I rose early, donning a new pair of sweatpants and a new pullover, the same color as my feathers (Grey.) I pull open the door to my room, which my grandfather insisted on decorating with my medals and trophies from the war, and quickly descend the stairs as quietly as I can. Granted, nobody was asleep, not even the lilla Scootaloo, but I didn't want them asking me where I was going. Surprisingly enough, I manage to make it out the door without incident, and casually start walking. The sun wasn't shining as bright today as it was yesterday, for which I am grateful. I'm not the biggest fan of hot, sunny days.

Egh.

There are, again, few ponies up at this hour except those who were setting up their stalls. Some waved to me as I passed, even though I was only introduced yesterday. Honestly, some of these ponies were so friendly, so sweet... it was almost sickening. The library comes into view, and I quickly shake this thought from my head. I'm not going to ruin this picnic, even on accident, if I can help it.

I raise a paw to knock on the door when it suddenly opens, revealing a surprised Twilight.

"Oh, Adrian! You're early!" She smiles at me. She stands aside, letting me in.

She's gonna bug you with questions-

Shut up, damnit.

"So, I've been wondering..." Twilight starts excitedly. Told you.

"Let me guess, how Greyfeathers can cancel magic?" I sigh. She nods eagerly. Okay, you were right.

"Simple. We don't actually cancel spells. We absorb the magic powering the spells. No magic, no spell, less death on the battlefield." Her eyes widen and her grin grows. "As to how we're able to do this... there's a couple rituals you have to partake in in order to become a Greyfeather. Which I will not discuss." her smile falters. "Trust me, it's painful."

Before she even get's a chance to speak, the door flies open and Rainbow walks in with a cocky grin. Followed closely behind her was a rather shapely yellow pegasus with a light pink mane, with a butterfly cutiemark. She looks so... sweet, kind... fragile...

Aaaand gonna nip that in the bud. I quickly shake my head before addressing them.

"Hello Rainbow. Who's this?" I ask, once again cutting off any chance of Twilight speaking. Heh, she looks irritated.

"This is Fluttershy." Twilight answers me, earning a sudden squeak from the mare in question as she tried to hide behind her mane.

"O-oh, um...h-h-hello..." If my ears weren't so sharp, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have heard that. I just give her a nod, then turn to Rainbow.

"Well, are the others on their way?"

She blows a stray strand of her mane out of her face. "Yeah, they'll be here in a coupla minutes. Slowpokes." The pink one (Pinkie Pie I think) worries me, so I'm not complaining about her being late. "So, why're you here so early anyway?" she asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"A habit I picked up back home." I say simply.

++++++

Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie show up a little while later. I've already met Pinkie, and Applejack seemed a little wary of me, but otherwise was very personable. Rarity, on the other hand...

"Oh my, what a lovely shade of purple!" the white unicorn exclaims suddenly. I was sitting down, and I guess some of my fur was visible. Now that I look, it's the same color as her styled mane. Thank Hresvelgr she didn't notice my h- anyway.

"Ah, thank you. Not a lot of my kind have this kind of fur, so I've been hiding it." Well, that's not the only reason, but anyway.

"So, it isn't dyed?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Dye is horrible for your coat." She only smiles at this, and gives a slight nod.

"Everypony ready to go?" Twilight asks suddenly, interrupting our budding conversation. Everyo-pony- nodded, Pinkie hopping up and down excitedly.

"Yup! All set, Twilight!" Gods, she's unnerving.

"Alright, let's go girls! Oh yeah, and Adrian."

++++++++

The spot picked out by Twilight was a hill just outside town, with a single tree to shade us from the brightening sunlight. I carefully laid out the checkered blanket-

Rooaar!!

Ah, fan. Nu kör vi...*

Author's Note

*translation: Ah, hell. Here we go...