The Problem With Magic

by deathtap

Rating: teen
Tags: Profanity, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Romance, Adventure
Length: 444024

An angry, bitter man bets with a rather strange character and ends up in the most unlikeliest world

A man gets transported to Equestria thanks to a particularly strange event.

After doing some pretty dastardly things, he finds himself on the run from the law and ends up in the presence of one of the most unlikeliest characters who gives him a strange deal: find out the true meaning of friendship and the magic therein within one month, or spend the rest of his life imprisoned in limbo.

With his freedom on the line, the man has to learn the value of friendship and what he learns could change his life. For better or worse, only time can tell.

- Set around +10 years from the current time-line
- Story has ceased being canon
- Story has characters from various stories (with authorization from their authors)
- Strong language from the start (i.e. lots of swearing)
- Cover art by Ephemurai
- Pictures by LuckyBreak
- Old cover art - 2
- Old cover art - 1
==============

List of OC's and Characters

Published 2012-04-27 19:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2022-07-19 12:42:18 UTC

Day 1: Welcome to Ponyville

I awoke with the most severe headache you could possibly imagine. At first, I had hoped that it was all a really, very bad dream. After all, what the chances that I would end up in...

"Shit!" I muttered aloud to myself looking at my hands that were not hands. They were hooves. Yes, hooves. You cannot possibly imagine how annoying it is trying to spread your hands out and being unable to. The feeling of used to having hands was extremely strange. It felt as if my palms were wide open, yet there were no fingers I could move - yeah, it sucked.

The first thought that struck me was; How am I supposed to hold things? Even standing up was a project. Swaying my body from one side to the other, I eventually had to use my face to help myself up off the ground. As I stood up I practiced walking around the place getting used to being a four legged creature. It was not as simple as I thought, for my body seemed to naturally want to stand up, yet it felt more comfortable on all fours instead. After a while of learning how to walk, or crawl I guess, I took in my surroundings.

I stood in the middle of a copse and looked around. This area was treeless, and the grass beneath my feet was a familiar site. But that was about it. The trees and the scenery were completely alien to me. I could not recognize anything - not that I was botanist or anything, but the plants were completely weird. It was then that I noticed a familiar looking tan, greenish object. I walked over to it and looked. It was my bag!

Not daring to breathe, I opened it and lo' and behold, there was my laptop! I wanted to take it out, to kiss it, to touch it ever so lovingly, but I was too scared about getting caught by some damned Pony or whatever, so I left it inside my bag. If someone were to find me hugging this thing that be an automatic game over for me. Closing my bag - it had a flap and no zip, I hated zips - I slipped my neck through it and let it hang there.

A part of me felt smug. A few months ago I bought this rustic looking bag from a street vendor near where I lived. The great thing about China Town was that people there sold stolen shit and no-one gave a fuck. No doubt this bag was stolen from somewhere and the guy who sold it to me was eager to get rid of it. The bag looked like it was handmade, but whatever. It was big, and I could stuff a lot of crap into it. Two important things a bag needs. Strange thing was, although the laptop was inside, my clothes were gone. All of them, even the ones I was wearing. Essentially I was naked.

Looking between my legs, my jaw dropped. I even lifted my leg like a dog, but there was nothing there! Where was it? Where was my manly organ? Did these Ponies have no penises? How would I piss? How would I...

I stopped myself before I could complete the thought. This was Pony land. There were no humans. So I took that thought and put it as far away as possible in my brain. No. Just, no. Not going to happen. While here, I was going to remain celibate.

Shaking off the thought, I looked up at the sky. Daylight streamed through the forest's canopy. The sun seemed to be right above us, so perhaps it was around noon - if this place had the same chronology as mine. From what the Changeling was saying, I think they were the same, but she did say something about changing the flow of time. I might have learnt something if I was not busy freaking the fuck out. Taking a deep breath, I gathered myself. Needed to have my wits on me.

Managing to get some sort of bearing, and despite the lack of a male organ between my legs, I forged on. I needed to get this stupid bet over and done with and get out of this crazy nightmare. True meaning of friendship, my ass! How the fuck was I supposed to do that? I hated people. It's not that I'm introverted, it's just people annoyed the shit of me. Pathetic excuse for living beings. The world would be better off with them. The only person I need is myself! Why do I have to discover some sort of answer to some secret that I don't give two shits about? Now I had to essentially find someone and learn about this friendship bullshit.

Then I remembered that the Changeling had said that these woods were 'very, very' dangerous. Two verys. That's not a good thing. So I needed to get my caboose out of there before something bad happens. Death. Yeah, death is a very bad thing. I'd prefer eternity trapped with that creature than death any day. Or would I?

"Well, then. Straight I go," I muttered, and headed straight in one direction, hoping the sun would stay in the sky.

After a while of walking, I started to get that disturbing feeling that someone was watching you from the bushes. Every time I turned around, though, the feeling would vanish. This kept on happening for a while until I could take it no more!

"Look, I know you're there. Come out and show yourself!" I growled.

What growled back was a large wolf-like creature. It stood at least twice my height, and had two rows of very pointy teeth. This was not a friendly creature, that much was for sure. The strange thing was that it seemed to be made of wood. But those teeth! Very sharp. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear the Changeling's words echo in my head. 'Very, very dangerous'.

So, I did the only thing I could think of. I laughed. Hard. As if insanity had taken me. What else could I do? In my mind I thought, This was it! I've been in this strange land for no more than a few hours, and I'm already dead.

But my laughing confused the predator, and it stopped and stared at me for a moment, then actually took a step back. That was when I heard a voice.

"Do not stop to smell the roses, run to me before my door closes!" A voice shouted.

"The f..." I stopped myself from speaking and bolted. The... whatever it was - gave chase, closing in behind me. Go! I urged my stupid body. Go! Run! I yelled in my head, charging towards where the voice had originated from.

Running - or galloping - at full tilt I saw a path and instinctively followed it. Up ahead I could see a door in built into a tree. Then I realized that it was a house! I saw the door and indeed it was closing. With every last bit of energy I had, I charged forwards as fast as I could. The creature behind me was breathing hard, its breath seemed to be warming my rear. I did not want to turn around. I did not want to see how close that thing was to me. The door was almost closed, and I did not think I was going to make it! I gritted my teeth closed my eyes and jumped.

A part of me expected to faceplant against the door, but no, I faceplanted against the floor. Wham! Slam! The door shut behind me. Boom! The beast collided with it. I'm surprised the door did not break from the impact. The creature growled then whined before it gave up. I could hear it slink off, and I guessed that it knew better than to stay.

As my heart calmed down my first thoughts were to check my laptop, but I resisted the temptation. Could not risk it, not when I had company. I turned around to thank my savior and saw two glowing yellow eyes hidden behind a cape. The robe covered the entire body, and those eyes glowed pretty intimidatingly. My breath caught in the throat. Did I just literally jump out of the frying-pan and into the fire? The creature lowered her hood - how, I do not know - and in front of me I saw a striped creature. A zebra.

Sure, why not? I muttered to myself, Ponies, zebras, strange wolf-like animals. Can't wait to meet the elephants!

"You are lucky, I must agree, that Timberwolf nearly feasted on a pony," She said to me.

"Thanks. You saved my hide. I owe you one." Despite my overwhelming sense of relief, in my mind I felt really annoyed. Timberwolves? Made from wood? Timber and wolves? I made a mental note to strangle whoever thought of that.

"That is a good thing to know, but tell me how you ended up here, though."

"Um... well, you see, I... got lost... and... well... yeah. I'm on my way to..." What was the name of that town? "To... the town... and I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere?"

"That is a very strange thing, for here in the Everfree Forest there is only one way in," The zebra said and walked over to the window and peered outside.

"Yeah? Well, I think I walked in to... well, curiosity, you see... and then... I got lost."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you nearly made that Timberwolf fat."

"You... really talk like that, eh? In rhymes?" I said aloud, then to myself immediately afterwards, Yeah, no shit Sherlock.

"It has become a habit of mine, you do not approve of rhyme?"

"It's not that, I'm just impressed you're able to do it every single time..." This was perhaps the biggest bullshit I've ever heard. A talking zebra who spoke in rhyme? And why did she sound like someone from Africa? A zebra, from Africa? Right, did they have an Africa in Pony world? Of course she's going to have an African accent! What other accent would she have? Too many questions. No logical answers.

Wing it! I told myself, "Since I'm lost... is it possible to help me find my way out?"

"To town I will lead the way, for at night here you must not stay."

"Uh... that's kind of you to say?" I replied stupidly trying to tie on to her rhyming.

She just smiled at me, "Zecora was the name given at my birth, tell me yours, Pony of Earth."

At first I wondered how she came up with all these rhymes so quickly. But due to my brilliance I understood how she was able to accomplish this feat. She probably had certain pairs of words that she used to strong together naturally. That was how she was able to pull off all these rhymes. A part of me felt a sadistic urge to try and get her to break her system, but I am supposed to befriend these animals. What if I insulted her and made her hate me for doing that? Could not take the risk. Eternal prison with that Changeling was not an option and I was not going to risk it. If this Zebra could teach me what I needed to know, then I'd gladly be her friend. I shuddered at the thought.

I understood she wanted a name. But could my name be used? After all, the Changeling said that if any Pony guessed that I was a human then that would automatically result in me being imprisoned with her. And as stated before, that was not an option.

"I'm sorry, uh, Zecora?" She nodded, confirming that I had said her name correctly. Zecora, the Zebra. Great, at least I won't forget that, "I... er... seem to have forgotten my name. I... was climbing a tree... and I... er... fell down. I must have hit my head pretty hard..." Brilliant! A horse climbing a tree? Where the hell did I pull that one out of? My ass was already empty from all the shit I pulled out of it dealing with the Changeling. But, whatever. It seemed to work.

"Perhaps it's amnesia that ails you, in town we will find you a doctor or two."

"That sounds great!" I lied. Pony doctors? Wouldn't they be called vets? Fuck it, just play along.

She began to potter about in her hut, and I used that time to look around. I saw large masks on the walls that resembled those African tribes masks I'd seen at museums and movies. There were a tonne of bottles and shit lying around, filled with every conceivable color. And books, there were all round the place, and right smack in the middle of the room was a huge cauldron of bubbling liquid. Despite its greenish gooey texture, the smell that around from it was simply divine. Whatever it was, it made my stomach growl.

That brought another concern to me. Food. What the hell do these Ponies eat? Don't tell me I had to learn how to eat grass...

"Are you ready to go to town, or do want a snack to calm your stomach down?" Zecora said, smiling at me.

"A snack?" Why the fuck not, I muttered in my head, "Sure!"

She walked over to another part of her home and pulled something out from a shelf, and then opened it. Inside was a large green apple. Green apples. I love green apples. Before she could say anything else, I had devoured it in one bite. Perhaps I was a little too hungry. She chuckled to herself.

"There is something strange about your flank, for it is completely blank," Zecora said as I was crunching away on my apple.

Was she checking me out? Why was she staring at my ass? I looked over to hers and saw something there. It looked like a sun with a vortex in the middle. I did not want to say anything, so I kept chewing for as long as I could hoping that she would forget about it, but she did not. Now I had to think of something and quick.

"I... don't know..." Something true! Even though that was not quite what I meant.

"You are a very strange stallion, no name nor a mark, but come let us go before it gets dark."

I knew that she meant that we had to leave so that she could get home before night came. But I was still starving. Would it be polite to have another apple? Could not risk insulting her. So, I sucked it up. Food can come later. At least they had apples to eat, the prospect of eating grass did not sit well with me.

Away we went through the woods. Despite my slightly larger stature compared to the Zebra, I was not used to dealing with woods of any sort, so I kept close behind her hoping that the wolf had fucked off. She followed a large path that led in more or less a straight route. After a few more moments the woods started to thin out, and eventually we came to what looked like a bridge, or something.

"The Everfree Forest entrance is right in front of your face, do you remember passing through this place?"

Seriously, why did she keep talking like that? "No, I don't remember..." Because I never went through here, you stupid horse!

She frowned, and continued to lead the way. As soon as we passed the bridge, or whatever it was, everything seemed to lighten up and the sight in front of me took my breath away.

Ponies! Tonnes of them! Not only on the ground, but up in the air as well! My mind was blown. And they were from all shades of colors! Not just normal colors for horses back from my world, but all sorts. This must be what people on LSD must see. Something on my face seemed to make Zecora curious, because she stopped and looked at me strangely.

"Wha... what?"

"Is there anyone with which you can stay? Or perhaps a room at the hotel - if you can pay."

I stared at her for a moment, then explained that I had no money. But it surprised me that these creatures had a currency? What did Ponies use a money anyway?

"Then what you need is a job to do, do a good job and they will pay you."

This is getting really old, really fast. I thought to myself, but I forced a smile, "Do you know where I can work, then? To get a job?"

"Applejack's farm is the first place you should see, extra hands to help she might accept happily."

"A farm? Great!" Fuck no! I hated manual labor. Working with my hands? She mad? But then again, what hands? But I couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth - no pun intended. I needed to find a job, get money and shit.

All the while the fact that I no longer had a penis still was bothering the fuck out of me. No matter how much I tried to shove the though aside it would promptly place itself whenever I happened to see another male - or what looked to be a male. Seriously had to resist the urge to look between their legs. Didn't want them to think I was a gay Pony if such a thing existed.

Zecora smiled at my answer, and continued to lead the way. As we walked, we came over a crest of a small rise and down below I saw it. A town, "Welcome, stranger, to the happy town of Ponyville, does its sight happen to ring a bell?"

With her accent those two words actually rhymed. Well played, Zebra. Well played. I said to myself. "No." I said out loud to her.

Again she made a face, but continued towards the town. The brightly colored buildings took a moment to get used to. Here were more Ponies, and they were doing shit that humans do. Shopping, hanging out, being sociable. They all annoyed the shit out of me. Seriously. I envied them. They managed to get on with their lives, and a part of me wished I could go on with mine. So what if my life was mundane, but then again being a raging asshole was an inbuilt mechanism for me. So, being a mundane loser was impossible for me. But I couldn't shit like that here. What I needed to do was win this bet, get my human form back, then go home.

All the while Zecora was leading, she would sometimes pause and start digging the ground. Sometimes she'd put whatever she'd find into a bag that was hanging off her back. Saddle bags were the handbags of this world. Great.

"Hey Zecora, how's it goin'?" Came a very, very southern drawl.

Great. First Africans disguised as Zebras, now Pony red-necks! I muttered in my head.

"Oh, hi Zecora! Who's your friend?" Came a squeaky, high-pitched voice.

Before either I or Zecora could respond, a blur of pink rushed to my side. And I was staring into the big blue eyes of a florescent pink pony. Yes, she was pink. Pink! She peered deep into my eyes, and I could not help but back off slightly. The fuck was up with this one?

"This stallion was lost in the Everfree Forest you see, and he has lost his identity." Zecora explained.

The pink Pony kept moving closer to me every time I backed off. God damn it! Get this thing away from me! I wanted to shout, but I grinned and continued to back away. "Yes, that's true. I've forgotten... well, everything."

"You mean you don't know who you are?" The pink one said, shoving her head closer to mine again. She had said it as if it were the most shocking news she had ever heard in her life. I had to move my face back to avoid getting head-butted by her.

"Uh... yes... can't recall anything about me at all," I replied, moving back some more, Doesn't this bitch have a concept of personal space?

"I'm sorry, friend," The other one replied in red-neck accent, "Pinkie here means no harm."

She was orange. Orange! With a southern accent! Kill me now. "No, no. It's fine. Just caught me off guard." I lied. Get that psycho away from me! Was what I really thought.

"Applejack, dear, on your farm do you need an assist? This stallion needs to earn some coin, if you get my gist."

"Well, sure, Zecora, we could always use an extra pair of hooves over at Sweet Apple Acres. You don't mind workin' hard and sweatin', do you?" Applejack asked.

I hate working. Was my instinctive answer, and I would have said it, but I needed to make money. At least I didn't need to apply for a job, "Great! I love sweating and working hard. Builds character." I lied. All it did was make my muscles ache.

"Then it's agreed. We start working bright and early. It's Applebuckin' season, and we start buckin' them apples first thing in the morning!"

"Buckin'?" I asked.

"Come tomorrow and I'll show you how it's done." Applejack replied.

"What time?" I asked, "I mean, do I need to come by?"

"Well, I say around five in the mornin' we start, so anytime before then," Applejack looked at me.

"Yay!" I said sarcastically, but my sarcasm fell on deaf ears, and Applejack smiled widely.

"Five in the morning?" The pink Pony squawked, "No way I'd wake up that early!"

"You don't have to Pinkie. It's for this here stallion. So, I'll see you there. Come along Pinkie, let's go," Applejack said, dragging the pink pony with her mouth.

"But, but... he doesn't have a name!" Pinkie said, "How do I know what to put on his welcome to Ponyville cake if he doesn't have a name!"

"Welcome to Ponyville cake?" As soon as the question left my lips, the pink pony slipped out of her friend's grip and was at my side faster than you could blink.

"Yes, I always throw parties for new-Ponies that come to Ponyville! I'll throw one for you!"

"Now, Pinkie, I'm not sure that's such a good idea... at least, not now..." Applejack started. To be fair, she was trying to get Pinkie away from me. My hatred for the orange one diminished slightly for the effort.

"Why not, Applejack?" Pinkie then turned to me, ducked behind me and vanished. Then before I could turn around, she was back in front of me bobbing up and down.

Was I hearing... music? Yep, I was definitely hearing it. Where the hell was it coming from? Was I going mental? I turned around, there was a large portable music box-like thing behind me! Where the fuck did that come from? Before the thought could complete itself, the pink Pony twisted my my neck to face her.

"Welcome welcome welcome, a fine welcome to you," She sang.

Fuck no! You're shitting me! She's actually singing?

"Welcome welcome welcome I say how do you do? Welcome welcome welcome, I say hip hip hurray! Welcome welcome welcome to Ponyville today!" She skidded on her knees to me.

Then the box-music thing behind me exploded which made me jump and have a minor heart attack as confetti showered down on me from above, and in the next moment a cake popped out from the front.

"What do you know! I actually put the cake and confetti in the right places this time!" She went over to the cake, stood on her hind legs and lifted the cake up and walked over to me, "Blow out your candles!"

"But... it isn't my birthday..." Just then my brain interrupted me, Logic be damned. Make the pink Pony happy! Never has my brain made so much sense. I blew those fucking candles out. I blew them so hard, I could have sword the icing on the cake would have flown off.

"Okay, Pinkie, that's enough..." Applejack said in the silence that followed.

"But... he still needs to eat some cake!"

I was starving! And admittedly the cake smelt rather good. So, I took a bite. God damn it! This cake was friggin' gorgeous! The best cake I have ever eaten in my life! The texture, the flavors. Everything about it was exceptional. I tasted like mint, chocolate, vanilla and strawberries all wrapped up into a single perfect bite. No one flavor overpowered the other, and the icing had a flavor that complimented the sweetness. Chefs on my world would have killed to have this recipe. I think I had an orgasm in my mouth, that was how good it was. I destroyed the cake, and yet still I was starving. But perhaps, now that I had played along, the pink Pony would leave me the fuck alone!

"Pinkie..." Applejack began, but once again, Pinkie had something to say. There was just no stopping her!

"A name! He needs a name. Maybe his mark will give us a clue!" She zipped around me faster than I could blink. How the hell did she do that? "Ohmygosh! Applejack, looky! He's got no Cutie Mark!" She pointed at my ass. Now I noticed that almost every single pony had markings! But not me.

"Um... yeah, I don't know anything about that." I replied truthfully.

"A Cutie Mark is a mark that appears when you've learnt something special about you! Like a talent, or something like that!" The pink Pony said as if she were speed-talking, again well within my personal space. I backed up a bit away from her again.

"Pinkie, I think he meant that he doesn't know about why he doesn't have a Cutie Mark, sweetie, not that he doesn't know what a Cutie Mark is." Applejack said, trying once again to pull Pinkie away from me. She got more points deducted from my hate-scale for that. At this rate I might even get to like her.

"Oh yeah! I knew that," Pinkie grinned in response.

"Your talent is blowing balloons?" I asked, noticing that she had three balloons as her Cutie Mark. Even thinking of the name of the mark made me shudder. Cutie Mark? Seriously?

"Pinkie Pie's talent lies in something worthwhile, the ability to make everyone smile." Zecora answered my question.

I guess she was right. Despite freaking me out, I found that I did have a smile on my face, although it was more of a mocking one.

"You need a name." She began to think of one.

Don't hurt your brain. I said to myself, "Sure, why not."

"I know!" She shouted. That scared the shit out of me. Never expected her to explode suddenly like that, "How about Forest?"

"Forest?" I asked. That wasn't too bad. Better than I expected, actually.

"Why in tarnation would you want to call him Forest?"

"Because he came from the Everfree Forest, silly. It's just until he remembers his real name." Pinkie grinned, "So? What do you think?"

Better than nothing, and I really did like it, "Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Thank you, Pinkie." And the funny thing was, I actually meant it. Now I didn't have to think up of a name.

"Forest is a good name I must admit, to this namesake you must commit. Now we must look for someplace to lay your head, one with a nice, warm, cozy bed." Zecora turned and began to lead the way.

"Oh, it's scheduled to rain a little later," Applejack said, "About an hour from now."

"Scheduled?" I asked, a little too quickly.

"Wow, you must have hit your head harder than I thought. Scheduled. You know. The Pegasi control the weather, they're makin' it rain later." Applejack said, looking at me funny.

You've got to be fucking kidding me! I thought to myself, "Oh yeah! That does sound familiar. I think I am recalling that. Strange I would forget something so obvious." I laughed aloud. Got to be careful!

"The only place on Equestria that has its own weather is in the Everfree Forest... how long were you in there for?"

Shit! I shouted at myself, "No idea. I think... maybe a while? I don't know."

That seemed to satisfy Applejack, "Okay then. See you tomorrow, Forest. My farm is located over yonder. Just follow the path that way and you can't miss it." She pointed with her hoof.

"See you tomorrow, and thanks for the opportunity," I said, Please go away now. I thought, before the pink one could 'attack' me again.

Finally the two Ponies left much to my relief, and I followed Zecora (who did her digging a couple more times) to a nice looking place. It was a fairly large house, and on the front written in English - yes, English - it said 'Prancing Pony'. That name sounded very familiar to me, but I couldn't place it. Whatever. It's a hotel, inn... stables?

Zecora conversed with the receptionist. The main lobby area was tiny. In front of the main desk were two large sofas that occupied one entire end. Towards the left was a door that seemed to lead into a restaurant of some sort; I saw some Ponies in there sitting on tables. Next to the two sofas was a large glass window that spanned from the floor to the ceiling, outside of which you could see a large round building at the end. It looked fairly important.

I stood to one side and watched for a while. The Ponies here seemed different from the ones outside. Here they seemed more business-like, or industrious. The ones outside seemed a lot more free. It was as if this was a college town, and the Ponies here were students going nuts. The Ponies inside the seemed more professional Ponies, and disinterested in staying in this small town any longer than they needed to.

After a while Zecora returned, "A room you will have for just one week, after that another place you must seek. Remember to go to see the doctor later, perhaps he'll find something to make you better."

"Thank you, Zecora, you've done a lot for me today. And you saved my life. As I said, I owe you one. If you ever need anything, please let me know." I said aloud, If I can get you to teach me what it means to a true friend... then maybe I can end this stupid bet and go home.

She bowed her head, and walked off.

"This way please," The receptionist said. She had a high, nasal voice that grated against my ear-drums.

We walked up a slight of stairs, and almost immediately it was the first room on the left. She opened the door by using her mouth to put the key inside the door and opened it. I walked inside and looked around. Everything seemed to be like a normal hotel room. The bed, a table to sit and write shit on. There was even a chair. It was lower to the ground than human chairs, but it was a chair, nonetheless!

"This is the bathroom here." The receptionist opened a small door, and there indeed was a bathroom, and a toilet!

"Great," I smiled. Do I need to tip you, bitch?

"Dinner is at seven. Breakfast is inclusive." With that she slammed the door in my face and stalked off.

"Yeah, well fuck you too!" I said as quietly as possible.

The first thing I did was open my bag and pull out my laptop. Using my mouth, I carried it to the desk, and placed it on the table. Then, I had to find a way to open it, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it to open. Using my tongue, I poke the latch on the front. It worked! I pushed the screen up, and it automatically switched on!

Then the strangest thing on the planet happened. I got a Skype call. Seriously. A Skype call? Did the Ponies get Internet?

Hesitantly, I used my tongue on the touchpad and answered the call.

"Well, well, well, 'Forest'. Not bad. You not only survived an encounter with a Timberwolf, but you also managed to find a place to stay and get a job. And it hasn't even been your first day," Came the voice. The video appeared a moment later, but a part of me wish it hadn't. It was the Changeling.

"How the fuck are you using Skype?" I asked.

"I imbued a spell in your computer, and yes, I know what a computer is, and no, I did not program it. I used magic. We cannot communicate any other way because Celestia might sense the magic. With the magic inside this device there is no way she can find out. There is a spell inside this for you to communicate with me. I only used this Skype thing because it is something you'd be able to relate to," The Changeling leaned back. She was eating something that looked like pie. As soon as the words left her mouth, the desktop and everything else vanished and I was given a full screen image of the Changeling's hideous face.

"Thanks, I guess. Does that mean I can use the Internet?"

"No. As I said, the only purpose of that machine is to communicate with me," The Changeling frowned, "That doesn't mean I won't be watching you, but if you need to get in touch with me then you'll need this. It's your only way to talk to me."

"Great. If anyone finds this, you do know that I'm screwed, right?"

"Then you best hide it somewhere that no-one will be able to find it," The Changeling grinned, "And I've also modified it using magic. It won't run out of battery."

"We could make a fortune with that in my world," I replied, never-ending batteries for laptops? Who wouldn't buy them?

The Changeling grinned, "You still have half a day. Why not familiarize yourself with the town. Get to know more of the locals, and places."

"Fine," I stopped, "Oh, and it's been bothering me for a while, but what is your name?"

"My name?" The Changeling put her piece of pie down, "Why?"

"I mean, what do I call you? Changeling? Vampire-horse?" Bitch? I smirked at that. Bitch was a name that suited her perfectly.

There was a long silence as she looked up at the sky. Then she smiled and turned to the camera, "Tutela. You can call me that." She replied.

Tutela? I thought to myself, "Fine, Tutela.Talk to you later."

She nodded, and the call cut off. Not bothering to close the laptop, considering how difficult it was to open it in the first place, I held it in my mouth. After managing to somehow open the closet door with my hoof, I searched for the one thing that is common in hotels. A safe! A part of me could not really believe it, but another part of my mind just accepted it. Using my mouth to open the lock, I set the laptop inside. A perfect fit! Closing the safe, I armed it and then turned to the toilets.

To be honest, it was not that I needed to go, but I just had to know! Where did the my penis go? I smirked at that, Zecora's got nothing on me!

Using the mirror, I took a good look at myself. I had not realized, but my body's color was this strange tan or light mud-like color. At least I wasn't neon pink! My hair - or what do you call it on these creatures? Mane? - was a dark brown hue, almost black, the same color also marked my tail. In all essence, I was a pony in every sense of the word - with the exception that I could talk. If I was in my world, I might have passed for a proper pony. Or not, after all my colors were far too cartoony.

"I need to take a piss!" I muttered to myself, and placed where I thought my penis would be over the toilet. Then, something strange happened. My body opened up as if it were a suit! Then, there it was! My manliness! Everything was where it should be. I emptied my bladder, and watched as it retracted back into my body. To be honest, it freaked the fuck out of me, and I felt strange about what was happening. Not the fact that it entered the torso - strangely it felt natural - but that fact that since my penis went inside me, would that count as autofornication?

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" I asked myself, "Well, John, you now know how Ponies in this world hide their dicks. You deserve a fuckin' medal. Oh, sorry, I meant Forest."

Somehow I convinced myself that I was wearing a pony suit. This conclusion sort of forced itself onto me, and I just let it happen. What else could I do? Otherwise I could not accept what just happened to me.

Locking my room up - after double checking that the safe was locked down - I headed down to the lobby and placed my key at reception. The annoying bitch of a receptionist was there eying me the way bitches do when they have bitching on their minds.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me which was I could go to get me to the hospital?"

"Why? You sick? You ill? We don't want you here if you're sick..."

Relax bitch! I thought to myself, "No. I'm not sick."

"Then why'd you need to go to the hospital for?" She squawked.

My blood hit boiling point. I wanted to beat the living daylights out of this bitch. Seriously? But I swallowed my anger, and forced a smile on my face, "I need to go the hospital, because if I don't..." I'll kill you! "I won't be able to sleep tonight. I need to refill my prescription."

Accepting that I was not ill, and accepting that I genuinely needed to go, she gave me the directions, "Go out, turn left until you get to Carousel Boutique. Then take a right and head down till you reach the hospital. Can't miss it."

I turned and walked out. Fuck it. Not going to thank her. She didn't deserve a thank you.

Walking down the street, I noticed that the Ponies were rushing around. Some were putting stuff away, others were just walking briskly. I continued on my way when I started to feel drops on my head. I had totally forgotten about the rain! I ran towards the nearest building. It read something about a boutique on it, but I couldn't quite catch the name. I got in just as the rains really opened up. It poured down hard.

"Hello?" A voice cooed from behind me, "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! The most fabulous boutique in all of Ponyville... oh my, did you get caught in the rain?"

"Yeah. Can I just wait here until it stops?" I said, near the door, "Forgot that it was scheduled."

"Oh my. I hate it when that happens. Come, come, you must not dally near that door. You might catch a cold..." She motioned for me to come in.

"No, really. It's okay. I'm on my way to the hospital, anyway."

"Oh? Really? Whatever for? You look perfectly fine to me."

Fucking hell! Can't I just be left alone for ten minutes! "I have amnesia," I lied, "I wanted to see if the doctors could help." And so that Zecora doesn't chase me down asking me why I didn't go see the doctors. Who knows what these crazy equines would do. Better not risk it.

"Oh, you're that new Pony that Pinkie was talking about. I believe she's named you Forest?"

"Yes, ma'am. Forest's my new name - wait, did you say Pinkie? You're friends with her?"

"Please, Pinkie is friends with everybody, whether you like it or not. She has a very strong personality."

"I would have to agree with you on that one." I nodded.

The white Pony laughed. She had a tiny horn on her head. Was she a rhino?

"My name is Rarity, I own this boutique," She gestured with her hoof, "I make the best fashionable clothing in all of Equestria! Let alone Ponyville, I have boutiques all over the lands, from Canterlot to Fillydelphia."

I have no clue what the fuck you're talking about, but since you're showing off, I'm going to play along. "That's simply the most amazing thing ever!" I said. Perhaps that was too sarcastic?

She must have missed the sarcasm in my voice because her eyes lit up, "Would you like to see some of my work?" She asked.

"Sure. Why not. While I'm here..." I followed her, having nothing else better to do at that moment. She pushed open a set of large swivel doors and inside were two other ponies. One looked like a copy of Rarity, only a little smaller. She sat at a table with a look of deep concentration in her eyes. Another pony, this one with wings, was moving some rolls of fabric from one side of the room to the other.

"Forest, let me introduce you to my younger sister Sweetie Belle, and her friend Scootaloo."

"Hello." I said, unable to think of anything clever to say.

Sweetie Belle ran over to me, "Is it true that you don't have a Cutie Mark?"

"Sweetie!" Rarity hissed, scolding her sister.

"Word sure does get around fast," I muttered aloud. I turned slightly and let my posterior speak for itself.

The two looked at one another, "We used to have Blank Flanks like yourself for the longest time. In fact Apple Bloom still has to get her Cutie Mark. We used to call ourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Those were fun times..."

Cutie Mark Crusaders? "Apple Bloom?" I put two and two together, "I assume she's Applejack's sister."

"You know her?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Who? Applejack? Yeah, I'm working at her farm tomorrow morning." I replied. No use lying.

"No, silly. Apple Bloom."

I shook my head, "Never met her. Sorry. But the name..."

"Well, we're meeting her later on today. We're trying to find her special talent. I'm sure we'll find it soon," Scootaloo grinned, "Do you want to come? Maybe we can help you find yours too!"

"Can I think about it?" There is no fucking way that's going to happen.

"Sure." The both said together.

Then my eye caught something out of the ordinary.

"Ah, yes. I see you've noticed."

"Huh? What?" My heart beat in my throat. Did she notice something about me?

"Those strange clothes are for a human. They are made that way purposefully. This is probably the only reason why I remain here in Ponyville. My friends need me, I'm the only person in all of Equestria that can design clothes like this."

"Hu... human?" I felt that I was going to explode. Did they find out? Did I accidentally reveal myself? Did they find my laptop?

"Yes. Rainbow Dash's father. Mr. Brian Dash."

My heart froze, "What did you say?"

"A human. It's a type of creature from a far away place. Rainbow Dash's father is one. Those are his clothes."

I heaved a sigh of relief and sat down despite myself. Never before have I felt so tired so quickly, "Oh! I get it." Now that I think of it, the Changeling did mention something about a human in this world.

"Wait, Applejack mentioned that you needed a job to earn from money. Would you like to earn some now?" Rarity asked, turning to me.

"Sure. But I can't sew..."

"Oh no, I wouldn't allow you to make clothes," She said rolling her eyes.

What a bitch! I started liking this white Pony more and more. She was a complete asshole. Made me feel like I was right at home, "Then what do I need to do?"

"You need to deliver these clothes to Mr. Dash. He's expecting them today and I've underestimated the weight. Since you look like a big strong Stallion, how about you carry the delivery? And since you're new around town, Sweetie Belle, can you help and go with Mr. Forest?"

"Okay, sis." Sweetie Belle got up, and peered outside the window, "The rain's going to stop any minute now."

"Then let's pack up the clothes and get everything ready to go." Rarity stated, and went about her business while I stayed where I was near the door.

I watched as they neatly packed the clothes in large brown boxes. Like the Changeling, Rarity had a horn on her head. I understood why Tutela seemed completely unfazed when I asked if she was a unicorn. Obviously in a land of flying, talking and walking Ponies and Pegsuses - or was it Pegasi - there was going to be Unicorns and shit. That was probably why I did not give a shit when I saw the blue-purple glow around objects, and when said objects floated around. Magic.

Rarity obsessed in making everything perfect, even tying the bows as neatly as she could using her Unicorn glowy magic. She was a neat and tidy bitch. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Out of all the Ponies I've met so far, this one seemed by far the most normal and therefore the best.

"All done."

"And so's the rain." The orange Pegasus put in. Sure enough, the rain was done and the sun pierced through the clouds.

Using her magic, she lifted each box up. I noticed that each one she let out a slight grunt. She struggled with the heavier boxes, taking longer to lift those and I could make out she was struggling. Her sister combined her magic with her sisters to help move the heavier boxes over towards a strange carrier of some sort. It looked somewhat like a saddlebag that you'd see on horses from my world, but this one had a lot of embroidery on the sides, and the name of the boutique etched in the metal. Two large canvas-looking straps ran across the middle, as well as along the sides creating two basket-like areas where the boxes were loaded.

So, Magic is restricted by how strong you are - like muscles. The stronger the magic, the stronger the Pony's powers. I'm such a fucking genius. I deserve a medal. I thought to myself.

"Okay, there you go." Rarity stood back away from the contraption. When I looked at it now I understood what the contraption was. Essentially a saddle-bag, but with metallic support. Walking over to it, I lowered myself closer to the ground and put my body under the loops. Then, I stood up. The contraption lifted off the ground easy, but holy shit it was a lot heavier than I thought. How many clothes did this Brian need? Not only that, but how were any of these Ponies going to lift this?

"You okay there, Forest?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Fine, fine." I muttered. Lift, god damn you! I heaved my legs up, and once I got it lifted it wasn't so bad. Sweetie Belle lead the way, walking a little in front of me. We were going to head to the hospital first.

Scootaloo laughed seeing me struggling. Obviously she was better than me. The bitch.

"I'll catch up with you two later. I've got to help Rarity put some more things away."

Sweetie Belle nodded, and then held the door open for me as a walked out. The rain was indeed over and as I looked above I noticed that the clouds were moving in uniform motion. My keen eyes noticed that behind each cloud there was a flying Pony. Sure, why not. Flying Ponies that could push clouds. Who came up with this shit?

"The Pegasus control the weather," Sweetie Belle said, "Now that the rain's are done, they're moving the clouds out of the way for the sun."

I looked at her, I think someone mentioned it before, maybe Applejack, "Just... it's still something." Well, it was. That wasn't a lie.

As we arrived at the hospital, I walked in and let the package down. I felt so light, I thought I could fly. Maybe I was high? As I breathed in deep, I definitely smelt something in the air. Something strange.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" A Pony said from behind a desk.

Sweetie Belle spoke for me, "Hi Nurse Tenderheart. This is Forest, well, that's his name for now. He's suffering from Amnesia."

"Oh yes, we've been expecting you. Zecora mentioned that someone with amnesia was coming, but I'm afraid that the Doctor is just making his rounds, if you don't mind waiting for a while, he can see you later," Nurse Tenderheart looked over to me.

"Well, Forest?" Sweetie Belle asked me.

I thought about it, "How long will it be? Maybe we can drop these off, then come back?" I gestured to the heavy load. Might as well get it over and done with. I hated prolonging things.

"Let's do that then. We'll be back later, Nurse Tenderheart."

The nurse nodded and smiled as I struggled with the load and lumbered out of the hospital with it.

The trip towards Brian's house was not long, but annoyingly most of it was uphill. Once I got to his front door, Sweetie rang the doorbell, and the door opened.

"Oh hi, Rainbow Dash. I didn't think you were home. We're here to drop your dad's new clothes off," Sweetie Belle moved aside and I saw a light-blue flying Pony with a rainbow colored mane. So, this was the Pony that ended up lost on my world. Rainbow Dash. What a fucking ridiculous name! And is she gay? She has to be gay. She's definitely gay. Rainbows? Come on!

"Dad, Rarity's new clothes are here for you!" Rainbow shouted. I walked over to the front door, "Oh, yeah. Um... just leave it over there."

Walking in, I lowered myself and let the contraption lay on the floor. I heard the stairs creek and looked up. A human started walking down the stairs. He looked over at Rainbow Bash, then at me and finally at Sweetie Belle, "Hello Sweetie," He said.

"Hello, Brian." Sweetie Belle replied.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked at me, "I don't believe I've seen you before."

"New around here," I said, perhaps a little too quickly.

Sweetie Belle cut in, "He got lost in the Everfree Forest. He's got amnesia."

"Have you now? So, can't remember anything?" Brian said, and walked over the the contraption. I moved out of the way to let him get to his stuff.

"Not really."

"You don't seen really... concerned about me. Most Ponies who meet me for the first time are a little... scared, I guess. You don't seem phased by my appearance at all."

Shit, shit, shit! "Well, that's probably because I've used up my fear from narrowly escaping the clutches of a Timberwolf."

"You were chased by Timberwolves?" Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash said at the same time.

I nodded, "Zecora saved my sorry ah..." Damn it! No swearing! "Flank."

"What were you doing in the Everfree Forest in the first place?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Tired of explaining, I just shrugged, "Can't remember."

"Well, I hope that you remember soon. It must be horrible not being able to remember who you are."

"I hope so too." Looking around, I noticed that there were a lot of pictures. I focused on a few of them as the Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle continued to chat. Most of the photos there seemed to be taken from my world. Buildings in the background seemed extremely familiar. I knew that area. I worked near that area. This human was from the same fucking city! I recognized it. Most of the buildings in the pictures didn't exist anymore.

"Yeah, that's where I come from," Brian said, standing next to me looking at the picture I was looking at. It was a much younger him with a much younger Rainbow Dash.

"Looks... dreary." Dreary? Seriously?

"It is," Brian said, and turned to me, "The name's Brian. Brian Dash."

"Hello, Brian. I don't know my real name, but I've been dubbed Forest."

"Forest, eh? Not a bad name."

I agree. "A certain pink pony thought of it."

"You mean Pinkie Pie?"

I nodded.

"You don't have to listen to her, if you don't like it..."

"No, no. It's perfectly fine. I think it suits me, actually." I said, I didn't really want to get renamed, I liked Forest.

"Forest, we should go. The doctor is probably waiting for us." Sweetie Belle said from the door.

"Right. Well, nice to meet you, Brian, Rainbow Dash." I said, and walked out.

"Sure. Yeah. Catch you later." Rainbow Dash said, "Oh, did Pinkie throw a party for you yet?"

"I got a cake and exploding musical boxes full of confetti."

"No, you've yet to experience Pinkie's welcome to Ponyville parties. All she gave you was a Welcome to Ponyville welcome." Rainbow grinned, "You'll see what I mean. Everypony's going to be there."

I sighed, "Well, then. I can't wait. You guys will be there?"

The both of them nodded.

"Well then, will I get to meet everybody there?" I asked.

Brian looked at me, "Yes, you will."

Good. Maybe I can find someone to help me win my bet there. "Well, then, until that time." I walked out.

As I turned around to close the door, I saw Brian staring right at me in a very peculiar manner. Thinking nothing of it, I closed the door gently, and followed Sweetie Belle back to the hospital.

"Forest, I've got to go meet my friends. You don't mind if I..." Sweetie Belle said, at the bottom of the stairs to the hospital entrance.

"Not at all, I think I can manage from here." I said. Bitch, you going to ditch me?

"Okay, I'll see you later!" And she ran off before I could change my mind. Couldn't blame her. I'd do the same thing if I were in her shoes. After all, who wanted to hang around some strange person - Pony - you've just met?

Walking inside, I found the nurse I had talked to earlier and she told me to sit and wait. After a few minutes of waiting - the Healthcare system in Pony-land was the best I've ever seen - the doctor guided me to his office. He looked at me, prodded my head, and did doctor-like shit before concluding that I was perfectly healthy. There was nothing wrong with me, and he just recommended that I hang around until my memory returns. Better to stay here in Ponyville than go gallivanting around Equestria, what if someone came looking for me?

"I doubt anyone would look for me." I muttered to myself, "How long would it take for my memories to return?"

"Depends. Can take a day. A month. A year. You're going to have to be patient. You're lucky you're able to function normally, though." The Doctor got up, "I'm going to prescribe you some vitamins. It might help."

"Great!" Vitamins. Oh joy! "But, I don't have money, how can I pay?" I asked.

"Pay us next time." The doctor grinned, and then led me to the pharmacy.

"Well, wow." I said standing outside. I was impressed. They were actually trusting me completely. Fools!

I turned to look at the clock. It was late in the afternoon now.

With no plans, I started wondering around mindlessly looking at the stores. A part of me wanted to go back to my room, but I could not afford to waste even a day! I needed to make the most of the time I had, otherwise I'd regret it later. And it was imperative I understood this creatures in more detail. It was then I saw a large signboard with an open book on it. I walked over and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" I looked up and saw a purple lizard-like creature. I gasped, and backed off falling on my rear. What the fuck was it? He was eye-level with me!

"Spike? Who is it?" Came another voice from inside.

"I don't know. No-pony I know."

A purple Unicorn peered past the creature.

The creature was tall and if I didn't know better I would say that he was a Dragon. Oh wait, I didn't know better, so he probably really was a Dragon. But if the Ponies seemed comfortable around him, then I had to force myself to do the same.

"Hi," I said, standing up, "Sorry, just... never seen something quite like you before."

"I'm a Dragon." Spike said nonchalantly.

I'm glad I reserved my judgement... like I'm glad I'm in this fucking mess in the first place. "Ah. I see. Never seen a Dragon before."

"You haven't?" Spike asked, "Not one?"

"Well..." Damn it, learn to keep your mouth shut, stupid mouth! I cursed myself, "I have amnesia."

"Oh, you're that Stallion that Zecora found in the forest." The purple Pony said, "Welcome to Ponyville. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"And I'm Spike!"

"Well, I can't remember my name, but Forest is the name I am going by thanks to Pinkie - and you're friends with her too, right?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Pinkie is friends with everyone," Spike said, shrugging and rolling his eyes, "No-one can help it."

"I think I know what you mean."

"Forest. I think the name strangely suits you." Twilight said looking at me, I grinned nervously in response, "So, what brings you to the Library?"

I fuckin' knew it! I knew that this was the library. "Ah, well, you see, I can't remember who I am, or what I do, so I was thinking on taking out a few books to help me get to know... everything?"

"Like what?" Twilight asked, her eyes seemed wider than before, "I have books about anything you could think of."

"Well, I guess you could say I'm interested in the history of the land, and perhaps customs of the people? What else to try and job my memory, help remind me... of anything, really." Why had I not thought of this before! This was a great way in learning almost everything I could ever want to know about these Ponies, "Also, a book about... maybe... friendship?"

That made Twilight stop, "About friendship? What do you mean?"

Shit... "I mean... well..." I had to think of something! Anything, "How about a book about how to make friends?"

That seemed like an acceptable answer to her and she nodded, "Yeah, we have a few books like that."

As soon as she said that, her horn glowed a purple glow and several books floated towards me. The placed themselves on a table to my right, and I looked over them. How do I turn the pages? "Um... I must have hit my head harder than I thought... I can't turn the page..."

"Use your hoof, silly," Twilight said.

I did as she said, and I found that, although a little difficult, I could do it. I read the titles of the books, which were conveniently written in English; Equestria: An Abridged History, A Pony's Guide to Society, and How to Make Friends and Attract Ponies. The last one seemed a little familiar to me, I was sure I've heard it before - or something similar to it.

"Thanks, Miss Sparkle," I said.

Spike snorted back a laugh.

"You can call me Twilight, Forest."

"Thanks, Twilight. I appreciate it."

"Miss Sparkle," Spike snorted again. He laughed to himself.

"Ignore him. Teenagers." Twilight said, "He was less of a nuisance when he was a baby."

"Ah." I had no idea what she was on about. Was she saying that Spike was a teenager now? "Can I borrow these, I will bring them back when I'm done with them."

She nodded, "Of course. This is a library, after all. Just bring them back if you decide you want to leave town. Do you need a bag?" Using her horn, she lifted the three books off the table, folded them, and then placed them in a bag. This wasn't a saddle bag, so I held it in my mouth.

"Thanks," I mumbled, "I'll bring them back soon."

Making my way back towards my hotel, I heard a voice from behind me.

"Forest," I turned and to my horror, it was Pinkie.

Shit! "Hi, Pinkie. How's it going?"

"Forest, I tried to get a party in your hotel, but the lady at the desk said that I can't because she said that the hotel was for guests only and that I couldn't have your party there because its not fair to the guests to have your party without inviting everyone but then I said that I could invite everyone but she said that I it was not happening at the hotel because some of the guests did not want loud music and a party there when they need to sleep and rest up, so I've moved your party to the city hall instead!" She said really fast, really loud, really close.

"Aw." I said, backing up a bit, "That's a shame." I had no idea what she said. Something about not being able to have my party at the place where I'm staying at. I felt relieved. No party. I hated parties. Parties made me uncomfortable.

"I know, right? Anyway, come with me."

Not that I had a choice, she pushed me in the opposite direction from my hotel, and towards the large circular building.

"Okay, okay!" I shouted, "I'll walk." The bag of books still dangling from my mouth.

There was no point, because Pinkie has pushed me right into a building. As promised, or rather as threatened, this was her party she was throwing for me. There were ponies there from all over Ponyville here. Standing stupidly to one side, I waited for Pinkie Pie to introduce me to everyone. They all seemed to have the strangest of names. Most of them sympathized with me about my recent loss of memory, while others just nodded and went off to enjoy themselves.

After almost an hour of greeting Ponies, I saw a few familiar faces. Rather, familiar colors. Orange was there, and was white and pink. But not Zecora, she had probably gone back to the Everfree Forest by that point.

Everyone was dancing and singing, and being noisy and bouncy. I wanted to get away from there so badly, yet I knew that this was the best way to meet and befriend these creatures, so I stayed.

"So, Forest, did you talk to the doctor?" Rarity asked.

I nodded, "He gave me some pills... crap!" I exclaimed, Where did I leave them? I said in my head.

Rarity looked at me with a frown.

"Forest, I believe you left these at the library," Twilight said, she had just arrived with Spike, and used her magic and placed the pills in my bag, which was still dangling from my mouth.

"Hello Rarity," Spike said shyly.

Rarity smiled, and batted her eyelashes, "Hello, Spike."

A Dragon and a Pony? Was that even possible? I looked over at Twilight, "Thank you for bringing it over. It's a relief."

"No problem. Would you like some cider?" Twilight asked.

"Sure. Why not."

She walked off and soon returned floating four mugs from the cider table with her magic. The mugs were designed perfectly for Ponies. Using my hoof, I could actually hold it like I would if I had hands! It was simply amazing. I took a sip, and was instantly blown away. This was the most wonderful cider I have ever tasted in my entire life. It was sweet, but with a slight tang at the same time. The flavor filled up my nostrils and I enjoyed the scent of the brew from the apples, and you could feel the bite of the alcohol - yes, there was alcohol - in it. That surprised me.

"Forest! How are you liking you very special welcome to Ponyville party with everypony?" Pinkie screamed at my face.

Where did she come from? How was she able to do that? "Thank you, Pinkie. It's really nice. Loving this cider."

"Yeah, Applejack made it! She makes the best cider in all of Equestria," Pinkie grinned.

"Where is Applejack?" I asked.

"She says she'll come later if she can," Pinkie then bounded off.

"She ever run out of gas?" I asked.

"Gas?" Twilight asked.

"You know. Energy. Does she every run out of energy?"

Rarity laughed at that, "Pinkie never runs out of anything."

"Hello, everyone. Hey, Forest." Came the familiar drawl. Applejack was in the house!

"Hi, Applejack."

Behind her came a much larger Pony. He was about my height, "This is my big brother Big Macintosh. You'll be working with him tomorrow."

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh replied.

"I look forward to it," I said politely.

"Eeyup."

I narrowed my eyes, was he being serious?

"Where's Rainbow, Twi?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen her." Twlight replied to Applejack's question.

"Her father's getting on in his years. And Pinkie keeps throwing these celebrations. It's no wonder if he decides to skip a few." Spike said, and took another sip from his mug.

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh said.

Then I watched them. It was clear that these people were all close friends, and it was a very tightly knit group. It might have been the cider, but I started feeling uncomfortable and slowly backed away. Perhaps it was time to retire for the night, and get an early start in the morning.

As I turned to go, Brian and his daughter, the rainbow haired Pegasus appeared at the door.

"Hi, Forest."

"Hello. I'm about to go home. I feel... tired." That was true. I did.

"Well, sorry we arrived so late." Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh no. From what I've heard, Pinkie throws these kinds of things all the time. I would have understood if you hadn't come, but since you're here, try the Cider, it's simply amaz..." Rainbow Dash was gone before I could finish the statement, a rainbow blur straight to the cider table.

Brian stood there and looked at me. I looked back at him, but neither of us had anything to say, so I nodded and walked past him.

"How's the weather back on Earth?" He said just as I walked next to him.

How the fuck? No! There was no way he could have found out. I turned around, confused, "What?"

"How's the weather back home, I said." Brian asked again.

"I don't remember where I'm from..."

"I don't believe you. I think you know very well where you're from. I don't know how you're here, and I don't know why, but if..."

Fucking hell! I screamed in my head. He was guessing. He was guessing! How did he fucking guess? I needed to end this train of thought, and now.

"Look, Brian. I'm tired, and I've been overwhelmed by the events of today. I wake up in the middle of a forest I know nothing of, remembering no one and nothing, escaping the teeth of a Timberwolf, and then trying to find a place to stay, let along trying to evade Pinkie... I don't understand what you're talking about, or what you're implying? All I want to do is find the answers I seek, and then go home." I said aloud, and turned away, I deserve a fuckin' Oscar for that performance.

Brian stared at me for a moment, "Fine. But I'm keeping my eye on you."

"You can keep two for all I care. If you happen to discover something about me, then please let me know. I might be able to recall who I used to be."

Turning, I left the party, my heart only started beating when I got back to my room and safely locked the door. Closing the windows, and drawing the curtains, and double-checked to ensure that everything was 'Pinkie-proof' hoping that she was still going crazy at the party as I took out the laptop.

At once the Changeling's face appeared.

"How?" I asked instantly, "How did Brian know?"

"It was what you said in his house. You said 'anybody'. No one uses anybody there. It's anypony." The Changeling grinned, "You nearly lost on your first day. And now that the seeds of doubt have been planted, you can be sure that it isn't going to be easy from now on."

I cursed myself. How could I make such a stupid mistake!

"Just hope that he doesn't approach Celestia with this concern. It could be very bad for you."

"Well, shit. Anyway, I've got a job tomorrow, so if you excuse me, I'm going to sleep."

"Goodnight. Oh, and Forest..." I looked up at the screen, "Don't be late."

I slammed the monitor down. Hard.

Day 2: Getting used to Windows and Apples

I was sitting on a beach, laying in the sun, drinking up the sun’s beautiful rays. It was perfect. The weather was perfect, the drink in my hand was perfect. Everything was…

“Forest…” I heard a voice coming from somewhere.

Ignoring the voice, I continued relaxing in the heat. The sound of the waves lapping the shore lulled me into a state of 'I-don't-give-a-shit'. This was literally the best thing ever.

"Forest..." Again that voice. This time I managed to lean up off the towel I was laying on slightly and lowered my sunglasses to see who was speak. I could not see anyone. Where it was coming from? There was nobody on the beach; there was nobody in the water. Was it just me? Was I going insane?

The vast stretch of beautiful crystal blue water spanned to the horizon. To me left and right the empty beach stretched as far as my eyes could see. Usually I’d get bored out of my skull, but not now. Not today. Today, I was going to savour this moment. How I got here or when did not matter. All that mattered was that I was having the best time doing absolutely nothing at all…

“Forest…”

Who was saying that? Why was it saying that? Yes, there was a forest behind me, but I was not interested in that. It was this beach. That was what I…

“Forest! Wake up!”

My eyes opened suddenly, "Wha…? Huh?"

I lifted my head from the pillow and looked around. I started to panic. I did not recognize anything, or where I was, but it only lasted for a moment. The next second all the memories from the past two days rushed back to me; getting fired, giving to charity - illegally, running away like a bitch from the city, getting caught up with some magical shape-shifting horse, teleported to another world of fictional creatures that apparently weren’t fictional, getting lost in a forest, getting chased by a creature from hell.

Make is stop! I wanted to scream in my head. I wanted to scream. And I was having such a wonderful dream too...

Where was that voice coming from?

"Forest, open this laptop this instant!" The voice repeated itself. No wonder it sounded so far and distant in my dream. I had slammed the laptop shut the night before. At first I contemplated ignoring it and going about my business, but then I remembered that the Changeling could see me even if the laptop was not open. She would not be very happy if I ignored her. The laptop was the only way I could communicate with her. She could see me anytime she wanted. Would it be awkward to take a shower? Was she a stalker?

Hauling my tired ass out of bed, I walked over to the machine. In my semi-awake state, I used the edge of my hoof to open the laptop, as if I had fingers. I cursed myself, was I really getting used to using hooves already? Pushing the monitor back I saw Tutela's face glaring at me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Well, good morning to you too. It seems that transporting you to that world took a lot out of you. You literally crashed last night. Anyway, look at the time. You’re going to be late on your first day at work,” The Changeling pointed to the lower-left hand corner of the screen with her hoof, "You better hurry."

My eyes drifted downwards, “Seriously? I didn’t know that Windows came with Pony Standard Time,” The joked sounded better in my head.

"Very funny," The Changeling replied sardonically.

"Give me a break! I'm still half asleep! Wait. Wait, wait, wait. The time system in this world flows the same as mine?" I slapped my head, forgetting for a moment that I no longer had palms - which hurt a little more than I thought, "Of course it does."

“No. The time between the worlds is controlled by me, remember? Time has no meaning here. A days has past there, only ten minutes have passed here. I can’t stop it completely, but by the time you’re month is up in Equestria, you would’ve only be gone for several hours.”

My mind tried to wrap itself around the concept. A part of me understood what she meant, the rest told me to just get on with what I needed to do to earn back my freedom, “Well, why Windows?” I asked.

“I thought you liked Windows. If you want, we can use Apple instead, considering that you’re going to work at an apple farm today, it makes perfect sense!” Tutela offered laughing. As she said it, the screen changed to one the represented the other operating system.

"You're pretty techy, aren't you?"

"Computers fascinate me. The Internet in particular. Did you know that there's a large group of adult fans that are into the..."

"I would love to discuss the Internet with you and about whatever interesting things you were about to say, but right now I'd just like to wake up, and by waking up I mean left alone."

She stared at me for a moment then backed away from the monitor, "Suit yourself."

I just walked to the bathroom and did what needed to be done. By the time I was done finishing my bathroom duties it was half past the hour. Not wanting to lose my job, not because I wanted to work but because I had no idea how hard it would be to get another one, I hurried up. Could not afford to be late – literally! So I picked up and the laptop and shoved it back into the safe, lowering the screen as I did.

“Have fun at work. I’ll be watching you,” She sang out as I closed the safe, arming it angrily.

Bitch! I muttered to myself.

It's a well-known fact that I am not a morning person. In fact, I hated the mornings. Mornings were made for sleeping, and waking up any time before noon for me was an effort and usually included a very, grumpy, bitchy me. Come to think of it, it's probably one of the reasons I got fired in the first place, “Damn you hindsight!" I said aloud to myself.

My room was on the first floor, near the front of the house. From my window you could make out the cake shop across the road shaped like a cake. As I walked down the stairs, the receptionist was there wide awake and staring at me.

"Uh... mornin'." I said, trying to sound friendly.

"There's coffee and breakfast in the restaurant," She replied in that ear-grating nasal sound she made. I would rather hear Freddy Krugar run his iron claws over a blackboard than that voice, but I sucked it up. Had to be nice.

"Coffee, eh?"

And indeed there was coffee, doughnuts, and all sorts of wonderfully delicious pastries. Freshly baked and perhaps the most beautiful tasting morsels I have ever eaten. There was literally nothing on my world better, and it made the burden of waking up that much better. The coffee was also scrumptious, the fragrance had a warm nutty smell, but there was definitely something sweet in there too, perhaps vanilla or hazelnut. It then occurred to me that everything I've eaten has had sugar in it.

As I thought that, for some reason I could not help but remember a certain pink pony. She did throw a do for me last night. It never really occurred to me how she managed to pull that off in such short notice. It did not seem as though her friends helped her - but then again, from what everyone was saying, she was friends with everyone - perhaps some else gave her a hand. I took another generous sip of coffee and got ready to go. As I passed by reception once more, I noticed the receptionist staring at me.

"Going somewhere?" She asked.

I cursed myself. Why did I make eye contact? "Well, yes. I got a job at Sweet Apple Acres."

Looking at me for a moment, she nodded before changing the subject completely, "Did you enjoy your party last night?"

"Sure. Yeah, it was alright. I came home early, though."

"I saw you did. Apparently the mayor isn't happy with Pinkie for throwing you a party at the Town Hall without telling her first. She's a real trouble maker, she is."

"She means no harm..." Wait. Did I just... did I just defend that Pink psycho? Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed?

"No-pony means any harm, but that doesn't mean it’s right."

"You have a point, and I am inclined to agree with you. But I'm sure that it will be fine..."

"That's the thing, though. She always gets her way. She always never wrong. She always is everypony's friend!"

Whoah! Where the fuck did that come from? As she spoke her voice got higher, harsher and... well... scarier. She was friggin' nuts! She must have seen my face because a second later, she coughed to herself and was back to her cold ice-queen demeanor. Automatically I understood; this bitch was jealous of Pinkie! And what was up with the feeble attempt to hide it? Whatever, none of my business.

"I'll... see you later," And backed out the door.

It was good to get out of there. Standing outside I shuddered against the cool morning air - or was it from that scary bitch? Whatever. Heading down the way that Applejack had instructed me to yesterday, I soon made my way out of Ponyville. There was noway to tell the time exactly, but it was not hard to find Sweet Apple Acres - considering that all I needed to do was follow the rows of apple trees to the big barn on the next hill. There was a small house next to that, and lights on the
lower floors were on.

As I arrived, I saw Applejack with a scarf around her neck. Her big brother, Big Mac - yeah, I'm going with that - was there lifting some empty round wooden crates or baskets and placing them on a cart.

"Mornin', Forest. Sleep well?" Applejack asked as I walked up.

"As well as one can expect," I replied, and grinned.

"Did you have breakfast?"

"Yep. Had some at the hotel. They had some wonderful pastries - best I've ever tasted."

"That make sense. You're right next to Sugarcube Corner."

"You mean the building that looks like a cake?" I asked.

Applejack nodded, "Best deserts in Equestria."

Ponyville's got a lot of 'bests of Equestria'. Why is it such a small town then? The rent too high? I thought to myself. I smirked at me own joke.

"What's the matter?" Applejack asked, bringing my attention back to her, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," I quickly changed the subject, "So, what do you need me to do?"

"Well, we're apple buckin', so we've got to buck some apple trees," There must have been a strange, rather confused look on my face because she just sighed and shook her head, "Don't worry, Forest. I said that I'd show you how. You ready, Big Mac?"

Hey! She stole my nickname!

"Eeyup," He replied.

We all walked down to a large grove of trees. I had no idea what to expect, and Big Mac was pulling the cart along. When we got towards the middle a bit, both the Ponies stopped and stared off in the distance. Wondering what they were looking at, I stood beside them and looked at well.

Suddenly the sun rose, its light seemed to explode across the land. Everything seemed to suddenly wake up with it. The lands, the creatures, even the skies themselves. It was not so much the sun rising that surprised me, but how it rose. The sun got up there pretty quick.

"Hey, Forest, have you ever seen Celestia's Sun Ceremony?" Applejack asked me after a moment.

My silence spoke for itself.

"Perhaps one day you can get to see it. Or remember it. Everypony has to at least see it once."

Now I had something else I had to look up. Had to research it, I can't keep asking questions. If that damned Brian gets anymore hints of me being clueless about this world again he might pursue his crazy theory that I am a human. Can't have that! "I hope I get the chance... again... maybe..." I said stupidly.

"Watch me, Forest. This is how you buck for apples," Applejack lay two of the baskets from the cart on either side of an apple tree, then turned around so her rear faced the tree's trunk. Then she used her hind legs to kick at the same time. The apples all fell into the two baskets, "See? Easy as pie. Any questions?"

"Yes. How do you get the apples to fall into the baskets like that?"

"What?"

"You kicked the tree, right? The apples, they all fell right into the baskets. How did you do that?" I wasn't being a jackass, I really wanted to know.

"Well, now that you mention it, I don't rightly know. Hm. Funny that." Applejack kicked the tree, and again the apples fell into the baskets.

Great! Laws of physics be damned!

Taking a pair of baskets, I placed them under the next tree and kicked it as hard as I could. I turned to see the apples drop everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. A few did land in the basket, but a whole bunch just landed up on the ground. Both Big Mac and Applejack just stared at the mess without saying a word.

"Strange. Did I do something wrong?" I asked.

Both shook their heads. Big Mac came to the tree and kicked it. The remaining apples dumped themselves into the basket without issue.

"Maybe your trees don't like me?" I jokingly offered.

Applejack shook her head, "Gee, Forest, I don't rightly know what's goin' on. Maybe we'll do the buckin', and you can get the baskets from the cart."

The rest of the morning was spent me walking to and from the cart, dumping the contents of the baskets into the larger cart, and bringing the empty baskets back to be refilled. It was a monotonous, boring, brain-numbing job. I absolutely despised it, but yet there was something great about working outdoors. Being able to harvest the fruit under the sun. Fun times. As a computer professional, I rarely got to do something like this. It was a nice change.

"Hiya, Sis!" Came a voice, and a smaller Pony came bringing a tray of cider-like liquid on her back, "You guys thirsty?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac replied, and walked over to the newcomer and took one of the glasses from her back.

"Here, Forest, this is my little sister Applebloom. Applebloom, this here is Forest. He's new to town."

I nodded politely.

"Sweetie Belle was talking about you yesterday. We have something in common," She turned to her side, and smiled.

At first I didn't know what she was talking about, but then I realized that she meant that she too had no mark on her posterior.

"Yes, I'm a - what do you call it again?"

"A Blank Flank," Applebloom muttered.

"Right. A Blank Flank." I looked at her face. It seemed that she was rather sad about the fact, "What's wrong?"

"Aw, nothin'. Just everyone else has their Cutie Mark, just not me."

I looked at Applejack, "Is having one that important?"

"I thought it was rare for a Pony her age not to have one, but now that I've met you, I guess there are others out there that don't have one. I guess it takes time to find somethin' you're good at."

"If your talent is an especially difficult or rare one, I suppose that would make sense." I replied, thinking about it as logically as I could.

That seemed to put a smile on Applebloom's face. I may be a cold hearted, uncaring, rude son-of-a-bitch, but the smile that Applebloom gave me was... well, I could not help but give her a genuine smile in return.

"Nice to see you're finally happy, Forest. Those fake smiles you kept giving us was startin' to make us feel uncomfortable."

"That obvious, huh? I guess I was still getting used to things," Like being here, in a world of talking Ponies.

"Would you like a glass of apple juice, Forest?" Applebloom grinned up at me again. Her smile was addictive. This little Pony was dangerous! That's the problem with women, and girls in general. Before you knew it, they'd get under your skin and you do stupid things like care about them.

"Sure." I took the glass with my hoof - and yes, I could hold it - and drank a sip. Delicious! Why was everything in this place so damned scrumptious! I downed the glass harder than an alcoholic before final call at a bar, "This apple juice is amazing!"

"Yep, Granny Smith makes 'em just the perfect way, with the exact amount of sugar and spice to make everythin' nice." Applejack laughed.

Granny Smith? Seriously? Just because you own apples, grow apples, and are good at making shit with apples doesn't mean you have to name yourselves after the fruit! "She certainly has a way with apples."

Applejack took it as a compliment. We got back to work, and Applebloom returned to the house.

Now, I go to the gym, and I work out pretty regularly, but the stamina of those two apple Ponies was incredible! Applejack was like a machine, buckin' and thumpin' the apple trees, while Big Mac just hauled the carts to and from the main barn without a hint of slowing down.

"Applejack, can I ask you a question?" I said when we were taking a breather.

"Sure, Forest. What you want to ask?"

"Instead of putting the baskets under each tree, buckin' it, waiting for the baskets to fill, then carry them back to the cart, why don't we," I paused for dramatic effect, "Just put the cart under the tree and then buck the apples so they fall directly into the cart?"

Applejack looked at her brother, who looked at her, then they both looked at me. I could almost hear the lightbulbs going off at the same time.

"That's great, Forest! I wonder why I never thought of that."

I couldn't tell if she was being honest or sarcastic. Apparently they were being genuine.

Big Mac backed the cart under the tree, and then Applejack bucked it. Half the apples fell into the cart, but the other half ended up on the ground.

"Aw, shucks, Forest. I sounded like a good idea, but we can't waste time pickin' these apples from the ground. It would take twice as long to complete the job..."

"If you give me half an hour, some long planks of wood, some tools, and two old bedsheets, I can fix that for you."

"Well, we are about to break for lunch. Usually we take an hour or two to relax depending on how fast we've harvested the apples, and we're behind. But considerin' you're tryin' to help out an' all, I'll give you get one hour, okay?"

Sacrifice my lunch hour to do them a favor? No way! Sacrifice my lunch hour to speed up efficiency? Fuck yeah!

As soon as they handed me the things I needed, I took the tools and began to work. Essentially what I did was create two trampolines with the planks of wood and the bedsheets in the middle. Then, using a couple more planks, I angled the trampolines to face the cart, cleverly using a wooden peg for the trampolines to swivel on the back and front corner of the cart - all with no fingers. The only problem was that it would only work on the left side of the cart, not the right. Well, nothing can be perfect.

All through this, Applebloom helped me, while Applejack and Big Mac kept a worried eye over my renovation. After I was done, I still had twenty minutes to spare, and was fed a bunch of apple-based foodstuffs. I think there was apple pie, crumble, cake, and strudel. For some reason, although it was all desert, I didn't mind.

"Okay, Forest, let's go test this out." Applejack said and we walked to the nearest tree.

Quickly, I pushed the two trampolines out, they leaned against the trunk of the tree, and I bucked the tree. The apples - or the vast majority of them, landed on the bedsheets, and then rolled down into the cart. In two hits, the tree was done and we were on our way to the next one. Suffice to say, we not only harvested the crop quota of the day, but almost half of that total on top of that. We were done far sooner than expected. A five hour work-shift only took us three hours.

"Thanks, Forest. That was really clever of you. You're pretty handy guy. You want to do another job?" Applejack asked.

With absolutely nothing to do, and not really feeling like going back to my room and seeing that bitch of a receptionist, I said, "Sure, why not."

"Cleanin' windows," Applejack said, wiping a large glass window, "Can you do the ones up there?"

Looking up, I wanted to groan. But I said I would, so I did.

As I was cleaning the window, Applebloom opened the one next to me and poked her head out, "Hey Forest, you want to try and find our Cutie Marks together later?"

I looked at her, "I don't mind, I guess..."

"Great!" She slammed the window down before I could tell her that I wasn't so sure that her siblings would approve.

Now, you might think that washing windows is an easy task, but let me tell you, for a Pony, that job was a pain in the... flank? Without hands, you can't hold on to anything. And if you use your hoof to wipe the glass, you need something to hold the water. So, how do you do it? Well, you hold the pale of water in your mouth by the handle, then you use your hoof to hold onto the ladder, while the other you use to wipe the window. Now, don't get me wrong, that isn't the worst part of it. The worst part is that you need to keep your neck up while doing this, and believe me when you are holding a bucket of water in your jaw and keep on having to keep your neck up... well, let's just say my neck was killing me.

Two hours of cleaning windows later, I got down and from the ladder and took a step back to admire my work. For a small rustic looking house, there were a lot of windows. My jaw ached, my back ached, and my hooves ached, but I strangely felt happy.

"Good job, Forest."

"Thanks, Applejack."

"Here's your pay. I'm fair girl, so I paid for your help in harvesting them apples and your help in cleaning the windows, plus a little extra for the harvester you made for us. It'll come in handy the next time we need to go Applebuckin'."

"Wow. Thanks!" I looked inside and took a coin out. A coin! And there was a Unicorn on it and everything.

Applejack looked at me studying the coin, "Is that enough?"

I looked at her, "What? Huh? Oh, I've just not seen a coin like this before... I mean, I can't remember seeing a coin like this before, so it's new to me. I was curious." Got to be careful!

"Yeah, that's Princess Celestia," Applejack said, taking the coin and showing me the face, "And this here is the Ponyville town seal."

The other side of the coin had a large number one minted onto it, with something in the background. There were twenty five of them in the bag. Was that a lot?

"I'm sorry, but I... don't understand the value of the currency. Can you... explain it to me?" I asked.

"I don't rightly know what you mean, but you can rent a house for that amount for a month," Applejack said, laughing, "Of course you won't be able to eat nothin'."

"How much is a room a night at the place I'm staying at?" I asked.

"I think it's one bit a night. I dunno, I've never stayed there before."

"I see..." Maybe renting a house or a room would be a better idea - then I can 'play' around more instead of working. That would help me find the answers I seek quicker! "Do you know of any place I can stay?"

Applejack thought about it, "No, I can't think of a place. Can you, Big Macintosh?"

"Nope."

"What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house?" Applebloom said suddenly.

"A clubhouse?" I asked.

"Sure. All you need is a place to sleep, right? And me, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle built it up real nice. It's like a home now, 'cept it's got no toilet or shower."

The gesture, as great as it was, was pointless. There was no way that...

"That's a great idea, Applebloom!" Applejack replied.

"What?" I asked, bewildered.

"You can use the facilities in the barn - we got showers and everythin' in there. All you need then is a place to sleep, and get you out of that hotel."

"I'd... have to think on that. I mean, I'm grateful for the offer," Not in the slightest! "But I'd still have to see. Zecora already told the receptionist I'd be there for a week."

"Well, suit yourself. The offer remains open. I'll charge you a bit for every two days, instead of one." Applejack smiled.

"Can I let you know later?" I replied, there was no way I was going to sleep in a clubhouse!

"Sure. As I said, offer remains open."

For one thing, these Ponies were very trusting, and open. They believed in me despite giving them no reason to in return. Sure I work hard, and sure I was able to help them harvest their crops faster, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you invite them to live on your lands - even if you charge them for rent. A part of me warmed up to Applejack. She was kind, that I had to give her. Her brother smiled in the background, a straw of hay dangling from mouth.

Walking back towards Ponyville, my muscles screamed in agony. I was sore all over.

"Forest! Forest!" A voice suddenly called to me.

I did not even need to turn around to see who it was, "Hi, Pinkie."

"Ooh, I heard that you were working at Sweet Apple Acres but I was too busy today to come and see you so I worked really, really hard as fast as I could to come visit but I only just finished work and was wondering if you could help me deliver some baking goods to my friends?"

"What?" I asked. I seriously had no idea what she said to me.

"Can you help me deliver cakes to my friends?" She asked again, grinning.

Seriously? I asked myself. My body was already killing me from apple bucking and window washing. My jaw felt as if it would fall out of place. Still, Pinkie was everypony's friend. If I was rude to her, or did not help her, would she tell everyone and get me isolated? Could not afford it. So, sucking up the pain, I nodded, "Sure, Pinkie. I'll help."

"Hooray!" Pinkie shouted, leaping up into the air.

We walked together to Sugarcube Corner - next to my hotel. So close, yet so far.

As I walked inside, the first thing that I noticed were two little children rushing around the floor. One was zipping around the air, and the other was playing with toy blocks in the corner. Using magic, I could tell from the glow around the magical blocks.

"Well, hello there. Pinkie has told us so much about you. Forest, is it?" The stallion said, "I'm Carrot Cake, and this is my wife, Cup Cake."

"Nice meeting you. Are you the geniuses that created these deserts? I've never, ever eaten anything quite as delicious as these."

"Pinkie says you've lost your memories. That's so sad," Mrs. Cake replied sadly, I could see in her eyes that she felt sorry for me.

"It's okay. Hopefully I can remember things soon."

"But what were you doing in the Everfree Forest? No-pony smart goes in there," Mrs. Cake said, I think she was trying to scold me.

Shrugging, I replied, "Can't say I know. In retrospect, it might not have been such a great idea."

The Cakes laughed, "Well, I see that Pinkie's rounded you up to help us deliver some cakes."

"Happens." I said rolling my eyes.

"Pinkie!" A young unicorn squealed when Pinkie appeared.

Pinkie rushed over to the child's side and started making faces and having a ball. The flying one landed next to the Unicorn and both just rolled over one another in laughter at Pinkie's antics.

"She certainly has a way with kids," I said looking at the three of them.

"She's a wonderful foal-sitter. She'd be a great mother one day."

At the mention of being a mother, Pinkie turned around and blushed. For the first time since I've known her, she actually acted normal.

"Anyway," Mr. Cake cut in, "the boxes for delivery are over here."

Turning around I followed Mr. Cake out the back and saw a cart with all sorts of boxes loaded onto it. Unlike the cart from Sweet Apple Acres, this one was about half the length - a 'compact cart'. The boxes loaded onto it were all in bright colors, and I noticed that each box was a single type of color. Well, at least this time I did not have to carry anything.

Getting behind the pull-area of the cart, I found that it there was a comfortable belt that I slipped onto my body and pulled. It was definitely easier than carrying things, even with the fancy contraption that Rarity had designed. I walked out to the front of the store and waited for Pinkie to come out.

"Okay, first we need to go to Applejack's house," Pinkie frowned, "I'm sorry that you have to go back there, Forest."

"No worries, Pinkie," I replied, forcing a smile on my face. In truth I was extremely annoyed, but I could not insult the town's most favorite Pony.

On the way, Pinkie was singing to herself. Something about how happy she was, bouncing and dancing around. If she had so much energy, why didn't she pull the damned cart on her own? As we approached the house, where less than an hour ago I had cleaned the windows, Pinkie rang the doorbell. We waited for a few moments before Applebloom answered the door.

"Oh, hi Pinkie, Forest," She said, "You change your mind, Forest?"

I shook my head, "I didn't say yes or no, Applebloom. I just said I needed time to think about it."

"Think about what?" Pinkie asked.

"Renting out her old clubhouse instead of staying at the hotel," I replied.

"Ooh. That sounds like a good idea."

"Hi Pinkie, whatcha doin' back here, Forest?" Applejack said at the door. Behind them I could see Big Mac pottering about, "I see Pinkie's got you helpin' her now. You're a mighty helpful feller."

"I try..." Because I have little choice in the matter.

"What are you guys doing here?" Applejack asked, her eyes drifting towards the cart of cakes.

"I made too much batter today, and had some extra, so I decided to bake cakes for all my very, best friends!" She went round back and took one of the packages, the one colored orange, and gave it to Applejack.

"Why, thank you, Pinkie. Your cakes are delicious! I appreciate it."

"Okee, see you later, Applejack!" Pinkie then walked over to me, "Now, let's go to Rarity's."

"Okay, boss," I said jokingly.

Pinkie just grinned at that. Together we walked towards the town again and stopped by Rarity's. She opened the door, and upon seeing me she slapped her head, "Oh forest, I'm so sorry! I forgot to pay you yesterday for dropping off Brian's clothes. I must honor our agreement. How much did we say?"

"We didn't. I don't really have a value for money..."

"Neither do I!" Pinkie put in.

Rarity rolled her eyes at Pinkie, "Does two bits sound fair?"

You cheap bitch! "Sure."

Rarity gave me two coins, which I slipped into the pouch that Applejack had given me to hold the rest of my loot, "So, what do I owe the honor of such a visit?"

Pinkie explained the extra batter story she had given to Applejack before, and handed Rarity a white box with a purple ribbon. I had to hand it to Pinkie, she really put a lot of detail into her friend's cakes. As Rarity opened it, she was elated to find that it was her favorite cake, and icing. She thanked Pinkie, and the both of us turned and headed towards Twilight's library.

Spike answered the door. He looked like shit.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Nothing. Hi, Pinkie," He looked at me, "Forest, do you know a lot about girls?"

Where did that question come from? "Not really. Even if I did, I wouldn't remember, remember?" There was no use telling him that the few times I've even enjoyed company from the softer sex was during one night in high school filled with drug and alcohol induced regret. I was perhaps the worst person to ever help in any relationship.

"Oh." Spike turned and left the door open.

Twilight poked her head out moments later, "I don't know what's gotten into Spike, he's been in a real funk today. Oh, hi, Forest."

"Hi."

"He was just asking Forest about girls," Pinkie put in, smiling widely.

"Girls?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"He's a boy. Young. These things happen." I said, trying to act the part, "But I'm not really... helpful when it comes to these kind of things." In reality, I was probably unhelpful in all sorts of social situations. The only way I was able to participate thus far has been because I've managed to preoccupy myself with other things.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Twilight asked.

Again the cake and batter story, and Pinkie brought a purple present to Twilight, but at the mention of cake, Spike had already intercepted the package and rushed it indoors. Expecting that, Pinkie had a second one in the same color. Despite her floozy attitude, she planned ahead. I had to give her points for that.

Saying our good-byes, I followed Pinkie to the next house. The Dash's. Every step I took towards that house seemed heavy. I did not want to see or meet Brian after the exchange the previous night. He had really struck a nerve in me, and I am perhaps the worst actor on either worlds. Luckily I had an excuse not to go inside. I was pulling the cart.

As we walked up the path to their front door, I saw Brian around the back watering some plants.

"Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie shouted, and a rainbow streak zoomed past me and tackled Pinkie.

The two were rough-housing for a moment, before settling down. The commotion had attracted Brian's attention, who put away his gardening gloves into his rear pocket, placed the watering can on a tree stump and walked over. He smiled at the two girls, but gave me a keen look. Not really in the mood for confrontation, I just looked away.

"Dad," Rainbow Dash said quietly, barely loud enough for me to hear, "Come on. He's not a human."

"Who's not a human? Forest?" Pinkie said out loud.

My bones stiffened despite myself, and I turned my head towards the three of them, "What?" I said trying to sound stupid.

"Brian thinks you're a human, Forest!" Pinkie said, bounding around me. Planning ahead maybe she was good at. Sensing awkward situations like this she was completely useless, "Isn't that funny?"

"I guess so. I mean, I don't look anything like him. For one thing, I've got these hooves..."

"If Celestia can change me into a Pony, which she did for a brief moment, then she can change you too," Brian replied. He was being very aggressive, and put himself between Rainbow Dash and me.

Somewhere in the back of me mind a voice screamed. I think it was mine, but I had to play it cool. Somehow, I had to convince this Brian that me being human was wrong. But how?

"Then why not go and ask her?" I said.

Brian's face suddenly changed. Good! He was not expecting that. Ride on it!

"Yeah. Why not go and ask her? Surely she would be able to tell if what you say is true."

Brilliant! Brian's face had changed. The aggressive demeanor of his body had subsided, and instead he just stood there looking at me, confused.

"You said 'anybody'. No-one in Ponyville says 'anybody'." Brian said, trying to rationalize his thoughts.

"Well, what about other places? Ponyville surely isn't the only town in... the world..."

"Equestria," Pinkie put in.

"In Equestria. Thank you, Pinkie."

"Welcome."

"Maybe I came from another place. A town where there are more creatures than just Ponies." That was the gambit. I made a huge gamble. There was no evidence that there were other sentient beings, but seeing Spike, a Dragon, this gamble might actually work. All I had to do was wait - I would know if it didn't work soon enough.

"See, dad. He's not from Earth," Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her father's shoulder, "He's not here to take me away."

"What?" I asked.

"Dad was scared that you were here to take me back to Earth."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" And that was honestly an honest question. Really. Why would I?

"He's just protective of me, that's all. I mean, he did give up everything to come here." Rainbow looked at her dad and grinned.

He didn't leave shit behind. He was alone with nothing, you were all he had. Of course he's going to choose you over that empty life. I said in my mind, "For someone who means everything to you, sacrificing everything is a small price to pay." God damn, that was a great line!

"That' very... well put, Forest." Rainbow Dash replied, "See, dad?"

"Fine, suppose I buy into the fact that you're from another place, let's say a big city like Canterlot, that doesn't explain your lack of any reaction to seeing me for the first time. I've been around Ponies for five years now, five whole years, and I've seen them all react to me in the same way. First they are afraid, then after a while they warm up to me. You had absolutely zero fear of me from the get-go. In fact, I seemed familiar to you. You didn't even flinch when I offered you my hand."

The first time ever I wished I had pants so that I could shit in them. Instead I just stared at Brian for a long moment trying to come up with a reason. Any reason! But everything I could think of just did not make sense. It was time to repeat the fear of the Timberwolf again.

"The Timberwol..."

"Yes, yes. The Timberwolf scared you and you had no fear left. Don't buy it. You can tell me anything you want, and these girls might believe you, but I don't. I don't care what they say, there's something about you. Something... different."

"Fine. Suppose I say you're right, I am different, then my next question is this: why would I want to do anything to your daughter?" Now it was my turn to go on the offensive. Could not let him have the upper-hand on me. Now it was my turn to press him.

"I don't know." Brian said after a moment.

Good, now I have him doubting his initial reason to be wary of me. That's a start. My told myself.

"As I said to you last night, when you accused me of being a human, I told you that I was tired and was not interested in your accusations. I stand by that. And I will repeat, if you find out anything about me, then please, let me know. I will be very interested." I forced a smile on my face, but I held my breath.

Brian just turned around and stormed into his house without another word. I had to give it to the guy, he was sharp. He knew right away I was suspicious, and knew that I was not who I said I was. My only hope was that he really believed that I willed no harm to him or his daughter, and to steer clear of him as much as possible. But if Rainbow Dash is such great friends with Pinkie, would that even be possible?

"Dad!" Rainbow called out after her father, "Forest, I'm really sorry about this..."

Time to play the 'nice-guy' card! I said to myself, "No, don't worry, Miss Dash. Your father is only looking out for you."

"I'm not a baby..."

"Pardon me for saying so, but you'll always be his baby." Game set, and match.

Rainbow smiled, "Call me Rainbow. Doesn't feel right being called 'Miss Dash' by... a friend?"

"If you say so, Rainbow." Yes! I've been friended! "Pinkie. Isn't it time?"

Pinkie, who had been sitting quietly to one side since the start of Brian's accusations, now was back to her bubbly self. She picked up a cyan box, with a rainbow ribbon, and handed it to Rainbow, then another one, this one a skin-color not too disimilar to Brian's skin-tone was also handed over, at the same time explaining her cake batter story. When done, Rainbow watched us go, and didn't shut the door until we were quite a way down the road.

"I've never seen Brian get like that... well, once. When he first came to Equestria, Princess Celestia confronted him. It was so scary!" Pinkie shuddered.

I laughed. I was happy to have managed to somehow escape again. "So, where to now?"

"Next is Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy?" I asked, "I don't think I've met her."

"She's really, really, really shy. She didn't come last night because one of her animals was sick. Her pet rabbit, Angel. He's getting old, so Fluttershy is taking care of him." At the mention of Angel's name, Pinkie's bubbliness faded.

"How old is the rabbit now?" I asked.

"He turned ten a little while ago." Pinkie replied, looking up at me.

Now, when I was younger I had a pet rabbit. I got it for my sixth birthday, I remember it because it was the year that my father in all his glory, decided to beat my mother almost to death and therefore got himself thrown in jail, where he got shanked for talking shit. He died on the spot. My mother, glad to be rid of my father and his abusive control, went on a rampage of drinking and drugs. By the time I was twelve, she was in rehab, and I was living with my mother's mother. My grandma was a forgetful old tart, but she meant well. When I reached sixteen years of age, she bit the dust. I remember going to the crematorium alone - my mother was in rehab and could not make it. My rabbit died a few weeks later. Ten years old.

After that, I went to boarding school. Was bullied, retaliated, got into a light of fights, expelled. Rinse, repeat that for three more semesters, after which I buried myself into books and forgot everything else.

In conclusion, I hated rabbits.

The path we traveled on looked very familiar, and I turned to Pinkie, "This road seems familiar."

"It's the path to the Everfree Forest, but don't worry, we're not going in. Fluttershy's home is right over there, see?"

And near the forest, indeed was a little house. A chicken coop lay outside. Pinkie rushed ahead of me, and knocked on the door. By the time I reached, I saw a yellow Pony hovering a little off the ground.

"Hi, Pinkie."

Pinkie inhaled, but Fluttershy closed her mouth, "Sh! Not so loud. Angel is sleeping."

"Sorry, Fluttershy," Pinkie told her about the cakes, and handed her a yellow box. The rest of the conversation was held in whispers, so I couldn't hear them, but they were looking over my way and talking.

Eventually Fluttershy came over towards me and flew just above my head, "Hello, I'm Fluttershy."

"Hello, I'm Forest," I said whispering as well, "How is your rabbit?"

At that, Fluttershy landed on the ground, "Not good, I'm afraid. He's doing very poorly. I don't know what to do? He's always been..."

No! Don't you fucking dare! Don't do it! Oh, shit. She's doing it! She's going to do it! Ah, shit. Fluttershy began to cry.

As awkward as it was, I patted her back, "There, there. It happens. The Circle of Life must go on."

I turned to look at Pinkie, who also consoled her friend. For the next hour, I just stood there and watched the two girls. Even with her energy, and her excited attitude, Pinkie did her best to try and make Fluttershy smile. And what's more, she understood the situation, and acted in the proper manner. If you had told me a couple of hours ago that Pinkie was able to do that, I would have laughed at you and told you to stop hallucinating, but now I could see. Her friends really mattered to her.

When the cry session was over, Pinkie showed Fluttershy back to the door, and watched as she entered her house.

"Will she be alright?" I asked.

"Yes, I think so. I'll come again tomorrow and check up on her." Pinkie smiled at me, "But she talked to you. She rarely talks to anypony the first time."

"Guess I'm lucky."

We walked back together, stopping along the way for Pinkie to hand out random cakes to random Ponies. It was amazing just how many of them were so eager to get at Pinkie's cakes, and what was even more amazing was all the free stuff that Pinkie got in return for them.

Parking the cart back into the area behind Sugarcube Corner, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake standing on the ledge of the loading bay looking down at us.

"Did you guys enjoy your date?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"Wha-!" I said in shock.

Pinkie turned even more pinker than before - something I didn't think was possible; the fact that Ponies could blush was another matter. She just stood there looking embarrassed for a long moment, like a deer caught in headlights. After a pause she looked at Mrs. Cake, "It wasn't a date! Forest was just helping me."

Mrs. Cake just smiled and nodded, "Okay, okay. Sorry, I just thought..."

"Dear, I think I heard the kids crying out for you." Mr. Cake cut in.

Mrs. Cake, whether understanding the hint, or just was concerned for her children, disappeared into the shop. I gave Mr. Cake the man-nod, the man-sign for 'thanks'. He nodded back, and followed his wife inside.

"I'm so-sorry, I don't know why Mrs. Cake..."

"It's okay, Pinkie. I had fun," Dare I say it, "You're great company. We should hang out again."

Pinkie's eyes opened wide, and the smile on her face - well, it was priceless. Stumbling and fumbling, she walked up the stairs to the door. Eventually she opened it, laughing stupidly in the process. Then, when she eventually entered the house, and closed the door, only them did I start walking towards my hotel.

Walking up to the receptionist, she eyed me.

"What?" I asked.

"I saw you... and Pinkie." She said, then she leaned forwards, "Are you friends with her too?"

The venom in her voice shocked me. I know venom when I hear it, I produce enough venom in my words that would put a cobra to shame. I didn't say anything.

"I don't want you in my hotel," She said, narrowing her eyes, "Anyone who's friends with her can find another place to stay. Pay, and leave."

"Can't I at least stay tonight?" I asked, not really wanting to get into another fight after that bout with Brian earlier.

"Fine. But I want you out by morning."

She threw the key to my room at my face. Picking it up off the floor, I went to my room.

Automatically, I went for the laptop, and placed it on the table. Tutela was waiting for me.

"What is wrong with that receptionist?" I asked.

"She seems to have a... 'problem' with Pinkie. So, did you enjoy your day? You got paid twice. For helping at Sweet Apple Acres, and you got paid for the errand you ran for Rarity. Not bad. Then, you helped Pinkie deliver her cakes to her friends without hesitation, and confronted Brian again. It's too bad he's stubborn, but that is also perhaps the main reason why he's in Equestria in the first place. Once he gets an idea in his head..."

"Seems that I'm moving out tomorrow," I said, leaning back against the back of the chair, "Where will I find a place..."

The thought struck me already. There was a place.

"Clubhouse?" Tutela asked.

I nodded.

"Well, at least now you can buck all the apples and clean all the windows you want." Tutela grinned at me.

"You know, I'm beginning to hate apples and windows." I replied, putting my hoof on the back of the monitor to be ready to close it for the night.

"Then maybe you would rather use Linux?" Tutela laughed out loud at her own joke, and as she said it, the screen changed again to another operating system.

"I hate you. I hate you so much." I said aloud to the Changeling.

"I know." She replied, grinning like Dracula as I shut the laptop.

Then I lay on the bed, and passed out.

Day 3: Forest's Home

Waking up, I noticed that it was still dark outside. The laptop was in front of my face, closed tightly. Gingerly, I pried it open and saw the Changeling pottering about in what looked like a kitchen. It seemed that she noticed me and turned around, "Good morning."

I blinked my eyes open, and looked at the time. Just past four. "Mmmrning." I grumbled.

"You need a watch or something. You can't keep using the laptop to check the time."

"Do they even have wristwatches in this world?" I asked sitting up.

Tutela merely shrugged, "I'm a Changeling, remember? I never really interacted with other Ponies from that world, only with my kind, and we never had watches. We never even had clocks. Not that we needed it. We just... were. When there was food, we ate. When there was places to go, we went. We didn't really 'think' about it, so we never really 'thought' about time in general. To be honest, it took me a while to understand the concept."

"The more I learn about Changelings, the more I compare them to the Zerg," I muttered out loud.

"The what?"

"Never mind," I pulled myself out of bed, and went to the bathroom. Turning to the little stall, I turned on the shower. After setting the temperature just right, I soaked myself in the water. My first shower since I got here. I saw a huge plastic soap dispenser in the corner with an oversized pump lever. Pushing it, I saw a large glob of light-blue substance ooze out. I caught it in my hoof, then rubbed it on my body. Shampoo? Soap? Whatever it was, it made the skin under my fur feel cool, and a strong minty smell filled the bathroom. It was amazing! One handful - or hoofful - was enough to lather my entire body up. Then next to the extra large soap dispenser was another small dispenser with green liquid in it. I pushed on that, and a thicker goop came out. Instinctively I put that on my mane, and tail - this was shampoo, and it smelled wonderful. The scent was completely unique! It was not fruity, nor minty, but had a very pleasant odor. I couldn't tell if it was floral, but it seemed to be. Rinsing myself off, I reached for a towel and dried myself completely.

"That was great! I feel so refreshed!" I said, looking at Tutela, who was looking away from me. Were her cheeks pink? Was she blushing? Did she spy on me in the shower? "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," She said rolling her eyes, "Why are you leaving so early in the morning? You don't have to check out for a while."

"It's not that, it's... well, to be honest, I don't feel comfortable with staying here with that receptionist. I feel as if she might sneak into my room and stab me when I least expect it."

"Nothing I can help you with there. If you die in that world... you stay dead," Tutela leaned forward towards the screen, "So, don't die. If you do, neither of us win. Unless you prefer being dead than spending eternity with me."

"No. No. Life is much more appealing than death." It was. That wasn't a lie. I was in no way going to kill myself, even if it meant staying with the Changeling and her sharp pointy fangs.

Slipping the laptop into my duffel-bag, the only two possessions I had, I closed the door to my hotel room for the last time. Walking down to the reception, I took a deep breath and gulped. This was it.

"Good morn-"

"Five bits. Pay it and get out." She barked, cutting me off.

Without opening my mouth - for talking, I had to use my mouth to pull out the coin-purse that Applejack gave to me - I dumped five coins on the desk. She slammed her hoof as the last coin touched the table, which scared the daylights out of me, and pulled the coins towards her over the desk.

And that concluded our business. With my eyes wide open, I turned and headed for the door, but something bothered me. Something made my blood boil, my anger rage. Something inside me just wanted to... express itself, and I wasn't sure why, and I wasn't sure what was making me feel this way, but I just had to say something. Anything! I had to. I just had to.

"You know why everybo - pony, why everypony likes Pinkie and not you?" I asked turning around, "It's because she's kind, friendly, open, and gentle. She would never wish harm on anyone, and she only wishes the best even to you. I don't care why you hate her. I don't really see a reason apart from the fact that everyone likes her more than you, and trust me, even as new as I am I can see that, and for some obscure reason you can't stand that. You can't stand the fact that Pinkie has more friends than you! You can't stand that Pinkie is better than you! And there's no-pony to blame but yourself and that disgusting attitude of yours."

Then I stormed out the door without turning back. I heard a loud growl from behind me as the door closed, but I felt really good. Being a raging asshole isn't something new to me, but something about being an asshole to the receptionist just felt... right. I mean, it felt good. Usually after an episode of 'assholiness' (as I like to call it) I feel somewhat dirty, but not this time.

Walking past Sugarcube Corner, I saw the lights on in the kitchen. Walking over to the loading bay around back, I noticed that cart from yesterday was still parked where I had left it. Despite dragging it all over the place, I couldn't help but smile. I really had fun, except for the part where Brian attacked me again. That wasn't so fun.

Walking up the steps then to the rear entrance, I knocked gently on the open door.

"Hello?" I said, not too loudly, aware that there were children in this household. I can stand babies, but crying babies were a whole new ballgame.

Mr. Cake poked his head around the corner, "Oh, hello, Forest. Pinkie Pie isn't awake yet..."

"Oh, no. I just checked out and..." I started.

"You're leaving Ponyville already? But, you've only just got here..." Mr. Cake interrupted me.

"No, no. I checked out of the hotel. I... was essentially thrown out by the receptionist." I confessed. Mr. Cake was a real easy guy to talk to, "I'm currently homeless. The Apples have got a place for me for now."

"The Apples? I assume you mean Applejack and her brood."

"Yes, sir." I replied.

"Call me, Carrot."

"If you don't mind, sir, I'd rather not. Calling you 'Carrot' doesn't seem... appropriate." It sounded too much like calling him 'darling'.

"Well, suit yourself."

Just then Mrs. Cake walked in.

"Oh, good morning, Forest," She sang, "Pinkie is still asleep. Do you want me to wake her?"

"Oh no. Please don't. I just stopped by for a quick visit."

"Seems that Crystal has evicted him from her hotel." Mr. Cake replied.

"Crystal?" I asked.

"Oh yes, Cyan Crystal. She's a strange Pony, that one. She's fairly new to Ponyville, came here about four years ago. She set up that hotel across the road. She's... nice - usually, but sometimes..." He didn't continue. He didn't need to.

"My husband is a good man, but sometimes I think Pinkie Pie's lack of common sense rubs off on him. What he means to say is that Cyan Crystal is a mean, mean Pony, who seems to have a grudge against Pinkie and takes it out on everyone else." Mrs. Cake put in.

"I have common sense," Mr. Cake pouted.

Mrs. Cake ignored him, "Pinkie Pie was sick when Crystal first came, and so Pinkie never threw her one of her 'Welcome to Ponyville' parties. By the time Pinkie got better, everyone already knew Crystal - her attitude is infamous here in Ponyville, and she was no longer new. Still, Pinkie did offer to throw a party, but Crystal seemed to get angry at the thought and really was mean to poor Pinkie."

"I rarely see Pinkie cry, but I'll never forget how sad she was that day," Mr. Cake interrupted, "Pinkie only returned to her normal self after a few days, and in Pinkie's timescale, that's a long time. Nowadays Pinkie avoids Crystal as much as possible. Whenever she sees her Pinkie usually hides, but I think Crystal shot herself in the foot. By breaking Pinkie's heart that way and her mean attitude have completely isolated her from the rest of Ponyville. Now, nopony wants to be her friend. But you know something, I can't tell if she cares or not."

"I... see..." Oh, now I felt just terrible. Nah. She still deserved the verbal barrage I fired at her, "So, she's just a bad per-pony! A bad pony." I caught myself just in time. I nearly said 'person', "Just because she didn't get a party?"

This time Mr. Cake continued, "I doubt it's that simple. She goes through these mood swings. Sometimes she's normal and treats you indifferently. But other times she talks down to you, as if you were the lowest thing living on this planet, while other times she's downright rude and mean. But if you have anything to do with Pinkie she will become excessively cruel. Even after learning that Pinkie was everypony's friend in Ponyville... I have no idea what's going on in that head of hers, but we have a long standing order with her, so we deliver our freshly baked goods - even though she knows that Pinkie lives with us. She only comes here to pay for the next months supply of baked goods."

"I can understand why." I said, smiling, "Best in Equestria, I'm told. And I believe it."

Mr. Cake beamed at that, grinning widely.

Mrs. Cake was not done though, "About two weeks ago Cheerilee and her got into a big fight over at the café. It got so bad that others had to intervene. Now, for a small town like Ponyville, that's something that's just not done. I mean, if Crystal wants to live peacefully here she is ruining all her chances at that. She's making it very hard for anypony to be friends with her and quite frankly I don't think she cares."

"Cheerily?" I asked.

"Cheerilee is the teacher at the local school for the younger grades. My children will be in her class in two years." Mrs. Cake explained.

"Ah. Cheerilee," My nose suddenly filled up with the delicious scent of freshly baked goods. My mouth watered despite myself and I had to force myself to smile.

"Feeling peckish?" Mr. Cake asked, smiling, "Here, on the house."

He gave me a huge muffin! I gobbled it down eagerly. I did not eat dinner the last night, even after the work at the farm, and Pinkie's deliveries, I was totally worn out. I didn't realize just how hungry I was.

"Still hungry?" Mrs. Cake asked, and handed me another huge muffin, "Also on the house."

She did not need to tell me twice, and after demolishing the second one, they gave me a cup of chocolate and coffee mix that put anything on Earth to shame. The way the chocolate and coffee melded into one another, and there was a slightly pleasant bitter bite at the back where it lessened the overpowering sugar-like sweetness. There were no words to describe the sensations on my tongue.

"I see you like our coco-coffee mix. It's a secret recipe that Pinkie came up with." Mr. Cake said, leaning against a giant thermos with the magical liquid inside, "If you stick around, maybe you can help with the morning rush. Work off those two muffins."

Thinking about it, I nodded, "Okay, on the condition that I get another cup of that deliciousness. It's absolutely stunning, I haven't had coffee this good..."

"Are you remembering something?" Mrs. Cake asked, her face drawing closer to mine.

Shit! "That's strange... yes. I am. I've never tasted anything this wonderful before!" I took another long pull from the cup.

"Well, that only proves that you're not from Ponyville," Mr. Cake frowned, "And we already knew that."

"Thank you for trying to help me remember. As for helping, sure. I don't have anything else planned for the day. It would be a pleasure." That wasn't a lie.

I hated to admit it, but I really liked the Cakes. They were warm, caring, open. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not new to these kind of sentiments, but back on Earth I could always feel that arm out stretched, keeping me at a distance. This was something I grew comfortable with over the years. But I was completely involved in these peoples - Ponies, lives. Now, I might be fairly clueless when it comes to social cues, but I could tell quite clearly that I was completely welcome here.

The first task I was given was to mop the front. Mrs. Cake showed me how it was done. Now, I don't really have to be told that handling a mop with ones mouth isn't the most hygienic thing to do, so I tried to stand up on my hind legs and use my forehooves instead. After some practice, it was actually easy. Usually after mopping - and yes, I've done my share of it, my lower back would start to ache. But due to my 'natural' build from being a pony, my back was already bent in half, so no lower back ache!

It didn't take me long to finish, by which time Mr. and Mrs. Cake were putting a bunch of baked goodness on display across their numerous counters. Mrs. Cake then walked back into the kitchen once she and Mr. Cake agreed where the pastries went, the cakes were presented, and the breads put into a large basket next to the cashier's desk. The smell in the room was intoxicating. Who knew that I would be such a fan? A part of me blamed my sudden shift in biology - Ponies are vegetarian, at least I thought they were. Ponies eating meat was somewhat a bit of a stretch, even for me.

"Okay, Forest. Can you unlock the front door. There's a couple signs I want you to put outside as well, they're right over there," Mr. Cake pointed to two signs next to one another, leaning against the wall near the door. On it had some words in English (yes, English), but on others it had a different, unfamiliar writing. It wasn't anything I've ever seen before.

Taking the signs out, opened them out and placed them near the entrance.

"Hello, Forest," A voice said from behind me.

I jumped, and turned to see Rarity. "Oh, hello Rarity. You scared the... daylights... out of me." I was going to say 'shit'.

She gave me a coy smile, "You really like Pinkie, don't you?"

The suddenness of the question took me aback, "Wha-?"

"Oh, don't hide it. I know." And with that, she walked past me, and into the shop. I stared after her a few moments wondering what she meant by 'know'. Whatever.

When the last of the signs was visible, I turned and walked into the store. There were quite a few more Ponies in here than before, and all of them turned to me as soon as I walked in. A few of them giggled, and walked past me - nobody I knew. Damn it! It's no-Pony! I made a mental note in my head. Was not going to get caught out on that again.

As I approached the Cakes, Rarity was there.

"Well, look at the time," She said.

"Where?" I replied, keenly interested. Did she have a watch? Where would I get one?

"I have to go. It was nice talking to you, and remember what I said." She said to the Cakes.

The Cakes grinned and nodded in response.

As Rarity turned to go, she looked at me. Those eyes piercing mine. It was not scary, but it did make me feel a little naked, like she knew something. Then she smiled, "See you around, Forest. Do come visit sometime. Don't be a stranger."

Despite myself, I laughed nervously, "Okay?"

"Toodles." She half trotted, half skipped out of the store.

I turned to the Cakes, "What was that all about?"

Mr. Cake opened his mouth to talk, but I heard a loud 'stomp' and his face winced in pain. Obviously he was going to tell me something, but Mrs. Cake stopped him.

"Never you mind, Forest. As promised, another cup of our magical brew." She said instead, and handed me the cup.

Savoring this one, I took it to the far corner so as not to be in the way. Looking at the cakes, I was fascinated by the craft. Back on Earth, breads were usually plain, but here they put a lot of art into their work. The cakes were overly ordained with many types of decorations. Some were completely over the top, others were tastefully done, but each was indeed the work of someone who loved to bake. Truly and honestly loved to bake. Not someone who thinks they can bake, and then sucks at the task.

As I finished my last sip, I turned back to the Cakes. They were talking with Twilight. When did she arrive? As I turned around, they all just grinned at me at the same time. The action was somewhat comical, as I walked over and placed the empty mug on the counter. "Good morning, Twilight. I didn't see you come in. Did I do something funny?"

"No," She said trying to act as nonchalant as possible. She was a bad liar. "Oh gosh! Look at the time!"

Again that line! Where was everyone seeing this time? This time I wasn't letting it get away. I needed to know!

"Where is the time?" I said, perhaps a little too roughly.

"The clock over there, Forest." Twilight pointed at a clock behind the Cakes near the ceiling. It read ten past eight. I've been hanging around here for four hours?

"I think I ought to be going," I said, staring at the clock, "Thanks for the food and coffee, it was delicious."

"Come back again soon, Forest." Mrs. Cake said somewhat coyly.

I furrowed my brow, why was everyone suddenly acting strange? Did Rarity tell them something? Come to think of it, what was Rarity doing up and about that early in the morning? I shoved the thought aside, I had other things to take care of.

As I approached Sweet Apple Acres Applejack spotted me and waved as I headed for the barn. I turned direction towards the field and walked towards her.

"Hello, Forest." She said when I got close enough.

"Hello. I'm going to cut right to the chase. About that clubhouse..." I grinned.

"Well, it's funny you should say that, 'cause yesterday Applebloom and I went over to take a gander at it. Well, I'm gonna be completely honest with you. It isn't exactly in livable standards, the roof's got holes, the wall's are barely standin', the door's missin', and there's parts of the floor completely gone. I swear it was fine a month ago."

Inside I died a little.

"But, 'cause of yer nifty contraption, Big Mac, Applebloom and I suddenly have lot's of free time! So, we were dicussin' and we've decided to help rebuild the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse, and turn it into Forest's..."

"Fortress?" Big Mac suggested.

"Forest's Fortress... it does have a certain ring to it." Applejack said through gritted teeth. It was obvious that she didn't like it at all.

"What about Forest's Floating Fortress?" Applebloom piped in, "After all it's up in a tree!"

"I dunno... that's..." Applejack couldn't find the words.

"How about 'Home'?" I said after a moment.

The two turned and looked at me.

"Forest's Home," Applejack repeated it out loud to herself, "Y'know. I like it. It's simple. It's rustic. And well, it's homey. Good one, Forest."

"Bor-ring," Applebloom voiced, but eventually accented that since she couldn't come up with anything better, and neither did her nearly-silent bigger brother - and to be honest, I wasn't expecting anything from him.

After looking around the clubhouse to assess how much damage there really was, and to get an estimate on how many pieces of wood and stuff was required, the four of us headed back towards the house. Judging by the height of the sun, it was close to noon, and I was getting hungry despite the generous breakfast the Cakes let me eat.

As we approached the barn I spotted an old, light green pony placing some bowls of food on a table outside. I instantly knew who it was.

"Ma'am," I said respectfully bowing my head - I've seen enough Western movies. If I had a cowboy hat on like Applejack's I would've tipped the brim. Anyone who could make apple juice taste as good as it did yesterday deserved respect, and considering how old she was... well, I was simply amazed.

"My, my. Who's this young Stallion here?" She crowed, her eyes looking on my face through these tiny glasses, "Are you Applejack's special somepony? She's a nice young mare, she is. Tough cookie to boot."

"Granny!" Applejack exclaimed, "Forest here's that feller I was tellin' you about. He's gonna rent the ol' Clubhouse. Remember?"

"Special somepony?" I muttered to myself not understanding what she meant.

"Yes, yes. But why would ye be offerin' it unless he be somepony special?" Granny replied, a twinkle in her eye.

Now I knew what she meant. Despite my embarrassment, I had to give it to the old gal. She had a very good point. Why would they offer it to me unless they thought I was someone trustworthy.

"Because he helped make that new cart-apple-catcher-thingy."

"Harvester," I corrected her.

"Harvester! Thank you, Forest. Because he built the harvester, and we were just bein' nice and neighborly!" Applejack replied.

"Okay, don't get your freckles all in a huffle. I was just teasin'."

Huffle?

Even Big Mac was laughing behind Applejack, who received a kick. That did little to stop the guy from continuing laughing, louder than before. Funny that this is the most I've ever heard coming from his mouth so far. Applebloom was giggling away as well, and even I wasn't immune to it. I smiled to myself and watched this family, a family which I never had, having fun with one another. Some part of me felt uncomfortable. I didn't belong here, not with these good people. People like me belonged to another genre - sorry, Ponies like me. Have to stop getting the two confused. There are no people in Equestria, except one.

"Have a seat there, Forest." Applejack said, pointing to the picnic bench.

I sat down, and Applebloom sat on my left, Granny Smith sat on my right at the head of the table on her own special chair. Opposite me sat Applejack, and next to her sat Big Macintosh. I felt somewhat sheepish sitting at that table, again I felt so out of place that it just didn't feel right.

"Relax, Forest. Granny ain't gonna eatcha," Applebloom said, laughing.

She was right, what was I freaking out for?

My eyes drifted to the food in front of me. Ever since I got to Equestria, all it seemed like was me eating something fantastic or drinking something spectacular. Everything just tasted so much better, fresher and purer than anything before. Honestly, that was not saying much as before my diet revolved around eating fast-food and ready-made meals heated in a microwave that I found in a dump. It's been years since I've sat down and had a meal with anyone. No, that's wrong. I've never sat down like this. Ever.

"Forest? Are you okay?" Applejack said, looking at me with concern.

"Yes. Why?"

"You're... you're cryin'."

I was taken aback, "Am I?" I felt the area under my left eye with my left hoof, and indeed, there were tears there, "That is strange. I hadn't noticed them."

"Are you okay?" Applebloom asked as well.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. I just... well, I don't know. It's just..." Words were failing me, what was going on with me? "It's just it's been so long since I've felt like this. It's... strange, but in a good way."

Applejack looked at the others around the table, and then smiled gently at me, "A fond memory?"

Fond memories, my ass! This is the happiest I've been in my miserable life! "More like feelings."

"Well, feelin's sometimes can trigger memries," Granny Smith replied, her voice was gentler, "Good ones, and the bad. Jest be sure you remember the meaning behind those feelin's, and you'll do jest fine."

In some strange way, she made sense, "Sure thing, Granny."

"Oh my! Just like that you're callin' me Granny! Are yer sure yer not Applejack's special..."

"Granny!" Applejack interrupted.

Applebloom and Big Mac were literally rolling over themselves in laughter.

I smiled, and laughed a little as well. Even though I was part of the brunt of the joke, I knew that she meant nothing by it, "No, Granny Smith. I am very grateful for this... invitation."

She smiled at that, and leaned over the food, and took a generous dollop of green liquid into a ladle and dumped it into a bowl in front of me. Not really knowing the etiquette of eating, I paused waiting for the others to start first, but their eyes were all on me.

Seriously? You guys want me to eat first, when I have no idea how Ponies eat soup in the first place? I asked in my head. There were spoons near the middle of the table, so I reached with my hoof for one and tried to pick it up, but it kept slipping. Seriously, why was it so difficult to pick these things up. Applebloom made a face, the kind one makes when you're trying not to laugh at someone when you're not supposed to. Big Mac looked away, but I could see his lips twitch as well. Even Applejack found my antics amusing.

I slammed the spoon down. To hell with it! And I picked up the bowl and drank from it straight.

Whatever it was, it was delicious. The warmth of the soup was perfect, it was enough to warm the pallette without burning the skin off my tongue. Definitely there was a tangy, apple flavor in it, much like that delicious juice from yesterday, but the thickness of the contents was a perfect fusion of texture and... no, the more I tried to describe it, the less majestic it was. Suffice to say, it was divine.

"Wow!" I exclaimed as I savored the last few drops.

"Now that's how you eat, Forest!" Applejack said, pointing her hoof at me, laughing.

We ate together for the next hour, telling jokes (Applejack's were terrible), they told me stories about the farm, their friends, their lives and adventures, places I ought to go and see, Ponies I should meet. They were really good Ponies, friendly and generous to a fault. I actually began to feel guilty that I'd been lying to them. But I had no choice. It wasn't as if I could tell them the truth anyway. If they found out, I was done for.

After we ate, Big Mac and I went down to the wood pile and loaded bits of scrap wood onto another cart. Applebloom helped, and she seemed to know which pieces of wood were needed even better than Big Mac. Now, I am not someone new to using tools, I've built my fair share of devices - usually dangerous ones, but I never really got to work with wood. So, considering how excited and authoritative Applebloom was, I let her take the lead. Then we took the tools form the tool shed and plodded over to the Clubhouse, where Applejack was moving some of the destroyed lumber and placing them onto another cart. How many carts did these Apples have?

"Forest, you make the ramp with Big Mac. Sis, can you cut these pieces of wood into rectangular shapes about this big," She put another piece of wood next to them, "I'll start on the floor."

Without question, we went about our assigned tasks. The ramp was easy to make, and thanks to Big Mac, we were done fairly quickly. Applebloom came over and started telling Big Mac to put in posts in certain areas. When I asked why, she told me it was to ensure structural integrity. Her words exactly.

With my job done, I walked over to Applejack, "Can I help you? Your sister is inspecting the ramp - so, I've got two hooves prepped and ready."

"Well, quick yer yakkin' and grab that saw over there," Applejack said, wiping her brow.

We started sawing the wood together talking about random things when the conversation drifted to the hotel, how my stay was, and inevitably the receptionist.

"I can't stand that Pony, Forest. She's a right mean ol'... well, I can't say. It ain't Marelike." Applejack said pausing her sawing.

I finished the rectangle I was working on and looked up, "Don't have to tell me. She evicted me."

"Well, if she hadn't evicted you, then you wouldn't been able to come and live here."

I blushed a little when she said that.

She realized what she said, "No-not that it matters, right? I mean... I'm sure you could've found another..."

"Thank you, Applejack." I said before she further embarrassed herself.

She smiled, "You're welcome, Forest."

"I think we ought to continue our work. We've attracted an audience," I gestured with my eyes towards the ramp where Big Mac and Applebloom were staring right at us.

Applejack must have given them a look, because they disappeared in the next moment.

Fixing the floor was quick and painless. Big Mac and I went under the clubhouse, while Applejack and Applebloom went inside; the two of them being lighter and less likely to fall through the rotting floor. Then we took out the bad planks by essentially ripping them out and throwing them into the 'waste-cart', and afterwards we angled the new bits of wood to replace the ones that were removed. In no time, the new floor was in.

"Would you like to come in and see your home from inside?" Applebloom asked.

No need to tell me twice. I walked in and looked around. It was small, but comfortable. The lack of utilities no longer mattered to me. Besides, the barn wasn't that far, only a thirty second job, or a two minute walk.

The walls were quickly completed. Each one of us took a wall and we raced to see who could replace the wall the fastest. There was no contest, as Applebloom destroyed us all, with Applejack coming in second and Big Mac coming in third. I brought up the rear. But it wasn't my fault. I had no idea how to use a hammer with hooves!

Last, but not least, was the roof. We all worked together on that. I was surprised that the roof didn't cave in, especially under Big Mac's massive weight. We took the rectangles that Applejack and I cut earlier nailed them down. It took longer, but that was because Applebloom kept telling me her misadventures with her friends when they were 'Blank Flanks', and were hunting for their Cutie Marks. Each was an instant classic.

After it was all done, we got off the roof and admired our work from the front. In one afternoon we managed to rebuild a decayed building into a livable one.

"Well, Forest. This is your new home. Do you like it?" Applejack asked.

"No." I replied with a serious face, then I turned to her and smiled, "I love it. Thank you."

Applebloom and Big Mac snorted in laughter, and Applejack shook her head and shoved me in the shoulder for telling such an awful joke.

We headed back towards the barn to return the tools to the right places, and the wood we didn't use to the lumber pile, and the rest of the scrap wood to the firewood pile. It was then that I saw a familiar pink Pony hopping towards the house.

"Hey, Pinky," Applejack said, as we reached the house.

Granny Smith and Pinkie had been chatting for a bit.

"Hi, Apple J.! I'm going to Fluttershy's house. You wanna come?"

"Well, sure. You don't mind if I go, do you, Forest?" Applejack asked looking back at me.

I understood she was being polite, since I was her guest, but seriously? In front of Granny Smith? She did not miss that comment and grinned at me.

"No, no. I'm not your guest anymore, remember? I'm your tenant, so please, don't let me hold you back." I replied.

"Hi, Forest." Pinky said, and zoomed over to me, "Did you find a new place to live?"

"Yes. We just finished building it."

"Oh yeah! The old Clubhouse." She went on, but I didn't understand a word she was saying bouncing around and zipping to and fro the way she does.

Eventually the two Mares were on their way. I watched them go for a bit, then turned to Big Mac and Applebloom.

"I've got some chores left." Big Mac stated, and lumbered off in his own pace.

Granny Smith said something about feeling tired and cold and that she had to get something, and she headed back to her home. Now it was just Applebloom and me.

"You know, you forgot about me yesterday." Applebloom said looking up at me.

"Really?"

"I asked if you wanted to go out and find our Cutie Marks, and you said you'd help."

"Oh?" Then it dawned on me. She had asked me while I was cleaning windows yesterday! But the fear from talking and washing the windows made me forget. After all, that was the second day I had hooves, and although I've sort of grown accustomed to having these new limbs, it was still scary. "Oh! I completely forgot. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. You want to start looking now?"

"Applebloom... are you sure you don't know what your talent is?" I asked.

"No." She sulked.

Seriously? You practically rebuilt the Clubhouse alone. "Ah. I see. Well, I'm not sure how it works. What do you do? I mean, do you just do something and you get your Cutie Mark? Who puts it there for you?"

"No, silly. Nopony puts a Cutie Mark on you. You just... get it. When you find something that's right for you, your Cutie Mark will just appear!"

I looked at her skeptically.

She groaned, "Well, when Scootaloo got hers, she was racin' Rainbow Dash! You should have seen 'em. Rainbow leadin' but Scootaloo right on her tail! They zoomed through the air," She jumped up high, "Came racin' down, then spun around..." I watched her describe her friend's movements, trying to picture it in my head. She made it sound like a dogfight between two top aces, "She was leadin' at one point! It was soooooooo exciting! But, Rainbow Dash roared past her in the last stretch, and Scootaloo lost. After the race when she took off the racing suit we saw that her Cutie Mark had appeared."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Magic?"

"Magic."

"Makes sense," No, it doesn't! "How long ago?" I asked.

"Not that long."

"And Sweetie Belle?"

"Oh, she got hers recently. Every year our school holds a talent show. This time our class decided to do a musical together, and Sweetie was volunteered to write the music and lyrics by Scootaloo and me. But during the the main show, our lead singer got sick and couldn't come. Nopony could cover, except Sweetie. It took some convincin', but when she sang..." Applebloom looked over to me, "We should go see her show tomorrow! She's doing an Opera!"

"That sounds really fun!" I replied sarcastically.

Applebloom didn't miss it. She was a lot sharper than her sister, "I used to hate Operas too. Borin' and I can't understand nothin' they sing about. But when Sweetie Belle sings... we're going! That's final!"

I pretended to cower in fear, raising my hooves above my head, and flinching, "Okay, boss!"

Applebloom giggled at my antics.

"Hey, you young'uns. Here's some warm cider for the both of yer. The one on the right's for you Forest. I put something extra special in there." Granny Smith said from behind us. She had managed to mosey on over to where we sat.

The sun was beginning to dip over the horizon at this point.

I took the cider meant for me and took a whiff. Smelt normal. I took a sip. Not normal. Not normal at all! Holy shit! Woo! I shook my head and looked at Granny Smith.

"My speshul Apple Hooch. Ain't nothin' finer, better nor stronger in all Ponyville."

"You could power a jet with this stuff," I gurgled to myself, my throat in agony. "It's fantastic! It's perfect!" For getting absolutely fucked up!

"You like it, Forest?" Applebloom asked incredulously.

"It's... interesting. Yeah. I guess I do." I replied. I did. So what if it felt like drinking lava. The aftertaste was ecstasy. It was as if my mouth had an orgasm, that's how amazing it was. There is no other way to describe this sensation. I just had a mouthgasm.

"You drink this often?" I asked Granny Smith still hanging around behind us.

"Every night. One mug. Keeps my mind sharp, and my wits sharper."

I laughed, "You... you drink an entire mug of this stuff? You're an amazin', ol' gal, aint'cha?"

Granny Smith laughed in return.

Shit, I'm getting drunk already! I haven't even had a second sip! But this... this is too awesome!

"I'll race you, sunny-boy. First one to empty the mug wins. What you say? Think you can take on a ol' gal like me?"

"You're on!" I exclaimed.

"Forest..." Applebloom warned.

"Get ready... go!" Granny Smith instigated before Applebloom could finish.

You know that voice in the back of your mind that tells you that you're going to regret this in the morning? The voice that tells you that this is a really bad idea? You know, the voice called common sense? Yeah. Fuck that voice. Like I was going to let an old lady beat me at drinking!

As I pulled the cup from my lips, I turned to Granny Smith who was already done, and grinning at me.

"No way! Ha! You actually -" I hiccuped, "You actually won!"

"Forest, granny only drinks a tiny sip! She never fills a mug all the way..." Applebloom said in my ear.

"Oh? Haha! You... you're a clever... clever..." Equestria spun around quite quickly. Too quickly for me, and I found myself struggling to maintain balance on her, "Damn. This world... this world is too awesome... talking Ponies... Dragons... flying Ponies..."

"Granny Smith! Look what you did! Forest and I were going to search for my talent!" Applebloom complained.

"Applebloom! You're incredibly talented! I've been here for three daysh," I held up my hoof, trying to hold up three fingers, but all that appeared was a solitary hoof. I saw that Applebloom and Granny looked at my hoof with a confused expression on their faces, "And I already know what your talent ish!"

"You do?" Both Applebloom and Granny Smith replied in unison.

"Shure do!" I hiccuped again.

"Well, spit it out!" Granny Smith exclaimed excitedly.

"It'sh..."

"Yes?" Applebloom asked, leaning forwards.

"It'sh..."

"Yes?" Granny Smith asked, leaning forwards.

"It'sh..." The next thing I knew everything went black, and I landed on my face. As my conscience was fading, I heard Granny Smith's voice coming from somewhere.

"Well, let's get him inside. No point in lettin' him lie there all night! I've never seen anypony able to drink a whole mug of my Apple Hooch. Mac!"

"Eeyup, Granny?" Big Mac's voice appeared a few moments later as my brain started fading out.

"Bring him to the guest room. He can sleep in the Clubhouse tamarraw..."

Granny's voice droned on for a bit longer before I drifted into a dead, dreamless, sleep.

Or, in human-speak; I passed the fuck out.

Day 5: Practice Makes Perfect

My eyes opened to the sound a of a rooster crowing in the distance. The sun shone through the windows, and a few birds were chirping away nearby. Struggling to keep my eyes open, I tried to sit up. Something was holding me down and I turned my head to my left and found myself staring right into Pinkie's sleeping face. I was shocked and tried to pull myself away from her. She was much too close. But Pinkie had one hoof over my chest, and another over my... middle? Suffice to say, when I pulled away, all it succeeded to do was pull Pinkie along with me. So, now I was on the edge of the bed with Pinkie clinging onto me like a baby monkey clings to its mother. I tried to get out of her grip but she held on tight. I tried a little harder, she resisted more. Using a significant amount of strength, I then tried to get her to let go of me. She wouldn't! And I had thought that Rainbow was strong when I tried to stop her yesterday...

Suddenly I didn't feel like getting out of bed. When I thought of Rainbow, I kept seeing her face looking at me while I talked with the doctor in that trailer. It horrified me. As I closed my eyes, I saw Rainbow with that deep, deep sadness, those tears she fought from forming. It was haunting. The minor heart attack that Brian suffered from yesterday bothered me. I did not need to be a medic to see that there was something serious underlying his condition. One does not simply cough out that much blood, not unless there was something serious. The memory was too vivid, and I opened my eyes again shaking my head trying to get rid of the burnt into my brain.

"Mmmm," Pinkie moaned when I shook my head, "Frrr..."

My heart stopped. Was she dreaming about me? Was she having visions of me? Was I in her dreams? And exactly why do I care?

"... osting..." She mumbled, "Frosting..."

Rolling my eyes, a shaking my head, I couldn't help but laugh silently, "Frosting, huh?" I asked looking at her sleeping face.

When I said those words, Pinkie smiled and curled up. As she did, she pulled me closer towards her.

My eyes opened wide. Was she trying to... was she going to... is she...

I turned my face away. I could feel the heat in my face, the blood filling my cheeks as Pinkie drew me closer towards her. My eyes grew wider and wider as her lips parted ways.

Then she bit my cheek. Hard.

"Nummy," She mumbled as she started chewing.

"Ow! Pinkie! You're hurting me!" I said loudly, "Pinkie!"

Whether or not she heard me, Pinkie did loosen her grip enough for me to pull my face away from her.

"Yukky," She mumbled in her sleep, making a face.

I rubbed my cheek where she had bit it. Since I couldn't get out of her grip, and since talking apparently turned her cannibalistic, I remained laying down staring up at the ceiling wondering what Rarity had in mind letting Pinkie stay the night with me. Not that I felt any sort of attraction to Pinkie, or any of the ponies, but even someone as socially retarded as I knew that you did not let a friend sleep with a stranger whom you've never met, know nothing about, and could be a serial killer. Either she was joking, and Pinkie didn't understand the joke, or Rarity actually thought I was a good person - pony! Got do stop doing that. But Tutela did say that the horrors of my world did not necessarily apply here. The Ponies were protected by their Princesses, who watched over them to ensure their safety. But could they watch every pony?

"God-like," Was what Tutela had said to me when describing the princesses. For some reason it was a good enough answer.

With nothing to do, I let my eyes wander around my new home, or rather my new room. I inspected each of the new pieces of furniture I had bought. The dresser took up the entire wall in front of me and was completely empty. Why had I bought it? I didn't need it considering that I had nothing to put in there except my bag and my laptop, which was safely 'hidden' away in the last shelf, along with the bag that I had borrowed from the Apples to carry the linen in last night. To my right was Pinkie's contribution: The Table of Emasculation. How had she convinced me to get it? The hearts on it seemed to scream 'girly-man' in my face, and each one looked like glowing red coals of estrogen in the light of the sun that bounced off of them through the window. Was I being mocked by a table?

The sound of the leaves of the tree where the Clubhouse was built rustled. There was some clattering on the roof, evidence that some small animals was scurrying over it, or perhaps a bird. It made me smile.

"Forest..." Pinkie suddenly whispered.

"Yes, Pinkie?"

"... muffins..." She mumbled a moment later.

"Muffins?"

This time she pulled me in such a way that my face was smooshed against her torso, and she bit my ear.

She began to half eat, half slobber on it.

It felt... strange. It tickled and was not necessarily unpleasant, but it did feel wrong. However, because of my position now, her grip was loose! I pulled my head downwards and away.

I was free! But Pinkie would not be denied! She reached again for me.

Had to think fast, and I grabbed my pillow and placed it in front of her. She instantly wrapped her hooves around it and squeezed, like a python gripping its prey. She drew the poor pillow into her clutches before she started chewing on it. Although I was not completely free yet for her legs were still tightly wrapped around my body, I was still making progress. So I tried to pry myself loose, but the stubborn Mare refused to budge. The harder I tried, the more she resisted.

"Pinkie! Let me go!" I pleaded, shaking her.

She made a sound. I think it was a 'no', but her mouth was full of pillow, and I couldn't quite make it out.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" I pulled the blanket off of her.

She shuddered then opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and then looked up at me, "Good morning."

"Good morning! Glad you're awake. Can you let me go now?"

She looked at her legs twisted around me, blushed a bit, and let me go. She yawned and stretched her body out, "What time is it?"

"No idea."

Finally free of Pinkie's clutches, I got out of bed and walked over to the door and opened it. The crisp morning air seemed to invade the Clubhouse filling it with a fresh cool breeze. It seemed to push the sleep out of the house, and I strangely felt revitalized. The Clubhouse had a small porch, or patio in front of the door that had a railing. It was nothing big. If I stood sideways, my neck would have been over the rail, but it was actually really nice to be able to walk outside and take a few deep breaths of the fresh morning air. I walked back indoors after a moment, and saw Pinkie huddled up in mine and her blanket on the bed.

"Get out of bed, you lazy Pony!" I said leaning against my dresser.

Pinkie pulled the blankets over her head, "Too early..."

Laughing, I pulled both the sheets off of Pinkie.

She narrowed her eyes, and grinned before grabbing a pillow and throwing it right at me. It hit my square in the face. In response to this wanton act of violence, I took the same pillow with my mouth and threw it right back at her. She grinned at that, and took both pillows in both her hooves, and attacked me swatting me from left and right. Somehow I managed to wrest control of one of her 'deadly' weapons from her, and we proceeded to have a 'sword-pillow' fight. Pinky bounced around on the bed, while I tried to hold my ground. Then we 'locked' our sword-pillows and glared at each other, as if we were two rivals in a duel. She pushed against me, and I refused to give back. Alas, Pinkie had the higher ground, and use her weight against me. Taking a step back, I slipped on one of the blankets that was laying on the floor. As I was falling backwards, I grabbed Pinkie's hoof out of reflex, but I was too heavy for her. So, I fell on my back and she fell right on top of me.

Applejack walked in, "What in tarnation are you doin', Fores... Pinkie?" Applejack asked in surprise seeing Pinkie.

Imagine hearing the sounds of a fight, then rushing over to see your tenant lying on the ground, the bed a mess, blankets on the floor, and your best friend on top of him. Yeah. That's what Applejack walked in on.

"It... it's not what it looks like," I said stupidly, understanding that she was shocked.

Applejack looked at me, "What do ya mean it's not what it looks like? It looks like two adult Ponies rough-housin'. Pink, you stayed here at the Clubhouse all night long?" She gave me a keen look, "Am I missin' somethin'?"

"We were just horsing around..." Wait, can I say that? "And I fell. Pinkie tried to catch me..."

Pinkie picked herself up from off of me, "Mornin' AJ!" She said, oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation.

"Hello, Pinkie," Applejack replied. She sounded angry, and gave me a look.

"She... she asked if she could spend the night. I said it was okay. It..." I stuttered, trying to explain. Applejack's expression spoke volumes, "Nothing happened!"

"Then what is she doin' here?"

"Rarity said that Forest would show me something special if I spent the night, but he just fell asleep," Pinkie replied, now sitting on the bed.

Applejack blushed, "Rarity said that, did she?"

"As you can see, she's... not... ready?" I put it in the form of a question, because I was not sure how to say it.

"That's mighty fine of you, Forest, not takin' advantage of Pinkie like that. Very... honorable of you."

I blushed a little, "Thanks,"

"Taking advantage of me?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Never you mind," Applejack replied on my behalf.

"Why would Rarity do that?" I asked.

"Rarity means well, but sometimes she doesn't think, and does things for her friends that she thinks we'd like," Applejack replied, "But I think that Rarity was just teasing Pinkie. I doubt she thought that she'd actually listen and actually stay the night... no offense."

"None taken," Okay, so I was just a teeny-bit offended.

"What am I not ready for?" Pinkie asked again, obviously confused.

Applejack rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, "Well, Pinkie Pie, if you really want to know then I think that's somethin' you ought to ask Twilight."

"Okeedokee," Pinkie replied. She then picked up the blankets from off the floor, neatly folded them and straightened the bed sheet.

She put the pillows and blankets on the bed and I folded it in half, then pushed it back so that it returned to being a sofa. The blankets and sheets all tucked away nicely within the fold. It really was well designed sofa-bed

"What time is it?" Pinkie asked Applejack.

"Around eight, I reckon. Maybe a bit later."

"Excuse me, I need to use the toilet," I said, and took my towel, "And shower."

Walking to the barn, I spotted Big Mac loading a cart with wood. He spotted me and gave me a wave. I nodded as I walked up to him, "Good morning."

"Mornin'."

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Loadin' wood for the fire stove. Zap Apple seasons comin', and we need the wood to make jam."

My eyes opened wide. This was the most he's ever said to me since I've met him. I didn't think he could handle more than one syllable. Big Mac interpreted my expression as someone who was excited about the prospect of a Zap Apple harvest.

"So, when is it?"

"Should be soon. The Timberwolves should be howlin' any day now," Big Mac said looking towards the direction of the Everfree Forest.

I gulped, "Timberwolves?"

"Eeyup."

"Hi, Forest," Applebloom said coming out of the barn with a small stack of wood on her back, "You really are a sleepy-head, ain'tcha?"

"Good morning to you too, Applebloom. Your brother was just telling me that Zap Apple season was coming."

"Uh-huh! I can hardly wait!" She gave me that outrageously cute smile. It should have been illegal being that cute!

I ruffled her mane, "I'll come help in a moment. I need to use the facilities."

"Toilet's over there, shower's opposite," Applebloom said, pointing to the rear of the barn.

After my business, I did indeed help load the cart, and Big Mac lugged it away. However, during the process, I had taken a fairly small piece of wood and a bunch of nails as well as a hammer. Carrying the objects, Applebloom and I returned to the Clubhouse. Applejack and Pinkie were still there sitting on the sofa.

"Hi, Pinkie. When did you arrive?" Applebloom asked.

"I stayed the night!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Applebloom looked over to me.

"Not what you think," I said without emotion. I was going to get this a lot today, wasn't I?

"So, what's your plan for today?" Applejack asked me.

"Get curtains. That's about it."

"Aren't you going to train?"

"Train?"

"For the tryouts! It's tomorrow!" Applebloom replied on her sister's behalf.

I smacked my head, "Oh! I'm such an idiot! I completely forgot!"

"How could you forget?"

"Well, to be honest, I didn't sign up. I was being sarcastic and Rarity just put my name down. Also, after the Brian incident..."

At that, the three girls nodded in silence.

"Have you heard anything?" I asked.

Applejack shook her head, "I haven't been back to the hospital yet. Rainbow is there, and I think Twilight as well. Right now I think Rarity is with Fluttershy..."

"Poor Fluttershy. Poor Dashie. Poor Angel. Poor Brian," Pinkie said. Did her hair just deflate?

"I'm sure that Brian will be alright. The doctor said that all he needed was rest and he'd be up and about," I said smiling. It was true, that was what he had said but I've seen enough television back on Earth to know that whatever Brian had, it wasn't something temporary.

But Pinkie did perk up a bit. Did her hair just inflate? "I'm going to go and make cakes and balloons and everything for Brian! Plus I've got to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake that I'm okay!"

Inflating and deflating hair. Pinkie just put the term 'air-head' on a whole new level for me.

"Isn't Brian in the hospital?" I asked.

Pinkie looked at us, "I should get back. I need to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake that I'm okay! I did say that I wasn't coming home."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them I was staying over at Applejack's. Rarity said not to tell them I was going to stay with you," Pinkie replied. Her honesty was refreshing, but she just did not understand. Was it possible for even Ponies to be that naive?

"Pinkie, you can't tell just anypony about staying the night with Forest!" Applebloom exclaimed. Even she, who was much younger than Pinkie, understood.

"Why not?"

"They'll get the wrong idea!"

"What idea?" Pinkie tilted her head to one side, like a curious puppy.

Applebloom blushed. Applejack blushed. I smacked my head.

"Are you guys okay?" Pinkie asked us, looking at us as if we were the weird ones.

"Just don't tell anyone, okay?" I pleaded, "Not a soul!" I'll never hear the end of it!

She thought about it, "Not even Rarity?"

"Especially not Rarity!" Applejack cut in, making me jump.

"Okeedokee," And with that, Pinkie hopped away.

"Must be nice, being able to live life like that," I said watching her go, "She seems so... free."

"Yeah. Well, Pinkie's a Pony unto her own. She's the perfect Pony to go see the Dash's," Applejack said watching Pinkie hopping back towards Ponyville, "Why don't we go over to the track and you can run a few laps?"

"Sure," I replied.

"Do you want to have breakfast?" Applebloom asked.

"No thank you. If I'm going to be running, I don't think I should eat. I just need to do one thing, and I'll be right over, okay?"

"Okay, we'll see you in a bit."

I watched the two sisters go, and waited until they were a good distance away before returning to the Clubhouse. Closing the door and finding my bag, I opened the laptop.

"If only you could've seen your face last night!" Tutela was laughing so hard, tears were dripping from her eyes, "Your face was so red, I'm surprised it didn't glow! You could have fooled Pinkie into thinking it was her reflection!"

I made a face, "She caught me off guard."

"Did she? I didn't notice apart from the excessive blushing that lame pretending to be asleep act. You really are a glutton for embarrassment!" Tutela roared in laughter, "Now this is entertainment."

"I'm glad you find me so amusing," I scowled.

I got out the hideous frame that Pinkie had bought me. Then I pushed my laptop screen as far back as it could go and overlaid the laptop's monitor with it. The huge frame was big enough to cover the keyboard, and the picture area was the right size for the screen. Now, all I had to do was somehow fix the two together.

Taking the small piece of wood from helping Big Mac and Applebloom earlier, along with the nails. Taking the hammer in my hoof, I took the largest nail I had and hammered it into the back of the door. Then taking the shorter nails, I nailed the piece wood to the very bottom of the frame. Taking the rope that I had used for tying the furniture to the cart - Big Mac had left it outside on the porch, I cut a length and untwisted a part of it. Using that, I wove a small holder at the back and tightened. The rope - now a string - pulled the monitor against the front of the frame.

As I did so, Tutela nodded with an impressed expression on her face, "Very clever."

The majority of the weight of the laptop was now on the small wood block at the base, the ropes held the monitor close to the screen, and I could 'hide' it in plain site. Taking it, I hung it behind the door on the long nail.

Tutela looked at me, and I looked at her, "Think it'll work?"

"Sure. As long as no-one takes it off and peeks at the bottom half."

"How is Brian?" I asked.

"Not good, I'm afraid. He's still not awake, and Pinkie is baking a huge pile of cakes, while at the same time inflating as many balloons as possible."

"Where does she get all that energy?" I muttered, "Do you know what he's got?"

"No."

"Can you find out?" I asked.

"How would I do that? I'm not a doctor," Tutela asked, furrowing her bow.

"I don't know! Peek at people in the hospital over there, or look it up on the Internet?"

"I'll see what I can do, in the meantime, you should be concentrating on yourself and not on other Ponies or people. Remember, you're only there to earn your freedom. ," And with that, Tutela cut off. The picture of the Everfree Forest was now prominently displayed on the screen.

Walking towards the Apple's house, my mind again was filled with all sorts of thoughts. I kept going over the events. The blue Pony with the whip, the laughter - what went wrong after that? Did she use her magic on him? I didn't see anything glowing, so I doubted that was it. Definitely the blue Pony was as shocked as I was to see Brian launch into that coughing fit as I was. And then when I burst into the room, she was terrified.

Applejack, Applebloom, Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh were all on their porch as I walked up to the house.

"Ready to go, Forest?" Applejack asked.

"Ready!" I replied.

The girls, save for Granny, then led me towards Ponyville, while Big Mac stayed behind with his grandmother.

As we entered Ponyville, we ran into Twilight Sparkle and her Dragon. Spike was carrying a basket in his hands full of freshly picked flowers.

"Howdy, Twilight. Where're you off to?" Applejack asked, although we all knew where she was going.

"We're going to visit Brian at the hospital. What about you?"

"I'm takin' Forest here to the track for practice. You wanna walk together?"

"Sure!"

So, the five of us headed towards the hospital. In the back of my mind I was getting worried. Why was I going to the hospital? I didn't want to see Brian. Brian didn't even like me! In fact, I would say that he disliked me. A lot. The last Pony he'd want to see in the hospital would have been me.

As we approached the familiar looking building, I started to walk slower, trying to think of a way out.

"Forest?"

The sound of me new name jolted me, "Ye-yes?"

"How do you make girls like you?" It was Spike who had spoken.

"Come again?"

"How can you make girls like you?" He repeated.

"Well, it depends on the girl, I suppose. So did you have in mind? A hot dragon?" I asked.

He mumbled something.

"What?"

He mumbled something again, this time a tiny bit louder.

"Sorry, you're going to have to speak louder..."

He grabbed me by my shoulders, and held me so that I looked right into his face.

"Rarity!" He exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"Rarity?" I repeated also in a whisper, "But... she's a Pony. You're a Dragon..."

"Does that really matter?" Spike asked.

Why are you dumping this on me now? Don't you think I already have an assload of shit of my plate as it is? I said in my mind, "No. I suppose not."

"I like Rarity," He said and let me go.

"Well, what do you see in her?" I asked.

"She's beautiful, kind, gentle, generous," He went on and on and on. He really had it bad.

"Have you ever told her how you feel?"

"No! No, no, no, no, no! No way! Uh-uh. There is no way. Nope."

"Well, why not tell her how you feel?"

"It's not that simple!" Spike replied, angry.

"I see you've heard this one before."

"You think? Everypony says the same thing, 'tell her how you feel', 'tell her how you feel'," He repeated in a mocking voice - mocking all those Ponies who dared give him this lame piece of advice.

"Well, if everypony suggests it, then wouldn't it be the right thing?" Logic - best argument ender, ever.

"And what if she says no? Then what?"

"Then you move on. Find someone else," Doh! I meant to say somepony!

"There is no-one else," Spike then went on a monologue about how Rarity was 'the one', and that he was 'incomplete' without her. I have-listened to him, not because I wasn't interested, but because there were other things on my mind.

When we arrived at the hospital entrance, I stopped.

"Well, we'll see you guys later?" Twilight asked.

"I'll come with you, Twi. Forest, you go with Spike and Applebloom to the field," And Applejack pointed with her hoof.

The field in question was right behind the hospital. Well, not right behind, but close. Relief.

The three of us walked towards the field. Once there, I jogged around the track a few times while Spike and Applebloom watched. After my seventh lap, Applebloom shouted, "Faster!"

"Seriously?" I muttered, as I past her on another lap.

Still, I did as she asked. I ran. At first it felt strange. But then I started to get used to it. The more I ran, the faster I wanted to go. The faster I wanted to go, the more I pushed myself. The more I pushed myself, the more I felt like I was flying. The feeling of the wind in my face, the sound of the wind passing my ears, and the speed! The speed! Speed! I put my face down and dug my hooves into the ground. I watched the road rush past, the blur of the surroundings push past me. More, and more, I pulled my body forwards, willing myself to go faster and faster. It was amazing. I felt so light. So fast. Free.

It's too bad that I couldn't hold on to the ground.

"Forest!" Applebloom screamed, "Watch out for that..."

It was not that I didn't see it, but I couldn't stop. The momentum of my body propelled my forwards and I crashed into something solid.

"... tree."

"Ow."

Applebloom and Spike stood there. While Applebloom had the expression of shock, Spike had the expression of pain.

Eventually he rushed over to me, "You okay?"

"Fine," I said, seeing stars. Picking myself up, I checked to see if I had any damage. Nothing.

I looked at the track. Was that... fire? Fire on the tracks?

"What happened?" I asked.

"You happened! As you were running, fire started appearing whenever your hooves touched the ground..."

"What?"

"Really! Look!" Spike pointed at the ground. Two black streaks that led straight into the tree I had smashed into. The grass was black, as if it were set on fire, in fact in some places the fire was still going, "And while you were running, you created a small whirlwind! It was so cool."

"I've never seen anypony run that fast! We're to win the race for sure!" Applebloom exclaimed excitedly.

The commotion was enough that a couple nurses from the hospital had rushed over.

"Are you okay?" One asked.

"Nurse Redheart! Did you see? Did you see?" Applebloom asked excitedly.

"Yes, I saw," The nurse said, and walked over to me, and lifted my chin up with her hoof, "I saw you crash straight into that tree."

"I'm fine..."

"We still need to check..."

"Please, really, I'm fine..."

"And ensure you have no concussions..."

"But..."

"No buts. Come," The Nurse was not going to take 'no' for an answer.

"I'm really okay. Promise," I insisted. It was not that I didn't want medical attention, but the thought of going into the hospital where Brian was just did not sit well with me. As much as I hated to admit it, I was actually scared of the old man. And with last night's events still vivid in my mind...

Just then the doctor from yesterday appeared, "Why, hello there! Glad to see you up and about, Forest."

I nodded, and stood up. I faltered a little, but that was probably because my legs felt so tired.

"Well, relatively speaking. That's some mighty fine running, my good lad," The doctor continued, laughing at my wobbliness.

"Thanks," As I stood up, I looked at the doctor, "Doc, how's Mr. Dash?"

The doctor was taken aback by that question, "I-I'm afraid that I'm not at liberty to discuss the personal details of my patients."

A doctor saying that meant only one thing. Spike helped me on my feet, as Nurse Redheart looked into my eyes. It was not that she was being friendly, she was looking to see if I had any brain damage.

"Really, nurse. I'm fine. Just a little dazed."

She nodded, "You do seem fine, but if you start getting headaches, or anything, you must come. Why you're being stubborn when a simple check-up is..."

"I'll do it, Nurse Redheart," The doctor said, "Please leave him to me."

At this, the nurse seemed appeased, and she left heading back towards the hospital.

The doctor shined his flashlight into my eyes, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary gave me a clean bill of health - relatively speaking. All he said was, "You're fine."

In the far distance I saw three familiar Ponies standing near the hospital. One pink, one orange, and the last purple. They were looking our way. They weren't the only ones. Several dozen other heads were looking in our direction from the hospital windows. The sight of it was fairly intimidating. A few were laughing their heads off, I could tell.

"Why are they looking this way?" I asked.

Spike shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe it's because you set fire to the track, and ran straight into a tree?"

Applebloom, upon seeing her sister, ran towards her. The three of us stayed behind and watched her go. The silence was overbearing. Where moments before there was the sound of trees, the wind, life, now there was just silence. It was as if everything had stopped, but in reality it was only the mood that had changed. It was the way that the three Ponies stood on the rise where the hospital overlooked the field. None of us said a thing as we watched Applebloom run up the incline to her sister, who was instantly seized in a tight embrace.

"Forest?"

"Yes, Spike?"

"Is Brian going to die?"

The question hit me harder than a punch to the face. The doctor looked at me, then away.

"I don't know, Spike," I lied.

Together the three of us headed towards the others. As we reached the top of the rise, the doctor excused himself and returned to the hospital. Spike and I stood there looking at the three friends. After a moment, Pinkie burst into tears and hugged Applejack who was still clutching Applebloom tightly. Twilight looked at me and then shook her head. She already knew the question I wanted to ask, but I had already known the answer.

"How is Rainbow taking it?" I asked.

"Do I really need to answer that?" Twilight replied, "She's losing her father. How would you take it?"

I would've celebrated if it were my father. I said to myself, "Is there anything we can do?"

"The doctors are looking into that right now," Twilight looked at me, "We don't know much about humans and their physiology, especially when it comes to medicine. Brian is the only human in all of Equestria. It's a miracle our doctors have been able to treat him so far."

I looked down at my hooves, "Maybe... maybe we can get help? From his world?"

At that suggestion the Ponies looked at one another, "We can't, Forest. Princess Celestia closed whatever it was that connected our world to his. There is nothing that can reopen it."

Bullshit! I screamed in my mind, I come from his world! "I see."

"Brian wasn't supposed to come here in the first place!" Applejack put in, "His appearance here in Equestria caused quite a ruckus. Those were happy times."

"So, what now?" I asked.

"Well, I don't rightly know. Our friend Fluttershy is also havin' a bad time, though Rarity's been kind enough to stay with her."

"Her pet rabbit?" Not that I should judge, but wouldn't someone's father be more important that a pet?

"Angel is more than just a pet to Fluttershy," Twilight said, her voice cold as ice.

She saw through me completely on that one, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize."

"It's okay. It's strange, you know. You've only been here for such a short time, yet you've somehow become... involved with us," Twilight gave me a look. Not a particularly kind one, but neither was it mean.

"I think that's got to do with me having amnesia, and you guys being really open and friendly. Perhaps I ought to distance myself a little?"

"I think that would be best. Especially now. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that you helped our friends especially Rainbow by saving her father, but we need time to ourselves without having to take of you. No offense," Twilight replied and then looked down at the ground. I could tell she was not happy about what she had said, but it was the right thing to say. I knew that, and even though it hurt - strange that it would affect me in that way - I completely agreed.

Both Applejack and Pinkie looked at Twilight as if she were a crazy person - Pony! Crazy Pony.

"Twi, you can't just..."

"She's right, you know," I said.

The others looked at me.

"You've all been very kind. But your friend needs you and I don't want to be in the way. I'll be fine on my own. And it's not like I'm going to vanish. You'll see me everyday, Applejack, and you're all welcome to my humble abode if you ever want to come visit," My nose started to feel funny, and my eyes began to hurt. What the fuck was wrong with me? Was I actually... was I... no. I refused to allow it. Taking a deep breath I forced myself to keep a straight face.

"Take care of yourself, Forest. And again, thank you for understanding," Twilight said and turned and headed back towards the hospital.

"You'll be alright?" Applejack asked.

"Of course! I'll see you back home, if anything," I gave her my best smile.

That seemed to be the right thing to say to Applejack, and she nodded, "See you at home, then."

Applebloom stayed with me and Spike as Applejack followed after Twilight. Pinkie remained behind looking at me.

"I'll see you around too, Pinkie. I'm not going anywhere. I've got tryouts tomorrow."

"Forest, you look sad."

"I am sad, Pinkie. For Rainbow and her dad. But right now, I think that they need you more than I do."

Pinkie thought about it for a moment, "You're right! I need to be there for my very best friend!"

With that, Pinkie followed her two friends and all three entered the hospital.

"Aren't you guys going?" I asked, looking at Spike and Applebloom.

"The question is; why aren't you going?" Spike asked.

"Me?"

"Well, you did save his life."

"How do you know that?"

"It's the talk of the town!" Spike said rolling his eyes, "How you found him in the Everfree Forest, how you broke down the door, and how you saved him."

"Where did you get all that?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"I heard it from Twilight. She was here at the hospital with Rainbow all night and part of this morning. She only left because Pinkie arrived with her cakes and balloons," Spike said, stroking his chin, "We went home to get some books and we ran into you on our . When we heading back to the hospital."

"Cakes and balloons? In a hospital?" Why was I surprised? It was Pinkie after all.

"Well, are you going to visit the Dashes?" Spike asked again.

No! No way! I wanted to shout, "Not today, Spike. I think the Dashes will want to be alone with their friends, and not acquaintances."

Just then there was a commotion near the entrance to the hospital. A lot of Ponies were gathering there, and out of curiosity, I wondered what was going on. At once I recognized the costume, not that I'd seen it before but Rainbow had described the thing in explicit detail just the day before. Probably one of Rainbow's team-mate's.

"It's Soarin'," Spike whispered in my ear, "He's a Wonderbolt."

Thank you, Captain Obvious!

"I think he's here to see Rainbow," Applebloom said in a loud whisper.

I watched as he pushed past the crowd and into the hospital. He certainly was popular.

With nothing to do, and not wanting to get in anyone's way, I wandered back to town with Spike. Applebloom had decided to join her sister and the others. The fact that Soarin' was there was completely unrelated, apparently. At least, that what's Applebloom said to us.

With nothing to do, and hungry as hell, I made a beeline to my favorite place in town, Sugarcube Corner. As I was about to enter the bakery for some wheaty goodness, I heard a voice call my name. My blood froze in my veins.

Yes, Satan? I wanted to say, but I knew better, "Yes, Crystal?"

"I heard that you helped Brian yesterday. I wanted to thank you," She replied in that obnoxious nasal voice. Couldn't she blow her nose?

"I did nothing special," I replied.

Cyan Crystal took a good look at me before responding, "You left some books in your room. I saw that they were from the library, so I dropped them off for you."

"That was mighty kind of you," I said, still half-way into Sugarcube Corner, "Now if you excuse me, I need to eat something."

"I'll join you."

What did I do to deserve this? I roared to the heaven's - in my head of course, "Sounds fun."

As we entered, the first thing that happened was the table nearest to us with three young Ponies sort of gasped and yelped at the same time upon seeing Crystal and bolted out the door. I watched them go, wishing that I was a part of their fleeing mob. Crystal, on the other hand, completely ignored them or the fact that she scared them off. She promptly sad at their table.

Sitting opposite the Pony, I had a clear view to the large windows behind her, where I saw Spike standing across the street. He gave me a thumbs up and a wink mouthing the words 'good-luck' before disappearing around the corner.

Traitor!

"So. Forest. I wanted to apologize for the other day," Crystal began.

"There is no need. I think we both were... wrong," Fuck you, I wasn't wrong at all!

She looked at me evenly, "Don't patronize me. You and I both know we don't like one another."

You think? "Then why have lunch together?"

"Because... look, I'm trying to be civil," Crystal began, and leaned back in her chair, "We can make both our stays here unpleasant, or we can try and work past... our misunderstandings."

"Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings? As far as I know you were only hostile against me because I was friends with Pinkie," I said furrowing my brow.

Her expression instantly changed at the mention of Pinkie's name.

"I think we'll postpone lunch for now," She said standing up, "I would advise you to watch yourself, Forest."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's not a threat. Just a warning," And with the Crystal walked past me and out the door.

My body shuddered. The way she said it implied something terrible was going to happen.

"What was that about?" Mr. Cake asked, walking over to me.

I shook my head in response, "Not a clue."

"She is a strange one. Pleasant one moment..."

The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting with the Cakes, who agreed to give me dinner if I helped around the bakery. This was great, but why was it that all that I am made to do was lift heavy shit? Heavy bags of flour, or other sacks of heavy crap, carrying them from one place to another, stacking them, and basically just being a living, breathing forklift.

I had stayed till it was dark, helping around where I could. Where was Pinkie through all this? Eventually, with all the errands that needed to be done were done, I started heading back home after eating a nice dinner with the Cakes. Mrs. Cake even packed me a little box of goodies to take home and snack on, which was very nice of her to do so. As I approached Sweet Apple Acres, I noticed that the lights were on inside the house, so I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

Applebloom answer, "Oh, hi, Forest."

"Hi. Just wanted to let you guys know I'm back."

"Okay, Forest."

Something was strange. They all seemed so distant. They were being nice to me, but not the same as before. The last few days they had really enveloped me into their lives, and a part of me perhaps let my guard down as they did. Now it seemed that they were doing the thing that they should have done in the first place - keep me at a distance. Strange that they would do so after letting me get so integrated with their lives. My only guess was that somewhere along the way they must have woken up.

"Well, good night," I turned and walked away.

Walking into the Clubhouse, I struck a match and lit the candle - the only light I had in my home. After that, I pulled the bed from the sofa, and lay down I pulled the blankets over myself.

Day 6: Tryouts

Again that rooster. I wondered why it was that you always seem to wake up from the sound of a rooster's crow. I know that the bird always does his 'cock-a-doodle-doo-ing' in the morning and it essentially announces the arrival of the day - but why is that you wake up from hearing it? In a city there are other plenty of other things that make an obnoxious noise, especially in the early morning. Back on Earth - my Earth - you'd get drunkards who'd start singing horrid songs off-key in the wee hours of the morning, or some construction would start, or a car would drive by at a million miles-per-hour with a broken muffler. And yet, people manage to sleep through all of it - myself included. But one call from a damn rooster, and your eyes refuse to stay closed! Maybe if I get back to my world, I ought to buy a rooster. Or maybe a rooster-alarm clock. Yeah. That way I don't have to keep feeding it.

Then I tried to get out of bed. Didn't get far.

I pulled the blankets back and instantly spotted the culprit, "Pinkie, what are you..."

My voice died in my throat. It was not that I was suddenly overcome with Pinkie's sleeping face, but there was indeed something different about it. The lower parts of her eyes were red, as if she had been crying all night long. Had I slept through it all? Did she come to my room looking for comfort and instead got an unconscious me? I knew that I was a heavy sleeper, but to actually not notice Pinkie slipping into my bed? Was I drugged or something? Confused, and also kind of happy (not because Pinkie was there, so don't get the wrong idea) I let her sleep holding on to me.

Some time had passed before I heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," I answered in a half-whisper.

Applejack entered, "Forest, sorry to disturb..."

I put my hoof in front of my lips, "Sh!"

She looked at me confused, and I pulled the blankets back and revealed a red-eyed, sleeping Pinkie.

Relief washed over Applejack's face, "Thank Celestia she's fine."

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know. With everything goin' on, she probably could not take it. No matter how hard she tries, she can't make everyone always smile. Sometimes... sometimes Ponies gotta make themselves smile when the time comes."

"Well, what is she doing back here?" I replaced the blankets over Pinkie.

Applejack fidgeted with her hooves, "Well... we all sort of... shouted... at her..." Applejack's voice got quieter and quieter towards the end, "She was making too much noise in the hospital, and well..."

Slowly, and steadily, I pried myself loose from Pinkie's grip. She did not fight back as hard as yesterday and I managed to escape fairly quickly. Taking my side of the blankets, I tucked her in snugly. It seemed to help because I saw a small smile on her lips appear. Not a complete smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"I must have been really out of it to not notice her. I don't even know when she came here!" I exclaimed standing next to Applejack and watching Pinkie sleep, "And on that note; why here?"

"She must be takin' a likin' to you, Forest," Applejack said, "And usually I'd make a joke and tease ya about it. But right now it doesn't seem appropriate."

Understandable - wait, did she just say, "Like me?" I asked astounded.

"Aw, come on, Forest. A Mare just doesn't go to some random Stallion's home, and sleep in his bed unless she has feelin's for him. Even if she doesn't understand them," Applejack walked over to Pinkie, sat on the bed and began to stroke her puffy hair.

They were close. Almost like sisters.

"Forest, can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure, Applejack."

"If... and I do mean 'if'... if you were human, you'd tell us, right?"

What. The. Fuck! The question caught me completely off guard, and it took a second to snap myself out of the panic induced state that was threatening to envelope me, "What?"

Applejack ignored my question, "I mean, you'd tell us, right?"

I looked into those eyes, looked at her as she stared into mine. And for the first time since I got there, I felt really guilty that I had lied to her. It was not that I didn't feel so before, but right now I felt that I had a chance to tell her, to explain everything, but I just couldn't. It was not that I didn't want to, it was that I couldn't.

Then, like a ray of light in the darkness, something just clicked in my mind. It was a gamble, but anything was better than lying to Applejack.

"Yes," On that word, a sudden wave of feeling of lightness took me, "I would, but... I can't remember my past, remember? Am I really that... human?"

Applejack looked at me, "Y'know, I'm not sure anymore. I think the best thing would be to ask Princess Celestia."

"If that's what you think." I think I might have just screwed myself.

"Well, Twilight's been mighty suspicious of you for a while now," Applejack confessed.

Tutela was right! The purple Pony was the dangerous one, but where had I gone wrong? Where had I accidentally left a trail for her to follow? I rarely even met Twilight, how was it that she knew to suspect me in the first place?

"Really?" My voice sounded colder than I intended it to be. Applejack misunderstood the tone of my voice.

"Don't be angry, Forest. She's just tryin' to protect us."

"I know. I'm not blaming her nor am I angry, I just feel that I've messed up for letting her think that," What do you know, an honest answer! "Would you believe that Brian also thinks I'm a human."

"Honestly, I didn't believe it neither, but when Twilight started talkin' to Brian and Rainbow about it, well, she can be convincin' if she needs to."

I shuddered. Brian and Twilight? It was hard enough dodging the bullets Brian fired at me, now I had to keep an eye out for the ones from Twilight as well? In retrospect, maybe coming to Ponyville where there already was a human and Ponies that have dealt with humans in the past was not the brightest of ideas. But then again, a week ago I had no idea that there were real-life talking cartoon Ponies, let alone a magical land in a parallel dimension, if this was a parallel dimension. Could have been another planet in a galaxy far, far away for all I knew.

"And... do you think I'm a human too?" I asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. You act strange, but I just thought that was you being you. I mean, you don't have memories of your past, how are you expected to act like a normal Pony in the first place?" Applejack shook her head, "I just don't know. You do say things that are mighty strange, but then again you could be from a big city. Big city folk always talk funny to me."

At that, I couldn't help but laugh. Acting like a country yokel, yet I knew that Applejack was anything but backward. She was a helluva lot smarter than many people I knew, and her honesty was her greatest strength. It was understandable why she was indeed the Element of Honesty. She was perfect for that title.

"Twi asked us to stay away from you for a while."

"I know," Our conversation outside the hospital yesterday came to mind. I was still hurting over that.

"At first I thought she was off her rockers, but she started sayin' things about you, and the way you talk, your manners... it all seemed..."

"Convincing?"

"Yep. But Pinkie here said that she didn't care, that you were nice and kind. Twilight was concerned about your motivations and got angry at Pinkie for not listenin' to her."

"So that's why she's here?" My face started feeling a little hot, but I forced the blood in my cheeks away. There was no way I was going to blush over this!

"I guess. I wanted to come check last night, but..."

When Applejack stopped in mid-sentence, I helped her finish it, "Twilight's words still were too fresh, and you didn't feel comfortable?"

"That's right. Gee, Forest. I feel so..."

"Don't. You never have to feel uncomfortable with me. If something bothers you, or if you ever need me to do something, then just ask. You've already done far more for me than..." Applejack had done more for me ever. There was nobody on my world or this that has gone as far as Applejack in helping me.

"Thank you, Forest. I'll remember that."

"So, Twilight believes I'm human, gets into a spat with Pinkie, who then sneaks into my room and into my bed without me ever waking up. Sounds legit."

"But there were questions that she brought up. What brought you here to Equestria? Why you're here? And most of all: how you're here?"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go and talk to the Princess."

"Twilight's already asked her," Applejack looked up at me, "She'll be here this afternoon."

Oh great, so now I have one day left before I vanish? "I see. Well, until then, I'll just continue being a Pony!" I laughed weakly at my own joke.

"Forest, this is serious. If you're a human..."

"Applejack, let's just let things happen as they happen. Do I really look like I'm out to hurt anyone? I mean, I could've taken advantage of Pinkie twice now, and yet I've been..." What was the word I was looking for?

"Well, I guess you have," Applejack stood up and walked over to me, "And, thank you, Forest."

"For what?"

"For at least bein' open to the idea that you might not be a Pony. I don't usually like confrontations if I can avoid them, but I've sort of taken you on and I feel responsible for you," Applejack looked at my eyes again.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not meet them. I wanted to, I wanted to look straight into her eyes and tell her the truth! I really did, I wanted to let her know that I was a man from Earth, and I was only here because of a stupid bet with a Changeling to discover the true meaning of friendship. But I had to lie. I had no choice. But telling myself that still did not help.

"I am not going to deny the possibility now that you seem so convinced, but I just want to let you know that whatever happens today, I am glad to have met you and your friends."

Applejack gave me a single nod of her head. It seemed as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"Well, shall we go?" She asked.

"Go? Oh! The tryouts! Sure. What about Pinkie?"

"She'll be fine. Now that I know where she is I can stop frettin', I'm sure she'll be up and about in no time, and hopefully back to her usual perky self."

"Somehow I think that Pinkie will never change. Anyway, let us go," Moving aside, I let Applejack go ahead of me like a gentleman - Pony! Gentlepony - should. As I was about to step out the door, I turned back and looked at Pinkie sleeping on the bed. Good-bye, Pinkie. It's been fun while it lasted, but I can't take it anymore. This constant lying. When I first got here a week ago, I really didn't give a shit about anything or anyone. Now, I can't even lie to save my own skin if it meant that I'd hurt you or your friends in the process.

C'est la vie. I closed the door, and left everything. Mementos.

Although I knew that in a few hours I'd be screwed, I felt light, happy and jovial. The thought of running away just seemed... pointless. Even if this Princess Celestia kept an eye on her Ponies like a god-like creature, what good would hiding do? Not only would she be able to search me out, forcing me to constantly be on the run and eventually lose because I wouldn't have a chance to learn about friendships, but more importantly I'd really hurt my new friends. That seemed far worse than running like a little bitch and hiding. So, I was screwed no matter what I did! With that in mind, getting found out and feigning ignorance seemed the most logical solution. You could say that I felt free, like I did yesterday while I was running. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from me.

"You seem rather cheerful," Applejack commented as we walked towards her house.

"I do?"

"Yep."

"That a good thing?"

"Of course!"

We continued to make small talk as we walked towards her house and up her porch where Granny Smith was sitting on her rocking chair. She was up early today. She even had the nerve to scold me for not visiting and downing a batch of that delectable sludge she called 'hootch'. Jet fuel that tasted fantastic!

With the mystery of why Applejack and Applebloom felt so distant resolved, both of them started treating me like normal. Applebloom gave me that ridiculously adorable smile when she first saw me and her sister approaching the house. Next to Granny Smith, Big Mac was laying down and gave me a nod when I looked his way. Being the polite thing to do, I nodded back and he resumed gazing off into the distance. He really was a strange one. Stranger than me, I thought. Why didn't everypony suspect that he was a human.

After a flash-breakfast of one pancake with a spoonful of Zap Apple jam we all headed towards the tryout venue - with the exception of Big Mac and Granny Smith, who said that she was content on watching from Sweet Apple Acres. Watching what, I didn't know.

We walked for quite some time in the opposite direction from Ponyville. On the way we saw a familiar light purple figure walking slowly at the side of the road. He was kicking rocks out of his way, and mumbling something to himself.

"Spike!" Applebloom called out.

The dragon turned around, "Oh, hi, Applebloom, Applejack and Forest. You guys heading to the lake too?"

"That's the plan," Applebloom replied.

As we walked together, Spike regaled the tale of how he left me with Cyan Crystal in Sugarcube Corner, exaggerating the look of horror on my face. Well, maybe it wasn't an exaggeration.

"Why did she insist on eating with you if she didn't like you?" Applejack asked.

"Because of what I did for Brian. Apparently they are good friends, or something," I replied, "And I tried to be as civil as I could, but all I did was say Pinkie's name and..." She went bat-shit insane! "She didn't feel the need to try and befriend me."

"What was classic is when you heard your voice. Your face!" Spike laughed, slapping his head, and literally rolling around on the ground due to the sheer hilarity of it all.

"I can't believe you just left me!" I replied, pretending to be angry.

Spike was on his belly, and had stopped laughing long enough to look up at me, "Your face when you heard her voice! Ha! It was priceless!" He then resumed his rolling around the floor laughing.

Despite being the subject of said joke, I couldn't help but laugh along. Although I could tell Applejack didn't find it as funny as Spike, she could not help but get swayed by Spike and she giggled despite herself.

We all joked and jostled around, talking about the last few days. It was not that we didn't want to talk about the serious events that had transpired, but I could tell that a tiny break was needed. After all, with Fluttershy apparently taking care of her ill pet or more-than-just-a-pet rabbit, and more importantly Rainbow Dash's father... a small break for smiles was okay, right?

As we walked on we reached the top of a small hill. I gasped. The others stood there and beamed with pride; proud of their little oasis. There was a beautiful lake, the water was practically transparent, revealing the bottom of the lake, which was full of various types of fish lazily swimming around. Around the lake was a stretch of beautiful sand, and many Ponies were laying on it, and splashing in the shallower areas of the water. On the far side, I saw a river that seemed to flow out from the like and down a valley where a monstrous castle-like citadel was built into the side of the mountain.

"Canterlot," Spike said at my amazed face, "You can see it from Ponyville, but from here..."

"Wow," Was all I could say.

"Hey! You stole my line!" Spike said, punching me lightly on the arm... hoof... leg... front-left arm? Ah, whatever.

As I stared in awe of what I saw, my mind began to wander. Is this how people felt when they accepted their fate? Did people who faced the inevitable feel this sense of freedom and peace when coming face to face with your destiny? Was everything more beautiful and did you appreciate life more when you knew that your time was coming to an end? Does coming to terms with what was about to happen enlighten you and your life? Should I bother even trying out? After all, it was only a matter of time before my secret would be discovered. Might as well enjoy the ride while it lasted. And yet while all these thoughts were going on, something bothered me. For the first time since I got here, I realized that I did not want to go back. I will go through with this, I will stand up to it.

I wondered that would I be naked when I changed back into a human, or would I be clothed? How would everyone react? Would they accept me as they had accepted Brian? Not that it would matter, I would have lost the bet and Tutela would have pulled me away from this world one way or another - that was something I was quite assured of.

"Well, don't just stand there gawkin'! Let's mosey on down," Applebloom said excitedly, and pushed Spike with her head, then me urging us to get moving. Clearly she had appreciated the view of Canterlot quite often.

The four of us walked down towards the lake. From our vantage as we slowly descended the hill we noticed a series of tent along the beach. In the midst of them was a banner with the word 'start' emblazoned in large red letters across it - obviously the tryouts began here.

"Where's the finish line?" I asked.

"Same place. You need to go around Ponyville three times - that's about a quarter of the distance you'll be doing at the final race," Spike pointed out, "So, you run that way, then swim across the lake, out the other end, down that road there and around Ponyville, before coming up on this path, then down the road again to the starting point. Simple!"

"It's marked, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. It'll be clearly marked all through."

We all headed down and into the tent area. It was obviously a fair of some sort. Applejack and Applebloom immediately pointed out to themselves that they were silly fillies for not bringing some apples with them to sell here, but business has been kind as of late, and Big Mac was going to come later with some barrels of cider. The knowledge of this managed to appease Applejack, because she stopped fretting and calmed down.

We wandered around for some time, checking out the tents and what they had. Some of them were still being set up, and I could see fires being stoked in stoves for cooking things, there was even a stand that sold candied apples. Not that Applejack minded, they were her apples being candied. There were even stands with a bunch of games for prizes to win.

"Hey, Forest! Try that one!" Applebloom said, pointing to a game stand where you had to throw balls at targets and try to knock them down.

"I'm really bad at this, Applebloom."

"Try! Please!" Again with the smile! Ugh! Couldn't say no to her.

"How much?" I asked.

"One bit for five balls!" The Pony exclaimed loudly. Putting the coin down, I watched as the five balls were put into a large tin can and placed in front of me.

Throwing with all my might, I completely missed everything.

"That's not how you throw," Applejack said pushing me aside, "Here, let me show you how it's done."

Taking one of the balls, Applejack easily lobbed it at the highest scoring target hitting it dead center.

Spike was next, and threw the ball at the next target, clipping it slightly as Applebloom took the next ball and finished the job on the same target. With my turn, I threw it again and it hit one of the targets, but it didn't knock it off. It was hard throwing with hooves!

"Here's your prize!" The Pony at the stand grinned at us, and handed me a fairly large stuffed animal.

I think it was supposed to be a lion, but it had a scorpion tale and wings. Taking the animal-scorpion-flying doll, I handed it to Applebloom who gave me another one of her super-cute smiles. We played a few more games at some other stands, one of my favorites was a fishing game, where you had a fishing pole with a magnet at the end and there were fishes in a large wood vat turning around - courtesy of a poor volunteer walking on a treadmill-like device. So you'd just use your fishing pole to try and get a fish. On each fish had a number, some had a plus and others minus. I kept getting minuses, but it was still fun. Although when it came time to tally the scores, I would always be around zero. I think my personal best was plus one.

"Hey, Forest! Let's go to the riverbank," Spike suggested, and I followed him.

When we were there, I instantly jumped in... and promptly sunk. Walking out of the water, a sudden feeling of dread overcame me. Spike saw my face.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't swim..."

"What?"

"I can't swim!" I yelled, "I didn't know I couldn't swim!" That was true. In my human form I could swim, but this Pony form - it was impossible!

"Well, try again!" Spike pushed me back into the water.

So I tried. Really I did, but I couldn't! No matter what I did, I could not even get my body to float!

"I'm sorry, Forest, but I don't think you can tryout. Swimming is a big part of the competition..." Spike said as I dragged myself onto the shore, coughing out the water I had inadvertently swallowed.

"Watcha guys doin'?" Applejack asked as she caught up to us. She was eating ice-cream in a cone.

"Forest can't swim."

"What?"

"He forgot," Spike shrugged.

"We better tell Rarity you can't race," Applejack turned to go, but I stopped her.

"Wait! I can swim! I know how! I know I know how! I just know!" I shouted, looking at her.

Applejack just did a double-take, and shook her head, "Forest, there's no use arguin'. You can't swim! You'll drown!"

"Let me try one more time... maybe I can relearn it," I turned and ran into the water again, this time I maintained a constant speed. The momentum kept me up above the water, but I was not really swimming, I was running with my legs underwater.

A few other Ponies laughed as they saw me trying to 'run', it was a type of doggy-style swimming. But I didn't care, I wanted to tryout. I wanted to try my best! Damned if I was going to not tryout because of some stupid reason like not being able to swim. Fuck that. For a while I thought I got the hang of it, but after being overtaken by a Pony a third my age, I really did not feel like competing anymore.

"Don't let it bother you, Forest," Spike said when I finally gave up trying to learn, "There's always next year."

"No," I whispered, my head facing down, then I slowly raised my eyes to look at him, "There isn't going to be a next year, Spike. Not for me. I have to do this. I want to do this. I need to do this. Please understand."

Spike and Applejack shared a look, "But if you can't swim, how are you going to race?"

"Winning isn't what's important, it's trying. And I need to try."

"That's crazy, Forest," Applejack tried reasoning with me, but I wouldn't listen. My mind was made up.

"Attention please, will all Ponies who wish to tryout please head to the main registration tent. Attention please, will all Ponies trying out, please head to the main registration tent," A loud voice echoed suddenly.

Walking out of the water, and shaking the excess off, I walked past Spike and Applejack. I wanted to say something clever and witty, but my brain was still full of mixed emotions. A part of me was terrified about what would happen when Princess Celestia arrived, and another part of me couldn't wait. I wanted to end the lies. Then I wondered why I didn't just end it right then and there. That question was already answered for me; I liked it here. Why would I willfully lose? If I lost, I get taken away. My only chance was...

"To win!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Spike asked, thinking I was talking to him.

"If I win, I can stay!"

"I don't know what's wrong with you, Forest, but you can stay even if you don't win, you know..."

But I was no longer listening to him. It made perfect sense. If I won the bet against Tutela then I got to 'go home'. What if I said that home was here in Equestria? Could I then stay? Would that be allowed? Could I live here, like Brian has done for the past... who knows how long. But I had to win the bet, I had to beat Tutela. The condition that I had to win my freedom was still very much there. Why had it taken me this long to realize it? There was only one reason; denial. Not that I denied that my life here was a million times better than the one on Earth, but the fact that I denied that I belonged here. All along all I wanted to do was leave and go back. But... back to what? There was nothing for me. No-one wanting for me. Go back to that empty life, when after only six days my life here has been so full and eventful? I think not!

If I had fists, I would have clenched them in determination. Since I didn't, I gritted my teeth psyched myself for what was to come. As of now my greatest challenge was to somehow fool or trick Princess Celestia. I needed to avoid her or prevent her magic revealing a human. That was the only way. But even if I was, even if Celestia could change me into one, then all that would have proven was that she could turn a Pony into a human. If I went along with that, then perhaps I could pretend that she was the one who turned me into a human, and that I was never a human in the first place.

Would that even work? I asked myself.

"Yoohoo! Forest!"

My attention returned, "Huh? Rarity?"

"Finally. You've been standing there mumbling to yourself for some time. Are you going to register for the race? A lot of Ponies are coming to watch you run. Apparently you're quite the athlete, I hear."

"It's a shame I can't swim properly," I growled.

"You what?"

"Nothing. Where do I sign up?" Forcing a grin on my face, I took the pen Rarity had and signed on the dotted line. That was it. I was in.

"Um... you need a last name."

"What?"

"A last name, you need one," Rarity smiled, "It's so that the press have something to go with."

"Do I need one?"

"Well, no, you don't need one, but I do have one in mind that you might like."

"Which is?"

She narrowed her eyes and gave me a smile that if I didn't know better I would say was suggestive, "Fire."

I had to admit, that was pretty badass, "I like it. Forest Fire. Thank you, Rarity. How'd you think of it?"

"Yesterday a friend of mine was visiting her aunt in the hospital when she saw a pony charging around a track. She said that he was a tan Pony with a dark mane, and I instantly knew it was you. Anyway, when she had told me that the ground behind you was burning as you ran, the name just came to me!" She struck a semi-dramatic pose, "Then she told me that you ran straight into a tree!"

"Yeah, that happened. Anyway, I like the name. Forest Fire! Forest. Fire..." That is so awesome!, "Thank you again, Rarity."

"My pleasure. Oh, and one more thing, good luck with the race, Forest, I hope that you win," Rarity smiled at me.

"I'm going to need all the luck I can get," I replied quietly, "Just promise not to laugh at me during the swimming parts."

"Why would I do a thing like that?"

"You'll see..."

Leaving the registration tent I was instantly pulled aside by Spike.

"So, did Rarity say anything?"

"She gave me a last name!" I replied, "Fire. Forest Fire. Pleased to meet you."

Spike shook my hoof, but that was not what he wanted, "Forest, did Rarity say anything about me?"

Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that Spike had the hots for Rarity, "Nope. Didn't mention anything about you."

He let out a long sigh.

"Spike, just out of curiosity, have you actually told Rarity how you feel? Ever?"

"Well, I tried once."

"And?"

"She didn't let me finish. She shushed my half way."

"How long ago was that?"

"I dunno. Years ago now."

"So, you've never thought of asking her all this time?"

He fiddled with his fingers at that question.

"She's not going to know if you're not going to tell her. I don't think she sees you in that light."

"Yeah, so what would you do?" Spike challenged me.

"Me? Uh... well, would go and tell her straight. Loud and proud."

"Well, what would you say?"

"I would say; Rarity, I really like you!"

"Oh my," A voice said from behind me.

Aw. Shit. I spun around and saw a thoroughly embarrassed white Unicorn looking away from me. Quick! Say something! I coaxed myself in my head.

"Uh... that is... well... Spike?" I prompted him to say something.

"Don't look at me, I didn't say anything," Spike replied shrugging.

No, you fool, explain the situation! "Isn't there anything you wanted to say to Rarity?" I asked, giving him a look that was so obvious, a baby would have guessed the meaning behind my words.

"Nope."

I really fuckin' hate you right now. "Rarity! I didn't see you there! How... how long were you..."

"Just the... part about what you'd say to me," Rarity blushed and smiled again, "Forest, I'm flattered by your feelings towards me and while it is refreshing, I am already interested in someone else."

Thank the heavens and beyond! "Oh? Who, if you don't mind me asking..."

"Nopony you know. He lives in Canterlot."

From the corner of my eye I saw Spike mouth drop. This was apparently news to him too.

"I see."

All three of us stood there silently. The awkwardness was suffocating.

"Well, good luck with the race, Forest," Rarity said, and started to back off, "Oh! I forget, the reason why I followed you. Your numbers."

She handed me two large white squares with the number 42 in black written on it. I took them and stood there confused, "How am I supposed to pin them on?"

"Pin? Don't be silly. Just peel off the back and stick them on yourself."

How was anyone supposed to do that without fingers! I tried for a few minutes, but when it was clear that such a skill was beyond me, Rarity took them and removed the protective layer from the back of them. Then I stuck them on both of my flanks. Number 42. Me. Oh yeah. Life couldn't get better than this.

"Thanks again, Rarity. Please, don't take what I said seriously. I was... practicing."

"Really? Practicing for what?"

"Practicing saying what I said to that special one!" I grinned nervously after that. Would she buy it?

She squealed in excitement, "Do you already have a particular Pony in mind?"

"Maybe..." I lied. I didn't.

"Is it Pinkie?" Rarity asked, whispering.

Well, since she brought the subject up, "Did you tell Pinkie to stay the night with me?"

"Well, yes. But as a joke. Why?"

I knew it! "Oh, no reason. I was just curious."

Rarity placed her hooves over her mouth, "You mean... she didn't... did she..." He expression changed to a hostile one a second later, "Did you..."

"No! I'm not like that!" I retorted, "Besides, you were the one who instigated it!"

Rarity kept the look on her face anyway, "I'll ask Pinkie. If you've..."

She humphed and walked off. As soon as she was out of hearing range, I turned to Spike.

"Why didn't you say something! That was the perfect opportunity!"

"Sorry, Forest, but I just froze! Not that it matters. Now we know that she has a special somepony in Canterlot," He looked so dejected.

"Look, you have to tell her your feelings otherwise how's she supposed to know? That aside... isn't she a little old for you?"

"What is age when it comes to true love?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never fallen in love before," I answered, but before he could say anything else, I walked away.

That was all the love-talk I was willing to take. I needed to set my mind on a more pressing matter, namely the inevitable show-down with Princess Celestia.

Making my way to the starting lone, there were quite a few other Earth Ponies hanging about. Some were stretching, others were just lounging and a few were even eating. But they all had one thing in common, they were all contestants. A part of me wondered why Applejack wasn't here. Wasn't she an Earth Pony too?

"Hi there, you must be that new Pony everyone's been going on about, right? The one that stood up to Cyan Crystal?" One of the Ponies said as I stood there awkwardly. Spike had again ditched me when I wasn't paying attention. Or perhaps he decided to heed my advice and finally go tell Rarity how he felt. Wouldn't that be great?

"I didn't stand up to her," I replied.

"Really? Well, anyway, I'm Lavenderhoof."

"I'm Forest. Forest Fire, apparently," Damn, I just loved that name!

"Well, Forest, good luck out there. I saw you swimming earlier... are you sure you're going to be okay?"

I shrugged, "I won't drown if that's what you mean."

We chit-chatted for a few minutes. She told me what she did, where she lived, a few of her hobbies and her friends (which Pinkie Pie was a part of). Several other Ponies had gathered around, and it was simply surprising how social and easy to get along they were. It was also a very disturbing fact that the vast majority of them seemed to be female. There were a few males, but not many. Were Earth Ponies predominantly women?

"Everypony please gather round," Came a voice from nearby. It was amplified somehow, but I didn't bother questioning as to why that was. It was just easier to go with the flow, "We will start the race in ten minutes."

Walking towards the starting line, I found a place behind a couple of other Ponies. The audience around the start was slowly getting bigger. It was strange seeing so many Ponies in one place, and I do understand that this being a land of Ponies and stuff, it was still strange to see so many of them. Perhaps news of Princess Celestia coming for a visit had increased the expected turnout...

"On your marks!" Came a sudden shout.

My attention focused now on the task at hand. This was it! I had to concentrate on what I had to do!

"Get set!"

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. These Ponies really wanted to win this race! I could feel their determination pulsing from their bodies. Each one had a wish they wanted, and they were going to try their hardest to go and win it. Perfect! I cursed myself again for getting into this mess.

"Go!"

The crowd erupted into a cheer as the racers dashed forwards towards the lake. By the time I had reached the shore, several of the other Ponies were already a good distance away. I tried to keep up, but I just couldn't swim like the rest of them, and instead had to 'run' under the water, a few other Ponies laughed - I could hear them from where I was. But did that stop me? Well, no, but it didn't help either.

I was only halfway across the lake by the time the second to last Pony was exiting the water! Maybe Spike was right, maybe this was too...

"Go, Forest!" I heard someone shout. The voice was familiar, but I didn't dare turn to look, "Come on! Swim!"

Fuck this! I said in my mind and turned around so I was on my back. I stared at the sky above me... and was still afloat! Holy shit! Taking my hooves, I started to do the back-crawl. It worked! I was moving! A lot faster than before, and as I hit the shore, I whipped my body around and dug my hooves into the ground and pulled my body forwards. Water, I might have had a slight disadvantage, but running... running was a different ballgame altogether!

I roared past the second to last Pony, but did not bother looking back. My eyes were keenly glued onto the path in front of me, and I was not going to get lost. Then I passed another Pony. The grey Stallion let out a squawk as I roared by her. Then I overtook a batch of Mares who were more interested in gossip than in the race. They all squealed as I zoomed by them.

Rounding the bend near Sugarcube Corner, I saw the Cakes out of the corner of my eye, their two young children perched atop their heads. They screamed in delight as they saw me rush by - the kids did, not the parents. At least, I think it was the kids.

Then I bolted past Sweet Apple Acres, and I spotted the front runners were just going over the hill that led down towards the lake. Granny Smith gave me a holler as I whipped past the house. Big Mac may have said something, but the speed of his voice probably never caught up with me.

As I topped the hill, I launched myself down the other side being pulled along by gravity. Already some of the other Ponies were half-way across the lake. As I roared through the starting line completely my first lap, I could not help but take a quick glance at the audience. There was no-one there that I knew.

Jumping into the water, I turned my body around and began the back-crawl again. As I did so, the front-runners were already across and starting their second lap. Using my hooves as fast as I could, I reached the other bank along with some of the other Ponies I had past just before the hill. But then again, land was my domain!

As I ran, I kept my eyes ahead of me again. I had to catch up with the front runners! I had to pass them! I had to win!

Rounding the corner at Sugarcube Corner again, I did not notice the kids or the Cakes. My heart was beating so hard, and my legs felt as if they were on fire. The muscles burned! But, no! I had to continue! I had to keep going!

The hill! I reached the hill! I did not even noticed going by Sweet Apple Acres. As I started the decent once more, I noticed that this time the front runners were just entering the water! I was catching up!

Again I pulled along with the back-crawl, but my limbs felt exhausted! The swimming and the full laps of constant sprinting - or galloping - were killing me! My body just did not want to move.

Fuck it. I've done my best. Funny that this is the only thing in my entire shitty life that I've actually attempted to do that wasn't half-assed. No regrets...

"Go, Forest! Go! Go, go, go! Come on! You can do it!" I heard a voice call out. Although it was coming from the huge crowd on the shore, it was clearer than the others, "Use you super-duper-speed!"

That voice I knew. Very well as a matter of fact. A sudden surge of energy roared through my body, I had got my second wind! Grinning through the agony, I forced my arms above my head and kicked my legs. Each stroke was painful. After running two laps and trying to cross the lake twice, my body did not want to continue.

Okay, body! Let's do this! Come on! Let me at least try! Try, try, try!

"Forest! Go! Swim!" The voice shouted again. Why was it so loud?

I counted each stroke, letting my mind concentrate on the numbers. One, two, three, four...

My head hit something, and I spun around. I had reached the other end! My legs touched the ground, and I trotted out of the water, my limbs wobbled, but I had completed the last swim, and the front runners were still within view! Turning around, I saw the Ponies on the other shore all cheering away, and my eyes instantly found a pink Pony standing on the stage. She had shouted through the broadcasting system, or whatever it was. I couldn't resist. I reared up, and grinned, before turning towards the trail and continuing on with the race.

If I was fast before, then I was in warp-drive now. The ground raced under me, the trees were a blur. I could barely make out the route, I was going so fast. Sugarcube Corner suddenly was there, and gone! Then Sweet Apple Acres appeared, and was behind me. As I run I rushed passed the other Ponies. All but one.

Lavenderhoof!

She had her head down and was running at full tilt and was already crossing the final hill before the last stretch towards the finish line! As I reached the crest of the hill, I bolted straight down. She was just ahead of me now. My legs were moving and I closed the gap between us, the finish line quickly rising up to greet me. It was close, real close, but I had snatched victory from her at the last second.

As I rushed through, I fell down on my face, skidding to a halt gasping for air. All my limbs felt dead and my heart thundered in my chest.

"Wow, Forest! That was amazing! Look," Lavenderhoof said, pointing back up the hill I had run down from. Two lines of fire were still burning straight towards the finish line, "Forest Fire!" She stressed the 'fire' out.

I beamed. For once in my life I actually felt really proud of something. Not the fake pride I had in being an ass, but a good feeling that came from hard work and effort.

God lord, I'm turning into a Disney movie.

Before I had time to reply, the Ponies that were watching the race swarmed me. Each one patted me on the back and congratulated me on my victory. A few even picked me up and went on a mini-lap around the tents cheering as they went along. Eventually I was set down in the registration tent, while the other contestants were finishing up.

Rarity was there, and smiled when she saw me. If she felt any awkwardness from before she hid it extremely well, "Congratulations on your win, I just knew you would do it. You'll need to work on your swimming, of course."

"Of course. Anyway, where are you friends?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. I think they might be with Rainbow and her father. I should actually be with them as well, but I did give my word to help with this project. Now that it's over, I can concentrate on other matters."

"Let me know if I can be of any help."

Rarity nodded, and turned and left the tent.

After managing to get a drink of water, I was taken to meet the rest of the team, who were standing in the corner of the registration tent in a small area roped off with a sign that said 'team-members only'. There were four other Ponies in there. A grey Pegasus that I've never seen before, and Scootaloo (who I had met at Rarity's shop), Lavenderhoof, and a light purple or violet Pony that I've not yet met.

"Hello, Forest!" Scootaloo said when she saw me entering the 'VIP section'.

"Hi, Scootaloo," I would never forget that name.

"Let me introduce everyone. First, the main contestants; Derpy and Twilight - who isn't here, and you."

"I already know Twilight's on the team. And Derpy?" I asked, I still couldn't get over the name.

"Hello!" The grey Pegasus promptly replied and made her way towards me, tripping over her feet, crashing into a small table.

"Are... are you okay?" I asked, my eyes open wide.

"Oh, don't worry about her. She clumsy, but she's also invincible," Lavenderhoof replied, "In all the time I've known her she has never once got hurt."

Sure enough, Derpy picked herself up and grinned up at me, "That was so cool how you made that fire! It was like whoosh! And then you were like zoom! But in the water you were glub-glub."

There was nothing I could say in response, so I just nodded.

"We are the backups," Scootaloo said putting her hooves over the other two Ponies, "I'll take Derpy's place if for some reason she can't race. Lavenderhoof is your backup, and this is Amethyst Star. She's Twilight's backup."

Amethyst Star smiled at me, "That was quite a show. How'd you make those tracks of fire?"

"Not a clue."

"The only times I've seen things like that is from the Pegasi. The Wonderbolts have thunderclouds that follow them, and Rainbow Dash has a rainbow that follows her."

"Really?" I asked, "I've seen her fly, but no rainbow."

"It only happens when she flies really fast," Scootaloo said, "She can do a Sonic Rainboom!"

"A what?"

"A Sonic Rainboom! It's totally the most awesomest thing ever. She goes faster and faster, then, ka-boom!" She jumped in the air as she went 'boom' and floated at the top of the jump using her wings, "Then you see a rainbow! It's soooooo awesome! If there was a word more awesome then awesome..."

"Epic? Legendary? Phenomenal?" I gave some suggestions.

"Yeah, like that... epic. It's awesomely epic!"

"I hope that I can see it one day," I replied.

We chatted for a while together, but all through I felt as if something was missing. Where was everyone else? Where was Applejack, Applebloom or Pinkie? And where did Rarity disappear off to?

"Hello, everypony, but we're taking down the tents now," A pony said to us a little while later.

We all left the tent together, with our 'fans' following. They were just excited that they had a pretty strong team for the great race that was coming at the end of the month. Already Lavenderhoof promised me that she'd teach me how to swim properly, and I vowed to help her improve her running. The tent we were in was being taken down by a gang of Unicorns who combined their magic together to remove the heavy poles and pegs, folding it neatly and then placing it on a large wooden cart that was marked with something that looked like an official Ponyville emblem, or something. Probably owned by the town.

It was amazing seeing the Ponies just work together, helping each other out. The little fair that they had was now packed up, and a long train of carts and Ponies made their way towards Ponyville. To a bystander, it might have looked like a parade, but we were just going home.

When we approached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo and Derpy started to hover, "See you guys later. We've got to help move the clouds for tonight's rain."

"You guys scheduled a shower tonight?"

The two Pegasi nodded, "Yeah, a nightly shower. The race today ruined the grass around town, so we got to help it regrow, and the sooner the better."

We watched them go, along with a lot of other Pegasi. The rest of us just watched.

"I wonder what it would be like to fly," I whispered.

"Twilight can give you wings. Once, a long time ago she gave Rarity these beautiful wings. Too bad she flew too close to the sun," Amethyst replied.

"What happened?"

"They melted, apparently. To this day Rarity will not leave the ground without a significant amount of convincing," Amethyst laughed, "Maybe some day you can go visit Cloudsdale, but I wouldn't recommend using the wings. Just get the Cloud-Walk spell cast on you."

"Cloud-Walk?"

"Yeah, so that you can walk on the clouds. Twilight taught that spell to me. It's a little complex, but I've practiced it enough times now."

"Walk on clouds?" I asked, my eyes growing wider.

"Yeah, like all Pegasi," Lavender said, looking at me funnily, "You do know that Pegasi can walk on clouds, right?"

Ah! That's how they manipulate the clouds! I'm such an idiot. "Of course!"

As we approached Sweet Apple Acres, I noticed that a large line had formed in front of it.

"Have you tried the Sweet Apple Cider? It's the best in all of Equestria!" Lavenderhoof barked at me.

"Was it that delectable cider I had at my welcome party?"

"Yeah! Isn't it great, but nothing beats fresh cider," And she instantly got in line.

"I've got to do a few errands. It was a pleasure to meet you, Forest. I will see you around," Amethyst walked off.

Lavenderhoof and I stayed in line for a while. Strangely, though, we were the last Ponies, all the others had gone on ahead. As the line grew shorter, I noticed that only Big Mac was manning the cider sales. Granny was on the porch with her eyes closed, perhaps sleeping some more.

"Hello, Big Mac," Lavenderhoof leaned forward and gave him a wink, "How's Cheerilee?"

Big Mac blushed, "Fine."

"When are you going to ask her the big question?"

Big Mac's face turned a shade darker, "Soon."

"Aw. So sweet!"

Big Mac looked at me, I could tell from his expression that he needed rescuing of some sort, "Who is Cheerilee?"

"She teaches young Fillies and Colts at the school," Lavenderhoof said, "And Big Mac has had a crunch on her for years now, right?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac said barely audibly.

What is up with these Ponies and being unable to communicate their feelings? Granted, the other being I knew that was shy was a Dragon and not a Pony, but the principle was the same. You've got to tell the lucky lady your feelings!

"Well, let's go," Lavenderhoof took two steps before noticing that I wasn't following, "Aren't you coming?"

"Well, I live here. For now at least," I said.

"Oh yeah! I forgot. But are you coming to..."

We were interrupted by Applebloom, she had tears in her eyes, "What's wrong?"

Applebloom tried to answer us, between her sniffles, "Brian... is... sick... he's..."

That was as far as she got before she pushed past us and ran straight to Granny Smith, instantly seizing her in an embrace.

Without thinking, I turned and headed towards the hospital. When I got there, a large crowd had gathered outside the main entrance. The Pegasi had started the rains by now, as per schedule, so the Ponies outside all had their umbrellas open and some were wearing raincoats.

"What's going on?" I asked a random Pony.

"I'm not sure. I came here and there already was a large crowd," The Stallion confessed, "But from what I hear the Princess is in there."

It was then that it hit me! The Princess never showed up at the race! I had got so carried away with my victory that I completely forgot about my resolution to allow the Princess to do her magic-scan on me. She was now in the hospital - well, maybe inside the hospital. For what reason, I did not know.

The rain poured down hard, and practically all the Ponies fled the torrents, heading for cover, but I stayed. I stayed and I watched. Waiting. Not sure how long I was out there for, but it was after the rains had stopped before anypony was allowed into the hospital that was not an emergency.

I started to walk up the stairs towards the hospital when I heard a familiar voice coming from just outside the entrance. I was about to say hello, when I realized they were talking about me. I ducked behind a large bush before I was spotted.

"... I'm not saying that he's bad, I'm just worried."

That was Twilight's voice.

"Well, he's agreed to allow the Princess to scan him. I really doubt he'd be willin' if he was hidin' something."

Good ol' Applejack, coming to my rescue!

"I don't care if he's a human! Forest is nice. I like him."

I blushed. It was Pinkie.

"I know you like him, Pinkie. But we don't know what his intentions are."

"I trust him."

"How can you trust him, Applejack?"

"Because... I just can!" Applejack replied defensively, "He's honorable."

"What do you mean by 'he's honorable'?"

Applejack did not respond.

"It's because Pinkie has stayed the night at Forest's place and he hasn't done anything to her," Rarity's voice suddenly made itself clear.

This was bad. Very bad. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be hearing this.

"What?" Twilight shouted in shock, "How could you let her do that?"

"But Forest's done nothin'!" Applejack replied.

"Yeah! Wait, what's he supposed to do?" Pinkie asked.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Why is it that every time I ask that question, you guys become as silent as statues?"

"It ain't easy to explain, Pinkie," Applejack mumbled.

"So explain it! How am I supposed to know what he's supposed to not do if I don't know what he's not doing in the first place to not to?"

Rarity let out a loud sigh, "Pinkie, let me talk to you for a moment."

I heard the two of them move further away from me, obviously Rarity had taken Pinkie aside for a few minutes.

"He does what? Ew! Ew, ew, ew, ew! Nuh-uh! Forest has never done that! He would never do that!"

"How do you know he would never do that?" Twilight asked.

"Because... it's Forest. He would never hurt me."

My heart broke. I've never heard anything so beautiful in my life.

"See, Twi? Give him a chance."

"Fine. I just hope this doesn't turn out like that time at my brother's wedding. Remember how that went when none of you listened to me?"

There was only silence in response.

"So, who's on Fluttershy-watch tonight?" Applejack asked.

"I'll go," Pinkie offered.

"No, Pinkie, I'll go. The last time you went, you made Fluttershy worse," Rarity replied, "She's finally coming around to accepting the inevitable. It will take a delicate hoof to help her. Sadly, it won't be long now."

"I'll stay here at the hospital," Twilight stated, "Princess Celestia..."

Their voices trailed off as they walked away, so I couldn't hear what they were saying about the Princess. With the coast now clear, I moved out from my hiding spot and headed home making sure to stay out of sight.

Walking into my little house, I was exhausted that I didn't even bother pulling the sofa-bed out, and collapsed on it. My eyes saw the laptop hanging behind the door, "Did you see my race?" I asked.

No answer.

Shrugging, I just drifted off to sleep, wondering about many things, but the most forefront of those thoughts was now Princess Celestia and her ability to find out if I was human or not.

And Pinkie's words.

Because... it's Forest. He would never hurt me.

"Thank you, Pinkie," I whispered out loud, "Thank you."

Day 7: Fallen Angel

Day 7: Fallen Angel

My eyes creaked open, they felt heavy for some reason. Where was I? Vaguely I recalled returning to the Clubhouse the previous night. This was my home now. Looking out the window I saw the stars above the leaves of the trees, it was still dark. How long had I been asleep? A watch would have been nice or something, it was like living in limbo. Pushing myself up from the sofa took a lot of effort, my legs felt horribly shaky as if they were made of jelly. As I stood up, the room suddenly decided to spin around. This disorientation felt familiar, It was the same as that night when I drank Granny's special hootch. Had I drank some yesterday without realizing it? When? What was wrong with me? Everything felt and looked so surreal.

Suddenly I saw a flamingo. I kid you not. It did a tap-dance in front of me, and then tried to kick my face! Where had that creature come from? What was it doing in my house? Then the flamingo's face changed and I saw Pinkie's face there, "Hello, hello, hello, I say hello to you!" She sang, before turning around and flying away.

The fuck?

Then something grabbed my leg, and I saw that my hind-leg had turned itself into an arm! My arm, I think, and tripped me up causing me to fall on my face.

Upon impact against the wooden floor the walls of my house suddenly started singing in chorus. Something about how night and darkness being all evil. Didn't really catch it considering that my face was in agony. Groaning, I placed each front-leg by either side of my head and pushed myself up from off the ground. Then a small Rarity, the size of a mouse, ran right up to me.

"What did you do to Pinkie!" She screamed in a very, very, very deep voice. Then she turned around and kicked my hoof out from under me. Once again I fell and the force made me bounce of my jaw. My limbs ached, especially my joints, and my bones felt sore as if they were burning. As if on cue, the muscles in my legs spread open and I could see past my nerves, my muscles, and right to the bone where three little Twilights were dancing around a fire, each one had a different color glow around them. They all stopped and looked at me, and pointed.

"Human!" Screamed one.

"Human!" Screamed the second.

"Human!" Roared the third.

Then all three of their heads inflated and combined into one super-head, "Human!" The combined heads of Twilight shouted at the same time.

Backing away from them, I slipped on something and again my head hit the floor. It was soaking wet. My eyes followed the moist trail to my sofa, where a dark stain loomed in front of my face. Did I urinate on myself? No, I don't think so. Had I fallen asleep wet? Was I soaking wet? My mind rewound itself, and I recalled lumbering in and literally fell asleep. It had been a tiring day, with the tryouts and... the hospital. But, what the hell was going on?

"Forest?" A voice said behind me.

The voice had come from the direction of the front door, but I saw nobody there, "Tutela? Is that you?"

"N-no! It's me, Applejack. Are you okay?"

Applejack? Was it morning already? "Applejack! Come on it! We're having a party?"

She pushed the door open, "A party?"

"Yeah!"

Applejack's face suddenly turned into two apples. They looked terribly delicious, and I walked over to her, "You look tasty!"

"A-are you alright? Yer actin' mighty funny," The two apples said to me, speaking in one voice.

"I'm fine!" I was. I never felt better!

"Forest, are you really okay? Big Mac said he heard you fall down."

"I fell? Oh yeah! Mini-Rarity kicked my legs! She's a bully! A little bully. Where did she go?" Where did she go? She was there a second ago.

"Forest, please, yer actin' scary now."

"Booga-booga-boo!" I replied, and laughed, "I'm not scary, tasty apple face! I'm Forest!"

"We were harvestin' apples and Big Mac thought he could ask you to help, when he heard you had fallen and hollered to me..."

The two apples slowly faded away, and I saw Applejack standing there looking all serious. She was always serious. She needed to loosen up a bit, "Oh, hi Applejack, when did you get here?"

"Are you sure yer okay? You don't look too good."

"I'm all fine. All hunky-dory! Just a little sore from the running..."

"Well, alright, if you say so," She turned to go.

Again the world spun around, and I tried to steady myself by holding onto the floor, but I missed and again landed on my face.

"Forest! Are you okay?" Applejack ran over to me, I felt her hooves on my back, "Goodness! You're burnin' up!"

"That's 'cause I'm Forest Fire! Careful, you might get burnt!" I took her hoof and put it on my nose, "Tssssssss! Smokin'!"

"Forest, this isn't a joke. You're really burnin' up! Big Mac, get in here!" Applejack shouted.

I heard Big Mac's lumbering steps coming up the ramp. When he entered, he walked over to where I was lying down and picked me up and, with the help of Applejack, sat me on his back. They carried me out of the clubhouse, but at that point the world faded to black. I think I just passed out.

Pain! A lot of it! Bolting upright, I smashed my head against something. The impact was completely unexpected, and I fell back into... water? Cold water. It was like I was in a tub of ice! My eyes opened staring straight up at a white ceiling. I glanced around confused as to where I was. If it hadn't been for Applejack's face looking down at me, I would have panicked.

"Owie!" A voice yelped.

"Where-where am I? Cold! I'm so c-cold."

"Relax, Forest. Glad to see you're back to normal. Applebloom, you okay?" Applejack asked, she was holding me down inside a bathtub. With ice in it. So, yes, I was in a tub of ice. Is that ironic?

I couldn't move my legs, and noticed Big Mac pinning the lower half of my body down without too much trouble. And I had thought the girls were strong.

Applebloom was rubbing her forehead, "Yeah. Just a little bump is all."

"S-s-sorry, A-A-Applebloom. D-d-didn't mean to headbutt you," I looked at Applejack, "T-t-that s-s-serious?"

Her silence was my answer.

Piecing together the obvious, I replayed what must have happened when I blanked out in my mind. They two older siblings must have brought me to their house, dumped me into their bathtub, filled it with ice and let the water run. The cool water was to bring down my temperature, but even I know you only do that in extreme cases. How high was my fever? I vaguely remember waking up earlier, and seeing weird things. What those things were, I had no idea.

"What were you doin' out in the rain last night? And why didn't you dry yourself before you fell asleep?" Applejack shook her head, "We've got enough problems to worry about, Forest..."

"S-s-sorry, I-I-I j-j-just..." There was nothing I could say. She was right.The least I could do was cooperate now. "I-I can stay here. I'll b-b-be g-g-good."

Big Mac instantly let my legs go and true to my word and I did my best to stay under the freezing waters.

He stood up and looked at me, "I'll get soup ready," And was gone before I could say thanks.

"Y-y-you can let me go too, Applejack."

Applejack didn't. She just held my chest down in the water.

"Your hooves are going to freeze..." I tried to push her hooves off of me, but it was like trying to push a boulder, she pinned me down easily.

"Forest. What were you doin' out in the rain?" She interrupted me.

"H-h-how did you know?" I asked.

"The sofa was soaked, and I know you weren't still wet from the race."

How did she know that?

"I c-c-came to see you all at the hospital," That was the truth.

"How come we never saw you?"

"D-d-didn't wanna be s-s-seen... got scared. Hid."

"Scared? What'd you get scared of?"

"You. T-T-Twilight..."

She understood what I saw implying, "So you heard... us talkin'?"

I nodded and shuddered at the same time, from both the cold and the disapproving look that Applejack gave me.

"You overheard us? You spied on us?"

I nodded again. I was not going to lie to her.

"Didn't you think that was wrong?"

I nodded. It was so cold!

"A-a-a-as soon as I unders-s-stood who were talking a-a-about, I tried to go, but..."

She looked into my eyes, searching to see if I spoke the truth.

"Th-Thank you for believing in me. You and Pinkie Pie."

We both kept looking at each other for a long moment, and Applejack sighed, "Although I don't like what you did, I appreciate you comin' clean."

"P-p-p-please believe me when I say that once I knew that you were talking about me, I didn't want to be there."

"You could have just shown yourself."

Shaking my head, I laughed sarcastically, "You think that really would have been better?"

"Guess not, considerin' it was a pretty heated topic about you."

"Applejack, why?"

"What d'ya mean 'why'?"

"I mean, why help me so much? Going as far as protecting me against your best friend... I haven't done anything to deserve it. Why have you been so good to me?"

She looked away and shrugged, "I guess I like helpin' you out."

"But this much? First a job, then you give me a place to sleep by rebuilding the old Clubhouse, cooked me breakfast... everything! Even going as far as f-f-freezing me in a tub to bring down a fever. W-w-why?"

"Because of that harvester you made, Forest," Applejack looked at me, "You've done a lot for me too."

"Really?" It was so obvious she was hiding something, "You're a bad liar, Applejack." I grinned at her through the pain. I think my bones were starting to turn into ice.

"You have!" She protested.

"Okay, apart from the harvester I made, what have I really done?" My body had stopped hurting, and I think I was used to the water, because I had stopped stuttering, and my teeth stopped chattering, "Please, I want to know."

"Forest, you're imaginin things, and you're not thinkin' straight... you don't know what you're sayin'!"

My vision was getting blurry again and another wave of that dizziness from before started coming along. I closed my eyes to stop myself from falling out of the tub and willed myself to drift off to sleep. Then it occurred to me; sleeping in an ice-cold bathtub? Yeah, that's not a good sign.

"Forest? Are you awake?" Applejack's voice sounded as if she was far, far away. Why was she far away? I didn't want her to go! I reached for her but I couldn't move a muscle. It felt like my body and my mind were detached, I couldn't feel anything. The only thing that was active was my brain. It felt numb. I felt something come closer to my ears. It was warm, comforting and made me feel safe. What was it? Then a voice, so kind and gentle, whispered something to me, "Forest? The reason why... I did those things is... well... because... it's because... I..."

Forcing my eyes, I say up quickly. I was in a bed now, warm and cozy. A bowl of soup lay on my bedside with a spoon in it. My mouth tasted funny, and I realized that I had been eating. Wait, I wasn't here a moment ago? Where as I? Why couldn't I remember? I felt that something very important had happened, and that something was amiss. I looked at my hooves confused.

Applebloom was sitting on a chair reading a book at the end of my bed, the same bed I ended up in when I passed out from Granny's challenge a few days ago. She saw me wake up, "Glad to see you're up, Sleepy-head."

"What happened? Where am I?"

"What d'ya mean 'what happened'? You don't remember being frozen alive? And yer in the guestroom, silly."

"I... can't remember. What do you mean 'frozen alive'?" Honestly, I was shocked.

"You really don't remember what happened to you this mornin'?" Applebloom looked at me funny, "Wow, you must have really been sick."

"This morning... I fell on the floor, Big Mac carried me here. That's it."

"That's it? That's it! Did all that ice freeze your brain too?" Applebloom shook her head, "Well, you had a high fever, so we dunked you in a bathtub of ice to bring your temperature down, which according to Doctor Stable, was pointless. Applejack was a little worried about you. A little too worried if you ask me," She muttered the last part to herself quietly, I could only barely make it out.

"Oh yeah! I vaguely remember that," I groaned, how could I forget that? But only bits and pieces. I remembered Big Mac holding me down, and Applejack as well. Applebloom was in there too, did I hit her? The bathtub and ice I recalled, but apart from that... nothing, "How long have I been sleeping for?"

"Just a few hours. You missed breakfast and lunch, apart from that nothing eventful has been happening today. According to Doctor Stables says you ought to be up and about tomorrow you just need to take that medicine there," Applebloom gestured with her head to the bedside table where there were two yellow or gold-looking pills.

Reaching over I put the pills in my mouth and swallowed them with the help of a glass of water, "Where is Applejack?"

"She's gone over to hospital to see the Dash's," Applebloom put the book away and walked over to me, and put a hoof on my head, "Yep, temperature's come down."

"Applebloom, when I was in the bathtub, I think your sister was saying something to me. I can't remember what it was. You were there, right? Do you know what she said? I think it was something really important."

"I... I have no idea," Applebloom stuttered, backing off a bit and rolling her eyes, "I didn't hear nothin'."

"Applebloom, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but you and your sister are very bad liars," Oh wow, I got an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, like I had said those exact words really recently.

"Please, Forest. I didn't hear nothin'. It's not my place to say."

From her expression, it was obvious that she was uncomfortable with this inquiry, but what could have Applejack said? It sounded really important. And I really, really wanted to know! It was bugging the shit out of me.

"Forest, I'm angry at you," Applebloom cut my train of thought.

"What? Why?"

"First you said that you'd help me get my Cutie Mark, you didn't. Then you promised you'd come with me to Sweetie Belle's opera, you didn't. You forgot about me both times!"

She was right! I did forget. Summoning up my most apologetic face - I've been doing a lot of apologizing lately, I inhaled a deeply and said, "Sorry?"

"Come on, Forest. I know you like my sister, but you can spare some time to hang out with me too!"

"I know, I know. But with everything that's been going on, I'm surprised that I've remembered anything since I've been here. Yesterday I completely... why are you grinning like that?"

"Oh nothin'."

"That's a pretty massive grin for something that's nothin'," I looked at her suspiciously.

She giggled at me. Did I make a funny face?

"We all saw you race. Did you hear us cheerin' you on? It was more excitin' than the Runnin' of the Leaves we have every year!"

"Running of the Leaves? That another race?"

Applebloom nodded, "Applejack and Rainbow used to run it every year!"

"Then what?"

"Rainbow became a Wonderbolt, and on top of her weather-fixin' duties an' bein' a famous celebrity, she always so busy."

"Well, she is very popular. Anyway, the only Pony I heard clearly was Pinkie on the speaker system."

"Oh yeah! She totally got in trouble for that. The Mayor was so angry. Total Pinkie moment," Applebloom laughed and shook her head.

"So, Forest. What do you like better? Cakes or pies?" Applebloom threw that question out from nowhere.

"I dunno... I guess it depends on my mood."

"No, no. Which one would you prefer to eat if you had to eat one and only one. Forever."

"Forever is a long time."

"Just choose!"

Humoring her, I actually thought about it, "If I had to choose, I guess I'd go with pie. Why?"

"Oh, nothin'," Again that mischievous grin, "What about apple pie?"

"I love apple pie! Gladly take apple pie, please."

Applebloom roared in laughter, "So cute!"

"What's so cute?" I asked confused, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Oh, nothin'. You really ain't that smart, are ya, Sleepy Head?"

"I never claimed I was smart. So, 'Sleepyhead', huh? That your name for me?"

"Yep."

We shared a quick laugh before we heard a noise coming from the hall and Big Mac entered the room, "You okay?" He asked.

"Yes, I am. Thank you for... everything. Did you carry me?"

"Eeyup."

"She also says that you helped drown me in a tub full of ice. Thanks for that."

"Anytime."

My eyes popped open at that comment, but Big Mac turned his attention to Applebloom, "Your sister's not comin' home tonight. She wants you to drop off her toothbrush at the hospital later."

"'Kay!"

"The doctors have agreed to let one Pony to stay there with Rainbow and Brian," Big Mac explained.

"He's staying at the hospital?" I asked, confused. Didn't the doctor from yesterday say that he would be up and about in no time?

"I don't know much. You'd best talk to Applejack," With that, he lumbered off.

Not wanting to sit in bed anymore, I managed to stand up - much to Applebloom's horror. After a lot of fussing, I made my way down the stairs and out onto the porch where Granny was napping on her rocking chair. She was snoring quietly. A few minutes later Applebloom caught up with me with her book in her hooves. She opened it to the page she had earmarked and proceeded to read. Again, I took in the magnificent view of Sweet Apple Acres. This place was just simply amazing. If I ever make it back home - to Earth - I'd so get a farm. An apple farm, too.

Thinking of that, my thoughts suddenly returned to last night's events. Pinkie's words returned to me, and despite trying to rationalize it, I felt the blood in my cheeks filling up. But why was Applejack so adamant in defending me? That was something that was really bothering me. The thought of asking her crossed my mind, but it did not seem all that original. As if I already ask her? Did I?

"Ah! Forest! Yer awake! Wanna take on the champ again?" Granny suddenly blurted, making me jump slightly as I snapped back to the present.

"I don't mind..." Applebloom gave me a look, "On second thought, maybe not. I just took some medicine."

"And you're sick!" Applebloom emphasized, "You need to let yourself have time to recover before you start chuggin' down Granny's hootch. Your medicine needs time to help."

"Mah hootch is medicine," Granny replied.

That made me laugh, "It most certainly is."

Applebloom gave the both of us a disapproving and we laughed a little harder at her expense. Being a good sport, she joined in on our giggling fit. As our laughter started to subside, I saw a purple bipedal creature coming down the path towards the house, he was walking with his hands behind his back with a serious expression on his face. When he finally got close enough to the porch, we all said hello to him.

"Hiya, guys," Spike looked at each of us, "Forest, I heard you weren't feeling well."

"News gets around fast," I muttered.

"Applejack was visiting the hospital earlier and she told us."

"Yes I was, but I'm feeling a lot better thanks to nurse Applebloom!"

Through the corner of my eye I saw her checking out her flank, my guess she was expecting a nursing Cutie Mark. When nothing happened, she let out a quiet sigh, and returned her attention to the conversation.

"Can I talk to you for a moment. Privately?"

"Sure," Forcing myself to stand, and earning a very disapproving look from Applebloom, I walked down the porch and onto the large front lawn. We walked for a bit so that we gained some distance and not be overheard. Satisfied, I sat down heavily on the grass, "What's on your mind?"

"I've been thinking about what you said yesterday, about how I've not told Rarity about how I feel," He sat down next to me. I had to look up at him slightly, "But also what you said about me being a Dragon, and she being a Pony. To be honest, I've been thinking about it for a long time. And... and..."

"And?"

"I was wondering... could you... help me?"

"I tried, remember? You froze on me..."

"No, no. Well, yes, but not that," He took a deep breath, "I need to tell you something serious, something that I've told a very few Ponies... or humans about."

Alarm-bells rang in my head.

"Well, 'human', is more accurate."

Relief washed over me like a wave. At least Spike didn't suspect me.

"Forest, I don't really know what it is like to be a Dragon," He paused.

I realized he was waiting for me to react, "You are a Dragon. Right? You're a Dragon, right?"

"Yes, but I don't know what it's like being one."

"You're not making sense. You being a Dragon makes it impossible for you not to know what's it like being a Dragon."

"But I've been with Ponies almost all my life. I've grown up with them. Mostly with Twilight. I've never really grown up or hung out with my own kind, and I have rarely ever interacted with them. Most Dragons don't really like Ponies, and avoid them when they can."

"Really? Ponies and Dragons don't get along?"

"Not really. They usually just stay away from each other."

"I see," In reality, I didn't see. In a land of magical talking Ponies, could Dragons get along as well? But I let Spike continue anyway.

"Remember when you asked me if I told Rarity how I felt? Remember I said that one time I almost did?"

Nodding, I urged him to continue.

"Well, it was on my birthday many years ago..." He began to explain to me how Dragons got bigger when they got greedier, and that some Dragons can accelerate their growth by hoarding things - or something to that effect. How he had become big and started destroying Ponyville, only to be reminded of the act of giving by Rarity, the Element of Generosity, which reversed the magic in his body. Afterwards he transformed back to his baby form. Still, even without greed, a Dragon has to grow, and as Spike was getting bigger and bigger, until eventually another question started bothering him, "What if I get too big?"

"Ponyville will need a bigger library."

Spike just gave me the 'I'm-trying-to-be-serious-here' look.

"Okay, okay. Let's ask the obvious question then; what do Dragons eat?"

"Gems. Usually."

"Usually?"

"I eat most other things, but lately... lately I've started having a strange craving for..." He turned green in the face, "Meat."

"Well, those teeth are meant for something," I replied. Was I in danger? I hoped not.

"Forest, I don't want to eat animals. I don't want to hurt anypony. But these urges... they come and go, and I can usually stop them, but..."

"Do Dragons eat Ponies?"

Spike looked at me for a long moment. Then he looked away, "Yes."

"I see where you're coming from now."

"Y-you're not afraid?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but I trust you don't see me as a tasty burger."

"Burger?"

"Never mind," Oops.

"Anyway, that's the thing! I know that I would never harm nopony, but when I went on that rampage I wasn't myself. My mind was hazy and I couldn't remember certain things, important things. All I could think of was more. More, more, more, more, more! I wanted to take, and I took."

"I think I know what you mean."

"Doesn't it frighten you when you get like that?"

"Well, I am a Pony, Spike," No I'm not. "I don't have to be afraid of hurting nopony badly. You're a Dragon. You've got pointy bits everywhere, and you're big. Those teeth are pointy, that tail is point, your things on the back are pointy and your claws are pointy. Get my point?" Yeesh, that was a terrible pun, "But I'm not afraid of you because you don't have a mean streak. If you did, this conversation would have ended ages ago."

"I never used to have claws like these. As I've gotten bigger, they've gotten longer and sharper."

"How big do Dragons get?"

"Pretty big."

"How big is 'pretty'?"

"Twice the size of the barn..." Spike pointed to the barn with his thumb without looking at it.

"That is pretty big."

"Some are even bigger."

"So, you're afraid that you'll lose control of your ability to reason," Gazing off into the distance, I understood a little of his predicament. Lashing out without thinking of the consequences, hurting the ones closest to you. It reminded me of what I had done over a week ago to Raj. The fight, me lashing out the way I did, the look he gave me. It took me a moment to understand that it was not pity in those eyes, it was betrayal. If I ever go back to Earth, I vowed to make it up to him somehow.

"Exactly. I'm scared that I'm going to hurt somepony, Forest. Somepony I care for. What if I hurt Rarity, or Twilight? Or even you. There's nopony in town that can stop me, well maybe except Twilight, but I know she'll never hurt me."

Suddenly I didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Forest, can I ask you for a favor..."

"No," I said and shook my head, "No way. I know what you're going to ask, and the answer is no."

"Come on, Forest. You're the only Pony I know who I can talk to about this."

"Not me. Another Pony perhaps more suited for the task. Not me. I'm not going to be the 'fallback' guy."

"Please, Forest," Spike clasped his hands together. He was begging!

"Isn't there another Pony that will be better? Why me?"

"Because... because I know you're the only Pony willing to do this for me," Spike handed me a closed container, "Rarity gave this to me to remind me of my generous soul. This... this will remind me of my time here in Ponyville."

Taking the box, I opened it. It was a snow-globe like thing, except instead of snow it had tiny bits of gold shaped like leaves in autumn. I picked it up out of the box and shook it, and as I did a song started playing. It was a nice gentle tune, "A music box?"

"Rarity gave it to me when I turned thirteen. It's my most prized possession."

"Then why give it to me?"

"If I should... go berserk again, I might need something to wake me up. This music box has strong sentimental value to me. It should be enough."

"You expecting to go berserk?"

"No! But... just in case."

"Oh good. I thought you were asking me kill you or something..." I said laughing out loud. As I did, I noticed the look on Spike's face. I kept laughing, hoping that he would join me. He didn't. God fucking damn it! "That is what you want, isn't it?"

Spike did not give away any emotion, "This. Just in case."

What he placed on the ground in front of me made me shudder. A dagger with the most ornate handle I had ever seen. The blade itself was split in the middle, with some sort of clear piece of glass on it, inside which had a dark blue liquid. Not daring to touch it, I stared at it on the grass.

"No! No way!"

"Forest... please. I'm begging you."

Sighing, I looked at the beautiful knife, "What is it?"

"It's a dagger."

No shit! "I meant what makes it so special."

"The blade is made from the same stuff that the Royal Guards armor's made from. It can cut through a Dragon's scale-armor. The liquid inside is blood from a Windigo."

"A what?"

"A Windigo. It's a winter spirit that feeds off of hatred and malice. The more hate there is, the colder it gets."

"How do you know that?"

"I help out in a Library. How could I not know all this stuff?" Spike shrugged, "Plus Twilight had acted in a play years ago that had Windigoes in it and she asked me to do some research about them while she rehearsed her lines. Apparently these 'spirits' have bodies that bleed, guess that explains the reason they need to feed."

"Seriously, Spike, you can't expect me to do this. We're not even that close of friends... I mean, I think of you as a friend, but this is a job for someone who really is close to you and can make a decision like that."

"Forest, that sounds stupid. I'm asking you because you're not such a close friend."

At this point, I wished that I had fingers to massage the bridge of my nose because that was perhaps the dumbest thing I've heard. Doesn't he understand that to make a decision like that you need to know one another better than anybody else? Whatever, he was a typical teenager. They were usually all angsty and fatalistic. I've not known Spike for a long time, but I was already confident that he was not going to hurt anything.

"Where do they sell that stuff?" I asked, pointing to the blood in the dagger.

"Well, I managed to find somepony in Canterlot who sold some Windigo blood and the blade. It's usually used to cover something in ice. It's pretty expensive. I had to save up a while to get it."

"How much?"

"A hundred bits."

"A hundred? That's... a lot of bits!"

"You don't say..." Spike rolled his eyes, sarcastically.

"Shouldn't you be bringing this up with Twilight?"

"Twilight is the last Pony on Equestria that would... that I would..."

"She's the last Pony you'd want to place this burden on."

"Exactly. Twilight mothers me too much. I know she's not my real mother... well, I love her like my real mother. We've been together for so long and I know her too well now. She would never hurt me, even if I destroy Equestria. One day I know that I will have to go," He looked at me.

"You planning on leaving?" I asked, bewildered.

"It's not that I want to, but I have to start thinking about it before... before something bad happens. I need to be ready," Spike sighed heavily, tears forming in his eyes.

Stop it! Don't cry! I hate it when... He started crying. Aw, damn it!

Standing up, I walked over to him and patted him on his back. Spike gripped me in a tight embrace bawling his eyes out, "It'll be alright, big guy. Just relax. There's no rush. Just... and even if you do get big and massive, what's to stop you from visiting?" After a few minutes of this awkwardness, he subsided and let me go, "Feel better?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Forest. You're a good a good guy. I'm glad you're my friend."

Ouch. My heart skipped a beat when he said that. No-one's ever said that to me before. Ever. Shit, now I feel like crying...

"So, how was it when you left your mother?"

"What? Why do you wanna know that?"

"I just wanna know."

"Well, I never had a chance to leave my mother. My mother left me when I was really small," The words came out of my mouth before I could think. Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Did I just get fooled by a teenaged Dragon? I did, didn't I.

"I knew you were faking your amnesia!" Spike said, pointing at me, "I knew it."

"N-no! Of course not. You just... you just don't forget something like that. You can't forget something like that," And that was true. Holy shit was it true. All my life I've always tried to deny or hide it, but deep down, you never really forget.

Something in my voice or on my face must have sated Spike because he sat down next to me quietly, "Sorry, Forest, for bringing up such memories."

"Well, one thing I can say for sure, Spike, is that in all my life, I've never told anyone that. You're the first."

"How would you know? You have amnesia," He replied with a smirk.

"I'm pretty sure that it's true," I replied, and pushed him gently.

"So? Will you do this for me?" He said gesturing to the dagger with his head.

Sighing, I took the dagger from the grass. It was ice-cold to the touch. What was it with ice and me today? Spike, knowing fully the limits of his Pony companions, handed me a small saddle-bag. It fit perfectly and I slipped the dagger in one of the pockets. It was like a fanny-bag, but much cooler. It was a shade darker than my tan-color and had small red markings that looked like fire. Loved it.

"Thank you, Forest. I owe you."

"Forest! Forest!" I heard my name being called by Applejack. She galloped right up to me, "Forest! I'm sorry, but could you mind Applebloom tonight?"

"I'm not a Filly anymore! I don't need nopony to watch me!" Applebloom shouted from the porch.

"She is pretty big..." I swallowed my joke, the expression on Applejack's face told me that she was in no mood to be joking around, "What's wrong?"

"It's Fluttershy. Angel just passed away, and Rarity says that she's gone..."

"Crazy?" I suggested when she didn't reply.

"Worse."

"Spike, you go tell Twilight and Pinkie. Don't tell Rainbow or Brian. They already have enough troubles as it is."

Spike saluted, and was off before I could get in a word edgewise, and Applejack was headed towards Fluttershy's house. About three seconds later, Applebloom came out holding a toothbrush by the handle in her mouth, "Applejack!" She mumbled.

"I can give it to her if you want."

She handed me the toothbrush, and I slipped into my new saddlebag and was off before she could say anything. Holy hell and the fire pits in between, I loved to run! Applejack was fast, but not as fast as me. Too bad I was sick and she had a large enough lead that by the time I reached Fluttershy's house Applejack was already inside. There was a large gathering of animals from all over the place here. They all looked sad. I walked up the path to the door, I noticed that next to it were boutiques. Thousands of them in all sort of sizes. Some were tiny, while others were massive.

Knocking on the door gently, I had to wait a moment before it was answered by a squirrel. Or was it a chipmunk? I can never tell these things. Awkwardly I walked inside, and hung at the back of the crowd. Animals were all over the place. And although the place was overwhelmed with animals, there was no stench there. It was just... well, you couldn't notice anything with your nose. These were clean animals. Even the skunks didn't smell. All the animals were in a line leading into a room. A few would go in, then a few would come out. Unsure of what to do, I remained where I was.

Eventually I spotted Applejack came out of the room. When she saw me and did a double-take before quietly trotting to where I was.

"What are you doin' here?" She asked.

"Applebloom asked me to give you your toothbrush," I pulled it out of my new saddlebag; it was just too useful not to have.

"Come. Pay your respects," Applejack said, and then led the way.

I followed and the other animals were kind enough to move out of our way. As I entered the little room I had seen before I saw Fluttershy in the corner with Rarity holding her and rocking her gently. Fluttershy's face was buried in Rarity's shoulder. In the middle of the room was a small bed with the rabbit, Angel. Applejack stood to one side, and I walked up to the deceased and bowed my head, then stepped away. I felt really out of place, and wondered if I had done it wrong. The other animals just continued doing whatever it was that they were doing.

"How was that?" I asked when I returned to Applejack's side.

"Good enough, I guess."

"How's Fluttershy?"

"Terrible. Why'd this have to happen now?"

I didn't say anything. There was nothing I could say.

"I was on my way to Fluttershy's house when I saw Sweetie Belle coming from there. She said that Angel had passed away last night while we were at the hospital."

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said looking at her.

"I came rushin' over as soon as I heard. But... to leave Rainbow? And Brian? It's not good, Forest," Applejack said without looking at me. Her eyes began to water.

"What do you mean?"

"He ain't got long," She said in a whisper fighting her tears.

"What?" I asked, genuinely shocked. Brian? Was he that sick? Emotions surged through me. Guilt, sadness, anger. Why? Why did it have to be so? "H-how long?"

"Not long," This time Applejack didn't fight the tears flowing from her eyes, "Not long at all."

Seeing her there, crying like that, I wanted to comfort her. But how? Putting an arm around her neck, I pulled her close and she buried her face in my neck, her body shaking. What had happened? A few days ago every single Pony seemed so happy. All I felt was sadness. Why Brian? He didn't deserve this. Yes, we were both human and he had adopted daughter who was an animated cartoon Pony. At first I had thought he was a freak, but after the unconditional love he earned and gained I understood that the only freak around was me. The one who didn't fit in here was me. Yet these Ponies have done nothing but welcome me into their lives. Me! It made so much sense now. Brian loved his daughter completely. It was because of his love for her that he automatically suspected me. He wasn't out to get me, he didn't mean any harm to me. He was just trying to protect his little girl. He abandoned his own world for her. He was a good father. Correction; he is a good father.

I stayed. Fever be damned, I was not going to leave Applejack like this. Eventually she calmed down and pulled away from me, but for some reason she stayed close. Probably needed a Pony to lean on.

It was late in the evening by the time the last of the animals paid their respects, then two rabbits who could have been relatives covered Angel's face behind a sheet. The old bunny looked so peaceful and content. He had a good life.

Fluttershy let out a heart wrenching wail as she shoved Rarity aside, and dove for her rabbit. At this, Applejack intercepted her friend preventing her from reaching the bed. Poor Fluttershy. The other rabbits who had covered Angel's body continued to do what they needed to do despite Fluttershy's pleading that they leave him alone. Even Applejack was having difficulty holding Fluttershy back.

She was screaming for him. It is hard to describe the anguish I heard in that voice. It was as if she had lost a son.

"Forest, be a dear and do something!" Rarity said picking herself off from the floor and helping Applejack.

Walking to Angel's body, I helped carry it out of the room and closed the door. Fluttershy screamed so loud, that I thought my eardrums were going to break.

The other rabbits nodded to me in thanks, they then placed Angel's body into a little coffin - yes, a coffin. If it weren't for Fluttershy's despair, I might have found it amusing, but I couldn't. There was nothing amusing about this. Nothing at all.

After a long while, the wailing had stopped, and the door opened slowly. Applejack exited the room first, followed by Fluttershy wore a black hat with a meshed veil across her face. Applejack waited for her friend before walking by her side. Rarity followed behind Fluttershy; she wore something similar to Fluttershy's veil.

Not wanting to get in the way, I stood off to one side, I watched as they lead Fluttershy outside of the house. Once she had exited, the rabbits picked up Angel's coffin and led it out the door.

A slow procession then went underway. Angel's coffin was being carried by what I could only guess were his relatives. Following them was Fluttershy, flanked by Applejack and Rarity. Behind them were the other animals. I watched them go from the front door for a long while. Whoever this Angel was, he had a lot of friends that had cared for him - and one pink-haired Pegasus Pony in particular that really loved him. The trip was not long, and at the bottom of a large tree the animals placed Angel's body into an already prepared grave. Silence. No-one said a thing, or perhaps I was too far away to hear.

Then, Fluttershy took a hoofful of dirt, "Good bye, Angel-bunny," She tossed it on the grave.

They stayed there. After Angel's burial, Fluttershy did not move. She remained gazing down at the grave. Applejack and Rarity waited patiently for their friend. Slowly, the animals started to return to leave until all who were left was the four of us. I remained where I was a little away from the three of them, I just wanted to be there - more for Applejack. It was the least I could do for everything she had done for me. My mind was numb, I did not want to think of anything. I did not want to imagine what Fluttershy felt. I did not want to have anything in my mind. I just wanted to be blank.

It was very late at night before Fluttershy moved from her spot, and only because Rarity had coaxed her. They returned to the house, while I stayed outside.

Applejack came out a moment later, "Forest... thank you, for being here."

"You don't need to thank me, Applejack. Will she be okay?"

"I hope so. Forest?"

"Yes, Applejack?"

"Can... can you stay a little longer?"

"Of course. Anything for you."

Applejack gave me a small smile. She stood aside as I walked through the door back into Fluttershy's house.

"Do you want some tea?" Applejack asked me, "Rarity said I ought to make some for all of us."

"Not for me, thanks."

We made some small talk in the kitchen as she boiled the water and steeped the tea. We talked quietly, making sure not to disturb Rarity and Fluttershy in the other room. After the tea was ready, I watched as Applejack loaded it on a tray, then carried it with her mouth back to the room.

She returned a few moments later, gave me a smile, and closed the door. Now all the three Ponies were inside Fluttershy's room together.

After a while, with nothing to do, I got sleepy. Inevitably, I closed my eyes and drifted off.

Day 9: Flashback

You know what people say when you are about to die? They claim that you see your life flash before your eyes, every single event cascading into each other bringing you a clear image as to why you are here, and what you have done to deserve this fate. A sort of cosmic replay of your past to let you know whether or not your life was worth living and if you have affected the world in any way, shape or form? Yeah, that's bullshit. You know what you see before you die?

Nothing.

Or at least that's what I thought.

A light was coming in from somewhere. It slowly got brighter and brighter until...

Pain. A lot of it. What. The. Fuck! I was in agony!

"He's losing too much blood!" A voice shouted. A woman's voice.

"He's haemorrhaging!" Another voice shouted, "We're losing him."

My eyes opened. Staring straight up, I saw the ceiling above me, white tiles overlaying one another in a steady pattern. Something was different. Something wasn't right. Suddenly someone poked their head into view. A human? It was a human! A human female with a blue mouth-covering! Wait, how? What? I reached for the human and my hand... my hand? Yes, my hand! My hands were back...

"He's slipping!" A voice shouted, "Give me 100cc's of..." It seemed to get muffled by something.

Blinking, I looked around.

"I feel him slipping away again! Something's not right, he's rejecting my magic!" Princess Celestia shouted. Why was it so loud? It sounded as if rain was pelting a tin roof.

"We have to do something!" Another voice shouted. Twilight's. Yes, it was her voice, but it sounded alien to me. She sounded... concerned.

I closed my eyes as another wave of pain pulse through my body.

"Doctor, his pulse is stabilizing," The nurse said aloud, she pried open my eye-lids with her fingers, "He's responsive."

"You're okay, boy. You're okay. Just hang in there, everything will be alright."

"Doctor, he's going into shock," A nurse said calmly. Although the voice was calm, it was not difficult to tell that it was serious. She poked her head into my view, and I reached out and touched her face. My hands were not my hands! I mean, yes, they were my hands, but they were so much smaller. Like the hands of a child.

My eyes glazed over, and the world suddenly got blurry. I felt tired again.

"Stay with us, John!" Another voice shouted.

My eyes blinked.

"Forest! Wake up! You have to help us!" Again, was that Twilight?

Why did it have to hurt so much? Couldn't they just end it? It was unbearable! Turning my head slightly to one side, I noticed that Princess Celestia was casting a spell at me. It was a continuous stream of yellow light pulsating around me like a bubble. Was I floating? Yes, I think I was floating. Next to Celestia was another darker version of herself doing something similar. A twin sister? Wait! That explains the two Ponies on the royal seal on the fence from before! That explains so much! And why am I thinking about that?

Again I blinked.

"He's going under again!" The nurse shouted.

"How does a kid his age get an injury like this?" A voice commented, "Right through the lung!"

"The cops say he jumped in the way of his father as he tried to stab the mother. Took the blade into his body. Ungrateful bitch was too doped out of her head to notice..."

The voices faded out again.

"How does such a thing happen, sister!" The black Alicorn shouted over the din, "Right through him!"

"I don't know! I just cast a simple detection spell! I never expected that it would hurt him! I cannot control my magic anymore, it's take everything from me to keep him from bleeding to death!" Princess Celestia shouted, "If I stop casting, he will die."

"Then let me cast the spell!" And the other Alicorn's spell struck me.

The pain! It was worse than when Princess Celestia hit me! I rolled my eyes up into my skull as my body reacted to the sudden surge of agony pulsing through me. Every cell in my body felt as if they were being ripped apart. I think I shouted or screamed, but I couldn't hear myself do so. Only the feeling of my mouth opening was clear.

"Again! Zap him again!" A voice shouted.

"I must stop! I am only harming him!" Another shouted.

"Again! Raise the voltage!" The previous voice shouted.

"We have to do something!" Another voice put in.

"You Pinkie Promised..." A voice whispered.

Then a light engulfed me. A bright light. Salvation! The pain was gone. Peace. So peaceful.

Opening my eyes, I looked around. My bedroom was the same as it had always been. My GI Joe posters were on the walls, and my toys were strewn on the floor. My especially favorite ones were still sleeping next to me on the bed. Rubbing my eyes, I looked out the window. Another nice day. Too bad that morning train always goes by the same time shaking the house and waking me up. Getting out of bed, I walked out the door and opened the one next to my room.

"Nana," I said walking over, "Good morning, Nana."

"Good morning, darling," Nana replied sitting up in her bed and slipping on her glasses, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Nana. I had a dream. A very funny dream. In it I was a Pony."

"A Pony?" Nana tickled me, "My little boy was a Pony?"

"Yes, Nana. A pony. And I made lots of friends too. Ponies."

"Were they nice Ponies?" Nana asked.

"Yes, Nana. They were all very nice. They were all good to me."

"Oh, Forest. You're such a good boy."

"Silly Nana, my name isn't Forest... is it?"

My eyes shot open again as another surge of agony ripped through my chest. I pulled myself up but two strong arms grabbed me by the shoulders and pinned me back down onto a bed.

"Sedate him!" Someone shouted.

"Doctor, he's slipping again! I don't think..."

I heard the beeping of a machine nearby. Humans all around. What was going on? The beeping was getting faster and faster. Where had I heard it before?

A flash of light blinded me, and my eyes closed.

"Princess, we need to sever the spell. It's getting too dangerous. The clouds are starting to react to your magic, if this continues the ramifications will be dire!" Shining's voice shouted over the din.

"He'll die," Twilight shouted back. Why was it so noisy?

"We'll all die if you don't stop!" Shining retorted, "Not just us here, but all the Ponies! You, me, our Princesses, your friends. Everypony!"

No. Not acceptable!

Mouth. If you're listening to me, you must move. You must say the words I will you to say. You must... speak! Speak, god damn you! Speak!

"Please," My voice echoed in my head a million times, growing fainter and fainter.

"Save," One more word! One more! You can do it, Mouth! You can say it! Go, go, go!

"Friends," Done.

"Forest," Twilight said. I felt her breath on my ear as she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..."

Opening my eyes a little, I looked up and saw her. Why was she crying? Why do these Ponies always cry? Tearing up over small things like this. She didn't stop apologizing. Forcing my lips to curve up, I gave her the best smile I could. It was probably really pathetic, but it was all I could do. The light around me disappeared and I felt my back hit the ground.

Then everything again turned to black. The noise had stopped. Everything was silent once more.

"Are you okay, darling?" Nana's voice jolted me.

Looking around, I was confused. Wasn't I... wait. Where was I? What was happening?

"You're looking pretty lost," Nana patted my back, "Why don't you help me get out of bed and we'll go into the kitchen. Make some breakfast. Some pancakes?"

"Okay, Nana."

Slowly, and carefully, I helped Nana down the stairs. She was getting along in her years, but her mind was still sharp. My Nana and me. Together.

"Dear boy, why are you crying?" Nana asked as I paused at the bottom of the stairs to wipe my eyes.

There was nothing I could say to her. Nothing that would convey the feelings I had. It was strange. Very strange. It was as if I knew all along, but what was it that I knew? So, I hugged her. I buried my face in her dress, the smell of her being there filled my nose. Lavender. My Nana always smelt of lavender.

"... got to teach you to swim..." A faint echo from somewhere.

Looking away from Nana, I searched around the room. Was it my imagination? The TV wasn't on.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing, Nana. I just thought I heard something."

She hugged me. I could never get tired of her hugs. Ever.

Holding her hand, we headed towards the kitchen and she began to put the ingredients together. I helped stir. Nana's arms were getting tired already, and I was strong. I could do it. I'm a big boy. She put the mix on the frying pan and the smell of fresh pancakes rose into the air. She made three of them! Two for me, and one for her. Two for me because I was getting bigger.

Putting the pancakes on the table, I turned to Nana, "Nana, what would you like on your pancakes?"

"Do we have any Zap Apple jam, sweetheart?"

"... better when served on bread made at Sugarcube Corner..."

I stopped and looked around. Did I just hear something? Shrugging, I opened the fridge and looked around, "No, Nana. There's none left."

Wait. Zap Apple jam? That... that's not right. Was it?

Together we ate quietly, Nana always said that it was better to eat breakfast quietly and lunch and dinner were for talking. After eating, we went into the den and Nana sat in her chair while I turned on the TV for her. She always wanted to watch the news first thing when we woke up.

"... and now for the weather. Today we'll be scheduling rain from two in the afternoon to five. So be sure to bring your umbrellas with you..."

"... you do know that Pegasi control the weather..." A whisper echoed.

"... and since there's going to be some patches of sun, expect to find a rainbow..."

... she's so fast, she can do a Sonic Rainboom...

Another echo. But where was it coming from? And it was so faint, barely audible. Not even a whisper.

Taking a deep breath, I headed back into the kitchen. It was my turn to wash the dishes...

"... hello, Sleepyhead..."

And I scrubbed them nice and clean before putting them on the rack to dry. I took out a carrot out from the fridge and washed it in the sink before using the peeler to remove the skin. Walking up the stairs back to my room, I opened the small cage and took out my pet rabbit...

"Hush now, quiet now..."

Placing the rabbit on the ground, I let him run around for a bit before putting the carrot on the floor. He came and nibbled on it while I stroked his back. When it was done eating, I gently put it back in its cage and went back downstairs. Grandma was still sitting in front of the TV, but she was now sleeping. So I turned the TV off.

Silence. Only the sound of Nana's breathing could be heard. Everything here seemed so... surreal. It was my home. I know, and yet something about it was not right. It was as if I didn't belong here.

... don't care what they say, there's something about you. Something... different...

I ran to my room, and opened the door as wide as I could. Running to my bed-side table, a black wooden one covered in bright red hearts... wait, what? That wasn't right. I never had something that colorful in my room, did I?

"So. You and Pinkie, eh..."

I shook my head. Why was I hearing voices? What was happening to me? Wait... Pinkie?

"Pinkie Promise..."

"Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise..."

Tears flowed down my cheeks. Why? Why was I feeling this way? I fell to my knees. It hurt so much. Why did it have to hurt so much. Physical pain I could handle, but not this kind. This kind of pain was... too much.

"Why are you crying, little one?" Nana's comforting voice said from the door to my room.

"I don't know. It just... hurts. I just... I feel so empty... Nana, why do I feel like this?"

My grandmother looked at me and smiled so gently to me. It didn't help, it just made my tears fall some more. She walked over to me and held me again, swaying me slowly, "You have to go home now."

"But, Nana... this is my home."

"Not anymore."

My eyes glanced up at the mirror behind Nana and I saw my reflection. I was a Pony.

"Where is my home now, then?" I asked.

"Home? Home is..." I looked up at Nana's smiling face, she touched my chest, "Right here, Forest."

The light from the window got brighter and brighter, and with it, I felt myself being pulled towards it.

"Goodbye, Nana. I love you."

"Goodbye, Forest. I love you too."

I hugged that woman as hard as I could. I hugged the only person in my life that ever mattered to me. I hugged her goodbye because that's what a good grandson does. That's what I should have done all those years ago. That's what I wanted to do all those years ago. So many years ago - when Nana died. And I watched as I ascended through the window and towards the light. She waved to me. I wanted her to come with me, but I knew she couldn't. But that was okay now.

"Bye, Grandma."

Gasping for air, I looked up.

"He's alive!" A voice shouted, "He's alive! This is unbelievable! He's alive!"

"S-Sh-Shining?" I croaked.

"No. Don't talk. Someone bring a doctor here! Someone get me some bandages!"

Twilight ran over to and looked at me. I could see her clearly now.

"W-w-why are you c-crying?"

"Because it's a miracle you survived what happened to you," She replied, "It's a miracle you lived through that."

"Th-through what?"

She didn't say anything, she just decided to shower me with those huge Pony tears that she didn't try to hide. They felt warm as the rolled down my face.

Seriously, all this crying has got to stop. It's depressing! And yet, something told me it wasn't sadness that made those tears.

"Thank Celestia you're alright," Twilight finally muttered.

"No. No thanks to me. I nearly killed him," The Princess said looking down at me as well.

"C-can... I... p-p-please... h-have a d-d-drink of water?" I smiled at my own joke, "Really t-thirsty."

Water was brought and a doctor was asked to see me. Most of the next several hours were a blur, and somewhere along the way I again passed out. I've been doing a lot of that lately.

It was late in the afternoon when I finally woke up. My body was sore all over. Most of all my chest area. It felt as if I'd been stabbed by something. Removing the blankets from over me, I saw the bandages wrapped around my torso. I ran my hoof - yes, hoof, over them. A little numbness, but apart from that I felt fine. Staring at my hooves, a part of me was sad that I no longer had my hands, but I was glad that I was still in Equestria.

"It took us over a hundred stitches, but we managed to fix you up. There will be scarring, but your fur should hide it," Someone said to me. I looked at the doctor who had a huge mustache, "Although how you survived a wound like that in the first place is a miracle. An inch to the left or right, and you would've been dead. No amount of magic would've saved you."

"What happened?"

"I'll fill you in on that," Twilight said entering the room, "Thank you doctor, you may go. And remember, not a word of this to anypony. You're obligated by your profession and by the Princess' decree."

"Yes, of course. Good luck, Forest, and try not to get hurt again," With that he walked out the door to my room closing it gently behind him.

"Forest, let me first of all apologize to you. We had no idea that would happen."

"Well, tell me what happened first, and then I'll tell you whether or not I accept it," I replied, a little peeved that no-one had told me what the fuck went down!

"Well, how far back do you remember?"

"I remember Princess Celestia casting the spell and waking up in a pool of blood. After that, just flashes," I didn't feel like telling her about Nana. That was private.

"Well, after this test we can conclusively say you're not a human," Twilight sat down on a chair next to my bed, "But when Princess Celestia cast the spell on it, it was supposed to surround your body and revert you to your original form. It didn't. Instead it went straight through you, like an arrow. We don't know how or why, only that your body rejected the magic in a way that we didn't foresee."

"What do you mean?"

"It means, Forest, that your body is immune to certain kinds of magic. It's rare, but it does happen. Some Ponies are completely magic-less, but those are so rare that it's nearly unheard of. You're one. You cannot cast or use any magic whatsoever. And when magic is cast on you, the effects range, but this is the first time I've actually ever heard of being... 'allergic' to magic. There's nothing about it in the library either."

"Allergic?" I furrowed me brow.

"Oh yes, magic won't just harm you, it will kill you," Twilight put her hoof on mine, "I'm so sorry, Forest. I didn't know."

"No, no. Don't apologize. There was no way you could have known."

"Actually, if I think about it, it is. A few days ago Applejack was telling me that you could not buck apples. I had no idea what she meant, but she explained that no matter how many times you kicked a tree, the apples did not drop in the baskets which you prepared to catch them in. Earth Ponies have a natural talent with the Earth and especially to food and farming. You didn't. This should have been my first clue."

"You're stretching it, and no offense, but I doubt you'd have thought of that. You just said that my condition was completely unheard of. So, there is no need to accept your apology, because you don't need to make one in the first place"

Even though I nearly died. Even though I felt pain that I've never felt before, Twilight gave me something that I could not hate her for. She gave me a chance to say goodbye to my grandmother. Never will I think ill of her again. As far as I was concerned, Twilight was beyond cool. She was perfect.

We sat there in awkward silence for a while, not really knowing what to say to one another. Eventually she broke the silence again.

"There's your water," She gestured with her hoof.

Taking the water, I downed the whole glass and the next ten refills without pause. Finally. Now I needed food.

"I'm hungry. Can we leave? I'd like to eat in town," I grinned, "Would love to see Canterlot!"

"Shouldn't you rest?"

"Excuse me, but I've just been in agony for the past several hours. I feel alive, and want to make the most of it. Plus, it's boring just sitting around doing nothing."

"You sound like Pinkie," Twilight giggled.

"Well, she does kinda rub off on you."

We shared a quick laugh at that.

"Well then, let's go," Twilight jumped up from her seat, "I can show you all my favorite spots in town!"

"Great, just one thing..." I looked at her in all seriousness, "Please don't mention what happened to Pinkie or Applejack."

"I was going to ask you not to mention it to them either," Twilight snorted a laugh, "But why?"

"I don't want them to hate you or Princess Celestia."

Twilight stared at me blinking for a few moments.

"What?"

"I was thinking the same thing. Thank Celestia we're on the same page."

We shared another laugh, and for the first time since I got there, I really think that Twilight stopped thinking of me as 'The Enemy', which was a little sad because that meant that I had successfully deceived her into believing that I was really a Pony. Again an overwhelming sense of guilt manifested within me. It wasn't as bad as lying to Applejack, but I still felt shitty for doing it.

Walking was a little painful at first but I quickly got used to it. The first few steps were pretty bad. In the back of my mind I was worried that I wouldn't be healthy enough for the big race at the end of the month... which was when? I never asked.

"Twilight, when is the big Race? The one I tried out for. I don't seem to have a grasp of the month yet."

"The race is in eleven days," Twilight's smile faded, "I don't know if you'll be in shape to run by then."

"Well, let's cross that bridge when the time comes."

Canterlot reminded me a lot of a big city, like New York or London. It was metropolitan, had all sorts of sights to see, both historical and current. Stores were everywhere, but one in particular caught my eyes.

"Ah, yes. That's Rarity's Canterlot boutique. She's renamed her stores after rides from a fair - after her original Carrousel Boutique in Ponyville, but for the Canterlot one she decided to call is something special."

"Ethereal Boutique?" The sign above the massive four-story building stated, "Looks pricey."

"One of the most expensive boutiques in the market. Every dress inside is a unique piece, and every piece costs well over fifty bits! If you buy a dress from here, you're guaranteed to turn some heads."

"Sounds like Rarity is doing well for herself," I grinned.

Twilight gave me a mischievous grin, "You know what's really awesome? I can get a dress for free..."

"Perks of being a good friend, I presume," I chuckled.

"And being related to the Royal family doesn't hurt," Twilight added showing off.

"And here I thought you didn't like being referred to as a princess."

"I didn't say I didn't like it, I just said that I got tired to explaining to Ponies that..."

I raised my hoof, "I know. I'm just messing with you."

She blushed and laughed, "Sorry, I thought you were being serious."

"Shall we check out the Ethereal Boutique?" Maybe I can get something for Spike for the fun of it.

"I don't know. It is expensive..."

Shit! I don't have money! "Oh, I left me coin purse in my... wait, where's my saddle bag?"

"Oh, it's back at the palace. Do you want to go and get it?" Twilight asked.

"I just don't have any money..."

"It's okay. My treat."

Couldn't refuse that. Not that I didn't want to pay, but with the pain in my chest I didn't want to hike all the way back to the palace just yet, "Sure. But I get the next one."

"Deal."

Together we went down into town and Twilight took me to a really fancy looking place. The name of the restaurant was 'The Lunar Sun'. I liked the name.

"This is one of the most popular restaurants in Canterlot," Twilight said as we sat down in the corner of the restaurant, "Because of my links to the royal family, we get a reservation every night. I made one last minute."

"Wow. Being royal certainly has perks!" I grinned.

Twilight laughed, and then leaned forward, "Really, I don't normally take advantage of it, but seeing as... well, you know..."

"I nearly died?"

"Well, yes... but, that's a little... morbid," Twilight grinned and then looked guiltily at the floor.

"Please, Twilight, don't take me too seriously. Sometimes the best way to get over a shocker like that is to joke about it. At least, that's how I get over it. And, I can't complain. I lived," And I got to say goodbye to my grandmother properly, if anything I would love to thank you for that.

A waited walked over to us, his nose stuck high up into the air, "Would you like something to drink, madam?"

"Yes, a bottle of your finest one," Twilight stated.

"And one for me too," I joked.

Twilight laughed. The waiter on the other hand rolled his eyes and walked away.

"You're actually really easy to talk to, Forest. The way Pinkie and Applejack go on about you, I thought you were putting on an act," Twilight said, visibly relaxed.

"I am kind of putting an act on, you know. I don't know who I really am. But I'm trying to be a Pony that... is likeable," Strangely, that was a lot truer than I had intended it to be.

"Well, I hope that the real you, and this you are the same," Twilight smiled, "So, shall we decide what to eat?"

The menu, would you believe it, was in French and English! And the cuisine was French-like vegetarian dishes! And some Italian thrown in as well. In a strange way, I was relieved. I mean there were some dishes on there that did not sound too appealing, such as 'Fig Leaf Ravioli', and 'Green Grass Salad', but most of it was completely delicious sounding vegetarian.

The waiter returned and showed us the bottle of wine, "Equino de Rojo. It's aged ten years," He then poured a tiny amount in a wine glass - with hooves, and handed it to me.

"I'm... really bad at this. Do you want to do the honors?" I asked Twilight. In truth, I didn't want to be handed the wine glass. I didn't think I would be able to hold it.

"Sure!" Twilight said eagerly, and took the glass when the waiter offered it to her.

She swirled it around, then put her nose a little over the inside and inhaled. Then, she took a little sip, "Dry, with a little hint of smoky oak."

"Not bad," I said raising an eyebrow.

She blushed, "Thank you, I've always wanted to do that."

"Rarity?"

"Rarity."

We both shared another laugh knowing fully how Rarity would have relished this moment. Strange, I didn't know her that well and yet I knew what she liked.

"Will that be all?" The waited said a little coldly.

"Yes," I said, "Thank you."

"I think he doesn't like you," Twilight said once the waiter was gone, "Might be your bandages are not acceptable part of the dress-code here."

"There's a dress-code?" I looked around. Indeed, most Ponies wore something like a suit, and here I was wrapped in bandages like a mummy.

Dinner was a delight. Twilight and I chatted about many things, from the history of Equestria to her classes and her keen interest in magic. We were having so much fun just talking that the rude waiter had to come and tell us it was time to leave considering we were now the last ones in the restaurant and they were closing.

"Wow. I had no idea how long we stayed for," Twilight said when we were outside. It was almost midnight.

"So, where to now?"

"Well, since there's nothing on my agenda, and the train for Ponyville leaves tomorrow at noon, I guess we could go and visit this club I've always wanted to go to," Twilight's eyes lit up, "Shall we go?"

"Hm... go clubbing or return to the palace and sleep. Tough choice."

Twilight giggled, "Okay, then follow me!"

And so I did...

Day 10: Canterlot Crazy Time

“This way, Forest,” Twilight shouted excitedly leading the way down another alley.

“It’s like a maze!” I complained slowly keeping up. Every time I ran, my pain in my chest would remind me that I had a huge hole there. Back on Earth, I would never be able to do this. Either Ponies had superior builds than humans, or they were better doctors. Who knows? I was just glad that I wasn’t lying around on a bed.

“Right there,” Twilight said exiting an alley and pointing across the street.

When I caught up, I looked. A huge line stretched completely around the block. Loud thumping music emanated from the building. Two large Ponies stood at the entrance as a large line of lead off from them. It was obvious they were bouncers.

Twilight walked to them, “Hi, Tiny.”

A huge Pegasus with the tiniest wings I’ve ever seen turned around, “Hi, Twilight! Long-time no see. Looking to get in?”

“Yes please. For two,” Twilight pulled me close to her.

“That a new style? Bandages?” Tiny gestured to me chest guffawing the most obnoxious laugh I’ve ever heard.

“A cooking accident gone wrong,” I lied, “Hurt myself pretty bad.”

Tiny looked at me for a long moment, “Usually we don’t let Ponies that don’t fit the dress-code in,” He gestured to the huge line, “But seeing as you’re with Twilight, I’ll let you in this once.”

“Thanks, Tiny,” Twilight said, and Tiny let the rope-gate down to allow us across.

Twilight went inside, but I was grabbed by the hulking Pegasus, “Twi’s my girl!”

“I-I beg your pardon?” Wow, that came out from absolutely nowhere!

“Twi’s my girl!” Tiny repeated, showering me with his spittle.

Wiping myself with my hoof, I took his hoof off of me, and gently threw it to the ground, “Look, Tiny – is that right? Look, Tiny; I don’t care. I’m here with Twilight as a friend. Whatever you two have or not is beside the point. I’m here to have fun, okay?”

“Just… I’ll be watching you!” Tiny did something with his eyes that made them bulge out.

As soon as I entered the club, my face was met with a wall of repeated electronic beats. Wow, the Ponies had this kind of music? I felt a hoof on my shoulder.

“Where’d you go?”

“I was busy being threatened by Tiny,” I shouted trying to be heard over the ‘phat beats’, “Says you were his girl.”

Twilight blushed furiously, “I went on a date with him once. It was a long time ago. Didn’t work out. Too much brawn, no brains,” She replied shouting over the music.

“Somehow I can’t picture you two together,” I shouted in response.

“Oh yeah? Who can you picture me with?” Twilight shouted in response grinning and laughing.

The way the lights bounced off her face, the way her eyes twinkled in the lights of the club, her laugh, her smile… everything about her was strangely enticing, “Me,” I whispered barely audibly.

“What?” Twilight asked, turning her head to hear me better.

“Nothing, nothing…”

Oh shit! What’s happening to me?

"Forest, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, “Are you okay? Your face is all red.”

Shit, shit, shit!

"Forest?” Twilight leaned in closer.

“Nothing, nothing. I just had a pang of pain,” I looked up at her. Our eyes met and held for a moment.

“Are you really alright?”

“Really, really.”

“Okay. If you say so,” Twilight began looking away.

No! No, this can’t be happening! I’m… falling for her. No, no, no.

“Sorry, Twilight, I’m… I need a drink,” I shouted.

“Oh, okay! Let’s go to the bar,” She replied, concern was fading from her face.

Suck it up! Don’t spoil her night!

Breathing in deeply, I pushed the feeling growing in me aside. I would deal with it later. For now, the proper thing would be to grin and let her know that everything is fine. And that’s what I did.

