Adventure awaits.

The view from the sky chariot was nothing short of breathtaking. Snow caps on the mountain peaks melted into rushing rivers below. Eventually, they would water the lush evergreen forests and farms of the pastel pony's homeland. Even after her adventures took her all over the world, living in such a beautiful place was never lost on Twilight. She laughed to herself thinking how Equestria was even more beautiful now since she had been stuck in a featureless desert for the last few weeks. She turned to David with a genuine smile.

"Soo? What do you think? Pretty nice huh?" She provoked David with her cheeky smirk.

"Hmm." David pondered lazily for a moment before speaking dully. "Truthfully, It's probably the most beautiful sight I've ever seen." He finished his remark with a tiny sagely nod.

She raised an eyebrow at his lack luster response. "Really?" She scoffed harder than she meant to. "It doesn't sound like it."

"Ehh. Yeah, I think? I mean, it's much more colorful than my world. It looks like something off the back of a post card... You do have postcards here right?"

Twilight studied the human's impassive face for a few moments before speaking.  "We do..." She said slowly. "David, don't take this the wrong way but you've been acting strange for the past few hours. Are you feeling okay?"

He shrugged and rocked his head from ear to ear. "Kind of. I mean, I guess. Why?"

She leaned over and put one hoof on his forehead and the other on hers, trying to take his temperature. He seemed warm to the touch but that may just have been the warm summer afternoon sun combined with an open chariot. He stared lazily into her eyes. If she had been a betting mare she would have put her bits on his eyes being much brighter during their walk on the docks a few hours earlier. Twilight then looked to Luna who had dawned her impassive princess face.

Twilight furrowed her brow. She may not know WHAT the princesses were thinking when they made that face but she had spent enough time around Celestia to recognize it for what it was; Luna knew something and didn't want to talk about it. She turned back to David who had a somewhat pleasant, if not dopey, look in his eyes as he searched the horizon.

"I recommend we go straight to the infirmary when we get back to the castle. What do you think Luna?" She prompted.

The moon princess finally spoke, and even had more to say than a one syllable grunt this time. "Go if you want to but they won't find anything Twilight, but if it will ease your mind, by all means." She waved her hoof dismissively without making much eye contact. Twilight had all but lost her patience. Luna's mood had seemed to sour over the last few hours too. "Why is she acting so strange and what the hay did she mean by 'they won't find anything.?" Twilight's lightning quick mind ran through all the possible conclusions as to why that would be. One; The doctors wouldn't find anything because there was nothing TO find or. Two; There IS something but it's not something a medical doctor would look for. Twilight bit her tongue for remainder of the trip, she simply put on her own best princesy face and played tour guide to their new friend. Whatever Luna was hiding, it was hers to figure out.

"What is he Princess?" The old and graying Earth pony asked as he pulled a dry wooden popsicle stick out of the human's throat. David scrunched up his nose and smacked his tongue at the dry texture. "I don't have the slightest clue where to begin. As far as I can tell he is a mammal. I see a heart, two lungs, only one kidney but still... There's even a brain up there." He punctuated his remark with a light bonk of David's skull.

David snorted. He wanted to laugh more, it was a pretty funny joke but the past few hours had left him feeling a bit drained and pleasantly disconnected.

"This is no time for joking Doctor, isn't there anything you can do for him?" Twilight asked, also ignoring the gem of a joke.

"Princess, I'm afraid without knowing more about his metabolism, diet or this... anti-magic. I can't, in good conscious, give him any medicine. Even some of the lighter broad spectrum medication might prove fatal. I could cause an allergic reaction or worse. I recommend just letting him rest for now. As far as I can tell his vitals are stable enough. I haven't seen any significant change in an hour or so. This should give us a good base line should something change."

Twilight sighed, mumbling about how his physical well-being wasn't what she was worried about. She smiled a weary smile and thanked him anyway. "Thank you doctor, if we need anything else, I know where to find you."

The doctor gave her a smile of condolence and walked out of the room, moving out of the way of Luna who was standing in the hallway talking to one of her maid ponies. Twilight new that now was her chance. No sooner than the door swing shut she began casting her spell. It was a lesser form of a more powerful true-seeing spell. She had only read about twice and practiced once. It showed hidden things, secret things. It could only be fooled by the most powerful of Alicorn magic or the master of chaos himself.

"Your magic is a pretty color." Remarked David in passing. "Like if purple had the color purple... or something." He grunted at his own joke again but slowly found a spot on the floor to stare at numbly. A bit of drool pooling on his lips.

"Sweet Sun he's getting worse." Twilight stilled herself and took a deep breath. She drew the magic down from her horn and eased it into her pupils. If she moved the magic too quickly it could permanently blind her. Too slowly and she wouldn't get the detail she needed. She tensed her jaw, looked up and met the eyes of the now dumbly smiling human. Her pupils shimmered as she peered into him. What she saw  could not easily be described. Clinking around David's form was fractured colors, a mosaic of emotion. They glittered and moved together like a great sea of broken glass. She staggered, trying to center herself. The sound reminded Twilight of a wind chime in a light breeze. She unconsciously brought a hoof to her mouth.

"It's a soul, HIS soul. A human soul." Twilight whispered.

