Apple Bloom and Zecora.

But how Pinkie acted, how such a good dream he had turned it to be when he accidentally bumped against the door’s frame at first and… how it twisted itself like if Pinkie had lost her mind? That had been horrid. She was sure that J was hiding something from her, but after what she heard she did not press matters much. The whole experience seemed to turn J into another person; someone afraid of being alone and so afraid to die that he was trembling at the slight provocation.

He had been as direct with her as he said that, a lot of times during his life, he had wanted to die. Even when he came here he had wanted to. When he became depressed he was a danger to himself because of so much shit in his life that he sometimes thought everyone would be better without him, in fact this nightmare seemed to make him think that was exactly what should happen at some point: He would serve his purpose and then disappear.

That had earned him a good ‘slap’, as he had called it, when she lost her temper and hit him in the face. There had been some yelling and he had been ashamed, but Twilight thought she needed to get it out of her system as the frustration since yesterday had been way too much for her and, besides, he needed to come back to the real world. She could not talk for her friends, but Twilight knew that if J went away she would be sad again; probably if it wasn’t for him she would be dead or worse now.

There was only one thing that didn’t change during this whole talk: He wanted to get drunk. He admitted that he hated alcohol (for some reason Octavia flustered as he said that, though Twilight didn’t pay it any heed), and that he suffered horrible hangovers when he took it, but he was afraid of going to sleep and in his actual state he would be so broken by the morning that the hangover would be preferable if he could sleep a bit.

“I know of a bar” Octavia finally spoke after the whole night being silent except when she went to wake up Twilight “Each time I had to be in the village I ended up there after I crossed Pinka… Pinkie every time” She hesitated on saying Pinkie’s real name after hearing J’s tale “If you are hell-bent on drinking yourself to an stupor there is no better place”

“Would be appreciated, thanks” J mumbled as he finally got his clothes in place “I don’t want to remember this as clearly when the morning comes” He growled “I am sorry for my stupidity and… making you clean my blood and the puke Twilight” He bowed slightly, mostly so she couldn’t see the regret and shame on his face “And Octavia” He turned to face her “Thanks for waking up Twilight, otherwise…” He ran his hand across the wounds in his face and touched his back “Just… just thanks, I owe you a lot”

Octavia gave a bit of a shy smile “Don’t mention it” Then got up and walked outside “The bar closes at four in the morning, so we have only an hour if you do want to go there”

J simply nodded, even if Octavia couldn’t see it. He did, however, get closer to Twilight to, then, knell down and give her a big hug.

“Thank you Twilight… you saved my ass as much as Octavia”

Twilight wasn’t sure what to say to say the truth. She felt happy for her friend being ok, well, as ok as he could be really. However it was the sensation that gave her, the feeling of his tears as they splashed against her fur. He was crying and trembling as he held her down gently yet so hard.

“I thought I was going to die… I dint, I didn’t for once want that to happen” He tripped over his own words as he talked, his whole body shaking “I was scared, I felt everything: The pain, the death, my body going numb as it happened… I-I just want it to go”

“I promise it will be all right” Twilight tried to smile, but her nervousness and the feeling of dread coming from him didn’t let her do more than simply return the hug.

“How long?” He asked, his voice shaking “When those things come I will have to do this with every one of you every-one” His voice crumbled, some more tears escaped “I will have to see what you girls would turn out to be if I FAIL. How could anyone want to harm you?” J was whimpering. He looked all but like he had been until now “What if I fuck it and I fail? What then? I will leave you all down and… god knows how… I can’t even go to sleep now for god’s sake! I can’t even face the damn dark alone! I… I just want to be drunk and forget this night ever happened” He pushed away slowly, not daring to look at twilight “I… I am a coward”

“No, no you aren’t” Twilight closed in and lifted his downed head with a gentle smirk “You did your best, you fled in that nightmare because anyone with half a mind would have done so. You didn’t know what to do, so you did the best you could even if you were scared. You went in, you got something from it (even if we aren’t sure what it is) and you survived your first meeting with the nightmares in their own world” Twilight cleaned his tears with a bit of her magic “I promise you Jonathan: You will not let us down”

J wiped away the leftover tears and nodded, smiling a bit, yet the dread of the night would hardly go away “Thanks Twilight, I shouldn’t be like this after what happened yesterday. I should be helping you recover your usual self”

Against her best judgment Twilight gave him a kiss. He was surprised as their lips meet again and Twilight felt a mix of regret and joy as she did so. When he mentioned that the events she could deny no longer that she still felt like crap, yet she didn’t want to bring it up now as he too was pained… but it was also that Twilight knew she felt strongly towards Jonathan. He had risked it all to save her and seeing him in this state brought fear to her mind, fear of losing the man as he had been before, of seeing him depressed and, probably, of seeing him as a danger.

It made him think of the easier exit available, and the only she knew was to give him a kiss. Yes it sounded cheesy and as corny as her books would get, but it felt good. This time he didn’t get her closer and she didn’t press, but the kiss did visibly relax him and, Twilight had to admit, it did help ease her mind too. It simply felt… good. It was a kiss to someone she knew that did care for her enough to risk his life for her.

However she did push away, gently, after a few seconds. She had wanted it as a way to escape from the direction the conversation was going in, not to… well… Twilight hadn’t done this kind of things with such a selfish purpose in all her life and she felt bad for it, but it at least did seem that it did more good than bad.

‘Don’t lie to yourself’ Her mind told her with a scolding tone.

“Uh…” At least J was surprised and he seemed to smile for a moment. That, at least, did make Twilight think this hadn’t been such a bad thing “Twilight… I…”

“Don’t say anything” She gave a shy smile as she blushed “But listen to me: You need to calm down. I… I am not as good as I should be; I know these things cannot be helped but… I still feel bad. However I want you how you were yesterday, how happy and courageous you seemed to be. If you do think this is the best course of actions then, please, do it but do it without any regret and without a single tear spilled there. Everypony need to see a confident and powerful creature that will serve as Ponyville’s protector, ok?” Twilight chuckled, but blushed deeper as J gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks Twilight” He whispered before getting up and walking out towards Octavia.

Twilight, once he left, blushed brightly as she rubbed the cheek that he had kissed.

‘You are an idiot’ Her mind told her as she began to giggle.

***

J got out and saw Octavia giving him a secretive smile while sparing a glance towards where Twilight was inside the house. He blushed but said nothing, instead Octavia just got up and trotted away slowly with him fallowing close. Neither of them said much, well, in fact nothing at all, they only spared a fast glance at each other from time to time as they walked through the deserted town until they reached a different building from the rest, a bar with a sign that read.

‘Berry’s Liquors’

The outlook was that of a normal house, yet there had been add-ons such as a little room on the side that was obviously handmade as well as a second floor and a flat room. There was also a trapdoor on the side of the house; probably it went to a cellar. For a small village this little place looked more than ready.

“If I say my liver is going to resent this but that I don’t care, how would anyone react?” He asked to no one in particular.

“Like most people that know Berry Punch, so by drinking and not tasting” Octavia let out a little giggle “I would advise you to make sure you are ready though, if you still want to drink yourself stupid”

“I am, I am sure I do want to” J sighed “Just… I forgot to pick any money” Because five thousand bits in a card was not going to cut it.

“Berry knows me, I will ask her to put it on my tab” Octavia blushed maybe a bit too much “I am considered a regular here”

“I see…” J simply nodded at that “Seems not only I think this is a good idea, eh?”

Octavia looked down as she neared the door “It is an easy way to get the sorrow away”

J had to give her that, a good drink washed away all, but it did give you regrets anyway, and doubts. Octavia opened the door, let the calm music and the shooting lights wash over him and got in. He went after her shortly after.

Inside the building the lights were dim and there was quiet, but quite loud, music playing while mares, and some stallions, drank away the night. There were some that he knew from the series, the so called ‘background ponies’, as well as some he didn’t, however mostly there were only mares and only so few colts.

And every eye was on him.

As if he had not been weirded and scared enough for tonight. He simply paid them no heed as he walked towards the bar where a dizzy Berry Punch awaited with a bit of a silly smile.

“Whut iz et gona be? *Hic*” She asked with a bit of a giggle as Octavia gave her an inquisitive look at which Berry blushed.

“I thought you told me you were going to cut it down at night” The grey mare stared at the poor Berry.

“Eh… I… Hehe…” Berry took a bottle from somewhere under the bar and gulped down whatever was inside. She made the most pained face J had ever seen “Oh Celestia… That tastes like cra… OH MY GOD WHATE ARE YOU?!”

J grimaced as he felt the stares of every single pony dawning on him once more.

“I am a human and eeeh…”

“He is going to be Celestia’s designed guardian here” Octavia cut him out with a little smile “I delivered him the letter that assigned him as the ‘Knight’ for the village since there had been quite a few creatures sighted on the forest and the princess thinks it is right to have another powerful ally in town”

“Yea, that” J grimaced at the lie, though technically it wasn’t a lie “But I have had a bad night and Octavia said this bar was good. Do you have something strong AND sweet?”

“For someone so big?” Berry looked him up and down “I have something, wait here” She took off as fast as light, leaving the bar. Everyone was speechless for a moment, then shrugged and went back to talking.

It seemed everypony had relaxed and had turned back to their talking. J couldn’t help but smile a bit at that, at least the ponies weren’t giving him cold stares or were disgusted at him, probably thanks to the diversity of creatures that roam this land. That made things easier and, in fact; he could relax now, comfortable in such a crowd as there was surely no bad thing that could befall him in such a crowded place.

Octavia gave him a concerned look but he waved it off with a little smile. She nodded and gave him a chair that, while designed for a pony (So quite small for him), proved to be quite comfortable as he sat down. Until Berry returned all he had to do was to either eavesdrop on whatever conversation picked his interest (There were way too many girls gossiping) or talk with Octavia.

The latter, though, would not be possible. Just as he turned Octavia had picked up a conversation with some pony he didn’t recognize, of course he didn’t even take much notice of the colt but since there were few in the town he was sure to get his name (And his looks, if he had appeared in the series) in the morning. What did perk his attention though, did come from a pair of mares talking.

“But Goldy! You can’t go! What will I do with you on Manehattan?” He heard a very rich voice with a regal touch to it and he turned.

There were two mares talking heatedly besides him, in fact it seemed like they hadn’t even noticed him more than was necessary, not even cared to be exact.

One of them was a grey mare with pure white hair in both her mane and tail. She was perfectly well groomed by the looks of it and had the looks of someone that hadn’t had to lift a fing… a hoof in her whole life. Her eyes were a bright shade of purple and over her body she had a fine dress with silver buttons and other extras that didn’t serve much more purpose than to make it look fancy. One could say she had practically a silver dress made fit for a gala. It didn’t, however, hide a silver looking mark, much like a spoon, that was engraved on her flank.

The other was of a dull pink color with velvet mane and tail. Her appearance was regal, her sapphire eyes cold and her dress, sparkling as if it was made out of gold, gave away how much the pony was concerned with her appearance. On her head she had a little garment, much like a crown, that was made out of platinum and adorned with many different gems finely crafted in such a way that they looked like a perfect part of the construction. She didn’t reveal her mark but probably it had to do with the ‘name’ of Goldie.

“Do not call me ‘Goldie’, Silverlight, we are amongst peasants, call me Royally Golden my dear” ‘Goldie’ called with a bit of disgust “If it wasn’t this where the carriage is going to be in an hour I would’ve never set hoof here. I do not understand how you can come here with your mate once a week, though I must compliment that drunkard that is Berry Punch; she can make a decent drink, magnificent if I can be so frank”

Silverlight sighed “Whatever you say Royal” The mare simply looked away “But what will I do without you here? You are one of my few friends and everyone is going to take vacations once summer starts. I have to remain here and Silver Spoon is going to be alone if you don’t let Diamond Tiara with me. You know my servants will treat her as well as yours”

“Nonsense” Goldie cut her “Your servants are of high quality but my daughter goes nowhere without my supervision. I know that you don’t want your daughter hurt and neither do I for she is a fine young lady” The mare turned almost tender there for a moment “But these business have to be taken care of and Diamond Tiara needs to learn the trade, she is way too self centered to care for more than tease the peasants, as much as they deserve it. I will be back in a month at most, I am sure if this does not please you my friend, but me, my mate and my daughter will go to Manehattan”

Just then the door opened and a huge black colored pony with a servant’s suit came in.

“My lady, the carriage is here” He said in a deep and rough voice.

“Thank you Coltinant, I will be on my way in no time” The colt nodded and stepped out. At least now all eyes were fixed on Goldie “Then my friend… see you soon”

Goldie gave Silverlight a quick kiss and walked off. J didn’t know what struck him as weirder: How easy everyone took that two married mares with children shared a kiss in front of them or the sigh of relief from everyone as she was out of sight, because the conversations were more livery and now people even laughed.

The only negative thing was that Silverlight slunk down against the bar with a sad look.

“Damn prissy idiot” She sighed, taking a glass filled with a bright pink substance and downing it fast “Will never learn”

“Are you ok miss?” J’s question caught her out of guard and she practically fell to the ground as she looked at the human “Sorry to bother you, but you did seem quite troubled after your friend walked away” How was he worrying about someone else after all he wanted was to drink himself stupid was beyond J’s comprehension right now. Well, he was a stupid and warmhearted fool after all…

“And what do you care for you… what were you?” Silverlight asked, only to receive that ‘human’ word as his answer. It was all the same for her as she didn’t know what it meant “Whatever, and yes, I am sad. What do you care for? It is my life and I am half drunk” She sighed, taking a look under the bar to pick a bottle with the same liquid as she had drank a moment ago “I think tonight I will buy a whole bottle”

“Well you seem troubled and I don’t like to see people so, I have already seen it more than enough these past days” J tried to whip the memories away as they came “And the thing that seems to bother you more than anything is that your daughter will be alone now that you friend is gone, right?” Silverlight gave him a look that screamed with warnings “Do not get me wrong here, I live under Twilight Sparkle’s rule, to call it something, in the local library. She is a well read mare and I think she needs her mind occupied these days. She is taking care of two young fillies that are going to be living with her for… a while” At that he stumbled but Silverlight didn’t seem to mind “They are going to need friends after coming here and maybe your daughter could help with that? If it works it is a win/win situation for both my friend, as she will see the fillies happy, and you, because your daughter would have somepony to play with”

Silverlight seemed to ponder for a bit before she simply took the bottle with her mouth and chugged down until it was depleted. She threw it away (With the typical *CRASH* and yell, though nopony seemed hurt as J looked back) and gave out a so inaudible and gentle belch that it either meant she was a pro or that she was so gentle mannered that even her burps were made for frigging royalty.

“I’ll think about it” She said finally “I don’t think I have any other choice however. My daughter drives everypony away, like Goldie and her prissy girl” She scowled at her reflection in one of the many bar’s stands “Sometimes I hate that I was born with riches. All that gave given me are problems”

“Everyone has problems; some worse than others” J told her as Berry Punch finally came back “Mine right now are worth getting knocked out by whatever makes me forget”

Berry placed a bright, so bright it gave of light it seemed, bottle over the bar. With a bit of skill with her hooves she took one small glass and filled it to the brim before giving him a little smile.

“That is Everfree Apple Dread, I don’t know why I called it like that… oh wait, I do remember” She snickered “Because it is made from apples and a few healing herbs from the forest! However the mix makes it an alcoholic and so sweet beverage that… WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING?!”

Ignoring the glass J had taken the whole bottle and was downing it down like, for a lack of a better world, a ‘baws’. The taste was sweet, but the liquor didn’t seem to have any kind of sugar on it as the feeling was ‘dry’ in a sense, even though it went down so easily it could be water to him in all but such a taste and a felling as it was being swallowed. When the bottle was empty he left it on the bar, took the shot and drank it too.

Everypony was looking at him with eyes big as dinner plates.

“T…that shot could take a colt down” Berry said before her mouth hung open.

“It was sweet, I liked it” J said with a small chuckle, feeling lightheaded all of sudden “But I think it was a bit too much”

*KLUNK!*

His head hit the bar and he began to snore loudly.

“I think I liked the plan of the wrong pony” Silverlight mumbled before imitating J’s behavior as the alcohol in her took the rich pony to the dram realm.

“Nopony could drink more than a shot” Berry mumbled as she made sure that Silverlight would not fall down before doing the same with J “Your friend is a pro at this, Octavia”

“He needed it, and I do too, do you have the normal Apple Dread?” She asked, giving J a glancing smile. He looked cute when he was sleep; in fact he looked happy “I would want a few shots myself”

“Of course, at least this won’t send you into a coma” Berry gave out a little chuckle as she served her friend “Consider it free, this was a real something. Tonight had quite the surprise for me”

“Tell me about it” Octavia measured the clear but green liquid in the glass as she took it near her mouth with her hooves “Today had quite a few surprises for me too” Then he simply took the shot and gave out a carefree smile ‘It may be bad, but it feels good’

*** End of Chapter 7 ***

As you may have guessed by now, this story is going to have a lot of mini stories inside. It serves a purpose and, in fact, was thought to be like this not from the start, but as I kept on writing chapters. I thought that the story I had developed [Yea, ‘developed’… Do you know that I write things ON THE FLY? I NEVER plan anything, except in some occasions like some of the things done in this story and it is just because my mind is working nonstop when I am writing!] would be too fast, way too fast… in fact if I tried to keep up this ‘fast’ writing it could probably be 16 or 20 chapters long, however I want more than that.

This is the first story in nearly… how much, eight to ten years? Yea, probably, but this is the one that I want to go along until the end. I mean it, and it is going to be huge IF I PULL IT THROUGH. Believe me the only reason I do not have anything published is not the fact that I do not have a nice paper that says I am intelligent and that I am good at some given task, it is because when I write I usually get bored. This? This is entertaining, this is NICE.

Yes, I dislike the fact that I will have to write drama here and there, I dislike how some things turned out, but I enjoy the overall feeling it is giving out and how things are moving along. That is why I want to give most the characters a little push in how I envision things could have been for them and how it could be. For that matter I would like to congratulate the creator of ‘The Story of the Blank Flanks’, Donitz, as when I was preparing to write this chapter I finally got around to play his game (Remember, until recently I hated MLP, so I literally threw that game to the back of my mind not wanting to play it. Fuck, it is scary).

I wanted to give somepony a bit of story in here and that story gave me the inspiration. I would like to keep everything in here as original as possible but… damn, this is something I have to exploit, sorry. It was a great game and I FEEL like I need to expand such a creepy story because it also would SERVE a purpose in here and because I enjoyed it so much for a 5 minute long game. This does mean, though, that there will be more horror in some of the latter chapters, but I promise it will end well if… you all want to.

That brings me to the next matter at hand: You all will pretty much decide the theme of the ending. I would NOT do this, normally, but I want your opinion. As I said this is the first story I want to finish since I first took this seriously. The thing is, well… this is the first in a long time that had people fallowing it and LIKING it. I want to give you guys the chance to do something, to influence it. So the nice or sad ending depends on what you want to see. I mean, you can decide if you want Equestria without any human or… that at least one stays.

I, personally, already want a nice ending :3 But it is not only up to me now.

You all take your time, this is going to stay and last. I doubt you will see less than the already mentioned 20, in fact if I extend it nicely it should have 30 or up to 40 if I can keep up with it. Of course if I keep writing like this it may not reach that length because each chapter now is going to have 10k to 20k words, hopefully not more (Because I take from 1 to 2 weeks per chapter).

Also: I won’t update in Deviant Art until my friend finishes the drawing for this :3 If he does as I asked him it is going to be frigging awesome x3! Shame he stopped reading because he can’t see drama, horror or the like in FIM, something that I understand very well. Of course as a writer is my duty to write what I enjoy, and I enjoy this story I am making.

Chapter 8: Public Relations.

Finally someone jumped to the fray :3 Nobodyreallyimportant and Destruc2 are going to be t he proofreaders for my stories ^^ I will thank them in every chapter from now on cause they are awesome 83 so without further ado:

Thanks to the proofreaders Nobodyreallyimportand and Destruc2.

Also, about some reviews:
The ending is, literally, the ending. It means that when it ends it will have a good or bad ending. The nightmares have a predestined ending and not all can be turned for good, at least not the first time around (Some will), but Pinkie is the one that I think has the best psychological functions, capabilities and developing as she is already technically insane, but in a good way, so her nightmares will be harder to overcome while the others may not be so bad… technically. You all will see in due time :3.

I also want to say that I do wish for a happy ending, but this story is like most I work with: It grows on its own, I basically write it when inspiration hits me, the guidelines I lie down basically do not count for shiz if it wants to go somewhere else, which is why I think I have some quality to write: I do not force things, I have it in my head and it flows alone, I only need to get it catalyzed properly and grind it down until it is good enough once the initial chapter has been laid before me (Which is why this one took around 16-17 frigging days. I had it basically done in 7 and then keept on adding things or correcting others).

Mind you that this has also a negative effect: I have basically envisioned the whole thing in my head and it also has spawned stories after all this happens…

If it ends happily.

However I won’t push it and the decision is still for you all to make, though after how dark things are going to be at some points (Though there will be a 50% dark 50% light and happy action) I do hope you all want a good ending :3 Be as it may be though, I will keep on working. Thank you.

Sidenote: Subconscious voice, this: ‘Hello!’ in J’s mind is courtesy of Nobodyreallyimportant :3 I found it funny and quite interesting so I left it there ;3 could add something in the future ^^.

From the desk of nobodyreallyimportant (more of a cardboard box, really)
Hi all, I would like it to be known that I voted for a good ending. I hope I edit to you all’s expectations.
Onwards to the story!

*** WARNING ***
This chapter contains ‘mature’ content. If you can’t depict what it means… eh… when the next warning appears be mindful of what you read. It is technically not required to read it but if you don’t mind such a thing I would advise you to do so ;3.[/b

“I have to quote a very nice phrase from a very nice flash game,” J voiced before he even opened his eyes, “My whole me hurts”

“Accurate phrase and detailed enough.”

When J finally opened his eyes he saw the bright light of the sun coming through one of the windows that were on the walls of Berry’s bar. Interestingly enough he had no migraine, the sun didn’t hurt him, but… literally, and I mean it, everything hurt right now; every-single-cell. He could feel the pain in every nerve of his body and the only reason he could find of it was the magic that Celestia had granted him, the one that made sure to protect him from minor harm, sucking out the ‘venom’ that was the alcohol by not so kind means.

It took him some time to understand the situation he was in, though: He was in the bar, alright, but he also was NUDE and was lying on one bar table under the sunlight that was so bothering him so ‘gently’ so as to not dozing back to sleep. He could also see most his clothes around with his blurred vision, though most of them were now floating, cleaned and being folded by a white unicorn he thought he remembered; of course the bright red spots on her cheeks weren’t there the last time. J also saw another pony, a brown mare with glasses and… ooooh shit.

“Uh… Mayor, He groaned, rubbing his face and eyes as he tried to get up, not minding his lack of clothes as much as his lack of balance.

The Mayor seemed flustered as J got up, but she simply gave a smile as Berry Punch walked around, getting Octavia and Silverlight from more or less the same positions as J from other tables around the bar, though they weren’t in the same situation as him. It was good to be a pony if you wanted to go around nude.

J finally caught notice of his particular predicament though as he felt his head clearing, so he literally picked the darned round table he had been lying over and used it to hide his privates with the biggest blush he had ever sported in his life. He could be a total pervert sometimes, like most males of any species, but this was probably far too much, more so in a land where he was the weirdest thing alive. Besides, he had never enjoyed the things he did while drunk… and this was already leading him to think he had done one of those.

“Sorry to bother you dear, but it is almost time for dinner and Berry would like her bar empty, so she called Twilight but she seemed to have had a bad night…” The Mayor trailed off, not wanting to add more to it.

“I-I understand what you mean.”

J still blushed furiously until his underwear came to him, floating and surrounded in sparkly light. He was fast enough to drop the table and get them on before being seen again. Such an interesting scene also included him falling face first on the floor.

When he heard a very characteristic giggle J could do little more than to blush even more. The reason? Well because he thought she would giggle or scream her lungs out to be truthful. And who, you may be asking, is the one he thought would do such a thing? Well…

“H-hello Rarity… eh heh heh… um, how much did you see,” he asked between shudders as he took every piece of clothing that Rarity sent his way to cover up everything.

J wasn’t sure if he felt most embarrassed about his maleness being seen or his wounds, though the latter was most worry than embarrassment to be perfectly truthful. For him it meant that there could be problems if Rarity asked something that he wasn’t too fond of right now, at least he would want to get it explained slowly and without any of the girls prodding more than he wanted.

“Long en… I MEAN! I saw quite a lot… Oh darn,” the alabaster unicorn was all red right now as she looked away. “I… I just came here to pick you up after the Mayor had a word with you. Fluttershy finally got Trixie to calm down, but poor darling won’t even give us a piece of her mind right now, I think she just secluded herself in her own mind”

“I see,” J got all his clothes on, shaking the embarrassment from his head. “Well then, what do you want Coral?” The name still sounded quite weird in his mind as he referred to the Mayor.

“Well dear, I wanted to wait until later in the day to talk with you about what I said yesterday, but…” She looked him up and down, “I am honestly not sure if you will be able to stand up for the whole day. Don’t get me wrong my dear, but what you took would have made anypony visit the infirmary for a week or two”

“Needed it, regardless,” J couldn’t help but hide his blush. “Yesterday night was… it was worse than anything you can think of.”

“But I can think of something my dear, that is why I am here.” The Mayor sat with a serious look in her face. “I wanted to ask if you will use those five hundred bits for anything, and I need an answer now.”

J’s mouth hung agape. Ok, it was not as serious as he thought but, damn! Receiving the money? Strike one in weirdness. Strike two, though far from weird; was the entire fucking HORRID night. And then this question? That was weird, in fact for some reason he felt angry. He had lived hell in a few days and now he was being asked for money after going through the worst night in his life.

Basically his answer was, “Girl… what the fuck?” That made all the (aware) mares gasp. “I am sorry for being so rude but, seriously? You are asking me for money? I do not know what you want it for but yesterday night I lived HELL! No, wait, that isn’t exactly precise, let me rephrase it for you; last night I DIED once and almost DIED twice. You don’t have to understand it, in fact if you ask Celestia and she thinks you should know, then you will know and you will understand. But seriously; why the money? Why?! Is there something so important that I have to be asked for such a frigging thing after drinking my ass out just to try and FAIL to forget what I had to do yesterday?!”

The outburst made him feel bad, but his mind was hurting from so many places that he feared of it rupturing and him going insane. It was not the fact that there was danger in his new ‘line of work’ or the nightmares, it was the sudden change from something so nice and lovely that was living with the ponies, to something as horrid and dark as to fight for your life against monsters that no imagination could create even in his world. It just felt so wrong that he could hardly comprehend it, and it was treating to tear his poor humanity asunder.

Simply put: Too much too fast.

“Granny Smith is dying,” the Mayor snapped with her eyes empty and her look down.

J felt like he had been crushed mentally at those words. His previous line of thoughts was cleansed and something clicked in his mind. ‘Stop worrying about yourself for a moment, you prick!’

‘That… felt like a ton of bricks’ He thought at his internal monologue’s tone. It wasn’t the first time it scolded him and it wouldn’t be the last “What do you mean by that?”

“Her sickness has advanced to third grade. She is basically sleeping most the day away and Apple Jack has told me that she sometimes forgets things. I looked in every book of medicine that Twilight had during our stay at her library yesterday, I also asked Redheart about it a while ago before it came to happen, but it seems the only explanation they have is that the sickness is in its final phase,” The Mayor was talking without much of a feeling in her voice. “I have been her friend for fifty years, we haven’t even reached our seventeenth birthday together”

She gave a little dark chuckle as she walked towards one of the windows in the bar to look outside. With a sigh she rubbed the glass with one hoof, giving a sad smile to the passing ponies that didn’t acknowledge who was in the now closed and quite dark bar.

“You know, she, I and Mrs. Cake are the oldest ponies in here” The Mayor didn’t look away from the window even for a second “Most people leave once they reach our age to live the rest of their lives in other towns, much like Apple Jack’s parents whom left after Apple Bloom reached her first year of age, my own parents and most ponies here, including my daughter,” She gently chuckled at that bit of information. “This place is VERY quiet and peaceful my dear, but it is the only Annie, Gretel and I would have as our home” At that the Mayor couldn’t help but give a little laugh. “And if you are wondering; Annie is Mrs. Cake and Gretel is ‘Granny’ Smith. They took long to get used to being called Mrs. Cake and Granny Smith mind you, as much as I took to get used to being called Mayor”

The Mayor tore her gaze away from the street and instead bore holes in J’s mind as she tried to read him and every reaction of his. Her looks had changed ever so slightly, but were clearer than anyone would think. She was angry, but understood, in fact it seemed she understood better than Rarity did as her gaze would glare daggers, but it also had sadness for him and maybe pity.

“I know more than you think my dear, Princess Celestia is a great friend of mine as she is of my father for some reasons that I don’t really know. I do know, however, whose dangers you had to survive yesterday night and, in fact, I do understand how bad you could take this little request as from being practically slaughtered in your sleep, FEELING every second of it, would probably make anyone want little more than solitude or, maybe, some recognition” J looked down, appalled and frankly ashamed “To be asked for such a pitiful thing as is money I would understand some infuriation, however do understand that I do not ask it for greed or any other purposes my dear, I ask because I know how to heal Granny Smith and because what you have is what I need.”

At that he perked up, even Rarity came closer and Berry Punch did nothing to hide her curiosity on the matter.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, my young boy, that I have been saving since I first knew of Gretel’s sickness,” The Mayor stood there, firm and quite defiant for an older mare “Annie and I both look older because we exposed ourselves to it WILLINGLY when it was developing and still contagious so we could spend as much time with her as we could until she simply looked and felt old enough to be unable to do so anymore.” Even with her firm stance The Mayor looked like she had been stabbed at that. “The treatment costs thirty thousand bits, one thousand for every unicorn needed for the incantation and the preparation. No natural medicine can help here and Princess Celestia cannot grant such personal favors for others would want her to help with this, in fact doing this would drain the dear princess of a week’s worth of capabilities to rain the sun, leaving her little sister with the burden of reign and to raise both sun and moon without the thousand years of practice her sister had.”

“But… thirty thousand? One thousand for every unicorn,” Rarity was stumbling a bit with each word as she looked from J to The Mayor. “If Princess Celestia would use so much power that she would be out of it for a week… h-how are thirty unicorns going to supply so much power? I-I never heard of something like that.”

“The payment is, in truth, one hundred.” The Mayor said clearly “Nine hundred are expenses for medical care, healing tonics and one month worth of their healing job as they will be confined in bed, spent from the magical use. I was lucky with that deal because every unicorn has been waiting years to heal Gretel, they all are friends from this city that moved away, yet they all want to help, so they lowered the price to one fifth of what it would be originally.” Rarity gasped and Berry fell down as she heard that “Yes, it is quite a sum, but it is so because there are chances that one of the healers gets the disease instead of curing it. The longer we wait now that it is in the last phase the riskier it will get. If it goes like this for a few more weeks there will be no chance, neither I nor Annie or Gretel wanted to tell Applejack or the others about this but…”The Mayor was silenced as she saw something in front of her.

It was the card, no, the check that Celestia had sent with the amount of money he had for his new ‘organization’.

“Have it, call them all as soon as you can,” he said flatly, his look somber.

“I… thank you, young man,” The Mayor tentatively took the card with her hooves and smiled at him. “I wasn’t sure… I didn’t know if you would give so much money away. I had to work for almost thirty years to save those twenty five thousands… this is a lot of money.”

“I don’t care about money, I never have,” J was blunt. “I am sorry about the yelling, I had to know that if you wanted it, then there was a reason for it, and a good one. However I do want to ask you something in exchange…”

“Ask away,” The Mayor was positively cheery now “For this I would do anything, I can’t wait to see Gretel back again. We have so much to talk and so many things to do.” Rarity couldn’t help but giggle at how dreamy the Mayor had turned out.

“Well, I don’t want much if I am to say the truth. I basically would like it if you can keep track of the money Celestia sends,” J basically begged for it. “I am not good at storing money, when I have it I spend it, I don’t see much use in simply hoarding even now that I may need to do so,” He scratched the back of his head as he blushed. “And… well, since I still feel a bit ‘open’ from the alcohol from yesterday I would… eh… like to ask if you know how well interspecies relationships could turn if you, say, mixed ponies and humans?”

Silence was king for a whole, awkward, minute.

Berry had busied herself taking Octavia and Silverlight to the bathroom while the question lingered in the air. Before it was broken both mares came back, tumbling a bit while giving out groans and trying to hold onto each other mostly because otherwise they would fall to the ground and snore the day away. It did take them a few minutes to notice that there were other ponies in there. Well, a few minutes and two buckets of water from Berry.

Rarity and The Mayor were a much different story.

Whether Berry had preferred to say nothing and walk away (She knew J from his… interesting acting at night, that was it), Rarity had been flustered beyond belief and her imagination was running rampant, much more after she had seen him NAKED. It was not full of lewd thoughts though, she did think about a few possibilities but, to be truthful? She was thinking about WHO (even though she had an idea) could have perked his interest and how it could play out. So many sappy romances had that effect on her.

The Mayor was red too, but she had a bit of a smile on her. She could hardly help but to think about Twilight and how close the two of them had been the other day. Maybe it wasn’t her, but The Mayor did doubt it, in fact she was quite sure it was her, as J would discover later. Looking over at Rarity she also thought that there could be others mixed in this, not that it would be so weird with so few stallions and so many mares. Both mares and colts ended up with the ones they loved, sex wasn’t that important, species wasn’t that important, what was important was love and friendship in these relations, were them permanent or flings from time to time.

However…

“Of course I could help you, dear, but I would prefer if you came to the Town Hall latter if you feel yourself able,” she finally said. “I am not the most knowledge pony my dear, but I do have a life full of experiences. Still that would be better to discus in private you know? I do like to be open with everypony and our society is, as far as Twilight told me about yours, quite more open, but we do like some privacy and THIS may need it. I do doubt you want everypony knowing the specifics about this request…”

“I…” He stopped, taking a long breath as he looked at the now expecting eyes of the mares around him. “Yeah… Yeah I will go to the Town Hall. First, though, I want to go with Rarity, and then meet Silver Spoon in the library, if she’s going there” He looked back at Silverlight.

“Yes, I will send her in a few after she is out of school,” Silverlight groaned. “Thank Celestia I convinced Marion to stay at home, at least my mate has some decency I seem to lack.”

“Hey, your oldest friend is a prissy and bitchy ‘queen,’” Berry stated as she walked behind the bar to prepare some mixes. “After all the discussion yesterday it is a wonder you didn’t drink three times more.”

“Thank you Berry, that makes me feel so much better,” Silverlight grimaced.

“What did I miss,” Octavia grumbled, a huge headache storming her head.

“Not much,” Berry assured her. “Though yesterday you and the nice guy were playing so much that it was a wonder how you don’t remember about it. In face it was impossible to get you away from each other and Silverlight wouldn’t stop looking. I got lucky enough to get everypony but you three out of here” Her tone was firm, gentle and warm, like always. Berry Punch was used to the things happening in her bar, but this did make her blush and giggle a bit when no one looked.

That granted them both another load of stares. First at J and then at Octavia. What had happened last night?

As if sensing the question Berry simply took one glass she was cleaning up and, while looking at it with expert eyes, said, “After Octavia took four shots she began to feel ‘funny’, like most would with what she took. With what she made me take I couldn’t get that ‘warm feeling’ for a couple of hours, so I made sure she didn’t try to hump the walls.” Berry snickered and Octavia blushed profusely. “However, you,” She pointed at the human, “Got up a bit groggy not much latter afterwards. You got to beg her to forgive you about what you did (or whatever) when you two met, I don’t know what it was all about, but she said she would if you made it worth her time.”

Both Octavia and J blushed to such an extent where the mare’s fur turned red all over her face and J could only try to look away in a bit of shame.

“I don’t know who was worked up the most, but there was a lot of kissing and… touching all night long.” There were some giggles as Berry said that. “Silverlight woke up when it was already going and she insisted on keeping it GOING, if you understand what I mean, clapping at the event.” Berry chuckled as the rich mare blushed heavily, not giggling anymore. “I honestly couldn’t keep up after six in the morning, so I went to my room to make sure my little girl was still asleep and to get some rest myself. I don’t know if something else happened here so don’t ask me, but I promise that there was at least two hours of fooling around on your part.”

