Ch. 7 Races, Realizations, and Revelations Pt.1

Ugggggg my body feels so sore. I suppose I should have expected this considering last night's events. I pushed myself off my bed and into a sitting position. *crack* *pop*. I felt my bones shift and crack back into their normal positions. I feel like I was just hit by a truck. I really need to do some stretches before I do anything today. I stood up from my bed and figured it would be best if I went through a normal post running stretch session. Standing straight I reached for my toes and began the routine. After a couple of minutes my body was finally starting to feel like it was back to normal.

First things first, I need a quick meditation session before I start my day. Sitting down on my bed I curled into my normal meditation position. The first thing that needs to be addressed is last night. That manticore attack was completely unexpected. I’m annoyed that John and his pack were able to take me completely by surprise but I’m not sure if there was much I could really do to predict such an ambush. I suppose it doesn’t really matter as I made some new animal friend in the end. Although I feel really bad about killing a few manticores though.

*sigh* It’s not as if I haven’t killed before. Mother made sure I was prepared to do what was necessary when the time came. I vividly remember the first time I had to take another living being’s life.
“I thought we were going to have another training session today mother. Why do you need a gun for today's session?”
“Because today we’re going to do something a bit different Cicero. As a protector I’ve taught you that all life is sacred and should be protected. Unfortunately there will be times when saving all lives is impossible. You’ll need to be able to do what’s necessary in these situations and take a life if you must.”
Mother pulled a black sheet off of a chair that had been in the middle of the room. I had assumed it was empty but now realized it contained a grown human male.
“Mother who is this?”
“This Cicero, is the latest troublemaker I had to capture. He’s a religious zealot who had been planning to bomb innocents. He sees any who do not believe like he does as heathens who must die. I have questioned him thoroughly and he has ignored all of my attempts to help him change his ways. He assures me that if I am to release him he will simply continue his supposed holy work. I cannot allow such a dangerous man to continue existing. We must kill him Cicero.
“How can we be sure he can’t be saved mother? Perhaps he’s just confused like so many of the other humans.” Mother put her arm on my shoulder and gave me a sad smile.
“You know of my special ability, don’t you Cicero?” I gave a weak nod. “Then you know that even though I wish to save this man there is no hope for him.” I looked down sadly. No one could hide the truth from mother when she used her special ability. It’s a shame all protectors couldn’t have the same special abilities. I really wanted to understand why we wouldn’t change. My mother placed her other hand on my other shoulder and pulled me into a hug.
“I understand Cicero. I feel your pain. I don’t want to kill him either but the lives of many must be protected over the lives of the few.” I felt safe in mothers arms. She was so wise, so strong. Mother had never been wrong before. I could always put my trust in mother. I pulled back from her and held out my hand. She understood my motions and handed me the gun.
I looked up at the man to see him staring straight back at me. His mouth was gagged while his face was uncovered. I hesitated at the furious gaze from his harsh eyes. I felt mother put her hand on my shoulder again.
“I’m sorry for not blindfolding him but you must be able to look him in the eyes when you kill him Cicero. When you kill another you must take responsibility for your actions. You cannot hide behind a shield or look away. You must accept that a life will be taken from this world by your hands.” I took comfort in mother's words and her hand on my shoulder. Reinvigorated, I looked the man in the eyes once more. I saw the emotions behind his eyes. Fear, anger, hate, disgust, and many more. Enough. I must do my duty. I must protect.
Cocking the gun I pointed it at the man’s head and beheld his eyes one last time.There was only fear reflected in them now. I ignored his silent plea and pulled the trigger.

I remembered spending most of the day crying after that training session. Mother had stayed right beside me offering reassurances that it would be ok. The contradiction of killing to protect had been one of the hardest lessons she’d taught me. However it had proven useful against the manticores last night. I’m just happy that there’s no more bad blood between me and their pack. I hope I see John when I go to train again. I didn’t know how smart manticores were but I was hoping I could converse with him and gain basic knowledge of Everfree forest.

With that concern taken care of I suppose I don’t have any other pressing matters to attend to today. Maybe I could find rainbow dash and have our competition today? That could be interesting. Now that I’ve started using my powers again it will be a good chance to see how far I can push my body. But how do you find a pegasus? Searching the whole sky would not only be illogical, but impossible. I guess I’ll have to try and find her house. I’ll ask Twilight and see if she knows where I can find either Rainbow Dash or her house.

Stretching out of my meditative pose I stood up from my bed. “Alright then! Let’s get this day started.” I walked over to the door and stopped right before I opened it. I’d noticed blood marks on my shoulder’s clothing when I’d reached my hand out. Oh yeah. I completely forgot about my wounds from last night. Inspecting my clothing I realized that my shoulder, back, and leg wounds from last night had all apparently bled during my slumber. While my body had helped heal them a little bit the wounds were too large for my abilities to close within a night.

“Well I can’t go down there looking like this. I’ll need to get some bandages from Fluttershy at some point today.” Taking off my shirt I went over to the pile of clothes rarity had given me and selected the set that bore Twilight's cutie mark. Next to the pile of clothing I saw the tattered remains of my shirt from the first day I’d been here. That could work as a makeshift bandage for now. Ripping the tattered shirt into three large bandages I tightly wrapped it around my shoulder, chest, and leg wounds.

Happy that I wouldn’t bloody another set of Rarities fine clothing I adorned my chosen clothing pair for today. I would have to find a way to clean the other bloodied set at some point. Standing up I made my over to and out of my bedroom door. Hopping down the stairs I saw that Twilight and Spike had already awoken and exited their bedroom. I walked down to the bottom floor and saw Twilight engrossed in a book as usual.

“Morning Twilight,” I called to alert her to my presence. She looked up and smiled at me. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the clothing I was wearing.

“Cicero is that my cutie mark on your clothing?” she asked confused.

“You betcha it is Twilight! Apparently Rarity decided to make a set of clothing for each of her friends. Each one has their cutie mark depicted on it via jewels that match their elemental jewelry. I figured i’d wear yours today. Do you like it?”

Twilight continued to smile. I saw a small tint of red enter her cheeks. “It looks very nice on you Cicero. The jewelry on the shirt is rather eye catching. I’m flattered that you would wear my cutie mark.” she said slightly abashed. I smiled back.

“Of course I would! You’re my favorite book worm after all. Now how about some breakfast. Have you already eaten today?”

“As you slept in rather late Spike and I already ate breakfast. He saved some for you in the kitchen.”

“Awesome. Thanks Twilight.” I wondered off into the kitchen to see Spike standing near the table eating…. Gems? Is he actually eating gems?

“Umm Spike? Are you eating gems right now?” I said confused. Spike turned around to look at me with his mouth full of gems.

Swallowing the ones he had been chewing on Spike happily said, “Yep.” Like there was nothing at all wrong with eating rock hard stones.

“Should I be concerned for your health or is eating gems a dragon thing?”

Spike shrugged. “I’ve been eating gems since I was a baby so I guess it’s a dragon thing.” He said nonchalantly.

Astounding. How on Equis can dragon's eat something that hard? Their teeth must be strong as diamonds if they can chew jewels. I can’t even imagine what dragon internals are coated with to stop the gem shrapnel from cutting up their organs. That’s not even taking their gem digesting stomach acid into account. Why would a dragon even eat gems in the first place? I don’t imagine gems have that many nutrients within them for the body to absorb. I wonder if it has something to do with certain gems being able to hold magic. Perhaps dragons eat it to gain magic? Maybe Twilight has a book on this. I think I’ll ask her before I leave today.

“Well if you want to eat gems far be it from me to stop you. As I can’t eat gems I was hoping there’d be something else in this kitchen that I could devour. Twilight mentioned you saved me some breakfast.”

