Fallen Eagle

by LucarioMaster41

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Human, Sad, Romance, Drama
Length: 91698

When a mysterious craft crashes near the Ponyville Lake, Princess Celestia, Luna and 5 of the Mane 6 investigate and find a human near the wreckage. They promptly bring him to the hospital where he awakens frightened & alone. To help him adjust to th

When a mysterious craft crashes near the Ponyville Lake, Princess Celestia, Luna and 5 of the Mane 6 investigate and find a human near the wreckage. They promptly bring him to the hospital where he awakens frightened & alone. To help him adjust to their world, Applejack volunteers to take 'Cougar' in at her farm. But what happens when the two strike up a very close friendship? This story is not mine it belongs to Captain Alaska.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-17 20:21:51 UTC

Chapter I: Saviors

Fallen Eagle

Chapter I: Saviors

(With the Investigators)

Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy, all galloped as fast as they could towards the Ponyville Lake. Two pegasus guards flew forward to clear a path for the seven ponies. "Official Royal business, everypony clear the way!" One of the guards ordered. Ponies on both sides of the main road moved out of the way for fear of being trampled. Celestia flapped her giant wings and lifted off the ground to catch up to one of the guards.

"Does anypony else know of this strange craft's existence?" The princess questioned the guard. The pegasus cleared his throat and turned towards his Princess.

"No, we have four other guards that have quarantined the area so no other pony can discover the wreckage," the guard explained, "the safety and sanity of the populous was our main priority your majesty." Celesita smiled and slowly lowered her hooves back to the ground and began to gallop quickly once again.

"But sister, remember the guard said some creature may have crashed along with the craft," Luna reminded.

"Yes, well if it is true Luna, the creature may be injured and we must tend to it," Celestia replied. Rarity grimaced at the thought of an unknown creature and craft appearing in their world.

"But Princess, what if this creature is highly dangerous and hurts somepony?" Rarity questioned. As the large group approached the lake, they were met with the sight of black smoke rising from the ground and two guards standing still as statues near a tree.

"Rarity!" Twilight scolded, "we have to show mercy and compassion to whatever creature is here. If it realizes we are kind and caring, then there is a good possibility the creature could return the same feelings."

"Yeah, and maybe the whatever it is loves to party!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, "do you think they'll like cake and ice cream and loud music?" She asked. The other ponies rolled their eyes and stopped when they reached the lake and gasped. They saw a large metallic object split in two. The back was burning and had two large openings with two large and tall tails atop the backside. The front side had two strange and rounded triangular wings with a long and narrow tube at the front. Inside the tube were various lights and buttons and weird controls no pony had ever seen before. "Oooh! I wanna touch those buttons, maybe balloons will pop out the holes in the back!" Pinkie Pie started to hurtle towards the craft but was lassoed by Applejack.

"Hold on there Pinkie Pie, d'you really think touchin' those strange buttons is a safe idea?" The country pony asked. Pinkie Pie whined a little and struggled against the rope tying her legs together.

"Oh my, the color choice is simply dreadful! The dull grey is boring, bland and simple enough to make me lose my breakfast!" Rarity covered her eyes. Fluttershy meanwhile brushed some dirt and sand away from the tube and discovered writing below the opening.

"Hmm, who is this, Cougar?" Fluttershy wondered, but no pony heard her.

"Twilight Sparkle, look at these strange markings," Luna pointed out as she hovered around the tails of the craft. Twilight flapped her wings and raised herself off the ground.

"Hmm, USAF, F-15, AK? I've never seen markings like these before, we're more than likely dealing with, an Alien source," Twilight gulped. "Princess Celestia, have you ever seen anything like this?" Twilight asked.

"No Twilight, but this provides an interesting opportunity for us to discover and study a new species," Celestia began, "now then guards, where is this strange creature?" The guards nearest the group nervously looked at each other before pointing their shaking hooves upwards in the trees.

"U-up th-there your m-majesty," one of the guards worriedly replied. Everypony gradually looked upward and dropped their jaws, save for Rarity.

"AHHHHH!" She screamed and fell onto her fainting couch, "that color of green is absolutely hideous! Did that creature come from the land of vomit fashion?" Rarity covered her eyes again.

"Twi, what in tarnation is that thing?" Applejack asked. In the tree was a tall monkey-like creature with wires from a parachute holding him up in the tree. On his body was a strange dark green jumpsuit with numerous patches and markings adorning the sleeves and chest area. On his head was a purple colored helmet with yellow piercing eyes on the front and images of claw marks going down the sides. Just below the yellow eyes were the white letters of the name 'COUGAR.' His eyes were covered with a visor and his mouth hanging open, but no noise was coming out.

Princess Celestia flew upwards to the tree, despite various objections from a few ponies. She gently placed a hoof around the creature's neck and lowered her head onto his chest. "He's unconscious, but still alive," she reported, "quickly, let's get him down and bring him to the royal infirmary," she declared.

"Sister, are you sure that's a good idea? We have no clue where that thing even came from!" Luna objected. Celestia glared at Luna and held onto the body while her magic cut the wires of the parachute from the back of the creature. She held onto the body while a large bag crashed to the ground and a black box fell out and smashed to pieces.

"Don't be cruel Luna, it is our duty to nurse this injured creature back to health, correct Fluttershy?" Celesita asked Fluttershy whom just quietly nodded from behind Applejack.

"Oooh, free bag!" Pinkie Pie declared and snatched the bag from the ground.

"Careful Pinkie!" Twilight warned, "we don't know what could be in there." Pinkie Pie glowered and hoisted the bag onto her back. "Princess, what about this wreckage? We can't just leave it here, some ponies will find it and panic," Twilight pointed out. Celestia gently touched back down onto the ground and set the unconscious creature onto her back.

"You're right Twilight Sparkle, Luna, help me transport this wreckage to the largest Dungeon cell," Celestia ordered. Luna stepped forward to her sister and both horns began to glow simultaneously and the wreckage soon disappeared in a flash. "There, now let's take, Cougar, to the royal infirmary. I shall request Rainbow Dash to moved to the Royal Infirmary as well, all of your friends will be valuable assets in assisting Cougar to adjust to our world," Celestia informed. Twilight and the rest nodded towards their Princess whom sprouted her wings and took off for the castle.

"Ah can tell y'all one thing," Applejack began, "that there ain't no Cougar, that's fer sure."

(At the Royal Infirmary)

"So, what'd exactly you guys find?" Rainbow Dash curiously asked as she was transported to the castle hospital and awaited for 'Cougar' to show up. Soarin' was sitting on a stool next to her new bed and Spike was in the corner, pretending to flip through a comic book, trying to hide his boredom.

"We already told you Rainbow Dash," Twilight annoyingly replied, "Princess Celestia will be here any minute, she had to make sure none of the guards or doctors would breath a premature word of this until she herself made an announcement."

"Okay that totally didn't answer my question," Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Fluttershy, you guys said there was a strange monkey like creature with the word Cougar everywhere?" Rainbow asked.

"Well," Fluttershy began quietly, "yes, but we're not quite sure what it was. It was a male, that was certain, but he had on this strange dark green jumpsuit with various cutie marks all over and he had on these strange sunglasses and a purple helmet with the word Cougar in white letters below yellow piercing eyes," Fluttershy explained, "and he was unconscious, but that's all we know. Even though he was strange and came in a weird craft, I felt horrible for him, he looked really innocent."

"He called himself Cougar? That's actually pretty cool," Rainbow Dash commented, "do you think he was some sort of daredevil? Maybe I could teach him a few things, right Soarin'?"

"You could teach anypony anything on stunts Rainbow!" Soarin' replied with his usual goofy grin. Suddenly, the door burst open with two doctors, a stretcher with the creature known as Cougar laying down on top, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and a nurse hurrying through.

"Alright, let's get an IV in him and a heart monitor hooked up," one of the doctors ordered. He took off Cougar's visor and quickly looked into his eyes with a flashlight before stick bandages over them. "His eyesight seems fine, we don't want to blast bright lights in his eyes after being knocked out for no pony knows how long," he explained and lightly taped white bandages over his eyes.

"We should probably get an X-Ray scan as well, he may have broken something," the second doctor said to the nurse. The second doctor took a stethoscope in his hoof and placed it in his ear and on Cougar's chest. "Princess, would you please remove the helmet and jump suit?" Celestia's horn glowed as Cougar's jump suit and helmet levitated off Cougar's body and were gently hung on a coat rack in another corner of the room.

"Woah, you guys were right, he is strange looking!" Rainbow stared wide eyed at Cougar. Below the jumpsuit was a dark blue shirt with the words U.S. Air Force imprinted with white letters across the chest. Below that was a pair of dark cargo pants.

"Well, he certainly does work out," Rarity commented on the muscles, though not flustered or anything of that nature. The second doctor ignored all the remarks and placed the stethoscope on Cougar's chest and listened very carefully.

"Heart rate is actually normal, breathing is labored, but he is unconscious so that is to be expected. Pulse is normal as well," he reported and scribbled his findings on a clipboard. "Well he is healthy, just knocked out, we'll have to wait until he wakes up so we can get the full story, and we'll still need an X-Ray scan and maybe a CT Scan as well, we want to make sure he is 100% healthy." Pinkie Pie pulled a cupcake from under her chair and zoomed over to Cougar.

"I know what'll wake him up, a cupcake a day will make anypony play!" She declared and stuck the cupcake under Cougar's nose.

"At least ya got a cool roommate this time Dashie," Soarin' joked and nudged Rainbow's arm. Suddenly, the heart rate monitor began to beep slightly faster and a quiet moan escaped Cougar's mouth. Little shrieks and grunts also began to escape his mouth and his body began to shift. Pinkie slowly moved her cupcake away as Luna approached Cougar and softly laid a hoof on his forehead.

"He is having a nightmare," she said, "I shall see what is the matter," she touched her horn to his forehead and then in a flash, she was gone.

"Okay, let's bring the X-Ray machine and the CT Scanner over," one of the doctors ordered the nurse. The unicorn nurse levitated a machine over Cougar's body and flicked it on. "And let's have a look see here," the two doctors studied the images on the screen.

(With Luna)

The Princess of the Night transported herself into Cougar's nightmare to find out what was bothering him. In a bright flash, she found herself in the sky, flapping her wings quietly. "I don't want to frighten him, I must make myself invisible," she told herself and became invisible. Suddenly, a roar like distant thunder invaded her ear drums. Luna turned her head to the side and ducked as four strange crafts, one of them belonging to Cougar, flew by her at an incredible speed. "By my Sister's name, what is going on?" About 100 more strange objects, all looking vaguely similar to one another, flew past where she was hiding, pursuing Cougar's and the other three crafts. Luna transported back to Cougar's craft and kept up with it.

"He's gonna fire!" A voice shouted out. Luna looked behind and saw a weapon smaller than the crafts flying towards the group. One of the metallic crafts exploded in a ball of fire, causing Luna to cover her mouth.

"Such violence, what would cause any creatures to resort to something so disgusting?" Luna questioned. Luna then jumped as even smaller weapons began to fly at her and Cougar. The little metallic objects pierced Cougar's craft and caused one of the engines to start smoking. A second craft then exploded near the group.

"TEX, BOA!" Cougar and his friend shouted.

"He is a creature of violence and anger, we cannot let something as dangerous as him roam around Equestria," Luna gritted her teeth, but then Cougar's craft started to fly in a crazy pattern.

"No, Reaper, get out of here now! Go back to your family and leave me!" Cougar's voice pierced the sky.

"Just eject Cougar, now, I'll get the Coast Guard to come back for you!" His friend known as Reaper replied. Luna looked upward to see the other craft firing off its weapons to defend his friend when suddenly, the other crafts went away and a demonic laughter came out of nowhere. The black sky turned red as a shadowy figure with two devil horns appeared in the sky. Only its mouth and eyes could be seen on the backdrop of the shadow. A clawed hand reached up and grabbed the second craft.

"REAPER, NO!" Cougar shouted. The demonic figure ripped Reaper's craft apart and held his body. Luna froze in terror, but shook it off as Cougar started to scream and panic.

"ENOUGH!" Luna shouted as the dream began to dissolve and Cougar calmed down before appearing as himself in the hospital bed. Luna quietly walked over to his body and laid her horn on his forehead again. She had him pinned all wrong. On the surface he seemed like a violent creature with the weapons he was utilizing, but she could sense he wanted everypony he knew to be safe and sound. The way he feared for his friend's safety was proof of that, though he would be in for a surprise when he woke up. Cougar was still shaking like a leaf, but Luna whispered into his ear, "You're safe Cougar, now awaken."

(Cougar POV. Royal Infirmary)

Breathing hurt my lungs. Every time air entered my lungs, it felt like I was breathing in burning gasoline. The scene played over and over again in my head. I just couldn't fathom that my friends were dead. Wait a minute I realized, I'm breathing? How am I alive? Unless this is purgatory. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. Luckily, my arms and legs still worked and I could feel the fabric of a hospital gown and a hospital bed sheet. "Stop, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep struggling," a heavenly voice told me.

"Wh-who are you?" I called out.

"Shh," the voice reassured me, "we found you hanging from a tree by a parachute. Your back was injured in the process; the doctor told me your spine isn't broken, but you need to take it easy for a few days until your back heals," the voice explained.

"Am I dead?" I asked. I know it was a rather brash and bold question, but I had no clue where I was and I wanted answers, now.

"No, we saved you just in time. Your craft was severely damaged in the process, but luckily we had it transported to the castle dungeons." Dungeons? Castle? Before I could ask the voice where exactly I was, I heard footsteps entering the room.

"Ah, the patient is awake, we can finally remove these pesky bandages around his eyes," I heard another voice say. Bandages? That would explain why I couldn't open my eyes.

"Well before you do, could you please tell me where I am?" I asked. My voice was shaking a little, but who wouldn't be a little nervous in my situation? Being tended to in a hospital in an unknown country? And who knew if they were just going to nurse me back to health and use me for target practice? The heavenly voice cleared her throat before replying.

"You are in the royal infirmary in Canterlot, Equestria."

"Excuse me?" I replied in shock. I then froze when I felt the bandages peeling off my face and my eyes were bombarded with bright lights. They were open, but I could barely see anything until my sight was adjusted.

"He has blue eyes huh? I imagined him havin' green eyes fer some reason," a southern accented voice pointed out. I raised my hands and rubbed my eyes before sitting up slightly. I felt a tiny twinge of pain in my back, but that was the least of my worries. I blinked a few more times until my vision was back to 100%. Around me were at least ten ponies of all things, and a small purple dragon, all standing and staring at me. In fact, all the ponies were different colors instead of just brown or white.

"Hey there roomy! Bout time you woke up!" I looked over to see a cyan pony with a Rainbow mane and wings in the bed next to mine.

"Welcome to our world Cougar," a large white pony with a mane that flowed without wind, a small sun on its hindquarters with wings on its side and a horn atop its head greeted. I reacted the way I believe any normal person would've. I started to panic and ripped the various wires connected to my body, causing the equipment I was hooked up to to start blaring.

"Please, calm down!" A dark blue pony with a horn and wings begged.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I shouted and tried to run away, but I couldn't get a grip on the floor with my bare feet. My hand reached out and grabbed a railing from my bed and I used it to propel myself to the door. A white pony with a horn and diamonds as a cutie mark cowered in the corner at my outburst and the little dragon got in front of her for some odd reason.

"Stop him before he hurts himself!" A pony wearing a lab coat declared. A lavender pony with a horn and wings along with an orange pony with a cowboy hat jumped in front of the door.

"Please Cougar, we just want to help you!" The lavender pony exclaimed.

"How do you know my call sign?!" I demanded as I raised my fists up. I then looked down to find that my flight suit was gone and I had a hospital gown on. "And where is my flight suit?! I swear if you did any experiments on me or did any weird satanic ritual you'll be sorry!" I warned. Suddenly, a pink pony with poofy hair and a joker-like smile hopped up in front of me.

"I like him! He's feisty and has some really nice moves!" The pony exclaimed and held out a cupcake, "wanna cupcake Mr. Cougar?!" She exclaimed more loudly. Then, the orange pony with the cowboy hat slowly approached me, causing me to move back into a wall.

"Now jest take it easy there Cougar," she said in her southern accent, "we jest wanna help ya okay? But you gotta relax and let the doctors here do their job, are ya thirsty?" She asked. I was shaking like a leaf and my breathing was very short as I could only breathe through my nose.

"Where is my flight suit and helmet? I know they didn't come off by themselves during the ejection," I replied. I kept my fists up as the largest pony in the room approached me and laid a hoof on my shoulder. I jumped slightly, but something made me not take a swing at her.

"Please do as our friend Applejack says," she pleaded softly. So she was the heavenly voice I heard, "if you lie down on your bed, we will explain everything to you," she stared into my eyes kindly. I can't explain it, but there was something in her eyes that made me trust her, not completely, but enough to where I listened. My fists were lowered to my sides and I slowly walked back to my bed. The pony smiled and her horn glowed as a glass of water was levitated towards me. I took a few sips before setting the glass down on the table.

"Okay, first thing, I can trust you all enough that you'll heal me, but I'm not just going to trust you on everything all at once okay?" I pointed to everyone in the room.

"That seems fair," the blue pony remarked, "if I woke up in a hospital in a strange world I would have a hard time putting my complete trust in just anypony," she explained.

"Second thing," I continued, "how do you know my call sign?" I asked. The lavender pony levitated my flight suit and purple helmet above me, "oh I see," I blushed slightly at my brainfart. Applejack cleared her throat and walked up to the bed.

"D'you have a real name there Cougar?" She questioned.

"Sorry," I replied, "but I'm not going to tell any of you until I feel the time is ready," I explained. She nodded and dropped her hoof from the side of the bed.

"That seems fair," the largest pony smiled, "I understand your fear and uncomfortable attitude."

"I apologize, but what is your name?" I asked the pony.

"My name is Princess Celestia, I rule over all of Equestria and this is my sister Luna," she used her wing to point to the blue pony next to her, "and myself, her and Princess Twilight are alicorns," she explained and pointed to the lavender alicorn pony.

"Princess Celestia, that's a very holy sounding name," I commented.

"Why thank you Cougar," she bowed her head.

"So, why did you guys save me? I mean, I'm sure my appearance scared some of you." A few of the ponies nodded, except for the Rainbow maned one in the other hospital bed and the pony sitting next to her.

"Well, we couldn't just leave a poor, innocent and injured creature to die, that would be cruel of us," a yellow pony with a pink mane and wings commented.

"I thank you for that, but I still don't have any clue as to how I got here or even survived, I should've died last night," I said aloud. I heard a few gasps and Luna placed a hoof on my chest.

"How could you say such a thing young Cougar? I felt the nightmare you were having and I entered so as to make you feel better. I saw the bravery you showcased by attempting to sacrifice yourself to save your friend known as Reaper," she explained. My heart stopped, and my body went limp.

"Reaper?" I choked out before thoughts of my now dead best friend flooded back and tears started to flow down my face. I covered my eyes and looked away from the ponies that rescued me.

"Oh my, are you alight?" The yellow pony asked.

"No, I had to watch-" I started before I stopped and wiped my eyes, "it's nothing. I don't want to talk about it right now," I covered up.

"Well, is there anything else you'd like to tell or ask us?" Twilight asked. I sighed and looked back at everypony in the room.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude but I've had a very stressful last few hours. If you let me sleep for a little bit or just leave me alone, I will tell you a little more about myself if that's what you want, but there's a lot of things I've got to think about," I instructed. Celestia bowed her head and respected my wishes and led everypony out of the room, save for Applejack for some reason.

"Cougar, I know ya want to be left alone fer a little bit, but I can tell ya don't actually want to be alone, and if ya want, I can stay here with ya if ya ever need somepony ta talk to," she offered with a smile. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow. Damn, she was good at spotting lies. I didn't really want to be left alone, I just didn't want to answer any questions.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that Applejack," I returned the smile. My eyes drifted over to a few of the chairs in the room and I spotted my survival duffel bag. "Hey, could you please bring that over here?" I pointed out to Applejack. She turned her head to see what I was talking about and fetched the bag for me.

"What's in it?" She asked me as she looked at it curiously. Since these ponies were kind enough to save my life, I decided to hide my pistol so I wouldn't scare them. I grinned as I pulled out my iPad.

"What is that thing?" the cyan pony next to me asked as she propped herself up to look at what I was holding," it looks like a book with a screen," she commented. I turned on the power button and entered my password and I was met with the main menu of my iPad.

"This is an iPad, it's an entertainment device that my species uses to avoid doing anything on our days off from work," I explained and hit the music app. I scrolled though the library and clicked on one of my favorite songs.

"Where in tarnation is that music comin' from?" Applejack jumped as the music started.

Out of touch, out of reach yeah

You could try to get closer to me

I'm in luck, I'm in deep, yeah

Hypnotized, I'm shakin' to my knees

"The music is coming from this device," I explained as I clicked the repeat button and laid the iPad on the table next to my bed. My eyes started to feel heavy. I expected that as I used up a lot of my energy trying to escape. Though I expected I didn't have that much energy to spare anyways.

I gotta know tonight

If you're alone tonight

Can't stop this feeling

Can't stop this fire

Oh, I get hysterical, hysteria

"This is a pretty good song," the cyan pony said, "so what was your world like?" She asked.

"Rainbow Dash," Applejack started. 'So that's her name,' I thought. "Cougar said he ain't answerin' no more questions tonight alright?"

"Fine, guess I'll just get some more shut-eye too," Rainbow yawned. Before I fell asleep however, I turned to Applejack.

"Hey, sorry for jumping to conclusions and threatening to hurt you," I apologized as a doctor came by and reattached my IV tube.

"Don' worry 'bout that Cougar, you were scared and confused, I understand yer reaction," she replied, "but what's a satanic ritual?" She asked.

"Nothing, just nothing," I replied as the IV fluid finally made me fall asleep.

End Chapter 1

Chapter II: A Moonlight Chat

Fallen Eagle

Chapter II: A Moonlight Chat

(Cougar's POV)

Surprisingly to me, I actually slept pretty good. Probably due to how exhausted I felt from ejecting from my F-15 and then having the big reveal about being saved by talking ponies. My slumber didn't last very long however, for I woke up due to a slight tugging on my right hand. My eyes snapped open and my left hand immediately smacked down on whatever was yanking on my right hand. I looked over to see a poor nurse pony shaking from my hand smacking her hoof. "I-I ap-apologize s-sir," the nurse said and pulled her hoof away, "but the IV is empty and I was going to remove the cord from your hand," she explained and turned away in fear. My tongue briefly stuck out to moisten my dry lips as I opened my mouth to reply.

"No that's alright," I replied, "it's just instinct with how I was trained back on my world. I didn't mean you any harm," I apologized with a smile. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," I quickly added. The poor mare slowly turned around with fear in her eyes and slowly removed the needle from my hand. She went to leave, but I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, I don't want to hurt anyone or anything while I'm here, you just startled me," I kept apologizing and explaining. The nurse gave a weak smile and trotted out in a hurried pace. "Nice going Coug," I mentally cursed myself. My trust with these ponies was still extremely limited, but I still felt horrible for smacking a nurse on her hoof for doing her job.

My eyes drifted up to the clock only for a groan to make its way out of my mouth. "Only 2:34 in the morning?" I complained and laid my head back down. The faint glow of the moon shone through the window of the room and briefly shed light on the bed next to mine. Rainbow and her boyfriend (I'm guessing) were sound asleep, not together of course. I rubbed my eyes and swung my legs over the side of my bed. Again as I tried to stand up, a small twinge of pain radiated throughout my back. My top teeth bit my lower lip to keep a swear from making itself public while I rubbed my back. "Celestia wasn't kidding about me having to take it easy," I remarked as I slowly stood up and began to walk out the door. Luckily these ponies left my cargo pants on so I didn't have to double check to make sure my back door wasn't wide open. Untying the knot in the back, I removed the hospital gown and laid it on my bed before putting on my Air Force shirt and quietly opening the door and silently walking out. Going on short walks always helped me to get back sleep when said sleep would do its best to avoid me.

The hallway I strolled into was huge. The ceilings were at least twenty five feet high and there were about twenty foot windows all along the wall, allowing a brilliant white glow from the moon to illuminate the entire hallway. Taking in all the decor and statues, I rounded a corner only for my heart to freeze before jumping into my throat. About four pegasus guards were standing in front of a giant pair of doors. "Who goes there?" One of the guards flew up and landed in front of me. "State your business," he ordered me as a spear was produced from behind him.

"I'm the creature your Princesses brought here to heal and all I want is to take a little walk to help me sleep, alright?" I explained. The guard looked from me to back behind him where another guard nodded towards him.

"Very well, but stay away from these doors," his free wing gestured to where the other three pegasus guards were, "these doors are private and only Princess Celestia or Luna may enter," he explained.

"Understood sir," I instinctively saluted and turned away from the giant pair of doors. Obviously I was curious, but since I was grateful for Celestia and her friends for saving my life, I wanted to honor her privacy. But before I left, I turned back to the guard, "hey, which door is the exit to the balcony outside? I Just want to maybe walk a few laps around it to get tired," I questioned.

"Turn back around, past the infirmary and it's the first door on your left," the guard replied. I looked back from where I came and nodded a thank you. I soon found myself on the outside of the windows on the balcony, basking in the moonlight. The night air was cool and relaxing as I did what I came outside for: Walking laps. The view of a city down below, was to die for. Even though a good majority of the lights were out, I could faintly make out the silhouettes of the buildings in the distance. My feet stopped waking and refused to move as I leaned on the concrete railing, overtaken by the beauty of this night.

A gentle breeze flowed past me, but I barely noticed. Forgetting all the harshness and negativity of the past 24 hours, I was absolutely lost in what was feeding my eyes before me. I was so lost, that I failed to hear the sound of wings flapping and hooves clacking onto the concrete behind me. "Hello, young Cougar," a gentle voice remarked, making me nearly fall over the railing, "what are thou doing outside, shouldn't thou be in thy hospital bed recovering?" She asked with a smile as she folded her wings in. The dark blue alicorn walked up to me before standing beside me as I caught my heart. "I apologize, did I startle thou Cougar?" She apologized.

"Just a little bit," I replied while pinching my thumb and index finger close together.

"My apologies," she said again and rested one of her hooves on the concrete railing. I waived it off as my heart rate got under control and I sucked in a deep breath. "So, what are thou doing out of bed?" Luna questioned curiously.

"A nurse woke me up by accident while taking the IV tube out of my hand," I explained, "so to get back to sleep, I decided to take a little walk throughout some hallways until I saw this balcony. The view of the city below is absolutely beautiful. I haven't seen a view like this since I was a child," I told the dark blue Alicorn Princess.

"Hmm, yes the view is quite breathtaking from here," Luna remarked. I looked up from the city to the night sky and again got lost in the sight.

"The night sky is probably the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life. I've always admired the twinkling stars against the inky blue sky," I whispered. Luna's hoof dropped from the railing and dropped onto the ground.

"I thank thee for the kind compliments young Cougar," Luna thanked me.

"What do you mean you thank me?" I asked, completely confused as to what she meant.

"I am the Princess of the Night, I raise the moon at dusk every night and I lower it at dawn every morning. The night sky took me quite awhile to get right, but the sky felt so empty with only the moon occupying the space, so I created the stars to give ponies and other kinds something to admire besides the moon," Luna delineated.

"Wait, you raise and lower the moon, every day?" I asked. I couldn't believe someone could actually do that, then again, I was rescued by talking ponies and Alicorns, so I shouldn't be getting so surprised.

"That is correct, and my dear sister raises the sun at dawn every day and lowers it at dusk every night," Luna said as her horn glowed and a table with two chairs appeared in front of us, "please sit down so we may talk further," she asked nicely. Still feeling wide awake, I pulled a chair out for Luna and then one for me. "Thou are quite the gentle-colt," Luna complimented.

"Thanks," I replied, trying to get the hang of the different Lingo.

"So dearest Cougar, who raises and lowers the moon and the sun in your world?" Luna questioned. I swallowed, still marveling in the fact that the moon and the sun didn't move on their own in this world.

"Well Princess, nobody does," I began to explain, "you see, in my world, our moon orbits our planet, meaning it raises itself every evening and lowers itself every morning. In turn, our planet orbits our sun, so it raises itself in the morning and lowers itself at night." I purposely didn't explain about planet rotation since I was afraid she would start asking questions I couldn't explain. Let's just say science was not my strongest point in High School.

"Fascinating," was the only thing Luna could say at my explanation. It was then I remembered what Luna told me earlier about my nightmare I had, so I decided to pry into that a little harder.

"If you don't mind me asking Princess," I began, "what did you mean earlier when you said you entered my dream?" I questioned.

"Oh I do not mind at all Cougar. Along with raising and lowering the moon, my duties as Princess of the night also include becoming in charge of citizen's affairs during the night and also protecting my subjects from their nightmares or sharing advice with them in their dreams. Not long after we brought you here to heal you, you began to show symptoms of a nightmare, so I entered it to protect you," she explained. "Many times I have had to enter dreams of my subjects to make them feel better or to prevent them from making a terrible mistake."

"Wow, that's amazing," I remarked and setback on my chair.

"Tell me young Cougar, who watches over your dreams in your world?" Luna politely asked me.

"Just like with the sun and moon, no one does your highness. If we have nightmares, we wake up and handle it our own way. I would listen to my favorite song or just tell myself that my nightmares cannot hurt me, though different people had their own ways of dealing with them." Again, Luna's face was of complete surprise and shock.

"You're telling me that nopony watches over thy dreams at all?" She questioned.

"Kind of," I decided to have a little fun, "there is this movie where someone enters random people's dreams and well, he kills them," I cracked a small smile. "His name is Freddy Krueger."

"How gruesome!" Luna exclaimed, "why would thou create something so evil?" Luna shook her head back and forth.

"Because, that's how some of my species liked to spend their time, watching others- eh never mind," I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want to scare her of how my species behaved most of the time. Luckily for me, she refused to hear any more of the dream murderer. "Princess, I have to be honest with you, I may be calm right now, but I still don't really know how to react to being a new world," I admitted, "and I'm not worried about not being accepted by everyone, heck I'm still shocked you and everybody that saved me is alright with me being here. "It's just, this is so strange seeing another species other than mine being the dominant one. Everything is upside down to me and to top it all off, I'm still confused as to how I got here and how I am still alive."

"Do not fret, I went through the same thing young Cougar," Luna replied.

"Excuse me?" I replied.

"Well first off, I was locked away for a millennia and when I returned, the speech patterns had changed, behaviors and customs had changed. It took me almost a year to get the hang of the newer lifestyles," she told me, "second, what do you mean you do not understand how you survived?" Luna leaned closer to me. I let out a long and loud sigh before attempting to explain.

"When I ejected from my jet, there were 20Gs of pressure being exerted onto my body. Some pilots are lucky enough to escape with a broken arm or leg. Sometimes if a pilot is not sitting in the correct position, their bodies could be put under too much pressure and it can kill them. And I injured my back because of how I was sitting, but even if that didn't kill me, I should've drowned from crashing into the ocean, but I somehow missed the entire ocean and wound up here," I explained as bet I could.

"Perhaps it was a saving grace from forces beyond on even my comprehension, or because you showed humility and tried to sacrifice yourself, you were blessed with a second chance," Luna offered.

"If that's the case, I'm going to do my best to embrace it," I remarked. "But, I'm terrified Princess. I don't have a clue if I will even fit in here. I'm mostly worried about causing a panic from your subjects and ruining your, Celestia's and Twilight's reputation as Princesses. And plus, who is going to take me in?"

"My sister and I can if you are willing," Luna replied with sympathetic eyes and patted my hand with her hoof, "you are scared and that is normal, but with time you will learn to accept friendship from anypony and our world can learn to accept you."

"That might not work Princess. No one here has ever seen a creature such as myself and if word got out that you and your sister are housing a dangerous new species, I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me, I've been through that too much in my life," I let out.

"Well, you have the rest of the night to relax young Cougar. Tomorrow you will be released from the infirmary and meet with my sister, Twilight and the rest of the elements of harmony," she smiled and got up from her chair.

"I am willing to embrace my second chance and prove that I am capable of sharing living quarters with somepony," I attempted to use the local terms, but found it very weird to say. "I do not wish to harm anypony Princess and I will work to the bone if that's what it takes to find a house to stay in."

"Very well, now sleep on it Cougar, you have a busy day tomorrow," Luna touched her horn to my forehead and I suddenly felt extremely tired. "Oh, and if you ever need anypony to talk to, just close your eyes and call my name," she advised and took off from the balcony. I watched her groggily as she flew upwards into the sky and disappeared in a quick flash.

"Did I just, make a new friend?" I asked myself. Thanks to Luna though, I shook it off because I was suddenly tired, so I walked back into the castle and found the infirmary. The nurse whose hoof I accidentally slapped earlier was refilling the IV bag near my bed and started shaking when I re-entered the room. "Hello nurse," I grinned, "I am still very sorry about slapping you earlier, can we please start over?" I extended my hand out.

"O-o-okay," she trembled and shook my hand with her hoof.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Nu-nurse Candy Striper," she replied.

"Thank you for taking care of me," I bowed my head slightly and held the door open for her as she left. As I was about to fall asleep, I heard some mumbling behind me. I saw Applejack whispering to herself, but also shaking slightly.

"G-granny Smith, couldja please shut that winda? It's gettin' a lil chilly in here," she wrapped her arms around her torso. My eyes fell upon the coat rack where my helmet and flight suit was. I grabbed the flight suit and laid it out over her like a blanket. It was obviously too long for her, but it fit around her just enough. I wrapped the sleeves around her neck and she snuggled right into it.

"Goodnight, Applejack," I said before tossing my shirt onto the nightstand next to me and climbing back into bed. I could've sworn I heard Luna's voice wishing me a good night's rest before I shut my eyes.

End Chapter II

Chapter III: Shedding Some Light

Fallen Eagle

Chapter III: Shedding Some Light

(Normal POV)

Cougar, Soarin, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were snoring soundly in the hospital room while the doctors finished up removing the equipment from Cougar and Rainbow's bodies. Nurse Candy Striper approached both Applejack and Soarin and woke them from their sleeping states. They both grumbled awake and yawned. Applejack went to rub her eyes, but instead found something laced across her body. "Huh? Whut in thu hay is coverin' me?" The orange mare asked.

"It looks like that jumpsuit thingy that Cougar was wearing when he got here," Soarin' said while let out a big yawn as he slowly walked over to Rainbow's bed where the daredevil was sleeping peacefully.

"Well, how in thu world did this thing get on me?" Applejack questioned and unwrapped the jumpsuit from her and set it back on the coat rack in the corner of the room. She adjusted her cowpony hat and stretched out her forelegs. "Them chairs ain't that comfortable, but Ah've slept on somethin' worse," she commented, "oh, mornin' Doc," Applejack added to the glasses wearing light Tan unicorn Pony with a black and yellow mane in a lab coat.

"Good morning Miss Applejack," Doctor Needle replied. His horn lit up and his glasses floated in the air before wiping themselves on his lab coat and returning back to his face. "Much better," he said under his breath while looking over the charts for Cougar.

"So, can Rainbow go home today?" Soarin' asked the other doctor in the room, a light green earth pony Stallion with a cyan mane.

"Of course Captain Soarin', she should be fine, but we will send her home with some pain pills just in case," Doctor Scope replied with a smile. Soarin' let out a sigh and smile of relief and put his hoof on Rainbow's forehead, looking forward to their Apple Pie and Apple cider date in the future.

"And, whut about Cougar over here?" Applejack questioned Doctor Scope, "is he goin' to be released today as well? Or has somethin' else come up?" The mare farm worker wanted to make sure. Doctor Scope darted his eyes across Cougar's information clipboard and smiled.

"Yes, other than his tweaked back, the patient should be able to go home- I mean be discharged today," Doctor Scope put the clipboard down. Applejack smiled and trotted over to see how Rainbow and Soarin' were doing.

"So, Ah'm guessin' yer gonna want sum cider 'n apple pie fer tonight Soarin'?" Applejack asked the newest Wonderbolt Captain.

"I-if you don't mind Applejack," Soarin weakly smiled at the orange mare.

"As long as ya take good care 'o my friend here Soarin', I'll give ya all ya need," Applejack replied and lightly slapped her hoof on Soarin's back. The two ponies looked down as a snore from Rainbow Dash was cut off with a yawn.

"Ahhhh, I still hate these hospital beds," Rainbow yawned and scratched her back, "but as long as my friends are here, I guess it's okay," she joked.

"Good mornin' to ya Rainbow," Applejack greeted her friend.

"I've got good news for you Rainbow," Soarin' cut in. Rainbow gasped and gripped her blanket tightly.

"The newest Daring Do release date has been set?!" She exclaimed. Soarin' and Applejack both gave each other looks of confusion before Soarin turned back to his Mare-friend.

"Uh no, but the doctor told me that you'll be able to go home today, and Applejack said she would lend us some cider and some Apple Pie tonight, if you're up for our date tonight," Soarin' explained. Rainbow gave a quick look of disappointment, but immediately smiled and hugged her colt friend.

"That sounds great Soarin', but I get the first drink of the cider, got it?" She made sure. Soarin' smirked and decided to have a little fun with Rainbow.

"Are you ordering your Captain around?" Soarin' teased.

"Captain shmaptain, I'm the Mare-friend Soarin', so that means whatever I say goes," Rainbow crossed her forelegs in front of her chest. Soarin' playfully stuck his tongue out at Rainbow and ruffled her mane. Applejack rolled her emerald eyes and grinned at Rainbow and Soarin' flirting with each other.

"At least they ain't as mushy and gooey as Big Mac and Cheerilee were that one time," Applejack shuddered under her breath. Her eyes drifted over to the sleeping form of Cougar next to Rainbow Dash's bed. Careful as to not wake him, Applejack tip-hoofed as quietly as possible over to him and sat down on a stool. She was wondering if Cougar was the one who wrapped his jumpsuit around her body last night, or if one of the nurses or doctors had. One thing was for certain though, he had to have gotten up in the middle of the night since his hospital gown was wadded up on the night stand right next to his blue shirt.

"Hey Applejack, toss me that pad thingy that Cougar was playing with last night," Rainbow pointed her hoof to the flat and square device on the nightstand underneath the shirt and hospital gown. Applejack removed the clothing from atop the device and noticed the music wasn't playing anymore. She touched a little button on the front with her nose, but nothing happened.

"He must've turned it off las' night," Applejack concluded, "and 'sides Rainbow, it's his property, and he doesn't really trust us all that much, how would he react if we just got into his stuff and snooped around?" The farm worker asked.

"Fine, killjoy," Rainbow muttered and finally climbed from her hospital bed. "Oh Celesita does it feel good to stretch," Rainbow groaned as her back and muscles popped.

"Yes it does," A heavenly voice replied as the door to the room opened. Everypony in the room instantly snapped up as Princess Celesita entered. They all bowed while Princess Celestia held the door for Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike, whom was walking right next to Rarity.

"Ah Princess Celestia, what can we do for you?" Doctor Needles stood up from his bow. The Princess of the Sun casually walked over to the bed that housed Cougar and placed a hoof on his forehead.

"He is still sleeping soundly, I had Luna make sure his dreams were peaceful and she did a good job," Celestia commented. She then turned to the group that had stayed the night. "It is time for Cougar to awaken and be welcomed to our world, but we also need to learn more about him," Celestia added. Rarity cleared her throat and approached the Princess.

"Princess, are you sure about that? He refused to tell us much last night and I fear he may never tell us anything. Not to mention, he is easily tempered and resorts to violence rather briskly," she countered. Twilight glared at the seamstress and her wing lightly punched Rarity's left foreleg.

"Rarity, he was frightened and injured. How would you react if you suddenly woke up in a strange place with different creatures surrounding you? He was only going to defend himself," Twilight lectured. Rarity 'hmphd' and turned around. Ignoring all the conversations, Pinkie Pie pricked up at Celestia saying Cougar needed to wake up, so she took matters in her own hooves.

"Come on Cougar! Wakey wakey cookies and cakey!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly and hopped onto his chest and bounced up and down.

"PINKIE NO!" Twilight shouted.

(Cougar POV)

I was sleeping peacefully, though my dreams were just repeating my talk with Luna. Now, I had no romantic feelings for her, she's a pony for God's sake, yet I saw her as a good friend for wanting to talk to me. I honestly would not have approached her to have a conversation, save for maybe saying hi. I was thankful she wanted to make me feel more at ease and at peace, and I'm glad she was my new friend. Even though I vowed to make these ponies earn my trust, Luna broke through that barrier just for talking to me.

These ponies saved my life, that much I am grateful for, but I still don't want to just give them my life story in one day. It may seem unfair and ungrateful, but I want to treat this like getting back with an ex. Racing back to what we had would do neither side good, but building friendships and trusts works overtime and if this was going to be my new home, then I was going to earn their trust and vice versa. Suddenly, my dream shattered and something was pumping my chest up and down.

"WAKE UP!" A high-pitched and overly happy voice penetrated my eardrums. I snapped my blue eyes open and was met with bright blue eyes set on a pink face and a pink poofy mane.

"GAHHH!" I screamed and shoved the face out of my face. "What the hell?!" I demanded as the pink pony fell on her butt, yet got right back up.

"Good morning Mr. Cougar!" The pony exclaimed and kept bouncing up and down as if the floor was her personal trampoline. "Did ya sleep well? Want a sweet donut for breakfast?!" She pulled a donut out of, nowhere, and held it in my face. I held my breath and politely shoved the donut out of my face.

"Could I please get some space?" I asked. I expected the overly energetic pony to be sad, but she still had a smile plastered on her face.

"Sure thing, just tell me when you want that donut," She put it back behind her. I looked around at every other pony in the room and gave a little wave before opening my duffel bag and putting on a new shirt. It was white and had a picture of the Thunderbirds on the front. My dog tags were wrapped in the shirt and I decided to put them on, but under my shirt. I also threw on a new hat, my black and red Drive to End Hunger hat that I've cherished since 2011 when I was 13. I sat on the edge of my hospital bed and silently put my regular shoes on.

"What are those?" A new voice asked. I looked up to see the purple dragon pointing at my shoes on my feet.

"Oh, the dragon talks?" I asked, not meaning at all to sound like an asshole, but he took it the wrong way.

"What is that supposed to mean tough guy? Yeah I talk!" He angrily replied, "you think just because I'm a baby dragon I can't talk? Well I'm very mature for my age!" He shouted. I put my hands up in defense.

"Geez, take it easy there, I didn't mean to insult you, I just thought maybe you were a pet of one of these ponies," I explained. I wasn't prepared for making things worse, though the small white unicorn, Applejack and Rainbow shared a good chuckle. Twilight, Celestia, the pink pony and yellow pegasus all flinched at what happened next.

"A p-pet!? I am NOPONY'S pet!" The dragon screamed at me and clenched his teeth in a harsh frown.

"Woah, I didn't mean to offend you, what's your name?" I asked. The dragon crossed his arms and turned away from me. Twilight bent her head down and nudged him.

"Spike, don't be rude to Cougar," she scolded. 'Alright, so his name is Spike,' I thought to myself.

"But Twilight, he called me a pet!" Spike replied.

"Well he didn't know," Twilight scolded again. Spike sighed and turned back to me, but not looking happy about it. Celestia walked back up to me and I stood up out of politeness.

"So, I take it you slept well Cougar?" Celestia asked me kindly.

"Yeah," was all I replied while stuffing my bag with my Air Force shirt and my iPad, careful to not accidentally set off my pistol. I put the strap on my shoulder and bent up slightly, only to have my back twinge again. "Ah," I groaned slightly. It didn't really hurt that much, but it was enough to grab my attention.

"You need to take it easy there," one of the doctors reminded me, "one wrong twist and you could throw your back out." I knew it all too well. My mother didn't have the best back in the world, and my favorite NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon, suffered from back pain in 2008.

"I will," I said to the doctor as the pain subsided and I stood up fully. "Okay, so you said you wanted to know a little more about me and I could learn a bit about you?" I asked.

"Um, yeah, I mean, if-if that's okay with you, C-Cougar," the yellow pegasus replied in a meek voice. I walked over to the coat rack and grabbed my flight suit and helmet and quickly stuffed them inside my duffel bag, just barely able to close it. I briskly walked to the door opening and turned around when no one was following me. Soon, Celestia led myself and the seven other ponies plus Spike to what appeared to be the throne room.

"Wow, this is nice," I commented while gazing over every inch of the throne room.

"Have you never been in a castle before?" Rainbow asked while waking extremely close to the lighter blue pegasus next to her.

"Hell no," I replied, "but I've seen some on TV before and on postcards," I explained.

"What's TV?" Applejack questioned. I was actually about to answer when Celestia cleared her throat.

"Now Applejack, let's start off with making sure he knows all of our names," she said. "You already know myself and my sister Luna," she began.

"Yeah, and I know Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, and Applejack," I pointed to the four animals. Celestia's left wing sprouted and pointed to the yellow pegasus with a pink mane. Her pupils shrank down to the size of peas and her knees started shaking slightly.

"M-my n-name is F-Flutter-" she began, but didn't finish.

"Flutter what?" I asked.

"Flut-Fluttershy," she whispered. She must've been scared of me, but then again, I did tower over everyone being 6'2". I must've been extremely non-threatening while laying in the hospital bed.

"And I am Rarity," the white unicorn proclaimed. Alright, I detect an English accent on her voice now that I'm fully paying attention. "I am the seamstress and dress designer for Ponyville where we are located," she explained. 'Great, now they're gonna tell me what they do and they'll expect me to do the same,' I thought, then remembered they already know I was in the Air Force. Next, the Pink and hyper pony bounced up and down.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! I plan all the best parties in Equestria and I help run the bakery in PonyVille! Which reminds me," she produced the donut again and I politely declined. The light blue pegasus next to Rainbow raised his hoof.

"I'm Soarin' and I'm Captain of the Wonderbolts," he declared.

"What are the Wonderbolts?" I questioned. Rainbow's jaw dropped and she gasped.

"The Wonderbolts are only the best flying demonstration team in the world!" She announced. I chuckled at that and pointed to my shirt.

"Yeah, these guys are the best flying demonstration team ever," I said.

"The Thunderbirds?" Soarin' read my shirt.

"Yep, they represented the United States Air Force and toured the country I lived in trying to recruit new members," I explained. Rainbow rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Well, that's pretty cool," Soarin' said and bumped my shoulder with his hoof.

"Where you apart of them?" Applejack asked me.

"No, they flew F-16s and I flew an F-15, besides I wasn't one to show off," I replied. I looked around the throne room and noticed that Luna was not there. "Hey Princess Celestia, where is Luna?" I questioned.

"She is asleep at the moment since she is awake during the night, though sometimes she will skip sleep for a day and stay up," Celestia explained, "and she did tell me about your talk you had last night and how both learned a little about each other."

"Hold on!" Spike butted in, "you've repeated several times that you don't want to tell us anything, but you go and blab your story to Princess Luna!?" He shouted.

"Spike!" Twilight's wing smacked his head, "be polite or else you won't get any gems tonight for dessert."

"For your information Puff the Magic Dragon, I only told her that the moon and sun raise themselves in my world and that I have no clue as to why and how I got here," I said calmly.

"Alright then," Rarity said, "where in fact did you come from?" She questioned.

"Fair question. I came from a place called Earth, Alaska, United States to be more specific," I replied.

"And what was your world like?" Rainbow asked me, getting more and more curious.

"I don't want to answer that one," I said quickly. Everypony in the room all looked at each other weirdly and turned back to me.

"Okay," Applejack started, "besides the Air Force, did ya have any other jobs?"

"Before the Air Force I worked in a mechanics shop," I said, "I enjoy hard work, I also helped work outdoors with friends on construction projects or cleaning up their properties."

"Did you have a special somepony back home?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"What the hell is that?" I replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"Like a mare-friend, or girlfriend," Twilight explained to me.

"Oh, no," I replied.

"What's your real name?" Applejack questioned.

"Sorry, don't want you to know too much, you can call me Cougar or Coug if you want, but not my real name just yet," I said rather harshly.

"What was Alaska like?" Soarin asked me.

"It was a beautiful place to live," I said, "in the summer time, it was nice and warm with beautiful blue skies and plenty of wildlife to admire. In the winter time, it was cold and sometimes dark, but still a great place to live and be away from too many people." This piqued the interest of Fluttershy when I mentioned Wildlife.

"What kind of wildlife was there?" She asked me.

"Oh, well there were bears, moose, caribou, deer, plenty of birds, an abundant amount of fish, otters, whales, foxes, wolves, coyotes, lynx, wolverines, I could go on all day," I explained briefly.

"Wow," Fluttershy whispered.

"One more," I said to everyone, "you already know where I lived, what my call sign is, that I did not have a 'special somepony' and what I did before joining the Air Force." Twilight put her hoof under her chin and smiled when an idea popped into her head.

"Did you like music?" She asked.

"Oh of course, my favorite band was Def Leppard," I replied, smiling at talking about my favorite band.

"Your favorite band was a group of deaf felines?" Princess Celestia asked and Fluttershy gasped at the thought of leopards who couldn't hear.

"No, the band was made up of five guys from England and they called themselves Def Leppard."

"So, they named themselves to make fun of poor kitties who couldn't hear? That's gruesome," Fluttershy frowned.

"D-E-F L-E-P-P-A-R-D," I spelled for them, "the best part was their drummer had only one arm," I said, putting my left arm behind me to show what he looked like.

"That's insane, how is that possible?" Applejack asked me.

"Sorry, but I really don't want to answer any more questions until later," I politely apologized, "but I will let you guys know that I am not here to hurt you and I don't want to hurt anypony," I used their Lingo, "okay?"

"Understood, we actually learned a bit about you Cougar," Celesita smiled. "It's an honor to meet someone that served in the military of your country and who is kind like you."

"Well, thank you Princess," I took her hoof and shook it.

"Now, Luna also mentioned that you were curious about where to stay while living here," Celestia added. Crap, I forgot.

"Right," I said, "well I wouldn't be offended if any of you didn't want to take me in. I would actually be surprised since I won't tell you a lot about myself and that I'm strange to you," I explained.

"Don't be silly Cougar," Twilight chuckled, "you are kind to us and we're all on the same page. You are strange to us, but we all don't know much about each other so it's a great learning curve for us and you," she explained.

"That's really kind of you Twilight," I smiled and patted her head.

"So, which one of you will take in Cougar?" Celestia asked.

"I would, but with Sweetie Belle frequenting my boutique more and more, I simply don't have enough space, but I do hope you come in though Mr. Cougar, you could use a new outfit," Rarity offered.

"I don't think he could live on a cloud right?" Rainbow asked.

"No, I didn't even know that was possible," I replied with shock.

"The library doesn't have any more room," Twilight said in an apologetic tone.

"All the rooms are taken at The Cake's bakery," Pinkie Pie looked sad for minute but perked up when she ate a donut.

"With all the animals in my house and Discord coming and going a lot, I don't have another guest room," Fluttershy said. All eyes, including mine, turned to Applejack.

"Aw Heck, I'll take 'him in," she smiled, "he said he likes to work hard and we could use another set of hooves to help out on the farm," she grinned.

"You work on a farm?" I asked.

"Yes indeed Cougar, wide open spaces, fresh air n' hard work at Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack painted the picture for me. I loved working outdoors and the fresh air was the icing on the cake.

"Alright, but Applejack, I don't want you to just give me a place to live, I want to earn it," I said, "I'll work my ass off everyday in exchange for living on your farm." Applejack chuckled and smacked my back with her hoof.

"I like yer attitude partner. Alright, if you work hard everyday without complaint, I and my family will gladly let you stay on the farm, heck, you could even be apart of the family if ya work at it," she said. I froze when she mentioned the word family.

"Hey Coug, you alright?" Rainbow nudged me. I snapped out of my funk and nodded my head.

"Uh yeah," I replied and adjusted the strap on my duffel bag. "Princess Celestia, I want to thank you again for saving my life and I wish to offer you my services if you ever need anything," I bowed.

"Thank you Cougar," Celestia offered me her hoof and I shook it again. "I will send you and everypony in the royal carriage while I have Spike take this letter to the Mayor to let everypony know that you will be arriving and to not be afraid," Celestia smiled.

"Come on Cougar, I can't wait for you to meet ma family!" Applejack grabbed ahold of my hand and began to gallop towards a golden carriage.

"Ooh and we can give him a tour of Ponyville after he's settled in!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down.

Despite being happy that I will have a job and a place to live, I was still worried about how these ponies that offered me friendship would be treated for bringing a strange and dangerous creature like me to their town. Sure, I was nice and humble and cared for the people, well ponies now, around me. But I still knew how my old world was, and how I grew up, wasn't a good bedtime story for kids. But, like I said to Luna, I will make the most of this and try to live out my second chance.

End Chapter III

Chapter IV: Meeting the Apples

Fallen Eagle

Chapter IV: Meeting the Apples

(Normal POV.)

Cougar readjusted the strap on his duffel bag as he got back up from his bow to Princess Celestia and turned back to the group. "So, where is this royal chariot?" He asked. Princess Celestia cleared her throat and two pegasus guards stepped aside to open a set of doors which revealed a large golden chariot encrusted with gems and other jewels. It was large enough to hold all non-flying ponies and one 6'2" human male. The two guards trotted quickly to the front of the chariot and hooked themselves up, ready to pull the group to Ponyville.

"I trust you'll all have a safe flight?" Celestia smiled.

"Of course Princess," Twilight smiled back and gestured for Cougar to take a seat first. The Air Force pilot took a deep breath in through his nose and climbed aboard, setting his duffel bag down on the floor.