Twilight face visibly relaxed as relief washed over her. She’d be useless at Poker.

We made our way to the bar, which was located at the far end of the club. A wall of drinks behind the bar stretched at least two stories high! I was wondering how they got the drinks from the top shelves but a Pegasus flew up and grabbed a bottle without any problem. And when there wasn’t a Pegasus to spare, a Unicorn would use his or her magic.

“What can I get you?” A Pegasus bartender asked.

“What do you want, Forest?”

“Something really strong,” I laughed, “But not as strong as Granny’s hootch.”

Twilight grinned at me, “I hear that. Two Blitzers, please.”

“Blitzer?”

“You said you wanted strong. That’s the strongest drink I know – except for Granny’s hootch,” Twilight laughed, “I can’t believe you drank a whole glass of it in one go!”

“Ugh, please don’t remind me…”

“Here you go, two Blitzers!” And two shots were placed in front of us.

“Forest, there’s a special way to drink this,” Twilight said, “Rarity showed me how. First, you take salt…”

“Then drink and chew on a lemon?”

“Exactly!”

So a Blitz was the Equestrian equivalent to Tequila. Awesome.

“To you, Forest,” Twilight stated raising her glass.

Shaking my head, I refused to be toasted to. It was not right, “Let’s toast to you and your friends instead.”

Twilight looked into my eyes, “Okay! To me and my friends!”

“Hear, hear!”

My throat burned as the alcohol found its way down my gullet and into my stomach. Wow. This was tasty! It wasn’t bitter or sour, and the alcohol had a pleasant scent to it that filled your nose with a cherry-like aftertaste. The burn went away with the lemon.

“Again?” Twilight said, her eyes wide open.

“Again?” .

“Come on! I never get to do this!” Twilight protested.

Shrugging and resigning myself to what was probably going to be a morning with a supreme hangover, I looked at the bartender, “Again!”

The Pegasus bartender grinned. He hadn’t moved from his spot, “Here you go!”

The second shot was not as bad. But I could feel my head swirling.

Twilight shuddered and giggled, “One more?”

“Are you sure?” I asked, “I think two is my limit…”

“Come on!” Twilight urged, “Let’s have fun!”

Smirking, I shook my head and laughed, “I am having fun. Fine, one more. Just one.”

Famous last words.

About six shots later, we finally decided to ‘cool-down’ with a couple of cocktails as we made our way to the dance floor. Let me tell you, it’s actually not that hard to walk on three legs while holding a glass.

The music carried me. It made me move. I’ve never been good at dancing, but at least I was better than Twilight. Good grief, she couldn’t dance at all. And as she tried, other Ponies began to laugh at her and move away. Soon she stood alone in the centre of the dance floor next to me, I wanted to help her but I didn’t want to get humiliated as well…

Fuck it.

I copied her. Exactly. Hoof for hoof, sway for sway. Well, as best as I could. Every crazy gyration, those ridiculous arm furls, that silly tail-shake thing, I copied them all. And after a while other Ponies started to join in. Slowly, more and more began to do the ‘Twilight’.

“DJ Pone-Three shout out to the Mare in purple! You go girl!” Now even the DJ was spurring Twilight on.

She screamed in glee. After a while her dancing started getting less ridiculous. I guess all she needed to do was find her comfort zone. Or maybe the alcohol had worn off and she was getting her inhibitions back. Whatever the case, she still was having a ball of a time.

“I’m sorry, Fillies, but this is the last one for the night! You’ve been a great crowd! Goodnight!” The DJ played a funny, happy song at the end and then the music shut off.

My ears were ringing with the sudden silence, but I had to admit it was pretty awesome. I hadn’t been to a club in years, and being in one reminded me just how much fun it was. Well, I can’t really say that, the only times I’ve been to clubs was because I was a ‘spare’ to someone else so they could get in for free, and then ditch me for the rest of the night. Still had fun though, in my own way I guess.

“Woo!” Twilight shouted and laughed, “I haven’t danced like that in a long time!”

“You danced like a pro,” I replied grinning.

Twilight snorted out a laugh, “Thanks. You weren’t bad, trying to keep up with me,” She emphasized her point by doing a toned down version of her crazy moves.

“What can I say? You’re the master, and I am but a mere pupil.”

We left the club and walked across the street to a coffee stand to try and sober up a little. A large clock on a tower told us that the time was currently a little after four. We watched as the club opposite was still bleeding Ponies. They slowly came out of the main doors, somewhere shouting and screaming about the fantastic night, others were more interested in their partners. Well, what do you expect after a night of fun and frivolity? Many other creatures were exiting the club as well. I even saw a Griffin and Pony literally mauling each other in the street, and by mauling I mean making-out-with-another-as-if-the-world-was-going-to-end. Some of the more lubricated equines ended up falling over onto the ground, drunk beyond their limits.

“Is this common?” I asked.

“Usually it’s a lot better, but there’s a holiday tomorrow, so I guess everyone’s let their manes down,” Twilight held her coffee in her hooves, trying to warm them up, “Aren’t you cold?”

“Too much alcohol and adrenaline,” I replied, “Can’t feel the cold.”

“Lucky. You seem pretty normal, despite drinking as many shots as me.”

“I think I’ve raised my tolerance.”

Twilight grinned and laughed gently, she knew I was referring once again to Granny’s special brew.

“Want to go somewhere else that’s cool?” She asked.

“Sure.”

We paid for the coffees and started back towards the palace, but instead of going inside we just walked past the gated entrance and continued up the road. The guards saluted Twilight as we walked by. The road kept following the edge of the palace grounds, the fence was on our left and a beautiful view of Canterlot was on our right

“Amazing! The train station is especially amazing,” I said pointing to it.

“It’s the second oldest building in Canterlot,” Twilight said, “It was built to be the magic guild, but… let’s just say it’s a part of our history we wish to forget.”

“That war you mentioned have anything to do with it?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Twilight looked at me, “But we came through in the end. All of us.”

I wish I knew what she meant, but judging from her reaction I could tell that she was in no mood to talk about it. So, we continued up the hill. After a short distance the paved road ended and was now covered with a thick luscious grass that rose slightly steeper before levelling out onto a large grassy plateau. It was bordered by a railing made from roughly cut stone blocks. Because of the darkness I could not see past those blocks the.

“What’s so cool?” I asked looking around slightly confused.

“It isn’t time yet, silly,” Twilight said, and sat down heavily on the grassy lawn. Following her lead, I sat next to her.

A few other Ponies had started to arrive as well.

“So, Forest. Have you regained any of your memories?” Twilight asked not looking at me.

“Yes, I think. Two, I believe.”

“Really?” Twilight edged closer to me, “That’s great!”

“It is. One is a sad memory, though. The other… I’d rather not think about.”

“Does it have to do with that scar on your chest? The one over your heart?”

“How did…”

“When the doctor was stitching your wound, he mentioned that you had a scar on the opposite side of your body nearly identical to the one that we gave you,” Twilight again looked glum, “Over your heart.”

“Well, at least now they’re matching,” I laughed. She failed to see the humor, “Come on, Twilight, I said you didn’t need to apologize for that.”

“I know you already said that, but I can’t help but feel responsible.”

Sighing, I placed a hoof around her shoulder, “Then I’ll tell you about a dream I had, my sad memory. After that, you can decide if you should feel sad for me, okay?”

So I told her about my dream with Nana. Of course, I left out certain details, and had to work around hearing the voices and things, but as I completed my story her eyes had that sparkle in them again. Sparkle. The name suited her perfectly.

“You gave me the opportunity to see my grandmother again, Twilight. You let me say goodbye to her, and for that I will forever be in your debt.”

“Thank you, Forest, for sharing that with me,” Twilight sighed and nodded, “I’ll try to get over this guilt, but it might take some time, okay?”

I let her go. And as I did, the sadness in those eyes evaporated. Then I understood, it wasn’t that I was falling for her. It was because she sympathized with me. I mistook her concern for my wellbeing as attraction. In the club she drank to lessen the burden of the knowledge that she had nearly killed me, although it was indirect. She treated me nice to make up for the agony she caused. She was just being good to me and somehow I felt that... I had actually thought… I’m an idiot! A part of me told me I should be angry with her, but I just couldn’t.

“Oh! It’s starting!” Twilight said, standing up.

The other Ponies also stood up, and so did I. I looked around confused, and they stared off into the distance, as if they were watching something. An explosion of light suddenly appeared on the horizon, and as it did the light fell through the darkness, and lit up a valley. I followed the light, every inch of it bathing everything in a new glow. A river glittered in the sun’s rays. It was beautiful. With the sun’s rise, a wave of wind blew past that seemed to pull the sun’s rays along with it.

“Wow,” Was all I could say.

“Wow,” Twilight whispered.

I turned my head to look at her, and she looked away quickly. Were her cheeks red? Why was she staring at me? Strange.

“Are you hungry?” Twilight asked.

“Famished.”

“Want to try my favourite café? They serve delicious cakes and pastries. Not as good as Pinkie’s, but its close.”

“Really?”

“No,” Twilight smiled, “It’s hard to match Pinkie’s ability. Even the greatest chefs in Equestria have difficulty when facing Pinkie in cook-offs.”

“Wow. I knew she was good… but that good?”

“Well, do you want to try the not-as-good pastries and cakes?”

I nodded, “Yes, please. Forest hungry!”

Twilight laughed at my stupidity.

Walking back towards the town, we ran into Shining and another Alicorn. This one was pink, and she grinned at Twilight.

“Cadence!” Twilight hugged her, “How’s my big sister-in-law?”

“Fine.”

“And the little one?” Twilight asked, hushed.

“Coming along nicely,” Cadence turned her body to reveal a huge tummy, “Remember you promised to Foalsit for me.”

“Of course!”

As the two Mares were talking and giggling Shining looked over to me, “She’s with foal.”

No shit! “Yes, I can see that. Not long now?”

“No, not long. Another two months,” Shining grinned.

“Your first?”

He nodded, “We were just too busy to think about raising a child before, but now… now is perfect.”

“So, Twilight, how is your date?” Cadence asked suddenly.

Twilight’s face blushed ferociously, and I think mine did as well.

“I-i-it’s not a date!” Twilight replied. Twilight looked over to me, “Right, Forest?”

“Better say something clever,” Shining replied, “Once my wife gets it into her head that you two are dating she’ll start planning your wedding…”

Can’t have that!

“Oh, no, your highness, but I’m afraid that my heart belongs to another,” I stated. That was neutral.

“Oh my, Twilight, are you trying to steal a stallion from another mare? You naughty girl. Who is she?” Cadence grinned.

“Cadence!” Twilight moaned.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I’m only teasing you,” Princess Cadence walked over to me, “Take care of my little sister, Forest. Or else!”

It might have been intimidating if she didn’t have that huge grin across her face, “I will, your highness.”

And with that, Shining and his wife entered the palace grounds.

Twilight was still blushing away, “I’m sorry about that, Forest. Cadence always does that.”

“It was unexpected, but no harm done. Shall we continue on our ‘date’?”

Twilight looked at me for a moment, “Date?”

“Date. In quotations,” I replied smiling.

“Oh! ‘Date’! I get it,” She laughed again.

It didn’t take long to get to the café. It was just at the bottom of the hill we had come from, the one that led to the palace and opposite the corner of the fence that surrounded the palatial grounds. Upon entering, I was hit by the strong scent of coffee. I needed one, I was getting tired again, and I had not slept much the past few days.

“Hi, Twilight, didn’t know you were in town,” A stallion said looking at her, “When did you get back?”

“I arrived yesterday. I’ve been busy.”

“Studying more magic?” The Stallion came out from behind the counter.

“Sort of, it’s not my place to explain.”

The café Stallion dropped the subject instantly, “So, anything else that's interesting?”

“No. Just on a ‘date’ here with my friend Forest!” Twilight said, grinning.

“A date, huh?”

“No, a ‘date’. Within quotations, silly,” Twilight rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

The stallion looked at her confused, “I’m sorry, Twilight, I don’t get it.”

“She means it’s not really a date,” I explained, “Hi, I’m Forest, Forest Fire.”

“Hi, I’m Aiden Fomaio,” The Pony looked me up and down, “I’ve never seen you around before. Are you new to Canterlot.”

“I don’t know. I’ve lost my memory.”

“You mean to say you have no idea who you are?” Aiden asked.

“That’s right,” I replied, “For all I know, I could be your brother.”

“I don’t have a brother…”

“He’s talking about it theoretically, Aiden,” Twilight cut in.

The Unicorn was a strange green-blue mix, with a dark blue mane that covered his right eye. He was my height, about, and we both had the same type of build. His Cutie Mark was a fork on a plate… no, it wasn’t, it was a trident with a shield. Aiden caught me staring at it.

“Yeah, my Cutie Mark… I used to be a soldier,” Aiden smiled, “But I’ve retired now.”

“You’re pretty young to have retired, or you looked young,” I replied.

Aiden smiled, “I joined the forces when I was pretty young. I come from a long line of soldiers for Princess Celestia. But several years ago I got a pretty bad injury. I can’t really use magic anymore apart from some basic spells, thanks to Twilight,” He looked at Twilight.

They looked at one another and in that moment I saw it. It was brief, but was definitely there. It couldn’t have been obvious, but Twilight thought nothing of it and smiled back at Aiden as she walked by him. Aiden never took his eyes off Twilight.

“I’ll be sitting at my usual table, and I’ll have my usual. Forest, what do you want?”

“Something strong that will help keep me awake.”

“I’ve got just the thing,” Aiden replied gently as Twilight walked by him.

Pushing past him, I walked behind Twilight and we both sat at the far end of the café in a small alcove surrounded by windows on all side except for the part that lead back the way we came. A small table sat in the middle with cushions on the wide window ledges for the customers to sit.

“You always come here?” I asked.

“Yeah, I used to come here a lot as a student when I lived in the palace. Back then Aiden worked here, he eventually took over after the previous owned left Canterlot. He’s been here ever since,” Twilight looked back towards him, “I don’t understand why he choeses to stay. With the money he gets from retirement he could buy a nice farm, settle down and have a family.”

“Maybe he hasn’t found the right one,” I replied, “Maybe that’s why he stays here, waiting for his special somepony.”

“You’re a real romantic, aren’t you, Forest?”

“Am I?” Who was she kidding, was she really that blind?

“So, who do you like more, Applejack or Pinkie Pie?”

“Wha-what?” I shouted, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on,” Twilight leaned back against the cushions, “It’s the talk of Ponyville! Everypony knows.”

“Everypony knows? Knows what?” I asked. This was interesting, purely from a curious perspective.

“Oh, never mind. You’re so clueless,” Twilight shook her head.

“Me? I’m clueless? Me?”

“Yes, you,” Twilight replied raising her eyebrow.

I laughed, “Is that right. Well, I can tell you right now that I know at least one Pony who adores you.”

“What?” Twilight’s face turned pink, “You do?”

“I do.”

“W-who?” Twilight asked quietly.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes.”

“A hundred percent sure?”

“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Tiny,” I leaned back and grinned.

Twilight smacked her forehead, and shook it, “Ooh, I should have seen that one coming.”

“If you want, I can tell you another Pony who likes you,” I said leaning in closer.

Twilight looked at me, “Anypony’s better than… Tiny!” Her eyes were no longer looking at me, but looking behind me. I have got to stop doing that. Twice with Rarity, and now…

“Hi, Twilight. I saw you from across the street and decided to say hello,” The white Pegasus Pony replied placing one of his hooves on my shoulder, “Didn’t I tell you she was my girl?”

God, I hated bullies.

“Well, let’s ask Twilight,” I turned to her, “Twilight, do you want to be romantically involved with this… Pegasus?”

Twilight shook her head.

“And there you have it,” I took his hoof off from my shoulder, “Now, we’re having an intelligent discussion and we wouldn’t want it to harm your remaining brain-cells.”

Tiny roared as he spun around and kicked me. Now, after the pain I experienced yesterday, the kick barely tickled. I just wished he hadn’t kicked my wound. That was bad.

Picking myself up from off a broken table, I saw Aiden standing in front of me, “Take it easy, I don’t want any trouble. Can’t you see he’s hurt?” He said trying to defend me.

“Out of my way!” Tiny charged Aiden.

Aiden’s horn glowed, and he picked up a piece of wood tossing it at Tiny’s front hoof. He stumbled and rolled into another table. Not to be outdone, Tiny picked himself up from off the ground hefting the nearest table over his head before using those tiny wings to hover over Aiden and me. Using his full body weight he threw it at us, a part of me wanted to shove the stupid soldier aside, but I couldn’t. My arm – hoof – forelimb (oh whatever) wasn’t responding to me. I couldn’t move it at all.

Aiden used his magic to pull a table from next to him and levitate it as fast as he could. The two tables crashed smashing each other into tiny bits, the debris showering me.

“Never a dull moment,” I shouted, trying to ignore the pain.

“Tiny! Stop it!” Twilight yelled.

Tiny slugged Aiden hard with his fore-hoof, spinning him around. But Aiden was not done yet, using his magic he pulled two chairs from the nearest table towards him, folded them in mid-air and smashed Tiny’s head from both sides, like cymbals in those old cartoons.

The bully didn’t even flinch.

Aiden leaned against the wall, and watched as Tiny walked towards him, his eyes a deep red. For the first time since I got to Equestria, I was actually worried. This was a little excessive, wasn’t it? For peaceful frolicking Ponies, this was a bit much.

Twilight rushed forwards and planted herself in front of Aiden, “Tiny! Stop it this instant!”

“Twilight! Get out of the way!” Aiden shouted, but he looked exhausted. Suddenly his words from before rand in the back of my mind, “... But several years ago I got a pretty bad injury. I can’t really use magic anymore apart from some basic spells...”

Twilight didn’t budge. She stood her ground. I had to admit, she was extremely brave.

“Tiny! I don’t want to hurt you!” Twilight threatened.

He seemed to stop when she said that, his rage seemed to abate. Then he smacked her. He smacked her. That stupid motherfucker actually hit Twilight! No way was I going to let him get away with that.

Twilight slid across the floor, clearly unconscious. Something happened in that moment. The world around seemed to darken so that all I could see was Tiny. I felt my blood boil; my indifference erupted into a volcanic explosion of rage!

Ignoring the pain in my leg, I forced myself up and lowered my head, “Hey Tiny!”

He turned around to face me.

“Eat this.”

Ever see a car go from zero to sixty in under three seconds? Bet you’ve never seen a Pony go that fast twice as quick. I felt his ribs fold as my head connected with him. The combination of my body’s weight and momentum ended our little ‘fight’ in one blow. It might have helped if he was on the ground instead of hovering just above it as we were propelled through the window and onto the street. I rolled a few times before coming to a halt. Tiny was a few feet away from me and he wasn’t moving.

Picking myself up from off the ground I swayed a bit, probably was still dazed from the impact, but hell, if I could survive colliding with a tree then smashing into Tiny was nothing. Although my fore-leg was still numb from before, I still managed to somehow limp back into the cafe where Twilight laid unconscious with her head on Aiden’s the lap.

“She okay?” I asked.

“She’s fine. She’s strong. You?” Aiden gestured with his head at my leg.

“I’ll live,” I replied breathing a sigh of relief, “Sorry about your café.”

The damage was pretty extensive. Half the tables were destroyed, the chairs were strewn all around and those the main window was smashed to bits and half of it lay on the road outside. The only thing that really survived was the main counter and the table where Twilight and I originally sat at.

Twilight’s eyes blinked open slowly. She looked up at Aiden. She sat up quickly, “Sorry Aiden.”

“You okay?” Has asked.

“Yeah,” She looked around, “Where’s Tiny?”

“Outside,” I stated out loud, he still had not moved, “I think he’s pretty badly hurt.”

She stood up and rushed past me. Despite the trouble he had caused, I genuinely saw concern in Twilight’s eyes. A part of was furious at Twilight for showing an inkling of kindness towards that jackass, but I think that was also what made her so damned awesome. She had that unreserved kindness towards others.

“He’s alright, just unconscious,” Twilight shouted, she returned into the cafe and walked over to me, “Did you do that?”

“Me?” I asked, “Well, yes, but... it was only because he hit you.”

“Forest, I can take care of myself. I’m not a Filly that needs...”

“I know, but I’m not the kind of Pony who will sit around and do nothing when my friends get hurt. When I saw you fall down on the ground like that, I just lost it.”

“You were incredible, Forest,” Aiden said standing by my side and allowing me to lean against him to take weight off my injured hoof, “How did you do that?”

“I don’t know. You weren’t so bad yourself! If you hadn’t used your magic to protect me with that table...”

“Everypony, freeze!” Two Ponies in blue uniform came into the cafe while a third trotted over to Tiny, “What’s going on here?”

Great. Pony cops.

“Hello, officer. I was here with my friend for some coffee and breakfast, when Tiny came and threatened...” Twilight stated almost as quickly as Pinkie.

“Whoa, whoa! Start again,” The officer requested.

Twilight repeated the story at the same speed.

“Look, miss, if you don’t slow down we can’t take a statement...”

“Officer, that Pegasus came in here looking to pick a fight with this Stallion because he got jealous that he was with Miss Sparkle. Miss Twilight Sparkle,” Aiden said her full name slowly.

The officer was busy writing down the statement in his notebook when he head Twilight’s full name, upon which he suddenly stood at attention, “Your highness!”

“Please, officer, I’m not really royalty,” Twilight replied, “I need to sit down.”

Aiden rushed to Twilight’s side barely giving me enough time to reposition my body to accommodate my latest injury. Seriously, if this keeps up, I won’t be able to run that race!

“He’s alright,” The police Pony next to Tiny shouted, “Just a little dazed.”

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring you in for questioning,” One of the police Ponies said, and looked at me, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“Your chest... is that blood?”

Looking down at my bandages it was indeed red and felt soggy. It was completely soaked, “Ah. Yes. That is blood.”

“That’s a lot of blood,” The police Pony said and walked over to me.

“Well then, let’s go to the hospital!” To be honest, I felt fine. Strangely.

The cops put me into their jail-cart thingy, and threw Tiny in there for good measure. It was a quick ride to the hospital where I was immediately seen by the same doctor from before. As soon as he saw me, he just shook his head and sighed, “I told you to not hurt yourself.”

“Seems like I’m accident prone.”

“I’m afraid that we’re going to have to keep you here for a few days just to make sure that there is no permanent damage to your body,” The doctor looked over his shoulder and I saw Twilight and Aiden standing there, “Your friend is here to say goodbye.”

Twilight walked in, “Sorry, Forest, but I have to go back…”

“That’s okay. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”

“I’ve asked Aiden to come see you every day,” She looked back at and he entered the room and stood next to Twilight, “So at least you’ll have one Pony you know come and cheer you up.”

“But… we don’t really know each other.”

“Please, Forest, at least I’ll have a little piece in mind knowing that Aiden is looking out for you, okay?”

I was slightly taken aback by that. She cared.

“Okay. Thanks, Twilight, Aiden. I appreciate it.”

“It’ll be my pleasure. I can’t work at the café until the repairs have been completed anyway, which should take a few days,” Aiden stated.

“Yeah, sorry for getting your place all trashed up like that. What overcame that hulking monstrosity to do that, anyway?”

“No clue, I had no idea he was so violent,” Twilight shuddered.

“How’s your face?” I asked.

“It’ll heal,” She looked at me, “And you need to heal too!”

“Say hi to Applejack and Pinkie for me,” I said, “Tell them that I’ll come home as soon as they say I’m healthy enough.”

“I will. Take care of yourself, Forest. See you back at Ponyville,” Twilight put her hoof on mine and squeezed it. How? No idea, but the gesture meant a lot to me.

As she left the room with Aiden, I actually felt sad.

The doctor returned, “We’re going to give you some sleeping pills. While you sleep, I will re-stitch your wound and clean your bandages.”

“Fine,” What choice did I have? So, two large blue pills were put in my hoof, and I downed them with a glass of water.

“Now, count to ten,” The doctor said, preparing need and thread…

“One, two, three…” Yeah, that’s as far as I got.

The next few hours were a blur. I think I woke up once in the late afternoon, a nurse gave me something to eat and that was it. I only really become coherent when it was dark outside. The clock above the main door to the ward stated that it was now just after eight at night. In the back of my mind I wondered how everyone back in Ponyville was doing.

Bored, I got out of bed and walked to the large window to my room when I heard a voice behind me, “Forest?”

Turning around my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and I threw myself to the ground, “Your majesty!”

“Forest, please, don’t. After what I did to you, you don’t need to bow to me,” Princess Celestia stated.

Slowly, I raised myself from the ground, “What can I do for you, Princess?”

“I came to apologize. My sister, Princess Luna, has insisted that I come and make amends for the pain I’ve cause you.”

“Twilight has told me the circumstances of the accident, and in retrospect I cannot hold you to blame. There was no way you could have known that I was immune to magic,” Well, it was true! She had no idea.

“I appreciate the sentiment and your open heart, Forest,” She turned to go.

“Princess, if I might ask just one question,” She stopped and turned around, “What would you have done if I was a human?”

There was a long uncomfortable silence, but I needed to know. I just had to know.

“To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do. I didn’t plan that far ahead,” She smiled, “But that’s in the past now.”

“And one other question, please. Brian. Why can’t you convince him to change his mind about being turned into a Pony?”

“That is something you’ll have to ask him yourself, Forest,” And with that, the Princess walked out of the ward.

Sitting in the darkness of the room, I stared at the door Celestia had exited from for a long time wondering about many things, but one thing was for sure. For now, I was safe from Tutela.

Crawling back into my bed, I didn’t bother looking at the time as I needed to catch up on something that I’ve seriously lacked the past few days; sleep.

Author’s Note: I want to thank MrFishberry for coming up with the name: Aiden Fomaio.

Day 11: Home Sweet Home

My eyes opened up to a beam of light that happened to land exactly where I was sleeping. Shifting my face to get out of the light’s path, I found myself having great difficulty getting back to sleep. There was nothing for me to do, except sleep. Thing was, I couldn’t! Usually I’d relish any excuse to remain in bed, to continue to snooze through the morning waking up just in time for lunch. Then again, that was before I got here, before I came to this magical land.

Lugging my ass out of bed, I moseyed over to the giant windows pushing them wide open. The air here was different. Not only was it cooler, but it had a crisp moist flavour as well, like fresh rain but not as obvious.

“Oh, you’re awake?” A voice said behind me. It was the doctor and his gigantic moustache, which seemed to be combed back, “I was about to check on you.”

“Hello, doctor.”

“Mind if you hop back onto your bed so I can look at your wound?” He asked, patting the bed with his hoof. I lay on my side as the doctor checked and after a bit of poking (around the wound) he nodded approvingly, “Well, Forest, it’s healing well. But you’ve lost a significant amount of blood, so I would like to do a blood transfusion. I’ll need to take some blood to find the appropriate donor…”

“You could just wring out one of my old bandages,” I muttered, “There’s enough blood there for a sample… or ten.”

“Well, yes,” The doctor coughed, “But we threw your old bandages away.”

The fact that he actually humoured me about that was certainly amusing. The only reason why I had suggested it was to avoid the inevitable needle. Despite all their magic, they still used needles. What is it about needles that make me shudder? Some are indifferent to them, while others absolutely abhor them! Like me.

I closed my eyes as I felt the tiny prick on my flank – wait, that doesn’t sound right.

“All done,” The doctor said, “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“I guess not,” I lied.

“I will see you later,” And with that the doctor left.

And just like that I was again all alone in the ward. That was really starting to bother me. This was a huge room! Why was I the only one in here? Trying to push the nagging feeling that something was amiss, I once again got out of bed and sat near the large window. From my vantage I could see down one of the main streets of Canterlot, its citizens going about their own businesses. In a way it was actually quite therapeutic, and by that I mean extremely boring. Compared to the events that had transpired over the past few days, doing nothing was exhausting! I needed to do something! Anything! But I also understood that I needed to rest.

After a while of ‘Pony-gazing’ out the window, I explored the large room. There was not really much to see. The curtains that were used to give patients privacy were all pushed together against the corner opposite from my bed. High up along the walls were pictures of various Ponies, under each was that same writing I’ve multiple times before, but couldn’t read. It looked as if I was shoved into this room at the last minute; everything else looked as if it had been here for a long time with the exception of my bed and the furniture around it. Two chairs, a bedside table and a reading light. That was when I spotted the book. It lying on the bedside table, how had I missed that earlier? Picking it up, I glanced over the title. It read ‘The Complete History of Equestria’ and I could tell that it had been recently dusted by someone in a hurry – he or she had missed a few spots. There was only one Pony that would do this and as I looked over the book I noticed a piece of paper folded in half sticking out between the pages near the middle of the book, like a bookmark. I pulled it out and opened it to discover it was a letter, written very hurriedly.

Forest,

I hope that you really forgive me for what happened. I wanted to give this book to you myself, but I had to run and catch my train which leaves in less than ten minutes. I’ve asked Aiden to drop this book off for me.

I noticed that you were keenly interested in the history of our country. I hope that this book will shed some light on it. It’s from the library, so please take care of it. When you’re done with, just drop it off.

Thanks,

T. Sparkle.

I read the letter a couple more times, and smiled. She really did care! Putting the letter aside, I picked the book up and walked over to the window, and opened the first page. Instantly I got a little annoyed. This was a history book for children! There were little to no words. And what was up with all the illustrations? Beautiful as they were, I wanted to know more about the actual history! Flipping the page over, I noticed that the pictures fed into one another. In was literally a graphic novel – without words.

Surprisingly, I found myself actually understanding bits of it. It went something like this…

A long time ago, perhaps even eons, there were three kingdoms, one here, another above, and one below. Typical heaven, earth and hell type of structure, and yet there was something different about this. As I read on, the world above and the world below had a war, a terrible war that slew many, and left the middle world in desolation. This was extremely bad because it led to famine and other dastardly things. In order to save themselves, the world above and the one below agreed to forsake their homes and move to the middle world bring the two halves together. And thus, the world was born!

But there was more! It went on about how magic was discovered (I had no idea how I knew that, nor did I fully comprehend the story about it), but what I did know was that over time there were three races of Ponies that had their own kingdoms. They consisted of Earth-Ponies, the Pegasi, and finally Unicorns. The three races fed off of each other, not working together and only for each one’s benefit, which led to wars. The Pegasi controlled the weather, which the Earth Ponies needed to grow the food, which each Pony needed to live, while the Unicorns controlled the rising and setting of the sun. Then some frosty horses came along and ruined this system.

The frosty horses rang a bell. Recently I had come across them. Windigoes! The dagger that Spike gave me had a vial of it in the middle of the blade. The blade! My bag! My eyes scoured the ward, and hanging on a hook on the far end of the room was that bag-belt Spike had given to me. Walking over to it, I checked the pockets. Everything was where it should be, including the dagger. Taking it down, I slipped in on.

I was about to return to my reading when I heard voices in the hallway.

“Impossible,” It said in a loud whisper, “That’s not possible. Run the test again!”

“Doctor, we’ve run the tests several times. He’s got zero matches,” A second voice said.

“That is impossible? We’re the biggest hospital in all Equestria! We have blood for every creature under Celestia’s sun here!” He growled.

“Well, there is a very close match… but it’s…”

“What, speak up?”

“The close match is from the human, doctor. The only blood that comes close to matching Forest’s is the sample we got from Brian Dash when you did the operation to remove his wings,” The nurse whispered.

“What did you say?” The doctor was visibly stunned.

The blood in my face drained. Oh. Shit!

“We need to report this to the Princess,” The doctor took the clipboard and scanned it, “Run another test, while I confront the patient regarding this.”

No time to think! I had to get out of here! Why? No idea. Panic was slowly encroaching on my common senses and I just couldn’t think straight. I needed time to process this new knowledge. I needed… to hide! To get out of here and hide! But the only other way out was… the window. Leaning over the ledge I looked down at the grass below. Not a good idea. I’d break my legs and then I’d really be screwed.

The doctor was about to come in, my heart thumped in my chest and I dove behind the patient curtain privacy things that were right next to the window. I squeezed in between two of them hoping that the doctor didn’t bother searching for me there.

“Nurse, where is the patient?” The doctor barked.

The poor nurse entered the ward and instantly saw me missing, “I don’t know, doctor…”

“Go find him! We cannot let him out of this hospital! If the tests are accurate, then he is an imposter! For all we know he might be a… a Changeling!” The doctor exclaimed.

Changeling? You’ve got to be kidding me!

“What’s going on?” A voice asked. I recognized it instantly.

Aiden!

“Never mind, young lad. Looks like our friend here has decided that he doesn’t want to take my advice,” The doctor sighed, “He’s run off again.”

The doctor at least had the decency to hide the fact he thought I was a…

“Or he might be a Changeling.”

Son of a bitch!

“What? How can you possibly think that?” Aiden asked, his voice sounded bemused.

“His blood type does not match any we have. Either he’s entirely new creature, or he’s a Changeling. I task you with the job of finding him,” The doctor said.

“Sir, I’m retired. I…”

“I’m un-retiring you! I am placing you in charge of getting the fugitive Forest Fire back here, do you understand?” The doctor’s voice faded as he started barking orders to other individuals.

“Forest? If you’re here, come out. You cannot hide from the Royal Guard. Trust me,” Aiden shouted, “If you surrender yourself, I will guarantee no harm will come to you.”

My mind raced through every possible scenario, every outcome. Didn’t I already decide that fleeing was pointless? But what could I do? My blood gave me away…

But what am I still doing here?

That would mean… the bet hasn’t been lost! Not yet! Gulping, I poked my head out of my hiding place and spotted Aiden standing near the bed.

“Aiden!” I whispered.

He turned his head to see me, “Forest?” He walked closer, “What’s going on?”

“I need to get out of here,” I replied, “Something unexpected showed up on my blood test.”

“What? Like that fact that you’re not a Pony? You should have told us the truth! You should have told Twilight the truth! How could you lie to her like that?”

“I don’t… I don’t remember anything!” I said defensively, “And I didn’t lie.”

“The doctor seems convinced you’re a Changeling,” He whispered.

I wish. “Look, I know it’s asking a lot, but I need time to prove that I’m not a Changeling. Just help me get out of here.”

“You think that I’d betray my Queen and my friend for you?” He had a point.

“I saved you. You owe me,” I replied through gritted teeth.

That made him pause. He looked at me, “You protected Twilight, and for that I will help you.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“But after I help you escape, I’m coming after you,” Aiden said, “I’ll give you a few hours head-start before I hunt you down.”

“A few hours?”

He gave me a look.

“Fine, that’s fair,” I grumbled. I didn’t really have a choice.

“Or, you could just let Princess Celestia change you to your normal form,” Aiden said, “She’s the only one with the power to change a creature from one form to another. I know that for a fact.”

“Yeah, about that… it didn’t work the last time she tried…”

Aiden looked at me funnily, “What do you mean?”

“Twilight didn’t mention it? We were here to do just that. It didn’t work. The process nearly killed me instead,” I pointed at me chest, “That is how I got this wound.”

He looked slightly confused and angry that I had said that, “The Princess would never hurt anypony – not even you.”

“It wasn’t as if she had a choice, Aiden. She had no idea. None of them did, okay? I’m not angry at the Princess or Twilight,” This moron was wasting time!

“Forest!” A voice yelled from behind us, “There you are!” Spinning around I spotted the doctor, and with him both Princess Celestia and Luna.

Shit.

“Forest,” Princess Celestia asked, “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Meaning of what?” I asked.

“The doctor says that you’re blood test says that you’re… you’re…” Princess Celestia was not very pleased.

I backed up towards the window, “I’m what?” I asked trying to play dumb.

“A human,” Princess Celestia’s voice was hushed, “You lied to us! You lied to us.”

“What?” Aiden asked, his eyes wide open, he had expected the Princess to accuse me of being a Changeling, not a human. And I wish that she had said that too.

“Yeah… about that, would you believe me if I told you I have no idea what you’re talking about?” I grinned nervously.

“But how are you here?” Celestia replied walking forward slowly toward me, “It isn’t possible!”

“I still have trouble understanding what you’re talking about,” My only chance was to continuously play dumb. I wanted to back away some more, to gain some distance between the Princesses and myself, but my flank press against the window sill. There was nowhere to go! Or was there?

“My sister demands truth, as do I!” Princess Luna’s horn began to glow, “You will tell us the truth!”

“Luna, no!” Princess Celestia shouted, but it was too late. A bolt of purple light hurled its way towards me.

Not wanting to suffer the agony of another one of those crazy spells, I turned around and leapt out of the open window.

I felt my body hit something soft and cushiony, and as I slowly opened my eyes I found myself in a disturbing yet familiar place. I knew where I was.

“I guess you’ve won then,” I said aloud.

“Actually, I haven’t,” Tutela walked over to me, and placed her hoof on my shoulder, “You haven’t lost yet.”

“What do you mean? Princess Celestia over there said I was a human,” I pointed with my hoof towards where it looked like I had come, the large window to my ward where just seconds before I had leapt through was clearly visible in an oval of shaped bordered by a faint neon-green light. It was like watching a TV. Whatever it was, it was clear that I was no longer in their world. I was no longer in the land of magic and Ponies. I could see Princess Celestia and Luna talking heatedly with each other while a bewildered Aiden and doctor kept looking down and around to see where I had gotten to.

“Doesn’t that mean I lost? And if not, why did you bring me here?”

“Because, Forest, if I had let you hit the ground with that wound, you wouldn’t be walking again,” Tutela smiled. Her fangs were gone.

“You… saved me?”

“That’s right. But I can’t do it often, and you made me do it in front of both Princess Celestia and Luna as well. If Luna’s spell had not blinded everyone in that room then this place would have surely been discovered. You really are a hoofful.”

“So… what now?”

“Celestia suspects that you’re a human. It’s up to you to convince her otherwise,” Her green eyes narrowed as she stared at me, “Our bet is you remain in Equestria until you get discovered. Otherwise you lose and stay here with me.”

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked. Look at me! Asking for her help! Was I mad or what?

She grinned, “Yes, I do. But I’m not going to tell you.”

“Figures,” I muttered, “Okay, so you’re sending me back?”

“Yes,” Tutela frowned, “But I can only send you back to the same place as last time.”

“Oh joy. Back to the Everfree Forest! Yay!” I cheered sarcastically.

“Oh, and one more thing, your wound,” She pointed to it, “I’ll help heal it for you, but no more freebies.”

“Okay,” I replied, “Oh, and Tutela on more thing. Thank you.”

Her face changed color slightly. Was she blushing? Before I could say anything else I felt a pull in my gut and Tutela became a tiny figure as it felt like I was rushing backwards through a vortex. My vision tunnelled and then blacked out.

My body hit the ground and I came sliding to a halt. Pushing myself up, I shook my head and waited for my vision to clear. Indeed, there I was sitting in the exact same place from when I first came to Equestria. I looked myself over, and using my hoof, took off my bandage. The wound was indeed healed! Only the scar remained.

Well, that’s convenient. I poked the scar a bit to see if it was still tender.

Somehow I had to convince everypony I wasn’t a human, then get back to Canterlot, and because I was now a fugitive I had to do all this without being seen. Who knows what complications might arise if I was found back in Ponyville, I couldn’t let my new friends take any flak on my behalf no matter what the end result. I may not have written in stone, but I didn’t want to see any of them get hurt because of me.

Now with a mission all planned out, I quickly searched for Zecora’s house. It was not hard to find. The exit for the gateway, portal - whatever you call it, was actually fairly close to her home. But first I had to make sure that she did not see me. So I hid in the thick bushes and walked around until I came across the main path.

At first it seemed like a great idea! But as I edged around the clearing between Zecora’s home, I got tangled in some vines that tripped me up and I came crashing into a bush full of bright red fruits, the goo turned sticky and it was a struggled to get untangled from everything. Angry, annoyed and frustrated I screamed in exasperation and bolted out from the bushes towards the main path, but a vine wrapped around my hooves tripped me up and I ended up face-planting against a tree.

The impact had dazed me, so I tried to shake my head to get rid of the stars that I was seeing. My head refused to budge. I was stuck. The goo from the berries had acted like an adhesive and I was completely stuck.

“Are you kidding me?” I shouted to myself. After a minor struggle the bark of the tree gave way as I managed to pull myself free using my hooves. Now the problem was the position of my new facial ornament. It blocked my view making it impossible to see straight ahead. No matter how hard I tried ripping it off my face it would not budge. Angry and annoyed, I pulled the edges of the bark down in an attempt to break it in half. Two pieces did break off, but they firmly fixed themselves on either side of my muzzle. Now it felt like I was wearing a mask. Frustrated, I let it be; at least now I could see.

As I walked out of the Everfree Forest, the first thing I saw was Fluttershy.

Can this get any worse? I muttered to myself. If she spots me I could get into a whole load of trouble. Couldn’t risk it. I quickly tried to move away but something was snagging on something else. When I turned to look, one of those vines stuck to my body was now snagged against a root of one of the nearby trees.

Fluttershy was outside her house checking her mail when she heard the noise I made trying to pull myself free. As she peered over my way, I ducked behind some bushes in a futile attempt to hide. Without breathing, I waited for a long moment before I peeked out from my hiding spot to find that she had gone! Was I in the clear?

“Um… hello?” A voice quietly called from just above me.

Aw, man! Fluttershy looked down at me, her wings gently beating keeping her aloft.

“I’ve never seen you before,” She said, landing in front of me. Wasn’t she being really friendly? I barely talked to her. Did my encounter with her… “You’re a strange looking creature.”

Creature? She thinks I’m a creature and not a Pony? Then it hit me - much like the tree from before. The wood, the vines, the ensemble that had stuck onto me and also the place where I was coming from all contributed to my disguise – I was a creature of the Everyfree Forest! As much as I hated fooling her, I ran with it.

“Are you hungry?” She asked, “Come, I’ll give you something to eat.”

Not really knowing what to do, I followed Fluttershy to her house. There she put a bowl of food on the floor for me – chopped carrots and some other greens. To be honest, I was kind of hungry, so I just started munching away.

“Fluttershy, what in tarnation is that thing?” A familiar voice asked from the doorway.

I nearly choked on my mouthful of food. Applejack!

“Oh, I don’t know. I saw it coming out of the Everfree Forest, and it looked hungry,” Fluttershy stated.

Fooling Fluttershy was one thing, but Applejack wasn’t easily fooled. I kept my head down and continued pretending to eat.

“Well, okay. As long as you think it’s safe, I guess. Are you ready?”

“Hm? Oh yes, I forgot that it was my turn to stay with Rainbow Dash tonight,” Fluttershy walked to the door and paused, “Nice meeting you, strange creature.”

I glanced over in their direction careful not to reveal any Pony-like traits. As they closed the door, I rushed to the window and peered out of it carefully.

“Brian’s really excited to see you, Fluttershy,” Applejack said, her voice muffled, “He wanted to talk with you…”

So, they were headed to the hospital. That was good. It bought me some time to think and create a plan to get out of this place. First thing I needed to do was get the debris from off my body.

Suddenly I saw this huge creature standing next to me in the room. It took me a second to realize it was my reflection. I looked like a fat bison! This disguise was perfect! You couldn’t see any real part of me hidden under all those leaves. After a moment of adjusting some vines, I exited Fluttershy’s house and walked along the path back towards Ponyville.

Wait! I screamed at my brain, Brian!

Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before? The doctors compared my blood to Brian’s, the only human in all of Equestria – apart from myself. Therefore there was something that matched between his blood and mine, something that stood out. That would mean I would have to break into the hospital and get a copy of Brian’s blood report, then get my ass over to Canterlot and do the same thing with mine, then compare the two together and see.

“Hi!” A Pony screamed in my face bringing me back to the present, “Who and what are you?”

Pinkie! Taking a step back I tripped on one of my stray vines and fell on my rear.

“Are you a wild animal? Are you, are you?” She said leaning forwards on her fore-hooves and looking straight at me.

I nodded. What else could I do?

“A wild animal! Ohmigosh! Are you… dangerous?” She asked with her eyes wide open.

I shook my head.

Pinkie wiped her brow overdramatically, “Well, that’s a relief. Okay, bye-bye, wild animal!” And with that she bounded off.

I sighed. That was Pinkie for you. Despite my current predicament, it was good seeing her. For a moment I just watched her bounce off into the distance before realizing that she was heading the same direction I wanted to.

Walking towards the hospital, I decided to scout out the area for a bit first. Of course, being a strange animal that none of the Ponies had ever seen before made them all stare at me, but at least they didn’t run away in terror. Using my disguise as an advantage, I circled around the hospital looking for another way inside. At the rear I spotted a backdoor that opened up onto a small pavilion where some patients were getting some sun. They all looked at me with a mixture of confusion, amusement and maybe a little fear, which slowly grew as I got closer to them.

“Oh no, Mr Wild Animal, you can’t go in there. The hospital is for Ponies only,” A hushed voice said.

I looked up and saw Fluttershy hovering over me again. A few moments later Applebloom and her sister appeared.

“What is that?” Applebloom exclaimed and rushed over to me, “What is it?”

“Careful, Applebloom,” Applejack said, visibly worried as her younger sister trotted over to me.

“Oh, don’t worry, AJ! He won’t hurt Applebloom,” Pinkie grinned at me, “He’s a good wild animal!”

“She’s right, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, landing next to me. She began to pet me, so I played along and pretended to like it by rubbing my head against her hoof.

“What is that?” Twilight asked, I looked and saw her standing next to Pinkie.

“It’s a new hairy animal from the Everfree Forest!” Pinkie replied, “But don’t worry, he’s safe!”

“How can you know that?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“’Cause he said so!” Pinkie grinned back.

Before Twilight could answer back, she heard her name being called.

“Twilight…” Spike’s voice shouted, and he came running out of the hospital door, “Twilight! You’ve got a letter! You’re not going to like it. It’s from Princess Celestia regarding… Forest?”

Shit! Did Spike just recognize me? I shook my head when the girls weren’t looking, their attention now focused on Spike holding the letter between his fingers.

Spike seemed to understand, and he looked from me to Twilight, “This letter… is about Forest.”

The familiar purple magical glow formed around the piece of paper and she read. Her eyes grew wider and wider, “This can’t be… I was there… the magic didn’t work…”

“What’s that, darlin’? You’re not makin’ sense,” Applejack replied.

“Girls, come with me for a moment,” Twilight led them all away from the other Ponies on the pavilion and were now standing a few feet away from me. Not wanting to seem out of place, I started pretending to graze. “Girls, it’s about Forest.”

“Well, what about him?” Applejack asked.

“Applebloom, I think you shouldn’t be hearing this,” Twilight said quietly.

“Aw,” She moaned, “Why not? I want to know too!”

Twilight’s eyes met Applejack’s, who nodded.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Twilight spread the letter out in front of her and began to read. “Dear Twilight, I apologize for this sudden letter, but we seem to have come across a couple of problems. This morning I received some disturbing news that your friend Forest’s is in fact not a Pony. After seeing the results for myself…”

“What, Twi? What about Forest’s results?” Applejack asked.

“He’s… human,” Twilight said looking at Applejack’s eyes.

“What? But you said that weren’t possible! You were there! You said that the spell nearly killed him!” Applejack exclaimed.

Twilight nodded her head, “I know, but we didn’t know anything about him then and we know nothing about him now. He just suddenly showed up one day… anyway, that’s not important right now. There’s more.” Twilight cleared her throat, “This morning, there was an incident. Forest leapt out of the window in the hospital… and vanished?”

“Vanished?” Applejack asked.

“That’s what it says right here. Vanished. Gone,” Twilight turned to Spike, “When did Princess Celestia send this?”

“Just now, Twilight. A few minutes ago,” Spike replied, stealing glances in my direction. It didn’t take a genius to see that he was pissed.

“Okay, I’m going to write a letter back to the Princess. Applejack, you stay here with Pinkie and Fluttershy. Applebloom, I want you to go to Rarity’s house and tell her to meet me at the library,” Twilight then looked over to me; I munched a lot more vigorously on the grass, “What about that thing?”

“Leave it. He seems harmless,” Applejack lead the way back into the hospital. Pinkie bounced along behind her, while Applebloom followed Twilight around the outside of the hospital towards the road that led back into Ponyville.

Spike had lagged behind purposely and walked over to Fluttershy who was keeping an eye on me, “Hi Fluttershy, do you mind doing me a favour?”

“Oh, sure Spike.”

“Can you go ask Twilight if she needs me?”

“Okay,” She turned and hovered off.

I waited until Fluttershy was far enough away before talking. “I can explain!” I said before Spike could say anything.

“You better, Forest,” Spike replied angrily, “Twilight told me about yesterday and how you got badly hurt but you look fine to me. How did you get here so fast?”

“Look, I’m going to level with you. There’s something wrong, but please believe me when I tell you that I’m not here to harm any of you. I just…”

“You can’t remember.” Spike glared at me, finishing my excuse off for me.

I had to admit that lying to him made me feel terrible, but I had no choice! It was frustrating that I could not tell any of them the truth.

“Please listen to me, Spike. Right now I need Brian’s medical files, okay? I can’t go like this… wait, how did you recognize me?”

“That’s not really that great of a disguise, you know?” Spike shrugged, “I can’t believe that you fooled Twilight and the others.”

A sudden overwhelming sense of panic struck me. What if I didn’t fool them? What if they knew? Would that mean they were actually helping me? That brought a tear to my eye; they really cared. Either that or maybe my disguise did actually fool them.

“Spike, can you get it for me?” I asked, “Brian’s files, I mean.”

“No, Forest. Not ratting on you was my favour for you; you don’t get to ask anything more from me.”

“I suppose,” He had a point. Asking him for his help was already too much, and if Spike did help me and I was found to be guilty he might get punished for it. I could tell he wasn’t impressed with me, which made the dagger incident even more mind-boggling. Reluctantly, I nodded, “You’re right.”

As if in cue, Fluttershy flew back to us, “Spike?” She said gently, “Twilight said that she needs you.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Spike said still giving me a venomous glare. After a moment he turned and ran the same way Twilight and Applebloom had gone.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, landing next to me, “Your vines are falling off.”

What? Turning to look behind me, she was right! Large parts of my disguise were now on the ground having fallen off. It took me a second to realize what had happened. The goo was getting dry! Dry go meant no stick. No stick meant… no disguise! This was perfect. Just perfect.

No time to think. It was all about action now.

Running past Fluttershy, I headed straight for the hospital’s rear entrance. Once inside, nurse Redheart let out the loudest scream I had ever heard in my life. Two large orderlies opened a door to my left, and did a double-take when they saw me.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy was pretty quick, “Mr Wild Animal, you cannot be here. This place is for Ponies only.”

“Sorry, Fluttershy, but I’m not a wild animal,” I replied.

She floated there with her mouth wide open, clearly in shock. A part of me felt bad for surprising her like that but I could not let her get involved with me anymore. Not until I resolved this issue. She might get into a lot of trouble.

Using the skill I had learnt yesterday, I put my head down and used the explosion of speed against the two orderlies, knocking them back into the room they had come out of, and knocking the air out of them. They groaned in pain as I picked myself up and rushed past Nurse Redheart (who screamed again) and headed for the stairs.

Pain!

Turning around, I saw that one of the orderlies had grabbed a stray vine, but my momentum was too fast and the vine had ripped itself off. I don’t know how I did not have a bald-patch there. All the vines along my sides were gone, the leaves lay scattered around behind me.

No time to loose! Up the stairs! I screamed to myself.

At the top of the stairs, the commotion from below had gathered everyone’s attention. Ponies were now peeking out of their selected wards wondering what was going on. As I reached the top of the stairs at the end of one of the halls a few Ponies screamed and ducked back into their rooms.

“What the hay is going on?” A familiar voice shouted.

A cyan Pegasus, a Pink Pony and an Orange one all poked their heads out of a room at the far end of the hallway. That was Brian’s room. That was where I would find what I needed. My mission was clear. Go to Brian’s ward, and steal his medical papers, then escape. Simple, right?

Wrong.

“There he is!” A voice shouted from behind me, “Get him!”

Nurse Redheart looked kind of scary. So, I bolted heading straight towards the three Mares.

Rainbow bounded into the hallway, and lowered her head, “Come on!” She taunted.

Pinkie bounced into the hallway too, and got into some sort of fighting stance on her two hind legs, while Applejack just stayed where she was with a look of amusement on her face. But there was absolutely no way I was going to rush those three. Hurting random orderlies was one thing, but I wasn’t going to hurt the girls. Coming to a halt at an intersection, I dove to the right, making it seem that I was running down the hall in that direction. Instead, I pressed myself against the wall. If Rainbow was as tough and aggressive as she made herself out to be, she would fall for it.

A rainbow colored blur zoomed past me as Rainbow completely fell for my trick and charged past me and down the hall. Of course, she realized that she had been had, and using her wings turned herself around. But that delay was all that I needed.

Rushing around the corner, Pinkie yelped in surprise to see me running straight for her. She bounced up in the air, and over me. Too bad I tripped on something and slid on my face right into Brian’s door, knocking a clipboard off a hook which fell right onto me. Brian’s file! Here it was!

I heard a gasp and looked up at Applejack whose eyes widened in surprise, she was staring straight into my eyes.

No! Can’t let her recognize me!

Gripping the clipboard tightly in my mouth, I got up and turned to face the entire hospital staff. Rainbow was at the front of the pack.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow said, looking at me. I felt the vines on my back slowly slipping off of me. My disguise was falling apart. There was absolutely no way for me to get past them all; Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, two large orderlies, a mean-looking Nurse Redheart and a few more Ponies behind them.

Backing up, I felt something press against my flank. A window.

Not again.

Then again, I didn’t really have a choice. As I jumped through the open window, I wondered if Tutela would teleport me to safety again. My answer came as I felt the ground beneath me greet my chest knocking the air out of me. Two stories straight down. It hurt, and I couldn’t breathe. Still, I had no time to think. I had to go. Rainbow was a Pegasus, she could easily…

“Hey! Give that back!” Her voice shouted at me from above.

Looking up, I saw her glaring down at me as she was floating just outside the window. Looking ahead of me, I spotted some woods just ahead not as thick of dense as the Everfree Forest, but I might be able to lose her if I could reach it.

Standing up, I got ready to run before I felt something hit me hard on my back forcing me to lay flat on the ground. Rainbow had just landed with her full bodyweight on her back. She wasn’t that heavy, but she must have used her speed. I let out a gasp of agony and released the clipboard from my mouth. It landed in front of my face on the grass.

No! So close!

Reaching for it, I spotted something lying written in red.

MA = 0.

“Rainbow,” A voice said suddenly, “Don’t hurt him!”

Was that… Fluttershy?

“Don’t hurt him? Did you see what kind of trouble it caused in the hospital? Plus it stole something!” Rainbow furrowed her brow, “What is it anyway?”

“He’s a…” Fluttershy looked at me, I turned my head slightly and peered at her from the corner of my eye, Rainbow Dash still sitting on me, “He’s a wild animal.”

Did she just lie on my behalf?

“Well. Okay. But you shouldn’t bring your pets into the hospital, Fluttershy, it causes problems for everypony,” Rainbow Dash flew back through the open window with the clipboard. She popped her head out of it a second later, “Are you coming?”

“Oh yes, I’ll be right behind you,” Fluttershy replied. When Rainbow again disappeared into the upper-floor window, Fluttershy leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I don’t know who you are, but if you ever hurt my friends again, I’ll… I’ll…”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” I whispered, “But I’d never hurt you or your friends.”

Before she could respond, I heard an angry Nurse Redheart demanding that my hide be tanned – not literally, of course… maybe. Well, I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I darted out of there as fast as my legs would carry me, but not too fast to cause the ground under me to catch on fire. Couldn’t let the Ponies see that, they’d know my identity instantly.

As I entered the woods, I felt the vines on my back drop off. That was way too close. If the vines had dropped sooner my disguise would have been… oh, who was I kidding? I didn’t even know if my disguise fooled any of them in the first place.

But I couldn’t sigh in relief just yet. My mission was a complete and utter failure; the fact that I didn’t get Brian’s report made that abundantly clear. And I had the damned thing in my hand – hoof! I had the damned thing in my hoof! The only thing I had to go on were those letters circled in red. What were they again? MA! That’s right.

But what did MA mean, and why was it circled in red?

“There you are!” A kind voice said behind me, “Why do you keep running away? Who are you? And how do you know my name?”

For someone who was supposed to be shy, she was pretty assertive; a completely different Pony from before. I supposed this was her usual self. But another question was bothering me, why was Fluttershy following me? And how did she keep finding me?

“Um… well, that’s a funny question,” I felt another large lump of foliage drop off my right side. That was the last vines stuck on my body.

“Wait. I know you. I know that voice,” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes.

Quick! Think of something!

“Wow! Look, a flying octopus!” I shouted pointing with my hoof behind Fluttershy.

A flying octopus? What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Where?” She asked, gazing at the sky behind her.

Without thinking, I darted away. I was not sure whether Fluttershy was taking me seriously or if she was just joking, but with her attention diverted the distraction was enough for me to slip away. Somehow I managed to sneak back into Ponyville without getting spotted. Or if I was spotted, nopony really thought anything about it.

What was I going to do now? What could I do?

I’m a dumbass! The answer was so obvious! What I needed to do was to go to a damned library and find out what the words MA meant! If it was circled in red, then it must be something important, and if it’s important it might help me resolve this… mess!

“… I can’t believe it!” Twilight shouted. Her voice was close, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, Spike!”

I sneaked a peek from my hiding place and saw Twilight with Spike.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, but I wasn’t sure,” He replied defensively.

“I knew there was something really strange about that creature!” Twilight stopped, and spun around on the poor Dragon, “I can’t believe he was right there and he didn’t say anything!”

“I’m sure he must have his reasons.”

“There’s no reason! He lied…”

“He didn’t lie, Twilight. He just… didn’t say anything.”

“That’s still lying to me, okay? Then he has the audacity… wait, that can’t be right. Princess Celestia sent this letter less than an hour ago. Even if Forest took the train here, it would take him at least five hours to get from Canterlot to Ponyville. If that’s the case, then you can’t have seen him,” Twilight looked at Spike, “Even with teleportation that distance is too far, and Forest can’t teleport because of his condition.”

“It’s him, Twilight.”

“How do you know?” Twilight asked, her sharp gaze aimed at Spike.

Spike played with his claws, “Because… I sorta… talked to him…”

That look on her face scared the shit out of me.

“You talked to him? Is that why you sent Fluttershy after me?” Indeed, she had hit the nail on the head that time, “And here I thought you didn’t want to come to the library to avoid meeting with Rarity.”

“Actually, that was one of the other reasons…” Spike grinned nervously.

Suffice to say, Twilight was not amused.

“Twi! Twi!” Applejack shouted running towards Twilight, Pinkie bounced along behind her, “That wild animal…” She panted, “I think that it’s Forest.”

“It is Forest. Spike here had a good talk with him, didn’t you?” Twilight growled shooting daggers at him.

“Why didn’t he just tell us it was him?” Applejack asked, “If he’s got nothin’ to hide, why hide?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out! Where is he?” Twilight’s fury made me shudder, “What makes this strange is how he’s here so quickly!”

Applejack told Twilight of my antics in the hospital, and how Rainbow Dash tackled me after I leapt from the window. If she was mad before, she was livid now. There was practically steam coming out from her ears!

“There you are!” A voice stated behind me.

I jumped. Fluttershy had found me again! How did she keep doing that?

“That wasn’t very nice, Mr Stranger, tricking me like that,” She frowned at me.

“Mr Stranger?”

“Well, you won’t tell me your name,” She landed next to me, “So I don’t know what to call you.”

“You… you really don’t remember me?” I asked a little hurt.

“No. Is that bad?”

“Not at all,” I stared at her as she tried to peer past my ridiculous mask, “But we’ve met before.”

“Can you take that mask off?” She pointed at my face.

Why won’t you leave me alone! I wanted to scream at her. Maybe she’ll fall for another ‘look-behind-you’ ploy.

“… well, where do we look?” I heard Applejack’s voice asked, “He could be anywhere now.”

“I don’t know, but why would Forest want Brian’s medical files?” Twilight pondered for a long while before continuing, “It might be worth going back to the hospital and seeing Brian in case.”

“No way! Forest would never hurt Brian, or anypony,” Again Pinkie defended me and my actions.

“We don’t know that for sure anymore, Pinkie. Besides, I know you girls want to trust him, but he is a stranger we know nothing about. We need to be careful, okay? First, we need to find out what he’s doing back here and how he got here so quickly,” With that Twilight led her friends back towards the hospital.

“Aren’t you going with your friends?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Oh. No,” She smiled at me, “I said that I’d take care of you, and I will.”

What was up with their smiles! They were so disarming. Pony smiles were my Kryptonite! There was no way I could be mean to them if they smiled at me like that. Seriously, it just wasn’t fair!

“Look, Fluttershy, you could get into a lot of trouble coming with me,” I warned.

“Why?”

“You… you don’t even know who I am, and for all you know I could be a very bad Pony,” I said, checking my surroundings before quietly heading for the library.

Fluttershy just floated along behind me, easily keeping up with me and completely disregarding my attempts at being stealthy. “You’re a Pony?”

Her voice was strangled now. Was she scared? Of course!

“Yep, and not only am I a Pony, I’m a Stallion.”

She backed away from me. Apparently she wasn’t confident around male Ponies. Not willing to wait around for her to grow accustomed to my presence, I once again darted away from her, this time making doubly sure not to leave a trail for her to follow.

Peering at the library, I noticed that the door was wide open, and sitting on the doorstep was Applebloom. That meant that Rarity still had not arrived at the library, which meant that at any moment the entire group of the Elements of Harmony, their friends, and maybe a purple Dragon could show up at any given moment. That translated to; no time, gotta hurry.

“Why do you keep running away like that?”

I whipped around and saw Fluttershy fluttering behind me a foot off the ground again, “But how! How do you keep on finding me?”

“Oh, I’m very good at hide-and-seek.”

“You…” I grumbled, “Please, can you go away? I have something important I need to do…”

That face. How is anyone supposed to be able to be mean to that face! The way her smiling, bright face just turned into the saddest thing I had ever seen in my life. I was a monster! How could I make her frown that way, and were those tears? No fair! No fair! She was playing dirty.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, please don’t cry,” I said trying to pacify her at the same time as not be seen by Applebloom. I failed miserably. She spotted Fluttershy and came walking over towards us.

“Hello, Fluttershy,” Applebloom looked into Fluttershy’s eyes, “Are you cryin’?”

Fluttershy burst out into a crying fit, and zipped away. She could be really fast when she wanted to be. I turned to Applebloom and grinned nervously, I could feel the sweat pouring down my face.

“Forest?” She asked, her eyes opening wide, “What’re you doin’ here? Why’re you here? How’re you here? And why’re you dressed like that?”

“How did you recognize me?” I asked.

She pointed to my rear, “You’re a Blank Flank, like me, remember? Nopony else I know your size has a Blank Flank.” She gave me an angry look, “What did you say to Fluttershy?”

“I asked her to go away. I was trying to be all sneaky and get into the library. Guess the gig’s up now.” I frowned, “Are you going to tell Twilight and the others?”

“Aw, shucks, Forest, you can’t be mean to Fluttershy! She’s supper-sensitive.”

“I didn’t realize she was that sensitive. I’ll have to tell her I’m sorry later, but right now I’ve got to get to the library. Wait, why aren’t you more surprised to see me?”

“I knew it was you when I saw you pretendin’ to be that wild animal,” Applebloom giggled, “I wanted to point you out, but Twilight looked awful angry, so I just kept my mouth shut.”

“Somehow I think my disguise didn’t fool anyone. Can… can I go to the library?”

“Well, I ain’t stoppin’ you,” Applebloom’s smile faded, “But Twilight made it out that you did something bad.”

“I… I guess in a way I did. But it wasn’t intentional, and I promise to set things right, please believe me when I tell you that.”

Applebloom thought about it, and then gave me her super-cute smile, “Okay, Forest. I’ll believe you…”

“Thank you, Applebloom. Thank you, thank you, thank you…”

“On one condition,” She still had that smile on her face.

“Okay…” I replied hesitantly.

Her smile turned from super-cute to super-cute-and-black-mail-like, “You’ve got to take Applejack out on a date.”

“Wha-what?” I stuttered.

“You promise me that, and I’ll help you,” Applebloom grinned again.

My head spun. The heat grew in my face as I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. Was she trying to extort a date out of me for her sister? The question caught me completely off guard, “B-but… me? B-b-but I’m in trouble!”

“You said that you’d set things right, right? So, after you’re done, I want you to take my sister out on a date, like you did with Twilight.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“Twilight said that you went on a date, I overheard her talkin’ to my sis yesterday. She said that you and her went to all the nice places in Canterlot,” She walked around me, “So, promise me you’ll take Applejack out, and I’ll help you.”

“B-b-b-but…”

“No buts! That’s my offer,” She waited for me to reply.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take Applejack out, but wouldn’t she prefer somepony she liked asked her instead? But I needed to get into the library and if I had to do this then so be it. As embarrassing as it might be later, right now I needed to go along with Applebloom.

“I’ll do it,” I said quietly.

“What?”

“I’ll do it!” I said a little louder.

“What did you say, I can’t hear you.”

“I said I’ll do it! I’ll ask Applejack out!” I shouted, closing my eyes while I did. My face was burning.

She grinned at me, “Great! Now, let’s go.”

We both trotted to the library, and I checked to make sure that the coast was clear before going inside. Applebloom poked her head in after me, “Remember, I can’t stall ‘em for long! I’ll try, but if I can’t go out the window.”

What was up with me and windows today?

“Alright, and thanks for this, I owe you,” I went inside.

“Just remember our deal.”

As soon as I entered, I started searching for medical books or any books about medicine. But with the amount of books Twilight had in her library, I was overwhelmed with the selection. Where would I start? Was there a list, or some sort of index I could go by? I let out a grunt of frustration and started going through the books, but found nothing to do with medicine.

Then I walked upstairs. Here I spotted a small study, and a bed. Oops! This was Twilight’s sleeping area, her room, but there were books up here as well. Without pausing, I started looking again.

“Hi Rarity!” Applebloom shouted, being a little too obvious, “What? I’m not shouting. I was just talkin’ loudly because I want to!”

“I don’t know why you’re being so loud, Applebloom. I’m not deaf. Now, where is everypony?” She asked entering the library and looking around.

No time to stop, got to keep looking.

“Everypony’s gone to the hospital,” Applebloom said, grinning, “We should go there.”

Good ol’ Applebloom! She really was trying to help me.

“Oh, hello, Rarity, Applebloom, have you seen Mr not-a-Wild-Animal around?” Again it was Fluttershy! She floated into the library and landed next to the white Unicorn.

“Who?” Rarity asked, understandably confused.

How? How does she manage to keep finding me? I asked myself peering over the ledge to the upper floor at Fluttershy. But I couldn’t delay anymore and continued to search around for a medical book, but having to make sure that I wasn’t seen nor make any noise made the search slower and harder.

Nothing! Not a damned book about medicine! Frustrated, I headed for the window past Twilight’s sleeping area when I spotted a large book on a desk. The cover had a large red cross and the words Equestrian Guide to Medicine. Of course! Twilight was visibly upset about what had happened to me, so of course she’d have studied up on my condition. Why did I not think of that, and why did she care so much?

My mind remembered those feelings from the day before. No! I had to remind myself that it wasn’t that kind of affection. She pitied me, and I only reacted to it.

First thing I did was go into the glossary at the back of the book. Luckily it was in English. It didn’t take long for me to find the page and reference. Quickly flipping through the book as quietly as I could I finally found it. There it was, clearly marked and circled in red, like the letters on Brian’s report. MA.

MA stands for Magical Affinity, the higher the number the more likely you are to be able to use and manipulate magic. The average MA count of a healthy Pony average around 500, while those with strong magical powers can reach much higher numbers…

That was it! No wonder my blood and Brian’s matched. We both had the same MA levels! In other words, we have no affinity whatsoever with magic! I continued to read on.

In order to transfuse blood from patient to patient, the MA level must be within 100 points of one another…

Well, that was great! That means that it wasn’t my DNA, which was what I assumed was how they determined my human-like blood! What gave me away but my lack of Magical Affinity, which only matched with the one other being that could not use magic – Brian Dash. At least, that’s what I understood.

Individuals with incredibly low MA can usually have adverse effects when magic is involved, and in some extreme cases can lead to deadly reactions…

Deadly… reactions? The weight of those words felt heavy on my conscious and I backed away from the book, I accidentally heard a loud ‘bang’, and spun around to find that I had accidentally knocked over the trashcan! Why? Why was I so stupid?

“There you are!” Fluttershy said, pointing at me.

Now, to be honest I was not sure why I did what I did, considering I came to the library and found the answer I sought, but I turned and dove out the window, landing with a splat on the gravel below me. Fluttershy was not going to lose me that easily, and charged right after me. Forcing myself up to my feet, I started to run when I heard a voice scream for me to halt.

Rarity stood to my right, her horn glowing blue.

“Rarity, no!” Twilight’s voice screamed from behind her.

It was too late. She fired a bolt of whatever magic she had conjured up. It flashed at my face, and… do you know that feeling when you stick your hand into a power socket? That sudden jolt of electrical current that paralyses you? That’s what I felt. The blue magic weaved itself around me then over my fur before changing direction heading straight towards the clock-tower. The explosion knocked me backwards past Fluttershy as the magic hit the base of the clock tower in a blue burst of blue energy. The tower started to sway, then fall. Towards me! Towards us!

“Fluttershy,” I screamed, “Get out of there!”

Fluttershy, who was looking at me, turned around and saw the tower falling towards her. She just stood there frozen in fear. Why did she not dodge?

“Move!” I shouted, but she was not paying attention to me. Without thinking, I rushed towards her and shoved her as hard as I could to the side just in time, “Shit.” I said quietly to myself as the entire tower collapsed right on top of me.

There were two things I expected to happen. One was Tutela saving my ass. The other was me being dead. However, neither one of these things happened. Instead, I was surrounded by a yellow aura, not directly on me, but around me in the form of a semi-circular bubble.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight voice shouted, “He’s… he’s…”

“I’m fine!” I shouted.

I was not sure, but there was a long period of silence before I heard voices again.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Forest?” This time is was Applejack.

“Yes. I’m fine,” I shouted, “Just a little dazed. How’s Fluttershy?”

“She’s safe,” Applejack replied, “Hang on; we’ll get you out in a jiffy.”

Light streamed in as the rocks were slowly removed from on top of me. The yellow glow around me had saved my life! I may have been immune to magic, but that didn’t mean that things around me couldn’t manipulate magic. Princess Celestia stood to the side, her horn was glowing and a very pissed off Luna stood to her right eyeing me with malice. Behind them were a sizable number of Pony guards in armor.

I gulped.

Suddenly Applejack rushed through the barrier and gripped me in a tight embrace, “Oh, thank Celestia you’re safe!”

“I was planning to, Applejack,” I said trying to breathe.

The Princess walked closer to us, “Forest, how did you get here so quickly? And why are you here?”

“I woke up in the Everfree Forest after Princess Luna’s attack,” I said bowing, “I didn’t mean to cause any panic.”

“First of all, I wish to apologize for that, Forest. I had no idea what Princess Luna was going to use her magic on you like that.” Princess Luna harrumphed at that, “But this is very strange. I’m afraid that until further investigation we will have to place you under arrest.”

The bark from the tree was still stuck to my face, so I tried to remove it but failed. The gooey stuff still held it firmly in place. When I stopped struggling with the mask I noticed that the Pony soldiers had surrounded me. Behind them I could see the local Ponies wondering what was going on. I seriously wanted to hide myself, but I did not want to touch the dome around me.

Aiden was standing next to me, “You okay?”

“Fine. How’s Fluttershy?” I asked.

“The yellow Pony? She’s fine. A little shaken up, but fine. You saved her life,” Aiden smiled, “I think I might have misjudged you. No Changeling would ever sacrifice themselves, unless it’s for their queen and I highly doubt that she’s Queen Chrysalis.”

At that moment the yellow bubble that surrounded me disappeared and Princess Celestia relaxed. Princess Luna was still glaring at me but after nearly being crushed to death I didn’t really feel like putting up any resistance. I was just really happy that I was alive.

“Forest! Omigosh! Are you okay?” Pinkie Pie asked.

She was stopped by three guards before she could reach me.

“Hey! He’s my friend!” Pinkie protested, “Ow! You’re hurting me!”

My blood exploded in rage, “Don’t touch her!”

The guards all looked at me, then they let Pinkie go, but didn’t let her get past them. At least they weren’t hurting her anymore.

“Sister, must we continue with this farce? Surely he is not a Pony and should be locked away in Canterlot’s dungeons,” Princess Luna said to her sister, I think she was meant to be whispering, but I could hear her clearly.

“You forget, dear sister, he stopped to save the life of another. Surely this earns his some reprieve?”

“Your majesty, please listen to me,” I said, “My… test… I have an answer.”

The Princesses looked at me, but said nothing. Taking that as a sign, I continued, “The reason why you thought that I was a Changeling, or a human, or whatever was because of my blood. After investigating I have found that the answer lies in the MA count.”

“Your MA count?” Princess Luna looked at me confused.

“Magical Affinity,” Twilight cut in for me, “It’s used to judge the strength of a Pony’s ability to use magic. Forest can’t use Magic, and nor can Brian.”

“That is why my blood and Brian’s matched. We’ve both got no affinity… to magic…” That made sense. No matter how I thought about how the events transpired, I was incredible lucky that it ended up this way. I might have bitten off more than I could chew, but at least I had replanted the seed of doubt in Princess Celestia’s mind..

“Twilight, can I talk with you?” Princess Celestia and Luna took Twilight aside and they started talking amongst themselves.

After a few minutes, they returned, “Very well, Forest, you have proven that you’re neither a human nor a Changeling. However, it still doesn’t explain that disappearing trick you performed.”

“I… don’t know. After Luna cast that magic, and I jumped from the window I found myself in the Everfree Forest,” That was true, for the most part.

“As I said before, until we understand more about this unknown power we cannot leave you unattended. But we are not without compassion, and we have been unkind towards you. Therefore we’ve decided to assign a Pony to monitor you as a soldier and also as a friend. Aiden?”

“Yes, your majesty?” Aiden bowed to Princess Celestia.

“Aiden Fomaio, will you accept the task of guardian to Forest until such a time as I judge he no longer needs one?” Princess Celestia asked.

“To watch over him, and ensure that he does not bring danger nor harm to others?” Princess Luna stated right after her sister.

“I shall, my princesses,” Aiden bowed lower.

“Then rise, Aiden Formaio, you will live where Forest lives, and watch over him,” Princess Celestia nodded, “Do not disappoint me again, Forest Fire.”

“Yes, your highness!” I bowed low, glad that I didn’t have to go to the dungeons.

Princess Celestia and Luna then got onto two large chariots pulled by Pegasi and were off before I could thank them. Aiden walked over to me and shook his head, “You’re a lucky Stallion, Forest.”

“You have no idea. So, you’ll be living in Ponyville now,” I said grinning – my legs were still shaky from that near-death experience from before, “Isn’t that great?”

“I suppose, but like I said to you earlier, small towns aren’t really my thing-” Aiden was instantly cut off by something.

A pink blur zoomed past him and collided with me making me roll on the ground, “Forest! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Pinkie,” I said lying on my back on the ground. Even when Pinkie knocked me down, I couldn’t be mad at her, “How have you been?”

“Great! Can I throw you a welcome home party and invite everypony?” Pinkie asked her eyes growing bigger and bigger at each passing second.

“Not tonight, please. I just got home. I need to relax,” Did her hair just deflate? “Don’t worry, Pinkie, we can have a party. Just not tonight.”

“Okee dokee lokee!”

“Well, well, guardian now?” Twilight smiled at Aiden, “So you’ll be living here?”

“For a while, yes,” Aiden laughed nervously, “Do you know of any place I can stay?”

“There’s the hotel. Forest stayed when he first got here.”

“Where does he live now?” Aiden asked.

“I live in Sweet Apple Acres, in a clubhouse,” I grinned, but when Aiden gave me a strange look I got a little annoyed, “It’s nice and cosy, okay?”

“Of course it is,” Aiden replied humouring me.

Ahem! I heard a cough behind me. Turning around, I saw Applebloom there. She gave me a look.

“Now?” I whispered.

“Yep,” She replied stifling a giggle.

“But… now?”

“Forest, you promised,” She pouted.

“But everypony’s watching…” I said to her in a hushed tone.

“We made a deal!”

She was right. Slowly, I stood up and pushed Pinkie to one side. She looked at me slightly confused as I walked towards Applejack, who was pacifying a visibly shaken Fluttershy.

“Uh… Applejack… can I talk to you for a moment?”

She turned to look at me, and her face exploded in a bright pink hue. It didn’t help. I could also feel my face heating up at the same time. Why was she acting like this? It was so awkward!

“Sure, Forest. I don’t mind,” She said barely meeting my eyes.

I felt a nudge on my flank. Applebloom grinned at me and nodded.

“I was… wondering… would you… like to… go out some time?” My cheeks felt like they are were on fire! I felt the blood flood my face. Why was this so embarrassing?

Applejack didn’t say anything. As our eyes met again my face exploded again! This was too much. Maybe it had something to do with the near-death experience coupled with the relief of being able to stay here…

Applejack looked into my eyes, “Forest?”

“Yes?” I answered nervously.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were? Didn’t you trust us? Didn’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, Applejack! I trust you all, more than anything. I didn’t want you to get in trouble. If you had been caught helping me and for some reason things didn’t go the way they did today, I didn’t want you to get hurt. I’m sorry for not telling you who I was.”

“You still shoulda told us, Forest,” Applejack looked away again. Oh my god! Too cute… wait! What’s going on with me? “You’re our friend.”

I was dumbstruck. She was right! And there was nothing I could say.

“You know what? No. I don’t want to go out with you,” Her words stung so much. A part of me felt that I should have been relieved, but no, her words really hurt. She turned and marched away leaving me feeling rather stupid.

Applebloom was also visibly shocked.

“Well, it looks like your sister doesn’t want to go out with me tomorrow, Applebloom,” I sighed, why was it still hurting so much?

“I’m sorry, Forest. I didn’t think she’d be that upset.”

“I’ll go out with you, Forest!” Pinkie said, “We can dance, bake and party!”

The awkward embarrassing feeling I had evaporated the moment Pinkie opened her mouth, “Sure, Pinkie. Why not?”

“Great! So… what do we do?”

“I guess we could…” I was cut off by an angry looking Mare who literally walked right up to me and pressed her face against mine.

“And where have you been?”

“Lavenderhoof! I’m so sorry, I completely forgot about our training…” Give me a break, I’ve already have a shitty day as it was.

“No excuses! We’ve got a huge race in nine days, and we need to be in tip-top shape! We need to teach you how to swim properly! Tomorrow, at dawn, the lake, understand?”

“But…”

“Understand?” She growled.

Wow, she was vicious, “Okay, okay. I promise.”

She whipped around and walked off in a huff.

“Sorry, Pinkie, maybe we can get dinner?” I asked, “After my training?”

“That sounds like fun!” Pinkie grinned, “Then I’ll meet you at the lake after your training?”

“Sure. Are you going to see Brian now?”

“Yep, I’ll see you tomorrow, Forest,” And with that Pinkie bounced away.

I smirked at her. Pinkie was so ridiculous.

“Forest! That’s not fair!” Applebloom moaned, “You can’t go on a date with Pinkie!”

“We’re not going on a date, we’re just having dinner.”

“That’s a date, you dunce!” Applebloom shook her head, “You really know nothing.”

I was about to reply when I was cut off by Rarity. If I had thought Applejack was pissed, Rarity was beyond mad. She walked right up to me and started going on a tirade about how I caused the tower to fall, and that it was my fault.

“I allergic to magic,” I said after she calmed down a bit, “That’s the problem; I can’t use or have magic used on me. So, I’m immune to spells – to some extent.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Twilight said that you were in agony last night,” Rarity rolled her eyes, “But you seem to be fine now.”

“Well, I have a good recovery rate, I guess. And besides, I had some of the finest doctors in Canterlot examine me.”

“Speaking of finest, Twilight said that you went and ate The Lunar Sun, is this true?”

Wow, talking about switching subjects, “Yes…”

“And?”

“And… what?” I asked, not knowing what she was asking.

“How was it?”

“The food was good, the ambiance was nice, but I think that it was the company that made it enjoyable. Why?” I tilted my head to one side, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe that Twilight took you to the finest restaurant in Canterlot! I haven’t been there yet.” She pouted.

“Well, she did feel really bad about what happened to me, so I guess it was her way of saying sorry. I’m sure that she’ll take you the next time.”

Rarity’s eyes widened open as she looked past me. I turned around and saw Spike trying to not look in our direction. After a few more seconds of this, he summoned enough courage to come over, “Hi, Rarity,” He mumbled.

“Hello, Spike. How have you been?”

Spike smiled. He looked at Rarity with so much affection in those eyes that I began to feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, “I’ve been fine. Yourself?”

“I’ve had better days,” Rarity could not meet Spike’s eyes. I couldn’t blame her, I could barely stand it as well, and he wasn’t even looking at me. Her face slowly started turning pinker and pinker as the silence between them grew. Eventually she could take it no more, “Excuse me, Spike.”

Rarity walked away, “Eyes over here, Spike,” I said quietly.

Spike turned to me grinning nervously, “Sorry.”

We both shared a short laugh. Applebloom was still fuming away behind me.

“What’s wrong, Applebloom?” Spike asked.

“Forest said that he’d ask my sister out…”

“I did! She said no, remember?”

“Then he asked Pinkie out.” Applebloom continued over me without listening.

“I didn’t ask her out!” I protested.

“You asked her to go with you for dinner, that’s askin’ her out,” Applebloom stated angrily.

She was right, but she was wrong!

“Now, go and apologize to Applejack. She was really worried about you, Forest,” Applebloom shook her head, “She’s just angry that you didn’t come to her when you needed a friend.”

Oh man, did I feel guilty or what? She was right! What was wrong with me?

“Fluttershy,” I walked over to her, “Can you please help me?”

“Oh…” She squeaked, her voice getting really quiet.

“Please, I need you to help me find Applejack. I need to tell her I’m sorry,” I smiled at her, “You said you were really good and hide-n-seek, right? I need your expertise.”

Fluttershy raised her head and looked at me, “Okay.”

Saving her life was probably a large contributing factor for her wanting to help me, “Lead on!” I grinned.

And we were off.

“Forest! Wait!” Aiden shouted, but I ignored him.

Fluttershy led me to the center of town before zipping straight up into the air. There she held her altitude, turning around. I guess that was how she found me so many times, I never looked up! I made a mental note for the next time. Then she descended gently in front of me, “She’s heading towards the hospital.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy.” And I was off.

“Applejack!” I called. She paused, turned to see who it was, but when she saw me, she continued walking away, “Applejack, wait! Please!”

“I’m not talkin’ to you, Forest,” She said looking away from me.

“Please, Applejack, I’m sorry. Really, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to protect you,” Was I… begging?

She stopped and whipped around on me, “That ain’t a reason to not ask us for help, Forest. Especially me.”

At once I knew that I had gone too far. She was right, I should have trusted them. I should have come straight to them. They had trusted me completely without question from the very beginning, going out of their way to help me at every step of the way. Originally I had thought that by not getting them involved with my shenanigans they wouldn’t be accountable for me actions, but I didn’t see it from their side. I had betrayed them. Even if I had wanted to protect them, I was being selfish.

“You’re right,” I looked down at her hooves, “I had just wanted to protect you all, but in the end all I did was cause you all headaches and grief. If I had come straight to you…”

I looked up at Applejack.

“It’s alright, Forest,” She sighed, “I forgive ya, just don’t let it happen again.”

“And… about taking you out…”

“I overheard your deal with Applebloom,” Applejack said looking away, “I was headin’ back to the library to wait for Rarity when I overheard you two talkin’.”

My face burned with embarrassment, “To be honest, Applejack, I would really like to take you out for dinner sometime, on me. Not as a deal with your little sister, but as a thank you for everything you have done for me.”

“So… not like a date, just going out as friends?”

The way she said it made it sound so… un-climactic. Did she really want to go on a date with me?

“Well, if you want… then a date does sound like a lot of fun,” I grinned.

The way her eyes lit up… oh my god! She really did like me! Relax, Forest. Relax. Deep breaths.

“Well, tomorrow I’ve got swimming lessons with Lavenderhoof – for the big race, and after that I promised Pinkie I’d take her out for dinner. As a friend, not a date,” I cut in before she got the wrong idea, “But I’m free now…”

“It’s kind of last minute, don’t ya think?” Applejack asked, tilting her head to one side, “I mean, there’s really nothin’ goin’ on tonight.”

“What about… what about Sweetie Belle’s singing? Applebloom says she’s the best. After that… we can grab dinner somewhere.”

“Well, why not! I haven’t seen Sweetie Belle sing in some time. But first, I’ve got to drop by and visit Rainbow and her dad. You wanna come?”

“I would love to, but I want to get these things off my face,” I said gesturing to the pieces of bark still stuck to my head.

“Oh, that? Just go and soak your head in hot water. Sticky-berry juice will wash right out.”

“Then, I’ll go home and get ready, then I’ll meet you at this hospital?”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you there,” Applejack turned and walked away. I waited till she was a good distance away before turning the opposite direction and headed for Sweet Apple Acres. For some strange reason I was actually really excited!

On the way, I ran into Applebloom walking back home as well.

“Hi, Applebloom.”

“Hi, Forest. Where’d you go? And why’re you so happy?” She asked.

“Hm? Am I happy?” I was. I had a huge grin on my face.

Applebloom stopped, “You’re actin’ mighty strange.”

“I am?” I tried to stop having that huge smiled, but I couldn’t.

“You’re really strange, Forest,” Applebloom shook her head and we walked together the rest of the way making small talk.

As soon as I reached, I ran to the barn and started washing myself with hot water. The Sticky-Berry goo turned into a blue-colored sludge and that washed off me quite quickly and easily. A strong scent of berry exploded in the bathroom. After a few more minutes, the bark on the sides of my head and my face came loose! Free at last!

Clean, and ready, I started my trek back towards Ponyville and towards the hospital.

On the way I spotted Aiden and Twilight at the local café.

“Hey, you two,” I said walking up to them.

“Forest, there you are! You need to wear this.” He handed me a large circular object, “It’s a magic absorber. If you get hit by magic, instead of strange and maybe dangerous reactions taking place, this bracelet will absorb the magic. Of course, it won’t absorb it all.”

I stared at it confusedly for a moment.

“It goes on your hoof…”

“I knew that,” I put it on my wrist – or its equivalent.

“How does it feel?” Twilight asked,

“Hot. It’s burning… ow!” I tried to pull it off, but it didn’t budge.

“Aiden, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know! This hasn’t happened before!” Aiden leapt off his chair and over to me and tried to pull the bracelet off. He let it go suddenly, “Ow! That’s hot!”

“Okay! Okay, it’s starting to subside. The pain is going away.”

“Sorry, Forest, I didn’t know that would happen…” Aiden stated looking at the bracelet. It had shrunk in size and was tightly gripping the area just above my hoof.

Aiden poured some cold water on it. It helped a little bit.

“Shall we test it?” Aiden asked.

“Test it? As in, you cast magic at me?”

Aiden nodded.

“Why do I not feel like that’s a good idea?” I moaned.

We walked away from the café and towards an open space near the library. Twilight stayed behind Aiden and I gulped as he cast a spell at me. In retrospect, Aiden was probably the better choice out of the two considering his magic was not as strong as Twilight’s, but I still would have preferred Twilight testing the magic out. The magic hit me and my wrist burned! But not as badly as before, but I could definitely feel the heat.

“So?” Aiden asked.

“A slight burn, but nothing I can’t handle,” I shouted back, “Try a little bit stronger spell?”

Aiden cast another spell, this one as little bigger and brighter than the previous one. As soon as it hit me, the bracelet burned again, but nothing like the first time.

Walking back to Twilight and Aiden, I nodded, “It hurts a bit, but nothing like the first time. What does it do, anyway? I know that it absorbs the magic, then what?”

“Nothing. The bracelet will absorb magic and slowly dissipate it over time. Just to prevent it from harming you, and others.” Twilight grinned, “It’s something that I made for you.”

“A present, for me? Thank you!”

“Are you being sarcastic?” Twilight asked pouting a little.

We all laughed.

“You don’t know how glad I am to get that out of the way,” I sighed.

“Forest, why is such a big deal to you? To prove that you’re not human, you’ve been extremely defensive about it right from the start.”

Again, I had to admit it. Twilight was really brilliant. She would be a great detective.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “It might have something to do with the… tension, I suppose. You did say that Brian being here really upset Princess Celestia, so maybe I didn’t want to get on the Princesses’ bad side?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Twilight looked at Aiden, “What do you think?”

“No clue. As far as Princess Celestia is concerned, you’re still considered dangerous. I’m here to protect the citizens from you, and you from yourself.”

“Why you?” I asked.

“My not-so-weak magic,” Aiden said without shame, “I guess in a way my accident has become a blessing in disguise. Strong magic will kill you, weak magic won’t harm you. My magic might be enough to do neither.”

“Okay, I got to go, I’ve got to… meet somepony,” I grinned and started to walk away.

“Who are you meeting?” Twilight asked, trotting up next to me.

“Applejack,” I said, surprisingly my face felt hot when I said her name, “I’m meeting her at the hospital now.”

“Great! I’ll walk with you,” Twilight turned back to Aiden, “I’ll see you later, Aiden?”

“Probably not, but if I have time I will stop by the library,” With that Aiden turned and walked away.

“Does he seem… angry?” I asked.

“I think so. I just don’t understand him. He’s always so friendly in the café in Canterlot, but I heard that during the Changeling invasion he and two of his friends were badly wounded defending the Canterlot nursery,” Twilight sighed, “Nopony knew there were still fillies in there, and Aiden stood his ground against all odds.”

“It’s hard to imagine,” War in Equestria? Just couldn’t picture it.

Our walk to the hospital consisted of me replaying the events of my idiocy. Twilight laughed at my description of ‘attacking the hospital’ and how Fluttershy could find me no matter how clever I thought I was at hiding. We reached the hospital during the late evening, and walked up the stairs to Brian’s private room.

Twilight explained to me that Brian had special privileges given to him courtesy of Princess Celestia. One of those was that his daughter, Rainbow Dash, got to live with him in the hospital. That suited everypony just fine. Rainbow usually used the window to come and go instead of the door to do her weather duties, which was strange – she was rich and famous now, she didn’t need to. Twilight had a theory that Rainbow only performed these duties as an excuse to stay in Ponyville.

“Why would she need an excuse to stay?” I asked.

“You have to understand that there’s more to Brian that him just bring a human. In his world, we were something called a ‘cartoon’,” She explained to me what cartoons were, and how that he had grown to love the show over time. How a grown man like him did that was beyond me, but who was I to judge? “Anyway, the reason why Dashie stays in Ponyville is because of Brian’s love for this town because of that show.”

“I see.” It made perfect sense, “Have you seen the show?”

Twilight shook her head, “I wouldn’t want to.”

“Neither would I,” I replied as we stopped outside of Brian’s room.

“Are you coming in?” Twilight asked.

“Not this time,” I replied.

Twilight didn’t press me, and I secretly thanked her for that. As Twilight walked in, I saw Applejack sitting on a sofa in front of the door. She looked over at me, and smiled.

“Well, I’ll be goin’ now,” Applejack said standing up.

“Enjoy your date,” Brian’s voice stated.

My face exploded as soon as I heard that, and Applejack’s did as well, “T-t-thank you,” She replied avoiding my gaze.

The fact that she acknowledged it was a date made me almost die with embarrassment.

“Forest! Get in here!” Brian shouted.

I gulped, and walked in. “H-hello…” I said quietly.

“I heard you were making a nuisance out of yourself earlier today,” Brian was sitting on his bed, his arm had drip in it. Rainbow was lying on the bed with him, her head on his shoulder, and a book in his hands. It was clear they were reading it together.

“I was,” I replied, “Sorry about that.”

“Are you kidding? Thanks for the distraction!” Brian laughed, “I would keep away from Nurse Redheart for a while, though. Once she found out it was you… well, let’s just say she’s not very pleased.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I replied.

“Okay, you two. Have a good time,” Brian then turned his attention to his daughter, “Where were we?”

“We were when Daring Do got caught…” Rainbow’s voice continued excitedly as I left the room with Applejack.

“That was… nice,” I said stopping outside the door as Applejack closed it, “He wasn’t… he didn’t…” It was hard finding the right words. I was overwhelmed by his friendliness.

“Forest, Brian doesn’t care anymore. All he wants is to spend as much time as he can with Rainbow. As long as he can do that, then I’m sure he’s happy with you bein’ a friend.”

Even Brian was supporting me now. The more they believed me the more of a scumbag I was becoming. Lying to them was wrong, there was no denying that, and the fact that they still accepted me for who I was made just killed me.

“Are you okay, Forest?” Applejack asked, “We can postpone…”

“No! No. Sorry, it’s just… I’ve been overwhelmed. A lot has happened to do. I’ve had more close-calls than I can count, and if there is one thing I need it’s to have a little fun.” I smiled at her, “So, let’s go. And if possible, avoid Nurse Redheart.”

Applejack grinned, “Well, then let’s head t’wards the theatre.”

As we descended the stairs, we ran straight into Nurse Redheart.

“Forest!” She screamed in fury, “Get back here!”

Applejack laughed and pulled me along with her and out the front door of the hospital.

“Sorry!” I yelled.

Nurse Redheart was not amused, but she probably had other things to do because she turned back into the hospital.

Applejack stopped after a while, and we shared a laugh again.

“Whew. That was close.” I commented.

“You know you’re gonna have to apologize to her, right?” Applejack said, pausing her laughter for the moment.

“I know. But right now, let’s just enjoy the evening.”

We walked and talked back to Ponyville. Applejack told me about Twilight regaling her version of our ‘date’ (which I explained wasn’t really a date), how we went to the club and the fight with the angry Pegasus in Aiden’s café.

“Sounds like you had a really swell time.”

“It was fun. But it was also nice to get to know Twilight, she’s really smart, but something tells me she’s awkward around others…”

“You have no idea!” Applejack giggled and she proceeded to tell me about their first time meeting one another, and the first few months when Twilight was still learning about herself and what it meant to be a good friend, and then she told me about how each of them in turn learnt the true value of friendship towards one another.

“You guys are more like sisters than friends now,” I said, “But then that brings me to another question. When I first arrived, you guys accepted me practically without any hesitation. You’ve gone even as far as giving me a place to live. Why?”

“I dunno. I just like helpin’ others,” Applejack smiled, “And not to cause offense, you did look kinda pathetic when you first arrived.”

“W-what? Pathetic?”

Applejack just laughed at my expense. What could I do, whether or not she was serious, she had become a real good friend to me.

The sun was setting over the horizon by the time we arrived in front of the theatre. A lot of Ponies were standing in a line. Everypony there was staring at me and Applejack, grinning and whispering amongst each other.

“Methinks we’re the talk of the town,” I said leaning in and whispering in Applejack’s ear.

She laughed, “It’s a small town. Things like this spread really quickly.”

I had tried to buy tickets for the show, but a grinning Scootaloo just let us go in for free. We sat near the middle – the theatre wasn’t that full and there were plenty of empty seats, but it seemed that everypony sat in such a way as to get a clear view of us, rather than the stage.

“I feel… slightly exposed…” I whispered to Applejack.

She held back a laugh, “I’m so sorry, Forest. I had no idea it’d be this weird.”

As the lights faded, we turned the stage. There a spotlight beamed down on Sweetie Belle. She coughed, and inhaled some air then started to sing. I have never heard anything so beautiful in my life. If angels were singing, Sweetie Belle would put them to shame. Her voice was pitch-perfect, and she sang with pure emotion that you could not help but get enveloped by her music.

When she finished, I had to give her a standing ovation. Applejack had the same idea and stood up and stomped on the ground. It looked like fun, so I did so as well.

“Thank you, thank you. You’ve been a terrific audience. And now…” Sweetie Belle grinned, “A special song for two special love-birds.”

My hooves literally froze in mid-air, as did Applejack’s. We both looked at each other and sat down feeling somewhat strange being the center of attention.

“I’m so sorry, Forest,” Applejack whispered, “I didn’t think that this’d happen.”

“N-n-no harm done… just – er – feels strange…” I waved to some Ponies staring at us grinning. A few waved back.

Sweetie Belle began her song. It was even more beautiful than the last one. Her voice carried with it a sense of hope, happiness, and warmth. It felt inspirational and exciting, tender and caring at the same time. She really did have a special talent when it came to music.

When she was done with ‘our’ song, Applejack literally dragged me away before anypony had the chance to stop us. Outside, Scootaloo giggled at us, “Enjoy the show?”

“Very much,” I replied, “Thank Sweetie Belle for me…”

Applejack nudged me, “What you wanna eat?”

“That’s something I should ask you,” I replied.

We walked towards Ponyville, most of everything was already closed and the only place that was open was Sugarcube Corner. So we headed there.

As we entered, Mr and Mrs Cake instantly showed us to a table. There was a little bit of tension between the Cakes and us, for some reason, but that quickly evaporated. Pinkie arrived halfway through the meal and joined us. At first I had thought that Applejack would have gotten annoyed with her friend, considering that this was supposed to be a date, but she welcomed Pinkie without so much as a peep.

Pinkie was telling us about Rainbow and Brian reading Daring Do, apparently a character from a series of books, and Brian would read the part of the villains, while Dashie would read the part of Daring Do herself! It was amazing how excitable Pinkie could get over the simplest of things. After dinner, it was a real struggle to get the Cakes to accept payment! They insisted it was on the house, but Applejack would not accept that and I couldn’t let her pay. In the end, we played along with them then left the money on the table when we left. When Mr Cake tried to chase us and give us back the bits, we quickly ran down alleys and lost track of him.

We ended up near Carousel Boutique, and standing on the bridge next to it was a purple dragon.

“Spike?” Applejack asked walking up to him, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, hi Applejack,” He saw me behind her, “Hi Forest, glad that everything’s worked out for you.”

“What are you doing here, guy?” I asked, trying to sound friendly.

“I was going to talk to Rarity, and explain that I will be going,” Spike looked at us, “For a short while. I need to. It’s been really awkward here and I think I need to get some time away to think.”

“Have you told Twilight?” Applejack sat next to Spike.

Spike nodded, “She insisted that I talk to Rarity first, which is why I’m here…”

“Spike, you can’t go. You’re part of our family,” Applejack said gently.

“I know. I’m not going because I want to leave, Applejack. I need to find out who I am. I’ve spend years serving as Twilight’s assistant, but I want more for myself. I want to discover who I really am. I can’t do that here.”

“Where will you go?” I asked.

Spike looked at me, “North, that is Dragon country. Who knows?”

“Tell you what, Spike, why don’t you give it some time and think about this. Till after the big race at the end of the month. If you’re still dead-set on leaving then… I’ll go with you,” I didn’t meet Applejack’s eyes when I said that.

“Really?” Spike asked, “You’d come with me?”

“That’s what friends are for,” And I found that I actually meant those words, “So, think about it long and hard for the next week.”

“Thanks, Forest. I appreciate it. And I’m sorry about before…”

“Water under the bridge, no apology necessary,” I patted him on his back.

Applejack waited till he had gone a ways before talking to me, “Will you really leave with him, Forest?”

“If he does decide to go, then I will. But I doubt he would. He has the biggest crush on Rarity, the longer he stays the weaker his resolve will be,” I smirked and leaned in closer, “Why? You planning on following me?”

Applejack blushed. Even in the dark, I could see her cheeks getting rosy.

I found myself unable to react to the situation, so I leaned away and felt bashful too. Me! Bashful! Ha! But, I was. I really, really was. It didn’t help that she had such a tender smile.

“Let’s go somewhere more… private,” Applejack suddenly said.

My face exploded again. That was happening a lot with her. She blushed too seeing my reaction, but she pointed with her hoof behind us. There were at least three Ponies ‘hiding’.

“Really?” I asked no one in particular.

“Follow me!” Applejack was already bolting away.

Not to brag, but for someone with my speed it was not difficult to keep up, and we both headed away from Ponyville. Our pursuers gave chase for a while – there were a lot more of them than I had originally thought, but we lost them fairly quickly and found ourselves near the lake.

“I’m sorry, Forest. I don’t know what’s gotten into them,” Applejack sighed, “They never were like this before with other Ponies I dated.”

“You’ve dated a lot before?” I asked walking towards the shore of the lake and letting the water wash over my hooves.

“Now, I don’t want to sound mean, but there ain’t much of a selection here. My cousins from all over are always tellin’ me I ought to come visit them and find that special somepony, but I’ve… I’ve never had time,” Applejack joined me in the water. She shuddered from the cold.

“Well, now you have all the time in the world,” I said looking up at her.

The moon’s glow bounced off the water’s surface, and the shimmering effect seemed to twinkle in Applejack’s eyes. Strangely, I felt really attracted to her. Why? Because I was a human-fucking-being! She was a Pony! She was just a… no, she wasn’t just a Pony. She was a kind, honest, gentle, caring individual, and I was a lying sack of shit. She didn’t deserve me, she deserved someone better. Someone who could appreciate her for the kind of Pony she is.

She must have caught me staring because she coughed and looked the other way.

“I do have a lot of time, thanks to you and that harvester you made!” Applejack laughed, “It’s so good my brother can do half the farm by himself in one day!”

It was starting to get weird again, so I did the only thing I could think of; I splashed her. She let out a high pitched squeal as the cold water landed on her.

“Yer gonna pay for that!” Applejack laughed, and started soaking me with the freezing water.

Not wanting to get anymore wet than I already was, I intercepted her hoof by grabbing it. She struggled to get herself free from my grip, but my rear leg slipped on something and I fell forwards pushing her down into the shallow water.

She looked up at me, her eyes staring into mine. My heart began to race. Her lips… were so close. I started to lean forwards, and she started to close her eyes.

“Ow!” I said and looked at my wrist.

“Ow?” Applejack asked, confused.

My bracelet felt really hot again, and then it began to glow.

“What’s going on?” I asked, staring at it. The bracelet’s glow got brighter and brighter, until I could no longer look at it.

“Are you okay, Forest?” Applejack asked, looking at me in surprise.

“I don’t know!” I shouted. What was happening?

The bracelet was making the wind around us spin like a weak tornado, but I still had to shout in order to be heard. Then, it fired a beacon of light straight up into the sky.

We stared at it in surprise, looking straight up the bright light.

“There you are!” Aiden said running over to us, behind him followed half the town.

As soon as we saw them, Applejack and I quickly stood up and moved two paces away from each other.

“Wha-what happened?” I asked as Aiden took my arm (or leg) and placed his horn on the bracelet. As soon as he did, the light cut off.

“They said that you were missing, or lost,” Aiden gestured to the townsfolk, “So, I used the signal spell on the bracelet to find you.”

“I have a signal spell on this thing?” I asked annoyed.

Aiden shrugged, “You didn’t let me explain how it worked! You were such in a hurry to get to your date that you utterly ignored me.”

I snuck a peek at Applejack who was now talking to several other Ponies, who were obviously asking her really embarrassing questions considering how she was acting.

“I’m so sorry to have ruined your date, Forest. It’s just they made it sound as if you were in a lot of trouble,” Aiden muttered, “But the biggest culprit of them all is…”

“Me. I was just worried, okay?” Twilight muttered, “I had no idea it was going to be such an obvious signal.”

“Why are you dressed like that?” I asked. Twilight was dressed in dark pants, and shirt that covered her entire body.

“Well… I was… keeping an eye on Spike when you two showed up on the bridge. He had been standing there for nearly an hour. After you left, he went home and… I followed you. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one.”

“Indeed.”

Applejack walked over to me, “Well, it’s been fun, Forest. But I think I’ll go home now.”

“I’ll come with you. After all, I do live next door.”

We both laughed at that, and all of us, including half the population of Ponyville headed back towards the town. As we returned, the others went about their business, Aiden walked Twilight back to the library, and Applejack and I headed back to Sweet Apple Acres.

We walked back in silence, not really knowing what to say.

“I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too,” Applejack blushed, “Don’t forget to dry yerself this time, k?”

“Aw, you don’t want to soak me in an ice-bath again?” I laughed.

“As fun as that was, it’s a waste of perfectly good ice,” Applejack countered.

“Ouch.” I replied laughing, she was pretty good at dishing it.

“Forest, can I ask you somethin’ that’s been botherin’ me?”

“Of course.”

“Who’s Tutela?”

My heart froze, “What?”

“Tutela? Who is she?” Applejack looked at me, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“That name sounds really familiar,” I lied, “Where did you hear it?”

“When you were sick and delirious, you asked me if I was Tutela.”

I did not remember that at all, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t recall…”

“Well, let me know if you do remember, it’s been bothering me for the longest time.”

As we walked up the driveway to her house, we spotted Applebloom sitting on the rocking chair, her eyes wide open and huge smile across her face. She jumped off the chair without saying a word, gave me the biggest wink I’d ever seen, and went into the house closing the door behind her.

It would have been a cute gesture, but the three Apples were peeking at us from the living room by pushing the curtain aside. It was rather comical seeing the three of them staring at us expecting something.

“So… good night?”

“Good night, Forest.” Applejack turned to go in, “We should do this again.”

“Anytime.”

And she closed the door behind me. I thought I heard Applebloom shout ‘why didn’t you kiss him!’ but I was a little too distracted by the embarrassment I had felt from the lake. I really was going to kiss her, there was absolutely no doubt it. I had actually wanted to. Still did.

Sitting on the sofa, I stared at the laptop still hanging on the door. I was in no mood to talk to Tutela, because I was exhausted. Learning from my previous mistake, I took the towel and dried my soaking wet body before grabbing a blanket and draping it over myself on the sofa.

“Good night, Tutela,” I whispered, then blew out the candle and drifted off.

It was good to be back home.

Day 12: Broken Hearts and Apples

“Wake up!” A loud voice shouted in my face.

“Wha- huh?” I asked raising my head from my pillow in surprise, “Waz goin’ on?”

“Dawn, Forest! Dawn is what’s going on! It’s now thirty minutes past dawn, and you’re not where you should be!” An angry Pony poked me in the chest.

“Lavenderhoof?” I asked as my eyes adjusted to the light. It was indeed past dawn, “Oh! I’m sorry, I completely overslept.”

“I can see that,” Lavenderhoof watched me as I got off the sofa.

Just then a loud noise came from the front of the house as Applejack walked in pushing past Lavenderhoof, “I told ya, I was comin’ to wake him.”

“I waited for you for nearly ten minutes! What were you doing in the bathroom for so long anyway? Putting on your makeup? We don’t have time!” Lavenderhoof argued, “The race is in less than two weeks, and he can barely do a doggy-paddle!”

“Mornin’ Applejack,” I said walking over to her flashing my best smile.

She looked at me, and giggled, “Mornin’.”

Was it just me, or did she look absolutely beautiful? My mind stopped working when I saw that smile. We both stood there looking at each other for a long moment grinning stupidly. I was content; it felt good just to stand near her.

“Come on!” Lavenderhoof shoved me out the door, “You can act all lovey-dovey later…”

As I was being pushed away from the clubhouse, I turned my head back and saw Applejack standing on the little porch staring after me. She waved shyly. Gah! My heart! It was too cute! All I could do was smile in return. It was impossible for me to take my eyes off of her. Last night’s events kept popping up in my head, but more specifically that near-kiss we shared. My face again felt like it was burning as I felt the blood flood my cheeks. Applejack must have thought of the same thing because I could tell her cheeks were rosier too.

“Okay, okay! I’ll walk!” I shouted after being dragged a few more meters. I didn’t want Applejack to see me blush. But I just stood there and turned slowly to sneak another peak at her.

Lavenderhoof nudged me, “Come on!”

That snapped me out of my reverie. As we trotted down the trail between the apple trees towards the main road, I snuck one more peek. She was still standing there watching me. At the road, I followed Lavenderhoof to the right and we headed towards the hill that overlooked the lake. The trip to the lake took no time as she was all about business and made me run. She seemed to forget that running for me wasn’t an issue, but I humored her.

When we arrived at the lake, Scootaloo was there lying on her belly under a beach umbrella stuck into the sand. She had bright pink sunglasses that were twice the size of her head. She sat up when she saw me, “Had a good night?” She grinned.

It didn’t take a genius to know what she was implying, “Nothing like that happened, okay?”

“Really? Aw, that’s too bad,” Scootaloo roared in laughter, slapping her knee.

“Why is that so funny?” I asked.

“Because I had a bet with Sweetie Belle that you’d be too shy,” Scootaloo grinned.

“Don’t you mares have anything better to do?”

“It’s not my fault you’re such a wimp,” Scootaloo roared in laughter again.

“Can I learn to swim now, please?” I asked turning to Lavenderhoof.

I could tell she was holding herself back from bursting out in laughter as well. “Okay, get into the water. We’ll start with some basics.”

“Thanks, Lavenderhoof…”

“Just call me Lavender, or even Lav. La-ven-der-hoof takes too long,” She said, stressing out each syllable in her name.

“Okay, Lavender,” I smiled, “Thanks for doing this.”

“It isn’t for you, okay? So don’t get the wrong idea. It’s for the race. No nonsense and no lovey-dovey-ness understand? I’m not going to be another marefriend. I’m not here to play games.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I saluted, “Wait, what? Marefriend?”

She ignored my question, “Good. Now, get your flank into the water!”

The water was still freezing; I shuddered the moment my hooves got wet. Lavender walked by me and deeper so that her entire body was submerged except her neck, and head, “Come here!” She shouted when I didn’t move.

Standing in the same depth, I saw her stick her hooves out.

“We’ll start with some kicks,” She stated.

I grabbed her hooves with mine and kicked. Easily enough, I suppose.

“Kick harder!” She coached. So I did. “Harder!” She yelled. “Stop kicking like a little colt and kick like a Stallion!”

She asked for it.

Lowering my head, I kicked as fast and as hard as I could. Somewhere I heard Scootaloo yelp as a wave of water hit her.

“Forest!” Lavender shouted above the din of my splashing, “Stop! Forest!”

By the time I did, I realized that I had pushed Lavender backwards quite a distance. She was treading water near the middle of the lake with me instantly starting to sink. “H-how’d we get out here?” I shouted trying hard to tread water.

Lavender was just laughing, “You might not be able to swim yet, but if you can do that in the race we’ll win for sure!”

Scootaloo hovered above me, and threw a floatation ring, “That was impressive, Forest!”

“Yay! I did good!” I rolled my eyes at my own joke as I put myself through the lifesaver.

The two girls laughed at me, “Well, your kicks are fine. We just need to teach you how to keep your head above the water now.”

They made me paddle my way back to the shore. In a way, I wished that I could have used the floatation device during the race but obviously that wasn’t allowed.

For the next several hours both Lavender and Scootaloo tried to teach me how to keep my head above the water, but no matter what I did my head would always start to sink. It was strange considering that I was able to tread above water without a problem. The moment I started moving forwards though…

“Okay! Enough! I need a break,” Lavender muttered in disgust.

“Hi everypony!” A sing-song voice sang out from behind me.

“Hi, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo sighed, “How’s singing practice?”

“Oh, it’s nice. Kinda boring, though. How’s the swimming?” Sweetie Belle asked looking at Lavenderhoof towelling her mane in anger, “That bad, huh?”

I shrugged, “Can’t seem to keep my head up out of the water.”

“Well, maybe some lunch will help. I’ve brought goûters! Rarity made them,” She picked up a small picnic hamper from off her back and placed it on the ground. Inside were delicious cakes, pastries and a flask of red liquid that smelt like berries.

I picked out a simple croissant filled with chocolate. The warm chocolate didn’t overpower the dough, and the dough complemented the chocolate. It was the perfect temperature for a voracious Pony like me.

“Wow,” I stated, visibly stunned. Equestrian food was friggin’ awesome! Even though it was all vegetarian, it was amazing. There was no possible way I could ever get sick of this kind of food.

Lavenderhoof took one of the croissants and finished the entire thing off in one bite. She munched away angrily to herself, no doubt frustrated by my lack of progress. I wanted to say something to sooth her, to let her know that I was really trying but seeing her chew like that made me decide that it was probably better to let her cool off on her own.

“Hiya,” A familiar voice said behind. I turned around, and my face must have lit up because Applejack blushed when she saw me, “Came to check on you. You doin’ well?”

Standing up, I walked over to her, “Not good I’m afraid, as you can plainly tell.”

Applejack’s eyes followed the direction of my hoof pointing at a visibly irate Lavenderhoof. She paused long enough to glare at me before resuming her munching.

“Aren’t ya gonna kiss her, Forest?” Applebloom asked. I hadn’t noticed her for some reason.

“W-w-w-w-w-what?” That question literally came out of nowhere.

“Applebloom!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Aw, come on! You know you want to…”

My mind was a blank.

“Aw. He’s blushing!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle taunted, giggling and rolling over themselves.

“Sorry-Applejack-gotta-practice-more-in-the-water-kay-bye…” I blurted as fast as I could before sprinting into the water as fast as I could go. My cheeks were burning.

All that served to do was humiliate me more as now Applebloom joined the laughing hysteria. I sunk my entire body save for my head under the water.

Hey! I was… I was floating! What? What was going on? I really was floating on the water! I did a double check to make sure my legs were not standing on anything and if I really was floating. Sure enough, the bottom of the lake was a good foot belong me. Not wanting to jinx it, I started to slowly kick. Still floating! No problems thus far. Maybe if I kick a little harder…

“Go!” I heard a shout from the beach.

Pinkie! I grinned, and I did exactly that. If my head could stay above the water’s surface, then there was no problem.

“Go! Go, go, go!” Pinkie shouted going nuts. Where did she get those pom-poms?

In no time I was across the lake, and standing on the opposite beach! Oh yeah! I reared up, and flashed a wide smile, “Oh yeah!” I shouted as loud as I could, totally caught up in the moment.

Then, not to forget the feeling, I charged the water and… no problem! I could swim! Well, I could float and use my legs like an outboard motor, but it was like swimming and that’s what mattered. As I returned, Lavenderhoof bounced around in jubilation, the three younger Ponies patted me on the back, and Applejack gave me a beaming smile. That was the best.

“Forest! Forest! Omigosh! Did you see? Did you see? Of course you saw, but I mean did you see what I saw? You were like whoosh! And the water was like splash! And… and… oh, hello Applejack,” Pinkie grinned at her friend, “Did you see?”

“Yeah, Pinkie, I was right here.”

“Thank you, Applejack.”

Applejack blushed at the sound of my voice, “W-what for?”

“I don’t know. I just know that you helped me somehow.”

Pinkie stood in between us and waved her hoof, “Are you two okay? Did you guys do ‘that’?”

“Uh… ‘that’?” I asked.

“You know, ‘that’. The thing that Rarity told me…”

Applejack had put her hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, “No!” Her face was a lot redder than usual, “No, Pinkie.”

Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all roared in laughter.

“Forest, ten more times across the lake and back!” Lavenderhoof demanded.

“Ten times?” I moaned.

She gave me a look.

“Ten times!” I exclaimed, and was off.

It was sunset before I was done. The distance across the lake was enormous, and the girls never left the beach as I completed my final lap and walked out of the water collapsing in a heap out of sheer exhaustion.

“That distance you just swam is the distance you’ll have to swim for the Race. After that, you have to run four times that. So, you need to raise your stamina,” Lavenderhoof shook her head, “You may be fast, but if you can’t keep up with the other racers, you’re going to be the fastest Pony to quit.”

“So… much… tiredness…” I said in between gasps.

“We’re done here,” Lavenderhoof started to walk away, “Tomorrow at dawn. Don’t be late!”

I let out a grunt, but said, “I won’t.”

She didn’t look back as she crossed the crest of the hill disappearing from my sight. I hated to admit it, but she was one tough coach. A part of me couldn’t help but suspect that Lavender was none too pleased with me being the Earth Pony representative for the Race; she must have been training for it for so long and hard before I came along and snagged that title from right under her muzzle. Actually, I felt kind of bad for her.

The sun was beginning to set and I watched it set over the Everfree Forest. To my back was the lake and beyond that stood Canterlot Castle. Equestria was beautiful and peaceful - a paradise. I wanted to continuously feel that raw happiness but there was that constant reminder that I wasn’t who I said I was. I was a filthy liar betraying the trust of my new friends who had opened their hearts completely to me. I didn’t deserve their kindness, their friendships, or this utopia.

Applejack sat next to me, as did Pinkie Pie. The three of us watched the sun fade over the horizon together in silence for a long while.

“What’s on yer mind?” Applejack asked quietly breaking the moment of Zen.

“I was just thinking about how lucky I am to be here.” I turned to her and smiled warmly. She reciprocated with her own.

“Forest, is it true that you plan on leaving?” Pinkie suddenly asked.

My eyes widened open in surprise, “What?”

“Spike said that… that you’d leave with him.” Pinkie started poking the grass with her hoof.

“Oh, that. If he insists on leaving then yes, I will.”

Pinkie remained silent for a long time, she kept prodding the ground with her hoof. “Can… can I come?”

The question caught me completely off guard.

“He’s not going anywhere, Pinkie,” Applejack stated on my behalf, “Spike won’t leave.”

“But… if he does, can I come with you?”

How could I say no to her? “Sure, Pinkie, if that’s what you want.”

“No. I like Ponyville. I don’t want to leave.”

“Then don’t. You shouldn’t do anything you don’t want to,” I placed a hoof around her shoulders, pulling her close to me; she smelt strangely like cotton candy, “And if I do go, it won’t be for long.”

Pinkie turned her head and smiled at me, “Promise.”

“Promise,” I replied.

“Pinkie Promise!” Both the girls said at the same time.

I let out a long sigh, and closed my eyes and shook my head as I released Pinkie.

“You girls are incorrigible,” I took two steps forward before turning around facing the two of them, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I punched my eye again. Got to stop doing that!

They gave me the widest, cutest grins before turning to each other and fell into a giggling fit.

“So, where are we going for dinner?” Pinkie Pie asked after the giggling had subsided.

“We?” Applejack stressed the word questioningly.

“Yeah, the six of us! The more the merrier.”

Applejack smiled shyly, “Pinkie, are you sure…”

“Why are you acting like that? Of course I’m sure. Duh!” Pinkie grinned, “I love my friends, and I love eating with my friends! So, let’s go eat!”

“Aw, thanks Pinkie, but I gotta go listen to Sweetie Belle’s new song,” Applebloom replied.

“And I’ve got to help with moving some clouds for tonight’s rain,” Scootaloo added.

“There isn’t rain scheduled for tonight,” Pinkie sat down and looked to the upper-right, “Is there?”

“Why do I get the distinct feeling they’re finding excuses to ditch us?” I whispered to Applejack.

She just giggled in response. For all I knew she might have instigated them. And you know something, I kinda liked the thought.

The six of us walked back towards Ponyville, the three younger mares constantly making fun of me trying to learn how to swim. When we reached the town center, we ran into Aiden.

“Forest, I need to talk with you for a few,” He said, “It won’t take long.”

“Sure, do you girls mind?” I asked Pinkie and Applejack.

“Not at all, you go talk to your guardian. We’ll head over to the café, ‘kay?” Applejack replied.

“Okay, I’ll meet you two there.”

I watched as they walked away, trying to keep my eyes off Applejack’s fla-

“Hey, over here,” Aiden gestured with his head towards where I had just come from, “I’m going to go over the different powers of that trinket you’re wearing.”

“Can’t it wait?”

The look on Aiden’s face was enough of a reply. So I followed. We walked to a large open grassy knoll.

“Alright, Twilight has told me about how that thing works,” Aiden gestured to my new piece of jewelry on my wrist. Surprisingly I had managed to completely ignore it all day, “Remember when I said it dissipates magic over time? I was wrong. It retains it completely. Whenever you feel it heat up that means that it is absorbing magic. The hotter it gets, the more magic is stored, but the heat you feel is only something you feel. It actually does no harm to you, that is it’s not burning you.”

Aiden started casting a spell that surrounded the two of us. The colorful bubble floating towards the bracelet slowly before it suddenly was ‘sucked’ into it. The suddenness made me flinch, and the burning sensation. It was not too bad, but it was unpleasant. Like a quick pinch.

“Ouch.” I declared without emotion.

Aiden ignored my comment, “Now your bracelet is charged. Now you can ‘cast’ magic.”

“Wait. What?”

“You can cast magic, Forest.”

“You mean like you?”

“No, you moron, you don’t have a horn.” Aiden planted his hoof over his face.

“Moron?” I frowned at that, “You said I could cast! How am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?”

“Okay, my fault, I shouldn’t have said casting. You can… ask for magic to occur. You can’t directly use spells, but others around you can make you cast spells for them.”

That didn’t sound very nice. “So, everypony else can make me… do things?”

“That’s… one way of putting it, I guess. That’s what I wanted to tell you last night before you ran off! I don’t know all the spells, but there are a few… embarrassing ones that I wanted you to be aware of,” Aiden scratched his head.

“Oh, I am so not liking where this is going.”

“The first spell was that signal spell from last night. Luckily for us, the spell to ignite it is only known to me and Twilight, but I feel that you ought to know it,” Aiden leaned in closer, “It’s ‘Forest Fire, Show Me Where You Are’, three times.”

“Three times?”

“If anypony says that… well, I can show you if you like.”

“No, that’s…”

“Forest Fire, show-me-where-you-are, show-me-where-you-are, show-me-where-you-are!” Aiden said, barely whispering.

At once the bracelet reacted and heat surged through my body like it did last night and my hoof automatically pointed up at the sky and shot out a beam of light. It didn’t last long for long, perhaps a few seconds, but it hurt. After the last of the light faded, I rolled around the ground in pain.

“Ooh! Do you have any idea how much that hurts?” It was not that bad, compared with some of the other traumatic magical experiences I’ve had, but it was not pleasurable either, my rolling around was more from trauma from the suddenness of the spell.

“That spell is the ‘quickest to drain’ the magic,” Aiden stated, “I’m teaching you that one because if your bracelet gains too much magic it will be agony. You can teach that spell to somepony you trust. If the pain gets too much you can have them empty it. The issue is, you can’t do it yourself.”

“That’s useful. Thanks for that.” I picked myself off the ground.

“There are others. Other spells, I mean.”

The way he said it made me get this really uncomfortable feeling, “Do I want to know?”

“That’s up to you. Knowing is… important.” Aiden shrugged, “But if you have more important things to do…”

“Fine,” I sighed, “Tell me.”

“Now, keep in mind that this bracelet was intended to tame wild animals…”

“What?” No one had told me that!

“Oh, was it not mentioned?”

“No!”

“Well, now you know…”

God fucking damn it!

“… there are several spells that are used to ‘discipline’… you.” Aiden put on the widest grin ever.

“You’re enjoying this a little too much.”

“The first of these is the ‘beg’ spell.”

“Beg?” I did not like the sound of that.

“Yes, it basically makes you completely beg for whatever the original caster demands.”

My silence was enough of a response.

“So, let’s say I want you to beg for some food, or a bed…” Aiden put on a sadistic grin, “A kiss.”

“No! No, no, no! You did not just say that!” I looked around, “You can’t tell anypony about that spell!”

“Well, only Twilight and I know it. Shall I tell you how it works?”

I contemplated it. Did I really want to know? Yeah. I did. So, I nodded.

He leaned forwards to whisper, “It’s quite simple. You just say: Forest Fire Needs Something,” Aiden then leaned back, “It’s a flaw, I know, since the spell only requires it said once.”

“Once! Are you kidding me?” I shouted, “Wait, why didn’t it work that time?”

“That’s because there’s no magic in that thing,” Aiden pointed at the band on my wrist.

“Oh yeah, forgot about that part. But couldn’t you think of something… better? Do you know how many times I could get asked that?”

“Well, they first have cast magic at you. Then they have to say your full name before the spell,” Aiden smirked, “So, you’re safe as long as they don’t say your full name before saying the rest of it, and ‘needs’ needs to be plural, otherwise the spell won’t work.”

I groaned, “Still, can’t we change it? Or better yet, get rid of it?”

“Well, if you can get that thing off yourself, then yes.”

Impossible, the thing gripped my leg so tightly, it was a wonder how blood was getting into my hoof.

“Anyway, I think only Princess Celestia can take that off of you, and I’m not sure she’s willing to risk casting any more magic on you, not after last time…”

“Ah. Well, that’s understandable.” I looked at the bracelet again, annoyed that all this was coming now and not before. Perhaps it was my fault for not listening. “You said there were others…”

Aiden began to murmur to himself, “The signal spell, the beg spell, the want spell…”

“The ‘want’ spell?”

“It’s like the beg spell, except instead of you begging for something, you have this overwhelming desire to want something, or want to do something.” Aiden then returned to trying to remember his mental list.

“And?” I prompted.

“And what?”

“What’s the trigger spell?” Aiden was really enjoying this way too much.

He was stifling a laugh, “It’s your name followed by the words ‘please-please-please’, then the instruction.”

There was nothing I could even say to that. That was ridiculous! “Three ‘pleases’? That’s it?”

Aiden cast another spell and I felt the bracelet absorb it.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Forest Fire, please, please, please jump around like a rabbit.”

Nothing happened. I didn’t feel like doing anything, least of all bounce around like a bunny. My eyes gazed upon Aiden with a confused look in them.

“There is a certain way you need to say it. Forest Fire, please-please-please jump around like a rabbit.”

Instantly I felt this overwhelming sensation that I needed to hop about like a bunny. Whatever it was compelled me to obey. The urge was so strong that it seemed the most natural course of action at this point. So, I lift my hooves up, leaned back on my hind-legs and hopped around. Throughout the entire humiliating task I was acutely aware of what was going on, and no matter how hard I willed myself to stop my body just wouldn’t listen to me. It was if my body and mind were completely disconnected.

Then it just ended. The burning sensation in my wrist vanished.

“Do not do that again!” I exclaimed.

Aiden deliberately ignored me, “So, you see, it’s how you say it as well.”

“You just said the ‘pleases’ faster the second time,” I muttered.

“That’s the difference. So, just make sure that you don’t tell anypone about it, and you’ll be fine,” Aiden started to walk back towards Ponyville.

“Wait! You said there were more!”

“There are, but I think that three spells for now is enough. I’ll tell you the others next time, when I can remember them better.”

And I watched him go. To be honest, I couldn’t tell if Aiden really would tell me the others the next time and honestly, I didn’t really want to know. Considering the latest demonstration my already complicated life was going to get a helluvalot more complex. The bracelet was there to protect me from maigc, not manipulate me! I made a mental note to talk to Twilight about that.

As I entered the café I spotted Pinkie and Applejack at a table with Twilight! What were the chances of that? They were chatting and laughing together. Twilight, who was sitting facing the door, saw me and waved. I responded with a nod and a smile and started making my way over to them. As I approached, I took a deep breath and pulled the last empty chair back and sat down, “Sorry that took so long.”

“Ooh, ooh! What did Aiden teach ya! We’ve been trying to get Twi to tell us, but she won’t! She says it’s a secret! It’s not fair!” Pinkie pouted.

“Aiden was just showing me the signal spell, which you saw a few minutes ago, right?”

“That all he teach you, forest?” Twilight taunted grinning behind a glass of blue-green liquid, which hid half of that sadistic smile from me.

“He taught me some other things that we will not discuss here.” I replied knowing fully what she meant.

Twilight snorted back a laugh.

“That bad?” Applejack asked.

“Worse,” I muttered, “Much worse.”

“Are you ready to order?” The waiter said to us.

He had a light brown coat, much lighter than mine, and a dark brown mane that somewhat resembled my own. His Cutie Mark had three horseshoes together, and he wore what looked like a suit with a bowtie.

“Oh hello, Caramel, I didn’t know you worked here,” Twilight said.

“I’m filling in for Toffee, she got sick,” Caramel sighed, “I keep telling her that she needs to take breaks but she won’t listen to me.”

“Aw, that’s too bad. I hope your sister gets better soon,” Twilight looked over to the rest of us, “Are you guys ready to order?”

“I’ll have a green salad,” Applejack said shyly.

“A salad!” Pinkie shouted, “Are you on a diet?”

Applejack flashed a look over to me and my smiling face. She was being shy. Too cute.

“Don’t hold back on my part,” I encouraged.

“Let get a pizza!” Pinkie shouted, “And share it! But what should we have for toppings?”

“You alright with pizza, Forest?” Applejack asked.

“I’ll eat anything.” I really would, I was starving!

“Great! Pizza then! An extra-extra-large one!” Pinkie ordered. Then they ordered the toppings, which consisted of a variety of different things, but obviously no meat. I think I heard pineapple and jalapeños get tossed in there, but whatever.

As Caramel, our waiter for the evening, went off to get our order, I couldn’t but help notice a carafe of that blue-green liquid that Twilight was sipping on. She looked over to me, “Do you want some? It’s blue-grape wine mixed with spices, fruits and other… things.”

“Sure, a sip wouldn’t hurt. I see you’re all drinking it,” Pinkie Pie took a sip from her glass and smiled at me.

We chatted for a while before the pizza arrived. Caramel carried it on a tray on his back and carefully placed it on the table. We all dug in. If I thought I was a big eater, then Pinkie was a monster! In no time at all she had demolished a quarter of the pizza while I was still on my second slice and already getting full. The taste of the slices was incredible! The sauce was tangy and a little spicy, a hint of something hot to titillate the pallet, the luscious cheese was thick and mouthwatering, and the toppings added that extra bit of finesse that made every bite a new experience.

In short, the best pizza I have ever tasted.

After eating we sat and talked for a bit longer. It was nice to hear the three girls talk about their friendship, their experiences, their troubles, their hopes and dreams. They really were there for each other, and counted on one another. But again, that horrid feeling bubbled up in my gut. I didn’t belong here. Pinkie was a great storyteller – if you could keep up with her.

“What’s wrong, Forest? You’ve been looking glum for the past ten minutes,” Applejack said during a break in Pinkie’s verbal barrage, “You not feeling well?”

“No, just wished that I could… remember more.” And tell you all the truth. I really wanted to.

“Hi, Forest,” Someone cooed from behind me.

“Oh, hello Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, I thought you were all busy…” Applejack narrowed her eyes at them.

They all just giggled.

“Hey, I learnt a new magic trick? Wanna see?” Sweetie Belle giggled some more.

“Sure!” I loved magic tricks.

Sweetie Belle reached over and took my napkin before folding it into the shape of a origami crane, all with her magic. I was impressed, so I clapped my hooves.

“Sweetie Belle, anypony can do that…” Twilight said, “Let me show you a real trick!”

Twilight’s horn glowed, and in her not-so-sober state, she readied herself and in one powerful pull, she had whipped the tablecloth out from under our food and drinks. Now that was impressive, so I clapped again and continued to do so until I felt a familiar burning sensation on my wrist. Magic was being absorbed.

“Ouch. I hate it when this thing absorbs magic. It really hurts,” I groaned waiting for the pain to go away.

Twilight made a face, “I think I’ve drunk too much. Excuse me… I think…”

She was off before she could finish her sentence.

Pinkie rolled her eyes, “She’s suck a light-weight. I’ll be right back.” With that Pinkie ran after her friend.

Funny, the bracelet was still burning me. I lifted it and looked. The glow around it wasn’t purple! It fact it wasn’t even coming from Twilight…

“Sweetie Belle?” I screamed perplexed.

“Forest Fire…” Scootaloo shouted.

It took me a nanosecond to realize what these three had in mind. Cute grins or not, they were evil! I whipped my head towards Applejack, “Run! Run as fast as you can!”

“Wha-“

“Just… go!”

“… please-please-please…” Scootaloo said the words trigger perfectly.

There was a ‘click’ in my head. The same kind of sound you’d hear when you click on a mouse, a tiny confirmation of a command about to be executed.

“Nooooooooooooooo…”

“… go kiss…” Scootaloo began. I felt the dread in my bones. I knew it! I knew it! That was why I feared this knowledge getting out!

“Kissing? Kissing is for babies!” Applebloom grinned, “Let’s make him do something… more.”

“No! Please!” I shouted, imploring them.

“Aw, come on guys. Anything more would be mean. Don't you think that anything apart from kissing will be going too far?” Sweetie Belle said, siding with me.

The two girls looked at one another. I could have sworn they grew horns as the evilness took them.

“Nah!” They both chimed together.

Aw fuck.

"Forest, I want you to..." Scootaloo began.

“Go and kiss Pinkie.” Sweetie Belle shouted before Scootaloo could finish her sentence.

There was a loud bang in the back of my brain, the sound you’d hear if a rusty, old, metal was slammed shut in an empty room. Slowly, I felt my body start to move on its own, my mind started to narrow itself. It was as if I took a backseat in my own body's cognitive function. I could see what I was doing and I knew what I was going to do, but I could not stop. All I wanted to do right now was fight Pinkie. And kiss her.

“Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom moaned, “Now look what you did! We agreed that he’s supposed to kiss Applejack!”

“Sorry, but I just don’t think it’s right making him…” Their voices faded away.

I found myself running towards the last known direction that Pinkie had gone. My brain only had her in mind. I wanted her. I wanted her lips. Nothing else mattered, just those lips. Those soft, plump, shapely, luscious lips! I wanted them. I needed them.

As I rounded the bend towards the rear of the café, I spotted her and Twilight heading back towards the library.

Before I could take a step forwards I felt someone wrap themselves around my hooves, “Make him stop! Get the signal spell!” It was Scootaloo.

“I’m tryin’, he ain’t respondin’!” Applebloom yelled.

“Show me where you are! Show me where you are! Show me where you are!” Scootaloo shouted.

Even though at the back of my brain I understood what she intended, for some reason my body ignored her words. They weren’t right, they sounded off, wrong, incorrect. And Pinkie’s lips were so close! Pulling myself forwards, I used all my strength to get to her.

“Run, Pinkie!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“Why?” Pinkie asked, curious.

“Forest’s gone berserk! We can’t stop him!” Applebloom cried out still tangled up in my legs. She was strong.

“Where? What? Huh?” Twilight said, sitting up slightly dizzily, “Forest?”

“Must. Kiss. Pinkie!” I roared and pulled myself forwards.

“You know, if that was said with any other circumstances it might be cute, but not when…” Scootaloo grunted as I managed to take another step forwards despite her using her wings to try and pin me to the ground, “… you’re under that spell!”

You’re the ones who triggered it! I wanted to scream at them, but my body didn’t respond. All it wanted to do was reach Pinkie, and it was going to reach her… I was going to reach her… no… matter… what!

“Run, Pinkie!” Applebloom shouted again.

Pinkie got the gist that something was off, and bolted. My body reacted to her quickly receding figure in much the same way a predator would see its prey escaping its grasp. But the three younger Mares held me down.

“Sweetie Belle! Say the words!” Scootaloo shouted.

“Forest! Show me where you are, show me where you are, show me where you are!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

Nothing. She said it wrong! You forgot my last name!

Standing up, I shook the three of them off and bolted after Pinkie again.

Pinkie hadn’t gone far, but when she saw me chasing her she tried to run faster. Nothing in Equestria runs faster than Forest Fire. And I zoomed towards her, much like a cheetah on its kill, tackling her into the large lawn just outside of Ponyville.

“Forest! Stop! You’re hurting me!” Pinkie shouted, laughing at the same time.

And there she was, under me, pinned down with my hooves on her shoulders. We stared into each other’s eyes. Time stood still. My heart beat in my chest. Her lips. Her lips were so close. Right there! I wanted them. I wanted to place my lips on hers. I wanted to…

No! I yelled at myself. This is wrong! You can’t do that!

I must! I want to. I need to. I want to. I need to…

My body started to lean forwards. Pinkie’s eyes widened open.

“Are… are you okay, Forest? You’re scaring me.”

No! I can’t hurt her! If I do this, she will hate me forever! She doesn’t understand the meaning behind this. She doesn’t comprehend the weight of what is going on. She’s too innocent! I can’t do it! I won’t! I won’t!

My body didn’t listen. It leaned forwards.

“Forest? Stop… please…”

Tears in formed in her eyes. I was really hurting her! No! Stop! Stop it!

“Pink… kie… hel… help… me…” I willed myself to say.

At once she sensed that there was something going on within me. She might have been the brightest star, but she knew when something was wrong. As I leaned forwards something hit me hard on my left side sending my flying a few yards away.

“What do you think yer doin’?” Applejack shouted, and she looked pissed off.

Thank you, thank you, thank you… I shouted in my head.

“Applejack! Somethin’s wrong with Forest!” Applebloom shouted, catching up to her sister, “He’s still under the spell!”

“Under what?” Applejack asked confused.

Scootaloo crashed into me and pinned me to the ground, “Sweetie Belle, say it again!”

“Forest, show me where you are! Show me! Show me!” Sweetie Belle shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks.

No! You’re saying is wrong!

Wait. I talked to Pinkie just now. Come on, I can tell them. Mouth, move! Open and speak!

“A… den…” I managed to force myself.

“Aiden! Get Aiden, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo ordered.

That took everything I had. It was as if I was holding my breath for as long as I possibly could before my body’s reflexes took over and inhaled on my behalf. That was essentially what happened as I pushed Scootaloo aside, and once again headed straight for a shocked and crying Pinkie.

Applejack intercepted me again.

“What’s goin’ on?” She shouted in my ear, pinning me down. Holy shit, she was strong!

“He’s got these spells… we saw Aiden showing him them…” Applebloom confessed, “We were stargazin’ when we saw them in the field. We heard everythin’! We didn’t mean for it to get this bad! Honest!” Applebloom looked at her sister.

“That’s no excuse to be foolin’ with magic, especially when another Pony’s involved!” Applejack scolded her younger sibling.

Scootaloo dive-bombed my head, holding me down in serious headlock. Although it hurt, I was grateful that they were pinning me down like that. I knew what they were doing, and I tried hard not to fight them – but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to kiss Pinkie, and it felt as though if I didn’t everything would end.

I dug a hoof into the ground and pulled myself forwards towards Pinkie.

“Oh Celestia! He’s as strong as Big Mac!” Applejack muttered.

One hoof in front of the other, I crawled on the dirt towards Pinkie, pulling myself closer and closer towards her. Why didn’t she run? As I inched my way towards her, she sat there staring at me, her face unreadable. What was she thinking? What was she…

She ran over to me, cupped my chin in her hooves and pulled my face towards her.

My mind reeled within itself as Pinkie placed her lips on mine. Something inside me felt like a pop, and the next thing I knew I was laying in Pinkies arms (hooves) her lips firmly planted against mine. Applejack was still sitting on my back, Scootaloo still had me in a headlock and Applebloom was hugging my hindlegs.

“If you wanted a kiss so bad, then say so! You don’t have to act like a hungry Timberwolf,” Pinkie stated blushing ferociously.

I just guffawed. There was nothing I could do or say, and only yesterday Applejack and I…

Ooh, I felt an aura of death emanating from behind me. Slowly, I turned my head to see Applejack’s face. She was trying to mask her anger, but it wasn’t working so well. She was pissed off. Really, really pissed off – I just hoped it wasn’t at me…

“Forest! How could you?”

“Applejack, I’m sorry! I didn’t…”

Applebloom jumped to my rescue, “It’s our fault, sis! We didn’t mean it!”

“What’s the big deal, Applejack? It’s only a kiss,” Pinkie Pie grinned, “Right, Forest?”

“Well… I…” I didn’t quite know how to reply to that.

“What is it?” Pinkie asked.

“Don’t tell me that was your first kiss,” Scootaloo said picking herself up.

“What? No!”

All of them stared at me.

“That was your first kiss?”

“No! It wasn’t… I mean… I… maybe… I don’t know, okay! I can’t remember if I’ve kissed anypony before, alright?” I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Aiden and Sweetie Belle arrived at that point, followed by a sober Twilight.

“What’d we miss? We tried to ignite the signal spell, but nothing happened…”

“Forest kissed Pinkie.” Applejack said stoically.

“It wasn’t on purpose!” I tried to explain.

“You didn’t look like you were fightin’ the urge to smooch her, y’know. I ain’t blind!”

Oh man. She was so pissed.

“Applejack, it was only a kiss. It wasn’t like he asked me to marry him,” Pinkie said rolling her eyes.

“M-m-marry him!” Applejack glared at me, “So now you want to marry Pinkie?”

“Wha-?”

She smacked me. I think it was supposed to be a slap, but it’s hard to slap with a hoof, so she clobbered me instead. I saw stars.

“Applejack! Wait!” Applebloom called after her sister.

“Girls!” Twilight growled, “How many times have we told you not to fool around with magic?”

“Sorry, Twilight, we were only foolin’.” Applebloom kicked the ground at her feet.

“And this is why I hate teenagers,” Twilight shouted to the sky, before turning around and heading back towards the library, “First there’s Spike and his ‘Rarity problems’, then there’s a bunch of fillies who think that abusing magic is a joke…”

Her voice faded away.

“Sorry, Forest. I tried.” Aiden placed a hoof on my shoulder.

“Why is everyone so angry? I only did what Forest wanted…” Pinkie said, again with tears, “It’s not like wanted to…”

Oh no! “Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie. Please. Don’t. Don’t cry. It was a great kiss. The best I’ve ever felt. Thank you for… thank you for that.” I couldn’t hurt her, but I didn’t want her to think that there was something between us either.

My life sucks.

“It’s okay, Forest. I know you like Applejack. Well, what are you waiting for! Go after her!” Pinkie shoved me, “Go!”

“Pinkie… I…”

“Go, silly! Before she hates you!”

Turning, I chased after Applejack. Only once did I turn around, and I saw Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all hugging Pinkie at the same time, Pinkie’s face buried in Applebloom’s mane. Aiden stood behind them all with a sour expression.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie. I’m so, so sorry.” I didn’t mean to force myself onto her like that. I didn’t want to force her to do something she didn’t want to do! I was an asshole. How could I let some stupid magic spell control me like that?

But now I had to find Applejack and apologize to her. But where could she be?

I searched everywhere. All over Ponyville, the farm, her house where a really angry Big Mac gave me an earful about breaking his sister’s heart – that was scary, the barn and even Fluttershy’s house. I didn’t dare go into the Everfree Forest, and I knew that Applejack would not have ventured in there either.

That only left one other place.

“Hi Applejack,” I said, cautiously walking up to her sitting at the shores of the lake.

“I don’t wanna see you, Forest. Just go away.”

“Can… can I… can I explain…”

“I know! I know! I know it all, okay? That you had no control over your actions, that you were under a spell an’ all, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not hurt, Forest. I… I…” She looked at me with those huge green eyes damp from her tears.

I’m an asshole times ten! I screamed at myself.

“Applejack…”

She placed a hoof over my lips, “No. No more talkin’. No more waitin’. I’m still angry at you Forest. I’m furious. I know it wasn’t yer fault… but I can’t get it out of my head. She kissed you.”

“I know, but I just want…” I never finished the sentence.

And for the second time that night… I kissed a girl. Applejack was ferocious. She didn’t just kiss me, she kissed me. And, oh man could she kiss. Her warm lips embraced mine and I could feel her tongue… you know what, I’m not going into it. Let’s just say it was a magical moment.

As our lips parted, I couldn’t help but stare into her eyes. She smiled.

“Well, Forest, I might not be yer first kiss, but did I leave an impact?” Applejack smiled shyly at me.

“Applejack, Pinkie may be my first kiss physically… but, you’re my real first kiss. She kissed me to undo a spell. I…” My face burned, “I wanted to kiss you… last night…”

“Why didn’tcha?” Applejack held my cheek.

“I… don’t know. I’m really stupid. I so stupid…”

Applejack giggled at my lame joke, “Do you mind if we stayed here for a while longer?”

“Not at all,” I said as we both gazed across the lake under the moonlight, “Not at all…”

Day 13: Ursa Minor Issue

Applejack nuzzled my chin. We had been sitting together at the lakeshore for what seemed like hours now, gazing at the magnificent view. The moment could not have been more perfect. Her warmth, her breath, her everything… nothing in this world could spoil this moment. Nope. Nothing at all…

“Oh! My! Gosh!” Came a sudden shout from behind us.

Instinctively we pulled apart and looked back only to see Amethyst Star staring at us, her mouth half open. We stood there like children caught red-handed (hoofed) with our hands in the cookie jar. She stared at the two of us as we stared back at her with smiles in an attempt to look innocent. I don’t know why we did that. Amethyst then giggled, gave a little wave and ran in the direction of Ponyville.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind the whole town knowing by tomorrow,” I stated at Amethyst’s receding figure.

Again Applejack nuzzled me, “I don’t mind one bit.”

If I had skin, I would have goose-fleshed at that moment. She leaned up against me pressing her form against my body, and I did the same to her. It just seemed that I couldn’t get close enough, so I put a hoof around her and pulled her closer to me. She didn’t resist as she buried her face in my neck.

“We ought to be gettin’ back. My family might be worried ‘bout me.” Applejack said quietly after a while. She tried to pry herself loose from my grip but my body refused to let her go. She giggled at me and nipped my neck, “Let me go, Forest. It’s hard enough as it is.”

Through sheer will, I released her and watched her stand up. We walked back together towards Sweet Apple Acres in relative silence, but I unconsciously tried to get as close to her as possible again.

“Forest, you got to let me walk properly! You keep pushing me off the road!” Applejack commented, giggling.

I blushed and moved away a step, “Sorry, I just… wanted to be…” I mumbled the rest.

“What was that?” Applejack asked looking at me with those beautiful green eyes.

“I said…” I mumbled again. My face felt hot. Really hot. Why was I so shy?

“I missed that.” She had on a mischievous grin, and I could tell she was enjoying every minute of this emotional torture session.

Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

“I said,” I took a deep breath, “I. Just. Want. To. Be. As. Close. To. You. As. Possible!”

My face was boiling. It felt stupid to say something so… so… stupid! But it was how I really felt.

Applejack licked my cheek, “Yer cute when you blush, y’know?”

I thought I felt steam exit my ears when she did that. I had to sit down.

“Race you home…” Applejack taunted, and bolted before I could recover from my shock.

It didn’t take me long to catch up, but I let her take the lead. Frankly, for some reason, I was enjoying following her, staring at her fla-

“Oh my,” Applejack whispered, coming to a sudden halt.

I nearly bumped into her, “What’s wrong?”

She gestured with her hoof towards the house. There we saw Amethyst Star conversing with Applebloom and Big Mac. Applebloom was grinning from ear to ear. Big Mac’s expression was harder to read. A lot harder. I couldn’t tell if he was please, happy, furious or livid.

I shuddered.

“What’s the matter?” Applejack asked noticing me.

“This is a scary moment,” I blurted out.

“What?” Applejack looked at me confused.

“Your big brother is scary when he’s mad. And he looks mad. I think. I can’t tell.”

“Naw, he’s just protective,” Applejack replied, “He wouldn’t harm a fly.”

Typical ‘little sister’ logic – ‘big brother won’t harm the guy I like’. Big Mac would have no problems beating the living daylights out of me if I so much as hinted at hurting Applejack in any way, shape or form. And I had a feeling he’d beat me up for less, if need be. The way he chewed me out a few hours ago was still pretty fresh in my mind. And although I understood why but it still was one of the scariest things I had ever gone through.

After a few minutes Amethyst waved goodbye and was making a beeline for us. Since we were at the edge of the farm, we were concealed in the darkness. But she noticed us as the distance between us closed. Neither of us hid as she spotted us flashing a huge grin, “Hello you two. Enjoying yourselves?”

“Darn it, Star! What’cha say to my brother?”

“I just said that his little sister was snuggling up to that brown stallion, is all. Your sister seemed to like the news. I’m not sure about your brother…” Amethyst gave me a keen look, “And here we all were actually worried about our favourite Element of Honesty.”

My blood turned to ice at the mention of Big Mac’s outlook.

“I’m fine! We were just admirin’ the view!” Applejack countered.

Amethyst grinned, “If you say so, Applejack. It looked a lot more than just admirin’ to me. Kinda looked like snugglin’. Perhaps I came… after?”

The question was too obvious to miss. I blushed furiously. Again. Seriously, I couldn’t stop!

“Nothin’ like that happened!” Applejack barked back.

“Really?” Amethyst tilted her head at an angle, “You just sat there nuzzling one another all that time?”

I nodded stupidly, and looked away.

“Oh! My! Gosh! That is too sweet! You’re going to give me a cavity!” Amethyst giggled again and shook her head, “You can’t be that innocent.”

I wasn’t. I’ve had ‘relations’ before. Just not with someone I cared for this deeply. It was a very strange feeling, one that I’ve never experienced before, and I was not even sure how to describe the feeling to myself, let alone actually accepting it. All I knew was that it felt ‘right’ and that it was the ‘best’.

“Oh gosh, are you two… virgins?” Amethyst said the word silently, almost as if it were taboo.

“No!” We both cried out at the same time.

We looked at each other. That was perhaps the wrong moment to have opened my mouth.

“Okay… well, I’ll be going now,” Amethyst stated when she felt the mood change. She turned and galloped away, heading down the road towards Ponyville.

I did the civil thing and walked Applejack to her door. I stopped just outside the front door, letting her open it and step inside.

“I… I had a good time, Forest.”

“Me too.”

“We… should do it again.”

“Yes, definitely!” I exclaimed.

“That… whole thing about me being…” She didn’t finish the statement, but I knew what she meant.

“Doesn’t matter,” I replied, truthfully. It didn’t.

“Really?” Applejack looked down at the ground not able to meet my eyes, “Forest, I need to tell you something, something very important about me. Something that… you might not like.”

“Is it about a Stallion from your past?”

Applejack nodded.

“Are you still… involved?” Please say no! Please say no!

“No…” Applejack looked me in the eye.

“Then, you don’t have to tell me.”

“But I want to, Forest. I think I need to. I don’t want any secrets between us…”

That statement felt like a sledgehammer dealing a crushing blow to a fragile object called ‘my life’, shattering it into a million pieces. I had no right to make her that kind of promise. How could I? I’ve been lying to her all along! Not just to her, but to all her friends as well. I couldn’t tell her the truth. There was no possible way. If I did spill the beans, it would all be over. I would lose and be imprisoned in limbo forever. But she was the Element of Honesty and I understood – no, I knew – this was important to her. And to top it all off, I was the asshole who had to lie to her once again.

Yeah. I was quickly becoming a bigger asshole by each passing day.

“My life is one giant secret, Applejack. I can’t be honest with you if I don’t know who I am. It wouldn’t be fair on you to tell me your secrets when I have none… to give. I’m sorry.”

That was my saving grace. Two simple words. To give. I didn’t lie to her, just told her that I had no secrets ‘to give’; I only had ones to keep. That was true. Who was I really? Was I the human ‘John Smith’ from Earth? Or was I ‘Forest Fire’ from Equestria? If that was so clearly defined, then those stupid ‘body-control’ spells wouldn’t work on me. They used my Equestrian name. So in the end, who was I really?

“Well, when you’re ready, Forest, then I’ll tell you everythin’.”

“I hope that one day I can do the same, Applejack,” I smiled weakly at her.

I really hoped that I could, and on top of that I hoped that she could forgive me. That all of them could, all those Ponies that showered me with kindness and friendship. Not just Applejack, but Pinkie too. And there was Twilight, Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny, the Cakes and everyone else that had touched my life in their own special way. Even the Princesses, although their ‘touch’ nearly killed me, I hoped that when they found out the truth that they’d forgive me too. And Brian too, for he tried so hard to prove the truth and was right all along.

“Good night, Forest,” The most beautiful Pony I knew whispered.

“Good night, Applejack.”

We both stood there awkwardly for a long moment. I knew what she wanted, but the three heads that were staring at us from the living room window made it really uncomfortable. It was hard not to notice them. Applejack couldn’t see them from her perspective, but I could. I didn’t want to not kiss her. I just didn’t want an audience. But I didn’t want to miss a single moment with her.

So, I took one step closer to her. My heart skipped a beat as my body moved physically closer to hers. My head spun. Gently, I kissed her lips. Just a quick peck. Well, she wasn’t happy with just that, so she seized my face in her hooves and gave me a proper kiss. I think I got a heart attack; I was so happy and shocked at the same time.

“Finally!” I heard Applebloom yell from the den.

Applejack and I shared a laugh at that. Our foreheads pressed against each other as she stroked my cheek with her hoof, her eyes inches from mine. They were so mesmerizing. Then, regretfully, she took a step back away from me and I took a step back away from her. She slowly pushed the door closed while I stood there smiling stupidly. She paused just before it closed and gave me a wink, which made my smile wider. Then she closed it.

I stared at to door for a little while not quite sure whether or not I was dreaming. This was way too good to be true. So, I tried to pinch myself, but that failed – can Ponies even pinch? So, I punched my arm. Ouch. No, this was not a dream. I turned around and walked away shaking my head at myself. I had just fallen for a pony –not just any pony, but a cartoon pony. And I didn’t care.

Entering my home I closed the door slowly grinning.

“Well, well, well, Romeo. I saw that. You certainly are the ladies-man,” A voice said. Tutela appeared in the laptop’s monitor, “But aren’t you forgetting something?”

“What?”

“You haven’t won the bet yet. You are still mine, Forest, and until you win, you will remain mine.”

Holy shit! She was right! I hadn’t won this bet! I was still playing and somehow I had got side-tracked. Or did I? If learning the true meaning of friendship was my final goal, then wouldn’t falling for someone special also count?

“And no, Forest, you haven’t found the true meaning of friendship yet,” Tutela grinned, “You’re not even close.”

Don’t listen to her! I yelled to myself before diving into my sofa-bed and trying to sleep.

“What are you, a baby?” Tutela asked, finding my childish antics amusing.

“Sleep time now, please!” I yelled covering my face with a pillow.

I heard her giggle quietly, then silence.

All through the night I kept tossing and turning. I was trying to get some shut eye, but I couldn’t. Every single time I closed my eyes, I’d replay my first kiss with Applejack by the lake. Each time it repeated itself without fail. Again and again, and I enjoyed every minute of it…

“Forest, you promised!” What? What was that?

“You can’t do this!” Who? What? Huh?

“Why are you doing this?” What is going?

“Forest!” Another voice screamed. I knew that voice.

My eyes opened. Light, blinding light burned my eyes. So much light, so much…

“Forest!” A voice screamed again, this time it was a little different.

“Wha-?” What was that? A dream? What was going on? That was no dream. That was a nightmare! And I just woke up to another one.

“Forest! Get your flank out here right now! Don’t make me come in there and get you!” Lavender shouted again.

“Coming! Give me a second,” I shouted, and pulled myself from my bed. I must have only slept for a few hours, but what was that disturbing dream? It made no sense whatsoever. All I could remember was shouting.

Shrugging it off, I exited my house. Dawn was barely over the horizon today.

“You’re supposed to meet me at the lake at dawn, you doofus. Dawn is almost here and you’re not at the lake!”

“Sorry, sorry,” I tried to apologize, but Lavender was being really sullen, “What’s wrong, Lav?”

“What’s wrong?” She seethed, “What’s wrong?” She repeated louder, “I’ll tell you what’s wrong! What’s wrong is that you’re not where you’re supposed to be! What’s wrong is that you don’t understand anything! What’s wrong is that… that… you’re an idiot!”

Ouch. Where did that come from? I stood there staring at her with my mouth wide open in shock, unable to say anything. I was so confused.

“You really don’t know, do you?” Lavender smacked her head, “Of course not! You’re a male. I forget that all males are dumb.”

“Hey!” That wasn’t very fair.

“This is stupid. You’re just an idiot, and we have a race to train for. Let’s go.”

What could have gotten into her? I really wanted to know, but she was so pissed off that I couldn’t even begin to idle conversation. Every time I opened my mouth she’d gave me a savage looked, like she wanted to do nothing else other than strangle me. So we walked to the lake in silence.

“Ten laps. Now,” Lavender barked, pointing at the water with her hoof.

“But…”

“Now!” She screamed when I didn’t move, showering me in her saliva.

Yeesh. She was in a real foul mood. What else could I do but swim? So I swam.

A couple hours later, I crawled out of the water feeling rather exhausted. Lavender stood over me, and I looked up to her face in dread. She was still pissed off! Come on! I just swam ten laps for you!

“Now, run around Ponyville twenty times!”

“Twenty?” Was she mad? “That’s… five times more than the…”

“I know it is,” She rubbed the gap between her eyes, “Now go before I whoop your sorry flank.”

Grumbling to myself, I started my twenty laps. Yes, I could have just run away. Yes, I could have just ignored her. But I had an obligation. The entire town was depending on me to win this race, and I wasn’t about to disappoint anypony.

“Faster!” Lavender shouted when I wasn’t moving fast enough.

It was after lunchtime before I was done and I felt utterly destroyed, both emotionally and physically. Why was she so angry at me? I tried to think of everything I did to her but nothing came to mind. How did she go from treating me normally to treating like this? Did I do something unconsciously? Even the Ponies in town were acting strange. Some were really nice to me, and others were acting like Lavender, cold and a little hostile. I just didn’t get it. It felt like the town was divided into two halves for some reason.

When I completed the final lap I dropped to my face, too tired to even think. Lavender was making a note in a book before walking over to me, “Your time for the race is good enough, but you need to improve your stamina. Tomorrow we’ll concentrate on building that, okay?”

I nodded, my face still buried in lake’s sandy ground.

“Make sure you drink lots of water, and eat something. You need to rest your muscles. Also, you should apologize to Pinkie for breaking her heart.”

Wait, what? I raised my head out of the sand, but Lavender had already started walking away at that point.

“Pinkie,” I said the name to myself. The first thing I saw was her lips on mine. How she had caressed my cheeks, how she had pulled me close to her. How she was my first kiss – as a Pony. Lavender was right, “I am an idiot.”

“Forest!” I heard my name being called, “Forest, there you are!”

Forcing myself onto my feet, I smiled, “Hi there, Twilight. What’s up? Are you okay, you don’t look too good.”

“You need to help me! We’ve… got a problem.” She sounded really panicky.

“We?” I asked raising my eyebrow.

“There was a… mistake. I was teaching Aiden some summoning spells and he had somehow teleported a something into Ponyville…”

“A something?” I asked.

Twilight looked pretty exasperated, angry and annoyed all at the same time, “I’ve exhausted my magic trying to protect the town and I need time to recharge. You need to distract the Ursa until that time…”

“What’s an Ursa?” I asked, “And more importantly, why me?”

Twilight pointed to a big blob of dark blue night sky floating in the not-so-far distance. Wait a minute! How can night sky be there on the ground when it was day? Then again, why was it on the ground? That wasn’t a sky! That was an animal! A huge blue beast with what looked like stars on its fur lumbered towards us. The fucking was thing was huge! It stood over two stories high while walking on all fours, and had a great big mouth with great big pointy teeth and extra-sharp claws.

“That’s an Ursa,” Twilight said, backing up, turning and running away.

“Wha-?” The fuck!

I chased the purple Unicorn while she just ahead of me, “You’re the fastest pony around! If there’s anypony that can outrun that creature, it’s you.”

As flattered as I was by her sentiment, I was exhausted from my training, but I couldn’t disappoint, these Ponies were relying on me, and I wasn’t about to fail them, “What do I do? What do I do?”

“Take this,” Twilight threw me an object, which I caught. It looked like a hexagon and was really sticky. It fit nicely around my hoof, sitting prominently over my bracelet, “And keep that on you until I figure this whole mess out.”

“Okay… now what?” I asked taking a good look at the said object, while still jogging by her side.

“Keep running.”

“Keep… running?”

“Yes!” Twilight shouted, “That’s a Muzen honey comb.”

“Muzen honey what?”

The Ursa was heading straight for me now. A lot of thoughts went through my, most of them were curses in a variety of colorful expressions.

“Muzen bees are the biggest bees known, they make the sweetest honey and that little bit you’re holding is probably worth hundreds of bits! Everypony loves it, everything loves it! Especially a lot of really dangerous creatures! One of them is that Ursa!” Twilight shouted moving further away from me.

“Aiden summoned this?” I shouted.

Twilight’s silence spoke volumes, “Now run! Just keep away from it until I can think of a plan!”

“Are you kidding me?” Bait! I was bait!

All arguments were settled the moment the Ursa let out an ear-deafening, gut-wrenching, fear-surging, blood-freezing, shit-making roar. Bait I was!

Charging across the lake, the Ursa followed me. It was so big that it just wallowed across, fording the river effortlessly. I noticed this once I had reached the other side. If it was slowing the creature down, it wasn’t doing a very good job. Not wanting to stick around, I got out of there. The Ursa was in pursuit but it was not as fast me. It wasn’t too difficult to keep away from it. But I was so, so tired. If only Lavender hadn’t pushed me so hard! This would be no problem.

“You should apologize to Pinkie. You broke her heart…” Lavender’s voice echoed in my head.

What? Why was that thought popping up in my brain now? Had I really hurt Pinkie that much? Did I really cause her pain when I vowed not to? Didn’t she kiss me to break the spell so I wouldn’t hurt her? Did she actually… was she…

“Forest, a mare just doesn’t jump into bed with a stallion if she doesn’t have feelin’s for him…” Applejack’s voice echoed in the back of my mind.

No! I was with Applejack now. There was no way I would-

I fell on my face, sliding to a halt. Standing up, I looked down at my chest. The Muzen honey comb was completely broken, smashed into tiny pieces, which not stuck to my chest. I tried to pull them off, but it was impossible.

“No! No, no, no, no, no! This is not happening!”

A loud growl from behind me reminded me just exactly what was going on. If I lived through this, I was going to kill Twilight, and Aiden. Not really, of course… maybe.

But thinking of things from Twilight’s side, I guess it made sense. I was the fastest one around. The Ursa was already keeping up with me at a pretty fast pace, and even though I was fast I didn’t have unlimited stamina. I was like a cheetah, I could use short bursts of speed, the faster I went, the shorter the distance. And normally I could go on for quite some time at this pace, but after this morning’s training…

I spotted Lavender walking ahead of me. Speeding up, I caught up to her in seconds, “What do you mean I hurt Pinkie? How did I hurt her?”

Lavender was shocked to see me, “Forest, didn’t I tell you to rest…”

“What do you mean? I don’t have time!” I shouted.

Lavender turned around and spotted the Ursa. Fear gripped her, but I deserved to know.

“W-w-why is that thing chasing you?” Lavender stammered in fear.

“Please, Lav! Tell me!” The beast was closing in on us.

“She liked you, Forest. She still does. But you liked Applejack, yet you still asked her to kiss you. Even if you were under a spell...” Lavender didn’t finish. She didn’t need to. I had gotten the answer I wanted, “And be careful. You’re our best chance at winning the Race!”

A big beast is chasing me threatening to consume me whole, and that’s what she’s worried about? She dove behind the nearest bush, but the Ursa had no interest in her and swiftly sped by.

On I ran. On and on and on. My legs were feeling like jelly, my mouth felt dry, and my hind muscles were burning. But the Ursa was also getting tired, I could tell. It was lumbering along, but it was slowing down as well. So, I dropped my pace. I couldn’t take much more of this. I don’t know how long I had been running for, but it Ponyville was long gone. At my speed and direction, who knew where I was?

Still that stupid beast chased me.

The sky started to turn orange, the sun was setting. Here I was, still running, shattered, hungry, thirsty, who know how far away from home, and still being chased by that damned monster! Even animals needed to stop too!

Was this honey a drug or something? Was I covered in animal cocaine? Tutela would save me, right? Tutela would teleport me back to her haven where I could recover…

“No! No, Forest,” I shouted to myself, “You have to do this!”

No. I couldn’t do it. I was too tired. My legs were dead.

“Shit,” I muttered as I took my slow, struggling steps forwards.

The sounds of the Ursa’s footsteps were closing in on me. In retrospect, perhaps running in a straight line away from Ponyville was not the brightest idea. My legs gave out. They no longer listened to me as I lay on my chest on the dry, brown grass.

A gush of hot air breathed over my back. Stale, rank breath filled my nostrils. Long lines of saliva dribbled around me. Razor sharp teeth surrounded me. I was too exhausted to even lift up my head, so I closed my eyes and waited. What for? I don’t know. Either I’d wake hear Tutela’s voice, or I’d not wake up at all.

I felt myself rise up in the air. It was dark. Pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. Did I die and was not ascending through to another plane of existence? That was weird; the beast must have been very quick in ending my life. I didn’t feel anything. In fact… all I feel is icky, slippery, gooey wetness. It was a warm wetness. And it stunk very badly, like bad breath.

The thing was carrying me in its mouth! Alive! The tongue was savoring the honey on my chest! To the Ursa, I was probably a really fast treat running away from it! Stupid bastard was going to eat the honey one way or another. But why was it not chewing me?

I don’t know how long I was stuck in that creature’s mouth, but it must have been quite a while. Soon, I heard voices.

“Where’s Forest?” That was Twilight’s voice, “Where is he?”

There was no response.

“Let the Ursa go back to the Everfree Forest. Twilight, he must be safe. He must have run clear to Appaloosa by now,” Applejack’s voice stated.

I wanted to shout out, to let them all know I was in the damned beast’s mouth, but I didn’t want to risk it. If the beast knew I was alive, or that I was moving, it might think that I was trying to escape and actually bite me in half. So I remained as still and quiet as possible. Why hadn’t Tutela pulled me out of here?

“What’s that in its mouth?” A voice shouted.

It was Aiden who next spoke, “Everypony, get back indoors, we don’t want to distract the Ursa from going back to the woods.”

“But…”

“No buts. Now go. Twilight, I want you to stay here and make sure that the beast doesn’t come out. I’ll sort out… things on the inside of the woods,” Aiden didn’t elaborate.

“Aiden, what are you going to do?” Twilight’s voice sounded shaky.

Their voices started to fade. The Ursa was more interested in making its way back home than sticking around. It had gotten what it came for, and was now content – but I wasn’t dead!

Then suddenly my world opened up and I fell onto the ground in a slobbery pile next to some bones of other creatures. A large rat saw me and inched its way over to me. It opened its mouth to take a bite off of me. Perhaps it thought I was dead.

“Don’t even think about it,” I whispered before the rat could close its jaw. It stared at me with its eyes wide open before turning about and scurrying off. It paused once or twice to take a good look at me before it completely disappeared in the debris.

Without moving my head I took in the surrounding area. In front of me was a giant stack of bones of various creatures. To my right were some more bones of other creatures. To my left was a large rocky wall, and below me was a red-tinted, decay reeking floor. Blood, and lots of it, had been spilt right here. This was not a good place for a Pony.

I heard noises coming from behind me and I very slowly and very carefully turned my head to see what it was. I couldn’t see the Ursa, so but from the looks of things this was at the very back of a cave and the only way out was through the front door. Dragging myself, I pulled my body through the sludge using my front hooves, under the pile of bones going as deep below as I could. I didn’t care about the smell, nor did I care about the fact that this place was probably swarming with opportunistic creatures. I needed rest. I needed sleep. I was cold, hungry and exhausted.

As I lay on that cold floor, breathing in the putrid air, my thoughts went to back to earlier this morning, before the dawn, the moment by the lake. That was perfect. Why couldn’t shit like that happen to me all the time? Why does every high come with this ultimate low? My eyes felt heavier and heavier.

“Good night, Applejack,” I whispered to the wind.

Day 14: Ursa Major Problem

Something woke me up. It was pain. Pain, it seemed, was a common occurrence when it was time for me to open my eyes. This time it came as a sharp twinge on my left flank.

“Ow,” I said aloud without much emotion before remembering that I was supposed to be dead and rotting in a pile of discarded and forgotten corpses. The pinching stopped the instant I moaned. Looking back to the source of my most recent discomfort, I spotted a rat. It looked like the same one from before. It stared right at me. Was it hoping that I had died during the night and was settling in for a snack? Did I even sleep through the night? Was it still night?

My stomach rumbled. I was starving. Trying to stand up proved to be futile. My legs buckled under me and could not support my weight. Whether this was from exhaustion from my run or from lacking energy eluded me. Was my body more hungry than tired or was I too tired and hunger a mere annoyance?

“I wish I had something to eat,” I whispered.

Think, Forest! You need to get out of here!

But my body would not obey. Not only could I not stand up, but all I could think of was food. I could barely crawl, I felt so weak. Do I risk sleeping some more? Perhaps I needed more sleep. But my stomach was yearning for something to digest. It had not had anything in it since that pizza at the café… no! Don’t think about food. Think about something else…

But what? My mind was still shrouded with food. All those delicious, delectable Equestrian dishes, made with such love and care. And how they tasted…

What I would give for an apple.

Closing my eyes, I thought of Applejack. Was she worried? She was strong. She would be fine. She did worry a little too much about me.

There was a nearly inaudible squeak from behind me. Again, I turned my head and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Food! Not the greatest of choices, but beggars can’t be choosers. The rat had brought me a bundle of grass or hay, I don’t know which, and had laid it down on the ground behind me. It took quite a lot of effort to pull myself around and then crawl towards it. The rat watched me and when it was clear that I was not going to reach it on my own, it pushed the bundle towards me.

I gobbled it down, and it was delicious. I guess it’s true about what they say; everything tastes better when you’re hungry. Well, I was starving and these few tiny handfuls of hay were the best things I had ever eaten in my whole life. Funny how grass would be so fantastic, but I guessed that was due to my new physiology. I was a Pony now, obviously I’d like grass. Already I could feel energy returning to me. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more.

“Thanks, little guy. I owe you one,” I whispered to the rat.

It gave a squeak in reply before touching my muzzle with its tiny hand. It held it there for a long moment as if trying to read my expression. After a moment it turned and departed. I watched it go. Perhaps ‘rat’ was too harsh of a word to describe it. Rats always seemed to have a negative connotation behind it. On Earth they were filthy, disgusting, dirty, diseased-ridden vermin - but what about here? Were they abhorred the same way? I found that hard to believe.

Slowly, and shakily, I managed to stand up for a full five seconds before I fell back down. Well, now I answered my own question from before. It was hunger that was holding me back. If I could get some more, I might actually have enough strength to get out of this situation.

As if on cue, the rat – no, my new friend – returned once more with more of that delectable grass. Again and again it returned with it. Each time it placed the new handfuls on the ground in front of me. After the ninth or tenth trip it came back empty handed. Either it got bored, or there was no grass left.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up from the ground and found that I could stand! Guess I was more hungry than tired.

“Thanks, little buddy. You’re a lifesaver. Since you saved my life, is there anything I can do for you?”

The rat ran and sat down at the base of my hoof and looked up at me. It looked like he was blocking my way. Then, it raised its little arms upwards, similar to a how a human child would reach up to its parent. It gave me the silent demand of ‘carry me’. Did it want a ride?

“First, I need to call you something other than ‘rat’. Let me think…” What could I call this him? I smiled.

It stared at me blankly for a moment before tilting its head to one side.

“How about Jerry?” I asked.

It laid on the ground and put its hands over its eyes.

“Okay, okay. Not Jerry. Then… a girly name? Are you a girl?”

It sat up and nodded.

“You can understand me?”

It nodded again.

“How… how is that even possible?” It was impossible!

“Earth Ponies have an affinity to plants and animals…” I heard Tutela’s voice say in the back of my mind. She had explained it to me a long time ago. Perhaps she used different words at the time, but that’s how I remembered them. But even so, I had no affinity to magic. Unless…

“So, I might actually have some magic in me after all!” For the briefest of moments I had thought that I actually possessed magic like a normal Pony. The reality set in. It was faint, but I felt it. My wrist had a slight burning sensation, the same type of sensation from before. The bracelet was charged. The charge wasn’t there from before. Did it come from the grass I ate? It was weak, but that little bit of magic would explain how I was able to communicate with this animal.

“Okay, then a girly name. For a rat…” I thought and thought, but nothing came to mind. Then it just came to me, “What about Tessie?”

The rat tilted her head.

“It means ‘harvester’, or something like that. That a good name? I thought of it because you got me the grass,” I spoke in low whispers.

The rat stood on its hind legs and gave me one big nod. She liked it!

“Hello, Tessie. I’m Forest, Forest Fire. Pleased to meet you,” And I held out my hoof. She shook it carefully. I then lowered myself onto the ground, “Hop on.” Tessie didn’t need to be told twice as she bounded onto my back and sat at the base of my neck, holding my mane tightly. “Now, what d’ya say we get out of here?”

Tessie gave another barely audible squeak, and we were off!

Slowly, that is. I tip-toed (tip-hoofed?) slowly, making my way to the edge of the bundle of bones. That was when I spotted something strange. I had not noticed it before, but now that I was more away of my surroundings, the entire ground was littered in tiny, tiny skeletons. Sure, there were gigantic ones all around, but there were also tiny remains all over the place. Rodents, birds and various small creatures, anything! That made no sense – couldn’t these little guys get in and out of places like these easily?

Just then the Ursa walked in and looked around. Instinctively, I ducked behind some bones. It looked like a really big rib-cage, about half the size of the Ursa. Tessie was shaking pretty badly, shivering with absolute terror. The bear-like creature walked towards us swinging its head from left to right, sniffing the air. After a while, it turned around and exited the same way it came in.

Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, I slipped on something and fell to my side knocking over some bones, which had a domino effect. The ruckus drew the attention of the Ursa’s again as its face popped back into view.

Shit, shit, shit!

It approached the pile of bones and started to sniff around. I didn’t move. I didn’t even breathe. I closed my eyes as the large snout poked itself through between the ribs where I hiding and inhaled deeply. The sound of it snuffling a few feet away from my face made me nearly wet myself. I would have, but I was too dehydrated. A part of me wanted to run in panic, but I forced myself to remain calm. After all, if Tessie could remain quiet then I could too.

Finally the beast once again turned away and left the way it came. As quietly and as slowly as I could, I let out a long sigh of relief.

But what had I slipped on? Looking down, I saw the ground. It was a smooth stone slab that disappeared under the dirt. But why would it be so prominent here? Instinctively I told myself that I had to fully comprehend my situation. There was something amiss.

A few things really bothered me. First off were these bodies and their remains. It was understandable why there would be so many of them. The Ursa was a huge animal, and judging from the size of some of the skeletons, a very proficient hunter. Using that logic, why would there be so many tiny skeletons lying around? Surely a fierce predator like that would have no problems getting a proper meal from bigger prey instead of resorting to these tiny nibbles? But I wasn’t a predator, so I didn’t really comprehend the concept of ‘opportunistic hunter’. Still, an animal this small would be like a grain of rice.

Secondly; why was this guy the only rat around? Surely a pile like this would be swarming with rats and other creatures that fed on rotting flesh, but no. He, or was it a she, was only the one. There weren’t any sounds of pitter-pattering little feet or the occasional squeak, just complete and utter silence.

Third was exactly that. The rat’s reaction to the Ursa was complete silence. It didn’t squeak like crazy, which was what I would’ve done if I hadn’t spent a few hours inside its disgusting mouth, nor did the rat try to run. The rodent put the term ‘silent as a mouse’ to shame. It did not make a single sound. Rats don’t act like that, do they?

Then it dawned on me. This guy must be a prisoner here! That would make perfect sense. It didn’t matter if she was small. I ran for over six hours in a single direction in an attempt to escape. Did it work? No! I was caught eventually and brought back.

But why didn’t Tessie dig her way out? The ground was solid stone in a few places, but surely she could have dug through the dirt. Perhaps I could…

My hoof scraped against something hard and smooth after just two scoops of the dirt. It felt like a large rock, so I dragged my hoof over the rock in one direction attempting to find the edge. There wasn’t one. The ‘rock’ melded with the wall. Then I realized that the entire ground was solid. But what about the dirt, surely that had to come from somewhere, right?

My heart started to beat faster. It wasn’t just dirt either. It was decomposed remains of the unfortunate creatures that had met their tragic demises here. It was the flesh, blood, furs, pelts and whatever else that remained. A sudden wave of nausea threatened to make me empty the contents of my stomach. Where did Tessie get my little feast from?

My eyes spotted a little bit of grass growing underneath a skull. How did grass grow in this place? There was no sunlight, no… water.

That was when my eyes drifted upwards. A small hole at the top was enough to bathe this entire miserable place in light? It didn’t seem possible, and yet I could not deny what my eyes were seeing. So, this wasn’t a cave.

And water? Blood was like water, and the ground was blood. Dried, coagulated blood. I tried hard not to retch at the thought.

And why should I retch? I used to eat my meat practically raw back on Earth. But as a Pony, the thought of eating flash was… disgusting. Had I completely immersed myself in my new persona? Had I forsaken what I was? Was I… no longer human?

Stupid! Of course you are! I screamed to myself in my head. Now start concentrating on getting out of here. If Tutela hasn’t pulled you out to safety then that means you still have a chance.

That rationalization helped me calm myself down. Once again I looked up at the tiny dot of light so close yet so far away. Funny how light worked like that. Just that tiny bit had such an impact; it illuminated my situation, it brought life to this place and it gave me hope.

Walking to the nearest wall I rubbed my hoof across the surface. Smooth as glass. Unless I sprouted wings, I was not getting out that way. That left only one other way out and that was past the Ursa. I knew it, Tessie knew it, but that didn’t make the prospect any easier to accept.

Peering around the corner, I spotted the Ursa at the far end of the cave chewing on something. I shuddered.

Creeping along, I slowly walked around the edge of the cave, sticking to the far wall as close as possible, wishing that I could somehow become a part of it. The Ursa stopped, turned towards my direction. I froze. Then it let out a terrifyingly cute mew. Wait, that can’t be right. But indeed, it was mewling away, and spinning around and chasing its tail, looking at me it sat on its haunches with its paws up. It looked… cute. Or at least it would have if it didn’t have teeth longer than me.

Suddenly I felt a frantic tugging on my mane. It was pulling to my right, as if Tessie wanted me to look that way. So I did.

And I regretted it.

The cave wall had long since ended. My attention was so focused on the Ursa across from me that I failed to see where I was going. What was beside me wasn’t a wall at all. It was an eye. A massive, bloodshot eye, and it was looking right at me.

“Are you serious?” I shouted. There was no point in being quiet now, was there?

The eye lifted itself up off the ground, as it did it revealed a huge head. The creature had been lying down, rolled up in a dark violet or purple pelt with the same star-like pattern on it as the Ursa on the far side. Up it rose, on and on while I could only look in stunned silence. As it reared itself on its hind legs, I couldn’t help but feel a part of my soul escape my body. The sheer terror that gripped me when realization settled in didn’t help. This was an Ursa. The thing that chased me across Equestria was a frigging cub! A cub!

As the Ursa reached its full height, towering over me like a sky-scraper, it bared its fangs and let out a low rumble. It bared its teeth, snarling at me. Me! A creature the size of an ant! But that was not the worst thing. The worst of all were those eyes staring right at me. Right into my soul, telling me that it was not impressed that I was there. Anger. So much anger.

Tessie pulled on my mane again, and I turned instinctively to look. The little Ursa was heading straight at me.

Great! Perfect! Could this get any better?

Where was the exit?

The little Ursa launched itself at me, but I easily bolted to the right as it slid across the floor crashing into the bigger one’s feet. It growled after that. Perhaps the bigger one was the mother. Not that I cared.

No time to lose! Run!

As I ran, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye coming right at me. Slamming my hooves down hard, I stopped impulsively, before doing a ninety degree turn away from the object and ran as hard as I could. That action might’ve saved my life. Something like a typhoon blew past my body lifting my rear up into the air. That ‘something’ was the larger Ursa’s paw! A wall of muscle, flesh, fur and claws!

Picking itself up off the floor, the little Ursa charged towards me again. This time it had its mouth wide open revealing where I had sat hours before. I tried to turn around, but I slipped landing on my chin. Not missing an opportunity, the Ursa leapt into the air heading straight at me. Pushing with my legs, I slid backwards just in time as crashed hard into the ground. It was not pleased with this outcome. It looked at me from the top of its eyes, staring me down. It was hunting me.

But that wasn’t my only concern. Another huge paw crashed inches away from me, and slid itself along the ground towards where I lay. In that moment I tried to use my sudden burst of speed to escape, but there was no traction on the ground! Nothing happened. My necks snapped back, but I remained where I stood. So, I braced for impact.

It must have been for only a few seconds, but I awoke to find myself at the complete other end of the cave. My head was spinning. Where was I? What was I doing? What were those things? And why are they running at me…

“Ow!” I yelped as I felt a painful sensation on my shoulder. Tessie had bit me again. At once I remembered! Two Ursas, a big purple one, and a little blue one. Both wanted me dead. “Thanks, Tessie.”

The little Ursa charged at me again, and while it did so I noticed something behind the both of them. My salvation! An escape! The way out! The exit! Somehow, I had to get there. But how?

“You pinkie promised…” A voice whispered in the back of my mine. Pinkie’s voice.

“You’re such an idiot, you know?” Another voice. Lavender’s? Not sure on that one.

“There’s somethin’ I need to tell you…” Applejack…

Narrowing my eyes, I grinned, “Come on, ugly! Eat me!”

The little Ursa didn’t need to be told twice and it charged at me again.

“Hang on, Tessie. Hang on as tightly as you can!” I shouted at my passenger. She understood me and gripped my mane tighter than before.

Backing up a step, I pressed my rear legs against the wall and bent my knees. Already I could feel my body tensing itself, my body getting ready for what was needed.

The distance between us quickly decreased and when it got close enough the little Ursa opened its mouth.

“Eat this.” I whispered.

It was a lot faster than I had anticipated, but its effect was the same. I aimed just to the left of the Ursa cub, missing it by inches. It had tried to snag me in mid-air by turning its head and snapping its jowls shut. All that it caught was air. The sound of its jaws closing behind me sent chills down my spine. But I was out of the frying-pan, and was now heading straight for the fire. And it was a very big, angry looking fire.

The larger Ursa saw me running at her at full speed. Almost full speed; I still had one more speed above this.

The massive beast gave an ear-splitting roar that reverberated through the cave, and through me. Tessie pulled my mane over her tighter. She was a brave little rat.

The larger Ursa raised its gigantic arm above its head and swung towards me. This was what I was waiting for! This was what I wanted. I was gambling, my life against my freedom. It all boiled down to speed and timing. I just needed to time it exactly right.

The giant paw swung down at me, I could feel the wind shifting from the sheer force of it. That was when I turned, running laterally to the Ursa’s arm so that it looked as if it were chasing me, hot on my tail. Slowing down just a tad, I counted.

One. I inhaled a deep breath, keeping an eye on the beast as I ran in a wide circle around it.

Two. I narrowed my eyes seeing the target; the exit. It was there, just past the giant Ursa’s legs.

Three! I turned and jumped right into the Ursa’s palm. The impact dazed me for the briefest moment as we collided.

My mind was blank. For only a moment, though. That was when I noticed that I was flying! Really, I was! Soaring through the air, like a bird – no, more like a bullet. Tessie let out a long, drawn out squeak that made it sound like she was screaming.

My gamble worked! I had purposely made the giant Ursa swat me out of the cave. With the creature so prominent in the entrance there was no way I could have run around it. And, yes, I knew that if worse came to worse I would be safe. That was always something I was sure of; Tutela wouldn’t let me die. I was her toy, her plaything, her source of entertainment. But I couldn’t leave Tessie behind. For her, for saving my life, I was going to return the favor.

Hurtling through the air, I landed on the ground sliding to a halt. My lip was bleeding, but I was out of the cave. Slowly, I pushed myself up to my feet and looked up. I was free, right?

Wrong. This wasn’t a cave; it was a cave system or something like that. An underground expanse that was enormous! Light streamed down from above, and I couldn’t decide if I really was in a cave or at the bottom of a steep ravine. But as my dizziness faded, I became acutely aware that there were creatures staring at me from all sides.

I did the only thing I could think of.

I screamed.

Ursas. Dozens of them! In all shapes and sizes! Each alcove had one. Each nook had one. Each cranny had one. They were everywhere.

My scream acted like a trigger. They poured out of their caves and charged at me. If Tessie was making noises, I couldn’t hear her above the din the Ursa’s were making. Why they would get so excited over one little Pony was beyond me, but I didn’t feel like asking them why. Running as fast as I could, the Ursa’s filed behind me in hot pursuit. A few started to fight amongst each other, but the vast majority was far more interested in me and by the looks on their faces, they really wanted to eat me. Why? What did I ever do to them? I was nothing more than a raisin to them! Were Ponies an Ursa drug? Did they get high from eating Pony flesh? Was this a community of bear-crack addicts?

As I ran down the only path available to me, Ursa’s that were minding their own business instantly joined the pursuit when I rushed by. So, as I was running away more and more of those damned giant bears were tailing me, and the more bears that tailed me made me run! I was screwed! It would have been so easy to just let it all end, to go back to Tutela, but I couldn’t abandon Tessie. Not after she saved my life. She had risked everything to get out of here, gambling on me. And I was not one to disappoint.

Why do I get myself into these messes!

There was no option on where I could go. I had to keep dead center in between the walls of the cavern, which was beginning to stretch out into a long humongous tunnel now. If I went too far to the left or right, those Ursas would tear me apart with their sharp, nasty, pointy bits! Further and further, I made my way down the tunnel.

I wanted to look back, but I couldn’t risk it. It was getting harder to see where I was going; the cracks and holes high above that allowed light through were getting smaller had starting to close. With each step that took me deeper into the tunnel, the darker it grew.

Now I was running blind. If having an army of Ursas was not enough, now I was charging through darkness at breakneck speeds. But I didn’t dare slow down. Those beasts were right behind me. Their lumbering footsteps were right there.

Then I felt something whizz past me face to the left. What was that? Then it happened again on my right. Then, right in front of me was a stalagmite rising from the ground. Leaning to the left I barely avoided it. Behind me I heard the Ursas crashing into the obstacles. There was a little light in this area, still from the ceiling that towered high above me. And… was it getting hotter?

Then I saw something beautiful! Light! Lots of it! Without thinking, I headed towards it. Anything was better than getting stuck here in the dark.

Tessie squeaked out loud pulling my mane back, which made me come to a sliding halt.

“Why am I not surprised?” I yelled to no-one in particular.

In front of me there was indeed a lot of light, because it came from a damned ravine of lava! A river of lava! It was a long, long way down, but it still felt as if I was burning. Still, if I had run into that… let’s just say I’d become Forest Burned.

A roar bellowed from somewhere behind me in the darkness. Had to go round…

Two glowing eyes appeared to my left.

Doing an about-face, I headed to the right.

Two more glowing eyes appeared again, eyes that reflected the red light from the lava. I backed up. Tessie squeaked continuously. Now she was panicking? Think, Forest! You need to get out of here! I had no choice, I had to run back into the darkness…

Several dozen eyes glared at me before I could even take a step in that direction, eyes the size of my entire body. The Ursas were crawling on their bellies to get to me, trying to reach me, to catch me. What could I do? There was nowhere to go!

Then I heard a squeak behind me. Tessie ran into the gap where the lava was located far below! Why would she do that? Why should she kill herself after I worked so hard in trying to help her escape? Why was she giving up? Why wou-…

Tessie squeaked again. She wasn’t dead! She was… wait, where was she?

Not needing another warning, I bolted through the gap and leapt over the gorge looking down at the lava far below. The hot air felt like it was burning underbelly, and I closed my eyes as I landed face-first against a wall. I had made the jump! Tessie was there tugging on my tail. I turned around and saw a tiny path. The path led upwards, to a small light. Freedom! Salvation!

It was a shame that it was barely big enough for one hoof.

The Ursas attacked the hole where I had jumped through. Their claws were nowhere big enough to reach inside, but they were trying. If that wasn’t so bad, the tongues were next. A few Ursa’s decided that since they couldn’t reach me with their paws, they’d try to lick me out of hiding. Their tongues reaching quite close, but not near enough. Their manky, putrid breaths making me gag.

“Get out of here, Tessie! Save yourself!” I shouted, “Don’t worry about me! I’ll be fine!”

The little rat stood there and stared at me trying to avoid getting ‘licked’. In the back of my mind I was wondering if I should just leap into the lava and back to Tutela’s. That thought kept replaying itself over and over in my mind like a broken record. Still, there was that nagging comment from the last time. She also told me that she couldn’t save me all the time. She couldn’t pull my ass out of the fire whenever she wanted. That sometimes I really was on my own.

Was it worth the risk?

“Pinkie promise…”

“Damn you, Pinkie!” I shouted, why was it that every time I was in deep shit that stupid promise echoed in the back of my brain, and I actually smiled, “I said I’d stick a muffin in my eye, didn’t I?”

Tessie was gone. I didn’t even notice her leave, but at least she was safe.

“Well, Forest. You’ve got yourself in a fine situation this time,” I mumbled as the tongues kept trying to reach me, “Here you are on the ledge of a ravine that drops into a river of lava. In front of you is an army of Ursas trying to eat you, behind you is a wall. You’re trapped.”

The Ursas had begun clawing their way through the hole using their strength. Slowly the gap that I had jumped from grew wider and wider. Within minutes the hole was double the size and one of the Ursas peered through it staring right at me with one eye – as if it were peeking through a keyhole on the floor. It saw me trapped. The large head with the eye was instantly replaced by its large arm as it shoved in through the hole. I leapt to the side as the Ursa swatted the ledge I was on in a downwards strike destroying half of it. Things were not going well at all.

Well, if I was going down, then I might as well go down fighting! Placing my rear legs once again against the wall behind me, I got myself ready to attack. Right now I only had one chance, and I needed to time it perfectly. Just like before, timing was everything.

The Ursa peeked through the hole – either to see where I was or if it had killed me. That was what I was counting on.

Now!

Using all my power, I fired myself back across the ravine - right into the Ursa’s eye. I felt the slimy texture of its eye as the intraocular fluid acted like an adhesive sticking me to its cornea right in front of the pupil. Getting hit in the eye isn’t a pleasant experience, and the Ursa shrieked in pain. Instinctively it shut its eyes as tight as it could. My ribs couldn’t take; I heard a crack followed by a sharp pain. Not good.

Then the Ursa started to swing its head around, my body slowly getting unstuck. To make matters worse for one of the other ‘galactic’ beasts tried to attack me, but because the other Ursa was shaking its head so fiercely the latter’s attempt at me failed and instead clobbered the other one on the face. The impact shuddered through beast, snapping its head to one side, the momentum cobined with the impact freed me from the slimy goo, and I sailed through the air.

When I landed, I slid for quite a distance before coming to a stop crashing against something on the far bend. In the light of the lava’s glow, I saw that the two Ursas were now fighting amongst one another. This had distracted the rest of the giants and I used this distraction to slip away.

My right side hurt real badly.

As quickly as I could, I hobbled away, trying to get away from there. I had no time to loose! I had to get out of there. This was my chance!

I am not sure how long I walked for, but I was surrounded in complete darkness. On and on I went, using the wall as a guide, sliding along it for support.

Then I saw light! Not a red glow of lava, but the bright goodness of sunlight! Salvation!

As I exited the cave, or whatever it was I was in, I soaked in the sun’s rays. It was late in the day and the orange tint of twilight had already started to taint the beautiful sky. Taint, because it meant that the sun was already setting, meaning that I had no time to sit and rest. Applejack had clearly stated to get out of the little Usra’s way when it returned to the Everfree Forest. Night time would come soon, and I couldn’t be stuck there.

There was no clear way for me to go. I didn’t know how far I had come the night before, and I didn’t know the direction. So, I just followed the path that led away from the cave system.

Every step that I took felt like someone was stabbing me in the side, but I just ignored it as much as possible. I could worry all about it when I reached safety.

“Forest!” A voice shouted, “Forest! Is that you?”

Aiden ran over to me, “You’re alive! I knew you were! I just knew…” He actually hugged me. I groaned in pain. “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t… walk…” I said through gritted teeth, “Ursa… big ones…”

In his eyes, I could see a thousand questions that he wanted to ask, but Aiden knew what I had meant and didn’t like it.

“Ursa Majors? How many?”

“Lots.”

Aiden nodded, “Lean against me. I’ll get you out of here!”

Suddenly I felt something tug on my hoof. Looking down I saw a familiar looking rat, “Tessie!”

“That a new friend? You should thank her, Forest. She led me this way. She was very insistent that I followed her. I’m glad she was…”

All I could do was force a weak smile on my face. That was the second time that little Tessie helped me. She was one clever rodent. But we weren’t out of the woods yet. There was no time to relax.

Night had arrived. We were nowhere near the exit; it was really slow going because of me. The darkness of the woods coupled with the night almost impossible to see where we were going. Aiden did not was to use any light spells for fear that he would clue in the Ursa Major as to where we were. He did admit that he could fight off an Ursa Minor, but it would take a squad of very well trained Ponies to take down an adult.

Aiden kept talking. It helped me ignore the pain. There were no questions as he didn’t want me to respond. Statements and sentiments, opinions and concerns spouted out of his mouth endlessly and I was thankful for it. It was nice to hear about everypony back home. How they were doing, and how they were helping in their own way. It had only been a day since I was gone, but it felt as if I had been away for a long, long time.

Fear gripped me. It flooded into me when I heard something behind us. Not that far away.

“Was… that…?”

The look on Aiden’s face revealed what I feared. The Ursas were on our tail.

“Why… are they… chasing me… so badly?” I asked, trying to step up the pace.

“That’s something I want to know too,” Aiden shrugged, “Could be the Muzen honey…”

“Stuck… to my… chest…”

“Then that’s why. Muzen honey is very hard to get and very popular. They probably smell it on you. You don’t understand how… good it is, especially to Ursas.”

Bears and honey? Of course! It was so obvious.

“Oh no! This can’t be…” Aiden suddenly stopped before blinding me with a sudden explosion of light from his horn. It brightened the area around us bathing it in a bright white glow – strange seeing as his magic was a beige color. But the area in front of us remained unchanged. It was dark and a cold breeze blew towards us, and there was a distinct lack of trees, or any foliage. There was also a distinct lack of ground as well.

“Lost?” I asked.

In front of us was a sheer drop, and far below there was a river. We stood atop the edge of a cliff. Aiden looked down over the edge, while I plopped myself on my rear. The Ursas were still following us. We could hear them getting closer.

“I must have taken a wrong turn!” He looked at me, “I didn’t pay attention because I was following your little friend. I’m sorry, Forest…”

“Oh, that’s okay. I’m used to this.” I replied, the pain had subsided significantly when I sat. Sadly, my statement was true, I was getting used to it, “You should use your…” I grimaced in pain as a sudden wave of agony surged across my right side, “You should use your magic to get out of here.”

“I can’t do that, Forest. I’m your guardian. It’s my job to watch over you, and I leave nopony behind. Not now, not ever!” Aiden said walking over to me, “Let’s head along the ledge. We’ll find a way down…”

The expression on his face made it abundantly clear that he was going to stay with me. Stupid Stallion! Just run away already!

We didn’t get five steps before a large figure appeared, towering high above the trees. It looked around and before Aiden could turn off his magic, the Ursa had spotted us.

Man, I just can’t cut a break! I yelled in my head.

Aiden gritted his teeth, and a huge ball of magic surrounded me. My wrist burned.

“What are… what are you doing?” I asked, trying to ignore the pain.

“Forest Fire,” Aiden shouted, “Show me where you are!”

Inside my brain I felt something click. He wouldn’t dare! Not right now! Not with my broken ribs! Did he want the entire sloth of space-bears to find us?

“Show me where you are!”

My body started to react. Already I could feel a breeze swirl around me. My wrist was in agony! It was burning. How much magic did he put in there?

“Aiden… sto-“

“Show me where you are!” He shouted the last word, prolonging it.

The wind around me sped faster and faster. Aiden rushed to my side as my hoof pointed upwards, the pain from my broken ribs burned in my side. It. Was. Agony! How could he do this to me?

My hoof got hotter and hotter, the pain at my side increased with each passing second. Then the explosion of light discharged into the heavens. Like a pillar of light, it ascended upwards, slowly fading out of existence the further up it went. The sudden shock from the light’s ignition jerked my hoof in the opposite direction, sending bolts of anguish through me. But Aiden wasn’t done torturing me yet.

“I’m sorry, Forest!” He shouted over the din of the wind rushing around us. Little Tessie clinging tightly to his mane, “I’m really sorry!”

And before I could respond, he grabbed onto my arm that was extended upwards, and using his body strength, pushed it down right at the Ursa Major’s face. It screeched in pain before falling backwards as the light struck it. It landed with a resounding crash on the forest floor. Moments later, the light from my hoof died out.

Dropping to my knees, I coughed. In my mouth I tasted blood. This was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore. Aiden was trying his best to help me, but I… just couldn’t take it.

We heard crashing coming from ahead of us, and my heart sank as the purple figure of the Ursa started to stand again. Only one damned beast! Just one! At least it was only one… I hoped.

“Take him! I can get out of here on my on! Take him!” Aiden shouted. Who was he talking to?

Turning around, my heart leapt to my throat, “Forest, come on! We have to go! Right now!”

She hovered over me with her hooves extended.

Come on, Forest! One last try! You can do it! Up you go. Come on!

Pushing myself up one more time, I reached over to Rainbow Dash and fell into her extended arms. She was strong as she pulled me towards her in a tight, yet gentle embrace. Then she shot upwards easily, high into the sky. I looked down below as Aiden watched us rise. Then, in the next moment there was a bright flash of light and he was gone. In the back of my mind, I had hoped that Aiden had taken Tessie with him.

“Thank… thank you… thank…” My vision got blurry.

“Hang on! I’ll get you home in no time!” Rainbow yelled.

Raising my head, I looked up at her. She was incredible.

The last thing I heard before blacking out was the sound of the Ursa wailing. It knew that I had finally escaped. I was going home.

As the feeling of relief flooded through me, I felt the welcoming embrace of darkness. Nothing hurt anymore.

Author's Note

Fan art by the incredible Ephemurai

Day 15: Roommates

Day 15: Roommates

Soft.

That was the first conscious thought that came to my mind. Soft.

Slowly, my eyes opened. It was blinded by light. I squinted and waited as they adjusted to my new environment. When they did, I let them take a good look around to absorb my milieu, surveying my current location. On a bed, tucked in neatly with a bright white sheet, a blue blanket covered the lower half of my torso. To my left was a sleeping Aiden sitting on a stool his head sprawled on the bed, his drool soaking the area near my leg. In front of me I saw a blank white wall, with a long sofa leaning against it.

“Ah, glad to see you’re awake. Welcome back.”

My head turned to the right, and the last person I thought I’d ever see was sitting up in a bed next to mine displaying a wide grin, “Brian?” I asked, astonished.

“The one and only,” He furled his wrist and made his head bow a little, “We’re roommates. Well, for now at least.”

“So, I did make it back…” I leaned back into my pillow staring straight up at the boring, uniformed ceiling. Never has ceiling tiles looked so good.

Brian said nothing for a while. Then he closed a book he was reading, “I heard about what happened. You’re one lucky Pony.”

Was I? Was I really?

“Your daughter…”

“She said she spotted your ‘light marker’, something about you and magic bracelet?”

Brian was being really friendly and wasn’t being mean or hostile. I told him about the magic, the bracelet, and the three spells I learnt from it – carefully void avoiding the activation spells with the excuse that the fewer people who knew about it the better.

“Well, let me tell you what happened afterwards. After you passed out, Rainbow flew you straight here. You were completely gone, so the doctors decided to operate on you without using any anaesthetic…”

“Operate?” I asked, bewildered.

“Oh yes. Take a looked at your chest…”

My fur on my entire right was shaved off, and a nice new scar decorated the right side of my body. It was long and narrow, except for a tiny bit in the middle where it was rough and uneven.

“You have to admit, the medical services here in Ponyville are bar none – well, maybe except for Canterlot. When I had my wings removed, a doctor from Canterlot did the oprations. The doctors here took good care of me and helped me recover,” Brian looked at me, and my expression must have asked the unasked question, “Oh, I had wings at one point. Those were the days.” He looked up, and sighed. He must have had a wave of nostalgia.

“What happened?”

“It was a one-time spell, and it took me a while to get used to flying. In retrospect, it probably was for the best. For a while, I was an angel. Flying with my daughter, soaring through the skies,” He laughed at that, “Makes me wish I was born a bird!”

We chatted for a bit, making small-talk. He told me more about himself, about his days on Earth after he had adopted Rainbow Dash, their lives together; the part where they had to be separated was particularly painful to hear. Then how delighted me with his antics after he had come to this world, how he had adapted to his life here and his days in Equestria.

The more I knew about him, the stronger the feelings of guilt flooded through me. Before, I had thought of Brian as a desperate failure eager to get away from his life on Earth using his daughter as a convenient excuse. Now I knew better. He wasn’t a failure at all, and in many ways he was by far a better man or Pony than I was. He was the perfect father, a father that I wished I had. He was a father that was there for you, a father that you could look up to and respect. He gave up everything for Rainbow because that was what fathers are supposed to do for their children, to be there for her without question.

The last memory of my father was of him shoving a blade into my chest.

My depressing recollection was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.

“Come on in!” Brian called out, and in walked the gang; Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Spike, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Lavender, Amethyst, Derpy, Applebloom, Rainbow, the Cakes and their two children, Fluttershy and last of all Big Mac.

Twilight rushed over to me, “How are you feeling?” She sounded frantic.

“Fine,” I replied, smiling gently, “Sorry about what happened. I was… I didn’t think. I should have kept doing laps around Ponyville, not run away from it. It was just… I thought you guys were in danger and… yeah, I just didn’t think.”

“Well, we’re just glad you’re okay.” Twilight put her hoof on mine, “We were all worried about you.”

“I didn’t mean to make any of you worry. I’m sorry.”

“We weren’t that worried,” Rainbow replied rolling her eyes, “We knew you’d be safe.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “Thanks, Rainbow. It’s nice to think that you have such faith in me. And thanks for lugging me all the way back here. I think you saved my life.”

She just blushed, chuckled a little bit and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Speaking of lifesavers,” Aiden interjected, sitting up and blushing as he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, “I have someone here who wants to say hello.”

“Tessie!” I yelled as she leapt out of a small bag that Aiden had and hopped onto the hospital bed before running up to me so she stood just to my left. She gave me a squeak as I pet her with my hoof, relieved to see that she was safe and sound.

“A rat?” Twilight asked more than a little confused.

“She saved me. Without her, I very much doubt I’d be here,” I pat Tessie again.

I probably shouldn’t have said that… too soon.

“Would you care to explain?” Twilight demanded when I didn’t elaborate.

For the next hour or so I amused my friends with my tale, starring little Tessie. Suffice to say, they were shocked with just how vital she was to my survival. I left out the part where I stood overlooking a ravine with lava at the base. Even with my selective omissions my tale was pretty unbelievable. Plus, I didn’t really want them to know just how close or how many times I brushed against ‘death’ – and that was another thing that confused me. Tutela had protected me before, when I had leapt out the window in Canterlot. But nothing happened this time around. Not even when I was swatted across the caverns by the Ursa Majors. Did she trust that I could escape that time, or was there another reason? I would have to talk to her about that.

“Incredible. I had no idea such a large community of Ursas lived in the Everfree Forest.” Twilight thought for a bit, “How far away was this cave?”

“Pretty far,” Rainbow stated, “Only the fastest and most awesome Pony in Equestria can make it there and back in one day…”

“Dashie, we talked about this, remember?” Brian gave his daughter a keen look, but he had a small knowing smile on his face that betrayed his stern tone, “Grace and humility.”

“Aw,” Rainbow blushed a little, “Yes, dad.” She fluttered over to him and nuzzled his neck.

I couldn’t resist a short chuckle.

“We’ve brought you a cake,” Mrs Cake stated, her husband carrying a beautifully wrapped box, “It’s from your friends at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie made it herself!”

Pinkie smiled at me from where she stood as I looked at her. Why was she standing so far away? Was she still mad at me? “Thank you all.”

As I opened the box, what I saw blew me away. It was me! In cake form! The likeness was uncanny. The chocolate cake had a huge smiling face where the teeth were made of icing. My mane and tail were made from a delicious looking chocolate frosting. It was beautiful. The best present I had ever gotten from anybody.

“Thank you,” I choked. I was… crying? “I’m sorry…” I wiped the tears with my hooves. They wouldn’t stop! They continued to flow down my cheeks, and no matter how hard I tried to stop them, they just kept on going. “I’m so, so, sorry… I don’t know what’s wrong with me…”

Thing was, I wasn’t apologizing for crying. It wasn’t from the fact that I was so happy, which I was – they were all so damned wonderful. I cried because they’ve done nothing but open themselves to me, drawing me into their lives. I’ve only been here for two weeks, and already they treated me with more respect and tenderness than I’ve felt in my entire miserable existence. They really cared for me. And yet, my whole time here has been a lie. And that’s what really hurt. They had befriended a lie, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

“Forest, you don’t have to cry over one silly cake,” Applebloom laughed, before brandishing that super-cute smile.

I covered my eyes with my arm, “I know! I know… it’s just…” I couldn’t find the words.

“What’s going on in here?” An angry voice questioned from the door.

Nurse Redheart walked in with the doctor. They both looked at everypony there with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

“I know everypony here is eager to see Forest, but this isn’t a place for social gathering. You’re all welcome to visit in small groups,” Nurse Redheart reprimanded them.

“I think due to these unique circumstances, we should excuse them just this once,” The doctor replied placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder and giving her a wink, “They’ve been through quite a lot of worrying.”

Nurse Redheart took a long, deep sigh. “Very well. But only this once. Remember you are in a hospital and there’re patients next door that need rest. That means no noises and no partying. Am I clear, Pinkamena Diane Pie?”

Pinkie just grinned nervously before nodding.

“So, how’re you feeling, Forest?” The doctor asked walking over to me, “And what is that?”

“I’m fine, sir. And this is Tessie, she’s… my pet.”

“Please, ‘sir’ is my father, call me Dr Stable. Have you already forgotten me? Anyway, pets aren’t allowed in the hospital, so please ask your friends to take her away when they leave.”

He stood by the side of my bed and pulled the blanket back. I felt naked without fur covering my torso, but he inspected the stitched wound. He nodded, “It’s healing well. Were you crushed?”

I nodded, remembering getting smooshed by the Ursa’s eyelid.

“One of your ribs on the right-hand side of your body was broken, while the rest have been cracked. The broken rib was protruding from your body causing some bleeding. Luckily, Rainbow Dash brought you here quick enough for us to operate and close the wound.”

My eyes found Rainbow who grinned at me. I nodded to her in thanks.

“You had suffered a significant amount of blood-loss, which is why you’re in this room.” Dr Stable looked over at Brian, “Brian is your blood donor.”

“Wha-?” I asked shocked.

“You both have low Magical Affinities, something that you brought to our attention a few days ago,” Dr Stable shook his head, “I never thought that human and Pony blood would be compatible.”

It can’t, I wanted to say. “How is that possible?”

“Magic,” Dr Stable replied.

“That makes no sense,” I retorted.

“Well, that’s the problem with magic. There’s always a mystery behind it.” This time it was Twilight who spoke.

That shut me up.

Dr Stable continued, “It will take time to heal, I’m afraid. That means you won’t be able to run that Race next week.”

My heart sank. All that hard work and effort was going to go to waste! That really sucked.

“I told you to be careful!” Lavender slapped her hoof against her face, “Now I’m going to have to run it!”

“Sorry, Lav…”

“No. Don’t apologize. I guess we all have to thank you for saving the town and all,” Lavender shrugged, “In your own way, as inane as it was to run away from the town. These things happen.”

“And I’m pulling out of the Race as well,” Twilight confessed, “The princess has asked me to oversee organization of the events, so Amethyst will be taking my place.”

As if on cue, the other Unicorn stepped forwards and gave me an awkward wave.

“Ooh, ooh! I’m making a theme song for our team!” Sweetie Belle put in, “I’m calling it The Ponyville Posse!”

“That sounds pretty cool. I can’t wait to hear it,” It sounded like a fun song.

“It’s not done yet,” Sweetie Belle blushed.

“Where’s Derpy?” I asked curious as to why she wasn’t here when the rest of the team were.

“Oh, she’s still delivering letters. She’ll visit later on,” Scootaloo answered.

At the back of the room next to Pinkie I saw Spike trying his hardest not to look at Rarity, and failing miserably. She, on the other hand was either completely oblivious to Spike or was very good at acting as if she didn’t notice. Either way, it was comical to see. The Cakes two children were sitting on a sofa next to Spike, they looked really bored.

“Okay, everypony. Let’s let Forest rest. You can come back later, it’s time for him to eat,” Nurse Redheart stated.

“Forest, save some cake for me!” Rainbow called to me while floating over to her father giving him a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back later. Weather duty,” She explained.

“Okay, sweetheart, take care,” Brian answered, reluctantly letting go of his daughter’s hoof.

“Oh… um… Forest… I can take care of Tessie… if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy bashfully offered.

“That’d be great, Fluttershy. Thank you.”

Tessie understood the situation and jumped onto Fluttershy’s back and the two Pegasi exited together. The Cakes and their children were the next to leave; the kids were completely bored out of their skulls and elated to be leaving. Apparently I was not entertaining enough. Understandable.

Pinkie walked to the foot of my bed, and smiled shyly at me. She looked like she wanted to say something, but wasn’t able to.

I should apologize to her, but I want to that privately. I thought to myself as we looked at one another for a long moment.

“Can I throw you a welcome back party?” She suddenly burped out. I could barely make out the question.

It had completely caught me off guard, “Of course, Pinkie. If that is what you want.” I could only laugh. Ouch. It hurt to laugh. Maybe my painkillers were wearing off.

A huge grin appeared on her face. “Yippee!” She cheered.

Nurse Redheart gave her a sombre look before placing her hoof on her lips, “Sh!”

“Sorry,” Pinkie whispered right after.

I couldn’t help but laugh some more at her. That was Pinkie for you. Ouch. Again, the laughing hurt my ribs.

“Out, out, out! The rest of you go on!” Nurse Redheart began shuffling them out the door. “You too, Mr Fomaio,” She stated looking right at Aiden.

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity exited along with Lavender and Amethyst. It was obvious that Lavender was seething with either anger, or annoyance – most probably both. Angry that I couldn’t race and annoyed that her hard work training me was going to waste. I had thought that she’d be happy! She obviously trained hard for it, and wanted it more than I did.

At that point, Aiden got up and stretched himself. He walked out the room, but after a second he popped his head through the open door, “I’ll be back later on in the afternoon. Try not to get hurt in the meantime.”

“Very funny,” I declared impassively.

Twilight pushed Aiden out the door followed by Pinkie, who paused and flashed another wide grin. Pinkie’s mood had picked up quite considerably when she had talked to me. I mean, she went from silent Pinkie to normal Pinkie, and I was glad for that.

Still had to apologize to her though, that was important.

With everypony else gone, only the three Apples remained. Applejack had not said one word to me while I was there. She stood silently staring right at me, a morose expression on her face. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.

“Applejack, are you alright?” I asked, “You look sa-”

Her lips cut me off as she took the three steps to me and placed them on mine. My heart leaped in my chest, and as she pulled away, my face burned. That was… amazing. But, she didn’t smile. In fact she looked upset. Really upset.

Was it my breath?

“What’s wrong?”

“Forest… I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you.” She looked away from me.

“Wha-?”

“Please, just… I can’t, okay?”

I couldn’t think, nor respond. Did… did she just kiss me and then tell me she wants to breakup with me? Although, technically we weren’t a couple… but still! What? Why? Even Applebloom was visibly shocked. Everyone in that room was shocked! Even Big Mac’s eyes were wide open in genuine disbelief.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” She whispered. With that she turned and ran out of the door. I saw tears in those eyes.

“Applejack!” Applebloom shouted and was right on her heels.

Big Mac heaved a heavy sigh, nodded towards me and exited the room.

I sat there with my mouth half open. What just happened? It was all too sudden for me. I didn’t get it. What happened? It didn’t seem… real. The shock hadn’t settled in yet.

“Oh, that poor girl,” Nurse Redheart said shaking her head, “And here we thought you’d be the one to fix her broken heart.”

“Fix… her heart?” I was so confused.

“Nurse, please. I think that Forest deserves to hear it from Applejack’s own lips.” Brian looked at me, “Sorry, buddy.”

Did… did Brian just call me ‘buddy’? I wanted to smile at that. But my heart hurt too much. Why would Applejack just… do that? I’ve only been gone a day, and…

“Well, Forest,” Dr Stable said trying to change the subject, “As I said, you are healing nicely. You could go home, but I’d like to keep you here under observation for today, if that’s okay with you.”

I would have liked to go back home, but that was because I wanted to see Applejack. After this episode the thought of seeing Applejack hurt! It felt… wrong, awkward and strange. Staying at the hospital for the day was probably a god-send – sorry, a Celestia-send.

“Thank you, doc.”

“My pleasure… just eat something, take the painkillers and get some rest. Oh, and try not to laugh. I know it’s hard when Pinkie’s around, but try not to.”

Dr Stable left with Nurse Redheart. She returned by herself moments later with a small cart with two plates on it. She placed a tray of food in front of me and Brian, and our pills at the side of our respective trays with a glass of water.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She turned and left.

The food didn’t look appetising at all. It looked like muck in sludge. Taking the spoon, I poked around the food for a while. I had no appetite.

“You should eat,” Brian advised before taking a large spoonful, “It doesn’t look like much, but it is really good.” He talked with his mouth half-full.

Gingerly, I took a little bit on my spoon and ate. Brian was right, it was delicious. But I still had no appetite.

“Those painkillers will feel wretched in your stomach if you don’t eat,” Brian stated.

“Why, Brian? Why would Applejack do that to me?” My nose tickled, tears threatening to leave my eyes.

He looked at me for a moment, before taking a long, deep sigh, “It’s not my place to tell you…”

“Does it have anything to do with a Stallion from her past?”

The look on Brian’s face made it clear that it did.

“Tell me, please,” I pleaded.

Brian thought for a moment, before looking back at me, “Let’s just say that a long time ago Applejack didn’t just have a coltfriend. She had a… fiancé.”

That was a shock. “She was engaged?” I shouted incredulously.

“I can’t tell you more than that, Forest. You’ll need to find the rest out from Applejack herself.”

And with that Brian returned to his book.

That was what Applejack wanted to tell me that night. She wanted to tell me everything, and I didn’t want to hear it! I thought that I was being kind to her, but in reality I could have just isolated her feelings more. This was my fault. She wanted to come clean right away and I had denied her that luxury. Why, oh why, didn’t I just shut my mouth and let her tell me?

“I’m an idiot,” I muttered out loud, “She wanted to tell me, but I didn’t let her.”

Brian looked up from his book again, but he didn’t say anything.

After a long period of silence, Brian put his book down and slipped the covers on him. “I’m taking a nap,” He declared.

That was a good idea. Perhaps a nap would help me calm down and think things through. I stared at the ceiling trying to guess what happened all those years ago with this mystery Stallion. She was to be wedded! She had somepony that she had cared enough for to marry. What happened?

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. This really sucked.

“… and you can’t blame him for being hurt.”

“I know, I know. I tried to tell Applejack that it wasn’t fair on Forest to let him down like that, but you know how stubborn she is.”

I was hearing voices whispering. They were talking about me. I opened my eyes and looked to my right. There was one of those privacy curtains that separated our beds from one another spread out so that Brian and company were hidden from my sight.

“Is he awake?” The first voice asked.

“Let me check.”

Somepony poked their head through the curtain. I pretended that I was still asleep.

“No, he’s still asleep.”

“Well, what are we going to do?” That was Brian’s voice, “I never expected Applejack to break it off. I thought she was over ‘him’, especially after seeing how frantic she was while Forest was gone.”

“It’s not that simple, dad…”

That’s Rainbow Dash, obviously.

“… Applejack believes that she’s the one that hurt Forest! She’s being stupid! Again!”

“But… why?” Brian asked.

“She thinks she’s curse, the silly mare. I don’t understand where she got that notion! Bad things happen, it’s not because of your feelings,” Rarity imparted. “She blames herself for what happened to Forest because she fell for him! It’s exactly the same as last time.”

“It’s irrational!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Sh! Forest is still sleeping,” Brian shushed them all.

“And here we thought that Applejack could finally get over it.”

There was a long lull of silence. That was when I let out a loud yawn, and sat up.

Rainbow pulled the curtain back hearing me.

“Did we wake you?”

“Hm? I heard whispering, and that woke me up,” That was true. I just didn’t tell them how long I had been listening for, “What time is it?”

“Late in the evening,” Twilight replied.

“Forest, I’ve got a proposition for you,” Brian asked, “I’ve been thinking, since you’re living with Applejack at the moment, and things haven’t panned out the way we would have liked, I’ve been wondering, do you want to stay over at my house?”

“You’d… you’d do that for me?” I was chuffed.

“There’s one condition though. You have to take care of my garden - and keep it clean.”

“That’s two conditions…”

Brian just gave me a look, “You want a place to live or not?”

I shut my mouth.

“Remember that it’s Dashie’s house, not yours.”

“Of course! Thank you, Brian. That’s really kind of you. I was actually… kind of worried about how I would be able to live at the farm with this… strangeness between Applejack and myself.”

“She’s just being a silly Pony!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Applejack is so stubborn!”

“Look who’s talking,” Twilight giggled in response, “You’re as bad as she is.”

“Am not!”

“So, Forest. How does it feel to be single again?” Twilight asked.

“Miserable.”

“Give Applejack some time. She’ll come round.”

“Thanks, Twilight. I think some space would be best at this point.”

“Well, I disagree,” Rarity interrupted, “You should go and comfort her. She’ll need her Stallion to be there for her.”

We all turned to look at her.

“When your heart is broken, being alone is the worst possible thing! Having your friends around always helps, but having that special somepony be by your side...”

“Rarity, I know what you’re saying, but it’s Forest.” Twilight looked over to me, “No offense, but Applejack just broke it off with him. Wouldn’t that make things… uncomfortable.”

“Oh, Twilight, you haven’t really dated, so I don’t blame you for thinking that. But, let me ask you this. If your feelings are hurt, then who would you rather be there for you? Us? Or your favourite Pony?”

“My friends, of course!” Twilight answered without hesitation.

“And what about your best friend then? The one who you want to spend every waking moment with? Wouldn’t you want them to be there?”

Rainbow Dash made a noise with her throat, “All this love-love talk is bo-ring!”

“I’ll… go…” I said to myself quietly.

They all stared at me.

“I’ll go and talk to her. I think I need to,” I looked up at them all, “Right now.”

“No, Forest. You’re not getting up. You need to rest…” Twilight began.

“The doctor said I could leave. I think that I can spare some time to go looking for… for… her. I have to talk to her. Rarity’s right,” I looked right at her, “I would like my most favourite Pony with me, even if they were the ones that hurt me. I need to hear her story.”

“You can do that after dinner,” Nurse Redheart stated wheeling in a tray of food. She placed a bowl of how soup in front of me, and then took a step back, “Make sure to take your pills.”

After finishing off the soup, I reached over and popped the two yellow-spheres into my mouth, followed by a generous helping of water.

“I’m sorry, Forest, but I can’t let you leave the hospital. Not until tomorrow,” Nurse Redheart said after I placed the glass down on the table, “You need rest.”

“I’m… fine, Nurse…” My head started swimming.

I shook it, trying to make the sensation stop. Then, my mouth felt numb, and I could feel my hooves starting to get numb as well. My eyes felt heavy, and were growing heavier with each passing moment. My head started to nod as I fought a huge urge of sleepiness envelope me. It took me a moment to realize what had just happened.

Nurse Redheart just drugged me!

My last thoughts of my fading consciousness were of Applejack, her smile, her beautiful voice, those eyes with that painful expression… and how she just turned around and walked away leaving me alone in the darkness that swallowed me whole.

Day 16: A New Home

“Ouch!” I hooted as a wincing force of agony erupted along the right side of my body forcing me to sit up.

“Oops. Sorry about that. I didn’t think you were awake,” Dr. Stable declared before flaunting a wide grin. “I’m proud of you, Forest. Staying here was the right decision. It has really helped your injury along.”

Even though the doctor was only checking on me, I couldn’t help but glare at him a moment. That really, really hurt! Shrugging off the pain, I asked the doctor: “What time is it?”

Dr. Stable used his magic to levitate a pocket-watch, “It’s time for breakfast!” He showed me the clock’s face. Just past nine. So, I had slept the entire night away. In truth, my body did feel a lot better, but my thoughts were only on Applejack.

As if on cue, my stomach growled. It was time for breakfast.

Peering to my right I saw that Brian was sitting up on his bed reading a book quietly with Rainbow lying next to him so that her head rested on his lap. She was peering over to me with her eyes completely disinterested in my goings on. She did raise her eyebrows and smile at me, her lazy and silent ‘good morning’.

Just then the door opened and Nurse Redheart walked in with a tray of food. She spotted me awake, “Oh, Forest. You’re up. I’ll go get you your breakfast in a sec.”

After shooing Rainbow off the bed to make room for the bed-tray, Nurse Redheart set down Brian’s plate. There were a bunch of things on there – eggs, waffles, toast, a selection of fruits... many delicious looking things. It looked so good that it made my mouth salivate.

Nurse Readheard exited the room and returned in a few minutes with my plate. It looked seriously lacking in the presentation and my heart sank when she put it down in front of me. It was porridge. Boring, tasteless porridge. My eyes looked up to her in confusion.

“Sorry, Forest, but you need to eat this. Trust me. It’ll help heal your broken bones faster,” Nurse Redheart then gave me an evil look, “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about your antics the other day disguised as that animal. You’re lucky I couldn’t find you. Do you know how long it took me and my staff to clear out all the leaves? You cause me a lot of headaches.”

“But you had to admit, that tackle was amazing…” Dashie sang out the last part, “How I pinned you down. Remember, Forest?”

How can I forget? “Yes, I remember.” My voice lacked any emotion; I was still pretty bummed out about the breakfast. As if I wasn’t suffering enough already. My heart was broken, my ribs were broken and now my morning illusion of a complete breakfast was broken.

“Why didn’t you just come to us instead?” Rainbow rolled her eyes while shaking her head. “That would’ve been, ya know, easier?”

“I… didn’t want to involve you, or any of the others. I thought that by acting on my own anything that I did would’ve led to me being the one to suffer from any repercussions.”

“That’s stupid…”

“Eat.” Nurse Redheart pointed to the bowl of milky white grossness interrupting my conversation.

Sighing, I took a spoon and dipped it into the porridge before lifting it up to my lips. It didn’t smell so bad. Looking down at the bowl, I saw the gooey substance leveling itself to make up with the sudden loss of volume. Taking another long sigh I put the spoon in my mouth, closing my eyes bracing myself for the impact of blandness. But as I chewed, letting my tongue taste the flavors I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t bad at all, and to be honest it was actually quite delicious!

There was a slight nutty taste coupled with a sweet milky overtone. Also, my senses detected a hint of cinnamon and something else. My next spoonful was actually quite larger, and my stomach welcomed the nourishment eagerly.

All through my eating, Nurse Redheart was unhooking equipment around me. After she was done, she went to the door and peered out of it. From my angle I could make out that she was waving to someone down the hall. She stepped aside and allowed the two orderlies that I had crashed into during my run around in the hospital to enter. They carefully wheeled out the various apparatuses towards the door, both flaunting me a knowing look. They knew who I was, and were not too happy about what I had done.

I grinned back nervously.

Dr. Stable had been sitting on the sofa opposite the foot of my bed writing something on a clipboard using his magic. Even when he was so little of it, I could feel my bracelet heat up. It was hungrily absorbing magic. “Well, Forest. You’re fine. I’m going to prescribe you some painkillers and that porridge. You can get that from Sugarcube Corner. Oh, and no heavy lifting or strain on your body. Already you’ve been incredibly lucky, so try not to push your luck.” He tore off a sheet of paper and handed it to me.

I took it and placed it on the bedside table next to me. “Thanks for treating me and looking out for me…”

“Anything for my favorite patient,” Dr. Stable ruffled my mane, “Want a lollipop?”

“Uh… sure?”

He took one out from his breast pocket and placed it in my hoof before turning and heading out.

Brian guffawed. After a couple minutes he calmed down and wiped a tear from his eye, “Dr. Stable is an amazing doctor, but he has a nasty habit of treating patients younger than him like children.”

With my porridge now happily being digested, I opened the wrapper and put the sweetie in my mouth. It was awesome! It was sweet, but had this tangy flavor as well. “Wow. This is good!”

Brian laughed inwardly.

With the lollipop in my mouth, I slowly stood up out of the bed. There was a brief wince of pain as my body tried to get used to standing up again, my ribs remembering that they were broken. I took a deep breath and felt them expand in agony. As I exhaled, the discomfort faded away and I took shorter, lighter breaths that worked. Taking a few steps, I found that walking didn’t hurt them either. Great!

“Are you sure you’re okay, Forest?” Nurse Redheart looked at me with genuine concern, “You can stay. You don’t have to leave. You can leave after another day or two.”

“I know. But I think I should go. Thank you for worrying about me, I appreciate it.” It was not the fact that I didn’t want to stay, but I needed to find Applejack. She had been constantly on my thoughts ever since I awoke, her words ringing in the back of my mind.

Nurse Redheart smiled gently placing a hoof on my shoulder, “That’s my job, Forest. Taking care of my patients is what I born to do and you’re as accident prone as they come. So, please, please do me a favor and don’t get yourself hurt.”

“I suppose, but drugging me to make me stay… that was mean.”

“I know. But you really needed it. Medicine can only help you so much. Your body needs time to rest itself. I don’t really like doing things like that, but if it helps speed up your recovery, then I will do it, and I need you healed up.”

“What? Why?”

“For the mischief you’ve caused. Hurting hospital staff members, making a mess, disturbing other patients are a few things I can think of. You’re lucky that you’re hurt, otherwise you’d be mopping the floors from the basement up.”

Wow. She was a devil in angel’s clothing, although in this case I probably deserved it.

Brian once again burst out in laughter.

Did I really throw the hospital into chaos when I tried to take Brian’s medical files? If so, Nurse Redheart had a right to bear some sort of grudge against me. “When I’m better, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting.” She then handed me the piece of paper I had placed by my bedside table, “Don’t forget that. It’s for your prescription for painkillers. You’ll need this to buy it from the pharmacy. And don’t forget to get some of that porridge to help heal you faster.” And with that she walked out of the room.

I stared after her with the piece of paper in my hoof.

“So bored…” Rainbow moaned, floating back onto her father’s bed.

Brian had pushed the bed-tray as far away from his body as possible so that it was not over his feet at the complete opposite end.

“Dashie, why don’t you go outside and get some exercise, or how about you help Forest move.”

“Nah. That’s okay. I’m fine.” Rainbow plopped her head down on her father again.

“You just said you were bored, you silly Mare.” Brian ruffled his daughter’s hair.

Rainbow squealed, “Quit it, dad! You’re mussing up my mane!”

They both had a good laugh as I headed for the door.

“Forest!” Brian called as he took something from his bedside table and tossed it at me. I flinched as I caught it in the nick of time, my body slightly discomforted by the sudden movement my hoof made. “Those are the keys for my house.”

I looked at the keys in my hoof as if they were treasured artifacts. There were two of them. A brass colored one, and a smaller silver one.

“The brown one is for the front door, the other one is for the shed at the back of the house.”

I looked back at him, “I… I don’t know what to say, Brian. This is very kind of you.”

“A simple ‘thank you’ would be enough.”

“Thank you.” He lied. It wasn’t enough.

“You remember how to get there?” Rainbow asked.

“Yes. I think I’ll be fine. If not, I’ll just ask Sweetie Belle, she led me to your place the last time.”

“I’ll swing by later to check up on you. Oh! The guest bedroom is on the bottom floor behind the stairs. You can’t miss it.” Rainbow looked at her father, “Help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen, and the guest bathroom is right next to you.”

“You… you don’t know how much this means to me. Thank you. Thank you both so very much.”

“Get out of here, ya goof! You keep thanking us like that and we’ll get snobby,” Brain chortled.

He completely humbled me. Yes, he was aggressive at first, accused me of being a human and tried to find the truth. , but that was only because he wanted to protect his daughter. And with that, I stepped out of the room, closing the door gently behind me. Standing outside the ward, I gazed up at the ceiling. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be the one lying on a hospital bed waiting.

Slowly, I made my way to Sugarcube Corner. It was great being back in Ponyville and I strolled through the town. Some ponies greeted me, others went on about their businesses and a few flashed me dirty looks. Not sure why they did that, but I suspected that it had something to do with being annoyed at me for what happened with Pinkie. After all, she was everypony’s friend, it would make sense that a few of them would find what I had done to her unforgivable. It would’ve been stupid to hold that against them.

The bell tingled as I opened the front door to the bakery.

“Forest! It’s good to see you on your hooves! Welcome back to Sugarcube Corner!” Mr. Cake greeted me with a wide grin, “It feels like you’ve been gone forever. How are you feeling?”

“A lot better,” I replied walking to the till, “I’ve come to ask if I can borrow your cart and purchase some of this porridge.” I plopped the prescription paper down.

“Sure, of course you can and I’ll just go into the back and pour out a couple cups of the porridge,” He leaned over the counter, “Might I ask why are you looking to borrow the cart?”

“I’m… moving out of the clubhouse and moving into Brian’s place. He’s letting me stay there until I can get things sorted out. I’ve… it’s… complicated… between Applejack and me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Forest.” Mr. Cake poured me a mug of my favorite coffee. “We’re here for you.”

Despite his sympathetic response, I couldn’t help but think he was actually happy about that news.

“Forest, what a pleasant surprise! Right, Pinkie?” Mrs. Cake grinned, and gave a ‘light’ shove to the pink Pony who stumbled a bit before catching herself. She stood there like a deer caught in headlights.

“Oh hi, Forest. It’s super-duper-luper cool that you’re back your hooves! Do you want to have that party tonight?” Pinkie asked after a long moment of silence.

I smiled at her, “No, not tonight.”

“Okee-dokee-lokee! How about tomorrow then?”

“Let’s wait a little bit, okay?”

Pinkie’s hair deflated a little bit. And that expression! Who could say no to that?

“Don’t be sad, Pinkie. I’m really, really happy that you’re thinking of me. Really, I am. But it’s just… I’m not in the mood to party.”

“How can anypony not be in the mood to party? Partying is the most funnest thing ever!”

“I’m sure it is, Pinkie, but let’s just wait a bit. Please.” My voice cracked, the pain in my heart was resurfacing. It was hard. I knew that Pinkie meant well, but the more she pressed about having fun and partying, the more I thought about Applejack and her words. “Sorry, my chest still hurts.”

“Oh, I’m super sorry, Forest!” Pinkie rushed over to my side and placed a hoof on my back. “Are you okay?”

Her touch was like electricity. Not in a bad way. It was nice to be touched without having pain as a natural side-effect. She was just being friendly. I smiled at her. “Thank you, Pinkie. I’m fine.”

“Did you take your medicine?” Mrs. Cake asked, walking over to me and looking at my face as I tried to hide the tears that were threatening to reveal themselves.

“Yeah, but it’s probably wearing off.”

“Forest is moving out of the clubhouse. Apparently him and Applejack are… taking a break?” Mr. Cake said it like a question. I couldn’t blame him; we weren’t officially going out in the first place. I mean, we sort of had one date… but I really fell for her.

“What?” Mrs. Cake and Pinkie both asked at the same time, clearly this news had not reached them.

“Yeah, last night after you all left, she… ended things. It’s strange because we never actually started… anything.” I tried to laugh, but it sounded strangled.

“Sorry, Forest. I had no idea… I guess… oh, that poor girl.” Mrs. Cake looked over to her husband.

What about me? I wanted to shout.

“Pinkie, Forest needs helping moving. Do you mind giving him a helping-hoof? He’ll need somepony.” Mr. Cake looked at Pinkie. “He’s probably still hurting on the inside. I mean from his broken ribs…”

Pinkie looked at me, “Do you want me to come with you, Forest?”

Her voice changed. It was… different. A nice different but different nonetheless, she sounded… concerned. My head swam, my heart sank, and my brain throbbed. Why did I feel so strongly for Applejack? And why did it have to hurt so damned much! We weren’t even going out…

“I’d like that, Pinkie. An extra pair of hooves would be welcome,” I replied truthfully, “Just… I don’t want to lead you on. What I did to you was inexcusable.”

Pinkie tilted her head to one side. “What are you talking about, you big silly?”

“The… the kiss… when I…”

“Oh, that! Don’t worry your lil’ ol’ head about that. It was just a teeny tiny peck on the lips. Nothing special.” She rolled her eyes as she said the last part, implying that any significant meaning to that exchange of affection was ridiculous.

Ouch.

“Oh. Well. Okay then.” Now this was awkward. What was I thinking? It’s Pinkie! Of course she’s not into me. She only kissed to help end that ridiculous spell. I’m such an idiot. “Well then, shall we go?”

“Okee dokee lokee!”

We exited through the back of Sugarcube corner to the loading dock where the Cake’s cart was parked. Pinkie placed herself at the front and I helped put the yoke over her head. Together we walked towards Sweet Apple Acres in silence. There were a few times I tried to break the silence, but I couldn’t find the words and Pinkie didn’t seem to mind.

Knocking on the door to the house, I waited a few minutes before Applebloom opened it. She looked at me, and then shook her head, “Applejack’s not here, Forest. She left this morning to do some thinkin’ and she hasn’t come back yet.”

“I see…” I hung my head.

“Forest, I hope you don’t think this rude, but I want you out of the clubhouse.” Big Mac stood behind his little sister. Despite the way he said it, Big Mac wasn’t being mean or discourteous, rather he was being quite gentlemanly. “My friend has agreed to put you up until you find a place on your own.”

“Thanks, Big Mac, but I’ve already got a place.”

“Oh? Where’s that?”

“Brian Dash’s is letting me stay at his for now.” It felt strange saying that. Just over two weeks ago we were practically at one another’s throats. Looking back, it all seemed surreal.

“That’s a surprise.” Big Mac’s only display of that emotion was his eyes opening a teeny bit wider. Did nothing faze this guy? “Forest, it’s been a pleasure havin’ you. I just wished things turned out a little differently. You’re a nice guy.”

Applebloom had huge tears in her eyes, “Ya don’t really have to go, do ya?”

“I’m just moving down the street, Applebloom. I’m not going anywhere.” She was too adorable.

“I know, but it ain’t the same!”

“You’ve been very kind and generous to me. But… it’s just… too much for me and it’s unfair to Applejack. She has a past, I understand that. Until she comes to terms with that, I can’t impose. It wouldn’t be fair to her. Please understand.”

“Forest, it’s you who doesn’t understand. You’re the best thin’ that’s happened to her since…” She didn’t finish. She knew that she couldn’t tell me.

“When your sister’s ready, I’ll be there.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Throughout this conversation, Pinkie remained silent. What was going on through her head was impossible for me to tell. I guess that’s true with everyone. She watched as I said bye to Granny, who challenged me to another ‘drink-off’, to which I politely declined. It was still morning! Then Pinkie did her thing, which pretty much was made up of making noise and saying random things. After that, we waved farewell to the Apple family and headed to the clubhouse.

After that, we both headed to the clubhouse. It didn’t take long to take out the only thing that I really wanted to bring; the laptop. And my belt-bag, the one that Spike had given me, which I had ‘hid’ inside the bottom drawer of the dresser. Throughout my ordeal with the Ursas it might have been useful, especially that blade. But then again, Spike entrusted me with it… so maybe it was good that I didn’t have it. Things might have gone very differently and I was glad to have made it out of there in one piece.

“Forest, aren’t you taking anything else?” Pinkie asked, “How about your sofa-bed?”

“Doubt I’d need it, Pinkie. After all, I’m moving into Brian’s guestroom. I think they’re going to have a bed and everything there.” We both stood there and looked at it. For some obscure reason, it felt painful leaving it behind. I had grown somewhat attached to it.

“Can… can I have it?”

“What?”

“Can I take it, silly billy?” Pinkie giggled nudging me. “It’s really cool!”

“Of course you can.”

“Goody-goody gum-drops,” Pinkie bounded around me, “I’ve got the super perfect place for it too!”

Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but laugh. It still hurt to do so, my ribs didn’t approve of my rapid intake and outtake of air, but I couldn’t help myself.

Together we somehow managed to take it down and place it on the cart. As we left, I saw Applebloom watching me from the porch with Granny. They waved to me as I started down the front path towards the main road with Pinkie pulling on the cart. I stopped and waved back.

“Let’s go back to Sugarcube Corner and drop off the sofa-bed, since we have the cart and I can help you move it,” I offered.

“Okee, dokee, lokee,” Pinkie grunted pulling the cart along.

“Do you need help, Pinkie?”

“No, no. I’ve got this!”

As much as I enjoyed her efforts, it was clear that she didn’t ‘got it’. So, I ducked under the yoke, and together we walked back to Sugarcube Corner side by side. It was actually not so bad; it hurt whenever Pinkie made me laugh, so she tried to not make me laugh. This plan failed miserably. The harder I tried to ignore her and not laugh, the funnier it got until I resigned myself to adapting a half-chuckle.

Our antics didn’t go unnoticed. A couple of Pegasi had spotted us first, fluttering overhead. Then more and more Ponies seemed to ‘come and see’ us. It actually got pretty ridiculous as we arrived into town.

“Do I detect a little hostility?” I whispered.

“Ooh. It’s all that Amethyst’s fault! Sorry, Forest. I told her to quit it. But she’s a super-duper stubborn Pony sometimes.”

“Quit what?” I had no idea what she was talking about.

Pinkie rolled her eyes irritably when two younger mares danced in front of us giggling away. “Forest and Pinkie, sittin’ in a tree…”

Pinkie growled. Really, she growled. It totally caught me off guard, and due to the ridiculousness of her actions and the situation, I had to laugh. “Ow, ow, ow. My side,” I moaned.

“Stop laughing, you ninny!”

“Stop making me laugh, you Pink clown!”

“I’m not a clown!” Pinkie then thought about it, “Oh wait…”

Finally we reached Sugarcube Corner, and parked the cart back where we had gotten it from. Mr. Cake had helped Pinkie unload and bring the sofa-bed upstairs into Pinkie’s room. And what I saw was the last thing I expected to see, especially because it was Pinkie’s room. It was so tidy! Almost uncharacteristically tidy. Not a single item seemed out of place. On the far corner of the room was a desk, and right next to that was a bed. The rest of the room was full of shelves and drawers.

“Welcome to my room!” Pinkie dropped her side of the sofa, making Mr. Cake fall into it.

Pinkie bounced around, “This is where I keep my streamers!” She pulled one of the drawers out, dug a hoof in and threw a hoofful of the colorful strips of paper into the air. Then she zoomed by me and went to another drawer. “This is where I keep my balloons!” She took one and blew it up until it burst, pieces of rubber getting everywhere.

“Pinkie…” Mr. Cake said dissonantly, still lying on the sofa.

“… and this is where I keep the confetti! And this…”

“Pinkie!” Mr. Cake yelled.

Pinkie stopped in mid-air and plopped to the ground. How? How does she do that?

“Oopsy. Sorry, Mr. Cake.”

“That’s okay, Pinkie. Where do you want your sofa?” Mr. Cake gently replied standing up.

“Um…” Pinkie looked around her room. There was really no place for it.

“How about we just get rid of it?” I offered.

Pinkie looked at me as if I had physically hit her.

“What’s wrong, Pinkie?” I was genuinely concerned. Was it something I said? I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.

She looked down at her hooves for a moment before looking up at me, “I want it… for my bestest friends for sleep-overs and stuff…”

“Okay, okay. How about this, then? Why don’t we put your bed horizontal so that the head rests against the corner, then put your desk at the foot of your bed and then put the sofa where your bed used to be?”

“Yay! That’s a really smart idea! You’re a smarty-warty sometimes!” Pinkie Pie rushed to her desk and pulled it from the wall before helping her push her bed to the corner. Under her bed was a stack of books. Most of them were about partying, but I saw one in particular that caught my eye.

How to Woo That Special Somepony.

Out of reflex I picked it up and was about to open the cover when I heard a yelp from behind me and Pinkie’s face got several shades brighter as she literally dove across the room, snatching the book out of my grip.

“No! No, no! Don’t look! Bad, Forest! Bad!” She quickly hid it behind her back, still blushing ferociously.

“Me? Bad?” I made a face. Although she laughed, I could tell she was still really embarrassed that I had found her book, “So, who’s the lucky Pony?” I asked.

Pinkie just blushed more, “Oh, somepony. Twilight let me borrow it… she said not to let anypony look at it,” She looked up at me, “And I promised.”

A promise was a promise. But why would such a promise me made? “Okay, then let’s finish moving. I want to settle into my new place.”

Soon the sofa, the bed and the desk were in their new places. Pinkie had to fumble a bit to get the sofa to fit, but it was just right. The edge of the sofa pressed against the side of the bed, so that if you were to pull the bed out, Pinkie’s bed and the sofa-bed would be parallel to each other. The only difference was the height. The back of the sofa met the edge of the window sill so it did not disturb the sun’s light from flowing into her room. We couldn’t have planned it better if we tried.

We rested a bit as she showed me the rest of her party paraphernalia. She had almost everything in its own place, and in moments the room was a mess. I felt bad leaving it like that, so I helped tidy up, but my attention kept returning to that book. Woo somepony special? I wondered who Pinkie had in mind.

Mr. Cake had left earlier and had returned with two large glasses of yellow liquid, which he had carried on his back with a tray. It was delicious lemonade. It was amazing. Pinkie downed hers in practically a single gulp as I slowly sipped mine. After I was done, Pinkie and I left. I didn’t know where the pharmacy was, so I had asked her to lead me there.

“Well hello, Pinkie,” An old Stallion stated when we walked in, “Long time no see. And that’s a good thing. Who is this strapping young colt?”

“Hello, Amoxi. I’m not here to pick up medicine, my friend Forest is!”

I walked over to the counter and placed the prescription in front of him. He took it, read it then went into the back room. It didn’t take him long to return with a small paper bag. “Take two after eating and one more if the pain doesn’t subside. No more than ten pills in one day, and don’t operate heavy machinery when you take these.”

“Heavy machinery?”

“Yep. Anything else?”

“No… that’s all…” I took the bag and placed it into one of my free pockets on the saddlebag that Spike had given me.

As we exited, I thought I heard him say; “I thought he was with Applejack…” But I didn’t really listen.

We made our way back across town, all the while Pinkie was talking at a million words a minute, about all sorts of random things. It was hard to keep track of what she was saying, but it was a pleasant change to the silence I had to endure earlier on. In what felt like no time at all we were both standing in front of the house.

Using the keys Brian had given me, I unlocked the front door and stepped inside. Brian had a mail-slot in his door and I had to shove the door a little hard to get inside. A large number of letters lay on the ground. Picking them up, I carefully placed them on a small table in the hallway – I would have to bring them to Brian later on. Why hadn’t his daughter done so already? Surely she must have come to the house at least once the past few days…

Finding the guestroom was easy. Indeed, it was located right next to the stairs, the very same ones that Brian had descended from when I first came to Equestria. It seemed like another lifetime. A time when I thought being here was a curse. Now, I couldn’t imagine going back.

Just then I heard a knock on the door.

“It’s open!” I called.

“Hello, we just heard from Brian that you’re taking care of his place,” Twilight entered followed by Spike. Spike saw my saddlebag and it looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. Twilight’s eyes opened wide when she saw the Pony behind me. “Pinkie?”

“Hi, Twilight, I’m helping Forest move in. What is my bestest friend in the whole wide world doing?”

“Spike and I were on our way to visit Fluttershy and we decided to stop by. Are you going to Fluttershy’s, Forest?”

“What for?”

“Your pet?” Twilight raised one of her eyebrows. “Don’t you want to pick her up?”

“Tessie! I completely forgot about her!”

Spike snickered, “She saves your life and you already forgot about her…”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind, Spike.”

“Oh, sorry, Forest, I forgot.” He turned away, “Seriously, Applejack says she’s not interested and you bounce over to Pinkie.”

“What?” I asked genuinely having no idea what he was on about.

“Spike!” Twilight barked, “That is no way to talk about our friend.”

Friend? Do you really consider me a friend? I thought to myself. I was touched. “Spike, I don’t know what you’re implying but Pinkie has somepony else special.” I was getting good at replacing ‘body’ with ‘pony’ now. It was almost second nature to me.

“Pinkie does?” Spike furrowed his head, “Really?”

We all turned to Pinkie, who took a deep breath, “I don’t wanna talk about it! It’s a secret and I don’t like telling secrets.”

Twilight made a noise, “Pinkie’s really good at keeping secrets… and making sure you keep them as well.” She muttered the last part to herself.

The joke was lost on me.

“Okay, let’s go to Fluttershy’s together.” I said aloud when it was evident that they wanted me to tag along. Why they just didn’t tell me was a mystery.

On our way, we got to talking about my bracelet and the three spells that Aiden had explained to me.

“There are three more spells, you know. But they work differently. Do you want to know?” Twilight asked.

“As long as you don’t test them on me, I’m okay with that. I doubt my body would be able to take it.” I jested.

“I’m not really sure that you should know these spells...” Twilight began; the expression on her face was easy to read. They were bad.

“Why not?” Spike asked.

“Well, I made the bracelet out of an old magical obedience trainer that was once used to train dangerous creatures long ago. I had tried to modify it so that any of the spells initiated by somepony else would not work, but I couldn’t do it. Instead, I think I’ve managed to put certain types of spells into that bracelet.”

“What do you mean?” I was keenly interested now.

“To counter-act the three spells; the Signal spell, the Obedience spell, and the Want spell, I created three other spells that were supposed to counter-act those three. For the Signal spell, there’s the Hidden spell. The Obedience spell’s counter is the Disobedience spell, and for the Want Spell, there is the… what’s the opposite of ‘want’?”

“Un-want?” Pinkie offered.

“Dislike? Disinterest? Hate?”

They all turned to look at me when said the ‘H’ word.

“Hate is a little… strong, don’t you think, Forest?” Twilight looked slightly scandalized.

“Those are the opposites of ‘want’, Twilight. I guess we could just call it the Un-Want Spell.” I winked at Pinkie when I said this, making her giggle.

“Fine, the Un-Want Spell sounds a lot better than the… Hate Spell.”

“So, how does it work?” I asked.

“When a spell is cast, their opposites also activate. When you were… on your kissing spree…”

“A little bit more discretion, Twi.” Spike said through gritted teeth, gesturing over at Pinkie with his head.

“But Pinkie said she already has somepony else she likes,” Twilight replied.

Pinkie just blushed a little at that.

“Anyway, the night when Sweetie Belle activated the ‘Want’ spell, you resisted the urge to do it, that was from my counter-measure; the Un-Want spell.”

Despite the seriousness of Twilight’s statement, the name made me grin stupidly. It really was a ridiculous name for a spell. I’m so glad that Pinkie thought of it.

“The problem is that whenever you use it, you also lose some of your memory.”

“Some?” I asked.

“Well, yeah. I don’t know how serious it is, but at least I know that it’s not permanent.” Twilight looked at me, “I’m sorry, Forest. Every time we talk, I feel that I’m just bringing more misery into your life.”

“Well, can’t say I blame you. I mean, I’ve been here two weeks, and it feels like a lifetime. Plus, I bring most of it on myself. So, don't blame yourself.”

The girls grinned at one another.

“We’re super-happy that you feel that way, Forest. It’s always nice when a new Pony finds a home here in Ponyville!” Pinkie bounced behind me.

Fluttershy was outside watering some plants when we arrived. At first she acted shy, but then she seemed to mumble something to herself and instantly grew bolder.

“Oh, hello everypony,” She said gently, “Tessie’s just helping me weed the garden. She’s a very smart rat, aren’t you girl?”

Tessie had bounded up to us and sat herself on the corner of Fluttershy’s fencepost. When the yellow Pony praised her, Tessie hid her face behind her little hands.

“Tessie, do you want to come home with me?” I asked.

Tessie looked up at me, and shrugged. “Aw, you little meanie!” I pretended to be hurt.

The little rat flashed a grin at me as another rat bounded up next to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Forest. But it looks like Duncan has fallen for Tessie.” She smiled and let out the cutest squeaking noise.

“Well, I’ve never considered Tessie a pet. So, I can’t tell her what to do,” I grinned, “So, whatever you want to do, I’ll be happy with it.”

Tessie jumped off the fencepost and jumped on my back and hugged the back of my neck. Then, she leapt off and the two rats disappeared into the bushes that bordered the Everfree Forest. We all watched them go.

“At least one of us gets to be happy with somepony special…” Spike muttered quietly.

We all chatted for a bit before we heard a shout from above us. It was Scootaloo. “There you are Forest! I went to your old house in Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom says you moved out! I didn’t know that.”

“Well, that’s because I just moved out this morning.” My response was met with a gloomy look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“I just can’t help that this whole thing is our fault. We were only joking…”

“Sometimes magic can be fun to joke with, but not always.” Twilight gave her a stern look, then sighed, “But everything worked out in the end.”

“Not everything,” Spike interrupted, “There is that one small issue with, oh, your best friend, Applejack?”

“Applejack has deeper issues,” Twilight snapped back.

“Com’on, everypony! Let’s not talk about AJ this way, k?” Pinkie stated, standing up on her hind legs putting both Scootaloo and Twilight under her forehooves, “She’s just super-confused and we need to be there to help!”

“You’re right, Pinkie,” Twilight smiled at her pink friend, “We should be there for her.”

“If you’re looking for Applejack… um… I saw her at Rarity’s house,” Fluttershy whispered the last part.

“Should I go?” I asked everypony.

“If it were me, I would,” Spike shrugged.

“Oh, really?” I smirked at him.

He just blushed in response.

“I would give her some time to think and sort things out, Forest. You don’t understand what she went through… I’m not really selling this right, am I? Just, it’s important you do give her time. Trust me, she’ll come round. You just need to be patient.” Twilight was really smart, and her advice was sound.

“Oh, Forest, I just wanted to let you know that we’re having a team-meeting at the town hall at six. Will you come, Twilight?” Scootaloo looked at the two of us.

“Should I? I’m not going to take part in the race, but I am still on the team…” Twilight glanced over to me.

“We’ll be there.” I replied on behalf of the both of us.

“Great! See you then!” Scootaloo hovered over the ground for a moment then she raised her wings up to their highest point, flexing them. The next moment she pushed her wings down hard whizzing her high up into the air. She gave us all a quick wave before she sped away.

“Fluttershy, thank you for taking care of Tessie,” I expressed my appreciation with the warmest smile I could muster, “If you need any favors, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Oh… that’s okay, Forest…” She blushed a bit when she said my name, “You really helped me… after…”

She didn’t need to finish, I knew what she was referring to. We just exchange a knowing look. She didn’t want to relive that moment and nopony here would understand it, only Rarity and Applejack would understand the torment she had endured. It was easy to see that she was still fragile, and I instinctively wanted to protect her. Every Mare and Stallion from here to Canterlot would have felt and done the same if they knew what she had experienced.

Turning back towards Brian’s house we walked slowly, enjoying the evening air. We talked about random things, but I think the center of focus was on Pinkie and her ability in building huge cakes that continued to confound chefs and cooks around Equestria. It was a fact that Pinkie was amazing at baking, and she absorbed the skills and knowledge from the Cakes and using her own vivid imagination and flare, she created works of art. Delicious edible works of art.

Pinkie basked in the praises, but tried to act humble at the same time.

Stopping at Brian’s proved to be pointless. By the time we got there it was almost time for the team meeting in town. So, after I downed a couple of those painkillers, we briskly walked to the town hall. Of course we were late, and the meeting had already started. There were quite a few more Ponies than just the Race team.

“Glad to see you guys made it,” Amethyst put in. When Pinkie arrived just behind me I heard her gasp and put on a wide smile.

Pinkie just blushed and slightly shook her head. It would have been unnoticed if I hadn’t been looking at her.

Twilight sat herself on one of the chairs and I sat next to her. Spike made his way over to a table where there were drinks and snacks laid out and helped himself. Pinkie sat next to me.

“So, we’ve got a problem,” Lavenderhoof stated, “We’ve got no bits for the team. We need bits to buy the costumes. Rarity has agreed to design costumes for us all, but she needs the bits to buy the materials, and she needs them as soon as.”

“So, we were thinking about how to raise some bits,” Scootaloo sighed, “But we need something fun and that will raise enough bits. Rarity says she’ll need around fifty bits per costume.”

“Fifty?” Twilight eyes boggled, “That’s a lot!”

“You have to see what other towns are doing, Twi! If we don’t match their level, we’ll be the laughingstocks of Equetria!” Amethyst protested.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “This is a physical race, not a fashion show. Fifty bits it way too much. And if Rarity’s designing it, then she’s really going out of her way to give us something spectacular.”

“Rarity’s the Element of Generosity, she’s very kind and generous and likes to give, give, give!” Pinkie whispered over to me. In the same moment Lavenderhoof’s smile widened. We needed to hurry, otherwise we’d be late.

“How are we going to raise that much money? A bake sale?” I asked.

“No, we tried that. We only raised twenty three bits.” Lavender put a pouch down on a table that jingled.

“Can’t anypony think of anything else?” Scootaloo moaned.

“How about a date auction?”

Everypony turned to the source of that. It was Rainbow Dash. She was splayed down across the window sill.

“Date auction?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow sighed and glided down to us, “It’s simple. You guys will auction yourselves out on dates. When I was on Earth, I saw some movies about it.”

“It could work…” Lavender began, “But it just sounds so… scandalous.”

“It’s fine. As long as the Ponies are aware that it’s only a date,” Rainbow grinned, “Then we should have a fair or something going on. Pinkie, can you organize that?”

“Of course!” Pinkie bounced up, “We can have rides, games, fairs, games, rides, and more games! Ooh, and rides!”

“I think that’s a great idea!” Spike announced, “It will really help the team.”

“Then, let’s do that.” Scootaloo grinned, “What do you guys say?”

A part of me didn’t want to. I wanted to date Applejack exclusively. This felt like I was whoring myself out, but if this was the quickest and best way to do raised funds…

“I’ll do it.” I offered.

Everypony looked at me.

“If it’s something the team needs, then I’ll do it.” I looked at Twilight, “Unless you can think of something else.”

“I can’t think of anything else, and it does seem like something that would be fun for the town to take part in. I’ll do it.” Twilight grinned, “But what about Derpy?”

“Oh yeah, she can’t do that…”

“Why not?” I asked.

“She’s not single,” Twilight answered.

“Well, I’m sure that the five of us can raise enough. And we can cover Derpy’s costume.” That was optimistic of me, but with Ponies like Twilight and Scootaloo on the team, we were sure to get a lot of bits. And Lavender and Amethyst surely had Stallions interested in them.

“Well, then it’s agreed? We’ll have a date auction, and Pinkie will get a fair started?”

Pinkie nodded, “A party! Fun! Games! Oh my! I have so many ideas…”

My mind was unable to compute this new turn of events coherently, “Isn’t tomorrow too soon? How can Pinkie organize all that in less than a day?”

“It’s Pinkie. She has an uncanny ability of doing things like this, Forest. Don’t worry too much about it. When it comes to Pinkie, you just have to accept it.” Twilight rolled her eyes, “You haven’t had a chance to experience her ‘quirks’.”

“Quirks?”

“She has… these tweaks and twitches that happen, and when they happen things happen. It’s hard to explain.” Twilight saw my expression, “I don’t understand it myself, and I’ve been Pinkie’s friend for years.”

“Oh, you mean like my twitchy twitch?” Pinkie asked.

If I was confused before, then my mind was completely gone at this point, “What?”

“Pinkie Perks, we call them. When something is about to happen, Pinkie has these tweaks, and usually it means something will happen.”

“Ah.” I didn’t get it, but I dropped the subject.

“I will work on spreading the word. So, what time should we have the auction?” Twilight asked us all.

“Not too late, but late enough. Say, this time?” Scootaloo suggested.

“What do I do?”

“Forest, you just concentrate on resting your body. The rest of us will handle this.” Twilight turned to the others, “Is that okay?”

Nopony said nothing, so I resigned myself to accept ‘concentrating on resting’ as a valid team contribution.

“Then the meeting is adjourned. See you all tomorrow.” Lavender grinned at me, “You should get all gussied up. Have you been to the spa?”

“No… I’ve never been to a spa.” That was true. I’ve never been to one. Ever.

“Well, then here you go.” She put a ticket in my hoof.

One ‘full treatment’ was written in golden letters on a light, sky-blue background. On the other side it gave the address of the spa, where I had no idea where to find it.

“What’s a ‘full treatment’?”

“They’ll make you handsome.” She winked when she said that.

I just laughed at her insult, “Thanks, Lavender.”

“Anyway, you owe us for getting hurt, so the most you can do you is to raise as many bits as possible for our costumes.” Lavender grinned at me.

I saluted her, “Yes, ma’am.”

We all headed out separate ways. Twilight and Spike walked Pinkie and I to Sugarcube Corner before they proceeded towards the library.

Pinkie watched me starting to walk off and jogged after me. “Forest, are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes, Pinkie. I’ll be fine. It’s only broken ribs.”

“Oh. Okay.”

I sighed, “What’s wrong, Pinkie?”

“You just… you just looked so sad, Forest. It makes me sad to see you sad.”

“I’m fine, Pinkie. I’m… I’ll manage. Go, you’ll need your strength for tomorrow. I’ll see you, okay?” I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Okee dokee. See you tomorrow, Forest.” And with that, Pinkie returned to her delicious looking home and shut the door behind her.

Standing there, I watched Sugarcube Corner for a long moment when I felt a sudden chill in the air. My blood froze as I heard a voice from behind me.

“So, Forest Fire.”

Suppressing the urge to shudder, I turned around to face the source of the voice, “Hello, Crystal.”

“How have you been?” Her eye was twitching. It was freaky.

I gulped, “Fine. Just fine.”

“I hear you’re seeing Applejack… or was it Pinkie?” She said Pinkie’s name as if it were synonymous with evil.

“I… I’m really tired, Crystal. I need to get some rest.” I started to walk by her.

She whipped around, making me jump. I shuddered from the pain in my sides. “I don’t like you, Forest, but I’ve been told that Brian has let you stay at his place. You better take good care of it, or I’ll make you regret it.”

That wasn’t an empty threat. “I won’t.”

“Good, because if you do… I know certain words, phrases, which I can use that will make you sorry.”

Every time she said the word ‘make’, my bowels felt like evacuating. She was literally scaring the shit out of me. Message received, loud and clear. After that, she just left.

All through my walk home, I was worried. What exactly did that psychopath mean? She was starting to really freak me out. Cyan Crystal was never on good terms with me, and from what I heard she was not on good terms with anypony else in Equestria, and yet she somehow befriended the only human. I would need to talk to Brian about her one day.