Spike once more stuffed his mouth full of more gems and pointed towards a plate on the counter. Walking over to it I saw that it held fruit, vegetables, and hay. The various fruits and vegetables I can eat but I’ll have to do something with the hay. I walked the plate back to the table and happily dug into the parts that I could eat.

“Do you happen to know where the rest of vegetable pasta from last night went?” Spike asked. “I was planning on using that for lunch today but found the pot empty in the sink this morning.”

Swallowing a mouthful of food is responded, “Shoot, sorry Spike. I ate your pasta late last night. I had a very severe hunger pang in the middle of the night and decided to finish it off.”

“Oh. It’s ok Cicero. I was just wondering what happened to it. Since I like cooking I’m happy to make something else instead. I’m glad you enjoyed it enough to finish off the whole pot last night. That was a lot of pasta!”

What a nice kid. I’m glad Spike’s not mad at my late night snacking. I should really do something for him to make up for all the food he’s been cooking me. He seems to really enjoy eating gems. I guess I could try finding some around Ponyville that he might eat. Based on the shirt’s that Rarity originally created for me she most likely has quite a few gems in her possession. If anyone knows where to get more it would be her. I’ll make a mental note to ask where she gets them next time I see her.

“What can I say Spike. It’s hard to resist your delicious cooking at any time of the day.” He smiled at me. “Anyways I distracted you from your gem eating long enough. Later man.” Holding out my fist we exchanged a fistbump and I walked out of the kitchen. Looking around the library I saw Twilight was writing something on a massive scroll. She’s most likely documenting some of the technical details about planes that I gave her last night.

Walking over I said, “Hey Twilight, do you have a book about dragons in here somewhere?” Twilight, who was completely focused on her writing, didn’t bother to look up.

“Yes. This library has a few books about dragons over on shelf D2. If you’re going to be reading in here can I ask you a few questions about yesterday’s discussed invention while you do so?”

“Of course Twilight. Let me retrieve one of the books you mentioned and I’ll be right back.” Walking over to the shelf labeled D2 I searched through the lined up books. Eventually I saw the spine of one that was labeled Detailed Documentation on Deadly Dragons. Hopefully it would contain the details I wanted to know. Pulling it out I returned to Twilight. I sat down on one of the beanbag like pillows near her.

“Hey Twilight. Since you can use magic to levitate and write everything you need to, do you want another petting session while I read my book?” Twilight looked up from her scroll and gave me a sheepish look.

“I was actually hoping you’d offer again soon. I really liked how it felt last time but it seemed weird to ask you to do it again.”

I laughed at her response. “Twilight I’ve already told you that you can ask me for a session whenever you want. Even though I gave you some money to help ease the burden of my living here I still want to help however I can. If that means giving you belly rubs or back scratches while you work I’m completely fine with that. Plus, didn’t I already mention that I also derive enjoyment from it. You ponies have the most incredibly soft coats. Although I have to admit that Rarity’s coat is the softest one i’ve petted so far.”

“You had a petting session with Rarity?” Twilight asked surprised.

“Crazy right?” I said also expressing my surprise. “Normally you wouldn’t think a mare like her would enjoy being handled or petted like that. However some unimportant things happened the other day that got her awful worked up. I needed to calm her down and decided to give her a belly rub to help. Since it worked so well on you the other day I figured it might for her as well.” I let out a laugh before continuing with, “She said it felt good enough that I should considering becoming a masseur at your local spa.”

I finished my short description of yesterday's events and looked down to see a strange emotion on Twilight’s face. Ah shoot. That was pretty thoughtless of me. I wasn’t positive but I was pretty sure Twilight felt jealous of my petting time with Rarity. She was probably worried I’d want to pet Rarity more than her since I’d said her coat was softer.

I reached over and pulled Twilight into a hug. “Don’t worry Twilight. I love petting you just as much as her. Besides, if I stopped petting you then I’d never get to see that adorable relaxed face that only you make.” I saw Twilight blush at my words but knew they’d had the effect I desired when I felt her body relax in my arms. Setting her on my lap I began to scratch behind her ears while rubbing my hand up and down her back. Twilight let out a contented sigh and went back to writing. Pulling my hand off her ears I reached over and grabbed the book on dragons so that I could begin reading.

This situation went on for half an hour. The only words spoken between us during this time were clarification questions about airplanes from Twilight. During that time I learned that dragons were magical from the inside out. They don’t have especially strong organs or stomach acid in their body. Apparently they have a core of magic that constantly breaks down and leaches magic from any gems they ingest.

This core was also what allowed dragons to breath fire. Instead of their fire being an internal chemical reaction it was actually entirely magical in nature. As it was magic, their fire also contained the intent of the dragon within in. This is what made dragons such dangerous creatures. The book didn’t specify what the limitations or uses for the fire were but I already knew it had to be expansive. I had seen Spike use his fire breath to teleport a message rather than burn it. I wonder if Spike realized this and had found other uses for his fire? I’d ask him later.

For a little while longer I perused the book on dragons learning all sorts of neat little facts. Eventually I grew tired of reading the book and closed it.

Looking up I said, “Twilight do you know where I might find Rainbow Dash today? If not, do you know where her house is located? I wanted to race her today if possible.”

“I suppose I could tell you where rainbow Dash’s house is but it wouldn’t do you any good. As a pegasus Rainbow Dash lives in a cloud house high above Ponyville.”

I sighed at this. “I won’t even bother asking you how that works because I know at the end of that road lies the all encompassing answer of magic.” Twilight just smiled and nodded her head at me. “Well then do you know where I can find her?”

Twilight pondered on her response for a moment. “If Rainbow Dash isn’t working with the weather team then she’s most likely practicing tricks somewhere or dozing off on a cloud above Ponyville. A lot of the time she sleeps on a cloud above Applejacks farm.”

“So basically it’s going to be hard as hell to find her, right?”

“Hell? That horrible sounding place from our religion talk the other day? I’m not sure how you can compare that against the difficulty of finding Rainbow Dash but yes it’s going to be difficult to find her. That’s just how Rainbow Dash is.” I used my free hand to rub my eyebrows.

“It’s a human saying Twilight. We can talk about colloquialisms, Euphemisms, and Idioms of the humans another day. Just add it to the list of things I’ll need to tell you alright?” Twilight used her magic to pull over a massive scroll and scribbled something down. I assume that’s the scroll of things she wants to ask me that she mentioned earlier. I thought she had been joking. That’ll teach me to never doubt Twilight's resolved to learn.

“Anyways I’m sorry that I have to stop scratching your back but I want to go find Rainbow Dash now.” Twilight groaned as I stook up and placed her back on the pillow without me. I walked over to the library's front door and swung it open. I instantly froze when I saw the mint green mare from yesterday standing in front of the library, mid knocking stance. She opened her mouth to say something but I quickly slammed Twilight’s door shut and used my body to brace it.

“Cicero what in Celestia’s name are you doing?” Twilight said looking over at me.

“Hello? Cicero?” A voice called from outside. “I asked around town and heard that you live here with Twilight.”

“Was that Lyra?” Twilight asked.

OH GOD! It’s the insane hand eating pony from yesterday. I won’t give up my hands without a fight. “I won’t let you eat my hands crazy mint pony! They’re mine!”

“What?! Eat?! I don’t want to eat your hands Cicero! I’ll admit I did act a little crazy yesterday but I’m just interested in you.”

“Nice try crazy mint unicorn! I can see right through your ploy. You’ll act innocent and then as soon as I let my guard down it’s an all you can eat hand buffet! Well you’re not go-”

“CICERO!” Twilight yelled at me. I looked over to her in surprise. “You’re being rude right now. Let Lyra in. I don’t know what this nonsense is about eating hands but Lyra is a good pony.”

“But-but-but Twilight!” I said pleadingly.

“No buts mister. Come over here so she can get in.” Twilight said with finality.