"Wow," he whispered as he traced his fingers over the shiny golden surface, "I've never seen this much gold in my entire life," he commented and relaxed back onto the cushioned seats. Pinkie Pie hopped up and down until she landed right next to Cougar and stretched out with him.

"Princess Celestia sure knows how to ride in style, if only this chariot had a cupcake dispenser, I'd never leave it!" She exclaimed and tapped her fore hooves together. Cougar chuckled and looked behind him.

"Well, you guys coming or not?" He called. Rainbow and Soarin' stretched out their wings and flapped them until they were hovering in the air.

"Nah, we'll just fly along side you guys," Rainbow saluted.

"Yeah, haven't flown in about two days, these babies need some exercise," Soarin' added and did a few loops. Soon enough, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack and Spike joined in the chariot with Pinkie and Cougar. Being the gentleman that he was, Cougar held out his hand and helped the ponies and dragon into their respective seats. Twilight and Spike both sat down in the front seat while Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack joined Pinkie and Cougar in the back. Rarity was a little hesitant at having her hoof held by whatever was on Cougar's arm, that and she was still skeptical of him.

"I won't bite," Cougar smirked and motioned with the long curling devices on the end of his hoof. Rarity whined slightly and placed her hoof on Cougar's and the things wrapped around her hoof.

"Oh my!" The White unicorn shrieked while Cougar led her to her seat. "Thank you, but what in Celestia's name are those things on the end of your arm?" Rarity asked. Cougar looked at his hand and curled his fingers several times.

"You mean my fingers?" Cougar questioned.

"Yes, they feel, very weird," Rarity kept inspecting her hoof. Cougar chuckled and sat back down in between Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Up ahead, the two Pegasus guards both turned around and cleared their throats.

"If you are all ready?" The guard on the left asked. Everybody in the chariot nodded and the two guards sprouted their wings. They flapped their wings mightily and the golden chariot lurched forward.

"Weeeeeeee!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily exclaimed when the group was soon flying above Canterlot and over the valley. Applejack held onto her hat tightly so it wouldn't fall off while Fluttershy shook and covered her eyes. Cougar took notice and tapped Applejack on her shoulder.

"Hey Applejack, what's wrong with Fluttershy?" Cougar asked the apple farmer. The orange mare's emerald eyes darted from Cougar to Fluttershy and smiled a little.

"Oh, don't worry none 'bout Fluttershy, she's jest got uh fear uh heights is all," Applejack explained. Cougar raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out how that was possible.

"But isn't she a pegasus?" Cougar questioned. Applejack chuckled and rested her arm on the side of the chariot.

"Ya, we can't figure it out either, but once she's on thu ground, Fluttershy is the kindest pony y'all ever meet," the farmer replied. Meanwhile, Soarin and Rainbow were flying directly next to the chariot, all while doing various loops and barrel rolls.

"Oh man does it feel good to be back in the air!" Rainbow shouted and started flying on her back. The wind whipped through her mane and she rested her head on her arm. On the other side, Soarin was just chilling while taking in deep breaths.

"Ah, now this is relaxing," Soarin sighed and looked down at the scenery below him. "Hey Cougar, how does it feel to be back in the air again?" Soarin called. Cougar looked up and over to Soarin and clicked his tongue.

"Well, I wish I was in control, but this is nice," Cougar replied. He sat back down and tried to get a good look at what wonders lied on the ground, but was stuck in the middle seat.

"Hey Pinkie, could you switch me for a sec? I want to just see what everything looks like," he asked politely. The poofy maned pony grinned like the joker and picked up Cougar and scooted him to the side.

"Now, will you meet Gummy later on?" Pinkie asked.

"Who is Gummy?" Cougar replied before getting a chance to look at the landscape.

"My pet Alligator of course! He's the cutest and cuddliest little reptile you'll ever meet in your life!" Pinkie exclaimed and squeezed the air around her. Cougar turned his eyes away from Pinkie and shuddered at how overly-hyper she was. Ignoring her for just a brief moment, Cougar leaned over the side of the chariot and gazed upon the land before him.

"Wow," he whispered, "this is beautiful." Nestled in a valley was a quaint little village surrounded by acres upon acres of green hills and fields and various streams. Down below, he could spot numerous colors of different ponies on the ground, unaware that he was above them. He looked up ahead further and saw something he didn't expect to see in this land of ponies. "You guys have trains?" He asked in a curious tone.

"Yep!" Twilight replied from the front seat, "you sound surprised, do you have them back on your world?" She asked, sneaking in a question for her journal studying.

"Of course we have them on my world, I just didn't expect you guys to have them here, I thought you could just gallop or in some cases fly!" He pointed to the two pegasi flying next to the chariot.

"Well, Earth Ponies and unicorns can't fly Cougar, and some places are very far away!" Twilight explained. Suddenly, Twilight felt herself be pulled down on her seat by a clawed hand. "Spike!" Twilight scolded, "what are you doing?" She demanded as she fixed her mane.

"I just need to talk to you for a second Twi," Spike explained.

"You could just tap me on the shoulder instead of yanking down on my mane!" Twilight annoyingly exclaimed.

"Sorry, it's just that I don't like this guy Twilight," Spike admitted, "I think he's here to find our weaknesses and bring his species here to he can overthrow us." For another time that day, Twilight's wing slapped Spike upside the head.

"You listen here Spike," Twilight glowered, "Applejack can sense when someone is lying, and she hasn't said one word about him not telling the truth, and he looked so helpless and scared in the infirmary. He doesn't want to hurt anypony and he wants all of us to earn his trust and that's exactly what we're going to do, even if it does take awhile," Twilight scolded Spike.

"Fine, just don't complain if this all backfires on us," Spike pulled a comic book out of nowhere. Twilight rolled her eyes and breathed a sigh. 'I can't wait to tell Shining Armor and Cadence about this. I wonder if we can take Cougar to the Crystal Empire someday?' She thought to herself. Finally, the chariot began to slow down and descend upon Ponyville.

"Spike, do you still have that letter that Princess Celestia gave you to give to the Mayor?" Twilight asked. Still reading his comic book, Spike held up the rolled up scroll and set it down next to Twilight. "Alright now Cougar, we're about to land, how are you feeling?" The purple Alicorn asked. Looking up from admiring the town, Cougar blinked hard several times and gulped.

"I have an idea on what will happen, but I've only seen it happen in Monster movies," Cougar replied. Applejack scooted past Pinkie and placed her hoof on his shoulder.

"Come on now Cougar, yer not a monster. Sure yer different, but that don't mean anything as long as yer heart and mind are in the right place. Like fer you, these other ponies might take some time to get used to ya," Applejack replied.

"I know Applejack, but what about you guys?" He asked, "I don't want every other pony to shame you guys or ostracize you all just because of me," Cougar admitted. Now Rainbow and Soarin flew closer to the chariot so as to get a better listen to the conversation.

"Pfft, don't sweat it Coug, we already know you're not dangerous to us, and besides if they mock and shame Twilight, they'll be shaming a Princess and Twilight can take care of them," Rainbow rubbed her hooves together evilly.

"Rainbow, you know I'm not going to use my Princess status to abuse my power just because other ponies have a different opinion," Twilight glared at her friend.

"Oh come on, I'm just saying once isn't gonna kill you, and haven't you always wondered what it would be like to always have the final say?" Rainbow asked.

"Try living with her and you'd understand," Spike remarked in a smart aleck tone. Twilight ignored Spike and braced herself as the Chariot touched down on the ground.

(Cougar POV)

This was it. I finally get to reveal myself to more than a dozen ponies now. I was dreading it more than looking forward to it. I couldn't care less about how they reacted to me, I was far more worried about how the others would get treated. I wouldn't call them my friends just yet, but they had saved my life and I wanted to try and at least make new friends. The Chariot touched ground and the two guards pulling said chariot galloped until they came to a complete stop in front of what I guessed was the Town or City Hall. Immediately, ponies of all colors, species, sizes, ages and genders were wide eyed at the royal chariot landing in Ponyville. I could hear various voices talking to one another about what the royal chariot was doing in their town.

"Okay, I've got the letter for the Mayor, do you have everything Cougar?" Twilight asked me. I couldn't speak. Not a word, not a sound, but I nodded slowly. The two guards opened the doors to the chariot and we all stepped out. A hushed silence fell upon the crowd as I stepped out with my duffel bag hanging from my shoulder. Dozens upon dozens of ponies' eyes were as big as dinner plates staring at me.

"Come on Coug, just ignore them for now," Soarin' tried to get my spirits up. I made sure to not make a sound for fear of there being a large panic ensuing.

"What is that thing?" I heard a voice ask. I turned slightly to see a little filly that was pink and had a tiara on her head and on her hindquarters. That I'm gonna have to ask about. Another filly that was silver and had a tattoo of a spoon on her rear stood next to her.

"It looks like a monkey and a minotaur had a baby, and an ugly one at that," the two snickered at the comment. Thankfully, I had learned to not give a crap of what negative opinions others had of me a long time ago, so I easily ignored the two brats. I allowed Twilight to lead the way since she was the Princess of this group. Her hoof knocked on the front door of the town hall and a Mare with a gray mane and a pair of glasses on her face answered.

"Oh hello Princess Twil- OH MY!" She shrieked when she saw me, "your highness, what is this creature that is with you?" The Mare Mayor asked. I just realized the pun there if there was one.

"Hello Madame Mare, this is Cougar, we found him near Canterlot unconscious, injured and without a place to stay," Twilight covered up where I was truly found, "so we decided to take him in at Ponyville and Princess Celestia sent us this letter for you," Twilight explained. She levitated the scroll into the hooves of the Mayor whom promptly opened it and read it aloud.

"Dear Madame Mayor, we found this poor human who calls himself Cougar injured and alone near our castle in Canterlot. We know not how he arrived here or why, but we took him in at the royal infirmary and now the Elements of Harmony have taken it upon themselves to give him a loving home in Ponyville. I know this is all sudden and that Cougar is vastly different than any of our creatures in our realm, so please give him a kind and warm welcome, for he promised us he is not here to harm us, and my sister has already made his acquaintance, so he is a kind soul." The Mayor ceased reading the letter and set the scroll down on the table.

"We couldn't have just told her that ourselves?" Rainbow questioned.

"Or that he was really found-" Pinkie started before Applejack shoved an apple in her mouth. I chuckled at Pinkie's reaction.

"Well, this is strange, do you talk Cougar?" The Mayor asked me.

"Unless you have a different word for it, but yes I am," I joked. She looked like she had seen a ghost after I talked. She calmed herself and took a sip of water from a paper cup before resuming.

"It is a pleasure to meet you then if the Princesses trusts you, but I must warn you, other ponies may not take your presence here lightly," she warned me.

"Don't worry, I kinda figured that," I replied, "as the letter said, I don't know how I got here, but I'm here and I will make the most of it, but I don't want to hurt any of your citizens okay?" I asked her. She cocked her eyebrow and slowly stuck her hoof out to me. I shook it and she had the same reaction Rarity had earlier.

"If you have any questions I'm sure one of the Elements can help you or you can come talk to me," she informed, "and I will hold a conference with the town later on to ease the town's mind," she added and showed us the door.

"Wait, is that it?" I asked.

"Yes, I am very busy today and it was nice meeting you, but you have to go," she shoved us out the door and shut it.

"That went better than expected," I commented before looking at the sea of ponies all surrounding us, "and we're surrounded," I said.

"Okay, let's back it up ponies, we gotta get our friend out of here," Rainbow floated in the air and motioned for everyone to move.

"Yeh, jest move outta our way so we can git on home," Applejack joined in. The sea of ponies parted ways, leaving a thin aisle for us to walk through. It felt weird being stared at like I was an animal in a zoo, but I trudged forward, ignoring the stares.

"I must simply get back to the boutique!" Rarity exclaimed, "Sapphire Shores is beginning her tour in a month for the summer and I have to make a different outfit for her and her dancers!" Rarity galloped away.

"And I better get back to SugarCube Corner and help out the Cakes make goodies," Pinkie licked her lips, "stop by any time for a cupcake or a milkshake Cougar!" Pinkie hopped away just like Pepe La Pew.

"Cougar? That is not a cougar, have these ponies gone mad?" I heard another voice ask. I turned and it belonged to a tanned stallion with a black mane and three bags of money on his hindquarters.

"It's just a nickname buddy," I replied without thinking.

"IT TALKS?!" Several dozen voices asked at the same time. A good majority of the crowd vanished into different buildings while some stayed behind.

"Well, I've got to get back to the library and start on my report," Twilight said as Spike followed her.

"Report fer whut?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"Oh, nothing," Twilight hid her face and disappeared with a flash of pink light. I turned around to not see Fluttershy anymore, except a cloud of dust where she was.

"I'll go get ready for tonight Rainbow, I'll pick you up around seven?" Soarin' asked her.

"Sounds good, you're paying right?" She asked.

"As a good stallion would for his amazingly awesome and beautiful mare!" Soarin replied and took off after hugging Rainbow.

"At least he's not all icky and mushy about it," Rainbow shrugged after turning back to Applejack and myself.

"So, are you gonna come with me and Applejack then Rainbow?" I asked the lightning fast mare. She cracked her neck and stretched out her arms some more before answering.

"Nah, I've gotta read up the last two Daring Do books before the next one comes out, and maybe take a little nap before my date with Soarin," she replied with a smirk.

"Yet you complained about being confined to a hospital bed for two days," I reminded her.

"Yeah, but naps happen when I decide, and plus my bed is comfier than a hospital bed," she said while sticking her tongue out.

"Whatever floats yer cloud Rainbow," Applejack chuckled. Rainbow crouched down like a Tiger stalking its prey and launched into the air like a freakin' space shuttle. She even left behind rainbow contrails.

"Okay, that was pretty cool," I admitted as Rainbow disappeared into the sky. Applejack and I soon found ourselves leaving the staring eyes of the towns ponies and walking along a dirt road.

"Yeah, Rainbow is cool, yet sometimes she can sometimes be a pain in the neck, but she's also a pretty good friend," Applejack replied to me, "she ain't the element o' loyalty fer no reason," she added.

"Elements? Are you all like heroes or something?" I asked, knowing that it was kind of unfair since I requested that no one else ask me any more questions. However, Applejack smiled and replied.

"You could say that, Ah mean we've all defeated several different villains in the past five years," Applejack explained. "Ah'm the element 'o honesty, which means I never lie and I can tell when someone is lyin'," she explained, "and despite you not wanting to tell us much, I can tell you ain't lyin' Cougar," she added. She adjusted her hat so it wouldn't slip down ever her eyes as we ascended a small hill in the dirt road and I was greeted with a beautiful sight. "Here we are, Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack raised her hoof and gestured to the view in front of us.

There were thousands upon thousands of tall apple trees with various colored apples growing on the branches. A large red barn sat in the middle of the farm with dozens of hay bales nestled inside. A chicken coop sat perched about twenty yards away from the barn and a nice two story house sat about forty yards to the left of the barn. Several animal pens were sitting a few hundred yards away from the chicken coop with sheep, cows and pigs living inside them. I saw a large red stallion with a dirty blonde mane and a large half green apple on his hindquarters hauling a cart full of farming equipment.

"Well, whut do ya think Cougar?" Applejack asked me after lightly pressing her hoof on my foot to get me out of my daydream.

"This place is beautiful," I replied and sniffed rather loudly, "and it smells delicious, like apples," I pointed out the obvious.

"Haha, Ah'm glad ya like it, now let's go meet mah family," Applejack chuckled. She led the way as continued down the dirt road. I didn't notice how warm it was until the shade from the apple trees covered our bodies.

"So, do you guys harvest these apples?" I asked.

"We sure do Cougar, every beginnin' o' Summer we buck these apples off the trees and make 'em into pies, cider, apple sauce, cobbler or we just sell 'em at the Ponyville market every Saturday, which just so happens to be today," Applejack told me.

"Oh, do you need any help getting the apples?" I offered, ready to work.

"I like yer enthusiasm, but no, harvest don't begin for another week," she replied, "looks like you got here just in time," she joked. I smirked at the joke and swapped my duffel bag strap to my other shoulder. "There's Big Mac, he's my big brother." I looked up at the big red Stallion who just disconnected himself from the cart and was taking a breather. "Hey, Big Macintosh!" Apple called to him. The stallion looked up at us and froze when he saw me.

"Hello there Big-" I started before Big Mac was immediately in front of us and was glaring at me. I wasn't much taller than him, I guess that's why his name was Big Mac, though Celestia was obviously taller.

"Big Mac, this here is Cougar, you wanna say hello?" Applejack asked her brother.

"Nnnope," Big Mac said slowly. Applejack sighed and shook her head. "What're ya and what're ya doin' with ma sister?" Big Mac demanded from me.

"My name is Cougar and I'm a human, I woke up here when my craft crash and I have no way to get home," I explained, giving him the abridged version.

"So, what're ya doin' here Cougar? If that is yer real name, ya don't look like a Cougar ta me," Big Mac growled. Applejack got in between us and glared at her brother.

"I decided that we'll take him in while he's here Big Mac. He didn't have any other place ta go so I volunteered to take him in, and you're gonna be fine with it right?" Applejack glared.

"But why sis? Aren't ya worried he could just be usin' us to plan an invasion for his species?" the large stallion asked.

"Now you listen right here Big Mac," Applejack stood on her hind legs to look straight into his eyes, "Cougar is mah guest and he's going to be staying here with us for the foreseeable future, yah got that?" She pointed her hoof in his chest.

"Eeyup," Big Mac grumbled and turned around to go inside the house. Applejack sighed and turned back to me.

"Sorry 'bout that Cougar, Big Mac can get a li'l stubborn sometimes," Applejack apologized.

"It's no big deal, I was actually ready for him to knock me on my ass," I reassured her. She led me inside the house where an older pony that was green and had an apple pie on her hindquarters was napping in a chair.

"That there is Granny Smith, she's a good pony and still a hard worker, even at her age," Applejack said as she nudged the old pony. "Granny Smith, wake up, Ah've got a surprise fer ya," Applejack whispered. The old pony suddenly sprang to life on her legs and started shouting random things.

"Hey, where's mah walker? What in tarnation happened to mah glass o' milk on the table?" Granny Smith shouted before shaking her head and turning to Applejack. "Oh hello dearie, and who's yer friend here? Don't reckon Ah've seen somethin' like him before," she got real close to my face and squinted.

"Uh Granny, this here is Cougar, he's gonna be our guest for awhile," Applejack replied.

"Oh and where'd ya find him at? Did ya meet in town at the restaurant?" Granny asked and nudged myself and Applejack whom blushed. I knew what that meant, and I quickly extinguished that idea.

"No Granny Smith, we're uh acquaintances, no romantic interests here," I shook my hands. "I'm actually surprised you're not afraid of me like nearly everyone else has been," I added. Granny Smith chuckled and placed her hoof on my shoulder, or tried to anyways.

"Ah don't believe in judgin' Celestia's creatures based on their outer appearance young feller, Ah believe in getting to know somepony before ya go off and judge them," she advised me.

"Well, thank you, and I'm also here to help your farm with harvesting apples and other chores," I explained.

"Can't have too many helpers that's fer sure, Ah think I'll fix up some lunch, ya hungry?" She asked us.

"Actually, I think I could eat," I replied.

"Me too," Applejack seconded and we all headed into the kitchen where I set my bag down on the floor near a chair and took off my hat after Applejack. Big Mac headed back outside after rinsing out a glass. I soon heard the pattering of tiny hooves on the wooden floor and a little yellow filly with big orange eyes, a red mane and a pink bow in her mane scampered into the kitchen.

"Applejack, how is Rainbow doin'? Why were ya gone fer two days-" She began until she saw me sitting at the end of the table.

"Hello," I said. The little filly froze and hid behind Applejack's chair, away from me.

"Applebloom!" Applejack scolded, "that's no way to treat our guest, you come out here and say hello young lady," Applejack ordered. Applebloom slowly stepped out from behind the chair, looking down at the floor. She looked up at me and then flinched away.

"He's not gonna hurt me is he?" Applebloom asked Applejack.

"'O course not Applebloom, he's very nice and just needed uh place to stay," Applejack replied, "now please come out and say hi, ya might like him," she added. I could hear Applebloom breath deeply and step out from behind the chair again.

"Hello, Ah'm Applebloom, what's your name?" The little filly asked me.

"Cougar," I replied, "and let me say, you have got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen!" I reached out and petted her head. She shook in fear slightly, but let me pet her head.

"Thanks, are you friends with mah sister?" Applebloom asked.

"More like acquaintances AB," Applejack replied. Applebloom pulled out a chair next to Applejack and waited patiently for lunch.

"Applejack, are there any rooms left for me in here?" I asked her.

"Right, no there ain't but we do have an old storage shed that's been empty fer about five or six years now, but it may need a little fixin' up," Applejack grimaced.

"Well, let's go see it while we're waiting for lunch," I offered.

(Outside near the house)

Myself, Applejack and Applebloom were standing outside the shed that Applejack talked about. Fixing up was an understatement. The walls were old and rotting away and the only window had a hole in it from what I could only guess was from a rock or a baseball. The roof seemed fine, but I would take a look at that. The frame looked to be in good shape as well, just the siding and the window needed a lot of attention. "Well, here it is," Applejack announced, "Ah know it ain't much, but it's somethin'," she apologized.

"No, it's fine. I've always dreamed of having my own place to fix up," I said and grabbed the door handle. I pulled on the door and the door came off the hinges and the rotted wood fell into a crumbled pile until all I was holding was a rusty handle. "Hmm, faulty door handle," I joked.

End Chapter IV

Chapter V: Cougar's New Den

Chapter V: Cougar's New Den

(Normal POV)

Applejack rubbed the back of her head and let out a nervous chuckle. "Heh, so, maybe a li'l paint and lacquer'll spiffy this place up nice!" She exclaimed and kicked a little bit of the rotted wood which crumbled up into even smaller pieces. Applebloom rolled her eyes and shook her head at the situation.

"First yer old clubhouse, and then yer old storage shed, what else 'o yers are ya givin' away that needs fixin'?" Applebloom muttered. Applejack growled at her sister whom shut right up and sat down on the ground. Cougar just smiled and tossed the rusted door handle on the ground.

"Well, do you have the materials here Applejack?" He questioned while studying the shed.

"Ah think so. We might have some sidin' left over from when we put up the new barn, but Ah'm not so sure if we have any more windas left," she thought for a second. Cougar stepped in through the now open door way and tried to flick on the light, but it didn't come on. He gradually reached up and unscrewed the lone lightbulb from the ceiling. Luckily, it was still bright out and light was coming in through the open doorway and broken window.

"Burnt out," he commented and set the lightbulb on the window sill, "the framing actually looks really good and sturdy," he felt around the inner wood, "but that ceiling could use some new shingles," he said. "Other than the door, siding and the window, I think I can make this thing work." Cougar's eyes drifted up to see a ladder connected to an upstairs loft that he assumed was once used to house various farming equipment. He set his foot on the bottom rung of the wooden ladder and pulled himself up. There was a loud creak as he applied pressure onto the wooden rung. "Maybe a new ladder too," he added and stepped off before it crashed to the floor, "but it's just big enough for me. So, just tell me where the materials are and I'll get this puppy fixed right up," Cougar cracked his knuckles. He then looked down at his hands that were now caked with layers upon layers of dust. He shook off his hands and wiped them on his jeans. Applebloom held her mouth to keep from vomiting at having to witness Cougar cracking his knuckles.

"Ah don't think so Cougar," Applejack brought the human back out from the storage shed.

"And why not? I can do this myself," Cougar replied.

"Ah know you can Cougar, but remember whut Princess Celestia and them doctors said? Yer back is tweaked and ya need ta take it easy for at least two to three days," Applejack explained. Cougar rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry Applejack, but I'll go crazy if I'm not doing anything productive," Cougar countered, "and I want to be able to fix up a place that'll be mine." The orange mare threw her right foreleg onto Cougar's back lightly and patted it. The motion soothed his back that was still slightly sore, but it only reminded him of how limited he was in working.

"And ya will Cougar, jest with me and Applebloom here helpin' ya. Ah don't want you ta hurt yer back anymore than it is," Applejack explained to Cougar. The human sighed and adjusted his ball cap. "Cheer up Cougar, Ah still appreciate yer work ethic," Applejack smiled, "now come on, Granny Smith should have lunch finished, then we can start rebuildin' yer new Cabin."

(With Spike and Twilight)

Spike sighed as he put away his broom and dustpan in the broom closet and shut the door. "Come on Twilight, are you really gonna study that Cougar guy?" Spike asked his best friend. The lavender alicorn failed to answer the purple dragon and kept leafing through a species book whilst using her magic to write with a quill. The dragon rolled his green eyes and picked up a book from the bottom shelf of one of the book cases and lightly let it hit the ground.

"AH!" Twilight squealed in surprise, "careful Spike, you don't want to damage the spines," Twilight warned as her quill fell onto her wooden desk. Owlowicious picked it up with his talon and inserted it back into one of Twilight's ink bottles.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk for a bit," Spike said and sat down on top of Twilight's stack of books. Twilight smiled, marked the current page in her textbook and closed the cover. Twilight turned from her desk and faced Spike.

"So, what's on your mind Spike?" The alicorn questioned her dragon friend. Spike bit down on his lower lip and crossed his arms over his scaly chest. Twilight's face fell as she could tell what Spike was going to say. "Is this about Cougar?" She asked. Spike nodded, causing Twilight to roll her eyes and groan in frustration.

"Why are you studying him? I mean it's not like another one of him is gonna fall out of the sky again," Spike explained, "he doesn't even know how he got here, so what's the point?"

"You don't know that Spike. He may have accidentally found a portal to our world, and what if his friends in his Air Force come looking for him? And if this was a one-time freak accident, studying him can allow us to understand him better and then other ponies won't be so afraid of him; you saw how most of the town reacted to him just talking," Twilight pointed out. Spike rolled his green eyes and hopped off Twilight's stack of books, grabbing a few to put back on the shelves.

"Well, I think he's hiding something," Spike said while shoving books into their respective slots on the book shelves, "he didn't really tell us anything, and he keeps avoiding questions like what his world was like and he won't even tell us his name for Celestia's sake!" Spike exclaimed and shoved a book into the book shelf. Twilight scoffed and levitated her journal into the air.

"Don't worry about that Spike, Cougar just wants a fresh start, maybe something happened to him back in his world that traumatized him, he was in his world's military after all. And you heard Luna, she said he sacrificed himself to save his friend Reaper," the purple Alicorn pointed out, "so, he can't be all bad."

"Yeah, maybe his friend is the Grim Reaper and he just wants to kill us all for his sick amusement," Spike retorted and grabbed a handful of gems from a basket sitting on the kitchen table. Twilight glared at her dragon friend and levitated the gems from his claws and put them back in the basket.

"Would it kill you to be positive about this Spike?" She angrily asked. Spike pouted at having his snack taken away and rubbed his temples.

"If he doesn't trust us Twilight, then why should I trust him? Do you even remember what happened when he first woke up? He tried to attack you and Rarity at the same time!" Spike rose his voice.

"Maybe if you were paying attention, he was scared out of his wits and just wanted to escape from this strange new world; he calmed right down and let us heal him," Twilight explained and put her journal up near her bed. "Now, I need to go out and get some more ink, if I'm going to learn a lot about Cougar, then I need to write everything down to send to Celestia, and start thinking more positive about Cougar, you might find him pretty cool," Twilight left the library. Spike grumbled and grabbed another handful of gems and put some in his mouth.

"He's gonna have to do something pretty amazing for me to trust him," Spike said to himself and began dusting Twilight's desk.

(Back at Sweet Apple Acres. Cougar's POV)

Lunch was, interesting to say the least. It wasn't that awkward, but the food was quite surprising to me. "Dig in!" Granny Smith announced proudly and set various plates with sandwiches on the table. Big Mac strolled in and took the seat across from mine, glancing up at me every so often. Being the eldest member of the Apple family, Granny Smith took the head of the table whilst I took the left side of the table with Applejack seated next to me and Applebloom at near the bottom of the table. I know earlier I said I wanted these ponies to earn my trust before I told them much more about me, but because of her young age, I felt like I could have a friend in Applebloom. She looked innocent enough to not throw my trust under the bus, yet she was intelligent for her age, mainly due to the fact she lived on a farm. Throughout my life, I always valued street smarts over book smarts, and this entire family ran off street smarts, or maybe I was just a sucker for just how adorable she was.

"So Cougar, do ya eat hay in yer world?!" Granny Smith sort of shouted at me. I guessed that her hearing was slowly and slowly getting worse with her age, which I understood completely. I looked down at the sandwich on my plate and took the top piece of bread off to reveal a small stack of hay and some mayonnaise on top of the hay.

"Well, ponies in my world do, but not my species," I replied, trying my best not to offend anypony at the table. Applejack swallowed her bite before replying to me.

"Okay then, that's fine, but whut does your species eat Cougar?" She asked politely and took a swig of water. I opened my mouth to respond, but a thought crossed my mind. Would they take it well if I told them I ate meat before? I didn't mind some veggies and fruit now and then, but I mainly ate meat my whole life. I didn't want to scare them or make them think I was some sort of cannibal, even though I've never even thought of eating my own kind.

"Oh, my species ate mainly fruits and vegetables, or pastas and breads. We loved ice cream too," I replied, not really lying, just not telling the whole truth. I heard a small belch and turned to see Applebloom wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Who doesn't like ice cream? Even ponies who are lactose intolerant love ice cream!" She exclaimed. I chuckled at her response and politely shoved my plate towards the middle of the table so one of the others could eat it.

"What can I fix ya up then feller?" Granny Smith asked, starting to get up from her seat.

"Oh no, don't get up Granny, I'm very thankful for the sandwich, but I think I can find something to eat," I replied, not wanting her to make a big fuss over me. "Do you have peanut butter and jelly?" I questioned.

"Jelly's in thu fridge 'n peanut butter's in thu cupboard next to thu fridge," Applejack told me. I got the two jars out of their respective spots and spread them with a knife onto a piece of home made bread.

"Your bread is delicious," I commented after swallowing a bite of my sandwich.

"Why thank ya Cougar!" Granny Smith smacked me on my back, "yer manners sure are top notch," she added. Big Mac excused himself from the table and walked out of the kitchen while keeping an eye on me. I finally finished my sandwich and set the plate in the sink before turning back to the table. Applejack and Applebloom were patiently awaiting for me to start on fixing up the old shed.

"So, who wants to do some demolition?" I asked. Granny Smith had some errands to do in town and Big Mac went off to visit his Mare-friend, somepony by the name of Cheerilee or something, since his chores for the day were completed. Applejack and Applebloom raised their forelegs and got up from the table. I smirked at Applebloom as I turned my ball cap around and took out my black aviator sunglasses from my duffel bag. "Weren't you afraid of me like twelve minutes ago?" I asked the little filly. Applebloom pondered upon my question for a brief moment before answering.

"Ah figure that if mah sister and mah Granny think yer a good guy, then Ah'll believe 'em, and plus Ah don't like basin' ponies off 'o their outer appearances, Ah've been there," Applebloom explained to me. I looked up at Applejack with a smile.

"She's been raised good Applejack," I complimented. The orange mare grinned and put her cowgirl hat back on.

"Are we gonna keep jabberin' or we gonna fix ya up a place to live?" AJ teased me, "AB, don't forget the spare lightbulb in the utility closet," she reminded her little sister. Applebloom trotted over to a closet and pulled a lightbulb out of it and trotted back over.

"AB?" I asked.

"It's somethin' other ponies do to other ponies that have two names," Applejack said, "sometimes I call her AB, but most 'o the time I call her by her real name."

"Do you think I could give her a nickname?" I asked Applejack.

"Only if she's okay with whut ya call her," Applejack replied. All three of us headed outside to the shed, but not before grabbing some sledgehammers, framing hammers, tape measures, nails and carpenter pencils.

"Any ideas in mind Mr. Cougar?" Applebloom asked me.

"Nope not yet, but if I live her long enough, then maybe soon," was all I replied. "Do you have any power tools Applejack?" I asked.

"Sure do, we got a miter saw and a table saw stored in thu barn. We put them there because we can use the excess saw dust to cover the barn floor," she explained, "oh, and Ah also have a reciprocatin' saw in our other storage shed on thu other side 'o the house."

"Good, I've been using those kinds of saws since I was a kid," I replied, "and the reciprocating saw will come in handy," I added. We got back inside the shed which still had some sunlight shining through the cracked window. "Okay Applebloom," I said and curled my fingers around her torso, "don't be scared, I'm just lifting you up so you can put the lightbulb in the socket," I explained when she cringed at being felt by my fingers. Trust me, I'm no child molester, I even kicked a guy's ass once back in Anchorage when he tried to kidnap a kid from a playground. Slowly, Applebloom inserted the new lightbulb and instantly, the shed was bathed in a yellow glow. Even though I was 6'2"and had three foot arms, the shed was still about 10 feet tall, so I couldn't reach the light socket . The loft itself started at about the six foot mark, so I had about a good four foot space for head room, especially with the sloped ceiling.

"Okay, now we probably should brought the dusters," Applejack clicked her tongue now that the dust was much more visible.

"We should worry about that later, we got some rotten walls to bust down," I grinned while putting Applebloom down on the floor. I picked up a sledge hammer and Applejack picked up a smaller one with her mouth and Applebloom picked up a framing hammer. Instantly, we got to work, pounding away at the rotted siding. It came off easier than anticipated. Chunks of rotted and mossy wood flew off the 2x4 boards that served as the framing for the shed. We worked for about twenty minutes, and we already had one wall done.

"Wow, guess we haven't touched this shed in longer than Ah thought," Applejack scratched her head with her hoof. Applebloom set down her hammer and took a bit of a breather.

"Didn't work yourself too hard did you?" I joked.

"Nah, just need a breather," Applebloom replied. I set down my sledgehammer and thought for a minute.

"Applejack, should we just get the siding on now or should we demolish the rest of the walls first?" I asked.

"Ah think we should keep on demolishin'', Ah mean, this only took us twenty minutes to do one wall," she explained, "and we can cut the sidin' right quick, though ya might be without a door fer a night since puttin' up the sidin' might take awhile," she said.

"That's fine, just need some walls and plywood for the inner walls and insulation," I replied.

"Come on Cougar!" Applebloom exclaimed and started pounding away at the back wall of the shed, "this is the fun part!" She shouted and continued to demolish the rotted wood, taking notice to miss the 2x4 framing. Applejack and I looked at each other before resuming the demolishing.

(1 hour later)

All three of us breathed a sigh of relief as we sat down on the little porch hooked onto the front of the shed. It took an hour of demolition, but we finally had the all the rotted walls gone. Since the nails and rotted wood fell away without clinging to the framing and the studs, the saw reciprocating saw was useless. I heard a gasp when Applebloom started trotting around and, chasing her tail? "Hey Applebloom, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Maybe I got mah cutie mark in demolition or construction!" She exclaimed and kept twirling around. When she saw her hindquarters were still empty, Applebloom pouted and sat down like a puppy.

"A cutie mark? Is that those butt tattoos on everyone's butt?" I questioned. Applejack snickered slightly before wrapping her foreleg around Applebloom in a hug.

"Not exactly Cougar, a cutie mark is a special symbol that appears on a pony's flank when they discover their special talent," Applejack explained to me.

"Wait, no one gets to choose their own destiny? What if a pony doesn't like their cutie mark?" I asked. AJ put her hoof on her chin and rubbed it slightly.

"Don't recall any stories like that Cougar, but Ah know when Applebloom gets her own Cutie Mark, she'll be happy," Applejack replied as she released her sister. Applebloom's eyes grew big as she seemed to suppress a sob. I don't know what in the world came over me, but I bent down to Applebloom's level and wrapped my arms around her. Only less than a week here, and I'm already giving out hugs, but how could I just let a little kid cry?

"Cheer up Bloomin' Onion," I blurted out, "so what if this didn't get you a cutie mark, you're still helpful and smart and downright adorable, I'm sure you'll get it soon; maybe I can help you if you want," I kept blabbering on and on. She wiped her nose to stifle a sniffle.

"B-bloomin' onion?" she giggled at what I called her.

"Sorry if you don't like it that name, my mom made me that for a snack constantly when I was a kid.

"N-no, Ah like it! It's funny and it's uh, unique," she smiled.

"That's good, now let's keep working, you can still help if you want," I replied and ruffled her mane.

"Ah'll start gatherin' up the sidin' for you 'n AJ to cut!" She declared and trotted out to the barn. I smiled and got up from the ground and looked over at Applejack.

"That was sweet 'o you," Applejack smiled at me, "Ah didn't think ya liked mah sister that much," she said. I sighed and scratched behind my neck.

"Well, she's just a kid, I don't want to see her sad or give her the cold shoulder like I've been doing to you guys, there's just some things I'm not ready to relive in my life," I admitted.

"Ah understand completely, and Ah think Applebloom is really startin' to take a shine at ya, and that nickname is adorable," she tacked on at the end. "What do ya say we finish up yer house 'n then we can start to get all this Celestia forsaken dust outta here," she suggested.

"Good idea," I replied. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw what kind of siding the family had stored away. It was just like the siding my high school construction class used for the sheds we built instead of the horizontal siding my grandfather put up on his house. I took out a tape measure and measured out one piece of siding. "Alright, so the shed is ten feet long by ten feet wide and it's ten feet tall," I commented as I measured a piece. "And these are luckily ten feet tall and five feet long, so we only need two pieces on each side," I kept commenting as I scribbled down the mark where we needed to cut.

Soon, the sounds of power saws cutting into fresh pieces of wood filled the air around us. Mounds of sawdust covered the barn floor where we were cutting the wood. It didn't bother me one bit that we had to haul the pieces one at a time about 500 feet away, especially since I had help. We found ourselves pounding in nails to get the pieces of siding up without a hitch. I finally had Applejack check the time and we found out it was already 5:00 in the evening, but we were done. The shed now had new walls to keep me warm in the winter time and keep me safe. I still needed a new window, but I'm sure we could find one at a hardware store in town.

"Good work Bloomin' Onion," I complimented Applebloom for helping us. I was shocked she didn't earn her cutie mark since she was amazingly talented at construction and wood working.

"Thanks Cougar," she hugged my leg before letting go, "Ah gotta git ta mah crusaders meetin', Ah'll se ya'll later!" She called while galloping away.

"Ya best be home 'fore sundown ya hear!?" Applejack called out to her.

"Thanks to you too Applejack, I couldn't have done this without you," I thanked my technical boss.

"Aw shucks Cougar, yer mah guest and it wouldn't be very neighborly 'o me to leave you alone to do this, specially with yer back," she replied, "speakin' o' which, we should get ya checked out with the local doc at the hospital to be sure." I nodded, knowing she was right.

"I'll go get my duffel bag and then I'll come back and help sweep," I said with a grin.

"Ok, Ah'll jest be here sweepin' by myself!" I heard Applejack call back. I got my duffel bag and put my aviator sunglasses back inside and wiped the sweat forming on my forehead. I took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the sink before downing the beverage in about five seconds. I looked outside to see Applejack talking to someone, but because of where the house was situated, I couldn't see who it was. Curiously, I put my bag on my shoulder and walked back outside to see Applejack casually sweeping up the porch. "Back so soon?" She asked.

"Yeah, who were you talking to?" I asked her.

"Ah wasn't talkin' to anypony Cougar," she chuckled. I was so sure she was, but maybe I was just seeing things. The light inside the shed was off, so either it already burnt out, or Applejack turned it off for me.

"I got the extra broom and dustpan," I said before turning on the light and getting the scare of my life.

"SURPRISE!" A loud and high pitched squeal entered my ears and about raped my ear drums. "Happy 'Shed warming' Party!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down with a huge cake on her hoof. I clutched my chest and thankfully held my bladder together as I looked around to see Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Soarin' all waiting inside.

"When the hell did you set this up?" I asked. There was also a record player, a table filled with sweets and punch and various streamers hanging off the ceiling.

"When there's a party to be planned, time has to make room for me!" Pinkie replied and shoved a piece of cake into my mouth. "So, how do you like Applejack's farm? I mean you must like it since you already fixed up a place to live?!" Pinkie asked me whilst talking a mile a minute.

"I liked what you've done with the place Cougar, but you really should invest in a book collection," Twilight offered me a wrapped book. I took it and unwrapped the wrapping paper to see what looked like an Indiana Jones type pony hanging from a rope on the cover.

"Daring Do and the quest for the Sapphire Statue?" I asked.

"Yep, the first book in the most awesomest amazing book series of all time!" Rainbow exclaimed before sipping on some punch.

"I do like adventure books, thanks Twilight," I said, "but I don't have a bookshelf and I don't like leaving books on the floor. Twilight smirked at that and gave Spike an I-told-you-so look. Rainbow and Soarin' both gave me a Wonderbolt's hat and T-Shirt, while Rarity simply gave me the time her business was open because she insisted that I have an entire wardrobe makeover. Fluttershy, though shy still, gave me a book on the various creatures in Equestria and how to be kind to them.

"Thanks guys, but it's not my birthday," I commented at looking at the gifts I'd received.

"Come on dude," Soarin' started, "it's the least we could do, you're new here and we wanna show you that we're nice, most of us anyway," he replied.

"Oh, well thanks again guys," I said again before having a green scaly faces with purple eyes thrust into my own face.

"Gummy wanted to say hi!" Pinkie Pike shouted as she crammed the little gator's face into mine. He opened his jaws and clamped them down onto my nose which tickled since he had no teeth and his eyes didn't blink at the same time.

"Uh hi?" I patted his head as Pinkie Pie took him away.

"Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen? I mean besides me anyways," Pinkie Pie gushed and crammed her face against Gummy's. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Applejack standing behind me.

"This party was actually mah idea Cougar, I just wanted to give ya the warmest welcome to yer new home," she smiled at me. I smiled back and patted her head like a dog which she didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you Applejack," I replied.

"MUSIC TIME!" Pinkie shouted and started blaring music on the record player. It was sort of like techno pop, but I didn't say anything for fear of insulting her which could be the worst choice in my life if I did so. Somehow over the music, Twilight was able to talk to me.

"So, since you were in the Air Force in your world, was your country in many wars?" She asked me.

"Could we please leave that alone Twilight?" I replied politely.

"Oh sure, but at least tell me what your species was like. Were they like us, only looking like you?" She questioned. I simply sipped on some punch and ignored her, not being polite, but just avoiding her. She grumbling and trotted back over to talk with Fluttershy. I also heard Soarin' talking to Applejack about getting the cider and pie for his date with Rainbow Dash. I don't know why, but I felt rather comfortable with these ponies now, but both parties still had work to do for us to trust in each other. About an hour later, Soarin' and Rainbow left for their date and Twilight had some letter she had to send to Princess Celestia. Pinkie was sad, yet she claimed there will always be parties, always. Everyone packed up the remnants of the party and left, save for Applejack since she lived here too.

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time," I said to Applejack as I laid down on a cot I had discovered in the barn.

"Ah'm glad ya liked it Cougar, sorry 'bout Twilight drillin' ya fer questions again, she jest gets so worked up over studyin'," Applejack explained.

"Eh it's fine," I replied and pulled out the book Twilight gave me.

"Well, if ya need somethin', jest ask away," Applejack said before leaving the shed. I looked as her shadow slowly left my field of vision from where I was laying down before opening my new book. It was actually very well-written and very engaging. I read to about 3/4 of the book before realizing it was night time. That and Applebloom came home just before sundown to tell me goodnight.

"Sleep tight Bloomin' Onion," I said as she trotted back inside her house.

"See ya tomorrow Cougar!" She replied. I put my book on the window sill and rubbed my eyes, exhausted from the day's work. I fell asleep almost the instant my eyes shut tightly.

(3rd Person Point of View)

"Cougar, how was your first day at Sweet Apple Acres?" Cougar heard a voice calling from a distance. The Air Force pilot opened his blue eyes to see Princess Luna standing before him with a smile on her face.

"Luna, shouldn't you be in Canterlot?" Cougar asked.

"Remember Cougar, I am the Princess of the Night and can enter dreams, I just wanted to see how your first say faired," she replied with a knowing smile.

"Hey, you're talking more normally," Cougar pointed out. Luna smiled as Cougar sat up and looked around the dream world.

"I'm getting better, hopefully I can get to talking like my sister and her little ponies soon enough," Luna replied. Cougar was glad he had Luna to talk to since he had an interesting first day. He told her all about fixing up his own place to live and how they even threw a welcome to sweet apple acres party. "So, I take it thou enjoyed your first day?" Luna slipped back into her old ways.

"Actually yes I did, but I think I'm failing in my claim Luna," he replied.

"How so young Cougar?" Luna came to a dead stop.

"I didn't want to get too friendly with you guys so early on in case something happened, but these ponies are making me feel so, so," Cougar couldn't find the right word.

"Familial?" Luna inserted with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"You must remember that all of these ponies have been through a lot together in this half decade Cougar," Luna explained, "they value friendship over everything else and despite what you think, they are very trustworthy."

"I hate sounding like that," Cougar let his head droop, "but I learned at a young age to make people earn your trust because you don't want to wake up one day to find that you were friends with an enemy spy," Cougar said as an example.

"I understand Cougar, but please give these ponies a chance, I have even seen young Applebloom take quite the shine to your kindness," Luna gracefully lifted his chin up with her hoof.

"If that's what the Princess wants," Cougar bowed to Luna.

"Farewell Cougar, I must go and calm the nightmares of young Button Mash," Luna disappeared into a void.

And Cougar slept peacefully with a smile on his face for the first time in years.

End Chapter V

Chapter VI: On Display

Fallen Eagle

Chapter VI: On Display

(The morning after, Cougar's POV)

I was surprised that I got to sleep at all last night without hearing jet engines rumble and raising hell all night long. Nonetheless, I felt fully rested when I awoke the next morning. With a yawn and a stretch, I sat up from my cot and scratched my back. It was then I realized from looking outside my doorless door frame and cracked window that it was still nighttime outside, though the sky on the horizon was slowly getting brighter as Celestia and Luna performed their morning routines. "Well, no point in going back to sleep," I said to myself and stood up onto my feet and put my shoes back on. I grabbed my T-shirt which was hanging from a loose nail on the trim around the door frame as a makeshift coat hanger.

The floor beneath me squeaked rather loudly since it was extremely silent outside, not even crickets were chirping. The only noises I could hear was my own breath and the sound of snoring livestock. "Wish I had my watch," I muttered and stepped outside onto the ground, sucking in a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth. My nostrils were rewarded with the sweet and soothing smell of the country side, apples and grass. Hoping I wasn't waking anyone too early, I walked as quietly as I could towards the house, taking in how beautiful the farm looked in the early morning dawn. A small stream of light cascaded outside the windows of the Apple family's dining room and kitchen. From outside, I could see the dark silhouette of somepony wandering back and forth through the kitchen.

Squinting my eyes, I could tell that it was either Applejack or Granny Smith since Big Mac was definitely more noticeable and Applebloom wouldn't have been tall enough to be seen through the window. I still walked quietly to the kitchen door and softly knocked on the wooden door. The figure inside the kitchen turned around and walked over to the door and opened it to reveal the sweet, green and wise face of Granny Smith. "Well, good mornin' there Cougar!" She exclaimed and welcomed me inside. I thanked her and shut the door for her as I walked in. "So, did ya sleep good? What're ya doin' up so early?" She asked me with genuine curiosity. I took off my Drive to End Hunger hat and set it on the table to be polite.

"Yeah actually," I rubbed my eyes, "that cot is pretty comfortable," I added. I could smell the ever so enchanting aroma of eggs, oatmeal, coffee and biscuits with country gravy being cooked on the stove top.

"Ah'm glad yer first night here was comfortable," Granny replied, "are ya always up at 5:00?" She asked me again and stirred the scrambled eggs and oatmeal.

"Being in the military for seven years, I was always up this early," I said and stood up from the table, "here Mrs. Smith, let me help you," I offered and grabbed a big wooden spoon to stir the gravy and the oatmeal.

"Well, ain't you the sweetest thing?" She pinched my arm sweetly and went to check the coffee maker. I smiled at her and grabbed a silverware spoon from the drawer to taste the gravy. "'N you can call me Granny Smith, everypony calls me that and Ah never liked them fancy formalities anyway, 'cept when Ah was uh filly 'o course and called mah elders Mr. Ms. Miss or Mrs.," she explained.

"Alright then Granny Smith, I just wanted to be formal and polite to my boss," I replied. Granny poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

"Ya don't have to worry 'bout that, jest mind yer manners and treat everypony how you wanna be treated 'n you'll fit in jest fine!" Granny sipped on her coffee. A timer went off and Granny sat up from the table and opened the oven.

"Those smell delicious," I commented after the smell of fresh home-made buttermilk biscuits wafted over my nose.

"Ole family recipe from when I was uh lil filly, haven't changed the recipe at all 'n Ah don't plan on changing it now," Granny set the baking sheet full of a dozen biscuits on top of the stove in front of the pots of gravy and oatmeal and the pan of scrambled eggs.

"So, what time does everypony else wake up Granny Smith?" I asked her, still getting used to saying pony instead of body. The elderly green pony looked out the window as Celesita's sun peaked over the horizon.

"Three, two, one," Granny counted down and pointed out towards the picket fence next to the chicken coop.

"COCKA-DOODLE-DOO!" The rooster crowed loudly. The food was done and Granny handed, or hoofed I should say, me a bowl with a ladle to pour the gravy in, a basket for the biscuits, a large plate for the eggs, and another bowl for the oatmeal. From downstairs, I could hear the sound of the three ponies upstairs waking up from their slumber. The sound of hoof steps clacking on the wooden floor easily alerted to me and Granny that Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac were on their way down.

"'N that should jest about cover breakfast!" Granny declared after putting the coffee into several mugs and set them on the table. She sat down at the head of the table, awaiting her grandchildren to enter the dining room.

"Mornin' Granny Smith!" Applejack entered the room without her signature cowgirl hat atop her head, "oh, mornin' to ya too Cougar," she added with a warm grin and sat down next to me. Applebloom scurried into the dining room and hopped up onto the seat right across from me, looking as hungry as ever.

"Hey Cougar, how was yer shed last night?" She questioned.

"Morning Bloomin' Onion," I said, to which she giggled. "It was perfect, kept me nice and warm and the cot was actually pretty darn comfy," I replied. The adorable yellow filly licked her lips at the sight of the breakfast before her and awaited her big brother to finally come in.

"Eeyup!" Big Mac announced when he entered, he then lowered his eyebrows when he saw me and then sat down next to Applebloom.

"Cougar, did ya help Granny with breakfast?" Applejack asked me after looking at all the food and then at me as I had a few splotches of gravy on my fingers from the spoon.

"Yeah, I woke up earlier than I thought I would, so I came in to help Granny," I said.

"Well, ain't that jest the cat's meow?" Applejack commented with a chuckle, "ya really want ta prove yer worth here huh?" She asked me. I nodded in reply, but I didn't say anything.

"Are we gonna jest jabber-jaw to the cows come home?" Applebloom asked, "or we gonna chow down?"

"Whut? Them cows got out again?" Granny asked, "Ah gotta get a new lock fer their pens," she added, "anyhow, let's eat," she said and we all started digging in.

"So after breakfast, Ah'll show ya basically what yer gonna be doin' here on the farm Cougar," Applejack swallowed a bite of her eggs.

"Sounds good, but when do we start the harvesting?" I asked.

"Wednesday 'o next week if everythin' is on schedule," Applebloom took a sip of her milk.

"But I'm sure harvesting apples is not all you do around here, correct?" I took a bite of a buttermilk biscuit dipped in country gravy.

"Nope," Big Mac replied to me, not saying anything else while drinking his coffee. Applejack suppressed a belch with her hoof before responding.

"We also feed all our critters, plow the fields, sell our apples, repair farming equipment, plant new trees, we also got corn, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and all sorts o' vegetables to harvest aside from our main harvest o' apples," she explained.

"Sounds like fun," I shot back while motioning with my cup of coffee, "I am pretty good with fixing things," I added.

"Well, sum 'o our wagons do need regular fixin'," Granny Smith exclaimed. Breakfast went over pretty quickly. Since it was a Sunday, not that much work besides straightening up the house had to be done. Applejack took me around the farm and showed me everything they did and told me what my job would be.

"Alright Cougar, in the morning's after breakfast, we come out and feed the chickens in the chicken coop, milk the cows and feed them as well, feed the sheep and clean out their pens," she explained, "after that, we start bucking trees to git the apples off."

"My legs aren't anywhere as powerful as a ponies," I pointed out, "so how am I going to buck trees with you and Big Mac?" I questioned.

"Not to worry, you'll be responsible fer bringing those big wooden barrels out fer the apples to fall into and then we take 'em and store 'em in the cellar below the house and like Ah said before, we take five barrels o' apples to the Saturday market 'n we sell 'em. And then we also do routine maintenance on various equipment, chop firewood, mow the lawn etc. 'N if ya have any questions while yer workin', don't hesitate to ask," she smiled at me, "'n possibly I can make sure ya work with Applebloom often since she really likes ya."

"Wow, sounds like a dream," I commented, "I love fresh air and hard work that makes you sweat," I said.

"Ya came to the right place then, now, Ah don't want you to push yerself too hard until ya get to the doctor to get yer back checked on Tuesday, but tomorrow ya can help feed our livestock 'n mow the lawn," Applejack motioned.

"I can't wait to get started," I replied.