At first, Twilight couldn't wrap her mind around it. It looked something more akin to Discord's work than anything found naturally. She didn't know much about art, she found it more trouble than it was worth but she knew even color had order to it. Here, she wasn't even sure if her brain KNEW these colors. The first and most obvious thing that struck her was he was NOTHING like a pony. The first and only time she had used the spell was on herself, in a mirror. Something about peering into her own soul disturbed her to the point where she didn't eat for two days. The complexity of David's heart left her stunned. Ponies, at least, had a sense of order and clarity to them, each emotion in constant equilibrium with the others. The magic of Harmony acting as a great set of scales, balancing and keeping all other emotions in check. This went double for the ones directly opposed to harmony. David on the other hoof went from crushing doubt to unfathomable certainty in a time that couldn't be measured. It wasn't just that specific emotion either. Hate to love. Sorrow to gladness. Her mind was screaming at her to run, to get as far away as she could from the madness twisting in front of her eyes, but she couldn't look away. It was like peering into an all consuming storm. She focused her mind and slowed her breathing. She grew to a slow realization. This wasn't magic, there wasn't even a trace of it. The seemingly aimless and chaotic nature was his soul and it was in perfect balance. One emotion never taking over another for more than a fraction of a second. She would even go so far as to call it harmony. Not in the sense as she was taught or understood it, but harmony none the less, and something was disrupting it. There was something else in there causing him to act the way he was. She poured every once of magic she had into her horn, small drops of sweat and tears began to roll down her face. Her knees began to give out and her vision began to dim. She searched frantically before she finally she saw it. Tiny ethereal blue chains snaking in and out of the shards of glass. Her voice seemed distant and felt like sandpaper in her throat. "Found you." It said, and she collapsed to the floor.

Twilight heard shouting and the clip clop of hooves around her. She felt strong appendages lift her up, she smiled because it felt like she was floating instead of flying.

"Twilight! Twilight open your eyes." The voice of Luna pierced the dark of her unconscious mind.

"Luna?... LUNA!" Twilight forcibly woke her self, causing her to wince with the pain of over used magic.

Luna's soft, caring gaze met Twilight's. Even in her disoriented state, the younger Alicorn glared back.

Luna's caring face fell away in an instant and what was left frighted Twilight.

"Yes Twilight?" Luna asked in a cold, uncaring tone. Almost daring Twilight to ask the wrong thing, but sensing she had already figured it all out, she didn't try to hide it any longer. "We already know what you wish to ask us Twilight, so ask and be done with it."

The youngest of the Alicorns took a step forward on shaky legs and spoke in an almost demanding tone. "Did you cast Delirium Binding on David?"

"What's Delirium Binding?" Davids voice croaked from behind them. Luna flinched at his voice and with a burst of speed, she ran.

Twilight galloped down the halls of Canterlot Castle, chasing and yelling after the Princess of the night. "I can't believe you would do that! This isn't the dark ages anymore Luna!"

"We did what we must Twilight Sparkle, nothing more nothing less!" She shouted, half panting.

"Then WHY are you running?!"

Luna screeched to a halt, sliding on all four hooves and flaring her wings. She turned to Twilight who quite nearly ran into her. She gave a shamed look and tried to counter it with her words. "We... Nopony was supposed to find out. It was only going to be temporary. " Her voice faulted under the sweating and panting princess of friendship.

"But.. I don't understand." Twilight huffed and searched the hall with her eyes, as if the answer was hiding in plain sight. "You used Binding but still tried to be his friend? I just don't--" Twilight was cut off by a whisper.

"I knew he was there Twilight Sparkle." Luna feared if she spoke any louder it would cause the human to hear her despite him being on the other side of the castle. "From the first night he slept in the prison, I knew he was there." Twilight sat on her haunches, signaling she wasn't moving until Luna had told her everything.

Luna took a deep breath, knowing she wasn't going to be able to run forever from the competent teleporting of Twilight."I was walking along the dream-scape like I usually do to begin the night and saw a tall, unfamiliar figure standing on a beach of stars. He was crying and looking longingly off on the horizon. I had never seen another like this. Never had another pony been in the In Between."

"The In Between?" Twilight questioned.

Luna nodded. "Most ponies see doors in a hallway, some even see floating orbs filled with dreams. It's different for each creature. Their minds translate the dreamscape into something that they can grasp. Minds have a very unique way of protecting themselves. Normally, the only way they can come to the In Between is with my guidance." Twilight nodded. There wern't any books about this. She made a mental note to ask Luna later for more detail. With great reluctance she nodded for her to continue.

"David either couldn't feel my presence or didn't care, so I walked up next to him. My eyes never left him. He was in such a state Twilight. It broke my heart like no other even though I had never seen his species. I didn't dare to look upon the spot in which he was staring but I couldn't help myself. As I turned I nearly screamed. A tangle of blood and bodies Twilight. They were strewn about like broken dolls amidst a sea of mangled metal. The figures seemed much smaller than the creature next to me. Again, even though we had never met I knew them to be children. He numbly looked over the bodies that littered the ground and I felt his rage. I had never felt anger like that Twilight, never."

Twilight gulped. "Never never... even when..?" She trailed off, hoping Luna would get the picture.