I sat at the edge of the bed in the guestroom gazing at the pictures and posters on the walls. One photo in particular caught my eye. It was Rainbow as a little Filly, she was sleeping on a bed on Earth, and she looked so calm and peaceful. I took the photo from its place on the wall and studied it for a long moment. It was so cute and beautiful.

“Forest! Forest!” I heard my name being called.

Walking to the hallway, I picked up the laptop from the pile of my stuff and brought it into my room, and placed it in the corner, “Hello, Tutela.”

“Oh, Forest! Thank Chrysalis you’re safe.”

“Who’s Chrysalis?”

“My queen… sorry, my ex-queen, not really a Changeling anymore,” Tutela face smiled gently to me. She looked so different, not like the bug-like creature from before. Now she looked more… pony-like. “Forest, you need to get that bracelet off.”

“I can’t.”

“Then, I can’t help you. That bracelet won’t allow me to touch you. Surely you felt it heat up in the caves?”

“Yes, I did… I thought it was from the grass I ate.”

“That was gross. I nearly puked from watching it. But no, the reason why your bracelet was hurting was because I was trying to get you out of there. But that bracelet just sucked up my magic. As long as you have that, I can’t pull you to safety.”

“But… then I could just keep this on and live here.”

“You could, but there is one spell you cannot change. The spell inside you that will change you back into a human after thirty days. And that magic isn’t preventable, not even by that thing.” Tutela gestured to the bracelet followed up by her giving me a sour look.

“I wasn’t really going to do that, I was just saying…” My excuse was pathetic.

“Then there’s only one way back here. Remove the bracelet and I can pull you back into this world, or smash yourself through your laptop. The magic stored inside will bring you here.”

“Look, I’m feeling very tired. Can we talk tomorrow? I’m not really listening to you.”

Tutela looked at me humorously for some time before she spoke. “Good night, Forest.”

And with that, I dropped myself on the bed letting the sleepy-express take me on a trip to dreamland.

Day 17: The Crystal Strikes Back

Pain. Again. Why is it that the past few times I’ve woken up, it’s because of pain? However, this time felt a little different, an alternative kind of pain. Something within me was aching, and it was more agonizing by far than the other kind of pain. The outside kind, the kind I was used to. Far worse than getting a hole blasted through my chest, or my ribs being broken. As my eyes opened, I couldn’t help but gasp. Where was I? This wasn’t Brian’s house? This wasn’t even Ponyville! What the hell had happened?

Suddenly, everything clicked. I understood. What I understood, I didn’t know, just that I knew. Whatever was going on was incredibly important, and that I had to maintain a strong face as I stared down at the six below me. But they looked so angry. Wait a minute! I’m floating? That wasn’t right.

“Forest, you promised!” Twilight shouted.

“You can’t do this!”Rainbow Dash added.

“Why are you doing this?” Twilight asked, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

And then I spoke. I couldn’t hear what I said, but whatever I said just made them even angrier than before. Whatever my words were, they cut through them.

“You can’t do that! That’s not fair!” Applejack practically screamed, “That’s not fair on us!”

“Forest!” Another voice screamed. Pinkie stood at the back glaring at me.

Those eyes.

No Pinkie, don’t look at me like that…

There was something crumbling all around us, and in the next moment I saw them all start glowing. Then –

I shot up and smacked my head against something.

“Ow!” It said.

“My head,” I moaned, flopping back down on the pillow rubbing the spot where it hurt. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash hovering over my bed, rubbing her forehead.

“Rainbow? What’re you doing here?” I asked.

“I came to check on you and the place. I heard voices, so I thought you were awake. I didn’t know you were still sleeping…” She landed next to the bed as I sat up then dragged myself off of it. “Sounds like you had a nightmare.”

“You have no idea.” I shook my head; the dream was still fresh in my mind. I didn’t like it. Whatever was going on in that dream had put a bad taste in my mouth. And the way they spoke at me – not to me, but at me – as if I were… bad. “It’s just a dream.” I told myself, relief soaking in.

“What?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Rainbow just gave me a perplexed look.

“I knew that you had a thing for Applejack, but I didn’t know it was this bad.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Forest, you got to let things happen! You can’t mope about like this.”

In her own way, I guess Rainbow was trying to pep me up.

“This photo of you is… cute,” I said picking up the picture from before. I didn’t feel like discussing Applejack at the moment, every time I thought of her my heart would ache.

The photo was definitely taken on Earth; the colors of that world were evident in the photograph. She was snoozing lazily on a bed, a sweet smile on her face as the sun streaked in through a window behind her. “You really stand out in that world.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow looked at the photo, a small smile on her lips. “Dad was always worried about me getting discovered, so he did everything to make sure I was safe.”

“He told me about it. It must have been painful when you guys were separated.”

“You have no idea. And at the time I really didn’t want to go. I spent my entire life – again – with Brian. How was I supposed to go back to my old life without him? And then, after the mind changing spell…”

“Mind changing spell?” I asked.

Rainbow looked up at me. “I thought you said Dad told you…”

“He must have omitted that minor detail. I didn’t know minds could be… altered.”

“Princess Celestia thought it would’ve been better for me. To forget, you know? To remember my life without dad.”

“I take it that didn’t work?”

“I don’t remember much about that, but I do remember this huge feeling of emptiness. But before all my memories were changed, I remember locking up something inside me – like a box, only in my head, I think. A box full of memories and feelings… I forget, y’know. Don’t really like thinking about it. I just knew that it would remain there locked away if I never saw dad again. Then I sent a letter to dad without the others knowing explaining what I had done. I gave him a choice… and he chose me.” Rainbow’s eyes started to water, and she wiped away a tear, “And now he’s got no more time left…”

Quickly, I rushed to the other side of the room where a box of tissues were and handed them to her. She wiped her eyes as the tears refused to stop flowing out from them. She blew her nose in one and took another tissue out from the box.

“What am I going to do without him?” Rainbow looked at the photo of her Filly self. “What… what am I… going to…”

It was painful watching her. All throughout the time I’ve known her she seemed so free and full of life. Only now, sitting here in this house, did I realize the just how fragile she really was. All that strength she displayed came crumbling down in this one moment and I saw her heart laid bare. Unlike Fluttershy, who was always seemed fragile so that it was expect, Rainbow’s display of weakness seemed that much more… tragic. I realized that she had not come to this house because this house was full of memories of her father, and a reminder of why he was no longer living there. And I was the asshole who forced her to return to this place.

“I… I’m sorry, Rainbow. I didn’t mean to drag you back here.” My apology was heartfelt, but my words didn’t fit. “What I meant to say is… sorry for reminding you of the past.”

“You know, Forest, I thought you were pretty smart.” Rainbow’s words stung, but I listened to what she had to say. She wiped away some more tears. She seemed to be regaining her strong disposition. “You know things. I know you know because I can see it when you’re thinking, and I know that you mean well, but you need to wake up.”

“I… don’t understand what you mean.”

Rainbow let out an exasperated sigh, but she laughed a little, “You’re so thick! I came back here because I wanted to remember my past, because it’s precious to me. Some of the memories might be painful, but many of those are filled with times and moments that I treasure, and even the sad memories are a treasure. I don’t ever want to forget, ever. You being here was merely coincidence.”

She was right. I had no idea. And now I felt even more like an asshole because I had thought she returned because of me. It reminded me just how arrogant I really way. “You’re lucky, you know.”

“How so?” She asked. Her tears were subsiding now.

I wanted to tell her about my father, and my memories of him. I wanted to tell her just how much I hated him for what he did to me. How every memory I had of him was painful. If I had a father half the man Brian was I would probably be a better person – pony. Whatever. I’d be better.

“You have great friends, a father that loves you… I don’t know. Lucky is such a bad word, but you’ve got a life that I envy. I guess that’s because you’re really loved by so many.”

She looked at me funnily for a moment, and then she giggled. It was like music to my ears. Now I understood a little bit more of why Pinkie was so obsessed with making others laugh. “You’re weird.”

“I get that a lot. What’s weird about me?”

“Just you say the right things… but you’re so think-headed that you don’t know how ‘right’ your words are.”

I didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. “Somehow I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

“It is, and it isn’t.” Rainbow collected her used tissues in one hoof, “Are you hungry?”

“Yes. I need to take my painkillers too, and eat that porridge. Doctor’s orders.”

She led me to the kitchen, where she opened the back door to let some air in. The cool morning breeze wafted through the room and the strong scent of coffee seemed to stir.

“So, how do you make this stuff?” Rainbow asked, picking up the bag of porridge the Cakes had given me.

“I guess I pour milk on it…” I wasn’t sure myself.

“You didn’t ask?” Rainbow shook her head and let out a chuckle mixed with a deep sigh, “Okay, then I’ll get you some milk. I’ll have to fly down to the market to pick some up.”

“You don’t mind?” I asked.

“Nah, also, it’s been bugging me, but do you always sleep with your saddlebag on?”

I looked at my flank. Indeed, Spike’s saddlebag was still firmly wrapped around my torso. “I guess I was so tired, I didn’t bother taking it off.”

“Wasn’t it uncomfortable?” Rainbow asked.

“Not really.”

“You’re… never mind. Give me twenty minutes. You need anything else from downtown?” Rainbow asked heading out the backdoor.

“No. Not really. Oh! Here, take some bits.” I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out my money purse.

“No, no. I’ll treat you this time. It’s only milk.” Rainbow insisted.

I looked at the money purse. It felt a lot lighter than before. Soon I would need to find a job that paid. I doubted very much I would be welcome back to Sweet Apple Acres anytime soon, and besides the Apples were already much more efficient than before thanks to the harvester I had built for them. I had put myself out of a job, in a way. But, I didn’t regret it.

Why did I think of that? My heart felt torn again as I thought about Sweet Apple Acres. My mind instantly pictured Applejack. Why? Why, why, why did you break it off with me? Was it something I did? Was it something I said?

“Forest? You okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Just thinking.” I laughed weakly.

“About AJ?”

“AJ? Oh. Applejack. Yeah. I was thinking about her.”

“Relax, Forest. She just needs time. She’s been through a lot.” Rainbow then went outside. I followed her as far as the backdoor.

“Do you want me to make coffee or something?” I asked as she started to ascend.

“Nah. I’m fine. See you in a bit.”

And with that, she zipped off towards Ponyville. Flight must be wonderful. A part of me wished that Tutela had turned me into a Pegasus Pony so I could flutter about the air. That would’ve been so awesome. And the way Brian had described flying around just made the matter worse.

Still, I really wished that Applejack would come and see me. I missed her.

Half an hour later, Rainbow returned with a bottle of milk. I hadn’t seen glass bottles of milk in ages, and it was nostalgic seeing one.

It turns out that milk wasn’t enough. Sugar was necessary. But all in all, it was a pleasant breakfast.

After eating my bowl, I studied Rainbow who was looking at some pictures on the kitchen wall. Why was she still here?

She caught me gazing at her. “What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering why you’re here and not at the hospital.”

“Dad’s taking a nap. He stayed up late reading a book, and I didn’t feel like sleeping.” Rainbow glanced over my head at a clock, “He should be awake soon.”

“So… what was I saying in my sleep?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and giggled, “Something about Pinkie looking at you.”

My mind replayed that moment. Even though it was a dream, it was so vivid. I took another large spoonful of the not-quite-as-good porridge to avoid continuing the subject. It was not something I wanted to discuss, especially not with one of Pinkie’s best friends.

“So, how long to you plan on staying here?” She asked.

“Not long.” That was true. Whether or not I win my bet with Tutela, I couldn’t stay in this house. It wasn’t my house, for one. And two, I hadn’t learnt shit about the true meaning of friendship, other than the fact that it was a helluva lot more complicated than I thought.

Despair gripped me. Perhaps this was all a gag! Tutela never meant to give me my freedom, and I was only here for her own amusement. I’m an idiot! My expression must have given away the turmoil in my brain as I felt Rainbow’s eyes staring right at me.

“Are you okay, Forest?” She asked.

“Yeah, I just remembered something about my past that I didn’t want to.”

“That’s great! I mean, remembering something, not the fact that it was bad.”

I laughed at that. “True.”

“Anyway, I’ve got to go. You’ll be okay, right?”

“Of course!” I didn’t want to keep Rainbow from going back to Brian, “I’ll see you later.”

She left herself out and flew away heading in the direction of the hospital. After taking a shower, and taking more painkillers, I left the house and headed towards Ponyville. It was nearly lunchtime and I had nothing to do. So, I decided to go and visit the library. Not to visit Twilight, but to read up on a few things. I never did get a chance to read any of the books that Twilight had suggested before, and I really wanted to know more about Equestria.

Knocking on the door, Spike answered and was somewhat surprised to see me. “Hello, Forest. What can I do for you?”

“Just wanted to take out a book,” I replied.

“Sure. Come on in.” Spike stood to one side and let me in. He closed the door behind me as I gazed at all the books.

“So, which book did you have in mind?” Spike asked, “Twilight’s not here right now…”

“I’m not here to see Twilight, Spike. I’m just here to read a book. Anyway, I have to go to the spa later. Apparently I have to go get ‘gussied’ up.” I grinned at my own joke.

“I’m afraid that no amount of spa treatment’s going to help, Forest,” Spike countered.

We both laughed at that.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.” Spike said leading me to the center of the library, “I just thought that after things didn’t work out with Applejack, you just… went to Pinkie.”

“Well, in that case I can’t hold it against you. You were protecting your friend, that’s not something you need to apologize for.”

“I’m not apologizing about that, you dolt. I’m apologizing for accusing you of… you really are an idiot.” Spike shook his head, “Anyway, what gives you the idea that Pinkie isn’t interested in you?”

“I found a book under her bed.”

“And…” Spike stood next to me.

“And what?”

“And how do you know she’s not interested in you!” Spike smacked his head with his palm.

“I could tell… I don’t know. The book was called ‘How to Woo that Special Somepony’.”

“And you can tell that Pinkie isn’t interested in you because…”

Now that he mentioned it... “Well, I tried to apologize for kissing her,” I blushed ferociously when I said the word ‘kiss’, it was completely childish of me, but it really was embarrassing to admit it out loud like that, “And she told me that it wasn’t anything special, and that I didn’t need to apologize for it.”

“Ouch,” Spike placed a hand on my shoulder, “That must’ve hurt.”

“A little.” I had to admit, it did sting, “But at least it’s safe to admit that she didn’t really see me that way.”

“That’s not quite what I heard…” Spike shrugged, “I guess Pinkie just resigned herself to accepting that you like Applejack more.”

“Wait. She… Pinkie… she…”

“You didn’t know?” Spike laughed. “You really are thick? Everypony in Ponyville can tell that Pinkie likes you… well, ‘liked’ is probably more accurate at this point.”

“I’m an idiot!” I announced.

“You’re an idiot,” Spike agreed, nodding his head.

“But… why would she say that my kiss didn’t mean anything?” I knew the answer, but I had to hear it from someone else.

“Probably because she doesn’t want to distract you from Applejack,” Spike replied, sighing deeply, “Even if Pinkie likes you, she loves Applejack. She would put aside everything for her friend. Any of them would. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity would do anything for one another; even sacrifice their own happiness if it means that their friends will be happier. It’s selfish and generous at the same time.”

“Wow.” That was really deep. I never expected Spike to be so insightful.

“Do you always carry that around?” Spike said, not looking at me.

“You mean the saddlebag? Afraid so, but it’s got nothing to do with your dagger. The one time that it would have come in handy was the only time I actually left home without it. I mean, your dagger would have been really useful in that Ursa cave.”

“Just be glad you didn’t kill any. Fluttershy would’ve never forgiven you.”

My expression made Spike laugh.

“I’m just joking, Forest.”

I sighed in relief.

“Or am I?” He grinned at me.

We both shared a good laugh. Spike was a really cool Dragon, it was such a shame that he was so head over heels for Rarity, and I’m sure Rarity in her own way loved Spike. But it felt really unhealthy seeing just how much Spike adored her and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Dragon.

“So, you got any books in particular that you want to read?” Spike gestured to the shelves as if her were presenting them to me, his arm spread wide open.

“Do you have anything about Changelings?” I asked.

“Changelings? Well, no… the closest thing we have is an encyclopedia description of them. They’re really mysterious. If you want more information, you’re going to have to go to Canterlot. Why would you want to read about Changelings anyway?” Spike looked at me strangely.

“I was just curious about them.”

“Ah. Anything else?” Spike still had that weird look on his face.

“Yes, is there a book about Equestria in general?”

“We have several. Do you have anything a little more specific in mind?”

“A book that has to do with travel…”

“Are… are you planning on going on a trip?” Spike asked looking at me excitedly.

The thought actually had not really crossed my mind – did it? Now that Spike had mentioned it, “Well… yes, I guess I might do just that. I don’t know.”

Without saying a word, Spike walked to a shelf of book and handed me one. It was old looking, the corners were creased had a lot of stains on it. I couldn’t resist, so I opened it. It was covered in hand-written notes.

“I… that’s mine,” Spike confessed, “I’ve been planning on leaving for a while now, as you know.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, we talked about it. You said that if I left, you’d come with me, remember?”

That did sound familiar. Why couldn’t I remember it clearly?

“Anyway, it’s all raggedy like that because I’ve struggled keeping it hidden from Twilight. Forest, you can’t ever let her know that it’s mine, okay?”

“Sure, Spike,” I was honored that he’d entrust it to me. Or maybe he was trying to get rid of it. It looked pretty well read.

“Okay, thanks for that, Spike. I think I’ll be heading to that Spa now.”

“I’ll walk with you. It’s not far from here.” Spike stated following me to the door.

We walked and chatted about Ponyville. Spike telling me about the haunts. I had no idea there was a bar! It was a small one simply called Berry’s Bar. The fact that there that there was one amazed me in the first place. How did I not notice it before?

“There it is,” Spike ‘presented’ the Spa, like he did the books at the library, “I’ll see you later. Enjoy yourself.”

“Thanks, Spike. And don’t worry, your secrets safe with me.”

“What secret?” A voice asked from behind me.

“Twilight!” Spike and I stated stunned. She had just exited the spa.

“What secret?” Twilight asked again, walking up to us.

“You look different.” Something was indeed different about her.

“Oh? You like it?” She asked, fluffing her hair.

“Oh! You got a new style!” Spike stated, following my lead.

“Thanks you guys. Now, stop trying to avoid the subject! What secret?” Twilight asked.

She really was too clever.

“It’s a secret, Twilight. Can’t tell you.” I walked by her, but I could feel her gaze on me.

“Is it about you and Spike planning on leaving Ponyville?” Twilight’s words made me freeze mid-step, and Spike’s mouth hung wide open.

“You knew?” It was clear that Spike was just as stunned as me.

“Of course I know. I’ve known for some time that you’ve been planning this for some time. Spike, I really don’t want you to leave, none of us do. But I understand that if it’s something you have to do, I can’t stop you. You’re not a baby anymore. You’re a young, adult Dragon. I just… I don’t like the thought of you leaving us. Leaving me,” Twilight looked at Spike, and touched his cheek the way a mother would a child, “But I won’t stop you. And if you do go then at least don’t go alone. If Forest goes with you, I think I can accept it a little easier.”

“Actually, Twilight, I changed my mind.” Spike replied.

“You… you have?”

Now I could feel Twilight’s gaze on me. “You’re leaving us?”

“Maybe,” Slowly, I was accepting this plan. A plan to actually leave Ponyville. After all, now that I thought about it, I really didn’t have much time left in Equestria. If I was going to lose the bet with Tutela, well then I might as well get to know this world a little bit more. “You’ve all been great to me, and treated me with more kindness than I deserve. You let me into your lives, but I can’t keep mooching off you or your kindness. I have to discover who I am, and where I belong.”

“You’ll always have a home here in Ponyville, Forest.” Twilight walked over to me and gave me a hug. It was so gentle and warm, that it faltered my resolve. Still, the more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. Leaving Ponyville might actually be really good for me.

“Thank you, Twilight. That means a lot to me.”

She released me from her embrace and we stood there looking at each other for a moment. It started getting weird.

“Well… I’ve… got some errands to do.” She said self-consciously.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” Turning away, I started to enter the spa.

“Just tell us before you go, okay?” Twilight stated.

I looked at her, right into her eyes then gave one firm nod. I would tell her.

“Welcome, we’ve been expecting you.” A cerulean pony said with a thick accent. She had the brightest pink mane I had yet seen. I’d given up on specifying the traits of these Ponies. They were who they were, whether or not they applied to Earth no longer mattered to me, but I just couldn’t help but note that this Pony’s accent sounded Eastern European.

“Here’s my… coupon?” I didn’t know what else to call it.

“Thank you. Now, please follow me.”

The spa was large. Huge! We walked past the reception area where I noticed a Jacuzzi and some Ponies lying on massage tables getting a vigorous rub down by their respective masseuses. As much as I wanted to get a massage, because it looked so relaxing, I couldn’t. Not with my ribs being broken and all. After going to the opposite area where the massage tables were located I was placed in a chair. This area of the spa looked like a barber. I’ve heard of places like these back home on Earth, they were called ‘beauty salons’, where women would go and get themselves beautified. The Pony that led me there instantly handed me over to another Pony, whose color scheme happened to be an exact opposite of the one that had led me here. Her mane was that light-blue color and her coat was pink.

She plonked me into a chair and took a good look at me. “Hello, my name is Aloe,” She said to me in an accent similar to the previous Pony’s. “You wish for full treatment, yes?”

I nodded.

“Then, how’re you liking your mane?” She asked.

“I’m liking it very much,” I replied, not really knowing what she meant.

She laughed, “No, no. How are you styling it?”

Ah! Of course that’s what she meant. “I’m not… I just… have it.”

“Then, might I… recommend something?” She leaned in and pulled on my mane, then spun the chair around so that I faced a mirror. She explained what she wanted to do, and how it would make my face look lighter or higher, I wasn’t sure what she meant. It all sounded good and all, but I didn’t get it. I was only here to pass the time.

Well, might as well humor her… “Sure, that sounds wonderful.”

That seemed to be the right thing to say to her. She clapped her hooves and in the next moment three different tables were rolled in by other Ponies who obviously worked at the spa as well. It looked somewhat intimidating, to be honest. There were a lot of things on those tables.

Zipping to the side of my chair, she pulled a lever and the backrest dropped slowly. When I was somewhat horizontal, she started massaging my face with her hooves. They felt wonderful. Not too rough, yet not too soft as well. And it seemed to push the stress out of my face. Who knew that hooves could be used for massages?

I had closed my eyes to enjoy the experience. I’ve never had this done before and I kind of liked being pampered this way. After a few more minutes of that luxurious massaging it stopped. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, so I just remained lying down with my eyes shut. Then I felt a suddenly chill on my cheek and my eyes opened out of reflex.

“Is cream,” The spa Pony said when she saw me looking at her, “To make coat luxurious.”

Well, I hadn’t expected that, but I trusted in her judgment. After all, this was my first time doing this and I had already committed myself. What else was I supposed to do? So I let her have her way with me as she caked the creamy goo all over my face. I could feel the weight of it on there. Then I felt two things placed on my eyes. I had seen enough movies to know that they were slices of cucumber, and it strangely felt really nice. It relaxed my eyes and I soon found myself actually dozing off.

I don’t know how much time had passed, but I felt a gentle poke on my hoof, “Forest.” A voice said in a whisper.

“Hello,” I replied, unsure as to who was talking.

“Having fun?”

“Yep, this is kinda cool.”

“Do you know who this is?” I heard the voice murmur quietly.

“Sorry, can’t say that I do… wait! I know! Sweetie Belle! You’re Sweetie Belle, right?”

The voice giggled. “No, you’re wrong.”

I thought and thought. Who could it be? Who was taunting me? “Can I have a clue?”

At that moment, my heart skipped a beat because I felt the voice right next to my ear, “No.”

When I tried to sit up, I felt something pinning me down against the chair. It was firm, strong, and strangely gentle all at the same time. But, then again, it wasn’t someone that seemed to be holding me down; it was something. “Um… this is getting stran-”

My mouth was cut off. Something was on my lips. My eyes opened wide under the cucumbers so that all I could see was a lighter shade of green. I wasn’t an idiot, I knew what it was, but a part of me refused to believe it. Whoever was there had their lips firmly planted on mine.

“I’m sorry,” The voice stated in a hushed tone, “Please forgive me.”

No matter how hard I tried to resist, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. My body didn’t want to. It absolutely refused to fight back. As if something was ordering me to remain where I was and do nothing.

Waitaminute!

That was when I felt my wrist burning. The bracelet was burning, barely. It was clear that Magic had been used. Someone had used a spell! One of my mind controlling spells.

“You used a spell!” I stated angrily.

There was a long moment of silence. “Yes.”

“Why?” I demanded, “Why! Who are you? How do you know that spell?”

“Nopony. Just… forget about this. Please.”

And then I heard the hooves retreat slowly.

“Wait! You can’t do that! Tell me who are you are!”

Silence. I struggled for a long while, but the spell didn’t allow me to react apart from speaking. And I tried to shout out and call for help, but my voice was weak. The louder I wanted to speak, the quieter my voice became. Over time the burning sensation in my wrist slowly faded, and after a long while I could finally move again. When I did, I sat up quickly, and removed the cucumbers. The only Pony in that room right now was the Aloe.

“Oh, you’re finally awake. You were sleeping. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

The Pony who had kissed me wasn’t her, unless she was a master at faking accents. But then again, why would she kiss me? She didn’t know me. So, unless that face-mask thing was extremely effective, I highly doubted it was her.

“Was there somepony in here with me? From before?” I asked.

She shook her head, “No. I don’t think so. I was making mane-dye in other room. So, I didn’t see. Why?”

“Its…” I thought about what the Pony from before had asked. She asked me to forget about it! Forget that I was forced to kiss someone without my consent! That was just… just… wrong! Who could have done that? “Someone was in my room, and if it wasn’t you, then I want to know who!”

“I check with reception. Please wait one moment.” She came back in a few minutes, “I’m sorry, Forest, but Vera – the Pony at reception – she say that too many Ponies have come in and out. She does not know which one you mean.”

Despite knowing that it was not her fault, I couldn’t feel anything but anger towards her. It was irrational, and stupid, but I needed to project my anger somewhere, and she just happened to be the only Pony I felt I could. Struggling with the knowledge that I had been forced to cheat on Applejack against my own will, I tried to look past the fact that someone kissed me against my will.

Suffice to say, the rest of my spa experience was tainted. I didn’t enjoy myself because not only did I have to put up with the feelings of a broken heart from Applejack, but also feelings of guilt that I had betrayed her! I was too confused and too annoyed to enjoy this fully, and it was evident in the way that Aloe always looked hurt whenever I glanced at her through the mirror.

“I apologize, Forest. This has never happened before,” Lotus expression drooped after the fiftieth time our eyes met in the reflection.

Seeing her that way made me realize I was being irrational. “No, no. Please. Don’t be sorry, I’m just annoyed, that’s all. It’s not your fault.” I didn’t tell her that whoever was in the room had smooched me, didn’t need any more rumors going around. “Just ignore me.”

That seemed to pacify her. “So… do you like?”

Now that she mentioned it, I did like. She didn’t really do anything to my mane that was different. She didn’t cut it, but she did clean it up a bit and she styled it in such a way that it made me look cool. It made me look less scruffy, cleaner and a little bit more defined. She also somehow managed to perform the same effect on my tail.

“I love it! Thank you, Aloe. You’ve been great.”

Aloe beamed at the praise, “We will see if we can find out for you this mysterious Pony. But, no promise, okay?”

“Okay. But don’t worry too much about it. It’s not that important.” It was, but I didn’t want burden the poor girl. If she was telling me the truth, then finding out the Pony who had infiltrated my personal space would have been closed to impossible. I had recognized some part of that voice, even if it was a whisper. There was something very familiar about it. That meant that I was going to have to play detective. Something I regretfully sucked at.

As I entered the reception, I heard my name being called.

Sweetie Belle was there sitting on one of the sofas, a magazine open on the table in front of her. “Finally, you certainly take your time! Come with me, Forest. Rarity has something for you.”

“Sweetie Belle… how long have you been waiting there?” I asked.

“About twenty minutes. I thought you’d be done so I asked the reception and they said you were still inside. So I waited for you.”

“Did you… did you come find me in the back?” I asked. Perhaps that was a little too obvious.

“No. I’ve been here.”

“Did you see anypony we know exit?”

“You mean Ponies that you know? I don’t think so. I was reading this magazine, so I wouldn’t ‘ve really noticed.” Sweetie tilted her head at an angle, “Why?”

“Nothing,” So, it wasn’t her. “Shall we go?”

She gave me a quirky look, “You’re acting funny again.”

I made a face, which made her laugh. We headed towards her sister’s boutique together, but my mind preoccupied with all kinds of thoughts so we didn’t really talk. There was a battle in my mind; should I tell Applejack what had happened in the spa? Would Applejack even talk to me? Where was she? These questions plagued me. In fact, I was so preoccupied that I did not realize that I had walked right past the boutique with a confused Sweetie looking at me with a frown.

Grinning nervously, I trotted back to her, “Sorry, I was thinking about… things.”

All that I got for that explanation were eyes being rolled as Sweetie pushed the door open to her sister’s home. I had not taken more than two steps inside when Rarity seized me, almost dragging me into the back room. There she threw a tux-looking thing at me.

“Forest, please be a darling and try this on. It’s for tonight. I’ve made dresses for everypony, and this simple suit was made especially for you.” Rarity grinned, “It will be a chance to show off my latest designs to Ponyville!”

“You designed this? Overnight?”

“Yes, do you like it? I’ve used only the best fabrics, and used blind stitches, so you can’t see the seams clearly, to give the illusion that it was one whole piece.”

Now that she mentioned it, I really didn’t see any obvious signs of a single stitch anyway. That was an amazing display of workmanship – workponyship? Even if this was a ‘simple’ piece, it was incredible. And it was free. She certainly was generous. It was easy enough to slip on, and Rarity used her blue magic to tie my bow-tie perfectly, taking extra care not to taint my bracelet with her magic.

I felt rather… new. I had a new hairdo, a new taildo, and now a new suit! It was a new me… sort of. Still, no matter how much I tried to be in the moment, my mind was full of Ponies kissing me! First Pinkie, then Applejack, and now a mystery number three – unless it was Pinkie or Applejack that had snuck into the spa. But did either one of them know how to trigger my mind-control spells? And why would Applejack do that? She could do anything she wanted to me, so why use a spell to pin me down? I wanted to scream in frustration, but I had to suppress the urge.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself,” Rarity gave said striking an overly dramatic posture, “I have really outdone myself this time. You look absolutely stunning. Here, take a good look at yourself in the mirror.”

I had to admit it, I looked rather dapper. All I needed was a top-hat and one of those fancy canes.

There was a knock on the main door and I heard Sweetie Belle answer it. There was a brief conversation before she returned to where Rarity and I were.

“Spike’s at the door. He’s waiting for you, Forest. The other Ponies are waiting for you at the Town Hall.”

“Well, why doesn’t he just come in and tell us?” Rarity asked.

Sweetie Belle looked at me and our eyes met. We both knew the answer to that question, and to be honest I think Rarity knew as well, but was playing ignorant. It was clear that Spike was avoiding Rarity in order to not deal with confronting his feelings for her again. He and I had completely opposite issues. I wanted to confront Applejack; he wanted to keep away from Rarity.

“Thank you, Rarity, but I’ll be taking my leave now. No reason for Spike to dirty your floor.”

“Oh? Good point, I guess.” She looked at me, “Good luck, Forest. And remember, to pose on the stage to let them all see your suit.”

“Will do!”

As I left, I heard Sweetie Belle say something to her sister, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was.

Spike was standing across the street in the grassy lawn just off the road. I walked over to him.

“Sorry to come and get you like this,” He mumbled.

“Why don’t you just go in there and see her, Spike? Just because you can’t get over her doesn’t mean you have to stop being her friend.”

Spike either didn’t notice, or just ignored it, “I wanted to, but I got cold feet. There’s no point, remember? She’s got some special somepony in Canterlot. What chance do I have? I’ve already told her how I felt.”

“I’m sure there’re other Ponies or Dragons out there, Spike.”

“I don’t want any others, Forest. I just… I just… want to be with Rarity.” He looked down at the ground, “But I know that that’s impossible.”

I looked up at him. The pain in those eyes made my heartache seem so childlike. He was hurting on a whole different level from me. My heart was broken, but I would live – relatively speaking. But not Spike. Spike looked as if a piece of him had been ripped off, that’s they kind of face he had. It was as if a piece of him was physically missing.

Was that kind of ‘love’ healthy? It seemed more like an obsession.

A really loud yell made me jump as Pinkie suddenly jumped out in front of me. The fair that she had been in charge of building was already pretty much up and already Ponies were strolling through the numerous stalls. It was not huge, but it was big enough to really make me wonder how she did it. Pinkie had only started this morning, and yet there were shops, stalls, games, rides and decorations all over town.

“You look nice, Forest.”

“Pinkie, you did all this?” I asked as she walked with us.

“Uh-huh. It was really hard convincing the mayor to let me decorate Mane Street, but I managed to! She is super-duper stubborn sometimes.” She grinned at me, “But my famous triple-fudge-chcolate-vanilla-cream-stuffed éclairs were enough to convince her.”

“Did… did you bribe a public official with baked goods?”

She nodded impossibly fast. “Are you ready for tonight?”

“No.”

Pinkie thought I was joking and hard a hearty laugh, her little air intake grunts were cute.

Then I saw the town hall and I couldn’t help but stand outside with my mouth wide open. Pinkie had really outdone herself. The décor was amazing, even if it looked a bit more appropriate for a child’s birthday party rather than a town-gathering bash. What made is amazing was the sheer spectacle of it. It looked fun, inviting and made you want to join in whatever festivities were going on inside. And if that isn’t good decorating, then I don’t know what is.

Spike led me through the hall and then up to the stage. Already half the town had flooded in and all the chairs had been cleared out. I couldn’t believe that this was the same place where Applejack and I sat to listen to Sweetie Belle’s amazing performance. The stage had the curtains drawn and Spike parted them for me. Behind them I met the rest of the team dressed in amazing dresses. Each one designed specifically for each Pony. Twilight had a blue colored dress, with some sort of tiara on her head, Lavender had green dress that made her body look like a flower, Amethyst’s dress was a very light, delicate blue that seemed almost transparent, and Scootaloo’s dress made her look like a jellyfish, and had a multitude of oranges and reds. And surprisingly Derpy was there as well! She had on a white dress with silver trimmings that made her look like a snowflake. She was munching on a muffin when she saw me she grinned widely, “Forest!”

“Hello,” I replied, “I thought you were already with a partner. Wouldn’t he get mad if he found out that you’re going to date another Pony?”

Derpy laughed goofily, and then rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

Wow. That was perhaps the most inappropriate question I could have asked. I felt like the biggest asshole on the planet! “Sh- sorry, Derpy, I didn’t mean to ask you that. I didn’t know…”

“Naw, that’s okay,” She floated over to me and looked down, “He’s been gone a while. It’s just me and… ooh, muffins!” Derpy completely dropped our conversation and flew over to a small table that was stacked with a variety of muffins, each seemingly having its own color of icing on top.

“And?” I asked silently.

“Her daughter, Dinky,” Twilight answered on her behalf, “Derpy is a great mother, even if her heads in the clouds at times. I hope I can be like her one day.”

“You planning on being a mother?”

Twilight turned bright pink. “Yes – but not anytime soon. I haven’t found my special somepony yet.”

Spike and I laughed.

“What about you, Forest? Have you thought about having a family?” She asked.

“To be honest, no. Not really. I’ve never really thought about it and I’m not talking as an amnesiac. It’s something I know I’ve never really considered.” I looked at Twilight, “I guess in a way, it’s pathetic.”

She turned her head to one side, “I suppose… it does seem rather empty.”

Derpy flew back over to us with her mouth full and two muffins, one clutched tightly in each hoof. She had icing all over her lips. “Forest!”

“Yes, Derpy?”

“Muffin?” She offered me one.

“N-no thank you.”

Derpy’s eyes lit up, and she gobbled the two down at the same time. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Mom! You’re embarrassing me!” A younger Pony said walking up to Derpy. The young Unicorn had come from further backstage. She took out a small tissue from her saddlebag using her magic and wiped Derpy’s lips, “Why can’t you act normal for once!”

At the scolding, Derpy’s eyes began to water.

“Aw, mom, please don’t. I’m just joking. I love you, mommy.” The younger Mare pulled Derpy down and nuzzled her. Derpy’s eyes instantly dried up and a wide smile spread across her face.

Derpy seized the Unicorn in a tight embrace, “Muffin!”

The two laughed together. It was so amazing how happy the two were. Mother and daughter. I didn’t need to be told what they were. It was obvious enough.

“Are you Ponies ready?” A voice asked. It was the mayor. She was standing half out of the curtain.

We all gulped and nodded at the same time. This was it. She smiled and disappeared in front of the curtain.

“Mares and gentlecolts, welcome to the first ever Equestria Race Ponyville Fundraising Fun Fair!” We heard the mayor announce. The crowd erupted in a cheer, “Now, I know you’re all excited for the main event… so let’s get right to it! The Date Auction!”

A massive ‘woo’ erupted from the crowd, followed by laughter, and much merriment. The six of us behind the curtain just shuddered. It was scary! Imagine going out in front of a large crowd like that. I’ve never stood on stage or been the center of attention in all my life, and now I’m about to do both those things at the same time. My stomach felt fluttery, and in a strange way it was sickening and yet I did not feel ill.

“So, without further ado, here they are!” The mayor stood back with her hoof outstretched. “Ponyville’s very best!”

“That’s our cue, Forest, you go first.” Twilight stated just loud enough to be heard above the din the crowd was making.

“Me?” I asked bewildered.

“Please!” The four mares asked at the same time. Derpy was still munching away on muffins so she didn’t really notice.

“Fine.” I muttered.

As soon as I stepped out, a storm burst throughout the hall. It took me a second to realize that it was the Ponies in the Town Hall clapping their hooves and stopping on the ground. They continued to ‘clap’ until all six of us stood clumsily on the right side of the stage – our left. The girls seemed to duck behind me. There was a lot of hooting, calling, yelling, and the excitement was… insane! How do those famous people do it? How can they stand in front of crowds like this? It was as if every inch of open space had Ponies in it. Pegasi were lounging on clouds above the Ponies below.

“Now, the rules are simple. The winner of each auction gets to spend the rest of the evening with the Pony they’ve bid for. Nopony can bid on more than one candidate. And most importantly, you must have a wonderful time!” Every single Pony laughed at that. “Then, let us begin!”

Another roar of glee exploded from the audience. It was like a wall of sound that struck us head-on.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Another Pony bounced on the stage.

“Pinkie?” Twilight and I asked flabbergasted.

“Shall we get things started Ponyville?” She announced on a mic giving us a massive wink.

Pinkie was the emcee? That was… awesome.

The crowd shouted ‘yes!’

“I can’t hear you!” Pinkie put a hoof next to her ear.

Again, the crowd screamed but even louder than before. The Town Hall felt like its foundations were shaking.

I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t think. Lights above and around us flashed on and off. I tried my hardest to put on a smile. This was pure insanity! Suddenly music blared from speakers, and I saw the same blue-haired Pony from the Canterlot club on the second floor bobbing her head to the beats. After few minutes of this, Pinkie lifted her hoof in the air and the music quickly and smoothly decreased in volume so that it was no more than a heartbeat – albeit a very fast one.

How? How! How did Pinkie pull this off?

“She’s incredible, isn’t she?” Twilight shouted over the din. I turned my ears to hear her better, “To make all this happen in a day.”

“It’s a miracle. A dream. I can’t believe it,” I shouted in reply, “If I wasn’t at the meeting last night I wouldn’t have believed it. I can’t believe we only discussed this yesterday!”

“Okay, everypony! Now the moment you’ve all been super-excited for! Let’s introduce our Racers!” Pinkie shouted.

Again the audience erupted.

“And first off… he’s new in town, escaped scary Ursa Majors, and saved Mr. Dash’s life! A Pony with no past, who runs with streaks of fire under him, the only Stallion on the team! Please welcome, Forest Fire!” Pinkie screamed.

The audience hooted and yelled. My face flushed full of blood as I walked over to Pinkie. She pulled me along with her to the front of the stage before making me stand on the other side away from the others. I felt naked being there all alone.

In the crowd I spotted Sweetie Belle and Rarity grinning at me. They waved, so I waved back nervously. Rarity mouthed something. I pretended I didn’t understand what she meant. There was no way I was going to do those ridiculous poses in front of this crowd.

“Secondly, a Pony that needs no introductions, the Element of Magic herself, my bestest friend in the whole wide world, Ponyville’s very own Twilight Spaaaaaaaarkle!” Pinkie said Twilight’s name like a boxing announcer.

The audience was literally bringing the house down as they cheered for Twilight. She definitely was the town’s favorite Pony. The cheers did not subside was she sheepishly walked to the front of the stage, each step seemed to increase the volume of the noise. On and on they applauded her, and I could even see some banners being waved in the audience. One of them had Twilight’s Cutie Mark emblazoned on it. After a few more minutes of this, Pinkie guided Twilight next to me.

Amethyst was introduced next. I had no idea she was a jeweler, but I suppose that made sense considering her Cutie Mark was three diamonds in a triangular pattern. The crowd cheered hard for her too, but nothing like Twilight. Still, Amethyst was content. She said something to Twilight and they both laughed. I couldn’t hear them over the noise.

Then Lavender came next. She was a botanical expert, specializing in growing ‘super sweet, sweet smelling, beautifully bright colored’ flowers – as Pinkie described it. I suppose the flowery pattern on her flank should have hinted that to me, but I somehow forgot the significance of the Cutie Mark along the way.

Derpy’s cheer was the quietest out of all of us. I felt rather sad for her, but I doubted that Derpy cared. She floated across the stage still munching on a muffin. The Ponies hailed the clumsy Pegasus as she made her way across to us. She somehow tripped on her dress, even though she was in mid-air, which made quite a few in the audience laugh. She stuffed her face with another muffin as she stood next to Lavender.

But nothing prepared me for Scootaloo’s ovations. All Pinkie had said was her name. No introductions, no long descriptions, just one word. Her name. And that one word nearly brought Town Hall down on top of us. If I had thought that Twilight’s cheers were exaggerated, then Scootaloo’s was twice as nuts. It was so overpowering that I wanted to cover my ears.

Scootaloo was blushing even more than the rest of us, and I couldn’t help but laugh as she floated behind Derpy to hide from the audience. That brought quite a lot of laughter. That was when I noticed that somehow they were all hiding behind me again. How did that happen?

And Pinkie, she seemed so natural, so free and confident standing there in front of all those Ponies. There was no hint of worry, fear or embarrassment from her. She fulfilled the role of emcee and I couldn’t help but feel proud of her. It no longer mattered what happened from before, because I knew right then that I’d never be good enough for a Pony like her. She was a star, the brightest light in a room of bright lights.

“Now, is everypony ready! Let’s get this party… I mean auction… started!” Pinkie jumped up in the air when she said that.

The audience agreed! It was time!

“Now, everypony, you should all have a Lightsprite stick! Just raise it up and turn it on! Every time it you turn one of your glow-stick-thingies on, I’ll add five bits! If you hold it up, I’ll keep adding until your turn it off.” Pinkie stated.

The lights were suddenly cut off except for three bright spotlights that lit up the stage. Everything else was bathed in darkness and I couldn’t really see anything.

“First up, Scootaloo!” Again, the cheers reverberated throughout the room. This was it! I was so relieved that I wasn’t first.

“Good luck!” Twilight shouted as Scootaloo hovered to the middle of the stage.

Two of the three spotlights followed her, while the third stuck on Pinkie.

“Okay, everypony! Don’t be shy! Do I see an opening bid?”

Hundreds – or so it seemed – of lights ignited at the same time. I couldn’t keep track, but Pinkie had no problems with that. She instantly tallied up the initial count of bits to sixty! That was one uniform already set.

“Is that all?” Pinkie asked. “Well then… going once… going twice…”

Suddenly the door at the back of the Town burst open and a light turned on in mid-air. Everypony looked up and saw it.

“That’s seventy… seventy-five… eighty… eight-five… ninety… ninety-five…”

The audience gasped as the stranger slowly glided closer and closer to the stage.

“One hundred bits! One ‘o five… one hundred and ten… fifteen… twenty?” Pinkie questioned, but the light stayed on. “One hundred and fifty!” Pinkie skipped the other numbers.

By that time the stranger had reached the stage, the spotlights were now shining on his back as he spread his wings and glided down in front of Scootaloo. Her face was a mixture of shock and jubilation.

“Hi.” The Stallion said, grinning.

“Featherweight!” She gasped. “What are you doing here?”

He dropped to his knee, and the audience did one collective gasp. Scootaloo’s eyes were wide open and her mouth half open.

“Something I should have done months ago.”

My heart skipped a beat. Twilight seized my arm tightly. All the girls’ eyes behind me opened wide – except Derpy who was more interested in her next muffin.

“Scootaloo, ever since we were kids, I’ve always thought of you as my special somepony. Ever since you first talked to me working as the photographer with the Foal Free Press…”

A few audience members laughed at that comment as Scootaloo blushed even more.

“… I was entranced by you. You became my entire world. When you earned your Cutie Mark, I understood how much it meant to you. After all those long years of trying, you finally earned your dream. You’re the most talented flyer in Equestria, nopony can deny that. Your aerial acrobatics are second to none, and when you led the Pegasi in that aerial ballet… you completely stole my heart, Scoots. And I’m here to steal yours.” He reached behind him and pulled out a little box from his saddlebag.

“Featherweight…?” Scootaloo was breathing heavily now, tears in her eyes.

“Scootaloo, I know that what happened before was entirely my fault and I’m sorry for leaving you the way I did. I learnt the hard way just how much you mean to me and I want to spend every moment from now on making it up to you. I want to wake up with you every day, to be there for you, to cherish you, protect you, and be with you for the rest of my life. I want to always be by you. Scootaloo, my dear Scootaloo, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Not a sound. Silence. You could have heard a pin drop.

Scootaloo choked back a sob. Then she nodded, and in a whisper barely audible, she said: “Yes.”

Featherweight took a bracelet from the box and slipped it on her hoof as the crowd destroyed my ear-drums. And when they kissed… let’s just say I’m very, very surprised that the roof didn’t fly off from the roar of approval.

“Way to ruin it for the rest of us, Featherweight!” Somepony shouted from the audience, somehow being heard above the din.

“Finally! Way to go you guys!” That was Applebloom’s voice, I could recognize that accent and tone anywhere.

“That was beautiful,” I mumbled, and found that my eyes were watering.

“That’s an understatement,” Twilight sighed, “Scootaloo is one lucky Mare.”

“What happened? That guy was saying something about something bad happening to them…”

“Well, they broke up. Featherweight is the featherweight champion of Equestria in pugilism,” Twilight shrugged, “He left to pursue his dream of becoming the champion, but Scootaloo didn’t like the thought of her Stallion fighting for a living and demanded he quit. I don’t know if he’s quit, but he’s certainly not going to let some other Stallion date his Mare.”

“I can see that. A hundred and fifty bits! That’s amazing! At least that three costumes good to go,” I laughed.

Twilight laughed as well, “I hope to get a third of that…”

“Okay, okay, everypony settle down!” Pinkie said over the mic, “You can all congratulate them later.”

Scootaloo was so happy that she couldn’t stop grinning and admiring the huge rock on her bracelet. That diamond was huge! Even in Equestria, diamonds were a girl’s best friend. Featherweight kissed Scootaloo’s cheek again as they moved to the opposite side of the stage, nuzzling each other.

“Now, it’s time for the next candidate! Our own faithful and dedicated mail-Pony! Derpy Hooves!”

There was a strong applause, nothing compared to Scootaloo’s, but still loud.

“Let’s get this started! Do I see five?” A single light flashed on. “Five bits!” Then nothing. Not a single light appeared.

For some reason I got angry. Even if it’s Derpy, that was no reason to not allow her to have some proper bits for her.

“Five bits? Come on, somepony raise it!” Pinkie urged. Still nothing.

Twilight’s face looked scary. If I was angry, then she was livid.

But, the Ponies didn’t fail us. Slowly, one by one, the lights appeared. After a brief stint, Derpy got a decent fifty bits. And the winner? Her daughter! The two laughed and danced with each other on the stage, the daughter congratulating her mother with a basket full of delicious looking muffins. Derpy didn’t care. I doubt she would have noticed if she had made only five bits. She was beyond happy with what she had. And she showed it. That strength, that inner-peace was something to be admired. It was her daughter that was her pillar of strength, her world. She didn’t care about anything else.

“She’s incredible. How can she be so strong?” I asked.

“She’s been through a lot. If I ever have a daughter, I hope that my relationship with her is like that.” Twilight looked at me, “Forest, are you crying?”

“My eyes are hurting from the bright lights,” I lied, “But those two are amazing.”

I stared at Derpy and Ditzy in awe. It was humbling to see that; a mother who lived for her daughter and a daughter who protected her mother, both with unyielding love. I forced the feelings of jealousy and regret down. My relationship with my mother was… ugly. Nothing we had came anywhere close to this, and I felt that I had missed out on something important. Every moment I spent in Equestria just revealed to me how pathetic my life really was, and I thought that I was some hot shit. Discovering the truth hurt me deeply and at the same time helped me understand why I had become the kind of person I was, and I hated it. I hated who I was.

“Something wrong, Forest?” Twilight asked.

“No,” I replied gently, “I was just thinking…”

“And now, our very own Lavenderhoof!” Pinkie announced on the mic. There was another huge applause. Lavender was certainly popular, raising a whopping eighty bits! The Pony that won the date was our waiter from the other day, that Caramel fellow. He blushed as he came to the stage and stood somewhat shyly next to Lavender who was smiling coyly at him. They didn’t look at one another in the eyes. It was revoltingly cute.

“Some history there?” I asked leaning against Twilight to be heard over the applause.

She shrugged, “Not that I know of.”

Pinkie did a couple cartwheels across the stage forcing everypony’s eyes on her, “And now, Amethyst Star!”

Again, a very decent intake! A hundred bits! Her date was, surprisingly, a blue Mare!

“Did we meet our target?” I asked.

“A hundred and fifty, plus fifty, and eighty plus ninety, that’s a total of three hundred and seventy. So, yeah, I think we made it.” Twilight grinned, “This was a great idea! Rainbow does have some good ideas – once in a while. And now we also have a wedding in the works!”

“Do we have to go through with this?” I asked, not really looking forward to my turn.

Twilight shrugged, “I think we should. Rarity is already been extremely generous,” She looked up, “It would be nice to give her a little more for her time and effort.”

“Well, good luck.” I grinned.

Twilight just blushed at me as Pinkie announced her turn.

As she stood center of the stage, the room was full of lights even before Pinkie could start.

“T-two hundred and twenty bits,” Pinkie said, slightly overwhelmed by the number. I think everypony in that room did a double-take when the number reached that high. There was a long pause before Pinkie said, “Going once…”

Another light turned on.

“Two-hundred and twenty five,” Pinkie squeaked.

On the other side of the room, another light turned on.

“Two-hundred and thirty,” She said even quieter.

The two lights went back and forth until the number reached five hundred! Five hundred bits! This was insane. I knew that Twilight was popular, but this was crazy! The number just didn’t stop climbing. It kept going and going! Until…

“One… thousand…” The entire hall was hushed as Pinkie said the number, “… and thirty five bits…”

The other light didn’t turn on.

“Going once,” Pinkie started, “Going twice… going-”

The other light turned on. Everypony began to murmur out loud. That was insane! This was ridiculous!

“One thousand and forty bits!” Pinkie voice was barely audible even over the speakers. “Going once… going twice…”

The other light remained off.

“Gone…”

A few Ponies applauded. Everyone else was too stunned, as was I. I knew that Twilight was popular, but there was no one in Ponyville that could afford those kinds of numbers. Who could have made the numbers go that high?

Slowly, the guilty one walked towards the stage. The Pony who took the stage was the last Pony I expected to see.

“Aiden?” Twilight asked stunned.

Aiden just laughed nervously. “Hi, Twilight.”

They looked at each other, and you could see the emotions and confusion running through Twilight’s face. But who was the other Pony that was competing against Aiden? I wasn’t the only Pony curious about that. And, as if on cue, the other Pony started to ascend the stairs onto the stage. Everypony’s eyes were glued on the newcomer who stood there in a heavy cloak for a long moment before removing her hood.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, stunned. We all were stunned, as each Pony bowed low to the presence of the Princess of the Night. Aiden, upon seeing who he had competed against turned green… well, greener. He looked sick.

“Your Highness! If I had known…”

“Please, Aiden Fomaio, if you had known then there would have been no fun in it.” Princess Luna looked up at me. At that moment I realized that I had not dropped a hoof. Clumsily, I bowed to the princess.

“Perhaps I can still have a ‘date’, it seems very popular.” She said date as if she had no idea what it was.

“Luna…” Twilight walked over to the princess and whispered in her. The princess’ face turned bright pink.

“That is… a date? Oh my. I had no idea…” Her face turned even rosier as she saw the crowd staring at her.

Pinkie sensing the awkwardness instantly intervened by doing some weird dance that made her the focus of attention. That gave Princess Luna a chance to slip back into the audience. Although I bet that none of the crowd thought anything bad of her, instead I bet that most of them found the princess’ naivety cute. I know I did.

“And now, last but not least… the only Stallion on the team, who has zero magical talent…”

“Thanks for that, Pinkie.” I grumbled.

The Ponies in the audience heard my sarcastic comment and laughed.

“Oopsy, sorry, Forest. Anyway, this special-special pony is ready for somepony special!” Pinkie grinned, “So, let’s start the bids!”

Not a single light. Not one. Not even from Princess Luna!

“Kinda figured it would be like that…” I mumbled, shaking my head.

Pinkie grinned, “Then, I’ll bid on Forest! That’s five bits!”

“Thanks, Pinkie.” I chuckled. Five was better than zero.

Then, one light twinkled on.

“Ten bits.”

Everypony turned around to see who had turned the light on. I couldn’t tell, not in the dark.

“Going once… going twice…”

Another light turned on.

“Fifteen bits!”

Then the first light went on again. And like Twilight’s battle of the lights, I had my own. It stopped at forty though. Still, it was better than zero.

“Come on, sis!” I heard Applebloom’s voice shout.

The light next to the source of her voice turned on again.

Applejack? That was Applejack? She was bidding for me? Against who? Who was the other Pony? Why was she bidding against me? Was she the bitch that kissed me in the spa?

Come on Applejack! Win me! Win me!

But I knew deep down in my gut that Applejack didn’t have the finances to compete against some of the other Ponies. She couldn’t spare that many bits and as the numbers started to climb higher, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the numbers would cease to rise. When it did, I had nothing else to do but hope with all my might that Applejack had come out on top.

“Going once!” Pinkie shouted.

My heart beat faster in my chest.

“Going twice!”

I started sweating bullets.

“Sold to the Pony on the left!”

Everypony watched as the mystery Pont walked up onto the stage. As she walked onto the stage my heart froze in my chest. I thought I was having a heart-attack.

You have got to be fucking kidding me!

“Surprised?” She asked.

“C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Cyan Crystal!” I stammered. I couldn’t believe it. I just could not believe it! And yet, there she was standing there in front of me. Why? Why oh why did it have to be her! Any other Pony in Ponyville would have been better!

I wasn’t the only one shocked out of my skull. Even Pinkie couldn’t believe it and stood there with her mouth hanging open. It was so surreal, it seemed like a cruel prank, but Crystal took out her coin purse and handed it to Pinkie, flashing a cold expression at her before walking over to me and giving me a grin, which is how I imagine a shark would grin just before eating its prey.

“I look forward to our date.”

Forcing a broken smile on my face, I nodded, “Yeah, me too…”

Why didn’t Princess Luna bail me out! Even dating her would have been better! A lot better. A whole boatload better. Anything but this!

“W-well, that’s all folks. Thank you all for joining us!” Pinkie then turned and walked off the stage in a hurry. I didn’t blame the poor girl, standing that close to Crystal was hazardous to one’s health.

As the Town Hall began to empty, I couldn’t help but feel the other team members and their dates stare at me in pity. I felt so pathetic that couldn’t even turn around and face them instead gazed off into the distance hoping that this was all just a very bad dream. They all went our separate ways into the fair, except for Scootaloo, who had mysteriously vanished with Featherweight.

I stood there alone with Crystal not knowing what to do, say or act.

“Forest Fire,” She suddenly said. Was she blushing? “Please, please, please… even just for one night… please be my friend.”

My mind reeled within itself. It took me a moment to realize that she had used one of my mind control spells! She knew the trigger! But… I had no magic in my bracelet, the spell can’t work without it. Did she not know that? She knew the spells, but she didn’t know everything. But that wish, it seemed so… honest.

Think! Think, Forest!

“So,” I said trying to sound as natural as I possibly could, “Shall we go check out the fair?”

Her head whipped up at me and she actually smiled, “I’d like that very much,” That smile was… unfair! She wasn’t allowed to have a smile that kind and gentle! She was the bitch of Ponyville! What was going on?

We walked through the town. Many of the Ponies seemed to ignore us, but I couldn’t help but feel that a couple sets of eyes were constantly following us. Trying my best to ignore it, I continued trying to be a friend to Crystal, which was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Even with her nasal voice, she was actually fun to hang around. She had a sense of humor, was easy to talk to, even if her voice was like listening to a broken violin. And she talked a lot, mostly about her life running the only hotel in Ponyville. It was strange, she seemed perfectly normal now that she had dropped the ‘I’m a mega-bitch’ attitude. We played a few games – not of which we won anything, ate at a few stalls and she even bought me a silly hat to match my suit.

“Shall we go on a ride?” I asked, pointing to a Ferris wheel.

“Okay.”

As we sat on it, Crystal looked out and enjoyed the view. It wasn’t so high, but it gave me a chance to think. Why was she acting like this now? Why didn’t she act like this before? I remember someone mentioning to me that Brian and Crystal were good friends. Was this the side of Crystal that Brian knew? How had he managed to infiltrate through her sourness?

“Crystal,” I began.

“Hm?”

“I have a confession to make,” I gulped.

“Hm?”

“The spell you cast. It… didn’t work.”

She was in shock. “Y-y-you mean… all this time… you were acting?” Her expression soured.

“No. I wasn’t, Crystal. That’s why I’m confessing this to you.”

“Then… you really were trying to be my friend?”

I shook my head. “Crystal, I didn’t try. We got along so easily when you dropped that ridiculous act. Why the sham? If this is the real you, why don’t you just be yourself?”

She just stared at me with her mouth still wide open.

“Crystal?”

“I… I…” She lowered her eyes to the floor of the little gondola we were sitting in, “I don’t know, Forest.”

“If you just be yourself, then you’ll easily make friends. And I know you don’t like Pinkie, but she’ll really be a good friend to you if you just let her.”

“It’s not that I don’t like Pinkie. It’s just that… she intimidates me. She’s so friendly and outgoing, so nice and caring. You don’t understand, when I first came to Ponyville, I was running away from my life. I am… there was… and I…” Tears formed in her eyes and she put her hooves in front of them. “I’m so lonely.”

The way she said those words. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Getting up, I walked over to her side of the gondola and sat next to her letting her lean against my shoulder. “What happened, Crystal?”

And she told me. And what she told me opened my eyes.

The Stallion of her life died saving her life, giving his life for her in a freak accident. But her friends and family refused to accept that, blaming her for his death. After months of it, she couldn’t take anymore and she left. But their words sunk like poison into her and she blamed herself for what had happened even though deep down she knew it wasn’t her fault. She was angry at everyone, but most of all, she was angry at herself. And she took it out on those around her. Her story broke my heart.

And Brian had seen through it all. He had seen through her charade. And when Crystal admitted to me that the only reason why she was probably still alive was because of Brian. That really struck a nerve in me. He had saved her life.

“Is there something that guy cannot do?” I muttered.

Crystal laughed wiping away the dampness in her eyes, “He is an amazing Pon- person...”

“Just be yourself, and I promise you that when they see the real you, you’ll find a lot of good friends here. I know I have.”

“You really think so?” She sniffled.

“I know so. Take a look at me. I’ve been here… what? Two weeks? And they’ve already accepted me as a part of the town. They’ll accept you. It might take some time, but they will come around. Until then, you can always talk to me.” And honestly, I really meant it. “Just promise me that you’ll make an effort.”

“I promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

She laughed at that. “Pinkie Promise. Thank you, Forest. And… I’m sorry about the spell thing. I just didn’t think you’d be this… kind.”

“Nah, don’t worry about that. If you hadn’t tried using the spell, then we wouldn’t have had this conversation. I wouldn’t have gotten to know you this way. So, in a way, it worked. You wanted me to be your friend, and that’s what happened.” I smiled at that.

She laughed. “Are you hitting on me? You do know I’m old enough to be your mother, right?”

At first I was shocked, then I realized that she was joking. I shook my head laughing, “You’re not that old, Crystal.”

And it seemed that years evaporated from her face. When she genuinely smiled, she was actually beautiful, in a middle-aged Pony sort of way. But that voice! If only she had another voice.

We got off the Ferris wheel and Crystal started to walk away. I followed her for a bit, but she stopped, turned around and shook her head. “Thank you, Forest. But I want to be alone. I release you from your duties as my date. Enjoy the rest of the night. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

I stopped where I was and sat down on the ground.

“Besides, I think somepony else really wants to talk to you.”

I looked up and saw her pointing behind me. I turned around and standing there in the middle of the road was the most beautiful Pony ever.

“Applejack!”

I glanced back towards Crystal, but she was already heading back to the hotel. Something about her had definitely changed. I just hoped it was for the better.

“Forest…” Applejack said walking over to me.

“Applejack,” Despite everything, I hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’ve been so worried about you.”

“Forest, we have to talk.”

“I know. I’ve been waiting.”

“Can we go… somewhere private?” Applejack asked.

“Want to ride a Ferris wheel?” Hey, if I could make Cyan Crystal open up to me in there, then it was worth a shot with the Pony of my dreams.

“Okay.” Something was off about her.

The Ferris wheel attendant saw me. “You again? Didn’t you just… with another…” He shook his head, “Youngsters these days.”

I might have found his comments amusing, but the mood was too serious. Applejack was going to tell me about her past and I knew deep down that I was going to hate this. The thought of her with another Stallion just killed me, but if I was going to be with her then I had to know.

We were silent for the first half of the first round. I could tell she was trying to find a way to start.

“You know,” I began, breaking the heavy silence, “When I first came to Ponyville, I didn’t know what to expect. I was lost, confused… but you all helped me so much. So, please, Applejack, you don’t need to hold back from me. Whatever you tell me, and whatever happens, I promise that I will always be there for you.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me, Forest.” Applejack took a deep breath as the Ferris wheel stopped. We were at the highest point. Time seemed to stand still for a moment. That was the kind of effect she had on you. This was it. I braced myself for what was to come. “Before you, long before you came to Ponyville… I was engaged.”

“I know.”

She didn’t bat an eyelid. “When you were taken… by that Ursa I…” Her eyes started to water.

No! No more tears! “Please, Applejack, don’t cry.” My words were futile. And I made to go sit next to her, but she held out her hoof, stopping me.

“No. I need to look at you. Please stay there.”

I slowly sat myself back down.

“He was a Pegasus, a very talented weather Pony. After Rainbow left to join the Wonderbolts, he came to replace her. Our first meetin’ was… not all that pleasant. Rainbow had always let a little bit of extra rain shower my apple orchards, but he didn’t allow that, even after I asked all nice. For a while we were always at each other’s throats.” She shook her head, “We’d constantly fight. Sometimes I’d win, and sometimes he would. Over time, we started developin’ feelin’s for one another. Over time I learnt that I… loved him. And then one day he proposed to me by the lake. I thought I was the luckiest Mare alive. I was so happy…”

Jealousy raged through me, but I pushed it aside. This was no time to be petty. I needed to be there for her. I had to. Be strong, Forest.

“But one day a Manticore managed to get to town. Everypony tried to stop it. Even Fluttershy couldn’t. There was something wrong with it. Something… bad. It attacked the school, and who knows what would’ve happened if it hadn’t been for him. He saved my sister, Forest. He risked his life to protect Applebloom.”

I didn’t respond, I just continued to listen.

“But, thing is… I was the one that led the Manticore to town. If… if I hadn’t gone to the Everfree Forest that day…” Her eyes flowed like streams.

“He… died?”

“No!” She snapped at me making me sit up. “But… because of me he nearly did. The Manticore went for Applebloom, and he used his body to shield her from the stinger. The venom nearly killed him. We managed to lure the Manticore away, but the venom had already paralyzed his wings. He lost his ability to fly. Without flight, he couldn’t do his job anymore. I had ruined his life, Forest.”

“But… then what happened?” I didn’t get it. He was alive? Wasn’t that good enough?

“I couldn’t be with him. Every time I saw him, it’d remind me of what I did.”

“That’s…”

“I ruined his life, Forest. Me! The Pony he was goin’ to spend the rest of his life with. I couldn’t bear the thought of it. To remind him day after day that I am the reason he can’t fly. I had ruined his dream, stopped him from doin’ what he was born to do.” Applejack looked off into the distance, gazing across Ponyville, “I couldn’t let him marry me after that.”

“You broke off the marriage with him because you felt that you’d remind him that he lost his ability to fly saving your sister?” I asked incredulously, “He saved your sister, Applejack! That… he… you…” I was so mad. So, so, so, so mad! “He protected his family. Why would you break it off with a Pony that would go that far for you?” I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I did.

She didn’t say anything.

“And I suppose the reason why you wanted to end things with me is because you somehow feel that the Ursa that took me was your fault. And that you and me being together would somehow remind me of that fact? That you don’t want to burden yourself? That you…” I couldn’t finish. I was furious!

“Please, Forest. Don’t make this hard on me…”

“Hard on you?” I took a deep breath to calm the rage churning in my gut. “Applejack, when I was in that Ursa hell-hole, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of seeing you. It was the thought of being with you that made me try hardest, it gave me strength to make me come back.”

“I…”

This time I stopped her from talking. I held up my hoof, “I think you’re right. I think we need to end this relationship, the one that never got started in the first place. It’s apparent to me that you have no idea what relationships are all about, and if you’re going to run away every time things get hard, then I don’t see a point in pursuing it.”

My words stung. I knew they did. I could see her flinch at every syllable. But I was so angry! It wasn’t the fact that she was irrationally blaming herself for the Ursa taking me. It was because she obviously was not over her ex-fiancé. No wonder everyone in town said that I was good for her, they wanted me to distract her. I was nothing more than a replacement. But what put the cherry on the cake was that she was trying to end our ‘relationship’ on almost the exact same reason that she had broken off her engagement.

“I thought you’d understand…”

She sounded so distant just then. So… small. I wanted to hug her, to tell her that everything was alright, but it wasn’t. Nothing about this was alright. Not one thing.

“No, Applejack, I don’t. And it’s clear that you’re still not over… him. You might be honest about your feelings, and you might be honest about your ideas, but you honestly don’t understand yourself.”

The Ferris wheel came to a stop at the bottom of the full turn. The attendant opened the door to our gondola and I exited it with a huff. I walked away without looking back. I didn’t want to look back. I couldn’t look back.

“Forest!” I heard Applejack call my name.

But I couldn’t respond to her. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t turn around and face her. I was incensed, sad, hurting, scarred, scared and just… blah! There were no words that could describe the shittiness that I felt. I had to get away from there. Get away from it all.

This is good. This is perfect. I told myself, This way I don’t have any commitments here. I can leave Ponyville. I think I will take that trip. Leave town after the Race.

I wandered aimlessly away from the fair. In my stupor, I had no idea where I was going. Down one road, then up another. I just kept going until I heard a familiar sounding voice that woke me from my trance.

“Forest? What are you doing here?”

“Spike? I could ask you the same thing.”

The two of us were standing outside Berry Bar. The red neon glow of the main sign was blinking on and off.

“I suppose it didn’t go well with Applejack, then?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. After a moment he just laughed. It wasn’t an unfriendly laugh, but more of an ‘I know how you feel’ kind of laugh.

“A drink? My treat.”

“I’d love one. Or a dozen.” I grumbled.

“After you,” Spike gestured and pushed the door open.

For the most part, the bar was empty. Of course it would be since the fair was still going strong outside. A few Ponies were in here, though. Most of them content with drinking alone in booths. There was an unused pool table in the back and the bartender was washing some mugs behind the bar. Spike and I walked to the very far corner and sat on the last two barstools. Despite the morose atmosphere, the interior had a very bright and happy color scheme. I guess this was where Ponies went to drown their sorrows.

“Hi, Spike. Who’s your friend?” The Mare asked, pouring him a drink.

“This here is Forest Fire. Forest, meet Berry Punch, the owner of this fine establishment.”

At first I had thought it was Pinkie, but only for the briefest of moments. It was perhaps because of her coat, it was almost like Pinkie’s, but her hair and her voice were completely different.

“Hello.”

“Ah, heartbreak,” Berry said pouring me a glass of the same greenish liquid Spike was drinking, “If it weren’t for broken hearts, I’d be out of business.”

“So, Forest, what happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“C’mon, I just want to know.”

So I told Spike the whole story, almost word for word. It was a long moment before he spoke again. “It’s uncanny. You and her ex broke up for almost the exact same reason.” Spike took a long sip from his drink, “You were both so angry at her, that you both just… left. Is that what you’re planning on doing now?”

I looked at the purple Dragon, “Did Twilight’s deduction skills rub off on you? Yes, I’ve been thinking about it.”

Again, Spike let out a light laugh, only this time it was laced with pity. Who he pitied, I didn’t really know.

“Forest, you can’t leave Applejack like that. She really likes you, she’s only trying to protect you in her own way.”

“No, I know that. That’s not what made me angry, Spike. I can look past that. That isn’t the issue.” I sighed and drank the green liquid in one go. Ouch. It burnt my nostrils.

Berry instantly filled it up again, and threw it down the back of my throat. We did this three more times. “Five bits for the bottle,” She stated and left it sitting in front of me.

I dumped the coins on the counter and poured myself another glass. I looked at the glass, and just left it empty, and took a swig straight from the bottle.

“Then?” Spike prompted me.

“Then what?”

“Then what’s the issue? Why can’t you just… be with her?” Spike took the bottle from me and poured himself a generous helping of the green liquid.

“Because! Because… because… she,” And this was really difficult for me to admit, “She isn’t over her ex.”

That seemed to shock Spike. “What?”

“She is the Element of Honesty, Spike. She wears her heart on her sleeve – er – she can’t hide how she truly feels. I think that was why I was so infatuated with her in the first place. I know she likes me. But she loves him. And what really…” I went through my mental thesaurus, couldn’t risk using bad language, “… what really grinds-my-gears is she doesn’t even realize it.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s still in love with him, Spike. Do you understand?”

“No.”

“Neither do I.” I replied, taking a huge draught from the bottle.

Just then another Pony walked in. He looked just as dejected, or perhaps worse than I did. He made a beeline and sat next to, took my bottle from my hoof, and polished off the contents. “Bar keep! Three more bottles!”

“I take it things didn’t go well with Twilight then.” I looked at Aiden.

Aiden flashed me a venomous look, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Spike and I shared a look.

“What happened, you can tell us. Forest here just dumped… or did she dump you?” Spike asked.

“Does it matter?”

Berry Punch put the three bottles down in front of us, sliding my original five bits into an apron she wore, “That’ll be fifteen bits.”

Aiden threw a large number of bits down. “That’s fifty bits. Keep it as advanced payment.”

“Sure thing, hun.” Berry slid all the bits into the apron, and walked off to serve another customer.

“Well, Rarity broke my heart, Applejack broke Forest’s, and now it seems that Twilight’s broken yours.” Spike raised his bottle up.

“Broke? Ha! Broke would have been bliss compared to what she did.” Aiden raised his bottle.

I raised my bottle as the three of us toasted to our misery. I took a long drag from my bottle, but Aiden had managed to drink half of his before he stopped.

“I… I can’t understand women!” Aiden began, “You tell them how you feel, how you want to be with them… you confess to them that the only reason why you stayed on in a bakery was so that you have the chance to see her once in a while, to talk with her, and she says that it’s… creepy! That you’re a stalker! A stalker!” He downed another good amount of the bottle. “I hate my life.”

“Thank that’s bad? How about having a crush on a Pony for years, only to find out that she’s in love with another Stallion in another city and that you can only be ‘friends’.” Spike drank another swig from his bottle, “Years!”

“How about an entire town using you as a distraction to the true object of affection for a Pony you like?” I muttered.

Aiden smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile, “What about trying to open your heart out only to have the Princess of the Night reprimand you in public for being a stalker?”

Spike and I stared at Aiden as he polished off the bottle.

“Princess Luna did that?” Spike asked.

Aiden just nodded.

“You win.” Spike shook his head. “Hooves down.”

Aiden gave a feeble cheer before demanding another bottle.

Day 18: Return of the Pegasus

“Final call!” Berry Punch announced after a while.

It was much later now and the bar certainly increased in attendance as more and more Ponies had arrived throughout the night. All throughout Spike, Aiden and I were pretty much isolated in the corner. Our glum expressions, angry disposition, and drunken banter must have kept the others far away. If this bar was full of broken hearts, then ours were probably shattered and Aiden was taking it a lot harder than Spike or me.

“Okay, boys. What’ll you have?” Berry asked walking over to us.

“What’s the strongest thing you got?” Aiden flashed a grin, pushing his Mane out of the way of his left eye to see the drinks behind Berry better.

The barmaid frowned, “I think you need something to sober you up.”

“No I don’t! I’m ferpectly pine!” Aiden hiccuped, “I’s just wanna night - hic - n-nightcap.”

Sighing, Berry reached back and took three small bottles, “This is the strongest thing we’ve got. You won’t find anything in Equestria stronger.”

“What’s this?” Spike asked lifting the bottle up to the light.

“You know Granny Smith?”

“Oh! Is this the infamous hooch? Forest, your favorite!” Spike laughed.

His laughter was like music. It was a change in this sad environment. I couldn’t help but smile in return.

“The last time I drank that, I passed out.” I told Aiden.

Aiden’s eyes lit up, “Perfect! I’ll take six!”

“We’ve only got three bottles left.” Berry then placed the bottles in front of us, “Take it, or leave it.”

“How much?”

“A bit a piece.”

Three bits were placed on the table, plus two more for ‘impeccable service to a bunch of inebriated laggards sharing in their anguish’. A fairly eloquent way of describing us. Berry giggled, but it was clear that she was forcing it. If anything, we were pretty pitiful.

“Where do you get all that money?” I asked.

Aiden just waved his hoof in the air, “It's a secret.”

We each took one of the small Granny's Hooch bottles and stumbled out of the bar. Spike had to help Aiden stand, while I tried to keep myself from spinning off the ground. I took a generous swig from the bottle and could instantly feel the kick in the back of my throat. I coughed.

“You sissy!” Aiden chortled, “This is how you drink!” He took a huge swig from the bottle. His eyes shot open, his expression turned to one of horror and shock, and he nearly dropped the drink as he started coughing. After a minute of this, he looked at the bottle in his hoof. “Wha- what is this?”

“Granny’s Hooch.” Spike grinned, taking a tiny sip. “Forest wasn't kidding when he said he passed out. So, where to now?”

“Why not take Aiden back to the hotel?” I suggested.

“Good idea,” Spike then burst out laughing, “I’m sure he’ll feel better if he sleeps it off.”

Was it that funny?

“Better? Better! Howsh I shupposhed to feel better?” Aiden's speech had begun to slur. “Show shome reshpect! I’m a war hero.”

“Quiet you!” Spike growled in response, “How am I supposed to be unhappy in peace if I have to take care of you?”

“You lovesh me.” Aiden muttered, then exploded into a fit of laughter, after which he pushed Spike aside and put his hoof against the wall of the nearest building. The sound of water falling made the both of us shout and after he was done, he looked back at us wiping his mouth. “I feel mush better.”

“I bet you do.” I commented, backing away from the source.

Slowly, and with much difficulty we managed to get to Sugarcube Corner. The hotel was right across the street from here. At this point Aiden insisted on trying to sing; it was a shame that he could only remember one song, and about three lines of it, which only prompted him to sing even louder, as if volume would disguise his forgetfulness.

“Come on, Aiden. We’ll get you to bed.” Spike held out a hand.

Aiden shrugged off the Dragon’s grip and tried to walk by himself. “Shleepsh for the weak!” He shouted, and then laughed again.

We tried to get to the hotel across the street, but every time we'd get close Aiden would start galloping in another direction forcing Spike to chase him and after each chase the Unicorn would throw up. Where was he storing it all?

Eventually we managed to get Aiden to the front of the hotel. He was swaying, trying to maintain his balance.

“We’re going to get terrible hangovers,” Spike muttered, holding onto Aiden as if he were a prisoner. He was breathing heavily.

“I have painkillers!” I fished them out of my saddlebag, “Maybe if we take them now, we won’t suffer in the morning?”

“Do painkillers work that way?” Spike asked looking at me with his brow furrowed.

“I don’t care. My heart hurts. I’m taking two.” I stated drunkenly.

“Then give me ten!” Aiden shouted. He had such a pathetic expression and was leaning against a cart – perhaps owned by one of the patrons of the hotel. He took another swig from his bottle, which only prompted him to puke again. “Maybe I shouldn’t drink anymore.”

“You think?” Spike walked over and tried to take the bottle from Aiden, but the Unicorn just used his magic to keep it away. “Aiden!” Spike shouted in annoyance.

“You’ve got your own bottle!” Aiden whined, gesturing to Spike’s hand.

“That's not the point! You've had more than enough!” After a few more minutes of this, Spike gave up.

Shaking the bottle of pills, I placed two in the center of my hoof. There was a brief moment where my brain told me that this wasn’t a very good idea, but I hated the way my heart ached and I was desperate to make it go away. I hated the pain I was feeling and in a moment of weakness, I popped them into my mouth and downed it with the only thing I had – Granny’s special drink.

Spike walked over and took the pills from me. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t care.”

“Give me a couple too.” Aiden wobbled on over. When Spike refused, he expertly used his magic to take the bottle. He popped several into his mouth.

“Wait!” But Spike was too late. “Are you crazy! Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Luckily Aiden’s stomach heaved from the alcohol he tried to chase it with. “Aw, nuts.”

“This is a really bad idea, you guys.” Spike insisted.

“Don’t care.” I was starting to feel numb. “Besides, it’s too late for us.”

Aiden and I started laughing like crazy suddenly. It was a strange feeling, and my brain felt relieved and the pain just... vanished.

Spike looked at us, then at the pill-bottle, sighed, shook it, put one in his mouth...

I woke up lying on a park bench staring straight up at a bright, beautiful day with the biggest headache of my life throbbing in my cranium. After letting my brain calm down, I sat up and looked around. Aiden was somehow sleeping in a fountain, the upper-half of his body resting safely outside of the water. Spike was sitting on the ground next to me, his back leaning against the bench. There were no other Ponies around. In fact there was a distinct lack of anything around, with the exception of the fountain. There were trees, bushes and… that was about it. Was there a fountain in Ponyville? I didn’t remember seeing one. Where the hell were we?

“My head…” Spike groaned, “What… where… where are we?”

“I was hoping you could tell me.” The banging in my head subsided, and I leaned over myself to try and stop the dizziness from making me feel any sicker than I already was. Granny’s Hooch certainly did a number on your head. I reached into my saddlebag only to find that the pills were gone! Or rather, the little jar for the pills was empty! When did that happen? “Oh. That’s not good. That isn’t good at all.”

“What’s not good?” Spiked asked looking back to me.

I showed him the empty bottle.

“Yeah, Aiden swallowed half of them, and the rest are probably all over the street in front of the hotel. Are you sure they were painkillers?”

I nodded, “Got them from the pharmacy.”

“I was being sarcastic. The last thing I remember was taking one. After that… I can’t remember what happened.”

“Wait. We... we took these? With alcohol? Who's stupid idea was that?”

Spike looked at me funnily. “Yours.”

“What? That...” Then I vaguely remembered the conversation that led to the pill incident. “Oh. Yeah. My bad. That was really, really, really stupid.”

Standing up, Spike stretched his muscles out, “I doubt we were capable of thinking properly last night. I guess we let the moment get ahead of us. Anyway, one thing’s for sure; we’re not in Ponyville anymore.” He stumbled a few steps before his body remembered how to walk. He then walked over to the fountain and gave Aiden’s back a nice, solid smack. Aiden just groaned in response. Spike laughed then took a closer look at the fountain. “We're Esperia.”

“Esperia?” I asked, “That far?”

“Far enough. How’d we get here?” Spike looked around, “It’s about half a day’s journey away from Ponyville if you gallop hard.”

Aiden sat up quickly, “Wh-who goes there? Wait. W-where am I?” He stumbled a bit trying to stand. He slipped and did a half-belly flop in the water. “Ah! Cold, cold, cold!” After a few moments more of struggling, he managed to get out of the water where he promptly emptied his stomach again.

“That’s nine! Nine times!” Spike laughed.

“You can remember how many times he’s puked, yet you can’t remember how we got here?” I asked, “At least I know you have your priorities straight.”

Spike just rolled his eyes, “Hey, at least I remember something from last night. And besides, it’s obvious what happened. We took those painkillers, and ended up here.”

“That just makes it even more confusing!” I retorted, “How’s that helpful in any way? Do you know how worried everypony will be?”

At those words, visions of Applejack flashed through my head. An overwhelming sense of regret flooded through me. Every single bone in my body hated what I had done, and yet deep down I knew that it had to be the way.

“Let’s try to piece what happened together.” Spike said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe I can help you with that. Glad to see you guys are awake.” A voice said walking out of a small shack. None of us had noticed it, since it was small and inconspicuous.

“It… can’t be…” Spike eyes widened open, “You! How? What? When!”

The Stallion laughed nervously, “A while now. I’ve… been working up the courage to come back. I’ve visited a couple of times… just…”

He was a black Pegasus, with a green mane. A Pegasus living on the ground? I understood why Rainbow did it; she wanted to be near her father. Why would a Pegasus live on the ground? Why would he know Spike – they seemed to know each other very well. What did he mean he was working up the courage to go back? Back where? Esperia? Ponyville?

It took me another moment to understand. A flightless Pegasus who used to live in Ponyville. I felt my heart sink into my gut.

“How have you been?” Spike laughed, “It's been so long!” He walked over to the Stallion and they did some special hoof-hand shake.

“Been well. Traveled a bit around. Found jobs here and there.”

“But… why? Why haven’t you come back?”

The black Pegasus shrugged, “I… have. Just... just haven’t really told anypony.”

“Forest, I would like to introduce you to my friend, Atom. Atom, this is Forest.” Spike rubbed the back of his head, “Forest… is currently seeing Applejack…”

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence.

“If I remember it correctly, that is no longer true.” I stared at the Pegasus who stared back at me.

Taking a deep breath, Atom walked over to me, “Atomic Vortex.” He held out a hoof.

I did the same, and we ‘shook’ hooves. “Forest. Forest Fire.”

“I’ve heard about you. You’re that Earth Pony that survived that run-in with the Ursas in the Everfree Forest, right?” He asked.

“Wow. Word does get around.”

Atom shrugged, “I was near Ponyville the other day on a job. I... couldn't resist popping in, so I just visited… with a disguise... at night… alone...”

“And they call me a stalker!” Aiden shouted. He groaned aloud and dunked his head in the fountain.

“What’s his problem?” Atom asked, slightly offended at being called a stalker.

“You want the long version, or the short?” Spike replied.

“Let’s start with the short.”

“Well, we had a date auction,” Spike noticed Atom’s confused look, “It was to raise money for the Race, okay?”

“I don’t… get it,” Atom said confused, “You auctioned dates?”

“Pretty much. For fun. At least, that was its intention. Didn’t end up that way, did it now?” He looked at me.

“My date was with Cyan Crystal, Spike. That went rather well...”

“Wait, wait, wait. You had a date with Crystal?” Atom looked at me with a bemused expression on his face, “And it went well?”

“She's a lot nicer than she seems, okay?” I said, defending my new found friend.

“Anyway, Aiden – the green Unicorn over there trying to drown himself – won a date with Twilight,” Spike interrupted “And after confessing his feelings to her, he was chewed out by Luna for being a stalker.”

“Really? Princess Luna did that? And Twilight?” Atom scratched his head, “That seems rather… out of character. Seems pretty harsh for something Twilight'd do.”

“Don’t remind me!” Aiden shouted. “Ooh! My head!” He dunked it back into the fountain.

“How is Twilight? She still Ponyville's designated librarian?” Atom asked, ignoring the green Unicorn.

“Yep. She loves her job!” Spike grinned. “I thought you said you stalked Ponyville. You should know that...”

“I don't stalk, Spike,” Atom laughed without emotion, “And I only visited at night. Not many Ponies are awake then. And those that are usually aren't your Ponyville regulars. They wouldn't know who I am.”

Spike explained how the auction went, and mentioned Featherweight's proposal to Scootaloo on the stage. Atom couldn't believe that they were that old already. He had been gone for a very long time. Eventually the conversation got to me and my date with Crystal. It was then that Spike mentioned mine and Applejack's talk in the Ferris-wheel.

“I thought you said you didn't date Applejack?” Atom shot me a venomous glance. He was jealous. It couldn't have been more obvious unless he wrote it on his head.

“The name's Forest. And no, I didn't. We had a talk. A strong talk. A very strong, very final talk.” Sighing, I gazed up at the sky, “I hate to admit this, but she’s not over you.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind I regretted saying that. The selfish part of me did. But this was Applejack’s ex, the Pony who risked his life to save her sister. The one whom she loved. What chance did I have? This was the Stallion that Applejack loved. Right here! Hours away from her! If it were me, I’d be running back into her arms without a moment’s hesitation! What was wrong with him?

“R-really?” Atom stammered. He looked relieved.

Spike looked at me, but didn’t give away any emotion. I hoped that I had the same kind of face, because I was dying on the inside. “She told me about how you lost your ability to fly.”

“Ah. Yes. The Manticore incident. It’s strange, you know. When I put myself in self-imposed exile into the Everfree Forest, I fought those things off pretty easily. Killed a few… don’t tell Fluttershy.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that last part.

“Why’d you exile yourself?” I asked after the funniness wore off.

“I… don’t want to talk about that. It’s not something I like talking about.” Atom looked at me, those eyes staring me down.

“Understandable,” I had my own secrets too, and I had just met the guy. “So, then what happened?”

“When the Manticore attacked Ponyville, the Unicorns managed to scare it off, but on its way back to the Everfree Forest, it cut across the school. The students were all supposed to be evacuated, but for one reason or another the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t leave. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom were still in the school when it started destroying the place. I was flying overhead at the time when I heard screams from inside the schoolhouse. That only attracted the Manticore's attention, and it started hunting them. I managed to get the two older girls out of there without incident, but I wasn’t fast enough to get Applebloom to safety.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Well, I had to fight it, while at the same time protect Applebloom. Fighting outside in the open is one thing, but inside the school's halls... while I distracting the Manticore, Applebloom managed to escape. And not a moment too soon. The Manticore’s tail had stung me.”

“You poor baby.” Aiden muttered.

Atom shot him an annoyed look before continuing with his story, “I crashed into one of the classrooms and managed to get stuck under a bookcase. Probably saved my life. The Manticore couldn't find me. I was stuck there for a while before I got rescued. Luckily Fluttershy gave me some anti-venom, but it was too late for my wings. The venom paralyzed my supracoracoideus…”

“Gesundheit.” Aiden uttered sarcastically.

“What’s your problem?” Atom barked, turning on Aiden.

Aiden didn’t miss a beat, “Oh. I’m sorry. What did you say? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of the Mare who you loved you waiting in the next town. You’ll have to speak up.”

Atom stood there dumbstruck. I couldn’t suppress the urge to laugh at that.

“He’s been through a lot, Atom.” Spike tried to pacify his friend and stood between the two, “He’s upset. And he’s kinda right, you did have somepony waiting for you there. But... it's been so long. You can't possibly expect Applejack to still be expecting you. What I can’t understand it why you haven’t come back. How long have you been here?”

“A… month, I guess. I’ve been… slowly trying to come back.” Atom looked down.

“Coward.” Aiden mumbled.

Atom shot him a rancorous look.

Spike looked over to me in the meantime, I could see the pity in his eyes. Pity for me.

“It’s over between her and me, okay?” I stated angrily, “There’s no reason to look at me like that.” Just because I said that, didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

There was a real uncomfortable moment of silence between all of us. Aiden dunked his head into the fountain again, taking in a mouthful of water. He swirled it around and gargled a little before spitting into the nearby plants. He smacked his lips while making a face.

“What’s a super-co-deus?” I asked.

“The supracoracoideus? It’s the muscle that lets me… ‘flap’ my wings. I can spread my wings, but I can’t pull them down, so I can’t fly.” He demonstrated this by extending his wings and after a few seconds, used his elbows to push them back down against his body. First the left one, then the right.

“Couldn’t you use something that would pull them back for you? Like some sort of elastic band?” I asked.

Atom laughed at that, “I’ve actually tried that, surprisingly. But there’s more to flying than moving wings up and down. You have to turn them at various angles in the air to maintain speed and altitude. It’s funny, but when you’re up there you don’t really think about these things. One small mistake could cost you dearly. The last time I tried experimenting with flight I got lucky, I only fractured my left wing. Trust me, I’d do anything to get back up there.” He sigh then looked up and stared longingly into the sky.

Aiden walked over to us, “I’m hungry. Can we eat? My stomach is empty.”

“Gee, I wonder why.” Spike shook his head and laughed to himself.

“Sure. Just tell me what you guys want and I’ll go get it from the town.” Atom grinned.

Spike frowned, “Why can’t we just go into town with you?”

Atom just stared at us for a long while in silence. “You… don’t remember anything from last night?”

We all shook our heads in agreement, none of us recalled anything.

“How much did you guys drink? Or rather, what did you guys drink?” Atom shook his head and laughed mirthlessly, “You really don’t remember? Well, you guys can’t go into town because if you do, they’ll lynch you all.”

“What d’ya mean?” Spike was just as confused as I was. Aiden on the other hand had started walking down the path.

Atom sighed, “Fine, come with me, but I’m not responsible if you get mobbed. Oh, and tell your friend he’s going the wrong way.”

The town of Esperia was a mess! The roads were strewn were garbage, many of the windows along the street were broken, and several carts were upturned in the middle of the road. Ponies everywhere were picking up and clearing away the mess. That was until we were spotted .

“That’s them! They’re the ones that did this!” An elderly Pony accused, pointing a hoof at us.

The town started to surround us, angry Ponies all around. They were all really, really pissed off. What in Celestia’s Mane did we do?

“You! You brown one!” An elderly Mare shouted at me, “Why did you decide to run up and down our street at that ridiculous speed? Look what you did to my windows!”

“And you! The Dragon! You find it funny to throw garbage around and try to shoot it with your fire?” Another old Pony shouted.

Spike gulped as his face turned white. “I did what? Oh no…”

“What’s wrong, Spike,” I asked.

“He has two types of breaths, one is used like normal, to roast things. The other is used to send messages to and from Princess Celestia, practically anything as long as it’s not living – or in this case, piles of garbage. Far more effective method than using the postal service. ” Aiden replied on behalf of the Dragon, who was still too stunned to say anything.

“You sent Princess Celestia garbage?” Atom asked incredulously.

The rest of us couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not funny, you guys! Princess Celestia is going to be furious!”

He was right. That wasn’t funny at all. Especially not after she blew a hole in my chest.

“Atom, these troublemakers friends of yours?” A slightly larger, more groomed Pony asked walking up to the Pegasus.

The Stallion looked at us, then nodded, “Yes. They are.”

“Well, they’re in a whole lot of trouble! Do they know how much property damage they cost? Do you have any idea how much trash is floating around? And don’t get me started on what you did to the forest outside of the town…”

Atom laughed nervously, “They were drunk. These things happen?”

The groomed Pony was not amused, “I’m afraid that I’m going to have to call the Royal Guard on this…”

“There will be no need for that, sir,” Aiden stated stepping forwards.

“And why's that?”

“Because I am a Royal Guard.” The crowd of Ponies did a collective gasp.

Atom leaned in closer to me, “Is he really a Royal Guard?”

“Yep. He’s also my guardian.”

All that statement got me was a very confused look from Atom.

“I will compensate you for whatever damages have been done, and my friends and I will help fix anything that can be repaired and clear your streets. Please accept my humblest apologies for last night’s… mayhem. I assure you that we meant no harm.” Aiden bowed to the townsfolk.

They all started murmuring with each other. After a moment one of them spoke, “How will you pay for all the damages? There’ve been quite a lot of them.”

“Then I will go to each party’s property that has been vandalized and will assess and compensate as such. My friends in the meantime will clear the streets of debris. Is this agreeable?”

“It is. Might we have your full name, sir?” The well groomed Pony asked.

“Aiden Fomaio.” He did a salute. “Royal Guard to Her Majesty, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

He failed to mention that he was essentially my personal overseer and that he was forced out of retirement to watch over me. That was probably a smart thing to do.

Another Pony walked up behind the well groomed one, pushing him aside.

“My name is Daffodil Meadow, the mayor of Esperia.”

“May I call you Miss Meadow?” Aiden flashed his best smile.

The mayor smiled in response, “Please do.”

Wow, Aiden did certainly have a charming side to him, and he flaunted it rather expertly. A part of me was secretly happy that Twilight didn’t fall for this rogue. Then again, Twilight was really smart, or as Pinkie would say: she's super-duper smart! Still, Aiden was a fairly cool guy. He did come after me in the Everfree Forest during the Ursa incident. I know it was his duty to do so, but when we were trapped along the cliff's edge, he stayed with me until I was safely away.

Aiden went with the townsfolk, all of them treating him as if he was royalty.

“Bastard gave us all the hard-lifting.” I muttered to myself.

“What was that, Forest?” Spike asked.

Oops. “Nothing, just thinking out loud.” I had to be more careful.

For the next few hours, Spike, Atom and I were clearing out the debris. Filling small baskets with garbage then taking the debris and loading it into a large cart. When the cart was full, we dragged it out of town where there was a small dump. It took us all morning but by the time we were done, the streets were clean and the locals were happy. All that was left was to replace the broken windows.

“You, there.” An old Stallion walked over to me, “I saw you last night zipping about. You got some legs on you, kid. Able to run that fast with a Dragon and a Pony on your back ain’t no small feat!”

“Come again?”

“Last night. The Dragon and your other friend were on your back. You said something about training and whoosh you charged down the road and back again!” The Stallion moved his hoof quickly from right to left to emphasize the speed, “After the fourth time… well, you can see for yourself.”

“I did all this?”

“Well, yes. Your friends are to blame as well. They egged you on. And then they started 'celebrating' your victory, but throwing garbage at you... I guess they thought it was confetti.”

“Now that you mention it… I do remember riding on your back, Forest.” Spike’s expression then lit up, “That would explain how we got here so fast!”

“Uh… yeah, we could hear you coming from miles away, and that trail of fire… “ The Stallion shook his head, “That was somethin’ else!”

“Don’t look now, but I think we have more visitors!” Another of Esperia’s citizens stated, “Three Mares.”

At the edge of the town I spotted Twilight, Amethyst and Lavender.

“Hey!” Spike waved to them.

“Spike! Forest! There you two are… where’s Aiden?” Twilight looked around.

“He’s busy at the moment, Twi.” Spike replied.

A look of relief flooded her face, “Oh. Well, I’m glad to find that you’re all okay. What was the purpose of running around like that last night? We were concerned. You guys were acting strange… well, you guys were acting stranger than usual.”

“Do we act strange?” I asked.

“Constantly.” Lavender laughed.

“What happened here?” Amethyst questioned, looking at the houses, “Esperia have something against glass? Your windows don’t have any.”

“Now that you mention it…” Twilight looked around.

Spike and I shared a look – we seemed to be acquiring this uncanny ability to communicate without words. He gestured with his eyes. He wanted me to explain. I shook my head and nodded to him. He should explain. To which he shook his head…

“These two broke them all last night with their high-speed running.” The old Stallion explained when he understood that neither Spike nor I wanted to.

We looked around. Something was missing… or rather, someone was. It was then that I realized that Atom had mysteriously vanished. Strange, he was right behind us a second ago.

“Oh, Twilight, there's somepony here that…”

Before Spike could continue, I interrupted him with a loud cough. He looked over to me. It took him a moment, but he understood what I was doing. Atom was hiding for a reason, and it wasn’t our place to reveal him.

“That?” Twilight asked.

“That... that...” Spike looked over to me, pleading with his eyes for help.

“Thinks we...” I prompted.

Spike continued, “Thinks we... won't.... won't win the Race!”

“Good one! I mean... yeah! Can you believe that?” I grinned nervously.

Twilight just frowned at us, “Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something? Well, are you guys ready to head on home? There are a lot of worried Ponies back in Ponyville.”

“We’ll catch up. We have… things to finish. We’ll be back later on tonight.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to return, it was that I needed time to think and get my thoughts sorted. I didn’t want to return so soon. The emotional wounds from last night were still too fresh, and I couldn’t even bare to think of being in the same town as Applejack without seeing her. My heart was still aching, and now there was another detail that I had to contend with.

“Oh-kay,” Twilight replied slowly, “You… don’t want to go back together? I can teleport us.”

“Allergic to magic, remember?” I showed her my bracelet.

Twilight's eyes lit up, “Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that.”

“I find that hard to believe,” I replied, “Anyway, I’ve got to wait for Aiden… and we haven’t finished fixing the town yet… so…”

“Hey, guys. Everything’s fin- Twilight?” Aiden eyes bulged out of their sockets when he saw her.

Twilight blushed, and turned away, “Hi.”

There was another long period of silence between all of us.

“I see you kids have some catching up to do. We’ll be over there if you need us.” The old Stallion pointed across the street before grabbing his friend's hoof and led her away.

You could cut the tension with a knife.

“Forest, do something!” Spike whispered.

“Me?”

“Yes, you!”

“Well! That was a crazy night!” I laughed, “We ended up in another town! How about that, huh? Funny, right?”

“Yeah! Funny!” Spike laughed nervously.

“I don’t see anything funny about it. You all acted irresponsible, and from the looks of things, you boys continued to be irresponsible throughout the night. And now Applejack’s upset, Pinkie’s furious that you left without her, and Princess Celestia’s study is currently swamped with garbage.” Twilight narrowed her eyes, “So, yes, I don’t see anything funny or amusing about what happened.”

Wow. Where did that come from? It was almost as if Aiden was a catalyst for Twilight's rage!

“Your turn to do something,” I whispered to Spike.

“No way!”

“Twilight… I’m sorry about last night, but please don’t take it out on those two.” Aiden said standing in front of me. “We were upset, and we acted… stupidly.”

“Yes, you all did. Now, Spike, Princess Celestia wants a word with you, and Aiden, you take Forest back to Ponyville. Girls? We're leaving” Lavender and Amethyst got closer to Twilight, “Spike, we’re going. Now.”

“See you later, Forest…” Spike whispered.

“Good luck, Spike.”

Spike gulped and walked over and stood next to Twilight.

“Oh, and Forest, I don’t know what you said to Applejack, but she’s clearly very, very upset. I thought you were better than that.” Twilight glared at me.

I looked away from her, “Did she tell you about last night?”

“Well, no… but…”

“I’m not going to explain, Twilight, but she’s clearly got issues from her past. We… it’s over between us. Applejack and I are not together anymore. We never were. And I know it might sting a little, but she’ll get over me.”

Twilight said nothing for a long moment, “Fine. But you should still talk to her.”

“What? Why?”

“Because that’s what friends do, Forest.”

Her words felt like a slap to the face. She was right! That is what friends do, and she was my friend. A very dear friend.

“Ready girls?” Twilight asked Lavender and Amethyst. They both nodded at the same time.

“I’m not a girl…” Spike muttered.

In the next instant they were swallowed by a bright light and were gone. All that remained was a faint smoke, the fumes rising up slowly before melding with the air. A part of me felt jealous, that is something that I could never experience due to my ‘condition’. Teleportation. I wondered what it was like.

Aiden looked at me, “Well, that was awkward.” He flashed a grin.

"She hates you, you know."

Aiden's grin vanished, "Don't remind me."

“Are we done? Can we leave now?” I asked.

“Pretty much. Although I’m now officially poor. All my savings! Gone!” Aiden grumbled, “If only I didn't spend that amount last night. I’m so stupid! Did you see the way she looked at me? I’ve had warmer looks from a Windigo!”

The mention of that creature brought my attention to the saddlebag around me. I could feel the coolness of the dagger resting securely in one of the pockets. Something else was in there with it. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? Now that my attention was brought to the bag, I felt it poking me in the side. Reaching in, I pulled it out. It was that silly hat that Crystal had bought me last night.

Now that I thought about it, what happened to my suit? Oh, man! Rarity’s going to kill me!

Atom appeared from behind the nearest house. “So, you guys are leaving?”

“So that's where you ran off to.”

Atom pocked his hooves together nervously, “I… didn’t want Twilight to see me.”

At this, Aiden literally stormed over to Atom practically standing on top of him, “You… you just…” He grunted in frustration, “How can you just sit here on your flank for a month and not go back to Ponyville to the mare you care for? What is wrong with you? If you really loved her then you wouldn't be here! If I had somepony like that, I’d never want to be apart from her! You’re pathetic! Both of you are.”

“Didn’t you do the same thing with Twilight,” I countered, my anger rising, “You hid from her as a baker in Canterlot, right? Why?”

“Because I was a coward. But then I said to myself, ‘If I don’t try, I’ll never really know!’ Forest, you were actually the one who inspired me to do that. And yes, I did get hurt. Badly. But now I have no regrets.”

“Except for wasting a thousand bits and becoming the object of Twilight's anger...” I muttered.

Aiden just heaved a frustrated sigh.

“So what do you suggest we do?” Atom retorted.

“Figure it out yourselves. You’re big boys. I don’t need to hold your hooves,” He shook his head slowly, “You guys just don’t realize how lucky you are. Don’t you care for her?”

“Of course I do!” Both Atom and I stated at the same time. We looked at each other, a little confused, shocked, and angry at the same time.

“Whatever. Let’s get going, Forest.” Aiden started walking.

“Wait. I’m… coming with you.” Atom caught up to us. “I… I…”

“You want to see her again.” Aiden stated bluntly. “Is that okay with you, Forest?”

“Okay with me? Why does my opinion matter?”

“Because he had his chance. He blew it. Do you think it’s fair to Applejack if he returns to Ponyville now when he could have done so any time he wanted? Only now when she’s found another Stallion in her life he decides it’s time to return. That doesn't seem very fair on her.”

Aiden did have a point.

Atom looked at the two of us, “I'm going. I'll follow you if I have to, but I'm going.”

Just then Aiden's stomach growled. “I need something to eat.” He reached into his saddlebag and his face drooped, “Forest! Can I borrow some bits?”

“You've got nothing left? Well... neither do I, actually.” I held up an empty coin-purse.

“I... I can treat you guys. If you let me come with you.” Atom offered.

“Forest, let's go...” Aiden's stomach roared in defiance. “Fine! You can come with us! Let's grab something in town.”

"Everything's closed because of you two." Atom pointed out the obvious. All the residents were too busy repairing their broken windows.

Seeing as there was nothing available, we left the little hamlet of Esperia. When we got far enough along, I turned back to look at the town. It was a beautiful little place, set in a tiny valley surrounded on all sides by a trees. Outside the trees were fields and fields of crops in a variety of colors. Shades of green, yellow, purple and red as far as the eye could see. In the far distance I noticed a train chugging along. Equestria was so beautiful. So lush and clean.

“That train goes by Ponyville.” Atom stated standing next to me and following my gaze, “We don't have a train station here. The nearest station is in Altai, the nearest big town. It's in the opposite direction, though.”

“Where's the nearest place we can go eat! I'm starving!” Aiden moaned. His stomach moaned in agreement.

“There's another town not far from here called Messara. There's a nice restaurant there owned by a Mare named Mint Dumpling. It's called the Hoof'n'Hay.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for!” Aiden charged on ahead.

Without Aiden to distract us, Atom and I walked side by side in uncomfortable silence. It was painful for me to accept what happened last night, but this? This was beyond a cruel joke. Questions rushed through my head. What would Applejack say to me? What would she say to him? I had ended it with Applejack. I broke it off! So, why was it so hard to accept this and let go? Why couldn't I just let her go?

“It's hard, isn't it?” Atom was looking at me.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It's hard. Trying to let Applejack go, I mean."

"How did..."

"I know that expression. Trust me. I've seen it every day for the past Celestia-knows how long. In the mirror. Every single day...”

I looked away from him. He was right. It was hard. But the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that I needed to. I couldn't be with her. I couldn't be with any of them. Not until I beat Tutela in her game, and with the way things were going, that wasn't going to happen. She did tell me that falling in love wasn't the same as finding out the answer to her question. The true meaning of friendship. How was I supposed to discover something like that if I kept getting distracted by every pretty Pony I came across! And I didn't have that much time left!

Perhaps helping Atom find peace with Applejack will give me an insight to this elusive concept. I thought to myself. Worth a shot.

“How long have you been gone?” I asked, curious.

“A... while.”

“A year? Two?” I asked.

“No. About... eight. It was just after Rainbow got into the Wonderbolts, before she left for her special training.”

“Eight years! You kidding me?” I was astounded. “How old was Applejack when you left?”

“Twenty.”

“Eight years!” I shook my head.

“I know.” Atom muttered, “But she... she really hurt me. I'm not make excuses, but I couldn't believe she was breaking it off with me because she didn't want me to remind myself she was the reason why I couldn't fly. No matter what I said to her, she insisted, and the more I pushed the harder she convinced herself that was true until I just couldn't take it anymore. You think I wanted to leave? You think that I liked spending the past eight years wandering around aimlessly hoping in some weird way she'd come after me? She could have sent a letter. A note. Anything! All she'd have to do was ask Spike to use his magic breath. But nothing. All this time, and still nothing.”

Applejack had hurt him as well, perhaps even harder than she had hurt me. Compared to my broken heart, he had been through hell and back. Even after all this time he still hoped that she would still want him back.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

Atom laughed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist, “I sound pathetic, don't I?”

“Honestly, I'd probably be in the same place if it were me.”

“You seem like a nice Stallion, Forest. I know it might sound strange coming from a complete stranger, but if there's anypony that I'd want to be with Applejack, it would be somepony like you.”

It killed him to say that, I could see it in his face. “Why would you say that?”

“First of all, because Applejack is an excellent judge of character. If she fell you for, it's because she saw something in you that was special. Secondly, because you just seem like somepony who is willing to do anything for others.”

“No. I don't deserve that kind of praise, Atom. Please don't say that.”

The lies! How many lies had I spun in the short time I was here. My entire existence was a lie. Special? Ha! Do things for others? Ha! Everything I've done was purely for selfish reasons. I wasn't a good person, and perhaps an even worse Pony.

“Food!” Aiden shouted seeing a small inn at the side of the road. He had gone on ahead and was now a good distance away. Probably a good thing too. I was thankful for the interruption. It was beginning to get really uncomfortable. Well, more uncomfortable.

A small wooden sign was right in front of the inn that said 'Welcome to Messara, home of the Vegemaster!'

“Vegemaster?” I asked.

“Oh, you've got to try it! It's delicious!” Atom grinned, “And it'll fill you right up!”

The inn looked slightly old and rustic. But all that changed once we got inside. The outside betrayed just how popular this place was! Ponies everywhere! It took me a second to realize that there were two entrances. The front of the inn had numerous carts parked outside, and Ponies were coming and going. There were two floors made for eating, the lower floor in front of us, and there were two large stairs that led up to a second floor that overlooked those below.

“Hello. Table for three?” A gray Stallion asked.

“No, we're looking to take-out the food.” Atom replied. He turned to Aiden and me, “There's a nice park about two minutes away. Let's go there. I don't really like big crowds.”

“Anything! Just feed me!” Aiden begged.

“So, what'll you have?” The waiter asked, holding a pad in his left hoof and the pencil in his mouth.

“Three Vegemasters, please. With everything... right guys?” Atom asked, turning his head to us again.

“Don't forget the kitchen sink!” Aiden commented.

I couldn't help but laugh at that.

“Wait here for five.” The waiter then walked off.

Looking to avoid conversation, especially with Atom, I took in more of the inn. There was a huge picture on the wall above the front door overlooking the dining area. It was Princess Celestia sitting in this very dining room with a Vegemaster hovering in front of her, a somewhat bemused expression on her face. Princess Luna was to her left with a huge smile.

And in the background I saw Twilight, Applejack and Rarity.

“They came here four years ago,” Aiden said, “The Princesses were touring the land and had heard about this place. I think Princess Celestia was a little overwhelmed by the sheer size.”

“Here you guys are. Hey. Hey! I know you! You're that crazy pony from last night! The one that ran around on fire! Hey, Silver, isn't this the guy from yesterday? The one that set fire the road?”

“So it is!” One of the chefs stated poking his head out of the kitchen window, “Hey, guys, take a look, it's the fire Pony I was telling you about yesterday!”

“Hey, if you do it again - make the road catch on fire - we'll give you these Vegemasters for free! What d'ya say?”

“Make it two Vegemasters each and he'll do it!” Aiden cut in before I could respond.

“Wha-”

“Do it for me, Forest! Me and my empty stomach!” Aiden batted his eyelashes while clasping his hooves together.

“You got a deal! He burns the road, and we'll get you two Vegemasters each. Free of charge!” The waiter grinned.

“Fine,” I muttered, “Let's get this over with.”

I walked out the back-door, followed by every waiter and chef in the establishment.

“I'll need to get a running start. So, wait here.” I jogged up the road a bit.

The commotion had attracted more and more attention, and soon there was a sizable amount of Ponies standing around, most of whom were wondering what was going on.

Great. Now I've got an audience.

Putting my head down I took a deep breath and ran. I loved running. The feeling of the wind rushing past my ears, the breeze in my face. And I started feeling really happy and excited as well. The feeling was simply amazing, no matter how many times I felt this in the past, it was like a new rush all over again. It felt so... natural, and free. Faster and faster I forced my legs to go. Then, I felt it. The sensation I felt before my legs would kick into the special mode. And it happened. Aiden and Atom were suddenly behind me as I exploded by in a burst of speed.

I stopped myself, sliding quite a ways before coming to a halt. Turning around, I had completely overshot the inn. I grumbled to myself and trotted back. The road still had flames on it that was quickly fading away. The guests, waiters and chefs were shouting and cheering for me as I approached them where they all slapped my back and rubbed my Mane. It felt really nice to be praised like that.

“Here're your Vegemasters!” The gray waited beamed, and Aiden took all six, his mouth salivating. “See, I told you! Guess you'll think twice before doubting me...” The waiter's voice cut off as he returned into the inn with his co-workers.

“Food!” Aiden opened the wrapping on one of them and demolished it in two bites.

Atom couldn't believe it, “Guess you really were hungry.”

We ate the rest at the park down the road. It was a pleasant place, full of chipmunks and squirrels. Unlike Aiden, I could barely finish one Vegemaster, so I gave him my second one, which he practically inhaled. Atom couldn't believe it, and offered his second one as well, but by this time Aiden was sated and he lay down on the grass on his back, his fore-hooves behind his head. So Atom walked over to a bunch of young colts that were playing in the park and gave them his last Vegemaster. They thanked him and split it amongst themselves.

“Nothing like a full stomach.” Aiden sighed staring into the sky.

“How far is it to Ponyville from here?” I asked.

“At the pace we've set? We won't get there till well after midnight. We'll need to pick up the pace if you want to get there today. What's the hurry, anyway?” Aiden asked, turning sideways, he used his hoof to support his head, “It's not like we have anything to do...”

“You don't, but I do. The Race is in two days! I need to be in Ponyville tonight.”

“Then why don't you just use your speed to get us there. You carried us yesterday.” Aiden grinned.

“I was drunk, and on painkillers.” I replied standing up and dusting myself off.

Aiden jumped on my back.

“Giddyap!”

“Hey! Get off me!” I tried to shake him off, but to no avail.

“Come on, you carried me and Spike! You can carry me and Atom.”

“Wait, what?” Atom's eyes opened wide, “I'm not riding on Forest.”

“Good luck in keeping up.” Aiden roared in laughter as if he had said the funniest thing ever.

“It's just... wrong!” Atom replied, trying to defend himself.

“Suit yourself. Forest, let's go!”

Shrugging, I lowered my head and readied myself to run.

“Hey! Wait! You said we'd go together!” Atom ran in front of me, “Come on! You can't just ditch me!”

“Forest needs to get back lickety-split! So, unless you can think of something, we'll see you in Ponyville.” Aiden then grinned maliciously, “After Forest gets a chance to talk to Applejack first.”

“That's not fair, Aiden...” I whispered.

“I've got it! Wait here a minute!” Atom ran off.

“Quick, Forest! Let's go before he gets back!”

“I'm not like that, Aiden.”

“You're too soft.” Aiden shook his head sadly. I could tell by the way his weight shifted on my back.

“I'm hard when I need to be. This isn't one of those times.”

“You mean like how you were with Applejack last night?” Aiden sighed, “Honestly, do you think she really deserved that?”

I looked down at my hooves. He was right, she didn't deserve it. I might have been angry, but that was no reason to be as aggressive as I was. I needed to apologize to her.

“No, she said things that made me furious with her, but she didn't deserve me blowing up in her face the way I did.”

“And yet you're allowing her ex to return to Ponyville with us. You're really an idiot.”

“I think Applejack deserves to know, Aiden. I might be thick and dumb, but I really want her to be happy. And if that means I've got to set aside feelings for her, then I'd gladly do it.”

“Spoken like a true moron. But it's your life. I guess you could say I'm rather bitter and cynical after what happened to me, but there you go.”

“What did Twilight actually say to you, Aiden?”

There was a long moment of silence, then he inhaled deeply, “After I confessed my feelings for her, she didn't speak to me for a long, long time during the so-called 'date'. We spent most of it in silence. Then suddenly she just asked me how long I had felt that way about her, and I told her the truth. For ages, I said. After that she just... blew up. I don't know why. Maybe if I had said that I've only been attracted to her for a few weeks she'd not have been that angry. I guess that's what's killing me, it's the fact that I don't know what I did that so wrong.”

“Girls are weird.”

“You can say that again.”

We both shared a good laugh.

“Hi guys. Sorry I took so long. Forest, here.” Atom handed me the end of a rope. He was standing on one of those foot-push scooters. He probably had bought it off one of the colts from the park. “You run, and I'll just ride along on this!”

“Great. So, not only do I gotta run with Aiden on my back, but I gotta drag you along with my mouth as well?” I shook my head, “That's real low you guys!”

“Hey, I could just teleport, then you can drag Atom by yourself.”

“That's actually not a bad idea...”

“Fool! He won't ride on you. What are you going to do? Stop at every intersection along the way to ask him which path to take?”

Aiden did have a point.

“Fine. Let's just go.” I put the end of the rope in my mouth.

"Think of this as training."

“I'm not racing, Aiden. I just need to be with the team."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Forest."

I rolled me eyes, "Ready?” I shouted with my teeth clenched.

“When you are!” Atom shouted back.

I started off slowly, but quickly built up speed. The sound of my hooves hitting the road went faster and faster until it sounded like one step. I could never get sick of this feeling. It was incredible! I loved running! Faster! I wanted to go even faster. Aiden had wrapped both his hooves around my neck now, I could hear him shouting, I think he was asking me to slow down. Down the road we charged. Faster and faster and faster! Go! Go, go, go! Then I felt the rope in my mouth rise up, and I turned to look up. Atom was in the air! His his wings wide open and with my speed the momentum had pulled him into the air like a giant kite!

“Forest! Watch out!” Aiden shouted.

I turned to see what he meant and saw the fence in front of me too late. Slamming my hooves into the ground, I skidded into the fence ploughing right through it. Aiden had flown off of me as I stumbled, rolled and came sliding to a stop in the middle of a field, dust rising up from where I had crashed.

Atom glided down slowly landing in front of me. He folded his wings back with his hooves. “You okay?”

“It's your fault!” I accused. “I didn't know you were flying!” I pushed myself up from the ground and spat out some dirt that had somehow managed to get into my mouth.

“Well, that wasn't really flying. Anyway, I didn't know either. The scooter must have hit a pebble or a rock and I spread my wings out of reflex and up I went. Lost the scooter, though. Anyway, that was pretty impressive. You're fast.”

We heard a groan as Aiden stood up. “Let's not do that again.”

I ignored the Unicorn, “Where are we? How far away?”

“Not far now, actually. If we walk, we'll get there by tonight.” Atom rubbed the back of his head, “Do you mind if I sleep over at yours tonight?”

“I'm staying at Rainbow's house. I don't know if Brian'll like that.”

“Rainbow's?” Atom asked, “I'm sure Brian won't mind...”

“He's not there, Atom. He's in the hospital.”

“What? Why? What happened to Brian?”

“You... you don't know?” I looked at Aiden, but his attention was elsewhere, “He's... in bad shape. Real bad.”

“How bad?”

“Bad.”

Atom just stood there with his mouth open. It was clear that he had no idea. The news certainly came as a shock to him. He sat down on the ground and shook his head, “Do the doctors know what's wrong with him?”

“I have no clue. I... honestly didn't think it was in my place to ask. It's none of my business." I couldn't very well explain to Atom that Brian had accused me of being a human and he was doing his best to reveal me for what I was - am... for what I am. "Are you two good friends?”

Atom looked at me, “I was engaged to one of the Elements of Harmony, Forest. Applejack's best friends with Rainbow. Of course I know Brian.”

I ignored the sarcasm in his voice.

“How long's he been...”

“A while.” I replied, remembering the incident in the trailer in the Everfree Forest with the light blue Pony. Why did she have a whip?

“I... I never knew... I have to go and visit him...”

“Hey Forest! Come check this out!” Aiden shouted.

Walking over to him, I looked in the direction he was pointing. My heart sank. “What the hay!”

“I take it from your reaction that is your suit from last night?” Aiden asked, then bust out laughing, “How did it get on that thing?”

In the middle of the field was a scarecrow in Rarity's suit!

“Hey you! What did you do to mah fence?” An overweight Pony asked walking over to us, “You better pay for the damages... oh. It's you boys. Didn't you have a Dragon with you?”

“Yes, but he's busy. Can you please tell us... why is your scarecrow wearing my friend's suit?” Aiden pointed to it, and burst out laughing again.

“You boys don't remember? You dressed 'im yourselves. You thought he'd be... cold, or somethin'. Not that I'm complaining...”

“C-can I get it back? It actually isn't mine. I was wearing it for a friend... and she'll probably want it back.”

“Well, I kinda thought it was a little excessive for a scarecrow to be wearin' something nice and fine like that. Why, if I were ten years younger, I'd be wearin' it mahself!” The Stallion chuckled, “I knew you boys were out of it last night, but I had no idea it was that bad.”

Aiden finished his laughing fit. At least he didn't puke this time round. “Tell you what, if you agree to giving us back the suit, I'll fix your fence, and my friend here will compensate you on the crops we damaged.”

“I will?” Atom asked surprised.

“If it weren't for you flying in the air, this wouldn't have happened.” Aiden replied grinning at the black Pegasus. The smile seemed somewhat... evil. “So, yeah, you will.”

Atom groaned, “Fine. But I'm doing it for Forest for getting us a free lunch.”

“Whatever helps you sleep better,” Aiden replied, “Forest, you rest up.”

I didn't argue. I lay down on the ground to rest my body, the feeling of the ground under me was nice and comforting. It was then that I remembered that I had broken ribs! The hell? Why didn't it hurt? Were the painkillers that effective that I couldn't feel my pain anymore? No, that's not right. It hurt when I crashed through the fence. But... that's impossible. I can't be healed, could I?

“What's on your mind?” Atom asked, sitting down next to me.

“Nothing. Just... thinking about a few things.”

“About Applejack?”

“Not this time. Have you thought about what you're going to say to her?”

“You're assuming that I'm going to go see her, Forest. I don't think I'm ready. Can you promise me one thing? I know it's asking a lot, especially coming from me, but can you please not tell Applejack that you met me? I just... want to see her one last time with my own eyes, then I'll be gone.” Atom turned away from me. “I've been giving it a lot of thought, and as much as it pains me to admit this, the green Unicorn is right. I've had my chance and I blew it. It wouldn't be fair to Applejack if I suddenly showed up in her life again.”

“I...” Could I make a promise like that?

“Just don’t mention me.” Atom sighed, “Once I see her, I'll be on my way. You won't see or hear from me again.”

“That's stupid, Atom. You should just go talk to her. It might hurt, but you might also gain closure with her. Wouldn't that be worth the risk?” It killed me to say those words, but I had to.

The sad fact of it was that it wasn't for Atom or Applejack, but for me. If helping this Stallion would help me find the true meaning of friendship then I had no choice but to sacrifice my heart for my freedom. I knew it was selfish of me, especially after Applejack got furious for not telling her about trying to get to the bottom of my magic-less condition, but this was different. This was my future, my life.

“I won't mention you, Atom, but I'm not going to lie to her.” I've already lied enough to her.

“I guess that's fair. Thank you, Forest."

“Hey, you guys, I'm finished!” Aiden called out. He saw us staring at him blankly, “Did I interrupt?

“No.” I replied.

“Uh... okay... anyway, are you rested up, Forest?”

“Yeah, I'm good to go... strange that. My ribs no longer hurt.”

“Oh! I completely forgot about that... wait, they don't hurt? At all?”

I shook my head. Aiden walked over to me and poked me in the side. Nothing. It felt normal, there was no wincing pain.

“I've heard of Ponies healing quickly, but that's ridiculous!” Aiden narrowed his eyes at me, “There's something really wrong with you. Or maybe it's something really right. I'll have to put this in my report.”

“Do what you need. Anyway, shall we get a move on?” I asked, “I'd like to get back home before it gets too late.”

“Here ya go!” The farmer had somehow managed to sneak behind me and I jumped a foot in the air in surprise. He roared in laughter and handed me the suit. “So, you boys going for the race the day after tomorrow?”

Aiden flashed another one of his grins before responding. “This is Forest, he's on the team for Ponyville!”

“Are you now? Well, then Ponyville's sure to win! I doubt there're other Ponies out there that can match your speed.” The farmer beamed, “Can I get an autograph?”

That surprised me a little, I've never been asked for an autograph before. “S-s-sure!”

As I stared at the piece of paper in front of me, I wondered what my signature should look like. It had to be cool, but unique. Something that would stand out!

“You okay, son?”

“I've... I've never signed something before.” I rubbed the back of my head laughing nervously.

“We're burning daylight here, Forest!” Aiden was expertly folding the suit for me before slipping it into the saddlebag.

Then I had a brilliant idea! It just came to me. It probably wasn't unique, but it was good enough for me. I drew a large 'F' followed by 'orest' and just below that 'ire'. It wasn't that bad, at least I didn't think so. Still, it was hard getting used to writing with your mouth.

“Thanks, Forest.” The farmer held up the piece of paper to the light, “Now, if you and your team win, I'll be able to frame this.”

We said our goodbyes and once again I had to carry Aiden on my back while Atom took to the skies this time. On I ran, the countryside of Equestria rushing by. Even at my speeds, the sheer beauty of the land did not disappoint. It really was a gorgeous country. As we continued on, I noticed that more and more Ponies and carts had started sharing the road. It was starting to get crowded, and at my speeds, dangerous.

“I think we'd best slow down, Forest!” Aiden yelled over the roar of the wind, leaning in so that his mouth was close to my left ear, “We could really hurt somepony if we keep this pace up. We're not that far from home now.”

He was right, so I slowed down until I was running at a slow trot. Atom was still gliding above us, but now that his 'engine' had stopped he started his descent.

“I wish that I could fly too...” I muttered.

“If you weren't sensitive to magic, I could have cast a spell that would give you wings for a couple of hours.” Aiden slid off my back when my trot slowed down to a walk.

“Couldn't you do that to Atom? Give him wings for a couple hours?” I asked.

Aiden shrugged, “I guess I could. I don't know. He's have to control four wings... that might actually be interesting.”

The terrain had started to change. It was getting a lot hillier and the road that we were on elegantly wove through the various mini-valleys in an attempt to remain as level as possible. In the distance I could see the edge of the Everfree Forest, the road taking a wide loop around the boundary.

Atom had landed on a hill in front of us and waited by the side of the road, wrapping the rope around his hoof as we drew closer. When we reached him, he took the remainder of the rope from my mouth and tied it to itself.

Why did I spend the past ten minutes walking with a rope in my mouth?

“This rope isn't bad. You want it?” Atom asked.

“Not really, but I can hold onto it for you if you want.” I offered.

Atom nodded in thanks, and handed me the rope which I then placed in one of the saddlebag pockets. It fit in there perfectly.

“How far now?” I asked.

“Not long at all. I'd say about an hour.” Aiden guessed, “It's right around that bend. You can't see it from here because of the forest.”

Suffice to say, Aiden's judgment of distance was not very reliable. It had taken us over two hours to walk the distance, so that it was late in the evening by the time we reached the outskirts of town. Along the way we spotted a purple Dragon dozing off under a tree.

“Spike?”

His snoring broke and he yawned while stretching, “About time you guys showed up...” He did a double-take when he saw the flightless Pegasus, “Atom? What are you doing here?”

“Just visiting. I won't be long.”

“Okay...” It was clear that Spike didn't like that idea.

“How is Applejack, Spike?” I asked.

“Well, actually Princess Celestia was pretty nice about what I did to her study, thanks for asking. She didn't send me to prison or anything... so, thanks for asking.” Spike replied sarcastically, “Applejack is still upset, but from what Applebloom's been saying, she'll be up and about in no time.”

“I knew she would. And sorry, Spike, I'm glad you didn't get punished for messing up Princess Celestia's study.” He was right! I should've asked about him first! I was an idiot.

“Oh, I didn't say that. I said that she didn't send me to prison or anything, I still got punished. Spent the entire day clearing the mess I made, while resorting her personal library. I only just got done about an hour ago. Twilight teleported us here.”

“Twilight teleported you here from Canterlot?” Aiden asked incredulously. “That's incredible! I can barely teleport myself that distance.”

“Not just me, she teleported Lavender and Amethyst as well. They wanted to get a good look at the venue for the Race.” Spike explained.

Aiden groaned, “I knew she was strong, but that's ridiculous! Great, now I know two ridiculous Ponies with abnormal abilities.”

“Who's the other one?”

“Our dear friend Forest, Spike. Watch this.” Aiden punched me in the rib. “See? No rolling around the ground in agony? No squeal of pain? Nothing!”

“You're healed? H-how is that possible?”Spike poked my ribs with his finger.

I shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Since when is running around with fire coming out of your hooves considered normal?” Atom asked, looking at Aiden, but pointing at me.

Aiden ignored Atom's comment, “That healing power could be something to do with Princess Celestia's magic.” Aiden thought aloud to himself, “Your ability to heal fast, that is.”

“She a healer?” I asked, wondering if that were the case, why was there a need to have hospitals? That seemed strange.

"No... I don't think so. Spike, is she a healer?"

"I guess so. I've never seen her heal anypony before. Not sure. Don't think so." Spike shrugged.

“On another note, how does Princess Celestia blowing a hole through my chest give me super-healing?” I asked.

“Princess Celestia did what?” Atom stared at me with wide eyes.

“Long story,” I didn't feel like explaining it.

“You see, that's the problem with magic. You can never predict how it'll turn out.” Aiden explained, or rather didn't explain.

I was slightly fed up of that answer, “Let's go to Rarity's. I've got suit then needs returning.”

The four of us walked towards Rarity's boutique, Atom keeping a low profile behind us. Every time he would spot a Pony, he'd duck behind the nearest bush, or whatever happened to be convenient at the time. It was actually pretty entertaining.

When we arrived in front of the boutique, Spike and Atom hung back. I knocked on the door and it was answered by Sweetie Belle.

“Hi, Sweetie, is your sister home?”

“No, she's at Sweet Apple Acres,” Sweetie Belle replied, her voice laced with ice.

Did it just get colder? “Well, okay. I'll come back some other time.”

As I started walking away, Sweetie Belle ran over to me, “How could you do that to Applejack, Forest! You're just like her ex! You're as pathetic as he was.”

Aiden and I shared a look and it took every ounce of my being to prevent myself from looking over to where Atom and Spike were standing.

“What do you suggest I do, Sweetie?” I asked, “Applejack said she didn't want to be with my anymore.”

“She's always like that, Forest. She puts others ahead of herself all the time! It's up to you to make it work.”

“Well, what about Spike and you sister. He's tried hard so many times and he's got nowhere.”

Aiden made a face. That was not the right thing to say.

“That's different!” Sweetie scowled, “Plus Spike is too young for my sister.”

“Am not!” Spike shouted from the dark.

Sweetie just ignored him, “So, what are you going to do now?”

“Go home. I detoured here because I wanted to give back the suit I borrowed to your sister.”

“What are going to do about Applejack, Forest!” Sweetie looked so angry. “Where have you been all day? Everypony's been looking for you!”

“Esperia.”

“Esperia... wait, are you talking about the small village?”

“That's the one!” I started to walk away.

“Then how'd you get back to Ponyville this quick?” Sweetie walked over to me. “Are you telling the truth?”

“I can vouch for him, little one,” Aiden stated, “I was there with him. So was Spike.”

Sweetie Belle still couldn't believe us. It took a while to explain how it was possible. At the mention of Aiden riding on my back, she just shook her head.

“I know that can't be true! You're hurt, Forest. The doctor said you wouldn't heal for weeks!”

“Normally you'd be right, just not this time.” I replied, “I'm actually fine.”

And to emphasize the point, Aiden socked me in the side. It hurt, but not too badly. Certainly not enough so that if I did have broken ribs I wouldn't be standing. Still, he did manage to knock the wind out of me.

“So... you can race? You can run the race, right?” Sweetie's entire demeanor towards me changed.

“I... guess I could.” It was that I didn't want to, but I had already told myself that running the race was now Lavender's moment. I had already stolen the ability to represent Ponyville once, it wouldn't be fair on her to do it again. “I think Lavender will be fine.”

“But... all that hard work you put in. Those laps, those lessons trying to learn how to swim.”

“I'm just as happy to be able to say I can swim, Sweetie. You don't think that Lavender can win?”

She looked around, then leaned in closer. “No. There's three runners in the Race that will totally leave Lavender in the dust. You're the only one that can keep up with them.”

“Forest's pretty fast, Sweetie. I don't think those representatives will be able to beat him.” Aiden patted my back hard.

“You forget about the swimming part! That's Forest's weakest point. If these Ponies can gain enough distance then they'd beat you, even if you are the fastest land pony.” Sweetie sighed, “At least tell Lavender that you can run.”

“Okee dokee. I will.”

At that, we went our separate ways – Sweetie returned to the boutique, while the four of us headed towards Brian's house. We had to walk around Ponyville because Atom was too terrified about the prospect of getting spotted.

“What he needs is a disguise!” Aiden suddenly blurted, “And I know just the thing! I'll meet you guys at Brian's house later, 'kay?”

Before any of us could say anything, he trotted off.

Entering the house, I had to make sure that Rainbow wasn't there before Atom would step inside. He sat down in the living room and looked around while Spike went into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. In the meantime I walked over to the guest bedroom and saw Tutela in the laptop's monitor grinning at me from the corner. She didn't make a sound, but I could tell that she was highly amused by my latest antics. I stuck my tongue out at her before leaving the room.

There was an aggressive knock on the door. Atom dove behind the sofa, and Spike tried to look inconspicuous. As I opened it, Aiden burst inside, “Surprise!” He laughed when he saw Atom's expression as he raised himself from behind his 'hiding' place.

“Thanks a lot,” Atom grumbled.

“Pleasures all mine. Anyway, here's your disguise.” Aiden handed Atom two bottles.

He looked at them confused, “What are these?”

“Those are dyes for your coat and mane. That black coat and green mane are easily recognizable, that is why changing them will completely disguise you!”

“You really think so?” Atom asked.

“Of course! Forest, can he use the shower?”

“Sure. It's the door after the guestroom on the left, just before the kitchen.” I pointed the way with my hoof. “There should be a spare towel there as well... I haven't used it. Come to think of it, I haven't taken a shower in quite a while.”

Aiden pinched his nose, “So that's what that horrible smell was...”

We all shared a laugh at my expense. This was great! I've never had this kind of banter before, and I liked it! Was this what it was like having good friends? Were these guys good friends? My eyes began to water for some reason, and I quickly wiped them away.

“What's wrong, Forest?” Spike asked, genuine concern in his eyes.

I couldn't admit that this was the first time I've really had friends I could hang out with. I've always been alone, always kept to myself. Only now with them all here did I realize exactly what I was missing.

“I'm just glad to be back.” I lied.

We chatted for a few, but Aiden kept silent with a huge grin on his face. I was about to ask him what was so funny when I heard a blood-curdling scream come from the bathroom. Moments later Atom ran into the den, only he looked really, really different. Spike and I stared at him with our eyes wide open while Aiden burst out in fits of laughter.

“You... you... you...” Atom failed to find the words, “You didn't tell me the dye was pink!”

Spike and I cracked up. Atom's black coat was now a bright pink, brighter than even Pinkie's coat! And his mane was a blue similar to Rainbow's color. Atom jumped on top of Aiden and started to pummel him in the arm, but Aiden was too busy laughing to care.

“That was low, Aiden!” Spike said when his laughing fit subsided, but he just looked at Atom and fell to the floor, rolling around laughing his lungs out.

“Well, if it's any consolation, nopony's going to recognize you.” Aiden looked at Atom and he too rolled on the floor laughing.

I just shook my head. Although it was funny, it wasn't that funny...

“What's goin' on in here?” A voice yelled from the front door and in walked Applejack with Rarity right on her heels, “We heard a scream and...”

All laughter died. My heart stopped beating. Atom’s eyes widened and his ‘fist’ froze in mid-swing. He didn't turn around.

In that moment all time seemed to stand still.

“Uh... hi, Applejack.” I said stupidly.

Somewhere in the house, a clock struck midnight.

Day 19: Trains, Plains &... Airships?

Applejack looked around, “Pinkie? What're you doin' here?”

“Pink-” Aiden roared in laughter again, “Pinkie! She called you Pinkie!”

Spike grinned nervously, “Aiden, stop it, you're making it worse...” He whispered in a sing-song voice through gritted teeth. He did his best to prevent his eyes from gluing themselves onto Rarity without much success, she responded with a kind, friendly smile.

“What was that unearthly scream we just heard? We were walking past when we heard it.” Rarity looked at Atom, “And this isn't Pinkie, Applejack. For one thing she has a cyan colored mane, not the luscious pink, plus this pony is clearly a Pegasus, or did Pinkie suddenly sprout wings?”

“I'm not a 'she'!” Atom muttered, still refusing to turn around.

“Oh my. I'm terribly sorry, sir.” Rarity leaned in.

Spike flashed me a look. Uncannily, I knew what he wanted me to do.

“Okay, everypony, that's enough! There's too many of you here, and I need to get some sleep!” I shouted, the suddenness of my voice made Rarity jump a little. “This isn't my house, and the Dash's might get really angry if they found out that I've had this little gathering here without their consent.”

“I'm sure Rainbow wouldn't mi-”

Spike cut her off, “That's a good point, Forest. She must already have a lot on her mind without having to worry about us trashing the place...”

“Fine. I'll be going, then,” Aiden shoved Atom off of him, still unable to contain himself. “See you later, 'Pinkie'.” He roared with laughter as he left the house.

In other scenario, the joke would have been hilarious. But this wasn't one of those scenarios, and things were going from bad to worse. My eyes and Applejack's met, and a wave of guilt washed over me. Her eyes were red, she had been crying her eyes out. And I was probably the reason... no, I am the reason. Those things I said. It was simple; I was jealous. Jealous of the very pony who now sat on the floor with his back facing her. Deep in my heart, I knew what had to be done. And I hated it.

“Applejack, can I talk to you in private for a moment?” I needed to get us away from Atom to clear my thoughts.

The orange mare just nodded. Rarity gave her a reassuring smile, and a nod. We went round the back and into the yard. She was beautiful, the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, which was why this was going to be incredibly hard for me. Every cell in my body wanted me to stay with her. She was perfect! She was kind, nice, gentle, strong, but I knew that it could never be. Not unless I win the bet. And at the rate things were going, that wasn't going to happen. I couldn't risk it, I couldn't let her be with me only to turn around and leave her. That was something I was not willing to do. I had already hurt her too much.

“I... I wanted to apologize for my rude behaviour last night. You didn't deserve that. That was completely uncalled for. Sorry, Applejack. I'm a bad pers- pony! I'm a bad pony for making you cry.” That was way too close.

Applejack shifted on her hooves for a moment, “Forest, I thought about what ya said, and yer right. I do have issues. It's just... I can act like such a filly. I know it was unfair to you, but it was hard for me to put my past behind me. But, if you don't mind, and if you wanna try, we can start over? I'd very much like to see where we could end up.” She was blushing, and my heart jumped for joy! In that one moment she had made me the happiest man – stallion – in the whole omniverse. But... but... I couldn't. What was the point in trying to establish a relationship with her only to have to leave her? But how can I end this without breaking her poor heart.

“I... can't.” I forced myself to say. It felt like someone reached into my chest and ripped out my heart. The look on her face killed me, but I continued, “But it's because I remembered something about my past. I remembered it while we were travelling back here.” That seemed to pacify her a little. I had to go with it. “I mean... you remember that name I said to you while I was delirious with that fever, right?”

“Yeah. Tutela.”

“Yes. She's... my... my...” What I was going to say next was going to hurt me more than it was going to hurt her, “She's my special somepony.” I felt my heart sink into my gut. “I vaguely remember her. I'm sorry, Applejack. I'm so, so sorry.”

“What're you apologizin' for? That's great!” She smiled at me, “You remembered somethin' about your past!”

“You're... not upset?” I felt disappointed.

“Well, I can't say that I'm not, but if she's your special somepony, then there's nothin' more that needs to be said. I'm just a little angry that you didn't remember sooner.” Applejack laughed leaned over and gave me a gentle peck on the cheek, “We can still be friends.”

“Thank you. I... thank you. I'd like that very much.” I fought hard to hold my tears back. It was hard. “You're incredible, you know that? And... I just wish that things were different.”

“So do I.” Applejack replied gently.

We shared the next few moments in silence. Our eyes were watering. I don't know about her, but I had to remain strong and had to maintain my resolve. But a part of me just wanted to tell her how I really felt, and that every moment since our first kiss all I wanted to do was be with her.

Stay strong, Forest. For her.

As if on cue, Rarity exited the house and walked over to us.

“We're leaving.” She said stiffly.

“What's wrong, Rarity?” Applejack asked.

“Nothing. We're just leaving. Forest, you have a good night.”

Emotions flooded through me. Did Rarity recognize Atom? Was she going to tell on him? How would Applejack take to the news? What was going on?

Rarity walked off in a huff, and Applejack gave me one more reassuring look letting me know that everything was going to be alright. It broke my heart, I didn't want her to go. Not like this. But, no! I had to remain strong. Keep those tears inside, Forest! One drop will ruin everything! I shouted in my head.

I watched them go, my eyes never leaving them as they rounded the corner and started the trek towards Sweet Apple Acres. Only once did Applejack stop to look back to me. We held one another's eyes, even at that distance I could see them as clearly as if she were right there next to me. The most beautiful eyes in the world. Then she turned away and was gone.

It felt as if I had been holding my breath as I dropped to my knees and let it all out. Every tear that I held back, every torturous moment that I had kept inside. Everything. I let it out. It hurt. It hurt so much! Physical pain I could take, but not this. This was too much.

After a while, I'm not sure how long, I walked back into the house. Spike was sitting on a chair, his face was pink, but it wasn't from blushing. He looked over to me as Atom handed something to Spike.

“You okay, Forest? We... heard you...” Spike looked at me.

I wiped my eyes, “Fine. Just... I don't want to talk about it.”

“Then, is it really over between you two? I mean, really, really, over?”

I gave a single nod.

“At least we've got something in common, right Forest?” Spike let out an empty laugh.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Rarity... Rarity started to recognize me, I think.” Atom looked over to Spike, “Spike... well he...”

“I kissed Rarity, okay? I won't lie and say that I didn't want to, but I did it to stop her from discovering Atom, and now she hates me. She hates me, Forest! All because of... him!” Spike whipped his attention towards Atom, his eyes full of rage. “This is your fault!”

“That's not fair, Spike. I didn't ask you to go and kiss her! And I'm sorry, okay? But you can't blame me for that! I didn't mean for any of this to happen. How was I supposed to know she'd recognize me with this... coat.” Atom pointed to his chest, “I mean, just look at me! Applejack called me Pinkie for Luna's sake!”

We all stared at him for a moment, then Spike shook his head and laughed, “That was pretty funny.”

I had to admit, it was funny.

“Spike, really, I'm sorry.” Atom sat down where he stood.

The Dragon shrugged, “Well, I guess I would've been the odd one out if I didn't have my heart actually broken by the pony I love.” He stood up with his arms stretched out into the air, “I'm now a fully qualified member of the Broken Hearts Society!”

I just shook my head, while letting out a sarcastic laugh, “Should I invite Applejack to join then?”

Both Spike and Atom stared at me.

“It's really over this time.” I walked out of the living room with the intention of going to bed, “I'm going to sleep. I need some rest.”

“Okay. 'Night, Forest. I'll see you in the morning.” Spike stood up understanding that I didn't really want to talk about it. I saw him run his cheek.

“She slap you?” I couldn't help but ask.

“'Slap' isn't the right word. She more like clobbered me.” Spike sighed, “Guess I can't say I didn't deserve it. I'll take Atom to the hotel.”

“See you later, Forest.” Atom stood up and looked at himself, “I'm so getting Aiden back for this.”

I watched them leave, Spike giving me a reassuring nod before closing the front door behind them.

“So,” I heard a voice from the corner of the room, “I'm your special somepony, eh?”

“Had to be done. I couldn't let her have feelings for me. I'm losing our bet, and I'm not going to hurt her any more. It's better this way.” Was I saying that to Tutela, or to convince myself I had done the right thing? I wasn't sure. “Are you happy?”

“No, Forest. I've got nothing to say on the matter, just that... it felt strangely nice to be called your special somepony.” Tutela grinned, “A part of me wishes that were true.”

“What?” The shock evident in my voice.

“I'm kidding! Jeez, can't you take a joke?” I saw her roll her eyes.

Now that I noticed, Tutela looked a lot different than the last time. Her coat was still a deep black, but the horn on her head wasn't as sharp or blade-like as before, and it kind of resembled Aiden's or Twilight's now. But the biggest difference were the eyes. This time Tutela actually had pupils. Was she changing so that I could talk to her without getting scared? Well, whatever she was doing was working because I didn't find her scary at all. Well, I feared her a lot less than usual. “You look different.”

“Do you like it? I've been practising changing my form. Check this out.” Tutela turned from the pony-like creature to that of a woman. With the exception of the color, she looked like a real human being. “Well?”

“That's... nice.” I was confused, “Why are you practising changing shape?”

“What else am I supposed to do with all this free time?” She countered, “Just sit around and do nothing?”

“Good point.”

“You better start really trying to find the answer, Forest. You haven't got much time left, you know.” Then she leaned forwards closer to the screen, “And if you want your secret to be safe, you'll have to somehow get rid of that bracelet.”

“What secret?”

“The secret you've been hiding all this time, Forest. The clock is ticking.” She began to laugh.

“So what if I change back! My friends will stand by my side!”

“Will they, Forest? Do you really think that they'd forgive you to lying to them all this time about everything? Your entire existence here is nothing but a lie.”

She was right. I walked over the bed and dumped myself onto it, “You're right, Tutela. You're perfectly right.”

“‘Night, Forest.”

I grunted in response.

I woke up with a start. No dreams this time. Or if I had any I couldn't remember them. Walking out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, I took a nice long hot shower. After drying myself off with a slightly pink-stained towel, I went back into the bedroom and slipped my saddlebag back on. It was a lot easier now, almost second nature. It was simple to do, actually. You plopped the center part around your butt, then let the straps dangle along your sides. Then you just reach down and slip the leather straps through the buckles with your hooves and tighten.

Reaching inside one, I took out my coin-purse and frowned. I was literally penniless (bitless?). Without any money on me, I had to scrounge around the kitchen to look for something to eat. Nothing. Not a single morsel of food. I suspected that Rainbow had eaten and drank whatever was left. Not that I blamed the Dash's, they had a lot of other things to worry about than feeding me. So, I explored the lower part of the house, gazing at the pictures of Brian and Rainbow on the walls. There were so many of them. Pictures of them on picnics, going to places – always with the lack of people, though. Brian had enough sense to keep Rainbow's existence a secret. I shuddered to think what would have happened to her if someone else had discovered her first. How her life would have differed.

“You're one lucky mare, Rainbow.” I muttered looking at a photo of her dressed in a baby outfit. She must have been a little older than three in that photo. It was absolutely adorable.

There was a knock on the door.

“Hi, Forest!” An excited voice shouted at me when I opened the door.

“Pinkie!” I replied, smiling at her, “How've you been? Long time no see.”

“Has it been long? I haven't noticed!” She bounced around me, “Twilight said to come and get you! We're leaving for Canterlot soon to go and see that really awesome Race! Well, I'm going to see it! You're going to be part of it, right, right, right? I'm so super excited! I can't keep still!”

“Well I think Lavender's going to run the race, Pinkie. So, I'll be watching it with you this time 'round.” I grinned at her, “Let's go.”

We walked side by side, Pinkie telling me everything in her hyperactive way. Apparently she had not heard that things were over between Applejack and myself, because she kept trying to bribe me by using her friend as the ultimate reason why I should go to so-and-so's party, or eat at some restaurant, or even visit her workplace for some 'apple-eatin' goodness' – her exact words.

“Pinkie... it's over between Applejack and me. We're going to be friends, nothing more. There's a lot more to me than you believe.”

The pink pony stared at me, “You no longer with Applejack?” She looked so sad.

“It's okay, Pinkie. We're still good friends! Applejack and I had a nice long talk last night, so please don't be upset.” I hated seeing her upset. The way her hair deflated was like my kryptonite. “So, don't feel upset.”

“Oh. Okay.” Pinkie looked at me and tilted her head, “So, you're free?”

“Free?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“As in 'free-to-find-somepony-else-that's-special' free, silly! Well, are ya? Huh? Huh?” Pinkie got down on her hooves like a cat ready to pounce on its prey.

“Well...” I began.

Pinkie stood up suddenly making me jump back out of reflex, “Because I know somepone who's really, really, really interest-” She cut herself off by putting her hooves in front of her mouth.

“What is it, Pinkie?” I asked, not really understanding what she had said.

Pinkie just shook her head.

“Something wrong?” I asked looking at her.

She made her eyes look away. She was hiding something, that much was certain.

“Pinkie?” I pressed, “You can tell me, you know.”

“No! I can't! I... I...”

She was looking so guilty, as if I had caught her with her hand in the cookie-jar... sorry, 'hoof' in the cookie-jar. It took me a second, “That was supposed to be a secret, right?”

She nodded.

“Then that's okay, Pinkie. I'll pretend that you didn't say anything, okay?”

“Oh, thank you, Forest. Twilight would've killed me if-” She put her hooves in front of her mouth again.

My mind did a double-take. Did she just say 'Twilight'? That can't be right. Not Twilight. That's... what?

“Did you say something, Pinkie? I didn't quite catch that,” I lied.

Twilight? I must have heard that wrong.

Pinkie shook her head, “I didn't say anything, Forest...” She was as bad a liar as Applejack!

I dropped it. Couldn't think on that. I'd just broken things off with one pony, I wasn't about to start things off with another. Besides, I still had very strong feelings for Applejack, and I doubted that would change any time soon. We walked together in relative silence, Pinkie humming a tune to herself as we arrived in front of the library. Lavender and Amethyst were already there talking to Spike and Twilight.

“Hi, Forest! Spike just told us that you're... fine? Is that right?” Lavender asked as she walked over to me and poked my side.

I nodded in response, “But I want to let you know that I'm not going to run...”

“What? Why? Forest, I hope you're not saying that because you think that I want to run it, are you?” Lavender was one sharp Pony, that was for sure.

“Well...”

“Good, because you have to run, Forest. You're the only one that can keep up with... him.” She pointed to a poster of a pony dressed in red with a yellow lightning bolt on it. The costume looked extremely familiar. “That's Flash Hoof. He's the fastest Earth Pony in Equestria... that is, until you beat him.”

“Wow... that's...” I didn't know what to say, “But I thought you wanted to run, Lavender.”

“I did! Until I heard he was running.” Lavender grunted in frustration, “And not only him, but the other fast ponies in Equestria will be there! These ponies are famous for their speed, Forest. I hate to admit this, but if I compete, I'd be left behind in the dust. Ponyville would lose!”

“Are they faster than me?” I asked.

“Maybe not on land,” Amethyst replied, “But you still have to swim quite a distance, and let's just say your swimming isn't the best. We're the smallest town that's competing in this race. Most of the other contestants come from really big cities.”

“Oh. Why is that?” I asked.

“Not many towns could afford the entrance fee. We were lucky because we worked hard to raise the funds to compete.” Amethyst replied, “Everypony in town chipped in.”

“Wow. How long ago was that?” I asked.

“Months ago. The idea was something that the Council had come up with to improve harmony between the various towns and cities in Equestria. Princess Celestia was against it at first, but I think she warmed up to it after Twilight convinced her that it'd be a lot of fun.”

“The Council?” I had no idea what Equestrian politics were like. I just assumed that the Princesses ruled the lands – but if that was the case, wouldn't they be queens instead?

Twilight had looked over to me and Amethyst at the mention of her name. She smiled at me when our eyes met before she turned her attention away and resumed talking to Derpy, who had just arrived with her daughter a moment before.

“I think that Princess Luna is the most eager to get this race started. She's always loved these kind of things.” Amethyst grinned.

“Really?” I asked, surprised. Every time I had met with the dark blue princess, it had been rather uncomfortable. Yet, these girls talked about her as if she were good friends with them all. Is it possible for a princess to be friends like that with her subjects? “Well, then if it's okay with you, Lavender, can I run the race.”

Lavender grinned then nodded. “Now all that's needed is for you is to try on the costume!”

Scootaloo arrived a few moments later.

“Hey, hey. Look who's here!” Pinkie shouted.

“How's Featherweight?” Lavender asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“H-he's fine. He's flying back to Canterlot now.” She replied blushing. “He'll meet us there.”

“Is everypony here?” Twilight asked interrupting the conversation.

We all looked around. Yes, indeed all the members of the Ponyville's Race Around Equestria Team were present.

“Okay,” Twilight turned towards the library, “Rarity, we're ready!”

On cue, three ponies walked out dressed in a full body suit. The head was colored purple, then there was a strip of yellow in a lightning bolt shape around the neck area that continued down the front part of the front hooves. After that, the a light blue color covered the front half of the torso area and the rear half of the front hooves, with a thin pink strip that made a diagonal slash before the entire rear half was in white. The shoes were an orange color, as well as the border around the eyes and the ears.

We all did a collective gasp.

“That's... a lot of colors...” I commented.

Rarity stepped out, “Well, we are the town that is representing the Elements of Harmony. So, it's only natural for all the colors to be used.” Rarity beamed, “But I do agree it does seem a little tacky. I've made unique after-race clothing for each of you, but I have to put the final touches in Canterlot tonight at my boutique there. Besides, from what I've heard of the other costumes, ours is by far the best.”

“That's because we have one of the best fashion designers in Equestria design them,” Twilight smiled at her friend. “We should get going.”

Our models took off their costumes. They were Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and a Pegasus pony I had never met before. Apparently her name was Cotton Cloudy. All three of them grinned at us as they posed and showed off the costumes.

“Forest, you'll have to forgive me, but I didn't have time to complete yours fully.” Rarity said handing me my costume. It was essentially the exact same thing as everyone else's except that my costume didn't have any part of it covering my head.

“That's okay, Rarity. I'll manage.”

She handed me a pair of goggles, “I do hate not completing things.”

We all walked together, me following the others as I wasn't sure where we were going. As we strolled through Ponyville, the citizens throughout the town cheered us on, some ran out of their homes, while others poked their heads out of their windows and doors.

“You guys better bring home the cup!” A black stallion shouted from his second story window.

A cyan earth pony ran up to us, “Make us proud, girls... and Forest!” She grinned at me remembering that I wasn't a female when she saw me give her wry smile.

The cakes were outside and they gave us each a glass of the most delicious juice.

“Take care of Pinkie for us, Forest.” Mr Cake said to me.

“She's coming?” I asked.

“Of course. The Elements of Harmony are all supposed to go... that's why I'm not taking part in the race, Forest. We're the guests of honor.” Twilight answered.

Sure enough, the rest of the Elements arrived. Fluttershy walked next to Applejack, who gave me a warm smile.

Great! I thought, Now I have to be near the pony I have the biggest crush on throughout this entire event! How am I going to survive?

Fluttershy had a beautiful saddle on her back, and on it was Tessie, my 'pet' rat!

“Um... I hope you don't mind... but Tessie really wanted to go...” Fluttershy said shyly.

I grinned, “That's perfectly fine with me!”

We then heard a voice call out and looked up. Rainbow Dash flew down and landed next to us, “Hey, everypony!”

We all returned the greeting.

“I'll meet you guys there tomorrow. I'll fly over in the morning.” We understood, she wanted to spend all the time she could with her father, and she would fulfil her obligations to both her title as an Element and as a daughter. “Besides,” She continued, “I'm only taking part in the after-show with the rest of the Wonderbolts.”

“Will you be making a Sonic Rainboom?” Scootaloo asked excitedly.

I turned my head to one side, “Sonic rain... boom?”

“How can you not know what a Sonic Rainboom is?” Scootaloo's opened wide in shock.

“Uh... amnesia, remember?”

I grinned when her expression did not change.

Rainbow floated over to me, “Oh! You're going to see something awesome!” She beamed at me.

Just then Aiden walked up and waved when saw us looking his way. Twilight turned away from him, and his wave died in mid-air, while his expression dropped.

“Wow, Twilight really has it in for that guy.” I muttered.

“That's 'cause Twilight's angry with him fer not tellin' her about his feelin's sooner.” Applebloom confided in me, “She's got somepony special in mind, but I'm not sure who it is. Yet.” She grinned, “But I'm gonna find out!”

“You're coming with us?” That was going to be fun. I liked Applebloom, she was always kind and warm towards me. Come to think of it, she was perhaps the very first pony to actually consider me a friend. Well, at least I liked to think she considered me a friend.

“Alright everypony, let's keep going,” Twilight said when we had our fill of snacks.

Aiden, Spike and I were walking at the rear of the group when we heard a noise.

“Pssst!” The three of us looked and saw Atom, still pink as ever standing behind a building.

We all snuck up to him.

“What's up?” Spike asked.

Atom looked at us shyly, “I want to come with... but there's a problem...”

“What's the problem? Nopony recognizes you, and I doubt Rarity is going to think about you after Spike's heroism yesterday...”

“What happened?” Aiden asked me, interupting my sentence.

“Ask Spike. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so you've got nothing to worry about.”

“Forest, Forest, Forest, you've been here how long?”

“Three weeks almost.” I replied.

“Three weeks, and you still don't know? Pinkie... well, let's just say that despite her aloofness and her... 'Pinkie-ness', nopony can slip by her unrecognized.” Atom smiled, “We're going to have to make her Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony who I am.”

“I doubt...” Aiden began.

“No, he's right,” Spike spoke up, “Pinkie can tell. Pinkie can always tell. She's Pinkie.”

She couldn't tell I was a human... I muttered in my head. “Okay, then let's make Pinkie Pie swear.”

As we walked out, Pinkie appeared in front of us. Atom ducked behind Spike automatically.

“What are you boys doing?” She asked tilting her head to one side.

We all looked at each other. “Pinkie, we need to tell you a really big secret, but you have to swear that you'll tell nopony. Promise?”

Pinkie did her standard promise routine. When she was done, Atom stepped out and smiled.

“Hi, Pinkie.”

Pinkie eyes opened wide, her mouth dropped, and for the first time since I've known her she was a lot loss for words.

“Atom?” She asked, “Is that really you?”

“Yes, Pinkie. It is. Please, please, please don't tell anypony else, okay?”

Pinkie sat down, “I made a promise... but... but...”

I could see conflicting thoughts flying through her head. Maybe it was not fair suddenly shoving this burden onto her like this. Did we go too far on the poor mare?

“Please, Pinkie.” Atom repeated.

“But... but...”

“Pinkie,” I stood next to her, “It's up to Atom to tell Applejack that he's back, okay? It wouldn't be fair on her if you told her.”

“But... but...” Pinkie looked at me. “Okay, Forest. But I don't like this.”

“I know, Pinkie. Neither do I. But it's not our secret to tell.” She frowned, “Aw, don't act all sad. Tell you what, I'll buy you whatever you want in Canterlot! It will be a present from me.”

She smiled weakly, “Okay.”

We all headed for the train station. The train chugged along, the Canterlot Express, the same one I had taken before arrived at the platform, but Twilight and the others did not board it. Confused, I mentioned it to Spike.

Spike grinned, “That's because we're not going to Canterlot by train, Forest.”

“Then how?”

“You'll see,” He giggled, “It's a surprise for everypony.”

Another train arrived, only this one going in the opposite direction arrived as soon as the Canterlot Express departed. This one only had one carriage and one engine. As we boarded, more and more ponies came along and waved to us. Some had signs, while others were just cheering as the train departed. It was a pretty overwhelming reception.

I was sitting in one of the compartments when Aiden came along and plopped his flank next to mine. Atom sat opposite us with Spike.

“I... I just don't understand why Twilight's so angry with me!” Aiden stated quietly. He looked at her through the corner of his eyes.

“Pinkie... did mention that she's mad at you for telling her your feelings so late in the day.” I replied, equally as quiet, “I think she's just angry that you didn't tell her sooner.”

“Well, that's partially your fault. When I saw you and Twilight enter my bakery, I got so jealous.” He sighed, “I hadn't seen Twilight smile like that in a long, long time. She really had a good night with you on your not-date.”

“What's a not-date?” Atom asked.

Spike put his arm over Atom's shoulders, “It's when a date isn't a date. They went out as friends.”

“Then it wasn't a date at all... wait... oh, I get it!” Atom smacked his head with his hoof.

We all laughed together.

“What's so funny!” Pinkie jumped out at us from above our heads. She had somehow managed to fit herself in the overhead baggage area and was peering down at us.

“We're just laughing at your pink-twin over there,” Aiden grinned maliciously at Atom.

Atom made a face, but laughed as well. What was done was done. It was a mean practical joke, but in the end it really did serve its purpose – the disguise worked!

“So... what do we call 'him'?” Pinkie asked quietly, “Since we can't call him you-know-what because you-know-who might overhear.”

“Fandango.” Aiden grinned at us. When it was obvious that none of us knew what that was he sighed. “It was the name of the color of the dye.”

“I'll go with it. Better than anything he's done to me so far,” Atom grumbled.

We all cracked up.

“You boys seem to be havin' a good time,” Applejack said plopping herself in the seat across the aisle from us, “What's gotcha all smilin'?”

“Spike told us a really terrible joke.” Aiden replied, he was sitting closest to her, “Right, Spike?”

“Oh, it wasn't that funny.” Spike grinned nervously.

I looked up at Pinkie, “Are you going to sit up there all through? How'd you get up there in the first place?”

“Du-uh! I climbed up. How else?” She grinned at me as if that explained it all.

“Tryin' to understand Pinkie's gonna get yer brain melted.” Applejack laughed, “She's probably the hardest pony to understand out of all of us.”

All through this, Atom – or Fandango – was staring out the window. His pink hue failed to disguise his pink blush.

“What's with yer friend?” Applejack asked motioning to Atom.

We all jumped in on that at the same time, each one of us coming with a reason. Whatever Pinkie's was, it made Aiden roar in laughter.

“He's just shy, Applejack. He's not good with meeting new ponies.” Spike said when it was clear that no one else had a good reason. Brilliant!

We felt the train slowing down at that moment, and Twilight stood up. “This is our stop.” She flashed another angry look at Aiden before heading out of the carriage.

“Aiden, why'd you have ta kiss her?” Applejack asked quietly while standing up and looking at him.

That explained so much! No wonder he would always duck away from the subject.

“You kissed Twilight!” Spike practically yelled, “And you ask why she's so mad at you!”

Aiden blushed and frowned, “Look, it was stupid of me, okay? I know it was. But I... no, no excuses, it was a pretty dastardly thing. I sort of... just did it.”

“It most certainly was. Girls don't like being kissed like that. It needs to be... special.” Applejack looked over to me at that moment making my face explode.

It was heaven having her look at me like that, and I felt so warm and cared for, but then I felt daggers hitting the side of my head and my eyes found their way over to Atom who was staring at me with venom. I just grinned nervously in response.

When I got off the train, we weren't at a station at all. In fact, there wasn't anything around, except for a large expanse of green. I looked at the others, but they were as confused as I was. Finally, Twilight walked ahead of us and turned around.

“Welcome, friends. Today the Princess Celestia and Luna have decided that the Elements of Harmony are to arrive in the new flagship Intrepid Explorer! The first ship designed to explore the far reaches or our world, beyond the Known Lands! And we get to ride on it on its maiden voyage!”

The girls all screamed in delight, and Aiden eyes opened wide, stunned. Atom just stood there flabbergasted and Spike grinned from ear to ear. I, on the other hand, had no idea how to react.

“So, fillies and gentlecolts, allow me to introduce our ride, the magnificent airship, the Intrepid!”

And there it was, sailing down from the clouds, a ship attached to a hot-air balloon. A blimp! But unlike the blimps I had seen in magazines from Earth, this one was brightly colored, with all sorts of patterns. The ship itself looked amazing, like an old ship, with the sails coming out of the sides of the main hull instead of on top of it, as in traditional boats. Probably a smart thing, considering the masts would probably punch a hole through the balloon.

My mouth dropped to the ground in amazement. That was the most wonderful thing I had seen... that wasn't a beautiful mare, that is. My eyes drifted again to Applejack, the way she stood there gazing up at the ship, the way the light shined off of her... I was in love with her. I knew it. Deep down, I tried to deny the feelings, avoiding the 'L' word like the plague, but the harder I tried to push the feelings aside, I knew them to be true. If it wasn't love, then I don't know what love is.

She caught me gazing at her, and I quickly averted my attention; my face felt hot while I did so.

Before the airship touched the ground, four leg-like structures descended from specially made grooves in the ship's sides. It landed on them perfectly and gently in front of us.

“Amazing, isn't she?” Spiked asked.

“She is...” I replied, and grinned, “Oh, you mean the ship?”

We both laughed at that joke. It wasn't a big boisterous laugh, but a light-hearted one.

“I don't understand you, Forest. If you still like Applejack, then why break it off?”

I looked down, “I can't tell you. I have reasons, okay?” Like the fact that a Changeling literally has me by the balls and if I lose this bet, I'm as good as dead – as far as I was concerned. Life imprisoned with her is as good as a death sentence.

I could tell he wanted to know more, but he dropped it. I liked that about Spike, he understood me.

We all walked together towards the ship, except Pinkie, who was hopping along side us.

“Welcome to the Intrepid, I'm the captain Far Sight, and I wish to welcome the Elements of Harmony on board this humble vessel.” He bowed low to us.

I knew he was bowing to Twilight and the rest, but it still felt nice to be bowed to.

“Thank you, Captain, but only five of the Elements will be travelling with you today,” Twilight replied, “The Element of Loyalty has other business to attend to for now.”

“Ah, yes. We have heard that Rainbow Dash will not be travelling with us, and although we are saddened by her lack of attendance, we understand. Family is more important.” He looked at her, “The Princess has told us about her father being in hospital.”

Twilight nodded, “Okay, everypony. Let's get on board!”

Applebloom rushed forwards with Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie, much to the amusement of the crew. Rarity and Fluttershy boarded next, along with Spike. Twilight and Applejack followed before the rest of us. When I got closer, I couldn't help but stop in my tracks and marvel at the ship's beauty – and size. It was overwhelmingly huge! How did they manage to get it to fly?

The word 'magic' came to mind.

“You coming?” Aiden asked at the entrance.

“Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world!” I jogged into the ship.

The first thing that I saw was a large empty hold. It was a complete contrast to the beauty of the exterior. There was nothing here but empty space, perhaps to store souvenirs for the upcoming voyage. Aiden waited up for me along with Atom, while the captain and the others had already gone on ahead. I could see them walking up a ramp that ascended into a higher level.

As we came off the ramp, we pushed past a double-door with the words 'Lower Cargo Hold' written in black letters on a golden plaque. The second level was the crew quarters, we could tell by all the doors that lined the halls. We walked to the front of the ship where another set of double-doors opened out into a small lounge area with four doors, each had a symbol on it which I didn't recognize.

“These are your quarters for tonight,” The captain stated, “I apologize that you'll have to share these four rooms. We didn't expect so many visitors. They should be ample in size, they're suites reserved for... well, anypony that has a right to travel on this ship. They were originally for the Princesses, but then again, I doubt that they'd have enough time to embark on a voyage like this. Perhaps a slight oversight by the builders.”

Curious, we all filed into one of the rooms. Along the hull at the front of the ship, the 'bow' in nautical terms, the rooms had windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Right now we got a complete panoramic view of the plains where the ship was 'docked'.

“This is awesome!” Applebloom squealed leaning against the glass.

“Careful, Applebloom, we don't know how strong that glass is.” Applejack stated nervously.

“It isn't glass, ma'am,” The captain explained, “It's layers of quartz crystals that's built into the ships hull. This is the strongest part of the ship. We could ram into a mountain-side, and these rooms would be perfectly intact.”

“Doesn't that make the ship too heavy to fly?” Twilight asked, also leaning against the window.

“We've managed to balance the weight out...” The captain continued to explain the mechanics of the ship's design while I looked around the room we were in.

Pinkie hopped next to me, “Which room you stayin' in, Forest?”

She made me jump. “You're going to give me a heart-attack if you keep doing that.” I sighed, “I suppose whichever room is free.”

“Ooh. Can I stay with you?”

The question brought a stunned silence from everypony in the room.

“Uh... I...” I didn't know what to say. Granted, Pinkie has stayed over with me before, but...

“Pinkie, you can't be so brash, young lady!” Rarity stated, scandalized. “A mare much show some class, my dear.”

“She doesn't mean like that, Rarity.” I defended, blushing at her implication, “She means something like a... a...”

“Slumber-party?”

“Thank you, Twilight. Yes, like a slumber-party. Right, Pinkie?” Just because I said it, didn't make it any less embarrassing.

“Uh-huh! That's exactly what I meant!” Pinkie grinned, then looked at Rarity with a confused expression, “Why? What did you think I meant, Rarity?”

Rarity blushed, “Nothing! I didn't say anything!”

“Well, we should be going. If you need anything, there will be a crew member stationed just outside your rooms. Just inform him and it will be done to the best of our abilities.” The captain turned to go.

“How long will the journey take?” Twilight questioned.

The captain thought about it for a moment, “If the winds with us, it should be around four or five hours. If not, perhaps seven. No matter what, though, we'll be in Canterlot tonight. You have my word.”

“I'm going to take a look around.” I stated, and headed out the door after the captain. I really wanted to see the upper decks.

Aiden followed along with Spike and Atom.

“Don't you get the feelin' the boys are hidin' something from us?” Applejack said loudly just before the door closed.

Every single one of us blushed as we turned back to face her just as the door closed.

Oh no! We've just confirmed that we are hiding something from her! I yelled in my head.

“Guys, what are we going to do?” Atom asked whispering, “She suspects something!”

“Just act like Forest!” Aiden whispered back, “Completely clueless.”

The three of them laughed together, while I made a face at them.

“Very funny. I'm not clueless!” I muttered.

That only brought more laughter from the three of them.

“Aw, forget you guys! I'm going upstairs.” I harrumphed and stalked off, the three of them laughing even louder than before.

The ramps to the main-deck were numerous, so we ascended the one just outside the second room on the starboard side of the ship. On deck, we were greeted by a gentle breeze and a bunch of crew members running to and fro along the sides of the ships where the sails were tied down. They moved like clockwork, each one specifically doing a certain job. They were preparing the sails for 'lift-off', but it was quite exciting.

The captain had reached the quarterdeck, standing proudly at his command. He did not say a word as the sailors finished up, and stood at attention. Then he turned to his first-mate and gave a single nod.

“Unicorns at the ready!” He shouted.

Ten unicorns took a step forward, five on each side of the ship.

“Let loose!” The first-mate called.

The unmistakable aura of glowing magic suddenly appeared and it floated up into the large balloon above us. As it did, we could all feel the ship starting to shift under our feet. Within moments, the ship was slowly rising up in the air. Then, the captain gave another nod, and the first-mate shouted the order to stop. We were rising quickly, and I couldn't resist the urge to run to the forecastle.

Standing at the very front of the ship, I watched as we started upwards towards the clouds.

I couldn't resist, I stood on the railing over and shouted: “I'm the king of the world!”

The wind blew my mane back, the feeling of the breeze, the excitement, the life that I felt... it all made me so glad that I came here, to this world. In less than three weeks I had come to love this land, and those that dwell within it. Every memory, both the good and the painful, was precious to me.

“Won't be long now.” I whispered to the wind, “Might as well enjoy the time I have left.”

“Something the matter, Forest?” Spike asked, walking and leaning on the railing next to me watching the ground get further and further away.

Stepping down from the ledge before I got vertigo, I shook my head at him, “Nah, just talking to myself.”

The girls arrived on the deck, and Applebloom ran over to us, grinning from ear to ear in her super-cute way. We all stood there and relished the feeling. I don't know what thoughts went through them all, but I felt refreshed. It was as if everything was suddenly clear.

“Wait!” A sudden shout snapped us out of reverie, “Where's Derpy?” It was Lavender.

“Oh no! How could we forget her?” Amethyst replied.

“You guys wait here, I'll go get her...” Scootaloo was about to fly away, when she was enveloped in purple magic that held her down.

“No, I'll send a note via Spike to her. No use tiring out both of our flyers. She'll just have to come directly to Canterlot on a later train.” Twilight then walked over to Spike who fished out a quill and paper from a bag that he was carrying on his back.

When the letter was done, Spike blew on it and it vanished in a puff of purple-green smoke.

So that's the breath that sends things. I wonder how Princess Celestia reacted when garbage started appearing. I grinned to myself.

“Do you guys want to see the crow's nest?” The captain walked over to us, he had a pipe in his mouth.

I suddenly had the urge to smoke, not because I liked it, but because it was a pipe on a ship! How cool is that? It took me a moment to register what he had just asked.

“Yes please!” I shouted. I've always wanted to be in one, and now that we were on a ship flying through the air, I would be insane not to take advantage of such an offer.

“Sure. Blue Breeze!” He shouted for a crew member, a blue Pegasus pony with a yellow or blonde mane. His red eyes looked intimidating. “This here is Blue Breeze, one of our finest flyers. He'll show you the way.”

“Um... hello, I'm Forest.” I said offering a hoof.

He shook it and smiled, “Blue Breeze, as the cap'n said. Welcome aboard the Intrepid Explorer. Pleasure having you. I've got fifty bits on you and your team, so I'm going to make extra sure that the winds are behind us and we have a safe and uneventful flight. Also, I'm an ex-native of Ponyville myself.”

“You use to live in Ponyville?” Spike asked, “I've never seen you before.”

“Blue Breezy!” Pinkie bounded over to us, landing on me, making me lie flat on the ground, “Ohmigod you're exactly the same! How've you been?”

“Pinkie knows you? That confirms it!” Spike shook his head and laughed.

“BB used to work with Rainbow,” Pinkie answered us, “But he had to leave. I think I threw a farewell party, right?”

Blue Breeze laughed, “Oh yes, you did. But it was short, because it also was Cranky's farewell – he tried to escape without Pinkie knowing.”

That seemed to jog everyone's memory.

“Oh yeah! I remember that party!” Spike laughed, “That was a long time ago.”

“Indeed it was. Anyway, after I left, I took odd-jobs here and there, studying weather, until my skills were scouted and I was asked to join this crew. So now I'm not only part of this amazing crew, but I'm also the foremost expert in strange wind-related weather! You never know what the weather will be like out there, beyond the Known Lands, and I'm the best pony for the job!”

He stared off in the distance, he seemed to relish the thought of going forth towards the unknown. The look in his eyes, the freedom he must have felt. I liked the thought of it, and a part of me wanted to go too. To go beyond what is known, to explore strange new lands, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where nopony has gone before!

Ah, the thrill of adventure.

“How long are you guys going for?” I asked.

“Who knows? A year, maybe two.” Blue replied.

“That's a long time,” Applejack stated walking next to me. Her proximity to me made my face explode. What the hell was wrong with me? “Won't your special somepony miss you?”

Blue laughed nervously, “I... don't got a special pony.” He blushed.

“Well, who needs somepony special when you've got this beautiful girl to take care of,” Aiden patted the ship's deck with his hoof, “At least she won't break your heart.”

I flinched at that remark, and we all looked at Twilight, but she just looked away.

“Now hold on just one dog gone minute...” Applejack started.

“It's okay, Applejack. He's right. I may have... overreacted a little.”

“No, Twilight. You didn't. You reacted exactly how you should have. It's my fault for not telling you my feelings sooner, and it's my fault for... forcing that kiss onto you. That was completely wrong of me. I was just... angry. Can we be friends?” Aiden walked over to her and offered her a hoof, “Like old times?”

“I'll try, Aiden,” Twilight replied touching Aiden's hoof, “But I can't make any promises.”

Aiden nodded, “That's better than 'no'.”

Blue coughed politely, “So, Forest, ready to go up?”

“Am I!”

He led me to what I can only describe as a bucket. He flew outside the bucket as I hoisted myself up. The bucket swung out over the immense drop over the side of the ship, and I had to admit, I got pretty freaked out. It was a long, long, long way down. Already clouds were floating by underneath us. But I was determined to see the crows nest, and so I continued pulling myself up.

The little nest sat elegantly on top of the the center of the balloon, and as I arrived, I couldn't help but stare in wonder at the world above Equestria. The clouds were something else, beautiful and amazing. They looked like balls of cotton.

Blue floated over to a cloud, and pushed it along side and sat on it, “So, how's the view?”

“Are... are you riding a cloud?” I asked incredulously.

“Uh... yeah. Pegasi can sit and rest on clouds.” He looked at me strangely, “That's common knowledge, buddy.”

“Yeah. Of course it is. So, I can't...”

“No! Of course not! You'd fall through.” Blue looked at me shocked. “Please don't try...”

“I won't! Falling to certain death isn't my idea of a good time.”

Blue kept talking about himself. I was only half listening, taking in the breathtaking views that spread out in front of me. In the distance I could see Canterlot slowly getting closer to us. The palace still stunned me. How was it still standing on the edge of the cliff like that?

“Are you ready to go down? It's starting to get dark and cold.” Blue said after a while.

“Oh? Not that you mention it...” I looked around, the sun was beginning to set, “How long have we been up here?”

“A while.”

Getting back into the bucket, I started to lower myself, while Blue kept a constant vigil on me.

About halfway down I heard a shout by the captain below. It didn't sound good.

“Watch out! Squall! Squall! Lower the sails, you land-lubbers! This isn't a drill!”

Blue’s eyes opened wide, “Forest! You've got to hurry and lower yourself down now!” He practically shouted.

“Dear Celestia!” The captain shouted staring up at us, “Get that pony down here this instant, crewman! That's an order!”

“Come on, Forest! Come on!” Blue insisted.

“I'm...” I grunted as I lowered the rope as fast as I could, but the latch thing that prevented it from descending fast didn't work! “Trying!”

“All hands, brace for impact! Blue, secure yourself!” The captain yelled.

Blue flew into the bucket with me and held the rope, “Hold on!”

The ship shifted to the right, the balloon getting pushed almost all the way over so that it almost touched the sails on the port side. The sudden drop in altitude forced us in the bucket to suddenly get flung over and out of the boat, much like a sling. The rope couldn’t hold. It was then that I heard a horrible noise. The noise a rope makes when it snaps. The next thing I noticed was that I was weightless!

“Forest!” I heard someone shout.

“What are you doing?” That was Spike, “Atom! Stop!”

A pink Pegasus dove over the edge of the ship and right down at me, but without full use of his wings to propel him down after me, he would never catch up.

Blue was tangled in the bucket, the rope had somehow twisted itself over him. He struggled to get himself free. If I could save him, he could help me! I pulled on the rope, and he moved in the opposite direction. He tried biting on it.

That what when I remembered the dagger! Reaching into the pocket, I pulled out Spike's knife, and proceeded to cut the rope. Blue did not move as I cut through each one. The last of them cut free, the Pegasus opened his wings, but at the speed we fell, he zipped up and away from me.

No! No, no, no! I screamed in my head, looking up as the two Pegasi started to give chase. They're never going to catch me...

The ground below was quickly rising up towards me. If only Rainbow Dash were there! If only...

My life flashed before my eyes. Everything that I had ever done zipped by in quick succession. Earth, my childhood, my mother, my father, the stabbing incident, Tutela, my first meeting with the ponies, Zecora, the Timberwolf, the Ursas, the Princesses, the clock tower landing on me, Brian, the Everfree Forest... everything! Even Tutela couldn't save me. With this bracelet on...

“Oof!” I shouted as I hit something. Was I dead? Did I hit the ground? Wait, that was too quick...

Standing up, I looked down. Suffice to say, I was shocked, happy, and relieved that I was still alive.

Atom spread his wings and did a long loop around, while Blue expertly landed in front of me.

“Forest, are you okay? I'm sorry about before... it was out of reflex.” He rushed over to me, “How are you standing here?”

Before I could answer, Atom landed on the cloud as well, “Forest, thank Celestia you're alright. I thought you were a goner. How are you able to stand on a cloud?”

“Excuse me while I kiss this cloud first.” I landed a large sloppy kiss on my life-saver.

“Well, then I'm kind of glad that I didn't save you...” Atom joked.

I was still shaking, but I managed to give a little giggle at that. My heart was still beating at a million beats a minute.

“What happened?” I asked.

“A squall. They're not common... it was just bad timing, Forest. If you had been in the nest, you would have been safe.” Blue replied, “I'm sorry.”

“Buy me a drink.” I shouted and sat myself down on my rump.

“I'll buy you a whole crate, if that's what you want.” The blue Pegasus looked at me guiltily, “I can't believe I left you like that... not after you saved me.”

I replaced the dagger, I had been holding onto all the while. How? I had no idea. Perhaps I somehow felt that it would help me for some reason.

Atom pushed his wings back, “Okay, now for the ultimate question; how are you standing here?”

“That's a good question. I don't know.”

“Perhaps one of the Unicorns cast a cloud-walking spell on you? I know that it's possible...” Blue offered.

Atom looked at the crewman, “No. Forest is allergic to magic. Which makes this scenario extremely confusing.”

“We can continue this on the ship. Hang on. I'm going to push this cloud over.” Blue spread his wings and got behind the cloud and began to push it upwards and forwards.

Scootaloo flew over and landed in front of me, “Forest? How...”

“No idea.” I replied before she could finish the question.

“Sorry, I was in the toilet when the squall hit. I didn't know anything until just now.” Scootaloo looked at me for a moment, “Are you okay?”

“A little shaken, but glad that I didn't hit the ground. Clouds are a lot softer...” I laughed weakly at that, but I was too happy to care. Surviving a fall like that and walking away without a scratch deserved a laugh.

It didn't take us long to reach the ship, and when I landed on the deck, I proceeded to smooch its lovely wooden surface. Never before had I loved ships more than this moment.

“You've got a lot of explainin' to do!” Applejack said angrily walking over to me.

“I don't know how I managed to land on the cloud...”

“No, not that! Him! Why is he here?” Applejack pointed behind me.

Atom looked away.

“Oh. Right. That.” I scratched my head, “Um...”

“It isn't his fault, Applejack,” Aiden stepped between the two of us, “We met him by accident during our trip to Esperia.”

“You... you met him in Esperia!” Twilight shouted, “You... lied to me!”

“No, we didn't!” Spike stood in front of me, “We just... didn't mention it.”

“So this was the big secret you've all been hidin' on us!” Applejack was livid!

“Please, Applejack, Forest just...”

I got up and placed a hoof on Aiden's shoulder, “It's enough, Aiden.”

“But...”

“I'll take it from here.” I stood in front of him, and face Applejack. “I knew who he was, yes. We did indeed meet him in Esperia, and he tagged along on our return.”

“Well, why didn'cha say anythin', Forest? I thought I could trust you.” Applejack looked at me as if I had struck her.

“What would I say? ‘Oh, by the way, I ran into your ex-fiancé, you know the one. The one that you still have feelings for. The one who you broke it off with for the exact same reason you broke it off with me.’ What could I say, Applejack? Tell me! Please, because it kills me to see you like this. I just want you to be happy. I'm not the smartest pony around, but I know what I saw. You can't lie to me and tell me that this pony means nothing to you. And, it wasn't my secret to tell. I'm sorry for hiding it from you, but I had no choice! I'm... just...”

I felt light-headed.

“I thought after that incident in the hospital, you'd understand me better. Guess I was wrong.” Applejack didn't looked at me when she said those words.

I shook my head, trying to get the blood back there.

“Forest, are you okay?” Aiden asked.

“Fine... fine...” I started swaying. “Actually...”

I felt something hit my face. It was the desk of the ship.

“Somepony get him to the infirmary!” I heard the captain shout.

My eyes slowly closed, and I looked up to see Applejack staring down at me. Was it hatred I saw in those eyes? No. Not from Applejack. Disappointment. That was it. She was disappointed with me. Couldn't blame her. Couldn't blame her one bit.

I awoke with a jolt.

“Ah, welcome back. You've been out for some time.” A voice said.

“Spike? Where... where are we?”

“Canterlot docks. Everypony's gone out. I decided to stay.” Spike looked at me, “You use my dagger, didn't you?”

“Yes. How did...”

“The blade is magic, Forest. You're allergic to magic. That was probably why. Or perhaps your fall just knocked you out. It was a pretty long one...”

“Applejack?” I asked.

“I'm not going to lie to you, Forest. She and Atom went out together. I think for a nice long talk. After you passed out, they did some reconciliation, got to talking... I don't know. Personally, I was more concerned about you.” He patted my back, “You always seem to get yourself into these messes.”

“Seems that way.” I replied, and sighed.

“Oh, hey, Forest! You're awake!” Applebloom rushed in, “Thanks for bringin' Atom back! I know my sister's gonna be just fine now.”

The words were like a sledgehammer to the stomach.

“N-no problem! Anything for my favorite filly.”

“I ain't a filly no more, Forest, I'm a mare!”

I grinned, “Well, then, anything for you, my favorite mare.”

Applebloom just giggled at that. “Are you comin'? We're all meetin' in town for dinner.”

“Thanks, but I think I'm going to sit this one out. I'm still a little dizzy from the fall, and it's late... I think I'll just rest up. Tomorrow's an early day.”

“I know! Scootaloo's already sleepin'. Sweetie and me are just so bored. We know nothin' about Canterlot, and everypony's busy.” Applebloom pouted. “They all still treat us like fillies.”

“Why not ask Blue to show you around? I'm sure that he's got shore-leave.” I offered.

Applebloom's face lit up, “Thank you, Forest! Now why didn't I think of that!” She jumped up and darted out of the room.

“Why don't you go ahead too, Spike?” I asked.

“No. I don't want to run into Rarity and her...” He couldn't say it, or rather, he didn't want to say it.

“Suit yourself. I'm going to sleep.” I turned away from him pulling the blanket over me.

There was a long moment of silence.

“It's okay to cry, Forest,” Spike said quietly, “I know how it feels.”

“It sucks, doesn't it?” I replied, feeling the tears fall from my eyes and onto the pillow. The thought that Atom and Applejack were together killed me. It really, really killed me.

“Yes. It does,” Spike sighed.

“Well, there's one good thing, though.”

I could tell that Spike had no idea what I was going to say. “What's that?”

“The Broken Hearts Society has one less member.”

We both laughed. But my tears didn't stop, and the humor died in my throat.

“Good night, Forest.”

“Good night, Spike.”

Day 20: A Day at the Races - Part 1: The Pony Parade

“Time to get up, Forest.”

My eyes opened, and I tried to get up, but something was literally holding me down.

“Pinkie...” I said quietly, “Can you let me go?”

I heard the voice from before laugh, “It’s funny how you automatically know it’s her.”

“Who else would sneak into my bed in the middle of the night without waking me up and manage to hold me down like this?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, that's right. I'd forgotten about that.” The voice sighed, “Come on, Pinkie, it’s time to wake up.”

I felt a slight jostle as Spike shook Pinkie in an attempt to wake her. When she didn’t stir, the Dragon walked over to the other side of the bed so I could see him.

“She’s totally unconscious.” He laughed, “You know, I was pretty surprised to see her come in last night. I was sleeping on the couch over there when I heard the door open. Then she just... jumped into bed and hugged you from behind. What I found really strange was how you just slept through the entire thing. ”

“I must’ve been really out of it not to notice.” I could feel my face get a little hot. But Pinkie was being Pinkie. Just because she slept with you didn't mean she slept with you.

“Yeah... anyway, I got a message from Twilight. She said that I should wake you. She's headed over here now to take you to the palace gardens. It won’t be long till they start the Race and all the team members are supposed to assemble for the parade...”

“Parade?” I shouted.

Spike had jumped at my sudden outburst, but I was shocked. He walked over and shook Pinkie’s hoof. “Yep. To show off the racers, I guess. You didn't know?”

“Just five more minutes...” She mumbled as she released me and turned away.

Taking advantage of the moment, I rolled out of bed and away. She didn’t even flinch. I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh, “She’s utterly ridiculous.”

“That’s Pinkie for you. Shall we go?” Spike gestured with his hand towards the door.

“Let’s.” Turning to the sleeping mare, I shouted really loudly: “See you later, Pinkie!”

She just raised her hoof and waved it lazily in the air, the sleepy version of 'okee dokee lokee'.

Spike and I exited the room and headed up to the upper-deck. The sun made me squint for a moment before they adjusted to the light. Aiden was leaning against the railings, gazing over the edge looking at the valley below us. I could clearly see the long, long drop far below even from my vantage point, safely away from any semblance of an edge. After all, I did take a nosedive in a bucket the other day.

The Canterlot docks were located along the sheer cliffs on the far side of the palace, opposite where the train station was. The towers overlooking the valley were located to the right this time instead of the other way round. Scanning the area, I noted that there were plenty of other airships docked here, but the Intrepid Explorer was the only one at this dock. There were guards all over the place here. There were even Pegasi Royal Guards floating around the ship.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Aiden said when I got close enough to him. He didn’t even turn around, “Did you sleep well?”

“Can’t complain.” I replied, “Yourself?”

“Didn’t sleep. Couldn’t. A lot’s been on my mind.” He looked over to me, “Let’s just say that I’ve finally come to realize a few things that I just don’t like. It’s nopony’s fault but mine.”

“I know the feeling.” I mumbled in response.

“Hardly.”

Did the temperature just get colder, or was is it his expression or demeanor towards me?

Whatever.

“Howdy, boys,” A southern twang came from behind us. We all turned around, “What’cha all doin’?”

“Nothin’,” I replied mimicking her accent, “Just relaxin’, gettin’ ready for the race - er, parade, apparently.”

Applejack laughed, “Well, that’s good. Did'ja sleep well?”

My heart still yearned to be with her. “Yep. Did you?”

“Slept fine.” She smiled brightly at me. My heart leaped out of its chest. Why did I fall for her as hard as I did? This was absolute torture! “So, I heard Pinkie slept in your room again.” She laughed at that.

“Yeah... she snuck in. Surprised I didn’t notice.” I shrugged and sighed, kind of wishing that it was Applejack who had sneaked into my bed instead, but I knew that would never be the case. It couldn't be the case, but no matter how many times I told myself that, my heart still ached. “How’d things go with Atom?”

Applejack blushed, “Well, we’re takin’ it slow. It’s been so long, and I need time to process a lot of things. It was good catchin’ up an' all. We did part on some pretty bad terms, so it was nice to put it all behind us. You were right, Forest, I still had feelin’s for him, and it took a mighty kind friend to see that I needed closure.”

Steady, Forest, steady. Just suck it up. You’ve gone this far now, don’t choke.

“That’s great!” I forced myself to smile, I hoped it looked convincing, “I’m glad for the two of you.”

“But I’m still mighty angry at you for keepin’ it a secret from me,” She walked over to me and stared deep into my eyes making my face blush ferociously. I leaned back away from her scrutinizing gaze. Did Applejack like seeing my face light up like this? “Any more secrets in that noggin’ of yers? You still hidin’ somethin’ from me?”

“Everypony has a secret, Applejack,” Aiden replied on my behalf, still staring over the valley, “Even you. Even Forest,” Then he said in a very quiet whisper, “Especially Twilight.”

My heart panicked at that. What the hell? Did Aiden know something about me? Did he discover something about my origins?

Before I could ask him what he meant, something distracted my attention. We heard the sound of hooves stomping the deck as Twilight arrived on deck. The Royal Guards had all stood at attention when they saw the Element of Magic, much to annoyance of the captain who obviously didn’t like the way the guards did that.

Twilight just sighed as she walked past them. I remembered how annoyed she got when people referred to her as royalty the last time we were in Canterlot. Even though she tried many times to get them to stop, the guards still saluted her whenever they saw her. After all, she was an Element of Harmony. In a way I guess it was frustrating, always garnering attention even when you didn’t want it.

That night we spent in the city together was certainly a lot of fun, though. Come to think of it, I was walking around and dancing even after that injury Princess Celestia gave to me. I know that the reason why I completely healed up quickly that time was because Tutela had teleported me back to her ‘world’ and let time flow in Equestria slow enough for my body to catch up and repair itself. But, how did I recover from the broken ribs this fast? I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this was starting to really bother me. Maybe Granny's hooch had special healing properties? Nah.

Twilight spotted us and trotted on over, “Good morning, everypony. Glad you’re awake, Forest...”

“I bet you are...” Aiden grumbled.

Twilight furrowed her brow at him. She wasn’t the only one, Applejack and I did as well.

“Anyway...” She continued, awkwardly trying to talk over our stunned silence, “The girls are ready and I’ve come to get you.”

“I bet you have...” Aiden grumbled again.

“Uh... Aiden... we can hear you, you know...” My voice seemed to snap him out of his reverie.

“What?” He snapped his head to look at me, then he looked at Applejack next to me, then at Twilight, “Y-y-you can? Um...” He quickly looked away again.

“Well, the wind is blowing from that direction, and you aren’t using the quietest of voices...” I pointed out. Ponies had great hearing! Which, in this case, wasn’t a good thing for Aiden.

Aiden’s face just turned from a pinkish tone to a dark red hue as he tried his best not to turn around and face us. He was clearly embarrassed. We weren’t supposed to hear his comments. Or at least Twilight wasn’t supposed to hear them. He let out a nervous chuckle.

Twilight let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head sadly, “Let’s go, Forest. Applejack, where’s Pinkie?”

“Pinkie’s still sleepin’ in Forest’s room, I suppose.” She shrugged.

I nodded, “That she is. Unconscious as ever.”

“Alrighty, I’ll go get her then. I'll see you at the palace, okay Twilight?” And with that Applejack trotted off towards one of the many ramps that led down into the crew quarters.

“See you there,” Twilight called after her friend. She look at me and smiled, “Let's go.”

As we walked in front of the soldiers, they all did their ‘attention stomps’ again. Despite expecting it, the noise still made me jump in surprise. They all looked exactly the same, in their gold armor and white coats. Did they have to dye their coats and manes? As I stepped closed to the edge of the gangplank, I looked down the tiny crack straight down into the valley far below. Something in me panicked and I took a step back.

Twilight hadn't noticed. She only stopped when she reached the end of the gangplank and turned around. “Something wrong, Forest?” She called back to me.

“I seem to have suddenly become allergic to sheer drops,” I shouted back, “Just give me a second.”

The feeling of the free-fall from yesterday still haunted me. At the time I must have gone through shock and didn’t really comprehend just how close to death I had actually come. Now that my rationality had set in, my stupid logic rightfully decided that venturing near anything remotely resembling a drop to certain death should be avoided at all cost. Although I knew it was irrational, and although I knew that there was absolutely no way I would fall unless I vaulted over the railings, my legs refused to move! Now that ‘saving grace’ (my ability to teleport safely back into Tutela’s realm) was gone, there was nothing either of us could do to save me if I needed it. Why did these things always happen to me?

It’s like I’m cursed, or something.

Twilight walked back up the gangplank and leaned against me, “Come on, I’ll help you.” She offered me her hoof.

Seizing it like my life depended on it, she slowly led me down the ramp. It must have looked incredibly silly with me holding onto Twilight in the middle of a ramp where six ponies could walk together side by side literally trembling in fear. But I just couldn't move! I couldn’t do it!

“This is so embarrassing...” I muttered still holding onto Twilight like a frightened child.

“I’ve got you. Come on. Slowly.” Twilight coaxed.

Step by step, I walked down the ramp, gradually getting faster when I got closer to the end. When we got close enough, I leapt the few remaining feet and jogged away from the gangplank heaving a long sigh of relief. I spun around just as she got off the ramp and gave me a highly amused expression.

“It's not funny! I had a major scare yesterday, okay?”

“I know, Forest. Sorry. I know it’s not nice to laugh.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Thank you, Twilight. I appreciate you helping me.” Honestly, I did.

Twilight grinned at me. Were her cheeks rosier than usual?

I followed her lead. It was amazing how she knew which way to go. In this particular area, the tall buildings had made it impossible for me to see anything save the top of the palace towers and the sky. The docks were now completely hidden from view as we ascended these wonderfully carved staircases that had been built into the side of the cliffs. It was an amazing display of architecture and workmanship – workponyship? It reminded me of those hillside towns I had seen in magazines back on Earth.

The buildings were all in a light blue and purple color that seemed pretty uniform. A few stray buildings here and there were in different colors, obviously painted by ponies that wanted their homes to stand out.

“You like it?” Twilight asked as she saw me snapping my neck back and forth taking in the sights, “This area is famous for its artists. There's the National Gallery not far from here. It's where all the great art pieces throughout Equestrian history are kept. Maybe we could go and see it some time?”

“Well... art's not really my thing...”

She just laughed, “It's not mine either, but it's still worth a visit.”

As we continued I couldn't help but notice that there were small stalls and shops all over the place, strategically built into every available space. Some shops were big and took up entire floor, while others were tiny, barely big enough for a pony to stand it. I couldn't resist going window shopping, peering inside and looking at all sorts of things. Trinkets, art pieces, small statues and clothing. Too bad we didn't have time to stop and look, not that it mattered. I couldn't buy anything even if I wanted to. With no bits left, what could I get? That and the shops were all still closed; it was still pretty early in the morning.

Suddenly she smiled and pulled me aside. “Come, I want to show you something.”

We took a minor detour and ended up in a small park that overlooked the docks. In such a short time we had ascended quite a ways. Twilight walked over to the edge of the park and stood against a very flimsy looking fence. My heart started to race. It looked like a sheer drop from my vantage, so I stood back, but a part of me kept asking ‘what if Twilight slipped and fell?’

“Come on, Forest. I'm right here.” Twilight again offered me her hoof.

Trust her, ya big idiot! I muttered to myself.

Inhaling a deep breath, I took the five steps forwards and gripped her hoof as tightly as I could – again. My eyes were shut tight. The feeling of the strong breeze again my face failed to reassure me even a little. The thought of the drop a few feet away didn't help!

“Open your eyes, Forest.” Twilight giggled, “I can't show it to you if you keep them closed.”

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked down at Twilight’s warm expression. My eyes refused to leave hers, “O-o-okay... I'll get over it, I swear!” I stammered. My head began to spin. “Sorry, Twilight. I think I need to step back from the edge.”

“There isn't an edge, silly. Look.”

And I did look. The park had a slow gradual descent before making a short sharp slope that fed into a large wall made of the same blue-purple stone. Even if I fell over the flimsy fence, unless I was a Pegasi, there was no way I'd be able to clear the wall. Well, with my luck something would probably launch me over it – or the wall would break apart.

I pointed to the wall, “What's behind that?” I asked, curious.

“I think more houses and homes. I don't know, it's been a long time since I've wandered the streets here. My status as the Element of Magic usually attracts a lot of attention. I'm not as free as I used to be, especially when it comes to walking around the place. In Canterlot I just usually teleport wherever I need to go. That is probably why I like living in Ponyville. At least there, everypony knows me and doesn't really hassle me... with being an Element.”

I smiled and laughed, “Still hassle you over other things, eh?”

She rolled her eyes, “Doesn't everypony? Anyway, look over there.” She pointed somewhere behind me.

Turning my head slowly, what I saw stunned me. I felt my draw drop.

“That's Cloudsdale. The Pegasi city where Rainbow’s from.”

“Wow!” I exclaimed, completely mesmerized. It was an entire city made of clouds! And it was floating! In the sky!

Where else would it float, you moron.

It looked so close, but I knew that it probably wasn't. Big things like that had a habit of looking closer than they actually were. Still, it looked so beautiful. The towers, the pillars, the sheer majesty of such an impressive city. I wanted to go see it right then and there.

My eyes slowly lowered themselves and I could see the Intrepid docked at the dockyard. I could even make out a grumpy Aiden still standing where we had left him overlooking the valley.

What's the matter with him? He’s not usually that cold towards me.

“And, I don't know if you can see it clearly, but there's Ponyville...” Twilight pointed somewhere in the valley.

Indeed, there it was! It looked so... warm, and cozy. And small. Very, very small. Home.

I'm going to miss it.

We continued on our way, eventually ending up on the corner in front of Aiden’s bakery. It was still shut, and there were no signs of an attempt to fix it. The windows were boarded up with plywood, and the door had a huge sign that read ‘Closed for Renovations’ written in red paint.

“Aiden not planning on fixing it?” I asked.

“Doubtful. Until Princess Celestia says otherwise, he’s going to be your guardian and will stick with you no matter what. So, he’s not going to live here in Canterlot until his ‘mission’ is done.” She suddenly let out a light laugh, “That was a fun day.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as well, knowing what she meant. “Which part? The part before Tiny beat me up, or after? Say, whatever happened to him anyway?”

“He’s doing community service downtown. I didn’t think you’d want to press charges against him, so I pleaded on his behalf and got his sentence reduced to a fine - and community service, of course,” She looked at me, “Or did you want to?”

From my experience on Earth regarding courts and the like, I shook my head, “Press charges? No, no. That’s perfectly fine. As long as he doesn’t beat me up again, I’m cool with it.”

We both laughed at that. “If I remember correctly, you beat him up.”

“As much as I would love to say that’s how it went, I can’t. I was desperate... and I just sort of... ran into him.” That was the first time I used my ‘explosive acceleration’ in that way. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to do it during the Ursa incident. So, in a strange way, I owed the big bully for saving my life.

The main path up to the palace was decorated with banners, streamers and all sorts of sports-related themes. There were quite a few ponies here, even this early in the morning. They all seemed to be lining up along the sides of the street.

“Hey look, it’s Twilight Sparkle!” Somepony yelled.

“Oh no...” Twilight muttered as a mob headed towards us. They shoved me aside as they started begging her for an autograph, or show off some of her magic – typical fan-mania. At first she was resigned to humoring them, but after about a dozen I could tell she was getting annoyed.

“Hey! Everypony! Wait! Come on, Twilight’s being real generous with her time.” I shouted when it was apparent she was getting overwhelmed. “You do know that she could just teleport out of here at anytime, right? So, please... come on... give her some room to breathe.”

“Who are you?” A voice demanded, “Her coltfriend?”

My face exploded into a blush, “No!” They all began to ignore me. “I mean... yes!” That brought their attention back to me. “Now get away from her!” I pushed through them and placed myself in front of Twilight trying to look as threatening as possible, which probably failed miserably.

They looked at each other, then at me before taking a step back allowing her some breathing room.

“Thanks, Forest...” Twilight whispered from behind me. She gently pushed me aside as she smiled at a small colt who had backed off after my outburst. She motioned for him to come closer. Emboldened by this, a few more fillies and colts excitedly ran up to Twilight pleading for her to sign their souvenirs. By this time she had visibly relaxed and was gladly signing away, the adults seemed to be content with letting their children do all the work.

I had to admit, the ponies were actually very understanding. A mob like this on Earth would have started ripping Twilight’s hair out for mementos. Whatever the case, I was glad that she was able to relax.

“Thanks, Forest. I appreciated that.”

“Hey, no worries. I hope I didn't embarrass you too much by claiming to be your coltfriend.”

Twilight blushed a little and laughed, “Well, maybe a little. I've never had anypony say that before.”

I blushed from her reaction, “Oh... um...” Aw, great! Now I feel stupid.

“Shall we go?” She said when the last little pony ran off grinning from ear to ear.

“Alrighty. Lead on.” I said, following her.

Just then another filly ran up to us.

“Oh! Oh! Twilight Sparkle! Twilight Sparkle!” She called out a little too excitedly.

She was abruptly shoved aside by an older colt who had rushed right up to Twilight with a piece of paper, quite literally shoving it in her face.

Twilight's attention was too distracted and her vision blocked in a way that it was impossible for her to notice the filly. The colt was now begging her to sign whatever it was he wanted signed, jumping up and down excitedly. The newcomer was probably unaware he pushed the young pony to the ground.

“You okay?” I asked, offering a hoof to help her up.

“Yeah...” She said, taking my hoof and pushing herself up from the ground. She rubbed her front left knee – elbow? - then looked over at Twilight, her eyes still wide and hopeful.

“Hey!” I shouted, “Watch out! You pushed this filly to the ground, you bully!”

The colt spun around and looked at me, then at the young filly, then at Twilight. He grinned nervously at Twilight’s expression, “Sorry. I... sorry.” He quickly snatched his item from Twilight’s clutches and bolted off down the road.

“Shall I go teach him some manners?” I offered taking two steps in his direction.

Twilight gave me a look, “Forest...”

“I was kidding!” No, I wasn’t, and Twilight knew it.

“Hi there, sweetie. Sorry about that,” Twilight moved past me to the filly and smiled gently at her, “I couldn’t see past him.”

The young girl looked up at Twilight, her eyes opening wide. She was an Earth pony with a coat of bluish-green and her mane was red and orange. Seemed like a sweet kid. When Twilight knelt down so that her eye level was equal to hers, the filly's face broke into the sweetest, most excited smile I had ever seen.

“Oh... that’s o-o-okay...” She was visibly starstruck. “I’m your biggest fan! I know everything about you! How you beat Nightmare Moon, and Discord - twice! A-a-and how you fought the Changelings...”

Wait? Twilight? Fighting? Who or what was Discord?

Twilight was visibly overwhelmed by the praises and rubbed the back of her head, “Well, I did what any pony would’ve done.”

The young girl ignored Twilight's attempt at trying to be humble, “When I grow up, I want to be just like you! Saving ponies, being a hero and helping others in need!” Her eyes were like two big saucers. It was adorable.

Twilight blushed, “I’m not a hero...”

“You are! You so are! You’re the bestest hero ever!” And the little filly hugged Twilight grinning widely. Twilight was a little shocked, but in a good way, and hugged the filly back. “I want to be a hero too! A firepony! I want to help others, and protect them! Just like you!”

“Firepony?” I asked, confused.

The girls ignored me, “That’s a very noble profession. I think you’d make an amazing firepony.”

“When I was real little, a firepony saved my life. I don’t remember all of it, but I do remember how safe I felt in the firepony’s hooves.”

“Now I know that you’ll make an amazing firepony.” Twilight ruffled the filly's hair a little bit, “Do you want me to sign something...”

She shook her head from side to side faster than I thought possible, “No. I just wanted to talk with you. Anyway, I... I don’t have anything for you to sign. I came all the way here to meet you, but the guards said that I couldn’t go inside the palace without special permission.”

Smiling, Twilight walked over to a stand. There she picked out a plushie of herself, the shopkeeper visibly shocked to see the Element of Magic there.

Twilight walked back to us and knelt down again, “Now, who should I make it out to?”

“Aqua! Aqua Inferna!” The filly replied excitedly.

“To Aqua Inferna, my number one fan. May you be the finest firepony in all Equestria! With love, Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight dictated to herself, as she wrote with a marker (how she had a marker, I don't know, maybe she bought it at the stand) onto the doll itself along the flank over where the plushie's Cutie Mark was.

Aqua looked at the doll then gave Twilight another hug, which the unicorn returned. With that, the girl ran off with her newly signed plushie stopping every few moments to wave to her. Eventually she ran into the protective embrace of a pink mare.

“Mommy Strawberry!” She squealed in delight, “Look at what Twilight gave me!”

‘Mommy-Strawberry’ knelt down and listened to Aqua's excited rendition of what had just transpired. The pink mare smiled widely at what I assumed was her daughter, before looking over to Twilight and nodding gratefully. Then they held each others hooves and skipped down the road together.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’ve made that filly one happy pony.”

“It is nice to have fans like that. I’m glad that I walked. If I hadn’t, I would’ve never met her.” Twilight’s smile looked different this time. It seemed so... peaceful.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just everywhere I go, I get swarmed with ponies asking me for my autograph, or asking to show them something that only the Element of Magic can do. That's why I usually just teleport where I need to go nowadays, to avoid the crowds. Aqua's the first one in a long time that just wanted to... talk.” She looked at me, “Except you, that is. That reminds me. When we first met, you didn’t react to me at all. It was refreshing to be looked at... nonchalantly, but the fact that you didn’t even know what the Elements of Harmony were...”

“I blame my amnesia. Guess it worked to my advantage then, eh? I guess if I had known, you wouldn’t have been my friend.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Forest. But yes, you certainly were less annoying than other ponies I’ve met for the first time...”

“Less annoying?” I frowned at that, a little hurt she found me annoying at all.

Twilight continued, ignoring my comment, “Originally, you fascinated me...” Her face turned pink at those words, “N-n-not in that way. I meant that when we first met I couldn’t decide on whether or not you were a pony or a human...”

“Please don’t remind me. That was a painful memory,” I gestured to the palace with my eyes, remembering the detection spell Princess Celestia tried on me, “But we went out on a night that I’ll never forget.”

“Neither will I.”

We both had a good chuckle.

“Guess ‘the Twilight’ is now a popular dance here in Canterlot.” I grinned at her.

She blushed a little more and rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “Please don’t remind me.”

We had another good chuckle at her expense.

As we walked by the palace gates, the guards saluted us as we passed through. Twilight gave them a nod out of resignation, while I just grinned at them. I knew they weren’t saluting me, that was obvious, but I can dream, dammit!

“So it’s official then, you’re not with Applejack?” Twilight asked me all of a sudden.

The question caught me completely off guard. “Why does everyo- everypony,” I wanted to kick myself for almost making that mistake again! “think that I was with Applejack? I mean, we barely had one date. And, yes, we did share a moment, but she never looked my way. I mean really looked my way. I mean... she was always...”

Twilight put her hoof on my mouth, shutting me up, “I know. After talking to her about it, I think we were wrong too. I guess we just wanted Applejack to get over Atom so badly that we sorta ignored how she really felt deep down. I think somewhere along the way she believed that her feelings had gone.”

I couldn’t think of something to say, so I just nodded awkwardly - or rather it was like a shrug with a nod thrown in for good measure.

“And what about you? You’re... doing okay?” Twilight asked.

“I have to be, Twilight. But I won’t lie, it still feels... strange. And painful. Knowing that she’s with her ex and all, but I know that it needs to be this way.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because... it does.” I replied, not sure what she meant.

“So, you're just going to give up on her?” Twilight started walking again.

“Well... yeah. I mean, I've already given up, right? We made our peace.” I replied, following her.

“So, that's it, then?”

“Um... yes. That's it.” Ouch. The words stung, “Well, that's also because I... I... I remembered that I have a special somepony waiting for me somewhere. I can’t establish a new relationship with anypony until I find her.” My mouth felt dirty after saying such a pile of bullshit, but it was true. I wasn’t going to get my heart broken again, and I wasn’t going to break any other hearts along the way. Once was enough.

Twilight stopped and stared at me, but said nothing for a long while. “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

Why did she sound so upset?

She started walking again and I continued to follow after her. As we approached the palace itself, Twilight led me via the verandah. To my right were huge doors that stretched almost all the way to the ceiling. They were decorated with stained-glass windows that depicted various stories and themes. My eyes were so fixated on the artistry, that I failed to see the pillar in front of me.

“Owie!” I whined, rubbing my snout.

“Watch where you’re going, silly. You’re worse than Derpy.” Twilight laughed.

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that... is that her real name?”

“What? Derpy? Oh, no. It’s her nickname. She calls herself Derpy, and for a long time I thought that was her name too! But her real name is Ditzy Doo, but she introduces herself to everypony as Derpy. Derpy Hooves.”

Still rubbing my schnoz, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why?”

“I think it’s because of her... condition?” She formed it as a question, I guess that wasn’t the right word for it, “I think she wants ponies to acknowledge that she has it, or something like that, and for her to get over it or to make it less awkward for others, she purposely calls herself Derpy. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t think I’m doing it right. Of course, I don’t know for certain, but everypony loves Derpy, even when she can sometimes get a little too clumsy.”

“I think I can understand. No offense, but that reasoning seems rather... complex for Derpy.” It was! I wasn’t being an ass... okay, well, maybe a little.

“I know, but that’s the only thing I can think of... unless that was a nickname she got in school and it just stuck.”

“That seems a little bit more believable, actually.” Okay, so I was being an ass.

“Whatever the case, Derpy’s wonderful, and no matter what we call her, I’m still happy that I can call her my friend.”

I could only nod at that.

We walked a little more onwards, I decided to have a little fun by weaving in and out of the pillars as we went along. It wasn’t long before we reached the end of the verandah and descended the few steps onto the gardens.

There were a large number of ponies here, and they all had one thing in common - with the exception of Twilight, Rarity and myself. They all wore some sort of uniform in a multitude of colors, and each costume had a unique design.

“Over there, Forest,” Twilight pointed towards Scootaloo and the others all relaxing under a tree near some statues. “Go on ahead, I have to check up on a few things.”

“Okee dokee lokee.” I replied, imitating everybody’s favorite pony.

She smiled at me before going off on her way.

“Well, well, well. Looks like sleepy finally dragged his flank out of bed.” Lavender grinned, “We were getting worried, you know.”

“Why? Am I running now?” I asked, worried. I wasn’t mentally prepared!

“No, no. But we wanted our favorite stallion in the parade.” Amethyst smiled.

“I'm the only stallion... oh, very funny.” I rolled my eyes.

The Unicorn just continued, “I just wish Derpy would hurry. She’s not the most punctual pony, but this is a little too late, even for her.”

“Wait, did Derpy get the letter?” I asked more to myself than the others.

They all looked at each other, “Of course! Spike was the one who sent it, she would've gotten it in hoof.” Scootaloo pointed out, still relaxing.

“I think you’d better start warming up, Scootaloo. I don’t think Derpy’s going to get here.”

The all looked at me.

“What makes you say that?” Scootaloo sat up now.

“Because, from what I know of Derpy, she’s far more interested in other things, especially muffins. So, unless we managed to catch her in a moment when she wasn’t preoccupied with something, I doubt that she’d pay much attention to a letter. We should have sent it to her daughter.”

“Oh. My. Gosh!” Amethyst muttered in her trademark phrase, “How stupid are we?”

“Nopony’s stupid. We were all just caught up in the moment, and we just didn’t think things through...” I replied.

Scootaloo stood up, “Are you... really saying I can race? I mean, me... I can?”

We all turned to her. She was excited! She wanted to race. Of course she wanted to! This was her moment to shine! To show everypony what she could do! Of course she was excited! Of course she wanted to race! Of course she...

Scootaloo jumped up off her flank and started stretching then and there, pulling her wings out and flapping them slowly, arching her back down and up, and pulling her legs out.

Twilight arrived a moment later, “What’s going on?”

“We’ve made a conscientious decision on making Scootaloo prepare for the race instead of Derpy. We can’t be sure that Derpy got the letter...”

Twilight paused for a moment, then we could see her face light up. “Oh no! We should have sent the letter to her daughter!”

“Exactly!” The two girls exclaimed.

“That's impressive you came to that conclusion so quickly on your own...” I stated, astounded by her astute deductive reasoning skills.

Twilight just waved her hoof at my praise, “It wasn't that hard... I just needed to piece together a few things.” She turned to the young Pegasus, “Scootaloo, you’ll have to run for Ponyville.”

The orange-like pony grinned and nodded, determination written on her face, “I won’t let you down, Twi! I won’t let any of you down!”

“Hello!” A pegasus in blue fluttered over to us, landing carefully on the ground, “Uh... has anypony seen Rainbow?”

I instantly recognized this guy. He was the one that visited Brian after his attack. The famous one from the Wonderbolts! I think that he was seeing Rainbow. What was his name again? Soaring? No. Soarin! That was it. I still had no idea what his face looked like, he was always wearing that damned uniform. Which reminded me... where was mine?

“Here,” Rarity said quietly, seemingly reading my mind and handing me my uniform.

“Thanks,” I whispered back.

“She’s on her way here, Soarin.” Twilight replied.

Soarin looked somewhat disappointed, “Oh. Is her father out of the hospital yet?”

We all looked at each other. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“And you guys call me clueless...” I muttered under my breath.

The Wonderbolt looked at each of us and our uncomfortable expressions. He pulled back his hood, “Is it that serious?”

I take it back, he wasn’t clueless. He was just slow – in the head at least. Being a Wonderbolt automatically meant that he was fast in other ways.

“Soarin, Brian hasn’t left the hospital since then,” Twilight replied, a little surprised that he did not know this, “Hasn’t... hasn’t Rainbow told you?”

“Rainbow hasn’t said anything to me, or even sent a letter or anything for weeks now. I don’t know what’s going on. She’s hardly ever here. She shows up for practice, then leaves when the drills are done. We’re on different flight teams, so I can’t even talk to her when she’s here. I’ve tried chasing her a few times, but you know how fast she is. I can’t keep up with her. I’m just... confused. Does she even miss me?”

That was unexpected. And awkward. Time to make myself scarce. This kind of thing was best left to others.

While the others were distracted, I managed to slip away. I’ve had enough uncomfortable relationship situations the last few days and I wasn’t going to get caught up in yet another one. Eventually I managed to find a private area to put on the race suit. It fit perfectly. Which was rather strange, considering that Rarity never took my measurements. Come to think of it, the suit she had made for me fit me like a glove too.

While I was checking myself out, I heard a voice snicker from behind me.

“That’s a nice costume. What are you supposed to be? A maypole?” He burst out laughing.

I looked over at him. Were there just bullies and morons in Canterlot? Not like the ponies from back home... home? Ponyville. Those ponies were so welcoming, nice, and kind. Here they were just... assholes. Guess it's the 'big city' effect.

“Well, I am the runner for Ponyville. And if you didn’t know, these colors represent the Elements of Harmony.” I replied ignoring his attempts to goad me. My motto in life is: don’t let them get under your skin, get under theirs instead. And I was very good at getting under other people’s skins. Or in this case, other pony’s skins. “Don’t you know anything?”

Feeling a hard object pressing against my chest from the inside of the suit, I reached in and pulled out a pair of goggles. Awesome. Rarity really was amazing. She had thought of everything. Even the fact that I wouldn't notice that goggles were part of the uniform, or that I'd fail to notice them at all.

“Ponyville, eh? What makes you think that that tiny village can beat us?” As if on cue, five other ponies in matching outfits appeared behind the pony. They all wore red, light-yellow lightning bolts on the rear of their uniforms, and on their chest area under the neck.

“Just because red makes it look like you go faster, doesn’t mean that you are faster.” I placed the goggles on my head, “Know Rainbow Dash?”

The all looked at each other. “Yeah...”

“What town’s she from?”

They just stared at me in silence.

“You know Twilight Sparkle? What town does she live in? In fact, the only advantage you have against us is... well... that red suit. It’ll hide your humiliation when we beat you.” I grinned.

The first pony burst out laughing, “You’re good! Real good! It’s great to find somepony out here who isn’t intimidated by us. Either you’re really stupid, or you actually believe you can beat us, in which case I pity you.”

“You should save that pity for yourself. You’re going to need it when I cross the finish line first.”

The pony shook his head, “Do you even know who I am? I’m Fleet Hoof, fastest Earth pony in all of Equestria.”

“I’m Forest, and I don’t care.” I turned to walk away.

“Big words from a little pony. Put your talent where your mouth is. Care to hold a wager?”

No, Forest! Don’t do it! I yelled in my head. “What wager?”

“If you lose, and you will, you and your team’ll have to parade around Canterlot in these...” He held up a white vest with the words ‘Loser’ written in sloppy writing along the side.

“We’ll do it!” A voice yelled. Scootaloo landed in front of me. “And if we win, you’ll do the same!”

“Scootaloo no, that’s not...”

“Yeah!” Lavender stated from behind me.

Amethyst nodded as well.

“You guys... that’s...” Oh no! They’re being suckered into taking this childish...

“Oh? Then it’s settled.” The pony spat into his hoof and held it out towards Scootaloo.

Scootaloo spat in hers and they shook.

The red team all laughed and walked away high-fiving – high-hoofing?

When they were gone, I turned to my teammates, “Why? Why did you accept?”

“Are you worried we won’t win?” Scootaloo asked, giving me a wry smile.

“No! That’s not it! Once you take a wager like that, competition becomes personal. They’ll play dirty.” I sighed, “Now when we race, we’re all going to have to keep an extra eye on the red team.”

“You seem to know a lot about competitive sports, Forest. Are you remembering something?”

Oh man, Twilight. Why you so smart?

“I... may...” I rubbed my head, trying to act the part of remembering some long forgotten memory, “Whatever the case, the red team’s not going to play fair.”

Scootaloo grinned, “That’s fine by me. If they play dirty, then we’ll just have to return the favor!”

They all cheered at that. Except for me and Twilight. We just shared a look.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, if I may please have your attention...” A voice boomed out of loudspeakers. “We will be starting the parade in half an hour, please note the order of your teams on this board. We will be departing from here, so please do not go anywhere. Thank you.” The voice cut off.

The crowd gathered around the huge sign.

“Hi!” A voice shouted aloud from above us as Derpy and Rainbow landed.

“Derpy!” Scootaloo said, a mixture of shock and disappointment, and perhaps a little relief.

“Did you get my letter?” Twilight asked.

Derpy just nodded sadly, “But only this morning after I met Rainbow Dash.”

“She was out on her mail-route. Dinky was staying the night at a friend’s to catch the early morning train and didn’t know. She still doesn’t know.” Rainbow put Derpy into a light headlock, “You’re so silly sometimes.”

Derpy just laughed goofily and stuck out her tongue.

“I guess that means that I’m not going to race...” Scootaloo sighed.

“N-no! I’m so tired! I can’t race now.” Derpy replied, “I was mailing letters all morning, then had to fly back to the office, drop off my mailbag then fly here.”

Scootaloo’s face beamed, “You mean it, Derpy?”

Derpy nodded and smiled.

Scootaloo squee’d in delight and hugged the mare, literally shoving poor Rainbow to one side. Rainbow just giggled to herself.

“Rainbow, I need to talk to you.” A voice stated from above us.

It was getting to be a pain in the butt with all this ‘heavenly’ voices talking from higher up. Pegasi could be very inconsiderate about one’s neck. This time it was Soarin...

Oh shit.

Rainbow’s expression was difficult to read, but she ascended slowly, “I’ll see you guys in a sec.”

“Okay, Rainbow...” Twilight replied, her voice turning into a whisper, “See you in a sec.”

“Why the long faces?” A voice called to us as Applejack walked up to us along with Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Aiden and Atom followed moments later. Atom’s coat was now back to its original black color. Strangely, I missed the pink ‘fandango’ coat.

“Nothing... hopefully...” Twilight replied cryptically.

I looked over to Aiden who looked like he was glaring at me. When he saw me staring at him, he just turned his head away. He seemed really cold towards me. Was it something I did?

Everyone chatted with each other while I stood off to the side and watched them. It was nice being a part of such a great group of friends. I was going to miss this. The random banter, sharing our thoughts and feelings, and just being there. It was going to be hard going back to being a longer and I dreaded the thought. ‘True meaning of friendship’, my ass! How the hell am I going to discover something like that if this wasn’t it?

Spike wondered in a little bit later, and made a beeline towards me.

“Looking good, Forest.” He patted my back.

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“Yes.” Spike tried hard to suppress a laugh. “It looks great on the mares. On you... not-so-much.”

I just made a face. “I hate you, you know that.”

Spike just shrugged, “I know, but you still look silly.”

We both had a good laugh. Spike always seemed to be there for me whenever I needed somebody to lean on. After all, he did entrust me with his most prized possession, that musical snow-globe and the dagger. Every time I thought about it, I could feel it – which I didn't this time since my saddlebag wasn't on me.

After a moment, my attention returned to the present and I looked up. It was then that I noticed how the other ponies were looking at Spike and giving him a wide berth.

“You're scaring the ponies, Spike.” I said loudly. Several of the ponies blushed knowing that there was no reason for them to feel fearful to the Dragon.

Spike didn't miss a beat, “No, you're the one scaring them with that awful thing you call a face.”

I roared in laughter. Brilliant! That was absolutely brilliant!

Some of the other ponies who heard Spike's comeback also laughed. “You got me there, Spike. Ten points to you. That was some burn.”

“Burn?” He asked.

“It's a game... I guess. You play it by insulting each other, as a joke of course. Then you rate it out of a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest. You... 'roast' the other pony, making them blush in shame.” I looked over to him, “So, your 'burn' was fantastic, you completely 'roasted' me. Thereby I award you ten big ones.”

“This game sounds stupid.” Spike replied stoically. He then grinned at me, “Thank you for teaching it to me.”

I punched him lightly in the arm, “Goof-ball.”

“So, how do you win?”

I shrugged, “I dunno. I don't think you can.”

Spike laughed, “This game sounds like fun...”

“Rarity! There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Just where have you been?” A new stallion said walking towards her.

“Who's that?” I asked.

“That is Hoity Toity, fashion guru of Canterlot,” Spike replied quietly and looked away, “And the pony I suspect is Rarity's... Rarity's...”

Placing a hoof on Spike's arm, I nodded. He didn't have to say it.

“Oh, hello HT. I told you that I had obligations and that I must attend this parade. I am an Element after all.”

“Of course, my dear. I was just talking to Fancypants and he was wondering when you were going to visit him. He is very eager to see you again, Rarity.”

“Fancypants?” I asked Spike.

At this Spike's mouth began to jitter.

I raised my eyebrow at him, “Something wrong, buddy?”

“No! Not... Fancypants... the most important pony in Canterlot...” Spike whispered. “Anypony but him!”

“Um...” I had no idea what he was talking about now. “He's what? More important than the Princesses?”

“No, nopony's more important than Princess Celestia or Luna or even Cadence when it comes to many things, but Fancypants is the most important society pony!” Spike gripped me by my collar and shook me, “And Rarity is all about society! I can't compete with him, Forest!”

“Spike. Please. Stop. Shaking. Me. I'm. Going. To. Be. Sick...”

Spike ceased the shaking, dropping me on the ground. “Sorry, Forest.”

“No problemo.” I picked myself up. “Come on, Spike. Rarity's got her special pony and whatever. You've got to let her go.”

He was about to reply when another pony returned and landed next to Spike and me.

“Hello, Rainbow.” I smiled at her.

“Huh?” Rainbow looked up and saw me, “Oh, hello Forest.”

“Wow. You sound unhappy. You okay?” I asked.

“Huh? What? Yeah, yeah. I'm okay.”

Just then tears started flowing from her eyes. This made me jump back. “No, no, no! I didn't mean it! You sound fine! You sound happy! Please don't cry!”

Rainbow just wiped her eyes with her sleeve, “I'm not crying, I just got something in my eyes.”

“Hey, Forest. Looks like we got another member...” Spike whispered.

“Aw, no way. Not you too, Rainbow.”

“Member?” She looked at us confused, “Member of what?” By this time the tears had gone, and Rainbow was back to her normal self.

“Guess you were wrong, Spike.”

“Forest, please don't tell that you're that clueless.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but I heard the speakers scream loudly. Somebody had brought the mic too close the speakers causing a deafening squeal as the feedback nearly broke the eardrums of everyone around..

“Sorry about that. Sorry, sorry.” The announcer said, “Testing... testing... okay, that's better. Will everypony please get ready, starting with the team from Las Pegasus. Thank you.”

Even before the announcer had stopped, a steady pulse of heavy hoof-beats had begun. In a few moments a number of soldiers marched along the path at the far end of the garden. They were all bedecked in full armor, not like the usual that I've seen thus far. These were more elaborate, and intimidating to say the least.

The front three columns were led by what I assumed were Earth ponies. Each wore a dark, almost black, shiny armor that covered them from head to hoof. Not an inch of their coat could be seen. Their helms were designed so that you could not see their eyes. But what made it especially intimidating were the lances they each carried, about twice the length of themselves. Each was held in place by a specially made groove between their neck and right shoulder.

They were lined up seven abreast, with the middle Earth pony carrying a banner that was tied to the tip of his lance. This, was what I assumed, Equestria's flag. On it was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, seemingly chasing each other round in a circle. Around Princess Luna were stars and the moon, and around Princess Celestia were the clouds and the sun. Princess of sun and moon, day and night.

About half a step back and to the left and right of the front-most Earth pony were six soldiers, each carrying another flag with various patterns and colors. Each flag seemed to represent a city that was competing, the soldiers in the next two rows seemed to be carrying more city flags. Twenty cities, twenty teams, all competing under one country... Equestria.

Behind the Earth ponies were three ranks of Unicorn troops. They wore long saddles that draped over their sides, each one baring a specific mark, perhaps representing some form of unit – these military types were sticklers for details like that.

And then above them were seven rows of three Pegasi abreast of one another. They were the most 'naked', having the least amount of armor than the others. Their helms were similar to those of the Earth ponies but were silvery in color, with matching gauntlets on all four legs. The rear gauntlets had long sharp pointy spikes that extended out about two feet. I would not like being kicked by those things.

Suddenly a white stallion Unicorn appeared from one of the tents. I instantly recognized Twilight's older brother, Shining Armor. He looked around at the troops and nodded approvingly, and then placed his helm on his head, with a large blue plume. Three other stallions had followed Shining outside, each one moved to the right of their respective regiments – or whatever they're called. These were definitely Captains, or higher ranked officers.

Shining Armor then shouted something. The military ponies stomped in unison, except for the Pegasi, they smacked their fore-hooves together instead. Shining then shouted something else and the flags that weren't the Equestrian national flag were lowered slightly, so that they edged a little forwards so that the Equestrian national flag flew above the rest. Then Shining shouted something else, and the troops began to march in place, the Pegasi above flapping their wings in rhythm. Instead of 'left-right-left', they were doing 'down-up-down'.

A team of green-uniformed ponies assembled just behind them. They all had yellow matching stars on their flanks and a large upside-down one of their foreheads where the points went over the eyes, while the bottom star point ended at the front of the suit. They all wore green goggles with a yellow reflective tint on them. They were joking around behind the soldiers, one of them was marching in step with them.

Behind them another group of ponies settled in line. These wore white suits, with blue streaks that ran from their noses to their flanks. The streaks were darker on the outside and that gradually got lighter until they were almost white again near the middle. The bottom of their legs as well as their goggles were black.

The announcer walked past them, “After Coltumbus comes Whinnypeg.”

On cue a team of ponies dressed in blue jumped behind the Coltumbus ponies and started taunting them.

The Whinnypeg team had a large silver arrow pointing towards their heads with a red strip stretched from the tops of their heads, along their spines, and ended at the base of their tails. They all had blue goggles that matched their main suit's colors.

“Stop that!” The announcer reprimanded the two teams, “You're about to present yourselves in front of the Princesses. Don't embarrass your hometown.”

The ponies ceased their antics instantly.

“Next is Salt Lick City.” The announcer called out on the mic.

Salt Lick City? Are you kidding me?

Everything from the rear-legs up was yellow. The rest of them was black, including the areas below the knees and a long black 'V' shape extended from their eyes to the noses. They walked in a 'V' formation themselves, with the largest pony, a Pegasi, at the lead.

Unlike the team from Whinnypeg, these were very formal and 'proper'.

“Okay, first band goes here.” The announcer said.

A group of young ponies dressed in white walked up and got into position. They were perhaps high-school aged, if I were to guess. Their uniforms kind of reminded of the same white uniforms American Navy people wear, right down to the blue tie or scarf thingy. At their lead was a filly dressed similarly, but she had on a skirt and instead of an instrument, carried a baton.

“When you start moving, then you may start playing,” The announcer stated, “Not before.”

While the announcer was telling the young children what to do, a team in a dark blue with red triangles that started along their shoulders that sharpened to a point at their flanked stepped in behind the band. Even their goggles were tinted red and blue!

“Okay, thank you Trottingham. Next up is Canterbury, then Fillydelphia. Please take your places.”

The team from Canterbury wore a zebra pattern striped uniform, but instead of black, the stripes were a very dark green. They wore plain black goggles with a slight green tint to them.

Fillydelphia's team were wearing a bright orange suit that covered the entire body, but along the spine, and the sides was a broad white stripe that connected themselves at the base of the neck, then flowed up along where their manes would have been before stopping just under their ears. There was a massive 'F' on their heads, where the top bar of the letter covered both eyes, the second bar a little below. The bottom of the letter ended at the nose.

They started chanting something that sounded like 'let's go Filly's, let's go', which got louder and louder until they were shouting and cheering. Then they high-hoofed one another, while slapping each other on their backs.

Whinnypeg started booing the Fillydelphia team, mocking their cheer.

Next in line was Hoofington. Everything apart from the head was in a single purple color, even the hooves, which was almost a clone of Twilight's coat. Their heads were covered in a gold hue that faded into the purple in a steady gradient as the color spread down the neck.

New Saddle's uniforms had the lower half a dark brown, while the upper half was the faded pink color. They wore plain black goggles, except for one in particular who wore red ones instead. The Unicorn grinned at her team-mates, who all seemed to swoon at that flashy smile.

“Okay, next is Stalliongrad,” The announcer shouted, “Then Haliflanks.”

The ponies from Stalliongrad had a white suit with their heads completely red, and stripes like sunbeams went from the their heads, where it started narrow, all the way to the end of their uniforms, where it broadened out. Each had red goggles similar to the Unicorn from New Saddle.

Haliflanks were in a very, very, very light yellow suit, except their flanks and their head that had a violet color. On the flanks was an 'H' in a light blue. The combination reminded me somewhat of Fluttershy.

“Okay, the next band goes here. Come on, come on! We haven't got all morning!” The announcer rushed the kids who were a little older than the ones from before. They wore the exact same uniform, except instead of white on blue, they wore a dark blue with white. It took me a moment to realize that they were wearing the colors of the Princesses.

Duh.

The next two towns were really weird. Dappleshore and Derbyshire had almost the exact costume, but where one was a dark red and a dark blue in a checkered pattern, the other was the exact opposite. They were boisterous and noisy as they taunted each other. They both crossed over to each other's team, much to the annoyance of the announcer who insisted that they keep to their specified places in the line. It was clear that although they were rivals, they also were friends.

“What's the deal with those guys?” I asked Spike.

“They've been rivals in everything they've ever done, not just sports. Even bake-offs and gardening. They're just really competitive against each other.” Spike shrugged, “I guess they're especially big rivals when it comes to hoofball.”

Hoofball? That sounds interesting...

Stableside followed. They wore light green along the top – something that made Rarity shudder – and a yellow along the bottom half of their torsos. They had two thin red strips that extended from the eyes to the nose.

After them was Manebourne in completely black costumes that had large sideways 'M' that originated from their shoulders and stretched down to their flanks in a gray or silver color.

“Alright, now the two Pegasi cities, and your volunteers, please step up. First is Cloudsdale then Windsoar.” The announcer stated.

Both teams were made up of Pegasi, with the exception of four Unicorns. It was clear that the Pegasi who were running had their wings under their uniforms. You could see the bulge.

Unlike the the ponies from Dappleshore and Derbyshire, these two teams were rivals on somewhat less friendly terms. You could almost see the daggers they glared at one another, but you could also see their smiles of determination. Rivals? Yes. Friends? Sure. But not right now.

The Pegasi wore multicolors. Cloudsdale wore an array of blues that mimicked the Wonderbolt uniform in many ways, whereas the Windsoar ponies wore purple and violets.

“Those two teams seem to be at each others throats...” I commented to Spike.

“Oh, they're always competing against each other. Everywhere they go they can't help themselves. It's an ancient rivalry, perhaps even the first actual instance of pony rivalry. I remember Twilight and Princess Celestia talking about it once, but I can't remember clearly.” Spike scratched his nose, “I kinda tend to stop listening when Twilight starts rambling...”

We shared a laugh.

“It's a known fact that most Wonderbolts get chosen from Cloudsdale. So, a few years ago the Pegasi from Windsoar created their own flying team. The Shadowbolts. They're not bad, but the concept where it comes from... let's just say that Princess Celestia and Luna originally didn't agree with it.” Spike shrugged, “Since you can't remember the Elements of Harmony story, you probably won't know.”

I was about to ask him for more information, but I was interrupted by the announcer.

“Baltimare! You're up!”

Another orange team with diagonal stripes of gray, black and white. The Baltimare team were all mares – guess it made sense considering the name had 'mare' in it.

Then it was our primary rivals: Manehatten, with their red suits and yellow lightning bolts. Their team-leader, Fleet Hoof was being the noisiest one and kept pointing at us and laughing. Well, pointing at me and laughing. Did I really look that silly in these colors?

And last, but certainly not least, Ponyville! The announcer did not even need to announce it... because we were the last team. Finally! I was happy that all this standing around was about to end. Time to get on with it!

“Okay, final band. Move it, move it, move it!” The announcer hollered. “Captain, you may proceed.”

Even at this distance, I could hear Shining's voice. As soon as he gave word, the entire column started to move forwards. Slowly at first, then it picked up speed as the column spread out a bit.

The band behind us was made up of mares only, all dressed in silvery-blue uniform. Unlike the two previous bands that played marching music, this one had a more melodious tune.

“Alright, Forest. I'll see you later. Have fun, and good luck. I'll be watching you.”

“Wait! Can you please watched over my saddlebag?” I asked.

Spike looked to where I was pointing, the bag lay on the ground where I had left it. “Sure thing.”

“Come on, Forest. Derpy! Where are you?” Scootaloo called.

The gray Pegasus hopped over. She had managed to get two legs stuck in the same sleeve and she tumbled and fell on her face. This only made the Manehatten team laugh even louder than before.

Kneeling, I helped Derpy but not before flashing a disgusted look at the red team.

Just then a huge chariot pulled by a team of Royal Guard Earth ponies and a few Unicorns was pulled up. Royal Guard Pegasi were in formation around it. The chariot had five sitting areas around a center area, where Twilight, sheepishly, got into. Pinkie was hopping up and down excitedly in one, while the other Elements shyly got into the others. Except Rainbow Dash, she sat proudly in the highest one, a little above and behind Twilight. She sighed heavily, perhaps a little upset that her father couldn't be here for this.

“Have fun, Forest!” Spike waved and stepped back.

“With those,” I pointed to the Manehatten team in front of me, “things in the way, how is that even possible?” Hey, if we were going to have a rivalry, might as well make the most of it.

Spike laughed as Aiden and Atom stood on either side of him. Atom waved to a blushing Applejack, while Aiden stood there with a somewhat foul expression on his face. Spike waved to me, but kept stealing glances over at Rarity, which made me roll my eyes.

“Come on, Forest.” Lavender shouted above the din of the music, shoving me with her head. “You lead.”

“Me? Fine...” I walked ahead of the others.

Along the road we went, the front of the parade had long since vanished from view and I could barely see or hear second band – not that it mattered, the band behind me was deafening me.

As we continued, I saw the column walk out of large black gates, similar to the main palace gates, although these weren't as heavily ornate. Must have been the rear entrance to the palace grounds.

When we exited the entire column turned to the right. I recognized this area. It was the same place where Twilight and I watched the sun rise together. As if on cue, I turned and looked back at Twilight. For some reason our eyes met, and I couldn't help but point to the lawn and mouthed 'remember this place'. She tried in vain to suppress a laugh before nodding to me.

Then we started to go down the grassy ramp down towards the main road that led past the front of the palace. The entire street here on the palace side was lined with Royal Guards, while ponies stood on the opposite side were cheering us on. Of course their screams got louder when they saw the chariot with the Elements of Harmony behind us.

All five mares blushed furiously. It was clear that they hated this... well, five of them did. Pinkie relished it, and Rainbow would have probably enjoyed it more if her father was around. Or was something else bothering her? Spike did say I was utterly clueless. But what had I missed? I didn't get it.

“Say hello to the princesses, Forest.” Amethyst said, pointing to my right.

On a small balcony overlooking the palace gates, Princesses Cadence, Celestia and Luna waved to us smiling widely. They all shared a look with the Elements as they appeared in their monstrous chariot. Cadence stifled a laugh at Twilight's expression, and Luna couldn't help but giggle as well.

This was simply the most amazing thing I had ever seen. These are the memories I'd relish when I'm gone.

No! Can't think of that!

On we walked, down through the main city itself. The deeper into the city we went, the taller the buildings became. Confetti rained down upon us from high above, the Elements standing on their places in the chariot waving at all the ponies that had come to see them. It was amazing. I'd never in my wild dreams imagined that I'd see something like this, let alone be a part of it. Something so grand and spectacular. Something so... so... epic. It was hard for me to keep my eyes from tearing up, the emotions that ran through me were overwhelming. How did I get to be so lucky? How did I make such great friends in such a short amount of time? What did I ever do to deserve this?

Why does it all have to end?

I was going to miss it so much.

My reverie was broken by a suddenly explosion of singing as the Manehatten team walked in what I could only assume was the center of the city. Flags, scarves, banners, and all sorts of paraphernalia in red with a yellow lightning bolt waved in the air. They were certainly a popular team. Even though we were from the town where the Elements lived, the crowd was keen in cheering for the 'bad guys'.

Fleet Hoof struck poses for the audience, making them get even more excited. A few mares had run out from the sidelines, much to the annoyance and frustration of the Guard and police ponies, who had to chase them and tackle them before they hurt themselves or the racers.

“Come on, Forest! You strike poses too!” Lavender said over the music blaring behind us, nudging my side gently.

“M-me?” I asked, bewildered that she'd make such a suggestion, “But they don't know who I am.”

“Who cares? After today, you're going to be famous!” Scootaloo grinned, “Why not just go with it?”

“Me? Famous?” I scratched my head, “Doubtful. But, okay. I'll do it... if you do it with me.”

“Fine, you go first, though.” Scootaloo replied grinning wider, and blushing a little.

Standing on my hind legs, I showed off my chest to the crowd at the side, and raised my arm at an angle, while my second arm I bent in half, flexing my muscle over my head. Then I turned around so the other side of the street could see my ridiculousness. It was as if I was about to throw an invisible spear.

At first the crowd didn't know how to react. Scootaloo then struck another pose next to me, and grinned, “You're so weird...”

“Thanks!” I grinned.

Scootaloo stood up on her hind legs and imitated me.

Now that was funny. The two of us side-by-side with the exact same pose, she facing one direction, me the other. That was when I spotted the cameras. Yes, cameras. There was no doubt about it. They were definitely cameras clicking all around us. How did I not notice this before!

I wanted one.

The Elements, who were busy waving to the audience, now stared at us in amusement. We were all doing poses together and having a ball, unlike Manehatten where only Fleet Hoof posed and the rest just filled in the background. We were being completely silly, they weren't. This made the audience start cheering a little more, although I wasn't sure if they were cheering us on or just making fun.

Whatever the case, it was a good feeling.

Finally, we could hear the music of the second band get louder and louder. When the band behind us got close enough, the second band stopped playing and lowered their instruments. As we approached, I realized that we were now in a large oval stadium! Ponies were everywhere, even above us as Pegasi sat on clouds in the sky!

The other teams had done a lap around the arena so that the first team was now to our left, and Manehatten to our right on the track. In the middle was a raised platform where the Princesses sat together, a small number of guards at the base. Shining Armor was standing proudly next to his wife as they looked at the large chariot rolling in. The Elements jumped down from their places and walked over to the stage, the audience getting louder as they did so.

Princess Celestia stood up, and raised a hoof in the air. The audience quickly quieted down.

Day 20: A Day at the Races - Part 2: The Art of Flying

“MY LITTLE PONIES,” Princess Celestia boomed, her voice although louder than anything in the stadium seemed gentle at the same time. As far as I could tell she wasn't using a mic or the speaker system. How did she get her voice to be that loud? “WELCOME TO THE FIRST EVER RACE ACROSS EQUESTRIA!” She shouted the last word louder than the others, at which the audience erupted in another deafening cheer. There was much hoof stomping and hoof clopping. Signs waved in the air baring the names of cities, teams, and individual racers, the most popular of which was Manehatten. They were really popular. I would guess that nearly a third of the stadium were baring the red and gold (or was it yellow?).

Even Derpy had a sign on her that had the silhouette of a pony running on a white background with the words 'Race ACross Equestria' written in red with a yellow border across the middle. How had she managed to get her hooves on that? I wanted one too!

“Twenty teams from twenty cities will compete for the first ever RACE Cup, and the prestige of being called the fastest, strongest, smartest and most athletic ponies in all of Equestria! Not to mention that there are three wishes to be won from your Princesses.” Princess Celestia flashed a bright smile.

The audience exploded once more. The mention of the wishes seemed to really appeal to everypony.

Then a thought occurred to me. Maybe I could wish myself out of The Bet and stay in Equestria. Maybe I could remain here forever. Spend the rest of my days living my life as a pony, forgetting my life from before. Maybe I could be free. That's it! Why couldn't I?

I had to try. This race was mine!

“This competition will test your body and soul in the spirit of competition. Good luck to you all, and may the best team win.” With that, the Princess sat down to the applause of her subjects. Somehow somepony started a Wave within the audience, the ponies rising up at the right moment giving the effect of a moving wave as it went around the stadium. It was a sight to behold.

“You heard her,” Fleet Hoof bellowed loud enough for us to hear, “She's telling us to win.”

Scootaloo was about to say something but I stopped her.

“Don't bother. Everypony knows that it's the losers that talk the loudest.” I shouted it just as loud as Fleet Hoof.

He stared at me. “We'll see who the losers are after the race!” he retorted.

“No need. I can see the losers clearly from here.” I replied nonchalantly.

He glared at me as I turned my back to him in a feeble attempt to hide my smug grin.

The girls laughed at my comeback and Lavender nudged me before placing her fore-hooves on my back, “You're pretty good at riling him up.”

“I must admit... I enjoy it. He's such an easy target.”

“But is it okay for you to make him mad like that? You are racing against him, after all. Wouldn't it be better if it were one of us?” Lavender asked.

Her logic was infallible. “Yeah, but where’s the fun be in that?”

She just gave me a look.

Just then the three bands started playing together. It was a catchy beat, and it made everypony in the stands sway. After a moment the voices of the Elements echoed over the riotous cheering of the crowd. They were singing! And, by the Goddesses, they sounded wonderful. On my world, I would have never listened to such music, but here... here it seemed... perfect.

“In Celestia's summer sun,
In Luna's winter moon,
We have come to watch ponies compete,
In the skies, the caves, and in the street.

The first are the Pegasi,
They will fly ever so high,
Past the clouds up above,
Feeling the thrill of flight which they all love.

Ponies of all kind will race across Equestria's land,
From the green forests to the brown desert sand,
And in the spirit of competition and fun,
Watch our ponies use magic, fly, swim and run.

Next come the Unicorns,
With their magical horns,
Using their powers to proceed,
Past the riddles and puzzles for the lead.”

The Elements were rotating the lyrics between each other. Had they rehearsed this song before? Where was I during these rehearsals?

“So, get into the game!
Shout out loud your team’s name!
Let them hear you yell and scream!
Help them achieve their dream!

Ponies of all kind will race across Equestria's land,
From the green forests to the brown desert sand,
And in the spirit of competition and fun,
Watch our ponies use magic, fly, swim and run.

Then the ponies of the earth will run,
Towards the setting of Celestia’s sun,
Before the rise of Luna’s moon,
The race will end very soon.

And the winners will get a trophy!
And a wish from each Princess, that’s three!
To satisfy their heart's desire,
That is what they will acquire.”

The band then started to play an interlude. It was so awesome! The song was happy, catchy, and easy to sing along to. Not only that, the voices of Twilight and her friends were pitch perfect. I didn’t know they were the Elements of Harmonizing as well...

“Oh wow. They sound beautiful!” I exclaimed, meaning both the band and the girls' singing. I couldn’t stop shaking my flank to the beat set by the drummers and swaying by the harmony of the accompaniments.

Lavender grinned and danced with me, “It's a celebration, after all!”

With the mood as it was, and the feeling of jubilation that welled up within me, I couldn’t resist, “Have you ever done 'The Twilight'?” I asked.

“No... what's that?” Lavender asked spinning herself around.

So I showed her.

“So, get into the game!
Shout out loud your team’s name!
Let them hear you yell and scream!
Help them achieve their dream!”

It took her a moment, but Lavender eventually copied my antics. Derpy hovered then landed next to me and started imitating my moves - or rather, Twilight’s moves. Then the rest of my team followed suit. Then suddenly a large portion of the audience followed until a huge swath of ponies in the stadium were all doing 'The Twilight'. Every single one of us having a huge grin on our faces as more and more joined in.

Turning to the stage, I could see Twilight looking over our way. Even from this distance I could see her cheeks rosy from embarrassment. She knew where I had learnt this silly dance from. Unable to resist, I pointed to her while on my hind legs as well as giving a massive wink. This was her dance, after all. Twilight's face grew a little more crimson as she suppressed the urge to laugh mid-chorus.

“In Celestia's summer sun,
In Luna's winter moon,
We have come to watch ponies compete,
In the skies, the caves, and in the street.

Ponies of all kind will race across Equestria's land,
From the green forests to the brown desert sand,
And in the spirit of competition and fun,
Watch our ponies use magic, fly, swim and run.

As they race across Equestria’s land!”

As the song ended, the audience and the teams all cheered and above us the Wonderbolts streaked across the sky, showering the entire stadium and the city with confetti. Then they all circled around gradually going higher and higher as Rainbow Dash hovered above the stage. Then, she spread her wings as far as she could and pushed down with such force, that she seemed to explode into the sky, a rainbow briefly forming behind her. Up and up she went before twisting around and almost doing a complete U-turn, as she dove straight down before taking a sharp angle with all the other Wonderbolts flying in perfect formation. Then, they did one last pass before disappearing into the distance.

“Wow! That was just... wow!” I was at a complete loss for words. “Was that a Sonic Rainboom?”

Scootaloo laughed her flank off. She didn't stop laughing for a long while, trying to catch her breath. “Oh, no. You'll know a Sonic Rainboom when you see it.”

With the music now over and the subsequent show complete, it was Princess Luna that stood up. The audience hushed up, even the wind seemed to stand still, everypony’s attention was now firmly on her.

“Let the race... commence!” She demanded in that loud, booming voice.

At her words, the ponies shook the stadium in their excitement. They starting cheering for the Princes of the Moon, which made Luna green sheepishly.

“Go get them, Scoots!” Lavender said, hugging Scootaloo tightly. “Do your best! We’ll be rooting for you.”

“I'll be waiting for you.” Amethyst patted her on the back.

Derpy smiled and nodded, her face serious and determined. Scootaloo nodded back. They seemed to understand one another.

“I know you'll make us proud.” I grinned, “Just watch out for that red Pegasus.”

“Will do.” Scootaloo placed her goggles over her eyes, “I won't let you guys down!”

She slowly headed towards the central stage as did the leading Pegasi from the other teams.

The Princesses at this point had all boarded their own chariots and were being taken away by their escorts from the stage. The soldiers and other military related things were slowly making their way out of the stadium, the demonstration over. The bands, however, remained.

Then the cheering for favorites began for real. The audience had started chanting and singing from the stands depicting their teams superiority and their allegiance. Taunts towards other teams and even some very vocal pony-style swearing, which included the use of the word ‘buck’ quite a lot.

Figures.

Despite the noise and tension, there was also a feeling of unity and togetherness, something that sports fanatics from my world could learn from. Although the rivalry here was fierce, it was still peaceful and gave a sense of... oneness? I liked this. On Earth, I never really attended events like this. The crowds always seemed so mob-like. I had convinced myself that I wouldn’t have enjoyed it, but now I could see how wrong I was. This was the foundation of a healthy society, when ponies (or people, in this case) could come together for a friendly... rivalry? No, that isn’t the right word to describe this.

I noticed that there were very few ponies rooting for Ponyville. Well, I guess it made sense considering how small the town was. Maybe a couple dozen, and they all looked familiar too.

Above the center stage, the Wonderbolts had returned and were now pushing a rather large cloud over the central stage; above the other five Elements of Harmony. As if on cue, large white curtains were lowered from the base of the cloud. At least I thought they were cloth, I wasn't sure what it was made of. Beams of magical light exploded from boxes set opposite each screen. At once the image of the Pegasi from below were projected, giving everypony a clear picture of what was going on. A few of the racers waved at the camera.

My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. They had projectors? These ponies never cease to amaze me.

As far as I knew the ponies didn't have electricity, or satellites, or cable! How were they doing this? How did they make video? I wanted to ask how that was possible but my attention was distracted as I watched Scootaloo and the rest of the Pegasi slowly standing at the edge of the cloud, a thick red line clearly demarcating the start.

The sound of music echoed throughout the stadium. The kind of fanfare you'd hear before a news broadcast, or something like that. The image on the screens changed and we could now see a pony in a black tux sitting behind a desk with his hooves on a table and a headset on top of his head with a mic near his mouth. Princess Cadence sat next to him with the same kind of headset.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, Loud Speaker here speaking from RACE Central, where we will bring you minute to minute, second to second updates from our dedicated staff of Earth, Unicorns and Pegasi! We will be your eyes and ears far across the field as we bring the action to you.” He pointed at the screen, “Ponies back at our cities are watching this on respective screens throughout Equestria, and we all have to thank the Princesses for bringing this moment to you all, especially to Princess Celestia who approved of this contest.” At that, the camera, or what I assumed was the camera, panned over to the Celestia, who was sitting on a large comfortable sofa, her horn was glowing furiously as it seemed to feed into this large cubic crystal that hovered in mid-air so it looked like a diamond. She smiled and gave a light wave at the camera, to which the audience cheered, laughed, and even cooed. They all certainly loved her.

The camera panned back to Loud Speaker and Princess Cadence. “Now, Princess Cadence, how is it possible for such a mammoth task to be performed? Will this be a regular occurrence in the future?”

Princess Cadence shook her head, “Oh no. This kind of magic takes the effort of several hundred Unicorns at the same time. They need to share a kind of mental link, then project it to the screens you see. As a result, only large events such as these can be broadcast. In fact, Princess Celestia is only doing the Pegasi portion of the race. Princess Luna is resting herself up for the Unicorns' trials and I will be the one projecting the last leg of the race when our Earth ponies do their biathlon...”

“Simply amazing!” Loud Speaker interrupted, “I apologize for cutting you short, Your Highness, but the race is about to begin! We will now return to the starting line as the Element of Loyalty herself, Rainbow Dash, will start off this grand event!”

The scene cut back to the top of the cloud. Rainbow Dash was hovering over the starting line, a strange contraption was attached to her hooves. It looked like two flat pieces of wood joined together at the base by something. I couldn't see it clearly.

“Stand by!” Some other Pegasus shouted. He was wearing a white and black striped t-shirt, “Testing clapper...”

Rainbow did something, and the planks of wood smashed together making a sound similar to the sharp crack of a racing pistol. Satisfied that it was working well, Rainbow gave a nod to the pony.

“Okay, ponies. On your marks.”

The Pegasi finished their last minute warm ups. In the row of ponies, I could see Scootaloo rolling her shoulders. She twisted her neck from side to side and placed her front hooves against the line. The other ponies did the same.

“Get set...”

Their wings began to beat up and down faster and faster, until they were nothing more than a blur.

The clapper went off...

Then it went off a second time almost instantly after.

The ponies that had exploded from the starting line all came to a halt.

“False start...” Loud Speaker informed us, “That was Cloud Seeker from Whinneypeg. Got a little too excited there, jumping the clapper on that one. Better not do it a second time or that would be a ten minute delay for the Whinneypeg team.”

The camera zoomed in on the culprit who was shaking his head and punching himself lightly on his temples. It was clear that he was telling himself to relax.

“The Pegasi must be under a lot of pressure. It's a wonder that they’re remaining calm,” Princess Cadence put in, “If it were me, I'd probably do the same thing.”

When all the ponies had returned behind the starting line the pony official raised his hoof in the air. Again Rainbow gave him a nod.

“On your marks!” The official shouted.

A few of them did a little warm up again, perhaps the loosen their nerves. It was quite clear that they were all both excited and nervous. Then they lowered their front halves, like before, and waited.

“Get set...”

Again the ponies' wings blurred into action.

Rainbow shut the clapper, the sharp sound echoing in the stadium.

“And they're off!” Loud Speaker screamed on the the... loudspeakers.

The stadium erupted as the Pegasi zipped off and in seconds they were all little dots in the distance. We watched them go, the cameras panning with the fading images of the ponies as they zoomed off along the track that was clearly marked with flags along the way. Soon we saw the Pegasi again, this time from an overhead angle, as the camera tried to keep up with the racers. In the lead we could see a red blur, followed by green, orange and blue. A few ponies behind was a black form and somewhere in the very far back of the racing pack was a multi-color uniform.

Scootaloo was in last place.

“Come on Scoots!” Lavender shouted.

“Oh, come on Scootaloo!” Derpy shouted, “Don't let them get too far ahead.”

“Hey, Forest, you want something to eat or drink?” Amethyst asked.

Prying my attention away from the screens, I looked at her, “Okay. But... I've got no bits...”

“Don't be silly. We're contestants. They'll give us free food and drink.” Amethyst turned to go.

“I'll come with you. I'll help you carry something.” I offered.

Amethyst looked at me for a moment before sighing, “Okay, come along then.”

We walked to the entrance we had come through and found a stand laden with food and water. A part of me wanted to smack myself. No wonder Amethyst sighed, the distance between the table and where we were standing took approximately thirty seconds to get to.

With her Unicorn magic, Amethyst picked up the glasses, and the food. I carried whatever I could on a tray that had a rounded groove that you placed on your back. It was actually pretty ingenious, and the balance was perfectly done so that I could have loaded one entire side of the tray without fear of it falling off. Of course, I didn't do that, because I did fear it would fall off. Hey, I didn't want to get Rarity's uniform wet – yet. And especially not with juice.

Half the crowd suddenly let out a loud 'ooh', and a few ponies screamed. I looked up at the screen to find one of the Pegasi with his head stuck in a cloud, while his rear stuck out.

The screen returned to a replay, and I could see that one of the ponies, the yellow one, flew above the the zebra striped contestant, touching his wing with his rear hoof that sent the striped contestant straight down, practically doing a nosedive into a cloud.

“That was a pretty hard crash. Do you think Wind Soar is alright?” Loud Speaker asked.

“That didn't seem accidental. It seems that the spirit of competition has brought out the worst in our competitors.” Princess Cadence admonished, “Bright Lightning should be ashamed of herself for that un-sportspony like display.”

Some of crowd agreed.

Wind Soar pushed himself out of the cloud with his hind legs and shook his head. He gritted his teeth before speeding off after the others.

“Well, at least we're not in last place anymore,” I mumbled out loud.

Sure enough, Scootaloo was still trailing behind one of the ponies in second last place. Meanwhile, at the front, the red team streaked further and further away from the others.

“Looks like Sun Streak is still leading the way for Manehatten, and is actually gaining distance for herself against the rest!” Loud Speaker comment, “As expected of someone who could have joined the Wonderbolts.”

“It was a real upset to the team when she declined the offer, saying that her place and her home was in Manehatten.” Princess Cadence added, “It might've been a great loss for the Wonderbolts, but the newly formed flying team from Manehatten, the Red Comets, aren't the least bit upset.”

At the mention of the Red Comets, a vast majority of the crowd erupted in cheers and began to chant something. I couldn't make it out clearly, but it went something like:

“... The Red Comets are the best,
They beat out all the rest,
They're red, not blue,
They're great, no you!
Go, go, Red Comets! ...”

That made me roar with laughter. Who writes their material?

If there was one thing Sun Streak and I had in common, was that we both exuded some sort of fire in our wake. While my running ignited the ground I stepped on, something that I still failed to fully comprehend, every wing beat she made let out a small spark, or fire. In fact, most of the Pegasi had similar things. The only one who didn't was little Scootaloo, who was cruising behind the pony from Baltimare (I think).

The Elements of Harmony walked over to us, each one still grinning and waving at the audience. Some of the crowd waved back, but the majority had their attentions transfixed on the race.

“That was a nice song, ladies.” I complimented when they got close enough.

“Thank you kindly, Forest.” Applejack grinned as she walked over and took one of the drinks from off of my back. The others followed suit. Except Rainbow Dash. She was nowhere to be seen. “Where's Miss Dash?” I said looking up into the skies.

“I think she went back to the palace.” Twilight replied, also looking up, “She's got a lot on her plate, and I think she wants to avoid Soarin.”

“What? Why?”

Twilight sighed, “I think they just broke up.”

Everyone stared at Twilight completely stunned.

“Why?” Lavender barked when Twilight didn't elaborate.

“So... Spike was right.” I muttered. I should've known better than to doubt him.

The audience roared again. This time two Pegasi were flailing around in the sky. I didn't understand what was going on, it sort of looked like they were fighting some invisible force, but they were still flying at the same time.

“Wow! Look at the skill displayed by these fliers! Right into a crosswind! Look at how they are struggling to maintain their speeds while trying to navigate at the same time! Manehatten has lost their pole position to Manebourne! What a race between the two 'mane' cities!” Loud Speaker shouted. “But Sun Streak isn't one to take it lightly! Look at her go!”

Sure enough, the Red Comet twisted her body around, folded her wings tightly against her body and did a sharp dive towards the ground. Then she spread her wings and pushed, the momentum making her move like a torpedo through the air. She ended up right behind the Manebourne racer as the two zipped off and away from the current camera view.