(Two Weeks Later. Cougar's POV)

It was a Friday evening and I laid down on my cot in my living quarters, head resting on my hands while listening to my iPad. The last two weeks have been intriguing to say the least. It pretty much started on Tuesday when I was scheduled to go back to Canterlot to have the royal physicians look me over. But, that's not all that happened. Despite Celestia giving an announcement to all of Canterlot, the ponies of the posh city still didn't take my arrival lightly. Luckily for me though, I had my six acquaintances plus Spike with me.

*FLASHBACK*

"You guys really didn't have to come with me and Applejack," I said to the five other ponies and dragon inside our train car, "it's just a routine doctor visit," I added. I was sitting closest to the window, watching the beautiful scenery pass by. Next to me was Applejack whom had snuck a few apples aboard and was quietly munching on one. Twilight and Spike sat nearest to the car's door, the former reading a book that I couldn't identify while the latter was reading a comic book with the title Power Ponies adorning the cover. I noticed that his reptilian eyes darted up from the colorful comic to Rarity whom sat across from him several times. And every time he did, his eyes would linger upon her for at least three to five seconds.

Rarity was seated next to and chatting with Fluttershy, something about visiting the spa again. Even back on Earth, I never understood why women loved the spa so much, but then again, I really didn't care. Rainbow Dash was snoring loudly and muttering something about Daring Do in her sleep and Pinkie Pie was seating directly across from me, eating cupcakes and kept babbling on and on about how much better my back might be and was beating around the bush that she might want a piggy back ride. I may never understand that particular pony.

"Don't mention it Cougar," Twilight looked up from her textbook, "we're all friends, for the most part anyway; I was also hoping to see Princess Celestia again about the Summer Sun Celebration," the purple alicorn went back to her textbook.

"Okay, but I don't want you guys to get bored or anything for just a check-up," I repeated. Rarity ceased her conversation with Fluttershy just to gasp.

"Perish the thought Cougar, Canterlot is the capital of sophistication and elegance," she described, "and I hopefully will get to meet up with Fancy Pants and Fleur-De-Lis again. It has been sometime since I've talked with them face to face," she tapped her chin with her hoof. Applejack tapped me on the shoulder and stuck her hoof into her mouth, making a gagging motion which made me chuckle.

The train lurched as it came to a stop at the Canterlot train station. The sudden motion jerked Rainbow awake from her nap. "Uh! 44?!" She exclaimed as if answering a surprise math problem in school. Her eyes darted around the room of the train car and looked outside to see various ponies awaiting to board the train from the platform. "Oh, here already?" She yawned and stretched. Twilight's magic opened the door and all eight of us exited the room where other ponies merged with our group to exit the train, though not all ignored me. Several ran right back into their rooms or ran as fast as they could to get out of the train. Some just cowered as they walked near me, scared of what I might do.

"Jest ignore 'em Coug," Applejack advised me, "Celestia said she would explain everythin' to the ponies 'o Canterlot 'n the news might still be unbelievable to 'em," she explained.

"To be honest, I really don't care Applejack," I replied, "I won't bother them if they won't bother me, simple rules for dealing with certain creatures in my world," I explained to her.

"Oh, um like what certain creatures?" Fluttershy spoke in her soft as cotton voice.

"Bees mainly, sometimes bears or moose," I retorted. The sun seemed to be shining brighter in Canterlot, or maybe I was just seeing things, but either way, I put on my aviator sunglasses and my vision was filled with much less glare. Thankfully, there was a path cleared for our group with Twilight leading the way. We had left the train depot and were on what I believed to be the main road to the castle.

"Is that that creature the princess spoke of?" I heard a posh voice ask. Great, just what got under my skin the most. Rich, stuck up people (or ponies in this instance) that believe just because they have money and speak in fake accents that they are better than everypony.

"It is absolutely hideous!" I heard another voice exclaim. I tuned them out by focusing on the walk ahead of me and thinking of working back on the farm, which worked. Rarity scared the crap out of all of us when she shrieked so loudly I worried that all the glass in Canterlot would shatter.

"FANCY PANTS!" She shrieked before regaining her 'normal' composure and briskly trotted up to a white unicorn that had a blue mane, a tiny blue mustache, a tuxedo and was adorning a monocle on his left eye.

"Ah, Ms. Rarity, a delight to see you again!" Fancy Pants exclaimed and wrapped a foreleg around her. A female unicorn with a very light pink and white mane and had light purple eye shadow on was, hanging to Fancy Pants. Literally hanging onto him and leaning over his back. I leaned over to Fluttershy.

"Who is hanging onto Fancy Pants there?" I whispered.

"That's Fleur-De-Lis, she's Fancy Pants' wife," Fluttershy explained, "they help design fancy formal attire for Canterlot's most elite figures."

"Okay, I had a totally different idea of what she was from how she was hanging off of him," I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, and who and what is this creature over here?" Fancy Pants' magic cleaned off his monocle. He politely stuck out his hoof. This guy is off to a good start for me. He doesn't sound or act like those stuck up spoiled snobs I grew accustomed to on Earth. My sunglasses were removed before I talked with him.

"My name is Cougar; I'm a human from a world I called Earth," I shook his hoof.

"A human named Cougar you say?" He raised an eyebrow, "how did you ever get that name young sir?" he asked me.

"It's my call sign, I was in my country's Air Force before I somehow transported here," I explained.

"Well I suppose any friend of Rarity's is a friend of me and my wife," Fancy Pants smiled.

"We're not friends," Rarity and I both said at the same time. "More like acquaintances," Rarity finished.

"All the same to me, now I must be off, I hope to speak with you later Mr. Cougar, you seem like an interesting fellow," Fancy bowed and left with his wife whom was still clinging to him like a dog to a piece of ham.

"That was a great job socializing Cougar!" Twilight congratulated me.

"Thanks I guess. I do know how to politely socialize," I replied, putting my sunglasses back on, "as long the pony I'm talking too isn't being an asshole that is," I added. I suddenly felt my arm being yanked out of its socket by Pinkie and thrust into the face of another Canterlot pony.

"Try it again! You there, say hi to our friend Cougar!" Pinkie kept pushing me towards the unsuspecting pony.

"Please don't hurt me!" The pony galloped away.

"GET BACK HERE AND LOVE HIM!" Pinkie shouted at the cloud of dust the pony left behind.

"Come on guys, can we get to the castle already? These stuck up types really bore me," Rainbow commented.

"Ah couldn't agree more Rainbow," Applejack agreed. And with that, we headed off for the castle once again. We reached the main golden gates that had two guards with golden helmets and spears standing in front. One was a yellowish pegasus and the other was a white unicorn.

"Princess Twilight, here to see Princess Celestia and Luna I presume?" The pegasus guard asked.

"Of course Flash; I trust you like your new post here in Canterlot?" Twilight responded as the unicorn guard opened up the gates.

"Yeah, I liked my position at the Crystal Empire, but I like being away from the cold north," Flash replied. The eight of us entered and Twilight gave a more than friendly wave to the guard known as Flash.

"Anything going on between them?" I asked Rainbow.

"Like you wouldn't believe," the cyan pegasus replied as she floated above us, "but they deny it like their lives depended on it," she explained. The walk up to the main doors of the castle went by without a hitch. Applejack knocked on the door for us and two more guards opened said door.

"Twilight! Do come in!" I heard Luna's voice speak over the two guards. The doors opened wider, allowing us to pass through to see Luna in the foyer. "And young Cougar, how are thou doing?" She asked me with genuine curiosity.

"Other than not being able to work because of my back, I'm doing alright I guess," I replied after shaking her hoof.

"I take it thou are here for a physician check up?"

"Yeah, and hopefully I can get right to work when we get back to Sweet Apple Acres," I walked with the group to what I hoped was the royal infirmary wing.

"Princess Luna, where is Princess Celesita?" Twilight asked Luna.

"My sister is in the throne room, but-" Luna started before Pinkie rushed to the throne room doors and threw them open.

"Founder her, found her, found her!" She exclaimed while jumping up and down.

"Hmph!" Celestia squealed in surprise with cake in her mouth. My mouth dropped at the amount of cake in her throne room. Her muzzle was covered with crumbs and frosting and I swear some cakes were taller than me!

"Good God, did you rob a bakery? I've never seen this much cake in my life!" I commented. Celestia blushed and zapped the cake out of the throne room.

"Hello Cougar, are you enjoying your stay at Sweet Apple Acres?" Celestia swallowed her bite of cake.

"Yep, and I really can't complain your highness, some ponies in PonyVille are afraid of me, but I really don't care," I responded.

"Well, with time, I'm certain my little ponies will grow to befriend you; I see the goodness inside of you Cougar, don't let false accusations consume you," she advised.

"Not a problem at all your-" I started but was cut off with a scream of what I thought was a little girl.

"AHHHHHH! Aunties Celestia and Luna! What is that vile creature that you've brought into our castle!" I looked over to see a stallion unicorn cowering near the door. "Did you shave a pet monkey or something?" He questioned.

"Blueblood!" Luna scolded, "this here is young Cougar. He is a human that was somehow transported to our world with no way back to his own. He is our guest and my friend and you shall treat him the way you treat Celestia and myself, do you understand?" Luna tapped his chest with her hoof.

"Respect a primate? Do you hear how ridiculous you sound Aunty Luna?" Blueblood berated his aunt which made my blood boil. Obviously this brat never learned how to respect authority figures or his elders or even the female of species. "How could I respect something that has the IQ of a sunflower and cannot speak!?" He demanded.

"You back off there bub," I warned and approached him.

"The primate talks!?" Blueblood replied to me, "don't you dare touch me with those filthy things, I swear I'll have you thrown in the dungeon if you mess up my coat!" he threatened. I stood higher than I normally did, trying to intimidate this pathetic excuse of a stallion.

"I don't care what you think of me, but I will NOT have you berating your aunt, who is an authority figure and most importantly, a FEMALE. You will show her respect and Princess Celestia and you will apologize to both of them for your piss poor behavior, do I make myself clear?" I got close to his face.

"You DARE talk to a royal like that?" He pawed the ground with his hoof and tried to charge at me. Luckily, the Air Force trained me in more than just flying an F-15. I ducked low and let my legs fall out from underneath me. My hands gripped the floor and my legs swept out like a broom, tripping Blueblood and forcing him to roll into a vase near the wall. There was a deafening crash when he hit and his horn got stuck in said wall. His front hooves hit the wall as he tried to pull himself out to no avail.

"That, was, AWESOME!" Rainbow cheered me on and patted my back.

"Thank you for putting that wretched pain in the rump in his place," Rarity actually smiled at me.

"Well young Cougar, it appears you do have goodness in your heart, thank you for sticking up for me, though my punishment would've been far worse for him," Luna winked at me.

"I was raised to never insult or attack a female, and I won't have somepony like him doing that; I'm more than sure you can handle him while I see the good doctors?" I replied.

"Of course Cougar," Celesita teleported some cake back to the throne room and watched as Blueblood attempted to escape the wall. He was screaming loudly, but the wall muffled him out.

"Pass some cake sister?" Luna conjured up some tea and a few chairs. Twilight stuck behind to talk to Celestia while the rest of us left.

"So, Ah'm taking Cougar to the doctors, what're yer plans?" Applejack asked her friends.

"I'm gonna go see if I can make some of the guards smile," Rainbow took off.

"I want to see the animals in the gardens, hopefully I can actually make some progress with them this time," Fluttershy trotted happily away.

"Well, I shall take a nice and quiet stroll about the castle and perhaps have some tea, Spike, care to come with me?" Rarity called out. Spike instantly was at her heel and she patted his head. Pinkie said something about going to sneak some goodies from the kitchen, but she talked too fast for me to hear correctly. This left myself and Applejack standing in the hallway.

"So, to the doctors?" I asked.

"Ah guess so. By the way, I can't thank ya enough for standing up fer Princess Luna," Applejack complimented, "that stuck up Prince gets away with so much 'n Ah couldn't stand how he was talkin' to a Princess, his aunt no less, 'n after what he did to Rarity a few years back at the Gala, he jest makes me so mad," Applejack gritted her teeth.

"Like I said before Applejack, I can't stand how some males treat females. I was raised to treat females with the utmost respect and kindness and to defend them if necessary." We soon found ourselves in front of the Royal Infirmary. I opened the door to see Nurse Candy Striper taking care of what looked to be one of the guards.

"Oh hello Cougar," she said, "are you here for your follow up visit?" She asked me.

"Yes I am, and I really want to get back and work," I replied.

"That's good, I'll just page the doctor and he'll be in with you in a moment."

*End Flashback*

To sum that trip up, my back was no longer tweaked and I could get back to work. Although, I heard it took both Celestia and Luna to pry Blueblood out of the wall. I smirked, thinking that he got what he deserved and then some. And though she didn't have to, Applejack baked me an Apple pie to celebrate my good health. Suddenly, there was a knock on the new door of my living quarters. I paused my iPad and took off my headphones. "Cougar, can Ah talk to ya please? Ah'm really sorry 'bout what happened down at the lake," Applejack called through the door. I got up and trudged to the door and opened it to reveal Applejack holding her cowgirl hat in her hoof.

"I already said that it's fine Applejack; I just don't want to talk about that anymore," I went back to my cot. Applejack put her cowgirl hat back on and followed me in only to sit down next to my cot.

"Pinkie didn't know what would happen when she did that," Applejack explained.

"She also doesn't know what personal space is," I replied, thinking about what happened.

*New Flashback*

I had put in a good two weeks of hard work at the farm. Every morning since I had arrived, I had gotten up at exactly 4:30, helped Granny and Applejack with breakfast and got right to work. The lunch break I had refused to take at first. I insisted on just bringing lunch in a pail and snacking on it while working, but Applejack and Applebloom practically forced me to take lunch breaks. I can't express how much I loved to work. In fact, I worked so hard that on numerous occasions I lost track of the time and would work till seven 'o clock. "Cougar, I appreciate how much ya like ta work, but ya really need to back off a bit," Applejack had told me as she let me get off at 3:00 today.

"Applejack, I just like to work," was all I replied. Good lord was it hot today. Sweat was pouring off me like I was standing under a waterfall. And it sucked that I only had two shirts that now stunk with sweat. I took off my shirt and balled it up under my arm. "Hey, you alright there Applejack?" I asked her. She seemed to be staring off into space, forcing me to snap my fingers at her.

"Uh yeah, s-sorry," Applejack rubbed the back of her head, "look, jest take the rest 'o the day off alright? Maybe go into town 'n git a milkshake or see if Fluttershy needs sum help, ya gotta relax," she advised me.

"Fine, I will, just let me get my other shirt," I replied. Applejack galloped away back to the house to speak to Granny Smith, leaving me next to the picket fence surrounding the property. I froze when my skin tingled and I felt eyes looking at me. I turned to see little fillies about Applebloom's age staring at me. I immediately recognized two of them. More particularly the pink one with the tiara on her head.

"Look everypony," she said in her snobbish voice, "the Apples aren't just a bunch of inbred, uneducated hillbillies," the brat remarked, "they now house freaks!" She pointed with her hoof. The grey pony with glasses standing next to her howled with laughter and everyone in the group joined in. This was the fourth time this week and ninth time overall that some ponies would come by the farm just to stare at me while I worked. I felt like an animal on display at the zoo, and now I felt bad for those animals in the zoo after going through what they did.

"At least they work for a living instead of mooching off their rich daddy," I replied with a smirk. The pink one stopped laughing and glared at me.

"You DARE talk about my father like that, you ugly ape!?" She screeched, "you wouldn't be fit to shine his hooves you pet!" She added with a hoof shake. Suddenly, a fling of mud flew past me and hit the pony square in the face.

"Great shot Applebloom!" I heard Scootaloo compliment while Sweetie Belle was rolling on the ground laughing.

"Ah! My father will hear about how you stained my coat hillbilly!" The pony swore and left in a huff.

"Keep walking Diamond Tiara, or else we'll get Cougar to snap that little head piece in half!" Sweetie Belle swore back. I finally remembered her name, but I really couldn't care less. Scootaloo bumped my fist with her hoof and leaned against my leg. When Applebloom introduced me to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the two reacted better than Anypony in town did. I guess since they trusted Applebloom, they met me with confidence.

"How'd you keep your cool like that Cougar?" Scootaloo asked me.

"Simple," I replied and started heading for my living quarters, "I've dealt with creatures like her in the past; I keep thinking that just because she has a rich daddy doesn't mean she's better than me or you," I explained, "plus her insults suck," I added.

"Well, Ah did like the mooching remark," Applebloom admitted.

"We totally need to hangout sometime," Scootaloo rapidly flapped her tiny wings.

"If I ever have time off from work," I replied with a smirk.

"Anyway, we've got some serious crusader business to deal with, bull fighting!" Scootaloo declared. The three fillies said their goodbyes and left me at my living quarters. Sighing and stretching, I opened the door only to have Pinkie thrusting her face in mine.

"HEY COUGAR!" She yelled. I freaked, only for a second and fell onto my back with Pinkie Pie standing over me. "So I was watching you work and thinking why doesn't Cougar ever ever take a break from working? Is he a workaholic or does he just not have a social life?" she blabbed on and on. "And anyway, I was hoping you'd join me and the girls at the lake so you can relax and cool off with some lemonade and cookies?" She touched my nose with her nose and put on puppy dog eyes.

"If I say yes, will you get outta my face?!" I asked loudly. She grinned widely and hopped off of me. I picked myself up and dusted myself off. Applejack rounded the corner of the house and discovered myself and Pinkie.

"Pinkie, did ya hide from Cougar again and scare him?" She asked.

"No, I just surprised him silly, BIG difference," Pinkie stretched her forelegs out. Applejack smiled and rolled her eyes.

"So, ya ready to go to thu lake Cougar? You've worked hard enough to earn a little break," she asked me. I took off my Drive to End Hunger cap and put my aviators back on.

"Actually a cool dip does sound nice," I remarked and tossed my shirt into my living quarters.

"Great, the others are waiting for us," Pinkie Pie hopped up and down as the three of us made our way to the PonyVille lake. When we arrived however, I realized that I didn't have swim trunks with me, at all. I guess you forget your swim trunks when you get transported to a different world.

"Hey guys, water's great!" Rainbow did a cannon ball dive using her speed and splashed us good. Twilight and Fluttershy were swimming around and relaxing while Rarity was sitting on a lawn chair with a tanning mirror. Spike was fanning her with a giant fan and drooling a little bit. I looked over to not see Pinkie anymore. Applejack took off her hat and jumped into the water.

"AHD," she cooed, "that does feel relaxin'. You comin' in Cougar?" She called out. All the ponies stopped what they were doing and waited for me to jump into the lake. Pinkie appeared from under the water wearing snorkeling gear.

"Yeah, thing is, I don't have swimming trunks," I rubbed the back of my neck.

"What are swimming trunks?" Rainbow asked me as she used her wings to stay afloat. I did not want to explain why I needed trunks, so I used the abridged version.

"It's a swim suit that human males wear and have to wear when they go swimming," I explained. Pinkie hopped out of the water and stopped right in front of me.

"Well, can't you just swim in your clothes then?" She asked.

"No, I don't want them to start smelling like fungi. That combined with sweat will knock a buzzard off a gut wagon," I shuddered. Then, the worst thing that's happened to me since I arrived, happened.

"Okay, then what do you need these clothes for? Off they go!" Pinkie grabbed the top of my cargo pants and yanked down at what seemed to be the speed of light. My brain couldn't compute what had happened so fast. I heard seven loud gasps when Pinkie yanked down. A small breeze made its presence known in between my knees. Looking down in horror, I saw Pinkie backing away and my pants were down at my ankles.

"Oh my," Rarity blushed and covered her eyes and Spike's. Fluttershy dove below the water, Twilight used her wings to shield her eyes, Applejack blushed like crazy and looked upwards at the sky, Rainbow zoomed across the lake and turned around and Pinkie looked down at the ground.

"Oh shit," I panicked and yanked my pants back up. Embarrassment turned to anger as I turned around quickly, "I'm going back to the farm!" I shouted.

"No, wait!" I heard Pinkie yell and appeared in front of me. "I'm so so sorry, I had no idea that it was always out!" She apologized over and over.

"I don't want to talk about it," I replied and ignored her as best as I could.

"Look if you're embarrassed about the size-" Pinkie started before I covered her muzzle with my hand.

"Just, stop, please," I said with gritted teeth and walked back to the farm.

*End Flashback*

"Well Cougar, Ah want to make it up to ya," Applejack said softly to me.

"And how are you going to do that? Do you have something that will make me forget that six female ponies and one male dragon saw my package?" I replied, "because that's not what I wanted to do when I said I'd go swimming."

"Uh no, but Applebloom wanted ta go campin' next Saturday after we git done sellin' apples 'n we were both wonderin' if ya wanted ta join us?" Applejack asked with hopeful eyes.

"Just us three?" I asked.

"No, Rainbow Dash 'n Scootaloo would come 'n so would Sweetie Belle 'n Rarity. It would be a whole weekend's trip if yer up fer it," Applejack explained. I put my iPad under my cot.

"I don't have a tent," I said.

"That's okay, Ah have a spare with me. You ever been campin' before?" Applejack asked me.

"Years and years ago, but I remember most of it," I responded.

"Alright then, next Saturday it is," Applejack patted my back. She was about to leave when I stopped her.

"Hey, could I go with you and Applebloom to sell apples? I kinda want to see what else PonyVille has to offer," I asked.

"'O course Cougar, yer gonna love it. Ya might even meet some new friends besides Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom," she replied before leaving. And with that, I put my headphones back on and resumed listening to my music.

End Chapter VI

Chapter VII: The Broken Headphones

Fallen Eagle

Chapter VII: The Broken Headphones

(Sweet Apple Acres. Cougar's POV)

Ever since I had that match of wits with that spoiled as crap Diamond Tiara, those school aged kids stopped coming over to stare at me like a freak in a sideshow. Though, I didn't mind Bloomin' Onion, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle talking to me after or right before I got off work. The trio kind of reminded me of myself and Reaper growing up, so optimistic and full of energy. "So, what are your plans today Bloomin' Onion?" I asked Applebloom while repairing a few broken posts in the fence that I'm sure Diamond Tiara and her little friend broke in the middle of the night.

"We're runnin' outta ideas Cougar," Applebloom replied whilst softly pawing at the ground with her hoof.

"Cheer up Applebloom," Scootaloo patted the yellow filly's back, "we'll think of something," the orange filly's wings rapidly flapped with excitement, almost like a dog wagging its tail in excitement.

"Yeah, maybe we should start thinking outside the box," Sweetie Belle chimed in. I couldn't help but grin at the three filly's. I guess figuring out one's career is far more important here in Equestria than back on Earth. When I was kid, all I remembered thinking about doing as a career was flying a jet, playing Major League Baseball or racing in NASCAR, yet I could change my career at any moment. Here however, once that mark appeared on a pony's butt, game over, whether they wanted it or not.

"Oh, and Bull Fightin' wasn't outside the box?" Applebloom glared at her two friends.

"Hey, that totally would've worked out if we could've stayed balanced on each other's backs," Scootaloo defended. Suddenly, a few ideas came to my mind to help them. I took off my aviators and leaned against a new post to talk to the fillies.

"Scootaloo, you like action and intensity right?" I asked her.

"Y-yeah, why?" She replied.

"Well, Rainbow Dash told me about the Wonderbolt Derby races in Cloudsdale and Canterlot, why don't you try talking to the pegasus that announces the races? Maybe you could get your mark in announcing races?" I offered up. Scootaloo's purple eyes lit up until her pupils covered up all the whites of her eyes. Her muzzle started grinning almost like Pinkie Pie does on a daily basis.

"That's like, the BEST idea ever!" Scootaloo hopped off the ground and hovered for a brief second before touching back down. "I better talk to Rainbow Dash when she gets off from Wonderbolt Training today!" The orange filly exclaimed and bit her lower lip to contain her excitement.

"And Bloomin' Onion," I turned to the little yellow farmer, "don't you like mixing potions?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm still just a beginner," she replied with dejection.

"Okay, but if you keep practicing, maybe you could be a doctor or a pharmacist working with medicine; you could save the lives of countless ponies!" I exclaimed. Applebloom's front hooves began to pound the ground quickly, her mouth trying to suppress a squeal. I patted her head and turned to Sweetie Belle.

"And you, Sweetie Belle," I started off, "you need to start thinking about a career with singing," I exclaimed, "your sister is in a quintet; you have an amazing singing voice that I heard when you were in the clubhouse," I explained.

"NO!" the little white unicorn immediately replied and covered her face with her hooves.

"Why not?" I asked her and petted her mane.

"She has wicked stage fright," Scootaloo explained. I nodded, understanding right away.

"Well, have you talked to Rarity about it Sweetie Belle?" I asked her. Her hooves left her face and softly touched the ground. She shook her head left and right, not saying another word to me.

"Look, I think you should talk to her about it because she's your older sibling and she's a singer herself; she should have tons of advice for you," I remarked. Sweetie Belle's eyes looked up from the ground and back to me.

"Al-alright Cougar, I'll try, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna sing on stage the next day," she responded.

"Well that's a start," I replied while putting my sunglasses back on and picking up my hammer. "By the way, are you three excited to go camping tomorrow?" I asked them as I pounded a nail into the next fence post I was repairing.

"Heck yeah!" Applebloom replied, "we haven't been in almost two years," she explained.

"Why's that?" I pounded in a second nail and wiped the sweat from my brow.

"Our sisters just haven't found the time since," Sweetie Belle answered. Pound, pound, pound. A third nail was driven into the wooden post. 'Only a couple more to go,' I thought to myself.

"I haven't been camping since I was six years old, but I remember the gist of it," I explained to the trio. "As long as someone brings the marshmallows, we'll all be fine," I smirked at them.

"It wouldn't be camping without marshmallows Cougar," Scootaloo joked, "that's like peanut butter minus the jelly."

"French Fries without the ketchup," Applebloom added.

"Ice cream without chocolate syrup!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. I ceased working on the next fence post and lowered my aviators towards the unicorn.

"I don't even want to think about that Sweetie Belle," I shivered. The other two fillies nodded in agreement with me, thinking of the horrors of ice cream without the chocolate syrup on top.

"Anyways Cougar," Sweetie Belle continued, "Rarity says that Pinkie Pie is exhausting herself trying to think of ways to apologize to you, what did she do to you? My sister wouldn't say," Rarity's little sister asked. The reminder of the event frustrated me so much that I pounded in a nail with a single thrust of my hammer, rightfully scaring the little fillies.

"I don't want to talk about it alright? And plus even if I told you, your sisters would mutilate me," I responded. Now their curiosity is going to get the best of me.

"But Applejack likes ya," Applebloom told me.

"Yeah, as a farmhand, but I can kiss this job good bye if I tell you what Pinkie Pie did to me," I said under my breath. Before Applebloom replied to me, Sweetie Belle butted in.

"Rarity did come home that night after spending the evening at the lake really flustered and red-faced," Sweetie Belle pondered.

"And Rainbow Dash wouldn't talk right the next day," Scootaloo added.

"Let's just drop it and start thinking about the camping trip tomorrow alright?" I suggested, "and maybe you all could get a head start on your new crusader ideas?" I tried to get them to leave me alone for the day now. I liked talking to the three, but I did not want to keep reliving the incident with Pinkie. The three gasped and galloped away, kicking up dust in my face. 'Better than them pestering me,' I thought and resumed repairing the fence. I reached into my pants pocket and pulled my phone which I recently remembered having before leaving for my mission near Key Largo.

"It's really hot today," I said as I poured a bottle of water over my back and plugged my headphones into my phone. It only took a matter of minutes before my shirt was completely dry from the water and sweat began to from on the chest and armpit areas. "Ah, nothing beats working and listenin' to Rock 'N Roll," I sighed happily and turned the volume up on Armageddon It. I worked until I looked up and saw a maroon mare with a light pink mane trotting happily to the front gate where I was working on the final post to fix.

"Oh hello there," the mare said rather happily.

"Hi, who are you miss?" I questioned and took off my hat as a sign of respect for females.

"I'm Ms. Cheerilee, I'm Applebloom's teacher and Big Mac's mare friend," she smiled.

"Ah yeah, Bloomin' Onion talks about you all the time," I grinned, "she loves ya to death, constantly talking about you being the greatest teacher of all time," I went on and on.

"Applebloom is a sweetheart, but I'm here to talk to Big Mac, is he around?" Cheerilee asked me, shuffling her front hooves together. Either she was nervous about talking to me, (who could blame her) or she was really excited to talk to Big Macintosh.

"Uh, here, I have one last nail to put in this post and I'll take you to the west side of the orchard, I think that's where he and Applejack are working," I explained.

"That would would be sweet of you," Cheerilee said and sat down next to the gate. "By the way, what is your name?" She asked me nicely. You'd think I would get sick of that question by now, but not really. Only like a dozen or so ponies know my name, the rest of the populous was either afraid of me or was disgusted by me.

"Name is Cougar, and that's all anypony here knows," I replied and struck the final blow into the fence post, "Haha, finally fixed!" I declared happily and looked at the twenty posts I had to repair today instead of helping out Applejack with apple bucking, though she requested politely that I fix the fence to get out of my normal routine, which I was happy to.

"Cougar? But Cougars are felines, and you look more like a primate," the school teacher studied me for a second. I chuckled and gathered up my tape measure, hammer and box of nails from the ground.

"It's not my real name Ms. Cheerilee," I replied, "It's my call sign from the Air Force branch of my country's military," I explained.

"Oh, and what's a call sign, like a nickname?" She asked me as we walked and trotted through the apple orchard, looking for my bosses. To be honest, the shade from the apple trees felt like heaven.

"Yeah, it's a nickname a squadron leader decides for several of his pilots for either a mistake they made, a play on their last name or just a play on their personality," I elucidated. Cheeriliee's curiosity piqued and she pulled ahead of me.

"That's interesting, what did you- oh hi Big Mac!" Cheerliee waved to Big Macintosh as we discovered he and Applejack bucking at Apple Trees. They both had baskets on their sides that were filled with apples.

"Howdy Cougar, Ms. Cheerilee," Applejack wiped the sweat from her forehead after taking off her cowgirl hat.

"Hello mah beautiful Mare Friend," Big Mac rubbed his nose against Ms. Cheerilee's. "How ya holdin' up over thu summer?" He asked her.

"Oh, it does get a little boring, but I did get a job helping out Bon Bon at her candy shop part time," the maroon mare replied.

"Go on 'n take off early big brother, Ah'm just 'bout done here," Applejack waved Big Mac away. The two turned tail and trotted away towards the farm. "'N don't forget to drop them apples off in thu cellar!" AJ called after her brother.

"Eeyup!" Big Mac's voice echoed from behind the trees. My left eyebrow was cocked upwards and my eyes were darting between Applejack and where Big Mac's voice came from. The orange mare put her cowgirl hat back on and turned to me.

"So, did ya git that fence fixed up Cougar?" she asked me and bucked another tree, causing numerous apples to plop down into new baskets. Her old baskets were sitting inside a cart full of other baskets.

"Yeah, didn't take too long," I replied and leaned against another tree, "those fillies sure like to talk," I added and plucked an apple from a branch and bit into it, savoring the delicious juices that cascaded over my tongue and down my chin. Applejack chuckled and loaded the now full baskets into the last empty spot on the cart.

"Yep, always goin on about getting their cutie marks. What crazy idea did they come up with this time?" She asked me. Crunch. Another bite taken from the juicy, succulent red apple.

"Well, they claimed to be running out of ideas, so I gave them a little push," I swallowed the bite.

"Oh really, like whut?" My boss inquired. "By the way, could ya help me hook up to this cart? One 'o thu straps keeps slippin'," AJ informed. I threw the apple core away (Applejack told me that it was fine to leave apple cores near the trees so we could feed them to their pigs) and helped her strap into the cart. "Thanks," she said and smiled at me. I smiled back and we both set off for the apple cellar.

"Okay, so I convinced Scootaloo to try and ask Rainbow Dash about becoming an announcer for Wonderbolt Derbies," I explained.

"Wow, that's a good one Cougar," Applejack complimented.

"Yeah, and then I told Sweetie Belle that she should definitely pursue a career in singing because I've heard her voice coming from their clubhouse while I've been working, and just wow," I continued.

"And let me guess," Applejack cut in, "she refused all the way?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, but I at least got her to promise to ask Rarity for advice since Rarity is in that quintet with Big Mac and Fluttershy," I mentioned.

"Dang Cougar, yer excellent at givin' advice! Were ya ever a counselor before?"

"No, that's just something I'm good at besides flying a jet at 1000 miles per hour," I joked.

"'N shut about Applebloom?" Applejack looked over at me.

"Bloomin' Onion? Well, I remember her telling me that she is interested in mixing potions and other chemistry stuff so I told her if she pursued that, she could become a doctor or a pharmacist creating healing medicines," I replied.

"DAMMIT!" Applejack shouted, forcing me to jump a little and bonk my head into a tree branch.

"What? Is it because her career wouldn't involve apples?" I asked her and rubbed the top of my head. My hat had fallen off to the ground and I picked it up and put back on my head.

"No, sorry fer mah outburst Cougar," AJ apologized, "the axle on this cart broke, that's the fourth time this week!" Applejack angrily stamped the ground.

"Why didn't you tell me? I said I can fix things," I asked her.

"Oh you were doin' such a good job at all yer other chores that Ah didn't wanna bother ya," Applejack explained and unhooked herself to survey the cart's rear axle. I nodded, but didn't understand. She wouldn't have bothered me if she asked me to help fix the axle, fixing things is one of my hobbies. "Well damn, this axle is done for good. Couldja run back to the barn 'N git a spare? There should be a few next to the miter saw," she told me, "oh 'N the washers 'N cotter pins are sittin' on the shelf above the saw!"

"Yeah sure, be right back," I hustled to the barn. Leaving the cooling shade of the apple trees was a little bit of a let down, but I couldn't disappoint Applejack, so I pushed all the thoughts of it being hot to the back of my mind to I could accomplish my final chore for the day. My headphones were bouncing up and down on my neck while the wire swayed back and forth. Barrels of sweat were pouring down my body, but I embraced the sweat that was the reward for hard work. I rounded the bend that would lead me to the barn and stopped at the large door to take a breather when a peculiar sound caught my attention.

'Grunting? What in the hell?' I thought to myself. I caught my breath and ever so slowly, opened the door. The grunting seemed to be coming from the stall near the miter saw and spare axle parts. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what that grunting sound was. It sounded like a pig with a stomach ache, or a pig that was constipated. I crept closer, stepping around a bay of hale to get to where the miter saw was. If the sound was a sick pig, I'd tell Applejack right away, but something in my gut told me that it wasn't a sick pig.

"Oh Cheerilee," came a gruff voice that was extremely deep. My eyes widened at the sound of the voice. Having an idea of what was going on, I still tip-toed around the bay of hale and saw the miter saw and axle parts. Quietly, my hand reached out and grabbed one of the spare axle rods, two washers and two cotter pins.

"Bi-i-i-ig M-a-a-a-ac," came a feminine voice that sounded like it was on the verge of being able to shatter glass. I turned to hustle out, but knocked an unlit lantern off the shelf and it shattered against the ground loudly.

"COUGAR?!" Big Mac and Cheerilee exclaimed as the shattering made me jump and fall onto the stall wall, revealing all to me.

"GAH! OH GOD!" I screamed and turned to run out as fast as I could, trying to hold onto the tools I needed. Unfortunately, my foot caught the edge of the hay bale and I tripped, causing everything in my hands to go flying with a louder clatter. I fell to the ground with a hard thud. I also heard a loud crunch which I couldn't identify, nor care about.

"You peepin'!?" Big Mac shouted at me. Oh God, was he coming after me? Was he gonna trample me? I gathered up the tools and ran out of there as fast as my legs could carry me. I knew I would be scarred for life, the image of what I saw and the noises I heard weren't going to leave me any time soon. The run back to where Applejack was waiting for me was nothing but a blur.

"I'm never gonna be the same again," I exclaimed to myself and kept running and running and running. I stopped when Applejack waved me down.

"Oh good, ya found the parts- woah, whut in the hay happened to ya?" Applejack asked me and cocked her head.

"What do ya mean?" I asked, trying to cover up what I had seen.

"Well, yer paler than a baby cow! 'N yer eyes are shakin', whut happened?" She asked again. I gulped and wiped the sweat from my head with my hat.

"N-nothing Applejack, I just haven't had any water to drink lately," I lied. Applejack narrowed her emerald eyes at me and got into my face.

"Now Cougar, Ah can tell when somepony ain't tellin' thu truth, 'n yer lying 'bout as much as a 2x4," Applejack glared at me.

"Look, if I tell you, I'm dead, if I don't tell you, I'm dead, I can't win this," I retorted. "Besides, what I saw will haunt me, probably until I've only got a couple marbles rolling around up inside my head," I said in a hollow manner and stared off into space. Applejack's expression softened, but she was still glaring at me.

"Cougar, Ah'm the element 'o Honesty, 'n yer my fri- uh acquaintance so please jest tell me thu truth," she asked. I collapsed near the trunk of one of the trees and my hands fell to my lap. At the time, I didn't notice her slip up by calling me a friend.

"Well, I went into the barn," I started, "and I heard strange noises coming from where the miter saw was, so I went to get the tools and when I rounded the corner I saw-" I paused, unable to continue.

"Then what? You can tell me Cougar," Applejack placed a hoof on my shoulder. I shuddered before resuming.

"Bi-Big M-Mac and Che-Cherilee were uh making baby foals," I said and covered my face. Silence. Nothing penetrated the airwaves, not even a gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the trees. I uncovered my eyes to see Applejack have the creepiest smile on her face. Her right eye twitched and her pupils were as small as peas. "AJ, are you alright?" I asked, scared to death.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine, why don't ya go into town 'N git yerself sum new headphones," she suggested. I looked down to see my headphones were broken in half and hanging from the internal wires, probably from when I fell down. "While Ah go have a little chat with mah dear big brother, we'll fix thu wagon in the mornin'," her eye twitched again. She stood up to let me get off the ground.

"Where do I go for new headphones?" I asked her.

"Oh, jest go ta town 'N stop by Vinyl Scratch's shop, it'll have a picture of a musical note hoverin' over a turntable," Applejack replied before slowly walking back to the barn. I shook my head several times and then jogged to the dirt road and slowed my pace down to a calm walk. I used the walk to my advantage to clear my head and forget the scene that I unfortunately stumbled upon. I know that I might sound like I'm overreacting, but witnessing anthropomorphic ponies doing something like that, it was uncomfortable seeing dogs perform that, ugh.

I kicked a little pebble out of my way, concentrating on only the ground. I passed the time this way a lot in my life. Just staring at the ground and walking. It was nice when I was rewarded with $20 bills, a wrapped candy bar or a full bottle of Pepsi Max, that's a good reason why I just stare at the ground when I walk outside. But the odds of finding any of those on the ground here in Pony World weren't in my favor. Horseshoe prints, that's pretty much what I was rewarded with.

To my left, I could hear the sounds of colts and fillies laughing and playing, enjoying their lives. I even saw one colt wearing a propeller hat and playing what looked like a Gameboy color. And how do they push buttons with no fingers? I chuckled at that thought. A good majority of these ponies pretty much had the freakin' force and could use magic, and here I am wondering how they push buttons, whatever. The clock tower rang six times, indicating it was six 'o clock in the evening and the sun was gradually falling closer and closer to the horizon.

My head looked up to my front and I could see various ponies getting ready to close down their business for the day. Yet, I didn't have a clue whether or not it was because it was really time to close, or because I had shown up. I was leaning towards the latter when three mares who appeared to be running a flower shop dashed into their store and put the closed sign in the window. "Didn't care for flowers anyway," I said sarcastically and smirked. Several whispering conversations were taking place at the same time as I strolled through town. Looking around, I saw a sign that had several pieces of candy falling from a bag into a bowl hanging above a building entrance. An aquamarine unicorn and a lightly tanned earth pony with a dark blue and pink mane were chatting up rather closely together.

"Hello young Cougar, what brings you to Ponyville?" a regal voice asked me. I stopped in my tracks and looked back ahead of me to see none other than the midnight blue coat of Princess Luna.

"Oh hey Princess," I waved and bowed a little to Luna.

"Rise Cougar, with your military status, it is I who should be bowing to you," she replied and made me stand up.

"You do that and we're gonna have some problems," I joked with her, "it's my honor to be a soldier," I added. She smiled and turned to walk forward with me. I could see several dozen ponies' mouths drop at their Princess of the Night and Dreams casually strolling through PonyVille with me. "I could ask you the same thing though Luna," I referred back to her original question.

"I felt rather bored, so I decided to come down to PonyVille to see how you are fairing," Luna explained.

"Ah, well I'm here because I need a new pair of headphones," I held up the demolished pair in my hands.

"Oh my, what happened to your music listener?" Luna asked me. I seethed a little and put the headphones back around my neck. Though, Luna couldn't tell that I didn't want to talk about what had happened.

"I tripped and fell on them," I lied, grateful that it wasn't Applejack I was talking to. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, feeling more casual than ever here now that Luna was walking along side me.

"I am sorry that happened Cougar, it's most unfortunate for one to lose their beloved music," the midnight alicorn apologized to me.

"Eh, it happens," I replied, "now I'm looking for Vinyl Scratch's music shop, do you know where it is?" Luna rubbed her chin with her hoof and looked around several times before spotting a white unicorn off near the bakery. She appeared to be cleaning the display window of her store.

"There is the pony you are seeking," Luna pointed her out to me. I looked to where the Princess was pointing and saw a white unicorn with an electric blue mane, purple sunglasses and a musical note on her flank. "Let us go shall we?" Luna offered.

"Oh you don't have to go with me if you don't want to Luna," I politely told her.

"Nonsense!" She exclaimed, "it'd be my pleasure, plus we would technically be 'hanging out' as some of these younger ponies say," Luna quoted with her hooves. Not seeing a valid reason to argue, we both set off for Vinyl Scratch's music studio. "So, what are your weekend plans?" The princess asked me while we trotted and jogged to our destination.

"Well, Applejack offered to take me camping with her, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and all their little sisters," I retorted.

"Oh, Scootaloo is not Rainbow Dash's sister, though they both act like it very much," Luna explained to me. I snapped my head to look at Luna while we walked. She had to be joking, I mean, Scootaloo practically worshiped Rainbow and Rainbow really seemed to take the orange pegasus filly under her wing, no pun intended. "A sad story young Scootaloo's is, but my sister and I have faith that Rainbow shall eventually adopt Scootaloo as her daughter or sister shortly," Luna said.

"Especially with how Rainbow and Soarin' are," I added. Luna chuckled a bit, though I was actually being serious.

"Anyways, a camping trip does sound a lot like a good time, I hope you and your friends have fun," Luna said. There was that word again, friends. How could I have made friends in only three weeks more or less? I had to push that thought to the back of my mind as we approached Vinyl Scratch's store and I braced for the usual response using the word monster, freak, weirdo or hideous.

"Oh hey Princess, and you're that new creature the three princesses brought here right?" Vinyl greeted us.

"Hello," Luna greeted.

"Uh, yeah I am actually," I replied in shock. Vinyl stuck out her hoof and shook my hand.

"Well, it's great to meet you, my name is Vinyl Scratch, but my stage name is DJ-Pon3," she explained.

"You're not scared of me?" I asked.

"No, just because you're different?" Vinyl laughed, "forget about it! I'm different, we're all different," Vinyl said. "So, what can I do for you two? Need to book me for a show? Need a new record or record player, or do you need a new pair of headphones?" Vinyl looked from behind her sunglasses at my broken pair of headphones.

"I'll take that last one, I can't live or work without my rock 'n roll," I tossed Vinyl my pair of headphones.

"That's the smartest thing I've heard in my entire life, what's your name?" Vinyl questioned.

"Cougar, and I leave it at that," I replied, "so do ya have some new headphones to sell me?" I asked her.

"Yeah, come on in Cougar and Princess," the music loving mare led us inside her workshop.

"Damn, you sure love turntables and keyboards huh? Any guitars?" I took off my aviators.

"In the back Cougar," Vinyl replied and grabbed a pair of DJ styled headphones off a rack, "here, will these do you good?" She asked me. I plugged them in my phone and turned it on. I couldn't believe it, I felt like I was right there listening to a Van Halen concert! The most crystal clear headphones I've ever listened to. If these existed in my world, Bose would piss themselves!

"Now those are the best headphones I've ever listened to," I said to her, "it's like I'm at a concert!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, I make my own headphones, music's my life," she gestured to her shop.

"And you perform your career so well from what I've heard," Princess Luna commented while spinning a recored on a turntable, fascinated by the contraption.

"So, that'll be 12 bits please, they aren't exactly cheap to make," Vinyl apologized for the price. I took out my wallet and then realized a large error on my part.

"I'm sure my money isn't worth piss in a boot here huh?" I questioned and tossed a $10 bill and a $5 bill on the counter. Both Vinyl and Luna chuckled at my response but were intrigued by my version of money.

"Who are these people of your species?" Luna asked me.

"The guy with the beard is Abraham Lincoln, he was a president of my country about 130 years before I was born, and the other guy was our first secretary of treasury," I explained.

"President?" Vinyl turned Abe Lincoln upside down and cocked her head from side to side.

"Our leader is called a President," I explained further.

"Wow, your world is so cool!" Vinyl declared, "but anyways yeah I can't accept this money, sorry bro," she began to hand it back to me.

"Keep it, you can stick it on your wall, I won't need it." Vinyl smiled and taped ole Abe onto the wall. I'm guessing she wanted something cool from my world. Luna produced about twelve gold coins and laid them on the counter.

"Here are the bits you require Ms. Scratch," Luna said in her regal voice. Before Vinyl could take the coins, I snatched them and placed them in Luna's hoof.

"Don't even think about it Luna, don't waste your bits on me," I told her.

"But I am your friend, and I believe friends buy other friends gifts from time to time?" The princess asked me.

"Yeah, but-" I started but Luna silenced me.

"No buts, I shall buy you the headphones," she playfully narrowed her eyes at me.

"Hold on, I have an idea," Vinyl grabbed a guitar from another room and tossed it to me. "I'll cut you a deal, if you can impress me with a guitar riff with music from your world, then I'll let you have the headphones," Vinyl offered. I pondered the offer for a minute before replying.

"I haven't played the guitar since I was 15, but let's see how much I remember," I winked at her. I thought of a guitar riff before remembering one of my all time favorite guitar solos from Van Halen. And with that, I hooked the guitar up to an amp and began to murder the strings with Eruption. My fingers danced and slid across the strings with ease at what seemed to be an impossible speed which only Eddie Van Halen himself could accomplish. At first Luna was dead impressed, but Vinyl looked stoical, but that was apart of my plan.

As I neared the bridge, the music got faster and faster and faster until I came to a stop.

"Is that all 'cause if not-" Vinyl started before my fingers EXPLODED. I started tapping the neck of the guitar with one hand and letting my other hand strum the guitar so fast that I could smell the friction coming off the strings. My hands gained minds of their own as the song just kept getting faster, but it didn't stop me. I kept going and going, making Eddie proud until I reached the end and let my fingers rest. Sure they would be a little sore tomorrow, but the look on the mare's faces before me was worth it. Vinyl's glasses fell off her face and hit the counter with her jaw dropped all the way to the floor. Luna on the other hand looked as if she had witnessed the birth of the universe.

"So, how was that?" I asked and breathed really hard to get oxygen back into my lungs. I handed Vinyl the guitar back which was sort of smoking.

"Dayum son!" Vinyl finally said and slapped my hand, "that was the sickest guitar work I've ever seen! We've got to play some shows together!" She pretty much freaked.

"I've got plenty more songs where that came from," I said and took the headphones, "I'll see ya around. I normally get off work at six if you want to jam after that," I said to her.

"I'll keep that in mind bro!" Vinyl touched the strings of the guitar and yelped from the burning sensation of the friction as Luna and I departed the store.

"Hey Luna, what time do you have to raise the moon?" I asked the mare.

"Oh, not until ten o'clock in the summer time," she replied and looked up at the PonyVille clock tower which read 7:00.

"I'd like to see you raise the moon tonight Luna, I think it'd be cool to see you do it in person," I remarked. Luna smiled and wrapped her wing around me in a hug.

"I shall see you at 9:45 then, I do have some duties in Canterlot to attend, mainly seeing if Celestia hasn't eaten the kitchen out of cake, again," Luna said.

"See ya then," I patted her wing and we both went our separate ways. I grinned as I plugged in my headphones and relaxed as I walked back to Sweet Apple Acres.

(At the Farm)

"Hey there Cougar!" Applebloom greeted as I entered the house.

"Hey Bloomin' Onion, where's Applejack at?" I asked her.

"She's in the kitchen with Granny Smith cookin' up supper," Applebloom replied. I followed her as she happily trotted into said kitchen where the heavenly aromas of baked potatoes, apple pie, gravy, baked beans, cornbread and tomato soup attacked my nostrils.

"Well, if it ain't the resident workin' machine!" Granny Smith pinched my arm and patted it at the same time.

"Welcome back Cougar," Applejack wiped her hooves, "supper's jest 'bout done," she told me and noticed my headphones. "Ah see ya got yerself sum new headphones, how'd you get them?" She asked me, remembering I didn't have their kind of money.

"Well, Vinyl lost a bet to me involving a guitar," I explained and set my hat on a hat rack. I tucked my sunglasses into the collar of my Thunderbirds shirt and sat down at the table. Big Mac suddenly walked in and I had to suppress a laugh.

"Wow Big Macintosh, where'd you get that shiner?" I asked him. He ignored me and hid his face behind a newspaper dated two weeks ago. Applejack gave me a knowing look which was all I needed. "Anyways, I ran into Princess Luna in town and she went with me to Vinyl's shop," I drummed up a conversation.

"Really, whut was she doin' in PonyVille?" Applebloom asked me.

"She said she was bored and went to see how our town was doing and she saw me so she decided to hang out," I explained.

"So, Ah'm guessin' you two are friends?" Applejack asked me.

"I guess, she said she would show me how she raises the moon tonight," I smiled. Suddenly, Applejack sort of slammed down the tin of cornbread onto the table.

"Supper Time," she said through gritted teeth. Woah, where did that come from? I had to ask her what was up after supper. I kept my mouth shut throughout dinner in case I accidentally pissed off AJ more. Once supper was concluded, Granny sat in her rocker chair while Big Mac and Applebloom went to their bedrooms. I stayed behind and helped Applejack clear the table.

"Hey, are you okay Applejack?" I asked her while washing some of the dishes.

"Ah'm jest peachy," she remarked while sharpening a knife. 'Oh crap. Don't talk to a pissed off female who is holding a knife you idiot!' I scolded myself. "It's jest, Ah try to be a good friend from when you woke up in the infirmary, but you refused and told all mah friends you wanted us to earn your friendship, yet you go and get all buddy-buddy with Princess Luna all of a sudden! Ah was fine with you bein' friends already with the crusaders since they're just kids and you understood that, but Ah can't believe you have the audacity to make us earn your friendship but you let Luna in!" She ranted. 'Is she jealous?' I thought

"I thought you and I were?" I asked Applejack whom put the knife down which made me feel much better.

"Whut are you talkin' about?" She remarked.

"Well, we talk just about everyday and you invited me to go camping tomorrow, I thought only friends did that," I asked. "And you helped me fix up the old shed so I could have a place to stay," I added. Applejack sighed and leaned against the counter.

"Boy I feel like an idiot," she said, "Granny Smith always taught me not to jump to conclusions, 'n here I go accusin' you 'o having double standards," Applejack scolded herself.

"You're far from an idiot AJ," I said, "I should've told you when you earned my friendship, I'm sorry for being selfish and keeping things to myself," I apologized. My friend turned to me with a smile.

"Guess we both done messed up sum huh?" She guessed.

"I'd say so," I checked the time. "Luna should be here any minute, wanna come with me to see her raise the moon?" I offered.

"Only if Ah can bring this," Applejack opened the fridge and produced a six pack of a beverage labeled "Marewaukee Brew."

"Is this, alcohol?" I asked.

"Best around, save for mah cider o' course," she winked.

"Alright then," I grabbed a can and cracked it open. "Wow, that's smooth," I commented after taking a sip. Suddenly, Princess Luna appeared in the kitchen with us.

"Ah, enjoying a more adult beverage I see," Luna remarked.

"Yeah, just ready to watch the moon be raised," I replied and held the can up. Luna transported all of us into the middle of the fields of Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack cracked open her own can and sipped it while Luna's horn glowed and the moon peaked over the horizon and the stars against the inky blue backdrop followed suit. The sun was gone, and a bright shining moon with twinkling stars lit up the night sky.

"Breathtakin'," Applejack said as she sipped her beer.

"That, was pretty sweet," I said.

"Thank you both," Luna bowed a thank you to the both of us.

"Would ya like a can Princess?" Applejack offered.

"AJ, she's royalty, I'm sure she wouldn't drink a beer when she probably has fancy wine back at the cast-" I started.

"BUUUUUUUURRRRRRP," A loud belch stopped me from talking. Applejack and I turned to see Luna exhaling after producing the loud burp and crushing the empty can against her forehead with her magic.

"Princess?" Applejack dropped her can on the ground.

"Holy Crap!" I commented, "I didn't know you liked beer so much," I was awestruck. The midnight blue alicorn simply laughed at our response to her belch and can crushing.

"So many ponies think they know everything about me," Luna bragged, "but truth be known, I am a mare who loves to party, or just relax with a few drinks," she grabbed a second can and downed it. "But I do show restraint and know my limits," she finished the second can, not going for a third. "All the politeness, regal talk and sophistication is all an act, for me anyway," she added.

"Well then, we need ta have a special party sometime in the future," Applejack remarked, "Ah do occasionally like a good party."

"If there's chips, dip and rock 'n roll, I'm there," I smirked.