"Never." Luna assured with great finality. "I stood next to him in horrid silence. I watched the view from his mind as he ran to a large yellow piece of metal. It seemed to be some sort of large vehicle built for many passengers. I saw a red stop sign on its side, just like what we have here in Canterlot. He was screaming something but I couldn't make it out. I didn't know what to make of the scene and I almost turned away. Just then, I saw another human stumble into view. He had a broken bottle in his hand and a somewhat far away look in his eyes. He had a few cuts about him but was in fairly good condition compared to all the others. I figured it was some sort of vehicular collision but judging by how twisted the metal was they were probably traveling at high speeds. Much faster than most ponies would be able to travel. I know it sounds absurd Twilight and I don't know how I knew, but I did."

"That's-- that's frighting and somewhat amazing Luna but that doesn't explain why you would do that to him. Delirium Binding is considered a forbidden spell. It hasn't been used since... well since before Nightmare Moon's banishment. It is reserved for the most cruel and abhorrent of creatures; ponies who lack the gentle touch of harmony call. David he, I don't underst-" Twilight was caught off guard by the tears now forming in Luna's eyes.

"Yes, I know Twilight." The shivers that shot down the purple Alicorn's spine threatened to sap the strength from her legs again. If Luna knew that then what did... Twilight thought and Luna continued.

"In a flash David was upon the man. He had his hands around his throat." Luna pulled her hooves together and held them up in front of her, slightly mimicking the vision replaying in her mind. "I could feel the anger Twilight. It was a tangible thing. It clung to me like a sickness. It moved along my skin like a living, breathing creature. I have been doing this for a very long time and I have never..." She trailed off shuttering.

"The man he had pinned either couldn't or wouldn't fight back. David began striking the man repeatedly in the face. I was scared, and confused. I turned to David to try and make sense of it all... He was smiling Twilight. Smiling as his past self beat another human into unconsciousness. Even when the man laid limp and bleeding he didn't stop. He would have killed him Twilight if he hadn't been pulled away. Then, the vision went blurry and the David on the beach disappeared. I expected then I knew then how dangerous he was. I wasn't going to take any chances. The very next night I found him again, this time he was playing another memory, a different memory. This one was filled with screams and loud explosions. I felt his sorrow and fear and when I caught the sight of blood once more, without hesitation I cast Delirium Binding. I didn't know then about his resistance to magic or how long it would be until it took effect but after I saw him fight Hannibal, I knew I made the right choice. He's dangerous Twilight Sparkle, don't let him fool you."

Twilight stumbled her way back to the infirmary room where David was hopefully still sitting. She drug her hooves, the past few days beginning to catch up to her. She had never experienced anything like this before. Luna told her she had cast the spell when he was asleep. Only Luna had that kind of power. To be able to cast something so complicated over dreams was nothing short of astonishing. "But why did she act so friendly towards him? She showed him her moon. Why would she even bother? Was it to keep him docile? I'm the Princess of Friendship for Celestia's sake! One would think I would notice fake friendship." She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of two familiar voices. One was definitely Davids the other was, "Oh no!"

"My sister told me she was bringing a stallion home but I never guessed it would be, My apologies. What did you say you were again?"

"Hummann." David slurred are rocked on the infirmary bed.

Celestia paused and scrutinized the creature. She was not one to judge anypony by their appearances but he certainly wasn't making it easy. His clothes were tattered and smelled of a prison toilet. The hair on his head was greasy and matted while the hair on his face was patchy and filled with specks of food. Onions by the look of it. When he laughed his breath gave off a rather unpleasant odor she couldn't quite place. It did however make her unconsciously turn away and breath through her mouth.

"And you mentioned a portal of some kind?" She asked in mild disbelief? Celestia didn't think this human could find his way out of a room with no walls, much less activate a magical portal.

David gave her a wild, child-like grin and shook his head violently. A smile played on the Sun princesses lips as she imagined a small jingle bell rolling around in his head.

"I'm ba.. be a doccctoorrrr too." He exclaimed with a broad smile and drooling slur.

"Oh my! That is fascinating!" The princess beamed, letting the patronizing flow freely now. Behind her Twilight cleared her throat. Celestia jumped a little, knowing she was just caught making fun of their guest at his expense. She really didn't mean to, it just kind of happened.

"Ahh my faithful student! Oh, my apologies Princess Twilight, it's true what they say about old habits."

Twilight genuinely smiled at her old title. In truth she didn't mind. During some of her more stressful days as the Princess of Friendship she found herself wishing for the simpler time of friendship reports and who to give her extra gala ticket too. Right now was the opposite side of the spectrum. She decided to cut right to the chase. It was too late in the adventure to start beating around the bush now.

"His name is David and he is a human." She began. The next part was going to suck. "Luna also cast Delirum bi-" No sooner were the words out of her mouth did the expression on Celestia's face change. She reared up on her back legs and put herself between Twilight and the creature.

David had the look of a confused dog. Much to Celestia's surprise he just smiled again, this time with a hint of sadness. His eyes asking "What did I do wrong?"

"-inding." Twilight finished. "And I think it's killing him."

Celestia looked down at David; her face a mix of mistrust and intrigue. Her muscles relaxed slightly and she licked her lips, deciding how to approach the human.  "So, David. Why did you come here? What is your purpose?" She asked, slowly and deliberately.

The human bobbed his head around, almost like a child on a sugar high. Celestia didn't really know what to think, he was almost acting like whatever he wanted to say was going to burst out of him if he didn't say it soon. "If it wasn't for his smell and appearance he would almost be adorable. No. Lulu must have had a good reason to cast such a spell." Her eyes flicked nervously across his surprisingly expressive face. His answers would tell her what she needed to know.