Octavia couldn’t keep on with this anymore; she got up and walked away, embarrassment plastered on her face. Nopony knew of it but she had thought that, even with how rude it had been how they had meet; J would be a nice person to have as a friend, one sincere friend at least. What he had done to make up for his harsh meeting had touched her so… not even music and concentration on her task could clear it away. Maybe it was because she was starved for someone that was genuinely good, or because he had made the effort to reunite her with her sister, maybe even because he ‘put her in her place’ after she went full auto on her sister! SHE DID NOT KNOW! However, to let it go like that… to get drunk and… well…

“I’ll… I’ll see you later, Jonathan,” She said meekly as she finally went out of the bar.

Silverlight was fast to follow Octavia, both because she was getting so red that she didn’t know what to say and because she had seen what time it was so she would need to hurry to get everything planned if she wanted free time to speak with her daughter about the possibility to have new friends. Second thoughts about sending her to the library were there after she heard what she heard; of course she had been drunk that night too, so she wasn’t someone to talk.

“So darling… can we get going?”

Rarity finally found her voice, even as quivering as it was. This had the potential to be such a drama! She was intrigued and fascinated, whatever was going to happen would be IMPRESIVE. Of course she felt slightly bad for J, and only slightly because this would all go well on the end, she was SURE of it, but the joy of being part of this kind of story made her feel so… so complete. She had always wanted to be on her love novels SO much, it was the type of fiction she loved the most so it didn’t matter if she was just an observer, she would enjoy this all the way. Of course she had to stay focused now; she had a friend that needed cheering, another that needed help, and then there was Trixie.

The latter was still not too nice to her eyes, much less after the last night she had to spend with her, but when she broke down into tears it had made her pity the poor creature. She was so afraid and alone… It was like she was seeing her sister after their parents had decided that it was time for them to leave the two youngsters in charge of their family business in here. It felt a bit like betrayal at first, but it was how things were around Ponyville, at least for most ponies.

“Yea, yea we should go,” J answered finally, rubbing his eyes. “When would it be a good time to go to the Town Hall?”

“Anytime you want is fine dear,” The Mayor gave a little smile. “Today there should be little to no work, there is nothing special going on. I will need a few hours to redact the letters and sent them all though, so you can take your time doing your things.” she gave out a little giggle. “You seem like you need it at least.”

“I do, I do,” J shook his head and gave a little groan. “Thanks for… everything, I suppose, Berry”

The mare gave a wave and a little chuckle “No need to, but next time we will see how much you can drink without getting knocked out, for now…” She looked shocked as she heard steps down the stairs. “GET OUT OF HERE! I don’t want my baby girl scarred for life!”

*** A quick escape later ***

“You know darling, I don’t hold anything against you for… a wild night, if you want to call it so,” Rarity and J had walked away of the bar quite fast, giving the Mayor a quick goodbye before they heard, “Mom… where is that nude creature? He looked funny.” The reaction from J had made Rarity snicker loudly as the poor human tried to outrun his shame to no avail.

“I feel stupid,” he retorted. “I feel rested, also quite hurt, but rested nonetheless. I was hoping for that, not for the… what happened tonight when I was drunk, much less to lose it and yell at Coral like that,” his face felt somber for a second.

“Slip ups do happen darling, not everything can go as planned,” Rarity tried to assure him with a sincere smile as they walked away from Ponyville. “Besides, it did sound like you were fighting those things Pinkie called Nightmares, right? At least Mayor Mare seemed to refer to them.”

J shuddered and froze.

“Darling? Are you alright?” The worried look on Rarity burned in J’s mind, but he didn’t move “Jonathan?”

“I would like to let what is in my mind, remain in my mind,” He said, resuming his pace.

“But… if I asked,” J had passed the now quiet Rarity, yet the words made him stop again, “would you lie to me?”

Again he froze. “I could either tell you or… not tell you,” He admitted like he had done in the spa. “You know that.”

“Would you deny me the information then,” She asked; genuinely hurt. “I thought we had made good acquaintances yesterday. You seemed nice and chivalrous. Even if it was something horrible you could tell me, if that would help you…”

“If I told you, then you could maybe hate one of your friends,” J’s words were fast, cold and maybe hurtful, but also the truth “What I experienced yesterday night was a nightmare… inside one of you,” He said, Rarity trembled slightly. “Would you want to know what horrors I lived there? Who was it that the Nightmare had as host? The thing doesn’t seem to want to hurt any of us, but it is there and, to sustain itself, it had to corrupt a bit of one of your friends.” Looking back J saw Rarity’s more than worried expression. “Still, do you want to hear about it knowing the risks it entails?”

Rarity doubted for a second, but she did come beside him to answer, “Yes, I want to.”

The next fifteen minutes were very slow and tense.

Rarity had turned her color, that of a cute marshmallow (as some would call it), into a bleak mockery of the perfect white from before. Her hair seemed to get wild as she heard the story, her cheeks were green the few times she felt bile coming up and she didn’t even mind the few times that dirt got over her hooves or even her tail as she let it drop to the ground. While she didn’t have the best of relations with Pinkie she did have her as a great (albeit random) friend, one that would cheer anypony up.

To see what had been done inside of her mind, to hear that Celestia said EVERY one of them had such a travesty inside of their minds. She had to ask why that happened, why he was in that horror and how could he say he would do it again if it was needed.

The thought of saying ‘No’ the next time he asked her if she wanted to know had popped into her mind a few times after that.

“I woke up to discover my face marked with this,” he touched the leather like skin in his face. Still it was not much, but it felt weird, “and the marks in my back. I am not sure what could happen if I make another mistake on this line of duty again.” J sighed as the walk towards Fluttershy’s home came to end for the cottage was now in sight. “I… would thank you if you didn’t mention this to Fluttershy. She would be unable to sleep for a long time if she knew of such a horror happening to two of her friends, even if I am new and… don’t really think I deserve the worry.”

“You do my dear, you do,” Rarity said in a weak voice as she tried to regain her usual manners after the shocking tale. “I do believe you did your best, in fact, since you came you seem to have been doing so with your life on the line every time”

The excitement she had felt before in the bar at what could be a sappy novel in real life had turned to amazement at the courage of the human. She knew that he had much more in hiding that he had told her, but for some reason Rarity was sure that she wouldn’t like, maybe wouldn’t even comprehend what it was. She wasn’t sure why, she simply knew that the truth could probably be harder to swallow than what she had already heard, which was no small feat.

However to see such a knight, aptly named so, willing to protect Twilight and the others, the whole Ponyville in fact, made her feel warm inside. Was it because there had never been a real knight for a long time? Not a real hero? Fighting monsters was hard task, and there were some very nasty ones as well as good monster slayers to control them; however this was a different range of things. Creatures that went to your head to corrupt and devour you, that… that was horror in pure essence.

And she LOVED the idea of such a colt (Or a man) with such valor to confront them.

Now that she knew more about it she couldn’t look at the human with any ill intention. Yesterday she had felt a bit obliged to be nice, today morning, seeing Octavia and him ‘happy’ together she had been genuinely nice. Now? Now she saw him in shining armor like some short of hero.

But she did also see a grim side of this.

“But I do fear… that if you do that again you may die,” She said in a sorrowful tone. “You are risking it all, I can understand that you feel compelled to do the right thing darling but… why?” Rarity stopped as she watched him tense. “Why all this? Why so many risks? I know if you asked the princes she would take away her orders and would seek for another solution. Why do you have to live these horrors alone?”

“I am not alone” J flexed his fingers and, to his surprise and Rarity’s, the sword appeared “I am not now, I have friends and I have a purpose. I am away from home and I am in a world that is nicer, cleaner… the only stain here is me.”

For some reason J had turned quite dark after the talk, he felt as if all this was his fault somehow even knowing it really wasn’t. It was normal though, the past night still hung on him.

“If I do this right, then I may believe I made up for all the wrongs I did before I got here,” his voice was dreamy at those thoughts, “and I will be at peace knowing I cleansed what is dark within me.”

“That is stupid and you know it,” Rarity spat. “You have to let it go, please,” She begged “Celestia can take care of this, maybe even we can do if the Elements are needed.” She was genuinely concerned about him, enough to get close and thug him to get down. “Please? I… you have done much already, you have saved Twilight, you have tried to do the same within Pinkie’s mind… it would be horrid if they lost you because you felt compelled to sacrifice yourself to simply felt at peace.”

“You worry about me,” That made J chuckle and obviously lighted his mood.

Rarity, in turn, became flustered. “You are a decent person and a knight to boot, and I do mean so literally, darling,” She said in a defensive tone. “If there were more like you there would be much less wrongdoing everywhere. I DO like that about you and I DO appreciate what you have done in a way you can’t imagine. Until Twilight came all of us six were pretty much divided my dear, if any of us were lost…” Rarity gave a somber look towards Ponyville and then towards Fluttershy’s house. She seemed to grow sad at the thought. “It… I don’t know what I could do. All of us had friends back then, except Twilight, but we did not share such great friendship together as we have now. It would be the most painful lose any of us could endure.”

J nodded, knowing well what she meant, “I promise I’ll do my best, it is why I am here.”

“But I don’t want you to,” Rarity practically sounded hurt as he did all but get it. “If you told all of us what you saw, if you told all you would need to do, I bet they would want you to get away of such a duty.” She gave him a gentle nuzzle, “I am generosity my dear, but what you do goes much too far even for my taste. It is pure sacrifice and you are hay bent on doing if it that is the cost you have to pay. That I find it endearing, as I know anypony would, does not mean I, or anypony else, would want you to do it ever again”

“Is that so?” J couldn’t help but chuckle, “So you wouldn’t want the guy that you like to get killed?”

Rarity blushed at that and J knew it had been quite mean, but come on; you have to admit he did need to think in ANYTHING else but what had been occupying his mind until now. This kind of fun would probably mean he would get it later if Rarity had the chance to pay him back in kind, but it was not really anything he was worried about, in fact he had been at least slightly relaxed by such a petty thing. “Don’t look at me like that Rarity, I am sorry but it was a prime chance to relax and laugh a bit,” J admitted with a light chuckle, getting up and giving the white mare a gentle stroke over the neck, which made her shiver. It did seem that his hands worked magic with everypony (Experience: Twilight, now Rarity and… probably Octavia?), mostly because they had nothing like this and only dragons or Diamond Dogs seemed to have this kind of appendage and the intellect to use it without murdering someone. Well… scratch that, just dragons. “I promise I will make up for that, I don’t want to embarrass or get you angry”

“Oh, I will hold you to your word, mister knight,” Rarity grinned with a bit of mischief in her voice as she began to walk towards the hut again. “However, right now you will have your hands full trying to cheer up Trixie in any way, so it wouldn’t be good to get you distracted.”

They continued for a little while until they reached the hut, of course there had been a lack of problems since the day had started so they did have to show their ugly face right now, or at least it was basically all too easy for J to think something would happen with Trixie being there, Fluttershy probably having two nights of sleepless vigil and, maybe, Rarity wanting a little payback from his act. He was used for things to mess up, as said; it would be natural… just as natural as the reaction of most the animals that were around Fluttershy’s hut at least.

Except for Angel bunny, whom was guarding the door like if he was a knight on his own, all the birds and most the wild animals that were around the hut went away when J approached enough for them to be sure that he was going inside Fluttershy’s home. J had realized quite easily that they hadn’t done it because they were cowards or because they didn’t care for the one that treated them and usually made sure they were alive, well fed and free of illness, it was because humans are, by nature, predators, killers and scavengers, or, in few words, dangerous creatures. Ponies here were as intelligent as humans, or more, but they were good natured and the animals didn’t have to fear them.

That the critters hadn’t seen a single human in millennia didn’t mean that they had forgotten about them. They, however, knew that if the human was with a pony, one that was friends with the yellow mare, then Fluttershy would be ok. Of course the fact that J had the sword still in his hands could probably also deter the poor woodland critters from having much courage in this endeavor and probably be quite skeptical of him being benevolent towards them.

When Angel gave J a glare that was as, if not more, dangerous than what he had lived near the Nightmares, the fear seemed to control the magic that forced the sword out and called it away. It was not until then when J finally noticed it had remained in his hand as he approached Fluttershy’s hut. Why? He didn’t know, but as Rarity looked over him with curiosity J felt the need to have his sword back, something that seemed… imperative.

“Angel? Why won’t you come in?”

The thoughts in his head banished as he heard Fluttershy’s voice. For some reason that made Angel seem relaxed, though the bunny still looked one of the most dangerous creatures he had ever seen in Equestria. In any case that changed as Fluttershy opened the door and hugged the poor bunny until he tried to escape and breathe.

“Here you are you little cute thing,” She said in her usual cheery and ‘loud’ voice as the poor bunny tried to flee for his life. Fluttershy only let go of Angel as she looked at the pair that stood by her door, still the bunny did look pissed, “Oh! Hello, I thought you would take longe.r”

“Yea, I woke up a bit early it seems.” Suddenly J felt heat spread over his cheeks, “Ah… sorry to make you wait, I assure you there won’t be any problem like that again”

“Indeed there won’t,” Rarity gave out a light chuckle as she came in, throwing J a naughty glance that made him blush harder.

‘Peeeeeeeeeeeerfect’ He groaned mentally as Fluttershy shrugged and went inside, letting the door open for J, whom was busy nagging his mind about the most recent events to try and clear up everything in his head ‘Twilight seems to like me… wait, seems? I think I did something really well or either stupidly wrong to get kissed twice by her so, let’s be realistic here; ‘Seems’ doesn’t ‘seem’ an option anymore.’

Getting inside the hut J tried to wash away the thoughts for a moment so he could see the room that the series had showed many a time. It was mostly unchanged, in fact it seemed pretty much a perfect copy, but there was a huge table in front of the sofa where a bundle was covered by a blanket. Trixie, if he was not mistaken.

‘Ok, let’s think in whatever else I can think of but Trixie.’

He quickly took his attention away, there were MANY ways he could mess this up and he was not willing to think of them even if they tried to creep their way inside of his mind.

‘You should stay calm,’ a voice chimed in, much to J’s initial distaste. However this time not Celestia, but Luna, as J recognized the tone with her next words. ‘Trixie has been under too much stress, almost more than a pony can handle. If you aren’t confident she will notice it and ruin your chances to make her calm down at all.’

‘But it is not so simple,’ J gave a concerned look towards Trixie as he approached, only to sit in front of the table as both Rarity and Fluttershy were at the sides. ‘What should I do? I try to get over what happened yesterday and today I have THREE new things to worry about! How the hell did I get to be liked by Rarity and… and Octavia? I know I am not the best drunk ever, but to do… whatever I did? I don’t want to harm Twilight’s feelings after…’ He gave a huge mental sigh, ‘and that is something else entirely, what should I do with her? What should I say? She is the one I have been with since this all began and I… I like her, but I do not know how I will mess up this… relationship? I don’t know if it is something like that, at least not yet.’ If this had been a face to face conversation J would look by now as defeated and sad as one could be. ‘Then there is Silver Spoon… I know it is a minor problem but I think I may have messed up. The kid could make both Rain and Final the most miserable girls in Equestria.”

‘First let us talk about the most urgent problem you seem to have,’ Luna spoke out with a gentle tone in his mind, ‘all of the Mane Six share a very deep magical bond Jonathan, much like you do with me and my sister now.’ J thought that she had tried to mean something with that, but he failed to get a grasp on it. ‘The feelings,’ she continued, ‘each of them feel towards anyone will magnify if they find things they like towards them, so if one loves you and other simply likes you, the feeling will grow towards the one that is stronger.’ That made J felt a pang of something inside of him, though he knew not what it was, ‘This means that if Twilight loves you and, for example, Miss Rarity likes you as a friend but harbors longing feelings towards you, then she too will love you if the feelings are deep and sincere enough. Remember, though, that free love is something important in Equestria so you should not feel ashamed as no one else will be.’ Saying it was easy, but J thought that it would be hard to apply it. ‘I wanted to use me and my sister as examples, however we both find you a friend. Twilight… she seems to have bonded with you more, something that will make the others feel for you more and more, though not as much as Twilight does, at least not now.’

‘But… what I am to do? I always tried to seek for the ONE, not the MANY,’ that almost made him chuckle inwardly, almost, because this was far too serious and because his head was hurting with so many worries. ‘If this was a peaceful time I would not mind, maybe… in fact… in fact maybe I would let my perverted side out, if you don’t mind me saying so,’ Luna only chuckled and J could feel her blush, ‘But right now? Right now I am worried that this may make things complicated.’ He let out a sigh, one that seemed to stir Trixie up as soon she pushed her muzzle away from the confines of the blanket. ‘Talking with her and hoping to NOT mess everything up, alongside making sure the fillies have their first friend here, is eating my frigging mind Luna! And I am sure there are more problems to address that I forgot.’

Finally Trixie showed her face, sad and seemingly broken enough to not show much more emotion than the bloodshot eyes could, meaning that she had shed enough tears to fill a lake. However she didn’t seem much worse than Twilight had been, the problem was that she had not the luck of Twilight and she had no one to talk to, at least no one that she WANTED to talk to, as Fluttershy had already shown yesterday.

‘About the fillies… just relax,’ Luna’s voice sent a wave of relief towards him for some reason, ‘I, as the princess of the night, know of the nightmares of others, my dear Jonathan. I saw the one you had to survive through as much as the ones that the poor Silver Spoon has lived through since she knew that her best and only friend was going away for a time.’ At that she sighed gently and continued with a sad tone, ‘There are many more things that will happen, they all will test the limits of you, Jonathan, and I am sorry.’ Luna half whispered to him, ‘Celestia says there will be some tranquility after all that has to happen today happens, but it may last only a day or two until it gets bad again, though I think you may even have a week to relax. I ask that you do your best and that enjoy whatever you can since Celestia and I will let you be, so you have the mind all for yourself. I hope that tomorrow you feel better in mind and body so we can talk some, Celestia is eager for this weekend and to attend to that party Pinkie’s planning.’

J simply grimaced a bit at that, it was not that he didn’t like most what had been said, but he was unsure if after all this he could relax for a few days or a whole week, the thought simply seemed too alien to his mind right now. Trixie saw this and she looked at him as defiantly as possible, thinking it had been directed at her. By the time that J noticed it the harm had been done.

“So you are the one that saved Trixie from death’s clutch, are you not?” Trixie gave a weak but angry tone. Her throat seemed to be hurt as each word made her wince a bit, “May I beg for the reason as to WHY did you throw Trixie to this fate?”

‘Good start, if I say so myself.’ “I did nothing of that, in fact I arrived too late for you if that makes you feel better,” For some reason J had been way too harsh, he felt like it at least, but it was the truth. “The only one alive by then was your mother, and I couldn’t save even her,” J tore his gaze from her and looked down. “In fact if it was not for the princesses I would have lost both myself and Twilight. Celestia was the one that, by your mother’s plea, saved you.”

“Hmpf,” Trixie lifted her muzzle as if in defiance, “I don’t care who did it, you went there and brought only Trixie back. I do not like that.” She spat with a low growl. She was obviously not as strong as when she first awoke but she sure as hell had a bitter mouth.

“Trixie, please, we talked about this,” Fluttershy begged with as much of a demanding tone as she could muster. “He did all he could there. Would you have preferred to…?”

“Yes, I would have,” Trixie scolded, “Trixie’s mother and father died protecting Trixie! I should have done something… Trixie doesn’t deserve to live.” The mare sniffled but no tears came down. She had spent them all. “They protected Trixie to the bitter end… that giant monster almost got Trixie and Trixie’s dad had to sacrifice himself for Trixie’s sake.”

Silence dawned and two scenes unfolded.

On one side Trixie simply threw away her cover and turned so to not look at the human as her tired form gazed towards the Everfree Forest. Survivor’s guilt or maybe something else, Trixie was no expert on the matter and none of the present besides her knew really how bad she felt, not like she cared enough to tell them. She had lost all she cared about a second time and she had been saved by a ‘monster’ and that dammed Twilight. She knew nothing of why her parents had tried to make her forgive that blasted mare, but these past days it was all she could think about thanks to the wound that hurt most deeply to her right now.

On the other side was J, with a completely different mindset than before. He no longer worried about what had dawned to him today in the morning as he was too focused on how to save the barrier that now seemed to separate Trixie from him. It was not that she did matter to him, it was cruel but she was not his friend and, as much as he hated to admit it, to him she was not that important. It is not that he knew nothing of her from the series; it is that the pain Trixie felt was also within Twilight and the fillies as well as the Mane Six in some way thanks to their friend feeling like she was. For him Trixie was something he had to fix so his friends could be alright. Cruel? Yes, probably, but no one said he was perfect in any way, in fact he would be the first to deny such claims.

‘But… what am I saying?’

The realization that he had helped the Mayor mostly for this reason, even if it had been subconscious, hit him hard, much like if he had been thrown a ton of bricks. The pain that Applejack would have felt if Granny Smith died would hurt not only her, but her friends too. He did not care about money and he had felt bad about the outburst, he was sincere in that, but J had to admit something: He did not care, he DID NOT CARE, about anypony else but those he had known already and that were friendly towards him. This now included, besides the Mane Six and the princesses: The Mayor (Coral), the fillies Rain and Final, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Silverlight (Somewhat) and Berry Punch (Again, somewhat).

It basically meant that he cared little to nothing about most Equestria? Yes, he had to admit that he did not care much. In fact like when he was on Earth he tried to keep a small circle of friends and not mind the rest of the world. ‘I have to change this,’ J finally thought. ‘I am the nicest I can towards my friends, but it seems I have turned so cold towards everyone else…’ He stared at nothingness for a moment before wondering, ‘Have I been like this all the time?’

Maybe it had been in a subconscious level, but he had to admit that he had already told this to the Mane Six before and they hadn’t said anything too to him for that. However this was hurting him inside now that he figured that such a thing would be cruel in here. Again… what did he do in Earth? Well, as said he did care for his friends and his family, nothing else. In Earth there were bigger assholes than in here, maybe he could defend his ideas and his ways with that back in his place but…

But in Equestria… what? Were all so bad as in his world?

Equestria tried to be all about love, friendship and kindness. Celestia had made sure it was so, probably because of what had happened in the past. But if that was the case, then who was he to bring any kind of hatred? He already hated himself enough, and that too had to change at some point, maybe. So how could he care not for the well being of such innocent creatures as the ponies? They all cared for each other, even if they hated each other’s guts, a perfect example would be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If they saw each other in problems the most probable outcome was that one side would help the other, though grudgingly.

“Trixie… Would you like to come with me to see your daughters?”

“WHAT?!”

Even if her voice was hurt Trixie had turned and had yelled to the limit of her lungs, her face aghast with anger and worry.

“I am here to help, and even if they say things that may hurt you it is my belief that you should talk to them,” J tried to look at Trixie in the eyes but he didn’t feel like deserving to do so right now. He felt like a prick, at least until Rarity came to his side and rested her body against him. It was a gentle gesture, and she gave a sweet smile, but J could only return a serious, albeit more relaxed, look towards her.

“They think you are a coward, they think that you did hide behind your parents,” J continued, but tried, this time with all his will, and not because he felt bad, to not look at her for he knew that she would shed tears even if she had none left to do so. “I don’t want anyone hurt anymore. I had enough of that already and my sanity can’t take much more of this,” In fact his mind was about to burst with so many new plots and twists, so many fears and so many possibilities all brought in one single sphere of thought to his already occupied mind. “I want to help, but you have to come with me to Twilight’s house.”

“TWILIGHT!”

‘Oh… I fucked it up, didn’t I?’
‘Yep, you seem to have an affinity for that, don’t you?’

“Why does that stupid mare have more luck than I?! WHY DOES SHE HAVE TRIXIE’S KIDS!?” Trixie began to cry slowly, lying down as she covered her head with her hooves, “WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO END BADLY FOR TRIXIE BUT GOOD FOR THAT BLASTED MARE?!”

“Because it did not end well for Twilight either,” Rarity boomed finally with a scorn in her face and a powerful, yet quiet enough tone. “Do you think it was any better for the poor dear? That is your and HER family that had been torn apart”

“What does the stupid mare care for Trixie’s family?!” Trixie yelled from under her own hooves’ cover, “She has everything made up for her! Trixie had no fancy princess or goddess or… whatever to look for her!”

“Your parents are… were Twilight’s aunt and uncle,” Fluttershy told Trixie as she got closer to the mind broken pony. The blue mare stopped sniffling and cursing under her breath at those words. “She… she was pretty hurt… I haven’t seen her as broken as that day. Trixie, you should go, if not for her, your cousin, you should go to see your little girls.” Fluttershy gave Trixie a gentle caress over her neck as to try and, somehow convince, Trixie to calm down. “I do think… I do think you should forgive Twilight, she did nothing wrong to you, ever,” At that Trixie gave her a scowl, but a weak one at least. “But if nothing else, you should talk with your girls… or do you want them to think badly of you all their lives?”

Even if she mumbled from time to time or when she tripped over her words, Fluttershy had a way to make sure anyone that DID hear her would fallow her advice, for it was, more often than not, sound. Trixie tried to say something against it, to give a retort of some kind, but each time she tried to open her mouth she winced, probably at the pain from yelling earlier and at the thought that, sooner or later, she had to go see her little girls.

“They know I am their mother, right?” Trixie finally sat back on the sofa with a sorrowful look back on her face, “I understand… if they hated Trixie… I went away for seven years, how could they think of Trixie as their mother? I left them with mom and dad when I should have been there for them.” A little tear escaped her dry eyes, if this had been any other moment she would be crying rivers by now. “How can I face them? How can I… how can I forgive Twilight? She took away Trixie’s girls… she was braver than Trixie, she did better than Trixie…”

“She did never better than you,” Rarity had to chime in as a look towards J showed her that the human, as resourceful as he had was, could hardly think of something now, ‘Too much in his mind, the poor thing,’ she thought before she continued talking, “Twilight is a great unicorn and a magician, a great PONY. Your problem is that your ego gets you carried away my dear, if you were to be, let’s say, gentler and nicer, things might work out better.” She tried to offer a smile, though it was not as sincere as she wanted it to be. “The harm that is already done cannot be mended, but darling, think of all the good you could do for Twilight, for your little fillies, and for yourself if you tried to turn over a new leaf as a better pony.”

There was a moment of silence as Trixie looked away towards the Everfree Forest one more time. “Give… give Trixie one day… that is all she asks,” she didn’t say much more, simply she took the blanket and went into hiding under it. “Trixie needs some time to think,” was heard between mumbled words and whimpers.

“Trixie,” J finally found the strength to talk again, which granted him the attention of every mare in the room, even if Trixie didn’t even try to get out from under the blanket, “the more time you take, the worse it will be. I don’t want to pressure you but… are you sure that you want to wait?”

A few seconds went by. Everyone was quiet.

“I need time… I… please… Let Trixie be,” she begged, the mare didn’t even change positions under the blanket; she was probably brokenhearted and mind fucked by now.

Fluttershy shook her head and gave J and Rarity a pleading look that simply asked for them to leave. Trixie was still in very bad shape and if the yellow pegasus thought it was good to let her be for a while more then maybe it is what they would have to do. Rarity simply nuzzled J to get up and get going as the white mare was not as good at making people feel better as Fluttershy was, something that now was required and that she had more than noticed the past day.

J felt…well, he felt nothing, or not much at all. He had done his best but it was obvious that Trixie was in a state of mind that he could only make worse right now. He had to force himself to be better than he was now, that he had ever been, to gain more tact and to simply have a better way with people. That until now he had done it ‘right’ was a miracle and he knew it, Equestria simply handed it to you in as much of a silver plate as you could ever ask for.

That would hardly last much longer.

As he got up Rarity gave him a gentle smile once again. This time J reciprocated, he was feeling little, but he had tried to make rights from some wrongs and had noticed a new thing he had to change. While the visit hadn’t been what he had hoped, it had been an advance towards something better, if he used it well.

“Please,” Trixie poked her muzzle from under the blanket for a second, “tell them… tell the fillies… that mommy loves them, that mommy is sorry. For everything.”

J was about to walk away when Trixie said that. It was not that he didn’t feel bad for her, at least now he did(Which was not saying much in his favor, but at least was something). However, as he stopped to consider it, he realized the idea was not a good one, at least Final would probably hate it, not because Trixie said it, but because she didn’t even dare (At least as the filly would put it) to go and tell them face to face. Rain probably would take it better as the little unicorn seemed to be more on the shy side and she didn’t seem as harsh as her sister with Trixie. Probably the best thing to do would be to tell Rain first and then see if the little girl could do anything to warm up her sister about it.

“I’ll tell them,” he said finally, “at least I’ll tell Rain, but Final wouldn’t take it kindly if you didn’t go yourself, even then she may not take it very well, but at least if you show her some courage she will warm to it a bit more than if I told her myself.” It felt harsh but also was the truth “I do hope you will go and talk to them tomorrow. Even though I think Final won’t welcome you yet… it is better than to wait for her to forgive you if you don’t show up. Will you really go to Twilight’s house?”

After he left the question lingering in the air J left. It was not like Trixie was going to answer and much less that he thought she would answer, in fact she would not say anything for the rest of the day, no matter how much Fluttershy tried her best to talk with her about anything. Whatever that could get her to do something but hide under the blanket. Until the next day Trixie would simply think of what she would say when she saw her young girls again.

*** A few minutes later, nearing Ponyville again ***

“I was cruel back there,” J stated as they walked back to Ponyville.

J and Rarity hadn’t shared a word until then after that ‘interesting’ and brief visit. Rarity had thought that things would go smoothly and that Trixie would probably recover a bit. The outcome hadn’t been exactly that, but at least that obnoxious mare had quieted down much more than she had originally thought. What bothered her was that J didn’t seem to be in the same shape as yesterday, in fact he wasn’t in the same shape as a few minutes ago and it wasn’t only for the nightmare he had to live through.

“Something on your mind,” Rarity didn’t look at him; they simply continued walking as she wasn’t sure if she would like what she would see; his face full of concern and self loathing. She had seen it earlier and she wasn’t sure how to help, it did hurt her more than she would let through, “You weren’t as rude or as harsh as you may think dear. You were simply direct and sincere, much more than most ponies I know at least, if we don’t count my closest friends of course”

“I was not rude, I was simply not caring,” he said bluntly enough to make Rarity cringe. “I didn’t care for anyone I hadn’t meet and befriended, in fact I didn’t even care for Celestia until she was sincere with me when Twilight suffered her loss.” J sighed and stopped, leaning against a lone tree near the road as he looked towards Ponyville. “That is one of my problems, one I tried to hide so much that even saying it didn’t make me realize I should change it; if I don’t know someone well enough for my liking then I don’t care about them at all. However I try my best to look nice, nice enough so I indeed fool myself even when I told you and the girls that I practically did not care, and this was the other day at the spa,” he simply rubbed his forehead in thought. “Too much denial is too much. I… I may have been worrying for the wrongdoings of old for so long that I didn’t see the ones I do wrong every day.”

“You are worrying too much,” Rarity simply waved at him and continued walking, forcing him to follow close by to hear her. “You have arrived here not long ago and you have already faced many dangers. How soon would you like to change a whole life worth of doing what you do with the pressure you are under right now? If you do want to improve yourself, then I’ll be honest darling; simply don’t try to rush it.” She smiled gently at him “I know you want to do your best and to be the best po-, I mean man, you can be, but if you worry too much you will only hurt yourself and anyone close to you, and I have to wonder, would you want Twilight seeing you hurt for being too headstrong and thinking any change deserves a sacrifice?”

‘Easy for you to say such words,’ he thought bitterly. ‘I have to become the person I should be or I am probably dead, not so easy when you don’t even know the time you’ve got left.’
‘You know, your whining is getting tiring. Dude, you need to chill.’

As they crossed the limit between the road and Ponyville, J relaxed. ‘But what she said is true,’ his thoughts drifted to the things he had done already, his worries and the pain they were causing him already. ‘Too much pressure, too much worry. I could have done things better if I took it easier, if I calmed down.’
‘Give the man a cigar, he had an important revelation.’

He didn’t even pay attention to the ponies he had to avoid (Well, more like they had to avoid him) when he and Rarity headed towards the library. At least Ponyville was accustomed to him by now; a good night of gossip could do many things and was a magic all on its own.

‘I think I am going to do NOTHING with what is left of today and then tomorrow I’ll do the same thing, more so if I have a week with no worries.’ He visibly relaxed and even let out a smile, ‘Besides Pinkie should have the party ready soon as Luna said, and I can’t wait to see her and not what I had in my mind yesterday. I bet she can make me laugh somehow.’ J chuckled, catching Rarity’s attention for a moment.

“What is it dear?” She asked with curiosity, “I thought you were going to be, as Pinkie puts it,” she made her best attempt to emulate the pink pony’s demeanor, “a Mean meany Mc meanypants!”

“Just thinking,” He admitted. “I think I have to relax a bit, I may not want to, if I have to say the truth, but I do see that I need it. If I keep on worrying too much I am going to slip up, the problem is that such a thing wouldn’t hurt only me; it would hurt many ponies, including all of you.” At that he looked up towards the fashionable unicorn’s house. “I don’t like to think that I am important, but I was with her when all this happened, so until she is fine again I will do my best to not mess up things, and afterwards? I will do even better”

“That’s a good start,” Rarity gave a little chuckle as she looked at him and then at Twilight’s house with a little glint in her eye. “I will not lie darling; I know not of what you are going through, in fact I have yet to lose someone so I don’t even know how Twilight is faring and would hardly comprehend it. I do not know of how horrendous it is to do what you do against those monsters, those… nightmares… at least not much more than from what you have told me. However I do know that you two now need to take things slow.” She gave a knowing glance towards him, “You do not have to change my dear, what I have seen makes it obvious that you are somepony that is very, very good, though you do have a very dark side, much like anypony else.” Rarity simply shrugged as she said that, nopony was perfect, “However you do want to change, which is good. The thing is that with all the pressure you seem to want to try and force it.” She gave him a serious look, “doing so will guarantee you failure. If you try to force it like you have been doing the only thing you will earn is more problems, both in mind and body.”

“I know, I know,” they finally reached Twilight’s doorstep as he gave a heavy and tired sigh, “but what can I do Rarity? I have to come to terms that I am not in my home anymore, that here my life can be the best, what I always wanted, but also that it comes with the price to put that life on the line and, if I mess it up, those of my friends too.” Rarity feared that J would simply bash his head against the sturdy tree house when an exasperation frown crossed his face. “I am not innocent, I am not even as nice as I try to be. I am just lucky from being here and I fear that I am not going to be enough for this. In most stories the good guy always wins… but this is not like most stories and I am not sure if I am the good guy, in fact I fear that what I am is the bad guy that has yet to discover he is such a thing,”

Rarity simply smirked at that. It was a serious matter, of that she was sure, but it was looking so much like some of the novels she read from time to time…

“Darling, you should take it slow. I promise we all will help you in anything you need, you are our friend and Twilight thinks you are important, of that I am sure” There was a glint of something in her eyes as she said that “Speaking of which, I am not sure if it is right for me to go in there. I wouldn’t want to make her feel bad if I said something wrong, that would be the WORST-THING-EVER,” she blushed as she said that in such a tone that she was almost yelling, “Uh… forget I said those words my dear.”

“Would be quite hard to forget that,” A voice chimed in from between the pair. When they looked to see whom had talked they saw Twilight standing there with a little smile, “especially since you are the most dramatic mare in all Equestria”

“DARLING!”

Right then and there J would have laughed his ass off, quite literally at that, at the scene that unfolded as Rarity pounced at her friend, pushing her into the tree house. Poor Spike never saw it coming as he found two horned heads flying towards him, fast. Three fillies were there to see the whole thing and laugh wholeheartedly while a single adult mare tried to make sense of what was happening in here.

“Did I come at a bad time?” Silverlight asked out loud as she placed a hoof under her chin.

There were some mumblings coming from the white mare as she embraced her friend, of course Twilight wasn’t much better with conversation as she fought not to swallow Rarity’s mane. J simply gave a little smile as he got in the house, freeing Spike from under the weight of the two mares (Though if it was only Rarity he would hardly have minded).