It was awesome.

Scootaloo was still lagging in the back, and therefore was of not much interest to the current announcers, but she was still flying strong.

“What's Scoots doing?” Amethyst moaned, “We're going to lose at this rate!”

“It's still a long way to the finish line. I'm sure Scootaloo knows what she's doing.” Rarity replied.

“I'm going back to the palace. It'll be awhile before the Pegasi leg is over.” Twilight stated, “All this noise and cheering isn't really my thing. That, and I'm a little worried about Rainbow.”

“I hear ya,” Applejack nodded, “I'll come with.”

Unanimously, the Elements decided to all head out together.

“You comin', Forest?” Applejack asked.

“Me?” I looked at my team mates, “I think I ought to stay with the team, no?”

“Oh, don't worry. The next portion of the race takes place under the palace. We're all going to have to go there soon anyway.” Twilight looked at us, “So, I think we should all head back before the crowd does.”

With that, we all started walking back towards the palace.

On the way, my bladder demanded it be emptied. “Guys, I'll see you back there in a bit... I need to stop by some place.” I grinned.

“I'll wait for you, Forest.” Twilight offered.

I blushed, “No, no. That's okay...”

“Do you know the way?”

“Um... well... yeah, I do...”

“What d'ya need to do?” Applejack asked.

I grinned nervously, then motioned with my head to the toilet symbol above me.

The girls all blushed.

“Oh. Okay. See you later then...” Twilight replied a little embarrassed.

I was glad that they left. The silence was slowly getting worse and worse, and it was beginning to get real awkward.

Now, slipping Rarity’s suit off was a pain in the butt for this kind of thing. I had to fully strip before I was able to continue.

After finishing my business, I walked out of the toilets. My attention was distracted as I was watching the projected image of the race on the large screens in the middle of the arena through the gaps that led down towards the stadium seating area. I didn't notice a little filly skipping along and I walked right into her. The little Pegasi filly gave a loud squeak.

She looked up at me, then at my chest, then at the floor.

“My costume!” I exclaimed as a large splotch of ice-cream now decorated my front.

“My ice-cream!” The filly exclaimed, staring at the blob on the floor. Her eyes began to water.

“No, no! I'm sorry, please don't cry!” I said, kneeling down on the ground.

“Hey! What're you doing to my sister!” A dark blue Pegasus zipped over and somehow placed himself between the light brown-ish filly and me.

“Doing? I'm not doing anything! I was just... I did...” I pointed at the ice-cream on the ground.

“Buy her a new one!” The colt shouted, “It's your fault! I saw you! You were walking without looking!”

He tried to stand there and look threatening, but his white mane kept falling over his eyes and he had to shake his head to get them out of the way, which looked rather comical.

“Look at what I'm wearing, kid. Do you really think I could carry money in this?” I asked.

The colt looked at me, then at my suit.

“You're a racer? What town?”

“Ponyville...”

“Guys, I don't know...” Another filly walked over to us. This one I knew instantly.

“Aqua?”

“Oh! It's you! Twilight's coltfriend!” Aqua said, grinning.

My face exploded, “N-n-no! I only said that because she was being harassed by all those ponies. Not you, Aqua, the other ponies. Anyway... Twilight was really taken by you.” I quickly added, desperate to change the subject.

“Really?” Aqua smiled, “She was?”

I nodded, overwhelmed by her cute smile. It was just like Applebloom's, in the way that it somehow managed to make me melt. “Where's Mommy-Strawberry?”

“We're lost.” Aqua admitted, “We're trying to look for them, but I can't remember the seating area. We were supposed to go out and get ice-cream, but Thunderbolt said that the one near where we were didn't have the flavors he wanted.”

“You mean 'Thunderdolt'. Mom's gonna kill us because of you!” The other filly glared at her brother.

Thunderbolt turned his head away, “I'm not lost. I'm just... making sure that we get to the right place.”

“Do you know your seat numbers?” I asked.

The children shook their heads.

“Your parents don't know you snuck off, do they?” I asked.

The children shook their heads again.

I heaved a long, tired sigh. “I don't know, I guess the best thing would be to find a Royal Guard and have them watch you till your parents come and find you.”

“But we'll miss the show!” Thunderbolt stated. “And I really, really, really want to see Rainbow Dash do her Sonic Rainboom!”

“You like Rainbow, huh?” I smiled.

“Duh, who doesn't? She's only the fastest, bravest, most awesome pony in all of Equestria. She’s the best Wonderbolt ever!” Thunderbolt replied matter-of-factually.

I couldn't help but chuckle, “I'll be sure to tell her you said so.”

“Wait! You know Rainbow Dash?” Thunderbolt eyes opened wide.

“Uh... yes?” Perhaps I shouldn't have said that.

“The Rainbow Dash? Element of Loyalty?” Thunderbolt's eyes seemed to grow wider and wider.

“Uh... yep. That's the one...”

“I don't believe you.” Thunderbolt shook his head, “How can somepony as lame as you know the Rainbow Dash.”

“Lame?” I could only pout.

“He knows Twilight,” Aqua reassured, “I'm sure he knows Rainbow Dash for real.”

Thunderbolt's expression returned to normal suddenly. He then floated next to me and put me in a light headlock, “Tell you what...”

“Forest,” I revealed when it was clear he wanted to know my name, “Forest Fire.”

“Tell you what, Forest. You let me meet Rainbow Dash, and I'll forgive you for ruining my sister's ice-cream. Deal?” Thunderbolt grinned at me.

“Rainbow is at the palace. I can't take you there without special permission...” I tried to stop myself, but it was too late.

“You know two of the Elements of Harmony! You already have special permission! And you're a racer! Come on! Think of the ice-cream!” Thunderbolt gestured to the ground.

“I know all the Elements... and that’s not what I meant. What I mean is that I need permission from your parents!” It just seemed like a real bad idea for a stranger to take three children away.

“I would like to meet Twilight again...” Aqua grinned sweetly at me.

“Can I meet all the Elements?” The little light brown filly asked.

“Stargazer! Don't be greedy!” Aqua seemed a little embarrassed.

“Are you all siblings?” I asked, interrupting them, and trying to stall for time. Maybe the parents were out looking for these two sweet fillies, and that brat of a colt.

“No, this is Stargazer and Thunderbolt...”

“Dolt. Thunderdolt.” Stargazer corrected Aqua while glaring at her brother.

“Shut up, Slug.” Thunderbolt taunted his sister.

“Slug?” That wasn't very nice.

Thunderbolt laughed, “Yeah, cause she can't fly. She's as slow as a slug and stuck to the ground.”

Stargazer just glared at him. I felt bad for the little Pegasus filly.

“They are brother and sister. I'm just a friend. We're from the same town; Baltimare.” Aqua quickly added before standing in between the two.

“Are your parents racing?” I asked. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.

“No. We wouldn't be up here in the stands if they were, doofus.” Thunderbolt said releasing me from the headlock.

“Thunder!” Aqua gasped.

“What? He is a doofus.”

“I'm sorry, Forest. He's just talking like that because he's scared...” Aqua began.

“No I'm not! I'm not scared! I'm not scared of anything!” Thunderbolt barked back.

“It's okay, Aqua. I'm used to it.” Sadly, I was. “But we still need to get you back to your parents.”

“Forest? Forest! There you are. I was waiting for you.” A pink pony poked her pretty physiognomy in my field of view. I jumped back out of reflex. How does she keep doing that? “Who're your new friends?”

“This here is Aqua, Thunderbolt and Stargazer.” I pointed to each one in turn, “They're lost.”

Thunderbolt looked offended. “I'm telling you I’m not lost! I'm just... exploring.”

“We've been 'exploring' for the past half hour! Our parents are going to kill us because of you.” Aqua muttered.

“Oh no! Well, you know what's a super cool, super smart idea?” Pinkie began, “Let's go see Twilight! She'll find your mummies and daddies in a flash! Literally!” She giggled at her own joke.

“But... we can't take them away from here! That's like... kidnapping!” It was!

“Don't be such a big silly. They're not goats! You can't kidnap them.” Pinkie replied patting me on the back.

“Well, whatever it's called... you can't do that!”

“I'm the Element of Laughter, Forest. I may act a little cuckoo sometimes...” She saw the expression on my face, and giggled, “Okay, so I cuckoo most of the time, but everypony knows that we Elements would do anything for our fellow ponies!” She jumped over me, “I'll make really, really sure that they get back with their parents. Is that okay?”

The kids all nodded, “Yeah!”

I groaned, but if there was one thing I've learnt about being here in Equestria it's that you do not argue with Pinkie Pie. It was pointless, and you’d lose anyway.

Together, the five of us walked to the palace, and despite disapproving glances from the guards, they let us all in without question. Pinkie hopped along, humming the tune she had sung on the stage from earlier out loud.

When we finally arrived in the garden, half the racers were already there.

Spike spotted me and waved, “Hey, Forest. Who're the kids?”

I introduced them, while Pinkie hopped around us gleefully. Did she ever run out of energy?

“Oh, I get it! Twilight can use her magic to find them! Smart thinking, Forest...”

“Actually, it was Pinkie's idea...” I admitted.

“Pinkie does have good ideas once in a while.” Spike nodded sagely.

I couldn't help but laugh.

“Hey!” Pinkie shouted.

“Speaking of which, where is Twilight?” I asked, ignoring her outburst.

Spike shrugged, “I think they all went looking for you.”

Thunderbolt nudged me, then in a low voice just barely louder than a whisper, “Where's Rainbow Dash. You said I could meet her.”

“I-” I began.

“Rainbow? She's right over there, near the statues.” Spike replied at almost the exact same moment.

And before I could even blink, Thunderbolt was off like a bat outta hell. He flew right up to Rainbow before assaulting her in a barrage of words and questions. The more he talked, the more Pinkie-like he became; jumping up and down excitedly, talking a mile a minute, and just overwhelmed with excitement. Rainbow was a little shocked at first, but then she smiled and listened. Perhaps it was a good distraction from the other events plaguing her life.

By the time the rest of us caught up to him, he was done and just stood there staring at her.

“Friend of yours?” Rainbow smirked as she asked me the question.

I rolled my eyes, “They were... 'exploring' the stadium looking for ice-cream and forgot where they were sitting. Pinkie suggested I bring 'em here so Twilight can help find their parents. Anyway, I see you’ve met Thunderbolt. This here is his sister Stargazer, and their friend Aqua.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Aqua politely replied.

Stargazer muttered something, but a little too quite for me to catch.

Rainbow was about to reply to them when the racers did a collective gasp. A few then applauded after that.

“Wow! What a maneuver! Did you see that?” One of the other racers shouted, “Completely faked out that Cloudsdale Pegasus... what's his name?”

“Gale Force. And she's a mare.” One of her teammates corrected.

“Oops, sorry. Hard to tell with these uniforms on...”

“I know, right?” One of the Unicorns from Coltumbus joked, “And did you see how that Ponyville Pegasi dodged the others? Expertly done!” The other racers nodded in appreciation.

Instinctively I looked up at the screen and spotted Scootaloo! She was now just behind the leader of the second pack of flyers. According to the table that was now on the right-hand side of the screen, she was in ninth place! A brief replay showed the Pegasi in a long line in three separate packs. The front one was led by Sun Streak when they all suddenly twisted around and were blown into a wall of cloud, forcing the Pegasi to half-run, half-fly along it. The second pack, reaching that point, all narrowed themselves and did not spread their wings. Instead they all torpedoed through whatever the invisible obstacle was before trying to recover their lost altitude. But the front three opened their wings too early and found themselves spinning out of control and out of the course. They had to fight to regain their position and altitude, which gave the other Pegasi ample opportunity to overtake them.

In the mayhem of the ponies falling and getting blown in every which way, Scootaloo expertly wove through the Pegasi, using the smallest amount of movement to dodge them. But Scootaloo had dropped too far and by the time she flew back up to the right altitude, the original pack had resumed their lead, but that was how Scootaloo had gone from second-last place to ninth!

“Yeah, them Shadowbolts have got some real talent. I like how Windsoar’s Pegasi handled that,” Another racer commented, “but as long as the Wonderbolts have Rainbow Dash, they'll always be on top.”

At this, Rainbow looked away in a feeble attempt to hide her rosy cheeks. Usually she'd be basking in their praises, but something was clearly off. Perhaps her father's words about being humble had really sunk in. Whatever the case, it was strange and slightly cute to see a bashful Rainbow Dash.

“Wouldn't it be great if she left the Wonderbolts and joined the Shadowbolts?” Another shouted, “She'd look so awesome in a Shadowbolt uniform.”

Thunderbolt whipped around, “She'd look good in anything!”

The racers all stared at the young colt, then burst out laughing. Even I couldn't keep a straight face, it was funny to see and hear such a young colt defend the greatest flier in all Equestria. Rainbow blushed furiously at the outburst, which only made the rest of us laugh harder. Aqua's face was even brighter than Rainbow's, clearly embarrassed by her friend as well.

“Isn't he too young for you?” A racer shouted.

Rainbow just rolled her eyes. “He's still a better stallion than you, Fleet Hoof.”

The rest of the racers laughed even louder at this, but Fleet Hoof only stuck out his tongue. I guess he wasn't so bad. Still, he was my chief rival, and I wasn’t about to let him have my three wishes.

Unlike the stadium, we didn't have a running commentary here by Princess Cadence or Loud Speaker, so it was hard for us non-Pegasi to understand the complexities of what they were facing. But whatever the case, everyone's eyes were glued to the screens now.

“Spike, how're they doing that?” I pointed to the screens. “Projecting that, I mean.”

“The live feed? Well, see that Unicorn over there?” Spike pointed to a Unicorn near a large cube-like device, “He gets the signal from the Princesses and then uses his own magic to send it to the screens. Like a movie projector. That is the way we can do it live. It's amazing. Guess who invented it?”

“Twilight?”

“Yep! Apparently live shows were common on Brian's world. So, I guess this is a tribute to him. He should be watching this right now in the hospital.” Spike then hit himself on the head, “I just remembered that I have to go get Aiden and Atom. They went down to his bakery to check up on things. I'll be back.”

“I'll walk you to the gate.” I would have walked with him to the bakery, but I couldn't leave the kids alone with Rainbow, and Pinkie had disappeared again.

As Spike left, I heard a rough cough from behind me and I turned around to see one of the Royal Guards. Behind him were four ponies that I had never seen before... scratch that, three ponies that I had never seen before.

“Mommy-Strawberry!” I shouted aloud.

The pink Earth pony was a little taken aback by that.

“Honey, let me handle this,” The greenish Earth pony began and she put herself in front of Strawberry, “Where are our children?”

Understandably, she was upset. “T-t-they're right over there. Come, I'll take you to them.”

“Oh, thank Celestia they're alright!” A purple Pegasus heaved a sigh or relief and placing her hoof against her forehead under her frizzy dark gray mane.

An orange Unicorn put his hoof on her shoulder, “I told you they'd be fine, darling.”

“Good. Because I'm going to kill them!” she stated with a raised voice. “How dare they make me worry like this?”

“Stormy...” The orange Unicorn began.

The guard was a little shocked by this outburst, but after a moment he just nodded. “I'll leave it to you then.” He said to me before marching off. Those guys really scared me.

“Hi... um... I'm Forest. Forest Fire. So, yeah, um... let's go?” I gestured with my hoof.

“I'm Spyglass Vision, and this is my wife Stormy Nights, and you seem to know Strawberry Blossom and that's her wife Petal Shower. We've been searching for our children...”

“Those brats...” Stormy politely interjected.

“... our children,” Spyglass gave his wife a keen look, to which she just batted her eyelids and flashed him a wide smile, “for the past hour. Thank Celestia you found them.”

“Actually, I bumped into your daughter and knocked her ice-cream out of her hoof. After that, we brought them here in hopes that Twilight Sparkle could identify you guys. As to bringing them here... yeah, that was Pinkie Pie's idea.” I wanted to let them know that I was against it.

“Well, we can't thank you enough for trying,” Spyglass continued, “have they been too much of a nuisance?”

“Not really,” I lied, “they're children, after all.”

Spyglass seemed to sense I was being polite and sighed while shaking his head, “I really apologize for this, Forest.”

“No, really, it’s okay.” This time I was being sincere.

When we arrived back at the racer’s lounging area, we saw Aqua trying to calm a furious looking Stargazer as Thunderbolt hovered above her, obviously teasing her in some way. Most probably about her lack of flying ability. Rainbow was standing off to one side looking confused, amused and a little nervous. Some of the other racers were watching amused at their antics, while the others still stared at the screens.

“Mommy Strawberry! Mommy Petal!” Aqua exclaimed rushing over to them and diving into their welcoming embrace.

Thunderbolt froze in mid-air. How he did was beyond me. Slowly he turned his head in our direction, his eyes spotting his parents. He flashed a nervous grin towards Stormy and especially his father, Spyglass. Suddenly an aura of light-brown magic formed around the Pegasus colt, and his wings ceased to move and he fell down on his legs. A very, very displeased look appeared on the Unicorn's face.

“Hi dad.” Thunderbolt's nervous grin faded as he took the steps towards his parents.

“What were you thinking? Do you know how worried we were?” Spyglass said, although his voice was calm and seemingly gentle, I still got chills down my spine. I've never had a father reprimand me in my entire life, and seeing it happen was both strange and foreign to me.

“I'm sorry.” Thunderbolt's cocky demeanor had vanished.

“Your mother's been ripping her mane out worrying about the two of you, you should apologize to her.” Spyglass said, his voice still grim.

Thunderbolt turned towards his mother, “Sorry, mom.”

Stormy seized her son in her hooves and squeezed him, and then gestured for Stargazer to come to her, which she did without a moment's hesitation. Stormy hugged her two children in the way only mothers can do, and despite her words from before, I could tell she was grateful that her children were okay.

I smiled at that. I wished that I had a mother that cared for me like that.

“You’re grounded for a month, by the way.” Spyglass stated while Stormy cuddled him.

“Noooooooooo!” Thunderbolt sobbed.

“Ha! Serves you right, Thunderdolt.” Stargazer stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Thunderbolt started for his sister, but Stormy's motherly grip held him in place. She was surprisingly strong. It was clear to me; one does not tempt the wrath of mother.

“Do you have any children of your own?” Petal asked.

It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. I shook my head, “N-n-no. I don't think I'm father material.”

“Oh? Why's that?” She continued, “Wait, you're not married? I saw the bracelet around your hoof... I just thought...”

“Ah... well...” I didn't know how to respond to that. “I don’t see you wearing one.”

“It’s not common anymore. It’s kinda an old and annoying tradition. Imagine wearing it all the time! Most ponies nowadays wear ear-rings, or nothing... depends... but a bracelet like that...” Petal replied.

That was interesting to me.

“It's impolite to pry into somepony's personal life like that, Dewdrop.” Strawberry said nuzzling the mare, “You wouldn't like it if he did the same to you, would you?”

“Dewdrop? I thought your name was Petal...”

“It's my nickname for the love of my life,” Strawberry kissed her wife’s cheek. “My Petal. My Dewdrop.”

“Oh. That's actually quite nice.” It was. I wished I had cutesy nicknames for my better half, but I didn't have one. Not anymore. Actually... I never really did.

“Forest, c'mere a sec.” Rainbow waved her hoof at me.

“Yes?”

“Why? Why did you leave me alone with those kids?” She questioned in a harsh whisper.

I could only smile at that.

She then returned a gentle smile, “Thank you. I really needed the distraction.”

“There you are, Forest!” A familiar voice called from behind me.

“Hi, Twilight. Where'd you guys go?”

“Looking for you. Who're your new friends?”

I explained the whole situation, including the reason why I had brought the children there.

“And whose bright idea was it to bring them here?” Twilight looked at me keenly.

Pinkie, who had vanished, had now returned pushing a small tray with goodies. “Oh! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie!” She bounced over to us, “Are you the parents? I was gonna take good care of them while Twilee used her super awesome magic to find you!”

“Should've guessed...” Twilight muttered under her breath.

I nudged Twilight, “It was the best option, okay? You’re the best magic user I know.” Well, she was. That was true.

Spyglass bowed his head, “It is an honor to be in the presence of the Elements of Magic, but now that we've found our brood, I think it would be best if we left...”

“Don't be silly!” Pinkie exclaimed, shoving a cupcake into Spyglass' hoof, “Stay!”

“Are you sure? We don’t want to impose...” Stormy began.

“Please...” Her two children begged.

“Well, I don’t know... Spyglass, honey? What do you think?”

Her husband rubbed the back of his head, “Well...”

“Please...” The two children begged again. This time Pinkie had joined them.

Stormy was taken a little aback with the sudden inclusion of the Element of Laughter, but she assented, “But if you misbehave, we're leaving. That clear?”

The two children nodded vigorously.

Twilight walked over to Aqua and smiled at her, “We meet again!”

Aqua’s eyes opened wide, “You remember me?” She squeaked.

“Of course! How could I forget my number one fan?”

Aqua beamed.

“Oh yeah? Well, I'm Rainbow Dash's number one fan! And that's even cooler!” Thunderbolt turned to her, “Right?”

“Twenty percent cooler.”

Thunderbolt's eyes lit up.

“Oh, please don't encourage him, Miss Dash...”

“Just Rainbow, please.”

“Rainbow... he's already a hoofful as it is.” Stormy stated putting a hoof around her son's shoulders.

Thunderbolt was 'too cool' for that and shrugged it off with a, “Mom, not in front of Rainbow...”

Introductions were once again made as everyone was introduced to one another.

When Twilight was introduced to Stormy, something rang a bell in her head. “I've heard your name before, I think.”

“I don't think so, Your Highness...”

“No. Please. Don't. I'm not a princess, please don't call me that.” Twilight pleaded.

“But... I thought... since your sister-in-law is...” It was clear that the Pegasus was now confused.

Twilight just sighed, “I know what you mean, but I'm not royalty. Just call me Twilight, please.”

“Are you sure, princess?” I joked, which Twilight rewarded me with a rough nudge as she shouldered me.

Couldn't help but laugh.

“Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've heard your name before.” Twilight thought for a moment, “Oh! I know. You had an audience with Princess Celestia, didn't you?”

At those words Stormy's face turned as pink as Pinkie's.

Her two children eyes opened wide.

Stargazer, who had stuck near her mother since their reunion was astonished, “Really, mommy? You met Princess Celestia?”

“That was a very long time ago. I'm impressed you can remember that, Twilight.” Stormy knelt down allowing her daughter to nuzzle her.

“That's how big of an egg-head she is.” Rainbow burst out laughing at her own joke. Thunderbolt joined in, although I'm not too sure he understood what Rainbow meant.

“So, who're you cheering for?” I asked Stargazer while Twilight and her mother continued to talk. They were going on about magic or magical theory, and since I was allergic to magic their conversation had little interest to me.

“I dunno. Baltimare, I guess.”

“Ponyville?” I asked cheekily.

Stargazer smiled and laughed at me. She shook her head, “No. Not Ponyville.”

“Why not?” I asked, pretending to be shocked.

She wasn't fooled by my lame acting skills. “Because I live in Baltimare, silly.” She giggled.

“Darling,” Stormy interrupted, “please don't lie to Forest. You're really cheering for Coltumbus, right?”

“Lightning-bug...” Spyglass began, his voice mockingly threatening, “None of that. She's a Baltimare native, and she's going to cheer for Baltimare. Right, sweetheart?”

“Yeah!” Petal agreed with the stallion, “Go Baltimare!”

At those words, the Baltimare race team erupted in a cheer.

Strawberry giggled, “Go Coltumbus!”

At those words, the Coltumbus team and Stormy roared.

“Go Ponyville!” I shouted.

“Yay!” Fluttershy cheered... well, at least I think it was a cheer. There was practically no volume in it, which made everyone burst out into laughter. She lowered herself to the ground, “Too loud?” She asked, her face a bright scarlet, but she had a smile on her face too. It was actually really cute.

Stargazer just grinned at her father, “Go Coltumbus!”

Spyglass pretended that he was shocked and betrayed, which earned him a cute little cuddle from his daughter. After that he looked up at his wife.

Stormy smiled and bit her lip as Spyglass leaned in and gave her a peck on her cheek, “Naughty wife, brainwashing our child.”

There was nothing Stormy could say to that. She just giggled before rolling her eyes and nuzzling her husband, before wrapping her hoof around his neck and giving him a noogie.

They were such a wonderful, happy family. A part of me couldn't help but feel jealous. The more I was here, the more it became apparent just how empty my life had been.

“Wow! Did you see that? Ponyville's racer just breezed through that!” Someone shouted.

“Go, go, Scootaloo!” Derpy hooted before shoving another cupcake into her mouth.

“Mom!” A new voice yelled.

“Muffin!” Derpy shouted, dropping her muffin and zipping over to her daughter, tackling her to the ground.

Dinky burst out into a giggling fit, “Oh, mom. Why aren't you racing?” Derpy explained why in her own way, which Dinky just laughed and hugged her mother, “You're so silly sometimes.”

“Heya, Dinks.” Lavender said helping the mare from the ground, “You just arrived?”

“No, no. I've been in town for a while, but I decided to do a little shopping...”

“Ooh, what'd you get?” Lavender asked, peering at the saddlebags.

Dinky giggled, “Some books, some makeup... and a dress for tonight.”

Lavender squealed in excitement, “Show me!”

“Why would you want a dress?” Amethyst asked, then her eyes opened wide, “Oh. My. Gosh! Who is the lucky pony?”

Dinky blushed, “Sh! Not so loud.”

While the three of them continued to converse amongst themselves, I spotted Spike, Aiden and Atom walking down the veranda from the main gate. Applejack walked up to them and started chatting with Atom. They were too close for comfort – for my comfort – but I turned away and my eyes locked with Twilight's.

“What?” I asked when she didn't break her scrutinizing gaze.

“You're not over her.” It wasn't a question.

“I'd be lying if I said I was, but it's not like it matters.”

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but it was cut off by excited chattering.

“They're coming up to the halfway point!” Someone shouted.

Everyone's attention instantly went to the screens. The screen panned over to a large platform, on which were long poles with hoops at the top. The first one to reach was Sun Streak, who grabbed the hoop and in one movement, placed it over her head. Then she made a loop around and started heading back the way she came. It had taken the Pegasi just under and hour to get that far.

Scootaloo was now in fourth place! She spread her arms out and her head went through the hoop, and her shoulder and arms caught it, as she whipped around the U bend. She had caught up with the four front fliers and placed herself behind the third-place pony.

The other Pegasi had copied Scootaloo's 'grab' and were close behind, but it was evident that the front pack was quickly distancing themselves from the others behind them. Before long the front four ponies had such a huge lead that there was little doubt who would take the front four places. The only question remained, who would cross first and by how much time.

“They're flying with a tailwind now. It won't be long. Amethyst, you should start warming up.” Rainbow advised.

Amethyst was a little disappointed that she could not chat more with Dinky and Lavender, but she nodded and walked away. She sat near a tree and closed her eyes. She looked like she was sleeping instead of warming up, although I didn't know how a Unicorn warmed up for a sporting even such as this.

“Look at her go!” Came a yell, “She's actually gaining on Sun Streak!”

Curious, I stared at the screen. Scootaloo was now in second place and was now flying level with the Manehatten favorite.

“Alright, Scootaloo!” I shouted.

“Scootaloo? That's her name?” Others began to comment on it, and soon everypony not from Manehatten was rooting for her.

It was a ding-dong, see-saw battle. Scootaloo inched forwards, only to be beaten back by Manehatten. Then Sun Streak would push in front of Scootaloo. They traded first place again and again. It was nail-biting! Well, hoof-biting, I guess. Whatever the case, I couldn't help but get swayed by the energy everyone had.

“All Unicorns competing in the second stage, please make your way to the starting line.” The announcer from before said over the speaker system.

The racers all cheered for their respective teams, I walked over the Amethyst who looked calm as ever. She looked over to Twilight who smiled and nodded to her.

“Go get 'em!” I shouted.

Amethyst gave me a single, firm nod before walking with the others. They soon disappeared out of sight as they headed up the road that we had marched along from before.

“Let's go and see. Come on, everypony!” Applejack gestured with her head and we all followed. And when I mean everypony, I literally mean every pony. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Stormy Nights, Spyglass Vision, Thunderbolt, Stargazer, Strawberry, Petal Shower, Aqua Inferna, Atomic Vortex, Spike, Fluttershy, Aiden Fomaio...

“Rainbow, you coming?” I shouted when she didn't move.

She looked over to me, “Right behind you, slowpoke.”

I pretended to be shocked, “Slowpoke?”

She zipped past me with a mischievous grin, “Yeah. Slowpoke...”

Oh no, she didn't!

Everypony else jogged along the veranda, only to find themselves completely overtaken by a rainbow streak and a brown one seconds later as I chased after the Wonderbolt.

We cut across through the palace itself, much to the annoyance of the guards, before making our way to the dreaded balcony area where Princess Celestia had nearly killed me. Usually I'd feel the need to avoid areas like this. Ones that reminded me of pain and agony, but right now I didn't care. Right now all I wanted was to see what was going to happen next. Right now I was a part of a group. I belonged someplace. And I loved it.

Eventually the others caught up to us. Rainbow was chuckling away. “Okay, Forest. I take it back, you're not slow. Just slower.”

“That's because you're flying. Try running against me, and then we'll see who's faster.” I taunted.

Rainbow didn't bite. She just shrugged, “Yeah, you might beat me, but I'd still be tough competition.”

In the distance we could see four dots closing in. Camera-carrying Pegasi were trying to keep up but it was obvious that they couldn't. Not at those speeds.

“Here they come!” Somepony shouted from below us.

I looked over the balcony to see hundred of ponies waving flags and cheering as the racers closed in on the finish line, right next to the tree in that lawn area where Twilight and I saw the sunrise. There I could make out the Unicorns waiting impatiently. It was then that it hit me; this race was a relay! The hoop was the baton!

You're a moron, Forest.

The stadium in the distance erupted. Looking at the nearest video screen, I saw Scootaloo now completely dominating the race. She was at least four lengths away from Sun Streak and the distance between them kept on increasing. Soon, the cameras had to zoom out to put them both on the same frame, and there was no sign of Scootaloo slowing down! On and on she went.

Then, she folded her wings in and she started coming in real fast towards Amethyst who had her hoof extended.

“No catching the hoop with your magic! Your team-mate has to place it in your hoof themselves!” The announcer stated.

Sun Streak now dropped from second to third as the pony from Manebourne over took her. She was clearly exhausted, while Scootaloo seemed to be going strong. But the Manebourne Pegasus was gaining on her. The stallion quickly closing the distance between them.

Again the stadium in the distance erupted in cheers. Scootaloo had started a steep drop down, and she removed the hoop from her head and in mid-air the hoop went around Amethyst's hoof. The baton had been passed! And we were in the lead!

Scootaloo spread her wings coming to a slow, but steady stop as Amethyst turned and ran towards what looked like the entrance to a cave. She placed the hoop over her head and disappeared into the darkness within.

“Yeah!” I shouted unable to contain my excitement.

Seconds later, Manebourne did the same maneuver passing on his hoop to his team-mate. The Unicorn then sped after Amethyst and a close third was Sun Streak and another Pegasi – I think she was from Trottingham, I wasn't sure. The two Unicorns dashed into the cave as well.

It didn't take long for the others to catch up, but at least two whole minutes had passed by the time the last Pegasi passed the baton on.

The first leg of the RACE was over. And we were winning.

Day 20: A Day at the Races - Part 4: The Final Leg

Holy shit that’s cold! I screamed in my head as my body hit the water. Just need to keep going...

I started to swim. I knew that I was in last place, that it wasn’t going to get any easier, that water was my biggest weakness. I knew it all, but I refused to let it set me back. I had re-learnt how to swim, Lavender had trained me practically to death. The hours and miles of anguish I put up with... there was just no way I was going to lose! No way! I wasn’t about to let myself get defeated.

No. Way.

On and on I kept going. Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke.

My lungs burned. My face ached. I hated swimming. This was the worse thing I’ve ever done. And the buoys floating by my face did nothing except remind me of how slow I was. Each one of them bobbed in the water, mocking me, letting me know that I wasn’t getting anywhere fast. The feeling of frustration made me was to scream. If only I could run!

I paused to peer out ahead of me. Still a long way to go, and I couldn’t let up. Concentrating on each stroke, on and on I swam, the cold water no longer bothered me as my body acclimatized to it. The only thoughts that went through my head at the moment were of everyone waiting for me back in Canterlot. Expecting me to cross the finish line first. Could I do it? Could I make it?

No. I had to. This was my life on the line. I needed those wishes!

Come on, Forest! Just like how you learned on the lake. Kick with your legs. Kick with them! Kick harder you fool!

I egged myself on. I willed myself on.

Then, just like that I saw the next pony in front of me. I was catching up! That gave me hope. It gave me strength! I turned around on my back, and did the backstroke... that was it! It was the backstroke that gave me the speed. I stretched my arms out to my sides, feeling them helping me float. Then I kicked. Hard. Faster. My legs sending large splashes as I picked up speed. It felt like I was skipping on top of the surface!

I saw the pony next to me go by. Yes! Second last pla-

Something hit me on the head. It was a buoy! The damned course curved around and I had swam into the barrier. Turning my head I saw the direction change and I had to compensate, but I continued to swim on.

From here I saw the next three ponies swimming in a group. I had to catch them. I had to reach them. I turned onto my back once more and kicked. Kick, kick, kick!

The Pegasus pony with the camera kept right on top of me. And I did my best to ignore him. I dunked my head in the water, the goggles showing the deep, blue, calm water under me. A saw large fish swimming around, fish that would make any fisherman on Earth giggle with glee. They were huge! Big enough to swallow me whole!

Great. Just what I need. Another reason to worry...

Again I felt my head hit something. Another buoy! Turning my body again, I aligned straight once more and began to kick again. I had no idea how far I had swam. No idea how far I needed to go. No idea about anything!

Just swim, Forest.

Water got into my ears but I ignored it. Couldn’t let every little thing bother me. The hoop was still securely around my neck. I kept checking, ever fearful of the fact that it might fall off at any second and I’d have to swim back to retrieve it. Every single doubt and fear making my mind think of a million other things, trying to ignore the importance of what I was trying to do. What I had to do...

My back hit something, and I turned around. My mouth dropped. I had done it! I had... this was... I was at the end! The ponies on the shore were cheering, pointing up the road where the three ponies from before were running as hard as they could. In the far distance I could make out the leaders of the pack rounding the bend way off in the distance. They were dots, barely visible now. And they were moving fast.

No time to lose!

Starting my run, I felt my legs suddenly spring to life, as if the dirt under my hooves revitalized them. Strength was coming back to me, and I felt my body rearing to go. To run. To chase. To move.

Running towards the nearest boulder, I placed my rear hooves on it. The last pony passing me by, looking over at me wondering what I was doing. I aligned myself with the road and bent my knees. I felt powerful. The tension, the spring, or whatever it was seemed to increase. It felt as if all my energy was being shoved down into my legs, my thighs filling up with something... I don’t know what, but it made me feel... good. Real good.

Go! I barked in my head.

It took me by surprise. The momentum. Unlike the time with the Ursas, this was far more... potent. Was my desire to win so strong that I’d just ascended past my usual strength? Did I manage to push myself already beyond my limit? The answer was simply: yes.

As I pushed, I launched myself through the air. My forehooves were bent at the elbows by my ears, the hooves themselves above my head. As I came down from my explosive start, I came down towards the ground shoving the forehooves into the ground as hard as I could. Then I pulled. Pulled with all my strength, as I brought my rearhooves forward pushing them into the ground as hard as I could as well.

Somepony screamed. I didn’t care.

I kicked with my legs again, shooting me forwards, the ground under me a blur. A haze of rubble and sand, I couldn’t make it out. I didn’t want to. I needed to go. To run. To move! Go! The cheering had stopped, or if it had gone silent, I don’t know, but I had to keep going.

The three ponies in front of me were there, then gone. I had passed them by as if they were standing still. I don’t know what happened to the last place one, but I didn’t care. I needed to catch up, and catch up was what I was going to do. Up the mountain I charged, my momentum aiding in my ascent. The ponies that were crowding the beach below were long gone, as I rushed through the mountain track with one word on my mind.

Win.

My forehooves pulled the ground in front of me again as I took another gallop-step forwards. My muscles burned, especially my shoulders, but I loved this burn. It felt good. It made me feel alive. I wanted this pain. The pain reminding me just how important everything is. My life, my wishes, my everything was riding on this. I had no choice, I must win.

The wind roared in my ears, and I couldn’t hear anything. The hoop around my neck was secure and firmly set where I had placed it. The only thing that I didn’t understand was why I couldn’t go any faster. I wanted to, and I tried, but it felt like a wall was holding me by. Nothing I could do let me run any faster than I was running now. Even so, I overtook several more ponies in the struggle, weaving around and through them easily.

The course weaved around the edge of the mountain. The sign in front of my indicated a sharp ‘S’ bend, and I readied myself. Rushing as fast as I could, I tried to take the turn at my current speed, but I was too fast. My hooves slipped on the pavement and I slammed into the side of the mountain, a steep cliff-face. I felt my lungs burn as the air was forced out of them. I wanted to stop. Catch my breath. No. I had to suck up the pain. I had to get past this. I had to push. Couldn’t allow even a moment to go by without me pressing onwards.

Slowing down at the next turn, because if I hadn’t I might’ve fallen down over the side of the mountain, I pushed myself on. Once again I charged upwards towards Canterlot. The road kept on twisting around the slope, winding its way around the edge, the steep drop to my left, and the mountain to my right.

It was not long before I caught up with the other runners. I watched the distance between us shrink and I barely noticed them flit by as I overtook them. I wanted to watch their expressions as I thundered past, but I couldn’t afford even that simple pleasure. There was one pony I had to catch, one pony that I needed to overtake, one pony that I needed to beat. One pony that stood between me and my future!

You’re not getting away from me, Fleet Hoof! I screamed in my head.

The next curve took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected it to turn that sharply, and I shoved my hooves into the ground as I tried to stop myself before colliding into the railing. Didn’t work.

Ow.

Picking myself up, I looked around. I could see the way I had come, the trail of fire slowly dying down on the road. It took me a moment to realize that I was standing in the flames and leapt out of them. Luckily the costume didn’t burn. I would hate to think what Rarity would have said if I had ruined it. Two camera Pegasi were hovering over me, and it was clear that they were out of breath. This guy was different from the last one; must have left him behind back near the lake.

No, couldn’t dwell on it. I had to continue. Every second wasted is a second I couldn’t afford. I took a step and stumbled. My hooves were killing me. Literally. The pain that throbbed through the hooves and into my legs was immense.

Ignore it. Amethyst shrugged it off, you can too.

I started to run, slowly gaining speed as I went along. Unlike before when I used the stone to accelerate, this time I had to build up speed one step at a time. Each step literally felt like my hooves were burning, but I didn’t care. There was much more at stake here, much, much more, and a little pain was a price I could afford.

Onwards, I ran. Then I spotted a large entrance to a tunnel in front of me. As I entered into it, I felt my ears stuff up. Instinctively I swallowed some air to ‘pop’ to clear them. Took me several attempts, but eventually I could hear normally. There was a lazy turn in the tunnel and ahead of me I spotted some more ponies. These guys were way, way ahead of the last bunch I had overtaken, and they moved out of my way as I approached them. Again, I heard a yelp, and again I ignored it.

When I exited the tunnel, my ears popped again. This time a little harsher than the last time. Not sure why that was, but I swallowed some more air to stabilize them. Didn’t work. I did it again, but this time my hoof slipped out from under me and I found myself spiraling out of control. As I spun around I tried to get myself to run straight by digging my hooves into the... ice?

Ice? What the...

My flank met with the wall of the mountain, and I glanced around. Some ponies were here waving and cheering, and I looked back the way I came. The fire that was under my hooves had ended at the mouth of the tunnel, and instead steam was rising up from the ice from where I had taken the few dozen steps before slipping.

Standing up, I tried to run, but the ice kept making me slip. Undaunted, I started swinging my hooves left and right so that I skated on the surface. This time the going was slow, but I was going. That was better than the alternative. Ice, it seemed, was another surface I didn’t do well on. Slippery surfaces were just bad in general.

Whatever! Just keep on going!

On and on it seemed to go. The slippery annoyance got me angrier and angrier with each second I spent on it. This couldn’t have gone on for longer! There was no snow or ice in Canterlot! When will this...

And as if to answer my question, I saw the ice end at the entrance to a second tunnel. Continuing, I counted the distance in my mind, mentally trying to gauge the distance. Then, success! This time my ears didn’t pop. Wasn’t going fast enough, I assumed...

Get on with it!

With everything I had, suppressing the pain in my hooves, ignoring the pack of ponies behind me, I thundered onwards. My hooves echoing within the tunnel’s walls. As I started to pick up speed, something whizzed by me. Then another. And then another. Stalagmites! Where had I seen this before?

Oh yeah.

I remembered the caves with the Ursas, and how in pitch-black darkness I had managed to avoid these things out of pure dumb luck. But now that I could see them, it wasn’t a problem. I wove around the obstacles while trying to maintain my speed. It was easy... that was until I felt the familiar dread of my hooves slipping.

Ice? Again? You’ve got to be kidding me!

I screamed in anger as my hooves slipped once again. My body and momentum spun me round like a helicopter’s rotor, before coming to a sudden and painful halt as I collided with one of the stalagmites, hitting it sideways with my stomach in a way that rear hooves boxed my jaw. Worried about my ribs, I was happy that this time no serious harm had come to them. Guess I really did heal fast. As I got to my feet, I could see the next few ponies ahead of me exiting the tunnel. It wasn’t far, but it wasn’t close either.

Jamming a hoof on the ice, I pull myself again, but slipped. Angry, I let out a cry of frustration. This was going to cost me... but... but...

An idea came to mind, one that made me chuckle a little. Placing my rear hooves against the stalagmite that I had crashed into, I bent my knees and aligned myself as best I could with the exit. Then, I pushed, with the same explosive power that I had done before. My body lurched forwards and I sailed through the air a few feet before landing clumsily on my front hooves. I did the pony equivalent to a split, as my forehooves pushed to either side of my head and found myself sliding on my chest towards the exit. Hell, I was moving, so I wasn’t going to complain — not that I had anyone to complain to...

Get your mind back in the game! I scolded myself.

Sliding along, I was impressed with how fast I was moving. Raising my face at the last moment, I felt the rough ground scrape against my chest as I exited the tunnel. No more ice.

Fuck yeah!

Standing up, I looked around and checked to see if the hoop was still around my neck. No problems there, just the fact that I was now in... wait, what was my place?

“Go on!” somepony shouted at me from the sidelines, “You’re almost there! What are you stopping for?”

I didn’t need to be told twice, and bolted off. As I came around the corner, I could see the tops of the towers of the Canterlot palace. Ahead of me were another group of runners. A large one. It didn’t take me long to catch up, but I had to slow down as they were blocking my way. They didn’t do it intentionally, as they were trying to fight for position. Well, so was I. But how to pass them?

Squeezing around on the outside, I pulled ahead of the first few and slowly matched their speed as I tried to find my way past the next pony. He moved a little to the left, and I took advantage of it pulling up alongside hi-her. Her. She was a girl.

Putting my head down, I waited for the next chance to get ahead. There were only four more ponies and they had blocked the entire road off, each one trying to fight for... I don’t know what position, but I still hadn’t spotted Fleet Hoof, and therefore I knew that I wasn’t with the front pack. Not yet, at least.

But how to pass? I couldn’t touch them. At our speeds, that would hurt really, really badly if they lost balance and fell. Not to mention I might get penalized, or worse! Disqualified. Couldn’t risk it.

Who cares! Just go! I cursed myself for getting distracted once again. But... how... to... pass...

The pony in front of me suddenly slowed down and swung to the right. I was about to take advantage when I too, swung to the right out of instinct. It was a cloud. A couple of the Earth ponies had collided with in, and passed through without much of a pause, but they did stumble slightly as they tried to regain their momentum. The pony in front of me had a light blue uniform. Cloudsdale. That would mean that he or she was a Pegasus. No wonder she darted aside to avoid the cloud... well, at least I thought that was the reason.

Then the ponies in front swung to the left, but I was too late and ran full on into the cloud. I pulled myself away, a little dazed. The thing that had saved my life the previous day might now be the reason that I’d have to leave this wonderful place. Two Earth ponies rushed past me through the cloud, breaking it apart.

Gritting my teeth, I sped around the cloud and after them. It didn’t take me long to catch up, but I had dropped behind the pack again. Now the road had started to descend. A brief reprieve from that uphill struggle we’ve had to endure. The ponies were using this time to let their legs recuperate. They were maintaining their speed without having to exert too much effort. It was my time to make my move. Sliding behind the ponies, I cut my way through them, nimbly moving myself from left to right, passing a pony each time I did.

Then I spotted him. Fleet Hoof! He was at the bottom of the downhill part and on his way uphill where the road curved towards Canterlot. And he was far, far, far away! Much further than I had thought. There was no way I could catch him... no... way...

“Fleet Hoof!” I roared. “You better run!”

He glanced over his shoulder, I could tell. Then he put his head down and began to run harder. Oh no you don’t!

My ‘warcry’ had alerted the other ponies to me, and they had all moved out of the way, a little surprised or intimidated, I do not know, but when the moved aside, it gave me a clear path to run. And run I did!

My hooves felt like jelly, but I ignored them. My body felt like it was burning, but I ignored it. The only thing on my mind was the finish line and crossing it first. On I ran. Faster! Faster! Faster! I yelled in my head. Uphill, downhill, level... it didn’t matter... as long as it wasn’t ice.

More and more ponies were now along the route. I heard their cheering, their stomping, their applause. I don’t know if they were cheering for me specifically, but their noise encouraged me. It helped me. And I needed all the help I could get...

Into Canterlot I went, the large banner overhead said something, but I missed it. Couldn’t take my eyes off the route. Didn’t dare. Not when I was this close. So close. Then, I saw him. Them. But more ‘him’. Fleet Hoof. He was running down the large main road that we had paraded on earlier in front of one other pony. The black uniform was unmistakable. Manebourne. The stadium now visible in the distance.

Catch up, catch up, catch up... I chanted in step, concentrating on the red uniform ahead of me.

“Forest Fire!” Somepony shouted. “Go, go, go!”

I wanted to grin, smile, wave... but no. Had to concentrate. Had to keep my mind on the game. Had to keep my mind on the front. The finishing line was right there! No time to think, just run! Sprint!

Third. Third place. Somepony had shouted it. I heard it. Faintly. That confirmed it. Only the two in front.

The pony in black rushed by.

One. One pony. The one. The only one. Fleet Hoof. My nemesis. My rival. The only pony that stood in between me, victory and my freedom.

As I burst into the stadium, I saw him. He was curving around the edge of the track, a red blur. Without even the slightest hint of hesitation, without even taking in the spectacle of where I was, I lowered my head and pushed. Pushed with my legs. Pushed hard. The crowd was going nuts. The ponies stomping hard. It was going to be close. I knew it. He knew it. We all knew it. The ponies at home knew it.

The finish line was at the third-quarter mark of the track, and the distance was quickly disappearing. I was running out of time. Desperately, I willed myself forwards, harder than I’ve ever done before.

Something started to hit me in the face. Like before, something was pushing me back. Like some sort of invisible wall. I tried to push through, but it was impossible. I couldn’t. I put my nose down and pushed. Whatever it was pushed back. Undeterred, I pushed again, even harder. Whatever it was pushed right back.

Fleet Hoof was right there. I had caught up and was right next to him as we continued the last few yards towards the end. The crowd was going ballistic. Neck to neck. Nose to nose... it was going to be... so... close...

The line. The end. It was over. It was finally over.

As soon as I crossed the line, I gradually slowed down. My lungs ached and I drew in deep breaths, gasping for air.

“I can’t believe this! I can’t believe this! From dead last right up to competing for first! This has got to be the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen!” Loud Speaker’s voice echoed in the stadium, “All the way from last place! Fire... Forest Fire... with hooves... the roads... tunnels... that... you... I can’t even... Wow! I don’t even know what to say! Can you believe it? Can. You. Believe. It?”

I looked up at the large projected screen above me.

“I can’t say that I can, actually...” Princess Cadence said her eyes wide, “Auntie?”

The camera panned over to Princess Celestia who was sitting to the side, a knowing smile on her face, “Let’s just say that I didn’t count him out.”

The roar from the crowd was intense as I stumbled to a halt. Fleet Hoof was next to me, his head down breathing heavily. I was too.

“You... you’re... really... fast...” He said in between gasps of air.

“You... too...” I replied, grinning.

We both started laughing. The third place pony crossed the line after that, and I saw his name appear on the large board next to the number three. First and second were still blank.

“We apologize for this, everypony, but the finish for first place was too close. We’re having to result to a photo finish, and we’re still developing the picture.” Loud Speaker announced. “Please bear with us.”

The crowd suddenly started chanting my name.

“Fo-rest, Fo-rest, Fo-rest...”

“Wave to them, you idiot,” Fleet Hoof shouted, throwing his forehoof around my neck, “They love you!” He then started waving to the crowd vigorously.

After a second, I raised my hoof and gave a weak wave. My body felt numb. Some of the audience cheered when they saw my feeble wave, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Fleet Hoof clicked his tongue, and took my front leg and raised it above my head. This time the audience exploded, and I felt my cheeks flush. In that moment, even though we were rivals and competitors, Fleet Hoof and I were also like brothers, I guess. It felt like we had just accomplished a monumental task together, not as ‘enemies’, but as allies. It felt as if we’ve been friends for ages. And now I understood why in sports competitions athletes wouldn’t hesitate to hug their opponents. It was a mutual respect for the talent each one possessed. But was this my talent? I wanted to see my flank, to see if my Cutie Mark had appeared.

If it did, I shouldn’t tell poor Applebloom. She’d be furious.

The other racers were coming in, their placements on the race showing up on the board. In the end I noted that Baltimare did beat Coltumbus. I couldn’t help but wonder how Stormy and her family were taking that. Most of the other teams were content with their positions, with the exception of Windsoar, who were not very pleased about finishing three places under their Cloudsdale counterparts. The crowds cheering had died down as the final pony crossed the line. By now everypony was waiting on the final decision.

Who had won?

Fleet Hoof and I still stood there staring at the screen, our eyes never leaving it. Next to the placement board, or screen, there was a live feed of the two of us holding each other, as if letting go would mean we’d wake up from this dream... or nightmare, in my case. If I had lost... if...

No. Don’t think about it.

“Well, the photo has been developed. Our Princesses are looking at it right now and a decision is still being made. I can’t tell you folks how exciting this has been. Let’s take a look back at the today’s greatest moments.” The screen reverted back to the Pegasus race. It showed the crashes, the clashes, the speed, the tricks, the turns, the twists, and finally Scootaloo passing on the hoop.

Then the Unicorns, as they went through the puzzles, their levitations, their attempts at solving each quiz and numerous repays of poor Amethyst hitting the ground hard. The crowd did a collective gasp, as did I. I winced at the pain she must have felt. Then her struggles with her injuries as the ponies rushed by her. It was amazing how much pain she must have endured.

After that, it was the final race. The Earth ponies swimming together. Fleet Hoof and his group were already halfway across the swimming part of the race by the time I had actually got the hoof on over my head. The video of me and Amethyst was prolonged for some reason as she slipped the hoop over my head, and I held it in place with the two flags.

Come to think of it, the hoop was still around my neck. The little flags had long since gone.

Then the swimming part. I was barely halfway when Fleet Hoof and the others started their run up the mountain. That made me cringe. I was really, really far behind. But as I approached the shore, ponies started cheering again. They applauded me as I got out of the water and made my way to the large boulder at the base of the mountain and placed my rear hooves against it.

Then... ‘boom’! The camera couldn’t keep up as I exploded from where I was. The replay showed it from the sky, and I saw myself shoot from the boulder past the ponies, a trail of fire much bigger than before erupted behind me. As I climbed the mountain, you could see the fire light up the way I had come. You could see it, an orange and red snake twisting its way up behind me. Every pony I past, jumped out of the way when I zoomed by.

The camera cut to Fleet Hoof who had now passed every pony and was relishing his lead. The next place pony, the one from Manebourne was a close second, but could not catch up. Then me again, as I charged into the tunnels, slipping on the ice, crashing into the stalagmite. Everything.

Then the last part of the race. The look on Fleet Hoof’s face when I had shouted at him. The shock. That was the greatest replay.

“You scared me there,” Fleet Hoof admitted, laughing, “had to start working harder...”

Then the race through Canterlot, and finally the last lap around the stadium, and out blurred video across the finish. No matter how many times the video replayed, you could not see the difference. We were literally nose to nose at that point. The video switched to several different angles, and still we were equal. There was no way to see who actually one.

“If it’s any consolation, Forest, I had a lot of fun out there. No matter who wins, friends?” Fleet Hoof said looking at me.

I grinned, “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

He gave me a nod and returned his gaze to the screen.

The large video feed stopped showing us the replay of the race and switched to a still image of me and Fleet Hoof crossing the finish line. It zoomed in. Closer. Closer. Closer! No clear result.

A second photo, this time from the opposite side appeared. Closer. Closer. Closer! Still no clear result. It was excruciatingly close! Did we really tie?

A third photo, this time from above us. Closer. Closer. Closer...

Time stood still. Somewhere, I heard someone scream. In glee, I think. But all I heard was a muffled silence as the name at the top of the board read: Ponyville.

I won.

I had fucking won.

Me. The loser, who’s never done shit in his entire life, who’s never amounted to anything in his meaningless existence, won. Somepony was shaking me. Somepony was slapping my back. But in that moment, I could only stare at the screen and that third photograph, where the tip of my nose was less than half an inch, no less than half a centimeter ahead, no less than a hair a ahead.

“You did it, Forest!” Spike screamed in my ear.

My eyes flowed with tears and I raised my hoof in the air and shouted in victory. Fleet Hoof laughed and shouted with me.

Somepony screamed, and I looked. Fluttershy’s face was covered in blood. How’d that happen?

“Forest... your hooves!” Fleet Hoof said, letting me go and stepping backwards.

Indeed, my hooves were red. Really red.

“Quickly, take off your race-suit,” Rarity demanded.

I did as she asked. As I pulled it off, I grimaced in pain. The skin had completely gone from around the edge of my hoof. It was bleeding a lot and it hurt to stand on them. So I plopped myself on the ground and grinned up at my teammates and Rarity.

“Never a dull moment, right?” I said, laughing.

Scootaloo shouted for a doctor, and three ponies in white rushed over. I recognized the doctor as the same one from before. That huge mustache was unmistakable.

“Heya, doc.” I said, grinning.

The doctor shook his head, “You like getting hurt?”

“Love it,” I laughed, “Makes me feel alive!”

The doctor just shook his head and took out something from a bag. A gel-like substance in a tube and rubbed it over my front-left hoof before wrapping it in a bandage. He was working on my front-right hoof when my team walked over to me.

Poor Fluttershy was wiping off my blood from her face with Rarity’s help. She was a little shaken from it, but nothing major. Poor girl. I’d have to be extra nice to her for that.

Amethyst was still limping. Her front hoof was wrapped in a bandage, and the lower part of her rear leg was in a cast. She had a crutch-like device tucked in under her rear leg to help take the weight off, a small wheel to help her move around. She walked up to me as I stood up to greet her and she kissed my cheek, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

I grinned. The kiss was a sweet gesture, but it didn’t mean anything more than just that. A gesture. Scootaloo hugged me from behind, “You did it! You did it! I can’t believe it!”

“Nor can I. I’m expecting to wake up any moment now...”

I felt a sharp pain in my flank.

“Ow!”

“Nope, you’re not dreaming.” Scootaloo grinned.

I looked at my rear and felt a little disappointed. There was no Cutie Mark there. Guess this isn’t my talent. Shame, really. I thought I was good at running.

“Forest, I can’t believe it!” Applejack stated as she hugged me, “You were amazin’!”

“Thanks, Applejack,” I said looking into those beautiful green eyes. Oh, how I wanted to kiss her right then and there! “that means a lot to me.”

Atom walked over and patted my back, “I never doubted you’d not win.”

“Liar! You were screaming louder‘n everypony else,” Applejack said, bumping him with her shoulder, “You were goin’ a little butty t’wards the end there.”

“I guess I was...” Atom laughed to himself, “Well, regardless, that was simply amazing, Forest.”

My hooves still hurt to stand on them, and I was surprised when Fleet Hoof, and some other ponies hoisted me up on their backs.

“Since you can’t run the victory lap, let us run it for you!” He said, and started to jog with the other ponies under me. “Wave to them!” he insisted. So I did.

The crowd were already standing up, but their applause was a little stronger than before. Tears were in my eyes. How could I even think about going back? I didn’t want to leave here. This world, everything, this was where I wanted to belong.

I don’t want to go...

The audience were waving their flags, throwing confetti down. Somewhere in the stands I spotted Stormy and her gang waving at me, and I waved to them specifically. Thunderbolt was hovering above his parents yelling at the top of his lungs.

Soon we were back at the finish line, and the ponies gently put me down. It was overwhelming, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from leaking! No matter how many times I wiped them, they just kept falling. Nothing could have made this moment any more magical than it was. Nothing at all.

“Forest!” A voice shouted, and I turned to see Twilight running towards me.

“Hi, Twili-” My voice was cut off as she ran straight into me knocking me down on the ground. “Hey, I’m happy to see you too.” I laughed.

Then, without warning, she planted her lips on mine, in the middle of the stadium, in front of everypony, in front of the cameras, in front of the Princesses... and in front of Applejack. My eyes must have been the size of saucers, I was so surprised.

Ho-ly shit...

She pulled away, her face crimson, “Congratulations.”

“I... the... it’s... I’m...” I was speechless.

“Forest, the thing I wanted to tell you... if you won...” She said, her face still had that wonderful shade of pink, “The spa... that time...”

“That was you! You were the mystery pony that kissed me?” Of course! No wonder nobody saw anyone leave. Twilight must have teleported out of there. “You’re a very, very naughty girl, Twilight Sparkle.”

She just grinned coyly at me.

“But...”

She put her hoof against my lips, “I know, Forest. Really. I know I’m being selfish, but I don’t care. I’m not Rarity, I’m not the Element of Generosity. But I’m still a mare and although I know it’s wrong, I can’t help how I feel.”

“But... how? We’ve... never... I mean... well... we’ve only had one date...” Then I remembered and grinned, “A ‘not-date’.”

We both shared a laugh.

“You really are clueless, aren’t you?” She said, and helped me up, “Completely.”

The Princesses arrived then, back on the stage. The video feed as still going through, and I wondered how they did that. Perhaps some unlucky group of Unicorns had been asked to do so?

“How... how is the live video happening with the princesses here?” I asked no one in particular.

“My brother,” Twilight replied, “He’s also strong when it comes to magic, y’know.”

Made sense. You don’t get to be Captain of the Royal Guard if you’re weak.

The Princess walked onto the stage, as did the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow floated down from above landing next to her five friends as they stood there.

“My little ponies,” Celestia said in that extra loud, extra gentle voice she had, “Please welcome to the stage the winners of this year’s Race Across Equestria: Ponyville!”

The cheering never ended, instead it grew to a crescendo as my teammates and I walked onto the stage. The five of us completely overwhelmed. We stood there and waved to the crowds cheering.

The sound of music drifted throughout the stadium. It was beautiful. It was like a fusion or classical music with an electronic twist. At the far end of the studium was another, smaller stage. On it were four ponies. Two of them were on stringed instruments, the third was on a piano, while the fourth was on drums. The pony that was on the cello, a gray Earth pony, seemed to be in charge of the group, leading the rest with her music. Their music was dramatic, powerful, it sent shivers down my spine and seemed to envelope the cheers of the crowd, amplifying them, and electrifying the mood with their sound.

As the music subsided, the cheering calmed down with it.

Loud Speaker’s voice blared over the system, “And that was the Classical Trio, accompanied by the very beautiful and talented Octavia on the cello.”

Octavia stood up and bowed to the audience.

“Clopin on the piano.”

Clopin stood up and bowed, I noticed that a couple of ponies were trying hard not to laugh. The pianist just remained stoic and impassive, but there was a gleam in those eyes.

“Fiddle Sticks on the violin.”

The pony stood up and bowed gracefully, pushing his long blonde mane out of his face when he did so.

“And Graceful Rhythm on percussion.” A mare stood up from behind a complex series of drums and other percussion instruments and bowed.

I’m sure that if everypony was sitting down, they would’ve got a standing ovation.

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for...” Loud Speaker’s voice blared.

“Po-ny-ville, Po-ny-ville, Po-ny-ville...” The audience chanted once again.

“... our racers from the small town of Ponyville. Scootaloo!”

Scootaloo took a step forwards and waved, walking around the stage to make sure that she had waved to every stand in the stadium. She turned and looked at Rainbow, who grinned in return.

“Amethyst Star!”

Amethyst limped a little forwards, and waved vigorously to the crowd.

“And last, but certainly not least... Forest Fire!”

Holy shit! I muttered in my head. These ponies were going to bring the stadium down. They were going nuts! Nuts, I tell you! And I loved every moment of it, waving both my bandaged forehooves in the air.

The Princesses stood in front of the three of us and placed small crowns on each of our heads. Celestia placing one of Scootaloo, Luna on Amethyst, and Cadence on mine. She looked at me and grinned, “I knew you were Twilight’s special somepony.”

My face exploded.

“Now everypony knows...” She taunted, as she walked off with Celestia and Luna.

“Hey, everypony, look over here.” Somepony shouted, clicking away with a camera. More and more camera-ponies were there, clicking away.

Eventually the cheering and roaring died down and ponies started leaving the stadium. The racers were also heading out, most probably heading back towards the palace for the ‘after-race’ party. The large screen was now blank, the live feed having been cut off.

“Forest! Forest!” I heard a voice call.

“Thunderbolt!” I exclaimed. “What, you get lost again?”

“No, doofus. Just wanted to congratulate you. That was the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen... well, except for Rainbow Dash being herself...”

“Obviously.” I replied, winking at Rainbow. She just rolled her eyes at me, but she had a smile on her lips.

“Anyway, yeah. That was awesome!” Thunderbolt shoved a quill and paper in my face. “Please?”

“Sure thing, kid. You’re the third pony I’ve had to sign for.” I said, putting the end of the quill in my mouth. As I signed it I noted that for some it looked a lot better than when I tried with my hoof.

“I’m sorry about him, Forest,” Stormy’s voice said from above her son. She pinched his ear and they both lowered to the stage, “but he really wanted your autograph.”

I laughed and ruffled his mane, “Try not to give your mom too hard a time.”

He just grinned at me, which earned him a sharp look from his mother.

Spyglass and the others walked over to us, a few other ponies followed behind them. Most of the crowd were just leaving the stadium. Even though I had won, Fleet Hoof was by far more popular one and everypony wanted to go and meet him. And I was really, really thankful about that. I wouldn’t know how to react to such a huge crowd anyway.

“You did great, Forest.” Spyglass said extending a hoof. He looked at my bandage, and sighed, “Oh. Sorry, I forgot.”

Spitting out the quill, I smiled, “No worries. Hey, ladies. How’d you like the race?”

“It was so cool!” Stargazer bluntly stated, “You were on fire!”

“Yes. Yes I was. Can’t deny that.” I said, laughing at the double-meaning.

“Can we get a photo?” Strawberry asked, “With everypony?”

“Sure. Of course.” I stood there grinning. Suddenly, Stormy’s group were on my left, and the rest on the right. My team and the Elements of Harmony. “Can I have a copy of that photo?” I asked.

“No need, Forest. Let one of the photographers take one of all of us.” Twilight said, and she waved her hoof to one of the Pegasi camera-ponies. “Can you take one of all of us please?”

“Of course! Everypony, say cheese!”

“Cheese!” Everypony said.

“Cheddar!” I shouted.

Everypony let out a groan before laughing at my stupidity. Hey, I was having a great time.

“Well, Forest, it was a pleasure meeting you, and an honor meeting you, Miss Dash, Miss Sparkle, as well as the rest of the Elements of Harmony. Thank you for doing what you do for all of us.” Spyglass said.

“You don’t need to thank us for doing our duty, Spyglass.” Twilight replied, “We do it for everypony.”

“Regardless, I just want to let you know how grateful we all are.”

Twilight blushed and nodded, “Then... you’re welcome.”

“Forest,” Spyglass said reaching for my hoof again before remembering. As he drew it away, I placed my hoof in his anway.

“See you around. You have an amazing family.”

He grinned, “That’s because I have an amazing wife.”

“Just ‘amazing’?” She asked.

“There are no words that come close to describing you, Lightningbug.” He nuzzled her.

“That’s better.” She purred.

Thunderbolt and Stargazer pretended that it was the grossest thing ever, and made expressions to relay that emotion.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Goodbye, Stormy.” I said and held a hoof out to her, “Was nice meeting you.”

She looked at my bandaged hoof and instead gave me a quick, friendly hug, as did Stargazer. That took me by surprise.

Thunderbolt was too cool, so I ruffled his mane again. He rolled his eyes, before flying over to his idol and hugged Rainbow across her neck. “When I grow up, I wanna join the Wonderbolts and fly with you!”

“I’ll be waiting, hot-shot.” She replied, “Keep practicing, kid. We only take on the best.”

“I’ll be better than the best!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Aqua, in the meantime, was chatting with Twilight along with her mothers. The Element of Magic was blushing furiously and I couldn’t help wonder what they were talking about. It intrigued me.

“Time to go, girls.” Spyglass shouted, starting to walk towards the exit.

“Aw.” Stargazer sighed, “Can’t we stay?”

“We’ve got a train to catch, sweetheart,” Stormy said gently pushing the filly along, “we can’t miss it.”

“Aw.” Stargazer sighed again.

“Don’t worry, Starry,” Pinkie beamed, “we’ll see each other again! I Pinkie Promise... and I never break a Pinkie Promise.”

Stargazer grinned and nodded.

The two families made their way together. We all waved after them, especially me. This would probably be the last time I’d ever see them again.

“Forest!” Thunderbolt shouted just at the entrance to the exit, “You’re still a doofus!”

I roared in laughter and waved. Then they were gone.

“What a nice family.” Twilight stood next to me. “I’m glad we met them.”

“What did Aqua and her mothers talk to you about?” I asked.

“N-n-n-n-n-nothing!” Twilight took a step away from me.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing!” She took another step back.

“You’re not acting like it’s nothing...”

“They.... they asked me if I was... I was... your...” She mumbled something.

I leaned in and turned my head to one side so that my ear faced her, “What was that?”

“They asked me if I was your...” She mumbled again.

“Sorry. Didn’t quite catch that.”

“Marefriend!” She yelled in my ear, making me take a step back. “Marefriend. They asked me if I was your marefriend.”

“And... what did you say?” I replied grinning from ear to ear, enjoying this way more than I ought to.

She looked away and mumbled something.

“Sorry, I must be hard of hearing. I didn’t catch that either.”

Her face was as bright as Pinkie’s. “I said... yes.”

“You said what?” Aiden exclaimed. He looked mighty pissed off. Not just angry pissed off, but ‘out for blood, I’m going to kill you’ pissed off.

Whoah. Not good.

“Aiden!” Twilight exclaimed.

“What did you say?” Aiden demanded.

“I-I said that Forest is my coltfriend.” Twilight replied, then stood up tall, “Yes, I said it. Forest is my coltfriend.”

“Wouldn’t that be stallionfriend?” I asked.

“Shut it.” He barked.

Ooh boy...

“Twilight, you don’t know him. None of us know him. You can’t have him as your coltfriend because we have no idea who he is!” He glared at me.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem when he was with Applejack.” Twilight countered. Flawless logic, as per usual.

“Just because I didn’t say anything, didn’t mean I didn’t have a problem with it... just that I didn’t...”

“He’s jealous, Twilight,” Rarity interrupted, “and you know how jealous stallions get.”

“Actually...” I began.

“Now wait just a doggone minute.” Applejack stood in front of Aiden, also not very please, “Twilight, Forest told me that he has to go look for his special somepony... and I told you that yesterday. Why would you do somethin’ like this?”

“Because I like Forest, Applejack. Even though he’s an idiot sometimes...”

“Sometimes?” I muttered.

“Okay, most of the time...” She replied looking into my eyes.

I just made a face, but couldn’t help plaster a wide smile across it. This was me she was talking about, of course I felt happy.

“Anyway, I really like him. Besides, you’ve got Atom.”

Atom was talking to Derpy and wasn’t paying attention. Thank Celestia.

“That’s not the point!” Applejack said, a little more aggressively than I think she intended. “Forest and I ended things because of this ‘Tutela’, you can’t just... force your way into his life like that. It ain’t civil.”

Twilight shrugged, “Well, if she wants him, she can come and get him.”

Oh wow!

“Forest, say something!” Applejack looked over to me.

Well, all good things have to come to an end...

“She’s right, Twilight. As much as I appreciate the thought, I’ve got to find Tutela first.” Again it felt like a wave of nausea threatened to empty my gut when I said that.

She wasn’t having any of it. “Well, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it. Together.”

The way she leaned up against me made me shudder in ecstasy. I felt the heat in my face rise as her body touched mine. It felt like my body was on fire. Especially... my... right... hoof...

Shit!

“Aiden!” I yelled, instinctive looking over to the Unicorn. His horn stopped glowing, his eyes had an evil glint to them.

“Forest Fire!”

Inside my mind clicked, like before. It sounded like the button on a computer mouse being pressed, and I could feel the magic in the bracelet flow into me.

“Stop!” I pleaded.

“Please-please-please...”

Not the want spell!

“Tell everypony the truth about your past!” Aiden shouted.

My body froze. My mouth opened itself up. Everything seemed to feel fuzzy.

No! No, no, no!

“Forest Fire! Show me where you are, show me where you are, show me where you are!” Twilight shouted.

Automatically, my hoof raised itself in the air and exploded in a tower of light that destroyed the cloud above us where the Pegasi starting line had been. Ponies in the stadium saw this and stopped to watch the commotion. The magic passed out of the bracelet and I dropped to the ground.

“My hoof!” I moaned in agony.

“Stop it, Twilight!” Aiden demanded, casting another wave of magic onto me.

“No!” Twilight said, and both of them started saying the spells again.

Another blast of magic roared into the sky; the ‘detection’ spell overriding the ‘want’ spell.

“Please...” I whimpered, “make it stop...”

“You’re hurting him!” Pinkie shouted rushing over to me.

“Stop it, you two!” Applejack demanded.

But Aiden wasn’t listening and again his horn glowed, and Twilight automatically cast the ‘Detection spell’. The pain! The utter agony! The torture! The torment! The misery!

“This... sucks... so bad...” I moaned.

Aiden who was panting heavily glaring at Twilight.

“Why won’t you let me cast that spell on him?” He demanded, “If he’s faking his amnesia, then this is the best way to know!”

“Because it’s not fair on him.” Twilight replied.

Aiden smirked, “No, that’s not it. You just don’t want him to remember this ‘Tutela’ because that’d mean that he wouldn’t be your coltfriend anymore! That’s it, isn’t it?” He shouted at Twilight.

“This guy’s got some serious jealousy issues...” I mumbled to nobody in particular.

Pinkie helped me up from the ground, “Oh, are you okay, Forest?”

“Fine. Thanks, Pinkie.”

Atom came up behind Aiden and placed a hoof around the back of his head, and his other hoof around his neck before sitting down pinning him to the ground easily. “Take it easy. I’m not going to hurt you. Just calm down.”

“Get off me!” Aiden roared.

“Come on, Aiden! It’s Forest, for Celestia’s sake. He’s harmless! And not only that, he’s a moron! Hasn’t he been there for us all along? Even when he didn’t want to be?”

The green Unicorn remained silent, still pinned down. He let out a sigh after a moment, “Yeah. You’re right.” Aiden looked over at me, “He is a moron.”

“Hey!”

Atom let Aiden go, and I pushed Pinkie aside, just in case he tried to go for me again. But he just looked at me, then over to Twilight, then back to me again. “I think I need to take a walk...”

“Yes. You do.” Twilight stated. It wasn’t a request.

Aiden gave one last look at Twilight, before turning around and walking away shaking his head.

“I’ll... stick with him for now. You guys go on ahead.” Atom said, and trotted after him.

When they were far enough away, I turned to Twilight, “He does have a point, you know. You don’t know me... wouldn’t it have been better to... not do that? Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that you stopped me, but still... why?”

“It isn’t because I’m afraid of you finding out who you are, Forest. What I’m afraid of is that if you do remember who you are, you’ll stop being the Forest we know.” She looked at me, “You’d stop being you.”

“I’d never stop being me, Twilight. Ever.”

Twilight looked at me and smiled, but something about it seemed... off. She walked up next to me and placed one of my hooves over her shoulders and together we started our walk up towards the palace.

“Ow.” I said without any emotion.

“Sorry, just wanted to make sure that the new shoes fit properly.” The Doc replied, his big bushy mustache rubbing my shin was annoying me.

I sighed, “Why must I wear these?”

“To prevent further damage!” he replied exasperated. I know I’ve asked the question at least a dozen times now, but it didn’t change the fact that it annoyed him.

“You done yet?” Applejack asked walking into the tent. “Everypony is waitin’ on ya.”

“He’ll be done in another five minutes.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll jus’ wait then.”

She stood there in silence for a few minutes.

“There’s a seat over there.” I gestured with my hoof, with the strange black shoe on it. If rose up just above where you’d expect the wrist to be... or ankle... whatever.

“Forest... about Twilight...”

“I know, okay. I know. It’s silly, really... but she did just kiss me in front of Equestria...” I looked at her, “For now, let me play the part. It’ll humiliate her if I just... ended things with her now.”

“Oh. So yer plannin’ on endin’ it with her too?”

“Kinda have to, no?” I replied.

“I know it’s none of my business, but I think what Forest suggests is the best thing. After all, who knows what kind of social repercussions she’d experience from that. She is the Element of Magic, after all.” The doctor stood up, “There. All set. Don’t take these off for another week, and you should be fine.”

“One week. Got it.”

“And no running. You shouldn’t even really be walking, but considering your... advantage, I guess it should be alright.”

“Advantage?” I asked.

“Your healing ability.”

“How’d you find out about that?” I asked. I hadn’t told him.

“Princess Celestia told me. She was informed by Twilight, I think.” The doctor packed up his things and started to leave, “Oh, and one other thing, Forest. You should get rid of that bracelet as soon as you can.”

Wholeheartedly, I agreed. “Tell me about it.”

With that, he left.

“So... let’s join the others.”

Applejack stood aside and followed me as I exited the tent.

The party was nice. The racers were all in their normal attire (which included no attire at all) and were drinking and socializing.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Twilight.” I smiled at her. She handed me a drink, which I gratefully took and slugged it down.

“Got some good news. Princess Celestia says that she can remove that bracelet. Isn’t that great?”

“That’s awesome!” I exclaimed. The sooner I could get rid of it, the better. Especially considering how close I came to losing everything, again.

A fanfare sounded and the Princesses came onto the garden. At once they were mobbed by everypony. Princess Celestia greeted each one with a warm smile and a friendly word. Princess Luna greeted them with a kind word, but didn’t smile. Princess Cadence just smiled, happy that she wasn’t the focus of the mob’s attention. Her husband, Shining Armor, followed close behind.

“Forest, I need to see you.” Princess Celestia gestured towards another tent, “Privately.”

Oh yeah! Gonna get this bracelet off!

Walking into the tent after the Princess, I sat down and waited.

“Do you know why I’ve asked you here?” She asked.

“To... remove my bracelet?”

“Correct. Twilight had informed me of the little... scuffle at the stadium between you and Aiden.” Princess Celestia sat down on a large lounge chair, “So, my question is, do you want me to remove Aiden as your guardian?”

“I’m going to still need a guardian?” I asked.

She just looked at me.

“Uh... he’s done a great job so far. And... to be honest, before this Twilight incident, he’s always had my back. So... I guess... no. If that’s okay with you.” I sighed, “I dunno. He’s just... I think he’s just really annoyed considering that he has a crush on Twilight and all.”

“What if I told you that I can make Twilight be your guardian?” She asked, taking a cup and sipping on it, her eyes keenly looking at me.

That took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to say.

“I... I don’t know. As much as I’d love that, I’d feel real bad for Aiden... and I don’t know why that is. Twilight is kinder, gentler, sweeter... everything about her is amazing. But I feel that if she were my guardian that I’d be distracting her from her... life.”

“I see.” Celestia put the put down. “Forest, do you like Twilight?”

“Of course!”

“Do you love her?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but I couldn’t find the right answer. “I... don’t know. We’ve only had one night out together, and I don’t know if you know about what happened between me and Applejack...”

“I’m aware.”

“... well, I’d feel real guilty if I suddenly accepted as my special somepony Twilight when I had told Applejack no. It would make me feel that... well, I don’t know. This is real difficult. I’ve...” I looked at her, “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I’m such an idiot.”

“Oh, your bracelet’s off, by the way.”

Indeed it was.

“How?”

“I needed to distract you long enough while I worked my magic.” Princess Celestia gave me a knowing smile, “The reason why I haven’t tried before is because I wasn’t sure how to. It took me some time to think it over, but eventually the answer was obvious. You may be allergic to magic, but the bracelet is not. It isn’t about how much magic, but what kind. Think of it like a key. While you were distracted, it was easy for me to... ‘feel’ my way into it, making it expand.”

“Ah! Makes sense.” I nodded, not getting it at all.

“By the way, I cannot make Twilight your guardian. She’s one of the Elements of Harmony, she already has enough on her plate as it is.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, your highness. For everything. Even... ‘that’...”

She looked at me for a moment, wondering what I was talking about until she realized. “Oh. Well, I apologize for...”

“It’s okay. I understand why it had to be done. It hurt like... like nothing else I’ve ever felt before, but... but... it also gave me a chance to learn a little bit about myself.”

There was a long moment of silence between the two of us.

“About those wishes,” Celestia began, breaking the lull, “on your crown you have three stones. One for each of the Princesses. The middle white diamond is mine, the left blue sapphire is my sister’s, and the right pink morganite is my niece’s. You must know what each one of us are able to and cannot do, and how wishing magic works. You might not like what I have to say.”

“I understand.”

“First off, since you’re allergic to magic, I ask that you do not cast any magic on you. These stones contain very strong magic, and with your condition you will not survive.”

“At all?”

“At all.”

Hopelessness filled me. What was the point? I couldn’t wish that curse off of me! I was stuck with it! All that effort for nothing! Well... no. Actually, I was still kinda happy I won.

“Secondly, each of the wishing stones has a certain kind of magic in them. Since I have power over the sun, I can grant you the power to fulfill your heart’s desires, so long as it does not harm others. Luna has the power over the moon, and just as the moon can shift and change its shape and the ocean tides, she can change that which cannot be changed. Cadence has the magic of love, the power the heart. She can help you earn somepony’s love, but she cannot make that pony love you. Do you understand these wishes?”

I nodded.

“The magic is stored in each stone. Whenever you want to wish for something, just hold it in your hooves, and then say your wish and it shall be granted, but be wise in your choices. Once a wish has been made, it cannot be undone.”

“So... I can make a wish anytime?” I asked.

She nodded.

“How about if I make a wish a year from now?”

“That’s fine. They don’t expire. You can even hand them down to your children if you desire.”

Taking the crown off my head, I stared at the gems. I could make buttloads of money if I sell them.

“Can I keep the bracelet?” I asked.

Celestia nodded once. “Well, if you don’t mind,” She gestured to the door of the tent, “but I must allow others some of my time. Perhaps we can chat in length in the future.”

Picking up the bracelet, I did an awkward bow before leaving. I knew that she was just saying that to be polite. At least, I think so. Well, why the hell would the Princess want to talk to me?

Minding my own business at the side of the party was a nice change of pace. Ponies were dancing on the floor to the music played by that Octavia pony and her trio while I was content in not moving whatsoever. Had to rest my hooves.

The day was now ending, the sun sinking in the distance as Luna was showing her powers off raising the moon. Well, showing off might be the wrong term for it, but she was definitely relishing the attention.

“There ya are.” Applejack said, finding me. “We’ve been lookin’ fer ya.”

“What’s up?”

“Mind if we took a photo? Everypony’s getting their pictures done with us. Thought you’d like to be in it.” She said, smiling.

Pushing myself from off the chair, I nodded, “Sure. And, might I add, you look stunning in that dress.”

Applejack twirled, “Ya like it?”

“Very much so.”

“Rarity made it...” She stopped and looked at me, “That was kinda obvious, wasn’t it?”

“Eeyup.” I replied, imitating her brother.

Scootaloo, Derpy, Amethyst and Lavender were standing on a slightly raised platform behind the Elements of Harmony. They all waved to us gesturing us to hurry.

“Where were you?” Twilight demanded.

“Over there,” I pointed with my hoof, “just relaxing.”

“Look this way please.” The photographer requested.

The camera clicked, and the bulbs flashed. “One more!” I belted before anypony moved.

The photographer looked at his camera, then nodded. “Okay, I have one more picture in this roll. Please wait a second for the flash to recharge.”

I spotted a Unicorn using his horn to recharge them. I didn’t know what they were, but they looked like crystals with some sort of dim pale light in the middle.

Nudging Derpy, I put a my two front hooves together behind Twilight’s head. Not getting it, but understanding that it was funny, Derpy did the same to Fluttershy who sat in front of her, Scootaloo followed my lead and gave Pinkie the same treatment. Amethyst did it for Rarity, and Lavender did it to Applejack’s head. It was then that I noticed that Rainbow wasn’t around.

The photographer did a doubletake when he saw us, shaking his head before retreating back behind the camera. “Smile!”

When the photo was done, the Elements grouped together and started chatting, while my teammates surrounded me.

“What was that for?” Derpy asked.

“You’ll see. When the photo is developed.” I grinned.

The party continued on. Twilight and I didn’t really get to spend time together, but everytime she saw me, I’d wave to her with a wide smile. She’d just blush and wave back before continuing whatever it was that she was doing. I couldn’t decide if I was annoyed or relieved.

“Forest!” Spike shouted at to me.

“Howdy, Spike.”

“How’re the hooves?”

“Could be better,” I chuckled, “how’re things on your end?”

“Atom and I were just trying to calm Aiden down. Atom’s really good at that. I had no idea he liked Twilight that much.”

“Well, she is one of a kind.” I grinned.

We chatted for a bit, before Spike headed off for the ‘little dragon’s room’.

“Heya!” Pinkie bounced out from behind me, making me drop my drink.

“Stop that! You’ll give me a heart attack!” I said, clutching my chest.

“Oops. Sowwy.”

“What can I do for you, Pinkie?”

“Let’s dance!”

“Can’t. Doctor’s orders.”

“Aw.”

“How about you dance, and I’ll watch you?”

“Naw, that’s boring.”

“Better than hanging here with me doing nothing...”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess.”

Just then I saw Spike walking really quickly to me.

“Forest. I... can’t...” He said, tears streaming down from his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

He gestured with his head, and I saw Rarity smooching somepony.

“It’s Fancypants. I can’t stay here, Forest. I... it...”

“Now?”

He nodded.

“But...”

“You promised,” He said, gritting his teeth.

Sighing, I nodded, “So be it. Let’s go.”

“Where’re you going?” Pinkie asked, looking between Spike and me.

“Away. For a while.”

“Okee dokee lokee... so, when do we go?” Pinkie said, suddenly perking up.

“Pinkie... you can’t come with us...”

“Why not?” She asked.

“Because you’re an Element!”

“So?”

“So... you can’t come!”

Spike touched my shoulder, “You can’t stop Pinkie once her mind’s been made up. Let’s just go. Now. Before I do something really stupid.”

“Lead the way.”

We slipped out of the party without being noticed, thanks to Fleet Hoof and his antics. Pinkie wasn’t exactly being inconspicuous as we headed out the palace gates. As we left, we headed down the hill and when we reached the bottom, we spotted two familiar faces outside the ruined bakery.

“Forest? Spike? Pinkie?” Atom looked at us each one at a time. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re running away!” Pinkie announced.

Aiden looked at us, “What? Why?”

“Well...” I began.

“I saw Rarity kissing somepony. Somepony that I really, really didn’t want to see her kissing.”

Pinkie stopped smiling when she saw the pain on Spike’s face. She started to go to him, but I stopped her.

“I have to leave before I do something I’ll regret.”

“And Forest?” Aiden asked, glaring at me.

“I promised that I’d go with him.” I replied truthfully, “And it was a Pinkie Promise, wasn’t it?”

Spike forced a smile on his face, “Yeah...”

“Well. Since I am your guardian, Forest, I’ll have to go with you. But this doesn’t mean that I like you.” He said walking towards me. He looked down at my leg. “You got your bracelet removed!”

“Oh crap! My bag!”

“Right here.” Spike said, pulling out my saddlebag from his backpack.

I seized it and plonked it on my rear. “My bracelet!”

“Here ya go, silly billy.” Pinkie said pulling it out of her hair.

“Wha-?” I took it anyway, and dropped it into one of the pockets.

“You coming, Atom?” We all looked at him.

He stood there for a moment looking at us, then back up at the palace. “I...”

“We’ll see you around then.” I said, cutting him off, “Go.”

Atom looked at me, and gave me the widest smile yet, “Thanks, Forest. Take care of yourself, okay?”

“Will do.”

“And Aiden, try to forgive Forest, okay?” He then looked at spike and gave him a hug, “I’ll keep an eye on Rarity while you’re gone.”

“Thanks, Atom.”

Atom watched the four of us head down the road before we disappeared round the corner and headed down the main Canterlot road. The very one that led to the massive stadium in the middle. It was dead now, the confetti still littered the place.

“Aren’t we going by train?”

“No. Twilight will suspect that.” Spike replied to my question. “We’re going back to the Intrepid.”

“Figures.” I muttered to myself. Oh how I hated heights.

Blue Breeze was by the docks pushing some crates onboard. He spotted us, and paused, “Why, hello there.”

“Hi, Breezey!” Pinkie squeaked, “Can we get a ride?”

“A... ride?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Where to?”

“Away.” Spike said simply.

“Sure... but we’re not due to leave till dawn.”

“Can I talk to the Captain?” Spike asked.

“I guess. Come aboard.”

The three of them went aboard, while Pinkie stayed with me on the dock. She grinned at me as I stood there gazing at the gangplank.

“I’m going!” I protested.

“I know. I’m just waiting for you, scaredy pony.”

I grumbled and took one step. Pinkie was right behind me, smiling sweetly.

“You wouldn’t!” I cried.

“Would what?” She asked innocently.

She would. She so would! And she did. She shoved me onto the gangplank with her head. Then she started to shake it. I bolted so fast off that thing, I wondered for a moment if I suddenly had wings on as I lay on the deck hugging it for dear life.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.”

Standing up, I shook my head, “Pinkie, the doc said not to run! Not to mention giving me cardiac arrest...”

At those words Pinkie delightful demeanor dropped and I instantly understood why.

“Oh, Pinkie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you.” I said running over to her and hugging her. It killed me to see her like that.

“It’s okay, Forest. I... I don’t feel like smiling right now. I’m going to sleep, okay?” She looked so, so unhappy.

I’m an asshole!

As she descended into the deck below, Spike walked up to me, “The captain’s agreed to leave once we get the items on board. Aiden’s gone to help. You... what’s wrong?”

“I made Pinkie sad.”

“It’s okay. She’ll be fine in the morning.” Spike looked at me, “You should probably get some sleep too. You must be exhausted from today.”

“Now that you mention it...” I was. I was exhausted.

Going down to the lower deck, I walked into one of the rooms and saw Pinkie folding her dress and draping it over a chair. She looked over to me.

“Sorry, Pinkie... I’ll...”

She grabbed my hoof before I could leave, and pulled me into the room. “Stay with me?”

The way she looked at me. That sad face. How could I say no? How could anypony say no? So I nodded and took off my saddlebag and draped it over her dress on the chair. She had pulled the sheets back and I laid sideways on the bed. As she got in on the other side, she pulled the sheets back over us and snuggled me from behind. A feeling of electricity ran down my spine. A warm, wonderful feeling.

“Forest?”

“Yes, Pinkie?”

“Good night.”

“Good night, Pinkie. Sweet dreams.”

Day 21: The Wild West

The sounds of shouting woke me up. It wasn’t bad shouting, or mean shouting, or angry shouting. They were more like ‘helpful’ shouting or something like that, which was usually followed by more shouting that may or may not have been insults. Whatever the case, because of all the shouting and the other noises coming from outside the ship, sleeping was proving to be a very difficult endeavor to continue.

It was then that I noticed that there was something moist between my hooves. Looking down, I spotted Pinkie Pie’s head pressed up right against my chest. Somehow in the middle of the night I had turned around and hugged her in my arms (hooves?) and she had drooled on my chest, her mouth wide open silently snoring. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I gently closed her mouth.

She smacked her lips and opened her eyes looking up at me and giving me a lazy, sleepy smile, “Mrrning.” She muttered.

“Morning. Rise and shine.”

“Five more minut-” She turned around and tried to doze off.

With my body free from mares, I sat up and looked out the window. The Intrepid had most certainly docked somewhere, but as to where, I couldn’t tell. And even if I could tell, I probably wouldn’t know where, so any further speculation on that would have been pretty pointless. What I did notice was that the airship was inside some sort of wooden wall, I could see the light of day shining through the grooves and cracks in the wood. Down below I heard a ‘thump’, followed by some more shouting. Whoever was making that racket was right underneath us in the cargo area.

How could Pinkie sleep through this fracas was beyond me. I just shook my head, I pulled the sheets off of her, “Don’t you work in bakery?”

“Forest...” She turned over and moaned, covering the back of her head with a pillow

“Shouldn’t you be used to waking up early?”

After a moment she sat up on the bed, and heaved a long, loud sigh. “Okay, okay. I’m up.” Her hair was a mussed up, poofy mess She stretched her hooves as far as she could reach and smacked her lips again.

There was no way I could resist her mop, so I reached over and gave it a good rub down. She allowed it for a few seconds before batting my hooves away with a giggle.

Having my dose of fun, I grinned at her, “Let’s go for some breakfast.”

“Okee dokee...” She fell face-first back onto the pillows and started to snore.

“Pinkie!”

Eventually I managed to get her to really wake up, which was an arduous project in of itself. Waking Pinkie up should qualify as a workout, that was just how difficult she was, but at the same time I couldn’t get angry or annoyed with her. Every time I managed to get her out of bed, she’d find a way to sneak back in and under the covers. Eventually I had to resort to hiding the bedsheets in the closet, only then did Pinkie give up.

As we left the room my jaw dropped to the floor as I spotted the mare walking towards us.

“Fluttershy?” I couldn’t believe it.

“Oh. Hello.” She said lowering her head a little.

“W-w-what are you doing here?”

She looked like she was mumbling to herself for a moment before standing up tall. “You shouldn’t have run away...” She lowered herself again, “was that too loud?”

“Oh, hey Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, still a little groggily.

“You’re not surprised to see her?” I asked.

“No. Should I be? Are they throwing a surprise party?” Pinkie’s eyes opened wide, “Did I spoil the surprise?” Pinkie then looked extremely disappointed and sad; clearly spoiling the surprise party that was never planned in the first place had gotten to her.

“There was no surprise party, Pinkie.” I reassured her, “I’m asking how are you not surprised that Fluttershy is here in the first place!”

“Oh? Oh yeah!” Pinkie looked at her friend, “How’d you find us, Shy?”

“Well, we...” Fluttershy began, but already alarm bells rang in my head.

“‘We’?”

As if on cue, another voice shouted from behind me, “Forest! How could’dja?”

Oh no...

“Applejack!” I exclaimed fearfully, while Pinkie exclaimed delightedly.

“Oh, mornin’ Pinkie Pie. Forest, you got some serious ‘splanin’ to do!” She said angrily, “If Atom hadn’t told us you were leavin’...”

“Atom?” I asked.

“Sorry, Forest, I tried not to say anything,” and indeed, there he was hiding behind Applejack. I couldn’t tell if he was hiding behind her because he was afraid of me, or afraid of the orange mare in front of him. Probably the latter, “but Fluttershy did ‘The Stare’, I couldn’t resist!”

“The... ‘Stare’?” I was now confused.

Atom, seeing my confusion, ignored it completely and continued, “Well, yes... anyway, they’re all here... except for Rainbow and Rarity.”

“Good morning,” Twilight’s voice said from behind me, “glad to see you’re awake.”

“Twilight!” Aw, crap. She’s going to let me have it...

“As annoyed I am with you for not telling me that you were leaving, I’m glad that Spike has found a good friend like you.” She said as she nuzzled me, “You’re kinder than you give yourself credit for.”

Her touch made me shiver with delight. “Thanks, Twi.”

She blushed, “That’s... that’s the first time you’ve called me that.”

“You like?” I said leaning in closer unable to resist teasing her just a tad more.

She giggled and pushed me back a little. “Yes.” She whispered.

“Okay, you two. Enough of that.” Applejack stated, putting herself between the two of us. “He’s taken, Twi. You best accept that.”

“Or?” Twilight said, looking a wee bit more aggressive that I thought was appropriate.

Applejack looked at her friend, more than a little surprised at her tone of voice. “I just don’t want ya ta get hurt, okay?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’ll be fine!” Twilight retorted.

What was going on? “Girls! Please. This is ridiculous. You’re best friends! You can’t fight each other over some... stranger.”

The two looked at me then at each other.

“Forest, no offense, but we ain’t fightin’ over you.” Applejack stated bluntly.

Of course not. Once again, I’ve proven myself to be an idiot.

“I’m sorry, Twi. But I really do mean what I say. I don’t wanna see ya get hurt.” Applejack said looking down at the floor. “I’m just really concerned for ya. I know what it’s like havin’ a broken heart.”

Atom and I shared a look. What went through his head, I didn’t know, but I felt like an asshole.

“I know, Applejack. I’m sorry.” Twilight replied.

They hugged each other and giggled, “I’m sorry as well. I shoulda known better. Yer my best friend after all. ‘Sides, I think you can find a better stallion than Forest.”

“I’m right here, you know.” I muttered.

The two mares laughed at my expense. After the humor died down, I put on my serious face. “How’s Spike?” I asked.

“Not good. He’s taking it real hard.” Twilight sighed. “Maybe following you boys wasn’t the smartest thing; he really wanted to get away from me.”

I looked at her face, the frown really getting me down. What was it about sad mares and this overwhelming feeling of protective I felt? Whenever I saw them frown, I just had to do something to snap them out of it. “That’s not true, Twilight. He just probably wanted some ‘boy-time’. You know, hanging out with ‘the guys’ and just being... around guys... doing guy stuff... and guy things...”

“Eloquent as usual.” Aiden spoke up as he was walking down the ramp from the upper deck. Did he just insult me? He walked over to me and looked at Twilight who turned her head away from him, to which he just let out an exasperated sigh. “We’re in Appleloosa, so unless you want to say goodbye to Equestria, this is our final stop. The captain’s informed me the next stop is in Zebrica.”

“Zebrica? We can’t go?”

“Well, we could. It’s just a long trip. Would take us a week to get to the continent, and another week to get to the city where they’re scheduled to stop. Why? You planning on staying aboard? The life of a sailor suddenly appealing to you?” He grimaced at me, “Please say no. I love Equestria. Don’t really wanna leave it.”

“I was just curious. You don’t have to come with me.”

“Well, yes, I do. If you did wanna go, then I’d have to come with, and you’d have to say farewell to Twilight and the rest of these lovely ladies. After all, the Elements can’t leave Equestria. I guess Sweetie Belle could come along, although I don’t think her sister would approve of that.”

“Who says we can’t go?” Applejack demanded.

“He’s right, Applejack. We have a duty to Equestria. We can’t just leave. And even with my magic, teleporting that distance is kinda...” Twilight didn’t need to finish.

I smiled, “Well, I wasn’t really planning on going any further anyway. Shall we... I dunno... take a look around... Appaloosa?”

“Appleloosa, Forest. Appleloosa.” Applejack corrected me.

My mouth froze. Stupid, Forest. That was real stupid.

“Well, since we can’t go any further by ship, we kinda have to get off here and look around.” Twilight put a hoof on her chin thinking about something, “Maybe following you guys isn’t such a bad idea afterall. Maybe we can use this chance to discover something about you, Forest.”

“That’s a great idea, Twilight. Forest might recollect somethin’ about who he is. Anyway, it’s been awhile since I met my cousin Braeburn.” Applejack smiled, “Not since his weddin’. I’m gonna be an aunt real soon, y’know.”

“Congrats!” I exclaimed. “Then, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go.”

As we all walked up the ramp towards the upper deck, I noticed that the ship looked like it was in a large barn with four walls and no roof. Above us the clear, bright blue sky didn’t have a single cloud obstructing the sun’s fierce glow. There were very few crew members around, and even the captain was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they had all gone on ‘shore-leave’. I looked around for Blue Breeze, but didn’t spot him.

The dock was actually a raised platform, about two or three stories high. From my vantage, it was obvious that the keel of the ship would have been on or just above the ground. The docks themselves looked as if they could be raised or lowered, much like a giant elevator. There were gigantic ropes and pulleys located at strategic areas around the platform, while similar, smaller pulley systems seemed to control numerous gangways at specific ends of the docks that reached different parts of the Intrepid. For example, there were four gangways that leaned up against the deck where we were standing on, two on the starboard side, and two on the port side. Two led up onto the main deck, where we were all standing, while the other two were leaning on the upper deck behind us. Other gangways led downwards into the cargo hold, where we could see ponies working together to load and unload large boxes and crates.

The heavy lifting was mostly done by Earth ponies, and the smaller boxes were being handled by Unicorns and their telekinetic powers. There were a few Pegasi floating around, but most wore belts with tools attached to them and didn’t bother helping the Earth or Unicorns. A few flew downwards and I walked over to the side and peered over, the feeling of vertigo reminding me that I was supposed to be scared of heights as I saw the sandy ground below. Before I drew my head back, I noticed that the Pegasi were floating around the ship slowly, keenly inspecting the hull itself.

The height wasn’t all that high. I mean, it still would still have been an unpleasant fall, but at least I wouldn’t leave a great big bloody crater.

Oh, why did I have to think of that... I reprimanded myself as the feeling of surviving a near-death experience flooded by body, making me lethargic. My knees wobbled, almost forcing me to sit down.

“You okay there, Forest?” Atom asked, pushing against me before I felt down.

“Yeah. Just kinda forgot I was supposed to be scared of heights...”

“You really are an idiot.” Atom laughed lightly to himself.

“Oh yeah? Well... you’re ugly.”

“Nice comeback.”

“I try...” I replied, grinning.

There was the distinct sound of hammering, sawing, drilling and other woodwork related noises being made from various locations in and around the ship. The balloon-like thing was deflated and furled in a loose roll above us, while the sails at the sides had been rolled up and folded inwards so that they rested against the ship just below the bulwarks. It was ingenious what these ponies came up with, and I wondered why we didn’t have anything as cool back on Earth.

Probably has something to do with magic... I mentally grouched.

A couple of sailors stood ‘guard’ at the top of gangplank, lazily laying on the deck looking bored out of their minds. It was clear that they were not happy about being there. Pinkie darted past me and started singing a song about smiling to the two ponies. To her credit, they did smile, although I think it was because they were laughing at her. Or maybe she did actually made them smile; I know that I couldn’t help myself as I plastered a wide, toothy one across my mug.

This time I didn’t need any help down the gangplank. With the confidence that I wouldn’t die if I hit the sandy soil at the bottom, coupled with the fact that I no longer had that bracelet on, it was actually no trouble at all. I still stayed as close to the middle as possible, but that crippling feeling of fear was no longer there. I got halfway down the ramp before I stopped and planted my hoof against my face. Once again I had left my saddlebag in my room.

“Forgot something?” A sweet voice asked from behind me.

“Yeah. My saddle-”

Sweetie Belle turned to the side showing off something. “You mean this?”

There, on her flank, was my bag!

“Thanks, Sweetie!”

“It’s a nice saddlebag. But it’s kinda heavy. What you got in there?” She asked.

“Some rope, a bracelet, one of those snowglobe thingies, a crown with three wishing stones...” I didn’t mention the dagger.

Sweetie Belle took the bag off and handed (hoofed?) it to me. “‘Snowglobe thingies’? You’re a strange colt, Forest.”

“Stallion, Sweetie. I’m a stallion.”

“No. You’re an idiot.” Atom reminded me once again as he walked past me laughing his head off.

“Shut up, Ugly!” I shouted jokingly.

“That really the best you can come up with?” Atom asked, laughing even harder.

I just muttered under my breath as I slipped the saddlebag on. It felt good to have it sitting on my haunches once again. Gotta stop forgetting it. The run-in with the Ursas was still fresh on my mind. If I had my bag with me, and Spike’s dagger... maybe things would’ve turned out differently. Anyway, there was no way I could have predicted that would happen. That was besides the point as well. It was Spike’s, I didn’t really have a right to use it.

A cold shudder ran through me when I remembered what he had asked me to use that dagger for.

“Something wrong, Forest?” Sweetie Belle asked as we resumed walking down the gangway.

“Yeah. I just remember something I didn’t want to.” I replied, “Say, where’s Scootaloo and Applebloom?”

“I don’t know. Scootaloo is with her new fiancé in Canterlot, Applebloom and Dinkie went out to one of the clubs. I would’ve gone with them if I hadn’t seen Atom looking suspicious.” Sweetie Belle smiled to herself, “He looked really sad, for some reason. When I talked to him about it I knew something was off, so I asked Fluttershy to help.”

“And?”

“Oh, he sang like a canary.” Despite Sweetie’s sugary smile, I could sense a sadistic overtone to it. Not overtly mean, but subtle satisfaction that they had managed to make him talk.

“I get that you didn’t go to the club, but you’re not expecting me to believe that you saw Atom acting all and and convinced yourself something was up. You would’ve had to have been looking for him.” I was actually talking more to myself, so I surprised when Sweetie replied.

“Actually, I wanted to ask Spike to join us. I mean, I really wanted to him to get out of there before he saw Rarity with... her date.”

“Yeah,” I replied to Sweetie, “a little too late there, dear. He saw them.”

“Oh, I know.”

We walked to the exit of the roofless docking building and pushed open a small pedestrian door that was made inside a larger one. Immediately the sun made me squint and I had to blink a few times to adjust my vision. What greeted was one of the most wonderful things I had ever seen.

The town of Appleloosa was exactly like one of those old Wild Western towns. A long road in the middle with buildings on either side. At the very end of the main street was the train station, the tracks running parallel to where we were standing. Beyond the station the landscape caught my breath. In the distance tall cliffs and unique rock formations dominated the horizon, while dry desert sand was painted across the ground. It was... gorgeous!

We slowly walked down several flights of stairs, well it was more like me holding onto Sweetie like my life depended on it while she tried to lead me down. Eventually we reached the bottom and spotted the others talking with Blue Breeze, who looked like he was on his way back from town. I used the moment to catch my breath, not because I was tired, but because my heart was beating hard in my chest. I kept telling myself to calm down, but in my defense, the stairs weren’t exactly the sturdiest looking things. The constant dread of falling through them or them breaking apart had kept playing in the back of my mind.

Blue Breeze greeted me with a wide smile and a nod. His saddlebags were full of stuff. I could make out books, papers, inkwells, and other writing related paraphernalia. He was just finishing laughing from something one of the girls said, “Well, looks like this is it. It was a pleasure seeing you all again, especially you, Pinkie. I never really got a chance to thank you properly for throwing that farewell do for me.” He turned his head and pulled something out from there. A small present and handed it to the her, “Just a small token of my gratitude. I hope that you don’t mind that I didn’t get the rest of you anything.”

“No, that’s okay, Blue.” Twilight replied on behalf of the rest of us, “Just be careful out there, okay?”

“I will.”

Pinkie eyes and mouth opened wide as she took it from him. Instantly she tore off the wrapper revealing a small notebook. It was pink with her Cutie Mark prominently displayed on the cover.

“To write down your recipes, stories or whatever you feel like,” Blue Breeze smiled, “or your thoughts. You take care of yourselves. I’ll drop by Ponyville in... a year or two.”

“Breezy! Thank you!” Pinkie hugged him, “Don’t forget to write.”

“When I can, I will.” He replied and nodded to the rest of us. He stopped next to me, “Try not to plummet to the ground in a bucket, Forest.”

“Sure. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I decide to ride up one.” I replied sarcastically. “And I expect a huge present when you get back!”

He chuckled to himself, “Sure. If you don’t mind waiting for a couple of years.”

You will never see me again. “I can wait. Just... be safe. I can’t always be there to save your flank.”

He laughed and patted my back, “Same goes to you.” With that he headed up the stairs. At the top he gave us one last wave before he walked towards the doors of the docking area.

As we wandered through the town, I noted that most of the ponies here were in cowboy attire. Some wore leather jackets, those hats, boots, and a few sported some impressive moustaches. It was actually really cool to see something like this. We were walking along the sidewalk, which was essentially the front porch of the buildings. Some ponies just walked on the road, which looked a lot more convenient, if it weren’t for that brutal sun.

“Wanna eat breakfast in here?” Applejack asked.

I looked to the side and saw a shoddy looking establishment. The windows were dirty, the walls were chipped and the paint was peeling off. At the top was a faded sign, the only word visible was ‘saloon’.

“A saloon? Breakfast?” I asked.

“Appleloosa ain’t like those other towns. They don’t get those rowdies here. Most folks are the pleasant sort.” Applejack reassured me.

“Don’t worry, Forest. I’ll protect you.” Aiden grinned slapping my back much harder than usual, before shoving me through the spring-hinged doors.

I lost my balance and landed on my face, the doors still flapping back and forth behind me. Pushing myself up from the ground, I got a good look around before climbing to my feet. The meanest, toughest, ugliest, roughest ponies I had ever seen were all staring at me. They kept their eyes on me as I walked over to the nearest unoccupied table and sat down. Aiden followed moments later, the laughter dying in his throat. The girls were still chatting as they entered, but their conversation also stopped as they took a look around. Finally Atom entered and he gave an equally vicious glare right back at them. They all stared at us with varied expressions, but the Atom’s and Aiden’s faces were enough to detract any troublemakers. It was strange how they could look at the girls with just gentle and friendly expressions one moment, then turn their heads and glare with vicious ferocity at the others. Pointless, really. Twilight could probably beat them all up with her eyes closed.

“Not the friendliest bunch.” Atom commented, “And I do get the distinct feeling that we’re not welcome here.”

Applejack muttered, “I can’t believe this is the same ol’ Appleloosa from before. Everythin’s so...”

“Welcoming?” I asked as a large black pony walked over to our table.

He stood there and stared at us all one by one. He was huge! Almost a head taller than me, and a body that would have made Big Mac look like a foal. His Cutie Mark was a pickaxe and a shovel crossed over each other with a lantern over both. Almost like a skull and crossbones, if the lamp were the skull and the crossbones were the pickaxe and shovel. He had a much, much thicker accent that Applejack. “What kin I get’ya?”

“Hi there... um... where’s Latigo?” Applejack asked.

The large pony guffawed, “Latigo? Latigo left town near on half-a year ago. He dun sol’ me this here saloon and left faster’n ya could say ‘git’. I reck’n you must not be Appleloosa regulars on the count that I ain’t seen none of you b’fore. This ain’t the same town it were last year. Thin’s a changed.” He laughed mirthlessly, “Now, what kin I get’ya?”

“Breakfast!” I exclaimed, “Something good.”

“We dun do breakfast.” The saloon pony said. “This place is where ponies come to ferget the world. They don’ take kine’ly to happy folk.”

“Oh well. Then we’ve wasted both our times. Shall we go?” Twilight said gesturing to the door.

As we got up to leave, the black pony placed a hoof on my shoulders, “Fair word of warnin’ ta you and yer frens. Appleloosa ain’t safe no mo’. Best get outta town soon rather than late.”

The others didn’t hear this warning, but I turned and nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”

He nodded, “Best you do.”

With that, he loosened his grip and I walked out the door.

The outside was a heavy contrast from the gloom in the saloon. In fact, I had to turn around just to make sure that I hadn’t somehow got myself accidentally transported to another part of Equestria. Indeed, out here the colors were bright and happy. The sun was high in the sky and the locals all looked like the usual nice, gentle ponies that I’ve got used to. In the saloon, however, it was dark, dingy and — well, scary! As brave as I was (which really isn’t that much), I couldn’t help but feel that those ponies inside were... hostile. Not sad, or angry, but downright mean. Maybe with the exception of the owner.

Still, it was not a happy place.

“I just don’t understand it! What’s happened to this town? It used to be so... so... less rowdy.” Applejack couldn’t find the words. She looked around, “I mean, she’s grown since we were here last, but...”

“Things change, Applejack. Towns like these tend to grow, and bring in the... less desirable sort. It’s just the way things are sometimes.” Twilight replied smiling at her friend. “But, yeah, I think you do have a point. It’s become a lot rougher. Now, where’s Spike?”

As if on cue, the purple dragon walked out of one of the stores in full cowboy regalia. Complete with hat, shoes, vest, jacket and pants. He saw us and mosied on over. Unable to resist, he placed one leg on the steps and leaned over his knee, tipping his hat. “Howdy.”

“My, my, aren’t you lookin’ good.” Twilight beamed at him, “Just like a regular cowpony.”

“Wouldn’t he be a cowdragon?” I asked.

Atom shook his head and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Forest. No.”

“Aw.” I bowed my head in shame, playing along with Atom.

That made the Dragon laugh, “Nice to see that you’re all awake. Although I’m still a little annoyed that the girls are here. I just wanted to take a quick vacation, is all.”

“Spike, you’re a part of my family. I just was worried about you...” Twilight replied defensively.

“I know, Twilight. That’s why I tried to run away. The last time I ran away, you guys followed me. I was kinda glad that you did, and I learnt a lot about Dragons in general, but you can’t keep on babying me, Twilight. I appreciate it, and I love you, but you’ve got to stop.”

“That was awkward.” I muttered, frozen in place.

Atom just nodded, while Aiden made a show of pretending he wasn’t listening. The girls, on the other hand... other hoof... didn’t bother hiding the fact that they were all listening, but even showed Spike and Twilight that they were there for them should they need a shoulder to lean on.

Twilight stood there clumsily, and Spike gave her a hug, “Thanks for everything, Twilight. Really. I do love you. You’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever had.”

The look on Twilight’s face broke my heart, and she returned Spike’s embrace.

“Well, what’s done is done.” Spike pulled himself back, Twilight struggling to let him go. The Dragon removed his hat and brushed the scales on his head, “Might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here.” Spike looked around, “Wanna go to the saloon?”

“No!” We all exclaimed together.

“That bad, eh?” Spike laughed. He looked around again, “Then how about that café over there?”

“That sounds swell.” Applejack nodded, and we all headed there.

As we entered, the locals stopped what they were doing and looked over to us. They recognized the Elements on the spot and were all very welcoming. A little too welcoming, I thought. They were fawning over the four of the Elements. I hadn’t ever seen them given this kind of treatment before... or perhaps I just never noticed.

Regardless, we had a great breakfast consisting of just about everything you could imagine. Honey, oats, bread, milk... everything! It was delicious. Not to mention that apple juice. That was yummy. Must have drank at least two gallons of the stuff.

“Well, let’s head down to the orchard. I really wanna visit my cuz.” Applejack got up and started to leave, practically skipping on her way out.

“I’ll get this,” Aiden stated threw some bits down on the table.

“Why does Aiden pay for everything?” I asked Atom as we left.

“As your guardian, he gets a stipend every month...”

“What?” I exclaimed, “You mean that... I didn’t have to work?”

“Now, Forest, just because Aiden can pay yer way, doesn’t mean you should take advantage.” Applejack gave me a look.

“Yes, ma’am.” I replied dejectedly.

Is it ‘Scold Forest Day’’ today or something?

The walk to the orchard was pretty uneventful. I blamed it on Celestia’s sun. It was hot as hell, and as much as I enjoyed sunlight, I was beginning to wish that Luna would raise her moon already. It was just too damned hot that even thinking seemed to be a project. After what seemed like hours, the first signs of the farm came into view. The house wasn’t that far away, according to Applejack, and we were glad when we could see it. The road leading up to the main house was surrounded by tall apple trees that provided much needed shade. Applejack trotted on ahead clearly excited at the prospect at meeting her relatives.

As we arrived, I saw a pony hugging her. A... something... was next to them, sitting on a large chair on the porch, smiling away. She wasn’t a pony. No. She was something else.

“Hi Braeburn!” Twilight said aloud as we approached, “Hi Little Strongheart!”

“I don’t feel ‘little’ at the moment, Twilight.” She said, getting up slowly.

“Please, don’t get up,” Twilight rushed over to her and setting her back down on the chair, staring at her huge belly, “we don’t want anything to happen to the foal... calf... baby.”

“Nothin’s gonna happen, and I need to stretch my legs,” Strongheart replied standing up, this time with Twilight’s assistance.

Fluttershy fluttered over to her, “Oh, congratulations. How long?” She asked.

“In three months.” She beamed. “Although I wish it’d happen sooner at this point. I’m tired of lugging this weight around.”

“You look lovely,” Fluttershy said smiling, “you’re going to be a wonderful mother.”

The girls chatted about baby stuff, along with Braeburn, while the boys hung back. It was nice. This was nice. Having family was nice. Having friends was nice. Having shade was nice. Yes, shade was very nice. Just needed a nice cold glass of something to...

“So... what’s the plan?” Aiden asked quietly.

“The... plan?” Atom asked.

Spike looked at the two of them and lowered his hat over his eyes, “Forget it. Might as well enjoy the extra company while it’s there. If we try to ditch them again, they’ll just find us and be angrier than they are.”

“They’re angry?” Didn’t seem like it to me.

“Clueless.” All three of them said together.

“Oi!”

“You didn’t see Twilight last night, Forest. You had fallen asleep, but she wasn’t just angry. She was the worst kind of angry.” Spike explained. “She was sad-angry.”

Aiden shuddered, “Don’t remind me.”

“So... how’d she find us?” I asked. “I don’t recall telling Atom where we were going.”

Aiden shuddered again, “Don’t remind me.”

“She didn’t need to guess. She knew what we were up to once Atom told on us...”

“I didn’t tell! They tortured it out if me! You’ve got to believe me! You don’t know how scary Fluttershy’s Stare is!” Atom defended himself.

Aiden and Spike shushed him, he had raised his voice a little too loud, which made the girls briefly look over our way. I let out a rancorous laugh, followed by a ‘good one, Spike, that was funny’. The lie worked, and the girls resumed their conversation for a few more minutes before they started making their way into the house.

“Nice save,” Spike commented me, “that surely didn’t raise any suspicions.”

“Are you being sarcastic?” I asked.

“Yes.”

The three of them laughed at my expense again while I grumbled. They were really going after me today.

When the ladies had all gone inside, I turned back to them, “But how did they find us? We didn’t go to the train station.”

“Actually, we did. We went to the train station, and they had split up and literally asked every single pony who worked there if they’d seen a purple Dragon with you, Forest. You’re pretty famous, y’know. There’s nopony in Canterlot that doesn’t know what you look like.” Atom looked down, “And... well, when you weren’t there, Twilight figured that you’d either run out of town or take another form of transport. And considering that you just ran the race of a lifetime hours before, she sorta guessed that you’d take the transport. That meant either a stagecoach, or the ship. She surmised that a stagecoach would have been too slow, so that left the ship. And it didn’t take long to guess which one.”

“That’s Twilight.” Aiden chuckled. “Smart and beautiful.”

“The way she shouted at us...” Spike shuddered, “you’re really lucky you weren’t awake, Forest.”

Aiden shuddered again, probably from thinking back on it.

“Wouldn’t have mattered anyway. As far as Twilight was concerned, it was all Spike’s fault.” Atom stated bluntly.

“Oh yeah. Blame it on the Dragon.” Spike pretended to be offended.

We all laughed. I really loved this. The more time I spent with these guys, the closer I felt to them. Really, I did. It was great. I was beginning to even think of Spike as my best friend at this point. He was always there for me when I needed him. We knew how to cover each other and just in general be there. And despite our differences, Aiden was cool. Despite the fact that the mare he was crushing on was crushing on me, Aiden was the second stallion that I got along with. Although, I had to admit that I had mixed feelings about Atom. He was certainly a good friend, but he was also the guy who sorta took the mare of my dreams. I think. I wasn’t sure. Well, at least I hoped that both of them thought of me as a friend, especially Aiden. It was hard to tell after the things he said.

“So, you boys wanna come in for a spell, or do you want to stay outside and bake?” Applejack shouted from the porch, holding the front door open.

“Coming!” Atom shouted in response, and skipped along towards the door.

The three of us watched him go, and laughed.

“What is Braeburn’s wife, if you don’t mind me asking?” She wasn’t a pony, that was for sure.

“A buffalo.” Aiden replied as he walked past me without pausing, “Isn’t that obvious?”

“No...” I muttered to myself.

Aiden was undoubtedly still mad at me, and I seriously doubted that would change anytime soon, considering that Twilight was now my somewhat official marefriend. Still couldn’t wrap my head around that for some reason.

As I entered Braeburn’s home, I noticed that it was almost an exact clone of Applejack’s. There were stairs leading up from the entrance hallway. To my left was the dining room, and to my right was the lounge where all the girls were sitting and chatting away. There was an entrance to the kitchen at the far end of the den. As we all entered the lounge, the girls barely acknowledged our presence. Atom and Aiden took a few steps forwards, while Spike and I hung back and observed. It was clear that all their attentions were all on the happy couple as they told the us the names they’d come up with for their little one.

“Hey Spike,” I whispered, “if a buffalo and pony have a child... what would it be? A buffony?”

Spike barely managed to contain his chuckle. “A ponfallo.” He whispered in response.

“Ooh, I like that one. Ponfallo. Catchy.”

The two of us started laughing quietly.

Pinkie suddenly popped out from behind us, “What’s so funny.”

“N-nothing!” Spike spat, giving me a look telling me I should keep my trap shut. Uncanny how I knew that.

“Aw. Tell me! Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me!” Pinkie pleaded as she bounced around us.

I patted her on the back gently, “Maybe when you’re older.”

Pinkie stopped bouncing and lowered her head, making her ears droop, “Aw. Okay...” Then a lightbulb went off in her head, “Hey!”

Braeburn spoke up then, thankfully interrupting us, “You’re all welcome to stay here for the night. We’ve got enough room, but I’m ‘fraid the boys might have’ta sleep in the barn. I also recommend you get out of town soon. Appleloosa ain’t what it used ta be. It ain’t safe here no more. We’re actually planin’ on sellin’ the farm and movin’ out to Dodge Junction, or settle up near where Little’s tribe are.”

“What happened to this place?” Sweetie Belle asked, “It wasn’t this bad when we came here for your wedding.”

“It all started about three months ago. Trouble comin’ from down south. We’ve heard that a lot of other frontier towns had been gettin’ trouble from Diamond Dogs.”

“Oh no.” Twilight spoke up.

“Wha-what kind of trouble?” Fluttershy asked.

“Dis’pearences. Ponies have been missin’. Takin’. All strong ones too, thankfully not foals. It’s been happenin’ more and more frequent. A couple weeks ago Mud Tail vanished, and before that Rough Boulder went missin’. Ponies are usually inside by dusk now, and although we’ve got some Royal Guards patrollin’ the town, there’s still a lot of tension in the air.” Braeburn sighed and looked at us, “If this keeps up, I’m ‘fraid there’ll be no frontier towns south of Connemara.”

“Connemara is...?”

Braeburn looked at me as if I had brain damage. “It’s the biggest frontier city. All trains stop there on their way to the other towns. You must’ve come through there on your way here.”

“We came on the Intrepid.” Applejack put in.

“Oh? Oh! That there fancy ship from Canterlot that arrived this mornin’? Wow, Cuz. I’m impressed. Well, stranger...”

“Forest.”

“Well, Forest, the only town equal to Connemara in size is maybe Dodge Junction, but I don’t rightfully know. This here’s my home, and I’d hate to leave it. I’ve planted most of those trees myself, but it’s gettin’ too much to handle as is. Lotta unneighbourly folks have been movin’ in, pushing all the decent fam’lies out. I ain’t got any help now, and buckin’ all those trees on my lonesome is pretty hard work.”

“Why haven’t I heard any of this? I mean, this is really big! I’m surprised that Princess Celestia hasn’t told us about it.” Twilight was visibly angered and shocked by what she had just heard.

Braeburn looked uncomfortable, “Aw, Twilight, but frontier towns don’t always have it easy. I’m not sayin’ that things back in Equestria are, but out here we never know quite what to expect. We make do with what we got, and with Celestia’s help, we grow as a community. We’ve made peace with our neighbors, we’ve learnt ta live together and help one another, so problems like this... it’s beneath the concerns of the Elements and the Princesses.”

“Ponies goin’ missin’ is our concern, Brae!” Applejack stood up, raising her voice, “We’re the Elements, for Celestia’s sake. Protectin’s what we do!”

“I know ya mean well, Cuz. Really, I do, but you gotta understand that ponies dis’pear all the time out here, and it ain’t just from Diamond Dogs. It’s just the way thin’s are out ‘ere. It ain’t common, but it ain’t rare neither. I guess what I’m sayin’ is: we never actually understood jus’ how bad it got till now.”

“What are Diamond Dogs?”

Everypony turned to look at me.

“I’m just kidding.” I replied quickly.

“Oh... kay... anyway, since we’re here, what do you girls say about looking around town? Ask some questions and get some answers?” Twilight asked her friends.

“Sounds good. Let’s get to the bottom of this.” Applejack replied.

Braeburn looked at his cousin, “Actually, AJ, I was wonderin’ if ya could help me a bit, I need some help buckin’ some of them apples down by the river. I’ve still got a couple a’ orchards left.”

“Aw, you don’t need my help, Cuz. Why, Forest here can build you a harvester. You could easily buck them orchards by today, if ya let him.” Applejack gave me a look that made my heart flutter.

Anything for you, Applejack. I sighed in my mind. “I’ll certainly do my best!” I said out loud.

She must have seen something on my face because she gave me that near-blush smile that she wore when we were dating. That brought a little growl from Atom. My blood froze and I felt beads of sweat roll down my face.

“Well, alrighty then. Forest, let’s head on out.” Braeburn led the way out of the front door.

“Forest, wait...” Twilight trotted up to me and kissed my cheek, “I’ll be thinking of you.”

I felt my cheeks get hot, and I couldn’t resist giving her a quick hug, “Twilight. I... it’s going to take me time to wrap my head around this, okay? I can’t promise anything other than: I will try. Okay?”

She looked a little disappointed, but she gave me a nod as she understood. “A maybe is still better than a no.”

That face, that frown. Why are you so damned cute? I shouted at her mentally. As everypony left the house, Twilight stood by my side. Then, just before she left the house, something came over me. Something I knew I’d probably regret later, but I couldn’t allow the Unicorn to feel sad. Just before she walked out, I quickly, and sneakily, pecked her on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, okay?” I whispered gently in her ear before sprinting off after Braeburn, not daring to look back. It took all my effort not to. Couldn’t let Aiden see. He’d literally hand my flank over to me on a silver platter.

“Twilight, you okay? Your face is really pink.” I heard Sweetie Belle’s voice.

Must not look back. Must not look back.

“It’s just the sun, Sweetie.” Twilight replied. I could feel her eyes on me and I fought the rushing wave of blood in my cheeks.

Braeburn, Atom and Aiden were sitting inside the barn, while Spike had gone on ahead to the orchard to take a look around.

With the help of the three stallions, and more specifically, Aiden’s magic, we built the harvester in no time at all. All the while my mind kept replaying that stupid, stupid, stupid kiss on Twilight’s cheek. It was fun, exciting, but utterly stupid thing to do. Not only because I knew that it nine days, I’d be gone, but the fact that if Aiden found out, I’d be in a world of hurt. After all, Aiden was a war hero. Even without his magic, I doubt I’d be able to do anything other than run away really fast.

After we had finished building the new harvester, we paused for a quick lunch. Unlike Applejack’s apple-themed dishes, Braeburn had his wife feed us hay sandwiches with a sweet corn spread. It was delicious. His wife even brought out some delicious apple juice for us to drink. Spike had to make do with some jewels, some green ones, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Braeburn was very impressed with the efficiency of the harvester and we were done with the orchards by the time Celestia’s brutal sun was setting over the horizon. The guys gave me grief for not being able to buck trees with them, but the doctor said no running. I doubted that he’d be happy if he found out that I was using my injured hooves to buck trees with all my strength.

Eventually we took the full carts (we had made three harvesters) back to the barn. The farmer was so happy that he even offered to pay us for our work. Politely, we all refused, although it was tempting to accept his offer. I felt really guilty for taking advantage of Aiden all the time, but I also understood that Aiden wouldn’t have gotten all that money if it weren’t for me. So, in a strange way, we were even.

“Howdy, boys.” Applejack’s voice cooed as we were unloading the second harvester and placing the yellow colored apples into smaller crates, “Done already?”

“Heya, Cuz. You were right about that there harvester! It’s one fine contraption. I’m done for the season.” He looked over to us appreciatively, “Now I can sell the apples, spend more time with my wife, and decide what to do.”

“Glad we could help!” Spike said, hefting another box on top of one that Atom had just placed on the ground.

“Well, just wanted to let you know that dinner’s on. Little wants y’all to sit at the table and partake in a home cooked meal.”

We all smiled and nodded. Braeburn was the one who spoke up, “Let’s go before it gets cold.”

As we entered his house again, we all headed into the dining. There the ladies were already sitting at the table. At the very far end sat Little Strongheart, so that she faced the front of the house. To her left sat Applejack, behind her was the doorway to the kitchen. Next to Applejack sat Twilight, who smiled and waved at us, but she gave me a kittenish smile, that made my face feel hot.

Oh no! Don’t tell me I’m falling for her! Stop it, Forest! Stop it right now!

Next to Twilight was Sweetie Belle, and next to her was an empty seat. Spike walked on over and plopped himself there, as right in front of the place was a large selection of precious and semi-precious stones. Immediately next to him sat Atom, who leaned forward to flash Applejack a smile. She returned the gesture with a smile of her own, which made me feel a little jealous, but the feeling was a lot smaller than before. Maybe I was getting used to the idea.

To Little Strongheart’s right sat Fluttershy, who shyly waved to me and Aiden. Next to her sat the pink pony, who gave us a wide grin. Aiden walked over and sat next to Pinkie, and I followed and placed myself in the chair next to the green Unicorn. Finally, at the head of the table sat the stallion of the house, Braeburn. Twilight and I kept trying not to look at each other, but it was really difficult, considering that she couldn’t stop laughing, and I could resist making faces.

We thanked Celestia for the food, and started to dig in. There wasn’t much variety, but what we did have was fantastic! Delicious! The conversation started off about the boys working the fields before it evolved around the girls finding out more about the disappearances around town. They were talking about what they had discovered, but most of it was speculation. I still felt a little left our because I had no idea who or what the Diamond Dogs were, but they seemed like really despicable creatures.

“The last time I ran into the Dogs was years ago. When they took Rarity.” Spike sighed, “The rescue mission was a success, no thanks to me...”

“You were only a foal back then, Spike.” Sweetie put her hoof on his claw, “You tried your best.”

Spike smiled and nodded, “Thanks, Sweetie, but I was still pretty lame.”

Dessert was chopped raw sugarcane sticks in a large bowl of ice, which we all munched on. It tasted great, but I couldn’t eat more than two strips. The juice was too sweet for me. Atom, on the other hand, had a huge pile of debris on his plate as he tore through as many as he could. He really had a sweet tooth. Spike was happily licking a transparent stone, which he savored for a while before eventually consuming it in one large bite.

Eventually Applejack confiscated the remaining strips of sugarcane from the boy’s end of the table, seeing as the girls had finished theirs, which brought a moan from Atom. I found that immensely amusing. I couldn’t decide whether it was because Applejack stole his favorite dessert, or his expression of misery that he could no longer have any sugarcane. Hey, I was still a teeny bit jealous. Just a teeny bit.

“Can I sleep in the barn with the boys?” Pinkie suddenly asked Little Strongheart.

“I... guess...” She hesitantly answered.

“Don’t worry, Little. She don’t mean it like that. She just likes snugglin’ up to Forest. He’s like her stuffed toy.” Applejack explained.

“Are you calling me fat?” I cried, feigning offense.

“Why don’t we all stay in the barn, then? I mean, we all dropped by unannounced, it would be impolite to impose.” Twilight suggested.

“Well, I guess that’s okay with me,” Little Strongheart said, clearly amused by the strange request, “honey?”

“It’s fine by me...” Braeburn replied, “although I do find it strange you’d prefer to sleep in the barn than in a warm bed. Although, it is Pinkie. I think you ought to ask somepony else.”

“Well? Forest?” Pinkie asked.

Everypony looked at me. “Um... I don’t mind...”

With that, the matter was settled.

We all sat in the barn, Twilight and the girls were all quietly chatting away at the far end of the barn near where the comfy hay was, while we were crammed together on the other side where it was not comfy at all. The light from Twilight’s horn gave off a warm, yellow glow and we could barely hear whispering.

“Do... do you guys wanna spy on the girls?” Atom asked. He had this huge hopeful smile on his face.

“Not me. Twilight’s over there.” Aiden replied, “But you guys go on ahead.”

“I’m with Aiden on this one... I’m going to just hang back here, if you don’t mind.”

Spike was already gone. We could see him crawling towards the girls.

“We’ll report back what we hear.” Atom saluted us and then crawled off after Spike.

I looked at Aiden, “They’re going to get caught, aren’t they?”

“Spike might. Atom... well, he’s got military training. He might be able to hide his presence from Twilight. I doubt she’s had the kind of training needed to find ponies hiding themselves purposely.” Aiden look over to me. “Since we’re alone, Forest, I want to ask you something. Do you like Twilight?”

“As a friend, yes. As something more? Honestly, I don’t know.”

“Look, I know that for the past few days I’ve been a total jerk, but I love Twilight. I know it’s a one sided love, but I still love her. If being with you makes her happy, then I’m happy to step aside.” Aiden looked at me, his eyes narrowing, “But if you hurt her, so help me Luna, I’ll rip your heart out of your chest.”

“Pleasant.” I replied, and laughed nervously. “But as I said, Aiden, I’m not sure how I feel about her, so if I do hurt her, it’s only because I don’t know if I can reciprocate her feelings.”

Aiden looked at me, then sighed, “You don’t know how lucky you’ve got it. I mean, you’ve got Twilight’s heart, and you had Applejack’s. Atom’s a nice guy and all, but I doubt that Applejack still has those kinds of feelings for him. He’s trying to win her back, but... well, things change. It’s clear that she’s not over you, and Twilight’s making it... awkward.”

“Applejack still has feelings for me?” I asked, my eyes opened wide.

Aiden smacked his face with his hoof, “You really are a clueless idiot.”

“Oh yeah, well...” My voice was cut off when I felt something grab me. I looked up at Aiden, but he was gone.

I opened my mouth again, but something was preventing me from shouting, and the next thing I noticed was that I was being dragged downwards as dirt was piled over me.

It felt like I was going down a really dark, really rough elevator. The grip on my mouth was firm, and no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t free it. After a few more minutes, the darkness abated and before I could do anything, I was shoved into a cage. I could barely see Aiden there with me.

“Hang on.” He said before his horn started glowing gently.

“What...”

“Diamond Dogs.” Aiden answered my question, “They dragged us down while we were talking.”

My eyes turned to see about a dozen dog-like creatures staring at us. They all looked like canine gorillas, their forelegs longer and bulkier than their rear. Two of them wore clothing, while the rest wore armor and helms. Those two must be the leaders.

“Three strong ones we found,” one of lesser Dogs said, groveling at the well dressed Dog’s feet, “there were many others, but we found a Dragon as well. Yes. A Dragon.”

“Spike! Spike!” I shouted, “You okay?”

“Yeah. We’re fine. Atom’s with me. We got caught.” Spike shouted back. “Don’t worry, Twilight saw us get dragged under, so they should be safe.”

“Thank Celestia,” I heard Aiden mutter.

“Silence!” The Diamond Dog leader shouted, “You are prisoners! You will work the mines, dig for jewels. Take them away!”

The tunnels stretched on and on and on. It was clear that these were not dug out by these canines, but rather they had taken advantage of a rather large and complex underground series of natural caves. I could tell because I watched nature shows back home. And who said you couldn’t learn anything from television?

“Why is it this keep happening to me?” I asked, “It’s almost like I’m a character in a story, and the author enjoys putting me through all sorts of nonsense for his own personal amusement.”

Aiden chuckled, “Would be a pretty hilarious story.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” I muttered. “So, what do we do?”

“We sit back, and wait. We can’t do anything while in these cages, they’re magic proof. I can’t cast outside the bars, and you’re here with me. You might get hurt if I try.” Aiden leaned back and closed his eyes, “Something tells me this is going to be a long trip.”

And he was right. It was.

By the time we stopped again, it was probably close to midnight. The dogs pushed our prison into a stone cliff where the was a roughly cut indent that matched the size and width of our cage. Spike’s and Atom’s was shoved into the recess next to ours.

“You guys okay?” Aiden asked.

“Okay? Okay! Can you guys smell that? I can’t breathe!” Atom shouted, “It smells like... urine!”

He was right. It did. And here I was trying to ignore it.

“Guys, look.” Spike said. If he was pointing, I couldn’t see, but I instinctively looked out and around.

Cages everywhere. It looked like hundreds of ponies were here, all trapped in similar cages. The cave here was like a prison center, with three or four floors full of ponies. We heard some shouting, the sounds of whips, some cries of pain, then silence. That visibly upset Aiden, who bared his teeth in anger and was about to shout when a dog hit the cage with a large stick, which surprised the two of us.

“Back, pony! Get back!” The guard Dog demanded.

Moments later a large, bulldog-like creature stood in front of our cages. He was huge! Immense! Far bigger than any of the other dogs around, and he had a very deep voice. And the tiniest legs! It was so disproportionate. I stifled a giggle, this was not the time. Long tendrils of saliva dribbled halfway down his chest, oozing onto the floor. His arms were as thick as my torso, and those eyes were terrifying. All humor I had evaporated when I saw those eyes. He stood there for a moment before pointing to me and Aiden, “They will carry the gems,” he then pointed to Spike and Atom, “they will dig.”

“Yes, sir.” The two Dogs that had captured us earlier nodded, “It shall be done as you say.”

“Can’t be...” Aiden said pressing his face up against the bars, which prompted the guard dog to hit the bars again. Aiden backed off out of reflex.

The bulldog walked away, an entourage of females behind him, as well as several dozen guards.

“Atom. Atom.” Aiden said out loud.

“What?”

“You know who that is, don’t you?” Aiden looked over to me. I shook my head. I had no idea.

“Eeyup. I know who that is.” Atom replied. There was a long moment of silence. “This is a lot more serious than just a few disappearances, isn’t it? Aw, and here I thought I’d left this all behind when I left the Guard...”

“Atom, keep that on the down low until we know more.” Aiden said back.

“You mean being in the Guard? Yeah. That’s probably a smart thing. Will do.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“That’s Tyrant Rex. He’s incredibly dangerous. He’s got a thing against ponies and believes that the Diamond Dogs should rule Equestria, with him as the king.” Aiden sighed, “He’s been nothing more than a joke in the beginning, but he somehow managed to raise an army. When I was still serving the Kingdom, we ended that before it had a chance to really get started, but we failed to capture Rex. And now, here he is! This isn’t good. If he’s forcing ponies to mine for gems, that only means he still hasn’t given up his plan for Equestria.”

“What plan?”

“Dragons. He was planning on using the gems to get Dragons to attack Equestria.” Aiden looked at me, “I know that both Princess Luna and Celestia can defend Canterlot against a lot of them, but an entire army... I don’t know. I doubt Canterlot would remain standing, but worst of all, a lot of ponies could die. We need to report this, get word to the Royal Guard.”

“But how?” I asked.

Aiden smiled, “I don’t know. Right now, we wait, and do as they say.”

“You mean play along?”

“Exactly. We observe, learn and when the time comes, we do what needs to be done. If worse comes to worse, there’s always the Elements of Harmony.”

“Worse comes to worse?” I asked.

“You don’t know how strong they are. One in particular.”

"Twilight?”

“Twilight.” Aiden’s smile made me actually feel sorry for the Diamond Dogs.

Just how powerful was the Element of Magic?

Day 22: The Wild, Wild West

“Get up, ponies!” A gruff voice shouted, “Get up!”

My eyes shot open, and I sat up instantly. When had I fallen asleep? Couldn’t recall. I just sort of faded out of consciousness at some point. Was it morning? I couldn’t tell. I could’ve been sleeping for ten minutes for all I knew. Aiden was sitting in the corner of our cage, his eyes wide open and his expression unreadable. There was a glint of steel resolve that made me shudder.

The gruff voice had come from one of the guard Dogs, who was now unlocking the cage. “Come here, pony!” He ordered, reaching in and pulling me out by my mane.

I let out a cry of agony, as the dog threw me to the ground and reached for Aiden, but the green Unicorn’s look made the Dog stop. He exited the cage with his dignity, look over to me with an apologetic look.

I remembered his words from last night; we had to play play along. He wasn’t going to help me. Not yet, at least. Not that I really had a choice, these Dogs were a lot stronger than me. The really did look like gorillas with dog heads, and from what I knew about the apes back on Earth, they were pretty damn strong too.

Atom and Spike were already outside their cage. Spike had a metal collar around his neck and two chains that was being held securely by two really beefy looking pugs.

“You okay, Spike?” I asked.

“Been better.” He muttered.

The next thing I knew, one of those metallic collars was latched onto my right hoof. And I had just gotten used to having something not on there. My mind instantly thought of the Saddlebag still securely placed on my rear. Why had they not confiscated it?

“Tell me about it.” Aiden muttered in response to Spike as the other end of my chain was attached to his left leg. Now we were joined together. There wasn’t much slack between the two of us, perhaps just enough for us to walk without tripping the other up.

“Shut up, ponies! You don’t talk!” The Dog that had let me out of the cage shouted as he smacked Aiden across the face. “Dragon and that pony dig. These will move gems. Now, move!”

We were led towards the center of the large hall-like ‘prison’, where cages were embedded into almost every visible inch of wall, exactly how Aiden’s and mine here. Hundreds of ponies were being forced along, guided by the Dogs and... some ponies? That can’t be right. Ponies enslaving ponies?

“By Celestia’s mane, would you look at that.” Aiden whispered to himself, clearly disgusted by what he saw.

We were all being shoved forwards by the Dogs, the sharp sound of the crack of a whip echoed whenever a pony moved too slow for the Dog’s patience. Aiden’s face glowered scarily when he saw one of the Dogs whip a Unicorn hard enough to draw blood. Twice more the whip snapped on his flank before he scrambled to his feet, fleeing behind the mare he was chained to, cowering behind her pleading for the whipping to stop.

“Patience, Aiden,” Atom whispered, “I know it’s hard, but we need to do this properly.”

“No talking, pony!” The Dog leading Atom shouted, pulling on his chain, making him trip up and fall flat on his face. As he picked himself up from the ground, I swear to Celestia that look in his eyes would have made an Ursa think twice. But as he stood up, the deadly stare faded and he put on a friendly expression. He actually smiled.

The Dog, clearly confused, just shoved him forwards again.

We were forced towards one of the long tunnels where a bunch of other ponies were digging the ground using their hooves or tools to get at gems. These were then loaded onto the backs of other ponies, who dumped them into minecarts. These were pushed by the Diamond Dogs themselves into another tunnel, where all the tracks seemed to converge. There was a large wood door that was open with a sizable number of Diamond Dogs standing guard.

“Sing, pony!” a Dog shouted, snapping my attention back to where I was going. The mutt whipped the poor Unicorn mare who was carrying a load of gems with her magic to the nearest minecart. “Sing!”

“With a hoof upon my head,
All this is an poorly written joke,
And with a mirthless laugh,
I am a slave to the Dog’s yoke.

Oh, how I wish to wake in your hooves,
Back in a warm bed with you,
Back in the place I call home,
That is what I want to do.”

Her voice sent chills down my spine. Ponies sang all the time, but this... this was painful to hear. I could hear the anguish in her voice, the sadness in her words, the pain in every refrain.

“We can’t leave it as it is,” I whispered to Aiden, “when do we do something?”

“You heard Atom. Patience. We need to know more before we can do anything. I know it’s hard, but we have to wait.” Aiden replied, but I could tell by the way he bit his lip that he struggled to contain himself.

After what felt like an hour of walking, we reached the end of a tunnel. An elderly Unicorn was chained to what looked like a cube, his horn giving off a dim glow. From the cube, long wires with lights extended along the walls bathing the tunnels in a dingy glow. Several ponies had already begun to dig away, the stronger ones using tools to tear through the thick rock.

Each pony was chained in teams of two, with the job of either digging or the job of collecting gems and transporting them to the nearest minecart. Aiden and I were one of the transporting ponies.

“You ponies new?” One of the others asked. He was a slightly built, dark red pony, almost the same color as Big Macintosh, with a purple mane and a Cutie Mark that looked like a saw. A carpenter maybe?

Aiden nodded, “Just arrived yesterday.”

“Welcome to The Pit. Least, that’s what we call it here. The name’s Wood Work. Was workin’ near Gallopping Springs when these mutts foalnapped me and dragged me down here.”

“Gallopping Springs?” Aiden exclaimed, “That far west?”

“Yeah, I take it that I’ve come a long way from the reactions of others, only it took me a few minutes to reach this place, whereas all of you say that you traveled quite a distance to get here. By simple logic...”

“We’re near the very edge of the western border of the Known Lands.” Aiden finished.

Wood just nodded, “Never seen ‘em bring in a Dragon before. He a friend of yours?”

Spike was using his tail like a jackhammer against a particular wall, demolishing it quickly. All the while the two pugs that were holding him kept alert, with one hand on the chain, and the other on a spear that was precariously pointed at Spike’s back.

“He is.” Aiden replied neutrally, “How many ponies are here?”

“Who knows? A hundred, more... I don’t know. I just know that the only way out is through those doors...” He pointed back at the heavily guarded doors, “That’s where they take the gems out.”

“If you know that, why haven’t you tried to escape?”

Wood looked down at the ground, “I did. But when I got out... I didn’t know where I was except that it was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by desert on all sides. Without any food or water, where could I go?”

He did have a point.

“We’ll try to help you, but for now we need to lay low.” Aiden whispered, dumping gems into the minecart. The Dogs guarding us were off to one side laughing and joking with each other, completely oblivious to our discussion.

“How are you going to help us when you yourself is stuck here!” Wood exclaimed out loud, which turned a few heads.

Aiden just placed a hoof on his shoulder, “Just spread the word. Let all the ponies know that they’ll need to head for that exit soon. Just... continue what you’re doing until then.”

At first Wood stood there disbelievingly. I didn’t blame the guy. If some strange pony suddenly appeared out of nowhere claiming that they could get them all out without some reservations was either being a little too optimistic, simply a crazy fool, or he had the goods to backup his claim. Still, whatever the case, they had nothing to lose? It wasn’t as if they had other more pressing engagements, and the Dogs weren't going to kill them. They needed them to work the mines.

“I will do it. But you better come through. There’re a lot of ponies who’ve already lost hope and have resigned themselves to doing this for the rest of their lives.” Wood gestured with his chin to the pony next to the cube that powered the lights, “You can’t raise somepony’s hopes like that. How do you expect to pull of such a feat?”

“Just do it. Let me worry about how.” Aiden replied, already tired of the pessimism.

Wood stood there without comment as Aiden and I walked back towards the dig site. I looked at the ex-Royal Guard with new found respect. He might not have been a soldier in Her Highness’ forces anymore, but he was still badass enough to give me confidence and hope. There was nobody down here that I’d rather be chained to at that moment than him.

Spike was at the front still using his tail like a jackhammer, still tearing through the hard rock with ease. Every so often he would stop to allow Atom to gather the gems he’d uncover and place them into a basket near his feet. It was almost full by the time we arrived and we placed our currently empty baskets down next to it.

Atom and Aiden chatted quietly together for a few moments before one of the guard dogs spotted them. “Hey! Back to work!” He growled.

Atom turned around, “Yes, of course. He was just asking me if I could place the baskets on his back more evenly so that it didn’t hurt him. He’s got a sore shoulder, you see...” Atom continued to converse with the Dog, while Aiden’s eyes scanned the two large pugs holding Spike.

“Enough, pony! Take basket. Load pony!” The guard glowered at Atom as he walked off.

“This is why nopony likes the Diamond Dogs,” he muttered under his breath, “you try to nice and they just act like a bunch of...” Atom’s eyes drifted over my flank, “How do you still have your saddlebag?” He asked barely whispering, picking up the basket full of gems and heaving it onto my back.

“Maybe they think it’s my Cutie Mark.” I replied just as quietly.

“No talking!” A Dog snapped, followed by the loud crack of a whip as I felt a fierce burn on my rump.

“Son of a bitch!” I yelled out of reflex.

Aiden stared at me. Atom stared at me. Spike stared at me. The Dog that hit me stared at me.

Fuck.

My mouth felt dry, my legs felt weak. Was this it? My bracelet was gone, so any second now I could disappear. Any moment this could all be over. My dreams, my new life. Everything! I could almost feel Tutela reaching through the space-time continuum, preparing to rip me out of this reality at any sec-

“Yes... mother is bitch...” The Dog said slowly scratching his head.

There was a long pause before I threw my head back in rancorous laughter. Despite the current situation, I couldn’t help but laugh. That was the funniest thing I had heard in my life. Whether the laughter was out of relief at not blowing my cover or from the confused look on the Dog’s face, I’ll never know. All I knew was that this was the funniest thing I had ever had the pleasure of coming across, and I let the whole mine know it.

That brought everybody’s attention to me, from the ponies as and the Diamond Dogs. For at least two whole minutes the entire mine stopped to watch me laugh my flank off. I tried to stop, but it was too friggin’ funny.

“What’s going on here?” One of the better dressed Dogs demanded, walking up to me as I wiped the tears away from my eyes.

“I think pony is broken. I hit with whip, he laugh!” The other ‘lesser’ Dog replied, bowing his head.

“Bring them.” The well dressed Dog ordered before turning around, walking quickly towards a customized minecart that was cut in half. There was a large cushioned chair facing forwards and it was attached to a handcar that was powered by two strong-looking pugs, similar to the ones that held Spike’s chain. Speaking of chains, the one that was attached to Aiden and myself was clumsily wrapped around the back of the minecart. The two pugs started pumping the handcart and we were forced to run behind it.

The doctor had specifically ordered me not to run! Oh well. Wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter anyway.

Behind us the voice of the mare started singing again.

“This is not what I wanted from life,
This is not what I wanted from life,
This is not what I wanted from life,
Slaving away in dark, dingy mines,
Forgetting what it feels like to be free,
Longing to feel the sun on my face,
Oh why is this happening to me?”

“Forest, what have you got in that bag?” Aiden quietly asked, jogging along with me.

“Rope, that suit Rarity made, that bracelet, a snowglobe... and... a,” I thought about mentioning the blade. Was it the right thing to do? “a dagger.”

“A dagger?” Aiden asked, “You have a weapon like that on you?”

“It’s Spike’s. He lent it to me to hold, okay?”

As Aiden stared at me, the voices of several ponies joined together in that slow droning melody, drowning out the sounds of our hooves clopping along the ground.

“This is not what I wanted from life,
This is not what I wanted from life,
This is not what I wanted from life,
We must learn to stick together,
Utter words of reassurance to bolster hope,
Dreaming of the time we return back home,
Something special for our hearts to cope.

Perhaps one day when we are free,
If we have some foals eventually,
We’ll tell them of our struggles here,
Of crushed hopes, broken dreams, and blinding fear,
And if we never escape this deep catacomb,
At least we’ll be together in this giant tomb.”

“Why did they lock us here?” I asked Aiden, who was busy taking in his surroundings. “Can you throw a little light?”

“Can’t. These cuffs are made of anti-magic material. Can’t cast any magic until I get rid of them. Not strong enough to.” Aiden replied, finally taking his eyes off the prison bars and focusing them on me, “Sorry, but I can’t help you.”

“But I can,” Came a quiet voice out of the darkness.

Slowly a faint bluish glue illuminated our surroundings. It was a large cell, with around a dozen or so ponies lying around. Most of them looked to be in bad shape, but the Unicorn who lit up the cell had it worst of all. One eye was purple, bruised over completely, dried blood had coagulated around her snout and the edges of her mouth, her cheeks were swollen on both sides. She hanging against the wall, chained to the ceiling, her hind legs off the ground and her forehooves locked together over her head.

“You...” I whispered, “I know you...”

“What is this place?” Aiden asked walking to the mare, looking up at her, “And what in Celestia’s mane, have they done you?”

“It’s her mouth,” a stallion spoke up, limping towards us, “she brought that upon herself. The Dogs bring ‘broken’ ponies in here for ‘fixing’, which usually entails severe beatings. That essentially means ponies that don’t do as they’re told. Nopony’s been killed yet, but if she doesn’t start obeying and stop disrespecting them...” He let his voice trail off. “We tried to get her to stop being so stubborn, but she’s too bucking proud. It’s her own fault she’s like that.”

“How many of you are here?” Aiden asked.

“Ten. Most of us were just resistant to their brutish ways. She,” The stallion gestured to the pony in front of us, “is the worst off.”

“What’s your name?” Aiden asked the mare.

“I am... the Great and Powerful Trixie.” She croaked, pausing for dramatic effect, which failed miserably.

“You’re that mare from the Everfree Forest!” I blurted, “The one in the trailer where Brian...”

“Wait, you know her, Forest?” Aiden asked.

I wobbled my head not sure if yes or no was the correct answer, “Well... sort of. I never really met her. I just... it’s a long story.” I didn’t feel like explaining, “You should be ashamed of yourself. Because of you, that human is in the hospital.”

“What? Why?” She asked, her eyes opened wide in shock.

“Because you gave him a heart-attack!”

“Shut up, ponies! Shut up!” a Dog shouted while frothing at the mouth. He was standing at the entrance to the cell, banging it with a metallic club, “Or we fix you all now!” Some of the ponies whimpered, a few quietly pleaded for us to shut up. “Turn off light, pony! Or we break horn!”

Trixie obeyed without the slightest hint of hesitation, shutting off her horn.

The Dog lumbered off.

“How long have you been here?” Aiden quietly asked the stallion when the coast was clear.

“Not sure. Maybe a couple weeks. Name’s Rough Boulder. Used to work in Appleloosa as a hired hand.”

“I know that name,” I interrupted.

“Yeah, Braeburn mentioned you.” Aiden added, “You know him?”

“Yeah, of course I do. Everypony in Appleloosa knows Braeburn. Without his farm, Appleloosa would be nothing more than a forgotten outpost along the train tracks. It’s because of him and his farm that it’s become such a vibrant community.”

When he said those words, I thought back to Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville. Perhaps the same thing happened there, the apples from the Apples breathing new life into the town. My thoughts drifted back to Applejack, and another pang of regret surged through me. Seriously? How long does it take to get over someone?

“It’s nice that someone back home remembers who I am.” Boulder sat down on his haunches before continuing, “I moved to Appleloosa about two months back, with nothing to my name except for the saddlebags on my flank. It was hard at first, and I did everything or anything I could to earn a few bits. After a while, I built a reputation as a good, honest worker and ponies began hiring me more and more. One day I got hired by a pony who wanted some help prospecting. Was alright the first few nights, but the next thing I knew I was being dragged down into this... pit.” He sighed, “But that pony isn’t down here. At least I haven’t seen him around. Have you? He’s tall, black, has a Cutie Mark with a lamp and a shovel and pickaxe...”

“Yeah. Seen him. In the saloon back in Appleloosa...” Aiden replied.

“Coincidence? You saw him in the saloon, and now you’re down here with us...”

The two of them continued to talk in hushed voices while I turned my attention to Trixie. I could barely make her out in the darkness, only the edge of the top of her head was defined by the faint light that seemed to stream in through the prison’s bars from outside.

“Is... is it really my fault?” She asked, barely audible. “Is... is it really my fault that he’s... that human is...”

“In the hospital? Yes.” I wanted to tell her that Brian was in pretty bad shape, but it didn’t seem... right. I wasn’t sure why either.

There was a long moment of silence before she spoke up again, “Is he dying?”

Now it was my turn to think. To be asked that outright like that... I didn’t know what to say.

For a long time the only sounds I heard was the faint whispering between Aiden and Boulder they talked and compared notes. Then, quietly, I heard Trixie sniffling in the darkness above me. I walked as close to her as I could and looked up. A droplet of warm, salty water landed on my face.

“What have I done?” She shouted, startling me. “Let me out of here! Let me out! I have to get out!” She screamed, pulling on the chains above her and the ones fixed to her ankles. She shook herself, banging against the wall.

“What are you doing?” Boulder shrieked as the sounds of heavy footsteps approached the cell door.

“Shut up, pony!” The Dog from before ordered.

Trixie did not shut up. She kept on going demanding, pleading, ordering, begging to be released. The Dogs, unable to take it anymore, opened the cage door. Two of them carried whips, but the third carried something much more sinister. The two Dogs stood and watched as the third walked forwards with the object, it looked like a butcher knife, as he approached Trixie.

“Silence, pony! Or I will fix you permanently!” The Dog pointed the huge knife towards the light blue Unicorn.

This was serious. Real serious. I wanted to do something, but my body refused to move. That wasn’t a knife, it was a friggin’ sword! What the fuck? Seriously! Was he actually going to kill her?

“C-c-c-calm down, Trixie...” I said, the urgency in my voice sounded foreign to me. Despite what she had done, the last thing I wanted to see was her getting hurt. “P-p-p-please, just relax...”

“Relax? How could I possibly relax? It’s my fault! My fault! All my fault! Why did I have to go and do something like that? I never meant to harm him! I would never really harm anypony!” She gritted her teeth, “And now I learn that I might’ve k... k... killed,” her voice squeaked around the word, as if saying it took every ounce of strength she could muster. “him...”

“You didn’t...”

“You don’t know that!” She retorted, cutting me off, “I ran away like I always do. I only wanted to get a little payback on Twilight Sparkle! I just wanted her to see what I could do! I just wanted her to acknowledge me! I never meant to hurt anypony... I never meant...”

“Pony! Shut! Up!” The Dog leaned back and brought the blade over his head.

Without thinking, I jumped in front of the strike. Why I did this, I don’t know. That was completely and utterly the dumbest thing anyone could have done. Most people, or in this case ponies, would have attacked the wielder of the weapon, not stand in front of it like an idiot and scream like a little filly.

Luckily for me, Aiden wasn’t an idiot, and he didn’t scream like a filly. Instead her roared like a lion.

The Dog didn’t know what hit him, as he slumped to the ground. Aiden had brought his hoof down hard against the back of his head, the blade clattering on floor. In smooth motion had turned around to face the two other Dogs. Both of them didn’t know what to expect and lashed out their their whips, but Aiden was a pony with a plan. Using his body strength, he swung his left hoof around, sending me flying into the Dogs like a flail. I didn’t know who was more surprised, me or the dumb mutts. One of them actually managed to sink his teeth into my flank, while the other was unlucky enough to get stuck between myself and the wall. That one dropped down to the floor completely unconscious.

The impact had dazed the Dog that bit me and before he could react, Boulder bucked his face sending its helm flying off. He too slumped to the ground unconscious.

As I picked myself up from the ground, Aiden flashed an innocent smile, “Sorry about that.”

“I bet you are.” I grumbled.

One of the other prisoners looked at Aiden in shock. “What have you guys done? Y-y-y-y-you attacked a guard! Do you know what they’ll do to us?”

“Look, things here are worse than you think. The leader of these Diamond Dogs is a really, really, really bad... dog. You have no idea how bad the situation really is. Right now, we need to escape, and tell the Guard what is going on.” Aiden looked over at the ponies cowering around him. “I can’t leave any of you here, so you’ll all have to come with me. All of you.”

“We didn’t ask for this! They said they’d let us go if we helped them!” One of the other stallions yelped.

“Keep it down!” Aiden cast a quick worried glance at the entrance to the prison. Nothing. He exhaled a sigh of relief, “Listen, all of you. The Dogs are up to something real big here. We’ve got to inform the Kingdom otherwise you’ll be digging in mines like these for the rest of your lives! And maybe even your foals, and their foals. Do you understand?”

The ponies looked at each other.

Aiden smacked his head, “We don’t have time for this! Forest, say something.”

“Me?” I asked, incredulously. The fuck can I say? “Well, uh... Aiden is a Guard. We should listen to him.”

“You’re a Guard?” Boulder asked, “Why didn’t you say so?”

“I’m retired. I’ve only been recommissioned to watch over him,” Aiden pointed at me, “not to resume my duties to the Kingdom.”

“Methinks that they need you more than I do, Aiden, and this is for your country. I think the Princesses will forgive you.” They all looked at him, hope filled their eyes. “Anyway, let’s get these cuffs off.”

“Good idea,” Aiden nodded in response, “and Forest, it’s your country too.”

That made me smile.

Aiden searched the Dogs for the keys while I rubbed my flank, glad that my bag had managed to soften the Dog’s bite on my rear. Soon the three Dogs were locked down in the same chains that they had used on the ponies, with an addition. We gagged them by tying bits of the rope from my saddlebag around their muzzles, and behind their heads. By ‘we’, I mean ‘Aiden’. It was impressive how he tied them with his hooves, not his magic. I’m still unsure how that was possible.

So, now here we were. Thirteen ponies, seven were healthy enough to move on their own, five were in no condition to do anything and could barely stand without help. The last pony was still securely chained up at the far end of the prison, none of the keys worked on Trixie’s locks. She down at us, and I could see the panic starting to well up in her eyes as the last key failed.

“Please don’t leave me here.” She whimpered.

“I’ll stay here with her.” I grumbled, turning to Aiden. “You go and find the keys to her locks.”

“I can’t just leave you here, Forest. You’re my respons-”

“Aiden, is this really the time to worry about something like that? I’m not going to go anywhere, okay? I’m just going to sit right here and wait for you.”

The green Unicorn stared at me for a moment before talking, “You do know that the Dogs could come in at any second.”

“I know.”

“And you do know that they could kill you, right?”

I gulped despite myself, “Yeah.”

“Even so, you want to stay here,” he gestured to Trixie with his head, “with her?”

“It’s not that I want to, it’s that somepony has to. And the rest of these guys don’t looked like they’d like to spend another moment in here. I mean, if something bad happens, I can do what I do best.” I smiled mirthlessly.

“What’s that?” Boulder asked.

“Run. Run like the wind. Don’t you know? I’m the fastest Earth pony in Equestria...”

“How would they know that, Forest? They’ve been down here. It’s not like they’d know who you are.” Aiden shook his head, “Enough. We’ve wasted enough time. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but if things get too dangerous, you have to get out of here.” He looked at Trixie, “Whether or not she can come with you.”

Trixie’s eye opened wide, “You can’t just leave me here alone!”

“You brought this on yourself.” Aiden’s voice was uncharacteristically cold. “From what I understand, if you had kept your mouth shut you wouldn’t be locked up like that.”

The two Unicorns glared at each other, but it was Trixie who broke contact first. “I know.”

I felt bad for the blue Unicorn.

“Okay, everypony, let’s go. Quietly.” Aiden then lead the others away. I followed them to the entrance and poked my head out the door, watching them go to the end of the hall. Aiden held a hoof up, telling them to wait a moment as he made sure the coast was clear. Then they all disappeared around the corner.

A part of me wanted to run after them. To leave and get out of there, but then what would’ve happened to Trixie? And... why did I care? She wasn’t a pony that I particularly cared for. I didn’t know who she was. In fact my only interaction with her was that brief and disturbing incident back in her trailer in the Everfree Forest. How the hell did she end up here?

Walking back into the prison, I walked over to mare in question. She just looked down at me, I could tell by the way the faint light from outside bounced off her head. Courteously, she lit up the cell with her horn. The silence between the two of us was awkward. Although I wanted to say something to her, I just couldn’t think of anything.

At about my eighth attempt and conversation, she interrupted me, “Are you a friend of this... ‘Brian’? The... creature from the trailer.”

That caught me completely off guard, “He’s a human, not a creature. And about us being friends... well, I don’t know... I don’t think so, but...”

“Think so?” She asked.

“We have a... history. It’s a long story.”

“I have time.” She replied, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I don’t feel comfortable talking with you about it. No offense, but I’m not interested in becoming your friend, okay?”

Trixie’s eyes opened wide at those words, but she looked away and nodded, “I understand.”

Why did I feel so... guilty?

The sounds of grunts and whimpering came from behind me. The Diamond Dogs had awoken and were struggling against the chains and their make-shift gags. One of them growled at me as I looked over at him.

“I hate them.” Trixie whispered, “I hate them for what they did to me.”

“What did they do?”

“Look at my face! Do you really need to ask that?” She quipped.

“Well, what did you do to make them do that?” I retorted.

“I...”

“Forest!” Aiden barked, cutting Trixie off as he rushed into the cell, “No time. Keys. Now.”

He threw them to me using his magic. I caught them in my hooves and fumbled a little as I tried the first key into the ankle chains. Not the right one. Next.

“Hurry up!” Aiden shouted. Dog barks echoed in the hall. “Celestia confound it!”

The door to the prison swung shut with a loud clang as the noises drew closer. Aiden backed up a few steps as the first of the canines slammed themselves into the bars with a loud crash. About six more Dogs followed along a moment later. Trixie let out a yelp, despite herself.

“Not good. Not good!” Aiden pointed out. “Forest! This isn’t good!”

No shit, I muttered in my head, you think that I didn’t notice the half a dozen snarling gorilla-dogs baying for our blood?

Aiden saw me taking the third key and trying it on the locks. “Hurry up, Forest!”

“Please hurry.” Trixie looked down at me, “Please. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“I’m,” I grunted as I put the fourth one into the lock, “trying!”

One of the Dogs shoved the others aside and tried to open the prison with his key. Aiden reacted quickly, taking the dropped blade from before with his magic, and thrust it through the bars. Instinctively, the Dogs all hopped backwards.

“Get archers!” The leading Dog shouted.

“Forest...” Aiden said slowly.

“It’s the last key!” I shouted in response, “It’s always the last key...” I whispered to myself as I placed the sixth and final key into the lock and turned. My mouth dropped. “No...”

“Any day now!”

“It’s... it’s not working!” I shouted, fear slowly threatening to engulf me.

Aiden whipped his head to look at me, “What?”

“It doesn’t work!”

“What?”

“It’s the wrong key!” I shouted.

Trixie looked at me, then over at Aiden, then back to me, “No. No, no, no! You can’t leave me! You can’t leave me here! They’ll kill me! You promised...”

“I didn’t promise you anything,” I cut her off before she could believe that nonsense, “what you need to do is relax. Can’t you just teleport out of here?”

“If that was possible, don’t you think I would still be here?” Trixie shouted at me.

What do I do? What do I do?

My mind was racing a mile a minute. What the hell was I supposed to do?

“Think of something!” Aiden ordered.

Then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard a voice. “The blade is made from the same stuff that the Royal Guards armor's made from. It can cut through a Dragon's scale-armor...”

Spike! Of course! Reaching into my saddlebag, I pulled the dagger out with my mouth. It was like grabbing an icicle, the hilt made me shudder at the sudden change in temperature. Walking over to Trixie, I took the knife and placed it carefully in the space between her hoof and the cuff, careful not to cut her or break the vial in the middle. That would’ve been very bad. Then I pulled.

Like a hot knife through butter. It cut clean through it completely. I made quick work with the second hoof, but I could see her concerned expression in her horn’s faint glow. But still, her forehooves were too far away for me to reach.

“Two days ago I was the most popular stallion in Canterlot. Now look at me. I’m a prisoner in some hole in the ground infested with the stinkiest creatures with two Unicorns...” I grumbled angrily as I thought of how to get Trixie free.

Aiden tapped me on the shoulder, “Allow me.” Using his magic, he levitated the dagger and sliced the chain that connected Trixie to the ceiling. She dropped down like a rock.

Picking herself up from off the ground, she stumbled a bit before getting her bearings right. I took the dagger and cut the cuffs from her wrists. That changed everything. Trixie transformed from a timid filly to this angry, and dangerous looking mare.

I quickly returned the blade to my saddlebag.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has returned! Now, I must dispense some much needed justice on the flanks of these mangy mutts...” She grinned from ear to ear as she walked up to our prisoners picking up the two whips that was laying on the ground. Seeing this, and being unable to escape, two of the three Dogs fainted, while third tried unsuccessfully to stare her down.

“No time! Trixie, right?” Aiden asked. Trixie nodded, “Can you teleport?”

“I have enough power to teleport us all to the surface of this place,” Trixie struck a pose, “for I am the Great and Powerful Trixie...”

“Then go.” I said, “Get out of here. But promise me one thing.”

The blue Unicorn looked at me, “Trixie is listening.”

“Do you have to refer to yourself in the third person? That can get real annoying real quick, you know...”

“Forest!” Aiden snapped.

“Fine! Look, just promise to return to Ponyville, and tell Brian... just see him.” I turned to go.

“But... won’t he get mad if he sees Trix-- me? I don’t think he’d want to see me...”

“Who cares what you think!” I exclaimed, “You owe him that much. Now, get out of here.”

There was a moment of silence before she nodded, affirming my request. “I will go. Trixie has enough power to take all three of us out of here...”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m afraid that is something I have to pass up on. I’m allergic to magic, if you cast that spell on me, it would either not work, or I’d die.” I saw the confused and alarmed look plastered across her face. “Just go, okay? Go on!”

“But...”

“Trixie!” Aiden shouted, “Get out of here, or so help me Luna, I’m going to...”

She enveloped herself in her magical aura, “Thank you,” she sounded so sincere and genuine. I found that a part of me was glad that she was safe.

I returned her smile with one of my own. “See you later.”

Then, with a ‘pop’, she was gone.

“Okay, now that’s out of the way, what do we do?” I asked.

Aiden was staring wide eyed at the prison gate, “Run.”

“Run?”

“Run! To the wall over there!” He darted off towards the wall next to the prison’s entrance as a volley of arrows streaked into the prison.

I heard someone scream. I think it was me.

Arrows ricocheted off the back wall and I found myself trembling next to Aiden.

“Glad you could join me.” He flashed a wry smile in my direction.

All he got in response was a deadpan stare. At least here, the wall nearest the prison doors, their arrows couldn’t reach me. Several more volleys zipped by before they stopped, an eery silence now hung in the air.

Aiden quickly jumped back in front of the gate and swung the large sword-knife at the door, making the Dogs yelp and jump back into each other. They had tried to open the gate perhaps thinking that one of their arrows had somehow did a u-turn and hit us. Almost instantly more arrows found their way through the bars.

“Now what? We’re stuck.” My powers of observation served me well.

“How did you escape the Ursas?” Aiden asked, smacking the doors with the blade again when the next volley of arrows stopped. Again, the Dogs yelped and started firing more in panic.

“Don’t they learn?”

Aiden grinned at me, “You can’t teach an old Dog new tricks.”

I didn’t know how to react to that, so I just reverted back to the original question. “You saw the replay of the race?”

“Yeah...”

“You know how after the lake I ran over to the rock and put my back legs against it?”

“Yeah... oh! So that’s where you learnt it. That super-acceleration trick.”

“Super-acceleration trick? Can’t you come up with a better name for it than that?”

“No.”

I couldn’t help but make a face. “Anyway, why are you asking me that? You don’t expect me to just run into those Dogs...” I didn’t need to finish. “No bucking way!”

“Come on, Forest. It’s the only way. You just need to relax and do what you do.”

“Easy for you to say!” Seriously? Run into a bunch of psycho dogs with weapons? “There’s no way I’m going to do that!”

“You got a better idea?”

“Well... what about Spike and Atom? Maybe we can hold out till they come and help!”

“I’m sure Atom would if he could. Right now, we need to figure something out for ourselves. We’re alone for now, okay?”

“Then why did we send Trixie away?”

Aiden just stared at me for a moment as if I was the stupid one.

“What?” I questioned, “It makes sense! She could’ve helped us!”

He didn’t sound too convinced. “You saw how shaken she got thinking she’d killed Brian. You think she’d actually harm these... creatures? There’s a reason why the Guard keep to themselves, Forest, and that reason is simple. We kill. Most ponies live their entire lives in peace and tranquility knowing very little what happens along the borders of the Known Lands and the Princesses like it that way. We protect, they live.”

And there I stood, dumbfounded. I had no idea how much these soldiers sacrificed for their country. It just seemed so... much.

“Well, can’t you blow a hole through the wall here?” I pointed behind me.

“No. My magic isn’t that strong. I doubt even the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ could’ve faired any better.” He then looked at me, his face lighting up, “But you can...”

“Aiden, I can’t cast magic, remember? Or did you conveniently forget just to get my hopes up...”

“You can’t cast magic on your own, Forest. But you still can cast some magic with a little help.”

What was he talking about? Oh. Oh! Oh shit. “No. No way! I just got it off me!”

“It’s our one chance to survive this, Forest. We can just go back to Canterlot afterwards and have Her Highness take it off again. It’s either that, or you rush the entrance as soon as the doors open. Now decide, before they figure out how to open that door!”

Reaching into my bag, I took out the golden bracelet and stared at it. Why? Why me? This was completely unfair!

“Today would be nice!” Aiden shouted, slamming the sword against the cage again.

Thoughts flashed through my mind. This was the guy that tried to get me to spill everything the last time I put this thing on. This was the guy who tried to extract the truth from me. This was the guy who almost sent me back to Tutela. Could I really trust him to not be a dick? I had no choice. I had to risk it. Despite everything, Aiden was still the closest thing I had to a best friend, except for Spike, and maybe Atom. There was just no way I’d ditch them for certain death... wait!

“You teleport out of here, Aiden. I’ll... I’ll figure something out.”

“What?” Aiden looked at me.

“Look, you can escape. You should just go. Teleport out of here. I’m a survivor. I’ll be fine. Somehow.”

“I’m not leaving you behind, Forest.” Aiden looked at me as if I was off my marbles.

“Just listen to me. I’m not going to die here. I can run much, much, much faster than you think. I just... it takes me time to prepare, but when I’m ready...”

“No. Forest, if they get their hands on you, they’ll kill you. You expect me to just up and leave you alone?” He smirked suddenly, “Do you know what Twilight would do to me?”

“Aiden...”

“Please, Forest. I don’t know if you’re trying to be brave, heroic, or if you really just want to help me, but I really can’t leave you. It’s not something I do. I didn’t do it during the Changeling invasion, and I’m not about to now. We’re sticking together through this.” Aiden placed a hoof on my shoulder, “I’m not just saying that. Even though the mare that I love loves you, I still consider you my friend.”

It hurt to hear those words. Here I was trying to save my own selfish flank, and all that while Aiden thought nothing but me. Some friend I am. “Thank you, Aiden. I... you don’t know how much that means to me.”

“Don’t get sappy on me. We’re still in mortal danger.”

And with that, I put that damned bracelet back on. My heart sank when I felt it tighten around my wrist in that familiar embrace. It was done. The thing was, somehow I trusted Aiden enough to not ask about the truth about who I was.

The familiar burning in my wrist was both welcoming and unwelcoming. It was like my feelings for Applejack. I was happy she cared for me, but I was also unhappy about it because it was over. Mostly thanks to that flankhead Atom. Stupid Atom. Spoiling my happy-time with her...

“Forest Fire!” Aiden looked into my eyes, “Show me where you are!”

… but now Twilight likes me. She helped Princess Celestia set up the Unicorn part of the race, and she beat the snot out of some bad ponies. Yeah, Twilight’s a badass...

“Show me where you are!”

… I just wish that I felt the same way for her, but I just... don’t...

“Show me where you are!”

The familiar feeling of pain surged through my hoof as the spell exploded forth from my hoof via that stupid bracelet, as it had done so many painful times before. Aiden seized my arm and pointed it at the wall opposite us, aiming it right next to the three Diamond Dogs still chained up against the wall.

“Keep it up, Forest,” Aiden shouted as he walked through the newly made hole in the opposite side of the prison, “you’re doing great!”

“Hate you. Hate you so much.” I lamented as I struggled to pick myself up from off the ground.

Still in agony, I shook off the pain and somehow followed the green Unicorn through the newly created ‘doorway’. Walking past the three Diamond Dogs, I noted they were all slouched over each other, clearly unconscious. Probably fainted after witnessing that big blast. I know that if I saw a large beam of light tear through a solid wall a few feet away from where I was chained, I’d blackout as well.

The blast had torn through the wall and into one of the mining tunnels. We ran down it, not sure if the way we were going was a dead end or not, but Aiden seemed to know what he was doing. At least, I thought he did until we reached a dead end and had to double back. We did that several times before we managed to find an exit that led onto a wide cobbled road. It was pretty dark, except for a set of small lamp posts that were aligned along the walkway. We followed the road for a little ways, before stopping a moment to catch our breath.

Aiden let out a gasp and then pointed to my left. I couldn’t see what he was pointing at, “Right in front of you, Forest. Water. An underground lake.”

Aiden must’ve had night vision, because I couldn’t make out what he was seeing. Water? Deep underground? Was that even possible? I couldn’t believe it. Since when does water collect in underground areas such as this one? I wanted to kick myself for coming up with such a stupid conclusion. Of course there was water underground. That’s why they built wells! A part of me was glad that I hadn’t opened my mouth.

We walked slowly through the gloom, every once in awhile there seemed to be a ‘ghost’ or something dancing just off my peripheral vision to me left. Every time I looked towards the source, it would disappear. Just as I was about to comment on it, I heard something.

“There! There!” A rough voice called out through the gloom. In the distance I could see figures moving towards us under the lamp posts in the distance, “Get them!”

“Great. Just great. When you think you’re safe, some stupid gorilla-dog actually manages to...”

“Stop your whining and move!” Aiden shoved me with his head prompting me to run.

I let him overtake me and followed close behind him, acutely aware that the lake was on my left. Then it hit me! The ‘ghosts’ I saw were the reflections of the lights from the lamp post! But on the other side there was nothing but complete darkness. A steep drop into a black abyss.

“Aiden! We’re on a dam!”

“What?”

“A dam!” I shouted again, easily keeping up with the Unicorn.

Aiden looked to the left and right before nodding, “Well, that sucks.”

“Wha-” I was cut off by the sounds of shouting coming from in front of us. Fucking piece of shit! Why can’t I catch a break! Mother-

“Forest! Pay attention. We’re going to have to swim for it, okay?”

“Are you kidding me? I hate swimming...” an arrow whizzed past my face, “I bucking love swimming! It’s the most awesomest thing ever!” And I ran into that water as quickly as my little pony legs could carry me.

We started to swim away from the dam, the Dogs firing arrows at us, but either the darkness was making it hard for them to aim, or they were just shitty aimers, we were quickly slipping away. I was very glad that we weren’t being riddled full of arrows.

“Get boats! Hurry!” We heard one of the Dogs shout. “They must not escape.”

“They have boats? They have boats!” I shouted at Aiden who was still swimming away.

“Oh, thanks for letting me know. I didn’t hear them the first time!” His voice was thick with sarcasm.

“What do we...” I was cut off by a bright flash of light, followed by some sort of explosion.

“Forest!” Came a shout.

Thank Celestia! “Twilight!”

I stopped, turned around and started to swim back towards the purple glow of light. Without pausing, I rushed up to the mare, who threw her hooves around my neck and gave me a quick peck on my lips. In any other scenario, I would’ve blushed and been all shy, but at that moment, I returned her kiss because... well, let’s face it, she did just save my life and saying I was grateful would’ve been an understatement.

“Forest. Thank goodness you’re alright.” Sweetie Belle walked up to us, “Where’s Spike?”

“I’m okay too...” Aiden pouted.

“Oh, sorry Aiden. I’m glad you’re alright too. It’s just, you’re capable of taking care of yourself...”

“Oi.”

“Anyway, where’s Spike?” Sweetie’s eyes shot between Aiden and myself.

“Probably still in the mines. There’s a lot of ponies imprisoned here. How’d you find us?” I asked.

“After you got foalnapped, Twilight used her magic to follow you down the tunnels. When we got down here, we were amazed. Miles and miles of tunnels going every which way. We searched for hours and were about to give up when we started see more and more Diamond Dogs. We followed a patrol of them for a while and came across this dam. We stayed near here for the night and were about to leave when we got luck. Fluttershy saw the two of you running across the dam.”

“Not the smartest thing running in the open like that,” Aiden commented, “letting the enemy see us coming from a mile away. I should’ve seen that coming. That was very bad.”

“It helped us find you.” Pinkie piped in, smiling in that wonderful way she does, “So it wasn’t that bad.”

“So, did you guys come down here on your own?” Aiden’s question came out more like an accusation.

“Yep. We don’t need nopony else. You got four Elements, and the sister of a fifth. What more d’ya need?” Applejack grinned.

“An army.” Aiden stated, “This isn’t a magic-based villain, or a single giant beast. These are soldiers, warriors, with real weapons and real agendas. Magic on its own isn’t going to be enough.”

Twilight put a reassuring hoof on Aiden’s shoulder, “We’ve tackled with the likes of Discord and Nightmare Moon. I doubt a few Diamond Dogs will...”

Aiden cut Twilight off with a look in his eyes made me shudder. “Twilight, there’s a reason why there’s still an active army in Equestria. If the Elements of Harmony could solve all our problems, then why would there be a need for soldiers like me or your brother?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked slowly, not getting what Aiden was talking about.

He held the silence for a moment longer, you could almost see the gears in his brain churning, contemplating whether or not he should tell her what he meant. And from the look in his eyes, it was obvious what meant.

“Spill it! We ain’t got all night.” Applejack seeing that Aiden wasn’t going to answer her, looked over to me.

“Can you guys kill?” I asked.

Now all the girls looked my way, their expressions ranged from shock to disgust.

“That’s not what Aiden meant, Forest...”

“No. That’s exactly what I meant. Can you do it? Can you take the life of another being?” Aiden asked, “Even when you fought the Changeling army, you didn’t kill them. None of you did. But several dozen good soldiers did die that day, several others got badly injured, and there were a few civilian deaths. Injuries that still hamper them to this day. You must have read it in the news in the aftermath. These creatures might be worse than the Changelings. Can you kill them?”

The girls looked at each other unsure how to react to that. Aiden was a living testament to that war. He had lived it, and came out with an injury that hampered his magical abilities permanently. That very injury was what granted him the pleasure of becoming my guardian. Without that, well, I doubt we’d have even met in the first place.

“Oh... but I couldn’t,” Fluttershy squeaked, “hurt others... I just can’t... killing...” She looked like she was going to be sick.

“That’s why we have an army. This isn’t one of those times when you can use your magic to fix everything. There are hundreds of ponies in those mines being forced to work like slaves for a tyrant who wants nothing more than to destroy everything we know and love. And he will do it without kindness, without remorse, without mercy. He must be stopped.” Aiden turned to go, “Forest, you’re useless. Stay here with the girls. I’m going to help Atom and Spike and put a stop to this.”

Useless? Me? “Yeah. Okay.” Well, I was.

“I’m coming with you,” Twilight argued, walking alongside the green Unicorn, “and I’m going to help whether you want me to or not. Spike’s family to me and if you think you can talk me out of helping my family, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Fine. But stay close.” Aiden and Twilight began to head back the way we had come, back towards the tunnels and the prison.

The other three Elements stood with me looking concerned. Soon I felt four pairs of eyes lock onto me. “What?”

“You’re going to let them go by themselves?” Pinkie asked me, “Why if they need our help?”

“You heard Aiden! I’m useless. If I go I could do the opposite of helping.” What was it called? Failing?

“We’re goin’,” Applejack said, gripping my tail with her mouth, “and yer comin’ wif uf.”

“Okay, okay! I’ll go, but it’s going to be super dangerous, y’know? Really dangerous. This danger level is right up there with slow dancing with a Timberwolf on the danger scale. In other words: really, really dangerous.” They all looked at me funnily, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m comfortable here waiti-”

Something next to me hit the ground, and I noted the long, narrow black stick with the tip in the floor. It was obvious that it was an arrow, yet the rest of my mind wanted to ignore it. Ignore the fact that more arrows were soaring through the air towards us.

I wanted to scream so badly. So I did.

A dome of sky-blue magic surrounded us as Sweetie Belle conjured a protective shell that deflected the arrows. Unicorns could do that? Why didn’t Aiden do that?

“Hurry... I... can’t do this... for long...” Sweetie grunted every time an arrow struck the shield.

We didn’t need to be told twice, as the four of us ran towards the opposite end of the dam. Sweetie walked backwards covering our retreat. As we continued, I turned around to see the white Unicorn on her knees. “Wha... what’s going on? Why isn’t she running away?”

“Oh no! Her magic is wearing off!” Pinkie exclaimed, “We have to help her!”

God damn it! I yelled in my head. Before she could say anything else, I was off at full tilt. Doctor’s orders be damned! Save pony first, heal later.

It took me no time to run back to Sweetie, took me no time to get her onto my back, and took me no time to run back the way I came. All through this I was holding my breath. Running into flying arrows isn’t what I signed up for when I came to Equestria! Not that I signed up for coming here in the first place... but that wasn’t the point. And on top of that, putting that stupid bracelet on my wrist made sure that my ‘fast-track’ out of here was no longer an option.

Damn you, Aiden!

“Are you okay?” Applejack worriedly asked Sweetie, helping her up.

The white Unicorn was sweating profusely, as if she had just run a marathon and back. She gave Applejack one reassuring nod, she was fine.

I, on the other hand, was in agony! Sprinting that fast had really hurt my hooves. Ignoring the pain just wasn’t an option. Funny how running slowly had been fine, yet spriting for half a minute killed me.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Forest,” Sweetie grimaced as she saw me limping, “if only I were stronger like my sister.”

“Yer plenty strong, Sweetie. Now, let’s get off this dam and head somewhere safe.” Applejack helped Sweetie by swinging the white mare’s forehoof over her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s move and quick!”

“Easy for you to say...” I grumbled hobbling after them. Pinkie offered to help, and I accepted gratefully.

Back into the tunnels we went, the sounds of explosions and thunder echoing in the distance.

“What’s going on?”

The mares all looked at each other, clearly as confused as I was. We needed to hurry.

The four of us moved as quickly as we could, heading back up the tunnels. We ran into some Diamond Dogs lying on the ground, which helped direct our path. Poor Fluttershy, she wanted to go and help them. She really did live up to her title as the Element of Kindness.

Eventually we reached the hole in the wall that led into the ruined prison.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Applejack turned around in an attempt to stop her friend, but it was too late.

As she stepped through, her face contorted in horror at the sight. There were Dogs everywhere. On the floor, against the wall, on top of the one another... everywhere! Some looked unconscious, while others looked a lot less... lively. Blood seeped out from numerous bodies, and there were a few bits and pieces here and there.

Shit.

Pinkie gasped, and rushed into my chest, burying her face there. Fluttershy almost fainted, if it hadn’t been for Applejack and Sweetie Belle she would’ve fallen to the floor. I had to admit, I found it hard not to empty my stomach.

“Those noises we heard earlier...” Sweetie started, “they must have come from here. I can’t believe Twilight would...”

“No. Not Twilight.” My voice was firm. There was no way Twilight would harm these creatures, not like this. This was all Aiden. If anything, Twilight would have tried to stop the green Unicorn. “Aiden.”

“This ain’t right. Nopony deserves this. Not even a Diamond Dog.” Applejack whispered, trying not to notice the corpses that littered the vicinity, “Thin’s like this only instigate more hate t’wards us. I don’t mind a good scrap... but not this...”

“Can we go. Please.” Pinkie pleaded, looking up at me, her eyes on the verge of tears.

We backed out of the cell via the way we entered, through the custom made entrance Aiden had forced me to create. Outside we all moved further up the tunnels away from the prison, away from the bodies, and hopefully away from our pursuers.

“We can’t stop,” Applejack pushed me along with her head before I could sit my flank down, “They’ll find us.”

“Just for a minute, my hooves are killing me.” I looked down at the custom made boots the doctor had made for me, “I just need a moment. They won’t find us that quickly, will they?”

“Forest, they’re dogs! Of course they’ll find us. They got a keen sense of smell!”

Unable to resist, I smirked, “Yeah? How can they tell with that horrible body odor?”

The girls looked at me for a moment before smiling a little. It was just a teeny bit, but that was better than nothing. Even Fluttershy showed me a smile, although it looked a little forced.

“So, where to now?” Sweetie glanced worried looks back down the tunnel towards the dam, “I don’t want to be here.”

“Let’s just go this way.” Pinkie trotted a little ahead in the opposite direction, away from the dam and away from the body infested prison cell.

As we walked, I felt the pain in my hooves decrease. Slowly, but it was nice to not feel agony whenever I took a step. Perhaps I had grown numb to the pain, or perhaps my healing factor kicked in. Like that super hero guy; what was his name?

I bumped into Applejack, my mind had wandered and didn’t notice that everyone had stopped.

“What’s...”

They all shushed me at the same time.

“... going on...” I whispered as quietly as possible.

Pinkie was crouched behind some rocks and pointed downwards. Looking in the direction she directed, I saw that we were standing at a tunnel that overlooked The Pit. Here the ponies were still digging away, unaware that Aiden and Twilight were somewhere causing havoc.

“What’s goin’ on?” Applejack was shocked, she had never seen anything like this before.

Nor had I, for that matter. Only now, standing atop the entire project could I take in the sheer size of it. Hundreds of ponies was an underestimate. There were at least a thousand in this area alone! Who knew how many there were in total.

“We... we have to do somethin’,” Applejack looked at me, “Forest, can you fight?”

“Me? Fight?” I asked incredulously, “I can barely walk. Not that I could fight even if I could walk... but that’s besides the point. Let’s just wait for...”

A ear wrenching explosion erupted somewhere down one of the tunnels under us. There were screams as mares and stallions alike started to panic. Before I could say anything, more explosions ripped through the tunnels and two Unicorns burst from one of the tunnels. A green Unicorn stood in front of a purple one, their eyes were glowing white as they took hold of the power of magic within them.

A howl echoed from the tunnels behind us, and I turned to see a large group of Dogs with bows and arrows rushing our way. “Ah. Shit.”

Without thinking, I charged them, shouting at the top of my lungs. The Dogs didn’t expect that, nor did they expect my speed as I plowed through them like a bowling bowl. They tried to get up, but I turned around and headbutted the nearest one. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. These stupid mongrels wore helms! The impact dazed me, and I saw stars for hovering in front of my eyes. Shaking my head, I tried to force the dizziness out of my head as I stared right at three Dogs with bows pulled back, arrows aimed straight at me.

My breath caught in my throat.

Three mares bucked three heads, sending three Dogs toppling over each other in pain and confusion. Two of them drew short swords while a third was unlucky enough to smash his head into the far side of the tunnel. Applejack must’ve kicked that poor sod. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Sweetie used her magic and levitated the two Dogs into the air slightly, and swung them against each other, their helms making an empty knock as they collided in midair. They dropped their weapons before Sweetie released them.

“Thanks,” I sighed in relief.

“Next time use yer brain! Don’t just rush off like that!” Applejack walked over to me, placing a hoof on my shoulder, “I... I don’t know what I’d do if...”

“Please. Don’t.” I whispered, “We can’t...”

My heart raced. There was just no way I could get over her! I liked Twilight. A lot. But I still loved Applejack. Badly. And I knew she could tell. No! Our moment had gone. It was over between us.

But it hurt so much...

“Uh... guys...” Sweetie Belle stood next to the orange mare, “We can’t stay here.”

A blast of white light erupted from below in the The Pit. Applejack turned away out of reflex, releasing me from her bewitching gaze. Thank Celestia. Any longer and I would’ve done something stupid for sure.

Running to the edge I peered down and saw Aiden standing on a rock, his horn was glowing a bright green that it looked almost like it was white. A cascade of light flashed outwards from it at a row of Diamond Dogs holding large shields in the shape of turtle shells. The flashes of light bouncing off of them towards the ground, walls and ceiling creating bright explosions. Twilight was behind him, her horn glowing as well, but instead of shooting bolts of light, she was picking up the Diamond Dogs and cramming them in the very cages that they had trapped the ponies in.

Several other Unicorns joined Aiden and Twilight, their horns glowing as they started casting their own spells. Some threw rocks at the enemy, some took up weapons and proceeded in paw-to-hoof combat. But where was Atom and Spike?

As if answering my question, a bright green burst of fire exploded from one of the other tunnels as several Diamond Dogs screamed in agony. Spike appeared, a spear on each claw, and behind him came Atom with a short sword firmly gripped in his mouth.

Even with their numbers, the sight of the Dragon wielding two spears while spewing green flames made the Dogs think twice. Backing away from Spike, they fled towards the main door yelping. Once the Dog’s regrouped, they formed a bastion by holding their shields together around them with their backs to the door.

Aiden and the Unicorns attacked the armored canines with everything they had but the shields protected them from whatever they could throw. The green Unicorn turned to Twilight shouting something at her. She nodded and her eyes blinked off to their normal color as she started talking to the Pegasi. They nodded and started picking up heavy rocks, flying high above the dogs and dropping them. The Dogs raised the shields over their heads, now protecting their heads as well as their bodies. Now the turtle armor really did look like a large turtle.

“We gotta help!” Applejack said looking at Atom as he attacked a Diamond Dog. He moved with deadly grace and precision, dodging between the weapons of those nearest him. The blade in his mouth passing through them easily.

“Watch out!” I shouted.

“Atom!” Applejack screamed.

He turned and looked up towards us! No! No, you moron! Behind you! Fucking hell! Look behind you! A Dog was right there, a spear in his paws pointing right at the Pegasus!

The Dog suddenly flew backwards letting out a yelp as he was pinned to the tunnel wall with a spear. Spike had thrown it with deadly precision, but he didn’t pause to relish in the badassery of what he had just done. His tale swung over his head, like that of a scorpion’s, slamming another Diamond Dog’s head into the ground. Another Dog dodged the Dragon’s tail as he pulled it back for another strike and stabbed Spike in the chest with his own spear

Sweetie gasped. I winced. Atom laughed.

The the spear broke in half.

Spike gripped the Dog in his claw, and brought it close to his face. The Dog yelped and struggled against the Dragon’s grip, but Spike just tossed the mutt headfirst towards the tunnel wall. The helm on its head broke apart before pooch slumped to the ground.

“Oh my... there’s... Dogs... behind us. Oh no...” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Sweetie, cast magic on me!” I shouted.

“B-b-b-but...” She was about to argue, but I raised my wrist up and showed her the bracelet. She cast spell on me, and I felt my wrist burn again.

Was it me, or was the pain a lot worse now?

“Cast the Marking spell now! Applejack, push my wrist down towards them, okay?”

“Forest Fire! Show me where you are! Show me where you are! Show me where you are!” Sweetie screamed as the Dogs got closer and closer.

“Nnngh!” I gritted my teeth as the spell fluctuated through me body.

This time the blast was different. If I compared to Aiden’s ‘normal’ painful magic, Sweetie’s was a lot brighter and the color was a blue-green hue. Whatever it was, it was a lot more painful than even more painful and agonizing than Aiden’s magic.

When I opened my eyes, my jaw dropped. The tunnel walls were melting. The Dogs were... gone. Completely. Every trace of anything in the hall turned to dust.

“Wow. That’s... different.”

“What was that?” Pinkie asked, all the humor and mirth in her voice had gone.

“No idea. The marking spell has never done that before.” I turned to Sweetie, “Your magic is different.”

“Really?” Applejack replied sarcastically. “Well, whatever happened, it saved us.”

“Now what?” Pinkie looked over the edge, “We can’t get down here. Unless we fly, but I don’t have wings... or my hot-air balloon.”

“You own a hot-air balloon?” I felt my left eyebrow raise itself as I stared disbelievingly at the mare.

“Six!” Pinkie grinned back at me.

That made me do a doubletake. “S-six? Wha-... what for?”

“I made them.” Pinkie caught me staring at her and she just stood there looking back at me for a long moment, “What?”

“You’re incredible, you know that?” And despite the current situation, I couldn’t resist a light chuckle.

“How do we get out of here?” Applejack interrupted us, “That’s the way out, ain’t it? Behind those mangy mongrels.”

Spike inhaled deeply and placed his front claws on the ground and let out a long breath of fire at the shielded Dogs. He held his flame for a long moment, but the shields held firm, the Dogs not budging. Spike took a step forwards only to stumble back with a shout. An arrow was stuck in his arm as he took a step back. Spike pulled out the arrow and looked at it, taking another step back in shock..

“They have arrows that can penetrate Dragon scales.” Although I spoke aloud, I was thinking to myself, my thoughts going over to the dagger safely stored at the bottom of my saddlebag.

Sweetie Belle looked at Fluttershy, “Please, Fluttershy, can you bring me down there?”

“No! Don’t bring her into that... we’re supposed to be getting away from...” Suddenly a small wave of water washed by Spike’s feet, past the Dogs and into the tunnels beyond. Water? “Guys, I know... I know how we can end this. Fluttershy, can you tell Twilight and Aiden to get the ponies to higher ground?”

Fluttershy saluted me, and flew off.

“Sweetie, l want you to cast another one of your magical spells at me like before... only more. Okay?”

“Sure... just give me a second.” Sweetie closed her eyes and deep a long deep breath.

“Applejack, you’ve... you’ve got to carry me. That okay?”

“Forest, what you plannin’ to do?” Applejack peered deep into my eyes. This time the feeling from before didn’t happen, and instead it was like a worried friend looking at another friend. Thank Celestia, I doubted that I could’ve resisted her if she looked at me the way she did before.

“I’m going to blow the dam. We can’t break through those Dogs and their shields. Not without seeing a lot of ponies get hurt. This way, we can get rid of the Dogs without anypony else being hurt.” I looked at her and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Can you please carry me?”

“Well... okay. But I’m not sure that that’s such a bright idea. What if you get hurt? What if you... something bad happens?”

“Nothing bad’s going to happen. Now, please, before something bad does happen, please promise to carry me to the dam.” I blushed, “I’m... I’m not strong enough to walk alone.”

Again she looked at me with that expression. Why was she so damned stubborn!

“Fine. I’ll carry you, if you promise that you won’t do anythin’ stupid.” Applejack looked at me with her arrows narrowed.

“Cross my heart...”

Fluttershy reappeared, “Okay, Forest. I told Twilight. She... she said to be careful.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy. You better tell Atom and Spike to get to higher ground as well.”

She saluted me again, and was off. That made me chuckle a bit.

“Are you sure, Forest?” Sweetie asked, “You looked in pretty bad shape the last time you held my magic in your bracelet.”

“I’m sure. Just do it before I change my mind.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and took a step back. Bowed her head, she inhaled slowly and exhaled just as slow. Seconds passed while down below the fighting continued. For a moment it looked like she had fallen asleep and I was about to say something when she raised her head up slowly until she was looking up at the ceiling. Then her eyes opened, she was glowing, like Twilight and Aiden, but her eyes weren’t white. No, her eyes were a beautiful light blue hue, like the color of the marker spell that she had made me cast before.

“Ready?” Her voice sounded strained, as if she was holding her breath.

“Let me have it!”

In hindsight, perhaps not the wisest choice of words.

The magic swirled through my wrist making it burn. It was like putting my hoof into a pit of lava or into Celestia’s sun. I held my hoof against my chest and gasped for air. My vision became blotchy, large sports of black kept fading in and out. It felt like a weight was put on top of my head, my body felt like it was in a vice slowly being tightened, and my legs felt like every bone was being broken over and over again. Every noise that I caught sounded like it was inside my head.

“Is he okay?” Applejack’s voice roared.

“Oh no! Forest! Forest!” Pinkie screamed six times louder.

“Dam. Now. Pain. Too. Much.” I manage to vomit out before my jaw locked up again.

Applejack’s touch sent waves of anguish throughout my body. It was worse when she pulled me onto her back, and there are no words capable of describing the sensation I felt when she started running. Every jolt she took sent misery into my very being. Opening my eyes slightly, I saw Pinkie running next to us, using her hoof to hold me in place. Funny... her touch didn’t hurt me at all.

“Okay, Forest. We’re at the dam...”

My eyes opened and looked up. There were Diamond Dogs running towards us from the opposite side... at least they looked like Diamond Dogs. My eyes couldn’t focus.

“Cast. Spell. Now.”

“Forest Fire! Show me where you are! Show me where you are! Show me where you are!” Applejack and Pinkie yelled together.

Ever had to hold in a very upset stomach indefinitely? Agonizing every second, fighting your abdomen from exploding all over the yourself? Well, imagine that feeling in every part of your body from your heart to you head, coupled with the knowledge that even if you had wanted to, you couldn’t relieve yourself. Then, suddenly, the tension, the uncomfortableness, the distress just evaporates into the ether. Yeah, it was almost like having an orgasm.

Before the spell had a chance to ignite, I felt something tackle me from behind, sending me sprawling forwards making me slide on my face against the dam.

“Let me go!” I roared.

The Dog, in all his wisdom -- which probably wasn’t much, did not. He pinned my hoof down as it started to shake, shudder and glow.

“Pony scum!”

“Get. Off. Me!”

Before he could respond, the signal spell exploded. It shot across the top of the dam, firing over surface, the stone melting downwards and my hoof moving down with it, like a block of ice being melted by superheated metal rod. Steam exploded into the air, enveloping everything in a thick fog. The result wasn’t exactly what I had planned, but it worked out rather well. That was until I heard a loud crack. What I hadn’t expected was that the damn dam was so badly built, that the blasted thing started to crumble... with me on it!

As the dam started to split from the middle, sending huge stones of debris down into the dark abyss, I turned my body around and scrambled away from the collapsing edge that was quickly approaching. The Dog that was on top of me was now dead. The entire right side of its body had been charred completely, it’s arms and half its shoulder had turned into ash. Pushing him off of me, I stumbled falling to the ground again.

“Jump! Forest!” Applejack said, stretching out a hoof for me.

Jumping with every ounce of strength I could muster, I grabbed her hoof. How? How does one grab a hoof with hooves? Whatever the case, she held me tightly as I dangled above the roaring rush of water under me. Boulders were being swept away by sheer force, and I could hear them thud in the depths below. The fog had already begun to clear.

Then I felt the two of us slip downwards and noticed that Applejack was losing ground. Pinkie grabbed her legs before she could get any closer to the edge.

My eyes locked onto hers, “I didn’t do anything stupid!”

“Don’t talk. Don’t talk... just hang on. I can... I can pull you up.” She tried. I could feel her pull.

Again she shuffled forwards a bit. This was getting dangerous. This was bad. This was...

“Applejack.” I said gently as gently as I could, "Let go.”

Again those eyes. Those eyes that melted my heart. Those eyes that I wanted all to myself. My heart ached, nothing mattered more to me in that moment than her life. Hers and Pinkie’s. No. I couldn’t let anything happen to either of them.

“I’m not lettin’ you go!” Applejack screamed. “Forest! Please! Your other hoof...”

“You’ll fall, Applejack. You’re both slipping towards the edge. You can’t lift me...”

Again she shuffled forwards.

“Forest! Please!”

The two girls slid forwards a little more. Pinkie gave a quick yelp.

“Applejack. Listen to me. You have to let me go.” I tried to keep my voice calm.

“No!”

“What about Applebloom? She needs her sister! And Granny Smith? What about your brother? You can’t die here.” I implored her, “Please let me go.”

“Never!”

“You’re as stubborn as a mule!” I laughed, “Trust me! I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“What about Atom? Don’t you love him?”

“But... but... but I love you too...”

And right there my heart stopped. Tears formed in my eyes. How beautiful those words were. I know it was a shared love, but for some reason that was good enough. I felt closure. With my end quickly approaching, I think that was a fitting memory to go with.

Reaching up, I touched her hoof that held me, “Thank you. Thank you for everything. And... goodbye, my dear Applejack.”

Pulling her hoof off, I felt myself become weightless as I fell. I watched her face as I plummeted down towards the rushing water. The horror, the terror, the sadness. All these emotions were combined into a single expression. How I wished that the last image I had of her would be that warm and loving smile. Atom was a lucky stallion. You better treat her right! Or I swear that I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life! I’ll come back from wher--

Something crashed into me, pinning me against wall. I groaned in agony from the impact.

“You think you get to die after making my mare cry?” Atom grinned down at me, holding me against the wall, his wings latched onto the rocks like two giant hands against the side of the broken dam, like a feathered bat. “Guess again.”

There must have been a real stupid smile on my face because Atom just laughed at me.

“You... you heard?”

“Yeah. But, don’t think I’m going to give up on winning her heart. She said she loved you too. So, she still has feelings for me.” He grinned aggressively, “And I ain’t somepony who gives up without a fight.”

“Atom...” What did I do to deserve friends like this? Risking his life to save me.

“We need to get out of here. The rocks aren’t stable. Your little plan worked. The water from the dam washed away the Dogs guarding the entrance. We’re just waiting for the water to recede before we head up and out of this hole. You’re a hero, Forest.” Atom looked up and smiled at Applejack who was showering us with her tears.

“Aw, you made her cry.” I whispered.

He looked at me and grinned, “Those kind of tears are okay by me.”

We both laughed at that. I was so happy that I was still alive.

The rock behind me shifted. Atom’s laughter died in his throat as did mine.

“Always something! Always!” I shouted.

“Can you climb?” Atom asked.

I nodded. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice in the matter.

Upwards. Slowly we started to climb. It was slow going because finding places I could grip with my hooves was difficult. I couldn’t resist looking down at the water. It was still flowing steadily from the dam. Just how much water was behind it? This was insane! Underground lake, my ass! It was an underground fresh water ocean!

“Hurry up!” Atom pushed my flank with his head, “I don’t want to keep staring at your rear.”

“Then stop looking!” I barked back.

Together we climbed back up the way we came. Once in awhile a rock would come loose, and I’d have to warn Atom to mind his head. He used his wings like hooves to help him climb, which made me slightly envious. It was a shame he couldn’t fly.

“You!” A voice thundered across the way, and I turned my head to see a huge Dog standing at the opposite edge of the broken dam on the other end.

“Fuck.” I muttered as quietly as possible.

“Buck.” I heard Atom mutter.

“You will pay for what you have done!” He stretched his arm out, spreading his fat, pudgy fingers on his fat pudgy paw, “Archers, at the ready!”

“Atom...”

“I know, I know!”

“Aim!” Tyrant Rex hollered.

“Not good, not good, not good...” Atom repeated.

“Fire!”

Even from this distance I could hear the bows twang. Because of the lack of lightning, I couldn’t actually see the arrows coming at me, but I could hear them, and they were coming in quickly. Very quickly. Super quickly.

“This is going to hurt a lot, isn’t it?” I asked stupidly.

Atom laughed mirthlessly, “Worse.”

“Ah!” I yelled, the burning feeling of erupted in my wrist and I struggled to keep hold of the rock I was on as a purple bubble formed around us. The arrows hit it and bounced off. “Twi...”

“Hang on, Forest!” Atom called up to me.

“Someone! Anyone! Anypony! Please,” Twilight looked down at me over the edge, “Save them! Fluttershy? Where are you?”

“Where’s a Pegasi when you need one...” Atom muttered as he climbed up as quickly as he could.

“Ignore the two down there, aim for the purple Unicorn!” Rex hollered, “Fire!”

The arrows soared through the air, and the visible, light purple, transparent barrier formed around Applejack, Pinkie and Twilight as the arrows struck it.

“Keep firing!” Rex shouted, taking one of his Dogs and throwing him screaming into the rough waters. He was quickly swept away, the last I saw of him was a paw struggling to keep above the water. That current was strong.

Wave after wave of arrows struck Twilight’s shield, the arrows bouncing harmlessly off of it.

“Enough! Get me my bow.” Rex pointed to somewhere behind him.

Four Dogs carried a box on their shoulders and placed it next to their leader. He opened the large object and removed a huge bow that fit his large stature perfectly. Moments later, a large quiver was brought forth, and placed next to him. Grinning, he picked up the first arrow. It was huge! Probably as long as me if I stood up on my hind legs. He notched it in his bow and aimed.

Unlike the others, Rex fired the arrow straight at Twilight. No angle, no arc, just a straight shot, right at her.

The arrow exploded on impact, and Twilight screamed. The shield had a huge crack in it. It was like the shell of an egg after being dropped.

“Twilight!” Atom shouted, “Run!”

Rex pulled out a second arrow, and notched it carefully. He took aim, and pulled the bow back. The arrow went straight at Twilight. Her shield stopped the arrow, but Twilight’s it shattered like glass, bursting into a million little pieces that rained down on us. Each one that touched me made my hoof burn more and more. Twilight’s magic... felt strange.

“Applejack! Get her out of there!” Atom pleaded.

This time Rex and his Diamond Dogs took up arrows. They all aimed and fired. The Dogs fired first, and then when their arrows were airborne for a couple seconds, Rex pulled his bow back and released.

“No!” Atom screamed, and pulled past me, and... it almost looked like he was flying upwards, but I knew that it was him using his wings like arms as he pulled himself upwards, using his wings to pull himself higher and higher.

I couldn’t move. I was in too much pain. Once again, I have proven myself to be synonymous with useless as I clung there helplessly.

There was no way Atom would have made it, so imagine my relief when a green transparent orb formed around the edge where the mares were standing.

“Aiden...” Thank Celestia. Thank Luna. Thank whomever else!

“Forest!” Aiden’s voice shouted, “You still alive?”

“Bare-barely...” I gasped. There was no way he could’ve heard that.

“He’s fine!” Atom shouted from above me. He had made quite a way.

“Forest... one more time.” Aiden shouted, “I know it’s asking a lot, but we need to end this now.”

One more time? What is he talking... oh... oh shit.

“Aiden! You can’t!” Atom shouted, “Think of something else!”

Aiden grunted as the next volley of arrows hit his shield. Twilight formed a barrier over Aiden’s, but hers exploded into pieces the instant Rex’s arrow touched it. The worst part for me was the burning getting worse as I absorbed more of Twilight’s magic as the pieces fell on top of me.

“Forest Fire!” Aiden shouted.

“Stop!” I heard Applejack yell. “You’ll kill ‘im!”

“Show me where you are!” Aiden continued.

“I said stop! I’ll buck you right off this dam if you don’t!”

“Yeah, Aiden, don’t be such a big meanie! And you too, you big bad doggy! Stop being so mean to us ponies! Stop it!” Pinkie demanded.

“Show me where you are! Show me where...” He was cut off. “Stop it! This has to be done!”

“But... but...” Pinkie was at a loss of words.

“The magical residue from Twilight and me is infecting the bracelet! Please!”

“No! Not until he’s up here, you ain’t castin’ that spell!” Came Applejack’s twang.

“You are quite correct.” Aiden replied.

My hoof burned. Clever bastard. ‘You are’. The last two words of the trigger... clever, clever bastard.

“Forest! Watch out!” Atom yelled.

Looking up, I found that one of Rex’s mammoth arrows was careening towards me. That wasn’t going to be very good for my health.

The Pegasus dropped down on top of me, sending the both of us cascading down towards the newly created river. The Pegasus tried to glide down, but I was still trying to stop the spell from casting. With Atom right above me... I had to hold it off for as long as I could.

Atom caught up to me and gripped my right hoof.

“Point it at him!” I shouted.

He spread his wings and grunted at the sudden stop to our momentum. We floated a few feet over the river, all the while Atom did his best getting me to aim my arm towards Rex. Arrows sang by us as the Dogs aimed their projectiles in our general direction.

What was taking Twilight’s magic so long?

As if on cue, the magic did fire itself from my wrist. This time was a lot different than before. That is to say; it wasn’t like Aiden’s steady stream of light like a ‘cannon’ or Sweetie’s really, really hot ‘melty’ beam. No. This was more... potent. It shot out like a cannonball, a huge orb of light fired out of my wrist, with a weaker, thinner beam trailing behind it that tapered all the way back to my hoof.

The ball hit the other end of the dam in a blinding explosion that I can only compare to a nuclear warhead going off, the impact shook the entire room. Dust swirled and blocked our view, we couldn’t see a damned thing, or what the damage was.

Due to the force of the power that came out of the bracelet, we were sent flying backwards like a jet engine. Atom hit the side of the broken damn first as I crashed into him. I heard something break, and I felt his rib fold. We both fell, landing hard on a large, smooth boulder.

“Always something!” I grumbled to the universe, “Must you always do this to me?”

“Forest!” Atom struggled to keep away from the water, his wing left wing was folded inwards, and he was taking long labored breaths. “Give me your hoof!”

Trying, I reached for him, but I couldn’t move.

A loud splash echoed across the river as what was left of that side of the damn toppled over, crashing into the water. A fairly large wave heading straight for us.

“Quickly!” The urgency in Atom’s voice seemed to stir something in me and I forced myself to stand and...

The wave hit me from behind shoving me forwards, Atom seized my right hoof, before the backwash tried to pull me away. Talk about dejá vu. Didn’t I just go through this a moment ago with Applejack? That really ended up being bittersweet. Atom groaned as he held my hoof. Even with a broken rib, he never let go. But the current was powerful, and the wave was receding, I could feel it pulling.

“Forest, please... I need your other hoof,” Atom grunted. Holding on was a difficult task, especially when the pony in question was useless. I mean myself. I just couldn’t do it, I was exhausted. Perhaps from all the magic? No wonder Sweetie Belle was sweating profusely after taking on the Diamond Dog archers. “You can do it, just... reach over.”

“I can’t...” I gasped.

I lost my grip on the black Pegasus, but Atom still had me. He refused to let go. He still held my hoof, his grip was now on my bracelet.

I felt it slip off a little.

Hope.

So, here I am, at the bottom of a broken dam clinging for dear life onto a flightless Pegasus, my body from the chest down underwater. I could feel my saddlebags filling up, and I worried about the wish stones!

Wish stones! Forest, you idiot! Why didn’t you just use those!

“Forest! Come on! Keep trying!” He encouraged, but I didn’t feel like trying. I was too tired.

Again, the bracelet slipped. Struggling, Atom locked himself against anything that could help him, using all four limbs and his wings.

“Hang on, boys. We’re comin’!” Applejack called down to us.

“It hurts, Atom.” I whispered, “I don’t think I can hang on.”

“Just a bit longer!” Atom looked up, “A little help here! Now!”

The bracelet slipped a little more.

“Forest?”

“Can’t... breathe...” My head felt light. There was a strange sound coming from somewhere. It sounded like rain... or was it static?

“Get your flank down here now!” Atom shouted, “Something's seriously wrong with Forest!” He spoke to me gently, “Stay with me, Forest.”

Get off of me! I willed the bracelet. Let go of my wrist...

“Somepony,” The fear in Atom’s voice made me smile. He really did worry, “I can’t hold him.”

Twilight appeared in a flash of light on a small bit of the boulder, balancing precariously on it. She was beautiful. Why did I not love her? She was perfect! Kind, gentle, a little crazy, I think, but brilliant, and... beautiful. Anypony would have given their right foreleg for her. And I would too... but...

“Forest! Give me your other hoof!” Twilight knelt and reached for me.

I tried. I really, really tried, but I was too tired. I had no strength or energy. I couldn’t fight the current. I couldn’t reach Twilight.

Then... freedom.

I watched as the current took me and carried me down the river. It felt so good to not wear a bracelet.

Down, down, down. Deep inside the water. Deeper and deeper still. The pressure from the water made my ears ache. My lungs burned. Air. Air! I needed air! I must have air! I needed... please... someone... anyone... save... me...

“Augh!” I gasped, breathing in sweet delicious air, coughing out the water that had managed to seep into my lungs. “What took you so long?”

“Just wanted to see you suffer a bit. Plus, I needed to wait until your friends could no longer see or find you.” Tutela replied, tossing a towel at me.

I took it and dried my face flashing her the dirtiest looks I could muster. After drying head head and mane off, I started toweling the rest of my body off. I looked back the way I had come, the doorway back into Equestria. It was like watching one of those nature TV shows where the camera was underwater. I limped over to a chair and took off my boots to inspect the damage. Nothing serious, but my right forehoof killed me.

“Well, that was clever. How you used the dam to cause a flood in The Pit,” She waved her hoof and the screen-like display did a replay of the Dogs hiding behind the shield being swept away by the current. It was pretty comical to watch.

“Glad to see it worked.” I sighed in relief.

“So...” Tutela sat across from me, “Twilight, huh? Honestly, didn’t see that one coming. I mean, I thought she gave up on you after that spa incident...”

“Neither did I. Wait, you knew about the spa?”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You never asked.” Tutela laughed to herself, “Shall we see what your friends are up to?”

The ‘screen’ switched to Twilight and Atom still standing and staring downriver. Fluttershy appeared moments later looking pale.

“Oh, Twilight, I’m sorry... but, I can’t go further. The water is too high. He must have been... dragged under... oh, Twilight, I’m sorry...” Fluttershy hugged her friend.

“No. I refuse to believe he’s... he’s...” Twilight choked back the sob.

Atom placed a hoof on her shoulder, and she turned and hugged the Pegasus bawling into his shoulder. Fluttershy looked away, tears in her eyes as well. Atom’s face was like stone. He looked more angry than sad.

My heart broke. They really did care for me. I felt so bad, especially for Twilight. I wanted to feel the same way about her, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I loved her, but not in that way. And I felt like a bastard. A big, stupid bastard.

The next moment the three ponies were gone in a purple flash. They had teleported.

The screen switched to the ponies standing out in the sun, some were laughing, others were crying. My friends appeared on a ledge above the entrance, which was against a small rocky outcrop. Hundreds of Chariots were there, and Royal Guardsponies started to enter the underground labyrinth. A familiar looking Unicorn was directing them, giving out orders, and another familiar looking Unicorn sat out of the way casting worried glances in Twilight's direction. Trixie kept her head down, and her mouth closed.

“Twily!” Shining Armor rushed over to his sister, “We got word about Diamond Dogs from Braeburn, and that showpony led us here. We came as soon as we could. I’m so happy you’re safe... what’s wrong?”

Twilight blinked her tears from her eyes and hugged her brother and sobbed into his shoulder. The girls couldn’t meet Shining’s eyes. None of them wanted to tell him.

“It’s Forest.” Aiden sighed, “He... didn’t make it.”

There was a moment of silence before Twilight spun around and knocked him to the ground.

“This is your fault! Why didn’t you listen to us! If you hadn’t used that spell... then he’d... we’d...” Twilight gritted her teeth.

Aiden picked himself up, “He’d be dead, and so would we.”

“Is that true?” I asked Tutela.

The Changeling nodded, “Indubitably.”

“I need to go back. I need to tell Twilight that I’m okay...”

“You may, but it’s a long, long run to Appleloosa, and they’re many miles southwest of that town. If I were to guess, I'd say it'd take more than two days from Ponyville, unless you ran...”

“You can’t send me back there now?”

“Have you already forgotten? I can only send you to one place in Equestria.” Tutela walked over to her kitchen, opened a drawer and pulled out a chopping board and a knife using her magic. Then she proceeded to cut some onions and carrots, “But I’ll slow time down for now. You can use this time to heal yourself and when you’re ready, I’ll send you back.”

At those words, the screen showed Twilight and the others barely moving. Literally, I could count the seconds it took for their eyes to blink. Slowing time down. That was one heck of a talent.

“Hungry?” Tutela asked, “I don’t eat food like you, but I do enjoy the flavor and taste of it. There’s something so... fulfilling about eating. That feeling of something in your gut...”

“How are things with Brian?”

She blinked at me, not expecting that question. “He’s doing okay. It’s only been two days since you last saw him... oh, I see. You met that blue mare from before.”

“Trixie.”

“Hm, yes. Well, she’s always been a troublemaker of sorts, although I do believe that she actually means nopony any harm.” Tutela took some tomatoes and started cutting them into thin slices, before levitating a cucumber and started slicing that as well. “She’s just... trying to prove a pointless point. Then again, aren’t we all?”

“Is that why you made me accept a bet you know I can’t win?” I did nothing to hide the venom in those words.

“What fun would that be? Making a bet that I know you could never win? That would be pointless! Oh, I see where you’re getting at. But, my dear, I didn’t make that bet with you because I thought you couldn’t win. I made that bet with you because I don’t expect you to win.” She pushed all the chopped contents in a large bowl, “There is a difference.”

“How am I supposed to win if I don’t know what to do? What is the true meaning of friendship?” The question had no answer to it! At least, none that I knew of.

“If I told you, that would annul our little deal, and you’d forfeit your right to freedom. Besides, telling you would make that answer... empty. You have to discover it on your own.” She took a bottle of vinegar from one of the lower kitchen cupboards and a bottle of olive oil, mixing the two together.

“Easy for you to say...” I muttered watching her go about whatever she was doing.

Tutela walked over to a fridge and took out milk, ketchup, a small jar of mustard. I watched as she added all three to the vinegar concoction, then she put a small plate on top and shook. After a minute of that, she poured the mixture on top of the chopped vegetables in the large bowl and placed it in front of me.

“Eat.”

I looked at her with a quizzical expression, “Seriously?”

“You’re not hungry?”

I leaned forwards and took a leaf in my mouth. The flavors, they burst in my mouth igniting my taste buds. The tanginess of the vinegar made my mouth water, a slight spiciness from the mustard added a little heat to the dish. Suffice to say, I destroyed the contents as quickly as I could. I was beyond starving. I had not eaten since Braeburn’s home! I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.

“That... that was fantastic. You cook... make... chop really well!” I said, licking the bowl clean.

Tutela giggled, -- yes, she giggled -- and looked over to me, “That’s one of the many things you can look forward to when you lose,” she sung.

“I’m not going to lose.” I looked up, “So, don’t expect anything.”

All she did was give me a bored expression. “You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk.” She zapped the green towel with her horn and it vanished into thin air. She did the same thing with everything around us, and it all blew up into nothingness.

Then she concentrated, and the room started to shift and bend. The walls changed color, the windows shifted and grew smaller, the door also changed. The room looked exactly like my tiny bedroom in my apartment back on Earth.

“Sleep.”

“Can’t you have used the Clubhouse, or Brian’s guestroom? I hate this place.”

“So... you hate Earth now? Why the change of heart. Before you were so eager to get back there, and now... my, my, my. This is just too cute.” Tutela laughed to herself.

“Think what you want, but I like it here. If I win, I’m never going back. Ever.” I sighed, “In the short time I’ve been on Equestria, I’ve made great friends, fallen in love, won an amazing race, and...” I looked at the Changeling, “I guess I should thank you. Thank you for sending me there. Even if I lose, at least you gave me something incredible.”

“And what’s that?”

“A life.” And I was surprised with how genuine it felt to say that. “Thank you, Tutela. Very much.”

“Y-you’re welcome, Forest. Now, get some rest. Sleep well.” She turned around quickly and switched off the light before closing the door.

I wish she’d waited until I crawled into the bed before she did those things, though.

Laying down, I stared up at the ceiling. The past day had been very eventful. So, I was a prisoner of some mutts called the Diamond Dogs, then I broke free, tried to help out, which backfired, and started a chain of events that led to me getting ‘killed’. Now, my friends think that I had drowned, and here I was snuggled in a warm bed safe and sound.

And I felt terrible. Awful! How could I sleep and rest when Twilight was that upset! I needed to let her know that I was safe. To let her know that I was fine. I closed my eyes, and drifted out of consciousness.

A part of me hoped that I wouldn’t dream. Didn’t feel like it.

I awoke the smell of something delicious. What was that heavenly odor?

Walking out of my room, the hallway was so familiar. I had seen it before. This was Applejack’s hallway. Or was it Braeburn’s? Walking down the stairs, I heard some jazzy music blasting. I knew that tune. Very well.

“That’s ‘Take The ‘A’ Train’ by Duke Ellington... I love that tune.” I said from the entrance of the kitchen.

Tutela was pulling something out of the oven, “Oh, I know. Remember, I used to watch you, so I know what songs you like. It’s surprising that you like that kind of music. I’d think you’d be more of a... what is it you call that kind of music?”

“Noise?” I offered, chuckling a bit at my own joke.

She just rolled her eyes and placed the hot bread on the counter, her green magic faded out as soon as it was safely placed there. She got a serrated knife from a kitchen drawer and started to saw slices off the loaf. She placed several on a plate and put it in front of me.

“Tell me how it tastes. This is the first time I’ve baked properly without just conjuring it out of thin air.” Tutela pulled out a chair gestured for me to take a seat.

It was disarming how nice she was acting towards me. She was actually being very... pleasant.

“So... I began, you can just create anything? Out of thin air?”

Tutela sat opposite me, and looked at my face for a moment before bursting into fits of laughter, “Out of thin air? That’s a good one! No, Forest, no. That’s not how it works.”

I took a slice of bread and put it to my lips, “Then how?”

“I steal it. From your world or mine.” She grinned, “I just reach over and... take it. Everything in this place is ‘borrowed’ to some extent. The house itself is an abandoned house I found somewhere in your world. Just... poof! Once an object is in here, I can manipulate however I want.” Her horn glowed and the kitchen completely changed from a rustic looking one to a very modern, snazzy one.

“Nice.” I nodded in approval, “Where’d you snag this from?”

“You wouldn’t believe it, but an ad agency just threw all this stuff out after they made their commercial. What a waste. I was glad that I found it. Actually, that’s somewhat because of you. I was watching you get into a fight.”

“A fight? When?”

“Years ago. I’ve been watching you for a long time.” Tutela smiled, “I think you were just starting high school.”

I made a noise in my throat. “No. Don’t remind me. I hated those years of my life.”

“I know.” There was a long moment of silence as she watched me eat, “So, how’s your body? Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah. There’s no pain in my hooves. Still a little sore on my back from where Atom slammed me into the damn dam, but nothing serious.”

“Damn dam... really?” Tutela snorted a laugh, “You really have changed.”

“No, not really. I’ve always had a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.” I took another big bite from the bread.

Tutela rolled her eyes, “No, not that. I’m saying that you’ve become a lot more... I don’t know how to put it. I guess if I were to put it into a word, I’d say ‘better’. But the subtext is elusive.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it sounds like a compliment, so I’ll settle for a simple ‘thanks!’ and continue to stuff my face with this most amazing bread. What did you use to make it?”

“You really curious?”

“No. Just making conversation.” I replied with my mouth full.

“Well, eat up. I’ll send you back after you’re done.” Tutela stood up.

“Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll need to get to Twilight and the others. A day believing I’m dead must really...” I saw Tutela planting a hoof on her face. “What?”

“Are you really that dense?” She replied sardonically.

I did the only thing I could. I shrugged. “I suppose so.”

“Time here has no meaning. I can’t stop time, but I can adjust the flow of time outside. That is why I can make it day or night here, because I can adjust how we view time. On one side of your planet there’s day, and the other,” Her horn glowed and the sky ‘outside’ turned dark. The moonless night sky was sprinkled with thousands of stars twinkling in the sky, “there’s night. We can move this reality anywhere we like, but we cannot change time except to move it forwards.”

“‘We’?”

“I meant ‘me’, I was just saying so you’d get the idea,” she sniffed.

“So, to Twilight and the others, how long have I been dead for?”

“About three hours. The sun would be setting now back where they are in Equestria.” Tutela looked into the distance, “I’ve been watching them. The pink one is the most visibly upset amongst the three, but I feel most sorry for Twilight.”

“Um... why?”

“Oh, I’m rooting for her to take your heart,” Tutela grinned, “but it’s so fun watching you try not to acknowledge how you feel for Applejack. It makes for the most entertaining situations. I just wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours. It must be the most painful thing to listen to yourself completely misunderstand everything.”

“I’m liking being here less and less.”

She laughed at my expense. “So, are you ready to get back then? You can wait for as long as you want, but I suspect you’d rather head back and get on with it.”

“I should. I need to let them know that I’m save. That I’m alive and fine.” Pushing the seat back, I stood up and looked at Tutela, “And the sooner I leave this place, the sooner I can get back there.”

“I don’t want to hamper you resolve, but how are you going to explain how you escaped from there?” Tutela then walked into another room.

I followed, “What do you mean?”

“They watched you drown, Forest. They watched you get swept down a rushing river. Do you think that you appearing unhurt won’t get them to ask questions?” She shook her head, “Sometimes your cluelessness really amazes me.”

As much as I wanted to say something, I couldn’t. She was perfectly right! How could I explain myself? The answer was; I couldn’t. Or could I?

“Tutela, you know how you couldn’t teleport me with the bracelet on right?”

“Yes.”

“Could you teleport the bracelet on its own to us here?”

Tutela stared at me for a long moment before nodding, “Yes, I could.”

“Can you do it now?”

Her horn turned green and in the next moment something appeared in mid-air between the two of us and fell to the floor with a thud. And just like that, the bane of my existence was lying on the floor on top of the perfectly white shaggy carpet.

“Perfect. Now. Can you send this to the Everfree Forest?”

“Right now?”

I nodded.

“So be it.” And then it was gone. No flash, no pop, no noise, nothing. It was there one moment and gone the next. Vanished. Of course, I knew that it had gone back to Equestria, but it was still mind boggling. Magic! Seriously.

“Before I go, whatever happened to that large Dog dude? You know the one. Big guy, fired arrows the size of ponies, mean and ugly.”

Tutela snorted a laugh, “Oh, you mean the Diamond Dogs’ filthy leader. The dreadful, cowardly mutt, Tyrant Rex.” The horn on her head glowed green to reveal the Dog in question in a large cage with several of his guards surrounded by Guards. “He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Tyrant Rex is lucky that Equestria doesn’t have a death penalty.” I looked over at Tutela, “Right?”

“That’s right, but it isn’t Equestria that’s going to try him. He’s a wanted criminal in several other nations, including the vicious Griffin Empire. I’m afraid that Rex’s days are numbered.” Tutela frowned, “Can’t say I’m upset at the fact, he’s had it coming for so long... but I just feel that he deserves something more than just death.”

“Like what? Have him tortured?”

Tutela sighed, “I don’t know. It’s just that Equestria was always such a peaceful and caring nation. The ponies there aren’t out to harm anypony, and those Dogs just do their best to ruin everything. What that Rex doesn’t understand is what it takes to build a utopian society. If he ever gets to be in charge, he’ll run that poor nation into the ground. That’s the sad truth. You cannot rule a nation through force without severe repercussions. Your world is a testament to that.”

“Not my world anymore, Tues.”

“Tues?” She cocked her head to one side, “Did you just give me a nickname.”

“Tu-teh-lah takes too long.” I grinned, remember what Lavender told me when she told me to call her Lav for short. “So, Tues. Like it?”

“As a matter of fact, no. I don’t.”

“Perfect!” I let out an evil cackle.

The Changeling just shook her head, “Get out of here before I decide to hurt you.” Her horn began to glow green again.

“Oh, thanks for the bread. You’re a great chef.” And with that, I found myself standing in the Everfree Forest.

The sun was setting low on the horizon, so I got out of there. Fast.

“Oh hello Forest, it is good to see you, please come on in, do.”

Zecora stood aside as I walked into her home. I hadn’t been in here since my very first day. How long ago was that now? Too long, and yet not long enough.

“Would you like something sweet, something to drink or eat?”

“Again with those flawless rhymes? Is it a force of habit?”

“Not all of my people speak like this, but my parents did insist. Our native tongue rhymes constantly, a habit I just happen to carry with me.” She poured me a glass of water and placed it gently in front of me, “Last I heard you were headed for the desert, it is good to see you unhurt.”

“Yeah... about that... well, let’s just say I did get hurt, and ended up here in the Everfree. What would you say to that?” I smiled nervously.

“A feat such as that would be a spectacle, I would even venture further and say it was a miracle. Things like this do hot happen that I know, it would be like expecting summer snow.”

She did have a point. Even if Twilight could teleport huge distances that no other could, she was still not powerful enough to teleport from Appleloosa to Ponyville. That was way too far. I chatted with Zecora for a while after that, talking about her and why she had come to Equestria from Zebrica. Most, if not all, of it went completely over my head.

After wasting enough time I headed back towards Ponyville, walking directly towards Carousel Boutique. I knocked on the door and waited.

A few moments later, Rarity opened it and gasped, “Forest! Oh my! Why are you here? I thought you were heading to some faraway place. Is my sister with you? I mean, I know she’s a big girl, but I just can’t help but worry sometimes, she is my precious sister after all...”

“She’s fine, Rarity. They’re all fine. I know they are. Look, I need your help. Can you come with me?”

“Of course. What do you need me to do?”

“Um... I need you to get all the Unicorns in Ponyville to cast magic on me.”

The looked she gave me spoke volumes. It was as if I asked her to jump off a building, or do some other heinous thing.

“D-did you say ‘get all the Unicorns cast magic on you’?”

“Eeyup.”

“If I recall, the last time I cast magic on you, it bounced off and hit the tower...”

“Please, Rarity. This is very, very important. Don’t worry about me, I’ve got that covered. Just... get as many Unicorns as you can to meet me on the hill next to Sweet Apple Acres, near the lake. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Rarity bit her lip nervously, “Are you sure that my sister is fine? This is a completely unorthodox request, I just don’t know...”

“Your sister is fine, but everypony thinks I’m dead. I need to let them know that I’m fine, this is why I want you to gather all the Unicorns, okay?” I placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Please, Rarity. I know that I don’t have any right in asking you for anything, but if you could do this one thing for me, I’ll do anything you want. Anything. That might not seem like much, but it’s all I’ve got.”

“Well... one can’t have too many favors. Still, it is an odd request. I’ll do it, but I’m going to expect that you’ll keep your word.”

“Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I smiled, “Now I can’t break it even if I wanted to, Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise.”

Leaving Rarity to round up the Unicorns, I headed towards the hospital.

Opening the doors, I was almost immediately set on by Nurse Redheart who let me have it. Whoo-boy, was she pissed. And when I mean pissed, I cannot emphasize just how pissed off she really was. You could see the anger and frustration literally dripping off her. But, she was only angry that I hadn’t done anything to make up for what I had done.

“Nurse, I promise that if you help me, I’ll do anything you say.”

Nurse Redheart raised an eyebrow, “Anything?”

“I said that what I’d do, and I’ll honor it.”

“Fine, I want you here tomorrow at dawn to help out. You’ll be doing errands for the entire day.” Nurse Redheart smirked, “You will make up for the havoc you’ve done.”

“I will. I promise.” I made the universal sign for a Pinkie Promise, “But... I need you to help me now. Please. It’s very important.”

“What do you need?” Redheart asked, all evidence of her hostility evaporated away at once when I had agreed to help out with the hospital.

“Can you or somepony with medical skills come with me to the lake now?”

That made the nurse give me a suspicious look, “Are you planning on getting hurt?”

“Yes. I am.”

That made Redheart take a step back. I doubted she expected that blunt of an answer, and it was clear that I hadn’t really thought this entire thing through. Still, the knowledge that Applejack, Pinkie, Atom, Aiden, Spike and especially Twilight all believed I was dead didn’t really make me plan this whole thing out carefully. I was just running with it.

“Why?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you next time. Can you come or not?”

“Forest, letting ponies hurt themselves... it’s... it’s not something I can condone...”

“Look, it’s for something very important. If you can’t do it, I’ll do it without you, but I’m not going to let my friends suffer anymore! So, please, help me. I’m begging you. I’ve already given my word that I’d do anything for you. Even if I have to leave Ponyville on a quest, I will! But right now, just this once, please indulge me.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you.” Nurse Redheart shook her head and walked around the reception desk and pulled out a doctor’s bag, “But you better be the first pony through those doors in the morning, and the last to leave.”

I nodded, “Let’s go.”

We trotted towards the lake, and I had to make one more stop along the way.

Knocking on the front door, a large red Stallion pulled it open and did a double take when he saw my face. “Hello, Big Mac. Is Applebloom home?”

“AB! Forest’s here ta see you!” Big Macintosh hollered, “I thought you’d gone with Atom and Applejack on some crazy adventure.”

“Oh, it was crazy alright. Too crazy.”

“What is it Big Mac, can’t you see that I’ve got... Forest!” Applebloom rushed over and gave me a vicious hug. I gasped in pain, as she reminded me about sore back. Thinking of that made me worry about Atom. I had felt one of his ribs actually break.

“Hello, Applebloom. Surprise! Anyway, can I ask you to come to the lake?” I saw Big Mac shooting daggers with his eyes at me, “We’re expecting a lot of Unicorns to be there.” I added quickly.

“What fer?” Applebloom asked, “And what are you doin’ here?”

“That’s a long story, and I can’t really remember all of it. Just that I woke up awhile ago in the middle of the Everfree. Anyway, I’m getting all the Unicorns together to cast magic on me,” I placed my forehooves on her shoulders, “and I need you to use the marking spell. I trust you, Applebloom, because I know you can keep a secret. Rarity... I’m not too sure.”

“Okay, Forest, I’ll do it,” She gave me a kittenish grin, “on one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Well, there’s this stallion that I like... and I want him to notice me. So, I want you to take me out tomorrow for a date, so he’ll get all jealous and then ask me out!” She grinned at me, “Does that sound like a good plan?”

“Honestly?”

She nodded.

“No. That’s a very bad plan. You should just tell him how you feel.” Where have I heard that before? “Now, can we go?”

“Fine, if you don’t help me with getting that boy to look my way, you can do all my chores tomorrow and the day after.”

“That’s not fair!” I protested, I even looked to Big Mac expecting him to tell his youngest sister off, but instead he was just standing off to one side stifling a laugh. "Fine. I'll help with the chores, but not tomorrow. Tomorrow I've got to work at the hospital."

Applebloom thought about it a moment, then nodded. "Okay, Forest."

When I arrived on the hill next to the lake, I couldn’t help but be amazed. There were a lot more Unicorns in Ponyville than I had taught. I was under the impression that the vast majority of ponies in Ponyville were Earth Ponies, like myself.

“Alright, I’ve brought as many of my friends as I could find, Forest.” Rarity looked around, “Is this enough?”

“That’s perfect, Rarity. Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it.” I trotted to the top of the hill, “Please make a circle around me. Thank you, thank you. Please, I know that most of you here are wondering why Rarity asked you to come. I need you to cast your magic on me so that I can... let Twilight know that I’m alive and well.”

“How do you suggest we do that? Casting magic on you hardly seems like the correct thing to do. The smartest thing would be for everypony to let her know when she gets back.” A light blue-green Unicorn asked, “I don’t understand what the hurry is.”

“They think I’m dead and if I don’t let them know they might spend days searching a pit of dead Dogs and never find my body because I’ve been safe and sound in Ponyville during all that time.” I whipped around to face the rest of them, “Anymore questions? Please, don’t be shy.”

Not a single raised hoof, although a few did mutter to themselves. Good.

Reaching into my saddlebag, I pulled out the bracelet that I had taken from the ground in the Everfree Forest, and for the second time that day, I slipped it on my wrist. The familiar feeling of the metal closing around my hoof, clenching down tightly, made me cringe on the inside. But this was for my friends, this was for Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy. For Spike, Aiden and Atom. But most of all, this was for Twilight. So, when it finished securing itself on my hoof, I actually accepted it and forced myself to feel glad that it was there.

Turning to Rarity, I nodded once and closed my eyes. In the back of my mind I kept seeing Nurse Redheart telling the ponies to not listen to me, and to stop what they were doing, but I heard nothing. Well, except for Rarity telling her friends to start charging their magic.

Wow. This was actually really not that bad. I mean, yes, it burned a lot and it ached like nobody’s business, yet I felt a measure of peace and tranquility inside me. Perhaps I now had some innate magical affinity that makes it possible for me to absorb more magic! Maybe I could start casting spells left, right and center! Maybe I should stop daydreaming and concentrate. The real reason is that I was probably getting used to the pain.

Wave after wave of magic flowed into my bracelet. I could feel it coursing into the bracelet as every drop was sucked out of my body and into itself. More and more power flooded into me, and I struggled to stay on my feet. Every single pony there was giving it their all. I could tell. Their magic flowing out of them and into me. Soon, one by one, ponies began to collapse, tired beyond their measure.

Nurse Redheart was already on those that couldn’t contribute anymore, giving them a slab of chocolate and a word of encouragement. It was almost like after giving a blood transfusion. Those that could kept on casting, and I noticed that out of all the magic that was flowing into me, it was Rarity’s that stood out. It was a strange feeling, and I could tell it was her. It tasted like freshly washed fruit, and the smell was like a cool, gentle breeze after a rainshower in the middle of a field during summer. The tone was peaceful, and the Unicorns were loving it. Letting their magic go wild must have been a real treat considering how willing they were.

But after some time, I just couldn’t take it anymore and dropped to my knees. That was it, and Rarity held up her hoof. The magic cast by the other Unicorns slowly died down until it was over. But was it enough? Will the others be able to see? The suspense was killing me.

“That’s your cue, Applebloom,” Rarity encouraged the young mare.

“Forest Fire,” She said slowly and properly. “Show me where you are...”

No! Stop! Don’t tell those other ponies about that spell! They might abuse it!

“Show me where you are! Show me where you are!”

The power that flowed from my hoof seemed to pierce the night sky bathing all in a bright light that rivaled Celestia’s precious sun. Well, not really, but it was still pretty damn bright. The light shot straight up into the air, higher than even Canterlot, higher than Cloudsdale! I stood there with my hoof in the air, letting the magic extinguish itself, grimacing from the pain, sucking it up like a true stallion. On and on it went, until finally it tapered, diminishing into a thin beam and finally into nothing. Then as the last bit of light faded into oblivion, the spell that held my hoof in the air released me and I lowered myself to the ground numb from the neck down.

“Is he alright?” A blue Unicorn asked.

“Did we use too much power?” Another questioned.

“Isn’t he that stallion who won the race a couple days ago?” Another pointed out.

There were some gasps, “It is!”

“It’s him!”

“Forest! Forest Fire!”

“Twilight’s coltfriend.”

“Clear a path! Medical mare coming through,” Nurse Redheart shoved a few Unicorns aside and made a beeline straight for me. “Can you explain to me what that was all about? Shooting a beam of light into the sky? Are you sure you don’t have a Cutie Mark.”

I gestured with my eyes down to my rear, “Eeyup.” My voice sounded weak and strained.

“Relax, you need to rest.” She walked off and started conversing with another pony as Rarity approached me.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

"It was my pleasure. Anything for a friend." Rarity replied just as quietly.

I was so, so tired. But why? I hadn’t done anything to earn this level of exhaustion! My eyes felt heavy, and my body refused to do anything that involved effort. My mind was still acting for the most part, though I did find it hard to keep my eyes open. Despite just waking up a few hours ago in Tutela’s place, I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep again. Perhaps the amount of power that I sucked into the bracelet had exhausted me, like trying to hold up a heavy weight with you own two hands -- hooves by yourself.

“Okay, we’ll carry him to the hospital. Let’s get a stretcher.” Redheart turned around to face me and gently said: “We’re going to take you to the hospital for observation, okay?”

I nodded.

“Forest, you did great,” Applebloom reassured me, “and I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to say it that loud.”

I tried to laugh, but I couldn’t. Just too tired. Instead I smiled.

As the placed me onto the stretcher, I closed my eyes and ignored everything that came to mind except for one troubling thought. Did they actually see it. A part of me didn’t want that question answered.

Then I closed my eyes, the rocking momentum from the stretcher lulling me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

“How are you holding up?” Aiden asked, sitting next to Twilight as they both stared at the makeshift camp below. One thousand three hundred and thirty three ponies were freed from the Diamond Dog’s nightmare. Amazingly, only one casualty. But to them, it was a very painful loss, especially for the lavender mare who took it very hard.

“Holding. I just can’t believe it. I keep expecting him to walk through the center of the camp, smiling like he usually does.” Twilight picked up a rock with her magic and threw it ahead of her into the darkness of the desert. “If only I had listened to you and insisted that I come with the Royal Guard...”

“Twilight, you can’t blame somepony for what happened. That’s not fair on you. You need to come to terms with your grief, but no more blaming anypony.” He put his arm around her shoulder, “You’re a smart girl, you can figure this out.”

The Element of Magic looked up at Aiden, “Thanks. I think I need some time alone.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be here if you need. We all will.” Aiden stood up and walked away.

If only she hadn’t come. If only she had been faster. If only she could fly. If only she hadn’t wasted all her magic trying to stop that overgrown mongrel’s arrows. So many things that could have been done, and yet none of them happened. In the end, Forest drowned.

Shining said that he was making a small group of his Guards trawl the newly made river, but they had no idea how vast or expansive the tunnel network was, so it could take weeks or even months to recover a body, if they recovered it.

Looking up and across the way back towards her home, she wondered how Rarity was doing, and Rainbow Dash, and Brian. Everypony. Rarity did look so happy when Fancypants had asked her out, but Twilight couldn’t help but feel a slight bias towards Spike. He was, afterall, her assistant, advisor, and most of all, her son. Not blood related, of course, but that didn’t change anything.

Her mind went back to Forest. A part of her kept on hoping, hoping that it was all just a bad dream and that at any second now she would wake up, everything would be back the way it was, and Forest would be there to kiss her and hold her. She knew she was being foalish, but she couldn’t help how she felt. She knew that Applejack still had feelings for him, and yet she didn’t care. She knew how important it was for him to find this ‘Tutela’, but she didn’t care! At first she had no idea what was wrong with her, but after reading several large tomes, sourcing several encyclopedias, there was only one logical answer. She was in love.

She remembered how at one point the revelation did not appeal to her at all and she denied it vehemently. He was Applejack’s coltfriend. But one day she saw him in the spa. She had gone to pick something up from the back room and spotted Forest laying in the jacuzzi. Seeing him there, she couldn’t resist and kissed his lips. That was very bad. She knew it was, but she couldn’t help herself. After that, she swore to not interfere. Then, Applejack and him broke it off, and she had never felt happier! And it ate away at her.

Now here she was, alone. She knew Aiden’s feelings for her, but she couldn’t look at him like that. He had always been there for her, but she never had romantic feelings for him. And she couldn’t believe the nerve of that guy when she confided her feelings for Forest to him. He didn’t say anything. At all. Not until that embarrassing Date Auction...

Twilight knew everything about Aiden, they had spent quite some time over the years together. Usually in the early morning hours at his café, before the early morning rush. Even back then she didn’t have feelings for him, but she had to admit she did think he was cute.

And her heart did skip a beat when she saw him fighting off the Diamond Dogs, even with weak magic, he was deadly. She was still furious about his lack of respect for life, especially after what happened in that prison cell, but Twilight had almost been hurt after an unprovoked attack. That was when he went insane, carving through the Dogs the way he did. It was scary watching him, but in a strange way she couldn’t help but feel flattered. Aiden didn’t use magic directly on the Dogs at all, and instead used them on the weapons around him.

“Hi, Twi. Thought I’d come keep ya company.” Applejack looked at her friend who was staring off in the distance.

“What? Oh, hello AJ.”

“You wanna talk?”

“Yes and no,” Twilight sighed, “do you think I am a bad pony?”

“What? Why would I think somethin’ like that?” Applejack was visibly shocked.

“It’s just that while you and Forest were... courting all I wanted was for him to stop seeing you. I actually felt really happy when Atom came back.” Twilight plastered a miserable look on her face, “Can you forgive me?”

“Don’t be silly, we’re best friends. I can’t stay mad at you, ‘specially not now with...” Applejack looked away, “It’s funny how thin’s work out.”

“He was right there, AJ. Right there! I was so close. I could’ve reached him if I had teleported ten seconds sooner,” She reached out with her hoof, emphasizing her point, “he’d be right here with us, talking, being silly...”

“I know, darlin’, I know.” Applejack hugged her friend tightly.

Just then a pink mare appeared to their right. “Ooh!” Pinkie moaned, “Owie-ow-ow-ow!”

“Pinkie? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“It’s my Pinkie Sense, it’s acting strange. I’ve,” she grunted as her ears stretched out, “never,” she that squealed as her tail shook and spread out into three equal parts and poofed up into three smaller bunny-tails, then slowly reverted back to its original shape, “had these before.”

Twilight eyes opened wide, and she looked at Applejack.

“I don’t wanna get my hopes up, Twilight. I don’t think you ought to either.” Applejack put in, but even she couldn’t hide it. Hope. Just maybe...

Atom walked up, his body was wrapped up due to a fractured rib, and sat next to Applejack gazing off into the distance. He hadn’t said much since the incident. Forest was with him all through, and being an ex-Guard, failing to protect his friend must have been painful. Applejack knew Atom better than anypony in Equestria. She knew that he was blaming himself for what had happened, and she knew that he’ll talk about it when he was ready. It was uncanny how, even after all this time, she knew how that stallion worked. Both him and Aiden acted so cold and distant.

Spike walked up, a bandage on his shoulder, Sweetie Belle next to him, helping him along. Everypony sat there, looking towards the distance, towards their home. Home felt so far away.

Sweetie started humming a tune and everyone could not help but listen. Soon her humming gave way to singing, and her voice sounded bitter-sweet.

“So long, our very good friend,
We’ll leave a special place for you in our hearts,
Please don’t think this the end,
Just a break before we meet again,
And then we’ll sing and dance and play,
Like we did before today,
That would be something we’d do,
But... if it’s possible, please stop and stay,
Because it’s painful, and we miss you.”

The silence that settled in was deafening, and Sweetie nuzzled Spike, trying to hide her tears. Spike wrapped an arm around her, a slight color appearing on his cheeks. Sweetie had not left his side throughout the entire ordeal, and hers was a comforting presence.

Aiden returned and sat down next to Twilight.

“Do you blame yourself?” Twilight asked.

“No.” Aiden whispered, “No!” His voice picked up and he stood up and laughed! He laughed and he laughed and he laughed.

“What’s wrong with you?” Twilight was confused and angry. Why was he laughing?

Tears streamed down his eyes and he stared out over the horizon. “By Luna’s mane...”

“What? What’s going on?” Twilight asked, getting up, and looking in the distance. In the distance a beam of light broke through the sky. The ponies in the camp saw it, and point to it, there was a lot of shouting and murmuring.

There in the distance was the unmistakable sign. There couldn’t be any doubt.

Atom stood up, turned to Applejack and kissed her on the lips. She was visibly shocked by his sudden change in character, but he had a wide smile on his face. Relief flooded his eyes.

“Atom...”

He placed a hoof over her lips, and shook his head, “No words. Let’s just relish this moment.”

The orange mare could only smile at him. Atom would never change, and she liked that about him. No, she loved him for that.

Pinkie bounced around and around, “Yes! Yes-yes-yes! Ooh! That’s Forest! That’s forest! Did you see my doozy? It was a doozy of a doozy!”

“Thank Celestia,” Spike whispered, pulling Sweetie closer to him. She didn’t mind that one bit, and let herself be the pillar he needed, “thank Luna.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Twilight said, trying to fight the tears of joy flowing down her face.

Huddling together, Twilight closed her eyes, and concentrated. She knew that she couldn’t teleport to Ponyville from here, but the nearest train station was a few hours away, and the last train the Canterlot was due in the next ten minutes. A train that would take them all back home.

“The first thing I’m going to do is sit on that flankhead until he tells me how in Celestia’s mane did he end up all the way over there!” Aiden frowned, and shook his head, “After I strangle him for making us worry so much.”

“Agreed.” The all replied together.

Day 23: Errant Boy

The sound of thunder echoed around me. Actually, now that I concentrated on it, the sound was more like something smashing into something else, as if two large objects colliding into one another that caused everything to shake. Yet despite the volume and noise that came from whatever that source was, they were nothing compared to the glowering expressions of anger that six certain mares shot at me.

“Forest, you promised!” Twilight shouted.

“You can’t do this!” Rainbow Dash added.

My mouth moved. Something I said made them look at me with expressions of horror and... sadness. Why would I say such a thing?

“Why are you doing this?” Twilight asked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “Don’t you care about us? About her?”

Who are you talking about? Who's 'her'?

Then I spoke again. I could feel my lips move, yet I could not hear what I said, nor did I know what it was. All I knew was that my words failed to pacify them. Instead it only seemed to infuriate them further.

“You can’t do that! That’s not fair!” Applejack's voice echoed in my head.

“Forest!” another voice screamed. Pinkie stood at the back glaring at me, "Stop!"

Those eyes. Their eyes. The way the looked at me bore a hole into my very soul.

No Pinkie, don’t look at me like that… please stop it... I... I...

A loud rumble. The ground shook under our hooves. Something started to crumble, debris rained down around us. The air was cold. So cold...

Then I felt my mouth move again. I shouted something. A word... no, too long. A phrase. An important phrase. But how did I know it was important? And how did I know what it was? All I knew was how I felt, and I felt this was right. It hurt so much, but it was right.

The girls had all started glowing. A fierce, hostile glow that grew brighter and brighter and brighter. I wanted to scream! I wanted to yell! I wanted to cry out!

Yet, I did none of those things as the light hit me with full force.

I think I screamed as I snapped upright like a jack-in-the-box. I collided with something and instantly felt a burn on my forehead forcing me to lay back down on a soft surface.

“My head!” a voice moaned.

“My head!” I groaned at almost the same time. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked up to see Rainbow Dash hovering over me once again.

“Do you always wake up like that?” she asked, squinting as she rubbed her noggin with her hoof.

"Not usually." I smiled through the pain, "You okay?"

"Yeah. 'm fine. You scared me more than hurt me. Again with the screaming! What's wrong with you?”

I pouted a bit, “There's nothing wrong with me and I wasn't screaming..."

"Mm-hm," She toned with a level expression, "Sure you weren't." She rolled her eyes at me.

I made a face, "Fine. I may have screamed... a little." She gave me a level look again, "Look, I had the same nightmare, okay?"

Again, she rolled her eyes, "Uh-huh."

I could only make a face before we both shared a silently laugh.

Glancing around, I took note of my surroundings and it wasn't long before I puzzled out exactly where I was, “Guess I'm back-”

“In the hospital? Yeah." Rainbow's voice suddenly got excitable, "We saw -- dad and me -- what you did last night. That light show. Pretty awesome. Not as awesome as my Sonic Rainboom,” Rainbow grinned and scratched her nose with the tip of her hoof, “but not too shabby either.”

“Thanks, I just hope that Twilight and the rest saw it."

"I would be surprised if they missed it. I'd think everypony from here to Manehattan couldn't have no spotted it even if they wanted to. It wasn't a subtle display."

I grinned like an idiot at that. No idea why because it wasn't anything I actually did, yet I still felt proud about it. Oh well. Perhaps just this once I'll let myself think I had done it.

"You know, I missed your Sonic Rainboom, sorry about that," I apologized looking at her, a feeling of regret passed through me, "It sounded so awesome."

"You didn't miss anything, Forest."

"What? Why?"

Rainbow gave me a sheepish look, "I didn't do a Sonic Rainboom after the Race."

"What? Why?" I said louder than before; I was shocked.

"Wasn't feeling up to it, y'know. After the race, I just sorta... left." She sighed, "Can I tell you somethin'?"

"Uh... sure."

"Promise not to tell anypony?"

"Of course. I'm very good at keeping secrets." I've had a lot of practice.

Rainbow took a deep breath, looked me in eye and said, "I broke up with Soarin."

"Yeah, I know..." Methinks I said it a little too quickly.

"What? How?" she asked with genuine surprise.

"Twilight told me."

Rainbow paused for a beat and stared at me with eyes open in shock. Then she let out a humorless chuckle from her throat. "That mare's too smart for her own good. Didn't tell her a thing... well, she did ask. Guess she figured it out; I've never been a good actress."

“Twilight has a habit of figuring things out," I replied with a soft smile, "You doing okay?"

"Yeah... but it's hard," she replied landing on the ground choking back a soft sob as she struggled through her tears, "but I think it was for the best. I mean, he was being really... needy and I just couldn't... for Celestia's sake, my father's in hospital! I don't have time to..."

"Rainbow, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..."

"No. I want to talk about it to somepony!" she replied in a harsh whisper before returning to a quiet voice, "I need to talk to somepony about it! I thought I could just hold it all in; keep my feelings to myself... but I can't. It's been eating me alive, and I can't tell anypony. Especially not my dad. I can't tell him this. He's already got a lot on his plate and I don't want to worry him any more than I already have."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.

She shook her head and looked down at the ground, "I don't know who to talk to about it. I wish my friends were here. Right now you're the only thing I've got."

"Thanks?" No one's ever called me a 'thing' before.

"I know it sounds strange, but I'm... lonely. I need my friends, but they all went after you, and now you're here... you're the closest thing I've got to a friend."

"That's not true, Rainbow. You've got so many friends here."

"None that I can share this with. They'd all be so disappointed in me. Especially pop. I just don't know how to break it to him..."

"I'm sure your father will understand. He loves you, Rainbow. If anypony here can understand, it's him."

Rainbow looked at me and smiled, "I can see why AJ thought you were a good colt, Forest."

I turned tilted my head to one side, "What do you mean 'were'?"

A quick smile flashed across her lips. Strangely enough, I wasn't joking when I asked that.

"Nothing. Anyway, you're the only one I can confide in for now," Rainbow revealed and I could tell she was a teeny bit uncomfortable admitting that to me.

"That can't be true."

"You're close to Pinkie and Applejack... and are with my best friend Twilight..." she looked at me, "Care to explain that one?"

"You mean why Twilight... er... 'attacked' me the way she did? I was just as surprised as everypony. I never expected that; I had no idea she had those kinda feelings for me."

"You don't seem very happy. You don't like her?"

I jerked my head back as if I had been physically assaulted, "Of course I like her."

"No, I mean like her like her..."

For a long moment I sat there and stared at the cyan Pegasus before speaking. I contemplated telling her a lie, but there have been way too many lies from me, "Honestly?" I shrugged my shoulders, "After the Applejack story, I don't know how to take it. I mean, I really like Twilight, but I just... I don't know."

"You still have feelings for AJ?"

At first I was hesitant on how to respond to that. It took me a moment before I sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I kinda still do. But she's happy with Atom, and I think they're patching things up with each other, so... yeah. I just don't want to hurt anypony, especially Twilight. There's also-"

Rainbow cut me off, "Yeah, I know. I was there. Somepony you remember the name of, but don't remember. That must suck."

"I guess." My voice sounded strained, but I swallowed hard and grinned at her, she needed me to listen to her, so why had this conversation suddenly center itself around me? She need someone to talk to, and if she needed an ear...

"So, why end it with Soarin?" I asked quietly, "He doesn't seem like the kinda guy who'd leave you when you needed him the most."

There was a significantly long pause before she answered my question.

"I don't want to get in his way," Rainbow sighed, "I don't want to distract him from his work, and already Spitfire's complained about how many practices I've missed. I did a really bad maneuver today that could have embarrassed us as a group. My mind's been here with pops, and I can't concentrate." She took a deep breath, "I've thought about it a lot and I think I might leave the Wonderbolts..."

My jaw dropped in shock.

She quickly looked at me, "D-d-don't tell anypony I said that..."

"Okay, okay, let's put the Wonderbolts thing aside for now," I said, swinging my hoof in front of me, "the reason why you broke up with Soarin sounded a lot like why things ended between me and Applejack. She didn't want to hurt me, but she ended up hurting me pretty badly. I think you've made a bad decision."

"You don't know the whole story, okay? I don't wanna talk about it. I did what I did because it was the easiest thing to do for the both of us. Just keep what I told you to yourself."

"Sometimes the easiest things aren't always the right things."

She looked away and remained silent. Her mood seemed to deflate at that, not as exaggerated as Pinkie's, but it was enough.

"Y-your secret’s safe with me, Rainbow. Poor Soarin."

Her head perked up slightly at that, "W-what did you say?"

"I said your secret’s safe with me..."

"No. After that." The way Rainbow was looking at me made me wish that I could hide under my covers.

"P-p-p-p-poor S-S-Soarin?"

Steam flared from her nostrils, "'Poor Soarin? Poor Soarin, my hoof!"

Wow... where did that come from?

"Why is it that everypony thinks he's so special? Do you think that he's the kind of stallion who can be there for me. Ha!" she stated furiously, "But you know something? He's a really selfish... flank-face! Nopony know him like I do."

"Okay, Rainbow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

She completely ignored me, or didn't hear me, "His head's always in the clouds both literally and... not-literally. Sometimes I only think he's a Wonderbolt because his head and ego are so big, only the sky is big enough to fit it!"

The way she said it made me laugh.

She herself followed suit with a soft chuckle, "Come to think of it, I guess that suits him. He's almost as dumb as you, you know."

"Oi."

She shook her shoulders in silently laughter, "You know, you are easy to talk to. In a strange way, I think I'm glad you're here."

"Well, what about Rarity? Couldn't you've talked to her?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Rarity'll start to listen, then she'd find a way to start talking about herself. Trust me when I say I've heard as much as I want to about that Fancypants."

"You don't like him?"

"It's not that. I just don't know what she sees in him. Sure, he seems like a nice fella, but he also seems kinda... I dunno the word... lah-dee-dah." Rainbow shrugged her shoulders, "Guess he suits Rarity just fine."

"Seems that way," I replied, "Um... do you know what time it is?”

“Around six in the morning,” Rainbow yawned and shrugged, “would’ve slept longer if you hadn’t started screaming like a little colt.”

“Like a little colt?" I pouted, "I wasn’t screaming...”

“Uh-huh. Right. ‘No, stop looking at me like that!’, ‘I have to do this...’ or something like that. You really have the strangest nightmares.” Rainbow started laughing silently.

“I said those things?”

“Something like that. Like I said, I only barged in here after you started freaking out. Thought you were awake. Dad’s in the room across the hall," Rainbow replied, pointing to the door with her hoof.

"Do you know how long was I out for?"

"A while. You were magicked in on a stretcher, so I don't really know."

We remained where we were in silence as the semi-darkness of dawn started to change Luna's night sky to Celestia's day. Her attention turned towards the window at the low lit dawn where Celestia would soon pull her magnificent sun into the sky. Rainbow looked so... fragile. I didn’t know if it was me, or just the way the light bounced off of her, but in that moment I could see the full weight she carried on her shoulders, how her life heavy her lift weighed. Her father was dying, she had broken up with her lover, her friends were not here (that was my fault) and she was thinking of quiting her lifelong dream by leaving the Wonderbolts.

And yet, she still had a strength to her that seemed unbreakable. How? How did she do it? Especially with the knowledge of her father's condition? How could you come to terms with something like that, yet still be strong? It was easy for me because my father was an asshole. He stabbed me in the chest, it was easy to hate him and the thought of losing him never once bothered me. She was nothing like me. She had a father who loved her, a family of friends that cared deeply for her and a nation that adored her.