"Weelll." David started in a slightly high pitched voice. His tone that of a foal who was describing (more like rambling) about how his day at school went. "I have a TV show you see and I get to go aalllll over the world looking at cool things most of the time they are like, REALLY old and my friend found something in South America and I hate the jungle but Simon had a plane ticket already and I..." David paused and winced, holding his head. His voice changing, dropping almost an octave. "There was a temple." He recalled.

Celestia's eyes widened a bit, mostly at his statement, partly at his sudden reversal of character. This wasn't what the biding did to ponies at all. They became subdued and compliant, not mentally deficient and childish. Whatever was going on, he was trying to fight it. Whether it was the spell failing or his insidious nature over riding it. David took a deep breath. "There were statues of... you and I think Luna. I-I don't remember. The next think I recall is swimming to the surface of a pond? A prison maybe? That's when I met the camel prince. I think you know the rest." He was out of breath after he finished.

"Uh-huh." Celestia nodded slowly, her mental frustration growing. "Well that did't tell me anything! What is 'TV' or a 'plain' and why does he need a ticket for it? She looked back to the human who was now swinging his legs underneath him and rocking back and forth. His eyes had dimmed somewhat, nothing at all like the spark she saw a moment ago. She didn't know what was going on or what was causing it but her former student was close. He wasn't in any jeopardy physically. It was his mind that was dying.

Twilight watched from a distance, dread and worry stuck on her face for all to see. She was nervous about what the princess was going to do. Based on what Luna experienced, she knew he was a danger. However, a little part of her was hopeful that whatever was wrong with him could be fixed. The reasons having nothing to do with studying him or learning about the world he came from... Well, maybe a little but still. From the little time she spent with him, he wasn't that bad of a guy. But then was that the spell making him docile like it was built to do? Was that him pretending? Questions upon questions. She put the breaks on the mental freight train that threatened to run away with her as her mentor began charging a spell. Much like the true-seeing spell she used, Celestia focused the magic into her horn and then brought it down to her eyes. Twilight marveled at how quick she was and the little effort it took for her mentor to cast. Twilight's special talent may have been magic but there was no substitute for experience. Being an immortal goddess had its perks. It only took a moment before the spell dimmed and Celestia looked back to Twilight.

"Princess Twilight. Could you wait in the hall please?" Twilight's face was easy enough to read "You'll have to trust me Twilight." She nodded and obeyed.

Twilight walked to the door, looking behind her the whole way. Once Celestia thought Twilight couldn't see, she took a deep breath and from her horn came a small golden key made of sunlight. Celestia didn't know but her former student had found a small crack in the door and was watching with rapt attention. Celestia spoke in a small but commanding voice. "I command that you set this victim free and leave him to his own heart and his own mind." A simple phrase but powerful none the less. The golden key silently burst into countless smaller keys each of them finding their own place on the human's skin before vanishing. David's dopey smile went passive and he immediately fell limp.

"I think he's waking up." David heard a familiar voice say. There was a mixture of other voices too.

"It's so tall... and ugly." A raspy voice whispered.

"Sweet Celestia, he smells like death! And just look at what he's wearing! Ghastly!"

"Hush up you two and lets go get the princess right away!" The last sounded like a country girl he knew in college. David heard the flap of hurried wings and hooves fade into the hallway.

David groggily opened his eyes. He remembered being in the infirmary when he fell asleep. He was now in some sort of bedroom. The bed seemed a bit out of proportion but was miles above his previous accommodations. His breath hitched as he tenderly reached for a large red lump forming right above his left temple. This seemed to be the reason his head pounded with every heart beat. He scanned the room and found a few unfamiliar faces. Two snow white ponies clad in golden armor stood at either side of his bed. Two more ponies in what could only be French maid costumes stood in the doorway.

"Uhh." David quavered, trying to grasp what he was actually seeing. "What's going on? Where's Luna?"

"Princess Luna." The guard sneered. "Is on her way, as is Princess Celestia. You'll just have to be patient."

David nodded and laid his head back down. "Good, because I have a lot of questions."

The guard puffed his chest out and was about to lay into the uncouth creature but was cut off as the two royal sisters entered the room, ushering everypony out.

David sat up groaning, man was he sore. He looked from one princess to the other, trying to gauge the looks on their faces. He was surprised to find that his mind was clear. More clear than it had been since coming here. What was more surprising is that he could actually read their faces, despite them not being human. It was creepy how expressive horses could be.

"So." He began.

"Sister, why did you reverse my spell?" Luna growled, interrupting the human.

"Because dear sister, it was killing him." Celestia noted casually, her eyes not turning away from David's. He didn't like those eyes. They saw too much and gave away too little.

Luna relaxed a bit. "No, he would have lived." She huffed.

"As a vegetable, perhaps." The white Alicorn added.

"You did not SEE what I saw Tia. If you did, you would have also bound him."

The word bound sparked a faint memory in David's mind. He spoke up, interrupting the two sisters. "Binding. Delirium binding. I heard it mentioned before, what is it? Magic?"

Luna clenched her jaw, and Celestia sighed and stepped forward. "Yes, it is a very powerful spell designed to force harmony onto a pony or any creature sentient with the capacity to understand right from wrong or good from evil." An albeit simple, inaccurate and understated version of what the spell's true purpose was but it would suffice in this situation.