Dammit it’s her house and I have no right to deny any of her guests access. Grumbling, I left the door and slinked over to Twilight. I then proceeded to hide behind her body before she let the crazy pony in.

“You can come in now Lyra!” At Twilight’s words the mint green mare slowly opened the library's front door and entered. “Alright I don’t know what’s going on here but I’m sure we can figure it out if everyone just calms down.”

“Actually Twilight, I think I know what’s going on.” Said the mint green Unicorn. She turned to look at me. “First, let me say sorry Cicero. I understand that I might have acted a bit strange yesterday when I initially saw you.”

“Might have?” I rebutted.

“Alright I acted pretty insane.” She said looking down. “I couldn’t help myself when I saw you. I’ve had dreams of a strange creatures that look just like you. I’ve always told my friends about them, especially their hands. They’ve always told me I was crazy. So when I saw you in the market yesterday my mind froze. Especially when I saw your hands.” She finished.

She’s had dreams of creatures that look like me? How strange. I wonder if her dreams are simply the result of an overactive imagination or if something else is at play here. It seems odd that someone who's never seen humans before would suddenly dream of creatures that just so happened to look like humans. Hmmmmmmm. Well at least I know why she freaked out yesterday. *sigh* I suppose I’ll trust Twilight and Applejack and try to talk to her.

“Well I guess that explains a lot.” I said crawling out from behind Twilight. “I’m sorry for running away from you yesterday then. In my defense, you were acting pretty insane yesterday.” She looked down in sadness. “But let’s just put that all behind us.” She looked back up with hope. “I’ll admit that your dreams intrigue me and I’d like to know more about them at some point. For now, let’s just start with introductions. My name is Cicero and I’m a human from a planet called Earth.”

“My name is Lyra and I live here in Ponyville!” Lyra said happily.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Lyra. Now I’ll make you a trade. Since you seem so terribly interested in my hands i’ll let you examine and manipulate them to your heart's content.” A huge smile quickly made it’s way onto her face. “That is of course assuming you’ll answer a few of my questions while you do so. Deal?”

“YES!” Lyra yelled. She wasted no time bounding over to me. Using her hooves she turns my hands this way and that, seemingly fascinated by their movements. I let her examine them for a minute in silence. Once she started to examine each hands individual fingers I decided it was time to ask some questions.

“So you mentioned that you’ve had dreams of creatures that look like me. Do you remember if they just had similar body structures to mine or if they were the same type of creature?”

Lyra was completely engrossed by my hands. Without looking away from them she said, “I remember that the creatures I saw looked just like you.”

Fascinating. Maybe she really is dreaming of humans. The real question is why and how. Perhaps she had just gotten really lucky and accidentally dreamed about humans. Simple considering this ideas plausibility I’d have to say, although unlikely, it’s possible. The really amazing thing was that she said she’d had multiple dreams about humans. Taking this into account the idea that she randomly starting dreaming about humans was now incredibly unlikely.

“Alright, so you’ve most likely seen humans like me in your dreams Lyra. Were the humans the same person or different each time you dreamed about them?” Lyra stopped playing with my hands for a second as she thought.

“I never actually bothered to think about that. Whenever I see humans in my dreams it’s usually a different bunch of them each time.” She closed her eyes as she continued to recall her dreams. “Now that you mention it, there is one person I see in every dream involving humans. I’m pretty sure she’s a female human.” She opened her eyes and went back to prodding my hands with her hooves.

“Can you describe this female for me Lyra? There are a lot of humans on Earth but if it’s someone important I might know who they are.” Apparently Lyra had decided she was done examining my hands for now as she took a step away from me and sat down on her rump.

“Remembering dreams is usually a difficult experience for me but for some reason that human is always very clear in my mind when I wake up. She’s around 6 feet tall and has black hair like you. She has a decently athletic build also pretty similar to how you look. Lastly she had bright blue eyes.” Lyra raised a hoof to her chin in thought. “Now that I think about her and compare her looks to yours, minus the difference between your eyes, it almost looks like you two could be related.”

Well that doesn’t surprise me. Considering how alien humans look in comparison to these ponies, most probably look rather similar to them.

“Oh and she has a weird jagged looking semi circle scar below her right eye.” Lyra tacked on helpfully. I froze at her words and slowly turned to look at her.

“Lyra when you see this female in your dreams what is she normally doing?”

“Well I’ve seen her do a bunch of different things. Sometimes she’s just talking to other humans or walking around places. However most of the time I see her she’s running and jumping around while beating up other humans. She always wears really skin tight black clothing when she’s doing that. You humans move really really fast by the way. I’m surprised that any creature can move that quickly.”

Most can’t. Lyra had just described the exact looks and actions of my mother. HOW? This doesn’t make any sense. Lyra’s not just dreaming, she’s seeing visions of my mother and the things she does. The worst part is that she’s seen my mother performing her duties as Earth’s protector. Mother takes great care to never be seen by anyone when going out on missions. Why on Equis is this random pony being given visions of her?

The power to see the unseen, especially across worlds, is a truly impressive skill. Who would have thought such an unassuming creature as this small mint green unicorn could perform such a feat. I wonder what else she’s seen and if she can control these visions of hers.

“Lyra when you go to sleep do you think about what you want to dream that night or do your dreams just randomly occur?”

“Usually I just go to bed without thinking about anything. Sometimes I dream of humans and sometimes I dream of other creatures.” Her eyes widened in shock. “I just realized that some of the alien creatures also recur in my dreams just like that female human. A lot of them spend their time going around beating up other aliens just like that female does. They all dress and act almost the exact same as her. I never realized how violent a lot of my dreams were until now.” She said mildly concerned.

A dangerous theory popped into my head once I had this last piece of data. Holy shit. She wasn’t having violent dreams. She wasn’t just having dreams of my mother either. If i’m right, then Lyra was being given visions of different protectors on other planets we’d been sent to. How is she doing this?! She said she doesn’t control over it but that it occurs randomly. Is it her magic naturally doing this for her or is there something else strange at play here. I’m so confused.

“Cicero? Are you ok? You seem tense and you’ve been sitting there silently for a while now.” Twilight said concerned.

I will have to think on this subject later. I don’t want to reveal the existence of the protectors yet. I don’t know these ponies well enough yet that I’m comfortable talking about such things.

“Sorry about that Twilight. I was just entranced by this strange talk of dreams.” I turned back to Lyra. “Well I’m sorry to say that I don’t know the human you mentioned. Your imagination must be quite wild to dream up so many different alien creatures.” Lyra blushed and looked away.

“My friend Bon Bon says the exact same thing whenever I tell her about my dreams.”

“Well don’t let that stop you from enjoying yourself during sleep. Our dreams are one of the only places we can think and be free to do as we wish. Your expansive imagination should be praised rather than condemned.” Lyra happily looked up at me.

“Thanks Cicero!”

“No problem Lyra. Anyways I really must be off. I have things I wish to do before today's end and I best start now lest I not finish them. It was nice meeting you Lyra.”

“It was nice meeting you too! Hopefully we can talk again in the future.” Lyra said hopefully.

“Of course Lyra.” I turned to Twilight. “I’ll see you later Twilight.” Twilight waved as I sidestepped past Lyra and made my way out the front door. As confusing as Lyra's dream were I doubt sitting around and thinking about them would help me understand how she sees visions of protectors. Perhaps over time I’ll figure out what’s going on but for now I’ll just focus on finding Rainbow Dash. The only real lead I have is that sometimes she’s seen sleeping on a cloud over Applejacks farm. I guess I’ll head towards the farm then.

Perspective: Twilight Sparkle

I hope Cicero is alright. He seemed really tense when talking about Lyra’s dreams. I guess it is rather shocking to hear that Lyra dreams about his people. Hopefully he’ll come talk to me if something is bothering him. I’ll put it out of my mind for now. I turned to Lyra.