"Or perhaps just spending time like this with friends," Luna referred to what the trio were doing at the moment.

"That does sound like fun too princess," AJ responded with a tip of her hat.

"Yeah, count me in for that," I threw in.

"Very well, I must go patrol the dreams of my little ponies tonight, farewell Cougar and Applejack and have fun on your camping trip!" Luna dematerialized into thin air, presumably into the dream world.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning," I said, "thanks for the beer," I waved my can at Applejack.

"Hold on there partner," Applejack tugged at my arm, "why don't we watch the stars tonight?" She offered.

"You star gaze?"

"Well, sometimes, but since all we're doin' tomorrow is sellin' apples, we don't have to be up too early," she explained.

"Alright then," I said and sat down on the ground next to Applejack. I couldn't get comfortable sitting, so I decided to lie down on my back. "Your grass is so comfy," I remarked.

"Granny uses special fertilizer that makes it nice 'n strong, but soft as a cloud," Applejack sipped the rest of her can and lied down about a foot away from me. Unfortunately, that's the last thing I remember before falling asleep

End Chapter VII

Chapter VIII: The Camping Trip

Fallen Eagle

Chapter VIII: The Camping Trip

(The next morning. Cougar's POV)

I didn't remember much of last night to be honest. The only thing I could remember was seeing Luna raise the moon and her dropping the regal masquerade and acting like a commoner without a care in the world, which was pretty damn cool. The first thing I felt in the morning was not the warm rays of Celestia's sunshine, but a few pairs of eyes piercing into my soul, that and a warm furriness cuddling me. I carefully and slowly opened one eye and looked over to see a confused Bloomin' Onion staring at me. "Mornin' Cougar," Applebloom greeted.

"Morning," I replied and went to rub my eyes but found my arm trapped. Looking down, I saw the easily recognizable orange fur of Applejack laying on my sleeping arm and cuddling up next to me.

"Did you 'n mah sister do somethin' last night?" Applebloom cocked her head sideways. Before I could answer, I heard an approaching voice heading our way, and my body froze when I found out who it belonged to.

"Applebloom!" Big Mac called, "did ya find Applejack 'N that Cougar feller?" The giant red stallion called. Panicking, I tried in vain to get my arm out from under Applejack's sleeping body, but all I did was yank too hard and flipped her on top of me. 'Well, I'm dead,' I thought to myself. I cringed when I also saw a few empty cans of Marewaukee Brew scattered about the ground, one was mine, two were Luna's and I'm guessing the other two were AJ's. "There ya are," Big Mac said to Applebloom who turned around, "did ya find-" the stallion started before laying his eyes on me.

"He-hey," I smiled and shifted Applejack's hatless head aside to where it was laying on my shoulder, "sleep well?" I asked Big Mac.

"Whut the TARTARUS am Ah lookin' at?!" The elder child of the Apple family bellowed, "WHUT are you doin' to mah sister?!" He demanded and stamped his way up to us. This finally awakened Applejack. She yawned and smacked her lips before realizing the compromising position myself and her were in.

"Woah there!" She scrambled up from me, kicking wildly and luckily missing my family jewels. "M-mornin' everypony, are ya ready to sell sum apples?" AJ asked and nervously put on her cowgirl hat. I stood up finally and shook my arm to get the blood back inside.

"Applejack, did he do anythin' to ya last night?" Big Mac eyed the empty beer cans on the grass. The orange mare shook her head wildly, having to hold onto her hat that threatened to fly off at any given moment.

"Whut could they have done Big Mac?" Applebloom asked her brother.

"Nothin'', yer too young to know 'bout that stuff, now go 'n git them apple carts loaded up," Big Mac growled at his little sister. Applebloom ignored Big Mac and stuck around for the end of the conversation. I adjusted my NASCAR cap and nervously rubbed the back of my head. Big Mac turned back to us and jabbed my chest with his hoof. "Answers, NOW," he demanded. I swear that steam was starting to escaped from both his nostrils and ears. I gulped, knowing that lying would be wrong, but I honestly didn't know.

"Maybe Applejack knows, because I can't remember anything very well from last night," I admitted, "but I didn't get drunk, sometimes I do forget what happens before I go to bed," I explained, "doesn't that happen to everypony sometimes?" I asked. Big Mac growled at me again and turned to his sister.

"Nothin'' big brother," Applejack replied, "all we did was have a few beers with Princess Luna and star gazed fer a bit. Ah guess after we fell asleep Ah rolled over into Cougar's body 'n we cuddled, but that's IT," Applejack explained. Big Mac grunted before turned around at both of us.

"Fine, but don't let me catch you two doin' anythin' yer not supposed to be doin'!" He yelled at us as he walked away.

"Fer yer information, Ah am 23 years old Big Mac; Ah can make whatever decisions Ah want to!" Applejack threatened. The red stallion ignored her and went about his saturday chores. I turned to Applejack who looked up at me.

"Sorry," was all I said to her. She slowly turned her head with a cocked eyebrow.

"Sorry fer whut Cougar? Ya didn't do anythin' wrong last night. Neither of us did," she told me. We both forgot that Bloomin' Onion was there, but her voice broke the awkward silence and arm/foreleg rubbing.

"Seriously, whut was Big Mac talkin' about?" The little yellow filly asked the both of us, "you two weren't kissin' were ya?" Applebloom asked us, not teasing, but seriously. I flailed my arms out and Applejack shook her head violently again.

"No, no no!" I exclaimed.

"Cougar 'n I aren't like that, we're just acquaintances!" Applejack went into defensive mode.

"Where'd you get an idea like that Bloomin' Onion?" I asked her. Of course I was nervous about this. I mean come on, a human and a pony? That's the kind of talk that'd get someone back on Earth thrown in the nut house! Applejack and I waited for Applebloom to give us an answer, which surprised us when she gave it out.

"Well, ta be honest, even though Big Mac can't be replaced, Ah think Cougar'd make a great brother, " the little yellow filly admitted. My hand went up to my ear and started scratching. Thankfully, Applejack stepped forward to speak with her little sister. I wouldn't have been able to find the words to respond to that statement.

"Look Applebloom, Ah know how great Cougar is, but we're jest friends, nothin' more. Besides, how d'you think everypony'd respond to that?" AJ questioned Applebloom. The read-maned filly sadly kicked the dirt below her. I almost felt bad for her.

"Well, a lot o' ponies support Spike tryin' to be with Rarity, 'n they're about as different 'o species as you can get," Applebloom sadly said. Now was the time for me to step in and fix this, but not ruin the friendship I had with the two.

"That's fine, but whose to say I can't be your surrogate brother? Applejack and I don't have to be a couple or get married, if you want to tell ponies I'm your surrogate brother, then that's fine with me; you're good little sister material," I ruffled her mane for her. A smile spread across her face which warmed up my heart. Applebloom started to hop around and prance.

"This is awesome! Ah gotta new big brother!" She started dancing around. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and playfully rolled her eyes at her little sis.

"Ah guess that fixes that," she winked at me, "now, let's stop lolly gagging' 'n sell sum apples," she stated. Applebloom galloped away towards the cellar where the five barrels of apples were awaiting to be sold. AJ and I started to slowly walk in the same direction when the orange mare started talking to me. "You like Applebloom don't ya?" AJ asked. I put on my aviators and looked down at her.

"How could I not?" I replied and stuck my hands in my pockets. "She's adorable, smart, caring and funny, she's a great little sister," I explained, "that and I never had a little sibling," I admitted.

"Really? Well you would have made a fantastic older brother," Applejack told me.

"Eh, I liked kids. My cousin had a little boy that always wanted me to hold him, even if his parents were in the same room," I said, "and when I set him down with someone else to go to the bathroom, he'd start fussing, it was cute," I finished. Applejack chuckled and we continued our journey to the apple cart. "Now Cougar, don't be discouraged if sum ponies don't want to talk talk to ya when we're sellin' apples alright?" She asked me.

"I'm more worried about costing you and your family your hard earned money than ponies ignoring me," I replied. We had finally reached the cellar where Applebloom had begun loading the cart full of barrels. "Here, let me help Bloomin' Onion," I offered.

(In Ponyville. Cougar's POV)

"Hello there sir, care fer sum down home fresh apples?" Applejack gestured towards her apples to a pony. The three of us had been trying to sell apples for about two hours now, and we had managed to sell about half a barrel, which Applejack said was not that bad.

"I'll take a bundle of 20," the light brown pony with blue horseshoes on his flank replied. He produced ten bits and exchanged them for the apples before he went on his way.

"Thank ya kindly Caramel, you take care now ya here?!" Applejack waved to the pony. "He used to be a farmhand," Applejack explained and pocketed the coinage from her transaction.

"How come he still isn't one?" I asked while shining a few of the apples. Applebloom meanwhile had been trying to get ponies to come in and buy apples by doing tricks with a hula hoop, but she called it a loop-di-hoop, I think.

"Well, he's a nice pony, but he's jest too forgetful," Applejack explained, "oh, you wanna take this one Cougar?" Applejack continued. I turned around to see an aquamarine unicorn with what appeared to be a heart shaped harp on her flank, and boy she looked familiar. I took off my sunglasses and placed them on my hat.

"Hi, can we interest you in some fresh and delicious apples?" I offered and held up a few specimen. The unicorn didn't say or do anything at all. She just kept staring at me with her golden eyes, like she was checking me out, so I decided to have a little fun with her. "See something you like girl?" I played around and took off my hat to slick my hair back. Behind me, I could hear Applejack attempting to suppress a chuckle.

The pony STILL didn't say or do anything and I was starting to get both annoyed and bored. "Alright, look do you want apples or not, we're very busy here," I said to her. She cocked her head from side to side and scrunching her face up. "Why don't you paint yourself a picture, I'm sure it'll last longer," I finally said. Before Applejack or myself could say anything else, the earth pony with a dark blue and pink mane came trotting up.

"There you are Lyra," she scolded, "don't you know how rude it is to stare at somepony, even if they're not a pony?" The earth pony scolded.

"S-sorry Bon Bon, he's just so interesting," Lyra replied with a gulp. So, her name is Lyra huh?

"I'm terribly sorry Mr. uh," Bon Bon had turned to me.

"Cougar, you can call me Cougar, no Mr. please, I hate formalities," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. Something was, off about these two. Bon Bon was scolding Lyra not like a friend or a sister, but something more.

"Sorry Cougar, Lyra can sometimes get lost for words and just stare at anypony," Bon Bon explained, "we'll buy the rest of that barrel of apples for your troubles," she produced fifty bits and handed them to me.

"Uh thanks," I said and placed the rest of the apples in Bon Bon's saddle bags.

"And you, come on we have more candy to sell," Bon Bon took Lyra away. That was a little weird for me. I pocketed the change into the front pouch of my apron and turned around to face a smiling Applejack.

"Well there cowboy, that was a nice job ya did," she patted me on the back, "Ah didn't know you were a looker fer sum ponies," she teased me.

"Oh please, she's obviously gay," I joked back, but didn't predict the response I got back. Applejack grinned at me and leaned against the cart.

"So? Lyra and Bon Bon are some of the nicest ponies around; sexual orientation shouldn't have to sway yer opinion," she explained and got off the cart. I turned to look back to where the pair had been standing only moments before and saw them arm in arm (so to speak), hugging on each other and laughing.

"I was just joking Applejack," I held my hands up, "but that kind of stuff doesn't bother me at all. Just as long as somepony isn't a self centered asshole, I won't have a problem with them," I explained. The emerald eyed mare snickered at me and took a bite out of one of her personal apples. "And you were screwing with me huh?" I flicked my aviators back down over my blue eyes.

"So, I see you met Lyra and Bon Bon?" I heard a posh voice ask me. Turning around, I found Rarity along with Spike and Sweetie Belle standing on either side of the older pony. "Lyra does make some beautiful music with that harp of hers and Bon Bon makes some of the most delicious sweets in town. I know I've been there multiple times for some chocolates," Rarity explained. Sweetie Belle and Spike set down the large stacks of material in the arms onto the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Spike," I waved to them, "interested in any apples?" I offered. Sweetie Belle and Rarity politely waved the idea off, yet Spike simply crossed his arms and shook his head, not even making eye contact with me.

"Now now Spikey-Wikey, no need to be rude to Cougar," Rarity ruffled his head. For a brief moment, I could see Spike's tongue trying to escape his mouth, kind of like a dog.

"Whut brings you guys over here?" Applejack finally asked the trio, "come fer sum apples or did ya come by to discuss the campin' trip later today?" Applejack questioned while putting up an 'ON BREAK' sign over the cart.

"Yes dearie," Rarity took Applejack aside. I could still hear them as they walked away from the cart for more privacy, "we just wanted to know what time we were going to meet up at the beginning of the trail," Rarity's voice faded over the noise of the street crowd.

"So, did you talk to Rarity at all yet Sweetie Belle?" I asked the little unicorn filly after taking a seat on an empty overturned barrel. By this time, Applebloom had put down her hula hoop and joined the party. Sweetie Belle looked down on the ground and pawed at it slowly, indicating a no.

"Sorry Cougar, it's really hard for me, I have stage fright," Sweetie Belle covered her eyes. I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder. She looked back up at me, trying to not cry.

"Okay, maybe I pushed you too hard; Rarity may not be the pony to talk to about this, but Fluttershy might be able to help you out," I said, "Applejack told me how she had, well still has, stage fright, but she's working her way up to larger and larger crowds. I think she can help you overcome stage fright Sweetie Belle," I explained. The little unicorn blinked away several tears before sighing sadly.

"I'm pathetic aren't I?" She asked quietly as a church mouse. I gasped at that statement. I slowly petted her mane down and scratched behind her ear.

"You are far from pathetic kid," I whispered, "I'll let you in on a little secret alright?" I asked. Sweetie Belle's ears perked up and she leaned in closer to hear me as she wiped her nose. "When I first joined the Air Force Academy and wanted to be a fighter pilot, the cadets had to fly a simulator of the jet of their choice, in front of everyone in the room. Including other cadets, trained pilots, majors, captains etcetera. And I was terrified about flying a simulator in front of a large group of people."

"Well, how did you overcome it?"

"I sucked in a deep breath and climbed into the simulator. The major in charge of training us switched it on and I pushed the thought of everyone watching into the back of my mind. It even helped that I hummed my favorite song while doing the simulator. Soon enough, I forgot that I was being watched and focused 100% on performing my task, which I did with the highest score in Academy history," I smiled at her.

"But if I'm up onstage singing, how can I hum my favorite song without screwing up?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"That may not work for you, but here is what I can suggest, just close your eyes, and don't think about anything but the song. Forget that ponies are watching you, just focus on the song and nothing else." The unicorn wiped her nose again and wrapped her forelegs around me. "Hehe, you're welcome Sweetie Belle," I returned the hug and stood up.

"Thanks Cougar," Sweetie Belle smiled at me.

"Why don't you just mind your own business?" Spike cut in. I looked up and over at him to see him with a scowl decorating his face and his arms crossing his scaly chest. Applebloom was none too pleased with Spike and stamped onto his foot. "OUCH!" Spike screamed in pain and grabbed his throbbing foot.

"Whut's yer problem Spike? Cougar's been nice to everypony 'n has helped us out at thu farm," Applebloom interrogated.

"He's too secretive and he won't tell us anything! He's definitely got something to hide and I won't trust him until he tells us what it is!" Spike retorted angrily. I rolled my eyes at the little dragon and bent down towards him. But rather than trying to intimidate him or yell in his face, I decided to tease him.

"Won't Rarity hate it that you're judging somepony too fast?" I asked him. Spike froze and let go of his throbbing foot that was starting to swell a little.

"You leave Rarity outta this," Spike growled at me.

"Ah, I see, you've got it sooooo bad for Rarity," I teased and bopped my finger on his nose, "I can help you get her, if you want," I offered the little purple dragon. Spike glowered at me even more and bared his tiny fangs.

"I can do that on my own, human, and what would you know about getting a girl? No girl around here is going to want you, you're too different," Spike retorted back. By this time, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were moving their heads back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.

"And there's the double standard mares and gentle colts," I raised my index finger, "you're different from Rarity too Spike, so why can a dragon have a pony, but no female will want me, a human?" I asked him. His face and arms fell at my conclusion.

"You win this round human, but I'll find out what you're hiding, you'll see!" Spike threatened.

"Ah hope y'all are done talkin' 'cause we've got a campin' trip to start," Applejack cut into our conversation. All of us stood up and smiled, even Spike.

"Yep, just talking to the little ones," I exclaimed and gave Bloomin' Onion a noogie.

"Well, we must begin packing, Sweetie Belle, would you please assist me? And Spikey-Wikey, be a dear and carry my bags," Rarity pouted her lower lip.

"O-of course m'lady," Spike bowed and gathered up every single bag and material Rarity had with her.

"We'll meet you and Rainbow Dash at the head of the trail in 2 hours!" Rarity called as she, her sister and the lovestruck dragon headed off to her boutique. Applejack had begun to close up shop while I gathered up a few Apples that fell out of the barrels.

"Does Rainbow know when to meet us?" I asked Applejack.

"I SURE DO!" Rainbow Dash called from a cloud in the sky. She was on her back, leaning over the edge and looking upside down at myself, Applejack and Applebloom.

"Were you spyin' on us again RD?" Applejack called back.

"No, I just happened to be taking a nap on this cloud and I overheard you talking to Rarity!" Rainbow Dash replied. "I'll make sure Scootaloo gets to the trail head on time too, see ya later!" Rainbow zoomed out of the cloud and disappeared. I packed up the last of the barrels and helped Applejack hook up to the cart.

"So, are we packing when we get back, or are you already packed?" I asked Applejack. The orange mare adjusted her cowgirl hat before setting off back to Sweet Apple Acres with Applebloom hitching a ride on the top of the cart.

"Ah already got most of the supplies ready, but Ah need to get the tents all packed up, ya don't mind havin' yer own tent do ya?" Applejack asked me. I chuckled a bit and bit into an apple.

"Of course not, it's actually safer for everypony," I replied. AJ's eyebrow cocked up to her mane line.

"Whut do ya mean Cougar? You've never shown any violence to anypony around here," she pointed out. I licked my lips, trying to figure out the best way to word my phrasing.

"Well, if something abruptly wakes me up in the middle of the night, like a sudden noise or something hits me, I've been trained to respond by hitting the nearest thing in case it's an enemy," I explained. "So if you or Applebloom were to roll into me hard enough in the middle of the night, I might accidentally hit you, and I don't want that to happen," I added.

"Oh, well Ah guess that is good, but can you control it?" Applejack asked as we left the town and began our journey to the farm.

"Sometimes, but I once accidentally punched my friend Reaper in the gut when he woke me up. I've been trying to control it ever since," I explained. Applejack nodded.

"Well, ya didn't hit me last night," she said.

"That's a sign I'm getting it under control, though I don't want to lose it entirely," I responded. "By the way, are there any wild animals we need to watch out for in the woods?" I asked.

"Mainly the bears, but Fluttershy told us that they usually won't bother us if we don't surprise them ya know?" Applejack said. "Anyhow, let's get started on packing," Applejack exclaimed as we entered the farm.

(2 Hours Later. Cougar's POV)

We had met up with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo at the trail head, just waiting on Rarity and Sweetie Belle to join us. I utilized my duffel bag to pack my extra set of clothes, (I had left my helmet back in my shed since I didn't need it) some water and food. Before we had set off for the trail head, I had sat on my cot, holding my .44 pistol, contemplating on whether or not to bring. I hadn't told anypony about it, not even Applejack or Luna. The sole reason was because I didn't want to frighten them with my advanced weapon. Applejack almost caught me with it when she knocked on the door and I thrust it into my duffel bag, sandwiched between my spare set of jeans and my spare shirt.

I had fully decided to bring it along, one reason because if I took it out, Applejack would've seen it and probably demanded what it was, and another reason was because I don't know if I'll need it, but I won't just whip the gun out at any random noise. If the situation requires me to use it, then I will and explain later, but hopefully that won't happen. "Come on," I whined, "what is taking them so long?" I complained and sat up from a rock I was sitting on.

"That's what," Rainbow pointed her hoof to a towering cart full of suitcases and bags. I had to crane my neck back to see the top of it that eclipsed the tops of the trees surrounding us.

"Sorry we're late everypony!" Rarity called as she reached the top of the hill. "I just couldn't decide what would go with the color of the leaves and if I needed to bring my mane spray," she explained. I noticed that she trotted happily along with no cart behind her. Sweetie Belle reached the top of the hill with the cart behind her and collapsed from exhaustion.

"We..made...it," she breathed out and caught her breath.

"Jesus, did you pack a whole fucking hotel?" I asked Rarity whom had sunglasses and a sun hat adorning her head.

"Now now, no reason to reduce to vulgarity Cougar," Rarity sort of scolded me, "besides won't you look the fool when you won't have a comb to tame that unruly head of hair on your head?" She made fun of me. I took off my hat and slicked my hair back to it's original form. "Oh mock me all you want," Rarity stuck her nose in the air and joined up with the rest of the group.

"So, if we're all done yapping, we got some hiking to do!" Rainbow declared and hovered in the air. Scootaloo pulled out her scooter and put on her own helmet.

"Alright y'all! Jest follow me 'n Applebloom, we're goin' to thu same campsite we were at last time," Applejack announced. All seven of us began to set off until I realized Sweetie Belle was worn out from hauling the giant cart of miscellaneous shit Rarity packed. I stopped and unhooked her from the harness.

"Come on Sweetie Belle, you've hauled enough, why don't you rest on my shoulder?" I offered and placed her forelegs onto my right shoulder so she could hang on. I quickly hooked the straps around my waist and began to pull. The cart actually wasn't that heavy for me, but for a little filly like Sweetie Belle, it must've been like hauling Mt. McKinley.

"Thanks...Cougar," Sweetie Belle thanked me and clung tightly around my neck without strangling me.

"I'm getting a good workout at least," I managed to make her smile as I caught up with the rest of the group. I had to set my duffel bag on the cart since I couldn't haul it with a little unicorn clinging to me. "So Applejack, you said you went camping in this spot two years ago?" I asked the pony leading the expedition.

"Yep, it's not too far fer sum ponies who enjoy the outdoors," Applejack poked fun at Rarity who at the moment was filing one of her hooves as she walked.

"Anything interesting happen last time?" I asked further, enjoying talking to make the walk seem shorter.

"Interesting how?" Rainbow cut in. She had been floating above us, probably getting impatient at how slowly we were walking.

"Like did a wild animal attack you guys or something?" I asked them. All six ponies laughed at my question, making me look like a fool for asking such a question.

"Naw Cougar," Applejack finished chuckling, "the only wild animals anypony regularly fears 'round these parts are Timberwolves, though they mainly stay in the Everfree Forest," she explained, "in fact, Ah can't even recall any stories 'o them ever bein' spotted outside the Everfree forest," Applejack pondered momentarily. Before anyone else could say anything, we had come to a fork in the trail. "Aw dammit," Applejack swore, forgetting that Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were with the group, "Ah forgot mah map!" Applejack swatted at the ground.

"Now hold on, which way were we heading?" I asked the orange mare.

"We're supposed to be heading north, that leads us to the campsite we were at last time," Applejack replied. My eyes scanned the trees that bordered the trail around us. Off in the distance, I could hear the mighty roar of a river, hopefully teeming with trout or salmon.

"Head to the fork on the left," I pointed out. Rainbow and Applejack looked from me to the direction I had pointed in. The cyan pegasus crossed her forelegs across her chest and shook her head.

"And how could you possibly know that?" She demanded.

"Easy, when I was in the Boy Scouts, we learned that moss always grows on the north side of a tree, I'm hoping the same thing happens here," I explained. AJ smacked her head with her hoof in frustration.

"Now how could Ah have forgotten that? Thanks Cougar," Applejack thanked me. My eyes drifted upwards towards the blue sky above us, and noticed that the sun was starting to get lower and lower in the sky.

"We better hurry, it's going to be dark soon and I don't have my night vision visor on me," I exclaimed.

"Why the rush Mr. Military, afraid of the dark?" Rainbow teased me and hoof-bumped Scootaloo.

"As a matter of fact, yes," I bravely admitted. Bad experiences in the dark when I was a child made me fearful, but I hadn't faced the dark in a number of years, so my fear had been growing and growing for a number years. "Anyways," I continued as the journey had resumed, "why are ponies so afraid of the Everfree Forest?" I questioned, "did somepony disappear in there a long time ago and was never seen again?"

"Oh it's more than that," Rarity replied to me, her voice shaking. "Animals can care for themselves, without any assistance from anypony," she said fearfully.

"Not to mention, the clouds don't need pegasi to move them," Rainbow continued for Rarity, a slight drop in her voice indicated that she was a tad freaked out.

"And like Ah said, that's were the Timberwolves are. We only go in there to visit our zebra friend, Zecora, or to help fix up the Castle of the Two sisters," Applejack concluded with a gulp. I sneered at the mares and laughed at them.

"That's just like my world almost!" I blurted out, not realizing I had just revealed information I wanted to keep hidden. Applejack stopped abruptly, forcing me to stop so I would run into her.

"So, animals can tend for themselves without assistance from your kind?" Rarity asked me, "interesting," she added. Rainbow continued on upwards, more than likely trying to see if she could spot the campsite in the distance. I took this as a golden opportunity to keep them from asking about me.

"Anypony know any good songs to sing to make the trip shorter?" I asked. Sweetie Belle released her forelegs from my neck and sped to the front of the group as Rainbow Dash landed next to Applejack.

"I do, I do!" She declared and cleared her throat.

"Nice going Cougar," Scootaloo groaned along with everypony besides Sweetie Belle.

"NINETY-NINE BUCKETS OF OATS ON THE WALL..."

(At the Campsite, Cougar's POV)

"ZERO BUCKETS OF OATS ON THE WAAAAAAAAALLLLL!" Sweetie Belle finished before silencing herself and breathing in deeply. It wasn't the worst song I've ever heard, but at least it made the trip go by faster. Applejack finally declared it when we found our campsite. Thankfully, a stream leading into a river was literally five feet from the site, so I could possibly use the water to cool off. Hauling that massive fucking cart of Rarity's shit really made my sweat work overtime. Before we even started unpacking, Applejack started to give out orders.

"Alright, Rainbow 'n Scootaloo, you two are in charge 'o firewood," Applejack ordered. Rainbow and Scootaloo saluted AJ and headed off into the woods to find firewood. Applejack turned back to myself, Applebloom, Rarity and Sweetie Belle.

"Cougar, you 'n Rarity start unpacking everythin'," Applejack instructed. I nodded my head and started helping Rarity unpack everything from the cart and our bags. While working, I heard Applejack give out the last of the instructions to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.

"'N you two will help me with settin' up the tents, got it?" The orange mare asked.

"Sure thing sis!" Applebloom drug all the tent bags out and laid them out evenly. Sweetie Belle's little horn began glowing as the tents began to unravel themselves from the bags.

"Hold on, I do have my tent as well!" Rarity threw what appeared to be an inflatable raft on the ground and pulled the cord. Instantly, a TWO-STORY rubber tent had begun to inflate itself and rose to about fifteen feet high. "Ah, home sweet home," Rarity walked to the upstairs part of the tent and stood on the balcony. I turned to Applejack and shook my head.

"She can't be serious," I whispered. Applejack rolled her eyes and replied, "I still can't believe it either." Even though I knew Rarity wasn't really getting the camping experience, (a VASE for her tent?) I pushed that out of my mind and continued to unpack the cart of water, food, sleeping bags and lanterns. Soon enough, the cart was unpacked and I laid down on my sleeping bag.

"We're back!" Rainbow announced. She dropped several good sized logs on the ground and dropped about twelve rocks around the edge for the campfire ring. Scootaloo appeared from behind Rainbow on her scooter and skidded to a stop with a few other logs to be used as benches. By this time, the sky went from a calm baby blue to a brilliant pink and orange with only about twenty minutes of daylight left until Luna's moon would retake the sky. Applejack started up a fire with her sticks and string and Sweetie Belle came up with the marshmallows.

"Does everypony know their sleeping' arrangements?" AJ questioned us.

"Actually, whose Cougar gonna sleep with tonight?" Rainbow retorted.

"By myself, it seems appropriate," I replied quickly while getting up from my sleeping back and chucking it in my tent that AJ had lent me. I quickly regretted phrasing my explanation in that matter. Rainbow got a devilish grin on her face and rubbed her hooves together.

"Appropriate huh? Were you planning on getting 'closer' with one of us tonight?" She teased me and air quoted using her hooves. "Admit it, you want one of us don't you?" She tickled under my chin with one of her hooves. The crusaders gagged at the way Rainbow was teasing me, but Applejack was using her hooves to suppress a laugh while Rarity was giggling. I rolled my eyes and shoved Rainbow out of the way.

"In your dreams Dash," I tossed my hat into my tent, "besides, it seems like you're the one putting the moves on me, and how would Soarin' react if I told him you wanted me?" I folded my arms across my chest. The pegasus admitted defeat and sat back down with Scootaloo. Applejack began snickering which turned into a full out laugh fest at me and Rainbow.

"Yeah, that's a good one Rainbow, 'ol Cougar and one 'o us gettin' together, that's a good one!" She wiped a tear from her emerald eye. Applebloom growled in frustration and produced a bag of marshmallows and three sticks.

"If y'all are gonna keep jabberin' about mushy crap, then we're gonna have marshmallows ourselves!" She motioned towards Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. AJ set her cowgirl hat onto the log she was sitting on and patted her little sister's head.

"Alright there AB, we're done," Applejack said and grabbed herself a stick. Sweetie Belle roasted a marshmallow for Rarity and hoofed it to her. The littler unicorn then trotted inside Rarity's hotel tent and came back out with a cup of tea on a saucer.

"Oh come on!" I exclaimed, "can you forget about your fancy teas and fashions for one day and enjoy the great outdoors by roughing it like everypony else?" I complained to the pearl white unicorn. She pursed her lips in embarrassment and set the tea cup and saucer down on her stomach, darting her eyes around.

"I am not a savage Cougar, I do enjoy my cleanliness and hygiene; nature is just not my cup of tea," she added a punch line and sipped her beverage. I gave up and started roasting my marshmallow, getting it to a nice golden-brown before eating it. All seven of us sat in silence near the campfire, eating our marshmallows and just enjoying the quiet of the outdoors. And as Luna's moon once again conquered the night sky, an owl hooted in the distance, the roar of the river seemed to have quieted down some, allowing the nocturnal animals to have some peace as they awakened and ventured out for food. The fire crackled and popped as it devoured the wooden logs chosen for elimination.

Orange flames danced inside the ring of rocks as the light cast long shadows of the logs and all of our figures out to the tree line where they danced in different shapes. The embers of the fire drifted upwards towards the inky black and blue sky, never to be seen again. I recall from Native Alaskans that believed the embers represented souls that have passed on as they traveled to their next destination in the after-life. I unscrewed a water bottle and downed the cool and clear liquid, washing the sweetness of the marshmallow treats down my throat. Rainbow finally broke the silence with a belch.

"So, anypony know any good scary stories? I kinda want somepony else to take reigns tonight," she exclaimed and scratched her belly. Rarity's hoof went up into the air, though not wildly.

"I have one that'll scare anypony with any good fashion sense," she offered.

"If it's one where a pony forgets her makeup bag before a job interview, that's pathetic," I butted in. Rarity blushed in embarrassment and sipped the rest of her tea in silence. Rainbow chuckled and clapped her hooves together.

"Well, what about you Cougar? I'm sure you've heard plenty of scary stories from your world," Scootaloo asked me. I cracked my knuckles and looked upwards at the twinkling stars in the sky, thinking about the scariest story I've ever heard. An evil smile crept on my face as I thought about one of my favorite horror movie villains. Yet, before I could begin, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I turned, trying to use the light of the campfire to scan the tree line.

"Somethin' the matter Cougar?" Applejack curiously asked me. I squinted, but nothing came across my line of vision.

"No, I just thought, something was spying on us, probably just a squirrel in a tree or something," I brushed it off, "anyways, do you guys have Halloween here?" I asked the group. All six ponies looked at each other before looking back at me.

"What the Tartarus is Halloween?" Rainbow asked me.

"It's a holiday where kids dress up in costumes and get free candy," I explained.

"That's Nightmare Night!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, "do you guys celebrate it to offer the candy so an evil ghost doesn't eat you?" She wondered aloud. My face scrunched in that of confusion.

"No, we EAT the free candy, that's how I always enjoyed Halloween before I joined the Air Force, then I used it to watch scary movies and buy candy at a discount."

"Well, anyway, get on with yer story," Bloomin' Onion crawled over to me and sat on my lap. I cleared my throat, hoping that this story would scare them.

"Listen up ponies, and I'll tell you the story of how Halloween is known as the scariest holiday of all-time," I began.

"Is this story true in any way Cougar?" Rarity questioned.

"Yes, and don't interrupt unless you're screaming," I warned. "Anyway, this all happened about 35 years before I was even born in a little town called Haddonfield, Illinois..."

*One Story Later*

"And Dr. Loomis grabbed his own knife from the downstairs kitchen, knowing that the evil Michael Myers was upstairs. He quickly, yet silently crept up the stairs only to find the teenage girl being strangled by the evil man," I picked up a sharpened rock and held it like a knife. The little fillies were cowering with each other against their respective sisters. Rarity was covering her eyes while Applejack nervously ate marshmallows. Rainbow's pupils shrank to a tiny size and darted around her eyes. "Risking his own life, the good Dr. Loomis ran up and stabbed the evil shape in the neck, drawing blood, and making the man growl in pain. Dr. Loomis then rammed the knife into Myers' chest and pushed him as hard as he could over the outside balcony railing where the man fell onto the ground with a loud thud, the knife still sticking into his chest with blood dripping out, " I dropped the rock to symbolize the body hitting the ground.

"Th-then w-w-whut happened?" Bloomin' Onion chewed on her hoof.

"Oh Dr. Loomis took a good look at Michael's body before going to check on Laurie. She asked him 'Was that the boogeyman?' To which Dr. Loomis replied, 'As a matter of fact, yes.' He then went back to check on the body as police sirens began to grow louder and louder, but when he looked over the railing, the body was, GONE!" I yelled, scaring the shit out of all the ponies there.

"AHHHHHH!" They all screamed.

"What happened to Michael after that?" Scootaloo peered from behind Rainbow.

"Oh, eye witnesses report seeing him living his old abandoned child hood home, while others say he did get up from the ground, but he died in the woods somewhere. I think he's still out there, waiting for the right time to kill Laurie," I explained.

"Don't worry Sweetie Belle, I won't let anything happen to you," Rarity patted Sweetie Belle's head.

"Ah think it's time fer sum shut eye," Applejack yawned and pried Applebloom from the log. Rainbow, still visibly shaking, flapped her wings and held onto Scootaloo.

"We'll just uh turn in okay?" She said and zoomed into her tent.

"I'll take care of the fire," I volunteered and kicked dirt onto the fire, knowing that smothering it was safer than pouring water on it.

"Good night Cougar," Applejack called as she entered her tent, leaving me alone near the fire ring. I let out a good yawn before heading for my tent. But, that feeling of being watched still lingered on the back of my neck. I checked out the tree line one more time before turning in for the night. Before I went to sleep, I opened up my duffel bag and set my combat knife and pistol on top of the pile of clothes, just in case. I prayed that Luna would keep a close eye on us tonight, unless her royal nightly duties prevented her from watching over us.

I was sleeping soundly in my tent when something happened. My eyes shot open as the most wretched, disgusting, foul and pungent odor I've ever smelled in my entire life raped my nostrils. I sat up and covered my nose, attempting to keep my dinner down. "What the fuck is that smell?" I whispered to myself. I wished an animal would crawl into my tent and die just to mask the odor. Slowly, I kept pinching my nose shut and unzipped the front flap of my tent. My heart froze when in the light of Luna's moon, I saw the silhouette of a wolf. With my breathing in check, I spied on the wolf as it scrounged around the perimeter of the campsite, evidently looking for food. Suddenly, the wolf ceased movement and started to head for Rarity's hotel tent!

"Oh fuck, she'll never be able to fight that wolf," I whispered to myself and picked up a nearby rock, chucking it off to the side of the camp. Thankfully, the wolf turned tail and ran after the noise. Wasting zero time, I quickly burst from my tent and tried to get Applejack's attention from her tent. "Psst, AJ, wake up, now!" I whispered loudly. When I got no answer, I had no choice but to unzip the flap and pour water on her.

"GAH! WHUT IN TARNATION!" Applejack yelled as Applebloom squealed from the coldness of the water.

"SHH, SHH, SHH!" I shushed while the two southern farm girls, the two athletic pegasi and two fancy unicorns emerged from their tents. Rainbow yawned and stretched her forelegs.

"What's going on? It's like two in the morning," she yawned again and tried to stay awake.

"Cougar, this had better be good, or yer gonna be sleepin' with mah horseshoe up yer ass," AJ growled at me.

"Guys, we've gotta get outta here, now," I replied, "I saw a wolf scrounging around the camp, and it smelled awful," I explained. From the silvery light of the moon, I saw the color drain from all the faces of the ponies.

"What?!" Rarity exclaimed, "but Applejack, I thought you said Timberwolves don't leave the Everfree Forest!" She exclaimed in a frightened tone.

"Ah never said that, Ah said that no pony has ever seen one outside of the Forest, but that's not important, if Cougar saw one, then we need to quickly pack up and leave!" Applejack ordered. Without missing a beat, all of us packed up the tents and our bags as fast as possible, all while not saying anything.

"Alright, is that everything?" Rainbow asked.

"Should be," I replied, "now, let's just stay quiet, Applejack, you and me will head the group, Rarity will stay in the middle and Rainbow you cover the back while the little ones stay in between us," I ordered and pulled out my combat knife. Everypony did as I said and grouped up. We headed off back down the trail from where we came from. I had all of my senses on high alert, knowing how dangerous and unpredictable an Alaskan timber-wolf could be. We didn't get far when, it happened. A loud howl from somewhere in the trees made us all stop dead. "There's that smell again, what is that?" I demanded.

"Their breath," Applejack said quietly.

"ROAR!" A Wolf leapt from the shadows and charged at our group.

"HIT THE DIRT!" I shouted and yanked down Applejack and Applebloom down with me. Rarity transported herself and Sweetie Belle out of the way while Rainbow yanked Scootaloo into the air. The timber-wolf crouched down and stared all of us down. It's green eyes glowed brightly as a lantern as it licked its wooden chops. Drool dripped from its fangs like water from a stalactite in a cave. It raised its paw and tried to swipe down at Applebloom, but Applejack bucked its paw out of the way.

"RARITY, GET THU FILLIES 'N YERSELF OUTTA HERE NOW!" Applejack exclaimed as the Wolf tried to swipe down at her, but my knife cut into the wood on its paw. The wolf howled in pain and it dropped to the ground. Without second guessing, Rarity gathered up Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom and prepared to teleport out when a second wolf appeared. It roared just as loudly as the first wolf and attempted to attack us. Rainbow utilized her speed and smashed into the side of the wolf, knocking it to the ground.

"Come on you overgrown shrubs!" Rainbow dared. The two wolves stood up and leapt at all of us. I tried to shove Rainbow out of the way, but I didn't make it. The first wolf swiped at the Cyan pegasus, making contact with her right side wing. "AHHH!" Rainbow cried in pain as her wing bent out of shape and started leaking blood.

"Rarity, take Rainbow with you!" I ordered her while I jumped on top of the wolf and slammed my knife onto its back. The wooden animal screeched in pain and attempted to throw me off its back. Rarity charged up her magic and transported herself, the fillies and Rainbow Dash out of the woods and back home. I jumped off the back of the wolf and met back up with Applejack. "How do we kill these fuckers?" I asked, "they keep repairing themselves," I mentioned.

"Ah don't really know how, we just smash up 'till they take forever to fix themselves 'n then we run," Applejack frantically explained. The deep gash I put into the back of the wolf sealed back up and the animal glared angrily at me with its green eyes. The second wolf had fixed the dent Rainbow had put in it and joined up with the other wolf. I gritted my teeth and raised my combat knife once again.

The wolves started to slowly stalk Applejack and myself, forcing us to back up. Unfortunately, the stream next to the campsite was growing closer and closer. "Stay behind me Applejack," I told my friend. I used my left arm to shield Applejack should I need to. Suddenly, the wolves made their attack. They split and tried to come at us from the sides. I kept Applejack behind me as I sliced as fast as I could with my knife, cutting up splinters from their bodies. I found myself overpowered while I shoved Applejack away. One wolf knocked my knife out of my hand and pinned me to the dirt, it's mouth dripping as it eyed me for a midnight snack.

"COUGAR!" Applejack exclaimed and leapt between me and the wolf pinning me down. "GET OFF MAH FRIEND YOU BRUTE!" She screamed and bucked as hard as she could on the wolf's lower jaw, dislocating it from the head.

"Watch out!" I shouted as the second wolf reappeared and bit hard into Applejack's right rear leg. I could see blood being drawn from the wound on her leg. I hoped that the wound wouldn't be long lasting, she was a vital part of Sweet Apple Acres. "NO!" I reached for my knife and stabbed the wolf that bit Applejack straight in the head, drawing what appeared to be tree sap from inside. The wolf howled in pain and let go of my friend whom slumped to the ground from the pain. I dropped my knife and reached up with my hands and started to strangle the wolf's neck. It's forelegs began to flail around, trying to gain oxygen into it's lungs. Using this opportunity, I kicked with my legs as hard as I could into its stomach, forcing it off me and onto its back. I scooped up Applejack and ran for my duffel bag as the wolves gathered themselves back up.

"What-what're you doin'?" AJ asked me as I reached into the bag and pulled out my .44 revolver.

"This may come in handy," I responded and took cover in the trees near the banks of the river. The wolves were pissed off now as they growled and nipped at each other, appearing to place blame on one another. While I had the time, I set Applejack down and ripped off my shirt.

"Whut now?" Applejack weakly said. Great, that wound is worse than I thought. Who knows if it's already infected? I used my knife to cut my shirt into a smaller section and wrapped it tightly around her leg. She seethed in pain and clenched her teeth as I knotted the fabric.

"We're gonna get out of this," I promised Applejack and picked up my pistol again. Just then, the wolves burst into the brush and roared at us. Acting on instinct, I pointed my pistol forward and fired at one of the wolves' faces. A large hole appeared in between its eyes where I shot it. Gallons of tree sap began to pour from the wound and the wolf collapsed to the ground. The other wolf roared for its fallen comrade.

"Ah think ya made it madder," Applejack fearfully said. Stomping wooden paws started coming towards us. I raised my pistol again, but the wolf swatted it away rather quickly.

"NO!" I shouted as my gun fell downwards into the raging river from the force of the slap. "HANG ON!" I declared and held onto Applejack as I fell backward to get away from the dangerous animal. The next thing I knew, I was freezing cold and unable to breath. I gasped for air when I floated back to the surface of the white water rapids. I thrust Applejack's head above the water so she could get air to her lungs. "You okay?" I asked her over the roar of the river.

"Jest freezin' is all," she replied. I tried to hold her above me so she wouldn't be rammed into any rocks that the river was raging towards.

"I think we're safe, at least until we make it to dry land and find some help," I commented, trying to catch my breath. I was freezing as well, the water was dropping my body temperature at an alarming rate, but I had to stay alive to keep my friend safe.

"COUGAR, BEHIND US!" Applejack screamed over the river. I turned around to see the last timber-wolf clawing its way through the water trying to get to us. Placing AJ on my back, I started to try to paddle as fast as I could to get away from the ravenous wolf. However, I had no clue whether or not it was still hungry, or trying to avenge the other wolf. I began to use the sharp rocks to my advantage as cover while the wolf was in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, the wolf was able to maneuver around the rocks as fast as I could. "GIT BACK YOU MOTHER-BUCKER!" Applejack shouted and tried to use her good rear leg to kick at the wolf's face.

"Oh sweet Jesus," I said as we rounded a bend. My energy was starting to drain as the blood in my body began to slowly leave my limbs to protect my vital organs. With the speed of the river, I had no clue how far we had traveled, but we were nearing PonyVille by the sights of the lights. "OH THANK GOD!" I exclaimed as I saw a low hanging branch crossing the river up ahead. It was connected to an oak tree that was sitting about on the edge of the river bank, but I could also see the tops of a house behind the tree. "Applejack, do not let go!" I ordered her. I felt her forelegs tighten around my torso as I brought out my knife again and stabbed the branch of the tree. I hung onto it as the river tried to sweep us further downstream.

"ROAR!" The wolf seized the opportunity and clawed at my legs. I screamed in pain as I felt the frigid water enter the cuts on my leg. With the last of my strength, I started to use the knife as a pick to latch onto the brach and pull myself and Applejack up the branch. Ever so slowly, I crawled up the branch towards the river bank with the wolf clinging to the branch as well. Suddenly, I heard the branch creaking from the excess weight.

"Hurry up!" Applejack tried to get me to move faster as the wolf approached. I started crawling faster and faster, eventually losing my knife when I missed the branch and it fell into the water, joining my pistol. We were SO close, but I wasn't giving up soon. Looking behind me, I saw the paw of the timber-wolf coming straight at us. I picked Applejack off my back and tossed her up onto the bank. "JUMP!" She shouted at me as the Wolf hit me in the side of the head, opening up a wound on my forehead and cutting my lip. With the last of my energy, I leapt off the branch and grabbed ahold of Applejack's hoof. She yanked me onto the river bank as the wolf leapt at us.

"RUN!" I told Applejack as the Wolf landed on the bank, baring it's fangs and drool at us.

"Ah'm not leavin' ya ta die!" Applejack retorted. The wolf charged at us, but I charged at it. We met together and began to fight. I started trying to jab it in the eyes with my fingers while it bit into my exposed shoulder. I groaned as the bite hurt more than anything in my life. Using my fingers, I jabbed my index finger into it's left eye socket, pushing in as hard as I could. The bright green liquid beneath the surface of the eye began to gush out as I popped the eye like a paint ball. I bared my own teeth and dug around it's eye socket. The wolf released my shoulder and howled in agony. I wiped the bright green goo on my pants leg and screamed at it. Picking up a rock near the bank, I smashed into its other eye, blinding it fully.

With another breath, I used the rock to jam into it's chest where tree sap poured out like a waterfall, cascading its stickiness onto my hand. Dropping the rock, I grabbed the Wolf's heart and ripped it from it's chest cavity. Clenching my teeth, I squeezed the tree sap heart until it burst like a fruit gusher. The now dead wolf fell back and into the river, breaking apart from the rocks.

My labored breathing ceased, leaving me in silence. Applejack cautiously approached me, unsure of what to think of me. But, before she could say anything, I reached deep down and found my inner predator, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I bellowed out like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator, declaring my victory with a barbaric war cry. Finally, my knees gave out as I stopped my cry that echoed all throughout Equestria. The adrenaline from the fight began to wear off and the pain from my wounds started to come forward.

"Cougar, are ya okay?" Applejack asked me with worry.

"I-I think so," I wheezed out. "Is shelter close by? Neither of us can make it very far," I exclaimed.

"Ah know, we're in the Everfree forest now thanks to that river; we'd better hurry 'cause more wolves'll show up, but luckily the Castle 'o the two sisters is close by," Applejack helped me up. I picked her up like a puppy and carried her with my leg limping and my shoulder throbbing. My face felt warm with all the blood trickling down it. I don't know how far I had walked, but Applejack told me stop at an old abandoned castle. "There it is, jest walk in, thu door ain't locked up," she informed me. Despite the burning pain, I forged on and got inside the castle. A large foyer with tapestries and a huge fireplace met my gaze. I briskly walked to the fireplace and set Applejack down on the rug.

"I don't have any matches or a lighter," I said after patting myself.

"Use them logs in the fire place," Applejack told me. I'd only used sticks, not logs, to start a fire, but beggars can't be choosers in this case. I picked up one log and started to rub it as fast as I could until a tiny spark leapt out and engulfed the fire place. The soothing warmth of the flames felt good against my goose bump and blood covered skin. I pulled a stone block up to my back and sat against it as the fire in the fireplace roared on. I looked over to see Applejack curled up by herself on the other side of the rug.

"Hey, come here," I patted the floor next to me. The orange mare's ear pricked up and she turned her head over to me. "We better share body heat with the fire to get our temperatures back up," I explained. Weakly and with her bad leg, she limped her way over and collapsed next to me. She snuggled up to my leg and placed her head in my lap, like my dog used to do.

"Thanks fer savin' mah life Cougar," she thanked me and went to sleep rather quickly. Her soft breathing made me feel better, knowing that she was safe. Acting on instinct, my hand laid across her head and softly stroked her golden blonde mane. I had just realized that she lost her hat in the chase, but I chuckled, knowing that was the least of her problems. I also realized that we wouldn't have the strength to look for help until morning, so I forced myself to stay awake all night long, making sure nothing would attack me or my friend.

End Chapter VIII

Chapter IX: The Painful Truth

Fallen Eagle

Chapter IX: The Painful Truth

(The same night, Third Person POV with Rarity and Rainbow Dash)

A brilliant flash of light briefly illuminated the night as Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle appeared in front of the new Golden Oaks castle in Ponyville. "Is everypony alright?" Rarity briskly questioned her friends and little sister. The three little fillies nodded as nothing had injured them, but they were still frightened from the ordeal.

"Oh sure, we're alright, but my bucking wing is broken! I'm just dandy!" Rainbow cursed the fashionista pony.

"Watch your language in front of my sister Rainbow Dash," Rarity glared at her friend, "I know you are injured and scared, but that's no reason to reduce yourself to common vulgarity to get your sarcastic point across," she scolded.

"Well, why did you take us to Twilight's?!" Rainbow demanded, "why not take us to, oh I don't know, a HOSPITAL for Celesita's sake!?" The cyan pegasus mocked. The white unicorn ignored her friend and panically knocked on the main door to the Golden Oaks Castle. Without missing a beat, the door opened to reveal Spike with frazzled scales and a comic book rolled up in his right claw. He rubbed his green eye and gave out a great yawn.

"Rarity, Rainbow Dash, shouldn't you guys be camping right now?" A groggy little dragon asked. Before Spike knew it, he was knocked flat on his back as all five ponies burst through the door and into the castle, shouting for Twilight.

"TWILIGHT, COME QUICK!" Rarity shouted in her damsel in distress voice. Her cry for help resonated throughout the castle.

"Ow," Spike groaned, "what happened to you guys; where's Applejack and that Cougar guy anyway?" Spike questioned. Unfortunately for the little dragon, he didn't get an answer as a certain lavender alicorn princess of Friendship appeared in a zap of lavender light.

"What's the matter?!" Twilight reacted quickly to Rarity's pleas for help, "and what happened to your wing Rainbow?" She asked worriedly.

"Our campsite was attacked by a pair of Timberwolves!" Applebloom exclaimed in a horrifying manner. The purple dragon and lavender alicorn both gasped at the same time, knowing how serious this issue was.

"Where are Cougar and Applejack?" Twilight questioned as her wings unfurled from her sides to show her fear. By now, the entire group of seven had gathered in a circle to better communicate.

"Well, we were woken up by Cougar and then we started to pack up our campsite after he scared one off, but then two attacked us as we were hiking back down the trail," Scootaloo explained.

"Yeah, but Rainbow hit one in the side to buy us time to hide, but the other timber-wolf swatted at her wing and broke it," Sweetie Belle took over. "Then Cougar ordered Rarity to zap us and Rainbow Dash out of the woods while he and Applejack tried to fight them off," she concluded. Twilight's face fell once again as the information soaked into her nerdy brain.

"They're still out there?!" She demanded, "we've gotta find them! There's no telling what's going to happen, especially Cougar! He's never faced something like this before," The princess frantically exclaimed while flailing her hooves around.

"Then let us head off for the campsite darling!" Rarity declared and opened the castle door with her magic, but was cut off by Twilight. The alicorn Princess launched from the ground and landed in front of the white unicorn.

"Firstly, Spike you stay here and watch the Crusaders, secondly, let me get in contact with Princess Luna, she can manipulate the moon enough to give us more light to look and we can have her bat pony guards protect us if we need it," she explained.

"Aw, but we want to help you find mah sister!" Applebloom argued.

"Yeah, we want to kick some Timber-wolf butt for attacking us!" Scootaloo continued. Rainbow put her hoof up to Scootaloo's face and took in a deep breath to suffer the pain in her wing.

"No way, this is WAY too dangerous for you three," Rainbow said sternly, "you three just stay here and try to not burn the castle down," she ordered. The three fillies' heads dropped low and they solemnly sulked over to Spike and stood behind him.

"Rainbow, you've got to get your wing treated too," Twilight added. Rainbow's face contorted into that of sadness and frustration at the sentence.

"Come on!" She whined, "I'm not going back to the hospital AGAIN! Can't you just cast a healing spell or something?" She begged. Twilight shook her head and pointed out the door with her own wing.

"I'll get you checked in to the royal infirmary and get your wing looked at Rainbow, I know this sucks for you, but I'm sure a broken wing can be mended in a few hours with the royal doctors," Twilight explained. The alicorn kneeled down on her forelegs and shut her eyes tightly as she began to contact Princess Luna via mental link. Suddenly, her eyes shot open in a bright white and blue hue as Princess Luna appeared in the middle of the castle.

"Princess Twilight, what is thy need?" The Princess of the Night asked.

"Luna, Cougar and Applejack have been attacked by Timberwolves near Winsome Falls!" Rarity explained, "we've only gotten back moments before, but they're still in grave danger!" Luna's face drained of color and her eyes widened.