“Nah, but she hadn’t seen Twilight in a few days, you should understand how she feels right now,” he said with a gentle smile as Silverlight took the hint. “At least in her case she won’t miss her for so long, in fact she won’t have to miss her from now on…”

“I know where you are going with this, I will be fine,” Silverlight assured him, “and thanks for caring.” She would have felt quite stupid if she discovered he didn’t, at least not as much as he supposed he had to, but at least a bit was better than nothing. “I am good because it seems my little girl is fine with the choice I made.”

The young grey filly, Silver Spoon, was there with Rain and Final, J noticed it only when she flustered a bit and looked at him like if he was some kind of monster before her mother gave her a little smile and a nod. She seemed to want to say something, or maybe to move, however she did nothing as she rubbed her left foreleg against the right one in embarrassment, much to Final’s dismay as the pegasi finally pushed her forward with a gentle shove.

That act of courage and friendly demeanor made J catch a glance of the girls. They did seem to be more cheerful than the past days, probably as the nightmare had said ‘A defense mechanism’ so none of the ponies would be sad for long. However, it did catch his attention that the fillies seemed happier and, in fact, more colorful than before as they seemed to be full of energy, or at least Final was that lively while Rain seemed to still remain as quiet as always.

However, of the fillies, the one that was really changed was, in fact, Silver Spoon. While being the same as in the cartoons, the filly had bags under her eyes of such a size that could make anyone think the worst, her mane was messy and her glasses a bit dirty, much like her fur and even her necklace. If it wasn’t because J was sure that the girl had been a mess before coming here, as it was obvious she had ‘suffered’ a quick makeup session, one would think she was always like this, or worse.

“Hello, I’m Silver Spoon,” Usually a follower and not loud spoken (If she had to go first), Silver Spoon’s voice was meek and timid, as well as very fragile. It was obvious that the poor filly had been, for a time now, suffering from a breakdown “I… I suppose I have to thank you for this? I mean… us three?” She looked back at Final and Rain for approval. Old habits die hard.

“Yea, we do,” Final said in her assertive tone. One thing that hadn’t changed was that the young pegasi was much too serious, direct and sure of herself. Silver Spoon nodded and continued, “I… I wouldn’t have made any friends on my own. Didn’t want to go out at all and such…” It was obvious that she wasn’t all that used to saying ‘thanks’.

Final didn’t continue, she had seen her sister lowering her face again and it had taken her attention away. Such a thing soon took everyone else’s attention too, much like if she was the focal point of a disaster. Unbeknown to all, Rain was not made for the life in the circus, she hated the spotlight, or any kind of ‘light’ to be truthful, but she did miss everything she had known until that day, something in special if she were to be asked.

“I understand,” J gave a little nod to the girls. “Could I borrow your Rain for a second though? She still seems like something is nagging her and we can’t have that, can we?” J gave out a light chuckle as he picked the very small unicorn up and carried her away towards the kitchen for some privacy.

None followed him, in fact the scene relaxed down in the main room and some idle chatter took place as he walked away with the little filly. She trembled at first, but soon simply nudged against him and sighed happily as she was held close.

To J this had come as a surprise. When he saw the young filly like that he thought of two things; A chance to talk to her without her sister nosing about and the care he had felt so long ago when his life took a turn for what you could call the worst. She looked so hurt and helpless that, from within his being, he simply had wanted to comfort her and make her happy if he could do so. In fact he would never say it, but on them he saw both his sisters.

Of course he had something to tell her too, so keeping a little secret would be easy.

“Rain Berry, why are you so gloomy?” He asked after taking a seat near the entrance of the kitchen, “I know you ponies recover very fast, no matter how sad the situation is. I am sorry if you don’t like me worrying when this is a family affair,” ‘At least of what little family you have,’ he thought before continuing, “but I don’t want any of you sad, it will only hurt you more, something of which we already had our fill for a lifetime.”

“It’s… not so easy for me,” Rain had such a whisper like voice that she was almost identical to Fluttershy in how hard it could be to hear her if she felt shy or afraid. “I miss grandpa and grandma… and yes, I know, sis didn’t want to hear it when they told us they weren’t our daddies, she is too headstrong and has many… dark emotions, but I did hear granny and grandpa.” She sighed long and hard, looking sad, “I miss mom...” She gave a little whimper as she tried to embrace J with her hooves, her face burying in his chest, much like if she feared he would go away and leave her alone. “I always wanted to meet her, to know why she left… however, when I did, she didn’t tell, she simply came back and… and didn’t treat us like her daughters. I want my mom, not ‘aunt Trixie.’”

This did catch J by surprise, at least a bit. He knew that the girl didn’t look as convinced as her sister when she said she wanted nothing with Trixie, but like this?

“I thought they had said nothing…”

“They told us only once, but sis didn’t want to hear it and they thought it would be better to not bring it up again,” Rain sniffled. “I… I suppose she took it badly that mommy went away, leaving us behind. I don’t know why she kept telling me she wasn’t my mom, but I am sure it had to be a good reason, right?”

“I don’t know why she did what she did. I went to see her today, but we didn’t talk much,” however he did have something to say, “she did say, though, that she is sorry, and that she loves you two.”

At that the young filly turned from gloom to vibrant happiness. She hugged J hard enough to take the breath away from him even with her young age and small stature. The girl was indeed so happy that she could be heard mumbling words of thanks and some other things under her breath. Clearly she had been waiting for something like this and was hard pressed to refrain from being so happy.

“However,” He coughed, catching a bit of his breath after Rain relaxed a bit, “I don’t know how your sis would take it, much less if I told her that Trixie wants to come here tomorrow if she is able.” After all he wasn’t sure if she would indeed come or not.

“Oh…” that made the young filly stop with her antics and look down in worry, “I… don’t know? Sis still feels bad because mommy had to hide behind granny and grandpa, in fact I am not sure how she doesn’t feel… well… hate for what she did.” At that she looked away in shame. “I… I must admit I think it was…”

“They asked her to,” J assured her, cutting her line of thought and bringing her gaze back up. “They were her parents, I am sure they wanted her safe and they protected not only her, but you two too. If I could say what I think though, my money would be that both your sis and mom suffer from an illness of the mind right now, one that is making them feel in certain ways that will not only hurt them, but each other too.”

“What do you mean?” Rain quirked an eyebrow, a bit confused by his words and very worried for her sister and her mother.

“Your mom and sis have survivor’s guilt. They feel bad because they survived and your grandpas did not, though Trixie shows it feeling sadness and shame in that she did nothing and your sister probably hides it in that she hates your mother since she thinks that she had to die, or at least to do something, so your grandpas could be alive today.” J sighed and gave Rain a gentle caress over her neck, making the young filly relax and sigh in contempt at the touch. However J knew that it was not enough to make her relax after what he had said, “I don’t want to worry you any more Rain, I just am sincere with what I think”

“You don’t make me worry,” She admitted, nuzzling his hand for some scratching since he tried to take it away. “I know things will work out. Granny always told me that there is no door closing without a window opening, I try to be cheerful since… well… I cannot do much magic or anything special at all.” Rain gave a meek smile, blushing a bit as if she had told of a secret she wanted to keep hidden, “I am just a very small pony, one that has a useless horn, but I am very smart”

“We will have to wait and see,” J scratched his newest marks idly, something that would, in time, denote anxiety to those that knew him well enough. It was mildly in concern and because he wanted to know what Rain meant by her horn; however he didn’t feel like it was the right time to ask.

“I will wait, I know sis will be glad mom is back, in time,” Rain practically chirped in happiness. “I only hope she takes it well at first, she can be very mean if she is angry”

“Like all big brothers and sisters,” He chuckled and thought back to some of the most… interesting times with her sisters, Namely when they teamed up to tie him up or beat him in mock fights, their upbringing made it simply look fun to them, “but things are hard and you have to understand that you have taken it better than your sister. Final does not like Trixie, she doesn’t seem to want her as a mother, at least for now, so I am pretty sure she will be angry whenever Trixie decides to come here, so give her time, ok?”

Rain nodded and gave him a gentle hug before hopping down to the floor. With a little smile she waved back at him and ran towards Silver Spoon and her sister. At least the girls would now be able to try and develop a little friendship that, with luck, would flourish with time. The idea made J jealous, as he would probably lack the time to have such a simple life as them (Or a life at all, if it all went to the worst case scenario), but he discarded such a dark feeling as he saw them smile at each other.

‘At least the kids will have a good day,’ He thought, resting against his seat, not caring much for the hunger that was slowly eating at him. It took a whole minute until his stomach roared out in displeasure,. ‘I think my stomach has some problems eating only fruit and hay lately,’ That thought made him chuckle, “Oh geez, look at me, worrying about everything there is to worry and then some” He groaned, not noticing that he was talking to himself, “I am a mess, aren’t I?”
‘well when you bring it up like that…’

A familiar voice invaded J’s thoughts, “Well, all things considered…” Twilight had barged inside the kitchen a minute afterwards Rain went out; she had said nothing as she simply wanted to eat something and not to disturb her friend after Rarity had told her of what seemed to be the problem today. It was not that bad if you thought about it; he simply had too much on his mind and was stressed to be the best he could in everything, only to find it too much for him in so little time.

It made her think of herself in that regard. They weren’t that different. The mare had seen him doing his best to do exactly that, though, the best he could, but he was trying to change many things at once.

First he was trying to control his rage, quite easy if you take your time.
After that he was trying to be more caring towards everypony, a huge task when he had been shunned by his own people either by his choices and decisions or by his own right when his darkest side took over and he got into a fight.
Not only that, but he also was trying to be more open, friendlier and to take chances when in his world he would hardly ask anyone the hour in thoughts of that person lying to him.

If you couple that with what had been happening these past few days… well… She hated to swear, but if it was in her head she could say ‘What a mindfuck’ without too much of a hassle.

“Har-de-har-har, Twilight,” she couldn’t help but chuckle at his comic look as he said that, “You know I do my best with this.” He looked towards the main room to see Silver Spoon praising at Rarity while her mother admired her little filly’s sudden change and happiness. “I hope all I am doing doesn’t end up exploding in my face. I am trying too hard to do everything right, I may be very well forcing it.” Twilight heard the deepest sigh coming from him. “It never spelled anything good for anyone when they did things just like me.”

“And you know I thank you for such a thing, forced or not,” Twilight admitted while taking an apple and munching on it diligently. “If it was not for you I would be a clump of sadness right now, I owe you a lot.” She gave a little blush as she finished her apple in quite a hurry, “Of course it does help to see the girls happy, which is also of your doing and… should we talk about Octavia?” In her voice there was a hint of naughtiness that J wasn’t sure that he liked.

“Err… I much prefer we wouldn’t,” He tried to hide his face. It was becoming something quite negative that, unlike most guys, he had zero capacity to hide his feelings. The only thing he had changed from his mother’s training and it had to bite him in the ass.

“Jonathan, you want to change and I want to talk about that with you, but if I may be so blunt? That is one of the easiest things you can change and I would advise you do indeed change it right away, Jonathan,” Twilight’s face grew serious, as much as her tone, at least it was enough to force J out of his blushing stupor so he would look at her again. “I do not mind that you did something with her, even if it was more than only fooling around, touching and kissing, hay, in fact why should I be bothered?” She giggled nervously at that. “Look, I know we said to go slow and the like but… I… I dunno. Even after you told me that the one you liked the most was Pinkie Pie… I think we ended up being close too fast, but I do not complain. The thing is,” she went closer to J and, without as much as asking, hopped onto his lap, “I know you like me, maybe not in a deep way, not yet at least” At that she blushed profusely. “But you do… and I like you too, a lot,” she gave him a gentle kiss in the cheek after those words, trying to harness enough courage to keep talking. “You have helped me more than any colt, well, male had ever done, in fact more than any mare (best friends excluded of course). The few times I had a coltfriend it has been a few days, or even hours, a little play in the hay and little else…”

He still blushed, but he still took Twilight in a tight embrace “That is why I don’t want to have those kinds of messes; I was drunk, I wanted to get drunk, not to maybe fu-” Twilight placed a hoof on his lips to silence him gently.

“I told you we all share and we all have fun with whoever we want. If you two would want it, then just do it.” She chuckled a bit “Though I would like if you told me beforehand if we… you know… grow closer?” Twilight blushed and gave a shy smile as she took the hoof away from J’s mouth, “I mean, it can happen, I would hardly believe that is possible but it can, in fact my books says that, with what has happened, we have a 63.095% chances of getting together if we-MFFF!”

Her blush grew hotter as she felt J kissing her. She had been rambling and he had just kissed her, not to shut her up, not to make it stop, simply because he had to admit that it was cute when she grew so worried that her mind just slipped and went into overload, much more if it was because she was feeling so shy. However this time Twilight noticed that there was something quite different with the kiss.

In part it was much like when he drew his sword and didn’t notice it had remained, refusing to go away. It was something asking for this, something deeper and that he neither recognized nor liked, but also felt good. J had simply wanted a kiss at first; one to reassure Twilight, specifically one deep and nice, but in the end he wanted it to be simply a kiss… not to start playing with her tongue and pull her closer with his arms, much less his caressing as he touched her underbelly and her neck as if teasing her. He wasn’t going to lie; he liked the feeling, and Twilight didn’t seem to want to push away so she had to like it too.
‘Yes, I love le sexytimes!’

What was not exactly of his liking is where the hand was slowly creeping its way to.
‘Aww…’

Before it would escalate any further he pushed away. He tried to do it very gently so as to not give the wrong impression while he forced his hand out of the way so he would caress Twilight’s flank before the intention was anymore obvious. “Heh… sorry,” J blushed heavily. “I… uh, I think I still feel a bit randy, and with all the nervousness and with my mind wanting so much to relax that it wants maybe a more direct approach…” He mumbled, still feeling the long tongue of Twilight playing with his. It seemed the ponies had quite the long tongues, much like equines in his world, which made him wonder…

“You don’t have to apologize, I liked it,” Twilight gave him a sensual look, which made him gulp, “but you did seem surprised with the kiss, at least it seems something caught your attention. I think you would need to visit the Mayor before we… ah… take it a step closer.” Her wink was as mischievous as her smile.

“What do you mean,” J gulped down, his blush growing.

“Oh she already guessed out that we were at least CLOSE friends, well, not as close as she had openly told me but it seems we are nearing that point.” She snickered a bit as J looked away in embarrassment. Had he been that obvious?

‘ Yes, yes you were.’

“The Mayor is a very nice mare,” Twilight continued’ “she has initiated some of the colts and even some of the mares that were too shy. It is not something she has to do but everypony here knows she does it, in fact she once told me she enjoyed a very wild life until she decided to settle down here as the mayor and that when she came here everyone was very accepting, enough to let her continue.” A little snicker escaped her lips. “I think everypony wanted a mayor that wasn’t stuck up like the last one, at least for what I have read”

J arched an eyebrow at that, “Oh? If she enjoyed that kind of life… why would she settle down?”

“Granny Smith got as bad as you saw in the cartoon that showed part of our lives,” Twilight’s cheerfulness seemed to go away for a bit. “Miss Cake called the Mayor and she came here to finally settle down and be with her friends, both she and Miss Cake watched over Granny Smith since that day.” Then Twilight smiled again, “Of course you know some of it, she came here to tell me you had given her something that would get everypony she had called on the ready to cure her,” her smile broadened, “So everything will be fine! Though I made her promise she wouldn’t tell AJ yet, I want a surprise for her.”

“Yeah…” J chuckled gently and, relaxing against the seat, snuggled Twilight close against his chest, “At least it seems I have made two things right in my time here: I have helped Coral and I have helped Silver Spoon. With some luck that filly will turn to be nicer in no time.”

“And what about me?” Twilight asked with glitter in her eyes, looking maybe a bit disappointed that he didn’t talk about her.

“I have helped you, Twilight,” He caressed her mane with a gentle touch, “but you can hardly lie to me with that look. I know you are still as hurt as Final and Trixie are. The only one that seems genuinely ready to heal is Rain Berry and you know that.” Twilight did, in fact, look away as he said that, only to have J take her muzzle back as gently as he could. “It only means I have to try harder, and I will try harder until I make you happy,” He smiled, giving her a gentle squeeze, “No matter what it takes and what I have to d- wait,” J blushed as he remembered the bit about the Mayor.

“Or who you have to do,” Twilight giggled, regaining part of her humor. “Relax about it Jonathan, you are already making me more than happy, but I think if you want to do something with me in the future…” Her cheeks flustered at the idea “You first need to know about how we do it and… well I‘m not the best mare to ask or practice with. I know that to you it probably sounds more than weird, no matter if you like the idea, but I would advise of you to reconsider; not everything can be learned by books and, even if you don’t believe me, this is usually taught in person.” She looked hid her face against her chest as she blushed fiercely, “There is no book for this and I… uh… I tried to get one when I was younger. The whole of Canterlot knew of my ‘curiosity’ back when I was just hitting puberty.”

J snorted and burst out laughing, making Twilight look at him with a bemused look, “What? Did you think I wouldn’t laugh? I am a knight and a gentleman, but you should know by now that I hardly hide what I feel.” He stuck his tongue out, “I mean, it has been pretty obvious since I came here.”

“Of course I didn’t hope you wouldn’t laugh, that would be pretty dumb,” Twilight snickered. “You are as blunt as a pile of rocks, which is a nice feature if I may add.” She grinned and pushed herself up enough to be face to face with him. “I like you and how you are, Jonathan, I hope you know that. You are sensitive, maybe too much, but after you told me about your life I see it as normal, if not a bit undertone as you are quite strong of mind in some things but weak in others, which is also a good thing.” Twilight heaved a quiet sigh, “You do your best, but you push yourself too hard, you are hardly the forgiving person and you compensate trying to be the best friend and the most dependable person you can. Only four days and that much has been made clear… yet you want to be even better.”

“I must be better,” J tried to look away but Twilight’s eyes were taking his full attention, as if she had put a spell on him, ‘Heh, just like the song,’ he thought before he shook his head. “I need to be better, for everypony”

“And you will be,” she assured with a little smile, “However I am sure Rarity told you already; don’t push yourself too hard, it would end badly.” Twilight’s smile faded, “I… I know I wouldn’t be able to live it if something happened to you, you have done so much for me already, duty or not, that I want to repay you somehow.” She let go of a sigh as her face grew closer to his. “I want you to be with me, if you would like… tonight”

“B-but,” J gulped down as he tried to back away through the chair in vain, “W-what about The Mayor? I… don’t know if I can do such a thing twice a-and… didn’t you say I have to learn first?” He blushed as Twilight pushed closer. This was getting to be too much.

“I don’t mean to do it like she is, she is going to teach you, in part for me, in part for you, both as a friend as to return a favor,” Twilight said, practically mouth to mouth now with a grin plastered in her lips. “I want to sleep with you again, that you hold me again. I want to feel safe, like you made me feel when that horrid day took place…”

She pushed closer, practically kissing him but by less than an inch, her looks pleading and her voice sweet. However J could do little but worry ‘I-I should say something’ He thought as he gulped down ‘B-but I can’t!’
‘Just like every male in existence. I am no exception.’

“I want you to love me…” Twilight finally whispered.

A second of silence as Twilight finally kissed him and…

“HELP!”

The kiss was forcefully broken as the pair took notice of the trembling filly that ran across the kitchen like a grey blur that was followed closely by a yellow one close behind her.

“Ah will help ya’ alright! Get back here ya’ git!”

The shouter’s accent and the small size, yellow fur and reddish mane were none other than from Apple Bloom.

If the two had been paying attention to what happened outside of the kitchen and their little so called privacy, they would have known that someone had knocked at the door: The Cutie Mark Crusaders, well, all of them but Scootaloo. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wanted to ask Twilight to give them some magic ointment for Scootaloo as the young chicke- I mean pegasus had a little ‘accident’ as they tried a new possible cutie mark stunt.

There is not much need to say what happened once Silver Spoon was seen other than how quickly the poor filly had been turned white from her normal grey.

So engrossed had the pair been that they hadn’t noticed the yelling and the discussion that had taken place no longer than a minute ago. It was going well at first thanks to Rarity and Silverlight, until Silver spoon feet confident again and said something she shouldn’t have, mostly because her pride demanded her to do so.

What a surprise it would be for the filly to see that neither her mother nor her new friends backed her up as she called the ‘simpler’ pony filly a few chosen words of hers. It was only because Silver Spoon had quite the agile feet that her face had not the mark of a hoof imprinted onto it as Apple Bloom chased the prissy filly all over the house until she cornered her in the kitchen.

“And there ya’ go, ah am going to pay you back fer all the times ya’ done something tha me and mah friends had to suffer from ya and yer prissy lil’ friend” Apple Bloom almost growled as she came closer to the cowering Silver Spoon “Prepare ta get roughed up! YAAA… uh?!”

Apple Bloom had lunged with all the intentions of giving Silver Spoon a new face, luckily enough Twilight had gotten off J so he could get up and pick the yellow filly out of the air a few inches away from Silver Spoon’s cowering, limp body.

‘Last minute save,’ J chuckled to himself as he held onto the filly with all his might. Even for one so young she had quite the muscle strength. “Relax there, ok? Why are you trying to rough poor Silver Spoon up?”

“Wh-what in tarnation are you?” Apple Bloom looked terrified for a bit, but soon she shook her head and answered, “She called ma parents something that ah ah’m going ta make her regret!”

“I suppose that was to be expected,” J left out half a growl under his breath; this had been seen coming a mile away. “Here little one, she lost her only friend, I asked her mother if she could come here to make friends with the fillies in the main room since they have lost… something very dear to them not so long ago and they now live with Twilight and me.” The filly had been paying attention to all but at the last bit she tilted her head in confusion “Just… ask Twilight later, ok? However, I would thank you if you try to be friends with Silver Spoon…”

“What?!”

“And help her being less of a prick, ok?”

Apple Bloom lifted a hoof to complain until she saw Silver Spoon’s scowl at the idea. That made it all the sweeter for the little filly as it would be a nice payback and maybe she would get her to stop her antics, leaving a lot of breathing space for them all.

“That doesn’t sound like haft a bad idea mind ya,” she grimaced as J left her on the floor, “Ah’m Apple Bloom, who are you?”

“I am J… Jonathan” J seemed to shudder as he said his own name “Call me J; I will be living with Twilight from now on.” He tried to hide a blush as he turned, “However, meetings are for tomorrow, I have to go somewhere.” ‘Before I decide not to, because I am having trouble doing anything right now,’ he thought. He groaned under his breath before Twilight stopped him with a pleading look, “Sorry Twilight, if I don’t go to the Mayor I assure you that I will have trouble wanting to leave.” He offered a little smile and the mare blushed.

“I’ll see you tonight.” she asked with a shy tone.

He chuckled and kneeled in front of her, “You can count on it.” He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and then went out towards the biggest ‘normal looking’ building of Ponyville.

For Twilight it was a moment of glee as she squealed happily, jumping up and down much like pinkie and practically yelling “YES” again and again with happy thoughts. She was sure that, be it more or less, J had been taken back by what she had done, but at least it was obvious he seemed to feel something for her almost as much, if not as much, as she did for him. For her such a thing was all that mattered right now.

“Gee Twi, ah didn’t know ya had it in ya to get somepony so weird,” Apple Bloom giggled as Twilight got surrounded by everypony in the house. Twilight didn’t much care for any comment right now. She was, at last, happy again.

*** Back with J after a quick walk through the city…***
***WARNING! ADULT CONTENT AHEAD! BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU READ! IN OTHER WORDS: SEX AHEAD!***

From the cardboard box of nobodyreallyimportant

Oh my gawd, don’t look little children (and you stuck up pricks that I know are out there).
Onwards!

‘I have to make a mental note for all the buildings’ J though in embarrassment as the Mayor’s secretary, Raven (or at least The Mayor had called her Raven), typed a few things away. Her black mane, white body hair, grey eyes and big glasses not so impressive compared to other ponies, but her serious demeanor did make her stand out.

He had arrived in less than five minutes to the building, still as weird looking (to him) as ever. The inside, though, was pretty plain in comparison to the outside. A huge rug had its domain on the first floor with a big chandelier in the ceiling that would surely lit the place if it was dark, though right now it gave no light and one could see the golden light shine in from the windows and reflect off the many mirrors and some of the paintings that were spread all over the building’s walls. The decoration was rich, that was true, but it looked normal.

Asides those things there were also a few other points of interest if this was your first time in this building. First we have the twin stairs that were at each side of the 1st floor and that went towards the 2nd, as it seemed to be divided in two parts (as it was big enough to be compared to one or two houses on its own it was not weird). In the first floor there were also rows of sitting places on both sides of the main hall with a little stage halfway towards the back and a single door that lead to a room at the end besides the little office where J was now.

“How much longer will the Mayor be in there,” he sighed out loud as he leaned against the wall.

“She already sent the cards a while ago, she is having a conversation with one of the unicorns that came to visit a while ago so he can coordinate with the rest,” Raven had a businesswoman tone with a bit of an uppity hint to it. She seemed nice but first and foremost there was her work, and then everything else; at least that is the impression she had given to J. “The Mayor should be ready in a few mi-”

“I am readyyyyy,” the Mayor said in a sing-song voice as she practically bounced the little office.

“Scratch that,” Raven sighed, picked up her equipment away and walked away slowly. “I will take my leave now, if you do not mind.”

“Oh, are you leaving Raven?” The Mayor chuckled as she gave the fellow mare a gentle slap on the flank, “I thought you were going to join on this.”

Raven threw the Major an icy glare, “I must let you remember that I am your secretary, Coral, not a toy.” She rubbed her flank and lifted her muzzle. “I came here from Manehattan because you asked for the best help you could get and because your daughter is my friend, however my family does not allow such freedom as you are used to so I plead you to refrain from these advances. Good day to you.” With a final goodbye she went away.

There was a moment of silence afterwards, broken only by the hall’s exit closing a minute afterwards and the Mayor’s laugher filling the place when she was sure that Raven was finally gone. “That girl is too young and too stuck up,” Coral couldn’t help but to wipe away a little tear of mirth. “You know, her family sent her here so she would relax a bit after she finished her studies? Some of the younger ponies think we should change our ways because they are ‘amoral.’” She snorted, “With how little males there are out there we would be done for if we started marrying and remaining faithful as they say. These kids nowadays…”

“Eh… Coral?” He tried to be gentle interrupting the mare.

“Yes dear?”

“It isn’t that I wouldn’t like to hear about it but… umm… I am already kind of worried about my own thing right now,” he gulped and looked down, red coloring beginning to spread all over his face.

“Oh, of course,” The Mayor simply chuckled and waved a hoof as she went out of the office. “Follow me, dear.”

After getting out of the small office J had little time to ask the Mayor anything as she was already in the left side of the stairs, trotting upstairs with a little smile and singing something under her breath. It looked like the mare was quite happy about something, but even as he got closer to her J had little time to say anything.

“I can guess that Twilight has told you about my little story?” She chuckled, not waiting for a response, “You know, I don’t mind that people talk about how eh… wild I was when I was young you know? I am young at heart dear, and even if I look a bit old for some I do have quite a life to live, one much happier now that I know my good friend will come back in good spirits after so many years.” The Mayor didn’t even stop to open the door, simply pushing it out of the way as she reached the top of the stairs.

The room he followed Coral to ended up being little more than a plain room with the typical sofa, table, two chairs and little else, it was even sparsely decorated with just enough to make it look appealing to the eye as otherwise it would be classified as Spartan, though the plain white color and few pieces of furniture here and there were below what most ponies would get. There were also two doors, one probably heading to a kitchen and the other towards the bedroom, probably the one Coral was heading to as she stopped for nothing with her little tale.

“As I told you earlier, few ponies remain here all their lives. I was very much one of those that went away when they were of age, but I wanted to come back someday after I had enjoyed everything Equestria had to offer me,” she passed a little armory where J could see a finely crafted bow and a brown cloak. “Why, I did even hunt some of the dangerous monsters there were back in my time when some of them went out to torment villages around the world, but mostly people remember me for my ‘lively’ parties,” Coral snickered as she opened the door that, indeed, lead to her room.

Unlike the main room, the bedroom was painted in blue, had a huge bed (in human standards it could probably fit an ogre or something), a lot of furniture and a single door that led presumably towards a bathroom. There were also a few exhibits with equipment that ranged from armors to weapons, trinkets, staffs and also bones, teeth or the like from some creatures that probably would eat J alive if he tried to do something about them.

“I must admit that at first I was quite ashamed of being known exactly for THAT reason, but over the years I came to enjoy it,” The Mayor hopped on the bed and, with a hoof, took her glasses to leave them on the little table besides the bed to give J quite the look “While Equestria is quite liberal a lot of ponies feel shy towards the act of… well, having sex, at least they do nowadays and I do not know why that is.”

J gulped at the view as his most perverse side took control over his mind, something deep down asking him to go there and… well, the rest was obvious. However as Coral said that J couldn’t help but think that, if he came here and their lives were partially shown in Earth, maybe some of the influence was being carried over here by the same magic that could pull him onto this world. He would need to ask Celestia later, as influence being transferred (One way or another) could be pretty damn harmful towards either world.

“So I suppose that is why, once I got my cutie mark” She showed her flank with a grin “Most thought that I wouldn’t be only the Mayor, but also a kind of… teacher if you will. Believe me I did not mind it at all, and I still don’t.” Coral gave out a wholehearted chuckle, “Besides I never was too fond of keeping to myself and I like to play at any time to both relax and keep my muscles in check as, if you don’t know, mating is the best exercise as every single muscle is used during the act.”

“Once you got your cutie mark?” J interrupted her, “Does that mean you didn’t get it until you came back?”

The Mayor simply chuckled, “Dear, none of us, not I, Gretel or Annie got our cutie marks until we hit our thirty years or so, when Gretel finally fell to the sickness.” That made Coral look sad for a moment, but now that it was ‘solved’ she recovered quickly. “It is funny you know? We were, technically, the first Cutie Mark Crusaders if you think about it.”

At least that made J smile, “You should share that with the actual Cutie Mark Crusaders then, they could use your little help.”

With a little smile The Mayor simply patted at the bed, giving him some space on her side. J got the message and simply walked forward, sitting in the bed with a huge blush. Basically she had said that it had been enough idle chatter.

“Are you still nervous,” she asked with a gentle and concerned look as it had been more than obvious that J maybe wasn’t as ready as he had once thought in his home world. “It would be the first time I have failed at one of these initiations my dear, but if you feel uncomfortable we can talk about who you like and nothing else, that is-”

“No, it’s not that.” he cut her off, placing a hand on her belly to caress her gently. It was not something ‘else’, but more to reassure her and his own self that all was going well. “I… I-I do… I do like Twilight,” J finally confessed, swallowing quietly, “but if you know all that Celestia knows-“

“I do dear, you don’t need to keep secrets,” she quickly assured him.

“Then you should know that I already know a lot, if not all the ponies around here,” he let out a huge sigh as he looked at Coral with pleading eyes, “and I like the characters of the Mane Six, much more now that I know them in person. What will I do then? I am attracted to HOW a person is, not how they look or what they are… what will I do if I hurt any of the six’s feelings? What if I find another pony that I like that is not them? That is the ONLY thing that is eating at me right now, I don’t want my ‘job’ messing with me while everything bad is ‘at bay’, at least for now.”

“Dear, on that term you have no control,” the Mayor said as she got up and took a few steps on the bed, soon lying on top of his chest and most his lower body as she gave him a bit of a dirty wink. “In Equestria it has always been free love, even in the oldest of times. We have a low ratio of male population and, for what Twilight had told me, we have none of that strange technology you talked her about, artificial insemination was it?” She waved it off “We have to do it the old fashioned way if we have to have kids, but there are very few males as Equestria is composed mostly of magical stuff, no matter how much nature it has. This means that we need a bigger and more capable intellect, at least us ponies do, so our species evolved to have many, many more mares than colts over the time, which forced our ‘morals’, as you humans would put it, to be different than yours,” She snickered a bit before she planted a quick kiss on his lips, something that made him blush, “And since we live for so long we have time to explore a lot of nice things over the years. We have limits of course, but I am sure you know how it goes. Both or more parties have to agree to what is going to happen, have to know what it is all about and must be willing and knowing of everything that is going to take place. There are no more rules than that.”
‘Greater intellect? That sounds sexist man, You gonna’ take that?’

J thought about that. It was true that in the cartoon there had been few males if compared to females, at least in most cases (In fact he could count around 3 to 1, if not 4 or maybe 5 to 1 females to males), so it would make sense that, to survive, one stallion had to copulate with more than one mare.

Since they live a lot it would also be quite difficult to remain ‘faithful’ to the same person, no matter how strong the bonds, as over time one would get ‘bored’ of it no matter what. It is sad but it is true. This would also encourage loving couples to play with others as it is obvious there is no taboo about the same sexes and the like playing part on all of this. Although, that did make him wonder what kinds of taboos do exist.

Finally J decided to come back to the world of the living and ask her “Coral?”

“Hmmm? What, dear?”

What J saw caught his attention as he suddenly was amazed at how easily he could doze off from things like this happening to him. The Mayor had basically turned 180 degrees and was offering him a perfect view of her privates, though they could be hardly seen right now for some reason. It was not all, though, as she had obviously taken her time unzipping his pants with her mouth and was smirking naughtily with the zipper still in her mouth.

“Eh… oh… umm…” J blushed like there was no tomorrow, a bulge came to occupy his now unprotected shorts in mere moments. “I-I was going to ask you about the taboos that exist in here and all that, since I don’t know if they are the same as in my world…” He gulped as the Mayor’s hooves began rubbing at his bulge with little to no shyness towards the act.

“Well, let’s see,” she kept on playing with his still hidden member, “we have a lot of natural medicine so as to not get pregnant, so, as far as it is consensual and everypony knows what it is going on and has the chance to put a stop to it at any time? We do not much care as far as it is done in private.” She chuckled a bit as she relaxed gently, playing with her tail so she could hit at his nose playfully. “So bondage, incest or anything the like is not frown upon, as well as pairings with other species and such,” the last made her giggle as she seemed to look back in time at something in special. However she waved it off fast and returned to the matter at hand.

“Why, I know of a few mares that had foals with a dragon or a diamond dog thanks to the magic in us granting us the change. They had none of the parent’s traits in most occasions except for their eyes or character, so it is no big deal,” the Mayor gained a thoughtful expression before continuing, “Rape or the like, even if it is role-play, is quite frowned upon, though. Bondage or other kind of restrictive plays are allowed, but nopony would like to see others forced to do anything, or harmed, and that kind of role-play has sometimes gone from play to literally being what it had been intended to. Also it is a crime to do anything with fillies; our bodies hit maturity around the time when we hit ten years, though a late bloomer may reach twelve before her body grows to its fullest since the magic makes us grow a bit randomly thanks to our longevity, but until a filly or foal grows to a mare or colt it is not allowed to do anything with them,” she had stopped her playing as long as she did that, her tone and face quite grim.

For J it was ok in general; meaning that it was pretty hard to swallow. A lot of things that would probably make you an outcast here are, in fact, normal in Equestria. Did it make any sense? Did it bode well with what he knew of the land? Well… yea! I mean, love, friendship, understanding, forgiveness and all the things that are so scarce in Earth are common in here, they take precautions and make sure everyone enjoys from a party, to a conversation or a deeper and close bonding such as the intimate act of sex.

Whereas a human would call this all a bizarre caricature of what they thought was the ‘holy’ union of two people, or whatever else you would like to call it, a pony would call these things normal day to day life.

“Don’t get me wrong my dear,” she cleared the tension with a little giggle, “those things happen very little, if at all, luckily.” The Mayor shuddered at the thought. “Kinks and others though? That is more common, though for it to happen inside the family it is quite hard as it is forbidden by law to inbreed as it seems that magic doesn’t allow the foal to develop very well.” At that she shrugged, “Still you can fool around with your family if you like, as far as everything is consensual and you take precautions, otherwise it is quite a problem for anyone involved.” With that done she began to undress him with both her hooves and mouth; quite effectively, mind you, “That is more or less everything you need to know. Make sure everyone wants it, that there is no one underage and have fun! If you think you are going to do it at least”

“Well,” he chuckled nervously, “I think we are about to.” In fact, by the time he said that, he was almost unclothed. The only thing that still kept him somewhat decent was his boxers, and with the quite big bulge it was obviously not much for decency mind you.
“W-wait… I think there is something wrong in here,” J blushed heavily as he took a peek under his last line of defense towards nakedness. “Oh god…”

“What is the matter?” Coral finally took the last clothing with her hooves and pushed it away, “It is quite nice down here, what is wrong?” She chuckled with a bit of a naughty glint in her eyes as she eyed the piece of meat in front of her.