David looked around the room looking for clarity. "Force Harmony I don't-" He was cut off by Luna who also took a step forward.

"It suppresses and binds all negative emotions in your heart and mind leaving only the magic of Harmony; magic which permeates all things here in Equestria. Anything that would make you anxious, angry, or even a bit unhappy would be removed. This includes blocking or altering memories and perceptions."

David was a lot of things. He was arrogant from time to time, an ass, a pretty good karaoke singer and above all, he was a quick study. Unfamiliar and outside the box concepts excited him. The human's breath quickened a bit. "Holy shit. You mean all this time I've been-"

"Yes." Luna remarked flatly. "Under a spell. Ever since the first night you got here. I saw your dreams, I saw the cruelty you were capable of-" It was Luna's turn to be cut off.

"My dreams?!" David half shouted. "That's-- How?"

"Dreams are my domain." Luna informed, a matter of factly.

"The Hell they are!" David retorted.

Celestia cleared her throat, trying to break up the tension in the room. "Now now. Lets just all take a step back an-"

"No, hell no! That's my mind, my memories. You had, have NO right to look at them any time you please."

"Well, I think I DO!" Luna snarled.

"ENOUGH!" Celestia stormed, her voice shaking the very walls of the castle. She turned to her sister and accused. "You told me that the Cutie Map had displayed your mark over the Camel Kingdoms along with Princess Twilight's. Was that a lie?"

Luna's ears flattened. "It was a simple spell. We had once been linked to the Elements of Harmony... It was for a good reason sister, clearly he is a danger."

"Perhaps Luna, but telling me the truth would have saved us a lot of undue confusion." She insisted. "I could have helped you know?"

"Guhh, I didn't want your help Tia." Luna breathed. "That was the point."

"So yeah, I don't want to break up, whatever this is." David interjected, pointing between them. "But let me get this straight." He cleared his throat and turned his attention to Luna, counting on his fingers. "You break into my dreams without my permission. You see something about me and my past that frightened you. Then you and you alone, decided without any sort of trial or questioning; to... bind my free will? Question: What the hell is wrong with you?"

Luna shouted in defense. "Me?! You beat another human nearly to death and you were smiling, SMILING! What was I supposed to think? That you weren't a threat to my kingdom? My home? My friends? I have made too many mista..." She stopped herself from finishing. "No, I wasn't going to give you a chance. It was a preemptive strike. Sure I could have used force but my way was easier, cleaner."

David's face flashed from confusion to understanding to darkness. He lowered his voice and his head. Celestia visibly shivered as his shoulders and neck tensed. She prepared for an attack but none came. "What did you say?" He asked coolly.

Luna was too caught up in her rage to sense that David had changed his demeanor. "You beat another human amidst a heap of bent metal and blood. I felt your hatred, it was disgusting." She spat. "I gave you the benefit of the doubt then, but the very next night I saw more blood and felt your hatred then too. I knew then you were a threat. You are violent and destructive and your surviving the pit only confirmed my suspicions." Luna finished, her chest heaving after releasing the long pent up secret. She glared at David, expecting him to either attack or at the very least verbally assault her again. Instead, she saw his face was passive... no. It was empty. It was almost as if the spell was still affecting his mind. He was nodding and humming a bit to himself. Not to be thrown off by his tricks, she intensified her glare. What he asked next, stunned her enough to force a step back.

"Have you ever had a child Luna?"

"Wha- I don't see how that has anyt-"

"Just answer the question." He growled with steel.

She paused to look at him and over to her sister. "No, We've never had the pleasure." She uttered, so unsure of her answer she fell temporarily back into her old speech patterns.

He nodded. "Then how could you possibly know what it feels like to lose one?" David proposed, his eyes remaining a cool grey, showing nothing of his inner torment.

Both Luna and Celestia appeared to have been physically struck by his words. Celestia unconsciously took one step to the side away from her sister as if she would catch shrapnel from her if she happened to explode. The lunar princess couldn't speak, her voice was stuck somewhere in her chest.

"What? What happened princess? You were so sure of yourself? Not much to say huh?" He observed, anger climbing its way back into his voice. He paused and put his palms together in front of his nose and took a calming breath. "Well then, since I'm not asleep for you to invade my mind again, let me run you through that day so many years ago." He sat up in his bed and cleared his throat.

"Wait David." Luna pleaded. Her rage replaced by trepidation.

"No!" He pointed a finger at her. "No Luna, you don't get to run away from this. You wanted an explanation, you'll get one. Don't blame me if you don't like the answer." Luna shrunk back as David began his tale.

"I had a wife, once upon a time. Her name was Heather. Young love ya know? I'll tell ya, when she smiled, it would light up the sky... and she loved me far more than I ever deserved. We were married less than two years before she died giving birth to our daughter Lilly." The name coming out more like a choke than a word.

"Lilly was the perfect child. Caring without having to be taught. Compassionate without expecting anything in return." David paused to wipe away a few tears forming in his eyes. "I remember like it was yesterday. Her class was going on a field trip to the petting zoo to learn about the different all different types of animals. My God she was so excited. She rambled endlessly about one animal or another; about which ones she was going to see first and such. Kids ya know? She had me buy her books, actual books on animals! If you knew anything about the current generation of kids on my world, you would be amazed, trust me." David stopped to laugh at himself before his body slumped and his voice softened. "It was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon and I got a call from the school telling me there had been an accident involving my daughter bus."