"We need your help to save them before something bad happens!" Twilight continued for her friend. Before anything else happened, Luna's horn shot off a huge blue lightning bolt into the air of the Library and two of her midnight pony guards appeared.

"Midnight Guards, we are to head to Winsome Falls to find our friends Cougar and Applejack, does thou understand?" The princess asked. Her bat pony guards nodded and drew up a chariot for Luna, Twilight and Rarity to ride in to their destination. "Oh and young Rainbow Dash, my condolences about your wing," Luna shot a beam of magic at Rainbow Dash whom vanished into thin air.

"Spike, NO ice cream or other sweets this late, understand?" Twilight ordered as the chariot rose from the ground. Spike's eyes darted back and forth as an evil smirk spread across his face.

"Sure thing Twilight, you can count on me, your number one assistant," Spike bowed to hide his smirk. Once the chariot had left, Spike turned around to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, rubbing his hands together, "now then, how about cookie dough ice cream or chocolate fudge?" Spike licked his snake tongue.

*At the Campsite*

The chariot landed, and all five ponies (including the bat pony guards) began to search and call out for their comrades. "Cougar, Applejack!?" Twilight called out against the faint trickle of the stream next to the campsite. Luna manipulated the moon enough to shine more light upon the area they were searching to better see clues.

"Well, I can certainly see the struggle," one of the bat pony guards commented as he sniffed at the dirt kicked up in the scuffle. There were deep impressions with claw marks decorating the edges of said impressions of the dirt.

"I think I found some blood," Rarity gagged and looked away from a small puddle of something liquid on the ground. The rest of the group galloped towards her and inspected the liquid she had discovered. Luna bent down and sniffed at the substance before checking out the marks on the ground.

"No, this is tree sap," she explained, "it appears as though Applejack and Cougar put up a valiant fight against the Timberwolves over here," she pointed out the claw marks, human shoe prints and horseshoe prints near the trail head. "The footprints seem to head near the creek where this tree sap puddle sits," she continued. Her eyes scanned the area before Twilight shrieked loudly.

"Princess, is this blood on the ground?" The lavender alicorn worriedly asked. The other bat pony guard bent down and sniffed at the ground where Twilight was pointing. He froze when he stood up from the ground.

"This is blood, equine blood to be exact," he shuddered. "But look here, it looks like a Timber-wolf fell to the ground near the blood," he examined the large indent in the dirt, "so maybe Applejack kicked one and the other scratched her somewhere," he pondered. Twilight couldn't look at the blood, but she followed the stream near to where the stream joined up with the river. Not looking where she was going, Twilight tripped over a branch and fell down to the ground.

"Princess!" One of the guards exclaimed and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you," Twilight thanked and got back on her hooves. "What did I trip on?" Princess Luna utilized her magic and removed several of the bushes behind Twilight. The bushes fell to the ground as the magic ceased and revealed what was behind the bush. The dead body of a Timber-wolf lay in front of the group near the head of the river. All five of the ponies could not believe what they were seeing. Seeing a dead Timber-wolf was a rare spectacle that not many had seen before.

"How, how did they do this?" Rarity questioned as she looked upon the rotting wood that once was a live Timber-wolf. Princess Luna dispatched her bat ponies to inspect the body while she searched for more clues. "Eww, more blood!" Rarity whined as she tip toed around the droplets on the ground. Luna inspected the blood and found out that it was again, Applejack's.

"Is this, Cougar's shirt?" Twilight asked as her magic held up torn up fabric. Rarity eyed the fabric until reaching a conclusion.

"Yes, indeed it is Twilight," the fashion pony gulped in dread.

"But, there's no blood on it," Twilight replied as she looked over the torn shirt several times. Princess Luna looked at the torn fabric as well and her head dropped low.

"Perhaps a Timber-wolf tore it off of him," the Night Princess said sadly. Rarity and Twilight took note of the Princess' sadness and put the shirt down. Luna trudged over to the side of the river and laid down in a saddened state.

"Princess Luna, are you alright?" Rarity asked.

"No," was all Luna said, "I am the Princess of the Night, but I failed to protect my friends from these monsters," she pointed to the decaying corpse of the Timber-wolf only a few feet away, "what kind of princess am I that fails to protect her friends? I could've and should've been able to save them," Luna covered her eyes with her silver hooves, letting a few tears fall down her cheeks.

"Luna, please don't blame yourself," Twilight consoled her fellow Princess.

"Yes, it was a freak attack, but you had your other nightly duties to tend to, who could have foreseen the events that transpired her tonight?" Rarity added, "and besides, they could still be alive, maybe the fell into the river after killing the Timber-wolf," Rarity too attempted to calm down the princess. The brief moment between the trio was cut short when one of the bat ponies cleared his throat.

"Ahem, your highness, we scrounged the area looking for whatever could kill a Timber-wolf and all we found, was this," the guard held out a metallic looking cylinder in his hoof. Luna levitated it out of the hoof with her magic and brought it close to her face.

"I have never seen anything like this before Guards," Luna said whilst studying the strange object.

"Well, can you see into Cougar and Applejack's minds to see where they are?" Twilight questioned as Luna tossed the metallic object behind herself.

"Yes, but only if one of them is asleep, the only time I could do it when they were awake is if they were day dreaming," Luna explained while trying to get inside either being's mind. "Aha, success!" Luna declared after a few minutes of meditation, "Applejack and Cougar are in Celestia and mine's old castle, but we must hurry," Luna excitedly sprang up into her personal chariot. "I must lower the moon first so we can utilized my sister's sunlight."

(Morning. Cougar's POV)

All night long, that's how long I had stayed awake, listening to the crackle of the fire in the fireplace. Sure I was exhausted and aching from my injuries, but I didn't want to run the risk of anything potentially attacking myself or Applejack if I were to fall asleep. The mare in question, was still sleeping soundly with her head resting upon my lap and her orange fur nestled against my right leg. The piece of my shirt that was tied to her leg was still soaked with some blood and dirt, but the bleeding had stopped long ago, though I feared that the wound was infected. My hand never stopped stroking her mane throughout the night, even when the rest of my body froze at the slightest noise, my hand never stopped trying to calm her sleeping form.

"I hope we can find civilization soon," I mentioned in a raspy voice to myself. Celestia's sun poured through the various windows and cracked walls of the castle, allowing me to know that a new day had started for the rest of Equestria, but not for me or Applejack. I had to keep myself from looking down at my left shoulder as it was covered with wooden teeth marks, splinters and other scratches. It hurt like a motherfucker to move it, so I kept that to a minimum. Thankfully with my Air Force training, losing sleep wasn't that bothersome, but I had exerted a ton of energy last night and lost some blood, both of those are a recipe for bad consequences. While stroking Applejack's mane, I heard her snort instead of snore, indicating that she was ready to leave her slumber. I lightly brushed some hairs out of her eyes while she blinked several times and yawned.

"Mornin' Cougar," she said tiredly and stretched her body until she yelped from the pain in her leg.

"Just take it easy, you got bit pretty bad last night," I comforted her. Ever so carefully, Applejack stood up on all fours and popped her neck a few times.

"'N you didn't?" She finally asked me, leaning against the stone block for support, "yer lucky that Timber-wolf didn't take yer whole leg off or bite yer arm into little pieces last night," she exclaimed. She had a point there, but I really didn't care. The wolf was dead, and we were safe, for the most part anyways. Bracing my right arm on the stone block, I boosted myself off the ground and laid against the block as huge vibrations of pain shot through my left shoulder and right leg. Applejack gasped as she stared at my shoulder in the full light of the morning sun. "C-Cougar, yer-yer collar bone is broken!" She screeched. I looked down at my shoulder and indeed saw a huge bulge of my collar bone threatening to burst from my skin like Joe Theismann's leg bone. Gathering up the courage, I felt the jutting bone with my right hand, seeing if it was truly broken.

"No, it's just out of socket," I replied and started putting pressure on the bone. "GAH!" I screamed in pain and collapsed on top of the block. My breathing was coming out in rapid spurts like a three burst machine gun. The pain was unbearable; I wished that I had lost my arm instead of having a collar bone out of place.

"Careful!" Applejack warned as she patted my back. Sweat began to protrude from my forehead as my body reacted to the pain, "yer not a doctor; don't go tryin' ta fix yer broken bones!" The orange mare lectured me.

"Fine," I held up my right hand, "just let me try to think about how we can get back to Ponyville in our conditions; we still need medical attention," I added. Applejack begrudgingly rolled her eyes and laid her head next to mine on the stone slab.

"You're fairly warm by the way Cougar," she said out of nowhere, causing me to halt my thinking if only for a brief moment.

"Thank you," I replied, trying to hide my confusion so I wouldn't offend her. "Sorry if I scared you last night from my war cry, I don't know why; it just came over me," I explained.

"Eh, that's fine, Ah've jest never seen anypony take out a Timber-wolf like that before, let alone TWO 'o them!" The mare exclaimed. I said nothing in reply, feeling like crap more and more as I went on without receiving medical attention.

"Sorry about your hat," I pointed out, trying to not relieve what I had done the night before. Her emerald eyes drifted upwards to her empty head before she chuckled.

"Ah don't give a damn Cougar, Ah've got dozens 'o them back at home," she chuckled. "Sorry 'bout you losin' yer shirt and yer other shirt and the rest 'o yer clothes in yer duffel bag," she apologized.

"As long as I have my pants, I'll be fine," I replied with a smirk.

"Maybe Rarity can make ya sum new shirts," AJ said. I was about to reply when the Castle doors burst open to reveal ponies with bat ears and bat wings?

"Your highness, they're in the foyer!" One of the bat-like ponies announced. All at once, I saw Rarity, Luna and Twilight appear in a light of blue magic in front of myself and Applejack.

"Applejack!" Rarity exclaimed and hugged her friend.

"Cougar, are you okay?" Luna tried to hug me, but I yelped and grimace in pain. "I'm sorry for hurting you Cougar," she instantly apologized.

"No, it's okay," I seethed through the pain and held my right arm around Luna's torso. Both of Luna's guards picked up AJ and supported her on their backs as they escorted us back to Luna's silver and blue chariot.

"Oh my Celestia Applejack, what happened to your leg?" Twilight asked as she spotted my ripped up shirt tied around Applejack's rear leg. The guards eased Applejack into the back seat of the chariot as Luna levitated myself to sit down next to the Orange Mare.

"A Timber-wolf done bit mah leg pretty darn hard last night. Cougar here tore off his shirt to tie around the wound," Applejack explained. Twilight sat next to me as Rarity and Luna took the front seat and the guards hooked up to the front of the chariot.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Rarity asked me and attempted to suppress a gag at the protrusion of my collar bone. Twilight's magic held me down as the chariot lurched forward.

"Timber-wolf bit into my shoulder, though I didn't realize my collar bone was busted until this morning," I replied and laid back against the seat. We were finally airborne and heading back to the royal infirmary at Canterlot Castle.

"So, how did you manage to kill a Timber-wolf?" Twilight finally asked me, "nopony has ever actually killed one, they've only managed to demolish it and run," she explained. My head laid back against the top of my seat, hanging upside down with my eyes staring up at the blue sky above. I gulped, fearing that I would eventually have to explain that I used my pistol; then I realized that even though I lost my gun in the river, somepony could find it and potentially hurt themselves!

"Well, I uh tried to use my combat knife to stab them, but I dropped it in the river," I began, "so after Applejack and I climbed from the frigid water, I picked up a rock and bashed it against the chest of one of them and ripped its heart out," I explained. Everypony except the guards pulling the chariot and Applejack sat still inside the chariot, only breathing and contemplating what I had just informed them of.

"Seems a bit excessive don't you think Cougar?" Luna asked me as she turned around in her seat. Before I could say anything else, Applejack spoke up in my defense.

"That buckin' varmint would've killed the both 'o us if Cougar hadn't done that," she defended me, "after losin' his knife, he didn't have much of a choice," she added.

"Okay, but that's just one Timber-wolf, how did you kill the other one? We didn't find anything except a small cylindrical metal shell thing," Twilight chimed in. My eyes widened at the description of the bullet casing that they had found. 'You're Screwed Now' I thought to myself. Even AJ was looking at me funny, awaiting my answer.

"Yeah," Applejack cut in, "what was that loud weapon ya used last night?" The mare asked me. I was afraid to bring myself to explain what my gun was. Slowly lifting my head up from the head rest, I was met with eight piercing eyes boring into me. The sound of the bat pegasi wings flapping agains the air seemed to make the situation more uncomfortable.

"Cougar, just please tell us," Luna asked me kindly. Looking around, everypony had a reassuring look in their eyes, even Rarity had a friendly and understanding look. Sighing in defeat, I tried to sit up from my slouching position, but that only caused pain to vibrate throughout my leg and shoulder. I suddenly felt a warmth spread through my body as a dark blue aura flashed around me from Luna's horn. Instantly I felt the pain soothe and go away, almost like I was just injected with a five gallon bucket of novocaine. "It's only temporary, so take it easy," the alicorn of the moon warned.

"Thanks," I breathed out as I felt much better, though my injuries still remained. "Do you guys have cannons here?" I asked them.

"Yeah, they're all around the perimeter of Canterlot Caste as a means of defense, why do you ask?" Twilight asked me. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I finally revealed what my gun was.

"That's what I used last night to kill the Timber-wolf. It's sort of like a miniature version of a cannon that is handheld and much more portable," I explained, "it's great for self defense in the right hands, or hooves."

"Okay, but how come Ah never saw this 'gun' before?" Applejack air quoted with her hooves, "why were ya hidin' it from us?" She questioned me.

"Because I was afraid how you guys would react to me having a dangerous and deadly weapon with me," I explained, "I had to have it in my survival pack in case I was shot down over enemy lines as a means of defense." Twilight and Rarity said nothing as their faces contemplated the sound of a portable cannon.

"That sounds really dangerous Cougar, why would your species invent a way to make the cannon even deadlier? Was crime that rampant in your world?" The purple alicorn asked me. I was extremely thankful that the chariot lurched to a stop as we had landed at the castle.

"Your highness, we have arrived," one of the guards informed his princess. Almost immediately, the novocaine spell wore off and Applejack and I found ourselves being lowered onto stretchers.

(In the Hospital. Cougar's POV)

"Ah, back again are we Cougar?" Nurse Candy Striper joked with me as Applejack and I were wheeled into the same room as Rainbow Dash. "Oh my, what on Celestia's good name happened to you?" the nurse asked me as she checked myself and AJ over.

"Yeah, you looked like shit Cougar," Rainbow chimed in, noting my swollen lip, blackened eye, deep gashed leg and protruding collar bone.

"Let me offer you a wing and a prayer," I flicked her the bird with the middle finger on my right hand. The cyan pegasus' face scowled at me as she flipped onto her side with her back facing myself and Applejack. Before either of us knew it, Celestia appeared in a flash of white and gold light, her face showing worry for the both of us.

"Oh my, are you two okay?" The Celestia being asked Applejack while Doctor Needle hooked the mare up to an IV machine and took the makeshift bandage off her hind leg. The doctor threw my piece of shirt away into a bio-hazard safe trash bin and started to rinse out Applejack's wound with water, but thankfully I couldn't see any puss or any sign of an infection.

"Other than getting mauled by evil tree branches, I'm doing fine," I said while Doctor Scope checked my eyes and heart rate. He then trotted over to get a rag and wash some of the dirt off my forehead so he could clean the gash left over from the claws.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you two; how did you escape a Timber-wolf attack of this magnitude?" The princess asked me.

"Cougar saved the day," Applejack cut in, "he did what he had to do and saved me," she gave a weak smile as the the exhaustion from the previous day was still high. Celestia placed a Gentle hoof on my good shoulder and pecked my now clean forehead with her lips. I froze, not moving from the shock of getting a kiss from Princess Celesita.

"Thank you Cougar for showing bravery in a time of uncertainty and for putting your friend's life before yours, you truly are a good man," Celesita said to me and gave me some space.

"I-It's my honor to do the right thing," I replied and reeled back from the forehead kiss. Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal Luna, Rarity, Twilight, Soarin', Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"Rainbow!" Soarin' exclaimed in fear and rushed to his mare friend's side.

"Hey guys!" Applejack tried to exclaim, but the the IV fluid was making her sleepy.

"Ohmygosh!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down, "Twilight and Rarity told us that you and Cougar were attacked by a pair of Timberwolves and Fluttershy and I were all Nuh-Uh! And Twilight and Rarity were all Totally!" The party pony talked a million miles a minute. "Did you wear a mustache to disguise yourselves?" She asked me.

"No, what the fuck would a mustache have done?" I replied in shock.

"Well duh, a mustache will make the Timber-wolf think you're not you so he'd leave you alone! Basic trickery 101 Cougar!" Pinkie Pie bragged. I rolled my eyes and looked at Fluttershy and remembered that she loves animals.

"I can't believe you survived an attack like this," Fluttershy said in her meek voice.

"Look Fluttershy, I'm sorry I had to-" I began before the butter colored pegasus put her hoof to my mouth. I braced for a slap or a punch or something from her, but I didn't predict her to forgive me.

"It's fine Cougar, the Timber-wolf is one animal that even I can't fully train. And while I normally berate somepony for even harming an innocent animal, I understand the situation you were in called for drastic measures; I don't blame you," Fluttershy said with a weak smile and patted my head. Our friendly moment was interrupted by the doctor peering into my eyes for a second time.

"Your eyes are completely blood shot, have you been getting sleep lately?" Doctor Scope put away his mini flashlight.

"Yeah, but I just had to stay up all night to make sure nothing else attacked myself or Applejack," I explained.

"Well, you're suffering from exhaustion right now, but that's completely normal considering you did lose a fair amount of blood, but not enough to raise alarm," he assured me, "you just need to get some sleep for now and we'll fix up your wounds for you," the doctor said.

"Is Applejack going to be okay?" I asked.

"Oh of course!" Doctor Needle replied from Applejack's bed, "she just got a cut on her leg that'll heal soon enough, but you my good friend have a bit of a recovery night. We can put your collar bone back into place, but we need to keep you under over night observation," he explained, "but other than your collar bone, everything can be fixed in a jiffy." I rested my head on my pillow and stared up at the white ceiling above me. I looked over at Applejack whom gave a wave to me.

"Ah'd do what the doctor says Cougar," she told me, "you've done worked yourself hard the past few weeks, rest yerself," AJ said.

"I shall watch over your dreams Cougar, now sleep," Luna's horn touched my forehead and that's the last thing I remember until I woke up.

(Hospital Room, 3rd Person POV)

"Alright then, now we can get to work," Doctor Scope announced as Cougar drifted off thanks to Princess Luna. Using his magic, Doctor Scope levitated a syringe of novocaine over to Cougar's shoulder and injected the numbing agent. "Anypony with a weak stomach, look away," He forewarned. Rarity and Fluttershy disappeared from the room while Celestia decided to have a chat with Twilight. Applejack, Soarin, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie all peered over to see what Doctors Needle and Scope were about to do.

"Careful now," Doctor Needle warned as the two doctors held Cougar's sleeping body down and shoved his collar bone back into socket.

"NEAT!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Soarin, Rainbow and Applejack grimaced, but held down their stomachs. There was sort of a popping noise as the doctors kept moving around the bone until it settled back into place. The two doctors then took put a small tube of ointment and rubbed it over the human's eye to get the swelling down.

"Well, his gashes on his leg aren't as bad as I thought, but they still require some stitches," Doctor Scope commented as he brought out the needle and stitches.

"Right, I'll check out his throat, normal procedure," Dr. Needle replied as he cleaned off his glasses and peered into Cougar's mouth with a flashlight. "Uh-oh," he said and dropped the flashlight on Cougar's chest.

"What's up doc?" Soarin' questioned. The light blue pegasus and Pinkie Pie approached Dr. Needle to see what the problem was.

"I was just checking up on his throat to check for any soreness or redness, but I discovered something peculiar about his teeth," the doctor explained.

"Is there somethin'' wrong Doctor?" Applejack tried to see what he was talking about. Dr. Needle breathed in and flicked his flashlight back on to show the other ponies what he found.

"See, our teeth are more flat and rounded for eating fruits and vegetables," he began to explain.

"And Candy!" Pinkie Pie munched on a chocolate bar.

"But here, his teeth are more pointed and narrow, but in the back they are wider and more dense, these are called canine teeth, they are specifically made for one thing: ripping and tearing flesh," he announced. Everypony in the room froze at the statement. Princess Celesita walked over to see what the Doctor was referring to.

"So, he eats meat in other words?" The princess asked cautiously.

"I'm afraid so your highness, this man is a carnivore or an omnivore if he's been eating vegetables and fruits," Dr. Scope cut in for Dr. Needle.

"Yeah, he's been eatin' those, but he never done told me 'bout eatin' meat," Applejack narrowed her eyes at Cougar. Twilight gasped at the thought of somepony lying to Applejack.

"You mean, he said his species doesn't eat meat?" Twilight asked.

"Granny Smith asked him whut he eats 'n he said fruits, vegetables 'n bread," Applejack replied, "Ah can't believe he lied to me and Ah couldn't sense thu lie," AJ looked down upon herself. Pinkie Pie gasped and grabbed Applejack's head.

"If you couldn't sense a lie, then that must mean you're not Applejack at ALL!" She screeched and started to try to pull Applejack's 'mask' off her head. "Reveal yourself you body snatcher! Or maybe you're a changeling!" Pinkie started to shake AJ's body.

"GET OFF ME!" Applejack used her good leg to kick Pinkie Pie away.

"Yep, that's Applejack alright," Pinkie groaned in pain. Dr. Scope concluded sewing up Cougar's gashes and set his lab coat on the coat rack.

"Well, all he needs now is to keep resting and he should be fine, other than-" He cut himself off and left the room.

"I must say I am disappointed that Cougar didn't tell the truth about his species' eating habits, although I think that can be overlooked, he should know that lying is wrong," Princess Celestia announced.

"Well Princess, Ah'm gonna let him know that lyin' is wrong when he wakes up, you can count on that!" Applejack promised.

(Four hours Later. Cougar's POV)

I groaned as I woke up, feeling so much better after my nap. "Nice," I commented as I could finally move my arm around again, though I couldn't feel it, perhaps it was from novocaine or something.

"Mornin' Mr. Liar," Applejack cut in as I groggily wiped my eyes.

"What?" I asked her, "did I do something wrong?" Her emerald eyes glared at me as she sat up from her bed, an IV tube to longer attached as her gash was sewn up.

"How could you lie ta me Cougar? You said your kind doesn't eat meat, but the doctor done said yer teeth were specifically designed fer rippin' 'n tearin' meat apart," she growled at me. 'Oh fuck,' I thought to myself as Applejack towered above me.

"Like before, I didn't want to scare you and your family by telling you I eat meat, how would Big Mac or Granny Smith have reacted? What about Applebloom? She wouldn't be my friend would she?" I asked.

"We would've been shocked at first Cougar, but with how you respectful you've been with us, we would've ignored that fact and accepted you fer who you are," AJ exclaimed.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have been so accepting had I told you I eat cows knowing that they talk to me when I milk them, would you have kept that secret from them?" I retorted. "I'm sorry, I like meat, it's in my nature, but I was willing to eat only what you ponies eat as vegetables just to keep you guys from being more afraid of me," I explained.

"Be that as it may Cougar, thu fact is that you still lied ta me, a fact that's hard fer me to swallow considerin' how close you are to me 'n mah family now, that you started the relationship with Granny Smith based on a lie," Applejack turned away from me.

"Look Applejack, I'm sorry I lied, but I just didn't want you guys to be scared of me."

"Ah know yer sorry, but Ah'm not ready to accept yer apology yet Cougar, Ah'll see ya around once yer out of the hospital," Applejack limped out of the room. I sighed sadly and laid my head down on my pillow.

"Rough Dude," Soarin' said out of the blue, "so you don't eat meat anymore?" He asked.

"No, I haven't eaten meat since I got here, besides, where would I have gotten meat to eat around here?" I questioned. He nodded, accepting my point as he stared down at Rainbow's sleeping form as her wing healed.

"Soarin' I don't suppose you'd be willing to get Princess Luna would you?" I asked him. The pegasus looked up from his mare friend and nodded at me.

"Sure thing; even though I know you eat meat now, I know you won't eat us," he said.

"Trust me, that was illegal where I came from," I proved his point as he left me with a sleeping Rainbow in an otherwise empty room. Feeling thirsty, I reached down and grabbed a glass of water and brought it up to my mouth when a new voice startled me.

"We haven't even been properly introduced and you're already wanting to kiss me?" A male and teasing voice asked me. I looked around the room, checking for wherever the voice could be coming from. "Down here," the voice said again. I looked down to see a pair of yellow eyes in the water glass looking back at me.

"AHH!" I screamed and chucked the glass against the wall. The water sopped onto the floor with the yellow eyes floating in the liquid. The water suddenly turned brown and the eyes stopped floating as the water materialized into what looked like the spawn of Satan himself.

"Now, now, isn't chucking a new friend against the wall kind of mean," the goateed creature asked me. He had what appeared to be a deer antler and gazelle or antelope horn, a lion's paw, an eagle talon, a bat wing and falcon wing with a pony leg and dragon leg and dragon tail.

"What the fuck are you?" I demanded.

"Oh excuse me where are my manners? Probably where you left yours when you threw me at the wall," the creature teased. "I am a draconequus, and my name is Discord, hence why I look the way I do," he explained.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, "you look like something Ozzy Osbourne smoked and shat out," I replied.

"Now that is a little rude wouldn't you say?" Discord put on a sad face and pouted his lips while twirling his tail in his hands. I almost felt bad before he snapped his fingers and I found myself floating upside down above my bed. "Now, I've heard so little about you 'Cougar'," he air quoted, "so tell me a little about yourself," he snapped his fingers again and had on a school girl's outfit and laid down on his own bed with he legs crossed and his head propped up by his fists.

"I'm a human that was in the Air Force, that's all I'm telling you," I crossed my arms as he lowered me back onto my bed.

"Aww pish posh, that can't be all! I heard you killed not one, not three, but TWO Timberwolves!" He disappeared in a puff of smoke only to reappear holding a spear and dressed as Muldoon from Jurassic Park, "you must teach me how to hunt like that," he threw the spear at Rainbow, but said spear turned into silly string and covered the sleeping Pegasus.

"I had no choice, they would've killed me and Applejack; I acted in self defense," I replied. Suddenly, Discord appeared in small form on the bridge of my nose back without any costuming.

"Ah yes, you and little Applejack, I must say you two make more of an interesting and weird couple than Rarity and Twilight's little dinosaur friend," the draconequus teased and got up right in front of my eye.

"Forget that! We're just friends alright? We don't have any 'feelings' for each other and she's pretty pissed off at me," I said solemnly. Discord turned to his regular size again and leaned his arm against my head.

"Right, the whole lying is wrong thing really hurt the element of honest, there's a shock," Discord hit my forehead with a joy buzzer and shocked me.

"Fucking bitch!" I screeched and rubbed my head.

"Hey, do I look like a girl dog to you?" He asked as he appeared as Lassie. "Anyway," Discord changed back to his regular form yet again, "being the spirit of chaos is fun of course, but even I know that lying is wrong because the little white lie can grow and grow until it comes back and splats all over your face," a cream pie suddenly hit my face. I wiped it off and clenched my teeth as I wanted to murder this guy. "Though you technically didn't lie from what I heard," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Discord groaned as he transformed into a Sherlock Holmes draconequus complete with a pipe and started smoking it.

"You never really lied to Applejack, you just kept the whole truth from her, and although it's a pretty bad thing to do, you never truly lied to her," he explained and then gobbled up the pipe. I contemplated his words, and soon discovered he was actually right.

"Well, how am I going to convince Applejack to forgive me?" I asked Discord.

"That shouldn't be too hard now should it?" The hodgepodge creature asked me, "just promise her that you won't lie to her ever again and case closed," He violently shut a brief case closed.

"But everypony has to lie eventually," I pointed out, "I don't want to lie to her about lying!"

"If you're so bent up about being 'honorable' and 'doing the right thing' then I suggest-" he started before a digital tone went off, "oh would you look at the time, I'm late for a tea party at Fluttershy's cottage, ta-ta now Cougar!" Discord tipped a top hat and walked out of the room, leaving me to think about how re-gain Applejack's trust.

End Chapter IX

Chapter XI: A Royal Proposition

Fallen Eagle

Chapter XI: A Royal Proposition

(Rarity's Boutique. 2:00 PM. Cougar's POV)

I stood in front of Rarity's business, nervous about going in. Applejack said that Rarity called it "Carousel Boutique," and I can see why. But the name and the appearance weren't the reasons why I was nervous about entering the dress maker's shop. I don't particularly like people, or ponies for the matter, being that close to me, with the exception of medical doctors. Plus, I don't like the idea that she's never measured a human before, and I didn't want to get stabbed with that fucking needle, especially in that tender area.

As I reached out and touched the door handle, the image of coming clean earlier that morning came back to mind.

*FlashBack*

I had actually slept in until seven that morning, though Applejack didn't seem to mind. I had awoken to a hoof resting on my shoulder and gently shaking me awake. "C'mon Cougar, time ta get up now," Applejack's voice soothed. I snapped my head up and looked up at the emerald eyes of the working pony staring down at me. "Did ya sleep good there Cowboy?" she nudged me to get up and out of bed.

"Y-yeah, I did," I replied and stretched as I sat up on my cot. The orange mare stepped back and gave me room as I stood up and dropped the blanket off of me and neatly made my cot in no time. Thankfully, Celestia's sun was nice and warm even this early in the morning, so my shirtless torso wasn't too chilly.

"Oh, Ah'll uh, give ya a sec," Applejack turned around and looked outside the door, leaving me momentarily confused, until I looked down. I quickly bent down and yanked my cargo pants off the floor and I heard my phone clatter onto the wooden floor.

"Sorry about that," I apologized as I pulled my pants over my boxers and buttoned them up. When the zipper went up, Applejack turned back around with a shy smile painted on her face. "So, breakfast and then explaining what we've been through?" I suggested and patted her head. She chuckled as we both jogged/trotted our way over to the house where the delicious aromas of Granny Smith's breakfast were wafting over the farm.

"Sounds good Cougar, now don't be nervous 'bout Big Mac alright?" She reassured me whilst opening the kitchen door, "Ah'll make sure he don't turn yer brains into mush," she joked, at least I was hoping. "Here, mah cousin Braeburn left one 'o his vests here awhile back, maybe it'll fit ya," she offered me from the coat rack.

"Thanks," I said as I put on the vest. It was a little snug, but it covered up most of my scars near my collarbone and neck, " Though I'm more worried about Bloomin' Onion not talking to me anymore to be honest," I replied just as I sat down at the table. Applejack trotted into the living room, opened up a closet and pulled out a brand new hat and placed it on her head. I heard her sigh happily before trotting back into the kitchen.

"Soups on!" Granny Smith declared and set the breakfast of Buttermilk Biscuits with country gravy, coffee, pancakes and eggs on the table. "So, how was yer campin' trip? Did ya have a hip swingin' time?" The elderly pony asked us. I was about to answer when Applejack cut in for me.

"Ah'd like ta explain when everypony is here Granny," Applejack explained to her Grandmother as Big Mac trotted happily down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Explain what AJ?" The big red stallion sat down and dumped about three biscuits onto his plate. That was when his eyes drifted down to AJ's right rear leg and saw the stitches over her scar. "WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME DIDJA DO TO MAH SISTER!?" He bellowed out at me and slammed his hooves onto the table, almost breaking it in half. Some of the dishes clattered as they shook violently from Big Mac's slam. I could see the steam emitting from Big Mac's nose as he snorted at me.

"What are ya on about Big Mac?" Granny Smith asked. Big Mac raised a hoof and pointed towards Applejack's leg. The elderly pony got off her chair and strolled her way over to check out what her Grandson was on about while the red stallion kept his eyes glued on me.

"Now, we were in a bit of an accident Granny," Applejack started to explain.

"Good Gravy, looks like somethin'' tried to bite yer leg off!" Granny exclaimed as she prodded the stitching. She looked up at her eldest Granddaughter, "what kinda trouble did y'all run into up at them falls Applejack?" Right when Applejack was going to finish her explanation when Applebloom walked into the room, albeit with a pissed off expression on her face.

"What's goin' on everypony?" She asked as she poured herself a cup of milk and studied the situation. She looked down to see AJ's injury and gasped, "oh my gosh! Applejack, is that what that Timber-wolf did to ya?!" She exclaimed in fear for her sister.

"Timber-wolf!? I thought you said you were gonna hike up to Winsome Falls?" Big Mac questioned and got his hooves off the table, allowing me to breath when his gaze turned from me to AJ.

"Well, now that everypony is here, we can explain," Applejack's hoof gestured towards me, "everythin' was goin' fine with thu trip. Unfortunately, after we told sum scary stories, a pair 'o Timberwolves appeared in our site." This statement generated gasps from Big Mac and Granny Smith, though Applebloom still didn't know exactly went down after Rarity teleported her out of there.

"My first priority was to get the kids out of there, so AJ and I had Rarity teleport them back to Ponyville where it was safe. Rainbow got her wing injured and had to be evacuated out too, but Applejack and I stayed behind to lure the wolves away from the rest of the group."

"So, you just hid while mah sister let herself git injured, is that it!?" Big Mac shot at me. Applejack lifted her hoof and smacked Big Mac away from me just when I thought he was going to pound me.

"He fought his ass off to make sure Ah was safe Big Mac," Applejack clenched her jaw, "Ah tried to kick one in the jaw after it scratched up Cougar's shoulder, but the second one bit mah leg," she explained and removed part of the vest covering my shoulder.

"That's gross," Applebloom held her mouth shut.

"You fought two Timberwolves, well how in the wide, wide world of Equestria did ya git away?" Granny Smith asked me.

"I killed them, one with my gun, the other by, more gruesome means," I replied and put my vest back on. "I'd go into detail, but I don't want you guys to lose your breakfasts," I apologized. Granny Smith gently touched my shoulder and spun me around on my chair.

"Let me git this straight Cougar, you sacrificed yerself, just to save mah Granddaughter?" I replied with a simple nod, but that was enough to have Granny throw her forelegs around my neck and hugged me tightly. "Yer a blessin' from somethin' far greater than Celestia herself Cougar," the elder mare smiled at me.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me," I smiled back.

"Luckily though," Applejack continued the rest of the story, "we bunkered down in the 'ol abandoned castle fer the night 'n were picked up by Luna the next mornin'. We spent all 'o yesterday in the Royal Infirmary gettin' all patched up," she playfully slapped my back.

"Them doctors are gettin' used to ya Cougar," Bloomin' Onion joked, forgetting for a brief second she was mad at myself and AJ.

"Yeah, let's hope it'll be years before I have to see another doctor," I replied. We all sat back down at the table to eat, but Applejack cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows at me. "Right, Granny, Applebloom and Big Mac, I have something else I need to tell you guys."

"Ah'm listenin'," Big Mac replied while keeping a stern eye on me. My mouth refused to open, no matter how hard I tried, my lips stayed tightly sealed. I cleared my throat and took a swig of coffee, but no words could escape. Applejack laced one of her orange hooves over my hand and lightly rubbed circles around the top and smiled warmly at me. Even though she didn't speak either, her eyes said, 'I'm with ya.'

"I don't eat just fruits, veggies and dairy," I blurted out, "I also eat, uh, meat," I exclaimed and looked down at my plate. A pair of silver forks clattered onto the plates of the table loudly, jolting myself out of my seat. Six eyes stared at me as I attempted to gather my composure to explain. "I'm an omnivore, I can eat just about anything edible, but I haven't been tempted to eat any meat since I've been here."

"Why didn't ya tell us this from the beginnin' Cougar?" Big Mac asked me, but not in a threatening tone.

"He was scared, 'n rightfully so," Applejack replied for me, "at first, Ah was madder than a hornet that he kept the truth in the dark, but the more Ah thought about it, 'n after explainin' more to me, Ah understand why he was scared, especially with how you jump to conclusions Mac," she pointed her hoof towards her big bro.

"Me?" The red stallion replied.

"Yes you Big Brother," AJ said, "ever since Cougar first came here, ya never did like him, 'n you always think the worst 'o him without even gettin' ta know him. He's kind 'n he cares fer the betterment 'o everypony.

"Ah'm jest tryin' to look out fer mah family," Big Mac said as he stuffed a biscuit in his mouth.

"We appreciate that Grandson," Granny Smith patted his dirty blonde mane, "but we Apples can take care 'o ourselves. Now Cougar, do ya NEED to eat meat, or is it optional fer yer species?" I couldn't believe how well they were taking it. Then again, these folks took me in when no one else could, and I have been pretty helpful to them, so maybe they were willing to cut me some slack on this.

"I've gone for about a month without meat and I feel fine, I guess your home cooking does wonders for the body," I chuckled.

"That's what Ah like ta hear Cougar. Now then, let's quit jibber-jabberin' 'n chow down, we got a festival to start preparin' fer!" She declared and started to wolf down her breakfast. Applejack leaned over to my ear and whispered inside.

"That wasn't so bad was it now?" She teased me.

"Guess not, now I only have to help you guys prepare for the Celebration and then get some new clothes made up for me," I shuddered. Her hoof patted my back again and she teased me even more.

"Have fun parter."

*End Flashback*

After all that, the rest of the morning was pretty uneventful, just baking and setting out decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Thankfully, Applejack allowed me to keep the vest on so I wouldn't attract any unwanted attention to my scarring and stitches on my shoulder. But now I found myself standing outside of Rarity's place of business, nervous about going in.

"Oh, hey Cougar," I heard a sweet sounding young voice call to me. Turning my head, I found the pale green eyes and multi-colored mane of Sweetie Belle, "are you here for your new clothes?" She asked me. Rarity must've sent her to get a few things from the market. She had a saddle bag on filled with supplies.

"Yeah I am, is she home right now?" I replied, releasing my hand from the door handle.

"She should be, she was up super early preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration and for designing your clothes," her magic aura opened up the door for the both of us. I felt out of place almost immediately. Fashion magazines and numerous pictures and drawings of different dresses and tuxedos adorned the walls and tables of what I assumed to be the waiting area. And of course, the aroma in here was of fancy smelling perfumes and something that would make Febreze jealous. I spotted a tray of tea and crumpets on the counter of the kitchen area. The only time I have ever eaten tea and crumpets was when I was stationed in the UK for about a month with the Royal Air Force during a joint operation.

"This place is too fancy for me," I uncomfortably scratched my neck. And everything was so, shiny. I liked to have a clean barrack to live in, but this was too much.

"You'll be fine, Spike loves to come in here all the time," Sweetie Belle put her saddlebag on the kitchen counter and motioned for me to follow her up the stairs. "Rarity! You have a guest!" She called to her older sister.

"Oh, do come up Cougar! I've been waiting all morning for this," the fashion insane pony enveloped me in her magic and thrust me inside her room, which was a giant mess. Now this room was more like my speed, not too fancy, but manageable. "I do hope you're ready Cougar, I have so many visions for you, my little project," she produced a measuring tape and measured me all over. After taking the measurements, she put on a pair of red glasses and a whole shit load of things began to hover above her.

"Do you really need all of that?" I gulped as I stood on top of a stool. A pen started to scribble something onto a piece of parchment while some pieces of fabric floated over to me and laced themselves onto my torso.

"Quiet, I am in the zone," Rarity shushed me and showed me the picture she drew. "Now, this is what you called a 'T-Shirt' correct?" She asked me. I nodded which made her giggle, "Simple enough Cougar." Suddenly, the fabric around my torso tightened and a pair of scissors flew towards me. My eyes clenched shut as I prepared for the worst, but the scissors jumped over my head and cut the fabric into two large pieces.

"For the pants, please just use my cargo pants as a reference," I begged, not wanting sharp scissors to come anywhere close to, there.

"Of course, though that will require you to take them off," she warned me, "luckily I have a privacy screen over there." I looked up to see the two dark blue pieces of fabric cut into two sides of a T-Shirt! Then came the sewing part. Unfortunately for me, the pieces of fabric had to be hovering over my torso so the measurements would hold up. The invisible hands holding the needles and threads quickly went to work and sewed up a plain dark blue T-Shirt for me. "There, how is that? Too snug, too loose? I need to know darling," Rarity begged me to let her know.

"It's perfect Rarity," I admired myself in the mirror, "I've never had a T-Shirt fit so well right away, usually I have to break them in," I explained.

"Well, you haven't worn any of my designs Cougar," Rarity bragged.

"So, is that it? You can just use those measurements as a reference right?" I asked as I tried to walk out of the room. But, Rarity had other plans as her magic yanked me back to the stool.

"Ah, you're not going anywhere, we're just getting started," she grinned evilly and raised her fabrics, threads, needles and parchments. "I told you Cougar, you would be my ticket to fashion history, and one piece of clothing won't get me there," she narrowed her eyes. I have never been so scared in my life.

"Have fun Cougar," Sweetie Belle left the room.

"Beginning?" I gulped

Clean shirt, new shoes

And I don't know where I am goin' to.

After a little bit of planning and scrapping other ideas, Rarity made me a new outfit and had me stand in front of a mirror. "So, what do you think Cougar? I think you pull off the Greaser look nicely."

She had me with slicked back hair, blue jeans, a white T-Shirt and a black leather jacket. Before I could say anything, she stuck a cigarette in my mouth and stepped back. I coughed as I smoked the cancer stick, "I like the jacket, but I'm not a big fan of the Greaser look," I explained. She snapped a quick picture before tearing the outfit away.

"Fine, Mr. Picky Pants, we'll try it again," She ripped the jacket from me, "and no, you cannot keep the jacket!" She shouted. That hurt a bit.

Silk suit, black tie,

I don't need a reason why.

Again, Rarity spent a while thinking of a new look for me and remeasuring me while sewing up the new outfit. This was painful for me; I can't stand in one spot for too long, and plus this was both boring and terrifying. "While I don't condone this type of business, I think the Pimp look is quite dapper for you," she batted her eyelashes at me and stood me in front of her mirror.

"Gah!" I exclaimed. She put a zebra patterned hat on my head with a purple feather, a fur coat with no shirt and skin tight leopard print pants on me. "Get this off me now!" The white unicorn huffed and had me take off the clothes, but not before snapping another picture. "How about just a windbreaker and some blue jeans?" I offered.

"Much too simple Cougar, I know!" She gasped.

They come runnin' just as fast as they can

'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

Gold watch, diamond ring,

I ain't missin' not a single thing.

"I think, we have our championship look sweetie," Rarity held my shoulders in front of the mirror. "I don't appreciate the 'Death Metal' music genre, but I do like how bold some of the musicians are with their outfits." Staring back at me, was an exact duplicate of Gene Simmons, but without the long tongue. Even the makeup was pretty damn close. Rarity snapped another picture before grinning like an insane person, "What do you think?" She asked me.

"I don't like death metal, and I like the look, but I'm not going to be wearing this, any time soon," I took all the heavy metal gear off.

And cuff links, stick pin,

When I step out I'm gonna do you in.

They come runnin' just as fast as they can

'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

"Now, anything wrong with this look?" Rarity asked me as sweat was forming on her forehead. In the mirror, I saw the reflection of, me. I had on a nice plain shirt with boots, a brown belt and blue jeans.

"I love it, this is my look," I flexed my muscles in the mirror. "You're a genius Rarity," I complimented. Rarity snapped another picture, but she wasn't too pleased with the outfit. "I have an idea," I chimed in.

Top coat, top hat,

I don't worry 'cause my wallet's fat.

Black shades, white gloves,

Lookin' sharp and lookin' for love.

"There, now this is perfect," I said. I had Rarity make me a dark brown leather jacket with some stuffing on the collar of said jacket. And I even showed her some pictures of my patches that I wanted sewn onto the jacket. Grumbling, Rarity made the jacket, but she herself was pleased with the outcome.

"Oh my, that jacket does indeed fit your physique and personality," Rarity studied my look. "IDEEEEA!" She sang and snapped numerous pictures of me. "I shall call this, 'The Military Fashion Squad,' Cougar. Oh, Military enthusiasts will love this look, especially Wonderbolt fans," she grinned.

They come runnin' just as fast as they can

'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

"Glad I could help," I shook my head as my vision cleared up from the flashes.

"Now, these will take some time to develop, but you may wear that out of the shop," Rarity explained.

"Thanks, how much do I owe you?" I asked.

"It's on the house darling, this will take me to newer levels and I can't thank you enough for the opportunity," she thanked me. "Now then, it's almost time for the celebration to start," she looked at her clock which read 8:00. It wasn't even that dark out, but then again, it was the longest day of the year.

"You're too kind, how much?" I repeated the question.

"Cougar dear, if you don't put that money away, I'll find a nice snug little place for it," she smiled. I quickly stuffed the money back into my new pockets and began to head out the door to help Applejack. "Oh before you go, I have a treat for you," Rarity called out to me just as I pushed open the door.

"What is it?" I questioned, fearing that it was a makeup kit or something.

"I remembered your predicament at the lake so I whipped these up while you were in the bathroom," She tossed me a bag. Wondering the fuck she meant, I reached down and pulled out a pair of swimming trunks.

"But, how did you-" I began.

"They're made of the same material that I use for my swim suits for the summer swim suit competition in Las Pegasus, and I used your measurements, easy peasy."

"Swim suit competition?" I wanted to know, but she shoved me out the door.

"Sorry about this, but I still have work to do before the celebration starts!" She shouted and slammed the door, leaving me outside holding the bags of my new clothes.

I thought I would look a little strange carrying bags of clothes with me through town, but I realized practically everypony had bags of clothes or food with them. The town square did look nice I have to admit. Pegasi were flying up and tying golden colored streamers to the lamp posts surrounding the town hall and connecting them to the top of Town Hall. "Perfect My Little Ponies, keep up the good work!" Mayor Mare called to the working Pegasi. I looked up to see if I could spot Rainbow or Soarin, but they were probably still at their Academy training. That reminded me that hopefully the duo would bring me a pair of new sunglasses; the sun was blinding.

"HEADS UP!" I heard a voice shout. Looking back up at the baby blue sky, I saw a grey missile heading straight for me. Clutching my bags close, I leapt out of the way and landed on top of a bush just as the missile hit the ground. The resulting shockwaves knocked one of the lamp posts over and tore one of the streamers clean off the roof of Town Hall, which in turn ripped an entire row of shingles off the roof.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" I asked as I dropped my bags under the bush and rushed towards the missile pony. She had a dirty blonde main, grey fur and a couple bubbles on her flank. And her eyes were crossed too.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the mare pegasus replied and brushed off her wing that was covered in dirt and dust. "I just don't know what went wrong," she added and hopped back onto her feet. I know saw the mailbag hooked around her neck and the mailman hat atop her head.

"You took a nasty fall, are you sure you're alright there Miss?" I asked the mare.

"Oh sure, I've taken harder falls from higher heights. By the way, my name is Ditzy Doo, or Derpy for short," she saluted me. "Say, you look like a Military Pony, but you're that one Cougar Monkey guy right?!" She exclaimed in excitement and stared at me, at least I thought she was staring at me.

"If you say you're alright," I replied. "But yes, I'm Cougar, nice to meet you uh Derpy," I stuck out my hand to shake her hoof, but she waved her hoof around trying to find my hand. I eventually held her hoof with my other hand and shook it, finally getting the awkward meeting out of the way.

"So, how'd you get the name Cougar anyway?" She asked me.

"It's kind of a long story Derpy, and it looks like you have mail to deliver?" I asked.

"Nope, just finished the last letter of the day; now I get to go home and see my daughter Dinky and eat muffins before the Summer Sun Celebration!" She said excitedly and clapped her hooves together.

"Well, take care Derpy, please," I silently begged her. She sprouted her grey wings and took off, only to have another streamer catch on her left rear leg and be yanked off the roof again, ripping off more tiles.

"SORRY MADAME MARE!" Derpy shouted while flying away. I adjusted my Drive To End Hunger Cap and picked up my bags from under the bush. As I walked through town and back home, I waved hello to all the ponies I had met so far, even ones I would call my friends. Apparently Vinyl Scratch had been hired to play some music during the celebration, and she was stoked about it. Along with Applejack and Pinkie Pie bringing baked goods, Bon Bon was going to bring some of her famous chocolate candies to the celebration, and that was big honor that Princess Celestia chose her candy shoppe to bring candy, though I was positive Celestia had other plans, all involving eating Pinkie's cake.

Eventually, I had made it back to Sweet Apple Acres where the smells of Apple Pie, Apple Cobbler, Apple Fritter, Apple Brown Betty and cider greeted me. "Now tasting is something I can help with," I wiped my mouth with my jacket sleeve as I knocked on the front door. Bloomin' Onion opened the door for me and let me inside as she admired my new jacket and pants.

"Wow, cool jacket Cougar!" she exclaimed and starting dancing circles around me to get a good look.

"I had Rarity make it. She made it look exactly like my old Air Force jacket back home," I explained and set the bags of clothes near the door to pick up later. "So, how goes the dessert making Bloomin' Onion?" I asked the little Filly.

"We got enough desserts to last until Hearth's Warming Eve!" Applebloom showed me all the different desserts the Apple Family cooked up while I was away. I looked around to make sure no one else besides Applebloom was watching. After determining the coast was clear, I leaned forward to take a tiny piece of Apple cobbler for a quick snack when suddenly a wooden spoon smacked down on my hand. I groaned in pain and bit my finger to keep me from screaming.

"Not until later Cougar, nopony is gonna eat mah desserts till Ah say so!" Granny Smith shook her wooden spoon at me.

"Y-yes ma'am," I replied and shook my throbbing hand. The elderly mare smiled at me and continued to pack up the desserts into tins and pans. Applebloom snickered at my injury and went back to mixing up some apple butter. I took off my jacket and put it on the coat rack along with Braeburn's old vest. I then put on one of my newest T-Shirts and turned back to Bloomin' Onion and Granny.

"So, where's Applejack at?" I asked.

"She's jest feedin' the chickens since she can't buck Apples fer a while," Applebloom replied.

"If you need any help, just ask me," I opened the kitchen door and left to head towards the chicken coop. The dirt made my boots give off a thumping sound as I trudged my way over to the orange mare that was throwing chicken feed around near the chicken coop.

"Alright, come 'n git it li'l chicks, nice 'n fresh food fer ya!" Applejack called. Several chickens walked out of the chicken coop and began to peck at their food on the ground. I smiled at how Applejack patted the heads of every single chicken, letting them know they were loved and an important part of the farm.

"Which one's the pet of the family?" I joked, causing AJ to slightly jolt at the sudden surprise. She turned around and adjusted her cowgirl hat atop her head and trotted over to the part of the fence I was leaning against.

"What brings you out here Cowboy?" Applejack leaned up close to me, "did Rarity drive you nuts, or did she lose her mind 'n give up?" AJ opened and shut the gate to the chicken coop and we both started to walk along the farm.

"She drove me nuts, but she let me go, after eight hours of my life I'll never get back," I stared off into an Abyss of nothingness. Applejack chuckled and slapped her hoof on my back.

"Yeah, but she means well, Ah do like them new boots she made ya," AJ pointed out to me, "'n that shirt fits ya real good," she added. "Ah remember fer the first Grand Galloping Gala thu six 'o us plus Spike went to, Rarity designed six new dresses fer us."

"How'd that turn out? Were you guys okay with how they turned out?"

"Nah, the rest 'o us were foolish into thinkin' we knew what we wanted in a dress when Rarity knew all along 'n we took advantage 'o her. Not this cowgirl's finest hour Ah'll admit; then we learned jest how much Rarity cared 'bout someone when she spends hours 'n hours on end jest to make a new outfit fer them," Applejack explained.

"I guess that makes sense," I sat down on the front porch of the house, "so, what do we do at the Summer Sun Celebration anyway Applejack? Do we just watch Luna lower the moon and Celestia raise the sun or what?" I questioned for like the millionth time. I was still in a strange world; I wanted to minimize the risk of upsetting anypony, especially Luna and Celesita should I make a mistake. Applejack popped a piece of wheat stalk into her mouth and started chewing on it, reminding me of so many Western movies I saw as a kid.

"Well, we wait around thu town square, jest drinkin' cider, eatin' food, have a good time 'till Luna lowers thu moon 'N Celestia raises thu sun," the wheat stalk bobbed up and down as AJ spoke, "then we usually swim or jest party to welcome in thu longest day 'o the year," she finished explaining.

"Sounds like fun AJ, we don't have to dress up though, do we?" I replied and readjusted my hat to wipe the sweat from my brow. Even though it was late at night, I still had a sweat working up from my hat being on all day.

"Pfft, no 'o course not Cougar, jest wear that getup that yer wearin', it suits ya," the wheat stalk bobbed up and down again. Finally, Luna's moon overtook the good night sky, but I knew it would be gone in just a matter of a few hours rather than eight or nine. "We best be goin' soon Cougar," Applejack patted my leg and we both stood up.

"So, what do you want me to do to help you guys?" I asked her. AJ turned around to face me and leaned close to me, even though she was about three heads shorter than myself. She placed her hooves on my chest and stood up, looking into my eyes.

"Ya can go take a shower, please, ya stink," she said and fell back onto her four legs and walked back inside. Feeling surprised, I bent my head down and sniffed my arm, only to be met with the foul stench of sweat. I grimaced and went back inside to grab another shirt to wear after my shower. After grabbing my shirt, I went up to the hall closet and grabbed a white cotton towel from the closet and swung it around my neck before walking back downstairs. The entire Apple family trio was standing in the kitchen, putting on last minute preparations for their food.

"Can we help ya Cougar?" Granny Smith asked me while wrapping up a pan of apple fritters in tin foil.

"I'm just letting you guys know I'll be in the shower if you need me, I shouldn't be long," I let them know.