While most of J’s body was detailed with old wounds and scars from his life, his lower body (At least his privates) was pretty impolite and unharmed (Any man worth his salt would protect that before anything else you know?). The problem any human would sooner or later see is that for a guy his size 11 inches were pretty much something quite abnormal… not that he would have noticed earlier since all that had happened to this point had made him burn everything in his body to the point where he didn’t even need to go to the bathroom, heck, he hadn’t even had a shower yet!

Speaking of which…

“I-I need a shower, yes, that is it,” he gulped down. “Haven’t had one since I arrived here, I need to clean up if we are going to do something.”

Technically it was not a lie. The shower yesterday had been to clean the blood and today he probably still had the smell of alcohol, yet his reason to consider yesterday’s shower as null was simply: He had been worried out of his mind, he was shocked in fear, hell, he didn’t even notice his maleness being so big! He was like a robot and had simply stared blankly at everything as she took away his pain and the shock.

J tried to smile and appear sincere, however if he was successful or not the Mayor didn’t seem to mind as she just got off the bed and quickly went to open the bathroom door to show quite a nice shower (Almost human sized) and other equipment obviously made for pony use.

“Haven’t had any fun in here for a while dear, so if you don’t mind…” Coral grinned as she turned the hot water on and got inside, letting the water splash down her mane and undoing her hair as it covered her face partially. “I wouldn’t mind some clean play to be your first, if you don’t mind the cramped space”

Without any kind of clothing on him it was quite obvious that J was aroused, not only by the obvious erection mind you, but by the fact that he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Coral, whom was lying against the white wall of the shower with her hind legs spread as she watched him intently. The Mayor could only laugh under her breath, trying to keep her composure as best as she could, but she had to admit it had been a long time since anyone had came here to learn how proper ponies do things, much longer had it been when someone from another species had tried to seek guidance for the same.

“I don’t bite dear, but if you don’t want to come here I would understand it,” she said finally, not yet moving an inch. “You come from a completely different culture, I would expect you to be reticent, but as I have done with others I will do with you. If you refuse my little teaching, then I won’t bring it back up ever again, and you do not know anything about how ponies do it..” Coral gave out a little giggle as she leaned herself against the wall to expose more of her privates to J. She was having quite the fun with this little charade, “If you ever want to know how gentle or rough you can be, where to touch and what to do, I assure you no one else but I will gladly tell you. I do not blame you if you chose to walk away now my dear, in fact I had expected you would, but I sincerely can’t say which is the better option. To accept this kind of teaching or to wait until you think it is the right time with someone you hold dear.”

“This is the sex with more talk that I will ever have,” J simply facepalmed with a groan. Coral started laughing her flank off thanks to that.

“So you are going to come in or what?” She tried to hold her laugher just enough, “Doesn’t seem like your ‘little’ friend wants to go at least.”

“The problem is that ‘my little friend’ was half this size the last time I saw it,” He blushed at that. “I mean, I was not hung like a horse the last time I had… uh… some alone time.”

Coral simply arched an eyebrow, “Dear, you got teleported to a new world for you, infused with magic, defeated monsters and even traversed a nightmare; and you are surprised of such a little thing as probably magically enhanced genitalia? I think your priorities are a bit off.”

“Heh, yea, I suppose I simply worry about everything,” J rubbed his head with a sheepish grin on his face. “I think I should finally disconnect and just act until this peace is broken then.”

“What do you mean by that, dear,” the Mayor was unsure of what to make up of that, at least until J took his place inside of the shower and his maleness was placed right in front of her face, at which point the colors of the Mayor finally turned a bright red.

“Ooooh I see,” She chuckled, taking one hoof carefully towards the phallus. “Then, allow me to start…”

Truth be told, J hadn’t expected to come as forward looking as he did, in fact he had almost hoped to slip on the surface of the shower, hit his head with something and avoid this awkward situation. Mind you that with him being as open minded as he was, the Mayor looked like quite the mare, or if you find it very hard to digest like that. She was quite a beautiful woman. In fact she was mature, a milf, what you could call an idol as if she had been human, then you probably would have had in front of you a woman on her 30s, probably around 35 or so, with smooth features, perfect hair and a figure to kill for. So… what was the problem?

Well the problem is that, even if you are a furry or something similar, you would face the fact that you, indeed, were going to do it with a completely different species, that any other human that saw you would call you the worst things that you could imagine and that, deep down, you probably liked this because it looked and felt taboo as hell.

And man, did it feel good.

“Oh god!”

It had been simply the touch of her hooves and it already felt like he hadn’t had any in years, literally. Instead of bony, harsh or simply extremely thought, the touch felt gentle and warm as the hooves seemed to grip at his member much like they would if they were hands, probably by simple magic or something else, he didn’t care as he felt sensitive enough to simply cum from the pleasure that the rubbing of his whole maleness was giving him.

That was, of course, before the Mayor finally took the teasing to the next level and she used her long tongue over most the underside of his length, showing both that it probably was true that all the horses had quite large tongues and that Coral had enough skill to envelop it around his member, squeezing it gently as she moved too slowly put the tip of his member inside of her muzzle with a sultry smirk plastered on her face.

“You are… a frigging… tease,” he groaned, gripping the borders of the shower while panting.

“The word you seek is skilled my dear, skilled” She gave the tip of his shaft a kiss as she said so “Now hush! I am going to show you how far a pony can take it”

All of sudden she took one of her hooves away as well as the tongue, giving him a bit of a sultry smile before she opened her mouth and took the whole thing inside in one fast motion. It felt like a vice grip on his member as the whole thing was being massaged by Coral’s mouth and throat to the point of making it almost a perfect fit in which he could not escape the feeling of that tongue enveloping as much of his member as it could. The Mayor began to bob her head up and down, forcing a hiss of pleasure to escape from J’s mouth after he was able to breathe again.

She kept on a very slow pace for what J had thought was something between hell and heaven as Coral made sure to squeeze his shaft the whole way down with her muscles expertly moving so as to touch every single inch of his meat to the point where she was basically sucking him dry. The worst, or best, was when she stopped her bobbing and simply centered on his cockhead, licking it whole with her tongue and squeezing it gently with her mouth as she looked up at him while the water splashed down on them.

‘Such a frigging tease! GOD!’
‘You know you love it, now shut up and enjoy it.’

The Mayor took the shaft away from her mouth with a loud *POP* and a giggle, giving it a light lick with her tongue before turning her back at him and resting on the shower’s floor. “Since you seem to hold your own well enough dear, why don’t you come to me? I am sure you want some ‘revenge’ for that lesson I just gave you,” the mare looked back with a big smirk and winked at him.

“Oh… it is on.” The poor guy didn’t know he hadn’t blown his load by now, but he was sure of one thing. This kind of revenge would be fun. Since he wasn’t the biggest apple on the tree in Earth, J had made sure to know how to touch a girl the right way for the times he had been with one, so if Coral wanted him to take revenge, he would give her hell in a sense.

“What is taking so long dear? Don’t you- waaaAAAAH!”

He didn’t know why, but her pussy was now perfectly visible and it was quite obvious that Coral was aroused as it didn’t take him more than a few seconds to find her clitoris and give it a light rub with one of his hands. The other hand he used to prod her wet lips just as she began talking. It made J chuckle a bit, but he didn’t stop or falter as he pushed two digits inside Coral’s tunnel, prodding and touching around very gently, searching for an especially sensitive zone as he made sure that sensitive button of hers was attended at every moment.

“You… tease,” she panted, her mouth agape as those fingers of his pushed further inside of her until the hand could go no further or it would get inside of her. “Come on… we are flexible…” Coral moaned out in need, “put it inside.”

“All in due time,” J snickered, rubbing his body against Coral’s back, positioning himself so he would go inside shortly after taking the hand away. “Weren’t you the one asking for me to get some revenge?” he practically purred as he finally found the spot he was seeking for, “you wanted it, now take it!”

By now, if someone was in the main hall, the cry of ecstasy from the Mayor would have made them come running to check on what was happening. Luckily none came and the only thing that was going on was the huge orgasm that Coral was having as J did his best to rub her G spot with both his fingers, not caring anymore about the tease but to get her spent and pleased so when he would get in she would simply want more even if she could not stand on her four legs.

He didn’t know why he was so aggressive sexually as he had been tame the times he had an encounter in Earth, nor did he know how it was that he hadn’t came yet after Coral’s blowjob, he only knew he wanted her pleased and full of a little something else. It only made him chuckle and grin with lust, much as if he was in simple need to mate as if an animal, when the Mayor practically begged under her mumblings and moans for him to mount her. So, finally with a grin on his face, he took the hands away to get a firm grip on the shower’s edge and on Coral’s hips before he slammed his dick into her.

Surprisingly, the head went in right away accompanied by a shared moan by both J and Coral, though it was small compared to the huge scream of pleasure that came afterwards as J had thought the mare would squeeze him in place, or that the girth would be too big, not that Coral would let him push and push until practically three fourths of the whole thing were deep within her and he had not filled her up!

“G- god! How far can I go,” he practically squealed as the Mayor pushed back, taking the thing balls deep.

“Dear… you should know,” she panted, groaning as she moved her hips to tease him while he was within her as her muscles clamped down, “that we ponies… are more than… what meets the eye… now… Do it hard!”

The Mayor didn’t have to ask twice, when she asked was when J rammed himself back and forth once, making sure she could take it all and simply enjoying the feeling of tightness as every single inch of his member was enveloped in pleasure.

In no time he was pumping in and out, panting as the water splashed down on them and pulling himself on top of Coral to share a passionate kiss as she filled the mare again and again, only pushing out to make her change her position so she would be face to face to him when he took her again, filling her to the brim with his cock once more.

There were no words besides grunts and moans as J took Coral’s hips to ram harder and faster inside of her, simply panting between moans as he tried his best to hold as much as possible as the feeling of pleasure was overwhelming him the more he lasted and the harder he tried to please both her and his own self. She only seemed to enjoy it and suck him in harder, her need as obvious as his own.

“C-cant… can’t hold…,” he gasped out between his moans.

“Then let it go dear! Release it,” Coral screamed, another orgasm hitting her.

J didn’t need any more encouragement. He buried himself inside of her one more time and let out basically a howl of pleasure as she clamped down on him, sucking him dry as he shot wave after wave of seed inside of her depths, making both of them spasm in the pleasurable throes of orgasm, finally lying against each other as J did his best to not let his weight down on the now spent mare. Not that he was in better shape than her.

“G-god… I haven’t had one like that… in a long time,” J got enough strength back to pull Coral up and in turn lie down with her on top. The water’s relaxing effect and her hot and soft body adding an especially nice edge to the feeling of the afterglow. “Is… is it weird that I think I liked it more with a pony than with a human?”

Coral simply chuckled tiredly, giving him a kiss, “I doubt you liked a human as much as you liked one of our ilk, my dear.”

He simply blushed slightly, not sure enough about it to call it a compliment or something else.

“I mean that you probably were less inclined towards your own kin, darling,” she gave him a friendly smile. “It happens here too, but as far as I know in your world it would have been impossible to explore such a thing without being persecuted.”

“Well… that I cannot deny,” J could only smirk as he moved slightly, making both of them moan as it seemed something wanted to stay up. “I mean… I am still aroused! I couldn’t even last this long with any human girl I knew…”

“It is part of the magic of the princess, dear,” Coral finally took his member out with a heavy sigh of both relief and pleasure as she let the water was down on her body as she looked up at the shower. “She told you she didn’t want to do you any harm, in fact she changed her magic so to ensure that, if you survived, you would find happiness in here” At that she gave him a gentle but a bit sad look “I don’t know why she was so gloomy, I haven’t seen her like that in all my life; I only hope that after this you know a few things about us ponies, if you succeed.”

“If I have to be sincere,” He chuckled as he pointed at his shrinking cock, “I think I have learned that this feels fucking good, if you excuse my dirty words.” She only chuckled and waved her hoof towards him. “But seriously, if it is about anatomy? I have learned quite a lot”

“Which was basically my objective,” she interjected with a quick smirk, “you see, asides the fact that you need to get used to our customs, you need to know that, unlike your women, we like both tender and caring as much as rough as demanding.” Coral gave him a dirty wink “To be a good lover is very hard in Equestria, it is another reason why there are mostly lone mare mothers out there, or pairs composed of mares. Colts hardly watch out for their partner’s pleasure except if it is two stallions together, if you get my drift, my dear,” J simply blushed at the thought. “However you did use your hands and did your best to hold out as much as I did which, I must admit, was impressive”

“Tell me about it,” he couldn’t help but look a bit appalled. “I thought I was going to lose it once we began but… I don’t know. I wanted more to hold until I could mount you. It is like these feelings I have been having as of late; demanding, alien and scary, yet natural, warm and… right? I couldn’t explain”
‘Can you even hear me? It’s rude not to respond, you know.’

The Mayor pondered about that for a moment as she looked J up and down, scanning him for something. “Dear, I think that the problem here is simple. The magic basically gave you a bit of what you would have if you were a pony,” she said with a light smile “You are stronger, faster and… more endowed as you have noticed. You came here and Equestria fused with you as much as it could, a lot more once Princess Celestia gave you her gift. Since in your world the ponies are… something different,” she seemed very unlevered as she said that. “I suppose that you are feeling some animal like needs mixed with all of this, it could explain why you are feeling so antsy and part of why the situation is overcoming you.”

“Oh” Was all he could say as he pondered about that “Do you think… I should talk with Celestia about this?”
‘Yes, you probably should.’

“Probably,” Coral nodded gently, “but right now… do you fancy some food?” She snickered as J heard his own stomach growl as if it was a monster, “I think at least a part of you does not agree with all you have done, dear”

J simply smiled and nodded; soon following Coral out of the shower once they cleaned up a bit more. Most the day would pass talking about Equestria, some of her customs, behavior (both in and outside the bedroom) and the nations that were within this big magical world.

For once he felt relaxed and, as he noticed, after the sex his mood had relaxed and he felt rejuvenated as if he had taken a burden off of him. Maybe Coral was right about him having maybe a part of animal within him after all this ordeal? It wouldn’t be so surprising after all, the spell was complex, the situation was complex and magic world against non magical creature didn’t mix as well as anyone would’ve thought. Whatever it was, right now he felt like a million dollars’ worth.

***WARNING END!***
*** Later, as night came to claim most ponies’ consciousness… ***

The talk had taken quite a lot more than he had thought and now the night had claimed its place with the moon standing triumphantly where the sun should’ve been what he thought had been simple moments ago. The chilly wind was whispering to him as he made his way to Twilight’s house. Only a few words being heard tonight from within the remaining houses with some lively joy inside as the families with foals or fillies had to restrain the kids so they would go to sleep since the week had ended and they would not go to school in the following two days.

Jonathan, for once thinking of himself with his full name, simply thought about what would happen now. He just had had an intimate encounter with the Mayor, he had learned of what was normal and what was not in this world regarding to ‘privacy’ and relationships (Something that, even if he dared not admit it, he still needed to wrap his mind around) and less ‘intimate’ things such as about the nations and how it may be possible for him to have a bit of an animal (Its essence, that of a pony or a horse, at least) within him. Truthfully he felt better than ever even after the time that had passed since his release, something that sincerely had caught him off guard as he had thought his mind would return to the mess it had been a while ago after he had been so carefree for a few hours.

To be fair the only thing that occupied his mind now was…

“How was it?”

Enthralled as he was in his own thoughts; J had not seen that he was close to Twilight’s house than he had thought, in fact we could say he could taste how close he was.

*THUD!*
‘*sigh*’

And feel it too.

“FFFF… This is going to cost me someday, I know it,” he groaned, looking to his side to see Twilight giving him a nervous smile, as she waited in front of the library with the door open as if she had swung it so violently it had almost came out of its place. “Twilight? Is everything ok?”

“Yes, yes it is. why wouldn’t it be ok,” Twilight’s voice seemed sad and her face showed nervousness beyond belief. Her smile crumbled slowly before she simply trotted towards him for a hug. “I am nervous for Celestia’s sake,” she whispered in a squeak. “I don’t know why, but I couldn’t help it after you were gone one hour! I… I think I may feel too clingy, that I may be simply needy of someone that understands what I am feeling,” she sobbed. “I… I fear I don’t feel what I think I feel. I fear that what I think I have towards you is only desperation coming at me and forcing me to seek someone to comfort me.” By now Twilight was looking away, ashamed of the idea that had been eating at her mind after the joy from before vanished. As always she thought about things too much, and once she was almost sure she was going to fail someone she crumbled, and sometimes she endangered others. Twilight simply felt horrible as she thought that.

“Sssssh…”

She heard him whisper at her, embrace her and take her chin up so he could give her a little kiss. Soon her worry washed away as she felt her cheeks flush and her whole body warm up after hours of hiding her feelings from Rarity, the fillies and Spike. Her self- loathing vanished, her doubt erased, and her worry evaporated as she felt tranquility overtake her mind before he pulled away.

“All will be fine,” He promised her. “For now… I think someone wanted me to have me in her bed tonight,” J winked at her. “A good cuddle and a good night’s sleep will help you as much as I can.”

Twilight smiled brightly through flushed cheeks as he took her up in her arms and carried her over towards the bedroom where he undressed and she waited, for he would end up in her bed, which had remained big for she wished him to be there. Minutes after they embraced each other the sleep had crept up on them, taking both their minds to the dreamscape where, after half a week of uneasy sleep, they enjoyed happy dreams at last.

However someone wanted to give a message.

“Such a beautiful couple,” the voice was loud, but ethereal, as if no one could heard it even as it was right in front of the resting bodies of both J and Twilight, “I wonder if it will end as happily as this scene, though I don’t count on it as much as I count in something else.”

The room was dark, unnaturally so. The only thing that was able to be seen was the window while the light didn’t even creep inside the room. Everypony, including the sleeping Spike, couldn’t even wake up as the darkness engulfed the room. Even if they were aware in their dreams it would have been for naught as whatever energy was this prevented them for getting up.

“After all, as simple as this is, it could change everything.” Finally a hint of a feminine accent could be heard, but only for a brief second “Still… that is why I am here, right? I need to say thanks, even if it changes things for the worst”
‘Indeed, one shouldn’t let debts go unfulfilled’

A small glimpse of light broke through the darkness and a glint of black hair and dark colored metal reflected dully as the form of a mare, bigger than anypony else, sighed and nodded before getting close to the bed for a simple deed. She nuzzled J, took something from her head and left it on his side of the bed before giving his forehead a kiss.

“Thank you… thank you for all, d…”

A bright magical flash overtook the scene as the mare disappeared from sight, a single perfect tear falling to the bed, over a bright and shiny obsidian gemstone that shone through the moonlight. It was lined with gold and silver and, in cases, what seemed to be platinum. Some words could be seen engraved on the rock that read:

“To my beautiful Diana,
Even though this gift would only mean I would never love you as you deserved, know that I will always have you in my heart and that I will be always with you. Your… Jonathan, I will….”

At some point the stone had something else written on it; however it had been smashed and cracked something powerful and the rest of the message had been lost.

What did this mean? Sadly only time would tell…

*** End of Chapter Eight ***

Well…

LARGEST-CHAPTER-EVUR!

I struggled with every-single-scene. I wrote it: 12 pages in length. SHORT! I didn’t even put everything I wanted in there! Edit: 16 pages. STILL SHORT! And these scenes suck! *Rewrite a hell of things* AHA! This is it… wait, something is missing… 19 pages? Nah, still not all the content I wanted.

THERE! ALL DONE! Whew, I think I did well enough? *re-reads* Yep, all in place, man, I think it took a long ti- 17 days? Seriously? F*** ME!

I haven’t been so stressed in my whole life: A whole week with exams, then a Monday with another one waiting for me with its beady eyes looking to get my rear unprotected. Man, I haven’t flunked so many in a row in a LONG TIME. This comes to bite me back time and time again. I was way too nervous and I took my time with this while also doing the same with school. Though for various reasons I can assure you that, even if you don’t like this chapter for some reason, it has been done much better than my studying, promise.

Now onto less stupid and ranting things that I need to adhere:

SEX! Yes, sex. Look, I know I have thrown myself to the lions here, but hear me out: This story takes place in Equestria, where a dragon can have a crush on a pony and everypony is like “Ok, whatever, good luck sport!” and other species wouldn’t be too different. Also this world is all about understanding, safety, happiness and FUCKING MAGIC, do I need to clear anything else? Yes, I do: The fetishes, kinks or anything else are, most probably, seen as perfectly fine as far as it is consensual and you take care, why? Because, seriously, these are not human minds, these are ponies, and they want to be happy so… why would they hate anything if it didn’t harm them or anyone they cared about? Just have fun and make sure everyone involved wants it ;3

So yea, I do not plan on showing all I said or get too perverse with naughtiness mind you, but once I thought about it, really, I didn’t see a single problem with the thought that all of this could be perfectly normal, I mean… MAN! There are gay animals out there and they don’t fucking mind! Then, why would they mind sexual deviation if it didn’t harm them? Answer is: they don’t.

So love me or hate me, but I think this makes perfect sense, magic world or not.

Also: Spooky apparition at the end! Hah! In your face XD… wait, that doesn’t make sense.

From the cardboard box of nobodyreallyimportant
So… Much… Editing… Man, I hope I did a good job.
If I didn’t, well… have a drink in apology. （ ^_^）o自
Have a nice day everybody. So long.

Chapter 9: The harp of times past.

At least, a tame chapter ^^ I am going to outright say that the next few chapters (Except one in particular) are going to be nice, or so I hope, depends on how much I develop each of them and if they are more or less than I had hoped. There will be no violence (Except maybe a fight or two), drama (I hope), and much less gore or sex in here, only more character development and friendly stuff :•3

I think the conflict generated by now is enough to keep up tensions for a while, so as every good conflict has, this one has made everyone earn a little rest and some peace. However with me peace means new problems, though they aren’t so serious if compared to the others I have already laid in front of you.

This all means that, while I seem to portray J as the main character, there are others and all their stories add to the total of things and it all sums in the end to see how and why things turn on that way. With that said, we do begin with J, but because it is required…

Also, for a very large review :3 there is also a nice answer:

This is for Shadowfire117

The bad ending… I am really thinking about it mind you. I keep on thinking only in the good ending and I SINCERELY hope people want it, yet I am a man of my word whenever I can keep it, so I would feel bad if I took this away, even if I feel bad now for giving the chance to the readers. Do not get me wrong here, I do respect the choices and likings of everyone but each time I try to think of the ending with drama I… I have problems. Being ‘in character’ when I write I tend to imagine as lively as I can, so… you can understand my dilemma, I hope.

Now, about the realistic part? Heh… I think someone got me wrong here :3 It is realistic, yea, but to an extent. This is a world of magic where amazing things can come to happen, so it is not THAT realistic. So what is the problem here?

The problem is that Jonathan is from a different world and he sees things differently, he feels like he doesn’t deserve what he is getting and will only think otherwise if he sees himself change, something that may be easier or harder, or literally impossible. He has made mistakes, he had tried to force things to be right when he had made them wrong, only to worsen them and, ultimately, he took lives away more than once in his desperation. He is a pessimist, for he has known only one side of the story most his life, the one that is told by those that hurt others, be it willingly or not.

The magic in Equestria makes things go well for those who wish for them and who think they deserve them because it would do well for all. If J does not see that he will ultimately fail, as would any other creature in Equestria, as did Nightmare Moon. (This, of course, is how I envision things, not how they are, I suppose :3)

Now, how about the knights? Except the Onyx knight the others were good, whole or in part, because even with humanity back then every creature was good to some extent, the monsters killed only because that was their nature and they needed to eat. The Onyx knight was… well… you will see what it was in chapter 10 or 11, depends on how fast I develop things.

Thanks for the review and, already, sorry if this response isn’t what you weren’t hoping for, but I did answer things how I think them so I hope you do not mind :3.

Also, on a side note, I do like review you all! I am as much an artwhore as I am a reviewhore :p as far as it is a review made with some sense and tact. As said before I got my share of flaming so if you want to say something, both good or bad, I hope you are backed up with some sense there. I kill myself to try and develop a nice story and I only want to know why it is being enjoyed or why NOT (though I am hopeful the second case scenario is not that common).

This being said, I have to stress it all out again: I do not own MLP and yadda yadda yadda, nor do I base myself as much in fandom as I do in what I judge correct or what I create. Also I try to use as many official characters as I can :3 (Thank the latest chapter for Rarity’s parents being added and not some OCs :3… Also Rarity’s hair when wet x3… DO NOT JUDGE ME 83!)

Lol, drama queen x3.

From the Cardboard Box of Nobodyreallyimportant

***

It had been hours since he had gone to sleep, in fact J was sure that he was nearing the end of his dream as he rested near the shore of a lake under the moonlight in one of his preferred dream settings that he so carefully tried to bend to his will each time so as to perfect the picture to the extent it was today. With him lying on the soft grass and sighing after the first dreamscape had been made in this new world, he could only rest and appreciate how beautiful it all was.

A huge crystalline lake, a dense forest surrounding it, a big full moon on the sky and dozens of stars shinning back at him. The perfect embodiment of calm as the crickets sang their song and the water moved on its own to simulate the sound of the sea when times were calm.

He would never believe there was something better than this.

“Enjoying the night?” a voice called out, one he had heard only once before when he got here.

J only turned his head to see Nightmare Moon walking slowly towards him until she sat down and laid back, her face inches away from his. If she had wanted to, being of the same ilk, if not the exact same, as Luna, she would probably had whatever she wanted from him and after yesterday he could imagine quite a lot of things. However the mare didn’t seem to look at him in longing for any kind of thing, at least none he could understand right now as her face did show some kind of emotion he could not describe even if he wanted or tried to.

“Yea, yea I am,” he said, finally. “I hadn’t needed to form a dreamscape since I was very young. It took me the whole night”

“And you have done beautifully; if you don’t mind my compliments,” Nightmare Moon gave a lighthearted chuckle. “I hadn’t seen a pony or a human with such a mental capability in one thousand years”

“Yeah, well I tend to dwell in my mind a lot, or at least, I did,” J said as he looked towards the moon. “It was one of the few ways to be happy. Now I don’t really need it, I think, but I would like to have someplace to go if my mind gets saturated or if I need to calm down.”

“Already trying to escape reality?” J shot her a cold glance but Nightmare Moon simply chuckled, meaning it as a joke.

“Maybe…”

“You should use the free time you have to relax, Jonathan, you will need to put everything in your head in proper order,” The mare on the moon told him with a sincere smile. “I guarantee you that I actually want you to do at least some things right, if not all.”

J simply arched an eyebrow as he looked at her with an inquisitive glance, “Why?”

“I am dying, and unlike any illness in Equestria, mine can’t be cured,” Nightmare Moon was as blunt as a pile of rocks, but she was still smiling nonetheless. “Luna knows, Celestia knows and now YOU know”

The human had only one reaction. His jaw hit the floor and rolled away.

“Why are you telling me this then,” he asked, bewildered. “What do you hope to accomplish that way?”

“Is it always like that with ‘villains’ and humans, right? You have to get something from everything,” she snorted, her smile disappearing. “If you do not remember it clearly enough, then let me allow to tell you that I was Luna’s friend and advisor before things turned grim. Why, you will even find what happened and why I turned like that soon enough,” she grumbled a bit, but unlike the first time she appeared in front of all the brony community and the whole Equestria, she was nice and only slightly offended. “However it is true that I do want something from you, and I would understand that you told me to go screw myself, if you don’t mind me sounding so unladylike”

“Then what are you waiting for?” he asked in a dejected tone. Whatever this was, it most likely wouldn’t be good. “You pretty much barged in here uninvited, I was unfriendly to you, and you were brash with me. Shot away, things wouldn’t be worse than now.”

“I want you to bear my essence.”

There was one simple thing that the dreamscape had lacked until this point, one thing that J had always had ready and, in fact, working when he was in one of these ‘homes’ of his. It was a little thing called music.

It only took Nightmare Moon seconds to get closer before she embraced J, sharing with him her own emotions with whatever magic she was using. He wasn’t sure of how it worked, but J could swear he felt the sadness, one worth more than a thousand of years, envelop him as Nightmare Moon gave him a taste of how she had felt since the day when she had, for reasons still unknown to him, forced her best and only friend, her ‘mother’, Luna to the moon.

The mood seemed to fit with the one given by one certain song from a very specific game: Mardek, the OST: Sorrow.

As the harp began its melody Nightmare Moon backed away from him, yet the music continued even as J felt his previous mood returning to him as the feelings evaporated like they were nothing.

“I never was a real creature, only an essence created by a powerful alicorn. She, Luna, was as much my friend as she was my mother in a certain sense, but in the material plane I was nothing,” Nightmare Moon got up and looked up towards the moon, the music slowly approaching its crescendo before she continued, “and I will be less than nothing in a few days. Luna has been cured, she has been accepted and I have been rendered a bad memory she doesn’t want to have anymore. Without her support, I will cease to exist. And yet, I was never real, so there will be no sadness once I depart.”

“Some would be saddened.” J chimed in with the music taking away some of his happy thoughts, but mostly the one crushing it to a certain point was Nightmare Moon herself.

The mare was basically smiling, even thought she had said that she would basically ‘die’, or if she was counted as a psychic essence; destroyed or dissipated. However she seemed to bear no sadness and have no regrets, at least none past the only one she had that troubled her mind.

“I know, but it is for the best,” she admitted, her smile not leaving her face. “I told you that I hoped for you to make the right decision in time. That time is now. Will you let my essence reside within your body and mind; or will you let me dwindle away when the time comes?”

J would have liked to think about it more, but the music and the feelings he could sense were coming from Nightmare Moon along with his own would hardly let him think about it in peace.

“Will it have any drawbacks for me or anypony else?”

The black mare shook her head, “None. I will live through you and, in fact, may have this, my form, infused on your soul and mind so I will be ‘alive’ in a sense. I can even act as a confident for you, if you so want.”

“Anything else?” J frowned. He wasn’t buying it now. There had been something in Nightmare Moon’s words that somehow seemed… lacking. “I think you are hiding something.”

“And I will continue to hide it until the right time,” that was a firm, and quite harsh, reassurance as Nightmare Moon stomped the ground with a hoof. “I am giving away my life and I do not mind it if you refuse, but I have only one hope, a single gleam of survival, and it is going to remain with me to the bitter end.” Those words had been as harsh and maybe as violent as the first time the mare had appeared in the show, “I am sorry but I won’t tell you, I… I can’t tell you”

There was a long silence as the music stopped and J got up from where he was lying on the ground.

“You expect me to make the right decision when I do not know everything?” his tone was firm, his expression harsh and for some reason he wanted to turn away and wake up. He didn’t, and Nightmare Moon couldn’t take her eyes away from him as he walked besides her to rub at her ethereal mane.

“You can remain here if you want,” J offered her a little smile. “Yesterday I said I would change my ways at last, and I will begin by caring more. You can live within me, if that is what you wish.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, unsure and, uncharacteristically of her, worried, “You don’t know everything…”

“Nor do I need to,” he admitted. “If it was something bad then I would probably have Luna here biting your head off, or more likely I would be awakened by Celestia somehow. They aren’t here, so I am pretty sure it can’t be too bad,” for a moment he looked worried enough at the thought of ‘Trollestia’ waking him up to say “Gotcha.” It was silly, though, and after a moment he couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of such a thing.

“The only thing I ask for is one you may know already,” he sat down and let out a tired yawn, indicating that he was going to fall asleep here and, return to the real world, “Be sincere with me in everything, as I am with anyone.”

Sadly J wasn’t able to last long enough to see Nightmare Moon nod or not, in fact if she had tried to say something after he asked for such a little thing, then J would have not heard it. He simply fell back and banished towards the real world, leaving behind a speechless Nightmare Moon whom was wondering if what she had done was the right thing.

It had been not so long when she had returned to her own mind and that the sane personality she had finally overcame what had overtaken her so long ago. The truth was, depressing though; she was her own self again, immaterial and insubstantial, but she was back to how she began. Did she miss a physical body? No, she didn’t, but she did miss the feeling of kinship with Luna, one that was now gone and that, after Discord had tried to take over and Luna had recovered her powers, had shown her how dire her situation was. The mind that had created her didn’t want her inside it anymore.

One thousand years on the moon was enough to make one do nothing but think; effectively making such a long time seem much shorter than it really was. It all simply meant that they had, mentally, spent much less time than Celestia waiting for their freedom, but they had been arguing and battling in one single shared mind for the time that they waited.

‘And I have no family now…’ Nightmare Moon looked down, dejected.

“Has he agreed?”

The voice of Luna took Nightmare Moon’s attention, but just a part of it as by now she had wiped the sadness and memories away and she was looking forward to the maybe not so distant future.

“He has.”

“I honestly thought he wouldn’t,” Luna admitted, sitting in front of Nightmare Moon, though still quite far away in the dreamscape. “In fact I had expected him not to.” She had a neutral and quite expressionless tone, “I hope you did nothing ‘special’ to get him to comply with this.”

Nightmare Moon snapped to attention and gave Luna the most distasteful glare she could. While Luna had had no magic in her but that of a normal unicorn until the last celebration, now she could either appear as her ‘real’ form or her more ‘regal’ (Or godly) one. She, more often than not, went out simply as ‘Luna’ after that night, but even with such a ‘cute’ and gentle form in display she did have a very dark and powerful side after spending such a long time battling her inner demons.

And Nightmare Moon was tired of being that specific demon Luna wanted to expel.

“I guarantee you, PRINCESS, that I did nothing, in fact I didn’t even tell him what you told me I should keep to myself, even if I was tempted to simply do so to give you a huge ‘SCREW YOU’ that I cannot force out simply for a lack of a middle finger,” She pointed her hoof towards Luna to emphasize her point. “But he had asked me to be completely sincere with him and I will be, for I am in him now and not in you.”

“Much like a demon then, Nightmare Moon,” Luna retorted with a hateful glare, “A deal is sealed and you take what is ‘rightfully’ yours afterwards. Know that I have done this simply for the time we shared as friends, an old debt I no longer want to have hovering over me. However, if you do something other than what we agreed on I will destroy you”

“Don’t be so almighty with me, Luna,” Nightmare Moon chuckled. “You are plotting now instead of your sister, she at least tells Jonathan of her plans now. You on the other hoof…”

“I am not plotting,” Luna spat, not looking towards her dark reflection anymore. “I am getting rid of you and, hopefully, giving you a second chance I hope you don’t ruin like before.”

Luna vanished after that; Nightmare Moon’s only reaction to such an abrupt thing was to snort and smirk, “Seems I am the demon, yet you still retain some of that darkness within you, don’t you, dear Luna?” For the first time she let out a half hearted laugh, much warmer and ‘human’ than the one she gave the first time when she was back after one thousand years. “I will still perish in a sense; yet in the future I may be a better pony than you. Mark my words, Luna” She looked into the ether, knowing full well that the princes of the night could still hear her “Watch what you do more than what others do.”

*** Minutes before: In the real world of Equestria ***

Twilight had awoken with a shudder for some reason. It was not too late in the morning, in fact it was around… 8:30? What perfect timing! She smiled as she saw the clock, but she practically beamed after she finally felt the arms of J wrapped around her, which brought up the best and the worst of this morning.

She sighed, ‘I don’t wanna get up… But I guess I have to.’

She forced herself apart from J and turned to give his forehead a kiss.

‘Thanks for everything…’

Gently jumping away from the bed; she felt… empty. Since the incident, mere days ago, when she was not as close as she could to J she felt empty, fearful and alone. When Rarity came to her she felt happy too, until she too went away. Maybe she only wanted her friends close? Those she would readily call her family? Those she loved? Maybe the need for someone didn’t mean that she was clingy towards J, but that she did love him and wanted him closer than anypony else.

‘After all… only Fluttershy was there with me too, but we both know that I like the idea of having a whole family too much.’ Twilight chuckled at that, ‘I think the only one in my circle of friends to think like this is Rarity, so she would understand if I talked to her? Maybe it would be a nice thing to do today, that way I will force myself away from the library.’