“Since you’re here would you like to get a book Lyra?”

“Sure Twilight! Do you have any new books about music theory? I’m always looking to improve my harp playing.”

“What good luck. I just so happen to have recently acquired a book on modern instrument playstyles. Hopefully there’s a section in there about harp playing.” I walked over to bookshelf M-3 and poked around, trying to find the one I wanted.

“Hey Twilight!” Spike called. “We just got a red scroll from princess Celestia.”

“RED!” I yelled in shock. That’s means something serious or very important is happening. I left the shelf and dashed over to Spike. Using my magic I rapidly opened the scroll.

Dearest Twilight,
Luna and I have decided to come visit you and meet this Cicero today. I understand that it is short notice but please gather all of your friends and Cicero at the library. We will be there very shortly.
Celestia

I don’t understand. Why would they send a red scroll for something like this. Something else must be going on here. I need to gather everyone as quick as possible! Hopefully Cicero hasn’t gotten far yet. Running over to the door I threw it open and looked around. Darnit he’s already gone. I guess I’ll just have to look for him as I gather everyone else. Turning around and trotting back inside I noticed Lyra and Spike watching me with concern.

Addressing Lyra first I apologize with, “Lyra i’m sorry but you’ll have to come back another time for that book.” Turning to spike I said, “Spike we need to gather all of the girls as quick as possible. Can you go to town and tell Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack to come to the library as soon as possible?”

“You got it Twilight.” Spike said.

“Oh and if you see Cicero make sure you tell him to come back to the library as soon as possible.” With those last words I concentrated and teleported away.

Perspective: Cicero

Well would you look at that. I couldn’t believe my luck. Lounging in a cloud right above Sweet Apple Acres barn was Rainbow Dash. Now I won’t have to search the whole town to find her. Jogging over to Rainbow Dash’s cloud I yelled up at her, “Hey Rainbow Dash! You ready for our race?”

Rainbow Dash rolled over on her cloud so she could peer over the edge. Realizing who it was she fell off her cloud and quickly flew down to me. “Heck yeah I am! The real question is are you ready to face the fastest flyer in Equestria!?”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. Adopting a cocky grin I put my hands on my hips. “You may be the fastest in Equestria but today we’ll see if you can keep up with the speed of the humans!” I said. “So do you know somewhere we can have our epic showdown?”

“Of course! We’re going to race at Ghastly Gorge. Since you can’t fly I figured it would be the fairest place to race. There’s lots of obstacles in the air and on the ground.”

“Alright then Rainbow Dash. Lead the way.”

She pumped her hoof in the air and said, “YES! This is gonna be so awesome!”

We walked through applejacks fields and ended up followed a strange winding dirt path that we found behind it. I assume Rainbow Dash could have just flown to this gorge but was being considerate and following an established path for my sake. As we walked I noticed the landscape changing from lightly wooded to heavily forested. I followed Rainbow Dash for a good half hour before we got to Ghastly Gorge. Emerging from a thick treeline I beheld a very craggy looking gorge with a tiny river running through it. The gorge looked like it went for miles. She’s certainly picked an interesting place to race.

“So what kind of obstacles should I expect in this gorge Rainbow Dash?”

“The usual things you’d find in a gorge. Wind tunnels that push against you, large rocks, massive bramble piles, and Quarry eels to name a few.” She said rather nonchalantly.

I frowned at her answer. “This sounds like quite the treacherous racing landscape. You certainly don’t want to make this race easy. What are Quarry eels by the way? We have eels on Earth but I’ve never heard of a quarry eel.”

“There red eels that hide in the gorges walls and try to attack anything that gets to close to their home. Don’t worry they’re super easy to doge.”

Well that sounds like a rather nasty creature. I suppose I should strengthen my body for this race if there are going to be obstacles like that. If she’s only ever flown through this location who knows what else might be on the ground floor.

“So are there any rules for this race?” I asked.

“No exiting the gorge. You have to race through it. Besides that no.”

“Alright then, simple enough. So what are the start and finish lines?”

“The finish line is an actual finish line at the exit of the gorge. It’s really easy to identify. The start line is over this way. Follow me.” Rainbow Dash took off towards the starting point as I jogged behind her. Eventually she led me down to the bottom of the gorge. Seeing an obvious line drawn in the sand I recognized it as the starting point for our race.

“Since I want this race to be interesting I’ll give you a head start Cicero.” Rainbow Dash said with a cocky smile on her face.

“Ohhohohoooh, cocky are we? I’m going to make you regret those words Rainbow Dash. Remember, you asked me for a difficult opponent to race. I’m going to make sure you get your wish.” I said smiling at her. Turning towards the starting line I bowed my head.

Concentrating on my body I delved down into my core. I was going to need quick snappy movements if I wanted to win this race. I pushed a large amount of energy into my body stimulating my muscles. Once I felt my body start to heat up I cut the heavy flow and shifted it to an even flow throughout my body. I used a large amount of energy to enhance the muscles in my legs. I would need them the most. I used a layer of energy to reinforce my skin slightly. Pulling out a massive amount of energy from my core I deposited it to strategic muscles across my body.

I could use these small energy pockets across my body at a moment's notice should they be needed. Raising my head I calmed my mind and cleared my face. If Rainbow Dash could truly break the sound barrier this would be a very tough race. I would still try my best to give her a challenging opponent.

“Are you ready Rainbow Dash?” I said emotionlessly.

“Y-yeah. You start whenever and I’ll follow behind soon.” She said hesitantly.

I’m guessing she hadn’t expected the strange shift in my voice or body. “Very well. See you at the finish line Rainbow.”

At those words I left a literal dust cloud behind myself as I tore away from the starting line. The gorge had a small stream going through most of what I had seen so far. This made it difficult for me to maintain a flat out run. I was forced to run on one side and jump to the other when the river made it necessary. Eventually it got a point where the river was wide enough that I could no longer run on the ground. Thinking quickly I jumped from one side and landed on the other sides canyon wall. I then jumped forward and towards the other sides canyon wall. Unfortunately this was an exhausting and slow process.

While I was jumping between the two walls I saw Rainbow Dash fly past with a determined look on her face. Looks like she’s finally realized she’ll have to take me seriously if she wants to win. I was steadily falling behind Rainbow Dash as I kept my jumping routine up. Eventually the canyon walls fell away and revealed a small lake in front of me. Rainbow Dash had no problem flying straight over while I obviously could not.

Luckily there appeared to be small islands of land dotting the lake. Pushing my legs to their limit I was just barely able to jump between them and make it across. The lake suddenly ended and finally gave way to flat land I could run on once again. Landing with a roll I quickly picked my pace back up to a full sprint. Not long after I found myself approaching a strange pipelike structure made of rock. I saw Rainbow Dash struggling in the air to make it through. I could see fierce winds buffeting her body as she stroked her wings rapidly to combat them.

Realizing this was the wind tunnel Rainbow Dash mentioned I knew what I needed to do. As I entered the rock pipe I dug my hands into the semi firm dirt on the ground. Using my hands as grappling hooks and keeping low I rapidly pulled myself through the tunnel and past Rainbow Dash. As I exited the pipe I turned back for a second and gave Rainbow Dash a cocky wink. I then turned back around and began my sprint again.

“OH HAY NO!” I heard an angry Rainbow Dash call.

Guess that got her going. Ignoring the struggling Rainbow Dash I continued my frantic dash. I didn’t have to wait long before I saw Rainbow Dash shoot straight past me overhead. Damn I really can’t keep up with her speed. I’ll just have to hope I can get past the other obstacles faster than her.