"We should be good to go for the celebration Cougar," Applebloom replied to while balancing a plate of apple crisp cookies on her head. I waved to the family before departing for the bathroom.

(At the Celebration Several Hours Later. Cougar's POV)

This was a pretty magical celebration as many ponies I talked to claimed. Vinyl was playing some pop/dubstep music on her turntables while many ponies were swaying to the music and drinking Applejack's famous cider and eating Pinkie's pastries. The streamers had fortunately been repaired from Derpy's crash landing and golden lights were wrapped around them, giving off a heavenly golden glow and atmosphere surrounding the celebration.

"Oh my, this music is certainly giving me a pounding headache," I heard Rarity whine while drinking some of Applejack's cider. "Couldn't they have gotten he string quartet that plays during the Gala? Some classical music would surely give more sophistication to this celebration." On cue, me and everypony that heard the outcry rolled their eyes, save for one certain purple dragon.

"An aspirin pill for you most beautiful?" Spike so cheesily offered to Rarity. The unicorn smiled and popped the white pill into her mouth.

"Always the thoughtful one my little Spikey-Wikey," Rarity cooed and rubbed his head like one who loved their dog, "if only more ponies shared our enthusiasm for music that makes one think." Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated Spike away from Rarity as she had begun to speak to another pony about an outfit for the fall Gala.

"Dude, why are you acting like a puppy dog to her?" I asked Spike.

"Pfft, what do you know about love Cougar? Have you ever had a girlfriend?" Spike replied with crossed arms. I didn't speak for a moment; the memories of always being the single guy at school or at base came flooding back to me, but I shrugged them off.

"Firstly, no I haven't Spike, but come on, if you keep acting like this, Rarity will only think of you like a little brother. Just say that you're happy to help or it's not a problem. With the way you're speaking, she's pretty much got you wrapped around her hoof," I explained.

"If you haven't had a girlfriend before, then I don't have to listen to you, human. Now why don't you stay out of my business, I'm doing just fine," Spike turned around and flicked his tail at me. I flicked my hands up and turned around to.

"Fine, be that way you ungrateful lizard," I said under my breath.

"Cougar, you shouldn't just give up on the little guy," a meek voice cut into the air. I almost couldn't hear it under the penetrating beats of Vinyl's music. Looking behind me, I saw the creme colored fur and pink mane of Fluttershy. Her little rabbit Angel was perched atop her head, munching on a carrot.

"Look, I don't mean to be a jerk Fluttershy, but if he doesn't want any advice on how to win Rarity's attention, then why should I help him?"

"I have something else to explain, you know, if you still want to hear it Cougar? But if-if you don't want to, I understand," she whispered softly. I nodded my head, wanting to get this conversation over with. A small smile spread across the mare's face as she was given the permission to speak, "Spike has had a crush on Rarity ever since he arrived in Ponyville, and he hasn't really wanted any help in winning Rarity's heart, his dragon code won't allow help with finding a mate, or as he calls it, 'His beautiful Princess.' It gets really serious with him, so we just keep letting him flirt with her," she explained.

"That's interesting Fluttershy, but listen to me. He's setting himself up for heartbreak. If he thinks she likes him the way he likes her with her cute compliments, it's gonna hurt him even more than if he actually asks her out and she says no. He could wind up walking into her boutique to see her accepting a dinner invite with another stallion; that's gonna kill him," I retorted. Before Fluttershy could reply, Twilight cut in.

"He's getting more mature everyday Cougar; he's going to have to learn things like love the hard way," Twilight looked at her dragon assistant with motherly eyes. I was in complete shock. These ponies knew that Spike was going about his crush for Rarity the wrong way, yet they were going to let his heart break just to force him to live the harsh realities? I understand, most sentient beings will have to live harsh realities, but their friends and family can help them take steps so they won't have their hearts broken as hard.

"Fluttershy, you're the nicest pony or person I've ever met, you have to admit that what you're allowing Spike to go through is wrong?" I exclaimed to the shy pegasus. Said pegasus drug her hoof through the ground and looked down, apparently hating being put on the spot.

"Uh, well, uh I think that Spike, oh would you look at that, a poor beaver needs help getting his uh tail out of a log," Fluttershy pointed to a happy beaver waving towards her. Suddenly, Fluttershy was gone in a flash and the ground was sort of smoking where she once stood. I shook my head in shame and turned around to see none other than Luna standing before us.

"Hello Cougar, I hear you are fearing for Spike's heart?" she questioned me. I looked around to see the rest of the gang just standing around while Luna approached me.

"Yeah, but let's just push that aside for now, this is a party right?" I asked with a grin and handed Luna a cup of cider. The midnight blue alicorn happily accepted her cup and took a nice long sip from the plastic device.

"So, how are things holding up with your injuries? I fear your collar bone may be hurting severely from the extents of the injury," she asked me with concern.

"Oh, it's feeling fine. I haven't really pushed it too far yet," I took a sip of my cider.

"Good to hear. Now then, I was wondering Cougar, with your military experience and the way you handled those Timberwolves, have you given any consideration on becoming a royal guard for Canterlot?" Luna asked me. I lowered the cup from my mouth and let it rest next to my side.

"Cougar, a royal guard?" Rainbow looked back and forth from myself to Luna.

"Are you sure he can handle that?" Twilight questioned.

"An Earth Pony has NEVER been a royal guard yer highness," Applejack said, "'N Cougar is about thu same, he don't have wings or magic."

"Yes, but he has brute strength and cunning smarts when it comes to combat," Luna responded, "I have a feeling he could become even a royal body guard, or maybe Captain with his past military experience." I quickly refilled my cider from a punch bowl and took a quick but large sip.

"Luna, I may have hand to hand and weapons combat training, but I'm more qualified to fly jets, more specifically an F-15. And since mine is permanently out of commission and you guys are not even close to that technology, I'm afraid I may not be able to help you," I delineated. Luna raised an eyebrow and sipped her cider until the cup was empty.

"You should think about it Cougar. A man of your honor and military training could prove quite useful as a guard, or even help training some new guards in hoof to hoof combat. Some of the new recruits rely far too much on either their magic or their wings, and with Shining Armor now the Prince of the Crystal Empire, we have nopony good enough to train our recruits." I pondered on the idea of training the recruits for guards for a brief moment. This was an interesting idea albeit an out of the blue proposition. Would my training even help pegasi and unicorns? Would they even listen to me?

"I'll give it some thought, but I think Sweet Apple Acres needs me a little bit more right now Princess," I replied and patted Luna's shoulder.

"Keep thinking Cougar, and if you change your mind, well you should know what to do by now," she winked at me.

"I will Luna," I shook her hoof and then saw a flash of white light as Princess Celestia appeared on stage, "oh and I'm sorry you have to lower the moon early tonight," I quickly apologized while everypony went silent.

"Welcome one and all to the 1005th annual Summer Sun Celebration!" Celestia announced. Everypony in the audience started to stamp their hooves on the ground, sort of their own version of applause. "Thank you thank you all, but remember, this is also a celebration for my sister Luna!" Celestia cast a golden light over Luna, "for now she gets to bless us with her beautiful night earlier and earlier as the year goes on!" The sun princess announced. More stomping followed her statement. I started applauding with my hands so I wouldn't disrespect anyone.

"If I may, fair sister?" Luna questioned as she teleported onto the stage next to her elder sister. Applebloom was starting to jump up and down as she tried to see Celestia and Luna perform their duties. I bent down, grasped her forelegs and plopped her on top of my 6'2" shoulders.

"Enjoying the view?" I smirked. Applebloom hugged around my head and then placed her fore hooves on top of my head. Suddenly, both Celestia's and Luna's horns spurt out (like the Death Star laser) their respective colors into the night sky. The moon soon started to lower under the brim line of the horizon while the sun followed suit, except staying in the sky. The loudest stomping occurred and I joined in with my clapping as the duo ended their spell and took a bow on top of the stage. The warm rays of the sun beat down on my skin as the moon completely disappeared from view.

"Now, enjoy the day my little ponies!" Celestia announced as she trotted off stage and approached Twilight. I took Applebloom off my shoulders and placed her on Applejack's back.

"That was awesome Cougar! Thanks!" The little filly thanked me as she hopped off her sister's back.

"Boy that little filly jest loves thu Summer Sun Celebration," Applejack smiled.

"I can tell, she must get it from her sister."

"We do both enjoy plannin' our Family Reunions," Applejack pointed out, "Ah guess it jest rubs off on other celebrations. Speakin' 'o which, when is yer birthday? Ah'd be happy to git Pinkie Pie ta throw you a party," she offered. Before I could answer, I saw Big Mac talking with Cheerilee near the back of the audience.

"Hold that thought Applejack," I said and jogged over to the red stallion. "Excuse me Cheerilee, can I borrow your Stallion-friend for a minute?" I asked her.

"Oh, uh, of course Cougar," she allowed me and Big Mac some space and went to grab a snack.

"What do you want, Cougar?" Big Mac asked me, clearly in an upset tone. I'd be to if someone I didn't care for that much interrupted me and my girlfriend.

"Look, I just wanted to talk, man to stallion alright?" I asked. The red stallion's eyes looked me over, but he gave me a contented sigh and bowed his head down.

"Eeyup," he replied.

"I care for your family Big Mac. You guys took me in and allowed me to stay in your home and work at your home, but why don't you like me? I've lived with you and your family for damned near a month now, but you're the only one that doesn't like or trust me, what's up?" I asked him.

"We've had ponies give us the same fancy song 'n dance before about bein' hard workers and they won't hurt us. But several times, we've hired ponies that are lazy as buck or some that have stolen from us. Applejack has nearly been raped before too in the barn," Big Mac explained, "'N since our Mom and Dad are gone, Ah've been the Stallion 'o the house to keep mah family safe. Ah jest didn't want to trust anypony anymore, we can get by on our own Cougar, 'N I want mah sisters 'N mah grandma to be safe from freeloaders 'N sickos that won't take no fer an answer. Especially Applejack, she's taken a real shine to ya as a friend 'N I don't want her to be hurt again." I stood in shock in front of Big Mac. It wasn't because I wasn't a pony, Big Mac just didn't want his family to be hurt, which was understandable, but to think Applejack had almost been raped? That made me sick to my stomach and pissed off at the same time.

"That gives me a lot to think about Big Mac," I replied.

"Ah'm sorry I jumped to conclusions this mornin' though," Big Mac apologized.

"I get it, your baby sister was injured and the guy you trust the least was with her when it happened," I explained for him. "Big Mac, I'm sorry if I placed a lot of stress on you or made you think you weren't being a good brother."

"Ah'm sorry fer being an ass," he apologized a second time. I stuck out my hand and shook his hoof.

"Look, let's just start over. We don't have to be friends, we can just not verbally attack each other, how does that sound?" I asked.

"Good 'nuff fer me Cougar," Big Mac actually smiled at me.

"Now get out of here, I'm sure your Mare-friend is missing ya," I smacked his side.

"Jest don't let me catch ya peepin' again. Applejack has a mean right hook," Big Mac replied while trotting back to Cheerilee. I leaned against a tree and looked over to see my friends enjoying the new day. I was thinking just how far Big Mac and I got in the span of about five minutes, though I'm sure Applejack helped my case by talking to him before.

"Cougar, come on!" I heard Applejack call, "we're 'bout to start the pie eatin' contest!" I smiled again and got off the tree and started walking back to my friends.

End Chapter XI

Chapter XII: A Bruised Apple

Fallen Eagle

Chapter XII: A Bruised Apple

(Three Weeks Later. Sweet Apple Acres, Cougar's POV)

I had woken up at the same time I had been for over two months now, but Applejack called me in to the kitchen before I could even start on my daily chores. Granny Smith already had breakfast all set up and Big Mac and AJ were waiting for me. "So, what's going on here?" I pulled a chair out, grabbed a buttermilk biscuit and mug of coffee and sat down.

"Well first, we gotta wait fer Applebloom Cougar," Big Mac replied as he began to stuff oatmeal in his face and downing the food with coffee. As if on cue, the cute little filly bounded down the stairs and happily hopped into a chair next to me. I just remembered that today was the day that her two week punishment was officially over. Applebloom happily sipped down on her cup of milk while waiting for the announcement from the rest of the family.

"Alright then, Cougar, Applebloom," Granny Smith began. Everyone at the table fell silent, "today, Ah have ta go 'N help out yer Aunt Apple Brown Betty with her illness. She's been feelin' under thu weather lately and wrote to me askin' fer help, so Ah'll be gone all day today, but Ah'll be back later tonight," Granny Smith explained. I quietly continued to sip my coffee as I tried to remember as many relatives as I could from when Applejack told me. Unfortunately, Babs Seed, Braeburn and her Aunt Apple Brown Betty were the only three I could remember.

"'N we've got pie deliveries ta make ya two," Applejack cut whilst setting down a map for herself and a map for Big Mac, "it's a day long trip fer the both 'o us," the orange mare looked at me. I was finally putting the pieces together: Applebloom and I were going to be left alone at the farm for a whole day, did that mean I was going to be in charge of the entire farm for the day, or would Bloomin' Onion be the one in charge? The latter made more sense to me, seeing as how she's lived on the farm her whole life while I've barely scraped by on almost two months. "Cougar? Did ya hear me?" I heard AJ's voice cut into my thinking, causing me to jump slightly in my seat.

"I'm sorry what did you say Applejack? Is Bloomin' Onion going to be in charge for the day?" I asked her. This brought hearty chuckles from the three eldest members of the Apple clan sitting in the room.

"If she was the only one here, then yeah," Big Mac chuckled as he shoveled more food into his mouth.

"But since yer the oldest one here after Applejack," Granny Smith continued.

"Yer goin' ta be in charge 'o Applebloom today!" Applejack enthusiastically explained, for some reason. I started to sip nothing but air from the mug in my hand, so I set the mug down on the table softly. Applebloom had the same idea as me to ask why, getting to the point faster than myself.

"But why?" She asked not in a whining voice, but a curious and concerned voice, "Ah wouldn't mind spendin' the day with Cougar, but Ah can take care 'o myself if I need ta!" She countered.

"We know that lil sis," Applejack replied and wrapped an arm around Bloomin' Onion's neck in a hug, "but Ah figured if you'd stick around the farm the whole day with Cougar, he'd be in charge 'o ya, but ya can still go into town and hang out with Scootaloo 'N Sweetie Belle if ya want while Cougar watches over the farm," AJ explained to her little sis.

"Wait a minute, you just want me to watch over the farm?" I asked in shock, "no chores for me to do? Nothing to fix or errands to run?"

"Nope, jest relax fer the day Cougar, you've earned it with how hard ya worked the last two weeks, even after yer little escapade with them timberwolves," Granny Smith explained to me. No, this couldn't work for me at all. I can't be stuck with nothing to do; I get bored extremely easily and I feel like I'm lazy if I don't do anything all day long. Nonetheless, Big Mac, Granny Smith and Applejack left the dining room and began to prepare for their daily trips. Applebloom and I cleared the table together, though it was mostly silent, so I decided to try and strike up a conversation with the filly.

"So, do you want to do anything today Bloomin' Onion? We could go for ice cream or a milkshake, or we could watch movies on my iPad together and eat popcorn?" I offered to her. The yellow filly gave a mighty sigh as she stacked the dirty dishes from the morning's breakfast into the sink and she wiped her brow with her hoof.

"That sounds good; maybe Scootaloo 'N Sweetie Belle will meet us at Sugar Cube Corner," Applebloom tapped her chin with her hoof and ran water over the dirty dishes.

"Maybe I can hang out with Vinyl today to, and then probably come back and organize the barn a little."

"Ah said yer gonna take a break today and that means yer gonna take a break there youngin'," Granny Smith sternly slapped my back with her hoof.

"Yes ma'am," I replied and rubbed my back which I'm sure was red with a horseshoe print glowing. Granny had a duffel bag with a medical plus sign adorning the side and a sun hat on top of her grayish mane. Applejack and Big Mac appeared wearing saddle bags on their backs, presumably hosting water and food for their long treks.

"AJ, is your leg healed enough for you to go on this long of a trip?" I questioned. The mare in question narrowed her emerald eyes at me and trotted her way over to me, turned sideways and raised her rear leg only to rest her hoof on my knee cap.

"Ah can show ya that it's healed enough partner, or you can take mah word fer it," she threatened. I quickly and softly patted her leg until she lowered down onto the floor. "Good boy," she winked at me, "now Ah guess that's it, wanna help us hook up to our wagons?" Applejack asked me and Applebloom. The two of us then found ourselves outside with the two large pie wagons, ready to be hitched up.

Applebloom helped hitch up her sister while I helped hitch up Big Mac. Having hitched up Applejack before, hitching up Big Mac wasn't too hard. I tightened up the leather strap around the harness and patted his back. "That's it big guy, not too tight is it?" I asked. The red stallion rolled his back around a little and shook his head.

"Nnope, it's perfect Cougar," Big Mac replied to me, "you'll take good care 'o mah sister right? She can take care 'o herself, but I want ta know that if anythin' does happen to her, you can watch out for her," he explained to me. The statement caught me off guard, I could take care of Applebloom no problem, but I had no clue what could happen to her. Scraped knee? Twisted hoof? A cold?

"Yeah, of course Big Mac, she'll be just as you guys left her," I patted his shoulder.

"Good ta hear, we best be off!" Big Mac called to Applejack whom as hugging Bloomin' Onion tightly.

"Be good fer Cougar now Applebloom!" The older sister called as she and Big Mac set off for their pie delivers. I couldn't fathom just why her saddle bag had a whip and a chair poking out, or why she was wearing black leather leggings, but I decided not to dwell on it. The primitive technology of this planet was already giving me a headache.

"Ah will!" Applebloom called back, "bye Granny Smith!" Applebloom shouted while Granny casually walked her way to the train station and vanished behind the steam of a locomotive. And finally, Big Mac and Applejack disappeared behind the hill behind Sweet Apple Acres, leaving myself, Applebloom and of course, Winona. The little pup whined that Applejack left but Applebloom scratched behind her ear. "Don't fret now Winona, she'll be back in no time!" The filly comforted the dog.

"So, let's go back and finish up the dishes and then we can go for ice cream, my treat!" I ruffled Applebloom's red mane. The yellow filly jumped in the air and clapped her hooves before trotting inside. "Come on Winona, I'll give you some leftovers," I patted her belly. She barked in response and jogged with me back inside to the kitchen. Luckily, there weren't that many dishes left, so cleanup was a breeze. The rest of the eggs in the pan went straight into Winona's food bowl, which she happily gobbled up.

"Do you have a favorite ice cream flavor Cougar?" Applebloom asked me as she dried dishes to put back in the cupboards.

"Chocolate Fudge Brownie," I replied quickly, "even in the winter time, I could never get enough of it as a kid."

"Ah like strawberry ice cream myself," Applebloom explained to me, "Ah especially like the little chunks of strawberries in the ice cream itself." She dried the final dish and set it in the cupboard. I dried off my hands and set the brush I was using behind the sink.

"Alright then, how about some ice cream?" I asked with the cheesiest green I could muster. Applebloom giggled and rushed over to the front door of the house. "Winona, you're in charge until Applebloom and I get back okay?" I asked the dog that was stretching out and chasing her tail around in the living room. I chuckled and followed Applebloom out the door and we took a little time on getting to town as we enjoyed the beautiful day, though pegasi moving the clouds around still creeped the hell out of me.

(In Town. Cougar's POV)

"Hey Pinkie Pie, how're you doing today?" I asked the pink mare as the little bell rang inside Sugar Cube Corner. The mare in question turned around from frosting and sprinkling doughnuts and a huge smile spread across her face.

"Hello Cougar, was your sugar sense tingling this morning?" Pinkie Pie questioned and thrust a box of chocolate chip cookies into my and Applebloom's face. I politely shoved the box down onto the counter and rested my elbow on said counter.

"You could say that; Applebloom and I just wanted some ice cream if you can handle ice cream of course," I teased Pinkie Pie. The mare gasped in shock and narrowed her eyes at me.

"I can handle any sweet, any time bub, you don't know who you're messing with here," she jabbed her hoof in my chest with a serious growl, though that really didn't faze me at all.

"Then I'll take a chocolate fudge brownie in a large waffle bowl," I growled right back. In no time flat, Pinkie Pie thrust a large waffle bowl full of my ice cream into my face. Impressed with her scooping skills, I took a bite of the ice cream and I froze. "Ah, ah, damned brain freeze," I rubbed my temples.

"Ha, Pinkie Pie 1, Cougar 0!" Pinkie did a little victory dance behind the counter. I rolled my eyes as best as I could with my brain freezing faster than Han Solo. Applebloom hopped on upwards towards the counter and pondered on what she wanted.

"Hmm, Ah'll take a medium strawberry shake please Pinkie," Applebloom politely asked. Pinkie ceased her victory dance over me and quickly made up Applebloom's requested milkshake.

"There ya go, that'll be six bits please," Pinkie stated to the yellow filly. Thankfully, by this point my brain freeze had gone away and I could think once again. Digging into my pants pocket, I produced the six gold coins and let them clatter onto the counter.

"Keep the change Pinkie; don't spend it all on one thing," I winked with a smart ass demeanor. Pinkie pouted her lower lip and lowered her eyebrows at me, but took the money and placed it into the cash register.

"Hope you're feeling better!" She called as Applebloom and I sat down at a table near the window and began to eat and drink our sweets. We both sat in silence for a few moments, just admiring the view outside the window and listening to the cheerful chatter the cafe held. Suddenly, a yellow stallion wearing an apron and a paper hat trotted up to the table and took off said hat.

"Hello, you're Cougar correct?" The stallion asked me politely and stuck out his hoof. I grasped it and shook it like normal.

"That's right, and you are?" I replied with a question.

"I am Mr. Cake, my wife and I own Sugar Cube Corner," the stallion replied as his wife approached the table, "Pinkie told us how you risked your life to save your friends, we're grateful to have you in our humble store," Mr. Cake bowed his head at me. I snapped my fingers at him, causing him to jolt his head back up to eye level with me.

"I was just doing what a friend and a soldier would do Mr. Cake, I'm nothing special," I added as I took a bite of my ice cream.

"Nonsense, Pinkie is lucky to have a friend like you," Mrs. Cake patted my head with her hoof. Pinkie then randomly jumped out from under the table with napkins for myself and Applebloom.

"Yep, we could always use a nice big strong set of muscles for security!" The pink mare hopped up and down. Mr. Cake produced a newspaper article from his apron pocket and stapled it upon the wall next to our table. I had become too familiar with the article. The Ponyville Gazette had done a front page article on how I had saved three of the elements of harmony and their sisters while putting my life on the line to do so. It was a tad embarrassing to be honest. I didn't want to be praised and showboated around like certain celebrities of Earth. Just a simple thank you would've been fine; lucky for me the Apple's respected that and didn't hang up the newspaper article like a trophy.

"Well, if there's anything we could do for ya, just let us know," Mr. Cake said as the trio left to make more sweets. Applebloom must've noticed how uncomfortable I was; she stopped sipping on her milkshake and looked my way.

"You alright there Cougar? Ah know ya don't like the praise ya get from ponies, but ya could at least enjoy a bit 'o bein' a hero," she asked me. Sighing, I set my near empty waffle bowl onto the table and wiped my mouth of the chocolate.

"Like I've explained before Bloomin' Onion, I didn't join the military just to bask in glory, or to be hero celebrity, I joined because of the honor I thought I could give my country and my species, and to do the right thing. I don't mind a thanks now and again, I just don't want to be put on a pedestal and glorified like a God."

"Ah get that, but ya don't have ta be shy 'bout it," the filly countered, "Applejack 'N Big Mac don't like ta be glorified either, but they deal with it until it dies down; it honestly ain't that bad either," she sipped on her milkshake once more.

"Yeah, but I don't like that. The only ones in my opinion who deserve praise like that are doctors, scientists and firefighters." I took the last bite out of my ice cream and started to munch on the waffle bowl.

"Soldiers too," Applebloom quickly added. Before I could retort, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo burst from the door and bounded up towards our table with huge grins on their faces.

"Applebloom, isn't today the day your punishment was lifted?" Scootaloo's wings vibrated and flapped constantly.

"Yep, sure is, so what plans do y'all have today?" Bloomin' Onion grinned back and scooted over on her bench to let her friends sit down. I wiped my mouth again as I finished my waffle bowl and Applebloom finished her milkshake.

"What happened to the ideas I gave you?" I asked the little orange pegasus. Her ears and wings drooped in embarrassment and a pink glow appeared on her cheeks.

"Well, Rainbow Dash did get me an opportunity to be a race announcer in Cloudsdale, but I apparently showed "too much favoritism," whatever that means," she rolled her eyes.

"I still haven't talked to Fluttershy yet," Sweetie Belle looked down at the table in shame. I didn't look at Applebloom; I already knew she hadn't done any cutie mark crusading for a fortnight.

"Well, whatever, you guys still have plenty of time to come up with new ideas," I chuckled, "anyway, can I get you two some ice cream or cookies?" I asked the unicorn and pegasus.

"No, we're cool Cougar, right Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked. The little unicorn nodded in response.

"Alright then, Applebloom, are you going to go hang with your friends then?" I questioned. The three little fillies hopped up from their bench and opened the door, the little bell ringing in the process.

"Yep, Ah'll be home around 5:00 since mah family'll be home 'round seven," she replied and trotted out the door with her friends. I sat back in my chair and rested my head against the wall.

"Can I get you anything else Cougar?" Pinkie Pie asked me, "coffee? Soda? Cookies? Hot towel? The rest of the script?"

"The rest of the what?" I asked, but Pinkie bounded away to take somepony else's order. I shrugged it off as one of her "Pinkie-isms" and left to go see what Vinyl Scratch was up to.

(4:30. Cougar's POV at Sweet Apple Acres.)

"Boy Winona, Vinyl sure likes my kind of music," I poured some kibble into the pup's food bowl and patted her head. The dog wasted no time in gobbling up the food like a rabid wolverine. I set the bag of kibble into the pantry and wiped the remaining sweat off my forehead from the jam session I had with Vinyl. She couldn't get enough of the music from my world; my phone was set to replay numerous times.

"Bark!" Winona replied to me.

"You're welcome," I smiled and poured water into her water bowl. I probably would've gotten bored out of my mind if Vinyl was too busy to hang out, there was nothing else to do at the farm today anyways. I wouldn't having a beer with Big Mac now that we've started over, though he was still gone and wouldn't be back for several more hours. My train of thought was disrupted with the front door bursting open and the sound of little hoof steps galloping through the house and up the stairs. "Applebloom, is that you?" I called out as I jogged over to the bottom of the stairs. When I didn't get an answer, I quickly hustled up the wooden stairs as the steps squeaked and creaked with my heavy footsteps.

Her door slammed shut just as I got halfway up the stairs, forcing me to stop momentarily. Fearing the worst, I hustled even faster upstairs and began to softly knock on her door. "Applebloom, is everything okay?" I asked her and leaned my ear against the door, only to hear muffled crying and wailing emitting from the room. "I'm coming in, okay?" I asked her. I reached for the golden door handle and turned it, slowly opening the door until I walked into the room. The yellow filly had her face buried in her pillow, crying hard.

"G-go, aw-away," she cried as I sat down on her bed.

"What happened Applebloom? Did you and your friends get into a fight?" I rubbed the back of her head softly. Her crying ceased, but the sniffling didn't.

"I d-don't want to talk about it," Applebloom quietly replied.

"Please, just tell me what's wrong Applebloom," I said, my voice cracking just a bit. It pained me so much to see Applebloom crying like this, it hurt knowing that she was so happy-go-lucky most of the time, yet here she was, crying her eyes out into her pillow. Instead of replying, Applebloom lifted her head off her pillow and turned to me. My hand shot up to my mouth and covered up a gasp. Her right eye was completely blackened and swollen like a baseball. I instantly wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tightly.

"I hate her, I HATE her so much!" Applebloom wailed and buried her head into my stomach. She tried to choke back her sobs, but I couldn't let her bottle up her pain for very long, knowing how dangerous that was.

"Shh, just let it out, let it out Bloomin' Onion," I shushed her and rested my head atop hers as my own tears began to stream from my eyes. "Please tell me what's wrong," I whispered as I rubbed her back as tenderly and softly as I could as she continued to cry. When she couldn't respond, I just said, "It's okay, Cougar's here for you," I cooed like a big brother comforting his sister. My body froze as it realized what I had just said. 'Where is this coming from?' I thought to myself, but brushed it off.

We both sat on her bed for about thirty minutes before her crying finally stopped. "I hate her Cougar," she said for a third time and wiped her nose. I turned around and grabbed a box of kleenex off her nightstand and handed them to her. I wiped my own eyes so she wouldn't see I had been crying with her.

"Let me guess, Diamond Tiara?" I asked her as I sucked in a breath through my nose. Applebloom blew her nose and nodded, throwing the used tissue into the rubbish bin.

"Sh-she and Silver Spoon wouldn't leave us alone while we were tryin' ta earn our cutie marks," she explained, "'N she kept badgerin' us 'n badgerin' us until Ah said she was nothin' more than a spoiled little brat who has her daddy do everything for her." I mentally smiled; that was a good comeback for the little rich bitch.

"So, she hit you in response?" I asked.

"No, she called me out on my parents," Applebloom whispered as more tears threatened to make a comeback. Oh, fuck, no. That's the LOWEST someone can go. Mocking someone for their dead parents? "She shoved me as she said it, so Ah shoved her back. Silver Spoon, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tried ta git us ta stop, but Diamond Tiara punched me right in thu eye and shoved me down onto thu ground 'N said, "You'll always be a useless piece of trash to society Blank Flank, ponies like you should be used as safety testing dummies, if we lose you, it wouldn't matter." Applebloom couldn't hold it back anymore and buried her face into my stomach and wailed again. I wrapped my arms around her again and kissed the top of her head.

"She's jealous of you Applebloom," I replied.

"W-what?" The filly wiped her eyes.

"Look at her. She's a spoiled rich girl who has everything handed to her and her cutie mark is a tiara. What the hell kind of cutie mark is that? I'll tell you: It means she's next to useless. All she'll EVER be is a rich girl. She's jealous that you're more independent and have a better opportunity to have a cutie mark that will make you better than her, she's afraid of you and she insults you to make herself feel better," I explained.

"D-do you really think that?" She asked me.

"I do Applebloom. You're a special pony. You're smart, funny, independent, witty and sweet, and you'll do great things one day and Diamond Tiara will be begging you to be her friend," I smiled. The filly wrapped her forelegs around my belly and snuggled close.

"Thanks Cougar," she whispered.

"And you'll make a lucky colt really happy too," I teased.

"Eww! No, I don't like boys like that!" She blushed.

"Ha, gotcha!" I ruffled her mane and laid her down on her pillow, "I'll be right back," I jogged downstairs and into my little house, grabbed my iPad from my bed and jogged back upstairs.

"What do you have yer iPad thingy fer?" She curiously asked me as I turned it on. I flicked the screen over to the movies app and clicked on it.

"I just need to take care of something really quick, just watch this and I'll come right back to watch it with you," I explained and clicked on a movie before hustling out the door.

"Hmm, Wreck-It Ralph?" I heard Bloomin' Onion say before I left.

"Hey, Lyra," I called to the aquamarine unicorn, "do you know where Filthy Rich's house is? I have a delivery slip I need him to sign," I lied to the unicorn. She gave me the directions I needed and I wasted no time in running on over there with the same expression Steve Rogers had in Captain America when his doctor friend was shot. "Here you are," I said as I found the address. From the street, I saw Filthy Rich sitting at the dinner table with Diamond Tiara and a light pink mare (lighter than Pinkie Pie) with a vanilla colored mane and an open book on her flank. Instead of ringing the doorbell like a gentleman, I banged on the door like a madman.

"Yes, can I-" the mare said as she opened the door for me.

"Hello, I am Cougar, and you are?" I asked politely, knowing this mare had no fire in this battle.

"I am Pennyblossom, what can I do for you Cougar?" She asked, "you're the human right?" she added.

"Yes, but I would love to speak with your husband and daughter," I said politely. She opened the door further to let me in and she trotted into the dining room.

"Rich, Tiara, there is that Cougar fellow here to see you," the mare said. I heard the distinct sound of chairs sliding across the hardwood floor and the two ponies in question appeared in front of me.

"I was wondering when one of you heathens would come by and apologize for Applebloom's behavior," Filthy Rich said to me.

"Excuse me?" I said and raised my eyebrows.

"My little girl told me all about how those pathetic crusaders wouldn't leave my angel and her friend alone and shoved them to the ground and spat on them! You're lucky I don't have Applebloom arrested for assault!" He jabbed his hoof in my chest. I lost it. I grabbed his collar with my hands and rammed him into the nearest wall, knocking a painting off and onto the floor.

"I've got a good mind to take your ass to a glue factory buddy," I gritted my teeth. "You know that's all a fucking lie," I added.

"Let go of my husband!" Pennyblossom shrieked. I ignored her and rammed Filthy back into the wall.

"You know your little spoiled brat started it and Applebloom just defended herself. ANSWER ME!" I shook him violently.

"Put my father down you brute!" Diamond Tiara tried to bite my leg.

"Now, you listen here human, if you don't put me down in five seconds, I WILL call the authorities and have you locked away in the zoo and the Apples will lose their biggest customer, me. They'll go out of business and it will be your fault," the stallion smiled evilly at me. I slowly caught my breath and let go of the stallion where he fell to the ground and dusted himself off. "Good human, and if you ever make false accusations of my perfect little girl, I can see to it personally that Applebloom's education ceases, understand?" He gave me a shit eating grin and got into my face.

"Let me see if YOU understand," I growled at him, "if Applebloom EVER comes back home and she has a similar injury like the one Diamond Twat gave her," I started and the trio gasped at my foul language, "I'm going to come back here with Big Mac and we'll beat the shit out of you," I threatened.

"What did you say?" Filthy Rich put on his macho pony act.

"We're gonna knock your dick in the dirt, your money can't protect you forever. Now be a stallion and raise your daughter right. If you want to come over and apologize for your daughter's behavior, you know where to find us," I got out of his face and slammed the door shut as I walked back outside. Sucking in a deep breath, I whistled a merry tune and walked back to Sweet Apple Acres. "Thanks Lyra, I was never here," I walked past her and Bon Bon.

"Applebloom, I'm back!" I called out when I got back home and walked up to her room with an icepack. Applebloom was giggling as she watched a movie on my iPad. "Hey, you enjoying your movie?" I asked and sat down next to her.

"This movie is awesome!" She replied as Wreck-It Ralph chased Vanellope through Sugar Rush covered in green goop. "But, where'd you go?" Applebloom paused the movie and looked up at me. I gulped, not wanting to tell anypony what really happened between myself and Filthy Rich.

"I just made sure Diamond Tiara won't bother you or your friends ever again," I replied and she cuddled up next to me.

"Really, how'd ya do that?" She looked at me dumbfounded.

"Military trick of persuasion," I didn't really lie. "Trust me, she won't bother you ever again, I give you my word," I assured her and hit play on my iPad. The last thing I remembered was shutting off my iPad as we both fell asleep several hours later.

(3rd Person POV. 7:00)

Granny Smith, Big Mac and Applejack all arrived back at the farm at relatively the same time, though Granny's train was a tad early. "So, did ya git them pies delivered?" Granny asked her eldest grandchildren.

"Sure did."

"Eeyup," the two replied as they produced their bags of money to Granny Smith.

"Ah'm proud 'o you two, how 'bout we relax now with a nice cup 'o cocoa?" the green pony offered. Big Mac and Applejack unhitched themselves from their wagons and stretched their backs from the long journey they had just completed.

"How do you think Applebloom and Cougar faired today?" Applejack questioned.

"Nothin' ta worry 'bout Applejack, Ah'm certain Cougar did a fine job watchin' her today," Granny opened the front door of the house, allowing Big Mac and AJ to walk inside.

"Cougar, AB, we're home!" Big Mac shouted. When he got no reply, he and Applejack headed upstairs to see if at least Applebloom was asleep. "Psst, yer not asleep are ya-" Big Mac began before he stopped mid sentence. "Applejack, git over her," Big Mac ordered.

"What's goin' on brother?" Applejack replied as she peered into her little sister's room. "Aww, isn't that the cutest thing?" Applejack held her hoof over her chest as she saw Cougar laying down asleep with Applebloom snuggled into his right arm. Soft snores emitted from both of them as the sand pony kept them in slumberland.

"It is cute, but why is he cuddlin' with our little sister?" Big Mac asked, concerned.

"Big Mac, ya worry too much," AJ poked Cougar in the chest.

"Ah, I'm up sir!" Cougar's eyes snapped open as he tried to salute, but only shifted Applebloom off his arm. "Oh geez, what time is it?" he stretched his back and arms.

"It's a little past seven," Applejack replied, "so, you 'N Applebloom were a cuddlin' huh?" her emerald eyes stared directly into Cougar's baby blues.

"Yeah," he sheepishly replied, "if that's okay, I know it's weird with the age difference," he explained.

"Ah shucks Cougar, it's alright, unless she says ya did sometin' to her," Applejack narrowed her eyes.

"Woah, I'm not like that," Cougar defended.

"We're only jokin'," Applejack stuck her tongue out, "wanna join us fer some cocoa?" Applejack offered. Cougar nodded and silently shut Applebloom's door before heading downstairs.

"Guys, there is something I need to tell you," Cougar admitted after he sat down at the table.

"What's wrong boy? Did somethin' happen while we were away?" Granny Smith set down a mug for the human. Cougar sipped the warm chocolate milk before explaining the situation.

"Well, Diamond Tiara gave Applebloom one of the worst black eyes I've ever seen today," he explained. Big Mac stopped sipping his cocoa and let the liquid dribble down his red coat.

"She did WHAT to mah sister!?" Applejack flared her nostrils.

"Applebloom came home after we both did our own separate things and she had a black eye the size of a baseball. She told me that Diamond Tiara punched her and gave her the injury."

"So, what'd you do?" Granny Smith questioned and calmly sipped her drink.

"I comforted her and then went over to talk to her father," Cougar said, "and now I know I'm not a family member and I understand if you guys are mad at me for that, but I couldn't just let this slide by, so I went over to Filthy Rich and told him that if Applebloom came home with a similar injury again, then he would pay for it with dire consequences." The trio of Apples pulled up chairs around the table and stared at the human.

"You're tellin' us, you handled the situation and comforted Applebloom?" Applejack asked me.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for doing your guys' job, but you were all out raising money for the farm, I'm sorry," Cougar apologized.

"Why in Celestia's world are ya sorry boy?" Granny Smith asked.

"Ya did the right thing, 'N what's this talk 'bout you not bein' 'o family member? Ya live her don't ya? Ya work as hard as us don't ya? Ah don't care if yer a pony or not Cougar, we're proud to have you in our family," Granny Smith patted Cougar's shoulder.

"So, you're not mad?" Cougar asked, flabbergasted.

"Ya took care of mah sister and comforted her when she needed it, there's absolutely no reason fer us ta be steamin' at ya," Big Mac explained.

"Yeah, Ah'm glad we have you around Cougar, Ah wish more ponies could be like ya," Applejack hugged him. Still dumbfounded, Cougar returned the hug and patted AJ's back.

"Well, it's getting late, I'm turning in for the night, I'll see you all in the morning," Cougar said as he stood up from his chair.

"G'night Cougar, we'll see ya later!" Granny Smith replied. Cougar walked outside and back into his little house where he collapsed onto his cot and rubbed his eyes. If only he knew, what the late August held for him.

End Chapter XII

Chapter XIII: Weekend Escape Part I

Fallen Eagle

Chapter XIII: Weekend Escape Part I

(Late August. Canterlot. With Luna. 3rd Person POV)

It was that time of morning when Luna would be forced to retire the moon and for Celestia to raise the sun and give birth to another beautiful day in Equestria. Though for the midnight blue Alicorn of the night, something kept pecking at her mind, and she could not figure out what it was or why it kept bothering her. Luna kept pacing and milling around her own personal chambers after a stressful showing at her Night Court. Concentrating on her work was near impossible with her mind up in the air. Letting out a frustrated groan, Luna raised her silver horseshoe covered hoof and slammed it down onto one of her mini desks, smashing it to pieces. "Gah!" She exclaimed and rubbed her temples. She then heard the sound of galloping hooves clacking loudly on the marble flooring of the hallway outside her chambers.

"Lulu, are you alright?" Celestia worriedly called out.

"Guardians of the night, let her in," Luna sighed and continued to rub her temples with her hooves. Outside her chambers, her personal guards slinked away from the door and allowed Princess Celestia herself into the room. The pearly white Alicorn trotted quickly into the room and immediately stopped at the side of her little sister.

"Sister, you've been troubled all night," Celestia started as Luna looked her in the eye, "ever since your Night Court began, I have sensed something has been bothering you, and now you're smashing desks, please tell me what is on your mind sister," Celestia begged Luna. The smaller Alicorn shook her head and began to pace around her room once again, stopping in front of the fireplace.

"Blast this infernal mind slip!" She exclaimed and put a crack into the stone structure of the fireplace. A wide eyed Celestia approached Luna with caution; she knew to keep a safe distance when Luna was in a troubled mood.

"Perhaps a pot of tea will help calm your nerves?" The sun Alicorn suggested and conjured up a tea kettle inside of Luna's fireplace and a pair of cups and saucers on the coffee table. Neither of the two sisters said another word as the pot of tea boiled. Luna sat on her haunches and stared at her moon while Celestia darted her eyes back and forth from her sister to the tea pot.

"I am sorry for my behavior sister," Luna finally said just as the tea pot whistled.

"Oh, it's quite alright Luna," Celestia replied as she poured herself a cup of tea and one for Luna, "we all lose our tempers at one point or another. It's only what makes us ponies," she smiled and patted Luna's back with her wing. A white aura engulfed Luna's teacup as it tipped backwards to release the tea into her muzzle. "So, what's got you in such a dour mood sister?"

"All day and night long, there has been something on my mind and it involves Cougar," Luna explained.

"Do you still fear for your friend's safety Luna?" Celestia replied and took a small, regal bite of coffee cake. "From what Twilight and her friends have told me, his injuries are healing fairly quickly," she added with a swallow.

"No, at least I don't think so," Luna roughly set her cup back on its saucer. "It was something of the utmost importance that I had to tell him, buck it!" Luna shrieked and threw the tea cup at the wall of her room. "If only I could remember what it was!" Even though Celestia was worried for her sister, she remained calm and collected while Luna held her head in her hooves.

"Lulu, how about we switch the subject?" The Princess of the day suggested, "perhaps that will help jog your memory." Celestia warmly smiled. Luna took several deep breaths through her nose and nodded. "Alright then," Celestia set her tea cup and saucer down on the table, "are you prepared for the Grand Galloping Gala yet? It's only a few short weeks away."

"Yes, I am sister, though I do hope Princess Twilight and her friends bring along their hijinks, or else I wouldn't be able to stand the Gala," Luna replied with a smirk.

"I couldn't agree more Luna, but luckily I already sent out seven invitations for the elements and Spike," Celestia responded. Luna pondered the response whilst enjoying the crackle of the fire close to her.

"Did you send one out for Cougar as well? Perhaps he would like to go with his new friends?" Luna suggested. A small blush forced its way onto Celestia's pearly white cheeks as she looked away in embarrassment.

"No, I didn't believe this would be Cougar's cup of tea Luna, so I just didn't send him one," Celestia nervously bit her lower lip.

"I'll ask him if he would like to attend the Gala the next time I see him sister, are we still set to go to the running of the leaves next week?" The midnight blue Alicorn questioned. Princess Celestia nodded in reply and took another bite of cake. "Good, I hope he enjoys the race; he appears to have a soft spot for this 'NASCAR,' racing, thing," Luna air quoted.

"I think Cougar will enjoy it Luna, especially if he gets to sit in our personal private box seats," Celestia exclaimed, "Oh and I heard the Earth racing pony, Checkered Flag, is going to be an honorary guest at the Running of the Leaves," she added. Luna's face lit up as she jumped up from her seat excitedly.

"Checkered Flag is going to be there?!" Luna rose her voice excitedly. Celestia raised her eyebrow and smirked at her sister.

"My my Luna, you're acting like quite the filly, do you have, feelings for Checkered Flag?" Celestia teased her sister. A massive pink blush crept across Luna's cheeks as she sat back down and rubbed her face a few times.

"N-no of course not Sister!" Luna rejected the idea, "I am the Princess of the Night and have no time for romance or a stallion-friend! Especially not one as handsome, caring and charitable as Checkered Flag," Luna held her head in her hooves as she let her crush slip, "how did you find out anyways?" She questioned.

"Oh, Cadance has noticed before when the four of us were in the Crystal Empire for the charity bowl and you were thinking how perfect of a Stallion Checkered Flag was, especially for matching the winning percentage of his own money for charity," Celestia wiped her mouth. "Perhaps if you'd like, I can extend an invitation to him as well when we are at the Running of the Leaves for him to join us at the Gala?" Before Luna could answer however, there was a knock on her door.

"You may enter!" Luna called to one of her Bat Pony Guards.

"Sorry for the disturbance your highnesses," the guard apologized, "but it is time for you two to lower the moon and raise the sun," the guard explained.

"Thank you Bat Fang, you may take a break for awhile," Luna smiled at her favorite guard.

"Oh thank you Princess Luna, I shall," Bat Fang replied and bowed to the two sisters and turned to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot Princesses, I needed to tell you that all the married guards departed earlier to be with their wives for the Fall Estrus weekend, along with guards and maids in a committed relationship, it starts today, so I thought I'd remind you in case the regular guards are gone," Bat Fang reminded and shut the door.

"Ah yes, I do recall Flash Sentry asking permission to be with Twilight for the weekend," Celestia got up and stretched, "I also wrote a letter to Spike explaining that he must be at the castle for safety reasons, per the usual every Fall and Spring Estrus season," she added. Suddenly, the couch that Luna and Celestia were sitting on was destroyed with a deafening crash.

"OH DEAR YOU!" Luna shrieked at Celestia.

"What is the matter Luna?!" Celestia demanded and utilized her magic to clean up the mess.

"I must get to Ponyville immediately; Cougar is in great danger!" Luna disappeared in a brilliant flash of white light. Celestia rolled her eyes and lowered the moon and raised the sun.

(At Sweet Apple Acres. Cougar's POV)

"Oh, Scarlett, we barely know each other," I said in a haughty voice. There was a deep and sensual feeling rising up between my knees as I watched Scarlett Johansson's hand snake down my six pack stomach and into my most tender of areas. She didn't reply with her voice, but her hand eventually reached its destination. Softly and slowly, her hand began to rub my tender area passionately, eliciting a moan from my mouth.

"You do know how to please a man Ms. Johansson," I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment as my member throbbed hard. Suddenly, the rubbing ceased and I whined a little.

"Ya want me ta continue Loverboy? Ya sounded like you were enjoyin' my treat," a southern voice replied to me. My eyes snapped open to reveal a certain cowgirl hatted orange mare with her hoof resting on my 'pitched tent.' "Don't pretend ya didn't like it," Applejack said in a rather breathless voice.

"AJ! WHAT THE FUCK!?" I shouted and smacked her hoof away and stuffed my blanket against my groin.

"Playin' hard ta get eh? Momma likes herself a challenge," AJ licked her lips and slowly stalked towards my member. Using my military training, I threw the blanket in her face and rolled off the cot to get away. I noticed that her emerald eyes were much smaller than usual, as if she were brainwashed. "C'mon Cougar, I jest wanna thank ya fer savin' mah life," she licked her lips and tossed the blanket away from the cot.

"What's gotten into you Applejack?!" I demanded and quickly threw on my pants. Drool was emitting from her mouth as she slowly stalked her way over to where I was. Luckily, I threw the cot down in between us and we started to encircle each other.

"Jest relax," Applejack tried to soothe me, "'N Applejack'll make ya feel real good parter," she took her red hair bands out of her pony tail and her hair fell all the way out, but she kept her cowgirl hat on for some reason. I realized that she had only looked me in the eye once, the rest of the times her emerald corneas were glued to my crotch area. Then, she started to get impatient, I mean really impatient. She leapt over the cot and tackled me to the ground, straddling my groin. "Ah'm hungry Loverboy, Ah ain't had any in a looooong time, 'N speakin' 'o long," she purred and reached for my zipper with her muzzle. Even with all my strength, I failed to pry Applejack away from me.

"Please let this be a nightmare," I begged. I was literally terrified, despite a part of my anatomy enjoying itself. Applejack was the pony I trusted the most besides Luna here, and she never tried this before, nor did she show any rapist qualities about her. My hands clenched the floor as a bead of sweat rolled down my forehead. I heard and felt the familiarity of my zipper sliding down the front of my pants.

"Oh yea Sugarcube, keepin' it nice 'n clean fer Momma, good boy," AJ purred again as she unbuttoned my boxers. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light inside my little house as Luna appeared, flaring her midnight blue wings.

"Uh-uh Princess Luna!" Applejack looked up from her task of unzipping Cougar Junior and glared at the Princess, "he's mine! 'N Ah ain't sharin' with nopony!" She growled in anger and lust. Then, she froze in place, a cold glare plastered on her face.

"Cougar, we must get you out of here now!" Luna exclaimed and levitated Applejack away from me. With what seemed to rival the speed of the Millennium Falcon, I buttoned up my boxers, zipped my pants up, grabbed a shirt and threw it on. "Bring your duffel bag with you for the weekend," Luna stood guard as I packed what she specified.

"Luna, what the hell is happening?! Applejack is going crazy!" I exclaimed, worried for my friend. The Alicorn in question leered outside of my house, checking to see if it was safe.

"Okay, we're in the clear, we cannot have the possibility of bringing another horny mare with us," Luna explained.

"Another horny mare?" I asked in disbelief. Luna turned to me and placed her hooves on my shoulders.

"Cougar, the Fall Estrus has begun in Equestria; every mare that has gone through puberty and that has not reached Marenopause is in extreme heat, and they will stop at nothing to get what they lust for the most," she explained. I gagged after realizing what she was talking about.

"In heat? Oh Christ, but why would they want me? I'm a fucking human for your sister's sake," I pointed out.

"It doesn't matter Cougar, a mare in heat will seek out a sentient male to mate with for the weekend."

"I didn't have to deal with this shit back home," I replied and checked behind my back.

"The female of your species doesn't go into heat?" Luna curiously asked.

"No, if my species was in the mood, we'd fuck or have a private moment alone in the bathroom," I replied, "now can we stop talking about this and get out of here!?" I begged. Luna nodded and held onto me with her wings in a bear tight hug as my eyes were blinded. We landed with a thud and I fluttered my eyes open to see us in the throne room of the castle.

"Ah Cougar, I trust you made it out of there okay?" Celestia politely asked me.

"Define okay Celestia," I breathed a sigh of relief and released Luna, "thanks for saving me Luna," I added.

"It's no problem at all Cougar, you're lucky I remembered in time," she folded her wings back onto her sides, "and don't worry about Applejack; she'll unfreeze in a few moments." I nodded and sat down on the floor, trying to recollect myself after what just happened.

"Your highnesses," I heard a guard's voice call out. Celestia, Luna and myself turned to the main doors of the throne room just as they opened to reveal Spike carrying a hobo stick behind him, "Spike the Dragon," the guard announced. The little dragon jogged his way in and set his hobo pack onto the floor.

"What're you doing here Cougar?" Spike questioned, but it wasn't in his usual distrusting tone of me. He held an actual sense of genuine curiosity in his voice.

"The very same reason you are here Spike," Luna replied, "and I got him out of Ponyville just in time," she added. I gulped and shook my head from side to side to get myself to think more clearly. I stood up and looked at both Princesses in front of me.

"So, we have to be here for the whole weekend?" I asked.

"That is correct Cougar. We cannot have Spike and yourself be subjugated and be put in harms way during the Fall Estrus since the two of you are not married to a mare and are not in a committed relationship with one."

"And do not think that you are stuck here, you may do as you wish here. The castle has many activities for you two to do," Luna explained.

"I can show him around, unless he wants to be nosy and search out every inch of the castle," Spike volunteered.

"I'm not nosy kid, and I was just trying to help your Rarity situation," I replied with crossed arms. The dragon rolled his eyes, untied his hobo sack and stuck a gem in his mouth. "Wait a second," I realized, "what about the nurses or the castle maids?" I asked.

"They have been sent home Cougar. You have absolutely nothing to worry about while you're here," Celestia reassured me. I narrowed my eyes at the two sisters and put my hands on my hips.

"Do we have to be worried about you two?" I double-checked. Luna and Celestia gave hearty chuckles at my question. I dropped my hands from my hips and let them rest on my sides.

"Alicorns only go into heat once every five years Cougar," Luna began.

"And for us, it won't happen again until next year," Celestia finished. "Now then, it's just about breakfast time and the cooks have finished preparing food, are either of you two hungry?" The sun Alicorn questioned us. Spike picked his hobo stick back up and I slid my duffel bag strap into my hand as we followed the two Princesses into the dining room. Despite the bad air between us, Spike actually wanted to talk to me! Perhaps it was because we were both in the same boat so to speak, or maybe I was just the only thing to keep him entertained.

"So, what'd you bring for fun?" The purple reptile questioned. I unzipped the bag and shifted through its contents, searching for what I had brought. Seeing as how Princess Luna evacuated me as if a hurricane, a tornado and a volcanic eruption were going to happen all at once, I couldn't remember exactly what I had packed.

"Just my iPad, headphones and my Daring Do book which I've read three times already, and that's it for entertainment," I replied and re-zipped my bag. "Oh and my phone, but the battery has been dead for three days, and I have no way of charging it," I added as two royal guards opened the dining room doors to reveal a large table with various food on top.