Suddenly, something fell of the bed and hit the floor with a loud clattering noise. There was the sound of it rolling across before it touched her hoof.

Twilight looked down to see the same stone that had been delivered the past night. She could even read the words without need to take the stone up, yet once she did… her curiosity and worry chimed in like a pair of vultures. With her magic she made the stone levitate, with her hooves she touched it, and with her inquisitive mind she searched for a meaning that would satiate her worries.

Yet what she found was something else.

***

She no longer saw the library; in fact there was only a whirlpool of blackness with a little grey area where she saw a hoof and a hand together. It soon turned to a clearer color, almost white except for a lavender hoof and a hand she knew was from Jonathan.

“Will I ever see you again?” She heard her own voice, yet it was broken and sad.

“I… I doubt it.” J’s voice followed promptly with the same feelings, if not much darker ones, permeating those words. “I… you…”

“I know. I… understand.” Twilight’s voice echoed, laced with sadness. “But… but she will miss you too.”

“I-I am sorry Twilight.” There was a deep breath and Twilight could swear she saw tears falling down on what little she could see of the scene. “I don’t want to do this…”

“Sssssh…” She heard her own sniffs and then a kiss. “I understand… I can’t leave her… she will be hurt enough once she knows what you have to do.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” There was a long silent moment before the hand disappeared from the picture. “Goodbye.”

***

Twilight let go of the stone for a second, luckily her magic was still holding it by instinct and she avoided further harm to the already obviously damaged garment. However the wellbeing of the stone was the last of her worries now as she hid it under the bed in pure instinct.

‘Another vision? Why? Why of THAT?’

She shuddered as she looked around, only to see that J was still asleep and that, like most days when she woke up this late, Spike had already been gone for a while. I only left her with a few precious minutes to worry about whatever this meant.

‘Is he going to leave me in the future? Is… is he going to love somepony else more than me? Will he leave her too? It… it is… it is very much possible’ She ended up sighing as she walked the stairs down to the main floor of the library ‘He is human after all, maybe in the future there will be a way to return to that ‘Earth’ of his’ She basically spat the name in her mind ‘Maybe… maybe I displeased him somehow? I mean, my visions seem to be precise to this point so this may be the truth that lies within the future, yet I don’t know the reasons. What will happen that will push him away? Why will he leave me?’

Yet, before she opened the door towards the main room, she chuckled and offered a nervous smile to nopony but herself.

‘I am being ridiculous! It may not even come to happen! I mean, even Luna and Celestia had visions, or so the princess told me, and not all of them came true! So maybe this will not happen after all,’ she cheered a bit and finally opened the door so the sun from the windows would illuminate her smile. ‘I am not going to worry anymore. I just KNOW we will have some peaceful days now and I SO want to spend them being happy, I’ve had… enough sadness for a lifetime.’

“I feel fucking gooooOOOSHIT,” J’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

*WHAM!*

‘Well, if nothing else, he knows how to cheer someone up in the morning.’ Twilight fought not to laugh as she looked back to the almost nude figure of J lying on the ground, groaning as he rubbed his chest and face after meeting the floor face first. She would need to remember to change the bed’s disposition or this would probably repeat itself a few times. “Had a good night’s sleep? Because asking how you are feeling seems silly to me right now,” she chuckled as J sent her a killer look.

“Good enough, I suppose,” he groaned, getting up and walking over to get his clothes. “I would have liked a much better wake up call, but it is good enough. At least you weren’t in the bed or I would have dragged you down with me,” J snickered at that, “now that would’ve been awkward.”

“I reckon it would, yes,” Twilight chuckled nervously as she rubbed one of her forelegs. “But nothing of that right now, I think a good breakfast is in order, even more if Spike has been cooking with help of Owlowiscious.” At least she hoped the poor owl had been helping Spike, he did cook well, but so soon in the morning? She would hate to see diamond bits in her bowl, “If you are hungry after making sure my floor was so clean that is.”

“Oh ho, are we feeling funny this morning,” J chuckled as he got dressed, Twilight cleaning his clothes with a bit of magic as she nodded. “Well as ‘filling’ as your floor was, I think I could eat something else, yes.”

“Good then,” Twilight gave out a smile, though it was forced and it showed, “Then let’s go fill our tummies”

“Twilight.”

The mare froze. The tone had been gentle, but mostly a whisper, almost as if in fear to speak. Twilight looked back, only to see that J was advancing slowly towards her with a concerned face she had not seen since that day.

“Are you ok?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

It took a second for her to react, but Twilight could only let out a half smile with sad eyes looming over J as he came closer to embrace her, his concern sincere and his worry very real. Yet that was all she needed and, with a deep sigh of content, she embraced him back.

“I worry too much, probably like you,” she confessed. “I cannot help it, not after such a change. I have been against Nightmare Moon and Discord; I will probably be against something else after this… But this was the first time I lost someone only to gain someone else, in fact not only one, but many,” Twilight didn’t know if she was hurting him, but the more she talked the stronger her grip became. “I now fear for the little girls, I fear for my cousin, I fear for you,” she felt him tense up and nuzzle at her gently, bringing her up as he took her in her arms. “And… it is silly, we haven’t even truly made anything to be together, not yet at least… but I fear you may leave me.”

“I promise you,” Twilight finally tore her head from where she let it rest against his shoulder so as to see the gentle smile J was giving her, “the only way I would ever leave you is if I died, Twilight.” That made her smile, but also sent a shiver down her spine. “Now don’t worry your pretty egghead self about that.”

‘Well, that killed it,’ she gave him a stern but playful look.

“And let’s eat something,” with a wink she took her towards the kitchen.

She nodded and simply let him take her away; Twilight Sparkle was, basically, in pure bliss. If the things that had took place a few days ago hadn’t happened at all she would truly admit she was in some kind of heaven; she had her friends caring for her more than ever and she had a male for herself in some way, she also had fillies of her own, though that last part made her sad again as she thought of the price to pay and that they weren’t really of her own to begin with.

At least she hopped that the girls had fun in the barn with Apple Bloom… and that Silver Spoon did behave as she promised.

*** Apple Family’s Orchard ***

Silver Spoon was in HELL!

Well, not really, but by Celestia this was humiliating! When her mother had taken her from school, taken her to their manor and then cleaned her up as best as she could in such a short amount of time Silver Spoon had been SCARED out of her wits, not that she would admit that to anyone though. Once she knew of her mother’s plan though, she relaxed.

New FRIENDS! She had practically turned her mother deaf with such a loud “SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” when she heard the news, mostly because, if she had to say the truth, she felt terribly lonely.

She loved Diamond Tiara deeply as a friend, they had grown together after all with Diamond Tiara’s mother being the heir of a family of miners that, once Ponyville had been established, pledged to the local noble to mine in the nearby mountain, only to find a deposit of gems that, like in any other place, replenished itself regularly thanks to the magic lingering in there. That local noble had been family of Celestia, VERY distant mind you, but family of the alicorn nonetheless… and it had been Silver Spoon’s ancestor.

Much like her mother, Silver Spoon had inherited the corresponding cutie mark and, as such, the obligation of being a lower noble, but a noble nonetheless. She had to be proper, she had to be with members of the society that were up to her standing, and the only other family in Ponyville that was rich and had attained such a rank was the Goldie family.

Though unlike their ancestor, the Goldie family had not always ‘Gold’ in their name (Diamond Tiara was an example), they did always have a name motif that had to do with precious metals or jewels. They had grown to be refined instead of the filthy miners they had once been, also they had grown to like the finer things in life and it seemed that in the blood of the family lingered a disdain towards the common pony.

Something Silver Spoon could relate to and that, as of late, was putting her at odds with her mother.

Yes, it was true; Silver Spoon saw those with less education, manners and form to be less than her but, who would say otherwise in her position? She had a gifted brain; if she desired to train she would even have a gifted body, all thanks to her blood. Everypony else had less than she did and still could be as good, like Diamond Tiara had shown her. The only thing that the grey filly did not have, and that she knew of, was the capacity to give speeches, to be forward, to not be… frightened when alone.

‘After all,’ she sighed inwardly, ‘most bullies are cowards, aren’t we?’ That made her cringe, but it was true. ‘I wonder… do I dislike them enough to be a bully after this?’

Silver Spoon finally looked to her side and, as she did, she saw the room in the barn all lit up as the wind opened the window slightly. Before this the red barn room had been mostly obscured except for a small tendril of light that went all the way besides Silver Spoon’s bed, the reason as to why she was awake.

The room was beautiful, at least for a commoner; Red and white wooden planks making the walls, door and window frames, uncolored ones for the ceiling and the floor. Sparse furniture, but a lot of beds, since the Apple Clan was usually so numerous than two or three couldn’t cut it. The room was also very spacey, almost as much as Silver Spoon’s own, but much more filled with necessities instead of with toys.

And that is what made Silver Spoon loathe this, yet also it was exactly what made her think.

She hated how plain it looked, how… poor. The filly had grown to embrace eccentric things, or something out of the ordinary, to be happy having a LOT of things and, sadly, few people around. She had grown to be of the nobility and could hardly understand how ‘normal’ ponies could see fun or beauty in things that, to her, were so lowly that she wouldn’t spare them a glance.

It was only because Cheerile was an old friend of her mother that Silver Spoon had initially accepted to learn in a public school so as to not anger her mother (And because she didn’t yell at her like some private teachers). The second reason was because Cheerile was the sister to Berry Punch and Scootaloo’s mother, Whirlwind, a former Wonderbolt, that Diamond Tiara had decided she was a ‘prestigious enough teacher’ for her too (No one in Ponyville would usually admit it, but Berry Punch had invented most the actual beverages that were common at adult parties).

So, why did she like Rain Berry and Final Test? Well, she hadn’t seen her friend for a time even before she went away because her mother had been trying to prepare (or better say, force) her to learn about how their family did business. Silver Spoon had simply been STARVED for someone that would like her, someone that would talk to her… and because both fillies weren’t quite like the rest it made the grey filly all the more interested after seeing them.

Pegasus and unicorn sisters? Believe her when she says that it was rare, in fact she could compare Scootaloo to them, why? Because a filly usually grows like the mother as the mares have the strongest genes, unlike in some species. Rain was small and meek while Final was quite bigger, stronger and had a lot of character. Silver Spoon filled right in the middle of them both, so when Rain returned the other day feeling happy and open she had changed little, but now she would talk and would make Silver Spoon feel in place as both of the girls were quite smart and each of them had some topics she liked.

Rain liked poetry and was good at writing, a noble art, though she was very shy and liked to fantasize a lot, so she could create many, many things within her head to surprise Silver Spoon, and that had been in less than an hour! Final was a bit more crude, but she knew enough of gymnastics and the body that she could maybe grow to be one of the first pegasi stronger, and yet more knowledgeable, than an Earth pony. They weren’t brutes or stupid fillies, and they had told Silver Spoon of their loss, so even if she was mean she would not make fun of them.

They had bonded, as strange as it sounded to her, and she liked it.

And then Apple Bloom had to come by and messed all up… or rather Silver Spoon had messed it up.

While Diamond Tiara disliked the common ponies almost by instinct, Silver Spoon disliked the Apple Clan because they were rich, in fact they were richer than most nobles, like the Carrot Clan, Orange Clan or any other family of farmers: They were rich, they had to live up to their end, but they could chose whether to stay as farmers or to do something else entirely, segregating from the clan and earning a cutie mark that had nothing to do with the fruit, vegetable or plant their family cared for.

Silver Spoon could not.

It was her legacy, her duty, and her curse. She had been born with her cutie mark already on her flank, much like a lot of the noble families.

‘It isn’t fair,’ she said to herself, letting a tear run down her cheek. Luckily she didn’t have the glasses on and she wiped it off quickly, ‘I have to be like this, I’m forced to! Why does Apple Bloom get to have more friends and more adventures and a happier life than me? She has to work all the time, she has to earn her keep, while I have all the time in the world and all the money I will need, that my family WILL need until Equestria is no more… if that ever happens’ Silver Spoon sighed and leaned back on her bed, ‘I hate her, I hate her and her friends… and now my new friends hate me too.’

She had told Apple Bloom what she thought of her and her family right there, thinking that Rain and Final would back her up, hay, she even thought Rarity and her mother would back her up!

How foalish of her.

Rain had cringed at the names and Final had scolded her with a stern look. Rarity had said “And I thought you at least had some manners, young lady,” while her mother basically agreed and added “I thought she had, expect to be grounded for a few days, missy.”

Apple Bloom, of course, said that there won’t be any need of comments or punishments… because she would give her enough punishment!

It had been only by the… creature’s intervention that she hadn’t been hurt. Rain and Final had been talking with Apple Bloom near her about the ‘human’, how he had killed the monster that got their parents and how he was making sure Twilight would be happy again as well as to protect Ponyville from now on.

However they had said nothing to her, so Silver Spoon hadn’t had the courage to open her mouth. Even after Apple Bloom invited them all to the barn it had been her mother, and not the filly, who had said that she would go.

‘Funny punishment, mother,’ Silver Spoon gritted her teeth in anger.

She had to admit that the Apple Family had been nice enough after that, even Rain and Final had shrugged her words and forgiven her of such an act she had done so early in their newfound relationship as friends, but she had to promise to never say something like that ever again (in front of them at least) since they had also made friends with the little yellow work pony.

To her it was NOT fair, it was not fair that Apple Bloom was now friends with her two new friends and it was not fair that they had ‘forgiven her’.

She began her life in a position she didn’t like, she had to be proper and she had to be ladylike, yet her mother basically had escaped those duties after she had grown up and had received her parents’ blessing so she would watch over Ponyville while they retired like every single generation before them. Of course her grandparents, like their parents before, came back a time afterwards to see if their daughter was doing ok as per tradition.

Seeing her being friendly with the plebe infuriated them to no avail, in fact Silverlight had told her that her father hadn’t punished her because she was pregnant at the time. Yet their rage had been felt and so they had taken care again of the family’s nobility, the money and, in fact, everything… until Silver Spoon was born.

They had given an ultimatum then. They would have another child IF Silver Spoon wasn’t what they were expecting for the bloodline, and they would judge once she reached maturity (Ten years of age) no matter if she had developed into an adult or not. Afterwards they had left and, as far as Silverlight told her, her mother had given the rudest of gestures to her father.

However, pushing away how much her mother loathed her father, their words basically meant that the younger sibling would inherit the family title and her mother would be disowned.

As far as her mother had told her, this had only happened once in their family’s story as there was always one single foal, this also included in the family traditions that she, Silver Spoon, would HAVE to marry her mate when she grew up, even if she didn’t like him. Her mother had been very lucky in that aspect as Silver Spoon knew for a fact that her grandmother didn’t stand her grandparent, but both of them were stuck up as hay and that made them stick like glue… sometimes.

And so here she was! Forced to live a life she both enjoyed and detested, while someone as rich and as powerful (technically) as Apple Bloom went to school, did some chores for her sister and then had all the time in the world to go ‘cutie mark questing’ with her friends whenever they liked.

Even Diamond Tiara had been luckier than Silver Spoon in that regard, though she had gained it a few months after birth when she stole a little diamond from her mother because she liked the glistening gem. Diamond Tiara was good with them and she seemed to like to cut them in beautiful shapes, though she wasn’t just limited to diamonds and could cut all gems. One of her dreams was, in fact, to someday carve statues of the princesses from giant gems.

Diamond Tiara had a very special talent, even if she was naturally stuck up (enough to blind anypony but Silver Spoon to her good traits); yet Silver Spoon both loved and hated her for it.

‘This is not fair… not fair at all,’ she quietly sobbed, ‘I don’t want any of this! I want my friend back! I want my new friends! And I want to go out, and play and get dirty in the mud, and get scrapped when I fall! I want to be a normal filly!’

Yet Silver Spoon could not, she would not, both because she loved her lifestyle, because she loved her mother and also because she feared a life of mediocrity as a commoner, with her luxuries inaccessible to her and with such uneducated and uninteresting ponies to be the ones she would need to call ‘equals’.

A nightmare and a dream, two in one, yet… which side would be stronger over time?

Whatever it was that her future was hiding from her, Silver Spoon knew that she enjoyed being a bully because she thought that anyone that befriended Apple Bloom deserved the treatment. They could have befriended HER instead of the yellow work pony! A more beautiful, educated and obviously gifted pony that only lacked the character to be outspoken and charismatic like Diamond Tiara.

And yet here she was, basically alone except for the new girls in town… and technically befriending the mare she hated the most.

“This sucks,” she whispered quietly, her voice quivering as she cried silently so she would wake up no one else “I hate it.”

“Silver Spoon” Rain Berry, the one sleeping besides her, muttered as she awakened halfway. She was barely whispering and the other two fillies didn’t seem to notice “Is something the matter?”

“Yes, yes it is,” she whimpered, making sure her voice was not too loud. “You two are going to hate me now because I can’t STAND THAT PONY!” Even with her whispering voice it was obvious that she was angrier than ever as she pointed a hoof towards Apple Bloom.

“Why?” A simple question, but it had no easy answer.

“Because she is what I cannot be,” Silver Spoon let her tears run, “I have to be a proper lady or my grandparents will disown me, my mom and my dad. I have to ‘the pinnacle of pony society’ or some… some garbage like that.” The little filly wiped away her tears, “But I also don’t like normal ponies, I don’t like how they are comfortable with what they get, that they don’t seem to want to improve, that they are… not the best, none of them tries.”

There was a few seconds worth of silence as Rain digested that, “It sounds to me that you are angry, but not at her or at the other ponies”

Silver Spoon simply turned her head towards Rain with a questioning look on her face.

“I mean, look, we come from a circus and you like us,” she smiled gently. “Yea, I usually buried my head in every book I could get, and I can’t use magic, so I am pretty weird… probably why you like me.” Rain snickered, “But I think that it is not all, you liked me because, after I told you all that, you saw I had to do things, a lot of them, to be the best I could, to be something like you… and that, I think, is the problem.”

“How so,” Silver Spoon was glad that there was another filly with the mind of an adult (Or almost) like her, otherwise this conversation would’ve been quite awkward… well… more than it was already.

“Well, I could be wrong, I mean, I had a lot of people around me, but I knew them all my life, so I never had much experience with anyone ‘normal,’” she chuckled. “However that means I did only have one sided views of them, they were my family, but everyone in the circus had a problem or another. One of them, the ballerina, was the daughter of a noble from… oh, I don’t remember.” Rain placed a hoof on her chin. “She was called Diva Loba, never saw her cutie mark and we never talked much, the others said she had ran away from home because her mother wanted her to be something she didn’t like, more or less like you, but in your case your mom doesn’t seem to want you to be so ‘regal’ or something.”

“My mom is usually with the local brewer or with one of her two sisters,” Silver Spoon sighed. “She has a lot of friends, I had one until yesterday, and she is gone for a while…”

“But that is because you live in a way you don’t like,” Silver Spoon tensed up as she looked at Rain. “You say you don’t like Apple Bloom, but you really don’t like yourself.” Rain poked her tongue out playfully “It can be solved easily. Don’t act like you think you should, act like you want to! Here, try this, lets sleep a bit more and after breakfast we go out and play. You don’t get all uppity and we all get dirty and sweaty.” The little unicorn snickered at her friend’s expression, “I know it sounds kind of wrong but I assure you, you will have fun.”

The idea hit her and it was… appalling, to say the least, yet it also was delightful in so many ways. For a fact she knew that Applejack was a very mature mare for her young age (It couldn’t be more than 25), while her sister, of 7, and was mature in a certain way that only infuriated her. However they two shared what Silver Spoon could not: Freedom and friends. Now, however, one new friend was offering her a chance to do exactly that thing.

‘Even if for some damned miracle my grandparents see it,’ she took her glasses and got on her hooves. ‘I won’t care… I WON’T!’

“Today I will have fun,” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Ah heard ya! Now let me have ma sleep,” a pillow flew across the room to hit Silver Spoon square on the face.

“Why you… oh, rodeo pony you’re going to get it now!”

Apple Bloom had been awake for a while and was smirking even as Silver Spoon lunged towards her with both her and Apple Bloom’s own pillow in her hooves.

“Let’s go to war!”

*** Four hours later, in a certain pastry shop ***

“Thanks again Bon Bon, you always help me with these,” Pinkie Pie smiled at the mare in front of her who waved a hoof in embarrassment.

“I’m always glad to help you Pinkie,” she said with a small smile. “Besides, yesterday you seemed to feel kind of down so this is the least I could do.”

Sugarcube Corner was empty at this hour of the day in Saturday, not because no one wanted pastries, but because if there was any party planned (Not one of those surprise planning’s Pinkie had all the time) the final touches were being made this day in most occasions. Of course after yesterday, well, not many people would like to come. Don’t get me wrong here, everyone loved the Cakes and Pinkie, but to see her depressed as she had been yesterday…

It hurt a lot of people, and it hurt very badly.

So now Bon Bon, both a competitor and a friend to Pinkie, had decided that she would give Pinkie the best medicine: A huge bag of candies of her own making.

“Yeah… thank you and I’m sorry for being depressed yesterday,” Pinkie looked down for a moment, looking somewhat sad again before she perked up. “But I had a visit from Rarity in the night and she assured me all was ok, so I’m not sad anymore.”

Bon Bon looked worried once Pinkie had said that, “Rarity came over? What was the problem Pinkie? Why were you so sad? You didn’t say anything to me yesterday.”

“Oh… do you know of the new guy in town,” Bon Bon nodded, though she looked towards the door as if a bit scared. “Well, you can say we got in an… an argument, yeah! That’s it” She smiled nervously, “It was my fault though, much like when I’m making a party and it has too many pranks”

“Pinkie, that only happened once,” Bon Bon gave her a hurt look, “and I don’t mind anymore, you know it’s all ok now.”

“I didn’t mean it like that Bon Bon,” Pinkie poked her with her hoof. “I know things are ok between us, I mean that, like I got you angry at me for a day, I did with him.”

“Ah, I see,” Bon Bon nodded, “But all is ok now, no? I mean, he looked kind of scary the other day…”

“Its fine, I swear,” Pinkie chuckled. “In fact I got a party prepared for tomorrow already! Want to come by?”

“I better not” Bon Bon had a bit of a hurt look on her “You know how much Lyra talks about those supposedly fantastic creatures?” Pinkie nodded with a grin plastered on her face “Well… since that human came her she seems thrilled to get to know him, I am kind of envious, you know?”

“Oooooooh,” Pinkie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why would you be worried? Lyra has been with you since I meet you! I still think I saw it earlier than you two.” The pink mare winked at Bon Bon, making the poor mare blush.

“Heh, thanks Pinkie… but I still say I won’t come,” she seemed adamant on that and simply turned towards the door. “It is not that I fear she is going to go with him or anything, but we have been together almost nine years and we haven’t been with anyone else once in all that time,” Pinkie didn’t need to see Bon Bon’s face to know she was smiling. “I know we are an odd pair to remain faithful to each other like that, but… she is all I have in more than one sense. I think it would hurt a lot to see her with someone else.”

“I know what you mean Bonnie,” Pinkie gave a little smile even if her friend wasn’t going to see it. “Thanks again for the candy! I will bring you some muffins after the party, I promise.”

“Thank you Pinkie, see ya around,” Bon Bon waved a hoof and went out of the shop towards her home.

After she was gone, Pinkie sighed. She still felt down, but after she had a talk with Rarity and got to know how bad Jonathan was feeling, she felt she needed to do something. The poor pink mare knew that she needed to make a very special party for him to repay his kindness. He was, after all, trying to extract the bad she had inside.

Anyone less knowledgeable than her, less experienced in both the real and the surreal, wouldn’t know of the Nightmares or a lot other monsters in the world. Pinkie did, she liked to study them. In fact she liked to study EVERYTHING! Why? Because if she knew what could happen at any moment she knew when to throw the bestests parties of the whole world! When it was appropriate for her to do so, of course, you wouldn’t want to throw a party in a bad moment and get the people angry or sad instead of happy.

Still she usually didn’t know what happened inside of her head when she slept, in fact she was no dream walker, the only dream walkers in Equestria were all unicorns thanks to their magic, and even so they were very low in numbers (Yes, she had checked). However the other day she had been awfully aware of what had traversed her mind and, while she was happy that the outcome had shown her how caring and how friendly her new (and only) human friend was, it still sent shivers down her spine.

‘And it doesn’t help that there are sick stories in his world,’ her gaze hardened as she looked nowhere in particular.

There were a few very, very sick stories where they, she or her friends, were the protagonists. Some were fun, some were horrid and some did give her nightmares of the biggest caliber, but it seemed that they all had something that was true. Inside of each of them there was a little lump of darkness, one that nopony but them had.

If this wasn’t one of the few things she took seriously, she would laugh at how weird it was that different worlds or realities had so much in common. Of course if she didn’t take this seriously, then she would have to think seriously about Vamponies and other things that weren’t real and that she had seen only when she warped through space and time in the background (she was a very learned mare indeed). Though Zomponies on the other hoof… you had a real and very, very nasty thing right there.

The bell of the entrance rang and Pinkie was forced back to reality just in time to see the four girls coming inside the pastry shop.

“Why did ya hafta tell ma’ sister the truth,” Apple Bloom whined. “Ah would’ve liked her ta think her idol was still up an’ kickin.’”

“Well, she asked,” Rain answered timidly as she shrank behind her sister’s form. “I don’t like to lie; and Jonathan would have told her when she asked. Besides, all of them are going to hear it once Twilight tells them what happened and all.”

“Ah… well, yeah, Ah suppose your right,” The young work pony sighed a bit before cheering up again, she didn’t want to look sad in front of the pink pony. “Allo Pinkie!”

“Hey there girls,” Pinkie giggled. “How are you today? Something you want?”

“Sis sent us here ta get her candy apples,” Apple Bloom said with a little smile. “She’s feeling a bit down now after some bad news.” There was a quick glance towards Rain.

Pinkie could tell that she wasn’t angry at Rain, in fact she knew why and how of all of this was happening, so she did understand. Apple Bloom was quite a lot like her sister in that if someone did hurt her friends, even by accident, she would get quite testy for a while towards that pony.

She shook her head before responding, “Of course!” In a second there was a big basket full of candy apples for the little filly. “Miss Cake had them prepared before I woke up! Your sis does like a lot her candy apples every week and also…” She rummaged under the counter with a little grin before showing a little bag of cupcakes, muffins and other pastries, “I did these yesterday when I was feeling a bit down, I intended to eat them but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to it.” She snickered a bit and pushed it towards the girls, “If you want them you can have them.”

The four fillies cheered as Apple Bloom took the candy apples and passed the pastries and other delicacies to Final, whom didn’t even try to hold herself down as she rummaged for one cupcake with red frosting.

“Hey! Leave some for the rest of us,” Silver Spoon whined.

“Not like I’m going to eat everything,” Final muttered between bites as she eyed the bag greedily. “I mean, there is a lot!”

“You COULD.” Silver Spoon giggled at Rain’s retort to her sister, though Final wasn’t as happy to hear that little comment “What? You are a pegasus, you eat a lot and you burn it fast! Don’t act like you didn’t eat a whole cake yourself at that party.”

“You are so mean sometimes,” Final faked being hurt as she took a donut and began to chow down.

Pinkie couldn’t help but chuckle at the girls as they forgot about everything and demolished the poor pastries. ‘So nice to be so carefree,’ she giggled to herself. ‘I wonder how long until the girls notice I am more serious than I look,’ Pinkie simply poked her tongue out, laughing at her own serious acting before the bell that signaled another visitor took her attention.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner,” she said between giggles before she found out who it was and what face she had. “Dashie? Why the long face? You never come here looking so worried.”

Rainbow Dash seemed to have one of the angriest faces Pinkie had seen her with, and that meant a LOT coming from a fellow prankster like Pinkie. She had seen Dash angry to the point of bursting a few times, but here she seemed to have more or less no emotion at all, like the time she had been angry at her dad after a discussion she had with him. It felt like…

“Give me a few of those cupcakes Pinkie, I don’t want to talk.”

The girls looked up at Dash as she passed them without so much of a glance, normally Rainbow would ask Apple Bloom about Scootaloo if she wasn’t around, even about Sweetie Belle if Rainbow was really cheery and wanted to hear the latest problem the young unicorn had been in. However, today Rainbow didn’t even notice about the new girls she hadn’t seen before, even if she wasn’t as excited about new ponies in town like Pinkie she did like to know about everyone so everyone knew about HER.

“Well I only have three of the special ones Dashie, I didn’t thought you would want any before the party tomorrow,” Pinkie eyed her friend with a bit of a worried look before she took a little tray with three rainbow colored cupcakes she made for her. These cupcakes were made mixing a LOT of flavors in one single pastry, something strong, sweet and filling, like Dash liked them “I hope it is enough.”

“That’ll be fine, thanks,” Rainbow simply mumbled those words before she took one of the cupcakes and began munching on it with a bit of distaste in her face. It couldn’t be the flavor (Pinkie had eaten one before Bon Bon came and didn’t eat the rest thanks to the bag of candy in front of her right now), but it seemed that even her favorite sweet wasn’t cutting it for Rainbow today.

For the girls that hadn’t know her, or that didn’t know much of her (*couch* Silver Spoon *cough*), Dash looked positively like someone you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. Her face turned into an even deeper scowl as she finished the cupcake. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot and her wings flapped randomly, sending little shockwaves of air that threw the poor Rain on her side when she tried to get close. Whatever had happened, Rainbow was in a sour mood no one would want, much less if it involved being near her.

But Apple Bloom did know of Dash and this was all but normal.

“Miss Rainbow,” she got closer to the angry pegasus whom simply spared her a glance, “What has happened?”

“Not your problem kid. Beat it,” the adult pegasus simply used her wing to push the young filly aside.

“B-but what is the problem? I have never seen you like that, if Scoot was here she would…”

“DON’T TALK ABOUT THE RUNT!”

Rainbow had dropped the second cupcake she had picked up and turned to give Apple Bloom a death glare, almost baring her teeth at the filly like a predator.

The poor filly was scared, more than even Rain whom cowered behind her sister together with Silver Spoon. Apple Bloom wasn’t sure what to do. Whether to flee or to cry seemed to be the only options, but for once she was not all that sure of how to react to someone’s words and actions. Not even Pinkie was sure of what to do, as this was much, much different of what the poor party pony had thought would happen with her friend.

“Where were you yesterday? Oh yea… You took the medicine from Twilight, gave Scootaloo some minor relief, and then presented to her the new girls and told her of those stupid little plans to turn the prick there,” Dash pointed at Silver Spoon, “into a decent filly,” Rainbow Dash spat with distaste. “Good way to give her some happiness before she was screwed over!”

Apple Bloom was backing away from Dash by now, slowly and carefully, fearing what the rainbow manned pegasus would do, “W-what do ya mean?”

“YOU LEFT HER AFTER THE DOCTOR TOLD HER SHE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO FLY, EVER!”

The news hit everyone very much like if a tidal wave had suddenly washed away Ponyville, which in this case meant the same to Apple Bloom as she had been robbed of something very dear to her. Her friend’s happiness.

Whenever Scootaloo talked about Dash she always said that she was her fan because she thought, with great pride, that they were a lot alike. Dash never let anyone down, never quit and always tried for her best, even if it looked like it was a lost cause. The young pegasus filly always dreamed of how she would someday fly and was ashamed that at her age she wasn’t able to do much more than support her weight a few seconds in the air, though she marveled at how fun and how daring she could be by giving speed to her scooter when the gang went around in their cutie mark crusades.

Apple Bloom had never understood why Scootaloo looked at Dash with such longing, granted the pegasus was her sister’s best friend, had a great character and was willing to do anything for her friends (except when napping). Now, of course, she understood.

After Discord and Nightmare Night it had been obvious that Scoot had been gradually getting less playful from time to time and that she had even missed a few days in class. Her mother and her father had told Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom that Scootaloo sometimes got sick because.. How did they explain it?

“You see,” Apple Bloom remembered Scoot’s mother talking to her, “Most times the young foals take mostly after the mother, like your friend Sweetie Belle or you, so they have a better complexion to be a pegasus or a unicorn.” At the time she wasn’t aware, but as she remembered the scene she saw Scoot’s mom with a very sad expression. “I married a Earth Pony, and yes, I know it is weird to get together in marriage but… we both loved and still love each other too much to be healthy,” that made the scene perk up a bit, but only a bit. “However my family is linked to Earth Ponies a lot. You know, my sisters are Earth Ponies themselves, so Mush had the better genes and… Scootaloo only gained some of mine.”

So, what she could understand meant that Scoot was so strong with her body because she was more like an earth Pony than a pegasus?

“B-but…”

“NO BUTS! You left her alone when she needed you,” Dash walked towards Apple Bloom. Whatever the reason for her being so angry about this, it was obvious she wasn’t going to hear anyone out. “She is the only one that seems to take what I want seriously, to see me succeed and, even if it is a bit selfish, the only one that is proud to be my first fan! I could only encourage her, make sure she even did like her mother and joined the Wonderbolts someday…” The blue pegasus’ expression changed to one of sadness and pain, “I am her idol, not her friend… not… at least not her best friend,” when she said that, she eyed Apple Bloom with malice. “Her best friend left to enjoy time with new buddies!”

Rainbow Dash took a step forward then, scaring Apple Bloom enough to scramble towards the door of the pastry shop as the other fillies moved away. There was little she could do and Rainbow Dash was basically out of it, as it showed when Pinkie tried to talk to her and even pull at her tail; ending up in a crate of chocolate as Dash flicked her tail in such a way that the party pony was hurled away like a ragdoll. The only thing Pinkie could do afterwards was pop her head out of the crate and struggle to free herself from within the sweet mess as she stared at what was happening.

The scene only made Apple Bloom more terrified about her situation. She thought about turning and running until she could run no more, but if she had learned something about Rainbow Dash with all the time she and her sister seemed to quarrel over anything they both were good at, is that if she was determined to do something, she would do it.

Now, the question was: What did she want to do now?

“I am going to show you what happens to those that betray their friends…” The tone was not the one Dash had before; it had changed to a deeper, harsh tone. Not by much, but it was there. Her face also had turned into a mockery of glee as she approached Apple Bloom, her smile much like what a predator before sinking its teeth into its prey. Apple Bloom couldn’t take it anymore, she closed her eyes, turned and…

And then, in a flash, Dash turned her back on the filly and bucked.

*CLANG!*

The metallic sound was met with Apple Bloom’s muffled cry as she rubbed her muzzle as, just as she tried to bolt away, she had crashed against something hard. Once the filly opened her eyes she saw the towering form of J, clad in his armor, looking down at her with his eyes as the only thing she could see of him.

However he soon turned his gaze somewhere else, “Whatever has happened, I think what you were about to do was beyond uncalled for, Dash.” J was looking directly at the cyan pegasus.

“Dash! What were you doing!?” Pinkie’s yell caught the blue mare’s attention for a moment and, thankful to see the face of Dash returning to normal, Pinkie pushed the remains of the crate aside “What got into your head? Did you turn loco on me?”

“I-I don’t know,” Dash’s voice became normal again, her eyes faded back to their usual color, though they were still a bit red. Not evil red, buy the bloodshot redness that indicated she had been crying a lot. “I felt so angry after talking with Scootaloo… I felt so… so betrayed,” she sighed. “I thought I could help the girl get on the clouds, I mean, there are a lot of mixed pairs out there, I never thought it would happen to poor Scootaloo… she reminds me of myself at her age.” The cyan mare looked down, “I suppose I simply was blinded by rage after I heard about how she only wished that she was better so she could meet the new friends and rub it in Silver Spoon’s face.”

“HEY!”

Everyone chuckled a bit and Pinkie felt relaxed, though there was still a problem. She knew enough to be sure that, if there was no immediate threat, Jonathan would’ve had his clothes back by now. Then… why was he still in armor and so readily looking?

“Jonathan? Is… has Rainbow calmed down? Can I come in?”

Like glass breaking, that was what it sounded like when Dash’s eyes turned to the previous color and she looked at the human with hate fueled rage. Pinkie wasn’t sure what she should do, in fact, she had no time to do much of anything as Dash whirled around to face the human, scaring poor Apple Bloom from under his protection.