Moments later my wishes were answered when I saw a Rainbow Dash struggling to get past an absolutely massive piles of brambles. The vines were thick, sharp, and densely compacted together. If Rainbow Dash is having trouble getting through with her tiny body I’ll never be able to get through normally. I’m going to have to go with brute strength on this one.

As my skin was already strengthened, I barreled arms first into the vines on the ground. Swinging my arms as fast as I could I cut, pulled, and snapped through the vines at insane speeds. After a few seconds of this process I emerged from the bramble pile on the other side. I looked over my shoulder to see Rainbow Dash still struggling to get through the top of the pile. Smiling at her trouble I broke into a sprint, determined to take advantage of my momentary lead.

A few seconds later I found myself running towards a strange convergence of the canyon walls. I noted that one wall had cracks all throughout it while the other had rather large holes dotting the entire wall. I’m not sure what’s going on here but I don’t have time to stop and think. Right as I made it to my first hole in the wall a massive red monster shot out and attempted to grab me with it’s mouth. Reacted on instinct I quickly strengthened my hand and punched it violently back into it’s hole. It made a horrible screeching noise as It flew back into it’s home.

HOLY SHIT! She didn’t tell me the eels would be that big! I could have died! Hearing what sounded like a speeding missile coming towards me I realized I didn’t have time to complain. Rainbow Dash had apparently made it past the brambles. Keeping my hands strengthened I rushed back into a run and kept going. Thankfully I emerged from the other side of the eel den without having to punch another. I guess they heard their friend’s screech and didn’t want to bother with whatever was outside their homes.

Continuing forward I could hear that Rainbow Dash wasn’t having an easy time getting past the eels. I heard the snaps of their jaws and crashes as they slammed into the other side of the gorge. Those eels aren’t going to hold her for long. Forcing the rest of my cores reserves into my legs I sprinted madly away from the eel den. A few seconds later I saw it. The finish line. It was a good two miles off in the distance but If I could keep this pace up I might be able to reach if first.

I heard a whistling sound behind me and knew that Rainbow Dash was approaching fast. Pushing myself for all I was worth I kept running at my fastest possible pace. I was so close! Just half a mile more and I’ll be th-*KABOOM*. I stumbled as I saw A rainbow shockwave fly past me. Catching myself I watched it shoot past me and over the finish line. Turning upwards it flew high into the sky and looped around. WHAT. THE. FUCK. She actually broke the speed of sound. Keeping my former pace up I quickly reached the finish line and then slowed down to a walk.

I looked up to see the rainbow blur from before spinning around the sky, leaving a colorful trail behind it. Eventually the rainbow decided to slow down and land near my current location at the finish line. After the colors cleared I could see an exuberant Rainbow Dash had landed.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” I yelled at her. “I didn’t think you could actually do it! It’s one thing to hear that someone can break the speed of sound but to actually see it is something else! The speed, the shock wave, the colors! I don’t i’ve seen something that amazing in years!” Rainbow Dash smiled and basked in my praise.

“While I know all those things are true, it’s nice to hear somebody else recognize my awesomeness.” She said cockily.

My god I can’t believe I really just watching a living creature break the speed of sound with only their body. I never thought i’d see the day. I suppose I should be upset that I lost the race but I guess it was worth it to see that. Focusing on my core I stopped the flow of all energy throughout my body and pulled off my shirt. Easing myself down to the ground I let my tired and overheating body rest. Enjoying the feeling of the relatively cool dirt on my back I heard Rainbow Dash flutter over to me.

“Everything alright Cicero?” She said confused.

I took a few deep breaths before answering. “I’m fine Rainbow Dash. I just need to let my body cool down and rest. While racing through a deadly canyon might be normal for you, my body isn’t used to being pushed that hard. Just give me a little bit and I’ll be fine.” I took another deep breath. “Even though I lost I hope I was enough of a challenge to fulfill your request.”

“Heck yeah! I don’t think I’ve ever had someone come that close to beating me in an all out race before. You may not be as awesome as me but some of the things you did during the race were pretty cool. We’ve gotta do this again someday!” She yelled happily.

I laughed at her eagerness. “I’d be happy to race you again on another day but for now I think I’d just like to rest and wallow in my defeat.” A few moments of silence passed as I did nothing but breath in and out.

“So what’s with those wierd bandages on your body Cicero?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Shit. I forgot I put those on this morning. I raised my head and looked down at my chest and shoulder. At least they’re not bleeding through the fabric. That would probably have freaked her out.

“Nothing much. I just scratched myself up the other day while training for our race. I wanted to be prepared for today,” I lied.

Rainbow Dash looked highly skeptical of my claims. Running her hoof over my bandages she said, “What kind of training did you do yesterday that hurt you bad enough to require bandages this large?” Shit she’s more observant that I thought.

“Nothing really. Just some running and strength training. I tripped and landed on a few rocks is all.” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything else. Although for some strange reason she did keep her hoof on my chest. She continued to rub my upper half. What the heck is she doing? Is she looking for more injuries to disprove my story? I thought she said she’d trust me the other day. “Errr, Rainbow Dash? What are you doing?”

Dash didn’t say anything for a while. She ignored my words and continued to inspect my chest and stomach with her hoof. Eventually she said, “It’s strange to think an alien like you could almost beat me in a race. I’ve raced against my friends and all sorts of other ponies but you’re the first to come that close. Your body is so different from mine or any of theirs. You're tall and oddly proportioned, missing any fur, you have weird tiny eyes, and you don’t even walk on four legs. Yet….. for some reason I find all these odd differences nice to look at. I like how it feels when I rub my hoof against your chest….

*Fwhoomp* I was startled when Rainbow Dash’s wings suddenly flew straight out. Her face turned bright red and she jumped off me while looking away. Ah shit, I guess I’m not surprised this happened. I’ve seen this happen quite often to others after a heated event like that. It’s not strange that she’d get a muscle cramp after a race like that. Especially with how hard she pushed herself to break the sound barrier. I guess I should help Dash out. I’ve had enough muscle cramps to know the easiest way to get rid of them is to massage the muscle knots out.

“Don’t worry Rainbow Dash. I’ve dealt with muscle cramps before. I’ll get you sorted out.”

“Cicero wha-” I cut off Rainbow Dash as I pulled her into my lap and placed my hands on her stiff wings. Both wings cramping at the same time. That’s gotta be pretty damn painful. “Wait Cicero tho-” her voice stopped short as I began feeling around her wings and kneading the muscles that I could find. While my hands wandered over her wings I realized that they were much softer than they looked. “Oooooooohhhhhhhh” She cooed. I don’t know anything about wing physiology but based on her reaction I’d say I hit the right muscle group.

Continuing my work I found that wings had muscle nodules at the joints that connected each part to the next. With this knew knowledge I start to roughly massage the nodules in hopes that these were the muscles that had cramped. “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh” Rainbow Dash panted out. I guess that was the problem. I continued to work these nodules for a little bit longer but for some reason her wings were staying tense. If anything they seemed like they were getting harder than before I started.

Dammit I must not be getting the right part. Maybe it’s not the wings interlocking parts but the base muscles that connect the back to the wing. Shifting my hands down I grabbed the base of both wings and started to massage the muscles connecting them to the back. “MMMHHHHMMMMMMM!” I heard Rainbow Dash grunt out. Even though she was biting her lip I could still easily see the pleasure on her face. Awesome. This must be the muscle I missed. Increasing my tempo I felt Rainbow Dash start to fidget around in my lap. I guess I finally found the right muscle group.