Thank Celestia she wasn’t like me.

“Well, I... gotta go. I’ll see you around.” She turned to leave.

“Rainbow... wait.”

She stopped and looked at me.

“Uh... I’ll be here if you need...” I muttered stupidly. I mean, what else could I say?

All she did was smile, but it was the warmest smile I had ever seen and it brightened up the room more than Celestia's sun ever could. It was then that I understood the power of words, especially to a friend in need. Even if Rainbow didn't consider me a close friend, it still felt wonderful to see her smile like that.

She gave me one nod, and left the room.

Before the door closed, Nurse Redheart poked her head through the door, "Forest, you're up!"

Guess it was time to man-up... or would that be pony-up? "I am."

"It's time for work. So, get out of bed. You're going to help wash the sheets, wash the dishes, wash the surgical equipment and clean the floors." Nurse Redheart grinned, "I've got your uniform all ready for you to put on."

"That's a lot of washing..." I commented, sliding out of bed.

"Just be lucky that we're not making you do anything else." Redheart reached over her shoulder and took something from her back before placing it at the foot of the bed, "This is your uniform, be sure to put it on when you're done getting ready. There's a shower down the hall if you need one. Don't forget to make the bed after you change the sheets. The dirty sheets go down the chute to the right just outside your doot." She grinned, "Enjoy your day at work."

Wisely, I didn't say anything.

"Oh, and before I forget: congratulations on winning the Race! I didn't tell you that last time, did I?"

I blushed, "Aw, it doesn't matter. It was an honor to be able to run for Ponyville."

"Don't be silly! Take compliments that you deserve! And might I add; you've earned it. It's such a shame that I didn't get to see the race. The only visual-box we managed to get here in Ponyville was at the Town Hall but I was duty that night. Heard you were incredible. Well, enough chit-chat, I've got rounds to make, and you've got your chores to do."

I took a little time in the shower, allowing the hot water rinse the past day away. Although I got cleaned up in Tutela's place, it still felt good to wash myself again. After my shower I slipped on the uniform, which was a white jacket tied along the chest (which I did with my hooves) and a white cloth skull-cap. There really wasn't much to it.

As soon as I left the bathroom I was intercepted by one of the other nurses, who led me down to the bottom-most floor. It was a long room with a long corridor along which were huge washing machines all lined up. There were ten on one side opposite ten dryers opposite each one about just as big, and a huge pile of laundry at the opposite end of the hall from where I stood with more laundry coming through the ceiling down these long tubes.

"The other nurses currently working on a shift will put dirty linen and clothing in the laundry chutes, then the Unicorns here will sort them into these large bins," she pushed a large cloth laundry basket on wheels to the side, "They will put whites with whites in the white bins, blues in the blue bins, greens in the greens and everything else goes in the black bins. Anything white will need to be washed with this special bleach," the nurse stated pointing to a light green liquid that was located next to each washing machine, "and everything else is to be washed with that." A transparent bottle lay next to the green one.

"How long do I need to do this for?"

"As long as it takes. The faster you work, the quicker we can get the night's laundry finished. Our patients deserve clean sheets to lay on after their breakfast or morning walk. We need to make sure that there's enough sheets to fill twice the number of beds. That clear?"

"Clear as crystal."

The nurse then smacked my flank, "Get to it! Let's put that famous speed of yours to the test. Remember, keep an eye on the gauges next to each machine. If it gets too low, just let me know and I'll get a Unicorn to charge the batteries."

"Okay..." I had no idea I had to remember anything about magic and gauges, but I just did what I've always done and played along. It wasn't difficult, I've had a lot of practice.

The job was long and monotonous. Shoving dirty linen into a machine, setting it to 'wash' then unloading it into a dryer didn't take much effort nor thought and although it did take me a long time to get all the laundry done, for some strange reason the job felt rewarding. How many times can you say that about doing laundry? I mean, why did it feel like I had accomplished something great?

The other workers in the room had began to sing a song about it. It was a strange song, but had a catchy tune. It went something like this:

"Morning, early morning, we are washing everything,
In the evening, late evening, we will wash them in a tick,
Every day we are cleaning, ever cleaning, while we sing,
All of us singing along to make this job go by quick..."

There were more verses, but I didn't catch them all, although I did catch myself humming along with them.

After the drying process, I took all the freshly clean and dried items and put them in large baskets that were wheeled into another room where a few other ponies ironed them and placed them neatly on racks, drawers, tables, and other places that were then taken by the nurses back upstairs, each process was done in such an affectionate and caring manner. I mean, each pony took pride in their job, no matter how small it seemed.

"Now I can really appreciate the meaning of a Cutie Mark," I remarked to myself as I watched one of the ponies delicately finish ironing linen. He used his magic on an iron, letting it hover over a freshly wash and dried bedsheet. Running his hoof along the sheet, he would delicately run the iron across it before folding it over again and redoing the process. It seemed so mundane, yet he also seemed to be enjoying it. That, to me, seemed like a miracle.

"Don't worry, Forest. I'm sure you'll get your mark one day." Nurse Redheart said, making me jump. I didn't hear her, "Seems like you've done quite a lot so far. I think that should be good here. Okay, onto the next job."

A few of the ponies waved to me as I started to leave. I gave them all a smile and a wave of my own. I guess they'll never know how much they taught me in the short time I was there. A life lesson learnt in the blink of an eye.

By Celestia's mane, I loved Equestria...

"... so, that's about all there is to it!" another one of the nurses had said excitedly as she finished instructing me on my new duties, "You got that?"

"I think so, Nurse Tenderheart," I replied, gazing at the pile of unwashed dishes to my right, "Just have to clean all these plates for the breakfast rush, right?"

She nodded.

Apparently magic couldn't be used. That was because magic is like touching, apparently. Magic was a big no-no in the kitchen, amongst other places. As a result, the majority of ponies working here were Earth ponies. Tenderheart explained to me, in much the same way she would have told to a little filly I imagined, that germs and other nasties could be spread if you used magic unless you used disinfected magic (yes, apparently there is such a thing). That took a long time and was painfully tiring to do, which is why very specialized surgeons who used magic worked with Earth ponies and Pegasi for operations in a sterile environment.

I was learning so much from these ponies.

It was strange that these ponies were so open about everything. They didn't stop nor hesitate to help me out, even when I asked some of the dumbest questions imaginable. Things that a schoolfilly ought to know. Luckily for me, the ponies all knew about my amnesia, so it helped save explaining why I asked said questions in the first place.

"You may be fast when you run, Forest, but you're the slowest dish washer this side of Canterlot!" one of the other ponies in the kitchen exclaimed, laughing heartily. She reminded me a lot of Mrs. Cake, "Shame you can't use that fantastic speed on something useful!"

I grinned. "Me too."

She hooted out a boisterous laugh and the conversation quickly devolved from that point on. I must admit, ponies have a lot of naughty jokes, some as bad as the ones I've had the pleasure of hearing from back on Earth. Some of them were just downright scandalous to me. What made it so amusing was that they could be so scandalous without having to resort to foul language. Now that was another kind of magic, if I do say so myself. Although it was all in good fun, it's not something expected from technicolor ponies -- especially from a kids show.

No. This wasn't a kids show... how could it be? Everything I've seen and done, everything that I've been exposed to, everything that has happened... it couldn't be some cartoon, could it? I don't know. All I knew was that this was my whole new world now, and I wanted to stay.

"Hey, Forest! Today would be nice!" somepony shouted.

"What? Oh, right! Sorry, was spacing off there for a moment..." I shouted back.

Grabbing the next set of dirty plates, I followed what I had been asked to do. First thing was putting all the dishes on a conveyor belt, in specially made holders for the dishes. Then, as the dishes passed through the washer, boiling hot water would be sprayed at a high temperature that would cleanse all the dishes. After that it would be ready to serve.

Sounds easy, right? Wrong. At least, not with the amount of dishes that needed to be washed! It was practically endless! How could a small hospital in Ponyville acquire so many filthy dishes? But then again, I've never worked in facility like this one before, and even then I'd probably work a completely different job. This really showed me the value of teamwork, that everybody had a part to play in a whole. It was a humbling experience for me. It was actually quite funny knowing how many humbling experiences I've had over the past few weeks.

Placing a series of plate holders on the conveyor belt, I placed the plates in a slight angle along each one and started placing cup and mug holders. The job allowed my mind to wander in such a way that it almost felt like some form of meditation. I allowed myself to think about a lot of things, but the first and foremost thought in my mind was how to win that ridiculous bet!

Was it even possible at this point?

"Got to keep on trying!" I shouted to out loud.

"That's the spirit, Forest! Keep on going!" came a shout from somewhere behind me.

That brought a lot of laughs from the other ponies, and even some of the chefs who were starting to make breakfast. I could smell the bread being freshly baked there.

Honestly, didn't smell anywhere nearly as delectable as Sugarcube Corner's goods, but then again there's always that saying. What was it again? Something about how horribly disgusting hospital food was. Couldn't remember, but it didn't smell too bad. Just it was difficult to compare it against the Cakes' superior products.

After cleaning the vast majority of the dishes I was allowed to go and eat some breakfast in the cafeteria. As I sat there, I watched as ponies kept arriving and leaving. It was strange. I don't quite know how to explain it, but it all seemed so... normal. A busy cafeteria in a hospital catering to patients and visitors alike. So, why did it bother me so much? In fact a number of things had started to bother me.

But what?

Nurse Redheart smiled at me as I followed her into the small room at the very back of the hospital. Inside there were a number to large vats. Inside each vat was exuded the strong stench of alcohol. Not the kind where you drink, but the other kind -- the kind where if you did drink, you'd either go blind or die.

"This is very important, Forest. You cannot make a mistake here. Everything in here cannot be contaminated once you've disinfected the equipment." She looked at the expression on my face, "I trust you, Forest. I know that you can do this. Don't worry, if you make a mistake, just wash it again. Have a little more confidence in yourself."

"Are you sure? I... kind of feel strange taking responsibility for something like this. I mean, this is a lot of trust you're putting in me..." I looked down at the ground, "I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"Forest, listen to me. When you first came to Ponyville you were lost, alone and confused. Look at yourself now. You have many friends, you've given so many ponies so many little things, and each thing that you've given to us we have treasured in our own way. So don't feel that you're inadequate for this job, it really isn't that hard to do. Just let your common sense dictate the best way to clean these things. Who knows, you might even find out your Cutie Mark somehow."

"Really? From washing surgical tools?" I asked, really hoping that my Cutie Mark wouldn't be that simple.

The nurse just laughed, "You're so ridiculous. No, that's not what I meant. Some ponies discover their Cutie Marks doing a task, while others do certain jobs and reach a realization as to where they want to go in life."

"Sort of like enlightenment, right?"

"You've got it! You never know quite when you'll discover who you were meant to be, and how that changes everything you are." Nurse Redheart walked towards the door and opened it, "I'll come and check up on you in a bit."

I nodded as she closed the door behind her.

All the surgical devices were located in different colored barrels. The blue ones, Redheart had explained to me, contained blunt objects, while the red ones were full of sharp, pointy things. All I had to do was pour what was in the vats into each barrel, then push each barrel onto this plate and hit a green button on the wall. The plate would shake the barrel gently for a few minutes, washing the tools with the disinfectant solution. Then the whole barrel went into something called an autoclave, this large machine then used intense heat to kill any left-over germs -- powered by magic, of course.

After that, all the newly cleaned and disinfected instruments were moved onto a specialized cabinets on wheels, which was done by a nurse. After the cabinet was full, I rolled it out into the hallway, where an orderly would take the cabinet to whichever room or place they needed to go.

As I surveyed my hard work, I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw a mop and bucket shoved in my face. Nurse Redheart gave me a massive wink and waltzed off leaving me with clear instructions on what I had to do next.

My heart sank as I stared down the long hallway. And this was the basement!

"Hiya, Forest." Rainbow's voice shook me out of my thoughts, "How's it going?"

"As you can see..." I gestured to the un-mopped part of the building, "I've still got a long way to go. At least this is the last floor."

"Yeah, don't envy you right now. Mopping floors... yuck!" she drew back and made a face.

Her expression made me chuckle.

"So... what are you doing for lunch?" She asked.

"I was going to grab a bite in the cafeteria. Nurse Redheart's letting me off. Apparently I've worked hard and done my job. I also promised Rarity I'd go help her out, so I'll be heading that way after. Why?"

"Wanna... wanna go grab a bite with me? Dad's taking a nap, and I just... nopony's around. And Rarity's busy, like you said..."

"Sure. That sounds great, but I got no bits..." I rubbed the back of my head with my hoof, "I'm not getting paid for this. I kinda owe Nurse Redheart for the trouble I caused when I was disguised as that animal and ran around this place..."

Rainbow snorted out a laugh that was like music to my ears. It was about time I heard somepony be happy, especially her. "I still remember AJ's face when she found out it was you..."

"Oh Luna, please don't remind me." I shuddered thinking back on that day but couldn't help but laugh as well, though it wasn't as boisterous as Dash's.

"Keep it down!" an orderly shouted, "There are ponies trying to sleep!"

"Then why are you shouting..." Rainbow muttered under her breath.

"So, where shall we meet?" I asked, leaning on the mop.

"Well... um... let's meet outside the front of the hospital when you're done. Dad will be waking up in a couple of hours, so hurry up!" Rainbow hovered off the ground, "And don't worry about payin', I'll treat you..."

All of a sudden a feeling of 'bad' flowed through me. How could I let Rainbow treat me when I was already staying at her place? That didn't feel right. As I opened my mouth, Rainbow shook her head.

"No, it was my idea and I insisted. C'mon, don't get all chauvinistic on me," she slugged my forearm, "aren't we friends?"

I was touched. Shrugging, I assented with a long sigh, "Okee dokee lokee, if you promise to let me treat you next time."

"Deal! See you later."

And before I could say anything else, she sped off down the hall.

"Strange one, she is." I muttered and continued to mop the corridor.

Now with something to do, I found myself mopping faster than before. I guess when you have a reward after a job, you want to work quickly to get it over and done with so you can go get it. Still, I was acutely aware that if I did a shoddy job Nurse Redheart would personally serve my flank on a silver platter to the orderlies, who still had a slight grudge against me for making them look bad. They had all the right to have a bone against me for that stunt I pulled. In retrospect, causing havoc, confusion and injury to the orderlies wasn't the brightest of ideas.

Hopefully I could make it up to them but cleaning the heck out of this place.

It didn't take me long to finally have every inch of the floor mopped up, the disinfectant in the water gave off a slightly odd smell, like water that's been sitting in a plastic bottle out in the sun for too long. I looked at my work and nodded. So nice and clean.

"Finally done?" a voice asked from behind me, "About time."

Turning around, I faced Redheart with a dry look on my face, but her smile cut right through me and I couldn't help but give her a bright smile in return. She really had me wrapped around her hoof. All the ponies did.

"Eeyup. Sorry that took so long. Was a lot harder than I expected."

Redheart leaned to the right and shook her head, "Still no Cutie Mark."

"Thank Celestia. If I got a Cutie Mark for mopping flo-" Redheart put a hoof on my lips and shook her head quickly.

Moments later, one of the orderlies walked by. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of a mop and bucket. He looked at the two of us staring at him with a look on his face. He reached above his head and removed what looked like headphones from his ears, "Something the matter, miss?"

"No, nothing Shiny Floors," Nurse Redheart grinned, "I was just telling Forest that he's not as good as you when it comes to cleaning..."

At that, the blue Earth pony grinned, "I'm just doing what I love! Everypony loves a clean place to go to, and I make sure that it's extra, extra clean!"

Redheart smiled at him, "You certainly do. Thank you for keeping our hospital so spotless."

Shiny nodded before placing the headphones back on his ears and trotted off down another coridor.

All through this I found myself unable to say anything.

Redheart turned to look at me, the fierce look on her face made me take a couple steps back. She leaned in closer to me, still giving me that glare.

"What?"

"l don't know how hard you hit your head, Forest, but everypony knows that you don't judge others based on their Cutie Mark. It's wrong."

I shrunk back from her.

"How would you like it if you were judged by the color of your fur, or by the wings or horn you have? How would you like to be looked on as different, inferior?"

I had to admit, she was perfectly right, but I didn't mean to...

"Well?"

"Sorry... I didn't mean it in that way."

"Then, in what way did you mean it?"

"I... I meant that, for me, I didn't want a Cutie Mark like that... I didn't mean to insult him."

Redheart's expression eased off a bit, "Sorry, Forest. It's just that Shiny gets a lot of insults directed at him because of his Cutie Mark, and he doesn't realize it. I can’t stand how some ponies think that they are better than others just because they think they have a Cutie Mark that they think is better. We're all equal in our own way. How would you like to come to a filthy hospital?"

"I know, I know!" I said trying to pacify her, "I only meant that I didn't want to have a Cutie Mark that had something to do with cleaning. I never meant to imply that cleaning is bad. I didn't mean to belittling him. I'm sorry."

Redheart looked at me and let out a long breath, "No, I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have started off on you like that. It's just tha-"

"I understand, Nurse Redheart..."

"Stop calling me nurse, Forest. Just Redheart will do. Or Red. That's what my friends call me."

I couldn't grinned. She just called me her friend. Even after all the nonsense I'd put her through. I was on a roll today. "Red. I understand."

"You got any plans for lunch?"

"Yeah. Rainbow invited me to go out for a bite with her."

Red eyes opened wide at that, "Really? Rainbow Dash did? The Rainbow Dash?"

"Unless there's another Rainbow Dash that looks exactly like the Rainbow Dash I know, then yes, the Rainbow is the one." The way she looked at me didn't change, "Why? Is that a bad thing?"

"No! Not at all. I'm just really surprised. She hasn't been the same since the Race. She's always so single-minded about things, especially when it comes to her friends and family, but now she seems so distracted..."

I understood what she was saying and nodded, she did seem off.

"Well, I got to go and meet her now. If you need me, you know where to find me."

“Have fun.”

"... then I woke up in the Everfree Forest and made my way to Zecora's place."

Rainbow stared at me from across the table, her face a mixture of emotions. After a second she shook her head, "Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You fought Diamond Dogs in a huge cavern underground..."

"Uh-huh."

"... and Twilight and Aiden fought using magic freeing the prisoners..."

"That's correct."

"... while you, Pinkie, AJ and Sweetie were trying to destroy a dam..."

"You forgot Fluttershy."

"Oh, sorry. So, Fluttershy and the rest helped you destroy the dam..."

"You know it!"

"... which you did by using that bracelet."

"Hey, you got it!" I grinned.

"How did you end up in the Everfree after that? You said you were at Braeburn's farm, that's a really, really long way away. How'd you manage to end up back here so quick?"

"I don't know!" I lied, "I just woke up... and here I was."

"So... the others think you're dead?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's why I did the Marking Spell. I needed to let them know I was okay." It was a relief to be telling the truth.

"Here's your hay-fries for you, miss Dash, and a mushroom and jalapeno pizza for our new champion!" our waitress announced, grinning from ear to ear as she placed the dishes in front of us. The other guests all began to applaud making me feel real dumb, but also real happy. When the clopping and hoof-stomping died down, the waitress continued, "The rest of the team are bringing the Cup here tomorrow. Scootaloo, Derpy, Amethyst and Lavender are bringing it with them. Everypony was looking for you and Twilight after the celebrations, Forest. Guess you guys skipped town just in time. There was some rumor that you two had eloped! Oh, how romantic..."

"N-no. We just had things to attend to..."

"Aw, that's too bad. Anyway, enjoy your food."

"Uh... thanks." I looked over to Rainbow who was grinning at me. "What?"

"Get used to this. You're a star now."

I blushed. "I don't think ponies will see me like that, Rainbow."

Again she rolled her eyes, "I was once a naive pony like yourself, that was before I became a member of the Wonderbolts. I learnt the error of my ways pretty quick. Just be lucky you live here in Ponyville and not in a big city like Canterlot or Manehatten. I mean, it's not as bad as Earth, but..."

"What was it like?" I asked cutting her off, "On the other world?"

"That's... where do I even begin..." Rainbow took a hayfry and ate it slowly. It took a moment before she spoke, "I guess you could say it wasn't any different and it was completely different at the same time."

"That's... not complicated..."

She shook her shoulders in a silent laugh, "I guess. That world has a lot of things that are like ours, even our language! Our Equestrian sounds a lot like theirs... do you know what they called it?"

I feigned ignorance, and shook my head.

"English! And, like here, there're a lot of other languages as well from all over the place... you know Prench?"

"Prench?"

"Yeah! They speak it in Prance? You know, 'bonjur' and 'mon ami' and 'hola'..."

"'Bonjur'?" I couldn't help but chuckle at her mispronunciation, "I don't think 'hola' is Prench..."

We talked and talked and talked. Well, she talked and I listened. It was funny how she described things from a pony perspective. Things like cars, which she said were carts that ran themselves on explosive fluids, planes, which were 'giant flying bird-like cylinders with huge unflapping wings that could carry hundreds of people at the same time’ to name a couple. She told me about how she had to remain hidden, not showing herself to anypony, and how she eventually made her way back to Equestria.

"Weren't you lonely?" I asked, "I mean, I know your dad was around, but... friends?"

She gave me a long hard look when I said that. It took quite some time before she replied.

"Dad was my whole world... and he was just really protective of me... I mean, you don't know that world. You don't know just how bad it could be..."

Then, she told me about all the hate, the malice, the pain we humans inflict on one another for the most petty reasons. The wars, the fighting, the brutality of human nature and each time she said that things, I felt a little angry at her. It felt a little unfair. I've been in Equestria for some time and there were plenty of instances of fights as well! I mean, Aiden was a wounded veteran from a war! Atom nearly died fighting a Manticore! Not to mention that I myself had... fought and killed.

The sudden realization felt like a ton of bricks landing on my head. I had actually killed someone. Not just one or two either. The knowledge that I had hurt and kiled...

"... still, dad's a human, so they can't all be that bad."

I didn't realize that Rainbow was still talking. "Yeah... I guess..."

She took another hayfry and put it in her mouth, "You know, I still can't get over how much you remind me of a human..."

"Say what?" I asked, my heart suddenly beating in my throat.

"I dunno. There's just something about you... something off... but, in a good way."

"How so?"

"I just said I didn't know," she said throwing a hayfry at me, "so I don't know!"

It was nice chatting with Rainbow like this. I'd not had a chance to talk to her in this way, and it was very revealing.

"What are you smiling about?" She suddenly asked.

That caught me a little of guard, "Wha...?"

"You're just sitting there smiling at me with that goofy grin."

"Goofy grin? Me?"

She gave me a level look, "Look, Forest, I'm not interested in you in that way, okay? I just ended things with Soarin! And you're with Twilight!"

I leaned back in my seat as if I had been smacked in the face, "What? No! I was just smiling because this is the first time you've really talked to me. Just... was nice to see you relax... you've always been so... busy. It's nice to see you let your hair down... so to speak."

"So, you weren't hitting on me, right?"

"No!" I exclaimed, although I felt my cheeks getting hot.

"Not even a little?" she asked looking upset.

Instantly I knew what she was playing at and followed along, "Not even that."

"Nuts." She pretended to be offended, which put a smile on my face.

"Very funny, Rainbow." I applauded her.

"You liked that?" she replied innocently.

"I have to admit, that was pretty good. You should try acting"

"Yeah, you should have seen your face when I-"

"Excuse me, my dear, but you're Rainbow Dash," a pony said, interrupting our talk, "The Wonderbolt? The one able to perform a Sonic Rainboom?"

Any shred of modesy instantly faded away, "The one and only!"

"My name is Rag Mag, I work for Equestrian Daily newspaper..."

"Oh?" The happy tone in Rainbow's voice faded away.

"I just wanted to ask: is what you said true about you and Soarin?"

"That's..."

"Did you really break up with him?"

"Wait... you don't know..."

"Are you now an eligible mare?"

"Huh? I-I guess so..."

"Can I please take a-"

This time I butted in, "Oh, hey there, Wall Paper? Wall Paper. Nice to meet you, I'm Forest."

"Forest?"

"The guy who won the Race?"

His eyes opened wide, "You-you?"

"Yes. Me. Can't you see you're bothering the mare? If you want to ask her questions, you've got to give her time to respond."

"Are you two dating?"

"What? No!" I narrowed my eyes, "I'm with Twilight, in case you missed it."

"Then why are you here with her?" He gestured to Rainbow.

"She's my marefriend's best friend!" I practically shouted. Had to keep the image up, that was important. After all that Twilight did for me, that last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings.

"Where is Twilight Sparkle now, then?"

"I-"

Rainbow cut in for me, "That's none of your business."

"The public has a right to know!" he shouted.

The public in the room were certainly interested in us now. Luckily, being a small town of Ponyville, most of the crowd was on our side. All of them were on our side.

Rainbow leaned back and gave the reported a bored expression, "Okay, then ask Princess Celestia how her personal life is going."

The stallion stared at Rainbow, who stared back without blinking. The two kept glaring at one another, and I swear you could almost see the tension between the two. Finally, the newspony relented and stalked off.

I stared after him, then looked at Rainbow in awe. "That. Was. Awesome."

"Was it?" she asked. "I mean... of course it was!"

This time it was my turn to roll me eyes.

"Well, I'm used to it now. When pop came here it was like that. Ponies just couldn't get enough of him. They called him all sorts of things! Giant Hairless Ape, Bi-Pedalled Smart-Thing... it was crazy! Then after I joined the Wonderbolts they started hounding us again. I-I'll admit that I liked it; I was like 'hey, lookit me!' and 'I'm the best!' It took me a while for my ego to deflate... but by that time I started dating Soarin, and it started all over again. That was a little... worse. Ponies were interested in our private lives, which was just really intrusive. Unlike me, Soarin never gets sick of being in the limelight, but once in a while I'd like a nice quiet evening."

"I'm sure they mean no harm..."

"I know they mean no harm, but it doesn't mean everypony in Equestria has to know what we do! I don't want them to know what I ate, or if Soarin and I... it gets old pretty quick." Rainbow took another hayfry from her plate and threw it into her mouth, "So, you gonna eat that pizza?"

I had completely forgotten about it. Gingerly, I picked up a slice and took a bite. Delicious! After that, I practically inhaled the whole thing. It was so good! Every morsel I've eaten in this world had astounded me. A part of me wondered if it had anything to do with my change from human to pony. Did my taste buds also get changed? Did I suddenly love vegetables and leaves because of my new biology?

"Um... this may sound strange... but do we eat... meat?"

Rainbow looked at me for a moment and narrowed her eyes, "Well, we do. I mean, Pegasi do. Fish, mostly. But I've never heard of an Earth pony showing any interest in that kind of thing. Well, except maybe Pinkie, but she's special."

That was most certainly true.

"Well, I was just wondering..."

The Pegasus mare tilted her head to one side making her mane flow over her right ear, "You know, I think my father asked me that very same question when he first came to Equestria..."

"Oh?" I tried to sound nonchalant.

"You see? It's things like this that make me think..." she stopped in mid-sentence and her she looked really worried. I realized she wasn't looking at me but over my head, "Oh, look at the time! I've gotta fly. Dad's going to be up soon."

Pushing herself back from the from the table, she gave me a nod before flying towards the entrance to the cafeteria nearly colliding with a pony that in a wheel chair. He gave a shout as the cyan mare fled down the hall. She never once looked back.

"Well... okay then..." I whispered as I got up and quietly headed for the exit of the hospital. Nurse Redheart saw me and gave me a quick wave and a nod in thanks before her attention was immediately diverted to a patient who had a terrific bump on his forehead.

Outside, the day was beautiful! The scenery that lay before me was bright and happy. Birds were singing their songs, and the children were laughing and playing games outdoors. This was heaven-like, and with my time running short I had to savor every second I had left.

"Bad thoughts, bad thoughts," I muttered to myself, glaring down at the brown dirt road I was on as I headed towards Carousel Boutique, "be positive, Forest. One week left. You can still win..."

"There you are!" a loud voice shouted at me in the distance. There I saw Rarity standing at her doorstep waving at me, "I thought you'd forgotten about your promise. I was starting to get worried."

I scratched my head, "Actually Rarity, I do owe you an apology. I promised Redheart that she'd have me for the whole day... she only let me go because she thought I did a good job back in the hospital."

I couldn't tell if her next expression was annoyed, angry or amused, "Well, that's water under the bridge, but next time please be sure to inform me properly so we don't have any unwanted surprises."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'm off for a late lunch-date with a few girls from my book club, and I do want them to try my new delectable blue-berry jam. I simply cannot wait any longer and need to be off. What you need to do is sit here and take any orders and requests and note them down in this ledger," she hovered a large blue notebook towards me, which I caught in my mouth, "then close it when the sun starts setting."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, and would you be a darling and mop the floors when you've closed shop?"

I made a face, but nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"And... that's about it. I'll see you later," she sang and turned to leave with a prancing trot as she proudly hovered her picnic basket next to her body.

"Have fun!" I called after her.

"I will!" she shouted back.

I stood there for a while watching her go before I turned towards her boutique and looked around. The first things I noticed was the mess! Fabrics all over the floor, ribbons strewn on random bits of furniture, and other bits and bobs all over the place. Not to mention these huge sparkling stones! Gems of all sorts that would make even the most honest of men salivate with greed.

Luckily, I had no interest in those things. That was because I wouldn't know what to do with precious stones even if I had them.

Before I could get settled, the front door tinkled and in walked in Cyan Crystal with a mare by her side! They were giggling at something, and they both stopped at stared at me.

"Hello, Cyan..." I said sheepishly.

"Forest! We were on our way to see you in the hospital!" Cyan shouted walking over and giving me a hug, "Let me introduce you to my friend Cheerilee. She's the school teacher here."

The way she emphasized 'friend' made me smile. She looked so happy.

"Hello, Cheerilee."

"Hello, Forest. Saw that running of yours on the screen at Town Hall. You've made us all very proud."

I rubbed the back of my head and felt my cheeks heat up, "Aw, thanks..."

"Don't be bashful. Take credit where credit is due. You did wonderfully and we certainly will never forget a race like that again," Cyan looked to Cheerilee, "If it weren't for Forest, I doubt I'd have made any new friends here."

"That's not true, Crystal. You're a wonderful pony..." with the most god-awful... Celestia-awful voice in all of Equestria, but you're still wonderful in your own way...

"Why, thank you, Forest."

"Better watch out, Crystal. This young colt's got a silver tongue."

"Oh hush, Cheery. Forest's too young for the likes of me..."

I blushed, "Thanks... so, what brings you to Carousel Boutique?" I asked desperately, trying to change the subject, "Rarity’s gone out for a bit. She'll be back later this evening, until then I'll be happy to write down any orders you may have."

"Well, we were wondering if Rarity would be so kind as to make us both nice hats. There's going to be a fair in town in three days... well, you ought to know that. After all you are the guest of honor. You and the rest of the team that is," Cheerilee grinned, "It's the Ponyville Equestrian Cup Celebration Fair!"

"N-n-no... this is the first I've heard of it..." I didn't know how to take it.

"Really? Strange? I'd think everypony would have mentioned it to you themselves," Cheerilee looked at Cyan, who just shrugged.

"I'll note your orders down in here," I replied opening the book and taking out a quill before writing in it. My handwriting... mouthwriting skills were atrocious. I clumsily spelt out 'hat' and 'crystal' and 'cheerylee'.

I could tell that Cheerilee was trying her best not to say anything. Being a teacher and seeing a pony my age write that like must have irked her quite significantly. I grinned sheepishly, "I think I forgot how to write properly..."

"Part of your amnesia problem?" Cyan asked.

I nodded my head profusely.

"Then how would you know if you wrote badly in the first place?" Cheerilee pointed out the gaping hole in my excuse. She gave me a knowing smile.

My only response was the blush even more. She just caught me out in a lie.

"Don't feel bad, Forest. I work with children. They lie to me every other sentence, so I know how to catch them out. If you honestly want to learn how to write properly, then stop by the school tomorrow and I'll give you lessons."

"O-okay..."

They left a moment later, nodding their heads in thanks and giving a brief wave to me as I saw them out the door. Rarity hadn't said anything about taking a down payment, so I just assumed it was okay to let them go. Not like anything was done. Just made sure that I got the order right. Glancing over what I wrote down, I frowned as I noticed I wrote 'for fare'. Scratching 'fare' out, I wrote 'fair' underneath it and felt very proud of myself.

A rough knock on the door made me turn. "Hello?"

"Rainbow?" I asked, slightly taken aback. She was the last pony I expected to see.

"Hey, Forest... forgot something?"

"Forgot..." I looked down at the floor trying to think what it could be. After a moment my eyes drifted back to her. She was standing sideways in front of the main door shaking her flank. I couldn't help but look, and smacked my head with my hoof, "Not again..."

Rainbow giggled and unbuckled my saddlebag and walked over to me throwing it over my rear, "You gotta stop forgetting it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I mumbled watching her putting the straps back through to loops before fastening it snuggly onto me, "Wait. How do you know I keep forgetting?"

"Duh. Your best friends are my best friends. They share everything with me."

Of course they did! And I bet they thought it was hilarious too. "Thanks for bringing it. What about your..."

"Dad's fine."

The way she snapped at me made me jump.

"O-okay... um... are you here for a new dress? I hear there's a fair coming up an-"

"Who told you that?" Rainbow blurted scooping my face up in her hooves, "Who told you about the fair?"

"S-somepony..." I wasn't going to rat out on my friend. I wouldn't rat out anypony...

"Ugh!" Rainbow spat in disgust, "I wanted to keep that as a surprise for you!"

I felt my cheeks flush again, "T-thanks, but that's okay... I was surprised anyway."

"You were? Cool. Anyway, Pinkie's the expert on parties, and a fair kinda counts as a party, right?"

"Could be considered one, yes..."

"And no, I don't need any dresses made. I still have two or three that Rarity's made for me that I haven't had time to wear. I usually just wear my uniform. Anyway, Rarity's been so busy with her stores all over the place, I think she makes us these dresses to apologize for ignoring us," Rainbow floated over to the book and looked into it.

I shut it quickly. Couldn't let her see my mouthwriting. Not only that, Cyan's and Cheerilee's names were in there -- almost illegible, but they were still in there.

"Hiding something?"

"Come on, Rainbow. That's not fair," I said slowly backing away from her, knowing that she knew what I was hiding.

"Show me that book, Forest,” she replied with a smirk, "You don't stand a chance..."

Before I could blink she zipped towards me, her wings a hazy blur. However, they didn't call me the fastest Earth Pony for nothing -- well, at least I liked to believe that's what they called me. Using my speed, I zoomed to the right, Rainbow barely missing me and crashing into a bunch of mannequins, sending bits and pieces all over the place and stray clothing all over the floor.

"Stop! Rarity will kill me..." I shouted.

"Then show me the names on that!" Rainbow quipped gesturing to the blue book that lay at my feet.

A grin spread across my face, "Never!"

She narrowed her eyes, stomped her hoof, and digging the 'ground' before snorting steam from her nostrils, "Aw, it's on now!"

"Rainbow, please!"

"Then show me!"

"No!"

She rushed after me, and I couldn't contain myself. I screamed. In glee, but it was still perhaps the most embarrassing thing I had ever done as Rainbow charged at me. Grabbing the book, I quickly sidestepped the airborne mare and rushed into the next room. Rainbow spun around expertly and within seconds was right on my heels. She tripped me up and tackled me sending the book careening across the room.

As I lay on the ground trying to stand up, she had pushed off of my torso like swimmer in a pool as she zoomed after it. I did a half spin before coming to a halt.

“Gotcha!" she shouted as her hooves closed in on the book and she came sliding to a halt on her stomach.

"Fank you," I replied, running by her and grabbing the book in my mouth before smashing headfirst into a wall.

The impact sent the book sailing in the air, and Rainbow flew up and caught it in her hooves once again. She slowly began to open it...

I jumped up as high as I could, but came nowhere near her. Instead I landed in a bunch of boxes making their contents explode outwards, which in turn ended up causing a shelf to collapse on top of Rainbow and me, spilling all the contents of the floor. Rainbow peered over to me, an amused expression on her face. I must have been a sight covered with assortments of cloth, artsy materials and other things. On her head was a tiara, and I couldn’t help but point at it and laugh. She looked up and took it from her head examining it for a moment before grinning and replacing it. She struck a most elegant pose.

While she was distracted, I readied myself.

She saw it coming from a mile away and was flapping her wings up in the air as I grabbed something in my hooves, tripping over a loose length of cloth and slamming my jaw against the floor. Peering up at Rainbow, I pouted. In her clutches was the book, and in mine was the tiara. Making a face, I placed it on my head and imitated her pose from a moment before.

She rolled onto her back and laughed out loud, kicking her legs out at the hilarity of my antics. It took her a moment to catch her breath. "Too bad you can't fly up here." Her attention was now fully on the book. "Now, let's see who was the guilty pony is that blabbed about the fair to you-"

A soft cotton filled ball bonked her on the head. My hoof had landed on one of these soft balls, it looked like the kind jugglers use. Rarity had hundreds of them (well, it looked like hundreds to me). Why a seamstress would want so many of them was beyond me. Taking one in each hoof, I lobbed as many of them as I could at the Pegasus hovering above me.

"Quit it!" Rainbow giggled.

"Make me!" I shouted back, and continued continued my anti-aerial barrage.

Rainbow hovered backwards out of range and stuck her tongue out at me. She began to open the book grinning from ear to ear. "You lose! Now, let me see..." she said slowly.

"Noooo..." What could I do? There was nothing in... waitaminute!

"Hey!" she exclaimed as the bolt of cloth collided with her hoof sending the book fluttering down towards the floor.

I was bucking the bolts of cloth towards her, my experience working with the Apple family orchard were really paying off now. Aiming by peering over my shoulder, I used the top of my tail like an aiming sight and bucked another bolt right at the book, sending it into the next room. I was one lean, mean bucking machine!

Without any pause, I whipped around and darted after it...

"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow yelled and dropped down on top of me, slamming me to the floor, causing me to slide along it. She leaped off my back after we skidded to a halt.

I couldn't help but laugh, "No fair!"

"Cry me a river!" she called over her shoulder and pounced on the book.

Couldn't let her see! What would Crystal think of me if I let Rainbow see it and she got in trouble? She'd hate me again! But, more than that, this was really fun! Although I couldn't let her see it, this had become a rather funny game.

I pounced on Rainbow and knocked the book out of her grip with my front hoof. She shoved me aside with her wing sending me crashing into a chest of drawers. Precious gems clattered on the floor as stars danced around my vision. Shaking my head to get rid of them, I spotted Rainbow as she once again laid her hooves on the book.

"Victory is mi-"

Before she could finish her statement, I had collided with her, sending her and myself charging towards another set of mannequins. Rainbow yelped, not in anger or fear, but in surprise as we went barrelling through the dummies. As we hit the floor, the clothing that we sent sailing through the air piled on top of us followed by the huge heavy curtains that folded in front of Rarity's large store-front windows.

"Gimme the book!" Rainbow shouted, feeling around for it.

I shoved her aside, "No way!"

"You think you stand a chance against me?"

"So far so good!" I stuck my tongue out at her.

She smiled at me, lowered her ears and grinned, "Oh yeah?"

"Yea-"

She charged into me, sending me sailing, with the curtain, off to the other side of the room, where I bumped against the wall. Pulling the curtain off of me, I looked up to see Rainbow still digging around the now broken, naked mannequins, throwing up pieces of clothing into the air in an attempt to find the book.

I was about to rush her when I stepped on something. Looking down, I noticed the very book underneath my hooves. Rainbow was too busy searching for it where she was that she hardly noticed when I reached down to grab it.

"Oh no you don't! That's mine!" She bellowed, and spread her wings as far apart as she could manage and began to flap them in rapid succession once again. In a matter of seconds her two hooves were on the other end of the book as we both took one side of it and pulled.

I had one side of the cover, the book wide open and Rainbow was pulling on the other, the middle pages dangled down as it was spread open; the pages wafting back and forth as Rainbow and I tugged on it vying for control.

"Give. Me. The. Book!" Rainbow grunted, pulling with all her strength, a mighty grin on her face.

"It's. Not. Yours!" I retorted, half straining, half laughing.

I hated to admit it, but she was a lot stronger than me and I could feel myself losing as the book started to slowly slip through my hooves. I tried to hang on, but I knew that if I didn't do something then I would lose! She tugged back hard, causing me to slide forwards and nearly lose possession.

It wasn't clear which page I had used because I couldn't see where I had written in it, so I reached down and took a bunch of the offending pages in my mouth and let go. A loud rip sounded as Rainbow pull the book towards her again after she gave another almighty tug. That sent her falling back down on her flank. She opened the book instantly and scanned the pages before she looked up at me in confusion.

That's when she noticed the loose pages in my mouth -- and that I was eating them. Yes, eating them. There was no chance in hell that I'd let her know the identity of those who revealed the secret to me. Plus, I kinda wanted to beat Rainbow. Something about her competitive nature brought mine out too.

She sat there with her eyes open in surprise as she watched me put the next few pages in my mouth and chew. Suffice to say, paper, papyrus, or whatever it was, didn't taste that good, but I had no time to think as she had started to stand.

Only a few pages left! I stuffed another bunch into my mouth so that it was full and tried to shove the next bunch in, but she rushed forwards and grabbed it with her mouth and pulled on the other end. For some reason, the pages didn't tear. Maybe it was because there were too many of them bunched up together, maybe it was because it was just my luck, but once again we were participating in another tug of war.

Using her wings to help, she pulled back with all her strength. She was definitely stronger than me, and when she used her wings she completely overpowered me and we both fell. I fell forwards, she fell backwards.

I shut my eyes, bracing myself for impact when I felt something... soft, and warm. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself looking straight into Rainbow's violet eyes opened wide in shock. I was on top of her, the pages between us were scrunched up, and my lips were firmly planted on hers. The both of us were too surprised to react.

And then, because it's me -- I'm convinced of that -- the door swung open.

"... and I'm sure that she'd be happy to see... you?" Rarity's voice died in her throat as she walked in to see her place a disaster zone. It must have looked like a tornado had torn through her boutique with the mess that we made. But we all know that wasn't really what made her voice stop.

Right behind Rarity was a familiar looking Pegasus, his mouth also hung open as he saw us laying down on the floor, my body on top of hers. We turned our heads turned towards the door and only then did our lips part.

Rainbow shoved me off of her, "Soarin, wait! This isn't what it looks like!"

He didn't say anything and just stared at us. Well, at her. I think.

"Forest! Say something!"

"This isn't what it looks like! We were just horsing around and..."

But Soarin was gone by then.

"Soarin, wait!" Rainbow shouted as she rushed past me and Rarity after the stallion.

I just stood there for a moment before I felt the piercing eyes of an angry mare on me. Slowly I looked to the source. Rarity had a dark expression on her face, the angry scowl made me want to crawl into a hole.

"What were you thinking!" she shouted at me. It somehow didn't feel like a question.

"It was an accident! We were... just playing around and it just... it wasn't anything! I was just trying to hide your ledger and Rainbow was trying to see it and I tried to hide it but then we were fighting and we..."

She raised a hoof and I shut up instantly.

"From the beginning. Slowly."

And so I told her everything, slowly, trying to put in as much detail as possible. I told her about Crystal and Cheerilee and how they had come looking for some new hats for Rarity to make, and how they had accidentally let me know about the fair. Then I told her about how Rainbow was angry that somepony told me about it and tried to find out who it was, and how we fought over the book. She listened to the whole thing, about how we were fighting for the Iast few pages and how Rainbow pulled back, forcing me to fall forwards, the end result being how we looked at the time she and Soarin appeared through the door.

"Is that true?"

"I swear. I'd never do anything to hurt anypony, especially Twilight. It was an accident. I know it was my fault, but I didn't intend for this to happen!" I got down on my kness, "You have to believe me."

"I would love to, Forest, but I don't know you..."

"Then believe in Rainbow!"

"How am I supposed to believe either of you?" she asked, "You're both equally guilty!"

"B-b-b-but... isn't she the Element of Loyalty? She would never betray her friends! Him, especially! He's her coltfriend for Luna's sake!"

"They broke up, if I remember correctly..."

"How did you know tha-"

Rarity held up her hoof again, silencing me instantly, "I was there when Twilight told us."

"But she never told you!" I shouted, "She never told anyone! Except me..."

"Is that so?" Rarity said slowly, "There's nothing more that needs to be said then. Since you made this mess, you will clean it up. I'll be upstairs going over my designs... where is my ledger?"

I picked up the damaged book and placed it in her hooves. I could see the veins protrude on her forehead as she took it from me with her magic. "Everything the way it was..."

"But what if I can't remember..."

She shot me a glare that would have turned an Ursa to stone.

"Clean it up nice I will..." I replied meekly.

She gave me one nod and headed upstairs.

Cleaning the mess up didn't take as long as I thought. In fact, it took a lot quicker than I expected, but because I didn't know where things were supposed to go, I just made it up as I went along. I put all the bolts of cloth in the shelf I knocked over after I had put it back up against the wall. Using the small boxes that the soft juggling balls came in (the ones I had lobbed at Rainbow), I filled them with sequins, buttons, and other small nick-knacks. I put the mannequins back together as best I could, and neatly folded the clothes and placed them on nearby chairs. Rarity would know best how to show off her wares, so I tried to make it as easy as possible. The hardest part was putting the curtains back on the windows, which took me a while to complete. After finishing tidying things, I walked to the bottom of the stairs.

"It's all done, Rarity..."

"Did you mop the floors?" she hollered back.

"What's up with me and mopping today?" I muttered.

"What was that?" she called back.

How did she hear me? "I said, 'where can I find your mop and bucket'."

"There's a small door under the stairs where I keep all my cleaning equipment."

"Equipment?" I peered around the banister and saw the small door, "Okay, I think I got it!"

Pulling it open, there indeed was a tonne of cleaning things in there. Bottles of cleaning agents, mops, brooms, vacuum cleaners (run by magic, no doubt), cleaning cloths, sponges, gloves (or the hoof equivalent), dust masks, dusters of all sorts, soaps, shampoos for chairs, curtains and carpets... I was beginning to sense something about Rarity.

"Well, at least she's got all the things I need..."

Taking a bucket, I headed over to the kitchen and began filling it when I head thundering hooves charging down the stairs. Rarity rushed into the kitchen coming to a halt in front of me.

"What do you think you're doing?" she practically screamed.

"Uh... I'm filling a bucket with water..."

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" she sassed, "That is not how you clean! You must first boil the water, then add the solution!"

"Why?"

She looked at me as if I was an idiot, "Forest, I don't know what you were taught when in comes to keeping things clean, but its common knowledge that you need to disinfect the floor with hot water."

Now that she mentioned it, in the hospital I did mop the floors with really hot water.

"Okay, I'll boil some water."

"Thank you."

So, I took a large pot that I found and filled it with water from the sink, and turned the stove on.

As I waited for the water to boil, my thoughts went to Rainbow. She took off right after Soarin, and couldn't help but feel really guilty about what had happened. It wasn't any of our faults, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that I'd inadvertently ruined Rainbow's life. Selfishly though, it wasn't the fact that I kissed Rainbow that made me worry, it was the fear of what would happen if Twilight found out without knowing the full story.

The water was boiling, the bubbling had snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned off the stove, stood up and touched the handles of the boiling pot. I pulled my hooves back out of reflex and blew on them. It was hot. Looking around, I found a small towel hanging on a hook next to the fridge and used it.

As soon as the water touched the bucket, the steam rose up burning my arm. I yelped and dropped the pot onto Rarity's floor. The sound was deafening. Again the sounds of hooves galloping down the stairs was heard and Rarity again came to a halt in front of me.

"What happened?"

"Um... I dropped your pot..."

Rarity clicked her tongue and shook her head, "You have to be careful, Forest. Never stand over a the pot when pouring boiling water. The steam will burn you. Honestly, it's almost like dealing with a foal! Didn't your parents ever teach you how to properly clean?"

"No..." I muttered, "I... don't really remember my parents."

Rarity blushed, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Forest. I completely forgot."

"No, no. That's okay. Just... yeah, I was never taught... so, I never learnt."

"Well, then I think this is as good a time as any to teach you how to clean properly. After all, a good clean home is the sign of a happy home." She walked over to the bucket of boiling water and poured in a good amount of solution using her magic, "First is to make sure that your solution is just right. You do this by..."

And she explained to me everything you could possible want to know about cleaning. What agents to use where, what temperature the water ought to be, how to clean hard to reach places, and even how to clean between tiles using a thin, hard bristle brush. And, surprisingly, it didn't take that long to get everything spic and span. The floors were so clean, you needed to wear sunglasses to not get blinded by the reflection of the lights.

"... and that's how you clean!" Rarity finished, handing the mop over to me.

"Wow, Rarity... thanks for that. How often do you clean like this?"

"Usually once a week. Sometimes two if things get too untidy.

I gasped in surprise, "Isn't that a little overkill?"

"I can't work in a dirty environment. Anyway, you've done more than enough for me today. Thank you for helping clean my home, but I must catch up on my orders. Would you mind if you saw yourself out?"

"Not at all." I turned to go.

"Oh, Forest, have you seen the rest of my pages? I seem to be missing quite a few at the end."

"Um... yeah... about that... well, I could give it back to you, but you wouldn't like that."

"Why is that?"

"I ate them."

She stared at me with her mouth open. "C-come again?"

"I ate them."

"W-why would..." she stopped herself when she realized that answering that question was pointless. She rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof, "So, apart from the two hats, was there anypony else who had requested a piece from me?"

I shook my head.

"Even if somepony else had come, would you have noticed?"

Again, I shook my head.

Rarity gave me a very unhappy smile; the corners of her mouth struggled to raise themselves in a feeble attempt at politeness. Saying that Rarity was pissed would have been an understatement.

"So, Forest... I asked you to watch over my store while I went out for a bit. In that time, you managed to destroy my store, disorganize my orders, ruin how I organize my resources, and most of all you completely shattered the dreams of my best friend's love-life," Rarity no longer attempted a polite smile, instead she looked at me with a 'I-am-so-mad-I-want-to-kick-your-sorry-flank' look. "You should go and see if you can find Soain and explain everything."

"I would think he'd listen to Rainbow instead of me..."

"Forest!"

"Yes, ma'am! Right away..." I sped out of that store so fast, I barely had time to open the door before exiting through it.

Outside I was greeted by the setting sun. Celestia must've been late, or did the cleaning actually not take that long? Since I didn't have a way of telling time, and since the tower with the clock was still being rebuilt (again, because of me), I decided the best thing would be for me to head back to Rainbow's house before I did anything else incredibly stupid.

"Hiya, Forest," a voice said behind me making me jump, "Whoah! Didn't mean ta scare ya!"

"A-Applebloom... thank Luna it's just you."

"Why? Didja have a bad day?" she asked.

"A bad day? Seriously? This has been the absolute worst day of my life!"

"Worse than wrastling some Ursas?" She flashed me that smile.

"Well... no... can't say that... but today has been bad!" I sat down on my flank, "I feel like such an idiot."

"Well, why don'tcha tell me what happened."

So, I told her. Everything. I didn't skip a single detail, and all through it Applebloom expressed her delight, and horror. I hadn't really realized that I had explained everything from yesterday, including the fight with the Diamond Dogs, the dam, me drowning, and continued right along. She listened to me without interrupting, and by the end of it I felt tired. It was a long story!

"So, let me get this right. You're upset 'cause you accident'ly kissed Rainbow just when Soarin and Rarity came home."

The way she said it made my entire story-telling saga trivial! "Yes... if you want to simplify it. That's what's been plaguing my mind."

"Twilight's going to be mighty angry at you, Forest..."

"It was an accident! I didn't intend to..." I couldn't say it. Not out loud. Not when there were ponies like that reported pony around. The same reporter pony that was now galloping away from me after running out from a bush. Right... next to where I was standing talking to Applebloom...

"What's gotten to ya?" Applebloom asked oblivious to the dilemma that was now gaining distance away from me.

"SorryApplebloomcanttalknowhavetochasesomeponyitsimportantwilltalktoyouinabitbye," I stated before bolting off after that damned reporter. What was his name again? Rag Mag? Well, I was going to rub Rag Mag's face against the floor while running as fast as I can if he dares report about anything I just said.

Around the corner, I spotted Rainbow.

"Rainbow!"

"Forest... I don't want to talk to you right now..."

"No time! Get that pony!" I pointed at Rag Mag fleeing towards a hot-air balloon, "He heard me talk to Applebloom... he knows everything!"

Rainbow looked at me and then at Rag Mag, then back to me, "So?"

"S-s-s-s-so?" I shouted, shocked, "B-b-but... you... and S-S-Soarin and... everything! What... what's..." My voice died in my throat. The look on Rainbow's face broke my heart.

"He wouldn't even look at me..."

I'm an asshole! "Okay, you stay here. I'll fix this."

"Really? How?" Rainbow asked, turning away from me.

"Leave that to me! When push comes to shove, I somehow manage to deliver." With those words, I spread my legs and pushed into the ground. Healed hooves or not, I was not going to let that reporter get away that easily.

I collided with Rag Mag with my entire body weight behind me. He was so close to the hot-air balloon's basket that I could smell the dried sisal as we flew by landing a few dozen yards away. The balloon dropped its ballasts and slowly raised itself up into the air.

"Caught... you..." I panted, wincing as I pushed myself up, "You can't get away from me. You know why? 'Cause I'm the fastest Earth pony in-"

He put a hoof in my mouth, "You can't stop me from reporting what I heard! Ponies need to know what happened!"

"You can't reveal my private life without expecting me to protest ab-"

Again he shoved his hoof into my mouth, "Not that. That was interesting, but I've done hundreds of stories about pony celebrities seeing one another behind their partner's backs. That's so common it borders of regular news nowadays. No, what ponies need to know is about what happened in those mines! How you helped rescue so many ponies from those Diamond Dogs, and with news of Tyrant Rex's capture, this is exactly the kind thing I need to boost my career! Please, let me go on my merry way."

"Only if you promise not to tell anypony anything else."

"About what?" he replied, "Your secrets safe with me. Now, if you don't mind, I have a train to catch since I missed my balloon."

"Not until you make me a Pinkie Promise."

"A what?"

"You heard me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then copy me: cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." For the first time since I started doing it, I didn't hit myself in the eye.

The reporter stared at me as if I was nuts, but probably concluded that he wasn't going anywhere until he complied. So, he made the Pinkie Promise -- and nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise! Nopony. With that reassurance in mind I let him go. I watched as he picked himself up, dusted his coat off, rearranged his hat, and walked away. I could have sworn he was wearing a smug expression on his face before he started trotting towards the rail-station.

I felt the air fan past me. Without turning around, I asked: "What happens when you break a Pinkie Promise?"

"Bad things." Rainbow cocked her head towards me, "You worried about what Twilight would make of our 'kiss' in the newspapers? Don't. If anypony would understand, it's her."

"We didn't kiss. We struggled, and I fell over and our lips just happened to meet. And even then our bodies were separated by the papers! So we didn't even touch each..."

At that, Rainbow blushed, "N-n-n-not quite true... the papers fell down when... you tumbled into me. I yelped... and dropped them, and you must've done the same."

I touched my lips with my hoof, and felt the blood rising up in my cheeks. She was right. It was warm, when our mouths touched. There wasn't anything in the way... I had completely kissed Rainbow lip to lip, and no matter how I tried to reason or find excuses, it was a kiss. Plain and simple... or rather plain and complicated beyond belief!

"Why do these things happen to me?" I fell to the ground, pounding it with me hoof.

"Hey!" Rainbow barked, "Was kissing me that bad?"

"Don't say it was a kiss!" I covered my ears with my hooves, "Twilight'll kill me!"

"And Applejack..." a voice added.

"And Applejack..." I replied, nodding sadly.

"Heya, Abby," Rainbow said, and ruffled the mare's reddish mane, "How's life been treatin' you?"

"Not bad, Dee."

'Dee' I understood. "Abby?" I asked looking at the two of them.

"Well, when I was younger, Rainbow used ta call me AB, like how she calls Applejack AJ. Then she sorta shrunk it to Ab, but didn't sound too purty," Applebloom chortled, "So she just started callin' me Abby. A-B. Ah, Bee. Abby."

"Ah, Bee doesn't sound anything like Abby," I pointed out, to which they both rolled their eyes.

"So, watcha guys plannin' on doin'?" Applebloom asked.

"I'm going to find Soarin and make him listen to me," I said full of confidence, "If he doesn't listen, I'll keep on pestering him until he does!"

"How's that gonna help anypony?" Rainbow asked, "If anything, that'll make him hate me more!"

"No. If anything, that's make him hate me more," I placed one hoof on my chest to emphasize the point, "He'll be so annoyed with me that he'll have to listen!"

"That's the kind of logic a foal has," Applebloom informed me.

Why was she not helping me? I was about to say something, but Rainbow shoved her hoof in my mouth before I could get another word out. Was it 'Shove Your Hooves Into Forest's Mouth Day' today? Must have missed that memo when it went around.

"You need Forest for something?" Rainbow asked Applebloom.

"He's supposed ta help me make a... stallion jealous..." she blushed when she said that making me want to pinch her cheeks. What was it with Applebloom and being so darn adorable?

"Oh? So, who's the lucky stallion?" Rainbow asked lower her head to hear her.

"It's..."

I missed the name.

"What?" the Wonderbolt asked.

Apparently Rainbow did too... and standing right next to Applebloom with her ear in front of her mouth.

Applebloom's mouth opened and closed, and I highly doubted she had said anything at all... again, I missed it.

"R-really? Him?" Rainbow then promptly fell to the floor and burst out into fits of laughter, "Really?"

"I think he's a great colt!" Applebloom shouted while pouting a little and blushing furiously.

Rainbow shook her head, "No, no. Soarin's a good colt. Featherweight's a good colt. Rapidfire is a good colt. Blue Streak is a good colt..."

"They're all Pegasi, Rainbow, and most of 'em are Wonderbolts too."

"Well, the Wonderbolts only take the very best, so what do you expect?" Rainbow stood up tall and pushed out her chest, obviously proud that she was personally a part of such a prestigious group.

"'Cept for Featherweight, you mean. He bein' the Equestrian Pugilism Champion makes him almost as famous as the Wonderbolts! Honestly, I wouldn't want somepony that's that famous. I don't know how I'd take to that kinda life, but I guess Scoots gotta used to it now."

"Well, what about Forest? He's not a Pegasi, nor a Wonderbolt. He's a good colt too."

"No offense, Forest, but you’re kinda too dumb for me.”

I felt tears in my eyes, “None taken...” Was I really that dumb?

“Also he loves my sister, and Twilight..."

"Hey, I never saw that coming!" I put in, defending myself, "Twilight kissed me out of the blue. I had no idea she would do that."

The two girls rolled their eyes in unison and giggled.

First the hoof-in-my-mouth thing, then the cleaning, now the rolling of the eyes? Things seemed to be recurring a little too often at my expense. Was I really so ridiculous that I warranted excessive eye-rolling from my peers? Somewhere in the back of my brain I already knew the answer before the question formed in my head.

"So, who's the lucky colt?" I asked.

Applebloom blushed and put on a shy smile on her face. The combination nearly landed a fatal blow to my heart. That was how high her cuteness levels were. Dangerously so.

"H-h-his name's Lance... and he's swordsstallion."

"A what?" I asked, a little surprised by that.

Applebloom coughed into her hoof to clear her throat, "He's a swordsstallion. He makes swords and is good with 'em. He's been teachin' me about swords and stuff..."

The way she said it, 'stuff' didn't seem anything sword related since her face grew a lotter pinker.

"When Applebloom was little, she got a serious case of the Cutie Pox. One of her many talents was fencing... and that's when she first met Lance."

"H-h-h-h-how didja know that, Dee?"

Rainbow grinned mischievously, "Your sister told me."

"She promised to keep it a secret!" Applebloom moaned.

Well, you know how your sister can get when she's had a few glasses of cider. I'm sure she didn't mean to tell anypony, but it's just us, Abby." Rainbow placed a hoof around her shoulders, "Don't you trust me?"

The young mare returned the half-hug, "I trust ya, Dee. I trust all of my sister's friends."

Just then I spotted Cyan walking towards her hotel, blissfully unaware of what she had inadvertently done. Wait! If somebody from another city comes to Ponyville, then there's only one place they'd stay! I surmized, and ran to her.

"Forest! You're done holding down the fort at Rarity's?" Cyan said coming to a halt as I caught up to her.

I nodded, "Cyan, is Soarin staying at your hotel?"

"Who?"

"You know... Soarin? Wonderbolt. Kinda likes Rainbow..."

Cyan shook her head, "No... I don't think so. Why?"

"Can you check? I need to know. It's a matter of extreme importance."

The mare nodded, "For my friend? Anything. Let's go!"

By the time we reached her hotel, Celestia's sun had started its descent below the horizon. Soon Luna would be raising her moon, and the stars would be coming out. Turning around, I noticed that both Rainbow and Applebloom were right behind, obviously curious as to what I was going to do.

Cyan entered into her hotel lobby first, then me, followed by the two girls. The older mare walked right up to the reception desk and smiled at the pony behind it; a young colt with an orange mane and a brownish coat.

"Snails, is there anypony here by the name of Soarin?" she asked.

"You're not gonna find him under that name," Rainbow said pushing past Cyan, "Check under Blue Rush, or Cobalt Cloud."

Snails looked down, presumably at a book before giving us a nod, "Cobalt Blue. He just returned, says he's going to check out first thing tomorrow morning. Wait! T-t-t-t-that's Soarin the Wonderbolt? I talked to S-S-Soarin..."

The young stallion fainted, falling face-first to the floor behind the desk. Rainbow grunted in frustration, hovered herself up and over the reception desk and looked at the roster. "I know which room he's in! Follow me..."

"Rainbow wait..." But she was long gone before the words left my mouth.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw the Pegasus banging on the door.

"Let me in, you dumb colt!" Rainbow shouted, banging on the door again.

"No!" came an angry response, "Go away! I'm not talking to you!"

I stood where I was and watched, "Please, Soarin. Just let me talk to you. I can explain."

"I don't need an explanation. I saw it all with my own eyes."

"Open this door you coward!" I shouted, "Why would Rainbow come here to your door if she thought what she did was wrong? Are you an idiot?"

"Now, now, let's not be hypocritical..." I heard Cyan mutter quietly.

The doorknob turned and the door opened slightly. Rainbow shoved it open with her strength, only to be stopped by a chain bolt. "Alright, explain."

"Not like this. Please, I need to see you," Rainbow pleaded, "Don't do this to me, Soarin."

"I didn't do anything to you, Rainbow. I didn't know about your father's condition. You never told me he was still in the hospital. What kind of coltfriend would I be if I wasn't concerned about my mare's dad?"

While Soarin was talking, I took a few steps back.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want to make you worry. Not with all that's happened, I thought it would be best to take a break until I found myself. I know you of all ponies can understand that..."

"Oh, I understand it. No, I knew it. It doesn't explain why you never told me in the first place!"

I took a few more steps back, my hooves were now touching the top-most step. Cyan looked at me with a frown and signed 'what are you doing?' with her hooves, head and facial expressions.

'I break door?' I asked in response, using my body to talk.

"No!" Cyan shouted noiselessly.

"Please, Soarin, please! Just open the door."

"There is no way I'm going to let you in here," Soarin replied, "Especially not when I know you're having an afair. Element of Loyalty indeed."

"Y-y-you don't mean that..." Rainbow choked back a sob, "Say you don’t mean that."

"I meant every word."

Tears flowed down the mare's cheeks. I turned to Cyan.

"Break it down, Forest. Tear that door apart," she stated in a harsh whisper.

I couldn't help but grin.

"Move!" I shouted at Rainbow.

She backed off, and I placed my hooves down on the ground and charged. Down the hall straight into the door. There was a resounding crash as I charged headfirst into it, the door's lock did not hold and I slammed into the room, careened right across it and finally landing at the other end. By the time I got out of my stupor, I stood up and saw Rainbow and Soarin having a shouting match with each other. She was furious! What was going on?

It took me a moment to realize that it just wasn't the five of us. Another pony was there with us as well. Another mare. In the bed. She had pulled the sheets right up to her face as she stared at Soarin and Rainbow yelling at the top of their lungs.

"... so you just decided that because I kissed another stallion you could sleep with somepony else?"

"You broke up with me! And yes, you did kiss another stallion!" Soarin retorted, "You left me," he said slowly, putting extra emphasis on each word.

I picked myself up, and stumbled a little. That brought Soarin's attention towards me. The next thing I knew, he was on top of me punching my face repeatedly screaming like a maniac. Honestly, it didn't hurt. I guess I was just too numb to feel the blows. I tried to put my hooves up to protect myself, but for some reason my limbs didn't react fast enough, and each time he hit my in the face they'd fall back to the floor.

Luckily for me, Rainbow appeared behind and pulled him off of me, throwing him to the floor behind her. She pointed at him with her hoof, "Don't bring him into this!"

"Just stay out of my way, Rainbow! That stallion's ruined everything. We were perfect before. We completed each other, and then he had to come along and ruin it all. I knew he was a bad pony the moment he walked out of the Everfree," Soarin stood up, "How can you stand up for him after what he did to us?"

"Forest didn't do anything! I broke it off because I needed time to think, time for myself! Not because I fell for him! That was why I broke up with you." Rainbow looked so tired again, "And now this?" She gestured to the mare still hiding behind the sheet on the bed.

"She was there when I needed somepony," Soarin shouted in response, "Unlike you."

"Now just hold on there one moment, Soarin... sir," Applebloom interjected, "All Rainbow wanted to do was explain to you that what happened at Rarity's was an accident. Forest told me the whole story, an' you jumped the wagon on this."

"Quite right, all she wanted was for you to listen to her. No wonder you wouldn't let us into your room," Cyan said the last part quietly, "While I don't interfere with the personal affairs of my guests, considering that Rainbow is Forest's friend, I have to ask you to pack up your things and leave the premises at once. I will give you a full refund, but please leave instantly. The next train to Canterlot leaves in an hour."

Soarin glared at Cyan, but nodded, "I don't need a train."

"And as for you, young lady," Cyan turned her attention on the unknown mare, "You have got some explaining to do."

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-sorry..." she stuttered, "I j-j-just saw Soarin and I couldn't help myself... he's such a handsome..."

A vicious growl from Rainbow made her yelp and hide under her sheets again.

"I don't ever want to see you again!" Rainbow shouted at Soarin.

Soarin sneered at her, "That's going to be hard considering where we work."

"Then I quit."

"No," I shouted, pushing myself up again, "you can't leave the Wonderbolts. You are the Wonderbolts, Rainbow. You."

"He's right, y'know. Most ponies nowadays come to see you fly, Rainbow. You're the pony they come to watch. You and your rainbow colored streaks," Applebloom stood by her side and glared at Soarin, "If anypony should leave, it's you."

"What?" Soarin asked incredulously, "I am a member of the Wolderbolts as much as anypony on that team. Why in Celestia's name would I ever leave it?"

"He shouldn't leave it either. Rainbow, you're a beautiful mare, you'll find somepony better that deserves you. Soarin, you're a... a..." I couldn't find the right words.

"Flankhead?" Cyan offered.

"Flankhead!" I gave the hotel owner a nod, "You're a flankhead and you don't deserve someone as wonderful, awesome and great as Rainbow Dash. When she needed you the most, you weren't there. When she needed you to be there for her, you weren't. When she needed you to chase her, you didn't. When she needed you to listen, you turned a deaf ear. When she needed you to see, you refused to open your eyes, and when she needed to give you her heart, you took it and smashed it into pieces." When there was no reponse to that, I turned towards the door, limping a little. "Let's go, girls."

We exited and pushed past a few of the other guests that had come out of their rooms to see what the commotion was all about. It must have been embarrassing beyond belief to Rainbow. Being a celebrity was one thing, to air your dirty linen like that in the faces of the public was another.

None of us said anything as we left the hotel, even Cyan followed us. We headed towards Sugarcube Corner across the street, and only when we were inside did someone speak.

"Did'ja hear Forest?" Applebloom asked the others, "There ain't anypony 'sides Twilight who can use words like that."

"You do have a certain way with them, Forest," Cyan added. I managed to return a smile, "Are you okay?"

"Got a real bad headache, but apart from that I'm just fine."

"Forest!" a melodic voice sang out as Mrs. Cake ran over to me and gave me a hug, "I heard you were back, and I was going to see you in the hospital, but we just got a huge order of..." She stopped and looked at Rainbow, "What happened, deary?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it," the Pegasus replied, "How about I just say that I've had a terrible day?"

"Well, we can't have that!" Mrs. Cake called for her husband who appeared a moment later, "One Happy, Happy Tasty Feast!"

Mr. Cake looked at us and specifically at Rainbow's slightly confused expression, "Alright, one Happy, Happy Tasty Feast comin' right up!"

I chuckled to myself, "That's got to be one of Pinkie's creations."

"How'd you guess?" Applebloom replied with just a hint of sarcasm.

Mr. Cake vanished into the kitchen while we all took turns trying to cheer Rainbow up, but nothing we said or did had any real effect. Even Cyan managed to get the mare to smile at least once, and with her nail-on-blackboard grating voice, that was an amazing feat. She was still very upset. I felt that I needed to say something, but I didn't know what.

"Hey, hey!" Mr. Cake said and suddenly burst through the kitchen doors riding in a unicycle, with a plate of cake in each hoof and a sparkler in each one. On his head he had another cake with more sparklers as he rode around us singing something. My mind went through a lot of things, but it still failed to fully process what I was seeing. A middle-aged stallion riding on a unicycle with cake on his head and hooves singing. Nope. Did not compute.

"Watch out!" Applebloom shouted as poor Mr. Cake lost control and went careening into one of the walls.

Cake went everywhere. On us, on the floor, the walls, and some even reached the ceiling. Mrs. Cake rushed over to hre husband's side, and pulled him to his hooves. He looked dazed as he looked over to his wife and said: "Is she happy now?"

"That was the Fun Funny Fun Treat, sweetie."

"You know I can't keep track of all of Pinkie's extravagant specials..." Mr. Cake laughed, cricking his back as he stood, "Did it work?"

Rainbow smiled at him with her eyes closed, "Yep. It worked. Thanks."

The two Cakes cheered and hugged one another in triumph. It was obvious that Rainbow was lying by the way her smile faded, but I played along with her and kept a small unsure grin plastered across my face. I just hoped that it didn't look like a scowl.

We stayed there for a while, trying to talk about everything else except what had just happened. Cyan and Applebloom were trying their best to cheer Rainbow up and get her out of her funk, but it was pointless. How can anyone get over something like that so quickly?

"And there he goes..." Applebloom said softly spotting Soarin exiting the hotel carrying a small saddlebag on his rear.

The three of us watched him go in silence. Our eyes flickering over to Rainbow, stealing glances at her trying to gauge her reaction. Soarin didn't notice us staring at him through the window as he spread his wings and floated up into the air and out of sight. Only after that did Rainbow allow her eyes to water. Still, she didn't cry. Her face remained stoic, but the tears kept flowing.

About five minutes later a mare trotted out and looked around. She spread her own wings and took off in Soarin's general direction.

"That bitch!" Rainbow yelled slamming a hoof down on the table, "I should beat her sorry ass!"

That brought a shocked reaction from all three of us, but I think I was the most surprised. That was the first time I've ever heard a pony swear. Ever. I mean, it sounded so... human. It completely caught me off guard.

Apparently I wasn't the only one.

"I don't understand what you said, dearie." Cyan placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder.

"Yeah, Dee. What do you mean that she's a 'bitch'? She ain't a dog." Applebloom looked at her as if she had said the strangest combination of words in the world, "Were you being mean?"

Rainbow looked at the two mares and burst out in laughter. "Yes. I was being mean. Sometimes I say things... mean things, but I don't really mean them. I just say them to feel better. You ought to know that, Abby."

"I know. Well, if it helps ya feel better, say more of them strange words."

Rainbow smiled, "No. Pop always said that words like that should stay in my mind and now leave my mouth. I think he's right. It... wouldn't be right to say 'em out loud. Just that one time. Just this one time."

"So... who was that mare, by the way?" Crystal asked.

"Heck if I know. Who cares? I don't. She can have that slimey slimeball for all I care!" Rainbow turned her head away from the window in disgust, "That creep."

We chatted for a bit longer because we decided it was time to call it a day. The Cakes had given us the Fun Treat (whatever the name was) on the house to help cheer Rainbow up, and we bade them adieu as we left their store. They watched us go across the street as we dropped Cyan off at her hotel. The three of us then headed towards Rainbow's house; Sweet Apple Acres was sort of on the way.

Applebloom tried to strike up a conversation multiple times, but Rainbow didn't take and I was still feeling a little dizzy from the beating that Soarin had handed down on me, so my mind kept trying to convince my body that my jaw and eye did not burn or felt broken. Eventually we came to the crossroads where we said goodnight and went our separate ways.

The two of us walked in silence for a long while. Luna’s moon was up in the sky, and the stars were dazzling, beautiful, majestic.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow. If I hadn't goofed off, then things wouldn't have gotten out of hand. This is all my fault."

"Heh. Nah, it's okay, Forest. I mean, sure you ruined my love-life, destroyed my career, and even managed to get my best friend angry at me...”

I groaned and stuck out my lower lip.

“But at least there's one thing that I've gained from all of this."

“Hm?”

Rainbow stopped and looked up at the sky, "Another friend. You're a good friend, Forest. You were willing to go that far for me, even though I'm not your real friend...”

“You are a real friend to me, Rainbow. You’re not fake at all. You’re the most un-fake... real. You’re the most real. I guess. I dunno. My head feels funny.”

She kept her eyes upwards, but a smile crept along her lips, “I can see why the girls think you’re cool. Don't get me wrong, you’re an idiot. A big idiot. A super idiot. A mega super duper idi-"

"I get the point!"

She turned her head slightly so she could look at me, her muzzle still pointing upwards towards the stars and her smile drew wider, "Oops. Sorry, got carried away there for a second."

"You think?"

"The point is, you were there for me in your own way. I see that now." She stopped and bowed her head to me, "Thank you, Forest Fire, I won't forget this."

"You're very welcome Rainbow Dash," I replied, bowing back to her.

We walked on in silence; she walked one step in front of me. I don’t know whether she was enjoying the night or if she was just not talking because I wasn’t, so I just kept watching her, hoping that somehow my presence was helping. She didn’t once turn back to look at me.

When we arrived at the front of the house, I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out the house keys. I was surprised they were still there. Somehow they remained in my bag despite being almost drowned in the underground river just the previous day. The feeling of that water dragging me down...

It seemed like a distant dream now. What transpired just didn’t seem real. It didn’t feel real. What happened was stuff that happened in stories! Things like that never happened to me. Was it because I spent a lot longer than a day away? Or was it because my head felt like a steamroller drove over it? I wasn’t sure. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the whole 'time has no meaning' concept Tutela kept shoving down my throat.

"Uh... you okay, Forest?"

"Huh? What?" I looked at Rainbow, "Yes, I'm fine. Why?"

"You are kinda blockin' the entrance to the house. You need to not stop there and go inside."

"Sorry... I'm just..." Wow, I really wasn't feeling very well. The dizziness hit me hard, and I felt so strange. The room was spinning. No... the world was spinning.

"Forest?" Rainbow's voice sounded so distant, "Are you feeling alright?"

"l don’t think so..."

"Forest?" Her voice sounded fainter, and a lot more strained,"Forest?"

I heard her scream then a loud thud before silence. I tried to open my eyes, but my body felt so strange. I felt so numb. So cold. As if my body was no longer my own. My eyes opened to see Rainbow with her head on my chest. I’m not sure how long I was out for, but it couldn’t have been that long. She was listening to my heart.

“Thank Celestia...” she whispered and rubbed my forehead, pushing my mane out of my face, “Had me worried there for a second.”

“What... happened?”

She shushed me, “Don’t talk. Can you stand?”

Pushing myself from the ground, my legs felt really wobbly, “Y-yeah. I think so.”

“Let’s get you to your room.”

“O-o-okay...” I took a step before my body faltered, but this time I felt something soft under me. Rainbow was supporting me with her body underneath mine.

“Whoah there. Come on. Another step...”

I pushed forwards, trying to take a step.

She yelped, “F-F-Forest... stop!”

I did as I was told and looked down at her face, it was bright pink. She opened her wings and shoved me off of her.

The next thing I knew I was on the floor again.

“If you’re well enough to do that, then you’re well enough to walk!”

She stormed off, stomping up the stairs and out of sight.

“What’d I do?” I muttered, pushing myself from the floor again, struggling to stand upright.

Eventually I managed to get to my room before darkness took me.

Day 24: A Lot Can Happen in a Day

I woke up sore, cold, and on the floor. My face ached, especially my left eye, my right cheek felt swollen, and my chest felt numb. Slowly, I tried to push myself up but my legs gave out and I stumbled, hitting something with my shoulder. I leaned against it, whatever it was, getting my balance and trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Everything seemed... flat.

I noticed that to my side was a shelving unit full of books and pictures. An image of a cyan mare being held by a young Brian smiled right at me. A family picture. Rainbow's house. That was when I saw myself in the mirror. My left eye was puffy, my right cheek looked like I was sucking on a jawbreaker, and I had dried blood caked on my chest and around my nose.

"Wow," I whispered and leaned in closer, "Damn I look ugly."

"You do."

Spinning around, I nearly fell again before I spotted the source of the voice. My laptop was still hanging on the back of the door, the large hideous frame hiding the keyboard and touchpad in such a way that only the screen was visible. To anybody in this world it would have looked like a plain picture of the Everfree Forest with an unreasonably huge large and tacky frame around it.

"You scared the shit out of me, Tues."

"I noticed. You really ought to go to the hospital and get yourself looked at. You don't look too good."

"How long was I passed out for?" I asked, gently dabbing my jaw with my hoof trying to gauge how bad the damage really was.

Tutela stared at me for some time, "About three hours."

"Why was Rainbow so pissed at me?" I asked, recollecting how she had shoved me off of her and into the wall with her wings. She was one strong mare.

"Hm... let me educate you about Pegasus anatomy. Like with you humans, there are certain... 'areas' that cause stimulation. One such area is the base of the wings along the spine. Well, you kinda rubbed her wings the wrong way – a big no-no when it comes to Pegasi, especially females. Think of it like rubbing their," she leaned forwards and wiggled her fake-pony eyebrows. My face felt like it was on fire, I had no idea that wings were erogenous zones. "Then you sorta looked like you were trying to mount her. I think she might've been slightly," she grinned mischievously at me, “overwhelmed?”

"What?" I shouted, "I tried to do what?"

"Relax, Forest. I think she overreacted. I mean, she did have a very bad day, no thanks to you, but you weren't exactly in your right mind," Tutela replied. Then she burst out in rancorous laughter, "It was hilarious though."

"She's going to kill me!"

Tutela nodded, "Most likely. And if not her, then Twilight or Applejack would most definitely give you a piece of their minds. Especially Twilight."

I broke out in cold sweat, "I-I need to apologize..."

"You should, but not right now. Now you need to get some rest. You also need a nice long shower. Don't want to get blood stains on the bed..."

"Forest?" Rainbow poked her head through the door, "Who are you talking to?"

My blood froze in my veins. My heart went into overdrive. Fear gripped me and I stood there like a deer trapped in headlights.

"Rainbow!" I exclaimed in panic, "W-w-w-w-what are you doing down here?"

"I was worried, okay? You didn't seem right in the head, so I came down to check on you, then I heard somepony shout. I clearly heard two voices..." She entered the room and looked around, "Who's here with you?"

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit...

"Are you sleeping with somepony else?" Rainbow glared at me. She looked absolutely pissed off, more than when I had supposedly tried to mount her, "Are you cheating on Twilight?"

"What? No! I... like to talk to myself."

"Huh?"

"Yes. Sometimes I like talking to myself. You know, to entertain me," I said the last part in a falsetto voice, trying to sound like Tutela. It hurt my throat and I found myself hacking a whooping cough.

"I don't believe you. You were talking to somepony else. Who?" She narrowed her eyes, "Tell me who it was!"

"I...” I tried to think of excuses, of anything, just something, but my heard was beating so fast and I couldn't think. I couldn't think of anything. I felt my breath catch in my throat, “... can't..."

"What?"

"I can't... tell you." I wanted to kick myself as the words left my mouth.

"What do you mean 'you can't tell me'?"

"I mean I can't tell you because I can't tell you, alright?" I shouted running with it, "Just... leave me alone. I don't know anything!"

"You can't bring strange ponies into my house, Forest!"

“There's no one here!”

Rainbow look at me funny.

“I mean nopony. There's nopony here...”

She flew over to me and pinned me against the wall. By Celestia's mane she was strong. "Tell me who was in here with you?"

I looked into her eyes as she shoved me harder. She stared into mine, but what I saw wasn't anger, it was concern. Was she worried about me? Probably not… probably concerned that I was doing something wrong, like cheating on Twilight... cheating... on...

Never! I would never cheat on her!

"Tu..." I stopped myself. What was I thinking? I had six days! Six days until this was all over! There was no chance I was going to give up the time I had left, not without a fight. "Truly there was no pony here with me."

"You're lying! I know you are! I know when somepony's lying to me, and you are lying to me! You know something? The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that you're hiding something big. Far bigger than... than... big! You're so hiding something so big that...” She growled as she couldn't find the words.

I stood there not saying anything. She released me from the wall, and I dropped down on my legs. I couldn't look her in the eye.

“I don't know what you're hiding from us, but I intend to find out." Her whole demeanor changed. She looked tired; worn out. "Why can't you be honest with me? I'm the Element of Loyalty for Celestia's sake! I won't tell a soul. I promise. Please, Forest, I need to know! I have to know! Tell me!" she shouted the last two words in my face, her saliva splattering my muzzle.

I couldn't look her in the eyes. I couldn't even look at her face.

"I am telling you the truth. No pony was here with me."

"Oh? Then explain why I heard two voices? I know what I heard, Forest. You can't lie about that."

I looked up at her with my eyes briefly before averting them away again.

"No pony was here with me." It wasn't a lie. No pony was. In fact, nobody was either -- physically, at least. "I don't feel so good..."

"Don't try to change the subject," Rainbow warned, "I'm not done asking quest-"

My head throbbed as I slowly sat up and looked around. Dawn streamed through the open curtains. How long was I out for? To the side of my bed I felt something weighing the sheets down. Rainbow had her head on the bed, her face turned towards me, her left hoof gently holding mine. I watched as her shoulders slightly rose up and down with each breath she took. She looked absolutely exhausted... and cute.

As I released my grip – an ability that still confounds me – I noticed that her hooves were stained red. Worry flooded my chest Everything seemed fine apart from the sharp ache in my eye, and the numbness in my chest. What had happened? Did I faint again? I seemed to enjoy doing that, it happened so often.

As much as I hated having to wake her, I had to.

"Rainbow," I said gently as I pushed her shoulder, shaking her awake, "Rainbow, are you alright?"

Rainbow's eyes shot wide open and she sat up sharply and looked at me for a moment before inhaling a long sigh, "That was scary."

"What was?"

"After our... argument last night you just stood there and... stared. Stared like... I dunno how to describe it. It was like you were there and... not. Then you fell on your face," Rainbow shuddered, "Your face looked so... blank."

"Blank?"

"Yeah, like... I dunno. Like I said, you were there, and you weren't. How else can I explain in?”

“I think I get what you're saying... I think...”

Rainbow made a 'yeah-right' face and pushed herself away from my bed. She stood up and stretched her body, including her wings. Then I remembered Tutela's words about how those were erogenous zones, and I couldn't help but blush a little at them. Quickly, I found the ceiling fascinating and let me eyes stay there.

“What you're looking at?”

Again, I panicked, “N-n-n-nothing...”

I looked at her and saw that she too was looking up at the ceiling as well, oblivious that she was the reason. Good thing that. Things were getting a little weird already.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I was just... thinking... yeah, thinking about... things...”

She shook her head as she turned towards the door. Before she stepped through she looked over her shoulder at me, "Oh, you're cleaning this room today. You don't get to bleed all over the floor and not have to clean it all up."

"'Bleed all over the floor?'" I looked down, and there certainly was a sizable puddle there. Streaks were visible in it, and a cloth lay on a small heap to one side. Obviously someone tried to clean it up from before.

That would explain the red stained hooves.

"Uh... yeah. Just look at your chest!"

I did as was suggested and found that my entire chest was crusty from coagulated blood. I hadn't noticed it before because of the brown from my coat. It sort of slightly tinted it without changing it the overall color.

Instinctively I started poking it, feeling the dried fur and the blood as it broke off and turned to red powder in my hoof.

After a few more times of this, Rainbow stopped me with her hoof and gave me a curt expression, "Stop that, you're getting your crusty blood-powder all over the bed!"

My hoof froze in place, and I removed it quickly and placed in front of me as if I had been a young boy caught red-handed (red-hoofed?) stealing.

"Sorry."

Rainbow sighed, "No, I'm sorry, Forest. I'm sorry about everything. I shouldn’t at you when I shouldn't have, not after you stood up for me the way you did. And for last night... after your... brain freeze, I took a good look around. There was nopony in there with you. I wanted to call for the doctor, but...”

“But?” I prompted.

“But... you wouldn't let me go. You held my hoof so tightly... I couldn't get help...”

That explained why I was holding her hoof on the bed.

“Sorry... again... about that...” I said, feeling rather stupid about it.

Rainbow turned away from me and shrugged, “S'okay.” She whipped her head back towards me sharply, “But I did hear a second voice, and I intend to find out who it was or what it was. Whatever you're hiding, Forest, I hope to Celestia that it's worth it."

You have no idea, Rainbow. None. I thought to myself. Quickly I tried to change the subject, "Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"Dad'll still be sleeping, and after your freaky moment yesterday, I thought I would stick around.”

We stood there in awkward silence for a few moments.

"Rainbow,” I said softly, “I'm sorry about last night. What I did... when you tried to help me..." I blushed despite myself, "I didn't mean to try and... do things... I wasn't thinking, and was kinda... oblivious. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Rainbow's face was lit up too, and found that she tried to avoid looking at me as much as I tried to avoid looking at her. It was going from awkward to worse.

"Go take a shower, then clean this place up! I'm going upstairs for a bit," she said roughly as she stood up.

I saluted her, "You got it, boss..."

“Boss?” She gave a quick giggle-snort as she exited the room, “You got that right.”

"What do you mean 'the train is being delayed further'?" Twilight shouted, "We've been stopped here at this station for six hours! Couldn't you have told me sooner?"

"It isn't that. We've been told that there's to be no trains moving until the military has cleared out all the frontier towns. We've been trying to get a going, but orders are orders," the conductor replied nervously, backing away from the angry unicorn. He knew very well who she was. There wasn't a Pony in all Equestria that did not know the face of Twilight Sparkle.

“Then are there are other trains?” she asked trying to keep her patience in check.

"No trains are running, You Highness. Unless they are operated or managed by the military, they are – um – stopped. Most of them are heading south and west, opposite where we're heading. They say it's got something to do with Ponies selling Ponies and dogs... it's all very confusing. I'm not quite sure I heard right. It's all supposed to be hush-hush, so I don't know much..."

Twilight smoothly avoided the subject of The Pit. If it wasn't yet known, there must be a reason.

"And since when did the military own the railroad?" Twilight gave the engineer a look, but she knew fully that national security came first. Her brother would have ordered the trains to be locked down to prevent suspects from escaping.

“I'm sorry, Your Highness...”

“I'm not royalty!” she barked back.

“I'm sorry... er... miss?”

Twilight harrumphed at that and stalked off towards her compartment where Applejack, Fluttershy Aiden and Atom sat. It took her a moment to realize they were missing two. "Where's Spike... and Sweetie?"

"They went with Pinkie to get some snacks 'n stuff," Applejack replied, "Don'cha think that Spike's been actin' mighty... clingy to Sweetie? 'Specially after last night?"

That brought grins from all the friends.

"Did you see how they were holding each other on the platform?" Fluttershy blushed as she wrapped her face in her hooves and exhaled a deep, longing sigh while gazing upwards, "When will I find my special somepony?"

Suddenly she realized that the two stallions across from her were now staring.

"That's the first time I've seen Fluttershy not be shy," Atom commented, barely able to contain his amazement with how normal she had sounded.

Fluttershy blushed and tried to hide behind Applejack, "Oh... they were adorable..." she squeaked.

Atom laughed and gave Fluttershy a friendly smile that helped calm her down, "I thought Spike had a thing for Rarity..."

Twilight sat down next to Fluttershy and closed the door behind her.

“Get anything from the conductor?” Aiden asked, knowing fully that from Twilight's expression, nothing was gained.

"Well, I asked him about what's going on, and he said that because of last night's incident – he only knows that there was an incident – all trains have been halted until further notice. So, we've got two choices; one is to wait and hope that trains start moving again, the other is to try and take turns teleporting to Ponyville."

Aiden made a face, "Count me out on that one. I can't cast magic like I used to. I'd tire out after two jumps and be useless for the rest of the day. Even then I could probably take only one Pony with me."

"I can teleport all of us two or three times, and I think that Sweetie might be able to teleport us once. That should get use close enough to Ponyville to walk..."

Aiden raised his hooves, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're telling me you can teleport us that far in two hops? What are you, an Alicorn in disguise or something?"

Twilight smiled, her cheeks a pink hue, "I'm pretty strong, but not that strong."

"Unicorns with your strength don't come along very often, Twilight. Even if their talent is magic, you're still one of a kind."

At those words, Twilight blushed even harder.

"I'm kinda anxious to get back home. I'm worried about Granny – and Forest too, but more over Granny..." Applejack shifted in her seat, "She's gettin' along in her years."

Atom gave the orange mare a comforting smile, "We'll get back soon."

"Well, if we do go, and the trains start moving, we're going to lose a lot of time. The train will get to Ponyville long before we get there even if we teleport.”

“How ya figure that out?” Applejack asked Aiden.

“Depending on the distance, a Unicorn needs to rest to,” Aiden rotated his hoof in small circles trying to find the right word, “power up? Any magic requires a little time to recover. Soldiers usually train themselves to cast and rest in a way that they can execute a lot of spells in...”

Atom raised his hoof telling Aiden to get on with the explanation.

“Oh, sorry. Well, even if we teleport, we're still going to have to wait for Twilight to regain her strength. Depending on the distance that could take anywhere between an hour to two per hop. In that time, our train could reach halfway to Ponyville... unless Twilight can teleport us closer, but long distance teleports are a rare talent. Very few Ponies can pull something like that off.”

“Have ya met Twilight?” Applejack asked sarcastically, “If there's anypony that can do it, it's her.”

“Thanks, AJ.”

“I believe it, but I still think that waiting would be quicker," Aiden stated and held his hooves up in surrender, “but if you all want to go via teleporting, I'm game.”

“Can ya get us that close to home, Twi? You don't have to go all out, and if we keep near these here tracks, we could always jump back aboard the train.” Applejack looked at her friend, “That ought to make everypony happy.”

Twilight nodded; that was a good idea. She wasn't sure if she could get them all the way to Ponyville with them all together, but she wasn't afraid to try.

"It makes more sense to wait if you guys want to get back home quicker. Plus, Spike is still hurt, taking that into consideration-"

"What about you, Flutters?" Twilight asked cutting Aiden off and looking at the yellow mare, "Should we wait here or go?"

"Oh... I don't know... I am worried about my animals. I know they can take care of themselves, but I'd really like to get there quicker and be sure..." Once again she looked over to the stallions and tried to hide behind Applejack when their gaze did not abate.

Seeing that, the two stallions started trying to pretend to ignore the Element of Kindness, knowing just how ridiculously shy she could be. Aiden suddenly found the door to their compartment fascinating and Atom seemed to find something outside the window equally interesting. Aiden noticed Atom's expression and followed his gaze.

"Dear Luna... would you look at that..." Aiden muttered, and had to press his face up against the window to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Guards. Pegasi, mostly. They were flying in their heavy armor, the same kind that was worn during the day of the races. Atom looked at Aiden, an almost imperceivable silent exchange went between them. Almost.

"Aiden. What's going on?" Twilight asked. She had noticed the look they shared.

Aiden shrugged, and looked away. Atom began to sweat.

"What's goin' on?" Applejack asked, pushing Aiden aside with her head to see better.

"No-nothing..." Atom said stupidly.

Aiden wanted to smack him. He was usually calm and cool, but whenever Applejack got near him, he'd turn into a bungling buffoon, worse than Forest, if that was possible. If Aiden had a chance to think about it, he might have found a neutral answer, but now with Atom's response he doubted very much he would get away with anything except the truth.

Still, he could try.

"It's maneuvers."

"Maneuvers?" Twilight asked sarcastically, “You're serious?”

"You know, practice? To prepare... just in case..."

"In case of what?" Fluttershy asked, she was floating above them and peering out of the window in such a way that from the outside, you would have only been able to see her lowered head and the tips of her hooves.

"This isn't maneuvers. My brother commands the Royal Guard. I know maneuvers when I see them, and let me tell you: this isn't it. Now, what's really going on?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow, and pushing her bottom jaw out a bit. This was her 'angry' face – which, despite her best efforts to look intimidating, was adorable.

Aiden took a deep breath, "In case of an attack on Ponykind, there are orders handed down by various members of the senior staff of the Royal Guard that executes predesignated orders to prevent any... repercussions. After the Changeling attack, the Guard issued an order like this to find their queen. This has got to be something like that."

"Aiden! You're not supposed to tell them!" Atom shouted in a harsh whisper, "That's against the law."

"I'm not a Guard anymore, Atom, and as far as I can tell this isn't a secret. Look out there! I've never seen this kind of deployment in my entire life. Entire regiments must have been ordered to mobilize, and these are only Pegasi.”

Turning to the others, Twilight narrowed her eyes, "What predesignated orders?"

Aiden shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Orders vary, but they all have a number or codename to them. The Edicts of the Royal Court... only superior officers would have them. They are proposed by them, then taken to the Court, and are granted by Princess Celestia..."

"I know how the functions of military protocols works, Aiden. I've read about them,” Twilight stated, rolling her eyes as she did. She knew that was what they all were going to ask, she was used to it, “What I want to know is what are these orders? I mean, how many of them are there and why don't we know more about them?"

Aiden and Atom just looked at one another for a long time, then they both shrugged.

"I don't know what the orders are anymore, and neither does Atom. We haven't been in the Guard for years," Aiden stated.

Atom turned away from Twilight.

"Where are they going?" Twilight asked.

"From the looks of things," Aiden shrugged, "I'd guess towards the Griffin Empire. If you think about it, the Griffins will demand that Tyrant Rex be handed over to them for his crimes against their kingdom. Perhaps there was an ultimatum sent out, but I still can't imagine our long time allies proposing to invade our nation. We've been friends for years.”

“Well, it's Tyrant Rex, Aiden. I'd think that the Griffin's would do anything to get their claws on him. I know I would if he'd done the same to my kingdom."

"What did he do?" Fluttershy asked, landing next to Aiden and staring up into his eyes, water forming on the corners.

Aiden looked away, "I don't want to talk about it."

Fluttershy looked at Atom.

"I don't want to think about it..." Atom shuddered.

"Why not?" Applejack asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Because," Aiden replied on behalf to the flightless Pegasi, "We were there..."

“The Griffins deserve to execute that mutt,” Atom whispered looking away from Fluttershy who couldn't believe what she had heard.

“W-w-why?” Fluttershy tears rolled down her cheeks.

Atom looked over at Fluttershy and shook his head. He sighed and looked up, “Tyrant likes Griffins. A lot.”

“That doesn't seem so bad,” Applejack said slowly.

“He likes to... have them for dinner...”

“That doesn't seem so bad either,” Applejack said, slightly confused.

Aiden sighed, “Let me rephrase that for you, AJ. He likes to have them for dinner.”

Suddenly Twilight and Appplejack felt sick, while Fluttershy rolled her eyes towards the top of her skull and promptly dropped heavily on the compartment floor.

I squeezed the cloth as hard as I could and wiped the sweat from my brow. It seemed that all I did the past day was clean, and this was a rude awakening. Literally! Wake up, and the first thing I did was clean! And I couldn't use a mop! I had to get down on my hands and knees – knees and knees? Whatever. I had to get down on all fours and use my hoof to wipe the coagulated muck that was my blood from the floor. There was certainly quite a lot of it. No wonder Rainbow was worried.

“Forest, you done?" Rainbow called from the other room.

"Almost!"

"Do you mind if I play some music?" She called back.

"Sure!" I shouted back.

There was a long moment of silence as I stood up on all fours and stretched by bending the middle of my back downwards and lifting my head up at the same time. My neck cracked slightly and I let out a long sigh of relief. I swiveled my shoulders around as the top of my back cricked a little bit more also giving me a brief respite. Mopping was back-breaking work! I didn't envy those that did this for a living... then again, ponies in Equestria who had a talent for mopping must have loved their job. Was it even possible to get a Cutie Mark for something you hated to do?

Suddenly, music. Loud.

A part of me frowned. This song was a song I loathed. I hated it. Not because it was bad, but because no matter how many times I heard it, I'd always smile and let the tune take me away. The words were beautiful, sung in a gruff, rough bass tone. So, I hated how happy it always made me feel. How memories of my grandmother would flood through my brain and powerful feelings of nostalgia engulfed my essence. And it was happening this very moment.

"I see trees of green,” The words flowed from my lips as I sung along quietly, "Red roses too. I watched them bloom, for me and you," Beautiful. How eloquent. It was as if he was singing about this world. About Equestria, "And I say to myself... what a wonderful world."

I put the used cloth into the bucket and lifted the handle up with my mouth as I headed towards the bathroom to empty it. The music flooded the hallway as I entered. Rainbow was in the kitchen hovering about doing something. I could see her tail in mid-air as she was doing something with the upper cabinets.

The colors of the rainbow... so pretty in the sky, are also on the faces of people, I smiled to myself, singing the words in my head, ponies passing by. I see friends shaking hooves, saying: how do you do? They're really saying: I love you...

Pouring the reddish water in the bathtub, I watched as the water swirled down the drain. I wondered if there was a Pony in Equestria that could play the trumpet. Could you play a trumpet with hooves? It didn't seem possible to me, but somehow I knew that somewhere there was a musically talented pony that could probably not only play this, but do it with their own twist and it would sound real awesome.

“I hear babies... foals cry. I watch them grow. They'll learn much more, than we'll ever know... and I think to myself, what a wonderful world," The song started to slow down as I placed the cloth on top of the shower curtain holder, "And I think to myself. What are wonderful world. Oh, yeah..."

I nodded. A job well done. Floor was clean, bucket was empty, cloth was on its way to being dry. Chores were done. Now to get a job and earn some bits! Make some money and then go off and have a little fun.

Can't rely on Aiden all the time.

As I turned around, my jaw dropped to the floor and cold sweat broke out across my brow. There, standing in the doorway, was a cyan colored Pegasus. On her face was a similarly shocked expression.

The both of us didn't as the next song started to play. Another fantastic song.

"Y-you know that song? H-how do you know that song? H-how can..." Her eyes opened wide as realization dawned upon her.

My mind blanked out, and I blurted out the only thing my mind could process.

"Fuck..."

"I can’t wait any longer!" Twilight shouted, making her companions all jump up in their seats.

Spike and Sweetie were sitting next to each other, blushing as their tails wound themselves around each other behind them. After Twilight's outburst, they have instinctively separated from each other and were now sitting with enough of a gap between them for Pinkie to roll around in, which she did. They both stole a glance at one another shyly. Fluttershy, who had been unconscious, jerked up at the sudden outburst.

Aiden sighed, "We've been waiting for ten minutes, Twilight."

"It's still too long!"

"Well, since Fluttershy is awake now,” Aiden said as the butter colored mare blushed and apologized, “I guess we'll be teleporting then."

All six of her friends looked at Twilight with an array of emotions. Applejack was nodding in agreement, Atom copying her verbatim. Aiden frowned and sighed in resignation, clearly not liking the thought of teleporting but accenting to what he assumed was an inevitable majority. Fluttershy gave Twilight a quick smile, displaying that she too thought that this was a great idea, before ducking her head back into her shoulders as Aiden's gaze travailed over her. Sweetie and Spike looked at one another over Pinkie's head and shrugged; clearly they had no opinion on the matter, just that whatever the decision was they were content in going together. In fact, apart from Aiden, everyone seemed pretty gung-ho about teleporting.

Twilight made a face. "I don't see what the big deal is, Aiden? We'll get closer and closer. Walk part of the way until I regain my strength, then continue. It isn't that difficult, right? Why aren't you more impatient? Don't you want to see Forest and make sure he's alright?"

Atom laughed to himself, "It's Forest. What's he going to do? Run away?"

"Forest!” Rainbow Dash shouted at me, "Get your ass back here!"

That was a close call. She had actually tried trapping me in the guest room by locking the bedroom door after my stupid, stupid, stupid mistake. After she had caught me in the bathroom, she had stumbled backwards in shock at her revelation. In that moment I had tried to slip by her, but Rainbow's a strong mare, and slammed me against the wall. After a struggled, I managed to get into the bedroom and lock the door behind me. There was a humongous window near the bed and it took me a few minutes to get everything together, which wasn't very much, open the window and slip out. I escaped.

In retrospect, if I had done so quieter, I could have probably got a bigger head start.

"Forest!" the cyan mare barked, "Stop!"

"No!" My voice was muffled because I was running with the laptop in my mouth. It was somehow still attached to that hideous picture frame – not that I was complaining. It was easier to hold.

"Explain yourself! How do you know that song-?"

She cut herself off as I darted around a tree that she nearly collided into. We were headed towards Fluttershy's place, or in that general direction. Rainbow tried to keep up with me as I wove through the trees, but she found herself losing ground against me, so she flew upwards over the obstacles continuously shouting something. She was too far away for me to make out, and I was kinda lot listening.

I knew I couldn't stay in Ponyville. How would I be able to face Twilight or Applejack? They trusted me completely. They never doubted me. If Rainbow told them... it'd be over. Completely. It was the cowardly thing to do, I knew that. By running away I was cementing my guilt. Fleeing was the wrong thing to do, but the thought of facing them... the thought of making them sad, it made me feel so sick. The thought of hurting their feelings was making me gag. I wanted to throw up.

Rainbow appeared ahead of me along the path, "Forest! Don't think you can get away..."

Her voice was once again faded off as I turned a sharp right and headed towards Ponyville. I heard her grunt in frustration as I sped towards town.

My stomach grumbled. I was starving. Why is it that the one time I skip breakfast and remember, my body decides it can't survive without eating something?

"Ready?" Twilight asked.

"Ready," all the others replied.

Spike pulled Sweetie closer to him, which made the mare blush a little bit, and the next thing they knew they were standing at the edge of a forest looking at a small village within a fairly sizable copse. In the far distance they could see Canterlot. Twilight had teleported them extremely far in one hop. The surprised expressions on both Aiden's and Atom's faces clearly revealed how far they had come.

Aiden shook his head and laughed to himself, "Remind me not to get on your bad side..."

"You're already on her bad side," Atom reminded him with a sly grin on his face.

Aiden narrowed his eyes at the black Pegasus giving him a rough nudge with his shoulder, "Then remind me not to get further onto her bad side."

Atom shrugged, "Too much effort. I'd rather watch you suffer."

The three boys laughed lightly at that, while the girls merely shook their heads in disapproval at their attempt at humor. All in good fun, of course.

"I'm right here, you know?" Twilight said, wiping the sweat from her brow, "Give me a little time, and I think we can get close to Canterlot. That... took a lot out of me."

“You okay, Twi? You don't look too good...” Spike said with concern. He walked over to his older sister and touched her forehead.

“I'm fine, Spike. Just need to rest a little...”

"I can try, Twilight." Sweetie Belle walked forwards, Spike seemingly reluctant to let her go as she charged her magic up. She turned briefly to the dragon, giving him an 'I'm-right-here' look, before she turned around and concentrated on a point in the distance. Unlike Twilight, she could only go where she could see.

In a flash of bluish light, they appeared just below the edge of the mountain's slope. Sweetie nearly collapsed, but Spike quickly caught her and she gave him a grateful nod, which made him blush in return. Their faces were so close and their eyes sparkled as they peered deep into one another.

“Aw...” came a chorus of voices.

Sweetie and Spike turned their heads to see Applejack give the two of them a warm smile and an adoring murmur, Fluttershy, surprisingly, was less subtle and cooed out loud making the young pair blush profusely.

Atom and Aiden grinned at Spike and wiggled their eyebrows, which made the Dragon stand up tall and rub the back of his head with his left claw. He laughed nervously, not really sure if he liked or didn't like the attention. Sweetie coughed and Spike apologized as he helped her onto her hooves.

"That's impressive, Sweetie. I didn't know you had that kind of power in you!" Twilight nodded, pleased with their present location. She looked up at the castle in the distance and smiled, "I think we should go see Princess Celestia. We need to tell her what happened. Then I'm sure she'd let us know what's going on. I know how much magic I need to get from Canterlot to Ponyville, so we can go directly once I'm ready."

“I can see Ponyville from up there, Twilight. I could try and teleport too,” Sweetie offered, and Twilight nodded.

Aiden looked at the castle with a frown. "Do you think that's wise? Shouldn't we let your brother report to her instead?"

“What difference would it make? Besides, we were the ones that stopped the Diamond Dogs, not the army. You, me, Atom, Spike, Sweetie, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Forest – with the help of the other prisoners down there as well,” Twilight replied looking at Aiden with a furrowed brow, "Why would you not want to report to her?"

"It's not that I don't want to report to her, it's that... look, I'm not part of the military anymore, and I don't really have anything to do with Her Highnesses. I just feel real uncomfortable around them. I know that I was chosen to be Forest's guardian, but I don't think anypony needs to be watching over him anymore. Not after what he did for Equestria in The Pit. I consider Forest trustworthy; he's proven himself. So, who cares if he's got some big secret? I don't."

"Big secret?" Applejack asked.

"You really bought that whole amnesia thing?” Aiden replied.

Applejack didn't really know how to respond to that. There was certainly something weird about him.

“Do you care?”

“No."

“Why should he need a nanny then?” Aiden rested his case, “Who cares if he's hiding something?”

Twilight sat down and furrowed her brow. Something about what Aiden just said disturbed her. Something about his words triggered something that she had trouble remembering, something from the past that she had suppressed.

"He almost gives his life for us. That proves to me that he's not out to harm anypony. I admit that there's still doubts as to his origin, but for that whole amnesia shtick? Yeah, total baloney. He remembers everything just fine."

"Where are you?” Rainbow growled.

Hiding in a bucket of apples, I watched silently as the cyan Pegasus marched down the alleyway right past me before exiting the other end and disappearing around the corner. I could practically see the anger emanating off of her.

"You lost." The voice was blunt, "Take off the bracelet, Forest. You lost fair and square. Your own stupidity got you caught. And you ran off! Why didn't you just stay behind and pretend that you heard the song somewhere before? You could've lied..."

"I'm tired of it!" I shouted, "All the lies, the deceit. I'm tired of it all! I just wanted to stop being a liar to them! I wanted to come clean! I guess that manifested itself in that stupid, stupid confession, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. All I wanted was..."

"Was to what?"

"Was to be their friend! A real friends, you know? The kind where they can come to, to shed tears, to depend on, to get a reassuring word – even if that word is nothing more than repetition. I'm going to miss it here." I looked down at Tutela's face on the laptop's screen, "So, how about I spend the next few days... saying goodbye?"

"That isn't part of the deal, Forest!" Tutela narrowed her eyes, "You lost fair and square, now you have to honor your part of the agreement. Take. Off. The bracelet."

"Aw, come on, Tues. Just six days!" I pleaded.

Tutela leaned back away from the monitor and folded her hooves in front of her chest, “Did I stutter? The answer is no. You can’t just change the conditions of our agreement!"

I turned away from her, "I will honor my end of the bargain. I only ask that you wait for the next few days before I come back to you. That's all."

"And the answer is no! You better get your flank over here, or so help me Chrysalis, I'll-"

I didn't see the rainbow trail until after it hit me.

"Her Highness will see you now. Please follow me, Twilight Sparkle. The rest may remain here for the time being. Refreshments will be brought shortly."

Honey Dew was Princess Celestia's personal aide. She usually ran the day to day affairs of the Princess, which included tasks like signing minor petitions and scheduling audiences with Ponies. Especially efficient, polite and gentle, Honey Dew's Cutie Mark was three bees hovering over a golden shaped hexagon in the middle. Her favorite saying was always 'busy as a bee', and it always seemed that Honey loved being stressed out and constantly keeping herself occupied. It took Twilight a while to understand that Honey was happiest working hard with running the mundane affairs of Equestria.

Honey Dew was a medley of yellows. Her coat was a bright sun-orange yellow, her mane a darker orange-yellow, and her eyes were a light, light brown – a similar color you'd find in large jars of honey and, like her name, she had a sweet demeanor. Although, sometimes, the stress of her job got to her and she'd end up stark raving mad. Especially during the Summer Sun Celebration that celebrated the longest day of the year.

As they two mares headed for the Celestia's private bed-chambers, something felt off about this.

"What's wrong, Honey?"

Twilight and Honey had become fast friends over the years. In fact, it was Twilight who had shown her the ropes on how to manage Celestia's life better to such a degree, that the kingdom mostly ran on autopilot. Very rarely was there a need for the Princess to step in and do something, and most of the time it was because of ceremonial duties.

"The Princess has been very quiet about the latest incident involving the Diamond Dogs. I've been around Her Highness for years, but I've never seen her like this. Something is really bothering her, but I'm at a loss as to what it is."

Twilight gently placed a hoof on her shoulder, "I wouldn't worry. The Princess knows what she has to do."

"And you know what she has to do?" Honey asked, stopping in mid-step.

At times like these, Twilight hated her deductive skills. Although there were plenty of things that could really upset the Princess, there was only one thing that would fit in this particular scenario. The thought that her Ponies were involved in something so horrific and despicable like slavery would have hurt her deeply. The law would come down hard on them.

"Honey, what's the law say about Ponies who forces others to work? What I mean is: if a Pony enslaves another, what is the penalty?"

Honey, who used to work as a lawmaker with the Royal Court, stopped and took in a good helping of air. There indeed was a law. It hadn't been used in over two hundred years, but the law was clear. Ponies enslaving other Ponies were to be interned into forced labor camps. There hadn't been labor camps in Equestria since that time. There had never been a need.

"That's... I didn't know we had laws like that..." Twilight said aloud to herself as the two of them continued down the hall, "Then it's no wonder that Princess Celestia has been especially upset. Facing a decision like that... I can't even begin to imagine what's going through her head.”

“The Court will be all over her for this,” Honey replied.

“They always claim to support the Royal Sisters in their endeavors, but sometimes I feel that they're trying their best to find reasons to take charge themselves." Twilight felt really angry.

"Welcome to the world of politics,” Honey muttered quietly, “It just doesn't seem... they are on the same level of thought. I always thought that it was from the experience of the Princesses that our land has been as peaceful as it has. I mean, it hasn't been long since the return of Princess Luna, and still there are those that fear her and there are still those that despise her."

Twilight followed close behind, thinking on Honey's words. Even after all the good Princess Luna had done, she couldn't believe that anypony would have ill feelings towards the kind and gentle Princess of the Night.

"I think Princess Luna might have to issue the charges." Honey continued to walk, but it was clear that she was stalling with the way she was pacing herself, "I know it seems cruel, but I don't think Princess Celestia can do it. I think she's... too soft."

"Too soft?"

Honey turned her head slightly to look at Twilight, "Yes. She loves her subjects too much; she won't be able to issue these sentences. Her Highness, Princess Luna, will hate doing it but she will if it's needed. I know Princess Celestia would do it, but it would eat at her for a long time. What do you think?"

Unable to meet Honey's eyes, Twilight glanced down at the ground, "I think that you're right. I know what you mean..."

"That's perhaps why she's never invited you to sit in a full session of the Court. Who knows what you'd say if you were there!" Honey giggled slightly at the thought of an angry Twilight magically throwing Celestia's worst critics around.

They stopped in front of Princess Celestia's personal bedchamber. The guards at the entrance both nodded to Twilight and stood at attention for Honey.

"The Princess has been expecting you, Your Highness," one of the guards said, "Please go right in."

Twilight took a deep breath as the doors to Celestia's private chambers opened and she stepped inside. Usually she wouldn't hesitate to enter this place, but after discovering what she had the past few hours, she felt just a little apprehensive.

Just a bit.

"Why do you know that song?" Rainbow screamed into my face, "Who are you? What's your purpose here in Equestria?"

Turning my head away from her, I remained silent.

"Forest. Please. I want to know. I need to know."

I turned to meet her eyes, and felt my heart break. Gently, I pushed her off me and sat up. I guess the resigned look on my face was enough to convince her that I wasn't going to flee. There was a long moment of silence before I summoned enough courage to say what I could say.

"I want to tell you, but I can't. Please, Rainbow, I have a promise to keep, and I want to keep it."

"Promise to who?" Rainbow's eyes had tears in them.

"W-why are you crying?"

She looked at me, "Because I'm scared. I'm scared and angry. I'm scared because... because... because of you! I'm scared because of dad still in the hospital. I'm scared because all my friends are Celestia-knows where! And I'm angry, so angry because you're a..."

"No!" l shouted, and grabbed her by her shoulders, "No, I'm not."

"Not what?" She looked up at me, "Not what, Forest?"

"No... that."

I could feel her heart stop beating as she understood the meaning behind my words, "Then... you admit..."

"I have to." I turned my face away from her, "I can't see you cry. I can't see anyone else cry. It hurts too much."

She shoved me back, "You lied to us. Lied to Applejack! Twilight! Lied to me!"

"I didn't have a choice. I never had a choice."

“Then... why now?”

“I got tired of lying.”

We both sat there in silence for a long time. Neither of us knew what to do or say. My wrist was on fire – Tutela was probably focusing all her magic in trying to get me back to her world, but the pain in my chest was more unbearable. Although I had been discovered, I felt relief – relief that I no longer had to lie.

"We can't let the others know," Rainbow said softly.

That shocked me. "What?"

"We can't tell the others. It would break their hearts. You can't tell any of them. You can't tell them anything. Nopony should ever know. Not even father."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Rainbow wanted to keep my secret? That was something I never expected, and yet that was the one thing I expected Rainbow to say. She certainly was a loyal friend.

"Are you sure, Rainbow?”

“I'm sure... I'm really sure. You know what'd happen if Twilight found out?”

I shook my head.

“I... I don't know what she'd do, but I know it wouldn't be pleasant!”

Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn't help but chuckle at Rainbow's words.

“You know I'd understand if you changed your mind."

She stood up and shook the dust off of her, "Forest, you're an idiot. I know that you know that. But you're not a bad Pony..."

"I am..." I interrupted her before she could continue, "I am a very bad Pony."

"Nah, you're not. You're just dumb."

"So... we keep this a secret from the others?" The pain in my wrist subsided a bit, "We keep it between ourselves?"

Rainbow hesitated, but then gave a single, firm nod. "We keep it to ourselves."

"That's not part of the bet!" A voice shouted.

Both Rainbow and I jumped at the suddenness of the outburst.

"What was that?"

"Forest! Get your flank over here!" Tutela barked. “Now!”

Standing up, I rushed over to the laptop that lay on the ground. I picked it up and got a full view of a very, very annoyed mare. She glared at me from within the screen.

"Who's that?" Rainbow asked peering over my shoulder.

"Tutela. Tutela, this is Rainbow Dash..." I said trying to sound nonchalant.

She narrowed her eyes at me, "I know who she is.”

“Uh... hello?” Rainbow said, unsure about talking to a talking picture.

Tutela narrowed her eyes, “Beat it, fly-girl. I've got business with the Stallion. I'm not here to talk to you.”

It was clear that Rainbow was surprised with Tutela's aggressive nature. She didn't quite know how to respond.

Seizing the moment of silence, Tutela turned towards me, “You gave me your word that if you lost you'd come back..."

"Back where?" Rainbow asked, interrupting, "Where does Forest have to go? What's going on? Why are you in a picture?"

"This doesn't concern you, Pegasus. Stay out of it!" Tutela shouted before turning her attention back to me, "You're breaking our contract!"

"It wasn't a contract! I was a bet, and I admit that I lost! I only asked that you give me till the agreed date! Then... then..." I settled down, "I'll come back to you peacefully. I won't break our agreement even if it kills me."

"You say that now, but when the time comes..." She narrowed her eyes, "How can I be sure you won't do something like this again?"

She was right. There was no way I could prove that I wouldn't break that promise.

"Why are you so concerned, anyway?" I asked, "You get me forever and forever. What difference is a few days going to make?"

"It isn't you I'm worried about. Its other... stronger beings in that world that I fear. Namely the two Princesses. If they found out about..."

Rainbow shoved me downwards, "What's going on? Are you guys some sort of secret anti-Princess group? Because if you are..."

"You're still here?" Tutela asked sarcastically, "You don't seem to get that this is between Forest and me. You've got nothing to do with it. So go away."

"Forest's my friend! And I stand up for my friends. I'm not about to abandon him; I wouldn't leave him hanging..."

"Isn't that wonderful?" Tutela applauded lightly, clopping her hooves together, "But it changes nothing. Forest, I'll give you until tomorrow before I alter the bet further. Don't make me do that."

“You can’t do that! That’s not fair!” I replied pouting.

"And you can't stay there after losing the bet! That's not fair either!"

"What bet?" Rainbow placed herself between myself and the laptop – did she know it was a laptop? Well, she couldn't see the computer area due to that ugly picture frame...

Tutela looked at me. I just shrugged.

"Fine. I'll tell you. He's not from Equestria..."

"Yeah, duh. We established that fact already. Now, stop stalling. What bet?" Rainbow looked over to me this time.

I remained silent.

"It's a bet on Forest's... life. If he loses, which is has, he stays with me. If he won, he would've got a choice to return back to where he came from."

"You... you want to leave us?"

"No!" I shouted viciously, making her take a step back, "No. I don't. Never. I want to stay here."

"But you don't get to choose any longer. You lost your bet. The only reason why you're not with me is because of that bracelet!" Tutela growled.

"Then Forest will never remove it."

Rainbow's reply stunned both Tutela and me.

“What?" I asked, not sure I heard right.

"I said: 'Forest will never remove it!” she said louder.

I stood there with my mouth half-open.

"As noble as your efforts are, Forest really has no other choice. You think I'd let him go to Equestria without some sort of backup plan? Some form of insurance?" Her voice suddenly sounded strained, "Is being with me really that bad?"

Rainbow didn't expect that change in emotion, and honestly, neither did I.

"Tutela, I give you my word. I'll come back to you happily if you give me these next few days. I mean, what difference would it make?"

"You already asked me that, and I already told you the answer."

"Please, Tues. I beg you." I fell to my knees.

Rainbow watched the two of us.

A long, long sigh came from Tutela before she said: "Fine."

I couldn't resist the urge to smile, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so, so, so much! You don't know how much this means to me. At least I can say a proper goodbye to all my friends."

“Goodbye?” Rainbow faced me, "What do you mean 'goodbye'?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I didn't know what to say.

She turned towards the picture frame, "Where exactly is Forest going, and why does it sound like he can never come back?"

Again I opened my mouth to talk. I wanted to tell her exactly what I knew, exactly where I was going to be – in that void between the two realities; the temporal prison of Tutela's own choosing. I wanted to tell Rainbow everything, to get the weight of this knowledge off of my chest.

But how could I?

"Stop!" Tutela screamed.

I flinched. Her voice sounded like it would shatter glass.

"My ears!" Rainbow gasped, pressing her hooves against them.

"The heck was that for?" I asked, my eyes watering from the pain echoing in my inner-ear.

"You may trust her, but I don't. I don't know your friends..."

"They're good Ponies! They've helped me every step of the way! And Rainbow wouldn't betray anyone... right?"

“Right.”

Rainbow had her reputation, but in all honesty, I was leaving my fate in her hooves. There was no way of knowing if she'd really keep my secret from the others, or if she would even heed her own words, but something inside me felt that my trust in her wasn't misplaced. She was one mare that I could always count on to be on my side.

"If there was anypony I could trust, it would be Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie and Applejack... and Spike."

"You forgot Rarity and Fluttershy," Rainbow remarked.

I gave her a sheepish look, "Not really, I don't know them that well..."

"Give them a chance; you'll see what I mean..."

"I don't care, and you two are boring me. Forest, you make sure that hole on your face you call a mouth remains shut about this, understand? And Rainbow, I'm going to humor you to keep what you've found here to yourself. If you tell a soul then Forest forfeits his right to remain for the next few days. Agreed?" Tutela smirked, “Let's just see how good you are at keeping secrets.”

"You can't tell me what to do!" Rainbow retorted.

Tutela sneered at the Pegasus, "Not if you want Forest to stay. Promise or no promise, if anypony else finds out..."

"Are you threatening me?" Rainbow asked, "You better not be threatening me, I don’t like being threatened, especially from mares who are too cowardly to face me head on!"

My blood froze in my veins. Again.

"Unlike your other brainless peers who would leap at such a pathetic taunt, I am far more mature and-"

Rainbow stuck her tongue out and mouthed Tutela's speech while rolling her eyes, mocking her. Despite her cool demeanor, it was clear that Rainbow was getting under the Changeling's skin. Did Changelings have skin? Well, in her present form on the screen as an Equestrian mare, she did.

"Quit it, both of you!" I barked standing between the two of them… relatively speaking. Tutela was still behind the monitor's screen.

"She started it!" both girls exclaimed at the same time. At those words they faced each other and growled.

I could only sigh and place myself on the ground as I watched the two of them continue their bickering. Wasn't much I could do except wait for this nonsense to end.

And knowing Tutela and Rainbow, that was going to be a very long time.

"I... I..." Twilight shook her head, "I can't believe... that's fantastic, Princess!"

"Without a doubt, my little Pony," a very tired Princess Celestia said walking over to her favorite student and smiling gently at her, "The Diamond Dogs have finally accepted our law into their communities beyond the Known Lands. Perhaps now peace between our races will come. It will take time, but at least it is a step forwards."

"That's fantastic!"

"I'm going to need an ambassador... and after much thought, I wanted to offer you the position."

"Me?" Twilight asked, incredulously, "B-b-b-but I don't have any experience with politics..."

The Princess shook her head, "No, no, my little one. There is no longer any need for that anymore. Our peoples have vowed to proceed to a better future, and we need to set an example by sending a Pony who is well versed in the art of friendship."

Twilight blushed, "Thank you, Princess. I... I don't know what to say..."

"Then say yes, my little pony. Unless you still have some doubts." A knowing smile appeared on the Princess' lips, "Perhaps something that has been on your mind as of late? Some... pony?"

The lavender mare couldn't face her mentor. Her face felt as if it were on fire.

"Then why not ask him to go with you? I'm sure that Forest will be more than willing, should you ask."

"This is all too sudden, Princess. I'm... I'll have to think about it, if you don't mind." She said the last part quickly, trying to make it sound like an apology. She had spent more than a decade in Ponyville. Her whole life had been there, her home was there, her friends, and her work. To suddenly pack up and leave...

"Twilight, things change. Your friends will always be there for you, but they will have to move on with their dreams. The Elements of Harmony will eventually find new Ponies and you'll have other priorities as time goes by..."

"What do you mean, Princess?" Twilight asked, not really sure what she was implying.

Celestia grinned mischievously, "Don't you want foals, Twilight?"

Twilight barely contained her surprise, "I-i-it hasn't crossed my mind, Your Highness."

"You're really a terrible liar, Twilight Sparkle, perhaps not as bad as Applejack, but still pretty terrible. Get married..."

"No!" Twilight screamed suddenly. She lowered her head, her ears drooping as she did, "I'm so sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to scream like that."

"That's quite all right, my faithful student," Celestia replied, barely able to contain her laughter. She took a deep breath and regained her composure, "I am not asking you to become the Ambassador as your princess, I'm asking you to do this as a friend. I know you're the most capable Pony for the job, and I know that you'll make us all very proud."

"But... ambassador..." Twilight could barely wrap her head around the concept.

Celestia walked over to the fidgeting Pony, "The choice is yours. If you do decide to go, please send me a letter. If not, then don't worry. I will find another."

"Thank you, Princess. And I'm sorry I can't make up my mind right away."

"Please, Twilight. How could you? As you said, your whole life for the past ten years has been in Ponyville . It would be selfish of me to expect you to suddenly drop everything without thinking about it."

Twilight felt guilty, but she also knew that she needed time to process this. Being the ambassador to another nation was an honor, and with her experience in making friends, and being one of the Elements would make her position even more potent for her country. Yet the thought of leaving her life behind, all her friends, everything felt... scary.

"Let's not dwell on it for the moment." Princess Celestia used her magic to lift up a small bell from off of a small table. The light tingling was a familiar sound, one that she had always heard ever since she was a filly under the Princess' care. She turned to see Honey enter the chamber followed by Mrs. Pots, as she rolled in a tray of tea and crumpets, "Now, tell me everything."

"Your Highnesses would like tea?" Mrs. Pots asked.

"Yes, please, thank you," Princess Celestia replied gently as Honey placed some parchments on a table next to her.

Honey leaned over and whispered something in the Princess' ear, to which the royal made a face, but gave a nod. Honey then bowed and left. The entire exchange could not have been longer than a few seconds, but it drastically altered Celestia's mood.

Twilight took note of this. She lay down on the large floor cushion and smiled, "Where should I start?"

"From the beginning, of course," Celestia said as she levitated a hot cup of tea to her lips. "Everything from the beginning."

"Well, after the race, the girls and I went out of look for Spike..." she hesitated for a moment, then thought better of it. If there was one thing she knew about her Princess, it was how she loved a good story. So, she blushed a little before she continued, "... and Forest. They had both suddenly disappeared from the after-Race ball and I knew something felt off, so we..."

"I still don't get why you can't tell me where you're going. It's not like you can go back... to that world," Rainbow muttered as we made our way back to the window I had jumped out of from her home.

"I'm content with that fact, Rainbow. Look, I can't tell you, okay? Please don't make me."

Somehow Rainbow hadn't figured that me being in Equestria in the first place proved that the way between the worlds wasn't closed. I was not about to ruin the moment, but I badly wanted to say something.

"I'll go in and unlock the front door. You wait there, okay?"

"As you wish, madam," I replied, bowing low.

She giggled and shook her head as she flew through the window. I ran to the front of the house and right into Applebloom who was just about to ring the doorbell. She shook her head as I backed up and beamed a smile at me.

"Good mornin', Forest, you seem to be in a real good mood… and in a hurry…"

"Yeah, sorry about that, I didn’t mean to crash into you. Speaking of good moods, you seem to be in a good mood yourself, Applebloom." The smile she flashed was a little bit brighter than what I was used to, "Something good happen last night?"

Her face beamed an even brighter smile, this time with a rosy tint to her cheeks.

At that moment, Rainbow opened the front door to her home and saw the two of us. She noticed Applebloom's dreamy expression and gave a knowing smile in return.

"Let me guess. A boy?"

Applebloom's cheeks somehow brightened their pink glow at Rainbow's words. She looked up and gave us a shy, sheepish grin. "Yeah..."

"Is it that Lance fella? The one we were talking about yesterday?" I asked.

"Maybe..." Applebloom said slowly, still grinning from ear to ear, "I was on my way to the lake where I'm supposed to meet him. You... you guys wanna come along?"

Rainbow shook her head, "I've gotta head on to the hospital. And Forest's coming with me. He made a promise."

"I did?"

Rainbow gave me a flat look.

"I mean, of course I did! How could I forget... that promise... the one about me coming with you?”

"That's the one. So, sorry, Abby. Next time?" Rainbow ruffled her young friend's mane, "Plus, threes a crowd, and fours... bigger! Don't you want to be alone? If somepony I liked asked me out on a date... well, I wouldn't want the extra baggage."

Applebloom shifted a little on her hooves, "I know. I'm just nervous is all. I... I've never been on a proper date before, and I just don't know what to do! I figured, since Forest dated my sister and Twilight, and you dated Soarin... well, I was hoping you could give me a few pointers..."

I laughed out loud.

"Yeah, even I know that taking advice from Forest is a bad idea..."

"Oi."

"... but you don't need any help, Abby. You'll be fine. Just be yourself."

"Well... what if he doesn't like me?"

Rainbow put a hoof on Applebloom's shoulder, "Then he isn't worth it. I learnt that the hard way."

Applebloom looked at Rainbow Dash for a long moment before she spoke, "I'm sorry, Rainbow, I didn't mean to remind you..."

"No worries."

Applebloom smiled, "So... just be myself, and see how it goes? What if it don't work out?"

"As your sister would say: there're other apples in the tree..." Rainbow wiggled her eyebrows at that statement, which made us laugh lightly, "You Apples and your apple... uh... what d'ya call 'em?"

"Analogies?" I offered.

"Yeah! Those thingies. Anyway, what's important is that you have a great time. Will you come see me later and tell me about it?"

The young orange mare nodded profusely, "Thanks again, you guys. I'll be seein' you later!"

And with that, she trotted down the road towards Fluttershy's place, and beyond.

Rainbow looked at me, "I'm not taking my eyes off of you until I find out this secret hiding spot of yours, okay?"

I didn't want to argue, so I just nodded slowly.

"So, I'm going to be like a shadow. Understand?"

I nodded slowly again.

"Good. Now, let's go."

And so we headed towards Ponyville hospital.

"Oh my!" Princess Celestia gasped as Twilight described Forest getting sucked in under the water. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he was..."

"He's fine!" Twilight blurted before the Princess could finish her sentence.

That brought a somewhat confused look from Celestia, "Didn't you say he got swept down the tunnels by the water current?"

Twilight nodded her head slowly.

"And yet he's still alive?"

She nodded slowly again.

"How?"

"That's what I intend to find out. I knew there was something strange about Forest and I intend to find out what."

"You seem to know where he is."

"He's in Ponyville. For sure."

"Ah, yes. I do remember Lu-lu telling me about a tower of light piercing the sky last night...”

"Forest's Marking Spell..."

"I know about the spell, Twilight. You sent me a letter about the bracelet, and I removed it if you recall.”

Twilight felt a little embarrassed; of course the Princess knew.

“Now, is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

There was a long pause, "I think that Forest isn't from Equestria, Your Highness. I've had my suspicions for a while now, and I think he's..."

"He's what?"

For a long while the two sat in silence before Twilight summoned enough resolve to answer her, "I think he's a Changeling."

That brought a stunned silence from the Princess. Eventually she snapped out of it, "Are you sure?"

"No. Not sure. He doesn't act like a Changeling, but we don't know much about them apart from the fact that they have a queen and they feed off of the feelings of love." Twilight shuddered at the memories of Chrysalis and how she had almost taken Canterlot all those years ago, "When we fought against them, I remember their magic. It felt cold... like dipping my entire body into ice. When I cast magic on Forest, it felt similar. At first I didn't quite remember where I had felt that magic before, but after the Diamond Dogs incident I remembered the Changelings... and it sort of just clicked."

Celestia took a sip from her cup of tea, her eyes never leaving Twilight's face. Carefully she placed the cup down and stood up, walking over to the window and peering out over the palace gardens and to the city of Canterlot. There she stood for another long moment, clearly in deep thought, as Twilight slowly sipped from her own cup of tea and watched.

The Unicorn knew that sometimes the Princess would zone out like this when she had a particularly troubling decision to make.

"What do you think we should do then?" Celestia asked after another moment still staring out the window.

Twilight set down the cup of tea, "I don't know. I... I still have feelings for him, but now that I suspect he's an enemy to Ponies..."

"An enemy? You really think that?”

“As much as I don’t want to, I have to be a little realistic. A random Pony wakes up in the Everfree with amnesia, befriends the Elements of Harmony – getting very close to a couple of them, including myself,” Twilight shrugged, “It just all seems so… convenient.”

“Then... that is why you've been confused. You usually come to a conclusion by this time. Sometimes they can be a little… premature, but a conclusion nonetheless.”

Memories of Twilight embarrassing herself flooded her mind. Getting overly worried about writing a letter to her Princess and causing a riot with her old doll, banishing herself for breaking a law that was never really a law in the first place nor was it her decision to be banished, and a few other times – each memory as bad as the last. Over the years she had been careful not to humiliate herself, but sometimes, just sometimes, she’d get careless. Luckily she had good friends to put her back to her normal, level-headed self.

“No not this time, Princess.”

“Let me answer your question with one of my own. Are you sure he's an enemy? I mean, you haven't really come across Ponies like Forest before, have you? Ponies that have no magical affinity of any kind? Even in my long life I've encountered very few Ponies with little magic, but never with none."

"That's the thing, Princess. He does have magic inside him, just very well disguised and hidden, as if someone had deliberately sealed magic within Forest with the express purpose of hiding it."

"How do you know this?" Princess Celestia asked, turning around to see her favorite student looking at her, "Even I couldn't detect anything in him..."

"I know. That's what had me confused for so long. But if you didn't know what to look for, would you have known? Remember how Queen Chrysalis fooled everypony including you at my brother's wedding?"

Princess Celestia's face contorted into an expression of disgust, "Must you remind me?"

"I'm sorry to bring up that memory, but you can see where I'm coming from, right? You weren't specifically looking for something in Forest, and because of that, you missed what could've been obvious. Forest might be a ChangeIing..." Twilight's ears drooped, "Would that mean what I feel for him is fake?"

"I don't know, Twilight. I've never encountered anything quite like the Changelings," Princess Celestia put a comforting wing around her student, "but I don't think that Forest is one. Perhaps we should keep this fact to ourselves?"

"I would like that." Twilight looked up at her mentor, "Are you sure that this is okay? Would it be safe?"

"Again, I don't know, Twilight, but I think after what Luna and I did to him, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. So far he has not harmed anypony physically, and has gone through exceptional lengths to protect others."

"But could it have all been an act?"

Celestia thought on that. What could she say? It could have been an act, but it could have just as much not have been. Eventually she spoke.

"That seems highly unlikely, especially after the Diamond Dog incident from yesterday and from what you’ve told me. It also fails to explain why Forest is allergic to magic."

With those words, Twilight already felt like a silly filly. It had taken Celestia all but a few minutes to already find a gaping hole in her theory and she could not think of any possible explanations as to why. Forest was allergic to magic, like Brian – that much was certain. But Changelings were magical creatures, able to project magic as freely as any Unicorn. All her curiosity did was raise more questions about the mysterious stallion.

"I will leave it to you, Twilight. I'll understand whatever decision you choose to make and will support you no matter what. I only ask for one thing in light of this discovery. I want Aiden to move from the hotel into your library."

"What?" Twilight blurted out spitting tea all over the table.

"Twilight, I'm giving Forest a lot of leeway here. I'm not putting him on special watch, but I can't risk him harming others. If there was anypony that the Changelings would want to especially harm, it would be you. You thwarted their invasion. You revealed the conspiracy..."

"Yeah, but it was my brother and Cadence who beat their Queen. Not me."

"True, but it was because of you that Chrysalis had to alter her plans. It was because of you that the real Cadence was found in the tunnels beneath Equestria. It was because of you that we finally found the imposter. If you had not, Princess Mi Amora Cadenza might have died, and Queen Chrysalis might have taken Canterlot through other means. You changed the course of history that day. You saved Equestria."

Twilight had not really thought of it that way.

"Now, because of what you've done, don't you think that maybe, in some long-winded way, getting to you through a Pony like Forest would be far-fetched?"

"Sorry, it's... that's really pushing it. Even to that extent..."

Princess Celestia sighed, "We're still a little unclear how my niece managed to get herself foalnapped and imprisoned beneath the castle. And while we're on the subject; why didn't Queen Chrysalis kill Cadence?"

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, "H-h-h-how can you say that?"

"That's the kind of question we must ask ourselves as leaders of a nation. Don't get me wrong, Twilight, I am both happy and relieved that Cadence is alive and well, and I'm ecstatic she's with foal, but you have to admit the question does remain a sore point for me even after all these long years. Why didn't the Changeling queen kill the only thing that could have thwarted her near-perfect plans?"

"I don't know..."

"And neither do I. But, thinking on it, would it still be considered farfetched? Perhaps Forest is a Changeling, and that he can't remember his past life because he never had one. Or perhaps Forest was a Pony who got caught up with those creatures. All I'm saying is that I'm changing the parameters of Aiden's service slightly. Being close to you, he'll be able to protect you if something goes wrong, and with his magic he can cast it on Forest without killing him."

"C-can Atom stay with me instead?" Twilight asked, "It's just that I'd feel awkward living in the same house as Aiden after... everything."

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that, "Care to explain?"

With a heavy sigh, Twilight began to.

“Remember what I said. Not a word about anything to pops, ‘kay?”

“Are you sure? I mean, I’d understand if you want to tell him…” I offered, although deep down inside I hoped that she wouldn’t take me up on it. I was bad enough that I’d lied about myself, there was no need to rub it in anyone’s faces, especially to the one person who had got it right in the first place.

Rainbow nodded, “Oh, I’m sure. Dad’ll never forgive you, and he’d tell the Princesses. That would be the right thing to do, but I… I don’t know. There’s something about you that makes me want to make sure you’re not… well banished, I guess. I dunno what would happen to you. Maybe… they'd... ki-ki-ki-”

“I highly doubt they’d kill me, Rainbow. Somehow I can’t see Princess Celestia ending my life.”

“How about Princess Luna?”

That shut me up. Princess Luna seemed to be a lot more merciless, but then again she wanted to protect her people and especially her family. It wasn’t that she had it in for me – well, at least I hoped she didn’t, but I was just concerned. She had thought that she would help her sister from getting hurt and attacked me. Although I did get hurt, I understood where she was coming from.

What was up with me and all this forgiveness?

“No, not even Princess Luna.”

Rainbow looked at me for a moment, then shrugged and pulled the door open.

“There you are!” Brian announced as Rainbow walked in, “So, I take it that Forest’s back.”

“H-h-h-how did you know?” I stuttered as I walked in.

Brian laughed at me fretting away, “You do know that I know about that light spell, right? The one that comes out of your bracelet?”

Of course he did. “Yes… but weren’t you asleep?”

“I was, until that light was cast. I don’t think anything for miles around slept after that. It was bright as… well, bright as day. I can’t even to imagine what Princess Celestia must have thought when you created that… thing! Ha! She must have fallen out of bed!”

“Bless you,” Twilight said as Celestia let out a cute little sneeze.

“Thank you. I think somepony was thinking about me just then.” She smiled at her faithful student, “Where were we?”

“I just told you about Aiden and how he confessed to me after the date auction,” Twilight replied, her face a nice bright pink, “It was so embarrassing!”

“I’m sure,” Princess Celestia laughed along with her student. “So, then what happened?”

“Well, then Princess Luna…”

“.... after that, I couldn’t really sleep, so I picked up this book,” Brain held up a large black leather bound book, “It was lying next to me here. I think Twilight must’ve accidentally left it here when she dropped off the books I asked for last week. Otherwise, I have no idea how it got here, but it was… interesting to say the least. Did you know that Changelings have the same kind of blood I do? I mean, that thingy about the magic stuff in my cells or something. Come to think of it… don’t you have a similar trait, Forest?”

“We’ve been over that. I’m allergic to magic,” I muttered, “Or are you implying that you think I’m a Changeling?”

“Actually… yes, I am.”

“What?” Both Rainbow and I barked at the same time.

“You can’t be serious!” Rainbow blurted a moment later.

Brian looked at his daughter with a hurt expression, “I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Dashie.”

“Sorry, pops. I didn’t mean to shout at you. Sorry.” Rainbow hugged her father and rubbed her snout against his neck.

They both held onto one another for a long moment making me feel real awkward. In the silence that loomed, I somehow managed to slip out of the room without being seen by the cyan mare.

Outside I made my way over to one of those waiting room chairs that outlined the halls of the hospital halls. Every so often, agitated ponies sat on these clusters of chairs, much like a hospital from back on Earth. Brain’s room was at the end of the hall; the last room on the right if your back was towards the central staircase, so it was naturally empty.

Carefully, I placed my rear on the nearest chair and watched the going-ons of hospital life. It’s amazing how little you notice when you’re not paying attention. After doing the cleaning up work at the hospital, I began to notice things. I noticed how everything seemed to follow a system that flowed with amazing efficiency. The nurses in their white gowns patrolled the halls making sure that patients were doing well and were comfortable. Orderlies made sure that everything was clean, going over everything several times in needed. The visitors of the patients were as oblivious as I was to the hospital staff, and were off in their own little worlds. Understandably so; I doubted visitor ponies would give a damn about how the hospital staff worked if it didn’t affect them directly.

“There you are!” Rainbow shouted poking her head out of her father’s door.

That earned her a violent ‘shush’ from one of the nurses. She grinned sheepishly and lowered her ears as she mouthed ‘sorry’, which seemed to satisfy the nurse who went on with whatever duties she needed to do.

“How’s your dad?” I asked.

“He’s fine. Just was wondering where you ran off to…”

“It was getting kinda... weird in there. Rainbow, I’d rather just stay out here if you don’t mind. It’s uncomfortable for me to be in that room…”

Rainbow sighed and nodded, “Yeah, I bet it is. Fine. You wait here, and when pop’s asleep, I’ll come for you.”

“Thanks.”

She flashed me a quick smile and disappeared into the room, while I sat there and thought. There were a lot of things I had to think about, like the fact that I got to get used to knowing that my time was up. In six days, whether I’d discover the truth about friendship or whatever that ridiculous bet was, my sentence was set. I was to be Tutela’s bitch for the rest of my miserable life.

“Finally!” Applejack blurted when Twilight descended the stairs from Celestia’s private chambers, “I was beginning ta think ya fergot about us.”

“There was quite a lot of things we needed to discuss, AJ. I’m sorry. I should have told you instead of going on and on with the Princess. You could’ve gone on ahead with Sweetie.”

“Can we go now? I want to get home lickety-split.”

Twilight nodded, “Of course. I’m ready to teleport us. Tell you what, let’s split up. Sweetie will take two, and I’ll teleport the rest. Sound good?”

“S-sure,” Sweetie blurted before Spike could argue, “I’ll do it!”

The entourage made their way towards the gardens, Twilight leading the way. There were a few clouds in the sky around the city with a clear view of Celestia's sun high in the sky. That meant it was close to noon, and almost time for lunch. A slight blush appeared on her face as she thought about asking Forest where he’d like to go, but at the same time she felt conflicted. With the knowledge that Forest could be a Changeling, she was confused about her emotions. Were they really her feelings?

“Ready?” Sweetie asked Spike.

“Ready.” The Dragon smiled gently as he pressed up close to the pony. Then, in a bright flash they were gone.

“Hey! Wait! Aw, they totally forgot about me!” Atom shouted, standing a little behind where they had vanished from, “I thought she was going to teleport me as well.”

The rest of the group laughed at Atom.

“Guess Sweetie wanted to take Spike somewhere special,” Aiden said nonchalantly.

“Oh… my…” Fluttershy whispered, her face exploding at the implication. She wasn’t the only one.

Applejack shook her head, “I wonder what Rarity’d make of it…”

And in the back of her mind Twilight had asked herself the exact same thing.

“Why, hello there, Forest,” Nurse Redheart said pushing a tray of food towards me, “I didn’t expect to see you back so… is your eye swollen?”

I had turned to look at her without thinking. The swollen eye and cheek were on the other side of my face, if I had sat staring straight ahead she would not have noticed. Alright, that might not have worked either, but it would have been worth the risk. I sighed and waited for the reprimanding to commence.

“Why can’t you be like normal Ponies and come to the hospital to visit without having to be treated at the time? I gets rather old having to keep telling you this…”

“I know! I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,” I replied, making yet another promise I knew I couldn’t keep.

“Okay, I’ll go and give Brian’s food to him. You stay here until I get back.”

“Okee dokee.”

With that, she entered the room and I waited where I was like a good boy. Moments later she reappeared with Rainbow in tow. Nurse Redheart looked at the two of us funnily, before shrugging and walking away.

“What was that about?” The Pegasus asked.

“No clue. I just hope it wasn’t anything bad.” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.

“Don’t think like that,” Rainbow said glowering at me, “It isn’t nice.”

“Sorry…”

Before we could continue our conversation, Nurse Redheart returned with what looked like a large snowball. She put it into a small towel then walked over to a drinking fountain along the hallway wall. I hadn’t noticed it before. There was a pedal at the bottom that she pressed and water sprinkled out, which she held the towel under. Then, she walked over to me and placed the moist, mini-towel over my eye.

It was really, really cold.

“That should help reduce the swelling a little,” Redheart commented, “I just can’t get over how you keep getting hurt. It’s almost as if you do it on purpose.”

“Not really, I just happen to get hurt a lot primarily because I’m real clumsy.”

“That’s an understatement – you’re not just real clumsy, you’re also good at getting yourself into situations that involve you getting hurt.”

That was very true. I couldn’t deny that I’d almost certainly ended up hurting myself in one small way or another.

“Maybe it’s time we did a full-body checkup on you. When was the last time you had one?”

I just looked at Red blankly.

“Oh right… amnesia. Forgot about that for a second,” She laughed and shook her head at her own joke, “Well, you want to have one?”

“Uh…”

“Then let’s get started right now, shall we?”

The way she said it made it abundantly clear she wasn’t asking, “S-sure…”

What else could I do? I looked over to Rainbow, who just shrugged.

Nurse Redheart took me to an empty room and motioned for me to sit down on a bed. While I did that, she walked over to a counter and took out some medical instruments. Rainbow walked in quietly and sat down at the opposite end of the room.

“Oh, Rainbow, you don’t need to be here for this.”

Rainbow didn’t budge and remained sitting where she was. Clearly she wasn’t going to leave, and it was also clear that Redheart wasn't going take no for an answer. After a few minutes of silence, the nurse spoke.

“Miss Dash, this is a private and confidential checkup. Will you kindly please leave the room?”

Rainbow made a face, “Fine. But I’ll be outside the door.”

As soon as Rainbow left, Redheart locked the door and shook her head, “Sometimes that mare can be so thick-headed. Just because you’re a world famous athlete doesn’t mean you get to go around breaking the rules.”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that, Red.”

“Forest, there are things about mares you don’t understand. That aside, I thought you were with Twilight.”

That confused me. “I am...”

Redheart looked at me obviously equally as confused, “Then… why are you with Rainbow?”

“Wait, what? No! No, no, no, no-no-no-no. No. I’m staying at her house until I get back on my own,” I lied, “So, I’m just being a good… uh… tenant?”

“Uh-huh. Well, it's not really any of my business. Anyway, let’s get started.”

It didn’t take long, and soon I had been checked-upped. Redheart did a number on me, and I found myself feeling rather healthy. Nothing out of the ordinary – physically, that was. And I didn’t have to do any blood-work as they already had done it a couple weeks back.

“Okay, now to ask you some standard questions. Will that be alright?”

“Sounds good.”

“First, when you woke up in the Everfree Forest for the first time, how did you find your way out?”

That wasn’t a medical question. “Um… I didn’t. I was walking around and was chased by a Timberwolf that led me to Zecora’s place. She led me into Ponyville. If it hadn’t been for Zecora, I doubt I would’ve survived.”

Redheart nodded, “How far back can you remember?”

“Not very, I don’t even remember entering the Everfree. I just remember everything after that.”

“Did you have any severe headaches? Any pain along your skull, or anything that could have hinted at any brain trauma?”

“No… my head wasn’t hurting… nurse, why are you asking me all of this suddenly?”

“Just want to know if it’s just amnesia you’re suffering from, Forest, and not something else. Just humor me, okay?” She gave me such a comforting smile, that I just complied. “Okay, the next question is: do you suffer from any withdrawal? Are you getting stomach aches, or anything like that?”

Again, I shook my head, “No… why?”

“Sometimes a Pony on… mind-altering substances might forget who they are.”

“You mean like… narcotics?”

“Yes… like that. Some species of plants can alter the mind… wait, how did you know about that? Most Ponies outside the medical field don’t really know about narcotics let alone the word.”

“Why? Is it illegal?” As soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted them. That was the second time I let my mouth fly off the handle.

“No… I don’t think narcotics are illegal… that’s a strange question. I’ve only heard it asked once before… a very long time ago. I remember it because it was asked by somepony rather…” Nurse Redheart looked at me strangely, and then she just a suddenly smiled, “It’s nothing. Shall we continue?”

And that was the second weird look she had flashed at me.

“Okay, if you insist.”

“Have you been active sexually?”

I felt a tingling sensation in my cheeks as my face started to burn, “W-what?”

“Are you sexually active?”

“N-n-n-no! I mean… I haven’t had… I mean... I just can’t…” I was digging myself a deeper grave with each passing attempt, so I just shut up and lowered my head to the floor, “Can I go now?”

“Just answer the question, Forest. Have you ever had sex?”

My face felt like it was on fire. How was this relevant to my health? Was this relevant to my health? I couldn’t really see how or why, in fact I couldn’t really see much of anything except that right now I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“Forest?” Redheart pressed, placing a hoof on my shoulder, which made me jerk my head back up in surprise.

“N-n-no…” I squeaked, “No…”

“So, you’re a virgin?”

The way she said it, as professional she wanted to make it sound, I could tell she was enjoying watching me squirm. I struggled with the words, but forced them from my lips.

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Forest. This has been... revealing. You may go now.”

I walked over to the door in a daze as I pulled the latch and opened the door. Even before I could step out, a cyan pony fell through the door and onto her face. She was lying on the ground in front of me. Slowly, she looked up at me, her face as rosy and red as mine.

“Did you hear?” I asked quietly.

Rainbow stood up slowly, “I was just making sure that you were safe, okay?”

“D-d-d-d-did you hear?”

Rainbow blushed even harder, “I’m sorry…”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked past her and down the hall. It felt like my face would explode at any moment.

“Forest, wait!” Rainbow called after me.

I stopped in my tracks without turning around.

“Look, I said I was sorry. I won’t tell anypony that you’re a virgin…”

“Who’s a virgin?” Cyan Crystal asked. She was standing behind the both of us, a basket of flowers on her back.

“N-n-nopony! Especially not Forest…”

“Forest’s a virgin?” Cyan grinned, and then laughed, “How cute! Wait till I tell Cheerilee...”

I wanted to die. So, like I always do in desperate situations, I just ran away.

Twilight stretched her hooves out, “Home sweet home!”

They had teleported to the lake, on top of the hill that overlooked it. To their backs was Canterlot palace, and down in front of them was the road that led past Sweet Apple Acres and into Ponyville. It was just after lunch, and Twilight felt proud of herself. They had come a long, long way in such a short amount of time.

“Whatever happened to Sweetie Belle and Spike?” Aiden asked, looking around.

“Beats me,” Atom replied, shrugging, “My head feels like I landed on top of it.”

“That’s a common side-effect for those not used to teleportation,” Twilight replied, “Headaches are a sign that your body is getting used to the suddenness of being pulled through a temporal rift. Considering how many jumps we've gone through today, your head might be hurting a lot more than usual.”

“In plain Equestrian please,” Atom stated, “I can’t understand all this magical mumbo-jumbo.”

“It means that you’re head isn’t used to being pulled through one place and into another. It’s a common side effect to non-Unicorns. You’re just not used to magic being shoved into you like that,” Twilight patiently explained.

“How come I don’t got a headache like him, then?” Applejack asked with an eyebrow raised. She already was walking towards the road that led to her home.

“You’re an Element. You’ve got a massive amount of magical potential stored inside your body. Of course you’re going to be fine. I’ve got a migraine, but I’ve learn to deal with it now,” Aiden replied as he followed after Applejack walking a little behind her.

“Uh… excuse me, girls, but can I go and see my pets? I want to make sure they’re all fine…” Fluttershy said as she started to rise in the air.

“Okay, let’s all meet later in town.”

Everypony nodded at that and, with the exception of Fluttershy, made their way towards the town. They all walked in silence having exhausted both conversation and themselves. Twilight was thinking about what Princess Celestia and her had discussed about Forest, the knowledge that he might be a Changeling disturbed her, and yet she never doubted that her feelings for him were genuine. In fact, her feelings for him gradually became clearer.

“Alrighty, everypony. I’ll see y’all later. Gotta check up on Granny.” Applejack stood at the front of her driveway towards her farmhouse.

Atom shifted on his hooves, “D-do you want company?”

Applejack shook her head, “Not now. Maybe later. I just want to see my family.”

Visibly disappointed, Atom nodded, “You’re right. I’ll be in town if you need me.”

“Don’t take it wrong, Atom. It’s just… it’s too soon, okay? You’ve gotta let me think about… things.”

“Of course. I didn’t mean to imply…” Atom shut himself up before he could further make a total flankhead of himself.

“Move along, doofus,” Aiden whispered as he shoved the black Pegasus with his head, “You’ll see her later.”

The boys started fighting each other, which just made the girls sigh, “I’ll see ya later, Twi. Don’t let those two get on yer nerves.”

“I’ll try,” Twilight said with a giggle, “No promises.”

Twilight watched as Applejack cantered to her doorstep then into the house. She waited a moment before turning towards the two stallions still bickering with each other a few yards away. She rolled her eyes as she walked past them, the two falling into step behind her.

“Where to now?”

“We find Forest. First stop, the hospital!”

“How do you know he’s going to be there?” Aiden asked.

“Intuition,” Twilight replied without missing a beat, “Plus with Forest’s ability to get himself into trouble, he’s bound to end up there at some point… if he isn’t there already, that is.”

Aiden laughed, “You’ve got that right.”

Standing outside the hospital, Twilight spotted Rainbow Dash, Cyan Crystal and Nurse Redheart standing around. They were all laughing, except for Redheart who looked stunned.

“Hey, Dashie,” Twilight stated as she walked up the steps, “How’s it going?”

“Oh, Twilight! You're back! You missed the finniest thing, ever! It was so funny! Nurse Redheart made Forest admit that he’s…” Rainbow fell to the ground laughing.

“Well, it’s nice to see you too…” Twilight replied with a smirk, “So, Forest was here?”

“Oh yeah. Ran away faster than he ran at the Race. He’s long, long gone by now. See,” Cyan pointed at the path of fire now fading away that led into Ponyville proper, “I will never get used to seeing that stallion run…”

“Oh? Crying?” Twilight asked not knowing what to make of this. Her friends were laughing at Forest who was crying? That seemed really mean and cold-hearted.

“Nurse Redheart got Forest to admit… he’s… he’s a…” Rainbow started to laugh again too hard for her to continue.

“What have I done?” Redheart intoned, shaking her head with a somewhat perplexed expression on her face. “I can’t believe I just did that to one of my patients!”

“Do what?” Twilight demanded, “What’s so funny?”

Cyan was shaking her shoulders, chuckling to herself. Finally she calmed down enough for her to speak. “Forest admitted that he’s a… he hasn’t become a full stallion yet.”

“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked, not getting the reference. That only made Rainbow howl in laughter once again.

Aiden grinned and could barely contain his own laughter immediately getting the point, “Really? He’s never got his... groove on?”

Atom copied Rainbow and was pounding the ground with his hooves, twisting around unable to breathe. That brought some curious glances from other ponies. What was so hilarious?

“Please, you two, don’t make me feel any worse than I already do,” Redheart pleaded.

“I still don’t get it…” Twilight admitted, failing to see what was making the Pegasi go nuts.

“Oh dear,” Cyan whispered, “Honey, Forest has never… been with anypony… and when I say been with, I mean been with.”

The gears in Twilight’s brain went into overdrive, and she suddenly put two and two together.

“Oh. Oh! Oh? Oh!”

Seeing Twilight embarrassed like that that made the others laugh even harder than before, even Nurse Redheart found it hard not to chuckle.

Clutching the side of the building with my hoof – alright, so it was more like hoofing the side of it – I paused to catch my breath. I looked back the way I had come; my trail of fire still was going, burning brightly. I knew it, yet I didn’t slow down to let it diminish. I wondered why that was. Surely it would have made more sense to slow down and let the trail grow cold instead of leading those meanies straight to me.

“Oh sweet, sweet Celestia, now every pony in Ponyville knows that I’m a… a…” I couldn’t say it. What was wrong with it? What was wrong with me being… untouched? It wasn’t like I…

Technically, that wasn’t true. I did have sex before, but never as a Pony, and for some reason the thought of that seemed… acceptable now. Had I really put aside any prejudices I’ve had about it? I remember distinctly telling myself never to humor such a thought, but after Applejack… and Twilight…

Just then, Rainbow Dash floated across my thoughts. Her lips firmly planted on mine.

The suddenness of the memory was so shocking, that I found myself stumbling backwards over something that sent me sprawling onto the ground. Picking myself up, I noted that I had tripped over the end of a see-saw. Next to that was a slide.

“Forest!” a voice called out to me, “You came! A little early, but you came!”

“Cheerilee,” I whispered standing up and dusting myself off. “H-how are you?”

“I’m fine. So, you’re ready to start learning how to write… again?”

With nothing to do, and wanting to find some way to disappear, I eagerly nodded my head. At least for the time being I’d be safely hidden away in a classroom. Rainbow would never think to look for me inside a classroom.

“The trail just vanishes here!” Twilight groaned, “Where could he have gone?”

“Well, my house is in this direction... so, he could’ve gone there, or he went towards Carousel Boutique or the school…” Rainbow offered.

“I can’t believe we forgot Pinkie in Canterlot. She’d be able to find Forest in no time at all!” Twilight wanted to kick herself for forgetting to bring along her best friend. Pinkie had a nasty habit of disappearing inside the castle, and finding her was impossible.

If Fluttershy was good at Hide and Seek, then Pinkie was supreme champion. Nopony can escape her.

Rainbow smiled, “Yeah, Pinkie’d find him in no time. Maybe we ought to go look for her instead.”

“She’ll be back soon. We just need to find Forest.”

“Why do you want to find him so badly anyway?”

“Can you keep a secret?” Twilight asked.

“Sure. Don’t I always?”

“Is that why half of Ponyville now knows that Forest's a… virgin?” Twilight whispered the last word as if it were taboo.

Rainbow grinned sheepishly, “I wasn’t the one that let it slip, okay? I just… well, I may have accidentally said it loud enough for several other Ponies to hear. It’s not like it’s my fault…”

“Dashie…”

“Okay, so it was my fault! I said I was sorry. Sheesh.”

Twilight looked at her best friend, “Rainbow, you’re one of my best friends, and I don’t want to keep secrets from you, even if the Princess says I should. I need to tell you something about Forest. Something… shocking.”

“I know. I found out. He admitted to it.”

“Wait… what?” Twilight looked at her friend, “Are you sure? He admitted that… that…”

“That he’s not a Pony? Yep,” Rainbow smiled at her friend, “Don’t worry, I don’t think he’s here to hurt us. He’s just… he’s got… he hasn’t got very long.”

“Wait. What do you mean? What do you mean he’s not got long?”

“Oops…” Rainbow grinned nervously, and laughed, “I didn’t say that, did I?”

Twilight grabbed Rainbow with her magic before she could escape, “Where do you think you’re going? Now, elaborate. What do you mean ‘he hasn’t got long’?”

“I thought you said you knew!” Rainbow shouted, trying to wriggle free from Twilight’s magical grip. She gave up after a few more attempts.

“Apparently not everything,” Twilight replied. She squinted and peered into Rainbow’s eyes, “Now, tell me everything you know.”

“Class, today we’re having a special guest student. He’s going to be here to learn how to write. Can somepony lend Forest a quill?” Cheerilee clopped her hooves together.

Several of her students raised their hooves, “Ooh, ooh, Miss Cheerilee! Miss Cheerilee!”

“Okay, Pumpkin, you may give your spare quill to Forest.”

Pumpkin jumped down from her desk and walked over to me, and handed a light blue quill, “Hi, Forest.” She said, a big smiled across her face.

“Hi, Pumpkin,” I grinned in response, “How’s mom and dad?”

“Fine.” She stood there and giggled shyly.

Cheerilee clopped her hooves again, “Now, now, Pumpkin. Recess is over, so back to your seat.”

“Yeah, back to your seat, Flumpkin!” Pound Cake barked, bringing a rancorous laugh from a bunch of colts in the back.

A light blue aura appeared around Pound’s inkwell, and in the next moment all the colts at the back of the classroom were covered in the black goop. That brought laughter from the girls, and moans from the boys.

“Children! I will not have you all acting like a bunch of foals in this classroom! You will cease all this immature behavior this instant.”

“But she started it,” Pound Cake moaned, “She used her magic to throw the ink all over us.”

“Is that true?”

Pumpkin bowed her head, “Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”

“Now, that wasn’t very nice of you. Please clean them up with your magic, then stay behind after classes for detention.”

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”

“Serves you right...” Pound whispered, which got him a stern glance from Pumpkin.

“Now, where was I?” The teacher turned to look at her blackboard as Pumpkin used her magic to magically remove the ink from the floor and replace most of its contents back into the jar. The boys were glaring at the poor Unicorn, but she did what she was told, and went back to her seat shooting venomous glances at her brother.

“Ah, yes. Writing. Today we’ll be practicing cursive. Except you, Forest. You’ll be learning from scratch.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” We all replied in unison.

“So, everypony, please write a one page paper about what you did this weekend entirely in cursive writing.”

There was some groaning going on, but they all did as they were told.

“Forest, I just want you to try and write the letters of the alphabet, okay?”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee."

She just smiled and laughed at that.

“I-impossible!” Twilight shouted, “That's impossible. There’s just no way that can be right.”

“You thought he was a Changeling?” Rainbow asked, “Really?”

“That made a lot more sense than him being...” Twilight couldn't say it.

“Yeah, tell me about it. I was surprised at first, but he came clean after I roughed him up a little bit. Oh, and that Tutela kept saying something about ‘coming back’ to someplace. It sounded… final. Like, if he went, he could never come back. You don't suppose... she'll send him back to Earth, do you?”

“Princess Celestia closed any way between our worlds, remember?”

“Yeah... but he's here, isn't he?”

“True... but... Forest can't be...” Again, Twilight couldn't say it, “It's impossible... it might be some Changeling trick. You know how tricky they can be.” Twilight stopped and thought for a long moment, “I don’t think you should have told me, Dash.”

“You’re my best friend! Of course I’m going to tell you…”

“But that Tutela made it clear that nopony else should know. And now you’ve told me…”

“Wait! You wanna talk to her? Forest’s got this ugly picture that he uses to talk to her.”

“What?” Twilight was now completely confused, “An ugly talking picture? Uh… okay, let’s see this thing.”

"Yeah, okay. It’s back home, in Forest’s room… I mean the guestroom…”

With that, the two of them headed towards Rainbow’s place.

“There!” I gave a muffled shout as I put the last stroke on the letter ‘Z’. I felt really proud of myself, writing all twenty-six letters with my mouth.

“Very good, Forest. Now, I want you to write the Equestrian alphabet.”

I felt my bowels knot, “E-E-Equestrian?”

“You do remember your Equestrian, don’t you?"

"Um… I… can’t say that I do.” I laughed sheepishly, rubbing my hoof on the back of my head.

“Yeah! Why do we have to learn Equestrian?” Pound Cake asked from behind me, “It’s not like we’d ever get to use it. That's only for Unicorns and all their magical magic magicry.”

A couple other students voiced their dislike at the mention of the apparently unique language. I had no idea that the students hated it as much as I did.

“Students, please. You all know how important it is for you to learn Equestrian. It’s our mother-tongue, and although we’re using Common as our day-to-day language, we can’t forget our roots. Our language comes from ancient times and has survived to this day and age when most old languages have been long forgotten. Even the Griffins are jealous of how we remember our old language because we’ve kept it up,” Miss Cheerilee smiled, “And besides, it’s a beautiful, wonderful language…”

“Oh no… not again…” I heard one of the colts from behind me moan.

“Gather around me children; listen to me till I’m done,
About an ancient kingdom now long gone,
In a place that time forgot,
It is true, I kid you not,
In a time before Celestia rose the sun...”

A song? Seriously?

Somewhere I heard an instrument being played. It sounded like a tuba, and I whipped around to see one of the students playing it in the corner. His Cutie Mark brandished the instrument, so it made sense, but within the next second three other ponies took up instruments and instantly started playing in tune. They played it so perfectly. I was convinced that it was rehearsed, but knowing the Ponies and their abilities, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had started playing on the spot.

“There was once a time when our races; three,
Were as unfriendly as unfriendly can be,
We fought each other,
It did not matter,
Pegasus, Unicorn, or Earth Pony,

They each had their own way of speaking,
At each other they’d start shrieking,
Unable to communicate,
Only led to frustrate,
Clearly a common language needed seeking,

But how can there be a way?
When neither knew what to say!
What can you choose tell?
When all you can do is yell, yell, yell!

It was simple in the long run,
Painful in the start,
But then it was done,
Thanks to a pony so smart, smart, smart!

She had figured it out using words in song,
When you sing something loud, loud, loud!
And it did not take long,
That's why speaking Equestrian makes me proud!”

“But I can't remember – I mean, I don’t know any Equestrian at all! That is to say, I’ve forgotten how! It's like my mind hit a brick wall…” I replied when Cheerilee paused to look at me. It took me a moment to realize that I had just sung along by accident; my words flowed with the music as easily and as concise as Cheerilee’s. Suffice to say I was scared, amused, and wierded out at the same time.

“But that’s okay, because you see,
No matter how hard it is, as long as you’re a Pony,
You can feel it deep in you,
Just do as I do,
Try it! Just breathe in really slowly,
Then with the breath of air,
Your heart will take you there,
To our ancestors song of old,
You will hear a tale within you told,
And you will remember – if you care…”

“I can see what you mean, that magic runs deep within the Pony gene. But I can assure you Miss Cheerilee, you’re wasting your time trying to teach me.”

Again, I had rhymed sort of unintentionally, but this time instead of just saying the words, I had actually sung them. The suddenness of it made me place my hooves over my lips, but it was… actually pretty cool.

“What makes you say that?
You aren’t a flying bat,
Nor a swimming turtle,
Or a luscious green myrtle,
Nor a nosy little rat,

You’re a Pony!”

“I’m a Pony?”

“That’s right! You bet! That's what she said!” The chorus of children joined in, “It’s about time you get it through your thick head!”

“Wow, that’s cute how you all able to sing along, but I’m really pretty sure you’re all dead wrong! Even if I am a Pony, I can confidently say, that I can't read nor write Equestrian today.”

“Then put your mind to it, let your body show you,
Take a big, deep breath and let your senses go!
Don't listen with your ears, listen with your heart,
You feel the rhythm deep inside you start...”

Everything stopped, including the music at that moment. I looked at all the young colts and fillies there and at Cheerilee before sighing and taking a long, hard, deep breath. I closed my eyes and listened. Just listened. I didn’t know what I was listening for, all I knew what that something was supposed to happen to me.

But would a creature allergic to magic like myself hear this so-called ‘Magic of Equestria’? I somehow doubted that... and yet, I did what they asked. I listened.

“Listen… listen… listen…” The students began to chant quietly. “Listen… listen… listen…” Their voices slowly getting louder and louder until all I heard was their vices screaming at the top of their lungs – well, not screaming, but singing as loud as they possible could.

How the hell is anyone supposed to hear anything over this racket?

As soon as the question left my mind, I realized that the words of the students were no longer words, and instead it sounded like static. Electrical static. The kind of static you’d hear from a radio, or a television that was left on a blank channel. Slowly, I opened my eyes and I could see the students and Miss Cheerilee dancing around, still obviously singing something, but I couldn’t hear them. Instead, I heard something else.

Something… musical, but a different kind of music. There were no words that could describe this type of music, and even if I wanted to I couldn’t find the words to describe the sensation. It was like something deep within me was vibrating to the essence of… everything. I could feel the kids dancing and singing, I could feel the beat of their hooves like my heartbeat. I could feel it inside me. Deep inside, within the very core of my existence, but it was more than that.

I felt... life.

“Now can you see what we mean?
Are you eager to learn? Are you keen?
Just let your senses,
Pass your defenses,
And take you to where you’ve never been!”

My mind blanked out. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Everything seemed brighter now. Clearer.

“By Celestia's mane, I don't know how, but I think I can write Equestrian now!” I held the last word for a long time as the music faded out.

Then everything promptly when dark, and I feel face first onto the ground.

“Forest did what?” Twilight asked, “Are you sure? That's not possible.”

“What do you mean? Of course it's possible. He's a Pony, why wouldn't he be able to learn Equestrian?” Cheerilee replied, a little taken aback by Twilight's words. Then Cheerilee smiled, “Unless he isn't a Pony...”

“How'd you know that?” Rainbow blurted before Twilight could cut her off.

“I figured it out,” Cheerilee said with a smile, “And you've just confirmed my suspicions, Rainbow.”

Rainbow eyes opened and she made a face, “Aw, nuts.”

“My guess is he's a Changeling who really has amnesia and has, for some reason, taken the body of a Pony. That would explain his lack of a Cutie Mark at his age...”

“Applebloom doesn't have a Cutie Mark,” Twilight pointed out.

“But Applebloom is not as old as Forest,” Cheerilee replied, “Not only that, but there are other things that made my suspect that he wasn't a Pony ever since I met him. Still, I think as long as he doesn't remember what he was, he's harmless.”

“I think you're right,” Twilight said carefully. She knew that if anypony could sniff out something out of the ordinary, it would be her, “But you have to agree that, just in case something goes wrong, somepony has to keep an eye on him, right?”

“Oh yes, I do. I think one of you should be around him all the time. One of you Elements. Think of what this could mean for our kind. We have the ability to change a Changeling into a normal Pony. All we need to do is find out how to give the Changelings amnesia...”

“That's not right!” Rainbow blurted out again, “Even lame creatures like Changelings deserve to be... uh... to be...”

“What Rainbow means is that we can't be like them. We need to set a standard, and we need to teach others that we can change others without having to resort to harming..."

"No, you're not getting it.” The school teacher shook her head, “My intention was never to harm others, and never will be. Think of what Forest has done. Think of what he has achieved. He chose to do things of his own will. For all intents and purposes, he is an Equestrian. The way he sung this afternoon if proof that even Changelings can change-”

“But what if he's not a Cha-”

Rainbow found a purple hoof shoved into her mouth before she could finish.

“What Rainbow was trying to say is, what if he's not able to change?" She flashed a look at the cyan mare through the corner of her eye.

“The we'd better be careful. That's why I was thinking that one of you, as the Elements of Magic, especially you, Twilight, should stay with him. I think he should move in with you, and stay with you until we can understand more.”

Twilight tried to fight the heat rising up to her face. Forest and her living in the same house? Under the same roof? She felt her heart starting to beat faster.

“I don't know... I mean, that seems a little...”

They all hushed up as Forest made a groan, and started to sit up in the bed. Twilight's heart beat even faster, and when he looked up at her, with a smile on his face, she couldn't resist.

It wasn't my head that hurt this time. Well, that's not entirely true. My head did hurt a little bit, but my wrist burned like it was on fire. Sitting up, I looked at it with a hopeless feeling. Tutela was shoving her magic into that bracelet with everything she had. I could feel her.

But I felt eyes on me. As I turned, I looked up and to my surprise I saw Twilight standing there, her face a looked so... gentle, kind... and relieved.

Without saying a word, I smiled at her and spread my forelimbs wide open.

She pushed past Cheerilee and ran into my waiting embrace. She felt wonderful to hold.

“Bleh.”

“Oh, come now, it was cute,” Cheerilee snickered at Rainbow's reaction, “They make such a nice couple, don't you think?”

“Uh-huh,” Rainbow muttered and looked behind her at Twilight and Forest. They were indeed cute together, holding each other like that. For some reason she felt really annoyed at that.

“Jealous?”

“What? Me?” Rainbow guffawed at Cheerilee's insinuation.

The flat expression from the school teacher meant that she saw through her act.

“Okay... yeah, just a little, okay? Not of Forest... oh, by Luna's mane, not because of Forest! It's what they have. That's what I'm jealous about. I... I miss Soarin..."

“How can you miss that... that... bad pony, especially after what he did to you?”

“No! I miss him from before...” Rainbow growled, “Never mind.”

“Sorry, Rainbow. I think I know what you mean. You miss what you had, and are jealous of Twilight and Forest because you had that, right?”

“Yeah! That's it...” she stole a glance at the two. Somehow though, somewhere deep inside her gut, she knew that wasn't it at all, “Yeah..."

“Stop...” Twilight giggled, “Somepony'll see!”

I couldn't resist her, and kissed her lips again, which made her blush even harder. I was going to make the most of the time I had left on Equestria, and if that involved making Twilight the happiest mare alive, then by Celestia, that's exactly what I was going to do.

“Forest...” she cooed.

“Twilight Sparkle, are you embarrassed to be kissed by me?”

She blushed even harder, if that was possible, “Yes...”

I leaned forwards and pulled her head to me and licked her neck right up to her ear.

“Good.”

She shuddered.

“Forest...” she whispered, “What's gotten into you... you're... aggressive...”

I reluctantly let her go, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...”

“No, no,” she looked away from me and lowered her head slightly, “I like it...”

I pulled her into my embrace again, “That's my mare-”

“Great! I search all over Ponyville for him, and now I find him all over the girl of my dreams,” Aiden made a face, “At least I know you're fine.”

“Ignore the grouch, Forest,” Atom said pushing past the green Unicorn, “I'm glad that you're alive and kicking. We all are. What's the matter? Decided that Ponyville hospital was too familiar? Decided to tryout the school's infirmary instead?”

“Long story short, I learnt Equestrian and fainted.”

“Somehow, I figured you'd say something like that,” Atom said, laughing to himself, “But I'm dying to know how you survived The Pit. I'm really interested.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, “You're not going to like the answer.”

“Let me guess. You woke up in the Everfree not knowing how you ended up there, am I right?” Aiden sat down at the end of the bed, and Twilight released and sat a little away from me.

“Uh... yeah, you got it. That's what happened,” I lied.

Aiden rolled his eyes, “Why am I not surprised? It's good to see you're alright. Better than 'alright' it seems.”

That made Twilight and I look at each other, which in turn made the both of us look away instantly out of reflex. Why was I acting like a kid?

“Where's he at? Let me see him,” a southern twang rang out from outside the door. Applejack walked in and spotted me sitting up on the bed. She brandished a smile that still made my heart skip a beat, but not as much as before, “There ya are! And in one piece too! Thank Celestia.”

Applejack embraced me tightly, and I couldn't help but return the gesture.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again, ya hear?” She ruffled my mane, “Ya gave us all quite the scare...”

“We thought you were dead,” Aiden said bluntly, “we never expected to ever see you again.”

The mention of death made all of them shift uncomfortably on their hooves. I couldn't even begin to imagine what they had gone through in those hours they believed I was gone.

“I'm sorry. I... I'm so sorry...” What else could I say?

“No, Forest. I'm sorry. It was my call that could've cost you your life. It was me that cast that final spell. It was me that forced you to take too many chances...” Aiden lowered his head, “I'm the one who should be sorry. My job was to protect you, yet I did the exact opposite...”

“Aiden, please, stop it. You've been nothing but a good friend to me. Even after... everything,” I looked at Twilight and gave her a smile, “You still treated me normally. You have no reason to apologize. You saved a lot of Ponies, that has to account for something.”

“He's right, you know,” Atom put in, “You did save a lot of Ponies that day.”

“As much as would love for you to continue your little gathering here,” Cheerilee said suddenly, "I have to lock up, and close the school.”

“School? I'm still in the school?” Looking around, I noticed a large number of very small medical equipment. “In the infirmary?”

“You got it,” Cheerilee smiled, “I don't mind you guys continuing your chat, just do it outside.”

“Out of curiosity, why did I faint this time?” I asked.

Twilight stood up, and gestured for me to follow, “I'll tell you on our way out.”

“Guys, I'm gonna scoot. I'm going to the hospital. I'll be there if you need me.” Rainbow didn't wait for a reply, and sped out the nearest window and was gone before anyone realized what she had said.

“That mare... sometimes I wonder if she has any other concept of speed apart from stop and Sonic Rainboom,” Cheerilee muttered.

We all laughed together.

Outsde, Atom eyed Applejack, who was trying her best not to do the same.

“So, what happened to me?" I asked, stifling a laugh at Applejack's expense. She saw me and rolled her eyes. All that did was make me laugh out loud lightly.

“Why are you laughing?” Twilight asked looking between Applejack and me.

“Oh, nothin'. Just Atom's been ooglin' at me...” Applejack said aloud.

At once, Atom looked away blushing ferociously, “I'm sorry...”

At that, Aiden roared in laughter, “Creepy stalker type much?”

“I'm not a stalker!” Atom squawked, “I just... I'm just...”

He ran away before anyone could blink.

“Aw, shucks, now look at what ya did, Aiden. Atom! Stop!” Applejack yelled as she started to chase after the black Pegasus, "Wait! He was just jokin' around!”

“No I wasn't...” Aiden mumbled, not loud enough for Applejack to hear.

“Um... so, are you going to tell me why I passed out and ended up recuperating in the school infirmary?”

Twilight smiled, “I will Forest, but I need to ask you something else first. Privately.”

“Well, I've met Forest and can confirm that he's alive and fine... if you need me, I'll be at Berry's place. I need a drink...”

“I'll join you,” Cheerilee offered, “I need to unwind. Today's been... eventful.”

Aiden smiled and gestured with his hoof, “Then, this way.”

“Oh, I know the way, but thank you,” Cheerilee replied, “See you two later.”

“Bye,” I called after them, “See you both so-”

“Are you a human?”

The question hit me like a ton of bricks. I stopped waving in mid-swing and turned to Twilight. She didn't repeat the question, she knew that she didn't need to. The others had gone beyond hearing distance, but I waited for a minute or two before replying anyway.

"I... what?”

“Don't lie, Forest. I asked Rainbow. She told me that you confessed to being a human. I need to know if you really are. You have to tell me...”

The burning sensation on my wrist was getting worse. This time is was quickly becoming unbearable and I could barely keep my eyes open from the tears that started streaming out of my eyes.

“Yes. I am.”

“How is that possible? Princess Celestia closed the portal to Earth with my help. We made it so that nopony could ever open it from either side. It shouldn't be possible...”

“And yet, here I am. I guess you could say it was a fluke...”

“Or, you're not a human, and that your memories and feelings are stolen,” Twilight said slowly.

The burning sensation stopped, but instead of relief an overwhelming sense of dread started descend onto me. Was this something serious, or was Tutela out of magic. I swallowed hard, not knowing what to expect.

“What if you're a Changeling that forgot who he or she really was, and now you think you're a human because you stole the memories from the only other human in Equestria...”

“What?” I asked, not really sure what she was talking about.

Twilight placed a gentle hoof on my face, “The memories you have of your past are an elaborate lie forged by your own mind to let you believe that you came from Earth, when you are actually from right here in Equestria. You're a Changeling that tried to eat Brian's emotions, and that could have caused your amnesia. That would also explain why you both have a similar condition in regards to you blood MA count.”

This was way over my head. I didn't get it.

“A Changeling can adapt to a Pony by imitating them. Right down to their Cutie Marks. Brian isn't a Pony, and doesn't have a Cutie Mark, is somewhat allergic to magic, and has memories of Earth...”

“But... but how can I have memories of Earth? Vivid ones too?”

“Honestly? No clue. But, I have a hunch that it's your real memories of your past infusing with Brian's memories. Think of it like mixing two types of juices in one glass. When you mix them both, you're going to make a new mixture that is a combination of both. Get it? Your memories aren't your real memories... I know that sounds completely insane, but it explains a lot and makes more sense.”

“Why? Why do you think that?”

Twilight smiled gently. It was so disarming the way she did that, “Because it's the only thing that makes any sense.”

“So... my memories of my grandma...”

“Are real... but not yours completely. They've been mixed up. Oh, Forest, I just guessing, please don't take everything I tell you to heart. I just want to make sense out of all this like you, okay? Whatever it is, I'll be right here by your side.”

She took my hoof in hers and held it tightly. She was being so genuine that I was almost inclined to agree with her. Almost.

“Oh... there's something else... something... I want to ask you,” Twilight walked to me and shuffled on her hooves nervously, “Would you... would you like to stay at my house... just until we figure things out, I mean. You don't have to stay there permanently...”

“You mean... the two of us... under one roof?” I asked hesitantly, “Just you and me?”

“And Spike...”

I didn't know whether to feel happy or disappointed with the knowledge that Spike would also be living there, but staying with Twilight didn't seem so bad. In fact, it sounded pretty awesome.

“I don't mind, but what would Rainbow say? I don't want to leave her alone in her home through this... tough time.”

Twilight smiled, “She'll be fine. She's always been very independent... plus she spends most of her days in the hospital.”

“You don't seem fazed at all by the fact that I could be a Changeling, you know. I thought that you'd be a lot more cautious if I was one. Aren't Ponies and Changelings on bad terms?”

There was a long moment of silence between the two of us, “Yes and no. We're on bad terms, but if you think about it another way, why did they attack Canterlot?”

“No clue.”

“Love. Changelings eat love. That's all they wanted to do. Eat. So, their actions were wrong, but when you've got mouths to feed, and you don't know how else to go about it, how are you going to satisfy that need? Their intentions were right. Don't get me wrong. It was bad what the Changelings did during my brother's wedding. It was horrible what their Queen did to my sister-in-law. It was terrible the amount of damage they did to specific structures and Ponies in the city, but it doesn't change the fact that they did it for one thing.”

“Food?”

“That's right. Food,” Twilight started to walk down the path, “Forest, you don't eat very much do you?”

“Actually, now that you mention it...” She was right, I hadn't really eaten anything in a while. I never really thought about it much.

“And that's another piece that fits in the puzzle. You see?”

She did make sense, but how can it really be true? I remember everything clearly. How I worked in that lame computer place, how I had stolen the money and given it off to several charities. I even knew their names, funnily enough, and the exact amount that went to each. I could recall my apartment where I lived, my cellphone number, where I went to school and college, what cities around the world I had the pleasure of seeing. These weren't fabricated memories, were they? How could that be?

“I'm so confused...” I muttered. Twilight placed a hoof on my shoulder, her smile comforting my troubled mind. I returned her smile, “Guess it's business as usual, right, Twi?”

Twilight giggled at me, “I love it when you call me that.”

“I'm glad you like it... Twi. I'm hungry.”

Twilight thought for a moment and nodded, “I know just the place...”

“What's wrong, hun?” Brian asked Rainbow as she sat on the space next to her father on the bed, “You've been awfully quiet since you got back.”

“It's nothing, dad.”

“Don't tell me it's nothing. You're my daughter, I know when something is nothi-”

“Dad, please. I don't wanna talk about it, okay? I just want to... think.”

“Okay, Dashie,” Brian replied despondently, “I'll just shut up now...”

At those words, Rainbow hovered over to her father and allowed him to put his arm around her neck, “Why do you gotta always be like that, pop? You know that I can't take it when you start acting all mopey.”

“Is that right?” Brian replied grinning at her.

Rainbow just laughed at her father, relieved to find he wasn't really that hurt, “Yeah. So stop, okay? You can't keep using that against me."

Brian hugged Rainbow tightly, “Okee dokee lokee...”

“What are ya? Pinkie now?”

They both laughed together.

“Dashie, I want to ask you something serious now. It's about Soarin...”

“What about him?” Rainbow asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

Brian gave his daughter a kind smile, “It's a small town, Dash. Word gets around pretty quick, and you sorta didn't make it private... not with all the drama over at Cyan's hotel.”

“Oh... you know about that...” Rainbow's ears drooped, “Sorry, dad. I know you wanted me to...”

“Be happy, Dash. I just want you to be happy. I don't care who you're with. Honestly. I just want what's best, and I know you know what's best. You're Rainbow Dash for Celestia's sake...”

Rainbow eyes went open and she hugged her father tightly, “You're the best father, ever!”

“I know, Dashie. I know.”

“What were you saying about modesty?”

Brian chuckled in response, “Let me off this once?”

“No need. It's true, anyway.”

“I've never been to this place,” I said as I looked around, “It's got quite a lot of Pegasi...”

“That's because this particular restaurant serves something that most other Ponies don't eat. They sell exquisite samples of fish.”

“You eat fish?”

“I've tried it before. Not particularly something I like, but I don't dislike it either. What about you?”

“Yeah... I guess I like fish... I mean, I did... I mean, at least I think I did.”

Twilight stifled a laugh, "Well, let's see if you still like it.”

“Hello, Twilight,” an ivory colored pony with green hair said, “Fancy seeing you here. The last time you came here, you nearly puked-”

“Yes, well, I'm with Forest. You know, the Pony that won the Race a few days ago?” Twilight gestured over to me. I waved. “Well, my friend Forest has amnesia. I just wanted him to try some-” Twilight swallowed hard, and I could have sworn her face turned a shade greener, “- fish, if you don't mind.”

“Naw, not at all. Tell you what, I'll give you guys a small sample and if you like it, I'll bring out a dish. That way we won't have any-”

“Waste! Waste... we don't want to waste any food do we, right, Forest?”

“It's okay to admit you don't like fish, Twilight,” I chuckled, “You don't have to pretend.”

“I like the taste, it's the texture-” She shuddered a little, “That is what gets to me. It's so-” She shuddered again, “di-”

“Disgusting?” The waitress said with a raised eyebrow.

“Different. It's different. No, not disgusting. I like the taste, it's just what it is. It's got nothing to do with your husband's cooking, Cloudy.”

“You are just so cute when you act all prim and proper,” the mare snorted a laugh, “It's always good to see a friend, and with her coltfriend too. You know, honestly, I never thought I'd see the day that Twilight Sparkle would find a stallion for herself.”

Twilight found the floor suddenly very interesting, which made me smile.

“I guess we all just need to wait for that special somepony.”

This time it was my turn to look at the floor. Slowly, I looked up, and coincidentally looked right into Twilight's eyes as she too had decided to look up at me as well. My face burned and I tried hard not to grin stupidly.

Failed miserably.

I just felt so light and happy.

“Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone for now. Something to drink? A nice wine perhaps? It's still early, but you know what? Who cares?”

“S-s-some wine sounds nice,” Twilight whispered.

The waitress looked at the two of us, “Would you two stop acting like this is the first time you've ever been on a date? Please?”

Taking a deep breath, I looked up, “This is our first real date, right Twi?”

Following my lead, she also raised her head, “Yes, it is. Our first date-date.”

“Then, we ought to make the most of it, wouldn't you agree?”

She giggled, “Of course. Some wine please, Cloudy.”

“Not anything too expensive,” I said sheepishly, “I'm kinda low in the money department.”

“Oh, don't worry about that. Just come back and pay me when you can,” Cloudy said with a wide smile, “You're dating one of the Elements, for Luna's sake. You need to show her the finest things. Don't be a stick-in-the-mud.”

As much as I wanted to argue with her, Cloudy gave me a massive wink while her back was turned to Twilight. She then walked off and into the back room, where she and her husband, and the rest of the kitchen staff peeked out at us through the round port-window that led into the kitchen.

If Twilight noticed, she did a helluva good job ignoring it.

“Why'd you run away?” Applejack asked the black Pegasus, “Aiden was just kiddin' around...”

“AJ, please, tell me, do you love me?” Atom asked, cutting right to the chase.

“Really? You're askin' me if I lo-”

“Like before, AJ. From when I was here last. You know that I love you more than anything in this world.” Atom looked Applejack in the eyes, “Can't you tell me the truth?”

“Now Atom, you know that I jus' ended thin's with Forest,” she said slowly. “My heart's still a little confused. You understand, right?”

Atom turned away from the orange mare.

“Right?” she pressed.

“No. Not right. It's wrong. You can't do this to me. I see how you look at him-”

“Because I still got feelin's for him, ya big silly! I know that, he knows that, you should know that! It's gonna take me time to get over it,” She punched Atom in the forearm, “Just give a gal a chance to get her apples sorted. I'm not goin' nowhere.”

Atom sighed, “That's the problem, AJ. I... might have to go soon.”

“Why?” Applejack asked after a long pause.

When Atom didn't reply, she punched him on the forearm again. This time it wasn't a friendly punch, “Why?”

“Because... things change, AJ. Things happen. And... I might have to go,” Atom sighed, “Look, I'm not like Aiden, I don't have the luxury of being free... oh horse-apples...” He realized he had said too much a second too late.

“You're still with the Guard? Even with your broken wing?” Applejack shouted, “You can't be serious! Why didn't ya tell me?”

“Nopony asked! And I'm not with the Guard in that sense... don't get me wrong, I'm still a part of it. To be honest, I had no idea... no idea that you still cared.” Atom put a hoof on Applejack's lips, “No, I can't tell you why so don't make me.”

“Why in Celestia's name can't you tell me?”

“Because... that's... I...” Atom growled and shook his head in frustration, “I hate how you always know just what to say to make me blab. Just... just let it go, okay? Forget I mentioned it.”

“How's anypony supposed to just forget something like...”

They heard the sound of a voice calling. They both looked around and spotted Spike running towards them. He was running on all fours quite quickly, a far cry from when he used to waddle around on his hind legs when he was a little Dragon.

“Atom,” Spike panted, “You got a letter...”

It didn't take a genius that it was from Celestia's Royal Guard. Atom gulped, and opened the scroll. He read the contents, and shook his head, “It's a recall.”

“What?” Spike asked, and took the sheet of paper out of Atom's hoof.

“They're calling all able-bodied Guard back. That means...”

“War?” Spike asked bluntly.

“Maybe. I don't know. All I know is that I've gotta go again. Soon...” Atom looked at Applejack who shook her head angrily.

“You ain't able-bodied! Your wing's broke...”

“Just because I can't fly doesn't mean I can't do other things, AJ. Besides, it's probably nothing. Standard practice when dealing with a potentially hostile nation. They'll put Ponies like me on standby.”

“You can't go... you only just got back here... to me,” Applejack said, placing her hooves on Atom's shoulders.

Atom smiled, “I know, AJ. Really, I do. But I am still a Guard and I must go.”

Deep down in her heart, Applejack knew that he was right. This was one of the things she loved about him, his resolve to do what was right.

“But why?” She asked as she watched Atom walk away. The stallion either didn't hear her, or chose to ignore her.

“Well? What do you think?” Twilight asked, still with her piece of fish on her plate.

I chewed on it for a few more minutes before shaking my head, “Delicious, but I can't eat it... I mean swallow it.”

Twilight giggled, “See? Told you.”

Cloudy handed me a piece of tissue and I spat the leftovers from my mouth into it and folded it away and left it on the now empty plate, “Flavor is top notch, though.”

“Don't worry, Forest. We get a lot of Ponies that want to try it. It only seems to appeal to Pegasi. I mean, most Ponies can't get past the taste...”

“How come? I mean, you don't get fish in the sky, do you?” I asked.

Cloudy looked at me as if I was the idiot. Probably was.

“Haven't you heard of flying fish?” She asked.

I thought about it for a second, “Well, of course I have-”

“And what do flying fish do?”

I bit my lip, but I already knew what she wanted me to say. “They fly.”

“And what doesn't grow on clouds?”

“Green things...”

“Yes. That's right. So, what choices did we have to eat up in the clouds?” Cloudy asked, “Of course this is centuries ago, and back then there were a lot more attributes as to why Pegasi couldn't just flutter down to the ground and eat grass. Right Twilight?” Cloudy smiled at the mare, “Our races weren't on speaking terms in those days.”

“She's talking of a very, very long time ago, long before the reign of the Princesses,” Twilight translated for me, “There were... differences.”

Cloudy shook her head, “That's an understatement. War was constant in those times. It's almost impossible to think that now with how things run.”

“You guys must have good historical records.”

“We do. You're a Pony too, remember?”

I hit myself on the head, “Oh yeah!”

Twilight gave me a knowing smile, which I returned.

“Anyway, thanks to the Unicorns we know everything!” Cloudy barked, “They liked to always write everything down, and in most cases they wrote down the truth. It's amazing to what detail as well. Twilight here has shown me some books.”

“Only because I was just as interested in it as you were. I was curious to see how many Pegasi love to eat fish.”

“Somehow I can't picture Fluttershy eating fish,” I laughed at my own joke.

“Funny you should bring that up, Forest, but Fluttershy actually doesn't mind eating fish. I mean, if you have something else, she'll take it, but if you have fish being served, she won't make a big deal out of it.”

“Really? Wow. I just... I just can't picture it.” I turned and smiled at Cloudy, “And this wine is incredible. What is it?”

“It's from Zebrica, the very southern area. It's famous for its wines. Many Ponies in Canterlot drink that Prench wine, but it doesn't have the same kind of kick this does. Berry recommended this to me, and I think it goes well with...”

“I like it!” I drank the last bit of what was left in my glass, “It's got a nice flavor.”

“It's also pretty strong. You ought to take it easy,” Cloudy stated, but she poured me another glass anyway.

Twilight giggled at me, “You can't hold your drink, Forest. Remember what happened in Esperia. I don't want to have to go looking for you in the morning...”

“You could just make him stay over at your place, you know. That way he won't be able to disappear without you knowing. Clever idea, right?” Cloudy grinned at Twilight, who tried to say something back, but she couldn't find the proper words.

“Cloudy! Get your flank over here and leave our customers alone!” an angry voice shouted from the kitchen.

Cloudy shuddered, “Oh Luna, the husband is calling. I better go. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call for a member of staff...” she said the last part out loud before walking towards the kitchen.

“You know, I have given it some thought, and I think it wouldn't be a good idea for us to sleep together... I mean under the same roof... I mean, not that I wouldn't mind... I mean that it would be nice... wait, I meant to say that if you like we could do something...” I banged my head against the table, which made Twilight jump in her seat. “What I mean to say, Twilight, is that as much as I would love to stay over at your place, I can't.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked, taking a sip from her drink, “Is it because of Applejack?”

“No, it's because I don't trust myself around you. I'd... do things...”

She gave me a confused look, “What do you mean?”

“Twilight, I'm a stallion, and right now, I'm a slightly intoxicated stallion, and by slightly, I mean very much so. Do you think that I would be able to keep my hooves to myself? It would be a bad idea to let me stay at your place...”

Twilight blushed and very quietly said, “I wouldn't mind.”

My mind blanked out for a moment.

“Um... did you just say you wouldn't mind, Twi?”

She looked away, “Please, don't make me repeat it.”

All I could think of was the implications of what she was saying, “I'm sorry, but I just can't get what you're saying through my head. Did you say that...”

“Please, Forest. It's embarrassing enough already.”

I stood up, walked around the table, and knelt in front of her, “Even knowing that I'm a-”

“Even knowing, Forest. Like I told you in Canterlot after the race, I fell for you.”

“B-b-but how? I just don't get it, Twi. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love it. I love how you feel about me. I love how you couldn't care less what I am. That, to me, is the most amazing thing about you. You have no idea what your words mean to me...”

Twilight picked up my face in her hooves and kissed the tip of my nose, “Stop talking. Let's go.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Okay...”

The train came to a grinding halt at the station. A light blue Pony descended from the carriage and onto the platform. She took a look around with mixed feelings.

“Welcome to Ponyville...” A yellow mare stated, “You look familiar, do I know you?”

“I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!” The pony replied, “Now, would you be so kind and to tell me where I can find the human named Brian?”

The yellow mare did not miss the sudden change in her voice at the second part. The boastful tone she originally had vanished when she asked about Brian's whereabouts. It was only because of that change that the yellow mare decided to humor her.

“He's in the hospital. Just get out of the train station, head straight down the road towards Ponyville proper, then in the market, follow the signs towards the hospital. You can't miss it.”

“Trixie thanks you.”

The yellow mare gave her a half-smile, “Word of advice? Take off the hat and robe. Ponies here still remember you, and after what happened to Brian, more than a few of them aren't too pleased with you.”

Hesitantly, Trixie touched the brim of her conical hat, “But... this is Trixie's clothing... she...”

“She should know better,” The yellow mare completed for her, “But it's up to you.”

“Thank you... I don't think I know your name, Miss...”

The yellow mare thought for a moment, “Daffodil. Daffodil Flower.”

“Thank you, Daffodil. Trixie is... no... I am grateful. Thank you.”

Daffodil's half-smile turned into a full smile, “Good luck, Trixie.” When the light blue mare was a good distance away, she lowered her voice, “You're going to need it.”

Twilight was leaning against me as we headed out of the restaurant. I could feel the eyes of the Ponies that worked there staring after us. For some reason I didn't care. It could have been because of the alcohol, but whatever it was, I was so happy that the purple mare was there with me. Not only that, she was actually enjoying my company, and she didn't care that I wasn't a Pony. Twilight was, to say the least, the most amazing Pony ever. Perhaps a little too kind, maybe naïve, but she was spectacular.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Twi?” I asked, “I mean, I'd understand if you wanted to think about it.”

“No...” She whispered. The way she said it made me shudder in excitement, “I'm sure.”

Eagerly we headed towards the library, the sun still shining high up in the sky. Never before had I felt so excited. I wasn't sure what to expect, what was going to happen, or what Twilight was thinking. You could say that I was not thinking at all – or some other body part was doing the thinking for me.

As we reached her door, I spotted something that instantly averted my attention.

“Trixie?” I asked out loud.

At once the light blue mare froze in her tracks. She looked over at me, then at Twilight, then back to me.

“Trixie wishes to be left alone. She means to do no harm...”

Again with that third person bullshit!

Twilight snuggled my chest before turning her head around to look at Trixie, “What are you even doing back here? Wait... how'd you get here?”

“Unlike you, Trixie waited patiently on the train. I only just arrived... I mean, Trixie has only just arrived. Trixie does not wish to talk to you. She only wishes to progress unhampered to the hospital.”

That alerted Twilight, “What do you want to do at the hospital?”

“That is none of your business,” Trixie replied, turning her head away, “She only wishes to see the human...”

“And to apologize, right? That's why you are here, isn't it?” I asked.

At this, Trixie's entire demeanor changed, “Yes, it is. Trixie... no, I wish to tell..." she fumbled a bit.

"Brian.”

“Brian... yes, I wish to tell Brian that I am... sorry...”

Twilight gave her a level look, “This ought to be good. Fine. I'm not going to stop you, but I want to see this for myself.”

So, just like that, my special moment with Twilight was shoved to the back of her mind. Why was I not surprised? Well, as she so eloquently put it: this ought to be good. I only hoped that by making Trixie to do the right thing, there would be some sort of closure between the two. With my impending doom, I kinda knew how she felt. I think. I hoped.

As we walked on, Trixie coughed out loud and made a gesture. It was clear that she wanted me to start a conversation with her.

“What?” I said, a little harsher than I intended.

If it affected her, she played it off rather well.

“Forest, Trixie wants to...” she saw the bored expression on my face and changed her tone, “I just wanted to thank you. For helping me back there. I appreciate it. Also, I just wanted to make sure that you were safe, as did your friends.”

Now I felt really bad.

“Thanks, Trixie,” I said slowly, “Sorry I snapped at you...”

“That's okay. I'm used to it.”

I stopped and turned to her, “You shouldn't be.”

She shrugged, “Trixie doesn't know why everypony thinks that she is bad...”

“No,” Twilight corrected, “Everypony thinks that you're a vengeful, arrogant mare. You came here with malicious intent directed at me and my friends. You harmed one of them very badly.”

Trixie paused briefly in her tracks, “I only wanted you to acknowledge me, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Then why attack Brian?” Twilight barked back, “Why did you do that? What in Celestia's mane made you do that?”

This time Trixie froze in her tracks, “I... didn't mean to hurt anypony...”

“Maybe you didn't mean to, but you did. What you have done to Brian and Rainbow is completely unforgivable. You don't deserve to meet with him. You don't deserve to talk to him. The only reason why I'm even humoring you is because of Forest, otherwise I wouldn't let you within a mile of Brian or Rainbow.”

What had I done?

“There are no words that can express how terrible I feel, Twilight Sparkle. Please, give me leave to regain what little dignity I have left, and to try and earn some form of forgiveness from the ones I've harmed. After this is over, we'll part ways, and I vow never to interfere with your life or your friends again. You have my word.”

“That makes little difference at this point, but like I said, I'm only allowing this because of Forest. For some reason he thinks that you deserve a change,” Twilight leaned in, “But I don't. Whatever you did to Brian, he's not left the hospital since.”

“Twilight, I saw the whole thing... Trixie didn't do anything in particular to harm Brian...” The look on Twilight's face shut me up.

We all stood there in silence. Eventually Twilight turned and stalked off ahead of us.

“Trixie, why does it matter what Twilight thinks of you? I mean, why does it matter so much to you?” I asked when Twilight was far enough ahead that I could whisper to her without being overheard.

“I've always wanted to be recognized as a strong magical Pony. It's difficult to live under the shadow of Princess Celestia's favorite student. I just wanted to show her that I wasn't all talk, that I could be as strong as her if I tried.”

“Then why the whip?”

Trixie tried to hide her face from me, but I spotted the rosiness in her cheeks clearly, “Admittedly, I didn't think things through properly.”

“No doubt about that,” I mumbled in response, “So, what are you going to say?”

“Honestly? I don't know. I just hope that whatever I say, it's the right thing."

I grinned, “That's good. I'm sure Brian'll like that.”

As we walked through the town, I felt like the center of attention. Or rather, I felt that a lot of attention was directed towards us. That was when I realized that quite a few Ponies were now following along with us. Most of them were murmuring to themselves, but something was definitely amiss. Well, more so than usual.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here!” a large gray pony snapped at Trixie as we walked by her stand, “Not after what you did.”

Trixie said nothing and continued to walk on in silence.

“Now, looky what we got here! It's that loud-mouthed show-off!” a light brown Pony shouted, “What's wrong? Did the Ponies in the bigger cities get fed up of you as well?”

There was a nothing she could say to that, and to be honest, it seemed like a good idea to keep quiet. Brian had indeed touched a lot of lives in Ponyville. He was a well respected member of the community. His words held substantial weight. Usually he was kind and open minded, but he was sharp and had the ability to see things that others couldn't. He saw through my 'disguise' almost the very same day I had met him, and whether or not he still suspected anything, it was clear that he was more concerned with spending time with his daughter than chasing what could have very well been nothing.

In some small way, I actually hoped that Twilight would've told on me. I guess I was just tired of all the lies and deceit, the opportunity to come clean, even suffering through whatever repercussions seemed better than keeping up the charade. I mean both Rainbow and Twilight both know what I am... yet, I still felt a little perturbed. What Twilight had said to me about being a Changeling bothered me. What if she was right? What if my memories were not my own, but some sort of hybrid infusion of Brian's mind and my own?

Nah... couldn't be... could it?

“What is she doing here?” Rainbow barked outside the hospital's main door, “I had to see it to believe it. You must be crazy to think I'd let you see dad after...”

“Rainbow,” I said, stepping in, “I know it isn't really my place, but I think Brian deserves a chance to talk to Trixie face to face.”

“Oh you do, do you? Well, let me tell you something...”

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder, “I think he's right, Rainbow. She did come all the way here despite knowing the reception she was going to get. Perhaps we should let her go and meet him, I would think Brian would like that.”

“I just don't know...” Rainbow looked away, “I don't want her anywhere near my father.”

“That is understandable,” Trixie said, moving past me to face Rainbow, “If I were in your place, I'd probably do the same thing. I wouldn't let some strange mare near my father, especially if said mare had hurt him in the first place. But I'm asking you, not as The Great and Powerful Trixie, but as... myself, please, let me apologize to your father. Let me do what's right. After what happened in The Pitt...”

“What? You were there?” Rainbow asked, her eyes opening wide, “What were you doing there?”

“I was being held there against my will. I was captured not long after I had run away from here. After that... incident, I went on a trip to find myself. To find a new direction in my life. After I was captured and while I was chained to the ceiling I really didn't have much else to do except to think. You don't know what it was like there for me. To be beaten every single day, to be told that I was a nuisance...” She stopped and turned her head away from us, “I don't want to hated.”

“You may fool Forest and Twilight, but you don't fool me, Trixie. Unlike my friends who spend most of their times here in Ponyville, I get around quite a lot – or I used to, with the Wonderbolts. We've travelled all over Equestria, and wherever we've gone, you've left nothing but a bad rep behind. So, no, you can't see my dad!”

The way she said it made it sound final.

“Why can't we let your father decide that for himself then?”

Rainbow made a face, “No. What my father needs is rest, not some sob story about a mare who hurt him trying to weasel out guilt by a meager apology. There is just no way that that's going to happen.”

“But...”

“This conversation is over!”

Everypony stood there not knowing what to do or say.

Then, suddenly, Trixie's horn began to glow and in a flash she vanished and reappeared inside the hospital behind Rainbow.

“Hey!” Rainbow yelled, spinning around and pushing through the doors,"What do you think you're doing?”

“The right thing!” Trixie shouted back, and with that she vanished again before Rainbow could get her hooves around her.

“Twilight! Help me!”

Twilight's horn started glowing, but it spluttered and then twinkled out. She closed her eyes and tried again, but with the same result. She looked up, “I'm sorry, but I can't!”

“What d'ya mean you can't?” Rainbow stressed.

A slight blush appeared on the purple mare's cheeks, “I... drank too much. I can't concentrate hard enough...”

“Drank too much? But it's just past noon!”

“That's my fault, Rainbow. I... we went to a restaurant and started drinking. Before long we had finished two bottles of wine...”

Rainbow made a face, “You can make up for it by finding that mare and getting her out of here before she finds my dad. I'm going to his room and locking the door.”

With that she whizzed off, leaving a rainbow streak behind her.

“This isn't going to end well...” I muttered.

Twilight rubbed her head against my neck, “Let's get this over and done with quickly.”

Once again, the way she touched me sent shivers down my spine, “Okay. Let's do this thing!”

Trixie ran into the next room and peeped inside. Wrong one. She had been peeking into every single room while at the same time trying to avoid other Ponies, especially Rainbow and Twilight. Especially Twilight. Usually Trixie would be the first to meet her in open challenge, but now was not the time. She needed to find Brian and apologize. She had to.

“Hello, miss,” a young colt said looking up at the frustrated mare, “You look upset.”

“Do I?” Trixie replied, kneeling down to meet the colt's eyes, “My name is Trixie. The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

At those words she stood on her hind hooves and using a simple series of fire and water controlling spells, she made what looked like little fireworks around her head. It was easy. You put the fire inside the drops of water and then you cast them around you. They would look just like fireworks if you did it right, a skill that took her years to perfect.

The colt eyes opened wide, “Wow! Do that again...”

“Uh...”

“Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?”

How could she say no to him? Again she raised herself on her hind legs and again she summoned the fireworks around her. “Ta-da!”

The colt laughed, “Can you do something else?”

Trixie scratched her chin with her hoof, "It has been a while, but yes, I can do something.”

With practiced skill, she turned around and pulled out a long stemmed rose from a nearby vase and put it in between her hooves. With an over-dramatic flourish, she closed them over the flower, but as she removed them the color of the rose had changed from a deep red to a bright and vivid white flower (that wasn't a rose).

“That's so awesome!” the colt said smiling up at her. "Can you do more?”

"Yes! I can!” Trixie grinned.

Somehow she found that she was really enjoying this.

“Hey, Forest...”

I turned around and put a hoof to my nose, shushing her. She walked up to me quietly and peered down the hall where I was looking at. There she saw Trixie entertaining a bunch of kids with her vibrant magic.

“Well, she still has a way with kids,” Twilight said shaking her head, “Forest, are you sure letting her go see Brian is the smart thing to do?”

“No, but it's the right thing to do. When I was younger, I once came across a saying that I've always kept in the back of my mind.”

Curious, Twilight tilted her head to one side that made my heart skip a beat. She was just so wonderful.

“What saying, Forest?

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some and astonish the rest,” I recited, and smiled, “Or something like that. I could be off.”

“That's... that's actually really deep. Who said it?”

“An author by the name of Mark Twain. He an author from...”

"Earth. I know.”

I tilted my head to one side, “Mark Twain. Why? You've heard of him?”

“Well... yes I have, actually.”

“How?" I asked, no longer bothering to keep my voice down.

Twilight put a hoof on my shoulder, “Brian's mentioned him to me before. We've had long discussions about authors from my world and his. Mark Twain was one of the ones he told me about.”

I started breathing heavily. I felt the panic flowing into me. Again, that fear about me not being a human. That raw fear...

“Are you okay, Forest?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then nodded, “I'm fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” I lied, “It was just shocking, that's all.”

Despite my words, I was freaking out on the inside. Was it my memories? Did I like Mark Twain? Was it me? How do I know about Mark Twain?

Calm down, Forest! I shouted at myself, You learnt about him in school. Relax. Relax...

“Are you really, really alright? You're looking a little bit pale.”

“Just got a little scare, Twi. I promise you I'm fine now.”

Actually, I wasn't. I was scared beyond scared. Fear was gripping my insides, and I didn't know how to shake it off. Yes, I knew that if I didn't get rid of it, Twilight would not stop worrying, so I forced it away, shoving any doubts out of my mind and body. I had to remain calm. Calm and cool.

Relax... relax... relax, damn you! I shouted in my head.

“Yay! Do another one!” one of the colts shouted attracting our attention again.

This time Trixie was blowing bubbles, but as the bubble floated upwards, she would change their shapes. She's start off making them go from a simple sphere to a cube, or a diamond, or something else. Then she started actually making other shapes.

“It's a fish!” one of the Pegasi children shouted as the fish-shaped bubble floated over to her. She opened her mouth and took a bite, making the fish explode in a colorful display of lights.

That made the kids all laugh together.

For the first time since I'd known her, which wasn't for very long, Trixie looked so happy and content.

I wasn't the only one. Many other members of staff and patients had stopped to take a peek at the show, and it was then that I realized that the children she was entertaining had one thing in common, they were all wearing hospital robes.

"They are Ponyville's sick kids,” Twilight whispered, barely audibly, “Some of those children won't...'

She didn't need to elaborate and I stood next to her as we continued to watch Trixie perform. The real Trixie. Not the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie, but the normal Trixie. And she was good.

“What's all that noise, Dashie?” Brian asked.

“It's nothing, dad. Just relax...”

“Don't tell me it's nothing. That's laughter I hear. Now, go poke your head outside and tell me what's going on.”

Sighing, Rainbow unlocked the door and peered out. At the other end of the hall she saw Trixie entertaining some kids with her tricks. She was about to go over to her and tell her to get lost when more kids came out of the ward. Soon Trixie had an audience around her, so much so that the Pegasi at the back had to hover above the rest to see.

Rainbow had seen enough, until her eyes caught two Ponies snuggling each other somewhat. A pang of anger flitted through her body before she pushed it aside.

“Whoah,” she intoned, “The hay was that?”

“The hay was what, Dash?” Brian asked.

“Oh... there's a... dad, Trixie's here. She's doing a show, and some kids are watching her and laughing...” Rainbow knew that once her dad caught wind of something funny, he would not let it go until he was satisfied with the truth. After years of this, she just decided to go with the truth on the get-go to avoid further embarrassments

“Trixie? What's she doing here?”

“Well..." Rainbow began, closing the door behind her, “She's kinda here... to apologize...”

"That was great! Thank you, Miss Trixie,” the colt said.

“It was my pleasure,” Trixie beamed, and knelt, “What is your name?”

“Sun Beam. Where are you from?"

“I'm from... everywhere!” Trixie smiled. “I live out of my hat, and I go where the winds decide to take me. I've been all over Equestria... and beyond.”

The kids all gathered around her, the attention now completely on her. Never before had Trixie been with such an audience. Why did this kids captivate her so? Surely it was she that should have been doing the captivating, not the other way round. Still, here she was, staying with these children. She found herself wanting to tell them more, wanting them to listen to her.

So she began to tell them one of her one adventures – or perhaps a misadventure.

“She's good,” I said, “Look at those kids hanging on her every word.”

“I... I didn't know there was a side to Trixie that wasn't... annoying. I mean, I know she can be normal, but it's just, I've never seen her this normal... ever!” Twilight replied.

“Well, she is an entertainer,” I chuckled.

"Yes, yes, I know. We all know that. But not all entertainers can walk into a hospital and made the children actually feel good about themselves, right? Not that, at least. I mean, look at them all. We're all...”

“Entranced?” I said looking into her eyes.

Twilight blushed, “Yes, entranced. Stop looking at me like that! It's distracting...”

“I grinned and moved in closer to her, “You're distracting.”

“Forest, stop it... not here. This is a hospital.”

She was right, this wasn't the place, but lately, especially around Twilight, I was feeling... hungry. I wanted her. I wanted her so badly, even more than I had wanted Applejack.

Fear shot up my gut. Was this how Changelings felt when it was time to eat? The more I thought about what Twilight said, the more I started actually listening those words. I forced it out of my head. I wasn't a Changeling. I wasn't... I hoped.

“Forest, your starting to look sick again.” Twilight placed a hoof on my head to feel my temperature.

“Huh? Me? No, no, I'm just peachy.” I flashed my best grin, but she knew something was amiss. No Pony can fool Twilight Sparkle. Especially me.

A noise echoed from down the hall. Not a loud one, but one that made me stop thinking about myself and turn my attention onto the source. Trixie.

“Thank you, kids. You've all be a terrific audience,” Trixie announced swinging her arms in a wide movement over her head. As she did a rainbow formed, that quickly faded away. The kids all made a disappointment noise in unison, so Trixie gave them a brief encore, after which they seemed a little pacified.

They all returned into the room they had come from; all of them, save one.

“Are you gonna come visit us again?” Sun Beam asked, “I'd like that very much.”

“Y-y-you would? I-I-I can come by tomorrow, if you want...”

“That's great! I'll see you tomorrow Trixie... sorry, 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'!” As the colt said that, he mimicked her exaggerated bow, “That's just such an awesome name.”

“Thank you,” Trixie said, visibly fighting the tears trying to flow from her eyes, “That means so much to me.”

Sun Beam shook his head, “See you next time, Trixie.”

With that he entered his ward and was gone.

With the show now over, the Ponies got on with their lives. It was then that I spotted Rainbow hovering towards us.

“Oh, hello, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she waved to her friend, "Did you see Trixie?”

“Couldn't believe it. I'd have said you were lying if I hadn't seen it for myself.”

“Where are you going now?” I asked.

“Dad wants to meet Trixie. He heard her... and I told him about her wanting to meet him. If you don't mind, would you two come with me? Just in case... not that I can't handle things myself...”

“Of course,” Twilight replied without a hint of hesitation.

“Is that really necessary?” I muttered. If the girls heard, they ignored me.

“Thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow replied, then flew over towards Trixie.

“You know, I've noticed something,” I said as Rainbow hovered away, “Cyan had trouble making friends, now I notice that Trixie's having the same problem. Both their coat's colors are almost the same. Do all light blue Ponies have trouble befriending others?”

“Somehow I doubt that has anything to do with the color of the coat. Trixie can easily make friends if she didn't think so highly of herself. I've heard that once in a while she reveals her 'true self', but this is the first time I've actually seen it. It was... interesting.”

We both shared a chuckle before we were distracted by the sound of Rainbow's angry voice telling Trixie the set of rules she had in order for her to see her father.

“... and I don't ever want to see your horn glow, even for a second, you got it?”

“Got it.”

“And you can't go near him either. Got it?"

"Uh... sure. Can I get close enough to talk to him at least?"

“What? Yeah, but no closer.” Rainbow looked over her shoulder at Twilight then back to Trixie, "Promise me you'll not do anything that would hurt him.”

Trixie eyes widened, “Of course I won't hurt him. I've already done enough...” she closed her eyes for a moment, “I promise I will not in any way do anything that would even hint at harming him. I never meant to hurt anypony. I never did. Even with that Ursa incident years ago, I never mean it to happen...”

“Yeah, we know... didn't we apoligize to you for that?”

“I think you did, but my pride didn't let me accept it. This past week has really opened my eyes. I hope that you can believe me.”

Finally, with Rainbow fully satisfied, she led the way towards her father's room, with Twilight following right behind them, and me bringing up the very rear, as per usual. I'm always the caboose everywhere we go...

The four of us filed into the room, and I instantly made my way over to a seat at the other corner. It was nice not having Brian watch me, as his eyes kept on the light blue mare as she walked in and stood at the foot of his bed.

“Trixie.”

“Uh... Mr... Brian... Dash?" Trixie said, unsure what to call the human.

Brian smirked slightly, "Just Brian is fine.”

“Oh. Brian. Yes. Well... um... h-how are you feeling?”

“Been better, as you can see.” He gestured to the hospital room.

Trixie let out a nervous, unsure laugh. “It's been quite some time and...”

Brian raised a hand silencing her instantly, “Look, let's not make this any more awkward than it already is. You wanted to see me, here I am. Now, what I want to know is why. Why do you want to see me? Just tell me.”

A look of relief flooded Trixie's face, “I've come here to tell you that what I did to you was wrong, and I don't know if you believe me or not, but I promise you from the bottom of my heart that I didn't intend for it to be... I didn't want... it was only meant...”

Brian raised his hand again, “Pause. Take a deep breath, and then speak.”

“What I'm trying to say is,” the light blue Unicorn took a long, deep breath, “I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, and if there is anything, anything at all, that I can do to make it up to you, then I will swear on my life that I will fulfill it to the best of my abilities.”

At those words, Brian leaned against the headrest of his bed, “That's a pretty open ended promise, Trixie."

“After what I've done to you, I think it is only natural.”

“You stopped referring to yourself in the third person...” Brian pointed out, “I like that.”

“Well, yes... it seems that referring to myself annoyed more than a few... Ponies.”

“The Diamond Dogs beat the habit out of her,” I said out loud.

Oopsie...

“What do you mean by that, Forest?” Brian asked.

“Uh... that is...”

“Forest saved my live. I owe him for what he did for me in those caves. When all the others left me, he alone stayed by my side. For that, I am grateful.” Trixie smiled over to me, “He's the one who told me about you, and what I had done. If only I had known sooner, I would have returned long ago.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds like a good story,” Brian said, making himself comfortable, “and I think I would very much like to hear it from you, Trixie.”

Rainbow looked at her father with a knowing smile. Her expression visibly softened at the Unicorn as she hovered to one side and pulled up a chair, gesturing for the mare to sit down on it. Trixie nodded in thanks as she sat down, then she began to tell her tale.

And she was good.

Trixie was a one-pony entertainment center. She not only told the story, but in such a way that it pulled us in. Even though I was in it, it was like hearing about someone else. Someone a lot more exciting than me. Perhaps all that bullshit she kept spreading around gave her the ability to be one helluva storyteller. She even went as far as to try and imitate the voices. Even the voice she did for me, which sounded nothing like me, was distinct enough that it actually made me think that my own voice was wrong and that hers was right. Truth be told, I had no idea if the voice I heard from her was indeed my voice.

Afterwards Trixie explained the battle, and what she had done to take part. While Twilight, Aiden and Atom were fighting along side the newly freed Ponies, it was an exhausted Trixie that teleported towards the nearest town through the desert to get the Royal Guard. She was the one that led them to The Pit. She was as much a hero as the rest of us were.

“You went back to help them?” Brian asked.

“Of course. I may be selfish, but the last thing I want is to cause any Pony harm. That was never my intention. I only wanted to show off my talents, and I thought that the best way to do that was to be better than everypony at what they did.”

“That's just silly,” Rainbow added, "You can't be better than me at flying.”

“Or me at running,” I chimed in.

“Or me at apple buckin',” Applejack said from behind us. She had just walked in, “Howdy y'all. Didn't expect the whole lotta you ta be here. 'Specially Trixie? What in tarnation she doin' here?”

“It's okay, AJ,” Brian said, “she came to apologize, and tell us stories. She's actually quite good at it.”

“I bet she is,” Applejack replied, the sarcasm was literally dripping off of her words.

“So, Trixie, now that you've updated me on Equestria's affairs, I'm going to make you promise me something.”

“Anything,” Trixie said, nodding once to affirm that she meant it.

“You know that Rainbow told me how good you were entertaining those kids down the hall. Well, I want you to do that at least once a week for the rest of your life. Entertain kids. Any kids. As long as you make sure they're having fun, I'll be happy.” Brian chuckled to himself, “Sorta like what Pinkie does.”

“Pinkie?” Trixie asked, “I don't think I... oh, yes I do.” Trixie's expression revealed that she did not like being reminded.

“Say, where is she?” Brian said looking around.

Twilight blushed, “Well... I kinda left her back in Canterlot and I don't have enough magic power in me to go and get her. If she's taken the train, she should arrive soon."

"You girls are your trips,” Brian sighed, “Ah, to be young and free again. Wouldn't that be something?”

“You do know...” I said slowly.

“No,” Brian said even before the words left my mouth, “I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no. I'm a human, Forest. I don't do... body altering spells."

“Maybe so, but think about your daughter!” I countered.

Brian shook his head, “I have. That's why I must stay a human. Because that is what I am. I'm a human being, Forest. If I die... then I die. That just means it's my time...”

“No!” Rainbow shouted, “No. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear this... just stop...”

“I'm sorry, Dashie,” Brian said, opening his arms wide, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that... I'm sorry...”

Rainbow hugged her father back, and the girls, except for Trixie all did the same. I stood there wondering why I had said that. Why did I open my big mouth? It must be the alcohol. I had no business sticking my nose into some other Pony's affairs, least of all this.

“I'll do it.”

Everypony looked at the Trixie.

“I'll do it, Brian Dash. I will keep that promise. To entertain the children.” Trixie's voice was so quiet, that I had to double check to make sure that it was indeed her that was talking.

A wide smile appeared across the human's face, “Then I'm happy. And you'll see, Trixie.”

"I'll see what?”

“You'll see that The Great and Powerful Trixie is no match for The Kind and Humble Trixie. Whatever else you do, you will find that your biggest and best rewards will be on the smiles of young fillies and colts who watch your show.”

Trixie didn't know what to say, her mouth kept opening and closing.

“I... did enjoy entertaining them... I... The Kind and Humble Trixie?” The light blue mare's eyes began to water, “I... I don't know what to say. Th-thank you, Brian.”

“Don't cry. Please don't cry. How about something to eat?” Brian smiled, “How about some cake?"

“Cake?” We all asked at the same time. Brian lifted up a small bell and rang it. Instantly balloons appeared from under the bed, and out popped a pink mare with a small party hat on her head.

“Surprise!” she shouted, and then placed a party noisemakers in her mouth.

Before I could even speak, one such object was shoved in my mouth.

“But... how did you get here, Pinkie?” Twilight asked, genuinely surprised.

"I teleported with Sweetie and Spike, silly-nilly. They took me with them so that I could come and prepare a surprise party!”

“Sorry, Twilight. She made me Pinkie Promise not to tell any of you she was here. Not even my daughter was allowed to know.” Brian gave his daughter an apologetic look.

“Dashie's not the best at keeping secrets,” Pinkie announced, pulling out a large cake from under the bed and placing it on the bedside stand. No matter how many times I've seen her do such things, I would never get used to it.

Rainbow, Twilight and I shared a look. That was true. Rainbow did happen to have a pretty big mouth.

“I mean, she doesn't mean to tell anypony, but she's so super-duper-quick, that the words are all out of her mouth before she realizes what she's said! She so super-fast that it takes thinking a few seconds to catch up."

“Hey!” Rainbow barked.

“Oh, don't you worry your pretty head. You're not the only one who does that,” Pinkie giggled.

Every single one of them turned towards me.

“Oi!”

They all burst out laughing at my expense. In good fun, of course. Or, at least I hoped it was in good fun.

“I've got some drinks... some snacks...” Pinkie went on.

Everypony started to take a piece of cake, but my attention was now on Applejack. Despite everything it was clear that she was distracted. I was about to walk over to her and ask what was wrong when a loud knock made everypony stop what they were doing and turn towards the door.

“Hello,” a voice said quietly, “are we late?”

In walked in a white Unicorn and a very happy looking Dragon by her side. They both saw us all staring and blushed.

“We were at Rarity's place helping clean up,” Spike said, “Took us a little longer than expected.”

“Helping clean up, eh?” Rainbow said slowly, “Are you sure you were only cleaning?”

The way the two of them froze like two deer caught in headlights, it was obvious that cleaning wasn't the only thing they were up to.

I elbowed the Dragon's side, “You sly Dragon, you.”

Spike just laughed nervously, “Nothing happened, Forest. I promise. We're taking it nice and slow, okay?” He said it quietly.

“I'm not here to judge, my friend. Whatever you want, just know that I'm here for you,” I whispered back.

“I know. Thanks, though. It's always nice to be reminded that there are good friends around when you need. Good friends that will help out.”

“We're all good friends, Spike,” Twilight said, hugging her little brother, “And I'm family. Now, don't tell me that Rarity allowed anything that wasn't 'cleaning' to happen while she was home...”

Spike grinned nervously.

“She wasn't home, was she?” Twilight let out a sigh of resignation, “Well, you're adults now, so I'm not going to say anything...”

“Nothing like that happened, Twilight,” Spike said, releasing her from his embrace, “We really did only clean... but we also hugged and kissed a little...” He said the last part so quietly, but everypony heard it. He tried to pass it off as a normal thing, but his face gave away just how both happy and bashful he was feeling.

“Way to go,” I nudged him again, making him grimace a little at the looks he was getting from his older sister.

“Forest, don't encourage him,” Twilight said, giving me a disapproving look.

Walking towards the cake, I stopped next to the purple Unicorn and leaned in close to her ear, “Were we going to your place to 'clean' as well?”

Now it was Twilight's face that lit up like a red light, her cheeks practically inflating from all the blood that rushed there. She looked so adorable and... hot, that it took every ounce of strength from me not to lean in a kiss her. The only reason why I didn't was because Applejack was in the room. I still had feelings for her! How long does it usually take for feelings like these to go? Would I always be cursed with feelings for the orange mare for the rest of my life? Knowing that, would it be fair to keep seeing Twilight knowing that.?

"Yummy, nummy, cake!” Pinkie said, shoving a plate in my hoof, “There you go! Say, where's Aiden and Atom? They're missing my 'Welcome-Back-to-Ponyville-Secret-Party'! Why didn't anypony tell them?”

“Because it was secret?” I offered.

Pinkie grinned, and clonked her head with her hoof, “Oh yeah!” She then proceeded to stuff her face with more cake.

I couldn't help but laugh.

“So... you got one too?”

“No, Atom. Only the Guard that serve get one. Even though I'm Forest's guardian, I'm still not part of the Guard. Anyway, I thought you said you were retired. You shouldn't be getting letters like these if you're no long serving. What gives?”

“I... haven't been completely honest...” Atom began.

“Ah, so you're one of them, aren't you. One of the hidden bodyguards for the Elements, right?”

“Wait... you know about that? How the hay...”

“I knew about the orders, yeah. When they were asking for volunteers for a top secret mission, I was one of the few that did. Obviously, I didn't pass, so they never selected me. It took me a while to discover the purpose of the secret mission, but by that time the Guards were already selected, so I just... bought a bakery.” Aiden looked towards the hospital and spotted Forest walking with Twilight inside, “My magic was too weak – is too weak...”

“I... accidentally told Applejack...”

“Why am I not surprised,” Aiden sighed, “Do you understand what would happen if the Princesses find out?”

“I didn't tell her what I was here for, but-”

“No, I don't want to know. Don't push your troubles onto me. I've already got enough on my plate as it is.”

“You and I both know that it's only a matter of days before you're dismissed from foal-sitting Forest, Aiden. What are you going to do after that? Go back to your life as a baker? You'll never see Twilight again. At least with Forest around, you have to stay. Without him you're-”

“I know,” Aiden replied interrupting the Pegasus, “Don't remind me.”

“What I can't understand is why don't you just tell her again how you feel.”

“You know what I can't understand? The fact that you never listen. What would I say that to Twilight after what she and Princess Luna put me through? She's in love with Forest, and as much as I hate the fact, after what happened in The Pit, I'm content that he'll be there for her. Plus, it's Twilight. She's... strong.”

Standing there under the shade of a nearby tree, the two stallions stared at the hospital with mixed emotions.

“Are you going to Pinkie's 'secret' party?” Atom asked.

Aiden shook his head, “No. I don't think I want to.”

“Neither do I...” Atom said as he saw Applejack walking down the path and into the building.

“You do know that she'll tell the others,” Aiden said when the mare disappeared inside, “The Princess knows just how stubborn they are. They'll confront her about it, and ask why she thought it was necessary to leave hidden Guards in and around Ponyville.”

“Yeah, about that...” Atom rolled his eyes, “The Princess. Sure. Anyway, I want some of Pinkie's cake. She always did make the best cakes. I guess I'll be seeing you then?”

“Yeah. See you around.”

Atom waved briefly before trotting off. Aiden stood there for a for minutes longer before turning around and heading back towards the hotel.

Unknown to them, a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane and tail hovered above the tree they were talking. She had heard it all.

“Oh my...” she whispered before flying towards Brian's open window.

“Girls!” Fluttershy shouted as she flew trough the open window, “Girls, I've got something I need to tell you...”

Everyone turned their attention on the usually shy mare. Right now she didn't seem shy at all.

“What's wrong, Flutters?” Twilight asked.

Oh man, not I'm never going to get lucky... I muttered in my head. I felt my cheeks heat up as soon as the thought entered my brain. What was wrong with me?

“It's about Atom... he's-”

Her voice died in her throat at the knock on the door, “Hello? I'm here for cake!”

“Speaking of which...” I muttered as Atom poked his head inside.

All eyes were suddenly on him.

“W-what? Why's everypony so quiet? Did I come at a bad time?”

“Fluttershy was going to tell us something, weren't you?” Applejack said. There was a distinct tone to her voice. I knew that tone well.

“D-did I? I d-don't think I should-”

“No, please do tell, Flutters. I really want to know,” Applejack pressed.

“O-okay... just a few minutes ago I was flying towards here because I just found Pinkie's invitation in my garden while I was uprooting some carrots for the rabbits-”

“Wait, you hid your invitation underground?” I said looking at the pink Pony, her mouth full of cake.

Pinkie nodded vigorously, “Shesh alwaysh diggingsh cawwotsh for da wabbish...” she said with her mouth full.

“I will never understand you,” I muttered.

Pinkie swallowed her cake, “I said: She's always digging carrots for the rabbits!” she took another monstrous bit from a piece of cake she had and flashed me a grin, her cheeks still full. She looked like a chipmunk with those overinflated cheeks.

“You were saying, Flutters?” Twilight said, encouraging the mare to go on.

“Um.. yeah, so I was flying over here when I spotted Atom and Aiden talking under the old willow tree just outside and-”

“Stop!” Atom shrieked, “Stop, Fluttershy! I beg of you!” He realized that by saying that he had inadvertently dug his own grave. Too bad he didn't look before he leapt.

A common trait between the two of us.

“Now, I wonder what's eatin' you, Atom.” Applejack gave the stallion a keen look, “Guess your secret's about to be revealed, ain't nothin' you can do about it...”

Before he could respond Spike let out a horrific belch. In his hand he had a scroll.

“Here's another one for you, Atom...” Spike said slowly. “You've been getting a lot of these today.”

“Uh... yeah, sorry, Spike. I don't know why that is...”

“Yes you do,” Fluttershy whispered back firmly.

At that the black Pegasus' face turned white in fear. He really was a terrible actor.

“I think I've figured it out,” Applejack said, “It's got something to do with how you've been in and out of Ponyville these past few months, hasn't it?”

“What's she mean, Atom?” Brian asked, “Have you been keeping secrets from us?”

His eyes flashed to everyone's face, but he kept silent. Then, slowly, he raised a hoof, “T-t-take it easy, guys. I'm j-j-just here for some cake...”

“You're hidin' somethin', an' we wanna know what. You can't hide these thin's from me, y'know. I know you better 'an any Pony here.”

“Listen, there's nothing going on, okay? Let's just eat some cake."

“Yeah, some nice delicious, juicy, icing-covered, sweet vanilla goodness!” Pinkie licked her lips and took another whopping bite of cake. It was rapidly disappearing.

The others weren't interested, which made Pinkie quite content.

“This is serious, isn't it?” I said lamely, “Why can't we just not have serious moments...”

“Hush, Forest,” Twilight shushed me, “I want to know too.”

“S-s-say, isn't that... I hear something... that sounds like...”

“No. You're stayin' here until you tell us what's goin' on!” Applejack bit off any arguments.

“I'm... I mean...” Atom looked at Applejack's face and finally abated.

“You guys are horrible. I'm not supposed to tell you. Please don't make me.”

“Why?” Applejack's voice did not change.

“'Cause it'd change things,” Atom muttered, “More than you'd know.”

“Well, I still wanna know.” The way Applejack said it, I knew that if she had human arms, she'd be folding them in front of her chest in a stubborn posture. Uncanny how I could tell.

“I'm... still with the Guard,” Atom began slowly, “I never really retired. I've been... working all along. I kinda didn't tell you the truth because that was what I was supposed to be doing.”

“What?” Applejack exclaimed, “How can you be a part of the Guard when your wing's broke?”

Atom laughed nervously. “Well, I'm still... I can still do other things.”

“What other things?”

“The Elements of Harmony... you guys have specific guards around town whose mission it is to protect you. I am one of them. Or was. Now that you know, I'm afraid that my duty here might come to a swift conclusion.”

Everyone in that room was stunned. Myself included. We all stood there staring at Atom in shock, but none more shocked than the Elements themselves.

“You're lying. There's no way that Princess Celestia would allow the Guard to hang around Ponyville without us knowing,” Twilight said, anger in her voice.

Atom shrugged, “Yeah, I knew you'd say that. That's why none of the Guard who were assigned to Ponyville to be your guards know the identity of the others.”

“Who authorized that?" Twilight asked, her voice not as angry as a moment before.

"Princess Celestia, I think. I'm not sure. I got my orders from the Guard, but something like this... I'd be pretty surprised if it didn't come from her,” Atom said cautiously, “But you've had Guards here for years. I mean, I was recently reassigned here a year ago...”

“You were reassigned here and ya never told us?” Applejack's face showed pain. Pain for being betrayed, I imagined.

“It wasn't my choice! I was reassigned from...” Atom stopped himself before her could continue, but once again he had put himself in a bad place. Compared to me, he was far worse at putting his foot – hoof – in his mouth.

“Reassigned? Where were you before?” This time it was Rainbow who asked. “What's with all this secret secrecy?”

“Ladies," Brian said aloud, his voice drowning the rest of them out, “I think we've got our priorities wrong.”

We all looked at each other in confusion.

Brian looked at the Pegsus, “Atom, what do you mean that your duties here could end? Didn't you just return?”

Suddenly we understood the weight of those words. They were all so busy accusing the Atom that they had forgotten that part.

“It's... we were supposed to protect the Elements in secret. If they know, then the mission is over. I don't think I can perform my duties-”

“No!” Applejack cried out, “No. No, no, no, no! You've been gone all this time! I'm not gonna lose you again!”

“AJ...” Atom's eyes began to water, “Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me.”

“We could just keep what we know a secret!” Pinkie's voice seemed to instantly lighten the mood. “Think about it, you guys. If Celestia's got secrets, then we can have secrets, then we'd all have secrets with secrets while other Ponies will not know our secret about knowing about their secret!”

“What?” We all commented together.

Pinkie took a deep breath, “I said, we should just keep is a secret! If they have a secret then we can have a secret that we know their secret without them knowing we know their secret. I think.” Pinkie scratched her head, “I'm confused.”

“So am I,” I muttered.

“Ditto,” Atom put in.

“I think I get what Pink's saying,” Rainbow answered, “We keep our mouths shut, and hopefully Atom won't have to go away.”

“That's what I've been trying to tell you all! I said-”

“Pinkie, we got the idea,” Twilight said placing her hoof on the pink mare's back.

She grinned before turning her head and taking yet another whopping chomp of cake. That was when I realized that it was all gone. All of it. I wanted to cry. I wanted a second piece.

“So, what now?” Twilight asked, “Do we pretend that we don't know? How can I trust the Princess if she won't tell me...”

“I'm going to cut you off right there, Twilight. I don't want to be rude, but the Princess was thinking of you when she made these orders, if she made them. I'm still unsure where these orders came from. But, I'm glad. I'm glad because I know that Her Highness was thinking of your safety. You're precious to us all! You're the Elements, for Celestia's sake! You're the symbol of all that we stand for...”

“We not symbols or anythin' like that,” Applejack said roughly, interrupting Atom, “We're Ponies, same as everypony else...”

“Yes, every Pony is special, but you're a different kind of special. You're the kind of special that locked Discord up – twice. You're the kind of special that helped beat the Changelings. You're the kind of special that helped free slaves in an underground Pit, and countless other things. That's the kind of special you are, and quite frankly, that deserves more than just a 'same as everypony else' kind of Pony. You're not the same, and that's okay.”

That was the most eloquent thing I've ever heard Atom say.

“So, you were hangin' around Ponyville protectin' me?” Applejack asked.

“No,” Atom said, a small blush on his cheeks, “I was protecting Fluttershy...”

“Oh? Th-thank you... I think,” The butter colored mare said in a quiet voice. She whispered something to herself and stood up tall, “But you still should have told us,” she put in firmly, “It wasn't very nice of you to keep that a secret.”

“I know, but I had no choice,” Atom said as he opened the scroll Spike had given to him.

Everypony watch him expectantly. He read it one more time before rolling it back up, “I've been recalled. Seems like something big is happening in Canterlot. I'm needed there, so...”

“Now, just hang on just one gosh darn minute,” Applejack said standing in front of Atom, “Where exactly are ya goin'? We were just in Canterlot. T'ain't Guard there, least not many...”

“You always manage to sniff out the fine details,” Atom said, smiling at her, “but I'm afraid that that's where it really says I have to go.”

He tossed the scroll towards Applejack, who caught it and opened it. She looked at it long and hard, “Atom, it says nothin' about Canter-”

We all looked up. He was... gone.

“Atom?” Applejack shouted. There was something in her voice. It was the same something I heard when I was dangling over that cliff back in The Pit. That fear.

The fear of losing someone.

“Atom!” she practically screamed as she rushed towards the open window and peered out. Not a sign of him. “Y-you have to help me find him!”

“On it!” I didn't need to be told twice. I'd do anything for Applejack, even find her idiot ex-fiancé.

Before any of them could say a thing, I was out the door, down the hall and on my way out the front door. I had no idea why I was headed outside the hospital, but maybe I was just eager to get out of there. With all that had happened so far, this kind of distraction from me was just what I needed to think about things. I let my mind wander, allowing all sorts of thoughts to flood my mind, especially about Twilight and Rainbow.

A pair of lips firmly planted on mine. First Twilight's, then Rainbow's.

I shook my head vigorously, but the image of Rainbow under me, kissing me remained. It was then that I heard a voice calling my name. Thankfully the image disappeared and I was able to think clearly again.

Why was it her and not Twilight? I didn't get it.

“Hey, Forest. Whatcha doin'?” Applebloom asked.

“Looking for Atom. You seen him?”

“Atom? Yeah, I just saw him glidin' overhead.”

“He was flying?” I asked incredulously. There was a limit to how much of a lie one could tell. Oh right, I not somebody who gets to say that...i

“No, Forest. I said he was glidin', not flyin'.”

“Oh. Sorry, my mistake. Wait... how is he gliding...”

“You okay? You seem kinda out of it. More than usual.”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking,” I replied trying to sound cheerful.

“You know, you're a worse liar than Applejack...”

“Am not!”

“Forest! Hey,” Rainbow landed next to me.

The instant I saw her face, I felt mine starting to heat up.

Oh, for Luna's sake, Forest! Stop acting like a child! I told myself.

“Hey, Rainbow,” Applebloom said in the awkward silence.

“Heya, Abby. Seen Atom 'round? He sorta ran -er- disappeared on us.”

“Yeah, he was glidin' towards the Everfree a moment ago. I was just tellin' Forest here...”

Rainbow was gone before she could finish.

“Oh, for Celestia's sake!” I shouted, “Applebloom, can you tell the others at the hospital where we went?”

“Sure thin', Forest!” Applebloom saw my expression and realized the urgency in what I had said, “I'll get them right away.”

“Thanks!” I watched her head off for a few seconds before I started my run.

Now, I'm fast, there is no need to deny it anymore, but Rainbow was something else. She was long gone by the time I reached the edge of Ponyville. Only the very end of her Rainbow colored jet stream (rainbow stream?) was barely visible as I desperately tried to follow. My attention was upwards, so predictably, I ran smack hard into what felt like a wall. I rubbed the tip of my nose, hoping that it wasn't broken. Luckily for me, it wasn't. Redheart would've had another fit if she found out that I had somehow broken another piece of myself in some way.

In front of me was a row of trees tightly wound together. Some sort of natural wall, it looked like.

“Oh yeah!” I said and smacked myself upside the head with me hoof, “You can only go inside through the entrance.”

Looking up, I noticed that Rainbow's trail had evaporated into the ether. So, I was on my own. Jogging to the front of the entrance to the Everfree, I stood on the path that led inside and paused staring hard into the darkness within. I hated this place and it seemed that whenever I entered here it felt like I was taking a gamble with my life no matter which direction it was; entering or exiting.

“Let's go,” I mumbled to myself and into the Everfree I went.

“How'd he manage to escape? I just don't see how it was possible without him teleportin',” Applejack said, clearly frustrated with the way things panned out. She trotted next to Twilight around the back of the hospital keeping a sharp lookout at the skies above.

“There he is!” Twilight shouted excitedly pointing towards a black dot floating off in the distance. They saw him heading towards Ponyville somehow managing to stay aloft. He wasn't falpping his wings, so he wasn't flying. Where was Rainbow when you needed her?

Twilight concentrated with her horn, but after drinking she found that it was a little too difficult and her magic fazed out with a pop. She'd have to wait a little while before she could summon any proper magic for her to use.

“Sorry, AJ..."

"Don't apologize! Let's just go after him!”

“Forest's on the way. He might seem like an irresponsible Pony, but he's dependable when he needs to be. Plus, Rainbow is already headed after him. Look.”

Sure enough, Rainbow's blur whizzed over them as she sped towards the black Pegasus now descending lower and lower. Twilight did not like the direction he was heading in, it seemed a little too far away to be Fluttershy's cottage.

“No offense, Twi, but I kinda know that about Forest,” Applejack stated giving the mare a dry look.

“Oh yeah,” Twilight said grinning sheepishly at her friend.

Applejack trotted a few steps ahead towards the Everfree, “We've got to go after him, Twi!”

“Why?”

“What d'ya mean 'why'? 'Cause it ain't safe in the Everfree...”

“You're talking about Atom, AJ. Don't you remember how he handled himself during The Pit? Do you actually think that he's incapable of protecting himself?” Twilight shook her head. Twilight stopped in her tracks and looked at her friend, “We've been friends for a long time. I know you better than anypony in Ponyville, but you've got to make your choice clear, Applejack...”

“I ain't saying I don't want him to be around! I just need time to think thin's through. My heart can't let go of either, and I know I need to, but I just can't.”

Twilight stopped and took a deep breath. “I love Forest.”

The suddenness of that statement stunned the orange mare. “What?”

“I love Forest, Applejack. I really do.”

“Well... so I do, Twi-”

“He's not a Pony. He is most likely a Changeling,” Twilight said quickly, unsure why she was spilling her guts out when she herself wanted to keep it a secret. She knew she was taking a gamble, but if Applejack had any feelings for Forest, even as friend, then she would have to understand.

Applejack didn't say anything and stood there dumbfounded.

“Now that you know that, can you still say you have feelings for him?” Twilight inquired.

“That ain't true... is that a metaphor for somethin', 'cause I can't see your point by it...”

“No. I'm not making any metaphors, or giving you a what-if question. Forest is a Changeling. He's not a Pony, but I still love him. Can you really say you feel the same way about him knowing that he is most likely not a Pony at all?”

“If you're not jokin', then that's dangerous, Twi. You should...”

“Princess Celestia already knows, and she's trusted me with doing what's best for me and Ponykind. I trust him, and want to be with him.”

“But...”

“I know. I want to be sure that there isn't some mind-altering spell he's using, but he can't use magic. I know we don't understand the Changelings all that much, but I don't care. Forest was always there for us – and for me, whether he wanted to be or not. He could have run away in The Pit, yet he stayed and it nearly cost him his life...”

“You ain't thinkin' clearly! If he's a Changeling then how can you be sure that they're your feelin's that you're feelin'?”

“I just know, okay? So, please, Applejack, if you go after Atom, promise me you'll start treating Forest as a friend. I know he has feelings for you, everypony knows it, but he has feelings for me too..."

Applejack stood in silence for a moment longer, “Okay, Twilight. Now, I know you haven't had much luck in findin' that special somepony,” she quickly raised a hoof before Twilight could interupt, “and I know that Forest's a good colt. I know. But from what you've told me, and from what Atom's said, it ain't gonna be safe for him in Ponyville. You've got to get him outta here.”

“I... I didn't think of that...” Twilight said in hushed tones, “We've got to find him before somepony else does, especially from this secret Guard...”

“I hear ya!”

The two Elements turned and headed towards the Everfree.

From around the corner of the nearest house a mare stood and watched the two Elements silently for a moment. She watched them go round the next corner and head down the path that lead towards Fluttershy's cottage. She stood there for a long moment before shaking her head in disbelief. Not only had somepony broken the code of silence, but now she just discovered that Forest could very well be a Changeling, the very creature she had been sent to Ponyville to protect the Elements of Harmony from. She stood there for another moment to collect herself before heading out after Twilight and Applejack, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Wait!” she shouted, catching up to them, “Twilight! Applejack! Wait!”

“Oh, heya, lil' sis, what're you doin' here?” Applejack asked.

Applebloom smiled, “I just saw Forest. He was headin' towards Esperia.”

“Esperia? But I just saw him head towards the Everfree...” Applejack said, looking back over her shoulder towards the forest.

Applebloom shrugged, “That's what I saw, sis.”

Twilight nodded, “Okay, then let's head that way. I don't think they'd have gone too far, and I can teleport once I get my strength back...”

“Alright, Applebloom, you head on into the Everfree and find Zecora and start lookin' for Atom, okay?”

“Okay, sis, will do,” Applebloom smiled, “Be careful, okay?”

The three of them walked together until they reached the entrance to the Everfree. Then, Twilight and Appljack moved past it on the path that headed by Fluttershy's and then towards the main road towards Esperia. Applebloom watched as her sister and Twilight continued on the road for a few minutes before turning around and heading into the forest.

“I'm sorry, sis, Twilight, but my mission to protect you comes first,” Applebloom whispered, “and I'm sorry, Forest...”

“Is anypony there?” I heard a voice cry out.

Rounding the corner I spotted Rainbow standing on top of a rock peering out across a large bog. Huge bubbles bubbling from it. She turned to me and smiled.

“I'm here,” I said lamely.

“Kinda noticed,” she replied with a smirk, “I saw him head this way, but I lost him here. He may act dumb, but he's a clever one. Used the bog's mist to hide himself as he descended into it. By the time I got under he was gone.”

I looked up and saw that there indeed was a fog cover. It was weird, like a large cloud that hovered above us. It wasn't thick enough to block out the sun, but there was still thick enough to hide a pony floating through it. I even noticed the large gaping hole where Rainbow must have zoomed through.

“Let's split up,” Rainbow said as she hovered over to where I was standing, “I'll search from up above, you head over towards Zecora's place and see if she's seen anything.”

Nodding, I saluted her, “You got it!”

Trotting at a moderate pace, I heard Rainbow shout for me to be careful. I paused, turned and waved at her, before proceeding. It would have been far cooler to just keep on running and wave as I disappeared into the foliage, but knowing my lack of 'Poniness', I would have probably landed on my face instead. Even nearly a month of being one, I still wasn't used to it.

It took me a moment to realize that I was now completely lost.

“Why me?” I shouted to the sky.

“Forest, hush your mouth and do not shout! You'll attract all the vicious creatures about!” A familiar voice said in a harsh whisper, “Come here to my side quick, mind you do not step on that stick!”

Quietly I snuck up and knelt down next to her. We were both peering from behind a bush and I could see Atom standing in the clearing ahead of us. To his left were two Ponies I had never seen before, and to his right were two heavily armed Guards. One was a Pegasus, the other a Unicorn. The Pegasus had blades on his wings, and their helms had long feathers. The Unicorn's was a long white plume, while the Pegasus was a very dark blue.

“What are they doing?” I whispered as quietly as possible.

Zecora did not respond, but I noticed that she had a large blade next to her on the ground as well as a long spear. I suddenly felt very afraid of the Zebra, while at the same time I was glad that she was armed like she was. She knew these woods like the back of her hand- hoof. There wasn't anyone else I'd rather be stuck with than her. A Zebra with a spear and a machete.

Political corrections be damned! This is awesome.

Something zipped over our heads and landed in the middle of the others.

“Well?” The large Pegasus asked.

“Must be somepony who got lost in here, sir. Couldn't find any trace 'cept for the Element of Loyalty heading southwards, sir. She seems to be looking for somepony, sir.”

That voice came from a mare. This Guard has no plume, and her armor was a lot lighter than the other Pegasus, and by the way she spoke she was definitely lower in rank. How do Ponies discern rank? I saw no markings. Maybe it was the length of the plume?

Atom sighed, “That would be me. I... kinda told them about our mission-”

“You did what?” the Pegasus in charge roared, “Do you realize that you've jeopardized years of flawless service! Miss Sparkle will have our heads for this!"

“Not to worry, we always had planned that they'd find out. Let's just be glad that none of the other agents were discovered,” the other officer, the Unicorn with the blue plume, stated, “That might have gone over worse.”

“You mean... these are the other 'secret agents'? Right here?” Atom turned and looked at the other two that were with him. They both smiled and nodded. “I don't know them...”

“We know. That's why they were chosen,” the Guard stated, “Atom, I would like to introduce you to Bass Chord and Neon Fracture.”

“Hi,” the deep baritone voice of the Earth Pony rumbled. Bass Chord was certainly a name that suited him. He looked strong, but not as bulky as Big Mac. He also had these weird patterns all over his body in a purple that matched a stripe through his light-brown mane and short tail. The rest of him was this weird brown-purple mix.

“Hello,” came a shy squeak from the dark blue Pegasus. She seemed to try and hide behind the large Earth Pony, “How are you?”

“Fine,” Atom replied, and grinned, “Can I call you Neo?”

“No,” She said sharply, which drastic contrast. She must have realized this because she blushed slightly and tried even harder to hide behind the stallion.

Bass Chord chuckled, “Don't let the cute demeanor fool you. She's not as shy as she makes herself out to be. Wait till she gets used to you...”

“Shut up,” Neon muttered, nudging Bass Chord in the gut, “I'm not in the mood.”

Bass Chord leaned close to Atom and said in a relatively quiet voice, "See what I mean?”

Neon put on an angry face and started punching (hoofing?) Bass, but the large Pony moved with unexpected grace especially for a guy his size. He danced around Neon blocking almost everything she could throw at him. She was fast, but Bass Chord seemed to know where to go. It was incredible.

“Knock it off, both of you,” the Unicorn officer ordered, “We're not here to enjoy each other's company. Just... stand there!”

“With all due respect, ma'am, why are we being recalled?” Atom asked, “Are all current missions and their objectives placed on hold?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Where are the others? We've only got three of us here. Shouldn't there be six?” Atom asked.

“The others are still getting their orders, and I know that there's going to be at least one Pony who's going to have a hard time figuring the code out.” The Pegasus in charge walked over to the end of the copse and pulled out a large sheet of paper, “How 'bout we get started?”

“Sounds good to me,” Neon said, and walked over to the large paper, which looked a lot like a map. It was hard for me to tell from where I was standing.

“Atom?” a voice called out. Rainbow's. She was coming close. “Atom! Get your flank out where I can see you!”

Atom looked up, then at the others, “She'll see us!”

“Please,” The Guard who was clearly the leader said with a condescending tone. “Relax. I got this.”

Above us the cyan mare rushed by without stopping. The Guards stood below and looked up without flinching as the Pegasus mare flew on by. It was clear that she didn't see them, but how was that possible? She should have clearly spotted them.

That was when I noticed one of the other Guards' horn was glowing. The Unicorn released her spell after a moment and then saluted to her superior.

“Good work, Blue Sapphire.”

“Thank you, sir,” the gray Unicorn said, grinning from ear to ear.

“A mirage effect?” a voice asked as a Pony exited from the foliage opposite us. “Simple, yet effective. It still astounds me that the Elements of Harmony do not have the propensity to learn about detecting magic. Perhaps the only Pony to ever actually want to know about that is Twilight Sparkle herself, although that is a given considering she is the Element of Magic.”

My mouth dropped, “Is that...”

Zecora nodded, “Do you know what is going on here? I am extremely lost, I fear.”

Again the officer in charge turned towards our direction. He stood there for another long moment before shrugging and turning to the newcomer.

“Fancypants, it is always a pleasure seeing you.”

“Major Brave Heart! It is always good to see you again. I say, having that scroll sent via the purple Dragon was least expected. Am I to assume that we are being redeployed elsewhere?”

“What good is he to the Guard? He's a...” Atom started.

“Some son of a rich military parent? Who had never earned his rank through his own merits. I do say that I'm actually higher ranked than all of you here, save for the Major.” Fancypants smiled, “And just so you all know, both my parents never served in the Guard, nor did my uncles. My grandfather did, and he held the esteemed rank of-”

“Field Marshal, the only Pony to have held that position in over two hundred years.” The fifth Pony that entered the copse was perhaps the last Pony I would ever expect to see. In fact all the Ponies were stunned, except for the Major who nodded respectfully at the mare.

She looked at everone and nodded, “Nice to see you all. It's good to know who I happened to be working with. I see that the choice was well thought out.”

“Ditzy Doo?” Atom said unable to believe his eyes, “You're a Guard?”

“I am. Have been for a while.”

The way she talked, she was completely different from before. I wasn't the only one that couldn't believe it, because even Base Chord had to rub his eyes a few times to confirm that it was true.

“Well, well. Looks like I'm the third highest ranked officer here,” Fancypants said and bowed to Derpy, “Captain.”

“C-c-c-c-c-captain?” All the others exclaimed together.

“Wait, how do you know all this?” Bass asked Fancypants, “We were kept in the dark...”

Fancypants laughed, “Let's just say that there are other... services involved.”

Every single one of them seemed to know what he meant.

“Let's hurry this up, I have to sneak back to Canterlot tonight and then catch the train back here in the morning,” Derpy said, then added quickly, “If that is okay with you, sir.”

“We all have places we need to be,” the Major replied. “Well, I'll let the Lieutenant explain things.”

“As you may or may not know, two days ago the Diamond Dogs were discovered using ponies as slaves for mining gems and precious stones,” the grey Unicorn explained. She paced in front of the others slowly, “One of us here was there during the incident in what is now known as 'The Pit'. We will now listen to a full debrief from Corporal Atom.”

Atom looked around, clearly he did not expect that.

“Well, it all happened two days ago...”

The way Atom told it was boring, not at all like how Trixie had done with all the voices and vivid descriptions. Atom stuck to the facts, telling everyone what exactly happened, what transpired, how it panned out, and most of all, who were involved.

“Wait.” Neon raised her hoof prompting the Major to gesture for her to continue, “You did this two days ago? Where were you yesterday?”

“It took us a while to get here. Even with the Element of Magic helping us, it's a long way from where The Pit is located.”

“We have other more pressing matters to discuss. Right now I want you all to tell us who you were protecting, starting with you, Corporal,” The Major said.

“I was protecting the Element of Kindness. Fluttershy was my charge.”

“Mine was Rainbow Dash,” Neon Fracture informed. That was actually an obvious choice. A Pegasi to chase another Pegasi, it made perfect sense.

“Mine was Rarity,” Fancypants said. “I know it isn't really a surprise and I can't deny that I didn't have a say in who I was protecting. I am glad that it is her, however.”

“Next!” the Major shouted.

“You got to pick?” Neon muttered, “That's not very fair...”

“I've been given the task of protecting Pinkie.” Bass Chord smiled, “She seems to be the hardest one to protect, believe me.”

None of them seemed to contest that statement. Good ol' Pinkie.

“The Elements had secret guards?” Zecora asked in a low whisper, “I see the Princesses have played their cards...”

“No, no. The Princesses most likely had nothing to do with this,” I whispered back. “The reason why I'm here is because of Atom-”

“There! I heard it again,” The Major shouted, “Without a doubt there is someone here with us.”

Shit.

“Could be a wild animal, sir,” Derpy suggested, “We can't really tell unless we fan out and conduct a proper search, which would give away our position if Rainbow flies overhead.”

“Good call, Miss Doo. Now I know why they chose you to protect the Element of Magic herself.”

Derpy blushed, “Thank you, sir.”

This was way too much. I shouldn't be hearing all this. I should be elsewhere, hiding or something.

“That leaves one Pony out. The Guard for the Element of Honesty.” The Major shook his head, “I knew she was way too young to be selected. Well, we can't wait any longer. Our orders are to be debriefed and have you all shipped to Canterlot, where you will be deployed along the border with the Griffin Kingdom.”

“We're mobilizing against the Griffins?” Atom asked. “Since when was there any hostility between our two nations?”

“No, we're not attacking anypony, nor are they.” The Major shook his head, “You know what? Let's skip the debriefing.”

“Good idea, sir,” the Lieutenant said, agreeing with her superior, “Especially since none of them have been on active duty for a while.”

“Protecting the Elements isn't considered active duty?” Bass asked.

The Lieutenant shook her head, “No. You've been kept in the dark as to the current situation along our borders.”

“So, we were left blind on purpose? Just like the rest of the country?” Neon put in, “Why couldn't we get some sort of information as to what's happening?”

“You weren't told because it was considered a security risk,” The Major replied.

Me head was spinning. I didn't get what was going on, and I was so confused. What they hell were they talking about?

“As Atom has described, the reason why we are mobilizing is because we suspect that the Dragons might make a move against both our nations. As far as we know, Tyrant Rex was gathering precious gems to hire Dragons to invade our lands with the promise that all the spoils were to go to them as long as he got to enslave the populations of both nations. I can't stress how dire this knowledge is. If it is true, and the Dragons have agreed, then we must expect them to try and free him. If that is the case, we're going to need all the help we can get.”

“Sir, just how many Dragons are we expecting?” Bass Chord asked.

The Major shook his head, “Haven't got a clue.”

I could feel the sweat dripping off my head. What was I even doing here? I shouldn't be hearing this. This had nothing to do with me, did it? I hoped not.

“Gather your things, you're to depart for Canterlot tonight,” the Major started to walk away, “Oh, and make sure to have a good story about your departure. There is no need to raise any alarms.”

Atom lowered his head knowing fully that remark was directed at him.

The Major stood tall at the end of the copse as his Lieutenant started to cast a spell. “Oh, and one more thing; not a word of this to the Princesses, understood?”

“Yes, sir,” the all replied, saluting as they did.