“YOU! This is your fault! After you came here all this SHIT happened to us,” it was not the first time Dash had sworn, but it threw her, and everypony else, back a step, “and you got Twilight to like you! You got everypony to like you! Well, you know what? YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!”

With all that said and done Dash reared for a second and then launched herself forward like a guided missile, even leaving some dust and a trail of rainbow like energy at her wake.

For Pinkie, J and everypony else, all of this was happening in slow motion, though everyone knew what was going to happen as Pinkie noticed that, even in his position, Jonathan was not going to move the shield fast enough. Truth be told, with the speed Rainbow could manage on a takeoff she could easily lift Jonathan and carry him away, which was going to happen with no doubt it seemed.

Pinkie wanted to do something, to get in the way or to scream so Twilight could prevent this, but she had to be realistic as she knew her ‘skills’ could only be used for fun or something that was linked to her element. This was not a moment for laughter, even though she knew it would not be a moment for crying either, only one to get serious for a moment. Yet there was one precious word that she didn’t have to say, but that everypony old enough was thinking would define this scenario quite well, one that J himself felt more than inclined to say.

“Well fuck.”

*** A few minutes earlier ***

“I can’t believe Spike threw me out of the library! And much less that YOU helped him to do it!”

J was chuckling as he looked away, making comments on how nice the day was going to be as he evaded the violet unicorn’s stern glare. Of course, why wouldn’t he be smirking? He had picked Twilight on his arms and had ‘guided’ the mare out to take a stroll towards Sugarcube Corner after Spike had told them that he could take it no more.

Twilight was not angry, only a bit edgy, so it had been perfectly clear for her to vent it as she had tried to educate J on everything she could. Her mind was basically overloaded as she tried to think of a sensible explanation of what she had saw, what she was feeling, and how to break it all on him. It was quite a problem because, and believe me here, it would be hard to simply tell this simple thing to the guy you were turning to be more than fond of; “I know you are going to leave me.”

Yea, that would be FRIGGING perfect after she had managed, somehow, to gain someone that liked her because of how she was, not what she was. She had found some of the males she had been hooked up with wanted only to meet Celestia, or to see if the privileges that Twilight had could be ‘shared’, but they didn’t stick much longer after they found out that it was not what they thought. Others had found it nice to have a rut in the hay with a pretty egghead, but definitely her character wasn’t what they had wanted of her…

Now though, now she had found someone that liked her because she was smart, he also thought she was funny on her own way and, well… she WAS a bit clingy, but not in a weird way, and J had confessed that the other girls he had been with had wanted little of him but the little money he often had or simply sex, so they were more or less alike. Of course she would hardly fool herself there, because to think that it was all would’ve been wrong.

He had admitted that he liked her, but that he also liked the other girls as all of their personalities appealed to him. It was not bad, but she had hopped Jonathan would take a special liking to her, which he did, but she still wanted something more.

‘You have to think about something else,’ she thought with a groan, ‘like, why do you worry too much? You already said it was possible to be wrong! Come on, enjoy this a bit will you?’

With a little and silent chuckle she shook her head as she looked back up to see J staring at Sugarcube Corner. Curious as to why J would turn his face into that image of seriousness he had until yesterday night, Twilight took a look and saw her.

Like if she was drunk, Rainbow Dash walked towards the pastry shop, not even caring to evade any incoming ponies. She simply shrugged through them like they were little to nothing. A few glittering points were falling from her cheeks here and there, Twilight knew they were tears, but not why she was crying.

“That’s weird,” Twilight muttered; concern lacing her voice but still unsure of what she should do, “should we check it out?”

“Well, we were going there anyway,” J replied as he picked up the pace, “but something smells rotten.”

Twilight just nodded and sped up her trot to a canter now that they had seen Dash. She had never seen Rainbow cry except when she had ‘betrayed’ them that time with Discord, or when she broke one of her wings after trying to get her Sonic Rainboom on one of her latest practices. Now though, it looked like the former option could be more valid for this.

There were multitudes of conjectures she could make of course, three months knowing her best friends let her glimpse their thoughts, so she could easily summon a dozen reasons as to why her friend would be crying. None of them involved Jonathan suddenly covering his whole body in the armor that the magic was supposed to provide when there was some danger close by and ready to pounce at somepony.

“Jonathan?”

They had reached Sugarcube Corner much faster than she thought, probably because her mind was spending her time on something else, namely wondering what the HAY was going to happen if J was in his armor.

“What is the matter?” Twilight was getting nervous when they reached the door. “You know what? Never mind, I am going to check on this myself,” she muttered, but was stopped before she could take a single step forward.

“No, you don’t.”

Twilight was halted by J’s shield. She looked upwards to see his worried gaze. it feel good to see that he was worrying about her, but the feeling was washed away when she heard a crash and Rainbow Dash’s menacing tone.

“Wait here until it is safe,” It was a request, not an order, so Twilight nodded and leaned against the side of Sugarcube Corner as Jonathan went in.

It couldn’t have taken more than a few seconds, but for Twilight the time had twisted to a painful crawl, so when she heard that something biological had collided with something metallic (her mind was basically thinking in technobabble by this point) it sent a warning message across her mind so hard that it literally was a miracle that she remained put.

‘What is going on?’ She shuddered at the thoughts that formed in her head; she didn’t even let a minute pass by before she asked, “Jonathan? Is… has Rainbow calmed down? Can I come in?”

Unbeknown to her, she had messed up. A moment afterwards she heard a yell, what sounded like discussion and…

“JONATHAN!”

It had been pure instinct. She had jumped in shock as she saw Jonathan being dragged into the air by none other than Rainbow Dash.

“Twilight! Twilight!” The violet mare saw Pinkie running outside, “something is wrong with Dashie! She is angry and- and sad and-”

“PINKIE,” Twilight all but screamed, “you tell me on the way ok?! Dash got Jonathan so we are going to help.” It was then when the fillies poked her heads out of Sugarcube Corners, Apple Bloom scared out of her wits, “girls, go call our friends now, tell them to follow the rainbow, ok?”

There was a small nod from most of them. All except Silver Spoon; who looked like she had joined the group in the worst and strangest of moments.

*** Back in the present with J ***

‘Ok, let’s recap today,’ Jonathan thought as they passed over a field at full speed, ‘I made my dreamscape, still don’t know how I did that after so many days of restless sleep. I had a good time with Twilight not to mention a nice breakfast. It’s not even midday yet and I am in trouble so… what is the keyword again?’

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!”

‘Aaaah, yes, that’s it. You got this.’

He didn’t know what the hell was wrong with Rainbow Dash. Ok, that was a flat out lie. Rainbow Dash was almost as crazy as Pinkie Pie, but in a more subtle and harsher way. The girl was a flamboyant tomboy; she loved to make sure that everyone knew she was the best. While she could be a lazy ass and act like a grumpy old man (or woman), Dash was always loyal, friendly and also quite gruff with her words. She usually meant well, in her own way.

So yeah, that she had almost beaten Apple Bloom and was now carrying him (around 150 kg of weight plus all the armor? He wasn’t that big of a nerd, so he wasn’t sure) at such a speed that should probably break a normal human’s spine was out of any kind of contest he could summon to his mind. What was happening here? All he knew about this pony was an angry girl sometimes, but not THIS violent towards someone that hadn’t done anything wrong.

‘Hey Vinnie, you’re not asking the proper guy.’

‘W… ok, my mind is fucking broken,’ he groaned as he grasped the situation fully.

He had his sword, he had his shield, he was geared up and Rainbow had both hooves shoved right through the armor in his chest. repeat: SHIT.

‘That’s right, buddy boy, its m- listen to me, Dammit!’

For some reason, though, the metal wasn’t puncturing him, so he was not wounded and he was almost sure the clothes (Well, armor now) would repair themselves by magic once Dash took her hooves out. Speaking of which, the rainbow maned mare had her eyes practically red with black dots where the iris and pupil should be. It was weird as fuck to J, but more questions than answers were expected at this point.

‘If only you had decided to LISTEN TO ME!’

However questions were a second rate problem right now, his imminent crash, on the other hand, was a first grade FUCK.

Dash had decided that the outskirts of town, near the road that went towards Apple Acres, was a good enough place to land, and by that I mean going straight downwards at such speed that the only reason she wouldn’t create a sonic rainboom was because she was too close to the ground.

‘This is going to hurt like hell.’

‘LET ME TAKE OVER YOU, YOU MORON!’

The impact had the same as thunder, probably felt the same as getting hitting by lightning too, but J could hardly tell as the world went black.

*** Inside Jonathan’s Mind ***
[UPDATING…]
[GENERATING TERRAIN…]

The dreamscape was perfectly still, there was peace in here, at least as much as there can be in a pained mind. It had changed little since J had created it, but that was how the dreamscape. It all stayed still, forever.

However there were things that could destroy it. A great mental shock, changing something major in the overworld (reality) and, obviously, death would dissolve it.

The first reason was simple. A dreamscape is a place where a dreamer, usually one that is quite aware of his condition, can create anything. A shock hard enough to the mind can destroy it, the same for the second reason as major changes usually create stress, make one feel insecure and, in the less than probable chance that it doesn’t happen, the mind becomes wrapped in a lot more things that are usually more important than comfort in an artificial world.

For obvious reasons, the third is not going to be made part of this talk.

Now, why is this all important? Well, because normally the dreamer would appear standing in a safe place in the dreamscape; NOT FALLING FROM THE SKY INTO THE FRIGGING LAKE!

[SPAWNING…]

*SPLOOSH!*

“*GASP!* FUCK! That was harsh.”

It had been a second of immersion thanks to the force of his will helping him get back on the surface, though being greeted by a smirking Nightmare Moon floating inches away from you would not be what most would call ‘gratifying’.

“You know, you should watch your mouth a bit more,” she chuckled, “as well as yourself. As long as I share my essence with you I die if you cease to exist.” To be on the receiving end of a hard stare from what could be called the demon queen of the moon was not as menacing as J had thought, mostly because she would hardly do anything to him as far as he knew, “Also I would like to address a problem I did not foresee within your mind.”

“A problem? What problem? If you are worried because I am crazy it is quite late for that,” despite his situation J couldn’t help but chuckle. Better to laugh than to cry.

“Oh, I’ll make you cry, be sure of it.”

On the shore, near the forest that surrounded the dreamscape, a dark figure melted out of the darkness began to approach. It seemed to have no legs, but it was roughly the same height as J, maybe a bit taller, not as broad shouldered and with lanky arms that ended in four digits. Its face was devoid of any form or detail except for two beady red eyes.

And it was fast enough to reach him in seconds, pulling him out of the water and throwing him towards solid ground. Luckily, in the dreamscape one could not feel pain because, otherwise, he was sure a bone or two would’ve been broken. He realized with a growing sense of unease that his armor didn’t seem to follow him into here.

“You were so happy to let me take over when that damned warthog almost got your sister,” the voice echoed from everywhere as if it spoken from a massive crowd of people surrounding him, but once J opened his eyes he saw only the shadowy figure right over him. “We have lived through many insane fights, and until we got here you enjoyed letting me have control so you didn’t feel that bad after it was over. Why have you stopped? WHY AM I TRAPPED HERE AND WHY DON’T YOU HEAR ME ANYMORE!?”

While the voice, once it was so direct and so emotional, sounded familiar, J was not sure about this thing. It was a humanoid? Yea, weird as hell, but humanoid… so it probably wasn’t from Equestria. Right there and then he stopped his line of thoughts though, he only had one question.

“What the fuck are you?”

The thing laughed, sounding much like nails on a chalkboard. “What am I?! For fuck’s sake,” it chuckled, rubbing what you could suppose was its chin with one hand, “you have been fucking insane most your life and you don’t recognize the voice in your head? You disappoint me, kiddo.”

“Hey, I may joke that I’m a little insane, but that’s it, not even when I think I AM insane am I serious,” J got on his feet with a groan, turning to look at the shadow in front of it and how its legs seemed to be replaced with a ghostly tail. “Besides, just what do you mean about the voice in my head?”

“Are you fucking kidding me, kiddo?” another unearthly laugh filled the dreamscape as Nightmare Moon took a seat beside J before the figure pointed at the human, “You are fucking crazy, your mind is broken in so many pieces that I’m impressed that you have enough willpower, unlike others before you, to keep me from taking control of this body altogether.” The darkness where its mouth should be ‘opened’ to reveal an empty red void “Which is to say, that you are damn lucky to still have any control at all.”

“Just… what the fuck are you?”

The J’s question made the creature chuckle as dark music began to play in the dreamscape: Autumn days.

“I, I am you,” it responded. “I am humanity in its purest form, what it has made of itself in history. I am the darkness that fills every pore of the damned creatures that populate your species, a demon, if you will. I am, in one world, survival… which for your kin means little more than evil nowadays,” it chuckled. “I have no gender, I have no form, I am what you make of me, but in many ways I am much more than you, while being much less.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, mostly because I can’t make sense of your spiel,” J groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

The creature groaned in disappointment “Fine, then let’s go with this, shall we? Let me explain,” the thing smiled again, something unnerving and horrible. “I am you, a part of you that most people lock away. I am your survival instinct, your hate, your desire and your lust. I am what forces you to be better, what makes you desire to defend yourself and those you hold dear, the thing that wants you to fuck like an animal, the one that wants you feeling both the worst and the best,” It chuckled lightly. “I almost got out, once. The Russians were conducting an experiment to see what would happen if they deprived people from sleeping. The subject’s personalities disintegrated and I took over. The Russians panicked and killed the subject’s bodies before I was able to do anything.” The creature sighed before continuing, “You can call me Lathro, and remember one thing; you won’t get rid of me. I, my essence, will pass down from mother or father to son and daughter. The children of your children, all of them, will have me as their curse and their angel, much like you and. Every. Single. Other. Human. Alive,” the creature poked him J the chest with each word.

“That’s crazy,” J spluttered after a moment of shock, “something is very wrong here…”

“No, it is not,” both turned to look at Nightmare Moon. “When humans still lived in this world they knew of their inner demons, they adopted forms in their dreams to try and lure them to do ‘bad’ things,” she didn’t need fingers to quote that word, J knew what she meant by ‘bad.’ “However until the end no human in here was successfully tempted, I imagine with the calming magic that Equestria exudes had a positive effect on them. You, on the other hoof,” she pointed at J, “have been shocked with it, so your animalistic needs and darker side are just as empowered as you are,”

“You heard that Jonathan, agreement straight from the pony demon’s mouth. It seems you won’t be able to write me off as a hallucination or a bad dream anymore,” the figure chuckled. “So now… let’s get to fighting.”

“Fighting? You mean… fighting Dash?”

The dark figure nodded.

“Hell no, fuck you,” J yelled.

With a disappointed sigh Lathro snapped his fingers.

*** Real World: Equestria ***

J let out a pained yell as he was thrown back in his body, not even a millisecond after the collision with the ground, but now he felt EVERYTHING. The pain, the pressure and the force as Rainbow moved away from him in slow motion, letting him bounce from the sheer force he had been hit against the ground with.

The laces of pain were unbearable, but much worse was seeing how the sky was spinning as your body bounced from the ground, turned nearly 270º and faced a hoof that was speeding incredibly towards your face until it made contact.

Helmet or not, that HURT.

*** Back inside J’s mind ***

Again Jonathan appeared from somewhere else aside from his usual standing position. To be specific: his form appeared in the woods, suffering the force of the kick that had hit him in the real world, crashing through the forest until he found himself lying where he had been before leaving his mind.

“As long as Nightmare Moon has magic I can stop time and make you see reason, Jonathan,” the voice of Lathro was composed and calm this time, “We have around five minutes left of it though, so I do ask that you let me return fight her or we are basically screwed.”

J, however, did not get up, did not look at him and, almost, did not answer. “But… I don’t want to hurt them,” his voice was hoarse and he felt on the brink of tears because he was simply powerless, “and much less let YOU hurt her. If you are my worst side, then you are as responsible as I would be for…”

“Yes, I am, and I don’t care,” Lathro groaned, becoming bored with this. “Either you fight and we have the rest of the time in peace here or you let Rainbow Dash kill you if your friends aren’t fast enough.” With a chuckle he added, “Besides, I thought you would like to purge the piece of Nightmare she has in her.”

J only gave the shadow an empty stare as he wondered what he meant by that.

“*Sigh* Look at this,” Lathro tore at the dreamscape, forming what seemed to be a mirror to the real world. “Exactly… here.”

The creature pointed at Dash’s forehead where a mass of something began to move slightly as it was touched from within the mind of the human. J couldn’t really tell what it was though; it only looked a shade darker than Dash’s fur, so it was quite hard to see. However a closer examination did reveal a small piece of… something that was covering Rainbow Dash’s eyes and part of her mouth.

“I don’t know why and I don’t fucking care how, but a bit of a nightmare seems to have embedded itself into Dash. If you want to be on good terms with the other ponies, which includes sex, more adventures and the like, something I WANT happening, then you have to save her sorry hide,” Lathro grinned maliciously. “However you don’t have to get me wrong here, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get me wrong in fact. I want you to save her because your life is basically tied to the Mane six. You help them, they help you, everyone is happy and I get what I want.”

“You’re an asshole,” J growled between gritted teeth, “and I had you in me the whole time? I understand why I was how I was now…”

“No, you don’t,” the shadowy creature grunted as he grabbed J’s arm to pull him closer, “I am part of you, do you understand what it means? That it is you, only YOU, who ultimately decides what to do. I will try to make us survive, my best interest is only to SURVIVE, with any kind of extras such as a nice girl on your bed or the excitement of a fight simply being secondary, but appreciated.” With a grin Lathro again opened the fabric of the dreamscape, “So this is basically a survival test where we work together and you come to terms with the fact of WHO you are. You fight, you subdue her, you place the tip of your sword on her forehead and the magic burns the nightmare that is spreading on her. Afterwards we are rewarded by being friendly with everyone and, maybe, some good pony flank,” the smirk on the creature intensified. “So there you GO!”

With a loud yell J felt Lathro launch him towards the opening in the dreamscape, effectively returning him to the real world once more as the shadowy creature chuckled.

“Idiotic creature,” It snickered. “Far too good for its own damn good. Wonder how long I will be able to remain here if he keeps trying to change…”

“Hopefully not too long,” Nightmare Moon stomped with indignation. “I thought I would never see such a dark thin within a human’s mind. In fact I thought it would be impossible, yet here you are”

“Do not try to be righteous with me, sister. Now that you are here I can look back at all the dark desires and hopes you had in your little head both BEFORE and AFTER,” Lathro grinned as he approached Nightmare Moon, gently touching at her from all sides as his darkness spread to envelope her. “But relax… I approve of what you are planning; in fact it is the same thing I want, what I NEED. Who would’ve thought that a pony would be the one thing to help me out with that little goal of mine.”

“You are a sick, sick being,” the black mare growled.

“Hmph,” The shadow receded from her, “If survival means being sick, then both of us are beyond saving.” It spared a glance towards the mare before disappearing, “Remember this, princess. You are goddess no more as far as we share this body.” After nearly dissipating only a reverberating chuckle could be heard, “and remember something my dear, something you should have already thought once you came here and found me out.”

Its eyes were the only thing visible as Lathro drew closer to the once goddess of the moon.

“We are in this together, or he will know of your little plan.”

*** Back in reality, again ***

The pain resurged through his mind as J found his body crashing down against the soft ground, trashing around as he made contact with the earth after the savage kick Rainbow Dash had given him. J couldn’t stop the rolling over the ground, much less the bouncing, he could only grip at his weapon and shield as strongly as possible because, even if he didn’t want to believe it, he thought that anything he left behind would be used by the cyan mare to end him quicker.

Once the force subsided and he came to rest on the ground, his body pained but not broken, J did his best to get up fast and on the ready. It was only thanks to that, and only that, that the shield came to protect his face as Dash came at full speed to give him another kick.

*CLANG!*

“OW! OW! OW! FRIGGING HAY!”

Dash had connected with way too much force. She hadn’t broken anything but her hoof felt on fire after the shield had absorbed such a strong force. Her nerves basically told her to stop all motion and sit down, her mind only backing up those natural thoughts as she feared of being harmed, in fact it showed on her face so much that J thought he was seeing someone that was more of a bully, scared of getting what she thought she deserved, but wanting to continue as she had done if she got away with it. It was a look he had seen since he was young, so he could easily read it.

However, he shook his head and tried to push at Dash’s back, between her wings, with the shield, “Dash, stay put.”

“GET AWAY FROM ME,” she bucked with all her might, catching J between his legs in a very private area.

“FFFF-ACK!”

Right there and then J had to remember something: This was no fancy story. He had seen much and had done a lot, but in reality this little fight wouldn’t end with him, only warm him up. Even in pain, as he looked at Rainbow, who was still on the ground and seemingly unable to fly by the pain she herself was feeling, he saw that the mare was fighting whatever was in her and she would not end him, though her body would probably do whatever was in her hooves to give him a lot more bruises.

The gist of that was that Rainbow Dash didn’t want to hurt him; however what was forcing her to do this was maybe way too strong for the pony at this moment. She needed help, no matter how much she hurt him, and she was basically pleading him for help even if her face showed rage and fear in unison. The only thing he could do was to pin her down and force what was inside of her to leave.

“I am going to send you back from where you came,” Dash muttered with a loud growl, “and then everything will be as it should,”

“Don’t be stupid,” J tried to get on his feet again, he had the determination but his privates were in pain even with the armor having blocked the devastating kick. “If you do that you will only harm your friends.” He turned his gaze upwards to look at the azure mare in the eyes “Do you want to see Twilight sad again? Do you want to be hated by one or more of your friends?” Dash recoiled a bit. “Do you want to hate yourself for what you want to do?”

“N-no… I-I don’t…”

Whatever had tried to grab a hold of Dash was either weakened somehow or it couldn’t fight the pure loyalty of the mare to such an extent. Her fear to betray her friends, to harm them, to scare them for real or to see them crying was too much for poor Dash. She could be mean, she could yell a lot, but she could not force pain upon them and she would never do something that ensured someone else was going to be miserable because of her.

And so her eyes became hers again, her face returned to normal and the dark shade in her face ‘jumped’ away, landing on the green grass, hissing at the sun.

“I… I… W-what happened,” she groaned, suddenly falling flat on her belly, “I was… talking with Scootaloo… I remember crying and then…”

A stabbing sound, a loud cry of pain and Dash remembered what she had done.

“OH CELESTIA,” she looked towards J whom was stabbing his sword angrily into what had been inside Dash. The thing had been screamed, but was now dissolving into nothing. “What is that,” she asked.

“A Nightmare, or part of one,” he grunted as the armor dissipated, revealing his body anew… though he had a few bruises all over, “And now it is gone.”

The blue pegasus blushed as she looked at him, “It may be gone, but your face is going to get me ashamed for a while.”

J simply chuckled as he touched the bruises on his face, wincing in pain as he did such a stupid thing. “Well, could be worse,” he sighed with a smile, “at least the crotch had stronger plating. Don’t know whose magic I have to thank, but hell, it did a good job.”

“Yea… about that? Don’t mention it to anyone,” Dash blushed heavily. “I am never going to live this down, it is very hard to say ‘I am sorry’ for my type, you know?”

“Why Dash, it took you a long time to remember such a fact?”

Both looked towards the new voice. One of them was impressed and had to wonder about a little possibility right away, because it was outright needed. The other was slack jawed and could barely mutter a single word, not sure of what to say.

Whatever it was, though, would soon be meet by the rest of the Mane six as they finally approached the scene.

*** Fluttershy’s cottage ***

It had been little more than five minutes ago, maybe six, maybe seven, but it had been a very short time… one that appeared, for the mare and the filly within the cottage, to be an eternity.

Rain Berry was shuddering a bit, but she did well hiding it on her small form. She had told Fluttershy about what had happened and the yellow pegasus had left in a hurry, saying a lot of ‘sorry this and sorry that’ to the cause of the poor filly’s anxiety.

Trixie, of course, wasn’t much better.

For a long time now she had been trying to get out of the big picture and fade into the darkness. She had been doing her best to stay away of everything, even her parents, until that fateful day… if it wasn’t for someone else, though, she would probably done much, much worse than simply fading on the background. Trixie simply shuddered at the though, because if she had done that then she would be even in a much worse position as she would’ve left her little girls alone.

‘Not that Final wants Trixie as a mom though…’ She thought, dejected.

“Mom,” Trixie snapped back to attention, looking at her little girl as she approached the sofa where she rested since yesterday, “when are you going to come back? I miss you…”

“Sorry dear I… Trixie’s mind is taxed,” Trixie whined as she looked away. “Too much in Trixie’s mind to think clearly, many, too many messes made.”

“You are giving me excuses mom, you know I am way smarter than that,” The little filly looked at her mother, hurt. Trixie knew she would feel worse if she looked back at her. “Mommy, I just… I just want to know why you went away, why you didn’t want to tell us… why you still won’t tell me.”

“Because it would show I was selfish, very, very selfish,” Trixie admitted, lying back on the sofa, “I initially ran away to find your father, but it changed after a while.”

“How so?”

Rain was looking at her intently as she approached, jumping gently on the couch to nuzzle against her mother’s front legs, smiling gently. They both knew it had been a very bad week, that there had been horrid things happening, that they had lost a lot and also that still some problems were surging now (Luckily not towards them), but Rain was happy to be with her mother, to know that there was at least some family that she had not lost.

“You see… your dad was a noble you know? One of those rare ponies that have some of Celestia’s blood in them, but he only shared the part of the unicorn and, for a time, wanted to be away from his family. I never knew how he found Trixie interesting at all,” Trixie blushed at the memory. “However his parents were spying on him and Trixie, so when they found out I was pregnant… they did all they could to take your dad away.”

“But… why? If dad didn’t want to be a noble, why did their parents want him to be one?” Rain could not help but think back at the talk she had with Silver Spoon in the morning.

“Because they wanted him to, because they thought I was an affair, because Trixie’s person was not a noble herself. They are the kind of nobles more common my dear and I don’t like them,” Trixie sighed tiredly as she nuzzled at her little girl, enjoying her smile. “It… was the hardest thing to do, leaving you and your sister behind, but I wanted to find him. Trixie’s conscience wouldn’t let her do anything else for I wouldn’t live with a peaceful mind if I didn’t do all I could to make us a whole family.” She seemed to be courageous and decisive on her words, but once she finished that sentence she slunk down under her mattress so only her head was visible, “But once I did… I… Trixie was not for him anymore.” She sighed, “His parents had gotten him into a wedding they had planned since his birth, if he left with me he would have nothing and, knowing his parents, they would come for Trixie and her kids.”

“But then you found him soon, right?” Trixie nodded, though she was a bit surprised that her little girl would care little about her father. “Well, he could have decided to come, grandpa and grandma would’ve protected us all, but if he didn’t want to, well, I don’t much care,” she smiled as she gave her mother a hug, “I’ve got you and that is good enough for me.” Trixie couldn’t help but smile as she hugged her little girl back “But mom… why did you take so long then?”

Trixie opened her eyes wide and looked away, letting Rain go from her embrace as she looked past time and space now, basically remember to the day when she made the worst mistake of her life.

“I… had issues,” She admitted with a tired nuzzle to her little girl. “I thought I could change his mind for a time, it didn’t work obviously and only got him angry after a few months. I felt bad, alone… Trixie’s mind didn’t take it too well and it didn’t help Trixie at all, so I grew angry, lonely, and desperate for praise and for a way of living to show I could be great, that Trixie’s family would be what anypony could desire!” Trixie had gotten on her lower hooves, standing up on the sofa and opening her front legs like if they were arms so as if to embrace the whole picture in her mind, “Trixie supposes she lost it then, Trixie’s mind was too tasked, too… broken. Trixie’s brain told her she could do anything she wanted because Trixie’s magic was the best there is! Of course, Trixie’s heart already told her that it was too late for such a thing and that she should go back to her family. I was stupid and tried to mix both, running across Equestria, making a name of myself and, basically, making everypony hate me because of how boastful I ended up being.”

Trixie sat down, resting tiredly against the back of the sofa, “Trixie ended up thinking of nothing else but Trixie’s reputation, she wanted to be the best magician ever since Trixie was a little filly! But Trixie knew her specialty in magic served only for show, she was not going to be any kind of unicorn mage anytime soon.” She couldn’t help but chuckle sadly at that, “Trixie spent years doing what she thought was right, only to see that she had transformed herself into a,” she gave her little girl a shy smile, “into somepony I disliked. Trixie doesn’t know how to admit to Twilight that she helped Trixie out of that… though the end was almost all too true for Trixie back then, three months ago.”

“What do you mean by that mommy? I… I don’t think I understood that.” Trixie could see how her little girl was eyeing her with a bit of fear.

“After the Ursa Minor incident Trixie tried to go around and perform a few more times, but everyone laughed at Trixie and she was never taken seriously anymore,” She looked outside towards the forest once more, “It is funny, Trixie was saved in the forest before she did something very stupid, then Trixie found her family again after so long and… well, she supposes Trixie deserved what happened later.” Trixie hugged her little girl closer to her and spoke in the first person again, “I didn’t intend such sadness to befall you, my dear. I am so sorry.”

“Mommy…” Rain snuggled back, hugging her mother with all the love she could.

“But… But promise I will make it better now, I only wish I could thank the one that helped me back then,” Trixie gave her little girl a kiss on the forehead, “But I don’t know where she should be right now”

Rain perked up almost immediately, “Who helped you?”

“Oh, it was very weird if I have to tell you the truth my dear, I mean, I never thought one of her kin would help one of mine out.” Trixie seemed a bit nervous as she said that. “But… well, if someday she comes here I would like you to call her auntie, ok?” Rain nodded with a smile. “Ok, then dear, I hope someday you met your gryphon auntie…”

*** Back again with J and the Mane six ***

“GILDA!?”

Everypony looked at the gryphon, carrying heavy bronze plate armor on her chest, sides, between her wings and also covering her neck with flexible plates. The talons were reinforced with mail that ran all the length until they meet with the main armor and Gilda’s face was almost covered entirely by a helmet.

“Yeah Dash, my name hasn’t changed.”

The gryphon gave her old friend a wink and took a large poleax from the ground where she had left it. With the front head, the one similar to an ax, being made of silver like metal that resembled a beak and the second part, the one of the lance, resembling a talon forged in black metal, Gilda simply looked what one would call…

“Badass,” Rainbow chuckled as her friends stood to attention behind her and J, still waiting for an explanation and now wondering why this gryphon was back, “But… how?”

“That for letter, Dash, now I have business here,” she pointed towards the human, “With him, to be specific”

With no more words, Gilda jumped to the air, the poleax heading straight at J’s head. He could simply sigh, exasperated, as he thought.

‘Why me?’

*** Chapter 9 End ***

This was a very, very simple chapter that I wanted so the plot would advance. It has nothing overly complicated or overly fancy, not even a hard to do battle and such, besides it will get complex again in the next (and number 11) again. I hope everypony had a good time reading it :3 I wanted to make easy chapters for a while and this was basically the first of the batch.

See you next time ^^ also: I am turning this to be like Vampire the Masquerade, or at least its damn politics. How? I drop a lot of hints and I try to make no sense ^^ I love mind games :3

Note: The ‘Russian’ part of the background for Lathro in this story is made by the guy in the cardboard *snickers*. If you like it give him some credit ^^ If not, well, you can think of it as a flat out lie since Lathro will do that pretty much a lot. He is a jack of all trades, which includes he is basically there to fool everyone.

From the cardboard box of nobodyreallyimportant

Aggghhhh… the editing for this chapter is finally done! I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 5: The Duties of a Protector . Dark Blood.

Chapter 5: The Duties of a Protector – Dark Blood.

NFA: Hello everyone. I want to thank those that reviewed to this point :3 I really NEVER EVER thought I would have any review as I am quite accustomed to getting none in the past, or maybe some flames… you know, that is depressing for a writer. Anyway, I am here to say thanks, give some notes, comments and continue on working as well as to ask a question, not to complain. This is a big NFA so it may take a while, but read it please.

First things first: With thanks out of the way let me tell you:

[These are for Reviewers in Fanfiction.net. I will also do for those here or in DA... though the latter is pretty much guaranteed to not get any comments :p]

A Ugly Faic: He is going to survive obviously… at least for now that is. The state, however, is what should worry you :3 And I do not mean physically.

Nobodyreallyimportant: Well, she has been a ruler for one thousand years and counting, she should be good at giving nudges without being noticed, or making it so blatant that you don’t think it is her. I do not want to portray her as bad or a tyrant, but the impression is there until all is told.

Solrac III: Of course there is information that is being held back :3 I have been writing for 13 years now, I know good ways to make something interesting and Celestia, or anypony else, is not going to tell everything right away (Much less Celestia, duh x3). As for multiple pairings? Well, I am not a romantic writer if I must say, I have made a LOT of adult stories but have never touched love much and this is my first try, though I do want to explore the romantic side that this may have since, so it may be like that :3

Now in the side of notes: While this story is mostly about Adventure and Fantasy in the world of Equestria, there may be some adult teemed moments, namely:
The swearing I love to put in my stories. I grew up with it and I see swearing as a pretty inoffensive way of venting. The one doing it will be Jonathan, so there is not much to it.
Sex, if I finally put it in here, is a much bigger issue for most. I grew up with a pretty open mother and father that, to this day, have no problems talking with me about everything. Sex, as I understand it, is a good way of bonding and sharing physical contact between friends that desire it when they both want to. I think that people misunderstands quite a lot the term of open relationships but I do like the concept of them, so I don’t see it as a bad thing here though if I do it I will mark those sections like HELL so if any of you don’t want to read you can avert them.

This is not the sharp frigging point of the iceberg though, not my friends; the little thing that is going to make it bleed is the horror, gore and etc… sections. I do not plan in making many of this, with luck there will be few and then it will be done, however think that I openly said that Jonathan’s duty includes trying to help the girls in their heads to help them with their darkest side. Now mix that idea with Pinkie and Fluttershy plus what you saw in the series and the fact that I make serious stories (For the most part) and have experience with horror, monsters and such. Those two are the ones I have the most defines of how their dark side would be, with Twilight and Rarity going not far behind.

Those sections will not be pretty and you all will have to sit through them, so I want you to understand that when you see a *** [Some kind of WARNING message] *** under the title it is something more serious than you may think. On the other side we have the sadness that will also be a part of the story, while I don’t like to give spoilers away I need to tell you that it is going to begin HERE, so you have been warned.

I am sorry if some of you do not like this and want to stop reading by now, but it is how I had intended this to go from the start. While I am a writer that does plan little so it is more interesting to write, I do make the guidelines and go along with them until the end, so this is something that is going to happen and there is no point in discussing it because I won’t change my mind in this dark stuff.

Got it? Then onwards to the story! I was going to ask about submitting this to Equestria Daily but seeing that there is a no porn/gore rule I am pretty frakked. Yea, porn is not for sure but gore it is going to happen sooner or later, even if only a bit (I hope) and because it is necessity… Yet they frigging uploaded Cupcakes theme, all of fucking it. When you wrap your mind around it you give me a good reason. (Full on rant given if you poke me about it, but it is fucking huge)

*** ***

It had been right the instant when they began to walk down the stairs when Twilight had felt the pang of magic all around her. The seemingly infinite stairs were lighted from nowhere with enough light around them to see perfectly well in what should have been pitch black darkness, and she knew the only pony with dark vision was Princess Luna, so this was forcefully a magic incantation from old times. However she had much in her mind as they walked down, one thing was to explain Fluttershy what her newest friend was.

“So… umm… what are you? If… if you don’t mind me asking that is” Fluttershy walked besides Twilight to ensure she was as far as possible from J as she could.

Twilight found it a bit funny as Fluttershy had always been the best with creatures, maybe not battling or knowing them (Though the last was probably not as true as Twilight thought), but she was indeed the best treating with them. If they had a non understandable language Fluttershy could easily talk to them, if they did have one it didn’t matter because Fluttershy could calm down a dragon just by talking to it if she had the courage. That she walked away from a human only made Twilight more nervous than she was as it was obvious that Fluttershy knew how dangerous a creature could be by simply taking a look at it.

“I am a human, something that doesn’t exist in your world” J had a bit of a monotone and Twilight thought she knew why.