Celestia gasped and brought her hooves to her muzzle. Luna couldn't move even if she wanted to. "I rushed over to where they said it happened. I wasn't ready... I wasn't ready for what I saw. Her bus had been hit by a much larger vehicle carrying a few dozen tress. I heard the murmurs from the crowd, the driver had ran the red light. I forced my way past the police and began shouting her name. That's when I saw her. She was laying on top of her friend Brandon. He was a boy in her class." David chuckled dryly. "I used to tease her about him being her boyfriend. He was struggling to breath. The paramedics told me after that she had saved his life, she protected him. She protected her friend." He repeated. "I could tell from where I was that she wasn't breathing. I rushed over and knelt down, touching her face, praying she was okay. I couldn't lose her too, not both of my loves. I remember crying as my fingers touched her skin. She was already cool. Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye. The driver of the semi-truck stumbled his way out of his cab without so much as a scratch on him. In his hand he held a half empty bottle of whiskey. Everything in that moment was so clear." David let out an odd disbelieving laugh and his voice softened. "I saw his face, he didn't even know. HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HE HAD DONE!" David roared through his gritted teeth, his fists clenching.

The princesses flinched backward at his sudden but not unwarranted outburst. "So, I lost it. I sprinted across the other children. They were so small." He whispered, his voice so tiny and frail it hurt Luna's heart. "And that's where you started Luna. I dream about that day over and over again. Yes, I tackled the man. He still wore that stupid confused look on his face, and was going to kill him. I was going to beat him to death with my bear hands and he would have died not knowing why."

He looked up and away from his un-clenched hands to the two Alicorns in front of him. "I'm sorry." He sobbed. Their masks had been cracked. Celestia openly wept. David wasn't saying sorry to them, he was apologizing to his little girl. Besides the tears, Luna didn't show any other signs of crying. She looked to David and then to her sister. Her horn glowed and she was gone.

Luna wracked with sobs. She grabbed her lush blankets and wailed into them. David had made her relive a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Shame. Shame at her self, shame at her hasty decision, shame at her sister for being right and the knowing she should have told her. This was different from the mistakes she had made as Nightmare moon. She wasn't herself then. She had been told many times by her friends that she wouldn't have done what she did if it wasn't for the corrupted influence. Then, she could at least use that as somewhat of a justification to her actions but not this time. This mistake was hers and hers alone. Despite her good intentions she knew she had made a horrible, unforgivable mistake.

David's tears had all dried up leaving his face smeared with dirt streaks and puffy eyes. He still stared at his hands which were clenching and unclenching. "This is crazy." He finally said.

"How so." Celestia asked softly.

He scoffed a laugh. "Just." He paused. "Everything." He waved his arms around him. "I finally have most of my mind back. I feel good actually, better than I think I should."

"Most?" Celestia puzzled.

He nodded. "My memory is fractured. There are huge chunks of time still missing. Is that normal? For the spell I mean."

She hummed in thought. "Maybe? You'll have to forgive me. We've never had to undo a binding before. Plus you aren't a pony. Whatever has happened to your memories could be permanent, we'll just have to wait and see." David nodded but didn't speak. "I'm sorry for my sister." Celestia added in haste. "She can be rash and stubborn and she did have good intentions." She started to ramble but David waved her off.

"I don't blame her for why she did it. She was protecting her friends. I'm still mad at the HOW she did it that bothers me."

"Really?" She asked, not holding back her joy. "That's wonderful ne-"

David shook his head, cutting her off again. Celestia looked at him, puzzled.

"Then why?"

"You all have talked about Harmony. Twilight talked about friendship and all that jazz. Luna...She weaponized it. She used friendship as a weapon, a justification to keep me subdued. That strikes me as a bit hypocritical but still, that's not why I'm mad."

He sighed. "I can understand being afraid of the unknown and even over reacting. I am new. At times I AM violent..." He turned his full body to face her and looked into her eyes with all the seriousness his puffy, dirty face could muster. "Why would she try and be my friend? She could have just told me. Put me in a cage, told me about the spell. Explained to me that I could be a threat. We almost kissed..."

"Oh my." Celestia breathed. "I didn't know." That was a dangerous road better left untraveled for now.

"So, you would have complied? Just like that? Let us put you in a cage?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hell no!" David laughed. "I would have fought you like a mad dog but, it wouldn't have ended up the way it did. Luna with a broken heart that I was glad to give her. All this misunderstanding with you and your people err, ponies. And me... Regretting it all. She saved me from the camel's prison, not knowing I was still in one that she had made. Gahh, it's so frustrating! I trusted her blindly, I never do that." He shouted, flopping back into his bed.

Celestia frowned and nodded. "I understand." Her downtrodden mood was broken by a loud sniffing noise. She looked from her place on the chair to David who was sniffing his armpits with a disgusted look on his face.

"Sweet mother of- is that me?!" David shouted in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me I smelled this bad? Wait, can you smell me?"

Celestia burst out laughing. Unable to cope with the sudden mood change in the room it rolled out of her uncontrollably. It worked to thaw her aching heart. "Yes, yes I can." She scrunched up her snout in a playful gesture.

"And I thought I smelled like roses before? Jeeze, if I smell this bad, how bad do I look?" He looked across his chest at Celestia who was pointing at a mirror. He hefted himself off the bed and cautiously made his way to the dresser. He balked at his own reflection.