Then in a bright yellow flash, they were gone.

The Guards stood around for a moment not really knowing what to do or say. Everything had been so sudden.

“Well, I gotta go and say farewell to my family,” Neon stated, “I'll see you all in Canterlot.”

“See you there,” Bass Chord rumbled in response. He watched her hover above the ground then up into the air.

Fancypants had already started moving along, his blue tail disappeared around a bush before the others headed in that general direction. Zecora and I waited for a long time not moving from our spot. I wanted to move, but when I had tried to, Zecora pulled me down again and shook her head. Apparently she had seen something that I had missed.

That was when a mare appeared from the opposite side of the clearing.

“Applebloom?” I asked quietly.

Zecora visibly relaxed and stood up leaving the copse, “It is good to see you Applebloom, but tell me why is your expression gloom?”

“I can't say,” she replied. “Say, have you seen Forest?”

I was about to pop out of my hiding spot when Zecora said; “He's close by, that I know. Won't you tell me what brings you woe?”

“Zecora, please. I'm just worried...”

“Your worry is misplaced, there is little in this forest he's not faced.”

Why was Zecora not telling her where I was?

“It's getting' dark, y'know. I think I'm just gonna go...” Applebloom smiled, “If you happen to see Forest, can ya tell him I'm lookin' for him?”

“That is something I will do, tell your friends I said hello too.”

“I will.”

With that, Applebloom started towards the exit of the Everfree. She didn't once look back.

I remained where I was. I hadn't moved a muscle. Zecora had made it clear that me revealing myself was out of the question, and the woman with the machete is usually right. In my book, at least.

“You may come out of your hiding place, she's gone leaving no trace.”

“Thank you, Zecora, but why did I need to hide from Applebloom...”

Zecora looked at me and shook her head, “I saw vicious anger in her eyes, the kind that I despise. I'm afraid I must be curt, but I think she wanted you hurt."

“What? Why?”

Zecora shook her head at me again, clearly disapproving my lack of understanding of the finer points of Pony body-language. “Forest, there are things we have discovered here, that make me shake in fear. I don't know why she is so mad, while at the same time so very sad.”

“You think she was mad? She didn't seem like that to me...”

“Forest, I mean no offense, but you have a reputation of being rather dense.”

“Oi.”

“Follow me to the exit with haste, night is coming – no time to waste!”

She didn't need to tell me twice. Not after the Ursa incident.

We didn't say much to each other as she led the way. There was really nothing much to be said, but all through I kept wondering about Applebloom. She just didn't seem like the kind of Pony that would hurt others. I would expect more rough-housing from her sister.

“This is where we go our own ways, I best be off lest I get lost in this maze.”

“Thank you, Zecora. I hope to see you soon.”

She smiled and nodded, “Take care of yourself is what you should do, then sooner than later I will see you.”

I watched her go for a few minutes before turning around and heading towards Ponyville. I wondered about Rainbow. She hadn't flown over us on the way back since. A part of me felt worried, but another felt relieved. Who knows what would have happened if she had found the Guard and their secret meeting. Things would have gone very badly for everyone involved.

“There you are!” Rainbow shouted as she came to a soft landing on the ground in front of me. "I've been looking for you all day! Where were you?”

Quickly, I explained about what I had seen, but leaving out all the details about Applebloom and how Zecora was acting suspicious of her. Come to think of it, how did she know what Appleblom was thinking?

“So that's why I didn't see you guys when I flew overhead. That Unicorn must've used some sorta hiding spell...”

“Ya think?” I said, poking fun at her.

She put me into a headlock and gave me a noogie, “Aw, you still haven't learnt who's boss yet, have you? You wanna go again?”

At those words we both stopped what we were doing and looked at each other. We both must have thought the exact same thing because she was blushing, and I felt my face light up. She released me and took a step back.

“I was just -er- joking about that.”

“Yeah,” I laughed nervously, “I know.”

There was a long moment of awkward silence between us.

“So... uh... what are you doing for dinner?” I asked lamely, “I was going to ask Twilight what she wanted to do.”

“Um... nothing, I guess. I was just going to grab a bite over at the hospital cafeteria,” Rainbow replied. “You wanna walk that way together? It's kinda on the way to Twilight's.”

“Sure.”

We walked side by side, but kept about two ponies distance away from each other. We walked in silence not really knowing what to say. At least I didn't know what to say. The sun had gone down and soon the moon would soon rise, courtesy of Luna, Princess of the night.

“You know, I always thought that flying around at night was pretty cool,” Rainbow began. “The stars are real beautiful when you sit on the clouds...”

“I know. I was on the Intrepid, remember?” I shuddered as images of plummeting towards the ground flooded my mind.

“Oh right...” Rainbow bobbed her head up and down affirming my statement.

I swallowed, “Rainbow, about... yesterday's...”

“Yes?” She quickly cut me off.

I was glad of that.

“I just wanted to tell you again that I feel really bad. I mean, about how I ruined your life, like you said. I really feel like a total...” I was at a loss for words.

“Shit?” Rainbow offered.

I stopped in mid-step and looked at her.

“What? You think that I lived on Earth and didn't pick up a word or two from watching TV?”

“Well, no, not that. Just... it sounds really weird when you say it.”

“To be honest, it feels really weird to say it. Guess that's a good thing. Dad really hates it when I swear,” she looked ahead of herself, staring into the distance, a nostalgic smile on her face. For a moment I thought she was going to cry, but she laughed quietly and looked down at the ground, “I've had one heck of a complicated life.”

“You're not the only one.”

“Yeah, you got one too. Twilight told me about how she thinks you're..."

"Howdy!” a Pony shouted making Rainbow and I jumped.

“Oh, sweet Celestia, you nearly scared me...” Rainbow replied.

“Wait... what?” Did she just say 'nearly scared'?

They both ignored my question. Typical.

“I've been lookin' all over for you, Forest. Where've you been?” Applebloom asked, taking a step towards me.

“In the Everfree... looking for Atom.”

“What'cha lookin' for him for?” She walked right up to me, making me sit down on the ground and lean back as far as I could go to keep a little bit of space between us.

“Your sis asked me to help...”

Her eyes were boring down on me, peering deep into my pupils, “Did ya find him?"

“Y-y-yes...” I muttered, “b-b-but he wasn't alone...”

“So ya saw the Guard then?” Applebloom asked.

“Wait, how do you kno-” Applebloom put her hoof in my mouth, a little rougher than I would've liked.

“No, I'm the one askin' the questions, alright?”

“Bu-”

“Alright?” Applebloom said, pushing a little harder. It was starting to hurt.

I nodded.

“Did ya see the Guard?”

I nodded again.

“Did ya hear what they were sayin'?”

Again, I nodded.

“Did ya see me talkin' with Zecora?”

I gulped, and very slowly nodded.

“What didn'tcha come out of yer hidin' place?”

“I... I wanted to, but... well, Zecora kinda told me not to...”

“Oh? Why's that?”

“She said that you were acting funny. That you weren't...”

The feeling of pain shot through my face as Applebloom gave me one helluva mighty slap. I fell to the ground.

“Ow.”

“Abby! What are you doing?" Rainbow shouted pushing the mare aside and putting herself between me and Applebloom, “Why'd you hit him for?”

Applebloom smiled at her friend, “He's a Changeling. It's my job to protect the Elements of Harmony, and that's what I'm gonna do.”

“No offense to you Abby, but I could take Forest on blindfolded with both wings tied behind my back. He's not very tough, and even if he were a Changeling, he's still my friend.”

Applebloom looked at Rainbow and shook her head, “You think I wanna do this? But I have to! It's... it's what I was trained for! I just wanna protect my sister.”

"I know you do, but Forest's not a Changeling, Abby. Please, listen to me...” Rainbow said flying closer to her friend, “I promise you he's harmless.”

They both looked at me nursing my cheek. “Aw, now Nurse Redheart's going to kill me,” I said standing up. “Both my cheeks are swollen.”

“He's not? You mean he's a regular pony, just without any magic?”

“Well... not entirely...” Rainbow began.

“What d'ya mean?”

Rainbow looked at me, “He's a...”

“Hi!” Rainbow was cut off by a burst of joyous, musical mayhem as Pinkie somehow appeared out of a trashcan by the side of the road, “I've been looking all over for you guys. You have to come quick. Atom's leaving town, as so is Bass and Neon.”

“Who?” Rainbow asked.

"How?" I blurted. Typically, I was ignored.

“You know, the funny large Pony that sometimes helps out Big Mac on the farm? He likes to sing to himself. He's got a really, really super deep, deep voice that's like a trombone or a bassoon.”

That only confused us more.

“I don't know him...” Rainbow admitted, “But I do know Neon. She's part of my weather team... wait, did you say they were leaving? Tonight?”

“Yep,” Pinkie chirped, then at the next moment she looked so sad, “They said that they had to go and that they wouldn't have time for a farewell party.”

“Coincidence?” Rainbow asked looking at me. I had not mentioned the names of the Ponies that were there, but considering the timing – it was too perfect. There was no use denying it.

“They are Guard...” I said bluntly.

Through the corner of my eye, behind Rainbow, I saw Applebloom flinch ever so slightly. My heart sank. She was indeed the last member. She had to be. I might not be the smartest Pony around, but even I could figure that much out.

“What's is going on?” Rainbow muttered, talking to herself, “Everything is happening so fast. You guys gotta do me a favor. Don't tell dad about any of this. I don't want him to worry, okay?”

We all nodded. What good would it do to worry him? He needed to just sit back and relax.

“Anyway, I'm going back to the hospital now. Forest, sorry, but I'll just leave you here, okay? You can find your own way?”

“Of course. No need to worry about me. Besides, Pinkie's here...”

“Sorry, Forest, but I kinda wanna go see Brian too. I'll see you later.”

With that, the two Elements of Harmony walked off leaving me behind with Applebloom.

“So,” I began, “you're one of the Guard too?”

Applebloom narrowed her eyes at me, “And you're not a Changeling.”

It wasn't a question.

“If you're not a Changeling, and not a Pony, then what exactly are you?”

I laughed nervously, “Um... you're not going to believe it even if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“There's just no sign of him anywhere,” Applejack muttered. “We've been walkin' on this road for forever. Somethin's not right.”

“Yeah, I'm getting that feeling too,” Twilight replied, “Let's head back. I've got enough strength to teleport us to Ponyville.”

“Alright.”

Twilight closed her eyes, and the next thing Applejack knew, she and her friend were outside Carousel Boutique.

“Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise,” a voice said from behind them, “It's always nice to see you ladies.”

“Fancypants!” Twilight smiled politely, “It's always good to see you too.”

“You're too kind, Miss Sparkle,” Fancypants replied bowing slightly and replacing a monocle over his eye. “I must say you gave me quite the fright just now. I've just arrived to inform darling Rarity that I've got some urgent matters to attend to back in Canterlot. I'm afraid that I might not be free for a while.”

“Oh? She'll be sad to hear that,” Twilight replied.

Applejack nodded, “She's always happy to see you, Mister Fancypants."

"Please, we're friends now. There's no need for titles, Miss Applejack.”

“You say that, yet you use 'miss' in front of my name,” Applejack replied with a smile on her face. “I don't think it right to call you just Fancypants if you insist on calling me 'Miss Applejack'.

The Unicorn laughed, “True, true. Then, I must excuse myself, Applejack, but old habits are difficult to break sometimes, especially when referring to such lovely mares such as yourselves.”

“You do have a way with words, that's for sure,” Applejack said quietly, which earned her a tiny shove from Twilight.

“Well, we don't want to keep you. I'm sure Rarity is looking forward to seeing you.”

“She's been very busy with her designs. Apparently she's got a new show in Manehatten and has been working non-stop since she got back from Canterlot. After all, it was her uniforms at the Race that have started somewhat of a trend. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ponies across Equestria, let alone Canterlot, will be wearing Ponville's colors.”

Both Applejack and Twilight exchanged looks, “You mean Ponies will be wearing the colors of the Elements?”

“Ah, yes. That slipped my mind. Of course, the colors of the uniform are the colors of the Elements of Harmony. You know, sometimes I miss the most obvious of things, wouldn't you agree?”

They all laughed at that. It wasn't the least bit true, and the girls knew it.

“So, um, yeah, we're actually looking for a black Pegasus named Atom. Have you seen him?”

“I may have,” Fancypants replied neutrally, “Not so long ago, I think I saw a black Pegasus near the Everfree Forest.”

“Near the Everfree, you say?” Applejack asked suspiciously, “You sure about that?”

“No, I'm afraid not. You see, I only know of this Atom by reputation, so I cannot say if it was him or not. Only that I did happen to see a black Pegasus in the vicinity of the Everfree not too long ago. I'm sorry if that isn't any help...”

“No, no. That's plenty of help. Thank you, Fancypants. Please, don't let us keep you.”

“Thank you again, ladies. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for this Atom for you. Ta-ta."

With that, the Unicorn entered Rarity's boutique.

"Now what do you make of that?” Applejack said glaring at the shut door, “He's either lyin' or Applebloom, and I know that Applebloom wouldn't lie...”

“Applebloom didn't lie, AJ. She just said that Forest looked like he was heading for Esperia, right? Well, the path to Esperia goes by the Everfree's entrance. She could have just seen him heading that way.”

Relief flooded Applejack's face, “That's right. Thanks, Twilight. So, where do we go from here? We need to find Atom and the others.”

“Let's head back to the hospital. Everypony should be there, and we need to compare notes.”

“Okay, Twi. Let's go.”

“... but the way was closed! You're not tellin' me the truth.”

“I swear to you that it's true, Applebloom. Twilight is convinced that I'm a Changeling, but I'm not. I'm... not.”

“Well, I'll be... another human in Ponyville. The Princesses'd freak if they found out, y'know?”

“I know.”

Applebloom sighed, “I'm still not sure I believe you, Forest. So, what'll we do?” She tilted her head to one side, “You know who I am, and what I'm here for, and now I know what you are, but not what you're here for...”

“That's another story.” I didn't elaborate. Frankly, I was still in shock that I had told Applebloom everything. In fact, I had told Applebloom much, much more than anyone else. In retrospect, how many Ponies did I reveal my secret to today? And what was Tutela doing?

I shuddered at the thought. She must have been pretty pissed off at me by now.

“Gee, I just dunno what to think. I mean, I did think you were right for my sister...”

“Yeah, well...” I didn't finished the thought. I didn't really have one.

“I just don't know anymore, okay? If Twilight vouches for you then I guess it's fine, but I am going to tell you to be careful. Especially 'round Derpy. She might not look it, but she's real tough. I heard that she had to put up with a lot of things a while back. Dinky's father was... special.”

“Really? You know, I'm just surprised that you're a Guard. I always thought the Guard were all stallions and wore various armor and stuff...”

“Well, not all Guard are soldiers like that Forest. I joined the Guard after Sweetie and Scoots got their Cutie Marks. I just felt left out, y'know? So, I kinda just went to Canterlot and signed up. How was I supposed to know they'd make me be a guard for my own sister?”

I nodded, “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

“I guess... still, I'd rather have had some experience out there in the world. I'm a Guard, I'm an adult, and I still don't have my Cutie Mark!”

“Neither do I...” I mumbled.

“Well, you're dif'rent. You don't count.”

“Don't count, eh?”

“That's right. Don't count."

The both of us laughed at that, "I'm sure you'll find your talent soon, Applebloom.”

“If I had a bit for every time I've heard that, I'd be richer than Filthy Rich!”

“How rich is that?” I asked.

“Well, Filthy's the richest pony in Ponyville...”

l held a hoof up, “Wait, wait, wait. There's a Pony by the name of Filthy in town? Filthy Rich? What's his wife's name? Really Expensive?”

Applebloom didn't know whether to laugh at that or scold me. I could tell from the way she had that half-smile on her face she couldn't decide.

“Anyway, so what now? Are you going to Canterlot?”

“Nope. Haven't got my orders to leave town yet, and long's I avoid Spike, I won't have to. He's the one that gives us our orders, though he don't know it.”

“Taking advantage of Spike like that isn't nice...”

Applebloom shrugged, “Well, he's been doin' it for years. It's the easiest and least suspicious way of doing it.”

“Really?”

We had both now ended up near Berry's bar. The night was still young, but already there were a few Ponies heading inside. The last time I was in there didn't end very well. Well, I guess that was subjective. I did have a great time with Spike and Aiden – the parts that I could remember, at least.

“You wanna drink?” Applebloom asked, “I'll treat.”

“I... okay, sure. Why not.”

As soon as we entered, we saw Aiden and another Unicorn standing inches apart growling at one another. A fight? Looked like it.

“Say that to my face!” Aiden shouted back.

The Unicorn grinned sadistically, “I said that the Princesses are and shouldn't be allowed to rule over us anymore!”

“The last time we had the Council running things, we were endlessly at war with our neighbors and ourselves! You're a fool if you think that...” Aiden was cut off short as a chair broke across his head sending him stumbling into a table where the patrons got soaked from their spilt drinks.

Applebloom eyes bulged from her head. I gritted my teeth, “Never a dull moment. Never.”

“Forest, wait!”

I didn't listen to her. The next thing I knew I was crashing headlong into the Unicorn that had attacked Aiden. Hey, he was my friend. Looking up, the Unicorn slugged me in the jaw, which really, really hurt because my jaw was still sore from Soarin's punches and from Applebloom's mega-slap.

“Heya, Forest,” Aiden shouted above the din of the fight as more Ponies began joining in, “Glad you could join us!”

“Why is it that whenever we hang out, I somehow always get hurt?”

Aiden just laughed as he took the Unicorn from me and, using his magic, tossed him aside where he was ceremoniously sat on by a fat donkey, who grinned and smacked him on the head with a bottle making his eyes spin. The yellow Unicorn shook off his dizziness and lobbed the fat donkey with his own magic, sending him crashing onto a nearby table.

Through the corner of my eye, I saw Berry shaking her head as she opened a big bottle with her teeth, spitting out the cork, and slowly started to drink from it while lowering herself behind the bar, narrowly avoiding a stray projectile from colliding with her as it smashed bottles and glasses behind her. Just as I thought that she was safely hidden away, I saw her hoof feeling around the bar for a moment, then she found a bowl of some finger-food (nuts, I guess), and took that over the side of the bar with her.

All this took no more than a few seconds, but I couldn't help but laugh.

That earned me another smack in the face.

“Oops, sorry, Forest,” Aiden said grinning at me, “Thought you were somepony else."

“Really?” I replied, before shoving him with my head.

He roared in laughter before taking a chair and lobbing it at me. It hit me in the head, splintering into pieces, but that wasn't all. He took a table, and tilted it in such a way that when I charged at him, I found myself launching off of it like a ramp and crashing headfirst into the wall on the far end with a loud crash.

Picking myself off the floor, I noticed that the whole bar was duking it out. But, for some reason, instead of hating it or finding it negative in anyway, I found that I was actually enjoying it. The fight was a fight, don't get me wrong. Ponies were getting hurt, but the feeling of... being alive was just ridiculous.

Strangely I noticed that the Ponies that were fighting were all Unicorns and Pegasi. There weren't many Earth Ponies in the mix, and most of them seemed content with watching from the sidelines. That was when I noticed Big Mac in the corner watching the mayhem with a disapproving look on his face. He took a sip from a large mug in front of him.

A light blue Unicorn stallion was sent sailing through the air over a banister by a well placed kick by a purple Pegasus mare, and he landed right on top of Big Mac's table. The large red stallion looked at his broken mug, only the handle had survived, and he gently placed it down and stood up.

“I can see that you all need ta be taught a lesson!” He roared.

The fight was over in a few seconds. He had single handedly won, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it by standing on a pile of unconscious, groaning Ponies in the middle of the bar. He snorted, steam coming from his snout.

“That's how an Earth Pony does it.”

Applebloom walked over to her brother and shook her head, “AJ's not gonna be happy when she hears about this.”

At once the large stallion shrunk back and moved off his 'pile'.

That brought quite a few laughs from some of the more coherent and conscious Ponies.

Aiden pushed himself up from where he had been knocked out and shook his head. He saw me looking at him and sat bag and patted his muzzle, “What'd I miss?”

“Big Mac won.”

“Predictable. Where's that Unicorn?”

I pointed over to a table at the far end, the young colt was still out of it on the floor.

“Excuse me while I... talk to him some more.”

“Take it easy, Aiden. You don't want to do anything you'll regret.”

“Forest! Are you suggesting that I'd actually hurt him more?”

“Er... yes."

The green Unicorn cackled at me, “You're right...”

It wasn't the kind of torture I had expected, nonetheless, I did feel a little sorry for the colt. Aiden had given him a 'wet-willy', or the Pony version of it. In the human world, it's when you put your finger in your mouth and swirl the moist appendage inside the ear of your victim. Now imagine a hoof in place of the finger. Yeah, I cringed when I saw it too.

“Who's your princess!” Aiden shouted, repeating the action, “Who?”

“Celestia!” The colt whined, “Stop it! It's gross!”

“No, not yet!” He put his other hoof in his other ear, “Who's your other princess?” Aiden looked over his shoulder at me and grinned. He was enjoying this way too much.

“Luna! It's Luna!”

“And don't you forget it!”

As soon as Aiden got off the poor guy, he shook his head sideways trying to empty the contents of his ear as he headed towards the exit. That's when the door burst open and in stepped Ponies in blue.

“Right on time...” I heard Berry's voice sigh.

The fight was over already, so what were they doing here in the first place.

Ponies tried to flee, but from their huge grins it was hard to tell if they were serious or not. It was like a big cops and robbers game, but whatever the case, the next thing I knew I was corralled into a large jail-truck and we soon were heading away from Berry's place.

"Well, that was fun.” Aiden grinned over to me, “Thanks for your 'help' back there.”

“Stop being mean to me. You know I'm not a fighter.”

Aiden laughed, “That's for sure.”

“Why were trying to pick a fight anyway?”

“I wasn't trying, Forest. I did.”

“Fine. Why did you want to fight?"

He chuckled to himself, “After all that's happened, I thought it would be a nice way to... I dunno, sometimes a Pony does things. Silly things. Stupid things.”

“I think I know what you mean, though I don't quantify picking a fight as something to... let your mane down. So to speak.”

Aiden leaned back and rubbed his cheek, “Most Ponies don't fight, Forest. That is, unless we're pushed to it. You should know that. You were there in The Pit. How many of those Ponies just resigned themselves to being a slave? It's not that they like it, but it's because they don't wanna do it. They don't want to harm others. But...” He trailed off.

“But sometimes you've got to do things you don't want to.”

“Exactly,” Aiden shrugged, “For years the Guard has been protecting our borders while the vast majority of the Ponies we protect have no idea what we do... sorry, I'm starting to get preachy, aren't I?”

“I've heard it all before,” I wasn't sure when, but I did, “I suppose it can be rather... unrewarding.”

“Strangely enough, no. I was always content in knowing that others just had no idea what the Guard did. It makes our efforts that much more... valiant. I guess.”

“I never knew that's what you did,” One of the other Ponies spoke up, “That kind of selflessness... it's very humbling...”

He burst out in tears and hugged Aiden tightly.

Aiden rolled his eyes, “And this is another reason why I think most of the Guard don't tell the others what we do.”

Our laughter was drowned out by the bawling mare.

“Out,” The policepony said, waving his baton with his magic, “Everypony into the station. No talking.”

They had caught quite a number of us. We were the last ones in the line, since we were the first ones off. Slowly the line began to shrink as each Pony was given a mug shot, a file to sign, before being released. One of the Ponies was so proud of getting his mugshot taken, he kept trying to show it off to random Ponies along that way.

In a small town like Ponyville, this all seemed pretty pointless.

“Heya, Aiden,” One of the policeponies said, “I'm afraid that you guys have to spend the night here.”

“You're putting us in jail?” He asked.

“Well, according to everypony, you guys did start the fight... apparently.”

“Can't deny that,” Aiden replied, "Not that I'd want to.”

“Look, Aiden, every Pony from here to Canterlot knows that you're angry at Twilight for what Princess Luna did to you, but you can't just take it out on others. As punishment, you're going to spend the night here. It's about time we used the jail for something other than storage anyway...”

“I'm not mad at Twilight or anypony else anymore!” Aiden barked back.

The policepony just pushed him back down into his seat. “Relax. At least you can say you've been in jail. Very few Ponies can get to say that.”

“That isn't something to be proud of...” Aiden muttered and looked over to me, perhaps hoping for some sort of input.

“Well,” I coughed out loud, “Wish I had a harmonica.”

I was unceremoniously tossed one.

“Well... here we are... in jail... just...”

“Shut up, Forest! I'm trying to sleep.” Aiden had turned his back towards me, “Look, I know this might be the first time you've been behind bars, but it isn't mine. Apart from the uncomfortable beds, barely edible food, and random extra company, it isn't all that bad.”

“I can vouch for that,” the extra random Pony in our cell put in, “Sometimes it's the best place to meet new Ponies.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, and put the harmonica to my lips. I began to play, hoping that somehow I'd find my hidden talent in the instrument. After about ten seconds into the attempt, it was clear that a harmonica based Cutie Mark wasn't going to appear on my behind.

“You know," Aiden said sitting up and looking right at me, “If you played like that for the Ursas, you could've just scared them away.”

“Really?” I exclaimed sarcastically.

“You two seem like good friends,” the stallion with us said, “How's about an intro. My name's Rough Rider. Adventurer extraordinaire. Was just breezing through Ponyville when the fight broke out. Couldn't resist joining in the -er- 'festivities'. Thanks for showing me a good time. It was one heck of a duke-out.”

“Rough Rider?”

“That's my name, though most of my friends call me Rider, or Rye, if you're feeling extra lazy, which is most of the time, so... yeah, just call me Rye, if you like.”

“Rye? Okay. Sure. Why not. I'm Forest, and that grumpy, green Unicorn is Aiden. As you can see, we've been arrested for causing the fuss over at Berry's, but what about you? I didn't notice you doing anything.”

Rough scratched the back of his head, “Well, I kinda... started it too.”

“Well, when you arrived, I think it was originally him that started the whole 'we-don't-need-Princesses' thing. Just that being a Guard, you kinda get defensive about protecting them. I love the Princesses. I would gladly put my neck on the line for them because without them, you really think we'd have this paradise?” Aiden laughed to himself and shook his head, “Somehow, I highly doubt that. Wisdom comes with age, and there is nopony alive older than the Princesses.”

“You know, if they're princesses, what about the queen?”

At that Aiden's smile faded away, “We don't talk about that. It's a very touchy subject even today.”

“Oh.”

Rye looked at me more than a little bit confused, “How can you not know the story? It's one of the three lessons you learn when you leave school...”

“Amnesia.”

“You don't remember anything?” He asked, doubt plastered across his face.

“Look, while I admit that I have no memory of my past, I think I kinda have a right to know what...”

“Okay, enough talk.” The policepony said at the cell's door, “It's lights out. Not a peep, or I'll put you in the cooler, and trust me, since our fridge broke, it really is the cooler. So, stop your yammering.”

Aiden looked over at me and shrugged, "The next time then, okay?”

“I guess so. Good night.”

“Night.”

“Night.”

“Night.”

With that, the lights went out, and the blue glow from Luna's moon found its way through the barred window. In my mind three things occupied it. One was Trixie's apology and forgiveness. How she managed to earned it from Brian. The Kind and Humble Trixie he had said, and to be honest I thought that it suited her a whole lot better than her other, self-proclaimed title. The second thing on my mind was how deliciously Twilight was acting with me. Our short but sweet date had completely converted how I felt about being in a relationship, which led me to my third and final thought.

Rainbow.

Again I felt her lips pressed against mine. It just kept appearing in my head, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was strange because I felt so much affection for Twilight, yet I also felt so much for Rainbow as well. I didn't know whether it was affection I felt for the Pegasus, or just... something else, but whatever it was it just felt both wrong and right. Saying I was confused would have been an understatement.

"What's on your mind, Forest?” Aiden asked quietly.

"I would tell you, but we're not alone...” I motioned with my head towards Rye, “It wouldn't be fair on the girls if I told you in front of him.”

“You're right, that was callous of me. How'd your date go? Pretty good?”

I felt my cheeks catch on fire.

“That good, huh? Well, well, well. Aren't you the lucky one.”

“Nothing happened, okay? We just had dinner...”

“Those are pretty rosy cheeks for a 'just dinner' date. Oh wait!” Aiden grinned at me, “I forgot about this afternoon's... confession? The one the nurse got out of you. Yeah, I guess it would explain why you've got such a flushed complexion.”

While he laughed, I tried very hard to give him a glare. I didn't need to be reminded that I had inadvertently confessed I was a virgin.

“I can never understand mares,” Rye stated, rubbing his chin with his hoof, “They are a mystery within a mystery. Try solving one aspect, and a thousand more questions come running at you.”

Aiden and I both nodded I heads. He was right. Females in general were complicated.

“Didn't I tell you that it was lights out?” The policepony said from the cell door, “Just go to sleep. The sooner you do, the sooner you can get out of this place.”

“Will do, officer. Sorry.” Rye said and looked to us, “Good night.”

I sat on a bed at the far end of the room and looked at the moon once more.

“I'm sorry Tues,” I mumbled quietly to myself before laying my head down on the pillow, “Five days left. Only five days... then I'll be all yours...”

“Jail?” Twilight asked, “Why?”

“For starting a fight,” Nurse Redheart stated, “Apparently they aren't hurt very badly and will be fine in the morning.”

“Oh, Forest,” Twilight moaned.

“Relax, Twilight. It's not like he's going anywhere.” Spike held his sister in a quick hug, “Let's go home.”

“Okay. Good night, Brian.”

“Night, Twilight.” The human saluted her casually.

“Night, Rainbow.”

“See ya in the morning!”

Twilight smiled, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again she found herself standing in her living room, surrounded by her books.

“Home sweet home.”

Day 25: A Little Lesson About Life

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Day 26: All's Fair in Love & Games - Part 1: To The Fair

The first thing that I did when I woke up was panic. It was because of three things.

The first was that I didn't know where I was. The room was unfamiliar. If it weren't so darnn cute, I'd have probably shit my metaphorical pants (since I don't wear pants anymore). To my left was a bookshelf full of children's books, on top of which a few knickknacks were placed. There was a small step to an elevated section where a small round window where the lack of sunlight streaming through made me surmise that this was east. Just under the window was small table with a lamp on it and next to that was a door. It was wide open but the angle from where I sat made it impossible for me to see outside.

Secondly, I didn't remember going anywhere. Last night was a complete blank. The only thing I remember was walking home with Twilight and Spike after my attack. Remembering the pain I had felt sent shivers down my spine. and after that...

Third and last of all, I didn't remember falling asleep. So, how did I end up here? On this bed? In this place?

Therefore panic was a natural reaction.

Fumbling out of the covers, I somehow got them tangled around myself and rolled over falling from the bed landing with a heavy thud on the floor.

“Nice to know you're up,” a familiar voice called out from outside the small room, “I'm down here!”

“Down?” I muttered quietly.

The sound of the voice calmed me down enough to stop and think about my current predicament and slip the covers off. Walking out of the open door I found that I was standing on the second story behind a simple, yet beautifully ornate railing that overlooked a large room full of books. I knew this place. I knew this room.

“Morning,” Spike said standing in the middle of the room below, all around him were shelves of books. “Was starting to get a little worried.”

“This... this is the library? How did I end up here?”

“Now that's a story. You kind of were out of it yesterday.”

He was right. I was.

“You kinda nodded off while we were walking home. It was scary. We didn't realize anything was wrong until you fell on your face. We thought you were being your usual self-”

“Oi!”

“... but when we went over to check, you were fast asleep. Had to carry your flank part of the way home. The next time someone says it's impossible to walk and sleep at the same time, I'm going to tell them that I've met a pony who did exactly that.”

“Sleep and walk?”

“Yep. You were sleepwalking, but not the slow, lumbering kind. You were walking as if you were awake. It was only when you walked into a tree and fumbled on the ground that we realized something was wrong. You were out like a light.” His smile faded, “It was kinda worrying. It took me over an hour to convince Twilight that you were fine, just real tired. I guess she thought you were in real bad shape, and to be honest, I didn't really know either. Anyway, she's gone out to do some errands. She said she'd head over to the train station. So it's just you and me here.”

“I was sleep walking?”

“Your brain didn't process anything after that, eh?”

I pouted a little bit. He just laughed silently.

“Seriously though, it really was like you were awake.”

“How'd I end up up here in bed?”

“I carried you up the stairs and put you in it. As I said, took me a while to calm Twilight down after convincing her that rest was all you needed. She was ready to go and get a doctor.” Spike's demeanor changed and he looked down at the ground, “Forest, you can be straight with me, are you really all right? You've been through a lot the past few days. We all have. Just... we're all worried about you. You've changed, and now Twilight's got this crazy notion you're a-”

“Let me come down!” I didn't want to hear it. I knew what he was going to say, and I didn't want to hear it. “Um... where are the stairs?”

“Over there.” Spike pointed to a cozy looking nest on the other side of the house, “Twilight's bedroom has the only staircase going up or down.”

I walked over to the bedroom (or would that be a bed area?) and couldn't resist snooping. Near a large window was a little bed made covered with a light purple blanket. It was so neat, tidy and perfectly pressed. All across the floor were neat stacks of books of varying heights. The sight of them made me smile. There was just something so 'Twilight' about it; the studious mare really loved her books. Next to the bed was a small desk covered with even more books and a large tome half open sat predominantly in the middle open to something in the middle. Since it was in Equestrian, I had no idea what it was about. It did have a really cool looking drawing though. Under the window was a large window sill that you could sit on, kinda like what Aiden had in his bakery. Here there were even more books stacked up, a couple were half opened and strewn about the place.

“Forest? You lost?” Spike called up to me.

“No. Coming.”

Turning around, I spotted the stairs leading down. Even they did not escape Twilight's studious nature. More books were strategically placed on top of one another and I wove around them taking extra care not to knock them over.

“Finally!” Spike stated as he saw me descending the last few steps, “What kept you?”

“Books. Lot's of them. Kinda hard to navigate up here without knocking them over.”

“Tell me about it. Twilight rarely walks down those stairs anymore, she usually just teleports everywhere now. It's kinda annoying how she can just 'poof' around the place, but if I could do it, I probably would too.”

“Dragons can't teleport?”

“No. Dragons have different kinds of magic. I've never really used mine. Not that I'd ever need to. Dragon magic is more, uh, dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Well, we're big, strong, our scales are a natural armor that can withstand most things, we breathe fire and we can fly.”

“You can fly?”

“Uh... no. Not yet. I haven't got my wings. Hard to fly without those. But when they grow out I will!” He looked over his shoulder, “Twilight says that when my wings start to grow, they'd grow in very fast. Dragons usually have their wings by now, but for some reason mine haven't formed yet.”

“That must be nice...” I muttered to myself. Spike looked at me confused, “I mean to be able to fly around, not that you don't have wings yet. Sometimes I wish that I was a Pegasus so I could just... go.”

“Well, if you ask Twilight she could give you temporary wings.”

I raised my right hoof to show off my bracelet and shook it in front of him.

“Oh yeah. Allergic to magic. Forgot about that. Sorry, Forest.”

“Why apologize? It's not like you had anything to do with it.”

“You know what I mean.”

I chuckled in response.

“I was also going to suggest asking Princess Celestia to change you. She has the power, you know. But considering what happened the last time she tried to cast magic on you...”

“You heard about that, huh?”

“Of course I did.”

“How did you hear about it?” I asked curiously.

“From Sweetie Belle. She heard it from Rarity, and Twilight tells Rarity everything. Well, Twilight tells her best friends everything. They don't really keep secrets from one another.” Spike looked at me, “You okay? You seem kinda out of it still...”

“If Princess Celestia can change anypony into anything, why would anyone choose to be an Earth pony?” I asked trying to divert the subject about me. Didn't want to discuss myself. In fact that was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

Spike shifted in his place, “First thing, Princess Celestia can't change anypony into anything, only into other kinds of ponies.”

“But... she was going to change me into my original form.”

“Really? Are you sure she didn't want to reveal your true form? That's a little different.”

“I don't get it.”

“She's not changing you. Changing you implies that she's turning you into something else. Revealing is... when you show something hidden. See the difference?”

He had a point. That was exactly what she wanted to do. So I nodded understanding Spike's point.

“On the subject of Earth ponies staying they way they are... that's kinda a touchy subject.”

“Humor me.”

“The short version? Ponies are proud to be what they are. If they're Pegasi, they usually stick to that. Unicorns wouldn't give up their magic for anything, and Earth ponies... well, they love what they are because they are, to me at least, the most important kind of pony in Equestria... not to mention especially strong.” Spike laughed nervously, “Don't tell anypony I said that. Some ponies will take that really personally.”

“Rainbow Dash?”

“... and Rarity.” Spike shrugged, “They're proud of what they are and believe... well, that without Pegasi or Unicorns nothing would get done.”

“You don't think that's right?”

“Well... certainly Pegasi and Unicorns make things easier, but when it comes to growing things and building things and making things, Earth ponies are better. I mean, take Applebloom for example. She is amazing. I've seen some of the things she's created and I can tell you that she is incredible.”

“Unicorns and Pegasi can't build things?”

“They can, just not as well. I mean, take Cloudsdale for example. Their cloud structures are impressive but clouds are easy to manipulate. Make a mistake? Just add some more cloud to it and start over. Try doing that with stone. Most of Canterlot was built by Earth ponies, the Unicorns adding their own touch in making the buildings look pretty. Earth ponies are just better at it than the others, and because of their strength, they can survive almost anywhere. That's why most frontier towns are built and run by Earth ponies.”

“I see.”

“You lost interest, didn't you?” Spike said smirking over at me.

I put on my shocked face. “What are you? Telepathic?”

The dragon shook his head and laughed quietly while pushing back the spines on his head. “Anyway, you hungry?”

“More than very,” I replied almost immediately.

He laughed again, “Well, I've made a nice, large stack of pancakes for you. Pinkie style. This way.”

“Pinkie style?”

“You'll see.”

As I entered the kitchen, my mouth literally dropped to the floor. Spike wasn't kidding when he said he made a large stack. It was massive. It was at least as high as my shoulder if I were to stand on the table. It was soaked in golden honey with a pretty sizable dollop of butter at the top and a generous helping of icing sugar around that made it look like a layer of snow.

“That's... pretty immense and intense.”

“Like I said: Pinkie style.” Spike shrugged and rubbed the back of his head again, “I got carried away, okay? I eat a lot, so I just kept on making them. Plus, I had to keep myself busy. Didn't want to disturb you. So... dig in?”

He didn't need to ask me twice. I zipped over to the nearest chair and literally 'dug in'. It was perfect. I couldn't help but stop for a moment after the first bite to lean back and savor the delectable flavors. The sweetness of the honey coupled with the pancake's own slightly savory taste was to die for. It had this near-crunchy texture that felt great to bite through, and the dough and consistency were sublime. All in all, I was quite content with the meal. I wondered if I'd ever taste anything this divine ever again.

About halfway through my stack I paused to finish chewing what was in my mouth. Spike sat opposite me grinning happily.

“Wha?” I asked, my mouth still half full.

“You. You're just so ridiculous. Here,” he handed me a napkin, “you got a some pancake on your face.”

I took it and wiped my muzzle while swallowing the contents in my mouth. “Aren't you going to eat something?”

Spike grinned, “Oh, this little thing?”

He bit off half the stack in one go.

I couldn't help but laugh, “You showoff. I'd hate to make an enemy out of you.”

That seemed to strike a nerve within the dragon. He sighed and looked down at his lap, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I'm getting bigger...”

“Really? I could've sworn you've shrunk a little since I've been here,” I replied sarcastically.

He gave a little snort, “I'm trying to be serious for a second, Forest.”

“Okay, okay.”

“I've found that more and more of the ponies here in Ponyville have been avoiding me. Is it my imagination?”

I thought about it for a second. “Doubt it. After the way you just destroyed those pancakes, I'd think that they'd be afraid you'd be able to do that to them.”

Spike made a face, “Eating ponies? Disgusting.”

“I know, right? But you did say that Dragons ate ponies. Just because you don't doesn't means others won't.” The dragon just looked at me as I deliberately tried to ignore him and concentrate on finishing the pancakes in front of me. After a moment I felt his eyes literally boring holes in the top of my skull and stopped eating. As I raised my head to looked at him. He was looking at me with these big puppy-dog eyes. “What?”

“Are you... are you scared of me?”

“What? Me? Me! Ha! No. I'm not scared of you, Spike. Never will be.”

“Never?”

“Yes.”

“You'll never be afraid of me?”

“Nope.”

“You promise?”

“Eeyup.”

“I'm going to hold you to that,” he replied, “you better not disappoint. I'm not even going to ask for a Pinkie Promise, that's how much I trust you.”

“I won't let you down.”

He looked down at what was left of his stack of pancakes and grinned, “Wanna see if I can get the rest of it in one gulp?”

“Do it!”

And he did.

“Awesome.”

We were sitting outside the library digesting our food when Sweetie Belle came skipping along.

“Hi, Forest,” She sang.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Spike.” The way she said it was so damned cute, that my heart stopped beating for a split second.

“Hi, Sweets.”

She giggled at that.

“Sweets? Sounds like candy.” My comment fell on deaf ears.

“Wanna head over to train station or towards the fair?” Sweetie asked.

“Fair?”

Why did that sound so familiar?

“Yeah, the one to celebrate your win? You know?” Sweetie replied still smiling at Spike. She pried her attention away from her boyfriend – coltfriend – dragonfriend? Her man – stallion... whatever. Lover? Yeah, I'll go with that one. Lover.

“The Ponyville Race Cup Win Fair,” Spike announced.

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that!” How could I forget that? I was caught red-handed (red-hoofed?) with my lips firmly planted on Rainbow's in Rarity's boutique when she and I fought over that ledger. I wondered what Twilight would've said if she found out about it? Eager to change the subject of almost certain doom to myself should the purple mare ever discover that little secret, I convinced my brain to immediately change the subject. “Did Pinkie make up the name?”

“How'd you guess?” Spike asked sarcastically.

“Maybe I have some magic in me after all.”

The two of them rolled their eyes.

“Oi.”

“I don't think I need to go to the station. Twilight and the rest of the Elements will be there to greet the Race team, so I don't need to. Forest, you should go,” Spike insisted, “you're part of the team after all.”

“Wait, weren't they supposed to arrive yesterday?”

“They were, but from what I heard, Derpy got lost in Canterlot so they missed their train and had to spend an extra night there.”

I recalled the meeting of the Guard in the Everfree and how Derpy was with them. She was one of the secret guards who protected the Elements of Harmony undercover. Did she just pretend to be a clumsy and forgetful mare, was that perhaps why she kept calling herself Derpy Hooves, to give others the impression of a simple but clumsy mail-mare when in fact she was a friggin' Captain in the Equestrian Guard.

I admired that. I wondered what Ditzy was like when she wasn't putting on the act.

Spike sat back in his seat, “Sometimes I wonder how that mare gets things done, you know? Like she's always somehow on top of things despite her clumsiness. I wouldn't be surprised if it was all just an act. I mean, she was always with the Doctor, and he was a very smart guy. He was always talking about things that went way over my head. Somepony like that wouldn't take on Derpy as an assistant.”

“No offense Spike, but at the age everything went over your head. You didn't even know what a bachelor party was until well after Shining got married.”

Spike mumbled something and swept Sweetie off her hooves, placing her on his lap as he hugged her, “I am deeply offended. How are you going to make it up to me?”

“Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something,” she replied, before kissing his lips passionately.

Awkward. Better say something to remind them that they were in public.

“What was he like? Derpy's husband, I mean,” I asked looking away.

The couple parted lips instantly both putting on a slightly guilty smile.

“Husban?” Spike asked regaining his composure. “You mean The Doctor? Well, first thing, I don't think Derpy was ever married to him, and secondly, he was real strange.”

“Strange? He was more than that!” Sweetie squeaked, “My mom and Rarity used to say that the Doctor was the weirdest pony on Equestria. Him and Derpy would always go into the Everfree and sometimes stay there for long periods of time.”

Spike nodded, “Yeah, they'd be gone for weeks sometimes. Then they'd come back and stay for a bit before going off again. Derpy wasn't as clumsy back then as she is now. She changed after the Doctor vanished.”

“She was so sad for ages. If it weren't for Dinky and Amethyst... well, who knows.” Sweetie shook her head sadly.

“What happened to him?” I asked.

“No pony knows, Forest – well, apart from Derpy. She never talks about what happened and no matter how many times we've tried to get her to open up, she's never told anypony, or if she has then they haven't really let on. I don't think even Princess Celestia knows. All we know was that the Doctor vanished into the Everfree and was never heard from again. That was years ago, right Sweetie? I mean, I remember him vaguely. Never really talked to the guy.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, “Oh yes. Derpy was a young mare back then. I mean, I remember seeing the Doctor around, but I never really talked to him. He was always curious about things, always asking questions. Come to think of it... you kinda...”

“I kinda what?” I asked.

“You kinda look like him. Just a bit. Your coat is a bit darker, and so's your mane and tail, but... Spike, don't you agree?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, you do have a slight resemblance to him, Forest.”

“That's... interesting,” I replied. What could it mean? No, can't dwell on that. Focus, Forest, focus. “What about Dinky?”

“What about her?” Spike looked at me.

“If Derpy is her mother, than wouldn't that make the Doctor her father?”

The two exchanged looks, “Honestly? I don't know. Nopony does, but it's pretty likely. This was way before my time and it happened before Sweetie was born, so...”

“It's complicated,” Sweetie confessed.

“Oh?”

“I think the Doctor never knew about Dinky.” Sweetie looked at her hooves, “I don't really want to spread this rumor... but it's the only one that makes sense.”

“So what you're saying is... Derpy never told the Doctor?” That was surprising.

Sweetie made a face and nodded her head slowly, “That's what I heard, so don't take it as the truth. The reason why I don't think Derpy told the Doctor...”

“Yes?”

“The reason... was because I think she was scared that if she told him she would never see him again.”

I furrowed my brow. “Really?”

Sweetie shrugged, “I don't know, Forest. Dinky is a year and a half younger than me. She's real smart for her age and that's why she was in our during school here in Ponyville. Most ponies her age were in a grade below. It might have been tough, but she didn't seem to mind. When we were older she got a scholarship to go to Luna's school. A full scholarship. I went to university in Canterlot too, but not to Luna's school.”

“So, let me get this straight. The Doctor knocked Derpy up, had Dinky, then, because she was scared the doc wouldn't love her, she never told him?”

“That's about it. It doesn't mean it's true. Remember that.”

“Wouldn't he notice her getting bigger? I mean, if you have something growing inside your belly, I don't think you can hide it.”

“That's the thing, though. He never noticed because he wasn't around at that time. My mother... she has a big mouth and during a particular 'scandalous' time, she had told Rarity that when I was just born the Doctor disappeared for a really long time. Almost a year. In that time Dinky was born.”

“Scandalous?” I asked.

“My mother likes to talk. She does it not to be mean or bad, she just likes to talk, but she sometimes says too much and things get blown out of proportion. At that time, Derpy was young and... well... she was just Derpy, so my mother thought that somepony... well... um...”

“Took advantage of Derpy because of how she is,” Spike concluded for her.

I stood there with my mouth open. On Earth, I wouldn't have batted an eyelid. Things like that were sadly very common there, but here it just seemed so... out of place.

“That's horrible!” I shouted.

“Well, a lot of ponies thought so too, but Ditzy put that rumor down. I'm not sure how, but she did, to the point where ponies still think highly of him. You can't talk badly about the Doctor in front of her. Trust me.”

“Then he came back?”

“Oh yes, but around that time Dinky was living with Amethyst.”

“I'm so confused.” I shook my head trying to sort out what I had just learnt to no avail. “Dinky lived with Amethyst Star? Why? And I don't get why Derpy didn't tell him. Wouldn't she want the doc to know? Maybe help raise the child?”

“That's not for us to decide, Forest. It's up to her to let him know or not,” Sweetie replied.

“But as the father of the child, doesn't he have a right?”

Sweetie shrugged, “We don't know if he is the father, Forest. It's not uncommon for mares to bring up foals on their own, but because it was Derpy...”

“The town thought that Derpy wasn't responsible enough to take care of Dinky on her own.” Spike gazed off into the distance, “I mean, it was a very touchy time. Some ponies thought that it was wrong for Dinky to be separated from her mother, but others said that it was dangerous for Dinky to remain with her. Some said that Derpy was unfit to be a mother.”

This was a subject well beyond my comfort zone.

“Why are we talking about this?” I asked interrupting Spike.

“What? You don't want to?” The dragon asked.

“No!”

“You were the one who asked about the Doctor, Forest,” Sweetie replied, coming to her lover's rescue.

“Yeah, but not about the entire family history, secret controversies included.”

Spike just stood there with his arms folded across his chest, the talon on his right hand tapping away at his scaly arm.

“I just didn't want to know. It felt way too personal for someone like me.”

“I understand. When I heard about this too, I didn't really like it either, but it does have a happy ending. So, that's pretty much it, about the Doctor that is. Don't think I can put in much else.” Spike looked over to Sweetie who also shook her head.

What was it they said about curiosity and cats?

“Oh fine. What happened after the town thought that Derpy wasn't well enough to take care of her own daughter? Might as well know it all,” I muttered the last part to myself.

“I think I mentioned that Dinky was put under Amethyst Star's care.”

“Yes, you did mention it.”

Spike nodded, “Since somepony got it into their heads that Derpy couldn't take care of Dinky alone, Amethyst came to her rescue and said it was okay if she became Dinky's legal guardian.”

“Derpy and Amethyst are neighbors and really good friends. Star and Dinky are more like sisters, though last I heard they had a fight and are not talking to each other,” Sweetie sighed. “They'll get over it. They always have this massive fights and not talk to each other for a few days, but this silence has gone on for so long now.”

“Must've been pretty bad if they're not talking for this long,” I uttered. As per usual, my comment was ignored.

“I'm just glad it was Amethyst that became Dinky's guardian,” Spike stated over the lingering silence. “She gave Derpy all the freedom she wanted to coming and visiting her daughter, stay the night for as many nights as she wanted, even gave Derpy a set of keys for her place! But it wasn't enough. Dinky was her daughter. That's about the time when the Doctor and Derpy would be gone for long periods of time.”

“Where would they go?” I asked.

Sweetie and Spike both shrugged. “That's the thing. Nopony knows.”

“Much of Dinky's younger life in Ponyville was under Amethyst's care. At first we kinda thought that Derpy was her older sister or an aunt instead of her mother. I think she also thought that until she was a little older, but she never hated Ditzy for it. Instead Dinky actually seemed to understand. She was always a lot more mature than us.”

“When I was in my final year at Ponyville Elementary, the Doctor vanished. Nopony really realized that he left until much, much later. By that time Derpy had moved to Canterlot by herself.” Sweetie sighed a little before she continued, “Pinkie threw a party for her, but... she just seemed so sad. Even Dinky couldn't snap her out of it.”

“She left Dinky behind?”

Sweetie nodded, “Well, Amethyst was still Dinky's legal guardian, and she had her jewelry store in town.”

“Anyway, she said she wanted change. She also wanted to be a better mother for her daughter. She was gone for a while. A few months, I think. Maybe a year. I can't remember, it was a while ago. I think that's around the time Rainbow disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“That's when she met her father.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah, because of that, I don't think anypony noticed that Derpy came back.” Spike thought about it for a moment.

“Wait. So, Derpy came back after Rainbow disappeared?”

“Definitely. I remember it clearly. It was practically the same day. The only reason why I remember it was because Derpy led a Pegasi search party combing the Everfree from above, while the Unicorns and Earth ponies combed through the forest itself. I was on that search.”

“So was I. It was so scary.” Sweetie looked at Spike and shuddered, “Imagine one of the Elements missing? What if something happened while they were gone?”

“Nothing did, thank Celestia and Luna.”

“How long was she gone for?”

“Who? Rainbow? Not that long. Quite short, actually. To us, at least.”

I recalled Tutela and her ability to manipulate the flow of time between the two worlds. She had said that she could slow time down, but not stop nor reverse it. She had also admitted that she watched us for her own amusement, which honestly stilled creeped the hell out of me. Still, I had to play along, feign ignorance. Spike didn't know the truth about me, only Twilight's truth. And for some reason, I decided to keep up the charade towards the Dragon I now considered my best friend, and I felt like scum for it. The only reason why I did so was because somewhere deep inside of me I actually felt really guilty for backing out of my deal with the Changeling. Strangely, I felt sorry for her.

“To you? What do you mean?” I asked.

“Let's just say that she had a second childhood. She grew up again.”

“What about her parents here?” I asked.

“Whose?”

“Rainbow's. She had parents before she vanished, right?”

Spike made a face. “I don't think I can talk about that.”

“Why not?”

“Just... I can't,” Spike insisted.

“You can talk about Derpy, Dinky and the Doctor, but not Rainbow?”

Spike laughed nervously, “Well, I kinda... promised that I wouldn't tell. You'll have to ask Rainbow herself.”

“Was it a Pinkie Promise?”

“Yes.”

For some reason I was satisfied with that answer. “Fine. So, Derpy was now back in Ponyville and led that search party for Rainbow. What happened after?”

“Over time, she became Dinky's guardian again. Don't get me wrong, Derpy frequently visited her daughter while she lived away. Almost every other week she'd come back to surprise her daughter. Derpy has always been there for Dinky, even if she wasn't exactly here,” Sweetie replied smiling. Her smiled faded a moment later, “Unlike my parents...” she muttered.

Spike hugged her with one arm, comforting her, “Yeah. Ditzy and Amethyst have managed to raise Dinky into a one of a kind, gentle, generous mare. Dinky's been a good friend to us all, and she's a wonderful pony inside and out.”

Sweetie giggled, “Dinky was Valedictorian at the Royal Academy of Magic, same as Twilight. She's a real powerful Unicorn; stronger than me. Twilight says that Dinky is as strong as her and that Princess Celestia considers her one of her star pupils. Just like Twilight herself!”

Now that was impressive.

“Few ponies alive can match Twilight's power.” Spike thought for a moment, “I'm just so amazed at that. Even though Twilight's parents are both very powerful Unicorns, both magically and politically, she's still so kind and gentle. You know that she comes from a really old family line of famous Unicorns. Someone like her gets to be arrogant and... and...”

“Proud?”

“Yeah, proud. I mean, she could be a like, I dunno, selfish, self-centered and stuff, but she isn't like that at all. She's...”

“Perfect?”

Spike smiled, “Took the words right out of my mouth. Don't let the Ponyville librarian fool you; her family is one of the most powerful and influential ones in Canterlot. Maybe even in all of Equestria.”

“Wow. You learn something new every- wait. I'm dating a mare who's one of the most eligible bachelorettes in Equestria?” I was stunned.

“Duh! Wait! You... you didn't know? C'mon, Forest! Her brother's the Captain of the Royal Guard. He oversees the security for both our Princesses. Her sister-in-law, Cadence, is an alicorn! Her aunt-in-law's the leader of our nation!”

“Princess Celestia is Twilight's aunt?”

“In-law. Yes. So is Princess Luna, for that matter.”

My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. Why had I not realized this before?

“They're a very prominent family.”

No shit. “Yeah, I see.” Saying that I was shocked hearing this was an understatement.

“You... are you okay?” Spike asked.

“I've just been overwhelmed by this information.” I looked up at the bright sky, “I am not sure how to react to what you've just told me, so I'm just going to go 'wow', okay?”

“Okay.”

“Wow.” My voice had so little emotion in it, but that probably because I couldn't really voice what I felt inside. So much awe, respect and admiration. “I know I should sound more impressed than I am, but I just... can't express what I'm feeling inside.”

“I like that about you, Forest,” Spike said slapping my back, “you just don't care about names, titles or anything.”

“I do! I'm just speechless. I just don't really have any bearings to react to a who's who... know what I mean?”

“I guess. I mean, I think I'm like that too,” Spike smacked my back once again. “We've got a lot in common that way”

I couldn't help but feel that Spike was teasing me, but I wasn't sure.

What was wrong with me? How could I not realize the significance of Twilight's family? How could I not piece together the obvious like this? Somehow, I think that was something she did on purpose. When we had first met, she was really suspicious of me. Made it nearly impossible for me to get away with keeping my secret. She told me straight up that she didn't trust me. Regretfully, she was right. I wasn't who I said I was, and wasn't to be trusted. She had completely seen through me, saw that I was hiding a secret from her and her friends. It was only after Princess Celestia tore a hole through my chest that she started looking at me in a different light.

“Forest? You okay? You kinda spaced out there.”

“Hm? Yeah. Fine. Just thinking is all.”

“Are you sure? You've been standing there like that for a while, you know.”

“How long?”

“About a minute or two. Maybe longer. I was... distracted.” Spike looked at Sweetie who batted her eyelids at him.

“Anyway, I'm just surprised that Derpy still manages to get things done, you know? And not just get things done, but done efficiently. It just feels like she's acting...”

“Really? That is strange,” I muttered, purposely trying to avoid making any sort of comment.

Spike narrowed his eyes at me. “You know something.”

“Me? What makes you say that?” How? How does he know?

“Because I know you well enough to know that you're hiding something. I mean, you've been hiding something from us all along, so it isn't really a surprise.”

“W-what?”

“Look, I know you've been keeping something from us, but like I said before; I don't care. You're a good friend and that all that matters to me. I trust you.” Spike's friendly smile suddenly turned into a knowing smirk, “Thing is, what makes me curious now is that you know something about Derpy and you're not telling. That is juicy.”

“Quit it, Spike. You know that I just can't open my... aw, crud.”

Spike grinned, “Caught ya.”

Sweetie Belle giggled out loud, “Oh, Forest. How could you call for that? It's the oldest trick in the book.”

“Story of my life,” I grumbled to myself. “Come on, Spike. That's not fair!”

“Don't care. Now, tell me,” the dragon demanded.

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“No!”

“Tell me!”

“No!”

Spike just shrugged, “Fine. Whatever. See if I tell you anything. Especially what Twilight did to you last night.”

“I- wait, she... she did something?”

“Hm? I wouldn't know.” Spike turned his head away from me and looked up at the sky, “It's just too bad, because it was really kinda... daring.”

“Aw, that's a low blow.”

“That's the way it is, Forest. You either spill what you know or I won't.”

I thought about it for about five seconds, “Fine. I'll tell you.” Knowing about what Twilight did was just too much for me. I couldn't even begin to imagine. What kind of daring thing did the lavender Unicorn do to me? I had to know. I thought about how to phrase it but I couldn't think of anything overly clever. Blunt and straightforward it had to be.

Here goes... “Derpy is a Guard.”

“I knew it! I called it! Ha!” Spike stood up and raised his arms above his head like a champion boxer, “I am the best! Yeah!”

“You're not surprised?”

“Well,” he lowered his limbs, “like I said, I kinda expected it. But yeah, I am surprised that I was right. Who wouldn't be? I'm just surprised she told you...”

I grinned nervously.

“She didn't tell you?”

I shook my head.

“Then... how did you...?”

“Well, I kinda overheard her and a bunch of others in the Everfree. There were a bunch of these Guards talking about how they were secret bodyguards of the Elements and something about new orders. It... it was strange, you know. Oh! You wouldn't believe who else I saw there. Somepony you'd never expect. Somepony that, if you knew, would blow your mind away-”

“Applebloom.”

“Somepony that-” I did a double-take, “What? But how-”

He waved a rolled piece of parchment in front of me, “I've been getting dozens of these addressed to her yesterday and all morning today. They're unmarked, but I know they're from either the Equestrian Guard or the Royal Guard.”

“Wait! Stop, stop, stop. They're two different things?”

“Uh... yeah. One protects the Royal family, the other protects Equestria in general.”

“I thought they were the same thing-”

“You thought wrong. Anyway, like I said, I can send-”

“I know, I know. Spike's instant scroll messenger service. Fantastic service, if you don't mind a little charring around the edges.”

He gasped aloud, “How dare you? I never char my letters! That's a lie!”

That made me chuckle, “Sure, sure. Drama Dragon.”

“Moi? A drama Dragon?” He laughed, “Yeah, so Applebloom, huh? Wow.”

Sweetie looked at the both of us, “You're serious? Applebloom? A Guard?”

“Eeyup.”

Sweetie stood there and stared with her mouth hanging open. She just stared at nothing in particular. I think her brain could not wrap itself around that concept.

“Good for her. You don't get to be a Guard if you're not good. I mean, I've always known she was special, but wow. That really takes the cake. Imagine that.” Spike sat back slowly, “And don't worry, I won't tell her that I found out, at least not from you. Anyway, I've got to get these scrolls to her. I can't help feel that she's been avoiding my on purpose for that reason.”

We were interrupted by a large group of ponies now coming out of their homes, or poking their heads out of their windows along the upper floors. More and more were making their way to the streets, lining up along it on either side.

“Hey, Mint Tea, what's going on here?” Spike asked out loud.

A mare with a light green coat and a mane that had two shades of green paused and turned to him, “Hiya, Spike. It's the Racers. They're coming on the next train. We're waiting for-” She looked at me, “Forest! Aren't you supposed to go to the train station and meet them there?”

“I am?”

“I would like to think so. I want to see all or our champions together. Now, get going!” The mare said, pointing towards the general direction of the station.

“Uh... yes, ma'am!”

I stood up to go and found that I was alone in this endeavor. I turned to my best buddy, who had one arm wrapped around Sweetie who was nuzzling his neck.

Spike saw me and grinned, “Get going, Forest. I'll see you later.”

“You're not coming with me?”

He tightened his arm around a grinning Sweetie Belle, which made her blush.

I rolled my eyes. How predictable. ”Fine. See you later.”

“Later. Tell Twilight I'll see her at the fair.”

I put a hoof on my temple, “Fair. Tell Twilight that Spike'll be there.” I looked at him and grinned, “I think I got it.”

“You'll forget, won't you?”

I didn't comment, and turned and headed towards the train station. He was probably right. I would forget.

“Oh, and Forest,” Spike shouted from behind me, “about what Twilight did to you yesterday.”

I spun around. How could I forget our deal? I needed to know. I darted back to Spike and he motioned for me to come closer.

“She gave you a goodnight kiss,” he whispered in my ear.

“You said it was daring!”

“Who'd want to kiss that mug? I thought that was pretty daring.”

I made a face. “Thanks, Spike.”

“Anytime, Forest. Anytime...”

“There you are!” a familiar voice called out as I stepped onto the overly crowded platform. It took me a minute to convince a pair of guards that I was one of the Racers, “Any longer and I would've had to come and getcha.”

“Hi, Applejack. You look... happier.”

She nodded, “Got to see Atom. You shoulda seen his face when he saw me on the platform.” She giggled at that and sighed. I let her reminisce for a moment longer before coughing gently urging for her to continue her story. “Uh... yeah, so we had another nice long talk about things. We'll see how it goes, but he's stayin' in Canterlot for some time. Somethin' to do with what happened in The Pit and all. It was all hush-hush. He did take me to dinner, though. That was nice.”

I felt a tinge of jealousy, but it evaporated almost instantly. As I opened my mouth to reply, Pinkie bounced over to us, “Oh, Forest, Forest, Forest! Isn't this just so exciting? A fair! With cakes and sweets and chocolate éclairs, vanilla ice cream and candied apples! So many treats and sweets and... ooh, games! So many fun, fun, fun games! We've got to play them all. Really play them all!”

“Sounds like fun.” I couldn't help but laugh along with the excitable pink pony. She really was just too ridiculous for words. “What game should we play first?”

“I don't know! I wish I could play them all with all my friends at the exact same time all the time!”

“Sounds tiring.”

“Not for me!” She bounced again, “I've rested up completely and am rearing to go!”

“Okay then, let's go have as much fun as we possibly can.”

Pinkie skipped around and laughed. She was certainly good at making me feel happy.

A loud whistle blew, and in the distance I could see steam rising up into the air. The train chugged closer and closer to the station and I actually got really excited to see my teammates. The cheering had already started as the engine pulled in, and it reached a pretty deafening row by the time it stopped.

Regular passengers on the train disembarked first. A few of them smiled and waved at the crowd. More than a few waved back as well. Even I waved to a little filly who smiled shyly and hid behind her father's leg while waving cutely towards me. It was adorable.

Yeesh, what's happening to me?

“Oh, Forest. Here,” Pinkie said handing me a pair of sunglasses.

I looked at them, “Um... I don't need those, Pinkie. I'm standing in the shade...”

“Not right now you don't, but you will,” she giggled. “Trust me.”

I took them and at once my eyes were greeted by a flash of bright light that disoriented me for a split second. Just as I adjusted, another powerful flash blinded me again. Struggling, I placed the sungalsses over my eyes as more and more flashes ignited all around us. Cameras, of course, but I was still a little stunned by it. Above us the Pegasi were clicking away, while around us Earth and Unicorn ponies were going nuts as well.

The cheering got louder than before and the doors to the private car (train car) swung open.

Out stepped Scootaloo and she hovered for a moment before taking to the air, zipping high above the Pegasi paparazzi-wannabes before coming back down to the platform, halting just above it and elegantly touching down. That brought a rancorous applause from the crowd, who also started to chant her name. She did a polite curtsy. Other Pegasi were hovering above us and were now throwing flowers down. Orange flowers. A part of me was curious as to what those particular ones were called, but the interest faded as Derpy stumbled out and landed on her face on the platform.

And that's supposed to be the mare that's guarding Twilight?

I had to remind myself that it was all just an act, and a terribly good one at that. No one knew any better. I guess that was the whole point. Besides, Derpy didn't seem to mind. Scootaloo walked over and helped Derpy to her hooves. The both of them waved to an overly excitable crowd and as more flowers rained down upon them.

Then out exited Lavender. Although she didn't race, she was greeted with a substantial applause as well. After all, she was the pony that trained me. It was all that hard work she put into me, making my life difficult. I needed to go and thank her as much as possible. As I walked over to them, they all began to laugh.

“What?”

“Nothing, we're just a little bit overwhelmed by all this,” Lavender said shaking her head. “I've never seen so many of our friends in one place.”

“Forest!” Scootaloo shouted, “Where were you? You missed an awesome party! It was almost as awesome as one of Pinkie's, but it was with all the fancy ponies in Canterlot. You should have been there!”

“I was having a party of my own,” I replied, trying to deflect any more questions, especially in front of the cameras.

Just then the cheering elevated once more as out stepped Amethyst. She was helped off the train by the conductor onto the platform before she limped over towards us. She waved to the crowd slowly, her right front leg was still in a bandage from the last time I had seen her, as well as the cast and on her rear leg with that crutch-like apparatus. Ponies that were sitting stood up and continued to applaud her. She had put in so much effort into the race that she deserved that. A standing ovation.

I was glad that I somehow gave it all a happy ending, but even if I didn't, I don't think that anyone here would have thought any less of her for putting her all into it.

“Hey, I've got something for you,” Lavender said pulling me into headlock, “Something that you should've seen yesterday in the newspapers.”

She placed something in my hoof. I looked at it and couldn't help but smile. It was us! All of us. Except Rainbow Dash, that was. Five of the Elements plus the Ponyville team.

“Why does it look like it was taken in the day?”

“Dunno,” Lavender replied, “I guess it was the kind of flash they used.”

I took another good look at the picture, “You guys look so nice in your dresses. I kinda look out of place.”

“Don't worry. It's not like you had time to slip something on anyway.” Lavender released me and pushed me towards Amethyst.

“True,” I replied.

Amethyst threw her working hoof around my neck and pulled me close, “Thank you, Forest. Thank you. Not for winning, but for making me feel... that I didn't let you down.”

I felt warm and fuzzy inside, “You couldn't let me down even if you tried.”

Amethyst forced back a sniffle and kissed my cheek as a friend, nothing more... I think. “I owe you.”

“Nah. You don't-”

“Well, if you ever need anything. Anything at all, let me know.”

The way she said it and the look on her face made me blush. Mind out of the gutter, mind out of the gutter, mind out of the gutter...

“Hey Forest,” A voice called out. My heart skipped a beat as the most beautiful pony in Equestria walked over to me.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” She asked, standing next to Amethyst.

“Eeyup.”

“That's a relief.”

Amethyst excused herself and slowly made her way to the others. Twilight walked over to me and put a hoof on my noggin, “Are you sure? You scared me pretty badly last night.”

“Sorry, Twi, but I promise you I'm perfectly fine today.”

“Really?” She asked.

“Really. Might I also say, you look wonderful today... and... thanks...”

“Thanks for what?”

I fought the feeling of burning in my cheeks with little success, “I, um, for your goodnight kiss...” My voice was hardly a whisper. No way she could have heard me. Right?

The pink raising on her cheeks was so perfectly adorable that I wanted to go over and give he a tight hug. So she heard me, so what? I was about to walk over to her and hug her but a voice from behind stopped me.

“Are you ready for your victory parade?”

Reluctantly I pulled my eyes away from the beautiful mare to turn around only to find the mayor standing on the platform with her back towards me.

I could've hugged her!

“Is this really necessary?” Twilight asked.

Our eyes met and I could tell she was disappointed that she didn't get that hug. Or maybe that was me imagining things. I hoped not. So I leaned into her instead. A half-hug, I guess. She leaned back against me sending shivers down my spine.

“Necessary? No. But I think our champions deserve something special for what they did. Don't you agree? I think that the eleven of you deserve this.”

“Eleven?” Twilight asked slightly confused. She wasn't the only one.

“Of course! I did say 'our champions' after all. Our Racers might have won the Race for our town, but the Elements of Harmony have been the champions of ponykind many, many times, championing our ways and way of life.” The mayor didn't wait for a response, “Now let's get this show on the road!”

Pinkie pulled out a cannon and fired it up into the air.

“How-” I quickly understood the futility of that statement and just accepted it. The answer was obvious, I wondered why I even bothered.

“Magic,” Twilight whispered from next to me, a cute smirk forming at the corner of her lips.

I head-butted her gently inhaling her lavender odor. It was beyond divine. “I should know better by now.”

Twilight pushed me away gently, “Aw, come on. Just because you're allergic to it doesn't mean it's all bad.”

“You're probably right, but I've had, um, 'lousy' experience with magic.”

She laughed at that, which made me smile. She now knew me well enough to know I was joking. I liked that. I liked that a lot. Impulsively, I began to lean forwards staring deep into her gorgeous eyes, my body felt like it was being drawn to her like a magnet. She looked at me and smiled and in that moment I swear I saw sparkles forming around her.

“Forest!” someone screamed in my ear.

“Ah! What?” I whined, Rainbow hovering next to my head.

Rainbow just looked at me with a raised eyebrow, “I said: 'You should lead the way.' Didn't you hear me the first hundred times?”

“No.”

“Lead the way!” she pointed with her hoof.

“Me?”

“Because you won the Race for us, you ninny,” yet another voice stated, this time from directly above me. I looked up to see Scootaloo hovering in the air. She lowered her altitude only to have Rainbow throw a hoof around her neck.

Derpy was giggling to herself above the two Pegasi below her.

“Oh fine.”

I felt a gentle hoof on my shoulder. Twilight's touch was so electrifying. “I'll walk with you.”

There must have been the biggest smile anyone's every seen spread across my face. We began to walk towards the station exit catching up with Amethyst limping along. We slowed our pace down to match hers, and the three of us walked side by side.

“Forest, I'm sorry for going on like a broken record, but I just want to tell you that I'm still really, really sorry about what happened.“ She lowered her head. “I just can't get over the fact that we would've lost if it wasn't for you and it would've been all my fault. If you hadn't pushed yourself the way you did... and I'm sorry about your hooves.”

I opened my mouth to talk, but another voice came out.

“Don't be silly, Amethyst,” Rainbow stated landing next to the Unicorn, “if you hadn't hurt yourself like that, Forest would've never pushed himself as hard as he did. It was 'cause of you that he really, really tried. Right, Forest? Besides, it would've been Forest's fault if we lost the race.”

“Yeah, that's right. Wait. What?”

Rainbow hovered up into the air rolled onto her back laughing her head off along with the others. Amethyst tried to stifle a giggle but failed miserably. All I could do was pout, but I also couldn't help curl my lips ever so slightly around the edges.

“Honestly though, you all did great.” Rainbow grinned and raised her hoof.

I looked at it.

“C'mon, Forest. Don't leave me hangin'!”

I raised my hoof precariously. She then punched (hoofed?) it. She did the same to Amethyst, who used her working hoof to 'bump' Rainbow's.

“You really mean it?” Amethyst asked, “You're not just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Well... maybe a little?” she grinned.

Amethyst looked at Rainbow dryly, “I find your honesty refreshing. Perhaps a little too refreshing. Is Applejack's element rubbing off on you?”

Rainbow gasped over dramatically, “I hope not!”

“I heard that!” Applejack shouted from behind me.

All the cyan mare did was snort out a snicker before floating away towards Scootaloo and Derpy who had somehow gotten caught up in writing autographs. Suffice to say that all the attention diverted to Rainbow as soon as she started offering.

Wasn't that always the case?

“Forest,” the mayor called out to me, “you're going to lead the way through the town, along with Twilight, okay?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Didn't I just say you?”

“Um... okay... but...”

“No buts! Go on! Stop wasting time!” The mayor shoved me forwards. “The faster you get there, the quicker you can enjoy yourselves at the fair.”

Twilight smiled at me and walked by my side, “You know where to go?”

“Nope. I didn't even know there was a parade until Spike told me. That reminds me. He asked me to tell you something.” I grinned nervously, “What was it again?”

Twilight shook her head and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Something about not coming here because of a particular white Unicorn mare?”

“That's right! Well... not exactly, but close enough. Why are you so smart?”

“Are you mocking me, Forest Fire?” Twilight said leaning against me and giving me a dry look.

“Yes.”

She giggled and nuzzled me, “Isn't it impressive that in the short time I've known you, I simply know how your mind works?”

“I can't help but feel slightly insulted by that, Twi,” I muttered.

The Unicorn giggled again, “It's not bad to be predictable sometimes, Forest.”

“It wasn't being predictable that I found insulting, missy. It's was the 'simple' part-”

“Forest!” the mayor yelled cutting me off, “Are you going to start leading the way or do I have to drag you along behind me? I want the fair to open!”

I gulped, “Oh, right. Um... let's go?” I looked at Twilight.

She followed close behind, “Don't worry, I'm right behind you.”

I felt so relieved that she was. Twilight was a great girl. Anyone would have been lucky to have her in their life, especially as a significant other. She was the greatest girlfriend (marefriend?) a guy like me could ever hope to dream for. How did someone like her fall for a schmuck like me? But, like everything in my life, it felt weird. I wasn't sure why, it just did. I felt really comfortable with her, and I really did like her, but it just felt like something was amiss.

There also was a certain orange Earth pony I still had feelings for. What Applejack had said to me as I hung on that cliff back in The Pit... felt strangely good. She had said she loved me, but she had also said she loved Atom. She even went to Canterlot to talk to the guy. Was she leading me on? No, not Applejack. She'd never do something like that. She also mentioned that talk they had in Canterlot about getting back together. Again. They always seemed to talk about it, but never did anything. Still, her happiness made me happy.

Then there's Twilight. She certainly did have feelings for me, but she never really said she loved me. Was that what's been bothering me? Was that why it felt weird being with her? Couldn't be... could it? Some things don't need to be said, do they?

“Forest? Forest. Equestria to Forest...”

“Huh? Sorry, Twilight, did you say something?”

“You don't need to apologize, silly.” She lightly slapped my chest. “You kind of spaced out there for a minute. Anyway, let's get going before the Mayor shouts at you again.”

“Good idea.”

As Twilight and I lead the way, Pinkie followed close behind bouncing along as she usually does. At the exit to the station, a large group of ponies began to cheer. As I stepped onto the road, I noticed that there was quite a sizable crowd as the ponies lines both sides of the street.

At least I wouldn't get lost.

Above us floated the three Pegasi and above them, sitting on the clouds or just hovering in the air, were other Pegasi who joined in the cheering of our little parade. Behind us, Fluttershy and Rarity were walking next to Amethyst, helping her along as best they could. The Element of Kindness seemed so gentle and caring, and Rarity went out of her way to make sure that nothing would hurt Amethyst. She still had that wheel-crutch supporting her cast-bound leg, and Rarity made sure that every pebble was nowhere near where Amethyst would go.

I didn't want to compare, but I kinda wished that Fluttershy or Rarity had taken care of me whenever I ended up in the hospital instead of Nurse Redheart.

Nah. That wasn't fair. Nurse Redheart may have been a little 'rough' with me, but that's because she cared. At least that's what I liked to believe. She had good reasons to have that attitude towards me, considering how I managed to mess up her hospital, annoy her staff and was a regular attendant in her Emergency Room despite repeated warnings and pleas for me to take better care of myself. I had ended up enough times in her care in the short period I had been in Equestria. I might as well have had made a home there. Redheart meant well and in reality treated me perfectly, but I couldn't help but feel I was like a real bad student that just kept getting sent to her for detention, she being the poor teacher that had to keep on punishing me.

Speaking of which, I saw her on the top floor of a house waving at me. I hardly recognized her without her hat on, but it was her all right. That, or she had an identical twin. I waved back at her, to which she gave me a stern expression. The 'don't-hurt-yourself-today-or-else' look. Definitely Redheart.

“Hey, Forest!” A stallion called out to me from a rooftop. Yes, he was literally standing on the roof of a house, and he was not a Pegasi. It took me a second to remember who he was.

“Brawny Hooves!” I shouted. I had not seen him since the time I had bought the furniture for the Apple family clubhouse.

He laughed and waved as I marched on past his home. I spotted his wife standing in the doorway to their home who grinned and gave me a friendly smile and a wave. Through the corner of my eye, I thought I spotted Pinkie's face darken slightly, but she just bounced around and threw more confetti into the air.

On we walked until we came to the Sugarcube Corner. Here Mr Cake walked into the middle of the road and handed me a cup of juice that I downed almost instantly. He laughed and handed me a second glass while Mrs. Cake hugged me.

“That's for being our town's champion,” She said as she released me from her embrace. “Sorry about all this, but the mayor said we had to put on a show. She wants to, um, sell the town as a friendly place for ponies to come and visit. She sees this as an opportunity to promote tourism.”

“What tourism?”

“Don't be mean. The mayor just wants us to have the ability to earn more bits.”

I had no idea I was being mean.

“I do hope it works. It will be nice for more ponies come to visit. It's all very exciting!”

“It is?”

Mr. Cake put a hoof on his wife's shoulder and rolled his eyes, “No. It's silly, really. There's nothing to see here except the Everfree, and that place doesn't have the best of reputations. It's not the place ponies would come to relax. Maybe the Daring Do sort would find it entertaining, but not normal folk.”

“Daring to do what?” I was confused.

“Daring Do, Forest. It's a name.”

“You don't know who Daring Do is?” Rainbow shouted landing next to me. “How can you not know who she is!”

“Sorry?” I squeaked.

“Forest, Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie,” A voice shouted from next to us. It was a Pegasi photographer. “Can you please stand side by side for a picture with the lady?”

“The lady is Mrs. Cake!” I retorted, trying to find any excuse to escape Rainbow's wrath. “She owns the best bakery in Equestria!”

Mrs. Cake gave the photographer a firm nod, as if this was supposed to be common knowledge.

The photographer gave us a nervous smile and kept gesturing for the five of us to get closer together with his hooves. As soon as we did it seemed that every photographer from a mile radius jumped in on that opportunity and began to click away.

“Forest, can you please take your sunglasses off?” He asked, “Same for you, Pinkie.”

Pinkie complied instantly. I hesitated for a bit. The thought of being blinded by the flashes of light wasn't very appealing, but I did it anyway – and was promptly blinded by the bombardment of flash strobes from the hundreds of cameras. Okay, hundreds is an exaggeration, but there were more than a few of them.

“My eyes!” I whined, “I'm blind!”

“Are you okay, Forest?” Twilight asked, touching my shoulder.

“No. I need something!”

“What? What?” she asked, leaning on closer to me.

I looked up at her and gave her an impish grin, “A kiss on my eyes to make them feel better.“

Her response was a light smack on my head, “You're horrible.”

“By horrible, you mean horribly cute, no?”

She kissed my forehead, “And that's all you're getting from me... for now.”

The way she said it sent chills down my spine. Not the scary kind of chills, but the excited kind. The kind that made me almost embarrass myself in public with indecent exposure. Holy moley, was she sexy or what? She kept surprising me with this side of her.

“You're such a tease, Twilight Sparkle,” I whispered into her ear.

She just leaned away from me and pretended to look all innocent, which made her look so cute. From sexy to cute in practically an instant. Twilight certainly was a mare with skills. I liked those skills.

“Can you two lovebirds not flaunt yourselves for the world to see?” Applejack walked up to us and gave us both a knowing smile, “You wanna give Equestria a show?”

I smacked myself in the head, “You're right. Sorry, Twilight. I just... lose my head when it comes to you.”

Twilight cheeks grew slightly rosier at that, “That's okay, Forest. I can't seem to help myself either.”

From the corner of my eye I saw Rainbow gag on a hoof which made Scootaloo chuckle in response.

“Forest, Forest!” a voice called out, “Can I ride on your back?” Pumpkin trotted up to me and sat down on the ground in my way.

“Sure. Hop on... that is if your parents don't mind,” I quickly added the last part looking at her parents. Her brother hung back a little along with his friends.

Mr Cake nodded, “That's okay by me. We've got a stand all set up over at the fair. If you could take the kids with you, it'll give us time to lock up. We'll meet you there.”

Pumpkin cheered, and hopped up onto my back. “Gidyap!”

“Sorry, Pumpkin, but I can't run here. Too many...”

“Giddy up!” she moaned, “Please!”

“You really want me to run?”

She nodded quickly.

“Fine. Hang on-”

I felt another weight on top of me. I looked back to see Pound sitting behind his sister with a sheepish smile. “Room for one more?” He asked.

I sighed and turned my head to look down the road, “Fine. Hang on you two-”

Suddenly I felt another, heavier weight on my back.

“Pinkie!” Twilight reprimanded.

“What?” she squeaked, “If Forest is doing piggyback rides... or would that be ponyback rides? Well, if he's gonna do 'em, then I want in.”

“That's not fair, Pinkie. Forest can't carry-”

“It's okay, Twi. I can do it. Just took me a little surprise is all.”

“Are you sure?”

“If I can carry both Spike and Aiden on my back from here to Esperia at the same time, I think I can handle Pinkie and two foals.”

“We're not foals!” Pumpkin and Pound retorted at the same time in practically the same kind of voice.

“Yeah, and I'm not Pinkie. Oh wait. Yes I am.” Pinkie giggle-snorted and bounced up and down on my back, “Let's-go, let's-go, let's-go! Go, go, go!”

I looked at Twilight.

“Well, if you're sure you can handle the weight then it's okay. Go on. I'll meet you at the fair.”

“I donno where it is, though? I can't run to-”

“It's at the lake where the tryouts were held, darling,” Rarity said gesturing with her hoof down one of the roads that led past Sweet Apple Acres. “If you don't mind going on ahead it might make this little exhibition end quicker and allow me to return to my work. I mean, the way they expected me to not go prepared for this is astounding! I have a reputation to keep, you know. As the designer of the uniforms for the race it was important that I look the part...”

“The lake?” I whispered to Twilight, not wanting to interrupt Rarity's tirade as she continued talking.

“Yep.”

“I think I know where that is. Hang on,” I shouted, giving Rarity a slight fright. “Let's kick this into overdrive.”

“Over what?” Pumpkin asked out loud, but I pretended not to hear. I had already dug my heels into the ground after all. That meant I was ready to run.

I felt so light, so free, in that instant. It was as if the world itself pushed my belly up and away from it, urging me to get going.

Then a thought occurred to me. Was Equestria rejecting me? Like a puck on an air-hockey table? Like a magnet with a similar pole? Like a constant breeze blowing me away; strong enough to keep me aloft, but not strong enough to keep me away? Was the reason why I could run so fast because the world itself did see me as a part of it and was likely pushing me away as I was a living freak of nature?

Where do I come up with this stuff? I asked myself.

I pushed as hard as I could. I felt my body lurch forwards in one gigantic step that felt more like a leap. Then I heard the twins on top of me scream and Pinkie 'yahoo'ed' as I pulled myself through the streets of Ponyville. The crowd seemed to like it, but their cheering was behind me by the time I zipped by. The wind in my face felt so good, that I didn't want to stop. I wanted to keep on going. Too bad I had to. The road was blocked along that edge of town and the parade route doubled back and headed back through Ponyville.

“That was so fun!” Pound shouted from on top of me as I trotted a little ahead. The crowd was still cheering, and from the way Pinkie was jiggling on me I could tell she was waving quickly at them.

“That was scary,” Pumpkin replied to her brother. “Forest, did you run like that when you did the Race?”

“Nope. I was much faster then.”

“Can you run like how you did then?” Pound said, pulling on my mane forcing my head to turn and look at him.

I laughed, “Not with you three on my back. You'd get hurt.”

“Aw,” both the kids whined. “Please?”

“Sorry, kids. I would love to, but your parents would kill me if I tried.”

“But you didn't make the road get fired up,” Pinkie joined the kids in their whine-fest.

That made me chuckle a little, “You want me to light up the road?” I rubbed the back of my head with my hoof.

“Yeah!” all three of them shouted.

“Yeah!” half the crowd joined in.

“Show us that fire that won the cup for us!” a Unicorn shouted.

A Earth pony mare giggled, “I'd rather see that kiss between you and Twilight again.”

That made me feel kinda good, embarrassed and stupid all at the same time, so I just laughed embarrassedly and stupidly. It came out more like a goofy giggle.

“Forest!” the three on my back groaned again.

“Okay, okay. Hang on tightly to me.” I felt two pairs of hooves tighten themselves around my neck. “Someone's not holding me.”

Somepony! Damn it, Forest.

“I'm holding onto Pinkie,” Pumpkin stated. “Go!”

Again, I did the whole hoof in the ground thing. This time, however, I let myself go a little faster. Just a little. A smidgen. An iota. A teensy weensy. Just a slight raise in the speedometer.

I then realized that I could only do 'really fast' or 'really, really fast'. There was no 'little bit' fast. I stopped almost as soon as I started, and turned around to see the road lit up behind me. My passengers were all eerily silent as I waited for some form of a response. My heart was beating in fear. I was about to turn around when...

“That. Was. So. Awesome!” Pound shouted and hopped off and danced around the ground.

The crowd began cheering at me. A few even threw flowers in my general direction. I bowed low relishing the attention.

A few ponies from the crowd were begging for me to take them for a spin, to which I just smiled politely and shook my head. As much as I loved running, with those three on my back it felt real dangerous. I guess because of the foals, I didn't want to take a chance.

“Forest, let's go again!” Pumpkin asked, bouncing around me with her brother.

“Yeah, Forest, let's go again!” Pinkie joined in.

I made a face, “Guys, I know you liked it-”

“Liked it? Liked it! We loved it!” the three of them interrupted me at the same time.

I chuckled a little bit at that. “Okay, okay. You loved it, but that doesn't change the fact that it felt really dangerous when I did it,” I looked at each one in turn, “and I don't know what I'd do if I actually hurt any of you.”

Pumpkin blushed, Pound gagged (as boys do when it comes to mushy things), and Pinkie... well, Pinkie just looked at me. I couldn't help but smile at her, to which she looked away and giggled.

“Okee dokee lokee! Let's go on ahead to the fair,” she said and led the way.

The four of us eventually managed to complete the route through the town. Here there was a less of a crowd as most of the ponies were either making their way to the fair, or keeping up with the other members of the team. The router doubled back twice making sure that everypony got to have a good look at the team. It was just a shame that we weren't all together, though Derpy, Rainbow and Scootaloo did wave to us whenever we saw each other.

As we made our way over the crest of a hill that led by Sweet Apple Acres, I spotted Applebloom and Granny standing behind a table with mugs on it. There were a few ponies lined up in front. I trotted over and oogled at the various pints of cider on the table. The famous Apple family cider. I needed to consume it.

“Ooh! Cider! I love cider! It's so delectably delicious and appley!”

Pumpkin was still on my back while Pound proudly walked along by Pinkie's side. Well, maybe proudly was a bit of an exaggeration, but it must have been so cool for the two of them to ride pillion through the parade.

“Howdy, young un's,” Granny stated sitting on a chair to one side of the table. She was sitting slightly sideways. It was to accommodate having a tail. Sitting on it didn't feel very good. On her lap was a small box with a hole at the top, she shook it making the coins inside jingle around, “One bit for a pint of some nice cider, two for the special stuff.”

“How much for a glass of your infamous hooch?” I asked unable to resist the urge to taste that wonderful jet fuel again, despite the previous consequences.

Granny laughed in her special way, “For you? One bit. Everyone else has gotta pay five.”

“I feel so special.” Then I remembered, “Oh, I don't have any bits.”

“Then nothin' for you,” Granny replied and flashed me a knowing smile.

I knew that look. It was the 'I've-got-something-for-you-to-do' look. Somewhere in the back of my mind alarm bells went off, but the hooch called to me. Was I addicted? If I was, then it was the best addiction ever, “Fine. I'll bite. What do you want me to do?”

Granny nodded, approving the fact that I had caught on, “I wantcha to beat this Lance feller.”

Applebloom and I both ended up with the same shocked expression.

“What do you mean? You want me to beat him up?” I asked. Applebloom was still too stunned to talk.

“Now, don't get your tail in a twist. Not a fight. Forest wouldn't last two minutes against Lance.”

I made a sad face. That was probably true.

“No, I'm talkin' 'bout a good ol', frenly contest for the hoof of this here fair young maiden.”

“A friendly contest against a pony that whose talent is swordplay? Sounds...”

“Fun?” Pinkie offered.

“Romantic...” Pumpkin sighed.

“Bo-ring,” Pound bemoaned.

“Painful. It sounds painful,” I stated giving them each a look. “Why do you want me to compete against Lance anyway, Granny? Don't you approve of-”

“I don't approve nothin' yet. I don't want some random riff-raff datin' my granddaughter, y'hear? He's got to prove ta me that he can take good care of Applebloom so's I can go on ahead to the great big pasture in the sky without havin' ta worry if she's gonna be taken care of all right.”

“Granny...” Applebloom moaned, clearly embarrassed and humiliated. Today seemed to be all about being embarrassed. It was quite apparent why; our conversation had gained the curiosity of quite a few passersby and they were all listening in on the old mare's tirade.

“Uh... why me?” I asked.

“Because Big Mac's a stick in the mud. He's not the kinda pony who I can sucker- er- convince to do this for my... um...”

“Amusement?” Applebloom offered when Granny couldn't think of the word.

“I was gonna say for my granddaughter, but amusement's good too.” The old lady chuckled to herself.

“Why do I get the feeling that I'm being manipulated into something I know that'll get me into trouble?” I asked nobody in particular.

“You won't get in trouble,” Granny insisted, “you might make Lance mad, but I'll give ya a bottle of my finest hooch if you do this for me.”

“Sold!” I shouted, making all the ponies within our general vicinity jump. Hey, Granny's hooch was worth the risk, despite it making me end up in weird places. Like another town, for example, and not remembering how I got there in the first place. I saw the looks everyone was giving me. “What I meant to say was, sure Granny, I'd love to try and make your granddaughter's boyfriend jealous.”

Applebloom blushed, “He's not my boyfriend, um, coltfriend. Yet.”

She added that last word so quietly that I almost didn't pick it up. “Well, I said I'd do it, so I'd do it. What do I have to do exactly?”

“See, that's where this here fair comes in. You know how all them young un's like to show off their skills at the fair's games 'n all?”

“They do?” Well, I never really had many friends growing up, so I didn't really know about this nor did I frequent fairs, mainly for the same reason.

“You never tried impressin' a mare at a fair before? Back in the day that's all we did.”

“Granny, colts haven't done that since you were a filly,” Applebloom replied. I could tell she knew where this conversation was going.

“Eh, hogwash. When it comes down to it, it don't matter where it happens, s'longs it happens. Am I right, boy?” Granny said looking at me.

“I...” she gave me a look, “Yes, ma'am.”

Why can I never talk back to a woman anymore?

“So here's what I wantcha ta do,” Granny pulled me closer. “I wantcha to challenge that Lance feller to games at the fair, and I wantcha ta win. Understand?”

My face was literally stuck to hers as she was pressing our faces together, “But wha if ah can't win, Granny?”

“Nonsense! You're an honorary Apple now. You better not lose, or I'll make you one sorry pony. You get me?” She waved her crooked walking stick at me.

Wait. Where'd that walking stick come from? I never noticed it before. Wait double time. Did she just say that I was an...

“Honorary Apple?”

“Sure. You're like family now.”

My nose itched. My eyes stung. My lips quivered.

“Aw, don't get all weepy on me now, Forest. You might not be related to us by blood, but you still took great care of our family. With that harvester ya made, we're doin' better 'an okay. And we Apples take care of our own.”

I didn't know what to say. I coughed and wiped my eye. “Sorry, Granny. Just got something in my eye.”

They weren't tears. Nope, not tears at all. It's not like I was so touched by the fact that they really thought I was family now. It's not like this is the first time I've ever... I've ever...

“Aw, Forest...” Applebloom walked over to me and gave me a hug.

I sniffled a little, “Thanks.”

They were making it really hard for me to let go.

“Now, where was I?” Granny asked.

And there goes the touching moment. Can't deny that I was glad that Granny rolled over it. No one wanted to see a crying stallion, especially one that was supposed to be leading a parade I coughed and took a deep breath.

“You wanted me to beat Applebloom's boy- um, coltfriend at the fair.”

Nodding, Granny pushed herself up from the chair, “Now I want you ta beat him at every game. He has to know that I'm not gonna let just any stallion take my baby away without earnin' my approval.”

Applebloom sighed out loud.

“Are you sure, Granny? I think that somepony else would be a wiser choice. I'm not exactly... good at things like this.”

“What's the matter, Forest? You scared? You think you don't stand a chance?”

“Honestly? Considering that I've never done this before, nor know what to expect... yeah, I don't think I stand any chance at all.”

Pumpkin hugged my neck, “No worries, Forest. I'll help you. I'm good at playing games at the fair.”

“That's cause you cheat,” Pound muttered.

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not! Do not! Do not! Do not! Do not! Do not!”

“Do too, too, too, too, too, too, too!”

“Stop it! You're acting like foals,” I scolded.

That shut them up. Hey, what d'ya know? I actually did something responsi-

“Do nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!”

“Do toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

The twins screamed at the same exact time.

Oh my ears. My poor, poor ears.

“Pumpkin, Pound, please stop it. It's not nice to do that so close to Forest's ears especially after he took on you on such a nice ride on his back, okay? So, let's all be really quiet after we tell Forest how sorry we are, okay?”

“Yes, auntie Pinkie,” both the twins replied. “Sorry, Forest.”

If I had not seen Pinkie speaking, I would've never believed that such words were capable of leaving the mare's mouth. She was really great with the twins.

“It's okay, kids. When we get to the fair you can make as much noise as you want...”

They still stuck their tongues out at each other and gave those sibling glares, but at least they weren't screaming and hollering like they were just a moment before. I never want to experience anything like that again. Ever.

“You'd make an amazing mother, Pinkie,” I said smiling at her.

“Y-y-you think so?”

“I know so.”

Her smile was as bright and wonderful as Celestia's sun.

“So you got it, Forest?” Granny asked continuing from where she apparently left off.

Because of my short attention span, I had long since forgotten what the subject matter was. So, I did what I always do in situations where I have no idea what's going on.

I fudged it.

“Yes, Granny,” I remarked. “I got it.”

“You sure?”

“Eeyup.”

She laughed in her Granny Smith way, “Now don't you let me down, y'hear?”

“I won't.”

“I want you to beat him.”

“I will. I'll make sure that by the time I'm through he'll be running home to momma crying his little eyes out as I defeat him at all the games over at the fair!” I put on my best super-villain imitation laugh, “Mark my words, Forest will be triumphant!”

Just then, because the universe likes making me brunt of every joke, a colt walked up to us. And who else would it be except the very colt that no less than fifteen seconds ago we were discussing.

“Hi, Applebloom. Hello, Granny. Hello, Pinkie, Pound and Pumpkin.” Lance greeted us all with a smile and a friendly nod. Except me. He greeted me with a look that would've frozen ice.

“Hi Lance,” the three P's greeted at the same time.

Applebloom just blushed a little and batted her eyes.

Granny harrumphed and gave me a sharp nudge with her walking stick.

I took a step forward. “Lance! I challenge you to a dual!”

“When and where? I'll let you pick your blade of choice,” the younger stallion said in an eerily polite voice.

“N-n-no. Not that. Uh... you have to beat me in a set of challenges that test both mind and skill! Not just banging around two slabs of metal.”

“Two slabs of metal?” Lance was clearly angered by that comment.

Shit.

“Sir, swords are not just slabs of metal. They're-”

“Do you accept my challenge?” I shouted, not wanting to get into a debate about sharp-shiny things.

“Without knowing the contest? Without knowing the prize? I think not. I'm no fool.”

“The prize is... the prize is...” I looked around.

“The winner gets to kiss anypony they want!” Pumpkin blurted.

Pound pretended to vomit, which earned him another venomous glare by his sister.

“A kiss for anypony?” Pinkie asked, “Ooh, that sounds so fun! I want to play too.”

“You want to kiss Applebloom?” I asked, my eyes wide open.

“No, silly. Pumpkin said that the winner can kiss from anypony they want. I want to kiss somepony, so I wanna play too!” She looked at me, “I can't?”

“W-w-well...”

“Why not? The more the merrier,” Granny said. “Since so many of you are interested, let's write up a sign up sheet.”

“A sign up sheet?” I asked.

“Of course. It's to make sure that everypony agrees to the terms and conditions and not back off.” Granny reached over to the table and pulled open a drawer and took out a pad of paper, a quill and a pot of ink. She licked the tip of the quill before dipping it into the ink pot. “Okay, so whomever puts their name on this list gets to compete in our little competition. First off, you Forest.”

I signed the page with my terrible mouthwriting.

“Now, who's next?” Granny held the quill by the feather at the end making it clear that the next pony had to go and sign.

Lance did just that and gave Applebloom a shy smile that made the mare blush a little more.

Then Pinkie snatched the quill from Lance and put her own signature down on the paper.

“Whatcha guys doin'?” Applejack asked from behind me. I turned around to see that the rest of the girls had caught up to us.

“Ooh, ooh. Forest and Lance are having a contest to see who is better suited to being Applebloom's coltfriend, but Forest isn't doing it because he wants to be Applebloom's coltfriend, he's doing because Granny said she wanted him to do it because Forest is good at doing things like that because he somehow always manages to do things like that when you least expect it and so the winner of the contest will get to kiss anypony they want so that's why I am entering because I wa-”

“Pinkie, I can't understand it when you talk like that,” Applejack said as she removed her hoof from Pinkie's mouth.

“Sorry. I got excited. There's a contest going on. The winner gets to kiss whoever they want!”

The girls exchanged looks.

“So... anypony can take part. The winner gets to kiss anypony they want?” Rainbow gramaced, “Yuck. Who thought of that?”

“Pumpkin,” Pound said before anyone else could respond. Everyone turned their attention on him. “What? She did.”

Pumpkin just wiggled her brow.

“I'm in,” Twilight said taking the quill from Lance.

“Wha-?” Rainbow landed next to her friend. “You don't know what the rules are! You're just gonna go compete just like that? That's not very...”

“I'm feeling daring today, Dashie.” Twilight looked over to me, “Plus the prize is worth it.”

I grinned. I blushed. I felt silly. I loved it.

“Well, who else is competing?” Rainbow looked around.

“Just Pinkie, me, Lance and Twi,” I replied.

“And what's the contest? Racing? Flying? Sword fighting?”

“Fair ground games!” Pumpkin shouted out loud, “The winner depends on whether or not they can beat the games they play, and the one who gets the most amount of prizes wins.”

“You know what? That sounds like a lotta fun,” Applejack said.

“If AJ's playin', I'm playin',” Rainbow stated and put her signature down.

“Now hang on, I never said I was gonna play...”

“Dears, this is uncalled for and completely childish-” Rarity stated talking over Applejack.

“Just for that, I'm gonna go and kiss Fancypants.” Rainbow grinned at Rarity.

Rarity gasped, “You wouldn't dare?”

“Try me.”

“Well I never! This is completely uncouth and, and, ooh, I do abhor games and... well, perhaps getting a kiss isn't such a bad prize, especially when you work hard to get one.” Rarity put her name down and sighed, “There. You've suckered me into this juvenile contest, but I can assure you that I will do whatever it takes to win.”

“Now that sounds like fun,” Rainbow hiccuped and smacked the white Unicorn's back. “You must really like that Fancypants guy if you're gonna compete against Twilight – never mind me.”

“So long as you don't win, Rainbow, I don't care. I know who Twilight and Forest will kiss, so the only pony I'm going to worry about is you.”

“No offense, Rare, but I'd rather kiss an Ursa than Fancypants.”

Rarity gasped and made an angry face. “How. Dare. You?”

“Hey, just because you like that kinda stallion doesn't mean he appeals to me, okay? And what's with that caterpillar on above his mouth?”

“You mean a mustache? At least he's able to grow one, unlike yours?” Rarity remarked dryly.

Uh-oh. This was bad.

“I don't have a stallion, remember? We kinda ended things a little roughly, remember?”

“Girls!” Applejack shouted, “We're supposed to be here having fun. I don't want to see you trying to fighting like a pair of fillies.”

Rainbow snorted. I was surprised to see Rarity join in.

“It's just a bit of fun, Applejack,” Rarity explained. “We don't really mean it. It's just... banter. You know, to improve the gloating rights of the winner. Besides, I know that Rainbow would never do anything to betray my trust. She does have a rather... 'unique' taste in stallions.”

Rainbow deadpanned.

“Are you sure that's all it is?” The farmpony asked.

“What else could it be?” Rarity replied sweetly.

Now I was confused. I thought they were going to get all violent and stuff. Turns out, this was just them being all friends and... yeah, I didn't get it.

“What about you, Applejack? You get to kiss anypony.”

“There's no pony around that I'd like to kiss,” Applejack said through gritted teeth.

I felt hurt for some reason.

“What? Not even Forest?” Rainbow stated, pointing towards me.

It felt like someone injected lava into my face. Aw man, Rainbow. Why you do that?

The silence between me, Applejack and Twilight was deafening.

“I guess you're gonna have to compete against each other to see who gets Forest's lips.” Rainbow said it in a sing-song voice.

“Uh, Rainbow... that's... I mean...” heir eyes went to me, putting me in the spotlight, to which I could only shrug. What could I say?

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Atom. But let's be frank. He's not here. He's off in Canterlot leaving my best friend again. He could be wrapped up in some other mare's hooves right now,” Rainbow lowered herself the few few to the ground and put her hoof around Applejack's shoulders, “Forest, on the other hand, is here. Right now, the only mare standing between you and him is Twilight. Not to mention me. You know what, I'm in the contest, you're better off sitting with one out.”

“Now just wait one doggone minute,” Applejack was clearly unhappy at what Rainbow had said. I would've been too if I was in her shoes (horseshoes?), “now I know you're just tauntin' me, but I don't appreciate bein' told that Atom could be with somepony else. You know that that's a sensitive subject...”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “So's Soarin, but I got over it. So, you competin' or what?”

“Oh, I'm in all right, but Forest and Twilight are not the reason why I'm going to take this seriously. Somepony needs to keep that over inflated ego of yours in check.”

“Um...” Fluttershy quietly declared, “shouldn't we be heading towards the fair now? Everypony is waiting for us.”

“They can wait for a few minutes longer, Shy,” Rainbow replied still looking at Applejack. “So, you think you're better than me?”

“I said that I'd take you down and I intend to, I never said nothin' about bein' better. Don't need to.” Applejack took the quill and signed the piece of paper. “There.”

The two ponies glared at one another, a slightly sadistic grin spread across each of their muzzles. They then both spat into their hooves and 'shook'. I made a face as did Twilight; that was pretty disgusting. We both looked at each other and laughed.

“Well, let's head over to the fair.” Twilight nudged, “Lead on, Forest!”

“Okay... wait, so we're all competing in this thing?”

“I think so. Well, except for Fluttershy, Amethyst-”

“I'm so taking part. There's this pony I really want to lay my lips on,” Lavender announced grinning from ear to ear, and she too put her name on the list.

Scootaloo rubbed her forehooves together, “I would play, but Featherweight's not gonna be here-”

“Bo-ring,” Pinkie chimed. “Oh, not you Scoots. I was just stating that waiting around doing nothing is so boring!”

“Well, then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow chided.

Then, from somewhere, I heard music. Of course I heard music. The fair was going, after all...

“We are going to the fair right now,” Rarity sung.
“For a contest they said,
For the simple prize of a kiss? Wow!
This is something that I wanted to miss.”

Oh. They're actually going to sing now.

“Don't get all high and mighty,
Don't get all huffy-puffy,
It's just for fun,
All said and done,
It'll be a blast, you'll see..” Rainbow's singing voice was actually pretty good.

“I got a challenge from him,” Lance suddenly sang out and pointed at me.
“For the hoof of Applebloom,” who was now blushing away.
“I know not why,
He wishes to try,
But for him there's only doom.”

Morbid fellow, isn't he?

“Challenges are things I like,
Don't believe me? Just ask Spike,” Twilight winked over to me.
“I hope to win,
Without chagrin,
And kiss the one who I like.”

Pinkie jumped ahead and started walking towards the lake, “Even if you don't win this contest,
Just knowing that you tried,
Your very hardest and your bestest,
Is enough, so come on, let's decide!”

“Decide what, dear Pinkie Pie,
Decide on the lucky guy?
Or what little treat,
I should go eat,
At the fair where we let fun freely fly,” Lavender sung.

“Don't be silly Lavender Hoof,
It's not just about eating delicious goodies,
Like,” Pinkie held the note and then took a long deep breath,
“Marshmallows, crisped rice cereal, pretzels, potato chips,
Toffee, corn-dogs, melons, apples, and all sorts of zesty dips.” She licked her lips.
“It's not about fritters, cakes, bakes, muffins or pie,
Nor about sweets, chocolate or brownies; do you comply?
It's about the sweetest treat of all,
A prize that is perfect in size,
A treat that can't be spared nor shared,
A special kind for lips to taste,
So don't let you skills go to waste,
Because you don't want to miss,
The grand prize; a kiss!
To the one that you like the most,
And to your friends you get to boast!”

“A kiss is the prize?
Did you hear that guys?” A random stallion said to his friends as he overheard the girls singing and somehow joined in.
“Who is the lucky one?
Who gets the deed done?”

“No, no, no, you big silly,
It can be to anypony,
From me to you,
I don't know who,
The winner gets to choose, you see?” Pinkie revealed.

“Can I join in?” One asked.
“Sounds like I might win,
And I would like a smack,
From the amazing Big Mac.”

“My brother?” Applejack asked incredulously out of song looking at the young stallion who just blushed.

“What? I think he's cute,” the stallion replied.

“Sorry but this is just between us,” Twilight replied politely.

“Aw,” the stallion moaned and continued walking towards the fair with his friends, who patted his back consoling him.

As we approached the last curve of the road, I could see the tents and decorations from the fair in the distance. It was huge! How the hell did I not notice them putting all this up?

“And now here we are at the fair,
The excitement is more than I can bear,
The games, the food,
I'm so in the mood!
Come on let's all get there!” Pinkie pulled me along.

“You're so silly, Pinkie,
Just you wait and see,
I'll beat Lance,
Do a victory dance,
And kiss my special somepony.” I sang... or at least I tried to sing.
“And do you know where?
At the fair!”

“The fair?” she asked with a wide smile.

“The fair!” I sang in response.

“The fair!” Pinkie replied in tune.
“We'll do it all,
and have ball. At. The. Fair.” She held the last word on a long note as the music reached it's finale and ended by melding into the music of the fair itself.

“Forest! Stop! Stop singing or you'll-”

Day 26: All's Fair in Love & Games - Part 2: Sleep is for the Weak!

I woke up with a start and looked around. I was lying on a bench as a steady stream of ponies walked past. Most ignored me, but a few who looked me in the eyes gave me a friendly nod and smile, to which I replied with a smile in return. Slowly, I sat up, my head spinning a little. Once it had abated, I pulled myself from the bench and shook the disorienting feeling off.

“Nice of ya to wake up,” Applejack said.

“Magic?” I asked in reference to why I had suddenly blacked out. I had done this exact same thing at Cheerilee's school.

“Magic,” she replied, nodding sadly. “Wish you weren't allergic to it an' all, but that's just the way it is.”

We both stood there in silence for a moment. I kept expecting her to say something, but she just kept looking towards nowhere in particular.

“Um... where's Twilight?” I asked trying to diffuse the uncomfortableness that was starting to get awkward.

Applejack pointed across the street where she and the rest of the Elements and the Racers were signing autographs on these tiny dolls.

Together, we walked towards Twilight and the others,

“Forest, are you okay?” Twilight asked walking over to me and touched my head. I think she was checking my temperature.

I nodded, “Fine. Just, um, got a dose of too much magic.”

“Oh Forest I'm so sorry for making you sing along with me it was not a nice thing to do especially since you're allergic to magic and all but I couldn't resist because I love to sing because singing is so naturally flowy from my mouth and it's all about having fun and stuff because when you sing you get to change your voice and say things in a melody that rhymes sometimes and-”

A purple orb surrounded the pink mare, “She does love to go on and on,” Twilight sighed shaking her head slightly.

We all shared a laugh.

“Are you listening to me?” Pinkie asked, poking her head outside the bubble.

We all nodded.

“Good. Now, let's go!” Pinkie spun around and led us towards the fair's entrance.

A large white banner with dark blue letters tied to two long wooden poles created a doorway-like entrance. There was little point having it, because you could just walk around and there was nothing to stop you from being able to do so.

As we entered the fair grounds, the first thing that obviously caught my eye were little plastic (or what looked like plastic) toys of me. There was one of Scootaloo, and one of Amethyst... well, two of her. A before and after one. The after one looked so sad, I wanted to take it home and care for it. Suffice to say, hers was the most popular one. For some reason, mine wasn't. I wasn't upset or anything... okay, maybe I was just a little upset.

“You wonderin' 'bout why your figurines ain't seIlin'?” Applejack asked as she followed my gaze from stand to stand. “It's cause that's the one of you without your uniform. The one with it on got sold out almost as soon as the stands opened up.”

“Really? H-h-how did you know that?”

“The mayor told us. She picked a few up to be sure that we all had one. Rainbow's supposed to have yours, but I think Twilight's got it now.”

Twilight nodded, “Here you go!”

I took it from here and looked at it. It looked really cool, but I wanted the one of me without the uniform on as well. Twilight giggled and placed something into my hoof.

It was the second figure, “Twi! How'd you know?”

“I just knew.”

I gave her back the one with me in uniform on, “Then, I wanna give this to you.”

“I already have one.”

I took the figure and put the face on my lips, then gave it to her.

“Did you just kiss yourself?” Applejack asked.

“I kissed it so that whenever Twilight kisses the figure, it will be like kissing me!” I offered it to her, “Will you take it now?”

Twilight was giggling away. “You're so ridiculous. Yes, I'll take it.”

“Oh! I forgot to tell Rainbow something...” That I'm moving out of her place and staying with Twilight.

“So, tell her. There she is,” Applejack said nudging me towards the Pegasus.

Sheepishly I walked over. Why did I feel so... weird about this? It wasn't like I had any obligation to stay with Rainbow, yet leaving her this way seemed wrong for some reason. This wasn't the place, or perhaps I was just feeling really weird about it.

“What do you need to tell her, Forest?” Twilight asked.

I grimaced as I lowered my head slightly under Twilight's gaze, “I haven't told Rainbow that I was moving in with you-”

“I told her already. She said 'finally'. ”

“She did?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh. Thanks, Twi.”

“Are you upset?”

“Me? No! Why would I be upset? No, no. I'm perfectly fine.”

“You sound upset.”

“I'm not upset! Really! It's all fine!”

“You're not acting like it's fine.”

I did a double-take, “What? Of course I'm fine! Just... well, I'm, uh... that is to say... it feels strange, y'know? I mean, did it feel weird?”

Twilight looked at me funnily, “No... it did not feel weird. Why?”

“I'm not sure, I just feel that it's... strange. Like something is missing. I've been getting this really awkward feeling in my gut. I don't know what it is.”

A frown appeared on the lavender Unicorn, “I'm still a little worried about you, Forest. After that thing from yesterday...”

“What thing?”

She narrowed her eyes at me.

“Oh that. Don't worry about that. I've had those all my life,” I lied. “It's nothing. I get them often. Especially after eating a lot.”

The mare remained unconvinced.

“Look, I'm fine!”

The more I insisted the more Twilight seemed unconvinced.

She shook her head slowly, “You do know that I can tell when you're lying, right?”

That made me feel really small and stupid. “Yeah, b-but I'm not this time.”

She looked up at me for a moment before tilting her head slightly, narrowing her eye and nodding once, “Okay. I'm trusting you, Forest. For now.”

I felt like the number one shit in the universe, but what could I do? If I told her the truth, she'd freak out and worry about me. If I had told her that my pain was because my body was reverting to its true form, what would she do? Would she go to the Princess and tell her everything? Would she try and protect me? What would she do? I didn't know. All I knew was that she was trusting me... for now.

“Thank you, Twilight.”

“What are you two mumbling about?” Pinkie shouted somehow appearing between the two of us. “Ooh, are you guys having one of those couple fights? You know, like the one's that Rarity says when you say something and she says something then you both say something and then you have to go make up by going off and-”

“Pinkie!” Twilight moaned interrupting her friend.

“Pinkie! Stop!” Twilight pleaded, cupping Pinkie's mouth with her hoof.

“Okay, Twilight, but everypony knows that-”

Suddenly Pinkie was once again enveloped in a ball of light purple magic. Her lips were moving but I couldn't hear anything.

Twilight looked at me and smiled shyly, “Sometimes she says things without thinking or knowing what they are.”

“I wonder what she was trying to say,” I replied getting really up close to Twilight, “I'm very interested.”

She giggled and pushed me back, “Something that Rarity told her that she misunderstood.”

“Ah. I realize that whatever Rarity told her must be something real juicy for you to blush like that,” I taunted putting my face near hers.

“I'm not blushing. I just had too much cider,” Twilight replied, looking away, a smile on her lips.

“Uh-huh? Are you sure that's it?”

Naturally, I tried to pry every detail out of her. I loved the way her face would grow pinker every time I tried to get more information out of her. She knew that I knew, yet she played along and that's what made it all the more fun.

“Hey!” Pinkie shouted pushing through the magic bubble, “Are you two listening to me?”

“Yes, Pinkie,” We both replied.

“Good, because you know you should listen to me, right?”

“Yes, Pinkie.”

Lance walked over to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Hey, are you with Twilight? I thought you were competing for Applebloom's affection?” He scratched his head, “I'm more than confused.”

“Don't worry your purty lil' head 'bout it,” Granny said. I hadn't realized that she had tagged along too.

“Granny...” Applebloom moaned. She was hanging back, her face had not stopped being crimson. Clearly she was embarrassed of Granny's shenanigans and kept trying to hide her face by lowering her head towards the ground so that Lance wouldn't notice. Lance tried in his own way to not look towards Applebloom, but was failing miserably.

It was so adorable.

“Okay y'all. Listen up!” Granny shouted.

“Yeah, listen up!” Pumpkin shouted. She had somehow climbed back onto my back at that moment, so she was standing at the same height as Granny

“As lil' Pumpkin said: the one who brings me the most toys wins! I'll be over with Big Mac at the Apple family apple stand over yonder by the lake. Ya can't miss it. Y'all got until sunset. Anypony late is disqualified!”

Wow, Granny was strict.

“Right, Pumpkin?” Granny asked my passenger.

“Yes, Granny Smith!”

“You get that?” the old filly shouted at the rest of us.

We all nodded.

“Good. May the best pony win.”

We watched as she hobbled off with Applebloom in her wake. The younger mare kept trying not to look over her shoulder towards Lance, who also tried to avoid eye contact, but both failed miserably. I couldn't help but chuckle a little at their expense and found that I wasn't the only one.

“I think we're going to have to postpone the games for a moment, Rainbow. We've got to head over to the center of the fair right now. There's speeches and stuff, so we need to head to the stage right now. You remember?” Twilight stated as she walked by her mid-air friend.

“Speeches? Oh boo. Snoozeville! I want to have fun!” Rainbow turned to her pink friend, “Right Pinkie? Who wants to go and listen to some boring speech?”

Pinkie nodded so fast, her head became a blur.

“'Sides, nopony actually goes to those things!”

“Come on, Rainbow. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get it over and done with. Let's go.” Twilight pushed Rainbow with her head as she still hovered in the air.

After a few minutes we approached a large stage where a slightly angry looking mayor stood behind a podium with a bunch of other important looking ponies. Guiltily, I looked at the ground trying my very best to avoid eye contact with her, but I could feel her glare trying to burn two holes in the top of my skull.

“Mommy!” Pumpkin called and hopped off my back. She ran into the waiting arms of her mother, while Pound sauntered over and allowed his mane to be ruffled by his father.

The parents gave a grateful nod towards us (me in particular) as we made our way onto the stage. On stage I noticed the family talking and thought it was pretty cute with how they suddenly became enthralled with what the twins had to say. Perhaps they were telling them about me running with the two of them and Pinkie on my back. A part of me hoped that the parents didn't mind.

“Ladies and gentlcolts,” the Mayor began just as poor Amethyst made it onto the stage, “sorry for the delay, but without further ado, please give a warm welcome to the Racers of Ponyville and the Elements of Harmony!”

The crowd cheered. It wasn't as large as the one in the station, but a lot of ponies were still arriving.

“Now, I know that most of you are more interested in having fun at this wonderful fair, which was organized by our very own Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie!” the mayor gestured to Pinkie who stood on her hind legs and waved with her forehooves above her head in the air. “I would just like to take a few minutes to thank our Racers as well as the Elements for their hard work, monumental effort and unwavering dedication to our town and to a grander extent, to us as Equestrians.”

That last part had obviously more to do with the Elements of Harmony than to us as the Ponyville Race team. Still, it was nice to be associated with the heroines of Equestria in general.

“Now I wish to call on the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, for a few words,” the mayor turned and gestured for the lavender Unicorn to step up to the microphone.

There was a healthy applause as the mare took to the podium. She pulled out single sheet of paper and noted the audience staring at her. She laughed and held it up, “I've finally learnt from the last few times.”

The entire audience seemed to understand that joke. Too bad I didn't, but to not look liked a complete moron, I laughed too, which earned me a sharp poke in the ribs by Lavender.

“As you all know, things have turned out pretty interesting in our small town the past few years, not to mention the past few weeks and certainly within the last few days as well.” Twilight stole a glance towards us behind her. The few of us knew what she was referring to nodded. The Pit was a pretty unforgettable moment. “Our team participated in the Race with everything they had.”

Oh, she was talking about the Race! Of course she was. Silly me.

Twilight continued. “They flew,” she gestured to Scootaloo, “and magicked,” Twilight pointed at Amethyst, “and ran,” she pointed to me, and although I expected it, I couldn't help but feel shy at the attention, “the race with all their might because they wanted to prove to Equestria that we-”

“Are the best!” Rainbow shouted.

Twilight groaned and shook her head while rolling her eyes. The audience all roared in agreement with the cyan Pegasus.

“That we, as a small town, can work together to achieve something big,” Twilight said over the cheering. The audience quieted down and nodded in agreement with Twilight. “So, it is my pleasure to introduce the Race Across Equestria Racers! Please give a round of applause to our Racers, the Ponyville Team! Scootalloo, Ditzy Doo – otherwise known as the lovable Derpy Hooves, Amethyst Star, Lavender Hoof, and last but not least, Forest Fire!”

The crowd applauded us all loudly. Some whistled, some shouted, some even whooped. It still felt strange to have so many others appreciate me and what I had done, even though it was not that impressive. I could run fast, so what? Still, I couldn't help but feel a little humbled by the fact that these ponies were proud of me.

Twilight stepped back away from the podium and gestured for Scootaloo to come forwards, who walked over and coughed making the mic and speakers squeal from the feedback. “Sorry, sorry... uh, I'm not really used to all this, so I'm just going to thank everypony who supported me and helped me along the way. I want to thank Derpy for giving me the opportunity to take part in the race, although it wasn't exactly according to plan, but most of all, I want to think Rainbow Dash for being such a great teacher, mentor, and good friend to me. I think of you as my big sister, Dash. You are amazing.”

That earned her another noogie and a tight hug. Derpy giggled and floated over to Scootaloo as well, hugging her from behind. They all seemed to exchange some words before Derpy stood in front of the microphone.

“Yay for muffins!” she announced. The audience burst out laughing. “I'm happy we won. Yay! Um... hi Dinky!”

“Hi mom!” a voice shouted from the audience a proud looking Dinky stood there waving at her mother.

Derpy waved back and proceeded to fly over to where her daughter was. They embraced with the crowd applauding around them. It must be so nice to have family like that. I mean real family. Yes, I knew that the Apples had told me that I was an honorary part of theirs, but it wasn't the same. There is something more to it than that, and I'm not talking about blood relations. There was something missing, and that was what Derpy and Dinky had. Something I had missed.

I felt cheated. Where the hell were my parents when I had needed them?

“Thank you, thank you. I just want to thank everypony for cheering us on, and believing in the unbelievable. You might not believe it, but I could've sworn we heard all your cheers all the way in Canterlot. This is really the best town, ever!” Lavender said moments after Derpy had hug-tackled her daughter. “Oh, and I want to also say thanks to Rarity for making us those really radical uniforms.”

Rarity blushed and bowed her head to Lavender and the audience, who were still clapping (clopping?) away.

Amethyst walked over next. The audience all watched her with deep respect. Out of all of us, she had shown the most determination and sacrifice. She could have just as easily given up. No one would have thought badly of her if she had, but she didn't. She put up with unimaginable pain trying to get to me.

“I just want to thank everypony who supported me, but I especially want to thank Forest for pulling off a miracle,” she looked over to me and smiled.

I smiled back, feeling slightly giddy.

“I also want to thank Lavender for her hard work in training Forest, I'm sure it wasn't easy.”

“You don't know the half of it!” the light purple earth pony sighed, earning a laugh from everyone.

“Well, I don't really have much else to say and I'm sure you would all like to hear from our very own hero. Forest?”

Me? A hero? What?

“Go on, they're waitin' for you to say somethin',” Applejack whispered, pushing me towards the podium.

“B-b-b-b-b-but...” I don't know what to say!

“Woo!” a familiar voice called out, “Yay, Forest!”

Spike was waving from the far end of the audience. Seeing him gave me a little bit more confidence and I stepped up to the podium.

“Um... hello. I'm... Forest.”

For some reason the crowd loved that. They all laughed.

Wait a second. Did I just... figure it all out? Did I understand what the true meaning of friendship was? Was that right? Did I actually manage to learn it after all? It seemed so simple. It felt too easy. There had to be something more to it. Was this all there was? Had I been going on about it the wrong way? Had I been learning about it all along, just never realizing it until now?

No. It can't be this simple!

The thing was... it wasn't. It really wasn't at all. It was so complicated, yet simple at the same time. And still I felt that this was only the very tip of it, that there was much more to be discovered, hidden under a sea of questions. Would I ever get to really discover how deep? Probably not.

“Forest? You okay, honey?” someone said patting me on the shoulder.

I jerked at the touch, and turned to look at the mayor, who was looking at me slightly confused, and maybe a little amused.

“Y-yeah... just, uh, spaced out there for a moment...”

“A moment? You spaced out there for practically a full minute. Are you okay?

“I'm... yeah, I guess... just... yeah. I'm okay. I'm really okay. Really. Just... a little overwhelmed is all. I... I mean I... just... I don't know what to say...'

“That's okay, I think you've said enough. Right, folks?”

The audience nodded practically at the same time.

As I stepped back away from the podium, Amethyst stopped me from actually leaving and held me firmly with her hoof.

“I want you all to remember this face. This is the face of the stallion who made us all very proud.”

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and tried my very hardest to suppress the feeling and get out of there.

“You were the one that won the cup for us...”

“We all won the cup together, Amethyst. I just... helped...”

“Are you trying to be modest, Forest? Because you're failing miserably!” a voice yelled from the audience, which made the others laugh.

“Thanks,” I muttered. There wasn't much else I could say to that, and why I thanked him I had no idea. I didn't even know who made the comment, just felt overwhelmed with everything, especially with my latest discovery.

“I'd also like to thank you, Ponyville, for helping make our dreams come true. We would not have been able to compete in the first place if it hadn't been for the hard work and generous nature of all of you.” Amethyst applauded the audience, who joined in congratulating themselves and each other.

After that the mayor spoke a little more. Apparently we had a couple sponsors for the race, especially one pony in particular by the name of Filthy Rich, which made it hard for me to keep a straight face afterwards. He seemed unperturbed by me, or just didn't notice. Twilight kept nudging me every time I started snickering to the point where she also caught the giggles from me.

Eventually the rest of the Elements had to speak. Applejack said something about being honest to yourself and others, something that had a lot of meaning and weight behind it. Rarity spoke about being generous with yourself and to others, she then proceeded to tell everyone about the latest fashion trends and mane styles and how they should all come to her and her boutiques. Pinkie told a couple jokes, which were funny, and did a dance, which was hilarious. Rainbow literally had a few words to say, which had nothing to do with her Element.

“Keep being awesome.”

I liked that.

And with Rainbow's deliverance of wisdom, it was all over. The parade was done, the speeches were speeched, and now it was time for some 'fun, fun, fun' – as Pinkie would say.

So, there we were, all of us, including Lance, standing next to the stage in the middle of the fair ready to get our game on.

“All right, everypony! Let's get his thing over and done with.” Applejack turned to Rainbow, “I hope you're ready to lose.”

“You must be dreaming.” Rainbow struck a dramatic post, “I'm Rainbow Dash. I don't know the meaning of the word 'lose'.”

“Don't come cryin' to me when you do.”

“Okay you two, let's be nice,” Twilight interrupted them, trying to be the neutral party.

“Nice? Nice! Where's the fun in that? Come on, Twilight! This is about showing off your skills-”

Applejack snickered, “You certainly do like showing off, don'tcha, Rainbow?”

“That she does,” Rarity put in. “I can't believe you dragged me into this silly contest.”

“You wanted to be in this contest. If ya didn't, no matter how hard Rainbow'd push, you'd still say no. We know you better than that, Rare.”

At that, Rarity grinned guiltily, “Oh, you girls know me too well. Well, I just want to let my mane down for a bit. You know after the Sisterhood Social all those years ago, I have developed a little bit of a rough edge, you could say. I thought that this would be a good opportunity. Plus Fancypants has been called for some business in Canterlot, so I-”

“Boring!” Rainbow shouted, “Let's get this thing started!”

“All right. Granny said that the pony with the most loot wins. We can split up and play by ourselves or we can stick together.” Twilight looked at each of us for a moment waiting to hear our opinions.

Lance bowed, “If you don't mind, I'd rather do this on my own.”

“Okay. Then... see you at sun-down,” she replied smiling politely.

With that, Lance nodded and walked off.

“No offense to the colt, but I'm glad he ain't joinin' us. I don't know what Applebloom sees in him. He's so... different to her.” Applejack shrugged, “But, then again, she's always down her own thin', so I guess it's time for me to hush up and let her get on with her life.”

“She does seem a little headstrong.” I nodded sagely.

“You have no idea. The things I could tell ya! What she, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle put us through when they were younger...”

“Goodness knows how we have suffered.” Rarity pretended to swoon, “I will never forget the horrors of those days when they were the dreaded Cutie Mark Crusaders... enfant terrible.”

“Is my sister revealing embarrassing stories about me again?” Sweetie Belle asked as she walked over to our group with Spike in tow. “Ponies here always like to remind me how much of a troublemaker I was growing up.”

“Well, to be honest, you and your fellow Crusaders did rattle this town quite a few times.” Spike stated as he gently placed his claw on her mane, scratching her behind the ears which made her close her eyes and lean into his claw.

Oh man did that look really nice. For a moment I missed my hands. Just for a moment. Sweetie batted away Spike's claw with her hoof after a few more seconds of relishing the feeling.

“Stop that or you'll muss up my mane!” she squealed while backing a few steps away from him.

He gave her a wicked smile, “Oh?” He bared his claws and started closing in on her.

“Spike. Please, Spike. I told you that you'll-”

She squealed very un-angry-like when Spike started going after her and her mane. They chased each other around us for a bit, Sweetie nimbly evading the dragon, but eventually he managed to capture her, hugging her in a tight embrace and then using his mouth to nibble her ear.

“S-s-stop, Spike! That tickles! P-please!” She squeaked as she tried to get away from him. She wasn't trying very hard.

Rarity grinned at the two of them. I wondered what she had thought at that moment. The Dragon that was so in love with her was now flirting and courting her younger sister. Was she angry? Didn't seem to be. Did it bother her that Spike was a Dragon? Didn't look like. Was Rarity okay with it? Seemed like.

Sweetie screamed in a mixture of glee, agony (sort of) and annoyance as Spike began to tickle her by rubbing her ribs with his claws. The two of them seemed so happy and content in their own little world that it made me feel warm and fuzzy.

I looked at Twilight. A thought came to me. She saw me staring at her.

“Don't even think about it.”

“Think about what?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“Forest, please. I know that look. I've seen it enough times. I'm extremely ticklish.”

“Really?” I slowly walked towards her with a huge, evil grin on my face. “You shouldn't have said that...”

Twilight took a step back, “Forest, I'm warning you...”

“I'm not going to do anything... much.”

“Forest, I swear on Celestia's mane I'll... I'll...”

As I stood an inch away from Twilight, I leaned and whispered something in her ear.

“Run.”

The way she screamed and laughed while she ran away from me made my heart skip a beat. There was just something about it. I chased after her and easily caught up and was about to capture her when she promptly teleported out of my reach.

“Twilight! That's not fair!” I shouted spinning around trying to find her.

I heard a familiar giggle coming from above me and saw that she was resting on top of one of the wooden stands, “It is fair. I told you I was really ticklish.”

“Come on. I just want to... hug you.”

“I somehow find that hard to believe with that grin across your face.” She lay down and smiled at me, “Can't catch me up here.”

She was right. I couldn't.

“But I can...” a voice said from behind her.

“Rainbow! S-stop...” Twilight pleaded as the cyan mare started her 'assault' on poor Twilight.

The way she laughed was adorable. Try as she might, she couldn't stop Rainbow as she 'goochie-goo'ed' Twilight till she pleaded for mercy. I couldn't help but laugh along.

Applejack looked up at the commotion with a stern expression. “C'mon y'all. Let's get this game thin' started before I get bored and head on over to my family's stand.”

“Yeah! Let's play that game first.” Pinkie pointed to a nearby stand.

This stand had a bunch of coconuts standing on top of thin metal poles in a formation similar to the ones you'd find in a bowling alley. The pony running it was a skinny lime-green Unicorn. He looked at the bunch of us coming to his stand and put on the kind of smile that you would find on a toothpaste advertisement.

That reminded me. When was the last time I brushed my teeth? How bad was my breath?

“Welcome, welcome,” the guy said, “try your luck at Coconut Shy?”

“How do you play?” I asked.

“Easy! You just roll this big ball here against the coconut sticks and try to knock 'em off. If you knock 'em all off with one ball you win our grand prize! If you knock them all off in two rolls, you get this consolation prize, and if you knock 'em off with three, you get your game free!“ he looked at each of us, “So, who's first?”

“I'll give it a go,” Applejack stated raising her hoof. “How much?”

“One bit.”

She placed her one bit down and was given a large dark blue ball. Taking care, the orange mare carefully aimed and rolled. It hit the first pole square on, the coconut on top falling off knocking down the two coconuts behind it. The other three were still untouched. On her second attempt she knocked one down, and her final attempt she failed at knocking the final two over, the ball grazing the left-most one slightly.

“Aw, horse-feathers. Thought I had that.”

Rainbow thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

“You think you can do better?” Applejack challenged.

“Think? No. Know? Yes.”

“Well then let's see you try!”

While the two mares were bickering amongst themselves, Spike walked up.

“Can I try?”

Applejack and Rainbow stopped arguing to look at the Dragon, but didn't say anything, so he paid his one bit and did his best. On his first roll, he knocked down four, leaving two left. His second attempt knocked one down.

“Oh, phooey. I really wanted that consolation prize,” he muttered. “Okay, last one...”

It didn't fall.

“W-what? I hit that thing with all my strength...”

“Hey, don't let it get you down, Spike. Let me show you how it's done.” Rainbow pushed the dragon out of her way and picked up a ball. She rolled it with all her might knocking... one down.

I couldn't stop laughing.

“Hey! You think you can do better?”

“Probably not. Doesn't change the fact that it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen,” I replied.

Her bland expression made me roar in laughter again, which only got louder every time I replayed the moment in my head. The best part was her shocked face at the end.

She rolled her eyes at me and took the ball for her second attempt.

The next roll was just as hard and she knocked... none off.

I was a going hysterical, and so was Spike.

Rainbow just turned to glare at us and she gripped the ball for her third and final attempt. She managed to knock two off, but that was it.

“This game's impossible to beat!” she announced.

Twilight shook her head, “Not impossible, just difficult. You see you have to-”

“Boring. You think you got it figured out, you try.”

Twilight looked at her friend. Perhaps she was a little annoyed at being cut off like that, or having Rainbow just ignore her lesson. Whatever the case, Twilight walked over to the stand, took the ball and rolled. She had knocked almost all of them off on her first go. Only one coconut remained.

“Impossible! I-I-I got the angle right... and the trajectory... and the power was... that's not-”

Rainbow put her hoof around Twilight's neck, “Don't sweat it. You still got two tries left.”

“Oh-oh yeah.”

Twilight tried twice more, but failed despite hitting the pole square on twice. She looked so confused.

“B-b-b-but... I hit it...”

“Aw, don't worry about it, Twi.” Spike patted her back.

“B-b-b-but...”

“Yeah, Twi. Relax. You did great,” I said, rubbing my head against hers.

“Hey! You guys laugh at me and not Twilight? What gives?”

Spike and I shared a look before bursting out in laughter again. It took her a moment, but Rainbow realized that we were messing with her.

“Very funny,” she stated dryly.

“Don't let those two get ta ya, Rainbow. That's my job.” Applejack walked over and stood by her friend.

The two of them narrowed their eyes at one another.

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow taunted.

“Yeah,” Applejack quipped.

Scootaloo pushed through the two mares and placed her bit down. She gave it her best, but walked away empty handed (hoofed?). She just shrugged and fluttered over to Rainbow, who promptly gave her yet another noogie.

Rarity walked over to the stand and picked up the ball with her magic.

“No, Miss Rarity, please don't use magic.” The attendant took the ball away from her using his own magic.

“I know, I'm just bringing it to me,” Rarity assured him. He nodded and let the ball go.

Rarity didn't even look like she was trying as each attempt failed to hit a single one. It was cute watching her though, as she placed the ball on the edge of the rolling area and pushed with both hooves as hard as she could with a cute little grunt. Each time me, Spike, Rainbow, Applejack and Sweetie had to fight the urge to burst out laughing.

“You do know I can hear your snickering behind me,” Rarity muttered as she walked by us.

It was after that moment that we all lost it.

Except Twilight, who seemed to be lost in though.

“What's wrong, Twi?” I asked, while the others conversed with each other behind me.

“Hm? Oh. It's nothing... just don't understand where I went wrong.”

“You're still hung up about that? C'mon, Twi! It's obvious the game's rigged.”

“What?”

“It's rigged. Games at these kinds of places usually are, otherwise a lot of prizes would be missing.”

Twilight looked at me for a moment, “How would you know that?”

I shrugged, “I thought it would be common sense. You make the games look easy, but make them hard, that was ponies will keep on trying and eventually they might win a prize, but by then you would have paid enough bits that you could've just bought the thing in the first place.”

The lavender Unicorn looked at me as if I had told her the answer to the secret to of life.

“What?”

“Nothing. That actually made sense...”

“Are you making fun of me, Twilight Sparkle?” I placed my head against hers.

“No!” She giggled at me. “Well, maybe a little.”

“Can't you two quit with the lovey-dovey stuff?” Rainbow said, dragging me away from Twilight by my tail, “We're here to play, and I'm here to win.”

“We're here to have fun,” Twilight corrected her friend.

Before Rainbow could reply, Applejack cut in.

“Pinkie, yer up.”

For the next few minutes Pinkie stared at the coconuts with her mouth hanging open. This confused me, and I was quite glad I wasn't the only one.

“Sugarcube, whatcha doin'?”

“Huh? Oh.” She whipped around on us and leaned in making us all shrink backwards a bit, “Coconuts! Coconuts, you guys! I just had a sugary sweet brainstorm! Coconut caramel cucumber kumquat cupcakes! Doesn't that sound appealing?”

“Coconut...”

“... caramel...”

“... cucumber?” I felt a little green at the thought. Cucumbers in cupcakes?

“Pinkie, why cucumbers?” Applejack asked; she didn't seem to like the thought of that either.

“What's a kumquat?” Spike asked.

“It's like an orange,” Twilight replied.

I grinned and poked her ribs with my hoof, ”You're so smart.”

“Please, Forest. Knowing what a kumquat hardly quantifies that sort of compliment.”

“Smart and modest. You just keep on surprising me. You're such an amazing mare, Twilight Sparkle.”

She gave me a coy look, “Am I, Forest Fire?”

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at that as I leaned towards her intent on giving her a peck on the lips, “Yes indeed.”

“Seriously you two.” Rainbow deadpanned putting her head in between us.

The sudden appearance of the cyan Pegasus' head made me pull back in surprise.

“Okay, so maybe no cucumbers,” Pinkie thought aloud.

“Just roll your ball,” Spike said placing it in her hoof.

“Okee dokee lokee!” Pinkie then turned her attention towards the coconuts on the stilts and put a bit down on the counter. She took a deep breath, jumped in the air, did a twist while wiggling her rump and then, with an over exaggerated flourish with her forehoof, she brought the ball down right to the ramp in a blur before coming to a complete stop as she gently nudged the ball towards the target. It moved so agonizingly slow as it rolled all the way towards the stilts... then promptly knocked all of them over in one shot.

As expected of Pinkie.

We all cheered as the pink mare rubbed her nose a little.

“That's impossible-” the attendant shouted before stopping himself. That made me and Spike roar in laughter. Again. We seemed to have the same kind of humor.

“What do you mean impossible?” Rainbow asked reaching over and pulling him by his chest towards her. It would have looked like she was holding onto his shirt collar if he had one.

“Not bad, Forest. You actually got something right,” Rarity said sweetly.

I gripped my chest, “Ouch. That hurt, Rarity.”

“I just call it how I see it.”

“Twilight,” I whined, “Rarity's picking on me.”

“Oh? I'm sure you can take it,” Twilight replied, but her focus wasn't on me, it was on the attendant, who seemed to be sweating quite profusely.

Guess he screwed himself with that last comment.

“I asked you a question,” Rainbow growled pulling him closer.

“He probably has something that prevents the last coconut from falling. A magnet.”

“A magnet? How?” Twilight asked looking at me with those big bright eyes. I got lost in them for a moment.

She seemed to notice this and lightly slapped my cheek. That snapped me out of it.

“Well... I guess he could use the magnet to attract a piece of metal or something inside the coconut. Then have some sort of mechanism to turn the magnet on or off. No mater how hard you hit the last one will never fall unless he turned it off.”

“How the hay do you turn a magnet off?” Rainbow asked.

“You could use an electromagnet?” Applejack replied.

“Electro... magnet? What's an electro? You mean like electricity?” Rainbow asked.

“We have electricity?” I asked.

Everyone looked at me as if I had said the dumbest thing ever.

“Of course we have electricity,” I muttered to myself.

Twilight looked at me, “Well, you've been in places with Unicorns most of the time since we've found you. Unicorns usually use magic to charge batteries that can be used for common household appliances.”

“Oh yeah!” I laughed nervously. “I forgot...”

“But using magic that frequently isn't convenient, so we find other ways. There's a hydro-electric dam on the south side of the lake facing towards Canterlot.

“I never noticed it before...”

“Maybe we could go and see it later,” Twilight replied.

Rarity laughed and stood by her friend, “Once, when we were younger, Twilight prevented that dam from breaking. Who knows what could have happened if it actually burst! Remember that, Rainbow?”

Rainbow grumbled and lowered her head. “Yeah. I remember.”

The five friends all giggled at the same time. The joke, however, was completely and utterly lost on me.

Eager to change the subject, Rainbow quickly piped in, “Cloudsdale's got these lightning clouds we use to hit these large metal thingies...”

“There are some towns along the edge of the Known Lands that are mostly made up of Earth ponies. They build generators that create electricity for their communities, and it's necessary when magic isn't available.” Twilight looked at me, “Maybe you're from a very far away place, Forest.”

She had winked at me ever so slightly when she said this. Maybe that was her way of protecting me.

“Twi's right. I remember once when I visited cousin Apple Crumble over in Sandy Acres, which at the time was along the border of the Known Lands. They had these windmills that spun around under the winds.” Applejack looked over to me, “If you're from someplace that close to the border, then why come all this way to see the Everfree? Aren't there enough scary things out there? I hear there are some creatures that make Dragons and Ursas look like Fluttershy's cute lil' critters.”

My mouth dropped. How could anything be more terrifying than an Ursa? Wasn't too worried about the whole Dragon thing, not with Spike being a good friend. Maybe he just spoiled me.

I kinda lost track of who knew my secret, so while they were all distracted I just picked up a ball and rolled it at the coconuts. They all, save one, fell over. The attendant was still being shaken around by Rainbow, so he didn't take note when I walked over the offending coconut and tried to push it off. I might as well tried pushing a boulder instead. It was impossible. After repeated attempts at knocking it off, I managed to actually climb on top of the coconut 'precariously' perched atop the stilt.

That was when Spike did a double-take and started hollering in laughter. I grinned back at him and pretended I was a bird by folding my arms in half to imitate wings.

Spike just pointed at me.

That was when the others noticed, including the attendant, who made a sound like a scream. His horn glowed momentarily and I tried to leap off the coconut. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough. The coconut stilt collapsed and I fell on my face against the ground. A sickening feeling rushed through my stomach and my head started to spin, my bracelet burned as if it were on fire.

That was twice in one day!

“Magic... sucks...” I muttered before the world faded to black.

“Ooh. My head.”

“You okay?” a voice asked as my eyes adjusted.

I looked up to the most beautiful sight. Twilight Sparkle's beautiful eyes over my own. She smiled down at me. I was lying on my back with my head on her forehooves on the ground.

“How long have I been out?”

“Not that long. About half an hour.” The way she talked I could tell she was worried.

I sat up slowly, “Did I mention how much I hate being allergic to magic?”

“Maybe...” her mood did not abate. “Forest, tell me the truth. Are you really alright? It's just... you've never been this sensitive to magic before. In The Pit you were able to take quite a lot before you'd... faint.”

“I know, Twi. I'm not sure what to tell you. Maybe my body just needs some time to get used to it. You do know that after you guys pumped magic into me in The Pit, I had all the Unicorns cast spells on me to do that Detection Spell. Didn't Rarity tell you?”

“I know,” she sighed, “and it worked. We saw it all the way from The Pit, but I mean after everything I've learnt about you, and everything I know about you... I just feel that something isn't right. Something is very wrong, and... I can't help but worry, okay?”

I stared down at the ground, “Don't. Worry, I mean.”

“How can you asked me that-”

I kissed her cheek. “Don't. Please,” I whispered.

We both sat in silence for a moment. I didn't know how to respond to that.

“Well, since you're up, wanna go catch up with the others so we can play some more games?”

Her eyes made my heart throb.

Putting my hoof on hers, I smiled, “I got a better idea. Why don't we go together instead. Just you and me. Just the two of us.”

Twilight looked up at me making my heart jump, “You mean like a date?”

“Eeyup. Just like one. Actually, it will be one. We didn't have a very fun date the other day, what with all the Trixie's and Rainbow's and things going on.”

“I-I'd like that, actually. Very much.”

“Me too. But first! I need something to eat. I'm hungry. You?”

“You bet!”

I turned around, pulled out my coin purse and emptied it into my hoof. All that fell out was air.

“Aw.”

“Don't worry, I'll pay,” Twilight replied after giggling at me for a few seconds.

“No, no! Can't have that. I need to...”

“You can pay me when you earn some.”

I can't pay you if I can't be here. I muttered to myself. “I dunno. I'd feel funny.”

“How about I give you some jobs in the library to make up for it?”

That sounded fair to me. “Okay. Fine.”

We went to a stand that made crepes and I ordered a chocolate-banana one, which didn't sound too appetizing but by Celestia's mane it was gorgeous. How was it that food here tasted so good? I saw Twilight staring at me and she noticed and quickly averted her eyes.

I couldn't resist. I lowered my crepe and gave her a coy look, “Were you just checking me out, Miss Sparkle?” I asked, tilting my head to look her in the eyes.

“No,” she whispered weakly.

“Don't lie to me, Miss Sparkle. I saw you,” I tease lowering my head so I could look into her eyes. When she did not respond, I nudged her head with mine. In the process I got a bit of caramel from her caramel-apple crepe on my nose. I looked at it cross eyed and saw her giggle silently.

“You're so clumsy sometimes.”

“I take offense to that. I'm clumsy most of the time.”

She just shook her head. Using her magic, she carefully hovered her crepe in midair while leaning in close to me. I watched as she held my muzzle carefully in her hooves and licked the caramel from its place. The feeling of her tongue sent tingles throughout my entire body and the look she gave me after she did it made my face explode. I couldn't look her in the eye in that moment.

“Can you give me your crepe, please?” I asked.

“S-s-sure,” she replied, obviously not expecting that.

Carefully, I wiped my lips with the caramel and handed (hoofed?) is back to her.

“Oh no,” I sarcastically stated, “I got it all over my lips...”

Again she shook her head and leaned in close. “You're incorrigible, Forest Fire,” she whispered as she held my muzzle like before.

“Only when it comes to you, Twi,” I whispered back, afraid that if I spoke any louder the moment would evaporate.

The sounds of the fair was all round us, but as I gazed into that mare's eyes it seemed to muffle and grow distant. Somewhere I could almost hear my name being called as Twilight leaned in closer and-

“Guys, what are you two doing?”

A cyan mare's head appeared in between Twilight and me. Again. We both squeaked and let go of each other and took two steps apart. I looked over to Twilight, who was looking away from me.

Aw man, Rainbow. You... you... you meanie!

“Were you two going to kiss each other?”

“T-t-t-t-there's some caramel on his lips, I was just making sure that... none of it got on his... nose...” Twilight replied quieter and quieter, her face crimson.

I felt my face flush as well. Why was it so embarrassing? Why? Why?

“Really? Cause it totally looked like you were gonna make out with him.”

“Aw, come on, Rainbow. No need to make them feel any more awkward than they already are.” Applejack walked up to us and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder, “How'd you like it if I did that to you?”

Rainbow shrugged, “Wouldn't bother me. I'd just continue where I left off.”

While the two were talking, I leaned in closer to Twilight. “My lips need you, baby.” I tried to be super seductive. The way she looked at me clearly told me that it didn't work. I put on my sad face. That didn't work either.

Note to self, work on being suave.

Rainbow placed a napkin in my hoof. “Here. You got something on your lips.”

I could not help but pout.

“What are you guys doing over here anyway?” The cyan moment-ruiner asked.

“We were... just eating something.”

“Uh-huh. Anyway, come on. Pinkie's winning and it's totally not cool-”

"Rainbow, you do know I love you, right?" Twilight suddenly stated.

“Wha-? Yeah, so?”

“And you know that no matter what happens, you'll always be one of my very best friends, right?”

“Sure...” the cyan mare answered slowly.

“Can I go with Forest alone? Please?”

Rainbow did a double-take, “What? You mean, like a date?”

I opened my mouth to deny it, but was promptly cut off.

“Yes. Like a date.” Twilight's admission made me so happy. We were now official! Yay!

“Well, why didn't you say so sooner? Of course we'll leave you two alone.” Rainbow hovered above us for a moment, “Have fun. Remember, the contest's still on and I'm gonna win it.”

“You seem real keen on winnin' that bet, Dash. Wonder who the lucky pony is that you wanna kiss,” Applejack said staring up at her friend.

“Keep wondering, sister. When I win, you'll see who.”

“Oh? So you do have somepony in mind, eh?”

Rainbow just flew further up and away from us, “N-n-no I don't. Just... whatever.” She zipped off.

“Now I'm mighty curious as to who she's thinkin' of.” Applejack looked at Twilight and me standing next to each other, “You two have a good time now, y'hear? I'll see you later.”

That was it. It was finally broken. Not my heart, thank Celestia, but the bond between me and Applejack. I had thought it would have been awkward and painful, but neither feeling crossed my mind. After all this time I finally got it through my thick skull that she would be no more than a friend to me. Or was it family? Like the sister I never had. The pain and hardships that I endured had finally...

Who was I kidding? I still had feelings for her although they were no longer as strong anymore. She and Atom had worked things out. I had to let go.

“Later, AJ.” Twilight turned and pulled me along with her hoof.

“Later, AJ,” I replied as she was swallowed up by the crowd.

We walked together for a bit in silence. Neither of us could think of anything to say or do. At least, I didn't know what to say or do.

“Forest, do you still feel something for Applejack?”

“What? Me?” I'm a shitty actor.

She just looked at me.

“Okay, okay. The truth is both yes and no. Honestly, I don't know, but what I do know is that it's becoming clearer to me that Applejack isn't my special somepony. It's been getting easier seeing her swoon over Atom, so I guess I've finally accepted it.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Twilight stopped and looked down at the ground, “I don't want you to feel that I'm, you know, forcing you to be mine...”

I put my head down so it was level with hers, “Little late for that now, don't you think? Besides, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have let what we have get this far, would I?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

The sparkle in her eyes was indescribable. It looked like Luna had purposely put stars in there. I was so lost in her eyes that she had to shake me to snap me out of my trance.

“Wow. Sorry. I got lost in there.”

“Huh?”

“Your eyes. They were so beautiful, I got lost in them.”

She giggled and punched (hoofed) me lightly on my foreleg, “Silly. So, what game should we play next?”

“How about that one?” I asked, pointing to a non-magical related game off to one side.

The game had all this rubber duckies floating around a large donut-shaped pool of water. In the middle were two light yellow Unicorns that were manning (ponying?) the game.

“No.”

Twilight was very blunt about it.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Why not?” I whined.

“I know those two. They're not the most... honest of ponies.”

“R-r-really?”

“Really, really.” Twilight frowned a little, “You don't believe me?”

“It's not that, Twi. Just wanna know why is all.”

“Well,” she began, “a long time ago they once tried to take over Applejack's farm in a cider making contest. It was us versus them. We won, but, honestly, their machine did a lot more than we did. We had to work extra hard and they had to degrade their cider's quality to win. Just... yeah, it was kinda close call. That's not all. After that we-”

“Why, isn't that Twilight Sparkle?” one of the ponies from the stand shouted.

Twilight groaned and forced a polite smile on her face.

“Why yes, so it is. Well, how do you do? How is our good friend Applejack? Fairing well?”

“Very,” Twilight replied neutrally.

“Good to hear! Care to try your luck at Rope-a-Duck?” Before she could respond the Unicorn continued, “Each duck has a number beneath it. All you need to do is get a grand total that equals one of these magical numbers!”

The second pony pointed to a list of numbers on a pillar in the middle of the 'island', “And you can win their corresponding prizes.”

“No thanks. I appreciate the offer but-”

“How about you? I know you? I know I know you because I never forget a face, isn't that right Flim?”

“Sounds about right, Flam. He never forgets a face.”

I grinned politely, or at least I thought it was polite, and waved a hoof, “Sorry, guys, but my date said no, so no.”

“Date? Well, did you hear that Flim?”

“Sure did, Flam.”

“Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm sure that there are other ponies out there who have the skill, dexterity and technique to beat this game... just none within the immediate vicinity.”

Did they insult me?

“Of course, only a real stallion can fish a duck. Only a real stallion would stay and try to win something for their very own special somepony. No, only a colt would walk away from a challenge like this.”

“Are you still here? I thought you weren't interested in playing. Now, shoo. You're scaring other suckers- I mean customers.”

I made a face.

“Forest?” Twilight asked.

“Yes?”

“You do know that these two are trying to con you into playing, right?”

“Yes.”

“You know that winning this game is probably impossible, right?”

“Yes.”

“You still want to play, don't you?”

“I know it's probably a really, really dumb idea, but I can't help it. As soon as they said 'win something for your special somepony', I was hooked! I'd take on the world for you, Twi.”

“Using my bits, right?”

I blushed and frowned, “I said I'd pay you back...”

My date laughed silently, “Okay. One game.”

“Thanks, Twi. You're the best.” I kissed her cheek and walked over to the stand. “How do I play?”

“Easy. Flim?”

One of the ponies put a fishing rod in my hooves, “Just wrap the noose around the duck's neck, and pull her up. Then we take a look under it. Remember, ducks with red are low numbers, from one to three. Green are middle numbers, four to six, and the blue ones are from seven to ten. The black duckies have negative numbers ranging from minus one to ten. And there you have it! Simple, is it not, Flam?”

“Indeed it is, brother.”

“Good luck, pony.”

Eventually I managed to hook (or hang) one of the rubber ducks and yanked it up. It was a red one with the number one.

“Yes!” I did a fist-pump (or is it a hoof-pump?) and proceeded to snatch another one. After about two minutes of trying, I managed to catch the second one. The number under this was nine.

“That's a grand total of ten,” Flim or Flam (I wasn't sure who was who actually) stated.

I looked at the prize list. There were prizes at random assortment of numbers, the biggest ones were by the numbers five and zero. The one on zero was this huge fuzzy, black bear. I looked at Twilight, “You want that?”

Twilight looked at it, “I'm not really a fan of dolls anymore... bad experience. Still, if you won it for me... I guess that would make it different.”

“Different?”

“You know. Special. Because you won it for me.”

Forest. Note to self: win that bear!

Turning towards the floating rubber duckies, I needed to catch a black one. I had to get a black one. The hard part was that it had have a minus ten on it. I kept looking at the black duckies going round and round. There were few of them here and there, but none of them felt like they had a minus ten on them. Not that I knew they had one, just that there was something about it. Sixth sense kind of thing.

I could have also been completely off. That was likely the right answer.

For a moment I paused over one of the duckies and began to hover my rod over it. I waited for a second and then dropped my noose around it. I couldn't believe that I had got it on my first try! Slowly, I pulled it up and looked underneath...

“Minus one! That's a total of nine! You win... nothing!” one of the two annoying Unicorns announced.

“Tough luck. Was a good effort though, wasn't it Flim?”

“It most certainly was, Flam.”

The two of them laughed out loud with one another. It was clear that they had expected me to lose. It didn't take a genius to see it by the way they were acting.

“See? I told you.” Twilight hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek, “They don't play fair. Don't worry, we'll find another game.”

“But-but-but...”

“Go on. Let your mommy tell you what to do...” Flim and Flam roared into more gails of laughter.

I growled.

“Don't let them get to you,” Twilight whispered in my ear.

“They're cheating. I know they are,” I mumbled back.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Of course they're cheating.”

“I still don't like it.”

“Come to think of it, only the Apples have an honest stand at these events. Or they used to until Big Mac figured that selling their cider, juice, pies and fritters was easier and more profitable.”

“Mm,” I mumbled throwing daggers with my eyes at Flim and Flam, who were still hooting in laughter.

“You're upset.”

“Not at you.” I continued to glare at the two Unicorns.

She nudged me.

“I just... for some reason, want to beat them.”

“That bear is just bait. It would be impossible to win it because I bet you that no matter how many ducks you pull out of there you won't be able to get a total of zero.”

“You're probably right,” I replied. Still, I wanted to try.

We walked away from the stand, the two stallions still mocking me as we walked away.

After we got out of earshot, I looked around. Off to one side I spotted Lance at a stand. He had a couple of dolls hanging out of his saddlebag.

“Rats. He's winning.”

Twilight smiled at me, “We haven't seen Pinkie's stash yet.”

“Oh right. Pinkie's playing. Well... might as well give up then.”

Twilight gave me a look.

“What?” I whined, “It's Pinkie!”

“Granny said you have to beat Lance, Forest. Plus I want you to try. Come on, isn't it fun.”

“Okay, okay. But I'm not doing it for the contest. I'm going to play for a different reason.”

“Oh? What's that?”

I leaned in close, “A kiss from Twilight Sparkle.”

“You don't need to play these silly games for that,” she replied giving me a peck on my cheek.

I pressed close against her, “Not the kind of kiss I was referring to.”

The way her cheeks glowed was priceless. I loved making her blush like this. “W-what kind then?”

“A very special kind,” I replied.

“I... I can't wait.”

I closed my eyes and hugged her tightly, “I adore you, Twilight.”

“Yech.”

“Yech?”

“Not me, Forest,” Twilight replied, her hoof pointing to a certain cyan colored mare standing behind me with Rarity and Applejack.

“Get a room you guys!” Rainbow shouted.

“Well, hello to you too, Rainbow Dash. I'm surprised that you're not inundated with fans,” I replied coldly. Again she ruined my moment with Twilight!

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “If this fair was in any other town, maybe. But here, everyone's cool.”

“That and the fact that you've probably given everypony here at least a dozen signed autographs, and a complete oral bio-” Rarity was cut off as Rainbow lobbed a doll at her.

“Who's in the lead?” I asked.

“Rainbow and I are tied three apiece. Rarity's got one. You?” Applejack revealed her bounty.

“I have nothing.”

The three mares smiled.

“Hey! I've only played two games, okay?”

“Wanna try that one?” Twilight asked pointing to a stand next to me.

It was one of those shooting gallery things where you got to shoot balloons attached to a wall of some soft material. The fact that there was a gun boggled my mind. Why didn't the Diamond Dogs in The Pit use these things? Surely a gun was better than bows and arrows.

“Step right up. Three shots for a bit. Hit three in a row and win a prize!”

Rainbow zipped over to him and slammed a bit down. The Unicorn (was it my imagination, or were all these attendants Unicorns) used his magic to pick up the gun and hovered it to himself. He cracked it in half and put in three small bullets... well, at least I thought they were bullets. When it comes to guns, I know almost next to nothing about them. Never really interested me.

Picking up the gun in her hooves, Rainbow aimed down the sight and fired. I expected a bang, some sort of explosion, followed by a massive light show, considering that this was Equestria and magic ran everything in some way. There was no smoke or flash or anything apart from a soft cough-like noise. A ballon popped and Rainbow nodded in approval.

“Why didn't we use those at The Pit?” I asked nopony in particular.

“It's because those things are harmless,” Twilight replied.

“Well, this one is... I'm just saying that they could be... made to be... worse?” I didn't know how to put it.

Twilight looked at the gun for a moment, “They're also kind of useless against magic. Most Unicorns can use magic and destroy it before you could even think about using it. Pegasi can just fly away.”

As if to emphasize that point, a filly who was moving another, similar weapon around was promptly disarmed (dishoofed?) by the attendant who them proceeded telling her off about injuring an eye.

Anyway, the girls were right. After what I had seen and done in The Pit, magic was certainly a lot more efficient at causing harm.

“As an Earth pony, I feel somewhat handicapped,” I announced.

Applejack sighed, “Tell me about it...”

Rainbow screamed interrupting us. “That's totally uncool. I hit that balloon square on!”

“If it doesn't pop then you missed. Sorry.”

Before Rainbow could argue further I stepped up to the stand.

“Can I try?” I asked my date as I stood next to a very frustrated looking Rainbow.

“Sure,” Twilight replied. “If you do win, what can you get?”

“Well, how about that quill,” I pointed to a red-feathered one hanging in a plastic bag.

“I'd love it!” Twilight's smile proved otherwise. At least I knew her well enough to know she was lying.

I looked at her with a stern expression, “Nothing else up there appeals to you?”

“Honestly? Not really.”

I looked around a little more and saw something shiny. “What's that?”

“This?” the Unicorn asked using his magic to pull the shiny object out from behind him. I couldn't believe it. It was a camera! I knew that cameras existed in Equestria, just I didn't expect to see one you could win at a game stall in a fair, especially in a small town like Ponyville. “It's one of my top prizes. This and,” he reached behind him with his hoof this time and pulled out a funny looking medallion, “this thing. It's supposed to amplify magical powers, but it hasn't worked on me. Doubt it works.”

Twilight stared at the medallion for a long moment. “That reminds me of something... but what?”

While Twilight was distracted, Applejack started talking to the attendant.

“You're surprisingly honest, mister.”

“You mean compared to the other proprietors? Unlike them, I've learnt that you can't make your game unbeatable. Yes, I will admit that my game isn't easy and that there is a trick to winning it, but it is possible.”

“Now that kinda honesty is refreshin'. Really, it is.” Applejack tipped her hat to the stallion.

“I appreciate that, and coming from the Element of Honesty herself, that is something...”

I picked up the loaded air-rifle and took a shot. I hit the target easily. The sound of the pop got everyone's attention. I took the second shot and saw the next balloon explode in confetti. This was easier than I thought.

“Last one. Make it count.” The stallion urged me on.

I took extra careful aim and fired. I failed. No one seemed very surprised, which irked me.

“See! There is no way Forest would've missed!” Rainbow blurted before folding her hooves in front of her chest. “I smell a rat.”

“If you're implying that the game is rigged, then no, you're wrong. There's a trick to it. That's the way this game's made. You have to use your smarts if you wanna beat it.”

“Why didn't you say so?” Rainbow retorted.

The Unicorn hid a smirk, “Like I said, that's the way the game's made...”

“Are you calling me stupid?” Rainbow replied dangerous slow.

“N-n-n-no. I just said that you need to use your head instead of-”

Rainbow slammed a bit down, “Again!” she roared.

This time she missed the first and second shot while scoring a hit on the third. I was about to crack a joke when she slammed her hoof down with a bit in it.

“Again!”

“Uh... Rainbow, don't you think you ought to take it easy...” Applejack advised her friend.

Rainbow just glared at her for a moment before taking aim. The first balloon exploded easily. The next two did not. That just made Rainbow stick out her lower jaw and grind her teeth. She was about to slam down another bit when Twilight stopped her.

“Can I try?”

The attendant nodded. He looked pretty relieved. “By all means.”

Twilight carefully aimed and fired, then fired the second time, both of which hit a balloon easily. The third time she took aim, she moved the gun upwards and fired practically at the ceiling. The balloon in front exploded. She quietly put it down and smiled.

“How?” Rainbow and I asked at the same time.

“It shoots random elevations depending on how you hold it. If you are patient, the first one shoots straight. The second one shoots lower, so the last one should shoot even lower than that. If you're not patient...” she looked at Rainbow.

The cyan mare folded her hooves and pouted.

“Wow, didn't even begin to notice, Twi.” Applejack put a hoof on her friend's shoulder, “Good job.”

Twilight blushed a little at the praise.

“You're one clever mare,” I said nudging her gently as she set the gun on the counter.

“Thanks,” she responded, nudging me back a little harder.

“Pick your prize. Was it this camera you wanted?”

“Yes, please. I've always wanted a camera... just never got around to actually buying one...”

“You can buy some film from over there. That's my wife's stand. She's big into photography...”

While Twilight and the other Unicorn talked, I saw Rainbow glaring at the balloons. I could almost see her shooting daggers from her eyes trying to burst them all with sheer will alone.

“Rainbow hates losin',” Applejack said before I could open my mouth. “She's always been that way. Ever since we first met. Now, I appreciate a good competition as much as any other pony, but oh Celestia, she takes it to the next level.”

Rainbow snapped her attention to us and shrugged, “Losing sucks, okay?”

“It ain't losin' you hate, honey. It's your inability to brag that gets to you.”

At that Rainbow seemed to snap out of her grouchiness, “You got that right. The day's still young! I'll beat you all yet!”

“Is that so? Well, we better head to another stand then.” Applejack tipped her hat towards me, “We'll be seein' you two around. G'luck.”

“Same to you.”

I watched the two of them walk off followed by Rarity who was content with just hanging around with her friends. I noticed how she kept looking at the stands all the while making faces at some of the stands where clothing was being sold.

Ever the fashionista.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted.

I jerked away and rubbed my ear while turning to her, “Ow. That was loud.”

“Sorry, but I was calling to you and you didn't hear me. What were you looking at anyway?”

“Was just wondering why Rarity kept glaring at the stores.”

“You do realize that you were standing there motionless for about five whole minutes, right?”

“Huh?” I was what?

“Yeah. You were standing there completely still for a while. I went to buy some film for my new camera, had a quick talk with the mare at the stand and came back. You were still here looking spaced out... are you okay?”

I nodded, perhaps a little too quickly, “Yeah. Fine. Just was thinking real hard.”

Did I just insult myself?

I laughed nervously when Twilight's gaze did not falter.

“Are you sure?” she pressed.

“Eeyup. Sometimes I think real-”

“I meant the first part. Are you really fine?”

“Yes, Twilight. I'm fine.”

“O-okay. You do know that I'm worried about you, right?”

“You've already told me that a bazillion times today! Please don't be. I'm fine. I get like this sometimes.”

“I would believe you, but these things have been getting more and more frequent, haven't they? You've been spacing out more and more, and each time it seems to be longer.”

She was right. They have been getting more and more frequent. It was as if time slowed down for me to the point where it passed by differently than usual.

Could Tutela somehow be behind this?

“You're doing it again, Forest.”

“Huh? What? Oh? No, I was just thinking again. I'm not like you, Twi. It takes me a little while longer to think things through.”

“Nopony needs that much time.”

I pouted, “Gee, thanks.”

“I didn't mean it like that, silly.”

“You know what else has been on my mind?”

“Hm?”

“Why I fainted when I started singing with Cheerilee and the others, and again today when I was singing along with Pinkie.”

“It's probably because of magic.”

“Yeah, duh, I know that part. The feeling that makes me want to sing is magical, isn't it? So, yes, I know the reason as to why I fainted, but how did I faint?”

“What do you mean?”

I raised my right hoof and looked at it, “Is my bracelet broken? Isn't it supposed to stop things like that?”

Twilight looked at it in a new light. She nodded slowly, “You know, you're right. That's what it was for. I don't know, but it does sound like it's broken. Maybe your bracelet is full and that's why magic is reaching you. Should we do a spell? Just to check?”

I nodded. As much as I didn't want it to happen, if it helped then it was worth a shot.

“Forest Fire. Show me where you are, show me where you are, show me where you are!”

I felt my hoof burning for a moment. I felt the built up of power around the hoof as the magic reached towards the tip and... nothing happened. Nothing at all. There was no light extending into the sky. The burning sensation did not dissipate and I growled trying not to scream. The pain faded eventually, but it took a little time to do so. Even then there was still a slight sting there.

We both stared at my bracelet for a moment neither of us knowing what to do.

“That's... not good,” I said stupidly.

“Hi,” a voice interrupted us. Up walked Amethyst with four toys. So far, she was in the lead – assuming that Pinkie had somehow not won anything else.

We were glad for the distraction.

“Hello, Star. Four toys already?” Twilight looked at her loot.

“Uh-huh. You?”

“One for me!”

“And Forest?”

My expression spoke for itself.

“Don't worry. You'll get a prize eventually.”

My expression did not change.

“So, have you seen the others? I kinda lost them and it's boring playing games alone. I would join you, but I don't want to interrupt your date.”

Despite being a mature and fully grown stallion, I couldn't help but blush a little at that.

“Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity were here. They played that shooting game. You gonna give it a go?”

“I can't play that, Twi.” Amethyst used her eyes to gesture to her hoof in a cast.

Twilight blushed, “Sorry, Star. For some reason it slipped my mind.”

“Don't worry. If I were on a hot date with my stallion, I'd probably forget too.”

Twilight's face lit up.

Oh gawd! I wanted to kiss her! My expression wasn't lost on her as she blushed harder at my slightly 'riled' up gaze.

“Easy, boy.” Star put a hoof on my head, “Down. Down.”

I sat down on the ground.

“Good boy. Here, have a treat.” She put a piece of candy on my nose. “Stay... stay...”

That made Twilight laugh lightly, “Hey! He's my pet. Get your own!”

“Ooh. Touchy, touchy.” Amethyst giggled. “He's all yours, Twilight.”

With that, she walked, or rather, limped away.

Twilight focused her attention onto me with the candy still on my nose.

“Can I have the candy now?”

“Mm? You want it, huh? I guess you could have it,” she brandished an evil looking smile, “if you prove to me that you deserve it. Can you do that, Forest?”

“I could always try.”

“That's not good enough.”

“Then I will!”

“That's better. So... how will you prove to me that you deserve that candy?”

I stood up and walked towards her. Placing the candy gently on her head, she instinctively looked up to see what I was up to. As soon as she raised her head, I kissed her. Not the tiny little pecks and cute little lah-dee-dah kisses we've been exchanging all morning. I gave her a real kiss. The same kind of kiss she gave me when she knocked me down at the stadium after I had won the Race. That kind of kiss.

She tasted sweet. Like a flower. I wasn't sure what kind of flower, but I didn't care because as of right now this was my most favorite smell. I could breathe in this scent day in and day out, and honestly I knew that I'd never get sick of it.

As our lips parted, I held her close and smiled, “So... did I do-”

She pressed her lips into mine with the same ferocity that I had just done to her. I kissed her with my eyes closed and pulled her in closer with one hoof around the back of her head pulling her towards me as she held me tightly with both of hers around my body, her warmth pressed up against me.

I tried to inhale quietly as our delicious make-out session came to an end, but that failed as I gasped for breath panting hard at the lack of air – and the rising excitement as my body wanted her. I never had wanted anyone so much before and I looked at Twilight who stared right into my eyes.

Calm yourself. Calm down. Calm down...

“Now do I deserve it?” I asked stupidly.

She nodded once. She had not released me from her embrace, “You deserve it. What took you so long?”

“Pardon?”

“What took you so long? I've wanted you to kiss me like that for ages!” She reached above her head to take the candy from there, only to find that it had inadvertently vanished.

Our attention had been somewhat distracted. I looked around the ground and found it just behind her and reached for it. As I looked up I saw half of Ponyville grinning at us, and all around the photographers were going nuts.

How did we not notice that?

“Yeah!” some huge white pony shouted. “Now that's what I call a kiss!”

Twilight looked down at the ground. “Oh no...” she squeaked looking at me through her mane which hid her beautiful eyes.

“Come on, let's go,” I whispered pulling her along. Not that it mattered, everyone in Ponyville would know about how I just made-out with Twilight in the middle of the fair in front of the entire world to see. “Guess I didn't do good then, did I?”

“Hm?”

“I'm sorry for making our-”

Twilight looked at me, the red tinge to her face was still there and by Celestia was it cute. I cannot express it enough.

“I... I didn't mind,” she replied quietly.

I died on the inside from the sheer force of Twilight's demeanor. She was stupendously cute. I held her close to me and kissed her forehead.

“Twilight. There's something I want to tell you.”

“Yes?”

I gulped, “I... just want to say that I...”

“Yes?” she asked, leaning forwards slightly, her eyes wide open.

“That I... I lo-”

“Yes?”

“That I lo-”

“Hi you two! Saw you guys trying to eat each other a second ago. Talk about giving the town something to talk about for the next year. You ought to be a little more discreet about that. They're foals and young fillies here. The Elements have to set an example to the younger generations, and this is not the right sort of example. But dear me, talk about exciting an old lady.” She waved a hoof in front of her face for emphasis.

“Cyan!” I shouted in surprise. Then I hugged her.

The old mare giggled, “I'm glad I found you. I just wanted to congratulate you again. Saying it now makes it feel official.”

“Official?”

“You know what I mean. Congratulating you here in a place that's dedicated to your victory.”

Twilight smiled, “You mean our victory. The race was won by everyone in Ponyville. Even you helped, Cyan.”

“Maybe, but I feel that our racers deserve a little more of the praise, don't you?”

Twilight and Cyan shared a laugh at that.

“Ooh, ooh. Mommy, mommy, I want an autograph from him, mommy.” A little filly pointed right at me.

The mother looked at me, her eyes asking me if that was okay.

Of course it's okay! I wanted to shout. Instead, I nodded and flashed my best smile. I think that was more appropriate.

"What's your name?" I asked.

“E-E-E-Emerald S-S-Sea...”

“Now that's a very pretty name,” I replied, and reached into my saddlebag, only to find that I didn't have a marker. Where was that marker Twilight used to sign those autographs back in Canterlot? I thought I had kept it.

“You want something to write with?” Twilight asked.

I nodded, “If you've got something, it would really help.”

She smirked and walked over to a stand that sold random things and somehow managed to find and buy a writing utensil, “Here you go.”

“That was actually very resourceful, Twilight Sparkle.”

“No more kisses for you, Forest Fire. No matter how many times you flatter me.”

She saw right through me. The only response I could muster was a guilty smile on my face, to which she just winked. That naughty side to her was definitely a turn-on. Big time.

“There you go,” I said as I crossed the last 'T' in my name. My handwriting (mouthwriting?) was still horrible, and I could tell that the little filly didn't think much about it by the way she raised her cute little eyebrow. I couldn't help but laugh lightly. “Don't like how I write?

She shook her head from side to side as fast as she could.

“You better stay in school then.”

“I go to Luna's Magic School in Canterlot,” she confessed. “My mommy sends me there. I come here every vacation.”

“Oh? You're in a boarding school?”

“It's not boring!”

“Er... I meant you live at your school?”

Realization dawned on her tiny face, “Oh! Yes, I do.”

“You're so small...”

“Mommy says that it's so I can be a strong and smart Unicorn like...” the filly looked over to my date and blushed, “her.”

Twilight cooed at the little filly and hugged her.

“Don't you miss your parents? Don't you miss your mom and dad?”

“It's just my mommy and me. Mommy is always working, so she said it was better for me to go away to school. She says that while I'm away she will work and when I come visit she'll only work half the time.”

Curious. “What does mommy do?”

“Gee-aw-law-gee,” the filly said slowly. “It's the study of rocks!”

“I study everything from the movement of the ground to various rocks and minerals found in and around Equestria,” her mother replied. She was a dark gray colored Earth pony with blue streaks in her perfectly straight mane. On her face were a set of half-moon glasses and her Cutie Mark was a diamond surrounded by a circle with a handle. It took me a moment to realize that it was a magnifying glass. “Dr Savannah Quartz.”

She did have a British-like accent on her.

I shook her hoof, “Forest Fire. This here is-”

“Twilight Sparkle. There isn't a pony who doesn't know her. I'm surprised that someone like you managed to woo her.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight replied not amused in the slightest.

Quartz raised her hooves up in defense, “Please don't get me wrong. I am happy you found you're very own special somepony. It's just very unlikely that somepony like him, somepony that's unknown, has no affiliation with royalty, nor has been involved with the military would appeal to someone of your stature. You are, after all, the most sought after mare in all of Equestria. I just found it somewhat strange that you'd settle for an Earth pony like him, much less one whose only talent seems to only be able to run quickly.”

“First off I-”

Cyan put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, “It may sting a little, but it's something a lot of ponies are wondering as well. Don't get me wrong, I love Forest – as a friend, but for him to be able to woo somepony like you... it really does seem incredible.”

I felt so small.

Twilight looked over to me. “There's just something about him, okay?”

Dr. Quartz obviously didn't like that answer. I thought it was perfect.

“Your life, and I don't want to judge, but it does seem like a waste.” Dr. Quartz looked over at me and shrugged, “That's my opinion. Sorry.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You do know that I'm right here, right? Can't you ponies bad-mouth me behind my back instead? Like normal?” I pleaded.

Savannah looked at me for a moment. There was a slightly confused look on her face. “You... bear no hard feelings to what I said?”

“I wouldn't go that far, but I can respect your opinion though I don't like it. As a matter of fact I hate it. I wish you didn't think that. Stop thinking that!”

She paused for another moment before bursting out in laughter. “You... you are one funny pony,” she said barely able to breathe. She looked at Twilight and wiped a tear from her eye, “I... I don't know what you see in him, but... but if he makes you laugh like this... then he's definitely a keeper.”

I frowned, “I don't know if I should feel flattered or offended.”

She managed to regain her composure, “Anyway, thank you for your autograph. Say thank you, sweetheart.”

“Thank you,” Emerald said adorably.

“Any time,” I replied and ruffled her mane a little. She giggled and the two of them walked off together, the little filly showing off my John Hancock to her mother excitedly. “Well... that was interesting. Princess Luna has a magic school, huh?”

“Yeah. It's a wonder how she manages to run a school during the day and raise the moon every night.” Twilight looked at me, “Are you hurt by what she said about you?”

“Hurt? Yeah, a little. But at the same time I'm kinda happy.”

“Happy?”

“Sure.”

“How's that work?” She asked.

“You mean how I managed to have one of the most awesome ponies in Equstria fall for me?” I shrugged, “If I told you, you'd probably misuse that knowledge.”

“Well, at least I know I'm on the right track.”

We both had a light laugh. Still, what Dr. Quartz said actually did get to me. Why was Twilight Sparkle with a stallion like me? Surely it couldn't have been the fact that I won the race. No, Twilight's not into that kind of thing. Was she only interested in me because she was interested in what I wasn't?

“No, Forest. Stop thinking like that,” I muttered out loud.

“Something the matter?” Twilight inquired.

“Uh... no, just worried about what to tell Granny when I tell her that I haven't won a single prize when I see her later.”

“You want to try that game?”

I looked to where she was pointing and saw a bunch of ponies lobbing small hoops at a bunch of toys and stuff. This one looked to be quite easy. We walked over.

“I'll leave you two lovebirds here. Ta, ta.” Cyan walked off humming to herself.

Somehow, I had forgotten she was with us.

“See you around, Cyan!” I shouted after her. She paused, waved, and then continued.

“Forest, c'mere!” Twilight called.

I did so double time.

“It's one bit for three throws, two for six, three for ten.” The Earth pony at the stand shouted before his eyes looked at me. He noticed the mare standing next to me. “Howdy, Miss Sparkle, I see you're having a good time on your date.”

“You're going to play?”

Twilight handed him three bits.

“That's ten hoops for the cute couple. Here ya go. G'luck.”

“Thanks, Sour.”

“Please, Miss Sparkle, please don't call me that. Just Rasp fine.”

“Thanks, Rasp.” Twilight corrected herself.

I couldn't resist asking. “What's his name?”

“Sour Raspberries. He doesn't like being called 'Sour' very much.”

“I can imagine.”

Twilight took a hoop from my hoof and lobbed it at one of the toys. She missed completely. I burst out in laughter for some reason.

“This is a lot harder than it looks, okay? You try.”

I did so and threw my hoop. It did not just miss the toy I was aiming for, but I had somehow overthrown it and it landed somewhere behind stand. Twilight and Rasp laughed.

“Shut up, Sour.”

His laughter died in his throat.

The second attempt was a bit better, but the hoop bounced off the stand and over the back of it. Again, Sour burst out in laughter.

I was about to say something when Twilight gave me a look. It was the 'don't you dare' look, and it worked like a charm. I made a sad face as Twilight took another hoop from me and threw it at the stand. It landed perfectly, but it missed all the toys and prizes landing on an empty space in between them.

“Oh! So close! Quick, try again before you lose that feeling!” I said, handing her another hoop.

And just like that, Twilight won her first prize. A teeny stuffed rabbit. She looked at it and smiled, “Fluttershy would love this. It looks just like Angel.”

My mind we back to that day. When I found poor Fluttershy at the rabbit's grave, the anguish on her face still vivid to me even now. The way Rarity comforted her. The way Applejack was there...

“Forest!”

Twilight pushed me.

“Wha-? Oh, did I space out again?” I asked lowering my gaze.

“Yeah. You did. Again. This one was pretty bad.” Twilight pulled my face towards her, “Forest, I'm really concerned. I think we should go see a doctor right away.”

I looked around. The ponies that were playing the game had all but stopped and were looking at me. Sour was in the middle of handing a filly three hoops. I felt so confused and disoriented.

Sighing, I resigned myself to the inevitable, “Okay. But, only after I win at this game.”

“Forest...”

“Please, Twilight? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?”

She just looked at me.

“I'll do anything you want if you let me.”

“Anything?”

“Anything. Anything at all.”

Twilight smirked, “Okay. You're on. When you win, you said. What if you miss all of them?”

“Losing was never in this stallion's mind.”

“But if you lose, then what?”

“I dunno. You suggest something.”

“If you lose, you'll have to come with me and meet my parents.”

My mouth dropped. “W-w-why?”

“Why not? I want them to meet my coltfriend.”

“B-b-b-bu-bu-bu-b-b-but...”

Wasn't meeting parents supposed to be the next step in a relationship? I mean, meeting parents after dating usually meant that things were going very well. I wasn't ready for something like that, not that I didn't want to meet Twilight's parents. It was just that I wasn't ready.

Yeah, that's it. I wasn't ready. Plus... my future wasn't really...

“Forest!”

“Huh?”

l had zoned out again. This time Twilight did not stop her worried expression.

“I'm just kidding, jeez,” I lied.

“Don't scare me like that. That wasn't funny.”

If only she knew. “I'm sorry, Twi. It was in bad taste.”

“Yes it was. Now, do we have a deal or not? Or is meeting my parents really that bad?”

“I'm just shy, okay? But, fine, you've got a yourself a deal.”

I stood at the edge of the stand and lobbed a hoop over towards one of the easiest prizes. This time I had almost ringed it. I tried a few more times, but each time seemed to get further and further away from my target. I growled in frustration as I realized that I had two hoops left.

“Come on, Forest! Make them count,” Twilight patted my shoulder making me chuckle.

Missed.

“Aw, last one, Forest. You can do this, just keep your eye on the prize.”

Sighing, I just threw the hoop hopelessly without really aiming for anything. It hit the top of one of the toys and bounced off a pole before landing squarely on the top prize of the stand. I didn't move.

“D-d-did that just happen?” I asked.

Twilight cheered for me as the attendant took down a large white, black-spotted, bushy-tailed toy leopard. It was half our sizes.

“Good going, Forest! At least now I know how to make you win at something,” Twilight giggled.

“How?”

“Just threaten to introduce you to my parents.”

I laughed along with her nervously, unsure if she was joking or being serious.

“Now let's head on over to the doctor.”

“Wait, Twilight. On more game then we'll go. Just one,” I begged.

“No.”

“Please?”

“You promised!”

“I know, I know. It's just that I'm on a roll...”

“After one toy?”

“Um...”

“Fine. Let's find another stand, but that's it! After that we're going and that's final!” Twilight stomped her hoof on the ground to emphasize it.

Without questioning her authority, I followed along. We took in the sights and sounds of the fair around us. There were still a gaggle of photographers trailing us, but most of them had gone off by now. I noted that there were plenty of other things to do besides play these games. Although I had noticed them from before, I had not really taken note that there were rides here. Not small ones, but a huge roller-coaster and even a ferris wheel. Every so often there were food stalls, shopping stalls, drink stalls and other stalls. There was even a 'pony ride' place where filly's got to ride on Pegasi through the air. I took note that a couple of them had rainbow colored streaks through their manes.

It was kinda cute seeing all the wannabe Rainbows.

“What about that one?” Twilight asked coming to a halt.

“Which?”

She pointed to a bunch of ponies throwing tiny balls at some cups. They looked a lot like ping-pong or table-tennis balls. It looked easy. Things that looked easy tend to be hard as hell.

“Wanna try?” the attendant, a Pegasi mare, asked seeing the two of us looking at her stand.

We mozied on over.

“How much?”

“One bit for five balls. All you need to do is just keep on trying till you get one to land inside the cup. Each cup has a prize correlating to it so if you're good you can win five prizes.” The mare smiled, “Somepony just did that, as a matter of fact, not too long ago.”

“Was she pink with poofy hair?” I asked.

The Pegasus nodded, “Oh, you know her?”

“Good ol' Pinkie. I guess I ought to just give up at this point. Not like I'd be able to beat her now.”

“Really? Well then, let's go to the doctor right now,” Twilight replied.

“Well, how about I give it a shot anyway?”

She shook her head. “Predictable. You do know that by delaying it you're just making it worse, right?”

“Just this once, okay? Then we'll go.”

The bit was paid and the five balls were placed in front of us. Taking one while Twilight took another, we both threw the balls at two cups. Twilight's went into the cup, bounced up, off another cup, then back into the cup she was aiming for. Mine missed completely.

“And we have a winner!” the attendant announced, placing a tiny cow plush in front of Twilight.

“Wow! First attempt!” I exclaimed.

Twilight blushed, “It was luck.”

“Was it? You stole all my luck!” I turned towards her and grinned, “I'm going to take it back now.”

“Forest...” she warned, “don't you dare...”

I stood about two hoof steps away from her, “Then why'd you take all the luck?”

“I didn't take any-”

While she was pondering my statement, I had pounced at her. She squealed and turned to run but I was already rubbing her sides as she burst out in laughter. I knew she wouldn't teleport when I was this close to her, so I was safe. She screamed as I continued to tickle her tummy.

“S-s-stop!” she pleaded.

Reluctantly I stopped and let her go, although I couldn't help laugh at her expense.

“You're horrible! Horrible!” She shouted, before nuzzling my cheek. “I'll get you back for that.”

I hugged her, “I hope you do.”

“Um... I hate to interrupt a tender moment, but you've got three balls left to throw and there are other customers that would like to play.”

“S-sorry,” we apologized and resumed our spot at the stand.

Twilight was still giggling to herself as she stood next to me shaking her head. “Now I can't throw straight because of you.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing.”

As the third ball bounced off the back board and landed somewhere on the floor, I couldn't help but feel really useless. Why did Granny want me to help when Pinkie Pie seemed like the better choice? There had to be something more to it than that.

Twilight tossed the fourth ball that bounced into a cup, then back out again.

“Okay, last ball,” Twilight said picking it up. “You wanna try?”

I took it and looked at her, “Let's toss it together.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

I put the ball in her hoof, and stood next to her, “Together. One. Two. Three!”

The ball landed nowhere near the stand, which made the both of us crack up.

We took Twilight's prize and headed off towards...

“Twilight, wait. Isn't this the wrong way? Isn't the hospital in the other direction?”

“We're not going to the hospital, Forest. We're going to the doctor. At these events there's always a doctor on duty in case somepony gets hurt.”

Made sense. I followed along quietly.

“Are you mad at me?” she suddenly asked.

That took me by surprise. “Mad? What for?”

“For making you do something you don't want to do.”

I shook my head, “What? Why would I be mad about something like that? You're worried about me! I should be the one asking you if you're mad at me for delaying it.”

“I am.”

“Oh. I'm really sorry, Twilight. You're right. I shouldn't have waited this long to see a doctor. I've been selfish. I should've respected your feelings more.”

“That's okay, Forest. I'm still having a lot of fun.”

Eventually we found the tent in question. A white tent with a red cross on top. We made our way inside and saw a few other ponies sitting there. It looked just like a normal waiting room.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't the famous Forest Fire.”

“Hi Nurse Redheart.”

“I take it that you've hurt yourself again?”

This time Twilight spoke for me. “No, no. We need to see the doctor. Forest's been acting really weird and I'm worried.”

“How weird?”

She explained my long periods of silence and how I would stand there spaced out for short periods of time that progressively got longer and longer.

“Sounds like Sleeping Sickness to me.”

“Sleeping Sickness?” we both asked at the same time.

“You've never heard about Sleeping Sickness?” Redheart asked Twilight.

“No... I've only read a few medical books, so I'm not familiar with that one.”

Redheart nodded, “Well-”

“Oh god I'm going to die!” I shouted before I could shut myself up. I've heard of Sleeping Sickness back on Earth. I remembered that it was serious, even fatal. Some sort of disease that's spread through bug bites that leads to death over a period of time.

“Um... no.” Redheart said bluntly, “Sleeping Sickness is a disease where your body wants to sleep. It's highly contagious, but harmless.”

“It is?” I asked, relief flooding ever cell in my body.

Redheart nodded, “But what made you think that it's dangerous?”

“It sounds dangerous,” I replied a little stupidly. “Plus, I've heard it was... so...”

“You've heard wrong. Sleeping Sickness makes you sleep. Your body is naturally fighting against the infection by making you sleep. Although it is highly contagious, the disease usually goes away in a couple days. Just don't do anything dangerous while you're sick. I can do a quick test to see if you'd like.”

Both the girls looked at me.

I sighed, “Yes please.”

The test was simple. Red took something, rubbed it in my mouth, and then took it to another room. There she must have done something, because she came out about ten minutes later and said, “Yes, you've got Sleeping Sickness.”

“So... I just need to rest?”

“That, and stay out of trouble.”

Once again the two mares stared at me.

I sighed, again. “I'll try to stay out of trouble.”

That seemed to appease the two.

“One thing. We've been walking around the fair all day! Who knows how many ponies he's infected?” Twilight looked at me, “See? We should have come to the doctor sooner!”

“I wouldn't worry about it,” Redheart replied. “It doesn't just happen like that. You feel tired, you're going to naturally find somewhere to rest. When you do, you sleep it off. The end. Sometimes when you fight it, you can get exhausted. Pegasi can sometimes find themselves crashing into the ground if they don't stop to take a quick rest.”

“But Forest was standing in the middle of the street and-”

“Some cases when the infected individual is deep in thought they might take cat-naps. I've seen patients that sleep with their eyes wide open mumbling to themselves. It's not uncommon. It's not dangerous.”

The conclusion in my mind was that, despite the similar names, Sleeping Sickness on Equestria wasn't as dangerous as the version on Earth. At least Twilight no longer needed to worry about me.

“So, he's fine?”

“Yes, Twilight. He's fine. For the last time: don't worry. He should be back to his normal self soon enough. How long have you had it?” Redheard asked.

“I don't know. I don't remember... oh. Oh wait. Yes I do. When I went to jail, there was this pony there. He seemed really, really tired. After we were released, he fell asleep on a park bench almost instantly.”

“Sounds like you caught it from him.”

Made sense.

“The next time you feel sleepy, and this is for you too, Twilight, just let it happen. You'll fall asleep for a few hours and when you wake up you'll be as good as new.”

“Okay, nurse. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you, Red.” I grinned, “Aren't you glad that I'm not here to get patched up?”

“The day's still young, Forest. I'm not going to get my hopes up.”

I just made a sad face.

“You fillies go on now. I've got to see other patients.” She gave Twilight a nod and a knowing wink before taking a colt who was bleeding from the nose behind a curtain.

“Aren't you glad we did this?”

“Yes. Twilight Sparkle, please forgive this fool.”

“I already did, right? Now, let's win us some toys! Woo!”

“Wow. Where'd that come from?” I couldn't help but laugh.

Twilight was certainly a lot happier. She blushed, “Now that I know you're really fine, I can be completely relaxed. Let's go for a ride instead. We can always play more games later.”

“You know what? That sounds like a lot of fun...”

Day 26: All's Fair in Love & Games - Part 3: Sometimes Sorry is Not Enough

“How'd you talk me into this!” I shouted as the mine cart climbed higher and higher towards the top of the highest point on the roller coaster. This thing was huge! Massive! How did they manage to build something like this without me noticing?

I was petrified. Ever sat in a mine cart with hooves? Ever ride on something bumpy and shaky, yet have no fingers that you can use to wrap safely around something? Saying that it was scary would be an understatement. It terrified the shit out of me.

“You said you wanted to go on rides,” Twilight shouted back as loudly as she could over the sound of the cart bouncing on the rails.

“No! You suggested rides!”

“You agreed!”

“But why a roller coaster?” I looked at Equestria below me, “You know how I feel about heights!”

“Just relax, have fun.”

The roller-coaster coasted along the highest point quickly inching towards the big drop.

“Fun? Fun! How can I have fun when I think I'm going to die-” I screamed as the cart went over the highest point and plummeted downwards after going over the point of no return. The feeling of my stomach clenching as we rode down the other side was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Twilight had her hooves firmly wrapped around my neck as the cart twisted and turned with the tracks, all the while screaming in glee, while I screamed in fear. The ride eventually ended as the mine cart came to a slow halt. The restraining bar loosened itself.

The door along the side was pulled open by an Earth pony who smiled widely, “Enjoy the ride?”

“It was real fun!” Twilight informed the attendant.

“Ooh. I feel sick,” I stated feeling the contents of my stomach bubble up.

He laughed and smacked my back, “Heard you screaming like a little filly.”

I gulped, “T-that was Twilight!”

“Sure it was.”

Twilight laughed and nudged me along, “Come on. Let's go.”

We left the roller-coaster ride and walked a little away from it. I turned around and took it in. For a small fair in a small town, that was a pretty impressive sized roller-coaster.

“Tell me, how long did it take them to set that up?” Honestly, it wasn't that big or complex, but it was still thrilling.

“Not sure. Not long, I guess.”

“How did I not notice them put it up?”

Twilight shrugged, “Well, what were you doing yesterday?”

“I spent the majority of it at the hospital... oh. No wonder I didn't notice.

The hospital was on the complete opposite side of town, and with the hill in the way it would have been impossible for me to see the ride from there.

“What can we do now?” I asked.

“Well, we could go play more games, go on more rides, or have some lunch.”

We got our stuff back from the ticket booth. We couldn't exactly bring our things on the ride with us, so we let them hold it while we had our dose of adrenaline. Twilight helped me buckle my saddlebag on my rear.

“Lunch? What time is it?”

“Just past two. A late lunch?” Twilight grinned, “Just us two.”

“Okay. Sounds good. Let's go and eat.”

“How did I know you'd choose food?”

“'Cause food is good.”

“So, how about something we can share? Pizza?”

“Pizza? I love pizza! Sure, let's go feed ourselves some pizza!” I said imitating Applejack.

It didn't take us long to find a pizza stand. They sold the traditional round pizzas, but I was more interested in their calzones. We each ordered our selected forms of nourishment and sat down at a picnic table on the far end of the fair facing the lake. Here the music was not as loud so talking was a lot easier. Plus it was nice to see ponies splashing about in the water.

We ate in relative silence, my body imploring me to shove as much of the delicious slices down my gullet as quickly as humanly (ponily?) possible.

As I scarfed down my last slice, I looked up to see Twilight looking at me.

“Something on my face?” I asked, my mouth half full.

Twilight shook her head, “You eat way too fast. Chew your food. You got some pizza sauce on your lips.”

I made to wipe it with my foreleg. “Wait! Here. Use this.” She took a paper napkin in her magic, expertly releasing it before my hoof touched it.

I wiped my muzzle.

She kept on smiling at me.

“Are... are you enjoying yourself, Twilight?”

She looked shocked that I had said that. “Of course. Why?”

“It's just, you know, I'm not the most... how do I put this...”

She sat back, “You're not going to tell me that you feel that I'm too good for you, are you?”

“Well, now that you mention it...”

“Stop. Stop right there. Please. I've heard this enough times.” Twilight looked away from me, “I mean, what makes you think that I'd be with you if I didn't want to be?”

“It's not that, Twi. It's... well, I just feel that I'm not good enough. I'm not complaining. Not at all. I'm just worried about you.”

“Worried about me? I'm fine, Forest. I don't want you to-” she stopped and looked at me. She saw the smirk on the corner of my lips. “You didn't.”

“I did.” I couldn't resist stealing a slice of her pizza.

She turned away angrily, “That's not nice. You had me going for a moment there.”

“I just wanted to give you a little taste of what you put me through this morning.”

“That's different! I had a genuine reason to be worried.”

“And I don't?” I said before taking a bite of said slice.

She pulled the half eaten pizza from my hoof and took a bite. “Not like I did.”

“While that may be true, it still doesn't change the fact that most of Equestria is wondering what I'm wondering.”

“Good point,” she mumbled with her mouth half full. “I don't know, Forest. I really like you. You are... there's just something about you.”

We heard a loud scream and turned to see a bunch of kids in the lake. They seemed to be having a wonderful time playing in the water. We both just watched them without talking for a moment. It was nice. This was nice. Even without talking to the wonderful mare next to me, just being next to her was amazing. I turned my head to see her looking at me. She averted her gaze slightly.

“Were you staring at me, Twilight Sparkle?”

She laughed silently before looking me in the eye again. “Remember our not-date?”

“Of course. I'll never forget it. It was one of the best times of my life.” That was true.

“Remember when we watched Celestia's sun rise at that look-out point?” She leaned closer to me.

“Yeah...” I leaned closer to her, “what about it?”

“Y-you... you stole my heart at that moment.”

I could feel my cheeks grow red. “R-really?”

“Really.”

We both sat there in silence for a full minute. I didn't know about her, but I was content with merely being in her presence at that moment.

“You know that when you first came to Ponyville, I... I didn't trust you,” she said quietly.

“I remember.” It seemed so long ago now. How did we come from there to where we were now? “Twilight, I want to tell you something...”

“Yes?”

“Twilight. I...”

“Yes?” she looked up at me, her eyes opening wide.

“I... that is to say... I want to tell you that l...”

“Yes?” Her eyes grew bigger, they were practically twinkling.

“That I l-l-lo-”

“Hi guys!” a voice shouted making the both of us jump. “Where have you been?”

“Pinkie!” Twilight and I shouted at the same time.

“Have you been playing all these games and winning all those really cool prizes? I've got so many look at all the stuff that I've won just by playing some of the games!” she shouted in her extremely fast way of speaking. She then pulled out a huge bag out of nowhere and plopped it in front of us. There were at least a dozen stuffed animals of various sizes there. “I don't know what I'm going to do with all this stuff because they are so good! I've got so many toys and things that I won! Oh, I know! Maybe I can exchange them for something else! Like... like candy and other sugary sweet sweets to eat! Ooh! Maybe I can win candy instead of prizes from the stands! Then I could eat them after I show them to Granny and win the contest and celebrate with my very own prizes!”

“That's a lot of toys you've got there, Pinkie,” I mentioned with envy.

“How did you ever manage to win all this so quickly?” Twilight had to peer around the massive mound of toys on the table to look at her friend.

“This? Oh, it was easy.”

“Rub it in won't you,” I muttered quietly lowering my head in defeat.

“Hi guys,” another familiar voice said. I looked up and saw Rainbow... again. She floated over to us, “How's the prize winning going?”

“Badly,” I stated.

“All right,” Twilight replied.

“Easy peasy,” Pinkie squeaked.

Rainbow just looked at each of us for a moment before focusing on me and laughing out loud.

I threw the pizza crust in my hoof at her. She easily avoided it.

“Well ain't that just dandy. Everypony's comin' together.” Applejack took a seat opposite me and smiled, “You guys havin' fun?”

Twilight and I looked at each other, then at Applejack nodding slowly. Why was I acting so shy all of a sudden?

“Glad to hear it. Anyway, was just talkin' to Granny and Applebloom. They're gonna be bringin' some pitchers of cider here once Big Mac comes back from the rest room.”

“How come your brother doesn't hang out with us, AJ?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, he's always around, but he never actually joins us.”

“'Cause he's always busy, Pinkie. We don't got much time for playin' on the farm... well, that was until Forest here built that harvester. That really changed our lives, y'know. Now we got a lot more time to spend doin' other things that we usually don't get ta do. Where were you when I was a filly?”

Someplace far away. I thought in my head. “Dunno. Can't remember.”

“Uh-huh,” she intoned disbelievingly.

“Now that you've got your harvester, why don't you make him hang out with us more?” Pinkie asked, leaning in towards the orange mare.

Applejack pushed Pinkie back, “You know what? You're right! It ain't fair for me to have all the fun. I mean, he must want to let loose every once in a while.”

“He certainly let loose back at the bar,” I muttered quietly, remembering how he single handedly (hoofedly?) beat all of us up in that bar brawl.

If Applejack heard me, she made no sign of it.

“I'll be right back,” she said, walking off just as Rarity and Fluttershy arrived.

“Where's Applejack going?” Rarity asked.

“To get her brother,” Twilight replied.

“R-r-really?” Fluttershy asked, her face suddenly brightening up.

Now, I'm no expert, but I would venture to guess that Fluttershy has some warm feelings for a certain pony. A certain red stallion, might I add. If I noticed it, surely the others would have too. Right?

“Howdy, y'all,” Applebloom said as she helped Granny sit down in front of me, taking over Applejack's seat.

The elderly mare looked up at me and leaned on the table. She had turned her head to the right and was eyeballing me with her left eye. Her scrutinizing games made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. I knew what was coming.

“Please tell me you've won somethin',” Granny stated.

“Y-y-yeah...”

“How many prizes?”

“Er... not many...” I didn't want to tell her.

“I just hope fer yer sake it's more than one...”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Y-y-yeah... because winning only one at this point would be silly.” I laughed out loud, but it was a nervous laugh. A very, very nervous laugh.

“Dang it! I knew I shouldn't have relied on you to win against that Lance feller. Now, I've gotta find somepony else that can save my daughter's innocence.”

“Granny!” Applebloom moaned, her face turning bright pink, “Please stop. You're embarrassin' me in front of my friends.”

“Quit your yammerin',” Granny snapped back. “I'm doin' it fer yer own good.”

Despite her words, it was clear that Granny was enjoying her granddaughter's torment way too much.

“Hey, what's taking Applejack so long? I better go check on her and Big Mac!” Rainbow shouted, obviously finding an excuse to beat a hasty retreat and with a quick flit of her wing she was gone.

While she managed to escape Applebloom's public humiliation, the rest of us had to suffer in uncomfortable silence as Granny revealed all sorts of saucy things about Applebloom's previous attempts at romance. Some of which were hilarious. Okay, most of them were hilarious. Poor, poor Applebloom. Her face was now matching the color of her mane.

“What's goin' on?” Applejack asked once she arrived and found a place next to her sister at the table. We all looked at her, but our eyes naturally drifted to poor Applebloom who couldn't look up at us. “Granny, are you teasin' Applebloom again?”

“I was just tellin' the truth, I was.”

“Big Mac?”

The brother turned towards the elderly mare, “Granny, you know it ain't nice to talk about Applebloom's failed love-life.”

“Mac!” Applejack gasped.

I couldn't hold it in at that; I snorted out a laugh. I looked down at the ground trying to hide the huge grin that was spreading across my face.

“It ain't funny, Forest!” Applebloom bemoaned.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold it in. My shoulders started shaking.

Applebloom covered her face in her hooves and shook her head. “Can today get any worse?”

“Hey everypony!” Spike waved to us and sat down at one end of the picnic table. He looked over to Applebloom and furrowed his brow, “What's up with her?”

“Don't worry about her, Spikey Wikey. She's just got a bad case of the siblings,” joked Rarity.

“Is Applejack revealing things about Applebloom? Anything that can make her blush like that, has gotta be a good. Care to share?”

I wiped the grin off my face, “Sure. Why not-”

“No! Stop, Forest! Please!” Applebloom begged.

“Aw. Fine,” I slowly replied at her plea, then half-whispered to Spike, “I'll tell you later.”

Applebloom gave me the 'I'm gonna beat you up' look.

“So, did everypony grab something to eat?” Twilight asked around the table.

Some nodded, some didn't. Some said they weren't hungry, others begged that food was necessary within the next fifteen seconds else they'd pass out from starvation. With that, they all started chatting about all sorts of things. Sitting in the middle of the table, I was privy to all the conversations being had. I sat there content with just watching and listening to them. To me, this was perfect; this was paradise. The Apples were really like family to me, and the rest were wonderful friends. I bit my lower lips as I fought the feeling of despair that welled up within me. This was where I belonged. Here I felt a part of life. It pained me that soon I would have to say goodbye to all this.

To all of them.

I'll miss you all so much.

Twilight placed a cup of warm cider in front of me. She gave me a sweet smile, “You okay?”

“Yes. I'm fine,” I took the cup and drank from it.

“Really?”

I laughed and placed the cup on the table. We've been saying 'really' to each other all day. Gently, I ran my hoof over her cheek, “Really,” I replied softly.

She leaned forwards and kissed my nose. For a moment she looked like she wanted to tell me something before her attention was diverted towards Rainbow, who was now giving her a rundown of one of the Wonderbolts' latest stunts with her in it.

As fascinating as it was, it went completely over my head.

Getting up, I excused myself and walked towards the lake. Walking right up, I put my front hooves in the crystal clear water and watched as small waves lapped against them. A bunch of fillies and colts chasing each other charged past me, getting me soaked slightly, but I didn't mind. One of them ran right up to me and jumped up. It took me by surprise as I stumbled backwards and caught her in my hooves.

“Hi!”

“Hi, Pumpkin.” I lowered her to the ground, “You scared the living daylights out of me.”

She giggled at that. Two more kids ran up to us and stood on either side of Pumpkin, “These are my classmates Cinnamon Roll and her brother, Red Chili.”

The two kids smiled up at me. They looked almost exactly the same. Both were bright red, had tiny freckles on their snouts, possessed bright gray eyes and were of the Earth pony persuasion. The only thing that differentiated the two of them were their manes. One was brown and lush, the other a mixture of greens. That and one of them was a colt, the other a filly.

“Didn't I see you two in Cheerilee's class?”

“The one where you fainted afterwards? Yeah. We were there,” the colt with the green mane shared. He laughed and shook his head, “How can someone so cool like you be so lame?”

I shrugged, “I'm allergic to mag- what do you mean lame?”

That made the kids laugh.

“Anyway, magic's over-rated-” Red Chili announced.

“Hey!” Pumpkin protested.

“What? It is! You get to do pretty much anything you want. You don't have to work for anything like we do.”

“That's not fair, Red. I work hard too!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Pumpkin's eyes began to water.

“Good grief. I'm sorry, Pumpkin. I didn't mean it,” Red Chili stated in a very bored tone.

That managed to appease Pumpkin because her tears dried up almost instantly.

“That's okay, Red. I'm glad you didn't mean it,” Pumpkin looked around, “Have you seen my brother?”

“No. I was with my friends over there,” I pointed to Twilight and the others.

Twilight spotted me and waved. Spike joined her, as did Pinkie. The others just smiled in my general direction. Still, they all stayed where they were catching up on things. Except for one mare.

“Heya, Forest!”

“Hi. Having fun?” I asked Rainbow.

“Please. You think that somepony as awesome as me could have fun at an event like this?”

“Yes.”

She pounced pinning me to the ground without effort. I think she thought she was being playful, but I swear, if this was Rainbow being playful, I'd hate to mess with her if she ever got mad. She was super strong. Or maybe it was because I was tired.

Yeah. Tired...

“Ow.”

“Aw, c'mon! I touched you gently!”

“Well, if that's how you touch stallions gently...” I wisely did not finish that sentence.

Rainbow looked at me dryly before bursting out into gales of laughter. She fell back on the grass next to me as her laughter died down. She inhaled slowly, catching her breath as she stared straight up at the sky.

Shrugging, I lay down next to her and we both just laid there without saying anything for a long moment. In the background I could still hear the sounds of the fair, the laughter of the ponies enjoying themselves, the occasional rumble of one of the rides, sounds of water splashing and children screaming – yet through all this everything seemed so peaceful.

I noticed that Pumpkin and her friends were bored of us now and had run off in search of adventure and fun.

“You know, I don't miss it.”

“Hm?”

“I don't miss it. You know. It.”

“Not sure what you're getting at, Rainbow.”

“Earth!” she barked sitting up. She then realized that she had just shouted at me and lowered her voice. “I don't miss Earth.”

“Well, okay, I'll bite. Why don't you miss it?” I asked.

“Because... I dunno. Maybe it's because you don't get sights like this there...”

“There are some places like this on Earth too, you know.”

“Yeah? Name one.”

“Well...” she had me. I knew that there were some places on Earth that were fantastic. How could there not be any? It was just that I didn't know any place.

“See what I mean?”

“Did you see much of it?” I asked.

“Well... no, but...”

“Then I guess you can't say for sure then, can you? There are always some bad things and some good things everywhere you go. I can think of a number of bad things here on Equestria, for example.”

“Like what?” she was now looking at me as if I had said the most insulting thing ever.

“What about Ursas? And Changelings? Diamond Dogs?”

“Not all Diamond Dogs are bad, okay? I heard what happened from Twilight and AJ. If I'd have been there...” she trailed off still looking at me, “And wild creatures like Ursas don't count.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Forest, do you mind if I ask you something... personal?”

“It depends.”

“Do you... do you love Twilight?”

That caught me completely off guard. It took me a second to process what she had just asked me. I sat up and scratched my head, “Um... wow... that is kinda personal.”

She shrugged, “I just want to know. She's my best friend. I just want to make sure you're not just leading her on or anything.”

I sat up, “I'd never, ever, ever do that to her.”

“So... you do?”

“I'm not answering that. And even if I wanted to, I'm so not telling you.”

She grinned, “So you do.”

“I just said...” It took me a moment to realize what I had done. Accidentally, because I'm a complete idiot, I had confessed it. I sighed and lowered my head towards the ground, “Don't tell Twilight.”

“Why not?” The massive grin on her face gave away just how much she enjoyed this.

“I... I kinda what to tell her myself.”

“Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh...”

“Can you please stop!”

“Hey you two. What are you talking about?” the mare in question asked. She was standing behind me.

Rainbow laughed, “You should see your face! It's priceless!”

“Rainbow!” I barked.

“Aw. Are you angwy wid me?” she asked in a baby-voice. “I'm sowwy.”

I just grumbled to myself.

“What's so funny?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing! Nothing at all!”

Rainbow nudged me with her elbow, “So? Aren't you going to... I dunno... say anything?”

“No!” I shouted.

Her wide smile started to morph into a very evil looking one. Instantly I knew what she had in mind.

“Don't you dare!” I threatened.

“Or what?”

“I'll... I'll...” What could I say? This was a mare that could probably pound my fat ass into the ground blind-folded with all four of her legs tied behind her back. “I'll be very sad!”

She lost it, rolling over in a fit of laughter.

“Come on! Let me in on it! What's so funny?” Twilight asked sitting next to me, putting herself in between the evil cyan Pegasus and myself. “Is it about me?”

“She's teasing me, Twilight. Tell her to go away, please!”

“Aw, is da baby sad?” Rainbow cooed.

“I'm not a baby!” I protested.

“Please tell me! I wanna know,” Twilight demanded, “anything that can make Forest squirm this bad must be good.”

Rainbow looked over to me and tried her very best to suppress another laughing fit, “Sorry, Twi, but this is something I don't want to tell you... besides, this makes it so much funnier.”

“You're a mean one,” I growled.

“You say that like it's a bad thing. Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me... for now.”

“You guys sound like you're havin' a good time.” Applejack stated plopping herself next to Rainbow, “We're goin' back to the fair to just hang around and have some more fun. You guys comin'?”

Desperate to get away from Rainbow's constant taunts, I jumped at the opportunity, “That's the best idea! I also need to win some more toys otherwise I'll never be able to look Granny in the eye.”

“Alright,” Applejack stood up and shook herself a little, “I'll just ask Applebloom if she wants to join us.”

With that, she walked back towards the picnic bench. Twilight stood up and followed a moment later, so I made to get up, but was promptly pushed down by Rainbow, “I'm so gonna tell her if you don't.”

“That's so not fair!”

“Mm-hmm. Tell it to a judge. So, be sure to tell her before I do.”

“You said you wouldn't!”

“Did I? Did I really?”

She had a point. She never actually made a promise to me that she wouldn't tell her. Suddenly I felt very vulnerable.

“Please don't tell her, Rainbow. I'll tell her myself, just give me some time!”

“Sure. I'll give you until when we hand our prizes over to Granny. Until then...” she lowered herself to the ground and leaned in close to my ear, “watch out.”

Before I could respond, she trotted away giggling to herself.

I was so screwed.

Deep inside me I knew that the I felt love for Twilight. But I also felt that there was something amiss at the same time. Did I really love her? I mean, I had these really powerful feelings for her, but did I love her, love her. The kind of love that made you want that one special person – or in this case it would be a pony. The kind of love that you wouldn't hesitate to protect. I wasn't sure and the more I thought about it, the more I felt that these feelings were skewed. This felt almost like those that I had for Applejack – and still had them to a much smaller degree still.

Confused, frightened and ashamed, I looked at the purple Unicorn. Twilight liked me so much but what Rainbow said bothered me as well. What was I even doing? I can't lead her on. Not unless I...

The same nagging thoughts drift through the back of my head. Do I tell Twilight everything and try and get her to save me, or do I follow my word and return to Tutela? Was it worth risking the absolute truth for? Twilight believed me to be a Changeling, not a human. Would she still love me if she knew that?

I caught up to the Rainbow, walking in pace beside her, “Do you mind if I asked you something?”

“No. Go ahead.”

“If you liked someone, and I mean really liked someone-” I shook my head, “Pony. If you really liked somepony, and they told you something that you know that'd make them hate you, would it be worth it?”

Rainbow looked at me with a furrowed brow, “I'm not sure. Why?”

“Just asking. I mean... what made you think that Soarin was the right one for you?”

“What? How can you ask me tha-”

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry...” Okay, that was really callous of me. “I wasn't thinking...”

She looked at me for a moment before shrugging, “To be totally honest, I didn't.”

“Didn't what?”

“I didn't think he was the right one for me, okay? I mean I always wanted to be in the Wonderbolts and the life that it led was so amazing, but honestly, Soarin was... boring. Dad said he didn't care so long as I was happy, and I kinda wasn't... happy... I mean, I was happy, just not happy happy.” She groaned and rubbed the mane on her head in annoyance, “Look, I don't know how else to say it... just, it wasn't what I thought it would be. I mean, the sex was great but-”

“Too much info! Too much info!” I shouted covering my ears. Did not want to know that.

“... but, that's all there was. Apart from that, we seemed kinda... empty as a couple. Great fliers, great stuntponies, but nothing outside the skies. Like neither of us was really all there.”

I looked up at her face. “Do you miss him?”

“A little. Still can't get over what he did to me, though. That jerk.”

“I can think of more descriptive words to call him.”

“I can too.”

We both looked at each other before sharing a laugh.

“You know, the more I get to know you...” she didn't finish her thought.

“Yes?”

“Nothing. Just was thinking aloud.”

“Okay...”

Our conversation abruptly ended when we reached the picnic table. Everyone was packing up what was left, and placing it into a basket on Big Mac's big back. He turned around and started walking away, Granny following slowly. She saw me looking at her.

“I'll be waitin' for some good news, y'hear?”

When she was out of ear shot, I felt a presence behind me.

“Forest, I wanna apologize for my gran. She's... quirky.” Applebloom shuffled in her hooves, “You don't hafta take what she said seriously, y'know.”

“Are you kidding? And miss out on her super awesome hooch? Never!” I made an evil laugh.

Applebloom giggled, “In that case, I hope you loose.”

I gasped, “How mean! Did you hear that? She wants me to loose! She wants me to be defeated! She wants me to fail in my endeavor! Why?”

“I think its got somethin' to do with a certain colt...” Applejack teased, making her sister squeal and hide her cheeks.

“Darling, there's nothing to be ashamed of. You like somepony, there isn't anything wrong with that,” Rarity said giggling at Applebloom.

“No, no, no!” I shouted, “That's not the reason!”

The all looked at me as if I had just lost my marbles.

“She doesn't want me to win because she wants all of Granny's hooch all for herself! She doesn't want to share any of it with me! I know that's the real reason.”

Twilight bonked me on the head with her hoof.

The girls chuckled amongst themselves. It was nice to see Applebloom joining us. Spike and Sweetie were standing off to one side whispering something to each other. Whatever Spike was saying was certainly making Sweetie's complexion rosier. I wondered what it was. Could it be something about me? Something on my face? Maybe something to do with my joke? Did I accidentally offend them and they were laughing out of politeness?

“... yeah, so until it wears off, he's going to drift off like that.”

“I was gonna say, 'how hard did you hit him?' Seemed like you knocked him out cold.” Applejack waved her hoof in front of my face.

I shook my head, it felt slightly dizzy, like the few times I had passed out before.

“I zonked out again, didn't I?”

“You certainly did. Scared me for a moment there. Twilight said that you caught somethin' called a 'Sleepin' Sickness'?”

“Yeah. In jail there was a pony who must've had it. He was real sleepy, kept falling asleep. Last I saw of him, he was passed out on a park bench after we got out.”

“How boring. How could something like that interfere with you having fun? I mean, come on! If you're going to just fall asleep then you might as well-” Pinkie flopped to the ground and started snoring lightly.

“Wow. That was quick.” Rainbow poked her friend on the nose. Pinkie didn't flinch. An evil grin spread across her face, “Anypony got a marker?”

I was about to open my mouth and tell Rainbow that I had one in my saddlebag when Twilight kicked my shin making me groan in pain instead.

“We can't leave her here. Not unless somepony watches over her,” Twilight looked at Spike.

“Me? B-b-b-but... I'm kinda on a date.” He tried to hide behind Sweetie, but she walked to the side to reveal him cowering behind her (not that it was hard, he was after all nearly a full head taller than her standing up). “Why, Sweetie? Why? How could you turn me in?”

Sweetie turned herself around and lifted her forehooves, planting them on his shoulder as she leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Whatever she said made Spike's face explode. It was redder than Applebloom's mane.

This wasn't lost on us.

“Woo,” Rainbow cooed. “Way to go, Spike.”

Rarity did her best to ignore what had just transpired.

Spike replied, but his voice was so muddled, I had no idea what he said.

“I'll stay here with Pinkie,” Fluttershy offered, “I want to rest for a bit anyway.”

“I know! Why not rest with Big Mac and Granny, Fluttershy? That way you don't have to wait for her to wake up on your own,” Applejack suggested.

Fluttershy's face seemed to brighten up at that, “O-o-okay... if you don't mind...”

“Mind? Why would we mind?” Rainbow stated, “Let's go. Forest, you carry Pinkie.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because it's your fault she's like that. She caught your Sleeping Sickness, otherwise there's no chance in Tartarus she'd drop off like that. Pinkie sleeping through a fair?”

“Tartarus?”

“You know? The place where the most evilest, baddest creatures of Equestria are all locked up?”

“Oh yeah. That place. Fine, I'll carry Pinkie. At least she's light...”

Twilight floated Pinkie just above me then Fluttershy and Rainbow helped lower her down so that Twilight's magic couldn't touch me. As soon as Pinkie was placed on my back, she instantly wrapped her forhooves around my neck and her legs tightened around my torso.

”Giddyap...” she mumbled before resuming her snoring.

That made me chuckle lightly.

We walked on towards the AppIe's stand, which wasn't very far from the picnic table we had lunch on. By the time we reached, Big Mac was already filling mugs with cider as more and more ponies came to the stand. It was in the late afternoon now and evening was right around the corner. Perhaps more ponies were getting off work?

“Forest? You okay?”

Twilight was looking right at me.

“I'm good. She's not that heavy.”

“I wasn't talking about Pinkie, but I am glad to know that she's not weighing you down. I'm asking how's your sleeping problem coming along?”

“That's the thing, I don't feel sleepy. I mean, I haven't passed out like Pinkie?”

“Yesterday you did.”

I remembered my conversation with Spike from this morning on how I had literally fallen asleep. After talking to the doctor it made so much sense. Why did I put up such a fuss on going and seeing one? It didn't take any effort or time at all, and was a great way on finding out if whatever it was could be harmful. No thanks to that stallion from the jail. What was his name again?

Speaking of jail, I spotted Aiden walking over to us, “Hey everypony!”

We all said hi back.

“Forest, we caught Sleeping Sickness from that-”

“I know.”

“Y-you do?”

“Yeah, Twilight got me to talk to a doctor.”

“And you've been here all day?” Aiden shook his head, “Ponyville's going to be a pretty sleepy town tomorrow. I just woke up a couple hours ago.”

“How long did it take you to get over it?” Twilight asked.

Aiden thought about it for a moment, “One day about. Not exactly sure. Why?”

“Maybe you should go back. Wouldn't want you to get a relapse.”

“Eager to get rid of me already?” th green Unicorn said in a dry voice.

Twilight replied with a mixture of guilt and innocence in her voice, “No, nothing like that. Just... I don't want you to catch Sleeping Sickness again.”

Aiden shrugged, “Not to worry, I won't ruin your date, I promise. Anyway, the Doc says that I can't catch it again so quickly.”

“You went to the hospital?” I asked.

Aiden nodded, “Certainly did. Spent the night there.”

Twilight turned to me, “Maybe we should go back home and let you rest?”

“And miss the fair? No way!”

“Forest, come on. You can always go to another fair next time.”

Aiden took Twilight's side and as soon as the words left her mouth. She was looking at me with such high hopes in her eyes, I could tell she was asking me to reconsider staying. She was trying to say so much without uttering a word and it didn't take a genius to realize what she wanted from me. She was making it so hard for me. I couldn't shirk my promise to Tutela. I owed her. She had brought me to Equestria in the first place. Without her I would never have met Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie or Rainbow. I would have never made such great friends.

I closed my eyes and took a breath. I knew what I was about to say was going to hurt.

“But this fair is for me and my team!” I moaned looking away from Twilight.

I stole a glance at her. The look she had was as if I slapped her in the face. It pained me to see that, but what choice did I have?

“So, what should we do?” Aiden asked trying to somehow get rid of the sudden awkward silence.

“Let's play some more games!” Rainbow practically shouted.

“I want to ride the roller-coaster,” Applebloom put in.

Rarity struck a pose, “I want to look at some of the stores and see what they have on sale. You never know what you might find in places like these.”

“Somewhere nice and quiet to relax and have a meaningful conversation,” Sweetie said, staring at Spike with eyes full of affection. I wondered what 'meaningful conversation' actually implied, and promptly reminded myself to take my mind out of the gutter.

“Or maybe we should have a toast first!” Rainbow exclaimed, her mouth hanging open and a mug of cider in each hoof. “A toast to us for being awesome!”

“I'll drink to that!” If I had any bits to pay for it.

I found a mug forced into my hoof. Big Mac looked at me and nodded, “On the house.”

At those words, our friends took a mug each, thanking Big Mac and the rest of the Apples for their generosity and toasted to 'being awesome'. The cider was excellent, as per usual. It had this delicious spicy zest to it as it found its way down your throat.

“Care to join yer frens, Macky?” Granny asked her grandson, “Ain't there anypony you wanna, I dunno, show around town? Somepony... special?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure? Nopony comes to mind?” Applejack put in, following Granny's lead.

“Nope.”

The two of them looked at one another. I wondered who they all had in mind.

“Come on, Mac. Just for a little bit,” Applejack insisted.

Big Mac looked at his sisters who both stared at him full of hope. He stared at them for a long moment before sighing and relenting with a resigned nod.

“Fine.”

Little sisters could be very convincing.

“Just for a little while, 'kay? Can't leave Granny alone for too long,” Mac stated.

“You don't worry about that,” Applejack replied patting her brother on his shoulder. “Granny's not gonna be alone. I'll stay behind and keep an eye on her.”

“I can stay,” Fluttershy offered quietly.

“No!” almost everypony roared at the same time.

Even I wanted to duck behind the cider stand like the poor butter colored Pegasi.

“O-o-okay...”

Pinkie was picked up off of me and gently placed on a pile of hay behind the stand. She mumbled something before turning over and rubbing herself into the hay. It looked so comfy, but after eating the stuff a few times, I knew that it wasn't. How could it be?

We left the slumbering mare behind with Applejack. It seemed her mere appearance brought more customers to the stand as the line grew longer and longer. Perhaps it was the fact that she was the Element of Honesty, or maybe she was just so gosh-darn cute that everyone wanted to be able to look into those emerald green eyes.

Poor Atom -- that lucky bastard.

The rest of us soon found ourselves marching through the fair as one big group. There were a lot more ponies walking around now. Guess some were just getting off work or finished their chores, maybe even arriving from out of town.

It was nice to see such a blend of ponies and other creatures as well. It was actually really cool. I even saw some Diamond Dogs, but unlike the ones I ran into in The Pit, these were a lot more friendly and, well, normal. They seemed to come from a better breed – literally. There were quite a few around, usually keeping to themselves, but the ponies didn't seem to mind. I even saw a few small Dragons and some other creatures that I wasn't really sure what they were.

Still, seeing the Dogs like that brought a gut wrenching feeling to me. The kind of feeling that makes you feel guilty for something you did that was terrible and had to keep it stored inside. Slowly my mind replayed the last time I had seen those creatures, remembering that I had the displeasure of... tangling with them violently. Diamond Dogs had died by my hooves, whether or not it was intentional was besides the point. I had killed some of them. Me.

I felt sick.

“Hey! You gotta problem with my friend?” a mare barked getting right up in my face.

Instinctively I backed off more than a little bit surprised.

“You deaf? I said: You gotta problem with my friend?”

I looked at the mare in front of me, then to a Diamond Dog, then back to the mare who was still glowering at me. Boy, was she pissed. She was a red Unicorn with a mane that kinda looked like a flame. Her Cutie Mark was a blob of fire.

Gee, I sighed inwardly, I wonder what her talent could be...

“Answer me!” she spat making me jump and back off.

“N-n-n-no, I've got no problem with your friend... no problem at all,” I chuckled nervously, back up to the point where I was now sitting down on the ground.

“It's ignorant ponies like you that give good Dogs a bad name!” the mare continued still spitting on me from sheer anger.

'Oh yeah! Well, I was trapped in an iron cage, dragged through a bunch of underground tunnels, forced into slave labor to mine gems for a really mean Diamond Dog called Tyrant Rex. So yeah, my opinion on these creatures might be a little one sided,' is what I wanted to say. Instead all that came out was an apologetic whimper.

Nice, Forest. Real nice.

A sharp whistle came from the Diamond Dog who smiled and shook his head at the mare. Well, at least I hoped it was a smile. Those canines weren't exactly the friendliest looking. His teeth were a lot longer and sharper than the other Dogs I had the displeasure of making an acquaintance with, plus this guy's forearms were frickin' huge! I mean, for his size. Tyrant Rex was still a lot bigger than him, but still... this guy's forearms were frickin' huge!

“... did you fall in love with him?” her voice asked.

That stunned me. Did I miss something? “W-what? I don't... what?”

“I said: Did you fall in love with him?”

The fuck? “No!”

“Then why were you staring at him again? What other reason could you have for leering at him the way you just did?” She took a step forwards making me shrink back.

“I-I-I wasn't s-s-s-staring... I mean I was, b-b-b-b-but not at him...” My voice got quieter and quieter as she stared me down.

“Then what were you lookin' at?”

“N-n-n-nothing...” That was true. I wasn't staring at anything. “I...” Was it just me, or did it just get warmer?

She stood over me angrily. I shrunk back further to the point where it felt like I was a turtle trying to hide in his shell, only I didn't have a shell to shrink back into.

Just then a rainbow blur swished and stopped in front of me. There was a brief moment of pause before I was pushed backwards so that my rear stayed where it was, but the top half fell over backwards.

Did Rainbow just kick me in the face? “Ow.”

“Hey! You gotta problem with my friend?” Rainbow stood in front of me and took up a threatening stance by lowering her head down and spreading her wings towards the Unicorn. She even kicked some dirt up with her forehooves.

“My hero!” I said. “A hero that just kicked me in the face...” I mumbled the second half to myself.

The two mares ignored me.

“Your 'friend' there needs to learn some manners,” the Unicorn growled.

Rainbow did not back down, “He may be an idiot, a doofus, slow and a moron, but he's harmless.”

The words felt like arrows getting stuck into me. “Why?” I asked whisperingly.

The two mares continued to glare at one another aggressively utterly ignoring me lying on the ground. Standing up, I placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, “There's no problem. Just a simple misunderstanding.”

“Relax, Forest. I got this...” Rainbow said through the corner of her lips still in her stance.

She looked so bad-ass – or is that bad-flank?

Still, the the two mares glared at each other with such intensity that I could almost see lightning forming between them. It made me feel really unsafe, like at any second something could snap and I'd get badly hurt. Both these mares were tough and dangerous. Had to do something!

“Rainbow, stop!”

This time both the girls glared at me.

“What?” the Element barked. Wasn't she supposed to be on my side?

“I think I spaced out again... that's why I was staring.” Without making any sudden movements, I backed away from the Unicorn and Pegasus. “Look, I'm really sorry to have offended you, but it wasn't intentional. You see, I've got Sleeping Sickness and-”

The red mare recoiled, “I-is that dangerous?”

“No, it's just annoying... I just... fall asleep standing up... and yeah, I guess you could say that I was staring because I was sleeping... with my eyes open... and... and... please don't kill me...”

At those words the Diamond Dog shook his head and laughed silently. It was at this point that a mare, this one a brown Pegasus, landed next to him and nuzzled his side. They looked at each other affectionately before the Dog laughed again. The Pegasus gave him a smirk before she also started laughing along.

I failed to see the joke. Was there a joke? I heard no joke!

The Dog nodded. He made some sort of gesture with his hands.

“Echo says he would like to talk,” the Pegasus said. “You've got to touch him.”

Both Rainbow and I tilted our heads slightly to one side, “What?”

The Dog pointed to his throat revealing a real nasty scar. Whatever gave it to him must have been one hell of a creature. He looked like he could handle himself in a scrap, so anything that could do harm to him must have been one tough mo-fo. The thought made me shudder. Although the wound looked real old, even with the fur covering it, it still looked somewhat fresh. It must've been a real clean cut.

“Okay... fine...” Rainbow said slowly and walked closer towards him. He offered her his paw and she placed her hoof cautiously into it. The cyan Pegasus pulled her hoof back almost instantly and looked around for a second before focusing back to the Dog. “That was you?”

The Dog nodded, and patiently offered his paw again.

“How... how did you know my name?” Rainbow asked.

Even I knew the answer to that. She was Rainbow friggin' Dash! Who wouldn't know her?

The Dog looked like he was 'saying' something to Rainbow and she seemed to be listening. Meanwhile the brown Pegasus walked over to me and tipped her Indiana Jones look-alike hat to me. “Sorry about Ginger. She can be a little hot-headed sometimes. Usually she's a good girl. Usually.”

The mare in question flashed a look at the Pegasus before shifting her attention back to me.

I laughed cautiously, not really sure if it was safe to.

“I don't like you,” the Unicorn known as Ginger said coldly.

I wanted to say something. Something clever, something witty, but all that came out was air as I opened my mouth.

Nice, Forest. Real nice. That's two for two.

“Howdy. You okay there?” Applejack walked up and stood next to me.

“Been better.”

Then Twilight appeared and I felt a million times safer as she stood by my side. She rubbed the side of her head against my neck like a cat before approaching the mare known as Ginger and her Indiana Jones companion. The mares began talking to one another. Hesitantly at first, but then they evolved from polite introductions to proper conversation. I hung back and watched, content with being involved from a distance. Ginger scared the shit out of me.

“Hey. What's going on?” A sharp slap met my back.

“Ow! Spike! That hurt!” He smacked me again. Harder. “Nothing much! Ah,” I hissed in pain. “You and your Dragon strength...”

He threw his arm around my neck and pulled me close, “I saw that red mare about to whoop your butt.”

“Oh that... it was just a simple misunderstanding.”

Spike nodded, “I can't help but notice that you didn't deny that she could whoop your butt?”

“I can deny it all I want, but that doesn't change the fact that even if she spits at me with magic, I'll be on the ground in a semi-comatose state.”

Spike laughed at that. “True. Sucks to be you. Who's the Dog?”

I shook my head, “Not a clue. I think his name's Echo.”

“He seems a lot friendlier than the last bunch of fleabags we ran into,” Spike pointed out.

I didn't know what to say to that. While it was certainly true that the last bunch of Diamond Dogs we tangled with were less than friendly, they all were under the leadership of that nasty Tyrant Rex. This Dog seemed to be on his own, with the exception of the Pegasus and the angry mare.

“Well aren't you going to introduce yourself?” Spike asked.

“Me? Nah. I'm just going to hang back here,” I replied, fighting a yawn. “That mare scares the... stuffing out of me. Besides, that Dog talks by touching you. It kinda sounds... awkward. That aside, if the reason why he communicates that way is because of magic, then touching him would be a really bad idea on my part."

Spike nodded, "Yeah, you and magic certainly do not mix."

I yawned again and shook my head. "Wow. I must be tired.”

“You wanna head back to the library and sleep?”

“I think I'll be fine. If I feel like I need to sleep, I'll just head over to the medical tents. Nurse Redheart's there, so she'll know what to do.”

“Considering the amount of times you've ended up under her care... yeah, I bet she does.”

I socked Spike in the thigh (his arms were too high for me to reach without standing on my rear hooves), which only made me cringe in agony as the Dragon armor felt like it broke my hoof. Spike just laughed.

“My poor hoof!”

“You'll live. Anyway, I'll see you in a sec. I want to meet these guys. They look cool. Especially the Dog. Anypony who wears a hood like that has got to be cool.”

“Don't you mean 'anydog'? What about 'anypuppy'? Anymutt? Anycanine? Any-”

This time Spike punched me in the arm with more strenth. It really, really hurt and I fumbled a little bit as he sauntered off.

He introduced himself while I watched from where I stood. This time Big Mac stood by my side, his stoic expression unchanging. Twice I tried to start a conversation with him, but each time I was met with his usual one word answer, so I gave up and went off with the excuse of searching for something to drink.

Something with a lot of caffeine.

It was not like I didn't want to sleep, but I wanted to let my honorary grandma to be proud of me. Granny was expecting me to win some toys and, more importantly, I really wanted that hooch. So, without another word to the farmer, I turned around and walked aimlessly through the fair. A couple of ponies stopped me along the way and asked me for my autograph, which I happily obliged.

After a short while I did start to feel somewhat lonely, but I needed time to think about things without having to be reminded of my unwanted nap attacks. Sadly the harder I tried to think of things, such as what to do with myself in the time I was left with here on Equestria, nothing of note came to my mind. Eventually all I managed to do was get myself lost.

Typical.

“Hey Forest!” a familiar voice called out to me.

Oh, thank Celestia's bright sun! Somebody I know! “Hello Mrs. Cake, how's business doing?”

I noticed that the Cake's stand was painted bright pink purple and orange trimmings along the edges, and some sort of gold border around the sign which read: Grain of Sugar. Underneath that it read: a little piece of Sugarcube Corner. As corny as it sounded, it was also quite adorable. At the edges of the sign were a bunch of ribbons of a multitude of colors that swayed with the wind. On the very top of the stand on the edge of the upper-most point were two yellow triangular flags that had something written in pink lettering, which I couldn't make out because of the wind, but I assumed it was also the name of the stand.

“It's doing great, I just wish my husband were here to help me a bit. He's busy in Canterlot today. Right now it's fine because it's slow- wait! Forest, how would you like to earn some bits?”

Must be my lucky day! “Sure!”

“I'm going to need more coffee beans for our press. They're ready for pickup. All you need to do is go to the edge of the fair and look for a large Pegasus mare by the name of Carry. You can't miss her... literally! She'll be the biggest mare there, and she knows that I'm sending somepony to get the beans, although she'll be expecting my husband. There should be five sacks. If you go and get them for me, I'll pay you a little something.”

“Right away!” I shouted before turning around and cantering off towards the edge of the fair.

That was when I realized that I might have gone the wrong way and had to go along the edge until I spotted the area Mrs. Cake was talking about. There were a bunch of unmarked wagons full of stuff in a secluded area with a few ponies around looking bored. Guess they were just making sure nobody took anything.

I looked around trying to find the 'biggest mare' here, but failed. There were a few ponies, but none overtly huge as Mrs. Cake was saying..

“Lost?” a Unicorn asked.

I yelled in surprise.

“Whoah! Didn't mean to sneak up on you like that.”

I gripped my chest with my hoof and took a few deep breaths, “Yeah. Sorry, just a little jumpy for some reason.”

“Okay... so, you lost?”

“No. Just looking for a pony named Carry?”

“Carry's not around. She went off to find something to eat. Loves her food, that gal.” He suddenly got nervous, “Not that I'd call her fat! No, never thought of it. Never mentioned it...”

“Okay,” I replied slowly slightly weirded out.

“I can help. I'm one of the overseers for the goods for the fair. So, are you... wait, I know you. You're that Racer. What's your name again? No! Don't tell me...”

“Um...”

“Wait, wait. It's on the tip of my tongue.”

“Sure...”

“Okay, just the first letter.”

“Er... 'F'?”

“F... hm... Freedom? No. Frosty? Nah. Fart? Sorry, just had to get that one out,” he laughed at his own joke. “Fffff-f-f-f-f... okay, next letter?”

“'O'.”

“F-O? Fortune? Forensic? Fountain? Four? Fondue?”

“Um... it's kinda got something to do with the woods? You know? Like the Everfree?” I hinted with a forced grin trying to speed things along.

“Forest?”

I nodded.

“Forest, of course! See, I told you I'd remember.”

I tried my hardest not to roll my eyes, but probably failed.

“Anyway, Forest, you're here to pick up your stuff? Which stand?”

“Not my stand. I'm here for the Cakes. The Grain of Sugar.”

“Yeah, I know the one. They've got one of the biggest bundles. They're a popular stand. Come along, follow me,” he said, gesturing with his head for me to do so.

We walked for a few minutes through a bunch of carts parked with small signs nailed to the back of each one. After a second or two, I spotted a yellow sign with a pink font on it, similar to the ones on the flags. I noticed that there were two carts twice the size of the others, and one of said carts was half empty (or would that be half full?). A small clipboard was attached to the tailgate next to the sign.

The Unicorn picked it up, “This is the one. You know what you need?”

“Five sacks of coffee!”

I was proud of myself. I actually remembered something for a change.

The Unicorn looked at me funnily, “Okay then. Do you have a cart?”

“Uh... no.”

“You wanna carry them on your back? They're kinda heavy, even for an earth pony like you.”

“I think I can manage...”

The Unicorn raised his eyebrow for a second, then shrugged, “If you say so.”

Using his magic, he levitated each sack one at a time onto my back until all four sat on top of me. I groaned from the weight.

“Can you take one more?”

I shook my head vehemently. My legs started to shake a little.

“Okay. Come on back when you drop those off. I'll be here.”

“Thanks,” I managed to spit out.

The walk back to the Cake's stand took me a lot longer than I thought, mainly because I had to take small baby steps. Everything looked the same – probably because I kept looking down at the ground trying to keep the sacks of coffee from touching the dirt. Although I got pretty far into the fair, because I wasn't looking where I was going, I once again found myself lost.

Eventually two helpful ponies helped me by taking a sack of coffee each off my back. They knew where the Grain of Sugar was and led me to our destination without delay.

“Thanks, you guys,” I panted, smiling at the two of them as the sacks of coffee were lifted off my back and placed gently behind the counter near the coffee grinder.

“No problem! Just... why didn't you just take three sacks in the first place?” the light green Unicorn asked.

I didn't have a response to that.

The mare next to her, a light yellow Earth pony giggled a little and shook her head at me, her blue and pink dual-tone mane swaying from the momentum, “You certainly live up to your reputation, Mr. Fire.”

“Reputation?”

“You know, the slow moron-” the Unicorn shoved her hoof in her friend's mouth stopping her from saying more.

“Never mind her, but next time don't try to do things in one go. Sometimes it's better to sit back and relax for a moment.”

Those words struck a chord inside me. That seemed like really good advice.

“Thanks, I'll remember that...”

“Lyra, and this here's Bon Bon.”

“Thanks, Lyra, Bon Bon.”

“Don't mention it,” the Unicorn smiled. Bon Bon just smiled friendlily at me.

“Forest, you could've made two or three trips!” Mrs. Cake exclaimed after she had opened the bag and put a large scoop full of coffee beans into the grinder.

“Yeah, that would've been better.”

I had wanted to do it on my own, maybe to convince myself that I was useful in some way. It was my own stupidity that got myself into that mess in the first place. Mrs. Cake had offered to pay the Lyra and Bon Bon something for their troubles, but they declined. Instead they accepted a cup of delicious juice and a generous slice of cake.

As the two of them walked off, I couldn't help but smile after them. Not in a creepy, leering way, but in a humbled, friendly fashion. They had gone out of their way to help me, something that nobody had really done for me-

Raj.

The name hit me like a sack of bricks. I had completely forgotten about him. The one person who actually showed an inkling of kindness towards me, and what did I do in return? Kick him in the face. Was I the biggest sack of shit in all the Known Lands? Probably. I treated him awfully. I felt like scum. I was scum. No, calling me scum would have been an insult to scum. I was lower than that. How pathetic could I get? How could I do that?

“You okay, Forest?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“Hm? Yeah. Just thinking about someone- pony. Somepony.” I grinned sheepishly.

“I'll go and get the next sack of beans. You stay here and manage the stand-”

“No, no! I said I'll do it, so I'll do it. Plus, I can't stay here and manage the stand because I don't know anything about coffee or... cakes or whatever. This here is forbidden territory for Forest Fire. Besides, I'd tarnish Sugarcube Corner's reputation! Can't have that.”

“No we can't!” Mrs. Cake laughed along with me. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. It's not problem. I carried five sacks most of the way by myself, and three was no problem. One sack will be easy peasy, as Pinkie would say.”

She looked at me for a moment then shrugged, “Okay. But let me give you some bits for your troubles.”

“When I get back,” I said over my shoulder as I headed towards the carts once more.

Frustratingly, I got lost again trying to find my way back to the carts.

“What is wrong with me?” I shouted towards the Equestrian skies.

“But that's not fair!” Pumpkin moaned.

Her mother bit her lip in obvious annoyance. “Dear, I know I said I'd take you on the roller-coaster, but mommy's got a job to do since daddy's not here to help. You'll have to wait.”

“You promised! You said after the last customer!” she sulked, folding her arms across her chest.

Mrs. Cake stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter, “Honey, I'm not going to tell you again. I have to help the customers first, then I'll take you.”

As quietly as I could, I turned and tiptoed (tiphoofed?) out of there before I got-

“Forest can take me!”

Damn it!

Mrs. Cake looked over to me, “Is that okay with you?”

I sighed. “Sure. I guess I could take her. But... I'm not very good when it comes to high places...”

“Yay! Let's go, Forest!” Pumpkin jumped up onto my back, “Everypony wants to go on that ride! We need to hurry or else the line will be really, really long!”

“Yes, ma'am!”

Putting my head down, I ran through the fair towards the large roller coaster, and promptly stopped dead in my tracks as we reached the end of the line. It was a pretty damn long line – compared to what it was when Twilight and I rode it.

“Aw. Now we're going to have to wait forever!” Pumpkin whined.

“Good things come to those who wait,” I told her.

“But that's bor-ring!” she whined again, clearly emulating Pinkie.

“How about we play a game then?”

That seemed to perk her interest. “What game?”

“How about... Twenty Questions?” I suggested.

Pumpkin looked at me suspiciously, “That doesn't sound very fun. How do you play it?”

“Well... I think of someone- pony... think of somepony, and you have to ask me yes or no questions and guess who I'm talking about. Okay?”

“That sounds boring,” the little filly replied.

I made a face, “Why not give it a try?”

“Fine. Okay, so... you start.”

“Okay.” I closed my eyes for a moment and nodded, “You can start.”

“Um... is he a colt?” she asked.

I shook my head, “Nope.”

“Is she a mare or a filly?”

I chuckled lightly at that. “Yes or no questions, Pumpkin.”

“Oh okay. Um... is she a mare?”

“Eeyup.”

“Is she a Unicorn?”

Pumpkin was doing pretty well. “Yes.”

“Is she purple?”

“Yep.”

I heard Pumpkin giggle on my back before she shouted, “It's Twilight Sparkle!”

“Yay! You got it!” I laughed along with her.

“I knew you would pick her. She's your special somepony,” she cooed.

That made me blush, but I didn't argue.

“Okay, my turn!” It took her a moment before she was ready.

“Is he a colt?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Is she a mare?”

“Yes!”

“Is she a Unicorn?”

“Nope.”

“Pegasus?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Oh, so she's an Earth pony?”

“Um... yeah. That's kinda implied, Forest. I'll not count that one.”

“Well, don't I feel silly. Okay... so an Earth pony mare. Um... have I met her?”

“Yup.”

“Is she one of the Elements?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, so not Pinkie Pie or Applejack.” I thought for a moment. “Is she somepony related to you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is it your mommy?”

“Yes,” she squealed in reply, giggling to herself. After she had calmed down she patted my head, “This is actually kind of fun.”

“Yeah, and it makes time pass quickly. We're here!”

“Finally!” She hopped off my back as we walked up to the ticket booth and requested two tickets.

“That'll be one bit,” the pony inside said.

Placing the bit on the counter, I watched as Pumpkin ogled at the ride. She eyed the mine-cart with slight apprehension.

”Forest... I... I don't think I want to ride that,” she said after I had bought the tickets and pushed her towards the next half of the line.

“Really? You don't want to go?” My body cheered on the inside. Now I could back off without having to humiliate myself like I did with Twilight earlier.

Pumpkin looked up at me and grinned, her nervous demeanor vanishing without a trace, “Are you kidding? Just try and stop me!”

“Of course you're kidding,” I grumbled and followed her as Pumpkin rushed up the steps and hopped in place in the line.

The attendant recognized me and nodded, “Welcome back. I see you've brought another beautiful lady.”

Pumpkin blushed and giggled. I sighed and handed (hoofed?) him the tickets.

“Try not to scream like a filly this time round,” he taunted as he latched the restraining bar in place.

“I only promise to try.”

He barked out a laugh before pressing a button with his hoof that sent the mine-cart forwards and chills up my spine. I felt the cart move towards the chain and felt it lift the roller coaster upwards to the top of the ride.

There's no place like home, there's not place like home, there's no place like...

“Cone on, Forest! Raise your hooves up in the air!”

Pumpkin pulled my hoof upwards just as the mine-cart reached the top.

Even I knew that the sound coming out of my mouth was exactly like that of a filly's. If possible, it was even higher pitched than Pumpkin's, who had a great big grin spread across her face. At least one of us was having a good time.

As we dismounted, I jogged to the nearest dustbin and promptly emptied the contents of my stomach into it. Not because of the ride itself, but of the pure terror I had felt flooding through my veins. The shock was too much for my fragile system to take. At least Twilight let me hold onto something.

“Thank you, Forest. That was really fun!” Pumpkin bounced around excitedly, oblivious to my agony – or deliberately ignoring it.

“Aw, no fair! You took Pumpkin and not me?” a familiar voice accused from behind me.

Reluctantly I turned around and spied Pound looking enviously at Pumpkin, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“S-sorry, Pound. Why don't you go and ride it on your own?”

“They won't let me! I tried. They said I was too little to ride alone and I need an adult,” he declared before folding his forehooves and pouting at me. “You have to take me.”

“Why?”

“Because you took Pumpkin.”

“Can't you find someone else? Someone who can actually enjoy-” I cut myself off. Once again I had used someone instead of somepony. Hopefully the kids wouldn't notice.

“No. It has to be you. You took Pumpkin, Forest! It's not fair. You have to take me.”

Somehow, through some means of divine force, I managed to get back in line and take both the kids for yet another ride in a mine-cart of terror. At the end of it, I once again found myself with my head in a bin. I felt sick, but no longer had any contents within me to empty. Maybe I was just trying to hide from the twins, lest they somehow managed to sucker me into another ride.

“Forest? Are ya okay?” Applebloom asked, patting me on the back.

I removed myself from the bin and looked up at her. “I'm just peachy,” I replied wiping a tiny bit of dribble from my lower jaw.

“Kids, what happened to Forest?” Twilight asked pulling me away.

“He took us up the roller coaster!” the two shouted.

“He took me for a ride twice!” Pumpkin declared arrogantly a moment later, sneering at her brother.

He stuck out his lower jaw, “Yeah, but that's only because Forest couldn't babysit you and take me up at the same time. He said I could go alone...”

While the two argued, I looked at Twilight and smiled. I plopped my rear on the ground and took a few deep breaths. This fear of heights was getting really annoying.

“Had fun?”

“Oh, you know it,” I replied lightheartedly, and smiled at her. “You?”

“Yeah. You know that Diamond Dog with those two mares from earlier? Turns out, he's not like other Dogs. He's smart, and can actually talk properly and... well, he says he's from far, far away.”

“Yeah? And...”

“Nothing. Just thought you'd like to know. His name's Echo.”

I nodded, “Seemed nice. Would've liked to talk to him, but you know me. Being allergic to magic and all kinda puts a dampener on the whole 'touch-to-talk' thing. That seems really, really magic-like. That and his Unicorn friend... yeah, didn't feel very safe around her. Had quite the explosive personality. I think it was in my best interest to make myself scarce.”

Twilight frowned at me, “I'm sure she would've been fine if you had explained yourself a little better. You know, she's reason why there are so many Diamond Dogs at this fair. They're all following Ginger.”

“What?” That red Unicorn had all these Dogs with her? “That's a lot of Dogs. They her pets or something?”

Twilight gave me a dry look.

“Okay, so they're not pets.”

“How familiar are you with the hierarchy of canine packs?” she asked.

I know that! I learned it in school!

“There's the leader... and... yeah, that's pretty much all I know.”

Twilight sighed, “The leader of a Pack is called an Alpha. Ginger is the Alpha of this pack.”

“B-b-but how can a Pony lead a pack of Dogs? That doesn't seem possible!”

At that, the purple Unicorn shrugged, “Nor does being allergic to magic, but here you are.”

“Why you so mean to me?”

“I'm not being mean to you, Forest, just letting you know you shouldn't judge others too quickly.”

I still felt a little hurt.

“Echo is her second in command. Her Beta.” Twilight looked up, “What fun they must've had! Going on one big adventure, seeing all of what Equestria has to offer...”

“Yeah... that does sound like a lot of fun. Seeing everything. Traveling. Going on a long journey... going away...”

“Please don't go,” she said quietly all of a sudden.

“What?”

Before I could blink, Twilight seized me in a tight embrace, “Please don't go. Don't leave us. Don't leave me.”

What could I say to that? What could I possibly say in response? I couldn't look at her, I felt awful. I felt so horrible.

“Forest is going somewhere?” Applebloom asked looking at us.

“Where's he going?” Pumpkin put in.

Pound furrowed his brow, “Is he going away?”

The three of them kept on asking questions to the point where their voices seemed to meld into one another, but there was one voice that stood out, and it was now sniffling.

“S-stop,” I pleaded. “Please don't ask. I'm... I can't... it's... too hard...”

Twilight refused to meet my eyes. I could see the pain in them and seeing her hurt killed me.

And still the three kept on asking those questions, pressing me further and further back into a corner.

“Stop!” I shouted, silencing the three. “You think I want to go? No! I want to stay! I want to be here! I don't want to leave! I want to stay here forever... but... but... I can't. Please don't make this harder on me!”

“But... why do you have to go? I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're safe. You can trust me, Forest.”

“I... I know, Twi. Trust me, I know. I know you'll do everything you can for me... but... just... you can't stop me from-” turning back into a human.

I had wanted to say it, but Twilight cut me off when she put her lips against mine. That surprised me. It took me a moment, but I succumbed to her and kissed back. It wasn't like our passionate one from earlier. No, this one was different, but much more special. It was a kiss to remind me what I have was real. Right here, right now, was a mare who actually liked me. Maybe more. Here, I had a future with this mare. Here I had a life. Here was where I belonged.

Everything was real. Everything was perfect. Everything, except me.

“Don't talk,” she said when our lips parted. She stroked my face, “Please don't say anything. If you have to answer, at least lie to me. I don't want to know the truth...”

I didn't know what to say to that. I closed my eyes. It hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest, like my insides were churned in a blender. There was absolutely no way I could lie to her. But at least there was something that I could say that was true. Something that she deserved to know. I had to tell her how I really felt.

“Twi...”

Pumpkin looked at Twilight, “Are you okay, auntie Twily? Are you crying?”

Twilight quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, “No, no. Just got something in my eyes.”

The twins exchanged looks before whipping around on me.

“Why did you make her cry?”

“I-”

“Why?” Pound said pushing my chest with his hoof.

“How could you make auntie Twily cry, Forest!” Pumpkin shouted, tears forming in her own eyes. She moved in front of her brother making me take a step back.

“Yeah! How could you?” Pound said, taking his sister's side and pushing in front of his sister making me take another step back.

Pumpkin move in front of her brother making me back up again, “What did you say to her, you big meanie?”

“Meanie?” That I was. No use denying it.

The colt moved past his sister once more and made me step back yet again, “How would you like it if I made you cry?”

“Kids. Stop.” Twilight surrounded the twins in her magic and plopped them on either side of her, “Forest didn't make me cry.”

The twins exchanged another look before glaring at me.

“I didn't mean to make auntie Twily cry. It's just that... well, I am a meanie, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm a bad friend. I'm sorry for being a big, fat meanie.”

At that the twins walked over to me and hugged my legs, “Why are you a meanie?”

“Because I can't do the one thing that will make auntie Twily happy.”

Pumpkin sniffled, “That doesn't mean you're not a meanie, Forest.”

“I am, kids. I really am. A horribly mean meanie.”

Twilight walked over to me and hugged me, “No, they are right. You're not a meanie, Forest. You're just too caring.”

“What?”

“Why do you think you can't stay?” Twilight put a hoof around the back of my head pulling it close to hers so our foreheads touched. I could feel her horn parting my mane slightly, “Why do you think you have to go? It's because you think you owe somepony? I know you're struggling inside to let me help you, but I don't want you to go. None of us do. This is where you belong. This is your home. I want you to stay here. With me.”

I looked up and stared into her eyes. She was beautiful. Everything about her was more than I deserved. The affection she felt for me was more than I deserved. What did she see in me? My nose began to sting, and Twilight's eyes began to close as tears started flooding my eyes. No matter how hard I tried to stop them, they kept on coming.

“I... don't... want... you...” she leaned harder against me, which took me by surprise, “to... go... Forest...”

Her head slipped from mine and came to a rest on my shoulder.

“Please... stay... with... me...” she whispered before her breathing started to slow down.

I hugged her tightly. There was so much I had wanted to tell her, but the words failed to come.

“For... rest...” came one last weak whisper, then she was gone. The Sleeping Sickness had taken her.

“If you only knew what I really am, Twilight. If you only knew. I wish so much that I could stay here with you and your friends forever... but I can't. I want to more than anything else in the world, but I can't. I can't be here when the magic inside me wears off. I don't want you to see what I really am. I don't want you to know that I've been a worthless liar all along. If only I had known how much I'd fall in love with this world...”

I hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, before nuzzling her.

“If only I'd known how much I'd fall in love with you. I love you, Twilight Sparkle. I love you so much. I will always love you. Forgive me, but I can't stay. If you found out what I really am, you'd despise me and I cannot live with myself knowing that. I'd rather you live without me around remembering me as I am then having me around and hating me for lying to you and I know that it's selfish, but I can't help myself.”

I laughed bitterly to myself.

“Look how pathetic I am. Now that you're asleep I tell you all this, not when you're awake when I should say it. I'm weak, Twilight. You really do deserve someone better. Not me.”

I held her tightly, carefully and gently caressing her head as it was draped over my shoulder.

“What do you mean 'you can't be here when the magic inside me wears off'? I thought you were allergic to magic. And what exactly do you mean 'if you found out what you really were'? What are you really, then if not a pony? Hm?”

My head snapped up and I saw Applebloom standing there with a mixed expression of confusion and anger. Applebloom, the Royal Guard assigned to protect the Elements of Harmony. And here was Twilight, the Element of Magic unconscious in my embrace.

Ah. Fuck.

How in Luna's mane did I forget she was right there?

Day 26: All's Fair in Love & Games - Part 4: Sleep is for the Weak!

Author's Note

I am incredibly sorry this took so long. I appreciate everyone being patient with me and I promise that the next chapter won't take as long as this one to produce.

Day 26: All's Fair in Love & Games - Part 4: Sleep is for the Weak!

“She'll be fine,” Red said to me with a hint of annoyance. Granted, it was probably the twentieth time I had asked if Twilight was okay, but I was concerned, damn it. Red covered her with a blanket and tucked her in gently before proceeding to shove me out of the curtained area around her bed. She pulled them closed behind her, and I leaned sideways trying to keep my eye on her for as long as possible. There was a strange, overbearing sense of loss as she vanished from my view, and it had only been a few seconds.

What the hell was wrong with me?

That aside, I had unexpectedly become the designated babysitter for Pound and Pumpkin... again.

Although neither of those things was actually my main concern. Right now I wasn't sure if I was reluctant to leave Twilight's side, annoyed that I had inherited the responsibility of the twins or if I was fearful of facing Applebloom's wrath. She decided to wait for me outside the medical tent, but I wasn't sure why. She was a Guard sent to protect the Elements of Harmony, and I believe it was supposed to be her sister. But if she was suspicious of me, why would she leave me along with Twilight?

I pushed the question out of my head. There was no use confusing my rattled brain any further.

“When will she wake up?” Pumpkin asked.

Red smiled and ruffled the filly's mane. “Anytime tomorrow or maybe even the day after. Depends. It might take a little longer for the effects to wear off of her in particular. The more magical you are, the longer the sickness can last.”

“Can I stay?” I grinned sheepishly.

“If you want. She won't respond and I don't want these two here. You know how children are when they get bored, and it'd be cruel to them to make them wait... especially at a fair.” Red ruffled Pumpkin's mane again.

As usual, she was right.

“Nurse, why haven't I passed out like her or Pinkie?” I asked.

Redheart gave me a look.

“I mean, Red, why haven't I passed out like her or Pinkie?”

“That's better,” she replied with a nod before turning around and started to put a few things neatly away. “I would think it's got something to do with your allergy. Since Sleeping Sickness is a magical oriented disease it won't affect you as much as those that have a strong affinity to it. So, unicorns are going to have it a lot worse than pegasi or earth ponies, and its going to affect the Elements a lot more.”

I leaned to the side trying to peer behind the curtain again. “Are you sure-”

“Yes, Forest, I'm very sure she's perfectly fine!” she interrupted me and pushed me back with her hoof. “You've already asked me this and the answer's still going to be the same. I wouldn't be this calm if there was something wrong with her.”

I bowed my head. “Sorry. Well, in that case, I'll just get out of your mane. Are you going to move her to the hospital?”

“I'll see if I can get Spike to take her home later, but right now why don't you just go out and have fun with your two little friends. It couldn't hurt giving them something to eat. They looked famished.”

I looked at the twins. “You guys hungry?”

They nodded in perfect unison.

“Okay. Let's eat! What do you guys want?”

They looked at each other and grinned, then back at me, “Salad!”

“S-salad? Really?”

“Yep! Mom and auntie Pinkie make the best sweets so...” Pumpkin replied coyly.

“We don't want sweet things... that aren't made by mom or aunt Pinkie,” Pound finished for his sister.