As I continued my work I began to smell something strange in the air. It smelled sweet but at the same time a little bit sour. I inhaled a large amount of the scent to see if I could identify it. Holy shit that smells good. I don’t know why but I suddenly feel really good. I feel incredibly energized even though I just finished that exhausting race with Dash. Now that I think about Rainbow Dash I can’t believe I didn’t see how sexy she was before now. Man I really want to kiss her right now. Maybe I should see if the rest of her body is as soft as her wings. I bet you she wouldn’t mind if I used my fingers to-

STOP! My instincts kicked in as my brain fought the fuzziness that was attempting to overpower rational though. What the fuck is going on here? I know i’ve been more open about my feelings recently but the filthy thoughts that just passed through my head weren’t normal at all. Alright I’ll just calm down and take a deep breath to steady myself. Drawing in a large pocket of air I was once again hit by the strange smell. I felt my mental clarity start to slip away as certain parts of my lower body began to stir.

Fighting through dulling of my thought process I finally grasped the answer and felt my stomach drop. Pheromones. I immediately removed my hands from dash’s wings and began taking shallow breaths in an attempt to avoid the pheromones in the air. I knew that certain animals species could interact through pheromones but I thought it wouldn’t apply to me. Humans have weak almost nonexistent levels of pheromones. I assumed my body was close enough to theirs that communication through pheromones was impossible. It appears biological traits from my original people were passed down to me. *sigh* Either way I need to say something to Dash.

“So I’m guessing that your stiff wings mean something other than a muscle cramp.” For the first time since I’d met her, Rainbow Dash looked back at me with a blush.

“Stiff wings for pegasus usually mean something a little different.” She said.

“Then let me apologize for assuming and acting brashly. I thought the muscles in your wings locked up after the race. I’ve had some nasty muscle cramps before and figured I could help you out since you can’t reach your wings.”

She sighed. “Well I guess it’s not like you could have known about pegasus wings. Still, I’ve beaten up stallions for less than what you just did.”

Bowing my head I said, “I’m sincerely sorry for rushing to conclusions Rainbow Dash. Please forgive me.” To my relief her next words sounded lighthearted instead of mad.

“*heh* It’s not like I didn’t enjoy it. Those hands of yours are something else. I don’t mind that you touched me to try and help me out. Just make sure you ask before you touch a pegasus’s wings again.”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash. Unfortunately we’re going to need to cut this conversation short as I badly need to get away from you right now.”

Rainbow Dash looked at me a little angrily and said, “What? Why?”

“Because I’ve never had to deal with the pheromones you’re still releasing right now and i’m about one step away from losing control, throwing you to the ground, and having my way with you.”

Dash smiled and said, “Fastest Pegasus in Equestria, soon to be wonderbolt, and with a body so hot even aliens can’t keep their hooves off me. Does my awesomeness know no bounds?”

“Ha Ha yes, very funny Rainbow Dash. Now if you don’t mind I was hoping you could fly back to town while I take a long walk back. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold myself back with all the pheromones radiating off of you.”

“Alright then. I’ll see you back in Ponyville Cicero.” Rainbow Dash wiggled her butt entirely more than was necessary before she leapt into the sky and flew off towards town. I suppose I deserved that last jab after what I did. Letting the tension out of my body I fell backwards into the dirt. Well that was definitely a new experience for me. It’s not the first time i’ve done something sexual to a female but it’s definitely the first time I’ve been assaulted by pheromones like that.

Who’d have thought they’d have such a powerful effect on my body and mind. I was going to have to be careful of situations like this in the future. I’d hate to lose control of myself and do something i’d regret. Now that I’ve experienced pheromones hopefully the effect will lessen the next time I’m exposed to them. Picking myself off the ground I recognized I was pitching quite the tent in my pants. Hopefuly this would die down by the time I got back into town. Grabbing my shirt off the ground I put it back on and began my long walk around the gorge and back into town.

Perspective: Unknown

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE NOT HERE!? Useless pony guard. I’ve torn my way through his entire mind and he doesn’t even have a hint as to where the Princesses have gone. At least digging through his mind wasn’t a complete waste of time. I’ve learned a decent amount about the princesses daily routine at the castle. That will be useful information in the future. While going through this soldiers memories i’ve also learned pony society is still the same horrible place it was all those millennia ago before I was trapped.

*sigh* As much as I despise being in this pony's body I suppose I’ll just have to bear with it for now and wait. I still haven’t regained enough of my lost magical power to be able to take physical form again. I’ll need to stay inside of this pony and use him as my host for time being. I’ll need to direct him around the castle grounds and get a decent understanding of its layout. If i’m going to be forced to remain in this horrid body I can at least make use of it while i’m here. As badly as I want my revenge I’ve waited a few millennia for it and can wait a little longer.

I hope Celestia and Luna return before I grow too disgusted by this body and kill the guard. Going through his thoughts has put me in a rather foul mood. Any plans I’d had to sway the ponies against Celestia and Luna would mostly have to be rethought. The ponies of this land revered the princess sisters as infallible rulers. Worse yet was the guards fanatical levels of devotion to the princess sisters.

Damnit! I need something to quell my anger and let me think straight. Perhaps I could have some fun with this guard while I wait. I saw he has a wife and child waiting for him at home. Watching their faces as I forced my host to tear them apart would brighten my mood.

Perspective: Cicero

After a long walk back to town I finally arrived at Twilight's house. As the pheromones had begun the wear off during my walk I felt one hunger leave me only to be replaced by another. No doubt due to all the energy I used during the race with Rainbow Dash. It was around lunchtime and I was hoping Spike had prepared a large meal today. If not I would just have to raid Twilight's kitchen until I found enough food to stop my stomachs growling.

Thankfully during my walk home my member had finally decided to calm down. Although if the lewd thoughts flying through my head were any indication, the pheromones were still affecting my thoughts. I really hope the strong reaction my body had to Dash’s pheromones were due to it being my first time encountering them. If I react this strongly to pheromones every time than any potential enemies could easily observe my reactions and weaponize pheromones in the future.

It was strange to have two parts of my brain thinking two completely different things. One part of my mind had been going over the dangers of pheromones and how to counter any weapons made with them. The other part of my mind, which I had dubbed Filthy, had decided that no one gives a fuck about pheromones and that we should go get laid. Filthy had been sending a constant stream of lewd ideas involving the ponies of Ponyville through my mind. It made thinking logically about pheromone dangers rather difficult. *GRUMBLE* I guess for now i’ll worry about my stomach and deal with pheromones the next time they come up.

Walking through Twilight’s front door I hesitated when I saw two large ponies i’d never met before. Even though I was behind them I could tell that both of their heads were almost level with mine. Speaking of their heads they both have way longer horns than any i’ve seen on any unicorn around here. Looking down I saw that they both also had an impressively large set of wings on their sides. I don’t remember seeing any ponies around town with both wings and horns at the same time. As far as I knew the only types of ponies are earth, pegasus, and unicorn. I wonder if these two are special for some reason.

The rational part of my brain was hard at work noting these new ponies appearances and assessing their level of danger to me. Filthy decided he’d had enough of that and added, ‘Yeah but did you see the asses on these mares? Damn those are some fine flanks!’ *sigh* Yes filthy, those are indeed some well toned backsides.

Almost as if the two ponies could hear my thoughts they both decided to turn around. As they turned I noted that Twilight and all her friends were behind these two large ponies. The two new mares were even more interesting from the front. The purple one had an ethereal mane of various purple shades with what looked to be small stars glimmering within it. The white one had an even bigger ethereal mane containing shades of blue, cyan, purple, and pink. While hers also contained small stars they didn’t have the same luster of those in the purple ones mane.

I noticed that both had shoes on their hooves and breastplates hanging from their fronts. That’s strange. I thought most ponies didn’t normally wear clothing. Letting my eyes wander back to their manes I caught my breath when I noticed something important. Tiaras.

This must be the princess Celestia and princess Luna that i’d heard about from Twilight. Based on Twilight's descriptions the other day the white one must be Celestia while the purple one is Luna. When they said they wanted to meet me I had thought I would eventually be summoned and brought before them. I had never expected them to come for a surprise visit and as such, was completely unprepared for it. ‘I guess it makes sense that two princesses would be the owners of those fine backsides. I wouldn’t question any princesses right to rule if they’d been born with royal ASSets like that.’ God damnit Filthy. I’m trying to be logical about things and you’re over he…. Why are they staring at me like that.