"I'm hideous." He remarked by rubbing his face with his hand. "How did I not see this before? My producer would kill me if I ever went on screen like this. I mean, I've spent weeks in the jungles without a shower and even then I've never looked this bad. Hell I've been to war and even then..." He trailed off not meaning to. "I don't suppose?" He asked turning to Celestia.

She smiled her motherly smile. "Of course. Once you leave this room, the baths are the first door on the left, You can't miss them."

David nodded and grinned. "And my clothes?" He looked down at his ragged shirt and pants. "I would wash them myself but I'm afraid they would fall apart."

"Don't worry. My staff will take care of them for you. They will be waiting in here once you've completed your bath."

"Wow. I don't know what to say." David thanked in earnest.

"Please, after all you've been through. It's about time some pony showed you that we are as kind as we believe ourselves to be. With that said, I would like to invite you to dinner tonight."

David looked at her nervously."I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"It will just be myself, Twilight Sparkle and her friends. If you are worried about Luna, I doubt she'll show up. Not after today."

"Oh." Is all he could reply. Celestia noted to herself that if he had pony ears, they would be flat against his head at the moment. "Okay, I'll think about it."

"Splendid. Just ask one of my guards or maids if you decide to come. They will be happy to direct you to us."

David nodded and she stood. She was eye to eye with him. This confused both of them to a laugh. "Sorry." She apologized. "I'm not used to being eye level with anypony. It's... different."

"To tell you the truth, it was hurting my neck looking down so much." He joked.

She gave a final smile. "I do hope to see you tonight David."

"Me too." He replied honestly.

He watched her leave the room and he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally alone with his thoughts, he began to take inventory of his situation.

-He had somehow, probably, been transferred to a parallel universe in which the dominate species seemed to be four legged hoofed animals. Along with a smattering of mythical creatures. All of which he figured he hadn't seen yet.

-He had fought in a gladiatorial arena, his final fight being to the death with said mythical creature.

-There was magic... Not that David Blane make a car disappear crap, this was real magic. And it had helped and harmed him in ways he thought weren't possible.

-His greatest sorrow had spilled out of him like a jar of angry bees to, not one, but two immortal Alicorns who controlled the sun and the moon. Of whom, there was a temple built on earth. A temple that was older than anything else on his world.

"Yep." He said aloud nodding to himself. "A whole lot of yep."

"Um sir?" An unsure voice trembled from the door to the bath. Spa would be a more apt term but David wasn't up for arguing with himself over semantics today.

"Yeah, I'm here." He called back.

"Your clothing is washed and repaired. It is waiting for you in your room."

"Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

There was a slight pause and even though he couldn't see her, there was a smile to her voice. "My pleasure Sir. Have a pleasant bath." He heard the light clop of hooves fade into the hallway.

He sighed and finally made the mental effort to climb out of the bath. He wrapped a towel around his waist and waded through the steam to the mirror. His face no longer bore the remains of the soup that he had eaten before. Most importantly he no longer smelled like sewer. He took a moment to marvel at the power of the Binding spell. Magic was powerful sure, but one thought of fire and lightning not that. It was scary to think that with little effort someone could take away his free will so completely that he didn't even know it was gone. He lifted his chin and used the hygiene supplies provided to clean up his face. There wasn't any deodorant, just what he figured to be pony cologne. He passed. It smelled more like the outdoors than he wanted at the moment.

He stretched and winced slightly as he attempted to inspect his scars, new and old. There was the large semi-circle that spanned from his ribs to his back from the time that Tiger Shark bit through his shark suit. The tiny trail of gashes where the devil goat rammed him down that jagged trail. The last major one was where the bear had gotten ahold of him when he tried to save Andrew.

"Andrew." He said his best friends name out loud. It sounded odd to his ears. It felt like years had past since he saw him last. He felt a twinge of pain at his name. He knew he had forgotten something important about him. Nothing concrete, it was more like the feeling of not knowing if you turned the stove off when you left the house. "All things in time." He reminded his reflection. He twisted again, looking at how skinny he had gotten over the past few weeks. His active lifestyle and "actor" persona didn't let him become anything other than fit when he was on Earth but now, he was just one step away from being malnourished. "All those twats in Hollywood would want to know how I got so cut." He scoffed. "Torture! Does wonders for the figure!" His shout echoed in the empty bath. "Maybe I will go to dinner." He told the figure in the mirror.

He raised his hand to the now less red bump on his head. It wasn't throbbing like it was before but it still stung to be touched. He looked at his slate grey eyes. One of which had been briefly missing a few days ago. It bore no scar or mark. As a matter of fact. Every wound he had received during his stay at hotel de' camel was gone. All healed by Luna's magic. "Like it never happened at all." He mumbled. A taste of sadness and anger touching his voice. He shook it off and snuck his way back across his room.