Pumpkin grinned. “Can't eat anything sweet not made by our folks or auntie-”

“So what you're saying is that you guys are sick of sweets and want to eat something savory, right?”

“Savory?”

“Salty. Not sweet.”

From the smiles they returned to me, I had hit the nail on the head. Why did they have to be so damned cute? Their somewhat guilty grins made me laugh to myself, but the joyful feeling did not last very long.

“Well, time to face the music,” I mumbled as I headed for the exit. Inhaling a small sigh, I steeled myself. This was it. I was ready to face the incoming storm.

Or not.

Outside the medical tent, Applebloom stood on the other side of the demarcated path looking pretty pissed off if I do saw so myself. The glare she was giving me was harder than concrete as she walked on over.

“Uh... hi?” I gulped, meeting her halfway.

“You've got one minute to 'splain yourself before I take ya to jail,” Applebloom stated, her tone ice-cold. “I don't care what our relationship has been, an' I don't care if you somehow saved Equestria from a dragon invasion or stopped some pony-enslavement plot! Explain. Explain what ya meant!”

I may be dumb, but I wasn't stupid – if that makes any sense. Her question was just plain weird. “Um... what?”

“You heard me!”

“I know I heard you, but something's off. We've been over this.”

She furrowed her brow and gave me a skeptical look. “No we haven't.”

“Yes we have. We so went over this. I know we went over this... right? Unless I dreamed it. Did I dream it? No, I couldn't have...” I muttered the last part to myself.

“What're ya talkin' about?”

Applebloom looked what I felt. Confused. Did I really just imagine it all? No. Thst was impossible. Zecora was with me.

“Remember... the Everfree? I-”

I was interrupted by the agony that roared through my wrist. The suddenness made me stumble as I tried to hold onto something to maintain my balance, but nothing was there. This was far worse than it had been before. Where before I just blacked out, this was incredibly painful, but what made it worse was the different kind of pain the flooded through me. This was like a repeat of the last time, except it felt wrong.

This felt... final.

“Forest? What's wrong?” Applebloom asked.

My eyes were shut tight, but I somehow managed to pry them open through sheer will when she spoke. It was like someone putting a bag over my head muffling out the sounds.

“It hurts!” I... yelled? I think I yelled. I couldn't tell.

Desperation got the better of me. I wanted to do something, needed to do something, to make the misery stop. Anything. So I rolled around on the ground thinking that the fire would stop if I stopped, dropped and rolled. That this would somehow put out the sensation. The pain changed and whereas before it felt like someone had placed my entire leg into a pot of boilet lava, now it was like a million needles inside were pushing out through part of my skin.

Red must have heard me because she came rushing out the medical tent.

“What's going on?” she shouted. I felt her hooves touch me. Or, I think it was her. Couldn't tell since my vision was full of tears. “Forest? Forest! Somepony help me!”

“Oh dear,” another voice stated. It was almost as gentle as Fluttershy's.

“Tender, can you pin him down?” Red asked.

“Ward! Ward! Help!” shouted the gentle voice, a little ungently as I heard the desperation in there.

Seconds later I felt strong hooves place themselves upon me. This successfully stopped me from flailing about as I was forced to the ground.

“What happened?” Red asked.

“The bracelet's hurtin' him again.”

That was Applebloom's voice. She sounded genuinely concerned. I think.

“Has something like this ever happened before?”

“Only at the most inopportune times.”

There was a long lingering silence.

“Tender, why don't you take these two over there, please.”

“Yes, Nurse Redheart.” Two hooves removed themselves from my torso. “Come along, kids.”

“W-what's happening?” I heard Pumpkin asked.

“Forest is just having a bad reaction to some magic. Nothing to worry about.”

The way Tender said it made me believe that it was all okay. I was glad of that, even if it was a bold-faced lie. I was thankful for her protecting them. They did not need to see this. I stopped myself from flailing about, and forced the corners of my lips upwards.

“See kids? He's smiling, so he's going to be just fine. Come along.”

“Ward, can you hold him yourself?” Red asked in a harsh whisper.

“Yes, ma'am,” a stallion's voice stated, and boy was he right. He held me down quite easily. The guy was really strong.

“Okay, I'm going to get something to sooth the pain-”

“Ma'am, what about that spell, ma'am? You know, the one where he shoots that light in the air?” Ward's voice asked.

There was about two seconds of silence, but it felt like an eternity to me.

“I don't know it. You?”

There was no response. Maybe Ward shook his head, but since my hearing started to fade out more and more, it could have been that I couldn't hear the reply. I could hear the sound of my pounding heart echo through my body and in my head. Soon that was all I could hear. The music of the fair, the voices of the ponies, the sounds of the rides thumping along their rails. Everything just stopped and all I could heard was the steady beat of my heart and my breathing.

So, I began to think about something else in an attempt to numb out the pain.

I thought about where I had come from, and how far I had come. I thought about all the friends I had made, and how my entire being as a person – no, pony – had changed. I've come such a long, long way. Who was I now? I had played my role as Forest for so long that I had become him. This was the kind of person, pony, whatever, I wanted to be. But I was John. Am him. Did that mean that being Forest had actually brought out the real me? Was 'Forest' always within me? Did I just need to be given the right push? If so, them who was I really? Wasn't this life a lie? Wasn't this all an act? If it was, then why do my feelings for Applejack and Twilight feel so... genuine? Why did everything feel so real?

It was all terribly confusing.

The hooves around my waste released themselves.

The beating of my heart started to slow down. I got scared. Hearts slowing down were never a good thing. I've seen enough movies to know that, and the fact that the pain also started to fade away didn't help much either. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. I wanted to call for help, but there was nothing, nothing, I could do. As the the pain slipped away, I started pleading. Pleading to the universe to stop.

I didn't want to die.

Somebody, anybody... please, help... me...

“... -orest Fire... me where you-”

Like someone sticking a red hot-poker in my chest, my heart roared to life and my eyes flew open. Yes, it was because of the suddenness of the pain and the feeling of... life, for lack of a better word. The pain returned, and where moments before I was missing it, now I wished it would go away again. Only not like just moments ago. Not like that. That feeling felt way too... final.

My body seemed to collapse inside itself, like someone pushing everything into where my navel would have been and just like that, the pain really disappeared. This time in the best way possible.

Normally.

I blinked and looked around. There were quite a number of ponies standing around me. Some wore worried expressions, others looked quite concerned, but most had the one look that assured me that all had gone well. Relief. Most of them looked relieved.

“Forest? Are you okay?”

My eyes focused in on the speaker.

Red was level with me, next to her was a large blue stallion. He put a hoof on my shoulder. I looked at it for a moment trying to get my mind to wake up, but I was confused. The touch seemed to help wake me up. I looked back at Red and opened my mouth.

“...”

“Forest?”

I coughed. That seemed to awaken my vocal chords. “Yeah. Fine.”

“Oh, thank Celestia. You had us really worried there.”

A comet of light-colored fur charged at me and enveloped me in her hooves. The tightness of the hug made me feel so happy to be here. I hugged her back just as zealously. “I'm... I'm okay, Pumpkin.”

She pulled back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof. “Promise?”

“Pinkie Promise,” I croaked. That made her laugh a little as she sniffled.

“Forest, do... do you want to lay down inside?”

I thought about it. When Twilight wakes up and gets word about this, she was going to really kill me. The best option was to stand up and keep on going. At least that would soften the blow of any stories she would hear. I couldn't keep worrying her. That had to stop.

“No. I'm good. Just...” I pulled one hoof under me, then the other, before pushing myself up. It was not so bad. I actually stood up quite easily, but had to shake my back legs a little. They felt like jelly. “There we go. Upsy-daisy. I... heard the Marking Spell. Did you cast it?”

“Cast what?” Pumpkin asked.

“The Marking Spell...”

Pumpkin tilted her head to one side. “No. I was over there with Nurse Tender.”

“I said it,” Applebloom stated.

Despite her angry face, I could tell she was happy to see I was doing fine. Guess the whole honesty shtick didn't just stay to the older sister. They were both terrible liars.

“Thanks for...” I thought about saying 'saving me', but that probably wasn't a wise idea in front of Red and the two kids. “Thanks for helping. I owe you.”

“That was different,” Red commented looking at me.

“What was different?” I asked.

“Your bracelet didn't emit that light thingy it usually does. It just... I dunno... just...”

“Coughed.”

“What?” I looked at Pumpkin who was standing next to Applebloom.

“It coughed. It went 'pah'.” She did two small arcs with her forehooves for emphasis.

“'Pah?'”

“I'm being serious, Forest.”

“She's right. It didn't do the light thing it usually does,” Applebloom put in.

They all looked so worried.

“Aw, guys, don't worry about it. I'm used to this kind of thing.”

That worked. Most of the bystanders went on with their own business. A few hung about, but mostly for other things (like the food stands or games near where they stood).

Pumpkin took a step forward and placed a hoof on my chest. “Y-you're not just saying that?”

The look in those eyes. Why did I feel so guilty? “Do I look like the kind of pony that would try to keep something like that to myself?”

“I guess not...”

She didn't look convinced.

“Has this kind of thing happened before?” Red asked as she lifted my hoof up to inspect the bracelet.

“All the time,” I lied.

Red looked past me and I turned my head slightly to see Tender nod.

“Pumpkin, Pound, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”

The kids looked at Tender. They both shook their heads and both stood really close to me. It felt so strange. These two hardly knew me and they were so protective. Well, hardly is the wrong word.

“That's a great idea!” I exclaimed. “Why don't you guys get something to eat. You wanted salad, right? Can you get me one too? I'm starving.”

“Then why don't you come with us?” Pound asked, not falling for it.

“That's because I got to talk to Red. It'll be boring adult stuff. You know how it is.”

The twins looked at each other.

“Okay. We'll be back soon. What kind of salad would you like?” Pumpkin asked.

“Surprise me.”

I waited patiently as they walked away on either side of Tender.

“Thank you for that. Really. I appreciate it.”

“Those two have taken to you, haven't they?” Red smiled gently. “So, back to the subject at hoof. Has this thing happened before?”

“Not this bad,” I confessed. “This was the worst. It's been acting funny ever since the big light show.”

“Light show?”

“Ever since the time I got all the unicorns to cast all their magic into it. After that the bracelet has been acting real weird.”

Red thought about it.

“Maybe the amount of magic caused it to... break?” Applebloom suggested.

“Can a magical bracelet break from magic?” I asked.

Red opened her mouth to reply, stopped, thought about, then shrugged. Applebloom followed suit. Neither of them knew the answer.

“Great,” I muttered to myself.

“Red, is Forest all right?” Applebloom asked.

“Seems to be. Why?”

“I need to talk to him in private, if you don't mind.”

“I don't. Okay. Forest, if you need us, please come back.”

“Will do.”

Red nodded and returned to the medical tent followed by Ward.

“Funny that.”

“Funny?”

“I mean it's funny that you got your attack as soon as you were about to tell me somethin'. If Red hadn't been so... if you hadn't looked so...” She coughed. “I could have said the spell earlier, but I thought you were fakin'. Sorry.”

“You... you thought I was faking?” A few ponies stopped to see why I had shouted. I blushed and looked away.

“Wouldn't you? Look at the timin'! You were about to tell me something and... boom! You have an attack. It doesn't really instill much trust, y'know.”

She had a point.

“I wasn't faking.”

Applebloom looked away. “I know.”

“Okay. Let's do this again. So...”

She put a hoof on my lips.

“No. I think I got the gist of what you said. I don't know what's goin' on, but... against my better judgment, I am going to trust ya. You've been nothin' but good to us, and... well, now that I thought of it, I kinda actually owe you.”

“Owe me?”

Applebloom looked down. “For Applejack. I tried so hard to get you two together and then the whole thing with Atom and...”

“You don't owe me for that! You can't owe me for that. You couldn't have known that Atom was skulking around Ponyville.”

That made her smile. “Skulking?”

“Yeah, well, he kinda skulks doesn't he? How he always walked around with his head down a little.”

And she giggled. It was music to my ears.

“You're right!”

“Don't tell him I told you. He'd beat my flank!”

“I don't doubt it.” She laughed this time.

That put a smile on my face. “Speaking of which... have you seen him?” I looked around in a futile attempt to spot the stallion in question.

Applebloom shook her head. “Nope. Not since... not for a while, come to think of it.”

“H-how long?”

She tilted her head to one side and thought. Then she narrowed her eye and waggled her head as if she were shaking her brain in her skull. “Can't recall.”

Alarm bells we off in my head. There was something off.

“H-how about... in the Everfree?”

“What? You mean when you went to go look for him?” Applebloom thought about it. “Nope. Can't say that I did.”

“Y-you mean that you didn't... see him? Or... hear him? I mean...”

“Forest. What are you doin'?”

“Just-”

“Stop. Just stop.”

“What for?” I asked, wondering why she was getting worried.

“Forest. Stop. Just don't say anythin'. You don't need to say anythin'.”

I knew what she was doing. She was protecting me. What kind of a friend was I if I kept something like this from her? My time was almost over anyway, and I had to do what was right. I closed my eyes and too a deep breath. Then I spoke as fast as I could.

“In the Everfree Forest I saw some Guards and you-”

“He's comin' round.”

“What did you do?” That was Pumpkin's voice. I would know that voice anywhere. Why did she sound so far away? “Did you hurt him?”

“Pumpkin, now is not the time. Forest, are you okay?”

“Did someone get the number of that car?” I moaned to myself.

“What cart?” Pumpkin asked.

I was too woozy to care at that moment.

Applebloom was shaking her head as my vision focused on her face. “I told you to keep your mouth shut, didn't I?”

“Since when do I listen?”

“You ought to. You'd stop getting hurt so much.”

I heard some hooves galloping our way as Red, Tender and Ward appeared again.

“What happened?” Red demanded.

“He had another attack.”

“Yeah, because you attacked him,” Pumpkin said shooting venom at poor Applebloom.

I shook my head. “No. Not true. Applebloom tried to protect me from... my stupidity. Didn't listen. Should listen. Seems when I do, I get hurt less.”

My jaw ached. I placed my hoof on it and moved it back and forth.

“I tried to catch you before you hit the ground. You're kinda heavy, you know that? Couldn't hold you up. Fell flat on your face.”

I opened my eyes as wide as I could and leaned my head back away form her. “Are you calling me fat?”

In that one moment, with that phrase, all hostility seemed to evaporate into the air. They all shared a laugh, except me. I just smiled. My stomach felt winded.

“You ain't fat, Forest. Just heavy.” Applebloom walked over to me and put a firm hoof on my shoulder. “And I understand, Forest. I know what you mean. So you don't have to... say anythin' else. Okay? Ever.”

She was a smart girl.

“Okay.”

The corner of her lips went up. “Good. I've got to go... run some errands. Will you be okay?”

“Of course.”

She nodded, turned, and started to walk away. “Oh!” she stopped and gave me a look. “Good luck on winnin' the contest. Not that I expect you to win though, even with Pinkie out of the runnin'.”

I had completely forgotten about that.

“Never! Victory shall be mine!” I let out a fake, maniacal laugh.

All she did was shake her head and continued on her way, a smile on her lips.

“Forest, why does it hurt?” Red asked. She saw the confused look on my face. “I'm talking about the bracelet.”

I gave her my 'enlightened' look. “No idea.”

“Twilight told me about the basic functions, but why does it hurt you? What makes it... burn?”

I gave her a look. “You're asking me that?”

“Okay, can you best describe how it works, then? I just need to know. Maybe you know something that I don't. Maybe I can find a way to help you.”

“As far as I know, it burns when magic gets in it. It's supposed to take in magic from... everywhere, I guess, so it doesn't make me... sick?”

Red put a hoof to her chin. “I don't think that's quite right. It shouldn't be able to pick up direct spells. Spells cast towards it should be pushed away. Only ambient magic, that is magic around us, should be absorbed by the bracelet. At least that's what I think Twilight said.”

“When Aiden showed me how it works he cast magic at it. Then... yeah, lots of times unicorns have cast magic into it. Saved my life too.”

“How?”

“Ursa incident,” I said simply.

She seemed to remember. “That all?”

“No. But now that you've mentioned it, it always worked the same. Magic in, big pillar of light out. But after the RACE, after Princess Celestia managed to get it off my wrist, it worked differently. After that, I put it on in the Pit and...”

“The Pit?”

“Um... yeah. Diamond dogs and stuff. Long story. Remind me to tell you about it some time. Anyway, I put on the bracelet there because... of reasons. After that the magic that came out of the bracelet changed. A lot. I found that different magic from different ponies now had different... reactions? I can't think of the word.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, like Sweetie Belle's magic made like a blue swirly thing. Twilight's magic did the same as before, but like a cannon blast, and much, much more powerful.”

“Powerful?”

“Yeah. I don't know how else to describe it.”

“Did Twilight say she made this, or was it given to her?” she asked gesturing to the thing on my hoof.

I shrugged. “Dunno.”

“You don't know much, do you?”

That left me somewhat speechless. "I, uh... well, that is to say-"

“I'm going to talk to her about it, if that's okay with you.”

“With Twilight? Of course! You can talk to her about anything and everything that is about me, but on one condition.”

“That is?”

“You also mention my rugged good looks.”

All she gave me in response was an eye-roll followed by a head-shake. “Go. Have fun. Bye.”

The three medical ponies turned around and headed back to their tent.

I looked at Pound and Pumpkin. “Was it something I said?”

That made the two of them groan and started to walk away.

“Must be my breath,” I muttered, just loud enough for them to hear.

Pound couldn't contain himself. Pumpkin, on the other hand, seemed immune.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Where's my salad?”

The two froze in mid-step.

“You forgot, didn't you?”

“Sorry, Forest!” They both turned around with wide grins on their faces. “We didn't forget. We ate it!”

“How could you?” I wailed.

Then I proceeded to chase them in mock-anger as they giggled with glee.

And for the first time in my life, I thought how great it would be to have kids. The suddenness and randomness of the thought struck me like lightning. Imagining little versions of me running around out of the blue. I stopped and sat down on an empty bench. There were two other thoughts that went through my head. Sadly, being a father reminded me of my old man. Why? Why couldn't I just get him out of my head? Secondly, my father damn near killed me. How good of a father could I be with something like that in the back of my mind.

“Tired already?” Pound asked, plopping himself next to me.

I seized him in a headlock and rubbed the top of his head. “Gotcha!”

“No fair!” He bemoaned, and I let him go.

“Yeah, guess I'm a little tired,” I sighed.

Pound looked on at the ponies walked around the fair. He sighed and jumped up on the bench staring somewhere far away. “You know, sometimes I wonder what's out there.”

“Hm?”

“I mean, out there. Beyond Ponyville. Beyond Canterlot. Beyond the mountains, rivers, and the sea. What's really out there. When you went away, I got to thinking... you know, I kinda want to do something like that to. Just go. Go somewhere far away. Meet new ponies. See cool places. Go on a real big adventure.”

I looked at the colt and furrowed my brow. “Won't you miss your folks?”

“Of course I'll miss them. Of course I'll miss home... but I want to know. Aren't you curious? What's out... there!” he waved his hoof towards the skies.

“I've got a good one for you.”

“Yeah?”

“What if, and I mean if. What if there was another place far, far away. So far away that... you know, you couldn't see it on a map, or anything. Like... somewhere so far away that... it's not even on this world.”

Pound took it in. He placed a hoof on his chin, and thought about it. Then he smiled. “That sounds awesome. Another world.”

I smiled. “Yep.”

“You know, Brian is from another world.”

“I know. Kinda hard for him to hide it, am I right?”

“He tell you that? He says that you can't go back there because the way was closed... but,” Pound let the silence linger. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

“Sometimes, in the Everfree, when I go alone... I see things, and hear noises.”

“R-really?”

He nodded. “But you can't tell anypony. You have to promise me.”

“Of course.”

“Sometimes I hear... a big city. Or a ball game. Or something. Voices. I thought they were ghosts, but... yeah, just...” he shrugged. “I don't think that the way was really closed. And don't get me wrong, the sounds are very quiet. It only happens very rarely, and... well, I don't go in there anymore.”

“Why? Is it scary?”

“No. Zecora caught me and told me that she'd tell Pinkie that I've been wondering through the woods. You don't know what Pinkie can be like when she gets mad.”

I couldn't even picture Pinkie getting mad.

“But, you know something?”

I looked at him as he sat there gazing into the distance.

“There's more than enough to see here. I don't need to go to another world.”

“That's really insightful of you, Pound.” I patted him on the back. “Well, when you go off on your adventure, let me know.”

“You'd come?”

That shut me up. “I'll try. That okay?”

He nodded. “Okay. I've already accepted the fact that you're not going to marry auntie Pinkie.”

That came out of nowhere. Weren't we talking about going on grand adventures a few seconds ago, but I played along. “Oh?”

“Well, after I've seen how much you like Twilight, I guess she's okay for you. But don't hurt her feelings, okay? That wouldn't be nice.”

I smiled. “You have a crush on Twilight, don't you?”

He blushed. “A little.”

I smiled and ruffled his mane. “Aw.”

“What? I do, okay? She's just... she's so cool and-and... well, you know what I mean. She's just... awesome.”

Couldn't argue with that. “She is, isn't she? She's super special, and I just want to make her the happiest mare alive.”

“How are you going to do that?” Pound asked.

I shrugged. “I dunno. I really don't. But I've got to try. I... have to make the most of everything.”

He looked over me at something behind. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but it didn't bode well for me.

“Oh. My. Gosh!” a voiced piped up. We both looked up to see Amethyst looking at us from across the road. “Forest, are... are you going to propose to Twilight?”

“What? No!” Kill the rumor. Kill it right now before it had time to form.

To make matters worse, Pumpkin, who had been gone for all this time, probably hiding, appeared. She saw my shocked face and automatically took Amethyst's side. “What? What?”

“He's going to ask Twilight to-”

“No!” I screamed. “Stop! Don't say it!”

“Say what?” Pumpkin insisted.

“Nothing!”

“Nothing? Don't be so shy!” Amethyst grinned. “You want to propose.”

“What was that?” another familiar voice asked in a familiar nasal-grating tone. It was Crystal. “Who's proposing?”

“Nopony's proposing!” I shouted.

Amethyst giggled. “Forest is.”

“No!” I yelled.

“No what?” Crystal asked.

“I am not going to propose to Twilight!” The music that was blaring in fair died right after I had said the word 'not'. Anypony within earshot must have heard me say: 'going to propose to Twilight'. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Why did these things have to happen? And I had thought everything was actually getting better.

“You can't marry Twilight, Forest,” Pumpkin stated. “You're marrying Pinkie! You're becoming my uncle!”

Pound was moving further and further away from me. Was he actually trying to ditch me? The traitor!

I opened my mouth to say something to Pumpkin, but couldn't find the words.

“I didn't know you wanted to proposed to Pinkie,” Crystal said smiling. “You stud.”

“Me? A stud?” I thought about it. “Well, now that you mention it...”

That made Pound smack his face with his hoof.

“So, are you going to propose to Twilight or Pinkie?” Another voice asked. Now that was Lavender. What was going on? Why were they all coming here? There were more and more ponies appearing around our general vicinity.

“Pinkie, right?” Pumpkin asked.

“What about Twilight, then?” Pound retorted.

Soon there was a debate going on about who would be the better choice. Why was this happening to me? I couldn't propose. There was no way that was possible. How did is come to this?

“Are you going to propose?” Amethyst asked louder than anypony else.

In my panicked state of mind, I muttered the word: “Maybe.”

“M-maybe? You mean you've actually been thinking about it?” Amethyst was genuinely shocked, as was the rest of them.

Not a soul moved.

“Oh, would you look at the time!” I said looking at my hoof. “I think it's time for me to... go away... yeah... that's the time. I'll see you later and... yeah... bye.”

“Your secret is safe with us!” Amethyst shouted at my retreating figure.

“It isn't, is it?” Crystal asked. That made me freeze in mid-step.

“Nah.”

“Thought as much.”

The two giggled with each other.

As much as I wanted to run away, I knew I couldn't leave things as they were. I trudged back to the two evil mares, double time. “Stop it. Please. It's not fair on her!”

“Ooh. On who?” Amethyst asked leaning against me.

My mouth froze. My brain froze. “I have got to learn to shut up.”

“Too late. Now you have to tell us who? Who is it?” they pressed.

Pound stood beyond the group of mares. “This is stupid. Who cares? Forest, let's go.”

An excuse to leave? Taking it. “Okay. Lead the way!”

“Not so fast!” Amethyst stated trying to bar my path.

“You mean not fast enough!” I replied dodging her and slipping away.

“I'll be sure to try and keep it a secret!” Amethyst yelled. “I'm not going to try very hard though!”

At least she was being honest.

Getting away didn't take very long, but as I walked through the fair, I kept catching ponies faces staring my way. Some had wide grins, others a knowing smirk, and – wost of all, some of them actually nodded at me as if there was some big secret that they were part of. If Twilight or Pinkie ever got wind of this...

Truthfully, I didn't know what to do. On the one hand (hoof?) I was actually really thinking about it. I mean really thinking about it. What would life be like with a special one? What would we do? Could I really spend my life with her? Could I actually have a future with her? What would it mean if I actually went through with it and stayed?

My head started to spin. The mere thought of asking Twilight be with me just felt so perfect, but it was not an option. Even if I did ask her, it wasn't like I'd have the option to stay. Right?

“Hey, Forest, what's wrong?” Pound asked looking up at me.

My attention came back from the daydream. “Nothing. Just... just thinking.”

The colt raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Are you planning something? I mean are you really going to do it?”

That was a real mature question coming from him. It felt strange, but he actually seemed to understand a little of what I was going through. Sadly, I couldn't humor the thought. I had given my word, and I knew that the sudden pain in my bracelet was a warning.

A very severe warning.

The fact that it had started to stop hurting made me realize that Tutela had a lot more power over me than I thought. A lot more. She had full control over my fate and could hurt me a lot worse that she had let on. The fact that she couldn't take me back to her private domain was one thing, but she had shown that if she couldn't trust me, she'd make sure that it would be the last thing I'd ever do.

In other words, she could kill me if she felt like.

“I get it,” I muttered to the ether, hoping that she could hear me. “I know, okay? I won't... I won't betray you, so please just don't do that again.”

“Do what again, Forest?” Pound asked, obviously confused at that statement.

“Nothing, bud. Just... just telling the universe that I understand something. Something very important and that I won't do it again. Ever. And no, I don't think I'm going to propose. I have... some other things that need to be taken care of.”

“Well, okay,” the colt replied slowly, giving me the 'you're-really-weird' look. I should have been used to it by now. He's been giving me that look pretty frequently. “If you wanna talk about it, I maybe a colt, but I'm here.”

I smiled and couldn't resist ruffling his mane. “Thanks. You're a great friend.”

We walked together for some time in silence. Then he stopped and sat down at a bench next to one of those rides where you sat on animals. A merry-go-round, I think. Or was it a carousel? The music that came from it had a catchy tune, and the young ones riding it had huge smiles on their cute faces. Some of the younger ones had to ride on it with their parents (or guardians), but they didn't seem to mind. What would it be like if I was one of them? Not the kids, but having a little one of my own, riding with him or her as she squealed in joy. What would it be like to watch him or her grow up? What would I the name be? And would I actually be a good father?

“What's wrong with me?” I moaned. I should stop thinking about this. It wasn't even something I should entertain. It wasn't something I could have. Ever.

“Forest!”

“W-what?” I asked, pulling myself out of my daydream.

“What's wrong?” Pound was standing in front of me with his hoof on what would have been my knee. “You're more pathetic than usual.”

“Oi!” The expression on his face made it quite clear that he meant it as seriously. “Just worried about Twilight, Pound.”

That seemed to satisfy him. “She'll be fine. Nurse Redhart said so. Don't you trust her?”

“Of course.”

“Then stop worrying. You're making me worried too, y'know.”

Really. How did someone as young as him be so much more mature than me? Unable to resist, I ruffled his mane. “You better stop growing up so fast. You'll be older than me in no time.”

He pushed my hoof away. “Between the two of us, somepony's got to be the mature one.”

That made me chuckle. “Alright. Then I'll stop being a big baby, and we're gonna have fun from here on out. Deal?”

Pound rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide a small smile on his face. “Deal.”

“Let's go play some games. What should we do next?”

“I wanna go on a ride.”

That seemed reasonable. “Okay. That sounds fun. What ride? As long as it's not the roller-coaster. I don't think my heart could take another round on that... thing.”

Pound's sweet smile changed into the kind of smile a predator would give its prey. A cruel, mean smile with a knowing twinkle in the eyes that spelled ill for me. I gulped.

“Okay, no roller-coaster. I want to go on that ride,” he said pointing a hoof behind me.

I looked his way and gulped. “O-okay. But we sit in the middle...”

“What? No! The point it sitting on the far end! That's where it's the most fun!”

“B-b-b-b-b-b-b-bu-bu-but-”

“Come on!” the colt shouted as he sprinted towards the ride in question.

I curse myself for letting him get the better of me, but I also was happy that he was trying his best to help me stop worrying about Twilight, even if that wasn't the real reason for my concern. He was most certainly a good kid.

As I caught up to him, he held out three tickets for me. “H-how did you pay for these?”

“I didn't. Three bits, please?” He held out his other hoof.

“Whose the third ticket for?”

“Me.” Pumpkin was standing at the front of the line to my left. I hadn't noticed her, and an overwhelming feeling of guilt came over me. I had ditched her after the whole marriage fiasco with Amethyst and the others. She seemed to know it and gave me a knowing smirk. “You thought you could lose me, eh? Well, think again!”

Desperate not to face that line of inquiry again, I tried to change the conversation.

“Um... why don't the two of you go on the ship together?” I offered looking at the ride. It was an obvious attempt at getting away from that subject again, as well as a plea to be spared this ride.

It swung past the middle point where I stood, every pony screaming with glee – or horror. I sure hoped it wasn't horror. Please, sweet Celestia, don't let it be horror.

“It's not that high, Forest. You don't have to worry.”

I laughed nervously. “Not high she says. Don't worry she says...”

“It isn't!” Pumpkin argued.

“Don't give me that! Do you see them? Are any of them having fun?”

Of course they were having fun. What else would they be having? Who would what to ride that abomination of a ride if it wasn't fun? Luckily for me it wasn't as high or looked nearly as terrifying as the coaster.

“Come on, Forest. It won't be as fun if you don't come.”

“What are you two? Sadists?” I muttered rubbing my hoof along my face trying to muster up some semblance of courage. It wasn't getting any easier.

“Sadist? What's a sadist?” Pumpkin asked.

Her brother just shrugged.

I thought about telling them, whether it was appropriate, but then again it wasn't bad, was it? I could tell them, right? “It's some... pony who likes making others suffer for fun.”

Pumpkin thought about it for a second. “Well... if making you ride this makes you suffer and I'm going to have fun watching you... then I guess I am.”

“Woe is me.”

“Whoah is you?” Pound queried.

“Indeed.” I wiped the perspiration slowly forming on my brow.

“I don't get it,” the colt replied utterly confused.

“Okay, all aboard!” the ride attendant announced. “You three going on the end?”

“No,” I deadpanned.

“Yes!” the twins said over me.

“Okay! Go on, then. Up you three go. Best seats on the ship! Say, aren't you that racer who ran the Race? Can I get your autograph?”

I was glad to have a distraction, but Pound wouldn't let me off so easily. He waited until I finished signing the paper and when I turned around expecting to see the big rocking ship's end seats full, I was dismayed to see that Pumpkin had reserved the seats next to her for us.

“I saved you a seat,” she said with a grin that was supposed to be sweet and cute, but had a hint of something more sinister.

“Thanks,” I growled with gritted teeth.

Pumpkin scooted over to the end, I placed myself in the middle and Pound sat to my right, closest to the ride's platform.

“Are you folks ready?” The attendant shouted from his little booth.

Everyone shouted that they were. They were ready to venture on the 'high seas', to 'ride the storm' and to do other nautical things that involved going up and down a lot. I stopped listening after the second cheer. My bowels felt so tight that I swear I could have crushed diamonds in there.

The ship moved backwards.

It didn't go so high up. Of course I knew that it was building momentum, but a small part of me hoped that this was the peak. I knew it was delusional, but I could dream, damn it. Why did I always let things like this happen to me? Deep down I already knew why. Every moment that I spent here was a treasure. My time with these wonderful equines was more precious to me than anything. So I would suck up the horrible feeling of heights that I had. I would suffer the ride which terrified me to my very core. I would do it because for each moment I spent here, I would be able to get on with my life. For every second I was here I could say that I had lived.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

As the ship swung downwards my belly felt lighter. Funny how I had liked that feeling, but ever since...

“No! Don't think about that!” I shouted out loud.

Pound looked at me and had the widest grin plastered across his face. “Smile, Forest!”

“Never! I will never smile again! I will never-” the ship went up until it reached its peak before decending backwards for the fourth time. To me that was the worst part because it felt that if I hit the ground I would know about it. The side of the ride zipped by as we made it past the halfway point and up once more. This time it well all the way, and I ended up looking straight down. Straight. Down. At the ground. The very hard, very strong, very solid, ground.

“I. Hate. This.” I gritted my teeth as the ride started to descend once again.

Pumpkin screamed in glee as the ship again swung back down. We watched as the ponies on the other end of the ship facing us were now grinning downwards. Well, a few of them weren't grinning. At least I wasn't the only one suffering.

Then down it went again. Backwards. Oh, how I hated that. Up and up it went and again I was looking straight down towards the ground. True, it might not have been as high as the roller-coaster, but it was high enough. Higher than enough. And the roller-coaster didn't plummet vertically like this.

The ship rushed forwards again. This time faster than before. The ponies were having a ball, and I could make their faces out. A few of them were scared, but they were half Pound's and Pumpkin's age. That did little to boost my self esteem.

The worst came the next time. The ship went up above and beyond a straight drop down. Now I actually had to look up to see the ground. That was perhaps the worst thing a person (pony?) with an immense fear of heights could go through, so obviously I was subjected to the brunt of it.

I swore. Well, I tried to. It came out more of a constipated moan than actual words as the ship started its next descent.

Had to take my mind off of this. I had to think of something else. Anything else.

Then something strange happened.

The sounds of the fair had drowned out. The screams of delight from the twins had faded away. I could see them, their mouths open in elation, mouths wide open as they both screamed in delight, their eyes shut in an expression of glee. I could still hear their scream, but it sounded faded and slow, like someone put them in a slow-motion replay.

It wasn't as if I was spared this effect. My eyes would not move any faster than the what I could see. I could not move any faster than anyone else. It was like my brain went into overdrive and everything else, including my own body, was stuck in this lull. Anything within my eyesight I could see and actually analyze and think about it.

Something was off. Something about all this felt wrong. I got scared. Scared of this overwhelming feeling of cold that enveloped me. My core felt like it had been turned to ice.

With all my might and will I shifted my gaze to the left. It was so agonizingly slow. It was painfully slow.

As the ship moved further down, everything started to speed up and as my eyes could see to the side clearly this time. That was when I saw her. I saw a mare hovering at my level just over and behind Pumpkin's head upside down.

Or we were upside down, and the mare was the right way up.

Then eyes locked. Her eyes stared right into mine.

I felt my mouth open slowly. Felt my lips part millimeter by millimeter. She smiled at me, or maybe she already had a smile and she was making it bigger. I didn't know. All I did know was how strangely happy she looked.

My mouth opened wider and wider, time seemed to get faster and faster as I got further and further away from her.

What did I want to say? Why was I opening my mouth? Why did I feel so strange? What was happening to me?

Then, like an avalanche, the dam that held back time, or whatever happened, seemed to burst. The worst part of it is all was that everything seemed to want to catch up to where it had decided to slow down. Suddenly I was stuck in fast-forward mode. What should have taken tens of seconds to happen was happening in half that time.

Only as the ride stopped did the speed up stop.

Pound jumped off out his seat and stood on the platform looking at me.

“Wow, Forest. I didn't know you could hold your breath for that long! I never heard anypony scream for as long as you did.”

“I... didn't.... know... either...” I panted.

Pumpkin patted my hooves. “You can let go now. I can't get out if you won't move.”

“Hooves... stuck...”

Slowly, and with all the will I could muster, I let go of the rail that locked me in where I sat. I could have sworn I had actually managed to bend the bar.

“So you guys wanna go again?” the ride attendant asked.

I flashed him a look, then got out of there so fast, that all that was left was a streak of flames as I stood on the far side of the path across from the entrance to the ride. The others found that extremely amusing. Pound was laughing so hard that he could barely walk. Pumpkin giggled so hard, she was snorting.

Those two didn't bother me one bit. The same couldn't be said abut a certain someone (somepony?) else who also couldn't contain herself. She floated over and had to landed on the ground since remaining afloat seemed like an impossible task with her guffawing like that.

“It wasn't that funny, okay?” I moaned.

“You're right, it was funnier!” Rainbow belted out in another laughing fit and wiped a tear from her eye. “I haven't laughed like that in a while. You're a funny colt, Forest. You make me laugh.”

“I'm glad you find me entertaining,” I growled in response.

Rainbow kept on laughing.

Despite my earlier words, I couldn't help but smile. To be honest, I hadn't seen her laugh in quite some time. It was refreshing, that squeaky laugh of hers.

Our eyes met again and I could have sworn she looked different. Like her eyes were... prettier, I guess.

I shook my head more as an excuse to stop looking at her. What was wrong with me? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose.

“Y-you were all like 'ah'! And Pumpkin was like 'eek', and Pound was all 'yay', and-” Rainbow roared with laughter again. “And the way you ran out of there!”

“The best is when the boat started moving and Forest was screamed like a little filly. That was funny.” Pumpkin announced. Despite she being a filly, apparently she didn't scream like one and I did.

I pouted. “I wasn't screaming like a filly.”

“You always say that and you always know that you have.” Rainbow grinned and knocked her head gently on my neck when my pout didn't go away. “Come on, I'm just joking.”

“Really?” I asked dryly.

“Nope!” She burst out into a laughing fit again.

“Thought as much.”

If I had seemed distant, she didn't notice. I guess I had gotten really good at hiding things considering that my entire time here I've been hiding everything. When Rainbow touched me I felt like my entire insides had frozen. It was almost like that feeling you get when you drink something cold. Like insides turned into ice. My body felt cold and I shuddered trying to shake the feeling away. My laughter died in my throat and this was not lost on her.

“Forest, I really was joking.”

“I know, I know. Just not feeling well. The ride, you know. Up and down. High places.” I looked down feeling a little dizzy.

Rainbow lowered her head so that she looked up into my eyes. “You sure?”

“Positive,” I replied with a weak smile.

“That's better,” she said when she saw my happy face, which may or may not have been a little forced. Okay, so it was really forced.

“So, where's Abby?” Rainbow looked around. “Wasn't she with you?”

“She said she had other things to take care of.”

“Oh yeah? So, it's just you and the twins?”

I nodded. “Just the three of us. Four, including you. Twilight's at the medical tent after getting kayoed by the Sleeping Sickness. Pinkie too. Don't know where the others are. I think Applejack is with Fluttershy.”

Rainbow nodded slowly. “That would mean Big Mac's with them. I swear that guy's so thick...”

“Wait, I thought he was in love with Cheerilee or something. At least I think I did.”

“Oh that,” Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, he likes her, but I don't think he loves her. He plays along sometimes, but Cheerilee isn't really looking to settle down, I don't think. We're not that close, so I don't really know. You ought to ask Crystal. She'd know. I think Mac is just taking things as they come.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Well, I think Fluttershy has like a huge crush on him and I think that Applejack wants them to get together. But...”

“You don't approve?” I asked at the change in her voice.

She looked at me. “Honestly? I don't know. Applejack and Fluttershy are my best friends, so I think it's kinda cool that they'll be sisters-”

“Whoah! What? They're that far along already?” I asked.

She looked at me as if I was the weird one. “No, I'm just saying. I don't think either one has even been on a date with each other before. I think he likes her, but he's so boring. I don't know what Fluttershy sees in him.”

“Well... he's big,” I offered, a smirk on my lips.

The implication wasn't lost on Rainbow. “Oh, ew, Forest. That's something I don't want to think about.”

“I know it's crossed your mind already.”

This time she laughed along with me. “I think it's crossed every mare's mind in this town. If he wasn't, I don't think it'd fit his character, you know.”

“Big Mac with a Little Mac?”

“Can we stop talking about his... you know. It's kinda sad.”

She had a point. “True.”

“Anyway, I think I'll go check up on Twilight and Pinkie. Wanna come?”

I shook my head. “N-no thanks.”

That seemed to surprise her. “Why not? I thought you'd just at the chance to see them. Twilight especially.”

“Yeah... well, there are reasons.”

“Like?”

Pound overheard this and grinned. Then Pumpkin followed suit. It was an evil grin. They knew why I didn't want to head back that way. They began to silently pantomime my whole accidental marriage thing I had stupidly, stupidly, stupidly shouted behind Rainbow. The mere thought made my face sting. How could I face Twilight after she hears about this?

“Forest embarrassed himself?” Rainbow asked as she turned around and spotted the twins in the middle of the silent play.

“Don't answer that!” I begged throwing myself at their hooves.

“Aw, I missed it. Too bad.” Rainbow grinned at me.

I stuck out my chin and frowned at her. “Thanks.”

She laughed at my expense, but in a good way. “I'll catch up with you in a bit.”

Rainbow floated in the air for a moment. It looked like she wanted to say something, but seemed to change her mind and instead rose up higher into the late afternoon sky and glided away.

“What now, Forest? Wanna play a game instead?” Pound asked.

“Sounds good. No more rides, unless they're for babies. I don't think my stomach can take any more excitement.”

Pound shook his head sadly at that. “You're worse than my dad.”

“Your dad doesn't like rides?”

“Dad gets real bad motion sickness. He only has to look at rides and he gets sick. He's real bad with them. Once he took me and sis on a carousel. He ended bed ridden for a day. That's one of the reasons why we don't really go out of town very much. Mom doesn't wanna go anywhere without dad, and dad can't ride on anything that moves.”

“Well what about teleporting. That doesn't involve much movement.”

Pound shuddered. “You'd think that would be better, but for some reason it's not. You get really, but if we do travel then dad lets himself be teleported if we really need to go somewhere, but usually he stays at home.”

I couldn't help but laugh. “Wow, that really sucks. I wouldn't know, never tried it before.”

“Why?”

“Because he's allergic to magic, silly. What would happen if you teleported?” Pumpkin asked.

“Probably would die,” I said after thinking about it for a second. That was not the answer the twins wanted to hear, especially after the episode earlier on. “I-i-it's okay. I don't mind. Teleporting is overrated.”

“W-we don't get to travel very much anyway,” Pound cut in, trying to steer the conversation away from something so morbid. “Not when you're one of the best bakers in Equestria, right? Mom and dad's cakes and stuff are in huge demand. And auntie Pinkie can't hold down the fort for long, not with being an Element an all. Things could be-”

“Pound, you're babbling,” Pumpkin informed her brother.

He glared at her.

“Let's go play some games!” I shouted interrupting them before they got into one of their sibling fights.

“What game should we try?” Pumpkin looked around and pointed at a stand. “How about that one?”

We walked over and took a look. It was strange, there was a bunch of weird things hanging around, and it was clear that whatever was going on over there, it had something to do with magic. Things don't float around like that unless magic was involved – or science. But the way things were glowing and moving, it was magic for sure. I didn't need to get any closer to see that.

“Ah, step right up for a chance to win some exciting prizes!” The mare behind the stand whipped up and smiled. I jumped back out of reflex because although she looked and sounded like a pony, she wasn't. She was different. “D-did I scare you?”

“Scare me?” I was puzzled, but her voice was so full of concern that I realized that she was being serious. “N-no. Not at all.”

“Great! So, you wanna play or what?”

Her mood change was so rapid, that I quickly doubted that she was verklempt in the first place. Still, I was relieved that she had changed her tune. Roll with it! I told myself. “Sure thing! How do?”

“R-really? Y-you're gonna play?” she asked putting her forehooves on the table of her stand and leaning dangerously close to me.

I backed away instinctively. “Um... yeah?”

“Really? You're not joking?” she asked leaping over the table and grabbing me by what would have been my collar, if I had been wearing a shirt. “Really, really?”

I leaned back as far away from her as my neck and skin would allow me. “Y-yeah!”

“Honestly?” she pressed, her nose on mine.

“Y-yes! I really, really am not! Joking, that is!”

“This is great!” she shouted releasing me making me fall backwards to the ground.

I looked up to see her bouncing around me with a huge grin on her face. Who knew I could make a mare so happy by just wanting to play a game? Was this why most of the stands were run by stallions? Nah, that couldn't be it.

As I was mulling in my thoughts, I felt a shove from behind me. The not-quite-a-pony was shoving me forwards towards her stand. “This is so, so great!”

“Uh... why?”

“You're my very first customer! I've been sitting here all day, but nopony else has wanted to try this out.” She blew her nose into a napkin and wiped something from the corner of her eye. It wasn't a tear because that would have been too damned convenient.

“Wait. What do you mean by first?” That didn't seem right. It was late in the afternoon by my reckoning, almost break time in the real world. “You just finish setting up your stand or something?”

“You're not from around here, are you?” she asked leaning her stand to my left as I looked at the glowing things floating around just over the table.

“You could say that,” I replied neutrally.

“Well, I'm a nocturnal pegasus!” she said and stood back and spread her wings.

They weren't the feathery kind. They looked like skin. If I had to venture to guess, they looked like the wings of a...

“Bat pony!” Pound exclaimed excitedly.

“Bat pony?” I studied her a little bit more, all the while she looked back at me with eyes that were on the brink of tears. That alone was enough for me to melt. A small feeling of guilt welled up in the pit of my stomach because it felt like I was cheating on Twilight a little bit by finding another mare cute. But then again, I liked Twilight a lot, so comparing the two was like comparing a continent with a grain of sand. “That's way cool. Never met a bat pony before.”

The expression on the pegasus' face was priceless. Even with her fangs – yes, fangs – she looked absolutely adorable. Normally I would've had an aversion of pointing teeth on an equine, but after the choppers on the diamond dogs – or Tutela for that matter, these were nothing.

Wait. Did that mean that bat ponies were changelings or something?

No. Couldn't be. This equine was adorable, but still there were similarities that I could not ignore. At least her fangs were not as massive as they other two.

“Just so you know, we don't really appreciate being called bat ponies, but yeah, you could say I am one.” She folded her wings back down. “We're actually called vespers, and don't you forget it!”

“I won't!” I grinned mischievously. “Bat pony.”

She pursed her lips in an 'oh, ha-ha', fashion, but she knew I was just kidding around. “For a stallion, you're pretty cool.”

“I know,” I replied cheekily. “Wait, what do you mean 'for a stallion'?”

“Isn't it obvious?” She replied, and then nudged my side. “Not really into stallions, if you know what I mean.”

At least she was upfront about it. “I'll keep that in mind.”

She laughed at that. “So, just to be a hundred percent sure, you're not afraid of me, right?”

“Should I be? Will you bite my neck and feast on my blood?” I asked sarcastically.

“Of course not. I'm not a vampony.”

“A what?”

“A vamp-”

“No, no. I heard you the first time. Just trying to pretend you didn't say it to me.” I felt somewhat dirty that I had even entertained the thought of a blood-sucking equine. “I've never seen one of your kind before.”

“Yeah, we don't usually hang around in the daytime. That's why we're nocturnal.”

“Okay, I get that, but I've been here for a month and I haven't seen a vespa before.”

“Vesper. My kind don't usually hang around this far east, we're more of a west coast kinda lot. But I wanted to see the world, so here I am. I'm going to head on home in a couple weeks, but I want to stick around here for a bit. I'm heading to Cloudsdale tomorrow! I'm sooooooooo excited!”

She giggled like a little filly and clopped her hooves for good measure.

“Um, that's cool,” I stated. “So, what're the fangs for?”

She gave me a look as if I had slapped her suddenly. Then she leaned in towards me again and made a face.

“Huh. You're not joking, are you? You really haven't hear of us. I feel so sad for you!” she wiped a fake tear from the corner of her eye again.

“Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically.

“Anyway, they're for biting into Moon Stones.”

“Moon Stones?”

“Yeah! What? You're going to tell me that you've never heard of them too?”

“Let's pretend that I haven't.”

She blinked and rubbed her ears as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. “Where have you been?”

On another world where magic and Moon Stones don't exit. I thought to myself. “I have amnesia.”

“Oh? Oh! That has got to be a pain in the rear.”

“I wouldn't know. Never had it before, and if I did-”

“Can't remember! Ooh, I have got to use that next time I go through a bad breakup,” the vesper grinned and giggled maniacally. “Anyway, Moon Stones. Yeah, they're delicious! It's like biting into a sweet mango, but not quite as sweet, and, and it's got this tangy taste that melts on the roof of your mouth, and then there's a hint of salt too, just a pinch in the right place so that after you bite into it the juice isn't... would you like to try a piece?” she asked. “You're drooling.”

I wiped my chin. “Sorry. Just sounds real great. I'm always ready to try new things. Especially food. Especially good sounding food.”

Pumpkin poked my torso. “That's not such a good idea, Forest.”

“Why?”

“It's just that-”

“It's delicious!” the mare said, tantalizingly.

Pumpkin looked at the mare. “I know, but it's just-”

“Is it harmless?” I asked.

“Yes, of course it is, except-”

“If it's harmless then why can't I try one?”

Pumpkin placed a hoof on mine. “Forest, listen to me. This is important. It's because-”

“Here, look. I've got one right here. It's so good. Doesn't it look scrumptious?”

She wasn't joking. It looked out of this world. Well, it looked out of what I thought was out of this world. The fruit was just like a dark opal. It looked smooth, like a pebble, but had streaks of green and blue light reflected off the surface. As I tilted my head, the light reflected from it changed shape. It really looked like an opal. A really, really big opal, about the size of a large watermelon.

“Here, let me show you how we open it.”

She opened her mouth and bit it right in the center. As she did, between her two fangs the fruit cracked open like an eggshell. She then rotated the fruit a little with her hooves and bit it again. She kept doing it until she got almost all the way around. Afterwards, she pulled the ends apart in two halves to reveal a pale, fleshy interior that was dripping with moisture.

The first thing that hit me was a scent similar to strawberries, or something to that effect. It wasn't really a strawberry smell, but it was the closest thing I could relate it to. It was sweet, but had that scent of a nip in it. Anyway, it looked fantastic and refreshing. My mouth watered even more.

“Our teeth are quite useful. Most ponies have to use a saw or something to open these, but not us! We've got the goods to eat these on the go! Still, it hurts the teeth a bit if we don't do it right in the middle. Takes time and patience to get it right.”

“Your kind live of this?”

She nodded. “Well, in a way. There are plenty of things out there, but mostly we're...”

“I'm sorry, didn't quite catch that.”

“We're...” she muttered something, but it was still too soft for me to hear.

“One more time.”

“We're omnivorous!” she stated. “We eat shellfish... and stuff.”

That made me smirk. “That all?”

“You don't mind?”

I shook my head and shrugged. “Should I?”

“Way cool! Here, try a bit of the Moon Stone,” she said offering me a piece. The juices were slowly flowing down her hoof.

I took it greedily.

“Forest! Listen to me-” Pumpkin tried to say grabbing my other, free hoof on the ground.

“Hm? What is it?” I asked as I placed the piece in my mouth and bit down. The explosion of flavor was amazing, but what made it especially incredible was an electric like zing that flashed across my tongue waking up my taste buds amplifying the already powerful flavors making my mouth drench itself in my saliva.

Then a pop went off somewhere followed my a familiar burning sensation.

I woke up on the ground with my head spinning. There was a large crowd gathered around me. I turned my head as I felt two small hooves on my shoulders and spotted the twins supporting me – or maybe they were using me as a shield. It certainly looked like that. Behind her was the vesper huddling between the twins, myself and in front of her stand.

Slowly I got up and cricked my neck. “Ugh. What happened?”

Pumpkin darted in front of me. “See? I told you he was okay!”

The crowd all looked at me to confirm what she was saying was true. I grinned. Seemed appropriate.

“Why does it feel like I got hit by a train?” I muttered rubbing my jaw. I smacked my lips and the residue of the juices made me close my eyes. “A very delicious train...”

“The fruit is grown in underwater caves that use the reflection of light from the moon's glow, Forest. Everypony knows that!” Pumpkin shouted as she turned to me, her eyes narrowed in anger. “I kept trying to tell you but you wouldn't listen to me.”

I scratched my head. “Well, color my stupid, but I have no idea what you're talkin' about, lil' girl!”

“Aunt Applejack doesn't say that,” Pumpkin stated.

“I know. I was just being... never mind. What do you mean?”

Pumpkin gave me a skeptical look, but she seemed to forgive me. “What I'm trying to tell you is that Moon Stones are only grown in certain places with certain conditions. It has to be just right, and... um... they're... um... well, it's just that you can't eat them.”

“What? Why?” I moaned.

“Because it's a magical fruit.”

“The more you eat, the more you toot?” I replied without thinking.

There was a good three seconds of silence before Pound burst out laughing. He clutched his sides and rolled on the ground. Several other ponies – well, stallions, the mares did not think it was that funny – began to laugh along with the young colt. It was great that the whole mood had shifted. Even the vesper giggled a little, but cautiously. I slapped her on the back, and she looked up at me with a bright smile.

Damn these ponies. Damn them and their ridiculously cute faces.

Pumpkin shook her head, but the smile on her face made it clear that she had forgiven me.

“Sorry. I'm a little allergic to magic. So, this isn't your fault.” I smiled at the vesper.

“W-what?” she gasped. “H-how is that... is that even possible?”

“Apparently.”

Pumpkin pursed her lips and shook her head. “See? This is what happens when you don't listen to me.”

“Aw, don't worry. I never listen to anyone.” I frowned after saying that. Now I understood why horrible things kept happening to me.

“You gotta listen to me, Forest,” the filly said gently, as if I were a baby.

As I opened my mouth to reply, the bat pony shoved her hoof in my mouth. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Just let me get this straight. You're a pony that's allergic to magic?”

I nodded.

“Then why are you living this close to Canterlot! If you're so allergic, you should be heading out towards the borders! There's not so much magic out there, you know.”

“Really?” I had spent the vast majority of my time near Ponyville, with the exception of that failed attempt at running away from Twilight with Spike.

“Yeah! My kind is from the mountain rage to the west. It's got these high cliffs that are right next to the shore. It's so nice to fly there because of the wind. Hits the cliffs and you so up! Easier for us without feathers to fly out there.” She flapped her wings a couple times for effect. “Not saying that we can't fly, just that it's easier for us to- I lost ya, didn't I?”

“Yeah. I have no frame of reference, considering that the only flying I've done was on an airship, and that didn't go too well.”

“Oh. Well, our kind used to live in these really big caves along the cliffs where the Moon Stones grow, but now we have proper homes in the valley.” She walked over to me and patted my head. “Are you from out there maybe? Ooh! Maybe your family is from where I'm from!”

“And where are you from?” I asked.

“Lunara. You know it?”

“No, he doesn't remember anything,” Pound stated. “He doesn't remember anything about himself. Not even his name. We all call him Forest because he was found in the Everfree.”

“Well, he might know it if I told him the name and it reminded him!” the pony retorted. “It must be horrible, not knowing who you are.”

I shrugged. “It's not that bad. I've made a lot of friends, so I'm actually quite okay with it.”

“But what about your family? Do you have any foals of your own? What if you have a wife waiting for you?” She shook her head and hugged me. “I'd be so worried.”

“Sure they would,” I stated rolling my eyes. “Anyway, I highly doubt that I'm married. I mean, wouldn't my family have put out a wanted poster or something?”

“You mean a missing notice. You wouldn't get a wanted poster... unless you were a criminal. Are you criminal? Wait. I know you. Are you someone famous? Haven't I seen you before? Are you like some- oh my gosh! You're that runner! Of course! You're that guy who won the Race!” she made a noise that sounded like a squeak and a giggle and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “Sign!”

It wasn't a request.

Taking the items, I signed as best as I could. Still no improvement despite spending my entire day in Cheerilee's school. Guess it takes time to master writing with one's mouth – then again it was only one afternoon, which I spent passed out for the most part. I looked at the vesper in her eyes and she looked at my signature with a mixture of... I don't know what. Disgust? No, too happy to be disgust.

“That is awesome! You write so horrible that no pony will think it's a fake! No offense.”

“Oh, none taken,” I lied. “I didn't get your name.”

“Oh! Where are my manners. Je m'appelle Nocturne.”

I just blinked.

“Yeah, I know. My father was Prench. He taught me how to speak it. I'm half earth pony, in case you didn't notice.”

That made me blink again. “French?”

“Yeah, from Prance.”

My mouth dropped. Did she seriously just say what I think she said? “Wait. Prance?”

“Yeah, Prance... why?” She gave me a strange look. “You do know it's a country, right?”

“Um... yeah, sure I do.” I looked at Pumpkin who nodded as if I was confirming with her that what the vesper was saying was true. “And... no, couldn't tell about the earth pony thing. Sorry.”

“Really?” Nocturne looked at herself, lifting her wings to scan her body. “Isn't my body's build just a tad different?”

“Honestly? I can't tell.”

She suddenly looked sad.

Damn you and your stupid cuddliness you damned ponies! I shouted at her in my head. “Oh! Now I see it. Yeah. You're very earthy, um, in all the right places?”

That frown turned upside down. “I know, right?”

At this point I couldn't tell if she was being serious or just yanking my chain, but then again she seemed like a good person- pony, so I didn't mind.

Pumpkin was now deeply interested in the vesper's stand and was looking at it rather intently. I leaned to the side to see what had taken her interest, but my mind was taking its time to catch up, so I decided to use a decoy to prevent Nocturne from thinking I was slow. Which I wasn't. Let's just move on. “Prance. Nice place?”

“I know! The lights, the rivers, the way that Luna's moon adorns the sky. Isn't it romantic?” Nocturne sighed and had this dreamy look on her face. “I hope that one day a nice filly will take me there on an airship.”

“Couldn't you just fly there?”

She gave me a dry look. “That's not the point. The point is to be taken there romantically for romantic stuff and do romantic things.”

“I get it!” I muttered. “You're a romantic.”

She just blushed at that. “A-anyway, I think the Prench are a little snooty. Some, of course.”

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. How could two different worlds have the same basic stereotype? It was uncanny, but perhaps also predictable. There were a lot of ridiculous and obvious parallels between both worlds.

Then a nagging thought entered my mind. If the worlds were so similar then would Equestria a fake? An illusion of my own madness? Was this all just one big joke? Did I really come to a whole new world, or was I just unconscious at the bottom of a mine shaft? Was all this just a from my mind?

No. Couldn't be.

Could it?

Not wanting to even humor that sentiment any longer, I pushed it out of my mind. I would rather spent an eternity with Tutela than to have this all be nothing more than a figment of my imagination. So, I put all my energy into trying to make out what the vesper's game stand was all about.

“How do you play this?”

“This? Oh, it's easy. All you have to do is steer that vesper through the night sky without touching anything. Not the stars, or the moon, or other vespers and pegasi. If you reach the castle,” Nocturne said pointing to a near perfect model of the Royal Canterlot Palace, “then you win!”

“How do you steer the vesper?” I asked looking down at two joysticks.

“Oh, that's easy. The left joystick controls your movement. Up, down, backwards and forwards. The right stick adjusts the speed. Since you're my first customers, you get to play for free for the first round. Okay?”

Pumpkin, Pound and myself all squealed in joy.

“Okay, so the color of your area is the color of your vesper,” Nocturne said.

I looked down in front of me and saw that the area under the joysticks were painted a light blue. Pumpkin's was a violet and Pounds was a yellow. He made a face, obviously not liking his color choice.

This wasn't lost on Nocturne.

“They're all light colors. Since my theme is night, dark colored vespers on a dark background was too hard to see. So, I made them light colors. They game's gonna be tough anyway.”

Made sense.

“Okay, so don't touch anything. Any obstacle will send you crashing to the ground!” The way she said it made the three of us grin. She was funny. “And we wouldn't want that now, would we? The first place will get this!”

“A Moon Stone?” I asked looking at the fruit.

“Wait! What did you say?” a unicorn asked walking right up to the stand. “Did you just say that the winner would get that?”

“Um... yeah?” Nocturne replied not really sure.

“Sweet Celestia! You've got to let me in on that! Take my money!” the unicorn shoved a bit onto the stand and took his place next to me.

“Wait! I want to play too!” A pegasus mare announced and stood next to that unicorn.

Then three more ponies took up spots next to Pound, and soon all eight controls were being manned (ponied?) by eight equines ready to win and take the glorious fruit home.

Shame that I wouldn't be able to eat it, but then again it would be a nice addition to my winnings. Well, at this point anything would be a nice addition to my winnings.

Nocturne explained the rules and how to play and soon we were all gearing to go. “Okay. The first one to reach the castle wins!”

“This is gonna rule!” Pound rubbed his hooves together. “Time to lose, Pumpkin!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“Why not see who wins first, then you can argue,” I offered.

That seemed to convince them to stop, although now a part of me was dreading what would happen if either of the twins actually won. That meant that I had to beat them both. For justice! For the peace of all mankind (ponykind?), but most of all for the sanity of every adult within earshot of the twins. My eyes drifted to the pony sitting on the other side of Pumpkin, and he looked at me with a look of sheer horror. The same thought must have crossed his mind because he looked over to me and nodded.

That was it. A pact. We would not allow either of the twins to win. At least, that was what I thought it meant. I certainly hope he wasn't hitting on me.

“Okay, is everypony ready?” Nocturne announced.

We all shouted in response.

“Get set!” she stated.

Every single one of us leaned onto our controls as if we were starting a race of some sort. Pumpkin and Pound had their tongues stuck out at the sides as they started at the game in deep concentration. Funny how genes worked like that.

“Go!”

The first thing I found was my character in the water flailing about. I had hit another player's character and the two of us crashed into what I assumed was the sea or lake below. The others were soaring through the ride dodging clouds, birds, other vesper, pegasi and even random things like cakes, dogs and the occasional unicorn for good measure.

Suffice to say that the two youngsters were so far ahead of everyone else that they were actually in a league unto their own. There went any dream of winning this game and that Moon Stone.

Or was there?

Seemingly out of nowhere, a white colored vesper roared past the two twins' characters, almost making them spin in circles where they stood. We all turned our head to see a pony at the far end manning (ponying?) the controls like a pro. I mean, this guy had skills.

There was no contest in who the winner was.

I looked at his cutie mark and frowned. Of course it had to be some sort of controller or something. Why else would he have raw natural talent for playing this game?

“No fair! How'd you do that?” Pound asked when the game was over.

Relieved that the twins had not won, I went into my sulking mode. Because I lost. Badly. I suck.

“I dunno. Just... I like games. Always have.” He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, kids, but I just have this real competitive streak. I don't even really want that prize.”

That made every pony there perk their ears.

“So, I guess I'll just take-”

“Rematch!” I shouted before anyone else could even begin to think.

“Yeah!” Pumpkin and Pound both shouted.

I just bought myself another chance to win a prize. This time I hoped that I wouldn't end up in the water.

“You're on!” the equine with the computer console cutie mark shouted. “Bring it!”

At once, every single pony that had played before rushed to their places. Again the twins sat at their respective seats, tongues stuck out in deep concentration. Then I noticed that the gamer pony also stuck his tongue out as he took the controls. Maybe it was because of the the tongue that they were able to do so well! So, I stuck mine out as well. Hey, I needed all the luck I could muster.

Nocturne did something and all the vespers were back at their started places. “I'm gonna change the course, just one second...”

Suddenly the course was now a maze of craziness. There were rainclouds spouting lightning bolts, crazy pegasi flying amok, some unicorns on the ground hurling boulders upwards and controlling them in mid-air so that they flew in random directions, and a few earth ponies using their rear legs to buck objects with deadly precision and speed into the air.

“Uh... can we go back to the original level?” I asked.

“What's the matter? Too difficult for you? Are you afraid?” The gamer pony said trying to get under my skin.

“Well... afraid? No. Difficult? Yes! Look at that! How can anyone navigate through... that!”

“Why do you sometimes say anyone?” Pound asked.

Oops. “I... dunno...”

“I dunno, I think that I could do it.” He stretched his arms out in much the same way I would if I was trying to crack my knuckles. “Won't know unless I try.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Nocturne stated smiling at us, “I'm making it so that the tails of the vespers can be used to block things. So, you can use it to deflect objects and stuff. Or knock other players to the ground. I've also changed it so that when you get hit, you land on the ground for a few seconds, then you can start again. Aren't I a nice pony?”

“Well... then at least we can still play even after getting cut off at the start,” I muttered giving the others a bland look. One of them had ruined my chances of winning.

“Okay, let's get this thing started!” Nocturne screamed.

We all got ready to play. Tongues out, shoulders and hooves cricked, and determination planted on all our faces as we readied ourselves for the... game. Somehow I had forgotten that this was only a simple game that didn't really matter if I won or lost.

Actually... with Granny's hooch on the line, there was a lot at stake here.

“On your marks!” Nocturne called out. “Get set... go!”

And off we went. I managed to skillfully, yes skillfully – luck had nothing to do with it, avoid crashing into any other vespers as we charged out of our starting positions. I narrowly avoided one of the other competitors as we vied for the same open space and went upwards over a cloud... only to be struck by a lightning bolt cutout as it stuck out from behind a cloud. I cried in anguish as my character fell out of the sky and crashed into the ground.

“Aw, man,” I moaned.

“Mane?” a blue stallion to my side asked.

“Uh...” I blinked a couple times. “Yeah. Mane. That's what I said. 'Aw, mane.' Not man. That would be silly.”

“What's a man?”

“Um... Brian?” I grinned.

He looked at me, thought about it, then shrugged. That seemed to satisfy his line of inquiry.

In the meantime, the gamer pony and the twins had taken the lead. They were so far ahead of the rest of the group, that a few of them just threw up their hooves in disgust. But not me. I never give up. Something that my experiences here have taught me. Not to give up, despite the overwhelming odds.

“Go, go, go!” I shouted at my vesper as he or she levitated above the ground ready to go. I gripped my controllers and pushed up to make him rise into the sky, only to have one of the unicorns hurl a boulder at me and down the vesper went again. “Aw, come on!”

“Use your tail, Forest,” Pumpkin said through the corner of her lips.

I watched her character turn around just as a boulder, lobbed by another unicorn, collided with her vesper's rear, only to have it bounce off and hit Pound's character sending him crashing down into the ground. She gave him a cocky smile as her brother sat with his mouth agape. He turned his head slowly to glare at Pumpkin but she was more interested in overtaking the pony in front of her.

“Button?” a voice shouted in surprise from behind me, the suddenness made me stop what I was doing and turn around.

Standing there, with her eyes wide open in shock, was Sweetie Belle. Spike was standing a little behind her just as confused as I was. He looked from her to the pony in question, then back at her, then to me.

The gamer pony turned around slowly, his face unreadable. “Hi, Sweetie. How are you?”

“What are you doing here?” Sweetie asked, oblivious to the rest of us.

At this point I notice that my character was hovering over the ground. So, because I didn't like drama and because I was so far behind everyone else, I continued to play.

“W-why are you here?” she asked. “I thought you had moved away.”

“Well, sure I did. I live in Germaney. You know that,” the stallion replied. “I came to visit my ma. Her birthday is coming real soon and-”

I narrowly avoided a boulder as it whizzed by me. I slowly lowered the vesper and took my time going under some storm clouds. Slowly. Carefully. Failed. I growled as once again I found that my character on the ground. The conversation next to me seemed to be going on, so I tuned in again.

“... I see.” Sweetie Belle's voice was silent for a moment. “W-well, it's nice seeing you again.”

“Yeah. You too.”

Then another lingering silence.

“Hey, Forest,” Pound whispered to me.

“What?” I whispered back.

“Who's that stallion?”

“How would I know?”

“You know he kinda looks like you.”

Now that he mentioned it, he did. Apart from the shape of the head and the fact that he hard a mark on his posterior, we really did have the same look about us. Of course our mane styles were different as mine was graciously bestowed upon me by Aloe from the spa. I looked better, if I did say so myself.

“Wouldn't it be funny if he was your brother?”

I blinked. “Would it?” I was about to make another witty remark when the gamer pony spoke again

“H-hello, Spike,” Button said. “Um... how is it going?”

“Not bad,” the dragon replied. I could tell he was trying to be friendly, but there was just something in the way he said it that seemed off. It sounded pretty hostile, to be honest.

Then came that lull of silence again. Why was it happening so often? Only the sounds of the fair filled the void. Because of this, a lot of ponies had stopped to see what was going on, so the crowd around the stand was steadily growing bigger and bigger. And because of that, almost everyone playing the game w as distracted. Well, that was good for me. At least now I stood a chance at actually winning this game. Or finishing it, since Pound had the right idea and continued to play along also.

“So...” Button said, his voice trailing off.

“So,” Spike echoed. He folded his arms in front of his chest and turned away.

“I guess... I guess I'll see you two around,” Button replied awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah. Guess so. Sweetie? Where do you want to go?” Spike asked still not looking his way.

“Oh. S-s-so you and Spike now? Hey, that's... that's great! I-I-I'm happy for you.” Button's voice betrayed his words. He didn't really seem that happy at all. In fact, he seemed really unhappy about it.

Something in my mind clicked. “Oh dear.”

Sweetie nodded. “Y-yeah. We are. Together, I mean. Spike's great. He's really nice, fun, and he's also-”

“A dragon.” Spike's voice was incredibly cold. It sent chills down my spine. It was clear that he was not very happy.

“Y-yes, you are,” Sweetie said, her voice slightly wavering. “My coltfriend's a dragon.”

“Uh... that's great!" There was another silent gap as none of them said anything. The tension was so thick that I could feel it. And that's saying something. I mean I usually don't notice these things, but right now I could feel it like a heavy fog pushing against the back of my head. "So... I guess I'll be seeing you two around, huh?”

“O-okay, see you around, Button.” Sweetie turned around, perhaps a little too quickly, and started walking away.

“Yeah. See ya, Sweetie, Spike.”

I turned around to see Spike and Sweetie walk away together, but just before they went around a corner, the mare turned her head around and stole a glance at Button who was looking at something in the sky next to me. Then I decided that the best thing to do at that point was to win the game and ignore this episode. There were a few things that went through my mind, but the most prominent was: poor Spike. It was hard not to feel sorry for the guy. On the one hand (hoof?) I thought he'd found his one true love, but it seemed that she still wasn't over whoever this guy was, or maybe I was reading too much into it.

What was up with these mares and old flames? Damn you, Atom! I muttered to myself in my head.

“No fair!” Pumpkin whined snapping me out of my reverie.

“That's the way life is sometimes I'm afraid,” I replied.

“That's still doesn't mean it's fair.”

“I know, I know, but that's just the way life is sometimes, I guess. Don't feel bad about it. It's not like it's your problem, right?” I said trying to comfort the filly.

“Not my problem? How is it not my problem? It totally is my problem! How would you like it if Pound pushed you away from your controllers just when you were about to win?” Pumpkin replied folding her hooves in front of her and pouting her lips. “Not fair, Pound. I'm telling.”

Of course she was talking about the game. Why would she notice that exchange with Spike? Plus why was I worrying about it too much? I mean, Spike was a big dragon. He could take care of himself if he needed to. He doesn't need to leave like he did the last time, and Sweetie did chase after him when we tried to escape Canterlot in secret. That's got to count for something.

“Forest, say something,” Pumpkin demanded of me.

“Stop cheating, Pound,” I stated.

He mumbled something, but my mind was on other things.

“W-well, we have a winner!” Nocturne shouted trying to take back control of the situation. “Everypony congratulate this young colt for a job well done!”

There was an applause as the others did as they were asked, all the while the brown pony next to me was still staring at something in the sky with great intensity. I did not know what was going through his head, but it seemed appropriate to not bother him. Actually, I just didn't need to get myself involved.

Just then something whizzed past my ear and hit the back of the stand next to my character with a squishy sound. I looked up to see a tomato slowly ooze off the back of the game's wall and land on the ground. I turned around to see a group of ponies glaring at me, or not. They were glaring at something behind me. But that couldn't be right. The only thing behind me, besides the stand, was Nocturne.

“Get out of here you freak!” one of the ponies shouted.

“Yeah!” another stated.

“Hey! I have as much of a right to play this game as any of you!” I retorted, my mouth reacting before the rest of my body. The pony who threw the pony stared down at me. Yes, down at me. The guy was almost Big Mac's size. I felt my bowels tighten up real good.

“Not you,” the tomato-thrower grumbled, much to my relief. “I'm talking to that!”

I turned around. “That... stand?”

“No! The changeling behind you.”

“Changeling?” I turned around again, but all I could see was the top of Nocturne's head as she hid behind the rest of her stand. “Where?”

“Right there!”

“I still don't see it,” I replied peering at the stand expecting a changeling to mold out of the background like a chameleon.

“In front of you, you moron!”

I just didn't get what they meant. Then it clicked. “You mean her?” I asked pointing at Nocturne.

“Yeah! Duh!”

“You think she's a changeling?” I asked out of surprise. I looked at Nocturne again. Indeed, there were a few things about her that did resemble a changeling. The two most prominent things were probably her two little fangs and dark colored fur, but the fact of the matter was, unlike Tutela, she was... cute. I didn't feel threatened by her at all, not that Tutela threatened me... oh, who was I kidding. Of course she did. Tutela was one scary bitch. That and her bat-like wings were nothing like the bug-like wings. “But she's a vesper! I mean, look at her! She looks nothing like a changeling!”

I tried to stop myself from blurting out the last part of my statement, but my mouth was quicker than my brain. Seriously, what was wrong with me? If someone heard me they might think that I've actually met or known what a changeling was.

“Don't worry about them, Forest. Some ponies think that changelings and bat ponies are the same thing,” Pound answered.

“Vesper,” Nocturne corrected from her hiding spot. “Not bat pony.”

“Sorry. Vesper,” Pound replied blushing a little. “Miss Cheerilie says that it's because many ponies are still real scared of them and think that they are the same.”

“Princess Luna was still Nightmare Moon,” Pumpkin began standing next to her brother, “and then there was that changeling invasion. A lotta ponies got confused between the two.”

“I... don't understand.”

That seemed to get the bully's attention. “What? You don't know? Where were you?”

“Um... I got amnesia. I don't remember anything.” I lied, but my mind was on another thing. I realized that these two were standing in front of the stand defiantly as if they were a wall against the bully.

The kids glared him.

“But they're not, right?” I asked trying to push them out of the way. Didn't want them to make the crazy stallion angry.

“No!” Nocturne shouted standing up and glaring at me. “No. We're ponies. No matter what they say, it won't change that fact. I'm a pony, despite my teeth and the fact that my wings are not made of feathers, I'm one of them.”

“Keep telling yourself that, bug!” came the taunt.

“You shouldn't talk like that. Most vespers become Royal Guards, you know. Usually Luna's private guards and patrol the night with her. Miss Cheerilie says that ponies who think that vespers are bad are bad. So, you're bad!”

“What did you say to me, you little punk?”

"I said you're bad! Bad, bad, bad, bad-bad, bad, bad!" Pumpkin screamed.

That did little to calm the whole situation down.

“W-w-wait!” I pleaded, not wanting to get into a scuffle with the twins. Oh, who am I kidding. I didn't want to get beat up. Obviously the pony wouldn't go after the children. Right?

“You better control your kid, or I'm going to buck your face.”

I furrowed my brow. “Um, she's not my kid-”

“Uncle Forest will make you sorry!” Pumpkin stated on my behalf.

“Oh? Is that so?”

I looked at the filly and she gave me a firm look. She wasn't going to back down. Sadly, the little girl had more backbone than I did, but I mean come on! I just almost died recently – again. I didn't want to be put into a position where I could be in danger even in the most blandest form. I wanted to go one day without having to face conflict of some sort.

Granted, that was probably too late at this point as I had almost got my flank handed to me by Applebloom, was threatened by Lance and who knows what else. I had to hand it to myself. I could get into quite the mess. I blamed it on my mind and my mouth being on different wavelengths; they never seemed to get along. Well, maybe I could put up a resistance. Maybe I could somehow manage to fight back in some way.

Who was I kidding? There was no way I could handle this guy by myself.

The pony walked towards me all threateningly, and he was a little bit taller and bigger than me. Still, I had to act like I was... what? Tough? Even Pound was tougher than me. So, I did what was natural in a situation when a bigger dude was bearing down on you. I braced myself for impact. At least the stallion was nice enough not to go for the kids.

“Hey! What do you guys think you're doing?” a voice shouted.

My eyes spotted the stallion standing to my right just inside the perimeter of the crowd. His eyes were narrow.

"This isn't any of your business!" The bully shouted.

Lance calmly bent down and picked up a cotton-candy stick from the ground with his hoof and held it in front of him. It looked ridiculous, but at the same time it surprisingly looked threatening as well.

"What's this all about?" He asked me, ignoring the bully blatantly.

"Hesaidthattheponythereisachangelingbuthe'swrongbecausetheponyisavesperandnotachangelingandhewantstofightForestbecausehe'sstickingupforherlikeagentlecolt!" Pumpkin replied.

I had no idea what she said.

“You do know that just because she's different doesn't make her bad, right?” Lance asked.

“What would you know?” the bully retorted glaring at the newcomer.

Even though I was supposed to be this guy's rival, after the Applebloom incident from earlier and the fact that he was now protecting me, I was genuinely happy he happened across us.

“Look, everypony's got a right to have their opinions even if they are wrong and misguided, but it doesn't mean you get to hurt others," Lance stated.

"Ooh! Burn!" I shouted and grinned.

Lance seemed to appreciate this because I could see the corner of his lips turn upwards. It was only for a brief moment, and it was so slight that I had to really stare at it, but he did smile.

The bully was not intimidated in the slightest. “Oh? What are you? A Guard?”

“No. Look, don't make me hurt you,” Lance said calmly. “Because I can. That is something I do not want to do, so don't make me. Got it?”

“Oh? What you gonna do? Hit me with that... twig?”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “This? This sliver of wood is more than enough for a weakling like you. Do you want to see how I hit things with... twigs?”

What happened next can only be described as, dare I say it, magic. Lance took a step forwards and in one smooth movement swiped the stick through the air. The next moment a huge wave of blue seemed to appear and smack the bully full on sending him flying backwards into a trash bin. I had no idea what had just happened, but whatever it was wasn't magic. I knew it because I wasn't feeling faint nor did my wrist burn, which would have happened because I was really close to him. Not only that, but Lance was an earth pony, and he couldn't cast magic even if he wanted to. I think. But that's besides the point. What the hell was that?

“You want to know what it feels like if I actually hit you with the twig?” Lance asked calmly as he walked towards the bully as he pulled himself from the heap. “You might not live to tell about it if I do.”

“N-no, that's okay. I g-get it. S-she's cool...”

The guy ran away almost as fast me! I had never seen a pony move that fast before... except me of course... on the television thingy when I saw myself. A small part of me felt a little sad about that. At least when I ran away I got a trail of fire following me, so it looked cool, I think.

“How'd you do that?” Pound asked taking the tiny stick from Lance's hoof. “Can you teach me?”

Lance smiled. “Maybe when you're older. It's not something you can just learn overnight. It takes years and years of practice, training and meditation. But if you really want to learn, I can teach you except that you'll probably have no time to play and will have no time for fun.”

“Is that why you're so unsociable?” I asked.

“W-what?” Lance didn't expect that.

“I mean, you always look mean, say things that imply impending bodily harm, and have the demeanor of a... I dunno. What's a dangerous creature?”

“Um... a cockatrice?” Pumpkin suggested.

“A what?” I asked as I took the stick from Pound and studied it. There definitely was no magic, but the stick felt warm to the touch. Not hot, but there was definitely some heat there, like it had been sitting in the sun for a while.

“A cockatrice. It's like a lizard-chicken that can turn you to stone just by looking at it.”

I did not know how to reply to that. "Lizard chicken?"

“Hey, you want a round? The two of us?” Lance asked in an obvious attempt at being a tough guy. It didn't really sound that threatening anymore, but I knew better.

I looked up at him before bursting out in laughter. “After what I just saw you do? No way.”

“I'll go easy on you,” he offered.

“Somehow I don't trust that malicious grin on your snout,” I replied pointing to his muzzle. “You ain't gonna make me fight a battle I have no chance whatsoever in contributing to in any way, shape or form.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” the swordspony asked.

“It means that you'd be able to beat me pretty badly whether you're taking it easy against me or not. I'm too delicate to fight you. Just ask... well, every single pony here!”

Lance lowered the stick and shook his head. "Okay, I get it. I didn't realize you were so weak."

"Oi. I'm not weak, just delicate."

“Whatever. Then have you seen Applebloom? I would like to talk to her.”

“Yeah, she was with us a while ago. She headed that-a-way,” I said pointing towards the medical tents.

“Forest! We're bored! Let's go play something else,” the kids moaned.

“But-”

Pound's eyes lit up. “I know! Let's go on a ride-”

“Games it is!” I shouted and lobbed the evil pair onto my back and bolted out of there as fast as my legs could carry me.

One thing that really made me glad to be here was the ponies. Even after all this supposed fame and fortune, they treated me as if I were a part of the crowd. That was really nice of them. I could tell that many wanted to come and ask me something, most probably for an autograph, but they refrained from doing so even though I secretly wanted them all to fawn over me like some sort of movie star. Seriously, why not? I was a celebrity. I even had these tiny action figures of me. What else did I need to do to have a legion of fans following me around all over the place? Then again, the thought of that really happening seemed somewhat annoying. What if I wanted to be alone? If these goof-balls followed me around then that would be impossible. I remembered what happened to Rainbow in the restaurant and how that press guy kept bugging her and asking her those really intrusive questions.

“Forest!” Pumpkin shouted snapping my attention to the things afoot (ahoof?).

“Ah!” I screamed. “What?”

“Stop spacing out!” she retorted.

“What?”

“You're going to crash!” she screamed and I felt her hooves tighten themselves around my neck.

She was indeed correct. I was going to crash, but I couldn't let the twins get hurt because of my stupidity. I was running pretty fast. I mean, full speed fast. The ground was blurry and ponies were leaping out of my way. I couldn't hit the breaks like this. It'd send the two on my back flying through the air. Although I considered that they'd be able to safely use their magic or wings to prevent themselves from getting hurt, I couldn't risk it. They Cakes trusted me with their offspring, and I'd be damned before I harm them. The first thing I did was turn my body towards the lake so that if I did fall it would have been safer in the water. As I drew closer, I used all the strength to shove my hooves down as hard as I could into the ground in front of me. The ground under my hooves was soaking wet and hard, so I couldn't dig them into the ground as I spun out of control. We hit the water at a pretty high level of speed making me skim along the surface before coming to a stop and sinking beneath the water.

With terror flooding my body, I quickly burst through the surface and searched for the two that were supposed to be on my back in a panicked frenzy splashing about the water like some sort of maniac.

“Forest? What are you doing?” a familiar voice asked.

I turned to see both Pumpkin and Pound looking at me from the bank of the lake.

I have no idea what came over me, but I rushed to the two of them and hugged them both with all my might. I had done something so incredibly stupid. How could I have endangered their lives the way I had just done? If anything had gone wrong, anything at all... I didn't want to humor the thought.

“Forest! Quit it!” Pound protested.

Pumpkin just giggled. “Forest, stop! I can't breathe!”

No. I couldn't stop. I felt so terrible. So awful. So... irresponsible. “Sorry, sorry. I... sorry.” The words felt weightless compared to the gravity of what could have been.

“Now we're all wet again,” Pound pointed out as he pried himself loose form my grip. “What's wrong with you?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thought...” I had hurt the two of you.

“You're acting like mom.”

Despite the fact I knew he was making fun of me, I didn't care.

“Don't worry, Forest. We're tough. It'll take more than that to hurt us,” Pumpkin said with an air of confidence that didn't resemble her age.

These were my last few days with them, and I was going to treasure every single moment I had. My heart was torn. There were just way too many things on my mind that I couldn't actually make head or tail about what to do. All I knew was that I had to go back to Tutela, or else I'd risk revealing myself as a human. That could not happen. Never. I wouldn't be able to ever justify it to all of them. I just could not get over the fact that if I changed back into my true form here, that all my friends, the love that I had received, everything, would have been for nothing. Even though some ponies seemed to accept it, having it be real would've been another thing. There was no way, no way, I would let that happen. I mean, yeah, they suspected and yeah, there was the fact hat my 'secret' was out to some of them, but somewhere deep inside I really didn't think any of them really believed I was really a human.

But did it matter?

I just didn't know. And why did it affect me so much? Twilight even said that she'd protect me from anything, but in my heart I understood one thing clear as the bright, sunny day that was starting to fade away. It if had not been for Tutela, I would have never come here. In that respect, I owed her and that knowledge alone made me realize that she was more than I gave her credit for. I just wished there was a way that would appease my sense of guilt. Maybe that was the pony in me. After all, coming here had got me starting to be like them. I mean really be one of them. Not in some half-assed fashion. There was just some things I refused to even entertain now, whereas I knew that I wouldn't have given two shits before.

Was it something in the water? Or was it because they were so wonderful that I couldn't help but catch a tiny inkling of their kindness, generosity, honesty and loyalty. Not to mention their funniness and the magic of it all.

Still, I really wanted to know what the true meaning of friendship really was. Perhaps I would never know, and now that I think of it, I was okay with that. I had made friends. I had learned to love. They would go on. That lesson taught to me by Trixie had sunk it good. I didn't mind that I would leave them because I knew deep down that no matter what happens, they would live on.

“So, what should we do now? Go and play a game?” Pound asked. "We won't ride you Forest, we don't want you to crash again."

I nodded. “Yeah. Probably a good idea. Why not look for a game over here near these stands?” I looked around, but there wasn't really one that interested me. Most of the stands here sold beverages and food any way.

We looked around at all the stands, again. Finally the twins saw a game they liked. They ran over and started to play, but I was feeling out of it. My chest felt heavy and so did my eyes. It felt like I had a large bag of something on my chest.

"Forest!" I heard a voice then a hard poke on my snout. "Wake up!"

"I'm awake!"

"Forest, are you okay?" Pumpkin asked. You kinda fell asleep again."

I looked up, the sun had long since gone and now the fair was alive with ponies in the night. The rides looked so cool with all their neon lamps on, or whatever it was inside them. They could've been magical lamps for all I knew, but they looked and resembled the neon lamps from Earth.

“You... you wanna go sleep?" Pound asked. "I think the nurse said that if you sleep it'll make you feel better."

"You know, that's not a bad idea. Let's head back to your parents' stand, okay? I'll leave you there and you can go hang out with your father."

"Boo. Dad's boring. He never rides with us."

"I'm sorry kids, but I really can't keep my eyes open." I smiled at them, but my eyes really did feel so heavy.

"Fine. Then take us back to mom and dad's. We get to ride on you again."

"But-"

The look on their faces told me that they were not going to take no for an answer. With a sigh, I lowered my body to the ground and let them climb onto my back. Then I started to move.

“You're going the wrong way.”

I made a face, “Of course I am.”

We walked together for what seemed like ages. At least it seemed that way to me. I kept literally nodding off, and Pound took it upon himself to smack the back of my head whenever he felt that I was falling asleep. Finally the familiar scent of coffee hit my nostrils. The mere thought of it seemed to give me a second wind and I actually found myself trotting towards the stand. There I saw Mrs Cake serving a line of ponies. I stood in line, eager to get some of the wonderful smelling coffee. It seemed appropriate with the cold night.

Mrs Cake had her head below the counter as I walked up. “What can I do- oh, hi Forest. How're the kids treating you?”

I smiled at Mrs. Cake. “Fine. They're taking great care of me.”

“That's nice. My husband's back, so you can leave them with us if you wanna.”

“Well... I was feeling a little tired, but I think I'll be fine if I get a cup of coffee. So, there's no need. Besides, Pound and Pumpkin are showing me around the fair and it's been really great. If they want, we can still hang out-”

“Yeah! Uncle Forest is so much fun!” Pumpkin shouted the last part in my ear by leaning against my neck to get closer to her mother.

It took me a second to acknowledge what she said. “Wait. Uncle?”

“Yeah. If you can be an hon'ry Apple, then why not a hon'ry Cake?”

“Ho-nah-reh-ree, Pumpkin,” he mother corrected her.

“That's what I said.”

I chuckled.

“So if he's an honorary Apple and an honorary Cake,” Mr. Cake asked coming out from behind one of the stand's partitions. He had in his hoof a tray of steaming hot cupcakes. He did a quick look around in the sky as if watching out for something before placing it inside the glass stand. “What does that make him?”

“Forest Fire Apple Cake!” Pumpkin stated.

“Forest...” I whispered.

“... Fire...” Mrs. Cake followed.

“... Apple...” Mr. Cake sighed thoughtfully.

“... Cake?” Pound asked raising an eyebrow.

There was a lull in the air after that.

“I'd eat it,” a customer suddenly stated.

“Me too!” a brown unicorn nodded in agreement.

A pegasus mare smacked her lips. “That actually sounds real yummy.”

“Forest fire apple cake...” Mr. Cake stroking his chin. “You know, that does sound appetizing. Do you mind if I take a crack at it?”

“Not at all. Why would I mind?”

Mr. Cake just smiled. He closed his eyes and then jumped up onto his hind legs and laughed. “I've just got it! An inspiration! Oh, this is going to be great! The color... the sugar in it... yeah! Pinkie! Pinkie, I need you to caramelize some sugar! Where's that mare when you need her? Dear, can you pass me the flour? You there, pour me two cups of milk! Hop to it, my good sir! I'll need four eggs and-”

“You better get out of here before you get recruited,” Mrs. Cake whispered to me. “Come back in an hour or so, okay? He gets like this when he has an inspiration. Worse than Pinkie. Oh, and here's an triple shot espresso. That ought to keep you up.”

I nodded, took the small container with the coffee, and quickly slipped away with the twins.

When we were out of earshot, Pound grinned, “So, now that you're an honorary Cake, does that make you my big brother?”

“It kinda does, I guess. Or uncle. Whichever you want.”

At that the colt grinned from ear to ear. “You know, I've always wanted an older brother. Pinkie's more like my big sister, even if I call her my aunt, and now you're my big brother!”

Pumpkin sighed sadly. “I wish that you and auntie Pinkie could get married."

I was lucky that I didn't take a sip from my triple espresso when she said this out of the blue. My face felt like it was on fire.

“He's with aunt Twilight, Pumpkin.”

“I know. I know! But... think about it, Pound! If Forest marries Pinkie, then he'd have to live with us! Then we'd get to see him everyday and we'd go to school together, play together, go on picnics together. He could let us ride on his back to school and we'd get there so quick, we could sleep in a little bit extra!”

Pound looked at me. “Big brother?”

Oh Luna, my heart! The way he called me his big brother made my insides melt. I've never had anyone call me anything endearing before and it felt so nice. “I'm sorry Pumpkin, but Pound's right. I'm with Twilight now.”

“Aw. But you were with Pinkie first!” Pumpkin moaned.

My eyes went wide. "I-I-I..."

“He's with aunt Twily now," Pound reiterated.

“But uncle Forest likes Pinkie more! Right?”

“What? I, uh, that is to say, uh, that, uh, you know, um...”

“Hi you three. What's happening?” A voice shouted from above us. I looked up to see a silhouette slowly emerging from the darkened sky catching the light of the fair below her as she descended down towards us. Never before had I been happier to see Rainbow. Well, that's not true. I was pretty happy when she pulled me out of that ursa incident. She landed near us. I was so thankful that she had cut me off. Saved my fat ass she did. Did kids always asked these kinds of difficult, impossible-to-answer, questions?

I ran up to the pegasus. “Hi Rainbow!” I shouted in her face.

She rubbed her ears, clearly not impressed with the level of volume. "Hi Forest. Hi kids!"

Pumpkin stood up on my back. “Hey Rainbow! Guess what! Forest's our new big brother! He's Forest Fire Apple Cake!”

“Forest Fire Apple Cake?” Rainbow thought about it for a moment. “That does sound delicious.”

I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows. “Sorry, Rainbow, but I'm taken.”

She bit her bottom lip in a sarcastic smile nodding slowly. “Oh, ha, ha. Very funny.”

“I try.”

“So, where's Twilight? I don't see her lips glued to yours.”

This time it was my turn to give her a wan smile. “She got kayoed by the Sleeping Sickness. She's resting in the medical tent.”

“Oh?” Rainbow turned around and did something that looked like a fist-pump (hoof-pump?), I couldn't really tell exactly from my angle. She seemed to calm down as she turned back to me a second later. “So, wanna hang out?”

“Sure. Wait. Why would you hang out with us?"

The pegasus merely shrugged. "Why not?"

I didn't have a proper answer to that. "We're about to play some games. Need to win my hooch!”

Rainbow shook her head. “You do know you're not gonna win, right?”

“Oh no? Well... just watch me then! I know just the game.” I turned around and grinned maliciously, “And I have to beat it.”

Then I headed towards the one stand that I had to defeat. The one game that had been bothering me since I saw it. A game that tested patience, a game that tested resilience and exercised your skill. A game that was legendary amongst all games in existence and pressed the best and most elite of all could complete. A game that would win the hearts and minds of the populace. A game that I told myself that I had to win. The hardest game in all of Equestria!

Duck-fishing.

I was going to win, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop me. The kids and Rainbow followed in silence as I walked towards the final game for myself. The last challenge. Like the Race, like the incident in the Pit, something inside me seemed to kick into gear. Like this was something I had to do. Something that needed to be done. It may have seemed stupid and mundane, but it really was the only game I actually had to defeat. The feeling was so compelling. Perhaps it had something about those two jokers that ran the stand. That and the fact I had to regain what little dignity I had to begin with.

As I stood at the top of the make-shift road that led towards the stand, it seemed that every pony in my way stepped aside. I lowered my head and narrowed my eyes trying to look as intimidating as possible as I walked slowly towards the two stallions in question.

“So, you've come back, eh?” The unicorn with the mustache said as he spotted me.

“I have!" I shouted excitedly.

I heard a smack and saw Pound wiping his face. Was it something I said?

"Yeah, the four of us are going to play. Okay guys?” I asked looking at my companions.

Pound nodded, Pumpkin smiled, Rainbow rolled her eyes, and I laughed sadistically.

“That's four bits! Here are your poles! G'luck. You'll need it!” At that the unicorn laughed sadistically and walked to another group of fillies repeating exact same words and laughing once more.

We all got into position and started to play.

Pound quickly caught his first duck, it had a green collar around its neck, and pulled it up and towards him. He turned it over and revealed a four. He placed the rubber ducky in front of him, then tossed his line to try and catch another one. In the meantime, Rainbow fished a red one out with the number one printed under it. Next was Pumpkin, who caught a blue nine and placed it in front of her.

“What are you waiting for?” Pound asked.

I grinned, “Just getting the feel for things.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I can't catch them ducks as fast as you guys,” I said, trying to laugh it off.

Pound looked at me as if I was the strangest pony he had ever met. Probably spot on.

Lowering my rod, I aimed for a black duck. I got the little noose around it and pulled. The number underneath read minus four. I placed the duck in front of me and waited. Pound hooked yet another duck instantly after I did. Another green one and he peered under it. A six.

“What's six plus four?”

“Ten.”

“Ten? Um... okay,” he looked up at the prizes hanging above him. Something caught his eye and he lifted up his hooves. If he had fingers, I would venture to guess he was counting them. He turned to me, “How many more points do I need to get fifteen?”

“Five. You'd need to catch another green ducky."

He nodded at me and lowered his rod over the ducks. He concentrated hard on them and looked like he spotted his potential target. Leaning forwards, he lowered it over the target and tried to catch it. No good. It went beyond him and out of reach. He snarled and looked over to me.

“Missed.”

“I can see that.”

We both shared a laugh.

“I'll get it next time round!” Pound announced, and waited patiently for the water to carry the duck back around to our side.

A growl distracted me and I turned to see a clearly annoyed Rainbow Dash hovering just above her seat trying to fish another duck. She was just aiming at random, and soon she caught a black one. Taking it, she turned it over and showed it to me. A minus seven.

“Ugh. I hate this. There's no skill involved. It's all luck!”

“Yeah! Only luck,” Pumpkin grumbled as one of the stand's unicorn brothers took her pole away. Apparently she had already lost winning nothing at all.

“How many ponies have actually been able to beat this game?” Rainbow growled at the two unicorns.

“How many? What do you think, Flim?”

“No idea, Flam. I think it's... zero!”

The two of them began to laugh as if that was the funniest thing they've ever heard. As they did, I quickly fished another duck out and looked under it. The red showed the number three. I quickly placed it down in front of me.

“I really don't like those two,” Rainbow grumble quietly to me. “What number did you get?”

“One. I need another red.”

She looked at me funny, “You're trying to win that over-sized bear?”

“I am. If I can't win in numbers, then I'll win in volume! The bigger the better.”

Rainbow looked at me, “For Twilight?”

“Of course.”

“Oh.” She looked so upset.

“What's wrong?" I asked.

“Nothing. Just... I think it's nice that you're trying your hardest. You're pretty cool like that.”

I felt heat in my cheeks. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

Pound gave an angry roar before stomping around angrily. “So close! I had fourteen!” He shouted.

“Better luck next time. You'll need it!” one of the two unicorns taunted before bursting out in laughter.

Pound glared at him.

Rainbow tossed her rod onto the counter and hovered next to me, “Well, I'm done. Won nothing. You sure picked the worst stall, Forest.”

“Thanks, Rainbow.”

She put a hoof around my shoulders. “I know these two creepos. They're not the honest sort.”

“I'm aware of that,” I replied halfheartedly, my mind still fully bent on searching for the right red rubber ducky.

“Then why pick this stand? Why give them any business?”

She was right. Why had I picked this stand? Why did I have an overbearing desire to beat this little game? It made no sense, and yet I felt that if I did not do this then something terrible would happen. A cold chill rolled along my spine, like something really bad was coming.

Like a storm.

Then something told me that these two events were nothing more than coincidence. I felt a cold chill run along my spine again and I felt the skin beneath my fur gooseflesh from the sensation. Whatever it was, it really affected me.

“Hey!”

I shook my head. "Ow. My ear."

“Come on, other ponies want to play!” Flim or Flam shouted at me. I wasn't sure who was who.

“Take it easy,” Rainbow replied in my defense. “Can't you see he's thinking?”

“Looked more like he fell asleep to me, wouldn't you say, Flim?”

“I would say, Flam,” the other unicorn shouted from the other side of the stand, where he would have had absolutely no idea what the former was talking about.

I sighed. “Take it easy, I'm about to win right now.”

“Oh yeah? What makes you think that?” Flam asked.

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because I believe.”

I heard a snort of laughter from next to me and gave Rainbow a nudge. Even I couldn't keep myself from smiling at her reaction. "You believe?" She roared in laughter when she tried in vain to imitate me.

“I've never heard anything so corny in all my life,” the one I thought was Flim announced. “Have you, ol' buddy, ol' chum?”

“Can't say that I've had the pleasure,” the other responded.

I pouted. “Aw, you guys are just jealous.”

“And you suck at this game, Forest!” Rainbow landed on the ground next to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "But it's okay. You're still all right in my book."

Her touch sent chills down my spine. The good kind, funnily enough. It made me stop pouting and look over in her direction, our eyes meeting. I had no idea how... beautiful they were. Granted, I never had the desire to look into her eyes but now that I was I found myself practically entranced by them. I felt my cheeks grow hot as she smiled at me.

Then she gave me a sharp slap on my back. That snapped me out of whatever was happening to me.

“What was that for?” I moaned, trying to rub the stinging spot, which was conveniently out of my reach.

“Good luck. Looks like you're gonna need it.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing... except you're gonna lose.”

“Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” I deadpanned.

“Anytime, Forest Fire.”

I searched the ducks again, trying to find a red one. There were quite a few floating around, but none of them felt right. Something inside me was telling me that I had to wait just a little bit longer. Why that was, I didn't know, but the feeling just wouldn't go away. Each time I chose a duck, this pressure would start pushing against my head telling me to stop. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming urge to burst out singing. That was instantly followed by an overwhelming urge to eat something sour, then I wanted to dance the tango, before feeling that digging a hole in the ground where I stood was the most essential thing I needed to get done.

“What's wrong with me?” I muttered trying to shake the strange feelings from my body.

“There's always something wrong with you.”

“Thanks, Rainbow, you're a real pal.”

She grinned and poked my nose. “But seriously, you feel weird?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah...”

“You know why?”

Didn't my first statement already answer that question? “I wish I did.”

“What are you feeling?”

“I feel like... different. Like I have to do the most ridiculous things ever. Right now I have an overwhelming urge to paint stripes on my body and walk around talking in rhyme, and now I feel the need to jump in the air and do a double back flip.”

“Can you do a double back flip?”

“No, of course not,” I replied. “And I know that, so why would I have this overwhelming urge to do it?”

“You're asking the wrong mare,” Rainbow replied.

I looked up at the stand, then at my pole, then at the ducks floating around in the water going in circles around and around in the man made (pony made?) river. There were a few other ponies playing, but something just seemed off. Something about all this was...

“Wrong.”

“Huh?”

“Something is wrong. Something is not right.”

“What are you talking about, Forest?”

“Something bad is going to happen. Something terrible something... awful...”

“Forest?” Rainbow was right next to me, but her voice sounded so far away. “Forest? Are you okay? You don't look so good.”

I backed off away from her, more to do with trying to find a bin to vomit in, but as soon as I got distance away from her the strange feeling vanished. Everything was normal. I turned around and saw Rainbow looking at me with a completely puzzled expression on her face.

“You okay?”

“Yeah... I think so...” I walked back towards her expecting to have those feelings flood back into my body, but nothing happened. Everything was fine. “I'm fine? Yeah. I'm fine.”

“You sure?”

“Eeyup. Feel good. Okay, let's finish this.”

Again I looked at the ducks floating around the waterway, trying to find the right one. Seeing them spin around like that, I started to get those strange feelings again. An overwhelming need to do something utterly random followed by a slowly encroaching feeling of danger that gradually got stronger and stronger that only stopped once I put distance between Rainbow and myself. The danger felt very real, but it wasn't because of Rainbow; it wasn't her I feared. There was something... else.

“Hey!”

I snapped out of my trance. “Sorry, sorry. Was just thinking.”

“Well, stop thinking and play! We're all waiting on you!” Rainbow gestured towards Pumpkin and Pound, both of whom looked unhappy and bored.

This time I pushed Rainbow away from me claiming that her presence was cramping my style. She seemed to accept this reason because of her supreme awesomeness and allowed herself to move slightly away. Since the feeling was gone, I could definitely get back to the task at hand. I humored, for the briefest of moments, whether or not the feeling was important but it passed quickly and I resumed on the mission at hand (hoof?).

It was time to win that bear!

Taking the rod, I did a twist and lobbed it out where it landed, by pure luck, on a red ducky and I racked the bastard out as hard as I could with all my might. It soared through the air and landed just behind me on the ground.

Pound bend over, but just before he touched it I screamed. "Don't touch it!"

He yanked his hoof back as I fell to the ground and peered at the bottom of it from the side. There it was. The number that I had been waiting for.

"Rainbow, can you check it out?"

"Sure, Forest, but I'm not going to look at it from the ground."

"Please? You gotta. It won't work if you don't. And Pumpkin and Pound, you too. You just got to look and confirm the number."

They all looked and noted the bright red numeral there.

"Okay? Got it?"

They all nodded in response.

"I win, you know," I told the unicorn at the stand.

"Sorry, won't know unless I check." He grinned and waited for me to hand it over.

I narrowed my eyes. "Okay..."

This was it. This was what the trick had to be. As I handed (hoofed?) it over, I felt my bracelet tingle.

"You know, you shouldn't use magic to change the numbers at the bottom of the ducks. It's really unfair and quite a nasty thing to do."

At once the the unicorn jumped back snatching the duck from me. The other came over and they both looked at one another before bursting out in laughter. It sounded uncharacteristically forced to me, not like the boisterous showing off laughter they had decided to spout at me and my friends mere moments before. This was a guilty laugh. I held myself up as best I could, but it was clear that already too much power had been absorbed by my bracelet. I felt the pain in my hoof and my eyes started to grow heavy and I slumped towards my right.

"Hey, I gotcha."

I turned my head slightly to look up. Rainbow Dash smiled down at me and was supporting me with her body against mine. I gave her my best smile. "Sorry, Rainbow. Can you get the kids back to their mother? I might be out of it for quite a while."

She looked at me and understood. "No problem, you just let me handle things from here, okay?"

"I'm sorry, but..."

As I hit the ground, I heard shouting, noise, some other ruckus, a lot of screaming and shouting. Why do I always miss out on all the good things?

I awoke to find myself lying on a bed. As to where? No idea. The sound of humming was coming from next to me and I looked up to see a familiar machine. Then I felt a violent shake and looked straight.

"Wake! Up!"

I felt a stinging sensation on my cheek and shook the pain off. It front of me was Pound and a little behind to his left was Pumpkin.

"W-where am I?" I asked.

"Pound! I said wake him up, not hit him!" Mrs Cake said to her son and pulled him away in that rough-gentle way that parents do.

"S'okay. Didn't hurt," I lied.

Mrs Cake lowered herself slightly to make sure that I was okay before standing back up and going about her work. "Forest, you're back at our stand. Rainbow carried you here on her back. She said something about letting you rest until later. Anyway, the fair's over and everypony's going home. You should too. I think I saw Spike and Sweetie heading towards the town, so I think that you can get into Twilight's place. That is where you're staying, right?"

Throughout the entire time she was talking, she was doing something. Whether it was putting away from cutlery, or putting glass and porcelain cups she had used to serve her customers. I noticed that Mr Cake was nowhere to be seen. I got up and rolled my shoulders to crick my back.

"Mom, can Forest take us on another ride?" Pumpkin asked.

I swear I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice at the mere mention of this. It took my another second to realize that the filly was rolling on the floor in fits of laughter. It took me a moment to puzzle out that she had successfully, purposefully, made me feel that fear. Still, I couldn't help but smile at her, although it was a wry one.

"Everything's closed." Pound sat stood next to me. "We're helping clean up. You wanna help too?"

With nothing better to do, I nodded.

"Are you sure? You can go and rest at home, you know. Me and my husband, when he's back, will take care of everything from here on out." Mrs Cake stood in front of me and I could tell that she was just being polite. How I could do this, I have no idea, but her eyes were practically screaming for help.

Again, with nothing better to do, I nodded.

"Great! I was hoping you would be actually willing to help!" Mrs Cake zoomed off and returned within seconds with a list. "I need help putting all the surplus items into another pony's cart. He's bought out what we don't need and is taking it with him to Cloudsdale."

"Sounds nice," I muttered and took a look. There wasn't very many items on the list, but the numbers on the far left hand side scared me. "Fifteen boxes of sugar?"

"Yes! We made a nice bundle from this. Now we can buy some special ingredients for the next batch of baked goodies!" Mrs. Cake walked off with a skip to her step.

"How big are these sugar boxes?" I asked Pound in a loud whisper.

He pointed to a carton box of around a foot long. On the side it had the face of a pony with large amounts of makeup on and wearing in a clown's costume in a golden circle with a faintly drawn circus in the background with a red, white and blue tent in the foreground. A golden or yellow ribbon was spread out along the bottom underneath the clown. On it, in bold red words, was 'Sweet Tooth's Extra Sweet Sugar', then under that in some fancy script read, 'The Sweetest Thing. Ever. Period!'.

"That's... eloquent." I looked at the box closer and couldn't help but chuckle lightly to myself. It certainly was ridiculous.

Pound didn't hear me as he was bothering his sister by throwing little sugar cubes at her. She was dodging them quite easily, until Pound started using his wings. Then Pumpkin threw up her shield and the two of them started pelting the cubes at one another at full speed or strength depending on who you were looking at.

"Um... so... who one the game contest?" I asked.

At once the twins ceased their antics. They looked at one another, then turned to me.

"Well, nopony."

"Yeah. Since everypony's asleep, Granny said she'd just have to wait until next time."

"So, no kisses, eh?" I asked.

The twins both shook their head. Pound with a disgusted look on his face, and Pumpkin with a blush on her cheeks.

I looked back at the list and saw that I needed to transfer six sacks of coffee. Below that, ten boxes of napkins, twelve boxes of plastic utensils and so on and so forth.

"Well, I'll be seeing you two later. I've got to go and do this before I fall asleep again."

The twins looked up at me and smiled. It looked forced, but I could be mistaken. Perhaps a part of me hoped that they'd miss me if I were gone. Deeper inside me I hoped not. As I turned to leave I felt something attach itself to my leg. I looked down to see Pumpkin hugging me. "I had fun, uncle Forest."

I smirked and ruffled her mane. "Me too, Pumpkin."

"See ya!" With that, she bounced off in much the same way Pinkie does when she's going about her things. I walked a way down the path, past all the stands being taken down and pulled away, past the volunteers who were taking down the decorations that Pinkie had put up (certainly not by herself, I don't think... well, being Pinkie, she probably did).

It didn't take me long to reach the larger carts at the edge of the fair.

"Forest?" A voice asked.

I turned around and spotted Carry, the same mare from before in all her glory. Literally. She needed to go on a diet.

Her eyes instantly narrowed themselves as she leaned into me forcing me to crouch down where I stood. Her eye kept on me until I gulped. Maybe she didn't need a diet after all.

And like that, her scrutinizing gaze left me as she leaned back on her hooves and gave me a wide smile. "So, what're you doing all the way out there?"

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. Something told me that I should watch what I thought around this particular mare. With a wide grin, I replied, "Hi Carry. Just need to move some items from the Cakes' cart to... this guy's cart."

Carry took the paper from me and scanned it. "Oh, the pony from Cloudsdale. Yeah. His cart's over there."

He hoof pointed a bright blue cart with large golden stripes along its sides. On it, it had something written in a language I didn't know. It kinda looked like Russian, or something. Maybe it was Greek. I don't know. I don't speak whatever it was that language was.

Carry led the way of to the pony in question, who was standing on top of his cart pulling something. He spotted us and stopped what he was doing and floated down. "Hi!"

"Hi, Squall. This here's Forest-"

"Oh! The runner! Hey, yeah! I know you. C-care to give an autograph? I'm actually a big fan of yours. Well, a new big fan, I guess."

I smiled. It felt good to be appreciated. "Sure. I... don't have anything to write with."

Squall looked so disappointed.

"Boys." Carry muttered and shook her head slowly. "Here, use my pen. You're going to have to get your own piece of paper though."

I looked at her and then down at the list. "I could use that."

"You could, but I gotta keep this. For me records. So ponies will know if I made a mistake," she stated and looked the list over once more.

"Well, at least let me shake your hoof."

I received his hoof in that weird impossible grip that I seemed to have mastered unconsciously. I felt my hoof tighten around his as we touched. No matter how many times I've done it, it still felt weird to me. To be able to hold something without wrapping my fingers around it. Fingers. It seemed so long ago that I had those things and yet, I barely missed them. Even now.

"I'm gonna help you load your cart," I began.

He at once threw himself into a tirade that it was unbecoming of me to use my body for anything apart from running. As flattering as it was, I stopped him with one short sentence.

"Well, if I don't help you, Mrs Cake's going to be mad, which will make Pinkie mad, which will make Twilight mad, which will make every single one of the Elements of Harmony and the princesses and any and all associated peers and family, mad. Then, they'd probably tell me that I'm lazy and that I should help others no matter what. Besides, it'll make the job go by quicker and I've got nothing better to do."

Squall blinked a couple of times before shrugging. "Okay, in that case, I don't want to get you into trouble. Thanks."

"Anytime." I turned to Carry. "Okay, I'm ready to start!"

About ten minutes in, I was cursing my big, fat, stupid mouth. Why, oh why, did I promise to help out when I was struggling to lift even a single one of those sacks of coffee. I felt so weak. Maybe it was that Sleeping Sickness trying to knock me out where I stood. I did feel a little dizzy. Still, I forced myself to stay away and began the next set of boxes without saying a word.

"Hey, Forest! That's the last one!" Squall called out to me. "Just load it inside. I'll get everything sorted out with Carry, okay?"

I nodded and smiled. As soon as he turned his head, I started to pant as if I had run to Canterlot and back non-stop. Squall turned around and I immediately struck a 'nothing-to-see-here' pose and blew on my hoof and wiped it against my chest casually looking his way and gave a wave. He raised his eyebrows and gave a slowly nod before furrowing his brow and turning around to look for Carry.

Again, as his back was turned, I drank in as much air as my lungs could possibly hold.

Luckily, the next box wasn't too heavy and I found it easy. Because of my stupidity, I had loaded the cart all wrong. All the big things were in the very far back, so there was no room there for the one light box that I had. It was still large and hard for me to carry, but I had to somehow get it on this thing. So, I tried to push some sacks to the side, but my muscles were too tired and I felt so, so sleepy. "Come on, Forest. Just a little push."

Nothing doing. Nothing budged. Sighing, I looked inside and saw that there was some space at the very rear of the cart, or the very front of it. Depends on your perspective. I walked to the side of the cart and climbed aboard. As soon as I did, I placed the box in question on top of the empty space and nodded. "Job well done, if I do say so myself."

I turned around and placed my hoof on top of the box I had just scrambled over and felt it shift under my grip. Significantly. I gulped as I saw the boxes and things teetering dangerous to one side, then the other. Suddenly, before I could even think or move, the entire piles came crashing down on top of me pinning me down. What felt like a few seconds, I found myself looking around with just my eyes. I must have had fallen asleep, because I could hear voices from outside. I recognzed them to be Squall's and Carry's.

"Hey, where'd Forest go?" Squall asked.

"Well, we did take some time. He must've finished loading the boxes and went home. You wanna count? Make sure that they're all there?"

My heart leaped for joy. They'd find me at that rate. Right now, with the weight on my back pushing down on my chest, I couldn't yell if I wanted to.

"Nah. I trust Forest," Squall replied. "He wouldn't've cheated me. He's a good guy, I know it."

My eyes bulged out of their sockets. As flattered as I was with the gesture, the fact that he wasn't going to check up on his cargo meant that I was stuck. I tried to shout, scream, make noise. Anything. But I couldn't even make a peep. What was I going to do? I just hoped that he'd wait until morning before he started on his trip back to-

"Are you leaving now?" Carry asked.

"Yep. My friends are all here, so we're going ahead."

Son of a bitch! I shouted in my head.

"Well, hope you had fun at the fair. See you guys next time."

There was silence after that, so I could only assume that Squall nodded and his friends must have use some sort of silent gesture towards Carry. Unless she ate them all. Suddenly I felt the cart shift violently to the side, then to the other side, then the goods moved backwards and I could see through a gap between all the boxes. For a moment I thought that Carry read my mind again and was looking for me to rip me apart, which might have been preferable than the situation I had just landed myself in. Why do I always get into these messes?

Like looking outside the window of an airplane, the ground was going by quickly before the ground disappeared out of view as the cart surged into the air. It was being pulled upwards and I could feel myself being pressed to the floor and back as the gravitation or whatever it was pushed me down.

The last thing I saw before blacking out, either from the speed of the cart, the weight of the boxes, or the Sleeping Sickness, were the stars in the sky. The last thing on my mind was, surprisingly, Rainbow Dash.

Strange that.

Day 27: Cloudy Skies with a Silver Lining

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Day 28: So Long, and Thanks for all the Memories

There were no dreams. At least, I don’t think there were. I remember vaguely jolting upright whenever a pang of pain would hit me. The pain would come and go, and after a while it just didn’t affect me anymore. Guess I was too tired. Too tired to give a shit. It was the sun that actually, really woke me up. After blinking up at the ceiling, I was aware of some noise coming out of the open door.

It took me a second to realize it was the sound of whispers. It was subtle at first, but it slowly grew in volume, either the speakers growing braver or my brain was waking up. Maybe my ears did that swivel thing. Second nature now. Never realized just how awesome it was.

“Are you sure?” I heard a whispery voice ask.

“Yeah! He’s totally not okay. For the past couple of days he’s been acting really weird and it’s been getting worse,” a voice replied making the attempt at silence moot.

I blinked from where I lay down and took a deep breath and held it in so that my breaths wouldn’t disturb my ability to hear. Slowly, I started to sit up on the bed. My bed. I had no idea how I got there, but right now I was more intrigued by the voices outside the room. A part of me wanted to stand and walk over to the door and poke my head out but, knowing me, I’d somehow manage to get the door to fall on me and crush my body letting everyone know I was up. That would make sneaking to eavesdrop pointless. For now I contented myself in just sitting down where I was. Plus my legs felt stiff as hell; like wood.

“...well, what about Forest?”

My breath escaped as I heard my name and I inhaled another mouthful as quietly as possible and perked my ears up again. What were they talking about? Who else is ‘getting worse’ besides me? And how did they know I was getting worse in the first place! No, no. Something else was amiss here.

“He’s fine. Said he ended up in Cloudsdale yesterday.”

“He what?” The voice burst out in honest surprise, the whispering momentarily escaping into a low murmur.

From that snippet, I knew that it was most definitely Applebloom. I could tell her and her sister apart any day of the week.

Then the thought of Applejack’s lips, eyes, and her scent hit me like a ton of bricks. Emotions of the past flooded through my head. I shook it out unconsciously and sighed. I still wasn’t over her even after all this time? What about Twilight? Why the hell was I so caught up with the AJ? I knew it wasn’t fair on Twilight, but my heart just couldn’t turn itself off and couldn’t let go. Those first few days really were spectacular. It really wasn’t fair on anypony here. These emotions were beyond me. It was wrong, wasn’t it? To love two girls in the same way. Wasn’t it time I let it go of one? Wasn’t it time to let go of both? Now, especially? Wasn’t Atom back together with AJ?

Why the fuck wasn’t I over her yet?

“Yeah. He did say he ran all the way from the Wonderbolt training place.”

“What’s wrong?” Applebloom asked.

“It’s just that, I know that the place is pretty far away, but I know Forest. I mean, I know he can run. Running is what he does! He has amazing stamina and it’s about one of the only strengths he’s got.”

I pouted at that. I know he meant it as a compliment, but I mean -- come on!

“This time he looked so… tired. You know, even after the big race he didn’t look very tired, and if his hooves weren’t so hurt, I think he could have run it again. But when he came here, he was exhausted. So exhausted that I had to carry him to his room.”

“Maybe the strain’s gotten to him?”

“Maybe,” Spike replied unconvinced.

“What’s wrong?”

That was Sweetie Belle.

“I don’t know. It’s just, I don’t think that’s it. It’s just...”

“Well?”

“Nothing,” Spike said hesitantly.

“Come on. What aren’t you tellin’ us?”

“Don’t tell Twilight or the others this, but Forest’s…”

“Yeah?”

“Something’s really wrong with him too. Last night when I put him to bed he had a really, really high fever. He was shaking and sweating, and his body felt… wrong. Like it was broken. I thought I was feeling things, so I checked and, for a moment, it felt like like it really was wrong. Then, whatever it was was gone. And then his fever. I’m not kidding, he was literally baking! Then, it was just… gone! I’m not talking about it getting lower or anything. It was literally gone. One second he was practically falling apart and boiling alive, the next he was back to normal. Sweaty, but normal. I didn’t know what to think and did some research in the library. Nothing. In fact, I wasn’t so convinced, so I checked on him again and his fever was back. Then, when I checked again a moment later… gone! Then back. Each time it came back, he would start sweating and groaning like he was in a lot of pain, but then it would stop and he’d be fine.”

“That sounds weird,” Applebloom said thoughtfully.

“I don’t get it. I’ve been looking at all of Twilight’s medical books all morning, but nothing comes up. Can a fever come and go like that? Apart from the broken feeling and the fever, the closest thing I’ve come was constipation.”

There was a long pause of silence.

“Maybe he just hasn’t gone in awhile?”

I wanted to smack my face, but at least the other voices laughed lightly at that.

“Sorry, but keeping track of Forest’s ‘movements’ isn’t something I wanna do.”

Again, a small bout of laughter.

“Lotta strange things have been happenin’ lately,” Applebloom sighed.

“Yeah, you can say that again. First Brian gets sick, then that Sleeping Sickness puts half of Ponyville to sleep, then that strange rumor about Griffons and the Guard going to the border, and now Forest. Coincidence?” Spike heaved a loud sigh. “I hope so.”

“When it rains, it really pours,” Sweetie’s voice put in.

“But, I guess we’ve been through worse,” Spike replied, but he sounded unconvinced.

“Have we, Spike?”

There was more silence before I decided that enough was enough and I made to get out of bed when what was said next stopped me.

“Guys, I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. I’ve... gotta go away for some time.” That was Applebloom.

That seemed to catch everyone off-guard.

“What? Why?” Sweetie protested.

“I just gotta. Somethin’ came up yesterday and… well, I gotta go and figure things out for myself. Can ya’ll promise me one thing before I go?”

“S-sure,” Spike said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Can ya watch over my sister? She’d prob’ly not understand. But I have to do this. I’m the only blank flank left! Well, ‘cept for Forest, and I gotta spend some time explorin’ on my own and finding out who I really am. I can’t explain deeper than that, but I just feel that somethin’s pullin’ me and I gotta go.”

“Well, what do we tell her where you’ve gone?” Spike asked.

“Tell her the truth. That I went to go find myself. To earn my Cutie Mark. I’ll be leavin’ in the mornin’ and I don’t want her to fret none. I’ve already talked to Big Mac and Granny. She’s sad, I know, but she also feels that I know what’s best for me. I just…” she let out a frustrated growl. “I’m tired of not havin’ my Cutie Mark and I’m tired… just tired of feelin’ that somethin’ in me is missin’.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Sweetie asked.

“What dy’a mean?” Applebloom asked, her voice laced with apprehension.

“You’re my best friend, Bloom. I know when something’s bothering you. I know that we’ve been growing apart these past several months, ever since you got back from that last trip of yours.”

“Yeah. You could say that. Just was trying to pick up where I left off.

“All of us have been super busy. I understand. Our careers are growing. Scootaloo is getting married! And, yeah… life is moving on. But are you sure you gotta go again? Couldn’t you just stay? I’m sure we can find something together here!”

There was another long beat before Applebloom replied. “Don’t think so, Sweetie.”

“Are you sure? You’re my very best friend, Bloom. I know you better than you know yourself, but when you got back from that last trip you seemed like a whole different pony. And you didn’t tell us where you went or anything. And you didn’t speak to me and Scoots for days after you came home, and it wasn’t until Big Mac let slip that we found out you were back.”

“Yeah… sorry about that.”

“It was like you went out there and never came back. Then, as things went on, you seemed to get back to normal. But it was never the same between us, and you were always the glue that held our trio together. What happened out there? What didn’t you tell us?”

I flinched. As Sweetie spoke, her voice got louder and louder until she wasn’t whispering at all. She was damned near shouting.

Applebloom, in her nature, didn’t take it lying down.

“A lotta things happened, Sweetie. Just, I don’t rightly know if I wanna talk about it.”

“I won’t pretend to understand, ‘cause I don’t. I’m your best friend, Bloom. You can tell me anything. I’ll love you no matter what.”

“I… I know.”

There was another pregnant pause.

“You’ll be careful out there. Right?” Sweetie asked, almost pleadingly.

“Of course! Who d’ya think you’re talkin’ to?” Again there was a long silence. “Say bye to Forest for me. Tell him that… I’m sorry about the other day. I was just worried and protective about my sis. He’ll understand when ya tell him. I’ll write when I can.”

“I’ll come with you. I’ll help you pack and stuff. I got nothing else to do here, unless Spike needs me…”

“No. Go ahead, I’ll be waiting for you here,” Spike stated with pure, loving warmth. “Besides, Forest’s here. Who knows what’ll happen if I leave him alone. He might somehow burn this place down.”

That brought a chuckle from the girls.

I also chuckled lightly to myself. Wait! Did he actually mean it?

After a few muted goodbyes, the sound of the front door closing with a dull thud. It is amazing how close Sweetie and Applebloom were. That got me thinking more about my friendship with Spike. He was a good friend. Too good. Dare I say it, he was my best friend. He really was. Here I was, in another world and my best friend was a dragon! Who else could say something like that?

I lay my head back down and stared up at the ceiling above me. I thought about my life and what had made things come to this point. I thought about how things were starting to pan out, and I thought about how close the end was coming. And it terrified me. I wanted to run. Run far away. Further than anything. Yet, I knew that no matter how far I ran, it would be useless. I was trapped, and nothing could save me.

There was something on my cheek and I reached up to wiped it off.

A tear.

Appropriate, I said to myself. Crying like a bitch.

I don’t know how long I just remained where I was. I felt so defeated. So useless. Was there really nothing I could do to stay? I could beg Tutela to leave me be? She had said no, but I could keep asking. Nagging her until she caved. It was worth a shot. Something was better than nothing. In some sadistic way, I almost looked forward to it.

Raising myself up, I walked out of the guestroom -- my room -- and looked down into the middle of the library. Spike was standing there, leaning against a table with a claw on his chin. He seemed to be intently thinking of something or other. After a few moments he stirred and looked around, perhaps sensing my eyes on him. He finally turned his head in my direction and smiled with those razor sharp, steel-hard teeth.

“Morning,” I said stupidly.

“Morning? Just barely. It’s nearly noon,” Spike stated, gesturing to the clock with a slight tilt of his head. “Feeling better?”
“Peachy. Just peachy,” I lied. “Where is everypony?”
“I take it you mean the girls? Hospital.”

“What? All of them?”

“Eeyup,” Spike replied. “It’s no wonder they were affected by the Sleeping Sickness. They are the Elements after all; especially Twilight. Must be hardest on her being the Element of Magic. The mayor has asked everypony else to stay home unless they absolutely have to, and to take somepony else with them in case they fall asleep on the road. A couple ponies had done that and got really bad colds from sleeping outside. She’s even asked that any scheduled rain or cloud clearing be postponed.”

Never could get used to that concept. Clearing the sky by kicking away clouds would never be something I could get used to.

“There are a few are up and about, but for the most part Ponyville’s one sleepy town today.” Spike hesitated for a moment before asking, “You sure you’re okay, right?”
“Never felt better,” I lied again. I tried to put my heart into that response, but it was clear that I was forcing it.
“O-okay. If you say so,” Spike replied not wanting to press. “Oh, and… Applebloom said to tell you ‘bye’. Said you’d understand. She’s going somewhere.”

I nodded.

“Will she be gone long?” I asked.

“The last time she was gone for a couple months. But…”

“But…?” I prompted.

“It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t sounds like nothing.”

“Well,” Spike inhaled a deep breath, “when she came back… I mean, it wasn’t Applebloom. She was totally different. It took a while for her to sort of come back to how she was, but she never really was the same.” Spike rubbed his head and sighed again. “I guess things changed her out there.”

“Yeah. But then again, some things don’t change. Do you know where she went?”

The dragon shook his head. “I thought she went off to be a Guard, but I don’t know. Maybe she failed and thought we’d think badly of her.”

I nodded, but I could tell that he wasn’t really interested in pursuing that thought.

Breakfast, or rather brunch, was eaten more or less in silence after that. Despite our attempts to start any form of conversation, it all fell flat. His mind was preoccupied, as was mine, for completely different things. We could see each other open our mouths to say something, but instead it was filled with delicious foodstuffs and the only sound that came out was our mastication. We ended up just smiling stupidly at each other and bobbing our heads as if we had told a joke and were still giggling about it. It was amazing how we just fell in sync like that. We both understood that we didn’t want to pry, but we both were feeling bad for ignoring each other’s plight. I mean, the guy must have been dying inside to know what was going on with Twilight, as was I. But I was also preoccupied with other problems that went beyond my puppy-love. I was seriously freaking out with my own issues and I didn’t know what to do.
Where was that damn picture? Laptop. Where is my damned laptop? I wondered.

“Spike? Do you know where my picture is? The ugly one?”
Spike looked relieved that I had asked something else and not regarding how he was doing or what was on his mind. He jumped at the chance to answer the question. “That… ‘thing’? It’s hanging on a hook in your room behind the door. If it’s so ugly, why keep it?”
“You already know the answer to that. It’s the only thing that I have from my previous life.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Your ‘amnesia’,” he said, quoting it with his fingers in mid-air.

I gave him a wry smile. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“I hope that your ‘amnesia’ gets better,” he said with a knowing smirk.

I mumbled something about him being silly, but the truth was that I hadn’t even thought about it. Did he really understand the impact of what he was saying? Did he actually, really know that I was lying? And was he honestly okay with it? He looked like it. I felt a sudden knot in my chest and my eyes began to tear up.

Spike picked up the plates, avoiding looking at me as I fought the sudden pain engulfing my body. He took them to the sink ignoring my sudden strain. Man, we were really synced to each other. He knew I didn’t want to make a show of it. The pain went away in an instantand, while the dragon’s back was turned, I quickly wiped my eyes dry.

“I’m, er, going upstairs.”

“Sure thing.”

As I walked away, thoughts of Twilight filled my mind. Man, that mare was something else. Did she really love me? It felt like she did, but I still couldn’t understand how. And I really, really liked her. Not sure I was about to say love, but I had very strong feelings. If only we had done something before Applejack. Maybe things would have turned out differently. Better. Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have been so god-damned confused about everything.

A bubble of emotion shrouded my heart and made my eyes water. I held it in. Damn it, I wasn’t about to cry like a little bitch but my eyes would not stop trying to vomit out water. I leaned against the wall along the staircase struggling with myself, trying to control the pain in my chest. Not like before. This pain was the emotional one. The other I could take, but this pain was something else. This pain was cruel. I couldn’t accept Tutela’s demands. How could I? But there was no way out of it. None.

It was all too much and I could feel the panic and fear grow.

What made it worse was the realization that I owed Tutela. I owed that bitch. Therein lay one of the many problems. If I owed her so much, was it right for me to take advantage? One part of me said yes, but the other was pushing me to do the right thing. My pony counterpart? I don’t know, but it was fucking annoying.

Spike sighed and kept facing the wall as he washed the dishes. “I wish she’d wake up soon. I don’t know, but something about today just feels… off. Can’t say why. Maybe it’s dragon’s intuition.”

“That a thing?” I asked, my voice a little shaky, but controllable. “Want help?”

“I like doing dishes. It helps me think. Meditate.”

“Really?”

“Hey, I did dishes all my life. I guess I just formed a habit of it. Leave me alone!”

I laughed lightheartedly at that before seating myself back at the table and watched him in silence. That got me thinking about the last time I washed dishes. I couldn’t remember. Was it with my grandmother? The memories of that dream I had with her. What did it mean? Do dreams mean anything?

My home back on earth did have a shitty dishwasher, but I never used it because I’d just go downstairs to that awful Chinese place and order food. I smirked as I remembered the putrid stench of fried oil wafting through the floor and into everything I owned, particularly my clothes. The thought made me sick to my stomach. Was it my memory of living on that world that made me feel sick, was it the memory of that life? Or was it because it was all coming to an end.

“I… got to go to the toilet,” I announced.

The dragon turned his head slightly and gave me a disgusted expression. “Thanks for letting me know.”

I chuckled at him and slipped away. I actually needed to talk to Tutela; convince her somehow of letting me stay and extending my ability to remain in Equestria for just a while longer. Much longer.

But how? Would she even humor the thought? She said that she needed me, that I was her source of nourishment. That my hate and anger were fueling her. Why couldn’t she just redo the spell and let me stay. I’d hate her regardless of where I was. Guaranteed. So, why couldn’t she still ‘feed’ off of me while I was happy?

I quickly closed the door to my room and saw the laptop hanging in front of me. It was blank, the picture of the forest was was gone. A black rectangle was all that greeted me. I leaned in and tapped the camera carefully. Suddenly a huge eye appeared and I took a step back in shock.
“What?”

“Well hello to you too,” I replied sarcastically.
“Get on with it. I’m busy.”
“Busy doing what?” I asked, refraining from letting my temper get the better of me.
The changeling took a step back, or did the image zoom away? Anyway, she made a face of pure annoyance. “What do you want, John.”

It wasn’t a question.
As much as I wanted to continue taunting her, right now wasn’t the time. I sighed and began telling her what I was feeling. The pain, the strange feeling that was happening to me. The more I talked, the more she listened. The more she listened, the further back away from the screen she went. Until she was sitting in the middle of what looked like a swirling tornado of pollution. She seemed quite oblivious to it, so I ignored it. Who was I to question the going-ons of a magic worlds within a magic world? That aside, what would I say? If she was ignoring it, then it shouldn’t have concerned me. Yet, a small part of me found it quite intimidating.

After my story, she sat there and stared at me with the same bored expression.

I felt my annoyance grow and was about to say something when Tutela asked: “These ‘feelings’ in your body, how much of them can you feel? Can you feel like bending your fingers?”
I thought about it. “A little. It does feel like I could do it if I had fingers. It’s like my body remembers, I think.”
Tutela nodded silently for a second. “That’s not good. The spell is wearing off faster than anticipated.”
“What?” I couldn’t hold back my shock, and barked it out.
“Forest? You okay up there?” Spike called up from the kitchen.
“F-fine!” I called back. “Just was surprised by… the ugly frame again!” I waited until I heard Spike walk away. I could imagine him shaking his head. “What do you mean, ‘faster than anticipated’?” I continued whispering harshly.
“The spell is wearing off faster. I don’t know how much time you have left, but I warn you: you have to get out of there now, Forest. I can’t pull you away with that bracelet on. Even if I could I don’t know if it’d work. Get it off, or get your flank over to the Everfree. You don’t have time to waste—”
“What? No! I still have some time left!”
“No. You don’t,” Tutela growled. “Once the spell wears off, you’re going to turn back. That is if you survive the transition without me, which you won’t. You don’t understand just how important it is that you get out of there. If the princesses find out…”

“They won’t do anything!” I replied in a harsh whisper. “They won’t!”

“John. Listen to me. Carefully this time. No anger, no arguing. Just listen. To you, the princesses finding out about this place is the smallest of your problems. Right now your life is in danger. Without me to help you through the transition process, you will die. The chances of you surviving the transformation from pony back to your human form is slim at best. You might end up with your heart outside your body, or your brain in your ass. This isn’t a game, John.”

“Why are you calling me that?”

“Because that is who you are. Not Forest. John. And once you are dead and gone, the princesses will find out that the gap between the worlds is still open and they will close it with me in here because they won’t know I’m here. They will close the portals and I will be imprisoned in this place for the rest of my would-be short life? That’s going to happen, John. Have you thought about that?”

I stuck out my jaw. “I have.”

“Y-you have?” she asked, shocked.

“Yeah. You may be a bitch, but you don’t deserve… that. You don’t deserve to die.”

There seemed to be a small smile on her lips, but she waved a hoof in front of her face and I couldn’t be sure. “Nevermind that. Look, I know you’re not stupid. You may be arrogant and stubborn,” she looked away, “that being and understatement, but--” she looked back at me, “but somewhere in that head of yours you have some inclination of loyalty and, dare I say it, compassion. I know that. I’ve watched you for years. You do owe me for this and there’s nothing, nothing, you can say otherwise.”

“The princesses won’t do anything to you!” I replied trying to keep the begging in my voice from coming out.

“John. Please. What happened years before was… that nearly ended everything. You being there threatens Equestria’s and Earth’s existence, John. For one thing, you’re different. The circumstances of you being there is different. I know it was a whim, but I felt that I needed to send you there. The more I thought about it, the more I am unsure why. You aren’t there through the same reasons that Brian went through. And you need me. Your life is in danger, John. Do you understand?”

I bowed my head.

“And don’t underestimate how strong Celestia or Luna are. Did your forget what Celestia did to you back in Canterlot?”
“It was an accident,” I replied weakly, remembering the pain vividly.

Tutela nodded. “Yes. It was. And now imagine what she could do if it wasn’t an accident. Let’s put things in perspective. When Rainbow came to your world, the event tore both realities apart. It was leading to the inevitable destruction of not only both worlds, but both realities. Put that into an equation, John. Do you think that your life is equatable to the lives of every living being in both realities? Never mind just Earth and Equestria -- or whatever they call that world, but the very fabric of the universe itself! Think, John. Will she spare you or me if it meant the destruction of literally everything in the process?”

I remained silent.

Tutela nodded. “Like I said, without me to help the transformation process, who knows what’ll happen to you. If you’re not here in time for me to help while your body undoes the spell, the magic inside you, and yes, there is magic inside you, will tear you apart and you will die.”

Suddenly, like a hammer, it dropped and everything made sense. It all made sense. The reason why I could walk on clouds, the reason why Rarity’s spell wove around me and hit that tower. The strange anomalous reactions to the various magics cast on me through the bracelet. Even that strange ‘sense’ that Twilight kept alluding to when she was near me. It was all because I did have magic within me. But not just any magic. Changeling magic. Or some form of it.

I ground my teeth.

Tutela’s voice softened. “I’m not your enemy, Forest. I never was. And no matter what you say, we’ve been inexplicably connected, you and I. Ever since I was shoved into this… realm all thsoe years ago when Rainbow vanished into your world, I’ve been with you somehow. Ever since then I’ve known that I needed to keep you alive. At first I used you. Your antics helped alleviate my boredom in a place where I cannot go from and remain. But as time wore on, as I saw how hard it was for you, and what led you to become what you were, how a kind-hearted child turned into a bitter, reluctant recluse with a chip on his shoulder, it also occurred to me that you could not live without me either. You and I are together in this. You need me to save you. And I need you to save me.”

I couldn’t think. My brain froze.

“Save… you? Save me? Save… us?”

“Well… yeah. I mean, I gave you that form because… you know…”

“To see me suffer?” I growled.

She shook her head slowly. “I saw your life, John. From when you were a young boy. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it because I didn’t know how to talk about it. I saw everything. Every part of your life. I got to see what you were, how you loved so dearly, and how you were hurt so completely--”

“Don’t talk about that,” I said looking down. I knew exactly what she meant.

“I know, John. Life hasn’t been kind to you. The way he beat you. The way your loved ones abandoned you. The way that knife…” she stopped and I looked up. She had her eyes closed. “But, in your own way, you were actually the kindest one of all. Your bitterness could not penetrate deep enough to taint that heart. You stayed late at that crappy job, not for your own selfish desires, but out of an innate desire to help those around you. You finished projects well ahead of time, built a reputation of being a hard man but with that hardness an employee that was tough to the core.”

I looked at her harder. Was she being… nice?

“But you were growing colder, meaner. I couldn’t let that boy turn into something he wasn’t. I couldn’t let that happen to you and I wanted to help. I wanted to remind you of what you were. I wanted to see you actually live, John. You’ve had it rough, I know. And… I guess I just wanted to remind you of what you really are.”

I stared at her. I actually never really thought about it.

She looked at me. “I wanted to see you again, John. Not that prick I picked up in my cave a month ago. I wanted to see the young, kind, and wonderful young boy who would not let the world crush that spirit. I wanted to bring him back. I wanted to bring you, the real you, back.”

I didn’t know what to say. For so long I had hated this female. Or rather, I’ve tried to hate her. But, looking back and despite my sincerest attempts, there was always a soft spot that I could never smother and now I understood why. Perhaps, at some level, I knew I had to be thankful to her. I mean, she was always watching me, ever since… since…

“Wait. You… were always watching me? Even when I…?”

“Yes. Always.” She looked at me and her eyes narrowed and a small mischievous smirk appeared on her lips. “Even when you found that naughty magazine and took it to the basement to ogle at it and even when…”

My face felt like it was on fire as I stuck my hoof up and shook my head.

“And even that time with your first girlfriend when you couldn’t…”

“Okay!” I grunted. “I get it.”

And for the first time, we both shared a laugh. Together.

Suddenly I felt my spine pull my body backwards. It felt like I was being put on a giant press, the machine trying to straighten out my spine. I wanted to scream, but the pain was too unbearable and I only managed a soft whimper. Then my skull felt like someone or something was smashing my sides inwards and my snout, or nose, into my face. In that moment I looked up at a mirror and was horrified by what a saw. Half human, half pony. No. quarter human, quarter pony, half abomination.

Then the pain stopped and I blinked at the image in the mirror only to find myself back the way I was. Still a pony.

“You okay?” Tutela asked, this time I could see the concern on her face. “That was a bad one, wasn’t it?”

“The worst one yet. Ouch,” I stated, rubbing my haunches.

There was a long beat of silence between us.

“But why is the spell wearing off so fast?” I asked through gritted teeth trying to force the painful memory of the agony I just felt out of my head.

She looked down at her hooves. “How many days in total did you spend in here with me while you were recovering?”
“I don’t know.”

“Certainly more than two. Plus I suspect that the magic you probably used in that ‘Marking Spell’ drained some of the magic I had inside you too. Particularly that massive lightshow you did to let your friends know you were still alive. This is the only thing that makes sense.”

“Doesn’t magic… reset?” I asked, hoping against all odds.

“In most cases, yes. But you’re different. As you can plainly tell.”

I stood there and stared at my hooves.

Tutela leaned forward and looked at me with her eyes wide. “Forest, listen to me.” She looked down again. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it has to end like this. You don’t deserve it. But we’re out of options and I don’t want you to die there. Maybe, later, we can think about sending you back. I promise.”

What could I say to that? I stared at the mare for a long while, neither one of us saying anything. Then I grinned. “I’ll hold you to that.”

She looked up at me and there was a real smile on that face. A real, gentle smile that shocked me. “See you soon.”

I nodded.

A second later a light knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” I said staring at Tutela as the door swung open hiding the laptop from my view.

Spike entered pushing the door open so that the laptop was now facing the wall. He looked around before focusing on me. “Um… who were you talking to?”

I stood up and walked over to the window and stared out at the uncharacteristically silent town of Ponyville.

“Myself.”

“Um… okay.” I could hear him breathing behind me. “You do a good mare’s voice, y’know.”

I made a face. But I thought about what Tutela said to me. Was she telling me the truth? She had to have been. She admitted everything, and although there were reasons, I trusted her desire to keep me alive. But what other reasons could there be? Certainly the attacks were getting worse. The worst part was the feeling of utter helplessness during these episodes. I raised my left hoof and stared at it, almost feeling my fingers. It was time. Time to go. I had to accept it and hope that Tutela would keep her promise to me someday.

“Forest!”

I jumped at the sudden shout of my name.

“You’re spacing out again.” Spike had his claw on my shoulder. “Forest. We’re friends, right? You can tell me if something is wrong.”

No I can’t. “Sure, Spike. I know.”

He waited, I think expecting me to say something. When I didn’t he made an exasperated face, but didn’t press the matter. I knew that it was eating him on the insides, but even at this point I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him about me. It was different with the girls. They figured it out on their own, but I had straight out told Spike lies.

I felt so filthy. I lied to my best friend. Then a part of me was rationalizing it. That if I was going to go, then it would just be unnecessary heartache for him to know the truth. It wasn’t going to affect him, and I’m sure that eventually the girls will tell him what they knew. He’d feel cheated and most probably start hating me. That was good. At least then he wouldn’t miss me.

“Wanna go see Pinkie?” Spike suddenly asked. “She woke up last night and asked about you.”

“She did?”

“Yeah! Well, she asked about a lot of people, but you were definitely mentioned!” Spike jumped at the opportunity to get me talking. It was so obvious, but I didn’t care. He was doing his best to make me feel better, and he was. “We could go now, if you want.”

“Okay. Let’s go. Just give me a minute to...” I looked around my room. My room, “to…”

“I’ll be waiting for you downstairs,” Spike said and exited the room.

I waited a moment, waited until I heard him make his way towards the front door before moving. I stopped just beside the bedroom door.

“How long?” I asked.

“Today. Tonight at the latest,” Tutela’s muffled voice came. “And even that is risking it. Don’t be late. I don’t know how long you have left over there, but it isn’t long. You’ll know when.”

“What do I need to do?”

“You need to get to the same spot as before in the Everfree. I think you should know it relatively by now. Just get in a general area of the clearing and I’ll do the rest.”

I pictured the grassy area in the forest near Zecora’s place. “Do I need to bring the laptop along?”

“No.”

Knowing that I probably was never going to another set hoof in the room, I tried to take it all in. I tried to memorize every detail I could. Then I rubbed a hoof against the door, stroking it like it was an old pet.

“Good bye,” I whispered, and left.

Outside the library, I was greeted with a damp, foggy day.

“It’s ‘cause the pegasi are all sick,” Spike stated as he stood up from leaning against the library sign.

“Hm?”

“The fog. The pegasi are all on sick leave, so nopony’s around to clear the clouds. Some of the earth ponies were complaining, but without a weather team it’s difficult. We’ve asked a few pegasi to come from other towns, but they’re keeping away because of the Sleeping Sickness. Anyway, I kinda like it. Is that weird?”

“Maybe because it’s a novelty, so no. Don’t think so.”

Spike nodded. “Yeah. You could be right.”

We walked on for a few moments in silence before the fog seemed to get thicker. The sounds of my hooves seemed very loud and I found myself looking at the ground in front of me. Just as I was about to say something to Spike, I bumped into something. I looked up and my heart caught in my throat.

Standing in front of me looked like a huge pony. No. Too big to be a pony. A horse? Were there horses here? Why was I thinking about that? The problem was that even though it was there, it also wasn’t there. Its eyes bore down into me and I found myself whimpering on the floor. It took a step towards me, the ground trembling from the force, but not a sound resounded from the step. It then lowered its head closer to me and stopped just before it broke through the fog. Or was the fog coming from it.

Then two eyes blazed through the haze with an intensity that seemed to radiate some sort of light and I was paralyzed. My legs began to ache, my ears began to hear rain, like white noise and I wanted to scream. Wanted to cry out for help, but all I could muster was a barely audible whine.

“S-Spike,” I whimpered. “H-help me.”

Something reached for me. The feeling of dread squeezed the air out of me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t do anything except shrink into myself. I wanted to run. I wanted to go away. I wanted to…

“Forest! Snap out of it!”

I found myself standing in the middle of the road in front of Crystal’s hotel looking towards the market. Spike was in front of me, his eyes had replaced those two glowing embers that had been there moments before.

My face hurt.

“Did… did you slap me?”

“Are you okay?” he asked ignoring my question.

“Yeah. Ow, my face. Why’d you hit me for?”

“You were screaming! Look!” He gestured with his head and I turned to see quite a lot of ponies staring at me. “They all came running out when you started.”

“Was I screaming that loud?” I asked.

“Forest, you were screaming so loud, a blind pony could have found you from the other side of town! What happened?”

“I… I dunno. I just saw something that really freaked me out. Two eyes. They were glowing, like… like glowing. And I felt… felt...” Like I was being torn apart from the inside, like it was coming for me, that if it touched me, bad things would happen, and I’d… die, “scared.”

Normally he would have made a snide remark at that, but he saw something in my eyes that made him aware just how freaked out I was. What was that? What was happening to me?

“Can you walk?”

“Y-yeah. I think so.”

I took a step without issue, but my knees felt so wobbly. How strange that in that strange semi-dream state that I was in, I had pinned myself to the ground, but when was standing up when I snapped out of it. What did it mean?

“Come on. Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Hospital. Now. We’re getting you checked out. And I’m not taking no for an answer. We’re going. We’ll get you checked out and we can see Pinkie and the others.”

We headed towards the hospital, the other ponies, seeing that I was fine, went about their business. A few lingered, their eyes on me, but when it was clear that I was moving along, they also went on with their lives.

Lucky bastards.

“I didn’t realize you stopped walking with me until you started screaming. I thought you were right behind me,” Spike said.

“Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I dunno.”

“You scared me, you know. Thought something bad happened.”

“Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing!” He fidgeted with his claws. “Look, if you want to talk about it…”

I stopped and so did he. “Spike. B-back there, those eyes... they looked as if they were studying me. Looking into me. I don’t know how else to describe it. I felt… naked.”

“Naked?”

“You know. Without any clothes—”

“I know what naked means, you dope. It’s just a strange thing for a pony to say.” He rubbed his head with his hand and sighed. “I don’t know. I think we’ll need to tell Twilight about this when she wakes up. It kinda sounds serious, and I’ve been mixed up with the Elements of Harmony long enough to know when things are serious. I knew today felt off.”

We walked a few steps before I snirked and started to laugh. He turned his head to look at me with a dry expression.

“What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know. I think I just need a good laugh,” I said between breaths.

He shook his head, but he started laughing as well. After a moment we were both laughing our lungs out, and a few ponies who happened to see us couldn’t help but giggle at our laughter.

Spike wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes. “Wow. I needed that.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t even know what we’re laughing about!” Spike said and slapped my back.

“Neither do I!” I replied, and laughed along.

Come on, Forest. Tell him you’re leaving town.

“Spike… I….” We were still giggling lightly like two maniacs when he paused at my attempt at conversation. Then the doors swung open and the hussle and bussle of the hospital roared to life and the thought died with the ruckus. We stepped inside. It was like the entire community had moved into the building.

Nurse Redheart saw me and beckoned me over with her hoof. “Forest, could you do me a favor?”

“Sure!”

“Can you take some new sheets and linen from the basement to the fourth floor ward. They need some and I’m severely understaffed.”

“Sure!”

“Spike, can you help too?”

“Of course,” the dragon stated and the two of us were off towards the stairs that led down.

Saying that the hospital was understaffed was an understatement. The basement was overwhelmed with dirty linen that we found ourselves practically swimming towards the other end through a ‘lake’ of filthy sheets. Spike was concerned that he’d catch something, but I assured him that the really dirty stuff go directly into the washing area and not here. This was just for ‘general dirty’ linen.

He still was worried, but I think a little less so.

It took us a few minutes to load two linen carts and wheel them into the nearest service elevator. On our way up, we practically stopped on every floor and staff members, completely overwhelmed with jobs to do, piled in and out. A few even took the momentary lull to catch a quick ten-second nap between floors, which was amazingly impressive. Then again, couldn’t ponies sleep standing up anyway?

When we got to the fourth floor, it was completely different from the others. Here things were still, quiet, silent.

A nurse saw us and smiled. “Thank you, boys. Red said you’d be coming. Thank you. It’s been very hectic.”

She talked so quietly, that Fluttershy would have seemed like a loud-mouth.

“It’s no problem, Nurse…”

“Tenderheart,” I whispered impossibly quieter out of the corner of my lips.

“Tenderheart,” Spike whispered loudly and smiled.

If Tenderheart heard me, she didn’t seem to care. She wheeled the carts into a backroom and started placing blankets in ordered rows. “Twilight’s in room six.”

“Thanks, Tenderheart!” I blurted out loud.

“Sh!” she scolded, but had a tiny smile on her lips as I turned away and headed down the hall.

Slowly, I pushed the door open and peered inside. Twilight was out like a light, he chest rising up and down under the sheets. I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. That made her smile a little, so I did it again. I placed my head on hers and remained there for a while. Spike was rolling his eyes and leafing through magazines in the corner trying not to disturb the other patients in the ward, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t care because this was going to be the last time I’d ever get to touch her.

“I’m going to go away, Twilight,” I whispered quietly in her ear. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you when you were awake. Please don’t hate me.”

Then I pulled her closer to me as gently as I could and held her there. I didn't want to let her go. I didn’t want to leave. It might have seen exaggerated for those who saw me, but it was my goodbye. I placed my head on her neck behind her mane and fought the tears that were streaming down my eyes. I couldn’t let Spike see. I couldn’t let him see because if he saw then he’d get all worried and make my life a living hell. He’d follow me around and I just couldn’t allow that. I needed to leave quietly. I had to slip away and disappear.

Deep inside me I felt hot molten anger begin to bubble.

Why wasn’t he leaving me alone with her? Why was he still here in this room? I should tell him to fuck off. To get his face out of here. Let me say my goodbye in peace, the ungrateful son of a—

I snapped out of it.

My hoof began to hurt. A lot. I gritted my teeth and plunged my face into Twilight’s pillow and bit it. Bit it hard that I thought my teeth were going to break. I didn’t dare breathe as I started to feel the pain coming in at full force.

I started to shudder.

“Forest, are you okay? It’s okay. Twilight’s just sleeping,” Spike said and placed his claw on my shoulder again. He yanked it off suddenly. “Ow! Wow. You’re burning up. I mean really burning up.”

I took a deep breath.

“I’m okay, Spike.”

“No way, Forest. You’re really,” he touched me again and furrowed his brow, “not burning up anymore.”

I didn’t say anything.

“Forest. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t.”

My blood began to boil. Again I felt raw anger well up inside me. It was like a fountain of hate, an inferno waiting to burst onto the surface. It was like all this pressure was building up within me waiting to explode with the fury of a thousand suns.

No! I shouted at myself in my head. Not to Spike. Never to Spike. Ever.

And somewhere a voice replied. “So be it.”

“The fu-” I blurted, raising my head from the pillow and looking around. The action made Spike jumped back in surprise. We both looked at each other. “D-did you hear that?”

“Hear what? I heard nothing. You just scared me. Don’t do that.”

Was I hearing things? Great. Now I’m hallucinating through my ears. Was that even possible? I turned to Twilight again. She looked so peaceful sleeping there.

I bent down and kissed her on the lips gently. “Goodbye.”

Spike had to drag me, literally, out. At the last moment, he waited for me as he held the door open for me to leave. Just as I was about to step out, a voice made me stop.

“Forest… don’t… go…” I turned to see Twilight with her eyes tightly shut. She turned her head slightly to the side. Was she awake? “Don’t… leave… me… again...”

She sighed and relaxed.

Sleep-talking?

I couldn’t help it. I rushed over to her and again placed my head on hers. I breathed her in once more. Her scent. Her life. Everything. I drank it all in. She was making this really, really, really hard on me. “Sorry, Twi. I gotta go. No matter what, know that I’ll always, always love you. I know it seems lame now because you’re sleeping and you probably won’t hear me, but if I’m never sure about anything anymore, at least I’m sure that I really do love you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life.”

A cute, quiet, grunt-snore was all I got in response. I couldn’t help but gently laugh at that. I stared at her sleeping there and tried to memorize everything I could. From the way her cheeks had that slight color to them, to how her nostrils would gently flare up every other breath. I saw her as she was, and tried to burn that image in my head. My most painful memory. I inhaled her scent, that lavender essence that was all her. That was something I was going to miss the most.
Eventually it was Spike that managed to somehow pry me loose and drag me out of the ward. When we were outside I slumped onto the floor. Again that volcanic explosion growled inside me. I stumbled slightly at the sheer force of it, but I conquered the rage and force it down. With my broken heart, the feeling wasn’t as powerful as before. Guess there was only room for so much emotion in me at one go.

“W-wanna go see Pinkie?” Spike asked.

“Sure,” I replied, not really wanting to.

I didn’t want to leave Twilight but I had to. I had to. I was delaying and the more I delayed, the more dangerous it was becoming for me. If I lingered any long near her, my resolve would weaken and I would not be able to go.

As I stood in the door, I turned slightly to see Twilight on the bed. Was it my imagination, but her eyes seemed to form tears. I paused a moment, smiled gently, and stepped outside the threshold. And just like that, she was gone.

When we saw Pinkie, she was staring out the window her hair not like her usual poofines. Instead it was straight and she seemed like a completely different pony. Now, I’ve seen Pinkie’s hair deflate several times, but this was the first time that it look so… sad. I mean, Pinkie and sad just didn’t fit together in the same sentence. I expected to see her face to be in the dictionary next to the word happy and any of its synonyms.

“Hi Pinkie,” I said as happily as I could. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

She looked over to me and smiled. The smile was genuine, but her hair and the fact that I couldn’t see the usual shine in her eyes gave it away. She was trying to be strong.

“Oh, hi Forest. Hi Spike. Thank you for visiting me. Everypony is so sad today. Even the sky is sad,” she said looking out the window. “I fell asleep before everypony else, so I’m awake before everypony else.”

“Yeah, the sky is foggy ‘cause the pegasi are all sleeping,” Spike pointed out.

“I know,” Pinkie replied, still giving us that fake-ass smile.

Spike put his claw on Pinkie’s head. “Why so glum, chum?”

“I don’t know. It’s just, I feel that today I have to be sad. I just have to be. Do you know why? It’s strange. It’s like everything is telling me that today the Element of Laughter needs to… take a break, and I don’t know why. Does that sound mean?”

Spike furrowed his brow, “Of course not! You get to choose how you feel.”

“I think it’s because of Brian. I don’t understand what is going on, but I heard the doctor and it sounded…” she looked down at her hooves, “sounded not fun. Not fun at all.”

Spike and I exchanged glances. I placed a hoof on hers. “Pinkie—”

“Forest, are you going away too?”

Well, that came out of nowhere.

“W-what?”

“Are you going away too? I think you are. My heart tells me you’re going. Going someplace far, far away. That you have to go and that I can’t stop you otherwise something else that’s worse will happen.” She looked deep into my eyes. “And this time I can’t go with you, can I?”

“Pinkie…”

“Forest will be right here, Pinks,” Spike stated.

“No. He won’t. I can feel it. I can tell,” Pinkie touched my face with her hoof. “I know. I don’t know how I know, but I know. You have to go. And I can’t stop you because you have to. I can’t be sad about you leaving because… it would be sadder if you stayed. But, I can be a little sad that it might be a long, long, long, long-long-long-long time before we see each other again.”

“Pinkie…” I gently held her hoof against my cheek. “Y’know, for what it’s worth, I think I’m okay with it if you think we’ll see each other again.”

She forced a smile on her lips. “Me too.”

And we hugged. We hugged like old friends. I hugged her with all the warmth and, dare I say it, love that I could muster because this was Pinkie. She was my special friend. A true friend. A friend that would understand. No matter what. Strange that.

As I released her, the pooffiness of her hair had returned. I wiped a tear from her eye. Good ‘ol Pinkie. It takes another type of person… pony to be that strong.

“Hey, hey. No more tears. Aren’t you the Element of Happiness?”

She giggled. “Laughter.”

“Laughter, happiness. Can’t have one without the other. Actually, I think the Element of Happiness is a way cooler title.”

Again, she only giggled at that, her hair seeming to inflate a little more.

Suddenly, a sharp pain rang out from my back as Pinkie gave me an almighty slap. “So, before you go, we’re going to hang out. We’re going to hang out until it’s time!” she said with her usual bounciness.
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. "You know, you’re pretty incredible.”

“Oh, I know,” Pinkie replied and waved me off.

“I don’t understand what’s going on. You’re going somewhere, Forest?”

“Yeah, ‘fraid so, Spike,” I said and looked up at him. “It’s something that I just gotta go and do.”

“I don’t get it,” Spike said and shook his head. “This day is just the pits. When do you have to go?”

“Tonight,” Pinkie answered for me. “He’s leaving on the last train.”

I looked at her, and she gave me a wink that anybody, forget pony, could have caught, but for some reason Spike either missed it or ignored it.

“First Applebloom, now Forest… what’s going on?” Spike muttered. He sighed and shrugged. “Well, if it’s Forest’s last day here in Ponyville, then we gotta go and do something, right? Like a party?”

“You know, I think one last look through town would be great. Say goodbye to everypony.”

“Whatever you want, Forest.” Spike smacked my back. “But Twilight won’t be happy when she wakes up, y’know.”

“I know.”

“Can’t you wait until then?”

“I think she knows already, Spike. Besides, it might be too painful to do it while she’s awake and I don’t think she’d let me go. Honestly, I don’t know if I could leave if I faced her…”

“Geez, just like AJ and her sister,” Spike muttered again. “If you’re sure. I still think it isn’t really fair on her.”

“None of this is fair, Spike, but it’s what I’ve gotta go and do.”

“You remember something? Like, from your past?”

“Something like that.”

“Oh.” He mulled over that for a while. “Well, let’s go then.”

The three of us walked out of the hospital and I stopped outside and turned around and looked back where we came. Applejack and Twilight were in there. I had said goodbye to Twilight, but I couldn’t bear to repeat that process with Applejack. She’d understand, wouldn’t she? After all, she was back with Atom. Right? They'd be happy together. Right? And she was sleeping anyway.

“Something wrong, Forest?” Pinkie asked.

“Nah. Nothing. Just… just wondering if I should say bye to Applejack.”

“Well, why not? She’s not here. She’s at home. Since you wanna go and look around, we could stop in at the Apples’ place and say bye,” Pinkie shoved me gently. “Anypony else?”

“Yes. Many. The Cakes. Rainbow. Rarity.”

“Fluttershy?”

“I don’t really know Fluttershy that well…”

“That’s okay. It’ll be something to do. You did help her when Angel passed after all. Who else?”

“Brian.”

Pinkie stopped and looked back at the hospital. She touched my hoof gently and looked up into my eyes. “Okay. Go and say goodbye to him.”

I was unable to say anything in response. I turned around and headed into the hospital, walking past the staff in a sort of daze. I made my way up the stairs and looked at the doorway. It had all happened automatically.

There was a moment where I wanted to turn around and flee. Just, run away and never return. I couldn’t help myself. But I knew that if I didn’t say goodbye I would never forgive myself. Even after all this time, I still hadn’t made good with Brian. Sure, he forgave me but I never really went out of my way to try and at least do the right thing. I had to. Right now, this was going to be my last opportunity.

I pushed open the door and froze.

Brian lay on the bed with tubes all over his body. I turned to see Rainbow looking at her father with eyes soaking wet. She had been crying.

Stupid, stupid! I reprimanded myself. Of course she’d be there.

Rainbow seemed to sense a change and looked up to see me standing there. She rushed over and gripped me in a vicious hug. I was taken slightly aback by how aggressive it was, but considering her situation, it wasn’t that unsurprising. I felt her shake as she let a new barrage of tears fall from her eyes wetting my shoulder in silence. I tapped her back and waited for her to let go. If she needed a shoulder to cry on, then I would lend her mind. That’s what a friend would do.

“S-sorry. I just needed that,” she sniffled and let go. He looked at me and nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“Hey, no worries. How is he?”

“Not good. Doctors said that it’s touch and go now.”

“I see.” I looked over to him and felt a mixture of guilt and relief wash over me. Him being asleep meant that I didn't need to say goodbye. But I felt guilty because I wanted to tell him that he had been right. A ‘soft’ confession, that he had been justified in being suspicious with me. He had a right to know, but now that could never happen. I wasn’t going to disturb him nor flood his mind with stupid shit that wasn’t important anymore.

Then he moved. He turned his head and looked over to me. I saw him furrow his brow, then a small smile broke on his face as he saw his daughter.

“Rainbow?”

“Y-yes?”

“I think your dad’s awake.”

She turned, and seeing her father’s open eyes, quickly went to his side and tried to hug him without moving any of the tubes. They began to cry together, and I felt really awkward. I didn’t know what to do, so I slowly backed away and out of the door.

“W-wait,” came a croak from Brian. “Forest. C’mere.”

I did as I was asked.

“You’re a good guy, Forest,” Brian said weakly. “I’m sorry for suspecting you for being… whatever. Thinking back, I had no reason to. Sometimes… just… even after everything, and what you did for me, I just wanted to be sure. Even if you aren’t who you say you are, or if the rumors of you being a Changeling are true, I don’t care. I know that your heart is in the right place. Just wanted to be careful. Guess old habits die hard.”

I smiled at that. “Yeah. They do.”

“I wanted to make the slate clean. We good?”

“We were never not ‘good’. You were doing it to protect Rainbow. For that, I cannot hold anything against you. You’re a great dad. You really are.”

He smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“No. Thank you. Thank you for… thank you for… I don’t know, but thank you.”

He smiled, and coughed a lightly. “You know, I don’t get you.”

“Neither do I.”

Liar! You pussy! You can’t confess! You’re nothing but a coward. Tell him! Tell him right now, you stupid son-of-a-bitch! Tell him that he was right all along and that you’re a lying scumbag. That you’re an asshole. That you deserve nothing from him! That he was right.

And yet, I just couldn’t do it. The words refused to come out.

“Well, good luck out there, Forest. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he rumbled and held his daughter pressing his forehead against hers. “I know I did.”

Rainbow sniffled and rubbed her nose against his neck gently.

I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Live. Live and find yourself. I’m sure that, if you keep going, you will.” He hugged his daughter again. “And that it’ll be worth everything you’ve ever done.”

The words resonated within me.

“In my world, there is a saying. It’s by a very famous musician called John Lennon.” He closed his eyes and smiled. “‘Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.’”

“It’s… beautiful.”

He nodded. “It is.”

Then he hugged his daughter tighter.

At that, I smiled, nodded once, and backed out the door. I watched the two of them together as the door shut and I stood there for a moment wondering about what it would be like to have a someone love you like that. Brian gave up his life on Earth for his baby girl. That was something that I had to admire about him.

“Goodbye,” I whispered, turned, and left.

Pinkie was sitting with Spike on a bench when I exited the hospital. The two of them saw me and waved. I slowly walked over to them and plopped myself down next to Pinkie on the other end of the bench.

“How is he?”

“Awake.”

“Oh? Maybe I ought to say hello,” Spike wondered stroking his chin.

“Not now. Rainbow’s in there with him,” I replied and sighed. “They’re… you know…”

Spike nodded. “He’s been steadily getting worse. Doctors… well, they’re not optimistic. I don’t know if they’ve given him much time, but it’s not long.”

“I can’t imagine what Rainbow is going through,” I muttered and felt an overwhelming amount of sadness for her.

Pinkie’s hair deflated slightly as she looked down. “I don’t want to lose a friend. I don’t want Rainbow to feel alone again.”

Spike planted his claw on her head. “But… we all have to go one day.”

“I know. It’s just… really, really, really-really-really-really-really-really-really-really sad when that happens.”

“Tell me about it,” I whispered trying to suppress the memories of loss from when my grandmother passed away.

“The weather isn’t helping the mood either!” Spike suddenly exclaimed. “The weather team are behind on clearing the clouds with all this sleeping sickness going around. They can’t seem to catch up with their duties without all of them working together.”

I looked up at the overcast sky. “I didn’t really notice, y’know.”

“It’s kinda irritating that the pegasi can’t do anything without Rainbow. I know it’s hard, but couldn’t they just wait? Yesterday the mayor asked Rainbow to help clear the clouds, but that’s not fair with her dad in the hospital like this.”

“Yeah. Rainbow needs to stay with her dad.”

“Right?” Spike replied angrily, his ire directed towards the other pegasi,“I think Rainbow’s been patient enough so far, but she’ll have to do it sooner or later or there might be some really bad effects.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “They’re jure clouds.”

He pointed towards Ponyville proper, then I realized he was pointing beyond that towards the Everfree. “The clouds from the Everfree are not like those formed in other parts of Equestria. It’s getting far worse and more of these kinda clouds are moving across. If the pegasi don’t do their job, it’s going to get dangerous.”

“Dangerous how?”

“Many reasons. If you can’t see, how can you fly? If it gets thicker, the clouds where the pegasi live will get heavy and start to rain. That would mean the clouds would get too thin to support the structures and they’ll fall out of the sky. And, worse of all, an all-out out-of-control super-storm.”

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie said, smacking Spike’s thigh with a loud slap. A part of me wondered how that was possible with a hoof, but I chose to ignore it. “Aunt Pinkie will protect you.”

The dragon gave her a dry expression. “Thanks, Pinkie.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” she replied.

I smiled. The Element of Laughter certainly lived up to her name. It was hard not to crack a smile on our faces with how happy she seemed.

“So… what now?” I asked.

“Maybe we can go visit the Cakes,” Pinkie suggested. “I wish I could throw you a party, but…”

“It’ll just be the three of us?”

“Yeah. And it’d be strange to not invite my best friends,” she said and looked back at the hospital. “And with Brian…”

“Yeah. I don’t feel like celebrating either, even if it’s a farewell party.”

Pinkie sighed and smiled weakly as she looked in front of her, her happy mood evaporating almost as quickly as it had come. Spike and I exchanged glances over her head. “What’s Dashie gonna do when he’s gone?”

Her hair deflated a little more again. Here I was with my ‘problems’ and yet these ponies were going through something far worse. I was leaving. I would be gone, but I’d still be alive. Brian was going to die, and there was no fix for that. In the slim chance I could plead and beg, I might be able to come back, but from where Brian was going to go there was no return.

Or was there?

“The wishing stone.”

“What?” Spike asked.

“The wishing stone! I can… I can use it! Why can’t I use it?”

“Forest, we’ve been over this, but you can’t use it. You’re allergic to magic. Remember?”

“Yes, yes, but I don’t have to use it. You or Pinkie can. You can wish and make Brian better!”

“I thought he was against that?”

“Fuck him,” I muttered as loudly as I dared.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Listen, if Princess Celestia changed him into a pony, and he is able to get wings and stuff, then if he can spend some more time with his daughter I think he’ll be okay with it. Anyway, we don’t have to make that choice. Let him do it. I’ll give you the stone and you can go from there!”

“Yeah. You know what, you’re right! Why should we listen to him? But I thought that you had to make that wish, Forest.”

“You’re missing the point!” I retorted. “If that’s the case, then Princess Celestia can make stones like this! That should be easy. Get her to make one herself for Brian!”

Spike jumped up. “Why didn’t we think of that before?”

“I know!”

“I can send her a letter right now!”

“I know! Let’s do it!”

“Wait, you guys.” We both looked at the speaker. Pinkie looked at us with pity in her eyes. “It won’t work. Changing him into a pony won’t stop whatever is happening.”

“What about curing it?”

“Same thing, Forest.” At that, Spike sat down, “Magic can’t solve everything. If it could, nopony would ever get sick. Or die.”

“You mean…”

“Even if you wished for something, like curing Brian, there’s a high chance it won’t work. There are just a few things that can’t change. Like wishing to become an all-powerful alicorn to replace our princesses. Or taking control of the sun. Or whatever. There are rules that work around magic. Yes, magic can be bent and stuff, but there are rules. The stronger you are with magic, the more you can bend those rules, but the fact is, the rules are there in the first place. You cannot change the rules. Nopony can.”

I sat down next to him. “Oh,” I replied, not sure what to say. Most of what Spike said went over my head anyway.

All three of us sat next to each other on the bench staring at the hospital entrance.

Still. “Would it be worth the risk?”

“What?”

“You know. To just use the stone. If it doesn’t work, then so be it. At least we tried.”

“You’d be wasting a stone.” Spike put a claw to his chin and scratched it. “Bad phrasing.”

I smiled a little at that. “I know what you mean.”

“You know Brian. We all know that he’d be really angry if we do this to him and what if he gets hurt in the process? I remember him when he lost his wings, Forest. It was horrible. The pain he went through… I’ll never forget it.” Spike shuddered at the memory.

“It was pretty bad,” Pinkie nodded slowly.

“The point is that we have to find another way to save him that doesn’t involve hurting himself or others. I’m sure that our doctors and staff will figure it out. We’ve just got to wait for a bit and trust them.”

I looked up at him. He hadn’t seen the state of Brian. If he did, he probably wouldn’t have said that with such overwhelming confidence. I stole a glance at Pinkie, and she looked at me with a look that was surprisingly mature for her. A look that stated that it wasn’t her that was in denial, but the young dragon in front of us. A part of me wanted to tell him the hard truth, but then again I didn’t know how to approach the subject. How can you tell someone that they are wrong when the end-result is so catastrophically sad? Is a painful truth better than a painless lie? Is not saying anything a lie?

But he was my best friend. And, as a friend, at least as how I understood it, being clear and transparent, while painful and horrible, if you are true friends, then it can last. Whether or not your friend accepts it is another thing, but at least you said your piece.

“Spike. Listen. About Brian…” I began and this time I rubbed the back of my head feeling my mane, like some weird mohawk, “It’s not good.”

“I know, Forest.”

“No, I don’t think you do. It’s worse than before. I just saw him. He’s really weak and there’s all these tubes and things. I don’t know when you last saw him, but it’s not good at all.”

“I saw him yesterday, Forest. I know. Trust me.”

“Oh.”

“But thanks for telling,” he looked up at me. “At least you’re not sugarcoating it. I appreciate your blunt honesty. That’s why you’re my best friend.”

I smiled and looked up at the cloudy sky. “When it rains it pours.”

“You can certainly say that again,” Spike sighed in affirmation.

“Let’s go.”

We walked on in relative silence. Without the hustle-bustle of the market, it was eerily silent. A few pairs of ponies did walk around, but for the most part the town was as it was from earlier. We made a beeline for Sugarcube Corner, our hooves clopping gently on the ground. When we arrived, Spike paused in front and rubbed his neck.

“What’s wrong?”

“I left my bits at home,” he muttered. “I’ll head back over to the library.”

“Nah, I got you,” I offered.

Pinkie smiled. “It’s fine. I’ll cover you guys. Let’s just spend time together for now.”

We both looked at the mare and nodded. “Sounds good, Pinkie.”

“Yeah.”

When we walked in, there was a fairly large number of ponies inside. Not overwhelming, but a lot more than what we saw on the outside. It was warm, happy, and bright. Mrs Cake was serving something to a couple young fillies and saw us. She waved and we walked over.

“Thank goodness! We’re a little underhoofed! Think you could help out? Think you boys could help out?” she asked.

Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, but Mrs Cake held her hoof up before she could proceed from there.

“No, Pinkie. You’ve worked hard enough as it is and you need time to rest up from your stay in the hospital. There’s enough help now with the boys and you can help out by sitting down over there and making sure that the twins are okay.”

I smiled at that. “They out?”

“Yes, they are. The Sleeping Sickness hit them this morning, so they won’t be up for a while. Otherwise they’d be helping us. Also, I think that my husband got it too. He hasn’t come out of the basement since I sent him down an hour ago.”

“Do you want me to check?” I offered.

“Please.”

I left Spike to help deal with the customers and headed to the back where the door to the basement was. I pushed it open noted the long ramp down to the bottom. How had I never come here before? I walked down and spotted Mr Cake lying over some stacks of flour. He had loaded a small wheelbarrow and had left it there. From the look of things, he loaded the last bag of flour, went for another and promptly fell asleep. I decided to bring out the wheelbarrow before going back for him. Something I learnt from the fair. Take things as much as you can so as to be more efficient.

“He out?” Mrs. Cake asked when I wheeled the wheelbarrow into the kitchen.

“Eeyup. Should I leave him down there?”

“Do you mind taking him upstairs to our bedroom with Spike?”

“Um… sure, I guess.”

With that, Spike and I carried the sleeping husband out of the basement and brought him up to the bedroom. On our way back, I saw Pinkie checking on the twins. She spotted us and waved quietly before tip-toeing (tip-hoofing?) over through the door and leaving it slightly ajar.

“Why are we being quiet?”

Pinkie opened her mouth to reply, thought about it, then giggled to herself. “Sorry, force of habit. Guess they’ll always be babies to me.”

“Yeah, but they’re not babies anymore, and if making noise will wake them up, shouldn’t we be louder then? Plus, they have Sleeping Sickness!” Spike said, shouting the last few words into the room for good measure.

“I know!” I exclaimed just as loudly.

Pinkie rolled her eyes, but laughed along as we all headed back downstairs.

“All okay? I thought I heard some shouting,” Mrs. Cake called up from the kitchen, concern in her voice.

“We were trying to wake the twins,” Pinkie confessed.

“Oh. Well, good luck!” Mrs. Cake’s called back, the concern vanishing from her voice.

For some time I actually forgot about having to go. I think that, while working, my mind was focused on trying to get the orders right and everything about what was going on for that moment seemed small. Back on Earth, I never felt anything like this while working. Going to work felt like a burden. An errand. But here, despite the physical nature of what I did, it felt good. Even fun.

I contemplated what that meant. Was I someone who liked working in a cafeteria? Was I someone who belonged in a restaurant or cafe setting? Or perhaps it was the company. Perhaps it was my friends that made working there actually enjoyable, and the way that I was treated.

“Forest?”

I looked at the speaker. Mrs. Cake stared at me with concern. “Y-yes?”

“You’ve been standing there for a while all spaced out. You okay, dearie?”

“Oh, he does that frequently. Moreso now than before,” Spike added as he walked by me giving me a look that said he wasn’t happy with his lack of not knowing what was going on with me. “And nopony knows why.”

“You’re a strange colt, Forest.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied stupidly.

“Well, as long as you’re sure you’re okay,” Mrs. Cake replied hesitantly.

“Oh, I’m fine. As Spike said, it happens quite often,” I replied with resignation in my voice.

Mrs. Cake didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know…”

Pinkie walked in and took out something from the oven.

“Didn’t I tell you that you have to rest?” Mrs. Cake admonished the pink filly.

She merely giggled at that. “It’s okay. Baking helps me relax.”

“Oh, you always say that!”

“Because it’s always true!”

They both had a good laugh before it was cut short with Mrs. Cake stating: “No. You rest yourself either by staying out of the kitchen or taking your friends out of here. Anyway, with this I should be good for the rest of the day.”

“Okee dokee lokee,” Pinkie said and walked next to me and nodded.

“Um… Mrs. Cake,” I began slowly.

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to tell you… that I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and that it has been a real pleasure being involved with your family. Thank you for helping me out…”

“That’s okay, Forest. It is always a pleasure. What’s wrong? You sound like you’re leaving.”

“I am.”

“Oh? I didn’t know.”

“I just decided this morning, actually. There are… things I remember and stuff. I need to sort out my life,” I muttered the last part as quietly as I could.

Mrs. Cake watched me and then walked around the counter and wrapped her hooves around my neck and pulled me into a warm hug. I was taken a little aback, but the feeling passed a moment later and I embraced her as well.

“We’ll all miss you very much, Forest. You will be sure to visit.”

“I… promise to try,” I replied truthfully.

“I’ll hold you to that. Now what’ll I tell the twins when they wake up! Their favorite uncle. Gone!”

I laughed a little at that. “I’m sure they’ll manage.”

“Oh yes, we all will, but ‘managing’ our feelings isn’t healthy. You must return. Okay?”

“Okay.”

With that, we all left.

“Crystal?” Spike asked pointing to the hotel across the street.

“Crystal.”

“Coming Pinkie?”

“Of course!” Pinkie said. “Crystal and I are friends now.”

As we entered, the little bell jingled. We walked in and Crystal saw us from the reception and waved us on over. “How are you all doing? Where were you, Forest? You missed all the fun! Ponies falling asleep all over the place! It was pure chaos!”

“Cloudsdale.”

“Cloudsdale? Wow. Okay. I didn’t know you were out of town.”

I reiterated my long story to her about how I wound up stuck beneath some heavy boxes and got myself dragged up all the way to the cloud city.

Crystal laughed in that obnoxious nasal way that she did all through. I cringed a little bit, but laughed along with her. It was a funny story, if you censor the parts about the anger fits, sudden rage moments, and fainting spells. Suffice to say, I was quite happy to not have had another one of those episodes yet.

“Well, I’m here to say goodbye, actually.”

Crystal’s laughter died in her throat. “What?”

“I’m leaving. For some time.”

“What? Why?”

“There are things I have to do.” I shrugged. “You’ve got so many great friends here in town now, so you don’t need me.”

“I know, but I still am a little surprised that you’re leaving so suddenly. Especially now with you and Twilight…”

I blushed. “I know, but I can’t wait and there are things I have to get done.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Leaving her when she’s not awake? That’s what a coward would do.”

“I know, but I’ve got to go. If there was a way out of… this, I’d take it. I’d take it without a second guess, but I can’t wait. It has to be tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight.”

Crystal shook her head sadly. “Aw. That’s so sad. I hope you’ll come back soon.”

“Me too.”

I hugged her tightly and, as she let go of our embrace, she held he at arm's length (or leg’s length? I dunno). She stared intently at me and then nodded to herself and let go.

“What?”

“Just memorizing your face. Do you want to know something strange?”

“Um… sure.”

“I have this uncanny ability to memorize another pony’s face. I just… remember them. If I’ve seen them before, I can usually recall. Same with you, but today there’s something different.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Your eyes. Last time, they were brown. Like your coat. Today, they have little flecks of green in there. Hazel. I can’t believe I missed it before. I didn’t know you had hazel eyes. In fact, I’m pretty sure you didn’t. Strange. Maybe a side-effect to the Sleeping Sickness?” she offered.

“I… don’t think so.”

“Well, it is you Forest. I can tell. I can tell if you were a Changeling, and you are not.”

“You… thought I was?”

She shrugged. “Can’t be too careful these days, and Twilight’s been telling everypony she can that she suspects you are. But if you are or not doesn’t matter to me. You helped me learn to be accepted in this town and make friends. You could be a Changeling, but I wouldn’t care. You were the only one that actually tried to be my friend and I can’t hate you for that no matter what you are.”

I smiled sadly and nodded. “You’ve got a kind heart, Crystal. Don’t let anypony tell you otherwise.”

“I won’t.”

Again, we said our goodbyes and hugged. Outside I waited as Pinkie closed the door.

“It’s nice to be able to talk to Crystal. She’s a good pony.”

“Indeed.”

“So, where to now?” Pinkie asked, bouncing in place.

I sighed and gulped. “Applejack.”

“Okay, this way!” Pinkie started bouncing off in one direction.

“This way,” Spike said and pointed in the complete opposite direction.

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie said, and stopped in mid-air, turned, and hopped the way Spike pointed.

“H-how does she do that!” I asked.

At that remark, Spike just raised his palms and shook his head. The universal sign for ‘I have no clue whatsoever’.

“Can’t I get an explanation?” I asked.

“Well, Twilight has studied Pinkie’s extraordinary abilities for years,” Spike said falling in step beside me as we followed the bouncing mare. “Conclusion? Unexplainable. I ought to know, I helped her do most of the different experiments and stuff.”

“Experiments?” I asked, concern lacing my question.

Spike shrugged. “Normal stuff. Measuring her MA count, her alignment with certain leylines. Stuff like that. Nothing really worked out.”

“Leylines?”

“Like I said: magic stuff.”

“Oh. Still doesn’t explain anything,” I muttered and trudged along.

“Honestly, I don’t understand it either,” Spike confided and we both chuckled lightly.

It wasn’t long before we got to where we needed to go. The entrance to the Apple Farm was shrouded by a heavier fog than the rest of town due to its proximity to one of the borders of the Everfree Forest. I remember seeing it the boundary with the fence built alongside the trees not far from the Club House, which we had passed along the way. Pinkie was bounching through the fog as if it were nothing, but I kept thinking I saw shadows in the trees of the dense forest. It wasn’t long before the familiar signpost and light were seen.

“Is it me or did it just get a lot darker here all of a sudden?” I asked out loud.

“No, not just you. I’m getting the creeps.” Spike shuddered despite himself and walked onwards trying hard to ignore the forest. It really looked like the place was billowing the fog out of its roots for some reason.

Standing at the entrance I looked once more behind me and, when I was satisfied that nothing was there, followed quickly after Spike. We headed towards a small light that was on the porch barely visible through the thickening fog that was spreading. An eerie blanket of the vapour covered the lawn and seemed to end and slowly ebb around the house, or under it. Pinkie bounced through unabashed, but I was still hesitant and took somewhat cautionary steps as I walked. Whether it was because I didn’t want to fall down some unseen ditch, or perhaps there was something inside the haze, I didn’t know.

“Come on, slowpokes!” Pinkie called from the front door and waved us in. She turned and knocked. The large burly figure of Big Mac appeared in the doorframe and he stood aside to let Pinkie through.

“Comin’?” he called out.

“Yeah. Be right there,” Spike replied and walked across the lawn with me following close behind.

“That was terrifying,” I pointedly said out loud.

Spike was confused. He turned his head to look at me. “What was?”

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard Big Mac say something other than ‘eeyup’.”

Spike couldn’t contain himself and we both entered the residence on a much lighter note.

Granny Smith was sitting by the fireplace and rocking her chair slowly. “Forest! I had a feelin’ you was a-comin’.”

“You did?”

“Rightly so! Somethin’ ‘bout this dag-nabbit fog screams it. Dunno. Maybe just the years catchin’ up, but I reckon you’re not here entirely on a social call. Am I right?”

I stood there dumbfounded. “Y-yes. But… how?”

“Just somethin’. It ain’t right. Somethin’. Not sure what though. Not sure, but somethin’ like this gets to be known over the years, y’know. I gets to see the future, a lil’ bit, or maybe I just know but forgot why. And, perhaps, maybe my time’s a-comin’.”

“Now, Granny, don’tcha be talkin’ like that,” Big Mac said and placed a steaming mug next to her rocking chair on a simple sturdy table. When had he gotten it?

Granny took it and sipped on it loudly. “Macky, I ain’t a filly nor foal. My time will come soon. We all know that. It ain’t night outside, and we had to turn on the porch light, for Celestia’s sake! If that ain’t a sign of something bads a-comin’, then I don’t know what will. No offense to Princess Luna, but I grew up when the night’s tweren’t friendly like now. I remember why we feared the dark. It wasn’t that long ago for me, and I’ve lived too long. Far too long.”

I looked at Spike. He was fidgeting fiercely.

Shit! Is he really going to? Now? I asked myself.

“Um… Granny… Big Mac… there’s something I need to tell you two.”

I watched him. He sighed and explained, with as much positiveness as possible, about Applebloom leaving. Big Mac’s body did not respond, but his eyes terrified me. Something in them burned with a fire that I didn’t know he had. The looks he showed me when I was ‘courting’ Applejack were nothing compared to the raw fury I saw in that ‘gentle’ giant's eyes.

Granny nodded slowly and sighed. She turned her head slightly towards Big Mac. “Told ya.”

“Granny…”

“It ain’t her, Macky. It ain’t. I treated her fair. Gave her the benefit of the doubt, but in the end, I knew. I knew. It ain’t her, Macky. And ain’t nopony gonna tell me diff’rent.”

I couldn’t help but interject. “I’m sorry, but what?”

“Granny thinks that that Bloom ain’t Bloom,” Big Mac said. “I don’t rightly agree.”

“I raised the three of you,” Granny said without missing a beat. “I know who my granddaughters are, and that… fake ain’t her!”

“Granny…”

“An Apple would never, ever, ever walk out, ‘specially without sayin’ goodbye. And when you know that one of them probably won’t be around the next time you grace us with your presence, you should at least have the courtesy in sayin’ goodbye!” Granny shouted, her anger getting the best of her. “Family is the most important thing in the world to us Apples. It is what we stand for. It ain’t taught to an Apple. It’s built-in. We are born knowin’ just how important family is. If that doesn’t make you pause, then you ain’t an Apple. And that Bloom, sure, I grew to love her like I love her friends, but deep down she ain’t my Bloom. I don’t know what happened to her out there, but it changed her too much, Macky. Too much.”

She took another sip from her mug.

“Or maybe I’m upset. And old. Too old. Too old and too tired. And too upset.”

Big Mac walked over and hugged his grandmother. I felt slightly out of place, but remained where I was standing next to Spike. He looked absolutely broken. I guess he never expected that kind of reaction. To be honest, nor did I. So we both stood there next to each other not sure what to do or say. Where the hell was Pinkie Pie when we needed her?

“Psst!”

We turned to see her in the landing at the bottom of the stairs trying to hide behind the banister railings.

“This way!”

We took the opportunity to vanish up the stairs.

“Wow. I never knew Granny could be like that.” Spike shuddered despite himself.

“What was she talking about? She seemed to think that Applebloom isn’t her. Is that strange?”

“The coincidence is uncanny. I was just saying that this morning,” Spike muttered to himself, stroking his chin. “Her leaving is really, really out of character for Applebloom. That’s more like something Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle would do.”

I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t ‘there’ for that conversation, and despite being the best of friends, I knew that Spike wouldn’t have liked me listening in without letting him know. I knew that much about the guy, which says a lot seeing as we’ve only known each other for quite a short spell.

Pinkie led the way towards Applejack’s room, I stopped at the top of the landing and peered into the room where I spent my first couple of nights. The guestroom was exactly the same. I don’t know why I was expecting anything to be different, but it strangely made me feel a little nostalgic for some reason. Perhaps a fleeting feeling of hopelessness. Knowing that what this cozy space represented could never be part of my world anymore. I was never going to come back to this nook, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“What’s up?” Spike asked when I didn't move after a few minutes.

I shrugged. “Just looking at something.”

He waited. I don’t know why he did, but it made me want to say more. His presence just comforted me as I let the memories of the recent past waft over me and allow myself to try and take away a semblance of this place. My unintentional first home here. A powerful sense of nostalgia made my eyes burn.

“It… it reminds me of a feeling,” I began. Spike did not say anything but stood behind me silently. “A feeling that I’ve missed for so long, you know? When you have that moment in your heart, that feeling that you’ve been here before, somehow, or something.”

“You’re not talking about this place, are you Forest?”

I sighed. “No.”

I felt his claw on my shoulder as he gave me a comforting shake. “We all have places like that, Forest. Places that we miss and, in some way, want to go back to. A special moment that they’d love to go back to. Celestia knows that I’ve got a few. But looking back isn’t healthy because that will never come again. But you know something? That’s okay! It’s okay if you can’t go back to the place you came from because it keeps that idea in your head. And, in truth, if you ever went back, I don’t think it’d be the same anyway.”

I nodded. “Makes sense, I guess.”

“Keep moving forward, but never forget the past,” Spike said and he let go of my shoulder. “Never forget the steps you took that brought you here.”

I stared at Spike’s face for a long moment. That was an amazing statement. “Never forget…”

“You guys coming or what?” Pinkie yelped from further up the hallway. “Applejack’s over here!”

“Good ol’ Pinkie,” I muttered. “Always knows when to break the mood.”

“Those words have never been truer than at this moment,” Spike quipped and we shared a lighthearted laugh as I shut the door to the guest room. It felt like I was finally coming to terms with what was going to happen. Like I released something from inside me. That I was beginning to set myself free.

Or perhaps I was overthinking things and closing the door made the pain of the past go away, hidden behind that wooden barrier.

Whatever the case, I was grateful for Pinkie’s lack of tact.

Applejack’s room was a lot girlier than I would have guessed. It was funny how I had actually never been in her room despite staying just down the hall. I peered around and noted the pictures on the walls, on the dresser, and on the study in the corner. A few stuffed animals lingered on what I would venture to call a small sofa near a window with the sunlight pouring through it. A large wooden bed with, obviously, the carvings of apples decorated the sides. On it lay Applejack breathing lightly. On one end I noticed two portraits of two ponies that I hadn’t seen before and knew right away that they were Applejack’s parents.

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to just wander in like this, Pinks?” Spike asked.

“Silly-billy! Of course! If it wasn’t okay, Mac and Granny would’ve told us so!”

“I guess…” Spike allented with some trepidation. “But they were busy with… other things.”

While he talked, I moved to the bed and stood staring at the sleeping mare in front of me. She was lying on her back, he face upwards and I watched as her chest slowly went up and down with an even beat with every breath she took. I don’t know how long I stood there for, but after a moment I turned to see Spike and Pinkie looking at me.

“What?”

Spike shrugged. “Aren’t you gonna same something? Like what you did with Twilight?”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Yeah. I guess so.”

I leaned in closer to Applejack and watched her. She looked so peaceful. Calm. Quiet. I put my hoof on her head and moved the mane from her cheek and gave it a quick peck. “Goodbye.”

The mare sighed, and moved her head away making a series of cute noises with her mouth and lips before falling she settled back again with the steady rhythm and breathing that comes with sound sleeping. After a moment she turned away from me and pulled the covers along with her nuzzling the pillow, her blond mane covering her face from me.

I smiled and turned to leave.

“That it?” Spiked asked.

I nodded.

“I dunno. That seemed quite anti-climatic, to be honest.”

“Anti-climatic? It’s not like we can wake her up and explain,” I replied. “Besides… I don’t think I could say goodbye to her, or Twilight, if they were awake. In other words, their sleeping is actually a blessing for me.”

“I see.”

We left and headed downstairs and I paused to see Granny sitting alone sipping her mug slowly and staring at the fireplace with an expression that could freeze ice over. That glare sent chills down my spine, and I wasn’t even the subject of her ire. I looked over to the kitchen and could see Big Mac rummaging around in the kitchen. I walked in, with Spike in tow, and he turned to see us as we paused at the kitchen’s entrance.

“Said your goodbye?” Mac asked.

“Eeyup,” I intoned, then gulped. Did I really just do that in front of the Big Mac? “Wait. How’d you know?”

The stallion smirked. “Just a feelin’. I s’pose yer not goin’ with Bloom, then?”

“Who? Me? No. I’m going someplace else.”

“I see. Well, it’s been a pleasure. Sorry things didn’t work out between you and AJ.”

For the briefest moment I actually thought he meant it, but then again, perhaps it was my imagination getting the better of me. He gave a silent nod, turned away, and I nodded to his back and turned and walked out. Spike followed a moment later and stood next to me on the porch staring at the fog.

“Yeesh. It’s like a lake of smoke out there,” He muttered. “What now?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. I’ve said bye. Only thing left to do is… go.”

Spike nodded. “How are you heading out? On the train?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ll be walking.”

“Probably faster that way,” Spike said and we both laughed.

My jaw quivered. This was it. I was about to say goodbye to my best friend, and my eyes stung. They stung fiercely. I swallowed.

“You’ll write?” Spiked asked.

“I’ll try,” I lied.

“You coming back?”

“Maybe one day,” I lied again.

He shrugged. “You came here out of the blue, and you’re going away the same way you came. It’s like… it’s like you’re a ghost.”

“Hey! Don’t jinx me!” I pouted.

Again, we shared a light laugh.

“Wow. This is a lot harder than I thought it’d be,” Spike confessed.

“What’ll you do now?”

“Probably hang out with Sweetie Belle. Maybe we’ll go see a movie or something,” he stated. “Then I’ll wait in the hospital for Twilight to wake up. I don’t know how I’m going to tell her that you left without waiting for her to wake up. She’ll be really mad about that, so I gotta make sure that she’s going to be okay.”

“Please do. And tell her that I’m sorry it had to be this way. But I really got to go.”

“Really? Really, Forest? I mean, really? I know you’re saying that you do, but do you really, really have to go like this? You really going to disappear from our lives this way?”

“Stop.” I looked at the dragon. “It’s hard enough for me to do this on my own. There is a lot of things and--”

I suppressed the pain in my body as best I could and shuddered. My eyes started to see spots and I gritted my teeth as I waited for the ache to subside. The attacks were getting shorter and fiercer.

“I have to fix me.”

“Fix you?”

“Long story short, I don’t have a choice.”

“Can’t Twilight help?”

“No.”

“Princesses?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.”

Spike ground his teeth. “I know you’re sure, but you’re not the expert in magic here. So, I’m telling you that you can’t make that decision on your own!”

“Stop! Don’t you understand? I don’t want to go. I really don’t!” I shouted. “But I have to and you’re making it hard for me to do it!”

“You’re my best friend, Forest!” Spike shouted back. “Of course I’m going to resist! I’m going to make it harder than anything else to make you stay! You belong here! With us! You’re the only pony that I really can talk to here besides Twilight and her friends!”

“And Sweetie.”

“And Sweetie.”

“And Scootaloo.”

“And Scootaloo.”

“And…”

“Look, I know that I have a lot of good friends here. I’m not saying that I’m alone, or that I don’t have friends. I’m saying that I don’t have many friends that I can really talk to and you’re my best friend. You’re the only friend I got I can call that!” Spike seized my shoulders. “Don’t you get it?”

I turned away from him. “I guess…”

“I trust you with my life, Forest.”

“And I trust you with mine, Spike. But I can’t trust the lives of everypony. Can I? Could you?” I placed a hoof on his hand and smiled gently. “It’s that serious, Spike. It’s really that dangerous. I can’t really get into it, but it’s really that bad. If I stay, it’ll put a lot of ponies in danger.”

He looked at me doubtfully and a moment later he sighed and shrugged. “You’re a bad liar, Forest, but I’ll pretend I believe you.”

I raised my eyebrow. “You think I’m a bad liar?”

“Terrible! Worse than AJ.”

“That bad, huh?”

We both laughed. “I’ll buy your fib. At least it’ll help me come to terms with you leaving.”

“Thanks, Spike.”

He went forward, stopped, then hugged me tightly. “This is your home. You’ll always, always be welcome here. If you ever need a place to come back to, you know where to go.”

My nose stung again. “I-I know. You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“What? You crying you big baby?” He asked as he let go and stood up to his full height.

The tears flowed down, matting the fur on my cheeks. “L-looks who’s talking, you big baby.”

Spike wiped his eyes. “Something got in my eyes, is all. Not crying. Think… think it might be the rain.”

“Yeah. Rain.” I looked around at the fog swelling around us. “Rain kinda sucks.”

“Yeah, these pegasi gotta go and work when they wake up,” Spike said as he took another step down from the porch and was now standing on the path. The fog was up to his shin as he walked away. “Think… think I’ll go make a complaint. Make it official.”

“Yeah.”

“Before they close,” Spike said as he started to walk away. He pointed up at the sky. “I mean, it looks like night now it’s so dark.”

“It does,” I said, choking back a sob.

Spike paused. He had heard that from my throat and I could see his shoulders shaking. He was fighting it too.

“Goodbye, Forest.”

“Goodbye, Spike. Thank you.”

He turned his head slightly.

I looked at him, my heart feeling that it would shatter at any moment. “Thank you for being such a great friend. My best friend. I will never forget you.”

He smiled at that. “I know.”

We both laughed, letting it fill the void that each step he took as he went further and further away. Even after he had gone from my sight, I could still make out his laughter as he walked away back towards town and away from me.

Away from my life.

Pinkie put a hoof on my shoulder. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I sighed truthfully, wiping my nose.

We walked together in silence as we exited Sweet Apple Acres and went towards town. In the distance I could see Spike and almost wished he had turned around to see me once more while at the same time I was glad he didn’t. I saw the last of him disappear around the first set of houses along the road that would eventually reach the crossroads where Sugarcube was and beyond that the library and the hospital beyond that on the other end of town. I could picture him hesitating in front of the library, not sure whether to stop in or just go to the hospital. I could hear him muttering to himself about what Twilight would say and how he’d respond. I could picture it all in my mind.

And I couldn’t help but smile. I was sure that Spike could predict my every movement as well. How he would understand me painstakingly trying to take my mind off of what I was about to do with every little excuse.

Then Pinkie and I turned away from town and headed in the opposite direction towards the Everfree, through the ever thickening fog and towards Fluttershy’s home.

“You wanna say bye to Shy-shy?” Pinkie asked when we saw the lights of her cottage through the gloomy atmosphere. The fog had really started to get thicker and thicker here.

I shrugged. “I don’t really know her, Pinks.”

She giggled when I said her nickname. “Well, okay. But I still wanna say hi.”

I followed her and approached the door. Pinkie knocked and a voice in the inside called out: “W-w-who’s there?”

“Hey Fluttershy! It’s Pinkie… and Forest!” she added a moment later.

The door opened slightly and I could barely make the shy mare out behind the door. She opened it a bit more when she spotted and recognized Pinkie.

“C-come in,” she said in a half-whisper.

“Thanks, Shy-shy!”

Pinkie bounded inside and promptly seemed to vanish into the kitchen, but a moment later appeared next to me with a huge grin on her face. “Relax, Forest!”

I yelped in surprise, but smiled. “Sure thing. How many times do I gotta tell you to not scare me like that.”

“Don’t be such a big baby,” she replied in an almost motherly tone. “A little scare never hurt nopony.”

I laughed lightly. I would miss her and her unusual antics. I sat down awkwards at the table while Fluttershy walked over to her couch -- the same one where I slept on in what seemed like another lifetime ago. On the table next to the sofa was a book opened to a page where a warm cup of something was wafting light vapor trails into the air.

“Oh, would you like some tea?” Fluttershy asked.

I shook my head. “No thanks.”

“Um… so, what brings you here?” she asked. “Not that I mind… I mean… I’m just…”

She mumbled on and seemed to working herself up to a panic. I opened my mouth to say something when Pinkie barged in with a slice of cake on a plate and planted in on the table next to me. It was red, a usual sign of some berry flavor infused within. I recognized it instantly as one of Pinkie’s creations.

“I think what Fluttershy was going to say is that she wants to make you feel welcome and that she didn’t want to make you feel like you weren’t welcome here, but she is super awkward when trying to make conversations happen, so it’s up to her friends like me to sometimes help her get those words out, but I keep telling her that she shouldn’t feel that way, but she doesn’t listen to her aunty Pinkie, so I…”

I tuned her out after that and looked at Fluttershy and rolled my eyes. That brought a grateful smile to her face and she tucked her legs under her and picked up the book and started to read.

It was in English, I think, or whatever the equivalent was, but there was no title on it.

“Um… so, what book is that?” I asked trying to make conversation.

Fluttershy’s face turned pink, like Pinkie’s coat. “I-i-i-it’s a… good book.”

“Oh?” I turned and, using my hoof, picked up small desert spoon and took a small slice of the cake and put it into my mouth. At once an explosion of strawberry and cream smashed my taste buds and I could barely suppress the ecstatic moan that wanted to come out. “What’s it about?”

“Oh, um, well, it’s about…” She tapered off, her face exploding into another shade of pink and red that almost resembled Big Mac’s coat.

“Oh? Is it that kind of book?” I asked, seeing her obvious embarrassment.

“Y-yes…” she whispered barely audibly.

“Mind if I took a look?” I asked.

She shook her head aggressively, making it quite obvious that she was not going to let me take a peek. Suffice to say that only heightened my curiosity.

“Not going to let me take a peek, eh?” I asked, a grin slowly spreading across my face.

Again she shook her head at that impossible speed.

“I see.”

She looked visible relieved, I guess believing that I wasn’t going to press the issue. Foolish mare.

I turned to the side. “Pinkie?”

Pinkie appeared like a ninja out of the shadows. “Hello!”

“Do you know the book Fluttershy’s holding?”

“You mean this book?” she asked, hoofing it over to me.

I heard a squeak from across the living room and spotted Fluttershy with a near replica of the book she held seconds before, but this time it was a blue book instead of the yellow one she had moments before. How did that pink mare do it?

“Yes, this one!” I said and turned to look at Fluttershy. Her poor face looked like it would explode.

I opened it and… was instantly disappointed. I looked up at her and tilted my head to one side. “This is what you’re embarrassed about?”

She ‘eeped’ and tried in vain to hide behind her mane.

I showed it to Pinkie. She also tilted her head in a near replica of my previous action and looked at Fluttershy. “This isn’t something you need to be embarrassed about. I mean, Rarity’s books are something to be embarrassed about, or some of the books in Twilight’s books in her secret bookshelf would and should make you--”

“Wait, Twilight has a secret bookshelf?”

“Yeah! In the basement behind the far wall. You need a special spell to open it, but it’s got all sorts of embarrassing books in there. Some of them written by Twilight herself!”

I was regretting leaving more and more with this new information. I smiled sadly inwardly. “Next time I’m in Ponyville, I’ll try to check it out.”

“I wouldn’t! Twilight wouldn’t want you to see what’s in there,” Pinkie declared matter-of-factly. “Besides, I can’t get into it either. I just know it’s there.”

“Then… how do you know it exists?” I asked.

She tilted her head in the opposite direction. “How what exists?”

“The secret bookshelf?” I asked, trying to jog her memory.

“What secret bookshelf?”

“The one Twilight has?” I prompted.

“Twilight has a secret library? Where?”

“Um… you know, down… in the… are you being serious right now? Are you just teasing me?” I asked, not sure how to react now.

Pinkie patted my head. “Oh, Forest. You can be so silly sometimes.”

I made a face, stole a glance at Fluttershy -- who shook her head as if she understood my unasked question, and got up and headed into the kitchen. Moments later, Pinkie followed and I was left alone in the living room to come to terms with what had just happened to me.

“What just happened?” I muttered to myself, unsure that what had transpired actually took place.

In a few moments, Pinkie and Fluttershy returned. They were giggling to themselves, and Fluttershy took the book back, which was lying on the table next to where she had sat minutes before, and placed her cup of tea on the stand. When had that book been put back? Pinkie never went near it when she left the living room.

Did she?

I scratched my head.

“Well, Shy-shy. We’re off! I’ll drop by a little later, okay?” Pinkie said and headed towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, a little more confidently than her usual shyness would allow her.

Before I could stop her, Pinkie opened her mouth and blurted: “Into the Everfree.”

I smacked my face with my hoof.

“You-you can’t go in there!” Fluttershy said with palpable concern. “It's not safe right now! That’s why I’m in here. Oh, I do hope that all the little critters in the forest are okay…”

Remembering how hard she took the loss of her rabbit, I refrained from stating the obvious in that the chances of a prey surviving with the current conditions felt quite remote. No point in frightening the poor mare.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Most forest critters usually know when to hide in their homes where it’s safe without you having to tell them.”

“Oh. I guess you’re right.”

She looked out the window and her face made a frown. She wasn’t obviously buying it and remained a little confused.

“Well, it has been a pleasure getting to know you,” I said, not sure if I really meant it considering that I didn’t know the yellow mare at all.

“S-same. And thanks,” she said as I stepped out her door. I turned my head to look at her. “Thanks for what you did. With Angel. I know I thanked you before, but I wanted to thank you again. T-thank you.”

“Um… you’re welcome?” I said and smiled. “Please don’t mention it.”

She nodded and I took a step outside and waited as Pinkie closed the door gently. She looked at me and we both walked on in silence. I saw now that my companion wasn’t her bouncy, hopping self. She was walking with me and looking a little down.

“The matter, Pinks?”

“Nothing. Just that I’m starting to really understand what’s going to happen when we get into the Everfree. I mean, this is going to be a real goodbye, right?”

I walked on, my heart aching again. Her expression, so pained, yet she was holding together. She was forcing herself to be strong and chipper because of me. I couldn’t help but admire the mare. She certainly was special.

“You wanna go and say bye to Zecora too?”

“Yes, I think so,” I said and followed as she led the way.

Even though Zecora lived quite close to the edge of the Everfree, my first run-in with those Timberwolves still was quite vivid in my memory and I could have sworn I spotted a few glowing eyes in the woods around us. I shuddered despite myself.

“You okay?” Pinkie asked as she slowed down to walk next to me.

“S-sure. Just… this place gives me the creeps,” I muttered and stopped and spun around in reflex as I thought something was grabbing me. It was only a low-hanging branch of a nearby tree and I sighed in relief.

We walked on in silence before I started to see a couple of floating lights through the foggy foliage. It looked like two huge fireflies with a small halo around each one formed from the light diffusing through the clouds. We walked right up and Pinkie gave it a very familiar knock.

“Hold on for just a minute or two,
This is no place for any like you!” She said as she opened the door and spied the two of us.
“Forest! Pinkie! Do come inside!
The fog is thick with wolves and Manticore Prides!” She let that sink in.
“Coming here like this was a foolish risk!
You silly mare and stallion, tsk, tsk.
And my surprise is quite peaked,
Might I inquire, whom do you seek?

“Um… we came to see you. Also, I don’t think you say ‘tsk’, you just click your tongue like so,” and I clicked my tongue.

“Nuh-uh. She doesn’t have to! I say ‘tsk’ all the time!” Pinkie countered.

“But it’s wrong!” I complained.

Pinkie shrugged. “Still gets the point across, right? So, how can it be wrong if it means the same thing whether your click or say it in the first place?”

“I… suppose,” I replied unsure of what to say. She was right, of course.
“I am glad you have come to my abode,
The weather is much worse than I forbode,
Even with the pegasi unable to attend the clouds,
This heavy veil of moisture aggressively shrouds,
Something unnatural is causing all of this,
And it is obvious that something is amiss.”

“Well, like what?” I asked.

“The fact that you are purposefully here is a sign,
And strange ley-lines have begun to align,
You came from the forest and back you may now go,
Your presence here isn’t just for show.
You know a lot more than you are letting on,
And before long I feel you will be gone.”

I turned to Pinkie, who looked at me with a somewhat shocked expression mixed with bemusement.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here. To say goodbye. I’m… going away. And I came into the Everfree to say bye to you.”

“Have you come to bid me farewell?
Or have you come to invoke that strange spell?
As I said, there are ley-lines forming here,
And its source is not far, I fear.
In the direction when you first came,
Is your heading going to be the same?”

I bit my lip. “Actually. Funny you should say that… but, yes, I am going that way…”

“I can hardly understand what is happening here.
My magic in this area isn’t strong, my dear.
At least you have come at just the right time,
And away you must go in the think of your prime.
I cannot understand what it is but I do know that you must go,
It has not been long, Forest, but there is one thing I do know.”

“Yeah?”

“Your presence here will be missed,
And staying back is something you must resist.
When you go back from whence you came,
Things were will never quite be the same.”

“Did I ever thank you for saving me back then?” I asked.

“I cannot recall the wording exact,
But you do not have to thank me for something like that.
I did what any else would do,
And I am glad that I got to meet a stallion like you.”

I didn’t know what to do at that point, so I made a lame bow and smiled awkwardly. “I guess this is it then?”

“I will follow both Pinkie and you from a distance away,
To ensure no harm may befall her on this hazy day.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “I’m sure that Pinkie will welcome the company.”

“I believe that as well,
But here you must no longer dwell.
Go, and do what you must,
We will all shall have to adjust.”

“I'm thankful,” I said.

“Despite your very best of intentions,
This is my gentlest form of an intervention.
I know not exactly what is going on,
But please do not be insulted when I say: ‘begone!’
I say this with the most purest form of goodwill,
Of me and my friends, don’t think us ill.”

“I won’t. I promise. Whatever happens now… well, I’m just glad that I met some great… um… ponies and zebras--”

“And dragons!”

“Well, dragon. I’ve only met the one,” I reminded my pink comrade.

“Oh yeah!”

“For what it’s worth, I understand your sentiment. Please know that I would never intentionally harm any of my friends,” I confessed.

“That I do understand with all my heart,
And it is through that love that I see you depart.
I am also one who will do what she must,
And I know that you will do what is right and just.”

“I’m grateful you think so highly of me.”

At that the zebra smiled and motioned to the door.

“Away you now go, and follow will I,
To ensure that Pinkie has company should she cry.”

Pinkie smiled. “Thanks, Zecora. I have a feeling I’m going to need it! A good shoulder to cry on is the best thing when you can’t smile. At least you can share the pain. Right, Forest?”

“Right, Pinkie.”

[Mood Music - Optional (some explicit lyrics)]

We both stared at each other for a long moment as we acknowledged what I was about to do. This was it. This was the point of no return, not there was a no-return-point to begin with. And Zecora had called it, which wasn’t as surprising as I thought it’d be. I guess it was something that I needed to hear, and it had somewhat helped get a bit easier hearing her say it. Now it was different. Now it was all on me. The longer I took to do it, the harder it would be for all those involved. And there was still the slight chance that Twilight and the others could wake up and try to stop me. That, I knew, couldn’t happen. They wouldn’t allow me to leave and no amount of pleading would get them to change their minds about that.

Pinkie walked over to the door and opened it for me to step through.

I wondered, in that moment, if this was what inmates on death row felt. A morbid comparison, perhaps. But that knowledge of imminent doom. They knew that, when they left their cell, it would be the last time they would do that. The feeling of utter defeat and, in some strange way, acceptance of the inevitable. That was what I was feeling just then.

“So, you’ll stay with me?” I asked without turning.

“Yep! Till the end, Forest. That’s what friends do.”

“Is it selfish of me to let you do that knowing that I’m only hurting you?” I asked as I put my first hoof on the top stair that led down to the path we had come only mere minutes before. It now seemed like another lifetime ago.

A heard a soft giggle. “You silly pony. You’re not hurting me. I know you have to go. But, the way I see it, you can look at it as a goodbye, or a see you later. And, right now, even though you think it’s not going to happen, I still think this is a see you later.” She laid a hoof on my shoulder. “Goodbyes are a lot harder for everypony.”

“This is pretty hard,” I said trying to force the tears back into my eyeballs but failing miserably.

Pinkie pulled me into a warm hug. “There, there. Don’t be sad. If you cry, then how can I be strong?”

She looked up at me with eyes swimming in tears as well, but her face had that soft and warm smile. It was so full of kindness and warmth, and I felt horrible. Just plain horrible. Empty. Sick. But I couldn’t let her see that. I sucked in my pain. “I’ll try.”

We turned together and started our walk once more. One hoof in front of the other. One step. I knew, somehow, that our zebra friend was following keeping a good distance away so that we could have our time together. Thinking back on it, Pinkie was my first real friend here. Was it worth noting that, just as she had been the first, she was now the last? That Applejack was the second to last? Coincidence? Perhaps, but it made me think back to my first few days.

“I can’t believe it’s been a month,” I said through the silence.

“You mean it’s already been a month. Time flies when you’re having fun with your friends,” Pinkie replied and pulled me closer to her. “I’m gonna miss you, Forest. You’re a really great friend.”

“T-thanks, Pinkie. That means a lot to me,” I replied. Then, thinking about it, I looked over to her. “Do… do you know what friendship really means, Pinkie?”

She tilted her head to one side, but did not stop walking. She continued on for a moment before she opened her mouth. “No, I don’t think I do.”

It was pointless, but I just needed to know. Could I have won that stupid bet?

“I guess it depends on… you,” she said suddenly breaking my chain of thought. I looked over to her. “I think that friendship is like a cupcake. Every cupcake is made differently. Even ones that I make from my super-special-top-secret recipe book that I keep hidden in my hair,” she said pointing to the poofy mane. “Even if I make the cupcake exactly the way I made it before, it wouldn’t be the same. Like my friendship with my friends and with you. Each one is special because it’s the friendship I share with you. Sometimes that friendship needs to be different because that is why we became friends in the first place. Like how me and Crystal weren’t friends, but then became friends because someone helped add sprinkles to our friendship to make it work! So, yeah. Friendship is like cupcakes. You can bake the same recipe over and over again, but it’ll never ever really be the same. And that’s a good thing. Who wants to eat the same kind of friend anyhow. Right?”

I walked a few steps before stopping and mulling over what she said. I looked up over to her where she had stopped and watched me.

“Did that not make sense?”

“In some strange and ‘Pinkie-esque’ way, it made perfect sense!” I walked over to her and hugged the mare. “You’re an amazing mare, Pinkie. Don’t let any tell you different.”

“I won’t!” she said and we laughed.

Then, she walked a step ahead of me and pulled away some branches causing my heart to sink. We had reached the copse.

“Time flies indeed,” I muttered as I saw the clearing.

“This the place?” Pinkie asked.

“Yeah. This is the place.”

“What’s going to happen now?”

“Well, I’ll walk away and… disappear,” I said smiling sadly.

“But the Everfree is dangerous,” Pinkie replied, but knowing that she was just casting into the wind. There was nothing that could stop me now. I was here. It was over. It was time.

“I’m quick,” I replied and glanced over to where I thought Zecora would be, but didn’t see her. Perhaps she was keeping a distance away out of respect. Or perhaps she was hiding. I couldn’t tell with all the damned leaves about. “I’ll be fine. You just take care of things.”

“I’m glad to be here, Forest.” She looked down. “So… now what?”

“We play a game.”

“A game?”

“Yeah. A silly one, but I think it’ll be fun. You said that you’re pretty good at hide-and-seek. Wanna try playing against one of the best?” I smiled despite myself. “It’ll be your hardest challenge, I guarantee.”

“You’re not that good, Forest,” Pinkie snorted. “Nopony is.”

I couldn’t help but laugh along, but my heart was getting tighter and tighter. It was definitely a combination of another attack and the fact that this was actually happening. I was about to vanish from this place. This place that I had lived through for one lousy month only. I wanted to stay, but couldn't. It was time to go.

“Humor me, Pinks. If I’m not as good as you think I am,” I poked her nose, “then I’ll buy you a cupcake everyday for the rest of your life.”

“Why? I make them!”

“Precisely.”

She made a face. “I don’t know if that’s supposed to be funny, but okay. You’re on, mister!”

I grinned. “Okay.”

Then I walked over to her and hugged her as hard as I could. “You tell Twilight that I’m sorry for not waiting for her to wake up, okay? And not to worry about me. I’ll be fine. And tell AJ too. I know she’ll be pretty angry. Just… tell her that it had to be this way. And tell Spike that I will never forget him and how awesome he has been.” I glanced down at Pinkie who had her eyes closed and trying to stop herself from crying, her lip quivering viciously. In any other situation, I might have found it funny, but seeing her in pain like that broke my heart. “Thank you, Pinkie, for being such a perfect friend.”

“Good-bye, Forest.” She looked up at me. “I’ll really miss you. And I know, somehow, that I’m not going to win this hide-and-seek. At least, not now.”

I cracked a smile again. “Not now is better than never.”

She nodded. “I’ll count.”

“Okay. And, hey, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, okay?”

She ran over to me and seized me in a hug.

“A-are you sure you have to go?” I opened my mouth, but she had already pushed me away. “No. S-sorry. I let myself get weak there for a second. It’s funny how sometimes that happens. It’s… funny…”

We both stared at each other for a moment. I could feel my tears on my cheeks, fresh, and I could see hers. “Okay. Now, turn around, close your eyes, and count. Go on. A-and n-no peeking!”

“O-okay,” she said, letting out a half-laugh and sob. "Promise."

"Good girl."

She released me, turned around, and walked a few steps away. She took a deep breath. Time seemed to stand still. The wind seemed to freeze. Everything stopped.

“One…”

At once I felt it happen. A pull. The tugging on my ass as it quickly spread over my body. I knew this feeling all too well, and I hated it.

“Two…”

“I… I just wanna say…”

“Three…”

“... that you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, Pinkie!”

“Four…”

Her shoulders were shaking. “Goodbye… and… remember...”

“Five…”

"I love all of you."

And then she was gone.

And so was I.

Author's Note

Better late than never I suppose.

Day 3: Gaps In The Brain

Warm. Bright.

It took a moment for me to struggle through the haze. It felt as if I had been asleep for a long, long time. A stream of daylight hit me right at my eyelids. I could feel its warmth penetrating through me. At first, I tried to open my eyes, but as my mind came out of the blackness of unconsciousness, I felt an overwhelming surge of sickness waft up through my body. I shuddered slightly, trying to keep the contents of my stomach down. I tried to will myself to ignore the feeling coming up through my chest and throat. At least it wasn’t pain. How much pain had I been through this past month? Yet, somehow, this one was worse. As if I had been stretched out, pulled, and then compressed together at the same time.

As I started to wake up more and more, the constant, agonizing pain slowed its pulsing waves. At first there was a slow, long and constant thrumming that began to quicken. The pain would subside for a moment, giving me intense relief. Yet each time I tried to open my eyes, the pain would once again start. I braced myself internally as each wave came and went.

But throughout all of this, something felt off. Very off. The spine, for one, felt abnormal and different. It felt strangely familiar and the alien feeling in my gut was something that I could not understand. I knew I had to investigate, but I did not want to open my eyes. The nausea was still unbearable and I felt that if I waited, then maybe it would go away.

Slowly. Painfully slow, I opened one eye. The light flooded into my retina blinding me and a series of dizziness made my world spin out of control. I let out a groan as I tried to squish the feeling away, pressing my eyelids together as tightly as I could to retreat away from the light’s invasion. But, I had to try again. So, again, slowly, I tried to open the lids, but the same sensation prevented me from seeing. The only consolation was that each time I tried, the eyes seemed to get used to the light and eventually I could keep my eye open long enough to see.

The first thing I noticed was how everything looked strangely different. It did not register right at that moment, but my focus seemed to hone in on the object in front of my face. The fuzzy outline of what looked to be a rock started to focus itself in my view, but before it could fully form in my vision, I shut my eyes to push away the searing headache that suddenly flooded through the back of my head, down my neck, and along the muscles on my back before fading away into numbness.

There I lay again for a long time in my own darkness. Half conscious, aware about myself being aware, but not much more than that.

Again I opened my eyes. Again, the same fuzzy shape formed, and this time I waited for it to pull into view. It loomed there for a long moment, and my brain started to work over the singular thought of willing the vomit sensation to go away. It was then that I noticed just how normal the rock was. Not normal in the sense that it was a rock, but how normal in the sense that it was a real rock.

My heart turned numb, and I jerked my head up. That didn’t go well, and I clasped my lips with my hand to stop the puke from pouring out. That stopped me as I drew my hand up in front of my face and stared in stunned silence.

My hand. No hoof. No fur. My hand.

Then my fingers started to hurt as if I had slept on them and the cramped combination of my muscles and ligaments waking up and stretching and conforming back to their neutral position quickly subsided and I lay down there staring at the rock to the side with my hand still on my lips.

What. The. Hell?

I sat up slowly and I stared around me. My legs were starting to work, and I could shift my body around. I looked around where I was and noted that it was like a deep cave. No. Not a cave. More like a pit, but with an angled slide that was relatively steep, but not something too difficult to climb out of. I stared upwards towards the sunlight beyond and the trees beyond that and tears formed in my eyes.

“No.”

I choked back the tears. It couldn’t be so, but it was. I already knew it when I saw the rock, but I refused to accept it. Refused to accept the truth of the situation and about where I was. I sat there for a long moment trying to recall… something. Anything.

“T… T.... Tues!” I shouted, which came out more like a hoarse whisper, the voice barely able to make a sound as if I had not used my voice in a long time. As if I had just awoken from a dream.

“Tues! Tutela!”

My voice was louder, but it still wasn’t strong enough. Forcing myself, I stood up. I pushed myself up and fell, stumbling back into the wall of the cave that was caked with wet, slimy mud. The smell of the dampness combined with the fresh petrochoric smell of rains that came and went lingered in the air.

“Tutela! Are you there?” I called again, but my voice was still soft. It barely carried, but was louder. Again, I pressed my hand beneath me, turned and tried to stand. My legs did not seem to know what to do, and I stumbled backwards again, and fell back down on my rear on the other side of the cave.

“What is going on?” I asked the nothingness, knowing full well that I would get no response. Somehow, despite not understanding what was going on, I knew that I was not going to get a response; that all I would get was silence.

I don’t know how long I stayed there, my thoughts slowly clearing up as the foggy veil started to evaporate. The sun was further along, as I could tell from the shadows in the trees. It was also starting to get colder, and I could feel the numbness in my fingers returning.

The pain was all but gone now. At least the physical pain. The gaping hole in my heart was very much still there and I could not ignore it.

I was back. Back on Earth. Back in my world. That was clear. No matter how many times I wished it were otherwise, and no matter how many times I closed my eyes hoping that this was the dream, the world as I knew it was still there in front of me. How ironic it was. When it had all started, this was what I had wanted, but now that I was here, all I wanted was to go back. Back to where they were. Back to anywhere but where I was.

“Tutela. Please… answer me… what’s going on?”

Nothing.

Pulling myself up, I looked up at the slope and wiped away my tears. I could not stay down there, and it would get cold and dark soon. I needed to head out and made my way towards the entrance of the pit. Slowly, but steadily, I managed to get up. As I exited, I noticed just how ‘real’ everything looked. It wasn’t like the bright pastel shades of the Everfree. No, this was more natural and as much as I wanted to deny it, I had to accept it.

The rains had stopped, and the fresh morning sunrise lit my way. A few drops from the leaves high above me dripped onto my head and squinted the pain in my heart away. I stopped, turned and looked at the pit from where I crawled out from and stared. In my heart of hearts I had hoped to see something, anything, that would prove to me that the last month hadn’t been some fever dream. Right now, the thought of what had happened being nothing more than a figment of my imagination surged through my head, but I pushed it aside.

No. It was real. I was there, in Equestria. It had to be real.

I took a step and paused. A stick was poking the bottom of my feet, and the nerves there seemed to explode awake. I paused, letting the feeling subside and I took another slow step. A small path made it obvious where I needed to go, and I followed it in that half-daze that I was still feeling. Waiting in that pit-cave was not something I ought to be doing, and I knew it.

Every step both hurt and tickle my feet. The sand between my toes felt exhilarating, but it was punctuated by pain as small sharp rocks and sticks poked me time and again from below my foot. I tried to ignore it and just focused on taking one step at a time as I tried to puzzle what happened and why there was such a huge gap in my memory.

The last thing I remember was… Pinkie.

[Mood music - Optional]

There she was, her head turned away from me. I stopped in my tracks and reached out to her, as if in my haze I could actually touch her. Instead, my hand met the cold hard texture of the trunk of a tree. I fought the stinging sensation in my nose, held back and fought the tears and moved past the obstacle and headed on. A small incline made me stumble, but I caught myself against a small boulder and steadied myself. As I reached the top of the small mound, I barely noticed the path leading straight down in front of me. I stared without looking and continued as my mind focused on what happened after.

The pull. That pulling feeling, I could remember that. It was the same feeling I always got when Tuetela pulled me into that in-between world that she always did. But up until that point, my memory just stopped and I could not recall what happened afterwards. A gap in the trees made the light shine right at me making me squint, and I looked up at the tall canopy high above me.

A drop of water dripped right into my eyes, and I felt its cool moistness. The trees here were thinner now, and I started to feel the cool breeze blow through my hair on my head.

As I stood there, I began to wonder if all that had happened had been a dream.

“No.”

I forced the words out of my mouth, forced it because it had to be said out loud for me to understand the weight of the situation I was in.

The way out was obvious, and I followed the trail not really paying attention to anything apart from what had happened. What I had forgotten. After the forest in the Everfree. And after Pinkie. What happened? Had I just come here straight away? No. Definitely not. Tuetela would not have done that. Something. Something was missing. But what? What was the missing piece. Why was my brain not working? I knew it in my gut. I knew there was something, something super important. Something. The sensation was overbearing, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I stopped as my foot landed on something hard and different.

I looked down and saw the black-grey flat rock. No. Not rock. Asphalt. A road. A white line. It was then that a muffled shout from behind me made me turn.

“Hey!” A voice shouted. “You. Stop right there. Are you fucking deaf?”

My eyes set on the creature standing tall, like me. A man was standing there, to my left, walking briskly. He was pointing at me and shouting. Something was smoking. It looked like the burnt-out shell of a… car? I stood there staring at it for a long while.

The officer got in my face and my eyes shifted focus to him again. He was saying something, but I touched my head. His voice made my brain hurt. Why was he talking so loud? Or was he shouting? I think he was shouting, but I was struggling with my own thoughts.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Why the hell would I come back here? What the hell was wrong with me?

And all at once my brain stopped, cleared itself, and everything snapped into place.

“Um… is there a problem, officer?” I asked, recognizing his uniform.

“Problem? Kid, you just walked out of the forest buck naked and you’re asking me if there’s a problem?”

I looked down at my body and my shrivelled penis.

I frowned at that.

Hey. It was cold.

The officer tilted his head, then gestured with his chin over to the charred remains of the car. “That yours?”

I looked at him, then at the car, then back at him.

“Where… where am I?”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on. We’ve been looking for a man, this man,” he showed me a photo of myself. “Have you seen him?”

“That’s me,” I blurted out faster than I could stop myself.

The officer raised his eyebrow, looked at the photo, then at me, then at the photo again. “You sure?”

“Um… what? Yeah. Look at me.”

The officer shook his head again. “I am. And… well, yeah. You need help. Would you mind coming with me. We’ll get you back to the Station, check you out, then you can go off if you check out. I’ll get you a blanket to cover yourself with.”

“Okay.”

I followed the office to his car and he put the blanket around me.

The officer asked me questions on the ride. I answered as best as I could, but I avoided all talk about what had happened over the past month in Equestria. I knew enough to not say anything about that, or I’d end up in a place far worse than a jail. Anyway, how could I explain that to him? I at least had the common sense to know that talking about a magical world of talking ponies was not going to help me, particularly in the state he found me in. Right now, as I sat in the backseat, it was clear that he thought I was coming off some drug-fueled high. His line of questioning signified as much.

But he kept throwing me off when he kept asking me if I was sure I was the person in the picture. Of course I would recognize myself. Right?

At the station, they put me in a holding room and gave me some clothes that they had. I put it on and the next thing I knew I had a bowl of hot noodle soup given to me. I inhaled it, quickly consuming it. It was awful, but it was filling.

After that, I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew I was awakened by the sound of the door unlocking and a familiar face entered the room.

“Raj?” I asked. And my heart jumped in my chest. I was actually happy to see that sonuvabitch.

“John?” He responded, surprise evident on his face. And… doubt as well, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing in front of him. “What… what happened to you?”

“What happened? I… don’t remember. I don’t know. I’ve been gone for so long. It’s been more than a month. Right? Sorry, but I can’t recall anything…”

Pinkie’s face again sprang to my mind as she turned around to face away from me. I furrowed. Why did I just remember that?

I shifted my focus back to Raj who just stared at me, his expression blank for a moment before he turned to the officer next to him, then back to me.

“John. You’ve been gone for three days?”

“Three… days?”

“You’ve been gone for literally three days. What the fuck happened to you? How are you… like that?”

The expression on my face must have spoken volumes because he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He took a picture and turned it so I could see the screen.

I leaned in and looked at it. I furrowed my brow and leaned in and really looked. My eyes opened wide as I snatched the phone from him and stared at the person.

“What?”

I turned on the selfie camera on the mobile and audibly gasped at what I saw. I touched it, and the smiling face mirrored within. It was as if I was seeing my reflection for the first time. And I was. The person who was staring back at me wasn’t me. I mean, it was me, but a very different version of me. This version of me had long flowing hair that went down to the top of my back and a healthy beard that, though scruffy, looked fantastic. Somehow I did not notice that as well. I didn’t even know I could grow a beard like that. Then I looked at myself, and my general body shape as well. I was much thinner than before, my face having deflated substantially.

But the biggest difference? My body. What the hell? Boy, was I jacked. I was muscled to the core. How had I not noticed that? I had muscles in places I didn’t know muscles could exist!

I stared at myself for a long moment before turning to Raj.

“What the fuck indeed.” I handed his phone back to him and sat in a heap. “What. The. Fuck.”

Day ??: New Life Adjustments?

“That the guy?”

“Yep.”

Officer Costanza threw a file on the table and leaned against it, gesturing with his head. “Gone for three days, then poof, shows up outta nowhere, naked as the day he was born. The officers asked for a recent photo of the guy, but everything from before looks like the guy in the picture,” Costanza emphasized this by hammering the photos on the table with the tips of his index and middle-finger, “and nothing like what he looks like now.”

I picked up the picture and furrowed my brow as I looked at the man sitting in the interrogation room staring very intently at his hands. “This isn’t the same guy.”

“It is.” He held up his hand before I could interject, “No, it is. His coworker came in the other day and confirmed it. Even that guy couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Somehow, in the three days he was gone, that dude went from this to… that. If whatever he did out there took him three days to turn this average, pasty-looking, slightly overweight guy and make him look like that… hell, I’d take a crack at it too! I mean… look at him!”

And I did. The mugshot showed him sporting a healthy beard, but now that he was clean shaven, he looked like he could be a model on the front page of some boutique magazine or something. He resembled one of those Olypian statues. Not only was his body nearly perfect, but he had an almost clear and unbroken tan, as if he had spent the past month outdoors without any clothes on. The man looked like an athlete in peak physical condition. Getting that type of body in three days? And growing hair that long with a full beard?

Impossible.

“Are you sure it’s him?”

“Again. Two witnesses, and,” he flipped opened the file on the table, “now a DNA test. It’s definitely him.”

I nodded solemnly. Then I furrowed my brow. “He waited here for the test confirmation?”

“I offered for him to go home, but he just said it didn’t matter. Found it convenient though, as most of the time with these guys we have to keep tabs on them. So he stayed here,” the officer scratched his head. “Didn’t seem to be bothered with it. Plus… well, when he was here he was completely out of it. His mind would wander and he’d just sit and stare for hours on end at the wall mumbling to himself. And when he wasn’t doing that, he’d just… amble around the cell. Saw him walk right into the wall, then he’d apologize to the wall and continue aimlessly walking around again. Damn weird.”

“Drugs?”

“That’s the thing. I thought so, but if it was, it's no drug I’ve seen. Not even strong hallucinogens like shrooms would do that. I asked, and he says no, even though I assured him he wouldn’t get in trouble for it. Besides that, we made him give us a sample and he tested negative for most of the common ones, but can’t rule drugs out completely because of his behavior. Who knows? Maybe some new drug that hasn’t hit the streets yet. Or he might’ve eaten something in the forest he wasn’t supposed to.” Constanza smirked and chuckled lightly. “Wouldn’t put it past him to eat a poisonous mushroom. Some of those things stay in your system for months or years. Then again, could be just him being him. Nice guy, but he’s got a lot of air between his ears.”

I nodded and silently laughed at the comment. But I needed to close the case so I got back to the point of why I was there. “Done the homework and the DNA test basically seals it. It is him, which is more unbelievable.”

The officer rubbed the back of his head and stretched. “The company he works for wanted you to verify? How’d you get a DNA sample?”

I smirked. “I asked nicely.”

“Really? That worked. But how did you get a DNA sample to test against?”

“Like I said, I asked nicely. Said I needed to grab some of his DNA, and he was more than happy to give me the key to his apartment. I was going to try and get a search warrant, but he made that a non-issue. Found some hair on a brush and near the toilet, even looked for… ‘residue’ in paper tissue, but luckily there was enough hair follicles that I didn’t need to go that far.”

This time Costanza laughed at my expense.

“Took the samples to a nearby lab. The company paid for it, so it was a rush job. It’s amazing how quick companies like these can get results when they put the money behind it. The lab turned it around within thirty-six hours. And here are the results! A perfect match.”

“Wish we had that type of funding,” the officer sighed sadly.

I nodded. My job as a Private Investigator was something I did to keep the lights on at home. It wasn’t as if I was lacking in the money department, but I found it was easier to do a little odd job or two to forget things at home. After my wife had passed away, home wasn’t the same. She always said, even after retirement, that the detective in me just wouldn’t rest. And she was right. As always. I missed her too much, and home reminded me of what cancer had taken.

Having worked with the Federal government, I had all the resources I would ever need to stay healthy, but it wasn’t enough to save her. To block out the gaping hole in my life, I signed up with the son of a former partner who had a detective firm. He humored me, but my methods were outdated and ‘salty’, as he said. So I was usually assigned the easier cases, leaving the more active ones to the others. Still, this contract was way too short. Even if I was good, I was never supposed to be this good. The whole fiasco was resolved in a week. Not even.

But a job’s a job. With the company’s lawyer still on his way over to get some papers signed, I wanted to kill some time before the boring shit started.

“He admitted to the crime?”

“Admitted, said he was sorry, said he’d do the time if needed. Not that he will. Apparently he gave the money away to a bunch of charities, all of whom had essentially told the world about the generous donations from the company.”

I knew what he was talking about. The sudden generous donations were the talk of the country, and even the world. The charities that the donations were made to were all singing their praises after it was revealed that the money was being used to fund a number of beneficial projects. Somehow somebody gave away who the “anonymous donor” was in terms of the company, perhaps a clever strategic play, but I knew that this man had done it. He had informed the charities and by doing so, it would make it impossible for the company to take those funds back.

But the unforeseen consequence was that it had made a huge impact on the lives of who-knows how many people. Each of the charities were gloating on every television, radio, and online service that they could tell. In this way, the marketing for the organization was through the roof and news was spreading like wildfire. Despite the financial setback in the short term, plenty of other companies and organizations were already looking to use the associated publicity for future projects. Many organizations and firms were just looking to be associated with such a generous and benevolent group, and inadvertently this gentleman had helped with that.

Lucky didn’t begin to describe it. If it had not gone that way, things would be much worse.

I shifted my gaze to look at the officer, but he was focused on the man. John. That was his name. He was strange, and kept looking at his fingers with deep concentration, wiggling them and sighing every few minutes. Then he stared up at the ceiling, laughed, and shook his head at some inside joke he told himself.

“What’s he doing?”

The officer sighed and pulled out the folding chair, popped it open, and sat down heavily. “I have no idea. It’s like… it’s like he hasn’t seen his hands before. He keeps ogling at them and keeps laughing at something or other. Same with his legs and feet. And toes. It’s damn weird.”

“Drugs?”

The officer looked at me with a feigned sign of annoyance. I had already asked that.

“I see. Anything else?”

“Oh, nothing. Unless you think that sleep talking is a thing.”

“Sleep talking?”

“Yeah, yeah. He mutters in his sleep. Says things. Sometimes shouts. Laughs. He’s bananas. Harmless, but absolutely bananas. Usually people with that kind of body have a lot of ego and shit, but not him. He’s… well, he’s just a great guy. He’s so harmless… It’s just a sense I get from him. That he’d rather suffer great amounts than hurt anyone else.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I know it sounds silly, but… he’s got a lot of heart. He listens to you, and just likes to be talked to. Doesn’t judge, or at least it seems like that. A lot of us just like chatting with him. And he really genuinely listens. And he’s a funny guy. Not, ‘ha-ha I’m a comedian funny’, but more like ‘oops, I’m me’ type of funny. Hard to explain. Clumsy as hell though.”

“Sounds like you got a soft spot for him.”

The officer shrugged. “I do. So what? As said, he’s a great guy. I would like to get him out of here, but it’s not like he wants to go anywhere. I’ve even offered to drop him off, but he refused. Bunch of times. And it’s really weird. It’s like he’s just figuring out how to be human again. He keeps stumbling and sometimes he tries to use his arms when he walks.”

“What?”

“Yeah! Like… an ape, you know? How they sometimes use their arms? It’s like he’s used to walking on his hands or something. Like an animal.”

That was something. “You said he talked in his sleep?”

“Yeah. All the time. Says the strangest of things.”

“Oh? Like what? Anything interesting?”

This time the officer shrugged. “It’s really strange. Like, something to do with ponies, or something. He says it. ‘You ponies are weird.’ Or something like that.”

The smile vanished from my face. “Ponies?”

“Yeah. And… pink ears… or something. And rainbows. Loves the sunset though. Keeps talking on and on about the twilight, but apart from that, it’s just sleep ramblings. The only thing I can make out is one name.”

“Rainbows? And ponies?” I asked. “Strange guy. Did you catch the name he mentioned?”

The cop tilted his head. “Celestia.”

My blood froze. And it must’ve shown on my face because the officer noticed right away.

“Rings a bell or something?”

I had to lean over the table and hold myself up. “Yeah. Something.”

The walkie-talkie blared on and mumbled something. I caught some of it, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Officer Costanza nodded, then looked over to me. “Seems like the lawyer and the company rep are here. You wanna hang around? Grab a coffee?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t mind.”

“That’s what the deal is.”

John looked up at me and nodded. No, not John. He wanted us to call him “Forest” now. To be fair, the new name suited him better. He looked back down at the documents.

“Seems… I dunno… easy? Better than being locked up I guess.”

“To be fair, you won’t be locked up for this. As per the agreement if you sign here and as explained. If you don’t sign it, then you would be charged and then you would be ‘locked up’ eventually if you are found guilty, which you will be.” The company lawyer smiled at me and I appreciated his candidness. “So I would recommend you sign.”

Raj put a hand on the lawyer’s shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want your own lawyer to look it over? It’s fair, I can vouch for that, but if…”

John laughed at that. “Nah. Based on what you said, this is more than I deserve. I trust you, Raj. But if you think I need a lawyer, I can try and get one, but I can’t afford a fancy one. I can’t even afford rent now, since I’ll be out of work.”

“Well, not so fast. We’ll come to that.” He leaned on the table and looked at me. “What’ll you do now?”

John shrugged. “Not sure. I’m kinda in limbo at the moment. I’ve had… a strange time. I guess I’ll probably travel. Who knows? I have something in mind, but I don’t know how to go about it, so I’ll probably start from there.”

“Travel, huh? Where to?”

“I don’t know yet. Like I said, I do have something in mind, but I’ll have to see.” Leaning forward, John took the pen and signed. He signed it as ‘John’, then made a face. The lawyer took the paper and pointed at the next page. John signed again. After that, he stopped and stared at his hand and made another face before signing the next page.

“Raj?”

I looked at him. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for coming. I really mean it. I’ve been… quite an asshole to you. I never got to apologize properly for what I did.”

“You apologized enough. Water under the bridge.”

“No. I can’t accept that so easily.” He fidgeted as the company’s lawyer was looking over the papers. “If there’s anything you need from me, I’ll try to make it up to you. You were the closest thing to a friend I had in this world…”

He stopped himself, turned his head to the side slightly, then shook it, as if catching himself out on saying something that he wasn’t supposed to. I knew it because I’ve seen my kids do that all the time. Parent’s intuition. Being caught in a lie without realizing it until after. I would have ignored it, but the evidence of something particularly strange happening was evident in John’s appearance. Nobody can change that much in three days no matter how hard your workout was.

“I’m sure that’s not true. You must have other friends.”

He looked me in the eyes without blinking. Those piercing green eyes. Something about seemed off. Weren’t his eyes brown? That was one of the distinct features of his since we used his photo to file a police report. I remember writing that his eyes were definitely brown. Was changing their color something normal? Or perhaps he was wearing contacts. But I never knew that he wore glasses in the first place.

“Not in this world.” His eyes pierced me with genuine emotion. I don’t know what happened, but those eyes were not the eyes of the asshat that kicked me three days before. I found it hard not to forgive him. “I’m just so sorry for that. I… I didn’t know what came over me to do that to you.”

This wasn’t the first time he’d apologized. Was he sorry because of what he did? Was he sorry because he was scared that I would sue him or charge him with assault? Though I believed those aspects to be true, there was something more genuine about the way he carried himself now. It just felt that his remorse was more than mere words. Whatever happened to him in those woods, he came out a gem of a human being. I just hoped that these changes would stay.

“You don’t have to worry, John… Forest. I’m not going to press charges,” I said in an attempt to put the thought to the test. I wasn’t going to charge him regardless. It wasn’t worth it.

“No. I don’t mind if you do. In fact, I’d understand if you did. All I wanted to say was that I’m so very sorry for doing what I did. I hurt you and I can’t take it back. I would if I could, but I understand now that you were trying in your own way to watch out for me. You really are a great person, Raj. You are just… you’re pretty cool, y’know.”

What was his game? How can someone change so much in so little time? What had happened to him out there in the woods? Maybe a near-death experience threw him over the edge and he was lucky to be alive. The police report said that he showed up naked, and the mugshots of him sporting that thick bushy beard had caught me complete by surprise. When I got the call, I couldn’t believe who it was, and I wanted to ignore him on the phone itself, but something in his voice told me that I just had to come to the station and see him. So… I went.

And I didn’t recognize him at first.

But it was him. His voice was the same. That could not be changed. At least, I don’t think it could be.

“Everything is done.” The lawyer packed the papers together and slipped it into an envelope before putting it into his briefcase. “You’re free to go after this. Where are you going now? Not in the future, but right now.”

He sat there for a long moment and smiled. “I guess home.”

“Good. Go home, once I hand this over to the company then you’ll receive the first payment.”

John did a double-take. “What? Payment? What for?”

The lawyer sighed. “You didn’t read? It says that once you sign you will be given a stipend for your silence.”

John looked at me. “What? Why?”

“Because you don’t have an income, right? And the company has agreed to give you a small stipend for your silence about the theft. They are treating it as a… publicity stunt and they need you to not talk about it. I advised them that this was the best way. If they jailed you, you could just tell everyone that you stole it. That would lead to a lot of bad PR. In this way, they buy your silence, you get something to help you survive, and… yeah.”

John nodded. “That makes sense. Wow, Raj. Thanks for that.”

“Hey, no problem. If you need… anything… then, give me a call. Okay?”

I had no idea why I said that. Why did I offer it considering what he did to me?

He nodded and looked up at me and smiled. “Thanks, Raj. I appreciate the thought, but this is far more than enough. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“Nah. No trouble.”

And strangely enough, I meant it.

“Hiya boss,” Zoe said as I walked in.

“Anything for me?” I asked her, as I shut the door behind me.

“Nothing new. Oh, the company said that they’d pay you for the time you’ve done for this, but they want a discount ‘cause they said the case got solved pretty quickly.”

“Yeah. Just bill them for half. Not much we can do since the case got resolved on its own. Just be thankful they’ll cover some of the expenses.” I paused and took a step back. “Hey, can you do me a favor? You were cataloging some of the old files, right? Particularly files that I worked on before joining this firm?”

“Yeah? You mean those unsolved cases or whatever, right? The ones that you wanted on record in case new evidence or whatever, right?”

As much as I liked Zoe, her lack of vocabulary always grated on my ears. Computer smart, tech savvy, fit as a fiddle with a body that would… but just lacked words.

“Yep. On that new inner-net? Or whatever?”

Zoe smiled. “You mean intranet? Yeah, Zeek the Geek has been doing something like that. He’s pretty good for an intern. I scanned everything using this automatic scanner system in the backroom, then he archived the files. Then I put them in the boxes and filed them in the file room. He calls it the ‘library’. We’ve reduced so much used floorspace, I never realized we had such a big office with all the boxes littering the halls.”

“So, if I wanted to look up old cases, how would I go about that?”

“Oh? You gotta go to the local address thing, and then just search. Here,” she took out a piece of paper and handed it over to me, “just go to this address in your browser and it should be obvious. Why?”

“Just… just someone mentioned something to me and I kinda recalled something like it a while ago. Call it an old habit from an old detective.”

At that, Zoe sighed. “You’re not that old, Fitz. Anyway, don’t go off and get in trouble or anything. Mr Braxton says that he’s not going to come and save you if you mess up again.”

I grimaced at that. “Yeah. Thanks for reminding me, Zoe.”

“That’s what I do! Have a good night, Fitz. I’m about to pack up and head home. Hot date!”

“Yeah? Who’s the lucky guy?”

Zoe made a face.

“Sorry. Sorry. I forgot. I’m old. Forgive me. Who’s the lucky girl?”

“She's a mutual friend’s friend. Blind date.” Zoe put her backpack on her back and fiddled with one of the millions of earrings she wore on her left ear. Small, and numerous, each one fading into each other into a multitude of hues. A rainbow.

“Understood. Ride safely. I’m still not sure you should ride that bicycle from here, especially this late at night.”

“Aw, c’mon. It’s good for nature and the body!”

“Maybe for you. I’m way too old for that.”

“Uh-huh.” She looked back at me holding the paper, then signed again. “You’re not that old, Fitz. You not going home?”

“I will. Later.”

“Sure thing, boss,” she replied unconvinced. “I’ll make coffee for you in the morning.”

And with that, I headed towards my office down at the end of the hall. I threw my jacket on the small sofa I had in the corner and pulled up my chair next to the laptop that lay on my desk. The thing was ancient, and didn’t work without it being plugged in all the time. Zeek the IT intern wanted to upgrade it, but I just told him to focus on other things. I liked my old laptop, so what if it wasn’t portable. I had my phone for that.

Walking over to the corner, I pulled open a small cabinet flap to reveal the cupboard behind it where my small collection of whiskeys, bourbons, and other hard liquors were kept. Gifts from clients showing their gratitude. What do people get old guys facing their upper sixties? Apparently booze. Not that I was one to complain. I laid the drawer down like a table and pulled the only glass forward, choosing the strongest drink I had and pulling the top off with a slight struggle. Swishing the brown concoction around in my glass, I inhaled the odor before taking a long sip letting the warmth glide over my tongue. Again, I savored the scent from within my mouth before letting my insides heat up as I swallowed. Strong, rough, and completely relieving. The way I liked it.

Filling my glass again, I flopped onto my chair and stared at the screen for a moment. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” I muttered out loud to myself, before swiveling the chair to face the computer proper.

Opening up the browser, I entered the series of numbers and hit return. At one the local page that our IT intern was designing loaded up. I clicked on search and sighed. I took a long drink from my glass and smacked my lips. I entered the first keyword.

Ponies.

Then I entered the next one.

Rainbow.

At the top was the only file I knew that would be relevant. Even after all these years, I never thought that I would ever have to look this case up ever again. So, moving the mouse I moved over the link and clicked on it. Immediately the file opened and the scanned copies of the files filled my screen and I sat there and smiled to myself. At the top, one name stood out clear as day. The one name that came up that brought a sad melancholic smile to my face.

Brian Fisher.

“It seems, Mr. Fisher, that even after all these years I still can’t get rid of you now, can I?”

My home sucked. I hated it. The walls were bare, and there was nothing there that made home feel like home. It all felt so barren and empty.

Raj was standing in the sorry excuse of a kitchen with a sad pitiful look on his face while staring at my bedroom-studio. I lived alone! It wasn’t as if I needed more space than what I had. And what made it worse was that I didn’t entertain anyone. Nobody asked him to come anyway.

“So, this is your new phone,” the lawyer said. “Now, according to the NDA…”

I looked up.

“The Non-Disclosure Agreement? The thing you signed yesterday?”

I nodded.

“According to the NDA, the company has agreed to pay you this small stipend each month for the next five years if you promise never to open your mouth about you stealing this money and giving it away to the charities..”

“Yeah, I know. Raj explained it. I still don’t get why they are paying me for my silence this way?”

The lawyer closed his briefcase after, latching it shut with expert precision. “It was decided that the impact on the company’s public image and positive press impact that your little… outburst, had on the company was more positive than letting you sit in jail for this and telling something that might tarnish the good standing the company has earned. In actuality, the amount you stole was enough to qualify for certain tax advantages. If the press found out about that, well, it would probably work against us in the long run.”

I made a face, but shrugged. “Well, I can’t say I’m unhappy with that.”

“The funds will be directly deposited into your account.”

I nodded. “So, what now?”

“That,” the lawyer said walking to the door of my sad excuse of a home, “is none of my business. But if I were you, I’d think about the future and plan something. Find a purpose.”

“Find a purpose?”

“Find a purpose. Just don’t get into any more trouble.”

I think I made a face. I didn’t want to be back here. Looking down at my phone, I unlocked the screen and started setting it up. I got to the password page when a knock on the door made me look up. Raj was letting an elderly dude walk in. He looked around then made his way over to where I was sitting while Raj stared out the only window I had shaking his head.

Part of me wanted to tell him to go away, but another part of me was happy he was here. It made the crushing loneliness fade a little bit.

The newcomer sat himself on the chair opposite me and he stared at me.

“I don’t swing that way, mister,” I stated, annoyed that he was just staring and looking at me without saying anything.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he replied without missing a beat. He held out his hand. “Name’s Anthony. Anthony Fitzgerald, though most people just call me Fitz.”

“Pleasure. I’m John.” I shook it.

“Heard from the others you’ve been insisting they call you ‘Forest’. Why?”

I shrugged. “It grew on me while I was lost in the forest. What can I say? I loved it there.”

He smiled. “Did you?”

I hit the sign in button and waited for the phone to load in. It took me a while to remember my password, but luckily my mind was easy to predict and it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Perhaps the one thing I was good at was creating passwords that would make a sailor blush. I watched as no emails from anyone came in – apart from the usual horde of spam that usually makes it into the inbox. That made me sad, but who did I expect to get anything from anyway?

Something landed on the table in front of me, and I moved the phone out of the way to look at it.

I stopped what I was doing and looked up at the guy sitting opposite me.

“It’s not fake, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Slowly, I reached for it and picked it up and stared. I stared long and hard at it and my gut welled up in a feeling of jubilation and fear. And just when I was starting to think that I had gone insane the past few days, just when I thought that the time that I had spent in Equestria was nothing more than a figment of my imagination, just when I started to doubt everything that I’ve done up until that moment…

“Here.”

Fitz offered me a tissue and I took it and dabbed my eyes. I hadn’t realized they were watering.

“So. How is he?”

“Who?”

“Brian.”

I snapped my head up to look at the detective. If I wanted to play it cool and try to get out of it, then I failed right then and there. He knew it too and smiled at me. I didn’t need to keep him a secret in this world, did I? I couldn’t recall. I couldn’t recall anything and the more I tried hard to think about it, the more my brain hurt.

I shook the thought out. “He’s okay, I guess? Before I left, he took a turn for the worse. The doctors there… he hasn’t got long left.”

Raj turned when I said that and the detective leaned back in his seat with a smirk.

“You didn’t deny it.”

“Why should I? Is there merit in denying it? You showed me a picture of Rainbow, and it is her, even if she’s a little filly in this photo. I can’t pretend. I don’t want to pretend.”

The detective smiled. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that.”

“How did you get this?” I asked, looking at the photo again. I’d seen some pretty decent photoshopped images in the past, but if these were fakes they were on another level. Still, I only knew it was real because of what had happened. If he had shown these to me before I had left, I would have called him an idiot – or worse.

“How’d I get it? It’s a copy of an original I managed to get from the strangest case I’ve ever worked on.” Fitz sighed. “Over ten years since then.”

I sat in silence waiting for him to continue.

“Brian disappeared without a trace. His disappearance was… uneventful. Local law enforcement and others declared it suicide after… after what happened to him. He jumped off a bridge, or whatever. Nobody cared. Nobody, except perhaps for me.”

“So then what did happen?” ?”

“To Brian? He was found guilty for a crime he did not commit. Well, that’s not entirely true. He was convicted for a crime that wasn’t even a crime, but was rather an unfortunate circumstance that… that went very badly for a few unlucky people. Mass hysteria, panic, and looters taking advantage of the situation. Some people got hurt and… well… killed.”

I blinked.

“Accidents happen. Sad, but we move on. But what I did to Brian… well, it was wrong. I was doing my job, and I ignored everything and just… well, damn. I don’t rightly know how to explain myself.”

“People were killed?” I asked.

“Oh yes. Not because of Brian though, but because of people being people. People just… well, they sometimes just do stupid things. But I didn’t see it that way and I was responsible for him getting his conviction. That basically led him to be even more ostracized. Although the official record was hushed up and redacted, enough was released that ensured that his life would never get better. It didn’t, and I was worried that he’d take his own life. I guess his daughter found a way to take him to her home.”

“No. He went home,” I said and smiled sadly. “He got to be with his daughter and they’ve been very happy together.”

The detective nodded slowly. “I’m happy for him. I blame myself for what happened, but if he’s found peace in that world then I don’t feel as bad. Maybe what I did helped strengthen his resolve to find a way to her. And whatever the connection between this world,” he patted the picture, “and theirs was, it wasn’t like we could understand it since, well, since magic was involved.”

At this point, Raj was standing next to me looking at the photo with a very confused expression on his face, but he did not say anything.

“Yeah. That’s the problem with magic,” I said with a lighthearted laugh.

“I never thought I’d see the day when I would meet someone who went there and back. I always did suspect that Brian somehow made it over. For confirming that, I thank you.”

Fitz leaned back and folded his arms. Raj reached over and picked up the picture of a filly Rainbow Dash being held by a much younger Brian in some garden on Earth. It looked like a large park. They were both smiling so happily, with Rainbow slightly looking up at Brian’s face in the way only a daughter could. I could tell that they were happy together.

“Now, I was hoping you could tell me how to get there.”

I looked up. “What?”

“How do I get there. To Equestria.”

“You want to go to Equestria?” This time it was my turn to lean back in my seat. “What for?”

“Curiosity. Another world. Another place. Who wouldn’t want to go?”

“I didn’t.” That was true. At the time when it happened, I didn’t want to. “And, to be honest, I don’t know how I went there in the first place.”

The detective studied my face for a moment, then sighed. “I believe you.”

“It was a one way ticket. It’s not like I had any choice in the matter. I was sent on my way there and then on my way back without any say. In fact, I am not too sure how I came back. But now that I am here, I don’t know what to do. But hey, you live with the choices you make. Right?”

The detective looked at me and shook his head. “Would you have told me if you knew?”

“Honestly? No. I don’t think I would. Not because I don’t want you to go, but because it isn’t my secret to tell. It’s not like I understand all this stuff. Plus, I don’t know you. For all I know you could be a serial killer, or something.” I shrugged. “Honesty is the best policy.”

Applejack’s green eyes flashed before me, staring at me with that smile, then the vision was gone and I felt sad. Sad about what she said or did or would do when she woke up. How would she feel that now I was gone and there was no way for her to reach me. The guilt welled up in my gut, but I pushed it aside. There was nothing I could do about it.

“At least you’re honest.”

He gestured for Raj to hand over the photo he was ogling at, then put it in his breast pocket. He then pulled out something else and slid it across the table to me. It was a card with the ponies on it and, in big golden letters, B-A.

I looked at it for a long moment.

“This your business card? What’s BA? British Airways?”

“Bronies Anonymous. It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous, but for people with a severe addiction to that show. They meet once every couple weeks or so to just chat, confide, and talk about things. It’s led by an old friend of mine who’s a psychiatrist and a… what is the word? Something-sister.”

“Do I qualify? I’ve… I’ve never really seen the show.”

Fitz shrugged. “You went there. I assume that you must’ve had some connection to the show.”

“Prior to going?” I thought about it. “No. Not at all. I…”

I stopped myself and thought about that. Why had I gone over? What made me so special that warranted that?

“Interesting.” The detective looked at me for a long moment, then shrugged. “Maybe it really is just coincidence.”

“Maybe.”

“But try going to this thing anyway. It might be good for you. It’s just a suggestion. You might feel welcome there.”

I picked up the card again, and flipped it over.

Bronies Anonymous is a group dedicated to helping Bronies and Pegasisters come together and share their love for the fandom in a healthy and wholesome environment.

“Brony?” I whispered to myself. Was I one?

I looked up at the detective who was looking down at me.

“I don’t know if I qualify to go for this,” I repeated, not wanting to corner myself into going to something I didn’t want to.

“It’s just a suggestion. Look, if something like this existed back when Brian was around, maybe he wouldn’t have been so depressed. Maybe he could’ve gotten the help he needed. Maybe things would have turned out differently. Who knows?” He stood up and stretched. “Other than that, I don’t know how else to help you. Plus, I kinda owe you.”

“Owe me?”

“Yeah. You’ve given me closure on something that I’ve wanted an answer to after all these years. Thanks for that. I’m glad that Brian is doing okay.”

I smiled at that despite myself. “You’re welcome.”

“But you’re here now. And you’re going to have to live your life knowing that you may never go back there. And as awkward as it sounds, making friends at that group might be good for you. Like-minded people? Maybe?”

I looked down at the brochure. I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t a fan of the show.

“As I said, an old friend of mine leads it. She was also on that case with me and Brian. So, she’ll know pretty much everything I’ve told you. In fact, she was the one that was convinced of the existence of Equestria quicker than me. Even now, after all these years, I have to second-guess myself and ask if it really did happen.”

“Did what happen?”

“Oh. I didn’t tell you? I talked to Rainbow and the Princess.”

“No, you left that part out. You talked to the Princess?”

“Yep.” He looked at me. “The cop at the Station said that he heard you say her name. Celestia.”

“You talked to Princess Celestia?”

The detective’s eyes sparkled. He was getting a real big kick out of this. “I did. And you didn’t drop her honorific.”

I made a face. I couldn’t tell him about the time she almost blew my lung out and killed me, that would’ve just made me talk about an event I’d rather forget. I listened and he went on to tell me about how the princess had come to our world with Rainbow for some reason. He had broken into Brian’s home to get some clues when the event happened, and there was some confusion about him talking to her through a door. Seriously, I didn’t know why he was telling me that, but I did not want him to think me rude, so I sat quietly. Eventually he stopped talking and looked mighty happy with himself.