She hadn’t seen his face when the fillies had entered her house, but she was sure that the hate she knew he had was from the fact that these little girls had suffered something far worse than he had: They had… they had probably lost their parents. Twilight didn’t want to think about it but they probably were now alone in the world. That creature had taken away their parents, their friends and their way of life. For J it had been a different childhood but he had enjoyed his family until the last moments, to see something so young and so innocent being torn apart.

‘It had been too much, too much for his good side to bear’ Twilight sighed mentally. J was not innocent, not like she or her friends were; she had to keep telling herself that even I she didn’t want to believe it, not after what had happened before. She wanted to believe that there was enough good to salvage him and make him happy again, however seeing such sadness, such cruelty, unfolding where he thought he could be safe? It had made a tear in his mind’s preconceptions.

“What is a human?” Fluttershy perked her ears up and looked questioningly at her friend.

“It is a hominid creature like the Diamond Dogs: Walks in two legs, has arms and hands, a complex internal system and a very versatile brain” Twilight blurted out, showing her nervousness as she had given away to her rambling “Eh, sorry Fluttershy. They are a species from another world you could say, I summoned him yesterday thinking we would need help since it seems more powerful creatures and more complex problems seem to follow us as of late”

“I see…” Fluttershy still didn’t seem to want to look at him “But he seems so… dangerous now. Is it safe for us or other peaceful creatures?”

“Oh believe me Fluttershy, he wouldn’t dream of harming us” Twilight couldn’t help but let a gentle chuckle escape her lips at that. If there was one thing she was sure of is that he would NEVER harm them, however the look of wonder in her friend made her explain a ‘bit’ of the truth “As his summoner he can’t do something that I command him not to, also Princess Celestia made sure that he would not need meat and that he could feel magic. He would never want to harm us and even in the impossible chance that he did, it wouldn’t end well for him” As she gave him a look to see if he had reacted Twilight wasn’t sure if to be sad, angry or simply let it go, but it seemed like Jonathan hadn’t even paid any attention to her.

“Are you ok Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered, which was a hay of an accomplishment given her usual tone.

“I am... worried” Fluttershy noticed the pause her friend had made when she was about to talk, but she said nothing “He is acting different than I had hoped. He is focused on this and I don’t know if it is good”

“Why so? Didn’t you say it was safe?” Fluttershy gave J a look as he had taken a few steps in front of them “I mean, I don’t know what to think… but if you say he is nice…” She hesitated saying the last part and, unlike her, Twilight did say something.

“He IS nice, don’t doubt it” She almost raised her voice, making Fluttershy take a step back “Sorry, sorry Fluttershy” Twilight pleaded giving her a hurt look, she hadn’t meant to almost yell at her “But he has been only a few hours with me, maybe I can’t even say it has been a day, and I have only seem him angry to an extent” The young mare gave J a look as the light began to dim “I think seeing the two young girls so fearful and alone has hit him hard…”

“I think I can understand” Fluttershy looked away a bit ashamed “It is the first time I am willing to ask somepony to… to hunt down something” The nice yellow mare pegasi let a few tears roll down her cheeks as she thought about the young fillies hurt, covered in blood and screaming for their parents “I have heard of creatures eating each other for food, I… I can accept that… t-to an extent” She sniffed, unable to imagine such a thing “It is the n-natural way of l-l-life… but to kill so many innocent ponies? It is not h-hunting, it is simply horrid”

Twilight tried to comfort her friend, but she didn’t know what to say. The monster they would go to hunt probably was massive, mad and bloodthirsty if it had attacked so many ponies and got them all but the young ones. In fact she couldn’t help but think about it as she finally got Fluttershy to stop walking so she could give her friend a hug to try and help her to calm down.

Why had the monster left two fillies run away? It didn’t make any kind of sense if you stopped enough to think about it with a cold head. The thing had these ponies under its watch for a week, which meant that the cave probably was deep enough and had food and water or all the ponies would’ve ended up dead in three days, five tops, without water since the caves are usually cold and humid enough to help fight dehydration, but only to an extent.

The creature also had the obvious knowledge of its home and the skill to hunt anything it wanted with ease as well as the intelligence to target dangerous targets first, this had dawned to her as the girls had said that the strongest earth pony had been the first to die: Hard Hoof, a pony that was one head taller than most ponies and could even break an apple tree in half with one strong kick. It had been Apple Jack’s idol when she was young, at least as far as her friend had told her.

By now it could be simply that she was giving it too much credit, but the thing had, without even getting near them, hurt three of the six friends in this city, and it looked like it was almost specifically. The fillies had gone to Fluttershy, Fluttershy brought them to her and the news dawned like the coldest of rains upon her. When Apple Jack was told of this she would probably be enraged, not only for her hero from when she was young, but because she hated anyone getting harmed in a much different way than Fluttershy.

It only made her wonder how many of her friends would be hateful of such a creature with a single action from its part. Twilight couldn’t help it as she felt the color drain from her: She was sick and still wanted to puke like this morning when J told her the truth, however this time it was for a different reason as she realized she was going to head straight to a monster that seemed to be wishing for her and her friends to come specifically.

“Girls, are you alright?”

The sobbing from Fluttershy came to a stop and Twilight relaxed just enough to turn and look at her newest friend. He still had a harsh expression, but he was truly concerned for them both and it showed, something she was grateful for.

“Yea, Fluttershy was…” Twilight wanted to be gentle with what she said, but it was obvious that Fluttershy was depressed beyond belief for once.

“I suppose you hate the idea of the ponies from the circus harmed… or worse” J didn’t need to see her nod her head to know the answer, but he let her do it anyway so as to go slowly and to let her relax a bit more “I also bet that you hate the idea of going there to hurt the creature that did it”

This time Fluttershy did more than nod “Not hurt… stop it” Her tone was but a whisper “I don’t want anyone harmed by that thing again. It-it could do horrible things in the forest! More than this time, if that is even possible” She looked away, sad and without capacity to understand how something could be so cruel. Not even a dragon in full rage had made so much damage in ages “I haven’t… I haven’t desired to harm a creature in all my life” Fluttershy sniffed “But this thing is going to hurt or kill innocent ponies and creatures. I would never let that happen”

“Then relax”

Twilight saw how J took a gentle change of his expression as his hands went for Fluttershy. He rubbed gently her neck and made sure that she was looking at him in the eye.

“I have never enjoyed violence Fluttershy, but I suppose I have used it as a solution in times where I should have used my words” His voice was sad and even with obvious embarrassment he was looking at Fluttershy straight to the eyes, much like he had done with Twilight “I made mistakes in my life, a lot of them cannot be undone, but I made them for things that happened to me and when I thought I had no other choice. I suppose it doesn’t mean anything here but I cannot let go, I refuse to, until I see that those things are the past and that I am different” He gave her mane a gentle stroke and wiped Fluttershy’s tears gently “I wish to use the strength I have now to help you all, I won’t harm anyone that does not deserve it, and in this land it is very hard that such a thing comes to happen. However this creature seems to be pure evil and I cannot abide it, I don’t care if it is wrong this time for I am going to go there and save anyone I can, taking down the thing so it doesn’t do this again”

He sighed heavily and looked down for a moment. Twilight knew that Fluttershy would find it very weird, not that anypony else would not do so, but to J it was going to mean more than her friend knew. How she would take it is what worried Twilight, as well as how J could take her response.

“Will you hate me if I have to kill that monster for what it has done?”

There it was, said and done. Fluttershy was startled by the question, not because she couldn’t figure that he was going to face the beast to kill it, but because she didn’t thought that the human that she had just meet was asking if she was going to hate him for doing what was needed.

It was a known fact that Fluttershy was a coward to an extent and that she hated violence with a passion, she wouldn’t even approach something that got her scared and so usually nopony gave her much credit or heard her out outside of how to take care of animals. This time she seemed willing to come and found out someone that was concerned on what she thought of what he was going to be forced to do when almost nopony asked her as it was hard enough to get her to talk or to simply hear her speak. For her it was a shock and she didn’t know how to respond properly.

“N-no of-offense but… why do you care?” She asked in a hushed voice, not much louder than her usual tone “I barely know you…”

“Because it is important to me” J told her with a shy look “Twilight summoned me, I am bound to her, and I know in the little time that we have been together that I am her friend” For some reason that last word didn’t come out as he had planned it, at least he hopped that the quick glance he threw at Twilight wasn’t noticed by any of the two mares “It means I cannot go back to my world and that I will have to live with her, be with her whenever she wishes and thus, be with all of her friends, including you” His look was sad now, but by now it was only to an extent. He had to live with the fact that he would not go bath and both the good and the bad that came with it “I may miss my home but this is my new one and she saved my life, so I am going to repay her helping while I create a new life for me and maybe make new friends… with you all if you want” He sighed. It was not how he wanted to meet the shyest of all the ponies, but he would have little time after this “If this is how we are going to meet I don’t want to make a first bad impression, yet in my first day here I will have to do what Twilight summoned me for: fighting off monsters that are dangerous, and in this case, kill this one. This will have consequences, and one I don’t want is you hating me for it”

“I… understand”

Let’s be honest here: This was not the worst way to meet Fluttershy, not if J thought about it. However this was as bad as it could get in the range of ‘messed up’ and he was almost sure of the outcome: Fluttershy would pull away and distant herself from the violent human before her. It would make sense that, even with the need to do so, Fluttershy would find his willingness much too obscure for her usual demeanor and her love for nature.

It didn’t make much sense to him that she was now hugging him as gently as if he was wrapped in cotton candy.

“I don’t like the idea of harming anything… I have never liked it” She half whispered, though it was one of her louder tones “This… this is a monster… not a creature of the forest. Even hydras and dragons don’t do this, I… I don’t know what to do this time” J could feel that the poor mare was crying again on his shoulder “I only ask… can… can I wait outside of the cave when we arrive? I don’t want to see it”

“Ssssh… relax” J tried to comfort her gently as he looked pleading at Twilight for help.

“You can wait outside of the cave Fluttershy, we may need a medic and you know how to heal both ponies and any animal in the forest” Twilight said with as much of a gentle tone as she could, also broken and sad by this point “But I hope it is not needed and that we can go out of that place as… as happily as we can, knowing what we will find”

“Thanks…” She said finally, pushing away from J “And I understand what you say… I can be your friend if you want, I mean, if that is ok… I have seen bad ponies, and how others didn’t mind hurting those they could” Fluttershy gulped, not wanting to remember those things “But you don’t seem like those ponies, so I would like you as a friend too if you will live here”

For the first time after the news J smiled, his somber and serious look fading away as Fluttershy said those words. It seemed to be contagious as the mares soon turned up with a brighter mood; at least Twilight as Fluttershy was still shocked for all that had transpired that day.

“You don’t know how much that means to me, thanks Fluttershy”

Twilight had to chuckle a bit as Fluttershy recovered that little smile she used to have until she came through her door. She knew her friend wouldn’t be alright for a while, but making a new friend and seeing how he worried for others even when he didn’t know them was something that could connect with the yellow pegasi. It was obvious that humans were way more complex than ponies sometimes, or simply that J had enough experiences to have the right words in most cases, something that he didn’t like, Twilight was sure of that.

Her train of thoughts broke as, suddenly, the lights went out, they had been dimming the whole time but only now it was noticed that the darkness had enveloped them all when Fluttershy finally gave a little cry of fear. While that made both J and Twilight laugh a bit, warming the mood some more, Twilight had to admit that right now she could find anything scary with all the news, so she used a little of her magic to shed light over the place and see that, for some reason, they all were at the bottom of the stairs. It was impossible by all means that from taking one step after another they hadn’t noticed that, for some reason, they had reached the bottom.

“This is weird…” She said with a worried look “I had sensed magic here, but this is different”

“Weird? This makes me think of a game of my time that had stairs that went up and up until you got all what it asked for” J had to admit that old Super Mario 64 got to him at some point “Maybe we did something? Wait for the lights to fade?”

“I don’t know… Is there something here to give us a clue?” Twilight took a look around, but all she could see was what seemed to be a door a short distance away, out of the range of her light.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy called for her in a scared tone “We entered through that? Was it so close?”

Twilight and J turned to look up the stairs, only to see that the secret door was practically closed, but no really that far away, maybe thirty steps at most. It was all a mystery on itself, but when Twilight tried to open it with magic to let in more light the door closed with a loud *SLAM*. Even with dread over them nothing else happened as the light had already faded and they knew there was a knob at this side of that door, so either with their hooves, magic or with J they could get it open.

At least she hoped.

“Well, whatever it happened, it means we have to continue” Twilight tried to sound confident, but she wasn’t, at all “I saw a door there, let’s check it out”

Turning again, everypony saw the door not so far as before, probably because the light now was all coming from Twilight’s horn and they could see their surroundings a little better, but little else. It was of a blue/green coloration, probably eaten away by only Celestia knows how long, as there were a few patches of black, holes and… rust? Twilight got closer and tried to use her magic to peel some of the paint, only to get a little shock on her horn.

“Ah! That stung” She wimpered, hiding behind J out of reflex as she knew of some materials that would do that to an unicorn “That thing is made of Lunar Metal” Twilight seemed a bit afraid of the thing now, something that caught the attention of both Fluttershy and J “It is made with meteorites that sometimes fall from the sky at night and can zap any unicorn that tries to use magic near it. If the owner of whatever has been created with metal doesn’t want a specific unicorn inside they will get these kinds of zaps, though they can be worse”

“Want me to open it then?” J asked as he examined the door, finding a nice, yet rusty, know at the perfect size for a person “It does seem like someone wanted this for a guy of my size”

“Would it be dangerous?” Fluttershy chimed in with worry “This is scary and we don’t know what could be in there…”

“Hey, if I have to wander towards the wolf’s mouth let me say something:” He offered a nervous smile as he took the few steps needed to grip the knob “What is the worst that could happen?”

And then he opened the door.

Nothing happened.

“Oh hell, that was a relief, another cliché adverted” He smiled while looking back, noticing something on the back of the door “Heh, want weird? This is weird… Twilight, could you give me some light?”

“But the door will zap me again if I come close” She whined.

It was not that Twilight was scared of anything like this, but her training had shown her how much it could sting and how long the Lunar Metal could absorb a unicorn’s magic (even for the Element of Magic herself). J only gave her a reassuring look and motioned her to get closer as she pointed at a rusty metal plate that was now on both the front and the back of the door. If he was sure of it then she had not a reason to doubt her friend, however she did hope it would sting little to nothing this time.

As she got closer the metal slate changed to bright silver like color with no rust, something that picked her interest as she got close enough to read what it said.

“Property of Knight Jonathan” At first she was speechless, but then she simply laughed gently “Ooooh, who made you a knight?” Twilight smirked, noticing finally that she had not been zapped “Hey, I am ok…”

“I don’t understand a thing, but if this says it is mine you can go in any time you want Twilight” He gave her a smile and she blushed slightly “Now thought, let’s see what is in here”

Twilight stepped forth just a moment, walking back as she heard the whine of her friend Fluttershy whom had stayed behind. Offering the yellow mare a gentle smile she got her cowardly friend to come back to her side just as J walked forward thanks to the light that was being shed over the darkness. Twilight had to admit that Fluttershy had many talents, but her fear got the better of her, which this time meant that they were losing precious seconds each time she was scared of something.

When the pair of mares got inside they could see a perfectly smooth floor made out of grayed out wood as well as many stands covered in dust in what once had been a huge main room that seemed to be able to hold a gathering of maybe twenty ponies or so. It was pretty much as big as Sugarcube Corner, but not as colorful. It was shaped like a diamond with the blunt top being where they were now and the tip ending on a door with two at its sides and two at both sides on the middle section of the room. Literally it seemed to be a perfect place for meetings more than anything.

While the light was pretty dim even with Twilight trying her best, J had taken a look at every door and then had tried to even open all of them as Twilight and Fluttershy took a look at everything they could. In the end they got close to J as he found the only one that could be opened being the one at the other side of the entrance door. He didn’t seem to notice or care, but as the mares got closer they found a grey and heavy sign in the door that said ‘Jonathan’s Room’.

“This is way far too weird” Twilight spoke up as she and Fluttershy got in the room to find J looking at a sphere so bright that it lighted the whole room up. It was behind a glass that made the light look blue, much like light at night when there were no clouds.

The place was much smaller than the main room, but it still had a few stands, dusty and rusty equipment that ranged from armors to some form of clothes, some weapons she didn’t know and pictures, a wardrobe, cupboard and a few bookcases here and there with also some devices covered in dust nearby as well as a ragged king sized bed. To her it meant nothing but curiosity, to him they were part of his life and he had no time, nor the right mind, to delve on it.

“I don’t know this all appeared here” He said, catching both mares by surprise “I mean you girls had gone slow and haven’t noticed” He chuckled, rubbing at the glass “But there are many weird things here, many things from my world, many memories… There are a few I don’t know off, like this, and this” J pointed at the glass and the orb, then tossed a book to the bed.

Twilight picked the book from the bed and read out loud “The order of the Knights: Protectors of Equestria” She have it an odd look and looked at Fluttershy whom only shook her head in confusion.

She opened the book and passed pages quickly in search for any kind of clue of what was all of this. Most things she found at first was of history she had heard not of, probably before the one thousand years story that happened after both sisters had their fight (one story she now wanted to hear more about) and some back-story of the ‘Protectors’. As interesting as it was in her quick search for information she found nothing about that orb or whatever was doing this here, in Ponyville.

However it didn’t take her long to find the mention on an orb of light in the ‘Squires to Knights’ section, so she read out loud “Spheres of Magic are crafted by unicorns when they share a bond with a humanoid so the former gains the latter as their defender and the whole town they reside in. These protectors are called Knights and are gifted with the capabilities to use magic and to gain some kind of cuttie mark in their backs when their link to their companions and the whole of ponykind is strengthened. A squire is how every Knight begins after touching a Sphere of Magic as it is the moment where they gain their first weapon and shield as well as their armor, equipment that will only appear when it is needed and that will grow in strength as the Protector does its duty”

“That sound ominous” J chuckled as he lifted the glass away from the sphere, letting bright white light envelop the place “Let’s see if it is true”

Touching the sphere a bright flash flooded the vision of everypony, forcing Twilight to close her eyes alongside Fluttershy and even J as the light got him much latter than it should. When it faded enough and the eyes of the mares had recovered they opened to show the new room.

It lacked mostly everything but the bed, all that once occupied it was gone, even in the outside all that had once been covered in dust and rust was now gone like it had never been there. However now there were lights, candles and little orbs of magic that served as permanent light sources in perpetual dark areas that at least Twilight had seen, courtesy of Princess Celestia (In fact it was one of the easiest spells to make as to see at night and read more comfortably). The room was repaired and well maintained, as if it was new, with the door painted in a vibrant blue with the dark green metal sinning vividly. Both mares wondered how that had happened, but it seemed something else was changed alongside that.

The clothes J wore had turned into a grey metallic look; they even looked as tough as real metal, to the point where there were bolts allocated in the joints with layers of metal in the weak points and even a pair of gauntlets and reinforced boots had taken the place of the clothes that were there before (Or in the case of the hands, that weren’t). Even the hood had changed and now was a metal coif that covered J’s head with ringmail and a little visor to let him see through it with ease even thought it would be pretty impossible for something to get in without a huge amount of force or precision.

All in all, for what Twilight had seen in her books of mythology, he was like a real ‘knight’ even if his ‘armor’ was little more than metal that looked like cloth. He only lacked the weapons… the ones that, almost on cue, appeared in both of his hands.

On his right hand a long sword, much like a long gladius made out of brilliant almost silver like metal, appeared. It had a brightly colored golden hilt with an amethyst on its base with the blade being decorated with what seemed to be the wind blowing in the form of white streaks that crossed it from bottom to the tip of the sword. On the left hand he got a round shield, not much bigger than the commonly seen in games as it was made little and round for easy blocking of incoming attacks in hand to hand combat. Its grey metal was adorned with green laurel leaves imprinted on it to make a crown with a little spark of magic in the middle, much like Twilight’s.

And then, much like they came, they went. It only took a little flash this time but they were replaced by J’s normal clothes with the weapons and gauntlets disappearing on thin air as a little pair of bright silver rings came to rest on each one of his index fingers.

“Oh man… I feel frigging dizzy” He said, falling on his rear as Twilight supposed the flash had left him seeing the world spinning around him.

“But are you ok?” Fluttershy came closer to him, giving him a nuzzle.

“Yea… only dizzy as hell. I see the world spinning around me” J groaned, trying to get up.

Twilight gave out a little sigh of relief as she heard him. She wanted all but to see her new friend hurt from all of this and also didn’t want him unable to come with her. Even if he would be unable to move Twilight was going to go to that cave, she needed to and she knew that today all of her friends were occupied for one reason or another. Rarity had to go with Apple Jack to Canterlot as both had an order from Princess Celestia (One for dresses and another one for food specifically) while Rainbow Dash was at Cloudsdale preparing a new trick. As for Pinkie… well… she was preparing J’s party and in this situation her goofiness could harm her more than help her friends out.

“Then if you are ok, should we go now?” Twilight left the book in the bed as she turned “I do not want to pressure anypony but if we are to maybe find someone…” She cut her words there as she heard a whimper from Fluttershy “Then we better go now”

J only gave a nod as he groaned, still half blind and feeling lightheaded to an extreme. Fluttershy helped him get up tried to fly low to help him walk a few steps until he regained his vision fully. This would be a long trek and even if she was a bit worried around him he was going to be needed by the end of it.

*** Canterlot, Celestia’s Quarters ***

“You got it all, Miss Augusta?” Celestia asked from her throne to the pony with a generally grey color “I designed you specifically for this task because I have to go right away to an important meeting alongside my sister. We will be back by nightfall if everything goes well, but you must arrive to Ponyville in a few hours and remain with the Mayor until we go there in person to ask for you to come back”

Octavia, with her Cello strapped on her back and a little note strapped to her side, nodded. Celestia knew that Octavia would not say so out loud in her throne room, in the street or even in private, she was way too serious for such a thing, but she hated the assignment she had been given.

At that Celestia had to suppress a smirk. She was manipulating things again, but again it was for a greater purpose, though she doubted some of the girls would enjoy her meddling, much less Octavia. While the young mare wanted to be a famous musician (And she already had quite a success mind you), she still wasn’t satisfied with how good she was. She had lost it at the Gala, her first appearance in such an important festivity, and she hated it, in fact she hated somepony in special.

“Your majesty, I know it is not my place to ask, but why me?” Celestia was genuinely surprised when Octavia finally used her sweet voice to ask such a bitter question, not for her tone, but for the angry feelings that were hiding behind it.

“Because I know you want me to have faith in you dear, you want to be a famous musician some day and I know you have endured much to get so far, however you have yet to finish one very important quest to show me that you ARE indeed worthy of doing this” For once Celestia was glad to say things as they were without hiding anything or bending it too much, she felt liberated with such freedom “And knowing your story Miss Augusta, I think you should make peace with yourself because I am going to make sure that somepony in special is back here very soon to attend to your solo”

Even with her usually stoic expression the young musician gave her a hateful look for a single second. It was not uncommon, they loved her, all her subjects, but sometimes they did hate to hear her decisions, much more so when it was the ones they knew were good but didn’t want to hear.

“I suppose that if I beg you to elect another messenger but me it will be futile” Octavia gave a look of defeat to the princess.

“I am sorry my dear, but all my closest friends and advisors have duties. Even if I sent the letter myself it would not arrive in time seeing the actual state of things in Ponyville, something you will learn when you arrive and that will also help your current problem” Celestia gave the young mare a pleading look “Please Miss Augusta, I would be more than grateful, and you may get something unexpected from your troubles that will be much more rewarding than any fame you may wish to bring back money to your parents”

“If you say so, your majesty. Then excuse me and I will be in my way” Octavia bowed, waited for Celestia to nod and then walked away.

Celestia watched the grayish pony walk away as she gave out a heavy sigh of tiredness. This was all going way too fast for her previous plan, and yet she had to have this delivered the way she had planned to help one of them. She had to wonder if the rush of things would do any harm even without the luxury of time to worry about it…

“Tia, are you ready yet?” Her sister chimed in from her side to bring her out of her wonder just as Octavia crossed the gates “We need to go now or we are not going to make it on time while saving power”

“Yes, yes I am Luna, I was just wondering…”

“It will be alright” Luna nuzzled her sister “Just relax it and let’s see how it goes. In the worst case scenario… it will still help your plan, and I hope it does help them”

“I don’t know Luna; I just don’t” Celestia gave a sad look to her younger sister “After so long I thought we could live a normal mortal life happier than this, without problems… I don’t want to bring this to him even if I basically told him it was my order” She bit her lip “I wonder… I wonder if this will harm Twilight too. I have rushed things just to ensure they go as I think they should”

“After you told me about all you saw? I would hate to see them hurt as much as you would sister… but if it is true? I don’t know what else to do Tia, you are the one that always managed the kingdom and who studied under mom and aunt. If you think it is the right way then… what else could you do?” Luna trailed off, not wanting to say more.

“I don’t know what I could do, and I do know this is the best way” The goddess looked away, ashamed “But I don’t have to like it, not anymore. These are not the dark times, we should not hope it is only a few hurt, or worse” Celestia got up and walked away with her sister “We should have none hurt, as unlikely as it sounds now. That is what I should have been worrying from the start, there is no future if it has such a price”

Luna said nothing this time. She knew that after that thing came back it was obvious that there were going to be some cases where ‘hurt’ would be the best case scenario if something went wrong. The only thing the young moon princess hopped for was that the Elements and their Protector could at least stop this one for a time; Celestia would take it on her own hooves to stall the thing after that.

*** Everfree Forest ***
Sadness ahead

Surprisingly the trek had been quite shorter than any of them had thought. Once J had regained his sight and balance he had been on full march and they all had been able to trot their way to the cave quite fast thanks to J’s constant training and his stamina as well as for the girls’ natural muscles that made them able to run for a long time. Even thought they were a small distance away from the cave right now they needed to regain their breath and make a plan.

The cave on itself was HUGE; at least the opening was big enough to fit a house inside. In the mud there were dried marks from charts on the outside, as if the ground itself wanted to show that others had gone in. The outside was muddy and dark, yet you could see the stones and how fragile the thing was since it looked about to break down on itself. One had to wonder how anypony would risk it going inside such an obvious hazard, no matter how was the time; of course the storm a week back was kind of a little monster on itself…

“It looks like it would want to eat me” Fluttershy gulped down, her imagination flowing with whatever creatures could dwell there.

“We agreed you would wait here Fluttershy” Twilight assured her “If Apple Jack or Rainbow Dash were here they would accompany us, but you should not go in such a dangerous place, even less with what we may… see” She gulped down “Will you be ok here?”

“I will, I promise” Fluttershy gave a gentle nod as some birds chirped nearby “Some of my bird friends are around here after the news hit, if something comes I will be warned in time, but I hope I don’t have to leave you guys…”

“It will be alright, just stay safe” Twilight gave her friend a gentle hug as she tried to digest the fact of what she was about to do “I hope we have something good to share with the young girls when we get out of this”

“Me too Twilight” Fluttershy looked down as her friend broke the hug “I hope all goes well in there… will you look after her?” She asked to J with almost teary eyes.

“I will die before I let anything happen to her, I promise with my life Fluttershy” He practically bowed. It was the first time he was going to have to do this and if he had to with Twilight or any of the others nearby he would not change his ways of old “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I will not hesitate if it is needed”

Fluttershy, not really knowing what to say about it, simply nodded and gave a shy smile. She had never had to see someone so willing to die for someone else, in fact with her friends she had only seen some violence at best, even the royal guard wasn’t expected to give their lives away for Celestia as there was no prospect of such a danger that Celestia would be in danger and nopony else was up to be a danger to the others.

As she looked towards the cave however, she could swear she saw something lurking in the darkness, looking outside, for them.

“I suppose we should go then” Twilight broke the eerie silence “I will light my horn and we will walk in together. If there is something waiting in there it will be far easier for us to fend it off if we are together. It is obvious this thing went for the strongest first so the others would get scared and scatter thanks to what the fillies told us, so there should be a lot of places to hide or some tunnels inside for some of them to survive for almost a week”

“For the looks of it I could guess even a sub level” It was not that J knew much of caves, it is simply that he had played too much Diablo and even in Equestria a ‘bad’ thing would have a little domain for itself “If we are unlucky there will be even a few little new creatures in there after so many… accidents came to pass in here”

“How are you so sure?” Twilight looked at the cave with renewed fear.

“Power attracts those that seek it one way or another. If there are other monsters that want to hurt ponies then they will seek one that does so openly, like in this case” J explained, this was lore of any kind of game or story “It is all an assumption mind you, but with all the fantasy books and movies we have in our world? This looks pretty much the case for either a harsh welcome by a powerful creature or a lengthy trek killing not so powerful monsters that have little love for anything that gets near their home”

“I don’t know for what I should be cheering now” The mare of magic offered a nervous smile “The fillies didn’t mention anything about smaller monsters though, so I do hope it had stayed like that” She took a deep breath and faced the cave again “Let’s go”

“Stay safe” Fluttershy whispered as the pair walked towards what she was viewing as certain doom, however if there was anypony still alive in there… she could only wish them the best of lucks.

After that it was time for darkness. Getting close to the cave seemed to give off a humongous shadow over the pair as they approached.

For Twilight it translated in insecurity: The plan had been shaggy and quickly placed together, wait… who did she want to lie? It was not a plan, it was a general idea of how to make one of them survive long enough to take a look at whatever was inside if the thing ambushed them right on the spot. She didn’t know what to do, what to think, what to prepare or what she would be able to manage in the case that they found wounded. Deep inside of her mind there was a little filly that had tried all her life to be the most intelligent and capable, but only had managed to seclude herself from the real world and real experiences to find out old dusty books with things she probably would never ever understand if she found in person or if she had to live them. The only thing she could think was her family now and how few of them were there… as well as how few times she had seen them for the past years.

In the case of J, he was scared beyond belief: Violence, yet again, had called at his doorstep. He would have to harm or kill again to protect life, something that he didn’t want to, but that he would have to do. It made him squirm when he thought no one was looking, it wasn’t because he feared he had to do this, it is the fact that deep down, sometimes right on the surface of his being, he enjoyed that violence. He felt a surge of power when he was doing the things he did with only a little pang of guilt. For him it was good, but he felt bad afterwards… would it feel good again, or would it make him sunk deeper into his state of self loathing? Whatever the case he had promised Fluttershy that he would use her strength to help, if not for Twilight or for Celestia, he had to keep that promise and do his best.

Once they entered the cave it made itself evident that the few seconds that had taken to cross the line between safety and danger had been way too much for them and their minds. The first thing that J did was to look at the sides and then, very quickly, upwards. Again he hated the idea of being killed like most characters in the movies or horror games and was quite pleased to see that only stones and mud covered the huge walls of the enormous space. Luckily there was nothing except that there were a huge amount of cracks on the ceiling of the cave.

‘This smells bad’ He thought with a little growl escaping his lips.

Twilight, however, could only shake as she used her magic to light the whole area, forcing her mind to the maximum. She was afraid, afraid beyond belief as she thought back to the fillies; she wanted so much to see someone alive here that she didn’t take real notice of something that moved next to her. It was no surprise then that she screamed in fear as she saw a pony skull fall from somewhere that J had passed to look at as he focused on the ceiling. As it crashed right at her side the thing creaked, opening its maw as hideous laughter filled the air, practically freezing Twilight as the inhuman sound rotted in her mind. The only thing that both of them did was to jump at the scare, even more so as a tentacle shot out from the skull and struck the ceiling, breaking the already unstable surface and throwing a hail of stones downwards.

“Twilight, move!” J cried, pushing Twilight away just in the nick of time as he ended up receiving the blunt of the incoming force on his side, burying him alive.

It took Twilight a moment to recover, but when she did she could only see the entrance being covered in rocks and J missing from the scene and the huge entrance collapsed, covered in rocks that didn’t let even a single sunray through.

“J-Jonathan! Are you there?! J! Answer me!” She screamed frantically as she tried to dig where she thought J should be.

“Heheheheheeeeeeh…”

Twilight jumped, startled, as she turned to see the skull from before rising slowly under the blackened tentacle as it filled it whole, creating soon yellowish mimicries of eyes and a dark blue tongue that looked as sick as the soon formed body that came together with bones and a dark meat as well as putrid fur that were more a way of mockery than a real pony body. Not even the mythical zombie was so horrid to the eye as this thing.

“Worrying for a creature of old… when you ssshould worry about you?” The mimic spoke with the jaw opening and chattering with its teeth even when the voice didn’t seem to come from it “Sssuch obviousss missstake from an Element… it isss a pity you didn’t bring your friendssss… it would’ve been fun indeed” The voice was tired and ancient, but had an evil tone that wasn’t helped by the undead puppet.

It turned out to be even worse as more of those creatures came from the shadows towards the light coming out of Twilight’s horn. Now the façade had dropped and the darkness that remained showed what was left of the circus: Its carriages and even some of the ponies. There were little more than bits and pieces of what once had one of the best, if not the best circus that had existed, while the ponies were left but to the bone… or maybe the number of dark creatures in front of her. It was a horrifying sight that didn’t get any better as they began to talk.

“And to think…”

“That I…”

“Worried ssso much…”

“To catch you…”

“Ssso much planning…”

“Ssso much pain…”

“Ssso many new… sssoulsss”

The voice kept on coming from random directions, sometimes from one of the creature as they chattered and sometimes from empty objects or even from her own mouth as it hang open without speaking in her actual shock.

“To think that you and I want the sssame…” The one in front of her said “Control… we want control… To make sssure nopony isss harmed ever again… To confront thossse that caussse pain…” It chuckled darkly as every creature took a step forward “You know what I am, Twilight Sssparkle… I am Krabtopobosss… The Contro, as are you… And I am what your mind… desssiresss the mossst!”

Without another word the closest to Twilight lunged at her, its body soon growing bone spikes and even changing to create tentacles and ragged, horrid appendages. Twilight used her magic to push the creature away, however what she had intended with her spell was to make it crash to the ground as she had tried to multiply gravity without control. What could have very well caused the thing to flatten against the ground with a sickening crunch, an idea that seemed to be delightful to her frighten mind, had failed to achieve its goal.

“Ooooohohohooo… Very well played, Twilight Sssparkle… but without the other elementsss… your magic doesss not work” The creature walked towards her this time, obviously unscathed after the attack “If you had that human… it could be… different… However asss it ssstandsss… you are… my next hossst”

Another of the creatures came closer “But I wonder… Why fight me?” The creature said with what Twilight could only imagine was a smile as it forced more ‘substance’ onto its face for the expression “You want control… control over all thingsss… You desssire to protect everypony… Let me in, and I will grant that wisssh to you…”

Twilight only backed away, unable to say anything as she felt utterly alone and helpless for the first time in such a long time that it seemed a whole life to her. She could not deny that in her most wicked dreams she had found the urge to control, maybe to usurp Celestia’s power? They were nightmares, the worst she had ever had, something she wanted no one to know and that this creature seemed to be most aware of.

“No! I want nothing like that!” She finally cried out as she backed away from the creature until her rear touched the fallen rocks “You killed my friend! You will have none of me!”

“Sssuch a pity… you would have made a… decent hossst for a while” All the creatures said in unison “Your losss… you could have ssseen your aunt and cousssin… one more time”

“W-what?”

No response and no hesitation came from the creatures as one of them lunged at her again, this time not even surprised or seemingly affected by the weaker magic coming from Twilight thanks to her confused and scared state of mind. For her it all became a blur of slow motion, much like what happened when she thought deeply about something.

As the creature approached she could not help but think back to her friends, how happy she had been with them and how happy she had been under Celestia’s wings as well as with her little Spike. It had been marvelous to study under her teacher’s gaze, befriending her sister after the events three months prior and having her friends sharing a life together with fun and adventures during the best three months she had ever had in her life.

All of it coming to such a sudden end just after seeing how strong she was; summoning a creature that had been eradicated from the surface of Equestria one thousand years prior, befriending him and even sharing a kiss. Maybe in the future it had only meant friendship as they had stated, but it is in moments like these where you wonder what could it be in the future, one you would not have anymore.

With all of it accounted in her mind she looked back at her mother and father, how little time they had shared together after the studies began, how she missed her mother’s magical lullabies that made her sleep dreaming of the stars and how the security her father offered made her feel warm and safe even in the darkest of days.