Two guards eyed him suspiciously as he gave them a wave and ducked into his room. Just like the maid pony said, his clothes were cleaned and pressed. They were even warm to the touch like they were fresh out of the dryer. He shivered as he pulled the familiar clothes on. Dryer clothes are best clothes. His eye caught the brick red color of his sketchbook lying under where his clothes were. Twilight must have left it for him. She probably figured with the way he acted toward Luna that he was mad for her taking it. This made him feel bad. "I was shouting pretty loud." He scolded himself. "Everyone within two miles probably heard me yelling at Luna."  He cracked the book open to a scrap of paper that had a page marked. It must have been a pain in the ass for Twilight to understand English, she had only made it four pages in. She didn't even get to the temple sketches. He thumbed a few pages and decided it would be a good idea to get some fresh air, maybe sketch a bit. He didn't see his boots anywhere and figured it would be okay to go without them for now. So, with his sketch book in hand, David made his way through the marble halls of the Castle. He wasn't sure if the ponies were avoiding him on purpose or if Celestia had informed her staff to give him a wide berth. He had only seen the two guards and Celestia since his his argument with Luna in the infirmary. He needed some alone time anyway before he met Twilight and her friends for dinner. So after a half an hour of fumbling and backtracking he finally got his barrings in the enormous castle. Even with the relatively insensitive nose of a human, he could smell flowers. A LOT of flowers. He found his way to a large chamber with half a dozen openings and picked one that smelled the most like pollen.

He closed his eyes and paused as the warm sun rays washed over him. He smiled as he pushed open the door to the most exquisite garden he had ever laid eyes on. He had always imagined this is what the hanging gardens of Babylon looked like. There wasn't just trees and flowers either. There were so may unknown species of birds and ground mammals, he could swear it would easily fill up two encyclopedias. That wasn't even counting the flora! He walked out of eye sight from the garden doors and looked for a secluded spot to brood.

David lounged on the silk like grass under the shade of what he figured to be this worlds version of a weeping willow. He was glad he got his sketchbook back from Twilight. If he were being honest, he needed something to take his mind off Luna. He hadn't been this confused and hurt in years. She didn't even say she was sorry! He mentally fumed, taking his frustrations out on a particularly dark edged parrot. He was so lost in his sketches, he didn't even hear that a pony had snuck up on him.

"Umm, hello." The small voice called, snapping David's mind away from his doodles. He froze and slowly looked up from his book to a bush not ten paces in front of him. He gave a confused and amused tilt of his head at what he saw. Not only was the bush taking, it had a pink mane poking out of the top and yellow wings half protruding from the sides. As quickly as he could, he began to roughly sketch the pega-shrub.

"Umm, can you hear me?"

"Why yes bush fairy, I can hear you. Are you here to grant me my three wishes? I would ask for a pony but, I think that might be too easy of a request."

There was a slight pause, and what sounded like a snort of confusion. "I-I'm not a bush or a fairy, I'm a Fluttershy... I come to the gardens every time I visit Canterlot and I've never seen a creature like you before. Are you a new?" There was a slight tremble in her voice. Fear? Excitement? He didn't know.

"I AM new 'not bush fairy' Fluttershy, but I don't live in the gardens. At least I hope not, I'm looking forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight."

"Oh, then what are you doing here, I never see anypony else in the gardens besides the caretaker."

"I'm just drawing some of the wildlife. You have so many species that I've never seen before. I was just comparing them to some of my own worlds animals, would you like to see?" David half hoped she would say no and leave him in peace. Not that he didn't like company, just not now and not another pony. He had decided he was all ponied out.

"Ohhh yes please." Fluttershy answered, but still remained in the bush.

David paused and looked left and right. "Uhh well, they're in my sketchpad soo. You'll have to come closer if you want to see them."

"I would love to but,"

"You're scared?" He finished her sentence for her.

"Oh, yes. Almost always. But not this time, I'm stuck."

David knelt beside the timid pegasus carefully picking bits of twigs and leaves out of her mane. "Jeeze, you have rubbish all over you. How long were you stuck in there?"

"Oh not long, maybe an hour or two."

"An hour or-- and how?"

"Oh! I was following this cute baby mouse. He saw me and was so scared, so I went after him to show that I was friendly and well, then I--I was stuck. I saw you come by sit under the tree and you looked upset so I didn't want to bother you. Then I realized that I would be a bigger bother to somepony else if they had to come looking for me. Oh gosh, where are my manners. I never asked your name."

"That's very considerate of you." David lightly gibed, which was completely lost on the mare. "My name is David. It's very nice to meet you Fluttershy."

"Oh why thank you David. I am the element of kindness after all. I have to set a good example."

Not knowing or remembering what an Element of Kindness was and being too tired to ask, he decided to change the subject. "In my would we have a tree very similar to this." He said, tapping the trunk of the tree. "It's called a weeping willow."

"Really? Here too! If I was going to be a tree, that would be one of my top choices." She smiled bashfully. David couldn't help but notice that even her excited noise came out as noting louder than a whisper.

"Twilight said we might be having a guest tonight. Is that you?" She asked in her timid but excited way.

David sighed. "I was thinking about it." He replied honestly.

"Oh wow! that's so great." David couldn't help but laugh this time. She gave a confused look before hiding behind her mane. "I don't think I said anything funny." She blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry." David laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. "It's just here I am, in the middle of a fantasy story book complete with pegasi, magic and mythical creatures and you say you're excited to see ME. I just find the whole thing very funny. It makes me feel like I should be more excited too."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense, when you put it that way." She conceded and stopped hiding behind her bangs. "If you want, we can talk about it at dinner. I'm sure everypony else would like to meet you too. It should start shortly, if you wouldn't mind walking with me."

"I'd love too Miss Fluttershy, though I don't know the way."