“You only got half of that, didn’t you?”

“What? Me? No! I listened.”

“No you didn’t, because for the last ten minutes I was talking about spiders crawling into your mouth to lay eggs and you just nodded at me without any change. I even mentioned that there was one on your face, but you just nodded there like a dumbass.”

“He did,” Raj said and patted my head. “You need to do something about that. You’ve been doing it quite often.”

I grinned nervously. “My mind tends to wander.”

“Look, it doesn’t matter anyway. I just wanted to confirm what I came to confirm. You’ve clarified that for me, so thanks. Go to this meeting, it might help you. Who knows, maybe you might meet someone else who came back from Equestria and we don’t know it.”

I nodded. “Sure.”

But I did not believe it. And one more thing. Did Tutela know about Princess Celestia coming to this world after Brian went back?

And why couldn’t I remember anything that happened after Pinkie and before waking up on Earth.

“John, can you explain what just happened? What’s cartoon ponies got to do with all this? And why were you talking like you actually went there?”

I looked at him and grinned sheepishly. “It’s… complicated?”

Showered, and dressed, I locked the door to my apartment and headed down the outside staircase, walking past the kitchen’s backdoor. One of the cooks was out there smoking. He looked at me, narrowed his eyes, and sighed.

“Busy night?” I asked.

He nearly stumbled. “Uh… no. Not really.”

“Well, have a good one.”

“Yeah… you too.” The cook stared at me for a long while, I could feel his eyes on the back of my head as I rounded the corner and onto the main street.

I don’t blame him. For my entire time there, I treated them like a fucking asshole. I was rude, callous, and complained about everything for no other reason than to just be an asshole. Still, I didn’t like that version of me, and I knew that Pinkie would hate it if I hurt other people by being impolite. So, I decided to be nicer. Even if she would never know, it made me feel better.

Hailing a cab, I hopped in and gave him the address I had seen on the website earlier that day. The meeting wouldn’t start for another hour, but I didn’t want to be late. Luckily the place wasn’t too far away. I would have loved to have taken my car, but that was now a burnt out shell in some dumpyard, or whatever. Or was it even my car?

Something rang a bell in my head. Something about rules or consequences. But I couldn’t recall and the thought disappeared before I could really delve into it.

The journey did not take long and I paid the cabby before heading into the community center. I opened the doors and looked at the board. In the small, bottom-most part, there was a small sign that read ‘BA Meet up in Room 411 – let’s go Bronies!’

I made a face at the last part. What the hell was a Brony? Was I a Brony?

Walking up the stairs, I eventually found room 411 and knocked on the door.

No answer.

It was very loud, I could hear voices and laughter from within. So I opened the door to see what was in there. I gasped and stared in a mixture of shock and disbelief. There were more than a few people inside. I had thought it was going to be a small gathering, but there were quite a number of people, young and old, men and women. All were chatting away and everyone seemed to be carrying some sort of pony memorabilia. Some wore clothing, some had costumes. A couple had backpacks that made them look like they wore pegasi wings. Some had dyed their hair in the same loud colors as the ponies of Equestria. Still, something felt off.

Very off. But I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Making my way to the back, I sat down on a chair and looked around. Towards the far side of the room was a long table with food and drinks. Most of the people had congregated there, and were chatting and laughing.

“Hi!”

I jumped and turned to look at the one who spoke. She was a cute, petite, blonde female with her hair half dyed in pink. And her voice was almost exactly the same as Pinkie’s. That was what had shocked me more than anything. And I was tempted to ask her if she was Pinkie, but I knew better than to do that.

“Um… hello,” I replied.

“I’ve never seen you around before. This your first time?”

“Yeah.” I smiled awkwardly.

She looked me up and down and smiled before moving to sit next to me. “My name’s Patricia. You can call me Tisha. Or you can call me Pinkie, since she’s my fave’ character. But don’t call me that here out loud with the hosts. They don’t like it when we call ourselves by our ponysonas.”

She said the last part in a loud whisper, which made a few of the others around us giggle.

“Ponysona?”

“You know, pony-persona! You know. You kinda roleplay as your own character. Who’s your favorite?”

“I… I don’t…”

“Oh! Are you a creator? Is your favorite pony an OC?”

“OC?”

“Original Character? Duh!” She frowned at me when I didn’t respond as expected. “Wow, are you sure you belong here? You don’t seem to.”

“I’m just… I recently started watching the shows…” l smiled stupidly. “Someone recommended I come. So, here I am.”

She looked at me and smiled. “Well, welcome. If you love pony, then you’re in the right place. I mean, most of us here like the G4 version the best, it’s like our OG version, but it’s been years and other ‘gens have been around, but we still have a large number of people who come here for the Mane Six. But this is different from the conventions and stuff.”

“G4? Conventions? OG? Mane–what?” I was so confused.

If she heard me, she ignored my question.

“Many people take loving ponies a little too far and it has… negatively affected their lives. You know. Like,” she looked around and pointed to a guy reading something on his phone, “that guy who got a divorce because his wife didn’t turn him on anymore.”

“Um…”

“Too much pony plot.”

“Pony… plot?”

“And that girl over there,” she pointed to another, “got extensive surgery to make it look like she has a horn, spending thousands of dollars on it until her family intervened.”

I looked and saw the ‘horn’ on her head, which looked more like a really big bump, like someone had thonked her on the head with a mallet and the cartoon bump was forming.

“And…”

I listened, but not really listened. The only thought that was floating through my mind was how much like Pinkie she sounded, so I just listened. Even if it wasn’t her, it strangely comforted me and made me feel that she really was there, talking to me.

She saw me and tilted her head in almost the same way Pinkie did. That made me smile a little bit more and I saw her cheeks light up a little.

A lady walked up to a slightly raised stage at that moment and clapped her hands. Everyone stopped talking and walked to chairs and sat down. Prying my eyes away from Tisha, I watched as the newcomer stood at a small podium for a moment before she started talking.

“Hi everyone. I’m happy to see quite a lot of new faces this time. For those who are new, my name is Ingrid Tremblay. I would like to welcome you to this meeting of Bronies Anonymous. To give a brief introduction about who we are and what we do here, we are super-fans of the My Little Pony franchise, and our aim is to help people who feel that their love for this show is somehow interfering with their lives and help them achieve a sense of balance. We want to be able to celebrate our love for the show without it being detrimental to our lives. This is a safe space to talk about yourself, your love for the show, and to find like-minded individuals. By sharing, our hope is that you can find a place for yourself here.” She smiled. “We want to help everyone come to terms with their love for the fandom in a healthy and safe way. With that out of the way, I would like to welcome the newcomers here. I see a few new faces that I’ve never seen before. Welcome. If this is your first time, please try to introduce yourself. You don’t need to if you don’t want to, you can pass and tell us about yourself next time. We’re not here to judge, but to listen, share ideas, and accept one another and our different ways of loving the same thing.”

She had not said it outright, but it was strongly implied. She knew as well as I did that there were people here that thought the pony show was more than just that. More than just a mere show. I watched as one by one people stood up and talked about themselves and why they were there.

A large man with a huge beard stood up. “Hi, I’m Frank. I’ve been coming to this for about two years now. I fell in love with the fandom since it first came out way back from G1. I’ve been continuously watching it, but love our gals from G4 the best!”

At that, there was a good number who cheered.

“I’m here more to help others come to terms with accepting this love, and can advise you if you find it hard to… cope.” He scratched his head. “Yeah, that’s about it.”

The woman next to him stood up and waved. “And I’m his wife, Clara. I make pony blankets, and I also help out with the food. If you are allergic to anything, please come and see me just in case. Everything should be clearly marked, but do try the hayfries. It’s a new recipe.”

“Last one was gross, Clara!” someone shouted from the back.

“Thank you, Louis. I appreciate that,” she shouted back sarcastically, but also good naturedly.

That brought a light wave of laughter from everyone.

“Hi, my name is Samuel. I’m from Estonia. I love pony and watch it. I came to find friends who like pony also and be friends,” the man said and sat down.

Clara gave him a cupcake and patted his back.

One by one, people began to introduce themselves. Most were very short and quick, like Samuel’s introduction. Although, I think Samuel looked more like a homeless guy who came to get a warm meal, it was still nice.

Then it made its way around to my side of the room, and Tisha stood up. “Hi, my name is Patricia, but you can call me Tisha. I love the ponies, all of them! But I came here today to meet new friends and maybe even meet my own special somepony! I hope to meet him one day. And that today’s the day!”

That brought a few chuckles from a bunch of others.

“Good luck, Tisha!” someone shouted and she waved at the shouter and grinned.

She sat down and looked at me.

I blinked.

She gestured, and I looked at everyone’s eyes on me.

“Don’t pass,” she half-whispered, half-shouted. “Just stand up and introduce yourself.”

I blinked and automatically stood up. For some reason, being put on the spot like that, made me jerk awake. Perhaps a bad habit? Perhaps a nervous tick? I wondered briefly why I had stood up before my mind went back to the question.

I blinked again. “My… my name is… is…”

"You need a name!”

"Sure, why not."

"I know! How about Forest?"

My eyes watered as I heard her voice in my mind. Pinkie’s voice. Pinkie’s real voice. That sweet and wonderful voice that I took for granted at the time. The one who named me. Gave me a new name. Gave me a new life. I never understood the impact that one gesture had on me, and I would never be able to thank her properly for it. The one who gave me a new name. That loved me as a true friend to the very bitter end. She stayed with me. She was there. And she let me go. And I would never know if she made it home safely, nor would I ever know how sad she really was.

I looked down at the ground. “My name… my name… is…”

"Why in tarnation would you want to call him Forest?"

"Because he came from the Everfree Forest, silly. It's just until he remembers his real name. So? What do you think?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Thank you, Pinkie."

"Forest is a good name I must admit, to this namesake you must commit. Now we must look for someplace to lay your head, one with a nice, warm, cozy bed."

“Forest!” I shouted, trying to drown out the ghosts of my past. Zecora’s rhyme fading off into the distant memory, and Applejack’s laughter at Pinkie’s suggestion. I forced the voices away. It hurt too much to think of them. “My name’s Forest. And I don’t know why I’m here.”

I felt a tear roll off my nose and hit the carpet. I looked up and wiped it with the back of my hand. It wasn’t that I didn’t know why I was there at the meeting. That I kinda knew. I was there to explore and just see things and feel things out, but Tisha’s voice seemed to awaken the part of my brain that wanted to push those memories down. What I mean was that I didn’t know what I was doing back on Earth when I left everything behind. And I hated that it hurt so damn much. That was why I didn’t want to leave the police station. For some stupid reason I felt at peace there because I had to worry about other things, but now that I was home and alone with those memories, I just felt so lost. It was unbearable.

“Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I said more to myself and sat down.

Everyone stared and a few nodded.

“Don’t worry, man. Happens to us all,” someone shouted. “That’s what we’re here for. To help. Right, guys?”

There was a murmur of acknowledgement.

“Whether to free yourself from the fandom, or to come to terms with it, or just to celebrate with fellow fans, that’s what this group is for.”

I looked at the speaker. It was Frank, and he was a monster of a man. I smiled at him and nodded in thanks.

The meeting went on. Many people stood and introduced themselves, many of whom seemed to be regulars. Some joked while others just said their name and which pony they liked, but everyone was sharing something.

“My name is Simon. I’m a pony and I want to go back home to Equestria,” the man who spoke stated. “I’m here because… well, I have nowhere else to go.”

That got my attention and turned to stare at him.

“He’s just joking,” Tisha whispered to me from the side of her mouth. “We grew up together. Years ago he got into a bad car accident and was in a coma for a few months. When he suddenly woke up he apparently thought he had taken over the body of a pony in Equestria and spent time there. He believes Equestria is real.”

I furrowed my brow, then looked to Tisha. “And do you believe that?”

“What?” The question seemed to shock her. “No! Of course not! Like, I love the ponies, but I know the difference between what’s real and what’s not.” She touched my chest and ran her fingers along my body. “And I think that maybe I would like to get to know you a little better. What do you say? Wanna spend the night with your very own Pinkie Pie?”

I looked at her and I felt a strange mix of horniness and anger. I mean, she was pretty hot and admittedly, I would not have minded that. But the thought of having sex with Pinkie just did not turn me on. That innocent mare, who was amazing in her own right, and was so pure, that I couldn’t find myself even thinking of it. But this wasn’t Pinkie. She was a human who wanted to live out a fantasy.

I opened my mouth to say something when I heard a noise that made me turn. Simon was openly weeping into his hands. Someone came and patted him on the back, but I noticed that a lot of people just ignored him. Perhaps they have all heard this story before? Still, I was intrigued.

About an hour or so later everyone had said their piece and our first activity was coloring. I kinda smirked at the silliness of it; grown adults were expected to color sheets of paper? Were we in preschool now? But we split into groups and sat around small tables that had coloring paraphernalia and soon the room flooded with various bits of conversation. It was not something I expected, but I decided to go with the flow. I turned to Tisha, but she had joined some others and were sitting at another table and were laughing and chatting with each other.

Not wanting to disturb them, I found an empty table and sat down. Tisha now sitting at the same table that seemed to be utterly surrounded by young guys who were all trying their darndest to get close to her. She was definitely the cutest girl in the room.

She saw me looking and waved, blushing slightly when she did so. I waved stupidly back, which led several of her admirers giving me the stink eye. I grinned nervously and looked back down at the sheet of paper in front of me. On it was a drawing of Twilight. My heart did a somersault as I recognized her face and smile. It was a crude drawing, but her likeness reminded me of her lips, her scent, and her… voice? I stopped and tried to hear it in my head, like how I heard Pinkie’s and Applejack’s. It wasn’t there. I could picture her mouth movie, her lips succulent and beckoning, and I could hear the words she said, but I could not hear her voice.

After a moment, I reached over for a purple crayon. I started coloring wondering what was wrong with me and why I couldn’t hear Twilight in my mind when I saw something strange. I stopped and looked at the drawing closer and cocked my head to the side as I stared at what I was looking at. Then I furrowed my brow.

“What’s wrong?”

I looked up. It was that Simon guy. He was wiping his glasses with a tissue and he put them on, peering at me.

“Nothing. Just… this drawing of Twilight…”

“Yes?”

“Well, it’s… wrong?”

Simon looked at it. “No. It’s not. That’s Twilight alright. Princess of Friendship.”

“But she’s got wings.”

“Uh… yeah. She’s an alicorn.”

“She is?”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Of course she’s an alicorn. She’s the Princess of Friendship. You’re coming to a BA meeting and you don’t even know that? She became an alicorn after season three, I think. I forget.”

I furrowed my brow. Twilight was most assuredly not an alicorn. I looked down at the smiling mare then back up at him. “Oh? I didn’t know that.”

A lot of questions flooded my head as I sat there. What if Twilight was an alicorn? What did that make what I saw? Was I… wrong?

“It’s pretty hard to miss,” Simon continued. “She is the star of the show.”

“Is she?” I traced her face for a moment, then looked at the mane. The clearly demarcated stripes were there and I reached for the lighter pink and violet colored crayons to shade them in.

I felt eyes on me, and I looked up to see Simon staring at me with a strange expression on his face. “Yes. She is. The show follows her.”

“Yes,” I said, not wanting to antagonize the guy. “It’s just that I’m not used to it.”

“Used to what?” Simon said shortly.

“Seeing Twilight like this,” I said stupidly, not really paying attention as I thought about it. My mind was distracted.

What did it mean? Was the past month for me a fevered dream? No. Couldn’t be. I touched my chest. The second scar was there. The scar that Princess Celestia gave to me when she blew a hole in my chest. I remembered the searing pain. The fading in and out of consciousness. But if what this guy was saying is true, then maybe everything was…

I slammed my head on the table as hard as I could.

Someone screamed in surprise, but the thought was so repulsive to me that my body acted on its own to reject the very idea. How dare I even hint that my friends and life there were fake. That the Equestria I saw was not real. Not only did it not explain the perfectly healed scar, but it betrayed the memories and the emotions I felt.

Then did that mean that I went to a different Equestria? Could there be more than one?

The thought of that started to make me feel dizzy, or maybe it was me slamming my head against the table. But this was something that I didn't even know how to begin to process and I sat there with my head on the table staring at the sheet of paper in front from point blank. I slowly raised myself up, carefully staring at the paper in front of me trying to align my thoughts. It was only then that I realized I was shaking. At least, my hand was. Was I… scared? Concussed?

What was wrong with me? I sat up and put the crayon down and flexed my hands, and remembered how I had missed them, but now I missed my hooves. What the hell was up with me? I remembered how hard it was for me to adapt using hooves to pick up things.

Suddenly a table filled my thoughts. Applejack was there. Another pony too. Big guy. Red. He laughed. At me. Why? Why was he laughing? Pancakes. I couldn’t cut them. I said something. They all burst out laughing.

"I'm really bad at this."

And I snorted out a laugh.

I looked up to see Simon looking at me. “What’s wrong with you? Why’d you slam your head on the table like that? You scared the shit out of me.”

I snorted out another laugh.

“Something I said funny?”

“No, no. I just remembered something,” I said and chuckled slightly. “Sorry. I was… coloring and my arm slipped.”

“You… slipped?” He asked and stared at me.

Big Mac! That was Applejack’s brother’s name. How had I forgotten that?

“Yeah. Slipped.”

Again, I held the crayon and traced over Twilight’s face and smiled. I wondered what she would’ve said to me if I told her that she was an alicorn here. I bet she would’ve gotten a big kick out of it.

“So, what’s your favorite season?” Simon asked.

I looked up at him. “Um… I don’t know. The first one?”

This time he furrowed his brow. “Really? You don’t like the later ones?”

I sat there and looked at him. “Not really. I mean, I haven’t seen the show.”

At this, Simon stopped and put his crayon down. I noted that he was coloring some dragon that looked like a fat Spike, but in red. And he looked really goofy. The action made me stop coloring and I looked up at him. He was shorter than me, perhaps by about half a foot, but somehow I could feel him looking down on me as he seemed to size me up.

“There’s something about you, but I can’t put my finger on it,” he said and stroked his chin.

I wasn’t really paying attention to him, but I hummed in the affirmative.

“Anyway, did you like the episode where Twilight decides to steal the crown for herself away from Celestia and Luna?” he asked.

“Twilight would never do that,” I said immediately. “She loves the princesses.”

“Right…”

I looked up to see Simon peering at me from up above his glasses.

“I mean, that would be totally out of character, right?” I said, not sure what he was looking at me.

“Yeah. Sure. It’s a cartoon, right?”

“Right…” I said slowly. Quickly, I focused back on the coloring and was about to start on her body when Simon asked me another question.

“Who is your favorite?”

“Favorite? Pony?” I shrugged. “I don’t have one. I like them all.”

“All?”

“Yep.”

He nodded. “Even Nightmare Moon?”

“Who?” I asked.

“Nightmare Moon.” He tilted his head. “The antagonist in the very first episode?”

“Oh? Oh yeah.” I nodded. I remembered that name being mentioned, but I hadn’t really paid it any attention. It happened years ago. I remember it being mentioned a few times, but I never really registered it. It happened long ago. “I forgot.”

“You forgot?” Simon shook his head. He took another coloring sheet out and frowned and put it back.

I looked at it. “Oh. Trixie.”

“He's gone, Forest.”

“Who's gone, Trixie?”

“Su- Sun Beam. I-”

“It's okay, Trixie.”

“But... but I promised...”

I stopped and looked at the drawing. She was standing on her rear two legs, her forehooves above her head as if she was casting a spell with them. She was smiling. And that stupid hat on her head.

“I don’t like her. She’s very irritating.”

“She’s not that bad. Just misunderstood,” I replied. “She made up for it.”

Simon shrugged. “Did she? I dunno. After she became Starlight’s student and her redemption arc, things just got weird. She was a better villain, I think.”

I looked at him. “Trixie’s no villain. Yeah, she kinda hurt–”

I stopped myself. I was about to tell him that she hurt Brian. What was wrong with me?

“I-I-I mean… she… um…” I didn’t know what to say, so I quickly decided to ignore the villain part. She did hurt Brian, but it was an accident. She never meant to harm him. “Who is Starlight?”

Simon furrowed his brow, but shrugged it off. “Starlight is Starlight Glimmer.”

“I… don’t know who that is.”

“Well Trixie becomes Starlight’s student later on.”

I nodded. “Okay. Still don’t know who that is. After she left, I didn’t see her again.”

The words left my mouth faster than I could stop them. I paused, my eyes wide as saucers as I fully comprehended what I said. Like a robot, I took the crayon and started to color harder to make sure that I gave the impression it was just me being distracted. I kept on coloring, feeling Simon’s eyes on my skull. I couldn’t look up, because if I did my face would not be able to lie about it. Did Applejack’s element rub off on me? What the fuck was wrong with me?

“And I can’t believe that Pinkie marries Cheese.”

I snapped up and blinked. “What?”

He smirked. “Pinkie Pie marries Cheese Sandwich. They had a child together.”

“What?” I said again. For some reason, the way he said it made my blood rage.

“Pinkie. Fucked. Cheese.”

He said it quietly, barely above a whisper, but he might as well just shouted it in my face. And he knew it.

I inhaled a long, deep breath. Pinkie did not do that. I calmed myself. I had to. I’ve already made a complete asshole of myself. “As much as she loves food, I find that hard to believe.”

“What? No, you idiot. Cheese Sandwich is the name of her husband.” He furrowed his brow. “You actually think she had sex with a cheese sandwich?”

“No! Of course not!” I wanted to punch myself in the face. “Um… I’m thirsty, I’m going to get a drink.”

“Sarsaparilla?” He asked.

I looked at him. “Um, no thanks. I don’t want to drink alcohol.”

“Alcohol?” He replied. “Dude, what? There’s no alcohol in sarsaparilla. It’s a root extract.”

I looked at Simon who was just staring at me. “Do you want me to get you one?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. Please.”

Walking over to the table where the food was, a couple who were chatting about something or rather politely moved out of my way. I put a few things on the plate. Some ‘hayfries’, which looked pretty genuine, some chips, and a couple cookies. I put them on a plate before walking to the end and seeing the glasses of refreshments. I read the names of them and at the very end I saw a few paper cups with the aforementioned drink and decided that I’d like to try one as well.

I placed the plate of food on… nothing. I stared at the plate on the floor. Luckily it was a paper plate and luckily the floor was carpeted, but what the hell was wrong with me. I had tried to put the plate on my flank. A force of habit? I had tried to put the plate on my flank like I had done in Equestria when I reached to grab the two glasses. At that moment I seemed to forget that I was walking straight up and that I couldn’t put the plate on me. I dropped down and luckily the chips and fries had not gone far off the plate and I picked it all up and threw them on the plate and stood up.

The couple were just staring at me.

“Uh… whoops? Clumsy me?”

Quickly, I held the plate in one hand, and held one of the drinks and marched over to the table, before heading back and taking the second cup and bringing it to the table. The couple were still staring at me.

“Are you okay?” the girl asked.

“Yes! Ferfectly pine! Er… perfectly fine!” I said perhaps a little too loudly. I walked back to the table and sat down slowly. It was only after that did I notice a good chunk of people just staring at me.

I felt my face explode and grabbed a crayon and started to color. After a few minutes, everyone started chatting again and I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Try it.” I looked up. Simon was sitting, staring at me. “Try the sarsaparilla.”

Humoring him, I took a sip. It was, to put it mildly, gross. I put it down, and shook my head. “Not a fan.”

“And the hayfries?”

Taking one, I put it in my mouth and chewed. The flavor was nice, but it was lacking something. It did not have the right flavor. “It’s different.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s lacking that… wheaty flavor. But it’s not bad.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I dunno. But it’s good.”

“And how do you know what hayfries really taste like?” Simon asked.

My head snapped up. “I mean… that’s what I imagined them… I mean, I imagine them to taste more like… that…”

“Wheaty?”

“Y-yes?”

“Oddly specific, don’t you think?” Simon said, leaning forward, narrowing his eyes. “Oddly. Specific.”

I just laughed nervously, and took a sip from the sarsaparilla. But I made a face and put it down. It was too gross. Definitely did not like it. Maybe it needed more sugar in it. I picked up the crayon and started to color again, finishing Trixie’s picture, keeping my face down and making sure to fill the lines.

After a moment, I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Simon staring at me.

“What are you… playing at?”

“Um… what?” I said. The sound of the crayon rattled on the table. That surprised me and I looked down at it.

“You heard me.”

“I heard you, but I don’t know what you mean,” I said, pushing the crayon off the sheet of paper.

“I am asking what you are playing at.”

I stared at him in confusion. What the hell was this dude talking about?

“Your mannerisms are… you… did you know you were coloring with your mouth?”

I stared at him.

“Yes! Yes I did. I was… trying to see what it was like… for ponies… to do that… yeah…”

I looked to my left. A guy was staring at me and he had the same expression as Simon.

I looked around and found Tisha also staring at me. Her face was of open shock.

“I asked, what are you playing at?” Simon leaned back. “Most of us here are honestly trying to find an answer in our lives. Some of us… some of us don’t know what to do. Do you know how much it hurts?” He stood up and pointed at me. “What are you?”

“What?” I squeaked.

“What are you? You are not acting. I know you’re not.” He stood up and walked over to me slowly. “How are you here?”

I blinked. “What? I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“The fuck you don’t!” Simon leaned in so his face was literally in mine and I shrunk away from him. “You waltz in here and pretend to know next to nothing? You don’t even know a single shit fact about the show and you don’t think it’s weird that a Brony like you knows nothing?”

Silence. I looked around and saw everyone looking at us.

“Brony?”

At that, Simon slammed the table. I jumped out of reflex. “Aw, come on! That one’s not even hard! Brother and pony. Bro and pony. Bro-ny. Brony! Come on!”

He was right, that was pretty obvious.

“Answer me!” Simon shouted.

The shout shook me. Looking at Simon I felt uneasy with so many eyes staring at me.

“I’m sorry, I think it was a bad idea for me to come here.”

“Oh no you don’t! You answer me!”

I stood up slowly and backed off. As I turned to walk away, someone grabbed my arm. “Please. I just want to go home.”

I stopped and turned. I looked into Simon’s eyes and for a moment, just a brief moment, I saw it. I saw that he was genuinely scared. And hopeful. I froze. I didn’t know what to do.

“Why would you come here… unless… unless you felt that you had nowhere else to go. Unless you had no other place to turn to…” Simon looked at me and something in his head clicked. “Not unless… unless… unless… you didn’t know… anything… but you know… you… you know… Twilight… you…”

He looked at the Twilight I colored, then to me, then back down again. His eyes searching his mind. I could see him thinking.

Shit.

He knew. Or at least I could see him braining it out. I could see the pieces falling into place on his face and he started to understand, but was conflicted. It was clear that the questions were coming to the forefront, and I had a bad feeling. I needed to get out of there. It felt that it would get worse if I stayed. I tried to pull myself free, but Simon’s grip was surprisingly strong.

With one quick jerk, I freed myself from him and quickly made my way towards the exit and fumbled at the door. The bar to push it open didn’t release properly. I pressed it again and it opened this time. I went through.

“Stop!” Something in Simon’s voice made me stop. It seemed to reach out to me for help, but Simon himself hadn’t moved from his spot next to the table. The sound of his voice made me stop. It sounded so… broken. “B-before you go… just tell me…” He choked back a sob. “Is Luna alright?”

The question startled me. I looked at him. He looked at me, imploring. I could see it in his eyes. They spoke volumes. They stared into me, and I found myself conflicted. Their hope was evident, but I could not lie to them, but neither could I allow them that glimmer of hope for the truth to grow either. That would have been the most cruel thing for me to do. To tell them that Equestria was real, and that I had been there, but that I couldn’t go back and neither could they. That I lived a life with their ponies, and that I fell in love with them, and that I had to leave them.

And that they could never go. And I didn’t have the heart to break theirs.

But this man. This one question. It was strange. Why Luna? Out of all the ponies, why her? And why was it so specific? It was as if he needed the answer. He needed to know. And I felt that I had to give it to him.

I stood up straight, turned to look him in the eyes.

And I nodded once.

With that, I left. I ran down the hall, out the door, and down the street, turning into an alley and hugging myself behind some trash bins just in case anyone had decided to follow.

What had I done?

Author's Note

Inspiration and a few of the characters for this chapter comes from: That Maverick With The Dog by Dan The Man , so check it out when you have a chance.

Props to Witchery for helping edit/proofread this chapter.

Day??: Therapy?

My head felt fuzzy, but I slowly pulled myself out of my slumber. The phone was ringing, and I sat up to look at who would be calling at this hour. When I identified the name, I inhaled a long deep sigh. Already there were at least four missed calls. I had expected her to call, but not that quickly. “Ingrid! What a pleasant surprise. Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Fitz! You stupid asshole!” she shouted back to me. “What the fuck are you trying to pull? I literally have a serious thing going on here trying to help these people, and you sent that stupid jackass to come here and completely undo everything! Not only did he cause a ruckus, but now everyone thinks that he’s either a pony that’s from Equestria, or some human who’s come back! Do you not understand how impossibly irresponsible that was to do? It’s going to take weeks, months, or maybe even years to fix this bullshit! What made you think that it would’ve been a good idea to let him come to this meeting! He doesn’t know anything about ponies! Nothing about the show! He’s a layman who—”

She was speaking so quickly it was hard for me to catch some of that, so I cut her off.

“Ingrid, as much as I enjoy being shouted at in the middle of the night, would you mind telling me what exactly went wrong?”

“Fitz. That guy you told me about came to the BA event.”

“Oh? That’s great!”

“No. No, Fitz, it wasn’t. It was anything but great. What the hell did you tell him?”

That confused me. “I only told him to come and see what it was like. That’s all. I didn’t tell him anything beyond that. I take it from your voice that something happened.”

There was a lull in the conversation as Ingrid mulled the question over. After a dozen silent seconds, however, I had to say something. “You’re going to have to tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know, Fitz. He acted as if he didn’t know what it was like to be human. The things he did were… bizarre. Then, when he left, he… implied that… Well, he didn’t say it exactly.”

“Didn’t say what, exactly?”

“Didn’t say that… he said… he acted like… he just… but his acting was spot-on, so now everyone believed… that… that…”

She was hesitating, but I wanted her to say it.

“Believed what?”

“He’s… Equestrian.” She whispered the name as if it were taboo.

“And?”

“And? And!?” She screamed back. “What do you mean ‘and’? Are you nuts? You know damn well that this isn’t right! Fitz, what the hell did you think you’re doing? After all these years you’re just going to undo all my work? I am helping these people. I’m going to—”

“Brian.”

Ingrid stopped. “What did you say?”

“Did he mention… Brian?”

“What are you talking about? Brian? Brian from…”

“Yes. That Brian.”

Silence. She was waiting for me to continue. I could hear her on the line.

“He’s from Equestria. I’ve talked to him and he essentially confessed. He somehow managed to go to where they are, Ingrid. And he went there and came back,” I said carefully, emphasizing each word. “He knew Brian. Described a guy who he’s never met. A guy whose criminal record and file were both hushed up so nothing online can be found. The only things we have left are what little we could collect from Brian’s old place before he disappeared. He didn’t bat an eye when I showed him Brian and Rainbow’s picture.”

Still, Ingrid said nothing.

“Ingrid?”

Still nothing. So I pressed on.

“Also, Brian’s not doing so well. The kid told me that. That he got sick. Then he returned here to Earth. Now that he's here, he’s not sure what to do. So I sent him your way to see if he could get some help.”

There was a long pause. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? You shameless bastard!”

“He knew, Ingrid. He’s the real deal.”

“I don’t believe this.”

“Neither did I, but there are circumstances. They go beyond any reasonable doubt. You do not know what this guy looked like a week ago. If I showed you a picture of him from then and you compared it with the guy you saw, you wouldn't believe they are the same guy. We both know that time here flows a lot slower than over there.”

She said nothing. At this point I knew I was losing her.

“Look, I thought you’d want to know. You and Brian were… friends, I would think. Weren’t you?”

“Fuck you, Fitz.”

“Hey, no need to be rude. Look, I just thought you’d be the right person to help the kid out. I never knew he would disrupt your group like that. I’m sorry. Would you like me to send you the picture of him? I’ll do that anyway.”

“Fuck you, Fitz.” And with that, she hung up.

Slowly, I pushed myself out of the sofa and walked over to my cupboard again to pour myself a drink. A part of me was getting a bit excited. Things were certainly going to get interesting.

I unlocked my phone and placed the photo of John on the table before taking a picture of it. I then forwarded it to Ingrid and dropped into a seat..

[Mood Music - Optional]

The hot water washed the night off my back as I leaned against the shower. I closed my eyes and thought about what I just did. What I had done to those people weighed heavily on my mind. The heat from the shower soaked into me, freeing my mind from the negative thoughts., but I couldn’t forget. What the actual heck was wrong with me?

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuuuck. Why can’t I just say it?”

And that was true. I could say the word, but it wasn’t natural. Not like before. Before it was a part of my regular vocabulary, but now when I wanted to say it, I had to force it. The word didn’t feel natural to me, as if by saying it, it would somehow… ‘hurt’ me.

After last night’s BA meeting, what happened next was an absolute shitfest. After that, after I ran and hid in the alley, after what I had done, a bunch of them had come out to look for me. I felt awful. How could I do that to those people?

But Simon? Simon was different.

While the others tried to come and find me, it was poor Simon that haunted me. The way he called for me. The shaking in his voice. But what really hit me hard was that look in his eyes. I remembered looking into them and remembered how he begged for me to answer him.

I turned the water as cold as it could go and tried to rinse the image from my mind. It was painful to remember.

“Pathetic. I’m so pathetic. How could I do that to him?”

I turned the shower off and stopped myself from continuing that train of thought. His face refused to leave my mind. I had to take my mind off of things; off of him. Slowly, I got dressed and sat at my table. My empty table with nothing. I stared at nothing and focused my attention on nothing. Why had I gone there? To destroy someone’s life? Why had I gone to that meeting? To show off?

Why would that detective recommend I go?

A soft buzzing sound made me realize that I had somehow sat there until the light of the dawn broke over the horizon. Looking down at my phone, I noticed a couple messages from the detective in question and made a face. I stood up and walked over to the window and stared out at the empty street below. The sounds of the city waking up. The people going about their lives.

I stopped myself. That felt familiar. Like I had felt this feeling before.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, filling my lungs full before letting out a long sigh. Couldn’t dwell on it. Still, there was no avoiding the knowledge that I had done something completely terrible to the people at the BA meeting and I needed to find out how bad the damage really was. Walking over, I pulled my chair out and sat down heavily before reaching for my mouse and dragging it over to the browser.

I dragged the cursor to the search bar and typed the words I never expected to.

My Little Pony Episodes.

There were quite a few different ones, but I wasn’t interested in any of them except for one. So I typed in Twilight after the search and scrolled down until I saw her face.

“My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic…” I said out loud to myself. It was indeed the right one. Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie were there along with Spike and the others. But Spike was an infant, or at least very small. I scrolled down and read the description. Generation Four, or G4, it said. At least now I knew what it meant in relation to the BA meeting.

Then I clicked play.

As the episode began, I was struck by how accurate a lot of the show was. True, there were some inconsistencies, but for the most part it looked accurate. It was uncanny how the town looked almost the same. There were a few differences, but for the most part it was them.

The girls appeared and my heart leaped to my throat. I watched them. Watched the girls appear one by one. When Princess Celestia was on-screen, I noticed that my hand automatically touched the chest where she had tried to cast that failed spell on me. I took off my shirt and looked and stared at it. It was there, a mirror image of the knife scar that I was given.

Then I saw their lives and how they lived.

I laughed with them. I cried with them. I felt the emotions surge through me as I watched them all. And I didn’t eat or sleep as I devoured the episodes one by one. I watched the ponies that I had come to love live their lives, and I realized just how much I missed them. How being away from them hurt so much. I had no one here. They were everything to me, and it killed me that I could not be there with them.

I couldn’t bear it any longer and in my frustration I grabbed the shit on my desk and threw it across the room.

I flipped my table and picked my chair up, ready to smash it into the wall, other furniture, anything. I wanted to break something. I wanted to destroy everything and just… just… be free. Free of the pain.

… smile, smile, smile! Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine…

I stopped.

Turning around, I saw Pinkie singing on the screen. My mouse must have hit play or something when I tossed the things around my home.

It was Pinkie. It was her. The voice was hers! That song was hers. I dropped the chair and fell to my knees. I slammed my fist onto the ground and tried in vain to hold back my tears. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair.

Some time later I looked up at the window and noticed that the sun was low on the horizon. I had been asleep for nearly the whole day. The screen was still playing, but I didn’t really pay attention to them. After a point I realized that the show was now nothing more than that. A show.

It wasn’t real.

I had marathoned the seasons, not really watching the episodes, but just looking at them. I didn’t care that Twilight became an alicorn because that wasn’t what had happened. She wasn’t an alicorn. She was a princess in name because of her relationship to the Princess Candance through her husband, Shining Armor.

I didn’t care about the bad guys attacking or doing whatever it was they were doing because that didn’t happen. Or if it did happen, it happened before I met them.

The realization hit me in the face.

It was so obvious! The show was a show. Like a fictional documentary of what had happened. It wasn’t real.

I met them. I traveled with them. I lived with them. I laughed with them. I cried with them.

In the show there was no Brian. But he was there. I had met him. There were similarities, and that in itself was crazy, but it wasn’t Equestria. It was completely different. What I had been through and what I had seen was not the same.

Standing up, I walked to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. I stared long and hard because I wanted to understand what was going on in my head. As annoying as she was, Tutela would never have evicted me from her world unless something had happened. Something that was bad enough that it required her to force me out.

“Tues. I know you can hear me. I can’t remember anything after I came out of the Everfree. Please. If you’re there. You have to help me. Give me a sign. I need to know. I am just… I feel so lost, and you’re the only one I can turn to.” I touched the mirror. “Please. Anything.”

Just then the doorbell rang.

For the briefest of moments, I expected Tues to appear and joke with me. But this wasn’t my shitty laptop and she couldn’t reach out to me without some link. I had nothing.

I walked over to the door and looked through my peephole to see who it was.

“John? You there?”

It was that detective.

“What do you want?” I shouted.

He held up something. “Just a chat. Heard you made quite a show last night.”

I unlocked the door and opened it. “That’s putting it mildly.”

He walked in and stopped when he saw the place. “Redecorating?

“More like venting my frustration. Coffee?”

“At this time of night?”

I shrugged. “Why not. There’s nothing else better for me to do.”

“Look, I can’t pretend to know what you’re going through. Jumping between worlds, dimensions, or whatever it is is way beyond my comprehension—”

“Bullshit!” I growled.“You have no idea what it’s like. At all.”

The detective looked at me and furrowed his brow. “I know. That’s literally what I just said. Still, I have a vested interest in you only because of your predecessor…”

I raised my eyebrow.

“Brian. Because of Brian. So, I wanted to show you something.”

He opened the envelope and dumped a DVD out onto my shitty excuse of a dining table.

“You’ll need to use my computer. I don’t have a DVD player.”

“Oh? Well, I brought a USB too.”

“DVD should be fine. Give.”

I took it and loaded it in. There were a few files on it, but it was the pictures that drew my eyes first. They were all different photographs of what looked like a natural disaster. I double-clicked one and it opened to show a street and mall in ruins. Cars were burning, most windows were smashed, and a lot of people were panicking.

“What is this?” I asked.

The detective nodded. “You might’ve been a little young, but those are pictures of the Fort Pleasant bombings.”

“Oh. I think we covered those at school,” I said nodding in recollection. “I heard that the people responsible were caught and jailed.”

The detective nodded. “Not completely true, but true enough I guess.”

I looked at him. He pointed at a video. I doubled-clicked on it. For a few minutes, I saw a father taking a video of his child learning how to walk in the park. Everything looked pretty normal when a violent explosion suddenly erupted. The camera shook wildly, the two girls in the video screamed, and a second later the video snapped to the sky where a rainbow-colored circle started to spread out rapidly. I sat there dumbfounded with wide eyes.

Another video showed the same thing from a different angle.

And another.

And another.

And another.

They all showed the same thing and I knew exactly what it was.

... she's so fast, she can do a Sonic Rainboom...

“I take it you know what it is.”

I couldn’t deny it. “That’s… That’s a Sonic Rainboom.”

The detective grinned. “Exactly.”

“I had no idea that… that was what had happened.”

Fitz was looking at the mess behind me. “You seem to have had a bad day.”

“Redecorating,” I countered.

Fitz barked out a laugh. “Well, I think you should get a second opinion. Anyway, whatever it is going on from now on, you’re stuck here. And yeah, this world has got its problems, but I don’t think you should knock it until you actually lived it a bit more. You’re still pretty young.” He started to pick up the mess. “You’ve got your whole life ahead. Who knows? You might learn something.”

That made me stop and turn. That rung a bell. Those words, or something like it, hit me in the gut. Where had I heard that before?

“Learning things is a good way of gaining insight. Sometimes all it takes…” He picked up a mirror and held it at an angle showing me my reflection, “is a different perspective.”

I took it and stared at myself. “Yeah. A different perspective.”

The sweat dripped from my head. I stopped and stared at the door from outside the room. It had been a month since the last Brony Anonymous meeting, but I needed to learn more and give proper closure to one person in particular. First of all, I needed to understand what it was. If there were others like me in this world, then I had to know.

With trepidation, I took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. Immediately all conversation died and all eyes were on me.I felt the blood rush to my face, setting it on fire, and almost immediately turned around to flee when I saw Clara looking right at me. For some reason her being there calmed me down a bit and I sighed, closed my eyes, counted to five, then started looking around the room again.

He wasn’t there.

“If you’re looking for Tisha, she’s not here.” Clara stated. “She’s busy tonight.”

There was something very oddly familiar about the way she talked.

I smiled awkwardly, “I’m not looking for her.”

Just then the door opened and Simon stepped in, saw me, and his mouth dropped nearly to the floor. He was about to say something when I shoved him out of the room letting the door close behind us with a clank.

Simon was taken aback by that. “W-what… W-what? Huh?!”

“No time to explain!”

I literally dragged him out the door of the community center and into the parking lot where I practically threw him into the car I had rented. He was both shocked and more than a little afraid, but still he complied. I think in his heart he knew as well as I did that we needed answers and doing this in front of the others was not an option.

I started the car and pulled out just as a few of the people from the BA meeting appeared at the door. They saw us exit the parking lot and I could only imagine what they were thinking.

We drove in silence for a while, Simon sitting awkwardly as he leaned as close to the door as possible. He was pressed up against it until a few miles down the road when a dinging sound broke the silence.

“You need to wear your seatbelt,” I said stupidly.

“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” He sat down properly and clicked the belt into place. The beeping stopped and we drove on in silence.

“So… um… what you wanna eat?”

“You kidnap me and you want me to—”

“I need to know about your story. I need to… understand.”

He stopped. “Why?”

“I need to figure some things out and I don’t know who else to turn to. I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t know what to do.” I sighed. “And I thought it would be better to talk to you out of earshot of all those guys.”

“Wait. You… You believe me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because it’s impossible.”

I clenched my jaw in annoyance, but I knew what I saw and the truth was written all over his face. “Did you, or did you not, go to Equestria?”

Simon stared at me. “Chinese.”

“What?”

“I’m hungry. I would like some Chinese.”

I sighed. I literally ate Chinese food almost every day thanks to living above a Chinese restaurant. I mean, he must have smelled it on my clothes. “Chinese it is.”

We continued driving on in silence for a bit.

“I didn’t go to Equestria.” Simon was looking at his hands now.

“What?”

“I said I didn’t go there. I’m from Equestria. I’m Equestrian. I don’t really know how I came here. I went to sleep one night and when I woke up I was in this body.” He looked down at himself, like he was studying himself, before looking back out the window.

A moment later, he pointed at a small place.

“Let’s go to that restaurant.”

I looked to where he was pointing. It was a very sleepy looking place, but that was fine. I pulled into the parking lot and parked as close to the door as possible. We walked, the greasy smell of good Chinese food smacking us in the face. In the back of my mind I wondered if that was the smell that followed me everywhere I went. My clothes must have—

“Table for two, please.” Simon shoved me inside. “Don’t mind him.”

I blinked.

“What’s wrong with you?” He whispered when the guy who wanted to seat us walked off. “You just stood there doing nothing?”

“I was deep in thought!” I whispered back.

“Were you?”

We were led to a booth and we took places opposite each other as the host put two glasses of water on the table.

“Your waitress will be with you in a second.” He walked off and sat himself in a booth, immediately pulling out his phone and watching something a little too loudly. It sounded very much like a Chinese show, but what did I know?

We didn’t have to wait for long before a waitress walked up to us wearing a mask. That made me furrow my brow, but I’ve seen other waiters do that in the Chinese place I lived above. She placed two menus, her mask crinkling a bit as she smiled, and walked away without a word.

That was weird. Didn’t they usually say something?

I picked up the menu and looked at what they had on offer. Most of it I could have rattled off by heart; most of the items were common fare for Chinese places, but I wasn’t really interested in eating. I was here on a mission to learn more about this guy. Already what he had said to me in the car had started the wheels turning in my head. What were the odds of two ponies coming together in the same city under strange circumstances?

He was looking at the menu as well, occasionally stealing glances at me. I could tell there was a lot on his mind, but I needed to do this. I needed to understand. I needed to know. Maybe he held a clue as to why I’m here.

“What’ll you have? It’s on me.”

He put the menu down and looked over to me. “You need to tell me the truth. The real truth. Were you…” He paused, shaking his head slightly as if trying to come to terms with the question, “did you…”

“Relax. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s order first. Then we can get into it. No rush. I’m not going to run out on you this time. I promise.”

He looked at me, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll trust you.”

The waitress appeared just then, silently, like a ninja, and placed two ice-waters on the table along with a jug. Again, saying nothing she smiled, giggled, then walked off.

I found that amusing somehow.

When she was out of earshot, Simon leaned forward and put his arms on the table. Again, he was hesitating but I knew he wanted to know. Instead of asking them however, he continued to deflect.

“What’ll you have?” he asked.

“Let me hear your story first,” I stated, “from the beginning. I think it’ll be better if you did.”

At first he hesitated, but seemed to reach some conclusion and shrugged. “What do you know?”

“You were in an accident. After that you slipped into a coma. Your friend told me that.”

“You make it sound so blase,” he laughed mirthlessly. “Tisha said all that?”

“She did. She said that you kinda… Lost your mind, but I don’t think so. Let’s just say that… There are things you can fake, and there are things you can’t.”

Simon picked up the water and leaned back. He took a long sip and sighed. Slowly, he put the glass down on the table and leaned forward again, obviously trying to organize his thoughts.

“I don’t know about the accident. From what I gathered, I… My predecessor… The original Simon, had gotten drunk and veered off the road. He stupidly did not wear a seatbelt and was ejected from the car. When they found him, he was a good distance away from the impact area, which ironically might have saved his life seeing as the car was on fire. As for what happened, the main thing apart from the broken bones and the question of being able to walk again was the extensive head trauma. That’s what the docs said.”

He paused.

“And because of that trauma, my memories had gotten confused.”

“Confused?” I asked.

“That my childhood memories somehow fused with my recent ones. That I watched a certain show as a child that gave birth to strong dreams while I was in the coma that essentially confused me and made me mix up what was real and what wasn’t.”

“That’s a thing?”

He shrugged. “Easier than accepting a man claiming to be a child from another world.”

The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. If what this guy was saying was true, then I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he must have gone through. When I left my world, I was a fully grown and somehow well-adjusted young adult — for the most part. Not a child lost in a world without anyone.

“That must have been terrifying for you.”

“It was at first. But over time my memories started to fuse with Simon’s. Then I was able to cope. If it were just my own, I don’t think I would’ve been able to cope much less ‘get better’. Simon’s still in here with me, but he’s not ‘on’, if that makes sense. I can sense him, like he’s there, sitting in the background and watching me. But not in a hostile way. More like in a ‘bemused older brother watching his clumsy younger brother’ way. Like he’s just behind a locked door. And he’s here with me, listening, and ‘knowing’. Like, he’s half asleep; aware, but can’t wake up enough to ‘take over’. Does that make sense?”

I blinked.

He grunted in frustration, waving his hands as if they were trying to explain it instead of his words. “He’s like a sleeping copilot, and is waiting for me to leave.”

That made sense. “So, they thought that your watching… That show led to your memories being confused.”

“If by ‘they’ you mean the doctors, then yes.” Simon had smirked when I avoided naming the show. “That’s what they thought.”

“And? They were wrong?”

“It’s hard to describe. Like I said, I ‘remember’ this Simon’s memories. It is like I know the memories, but I also know they aren’t mine. I am Simon, and I do have his memories, but I am also not him. But there is one thing that I am absolutely sure of. Before the accident, he’d… I’d… we’d never seen the show. I had never seen that show.”

The implication staggered me. How would he have memories of a show that he had never seen before? How could the memories fuse if he never had memories of the show in the first place?

“Okay. So, I think I understand it, but that’s from this Simon’s side. Tell me how you think it went from that Simon’s side.”

Simon looked at me. “Number twelve.”

“What?”

“I want a number twelve.”

“Oh. Yeah. The food. Got it.”

I raised my hand to grab the waitress's attention, but she was already right there next to us. I flinched. How’d she do that?

“We’ll have the number twelve. And a cola for me. Please.”

“A beer for me,” Simon muttered, blushing profusely.

I raised my eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you were just a kid?”

“I need it. And besides, this body isn’t that of a kid. One beer is fine.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Fine!” Simon muttered. “Another cola for me too.”

The waitress giggled again, then gave us a thumbs up and left to get our order.

We waited till she was out of earshot before Simon continued.

“I’ve been here for a long time now. It’s been years since the accident and, well, I don’t think I can be considered a kid anymore anyway, like I said.”

“You’re still not getting a beer.”

Simon frowned. “Not that I was going to!”

“So, you claim you came from Equestria,” I continued, ignoring his protests. “Can you tell me about that?”

“You really wanna hear that?”

I nodded.

“I remember it clearly. The day I ended up in that coma. I was at school, and just got home. I remember putting my jacket up, using the levitation spell I had just learnt and hanging up my scarf on top of that. I ran to my mom’s office but she wasn’t there.” He looked at me, his eyes starting to fill with tears. “I was hungry, so I went to get something to eat from the kitchen. That was where I…” He paused for a moment, fiddling with his fingers. “I was trying to get something out of the freezer. I think my magic snipped or spiked or something happened, I’m not sure, but when I tried to pull the freezer door open…”

I instinctively put my hand on his twiddling fingers. He didn’t pull away and I felt the first drops of his tears hit my hand.

“I was just looking to see if there were any ice lollies. I didn’t mean to… I tried to call for mom, but I couldn’t shout… It was too heavy…”

I gave his hands a gentle squeeze.. This was a child. A child who I had forced to remember what was likely the most traumatic memory of their life.

“She didn’t hear me. Nopony could…” He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his shoulder. “The next thing I knew I woke up in the dreams, and after that at the hospital.”

“I am so sorry that you had to remember that.”

Simon laughed mirthlessly through the tears. “Don’t be. It’s not like I forgot anyway. You don’t forget something like that.”

He pulled his hands from mine and took one of the napkins and dried his eyes. “Sorry, I know this isn’t what you wanted, but this is my story.”

“It was far more than I thought it would be. I’m sorry I made you remember that.”

He shook his head slightly and smiled. “The guys over at BA humor me, but they don’t really believe it. And who could blame them? Right? Not until you came along.”

That made my stomach feel tight.

“Now nobody is sure. Two people in the same BA that have had ‘apparent’ experience with ponies. Who could ignore that?”

I made a face. “Sorry about that.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. I don’t even know if you’re actually the real deal. The only reason why I decided to humor you was because, for me, the risk is worth it.” He coughed and straightened his shirt out. “But now it’s your turn.”

“Not so fast. Why did you ask about Princess Luna?”

Simon looked at me in a mixture of stunned silence and annoyance, but decided to continue just the same. “When I landed in Simon’s coma, it was in that dream world.”

I looked at him for a moment.

“You… You do know that Princess Luna can walk in dreams, right?”

I had heard that from somewhere, so I nodded.

“Okay… After what happened, I woke up there. While I was in that coma, I was scared, alone, and completely lucid. I remembered everything. I was just so scared and I didn’t yet get Simon’s memories, so I was lost. I didn’t understand what was happening; it was terrifying. I was in this black void and my mental state had started to regress. I was turning into a baby and the mental image of me or the dream version of me started to shrink like that. Cold, alone, scared.” He shuddered. “It was like something was watching me from beyond where I could see. Like looking down into the ocean depths. You know there are things down there, but you can’t see them from where you are.”

“What happened?”

“Luna happened.”

“Princess Luna?”

He looked at me and nodded. “Princess Luna. Or, as I would go on to eventually call her… Mother.”

“Princess Luna was your mother?”

“No! And… Yes? I guess. I mean, I called her that, but no. She isn’t really my mother. But in that fragile state of mind and loneliness, I decided that I needed her to be my mother. When I was there, in that coma world, she was. When I woke up, I remembered her. When I asked for her, those dumbfucks at the psych hospital didn’t get it. Deep down I knew she wasn’t my mother. I knew who Simon’s mother was and seeing her, while it did make me happy, I wasn’t her little boy.” He made a face. “At least, not yet. And then again, not quite. When my mind was like that, I needed Luna to be my mother and I think she understood that. She took care of me.”

“Did she… talk to you?”

“Of course! Talked. Sang. We played board games, tag… everything a child could do. She even tried to help me find my family, but… somehow, that didn’t work out. I remember my mother’s face and everything, even her cutie mark and even the city. I let mommy-Luna peek into my memory to see her, but no matter how hard she looked across our kingdom my mother couldn’t be found. At least, when I was there she couldn’t. Who knows what happened after I woke up.”

I smiled. “I’m sure she tried her best to find your family.”

“I know she did. I believe that she did. That’s what she does. She helps others. Helped me, guided me, taught me, and kept me company when she could. She would spend hours with me, listening to me, caressing me. I felt her touch, I recall her scent. Her breath, everything. I remember everything about it. The laughter and the way she would just wrinkle her nose when she was about to laugh… I love my mothers, mine and Simon’s, but I also loved her like a mother. And she was there for me.”

“Then?”

“I woke up. After that, I spent two years in and out of psychiatric hospitals to ‘break my pony obsession’. My father here in this world was really… he was an asshole about it. I mean Simon’s father. His mother was a little more understanding, but with Dad’s constant bickering, she had no choice. So, I woke up in this world and ended up being called crazy.”

“It’s hard to differentiate between the two of you.”

“Yeah. I know. Like I said, now we’re just the same. I am sure that when I go, he’ll remember me and my memories. I just hope that he doesn’t mind them too much.”

“Being in that void must’ve been scary.”

“It was. I mean, I was very young. The body I… this guy’s body was already an adult. The things I’ve had to ‘learn’ were difficult, but I managed. Luckily for me, Simon’s job was his whole life, so most of his memories of work were easy to do. Boring, but easy. To be honest, I tried to adapt. I tried to forget the pony side of me, believing it to be false memories for a long time, but I couldn’t really push it out. There were too many things that pushed back on logic, and I just wasn’t prepared to give up all that so easily. And because of that I’m still being called crazy.”

“How do you know you’re not?”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you that.”

“Aren’t you worried? What would happen if you can’t ever go back?”

He shrugged. “At this stage, I don’t really care. I’ve been here for so long now that I really don’t mind never going back. I’m sad that I can’t, but if I do go back and retain my memories, then I won’t be a child anymore. I’ll be a middle-aged foal!”

We both laughed at that. “Won’t that be something.”

He guffawed a bit more then sighed. “Still, I would love to see my mother, my pony mother, one more time and make sure she’s holding up okay.”

Suddenly, two colas were placed on the table, and we both looked at the waitress who smiled with her eyes again, then walked off. How long had she been standing there?

“So, now it’s your turn. Are you from Equestria?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Simon did not expect that answer. “Then? What are you if not Equestrian?”

“I’m… I guess you could say I’m both.”

He leaned forward, his face contorted with confusion. “Explain.”

“I’m human. Through and through.”

“And?”

“Look, it’s not easy for me to actually say this out loud. But, yes,” I took a deep breath, “I have been to Equestria and back.”

Somewhere the sound of glasses smashing on the ground made me and Simon jump. We looked and saw the waitress picking up some empty cups from the ground, the owner or someone of higher authority shouting at her in broken English. She kept apologizing for what she had done, but kept on cleaning the mess.

I turned towards Simon.

“Unlike you though, I went there in this body.”

He looked at me, then turned his head. “How did you fit in? Ponies are—”

“I was a pony. An earth pony!” I smiled. “And I won the RACE!”

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait. You know what the Race Across Equestria race is?” He asked, his eyes going wide as he asked.

“Of course! I did the final biathlon.”

“But… but that’s impossible. That was years ago. I… that was…” he looked at me. “When I… when what happened to me happened, it was several months away, but everypony was talking about it and… it hadn’t happened yet.”

“Yeah! Time flows differently here and there,” I said nonchalantly. “Here’s much faster.”

He was struggling with this concept. “Then… I’ve only been here for a few months?”

I put a hand on his shoulder, “Yeah, dude. Take your time. Take all the time you need. Time flows slower there. At least, I think it does. Well, when I was over there it was only three days here.”

Simon looked at me and furrowed his brow. “You really are an idiot.”

“Oi.”

“No, really. What you said is completely backwards. It’s slower here. Otherwise you would’ve spent more days there.”

He was right. I smacked my forehead with my hoof— hand.

“So, how? How did you go?”

“Well,” How do I explain the next part? “You see, I was sent there on a bet by a changeling.”

“A what?”

“A changeling?” I replied. “You know what that is, right?”

“Of course I do, but why would a changeling send you there?” he asked.

“I dunno. Said something about using me to eat. Something about me being the source of her food, and that I needed to learn stuff. She wanted me to learn the true meaning of friendship, but there were rules.”

“True meaning of friendship?” He smirked at that. “Did you win?”

“Nope. There were rules. The first was…”

“Yes?” Simon asked.

“The first rule was…”

“Forest?” he asked. When he said that name, I jerked my head towards him.

“How do you know that name?”

“Um… you introduced yourself as Forest at the last BA meeting, remember?” he replied. “Are you okay? You’re spacing out quite a bit there.”

“There were three rules!” I shouted. “Three rules! The rules were…” I searched my memory as far back as I could go, but nothing came. Nothing at all! How the fuck could I forget something like that! For an entire month I spent trying to win that bet and now I can’t remember them at all?!

Simon jumped when I slammed my head on the table.

“Ow,” I intoned.

What was happening? I remembered the bet. I remembered it. How could I forget the rules? It didn’t make sense. What was going on? How did I not notice?

“Forest?” Simon asked in a gentle voice. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I muttered with my head still face down on the table. “Gimme a minute.”

“I didn’t tell you everything,” Simon said slowly after a long period of silence. I kept my head down. “After I grew up a bit in that world, I came to understand a few things. A kid like me didn’t know much, but as my memories and ability to think grew there were things I started to understand. That was when I realized that I was different from mother-Luna. That didn’t matter at first, but I then started to realize that I was no longer what she was. I was no longer a pony. I felt it. My body did. Things were changing and I remembered understanding it bit by bit over time.”

I still had my head down.

“That was when Luna told me that my body was cured. Healed. Then she said something that I will never forget.”

I looked up.

“She said that I didn’t need her anymore. That she didn’t need to come back. And I got scared again, and angry. But she comforted me and made me understand. I think she was waiting for me to mature enough before doing so. She told me that my body was dying and that if I didn’t wake up soon, the body would eventually… die. That if I didn’t go back soon, that I could never go back at all. My new adopted mother told me to leave and never come back. And yes, I knew she was saying it for my own good, and yes, I knew that she was right, but do you know how much it hurt? To be told that I had to go away, and that there was nothing I could do about it? Do you know how that feels?”

My eyes hurt. “I know. Oh boy do I know that feeling.” I reassured him. “Very familiar.”

Just then two plates were placed in front of us. We both sat up straight and turned to the waitress, but she had turned around and walked off before we could say a word.

Simon reached over for a fork and poked his dish with it. I stared at mine with mixed feelings. I hadn’t realized it was a vegetarian dish. Had I been unconsciously eating vegetarian dishes? I thought about it.

“The maddening thing is,” Simon continued, “that I know that she can hear me when I call to her in my normal dreams. I spent a lot of time with her in that dream world. She just chooses to ignore me. And it’s frustrating.”

“Why would she ignore you?”

“I think she thinks it’s unhealthy. Or something like that. I think she thinks she knows best, and that's just… well, it is really friggin’ frustrating.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“Into my coma world?”

“Well, no. I meant—”

“Of course not. I just want to talk. That’s it! I don’t understand why she avoids me.”

“Maybe she’s busy?”

“In a world where time doesn’t exist? Sure. I know she cares. I do. I just wish that she would just say hello once in a while.”

I nodded.

“So, what now?” He asked.

At this I sighed. “I’m not sure, but something is telling me that I have to look for a way back. That I have to find my way back there. It’s just… I can’t explain it.”

“You miss your life there?” Simon asked.

Again, I nodded, then shook my head, then nodded. I ate some of the food, which was pretty delicious, chewed, swallowed, then opened my mouth to say something, but couldn’t think of something to say, so took another bite of food.

“Yes,” I said after the end of that bite.

The look Simon gave me spoke volumes.

“Okay. I don’t know. I just need to get back there, okay?

“Are you insane?” He asked. “There’s no way back there.”

“I was there,” I replied.

“Yes, but you had help. And without that help, you’re not going to be able to. There’s no magic in this world. Trust me. I’m a unicorn. I know magic.”

“Wait. You’re a unicorn?”

“Wasn’t that obvious from the story I told?” He asked. “I literally… the kitchen… fridge…”

“Oh yeah!”

“I won’t stop you from trying,” Simon said with a bemused expression on his face, “But then again, I won’t hold my breath. But if you are so keen on going back, why come here in the first place?”

“I wouldn’t have come back unless there was something that had to be done. Maybe to prevent something bad from happening.”

“Like what?”

I furrowed my brow. Then, I pulled up my shirt and showed Simon my scar. “This scar I got here. And this scar,” I said, pulling the shirt further up to show my other side, “I got there.”

Simon looked at it, then his eyes opened. “I… I can feel it.”

“What? No! No you can’t touch it!”

“No, you idiot. I can literally feel it. I can sense… I…”

Suddenly Simon’s eyes glowed with a bright yellow light and something like electricity zapped through me making my body shudder in pain. Then, as if it never existed, the pain was gone in something akin to an explosive blast. Like a balloon popping. Simon’s eyes stopped glowing, and the plates of food and drinks dropped onto the table, floor, and us. Simon coughed and put his hand to his forehead, rubbing it quickly as if something hit him hard on that spot.

I put my hand on my scar and rubbed it too. It felt awful. Like… like…

"Are you okay? Quickly! We must get him to the infirmary!"

"We have to do something!"

"Forest! Wake up! You have to help us!"

"Forest! Wake up! You have to help us!"

"... You have to help us!"

I snapped up and looked around. Nothing. Nothing at all. The sounds of Twilight’s voice in my head echoing into oblivion.

“What the fuck was that?” I shouted at Simon.

Simon shook his head, still rubbing his forehead. “That was magic.”

“Yeah! No shit! How did you do that!”

“I had it! I was able to use it, but then… something broke the connection.”

I touched my chest. “I’m allergic to magic.”

He looked at me as if I had said the dumbest thing in the world. “You’re… you’re what? Nopony is allergic to magic.”

“I am!” I protested

“Impossible.”

“My MA count is zero!” I exclaimed, pointing at my chest as if that explained everything.

“MA count?” Simon looked at me utterly puzzled. “What’s an MA count?”

I blinked. I couldn’t recall. “Something to do with magic and how strong you are with it.”

“I didn’t know I could do that… but when I felt it, it was like I understood how to use it. It was so pure. And warm. And cozy. Like… like…”

“It was Princess Celestia’s magic,” I said bluntly.

“Yes! That’s right!” He rubbed his head. “You really were there…”

“Did I tell you she shot me? Damn near killed me?”

“No way she would do that,” Simon said, now standing up and touching my chest, rubbing his fingers over the smooth texture of Celestia’s scar..

I batted his hand away. “Stop that.”

“But… but how? Magic doesn’t exist here.”

“Like I said, she shot me.”

“Why?” Simon shouted.

“Long story short, by accident. Anyway, what did you do? That felt awful. And I know awful. Magic and me just don’t mix.”

“I don’t know! I just did… it!”

“What was ‘it’, you idiot!” I shouted.

“Don’t call me an idiot, you idiot!” Simon retorted.

We both found ourselves shouting at each other and standing face to face with one another. Then I stopped and looked around. “Simon?”

“Yeah?”

“Where the fuck are we?”

He looked around too and scratched his head. “Um…”

“Can you guys explain what is going on?” A voice said. We both turned to see the waitress, now with her mask off, looking at us with a very bemused expression. “Because this isn’t coming out of my paycheck.”

She thumbed at the restaurant.

“Tisha?” we both asked. And indeed it was her. Naked.

Simon looked away immediately, but I couldn’t stop staring. I tried, but my eyes were glued onto her. Eventually, I did manage to pry my eyes away and it was then that I saw that we were in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night, with half the restaurant’s interior surrounding us. A few seconds later, the lights that were on in the place shut out, and we were all bathed in complete darkness.

What the fuck just happened?

“Tisha?”

“Yes, Forest?”

“Why are you naked?”

I heard her giggle. “I have no idea. Did you like it?”

A part of me was glad it was pitch black, because my face was probably bright red. I was blushing so hard, it hurt my cheeks.

“... yes.”

She giggled again.

Author's Note

Inspiration and a few of the characters for this chapter comes from: That Maverick With The Dog by Dan The Man , so check it out when you have a chance.

Props to Witchery for helping edit/proofread this chapter.

Day??: Mystery Thickening

We piled into my home, slamming the door shut behind us. I peeked through the peephole a few times looking down the hall and squinting at certain areas just to make sure we weren’t followed. I had no idea why I was so paranoid, but things were getting way too weird and I guess I was just being overly cautious.

I turned to Simon, who was rummaging in my freezer. He took out the ice tray, looked at it, sniffed it, made a face, then emptied the ice onto a towel, sniffed that, made another face, put the ice onto the counter, washed the tower with dishwashing soap, put the ice back from the into the towel, then placed the iced towel onto his forehead. It only took him a few minutes and I noted that I needed to wash my linen better, but all thoughts about that stopped when I saw him place the cloth on his forehead. I couldn’t be sure, but I saw steam rising from it for a few seconds before it subsided.

Tisha in the meantime was looking around the place, her hands behind her back as she took everything in. She paid particular attention to my bed area, since it was a studio apartment and the kitchen merged into the sleeping area and living room.

She was still wearing my jacket that I had given to her after the incident in the woods. After the lights went out, I offered it to her and she slipped it on in the darkness. It covered her up well—she was pretty petite— but it was very short and made the ride in the car unbearably uncomfortable because I kept trying not to stare up or down the jacket, and I could tell Simon was having a hard time as well. If she had noticed, she chose to pretend she didn’t.

We had hardly spoken at all since the lights went out. We managed to get poor Raj to fetch us. The original plan was for him to take us back to the Chinese place where we had come from, but as we approached it was clear that we should have avoided that. As we approached we noticed that there were a million firefighters and cops there. The restaurant was still standing, but the entire lower section where we had sat down was just… gone. We decided that, for now, it would be best to come back another time when things died down a little.

My rental was still there though. I had parked it a little away from the restaurant, so it wasn’t being scrutinized. Yet. Although it would only be a matter of time before the inevitable questioning happened.

The thought of that made my head throb.

“Never a dull moment with you, John,” Raj said as he watched Simon cooling off his forehead. “That must be one hell of a fever. Did I just see steam?”

“Not a fever,” Simon said as he grimaced. “Still hurts. Calming down. One sec.”

“How did you guys end up in the woods? Did you do something to this young lady?” Raj asked, pointing at Tisha.

Tisha snorted out a laugh. “I wish. These guys won’t do anything like that even if I begged them to. They are too goody-goody for something like that.”

I made a face. Eager to change the subject, I decided to ask the one question that had been bothering me. “What were you doing there at that Chinese place, Tisha?

“My job, silly!” she said, giggling. “I had to work tonight because one of the other girls had called in sick, so I was filling in for her. When I saw you guys, I got super excited and wanted to come and talk, but you all looked so mopey and sad and were all filled with boring seriousness, so I stopped myself and waited. Then you started talking about Equestria. After that, I decided to just wait until later!”

“You heard?” Simon asked.

“Uh-huh. I heard everything! About how you are a pony in Simon’s body and how you went over to Equestria and came back. By the way, both of which I thought was a whole lotta phooey at first, but Simon’s story was so sad and how he told it made me think that maybe it wasn’t so phooey. So now I’m not so sure. Makes me sad because it feels like I lost my friend since it’s not Simon in there.”

At those words, Simon gave her a pained look. “I’m sorry about that, Tisha. I know how you felt about me… Simon… us? I’m sorry he rejected you all those years ago.”

Tisha froze and looked down and knocked her knuckles together while laughing nervously. “That’s okay. I mean, it was sad and stuff for me, but. Hey. That’s how it goes. Wait a minute. What do you mean us?”

“Simon and… me? Oh.”

“I know you said you were a pony. If you were a pony, then you weren’t Simon.”

“No, no. I am Simon… and I’m also not Simon.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s pretty complicated. I don’t know how to explain it properly.”

“Let’s start with your name.”

“Simon–”

“No. What’s your real name? I mean, what’s your pony name?”

Simon looked at her and sighed. He placed the towel down on the counter and took a deep breath. “M-Moonflower. My name is… was Moonflower.”

That made me stop in my tracks. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. You’re a filly!?”

“Well,” he began, “no. Not anymore. I mean, I was. But when I became Simon, I stopped being a filly or even a pony and I became a human man. So, I guess I am completely Simon now, but I do have memories of Moonflower, so I am her as well. Simon has lived longer, so I have more memories of him than I do of Moonflower. So, I am more Simon than not.”

I sat down. “Woah. That’s crazy. So… what do I call you?”

“Please,” Simon waved his hand in front of his face, “that was so long ago, I’ve practically forgotten about what it’s like being a pony or a filly. I’ve been this guy for this long, so I guess I’m more ‘Simon’ now than ‘Moonflower’.”

“How did it feel to suddenly have a penis?” I joked. Then I thought about how tasteless that was and felt awful.

If Moonflower felt any awkwardness or offense towards me, she made no sign of it. Instead she just shrugged and replied matter-of-factly, “It wasn’t ‘suddenly’. It happened over time. When I came to the dreamworld, I was a filly, but as my memories began to combine with Simon’s, I eventually forgot what it was like being a filly, let alone being a child. The main thing was that it was mainly me remembering things as SImon. By the time I woke up from the coma, I had already ‘remembered’ being a man and having… one. A penis, that is. I never really thought about it until you pointed it out.”

“Yeah. You didn’t need to answer him,” Raj replied, giving me a dirty look. “Even if I find all this hard to believe, that was a very inappropriate question.”

I felt worse.

“Nah, that’s okay. You don’t know how refreshing it is to talk about this. This is a lot better than therapy, that’s for sure. But to clarify the point, it’s more like I don’t remember what being a filly is like instead of being surprised at being a guy. So… yeah.”

“But I mean, your personal life and stuff. How did you… y’know… meet people?” I gestured with my hands.

This time Raj stamped on my foot. I squeaked in pain.

“Sex? I… that is to say… I’m… I’ve not…” Simon scratched his head. “Simon has had sex before, but Moonflower hasn’t had any since… the accident. In fact, Tisha was Simon’s first—”

“That’s okay, Simon. You don’t need to explain,” Tisha interrupted, her face a bright red hue.

That was awkward.

“Um… did you tell the doctors?” I asked. “That you used to be a girl?”

“Like I said, when I woke up I no longer was just Moonflower. I was more Simon. There was hardly any filly left in me. And I’ve been Simon for a very long time,” he replied, placing the towel back on his head. He made a face and opened the towel up. “I need more ice.”

“I’ll ask downstairs. Gimme a minute.” I walked over to the door, but paused as I gripped the handle. “Oh, and Moonflower?”

“Look, let’s stick with Simon. No Moonflower. First off, it’s weird calling a grown male that and secondly, as I said, I’m more Simon. So, let’s just stick with Simon.”

“Sorry. Simon?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry about the penis thing.”

He smirked at that. “Make it up to me by getting the ice.”

“Roger that!”

“I’ll come with,” Raj said and followed me out. Once outside, we headed towards the stairwell. “John, what’s all this about? How did you guys end up in the middle of the woods? And was that girl naked? Did you do something—?”

“No!” I shouted, then grinned sheepishly. I hadn’t realized I shouted in his face. “No. We didn’t do anything to her. I swear. And it’s hard to explain. And you won’t believe me even if I told you. Besides, didn’t we already cover that?”

“I felt that you’d be more inclined to tell me the truth if you were alone with me.”

“You’re not going to believe it.”

“Try me.”

“We…” I struggled to find the right words, but failed. So I instead decided to be blunt. “We teleported.”

“Teleported? Like in Star Wars?”

“No, and you mean Star Trek. That’s different. That’s science… fiction? This is magic.”

Raj stopped following me as he paused to contemplate or absorb what I had just said. He jogged after me after a moment. “Magic?”

“Magic.”

He scratched the back of his head. “You know that this is hard for me to believe, right? And a part of me wants to believe you, but common sense makes it so that I just can’t.”

“Trust me when I say this, I know exactly what you mean, but that’s how it is. Now we need to understand why or how it happened.”

We walked the rest of the stairs then to the rear of the restaurant in silence. It took a few seconds to reach there, but the awkwardness made it seem a lot longer. I knocked on the back door of the Chinese restaurant.

“This is why I said to forget about it. But I promise we did not do anything to Tisha.”

“Well, the way she looks at the two of you, I don’t think she’d mind.”

“I’m taken,” I said without thinking. “And she has feelings for Simon.”

“You’re taken!?” Raj vociferated in bewilderment, but thankfully the door opened.

“Hi Lee!” I said, glad to change the subject. “How’s the night going?”

“Oh, hi, Forest. You hungry?” Lee asked.

He was the son of the owner and over the past month we had gotten on talking terms. I wouldn’t say we were completely friendly, but certainly friendlier. He had gutted me for an hour, telling me how big of a scumbag I was and how rude I was over the months I had lived above the restaurant and I apologized profusely for that. Afterwards, we came to an understanding and since then we’ve been okay. Better than before, I suppose.

“Nah, not today. I was wondering if you guys had some ice I could get. One of my friends hurt his head and we need to put ice on it.”

“Oh? Yeah, just a sec.” He shouted something in Chinese, which a response echoed from inside with an affirmation. “I saw the girl. She’s cute. Your girlfriend?”

“No, no. Just a friend.”

“You wanna give her my number?” He asked.

“I… uh…” That was unexpected.

“I’m just joking!” Lee said, punching me lightly in the chest. He looked at his hand when he did that. “Wow. You feel like you’re on fire.”

Raj walked over, touched my chest, and yanked his hand away. He yelped, then looked at me, “Why are you so hot?”

“Because I work out.”

“What? No! I mean, why does your body feel like it’s on fire?”

"That's 'cause I'm Forest Fire! Careful, you might get burnt! Tssssssss! Smokin'!"

"Forest, this isn't a joke. You're really burnin' up!”

“… Big Mac, get in here!"

I stopped what I was doing and looked up at Raj’s face. Applejack’s voice really did come out of his mouth for that one second. Then I saw Big Mac standing there for a second, like an ethereal afterimage. Applejack’s big brother. I remembered him. His laugh. His monotone. His… quiet nature.

“John!”

I snapped awake.

“Who’s John?” Lee asked.

“He is!” Raj said, pointing at me. “What the hell? His body is normal temperature again.”

Lee touched my head. “Y-you’re right. Strange.”

An older guy walked up from behind Lee with a plastic bucket full of ice.

Lee took it and handed it over to me. “Here you go, Forest… John…”

I took it. “Forest. John is my old name. I’m legally changing it.”

“Well, Forest is a cooler name.”

I smiled. “I know. Wanna know my full name?”

“Forest Fire. You literally just said that,” Raj stated giving me a queer look.

Lee nodded in approval. “It sounds cool, but I would totally feel like a chad if I had to introduce myself as Forest Fire.”

I blinked, thought about it, then realized he was right. But I didn’t care. That was my name.

Raj and I headed back upstairs and I rang my doorbell. Tisha opened it and smiled. She was wearing one of my t-shirts and it draped down over her body covering everything, but for some reason she looked impossibly cute. Much cuter than before.

“Welcome home!” Tisha coyly said and let us inside.

My face exploded, but I pushed past her and headed for the kitchen and placed the bucket of ice next to the sink. Simon walked over and placed a lot of cubes on it and placed it on his head. Again, I saw vapors of steam as the cloth touched his head.

“This. Sucks.” Simon intoned and sat down. “Is there air conditioning in this place?”

“No…”

“Damn.”

“We can fill my bathtub full of ice,” I offered.

“No, I’m good.”

“John, you don’t have a bathtub,” Raj stated.

“Oh yeah! That’s from AJ’s place.”

“Applejack has a bathtub in her house?” Tisha asked. “Not surprised to hear that.”

“Applejack?” Raj asked. Then shook his head. He walked into the bathroom, then out again. “Dude, there’s hardly even a shower in there! Why did you think you had a bathtub?”

"Where-where am I? Cold! I'm so c-cold."

"Relax, Forest. Glad to see you're back to normal. Applebloom, you okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little bump is all."

"S-s-sorry, A-A-Applebloom. D-d-didn't mean to headbutt you.”

Then I saw Applejack look at me. Her emerald-green eyes gazing deep into mine. The look spoke volumes. Only it wasn’t Applejack’s green eyes that came into focus. They were Simon’s piercing purple eyes.

“T-t-that s-s-serious?"

“John!” Raj screamed at my face. A loud smack was heard.

I blinked, then felt my face burning. Did he just slap me?

“Why are you calling him ‘John’?” Simon asked.

“That’s. His. Name!”

“No, he’s Forest. That’s his name,” Tisha replied. “He’s not John anymore.”

Raj opened his mouth, thought about it, then sighed in defeat. “Fine. Forest. Forest, what are you doing? Why are you just sitting there like that?”

“He’s allergic to magic,” Simon said before I could speak up. “That’s what he said to me. I don’t know much about it, but I think that there’s something in him that is actively rejecting spells. I felt it when I tried to pull the magic inside him out. I noticed that the gaps where he stops and just stands there gets worse when magic is involved. It started after the teleportation.”

“Wait. There’s magic inside me?” I asked.

“Well, yes and no. There’s magic inside you in much the same way that there’s air inside your lungs. It’s there, but in your case, it also isn’t there. It’s like… it’s trapped behind some barrier or something. I felt it. I touched it.”

“You touched it?”

“Well, yes. I am a unicorn. I can manipulate…” Simon stopped. “Wait. How did I manipulate…?”

“You had a horn!” Tisha giggled. “It was totally awesome.”

Simon turned to her. “You… saw my horn?”

“Yep! It was on your forehead, but not really. It was made with light and it was glowing yellow.”

At that, Simon furrowed his brow. “Then it wasn’t my magic. My magic is blue.”

Raj sat down. “This is nuts. This is… this is nuts, right? You do see how nuts this is?”

We ignored him for the moment.

“When I tried to pull more of the magic out of you to use it, something else seemed to break the connection. That was when it suddenly shut off. It was like it actively tried to destroy the magic connection between us. And the more I tried to keep that connection active, there was something in there that wanted to break it.” Simon pointed to his head. “That’s why this hurts a lot.”

“What is that ‘thing?” I asked.

Simon shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never felt anything like it before. Then again, it’s been ages since I last used magic, and like I said, I was a kid the last time I used it. So it’s not like I would know what it is anyway.”

“When Princess Celestia shot me,” I said slowly, “I was in and out of consciousness. Then, after that, I… there was a place I went to… in my mind. But I remember that I was stuck in two places at once and then… I was in a place that wasn’t anywhere, and I don’t know where. Sort of like a place in between.”

“Between where?”

“Between life and death. In that space, I met with my grandmother. Perhaps the only person to actually love me for me.” I struggled with that. The memory of my elderly grandmother staying with me in that safe space. Then saying goodbye.

My nose stung.

I felt a warm embrace from behind me. Tisha hugged me tightly. “You don’t have to be alone anymore, Forest. We’re here with you.”

And I felt Pinkie in there. Even though I knew it wasn’t her hugging me, I felt that there was a connection there for some reason. Something resonated in me and I smiled at the gesture.

“Thank you, Pinkie.”

“Tisha.”

“Thank you, Tisha.”

“You called me Pinkie. Silly, Forest.”

“I did.” I laughed lightly at that. “You really do sound like her.”

“Thanks! She’s my favorite.”

“I know.”

“She’s awesome!” Tisha said and let me go.

“She is something,” I replied, smiling at my memory of her.

“You’re so lucky you got to meet her in real life.” Tisha sighed, then shrugged. “I feel so left out. I wanna go to Equestria too! I’m the only one here who hasn’t been!”

“I haven’t,” Raj said stoically, still trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

Tisha was about to say something when Simon spoke up. “Forest, there’s something in you. Something between your ‘spirit’,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “and body. I can’t describe it really, but I can touch the magic for at least a short amount of time.”

“Why not cut him open?” Raj asked.

A part of me was about to agree with him until I understood what that meant. Then I made a face.

“No way!” Simon and Tisha said at the same time. They looked at each other and blushed.

“I was joking,” Raj stated, raising an eyebrow. “Is Forest’s lack of common sense rubbing off on you?”

“Oh dearie me, I hope not,” Tisha replied immediately.

I pouted. “But, we hardly know each other…”

“Look, I need to understand whatever it is that this is. From what I remember, magic doesn’t exist in the body in that sense. Like air, it exists all around us, even though we can’t see it. Ponies have a way to manipulate it somehow. It’s more like it exists inside the… the…” Simon scratched his head. “Well, it’s like… air in the lungs, as I said. No, not even that. It exists within the empty spaces everywhere. Or like the empty space between the neurons of the brain. That void between the synapses, but that isn’t exactly the same either. It’s like… in between all the muscles, tissues, everything! But at the same time it connects with the outside. It’s inside and ‘connects’ with the outside from there, but while it’s inside it’s barely there. It exists, but not really. It doesn’t really exist unless you can reach into it and tap into and wake it up.”

“Sounds like you’re talking about neutrinos,” Raj stated after a moment.

We all turned to him.

“Neutrinos?”

Raj shrugged. “Yeah. What you described. Sounds like neutrinos.”

“What are… what are those?” I asked, already forgetting what he called them. “And how do you know about them?”

“Before I joined this company, I wanted to pursue a career in particle physics, with a focus in quantum field theory, but neutrinos are in a specific type of field beyond me. It’ll be hard for me to explain it without explaining fundamental physics. Briefly, neutrinos are very small, nearly imperceptible, subatomic particles that exist in a near massless state, and don’t really do anything unless you excite them.”

“What happens when you excite them?” I asked.

“Well, they stop being massless, I suppose. I don’t know, that’s not my area.”

My brain hurt.

“Could there be a connection?” Simon asked. “Between neutrinos and magic?”

At that, Raj shrugged. “Since I know next to nothing about magic, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. You’d have to tell me. You seem to be the only one here with any experience in that field. But from what you were talking about, maybe. But I mean, we don’t fully understand subatomic particles let alone neutrinos. Nor do we understand how they interact with matter or energy.”

“My understanding of magic was limited to what’s essentially elementary school math. I understand some of it, but not all of it, and certainly not enough to give an educated guess in any way. But it is an interesting connection. The Simon in me is nodding in approval with your reasoning, but the Moonflower in me is shaking her head. Not sure if it’s because she doesn’t agree or just doesn’t know.”

“Well, there’s no way to interact directly with neutrinos, at least not yet. But maybe you did it with your… your horn?” Raj asked. “That’s what unicorns have, right?”

“Yep,” Tisha replied. “Just before the ‘thing’ happened…”

“Teleportation,” both Simon and I said at the same time.

“Simon’s horn,” Tisha said, pointing to her forehead, “was bright yellow! Like the sun, and felt so nice and warm. I didn’t feel in danger at all, even though it would be a little scary, I think. It was just… I felt nice.”

“And that’s why you’re putting the ice on it?” Raj asked while looking at Simon.

“Yeah. It’s getting better, but it still burns.”

“My brain hurts,” I whined, the concept completely going over my head.

Simon glanced over to me. “We’re avoiding the real issue here. Inside you there’s magic. It’s not even a little bit. It’s a damn significant well of the stuff. I am sure that there’s a limit to it, so I’m not going to try and draw on it again until we understand it a bit more, but it’s there.”

“Can we use that to get to Equestria?” I asked.

At this, Simon shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re asking the wrong person something like that. Remember, I learnt basic stuff. Teleportation is a very advanced spell that not every pony can use. I only learnt the basic levitation spell, and that’s it.”

“Basic levitation?” Raj asked and rubbed his temples. “Levitation?”

“You know, when you carry things without using your body?” Simon answered.

“I know that. Then how’d you teleport?” Raj asked, genuinely curious.

Simon scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know.”

“Wait a minute!” I said out loud.

Everyone looked at me.

“That’s the first time I’ve magically teleported,” I said in realization. “That’s crazy.”

They all turned towards each other as if my outburst had not contributed anything to their conversation. Which it hadn't. But it meant a lot to me. Who would’ve thunk that my first teleportation experience would be in this world. Well, was what Tutela was doing to me back in Equestria the same thing? Was that teleportation? It kinda wasn’t. It was more like walking through a doorway with her. This was like someone pulling me from one spot and planting me in another. The sensation was completely different.

“So, what now?” Raj asked.

Simon shrugged. “I’m not sure. There’s a lot to process here. Forest is a human who went to Equestria and came back. I am an Equestrian that came here after taking over a crash victim’s body. Both of us are stuck here, and–”

At that, Raj’s eyes opened wide. “Wait. No. Wait. You’re going to have to explain that to me. Car crash victim?”

“Are you sure? It was very sad,” Tisha said, and hugged Simon, who blushed furiously. A part of me was jealous about that. But now that I saw Simon as a young child, I couldn’t stay mad at him. Or her. That was a tad bit confusing now.

“Yes. I am sure. I need to know if I’m going to understand what the hell is going on,” Raj explained.

“You know, you’ve been awfully accepting of all this crap,” Simon pointed out.

At that, Raj just shrugged. “When John—”

“Forest,” Tisha interjected.

“When Forest first came out of the woods over a month ago—”

“No, we just got out of the woods,” Tisha pointed out.

Raj made a face. “About a month ago, Forest did something bad and he tried to flee from the law. He was gone for three days, but when he came back he went from an average looking normal guy to…” Raj gestured at me.

So I posed, flexing my arms even though nobody could see anything through my clothes. I knew what he meant and I was seriously trying to maintain the body I had through workouts, but I was slowing down. It was a bit easier since I didn’t have to find a normal job just yet, but it made me appreciate the people who found the time to work and workout. Because I knew that if I didn’t have the oodles of free time I had, there was no chance I would step foot in a gym or anything like that. I still didn’t go to the gym though, I spent most of my time doing pushups and feeling sorry for myself.

“Nobody could have developed a body like that in three days. Nobody. He says he was gone for a month, and I can just about believe that,” Raj shrugged. “The truth is that I can’t wrap my head around it, but the biggest change wasn’t the physical aspect. You see, this guy was a gigantic, and excuse me for saying this, asshole. A scumbag. He was a lousy excuse for a human being.”

“Okay, okay. I think they get it,” I said. Was I really that bad?

“But after that, he’s… well, I like him. And you don’t understand how confused I am to be saying that and actually meaning it. He’s a damned sweetheart now, and I just feel the need to watch over him.”

Tisha ‘aww’d’ expressing how cute she thought that was.

“Thanks, Raj!” I said, smiling stupidly.

He just fake-smiled at me, then focused back on Simon. “Now what are you guys going to do?”

My eyes met Simon’s, and we both shrugged at the same time. What were we going to do?

“I could try to reconnect with the power in Forest,” Simon suggested. “Apart from that, I don’t know what else we can do.”

“No. Not here. I already am pretty hated by the guys downstairs. I don’t need to blow a hole in their restaurant like we did with the last place,” I stated. “If we do try doing that again, I suggest we do it back in the woods where we teleported the last time.”

“Guys!” Tisha called, then grabbed the remote and started upping the volume on my tiny TV. “Check it out.”

We all took a look at the screen.

“Greetings and welcome back to the local news, and I’m David Sisson, your anchor for the hour. No new updates regarding the strange disappearing-reappearing restaurant that has left law enforcement both stunned and confused. To bring our new viewers up to date, a few hours ago a local restaurant had a strange phenomenon occur when the interiors inside disappeared for a few hours before reappearing back in the same place. Security cameras caught the sudden and strange phenomenon.”

The screen showed a poor quality video of the interiors of the restaurant glowing brightly yellow before a blinding flash and afterwards everything appeared back in place as if nothing happened. In it, you could definitely see myself and Simon with Tisha standing next to us before the screen went from a bright yellow to white that filled the whole screen until nothing could be seen.

Then it went black and all that was seen was a large empty space. The chairs, tables, wallpapers, pictures on the walls, lights, everything just vanished.

“The bright light was caught on numerous cell phones and many people caught the sudden light show and phoned the police immediately.”

Another video of a cell phone showed the light of the restaurant glow and a sudden flash. When it was over, the building looked like nothing had happened to it. Then the video switched to an overhead shot, presumably from a helicopter, where the area was cordoned off with tape and there were white tent-like plastic sheets over the building, much like one of those biohazard labs you see in the movies.

“We now go to Cheryl Manfield at the scene. Cheryl, what’s going on over there?”

“Hiya, David! Well, so far nothing else has happened. As you can see, the area has been closed off and the restaurant has now been quarantined as a precaution. Although we aren’t sure what’s been going on since the bright flash, we do know that police are awaiting experts to assess what exactly happened and to see if there is any immediate danger to anyone near or around the surrounding areas. Back to you, David.”

Raj muted it. “The car you drove will still be there, wouldn’t it?”

I nodded.

“That’s not good. We need to get it out of there before it gets tracked.”

“I could tell them that Forest spent the night with me,” Tisha said, smiling sweetly.

“No, that wouldn’t work. You were working that night, so the restaurant would have reported you being there and disappearing.”

Tish shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. I sort of don’t really work there. I… kinda get paid under the table and only work when my friend doesn’t. So, I’m not sure if they will admit that I was there for… insurance purposes?”

“I doubt it. Even if they paid you under the table, if you get hurt they might feel they have a moral obligation to report it. So they might’ve still informed the authorities. We can’t risk it. Instead, what we’ll do is I will go and get the car. The fewer arrows we have pointing our way, the better.”

“But why?” I asked.

“Do you want to explain all this to the authorities?” Raj asked. “They’ll put you in a mental institution or something.”

Couldn’t argue with that logic.

“Did you at least park pretty far away from the restaurant?”

I nodded. “A bit away. Not too far. Close enough to walk.”

“Gimme your keys.” Raj opened his hand.

I did as I was asked.

“Stay. Here.” Raj stopped as he opened the door. “And no magic.”

Simon and I looked at each other then back at Raj.

“Agreed,” we both repeated at the same time.

He left after that.

We waited for a bit before turning to the news again. It was all speculation. Some people were saying it was aliens, others say it was an optical illusion, but one or two were saying it was a space-time distortion event and the word that caught our ears were ‘neutrinos’.

“Didn’t Raj say something about neutrinos?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think so. We might have to try and look into that,” Tisha suggested.

“What? Take a crash course in subatomic physics? No, that’s okay.”

“It might be useful,” I suggested, thinking out loud. “I mean, didn’t Raj say he was into that area.”

“But he also did say that he wasn’t into that particular subject matter,” Simon countered. “And do we really want him involved?”

“Sure! I mean, it’s not like we’re putting him in danger, right?” I replied, shrugging. “The most that will happen is that he will get zapped by magic.”

“I don’t think so. I mean, if knowledge of this falls into the wrong hands…”

“What? Like anyone will believe in magic.”

Simon walked over to the TV and pointed at the screen. “Well, what about now? I mean, I bet you a lot of people are thinking aliens or ghosts, or who knows what else! If we’re not careful, we’re going to put a big target on our backs and bad things might happen.”

“Maybe,” Simon stated, “but it doesn’t help us because we still need something to control the magic.”

“Like your horn?” Tisha suggested, gesturing at his head.

“Yes, like my horn, only until we figure out how to extract whatever it is that’s inside Forest, then we can’t really use it now, can we?” Simon paced around the room. “I know that I can pull the magic and somehow hold it, but if I move it even a slight bit to the wrong side it touches whatever it is that’s inside you and then the magic goes berserk!”

“Yeah. That’s what happened to me in Canterlot,” I nodded. “After Princess Celestia tried to hit me with that detection spell, it went straight through me.”

“No, it didn’t go through you Forest. That’s what I’m saying. It went in you. The magic is deep within you, and it’s like holding there. If I were to use an analogy, it’s like a–a–a–”

“Underwater lake?” Tisha put in.

“More like an underground magma chamber. But yeah, that’s a good analogy,” Simon pointed out. “Come to think of it, you’re awfully accepting of all this.”

“This is the most fun I’ve had ever! Why wouldn’t I? I get to meet ponies, teleport, and even hear all about Equestria! As a pegasister, why wouldn’t I be accepting? This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more!”

“Yeah. It was. Not like the other types of teleporting,” I said and felt ill in my stomach.

Simon made a face. “I thought you said that this was the first time you teleported.”

“No, now that I think about it, I’ve teleported before. But this was different. Those teleports felt like I was being pulled through a window, or rather the window was being pulled around me. This was like breaking apart and falling together again. Or something like that.”

That made Simon furrow his head and he thought about it for a moment before speaking. “So, what now?”

“Not sure, one thing I do know. We need to first go to where we teleported to in the woods,” Simon declared. “There is something about that spot. When we reached, for a brief moment I felt… Something. It was very slight, but there was definitely something there.”

I then thought about it. Although it was dark, and I hadn’t noticed it before, it was clear that the place would be nowhere else. Where had we come out of the woods that night? Where had the teleportation taken us? There was no need to guess. I knew the place and I knew that in order for me to get the answers, Simon needed to come along too.

“Hiya, Raj!” I said as the officer unlocked the cell door.

“‘Hiya’ my ass, what took you so long?”

“Um… no car? And it’s not like the rental car agency would give me a new one.”

Raj furrowed his head. “Then how did you get here?”

“The magic of public transportation!” Tisha said. “We took the bus.”

Tish was wearing a tshirt and my swimming trunks. Despite how it looked, it was her idea and she was okay with wearing that. When I pointed out that it looked quite revealing, she insisted she was okay with that and confidently walked out the door. She was very comfortable with herself, which I thought was pretty amazing.

Raj stood up and exited the cell. “You owe me.”

I couldn’t deny that. He got arrested when he tried to take the rental away. The police immediately noticed him and we saw him get put in handcuffs on the news. He used his one free phone call to ring us and we came over right away–after I called the detective. He said that he’d swing a favor or two to see what he could do and then we headed over to the station.

That was where we were now, to come and collect him. Or so I thought. After we got there, I was immediately taken in for questioning. Apparently they had security footage of us in the restaurant, but due to the poor quality of the video coupled with the bright lights were enough to hide the details of the incident. Whether or not that was a good thing or not wasn’t something I could tell.

But they saw us in there, and I had to tell them something. I told them the truth – for the most part. I omitted parts of it, like Simon being the one to cast the spell. It wasn’t like they would believe me anyway. Magic? Sure.

“Forest!” came a voice.

“Hi, officer!”

“How have you been?” Costanza asked, patting my head. He seemed to like doing that.

I shrugged. “Same, I guess.”

“Seems like you keep having strange things happen to you,” the officer stated. “Anyway, there’s nothing we have to keep you here, so you guys are free to go.”

He gave me a massive wink to know that he wasn’t telling me the whole truth. I understood that Fitz must have pulled in that favor he had mentioned before. For a moment I thought about the implication, but they probably didn’t do anything too out of sorts. It didn’t feel like that anyway.

“Thanks, officer!”

“Oh, and Forest?”

“Yes?”

“Try to stay out of trouble this time.”

I grinned. “No promises!”

The officer just shook his head and walked away.

Once we were outside, Raj pulled out his mobile and rang someone. He seemed to be very subdued and said a few things in a much gentler and softer voice. It took me a moment to understand he was calling his wife, or girlfriend, or whatever. The man who I thought of as one of my best friends in this world, and I actually knew next to nothing about it. Apart from the fact that he was of Indian descent, what else did I know?

“So? Trouble at home?” I asked when he finally hung up.

“Yeah. I need to go home. Wife isn’t happy. I didn’t really expect her to understand so I just told her I worked late, but I also told her that I spent the last few hours in jail just now. I think she might have seen me on the news.”

I made a face. “Oh geez, I hope she wasn’t too upset.”

“Oh, she’s upset,” he confessed with a heavy sigh. “Anyway, Forest, you will have to manage this for now. Okay?” He handed me a yellow envelope. “The car. You will need to return it. Get your deposit back and wait at home.”

“Will do. Wait, will you come back?”

He nodded. “I really am interested in all this magic stuff. It does sound fascinating. Anyway, see you later. My ride’s here.”

He walked over to a taxi that had stopped and hopped in.

We waved goodbye and when he was far enough away, we opened the envelope. Inside it was a piece of paper and the car key. It said that we needed to collect the car from another address as that was where they had towed it.

“You guys can head home,” I said looking at the key. “I will go and get the car and drop it off.”

Simon nodded. “Yeah. I have a lot to think about. Let’s connect later. Here, take my number.”

He punched it into my phone and saved it as ‘Simon’. Tisha then entered her number and saved it under ‘Human Pinkie’ with a winkie-face. I smiled at that. We said bye to each other then, Simon and Tisha headed to the nearest bus station and I boarded a cab to head to the parking garage.

Author's Note

Props to Witchery for helping edit/proofread this chapter.

The Bet

"Ha!" I laughed out loud, my voice disturbing my co-workers. "I don't really give a rats ass. I've slogged day in and out to get this project done on time, and this is the thanks I get? You're firing me for completing my job?"

"Mr. Smith, these are hard times. And we feel that..."

I didn't let him finish, "That I'm expendable?"

"We had a vote. You were the... least wanted person. Your anti-social behavior has caused quite a stir in the workplace. Essentially, you're creating a very difficult environment for your peers. Therefore, we're asking you to leave because, even if you're good at what you do, making the workplace difficult for your peers is out of the question," The balding man replied.

I had to admit, the man was keeping his cool under pressure. I could tell that he hated the thought of losing me, but creating a bad work environment meant that he'd probably lose more people. I understood the situation, but in the back of my mind I still wanted to strangle him. The company has been milking my brilliance for months! I've done almost everything the company could ever hope to achieve, and I did it for a salary that would make a nun weep.

Work my way up, my ass! This was bullshit!

My first thought was to damage the guy's face. Anger, you see, needed to redirected the right way. If I hit him, I'd most likely end up in jail for assault. If these assholes wanted to mess with me, I wanted to make sure that they'd regret it in every way possible.

"Fine. I'll pack my things. I'll finish here today, and then I'll use the rest of my vacation and leave," I looked at the balding man, "That okay with you?"

He nodded, stood up, and walked out of my cubicle. I could see the sweat dripping off the back of his head.

Packing my things, I purposely did it as slow as I could. Delaying. Waiting until I was the last one in the building. When I was confident that there were no others around, I briskly walking to the IT Head's desk and proceeded to open every damned drawer. Nothing.

Were they smarter than I thought? No, no way they would be. Walking over to the Administrator's desk, I shook his mouse. The fat bastard did not have a password screen. Idiot.

Opening up his email application, I found the password I needed. Then, using my credit card, I snuck into the balding man's office. I moved the mouse, and was prompted to enter a password. Now, the only way I could make this work was to access the computer as my boss, so logging off and then logging back in as him was out of the question. Still, no matter what I typed, the password was wrong! Then, just out of curiosity I opened his top-drawer in order to get a clue, and to my pleasant surprise, there it was on a yellow-green post-it! His password. What an idiot!

It did not take me long to transfer a huge sum of money to various charitable organizations. I would have loved to keep it all, but I didn't want to go to jail and be someone's bitch. At least this way, he wouldn't be able to get the money back without looking like a stingy asshole.

Locking up, I left the building feeling rather good about myself. Revenge never tasted so sweet.

"John?" A voice said from behind.

I whipped around, and got into a Kung-Fu stance. It was Raj, my only friend. I hated calling him that, but so far he was the only human I didn't mind being near for longer than ten minutes.

"Shit, Raj, you scared the shit out of me," I turned and unlocked the door to my car, "What are you doing here so late?"

"John, I'm the emergency contact in case something happens. Something just happened. Did you just donate over thirty thousand dollars from your boss' personal account?" He looked at me, tears in his eyes. Was he really crying? What a faggot!

"Yep. And I don't regret it.".

"Don't you feel any remorse?" Raj asked.

"Remorse? Ha! You wish," I sat down in my car seat, "Why would I feel any remorse?"

"Because what you did was wrong, John. Completely wrong. You can't do that."

"Cry me a river," Putting my key into the ignition, I started the engine.

"John, this is serious. You could go to jail for this."

"The only way I'd go to jail is if you told anyone I was here," I said, "No-one else will know."

"We have security cameras all over the place, John. Everyone will know it was you by morning! Why did you do it? I just can't understand..."

That pissed me off. Raj was always like this. His kindness was weak. I got out of the car, and did the only thing that I could think of. I punched his face. Hard.

"Stop being such a fucking pussy, Raj! Be a man! Grow a pair!"

Raj wiped his cheek from where I had hit it. He looked up at me. Those eyes. They weren't the same as before. They were definitely different. Before they were sad, disappointed. Now I saw something else, and it pissed me off more than anything else I could have imagined. Pity. Raj actually pitied me. I don't need his pity! I don't need anyone's fucking pity! I kicked him right in the jaw. Piece of shit.

Raj rubbed his face, and spat out some blood, "I'm going to give you one hour, John. After that, I'm going to call the police." He didn't bother looking at me, "Good-bye, John."

A part of me thought about killing him, but something stopped me. Going to jail for a couple years was one thing, going to jail for a few decades or worse was another. It was time to bargain, "Two. Give me two hours."

"Fine!" he barked, "Just go. Get out of here before I change my mind."

He did not need to tell me twice. As I drove off, I looked in my review mirror. He was staring after my car. I wanted to laugh at him, to tell him what a moron he was, but something inside my chest felt weird. A strange empty feeling. I could not describe it, so I did my best to ignore the feeling as I turned the corner away from that stupid piece of shit company.

It took me just under an hour to get home. My shitty studio apartment above a shitty Chinese restaurant where the owner had sex with his butt-ugly staff. Most probably illegals who had to 'pay extra' to work for him. I could hear him now, grunting away in the room next to mine.

I banged the wall, "Keep it down in there! I'm trying to concentrate!"

I heard laughing, then something in Chinese before the grunting and moaning became louder. Whatever, it's not like I'm sticking around anyway.

Packing everything I owned, including my shitty laptop into my bag, I shoved all papers into a large black plastic garbage bag, then proceeded to scrub the shit out of the studio. No evidence. Then, I closed and locked the door, breaking the key in the hole. The humping noises were escalating now. The woman sounded like a cat being drowned. I couldn't help but laugh.

Outside, the rain had started to come down hard. Across the street I saw an old bum warming his hands by an old barrel-fire. Walking over, I dumped my plastic bag of papers inside. The bum looked at me, confused and quiet, then his fire roared to life, a little bigger than before. He thanked me, and I gave him the finger, telling him to get a job and to fuck off -- as one does to homeless people. He ought to be glad that I was in a hurry and did not have time to beat the shit out of him, because I would have! No, probably not.

Why did I feel so angry?

Jumping into my car, I sped off as fast as I could towards the outskirts of the city. Two hours had gone now, and if Raj was a man of his word, which he was, the police would have been called by now. They were probably sending squad cars over to my place. A part of me secretly wished that they'd catch that Chinese son of a bitch going at it. Poetic justice.

Something in my pocket shook. My cellphone! I checked the number, it was not in my call lists or anything. So, curious, I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Smith?"

"Speaking."

"My name is Detective Mason. We would like to ask you a few questions regarding some unauthorized cash transfers..." He said a bunch of shit that I didn't care about before coming to the point. I let him talk. The more he talked, the further away I got, "We would like to see you down at the station."

"Can I come tomorrow morning? It's raining and wet now," I lied and he knew I lied, but he had to play the game.

"I'm sure you can just drive over in your car..."

"I'm sure I could, but I won't. I said I'd come tomorrow," I then hung up. I had to ditch the car.

Driving into a closed gas station, I drove around to the back. Then I took out one of my old socks and put it into the gas intake and let it soak for a moment before lighting it with the cigarette lighter from my car. Then, I ran. Ran as fast as I could all the while expecting to hear a resounding explosion. Nope. Nothing. There was a tiny one, much like a violent fart. The car had 'farted' into flames and the rain helped keep the glow to a minimum. Great. Now that was out of the way, I needed to get further away from the city.

Trekking through the woods, I felt good about myself -- and a little smug. I had burnt all evidence of my existence, destroyed my car for fun, and was now making my way through the woods with the police force lagging behind me. Perhaps it was foolish, I might have been able to get away with a few months on prison, but I did not care. This rush, this feeling, I loved it. Plus, I was fast. Running through the woods just felt so natural.

Then, something strange happened. As I walked through the trees, I felt a sudden pop. It was a strange sensation. As if you walked into a wall of air and it broke. Whatever the case, as I pushed my way through the wall something seemed to shut behind me. That left me both confused and feeling rather strange. The rain was much harder now. It pelted down violently.

Seeking shelter, I ran to what looked like a large cave. Woods and caves?

Something about this cave scared me. Perhaps it was the belief that a bear might have been living in there, but common sense took over. A bear this close to the city? Right. Convincing myself that getting sick and caught was far worse than maybe getting mauled by a bear that may have lived there -- how I arrived at that conclusion eluded me -- but I ventured deeper inside.

As soon as I did, something under me gave way and I felt that I was falling. I fell and I fell and I fell. Then, I fell some more.

My stomach was in my throat, and my throat was hoarse from all the shouting and screaming. The rush of the wind past my ears was deafening, and after a while of this I felt tired and exhausted. What was happening to me? I blacked out, I think. I'm not too sure.

Snapping awake, I found myself on the ground with my back against what felt like a wall. Opposite me was this really ugly, old hag. She was mixing something. Strange, she looked vaguely familiar, where had I seen her before? She turned around, and I heard myself scream. Yes, I screamed. Like a little girl. You would to if you had seen what I saw. What cruel joke was this? Did I die and get sent to Hell, or something? The old bitch standing there was the witch from that stupid kid's show! The one about the seven dwarfs?

"What. The. Fuck?" I said aloud.

The old woman turned around, "So, you're awake..."

"No shit. Am I dead? Did I die? Is this hell? Why are you a... a..." I couldn't say it. If I said it, I had to admit that I was bat-shit insane!

"A what?"

"A car... car... cartoon! Why are you a cartoon?" She was! I've seen animations before. She was not real, the colors, the shading, nothing about it was real! She was a living, breathing cartoon! "Am I high? Did I inhale poisonous vapors in this... cave?"

This was no cave. It was a castle or a keep. Strange. What the hell had happened?

"No, no, Mr. Smith. You see, I've been watching you. I'm somewhat of a... fan. As to why I look like this... well, there is a good explanation for that as well," Her voice was different than expected. It sounded strangely... nice?

"Fan?"

"You see, on your world everyone seems to have found someone for themselves. A friend, so to speak. Even people who have nopony - er - nobody still manage to somehow form new friendships with something else, such as pets or objects. But you. You're different. You've got no one and nothing. You are a... strange man, Mr Smith."

"Wait, wait, wait. You've been spying on me? How? What? When? Huh?" I was confused, and a little flattered. A stalker? I had a stalker?

"Don't worry your little head about it. You see, I'm not human. You can tell, can't you? But even this form is... somewhat of a lie. You see, my dear human, I'm a Changeling."

"A what?"

"A Changeling. I can change my body into anything that I want. Well, almost anything. I cannot seem to morph into your, shall we say 'colors'? They are too... difficult for me, it seems."

"Bullshit. Changeling? You expect me to believe..." She changed her shape, "Holy shit! I believe you! What's going on? What is happening to me?" I smacked myself. Ouch.

She laughed. She was now some black horse-like thing, with vampire-like teeth. I was on the verge of shitting my pants.

"I am going to have to start from the beginning." She sat down on the ground, "For, for the longest time I have watched you. Your hatred for your fellow humans was what brought you to my attention. You've... made me a very happy Changeling. You've proven to be a great distraction from this..." she looked up, "prison."

Whatever she looked at, I couldn't see it.

"Sit. It's been a while since I've had company to talk to."

So, here I was in a cave with this creature that could change into anything she wanted. Somehow I had ended up in here with her. There was no point in arguing, for all I knew she could have morphed into something big and terrible, then eat me, or she could have just munched on me with those canines. A horse with canines... that is a cartoon.

I had to pinch myself to remind me that this wasn't a dream.

"A few years ago in your world a strange event took place. An individual from my world did something that, along with other combined factors -- most of which I cannot explain to you so I wont -- forced your world and mine to merge for a moment. In that moment, a being from my world came here," she looked at me, "A man managed to find her, a human like yourself, and raised her as his daughter..."

"Wait, wait, wait. A human brought up a cartoon? How the hell did he not get caught?" I scratched my head, "How long ago?"

"He did not get caught because he understood the risk if she were to be discovered. He cared for her dearly and as a result of his kindness, I learnt compassion. For fifteen of your years I watched him bring her up, and for fifteen years with nothing but the love between them to see... well, let's just say from a cold-hearted monster I've warmed up quite a bit. I could tell that he was as miserable as you are now, only he knew it. He understood his loneliness and hated it. You, on the other hand, don't. While I watched them for amusement, I watched you for nourishment." She grinned at me when she said that.

My spine tingled.

"I'm not miserable! I'm perfectly happy!"

"You might think you are, but I know the truth. That is why I brought you here. You see, you're the perfect candidate for a little... experiment."

"You brought me here?" Now I was not only scared, but skeptical. Could this day get any worse? Prison started sounding like a pretty damn good idea now.

"Your world does not have magic inherent within it. I can only use magic close to certain points. You approached one such point after I... coaxed you. I can use magic to influence certain things on your world, but only very subtly, but it seemed that fate decided to bring you to me."

"So... you're going to experiment on me? Can I just go to prison instead?"

She ignored my last question, "As I was saying, I'm stuck between the two worlds, have been since that time years ago, and probably always will remain. A prison of my own choosing... but you, you have no restrictions. You have no friends that will miss you, no family that will care about you. You have a unique circumstance that makes you able to pass from your world without issue," The Changeling grinned, her teeth glinting in the light, "and I've somewhat become attached to you."

That was a scary thought. I gulped out of reflex.

"How? Why?" I knew the answer to the latter. For some reason she became attached to me because of my loneliness and hatred for people, but I did not care! Who gives a shit if I liked being alone?

"You know, I see a lot of him in you."

"Who?" What was this crazy bitch talking about?

"You'll find out. That is, if you care to take a little bet with me."

"A bet?"

"Yes. Since I cannot leave here, and you can, and since you don't mind being alone, my bet is this; find out the true meaning of friendship and if you can't you will stay here with me. Forever," the Changeling grinned, "If you find friendship, I will let you go. You can go back to your sad little life running from the law."

"That doesn't seem too difficult... what's the catch?"

"You see, there's something about us Changelings you should know. Usually we feed off the good feelings, such as happiness and joy, and strongest of all, love. All that changed that fateful day years ago. Let me ask you, have you ever seen the show 'My Little Ponies'?"

"That kids show? Yes. Wait, no. I've not seen it, I know of it... Why? Wait, I'm confused... what's that got to do with happiness and shit? And more importantly: what's all of this got to do with me?"

"Well, that's where I'm from. That world. I'm from that show."

"Bullshit! You're telling me that there's a real world out there with these ponies running around?" And yet here I was talking to a black, green-eyed pony-monster thing calling herself a Changeling. I groaned, "My brain is broken, isn't it?"

"No. It's not. You see, when the event took place all those years ago, there was a danger that the two realities would collide causing a cataclysmic reaction that would destroy both worlds. This was because the human and the other protagonist, a certain cyan colored Pegasus," she saw the look on my face and smiled, "Well, let's just say they had difficult choices to make, and in the end he sacrificed everything for her."

"He died?"

"No, he lived. You see, John... do you mind me calling you John?"

I shook my head. She could call me whatever she wanted. She was the boss.

"Good. You see, John, when she -- the Pegasus pony I was talking about -- went back to my world, she was forced to close the portal between the two realities. This was a difficult decision as it would forbid them from every meeting one another ever again."

"Was the man her lover?"

"No. The man raised her up as his daughter. It didn't matter to him that she was another species, let alone a... character from a children's show, he still brought her up as he would his own daughter. And he loved her with every thing he had. Still does, in fact," The Changeling walked over to what looked like a kitchen and poured herself something that smelt a lot like tea from something that looked like a teapot. While she was doing this, I noticed that her head had a horn like that of a rhino.

The realization kicked me hard in the face, "You're a unicorn?" I didn't notice it before because she was facing right at me, and with the lighting, or lack thereof, in that castle-like place (I still had no idea where I was), I couldn't see it.

"No. I'm a Changeling," she replied without even the slightest hint that my question should have been ridiculous from the start, "Now where was I? Oh, where are my manners? Do you want some tea?"

"Not from you." She gave me a stern look. " I mean, no thank you, ma'am." I grinned and made a mental note to be extra polite to the scary lady-pony thingy."

"As I was saying, the man chose his new life over the old. Although he did have a few regrets, the fact that he could be with his adopted daughter was enough to cancel them out. When the choice was made, the portals closed and all was happy and fine -- but you see, magic isn't so clean cut as that. It was not the all-powerful Celestia who closed the portals, or her councils, nor her best student, or the Pegasus," she looked me in the eyes and smiled. Again, those teeth! "I did. I closed them as much as they could be closed."

"Celestria? What's that?"

"Not what, who. She is a... god-like creature from my world. She's an incredibly strong Unicorn, far more powerful than me. She had enough power to rip through the two worlds when she found out the correct spells to manipulate. Of course, she couldn't have done it without me. The strange thing is that, I think that the Princess has been to Earth before, your Earth."

"Information overload," I muttered, "I am trying to understand what you're talking about, I want to, but to be honest, I have no fucking clue. I don't get it. So, this super-Unicorn," she gave me a look, "Just bare with me, okay? This super-Unicorn named Celestria..."

"Celestia. Like Celestial, without the last 'l'. You're not dumb, John, just completely clueless."

As much as I wanted to punch her, I knew that she'd probably have the ability to beat me senseless, so I just continued, "Okay, so super-Unicorn Celestia came from the cartoon world and into this one, the real one, to take back some blue-colored cartoon Pegasus and take them back to her world, where they both originally came from. Am I right so far?"

The Changeling nodded.

"Then her dad, this human male, went to other world, and now they live there together?"

The Changeling again nodded.

"That's great! That's fan-fucking-tastic! I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!" I exclaimed sarcastically, "But what has any of that shit got to do with me?"

"I'm just explaining how I came to be here." The Changeling sniffed, "You see, I've become a guardian of sorts. Celestia... or Princess Celestia, as she is called in my world, isn't as all-powerful as she thinks she is. She is strong, but only in certain types of magic. In others, she's as clueless as... you. And that's saying something."

"I have a bad feeling where this is going," I muttered to myself, "So you're guarding the bridge between the two worlds?" Yeah, I've played enough online fantasy games to know the lingo.

"Oh yes and I've taken my duties rather seriously. I can go back to my world, but if I did, I'd die. As I was saying, I've become something of an anomaly. I've changed."

"Fancy that... a Changeling that changes..."

If she heard me, she completely ignored it, "Before, I fed of love, and happiness. I was actually near a town called Ponyville feeding on the happy feelings of the ponies there when this magical anomaly took place. Some sort of explosion that I got caught up in. The shock wave propelled me, along with the Pegasus, into our respective realities. While she broke through to your world, I never completely crossed and I found that I was stuck in between. Outside both realities. Over time I found that I no longer hungered for good and happy feelings. It tasted disgusting to me." She made a face, "But I was starving, so in desperation I sought out sadness, anger, and most of all, hate. The spell had changed me. Now because I eat these feelings instead, I've began to feel rather 'good' for the most part. I no longer want to consume the happy feelings of the ponies, but I the malice and hatred from your world. There is plenty of it there."

"You were evil before?" I asked not really giving a shit about people.

"Not evil, just bad, I guess. You have to understand, Changelings are a part of a swarm, a type of hive-mind in some ways. I did not really have any individual thought apart from finding nourishment. After I was brought here, my link to the swarm was broken. Anyway, I'm much friendlier now, but because of my newly acquired appetite, cannot return to my world." She looked at me, "There isn't much sadness or hate there. I'd starve to death."

"Couldn't you just leave here, go there, and return when you get hungry?"

"There is no way to enter here from either side, unless someone here opens a way. Let's just say this is a prison of my own device. I cannot survive in your world, and I cannot survive in mine. Therefore, I stay here. In this limbo."

"Good for you," I clapped a few times. She gave me a stern look. I have got to stop doing that.

"Now onto the conditions of our little bet. The first is, you have one month to understand the true meaning of friendship. Not just an acquaintance, I mean a true, deep understanding of what a true friend is. Two, you cannot tell anyone you're human. Not a soul. Trust me, I'll know. If someone happens to guess, you might run into a few, it's your job to convince them otherwise, else you lose the bet. I'll be watching you and those that know you, so be warned. Three, you cannot harm a pony, or Changeling at all. You cannot harm anyone. Doing so would incur the wrath of Celestia, and that's the last thing you'd want."

"Three conditions? Find the true meaning of friendship, no one can know I'm a human, and I cannot hurt any pony... wait! You don't mean... you can't mean... you aren't going to..."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to mention, you're going to my world. Not yours."

And that was the catch. I wanted to kick myself, but if I didn't accept, I'd be stuck with her here. For a moment, I contemplated it. Really, I did. A part of me wanted to stay, but the rest of me screamed that I ought to get the fuck out of there ASAP!

"Wouldn't me being a human be... obvious?"

She grinned, "Oh, that's easily remedied."

"You're going to do something to me, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're going to change me into a pony, right?"

"That's correct."

"I can't help but notice that I've had zero choice in the matter."

"Oh, don't worry. Since Celestia had closed this world off, I've been able to regulate the time between the two worlds. While five years have passed in my world, your world has only gone by one year. When you return, I can put you back right where you left off. You will have literally been gone hours from your reality. So, don't worry."

"Oh? Do I look worried about the passage of the fucking time? Perhaps your confusing my expression with pure, abject horror." I wanted to cry, "I don't want to be a pony!"

"I'm afraid that it has to be so. If Celestia sees a human, she will know that the two worlds aren't completely separated, and nothing in both my world nor yours can pry it apart anymore than what has been already done. So, what will it be, John. Will you stay with me or continue this bet. Those are your choices," the Changeling took another long sip from her cup of tea, and stared at me.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, but... I will go... to your world. No offense, but you scare the shit out of me."

She put the cut of tea down using her magic, or what seemed to be magic. Every time she did something her horn would glow green, so I assumed it was magic. She walked over to me, and placed her horn on my head.

"This is going to hurt. A lot."

And what happened next was not a lie. It hurt. A lot. I felt my body go into throes of convulsions. My back twisted and turned as if someone had forced it to break in half. My hands forced themselves into fists, and then from fists into what looked to be hooves, but not really hooves, were they? I don't know! For the next minute or two the pain continued as every inch of my body yearned for it to stop. Then, when it was all done, I tried to stand up. I could do it. But it felt... weird. I plopped down on my hands and... hey, this was comfortable. What? Why?

"There. You're now a pony."

"You've got to be kidding me!" I said, but there I was, I could see myself in the mirror that she had brought over. I wanted to cry again.

"Not bad. I've made you an Earth Pony, I think you'd cause way too much suspicion as a Pegasus or a Unicorn, considering you've never flown nor done magic."

"I've also never been a Pony. But, thanks for your concern I guess, although having magic does seem convenient. Do I have to put up with that agony again in a month's time?"

"Unless you want to stay a pony, yes."

I sighed. What else could I do? Magical black-dangerous-looking-pony-Changeling was too badass for me, "Fuck it. Let's get this over and done with."

"Oh, and another thing, an addition to our agreement. No swearing. I won't be strict on that one, but you will refrain from being too explicit in your language, understood? Your... Earth-speak could lead you to breaking the second terms of our agreement."

"Fine, fine. No swearing. Give me a second."

For the next twenty or thirty seconds, I said as many profane and disturbing words as possible. To get it out of my system.

After my tirade, the Changeling nodded, "I'm going to open a portal now. I'll be dropping you off near the rim of a very, very dangerous forest near the town of Ponyville. When you step through the portal, you'll be on your own."

"Fine. Wait, did you say dangerous forest? Dangerous? Hey!" But it was too late and I felt my body get sucked through something, almost like a hole.

Damn that Changeling bitch! I didn't even get her damned name!

Day 4: Forest Fire!

"My head!" I groaned rubbing my poor brain with my hoof.

"Well, good mornin'! I was wonderin' when you'd wake up. Here, take these." A voice sang out from somewhere.

I opened my eyes enough to see Applejack. She walked over next to me and placed two blue pills on the bed-side table along with a glass of cold water - the condensation already forming around the body. Staring at the two oval shaped tablets, I reached over and picked them up before throwing them to the back of my mouth, and chasing it with the cool, refreshing taste of water. Only after I did that did I realize that I had just picked up two tiny pills with hooves. I'll never get used to this.

"Figured you'd not want any more apple flavored goodness, seeing as you took Granny up on her challenge and all," Applejack chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief, "A whole mug! You're a sucker for punishment."

"Tha-thank you," I replied in reference to the pills. I wasn't too sure about the other half of he statement.

My mouth felt dry and numb, even after downing the glass of water, and my brain did not stop thumping . Forcing myself to sit up, I looked around. I was in a small room, but it was cozy. The bed with me on it lay in the corner and next to me on the left was the side-table, and to my right was a wall with a long rectangular window overlooking the backyard. The edge of the barn was just barely in view from my angle. Opposite me was a small stack of drawers, on top of which lay a bunch of trinkets, and next to that was another door - the closet, I guessed. There were a number of pictures on wall, photographs of various Ponies in various places. Some looked very old. My eyes followed Applejack as she walked over, then reached across the bed and let the blinds open, the sunlight flooded the room in a warm glow. I squinted and stared up at the sun.

"What's the time?" I asked.

"Just past seven. I came to check up on you when you stirred. Honestly, I started gettin' worried." I turned to see Applejack staring at me with a frown on her face that spoke volumes. I was touched. She really cared about my well-being.

"I've made a total fool of myself, haven't I?" I asked, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Well, thankfully there's no harm done. On that note, that harvester of yours works too well! I've been suddenly findin' myself with a lot of free time."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing?"

"Well, no, but it's still disorientin' to wake up early in the mornin' with nothin' to do! I'm runnin' out of ideas to keep myself busy!"

I smirked and laughed. Looking up at the ceiling, which was covered with stars cut out of what looked like gold paper, my mind instantly replayed the last moments before blacking out, "Applebloom..."

"Applebloom was all keen and excited. She said that you'd discovered her talent."

"By your tone, I think you already know."

"'Course I do. She's my lil' sister. But, it ain't for me to tell her, it's for her to discover it on her own! If I told her what her special talent was, then she might not want it or like it."

"I see..." In reality, I didn't. Why not just tell her if that's going to make her happy? I was used to being a social reject, and did not mind being alone. I highly doubted that Applebloom shared that trait. If getting her Cutie Mark was so important to her, and made her more comfortable around her peers, then wouldn't it be the right thing to do to tell her? To help her get it? But, I'm new. Maybe she had to go through all that - the words 'trials and tribulations' came to mind - to earn her Cutie Mark. If that was the case, then Applejack would be perfectly correct.

I rubbed my eyes, and rolled myself out of bed. "My bag?"

"Over there," Applejack pointed to it lying on the small dresser - I didn't see it there while I was lying down, "Can I ask what that strange box you're carrying around is? Sorry, but after you fainted, it fell out of your bag, and well, I had to put it back... I've never seen anything like it before."

You know that feeling you get when you know something just happened that wasn't supposed to happen, that if it did happen could mean that everything you've ever earned was suddenly pulled away from you? No? Well, let me tell you, it doesn't feel good at all. Not one bit. Forcing myself to remain calm, which was difficult, I went through a library of excuses. Nothing. Then I looked at the walls, and it dawned on me.

"I-it's a... picture frame. You know, one of those folding picture frames?"

"Really? A picture? Well, let me see!" Applejack said excitedly, "Maybe it'll give us a clue to who you are!"

Ah. Shit. Didn't see that one coming. "S-sure!"

Walking over to the dresser, I took my bag, opened it, and pulled out the laptop. As I opened it my breath caught in my throat. As I looked at the screen I saw a picture of a bunch of trees. My mind reeled, but then I saw a tiny little Tutela in the corner of the screen. She mouthed something. I think it was 'you-owe-me'. Then she was gone.

I showed Applejack the screen.

"Why would you have a picture of the Everfree Forest?"

"That's a very good question." I replied, my heart beating again, "I'm not sure. Maybe it's why I went there in the first place?"

She seemed to buy that.

"And what are all these numbers 'n letters 'n symbols on the other side?"

"Oh, it was just like that when I got it." I said, unable to think of anything clever.

"Oh! Like that modern art Rarity's always going on about."

"Yes! Like that! Maybe..." I closed the laptop, and slipped it back into my bag eager to stop talking about it. Perhaps I had acted to hasty?

If I did, Applejack did not comment on it. She turned and walked out the door, "Well, come on down for breakfast. Oh! Bathroom's the third door on the right down the hall that way," She said pointing to the right. She headed straight, the hallway was split by a banister, the left had two more doors facing the left side of the house, while the right half had the stairs that descended down towards the lower floor. Come to think of it, how did I end up here?

I watched her go, and counted to sixty before pulling the laptop from my bag.

"You do understand that if she mentions this to Brian, he's going to figure it out." Tutela said as soon as I opened it.

"Then I got to ask her to keep it a secret," I replied whispering.

"Well, if you do, that's only going to make her suspicious and she's going to talk to one of her friends about it. The purple Unicorn is very intelligent. Don't underestimate her. Twilight is very inquisitive. If she gets a whiff that you're hiding something, she will stop at nothing to find the answer. If you thought Brian was tough, then you are sadly mistaken."

My mind thought about the librarian Pony I met. The Unicorn that had a Dragon that seemed to be more like her adopted child than anything. That aside, my brain could not get past the stereotype. Of course is was the Pony who slept in the library would be the brainy one.

"So you're saying that my only hope is that Applejack doesn't mention it to either Twilight or Brian?" I inhaled deeply, "Can we rewind and start again?"

"Even if I could, would you really want to erase these memories? You've made quite a few in the short time you've been there." Tutela replied.

She had a point. These memories were already more precious to me than gold, diamonds, or anything. Strange that. Four days ago I was some stupid computer desk-jockey and now I'm a talking equine in a land of magical Ponies, and I was starting to not only become accustomed to it, but I was actually starting to like it here. Now that was a scary thought.

"You're right. But why are they so... nice to me?" I asked.

She shrugged, "I think they are just friendly. You have to understand, that in their world they don't have the same kind of horrors you do. Murder is extremely rare, so is death by unnatural cause other than disasters, and war is almost unheard of. Almost. All this is possible due to the supreme might of Princess Celestia, and her sister, Princess Luna who watch over the Ponies ensuring that they are safe."

"Must be quite handy, being all super-powerful."

"Magic does have its limitations. Princess Celestia might be all-powerful, but she is not invincible."

"You said she was god-like. At least, I think you did..."

"Compared to other Ponies, yes. But even she had trouble defeating Discord without extra help from the Elements of Harmony."

I stared at her blankly, "The fu..."

"I'm not going to go over that with you. Go to the library."

"Oh shit! Twilight's library books! I left them at the hotel!" I exclaimed quietly.

"Forest? Are you comin' down or what?" Applejack's voice called from downstairs, "Breakfast's gettin' cold!"

"Coming!" I shouted back, then reverted back to a whisper, "Just one more thing. Those three conditions of our bet..."

Tutela sighed, "One, you have one month to understand the true meaning of friendship. Two, not a singled being on that world can discover you're a human. Three, you cannot harm a pony or a Changeling - but I will excuse you from that one if there are extenuating circumstances."

"You mean like a jealous Cyan colored Pony coming into my room and stabbing me?"

"Yes, something like that."

I grunted and shook my head; now it was confirmed that I couldn't even hint to Brian about my human origins. The thought of giving him clues that there was something going on and try to make it obvious to him that I was a human and the fact that for some reason I couldn't tell him. The second condition of my bet with Tutela made that impossible. If anyone guesses, and is sure, then I lose. I understood that it was the second half of that bet that was keeping me in Equestria. If Brian was positive without a doubt, then it would all be over. Closing the laptop, I slipped it back into my bag, and left it on the dresser.

Walking out of what I could only guess was a guest room I headed down the stairs. It ended at the front door of the house and the main entrance hall. To my left it opened into a lounge area, where there was a fireplace at the far end of the wall - with no fire, and on the mantle were small frames of pictures. All the windows were open letting the cool air blow through the light translucent white cotton curtains that waved lazily whenever a breeze passed through them. To my right was a dining room with a long table that ran parallel to the stairs. There were twelve chairs, all identically shaped with a back that sort of resembled an apple. Five were neatly tucked in on each long side with a single chair at either end. Up against the wall on the far end were more chairs similar to the ones at the table, and considering the length of the dining room I could only surmise that the table opened out quite a ways. At the back of the dining room was a large cupboard where I could see plates and other dining room related paraphernalia stacked inside. Crockery, all with apples and apple-like art etched into them, stood out making it look somewhat like a trophy dresser.

At the far end there was a door where I heard noises coming from. Walking through the dining room, I could not help but scan the wall. Again it was covered in pictures of all sorts of Ponies. Some were pretty old, but others were taken recently. As I walked through the door at the end, I entered the kitchen.

Applebloom was standing on a small stool, her fore-hooves elbow-deep (or was it knee-deep?) in soapy water. She was obviously washing dishes. She noticed me as I walked through the door, which was to her left, "Hello, sleepy-head!"

"Good morning."

Applejack and Big Mac were sitting at a small table at the far end of the kitchen, Applejack had to turn around in her chair to look at me. The kitchen was long and narrow, and easily the biggest room in the house. There were three entrances from the main house here, the one I used, one that looked like it led into the hallway with the stairs, and the last one towards the den. There was an open door to a small alcove-like area, and I could see light streaming in from the outside, probably a door to the backyard.

"Nice to see you up and about! I was about to come and and check on you again." Applejack gestured with her hoof, "Come, sit down."

Walking across the kitchen, I looked to my left. The entire wall looked like one big window where you could see apple trees all around. Wherever there wasn't a window, it was being used for something else. Either the kitchen drawers, the counters, or even the stoves. I noticed a particular patch of trees that looked pretty much dead from where I stood. Yet they seemed to be in such a prominent place, I wondered why that was. My eyes drifted from the dead-looking trees to the stoves. There were three different stoves, and one was particularly bigger than the others and much, and also much lower to the ground.

"I see you're curious about that. It's for makin' our famous Zap Apple Jam!"

"Zap Apples?"

"You've never heard of Zap Apples?"

I shook my head.

"You've never tasted Zap Apple Jam?"

I shook my head.

"Never?"

It took me a second to realize what she was doing. I was getting careless, "Not that I can remember at least."

The answer seemed to both annoy and pacify Applejack, "Then come over and sit, yer in fer a treat!" She said the last part even more 'Southernly' than normal.

Walking the last few over to the table, I sat down at the indicated chair - between Applejack and her big brother. At once a plate of bread was buttered by a rainbow colored spread, dropped on a plate and placed in front of me. Picking it up, I sniffed it. It smelt strange. Not unpleasant, but not something overly enticing either, not like Pinkie's cakes.

"Take a bite."

I couldn't describe the sensation. Eating it not only tasted wonderful, but it was as if a jolt rushed from my mouth and tingled every inch of my body at once. I shook my head, "That's... that's amazing! That is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."

"It's even better when it's served on bread made at Sugarcube Corner!" Applejack beamed.

Big Mac nodded approvingly of his sister's statement, closing his eyes and smiling in his way.

Destroying the piece of toast, I was sad to hear that I had eaten the last of the bread. But that was okay, because they had made pancakes! Before I could be polite, Applejack jumped up and quickly heated up one of the stoves and put a pan on. Within minutes she had whipped up three thick large pancakes, stacking them on a plate with the ease and dexterity of a professional chef, flipping them in the air. Then she brought it to the table, and drowned it with honey - I think it was honey.

"There you go!" She said, and sat down.

Eating a bowl of soup with your hooves was one thing, but to eat with my hooves with all that honey? No. It would get all sticky, and stuff. So, I reached over to a small wicker basket in the middle of the table where there were utensils, I tried picking up the knife and fork. It was not easy at first, but then I started to get used to it. But when I tried to cut the delicious looking cakes the knife kept slipping out of my grip.

Big Mac snorted out a laugh, but a look from Applejack silenced him in the next moment. Didn't stop him from laughing again once her attention looked away.

Trying again, I managed to pull the tiny blade back and cut a small incision. I was so impressed with myself that I had to stop and admire my work. I looked up to see Big Mac trying hard not to smile or laugh as was Applejack, and by the way Applebloom was shaking near the kitchen sink, I knew that she was laughing silently to herself.

Usually being made the brunt of a joke made me angry, but for some reason I didn't mind these Ponies laughing at my expense. In fact, it made me feel rather warm and fuzzy on the inside. It was both a disgusting and wonderful feeling at the same time.

"I'm really bad at this." I confessed.

That was the last straw. Big Mac could no longer contain his laughter, and he let us all know about it. I rolled my eyes and made a weak smile as Applejack joined in the laughing fit. Eventually I managed to get the hang of it.

After breakfast we all went to the lounge. I had tried to help with washing dishes, but Applebloom threatened to bite my hooves off if I came near the sink. We spent the rest of the morning playing a strange board-game. It had something to do with Pony lore. Many years ago there was a bad princess trapped on the moon - but then she got freed not that long ago. Long story short, the game was about how six friends defeated her by returning her to normal. It was essentially Snakes'n'Ladders, but with many more obstacles, follies and traps. Despite the simplicity of the game, it was really fun. We managed to play several rounds before we were graced with Granny Smith's appearance.

"Well, well. Looky what we got here. You fillies having a good time?" Granny Smith asked and sat down in a large lounge chair in the corner. It seemed to swallow her up, and yet she looked like she belonged there at the same time. Like a queen on her throne, "How's the head, Forest?"

"Better now." I replied.

She gave a short cackle, "That's what ye get for takin' on the champ!"

"I will be better the next time," I gave her a wink, and we both laughed together despite the disapproving glances from the two younger Mares.

"Forest, did you know that Applejack is one of the Elements of Harmony?" Applebloom said, placing her hoof on her sister's back in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"No. No I didn't... wait! Then that means... this game is about you?" I asked, my eyes widened.

"Well, not just me. The six of us are Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity and me," Applejack explained. She then regaled to me how they had converted a creature called Night Mare Moon to Princess Luna using the power of the Elements. It was a fantastic tale, and I wouldn't have believed it, but I couldn't not believe it. Why? Because, as Applejack said, she represented the Element of Honesty.

Indeed, when I looked at the box cover for the game, I saw six Ponies together and each had a 'aura' around them with the title of the game in a language I didn't recognize! Was it coincidence that Tutela brought this up earlier this morning? For a while Applejack told me about the other Elements, but I couldn't really follow. All I got was that Applejack was honest, and got special super-magic because of it but could only be used when she was wearing some jewelry with her five friends. Yay me! Probably over-simplifying it, but there you go.

As I was thinking, I saw Applebloom stand up from the game and walk over to her grandmother and 'hugged' her, in the way that I suspected Ponies hugged - which was more of nuzzle. It was outrageously cute and I couldn't help but smile at that. Then Applejack walked over kissed her grandmother on the forehead laying her jaw on her head, and finally Big Mac nuzzled her as well (but not as affectionately as Applebloom's nuzzle - after all, there was another Stallion in the house) on the other side of Granny. They were a really close knit family, and so open and trusting. It just felt so wrong to lie to them, and with Applejack revealing herself to be the Element of Honesty, it just made the feeling worse. No matter how many times I told myself that I had no choice, it still didn't help.

As I sat there trying not to feel uncomfortable in the warm glow of the Apple family's display of affection, my thoughts drifted. I began to think of my family, or lack thereof. Thinking about Earth made me think of people, and thinking of people made my train of thought drift to the only human in Equestria. Well, the only other human. Brian Dash, the only person who truly suspected my real identity. Not that I blamed the guy, he was spot on in being suspicious of me right from the start. While all the other Ponies welcomed me and accepted me as one of their own, only Brian remained skeptical. He had correctly guessed that I wasn't from Equestria the very first moment we met. In retrospect, meeting him so soon was probably my undoing. My only consolation was that he would believe my words when I said that I willed no harm to befall him or his daughter. Even if he suspected my origins were not of this world, as long as I keep him from admitting and more importantly proving that I wasn't a Pony, I was fine.

I excused myself and walked out of the den, and outside onto the porch to clear my head. Brian was not stupid. If anything, he was the smartest one here. It was him, and only him that had the ability to weed out the truth from me, so I needed to practice every scenario, every conversation, every phrase, sentence... everything! I needed to be an Equestrian Pony from back to front and back again.

Applejack appeared a few minutes later.

"Sorry about that forest..."

"Sorry for what?" I asked. I honestly didn't know what she meant.

"For that," She gestured towards the den by tilting her head slightly, "We're just thankful that Granny's still with us, and we relish every moment we have with her. We didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

I had to admit, she was pretty sharp. She had guessed half of the reason why I went outside, "Please, Applejack. I only went outside so that Big Mac wouldn't be embarrassed with giving Granny a proper hug." I replied with my best smile.

She laughed at that comment, "Well, thanks, Forest, I appreciate the gesture, and I'll thank you on behalf of Big Mac as well."

A wind chime sounded somewhere down the path, and I turned to look at it, as a breeze blew gently against my face. Along with it came a hint of apple, very slightly, barely noticeable. I closed my eyes and relished this feeling. It was so peaceful here. Somewhere I heard birds singing, and the rustle of leaves in the trees as they danced in the breeze's wake.

"Bored?"

"Would you be offended if I said yes?" I asked.

"See? Now you can relate to what I was talkin' about this mornin'! With that harvester you made, this is what I get to look forward to most days!"

"Well," I turned my head to look at her, "It's not all that bad."

We both laughed. "I suppose I can find a new hobby."

Applebloom walked out the door as Applejack said that and I watched as the Filly stood next to her older sister. She gave me a huge smile, and I couldn't help but smile back - that little one had such an irresistible happy face! She turned and grinned up at Applejack, and said something under her breath, which earned her a not-so-rough nudge from her older sister.

Walking off the porch, and onto the lawn, I sat down on the grass and just did nothing. Perhaps it was my hangover, but I did not want to move.

"Maybe I'll go to the market, try and sell some more apples," Applejack thought out loud.

"Ya better git to town and help Forest get somethin' ta sleep on," Granny's said and then I noticed that she was slowly exiting the house with the help of Big Mac. I watched as she made her way to a rocking chair and plopped herself in it. She looked right at me when she was comfortable, "Unless ya wanna sleep on the floor."

Wisely spoken. Now with Granny awake and able to keep an eye on things the rest of us got ready to go to town.

Big Mac was to pull a cart full of fresh apples while I was given the task of pulling an empty cart for some reason. Not that I was complaining, after all Big Mac was a helluva lot strong than me. As we went on our way, Granny Smith waved to us from the porch rocking chair. To make the trip go by quicker, Applebloom started humming a tune, which was kind of catchy.

As we entered Ponyville, I suddenly had the strangest sensation that everyone was staring at me. Doh! I mean everypony. Everywhere I looked, I saw Ponies looking over to me turning their heads away when I glanced in their direction.

"I'm getting a strange feeling that everyone's staring at me..."

"They are." Applejack replied.

"What? Why? What did I do?"

"Here's good. Big Macintosh!" Applejack shouted.

She made me jump a little, and Big Mac quickly moved past me and came to sudden stop parallel to where Applejack stood, the rear of the cart facing in my direction. Then, she put up the lower part of the cart and it hung down much like a dispenser, and pulling on a small lever the back of the cart lowered itself. As it did, the apples fell into little chutes making it easy for other Ponies to pick up and choose. Then, she slid out a sign that was tucked in the side of the cart and folded it out. It had a bunch of prices. Five bits for a dozen! Special! That seemed to grab the attention of quiet a few Ponies, who immediately started to make purchases.

Applebloom and I stood off to one side unsure what to do.

"Forest, you go with Applebloom and get the things you need. I reckon you're gonna need a bed, mattress, and maybe a desk or table of some sort," Applejack said after the tenth Pony bought some apples.

So that's what the empty cart was for! I wanted to smack my head for not figuring that out sooner.

"This way forest! I know just where to go!" Applebloom led the way

We headed down a narrow alley towards a store marked 'Quills & Sofas'. After parking the cart, and taking off the pull-harness, we walked inside. A Pony rushed over to us almost immediately as we stepped inside, "Are you interested in purchasing a sofa?" He said, probably a little too eagerly.

"No," Applebloom replied, "Just a quill."

The Pony sighed, "That's all anyone wants here! Quills, quills, quills! If it weren't for quills, I'd be out of business!" He grumbled, and trotted off to the desk and pulled out a box of quills.

"Well, we're in such a small town. How many sofas do you expect to sell?" I asked.

The Salespony turned and looked at me and was about to say something when he stopped himself, and nodded, "Well, that is a good point actually. Never thought of it that way."

"You know, out of curiosity, do you have any sofa-beds?" I asked. It would be nice to have a lounging area in the clubhouse. After all, it was too small for a sofa and a bed, but if I got a sofa-bed...

The shopkeeper spun around, "No... wait! Do you mean a sofa that turns into a bed? Well, as a matter of fact, I do!"

We followed him around back to a really horrid looking sofa. It was full of what looked like water stains, and the seams were peeling at almost every stitch. We were relieved to find out though, it was just a dust cover and as he pulled it off, a dark brown colored sofa appeared underneath.

"So, the bed?" I asked.

"Ah, yes. You see this here? You just pull, like so, and..." He pulled a strap that was attached to the back of the headrest near the middle. As he pulled, the backrest of the sofa folded down, and then folded outwards. It was more of a sofa-futon than a sofa-bed, but it did the trick, and was actually a lot bigger than I thought. Not to mention the mattress looked really comfy.

"Coo-ool!" Applebloom sang out.

"I designed it myself! How did you know about it?" The shopkeeper asked.

Me and my big mouth! "Well... I... er... saw something like this... before... somewhere... I think..."

"Forest! You're remembering something!" Applebloom stated.

Shit! Forest, shut your fat mouth! "Yes... I think so... it just seems... that I remember things like that sometimes..."

"Well, that's great!" Applebloom smiled at me, "Maybe sleeping on this new bed will help you remember other things!"

Damn it! That smile! It was completely disarming, "You know what, maybe you're right." I ruffled up her mane a little bit with my hoof, "How much?"

"Twenty bits," He said, "It's my pride and joy. Can't let it go for less than that."

"Twenty bits!" Applebloom exclaimed, "Forest are you sure you want something that expensive? We can find something cheaper..."

"Fine. Nineteen bits. But nothing less!"

"Ten, or nothing." I replied once I realized that he was lower his price.

"Eighteen!"

"Ten!"

"Seventeen!"

"Ten!"

"Sixteen!"

"Ten!"

Applebloom looked at me with her mouth open. Was she shocked, embarrassed, or both?

"Fif-fifteen!"

"Twelve." I said after a moment.

"Sold!" The salespony barked, making me jump.

Taking out my coinpurse, I dumped the desired number of coins onto a nearby table. The salespony took them and pocket them with glee. From the way he was acting, it was almost assuredly that I got ripped off, but Applebloom seemed happy, so I guess it didn't matter. As I said, I had no idea what the value of the currency on this world was, but it was bothering me. I just needed to know, "How much would you have let it go for? Honestly."

The salespony rubbed the back of his head, "Promise not to get angry?"

"Sure."

"Eight."

Applebloom's mouth dropped to the floor, "What?" She asked.

On the other hand, I just laughed, and ruffled her mane again, "It's only four bits, Applebloom. No worries."

"Only four bits?" She repeated exasperated.

I sighed, "It's okay now. We got something cool, right?"

"I guess..."

"Come on, don't let it bother you." I said, looking at her. She was visibly upset, "Bargaining is a part of life! You got to know when to haggle, and when not to."

"I guess..."

I could tell she wasn't convinced, "Then how about we get a cake from Sugarcube Corner to celebrate?"

That seemed to cheer her up, "Okay."

With the help of the shopkeeper, we loaded my new sofa-bed onto the empty cart. It was slightly longer than the cart, so we had to let the back open, and tied it down with some extra rope that the shopkeeper had for those clients that did not buy quills. He had quite a good length of rope. A very good length.

"How much rope you go there?" I asked.

"Not sure. My brother makes ropes - he's a sailor Pony!"

Of course he is! "Well, Applebloom, at least we now know where to get some rope too!"

She of course, wasn't interested.

As we arrived at Sugarcube Corner, I parked the cart with my sofa next to the one that I had pulled for Pinkie the other day. Then, I walked around to the front with Applebloom by my side and we entered the bakery. Immediately I saw Pinkie, the Cakes, Rainbow, and Rarity there. At once I scanned the area for Brian with my eyes. He was not around - at least nowhere I could see. I walked up to them all.

"Hello," I said as I approached the counter, "Anything interesting happen?"

"Oh, not much. Apart from the fact that you've become the talk of the town, Forest." Rarity cooed.

"Huh?" I replied stupidly. Why would I be the talk of the town. I looked at Pinkie. She was looking away from me, and her face was a lot pinker than usual.

"Let's just say that yesterday somepony saw you check out. And let's just say that somepony heard you say... certain things about somepony else..." As Rarity said it, my face exploded. I could feel the blood rushing through my cheeks.

"But... it was four in the morning!" I moaned, "Nopony should have been awake!"

Rainbow Dash grinned at me from next to Rarity for a moment, then began to say something as if she were on stage at a play, with one hoof in front of her and the other one extended into the air - a typical pose for a Shakespearean actor, "You know why everypony likes Pinkie and not you?" She said in a deep (as deep as she could get it) boom voice before bursting out in gales of laughter.

My eyes whipped over to Pinkie, who was still looking away from me.

I was just protecting your friend! I said to myself, but my mouth refused to move!

"It's because she's kind, friendly, open, gentle, beautiful, majestic..." Rainbow continued.

Did I say majestic?

"No, no, Rainbow. He said she was special, beautiful, wonderful, fun..." Rarity interrupted.

Applebloom looked at me, "Are you okay, Forest? Your face is all red."

They all looked at me, and I looked away.

Mrs. Cake giggled, then stated; "He's blushing!"

The other girls joined in the chorus of giggling. Pinkie turned to look at me, but I just couldn't meet her eyes. Why was I feeling this way?

Before further being embarrassed, I turned to go.

"Wait, wait, Forest. Don't go, we're just teasing. We know that you were just protecting Pinkie as a friend." Rarity said looking away from me. I think she was giving her friends a wink but I couldn't tell, "But I have to admit that it was something I didn't expect to see."

I stopped in my tracks, "You were at the hotel yesterday morning?"

"Why yes, I was. I was on my way to drop off some new dresses for a client who was staying at the hotel, and was scheduled to leave on the five twenty express to Canterlot. I saw the whole thing. Imagine my surprise when I saw you at the reception with that rude Crystal and imagine my further surprise when you gave that wonderful speech!" Rarity was talking nonchalantly, relishing the attention she got from everyone, "At first I wanted to chase after you, but I was on my way to see my client, and well, I couldn't. After I was done, I came down and saw someone else! It was Brian."

My face blanched, "B-Br-Brian?" I stuttered, shocked.

But I wasn't the only one surprised by this. Apparently this was news to Rainbow too. "What was he doing there?"

"Well, it's a fact that Brian is the only Pony - relatively speaking, of course - in Ponyville able to talk to Crystal on friendly terms. Why, you could even say that Brian's Crystal's only friend here in Ponyville."

"I see," My brain was rushing now. So many questions. What was he doing there? Why was he there? What was his purpose? It couldn't have been coincidence. He must have been there to spy on me! By why so early in the morning? "About what time?"

"Oh, I'd say around five, maybe a bit later." Rarity replied, but she was being talked to by a few other Ponies.

As the girls were talking amongst each other, I pieced together what I could from the clues. The only reason I could come to was the one thing that made my disguise here on Equestria flawed. The one thing that I could not contest no matter what. My laptop! Indeed, it made sense. Placing myself in Brian's shoes, I thought about it. If Brian needed to make me fully admit that I was a human, then he'd have to prove it to everypony. And the way to do that was to gather evidence from my world. Surely, I would have something, anything. After all I did mention that I had to go and work at Sweet Apple Acres, and if he managed to get into my room and open the safe while I wasn't there...

"Forest? You okay?" Applebloom asked.

"Yeah, just..." I couldn't answer her, my mind was too preoccupied with other thoughts. My bag was safe for now, or was it? Back at Sweet Apple Acres. Brian didn't know that I stayed there, right? And even if he did... my bag! My bag was in the guest room! If somehow Brian got into the guest room, "It would be game over." I said aloud.

"What would be game over?" Applebloom asked, clearly confused.

"Applebloom, can you wait here for a moment? I'll be right back... I forgot something back at the house." I turned before she could protest and was sprinting - galloping as hard as I could back towards the farm. I ran as hard and as fast as I could, Ponies leapt out of my way as I charged down the road, leaping the fence, and charged up the path to the porch.

Granny was napping in her rocking chair, so tiptoed - tiphoofed? - around her and into the house, then up the stairs. My bag was there, and I reached inside.

Relief. I let out a long, deep sigh. The laptop was still there. I opened it.

"You run pretty fast." Tutela said as soon as it opened.

"Did anyone find this?" I asked.

"No. You're lucky."

"This is too dangerous. We need to find another way to communicate."

"No, this is it. There is no other way without giving away who or what you are. You have to understand that magic can be very unpredictable."

"And that's the problem with magic." I muttered.

"Indeed. If you break that laptop, then you'll be stuck there, as I can't pull you back from that world without the magic stored inside that device."

"Couldn't you have picked something smaller and easier to hide?"

"No."

"Well. That sucks."

"Go, Applebloom and the others will be wondering where you went. So, Pinkie, huh?"

I blushed, and slammed the laptop down. Placing it back into the bag, I hid it in the space behind the bed near the wall. Satisfied with my new hiding spot, I slipped out of the Apple's home, past Granny snoozing on her chair, and ran back towards Sugarcube Corner. By the time I arrived Applebloom was happily finishing a slice of cake talking with the other Ponies, and I noticed that Applejack had joined her friends. As I entered, everyone looked over to me.

"Where was the fire, Forest?" Applejack asked, "I saw you run all the way back home! Hooey, you run almost as fast as Rainbow Dash can fly, I never seen a Pony run that quick."

"What? Oh! I remembered that I had no more coins, so I had to run home and grab some." I replied in between gasps of air.

"You could have just paid us next time." Mr. Cake said, shaking his head.

"I don't like to leave debts."

"Well, at least we got to see you run, Forest," Mr. Cake replied, "Are you part of a team, or anything?"

I shrugged, "No clue."

"I've got a great idea! Forest, why don't you try out for the RACE?" Applejack asked.

"The race? What's that?"

"You don't know what the race is? The 'Relay Across Equestria race? R-A-C-E," Rainbow Dash zipped over to me, "It's only the toughest, meanest, hardest, race in all of Equestria?"

"Doesn't ring a bell. Amnesia, remember?"

"Dear, be a doll and let me explain," Rarity said, pushing a shocked Rainbow Dash aside, "The RACE is a relay race from all parts of Equestria. There are teams of three Ponies, where each Pony participates in a particular leg of a race. The race will start and finish at Canterlot."

I nodded. Canterlot, Camelot... yeah, I see.

"The first leg is a flying race where the Pegasi fly to a certain city to collect a specially made baton, and bring it back to Canterlot. Then the second leg of the race, is done with Unicorns where they have to magically solve puzzles or problems with their magic. The third and final stage of the race is done by Earth Ponies, such as yourself. It includes running and swimming," Rarity acted the running by running on the spot, and swimming by doing the front crawl with her forehooves.

"I see. So who won it last year?" I asked.

"Well, nopony did. This is the first year they're having it." Rarity replied, "So we were planning on holding tryouts for all the Earth Ponies. Since the entrance to the race is a hundred bits per Pony - a total of three hundred bits, as a town Ponyville can only afford one team."

Fat chance. There's no way I'm doing that. "When are the tryouts?" I asked, feigning interest.

"We've already had the ones for the Pegasus and the Unicorns. The one for the Earth Pony is in two days," Rarity replied.

"Two days?"

"I know it's short notice... well, there was no way we'd have known of your speed if you hadn't raced out of here the way you did."

"Ah. Good point. Then when's the big RACE?" I asked.

"At the end of the month," Rainbow replied before anyone else could answer. She seemed suddenly really unhappy.

"So, who is the Unicorn... uh... representative?" I asked.

"Twilight is," Rarity replied, "And the Pegasus is..."

"Let me guess, Rainbow Dash?"

At this Rainbow made a crying noise and lay flat on the floor of Sugarcube corner with her hooves on her head, "No," She replied weakly, "It's Derpy."

"Derpy?" I tilted my head, "Derpy? There's a Pony here in Ponyville named Derpy?"

Everyone seemed to ignore my surprise.

"Dashie, I'm afraid, will not be able to race for us as she will be on duty that day, seeing as she's one of the Wonderbolts now," Rarity chimed, proud of her friend.

That seemed to cheer Rainbow up and she stood back up on her feet as fast as the lighting bolt on her Cutie Mark represented.

"Wonderbolts?" I asked.

Rainbow made a noise that was only possible for her. It was a half gasp, half groan, with a disapproving moan thrown in all at the same time, "The RACE is one thing, but how can you not know who the Wonderbolts are!"

Suffice to say, after ten minutes I knew all about them. Every detail. The names of the members, fastest timings, racing times and schedules. Literally everything. I also found out that Rainbow Dash was part of this amazing aerial acrobatic group! I had to admit, Rainbow was one of a kind.

"Oh yeah! Now that you mention it," And given me all the details I would ever need, "I do recall something about them. I would love to see you guys racing."

"Well, we're have a pre-RACE race, so you'll be able to see." Rainbow said, slapping my back.

"So, Applejack was telling us that you've moved into the old Cute Mark Crusader Clubhouse," Rarity cooed.

"We built it together!" Applebloom piped in.

You did most of the work! I wanted to say out loud, but I didn't. "Yeah, that's why we're here. We're buying furniture."

"Yeah! We just bought a sofa-bed!" Applebloom boasted.

"Sofa-bed?" Rarity asked, "What's that?"

Rainbow gave Applebloom a queer look, then that look went over to me.

Shit! Human alert! Human alert! My mind screamed. "Well, I've heard about them before. Beds that are built into sofas to help save space. Especially in the bigger cities where people don't have large houses."

"That makes sense." Applejack stated, "And considering how small the Clubhouse is, that's goin' to be mighty useful. Good job, Forest."

Rainbow Dash flew over to me, "But how did you know what to ask for? I mean, sofa-bed is a pretty specific term, don't you think?"

"It sounded natural. Bed-sofa doesn't roll as well."

Dashie floated around my head, and I did my best to ignore her piercing gaze. Did I now have to worry about Rainbow Dash too? After all the effort I went through with her father? I needed to change the subject.

"Out of curiosity, what happens when you win the RACE?" I asked.

Rainbow leapt on that question, almost shoving me to the ground, "An audience with all three Princesses, who will grant you one wish each."

"Three wishes?" I asked. Great, now all I need is a magic lamp! "Princess Celestia..."

"Princess Luna and Princess Cadence!" Rainbow replied rolling her eyes when I stalled on Celestia's name, "Princess Cadence is Twilight's sister-in-law."

"Wait, what? Doesn't that make Twilight a princess too?" I asked.

They all looked at me.

"He does have a point," Applejack said after a moment, "But these princesses are Alicorns."

Another type of Pony? "What's an Alicorn?"

"Well, they're Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth Pony all rolled into one," Applejack explained. She was really patient with me, and I appreciated that.

"Also, one months supply of free cake from us here!" Mr. and Mrs. Cake chimed in.

"Sign me up right now!" I exclaimed - as a joke!

"Great, I knew that you'd accept!" Rarity replied.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

By the time I closed my mouth on my second word, a quill and the paper disappeared into a glitzy saddle-bag on Rarity's back. I had just officially been signed up for tryouts.

"See you at tryouts in two days, Forest."

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I screamed in my head, "Hooray!" I said aloud, putting as much effort into it as I could - which wasn't very much.

"Well, I got to get back home. Maybe Dad's back," Rainbow suddenly replied hovering past me.

"Wait? Brian's missing?" I asked.

"He's not missing. He said he had errands to run, and that he would be back later," Rainbow replied. Despite her attitude, it wasn't difficult to see that she was worried.

"I'll come with you, Rainbow," Applejack answered, "Let's go Applebloom."

"Oh, I've got to make some last minute touches on the RACEing uniforms!" Rarity sang and followed the others out.

As they all left together, I stood there and watched them go with my mouth half open trying to say something to Rarity. Anything to get out of going to tryouts! Why? Why did I open my mouth? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"... but sis', you said I had to help Forest find furniture..." Applebloom's voice faded out as her sister pulled her along.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Cake suddenly put in. I turned around, "The girls all left! Now what will you do, Forest?"

I raised and eyebrow.

Mrs. Cake nudged her husband.

Mr. Cake seemed to wake up suddenly, "Hm? Oh right! Pinkie," Pinkie stiffened at the mention of her name, "Can you help Forest?"

Oh please! I've seen better acting in cheesy soap-operas! I said in my head. I looked at Pinkie who was still acting quiet and weird, not the lively, bubbly Pinkie from before.

"Okay." She squeaked.

Walking over to her, with genuine concern, I looked her in the eye.

She turned away.

"Are you okay, Pinkie? You've been really quiet today."

"Yes," She squeaked again.

"Would you mind helping me? I would go alone, but... I don't know my way around. And... well, it's no fun alone," The way I said it made me feel really dumb.

"Okay," Pinkie squeaked again still not looking away from me.

I walked into her field of vision, but she just looked away.

Shrugging to myself, I lead the way to the rear exit. Pinkie followed slowly with her head lowered and her eyes looking down at the ground. As I walked out, I got in front of the cart and slipped the pull-belt over me from my cart. Pinkie was standing silently in front of me to the left. It was getting really awkward.

"Pinkie, look. What I said... to Crystal," I thought about what I wanted to say, "I meant it. I think you're a one-of-a-kind Pony. But... I said it because I thought it was unfair of her to not like you for who you are. If you thought I meant... I mean... I..." What was I trying to say? Take a deep breath, relax, "What I'm trying to say is, you're a special Pony. Just not my special somepony."

Pinkie looked up at me, "I'm not?" She asked.

"Well, no. We've only known each other for a couple days. Don't you think that's too quick?"

She thought about it. I could tell by her expression. "You're right! It is!" She perked up instantly, "Gosh, Forest. I'm sorry, but Rarity was saying that..."

"Shall we go?" I interrupted her. Didn't want to feel that weight of embarrassment from before. Plus the Cakes were standing at the door and were listening to our every word. I didn't want to put up with any more humiliation.

Together we walked side by side. Pinkie reverted back to her normal self already and was talking to me at a hundreds words per second. I just couldn't understand her fully. I caught some words and managed to get a gist of what she was talking about, but it all seemed to be gibberish. She didn't seem to mind, and was in her own bubble. Every once in a while she'd pause and I'd say something like, "Oh, really?" or "Is that so?" and that seemed to be acceptable. All in all, Pinkie was indeed one-of-a-kind.

Pinkie led us straight to a small furniture store. Here I saw dressers, cupboards, easels and all sorts of things laying outside on the ground. The stores name was 'Barns'n'Stables'. Unhitching myself from the cart, Pinkie led the way inside.

There honestly was not much selection, but the craftsmanship was simply amazing. Each piece was impressive and obviously hand-made by someone who enjoyed doing it. Some of the pieces were incredibly complex with carvings, while others were laminated with and painted, and a few were plain but each one had character and personality. These weren't just furniture items, they were pieces. In a strange way I realized that each piece of furniture chose their owners, and not the other way around.

The Stallion who owned the shop stood grinning at the other end of the store as Pinkie and I looked around. It was obvious that he had managed to get a whiff of that false rumor that was going around before. But Pinkie didn't seem to notice, so I shrugged it off as well.

"What about this one, Forest?" Pinkie said, pointing at a rather girly looking bed-side table. It was covered in red hearts, with a black background.

At first I made a face, then I gave her a half-smile, "Well, Pinkie, I was thinking something not so..."

"But it's cute!" Pinkie argued, "Lookie, you it's got a place where you can put late-night snacks!" She pulled open a small drawer.

"But... it's got hearts on it..." I said trying to hint to her.

"And that's why it's cute!"

"Can I get something that's not so... cute?" I asked.

"Okeedokee!" She moved on.

I let out a sign of relief.

We looked around a for a few minutes, but everything else was too big. Regretfully, and I do mean regretfully, I had to buy the heart-covered tiny bed-side table much to Pinkie's joy. But I did manage to salvage some of my masculinity by buying a plain looking dresser. The total of everything? Five bits!

As I was loading, I noticed Pinkie and what I could only assume was the shopkeeper's special somepony were talking to one another. Pinkie was back to her usual lively self. She caught me looking at her and blushed a little and waved. Because I was hold the dresser in place, I gave her a smile and a nod before returning my attention to the task at hand.

"So. You and Pinkie, eh?"

That caught me off guard, and I nearly dropped the dresser on myself, "What?"

"It's the talk of the town. Apparently you stuck up for Pinkie at the hotel, telling that receptionist off. Everybody loves Pinkie, but she can sometimes get on your nerves."

"I guess," I knew exactly what he meant.

"But, that Cyan deserved it I bet! Well, I'm not one for gossip. It was very good on you for sticking up for Pinkie like that, she never means any harm to nopony."

"Thanks... er..."

"Brawny Charger," He held out a hoof, "Pleasure to meet you. Call me Braw."

I grunted with the sudden increase of weight, when Brawny removed his hoof from the dresser. I reached over leaning the dresser against my thighs and shook his hoof, "Thanks, Bro. Don't recall my name, but everypony's calling me Forest."

"I know. Shame that you lost your memories. Must be frustrating." He put his hoof back on the dresser relieving the weight. I gasped in relief, but Brawny didn't notice. up onto the cart. It shifted under the weight a little.

"Not really. I've managed alright so far."

Placing the drawer next to the sofa-bed, we untied the sofa-bed and tied it down using the same length of rope. Then I carefully placed the small rose-covered bed-side table next to the sofa-bed. After tying it all down, which is hard for someone with no thumbs, I got behind the harness again.

Pinkie walked up next to me and smiled, "Where to next?"

I thought about it, "Pillows and stuff."

"Oh, Applejack said that she'll lend those to you," Pinkie replied waving her hoof in front of her.

"Did she now? Well, then let's head back to my place."

"Okeedokee," Pinkie said, and together we headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Have fun!" I heard Bro call out.

Pinkie turned around, "We will!"

Despite her innocence and the reality that she did not understand what Bro was suggesting, I could not help but find myself actually disappointed. What the hell was wrong with me? I shoved the thought aside.

Together we headed towards the road that led to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Pinkie!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"Can you buy that frame for me?" I asked pointing to a frame outside a store. It was uhideous, but it was the perfect size.

"Sure," Pinkie rushed over before I could hand her my money-purse. She came bouncing back, "The shopkeeper says that it's going to be two bits, but she says she'll give it to you for one if you help her move some things in her storeroom."

Staring at me, Pinkie waited patiently for my answer. I narrowed my eyes, "You want me to help her, right?"

She nodded.

"Fine," I undid my harness, "Hi, what do you need help with?"

Leading me into the backroom, I saw a huge stack of boxes, at least two dozen of them, and all I needed to do was move them to the basement and stack them against the far wall with all the other boxes. Hefting two on my back, I started to job. The boxes weren't that heavy, but there were so many of them. After my eighth load, I could not help but stop for a break. As I did, I saw Pinkie blushing and shaking her head. So I stopped at the top of the stairs and listened.

"... so, you are going to help him set up his new home?" The shopkeepers asked.

"Yeah!" Pinkie replied, "That's all!"

"Nothing else?"

"No!" Pinkie blushed again.

"Really?"

"Really!"

I rolled my eyes. Gossip about my relationship with Pinkie most probably. And proceeded to my ninth load. As I was loading them onto my back, I saw Twilight join the other two. There was a very brief conversation before she continued on her way, Pinkie staring after her.

Not wanting to disturb whatever it was, and also needing to complete the task at hand, I placed the ninth load down and started up for the tenth. That was when I saw Pinkie with two boxes on her back standing at the top of the stairs. She came down and I helped her unload them. She looked at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Brian didn't go home last night, and he hasn't been home yet," Pinkie said.

Two thoughts came to my mind at that moment. The first one was relief! Maybe Brian went away. If he did, my cover was safe! But the second thought was how terrible it was for Rainbow. I mean, he is her father. Not that I understood what it meant having one, but I knew that losing something special was painful. Losing somepony special must be devastating.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Twilight is rounding up the girls and we're going to form a search party. Everyone's going to be looking for him."

"Well, do you have any ideas?" I asked.

"No. But Twilight said that he was last seen at the hotel you were staying at," Pinkie looked at me eyes, "Twilight asked me to ask Crystal..."

I understood, "I'll ask her for you. She already hates me, and unlike you, I don't mind being hated."

"Really?" Pinkie asked, "You'll ask her for me?"

Did she just ignore the entire second half of that sentence?

"Yes, Pinkie."

Apologizing for being unable to finish the job, and being forgiven, Pinkie and I headed back towards Sugarcube Corner as fast as I could. Upon arriving at the bakery, I left my cart there, and told Pinkie to wait with the Cakes, and explain the situation while I conversed with Cyan Crystal.

Standing outside, I took a long deep breath, closed my eyes, allowed myself to calm down.

As I walked inside, I heard her voice, "What are you doing here? You're not welcome..."

"Stop. Please. I came to ask you for help..."

"What makes you think..."

"Brian's missing. Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated," I said cutting her off, "This isn't about you and me. This is about Mr. Dash. I know you don't like me, and I know that he doesn't either, but..."

Cyan Crystal put down whatever she hand in her hooves, "Missing?"

"He apparently hasn't come home yet."

For the next ten minutes, Crystal regaled the story from yesterday. How Brian got the key for my room, went there, found nothing, and then left. That was the last she saw of him.

The thing was, I wasn't shocked. Although I had predicted it, my mind was on one other thing - if Brian was not found, and giving the tense relationship I have with him, adding the fact that he was in the room I checked out of, it could look very bad for me if there was some sort of official investigation. I needed to nip this in the bud before it had time to bloom into something ugly.

"Then nothing?"

"Brian sometimes likes to go on this long walks. He walks all around Ponyville, usually taking a long cut towards his home," Crystal replied. She looked up at me, "Look, I don't care for you or for that Pink Filly, but find Brian. If you do... I'll..."

"No need, ma'am. If I can find him, I will," I replied cutting her off. I didn't want whatever she had to offer.

Leaving the hotel, I rushed over to Sugarcube Corner and relayed what I found out to Pinkie and the Cakes. That seemed to ring a bell with Pinkie.

"When Brian was new, he sometimes liked going to the Everfree Forest. He said that it reminded him of his home, whatever that means."

"That place? Isn't it dangerous?" I asked shuddering. The memory of the Timberwolf chasing me was still very fresh.

Pinkie's silence spoke volumes.

"Pinkie, find the others and tell them that you think Brian's in the Everfree Forest. I'll go ahead and start searching, okay? Mr. Cake, can you please go to the hospital and tell them to send a doctor the Everfree forest, just in case?"

Pinkie gave me a salute, and Mr. Cake ran out of the store with his apron still on. I nodded farewell to Mrs. Cake, and sped out of Sugarcube Corner and headed towards the Everfree Forest.

It didn't take me long to reach it. Pausing outside the entrance I could not help but stop.

"Okay, Forest. Just suck it up. You need to go in there. You might not like Brian, but he needs your help. You need to find him," I said trying to reason with my fear, "So, go in there and find him!"

I walked into the Everfree Forest.

It might have been my imagination, but as I did, it felt that the air got cooler, and the ground felt moist. Walking along the path, I suddenly jumped when my hoof snapped a twig. I instantly dove into the nearest bush. I waited, shuddering to myself. Was it a Timberwolf? Something else? Something bigger?

Instead I saw a light-blue Pony with a lighter-blue mane and tail. She seemed to be sneaking about the way she kept stopping and looked over she shoulder. That was pretty strange, so I watched her continue. She suddenly turned and walked towards me. My breath caught in my throat, did she spot me? Then she took a left just before she walked into the bushes where I hid. I heaved a sigh of relief. After giving her a head-start, I slowly came out of hiding and followed her from a safe distance. She walked along the edge of the thick foliage for a while. It was not long before the foliage-boundary ended. Here she paused and looked around. I ducked into the trees again, but it looked like she hadn't seen me. Seemingly satisfied that she was not tailed, she walked through some trees and straight into the thick forest. Waiting for a few minutes to ensure that she was not sitting there waiting to see if somepony else was following, I trotted up to place where she had disappeared into the thicket. I peered through the wall of greenery expecting to see nothing but more forest but instead I instantly saw what looked to be a trailer.

Well, that was slightly unexpected. I muttered to myself. Creeping towards the house, I walked over to one of the glass windows.

"... now the Great and Powerful Trixie will perform her magics!" She said aloud.

"Trixie, please. My little girl..." Came a second voice. I knew it was Brian's straight away.

"Silence! The Great and Powerful Trixie knows that the Rainbow Loud-mouth is not your daughter!" The blue Pony cut him off, "She is a Pony, and you are not!"

"I adopted her!" Brian exclaimed, he was frustrated, "Look, just let me go and tell them I'm okay, then I can come back."

They continued to talk with one another. But who was this Great and Powerful Trixie? And why did she have a trailer in the middle of the Everfree Forest? Surely there were better places to set up? There was something strange about this trailer and setup as well. It looked like a stage, but folded up on one side. Walking around to the side of the trailer, I looked for a door. None. That would mean that the door would actually be on the stage itself.

Slowly, carefully, I walked up the stairs. Not a sound. Then, as I placed my hoof on the top most step, I heard a loud groan as the wood shifted under my weight. I ducked down behind stairs. Nothing. I climbed back up again, avoiding the loose wooden floorboard, and made my way down a narrow corridor that was formed from the stage folded up, from one side, and the side of the house on the other. As I reached the door, I peered through the keyhole.

Brian was stuck in a chair tied down with rope straight ahead from where I was peeking. He was not gagged, and did not seem to be in any discomfort or pain.

Now here was my dilemma. What should I do? Should rush in there, and help him? What if that Pony kills me? Tutela said that if I died in this world, then that was it. I was not immune to death.

I peered again.

"... you will bring Twilight here!" The blue Pony was pacing in front of Brian.

Brian shook his head, "There's no need! She doesn't want to hurt you! I doubt she even remembers... Trixie! No!"

I gritted my teeth, ready to pounce. Ready to attack the blue Pony as she reared herself on her hind legs. As she did, I saw a long black rope unroll from her right hoof.

Pulling my head away from the keyhole, I rubbed my eye. Was my mind playing tricks on me? No, no. Better make sure that I saw what I saw. So, I peered through the keyhole again.

"A whip?" I whispered to myself, "A whip?"

She let it crack, but the way she used it and how careless she was seemed... childish. She was more likely to hurt herself than Brian. Relaxing a little, I continued to watch.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you obey!" She said and let the whip crack. It struck her rear, and she let out a yelp.

Brian burst out laughing, and I could not help but grin. But Brian was laughing really, really hard.

Just then I heard something that did not sound anything like laughter. It sounded more like coughing. Bad coughing. A deep, throat grating cough. It was coming from Brian. He was coughing really hard. He leaned forwards, his head bent at the neck. It looked like he was choking.

The blue Pony backed off away from Brian. From my angle I saw red liquid coming from his mouth and onto his chest. Blood. The blue Pony screamed.

I tried the door. Locked! I turned around, and using my hind legs from my apple-buckin', I kicked the door hard. Nothing. I did it again. Still nothing. I took two steps forwards, turning and ran as hard as I could into the door. That did the job. The door collapsed with me. The blue Pony screamed again when she saw me, but I rushed past her and right to Brian.

"Brian!" I shouted.

No response. Not good.

"Brian!" I shouted again, trying to undo the binds on his hands. I noticed that we were in the kitchen, so I turned and saw a knife lying on the counter. I took it, and cut the ropes that bound Brian to the chair. Then, I pulled him from the chair. He put his entire weight again me, but still no response.

Laying him down gently, I turned to the blue Pony, "Go to the entrance of the Everfree Forest! There should be a doctor there. Tell him how to get here! Go, now!"

Realizing the urgency of the situation, she turned and fled.

Placing my ear against Brian's chest, his heart was not beating. Could Ponies do CPR? Placing my hooves on my chest, I started pushing down in a rhythm trying to help his body along. I counted the pumps. Five, then check to see if he was breathing. No? Again! Five more time. Check. Is he breathing? No? Again! Do it! Again!

Just as I began to give up hope, Brian coughed, and I turned his head. Blood oozed from his mouth onto the floor. The relief washed over me in waves, and I could feel my heart slow down.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He did not respond. I was not sure if he was conscious or not, but I was glad that he was alright. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to help him. No matter what, death was not an option. It was not an option for me, it was not an option for anyone else. There was a limit to how selfish I could be. Stealing a life, when life was stolen from me, is not something I was prepared to do. Not now, not ever.

"Don't scare me like that," I said leaning against the kitchen cupboards.

We sat there in silence for a long while. I kept an ear out for his breathing. They were no longer hard or labored as they were earlier.

"Over here!" I heard a voice outside

Rainbow was at the door faster than any of the others.

"Dad!" She screamed.

I jumped in her way and by the Powers of Grayskull! She was strong! "No, Rainbow! You're dad is in a very delicate condition right now. You must not move him without letting a doctor see him first!"

"What happened?" She screamed.

"I don't know. I'll tell you about what happened later, but for now, we have to get him stable," I looked into her eyes, "The doctor..."

"He's coming. He's coming," Rainbow fought back her tears, "Dad..." She said softly.

"Don't be rough with him, okay? Hold his hand gently. Your touch will help," I let her go.

She hovered next to me for a second, then moved over to her father, and gently gripped his hand. I saw Brian's fingers tighten around his daughter's hoof and nodded. If I lost the bet over this, there would be no regrets. I mean, it would suck that I had lost.

Leaving the Dashes alone for the moment, I ran outside. Why was that doctor taking so long?

"Where are you, Rainbow?" Came a familiar voice.

"Over here, Applejack!" I called.

"Forest? What in tarnation are you doin' here?" She asked as she came into view. Two doctors were right on her heels.

"No time to explain, this way, quick," I turned and led them into the trailer.

"How long has he been like this?" One of the medic-Ponies asked.

"I'm not sure. I'd say about ten minutes," I replied. I looked at Rainbow, and considered whether or not she ought to be there for the next series of questions. The thought of convincing Rainbow to leave would have just made matters worse.

"What was he doing before?" He asked, wiping the blood from his mouth, and checking Brian's neck.

"Coughing. He was coughing very hard," I replied, "He was tied down to that chair, and started a coughing fit."

"Tied?" The medic asked, "Did you tie him there?"

"No, but is that relevant?"

"Did he go into cardiac arrest?" The medic was now checking Brian's head and shining a flashlight, which he held in his mouth, into Brian's eyes.

I looked at Rainbow, who looked right at me. I could see it in her eyes. Fear. Raw, unrefined fear. I could feel her willing me to say no. To lie.

"Yes."

"And did you perform CPR?" The medic asked.

You guys know of CPR? I asked in my head, "Yes. Yes, I performed it. He started breathing, and I turned him."

"Well done, my boy. You might have just saved this Pony's - er, man's life," He nodded to the other medic and he started to unpack a stretcher.

"Will he be okay?" I asked.

The doc nodded, "Nothing is broken, and his pupils are responding properly. He'll be back to his usual self with some rest. We'll take him to the hospital for observation."

The medic placed the stretcher next to Brian's body and pushed him onto it. Then, using specially made harnesses, they carried him out. All the while, he did not leg go of his daughter's hand.

Outside the house, two Pegasi in white - also from the hospital I guess, took over from the doc and the other medic, and they used their wings to fly in the air, and towards the hospital. Rainbow flew with them, never once leaving her father's side.

Standing on the ground, I watched them go for a moment.

"Well done. You saved his life. Perhaps you're also a doctor, Forest?" The doctor asked.

"No, sir," I replied. I had done some First Aid training - it was mandatory in a company I worked for back in my world. I even had a CPR certification!

The doc placed a hoof on my shoulder and patted it, "Well, anyway, good job," Then he went off.

I followed him and once I got down from the trailer I looked in front of me. Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie and Applebloom were standing there.

"Where's the blue Pony?" I asked.

"She ran off once she told us where to go. The 'Great and Powerful Trixie' is long gone now," Twilight replied, "But, how did you find this place?"

"Pinkie explained about Brian's walking habits, and mentioned that he sometimes came in here. I entered here, and then I spotted that blue Pony and followed her to the edge of the clearing. I had thought I'd lost her, so I peeked through the trees and saw this," I gestured to the trailer.

"She said that you were punchin' him," Applejack looked at me.

"Punching?"

"Punchin' his chest."

"CPR," I looked at Twilight, "Surely you know what that is."

"Of course. It means cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A technique used to restart someone's heart."

"So, not punching, Applejack. Wait, are... are you guys accusing me of assaulting Brian?"

"Well, we weren't sure, Brian. Shucks, now I feel rather silly. It's just... well, Brian and you haven't been on good terms and we thought that you might have..."

I furrowed my brow, "What? Were you really thinking that I'd..."

"No, Forest, we knew you were helping," Pinkie replied.

All at once my anger vanished, and I smiled, "Thank you, Pinkie."

"I don't want to ruin this gatherin', but the sun is settin', and we're in the Everfree Forest. We need to go," Applebloom interrupted.

She did not need to tell us twice. We high-tailed it out of there.

Outside the entrance, I felt relieved and safe.

"So, what are you goin' to do now?" Applejack asked me.

"I've got to go back to Sugarcube Corner and get my cart."

"No need. I asked Big Mac to go grab it for you. He should be bringin' it to Sweet Apple Acres any moment."

"Thank you, Applejack. I appreciate it."

"I want to check up on Brian and Rainbow," Twilight said.

Applebloom looked at Twilight, "I'll come with you."

"Forest, you comin'?" Applejack asked.

"I doubt that Brian would want to see me there. I think it would be best if I stayed away."

To be honest, I was still shaken up by the events. Trained in CPR I may have been, but actually practicing it was something else. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I didn't feel very much like facing anyone.

"I'll let you know if anythin' has changed," Applejack then followed her sister and Twilight back towards Ponyville.

I started to walk when I bumped into Pinkie. Pinkie grinned at me, "Ready to go?"

"Go?"

"You said that I you needed help with your new home," Pinkie looked up at me, "Moving the furniture and everything."

This Pony was ridiculous, "Sure, Pinkie. Let's go."

The cart with my stuff on it was outside the Clubhouse, and we wasted no time in getting everything inside. First was the sofa-bed. Taking it, we placed it inside. For the next ten minutes, Pinkie argued that it needed to go closer to the door, while I wanted it as far away as possible to possible. We came to a compromise and had it leaning on the far wall in the middle.

The dresser went opposite the sofa-bed, and finally the tiny heart-covered side-table went on the near side of the sofa-bed, closest to the door.

"Perfect," I stated.

"Oh! I have something else for you!" Pinkie said, and went outside. She came back moments later with a box, "Your first house-warming present."

"Aw, thank you, Pinkie," I opened it. It was that butt-ugly frame that I had wanted, "This is perfect!"

"Really? Because it looks kinda ugly," Pinkie replied. It was refreshing talking to someone completely honest and blunt.

"Now we need bed sheets and stuff," I stated.

Together we walked towards the house. By the time we reached, Applejack had returned from the hospital with Applebloom and they were preparing dinner. The table in the dining room was set, and we all sat down together, even Pinkie! Of course, the discussion automatically was all about Trixie and Brian. Brian was talking, and was saying that he was not going to press charges against Trixie, but Rainbow was furious with her father.

"I don't blame her," I replied, "I would be to. I was there, Trixie might not have meant to harm Brian, but in the end, she was a cause."

"He coughed blood, Forest," Applejack reminded me.

"So, Forest, have ye moved yer things into the Clubhouse?" Granny Smith asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, grinning.

"Well, then you'll be needin' blankets and sheets."

After dinner, Applejack and Granny selected sheets that I could use. I also got a towel, and a facecloth. As the mares were busy, I went upstairs and found my back hidden in the same spot. Taking it out, I took it downstairs with me. Pinkie was there playing a card game with Applebloom. Big Mac was in the corner looking at a newspaper.

"Uh, Big Mac?" I asked.

"Eeyup?"

"Thanks for bringing my cart from Sugarcube Corner."

"Eeyup," He replied.

And that was it. Our conversation was over. We stayed for a while, talking about the events of the day and soon it was getting pretty late, so I thanked the Apples again and was seen to the door. They watched me as I headed back towards the Clubhouse with Pinkie following me.

"Forest?" Pinkie asked as I opened the door to the Clubhouse.

"What is it, Pinkie?"

"Can... can I spend the night?"

"..."

"Well, it's just... it's just... I'm tired," She said looking down, "And... I want to see what it's like sleeping on the sofa-bed."

"..."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what..." Pinkie began, she was starting to get nervous again.

"Sure, Pinkie. I was just teasing you," I lied. In all honesty, I was too damned shock to think or speak.

The first thing I did was light a small candle, and put it on the dresser as I unpacked the bag of goodies the Apples gave to me. Next I walked over to the sofa and pulled it out - it was a snug fit against the dresser, but there was just enough room to walk past without having to stand on the bed. We put the sheets on it and then the blankets.

We stood at the end and admired our handiwork. It was clear that neither of us were good at making beds, but it didn't matter. Taking the candle, I put it down on top of the side-table. Then we both slipped under the sheets. She had her own, Pink sheets, and I had mine in black. I leaned over the heart-shaped table, and blew the candle off.

"Good night, Forest."

"Good night, Pinkie."

"Forest?"

"Yes, Pinkie?"

"What's supposed to happen now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Rarity said that if I spent the night that that you'd show me something special."

I was so, so, so, so glad that it was dark so that Pinkie would see my face turn bright red.

"Forest?" Her voice asked again.

I started making snoring sounds.

"Good night, Forest."

And, strangely, I fell asleep for real not long after that.

Day 8: From Ponyville to Canterlot

My mouth felt dry. Probably because of those pills I had taken earlier. Waking up from the most uncomfortable position imaginable (my head was on the floor while my rear was comfortably on the sofa) I stood up and stretched my body. The dull ache from before had gone and I felt a million times better. Groggily, I walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboards above the sink looking for a glass. Nope, not there. So I kept on exploring until I eventually found one. As I reached for it I thought I heard something. Curiosity got the better of me, so I put the glass down and walked out of the kitchen. At once I noticed that the door to Fluttershy's room was ajar, so I went to go close it on behalf of the girls. As I approached it, I felt a cold draft blow through the hall. The sudden coolness in the air woke me up and made me notice that the front door was wide open swaying lazily in the night breeze.

"Strange," I mumbled aloud.

Walking outside, I stood on the front doorstep and looked around. Nothing. It was a nippy night, and I was eager to return to the warmth of the house when I caught some movement from the corner of my eye. Something was flying away from the house in a hurry. No, not something. Someone. More specifically, somepony. A yellow Pony, with a pink mane.

"Gaddamit!" I muttered to myself, and gave chase.

Even if I didn't follow Fluttershy, it was obvious where she was going. As I reached Angel's final resting place, I caught her starting to dig the grave up with her hooves. It was so sad and pathetic that I couldn't allow her to continue.

"He's dead, you know," I said, keeping my distance.

She spun around, "He's not dead! He's sleeping!" Her voice was cold, menacing and dangerous. Not like the kind and calm voice from when I had first met her. There was a hint of desperation in that voice as well, a sort of pleading. Denial.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but what you're doing is... wrong. He's... dead..."

"He's. Not. Dead!"

I took a step back despite myself. What do I do? I've never been good with dealing with people (or Ponies), and this was something completely out there. This was... psychotic. She was digging up her dead rabbit thinking that he was still alive. Whether she really believed or wanted to believe that it was irrelevant, something told me that I could not let her continue, a nagging in the back of my head. But telling her the truth was just making it worse.

When I said nothing, she started to dig again.

"Do you think that Angel would be happy if he saw you right now?"

She stopped.

"What would he tell you? Do you believe that this is what he would want? To see you like this?"

"I... it's... my..."

She was incoherent.

"You've said good-bye," I said to her, then in a gentle half-whisper, "Let him go."

Just then Applejack and Rarity were on either side of me. Rarity made to go to Fluttershy, but I put a hoof in front of her, barring her way. Rarity looked at my hoof, then followed it to my face where she saw me shaking me head. In my mind I knew that what Fluttershy needed was to come to terms with loss herself. How I knew this? Well, I had to come to terms with the loss of my grandmother myself. Although it would have helped if there were other people around me, I understood that you needed to take the first step. After that... well, let's just say I might have turned out to be a better person if someone had been there for me.

I turned my attention back to Fluttershy, "He would have wanted you to remember him fondly. To remember the lives you two had. Not to obsess with the past."

"But... it hurts so much," Fluttershy said barely audible.

"I know, sweetheart," Applejack replied aloud, taking a step forward, "But that's why you live. Go out there, and enjoy your life. That is what Angel would have wanted."

We all remained standing in silence for a long moment before Fluttershy stood up. Turning to us, she forced a broken smile on her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, "D-do you really think so?"

"I know so," Applejack gave her a sympathetic smile.

Fluttershy turned back towards the grave and sat down where she was. Then, gently, she pushed the dirt she had dug up back onto the little grave, her voice saying something. It took me a moment to realize she was singing, "Hush now, quiet now..."

Seeing that, I lowered my hoof in front of Rarity, and she instantly ran to her friend holding her in a tight embrace from behind saying nothing as Fluttershy continued to sing, releasing the last vestiges of her grief with each tear. It seemed to free her. We continued to listened to her sing, her gentle voice seemed to help sooth her sadness. There was so much emotion in those words that I couldn't help but get teary as well. She had such a beautiful singing voice.

As the stars faded away as the sun's light started to spread across the sky, something had changed. Everything felt right, as if it was meant to be this way. As if a storm had come and gone. This was a new day, a new beginning. Fluttershy's sadness now gave way to a weak smile, as she made peace with herself.

"Come, sweetie. Let's get you home," Rarity said quietly and helped her friend up.

Together they headed back towards the house, but Fluttershy paused for a moment beside me, "Thank you, whoever you are."

I smiled and nodded to her, she looked so delicate and fragile that it felt that if I talked she would shatter from the force of my voice. Letting the two of them go ahead, Applejack and I walked behind them.

"Why didn't ya wake us up?" Applejack asked.

"I didn't realize what was going on, and I sort of just went with my instincts," I looked at her, "I never realized that I would care so much for a stranger."

"Well, what'd you say to her?"

I told Applejack what I had said to Fluttershy before she arrived.

"Fluttershy really loved her Angel. Guess losin' him was hard. He's been in her life for so long."

"He seemed more than a pet."

"Well, that's because Angel was more than just a pet to Fluttershy. He was like a child to her." Applejack smiled sadly, "Reminds me of Winona. I miss her."

"Winona?"

"My dog. She died a couple years ago. Took me a long time to get over it. My brother helped me get through it. The girls were there for me as well, but Winona was family and it helped that family was there. Fluttershy doesn't have parents here in Ponyville and they rarely visit her."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"It was a long time ago. I've gotten over it, though it took me some time."

As we approached Fluttershy's home, I noticed two individuals walking towards us. As they got closer, I felt my blood began to freeze in my veins. Twilight.

"Hello you two," She said smiling cheerfully.

"Howdy, Twilight. Fluttershy's okay. We're bringin' her back home."

"Back? I thought the funeral was yesterday. Was it that long of a service?" Twilight asked looking at us.

Applejack explained what happened.

Twilight sighed in relief, "Thank goodness everything's alright. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but I was with the Dash's and then with Princess Celestia after that. By the time I was done with everything it was very late."

"How is she?" I asked.

"Who? Rainbow? She's having trouble accepting it. We all are. Brian has been a part of our lives for so long, it's hard to think..." Spike patted Twilight on her back as she paused to fight the tears forming in the corner of her eyes, "It's hard to think that he hasn't got long left."

Applejack walked over to Twilight and held her. It seemed to help, "You can't get used to somethin' like that."

"Anyway, Pinkie's with them."

"How is Pinkie?" I asked.

"She's doing well. Being good 'ol Pinkie Pie!" Twilight replied, "I think she's taking Brian's condition especially hard - except for Rainbow that is. She knows that she won't be able to make them laugh, but I think Pinkie's presence there helps. She has a certain kind of charm."

That was something I couldn't deny, "She certainly does."

Poor Pinkie, I felt so sad for her. And for Rainbow Dash as well.

"Well, let's go see Fluttershy," Applejack said and turned to go.

"Actually, I'm not here to see Fluttershy. I'm here to see Forest."

Shit.

"What for?" Applejack asked.

"Princess Celestia has asked me to bring him to Canterlot."

Shit, shit, shit!

"What? Why?" Applejack replied, perhaps a little too aggressively.

"She just wants to meet Forest. Don't worry, Applejack. Even Brian asked the Princess to go easy on him," Twilight said, more than a little surprised at her friend's reaction.

"Wait... what?" I asked doing a double-take. Brian did what?

"She's right, Applejack. I was there," Spike said, "Don't get so... bullish."

"I ain't bein' bullish!"

"You kinda are," My voice made them all turn to me, "Don't worry, Applejack. Nothing bad's going to happen. The Princess sounds kind." And scary, but oh well. Nothing can top Tutela.

My words betrayed my emotions, and I knew that Applejack saw something in my expression that gave something away from the way she reacted to me.

Well, this was it. My time was running out, and there was nothing I could do about it. The best I can do is to prepare for the inevitable, and make sure that everything goes by without an issues.

"Thank you for understanding, Forest. Please follow me," Twilight turned and lead the way.

"Aren't you going to see Fluttershy?" I asked, trying to delay the inevitable.

"Fluttershy needs time to heal, but she will. I want to get this over and done with as soon as possible," Twilight looked at me and sighed, "I really want to see her, but I've got too many things on my mind. I wouldn't be of any help."

Twilight was such a good friend that she understood her limitations. Again she turned to lead the way and I followed without fuss or comment.

"Forest..."

Applejack stopped me. She looked so sad. Why? Why did she have to look so sad! Why was she looking so sad? Was the events with Fluttershy still too much for her?

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon," I said stupidly.

"Promise?"

Her face! Oh, why did she have that look on her face? It hurt to look at her, "I promise."

With that, I turned to again follow Twilight.

"Pinkie Promise."

"Huh?"

"Pinkie Promise me."

"Pinky promise?" I was confused.

"Just Pinkie Promise me!" She practically shouted at me.

"Okay, okay! I pinky-promise you."

"Good. Because nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise," And with that she smiled at me.

I couldn't help but smile back, "See ya, Applejack."

Then it dawned on me. This was probably the last time I would see her. So, I hugged her. What else could I do? She had given me everything, and I had returned nothing. A hug was a small token of my appreciation. I only wished that I could've done more. As I released her, I gave me a small smile and turned away.

Twilight had waited patiently through that and when I turned towards her she was walking a little ahead of me. Spike slowed and was walking by my side as we headed towards Ponyville. At the end of the path that led to Fluttershy's house I turned around and saw Applejack standing there. When I reached the end of the path, she was still standing there. She remained there until I could no longer see her.

An overwhelming sense of emptiness filled me.

Spike leaned in closer, "So, Applejack, huh?"

"What?"

"You and Applejack. Wouldn't have guessed, well not with you and Pinkie being so intimate,"

"Don't be stupid. Applejack doesn't see me in that way."

Spike just shook his head, "Really? You can't... you don't... never mind. I just want to go on the record here saying that I might not have confessed my feelings, but I'm at least aware of them."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're pretty clueless," Spike stated bluntly.

What was he on? Not really wanting to get into an argument, I change the subject.

"Twilight seems a little..."

"Don't mind her. She can sometimes get a little obsessive about things, especially when it comes to learning about something new."

"Like?" I asked.

"You being a human. It was a discussion Twilight and Rainbow had while you were running for the tryouts," Spike replied, "She mentioned that you were very... 'specific' about your needs for something called a 'sofa-bed', something that she says is common on Brian's world. When we checked with Princess Celestia, she used her magic and checked the cities, and found that although it isn't common, there are such items of furniture. But they had strange names. Sleeping-couch, dream-chair... even comfy-snoozer, but no sofa-bed. Coincidence, I'm sure. But Princess Celestia wants to see you to make sure that you aren't from Brian's world."

Lowering my voice, I pulled Spike's head down to my level with my hoof, "Then... can't you find some other Pony?"

He looked at me confused, then realized what I was alluding to, "No way! You agreed!"

"But what if something goes wrong?"

"We'll handle that when the time comes..."

"You can't be serious! What if I am a human, then what?" I retorted, "Who knows what will happen!"

"What are you too whispering about?" Twilight asked suddenly, "I didn't realize you were such good friends."

We both grinned nervously, "We're talking about... Rarity!" I said.

"Yeah, Rarity!" Spike put in laughing nervously.

"Just advising Spike on confessing his feelings for her, right, Spike?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's right!" Spike said, and we acted like we were the best of friends, his arm around my neck and mine around his, grinning together in pain as he tried to choke me and I him. Stupid Dragon! Why couldn't he burden some other Pony!

Twilight's eyes opened wide, then a nervous smile spread across her face. She slowly raised her hoof, and then gestured behind us.

I felt Spike freeze. And I did as well.

"She's right behind us, isn't she?" I asked.

Spike gulped. Twilight nodded.

"She heard everything I just said, didn't she?"

Spike gulped again. Twilight nodded.

"Oh dear," I muttered.

We were in the center of the market place. Rarity could have been going home for all I knew, but the coincidence was ridiculous!

Spike didn't turn around. Instead he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and what came happened next was an unexpected surprise, "Rarity, I love you! I've loved you since the day we first met! I couldn't stop thinking about you then, and I can't stop thinking about you now!"

Whoah! I thought, backing away from the Romeo.

Rarity blushed ferociously. She lowered her head, obviously loving the attention, but also overwhelmed by it as well, "Why, thank you, Spike... I'm..."

"I know you fancy somepony else, but I... I just wanted to let you know," Spike now turned around and looked at Rarity, his face was also completely red. I had to remind myself that he was a purple Dragon and not a red one, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Again, I back away from the scene of action until I was standing next to Twilight. A few other Ponies had come out of their houses now, probably going about their chores or commutes - whatever it is that Ponies did, but they were all keenly interested and paused to watch the events unfold in front of them. Although I had to admit, Spike was pretty cool.

Neither Twilight nor I dared to breath as we watched Rarity.

"Oh, Spike," Rarity began, "I have always known. But you're..."

"A Dragon?"

"Too young," Rarity corrected him with an elegant smile, "Too young, Spike," She lifted his chin up with her hoof.

"Y-you don't care that I'm a Dragon?"

"No, silly. Of course not. Maybe if you were older..."

Spike said nothing in response, but he had a huge smile on his face, and a little moisture in his eyes. Rarity looked past Spike to me and Twilight.

"Forest, do something," Twilight whispered to me.

"Wha-? Oh," I walked over to Spike placing a hoof on his shoulder, "Let's go, buddy."

Spike just nodded, and together we walked away from the two Ponies. I had to admit, Spike was pretty badass. He didn't look back once. It would have been even more badass if the tears didn't constantly stream down his cheeks.

"She... didn't care, Forest," Spike whispered as we entered the library.

"What?"

"She said she didn't care that I was a Dragon," He gave me a huge, beaming smile, "Did you hear?"

"I heard. I heard it loud and clear."

"Too bad I got rejected," Spike sighed.

"Yeah, sorry that I forced you to confess like that. That was a pretty... I did bad," Didn't quite know how to put it without swearing.

"Don't worry about it. I'm kinda glad it did happen," Spike said, fighting through the pain of rejection.

Being a cold-hearted bastard, I couldn't really relate. The function that connects the heart to... oh, who am I kidding. It wasn't that I didn't want to comfort Spike or cheer him up, it was that I didn't know how. I knew that he was hurting. Spike was a lot braver than me, and for that I respected him. He took the leap, he went all the way. I've never confessed my feelings to another person and have never been asked. That was pretty sad on my part.

Twilight entered the library a little later. Putting down her things, she turned to me, "Well, that was awkward."

"What did Rarity say?"

"Rarity was flattered about Spike's feelings, but she just wants to remain good friends."

Friendzoned. "Gee, that's too bad."

Twilight walked past me and Spike, "Forest, do you want to get anything?"

"Like what?"

"We'll be in Canterlot for a couple of days," Twilight replied walking towards a stack of books, "So, do you want to pick up some things from your home? We'll leave on the noon train, and we arrive in Canterlot by late afternoon."

"A couple of days?"

"I'm sorry, Forest, but those are Princess Celestia's orders."

"There is something I would like to do, if you don't mind," I replied.

"I'll meet you at the train station at noon then. Don't be late," Twilight threatened, "Spike."

"Yes, Twilight?"

"You're staying here."

"Okay, Twilight," Spike replied looking a little glum.

She then walked towards a mountain of books, and using her magic slipped a few large ones into a saddlebag.

While she was doing that, I sidled up to Spike, "Lucky," I muttered.

"Lucky? I'm so embarrassed! Can you imagine how... awkward it's going to be when I see Rarity? I bet everypony already knows!" He groaned, "I was actually hoping I'd be going with you guys."

"Meh. You'll be fine. I've found that word spreads around Ponyville pretty quickly, so hopefully it'll be a come-and-go story. By the way, you were so cool walking away without looking back," I grinned.

"You think so? It was hard not to turn around."

We both laughed lightly. I headed for the front door.

"Where are you going now?" Spike asked.

"I dunno. I just want to be alone to think for a while."

"I know how you feel. Okay, Forest. If I don't see you... well, it's been nice knowing you."

"Spike, about that... thing you gave me, are you sure you can't find someone else?"

"Very sure. I'm sure that when the time comes, you'll be able to do whatever needs to be done. And don't worry about me. I feel... content now," Spike gave me a thumbs up.

"Well, be seein' ya, big guy," And with that I walked out of the library, the door closing behind me.

In town, I looked at the large clock tower. It was just past eight in the morning. How long have I slept for? Oh well, better make the most of the time I had. After all, it wouldn't be long now. I thought I could hear Tutela laughing away from somewhere, but I decided that was my mind playing tricks on me. I now had to make the most of the time I had left here in this world. So I wandered around Ponyville, taking in the sites and places again. A part of me worried about Lavenderhoof, she said that she wanted to teach me how to swim, and little Applebloom. I never did get a chance to tell her about her talent nor see Sweetie Belle sing. During my musings, I ended up in the most unlikeliest of places; Sugarcube Corner.

"Oh, hi, Forest!" Mr. Cake said, scaring the living shit out of me as he came around the corner where the loading area was, "How're feeling? Heard you got sick."

"Better now, thanks. Yeah, had a fever."

"Pinkie isn't here. She's at the hospital. Sad about Brian. I really like him," Mr. Cake sighed, "It's difficult to imagine that he hasn't got long left. Things aren't going to be the same without him."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Forest?"

"Do you mind if I have some of that delicious coffee?"

"For our favorite racer? Anything!"

In my own way, I said good-bye to the Cakes. They were a family I wish I had. Kind, loyal, strong, caring, everything a family should be. They told me to give their best to the Princess when I saw her - yes, I told them I was going to Canterlot. I didn't tell them why, though. I think that would have been unfair to burden them with that knowledge.

Wondering around town, I still had a couple of hours left to kill. So I wondered around the marketplace. Big Mac was there selling apples. A part of me was glad that I didn't see Applebloom, I didn't want to say good-bye to her. I felt that it would have been too painful to do so, after abandoning her several times already. Yet, even after all that she still made an effort to befriend me. Couldn't fault her in any way, she was a good soul through and through, like her older sister Applejack.

Making my way across town, I paused for a moment in front of Rarity's boutique. This was where I had first met Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Rarity - and also acquired my first job! Funny how that happened, and it was not even that long ago. Granted, I didn't really care at the time, but now it seemed so precious. Another fond memory I would keep.

Then, for some reason, I was standing outside the hospital. Why had I come here? Quickly, I turned and started to walk away.

"Forest?" A voice said from behind me.

I closed my eyes. I knew that voice very well. I didn't even have to turn around to see, "Hello, Pinkie."

Pinkie launched herself into the air, knocking me down on the ground. Despite the suddenness of the 'attack', I couldn't help but smile. It was Pinkie Pie after all, you just had to accept her.

"Ohmygosh! Are you here to see Brian? Brian will be so happy that you came! Rainbow too!"

"I doubt that they'd really be happy to see me, Pinkie," I replied scratching the back of my head.

"Don't be silly! Why wouldn't he want you to come see him?" Her mood started to slow down, "Why wouldn't you want to go see him?"

"Okay! If you say so then it must be true!" I said excitedly, although in truth my heart died. It couldn't stand seeing Pinkie frown like that.

However, my sudden optimistic outlook cheered Pinkie up. The reaction was almost instant. She got off of me and I pulled myself up from the ground and together we walked into the hospital.

Nurse Redheart spotted me and walked over, "How are you, Forest? I heard that Dr. Stable did a house-call for you."

"Yes, ma'am, but I wasn't coherent at the time. You'll have to ask Applejack for more details."

"You were sick, Forest?" Pinkie asked, her eyes wide open.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now," I struck a pose for dramatic effect.

Pinkie loved it. Nurse Redheart on the other hand didn't approve as much.

"Dr. Stable said that you were put into an ice bath to reduce your fever," The nurse replied.

Pinkie eyes opened wide in shock as she gasped - and when Pinkie gasps, she gasps, "Oh-my-gosh-Forest-are-you-okay? Did-you-feel-cold?"

"Yes, Pinkie, I'm fine. And like I said, Applejack took good care of me."

"Oh goody! Nurse Readheart, can we go and see Brian?" Pinkie asked.

"Okay, but only for a little while, he needs his rest."

Pinkie led me down the hall and we went up a couple flights of stairs. Outside the door to the private ward was a small sign that read 'Brian Dash', and then all around it were cards and get-well soon stickers. It was incredible! He was pretty popular, perhaps that was not only because he was a human, but that he was also the father of one of the Wonderbolts.

Nervously, I watched as Pinkie knocked on the door.

"Come in," A voice called from inside. It was Rainbow's.

She pushed the door wide open and gestured me to go inside. I looked at her. She just smiled and nudged me towards the door.

Resigning myself to the inevitable, I walked inside, "Excuse me..." I said quietly.

Rainbow was in shock, I could tell by the way her mouth hung open. Brian was also a little shocked and he glared at me for a moment, just a moment, before his gaze softened.

"Say something," Pinkie said, nudging me again.

"Um... hi, Brian. I... was just coming to see how you were."

"Thank you, Forest. As you can see, I've had better days."

D-did he just make a joke? "S-s-sorry I didn't help you sooner in that trailer. I had no idea what to expect."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you were there at all. Who knows what would've happened. But tell me, how did you know where to find me?"

It didn't take me long to regale the story of how I had tracked him down. How I had to extort information from Cyan Crystal, and then how I had spotted Trixie being suspicious in the woods, following her to her trailer, spying on her and eventually saving his life. But in the back of my mind, all through my story I was wondering; why did his condition suddenly get worse?

"Thanks, Forest. I owe you for saving my pop," Rainbow hovered next to me, and gave her dad that adoring look that only daughters could give, yet there was sadness in her eyes.

"No, you've already done a lot for me. Making me feel welcome here in Ponyville, and helping me without question. You don't owe me anything," My eyes caught the clock. It was almost eleven, and the train was leaving for Canterlot at noon, I had better start making a move, "Well, I've got a train to catch. Seems that Princess Celestia herself has requested my presence. Can't disappoint."

Rainbow and Brian shared a look.

"Well, good luck, Forest. Whatever happens, you've certainly made things interesting," Brian replied.

I nodded respectfully and turned to go.

"Forest is our runner for the Race! He's the fastest Pony in Ponyville!" Pinkie suddenly said, and threw her hoof around me, turning me around, "He won the tryouts!"

"Well, that's great!" Brian exclaimed, and clapped his hands.

I blushed, "Thank you."

"Hello," A voice said knocking gently on the door. A winged Pegasus walked in wearing the Wonderbolt uniform, "Am I interrupting?"

"Spitfire!" Rainbow rushed past me, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my favorite human," Spitfire grinned at Brian, "So, how's the patient?"

"The patient is fine..."

They all continued to talk and joke with each other. Slowly, I backed out of the room not wanting to disturb them. When I was clear, I turned away and walked down the stairs. I had already said my good-byes in my own way, plus they had a celebrity visitor with them. But a part of me was glad; I got to talk with Brian properly. No accusations, no word games, and no attempts at trying to suss me out. In a way, I think we made pace. If not that, a sort of truce.

"Forest! Forest!"

"Hi, Pinkie," I replied still continuing to walk away from the hospital.

"Why'd you leave? I was planning on throwing a party!"

"I have to get to the train station, you silly Mare."

Pinkie walked with me for a bit in silence, then stopped, "Can I come?"

"What?"

"Can I come?"

My mind went blank. Why would she want to come?

"You'll have to ask Twilight, Pinkie."

Pinkie looked at me, "Oh. Okeedokeelokee!"

And she hopped up again. The level of optimism she possessed... it was both refreshing and a delight, "Well, then, let's go catch a train."

We walked together having a mock 'race', a fake speed-walking one that I let her win mainly because I didn't know how to get to the train station. I think Pinkie was acutely aware that if I actually tried, it wouldn't be much of a race, but we had a ball together anyway. It was amazing to me how the simple act of walking together was so fun with Pinkie. We reached the station with plenty of time to spare. I saw Twilight standing on the tracks talking to another Pony that I'd not yet met. As I approached, the white Unicorn turned to look at me. Then he pointed at me with his hoof.

"Him?"

"Yep," Twilight replied smiling.

"Yes. Apparently, I'm 'him'," I replied grinning stupidly.

"This isn't 'Him', it's Forest!" Pinkie giggled.

Now, normally when someone says a stupid joke like that I would roll my eyes and shake my head, but when Pinkie does it you cannot help but laugh.

"Hello, Forest. I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard of Canterlot," He bowed his head slightly, "And more importantly, I'm Twilight's older brother."

That startled me a bit. I had no idea, they looked nothing alike, apart from both being Ponies.

"I was on my way back from Manehattan and decided to drop by and surprise my little sister," He gave Twilight a playful nudge against her body. She nudged him right back, "Well, I was the one surprised, as I just got my new orders and from my own little sister herself! I am to escort you and my sister to the palace," Shining Armor looked at me, "And by escort, I mean make sure you're on the train. Twilight, Cadence is looking forward to seeing you again after so long..."

The two of them continued their personal conversation in front of me and Pinkie. They were talking about whom I could only guess was Shining Armor's wife. She seemed to be someone very important, not just to the two of them but on the whole. After a few more minutes they turned their attention back to us.

Pinkie opened her mouth and inhaled a breath.

"Pinkie, you can't come," Twilight said before she could even ask.

"Why not?" Pinkie protested.

"Because it's an important meeting, and you'd be too much of a distraction," Twilight looked over to me.

"D-don't look at me! She asked if she could come and I said she had to ask you."

"But how did you meet with Pinkie? She's supposed to be with Brian and Rainbow at the hospital," Twilight said, a little disappointed at seeing her best friend hanging out with me - well, at least it looked like she was disappointed about that.

"Silly, that's where he went! He came to visit Brian."

"You did what?" Twilight asked, obviously shocked.

Of course that wasn't the reason at all. My walk just made me end up there. Isn't that strange? "Yeah. We... talked. It was nice to... get past certain issues."

"Like the issue that you might be a human?" Twilight replied smirking.

"He's a human?" Shining asked, his eyes opening wide.

"We don't know that, and that's the reason why we're taking him to the palace. To put an end to that mystery once and for all," Twilight inhaled, "Don't think I'm doing this because I don't like you, Forest."

"I know. You're just being careful," Just because I knew that didn't mean it didn't sting.

"In light of this revelation, I think it would be better if Forest goes alone," Shining said, looking at Pinkie.

Pinkie wouldn't take no for an answer. And the more they tried to dissuade her, the more she wanted to come. A part of me was secretly delighted that she wanted to come and yet I also didn't want her to be there. What would she say if she found out that I actually was a human and that I'd been lying to her all along. Would she hate me? It wasn't something I wanted to risk. Not with her.

"Pinkie, I think it might be best if I went without... you," The other Ponies hushed up when I talked.

Looking at me as if I had betrayed her, she spoke to me in a soft, squeaky voice, "Why don't you want me to go?"

"Because..." I couldn't think of a good reason. Wait! There was one, "Brian needs you. He needs you to make him laugh and smile, Pinkie. Only you can do that."

Looking somewhat dejected, but accepting, Pinkie nodded, "You're right!"

A whistle blared aloud just then, and I saw something I had never expected to see in real life; a steam engine! In all my life I had never seen one - except for the ones in a museum. It was such an amazing machine. As it stopped in front of us it let off a loud hiss and bellowed steam.

"Train to Canterlot! Train to Canterlot, calling at," The Station Master rattled off some names of towns the train would be stopping at along the way. Canterlot was at the end of the list.

Twilight boarded first, and walked into the train sitting in one of the stalls, then Shining went in and followed her, and last of all me. However, before I could get up onto the train, I felt a hoof on my flank preventing me from boarding. Turning around, I saw Pinkie holding me. Something in her eyes told me that I had to say something to her. Something to sooth her. Anything.

"I pinky-promised Applejack I'd come back," I said, "So don't worry..."

"All aboard! All aboard!" The Station Master called, and blew a whistle letting everyone know that the train would be leaving pretty soon. Ponyville was only a small stop.

"Did you do it properly?" Pinkie asked ignoring the Station Master's announcement.

"Eh?"

"Did you do it properly?"

"I-I think so," There was a proper way?

She hopped back a step, then said, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," She shoved one of her hooves into her eye.

I copied her, mumbling the phrase. It was embarrassing! Every Pony on that platform was staring at me.

"Louder..." Pinkie insisted.

I repeated it, a little louder.

"Louder!" Pinkie demanded.

Fuck it. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" I shouted as loud as I could, punching myself in the eye.

Pinkie grinned in response.

The Station Master blew his whistle, and after a few moments the train started to move. I placed the rest of my body onto the train, and turned around. Pinkie ran along parallel to me on the platform, "Remember! You promised!"

"Bye, Pinkie!" I shouted back, not really knowing what else to say.

I watched her run to the end of the platform and when she stopped at the platform's edge. She sat down at the end of the platform as I peered out the train's open door (just like in the old movies), waving to her as the train took me further and further away until it curved gently to the left and the carriages obscured my view.

"Bye, Pinkie," I whispered before pulling myself into the train and closing the door behind me.

Walking through the compartment, a few Ponies looked at me and grinned. They had seen the little display and thought it was highly amusing. Fighting hard the urge to blush I walked past them. Eventually I found Shining and Twilight sitting together near the middle and I sat down next to the white Unicorn.

"So, Forest, Twilight has told me that you've lost your memories," Shining gave me a sympathetic smile, "I know how you feel."

"You didn't loose you memory, dear brother. You were brainwashed by a Changeling Queen," Twilight corrected.

"Must you always ruin my image?" Shining frowned, "You and Cadence never let it go."

"Do you blame us?" Twilight asked.

Shining laughed nervously.

"Can you tell me about the Changelings?" I asked Twilight.

Twilight explained to me what they knew of Changelings. A lot of it was old news thanks to Tutela. I had already known about how they fed and about their leader who was a queen. Twilight then explained to me that during her brothers wedding, the Changelings had actually attack Canterlot and a war ensued, the root of which had something to do with Shining's love. To be honest, I had no idea what she was talking about, but it helped me gain a clear picture that Changelings were a pretty horrible bunch. A part of me wondered if Tutela was the same, was she a just using me? For what purpose and to what gain? But then again, she did bring me to Equestria. So, in my head she wasn't bad, more eccentric.

"So, Forest, how have you liked Ponyville so far?" Shining asked.

"It's been really great."

"I could never live in a small town like that," Shining admitted, "I'd get too bored. Need bright lights, never-ending nights, and noise!"

We both laughed as Twilight shook her head, "Not me. I like Ponyville. When I first went though, I thought it was too strange and the Ponies were too weird. I guess it was thanks to the girls that I eventually got used to it."

For the next several hours, Twilight told me about how she had met with Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack. Their adventures together, how they had defeated a creature known as Discord - twice, she was very insistent that I remember that it was twice - and how she was Princess Celestia's number one pupil. She was simply amazing and intelligent. It was a pleasure to talk to her.

As they saying goes, 'time flies when you're having fun' and we arrived in Caterlot Central just after five in the evening. As I disembarked, my eyes were hit with the most astonishing display of architecture I had ever seen in my life. If you thought Grand Central was a spectacular sight, then you ain't seen nothing. The first thing that catches your attention is the ceiling that stretched high up into the air as if you were looking up a chimney shaped like an upturned funnel. Smoke and steam from the trains rose high up into the vaulted ceiling. The clouds were obviously put there on purpose and I noticed that it would collect the steam vapor and the smoke. Coal-black clouds were removed and replaced by bright white ones, all done by Pegasi in green colored clothing with yellow or gold trimmings. As we walked I noticed that there were plenty of Earth Ponies and Unicorns in red uniform with gold trimmings, obviously porters to help with luggage.

As we walked down the platform I noticed that the high ceiling curved down slowly so that it merged with the main ticket hall. On the wall was a huge mural depicting a map of all of Equestria, and the many cities within. However, no matter where I looked I couldn't find one named on there - Ponyville.

"Where's Ponyville?" I asked gesturing at the huge map.

Twilight looked up, "Ponyville is too new. It won't be up there. Maybe it will be added later on."

The ticketing hall was beautiful. Nowhere did I see a corner or sharp angle. Everything was curved and flowy, the walls merged gently with the ceiling, and the floor, and there were little cubicle-like stalls built into the walls where a variety of items were being sold. Accessories, clothes, and pastries - it was almost like a regular mall.

There were plenty of Ponies here, but a few other creatures as well. Griffins, a Dragon or two - small ones, Minotaurs and some I couldn't even begin to guess. All through our walk, I had to pretend as if I've seen these creatures before and act casual, but I seriously wanted to just oogle at them. I've never seen anything like it, and probably never will considering that my time in Equestria was soon to be over.

Leaving the station, we were met by a group of Ponies in armor who saluted Shining and bowed in respect towards Twilight.

Together we walked up a street towards a huge building that was precariously built over a cliff. The Royal Palace.

"Isn't that not a smart idea? What if there's an earthquake?"

"Actually it's quite sound," Shining replied, "Some of the greatest architects in history have worked on the palace. I know that it seems precarious, but you won't find a safer place in all of Equestria."

We walked straight to the palace from the station, which was more or less of a straight walk down a large main road. Carts were going back and forth on the street and they even had traffic lights. Go figure. Probably powered by magic.

Finally we reached a tall fence painted in black. The high fence bordered the palatial grounds and was adorned with the Equestrian coat of arms every few paces. There were spikes just above the symbols them that resembled the Unicorn horn. The grounds had a slow incline as the palace was a little more elevated than the rest of Canterlot. We walked along side the fence as the road curved around in a slow climb upwards. The guards with us were giving reports to Shining most of the time although once or twice they would talk to his sister and asked for her opinions on certain things.

Finally we got to the front gates, and as we entered the guards at the gate bowed their heads to Shining and Twilight.

"I'll see you Ponies later. I've got to check up with a few things before getting home," Shining said once we past the gates.

"Don't keep Cadence waiting," Twilight replied, "I'll see you later."

Shining nodded and turned and went off with the group of guards that had come with us from the station. That surprised me, I had thought they were there to ensure that I didn't run away. I was glad that I thought wrong, or perhaps that now that I was on the palatial grounds running away was futile.

"Follow me, don't lag too far behind or you'll get lost," Twilight said to me.

I walked behind Twilight as she led me through the palace. There were guards everywhere, as was expected for a Royal Palace, but I was surprised by just how many there were. Twilight saw me scanning the guards and decided to comment.

"There's been rumors of another attack by the Changelings, that is why there are a lot more guards on duty," Twilight sighed, "I just wish that it didn't have to come to another battle."

"War still occurs in Equestria? Everything seems so peaceful..."

"Not war, Forest, there hasn't been a war in Equestria for centuries," She looked at me, "Are you interested in learning more?"

"Sure. I like learning new things," That was true, I've always had an obsession with knowing things, which was probably why I always had to try something new or read something.

Twilight began to tell me about the history of Equestria, starting from the beginning. How the three types of Ponies were actually three separated kingdoms that used one another for resources. It wasn't a long story, but it was nonetheless fascinating. After she was done, I had to admit that the Earth Ponies seemed to always get the raw end of the deal but also held all the cards in their hands, because no matter how much magic you had without food you couldn't do shit.

After a while she took me to a large room with a shit-ton of books. Another library, no doubt, but a lot bigger (obviously) than the one in Ponyville. A few Ponies bowed their heads when Twilight walked in, and she bowed her head back and rolled her eyes.

"You don't like it when they bow to you?" I asked.

"It's silly really. My brother is married to Cadence... oh, sorry, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Just because my brother is married to a Royal Princess doesn't make me one," Twilight sighed, "But I'm tired of explaining, so I just go along with it now."

Using her magic, Twilight took the books she had packed into her saddlebag and placed them on the librarian's table. The librarian did a double-take when she spotted Twilight, but before she could bow or whatever, Twilight had already started walking towards the far end of the library. Not wanting to be left behind, I had to job a few steps to catch up to her. We walked through a small gate and entered another area of the library where ancient looking books sat on shelves.

"Here," She pulled a book from one of the shelves, and placed it on a table in front of me, "This book is what I had used to perform the spell that sent Rainbow to your - sorry - Brian's world."

Curious, I peeked at it. Even if I had wanted to read it, I couldn't because the language was written in some strange script that I couldn't read. But the images looked strangely familiar to me. Where had I seen them before?

"This picture here, the illustration looks strangely familiar to me," I said pointing it out, "I know I've seen that before."

Walking over to the book she peered at the image, "That's probably because that's part of the mural in the train station."

"No. I don't think that's where I've seen this. Somewhere else," Where was it?

"It is because of this spell that I sent Rainbow to Brian's world. It tore a sort of doorway from this world to his, but the doorway was pulling our worlds together, slowly merging them. We had no choice but to close off the doorway once and for all. The source of this new power was Rainbow, and so we convinced her to shut the doorway behind her. But she still had a little magic left, and after years of getting her to tell me, she said that she had cast a hidden spell, to buy time for Brian to choose. Our world with his daughter, or his world without."

"Not a difficult choice," To me, I would have done the same thing.

"The funny thing was that when Brian first appeared here in Equestria, Princess Celestia was furious," Twilight chuckled, "But no matter what she tried she couldn't replicate my spell, and could not send Brian back. Over the years thought Brian has grown on her, and now you could even say that they're friends. Actually, I'm glad that Brian entered our lives and settled in Ponyville. If it hadn't been for that, Rainbow would have probably moved out of Ponyville a long time ago."

"Isn't there anything the Princess can do?" I asked.

Twilight shook her head, "There is, but Brian won't do it. Princess Celestia has offered to change him into a Pony, that would have renewed his life... oh my. Look at me talking about Brian with you. Sorry, Forest, I don't think it's appropriate."

"No harm done. But why wouldn't Brian choose becoming a Pony if it meant more time with his daughter?"

"I think he just wants to live the life he's had the way he knows. Sometimes you get set in your ways," Twilight sighed, "He's a lot like Rainbow. They can be really stubborn when it comes to things like this."

"I think I understand. He's a man of principals," And in a way, I envied Brian for that.

"Look, I have to go get a book. Do you mind waiting here?"

"Not at all."

Twilight left me and with nothing to do I walked over to a large window and peered outside. The city was beautiful. It was a majestic city with a quaint charm to it that felt both homely and regal at the same time. The Ponies here looked a lot different from the ones I was familiar with in Ponyville. Guess that boiled down to the difference between city and country folk.

My eyes were starting to feel heavy, I had not slept properly. It was hard to imagine that just this morning I was sleeping on Fluttershy's sofa, and now I was gazing outside of the royal palace. Looking out into the distance, I found myself searching for a small town in a certain valley. A part of me hoped to see Ponyville, but I had no idea where to look or if I even was on the right side of the palace.

"Forest, wake up," Twilight shook me.

I woke up with a jolt, "Wha-? Oh. Did I fall asleep?"

"Apparently. Come on, the Princess wants to meet us now," Twilight turned and lead the way again. I followed.

First we went down this huge corridor, before cutting across several twisting hallways. Eventually we ended up on a large balcony overlooking a large flat area, it was a perfect place to hold outdoor dos. At the end of the balcony was a strange sculpture shaped like a golden sun cut in half on a golden pole.

"Does that symbol ring any bells?" Twilight asked, making herself comfortable on some huge cushions near the edge of the balcony, "Sit."

Plopping my rear where I stood, I looked at the sculpture, "No. Doesn't ring any bells."

"This is where Princess Celestia raises the sun during the Summer Sun Celebration. That symbol represents our Princess and her guiding light. You must know this."

"I'd be lying if I said I did," I replied.

Just then two guards appeared from the same entrance we came from and stood on either side of the door as a while Unicorn-Pegasus Pony (an Alicorn) walked regally towards us, but she also had an aura of warm tenderness. She did not make me feel bad for not being royalty and I strangely felt welcome, despite the fact that she might imprison me or worse.

"So you're the famous Forest Fire I've been hearing about," She smiled at me, "Your reputation precedes you."

"I hope that they are all good things, your majesty," I bowed my head.

"So, shall we get straight to the point?"

This is it. Well, can't say it hasn't been fun. "Yes, your highness," I replied politely.

"I'm going to use a spell that will tell me if you're not a Pony," Princess Celestia smiled gently at me, "Will this be okay?"

"Yes," I replied and readied myself.

Standing up I waited for the inevitable. The princess' Unicorn horn then began to glow yellow as the spell spread across my body.

Now, it is hard to describe what happened next, but I will attempt to do so. Ever been hit by something really hard? Like a car? When the magic surrounded me that was exactly what it felt like. So, try to Imagine getting hit by a car, or jumping off a high-diving board and landing on your stomach or back. but being propelled through the air at the same time. Essentially that is what happened. The magic literally hit me with enough force that I was airborne for a few seconds. I couldn't tell because my entire body felt as if it was on fire and I had lost consciousness somewhere along the way. This felt nothing like before when I was sick and delirious, this really felt as if fire was burning my skin, and needles were being shoved into every inch of me. I might have screamed or shouted, but my ears had stopped working so I didn't know.

After a few minutes my vision cleared and I was looking at Twilight's worried face staring at me from above. I saw her mouth move, but I couldn't hear her voice. The ringing in my ears slowly started to subside.

"Are you okay?" The voice repeated faintly. It sounded as if she were very far away, "Quickly! We must get him to the infirmary!"

If I could have answered, I would have, but instead my mind decided to faint instead. As I lay my head on the ground, I felt a liquid goo on the floor. As I looked at it with the corner of my eye, I realized what it was.

Blood. My blood. How I knew? No idea, I just knew. What the hell had happened?

Did Princess Celestia just kill me?

Darkness slowly started to take over and I faded out of consciousness. In the back of my mind there was only one thought that pestered me.

I never did get a glass of water.

Day 20: A Day at the Races - Part 3: Magic Makes the Horn Grow Tired

Day 20: A Day at the Races - Part 3: Magic Makes the Horn Grow Tired

“You were simply amazing,” Rarity said, patting Scootaloo on the back.

We had all returned to the racer’s hangout. Scootaloo was stretching herself out.

“Oh yes, you were just wonderful.” Fluttershy beamed, “You really come through. We’re all so very proud.”

Scootaloo smiled and nodded in thanks to all the praise. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had both joined us by then, apparently they were waiting down on the lawns where the hoop had been passed on. They were telling Scootaloo about how awesome she was and how she looked.

“Took my advice, eh?” Rainbow grinned.

“Yep. Waited until the end before making my push. But it was hard not to zoom off in the beginning. It was only after I took the hoop that I realized just how important it was to conserve your strength.” Scootaloo folded her wings back and picked up a glass of water, “Felt bad for Sun Streak, though. She led the way almost throughout the race.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Flying at the front of the pack for that long isn’t usually the smartest thing to do. Strong fliers like me can do it, but it’s exhausting.”

“I don’t get it...” I admitted.

“It’s simple, really. Scootaloo flew behind Pegasi bigger than her. That way she didn’t have to fly against the wind directly.” Rarity informed me.

Drafting! Of course!

“Clever. You used the Pegasi in front to help you conserve your strength,” I nodded, realizing what they meant. “It’s no wonder you pulled away from the others so quickly at the end.”

“Nice flying, kiddo.” A voice said behind us. The Pegasi from Manebourne looked at Scootaloo, “I’m impressed that a newbie like you had a strategy like that.”

He was tall, light gray, and had black mane and tail with white or silver streaks through it. He had pulled the hood off of his costume from his head revealing a strong jaw and bright blue eyes.

“Thank you, Orion. I appreciate it.”

“Watch yourself next time, kid. I’ve got my eye on you. You won’t be able to beat me that easily the next time.” Orion winked at her before looking over to Rainbow who had floated over to Scootaloo, “Still commuting from Ponyville, Dash? Thought I’d miss that little mistake you did in that stunt from earlier, eh? Still can’t get that Swing-Back perfect?” He had a coy smile.

Rainbow laughed, “You saw that, huh?”

“You played it off well, doubtful anyone outside the Wonderbolts would have noticed...”

They continued to talk for a few minutes, but it was like trying to understand a whole different language. I understood the words, but not how they applied. Eventually the conversation ended and Orion walked away.

Suddenly the sound of galloping averted my attention and a pony literally launched herself at Orion. Surprised, he turned and ‘caught’ the mare in his hooves, before stumbling back a few steps. She firmly planted her lips directly on his.

“I’m so proud of you!” she said after pulling away, “You were amazing.”

“B-b-b-but... I came in second...” He replied.

She smiled coyly, rubbing his cheek with her hoof, “You are a winner to me, my love.”

“Silver...” He smiled at her and planted a kiss on her lips, “You will never cease to amaze me.”

The two of them walked off, their tails tangled within each other as they retreated back to his team’s area. They looked great together.

Scootaloo squealed and hopped excitedly. “He acknowledged me!” Rainbow just grinned at the young Pegasi winner.

“Who is that guy?” I asked Rarity.

“Orion? He’s a retired Wonderbolt...”

“Not just a retired Wonderbolt!” Rainbow cut her off, “He’s one of the greatest! Created so many awesome stunts and moves, like the...” Rainbow rattled off a few, but I had no clue what they were. Still, I nodded excitedly, playing along, “He trained some of the older members, like Spitfire... and he’s still taking part in this race!”

“Well, he opted not to be a flier in the shows and essentially decided to be the Wonderbolts trainer, and stunt coordinator. So he never wore the blue uniform.” Rarity informed me, “But a lot of Pegasi look up to him.” She gestured with her hoof to Rainbow, who nodded proudly.

“Good race.” Sun Streak had come over and held out a hoof for Scootaloo, “Next time it’ll be me that crosses first.”

Scootaloo shook hooves with her, “We’ll see...”

With that she walked towards her team, who welcomed her with a glass of water.

“The Unicorns are at the first trial!” Someone shouted.

Looking at the screen, I saw Amethyst standing in front of a cliff. She looked around and using her magic, started to move a large cubic block with her magic. He pushed it right up against the cliff, and climbed on it. Then, she took a smaller one, and placed it on top of the large stone, and climbed that one, then over the cliff and was away.

Manebourne’s pony was right behind her, and copied the exact same maneuver.

“Why don’t they just teleport?” I asked.

“That’s not the first test, Forest. They need to use levitation for this,” Twilight replied, “and the next one as well. Come on Amethyst, don’t use up all your strength.”

The camera then switched to a large hall with twenty different passageways. As Amethyst rushed through one of them, a metal grate closed behind her. The Manebourne pony then went into the one next to it and it too had a metal grate slam shut after her.

The screen we were watching then had two halves. On the left we could see Amethyst coming up to a really strange looking door, while on the right the Unicorn from Manebourne was quickly approaching an exact replica.

Ameythst sat down and stared at the door for what looked like ages, while the other pony started using magic on the door haphazardly. There were cogs, levers, pulleys and weights moving with the familiar Unicorn magical glow.

“Come on, Emerald!” Somepony shouted. “Just relax, and think!”

Amethyst then stood up, and a lever on the door pulled to one side. After that, one of the cogs levitated off one part of the door and was placed on another wood spoke. Then, one of the pulleys was pulled down, the rope that was attached to it. Amethyst then threaded the rope through the cog and the lever was pulled once more. The door shifted, and it rose an inch from the ground. At that, Amethyst sat down once again.

“No, no! The second pulley needs to be placed there!” Twilight shouted, pointing to a random place on the screen, “And that cog needs to go up there!”

I seriously could not follow.

The camera cut to another pony approaching the same puzzle. The familiar red and yellow pattern evident for Manehatten’s team. The Unicorn paced back and forth like a lion in a cage, staring at the door. Then a reddish glow appeared and a large cog was placed over the top of the door before two pulleys were lowered and the slack rope threaded through. Then, three levers were pulled at the same time, and another cog was placed lower down. It looked like the Manehatten pony knew exactly what to do.

Amethyst was now undoing her handiwork and starting from scratch, while the Manebourne pony was moving random cogs around clearly getting frustrated with her lack of progress.

Then my heart sank as the door for Manehatten completely raised itself, the Unicorn having solved the puzzle so quickly! As soon as the door opened, the Unicorn ran through and the door once again shut behind her, the cogs and the pulleys resetting themselves.

“Oh no!” I cried out in despair.

Not knowing the status of the race, Amethyst sat down and thought again. This time she moved the large cog to where Twilight had suggested, and pulled one of the two pulleys down and started threading things through. When she pulled the lever, the door opened about halfway. Although she could have gone through, Amethyst did not, and undid her work once more.

“Why didn’t she go through?” I asked.

Twilight was biting her lip, “She can’t. She has to open the door completely to pass. If she doesn’t she’ll get penalized.”

“Come on, Amethyst.” I whispered.

“That’s Starlight Charmer for you...” Fleet Hoof shouted, looking my way, “Should I wait for you at the start of our leg?”

I felt a little annoyed, but played along. There were still a number of trials left. “No, no. You need all the help you can get...”

Fleet Hoof barked a laugh.

The next puzzle was a room bigger than the previous one. There were a number of pieces of wood lying around the floor in a variety of different shapes, they looked completely random to me. In the middle of the room was a square shaped recess that had a low bluish glowing emanating from a pattern in it. The camera zoomed in on one of the blocks, and we could make out Just looking at it made my mind blanche. What the hell was the answer?

“Oh, I know this one.” Spyglass smiled, “It’s actually pretty easy. You first need to complete the cube and then place the correct pattern on the ground over the symbol.”

“Easy?” Rainbow, Stormy, Applejack and I muttered at the same time. We all shared a look before bursting into a giggling fit.

“I bet Rainbow could solve it! Right, Rainbow Dash?” Thunderbolt asked, “I don’t know about him though...” He said pointing at me.

“Thunderbolt!” Stormy exclaimed, “Apologize to him this instant!”

“But...”

Stormy just gave him a look.

“I’m sorry, Forest.” He said looking at me.

“‘Tis alright.” I replied, shrugging. He was right, I wouldn’t have been able to do this puzzle.

We were interrupted by a cheer from Pinkie, who danced around waving a couple of flags.

“She’s done it.” Twilight sighed in relief.

Sure enough, the door in front of Amethyst rose in front of her, and she galloped through the door. It shut behind her and the puzzle reset itself.

Emerald, the pony from Manebourne, was still struggling. The whole room was a mess, with cogs everywhere, and pulleys all over the place. We could tell that her team was getting a little flustered at that, but it was clear that the Unicorn was beyond frustrated. Already six other teams had caught up with them and were attempting to solve the door’s riddle.

The camera then reverted back to Starlight who had started putting the blocks in the middle in a certain order. Already I could see it starting to take shape. As Spyglass had pointed out, it was definitely a cube. And it looked like she had almost completed it.

Amethyst took one look at the blocks on the floor before shaking her head.

“No Unicorn likes seeing this puzzle again.” Twilight saw the confused look on my face, “We have to solve this puzzle in order to graduate. All Unicorns should know it. Maybe not right away, but it should come back to them.”

“Why?”

“It was something we had to learn. Teaches control and dexterity. It’s not so bad once you’ve understood it, but it’s memorizing the pattern that’s complicated. Unlike the previous challenge, which tested problem solving skills, this tests your memory recollection, Unicorn style.”

I could only nod. Now I was kinda glad that Tutela didn’t turn me into a Unicorn, although I had no idea how that would’ve worked out with me being allergic to magic and all.

Starlight was done, and placed the cube, which was about as tall as her leg, over the recess in the ground. Nothing. She lifted it up, rotated and plopped it back down. Eureka! As she did, the cube’s grooves and patterns exploded into light, the same glow from the floor pulsing throughout the cube. The wall opposite the entrance vanished and she rushed through it. Like before, the puzzle reset itself once she had exited the chamber.

Amethyst was busy putting the blocks together and when she was halfway done before the screen cut away to another mare. This mare had already solved the first puzzle and was now beginning on the cube. She wore thick glasses, and she was breezing through this one as well. It took her no more than a minute to have the cube ready, and within seconds she placed it on the recess. And just like that, we were in third place.

It was disheartening to us Ponyvillians.

“Come on, Amethyst!” Rainbow demanded.

“Baltimare is catching up!” Spyglass proudly stated.

And indeed the orange mare had already solved the door, and was running through it.

Spyglass gave his wife a wry smile, “And Coltumbus is still at the first door...”

“Just you wait. Remember, we still have Quicksilver. She’ll dominate the last leg.” Stormy pouted.

“Against Fleet Hoof? You mad?” Spyglass laughed. “Any team that doesn’t give themselves enough of a lead in this leg will lose in the next one.”

“You’re both wrong. Forest’s got that in the bag...” Lavender pointed out, “He’s the fastest I’ve seen.” When the couple looked at her as if she was completely out of her mind, she smiled at them and simply said in a high voice, “You’ll see...”

I could only grin at that. They were putting a lot of faith in me. I wasn’t about to disappoint.

“All Earth ponies currently running for their respective cities, please make your way to the chariots provided.” The announcer stated, gesturing to a series of chariots being pulled by the Princesses’ Pegasi guards.

I watched in horror as the first one took three of the racers upwards into the sky. It paused for a moment before moving off through the air. My heart turned to ice. Through the air?

Shit.

“Something the matter, Forest?” Twilight asked.

“Is there a way I could... walk?” I asked.

“Oh Forest.” Twilight replied, remembering that I was now fearful of anything with heights. “Wait, I’ve got an idea!”

She walked to a tall pole that was used to hang one of the RACE banners on it. There were long strips of ribbon in a multitude of colors and Twilight used her magic to pull one down. Hovering it over to me, she carefully wrapped it around my eyes and tied it behind my head.

“There. That should help.”

“Thanks, Twilight.”

“We’ll see you at the end, Forest.” That was Spyglass’ voice, “We’re going to to the stadium in a bit. We’ll be there when you cross the line.”

“See you there, then.” I replied.

Twilight led me to the nearest chariot. All the while she told me to relax and to not think about flying hundred of feet in the air. That really didn’t help things, but I appreciated the thought. After a few moments, I got into the thing. It was difficult to do blindfolded. After that I felt two more ponies get out.

“Forest,” I felt her breath on my ear as she whispered to me, “I have to tell you something after the race. But only if you win.”

My face felt hot. The closeness, and with the blindfold over my eyes, I couldn’t help it. My legs felt weak, and my heart was racing as it beat in my chest. I even felt a little... something stir... down.. there...

“Ready?” Somepony asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. Everything reverted back to normal.

“Ready,” I mumbled, relieved that nothing... popped up.

The chariot under me shifted, and up I rose. The feeling of the breeze through my mane didn’t help relax me. I lowered myself in the chariot hoping that I’d feel safer, but it all honesty it didn’t do anything.

“Remember what I said!” Twilight shouted, “But only if you win!”

I just raised my hoof a little, hoping that she saw it, before I lowered it again. Fear gripping my soul.

“Relax, just enjoy it.” Somepony said.

“I want to. But yesterday... I fell off an airship in a bucket...”

There was a long silence. Curiously, I lowered my blindfold, and the two Earth ponies with me were also huddling down in the back. They grinned nervously when they saw me staring at them. I suddenly felt real bad. I didn’t mean to scare them.

Luckily the trip didn’t take too long and we hopped off the chariot eagerly, letting our hooves dig into the dirt, thankful that we made it safely. I even kissed the ground I was so happy.

Taking in the area we were at, I noticed the starting line under a banner with the words ‘Start’ written on it. We were on an island, I think. Or maybe it was a peninsula? Well, whatever it was, the starting line was about a hundred meters away from the edge of the water in front of a sandy slope that was a cross between a pebble and a sandy beach. The course was clearly marked with colorful buoys across a huge lake that made a direct line towards the mountain. Looking into the distance, I could barely make out the other shore. This was going to be a long swim. Lavender was right, the lake back in Ponyville was a puddle compared to this! No wonder she made me swim so much.

I noticed that I couldn’t see the palace, so I assumed we were on the far side of the mountain. The palace would be hidden behind the tall peaks. It was clear then that we swam across the lake, then would run back up into the mountain and towards the finish line.

Great. That means the vast majority of this running race is uphill. Figures.

Pegasi cameramen were hovering around us. It was strange seeing so many, about half a dozen or so. They seemed to be looking for someone.

At one corner of the beach I noticed that there was a screen setup. This one had speakers and we could hear the commentary. Why didn’t the ones from the palace have speakers? That seemed rather... well, actually they did call it a lounging area. Maybe they didn’t have speakers so that it would be quieter?

As I walked closer to the screen, the image changed from the caves to the studio. Princess Celestia was now sitting next to Loud Speak.

“... and that Ponyville Pony took her time on that second puzzle as well. But I feel really sad for Manebourne. From second place to ninth, that must be a blow to her team’s morale.” Loud Speaker stated.

Princess Cadence was nowhere to be seen. She had probably gone to rest herself for her part in projecting the last leg of the race. My leg. The Earth pony biathlon.

“I wouldn’t get ahead of myself. There are plenty of different kinds of trials. I think you’ll be very surprised, Loud Speaker. I designed the Unicorn part of the race myself.” Princess Celestia replied, using her magic to levitate a cup of tea to her lips, “I wouldn’t count anypony out of this race just yet.”

“On a side note, we’ve got wind of a... rumor.” Loud Speaker began.

“Oh?” Princess Celestia perked her ears.

“Apparently Twilight Sparkle, sister-in-law to Princess Cadence...”

“Yes, I am very familiar with who she is.” Celestia pointed out.

“Yes, of course. I was just informing our audience. Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and the sister of Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard and husband to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza... well, rumor has it that Twilight Sparkle has a coltfriend taking part in this race.”

“What?” Princess Celestia exclaimed.

“What?” I exclaimed.

“What?” Several other ponies exclaimed.

“Oh yes. We’ve had numerous ponies attest to this.” Loud Speaker said, loving Celestia’s shocked expression. “This morning she was spotted walking with the mystery stallion near the palace when he clearly announced that he was indeed the Element’s coltfriend after being asked by several members of the public. There was no denial from Miss Sparkle or from the stallion.”

“Oh no...” I groaned, feeling my face flush again, but at the same time I felt a knot in my gut. What would Applejack think? I had broken all chances of us being together, and now this announcement? What would she think? “This is not good. Not good at all.”

“She hasn’t told me any of this...” Princess Celestia mumbled to herself. “Interesting...”

No! Concentrate on the RACE, Forest. You need to get your mind back into the game!

Then a familiar looking beach appeared on screen, and everypony there stared at themselves, then up at the cameramen above us. A few waved. Fleet Hoof struck a dramatic pose.

“Yes, we can conclusively state that one of these stallions is the rumored coltfriend.” I heard the speaker next to me blare, “An Earth pony!”

I wanted to die. I felt so embarrassed. But I tried to keep my face from exploding as I stood in the crowd of racers trying to hide myself in case somepony had managed to get a description of me.

“So, who do you think it is?” Loud Speaker asked, “We have some clues, but we’re not sure.”

Princess Celestia shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine, although I think I might have some idea as to who it is.”

“Care to share?” Loud Speaker asked.

“I’m afraid that I cannot do that in good conscience.” Princess Celestia looked at the camera, a knowing smile on her face, “But I’m sure that if he’s watching he’ll know exactly who we’re talking about.”

It felt like she was looking right at me. I fought the blushing sensation in my cheeks, shoving it down as hard as I could.

“And there you have it. Even Princess Celestia has an idea who it is! Isn’t it exciting? We promise to reveal all once we get more details. Anyway, back to the race!” The scene on the screen changed back to the caves mitigating the feeling of humiliation that threatened to make my head explode.

The camera cut away to Starlight, the Unicorn from Manehatten, standing next to a ledge. Below was a floor with different shapes cut out of the stone floor. A camera from overhead revealed glowing objects inside each hole them. The mare stood with her forehooves apart and her horn began to glow. The object in the nearest to her slowly rose up through the hole. But, as soon as it touched the edge the glow vanished around the object, and it dropped back into the hole with a loud thud.

Likcing her lips, she tried again. This time the object rose out of the hole without touching any of the sides. As it did, on the far side of the room a platform rose up from the ground stopping just level with the ledge. Starlight ran over to it and stood on its edge and began to levitate the next shape. She concentrated and moved it slowly upwards, but again, it touched the edge and dropped back down. She shouted something out of anger, and resumed the attempt.

The camera then cut away to the other pony, the one that wore the thick glasses, as she was pulling up the final object from the hole in the ground. This one was a lot more complex than the others. It was similar to the shape of Celestia’s Cutie Mark, circular sun with wavy beams of sunlight. That was a really difficult one to match.

Amethyst was starting on her first object when the glasses pony finished her last one, completing the bridge across the floor and ran out of the room.

Starlight kept on trying on the third shape, an oval, and Amethyst was quickly catching up to her. It made sense that she’d be good at this. She was a jeweler after all. Dealing with small stones and being precise must have taken a lot of concentration and precision, so being able to complete this task shouldn’t have been too difficult for her. And it showed. She calmly and efficiently blew through the first five shapes easily, and had caught up to Starlight on the sixth and last one; Celestia’s sun.

And about the same time, the two of them completed the puzzle, the final platform raising itself up. They both bolted towards the exit.

“Come on Amethyst!” I yelled, rooting for my teammate.

“Hop to it, Starlight!” Fleet Hoof demanded.

When they exited their respective doorways, they were stunned to see each other on the other side. The tunnels had once against merged together. In the distance the two of them spotted another pony out in front and soon they both concentrated in going after her.

Now I could see a Unicorn staring into a deep ravine. At the bottom was a lake. Amethyst came out of one of the tunnels and caught up with the pony in front of her. She too looked down into the ravine, and then at a flat piece of wood on the other side. Her horn began to glow and the plank started to move towards her.

In the meantime, another pony was running up a path cut into the ravine’s side, one of the planks below had sunk to the bottom of the lake.

“Looks like Sync from New Saddle had fallen! Let’s go back to the replay...” And the screen then showed the pony riding on the platform, but at about three quarters of the way across, the magical glow vanished and the poor Unicorn plunged down, the platform sinking straight to the bottom while the Unicorn followed behind about a second later. “She must have miscalculated how much magic she needed to successfully cross the gorge.”

“The time it takes to run up the slope is around five minutes. That’s a lifetime in a race such as this. Anything could happen.” Princess Celestia smiled. This was what she meant about not counting out anypony in the race. It was useless trying to predict the outcome.

Amethyst made it across! As did the pony that was with her. The two of them running side by side. Behind them, a few more ponies were starting the platform challenge.

Looking at the ranking list on the right side of the screen, I noticed that we were now in fifth place, behind Baltimare, Manehatten, Stableside and Windsoar. In the back of my mind I wondered how Spyglass and Petal were feeling now that their team were in the lead.

Then, just like that, Baltimare suddenly dropped to fourth. The screen quickly showed the orange mare at the bottom of another ravine swimming towards a staircase. Above her the Manehatten Unicorn was slowly floating over the gap. Unlike before, where the Unicorns had to move across using a platform, this time they had to use their own magic to do so. Levitate themselves. It was a long way across, almost twice the distance as the previous challenge, and the going was slow. Then, just before Matehatten reached the end, the Unicorn also fell down in the water far below. In fact, most of them did.

Standing there, Amethyst sat down and closed her eyes. The pony next to her just jumped and started hovering over the gap slowly making her way across. But unlike the others, she instantly fell down, not even making it halfway.

The camera panned over to Princess Luna, who had her eyes closed and looked like she was sleeping, but her horn was glowing furiously as she was projecting the race with her magic.

“Princess Luna is hard at work bringing this section of the RACE to you.” Loud Speaker stated.

Luna, still with her eyes closed, waved to the camera.

“Well, here we are at the final obstacle under the castle. The Unicorns have descended the entirety of the mountain and are now at the very base of it. An amazing show of intellect, magic, and speed! What do you say, Princess? Who do you think has shown out especially this leg?”

“I have to say that so far the pony from Manehatten has been very good, although there are other ponies that have shown exceptional resilience and brilliance so far.” Princess Celestia answered.

“Is it true that the Element of Magic was originally supposed to race on behalf of Ponyville?” Loud Speak asked.

“Indeed she was, but I had asked her to help me setup the Unicorn trials. So, in order for the RACE to be fair, I had asked her not to take part in the race, or reveal any of the tasks to anypony.” Princess Celestia smiled, “Most of the puzzles are her idea.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! The Element of Magic had helped create the course! Let’s get back to the action.”

The camera cut back to the caves, and showed the various other ponies in various areas in the trails. Most were attempting the third puzzle, the objects and the hole on the ground, while others were halfway through it.

Amethyst sat down peering over the edge of a ravine. She remained where she was, while the other Unicorns were running up the stairs towards the top of the ravine. The distance was a long way up. If we made this, we would be not only in the lead, but we’d be far, far ahead of the others.

Seemingly coming to an answer, Amethyst stood up, turned around and jogged back the way she came. Taking a running start, she leapt as far as she could. Then, using her magic, she caught herself in the air, the glow of her magic surrounding her body, and she ‘threw’ her body the remaining distance across the gap. She landed on her forehooves, but miscalculated the force of the momentum. She stumbled on her step and landed heavily, rolling across the floor.

For a moment, she didn’t move. And, as the dust settled she pushed herself up from the ground. She had done it! We were in first once again! The jubilation I felt made my heart skip a beat.

But as she took her first step, my heart sank. She had fallen down again. What had happened? Then she pushed herself up, and I saw that she was limping. And pretty badly as well. She had landed wrong! She was in pain! I could see it on her face as the camera zoomed in on her.

Oh no! Take it easy, Amethyst. Slowly...

That took me by surprise. I’ve always been competitive and have always had a strong desire to win no matter what. But now... I was actually more concerned for her than winning. I didn’t want her to get any permanent damage and I hated the fact that she was in pain. I felt my body clench up as I willed her pain to go away.

I had come a long way from being a major butthole, and I liked this new me. I really did. I felt good, and I had good friends. And I wanted to remain their friends forever.

“Come on Amethyst! One hoof at a time!” I shouted.

The screens were showing the replay of Amethyst’s ‘jump’, and I could see where she went wrong. She had landed on her forehoof and twisted around landing really hard. She was the very first one to get out of the caves.

There she stood facing the last and final challenge; a series of teleportation jumps. A camera from high up in the sky showed the course. She had to ‘jump’ four islands to get to me, each jump was a little further than the last, with the last island almost four times further than the first one. That was a total of five separate jumps! The last one was huge! I was starting to get worried. But at least she didn’t have to run far... right?

So, I am on an island... I muttered in my head, looking at the map. Too bad it didn’t show the route that the Earth ponies were going to take.

On each island there was a small wood arch in bright colors with the RACE logo on top. According to Loud Speaker, after each jump, the Unicorns have to go through these gates to prevent them from skipping islands along the way. Made sense. But it also made my heart sink. Poor Amethyst would have to limp through these!

Amethyst limped through the first gateway and stood at the edge of the peninsula. With a flash of bright light she disappeared, like the time when Twilight used that spell in Esperia when Spike, Aiden and I...

Yeah, good times.

A moment later, Amethyst appeared on the first island and started limping towards the next gate. Behind her nine other teams had exited the tunnels in a large ground and were running towards the peninsula as well. She had such a huge lead! If only she hadn’t fallen!

The other ponies had all teleported themselves as soon as they entered the gateway, making it seem that the gateway itself had teleported them. They reached the first island just as Amethyst teleported to the second one and began making her way towards the gateway. The other teams ran past her as Amethyst struggled along gritting her teeth, and fighting the tears in her eyes. She had tried so hard! And got so far!

Just relax, Star. Just get to me...

Amethyst blinked again and appeared on the third island, as she tried to cope with the pain.

“Go Manehatten!” A pony yelled. It was from the Unicorn that was projecting the screen. He grinned at it, and waved a little plastic-looking flag that was red with a yellow lightning bolt through it. “Feel bad for that Ponyville pony, though. She had this in the bag...”

“Tell me about it.” Somepony else replied.

“Go, Amethyst Star!” I yelled. “That’s her name!”

The Unicorn nodded, “Yeah! Go, Amethyst!” He put away his Manehatten flag and pulled out a Ponyville one. It was the same colors as my uniform, and had a large ‘P’ in white.

“Can... can I have that?” I asked.

“Sure. Here, take two. I’ve got plenty.” He said handing it to me.

“Thanks.”

“Hey, do you mind if I got your autograph? I want to get as many as I can.” He said, holding out a piece of paper and a pen.

“Sure. Why not.” I signed it exactly like the time I signed for that guy at the farm. Forest Fire, with one ‘F’ and ‘orest ire’ next to it.

“Cool sig, bro.” He said looking at it. “Name’s Light Wit. Nice to meet you...” He looked at my signature, “Forest Fire.”

“Nice to meet you, Light.” I held out my hoof.

He shook it and grinned, “So, know who Sparkle’s coltfriend is?”

“Uh...” I tried to think of someone.

“I think it’s Fleet Hoof.” He said, nodding to himself, “Makes sense for the fastest pony in all Equestria... well, fastest Earth pony, to be the coltfriend to someone like that.” He sighed, “Wish I had a shot.”

A light smile escaped my lips, “You like Twilight, eh?”

“Who doesn’t? She’s kind, beautiful, gentle, talented, amazing, and... and...” He just sighed.

And he was right. She was all those things.

“Well, I just hope that whoever this so-called coltfriend is, he treats her right. Or I’ll buck him up! That I swear! I’ll do it! I’ll make him rue the day he was born if he hurts her!” He was shaking his hoof in front of his face. I’m sure it would’ve been very dramatic if he had a fist instead.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

I turned back to the screens and my heart sank. From first place we were now fourteenth, and the next set of racers were already catching up. Still Amethyst refused to give in. Her eyes were full of determination as she teleported to the next island.

Here, several other ponies were waiting, and I felt my heart leap! She was catching up. But why were they all waiting?

A couple of ponies walked to the edge of the island and started to charge up. The light of their horns glowing brighter and brighter before they vanished in a ‘pop’ of light. It was a lot more powerful and bigger than before. Out of the four Unicorns, only two managed to reach the island, while the other two came up short, falling into the water. They had to paddle the rest of the way onto the island, which made their positions drop as other Unicorns managed to teleport directly to the island, passing them by.

Amethyst concentrated and in a second she teleported right at the edge of the next island before limping her way over towards the next gate.

“I see them!” Somepony shouted, pointing into the distance.

Turning around, I spotted the Unicorns on the final island in the distance. They were tiny little specks of colors on the gray rocky shore. Again, they had all stopped and a few of them were waiting. This was the last ‘hop’, the last segment of the Unicorn leg before ours.

In my gut I felt butterflies. This was it. Soon, it would be me running! I felt a little sick and decided to start warming up by stretching. It had more to do with trying to get me to relax rather than getting ready to run. I’ve never stretched before, so it wasn’t to get myself ready to run.

A couple of the Unicorns surrounded themselves in a bright aura, the others were ‘charging’ themselves up a moment later. Then one by one they vanished. Then ‘poof’ the first Unicorn appeared. He or she had failed to cross the entire distance, swimming the rest of the way quickly towards us. As if on cue, another Unicorn appeared closer, but he didn’t make it either, falling into the water with an angry growl as he started to swim.

A couple other ponies also fell short until one of them actually appeared on the shore itself. He sprinted up to her teammate putting the hoof securely over his head. The Earth pony gave her a nod before rushing by her and through the gateway towards coast and into the water. Three more Unicorns appeared, and their respective teams waited for the hoop be placed onto them.

Watching the screen, I saw Amethyst standing at the edge of another island as our place in the ranks dropped to last. We were twentieth now, and she was starting to cross the fourth island, while the second last pony was already at the end of it.

Come on, Star. Just a little more...

“See you at the finish line...” Fleet Hoof taunted, before bursting out in laughter and rushing into the water.

“Oh, you’ll see me!” I called after him. “When I pass your sorry flank!”

He didn’t respond. No, he was in the zone now. Concentrating on the race. A true professional. I had to give it to the guy, he was someone who may have joked and teased, but when it came down to it he did what he needed to do. No wonder he was so popular.

It was disheartening to watch the ponies all go. Each one running past me and into the water starting their long swim. There was nothing I could do but wait. Wait for Amethyst to reach me. Each second that passed by ached as I saw all hope of victory slipping out of reach. My resolve was faltering, my wish for freedom slowly fading away.

“Come on, Amethyst...” I muttered.

A camera was in my face, and I gave it a filthy look.

“Oh my, looks like Ponyville’s runner isn’t too pleased with his teammate coming in last...” I heard Loud Speaker’s voice from the speaker behind me, “From first to last, I’m sure that everypony in Ponyville right now is not pleased with Amethyst Star’s performance.”

“No! I’m annoyed at the camera in my face!” I shouted at the camera man. “Not because of her! My teammate is doing her best! I’m not going to let her or anypony down!”

Of course they couldn’t hear me... could they?

“Well, you heard it folks. That’s... Forest Fire from Ponyville. He’s being ambitious if he thinks he can still catch up at this point...”

Normally I’d be shy and bashful about shouting into a camera, but right now all I could think of was getting my three wishes. My wish for freedom. I didn’t care what it took. I’d win this race, or I’d die trying. Really, that’s how much it meant to me. That’s how much I wanted it. This wasn’t about winning anymore, it was about survival. My survival.

The nineteenth placed pony rushed past me, and gave her teammate a peck on the cheek, “Good luck, my love.” She whispered placing the hoop over his head.

“Thanks. I’ll need it...” He whispered back and started his swim.

Amethyst appeared at the edge of the island, and my heart leapt! She was there! Almost! So close!

“Stay inside the box!” A judge shouted, “The trade must take place within the box!”

“She’s injured!” I retorted.

“That’s the rules.” The judge sternly replied. “No exceptions.”

Angrily, I paced the edge of the box closest to Amethyst. She had started to charge her magic, and in a flash she vanished. She appeared near the island, but not on it. Poor, poor Amethyst. I could tell she was in so much pain as she started to swim towards the island.

“Not much further! You got this!” I yelled, encouraging her. “Almost!”

Slowly, she swam up to the shore and limped towards me. Closer. Step by step. One at a time. Her front right hoof precariously in the air, while her rear right leg was slightly bent to take the weight off of it. She was limping on two legs, not three. She must have taken a serious fall.

She reached me and I pulled her into the box, helping take her weight off her legs. “You’ve done it! It’s over now.”

“Forest... please... take...” She said grimacing in pain, placing the hoop over my head. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, “I’m... s-s-sorry...”

“Don’t worry. You did great. Leave the rest to me, okay?” I assured her as I set the hoop down, placing the two flags I had received from Light Wit around the rim to secure it to my uniform. “Now it’s my turn. See you at the finish line.”

Amethyst smiled and wiped her tears away from her eyes. “Go get ‘em.”

Turning myself around I rushed through the starting line, grinning sadistically.

Here I come, Equestria. Here I come, Canterlot. Here I come... better not blink. You’ll miss it.