Luna's mouth had fallen open while her eyes showed a look of incredulity. Celestia had a wide smile on her face and looked like she was trying really hard to hold in a laugh.

Celestia finally regained control of herself and said, “While is nice to have my *snicker* posterior appreciated even after all these years *snicker* that’s unfortunately not why we have come today to visit today.”

As soon as Celestia had revealed that Filthy’s words had accidentally slipped out of my mouth I facepalmed and looked down.

“SISTER! How can you laugh at this? This creature’s made a mockery of our reign and claims we only rule due to our backsides!” Said an outraged Luna.

“Oh come now Luna. Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy his complement.” Celestia shot back slyly. Luna blushed and her words faltered slightly.

“Th-that is besides the point sister.”

Looks like this is my chance to jump in. Removing my hand from my face I said, “I meet royalty on a new planet and the very first thing I do is hit on them. Come on Cicero.” I looked up. “I know it doesn’t mean much but let me just say that I’m usually much more civil than this. I was doing some things earlier outside of town and accidentally came into contact with a strange foreign chemical. Based on my thoughts as of late it appears to have been some type of aphrodisiac. While I can feel its influence on my mind waning, you’ve just been on the receiving end of its after-effects.”

Looking past Celestia I could see Rainbow Dash fidgeting uncomfortably. I felt bad for making Rainbow Dash uncomfortable with my lie but I figured she’d rather I do that then they say I felt her up and was still high off her pheromones. That probably wouldn’t make the best first impression with the princesses. Then again I suppose I already botched my first impression by hitting on them both. Oh well.

“How did ya accidentally get in contact with this mysterious chemical Cicero?” Said a suspicious sounding Applejack.

“I just happened to be wandering around some strange plants outside of town earlier. But enough about that. I believe introductions, although probably unnecessary, are in order.” I turned to the princesses before Applejack could speak up again. “Nice to meet you your highnesses. My name is Cicero and I’m the human alien I’m sure you’ve read about in Twilight's letters.”

“Greeting Cicero. My name is Celestia and I am one of the two ruling princesses of Equestria. You are correct in your assumptions about our knowledge of you. We have been receiving letters nonstop detailing you, your people, and their inventions since you arrived. I must say, I am rather excited to finally get to meet you. Meeting different species is always an excited experience. Meeting one from such a technologically advanced society like yours is even more so.” I bowed my head slightly to acknowledge her words.

“So it appears you can be civil.” Said luna. She appeared to still be disgruntled by my earlier words. “My name is Princess Luna and I am the other ruling princess of Equestria. As I am a scholar like Twilight Sparkle, I will admit I am hoping to talk to you about your society. Unfortunately I feel as though there is something more pressing we need talk about first. Unlike my sister I prefer a less tactful and more direct approach to things.” She said exchanging a look with her sister that I couldn’t decipher.

Apparently Celestia did understand the look as her face hardened slightly and she moved to block the girls from my site. That doesn’t bode well. Their taking up defensive stances as if they expect a violent reaction from me. Looking back at me with a hardened expression Luna said, “I saw you in the forest the other day Cicero.”

I felt ice shoot through my veins. WAIT! Don’t panic Cicero. These two princesses have been alive for a few millennia. Their most likely very wise and panicking is not going to help me in this conversation. I need to be very careful and watch what I say. Their defensive stances mean they think I’m some sort of threat to them or their subjects. I’ll need to use my words and actions to show that I mean no harm. As Luna’s words hadn’t been specific I’d need to probe her to find exactly what she’d seen.

“The first time I woke up in Equestria it was in that forest. I was rather curious as to what it contains. I’ve heard that the forest is dangerous but surely wandering through it is no reason for your guarded position.”

Luna surprised me when she smiled at my words. “You are rather perceptive it would seem. No Cicero, you being in the forest doesn’t bother me. While I am concerned for the safety of any who wander through the Everfree forest that’s not what ails my mind. What concerns me is watching an alien creature single handedly fighting and defeating a pack of manticore.” I heard a muffled collective gasp from the girls behind Celestia.

Fuck this isn’t good. So she knows I defeated the manticore group. Or maybe she’s just jumping to conclusions? I don’t know for sure that she actually saw me fighting. Perhaps she just stumbled across the scene and saw me wandering away. Maybe she’s trying to shock me into revealing what happened. I’ll need to word this carefully.

“I just got lucky. I barely escaped death in my encounter with the manticores. I doubt I could even take one of them on in a head to head battle.”

Luna snorted. “Cicero I watched you move with enough speed that you were able to create a miniature dustorm. I then watched you strike some of those manticores with enough power that you disposed of them in a single hit. These are not the actions of a one who could barely take on a single manticore.”

Damnit I guess she’d seen the whole fight then. She’d at the very least seen enough of the fight that I could no longer keep up my facade. I let out a resigned sigh.

“Very well princess Luna. While I wasn’t trying to hide my actions they aren’t something I really wished to talk about. However as you and your sister are the rulers of this land I can imagine you have some questions for me after seeing that display, yes?” Both Luna and Celestia nodded at my words. “Then I will answer them. However I request that we do so in private. While I respect and enjoy the company of the girls I do not wish to drag them into a talk about myself. Some of the things you want to talk about aren’t things to be discussed in polite company.”

“If you wish Cicero.” Said Luna. “Alright th-”

“Wait!” Yelled Twilight. Luna looked shocked that Twilight had interrupted her. “I’m sorry for interrupting you princess but I want to know what’s going on here!” She turned towards me and Celestia moved out of the way so I could see the girls. “Cicero why are you sending us away? I thought we had become friends during the time you’ve stayed here. Do you not feel comfortable talking around us?” She finished a little hurt.

“Not at all Twilight! You and your friends have show me nothing but kindness since I’ve been here. If anything I feel more comfortable with you all than without.” I looked away slightly. “Unfortunately the princesses wish to talk about some rather gruesome events that happened the other day. Not to mention after those questions I’m sure we’ll both have a few more that will be as equally unsettling to discuss.” Twilight wanted to say something back to my words but Pinkie Pie beat her to it.

“That’s why we should be here then silly! We’re your friends! Friends always stick together even if they have to deal with icky stuff sometimes.” She finished with a wide smile.

I knew the situation was rather tense but for some reason I found myself unable to stop a smile from creeping onto my face. “While I appreciate your willingness to support me you have to understand that I’m still concerned.” I looked at the six girls. “You girls all come from a land of peace and harmony. As such your souls and personalities have been nurtured by and reflect the best qualities that can be found here in Equestria. This land and it’s people are innocent to the levels of depravity that exist in other parts of the universe.”

Looking down in shame I said, “sadly the world I come from is not quite as innocent and nice. As I described to Twilight and Rarity the other day the world I come from is ripe with strife and conflict. While I have always tried to live by my mother's guidance and act like a good person my personality and soul have likewise been affected by where I lived. I fear that if any of you continue to interact with me past this point you will become tainted by my words or actions.”

“The other great fear I have is involving any of you further. If some of my suspicious about why I’m here are correct then what I have to discuss with your princesses might disrupt your peaceful lives here in Equestria. If you get involved any further past this point your futures might possibly become intertwined with mine. I don’t know exactly what my future has in store for me but I do know that it’s most likely not going to be safe. I’m sorry for becoming grim but you need to understand what you're requesting when you ask to stay. Consider the gravity of my words and then make an informed decision.”

I lowered my head for few moments to let them quietly think about what I had just said. After a minute I raised my head and was shocked to see six girls defiantly standing in the same place smiling at me. “Are you sure about this?” I asked them. They all nodded. “Even after all I’ve said?” Again a group nod.