"Breakfast is served, your highnesses and prestigious guests," the head chef bowed as we all took our respective seats.

"Cougar, may I see your phone device please?" Luna asked me. I stopped plating some hash browns and pulled my phone out my pocket and tossed it over to the midnight blue Alicorn. "So, how do we charge it?" She asked again.

"Well, I have the cord, but you guys don't really have the same electrical outlets as my society did," I replied, "but if you can get electricity into the hole on the bottom, that'll charge it," I explained and slid an omelet next to my hash browns. Spike on the other hand cut open an omelet and stuffed it full of gems and began to eat. Luna studied my phone before floating it up to her horn and inserting the tip into the charging port.

"Let's see if this works," Luna said as little bolts of white lightning were sent up into my phone. After a few seconds, she ceased the lightning and tossed my phone back to me. I clicked the on button and was shocked to see the battery had 400% power! I dropped my fork to the floor where one of the butlers picked it up and handed me a new one.

"Th-thank you Luna," I said in a dumbfounded tone.

"You're quite welcome Cougar," she replied with a smile and started to eat a salad. "Oh and before I forget Cougar," she swallowed, "the yearly Grand Galloping Gala is approaching, would you like to attend?" I shoveled some omelet into my mouth and took a minute to enjoy the peppers and cheese flowing through my tastebuds.

"What is that? Like a charity auction or something?" I questioned and sipped on a cup of milk.

"No, it is a formal gathering of all Canterlot's most sophisticated and important ponies. The importance behind the Gala is to get them all together and swap different ideas and is a Canterlot tradition," Celestia explained.

"Nope, sorry, doesn't sound like my kind of thing," I replied and continued to cut into my omelet and hash browns. I kept on eating until I realized it had been quiet for some time, so I looked up to see Luna and Celestia with disappointed faces. "What? Did I say something wrong?" I asked.

"Well, why wouldn't you want to go Cougar? It is actually a fairly enjoyable evening," Luna protested.

"Sorry, I don't do phosistication things," I replied in a joking manner. That's when the doors flew open once again and my old friend Bluebutt strolled in.

"Ugh! YOU again?! Let me guess, you were rejected by every Mare during the Estrus?" He rudely guessed and sat down with a huff, "doesn't surprise me, you couldn't lay a mare in the dungeon with the keys in your disgusting digits," Blueblood began to cut into a salad with his magic.

"BLUEBLOOD!" Luna shrieked in her booming voice. I held onto my plate to keep the vibrations from forcing it off the table. Spike was hit directly with the voice and his chair fell backwards onto the floor, his face covered with soggy eggs and bits of gemstones. "You will leave Cougar alone!" She sneered at Blueblood, "he was nearly raped by-" I stopped her right there.

"Some mares tried to jump me when I went to town for some errands," I tried to not paint Applejack in an unflattering manner, to which Luna thankfully understood.

"I find that extremely hard to believe," Blueblood ignored Luna's warning and continued to eat. It then dawned on me that Blueblood was here eating, and not in his room, or a hotel room somewhere in the city.

"So, where's your mare then Bluebutt?" I asked casually and continued to eat.

"What did you just call me?" He demanded and snapped his fork in half with his magic.

"You were just mocking me for being here and not with a mare, so why are you here instead of entertaining a mare somewhere?" I questioned smugly and took a long sip of milk. Bluebutt glared at me and mumbled when he munched on his food.

"I would if my aunties weren't such cock blockers," he mumbled.

"THAT'S IT!" Luna screamed, flew up from her chair, grabbed Blueblood by his horn with her magic and drug him away, "I shall return momentarily, after I punish our nephew sister," Luna informed Celestia and left the dining room.

"I apologize for Blueblood's behavior boys," Celestia apologized to myself and Spike.

"I'm used to it Princess, but thank you for the breakfast," I replied and set my fork down on my now empty plate.

"Princess, I still can't believe you allow him to stay here," Spike piped up after picking himself up from the floor and licking the rest of his food off his face, "especially after how he treated Rarity," Spike seethed in anger.

"Well, I'm well aware of my nephew's poor manners, but besides Cadance, myself and Luna are his only family members, his mother abandoned him when he was just a baby and we never knew who is father was; we've been trying to teach him manners and how to be a responsible and selfless member of royalty for nearly thirty years, and no results," Celestia explained.

"Oh, but that still doesn't excuse how big of a jerk he is," Spike retorted and set his empty plate down.

"Have you tried military school or hiring a CO to privately tutor him?" I asked.

"Luna proposed that idea several years ago, but I thought that to be much too severe for him," the Princess replied.

"Look Celestia, you've tried and you were too easy for too long, I think the next time he does something terrible, like how he greeted me when I first arrived, then send his ass to Military school and straighten him up," I explained. The princess rested her chin on her golden covered hooves and pondered the idea momentarily.

"I shall discuss this with Luna Cougar, but we must think of this. In the mean time, Wadsworth, please show Cougar and Spike to their rooms," Celestia requested, "Spike, you'll stay in the guest room next to me and Cougar, Luna requested that you sleep in the guest bedroom next to her chambers," she got up from the table, "and don't forget to enjoy your weekend boys," she bowed before leaving.

"Pardon me sirs, but it is time to show you to your rooms," a butler pony exclaimed. Spike and I got up from the table as the various cooks from the kitchen cleared the dirty dishes. "Follow me Cougar, Mr. the Dragon, you know where your room is," Wadsworth explained. Spike jogged away with his hobo stick in hand while I walked with Wadsworth to my temporary room.

"So, what is there to do in the castle Wadsworth?" I asked politely.

"Ah, the castle does house a fencing arena, a natural lake for swimming, a gymnasium, an archery range and a library filled magical books, I do enjoy a good read on my time off," Wadsworth replied, "though you must have permission from one of the royal sisters to enter parts of the library," he added.

"What else is there for fun?" I asked.

"Well, we do have the royal jester, but unfortunately he had to be with his wife for the estrus," Wadsworth explained as we rounded a corner. "And I know at first the guards may be intimidating, but as long as you do not threaten to harm anypony or steal anything, they will leave you alone," he informed.

"Ha, what guards?" I asked as I only spotted one in the hallway.

"Well, the majority have left for mating season, leaving but a handful of guards left, ah here we are Mr. Cougar," Wadsworth utilized his magic and opened the door for me. I thanked him and dropped my bag beside the King Sized bed.

"I may not enjoy fancy things a lot, but I can live with this Wadsworth," I laid down on the bed and stretched. The room had a nice silver chandelier suspended from the ceiling, a fireplace on the far corner, a personal bathroom on the other corner and a nice balcony outside.

"Well, if there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask," Wadsworth turned to leave.

"Hold on there," I said and produced ten bits from my pockets, "thanks for showing my my room," I grinned.

"Thank you sir," Wadsworth bowed his head and left the room. I took one more look around my room before exiting and going to find Spike to see if he wanted to do anything. I stuffed my hands in my pockets as I strolled down the hallway. 'Maybe we could go for a swim, or run some laps in the gym,' I thought to myself. The hallway I was in had the large bay windows, allowing Celestia's sun to stream in seamlessly.

"Ah there you are Cougar, enjoy your room?" I heard Luna ask. I turned around to see the Alicorn trotting her way up to me.

"Yes I do Luna, thanks for letting me stay next to you," I replied and stopped so she could catch up.

"It's no trouble Cougar, but do you have any plans for today at the castle?"

"I was just going to see what Spike wanted to do today, see if we can clear the bad air between us," I explained.

"That sounds like fun Cougar, let me transport you to Spike's room if you would like that," she offered. I nodded my head and suddenly found myself outside a golden door. "Now, I must retire for the day, but I'll see you tonight before you go off to bed," Luna disappeared in a flash of white light. I gathered my thoughts together, (my mind still wasn't used to this teleportation concept and left my head spinning) and knocked on the door.

"Yeah? Oh, hey," Spike said dejectedly as he saw it was me.

"Hey Spike, want to hang out and do something together?" I asked. The little dragon froze in spot and turned around, a look of disbelief painted on his face.

"Why do you want to hang out with me Cougar?" He asked curiously.

"Well Spike, we're both basically stuck here, and I thought we could pass the time together you know? Maybe go for a swim, or run a few laps in the gym, or go to the library?" I offered. Spike's hand slid off the golden door in exasperation.

"Please, I work in a library with Twilight all day every day, do you really think I'd want to hang out in a library all day doing nothing?" He replied.

"Right, sorry," I looked around, trying to get rid of the awkward air.

"But really, why do you want to hang out with me? You know how we don't trust each other," he pointed out.

"I just thought we could at least be nice to each other, you know, for our friends' sakes?" I explained. "We don't have to be friends, just not be assholes to each other." Spike looked down at his feet and back up to me.

"Well, a swim does sound nice."

(1 hour Later. Cougar's POV)

We both decided to wait an hour before we went for a swim so we wouldn't cramp up. But, while I was changing into the swimsuit Rarity made for me, I had a flashback back to this morning. I braced myself against the wall as I shook my head, attempting to get rid of the memory. "No, I can't be getting afraid of Applejack," I said to myself. Despite my understanding that it was normal and in her nature, it was still a frightening experience for me. "Maybe I need to see her again once this shit is over," I said out loud, "that could help."

"Cougar, are you ready?" Spike knocked on my silver door. I snapped myself out of my thoughts and opened the door to see Spike, in nothing as usual. "Hey, nice outfit, did Rarity make it?" He asked me.

"Yeah, she made them special after, Pinkie," I replied.

"Yep, only Rarity could make something so simple so fantastic," he gushed. I rolled my eyes and patted his head, motioning for him to follow me. "So, are you still not going to the Gala? Applejack is coming," Spike asked me. We had begun our trek outside to the lake, luckily there was a guard in the hallway to tell us where the lake was.

"No, and why would that sway my decision?" I asked.

"Well, because you guys are good friends and you really bonded from the timber wolf attack," he exclaimed.

"Spike, she's a pony, I'm a human, we're friends, end of story," I shut that book.

"Well so? I thought maybe if you went with her, you wouldn't mind the snooty ponies attending?" Spike questioned.

"Nope, it's not my kind of thing Spike, I really don't think anything will change my mind," I said.

"Fine, but you're really gonna miss out," Spike teased as we opened a door to reveal a path to the lake. "Come on Cougar!" Spike burst into a sprint and dove into the lake. I dropped my duffel bag with my towel on the shore and dove in after the dragon. The cool water felt amazing on my skin from Celestia's sun bearing down on me.

"Oh yeah, this is nice!" I exclaimed as I rose from the water. Spike popped from behind me and spat water at the back of my head. He chuckled and dove below the surface as I tried to splash him.

"Missed me!" He teased and popped up somewhere else. I yanked on his tail and held him upside down just above the surface.

"Gotcha punk," I dunked him under the surface.

"Let me go Cougar!" He laughed at me. I reared my hand back and tossed him about ten feet away. He made a huge splash as he made contact with the water. "You'll pay for that!" He threatened when he re-surfaced with soggy spikes and scales.

"Come and get some kid!" I called out to him and gave him the 'Bring it On' hand motion.

"Oh, it's so on Cougar," Spike playfully growled. Diving below the water, Spike shot towards me and yanked myself under the water with his tail wrapped around my ankle. I held my breath as he drug me under the water, but as he did, I had another flashback.

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe and I started to panic. I thrashed my arms around and let out an underwater scream. Spike's tail let me go, but I couldn't get back up to the surface right away. Luckily, he grasped my hand in his claws and he pulled me back up onto the shore. "COUGAR!" Spike slapped my face a few times, "are you okay?" He worriedly asked.

"I think so," I choked out.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let that happen," he apologized. I held my hand up as I caught my breath.

"No, I just had a flashback of the timber wolf attack, it's not your fault," I lied to him, thanking God that I wasn't talking to Applejack or Luna.

"Well, we can go back inside or we can wait a minute for you to catch your breath," Spike assured me.

"No, just let me catch my breath and we'll go back to swimming," I patted his back. Finally, my heart rate went back down and my breathing returned to normal. I made the first move and jumped back into the water, Spike following closely. Unfortunately, as we both surfaced, something appeared to be following us in the water. "Spike, do any lakes have sharks in Equestria?"

"Sharks? No they're only in the oceans, why?" He asked me.

"Then what the fuck is that?!" I yelled. He turned to where I was pointing and his irises shrank. Closing in on us was a curved fin, traveling at us quickly.

"SHAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRK!" We both yelled and tried to get out of the water, but we both felt something grab our legs and yank us under water...

End Chapter XIII

Chapter XIV: Weekend Escape Part II

Fallen Eagle

Chapter XIV: Weekend Escape Part II

Lake behind Canterlot Castle. Cougar's POV)

To say I was terrified of whatever was following myself and Spike to the shore of the lake would've been an understatement. The shark fin-like object seemed to be gaining speed traveling at us. On instinct, I got behind Spike and pushed him through the water faster, making sure he'd escape the lake first since he was just a kid. "Cougar, come on!" Spike paddled faster and faster as I picked him up and lifted his body out of the water with my legs still kicking as fast as I could. "What're you-" he started before I chucked him onto the shore. His body landed with a thump onto the sand, yet he wasn't fazed as he got up and motioned for me to hurry.

"Kid, get away from the water!" I ordered him. Turning my head, I saw the shark fin getting closer and closer, so I paddled faster and faster than ever.

"GUARDS!" Spike started to shout at the top of his lungs back towards the castle, "HELP!" he added. Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my leg and yank me hard, but I never fell below the surface.

"Ah!" I exclaimed as I missed a breath and coughed into the surface of the water. Spike's shouting had ceased and he stood on the shore, glaring behind me. It was then I had realized that whatever had chased me, stopped and even the water had calmed itself.

"Oh come now, you two invite yourselves up to the castle for the weekend and you don't even bother to invite your dear Uncle Discord?" I heard Discord mockingly ask. Rolling my body over onto my back (I was close enough to the shore now that I could sit on the bottom under the surface) and placed my hand in front of my eyes to shield Celestia's sun from blinding me.

"Haha, good work Discord," the sun princess in question giggled and floated down from a cloud. "Oh, you two are indeed fun to be around," she gave another polite giggle. Her cloud vanished into thin air and she extended her legs onto the sandy shore of the beach.

"Princess Celestia, what's wrong with you!?" Spike exclaimed angrily, clenching his fists.

"Live a little Spike, you were never in any danger," Discord rolled his eyes which turned into two giant beach balls and knocked against my head and Spike's head before deflating and appearing in Discord's head which was now lying flush with the ground.

"What did you use as a shark fin then?" I finally croaked out after catching my breath again. I slumped down onto some soft grass and leaned up against a bush, allowing Celesita's sun to start drying me off. The creature that was a result of mother nature dropping too much acid reached up with his eagle talons and yanked his large crooked tooth out of his mouth.

"This tooth comes in handy more often than you'd think Cougar," the tooth vibrated a few times before flying onto Discord's back and grew larger to the size and color of a shark fin. He snapped his lion paw and the tooth reappeared into his mouth. I rolled my eyes and leaned over to grab my duffel bag that housed a towel. I wiped my face over and over again before rolling up said towel and lacing it around my neck.

"So, I take it you had to leave Ponyville as well?" I questioned and stood up with my duffel bag.

"That would explain his sudden appearance, somewhat," Spike replied as he shook his body a few times to get the remaining water droplets off his scales.

"Well yes, unfortunately being the lord of chaos, I sometimes forget important events on the schedule when planning to spread harmless chaos for my entertainment," Discord replied as he put on reading glasses, stuck a bubble pipe in his mouth and pulled up a daily planner. "So, when I entered a seemingly deserted Ponyville and headed to Fluttershy's cottage to kill some time," he tossed a spear at a clock and blew it up, "I happened upon Fluttershy yanking poor Caramel into her cottage as her animals were standing outside, shivering with fear."

"Oh God," I muttered at the thought of innocent little Fluttershy, well, you get the picture.

"And anyways, I was just strolling around my own personal Canterlot when I thought to myself, 'I wonder what Celestia is up to?' and I appeared in her day court room."

"Which was actually a nice surprise since I had only two guards to keep me company. The Fall and Spring Estrus seasons really make crime rates go down for the weekends, but that leaves nothing for my day court, so I've been putting off paperwork to keep me sane," Celestia explained.

"Well, have you tried scheduling court dates for the Estrus weekend princess?" Spike questioned and hopped onto her back, which I was surprised that she allowed him to do.

"Luna suggested that about a month before the Fall Estrus a few years ago, never again," she shuddered.

"Why not? Didn't it keep you busy?" I asked as I threw on my shirt.

"Yes, but keeping that many males in one place for that long, did not end well, those poor guards," Celestia shook her head. Finally I had begun a trek back to the castle, forcing the rest of the group to follow.

"Hang on a sec, Discord, how did you walk through Ponyville without getting mauled by a group of horny mares?" I paused halfway up the hill.

"I didn't walk through Ponyville, I teleported after realizing the place was emptier than, well the Canterlot bakery on Celestia's birthday," Discord responded as Celestia embarrassingly blushed, "and even then, I put a magic spell around me that masks the scent mares in heat go after," he explained.

"Cougar, I hope our prank didn't upset you in any way, I thought you could use a good laugh," Celestia said to me in her motherly voice. Yeah, I was kinda pissed since I don't think pretending to drown someone is funny, but at least I knew they were trying to cheer me up.

"It's okay, but I just hope I don't get anymore surprises this weekend. I just want to ride it out until we get the all clear to get back to Ponyville," I replied. Just as we reached the top of the hill, two guards came rushing out of the door, spears in hand.

"Did somepony call for assistance?" One of the guards asked.

"Yeah, like five minutes ago guys! What if Celestia was in trouble?" Spike angrily hopped to his feet on the sun goddess' back. The two guards rubbed their necks and blushed in embarrassment for their shitty reaction time.

"Now, now Spike," Celestia calmly spoke up, "these two are rarely on the main guard line, plus they're one of the few handful of guards left in this wing of the castle," she politely explained.

"And I had to make sure I had backup in case something went wrong," the second guard added, "we're always trained to have backup when heading into an emergency," he explained.

"Exactly, we can't stay in one spot like most pairs of guards, we have to constantly move around during this weekend," the first guard piped up.

"Okay, alright we get it," I held my hand up, "you did your best, and that's fine, now let's get out of here before Discord rearranges my internal organs," I shot a quick look at the conniving draconequus.

"What else do you wanna do Cougar?" Spike asked me, leaning against the back of Celestia's neck as the two unicorn guards escorted us back to the castle. Slinging my duffel bag strap over my shoulder, I took a quick whiff of my arm and grimaced.

"First thing is I'm gonna take a shower," I replied, "I was gonna take one earlier today, but I wanted to see what there was to do around the castle." The two guards opened the doors for myself, Celestia and Discord before locking the doors behind them and standing guard in front of them.

"Eh, I'll probably take a bath," Spike whiffed himself and jumped off Celestia's back.

"And don't you change our water to custard or barbecue sauce or something Discord!" I exclaimed, pointing my finger back at the creature in question.

"What? Moi? Perish the thought!" Discord kicked two 55 gallon drums of custard and barbecue sauce behind a post. As the four of us rounded a corner to get back to the hallway that housed Luna's private quarters and my temporary quarters, Celestia stopped us.

"Well, if you want to find something else to do, you can always ask me Cougar; I'm still trying to keep myself occupied today," Celestia let out a sad sigh. Then, Discord appeared next to her, leaning against her shoulder.

"I can think of a few fun things to do Celestia," Discord winked and earned himself a punch to the nose. "OW!" Discord held his nose, "I didn't mean that!" He whined and conjured up an ice pack. Spike and I chuckled as Celestia shined up her golden hoof plate against her furry chest.

"Next time don't say it like that then Discord," Celestia trotted away. Discord picked himself up off the floor and held his bloody nose in his eagle talons. I turned back to Spike and chucked my towel and duffel bag into my room.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you in a little bit Spike, we can hang out in your room and watch movies on my iPad if you want," I offered.

"Yeah, I got tons of comic books I'll let you read if you promise not to get them dirty or ruin them," he threatened.

"I won't ruin your precious comic books Spike," I rolled my eyes, patted his head and shut the door to my room.

(One hour later. Cougar's POV)

After getting used to taking a shower in a bathtub meant for ponies at least half a foot shorter than me, I dried myself off, tossed my iPad into my duffel bag and headed out of my temporary room. It was hard, practically having to stand on my knees just to be able to turn the knobs and keep my head under the water stream. The body wash was alright I guess, coconut creme. "Good day Mr. Cougar, I trust your morning has gone well?" Wadsworth asked me in his British accent.

"Yeah, Spike and I had a little surprise waiting for us in the lake, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle," I turned to the butler Earth Pony.

"Well, is there anything I can get Mr. Cougar?" He politely held up his right foreleg with a handkerchief (or would it be a hoofkerchief?) strewn about. I held up my hands and shook my head at the butler.

"Nah, I'm good, just going to kill some time with Spike," I replied. "Look, I know I'm not in charge of you or anything Wadsworth," I stopped walking for a brief moment, "but why don't you go get yourself a cup of coffee or a veggie sandwich?" I suggested.

"Hmm," the butler pondered for a second, "I think I shall, but please do not let either of the princesses know I'm slacking off," he pleaded and put unbuttoned the top of his suit.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied with a wink. Wadsworth smiled and trotted away, shoving his white cloth into one of his many pockets before disappearing around a corner, probably heading to his butler quarters or a break room for guards, maids and butlers. Adjusting my Drive to End Hunger hat, I kept on walking through the halls of the castle, occasionally pausing to look at busts of pony rulers of the past, statues, paintings and glass stained windows.

"Cougar, can I help you?" A voice calmly called out. Thank God no one else was there, or else the secret of me screaming like a little girl would be about as concealed as the rumor of Carl Edwards joining Joe Gibbs Racing.

"AHH!" I yelled and grasped a lighting fixture to hold my body up.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Celestia apologized and rubbed my shoulder with her right wing. I nodded my head and got my wits about me before politely shoving her wing off my shoulder.

"And I didn't mean to wander, where am I exactly?" I attempted to dissect my exact whereabouts.

"You're just about to enter the royal bathhouse," she replied. I'm an idiot; I didn't notice until now that her horn had a towel wrapped around it. The doors shut by themselves, revealing the two guards standing behind them.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry Princess, I wasn't trying to peek or anything," I apologized and turned away from her. Celestia chuckled before tossing the towel into my face and walking along with me.

"Don't worry about that Cougar; I was just washing my mane," Celestia explained. "So, where are you heading now?" She asked me.

"I was just going to see Spike and watch a few movies on my iPad, or maybe just talk you know," I replied, patting my duffel bag that had a spare set of clothes and my iPad. Celestia sighed and lowered her head. "Is everything okay Princess?" I asked, stopping in the hallway. The huge bay windows allowed light from her sun to pour through; I had to squint and lower the brim of my hat over my eyes.

"It's nice that you and Spike are trying to keep the peace between you if only for the weekend, I just wish sometimes Luna wasn't nocturnal or that our duties and work didn't get in the way so much," she confessed, "I missed her so much for the 1000 years I was forced to banish her to the moon," her horn lit up and projected the image of a black Alicorn as large as Celestia herself onto the nearest window. The image showed rays from Celestia's horn shooting at the black Alicorn and forcing it into the moon. "And even though she's been back for five years, we still don't get to spend that much time together." The image disappeared and the window went back to normal. "I wish we could go back to the days of our fillyhood and spend a whole day together, no villains or paperwork to go through," she added. I clicked my tongue several times, looking down the hall and back to the saddened Princess before me.

"Look Celestia, you said you practically had nothing to do today right?" I asked. She nodded and looked back up at me. "Well, if you really want to and really have nothing else to do today, would you like to hang out with me and Spike?" I questioned.

"You wouldn't mind having me spend time with you and Spike?" She replied, a hint of happiness riding on the edge of her voice.

"Nah, in fact it might be good for us to have someone of a regal status to keep us guys from acting stupid," I replied with a smirk. Celestia perked her head back up and smiled largely.

"Ahem, well then, shall I escort you to Spike's room then?" She offered her hoof to me. I took the gold plated hoof and we whisked away to the door next to Celestia's private chambers. "Ah, Glock, my faithful guard, you may take a break, I'm sure we'll be fine with Spike," Celestia granted the guard some time off.

"A-are you sure your majesty?" Glock stammered, "I wouldn't want to shirk my duties," he said in complete shock.

"Yes of course, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, especially with the dragon who saved the Crystal Empire and the human with a military background and who killed two Timberwolves bare uh," Celestia's mind went blank as she forgot what my hands were called.

"Handed," I said for her, nudging her shoulder.

"Yes that's right, and if something horrible happens, which I doubt it will, I believe we'll manage, and you deserve a day off Glock," she touched her horn to his head, removing his golden helmet to reveal a blue mane on his white body.

"If only I had a mare to share it with," he said gloomily. The guard drug his spear along the ground, walking away from the one thing today that made him feel important. I felt bad for the guy, so I spoke up.

"Hey Glock, you know, there's this nurse in the Royal Infirmary that's really nice, maybe once this weekend is over you could invite her to dinner or something, her name is Candystriper," I called out. The pegasus guard ceased and turned around to face me.

"I'll, keep that in mind, thanks," he gave me small smile and walked away.

"Well Cougar, that was very kind of you," Celestia complimented and opened the door to Spike's room, "and how did you know Nurse Candystriper was single? She closed the door as I walked in.

"She just seemed a little alone when she was helping myself, Rainbow and Applejack a few weeks ago," I replied, "hey Spike, what are you reading?" I asked as Spike hadn't noticed either of us enter the room.

"Aw, come on Humdrum," Spike rolled his eyes, "you had one job! Watch the door!" The dragon scolded his comic book.

"Does this happen often Princess?" I questioned Celestia while the oblivious reptile continued to read his comic book titled Power Ponies.

"I've seen this before when Twilight was a student of mine and Spike brought these comic books along while Twilight studied and practiced magic with me," Celestia responded, "however, I have been shown a method or two to snap him out of his funk," she added and trotted over to Spike, "Spike, oh Spike," she said in a teasing voice, "Rarity is here with a plate of gems; she wants to share them with you over dinner," she whispered. Instantly, the dragon sprang from his chair, the comic book flying out of his hands and landing perfectly on top of the stack of comic books next to his chair.

"Where is she? Oh, how do my spikes look?" Spike glossed over his green spikes with his right hand. Then, he realized Celestia was joking and his ears and spikes drooped down, "Come on guys, that's not funny," he hopped back onto his chair.

"Well, you were lost in the fantasy world of super ponies wearing tights, how else were we gonna get you back to reality?" I asked and ruffled his green spikes.

"So? You don't mess with a guy's feelings like that," Spike picked up his comic book and went to reopen it, but Celestia wrestled it from his grip with her magic; Spike crossed his arms and glared at the Sun Princess.

"I am sorry Spike, but Cougar has some movies he wants to watch with us," she explained and sat down next to the small dragon. Taking my cue, I set down my duffel bag and opened up the zipper.

"Alright, since you like superheroes so much kid," I flicked my thumb across the dozens of movies on my iPad until I rested on one of my favorite superhero movies of all time, "how about one about one of the greatest superhero teams ever?" I questioned.

"How did your dimension know about the Power Ponies!?" Spike exclaimed excitedly.

"Power Ponies? Yeah, right," I showed both Celestia and Spike the iPad screen. The screen showed a picture of a group of superheroes standing in a demolished city. One was wearing red and gold plated armor with lasers shooting out of his right hand. Another had a red, white and blue costume on with a blue helmet that had a big silver 'A' on the front and he was throwing a circular red white and blue shield. A third superhero had a large maroon cape, silver armor and a huge hammer being held in his right hand. A fourth one was a large and green angry looking behemoth. The fifth and sixth ones had black leather costumes on.

"The Avengers? Please, I bet the Power Ponies could whip them without losing their breath," Spike rolled his eyes.

"Oh really? Ya wanna find out?" I replied and clicked play, "Princess, you don't mind a superhero film do you?" I asked. Instantly, the Princess conjured up three large buckets of popcorn that levitated in front of all of us.

"Why don't we make things a little bigger?" She took a smile bite of popcorn as her golden aura surrounded my iPad. The screen began to stretch and deform as it suddenly grew to the size of a 32 inch TV screen and floated in mid-air. Then, the curtains in the room closed and the fire died down, making the screen appear clearer.

"Director Fury, what do we do now?" Agent Coulson questioned to his superior over the walkie-talkie. The screen changed to show a badass looking black male with an eye patch. He lowered his walkie-talkie before looking up into the distance. Suddenly, the screen went dark as the words THE AVENGERS appeared in big bold letters.

"Interesting so far," Spike said nonchalantly and threw some popcorn in his mouth.

(A little while into the film)

"Cougar, who is this man?" Celestia asked while taking a sip of water and munching on popcorn. The man on the screen was viciously punching a punching bag inside a 1940's styled gymnasium as he had flashbacks to his prior life. The movie showed the man in his superhero costume, running through a winterized forest with explosions and bullets covering the area.

"Peggy, it's too dangerous, I gotta put her in the water!" The man exclaimed. The screen showed him deflecting some sort of laser blast with his shield pounding another man's face in.

"You won't be alone," a woman's voice said softly as it showed a large machine crashing into ice.

"My God, this guy's still alive!" A second man shouted as the man in his costume was shown frozen in a block of ice.

Suddenly, the screen went back to real time as the man in the gym punched the punching bag so hard it exploded, sending mountains of sand everywhere and flying the remains of the punching bag across the room.

"That, is Captain America Celestia," I smirked and popped some snacks into my mouth.

"Oh my, he's certainly a strong human," Celestia stopped munching on her food to stare in awe at how strong Captain America was. Spike chuckled when Cap grabbed a second punching bag, hooked it to the ceiling and began to punch at it.

"Let me guess, this guy was some sort of soldier and he fell into a vat of toxic waste or was struck by lightning or whatever?" Spike played with is tail.

"Nope, he was experimented on," I replied and sipped on a cola. Just as Director Nick Fury was about to hand Cap his mission briefing, there was a knock on the door. "I got it, don't get up guys," I allowed the movie to keep playing since I've seen it dozens and dozens of times. "Yeah?" I opened the door only to discover an empty hallway. "Celestia, is this another one of yours?" I asked and held the golden door wide open.

"What are you talking about Cougar? I didn't do anything," a confused and puzzled Celestia replied to me.

"Eh nothing, I must be hearing things," I said and shut the door. I sat back down in my chair which suddenly turned to a huge mound of popcorn, as did Celestia's and Spike's.

"Hey, what's going on!" Spike's muffled voice came from underneath his popcorn. Celestia's head poked out the top of her popcorn chair with some butter dripping off her horn.

"Discord," Celestia seethed as the chaos raving maniac appeared from thin air wearing blue and red 3D glasses.

"What, I thought you could all use a refill," he flicked some of the buttery goodness into his mouth and swallowed it. He then snapped his lion paw and a jumbo cup of soda appeared in front of him. However, instead of putting the red straw up to his lips, he inserted it into his ear. "Ah, refreshing," he sighed happily until he groaned in pain, "AH! BRAIN FREEZE!" He shouted and grabbed his head. I finally crawled from my mound of popcorn with bits of the snack sticking to me thanks to the butter.

"Did you want to watch the movie with us?" I asked, beginning to lose my patience with this guy.

"Oh goody, I thought you'd never ask!" Discord clapped his paw and talons together. He conjured up a lawn chair for himself to sit in and laid back, still drinking his soda pop.

"You could've just asked Discord," Spike crawled from his trap and coughed up some food.

"Where's the fun in that kiddo?" Discord teased. Celestia's horn flashed a bright golden light as the chairs returned to normal and all three of us were cleaned up of the butter and popcorn.

(Cougar's POV. 7:00 PM)

After finishing up the Avengers, the four of us took a break before returning to watch some more movies on my now gigantic iPad. When we were done with the Avengers, it was about 2:00, so we watched a comedy because Discord claimed he wanted a good laugh. So, I chose one of my favorite all time comedies: Dumb and Dumber.

"One half tea-spoon, for fast effective relief," Jim Carrey's character laughed evilly as he poured half a bottle of Turbo lax into Jeff Daniels' character's coffee mug.

"Oh ho, ho, ho!" Discord guffawed, spilling some popcorn into Celestia's wavy rainbow mane. "I LOVE this Jim Carrey fellow, I simply must see more of his works," Discord slapped his knee. Suddenly, there was another knock on the door, so I paused the movie. Celestia, Spike and myself turned our heads upwards to Discord. "Oh sure, blame the guy who pulled the last prank, how typical." Instead of one of us opening the door, the knocker in question appeared in the room herself.

"Luna!" I exclaimed and stood up to shake her hoof. "I take it you slept well?" I questioned the princess of the night.

"Oh most definitely," Luna stretched out her neck, "though I have been awake since 5:00," she winked, "and I see you've spent some time with my sister, little Spike and, Discord?" She questioned when the draconequus was spotted.

"Yeah, he wanted to tag along so we let him," I explained.

"Tia, did you get any of your work done today?" Luna asked her sister.

"Yes, though there was not much to do considering what weekend it is," Celestia got up from her chair.

"Hmm yes, this weekend does limit what we can do sister, though I do have one case in my Night Court tonight," Luna grumbled. "But anyways, the head chef has alerted me that dinner is ready if you're all ready?"

"Well, I am kind of sick of popcorn," Spike tossed his empty bucket into the garbage can. I turned off my now gigantic iPad and held the golden door open for everyone as we all exited the room to head for the dining hall.

"So Luna, what's on the menu for tonight?" I questioned, hoping for some barbecue corn on the cob or some mashed potatoes with country gravy and possibly cornbread, though I'm sure none of it would be as good as Granny Smith's recipes.

"The normal routine for us," Luna led all five of us down the hallway as Celestia joined us up front and Spike hopped onto Celestia's back for the second time, "a regular vegetable salad, fruit salad, pasta and baked jalapeño cheese bread for the side," the Princess of the Night explained, "and of course gems for Spike," she patted Spike's head. "Is something the matter Cougar?" She asked when she saw my crestfallen face.

"No, of course not," I replied, trying not to offend her, "it's just, I'm so used to the Apple family's cooking and I haven't really had any other food than theirs since I've been here," I delineated.

"Ah, that does make sense Cougar," Celestia chimed in, "although, after you and Spike left to go swimming this morning, I requested that the head chef make you a meal that they would normally make for the Griffon King and his guards when they arrive," she told me.

"Griffons?" I asked in disbelief, "well I shouldn't be too surprised," I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, and although we do not ourselves eat meat, King Gryffindor showed us an alternative to meat called Seitan," Luna piped up as the main dining hall doors flew open. "Ah Bat Fang, there you are."

"And Glock too, I trust you all had an interesting day?" Celestia and Luna greeted their personal guards. I had never ever tried Tofu before; fake meat sounded nasty and cheap to me back on Earth, but the princesses and the chefs went to the trouble just for me, I might as well try it. Discord, Luna and Celestia's noses crinkled at the smell coming from the kitchen, but my nose was loving it, Spike however, was indifferent.

"That smells really good," I wiped my lips of saliva as I smelled beef, most likely a steak or ribs. We all sat down at the huge round table as the few remaining servers set down glasses of water and milk.

"Speak for yourself Cougar," Luna wiped her nose. I chuckled and sipped on my water while Glock and Bat Fang stood around the table.

"And dinner, is served," one of the servants announced. Six plates, one for each of us, (and Bluebutt I'm guessing) were brought into the room and set down before us. The servers uncovered the plates and we began to eat. My dinner was Seitan beef tips, which I was still hesitant to try at first, but I slowly stabbed on cube with my fork and stuffed it into my mouth.

"Well Cougar, do you enjoy your food?" Celestia questioned while swallowing her salad.

"This is pretty damned good," I stuffed another cube of Seitan beef into my mouth and swallowed it. I then buttered a piece of bread and ate that as well. Discord on the other hand, was being Discord of course. He used his magic to turn his dinner plate and utensils into pieces of salad and his actual salad into broken pieces of dinner plate.

"Mmm," his teeth crunched the dinner plate, "my compliments," he belched. Then, the doors flew open to reveal, a very different Blueblood. He was shaking all over and his mane was a complete mess, kind of like Sarah Connor's hair in Terminator 2.

"Nephew, so glad you could join us," Luna smiled evilly and quietly stuck some vegetables into her muzzle, chewing slowly. Blueblood's hooves clacked against the marble flooring several times, almost as if he were trying to crack the floor itself.

"S-s-so m-m-much d-d-darkness," he shivered and sat down, the chair vibrating violently.

"What the fuck did you do to him?" I whispered to Luna.

"Ha, an old friend of mine taught him a valuable lesson about treating others with respect," Luna politely sipped her water.

"Lulu," Celestia glared down at Luna. I was confused as hell, but Spike and Discord continued to eat their dinner as if everything was okay. Blueblood was breathing shakily while trying to pick up his fork with his magic. The silver utensil was vibrating to and fro, like it was having its own seizure during an earthquake. The fork clanged against Blueblood's dinner plate loudly, picking up some salad that flung off as he couldn't stop from shaking.

"He'll be fine Tia," Luna said, "besides, you don't mind it when I transform during Nightmare Night," the midnight blue Alicorn countered.

"Yes, but that's just for fun; using her to purposefully scare somepony into acting the way you want them to is wrong," Celestia scolded her eyes and chewed menacingly at her younger sister. My head darted back and forth as they retorted to each other, like I was watching the championship tennis match at Wimbledon. Spike chuckled when Bluebutt was finally able to take a bite of food without shaking it off his fork.

"What exactly are you two talking about?" I wiped my mouth.

"Oh, nothing Cougar, Luna just didn't think straight when punishing our nephew," Celestia looked back and forth from Luna to Blueblood.

"What the hell did she do to him exactly?" I asked again.

"I showed him what would become of him if he continued to treat his fellow creatures like garbage," Luna explained before polishing off her pasta.

"S-s-so d-d-d-dark," the white unicorn in question spilled his water onto the table. One of the servants quickly wiped up the water from the table.

"Anything else going on?" I changed the subject so there wouldn't be any bad air between Celestia and Luna considering how much Celestia missed spending quality time with her sister.

"Well, besides the Gala which you seem determined to miss," Luna started, "the annual Running of the Leaves in Ponyville will be occurring towards the end of next month, about a week and a half before the Gala," Luna explained.

"It's a race where any species of pony can run, and it's all for fun, an exhibition really," Celestia doused some of her salad in ranch dressing.

"A race huh?" Now they had my full attention.

"Yes, and we were curious to see if that would peak your interest," Luna downed the last of her water before a servant refilled the glass.

"And it's called the running of the leaves because it's in fall?" I asked, finishing up my Seitan beef tips.

"Something along those lines Cougar," Celestia swallowed her food, "mainly what the event is for is to make the gusts of wind generated by the running ponies to lift the dead leaves off the trees to make way for winter," the sun pony finished explaining. Boy, I hadn't been to a race since I was a teenager; this sounds like it could be fun.

"Do any of my friends compete?" I asked and started to pick apart my loaf of bread.

"Oh yeah, Rainbow Dash and Applejack run every year," Spike chimed in, crunching on a huge green gem, "Twilight did one year, but she really ran to just take in the scenery, not to compete," he explained. "Oh, and Pinkie Pie and I do the commentary every year!" he added with a sparkly grin.

"This sounds like fun, did you want to have me compete? I'm in shape, but not into running unless it's for my life," I said.

"No Cougar, we wanted to invite up to our private viewing booth at the top of the grandstands for a spectacular view of the race below," Luna cut in.

"Will there be nachos and soda? That's all I'll need to say yes."

"Of course, it wouldn't be a sporting event without nachos and soda would it?" Celestia replied, "or without cake," she added as quietly as possible, but we all saw right through it.

"Ah yes, the Running of the Leaves," Discord belched out some dust from the plate he feasted upon, "I was hoping to make things more, interesting at this year's run," he drank his cup of water.

"Discord, no," Celestia put her hooves upon the table, glaring at the draconequus.

"Whatever do you mean Princess?" Discord pouted like an innocent puppy dog.

"No greasing the path with axle grease," Celestia ordered.

"Or digging pits for the racers to fall in," Luna added.

"Ah, or trip wire across the path to trip the racers," Celestia pointed her golden hoof at Discord. His parchment marked 'Dastardly Plans' disappeared in a ball of fire, leaving him in an unhappy state.

"Fine, fine, we'll have it the old boring way if you want, but don't whine to me if it is boring!" Discord shook his lion paw. He suddenly yawned, covering his mouth with his eagle talon; snapped his lion paw and appeared in a slumber outfit, complete with Teddy Bear and night cap. "Well, I'm off to bed," he announced.

"At a quarter to 8:00?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Oh what, do I have to stick to the sleeping schedule your mommy gave you?" Discord bopped Spike on the nose, "I'm over a thousand years old; I'm old enough to make my own bedtime and I'm tired now!" Discord whined, "so, where will I be sleeping Celestia?" He appeared in Celestia's forelegs, sucking his thumb and cuddling his Teddy Bear.

"Well certainly not with me!" The Sun Princess dumped him into a bowl of pudding that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Luna, myself, Spike and even Bluebutt snickered as Discord shed himself of the chocolate pudding.

"Aw come on Celestia, I can sleep on one of the chairs in your room, you won't even know I'm there!" He begged.

"No means no Discord, I'm afraid you'll have to sleep in the guard quarters tonight," Celestia crossed her forelegs across her chest.

"OH PLEASE NO!" Glock dropped to his knees in a begging motion, "for the love of the monarchy your highness, anything but that! I don't want him to mess anything up and put the toilets on the ceilings or something," Glock begged. The Princess of the Day looked from Glock to Discord and sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you may sleep on the little couch in my room next to the fireplace, but," she sneered, "if a single picture is so much as a centimeter off normal, you're gone and sleeping in the gardens, understand?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh but of course, and thank you Celestia!" Discord kissed her hoof, making her blush slightly, "I'm off to bed now, I'll make sure nopony disturbs your room!" He saluted and disappeared in thin air. The servers then took our dirty silverware and plates and brought in a huge covered tray on a cart.

"And your dessert for the evening ladies, gentle colts, gentledrake and gentleman?" The main server questioned. I nodded with a smirk. Two other servers took the lid off of the plate, but where flabbergasted to find nothing, nary a crumb on the silver-plate! "But how can this be?! I just checked the dessert cart before we left the kitchen!" The server pony checked everywhere for the dessert.

"I wouldn't know," Celestia looked back and forth after wiping her foreleg across her mouth.

"Tia, honestly," Luna shook her head. Celestia gave a small and cute little belch.

"Oops, excuse me," she blushed.

"Well, today was fun, but I'm gonna go lay down until I fall asleep, I'll see ya tomorrow kid," I rubbed Spike's head. The dragon stretched and yawned before hopping off his chair and scratching his back.

"Okay, well have a good night you two!" Celestia called.

"I shall see you in your dreams!" Luna added. I wish she had thought about that before saying it out loud.

(Midnight. Cougar's POV)

I had lay down in bed for four hours now, but the Sandman never seemed to check in for his scheduled appointment with closing my eyes. The only light in the room was the silvery glow from Luna's moon pouring through the balcony doors and the small reddish glow of the fire in the silver and black fireplace. I wasn't too warm or too cold, I just couldn't sleep.

It wasn't because of my rude awakening with Applejack, nor was it because of nearly drowning earlier that day. Maybe I was too tired to sleep? No that's stupid. Was it because I missed the sounds of jet engines landing and taking off? No, I've been able to sleep for three months without them now. Was it because I didn't belong in a castle like this? And bingo, that was it. A castle was just too of an unfamiliar territory for me, so I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes and fall asleep, even trying a second shower for the day and listening to my phone. Whether it was the large rooms, the sophisticated atmosphere, or the fact that it was a rather large building that was nearly empty thanks to the Estrus Weekend, something just didn't sit right with me. Suddenly, there was a soft knock on my door and Luna poked her head in.

"Cougar, are you alright? I couldn't find you in the dream realm," she asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, sitting up and propping my back against the headboard of the bed.

"Oh, well then what is troubling you?" she sat on the edge of my bed.

"Nothing really, I just can't sleep," I stretched my arms around, "and I don't even feel tired really," I added. Being too bored to sleep was certainly a possibility as well. Luna tapped her chin with her silver hoof plate.

"Have you tried warm milk?" She asked.

"Nah, and to be honest, I don't really care if I do sleep or not," I admitted. "Is there anything I can do at night that won't disturb anypony?" I questioned, getting off the bed and grabbing my navy blue T-shirt off the top of my duffel bag.

"None that I can think of at the moment Cougar," Luna said as the clock in my room chimed 12:15 AM.

"Besides watching over dreams, what else are you doing Luna?" I asked her, leaning against the wall of the room.

"Unless you count my night court, then nothing Cougar, and I have but one case tonight; it shouldn't take too long to do anyways, so I'm trying to get it out of the way at half past midnight." Her eyes lit up as she mentioned her night court and she too sprang from my bed, "how would you like to join me? It would certainly pass some time for you if that's your main goal for the night," Luna asked me.

"Join you in your court? Like just sit in the court room and watch as you sentence a pony or let him free?" I questioned.

"Not exactly, for you see, Bat Fang is my only guard left until Monday and I would rather have two guards in the court room should something go wrong, even though I can handle myself mind you," Luna raised an eyebrow at me.

"You want me to be a guard?" I asked another question.

"A temporary guard for the night to be exact, if you want to of course, I'm not forcing you if you don't want to Cougar; I just think it may lead to something like my offer I made to you a few months ago." I breathed out, contemplating Luna's offer for a brief moment. What the hell was I going to do for the rest of the night?

"Sure, at least it'll kill some time, but what about a guard uniform or armor?" I asked.

"My, my, you are the curious one tonight," Luna teased before I was engulfed with her white aura and found myself wearing dark blue, black and silver armor, complete with a black helmet with the blue furry thing that Marvin the Martian wore, dark blue body armor with black and silver trimmings and a big white crescent moon on the chest area, black and silver shoulder pads and finally, black leg armor with white and dark blue flames going up the legs. "Well, what do you think Cougar? I think you look very stylish," she checked me over.

"Wow Luna," I whistled, "you sure know how to give your guards some kick ass looking armor," I admired my reflection in a mirror, "although, I do have one complaint," I said nervously. Luna's face froze and she gave a stoical look at me.

"And what might that be?" She asked. I took off the helmet, set it gently on the bed, unzipped my duffel bag and inserted my head into my old and familiar purple and yellow Air Force helmet.

"I'm more comfortable with this helmet," I buckled the strap onto my chin. Luna smiled and playfully smacked my shoulder.

"I do like that helmet," she peered into piercing yellow eyes above the white letters that read COUGAR below the left eye of the helmet, "especially the bloody claw marks down the sides," she added. "Now, for your weapon," a spear appeared in my left hand. "Now, you are ready to be a guard Cougar," Luna exclaimed.

"Thanks, let me get that for you," I opened the door for her. I found out that although my armor was actually fairly thick and heavy, it was still easy to maneuver around in.

"Oh, where we're going, we don't need doors," Luna winked and we were whisked away to the courtroom where there was a giant clock above the judge's bench. with only one had that pointed to Luna's cutie mark on the bottom. I'm guessing it pointed to whoever had the court as judge determined by the day or night.

"There you are princess," Bat Fang bowed, "and Cougar, that armor suits you pretty well; nice helmet," he complimented me.

"Thanks Bat Fang," I replied, setting my spear to the side as I stretched around a bit. "So, where's the accused or whatever you guys call them?" I asked.

"Oh, he's chained up right outside here, shall I get him your majesty?" Bat Fang asked Luna as she flew up and perched herself atop the judge's bench.

"Yes you may Bat Fang, bring forth the accused!" She boomed in her royal Canterlot voice, surprising the hell out of me. Bat Fang bowed to his princess, flew back to the doors in the back of the courtroom and opened them up. Right away, Luna and I were met with a loud, cursing voice.

"LET ME OUT OF THESE BUCKING CHAINS YOU BAT FREAK!" a burly stallion's voice shouted.

"Calm down sir, don't make it any worse than it is!" Bat Fang struggled to keep the stallion in his grip. As they entered, I saw that there was a large set of silverly chains locked with a dark blue key lock on the front of the guy's chest all around the tan stallion's legs. He had a black mane that was ruffled up and he had a stench of alcohol that was so powerful that even Luna had to hold her nose. The tan stallion had a heart as black as ink on his flank with a bloody knife stabbing it in the center.

"I'M INNOCENT CELESTIA DAMMIT! LET ME GO BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASS! AND WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT THING DOING HERE!?" The stallion kept shouting and noticed me standing in front of Luna's bench. Bat Fang kept pushing the stallion until he was stopped right where there was a sign that read 'Accused' painted on the floor where he now stood. Looking up, Luna looked pretty fucking intimidating from up where she was perched, but that was probably the point, though I couldn't imagine Celestia looking that intimidating.

"Welcome to the Royal Canterlot Night Court, the honorable Princess of the Night Luna presiding," I cleared my throat.

"Thank you Cougar," Luna cleared her throat as well and read off several sheets of parchment. "So, you are the stallion known as Darkheart correct?" Luna politely asked.

"Yeah, and you're that bitch Nightmare Moon that tried to bring nighttime forever five years ago, yet you're not in jail are you?" Darkheart spat at Luna.

"SHOW YOUR PRINCESS RESPECT MAGGOT!" Bat Fang yanked his chains down hard, bringing Darkheart's head down.

"I've heard worse Bat Fang," Luna nonchalantly sipped on a mug of cocoa. "Now, you stand accused of Drunk and Disorderly, assault and battery on another stallion, and stalking your ex mare friend, how do you plead?" She asked.

"Not guilty your whoreship," Darkheart grinned evilly and spat some spit in Luna's direction.

"Hey asshole!" I exclaimed.

"What the buck do you want you bucking monkey freak!?" Darkheart exclaimed at me. "Look at you, you're more of a freak of nature than Discord, you should've been dissected the moment this bitch and her whore of a sister found you," he growled.

"THOU SHALT NOT TALK THAT WAY ABOUT MY SISTER! Luna's Royal Canterlot voice bellowed out, breaking a few windows in the court room.

"You're treading deadlier waters by the minute fucker," I jabbed the blunt end of my spear into his knee cap.

"One more bad word outta you and you're out of here, buck the trial," Bat Fang agreed with me. Unfortunately, this drunk piece of shit didn't know the meaning of shut the fuck up.

"And what's with this Cougar bullshit? You ain't no cougar," he hiccuped drunkly, "what's your real name? Only bucking cowards hide their real names, like a scared little bitch! I bet that's all you are! A scared little bitch, letting others around you fall while you run with your tail between your legs," he spat on me, the loogie trailing down my leg. I then had a flashback of back to when Reaper and I received our call signs.

"SILENCE YOUR BUCKING MOUTH!" Bat Fang jabbed his hoof into the rear leg of Darkheart.

"THIS MAN SAVED SIX PONIES FROM TWO TIMBERWOLVES! HE HAS MORE HONOR IN HIS EYES THAN YOU DO IN YOUR BODY!" Luna shouted again. That snapped me back to reality. I shook my head and continued to point my spear at him. "Now then, with the written testimonies of witnesses and the owner of the bar who's window you broke, and the fact that this is your fourth offense, you are to serve 5 years in the dungeon, no parole! And we'll tack on another six months for threatening the lives of my two guards, dismissed!" Luna banged her gavel.

"You bucking BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU AND YOU'RE BUCKING COWARD GUARDS!" The Earth Pony began to thrash around. Bat Fang and I stabbed him in the sides with our spears, but not enough to kill him, just immobilize him. However, he kicked his legs out so hard that he tripped Bat Fang's legs, causing him to fall down and the tip of his spear to break the lock off Darkheart's chains.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE MOTHER FUCKER!" I stabbed his rear leg with the tip of my spear as the chains released their grip on his legs. He kicked out with his legs, hitting my gut in the process. "Oof!" I groaned and buckled down, but grabbed onto his tail. "No you don't," I yanked him back and held onto his head in a headlock. "Luna, we need some help!" I shouted. But before she could help, Darkheart reared up with his fore hoof and sucker punched me across the face, breaking my nose. "AH FUCK!" I shouted as blood gushed out my nostrils.

"See ya in Tartarus assholes!" Darkheart bolted out of the courtroom and into the hallways of the castle.

"Cougar, are you alright?!" Luna exclaimed and magically healed my nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but we gotta catch that guy before he escapes! With the Estrus still going on, no one is gonna see where he goes!" I shouted as the three of us dashed out of the Courtroom.

End Chapter XIV

Prologue: Shattered Skies

    The faint sound of jet engines shutting down for the night filled the air of my temporary bunk room. The smell of burning jet fuel entered my nose and kept me calm. I kept the window open since the sound of dead silence would have driven me insane long ago. My radio was connected to my phone, playing Bad Moon Rising from CCR. Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway near my room, for several pilots had just exited their jets and were getting ready to retire for the night. Being a fighter pilot in the movies looks badass, but in real life, it takes its toll on people. My eyes hadn't opened since I put music on, allowing me to relax until tomorrow.

My left eye creaked open when there was a soft rapping on my door. My hand reached down and turned the volume down until the song was playing as a faint whisper. "Cougar, you awake?" I heard a voice question. I propped myself up and stretched my arms out, putting on my United States Air Force hat and started to go for the door. Before opening the door, I turned my lamp on, quickly illuminating my small room. "Hey Cougar, how you doing?" A man about my age entered the room.