She was not prepared to die, she did not want to, but seeing the creature so close now Twilight knew that her pitiful strength compared to a Earth pony would just grant her a few seconds of bittersweet time at most. It was not worth the pain to just die a moment afterwards knowing that the best of her efforts would simply be a glimpse, a failure, in this battle that no mortal mind could win.

“LEAVE HER ALONE MOTHER FUCKER!”

Dust and rocks came out flying in what seemed to be a simple explosion when J came out from under the rocks that had supposedly crushed him. He had his ‘armor’ on him, the weapon and shield prepared and, even being covered in dust, rock and blood, he charged towards the creature that was about to hit Twilight, delivering a powerful blow to its neck in the nick of time.

However this was not one of the movies he had told her about, nor games or the like. He had been fast and almost dramatically saved her, but even if the hit meant the creature was probably dead and that she was safe it didn’t mean she was unharmed, in fact she had to use all her will to not scream thanks to what happened afterwards.

The body of the creature slowly disintegrated as the connection between head and body became severed by the blow from J’s sword, but as it still held intact one of the tentacles lased at Twilight’s flank, hitting her whole left side. It hurt like if a hundred needles were being pushed through her. Luckily the spell from Princess Celestia helped as there was no visible wound, unlike what was obviously not J’s case as the light from her horn showed blood coming from the joints in the legs, some of the chest and even down his face.

It didn’t seem to bother him though “NONE OF YOU LAY A HAND ON HER OR I KILL YOU ALL!”

“Sssuch a wassste of sssuch a wonderful sssoul…” Was all that the creatures said as a light blue ball of light escaped the only bone intact from the defeated creature; the skull “Couldn’t you have died in peace?... It wasss the tranquility you desssired… I granted it to you, why ssslap my generosssity in return?... Humansss, alwaysss the worssst of creaturesss… I don’t know how the Order could sssummon sssuch a foul beassst”

“Don’t like me? Then get used to me, I am here to stay” J croaked with a weak voice.

Twilight, now in pain, had to lie down to calm down. She could only see as another of those creatures jumped against J’s form from the side, only to have its lower jaw and body cut down with a slash, followed by a trust towards the skull of another monster that charged at him.

Whatever this creature was, it stopped the puppets. It had lost three… ‘bodies’ in a rapid succession of unplanned events and it was obvious that the remaining ones, twelve as far as Twilight could count, weren’t up for the task. The thing had said it had lost a soul with the first one and, as if on cue, two more blue orbs erupted from the remains of the other two that had been destroyed a moment ago. Twilight didn’t know what it meant, but three loses against one single enemy didn’t seem good odds no matter what.

However she had to be truthful here: It had been three bodies lost, but J was in no condition to repeat that feat again, in fact she didn’t need magic to see how harmed he was. She could see his left arm dangling lifelessly, probably broken. His legs were shaking and in this moment of pause he coughed, blood spurting to the ground. Probably this all meant that he had internal injuries, more broken bones and his lungs were filling with blood or something else.

It was far too hard for her to comprehend how it was that he was standing, but between the magic bound made by a goddess and his supposedly upgraded body capabilities through the summoning, Twilight didn’t see it so impossible. Who did she want to lie? The best case scenario she had in mind was for him to drop dead at any moment now, he had lasted way too much and he had even saved her for certain death once. For all she cared the debt was paid and she wanted nothing more for him to run, but even if he would obey such an order from her he was trapped here too.

“Your body can’t sssussstain you much longer…” One of the thing said, growing closer “Lie down… lie down and let me finisssh you quickly… or sssuffer far more than you wisssh for”

“I hate liars” J spat with as much strength as he could “I promised… I promised I would defend her with my life it such thing came to pass… I will do so… until the last consequences” His breath was ragged, his legs shaky. He could barely held himself together “You cannot… you cannot tell me to abandon her and succumb. I won’t, I won’t do… and I will give my life… if I can try to save the ones still here”

“Oh but you want to ssstop” Another of the creatures came close with the voice picking up a dark chuckle.

A third one flanked J until he drew his sword towards that one, pushing it away “What isss to you anyway? Ssshe isss a ‘new friend’, nothing elssse… only a burden, an enchantresss that took you away from real friendsss and family… Why pledge loyalty… when you didn’t want thisss asss much asss you sssay?”

“Lies! I wouldn’t want this if I knew they lied to me” J coughed some blood, almost kneeling, standing back up as another creature approached “She has been sincere… she has been… and I will honor my word!”

“And what sssays you haven’t been lied to?” It chuckled darkly “For all you know… Celessstia made everything up… Sssend a copy of you to your world? Sssuch nonsssenssse” All the creatues laughed darkly “Ssshe would need to lossse the bit of immortality that ssshe hasss left… Who would do that if they had a sssane mind?... Ssstop lying at yourssself… you know… I am right… I am order… I know of control”

“And you are a monster, a monster that killed for no reason!”

J sprung forward, slashing one single time to cut through three of the creatures just before the fourth kicked him in the gut, sending him back against the stones with a dry *THUD* and snapping of bones. Twilight couldn’t help but feel sick as the man swallowed the pain, didn’t offer even a grunt and held tightly on his weapon and shield, getting up as best as he could to place himself between her and the nine remaining creatures that now grew closer.

“I kill… to protect… I kill… to control… I kill… becaussse it isss… what I ssshall do… for all eternity” They all said in a chorus of voices, all the same but all different “Sssoulsss controlled… protected… I keep within me… For sssuch a long time I… hungered for it… You don’t know… what isss to be banissshed from… reality… You don’t know… what it isss… to be exterminated… jussst becaussse of… what you are… jussst… because we did… the only thing we were…. sssupossed to do…”

“There are always options” The breath and voice of J were beyond ragged. He was about to fall down.

“That isss why you hate yourssself… isssn’t it?” The creature said in a serious tone, for once not mocking him “You think… you could have prevented all… thossse wrong decisssionsss? You… you are a worssse monssster than usss… You want to do sssomething… but you only do what you know… You want to be rightful… and you only create more wrongsss… You sssicken usss… You aren’t… necessssary… only a pessst!”

All of the creatures charged towards J whom could only defend himself to the best of his actual capabilities. Twilight tried to use magic, only pushing the creatures away slightly with each one of her attacks. However with each frustrated attack one of the creatures fell down and the soul escaped, not that it seemed to bother the others anymore as J kept on swinging his sword until only four remained.

Still, by that time the human could not go anymore and he finally collapsed in the ground as Twilight couldn’t use her magic in time, granting her protector the painful blows and cuts from four shagged monstrosities that only stomped, lashed and tried to cut him with their appendages and malice. J could only cough and mutter curses, not willing, and not capable, of going down even with that onslaught. His body was too though to die too soon and his mind too headstrong to give on it in any case.

His bones, however, didn’t work that way. The armor held him intact, but with the pain coursing through his body and his bones broken he would move no more.

“Sssuch a pity” The creatures pushed away to reveal the battered body of J. Amongst the seemingly perfectly kept armor and weapons his body was covered in blood and his time was already short “Brother could have ssseen to you ssso nicely… it isss sssuch a wassste to let you die… Alasss you didn’t sssucumb… if anything, I have to praise you for your loyalty… or condemn your guilt”

Three creatures stayed besides J while another one came closer to Twilight “Asss for you… my little Control… You and I will be… very clossse in a sssecond”

*CRASH!*

“I don’t think so, Krabtopobos!”

Light poured in from the outside as the rocks that once blocked the entrance flew away, disintegrated by magic that came from both goddesses as they came to the rescue. Twilight could say that she had never missed her teacher so much than this day, nor had she wanted to run towards her and hug her like she would to her mother.

In a flash of multicolored light Celestia made her body feel rested and recovered, the pain gone from her flank and the fear erased from her mind. The same thing could be say about J’s bothered body, though he didn’t make any kind of movement for the time being. In her usual fashion Twilight couldn’t help but seek a reason that, in this case, would mean the body on itself was probably still feeling the trauma even if the magic had taken rid of it.

Luna, on the other hand, threw three dark spheres towards the creatures near J, dismissing whatever possessed the bones just before throwing a dark light at the remaining one before Twilight, encasing it on a dark translucent crystal of some kind from which the creature tried to escape to no avail.

“You have no right to do thisss!” The creature spat “The Element isss mine! I webbed thisss trap for her! Begone you wretched light!”

“Shut up you monster!” Luna shouted just as she helped J on his feet, though the poor man looked about to fall down again “You have done enough as it is to even speak up!”

“My sister is right” Celestia’s frown was meet by fear from the creature; Twilight noted “You were supposed to be imprisoned after our last meeting. This time I won’t be so gentle with you, forty more souls to your count are forty too many”

“You can’t! You wouldn’t harm anyone!” The creature roared.

“You harm my subjects, you receive what you deserve” Her eyes turned white and within the prison of the creature another made out of pure light appeared, slowly closing in on it “Don’t think I don’t know about your stalling. Your real body will be petrified when this one succumbs. When I find you I will make sure you don’t awake a second time”

Yelling and squirming, the creature tried to escape even as the trap squeezed it until… Twilight had to think about something else as she heard the yells. It sickened her, but she thought this was a just punishment for such a wretched creature. Once it came to pass she looked up at her teacher whom had a sorrowful face.

“I am sorry… should I have known about this sooner I would have prevented it, but the creature was well hidden. If I hadn’t a connection with Jonathan I would have never found out until it was too late. I thought I could reach this location faster and it was again a mistake on my part” Twilight could swear Celestia was about to cry “I am ashamed of my failure towards those that believe in me”

“Princess Celestia…” Twilight had a lot of questions, also wanted to check on J and to know what had happened, but one thing pressed her the most “I am sorry but I have to seek for survivors”

The goddess nodded and took but a second, letting her magic flow through her horn and towards the surroundings. A light gushed towards the carts and one through a crevice she hadn’t seen before. Soon it was all over the place as Luna waited patiently with J at her side, she seemed to be offering him support and telling him a few things as her horn was pilling up bones and creating what seemed to be graves, a dark and dirty job that Twilight didn’t wish the young princess would do.

“I found three ponies… One of them is long gone, probably right after the young fillies escaped” Celestia took away the attention from her sister and brought Twilight back to her “Another has… just passed, I am sorry” She hung her head low “But the third is alive, even if barely. I doubt she is going to make it”

“Can… can you bring them here Princess?” Twilight asked. She had at least arrived in time to find someone, but not how she had hoped for. She wanted to at least her what he or she had to say for the young ones if the surviving pony was one of the parents.

“Yes, give me a moment”

The light from Celestia’s horn soon focused in the crevice, almost as if it solidified, illuminating it like if the sun was inside the cave. It soon took out three ponies it transported over it insubstantial ‘body’, gently taking them near the cave entrance to let them lie gently over the ground in front of Twilight. The first thing she could notice was that they were intact, thanks Celestia, but after her initial concern was taken care of (She didn’t know how longer she could go without losing her lunch) the horror struck her again.

The first one was a pony she knew very well from three months prior: it was Trixie. She had her clothes on, even if a bit ragged, some spots on her fur were showing patches of red that she didn’t want to even inspect, but it was obvious that whatever had happened to her it had taken her life not long ago as she wasn’t breathing but at least she didn’t look as bad as… what was left of the others in this place.

However horror came to despair as she saw the other two and heard the coughs of one of them.

“Aunt Proud Nightsky? Uncle Fire Flight?” Her voice broke down as she recognized the unicorns before her.

Her uncle, Fire Flight, was a unicorn with light yellow mane and blue fur that had a cutie mark of a magic wing, almost transparent. He was one of the masters of levitation in Equestria and had courted her mother’s sister, Proud Night, at the same time as her father had courted her mother. He was a very nice pony and while she had seen him as scarcely as her aunt, he was a very dear memory to her. Now seeing him battered and broken before her… the only thing that could make this slightly bearable was that at least he was intact, though it was obvious that something important had been broken and he had died probably without pain.

“Twilight… it is so good… to see my niece at- at least once more” The sweet voice of her aunt called to Twilight, making her turn her gaze away from her broken uncle with tears already forming on her eyes.

Proud Nightsky was called so thanks to her dark blue mane and almost pitch black fur as well as the clouds hiding a couple of stars as her cutie mark. Unlike most unicorns she could blend with darkness almost at will, being that the only kind of magic she could use for some reason that her mother had never explained to Twilight. However she was very warm and nice any time she came to visit and had been the one to give Twilight her first book. Now, after a couple of years after her last visit, she had her mane roughed, a couple of bold spots on her fur and some deep wounds and nasty bruises, but her opal colored eyes were still looking at her with the same candid glow as the first day.

“I am sorry we couldn’t… get to see you at Ponyville with your friends… I got our boss to get us there after our last job… but it seems we took a detour we should have evaded…” She coughed a bit of blood as Celestia tried to heal her with her powers “Your majesty, please… don’t waste your strength with me… bring my daughter back, please… is the only thing I want… if you can’t give me that back… let me die”

“Your daughter?!” Twilight blurted out, her eyes as big as they could get as little streaks on her chest showed the few tears she had been able to shed.

“Never… told you?” Proud asked with a faint smile “You know Twilight… when you were born… I was besides my sister… in labor… with your cousin… You two were born the same day… but you had a little… defect…” She coughed again; she was closing her eyes slowly, forcing them awake as best as she could “You absorbed your cousin’s magic… part of it… as well as mine and your mother… We didn’t know if that… could happen again… but your uncle and I decided… it was time to move away only… only in case. We loved you as much as our daughter… but we feared for what could happen to you… or to our little Trixie”

She tried to get up bur promptly fell down with a slight groan. Even though her wounds were more than obvious she didn’t seem to feel much of it. Twilight couldn’t help but cry at how obviously close her aunt was to her death.

“She… grew well… don’t you think?” Proud let go a tear as she looked towards Trixie, getting Twilight to look at her with wide eyes as her aunt pleaded to Celestia “Ple-please… your highness… bring her back… I lived a long life… she deserves the same… Her kids need her…”

“Her kids…” Twilight’s mind wasn’t able to wrap around all the information it was receiving, not fast enough at least.

Celestia, though, simply nodded “I can, while I have no immortality now my dear Nightsky I still can give something in exchange for what your dear niece did for my sister three months ago. Now talk to her… I am sorry to say your time grows short and… and that this will be your last time together” She turned so nopony would see her cry again. There had been many mistakes, many things she hadn’t foreseen, this was going to hurt her beloved student, her friends and probably many more that she didn’t want to have pained by her actions.

“Y-your cousin… did a pretty… stupid things seven years ago… much like… most of us as young… mares” Proud told Twilight with a little smile as she focused on her again “A young… pegasi came to the circus… and… they… they connected… very well” She smiled as her eyes looked back to the past “However he… he left when he learned she was pregnant… Trixie couldn’t take it, she… she gave birth to her twins and left” Proud swallowed, not wanting to cough anymore blood because she knew she would not stop this time “The little pegasi, we… we called her Final Test for how… how she did incredible things again and again… even when she was just a filly. Her sister was so… so small… she looked so little… ma-maybe it was… for what happened when Trixie was born… she could not conceive… a good unicorn” Proud coughed, stopping herself for a moment “We called her Rain Berry… We took them as our own daughters… Trixie came back by chance three months ago and… and we took her back, but she didn’t want to tell the young ones… They call her ‘aunt Trixie’ and I had to see her pain everyday… Please Twilight… take Trixie with you… if the Princess brings her back… I want her to have a family again”

“I p-promise aunty, but please don’t go…” Twilight begged between sobs “Please don’t leave…”

Proud could do little but laugh gently “My dear… I have to… You always asked me to stay… whenever you caught me alone…” She offered her niece a little smile “But for once I can say I can’t… without an ulterior motive… I am sorry… I am so sorry that… that we had to go away every time… but now… please… Take care of Trixie… and your little… nieces… good-goodbye… my little Twilight”

With that Proud Nightsky finally let her eyes close, coughed one last time and… simply stopped breathing.

Shock took root inside Twilight’s mind. She couldn’t cry, she didn’t want to; she didn’t want to believe this, her mind refused to. She just stood there, unable to do anything as her eyes were flooded with tears that refused to go down her cheeks. The young mare simply stared at both her aunt and uncle, even when Luna brought them to their final rest besides the bones of everypony else. Inside her mind she thought this hadn’t happened, that it was just the near death experience that had wanted her to go back to her parents and her friends to share more time with them and much less isolated in her library with those dusty books. For her this was much worse that she had ever imagined, something that was killing her inside as her feelings didn’t find the strength to vent out and cry.

Twilight didn’t notice it, but the time passed quickly. Celestia took no less than three hours with her magic to do what she had promised to: bringing back Trixie. The young blue mare could only cough at first, but to Celestia it was at least a relief to hear her breath and to see that she was alive and sound, even though Celestia had barely enough energy left to heal her whole and she would have to rest for a day or two.

However it felt bittersweet.

To her this was not how it was supposed to go; it was going to be a lesson to J. For him it was to be willing to do what he hated only when it was absolutely needed, to understand that his strength would help save people, something that she was unsure the man had learned after it ended up like this. Instead she had to look at the only survivor of this mess, giving her back her life in exchange of something she would never use anyway but that she would miss as much as she missed… It didn’t matter; it would serve her right as it would be a remainder that she was the one responsible for this mishap. If she had done things right Twilight wouldn’t have had her little premonition, J wouldn’t be here and her family would still be intact.

J, on the other side, was the one that seemed to take it the best. While Luna had tried to cheer him up telling him that he had done everything he could he simply had thought of this as a failure. He knew that there was nothing else to be done but he was now supposed to do what he hated to help, only to find that it had done nothing, absolutely nothing. Triexie was going to be ok? Such an outcome was not enough. It is not that he hated the character in the cartoon; it is that he now had to live with the fact that he could save one of three, three possible survivors, not one. Not only that but Celestia, as little as he liked her right now, was going to sacrifice something to bring Trixie back. He had failed Twilight, had failed t he survivors, the young fillies and even Celestia as he had taken too long to come and was defeated too easily.

By the time any of them were back to any kind of normality Luna had already taken Fluttershy to the cave, now as clean as she could’ve made it using the carts and the stone around to make a little burial ground. The young yellow pegasi could hardly contain her sadness and an obvious nausea, but she held there for her friends.

“Will they… will they be alright?” She asked to the moon goddess.

“My sister will be for sure, give her a few days. She knows it is not her fault but she will take this hard… the thing that did this took… took something from her a long time ago” Luna shook her head to not think about it “Jonathan will have to come to terms that he did all that could and that it is what matters. He used his strength and his training to take and deal punishment from those that harmed the weak and that could not defend themselves, even though for him it is a lesson that may not be learned easily” She gave a glance towards Twilight “Twilight is… she is something different. We will have to see”

“I am sure she will be… given enough time” Fluttershy was unable to take a single step towards her friend. She needed time and she knew it, besides it would only hurt her more if she saw that Fluttershy was practically crying too “But it is going to get dark soon, they all need to move when Princess Celestia is finished”

“I am done” Celestia said without looking away from Trixie “I had finished a while ago but we all needed time” She gave a loud sigh “This was not how it was supposed to happen. I never knew about this creature coming back until it was too late and I didn’t know we would take so long to get here by flying. Had I know about this when it happened a week ago everypony should be safe, however as it stands now…” She gave a look of pity towards Trixie whom had just lost everything she had in her life but two girls that didn’t know who their mother really was “I don’t think I deserve to be the goddess of the sun anymore”

“Tia, you did what you could, we both did and so did Twilight and Jonathan” Luna pleaded to her sister “Please, calm down… I am sure we will find any other thing like this one if they are roaming around”

“She is right your majesty”

Twilight had left the spot where she had been standing for the past three hours, her mind finally wrapped around what had happened and her desire to go back to her home and rest overcoming her need to cry. She would have plenty of time for that when she was alone; in fact she was hoping that Spike would remain with the young ones until she felt any better. The reason was pretty obvious as they all saw her distraught face and how barely her emotions were in check.

“You did all you could. I am just sorry because I couldn’t be here sooner myself…”

“My dear student, the duty to protect Equestria is of my sister and me. The Elements of Harmony, you and your friends, should only intervene when it is needed” She looked back at the human, still away, now looking at the makeshift graves with a somber look as the armor and weapons had been gone a long time by now “I knew since I meet him that he could be a danger. When I learned of this I wanted him and you to investigate and to see if this could change him, to make him see he is needed and that he should change his ways to not think he is guilty of all what he had to do, or at least to forgive himself… I had never thought it would end like this. It was enough pain for everyone to know that we lost good ponies here, but for you to know that you lost part of your family… I doubt I could feel more useless and cruel now”

“You did what you thought was right, your majesty” Twilight bowed, but her tone was a monotone without much feeling now “I know you, like anypony else, does not always make the best decisions, I also know you sometimes hate the ones that you have to take, I was with you when some of those came to happen. I would have been pained by this one way or another, at least in this case I could help…and I saved part of my family”

“It is still not enough to redeem myself Twilight. I did something very wrong today hoping for the best…”

“Princess, don’t worry” Twilight got closer to give her teacher a gentle nuzzle, even if Celestia felt it empty and forced “I know you did what you thought was the best. However I would… I would like to have the next few days to myself”

“Don’t worry, you can take as much time as you need” Celestia returned the nuzzle to her young student and looked at the sun as her internal clock told her that it was time for her sister to rise the moon “However you should be on your way. Let Miss Fluttershy help you with Trixie on the way back as Jonathan will have his own bones still too weak to support both of the weights” Turning just to give Fluttershy a gentle look she continued, as she was not willing to let Twilight escape her field of vision as worried as she was “I trust you can take care of the young Trixie until she recovers?”

“Of course, Princess Celestia” The shy mare let out a barely audible reply, mix of fear and mix of respect “But… umm… what should I tell her?”

Turning yet again Celestia saw how J finally turned, his eyes red and his face wet. Probably the poor young man had it with this and how the world he thought was practically perfect had been messed up. In fact Celestia thought that he was probably blaming himself by this point, even if he knew perfectly well that even in the series that he saw this world was never as peaceful and perfect as he thought. To pop such a sweet and innocent hope to someone that had lost most of them was… cruel, at best.

“I wouldn’t worry about that. There will be one to take care of such a thing, you just keep her safe” Fluttershy nodded at the request of the princess “Now though, pick her up gently and try to not use much magic while handling her. She needs to take it very slowly and the incantation does not react kindly to other magic”

She saw Fluttershy nod, Twilight took some time but nodded at her teacher before walking besides Trixie, lifting her with the help of a quick spell so both could carry the unconscious mare on their backs. They left the cave soon afterwards with Fluttershy trying to drag her friend away of the place that had been the witness of something she wished she didn’t know.

As she looked back at them Celestia almost missed J passing in front of her, however once he was almost outside of the cave she cleared her throat and caught his attention, making him stop and turn to show the face that now gave all but the nice smile he had sported for most his stay in here. This close it was obvious he had cried, that his eyes were bloodshot and that he probably felt the pain of not the blows from before but his extremely guilty conscience.

“What do you want?”

“To talk” Celestia wasn’t hurt by his harsh and bold tone and demeanor, he had earned the right to show it “Luna, leave us and make sure Twilight is well… at least as much as she can be now”

Nodding, Luna took off as she began to raise the moon in the sky. The stars watching as the events unfold before them, seeing how two powers in doubt of their own actions came to clash in a way they hadn’t since they had meet. One single day now looked like a little eternity with how much had happened in so few hours.

“Jonathan, I am sorry for what I have done to you” Celestia began, trying to look at the human and make eye contact, but she wasn’t capable of “A single day, it took a single day to make me hate my decisions of what I did and what I have done. I am sorry for the pressure and hate I have showed you, I had thought of you as a danger, as someone that would not forgive himself and that would succumb to dark temptations if they came to pass… When the young fillies told you about a monster powerful and daring enough to attack such a big circus with so many powerful and skilled ponies I knew of what it was, yet instead of going to help right away I let you prepare and take your chances against this creature as I thought it would be the perfect chance to force improvement on you, or to get rid of you right away”

J didn’t say a word, he simply stared at Celestia. She was incapable of looking at him but he was more than capable to glare daggers at her form. He had hated himself for being so slow and useless; to have to use what he hated to try and then fail to save ponies… and Celestia could have been here, maybe not on time to save them three, but on time to save two of them. She could have made this easier for Twilight and, even if he hated to be so selfish, for him.

“I do not know what it will take for you to forgive me; I can take my deal away from you and break it without harming you if you want. I will even grant you a single wish you desire if you say the word as far as it doesn’t harm anypony” She finally dared to look at him in the eyes “Just… just forgive me please… I didn’t want to do what I did… I just feared for Twilight and everypony in Ponyville, you have to understand…”

“Princess” J cut her off as he walked right in front of her face “If you are sincere, tell me: What did you give to bring back Trixie? Tell me what happened and then, maybe, I will decide if you are to be forgiven”

“What did I give? Why would you want to know that?” Celestia didn’t know what to say, if she did say the truth he would consider it to be not enough.

“What would you sacrifice for your subjects? You wanted me here to learn a lesson and the only reason I haven’t slapped you in the face was because at least Trixie could be saved” His demeanor was calm and his voice even, but the look in his eyes did say something else altogether “From Canterlot you took more time than us, you would have found no one alive, yet you came to ensure that you saved us at least, and for that I am grateful. However there was no warning, there was no insight of what we could see here. You didn’t tell me what you knew and it almost cost Twilight not only her family, but her life. For me that is a form of lying, something that you know perfectly well what means to me”

His accusatory glare hurt Celestia more than any physical harm that she had expected from him, something that made her rise in a mix of guilt and anger.

“I would sacrifice everything for them” She said, stomping the ground as she got serious, glaring at him “I would spill my own blood if that was necessary. I love everypony like if they were my children, for I have seen them grow, wither and die, I have lived a whole age seeing how they loved and how their feelings were broken, returned and how things played for them. I am as old as half of your written story and wise as I am I would give my hooves to ensure that it was changed so my sister and I would have lived our lives and died of old age long ago instead of still having all this bitterness burning on my mind” She glared at him, her eyes watering fast “You want to know why I didn’t tell you? It is because what you found here was what made your kind do what it did, it is because a Nightmare got the key piece on the move, because humans that have darkness in their hearts are what could destroy Equestria. If I had told you, then you wouldn’t have fought against it as you should. You would have been lost to the nightmare and you would have taken Twilight’s life before plunging this world into darkness again”

Now, crying, Celestia didn’t want to stop. If she was going to spill it then better that he knew all that he needed to, even if it hurt her to remember all way too soon than she had wanted to. Telling her sister had been a depression all on itself, one that she had to hide, but one that she didn’t want to revive again. And so she locked it back in her mind until yesterday. Seeing how the man in front of her was losing her cool was enough to know she was making an impact, but she wanted more than that for the memories flooded her and the pain and guilt in her soul demanded more from her.

“When that happened I didn’t lose simply my sister, my only family and one of my three friends” She said with tears in her eyes “I lost the only pony that had known me since I was young and then I lost my love! Do you know what I parted ways here?! I parted ways with the only thing that I will never be able to share with the one I had loved! I am barren until the day I die, for I have no one to share it thanks to one stupid man!”

As if a ton of bricks had hit him, J found himself on the ground with Celestia towering in front of him. She was crying and looking at him defiant, not with hate but with the look of someone that had lost almost all that she had dear in life with the tiniest of sparks keeping her together. She had now lost ponies to an ancient evil that seemed to signal that whatever had happened in the days of old could happen again. With him as the first piece in the board the princess had been reliving sadness, coupling with her latest failure as she harmed her young student and made him feel worthless in his new life.

“Does it seem enough of a sacrifice to you? I had to live my life alone, rebuild a nation from its ashes and condemn a whole species so the Nightmares could be banished, so the rest of us could live” Her voice breaking, her eyes and cheeks full of tears “The humans that lived here were gentle and nice… only one turned to be cruel and he took everything away from me” She cried, her hair veiling her sad expression.

“I… I am sorry Celestia… I didn’t know” J got up; approaching the crying goddess slowly and insecure of what to do “I know you had your reasons to hate me…”

“No, no I had none” She sobbed, getting her hair out of the way “I should stop living in the past and question the what ifs… much the same as you should do” The sun goddess calmed herself, looking straight at him “Even with this I know you won’t change, not yet, you need time. I am sorry about my outburst but you deserved to know… and I didn’t saw any kind of way around it but to let my feelings come out this way” She tried to smile again, only showing sorrow from a thousand years of survivor’s guilt “But I hope you understand now that what I asked you is not only to save yourself, but to save my little student and her friends. They have darkness within that will call for the Nightmares and I need you willing to redeem yourself or you will not redeem them. They, and my sister, is all I have left” J turned his head away, but Celestia made him look at her again “Take your time Jonathan, I have never asked something impossible, no matter how many mistake I have made. I just hope I make no more in what is left of my life”

“C-Celestia… I… don’t know if I can” J tried to look away, but once more Celestia forced him to look at her “I made so many mistakes, I didn’t even save the ponies here, I almost let Twilight get killed and I was too harmed and scared to do anything” His tone was bitter, his face sad and without more tears to cry “I was broken… and you had to save me… even when I thought all I would do was hate you” He embraced the goddess, unable to cry but feeling a mix between happiness and sadness “I am sorry… I shouldn’t have hated you for that; I should’ve known you did that for my own good… I was… I was just… bitter and angry at all that had happened”

“We both made mistakes, some of them paid dearly” The goddess returned the favor as she wrapped her wings against him “But your duty now is not to be sorry. I want you to ensure Twilight comes out of this as best as her young mind can”

J pushed gently to break the embrace. He felt like he didn’t deserve such a thing for so long. Maybe someday he could play innocent and share a day with the goddess and her sister, plus all the friends together if he did things right. Now though… a few seconds and a few tears was as much as he felt like he deserved.

“I will Princess. She is my friend… I would do anything for her” He assured to the goddess with a serious and calm face, at least the best he could offer.

Celestia simply smiled, relaxing as best as she could “Thanks Jonathan. Then go back with them, help her through the night… You don’t need the powers of a goddess to know this is going to be the worst night in her life” As much as she wanted Celestia could not break the sadness on her voice or in her expression “Also, take this” With a small flash of light a little pouch popped out in front of J “Use it tonight, she will need it. The spell is easy and will only last a day if she doesn’t want it permanently”

Looking curiously at the bag J had to ask “What does it do?”

“Depends on what she wants” Was all that Celestia had to say “Now go back, me and my sister will make this a decent place of rest for the poor souls that lie here. It will take some time, but we will make a safe road towards Ponyville so when it is time you all can come to visit them”

Knowing he would get nothing else from Celestia, granted that he had received much more than he wanted or hoped for, J nodded. It would be a long walk home and the night sky, for once, didn’t calm his thoughts.

*** Back at the Library ***

The trek back home had been… sad, to say something. Fluttershy had been trying to cheer up Twilight to no avail and J had been little help as he knew not how to get the little egghead away from what had happened. Once they got out of the forest Twilight had helped Fluttershy take Trixie to her home, leaving her in the sofa on the first floor as without magic it would be way too dangerous to handle Trixie in fear of what could happen if the magic from Twilight and Celestia reacted, also it was risky to let J, whom was still fragile, hold her and take her upstairs.

After that they had said their goodbyes, or at least J had, and left the cottage back to walk towards Twilight’s house as the moon slowly rose in the sky. Whether it was blind luck or something else the two of them made it back to her house without anyone’s nose poking out to catch a glance of the human. It had been two days now and he hadn’t been discovered, but tomorrow, he felt it, he would need to walk away from the tree house for a while, alone.

Once inside her house Twilight didn’t care about anything anymore. She let out a loud sob and began to cry, she didn’t notice that Spike was not there and that J was trying to give her any comfort, she simply got away and went to her room, climbing the stairs with J following close behind her to ensure that the young mare didn’t fell as she wobbled like she was drunk under the tiring and painful sensations she was feeling.

The bed, for once, felt so small and lonely for her as she got between the sheets. It was then when she saw that, as she had hoped, Spike wasn’t there. After all of this and when she got something she wanted Twilight couldn’t help but felt even worse. Now her night would end up being as lonesome as she had hoped at first, but it was not until now when she understood how much needed someone there with her, to help her, to understand her, to have a shoulder where she could cry.

“Twilight…”

Wide eyed, Twilight turned to see that, even without noticing him; J had followed her and was kneeling in front of her bed. A look of concern washed through his tired face and even those bloodshot eyes from his crying were now sad again, but not for what had happened but for concern towards the young mare.

“I know you may want me gone but… Celestia wanted me to use this on you tonight” He pulled the little pouch, opened it and, after seeing a silver like dust, poured it over Twilight as it spread all over her bed “She said that the effect depends on what you want. I do not know if it will help you as what you want may be… impossible to achieve for this but…” He got closer and gave the mare a gentle embrace “I hope I can help”

As he hugged the broken Twilight the bed expanded, growing until it filled the whole upper level just enough to be large enough to hold two people, people, not ponies Twilight noticed. She wanted someone, not somepony, to be with her tonight because Fluttershy had an important duty to fulfill now and because she had her Knight and Protector. She couldn’t help but give a faint but sad smile at how corny it sounded, yet it gave her a little warm inside her now cold and sad body. Finally she looked him in the eyes and simply said.

“Sleep with me tonight” She begged with teary eyes “Don’t leave me alone…”

Surprise, amazement and maybe fear crossed J’s eyes as she heard Twilight. He looked at her and could only see her eyes pleading with al her soul for him to stay. No friend of her seemed to be available and the only shoulder she could cry on, that she seemed to want to cry on, was his.

He had endured this short but traumatizing endeavor with her and there would be none better than him to understand what she was going through. She had lost people very dear to her and, to J; it meant that she had her soul torn away. It hadn’t been the intention Celestia had when she had left both Twilight and him go there, but J had to admit that the harm done to the loving mare would take time to heal, intentional or not.

J got up gently, not taking his hands from Twilight until he showed her that all he wanted to do was undress. It didn’t take long and he was soon in his shorts, something that at least made his friend smile a bit as she looked away embarrassed. To him it meant the world that it lightened her mood even a bit. He had never been able to stand around to see a friend hurt and not be able to help them smile. When Twilight gave that little smile it brought back some of the warmth he had once felt when he had been swarmed with friends. Maybe, with luck, he could someday feel it again if he did as Celestia asked him and found a way to forgive himself.

In a quick motion he got into the bed, letting Twilight look at him again. Sighing sadly she moved forward, cuddling against her newest friend for comfort and warm as she let her sobbing take her again while drenching J with her tears. She felt somewhat happy to have someone with her tonight, but the loss would be bitter for a long time, much more if Trixie or the young girls reacted badly.

“I don’t *sniff* want to *sniff* lose my family” She let out as she tried to held together “Oh Celestia *sob* this is… this is *Sob* the worst day of my life”

“Sssssh… relax, let it all out…” J had been in this position before. It was not a solution anyone wanted, but crying until slept got you usually made the tension dissipate to an extent.

And she indeed cried, for hours. The night was young still but Twilight would continue crying until the moon began to descend, slowly giving way to prepare for a new day. J didn’t move from where he was; he embraced his friend and held her close, letting her vent until she was so tired that slept got to her. Only then did he close his eyes and pulled her tightly against his body.

‘Whatever the cost, I don’t care what it is. Neither you, nor your friends will have to cry like this ever again’ He swore within his mind, anger rising inside of his very being.

*** Chapter 5 End ***

As you have seen, this chapter has drama, my first try at drama to be precise. I hate it, I hate it with PASION, but a good writer knows that drama is necessary when making a serious story. As much as I prefer to laugh over crying (Well, yea, like most people) I made the story knowing I would hate making some of it, like this section here. I am going to be sincere and tell you all that it took me a real long time, for my taste, to write this section as I tend to get as much in character as I can, so yea… I cried…

I like to expand the story of the characters, mine of otherwise, if their story is vague and open. I thought that I had to strengthen Twilight’s character, and so I gave her this. I felt like an asshole as I wrote this, but at the same time it felt right for the story to go this way, it is what I thought was fitting and how I could explain more things while getting some more in motion. I do hope that no one is angry at me for all of this, but after all of this being done it will either make you wish for more… or it will make you all stop reading it.

Until next time.