Damnit. I gave them a choice and they made their decision. They’re adults and if they’ve made their decision to stay I don’t have the right to stop them…. Even so…. I find myself hesitant to let them say. I fear their willingness to help me combined with their innocence isn’t truly letting them grasp the depth of my words. Perhaps I should just send them away for their own good. I thought on this for a few moments. Before I could come to a decision I heard Twilight speak out.

“Cicero, please. It’s obvious that something is bothering you quite a lot. Let us be here not only for you but Equestria as well. If what you say is true, then as the elements of harmony we should know what’s going on.” After Twilight finished she could see that I was considering her words but was again still hesitant to agree. I saw a metaphorical lightbulb appear over her head as she added on, “I wish to use the favor you gave me. I want you to let me and the other elements of harmony stay for this conversation.”

Well I guess that seals the deal then. I truly don’t have any basis to deny her wishes any longer. “Very well girls. As long as Celestia and Luna don’t have a problem with it you may stay.”

“My sister and I don’t take issue with the bearers of the elements of harmony being here.” Said Celestia.

I looked over to the princesses. “Celestia and Luna I know you’re still wary of me right now but I was hoping you’d let me gain access to medic fluttershy over there. I can see the medical box dangling from her mouth. Why on Equis do you have that anyways Fluttershy?” I asked confused. Fluttershy seemed flustered as I had thrust her into the center of the conversation.

“W-well I-I thought that since Twilight said it was an e-emergency I should be prepared to help anyone.”

I smiled. “Always putting the others before yourself. You truly are one of the rare few like that in this universe.” As Fluttershy blushed I looked at Celestia asking for confirmation with my eyes. I saw her nod slightly and I turned back to Fluttershy. “Sorry for asking Fluttershy but I was hoping you could bandage me up again.” Pulling my shirt off I only got out, “I don’t want these to get infec-,” Before Fluttershy was already worriedly fussing over my injuries.

“Oh my, those look really painful! How did you get injured again? I just bandaged you up the other day!”

“Well since Luna and Celestia have very patiently been waiting, I suppose I should answer that question first. The other day I went into the woods to find an area I could train without being seen or bothered by others. I eventually stumbled upon a rather large clearing that was perfect for my purposes. I waited until nightfall and found my way back to that area again with the intent to train myself.”

“Unfortunately the manticores around here are much smarter than I gave them credit for. You’ll recall that I had a run in with a manticore the first day I appeared here in Equestria. It just so happens that the same manticore had seen me come by earlier and gathered some of his friends for an ambush. I tried to reason with him and his group but nothing I said seemed to sway them. Eventually it came down to a fight that I ended up winning. Although as you can see not without some souvenirs from the manticores.”

“A GROUP OF MANTICORES!?” Yelled Rainbow Dash. “How many were there?”

“Twelve,” I said matter of factly. Rainbow Dash zoomed around the library excitedly at this news.

“You single handedly defeated twelve manticore last night and still had enough energy to almost tie me in a race earlier today! That’s amazing! You’re awesomeness just went up 200%!”

Luna’s narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash’s words. “Yes such feats are almost unbelievable. One must wonder what type of creature has such unending energy.”

I held up my hands to show I meant no harm. “I’m not trying to dodge your questions princess Luna I’m merely trying to answer them in an order that makes sense. However there is one more thing I need to know before I answer your most recent question.”

“And that is?” Said Luna, obviously a bit agitated.

“Do you understand parallel universe and lifestream theory?” I saw Celestia perk up at my words.

“I believe I can handle these questions better sister.” Said Celestia. “I have always been more interested in things such as these and therefore have more knowledge on the subject.” Nodding to her sister Luna let Celestia take over the conversation. “I am a bit surprised that you would bring up these topics so suddenly.”

“As I mentioned to Twilight, I have some theories as to why and how I am here.” I saw Luna, Celestia, and Twilight all raise their eyebrows in surprise at my hints.

“Uhhh sorry ta interrupt ya’ll but what in the hay is a parallel universe? Said Applejack confused.

“Yeah, and what’s a lifestream?” Rainbow Dash added. “Are we just going to be discussing boring eggheaded science things? Can’t we go back to the manticore fight and get the details on that?”

I laughed at Rainbow Dash’s honesty. “Perhaps if you really wish we can talk more about the fight later. But for now I’ll answer your and Applejack’s other questions.” I thought on it for a moment. “Actually princess Celestia would you like to explain it to them? I’m interested to hear your world’s take on these subjects in comparison to mine.”

“I don’t see why not. Parallel universe’s are self contained realities that exist separate from one another. So each universe exists at the same time but they cannot interact with each other. Changes exists between each universe and can be something as small as the number five being replaced with the letter h to gravity no longer existing. The term lifestream has many definitions but based on what Cicero has said I assume he meant it in the sense of each parallel universe having a distinct lifestream. Every living in each universe is part of that universe's lifestream.”

“Precisely!” I said happily. “Now we won’t have to discuss semantics between different theories. Since you and your sister are so powerful I’m wondering if either of you have the ability to detect a creatures lifestream?”

“We do indeed possess a spell for that Cicero.”

“Excellent. Now if you would be so kind, can you cast that spell on me and tell us of your discovers?”

“If you wish.” Celestia walked over to my sitting form and lowered her horn towards my head.

Before she could make contact a small voice said, “E-excuse me princess Celestia.” Celestia and I both looked down to see Fluttershy hiding behind her hair. “I-I don’t mean to interrupt b-but I just finished bandaging Cicero and I don’t want him getting hurt again. This spell of yours won’t h-hurt, w-will it?”

OH MY GOD SHE’S BEING ADORABLE AGAIN! I tried to resist grabbing Fluttershy, seeing as Celestia and Luna were still wary of me, but her adorable hair hiding technique proved too much for me in the end.

“Awwwwwww!” I reached over and pulled Fluttershy into a hug against my chest. “Fluttershy it’s impossible to be serious about anything when you act that cute!”

“Ummm, sorry Cicero?” She said sounding confused and muffled against my chest. I laughed and felt her wrap her hooves around me as I hugged her tighter. After a few moments of me nuzzling my cheek onto Fluttershy’s head I heard a cough. Looking up I saw Celestia with a smile on her face.

“As loathe as I am to interrupt your precious hugging session I’m afraid we must move on. To answer you question Fluttershy, no this spell will not hurt. I promise to not damage Cicero or ruin your bandaging job.”

I let Fluttershy down as she said, “Thank you princess. I’m sorry for interrupting.” Fluttershy walked over towards the other girls and then turned back to watch.

Turning back to me Celestia said, “Now let us begin.” Touching her horn to my head she pushed some magic through it and into me. I felt it gently trickle of magic disperse throughout my body. After a few seconds I then felt a tingly sensation as the magic rushed out of my body and back into Celestia’s horn. As soon as all the magic had left my body Celestia stumbled back with her mouth wide open. “Impossible.” She whispered to herself.

“What is it Sister?” asked Luna. “Are you ok?”

“He… He has two lifestreams attached to him.” She answered quietly.

*sigh* So that’s it then. I looked up to see a shocked Celestia and Luna. “Your answer has confirmed it. For better or for worse, I am now permanently part of this world.”

Author's Note

I've been on vacation this week. Last week I needed to finish off or hand off all of my work projects before I left. While I don't have an established release schedule these two factors delayed this chapter being posted.
This is large chapter that I've decided to split into two parts. I've written both parts and I'm posting the first part today as I just finished editing it. Assuming nothing happens I will post the second part tomorrow once I finish editing it. However the vacation location I'm staying at is rather secluded and storms keep taking out power so I promise nothing other than that I will try.
Thank you to all who continue to read.