I shut the door as he entered and turned the radio completely off. "Can't sleep Reaper," I replied, calling my best friend by his call sign. He smirked and sat down on a small wooden chair in the corner of the room. "There's just too much going on to let me sleep," I added.

"Yeah me too," Reaper replied, "ever since this second Missile Crisis started, I've been more on edge than before; I can't even remember the last time I slept for more than 40 minutes straight." I pinched the bridge of my nose when I heard him talk about the missile crisis. Having to be relocated from our home base of Elmendorf in Alaska to this makeshift base at the Homestead Airport put a lot of stress on us and the rest of our squad mates in Ghostrider Squadron. It still amazed me how fast the airport and practically every citizen that had zero military experience had been evacuated.

"Well I understand your situation, at least you have a family to think and worry about back home," I quietly reminded my friend. Reaper sighed and put and arm on my shoulder and hugged me tight.

"Don't think like that Cougar, I'm sure that your family is still proud of what you've been able to do in the Air Force," he reassured me. My eyes drifted over to a picture on the table next to my bed. My eyes fell onto a picture of myself and my parents on the day I graduated from the academy.

"You know Reaper, sometimes I think humanity is just a waste, and what we're up against here doesn't make me think otherwise. Whenever I strap into my jet and soar through the clouds, I feel at peace. It makes me feel that humanity can and should be better, but maybe that's because I'm all by myself up there," I kept talking down.

"Come on Cougar, I know it sucks that we're practically in World War III here, but you and I are apart of something that can stop this from going further. As long as there are people like us in the Air Force, humanity has a chance to live on." I looked back up at Reaper and cracked a smile.

"You're the only family or friend I've got left, I won't let you down, I can promise you that," I put my hand on Reaper's shoulder.

"Cougar, you've never let anyone down before, I doubt you're gonna start with me," Reaper replied and sat up from his chair. "And I know how much you want this war to be over, trust me on this Cougar, you're not the only one that hates it," and with that, Reaper left. Just as I was about to turn my radio back on and try to fall asleep, my phone rang.

"Cougar, we need you in the briefing room, we may have a crisis situation so bring your flight suit and helmet," I heard the base commander on the other end of the line, "I'll also be getting in touch with Reaper, Grizz, Boa and Tex, this may require the best we've got," the Base Commander added before hanging up.

"Better to be up and at it than failing at sleep," I said to myself as I opened my closet to find my green flight suit with various Air Force and F-15 patches sewn on. I grabbed my duffel bag to store my helmet in just so I wouldn't drop it on the ground. I also grabbed my phone, which was odd since I've never and the desire to bring it before, but something told me I should bring it just in case.

"Gentleman, I apologize for calling you in this close to lights out, but we have a slight problem," the Base Commander known only as Stinger announced as myself, Reaper and the three other pilots arrived inside the briefing room. Stinger had a pot of coffee ready for us and had us all sit down at a round table in front of a large computer screen. Out of instinct, I had my helmet sitting next to me on the table, ready for when I had to put it on for a flight.

"What do you need us for sir?" Reaper asked when another officer flicked on the computer screen to show the schematics of a recon ship known as the SS Layton. Stinger cleared his throat and pulled out a laser pointer from his front shirt pocket.

"Three hours ago, the Recon Ship SS Layton launched for a nightly patrol from north of the Florida Keys on a mission to the East Florida keys," Stinger waived the laser pointer around a picture of the ship. He clicked on a mouse and the image changed to show a map of the ship's route. "However, one hour ago, the commander of the ship failed to check in and we need to find the ship to make sure it's safe and that the crew is safe as well. The area near Cuba is very dangerous right now and we need these patrol ships to make sure we will not get attacked," Stinger informed us.

"So do you want us to find the ship Sir?" Tex raised his hand in question.

"Find it and escort it to it's destination," Stinger replied as he pointed the laser pointer to the eastern most island. "I've already gotten off the phone with the port where the Layton is supposed to dock and they are expecting a four jet escort. They even have reserve fuel on standby for your jets, any other questions?" Stinger asked. When no one else raised a hand, Stinger put away his laser pointer. "Then good luck to you gentleman and be safe," he wished us.

"Let's do this!" Grizz exclaimed and grabbed his helmet. We all put on our helmets and jogged on out to the makeshift hanger where our jets were kept. My personal F-15C Eagle was sitting proudly on its wheels at the head of the group with my call sign painted just below the canopy.

Reaper's jet, an F-16 Fighting Falcon, was sitting to the left of my jet. We both jogged on over and climbed into the jets as other aircraft personnel hooked our jets up to trucks to tow us out of the hanger and onto the taxiing area. I looked behind me briefly in time to see Grizz climb into his F-22A Raptor and quickly shut the canopy before buckling in. I set my duffel bag in the little area behind my seat and hooked it to my seat as I had been ordered to do ever since I joined the Air Force. Not only did it house my helmet when I wasn't using it, the duffel bag also had a spare set of clothes, a first aid kit, food, water, an emergency CB radio, a pair of aviators for flying during the day and for special occasions, a .44 magnum pistol.

"Are you boys ready?" I heard Tex call from his T-38 Talon.

"Born ready Tex!" Boa called from the backseat of the T-38. Normally the Air Force used the T-38 for strictly training purposes, but Tex and Boa worked so well together in a T-38 that the Air Force had specially weaponized one just for them. And boy, I knew they were dangerous in that jet. As I hooked up my oxygen mask to my helmet, I heard from the tower that we were ready to launch.

"Cougar this is tower, you are cleared for launch," the tower controller radioed to me. I breathed in deeply and replied, "Tower this is Cougar, I copy that," I radioed back. My hand moved from the joy stick to the throttle control and inched the lever forward. The rumble of my F-15 engines built up until there was a deafening roar and I released the break. Instantly my jet took off like a cannon. My speed built up and up until I reached 200 miles per hour and I gently moved the joystick back and my jet took off for the wild blue yonder, or the black yonder as the sky was currently turning. "Cougar is airborne, I repeat, Cougar is airborne," I radioed back to the tower.

"Roger Cougar," the tower controller replied, "maintain speed of 700 knots and an altitude of 9,000 feet," I was ordered. I checked the altimeter on my dash and pitched my jet further up until it read 9,000 feet and my speedometer read between 698 and 702 knots. Soon enough, Reaper, Grizz and Tex and Boa were in the air along side me and we headed for our destination of the last known area of the SS Layton: Key Largo.

"So Cougar, where exactly are we heading?" Grizz asked me.

"Key Largo is near where we lost contact with the ship and that's also near where it was supposed to dock," I relayed back, "so about 30-40 miles west of Key Largo," I explained. I could hear Reaper whistling slowly in amazement.

"Wow, that's near the Bermuda Triangle!" He commented, "or at least right up against the border, maybe the ship got lost in the Triangle and got sucked up into another dimension," he pondered. Boa and Grizz snickered while Tex began howling with laughter. Although light was still fading away, I could see his Red, White and Blue Texas themed helmet bobbing up and down as he laughed.

"Boy Reaper, you sure do love those science fiction shows don't ya?" Tex teased. I even cracked a small smile at Reaper's expense whom just sighed at us from his F-16.

"Say what you want boys, but there are phenomenons in this world that we can't explain," he retorted.

"Alright that's enough guys," I stopped the laughter, "I hate to be a party pooper but we still have a job to do," I reminded the rest of my Ghostrider Squadron. Every pilot shut up at that statement. Even though we all lost our maturity at some points and had fun immature times, we still got serious when the time called for it, and this was one of the most important times to be serious. "Boa, anything on radar yet?" I called to Tex's WSO.

Boa gave me a second so he could check his radar for anything. "Nope, nothing yet, but we're getting close to Key Largo as we speak," Boa radioed, "should we try radioing to the Layton? Maybe they've got communications back online," Boa suggested.

"I don't think so, we should wait until we're right at the exact spot of where we lost contact," I replied.

"So Cougar, have you ever given thought to ditching your dusty old Eagle for a Raptor or maybe an F-35?" Reaper asked me as he and Grizz grouped up closer to my jet. Truth be told, I had thought about it before, right when Grizz dumped his F-16 for a new F-22 that was personally delivered to our squadron. The way he could out maneuver all of us was just astounding to me, but the F-15 had never let me down and has always exceeded my expectations.

"Not until Stinger holds me down and forces the crew to dismantle my jet," I replied, "we've been through too much together to part ways," I added with a smile. The rest of the flight remained a silent journey. My eyes kept drifting down to the radar on my dash, waiting to spot a blip for the SS Layton. The sky was now completely black and the only things any of us could see were the stars and tail lights of all the jets. "Alright boys, time to flip to night vision," I radioed. I flicked my visor down and clicked a button which switched it to bright green so we could see.

"Hey Cougar, my radar is picking something up about two miles to the west of our location," Boa relayed.

"Roger that, let's descend to 7000 feet and keep our eyes peeled for that ship. Reaper, you try to hail them," I ordered my friend. Reaper gave me the thumbs up signal and began attempting to hail the SS Layton. We all began to slowly drop our altitudes and scanned the ocean waters.

"SS Layton, this is Reaper with the Ghostrider Squadron, do you have a copy?" We all heard Reaper in the radio. "Hmm, nothing but static guys, I'll try again."

"Keep it up Reaper, we need this ship," Grizz reminded. Reaper nodded before reattempting to hail the recon ship.

"Again, SS Layton, this is Reaper of the United States Air Force Ghostrider Squadron, do you have a copy?" Reaper called. He waited a few seconds before groaning in frustration, "still nothing guys. Boa, how's your radar looking?" He asked.

"We're just about on top of the ship guys. There it is!" He exclaimed. We all looked down to scan the ocean where we saw a faint spec with our night vision visors. "Your call Cougar," Boa said.

"Try hailing her one more time, if it fails, we'll have the Coast Guard come out here and investigate," I replied.

"SS Layton, this is the Ghostrider Squadron," Reaper skipped his name this time, "do you have a copy? We are here to escort you to your destination." Finally, there was a crackle and hiss in the middle of the static.

"-urn, ba-, ow," we all heard a faint voice.

"SS Layton, please repeat that," Tex said.

"Turn, back now," the voice whispered in the radio. My heart stopped at what happened next. We all heard the distinct sound of a gunshot on the radio and a body thumping against the floor.

"SS Layton! What's going on!?" Reaper shouted into his radio. Some fumbling was heard on the other side before we heard heavy breathing on the other end.

"Hello, American Scum," a spanish accented voice said on the radio.

"Who is this!?" Tex demanded. The voice cackled and teased us.

"The one who just ordered your execution, DEATH TO AMERICA!" The voice cut off transmission. Suddenly, all of our radars went crazy as four surface to air missiles came flying at us.

"EVADE, EVADE!" I shouted. Reaper and I broke to the right and barrel rolled while Tex and Boa and Grizz broke to the left. Through my night vision, I saw two missiles fly in between our four jets. "Homestead Tower, the crew of the SS Layton is dead and the ship has been taken over. We have just been fired upon," I relayed back to base.

"Roger that Cougar, any enemy bogeys?" The tower questioned.

"None yet so far, but keep the alert backup on standby," I replied. Just as I ceased communicating with the tower, there was a loud and long sustaining tone bombarding me.

"Reaper, check our tails," I nervously stated.

"Oh shit, we got about ten enemy bogeys behind us!" Reaper shouted.

"Tower this is Cougar, we have ten enemy bogeys on our tails and have us locked on. Launch the backup squad now!" I ordered the tower.

"Backup is on their way Cougar," the tower reported, "we have orders from Stinger for you to take on as many enemies as possible and lure them away from Key Largo."

"You heard them boys, let's blow them right outta the sky!" Tex cackled and dropped below the wave of enemy fighters and came up behind them. Grizz did a 180 and took the bogeys head on. Fearing a collision, three bogeys broke away as Grizz started firing off his guns. Tex maneuvered his T-38 upwards and began to pursue two of the enemy jets.

"Alright Reaper, attack pattern Delta now." Reaper flew just below and to the right of me as we suddenly dropped down and hit the brakes. The other five jets flew past us overhead and we both locked onto two jets. We both flinched as we heard a large explosion followed by the flash of fire.

"Got ya you miserable SOB!" Tex declared and began to lock onto another jet.

"Better move it Tex, we got one trying to get on our six," Boa radioed to his pilot.

"Reaper, stick together, we got these two up ahead of us," I told Reaper. My tracker waved around on the screen, trying to lock onto the bogey ahead. The tracker turned from Green to red as it hovered over the jet I was pursuing. "I got tone, firing!" I announced. My thumb clicked down on the button and a missile dislodged from my right wing and fired off towards the enemy. There was a loud explosion as my missile made contact and demolished the jet. "Fox 2!"

"Cougar, I'm too close for missiles on this one, switching to guns," Reaper informed me.

"I roger that Reaper, I'll drop in behind and cover you." I yanked the joystick to the left and my F-15 pitched to the left hard, forcing me against the right side of the fuselage. As I turned around however, I could feel something hitting my Jet in the rear. My jet began shaking and an alarm went off. "Guys, we've got more enemies coming in from the south! I'm hit in the right engine," I informed my squad-mates. I quickly killed the engine so my jet wouldn't seize up.

"Get out of here and get your plane fixed!" Reaper ordered me.

"I'm not leaving you guys in danger!" I shouted back, "I can last on one engine, but I just can't perform the same maneuvers." I checked my radar only to have my heart stop at the sight of thirty more aircraft heading right for us. "Tower, where is the backup aircraft?" I asked.

"HELP US! WE'VE BEEN BOMBED! ALERT AIRCRAFT HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED!" The tower screamed back.

"Guys, our base was attacked, help isn't coming," I said with a stopped heart.

"We've gotta retreat to the nearest air field and request help, we don't have enough weapons for this!" Grizz worriedly replied.

"Not with thirty eight enemies trailing us, we can't just lead them to another air field," I replied.

"We can try to lose them in the darkness of night, but that may not work," I said as I fired my guns at an enemy. My bullets hit their target and the jet exploded. The familiar sustained tone of being locked on hit my jet again. I checked wildly behind me while pitching my jet back and forth. I knew I was putting too much stress on my one engine, but I had to keep fighting to keep my friends safe.

"Hold on Coug!" Reaper shouted and blasted the enemy out of the sky. As the explosion went off, I could see the faint outlines of the enemy jets above us.

"They're everywhere. We've gotta move!" Grizz shouted. Despite having one of the most sophisticated jets ever created, Grizz was at a big disadvantage with being outnumbered.

"You got a bogey to the left at 3 o'clock! He's gonna fire!" Tex exclaimed. We all heard the sustained lock on tone and saw a flash of light as the missile took off.

"AHHH!" We heard as Grizz's F-22 went up in flames.

"GRIZZ!" I screamed. The flaming remains of his F-22 Raptor crashed into the ocean and fizzled away into the night. I could feel a tightness in my chest and a tear roll down my cheek.

"His whole plane went up, there's no way he could've ejected," Reaper said solemnly.

"THOSE SONS OF BITCHES!" Tex shouted and went ballistic on the enemies; firing bullets and several missiles everywhere. For reasons I cannot explain, Tex actually took down three more bogeys because of this.

"Jesus Tex, calm down, we can outsmart these guys!" Boa said in a panicked tone from the back seat of the T-38.

"They took down Grizz, now they're gonna pay," Tex gritted his teeth and went to pursue another bogey. He was pushing his T-38 to its limits. Tex was pulling off dangerous moves that could cause his engine to stall at any moment.

"COUGAR! BOGEY ON YOUR TAIL!" Reaper shouted. I braced my hand against the glass of the canopy to look behind me and saw flashes of light coming from an enemy jet.

"Shit," I commented as I barrel rolled and ascended higher. "Tex! You get your ass over near Reaper and I and we can outrun these guys!" I ordered the T-38 pilot.

"For the love of God do what he says, please!" Boa begged from his seat. Tex ignored me and continued to try and bring down another jet with his guns.

"Just a little closer," Tex growled and switched back to his missiles. "I'll bring down one more then we'll join your escape route," Tex relayed back. I heard through his radio that he had locked onto the bogey. Suddenly, the jet in front of Tex pitched up and vanished for a brief moment before reappearing behind his T-38.

"Now he's behind us!" Boa looked behind wildly. "GET US OUT OF HERE!" Boa shrieked as the bogey locked onto their T-38.

"Reaper follow me and take down that bogey!" I ordered. Reaper banked left and followed me over behind the enemy.

"I've got a lock on," Reaper reported and fired his missile. Right as he did however, the enemy launched his and his jet exploded. "Tex, break left! His missile is still heading towards you!" Reaper warned.

"My engines stalled, dammit!" Tex cursed in his radio. "PUNCH US OUT BOA!" Tex yelled. Their canopy exploded off the jet and I saw their seats rocket from the fuselage. Right as they ejected, the missile hit their T-38. The explosion engulfed the pilots before they drifted away in their parachutes.

"No," Reaper breathed out. I couldn't say a word. Three of our friends were now gone. "Come on Cougar, let's get out of here before they can catch us," Reaper suggested, "maybe we can hide out at Daytona Air Base."

"Yeah, let's get out of here," I said as we both pitched lower to the islands to mask our planes. "Fly tightly together," I reminded Reaper. As we descended lower, an alarm went off on my Dash. "NO! Don't seize up on me!" I tried to jiggled the joystick around to try and speed my jet up faster.

"Come on Coug, before they catch up," Reaper slowed down to stay with me. I finally got my engine re-fired, but that also alerted a nearby bogey of our location. I felt the pinging sensation of 30MM bullets piercing through the left engine of my F-15. "COUGAR!" Reaper exclaimed as my engine let go. I had to shut it off before it exploded and took me with it.

"REAPER, I CAN'T CONTROL IT!" I shrieked as the force launched me forward into the dash while my F-15 was sent into a flat spin. "Save yourself Reaper, you've got a family to think about! Forget about me!" I begged as my jet started doing random barrel rolls and pitches. My altimeter and GPS were going haywire, trying to figure out where my jet was going to end up.

"Cougar, eject out of there. I'll give you cover until you're out," he informed and started to encircle me. My GPS started to fizzle out when we crossed over the border for the Bermuda Triangle.

"Just leave me! I'm done for!" I ordered him.

"I'M NEVER LEAVING YOU!" Reaper replied and shot his guns in all directions, trying to keep enemies at bay. I found myself having trouble breathing with all the pressure being exerted on my body. With all my strength, I lifted my hand up and grabbed onto the ejection lever. The canopy jettisoned off my jet and my pilot seat rocketed out of the fuselage. The 20Gs of pressure from ejection was almost too much for me. I felt my seat jerk when the parachute opened. My jet had plummeted towards the ocean below me, but I was curious as to why I didn't see a splash or hear a crash for that matter. My helmet was still on, but my oxygen mask was gone. The energy I had was almost empty, and as I looked up towards Reaper's F-16, all I could see was a ball of fire engulfing his jet.

"Rea-" I said until I blacked out and the world around me disappeared.

End Prologue.

Chapter X: The Journey Home

Fallen Eagle

Chapter X: The Journey Home

(Hospital Room. Cougar's POV)

Despite being hung upside down for a mere few seconds was the worst thing Discord did to me, I still felt uncomfortable after our little meeting. What was next? A surprise musical number from Pinkie? Scratch that, I'll take Discord's treatment over Pinkie Pie's. And thanks to that hodgepodge that Mother Nature spat out, I was still thirsty and had nothing to drink, just great. My head smacked onto my pillow as I grumpily laid back down on my hospital bed, secretly wishing that Rainbow wasn't sleeping. Then, there was a soft knock on the door that garnered my attention. Slowly the door opened to reveal Soarin' and Luna trotting inside the room.

"Found her for ya Coug," Soarin exclaimed and sat down on his stool next to Rainbow Dash, "wasn't too hard," he added, "she was just in the kitchen grabbing a small bite to eat," he explained. Luna floated a bag of what looked like ordinary corn chips up to me.

"Would you like some Cougar?" She offered while two chips floated out of the plastic bag and one floated towards me and the other into Luna's awaiting muzzle. She used her magic to shake the bag a few times, tempting me to take a chip or two.

"No thanks, I'm more thirsty than hungry," I politely shoved the bag of chips back towards the midnight blue alicorn. Luna shrugged and then poured the rest of the chips down her muzzle and tossed the empty bag like a basket ball into the nearest trash bin. After wiping her muzzle of crumbs, she produced a six pack of Marwaukee Brew and levitated it in front of my face.

"Then how about a drink if you are indeed that thirsty?" She winked at me. How could I resist that offer? Even though I'm not an alcoholic, who wouldn't pass up a cold one after what I went through?

"Sure, why not?" I joked and grabbed a cold can from her magic aura and popped the top. "Soarin' you want one?" I offered up and took a second can from the six pack rings. The Wonderbolt rested his stool on all four legs and leaned forward with his right hoof.

"Buck yeah, toss one over Cougar!" He exclaimed excitedly. I smirked and tossed over the second can which Soarin' caught in his mouth and popped the top off to start drinking it. Luna then let out a much softer belch than her one the other night and wiped her mouth from the foam.

"Much better," Luna began, "now, what did you need to talk to me about Cougar? Is it about your lie to Applejack?" She asked me. My eyes widened and I ceased drinking the beer. Save for the beeping of the hospital machines, things became silent. Even Soarin' stopped sipping his beer that I gave him.

"Woah Luna, how did you find out? I never said anything about it," The Wonderbolt Captain said, flabbergasted. The alicorn in question simply rolled her eyes and chucked her empty can into the rubbish bin across the room.

"Even though I watch over dreams as I did with you Cougar," she pointed her hoof towards me, "I can still sense conversations in the real world, hence how I knew Sweetie Belle was going to save Rarity's hat from falling apart not too long ago," she explained and used her magic to pull up her own chair. She cracked open a second beer and sipped it but grimaced slightly as the liquid flowed into her muzzle. "Hmm, not cold enough," she stated and the can was suddenly surrounded in her whitish aura. The can now looked as if it had been in an ice chest for a day or two and cold steam slowly swirled out of the aluminum can. "Ahh, that hits the spot," she wiped her mouth. "Now, back to the matter at hand, what is on your mind?" Luna crossed her legs and rested her head on here foreleg.

"Well, it's actually two things Luna," I sighed in defeat and set my can on the nightstand adjacent to my bed, though I didn't say anything else for a minute. "First thing is yes I did sort of lie to Applejack, though Discord of all, whatever the fuck he is, told me that all I did was hide the whole the truth instead of lying."

"Which can be just as bad Coug," Soarin' took a slow sip of his beer, "I mean, I've been given the shit end of the stick a ton in the Wonerbolts," he added.

"Yes, I've witnessed several of those events Soarin', but you've proven yourself to be a fantastic Captain," Luna replied to the Wonderbolt. The pegasus set his beer can down on the floor and tilted his stool back.

"And what happened to you if you're the Captain? I mean, you didn't throw the ponies that hid the truth from you into the stockade or the pit for lying?" I asked.

"No, no, I've only been the Captain for a month, but before then I was the co-captain and the other captain hid the truth and lied to me several times for half a decade until her most recent ploy got her ass thrown in the dungeon," Soarin' explained. The anger inside me rose; I couldn't bear the thought of a Captain or my own CO lying to myself or the rest of my squadron for his own personal gain.

"I'd love to get my hands on that bastard and ring his neck," I commented and angrily sipped my beer.

"Spitfire was a girl," Soarin replied as he finished his beer. I was set to reply when Luna cut off our conversation.

"IF we can get back to the matter at hoof," she said in a louder voice, "Cougar, I think what you did was both bad and good. Yes, you kept the whole truth locked away in the dark from your friends, but at the same time, you were trying to keep them from becoming frightened of you and fearing for their own lives, I would say you are definitely, uh," Luna tried to come up with a good euphemism for me.

"Up shit creek without a paddle," I said for her.

"I was going to say stuck between a rock and a pickle, but yours works too," she sipped her beer again. Soarin' and I exchanged quick and confused glances at Luna's accidental mashup of two euphemisms. "Anyway, I do believe that once you apologize, she'll forgive you since you saved her life and have been a good friend to her for a month now," Luna attempted to cheer up my demeanor.

"Except for the fact that my relationship with her family was started off a lie basically," I countered and took another drink of my beer, the can now becoming lighter and lighter. Soarin' set his stool down on the tiled floor and crossed his forelegs together.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Coug, like you said, you just wanted to keep them from getting scared of you, I'd say that's pretty friendly," he reassured me.

"Okay, let's say I go right after this hospital visit to talk to Applejack about it, she already knows I'm sorry and she won't accept my apology yet. I don't want to be that one guy who begs for his friend to forgive him and be all cliched by saying I'll do anything for her to forgive me, and plus that'd make me sound like I'm trying to get a girlfriend back," I threw in.

"So, how are you going to get her trust and forgiveness back Cougar?" Luna curiously placed her elbows on her knees and chin on her hooves. Boy being original is harder than I thought.

"I don't know; I've gotta come up with something by tomorrow at least so she can know I'm really sorry and not putting on a show," I explained. The Wonerbolt and the Princess both nodded their heads at me, yet said nothing for a good while.

"And there was a second thing you wanted to talk to me about Cougar?" Luna asked me.

"Oh right. Well, I lost my gun that I used to kill one of the Timberwolves and it fell into the river. I'm afraid that somepony could find it and accidentally hurt themselves or somepony around them," I said. Luna stood up from her chair and tucked the remaining two cans of Marewaukee Brew into her mane.

"I shall have the Elements and several royal guards stationed near water ports to be on the look out for a miniature looking cannon and if we find it, it shall be returned to you Cougar, you have my word," Luna bowed. Her magic aura surround the door knob and opened the door, yet she stopped halfway out of the door. "Oh and one more thing Cougar, you may want to talk to Rarity about making you some new duds since you lost a good majority of yours," the Princess of the Night bid farewell and trotted outside of the hospital room.

"Oh man, did the Timberwolves rip all your clothes up Cougar?" Soarin' asked me.

"Something like that," I replied, pissed that I only had my cargo pants and my flight suit left as reasonable clothing, though in this heat, my flight suit would be out of the question.

"At least it's not Wintertime," The pegasus cheerfully said, "I'm sure nopony will mind if you don't wear a shirt; most ponies don't wear clothes at all unless they're at a huge event like the Grand Galloping Gala," he explained to me.

"The fuck is that, a masquerade party?" I replied.

"Not really, it's for Canterlot's most elite and sophisticated ponies to gather with Princess Celestia and Luna in the Fall. The Wonderbolts get invited every year and it's always a blast, for most of us anyway," he said. "And this is the first year Dashie is invited as a Wonderbolt, this is gonna be the best Gala ever!" He declared. My eyes went to automatic roll at his nickname for Rainbow, though I gotta admit, they are perfect for one another. Suddenly, Rainbow let out a mighty yawn and sat up in her bed, scratching her back.

"I think butt is making its own imprint on this bed, I gotta get outta here!" Rainbow complained and stretched out her wings, but she didn't wince or cry out in pain. "Yes! I can get back in the air in no time-" she started celebrating, but stopped when she saw Soarin's crumpled up beer can in the trash bin. "Did you guys have beer?" She asked us.

"Yeah, Luna brought some by for us and we shot the breeze," I replied while scratching my ear.

"Well, is there any left?" Rainbow asked hopefully.

"No, Princess Luna took the last two cans back with her," Soarin' explained. Rainbow's face scowled at Soarin' and myself and she crossed her forelegs in front of her chest and laid back down with a pout.

"And nopony bothered to wake me up to give me one?"

"Sorry Dashie, you were asleep," Soarin' apologized. Before Rainbow could retort, the door to the room opened up and the whole gang minus Luna, Celestia and Fluttershy trotted inside.

"Rainbow, you're awake!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down, blew a noisemaker and quickly tied a Rainbow colored balloon to Rainbow's foreleg.

"Is your wing feeling better Darling?" Rarity's fake accent asked. Rainbow's demeanor brightened as her friends surrounded her hospital bed. I was actually glad more of our friends came in the room, things were starting to feel a little gloomy in here.

"My wings feeling awesome! If the doc'll let me go soon you can count on a Sonic Rainboom as we leave Canterlot!" The adrenaline junkie announced. Twilight rolled her eyes like me and patted Rainbow's back.

"At least your spirit isn't damaged," Twilight joked. I took notice of the fact that Applejack didn't even glance my way, though I completely understood why. At least Pinkie came by after a few minutes of chatting with Rainbow.

"So, how's the hero patient doing?" She grinned widely and handed me a cupcake, "You deserve the best tasting cupcake in all of Equestria for saving Applejack's, Rainbow's and Rarity's lives Cougar!" She patted my head like an owner to a cat or a dog. "And Gummy is even proud of you too!" The baby alligator was laid onto my stomach where he proceeded to try and bite me.

"Wow, this is pretty delicious Pinkie Pie," I said after eating the whole cupcake and petting her alligator.

"I made it using the Cakes' special ingredient that makes them oh so special!" She whispered loudly in my ear.

"Well, thanks Pinkie," I replied and scratched behind her ear as a thank you which she enjoyed, a lot.

"Ooooh right there, that hits the spot!" Her rear leg started to kick up and down on the floor. Smirking, I stopped scratching her ear and handed her pet back to her.

"Hey Pinkie, I noticed you've stopped trying to beg my forgiveness for the incident at the lake, any reason why?" I asked her. I was actually wondering why she stopped; she didn't seem like the kind of pony to just up and quit something.

"Oh, well I was planning on slipping you a cupcake with sleeping pills, throw you in a burlap sack and bring you to Sugar Cube Corner to throw you an 'I'm Sorry Party'," she began before I cut her off.

"Wait, you were going to drug me and kidnap me!?" I asked in a fearful tone.

"Details, details," Pinkie Pie shrugged, "anyway, then I began to think, what if me asking you over and over again would just drive you away from our friendship since it was brand new? Heck, I would've pressed on if I did that to one of my other friends and wanted their forgiveness, so I decided to do something different, I just let you be and I continued doing what I do best, being Pinkie Pie!" She threw a foreleg around my neck and hugged me. A lightbulb went off over my head as I processed exactly what Pinkie Pie had told me.

"Pinkie, you're a genius," I whispered to her.

"Why does everypony keep saying that? I'm just a party pony and sometimes a chicken," the pink mare questioned, yet looked towards the wall. She then frowned at the wall and shook her head.

"Whatever Pinkie Pie," I said as she hopped her way back to Rainbow's bed, "hey Rarity, can I have a little chat with you please?" I called to the pearly white Unicorn with three diamonds on her flanks. Rarity adjusted her purple mane, turned around and trotted over to me. My fingers pressed down on the adjustment button for my bed so I could sit up more to be more polite to Rarity.

"What can I do for you Cougar for saving my life?" The sophisticated pony asked me.

"How'd you know I wanted a favor?" I replied curiously. Rarity playfully rolled her eyes and flicked up her mane.

"Oh Cougar, I know the face of many a pony who want a favor done by me, and your face is no exception, what with the furrowed eyebrows and darting eyes," she explained to me. Damn she's good at this.

"Alright, yes I do need a favor Rarity," I admitted, "could you please make me some new clothes? Thanks to those Timberwolves, I'm only down to my Cargo shorts and my Drive to End Hunger hat," I asked her politely. She raised her foreleg to tap her chin as she considered the proposal. "Hmm, I don't know Cougar, I don't even have a mannequin that looks like you, and I don't have your ahem, measurements," she explained.

"Look, for the summer, I may not mind not having a shirt with all the work I'm doing at Sweet Apple Acres, but come winter time, I will need some more protection, and from what I hear you're the best pony for the job," I asked, but did not beg her. "Come on, it's only maybe a few T-shirts and new jeans, that's all I'll need until the snow starts to fall."

"I-I don't know Cougar, this would be something extremely new and challenging for me," she paced around the foot of my bed, studying my figure. "I mean I've created costumes for other creatures, but none quite like you. It would be a complete and total experiment." Great, now I'm going to have to persuade her.

"Think of it like that then Rarity. You'll be the first and ONLY pony to ever design for a human." Her eyes lit up at that statement. "Your designs for me will go down in history as some of the most important pieces of fashion memorabilia of all time. Think of all the jealousy from rival designers and all the notoriety you'll gain," I did my best to persuade her. She bit down on her bottom lip to contain her excitement as she began to tremble at the endless possibilities this could take her career into.

"Meet me at my boutique at 2:00 'o clock sharp tomorrow Cougar! We'll take the fashion world by storm!" She rubbed her hooves together and trotted merrily back to the rest of the group.

"What, have I created?" I softly rubbed my temples.

(Train Ride. Several Hours later. Cougar's POV)

After finally getting the clearance from the doctors, Rainbow and I literally ran out of the Royal Infirmary. "Oh it feels good to stretch!" Rainbow stretched out and popped her cyan wings above me. "I swear I am NOT going back into a hospital bed unless my wings are cut off!" She swore and did a few loops in the air.

"How do you keep up with that?" I whispered to Soarin' and nudged his shoulder as we boarded our Train. The pegasus smirked at me and nudged me back.

"I got may ways, but I'd do anything for my Dashie," Soarin' replied with a warming smile as Rainbow landed in front of us and took the first empty compartment she saw. Not trying to make fun of Fluttershy, but since she had already left earlier to tend for her animals and have a tea party with Discord, the compartment was a little roomier than the last time we all rode the train.

"Window seat, I call window seat!" Pinkie Pie shoved Twilight out of the window seat. The alicorn grumbled in frustration but took her seat next to the compartment door. I took the seat next to Soarin' who was sitting next to Rainbow's door seat, but Applejack sat across from me, rather than next to me like last time. Rarity sat next to me instead, which I was fine with. Luna's moon was just starting to peak over the horizon as the engineer blew the rain whistle and the train lurched forward. I let out a little yawn as I stretched my back again and leaned back against the wall of the compartment.

"Twi," Applejack began, "are we gonna be ready for thu Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow? Ah'm sure sum 'o the ponies back home started on decoratin', but there may still be sum things ta take care of," the southern mare asked the Princess.

"Well luckily for us, I've already begun a preparations check list," she bragged and brought up a large check list for us to read, "and a checklist for that checklist," she boasted once more and used her magic to show us the second check-list. I raised my hand in front of her like a student, to which she actually called on me. "Yes Cougar?"

"Yeah, is there a check box for us giving a crap about your second check list?" I asked in a smart-ass tone. Rainbow and Soarin' held their hooves to their mouths to stifle their laughter while Pinkie Pie giggled and held her belly, and Rarity just smirked. Twilight and Applejack on the other hand weren't so enthralled by my joke. Twilight zapped my face with her magic and I found my mouth zipped up with a zipper, but at least I could still breathe through my nose.

"Ya don't have ta be so damn rude Cougar," Applejack spat out and looked out the window. After a little struggle, I managed to unzip my mouth zipper and got it off my lips without ripping off any skin in the process.

"Sorry, I just think having a special check-list for another check list is a little redundant," I explained and tossed the mouth zipper onto the ground. Twilight huffed and flared her nostrils at me.

"You were in the military weren't you Cougar? I'm sure they made you guys double and triple check everything!" She pointed out. She got me there, I recalled being busted once in my rookie days for not double checking over the operating systems of my F-15, luckily nothing happened; the base commander berated me severely on the importance of double checking things.

"Yeah, but when we double and triple checked everything, we didn't make out new check lists for them, we put the double check check box on the same check list, it saves paper and our sanity," I retorted. "But I'm sorry for making fun of you," I extended out my hand. The Princess glared daggers at me, but she reached out with her hoof and shook my hand.

"Apology accepted Cougar," she said with a forced smile. "By the way," she added, "did you have to submit any reports after flights or anything?" She asked me.

"Yeeeeesssss," I said slowly with a raised eyebrow.

"Like reports for accidents or if one of your fellow pilots had to make an emergency landing or if they were shot down?" She asked me. I suddenly had a Flashback of Reaper's F-16 Falcon engulfed in flames right before I blacked out and woke up in Equestria. "REAPER!" I heard Twilight's voice as a far away echo and I felt my body shaking violently.

"What!?" I replied with a shout and blinked several times to find myself still in the train compartment.

"You just froze there and were saying Reaper and No several times, is everything alright? Reaper was your best friend right?"

"No more questions," I glared down at the floor.

"Come now Twilight, the poor dear has been through enough the past 24 hours, I think he could use a little breathing room," Rarity cut in and patted my head.

"Thank you Rarity," I said quietly, trying again to repress the memory. But then, as if by a saving grace, a mare's voice called out in the hallway of the train.

"Anything from the snack kart? Anything from the snack kart?" The voice called out. My stomach rumbled slightly and I reached into my pants pocket to produce about five bits.

"Anypony want something to snack on?" I asked.

"Naw, I'm all set," Pinkie Pie grinned like the Joker again and held up half a dozen cupcakes.

"Actually, I could go for a soda and some cookies," Rainbow's mouth drooled.

"I second that!" Soarin' smiled.

"Not at the moment, but thank you for the offer Cougar," Rarity replied and opened up a fashion magazine.

"I wouldn't mind a fruit cup," Twilight licked her lips.

"Can do," I smiled and opened the compartment door. Unfortunately, the mare that was running the snack kart had a negative reaction to my presence. I tapped her on the shoulder and showed her that I have the money for snacks, but instead was replied with.

"What the buck is a hairless ape wandering around the train for, did you escape the zoo?" She asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked her, hoping that the clacking of the wheels on the tracks drowned out what she actually said.

"A hairless ape that talks? What kind of freak are you? DON'T TOUCH ME!" She scolded, "did that monster Luna give you the ability to talk so she could have some company?" Oh fuck no, she did not just say that.

"Don't you DARE, talk about my friend like that lady," I jabbed a finger in her chest. This bitch would've been the perfect mate for Blueblood.

"I'll say what I want, it's a free country."

"You have a monarchy dumbass," I replied. Now the compartment full of my friends heard the debate going on and poked their heads outside the doorway.

"What would you know two-legger? I don't serve freaks like you, now get out of my way so I can serve four-leggers," she hit me with her hoof across the jaw. Now, I know some folks might think I lost my temper and hit her back, but I didn't. Instead, Rainbow flew out of the compartment at full speed and knocked the mare onto her back.

"You say one more bucking racist thing to my friend here," she began.

"Or hit him," Pinkie Pie warned while Applejack pounded her right hoof into her left hoof and Twilight flared her wings.

"And we'll pound you into cream bucking corn!" Rainbow held the mare by her shoulders and shouted in her face.

"Oh the elements of Harmony and Princes Twilight!" The pony gushed, "this is your friend? I didn't know he was your friend, what can I serve you?" She asked as Rainbow let her off the ground.

"We don't want anything from you anymore madame," Rarity replied, "you are by far one of the most despicable and rude ponies I've ever met," she huffed and turned tail back into the compartment.

"What is your name?" Twilight asked the pony.

"Ladybug," she replied with a fake smile.

"Well then, I'm sure Princess Celestia and Luna will love to hear about how you not only assaulted my friend Cougar and acted like a racist towards him, but you also insulted Princess Luna and called her a monster," Twilight warned. Ladybug's eyes shrank and she cowered to the floor.

"N-no, p-please. I'm going to college and this was the only job I could get on the weekends!" She begged. Twilight smirked and stamped her hoof to make Ladybug stand up.

"Then I suggest you apologize to my friend here, take your little snack kart and zip up your bucking mouth, got it?" Twilight gritted her teeth. Woah, I've never taken Twilight to be a pony that swears, but I guess this just got under her skin enough.

"Y-yes Princess," Ladybug turned to me, "I'm sorry for acting racist towards you and hitting you," she apologized.

"Just get out of here," I replied. The pony grabbed ahold of her kart and quickly trotted to the next compartment.

"Cougar, are ya alright there?" Applejack asked me, "that was a mean right hook she gave ya across the jaw," she took a close look at where I was hit. "Twi, his jaw is startin' ta turn purple, do ya know any healin' magic?" Applejack questioned while we all sat back down in our seats.

"Hmm, there's one that I know of," Twilight replied and touched her horn to my jaw which was starting to turn sore. I seethed as she touched it a little too hard, but I didn't stop her. My jaw began to vibrate as her lavender aura surrounded my head and softly dissipated into the air and my jaw felt fine. I put my fingers on the spot where I was punched and applied pressure, only to find nothing.

"Thanks Twilight," I moved my lower jaw around. "I'm lucky I didn't lose any teeth; that was a pretty hard hit she gave me," I joked.

"We've still got another hour before we arrive in Ponyville, why don't we get some rest?" Rarity suggested as Luna's moon was now high in the sky.

"What? No, let's have a midnight train riding party!" Pinkie declared before slumping down and resting her head on the wall of the compartment, letting out small snores. Rarity's aura engulfed the light switch and flipped it down, killing the light of the compartment except for the glow of the moon. She too fell asleep, resting her head on her forelegs while Soarin' and Rainbow snuggled against each other. Twilight yawned and wrapped herself in her wings for a blanket.

"You tired Applejack?" I asked the southern mare.

"Sense we were in the hospital all day long, Ah ain't tired that much yet. Ah can wait till we git back home," she replied, staring out the window at the silhouetted landscape. "What about you Cougar?"

"Please, I was asleep practically all day; I think I can stay up for a little bit longer," I grinned. We both sat in silence for a good fifteen minutes, listening to the clacking of the train wheels and the whistle of the train itself before I opened my mouth again. "Applejack, can we talk for a bit?" I asked her.

"Depends on what that is Cougar," she turned to me. Thanks to the shadows of the night, only the lower half of her body was shown, her top half was hidden from the shadows, but I could still make out her emerald eyes in the darkness.

"I really just wanted to say I'm sorry again for lying to you," I said. Applejack sighed and trotted over to me and sat down next to me with her head hung low.

"Cougar, thu fact that you lied to me isn't what Ah'm upset about. Ah'm upset because ya lied to mah family. Especially little Apple Bloom, she's goin' through a tough time right now tryin' ta git her cutie mark; Ah don't think she'd appreciate thu fact that ya lied to her when ya first met," Applejack explained to me. I opened my mouth to reply, but Applejack had more to say, "'N then there's Big Mac, he already doesn't like ya very much 'N now he might even try ta run ya off our farm! 'N Granny Smith, she puts her trust in only a select few ponies, Ah don't know how she'll react, but Ah think she won't be very happy," Applejack scolded me.

"I wasn't proud of myself for that," I replied quietly. "It's just, every time I get friends, no matter what I do, I lose them," I felt my eyes begin to water and I wiped them with my thumb, but they would just get wetter every time I wiped them. It was strange, I could literally feel Applejack's disappointment vanish and comfort set in. Her hoof began to rub my bare back.

"What are you talkin' about Cougar?" She asked me softly. I sniffled and wiped my nose. I wasn't bawling, but manly tears were slipping out of my eyes.

"I swear, I have a curse or an omen set on me. Every time new friends enter my lives, they somehow find themselves out of my friendship. Like, when I was six, I had Reaper of course, but I also had another friend named Richard. The three of us were inseparable; a year later, he got Leukemia and had to leave for another town to get his treatment where died five months later. Then in eighth grade, I met a new friend name Greg who liked to hang out with me and Reaper, but his abusive Dad killed him in a drunken rage only a month after we met. And then Grizz, Tex and Boa, I only knew them for several years before-," I couldn't say anything more; more and more tears began to fall out of my eyes and I covered them with my hands. I choked a few times before saying one final thing, "th-that's why I l-lied to you and you-your family. I-I didn't want to lose a ft-friendship before it st-started," I clenched my eyes shut to keep more tears from falling. Applejack's hoof left my back, but I instantly felt the warmth of her orange fur against my torso as she hugged me.

"It's okay Cougar, Ah'm here fer ya," Applejack whispered and hugged me tighter. "Ah didn't mean ta snap at ya earlier."

"I'm just a b-bad fr-friend, you should just forget I ever existed Applejack, only bad things happen to my friends," I was able to speak without a sob interrupting.

"Now you stop that thinkin' right this instant Cougar," Applejack pushed me away and glared at me, "Ah ain't that shallow or selfish; Ah treasure our friendship, especially after you selflessly saved mah life and mah friends' lives and mah sister's. None of those bad incidents were yer fault, they were just unfortunate accidents," Applejack hugged me again.

"I still have a big apology to give," I wiped my wet eyes.

"Ya won't have ta give it alone, Ah'll give it with ya in case Big Mac has a negative reaction," she gave me the warmest smile I had ever seen in my life, even warmer than Celestia's or my mom's.

"Thank you," I hugged her in return.

"What're friends fer?" She asked me. I chuckled a bit as we sat close to each other. "What's so funny?" She questioned.

"This morning, you said I was pretty warm, but you're the one warming me up tonight," I smiled.

"Well, ya don't have a shirt anymore to cover ya, what time did ya say Rarity was gonna meet with ya tomorrow?" She asked me.

"She said around 2:00 in the Afternoon after everypony helps with the Summer Sun Celebration decorating," I replied, "by the way, will you still be able to buck apples with your leg?" I asked curiously. AJ looked down at her right rear leg with all its stitching and wiggled it around.

"Ah still can, Ah jest have ta watch how many trees Ah buck in a day," she explained.

"So, what is the Summer Sun Celebration?" I asked her after not realizing what exactly the holiday was.

"It's to celebrate the longest day of the year fer us. Luna lowers the moon really early in the morning 'n Celestia raises the sun really early too. Everypony gathers 'round early in the mornin' jest to see it happen. After that, we have a big get together to celebrate both the moon 'n the sun 'cause the days start ta get shorter till the winter months," AJ explained to me.

"Sounds like fun to me," I grinned. "Do you want to come with me to Rarity's?" I offered up.

"No thanks, Ah've gotta get baked goods ready fer the celebration while everypony is decoratin'." she replied.

"Alright, how bad could getting a new set of clothes be?" I asked.

(After the train ride. 3rd Person POV)

"It's good to be home," Applejack trotted happily away front the train station and took a deep breath in of Ponyville air.

"I must agree, our simple little town may not be fancy like Canterlot, but the charm it has is second to none," Rarity adored how the town looked in the white light of the moon. Cougar adjusted his hat and wiped his hair down.

"Hey Rainbow, before you go, I lost my aviators back at the campsite, do you know where I can get a spare pair?" he asked the Wonderbolt. Rainbow thought for a minute until she realized she was in the Wonderbolt's for Celestia's sake!

"Yeah, I think Soarin' can scrounge you up a pair of official Wonderbolt Shades, right Soar?" Rainbow asked her boyfriend. Cougar turned to the pale blue pegasus with a raised eyebrow, the guy code for asking.

"Sure thing, I'll see if I can find a new pair for ya Coug," Soarin' told the Air Force pilot, "anyways, we've got training early tomorrow," Soarin' took a quick look at the local clock tower, "what do ya say we get back to the academy and catch some zees?" he asked Rainbow.

"I'm all for that Soarin'! I'll catch you guys tomorrow night for the celebration!" the dare devil called as she and Soarin' took off together into the dark blue night. Pinkie Pie also had to get up early and begin making snacks, so she headed back to Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity, Twilight, Applejack and Cougar stood at the Train Station for a few moments before heading off towards the Golden Oaks Castle so Rarity, AJ and Cougar could collect their respective fillies and catch some shut eye.

"Do you think our sisters are already asleep Twilight? Sweetie Belle does tend to get restless, especially since she has been here for whole night and day without us," Rarity asked the Princess of Friendship.

"Ah think they should be dozin' off by now," Applejack replied, "'N we shouldn't be worried. Spike may be jest a few years older than our sisters, but Ah know he'll do a good job takin' care 'o them, 'member how he took good care of our pets?" She pointed out.

"Oh I'm not worried about how Spikey-Wikey took care of them, I'm just worried that Sweetie Belle will want to play a game or something when I take her home; I am not in the mood to stay up any longer than I have. I need my beauty sleep and my 100% total focus on making Cougar some new clothing," Rarity explained. The quartet turned a corner and found the castle looming in front of them.

"Well, here we are, I think I'll skip my book reading session tonight," Twilight chuckled and the door knob glowed with her lavender magic. The door swung open and Twilight gasped. "SPIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Her voice shouted into the castle.

"Kid's in some deep shit," Cougar said as Twilight marched over to Spike's sleeping body. His belly was distended and he had dried melted chocolate ice cream all over his face, belly and the floor surrounding him.

"Sweetie Belle! Did you eat like a little piggy!?" Rarity nudged her little sister who was surrounded by what Cougar believed to be vanilla ice cream.

"Applebloom, ya git up right now young missy," Applejack rolled Applebloom over onto her back. The yellow filly had both chocolate and vanilla ice cream splattered all over her face. The little purple dragon burped fire in shock and accidentally singed Twilight's eye lashes off her face.

"T-Twilight! What're you doing back so soon?" Spike fearfully asked whilst trying to hide the ice cream.

"We've been gone for a day! And I see you've helped yourself to all the ice cream in the castle after I specifically told you to leave all the ice cream alone mister!" The alicorn glared at the little dragon.

"What's gonna happen Twilight?" Spike gulped in fear.

"You're in BIG trouble mister," Twilight's magic cleaned up all the ice cream and yanked the dragon by his ear, "upstairs, bed, NOW! No comic books for a month!" Twilight scolded Spike and tossed him into his bed. Rarity, Applejack and Cougar gathered up Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo from the ground and hauled them outside.

"See you tomorrow Twilight!" Rarity called cheerfully as the six shut the door to the library.

"Wait a minute, who gets to scold Scootaloo?" Cougar asked, referencing the little pegasus that was still sleeping.

"Jest bring her to thu Farm Cougar, she can stay in Applebloom's room," AJ replied.

"Haven't I taught you better than to eat like a little piggy Sweetie Belle? Imagine the look on mother's face if she saw you scarfing down sweets like that!" Rarity berated her little sister. "We'll see you all tomorrow, especially you Cougar, my ticket to Fashion history!" Rarity waved her hoof. Cougar slung the sleeping Scootaloo over his right shoulder as Applejack and Applebloom began to walk back to their farm.

"So, did ya have fun at Twilight's Applebloom?" AJ asked her sister. Applebloom looked down at the ground in shame, tears threatening to escape her eyes.

"Ah'm sorry Applejack," she replied.

"Don't be tellin' me yer sorry, ya best apologize to Twilight fer deliberately disobeyin' her instructions," the older mare said to her sister in a tone that wasn't angered, but held a tone of disappointment. "Yer grounded missy, Ah hope ya know that," Applejack added.

"F-from what Applejack?" Applebloom asked with fear.

"Ya can't do any Crusadin' business fer two weeks, understand?" The orange mare instructed.

"WHAT?! B-but how am Ah gonna earn mah Cutie Mark Applejack?" The little filly asked in desperation.

"It'll still come naturally little sis, but ya can't go and hang out with Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo startin' tomorrow afternoon, got it?" Applejack scolded.

"Cougar, ya gotta back me up, isn't that a little harsh?" Applebloom pouted her lips and begged to the Air Force pilot. With his arm still cradling Scootaloo over his shoulder, Cougar looked down at his little friend's begging face.

"Sorry Applebloom; this is a family matter and Applejack gets the final say, I can't say anything to swing her decision," Cougar apologized. Applebloom let out a choked sob and ran away quicker to the house, crying. "That hurts," Cougar said after Applebloom ran off.

"Don't worry about it Cougar, she'll be alright. Thanks fer carryin' Scootaloo all the way out here," Applejack said.

"It's no trouble, she's light," Cougar bounced Scootaloo on his shoulder. The two didn't say anything else after that. Cougar and Applejack walked into the house and gently laid Scootaloo onto Applebloom's bed where the yellow Earth Pony was silently sobbing. Cougar leaned down and ruffled her hair before turning around with Applejack and exiting the room. The two stood outside in the hallway, not saying much of anything.

"Well, good night Ah guess Cougar," Applejack placed her hoof onto Cougar's chest with a warm smile.

"Good night Applejack," Cougar replied and softly stroked her blonde mane. "Hope you sleep well," he added as the two let each other go and parted ways.

"Same to ya," Applejack responded and entered her room, softly shutting her door. Cougar then found himself lying down on his cot inside his house, staring up at the wooden ceiling, hands behind his head, thinking. His talk with Applejack on the train sparked old memories that he wished he could erase permanently. He reached in his back pocket of his pants that were lying next to his cot on the floor and pulled out his phone. The battery was at 14%, but Cougar knew he could probably have Twilight or Luna charge it with their magic.

Sighing, the pilot clicked his thumb on the pictures app on his phone and scrolled down to a file marked Ghostrider Squadron Inaugural Flight. He then clicked on the first picture he saw of himself, Reaper, Grizz, Tex and Boa all standing in front of their respective planes, though Grizz hadn't yet received his F-22 at the time. All five were arm in arm, smiling with their flight suits and freshly painted helmets with their call signs on. A small smile appeared on Cougar's face as he started to shake and cry. More tears started to streak down his face as he scrolled through pictures of he and his friends celebrating their goals that they had reached. He stopped scrolling when he came to a picture of himself and Reaper sitting on the ladders connecting their two jets in a hanger, both of them arm in arm, wearing their respective purple and red helmets and giving the thumbs up to whomever took the picture. He looked at the date the picture was taken: June 21, 2018.

"I'm sorry," Cougar whispered softly as his thumb stroked some tears off his phone screen. Cougar lost all feeling in his right hand as he let his phone drop from his grasp and fall onto the floor. He turned onto his side and rested his wet eyes onto his arm as he cried himself to sleep. Even though his sobs were quiet, Cougar didn't realized he was heard. Up above his little shack, Applejack was leaning out her window, laying her head on her foreleg as her heart broke for her friend.

End Chapter X